Lyrica goes around a tree, dodging the Guardian Snake's bite.
"A plan?!"
"Yeah!" Riko replied.
"We have to knock the Guardian Snake unconscious!" Magdalo followed suit.
...
Several moments earlier...
"Riko... let's go."
The youthful knight was lost for words as Magdalo urged him to follow along. While Riko did follow him, Magdalo noticed the young knight who seemed to be in deep thought.
What's he thinking now? He thought. Perhaps Riko is thinking about what the snobbish girl told her?
"Riko, don't think too much about it."
"..."
In truth, Magdalo is relieved that someone told Riko it was his doing that led to Karlo's death, as well as Marlo and the other's incapacitated state.
Magdalo wanted to say it out loud but he couldn't bring himself to do so because of Karlo–His old friend. If not for Karlo and his daughter who's attached to Riko, he would've left the kid and everyone else for dead back then.
Moments later, Riko stopped in his tracks, distracting Magdalo.
"What's wrong?" The adult knight asked. "We're about halfway towards the outside of the forest."
Most of the inhabitants of the Forest of No Return are on the outer parts of the forest thanks to the Guardian Snake. That said, they can't afford to stay in one place for too long. Otherwise, they'll get ambushed and get killed.
But, after thinking things through, he clenched his hand into a fist and tells Magdalo:
"We have to go back!"
Magdalo was taken aback, at the same time his pent-up thoughts caused him to make a furious expression.
"Are you stupid?!" Magdalo hits Riko's head. "Didn't you hear what that girl told us?! Stop acting like a hero!"
"But isn't she doing the same thing?!" Riko retorted. "We don't know her, yet she's out there risking her life just to save us! Who do you think is the one acting like a hero here?!"
"And what do you suggest we do? We go back there and waste the opportunity that girl gave us to live for tomorrow?"
Magdalo lets go of Marlo and the other knight, leaving them limping on the ground.
"A lot of people have put their lives to danger just so that you don't get yourself killed!"
Right then, he approached Riko and proceeded to violently push him back by the chest. Riko falls to the ground.
"And one of them can no longer go back to his family. Karlo's daughter can no longer see her father again! Do you understand what I'm saying?!"
He asked the speechless Riko who can't even look at him in the eye.
"I ain't letting everyone's efforts go in vain. I ain't letting everyone, including you, share the same fate as Karlo because of you!"
Riko gritted his teeth.
"That's all the more reason why we should go back!"
Riko stood up and faces Magdalo, his eyes screaming in pain and regret as tears flow from them.
"We can't let that girl die for our sakes. I can't let her pay for the mistakes I did with her life!"
Right then, Magdalo watched as Riko kneels right in front of him. And with his hands folded together, he pleaded:
"Please, we have to go back! I have to go back before someone else gets killed because of me!"
"..."
...
Now cut to the present...
"Knock the Guardian Snake unconscious?"
Lyrica descends on the ground. And as she avoided another one of the creature's attempts of eating her alive...
"Hraaah!!"
Guuagh!
With all her might, Lyrica punches the side of the hardened body of the Guardian Snake. Although it's not powerful enough to penetrate its defense, it's just enough to make the reptile roll over.
"How do you suggest we knock this thing out? My strength isn't enough to even damage it."
Lyrica jumps and climbs on top of another Higantes, creating a distance between her and the Guardian Snake.
"You have to knock the creature out by doing the same thing you did earlier." Said Magdalo.
"The time when you descended from the sky and pummeled the Guardian Snake while your body is coated in a light similar to Tibay!"
Riko followed suit as he and Magdalo dodges the rolling tail of the Guardian Snake.
"Heavy Metal?"
Now that she thinks about it, compared to the ideas she had in mind, including luring the Guardian Snake towards Riko and the others to save her own, knocking the snake unconscious seems to be the most viable option. However...
'Heavy Metal at 20dB isn't enough to knock that thing out, but I was able to pulverize it to the ground and incapacitate it for a while.'
The Guardian Snake puts itself in an upright position, it looks at Lyrica with fuming eyes, following a growl.
'If I use Heavy Metal beyond 20dB, at one hundred decibels, just maybe... Maybe we can do it.'
But again, she doesn't have the strength to use Heavy Metal beyond 20dB. There's a number of possible outcomes that could happen.
One possibility is that Lyrica could knock the Guardian Snake in one fell swoop using 100dB, but she wouldn't be able to get off its head until after the 3 minute time has elapsed. A time in which the Guardian Snake could regain consciousness and kill her while she's immobilized.
Another possibility is that 100dB is not enough to knock the creature out and only serve herself to the Guardian Snake as a free meal. The last one and the worst-case scenario would be her getting crushed by the sheer weight of Heavy Metal and gets herself killed before she could even land on the Guardian Snake.
'How troublesome. I can't think about positive things. Is this how bad the situation is?'
As the Guardian Snake lunges at her and avoids the creature one more time, she thought:
'No use thinking about the worst possible outcomes. Nothing will happen if nothing is done.'
With that said, Lyrica calls out to Riko and Magdalo who're both waiting for her answer.
"Let's do it."
The two knights turned serious.
"But remember, don't die!"
A tough task, but Riko and Magdalo both nodded in response. Right then, Magdalo takes a step forward, saying:
"I'll get its attention."
"All right."
Riko steps backward as he prepares himself to be the decoy to allow Lyrica to deal with the knock-out blow.
"Hey, stupid f***ing little worm!"
The Guardian Snake shifted its eyes towards the two. They instinctively took a step back. Magdalo gulped for air before continuing to speak.
"Would you like a free meal?"
Magdalo makes an awkward position, showing his protruding behind towards the Guardian Snake.
"This is an a** even my wife is jealous about for its voluptuousness."
"Magdalo..."
Riko looks at the adult knight, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Try and get this precious meat if you can, you good for nothing worm!"
The Guardian Snake roared at Magdalo.
"That got its attention."
Without looking back, Riko and Magdalo make a run for it. On the other hand, Lyrica watches them do so from above.
"All right... Now I just have to–!"
Lyrica turned towards the direction of the Guardian Snake, and suddenly, she froze.
Meanwhile, Riko and Magdalo continues to run with all the stamina they could muster.
The two were planning to hide behind the Higantes in front of them to avoid the Guardian Snake's attack before they go on separate ways to buy more time. However...
"Huh... Somehow I don't feel like something is coming after us from behind."
As the words came out of Magdalo's mouth, Riko tries to look back. That's when he realized, the Guardian Snake didn't go after them.
"Oh no!"