Gideon dashed through the path from the river back to the forest where he had come from. His enlarged eyes were fixed on his path, scanning for any obstacles that might impede his escape.
Although the massive serpent was unable to catch up with him due to its slow crawling speed due to its massive body, the Black Ahaz had its own tricks to speed up its own. Its giant head lowered to the ground, and after a few moments of delay, the Black Ahaz launched its head into Gideon's direction, causing its massive body to fly for a few distances more than enough to catch its running target. When the massive serpent landed on the ground, it immediately opened its massive mouth and spat a green liquid ball in the direction of Gideon.
The fluid projectile forced Gideon to deviate from his path, preventing him from running through the trap set by the giant serpent.
As the green liquid landed on the ground, a large amount of green smoke and sizzling sounds were released. The corroded dirt entirely obstructed Gideon's path. One of the Black Ahaz's dangerous skills, The Acid Spittle.
Despite the fact that his heart was racing uncontrollably, his face remained calm.
"Don't panic... keep going as planned," he told himself before confronting the chasing behemoth. He gripped the wooden branch tightly.
When the Black Ahaz saw Gideon stop, it wasted no time and charged toward its prey. It lunged forward, opening its mouth for a strike. Gideon himself was not fast, but he used a strategy of not moving and tricking his opponent into thinking he would not move until the very last moment, which he learned when he fought the young wild boar. And when the time was right, he jumped out of the way of the attack, allowing the giant snake's head to pass through without catching anything and giving Gideon enough time to reroute from the acidic trap blocking his path and continue his dash toward the forest.
"The hell I'd fight you!" he screamed as he fled the Black Ahaz. "See you never, Ugly viper!"
However, the chase was not over. The green eyes of the giant snake followed its escaping prey, screeching. The Black Ahaz descended its head once more and, after a few moments, lunged toward Gideon's direction, its eyes locked on him. Then it lunged its body again, and with its seamless movement as it crawled, it moved so quickly until it arrived at the forest where Gideon was. As it entered the jungle, its already extraordinarily quick movement grew even faster. A dangerous predator that would never stop chasing once it had determined that something was its prey, especially when the prey was a helpless human with nothing but a wooden branch and resolve with him.
Gideon screamed as he ran, his jaw dropped, as he saw the behemoth chasing him, leaping between tree branches. The Black Ahaz was lunging its entire body in the air, supported by the branches. The Ahaz's powerful body allowed it to pull off such a feat with ease.
"Holy shit! Snakes can fly!" he screamed, fighting the overwhelming fear that was brewing within him while turning in a specific direction.
The massive snake got closer to him with each lunge, and even at his top speed, Gideon couldn't outrun it. He was getting tired and slowing down with each passing moment.
Gideon, on the other hand, did not put his life in danger by attempting to drink in that river without a solid plan in place. If the enormous snake did not cease chasing after him, he already had a plan in place. He wasn't strong enough to battle the massive predator, nor was he swift enough to entirely evade it, and as of that moment, he didn't have to, or so he hoped.
After a few seconds of running around and changing his route whenever his adversary approached. Gideon was forced to come to a halt while chasing his own breath when the massive leaping snake landed in front of him and immediately lunged its head toward him. With the last of his strength, he sprang away from the path of the attack, narrowly avoiding the Black Ahaz's head, which landed on the dry leaves on the ground. As he stood up, Gideon attempted to attack the giant creature's eyes, which appeared to be the most vulnerable part of its armored body.
The Black Ahaz screeched with such ferocity as he smashed his wooden branch into the monster's eyes. Gideon's strength was insufficient to cause serious damage to its eyes, but it gave him more than enough time to flee. However, what followed him was a swarm of green projectiles that blocked his path. Because the snake desired him whole and alive, the Black Ahaz purposefully did not aim for him, ensuring that he did not melt.
"Damn it!" he screamed as he leaped away from his lunging attacker's head.
He tried again to assault its other eyeballs, but the Black Ahaz captured his wooden branch in its mouth, leaving Gideon speechless. The giant snake then waved its hard head, striking Gideon with both its head and the wooden branch it had taken from him. Gideon took off and landed on the ground with a groan. He rolled slowly while holding his own chest, but then tried to stand up. He let his gaze wander and discovered the Black Ahaz staring at him from a few meters away.
Because of its heavy body, the Black Ahaz had a very slow attack pattern, and it couldn't catch anything if it relied solely on speed. It did, however, specialize in a very specific type of hunting. Slowly wearing down their prey until it could no longer move or fight back, then devouring them alive while crying in despair. As a result, they were designed for a long, winding chase, relying more on endurance than speed. That was why this species was dubbed the Sadistic Black Devil.
Despite finally rehydrating him and replenishing his strength. His natural strength was insufficient to keep up with the much faster and stronger opponent in front of him. There was nowhere else to go... He didn't have to, though.
The massive Black Ahaz raised its head to assert dominance, sticking its tongue in and out as it screeched, confident that Gideon could no longer flee. A tenacious and conceited creature. It took its time before devouring its helpless prey. It was about to raise its head higher when it was stopped by a pebble that landed on its head. It stuck its tongue out and tilted its massive head in the direction of the pebble's origin.
The Black Ahaz was greeted by a Noir Tailed Garavon standing silently on the ground, holding bouncing pebbles in its black hand. Its raging eyes were aimed at the massive snake, making the supposed massive Garavon appear small in comparison. It was not, however, a game of size.
Then there were the thunderous sounds of war cries coming from a swarm above the woods. As hundreds of white silhouettes surrounded the vast area, leaving no room for the massive snake to flee, aggressive whooping echoed throughout the area. They resembled huge ants, but their objective was not to consume the snake. Unlike Unicorn Wolves, which the Garavons would attack on sight, the Garavons would not attack a dangerous predator like Black Ahaz for no reason, and would usually just leave it alone as long as it did not harm any of the Garavons; the same could be said of Black Ahaz, that would never dare to attack a Garavon. The Garavons had gathered for the sole intention of exacting vengeance on the snake for attempting to harm whom they viewed as an ally. A terrible scene of a big violent swarm about to butcher a solitary adversary occurred.
Gideon coughed as he raised both hands above his knees, attracting the snake's attention. Even if a part of him was already hoping for it, he couldn't hide the look of genuine amazement on his face.
Because of its survival instinct, the Black Ahaz immediately abandoned its initial goal of feeding and fled from the massive crowd it had enraged. But it was too late.
The Garavons' ear-piercing screams became much louder as they began to throw stones at their foe's massive body. The rain of stones began, and the giant snake could do nothing but endure the assault while attempting to flee. However, the chase was far from over. The majority of the Garavons jumped to the ground at once, completely overwhelming The Black Ahaz with their terrifying numbers.
As a last resort, the Black Ahaz screeched violently as it pronounced its sharp fangs and used its Acidic Spittle, spitting all around it in the hope of stopping the onslaught of relentless apes. The long predator, on the other hand, received a rain of rocks from the tops of the trees, while the Garavons on the ground continued their charge toward their single target. Such synchronization and tenacity that, thanks to their telepathic skill, Hive Mind, no obstacles could stand in their way. The vicious Garavons lunged their bodies toward their target, showing their fangs, without hesitation. The Black Ahaz launched its head to fight back, but it returned with Garavons already riding its head and crushing its eyes with stones.
As more Garavons rushed in to attack the Black Ahaz, the horrifying sound of their howls echoed. They would grab the giant snake's body and bite its hard scales while holding it down with their long and strong arms. The Garavons were constantly attacking the Black Ahaz, and it could no longer move due to the great weight stopping it; at the same time, its supposed tough armor withered away. All the mighty snake could do was screech its final scream as it raised its head with its last strength, revealing its shattered eyes dangling from its socket. The one-sided one against an army had won so easily, and the army had won.
Gideon walked slowly toward the corpse of the Black Ahaz, his eyes shivering as he chased his own breath. His lifeless eyes wandered into its body, which was stripped of scales and filled with deep wounds with blood oozing from them. While the Garavons jumped around whooping and howling in celebration of their overwhelming one-sided victory, they waved the Ahaz's giant scales.
Gideon took up the wooden branch that was lying on the ground. "I am still alive..." he told himself, assuring himself that what had happened was true. "I am still alive."
The Garavons screamed in delight when they heard his voice, despite not understanding what he meant, and ran around him while holding the scales, eyes, and red horns of Gideon's former predator.
Gideon fixed his gaze on the massive snake in front of him. Despite the fact that he had survived what was supposed to be an unavoidable death, his eyes were filled with suffering and grief. He raised his head to the sky and screamed so loudly that he drew all the Garavons' attention to himself. His screams lasted only a few seconds before he came to a halt to take another breath.
Gideon's gaze shifted to the Garavons, who were staring at him with curious eyes. "I will survive! I will accomplish whatever I need to in this stupid world!" he exclaimed, raising his hands. "And then... I'm going home!" He screamed again as his own war cry, not of joy for surviving the Black Ahaz's attack, but to fight the despair eating his system.
The deafening war cries of the Noir Tailed Garavons engulfed the entire area as they joined him in his scream; both Gideon and the swarm of Garavons screamed as loudly as they could until their voices faded. Such piercing war cries could be heard throughout the Etveya forest.
"I'm going home," he said, deep within him hoping that if he could complete his grand mission, he would finally be able to return home.