Each of his breaths was incredibly heavy as his heart kept thumping out of his chest. The strand of hair on his skin stood tall as chills kept echoing within his bones. His muscles felt tense and light at the same time, causing some confusion within his mind and heart.
Such were the things Dante felt during the revelation of the massive humanoid horror. And unfortunately for him, despite sighing in relief when the monster passed through, it didn't end there. After all, the giant eyes of such a monster were directly staring at him.
'W-What-'
Dante felt his chills getting stronger as the clear eyes in the darkness were gazing at him. The wild thumps within his heart got stronger than ever before as numerous anxious thoughts began plaguing his mind.
'What do I do?'
'It's staring at me.'
'Should I try escaping? Or will it start chasing me if I intend to leave?'
His thoughts were erratic since it was hard to stay calm when a giant eye was looking at him. He wanted to leave but never moved a muscle because of the possibility of the monster chasing him. Would it be better if he didn't move? Or will it spell his death?
'Clearly, the bastard knows of my existence.'
'Is it playing me like a doll? Having fun with its food?'
Such were the conclusions made within his mind. Making Dante confused about what to do in this kind of situation.
He gazed at the black pupils of the clear irises plastered on its eyes. He clenched his fist as he furrowed his eyebrows. Being under the mercy of some kind of monster, Dante felt a surging anger within his heart.
It was as if his body was telling him to not fall into the monster's mercy.
This realization forced Dante out of his pitiful state. No matter how much he dreamed of becoming brave and aggressive. In the end, he was still the same as always. What does Dante need to do? What does he need to prove to fate?
It was then, at this moment, Dante had a realization.
His ocean-like eyes widened as he slowly opened the zipper of his black bag while keeping the eye under his gaze. There was something he wanted to do, and that was to fight. This was the leap of fate, as stupid as it was.
This was the only idea that emerged within Dante's mind.
Do negotiations even work against such a monster? So if negotiation doesn't work, why doesn't he fight it? The questioning thoughts of Dante rationalized his idea of fighting against the monster. And this continued on within his mind.
Escaping? With how fast it moves, it would take seconds for it to take hold of Dante and possibly eat him. Basically, to face the terrifying threat was the only move he needed to make. It was also a stupid way to prove himself of change.
Unlike before, he had weapons he could use. Weapons that he was familiar with, from armaments to supplies to utilities. Dante was basically trained to handle all of them and know how to operate them at a basic level.
'The only things I need to take out is the flare, smoke bomb, and tons of ammunition.'
Dante thought as he slowly took them out one by one. The first one was the flare, then the smoke bomb, and finally, the dozens of ammunition he needed to take the bastard down.
'The monster is a giant humanoid monster. So it should have weakness comparable to that of a human. I just need more force than usual.'
This would have been easier if there had been a grenade in his bag.
Sadly there wasn't.
The things before him were the only utilities he could use against the monster.
'The monster has giant eyes, meaning that it relies on its sight to tread through the surroundings and identify its prey. There should be a reason why it is in the marathon test.'
'It might look terrifying, but if its weakness can be perceive. Then the difficulty of this problem might get lowered.'
Dante kept thinking within his mind, and as he completed his preparations, he took a deep breath and sighed to himself. This would be a crazy thing to do, but it's better than having a staring contest against a damn horror.
After his calming sensation, a gaze of determination shrouded his eyes. He immediately stood up in the bush and swiftly made a run.
Dante escaped like a swift rubbish dancing through the wind. The bushes around him rustled upon contact as the beast behind him reacted to what he had done.
*GGGHHRRRR!!!*
The giant humanoid monster growled, which echoed throughout the forest. It almost formed a shock wave, which was immediately felt by the escaping Dante. He felt chills upon hearing the loud growl, but he gritted his teeth and continued on.
He was now running for his life as stamina depletion didn't matter anything to him. After all, if he was any second slower, then it would be a second faster for the creature to take hold of him. And that was something he'd rather avoid.
*RROOOARRR!!!*
The loud growl of the massive humanoid monster turned into a thunderous roar. It was stronger than the growl and created a swift shock wave that swept upon everything in its path. This shock wave crashed onto his back, making Dante tumble onto the ground.
*Thud!*
'Fuc-'Dante couldn't help but curse as he immediately stood up and hid behind a large root. He surveyed the area as he kept trying to find the giant humanoid monster. After a while of surveying, he didn't discover anything unusual.
He didn't hear anything that resembled that of the monster. Nothing could be seen that looked like the bastard. And from the looks of it, the monster left him alone.
'Did it not come after me? Then why did it roar with such power?'
Dante wondered to himself before immediately shaking his head and thinking this.
'No, no, it's better for the bastard to not chase me around. I hope that it left me alone.'
While he was planning on fighting the monster, if there was an opportunity to not directly battle the monster head-on, then Dante would rather pick that and live for another day.
'And if it did leave me alone, then should I continue on my journey? I must be wasting too much time within the forest. I should keep running and follow the route given to me.'
He nodded to himself, immediately arriving at the best conclusion. The faster he gets out of here, the better.
'But is he really not here?' Dante began checking the surroundings once again, not wanting to get ambushed. Seconds passed, and no matter how much he surveyed the area, the monster couldn't be found.
'Then, maybe he's really gone.'
"I can finally relax."
Dante quietly muttered to himself as this was the first time he had spoken something while being stuck in the forest.
Relaxing and calming himself down was an excellent thing to do.
But never did Dante know that behind him were familiar eyes that kept staring at him.