Tanking another punch from the sasquatch, Evans slammed it's core with his shield. This seemed to do nothing but spike the beast's rage further. Swinging a more powerful blow than before, it's fist landed on Evans shield, almost pushing him to the ground.
Filled with rage, he did the same, challenging the creature to a contest of blows. One in which the beast gladly accepted. With a punch finally landing on Evans soon after, he was forced to back off. This was to no avail as the sasquatch only followed after him, loosing multiple blows.
The rest who were a distance away struggled to control the growing number of Lizard men. It was almost as if the invading sasquatch was leading them to battle.
Decapitating an attacking Lizard man, Xavier's sights landed on the duo in the distance. From the manner in which Neal laid on the floor and Evans tanked blows, he could not help but feel that something was wrong.
"What the hell is going on down there?" He questioned himself as he parried a Lizard man's attack.
Gradually receiving more shots to the body, Evans began to stagger. It was obvious that he was reaching his limit. His efforts were not in vain though, as Neal had come back to his senses.
Absorbing one more punch to the side, Evans knees wobbled before he came to his knees. Just as the beast proceeded to take it's final blow, Neal launched himself at high speed to the enemy.
In that instant, his dagger drew across it's eye, injuring it. With a loud roar, the sasquatch covered it's eye, retreating back to it's hole. This was something that none of the group saw coming; however, they couldn't help but feel this was a good thing.
Neal who had expended all of his energy in that last attack fell to the ground, passing out. Even though he had managed to get rid of the major threat, the Lizard men were still present.
Taking advantage of their weakened state, they charged at both Evans and Neal. Their attempt was put to an end though, when a large sword cut all of them in half.
"Are you guys okay?" Xavier asked upon reaching them.
"Yeah, we are good," coughs erupted from Evans soon after.
Gritting his teeth, Xavier could not help but feel like this was his fault. With multiple slashes to the lizards around, he took his rage out on the enemy. When the coast appeared to be clear, he picked the two on his shoulder, retreating.
With the other three in the group holding back the attacking monsters, they were able to return back to the safe area in one piece. As soon as they returned, Maya looked through the duo's bodies, giving a sigh of relief soon after.
"Evans is just a little beat up. He should be fine by tomorrow's morning. Neal on the other hand appears to have multiple broken bones, but he will be fine. It will take awhile before he fully recovers though," Maya gave her findings.
"See, I am tougher than you thought," Evans chuckled before coughing in pain.
"Everyone should take a long rest. We are done for today," Xavier spoke with an expression the team knew all too well.
Soon after he left the area, returning back to his living space. Evans who understood what was going on, attempted to follow him, only to hold his side in pain later on.
"Maya, Luke, take Neal and Evans back to their houses," Marcus ordered. "And Evans, don't worry about it, I will do the talking this time."
Hearing this, he was able to relax. If anything, he trusted Marcus would fix the whatever was happening with Xavier.
*****
Opening the door of Xavier's home, Marcus struck up conversation without even coming face to face with him.
"You know all of us could tell what was going on in your mind, right?"
To this, Xavier would be silent, refusing to respond. This did nothing but remind Marcus of the past when their numbers in the floor was more than ten.
Thinking more about it, he had to admit that Xavier had began to show more of his past self since the arrival of Neal. He believed it was torture for him to see someone who was almost the perfect replica of Cody everyday. This was a good thing though, as it would give him the opportunity to forgive himself for something that had taken place a long time ago. But that was only if he allowed himself to.
"Xavier, what happened in the dungeon was not your fault. It has been years since we went down there. Surely anyone would have forgotten somethings about the place as well," Marcus attempted to calm him down.
"What are you saying? Everything that happened was my fault," he stated with a hurt expression. "Those two almost died because I took them into the depths without planning out properly. All because I forgot? How do you forget how dangerous monsters are? In the end, they were my responsibility and I almost got them killed. I am not fit to be leader anymore."
Upon hearing all of this, Marcus was silent for some period of time. Besides, there was some truth to what he was saying. This did not stop him though as he soon told him some words that he hoped would snap him out of his current state.
"Xavier, there is no such thing as a perfect leader. Learn from your mistakes and try to do things better next time. That in return will make you a better leader."
With this Marcus left the room, leaving Xavier with his thoughts once again. The words he was given fulfilled it's purpose as it sparked something in him. A way to amend his mistakes and make things better.