Worms do not have eyes.
They instead have light sensors. Since a worm only needs to know if it's night or day, the worm only has need for light receptors. Jörm could tell it was late into the day. Eyes are useless when you spend most of your time in the deep dark of the earth.
So what was happening between Jörm and Kuma cannot be considered a stare off. It was however a brief pause in time. So tense it froze time for the entire island. Both beasts were feeling the aura of the other.
But Jörm in his frenzied state didn't hold this evaluation long and pounced at Kuma. The giant bear with a crescent moon on his forehead leaped aside.
Jörm quickly turned back for it's prey, only to find it hacking, slashing and biting at the side of it's body. An explosion of dirt rang out of the section Kuma was attacking, knocking him back and trapping him it a pit of mud.
Jörm had triumphed. An easy win and time for the finishing blow. It went straight for the bear like a starved dog for it's fill. A roar screamed out of the cornered bear only for a quiet but hard force against the soil.
And just like that Jörm lost Kuma.
The worm quickly rushed over to examine the crime scene. Inspecting any sign of where the bear disappeared to. The only trace of Kuma was a creator left at the last known location where it was. Jörm was coming up with a conclusion, when...
BAM!!!
Kuma came crashing down from the sky only to land right where Jörm's midsection currently reside. From the sheer impact Kuma tore through Jörm's body and split the earth itself sending waves of fear and pain throughout Jörm's body.
[[Fragmentation] Activated]
Kuma's attention was on the front part of Jörm, who tunneled into the ground and disappeared rather quickly. But even underground Jörm was not invisible. Kuma's keen senses for hearing and mana allowed him to coordinate exactly where the worm was.
Jörm never tried to sneak around. It didn't understand the perception of other creatures. So when it got an off feeling when it was about to attack it paused. It was a trap.
Meanwhile the section without a head was steadily forming the brain and organs to go with it.
Kuma didn't care however, choosing the focus on the immediate threat. The earth rose around him sinking his body knee-deep into solid dirt. Jörm pounced out heading straight for Kuma. It's giant mouth wide open.
It was checkmate. Jörm was going to latch onto Kuma and drag him down to his lair and drown him in the very earth that sustains his being.
'uh uh uhhhhh' -K
Kuma's claws went for a roundabout strike. Strong enough to go through the ground like a hot knife gliding though butter, hitting the side of Jörm's head. The worm's attack was redirected followed by a bear hug.
Despite the mucus on Jörm's body, Kuma's grip was tight. Going overhead and slamming Jörm's head with such force the tail formed a fountain to soon follow.
Kuma clawed it's way into the head destroying everything in the stunned body of the giant worm.
[ [Jörm-Giant Earthworm(Fragmented)(Lvl:1)] Slain - Exp:3067]
Kuma stood back, proud of it's accomplishment. Watching as the sun went down and the 2nd moon starting to become visible.
SLURP
Suddenly, something latched on to Kuma's foot. The other bit of the fragmented worm. It was now towing Kuma down into the depths of the earth never to be seen again. Kuma looked up the hole above him closing in. The sight of the 2nd moon brightening through the crevice and cracks of the closing whole.
Enough.
Enough power to slam his other foot into the oversized turd below accelerating him up. Enough momentum to... his head was short of the surface. Kuma was buried alive. The pressure of the earth squeezing him, pushing him down. Calling upon his death.
'Not yet'-K
Pictures of some of his cubs that left the valley with their mother flew through his head. Kuma didn't want to die, NO, he couldn't die. Not until, he reunited with his first breeding season, his second and his third.
With another kick of the legs Kuma burst out of the ground soon followed by the persistent giant worm. Seeking revenge for it's fallen kin.
Another battle but this time Kuma had the power of the moon on it's side. And like that it was a straight forward fight.
[ [Jörm-Giant Earthworm(Fragmented)(Lvl:1)] Slain - Exp:3079]
But in the process hundreds of parasitic blood worms were scattered across the valley.