Chapter Sixteen: Beautiful things are often the most dangerous.
*Boooooom*
The beast was too fast and too strong.
Every time it moved, the ground under its paws would cave in.
And for the first time, Kevin's expression turned serious.
Kevin used a gust of wind to push me out of the way, and at the same time, he used it to propel himself into the air.
The wolf missed, but then turned to face me. It immediately charged at me, and I started running, but it was still closing in on me very quickly. I didn't know what to do other than trying to run.
I opened the mind link and shouted,
"Kevin! Help!"
"I'm above you," Kevin replied.
I looked up to see Kevin running in the air just above me, and then I had an idea. "Kevin, I need you to use your wind to send it off course, and then use your wind to lift me up," I said, dodging a paw strike.
"Okay, here goes."
*Swoosh*
A huge gust of wind in the shape of a cone hit the wolf's side, causing it to lose its footing for a second.
But that time frame was enough for another gust of wind to sweep me into the air. "Phew, that was close," I sighed, turning to Kevin, who was beside me.
"Yeah."
"Um, why aren't we moving?"
"It's pointless. The beast will keep chasing us, and my spirit essence will be depleted soon. It will be emptied even faster if we move."
"Damn, so what are we—"
"Watch out!"
Kevin shouted, interrupting me. I looked and saw a hail of spikes pouring down on us.
The wolf had seen that it couldn't catch us now that we were in the sky, so it used its other attack means, the spikes on its body.
Kevin was utilizing the wind and his sword to dodge and cut the spikes.
At first, it was going okay, but then his spirit essence began depleting quickly, and—
*Slurpt*
The first spike had stabbed him in the shoulder, followed by another in the thigh, but not a single spike had touched me.
He had used himself as a shield to protect me.
I was confused; I had only just met him. Why was he risking his life for me? I looked at Kevin, and he was not in good shape, and we were descending quickly.
We were about 500 meters above the ground, so falling from such a height was no joke.
I somehow managed to move over to where Kevin's body was falling freely and caught him.
He had already passed out.
I had to think of a way out of this. I looked at the fast-approaching ground and then at the forest and the lake.
'The lake! I can fall into the lake, but...'
I hesitated. The lake was too calm; even after Kevin kept using the wind, the lake never had a single ripple on it.
I didn't know what to do. In my dilemma, someone came to my mind.
'Helios? Are you there?' It took a few seconds before a reply came.
'Yes, I'm here.'
'Please do something,' I pleaded while looking down. The ground was not so far away anymore.
*Sigh*
'Fine, but only this once,'
Helios said with a sigh, and from my chest, a golden light poured out, encasing Kevin and me in a circular shield.
We were now 25 feet away from the ground.
'This is the most I can help you with. The rest is yours to handle.'
'Thank you,' I thanked Helios.
This shield he had given me had just solved my major problem. I needed to land safely to carry out my escape plan. I measured the distance as we fell.
\+15 feet\+
I looked at where the little wolf was, as well as the spirit stones we had collected, and then leaned my body so that I would land in the opposite direction.
\+10 feet\+
I put Kevin on my back so that once we landed, I would start running.
\+5 feet\+
I braced for impact while intently watching the wolf.
*Boooom*
A deafening sound was created as the shield landed, cracking the earth underneath.
The dust hadn't settled when I rushed out from the hole and charged at the approaching wolf.
The wolf was startled for a second, but it didn't last long as it lowered its head and opened its wide, teeth-filled mouth.
I knew that I couldn't win this fight by relying on my physical strength.
I had to use my spirit ability, but I didn't know how to.
I tried thinking about it, but it didn't work.
I tried to talk with Helios, but there was no reply.
I reached the wolf's mouth and jumped atop it, using it to push myself into the air. I landed on its back and jumped again.
My mind was working in overdrive.
I couldn't keep this performance up for long; it was only a matter of time before I made a mistake, and that would be the end of Kevin and me.
I landed on the ground and twisted my body to dodge a spiked tail, and at the same time, I grabbed onto a spike on the tail with both hands and used it to swing myself in another direction.
I did a flip in the air so that I could land on my feet.
The moment I landed, I heard a voice, although it was weak, it was still there, and it belonged to Kevin.
He was saying something, but he wasn't audible, so I couldn't hear him. I glanced at the approaching wolf and spoke,
"Kevin, what are you saying?"
"Feel... the... energy... focus... on it," he managed to say weakly.
"Feel the energy? What energy?" I asked while dodging the wolf's paw.
"Energy... essence... Ability spells."
"Essence? Oh, okay, I see," I finally understood what he was saying, but how to do it was the problem. I couldn't start feeling the energy when I was trying not to get killed.
'You can do it, you know,' Helios spoke in a calm voice.
I heard Helios, but I remained quiet. I was calculating my chances of getting out of the situation alive.
I didn't know what the spells I had could do. What if I picked a spell that wouldn't be helpful in my current situation? But as these thoughts went through my head, I that if I didn't do something quickly, I would die.
So I made a choice.
I ran to the left to dodge the charging wolf, who immediately changed its direction and gave chase.
I steadied my breathing as I tried to feel the energy. At first, there was nothing, but slowly, I felt it—the pond I saw in my spirit world was spinning.
'Now think of the spell you want to cast,' Helios spoke.
I did as I was told and picked the spell
'Inra's Blessings,' but as I concentrated on the spell I wanted, the wolf's paws collided with my back, sending my body rolling across the ground.
I coughed up blood as I hit a rock beside the lake.
My ribs had broken, and my spine had cracked. I was on the floor, helpless and unmoving.
"So this is how I die," I thought as the wolf approached, ready to deliver the final blow.
But then, unexpectedly, something collided with the wolf, sending it flying into the lake. Immediately, two long red tentacles emerged from the water, ripping the wolf apart.
My mouth hung open as I witnessed the scene. For a moment, I was grateful that I had changed my mind about dropping into the lake.