DAKU
It had been fifteen minutes since we entered the forest. Kenshi and I were on full alert upon sensing unusual earlier. We tried our best to hide this from Miss Hanaka and her daughter so they could enjoy the traversal. I anxiously wandered my eyes through my vintage point, observing any signs of movements and possible assault.
"Uhm... Daku?" Miss Hanaka called and turned around to face her. I raised both of my brows as a sign of inquiry. "You've been holding on to your dagger since we entered the forest. Is everything okay?" she asked, surprising me. It looked like I didn't try my best to hide it.
"Uhh... well... We—"
"We sensed something earlier the moment we were in the forest," Kenshi interjected and answered Miss Hanaka on my behalf. "We didn't know what it was but the feeling alone tells us that it will not be good for us. Don't worry, Daku and I will protect you."
I noticed Miss Hanaka pulled Kana closer to her, a gesture of a protective mother. The enchantment that the forest gave them earlier turned into intimidation. If they watched the whole forest in pure amazement, now they gazed at it with fear and terror — fear that something scary or terrifying might appear out of nowhere. This totally changed the atmosphere, creating tension not just in the air but in ourselves as well.
All four of us assessed our surroundings on full alert. No one dared to talk and only our steps generated noise out of broken branches and crushed leaves. Indistinct animal sounds resonated in the atmosphere as well and a gentle wind hustled the leaves atop the trees. Those were the sounds that filled our ears and we hoped it would stay like that until we reached the end of this dense forest.
But I jinxed myself upon hearing countless running footsteps. This stopped us from walking, trying to locate the source of the noise. I grabbed my dagger out of its sheath and watched the area for motion. Kenshi unsheathed his sword as well while Miss Hanaka held Kana much closer to her.
"Get ready, Daku. They're nearby," Kenshi announced. The fact that he used a plural pronoun instead of a singular one, told me that whatever made these noises was not alone. If I were to guess, roughly there were six of them.
"Daku!" Miss Hanaka alerted us while she pointed at something ahead of us. I followed her finger until I saw a huge forest wolf scowling and growling at us. Its salivating and trembling mouth made him even more scarier. Another growl hummed in, and it came from another direction, and then another, and another, until we saw five of these wolves. "I totally forgot about these wolves. We encountered quite a few before, but not as big as these ones."
Following Miss Hanaka, it was safe to assume that these creatures had evolved into their monster form. As I had said before, this evolution was far more different than getting corrupted by an Evil Remnant. Mid-level adventurers could take down these creatures with no sweat. And, of course, those mid-level adventurers were not me. Kenshi maybe but not me. I was far from mid.
"What should we do, Kenshi?" I inquired.
"We have no choice but to fight. Just remember everything I taught you."
Well, I could clearly remember everything. From the stance to the techniques, I remembered it so well. My only problem was the efficacy of my attacks. I was a Healer, and Healers like me lacked in strength and combat power. We might be successful in landing a hit but it wouldn't be that fatal to take these wolves down.
But I just had to do it because we didn't have a freakin' choice. It was either fight or let these canines feed on us. I was definitely sure it was not the latter one, so to fight it was. And it seemed like they had read my mind when they suddenly launched themselves at us. I heard Miss Hanaka and Kana scream out of surprise due to the sudden action of the wolves.
I faced the one before me who was charging at me at a faster rate. When it was close enough, it sent its right claw at me. I even saw how sharp it was when it shimmered. In a swift movement, I managed to evade the attack. I found an opening and delivered a slash of my dagger on its flank but just as I expected it, the cut was too shallow and it didn't earn any reaction from the wolf itself.
Another one charged behind me but thanks to the gift of swiftness, I evaded it as well. But now was not the time to celebrate because there were now two of them against me. Their bloodthirsty eyes locked on me as their prey. Not this time.
Simultaneously, the two of them dash toward me. They sent claws and bites one after another just to fail, meanwhile, I gave them countless shallow cuts even knowing that they were ineffective. Or were they?
Their once snow-white fur was now colored by hints of pink and red from the wounds they got from me. If there was one thing that I learned in life, tiny steps could make a huge impact. Just like how my shallow cuts bled them and gave them excruciating pain. Their weakened body due to hunger made them easier to deal with. I could tell from their bony structures that they weren't eating well these past few days.
"AHH!" Kana yelled in a very high pitch diverting my attention. The remaining wolf had chosen them as its food and it would be just a matter of time before it would attack them.
"Kenshi!"
Kenshi was busy dealing with his last opponent after defeating the other one. I saw Kenshi take a quick glance at the two and swiftly close the gaps between them. But the wolf he was fighting with suddenly launched at him, surprising Kenshi. Now, he found himself under the wolf that was trying to bite his face off. Luckily, his sword shielded it.
My opponents decided to continue their sinister goal and tried their very best to land their claws and teeth on me. But just like earlier, they failed. I escaped all of their offensives and while at it, I made my way to Miss Hanaka. The wolf was much closer than before and when it would be in range, both of them would end up in his belly.
"Don't go near my daughter!" Miss Hanaka ordered angrily at the wolf and it didn't like it. Without hesitation, the wolf swung its right paw, clawing Miss Hanaka aside. Miss Hanaka shouted in pain as she fell to the ground. "Kana, run!" Miss Hanaka instructed and Kana followed.
The wolf that attacked Miss Hanaka howled, catching the attention of the others.
"Go after Kana, Daku! They'll gonna chase after her!" Kenshi informed me and with my opponents' attention on something else, I took it as an opportunity to run where Kana went. I ran as fast as I could but as primal predators, they were much faster than me in terms of speed.
My eyes were locked on Kana while I watched the wolves through the corners of my eyes. Just as when I was close to Kana, the leading wolf jumped forward. I knew for myself that its teeth would catch on Kana, so I did the most stupid thing yet — I blocked its mouth with my hand.
An intense jolt of pain spread throughout my system when the wolf dug its teeth deep into my flesh. But I withstood the pain and repositioned my dagger in my right hand. Out of nowhere, I felt a surge of energy accumulating in my hand holding the dagger until it glowed green. It was the same thing that happened back then. Curious of its effect, I swung my right hand in full force and jabbed the dagger on the wolf's chin.
I could hear how the blade made it through the wolf's flesh. It was then followed by the feeling of liquid on my offensive hand as blood gushed out of the wound I made. I looked at the wolf's eyes and found them all white, a significant sign of its death. The remaining three wolves ceased chasing Kana and watched their comrade fall into eternal slumber. The biting mouth loosened, releasing my arm, while I pulled the blade out of its skull.
After discovering that their leader, I supposed, was dead, the three ran away as if nothing happened. I watched them leave until the thickness of the forest ate them into nothingness.
Wincing in intense pain, I looked for Kana but couldn't find any signs of her or her shadows. I didn't hesitate to run and find her. After all, she's part of the quest, and failure to find and bring her home would disqualify us from the rewards. And even if this was not a quest, it was just right to find her. That was basic human kindness.
I followed the path she might have taken while slowly healing myself. I never bothered healing Miss Hanaka because Kenshi had some healing potions with him. If I were to guess, he was administering the potion to her by now and then they could catch up to me and help me find Kana.
A while later, my ears caught the sound of flowing water. A river, perhaps? So, that meant I was close to the edge of the forest. I picked up my pace until I got out of the forest and witnessed before me a raging river. But what scared me the most was the sight of Kana struggling to gasp for air as she was being trampled by the strength of the river's current. She would drown anytime soon.
"I'm coming, Kana!" I screamed and dove into the water. I propelled myself toward Kana until I got to finally hold her. I held her up so that she could catch her breath.
Kana coughed a few times. "Mister Daku, I'm scared!"
"Shh. I got you now," I reassured as I tried my best to keep both of us afloat. But the relief I felt disappeared too soon when I heard something unusual. It was a strong noise of pouring water. Wait. "Hold tightly, Kana. We're heading to a waterfall. On the count of three, let's hold our breath together! One..."
The noise intensified and it sounded scarier this time.
"Two..."
I felt Kana's arms wrapped around my neck and in response, I wrapped my arm around her as tightly and gently as I could.
"Three!"
I shut both of my eyes and inhaled a huge amount of air. In just a second, I felt ourselves falling. The monstrous noise was ten times louder than before and the air draft made by our downfall cooled our body temporarily. I could tell the height of this waterfall was average as it took a few seconds before we hit the water. The noise became muffled as our ears were covered by the water.
When I felt the peak of our drop and our body starting to ascend, I started flapping my feet to accelerate our ascension until we finally broke into the surface. I gasped for air and Kana did too. We were both catching our breaths while our eyes wandered throughout the scene. I looked at the top of the waterfall only to find myself disappointed. It was impossible to climb the cliff up to the top.
With nowhere else to go, I brought ourselves to the nearest land and rested for a bit.
"Thank you, Mister Daku," Kana genuinely said. "And I'm sorry as well."
I sat up and patted her head. "No need to be sorry. It wasn't your fault. We didn't expect this to happen. But we really have to find a way to go back up there where Kenshi and your mom are."