"QUICK YOU IDIOT, AFTER HIM!"
The shout got rid of that brief burst of happiness that had emerged after Dillon escaped. There was no time to be happy as these people chased him!
Running itself was also a very uncertain experience for him. He did do it from time to time back on Earth, but never at this intensity in this kind of area.
He jumped above fallen tree branches and dodged large rocks. It was difficult to adapt to it, but his body didn't seem to be exhausted in the slightest.
'Move faster, then!'
Several thoughts also passed through his mind next.
"Stupid system thing. You should give more warning next time!" he cursed.
As he did that, he realized it was his first time hearing his new voice. The experience was jarring, but he had no time to mull over that. One look at his pursuers told him that they were rapidly approaching.
The pursuers in question were as confused and disoriented as him.
He glanced back anxiously to see Andy casually dodge an overhead branch and focus on Dillon's back. Dillon briefly connected with his cold eyes.
The boy had a larger body than most, so it was quite strange that he was moving with that proficiency. Clyde had a lither build and a mop of dark hair covered his face.
Without warning, Andy stopped and turned to his companion.
"Clyde, use it!" he said.
The other boy stopped promptly and nodded. No trace of his previous air-headed optimism could be seen again.
"Call." Clyde said, extending his right arm forward.
A small flash of bright light followed, and something appeared in his hand. It was a long spear shaft made out of dark brown wood, taller than the wielder himself. The shaft ended, and the weapon continued in the form of a serrated white bone blade.
It looked a little like something a primitive human would use to hunt with a small pint of sophistication. And it also looked very, very dangerous.
Clyde took up a stance and pulled the arm holding the spear all the way back. And then, in a swift movement, launched it from where he stood.
SWHIP~!
It zipped through the leaves, piercing everything in its way. In one instance, a tree appeared in its way and it banged straight through the tree, leaving jagged marks around the hole it pierced through.
The noise was so loud that Dillon had to turn to see what it was about. He met a spear rapidly approaching him without any sign of stopping.
"Shit!"
BANG!
He tilted slightly to the side, and the spear slashed straight into his upper right arm, grazing it. Blood fell. Weakness followed.
'How did I dodge that?'
A small burst of wind followed, interrupting his thoughts. All of a sudden, a person stood in front of him.
Clyde!
The opponent hadn't bothered retrieving the spear. He threw a straight jab with nearly the same force that the spear had earlier. Dillon's eyes widened, and his hands instinctively went out, grabbing the fist before it could come close to him.
His other arm retracted back and formed a fist, about to punch. Then…
"Too soon."
Clyde kicked. He delivered a sweeping kick that wiped Dillon straight off his feet.
He fell to the ground weakened by the sudden blow, then rolled downhill from where he was, and all of a sudden, stood next to a body of water.
"I got him!" Clyde laughed.
He and Andy descended the hill much more neatly than he did. Then, they appeared in front of him. They were in a clearing now, where the moonlight could fully reach. Dillon could finally see his pursuers clearly. It was a thin boy and a much larger, taller boy.
Both wore similar brown, commoner clothes like him. The thinner one had dark hair and faint grey eyes that barely showed from being hidden by his hair. Meanwhile, the larger one had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.
Clyde, the thinner boy, grinned as he stared at the lake. "Looks like we won't have to bury this time around," The bone spear was now back in his arms, resting casually over his shoulders.
Dillon looked at the weapon with fear. A name came to mind. Was that what they called a Spirit Manifestation?
"You're more alive than I'd have appreciated," Andy said. The wind carried his bitter words straight to Dillon and shoved them down his ears.
"Why? Why do you not know when to stay down?" he continued, "Your persistence is the death of you, and your ego only accelerated it."
Silence, and the very slight movement of the lake's waves.
"You are confident," Dillon spoke finally. He was held at spear-tip, but he felt the most serene he had ever been in a while now.
The large boy cracked a fist.
"And you're not the same." he paused. "You are dead."
Dillon thought about it. It was true. Dillon and Melchior were both dead. Neither could claim to be one and separate. The thin line that would have separated them. It was gone.
He nodded, "I am."
At that, Andy snorted and then muttered something under his breath. As he did that, the wind picked up, and something appeared in his hands. Something very large. It was a hammer. The hammer was made of metal and had curious engravings etched onto it. The weapon looked like it weighed a ton and oozed raw power itself.
"What are your final words, dead man?" Andy asked, pointing the weapon straight at him.
Silence.
"No words?"
Dillon closed his eyes. The serenity never once left. A small jolt of power passed through him. That white crystal appeared in his mind's eye.
Then he grinned from ear to ear.
"Death is nothing."
And at the same time, the hammer fell.
BANG!
A sharp pain spread through Dillon's entire leg, but at the same time, the surface of the lake began to ripple heavily.
*SPLASH!* *SPLASH!*
Sudden wind appeared, almost soothing the burning pain Dillon felt from his mostly mutilated leg. However, it remained. Small clouds formed above the lake. The rumbling of thunder followers. Dark-blue bolts of lightning struck down from the multiple clouds, rapidly descending on the water's surface as the figure came up.
The figure coming out of the lake was large. It had dark blue scales that covered most of its entire body and a long tongue that stuck out visibly.
Its entire mouth was filled with fangs, and most importantly, it glowed with an overwhelming aura that seemed to be that of the moon itself.
First, silence. And then… a roar.
"A Spirit Beast?!"
"Quick, escape!"
The two boys wasted no time in running, pushing their enhanced bodies to the limits in no time at all. They disappeared into vague blurs of themselves at their fastest speeds
…leaving Dillon all alone, immobile at the creature's mercy.