Spotting an easy target that wasn't fleeing, Rook instantly sprinted toward Reyoma. Reyoma drew his rapier, his limbs trembling, his body screaming at him to flee, but his mind was alight with exhilaration. For the first time, he felt truly alive. Taking a stance, he muttered with a smile, "Come at me, you bastard."
Rook leaped at Reyoma, its beak opening wide, aiming to bite off Reyoma's head. Reyoma, sprinting toward Rook, ducked at the very last moment, slashing in an arc and severing the right wing.
Rook, with one of its most vital parts cut off, screeched in midair. Unable to balance properly, it crashed into the crater-like arena. Reyoma turned his head to look at the wing fallen on the ground, then glanced at his right shoulder, blood flowing from the injury caused by Rook's talon. Enduring the throbbing pain, he rose to his feet and sprinted toward his teammates. Only a few seconds had passed since Rook's right wing was severed.
'It should be struggling to get a grip on that granite floor,' he thought. 'That should give us some time to take it to the swamp. Now that its wing is severed, it should be slower than before, but...' Reyoma looked around, his eyes scanning the entire area. 'Where is he? Is he so good at hiding?'
Just as he was thinking this, his teammates were already out of his vision. Rook crawled out of the arena, flapping its left wing in misery and screeching in sorrow as it ran toward Reyoma with anger.
"Where are you, you idiot? Can't you see I am in trouble?" Reyoma muttered under his breath, his eyes darting around frantically. He could hear the beast's furious approach, its claws scraping against the ground like blades. His heart pounded in his chest, but he forced himself to stay calm. 'They can't have gone far,' he thought, trying to reassure himself.
Reyoma took a deep breath, his feet already sinking into the swamp's muddy ground, dirt splashing around as he ran. He forced his grip tighter on his rapier, despite the injury to his hand. He knew he couldn't outrun Rook in his current state.
The pain in his shoulder was intense, but he had to focus. He looked around for any advantage he could find. The swamps were mostly barren ponds and sparse trees, but there were a few steep ledges.
As Rook closed in, Reyoma dashed toward a steep ledge, almost a wall with many tree roots peeking out from it, hoping to use it to slow down Rook. The beast's screeches grew louder, a mix of pain and rage. Reyoma's mind raced. 'I need to slow it down more,' he thought. 'If I can get it tangled up, maybe I can buy us some time.'
He positioned himself in front of the ledge, waiting for the right moment. Rook lunged, and Reyoma jumped out of the way, blocking its claws with his rapier, his left ring finger nearly severed and hanging by a thread of flesh. "AHHHHHhhhhh!!!"
The beast crashed into the ledge, its sharp claws slicing through the roots that had briefly hindered it. The impact slowed it down, but only for a moment. Rook quickly recovered, its eyes burning with fury.
Despite the agony, Reyoma didn't give up. He had drawn Rook deeper into the swamps, where the beast's speed plummeted due to the muddy ground. As they ran, a branch suddenly fell in front of him. Looking at the tree trunk, he saw the mark he had made while exploring, clearly visible in the moonlight. Reyoma's eyes sparkled with hope.
"Hey, over here!" Reyoma shouted, trying to draw Rook's attention to the fallen branch. The beast screeched again, turning its full attention to Reyoma.
Reyoma could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. 'Come on, come on,' he thought, leading Rook to the spot he had chosen. 'Now it all depends on you,' Reyoma thought, gripping his rapier with the last bit of energy he had.
Just as Rook neared within ten meters of Reyoma, a sharp wooden piece flew from a slingshot, piercing Rook's left eye. The beast's big black eye burst with blood as it screeched and went into a frenzy. At that moment, Nobunaga fell from above, landing on Rook's shoulders, stumbling slightly.
Rook jerked its head, trying to throw off the burden, but Nobunaga managed to stay on top by gripping the beast's fur tightly. Unable to dislodge Nobunaga, Rook used its claws. Nobunaga, struggling to stay atop, swung his sword, luckily injuring Rook's right claw. Seizing the opportunity, he jumped off Rook while slashing at its other eye and then backed off.
Completely blinded, Rook started attacking wherever it heard sound. Sizing this opportunity, Reyoma found an opening. Although exhausted, he rushed at Rook.
Rook was standing on its two limbs, three meters tall. Reyoma dashed forward, swinging his rapier. Although a rapier is meant for thrusting, Reyoma, used to swinging his katana, slashed with all his remaining strength. With one powerful swing, he cut through the feathers protecting Rook's thigh, the wound extending to the thigh bone. Driven by the force of his motion, Reyoma stumbled a few steps forward, Rook's screeches growing weaker and weaker, 'You guys better kill it or I will kill you.'
*Thud*
Reyoma, expended of all energy, fainted, falling onto the muddy ground.
Reyoma slowly opened his eyes, bright rays of sunlight momentarily blinding him. Covering his eyes with his hand, he started to sit up, only to be met with excruciating pain stabbing through his right shoulder. Turning to look at it, he saw his shoulder was covered by leaves, bandaged hastily but effectively.
*Sniff sniff*
'What is this smell?' Reyoma turned to see he was at the camp. Nobunaga was munching on some meat. Seeing Reyoma awake, Nobunaga stopped chewing momentarily, looking at him with a mix of indifference and something else in his eyes.
"Hey, so you are indeed not dead. Well, good for you, Omen. Catch this," Nobunaga said, throwing a piece of freshly grilled meat at Reyoma.
Instinctively, Reyoma tried to catch it with his right hand, but lifting his shoulder sent extreme pain through his entire body. Quickly switching hands, he caught it with his left. As he looked at his left hand, noticing a finger missing, he was jolted fully awake by the shock, muttering out loud, "HUH?"
"What 'huh'? It's the bull gator meat we hunted. Did you already forget, Omen? You should really work on your memory," Nobunaga retorted.
Collecting his thoughts, Reyoma spoke, "What happened?"
"Well, it's breakfast time, so I cooked up some meat. Do you have any problem, Omen?"
"No, not that. I'm asking about what happened when I was unconscious. Where is Ishin? I don't see him. What happened to Rook?"
Hearing this, Nobunaga simply pointed above. Reyoma followed the direction of Nobunaga's finger and saw Rook's head impaled on a branch of their camp's tree. "Ishin is out monitoring if we have any more of these ugly beasts around us. As to what happened last night..."
Nobunaga stared to explain.