Heavy footsteps echoed through the forest, crushing bushes and toppling trees that fell with a crash.
The giant monster continued to walk with its neck hunched as its green eyes glowed, searching.
Behind a tree, Sief hid and covered his mouth, trying to breathe as quietly as he could while still panting, noticing the monster taking another step that made him gather the courage to peek.
However, before he could see anything, an impact hit his back, pushing Sief forward. He turned around to see the tree he had been leaning against falling towards him, the monster's glowing eyes still staring at him from behind it.
Sief threw himself to the side, dodging the falling tree, and saw the monster's elongated neck now extending towards him as the beast advanced to bite.
Quickly, he got up and resumed running, weaving through the trees and leaning his body to escape as fast as he could while hearing the trees crashing behind him.
He grunted and turned his head back, seeing the monster retract its neck ready to strike, forcing him to take cover behind a tree that was soon hit and knocked down.
The monster kept running, and Sief sped up, zigzagging to distract the monster until he dove into a bush, disappearing from the monster's sight. The beast demolished everything nearby and stopped in front of the bush, staring silently.
'Why is this thing chasing me? Why did it kill the monsters that summoned it?...' He gritted his teeth, trying to control his breathing. 'It doesn't want trees or plants... it was attacking me when it devoured those willows? So why did it keep eating?'
Above the monster's head, Sief continued to observe the monstrous turtle, which had stopped at the bush and was still watching, seemingly waiting.
Then its green eyes glowed more intensely, and Sief frowned, confused, seeing the monster move its head around until it stopped and aimed towards the tree where Sief was hiding. His eyes widened instantly as he saw the turtle's bite coming towards him again.
Sief jumped back, but the turtle's face hit him, causing him to grunt and be thrown. He quickly collided with the ground, spitting saliva, feeling the surroundings darken. But before hitting the ground, something alerted him, and his eyes brightened.
Lifting his head, he saw another charge from the turtle trying to bite him, forcing Sief to lie on the ground, barely dodging the monster's attack, which bit into the tree, tearing off a piece and spitting it out.
With a swift movement, Sief rolled and cut, getting out from under the monster's neck and standing up while raising his dagger with a greenish aura. But he noticed there was no blood and frowned, seeing the monster's gaze fixed on him.
'It's too tough... it felt like cutting through stone...'
Sief turned and resumed running into the forest, seeing the monster turn again while he kept running, frowning and thinking.
'It ate those tree monsters, but doesn't seem interested, so what it wants is-'
"If you run away, that's mine."
Sief's eyes widened upon hearing a human voice nearby. When he turned, he saw a young man standing among the bushes.
His skin was tanned and darkened in the shadow, his hair was brown, short, and messy, but with a longer part tied back. His clothes were nothing more than a common shirt with ripped sleeves and large pants, along with boots and iron knuckles, but the most notable were his eyes, which were red and glowing as if an ability was activated.
Sief quickly turned, and their gazes met, giving Sief a strange feeling before he turned back to the turtle, which was still watching with glowing eyes.
"If you don't want it, I'll take it."
The stranger walked toward the monster, which kept staring, and before Sief could react, the stranger charged at the monster with a sharp look, making Sief's eyes widen as he thought.
'He's fast, is he an assassin too!?'
The turtle monster lunged with its neck, quickly reaching the stranger, but he paused for a brief moment. Sief saw the ground near him sink slightly, and then in an instant, he leaped to the side, leaving only a reddish trail of his eyes, dodging the turtle's charge.
The monster looked toward Sief, who also jumped back, but the collision with the rocks made debris fly and hit the young man, causing him to grunt and retreat further from the turtle.
'Is he faster than me? That wasn't just speed, that was-'
When he looked at the stranger again, he was already positioned, but this time with his hands and legs on the ground, digging all his limbs into the ground that pushed him against the turtle, hitting the monster's neck with a sharp sound and throwing its neck to the side.
Sief's eyes widened again, seeing the monster's head fly to the side. But the stranger relentlessly leaped during the monster's retreat, digging his fingers into the monster's neck and then opening his mouth, advancing his face.
Once again, Sief was astonished to see blood splatter and the stranger make the creature scream, tearing off a small piece of its neck with his teeth, making the giant monster thrash.
However, the stranger continued, and the red glow of his eyes intensified as he forced the piece into his jaw, which seemed to expand, swallowing it in one gulp and panting while still clinging to the monster.
He advanced again, and the monster screamed, recoiling its neck but being stopped by the stranger, who grunted, kneeing it with a sound that echoed through the forest, making the surrounding leaves fall along with the screaming monster.
It was the first time Sief saw a monster in so much pain without lethal blows, but the turtle's eyes glowed even more intensely, extending its neck as far as it could.
With its massive body, the monster turned and collided with nearby trees, knocking them down with its strength but also hitting the young man, who was thrown amidst the blows. But when Sief noticed, he kept his gaze downward, his mouth full of blood.
The turtle lowered its head quickly and retracted its neck as the young man drew back his fist in mid-air. In an instant, the monster's head advanced, ready to engulf the stranger, who grumbled.
"You chose the hard way, idiot."
Sief saw a huge amount of energy concentrated, and when he realized it was all around the young man's fist, he saw him twist his torso and body, moving his fist and speaking one last time.
"Teppou."
Before the monster could swallow him, the stranger's fist struck the monster's snout. For a moment, Sief saw the entire impact happen in slow motion.
The fist sunk into the monster's nose, all the skin around it trembling, spreading throughout its face. When everything returned to normal, Sief saw the monster's face sink from the blow, throwing its head back and lifting its front paws slightly off the ground.
The stranger landed, followed by the monster, whose paws gave way and its head fell, making a dull thud echo through the forest and the wind from its heavy body blow across Sief's face, who stared in astonishment.
Seeing the monster's eyes slowly dim, the stranger approached its head and gently patted it, making the monster look at him as he concluded.
"You fought well, thank you for the meal."
Slowly, the monster's eyes lost their glow while the stranger climbed onto its neck, bending down again, biting once more, and swallowing, continuing to devour the monster as pieces disappeared.
The sounds of flesh being bitten seemed to echo in the suddenly silent area. From afar, Sief watched, swallowing hard, as he saw the monster's neck slowly disappearing piece by piece.
Sief walked towards the stranger, who continued to devour voraciously, forgetting his surroundings, until he heard Sief speak.
"Hey."
The call made the stranger lift his head, revealing his face covered in blood and his eyes still glowing a reddish hue that stood out in the scene, making Sief squint slightly, questioning.
"What are you?"