The ogres had been running for what felt like an eternity, their lungs burning with each ragged breath. Most had now scattered and taken refuge in dense bushes and behind the massive trunks of ancient trees throughout the forest. As Sera watched his companions disappear into the undergrowth, a chilling realization struck him—the lycans paid no attention to the hidden ogres. Their predatory eyes remained fixed solely on the fleeing group, their hunger for vengeance burning like wildfire in their golden irises.
Sera's resolve crystallized as he called out to the ogres still running beside him, his voice cutting through the sound of pounding footsteps and snapping branches. "Everyone, I need you to trust me! I've figured out how we can survive this. When I give the signal, dive into the nearest bush and don't look back, no matter what you hear."
The group of ogres recognized their leader's voice, and though the plan seemed foolishly dangerous—jumping into bushes when their legs already trembled from exhaustion could leave them trapped and helpless—none questioned his judgment. They had learned never to doubt Sera's words, especially after witnessing him slay one of these seemingly invincible beasts.
Beside him, Grimbold's mind raced as he tried to decipher what Sera had discovered. He analyzed every detail of their desperate flight, every pattern in the lycans' behavior, but the answer eluded him like smoke through his fingers. Finally, he resolved to trust in his friend's wisdom and follow wherever it might lead.
Sera began counting down from five in his head, his legs continuing their mechanical rhythm even as his strength waned. The truth had become crystal clear—the lycans were hunting him specifically, not the entire group. He was the one who had delivered the killing blow, the one who had spilled alpha blood. As he replayed the earlier battle in his mind, comparing the lycans now pursuing them to the one he had slain, the differences became stark. The dead one had been noticeably larger, its horns more imposing, its presence more commanding.
"So that's it!" Understanding crashed over Sera like a thunderbolt. He now knew why death stalked him so relentlessly—he had killed the alpha of their pack, and by the ancient laws of the wild, his life was forfeit. These revelations flashed through his mind in mere seconds as his countdown reached zero.
"Now!" he bellowed.
Shadows immediately scattered in all directions as ogres dove into the protective embrace of the forest. Sera smiled grimly, relief flooding through him as he saw his friends reach safety. But his moment of peace was shattered when Grimbold turned to witness the horrifying truth—Sera continued running alone while all four lycans pursued him with single-minded determination.
"No! He's using himself as bait! He can't possibly take them all on!" Grimbold's anguished cry echoed through the trees as understanding dawned too late. "Why didn't I see this coming?"
Grimbold's desperate shout drew the attention of the others—Gia, Nokka, and Ragna emerged from their hiding spots with horror etched across their faces. Gia and Nokka screamed in frustration at their own helplessness, their magical reserves depleted, leaving them powerless to aid the one person who had repeatedly saved their lives. Sera was the most exhausted among them all, and now he faced predators that could tear him apart without a second thought.
Grimbold's mind frantically searched for solutions, but every path seemed blocked. Nokka and Gia were drained of spirit energy after their earlier spells, he himself was nearly spent, and Ragna would be useless in a ranged battle against such swift enemies.
---
Ten agonizing minutes had passed since Sera began his desperate flight. His body screamed for rest, each step feeling like his last. When he glanced over his shoulder, the lycans maintained their relentless pursuit, matching his flagging pace with almost casual ease. The cruel realization hit him—they were toying with him, demonstrating that they could end his life whenever they chose. This was their twisted form of psychological torture before the killing blow.
As Sera turned back to focus on his path, a thick vine protruding from the forest floor caught his ankle like a serpent's strike. He crashed to the ground hard, his body tumbling across roots and stones. When he tried to rise, his muscles betrayed him—he had nothing left to give.
The lycans closed in for the kill, their claws gleaming like silver daggers in the dappled moonlight. Four sets of razor-sharp talons descended toward his prone form, but suddenly four massive boulders rocketed through the air, intercepting the deadly strikes. Unlike the previous stones that had been easily shattered, these projectiles possessed a different quality—they were denser, harder, infused with desperate determination.
The lycans were actually forced backward, and a familiar figure emerged from the earth's surface like an avenging spirit. Grimbold had focused every ounce of his remaining power into hardening his earthen weapons to steel-like density. It was a battle of will and concentration—even the slightest lapse would return the earth to its former, fragile state.
Grimbold had burrowed through the forest floor at breakneck speed, while Ragna had commandeered one of the controlled boulders as his aerial transport. "Sera! Give me your hand!" Grimbold's voice cracked with desperation as he reached for his fallen leader, but Sera lacked even the strength to lift his head.
Grimbold had expended the majority of his earth-manipulation abilities, hoping against hope that he retained just enough power for their escape. Ragna leaped from his boulder-steed, scooping Sera into his arms in a protective carry before bounding back onto their makeshift vessel. Seeing his friend secured, Grimbold prepared their escape route, his hands trembling from exhaustion.
The moment Ragna settled onto the boulder with his precious cargo, they launched forward like a ship caught in a hurricane's wind, sailing through the forest at incredible speed. Grimbold hurled four more boulders at the pursuing lycans to create confusion and delay before diving back into the earth and disappearing into the dense undergrowth.
The lycans lost both scent and sight of their prey, but their thirst for vengeance burned too fiercely to be easily quenched. They would hunt the one who had slain their alpha until their dying breath—it was the last honor they could pay to their fallen leader.
---
Deep within the forest's protective embrace, Sera lay unconscious on a bed of soft moss, surrounded by his friends and fellow ogres. Gia had cast every restorative spell she could muster, and now they could only wait and pray. He was more than their leader—he was their beacon of hope. If he didn't survive, they all faced certain doom.
"Sera, you magnificent idiot," Gia whispered through a torrent of tears, clutching his limp hand against her cheek. "Why do you always have to be the hero? Why do you keep throwing yourself into danger?" She had never seen him in such a vulnerable state. Sera was the one who pulled miracles from thin air when all seemed lost, but now that miracle-worker lay silent and still. Without him, there would be no miracles—only darkness.
"Don't worry, Gia. He'll wake up," Nokka said, her own eyes brimming with unshed tears as she grasped Sera's other hand. "And when he does, I'm going to tease him mercilessly for scaring us like this."
Grimbold immediately bonked her on the head with his knuckles. "You fool! Why are you talking about such things at a time like this?" His gruff voice couldn't hide the worry that consumed his features like a plague.
They were all bound to Sera by bonds stronger than blood—even Ragna, who had been thoroughly defeated by him in combat, now watched over his fallen rival with genuine concern. Their prayers rose into the night sky like incense, desperate pleas for the recovery of the one person whose survival meant everything to their own fate.