The needle of the pocket watch trembled, and right on cue, the faint cries of the Bearkins came.
Seeing the hut, they couldn't even bother changing direction? Bearkins have grown weak,' Caesus thought, letting out a sigh.
Still, for a man who's bothered by the actions of the Bearkins, a faint smile on his otherwise stone face says a different story.
He cleared his throat, put back the pocket watch in his sleeve, looked at the sleeping Rina, and then headed out of the hut.
The cold blow of the wind welcomed him as the group of Bearkins came into view, and behind them, he could only look in disbelief.
The silhouette of the creature, when viewed from afar, has hidden its true size as Caesus almost broke his neck looking up, but still couldn't see the end of the creature.
He was but a speck of dust when compared to it.
Caesus looked at it with disbelief, scratching his head, "What the hell did this bastard eat to grow that big?"
"This is ridiculous," He let out a sigh, stretching his arms as the Bearkins began to pass by him.
His body was hit multiple times by the passing Bearkins as they couldn't care less about the tiny foolish creature that stood in their way.
Yet even when getting hit by this large creature, Caesus stood his ground before sneakily sliding his leg to a bearkin who accidentally hit him. The Bearkin tripped over his leg, which was like a twig compared to the Bearkin's bulky body, making the creature tumble down.
He sneaked a glance at the creature and said
"My bad," the bearkin didn't bother replying as it stood up and continued running away.
But because of the action Caesus did, a small hole was created in the Bearkins formation, and in the middle of that hole was Caesus.
" They're pathetic," He said, brushing off the dust from where he got hit.
"There are awfully a lot of children," he muttered, looking to the side where he could see Bearkins, the same size as him, running alongside the bulky ones that were carrying an offspring.
"Maybe that's why they run? Then it's understandable."
Caesus jolted out of his daydream as the tail of the bearkin group passed by him.
"Ah, close enough," he muttered, the furball a meter away from him. "A simple spell should work."
Opening both his palms towards the creature, he recited
"Heat can produce fire; my body produces heat, so I produce fire." The words left his mouth, and soon after, a small ember appeared on his palm. he then mumbled another chant before the small ember traveled forward, growing in size.
On impact, it enveloped the beast, halting its movement only for a second before it rushed forward, its brown skin dotted with burned fur.
"Maybe not," Caesus said, running towards the creature.
50 meters in, and the creature's head popped out, despite its huge size, towering over the Bearkins, its movement was too fast for even the naked eye to see. Caesus halted, taking a good look at the speeding head.
It was of a fox, its neck long enough to stretch over 50 meters, and embedded on its forehead was a gem, red in color.
"Found it," Caesus launched at the creature's veins popping out of his fist.
With a swing of his fist, he struck, and the air cracked with force, but the fox head remained intact
A sly smile greeted Caesus as the fox showed its wonderful row of sharp fangs.
The fox has stopped inches away, just a step away from being hit by Caesus's fist.
Both by surprise and the lag behind his attack, Caesus stood still while the fox continued to extend, quickly opening its giant mouth.
Time seemed to stand still, he clumsily back away, but the reach of the giant fox was just too far, and with a loud thud, air blew around them, forming mist.
"I didn't expect this," Caesus smiled weakly, feeling the cold press on his body; the fox was still smiling ear to ear, its snout touching Caesus, who was bleeding with his left arm and chest bitten off.
"Pardon me, I can't stand that smile" Caesus gritted his teeth punching towards the creature only hitting air, the fox retracted it's head before Caesus could even form a fist and with a crackle, the fox showcased it's set of sharp teeth pausing for a few seconds before speeding towards Caesus.
It was like a black hole. Caesus tried to run away, but the moment his feet left the ground, he was already inside the fox's mouth. He couldn't even react as the space around him started to get tighter until the fox completely sealed its mouth.
"Bastard," A soft voice, before the fox started coughing, black smoke
It choked wheezing before throwing up on the ground, and amidst the pile of bones and dissolved flesh was Caesus breathing heavily.
"It was your mistake not killing me then and there," He muttered before chanting.
A spark flew from his saliva-soaked fingertips towards the still coughing fox, and as it made contact, it exploded.
The fox, crying, hid its head and rolled away to recover while Caesus regained his footing.
50 meters away, they stared at each other before Caesus made the first move, running towards the fox, and in response, the fox extended its head, showcasing its wind-like speed.
46 meters in, and they made contact. Gritting his teeth, he hops to the side, spinning,, gaining momentum for his right leg
Seeing Caesus move, the fox rolled its body backwards, dragging along its long neck and head, but it was of no use; it was charging so fast that it couldn't completely back away from Caesus, and not long it was hit hard on its long neck.
With a loud thud, the creature smacked to the ground, its head and neck buried in the snow.
"A beast is still a beast," Caesus said, walking closer.
The crisp of snow was the only thing that could be heard before the wind was cut by the charging head of the fox
Heading straight for Caesus, mouth stretched out.
It was a last struggle evident by its half-open eyes. Caesus put out his palm towards the abyss.
"Fire has heat, heat is fire, I can produce heat," Caesus muttered as a large flame erupted from his palm, shooting off towards the creature, lighting its cave-like neck while Caesus was sent flying by the impact of the attack he just made.
Hitting a nearby tree stopped Caesus as he dropped to the ground, groaning. The cold had stopped the bleeding, but he couldn't be saved.
He needed to die.
Still, the pain stopped him from doing anything else, slumped to the snow, saliva escaping from his open mouth, Caesus breathed heavily, recovering.
Tick
The familiar sound jolted him awake, prompting him to crawl towards the beast, as walking was too much work when his leg was battered, both by attacking the beast on the neck and the impact of the attack he had just pulled off earlier.
Reaching its large head, Caesus used it as support to stand up, breathing a few sharp breaths before looking up to the shard in its forehead, a climb away from his reach.
The Fox let out a cold breath, too tired to stop Caesus.
"Calm down, I don't kill," He muttered. When multiple steps from behind made his ears perk up.
Slowly looking back, his tired eyes were awakened.
A hundred bearkins stood in his way, half of them seemed to be those who were fleeing the fox he had just defeated.
The other half that is unrecognizable to him was taller than the others, with more visible wounds and wooden spears equipped on their back.
'Must be the hunters of this pack,' Caesus thought before his eyes landed on a human in front of the pack.
Half the size of the ordinary Bearkins, body covered by patched up leather from different animals, and the most noticable feature of the young man was the hanging leather on its back as if glued to his skin has the mud color of the Bearkins, the same with his long unkept hair which still have branches poking out of it.
The man, pale in color, stood his ground with his group before a bearkin moved forward, carrying the wrapped-up Rina by the hanging sleeve of the suit.
The man's pale lips spread. "Kill yourself, embarrassment to warriors."