KANA
"This should not be happening, Kana," Tanshiro said with pure horror in his eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Tanshiro, but we have to stop that creature from entering the village. Mister Kenshi and Shino can't fight that monster while they are busy fighting the bandits," I suggested, but Tanshiro's head shook in disapproval. My forehead creased upon his reaction.
"The village is much safer. We should go after them!" He was about to dash towards the village when I stopped him.
"Are you out of your mind? If the monster sees you went into the village, it'll follow you! That's basically leading everyone to their deaths in there!" I protested.
"But-"
"Do you want your parents to die?" I asked him. If there was one thing that would make him realize something, that would be reminding him of why we were here in the first place. "You want to save your parents, right?" He nodded. "Then we have to get that monster away from them."
"How are we going to do that? We're just kids? We can't outrun that beast!"
Tanshiro was right. Our short and little feet were futile against that monster's speed. Several steps for us were just a few steps for it. Fighting it head-on was a suicide as well. Illusion spells might do the trick, but none of us were capable of conjuring such magic. I had to think fast. Every second that passed was an inch less to the gap between the monster and the village.
"Kana!" Tanshiro cried.
"Okay, here's the plan," I began, and I didn't think he would like it. "I'll use myself as bait to lure that monster away from the village. Once it sets its eyes on me, I want you to go after Shino and inform them about the monster. With Mister Kenshi fighting the bandits, you'll have a clear path."
"And then, what? What will happen to you?"
I grabbed my bow strapped to my back before saying, "I'll do my best to keep myself alive until Mister Kenshi and Shino save me."
"But-"
"We're running out of time, Tanshiro. Let's just hope for the best. I'll see you later," I mumbled before heading in the direction away from the village while avoiding being spotted by the monster. At least not yet.
I knew Tanshiro didn't like my plan because I didn't like it myself as well. But this was the best option we had. If there was someone who was more capable in combat, that would be me; hence, I had decided to make myself a bait. I had a slight chance of surviving than Tanshiro.
But there was one thing that kept bugging me: why would Tanshiro say those words? What does he mean by "should not be happening"? He said it as if he knew something, but an unexpected thing occurred.
"Let's not think about it for now, Kana. We have a much bigger problem right now."
When I felt that my distance was enough to get the monster's attention, I unhid myself, pointed the prepped arrow on my bow towards the monster, and started activating one of the marksman's unique spells. When I sensed the magic surging from my body to the arrow, I released it unhesitatingly.
The single arrow suddenly multiplied into several numbers mid-air and struck the monsters on its sides. Even though all of the arrows hit it, the monster didn't let out a cry, but instead, looked in my direction. The very purpose why I released those.
"That's right. Eyes on me," I whispered, before I started running.
The monster began chasing me after I heard its trudging feet rumbling the ground like thunder. The sound was accompanied by the noise of breaking twigs, sticks, and branches, as well as brushing leaves from the nearby bushes and plants. Thankfully, marksmen were gifted with speed higher than the other classes to compensate for their slow combat rate. Another thing that made me a better candidate for this job.
It had been two minutes already since we started playing tag with each other. We both knew that we couldn't keep doing this forever. One of us should be the victor while the other meets their utter end. And I didn't want to be the latter. Besides, I told Tanshiro that I will see him again later.
So I swiftly redirected myself, shifting my direction towards a huge tree where I could conceal myself even just for a brief moment. When I was no longer inside the monster's point of view, I jumped from branch to branch and picked a decent spot to snipe it. Upon arriving at the desirable spot and position, I aimed the arrow at it, only to be noticed instantly.
Surprised, I released the arrow, and I thought it would still hit the monster, but the creature skillfully used his tusks to deflect the projectile. With my position exposed, the monster didn't hesitate to charge, sending a tremendous amount of force that shook and rattled the entire tree. I held onto the branches as tight as I could while my eyes were shut closed. I waited for the monster to stop, but immediately realized that it was meant to uproot the tree from the ground.
The moment I realized it, the corrupted boar had already delivered his last blow on the tree, bringing the tree to its downfall along with me. Jumping to another tree was out of the question because of my position, so I didn't have a choice but to brace myself for the incoming impact.
The tree let out a thunderous bang when its trunk hit the ground, while I struggled to get up before that monster finds me. And it seemed like I jinxed myself when I saw the creature charging towards me, with fuming nose and death-glaring dark eyes. Luckily enough, I managed to remove myself from its attack path.
Breathing heavily, I looked at the monster that was trying to regain itself after hitting the trunk empty of its victim. But it didn't take long for the creature to turn its eyes at me. And so, the chasing continued. This went on for another two minutes until I saw a sparkle up ahead. I narrowed my vision and discovered a pond a few meters ahead of me. This ignited a new idea in me.
I ran straight until I reached the edge of the pond. I stopped, pivoted myself to face the dashing creature, and waited. I waited, and waited, and waited. When the creature was only two meters away from me, I jumped to the side, evading it. With its gathered momentum, the monster failed to stop itself from falling into the pond, disrupting the ecosystem within it.
As I had expected, the pond was not deep enough to drown him. But that was not my only plan. Without hesitation, I pointed an arrow at the monster and began chanting the spell. The spell that I would be using for the first time.
Arrow of storms, swift and bright,
With thunder's roar and lightning's might,
Crackling noise caught my ears, and strands of flickering golden lights started appearing, an indication of the magic.
Strike with speed, no time to borrow,
Unleash the storm, pierce through the marrow!
Upon uttering the last word of the spell, I released the arrow imbued with the destructive power of a lightnight. It swoshed through the air towards the corrupted boar, hitting him right on its forehead. The moment the arrow made contact, a clamouring and deafening thunder echoed throughout the forest as the monster was electrocuted. And with its body soaked in water, it evenly distributed the spell's effect to its entire body.
The monster screamed in both agony and pain as the magic burned and ripped through its skin. And just like that, I became the victor, and the beast met its utter end.
Luck or not, I just defeated a corrupted being on my own for the first time. I bet Mister Daku would be proud.
"But most of all, I hoped you're proud, Mama," I mumbled, as I stared at the monster's dead and smoking body.