[Nagumo's POV]
He didn't know how long he had been underground.
To him, it felt like an eternity.
Time had lost all meaning. There was only pain, suffocating darkness, and the harsh sound of his own ragged breathing echoing through the narrow space he had carved out for himself.
The air was damp and heavy, thick with the metallic stench of his own blood.
Every attempt to move sent agony tearing through his body.
Even though his arm was gone, phantom pain screamed up his shoulder as if it were still there—burning, twisting, refusing to let him forget what he had lost.
His body trembled uncontrollably as warmth steadily drained away, blood soaking into the stone he had transmuted around himself.
He pressed his back against the tunnel wall, teeth clenched, trying not to scream—
Boom
The ground shook violently.
Dust rained down from the ceiling of his cramped tunnel as another thunderous impact echoed through the cavern beyond. The stone beneath his hand vibrated, the tremor running through his entire body.
That wasn't the bear clawing anymore. It was something else.
"…Is it fighting something?" he whispered hoarsely.
He pressed his remaining hand flat against the rock wall. The vibration came again—each impact heavier than the last. With every tremor, his panic surged higher.
'No… don't come this way…' he kept repeating in his mind.
A roar tore through the cavern—deep and furious.
His teeth clenched as dread flooded his chest. He braced himself, preparing for the worst when—an unfamiliar sound cut through the chaos.
A voice.
A persons voice.
Slowly—carefully—he reshaped the stone in front of him, widening it just enough to form a thin slit. Just enough to see outside.
What he saw stole the breath from his lungs.
The bear was there. Even from a distance, its presence was overwhelming—an enormous, monstrosity radiating pure killing intent. Just looking at it made every instinct in his body scream to run and hide.
But it wasn't alone.
Someone stood in front of it.
He didn't recognize the man. Before he could question who he was—or how anyone could be down here—the bear charged.
The man didn't move like a mage. There was no chanting. No glowing magic circles. No visible mana flow.
Instead—
Something pressed outward from his body.
Nagumo sucked in a sharp breath. "What… is that?"
The air around the man distorted, growing heavy and oppressive—like standing too close to a roaring furnace.
It felt… powerful.
Bam
Nagumo flinched as the man—was sent flying, stone exploding outward where his body slammed into the cavern wall.
Blood streamed down his chest, soaking into torn fabric. His body shook with exhaustion and pain—and yet, he didn't retreat.
He charged right back in.
Nagumo watched in stunned silence as Sylas fought the monster head-on—dodging its claws by inches, striking its body with bare hands, getting thrown aside, again and again.
Each time Sylas was hit, Nagumo's own body tensed, phantom pain flaring violently in his missing arm.
"Why isn't he running…?" he whispered. "How… how is he fighting that thing…? Isn't he afraid to die?"
Then—
Sylas vanished.
For a split second, there was nothing.
No pressure. No presence.
Nagumo's eyes widened. '…He disappeared?'
Sylas reappeared beneath the bear in a burst of invisible force, driving an upward blow into its skull. There was no flash, no explosion—only a heavy, crushing impact.
The bear screamed. A scream filled with confusion and agony.
Blood spread across its face as its skull shattered like glass.
Nagumo watched as the Abyss Bear—the nightmare that had torn his arm away—collapsed onto the stone floor like a mountain crumbling into dust.
Silence followed.
His hands trembled.
"It's… dead?" he whispered, repeating the words slowly. His breath hitched as the realization finally sank in.
Tears spilled uncontrollably down his dirt-streaked face.
"…Thank you," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
[End POV]
Still reeling from the lingering effects of overusing his Nen, Sylas slowly pushed himself up from the floor.
He turned and looked down at the dead bear.
Nagumo's heart skipped. "W-What… what is he doing?" he whispered.
Sylas grabbed the bear by one of its massive forelimbs. Muscles tensed, veins standing out as he dragged the enormous corpse across the cavern floor.
'Why is he coming over here with that thing?' Nagumo thought frantically.
Panic surged. He scrambled backward in the narrow tunnel, clutching his body with his remaining arm. "No—please—" he kept muttering.
The corpse stopped just a few feet from his makeshift tunnel. Sylas tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly, as if listening.
Knock
He knocked his knuckles against the rock wall. "I know you're in there," he said calmly. "You can come out. It's dead."
Dead.
The word echoed uselessly in Nagumo's mind as his mind refused to respond, racing instead through worse possibilities.
'What if he's worse?'
'What if he's not human?'
'What if—' Nagumo swallowed hard.
With trembling fingers, he pressed his hand against the stone. Slowly—he reshaped it, widening the opening just enough.
As the stone gave way, Nagumo collapsed forward, barely catching himself before hitting the ground. Blood continued pouring freely from the severed arm as shock and exhaustion finally overwhelmed him.
Sylas's eyes widened. "…Damn," he muttered. He dropped the bear's limb and rushed over. "Hey—hey, don't pass out," Sylas said quickly, gripping Nagumo's shoulder.
Nagumo's vision swam. The world felt distant, muffled. "You…" he rasped. "What… are you…?"
"We'll talk about that later," Sylas answered. He shrugged off his torn jacket and pressed it firmly against the stump. Pain exploded through Nagumo's body as he applied pressure.
"You're bleeding out," Sylas said bluntly as he applied pressure.
Nagumo clenched his teeth, tears streaming as he endured the pain.
Sylas finished tightening the makeshift bandage. Helping Nagumo's breathing stabilize—if only a little. "…Thank you," Nagumo whispered.
"Don't thank me yet," Sylas said, glancing toward the dark tunnels beyond the cavern.
Nagumo stared at him, fear and fragile hope twisting together in his chest as he slipped into unconsciousness.
To Be Continued…