Free Web NovelChapter 52: Bizarre Bazaar (2)
Kira’s heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she thought it might explode. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even bring herself to scream as the zombified bear loomed over her, its jaws open wide in a snarl.
She could smell the stench of rotting flesh on its breath and see the tattered remains of its fur. She knew she was no match for the beast and braced herself for the inevitable, but then she heard a voice behind her.
The bear stepped closer, and Kira flinched, closing her eyes tightly. She felt hot breath on her face and braced herself for the pain. But it never came. Instead, she heard Shinon’s voice.
"Wanna kill our medic? Think again!"
Kira turned around to see Shinon, his hands extended towards the bear, his shadowmancer powers glowing in the dim light of the day. Only then did she realise she was under the shadow of the building behind, which meant the bear was vulnerable to Shinon’s abilities!
Shinon’s shadow tendrils wrapped around the bear’s legs, pulling it to the ground. The bear roared angrily, struggling to break free, to eat the prey right in front of it, but Shinon’s powers were too strong.
"Quickly, Kira! Get out of here!" Shinon shouted.
Kira snapped out of her trance and ran towards Rico to check his wounds. Although most humans were immune to the zombie virus due to years of exposure, a scratch or a bite could still prove fatal if left untreated.
"Couldn’t you have grabbed me while you flew away?" Kira joked, looking at his wounds. "You have any idea how bad that bastard smelled?"
"For fuck’s sake," Rico grimaced, wincing in pain. "Your poor attempts at sarcasm are the last thing I need right now!"
"What a crybaby, it’s just a scratch!" She replied.
Kira reached into her backpack and pulled out a first-aid kit. She carefully examined the wound, cleaning it with antiseptic and applying a bandage.
"You’ll be okay, Rico. It’s not too deep, but you should take it easy for a while," Kira said, giving Rico a reassuring smile.
As she finished tending to Rico’s wound, she couldn’t help but glance back at Shinon. He was still struggling against the bear, using his shadowmancer powers to keep it at bay.
"Take Rico and leave! I’ll catch up with you guys soon." Shinon yelled at the top of his lungs.
Shinon was the best fighter among them. Kira knew that, but even with his incredible abilities, she could see Shinon was starting to tire out.
She felt a pang of fear in her chest. What if Shinon didn’t make it? She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, not after all they had been through together.
’No. He’ll make it. He always does.’
Kira turned back to Rico, trying to focus on him and not on Shinon’s struggle. She knew that Rico needed her now, and she had to be strong for him.
"Let’s get you back to camp, Rico," Kira said, helping him to his feet.
Rico nodded, still wincing in pain. Kira took one last look at Shinon, who was now on the ground, his shadow tendrils wrapped tightly around the bear’s neck.
’Don’t you dare die on us, Shinon. Please... I beg you.’ Kira thought to herself as she dragged Rico to safety.
***
Shinon’s heart pounded as he faced the massive zombified bear. The creature was unlike anything he had ever seen, easily towering over him at the size of an elephant.
"No point straining myself just to hold the fucker down," Shinon mumbled before letting go of the restraints around the bear’s legs and neck as it was needlessly consuming a lot of [Domination] points.
As soon as the bear was free, it charged towards Shinon, its massive paws slamming into the ground with each step. Shinon dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the bear’s massive claws. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
He retaliated with a shadow tendril, but it barely grazed the bear’s fur, doing little to stop its advance. But the bear wasn’t done yet.
The bear swiped at Shinon with its claws, catching him in the side and sending him flying across the ground. Following his instincts, Shinon summoned a wall of shadow in time to soften the blow, but it did little to stop the attack.
"Fuck..."
Shinon grunted in pain as he hit the ground, his body rolling to a stop. He quickly got back to his feet, feeling the pain of the wound throbbing in his side.
Shinon knew that he couldn’t keep dodging forever. But the level gap between the two was quite big. Hence no matter how much damage he did to the bear, it would always be negated.
On the other hand, whenever the bear did any damage to him, it would be amplified. But the creature’s massive size should give him ample opportunity to attack it and stack a lot of damage quickly.
He summoned his shadowmancer powers once again, turning them into handguns and dealing constant damage to the bear from a distance while he kept the beast busy.
The bear charged towards him again, its jaws snapping in anticipation. Shinon waited until the last moment before jumping to the side as the handguns behind him open-fired on the bear. The bullets hurt the bear tremendously, causing it to roar in pain.
But the bear was not so easily defeated, and it caught Shinon off guard, swiping his claws at him again. Shinon tried disappearing into his shadow to avoid the blow, but the attack was faster than he had anticipated, and he got hit.
Shinon hit a nearby tree, his head spinning from the impact. He struggled to get back up, his body feeling heavy and weak. That attack was enough for Shinon to lose control over his shadow creations, leading to the handguns fading into nothingness.
Shinon gritted his teeth, feeling his body grow weaker by the second. He knew he needed to end this fight quickly or risk being overwhelmed. But the bear was already steps ahead of him.
