Damien rushed through the forest, the sound of battle cries echoing behind him in the distance. He spared no thought for the people dying off in the distance; his only focus was on himself, escaping alive.
His path was barely visible in the darkness of the night, the only source of light being the moon hovering in the sky above. He stopped, leaning against a tree to catch his breath while watching his surroundings attentively for any sign of danger.
Then he saw it out of the corner of his eye—a faint movement. It could have been a bug or a leaf falling from the trees, but his instincts told him otherwise. Without hesitation, he thrust away from the tree just before a shattering blow sent it toppling down, hitting right where he had been standing.
If he had hesitated for just a second longer, he would've been crushed.
"Oh, I missed! I thought for sure I would've gotten you."
The voice that spoke was very deep and hoarse.
His eyes darted back to the demi-human. It was the same as the ones that had attacked his camp. It was roughly eight feet tall, with black fur all over its body. It had long dark claws protruding from its fingers. Now that he was this close, he couldn't help but notice the striking similarities the demi-human had to a bear.
There was no time to think; he needed to make an escape quickly. But before he could even move, the demi-human charged at him, swinging its claws wildly. Damien dodged the attacks, staggering around like a drunk man as he sought cover behind trees. But it didn't matter; one by one, they were toppled down under the mighty strength of the demi-human.
In desperation, Damien threw his dagger, aiming for the demi-human's big brown eyes that were almost as cute as a teddy bear's. The beast swatted it away like it was nothing more than a fly pestering him.
Damien didn't skip a beat. The mere second the demi-human took to swat away the dagger, he was already gone, barreling through the forest as he headed for the perfect place he thought he'd be able to lose the beast—the river.
He figured the demi-human might've caught on to his scent and was using it to track him. The river wasn't far from the camp and was the main reason Edmond's troops had decided to settle down here.
The river also held another purpose, one that would be pivotal to this war. When he got to the river, he began washing himself, trying to eliminate any trace of his scent before making his way upstream. But suddenly, he heard a loud crash behind him; the demi-human had caught up to him.
He made a mad dash up the river, with the beast hot on his tail, thrashing the water as it made its way closer to him. As the beast came in for the kill, he made a last-ditch effort and drew his sword.
But with one powerful blow, the beast ripped his arm off, with the sword still clasped in his palm. He felt no pain; his brain wasn't able to register what had happened. Even when he saw his own arm flying away, he still couldn't comprehend what had happened—he refused to.
It wasn't until he saw the sheer amount of blood dyeing the river red that he began to question his situation.
"What happened? Why is there blood everywhere, and where is my sword? It was just here a minute ago."
"Filthy ape!!" the demi-human roared, grabbing his head and slamming it under the water.
His head slammed into a rock at the bottom of the river, bursting his eye socket.
The beast lifted him out of the water, holding him in the air.
"Say your prayers, monkey!! I'll be the last thing you'll ever see before you die."
Damien's mind was in a daze. With one of his eyes burst and his right arm ripped off, he was completely powerless. Yet still, death wasn't an option; he would cling to life with every ounce of strength he had. His brother was waiting for him, after all—his troublesome older brother who always got himself into trouble. The only person he ever truly loved.
Damien reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial with a strange liquid.
"You're wrong," Damien smiled defiantly. "I'll be the last thing you'll ever see."
He threw the vial into the demi-human's face. It shattered upon impact, the contents encasing its eyes.
"My eyes!! What is this!!"
In a panic, the demi-human hurled him across the river. Then it started dipping its head under the water to wash out its eyes. But it didn't matter; the acid had already blinded him, melting its eyeballs.
Damien floated on top of the water, lying on his back as he was washed downstream by the river.
He eventually washed up on a riverbank far away from the demi-human.
"Good thing I made that acid. Or I would've been dead already," he chuckled to himself before getting to his feet, staggering like a drunken fool.
He took a seat underneath a tree and attempted to stop the bleeding from where his right arm had been ripped off. But that proved impossible, seeing that he only had one good arm.
He needed to find a way to stop his bleeding. Luckily, he had one more vial of acid left. It was a do-or-die situation. He picked up a piece of stick and bit down on it, so as not to give away his location if he ended up screaming.
With a deep breath and shaky hands, he began pouring the acid onto the spot where his arm had been ripped off.
The pain was unbearable; it took all of his strength just to not pass out. Next was his eye. His left eye had completely ruptured, leaking a gel-like fluid onto his face. There was no saving it; the best he could do was cover it up.
Still sitting under the tree, he stared up at the sun that was begging to rise in the sky and began nodding off.
Curse this wretched palace.