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Chapter 31: Finish what you started

He grabbed Reya by the arm, yanking her along and out of her stunned reverie. Rodrick and Anna both fell in beside them, their legs pumping as they ran as hard as they could. Behind them, a roar split the forest and the Wyrm burst into pursuit.

“What in the Nine Underlands is the Wyrm doing here?” Rodrick screamed, throwing a glance over his shoulder and nearly running straight into a tree in the process. “It’s meant to stay underground!”

“I don’t know!” Arwin yelled back. Trees shattered behind them as the Wyrm plowed straight through their trunks, too large to even bother trying to avoid the obstacles. “Focus on running, not thinking!”

He dodged away from a tree, nearly tripping over himself as another roar ripped through the forest. Hot air wafted over his back, and Arwin didn’t want to think about how close the huge creature was to them.

“I don’t have to kill that, do I?” Reya screamed. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to get close to its eyes!”

“Forget killing it! Just run!”

Arwin’s feet slammed into the ground as he empowered his steps with [Scourge], using just enough to keep up with the others. It was only a temporary solution, though. There was only so far they’d be able to run before the Wyrm caught up with them, and if it was still chasing after them after they escaped the forest, they were all dead.

“Keep going!” Arwin yelled. “I’m going to try to stall it!”

“Do you have a death wish?” Anna yelled back. “You’ll get eaten in one bite!”

“So will the rest of us if I don’t do something. Just keep going and don’t turn back.” Arwin spun, activating [Arsenal] and summoning his greaves and scale mail chest piece into place on his body. He wasn’t sure how much good they’d do against a monster this powerful, but he couldn’t afford to keep anything in reserve if he wanted even the slightest chance of surviving the next minute.

I might be able to survive one or two direct hits, but after that it’s over. That’s probably not enough for my greaves to properly absorb enough kinetic energy to fight back, but if I can take a few glancing blows, I might have a chance at hurting the Wyrm enough that it gets scared off.

The Wyrm skidded to a stop before him, confusion flashing in its large eyes. This monster – unlike the lizards – was definitely intelligent. It might not have been as smart as a human, but there was thought behind the green disks.

Arwin could see it trying to figure out why he’d stopped running. Prey didn’t stand in place. Prey screamed and fled, and his deviation from the norm made him, at least for a flicker of an instant, a threat.

“Come on then!” Arwin roared, raising his sword overhead. And then, in what was possibly one of the greatest displays of stupidity in his life, he charged at the monster that was twice his tier and triple his height.

From the Wyrm’s perspective, he was probably something around the equivalent of an armored Pomeranian with an attitude, but this Pomeranian had a sharp stick in its hands. The Wyrm pulled back, letting out a confused hiss.

Arwin took advantage of its confusion to close the distance between them. He drew power from within himself and shoved it into [Scourge], empowering his arms with all the magic they could handle before bringing the sword down on the Wyrm’s arm with all his might.

A resounding clang rang out through the air, and more magical energy left Arwin’s body as the sword drew on him, trying to imbue the spot he’d struck the Wyrm with resonance. As he lowered his sword, a chill swept over Arwin’s spine.

The scales were completely undamaged aside from a small crack running along one of them. He’d hit the Wyrm with the strongest blow he could muster in his current state, and he’d probably barely even tickled it.

For an instant, Arwin and the Wyrm stood in silence. The Wyrm stared at him, as if baffled that something would be so stupid as to even try striking it. Then it roared. Hot, rancid breath washed over Arwin, buffeting his hair back.

The Wyrm raised a foot and brought it down for him, trying to squash Arwin like a bug. He dove to the side, hitting the ground in a roll and coming up just inches away from where the monster’s foot landed.

It was fast for its size, but he already knew that. Arwin rolled to his feet and let out a cry of his own to keep the Wyrm’s attention on him. He had to buy more time for the others to escape – but that didn’t look like it was going to be hard.

The Wyrm’s eyes were locked straight on Arwin, and it wasn’t impressed by his displays anymore. It reared back, casting a shadow over the forest as it rose onto its haunches, and then leapt forward.

Arwin drew on [Scourge] and thrust power into his legs, bounding out of the way. The Wyrm’s tail whipped around as it landed, hurtling for Arwin’s chest. He only had an instant to react, and he chose to use it to jump, bringing his chest out of the way and leaving his legs in the path of the tail.

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An immense force slammed into Arwin’s lower body, spinning him like a top. He flew back and slammed into a tree with a loud crash. The air was knocked from his lungs and he dropped to the ground amid a rain of leaves, landing on his feet with a pained grunt.

Energy hummed within his greaves and Arwin’s body throbbed – if it hadn’t been for the combination of their absorbent properties and [Indomitable Bulwark], he was pretty sure the Wyrm’s strike would have snapped him clean in half.

The Wyrm looked just as surprised as he felt, but Arwin didn’t give it time to gather its thoughts. He charged forward again, dismissing his sword as he ran so his hands were free. He desperately wished he had a blunt force weapon that he could use to shatter the monster’s scales, but all he had was his sword.

A huge, clawed hand swiped through the air and Arwin threw himself to the ground, rolling beneath it and jumping back to his feet, his sword reforming as he brought it down for the same spot he’d struck the Wyrm in before.

Once again, a resounding clang echoed through the forest. The Wyrm snarled and snapped at Arwin. He jumped back, just barely clearing its jaws. The monster’s head slammed into him like a wrecking ball and sent him rolling across the ground. His sword flew from his grip, spinning across the ground and embedding itself by the base of a tree.

His greaves erupted with energy as [Awe] finally activated. Arwin’s entire body buzzed as he shot back to his feet. He extended his hand and the sword vanished from where it had fallen, reforming in his palm.

That’s convenient. I wasn’t sure what would happen if I lost a weapon. Now I know. The extra speed is going to take some getting used to, but I don’t even know how long it’ll last.

The Wyrm roared, watching Arwin warily. It wasn’t about to charge him mindlessly again – he had yet to actually hurt it, but he’d survived two attacks now, and the monster wasn’t dumb enough to dismiss that idly.

Well, the others should have had time to escape by now. All I have to do is find a way to get out of here myself… but I’m not so sure that’s possible. Even with Scourge and the boost from Awe, this thing is going to outrun me and I’ve got no way to know if it’ll stop at the edge of the forest.

Shit. I might be in trouble.

Advancing far more carefully this time, the Wyrm loomed over Arwin and reared back, preparing to lunge at him. It wasn’t going to be particularly easy to dodge an attack when it was taking this much effort to line it up, but Arwin wasn’t so certain that he’d be able to survive if the beast literally dropped itself on top of him. It must have weighed several tons.

Defense isn’t an option. My only hope is to hit the bastard hard enough that he gets scared off. That might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s the only way I can make it out of this.

Arwin tensed, preparing to move at just the right moment. If he hit the resonating area once more, there was a chance he’d actually hurt the Wyrm.

The problem was that he doubted the huge monster would be willing to let him get another blow off. It was paying far too much attention to him now. In his past life as the Hero, Arwin would have called for someone to draw the beast’s attention with ranged attacks so that he could get closer, but there was nobody but him.

Even as his mind raced, he knew that there were no more options. He wasn’t going to be able to outrun or dodge the Wyrm again, but he’d be damned if he went down running like a coward.

“What are you scared of?” Arwin roared, beating a fist against his chest. “Try me!”

The Wyrm obliged. It pounced, stretching its arms out to catch Arwin. He dashed to meet the strike instead of avoiding it, hoping to take a glancing blow and trade one in exchange. His feet slammed against the ground, and he nearly tripped over himself at the pace he was moving at due to [Awe].

Arwin likely would have fallen flat on his face had he not been used to empowering his legs with [Scourge]. Just barely managing to stay upright, he flashed past the monster’s arm and brought his sword down on the Wyrm’s leg with all his might.

Magic poured out of Arwin’s sword and slammed into the Wyrm an instant before its massive body crashed to the ground. Arwin managed to twist out of the way, saving his upper body from getting crushed, but his right leg was considerably less fortunate.

Even with [Indomitable Bulwark], he felt the bones in his leg shatter. Pain ripped up Arwin’s waist, winding into his spine and gripping him in icy claws. He snarled in pain even as the Wyrm let out a pained cry and leapt to its feet like it had been stung.

The scales on its leg were cracked, and blood trickled past its claws, dripping to the ground. Arwin drove his sword into the tree behind him and dragged himself upright, baring his teeth.

“I’ve got more where that came from,” Arwin promised, ripping his sword free and pointing it at the Wyrm. He didn’t even try putting weight on his leg – he was pretty sure the bones in it weren’t just broken but completely pulverized.

At least my greaves are still active. They must be absorbing all the damage I’m taking, even while [Awe] is active. I can get one more nasty blow off before I go down.

The Wyrm’s lips pulled back in a snarl, but it didn’t attack immediately. Arwin nearly laughed. As massive and powerful as the beast was – it was afraid. A Journeyman level monster feared a mere smith.

“Come on!” Arwin screamed, pounding a fist into the tree. The wood shattered beneath his [Scourge] empowered blow and it pitched back, crashing to the ground behind him.

The Wyrm took a step forward. A rock whistled through the air. It was no larger than a palm, but it flew with surprising accuracy and struck the Wyrm straight in the center of its eye. The monster let out an annoyed roar and snapped its head around to look over Arwin’s shoulder.

Rodrick stepped out of the forest, tossing another rock up and down in his hand. “Over here, you big oaf!” Rodrick yelled. “I’ve been thinking I wanted some fancy new armor, and I think you’re wearing my scales!”

You bleeding idiot. Why are you here?

The Wyrm roared, turning away from Arwin and taking a step toward Rodrick. Its foot hit the forest floor with such weight that it trembled, making Arwin stumble as pain arced up his injured leg. The Wyrm might not have understood Rodrick’s words, but it definitely didn’t like having things flung at its eyes.

And, as soon as the monster’s attention was averted, Arwin felt a hand fall on his shoulder. A wave of warmth rushed over his body. The demolished bones in his leg knitted themselves back together and his torn flesh healed until the pain had completely vanished.

Anna stepped out beside him, a weary expression on her face. “I won’t be able to do a powerful spell like that again. Help Rodrick.”

He didn’t have any time to ask Anna and Rodrick what they were doing here. For better or for worse, they’d remained. Arwin rolled his shoulders and took a step forward, pounding a fist against his chest to draw the Wyrm’s attention back to him.

“I’m still here,” Arwin snarled, pointing his sword up at the monster’s head and locking eyes with it. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you to finish what you started?”