Old Man Bo stood over the fallen Eidolons with absolute vigor, his massive frame towering over Hannah. His muscles were easily larger than half of her body, each movement carrying the kind of raw strength that made his twin hammers look almost natural in his hands.
His Dormant Ability, Beast-like, allowed him to take on a partial form of a tiger. Thick fur covered parts of his body, dark stripes ran across his skin, and his hands had transformed into sharp claws. Even his face had taken on the features of the beast, giving him an appearance that was almost as frightening as the Eidolons surrounding them.
But the ability didn’t only affect his body.
Something about Bo’s mind changed whenever he entered this form. His instincts became sharper, his aggression grew stronger, and the old man seemed far more wild than the creatures he was slaughtering.
"Hahahaha!"
Bo laughed wildly as he swung both hammers through the Eidolons.
The weapons moved like the blades of a massive fan, smashing into bodies and sending blood and broken limbs through the snow. Any Eidolon that stepped into his path was immediately struck down, their attacks barely having enough time to reach him before one of his hammers came crashing into them.
Bo continued forward without slowing down.
One hammer crushed an Eidolon’s chest while the other swung around and caught another across the head. He roared with every swing, his laughter mixing with the screams of the Eidolons and the howling blizzard.
Within moments, the creatures surrounding them had been reduced to corpses scattered across the snow.
Bo finally stopped.
He looked around, searching for another opponent, but there was nothing left within sight.
His gaze eventually settled on Hannah.
"You don’t look so good, kid."
Bo released one of his hammers and reached a clawed hand towards her.
Hannah stared at it for a moment before grabbing his hand. With his help, she managed to rise to her feet, but the moment she straightened her body, pain shot through her side.
Hannah grimaced. She instinctively placed a hand against her waist, when she pulled it away, her fingers were stained red.
Hannah didn’t even know when she had been injured.
"Do you know what’s going on? The Eidolons shouldn’t be this close to the camp."
Old Man Bo leaned down towards her. His beast-like face was genuinely terrifying, but Hannah had already grown accustomed to it.
"What does it matter whether they’re close or far away?" Bo grinned, revealing his sharp teeth. "We simply smash their heads until they all die."
Hannah’s face twitched.
She should have known better than to ask Old Man Bo anything while he was in this state. Still, at least he had actually given her an answer. He probably wouldn’t have bothered if it were anyone else.
"We need orders. Can you open a path towards the front lines? Andrea should be fighting somewhere ahead. If we keep fighting like this, we’re all going to die."
Bo scratched the side of his head.
He looked up and stared into the blizzard, his enhanced vision struggling against the storm. All he could make out were scattered figures fighting throughout the snow, Eidolons clashing with Awakened in a chaotic battle where it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell friend from enemy.
After a few seconds, he lowered his head again.
"I don’t see her anywhere."
Hannah sighed lightly.
She really needed the cool-headed old man right now, not the beast.
Old Man Bo suddenly reached out and grabbed Hannah before lifting her onto his shoulders, leaving her momentarily stunned.
"Old Man Bo, what are you doing?"
"You need a healer, or you’ll bleed to death."
Before Hannah could say anything else, Bo grabbed his hammer and the wind suddenly exploded around them. His body shot forward at breakneck speed, tearing through the snow as he carried Hannah effortlessly on his shoulders. He was so strong and fast that even with the extra weight, he could outpace any Eidolon on the battlefield.
Hannah tightly shut her eyes as the wind battered against her face. She could barely tell which direction they were moving, but after several moments, the sounds of battle suddenly disappeared. She cautiously opened her eyes and was stunned to find herself outside the storm.
Bo dropped her onto the snow and looked around. After a moment, he seemed to realise that he hadn’t gone in the direction of the camp, so he reached towards Hannah again, apparently intending to carry her back on his shoulders.
"Wait." Hannah pushed his clawed hand away and slowly rose to her feet.
The sight before her was incomprehensible. It was almost as if the Eidolons had somehow found a way to weaponise the storm itself. Barely a meter ahead of them, the space was swallowed by a raging blizzard, with the sounds of battle echoing from within, yet where they stood, the sky was completely clear and sunlight covered the snow.
Hannah stared at the strange boundary for a moment, trying to understand what she was looking at, when an arrow suddenly struck the ground beside her. She frowned and briskly turned around.
Several meters away stood a small unit of Eidolons, guarding a short white pillar with a blue orb sitting on top. Every few moments, the orb released a rhythmic pulse of blue light.
"What the hell is that?"
Old Man Bo scratched his head and answered indifferently, "It’s one of those annoying ding-sound things. I destroyed a couple around the battlefield, but the Eidolons guarding them weren’t any fun. Come on, let’s go back to the glorious battle."
Hannah’s face twitched.
"I thought you wanted to find me a healer?".
A bout of realization hit Old man Bo’s beast form.
"Yes, we find healer first. Then we battle".
Hannah didn’t have time to converse properly with old man Bo’s beast form, she didn’t know why, his personality seemed to change completely, from a caring old man to a wild battle obsessed psycho.
"Give me your hammers".