Before he could even think about it, Zeke's feet were already moving. In one swift motion, he scooped up Snow, slung her over his shoulder, and dashed for the shrubbery. He ignored her shrill shriek of protest and the questioning glances of the others — none of it mattered.
The only thing on his mind was the fear he had heard in the Dragon's voice. It was the first time since they had known each other that the Dragon expressed anything other than contempt for anyone. Not even when Zeke had planned to go against the Archmages of Undercity had the Dragon shown a hint of worry.
Even though Zeke was running as fast as he could, Ash had easily overtaken him, guiding the way. Meanwhile, Gravitas and Vulcanos had joined him on either side, protecting his flanks.
"What was that?" Gravitas asked, not bothering to keep silent. There was likely no point to it anyway, given how much noise they had made during their fight earlier.
"Not sure," Zeke replied honestly, "but it is not something we can face."
The woman nodded and focused her full attention on the front. Now that they were not bothering to stay vigilant, any number of things could jump out at them. However, Zeke wasn't paying any attention to where they were going. His full attention was focused in the direction the earlier noise had come from.
"What was it?" he asked the Dragon.
Before Khai'Zhar could answer, another thundering thump broke the silence of the forest, followed by another. The deep, rumbling impacts were coming faster and faster, almost as if… an unfathomably large being was walking at an increasing pace.
"It's too late. You can't outrun it," the Dragon said in his mind. "Find a place to hide and pray it doesn't find you."
Zeke relayed the instructions to Ash before focusing on the noise behind them. His heart sank at what he found. Khai'Zhar was right; they had no chance of outrunning it. The once distant noise was already noticeably closer. At this pace, their pursuer would catch up to them in no time.
"There!" Ash yelled, pointing at a relatively large cave nestled at the base of a colossal tree. Its entrance was framed by rugged boulders, partially concealed by hanging vines and foliage. Despite its ominous exterior, the cave offered a sense of refuge, its darkened depths promising shelter from the encroaching danger.
As Zeke followed his companions into the cave, he was immediately struck by the potent musky scent of animals. It hung heavy in the air, mingling with the earthy aroma of damp stone and decaying vegetation. The intensity of the smell suggested that the cave was not just a passing refuge for wildlife but likely served as a permanent home for at least one creature, if not more. As expected, a loud bellow followed his entrance, and Zeke saw that a battle had already broken out.
A large, bearlike creature stood on its hind legs, a dagger protruding from one of its eyes. The monster was in the process of swiping at Ash, who effortlessly danced around it. There was no real challenge to it, as its movements were hindered by Gravitas. Her Magic wasn't strong enough to injure it, but it rendered its attacks painfully slow. While all of that was going on, Vulcanos was preparing a spinning ball of magma that was growing out of sight.
Usually, Zeke would have congratulated the trio for their impeccable teamwork. Yet, right now, he only wanted to scream at them to hurry up and finish the fight faster.
Finally, after three burning projectiles, dozens of cuts, and a crushed skull, the beast stopped moving.
The Chimeroi sank to the ground in exhaustion, joining Zeke, who was already catching his breath. None of them spoke as they strained their ears to listen, hoping to hear the noise of heavy footfalls disappearing into the distance. Instead, all was quiet.
For a long time, nobody dared to make any noise, but when the pressure reached its zenith, Vulcanos couldn't help himself any longer. "I think we lost it."
As if summoned by his words, the tranquility of the jungle was shattered by an otherworldly sound. It began as a deep, rumbling vibration reverberating through the earth, sending shivers down Zeke's spine. Gradually, the sound intensified, growing louder and more ominous with each passing moment.
Then, like the wrathful hand of an ancient deity, the ground beneath them quaked as if in protest. The sound of roots snapping and soil being torn asunder filled the air. It was a primal, guttural noise as if the very Earth itself was groaning in agony at the violation of its sanctity.
As the noise crescendoed to a deafening roar, he felt the reverberations coursing through his bones, a visceral reminder of the power at play. And then, with a final, resounding crack, the tree sheltering them yielded to the unseen force, its mighty roots ripped from the earth in a spectacle of raw strength and primal fury.
For the first time since entering the jungle, Zeke felt the warm rays of sunlight. Under any other circumstance, he would have relished their touch. However, at this very moment, he cursed their presence.
Already dreading what he knew he would find, Zeke raised his head and finally laid eyes on the creature that had been hunting them. If he had to describe it in a single word, that word would be: massive. The surrounding trees barely reached its waist, appearing more like tall grass than the gargantuan monoliths they truly were.
The creature, if it could be called that, was humanoid in appearance, with arms and legs that seemed unnaturally long. It had a muscular physique and metallic, armored skin. Peering down at them, it held the uprooted tree over its shoulder like a walking stick. Nobody moved, and the giant appeared content to watch them.
The tense atmosphere was only broken when Khai'Zhar spoke in his mind. "Summon me," it said, its voice dripping with resignation.
Zeke shook his head, not taking his eyes off the giant. "There is no way you can fight that thing…"
The Dragon sighed once more. "Just do as I say, whelp."
Reluctantly, Zeke started to cast. The spell still took the better part of a minute, even though his coordination with Akasha had improved massively since their first time casting the spell. The giant didn't seem to be in a hurry, as its eyes were fully locked onto them—no, not them—they were fully locked onto Zeke. However, he wasn't in any position to care.
The spell, almost bordering on Ritual Magic in complexity, demanded his full attention. Despite the amount of practice he had gotten using it, any small mistake would ruin the casting and waste an enormous amount of Mana. Even with his Perfect Blood affinity, he couldn't attempt this more than two or three times before needing some time to recover.
Yet, while he was casting the spell, he felt something odd.
While imbuing the spell, willing it to create a physical form for the Dragon, Zeke noticed the spell behaving abnormally. Frowning, he double-checked his work. However, it didn't feel like he had made a mistake, yet there was something odd going on, and he was definitely using more Blood than usual, streaming out of his wrist at an abnormal pace.
Zeke estimated that the spell would drain about half his Blood reserves at the rate it was going. That didn't sound like much, but it was actually quite a lot, considering his level of [Blood Compression]. It amounted to more than a regular human had in their entire body. Just when he was about to abort the attempt, he heard the Dragon's voice again.
"Keep going," was all it said.
Zeke obeyed, ignoring any strangeness, and focused on his task. Then, just under a minute later, the floating ball of Blood started to twitch and writhe before coagulating… into the shape of a man.
Zeke's eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open. He even forgot about the giant creature towering over them for a brief moment.
What… what was this? What had he summoned?
The man standing before him had long, flowing red hair that reached all the way to his hips, broad shoulders, and a wide chest. His golden eyes were firmly directed upwards, gazing at the giant with a steely gaze.
"Don't make me look up at you," the man said with a rich baritone voice that Zeke only half recognized as belonging to the Dragon.
Spurred by his voice, the giant broke its stillness. However, it moved in a strange way, as its form seemed to shrivel up on itself rapidly. Before Zeke could even blink, the enormous figure had transformed into a roughly human-sized person, standing a good distance away from them.
In utter disbelief, Zeke stared at the figure facing them.
Before them stood a statuesque woman, her wheat-colored hair braided and cascading down her back, framing a face bronzed by the sun. Her eyes, a piercing shade of green, exuded a steely resolve that hinted at a depth of inner strength. Unlike the typical mage, she possessed a physique honed by regular exercise, giving her the air of a warrior rather than a spellcaster.
And, to Zeke's surprise, there was a smile on her face.
"I thought I felt something," she said, beaming at the red-haired man Zeke assumed was Khai'Zar.
Unlike the woman, the man was frowning. "What do you want?"
"Come now," the woman said. "It's not every day that our kind gets to meet."
"Our kind?" Khai'Zar said as if trying out the words and disliking their taste. "You and me are not the same, Titan."
Zeke's eyes went wide at that word. Titan? This was a Titan? No wonder they were unable to outrun her. From what he had heard, even the weakest of their race needed a team of Archmages to face.
What was the Adventurer Guild doing?
Suddenly, Zeke remembered where he was. This was Irroch, the jungle of Irroch. Of course, there was no Adventurer Guild here. There wasn't a single city, king, or any semblance of order in this place. It was, quite literally, the law of the jungle out here.
Sweat ran down his back as he once again focused on the exchange between Khai'Zar and the woman. If things turned hostile, there was little he could do to survive. Against a being of that caliber, even escape would be a tall order.
"Don't be like that," the woman said, her tone gaining a slight edge. "I am not asking for much."
Khai'Zar remained silent, causing the woman to frown. An instant later, her gaze flicked to each member of their group while focusing on Zeke for a few extra moments. "I am just curious what a Dragon is doing out here. Especially with such… interesting company."
When it was clear that Khai'Zar wasn't going to answer, Zeke spoke up in a hesitant tone. "We are just trying to cross the jungle, Miss."
Instantly, her gaze snapped to him, and Zeke felt the full weight of her presence. It was all he could do not to fall to the ground, and Zeke had the feeling that this was only possible because she was showing him mercy.
Then, as fast as the feeling had appeared, it vanished and the woman was all smiles again. "Not bad, little half Dragon. Not bad. You have some potential, even though your Blood is extremely thin."
Zeke smiled. As long as she was willing to talk, he was confident he could get them out of this situation. Yet, before he could get a single word out, the Dragon's voice sounded in his mind. "Don't lie to her," Khai'Zar cautioned. "And don't try to play any word games either. Titans hate being deceived. If you can't be honest, it's better not to say anything at all."
Zeke gulped. This… might turn out to be a bit harder than he had initially thought.