Chapter 112: Did you get the eggs?

Not long after Anastasia agreed to help Alistair fight the swamp crocodile, the towering beast soon reappeared in their sights, snapping the trees in its way, as if they were twigs.

Grrrrrrrrr!

The beast growled as it’s beady eyes made contact with the trio. From it’s mouth then, came two high pressured streams of water, that shot out with impressive power. Each of the two went for Alistair and Anastasia respectively.

However little it’s intelligence was, the beast had determined the two posed some threat to it, and decided to finish them off.

As the piercing stream of water headed for Alistair, he spun his spear in one hand, using it’s shaft to tank the attack, successfully stopping it. Though, it also sent him skidding a few meters back.

Anastasia meanwhile didn’t tank the attack. Instead, “Flowing jet wheel.” Her sword cut the stream in two, making both parts swerve harmlessly past her.

The beast didn’t stay idle, it’s massive limbs carried it forward with speed that belied it’s size. Within moments, it was before Alistair, It’s jaws aiming to grab him.

Alistair jumped a great deal backwards, successfully evading the jaws of death. But he didn’t stay idle. Before the towering beast could recover from it’s failed assault, he also disappeared from his spot, and appeared before it.

“Upthrust!” Alistair thrust his spear at the beast’s lower jaw.

Thuck!

But contrary to squishy sound of steel piercing flesh he expected, a dull sound like that of stone hitting stone echoed.

“What…” Alistair began, but he didn’t have the time to complete his sentence, because the beast’s limb smacked him, and sent him flying a few dozen meters in an instant. He only stopped when he crashed into a boulder, shattering it in the process.

’Shit.’ he thought getting on his feet. If he hadn’t reinforced his body with more aether right before the moment of impact, he would have broken a few bones.

Anastasia meanwhile, took advantage of the moment the beast struck Alistair away, and jumped into the hill on the beast’s back. Her hands quickly reached for the eggs embedded into it. But just as she was an inch short of touching them, the beasts wide tail coiled like a whip, and snapped at her with impossible speed.

Anastasia abandoned her reach for the eggs, and ducked, which made the tail fly over her.

Clap!

The air detonated, followed by a gust of wind, as the tail struck the air. Before Anastasia could even take a break at having dodged the tail, it coiled and snapped at her once more, giving her no choice but to abandon the eggs and leap off the beast’s back.

She then stared at the beast, analyzing it from the top of a tree. While it undeniably had great defense and strength, it’s speed wasn’t at the same level, or it would have long since bulldozed them.

Plus, it was at a disadvantage due to it’s size, which meant they could hide away from it’s vision. But that was if they could escape it’s tail of course.

“Let’s get serious shall we?” she muttered, as her longsword appeared in her hand. The branch on which she stood exploded to splinters, as she launched herself straight at the beast.

The beast for its credit, reacted swiftly, and twisted it’s massive body, turning to face her. But by the time it did, she was already beside it.

Fwwhoosshh!

She flashed past it’s side, and continued all the way till she was past it’s entire length, before stopping.

It took a few moments after she stopped, before a loud painful growl that made the ground tremor, came from the beast.

Grrrrrrrrr!

The beast trashed around in a rampage. One of it’s eyes, specifically the one at the side where Anastasia had flashed past, had been sliced horizontally in two.

Alistair who was still a few meters away noticed that, and decided to act on it. The ground beneath his feet cracked as his body exploded forward, with even greater speed than Anastasia’s.

Puchi!

His spear embedded itself into the last remaining eye of the beast. The beast let out an even louder growl of pain, and in a decisive act, snapped it’s tail at Alistair, whose spear was still inside it’s ruined eye, giving him no choice but to abandon the spear and jump away.

Clap! It’s tail detonated the air once more, followed by a gust of air that swept up debris in it’s wake.

The beast was now effectively blind, but it had undoubtedly gotten more dangerous. A cornered animal was the most dangerous one after all. It’s limbs and tail attacked wildly at the surroundings.

“Wait.” Alistair who was about to charge at the beast to retrieve his spear stopped, hearing Anastasia’s voice, who soon appeared by his side.

“With the way it’s moving, it would exhaust itself sooner or later.” said the redhead.

Alistair turned to look back at the beast, sure enough, it looked like they didn’t need to do anything anymore. The beast would be on it’s last legs soon enough.

“Alistair, are you okay?” Alistair turned to see Elsa who had arrived. Before the crocodile arrived, Alistair had told her to leave the place the moment they engaged the beast. And she did so without hesitation.

She more than anyone, was more than aware that her abilities weren’t suited for combat, and that she would only be risking her life by staying there. She could try to manipulate Alistair all she wanted, but not at the cost of her life.

“I’m fine.” The golden boy smiled, comforting her. “I shouldn’t have left you to face the beast all alone…” she was halfway through her sentence when Alistair cut her off.

“It doesn’t matter.” He held her shoulders. “All that matters is that we’re all safe. Besides, I wasn’t facing it all alone, Anastasia was with me.”

“But still…” Elsa continued.

“Shhh, I said I’m fine.” Alistair affirmed.

Anastasia who was at the side, had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Just the way they were acting, almost made her sick. She pictured herself saying these sort of words, or acting the same towards some one else, and this time it actually made her guts turn.

Surely not, she could never imagine herself being half as corny as that.

She also looked at Alistair, thinking how foolish could he be to not understand he was being led by the nose? She had to give it to Elsa though, the girl was good at her craft.

’Not my problem.’ Anastasia inwardly shrugged, and turned to the rampaging beast.

In a few minutes, maybe ten at most, it would exhaust itself. And when it did, she was going to take all the eggs for herself. Alistair and Elsa be damned.

But what she failed to notice, or rather what the three failed to notice, was a figure hidden in the top branches of one of the still surviving trees not that far away from them.

The figure had just arrived, but chose to conceal itself. ’How delightful would it be to steal the eggs right underneath all of their noses?’ They though gleefully.

The figure waited for fifteen minutes, watching as the beast gradually exhausted itself. Turns out it had greater endurance than they thought.

The moment the beast finally calmed down however, the figure was the first to appear on the hill that was on the back.

Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!….

With one touch each, the thirteen or so eggs disappeared into their special spatial storage.

Anastasia and Alistair appeared on the hill at that same moment.

“Wow, what a nice company we have here.” The figure smirked. But Alistair was not smiling, while Anastasia had an amused smile on her face.

“I would have to ask you to return the eggs, Damon, they’re ours.” Alistair said with a stern expression.

Damon’s smirk widened.

“Are you that dumb, why would I do that? If I remember correctly, instructor Black did say that we were more than welcome to snatch each other’s eggs. Besides, I got these eggs fair and square, I didn’t even snatch them from you guys, so what’s the fuss about?”

Alistair stayed silent for a bit, before speaking.

“Since that is the case, I’ll have to snatch them back then.”

Damon curtsied.

“By all means try.”

Just when Alistair was ready to step forward, Anastasia’s voice stopped him.

“Don’t bother, it’s just a reflection. The original has probably left this place, or was never really here in the first place, am I right?.” she asked, turning to Damon.

“You know me so well.” Damon said shaking his head, but he still had a smile on his face. “See you.” he shattered into motes of light, leaving Alistair slack jawed.

“Did you get the eggs?” Elsa who had just reached there asked.

“….”

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