CHAPTER 104: FINALLY USED MY NAME

Aster couldn’t help but scoff at the parallels of the situation at hand. There was an eerily uncanny semblance to the way the tiger had cornered him to use his shield back in The Selection.

Just as the demon was about to make contact with the downed tiger, a golden shield appeared to defend the beast. Aster did just as he did back then and used his left arm to tilt the shield, tossing the lunging demon up and over the tiger.

Luckily for Oust, Aster was a fast learner. The boy had a second shield up behind the beast, sparing him a strike from the center tail as the monster launched over and away from him a good distance.

Oust had snagged off Aster’s helm back then, teaching the boy an important lesson about accurately gauging an opponent’s reach.

The beast looked to the boy in surprise and saw there was a good measure of red blood staining his neck, arms, and armor. Aster had a pretty serious injury on the back of his head... Even still, the boy was wearing a stupid grin after the assist that pissed the tiger off in a way he didn’t really comprehend as he rose to his feet.

Even so, Oust knew he was both relieved to see the runt was alright and grateful for the save. The human called to the tiger in a labored voice, speaking to him for the first time since the embrace.

"Hey, Oust... You look like shit." Oust quickly glanced down at his blackened, blood-soaked fur covered in dirt and back to the boy. The beast gruffly answered him in turn.

"I don’t think you can talk, runt."

Aster huffed a little and simply nodded. He pointed down to his ankle as he did so, and Oust saw he was keeping his weight off of it, leaning into his spear. The boy spoke again.

"Yeah, I don’t think I can, I’m hurt, but we can compare scratches later. We aren’t finished here."

Aster nodded behind the tiger, and Oust turned, seeing the demon was rushing in once more with a ferocious snarl. Its tails all whipped to its right side, preparing to swing them to the left.

It never got the chance as it came to an abrupt stop when Sir Corper snatched a hold of all three whips with both hands and braced heavily. The demon shrieked in pain and quickly turned on the bear, bearing the sharp claws of its forelegs.

Sir Corper simply snatched back on the tails, released his right hand, and cut them off with a rapid swipe. He quickly moved his left arm, still clutching the severed tails, up to block the swipe of the paw.

He grunted a bit as the tips of the claws dug into his forearm, but he unflinchingly balled up his right fist and swung it destructively into the monster’s ribcage, knocking the demon off of him as its chest collapsed beneath the brutality of the strike.

The demon darted away immediately with a limp, running back a good ways towards the river before it stopped to glare back towards the party of three as it healed up.

Sir Corper held his stance firmly, breathing heavily all the while. He called to Oust and Aster, never taking his eyes from the demon.

"You were wise not to fight it. You aren’t fast enough to catch those tails yet, but I am. You have a mission, young one. Go... I will handle this one."

Oust was uncertain about leaving his teacher alone to fight that thing. He spoke his worry quickly.

"But Master... You’re out of breath..."

The bear smirked and laughed a bit before he answered his student.

"Yes, I am. That’s what happens when you’re old and you have to do this much damned running. It’s my job to make sure you live long enough to understand that one day, but I won’t fall to such a weak opponent. I can handle this, or do you doubt my word’s credibility?"

Oust quickly bowed in acceptance. He would trust his master and turned to Aster instead as he called out to the human.

"Can you run?"

Aster shook his head weakly, feeling a bit helpless. Even a broken ankle wasn’t enough to keep his guilt at bay, it seemed. Oust didn’t hesitate to hastily run over to the boy. He knelt down and turned his back to Aster. The tiger looked over his shoulder expectantly.

Aster wasn’t catching the hint, mostly due to his skull injury, so the beast motioned with his head for the boy to jump on. Aster finally realized the intentions there through his nauseating dizziness and suddenly felt embarrassed of all things.

Here, he was on a battlefield with a growing list of serious injuries, and he was reluctant to accept help even then. The tiger shouted a bit firmly, snapping the boy back to reality.

"Aster!" The human took a sharp breath and settled his frazzled brain a bit, shaking his head gently in an attempt to clear it. He stumbled forward a bit and braced with his spear as he lowered himself down.

When he secured an arm around the beast’s burly neck, he released his staff entirely, knowing he wouldn’t be able to use it anytime soon and that he could always come back for it later.

Aster rushed to catch himself against the solid frame. He hissed out a bit as some weight was forced on his ankle, but the tiger quickly stood, and gently reached back to grab both of the human’s thighs with an encompassing grip, giving Aster some needed support.

He shrugged Aster’s weight up easily as the boy wrapped his other arm tightly around the beast’s neck and braced his head against Oust’s shoulder, his mind swirling.

Oust looked back towards his teacher and saw the bear still eying down the demon. He turned and bolted off back towards the prince in determination. Aster still had a single thought searing into his mind, one that brought him a very misplaced feeling of happiness in light of his current condition, making him question if he really did break his brain during that fall. Oust had finally called him by his name.

Sir Corper watched the demon recover, its tail sprouting once more before it quickly split into three separate whips. A loud crunch sounded as the demon’s ribs popped back into place. It lowered its front half in a crouch and began growling in a defensive manner as it slowly circled the bear, flicking its tails in an attempt to intimidate its opponent.

Its glowing red eyes were constantly met by the seasoned warrior, as he only held his stance and slowly turned his head to keep a steady eye on the monster.

They were sizing each other up well when the creature finally broke the stare and gave a quick look behind itself towards the river and the village beyond.

It jerked its snarling head back towards the bear one last time before it shifted course and chose to seek out easier and weaker prey in the village.

Sir Corper chased the creature without hesitation but was greatly outclassed by its running speed. The demon leaped across the river within seconds.

***