Wendigo Chain, Part 3 (Egawa Taro, Arthur Wode, Yaofan, Liam Cooke, Necrolord Sephidrac, Fathoms, Ueto Mio, Nagisa Ito)

Two hours before the sun goes down. Technically, two hours and nine minutes as of now. A small status window in the corner of Taro’s vision ticks down. Feeling the phantom weight of a full inventory, Taro trudges down the mountain from the quarry. Everyone’s been on edge about the Wendigo lurking across the river, and even heading into the mountains during the day is a daunting thing. He finds himself looking over his shoulder constantly, a stress knot in his stomach. The sight of that dwarven worker running down the mountain, and the creature shoving its entire hand straight through his chest- Taro can’t get it out of his head.

“Sn- ngk,” Taro’s nostrils rattle, still uncomfortably runny. He’s not entirely over that cold yet, but every night spent wondering if that monster will dare to cross the river has been rough and sleepless. Spitting another mouthful of mucus into the grass, Taro chokes back nauseous pangs and blinks his dry, tired eyes. “Tonight’s the night. Then we can sleep soundly again,” he tells himself.

The site of their ambush is up ahead, in a relatively level grove of trees among the foothills. Many villagers are here working. Vagrants, piecing together crude, early bear traps out of wood and bone. Miners digging pitfalls for Lovxl and Yaofan to prepare afterwards- the two of them are at work on one already, Lovxl dumping another load of swords at Yaofan’s side as she crouches, weaving leafy vines and blades of grass into a clever camouflage for the trap. “You could help actually set up the swords,” Yaofan says snidely, looking up at the angel.

With roll of his shoulders, Lovxl counters, “By taking micronaps, I can rapidly replenish my mana and make more swords for more pit traps. The miners will help you bury them. Hey, Taro! Speak of the devil!”

Taro will never- well, maybe not never. The YouTuber’s casual attitude is starting to become less jarring. “Hey… Liam,” Taro greets awkwardly, with a sluggish wave. It’s still strange calling him by his first name, but Liam had been insistent on it. It’s something Taro has gotten used to playing with American gamers, it’s just Lovxl that it’s hard with, since his username is so ingrained in Taro’s thoughts of the guy. “I have been carving the stones. Almost-finished runes. I will finish when closer to the time,” he reports, drawing a few large stone blocks out of his inventory and finding places to put them. In range of the pit traps, where the Wendigo could grab them to throw while stuck. Most of the runecarving job has been done, painstakingly over the past few days with a stone chisel and wooden mallet. Smart Missile runes waiting to be completed and activated, shaped like little arrows. “Got to level thirty of mining and unlocked Stonework.”

“Good. You’re more officially dwarfy every day,” the YouTuber takes a seat up against one of the trees and rests his hands behind his head. “Wake me up in ten minutes if I actually fall asleep.”

“Why would you fall asleep? You’ve barely done anything,” Yaofan quips. Taro squats next to the pit with her, helping her use a pair of stone spades to bury the swords with their blades pointing up. She uses the largest swords to create a lattice of branches and leaves, then packs dirt on top of them. The plan is for Lovxl to despawn the trigger swords when the Wendigo walks on the patches of ground, making it collapse. To keep it looking natural, Yaofan will cover the dug out patches with her camouflage.

Lovxl sighs. “Using so much mana in one day is more physically draining than I thought. My Stamina bar hasn’t gone down, but I kind of feel like garbage.”

“S’same with my cold,” Taro mumbles, nasally. “Hope you don’t get sick.”

“What, manasickness? I hope not either, that would be a pain for future exploits,” the guy yawns and leans back, entering one of the micronaps Taro had taught him. A signature move of any overworked hard labor employee. Lovxl doesn’t have the ‘Special Skill’ Taro does, but sleeping still accelerates mana recovery.

It’s impressive Lovxl can nap with all this noise. Apart from the people talking and digging, Arthur’s axe rhythmically strikes into wood. Maybe that one’s a little relaxing, actually. The woodcutter has been partially cutting into a bunch of the trees, so that they can be toppled onto the Wendigo while it’s stuck in the pit traps. “Even if the circumstances are not great, it is nice to see everyone working together,” Taro comments, scooping out another mound of dirt for Yaofan. She slides the hilt of a lightning bolt-shaped sword into the hole, and Taro dumps the dirt back in. Together, they pack it down.

“The other Vagrants will get plenty of ability experience,” she says, glancing at the other wilderness experts scrapping together traps.

“Yeah. Then you can get a… a- ah,” Taro turns away, fighting against a muscular reflex. The dam bursts, and he lets out a massive, “ACHOO!”

Wearing her permanent deadpan look, Yaofan shakes her head. “Go take a break with Sephidrac. You shouldn’t overdo it.”

In the corner of his eye, Taro can see Peredolia’s portrait appear next to the time counter and glare at him. “Yeah, I remember your advice,” Taro sighs and stands up, brushing off his knees. “I’ll come back when it’s time to activate the runes.” Yaofan simply nods and takes back the second spade, laying it next to her. It often feels like she’s somewhere else, trying to talk to her. “See you later,” Taro says, before walking his way down the mountainside.

Everyone else is down by the river, training. Sephidrac sits in a small nook in the hillside, wrapped up in a blanket and sniffling. His eyes have bags under them from lack of proper sleep- Taro would probably look the same, if he had a mirror to look into. Sliding down into a seated position next to the shivering demon, Taro looks him over. “You alright?”

“I-I’m not cold, just,” Sephi stammers. “I can’t stop my body shaking.” Nerves. Taro can’t blame him. In his own way, his dwarven body is tense, locked into the anticipation of danger. “They’re b-better. Getting better.” Following Sephi’s eye, Taro looks down at the villagers training by the water.

Using Sephi’s wolf zombies as training dummies, human and greenskin villagers are practicing with bows and throwing spears. Various mages of different races are likewise practicing the holy bolts that Lovxl has been teaching them. Under set directions, the wolves walk or run to create moving targets. It’s for practical purposes as much as experience, most of them have never used a weapon for real before, and they need to work on their aim.

Ueto-chan and Nagisa-kun are among those training. The demon girl’s aptitude for holy magic is increasing quickly with her intent focus on levelling it up, and Nagisa… it seems like Nagisa has really taken to this place, to hunting and monster slaying with the natural adventurers like Lovxl. For someone used to being sick and stuck in bed, this must all feel really freeing.

In the river, Fifi is amassing a swarm of razor-sharp aquatic jaws, attached to moving bodies. Every time one of them surfaces with its gleaming teeth, it makes Taro question ever going swimming again. Taro isn’t sure how many summons Fifi can maintain at once or for how long, and apparently neither is she. That must be what she’s feeling out. Oddly, the sharp-toothed fish are digging up mud from the river with their mouths and depositing it in clay jars for the fish-fisherwoman. Taro watches, curious what they’re for.

“Are you going to sit out the fight?” Taro asks, trying not to pressure Sephi too much by looking at him. “Nobody will think less of you if-”

“J-just going to be using th-that holy buff spell,” the demon boy says. “I guess I should be practicing.” He reaches up and starts to channel a Bless spell, but Taro lays a hand on his shoulder.

“Take it easy. L..iam, was saying that it’s taxing on the body to use and reuse too much mana in a short span of time. You could get your cold worse again or something,” reminded of his own, Taro sniffles and wipes his nose on his sleeve.

Coughing into his elbow, Sephi nods. “Okay.”

Time ticks on.

Two hours later…

Darkness falls over the mountainside. A midi file sound-effect, a tolling church bell. Taro takes one last look at the finished stone blocks, their arrow-shaped runes glowing a dim yellow. With the others, he falls back from the bait clearing, leaving behind a flock of four zombie sheep milling around. Their light weight seems to hold on the pitfalls, letting them walk around freely without giving away the locations of the traps.

If the Wendigo is even smart enough to notice…

Taking a clay jar in hand, Taro scowls at it, before dumping the mud onto his body and rubbing it around. “Focus on the places you’ll generate body odor,” Yaofan advises. Grimacing, Taro rubs the cold, slimy river mud into his armpits, and over his unmentionables. Mystery solved: Yaofan had Fifi gathering all that mud to help conceal their scents from the Wendigo. Just as Taro is opening his mouth to say something about it, an echoing deer-call washes down the mountain, shooting all of the hairs on the back of his neck straight up. “Everyone down,” Yaofan hisses.

Scrambling to the ground, Taro crawls backwards into a claustrophobic hole in the ground. He heard one of the Americans calling them foxholes. Many of the other ambushers do the same, while those with higher Stealth levels crouch among the underbrush. Vagrants with shortbows, Rogues with throwing daggers made from sharpened animal bone. Some of their hands are shaking nervously. No matter how much your character’s stats buff them up, they’re mostly just normal people from normal towns. Closing his eyes, Taro focuses intent into his fingers. He prepares to cast his Smart Missiles rune-spell, to help some of them with their aim.

Easier said than done. If Taro could actually breathe through his nose, it would be easier. He feels it rattling even as he sucks the air softly between his lips. Through the gap in the foxhole, he strains his eyes against the evening dim. Something is emerging from the trees on the far side of their trapped clearing. Blue fur still stained red down its neck and chest, the dark brown-red of dried blood. Taro swallows.

Stalking forward on long strides, the Wendigo looks at the zombified sheep with its blazing blue eyes. It doesn’t look terribly interested…

“ACHOO!” Taro’s heart nearly stops when he hears someone sneeze, somewhere to his left. The Wendigo’s head jerks in that direction and it bolts on all fours for the edge of the clearing, chasing the sound of Sephi’s sneeze. One of the pit traps sags under its arm, and somewhere, Lovxl dispels the load-bearing sword. Tipping forward, the Wendigo’s skull and antlers dig into the ground, its shoulder catching on the edge of the pit.

“Now!” loud and booming, Arthur’s voice calls out. He’s already crawled out of his foxhole and is sprinting to one of the partially-cut trees. Leaping into the air, the woodcutter delivers a flying shoulder check that makes the wood creak and topple. Scrambling, Taro shakes off his own stupor and starts climbing free.

The Vagrants and Rogues step out of hiding and open fire. Some of their arrows strike the Wendigo’s skull and shatter, a few barely penetrate its hide. The toppled tree crashes down atop the monster, and a series of thunks and cracks announce thrown shivs striking the bark. From this angle, the tree is covering half of its body. Seeing some of the rogues drawing a second volley, Taro finishes his runic spell with a hand sign, casting out arrows of yellow light that merge into the weapons. They streak around and over the tree, joining the volley on the Wendigo’s other, more exposed flank.

Other hand seizing a fistful of four arrows from his quiver, Taro tosses them into the air, moving towards Sephidrac’s location. The projectiles slither beneath the fallen tree to stab into the Wendigo, as it grabs the ground with its hands and pries itself upwards. Damned thing didn’t even fall into the pit properly or get impaled by the swords!

There are flashes of light in the evening dark, as spells go off and sail across the clearing. One of them explodes against a tree near Taro’s head, and he shields his face, hand peppered with wooden shrapnel for a few minor ticks of damage. They positioned themselves to surround the Wendigo, but everyone’s too inexperienced- they’re hitting each other with the crossfire!

“Come on, come on!” skidding to a stop near Sephi, whose leg is caught on a root next to his foxhole, Taro can see Ueto-chan standing over him. She’s trying to focus holy magic in her hands to form a bolt of energy, but Taro can see she’s hyperventilating. Not the only one, either.

Coughing, Taro slides on his knees to grab Sephi’s foot and pull it free. “Do a spell you’re better at!” he calls out.

“I tried!” the girl calls back, her frilly clothes stained by dirt and stuck with twigs and leaves in the laces. “Serna said Magic Missile wasn’t doing anything! Only the holy spells have even been scratching it!”

Hauling Sephi to his feet, Taro grabs the boy by the shoulders and shakes him. “Get it together! Listen, need you to Bless my arrows!” he commands. Sephi bends over and coughs, grabbing onto Taro’s shoulder in turn and using him for balance. It looks like he twisted his angle.

“Oh- okay! Bless! Bless!” saying the spell out loud may be nothing but a reflex from watching anime, but it must be doing something to help Sephi concentrate. A golden glow envelopes Taro’s quiver. Grabbing another set between the fingers of each hand, Taro turns towards the clearing.

Shrugging the fallen log aside, the Wendigo stands at its full height and grabs one of the large stone bricks. Opening its jaws, the monster calls out as it hurls the stone into the brush. As if momentum reversed entirely, the block stops just shy of slamming into Yaofan’s face as she winds up an obsidian dagger to throw. Yellow rune glowing on its side, the brick sails back at the Wendigo and slams into its chest, just barely managing to stagger it backwards.

Liam’s voice barks a laugh from somewhere else. The ground where the Wendigo’s foot rests to restore its balance gives way, and the creature tumbles backwards. Its legs slice down the blades of the swords piled beneath, and Arthur grunts as he braces himself against another tree, pushing.

“Well, we knew one of those!” Taro calls as he releases two more volleys of smart arrows. Tips gleaming with the pearlescent light of Sephidrac’s blessings, they spiral around the second falling tree and embed themselves into the Wendigo’s chest. Collapsing right on top, the tree trunk snaps the hafts and drives the arrowheads further in, while pressing the Wendigo’s lower body further onto the swords below.

A flash of red runs out of the treeline. “Got you now!” Nagisa’s wild yellow eyes shine in the dark as he leaps to stab his sword into the Wendigo’s exposed upper body. The black blade skates across the monster’s ribs, and it grabs Nagisa in one of its arms. Bone jaws clamp shut on the young half-orc’s face and rake their razor saw-teeth against his flesh. A spray of red sends terror plunging through Taro’s heart, and his body freezes up.

Yowling like a wild cat, Nagisa grabs the Wendigo’s face in turn, clenching its jaw shut with one hand and slamming the hilt of his sword into its eye. Long, bony claws rake across the boy’s chest, but he barely seems to feel it. Streaks of blood and rabid drool run from his face.

Intellectually, Taro knows his advisor is right. He sucks in a breath and grabs the fire axe Lovxl gave him, forcing himself out into the field.

“Stay focused! Hold fire unless you have a clear shot!” breaking out of the treeline next is Lovxl himself. Moving to a better angle, he unloads a series of holy bolts into the Wendigo’s abdomen. Taro circles to the opposite side, leaping the fallen tree and taking his axe in both hands. Heaving, he forces mana up the haft to ignite the blade, and drives it into the Wendigo’s chest.

There’s resistance. The smell of burnt hair and flesh hits Taro’s nostrils as he struggles to push the blade down. When the Wendigo reaches for him with its claws, he flinches away, but Nagisa grabs the creature’s arms and pulls, yanking them backwards. A feral scream rips from the boy’s throat, “Kill it!”

A boot plants itself on the back of the axe. “Everybody needs a helping hand!” Arthur announces, standing behind Taro. Together they push down, the red hot energy blade burrowing deeper and deeper. With an audible crunch, they break through the bone of a ribcage, and the monster lets loose a terrible howl. Red light spills out around the axe blade, and a surge of force throws Taro and Arthur into the air. They sail backwards, and Taro lands hard on something sharp. Instantly, a primitive bear trap snaps shut around his midsection, and white hot pain stabs into Taro’s nerves from numerous points on his torso.

It’s barely a tiny chunk of Taro’s health bar gone, but it’s the first time he’s experienced anything like this. The pain is mind-numbing.

Ragdolling through the air, a red shape lands in a crumple nearby. Taro grits his teeth and pushes up onto an elbow, looking at Nagisa-kun’s broken body. “No…” crawling closer, he turns the boy over. Thank heaven, he’s breathing. He’s- he’s a damn mess. Mouth hanging open, cheeks and tendons torn and leaving his jaw loosely agape. Deep gouges run down his chest. Glowing tattoos covering the boy’s skin dim and flicker out as his rage mode deactivates.

“He’s al-gh- aghk!” hacking and coughing, Taro grabs Nagisa and heaves the boy over one shoulder, shuddering to his feet. He turns to survey the battlefield.

Panicking villagers are on the run, dashing out of the woods and making a sprint down the mountainside. Arthur landed on one of the stone bricks. The woodcutter rolls off and gets to his feet, flexing his sore back, but otherwise seems fine. “Did someone get the plate on that wagon…?” he grunts one of his old, canned lines and grabs his stone axe from the ground.

Liam’s alone, squaring off against that thing, a Blessed flint knife shining like the sunrise in his hand against the unholy red light spilling from the monster’s wound. The Wendigo’s chest is gaping open, two long arteries reaching out of its exposed heart like whipping tentacles. Like magma, the organ glows a brilliant ruby red. Jaws wide, the monster swipes a claw at Liam, who ducks and rolls like this is fucking Dark Souls, tucking his wings and then using them to spring back to his feet. Though he tries to get close enough to land a stab, one of the arteries lashes out at him, and Liam is forced to backpedal, jumping out of the way with a flap of his wings.

The other tentacle stabs into the ground, and the plantlife around it is immediately corrupted. Grass turns blood red and sprouts thorns. Longer patches start to flex and lunge at Liam, trying to grab him. “Taro! Get Nagisa out of here! Regroup the villagers!” the angel shouts, barely throwing himself out of the way of another two-armed swing from the Wendigo.

Two greenskin players charge out of the woods with two-handed stone axes. “We’re coming!”

“No, stay back!”

But Liam’s warning falls on deaf ears. One of them strikes the Wendigo in the back with an axe, failing to even penetrate its skin, and a glowing claw lashes out with frightening speed in a sweeping counter. In the one motion, both warriors are bisected, the halves of their bodies thrown into the air while their faces, still momentarily conscious, look on in horror.

Backing away towards the edge of the clearing, Taro tries to tear his eyes away and run, but he can’t stop staring. Arthur slashes through the thicket of corrupted grass, then runs out of the path of a horned charge by the Wendigo. Two holy bolts strike the monster’s back and it whips around, clawing the ground before charging at Liam next. One of its feet steps into a bear trap, which snaps onto its ankle. When it stumbles, Liam springs above and leaps over the monster’s back, driving his dagger into its spine. Momentary victorious pride swells on his face, before a tentacle spears through one of his wings and yanks.

Cold dread plummets into the bottom of Taro’s stomach. Liam is thrown to the ground, where the Wendigo grabs him by the point the wing attaches to his shoulder and pulls. Letting out an awful sound, Liam struggles and tries to pull away, but it plants its good hoof on his leg. Flesh tears, and the point of connection twitches and crackles with texture errors. One final, awful ripping sound and the wing is wrenched from Liam’s body. The Wendigo raises the appendage over its head and digs in with its jaws, more texture errors prodding into its bones as it devours the wing.

Hit Points: 0/130
Status: Bleeding Out
Our odds of victory are swiftly deteriorating.

An unseen shadow flits in and slices a black dagger across the back of the Wendigo’s leg. Obsidian cuts sharply through even its resistant flesh, and the monster flinches away, stumbling back on its bad leg. Beneath it a pitfall opens, but its tentacles stab into the ground and hold it parallel to the fall as if suspended by steel cables. More twisted plantlife reaches out to help it up.

Grabbing Liam under the arm, Yaofan half-drags him towards Arthur, who accepts the angel, swinging him into a princess carry. “Get out!” she shouts, pushing Arthur in the chest. He turns and runs, and-

“Behind you!” Taro shouts. A split second later the Wendigo rams its horns through Yaofan’s chest from behind. Its arteries threw it forward from the edge of the pit like a slingshot. Throwing its head back, the beast hurl her behind it, where she sails into the bushes, crashing through branches into a crumpled heap.

Arthur blasts past Taro, and Taro finally manages to turn and do the same. The monster is no longer stopping to consume its fallen meals. Its eyes blaze red with fury, vengeful purpose the only thing on its mind. Taro runs like he’s never run before. Arthur overtook him easily on his short legs, but Taro’s never felt motivation like the clambering of the Wendigo on his heels. Each step, the bear trap hobbling its leg clatters and cracks against the ground.

“Yao…fan…” Liam gasps, hanging from Arthur’s arms and looking back past Taro. His eyes roll back as he passes out. How long is the bleed out timer?

If they level up…

Peredolia’s eye widens. The sphere bobs up and down in a frantic nod. Leveling comes with a free full heal. Another pair of timers starts in the corner of Taro’s vision, Liam’s just a few seconds shorter than Yofan’s.

“Nagisa, need you to grab my arrows and throw,” Taro pants at the boy slumped over his shoulder. All Nagisa can do through his torn jaws is gargle out a stomach-turning sound, but Taro feels the berserker’s elbow nudging past the back of his head.

Grabbing the entire remaining stock of arrows in both hands, Nagisa tosses them into the air. They break apart like a volcano missile and launch forward a second time, their still-Blessed holy arrowheads leaving streaks through the evening air. Taro doesn’t look back long enough to see the result, but he hears the Wendigo’s furious cry.

Below them, the water’s edge is coming up. Arthur is already across, laying Liam on the ground behind a line of villagers with bows. Sephi dashes between them, Blessing each of their arrows as they wait for the Wendigo to get in range. Beside the archers, Mio and the other mages are charging and holding holy bolts in hand.

“Arthur, I can’t swim with him!” Taro calls out. The woodcutter looks up at them and rushes back for the water. When Taro reaches the river’s edge, he tosses Nagisa in and dives after him. The air behind Taro’s back whistles as a claw passes just centimeters behind him, and two scaly hands grab a hold of Taro’s arms. With a lurching effort, Fifi pulls Taro through a surging current of big-toothed fish that leap out of the water, snapping and latching onto the Wendigo.

Bursting back into the air, Taro splutters and gasps. He wriggles onto his side and crawls away from the water, Fifi half-dragging him by one arm. Arthur runs, splashing, out of the deep water, carrying Nagisa in his arms. The Wendigo followed them into the water, now assailed by a mire of piranha and anglerfish, whose glowing lights lash across its chest and leave scorched marks of minor Holy damage.

“Fire!” Mio commands. A barrage of arrows and magical blasts pepper its torso as it slowly wades against the tide of fish.

Coughing, Liam rolls onto his side, lolling between wakefulness and the abyss. “Seph…” he mutters.

Standing, Taro nods in thanks at Fifi, then calls out for Liam: “Sephidrac!”

The demon boy runs over, face paling immediately after he sees Liam’s condition. “Oh God. Christ the savior,” he crosses himself rapidly, and kneels beside Liam. Taro slides down next to them and helps Liam sit up.

“Time to… learn… Healing Bolt,” Liam gasps, forcing a blood-dribbling smile. “Is’like holy bolt.. bu… but you want to heal them…”

Shaking like a leaf, Sephidrac holds his hands in front of him. “Ah… ah!” he squeaks pathetically.

“KREEEEOOOOOOOOH!“

Another unholy scream from behind them, accompanied by a violent splash. Taro twists to see the Wendigo, studded with arrows and wounds, crawling onto the shore. It reaches out and grabs a fear-frozen villager with a bow, dragging her to the ground and raking her body into pieces.

“Friends! Help-agu!” Fifi conjures another glowing anglerfish between her hands and tosses it, but the Wendigo swats the fish out of the air.

It’s on this side of the river. Nothing is stopping it now.

A faint glow from behind him draws Taro’s attention. Sephi has his hands placed against Liam’s wounds, mending the damage enough to shift his status to Stable. Taro watches the Bleed Out timer pause. “I… I remember something!” Sephidrac jerks straight up. “You have to burn the heart!”

“What?” Taro looks up at the Wendigo, where Arthur is now trying to emulate Liam’s dodge rolls to keep it busy. He’s already got a big gash down one of his arms from a glancing blow. “I lost my fire axe. Shit, shit, does anyone have fire damage?”

Liam’s counter starts again. Taro jerks his head to look down, where the angel is forming a new weapon in his hands. “When you’re Stable you… can act at…” Liam drops the weapon and winces. “Go.”

“I’ve got him,” Sephidrac passes the axe up into Taro’s hands. “Hit the- th- the w-weak spot, for massive damage!”

Clutching the new Fire Axe in both hands, Taro funnels mana into it, firing up the energy blade. Walking towards the melee, he looks for an opening in the Wendigo’s whirlwind of death.

Taro swallows.

A wet hand slaps him on the shoulder. “We’re not letting the big one get away, agu!” Fifi declares. She rushes in to join Arthur in the melee. Out of the corner of his eye, Taro can see Nagisa getting up and limbing towards the fight.

“Hey, hey-” Taro starts to object, but the half-orc’s tattoos flare up. He’s going to drop immediately to Bleed Out due to his ability cost!

“Magic Missile! Magic Missile!”

Two blasts of raw purple mana arc through the air and jab into the Wendigo’s eyes, momentarily blinding it with the flash. Arthur drops his axe and grabs one of the monster’s arms, wrenching it back with his full body weight. Charging the opposite direction, Fifi dives onto the other claw as it swings Arthur’s way. Their weight together topples the hobbled monster backwards, and Nagisa grabs the heart in its chest cavity. Muscles tensing, the berserker wrenches the organ out of the gaping wound. Its two lashing arteries wrap around Nagisa’s neck and choke out his strangling battlecry.

Adrenaline has numbed the pain of the bear trap still strapped to Taro’s chest. Releasing a puff of air from his nose like a bull, Taro heaves the weapon above his head and steps in, pressing the blade against the exposed organ like a searing cattle prod. The entire beast wrenches back, arching its chest upwards. Nagisa presses the heart back onto the magical heating element, keeping the heat steady until the heart-flesh ignites into spreading flames.

A moment of quiet sucks all noise out of the world. Taro’s eyes widen, and he throws himself on top of Nagisa-kun. The Wendigo bursts like a puff of igniting sawdust. A fireball consuming the entire body, scorching everyone nearby.

For a moment, it burns all across Taro’s back. Then, the burning is suddenly snuffed out, and his mending flesh pushes the jaws of the bear trap out.

The level-up chime rapidly chirps. Again, and again, and again. Ding. Ding. Ding.

If he didn’t know any better, Taro would think Peredolia sounded affectionate.

Rolling onto his back beside a rapidly healing Nagisa, Taro pants and stares up at the early night sky. He cranes his neck to look at where the Wendigo was. Nothing left but the skull, lying in the riverside dirt. “Damn,” he gasps, distantly. “Thought we’d get more materials than that.”

“Gonna be a sick helmet,” Nagisa groans next to him.

“Totally going to be a sick helmet.”

“Yaofan!” Taro turns his head to see Liam crawling to his feet, a new wing rapidly growing out of the stump left by his wound. The angel runs towards the edge of the water and jumps, his newly healed wings catching him mid-leap as he flaps towards the mountain. “Have gotten a level, please, please get a level!” Taro can hear Liam audibly praying to… someone. Maybe anyone who’s listening.

Sephidrac, still knelt on the ground, rapidly clasps his hands and joins in the prayer.

Taro lets his head fall back in the dirt, and wraps his hands over his chest. He’s never really been the praying type. But he’ll pray too, this once. Maybe this world really does have a god somewhere listening…

WENDIGO THREAT CONQUERED