Meeting An Overwhelming Foe

The three friends talked for a little while, making casual jokes and keeping up the random banter. Whilst they did this, the reality of their situation became all the more clear.

They were going to face a Behemoth. An elemental creature of legend only seen in their books. Within the Wall, such a creature did not exist. They did not have to worry about such horrors.

Then again, that was because of the hunters. It was the hunters' job to make sure life within the Wall never met such a fate.

After a short peaceful silence, Arthur turned his gaze to the thick wall of wooden spikes they had built. Scanning the wall, he noticed a girl checking the runes that had been carved into their surface. Her name eluded him but he remembered well as the one responsible for the ingenious runic innovations.

This time, a male voice broke the silence. "Do you think we can win?"

Leo and Darius were eyeing the prince with expressions of concern. Addressing this matter was only a matter of time.

Out of the four of them, Arthur bore the worst appearance, wearing his tattered shirt as a monument of being clawed across the chest by a demon bear…

…and yet he seemed to be the one holding their hopes up.

Arthur wasn't sure that they could win. If anything, he was just being hopeful they could bring the beast down or at least deal a lot of damage.

Anything was possible in this world… if they could take that step.

"Anything is possible given the right conditions. We have more numbers now and the Behemoth hunts alone.

If the defensive wall manages to at least break its tough hide, then the archers and Vanguard will have some soft spots to hit," Arthur placed his hand over his scars.

To his surprise, the stitches were still there.

"The demon bears claws were poisonous. I did what I could. You'll feel pain. That's for sure… and I'm sorry for that but…"

"A-Arthur, sir…" a shaky voice interrupted the white-haired boy.

The group turned around to find a short raven-haired girl standing awkwardly with a bow in her hands. Arthur recognised her instantly. She was the same girl who'd worked on the enchantments, "Your weapon… what enchantment does it have?"

"Your name would be more appropriate, Tara," Darius sighed.

"But you know it."

"Arthur is a bit of a doofus. If you've never introduced yourself to him before, then he won't know your name. Unless you're someone important like the Arcanium or Vice Principal Snow Cone."

The girl burst into laughter at the sudden joke, remembering a time they'd pranked the Vice Principal at the school in Alcove and the man had ended up with a head covered in flour.

"Was his name not Snow Cone?" Arthur asked in horror.

"Mother, I really did find one!" Leo raised his hands to the sky in contentment offering prayer to the deity that had sent them Arthur and sending the group into a fit of laughter.

The humour worked wonders on Tara's nerves.

"My name is Tara Gibbles. I was…" she frowned, "among the group of students that was closest to the Behemoth when it started chasing us. I'm also the sole survivor of that onslaught."

"I'm sorry to hear that… and impressed that you made it out alive."

"Thanks. Honestly, I barely made it here with my life."

"How did you make it here? I know you didn't run. These two were the last to make it here so I would know," Arthur asked.

"I hoped onto the back of a Double-Head Ostrich," the girl sighed, "Scariest ride of my life."

"Well, it was either the Double-Head Ostrich or the Behemoth. I think you made the right choice," Darius intervened, "Did you want something, Tara."

"Yes, I did. I haven't heard you discuss the Behemoth's flames… and I was sort of wondering why since that's what makes the Behemoth so powerful," the girl asked.

"I'll handle that," Arthur assured her.

"I hope so. That 'twig' would probably work better on a campfire. You sure it's right for a behemoth?" Darius smirked.

Leo's cheeks ballooned with bottled laughter which he couldn't hold once Momo started laughing as well.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at his friend and clenched his fists… 'I oughta… I oughta… Damn it, I got no comeback!'

........

It wasn't long before Cade and Sullivan returned from assigning roles to the rest of the First Years, joining Arthur at his position at the wall.

Sullivan still had a tendency of eyeing Arthur with contempt.

After their previous duel, he wasn't willing to attack Arthur again. Now, his mind was calculating the odds of fighting the prince under different conditions.

"Do we really have to consider him a Leader as well? He only has three people with him?" Sullivan smirked.

"Are you that much of a sore loser, Sully?" Arthur smirked.

Sullivan glared at the white-haired boy.

"I know a rival when I see one. Besides, he did defeat you in a duel that you initiated," Cade intervened yet again.

"Just whose side are you on, Black?" Sullivan sneered.

"Neither. Let's move on to more important matters. I sent the scouts out to draw in the Behemoth," Cade glancing at the people standing with Arthur.

Arthur noticed what he was paying attention to and turned to his friends. The prince gave a knowing look at his friends, saying all he needed to say without saying it.

"It's time, isn't it?" Darius groaned.

"Yes, yes it is," Arthur replied, "Watch over him for me, Leo."

"Sure thing, Captain," Leo responded, looping his hand around the taller scowling boy and dragging him away.

"Find an archer named Carol, she will be able to fit you in among the Archers," Cade told Momo.

The girl gave a slight bow with her head and left with Tara in tow. It was just the three of them now.

"You've got yourself an odd group. Momo Hawks… and Darius Ether," Cade mused.

"How did you…"

"Everyone knows who the son of the Great Arcanium is, Arthur. Don't act surprised. He'll be an invaluable ally… if he can live up to his father's name," Cade replied.

"Darius is my friend. That's all there is to it," Arthur replied.

Once again, Cade gave him that curious look that never told Arthur what the large boy was thinking. Shifting to a different subject in the hopes of avoiding the awkward mood.

"Did the scouts head out already?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, they did. They should be getting back about…"

Before the large boy could answer, a loud bone-chilling roar tore across the skies and shook the ground. This was quickly followed by the rumbling of heavy footfalls.

The Behemoth was on the move again…

"Will they be alright?" Arthur changed his question. The answer he received, however, was unlike anything he'd ever expected.

"It's highly unlikely," Cade replied calmly.

Arthur quickly came to the conclusion that Cade knew this before sending out the group of five scouts.

The prince resisted his urge to shudder at the aspiring Leader's cruelty. This was a simulation but that didn't mean their actions meant nothing in the end.

The footsteps started to get closer and closer. A terrified scream that was soon muffled by gruelling unidentifiable sounds of bone and flesh tore through the tense air, echoing from the depths of the dark woods.

'I guess they aren't five scouts anymore.'

"ARCHERS!!!" a loud feminine voice rang out. Arthur noticed a tall girl with long flowing black hair raising her hand to the sky.

He'd seen her talking to Cade before and had even spoken to her himself a few times. This was the one he recognised as Carol.

Just like many other unfamiliar faces that he'd come to witness, she was among the group that hadn't come from Alcove. He'd also witnessed her skills first-hand upon reaching the clearing.

She was a valuable ally and the respect Cade showed told how much he knew this too.

The three Leaders stood at the centre of the clearing.

Behind them, raised on self-constructed mini-ledges, stood a long line of archers with arrows nocked and bow strings drawn. Their laser-focused attention peered beyond the trees, ready for action.

A long disorderly line of First Years wielding an assortment of melee weapons spanned the width of the clearing in front of the three leaders, a few metres behind the defensive wall they'd built… waiting for their time to act.

The earth-shattering footfalls continued to sound, forcing everything in the vicinity to shake with a tense rhythm… as if their frightened heartbeats were not enough.

A few more screams filled the quiet tense air, reminding the first years of the danger they had chosen to face head-on. Resolve was tested in the tense moments that they waited.

It wasn't long after Carol's order that the Leaders were finally able to see the head of the gargantuan beast that terrorised them. It had two golden eyes and a black scaly hide.

Horns curved out of its head falling down the sides of their heads in a smooth outline before curving forward and just a few inches in front of its mouth like two great tusks.

The sight of peeping bloodstained fangs jutting out on all sides of its scaly lips declared an even more dangerous maw. Blood dripped down the side of its maw, confirming the violent deaths of their comrades.

Its head was connected to an equally thick neck that ran down and met the shoulders where the body of the creature vanished beneath the greenery of the dark forest.

The Behemoth came to a stop right when two human figures vaulted over the wall. Out of five scouts, two had returned… and even they were in frightening bad shape.