Chapter 10: Reality Check

A wet, deep sound echoed through the cave. The large wooden club was stained red. The dripping of blood echoed through the forest. 

"AAAAAAAHHH!" 

Seeing her father's nearly lifeless body, Akemi let out a piercing scream that tore through the atmosphere. 

Li stared at the monster, alternating his gaze between the barely conscious old man and the Troll. 

HUF HUF HUF 

His eyes and body trembled, his breath labored, along with a deafening buzz that muffled his hearing. 

HUF HUF HUF 

The beast had hidden near the entrance in the ceiling. It seemed so obvious it was almost stupid. His lungs could no longer process oxygen properly, and his vision began to blur, but a voice whispered in his ears, calling the boy. 

"Li... Li... LIII!" The nearly lifeless body shouted. "GET A GRIP, KID!" 

Struggling to stay on his feet, the elf stood up. He was strong. Definitely strong. But the blow hit him directly, rendering his body useless. In the desperation to save his own daughter, Itzal didn't even consider wasting time defending himself. 

"Sir, I..." 

"FORGET ABOUT ME!" the man shouted. "Please, Jihan! PLEASE! GET HER OUT OF HERE! I'll try to buy some time!" 

"But..." 

"You promised me!" Choking on his own blood, Itzal could barely speak. 

"Hihihihi..." The Troll laughed, as if fear fed him, and began to move toward the dying man. 

Whether it was the 'ability' he had received or the adrenaline of the moment, Jihan's mind stabilized, and as if his brain contained his despair, his body began to obey. Looking to the side, he saw Akemi still paralyzed, her skin pale and her legs trembling violently. Li quickly grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder, and began to run. 

"Thank you, boy," Itzal whispered. 

Realizing she was being taken away from her father, the Half-Elf began to struggle. 

"LET ME GO! You bastard! Why did you abandon him?! Why aren't you helping?" 

"We... we promised that if things went wrong, we'd run!" Jihan's voice trembled. He was scared. But relieved. Relieved to have a reason to run and escape the danger. 

"COWARD! Put me down. I'll go back alone!" 

Li refused. If he let her go, he would lose the only excuse that calmed his conscience. After a few minutes of running, he finally saw the cave entrance. 

"We made it! We're close to the exit!" the boy celebrated. 

However, as Jihan took the first step outside, a shadow covered the sky, smashing the ground in front of him. With quick reflexes, he barely managed to dodge, being thrown away by the shockwave. 

"What was tha—" Dazed from being thrown, Akemi questioned; but before she could finish her sentence, she turned upward. The stone club was a few meters from her. 

Li stared at the monster in front of him. "If it's here, it means the old man..." 

"YOU BASTARD! I'll end you!" 

The Half-Elf didn't think for half a second and drew a staff from her waist. The black object quickly extended and curved, forming a bow in her hands. Li found it strange since he had never seen the girl carry arrows, but as soon as she pulled the string, an arrow of light formed. 

"What is that bow?" Although incredulous, a flash of confidence crossed Jihan's mind. "Maybe we can win!" 

Akemi released the string, and the arrow flew instantly to the beast's head. A small wound appeared on its face. 

"Hihihihi." The creature mocked, and the wound soon closed. 

"Then how about this?" The archer drew another arrow, this time larger and stronger, and fired. 

An explosion echoed through the forest. The monster took two steps back and knelt. 

"Did it work? No... if it were that easy, Itzal wouldn't have made us run!" 

"Get back! It's a trap!" 

After many years of being challenged, the Troll developed a slightly greater mental capacity than usual. It learned the basic tactics of those who came to steal its treasure and the way these living beings thought. The monster laughed from within the smoke and, ignoring everything, leaped toward the woman. Its arm extended, sweeping the ground, hitting her. 

"AKEMI!" Li yelled, seeing her being thrown into the air. 

Though far less damaging than the blow that hit Itzal, the woman was thrown, hitting the wall and falling semi-conscious. The beast then turned towards the boy. Its yellow eyes made everything around it overshadowed, the wrinkled and putrid skin making the smell of the place almost unbearable. Jihan's breathing became labored. He wouldn't lose so easily. He wouldn't let everything end right there. Feeling a shock in his pocket, his mind began to work. 

"I can use this, but it needs to be at the right time." Li calculated from the last time it happened to that moment. He would need to use the horn to attract the thunder. A miscalculation could easily cost him his life, which was a risk. Fortunately, he liked taking risks. 

"That shock just now... it's quite likely it's close..." The beast began to walk towards Jihan. 

"Not yet..." The moment he felt the next shock, he threw the horn over the Troll and started running towards Akemi. As soon as the object hit the monster's head, lightning struck it, blasting part of it. The monster roared in pain, clutching the wound. 

Reaching the woman on the ground, Li didn't think much and hoisted her onto his shoulders. Before he could get up, an object came flying towards him, sticking into the ground near him. "Looks like luck is on my side." Grabbing the item and tucking it into his pants again, he ran into the forest. 

Noticing his prey was escaping with its treasure, the monstrosity became enraged and disappeared into the darkness of the trees. 

"Did it give up?" Jihan wondered, but quickly changed his mind. "That bastard won't stop so easily." 

And as if life played a trick on him, a large club emerged from the darkness, hitting the ground in front of him and throwing them away, knocking them down in the process. 

The beast laughed again. It seemed to enjoy their suffering. Li got up. His brain racing, he thought of a way out. "If I leave her here, maybe I can buy some more time to escape." Suddenly, he closed his eyes and shouted: 

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, JIHAN!?" 

"Now is not the time to think about that crap, you damn idiot!" He needed to survive, but more than that, he needed her to survive. He had come to this world to change his life, to be a better person. If he let her die, it would be a testament that he would never change. 

When he finally prioritized his thoughts, his mind clicked. The thought that he shouldn't die kept repeating in his mind. Then, Li sighed. His pores opened; his muscles tensed. His veins expanded. 

FSSS 

Li took a deep breath. 

TUM! The monster took the first step. 

FSSS 

TUM! 

The young man's heart began to race. 

FSSS 

TUM! 

His eyes stopped trembling. 

And he held his breath. 

The club descended towards him. 

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" The trees swayed. The birds squawked and flew away. In a desperate cry to survive, Li punched towards the Troll, bursting the veins in his body in a counterattack. Shadows covered his hand and extended into a devastating claw, taking with it half of the monster's body to the abyss. 

The Troll roared in pain, falling to the ground. Its body slowly regenerated, but at this rate, it would take hours to recover. Jihan quickly ran to the woman. She had one swollen eye, unable to see, but her other eye showed a mix of astonishment and fear, having no idea what had just happened. 

"Akemi, we ne..." The boy's vision blurred. "I don't..." And he fainted. 

"Li!" The Half-Elf struggled to get up from the ground. Turning his body, which had fallen forward, she brought her hands to her mouth. The veins in his arm were burst, tears of blood ran from his eyes, his body was in shambles. "No wonder he managed to hurt that thing... how is he alive?" She was astonished, but the monster's groan brought her back to reality. "Whatever happened, I can ask him later. I have to find a way to get us out of here." Desperately pulling him by the arms, she began to drag him away. 

When he opened his eyes, Jihan was leaning against the wall of a cave. 

"Akemi..." 

The young woman got up and, with some difficulty, went to the boy. 

"Don't speak! Your body is... you need to save all the energy you can." 

"The old man..." 

"Please, Li..." 

"I'm... sorry..." Tears began to fall from his already dull eyes. "I should... have... helped." 

"Stop talking, Jihan, please!" 

"I... was... scared..." He confessed. "He... was... I am... pathetic." 

And, using his last bit of strength, he fell asleep again, leaving the woman alone. 

"What are you talking about? You... You IDIOT!" Venting to herself, taking advantage of the fact that he wasn't listening, she continued. "You shouldn't even be here!" Punching the ground with every sentence. "You saved me! I... I... am so weak..." 

As the cry faded, a green light surrounded the bodies of the two young people, taking them away from there.