Killing the Bear

For her part, Momo did not feel guilty or bad about trying to let the Bear go when she'd had the opportunity to kill it in a single attack. However, that did not mean she was incapable of seeing how things now had to end.

It was the Bear or her, the Alpha Wolf and Cifer. That was a reasonably easy decision, even if it was an unpleasant one. Since he had left her with no other choice the Bear had to die.

Ever since coming to that conclusion after all the twists and turns of fate that had put them again in the position where they could compete with the Bear, Momo had been doing her best to hold the Bear's attention. Stone plates protecting his head and neck meant that she'd need several attacks, even with the Skull Smasher Technique that she could't rely on, before she'd actually be able to smash his skull. So instead of trying fruitlessly, she'd opted to take on the role of a distraction and protector.

It was surprisingly easy actually, since her mace had been what broke the Bear's arm, both she and it were the most hated of those here and as long as she was in reach the Bear would always attack her first. So when Cifer had so eagerly told her he had a plan that required her to hold the Bear's attention she both felt more at ease and very frustrated, snapping that she was trying.

Then Cifer's next remark horrified her. He thought she could use Skull Smasher at will! If she could do that they wouldn't need the Alpha Wolf so desperately!!! But according to him, Cifer didn't need her to fire off tons of them and use them to dominate the fight. He just needed her to use it once or twice to negate the full power swings of the Bear's good arm.

If Momo managed to use Skull Smasher, all was good and well. She should be able to neutralize or possibly overpower the Bear in a contest of instantaneous force. But should Momo fail she'd be on the receiving end of the Bear's claws. Gritting her teeth, Momo made her decision. "Get ready, I doubt I'll manage to repeat this."

The Bear watched its side closely as the Alpha Wolf constantly worried the weaker side of the Bear. Since the Bear's arm was broken it had an obvious weakness there. Due to the thick fur, tough hide and scattered stony plates the Alpha Wolf couldn't leave any real damage, just some scratches and a decently deep bite from the first surprise attack. This action did demand the Bear's complete attention to deal with however, granting the humans time for the brief discussion.

Momo walked toward them, staring up at the Bear. It snarled, sharp instincts sensing something different this time. Until now Momo had always charged headlong at it, nothing more on her mind than distracting the Bear. This calm approach caused it to feel a weird sense of pressure from the measly human in front of it. Savagery incarnate, the Bear furiously howled and brought its claws crashing down from overhead to maximize it's advantage in size and weight and crush the only real threat once and for all.

It would not distract Momo. Cifer was counting on her and had something in mind. If she failed to do her job right it would almost certainly mean the Bear would have the chance to kill him. That was absolutely unacceptable. Cifer was the little brother she never had, and she wouldn't allow this big ugly brute any chance to touch him. She swung her Mace from below in a two handed grip, waiting until the last possible second and infusing the full length of her mace with the passion of War as she screamed. "SHUT UP ALREADY!!!"

The two blows slammed into each other and Momo was tossed to the ground by the weight and authority that the Bear's attack had. But the 5 ton body of the stone plated Bear was lifted off the ground and fell over backwards with an almighty crash. The Alpha Wolf appeared in a flash, biting and mauling one of the Bear's back legs as he ripped a massive chunk of flesh from the larger and stronger Origination Beast.

Blood was everywhere, the Alpha Wolf backing away from the Bear before it could regain it's feet, chewing up the slab of meat torn from the Bear's leg. The wound was huge, even considering the size of the Bear, about a foot long and 4 inches across. In addition, as blood drained from the lethal injury, which was as deep as it was wide. If it had been a human, death from blood loss would happen in just a few seconds. Due to it's massive size and the extra vitality that a Cultivator or an Origination Beast possess, the Bear held on for about a minute. It wasn't a threat any longer though, as with one leg broken and another with a literal bite taken out of it the Bear couldn't even stand anymore.

Laying on the ground, Momo felt badly drained and still felt the terror pulsing through her. Yet she also felt a guilty flush of victory as Cifer came over to help her up. Momo knew he'd somehow made sure that the Bear had a vulnerable spot and that the Alpha Wolf knew to target it. How he'd done that, Momo didn't know or care. She was simply happy to be alive and to see he was unharmed.

Actually, Cifer was in better shape than she was. Momo had various nicks and several huge welts across her body as she'd taken the brunt of the Bear's attention and endured his attacks head on. Cifer was practically unhurt!

"You did so good with that last hit! I'd just hoped you could knock him a little off balance maybe, but his feet left the ground!" Cifer congratulated her earnestly.

Momo groaned. "Next time, we keep our heads down in the woods." Getting to her feet was reminding her all the spots that had gotten hurt.

Cifer nodded emphatically. "What do with do with the Bear's body?" He looked over at it, and Momo felt like she could see him calculating the value of all the parts of the body.

"Let the wolf pack have it. Their Alpha killed him, not us. Our reward is getting out with our lives." Momo answered, pleasantly surprised to see Cifer agree immediately.

Smiling gently, the girl with the ancient eyes vanished into the woods while the trio were distracted with celebrating their victory.