Here We Go Again

Christopher stood, daggers raised, facing the massive spider.

"You want a fight?" he challenged.

The spider glared, poised to strike.

"Bye!"

To its surprise, Christopher yelled, turning and sprinting back toward the fountain.

"Did you think I'd actually fight you? I'm not ready to die!" He yelled, staring at it over his shoulder.

<"You dare?!" the spider hissed, leaping in front of Christopher, cutting him off from fountain.< p>

Christopher skidded to a halt, slowly backing away.

<"You think you can trick me, human?"> The spider advanced, its massive legs clicking on the cave floor.

Christopher continued to retreat. "My plan to trick you has already succeeded."

<"…..??" >

"Where are you standing?" Christopher asked with a smirk. He abruptly spun around and sprinted toward the cave exit. "To protect the fountain, you left the entrance wide open!"

<"You—!" > The spider reared up, its front legs raised high.

Christopher grinned. He'd faced Black Widows before, so he knew what was coming.

BAM!

The spider's legs slammed into the ground, and at that exact moment, Christopher leaped into the air. Sticky white webs erupted from the ground where he'd been standing.

He landed with a roll, quickly getting to his feet and lunging forward as more webs shot up from the ground around him.

BAM!

Three more webs burst from the ground near the exit, hurtling toward him. Christopher slid, his eyes fixed on the webs whizzing overhead.

BAM!

He successfully reached the exit, stood, and turned back to the spider. "Nice knowing you," he said with a mock bow, then turned and ran.

<"You won't escape!"> The spider shrieked, thundering after him.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The spider's massive legs pounded the ground as it gave chase.

Once they were gone, a small cat emerged from its hiding place. It picked up the vial in its mouth and darted toward the fountain, quickly refilling it with the shimmering tears.

______

The spider reached the cave entrance, looking around in confusion.

<"Where are you, human?"> It growled, stalking out of the cave.

Christopher, hidden behind a cluster of rocks and brush, watched the spider emerge.

'You think you're so clever.' He thought. 'I'll show you what clever really is—No! No! No!'

His face turned paled, eyes widened in horror as he saw the spider approach his Bugatti.

'No! Not my car!'

He watched in disbelief as the Mythical Beast raised a leg and brought it down on his beloved car, reducing it to a mangled mess of scrap metal in seconds.

Tears welled in Christopher's eyes.

'I swear.' He vowed silently.

'When I'm stronger, I'll come back here, rip off your legs, and make you watch me cook and eat them!'

The spider, oblivious to the destruction it had wrought, glanced around and returned to the cave.

Christopher waited five minutes, making sure the spider was gone, before emerging from his hiding place.

He studied his car for some seconds, his face dark, fists clenched:

'You bastard! I promise, we'll see again, and you'll be the one begging!'

GRAAA!

'Are you kidding me?!' He thought, exasperated.

'I know taking risks is my thing, but this is ridiculous! Two Beasts in one day?!'

He slowly turned to see a one-meter-tall Red Fox glaring at him.

'Oh great, another Perfect-stage Beast. Level 2 combat strength.' He thought wearily.

Frustrated and heartbroken over his car, Christopher turned and ran. 'What is this?! Am I trapped in a circle of running?! I said, I love taking risks, but not at this level!!'

Does he know the definition of "Risk"?

Christopher ducked back into the cave, the fox stopping at the entrance. He found a dry spot and sat down, giving the fox a rude gesture.

'Screw you! I'll add you and your race in my dead list!'

The fox stared at him for a moment, then turned and walked away.

'The Capital's Tamer Division calls this a "yellow zone"?!' Christopher scoffed.

'I wonder if they have any idea how many enraged Beasts are roaming around? If the yellow zone is this dangerous, what are the red and dead zones like? I was only gone for two months, and the Beasts are taking over. What will happen in a year? Leon and those four are doing nothing with their positions. All they care about is having fun, and showing their wealth and powers.'

He sighed and glanced to his right, seeing the cat approaching with the vial in its mouth.

'At least I got more tears.' He thought. Then his eyes widened. 'Oh no! The ingredients and the cauldron are still in the car!'

He stopped himself from going out, hearing the howls, growls, and shrieks of Beasts echoing through the night. 'No. I'll check tomorrow. My phone is in the car too, and where did I drop my daggers?! This is a disaster, so frustrating!!'

With a deep breath, he calmed himself, and took the vial then put it in his pocket with the other one.

"You did good." He stroked the cat's head.

'I'm sorry, you three.' He thought. 'But I have to do this. I need my Divine Beasts back. That's the only way I can get revenge on those who betrayed me and that spider that destroyed my car; and even the Fox, who chased me. If there's time, I might throw a feast for you guys before I start the experiment.' He paused, his stomach growling.

'Speaking of feasts… I'm starving. I miss my new Mum. Oh, Mum! She'll be worried sick. But I can't go back yet. My life is more important.'

He looked around the cave. 'I'm in the outer part of a cave, with a Mythical Beast in the deepest part. How ironic of this situation.'

He turned to the bat carcasses. 'I should be thankful that arrogant spider doesn't eat dead bats.' He looked at the bats, his stomach growling again.

'No! I won't eat a bat. Besides, it's not the first time I've slept hungry.'

He found a comfortable spot and lay down, whispering to the cat:

"Wake me if you hear anything. Anything at all. Even a mosquito."

The cat nodded.

Christopher thought for a moment and touched his ring, summoning the centipede. "To Keep you company." he said.

He buttoned his jacket and closed his eyes, unaware that the entire capital was currently searching for him.

_____

[Next Day]

Sunlight streamed into the cave, waking Christopher. Noticing the light, he quickly sat up and looked around.

"…"

Christopher was stunned to see the two Beasts sound asleep on top of a bat's carcass.

'Wait. Aren't they supposed to be guarding me?! How can they guard me if they're asleep?!'

He stood and walked over to them, crouching down and using his body to block the sunlight.

Feeling the shade, the two Beasts opened their eyes. When they saw Christopher's stern face, they leaped back in surprise, looking around in confusion.

"Good morning."

Christopher glared at them, then stood up. "We need to move." he said.

"We don't know when that thing will come out to hunt. And I don't plan on being its breakfast."

He took off his jacket, walked to where he'd buried the cores, and dug them up. He carefully placed the cores inside the jacket.

"Let's go."

He said, tying the sleeves together and slinging it around his neck. He touched his ring, recalling the two Beasts.

Christopher gave the cave one last disdainful look, vowing revenge, and walked out.

'I'll show you I never let my enemies go free, especially those on my dead list!' He thought.

Christopher walked to his car and looked at the mangled wreckage. He sighed and touched his ring. A blue light flashed, and the rhinoceros materialized, standing two meters tall.

"Okay, big guy." he said. "Help me create an entrance."

The rhinoceros nodded, walked to the car, and plunged its horns into the dented metal. With a powerful heave, it ripped a section of the car open, creating a makeshift entrance.

"Hold it." Christopher said.

"And don't drop it." He added.

With that said, he got on his knees and crawled into the space. After a quick check, he spotted the bag wedged between the car's seats.

"Damn it!" he muttered, reaching in and grabbing the bag. He pulled it free. Luckily, it didn't tear.

BAM!!

The moment he got out, the rhinoceros dropped the car with a loud crash.

"Seriously?!" Christopher exclaimed.

"This! Shouldn't you have dropped it quietly." He whispered.

The Rhinoceros stared at him in mild confusion, not knowing why the Human was whispering.

Christopher heaved a sigh: "I forgot you don't know what happened last night... But still, you should have known we're in a yellow zone!"

AWOOO!!

Christopher and the Rhinoceros turned their heads to the forest.

"Forget it!"

He quickly touched his ring, recalling the rhinoceros.

With one last look at the bag containing the ingredients and the cauldron, he turned and ran away, not slowing down for even a second.

'Here we go again.' He thought.