Kuma Kuma Bear! (2)

"ROOOAARRRRR!" 

And that's when it happened… 

IT BURST THROUGH ITS PRISON LIKE A COMET! 

Just in time to come face to face with shellshocked students… 

Mere seconds ago, their leader had been thundering cockily, "Hehe, don't worry, I know this forest like my own backyard! Yes, there's a Rampaging Bear! But it's stuck to that place!" 

"A-Are you sure? I'm really scared! What if we encounter it anyway?!" 

"Hehe, don't worry your sweet butt. I'm gonna protect—"

That's when it happened. The poor student wasn't even done bragging that a ginormous bear flew over his head! What the hell was this? NO! T-This was impossible it—

"ROOOAARRRRR!" 

"RUUNNNNNNNNNN" Fight? That was so dumb! At this moment, the leader didn't wait for his party members. He got the fuck out, even as the earlier "sweet butt" fell on her ass! 

Escaping students screaming in fear, a terrified girl trembling all over as she sobbed, and a certain Rampaging Beast crying out in pain. This was such profound torture! 

And yet it kept holding on, gritting its fangs as the Soul Chain attacked it… 

Pain. Pain. Pain. The entire world became nothing but pain. But it wasn't physical. It was its soul screaming in agony as it was getting eroded! 

"ROOOAARRRRR!" 

Roaring in pain, the poor bear suddenly… vomited something?! A metallic clang resounded, the thing rolling a few meters away. It just happened to arrive right at the girl's feet! 

"A-Ah?! A-A student B-Badge?! D-Don't tell me you've devoured a student?! B-Beast!" The terrified girl cried out. 

— Struggle! Reach! — 

Out of nowhere, the bear suddenly extended its paw, as if to grab the badge. This felt so random, why would a Bear need a badge? It didn't make any sense! 

But that's when she saw its eyes. 

Longing. Sorrow. Loneliness. Warmth. Those eyes weren't the eyes of a Bear, those eyes were almost human! Those eyes contained so much suffering that she gulped. 

It was a scary Bear. 

It was a Rampaging Bear. 

It was a bloodthirsty creature, and yet… 

"I-Is that Badge important to you? Does it belong to a friend?" 

"Rooooarrrr!" This time, it wasn't a scary roar but a sorrowful one?! It was filled with so much emotion that the girl suddenly found herself feeling pity? 

It was ridiculous, so ridiculous, and yet she actually pushed the Badge toward the gigantic bear, who instantly grabbed it as if its life depended on it?! 

Yes, it was a student Badge. 

Yes, it was also a modified one. 

Yes, its life freaking depended on it! 

At this moment, it remembered the weird human's instructions. 

"I need to study the damn Soul Chain, but we can't have you die for it. I'll tell you when I'm done cracking it, and you tell me when you can't endure anymore, alright?" 

That's when a mind-boggling scene appeared. One of a bear actually using a Student Badge to log in to a Chat Room?! Soon, in a certain Mage Club… 

— MoreMana: "Shit, did you guys hear what happened at the Astral Tower?! I was told the whole thing just powered down!" 

— HumongousStaff: "Not to brag, but I NEVER power down! I can go all night, hehehehe!" 

— KumaKumaBear: "fwu8fbhwt9hwgijwrg0wrj^gwrlkfdq-0qweh9wehfnewgewranijup" 

— KnowledgeWell: "Fellow mage, are you alright? Are you having a stroke?!"

— KumaKumaBear: "f89f-2gf23wfgijw2gjkpgk3w2kgw" 

— ClassyMagus: "….."

— Little Apple: "….." 

— FluffySlime: "….." 

Little did they know that this was merely the beginning. The Bear kept typing, the speed and intensity giving info about its status. 

The weaker it grew, the less it would type, and even as it did its eyes kept scanning the glowing text. It didn't know how to read, but there was one thing it knew: 

'WeAreLegion' 

This was the signal! As soon as this appeared, it would rush back to safety! Thus, the Bear kept enduring, growing weaker by the second until finally… 

— WeAreLegion: "Hostages has been rescued!" 

— KumaKumaBear: "Heeuiebfieubfneqif!" 

That's when the Bear used the little bit of strength it still had, waving a paw as an Earth-Magic hammer suddenly threw it back into the safe zone! Instantly it felt better… 

The message… meant that weird human had found a way, right?! 

"Roaaarrr." Left panting, the Bear gave a thankful glance to the passing student, the latter gawking, shell-shocked. But then, a second later, her face contorted in fear. 

"B-Behind you!" She screamed with worry. 

That's when the Bear suddenly felt it. 

That aura, the aura of doom, one that it had forgotten all those years. No, not forgotten. This was the nightmare that it had buried so incredibly deep. 

But now it was all resurfacing. ALL AT ONCE! 

The smell of the forest. 

The coziness of their cave.

The warmth of its mother's fur. 

A being of gray, one that it had overlooked and tried to face. Its mother coming to its rescue. The slashes that had cut Heaven and its mother open. And finally, this prison. 

T-This was the bastard! This was the monster who had…?!? 

"Oh? What do we have here? Trying to escape?" 

"RROOOAAAARRRRRR—"

The roar didn't last long, a single slap ending it all. As for the gray man? He turned pensive, his smile turning into a vicious one. 

"That student badge? You're not alone, it seems? Someone's trying to mess with the Hunting Grounds on my watch? Talk about brazen! Hehe, shall we see who it is?" 

Cackling, the man simply grabbed the ginormous Bear with one arm, as if it was merely a tiny puppy. This arm, it was so full of magic that it made the poor creature sick. 

It was fucked! It was so goddamn fucked!

Yet, its own fate couldn't have bothered it in the least. 

That weird human. The one who had promised it freedom. The one who had promised it revenge. HE WAS IN DANGER! 

At this moment, it dug deep into the last power it still had remaining and— 

— KumaKumaBear: " o()xx[{::::::::::::::::::::::::::>" 

It didn't know how to write, but it knew shapes!

Hopefully, the weird human would get the message. He'd run! He'd hide! And he'd get revenge in its stead one day! At the very least, he'd live… 

"Roooarrrr!" This wasn't a mere roar. It was one full of sorrow. One full of hope. One that contained so much more emotions than a Rampaging Bear should have known. 

This was a roar that came from its very soul. The last flicker of a doomed— 

"Oh? What do we have here? Mage Club? How interesting!" 

The gray man had barely grabbed the Badge when… 

— KumaKumaBear: "Hehe, I have your bear friend! Maybe I'll torture it a bit~"

— WeAreLegion: "Hehe, I have your Forest! Maybe I'll burn it down~" 

At this moment, a certain Mage Club was about to go insane. W-What the fuck was happening today?! A-Also, why was it involving WeAreLegion again?!

Little did they know of the Academy-shattering duel about to happen. 

[Congratulations! Successfully Angered Teacher Gale!] 

As for the shit-storm that would follow…