Shad Darc had never been incapable of fighting.
His decision to flee when he first encountered the creature had not come from helplessness. It had come from experience.
During his years serving as one of the special operatives in the Shadow Department, Shad had fought humans and beasts alike. His world possessed technology and scientific advancements far beyond what most people could imagine, including a serum capable of enhancing human physical abilities and pushing the body beyond certain natural limitations.
He had fought people who had taken that serum.
And he had survived.
He had also faced bears, wild animals, and other dangerous creatures. Some encounters had ended in victory. Others had required him to retreat, adapt, or find a way to survive.
Shad understood the difference between courage and stupidity.
When he first saw the bear-like creature, his instincts had recognized something far beyond his current capabilities. The fear he experienced had not been the ordinary panic of a frightened man.
It had been the instinctive response of a predator encountering something higher on the food chain.
Running had been the correct decision.
Now, however, the circumstances had changed.
After only a single day in this forest, Shad had acquired a source of power that had taken him beyond the limits of his former physical capabilities. He still didn't know how much stronger he had become, but he now possessed a chance of surviving the creature.
Even if that chance was only fifty percent.
For Shad, that was enough to justify taking the risk.
Why am I thinking about all this?
He shook his head.
I need to keep my mind from wandering.
His gaze moved toward the ground.
The creature waited beneath the tree, its massive body positioned roughly fifteen meters away from the trunk. Shad had to find a way down without giving it an immediate opportunity to kill him.
"How am I supposed to get down without being attacked the moment I touch the ground?"
He waited for a response from his identities.
None came.
Shad narrowed his eyes.
The silence answered his question.
Apparently, he would have to solve this problem himself.
"Of course."
He glanced around the enormous tree that had sheltered him throughout the night.
Until now, he had paid little attention to its structure beyond its unusual appearance. Looking at it properly, however, revealed another oddity.
The tree seemed smaller than it had appeared when he first encountered it.
Yet it remained enormous.
One of its branches was wide enough for him to lie on comfortably, and its trunk was sturdy enough to withstand the creature's earlier assault.
Shad studied the bark.
The tree's proportions didn't make sense.
It was almost as though its size changed depending on how he perceived it.
Another mystery.
He dismissed the thought.
He had enough problems to deal with.
Shad began climbing down.
When he reached a point approximately fifteen meters above the ground, he stopped.
The creature was still watching him.
Shad looked at it.
Then he looked at the ground.
A reckless idea formed in his mind.
He smiled faintly.
"Well, here goes."
He jumped.
The moment he left the branch, Shad threw his short dagger toward the creature's left eye.
The blade was coated in a faint layer of transparent, sky-blue Flow. It was difficult to see, especially against the morning light, but Shad hoped its presence would give the attack enough force to cause damage.
The dagger wasn't intended to kill the creature.
It was a distraction.
Shad expected the beast to raise its paw or turn its head to protect its eye. That reaction would give him enough time to redirect his fall and land safely on the ground.
A simple plan.
Unfortunately, the creature didn't react as expected.
It merely closed its eye.
The dagger struck.
A sharp cry erupted from the creature's throat.
It wasn't the sound of an ordinary bear. The noise was deeper, distorted, and powerful enough to shake the surrounding branches.
The dagger had pierced its eye.
Shad's expression changed.
Well, that worked better than expected.
He landed and immediately rolled, using the momentum to reduce the impact. His body hit the ground, but he recovered quickly and turned toward the creature.
He didn't have time to celebrate.
A massive paw came toward him.
Shad raised both arms, crossing them in front of his chest.
The blow landed.
BAM!
The force was monstrous.
His arms absorbed the initial impact, but the remaining power drove straight through his body. Shad was launched backward and flew several dozen meters before crashing into the ground.
For a brief moment, his consciousness disappeared.
His body rolled across the earth like a discarded object before colliding with a tree.
BAM!
Pain brought him back.
Shad coughed violently and spat blood onto the ground.
His arms were numb. His chest burned, and his legs felt distant, almost disconnected from the rest of his body.
He had endured severe injuries before.
This was different.
The force behind the creature's strike was difficult to comprehend. It felt as though a heavy vehicle had slammed into him at full speed.
He struggled to breathe.
"This wasn't part of the plan."
He grimaced.
"Damn. Nothing ever goes the way I want."
A shadow fell over him.
Shad looked up.
The creature was already there.
Its right paw rose above him.
He had no time to recover.
The creature swung.
Shad forced his body to move.
He rolled to the side just as the paw descended.
BAM!
The creature struck the tree instead.
The impact tore a deep gash into the bark, sending splinters flying. The beast pulled its paw back and released an enraged roar.
Shad pushed himself away from the tree.
His body screamed with every movement.
The creature attacked again.
There was no pause, no opportunity to recover. Each strike forced Shad to move, and every mistake threatened to end the battle immediately.
He dodged one blow.
Then another.
The creature's attacks were powerful, but they were also broad. Its size gave it tremendous reach, yet that same size created openings that Shad could exploit.
He used the remaining Flow within his body to reinforce his movements, directing energy toward his legs, arms, and torso whenever necessary.
His control was crude.
His efficiency was poor.
But he was learning.
Theory was one thing.
A life-or-death battle was another.
The creature's next strike came faster than expected.
Its paw shot toward Shad's head like a cannonball.
Shad bent backward, narrowly avoiding the blow. The wind generated by the attack brushed against his face.
Before he could recover, the creature followed with a backhand.
The strike caught his left side and sent him flying.
Pain tore through his ribs, but the impact was less devastating than the first blow.
Whether that was because he had reinforced his body with the Flow or because the attack had landed at a different angle, Shad couldn't determine.
He hit the ground and rolled.
This time, he forced himself to stop before reaching another tree.
The creature charged.
Shad waited until the last possible moment before diving beneath its body.
The paw passed above him.
The creature seemed to hesitate, surprised by the unexpected movement.
Shad used that brief opening.
He reached for the creature's left hind leg and grabbed it.
The beast immediately shook its body, attempting to dislodge him.
Shad held on.
His fingers dug into the creature's thick fur as its movements dragged him across the ground. He used the momentum to pull himself upward, then launched his body toward the creature's back.
He landed against its shoulders and seized the fur around its neck.
The creature roared and thrashed.
Shad ignored the movement.
His right hand reached for one of the creature's horns while his left searched for the dagger embedded in its eye.
His fingers closed around the hilt.
The moment he touched it, the creature reacted violently.
It threw its head backward and twisted its body, attempting to crush or dislodge him.
Shad held on.
The dagger was still lodged in the creature's left eye, and every movement drove the blade deeper.
The beast's pain increased.
So did its desperation.
Shad pulled the dagger farther into the wound.
The creature screamed.
Yet Shad felt no satisfaction.
No hatred.
No excitement.
His mind had become quiet.
The fear, pain, and uncertainty were still present, but they no longer interfered with his actions. His body moved according to instinct, training, and immediate necessity.
He had entered the state he knew well.
The zone.
It wasn't a supernatural transformation or a state that made him invincible. It was the condition in which his thoughts narrowed until only combat remained. Every movement became a calculation. Every opening became an opportunity.
He stopped thinking about whether the creature deserved to die.
He stopped thinking about what would happen afterward.
There was only survival.
The creature finally managed to shake him from its back.
Shad hit the ground but refused to release the dagger. He held on as the beast dragged him across the earth, his lower body scraping against the ground.
The creature continued thrashing.
Shad's grip weakened.
He couldn't hold on much longer.
Then he made a decision.
He increased the amount of Flow entering the dagger.
The energy within the weapon responded immediately. The attraction between the infused Flow and the surrounding energy intensified, drawing more of the external energy toward the blade.
The power surged.
Shad felt the reserves within his body rapidly diminish.
He was nearly empty.
But he used the temporary increase in power to pull the dagger free.
The blade tore through the creature's eye, leaving a deep wound that ran down the side of its face.
The beast released another agonized roar.
Shad was thrown away.
He landed hard and struggled to rise.
The creature turned toward him.
One eye was destroyed.
Blood ran down its face.
Yet it was still standing.
And it was still angry.
Shad wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
The creature charged.
This time, it lowered its head.
Its two rhino-like horns pointed directly toward him.
Shad recognized the attack immediately.
He waited.
Then he moved.
As the creature rushed forward, Shad dove toward it, moving lower and more fluidly than before. He shifted to the creature's right side, narrowly avoiding the horns as they tore through the air.
His dagger flashed.
He threw it toward the upper portion of the creature's right foreleg.
The blade struck near the shoulder.
The creature stumbled.
Its right foreleg buckled beneath its weight, and its momentum carried it forward.
Shad didn't waste the opportunity.
He rushed toward the creature's exposed side and drove his hand toward its remaining eye.
The beast recoiled, but Shad's attack connected.
The creature screamed.
Both eyes were now damaged.
Shad retrieved the dagger and moved toward its neck.
He had almost no Flow left.
His body was barely functioning.
But he still had enough for one final attack.
He poured everything he had into the dagger.
The transparent blue energy surrounding the blade brightened.
Shad drove it into the right side of the creature's neck with all the force he could muster.
The attack was devastating.
The blade tore through the creature's flesh, and the concentrated Flow amplified the damage. The wound split open beneath the force of the strike.
The creature staggered.
Its roar weakened.
Then its massive body began to disintegrate.
The creature crumbled into dark particles, collapsing inward until nothing remained of its physical form.
Shad stood motionless.
The forest fell silent.
He had won.
But victory came at a terrible cost.
His bones were