For a brief moment, there was stillness.
Neither Jax nor the Hand Horse moved.
They only stared each other down.
Then, just as quickly as that peace had arrived, both snapped into motion.
The ground beneath them dented and burst upward.
Jax rushed to the side, trying to create space between himself and Beatris.
But in the brief moment he glanced back to make sure she was not being targeted, the creature vanished.
It practically teleported in front of him.
From its back, two arms lunged.
They attacked on strange lengths with too many joints, snaking toward Jax at a speed that turned them into blurs.
He could not even react.
One arm slammed a fist across his jaw, several of his teeth loosening as his head jerked back.
The other lunged, fingers straight like a spear.
They struck and sparked against his Lifeforce Control.
Hand Horse (C) has attacked.
You have used skill Lifeforce Control (D).
You have used 18 Ki to take zero damage.
Hand Horse (C) has attacked.
Hand Horse has hit a vital point.
Critical hit.
You have used skill Lifeforce Control (D).
You have used 56 Ki to take zero damage.
Even from just the impact, Jax could feel an intense purple bruise spreading across his side, the pain making his head spin despite the barrier.
He rolled to his feet, wind knocked from his lungs as he panted and stared down the creature.
It just stood there.
Not advancing.
Not even powering up.
Just watching him.
Jax darted his eyes to the notification, then took a moment to feel the impact of that single exchange.
Two hits had knocked him from 114 Ki down to 40.
In less than three seconds, he had gone from top shape to having his defenses more than half broken through.
"So much bravado," the Hand Horse said, its voice dripping with enjoyment at the cruelty of the situation, "and you practically go limp from a basic attack?"
Jax looked back at Beatris.
Her face was pale, worry etched across it.
She seemed to have caught on to just how powerful that attack had been.
Jax turned back to the Hand Horse, a hateful blaze in his eyes.
Then he lunged.
A billowing snarl echoed through the clearing, both to hopefully hide the fear beginning to creep into his chest and to alert Aiden that they needed help.
You all just had a conversation about how weak he is.
Just feed him to the horse and run away with Beatris.
The voice sounded like one of Jax's own thoughts.
But he shook it off, knowing the obsession was trying its best to worm its way in.
You have used skill Powerful Strike (D).
Your next strike is enhanced.
You have used skill Iron Fist (D).
You have dealt 68 damage.
Jax's paw collided with the snout of the Hand Horse.
A sound like breaking bone reverberated through the clearing.
Pain exploded through his body.
Like his paw was being sawn off by fire ants.
A mix between a howl and a desperate cry of agony tore from him.
The pain.
By the great gods above, the pain.
Jax landed and rolled back, clutching his paw, tears running uncontrollably down his face.
The pain was too much for his body to remain fully under his control.
The Hand Horse simply stared down at him.
Its snout showed only one small sign of damage.
A single hand now had a faint reddish line across it, where the skin had been irritated by the claws of Jax's paw.
The Hand Horse's expression bordered between confusion and disappointment.
Like it was wondering why Jax had been so confident before.
Jax's Ki was gone.
Emptied by his skills and by the recoil of striking something that did not give, the force of the blow shooting back into him.
He could hear Aiden in the distance.
The revving was getting closer.
But that only made dread run through Jax's body.
This isn't something we can fight.
We need to run.
But it's too fast.
We can't even do that.
Beatris could not even heal him properly, because he had taken only a small amount of damage.
Without Ki, he would just be in even more pain.
The break was rapidly mending.
The power that was both a blessing and a curse now worked its magic to repair what must have been a broken paw as Jax watched the Hand Horse.
It did not even look at him.
It seemed disinterested now that Jax could not pose any level of challenge.
Its eyes locked onto the woods.
After a moment, a spear shot forward.
One of the hands on the Hand Horse shot up and caught the shaft.
Aiden was mid air a second later rocketing in and slammed both feet against the Hand Horse with full momentum.
A small shockwave burst from behind the Hand Horse.
Yet its body barely moved at all.
Like it was able to ignore things like inertia.
Aiden landed, pain clear on his face as his engine hummed in an oddly deeper tone.
"We aren't winning this," Jax said. "We need to escape. Grab Beatris. It can't kill me, so I'll slow it down."
Aiden looked toward him with an expression that showed rapid thought.
Then he sighed and turned back toward the Hand Horse.
Much to Jax's horror, he heard Aiden's engine begin to die down.
"What are you doing?" Jax asked. "We need to r—"
Aiden turned back while walking forward.
An expression asking Jax to trust him rested on his face.
"Hand Horse," Aiden said, "I am here to bargain."
There was a moment of silence.
Then the abominable creature began to shake before throwing its head up with a strange screeching sound, like someone cackling through nails on a chalkboard.
Its eyes locked onto Aiden.
Cruel amusement burned in them, like a cat listening to a mouse's last words.
"Bargain?" the Hand Horse asked. "I can kill anyone in this clearing in less time than it takes for you to speak a sentence."
Its many fingers flexed.
"Even Jax here had his paw shatter against my face just by punching me."
The creature leaned slightly closer.
"Hells, I haven't killed you right now out of professional courtesy. But do go on. Tell me what bargaining chip you could possibly hold over me."
Aiden's expression did not falter.
He stuck the butt of his spear into the ground and crossed his arms.
Then he turned his head upward and yelled.
"AWAKEN, HERALD OF D—"
The look of alarm that crossed the Hand Horse's face could only be compared to someone saying Red's name aloud and insulting him.
Its fingers all seemed to jump up in surprise.
Its entire body went rigid.
But Aiden stopped halfway through yelling.
He looked at the Hand Horse with a serious expression.
"You see," Aiden said, "I was given a funny little skill by someone. Apparently, they wanted me to stick around a while, so they offered me a bit of a trump card."
He tilted his head.
"However, as a professional courtesy, I will offer you a deal that benefits us both."
The Hand Horse scowled.
It stared at Aiden, its expression showing the calculations it was making about attacking before Aiden could use the skill.
Then it snarled.
"Speak."
"We both know your boss probably doesn't like failure," Aiden said. "Especially out of cowardice. And we don't really want to die."
He began to pace, arms held at the small of his back as he casually kicked his feet.
Though Jax could see sweat rolling down Aiden's arms.
His fingers were shaking.
"Personally, I would rather save this trump card for something more important," Aiden continued. "We are already heading for Tessegog anyway, and since it's got quite the swarm of monsters that are probably over our pay grade, I'm going to have to use my trump card sooner rather than later."
He stopped pacing.
"So let us live for now and leave us alone. Once my trump card is used, I can't stop you from attacking us anymore."
The Hand Horse scowled, looking Aiden over as if trying to see through his bluff.
"Not good enough," the creature said. "I have a time limit for this mission."
Its fingers rippled.
"I can give you at most three months before I come back. If I leave now, I will make a shake pact with you that you will not use that skill against me when I return."
The creature's voice sharpened.
"And mark my words, I will return with full intentions for death."
"Deal."
The two approached each other.
A hand extended from the Hand Horse, and Aiden held out his own.
A system notification appeared before Jax.
Team member Aiden Hallowcreek has made a Shake Pact with Hand Horse (C).
Pact Conditions:
Hand Horse will not continue its pursuit and hunt for three months, after which it will resume.
This period will be ended immediately upon the use of the skill Waking the Herald of Defense (A).
If three months pass before the use of the skill, it will be sealed for the remaining duration of the Hand Horse's hunt.
There was a tense moment of silence.
The Hand Horse stared with hate.
Then it vanished.
A second later, the wind billowed as if catching up.
Aiden immediately fell back onto his ass, his breathing rapid as sweat ran down his face in streams.
Jax began to take a step forward to congratulate him.
A notification stopped him.
Your party has achieved something grand.
Ward off a Knowledge Hunter.
Your class is ready to evolve.
Dash Striker (D)
Watcher of Ruin (C)
Way of the Laughing Fang (D)