The lieutenant tried to dodge the bear attack, but she was too close. The creature's massive paw connected with her side, sending her flying through the air. A loud crack could be heard as she rolled along the ground. Landing on her back a few meters away, blood spewed out of her mouth, and her breath was ragged. Her left arm was bent backward, and the bone pierced her skin.
She tried to raise her head, but as she did, it fell, hitting the grass. Her eyes fluttered for a moment before closing. Her chest still moved, but it did so slowly. A few people who wielded bows rushed towards her from out of the bush. They checked her breathing for a moment before dragging her to the back line.
"Continue attacking! Do not give it a chance!" The commander yelled.
With the command, the frozen warriors started to attack the bear again. The monster roared aloud, directing its voice towards the cub. In fear, the cub froze, standing around 20 meters away. It shivered and cried out. The bear roared again, but the cub did not budge.
Suddenly, a man who stood around six feet tall and wielded a longsword dashed at the cub. His heavy armour clattered as he ran, but the cub noticed the man too late and had no time to escape, only slightly dodging a sword swing. The cub, being off balance, had no way to avoid the follow-up attack, which spewed blood across the forest floor. A massive gash appeared upon the cub's face, its right eye being completely ruined. The cub cried out and writhed on the ground as its face continued to bleed crimson.
The bear, seeing this, roared with anger and charged towards the cub. People wielding spears stood in its way, thrusting at it as it tried to get past them. The bear halted as half a dozen metal ends pierced its hard skin, drawing blood and removing fur. The creature roared out as the man raised his sword against its cub once again. Rage could be seen behind the bear's eyes. Below the creature, the ground began to tremble.
The grass began to turn black as the ground around it heated. Its paws began to glow slightly, radiating warmth into the area. The bear roared and raised its paw. Giant orange flames surrounded the paw, illuminating the area around it. The people who did not wear full helmets had expressions that screamed fear.
The bear swiped at the six people who stood between it and its cub. The spearmen tried to dodge or block, but it was of no use, as the attack was far too fast and strong. Its right paw cleaved through the first three warriors, causing blood and guts to paint the ground. They did not even get to scream, as their lives were ripped away. The next three that encountered the bear's paw were blasted towards a nearby tree; the one on the far left slammed into a massive tree.
This was a man who wore light armour and had a few too many knives wrapped around his belt. After he crashed into the tree, the carriage followed. First, as he impacted, he coughed up blood, and a loud snap could be heard where he struck the tree. Following him were two more heavily armoured warriors. With the momentum of the heavy warrior, they crashed headfirst into the knife-wielding man.
The momentum of the armoured warrior, with the addition of their weight, was enough to crush the man who was pinned against the tree. The knife-wielding man's head collapsed on impact, followed by the man's chest, which shattered, leaving behind a gaping hole in the man's body. After crushing the first man, the armoured warrior experienced the same fate as the final armoured warrior, who wielded even heavier equipment, collided with them.
As the two spearmen's armour clashed, a snapping sound could be heard. The armour ground against each other before both gave way, causing sharp folds to appear in both of the warriors' equipment. The sharp pieces pierced the warriors, causing blood to stain their leather and drip from their metal. The people's hands fell to their wounds, trying to apply pressure, but it was too late.
The first man had a coughing fit where he continued to spew his own blood, it seeping down his neck as the helmet contained most of it. After a few moments, the man collapsed and began to spasm before finally stopping, and he then eventually died of blood loss. The second man did not fare much better; he tried to stand up, but it was of no use, as the sharp object and the hard impact had severed his spine. His body twitched uncontrollably for a moment, his eyes darting across the battlefield in fear. In the end, his body gave out, leaving it to rest in the disgusting body fluids.
After clearing the path, the bear charged forth, running at unfathomable speeds to reach its cub. The man, oblivious to what had occurred behind him, raised his sword to finish off the cub. Orange light illuminated his armour from behind, causing it to shine and reflect clearly. In said reflection was a massive beast, filled with anger and flaming-hot paws.
The man bringing down his sword suddenly halted. Blood gushed from his mouth. His sword dropped from his hand as he looked down at his stomach. There was a massive paw that had five sharp claws; it had pierced entirely through his body. The flames burned his blood and charred his insides. He tried to scream but could not; only the sound of gurgling filled his mouth as he choked on his own blood.
Bringing his hands to the creature's paw, he tried to pull himself away, but as he did so, his hands began to bubble, his white skin turning a crisp black. He pulled harder as more blood spilled from his mouth, but it was no use. The monster closed its paw, digging its fangs deep into the man's skin and causing excruciating pain to course through his body.
Suddenly, the bear twisted its paw, causing blood to spray, and after a few more twists, it yanked itself out of the man's body, tearing out intestines and multiple layers of flesh. The man's insides lay in the grass, all of them being a deep black colour instead of their more "alive" tone.
The man fell to his knees as his eyes began to close. Halting the man from falling to the ground, the bear rapped its paw around the man's entire head, causing his face to burn and his metal helmet to begin to melt and combine with his flesh. A loud crack could be heard as the bear squeezed tight, crushing the man's head. Once it had obtained a good grip, it pulled on the man's head while holding his torso with its other paw. The sound of skin ripping, muscles tearing, and bones snapping filled the air as everyone looked upon the sight in horror. The monster yanked hard, tearing the man's skull along with his spine out of his body.
Letting go of the man's headless torso, the body fell to the ground, flesh and blood pouring from where the man had been ravaged. Holding the man's skull high into the air, the bear roared at the group of people.
"Everyone, regroup behind me!" The commander yelled, and soldiers followed his orders, lining up in even rows behind him.
The bear growled as it stood over its cub, whose fur was soaked with tears and blood. The frenzied bear lowered its head to the cub, and even with all its wounds, it smiled. It growled in low whispers before pushing its cub away from the battle and into the forest. The cub, even though hurt and sad, followed its mother's command, running as fast as it could in the opposite direction. Tears flowed freely from its eyes, sobbing as it fled.
The cub disappeared into the bush, and the bear returned its gaze to the group, focusing on the commander.
Behind the group, the lieutenant was being forced to drink a liquid, and a faint glow appeared where her wounds used to be. After a moment, the light disappeared, and the face of dread appeared on the people who surrounded her. One woman pressed her ear to the lieutenant's chest for a moment before they seemed to yell something that I could not understand. The same woman then clasped both hands together and started to press down on the lieutenant's chest.
My focus then returned to the commander as he yelled out.
"Charge!"
With that word, he raised his battle axe and started to dash towards the bear. The people behind him did the same, brandishing their weapons and then starting to sprint towards the beast.
The bear roared as the people approached, then charged. The two sides screamed as their front lines met. The bear rammed headfirst into the commander, sending him toppling back a few steps. A few people around him had been knocked away but were mostly unscathed. The commander shouted at the bear as he took a defensive stance.
The platoon broke away from the commander as he yelled at the bear. They moved around the creature's side and back, surrounding it. The bear paid them no attention; instead, it focused solely on the commander. It growled before raising one of its flaming paws.
The commander did not dodge but instead opted to block the bear's attack. Smiling, the bear brought down its paw, slamming it hard against the commander, who raised his axe to shield his body from the blow. A loud clang echoed through the forest; the commander's massive battle axe vibrated violently, but it did not break. The commander's hands quivered, and his legs trembled, but he stood in the same place that he had started.
The bear looked down at the commander in surprise. The man took this as an opportunity, quickly pushing the bear's paw away and ducking down. He sidestepped the bear's follow-up attack and then raised his axe. Striking down, the axe dug deep into the creature's right paw, almost splitting it in half. It tore through flesh and muscles alike, implanting itself deep within the bear's bone.
The monster roared out in pain as the commander continued to push the axe deeper into its paw. Its bones creaked and cracked under the commander's strength; the sound of breaking bones and pained wails filled the forest.
In extreme pain, the bear lashed out at the commander, trying to bite down on his head. Noticing the incoming attack, the commander let go of his axe, leaving it inside the creature's body. Quickly, he dodged out of the way of the bear's bite, positioning himself to the side of the bear's head before delivering a mean right hook straight to the monster's temple.
The monster roared in agony as the commander's iron gauntlet creaked under the tremendous force of the attack. The commander continued to assault the bear, holding his hands high and weaving out of the way of any incoming attacks while taking advantage of any openings. A left hook followed the right, and then he ducked below another bite. He punched down on the bear's face, leading the monster to receive a mean uppercut to the jaw. Blood splattered from the monster's mouth as teeth fell from the creature. The monster's vision went black for a moment before slowly regaining itself.
The bear bit at the commander again, but was only rewarded with a jab to its nose. The monster, forgetting about its pain, raised its paw again, but the commander had already noticed this, grabbed his axe from within, and ripped it out of the creature. Blood spewed all over the man's armour, dyeing him red. With a swift slash back at the paw, the commander cleanly severed the flaming paw from the creature's body. It fell to the floor, igniting the grass below it, but the monster ignored the pain, driving its head forward towards the commander.
The commander, still recovering from the attack, did not react in time, allowing the bear to bite deep into his shoulder. The man yelled out as the monster dug deeper. His armour shattered, the bear's fangs bore down; they pierced through his skin and muscles, destroying the bone in his shoulder. Blood gushed from the wound, but the commander did not halt; he brought both his trembling hands up and clasped one on the bear's upper and lower jaws. He held them together with all his might, his mouth chattered, and the taste of iron filled his mouth as he bit his tongue. His body quaked, and sweat dripped down his face underneath his helmet. But giving it everything he had, the commander did not allow the bear to release its hold on him. With an unsteady voice, the commander yelled.
"D-do... Do I-it now!"