Lionel slowly got to his feet, moving carefully so as not to provoke the bear.
The black bear, too, abandoned the animal carcass it had been feasting on and stood upright.
Its blood-soaked snout was terrifying. Standing on all fours, it had already looked massive, but upright, the bear seemed several times larger.
Just as Lionel raised a stick in front of him, the bear moved its heavy body.
With thunderous thuds, it charged through the rain, closing the distance in an instant—and with a swing of its paw, shattered the stick Lionel had thrust at it.
The thin stick had done nothing. It snapped pathetically.
Lionel twisted his torso to dodge the bear’s successive strikes. While he couldn’t counterattack, he had at least trained enough to barely evade its blows.
But how long could he last?
No one knew that Lionel often visited the cave in the woods. In fact, would anyone even notice if he disappeared?
No one cared about Lionel. Not the servants at the mansion, not even his only family—his father. No one knew what Lionel did outside the scheduled hours of training and chores.
This crisis—he had to overcome it alone.
But he saw no way out. Was this how he would die?
No. I want to live.
He desperately wanted to survive. Lionel didn’t want to die.
Moments ago, he had wished he could just disappear. But that didn’t mean he wanted to be eaten alive by a bear.
As he rolled across the muddy ground to avoid another attack, Lionel spotted a thick, solid tree branch.
One end of it was broken and looked much sharper than the stick he’d used earlier.
He grabbed it and stood. The bear, frustrated it hadn’t claimed its prey in one go, let out a thunderous roar toward the sky.
What do I do? Should I run now and try to escape?
No—that would just expose his back, and the bear would strike him down before he got far.
Then what?
Dragging things out would only put him at a disadvantage, but he couldn’t defeat the bear in a single strike either.
Could I use magic? Lionel knew that vast magic power slept within him. But he had never once used it.
If he could infuse the stick with magic and strike the bear, he might be able to hurt it.
He gripped the branch tightly and summoned his power, forcing it into the wood.
Though the resistance was strong, the magic slowly flowed from his fingertips into the stick.
The branch shimmered with a golden glow—but that was all.
The magic dispersed almost immediately. It was hard enough just dodging the bear’s attacks; he couldn’t maintain a stable flow of magic on top of that.
Just a little… if I can hold it off for just a moment, maybe I can do something.
The bear finished its roar and lunged again.
And then—beyond the bear’s massive shoulder, he saw a familiar flash of sandy-brown hair.
Lionel thought the rain had blurred his vision—but it was real. That was Jaylin, his playmate.
She stood frozen like ice.
If she sees the bear, she should run! Or go back to the mansion and call for help! What the hell is she doing just standing there?!
Dodging the bear’s swipe, Lionel screamed with all his might toward her.
“HEY! RUN!”
But Jaylin didn’t move. She sat on the muddy ground, furiously drawing something into the dirt.
“Go get someone! A knight—anyone!”
Lionel shouted again, but his voice didn’t reach her.
She was still busy scribbling something.
Just as Lionel opened his mouth to yell once more, Jaylin suddenly pressed her hand to the ground.
A bright green light began to glow from the markings she had etched into the earth.
They were magical runes—a formula in the runic language.
Once the runes were fully lit, a magic circle activated, and a glowing green arrow formed above it.
It spun once in mid-air and shot toward the bear’s back.
Even though he was on the opposite side, Lionel could tell—that arrow wouldn’t kill the bear. It might not even injure it.
And he was right. The arrow struck the bear’s back and shattered like glass.
Letting out a furious roar of pain, the bear stopped attacking Lionel and turned around.
That’s when Lionel realized Jaylin’s intention. The arrow wasn’t meant to defeat the bear—it was meant to distract it.
Idiot! Fool! Moron!
He already knew she wasn’t the sharpest, but this was beyond what he expected.
She could’ve just run! Why didn’t she?! WHY?!
Lionel stood frozen, breathing heavily.
Then Jaylin, pale as a ghost, shouted at him with all her strength:
“L-L-Lord Lionel! H-Hurry! R-Run!”
Even from afar, her small, trembling body was clear. Her fear was so vivid, it reached Lionel across the field.
Now completely focused on Jaylin, the bear charged toward her.
At this rate, she’d be crushed to pieces beneath its massive paws.
“N-No…!”
Snapping out of his shock, Lionel took off after the bear—but it was too fast.
Meanwhile, Jaylin, though terrified, never looked away from the bear. She still had something left to do.
When the bear reached the spot she had intended, Jaylin poured more of her magic into another rune she had drawn earlier.
Unlike the formula for the arrow, this one reacted differently—it glowed with a new light.
Just before the bear could strike her, thick roots shot up from the ground and wrapped around its limbs.
The bear came to a screeching halt just inches from Jaylin. It roared and thrashed, unable to move.
Jaylin collapsed backward in shock, scrambling away from the beast.
Her hands and feet, soaked in rain and mud, were quickly caked in filth.
But Jaylin’s magic power was weak.
With every violent shake, the roots began to snap. She had only bought a brief moment.
But that was enough for Lionel.
He caught up at last and launched himself at the bear.
Please, please!
Clinging to its back, he summoned every ounce of magic in his body and poured it into the branch he held.
It was a reckless move—but it was all he had.
The stick absorbed his power, glowing bright gold.
With a shout, Lionel plunged the sharp end into the bear’s skull.
There was a sickening crack—the branch pierced straight through.
The bear let out its final, terrible cry as its body tipped over and crashed to the ground.
As the bear collapsed, the massive body shifted—finally revealing Jaylin.
She was soaked in blood, eyes shut tightly, curled up in a pathetic heap.
“Jaylin.”
At Lionel’s call, Jaylin opened her eyes. Her pale green eyes frantically scanned him.
“Y-Y-Young Master! Y-You’re covered in blood! What do we do?!”
She jumped up and grabbed his sleeve with trembling hands.
“I’m okay. It’s not my blood.”
“T-The bear…?”
“It’s dead.”
He turned her gently so she wouldn’t see the corpse behind him.
“Are you okay?”
Jaylin nodded, but her eyes were red. Rain still poured down, but Lionel could tell—she was crying.
“Are you crying?”
Her tiny face was a mess of blood, mud, and rain.
Jaylin nodded again.
“Why? Because you were scared of the bear?”
She shook her head.
“I-I was scared, but more than that—I was so worried about you! I thought you were going to die… Huuuuaah!”
Her words dissolved into a sob.
She cried her heart out, shaking, soaked by the rain.
Lionel saw her lips turning blue from the cold and helped her up.
They needed shelter—and the cave was closer than the mansion.
Lionel decided to wait there until the rain lessened.
Inside the cave, Jaylin trembled violently.
Lionel wrapped her in a blanket and gathered all the wood he had collected for carving. He lit a fire.
“Once the rain lets up, we’ll head back to the mansion.”
Jaylin nodded as she clutched the blanket. Warmth from the fire slowly filled the cave.
The two of them sat side by side, drying their soaked hands and feet.
Outside, the summer rain still poured. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
