Chapter 21: The Encounter
Dum… dum… dum…
The cannibalistic humans, who had been splashing human blood onto the altar, suddenly stopped moving.
The guards at the camp's edges also shouted, "Ulaa—!"
It felt like something huge was about to happen.
Dum… dum… dum…
The rumbling sound got closer.
"Ugh..."
One of the savages, holding a bow, blew a horn made from the horn of a wild buffalo.
As soon as the deep horn sounded, the other savages stopped dancing around the bonfire.
The whole camp went crazy in an instant, like a chaotic market.
Dum… dum… dum…
"It's a giant bear!"
The savages shouted in unintelligible voices. Only they could understand the language, but their expressions and the sight of a long-haired bear approaching made it clear what they were trying to say.
Crash!
One of the savages, in panic, attacked the long-haired bear that suddenly burst into their camp.
But their wooden arrows, when they hit the bear's thick fur, were like piercing through dense sponge.
The bear's soft fur protected it from all the arrows that were shot at it.
The bear wasn't hurt, but it was angry at the foolish animal that attacked it. The bear had only wanted to pass through.
Bam!
The bear's claw hit the short, savage creature in front of it, cutting the air like a sharp gust of wind.
Crack…
The powerful impact raised dust. The savage's body was torn to shreds like a piece of ripped paper. Even the big tree behind him was split in two by the bear's huge claw.
Red blood and green tree sap were mixed on the ground.
Seeing what happened to their friend, the other savages got even more panicked and out of control.
The men quickly raised their bows and stone spears. Their leader even held up a long spear that looked like it was made from a boar's tusk.
Dozens of spears and arrows rained down on the bear.
The bear roared in anger, but it only used one claw to block all the attacks.
Except for the boar tusk spear thrown by the leader, the bear's claw was covered in fur, like an iron balloon blocking the rain of arrows and spears.
"ROARRR!"
The boar tusk spear stuck into its claw like a tiny nail in a palm.
The wounded bear roared loudly in rage.
It slammed its claw again.
The ground shook, trees were uprooted, and wild people scattered like insects...
One by one, the savage bodies fell lifeless.
But smelling their blood only made the long-haired bear go even more crazy.
The bear was furious because it couldn't get the spear out of its paw. Its small, disproportionate eyes began to glow red.
When they saw the scary creature, the savage leader started to run away. The others dropped their spears and ran around without a clear direction.
_ _ _
Duum… duum…
The bear's rumbling also woke Ginko and Utaha, who were still locked in a wooden cage.
"What... what is that!?"
Ginko's face, already pale from illness, lost even more color.
From inside the cage, they could see the back of the long-haired bear.
What kind of creature was that?
"It looks like a bear..."
After a long silence, Utaha finally came back to herself.
"It seems to be attacking the wild humans!"
Even though the bear could step on their heads at any moment, Utaha felt this might be their best chance to escape.
However...
They were trapped in a wooden cage with no door.
They couldn't get out unless they had a tool to cut the wooden bars.
So escaping was not an option.
But Utaha, who was always thinking of how to escape this cursed place, wasn't entirely unprepared.
A few days earlier, she had collected a fairly large stone.
It's small, but its sharp edge might be able to cut through the cage bars.
Creak... creak... creak...
Utaha watched the giant bear closely. Then she did the riskiest thing of her life.
Dum… dum… dum…
"Utaha-senpai..."
Ginko saw Utaha's hand bleeding as she held the stone. Ginko called her name, worried.
"It's okay... Just a little more, just a bit longer! We're almost out of here!"
Even though Utaha's palm was split, oozing fresh blood and torn flesh, seeing the wooden bars slowly eroded by the stone reignited her spirit.
She forgot all the pain, and she was determined to find a way out.
She has to escape!
She could escape!
She would escape from these savages, who were more terrifying than the Grim Reaper.
_ _ _
In another place, Megumi and Yui understood that there was a danger, so they quickly built a raft to get away from the small island.
Luckily, Yui found a piece of stone that looked strong enough.
After Megumi carefully broke it, the piece showed a sharp edge on one side.
By tying the stone to a stick with tree roots, they made a decent stone axe.
Since they were both weak and tired, they chopped trees in turns, cutting and resting when it was their turn.
After working hard for over an hour, Megumi and Yui finally finished building the frame for the raft.
The hardest part was finished, and they felt more confident about finishing the rest.
When the raft floated on the sea, Yui hugged Megumi, very happy.
"I can't believe it actually floats! We can finally leave this island that doesn't even have fresh water!"
Yui was excited and jumped around like a ball.
"I don't know what will happen next. Let's get on the raft and leave this island!"
Megumi pushed Yui away, who was being overly attached, and started paddling the raft with a wooden stick. They slowly left the small island, which now felt creepy and quiet.
To avoid meeting the long-haired bear, Megumi carefully paddled in the other direction.
She had planned to go to the big island, but now she couldn't see its edge from the sea.
The island they were on before was tiny. This island was much bigger.
There might still be traces of human civilization there...
Megumi still hoped to return to the modern world.
"Look, there's a beach! And coconut trees too!"
No one knew how long they had drifted at sea when Yui suddenly shouted in excitement, as if they had discovered a new continent.
"Great, let's go there!"
Megumi also wanted to go to the beach. But as she paddled closer, she suddenly stopped moving.
"There's someone!"
"There has to be someone there!"
Megumi's face became serious. She saw a pile of big stones on the beach. The stones were arranged to form an SOS signal.
"You're right! That's SOS—someone else must be stranded here too!"
Yui's face showed her happiness.
"There! A wooden hut, let's go there!"
Megumi quickly got out of the raft, walked into the shallow water at the beach, and walked toward the wooden hut.
_ _ _
"Ginko!"
Jun quietly approached the savage camp and was happy to find Ginko locked in a wooden cage.
But just as he was about to attack the savage guarding the cage where Ginko and another girl were held—
Something unexpected happened.
A huge bear, whose footsteps could shake the ground, suddenly appeared in the area.
To avoid being caught because the bear's movements attracted the savages' attention, Jun jumped down from the tree and watched the sudden chaos in the camp.
"What a scary monster..."
Seeing how the savages' attacks had no effect on the bear, while the bear killed them like swatting ants, Jun was shocked and afraid of the creature.
But...
Oh no! The bear was going right for Ginko!
When he saw the savages start to run away in panic, Jun quickly jumped from the tree.
_ _ _
"Senpai, get down!"
Ginko saw the huge claw coming down, and she used all her strength to push Utaha—who was still cutting the cage—to the ground.
A loud rumble, followed by the sound of the wooden cage shattering.
The giant bear saw the two "tiny ants" near its feet. To the bear, these two were probably allies of the savages.
It quickly hit the wooden cage with one of its claws.
The cage was completely destroyed. Ginko, who had fallen on top of Utaha, felt a sudden gust of wind from behind. Her weak body almost lifted into the air, and a giant claw almost tore it apart.
But thankfully, Utaha hugged her tightly, and the two narrowly escaped the deadly claw.
But the bear realized the two "ants" under the cage had survived.
The bear roared angrily and raised its other claw.
If things didn't change, the next strike would kill the girls.
The two girls, knowing they were about to die, hugged each other.
Oh no! They thought they were safe from the savages, but they died because of the bear.
Utaha held the small stone firmly in her bloodied hand.
So, they wouldn't be able to see Brother again.
But at least they wouldn't be eaten by the savages…
Ginko closed her eyes, accepting her fate. Her pale face showed a smile that was sad and hopeless.
"Ginko!"
The sound of an arrow flying and a man's shout rang out.
"Ugh!"
Jun released his final arrow, which was covered in snake venom. With his precision skill buff, the poisoned arrow hit the bear's eye directly.
The huge bear screamed in pain and used its claw to cover its eye.
"I think I heard Brother's voice... Is this a dying hallucination?"
When Ginko heard that familiar shout, he thought it was just in his imagination.
"No, someone's here! Someone came to save us!"
Utaha saw a young man running toward them. Though he was small and not very muscular, the way he ran made her feel safe.
That's Ginko's big brother? It's not bad.
Utaha was thinking about a lot of things, but she knew that they might really be saved this time!
_ _ _
Meanwhile, in other places:
"Is anyone here!?"
"Is anyone inside!?"
Because of the thorns and wood blocking the hut, Megumi and Yui only dared to shout from outside.
"Someone's voice!"
Yukino was having trouble holding in her pee inside the cave.
"I'm here, inside! Please save me!"
Yukino shouted back loudly.
"There is someone here!"
"And it's a girl's voice!"
Without stopping, Megumi and Yui moved the wooden barriers to the side and found a small cave behind the hut.
"We're here to save you!"
Yui hurried inside, and even though Megumi had planned to grab a stick for protection, she quickly followed.
"It's Yukon! Yukinon!"
Yui was shocked to see Yukino inside the cave.
"Yuigahama-san!"
Yukino was surprised to see the girl with bangs she had talked to on the plane.
"Who tied you up like this, Yukinon?"
Yui and Megumi worked hard to untie the ropes holding Yukino.
"That lying bastard! Thank you for untying me!"
Yukino quickly undid the rest of the ropes binding her and ran out of the cave without stopping.
"I'll explain later, sorry..."
She could barely contain herself!
Damn you, Katō Jun!
Yukino, angry, quickly pulled down her skirt and underwear and finally relieved herself.
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