Lesson #3: The Immortal’s Dilemma: All immortals can heal and regenerate; however, they need to have a source for their infinite regeneration. Some evil immortals absorb the life out of others; some spirits absorb mana from nature; and other immortals, such as Crème, rely on constant calories to regenerate the lost cells. In the case where Crème doesn’t have any nutrition left, his body will remain injured until he eats food. In the case where he gets obliterated, he would be resurrected by the universe, but at the cost of his memories.
Elise Willow Pov:
Ugh! As I tried to get up, I could feel my body screaming in pain. "Ghost #2!" I panic as I see his crooked and bloodied body. I put my head to his chest to see if he's still breathing, but because of the pouring rain, I couldn't hear anything. Dark, wet, and cold, I dragged his body underneath the roots of the giant tree for shelter. I lay beside him, waiting for the pain to subside. Our team's flare gun was with me, but we couldn't use it because of the storm.
I tried to check for his heart rate again, but I couldn't feel anything. I placed my fingers above his nose, but there was no sign of him breathing. Although we only met for a short amount of time, I felt bad that he died while helping me. I lay there with my thoughts, but after a while, a giant black rotting hand appeared, held some of the roots, and ripped them apart.
I still myself trying to blend in as its head hovers to our side, but the Wendigo roars and it tries to reach me with its sharp claws. I rolled away, ran outside, and used the feather angel to minimize the pain from the fall. It dashed outside like a savage, trying to bite or claw me at every opportunity, and I positioned myself as it jumped, "Estella!"I tackled him with a shield to the face, and as it lost balance, I followed it up with a sword to the chest.
The rain worsens, and the wendigo whines until it dies; I was about to return when I realized something was wrong. I look back at the darkness in front of me, and as the lightning strikes, I can see the Wendigos lurking in the dark. The whole area was surrounded from left to right, but the one I'm facing in front of me is what worries me the most. A four-story-tall wendigo stands in front of me; the ground rumbles as the giant takes a step towards me.
I already used half of the feather necklace's power, and the dozens of Wendigos surrounding us are just on standby because of that giant thing. Although I won't be able to bring back my partner’s corpse, the best option for me right now is to fly using the bracelet of the winds.
"Zoom!" I fly against the storm, leaving them all behind, but as I fly away, I can see the giant crouching. "What is it-" It jumps to the air and swats me like a fly. I was barely able to equip Estella on time, but even that didn't minimize the damage of being spiked to the ground like a volleyball.
I was buried to the ground, and as the other Wendigos came for me, the alpha roared, telling them not to touch his meal. With two fingers, he picks me up and hangs me above his head, ready to eat. My vision fades because of blood loss. I knew I shouldn't have come here; it was a very stupid thing to try.
Creme Panama Pov:
My body began to heal, and I slowly regained consciousness. The first thing that I saw after waking up was Elise about to be eaten by a giant wendigo. After coming back to my senses, I immediately ran towards them and threw my speaker bombs at the foot of the monster.
The giant falls to the ground as its feet gets destroyed by the bombs modified by my uncle. I ran towards Elise and jumped to catch her in mid-air. All of the Wendigos roar and run after us, but after losing the giant, I stopped and hid Elise under the roots. My memories are jumbled, and it’s too dark to look for the camp; I don’t even know if we’re running in the right direction, so I don’t have any other choice. All the Wendigos scowl as they surround me, and I, without hesitating, fire the flare gun into the sky.
Like the savages that they are, they ran towards me without thinking of anything other than chowing down on fresh meat. I took out my modified umbrella shield and charged through the first wendigo, as it tries to regain its balance, I push down one of my bombs to its throat and drop kicked it back to its kind. "Boom!" Three Wendigos fall down along with the one who swallowed the bomb. I rolled back up, and as another wendigo jumped towards me, I redirected its mouth away using the shield and stabbed it right through the chest with the long knife.
After coming back to life, I realized that I wasn’t just given an immortal body but an advanced human form. My body adapts to the environment like a normal person, and it has the same senses as a human, however it takes them to a whole new level. Right now, I can see the Wendigos in the dark and lightless night. As the monsters approached, I could feel my adrenaline and senses heightened; everything appeared to be in slow motion as my thought process accelerated.
The Wendigos slow down as they realize that charging mindlessly will get them nowhere. They began to slowly surround me, but I wouldn’t let that happen. I ran to the front against three of the Wendigos, and the other monsters ran as they targeted my back. In mere moments, the Wendigo in front raised his hand and struck; I redirected the blow with my shield, jumped, and stabbed it under its chin. Both of the Wendigos beside it tried to bite me as my hand got stuck, but I threw ball pen bombs into their mouths. I let go of the long knife and rolled under the open legs of the dead wendigo. "Boom!"
I look back and as they die, four Wendigos running from the back took their place. I let go of my shield and activated Arkinsaw’s iron golem gloves. "Come!" I went toe-to-toe with the fifteen-foot monsters with only a shield on my forearm and iron gloves on my hands. I dove as it slashed and jumped, uppercutting it from below, shattering its skull. The one from my left waves its huge arm in the air and smacks me with it; even with my shield, I was sent flying toward the corpses.
My arm aches from the blow, but the adrenaline keeps me going, I took the bones of the dead Wendigos and used them as a weapon. The battle kept on going, with me killing anyone I could and them slashing away through my body. They surround me on all sides, making it harder to defend and avoid their attacks. Because of that, I didn’t even try to dodge anymore; "I just need to kill them all." I kept killing them and using their bones to smash another Wendigo’s skull, so much so that I got used to it. My healing ability is slow, but my body has already adapted to the damage they cause; it heals my bruised and ripped skin but makes it tougher than before.
I couldn't tell how much time had passed, but the dozens of Wendigos were becoming fewer and fewer. There are only four Wendigos left, and when one charges at me, I leap and bury his skull in the ground, shattering it with my entire body weight.These monsters, who only kill and eat their victims mindlessly, now look at me as if I’m the advent of death.
The three of them froze, whimpering in fear as most of their kind fell to the ground. I ran towards them, smashing their skulls by swinging the bones like a baseball bat. Just when I thought it was over, the giant wendigo walks towards us, dragging his mangled feet to the ground. It wails a cry that can be heard through the forest as it sees the piled-up corpses of its kind.
My blood boils with excitement for another fight, but I don’t think I could crush the skull of this giant. As I prepare my bombs, a spear flies right through its leg and a giant axe is thrown to its shoulder. "Frozen Winter!" The mage freezes its feet, and then all the students follow up for an attack; other students transform, and others use their weapons to attack the beast. It took a lot of damage, but because of that, it became more desperate and dangerous.
The students back off as the monster mindlessly attacks wherever he can. The monster crawls towards me; its skull is cracked, but it doesn’t care anymore. I ran towards it, avoided its swinging huge arms, and threw my last bomb, Hell’s Fury, down its throat. It tries to puke it out, but "Boom!" The powerful blast shook the trees, and the monster’s flesh scattered everywhere, not leaving any body parts behind.
All the students whine as they get covered in rotting flesh, and I was sent back to them by the powerful blast. "Oi, didn’t I tell you not to go deeper into the forest?" Ms. Corazon stands in front of me with a nonchalant look on her face, and instead of answering, I only pointed out where Elise is hiding. The inside of my body is still burning, and my vision is getting blurry. Luckily, we can go back to camp, and the Mystics there can heal Elise.
Author Pov:
"Very interesting. I’m sure the leader would love to add them to the team." Two figures stand in shadows, looking at the students below. As their preys walk back to the base, they disappear into nothingness, just waiting to strike.