Garet wasted no time and charged towards his two friends, shouting at it, trying to taunt the monster away from them; they were completely defenseless! Isaac took off after him, also making noise in hopes to recapture the creature's attention. As fast as both he and Garet were racing towards them, he still feared they would not get there in time; the monster was familiar with their attacks and agility by now, it knew how much time it had.
Mia finally ripped her hands away from Ivan, staring at them in horror for a couple seconds before stumbling a few feet away from him and falling backwards, flat on her back. She stared up at the frightening monster that was hunched over her and Ivan, wishing she had more strength to put up a fight and wondering what she had just done. Ivan was still shaking and coughing, spurting blood, eyes wide as saucers. Through the crushing pain that constricted his body, he could see that monster right over them, ready to strike at any moment. Ah, so this is what it looks like so up close, he thought dimly, oddly unattached and not panicked that it was filling his vision as it got closer and closer.
He could make out the fresh slashes and gashes all over its thick, green skin that had been recently given to him by Isaac and Garet. How long have they been trying to kill you? he silently asked it, anger bubbling through his pain. How could Garet even fight it in his condition? Hadn't Isaac just been horribly sick earlier that day? What had just happened to Mia? She had just been above him, trembling and shouting apologies; her healing spell having done something terrible to them both. It had definitely awakened him to a whole new world of pain. He had thought he would never experience anything more painful than when he had been under that shine plasma, but he had been wrong about that.
Golden energy bounced around in him and with a start, he realized his psynergy had been renewed again. Through lidded eyes, he glared up at the monster. How many people have you killed using the same trick twice? he wondered, sorrowful at the loss of life he was sure this thing had caused over the years. Your trick is about to be used against you. Surely Mia had fallen far enough away from him to do this. He was sure with the physical damage inflicted on it through Isaac and Garet that it would not survive this attack. Reaching his hand towards the monster, he stared at it intently through his splayed fingers, light sparking from his hand as he readied himself to call down another psynergy attack.
Mud and dirty water spewed all around Garet when he came so a sliding halt, unable to believe his eyes. What is he-no way! That's suicide! "Ivan!"
Isaac had taken notice of what was going on, but had kept moving hurling himself towards Mia at top-speed. She had fallen several feet away from Ivan, but Isaac still wasn't sure if that put enough of a distance between them. Without a second thought, he threw himself on top of her and rolled them both further away, right through muddy puddles and uncaring of the grime that smeared all over their faces. Once they came to a halt, the unrelenting rain was already washing the mud from their faces. Mia still laid in the mud and water, too shocked to move. Isaac got to his knees and stared at where Ivan and the creature were staring each other down.
"Shine Plasma!" The cry for the spell was much louder and clearer than he ever would have expected and Ivan soon found himself being bombarded with his own attack. It was hard to think or feel anything but severe pain, yet he still found grim satisfaction in that the monster was right above him, shaking and howling in pain from the shared attack. How does it feel to be tricked? It was Ivan's last thought. There was only pain and the promise of death.
Isaac and Garet both watched from their positions as their friend's body shook under all the pressure and as the monster shook and howled, stumbling around, trying to free itself from the attack. The attacks came too fast and it was unable to get away; in the same exact position Garet, Mia, and Ivan had been in earlier.
Mia's hands burned, but she still pushed herself up, ignoring them, unable to block out Ivan and the monster's howls. They were horrible sounds, similar to the agonized screams she'd heard when they'd been in that golden light box. Was that what they had been? Screams of those that the monster had tricked into death? She stared at Ivan's form, her hands clamped tightly over her mouth and tears streaming down her cheeks. Had she drawn the creature's attention with her psynergy attack? Realization hit her like a ton of bricks and she felt like she might vomit even though her stomach was empty. If I hadn't cast my psynergy spell, I probably would have had enough strength to fend it off until Isaac and Garet got there. Her eyes widened at the truth she found in that thought. Ivan's going to die and it's because I was so careless and stupid! Her sobs were drowned out by Ivan and the monster's screams that came with a painful death.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, Garet came to life again, rushing towards Ivan and the creature. He stopped right outside the shine plasma's circumference and stared at his friend through the mixture of bright, cackling lights. Deep down, he knew this would probably be the last time he saw his friend with life in him. This is it.
Ivan let out a loud cry before his body stilled completely and the plasma vanished, electricity cackling around him the only evidence of the recent attack. So much smoke rose from him, it reminded Garet of a bonfire. With a last guttural scream that resounded all around them and pierced the sky, the creature dissolved into ashes. Time slowed and horror spread through Garet as he watched them rain down right onto Ivan's still form. The sight restored time to its regular pace and he sprinted over what little distance was left between him and his downed friend. Frantically, he swiped at the visible ashes, insulted. "Get off! Get off him!" he demanded wildly of the ashes. Even in death that monster was too cruel and taunting.
Through a cracked lid, Ivan's left eye stared up into the raining sky, lifelessly. No sparkle was there; it was just empty with no way to express itself any longer. Garet stared at the eye, unable to believe it had once been so expressive, unable to believe it belonged to the younger boy he liked to tease. Unable to believe it belonged to his friend, who was now lifeless. Vaguely, he could hear Isaac running towards them. Isaac slid through the mud and landed by Ivan's side on his knees, grasping the Jupiter adept's wrist, frantically searching for a pulse. His eyes were unfocused and crazed as if refusing to accept the reality of the situation. He rose his hand towards the air, ready to cast a Cure spell, but Garet quickly yanked it out of the air, shaking his head.
"Don't." It was the only word Garet spoke, but Isaac understood everything else that was said; they had no idea what effect that would have, if any at all. That golden energy was still pulsing inside him and he was still the only one of the three that had been exposed to the light to not cast any psynergy. Just because the monster was dead, didn't mean the effects of its attack were. He leaned over Ivan, not caring that his own tears were splashing onto his friend's stilled form. Somebody had died. His friend had died. Ivan was dead. He's gone, he thought, his hand still limply clinging to Ivan's wrist which was becoming colder by the moment.
Garet reached over and, with two fingers, gently slid Ivan's one half-lidded eye closed. They would never see those eyes again. Ever.
Mia watched from her spot on the ground, still on her knees incapable of movement. Both the physical pain and disbelief that her friend had just died before their eyes kept her firmly rooted to her spot. Over and over, the thought sped through her mind, reminding her that if she had not so carelessly used her psynergy she could have been there to at least fend the monster away from Ivan. She had no delusions that she could have defeated it, but she believed she could have bought time for Isaac and Garet. How could I have been so stupid? she asked herself for the umpteenth time. Ivan...I'm so sorry. Her carelessness had cost him his life. It was hard for her to breathe.
Garet had finally stood up and surveyed the scene, knowing they would have to move his friend's body. He took note of both his living friends expressions; Isaac's face full of denial and Mia's full of guilt. "Isaac." His friend looked up at him through the rain questioningly. "We're going to need to move, and we're going to need to," he swallowed hard, looking back down at Ivan, "take care of the body. We don't want to attract anything." Isaac forced himself to nod, still unable to say anything. He understood; they just couldn't leave his body and they couldn't drag it around with them for too long. Not only would it rot, but some powerful monsters were attracted to the scent of death and they did not need any more battles as it were. "Why don't you go help Mia up? And we can keep moving until we can find a proper spot." With that he knelt back down by Ivan and began mentally and physically preparing himself to lug his friend's corpse to a proper resting area.
Isaac nodded, still unable to rid himself of the surreality of the situation. Slowly, he stood, never looking away from Ivan. He stared down at the body for several seconds before finally turning away and dazedly walking to where Mia was on her knees in the mud. Reaching out a hand, he hefted her to standing position and she clutched at him, fearing she would fall over if left to hold up her own weight. There was a tiny spark of hope in her eyes, begging Isaac to tell her that by some miracle Ivan had survived that horror she had just witnessed. Isaac read the question in her eyes and grimly shook his head. The spark vanished and she sobbed into his shoulder, unable to think of anything else. Careless! Careless! And now look at Isaac and Garet! How can they even look at me? They have to be disgusted with me, they have to know this was my fault. I could have prevented this!
Garet said nothing as the two approached him slowly. He waited until they were closer and hefted Ivan's body onto his shoulder, trying not to let the face that there was no life in it consume his thoughts. "Let's go."
They walked in silence and slowly, not really sure where they were going and no one having any particular destination in mind. It was hard to grasp that just a couple hours earlier their friend had been alive and chattering, trying to encourage Isaac that the next town had to be closer than they imagined. After walking for an hour, Garet found it becoming more and more real for him. It could have been because Ivan's body was so lifeless and a dead weight that there was no way he could in any way deny that the life had been wiped from his friend.
Isaac wasn't sure if Ivan had been cursed with bad luck, but when they found a sign a little over an hour after walking with Ivan's corpse, they all felt sick. It was a moment that he knew would haunt them forever. Mia had lost her grip on Isaac and fallen to her knees, , dry-heaving.
It was a rusty wooden sign, but it's words were clear: Beware. Strange creature lurks here and preys during severe storms. Please use this area protected with a barrier until the storm passes.
There were several signs, indicating the barrier was between them all and it was a spacious area. It was there, Garet had performed the odious task of burning their friend's corpse. It was here they were staying, waiting out the storms. There was no more creature to fear, yet they stayed their as if trying to protect themselves from what had transpired before they had made it to safety.