What in the...?"

Otto exclaimed, completely bewildered

—

"WaaAAaaaAAahHH!!!"

"Wha-what the hell are you doing!?"

"Use your Blessing to help soften the fall dammiiiiit!!!"

Garfiel concentrated on his Divine Protection of Earth Spirits focusing on softening the ground for a cushioned landing zone.

"Dona!" David shouted, causing Earth to retract as they landed. Despite their best efforts, they still landed quite painfully.

David winced as they hit the ground, the impact sending a shockwave of pain through his legs. He gritted his teeth, trying to push the discomfort aside.

"That was... less than graceful," he muttered, rolling onto his side and sitting up with a groan. He wiped the residuous blood the mabeasts clean off his face, before filtering through his pockets and shoving in a bocco fruit, regaining some mana. Garfiel hissed through his teeth as he picked himself up from the ground, the impact leaving him shaken but otherwise unharmed, due to him partially using his beast form to soften the impact.

"Yeah, understatement of the century," he grumbled, rubbing his backside. "Remind me not to let you do that again, you lunatic."

David rolled his eyes, before trying to get up, but his legs gave out halfway. Garfiel noticed David struggling and hobbled to his side.

"Hey, take it easy. You're clearly more banged up than you're letting on," he said, worry etched on his face. He then used healing magic to heal the damage done to his legs, and the gouge in his stomach.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Garfiel replied, a hint of curiosity in his voice. He couldn't help but wonder what was bothering David.

"Are you feeling okay? You seem a bit...pissed off."

"Nothing, nevermind…bocco fruit?" He dismissed, before offering Garf what he missed the chance to have before their little skirmish.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, taking the offering, consuming it whole. The sweet yet tart taste filled his mouth, providing a small burst of energy.

"..So, what now, genius?" he couldn't help but ask sarcastically, hoisting David to stand.

"Well, we achieved three things with that little stunt," David declared, ignoring the caustic nature of the question.

"Number 1, we gained space and time, so we can heal, recover and formulate a plan!"

Garfiel nodded, conceding the point.

"Yeah, can't argue with that," he agreed, his irritation subsiding slightly.

"Number 2?" he prompted, still somewhat sceptical of whatever plan David was hatching.

"Number 2!" he held up his fingers in peace sign.

"Otto now has a reference point as to where we are so if we need him, he knows our whereabouts, as after hearing that, he'll no doubt send animals to check on us,"

"Alright, I'll give you that one. But the third thing? Let's hear it."

David smiled, self satisfied.

"I found it….the One Piece of open field we needed to level the playing field, so as long as we get there, we're set!"

Garfiel raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his expression. He couldn't help but crack a smile at David's infectious enthusiasm.

"The One Piece, huh? Sounds like we're on some grand adventure, but I always thought the One Piece was the friends they made along the way" he joked, chuckling lightly. He still wasn't entirely convinced by David's plan, but he was willing to hear him out.

"Alright, colour me intrigued. Show me where this 'open land' is, then."

"Follow me! Oh and no sneaking around this time, it just ain't our style!" He beckoned Garfiel with his hand before taking off.

Garfiel rolled his eyes at David's bold declaration but followed behind, a mix of excitement and uncertainty in his expression.

"Yeah, yeah, as if I'd ever do something that cowardly again," he quipped back with a smirk, picking up the pace to keep up with David's running.

"Lead the way, oh fearless leader!"

They'd been running for minutes now. Their legs burned with exertion as they dashed through the forest, sidestepping, evading, bludgeoning and slicing through the occasional lone mabeast, as well as arduously weaving through the thicket-covered terrain, as flickers of light, gleaned in between the trees.

"This is it!"

As they broke through the final stretch of trees, they were greeted by an expansive clearing. The bright sunlight streamed through, casting an almost golden glow over the open space. It was a massive, rolling area of land, crested with a slight hill, but generally free from any obstructions or adversaries. It was almost eerily peaceful compared to the chaotic forest they had just traversed. Garfiel let out a low whistle, his eyes widening in awe.

"Damn, now this is more like it," he murmured, coming to a stop beside David.

David squinted, his eyes still adjusting to the sun's dazzling gleam, before scanning the area for any signs of movement, and then focusing on their task.

"Right we've no time to waste!" He pulled his axe out of its strap. Garfiel nodded in agreement, his mind also focused on the task at hand. He glanced around, his eyes scouring the surrounding tree line. Suddenly, he spotted something that he saw as promising.

"Hey, how about that one?" he gestured towards a large, sturdy-looking dark oak tree with a thick trunk and widespread branches.

"Uh…and how are we gonna chop that down?"

"With an axe, Moron." Garfiel pulled his own axe from its strap.

"We have the tools, we have the muscle, let's make it happen." David looked at him as if to say 'Is this nigga serious?' before protesting wildly.

"YOU THINK WE… just us… CAN FELL A THICK OAK TREE AND CARRY IT BACK TO THE GROUND CARRIAGE WITHOUT BEING RIPPED TO SHREDS BY WOLGARM! WE DON'T EVEN NEED THAT MUCH WOOD TO BEGIN WITH! HOW'S THE DRAGON CARRIAGE EVEN GONNA HOLD THE WEIGHT?!"

"Well you don't have to yell!" he snapped back. "Alert the whole damn forest why don't you!" He retorted.

"I was just trying to brainstorm. You're the one who said we had no time to waste, Mr. Big Idea Man."

David took a deep breath before responding.

"Let's just find 3 smaller, thinner trees…around 2 or 3 should be enough for what Subaru's planning…"

Garfiel eyed David suspiciously, still a bit rattled from his outburst. But he had to admit, that was a less crazy proposition.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly, a hint of annoyance still present in his voice.

"But remember... we still gotta carry these things back to the carriage without, y'know, dying a gruesome death."

"I know... I know…"

He repeated dispiritedly, as that was still a problem they hadn't properly considered, though that train of thought stopped as he found a younger well-sized tree. He circled it analysing the height of the tree and therefore its felling distance before coming to a conclusion.

"Looks good enough, I guess," He commented, holding his chin in a 'thinking pose'

"Well if that's the case then!"

"Wait wait wait wai-,"

Garfiel Inaccurately struck the tree, full force, with his axe. The tree creaked and cracked before succumbing to inertia and collapsing. It made a loud thudding noise as it hit the ground at the right angle, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

Garfiel stepped back, a victorious smirk on his face.

"That was easy," he said, resting the axe on his shoulder, clearly satisfied with his handiwork.

"Oh…I suppose that works too…no time to waste…"

"Hey, don't look so disappointed. We ain't in no woodworking class here," Garf quipped, a playful smirk on his face.

"R-right….on to the next one…" He looked at the remaining stump. I mean, by no means was it a clean cut, but just how much strength could one 14 year old have? He imbued his body with mana using flow state once again, before putting his axe away and lifting the tree, struggling slightly but following Garfiel in quick pursuit. To be weaker than Garf yet older than him was somewhat humiliating, till he remembered Garfiel isn't human. Seeing David struggle, Garfiel offered some help.

"Need a hand there, old man?" He called out teasingly.

"We need to find ourselves a replica of this tree, one that's preferably slightly bigger,"

He muttered grumpily….before he heard a shallow grumbling.

"Shhh...Did you hear that?" he hissed quietly, his eyes darting towards the forest side.

Garfiel immediately tensed at David's urgent whisper, his senses on high alert. His heightened hearing picked up the same faint grumbling sound coming from the forest.

"Yeah, I heard it," he whispered back, his grip on his axe growing tighter.

"Sounds like trouble." The familiar, crimson eyes of the wolgarm emerged from the forest. There seemed to be significantly less than there were last time. Their glowing malevolent eyes watched over them, growling, snarling in anticipation. David dropped the tree, and unsheathed his sword.

"Garfiel, I'm gonna need you to find a tree slightly bigger than the last one, and cut it down in my absence." He took up sword stance, a determined, almost savage grimace painted onto his face, his eyes glinting with vengeance. The wolgarm stepped gingerly forward, closing the distance, emerging from the woods. Garfiel looked over at the approaching wolgarm, a pang of worry for David's safety flickering across his expression. He knew that look on his face, the same look he often wore when things were dire. A flock of ravens cawed in the distance, as they flew by as onlookers.

"I've got it," he said firmly.

"Just...be careful, alright? Try not to get torn to shreds, yeah?"

"Yeah! Just tell me when you're done!" He shouted as the wolgarm suddenly rushed him all at once.

—

"What in the...?"

His heart began to race, and a sense of trepidation washed over him. Otto immediately snapped into attention, his carefree expression hardening into one of concern. Frufoo roared anxiously, clearly fearful for the two boys.

Otto quickly placated Frufoo, attempting to soothe her fears.

"It's alright, girl, I'm sure they're okay. They can handle themselves."

But as he spoke the words, his own doubts began to creep in. A chill ran down his spine as his mind painted various scenarios of what could've happened. Patrasche shook her head full of pessimism as if to say 'it's already over.' But despite her message, he couldn't help but feel the need to do something.

"No...no, I won't just stand here…"

He shouted, using his divine protection, soul of language, of language to request aid from the animals in the surrounding area. After a lengthy five or ten seconds, two ravens approached him. They seemed to glide effortlessly through the air, their wings outstretched and feathers ruffled by the light breeze. It was as if they had been waiting for his message.

"Good, you're here. Quickly, I need you to go scout the area and see what's happening to my companions."

The Ravens looked at each other, before looking back at him, one of them squawking abrasively, And why should we do that?

Otto sighed and crossed his arms. The raven's response didn't surprise him, they were creatures with their own minds and agendas after all.

"Look," he began in a serious tone, "I don't have time to argue or negotiate. Two of my companions are in distress, and I need your help to assess the situation."

He paused, his eyes locking with the ravens' beady eyes.

"Please, just go look and report back. I promise there'll be something in it for you if you do."

The Raven locked their beady eyes with Otto, before squawking back. This Reward better be worth it…

Otto watched the ravens disappear into the forest on their scouting mission. He couldn't help but let a sigh of relief escape his lips. At least now he had eyes and ears closer to the action.

"Thank you," he muttered quietly, hoping that David and Garfiel were safe.

He waited anxiously for the ravens to return, his mind filled with worry and anticipation.

—