The storm had finally calmed. What remained was silence, and ash.
"Oh my…" Shichiro muttered, breath trembling.
Katsu pushed himself to his feet, wiping dirt and blood from his face."I told you all," he said, voice breaking with exhaustion. "We couldn't do it. We got saved… and our savior just died, right in front of us."
Kentarō stared at the scorched ground, his voice quieter than usual."I never even got his autograph."
Shichiro turned sharply. "Really? You're worried about that right now?"
Kentarō's tone snapped back with uncharacteristic heat."No, dipshit, I'm worried about dying! You can't even take a simple joke anymore!"
"Calm down, everyone," Rokuro stepped between them. "Kentarō, maybe it's time you stopped joking for once."
The air went still. Ryosen looked away, unable to speak.
Kentarō's hands trembled. "Look," he said quietly, "all I ever wanted… was to make you laugh. That's all I've ever done, because no one ever wanted to be my friend. For six years, that's all I had. So yeah… I make jokes. It's how I cope."
Katsu sighed softly. "It's alright, bro. Just, sometimes, it's not the right time."
"…Yeah," Kentarō said, eyes dulling.
Then-A low hiss crawled through the air.
Something moved where Isocrates had fallen. A shadow dragged itself across the dirt, sniffing and licking the air,
The group stared at the creature crawling over Isocrates' fallen form. Its bones cracked as it shifted, limbs elongating and twisting unnaturally, and it let out a low, gurgling hiss as it sniffed the air. Its eyes gleamed with a dark, unnatural hunger.
Ryosen's voice was tense. "What… is that?"
Shichiro shook his head, exhaustion heavy in his movements. "I have no clue, but we're too tired to fight right now."
Rokuro raised his hands, freezing the ground beneath the creature. "It… it just fed on Isocrates' aura. Whatever that was, it's not natural."
Kentarō crossed his arms, scowling but muttering to himself. "It needs a name. You can't just leave a monster unnamed."
"Bonehowl," Kentarō declared, a grin forming despite the tension. "Sounds like my kind of monster."
Katsu shook his head, smirking. "Nah. Tempest Fang. Short, deadly, and dramatic. Fits it better."
Rokuro squinted at it, frost still creeping along its limbs. "Rogue Echo… it's feeding on someone's aura. Makes sense."
Shichiro sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Doesn't matter what we call it. We survive first, name it later."
The creature let out a chilling roar, echoing across the battlefield, and the group exchanged grim looks. They knew the fight wasn't over… but for now, retreat was the only choice.
"Let's move," Shichiro commanded. "We'll deal with Bonehowl… or whatever it's called… later."