Scott drove his spear into the zombie's knee. This time, the supercharged weapon that was overflowing with the burning Life Energy tore through the flesh and bone with a loud crack.
The giant Tiger Zombie that was attacking the camp roared, its leg buckling.
"Now!" He shouted, his voice sounding like thunder.
Old man Alistair on his side slammed his own broken spear shaft into the huge zombie's arm to deflect a blow.
Two other spore men that stood together, also acted swiftly pinning down the zombie.
"PIN IT DOWN!"
With a final, unified push, they brought the beast down.
It crashed to the earth with a ground-shaking thud.
They leaped onto its limbs, driving their weapons through the thick muscle, deep into the soil, pinning it to the ground.
Scott who was now panting, from the exhaustion brought by burning his lifespan in exchange for powerful strength.
Got on top of its chest, driving his spear straight down through its shoulder, pinning its main claw.
The monster thrashed, its roars echoing into the night sky, filled with pain.
Slowly, its powerful voice dropped down, becoming a soft, rattling gurgle.
It went still.
Soon, the light around the three other spore men that fought with him faded instantly.
With only a few years of lifespan left their borrowed strength vanished, and they collapsed, their bodies shrinking, withering like old men.
They lay gasping on the torn ground, their skin grey, their eyes dim.
They had burned almost everything. Only Scott remained standing.
He leaned heavily on his spear, his chest heaving. His vision slightly blurred.
He felt a deep, aching cold spreading through his bones—the feeling of a life cut short.
"It's... over," he wheezed.
But just as a wave of relief washed over the watching villagers, the zombie's eyes snapped open.
The "dying" gurgle turned into a furious roar.
It tore one of its arms free, and shot out with impossible speed, onto Scott's neck.
THWACK.
Its massive hand wrapped around Scott's neck.
"Gah!" Scott choked, his feet kicking helplessly as he was lifted into the air.
The zombie grinned, a horrifying expression on its tiger face. It had been playing possum. It squeezed.
Scott felt his windpipe crushing. The world began to spin. Darkness encroached on the edges of his vision.
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't fight. His strength was gone, as the secret technique of burning lifespan got released.
'I failed,' he thought, his mind drifting. 'I couldn't protect them.'
Dangling in the monster's grip, Scott felt his consciousness slipping away.
It was then that the sky ripped open.
There was no thunder warning.
No gathering clouds.
Just a sudden, blinding tear in the night sky directly above the Heartwood Tree.
KRA-KOOM!
A powerful, blindingly white thunderbolt streaked across the sky. It didn't hit the tree. It hit Scott.
The raw, untamed energy of the storm surged through him.
For a split second, his body became a conduit of immense, divine power. His eyes glowed pure white.
The electricity didn't hurt him; it flowed through him, traveling down his body and discharging directly into the zombie that held him.
ZZZZZT!
There was a soundless flash that turned the night into day.
The zombie shrieked—a sound that was cut short instantly.
The peak First Order creature, with all its regeneration and strength, couldn't withstand the fury of the heavens.
In an instant, its flesh boiled and turned to dust.
The monstrous hand holding Scott's neck disintegrated into fine, black ash.
Scott fell.
He hit the ground softly, landing on the bed of ash that was all that remained of the tiger Zombie.
The forest fell silent. The wind died down.
The only sound was the distant rumble of the departing storm and the shocked, weeping gasps of the people of the Heartwood Tree.
Scott lay still, smoke rising gently from his armor. He was alive, but the fire inside him was dim, flickering like a candle in the wind.
For a heartbeat, there was only silence, a heavy quiet that felt louder than all the roaring that came before.
Everyone atop stared, their minds unable to catch up with what their eyes had just seen.
The monster was gone, replaced by a pile of ash, and Scott lay unmoving in the middle of it.
Then, a single voice from a high branch broke the stillness. "They did it!"
That was all it took. A wave of sound erupted from the Heartwood Tree.
Cheers spread across the camp, echoing through the branches and down to the roots.
Hundreds of people poured out of their homes, laughing and crying at the same time, their fear washed away by a flood of relief.
The nightmare was over.
However, the celebration was cut short at the barrier.
Elara, a woman with a beautiful face and long black hair, was the first one through, scrambling over the mossy stones without a second thought for the danger of any other creatures that got attracted by the loud sounds.
Jorunn and Leo were right behind her, their faces grim.
"Scott!" Elara cried, her voice tight with fear.
She ran to him, falling to her knees in the soft, black ash.
She gently rolled him over. His chest was rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm.
He was breathing. Shockingly, there wasn't a single burn mark on him, but he was completely unconscious, lost to the world.
Leo and Jorunn rushed to the other fallen spore man.
They were awake, but barely.
Their old faces were pale and lined with pain, their breaths shallow, each of them burned at least dozens of years of life span.
"Bring the stretchers! Now!" Jorunn commanded, although exhausted from the continuous shooting, her voice still cut through the happy noise from the camp.
The villagers' cheers died down as they saw the cost of their safety.
Men and women hurried down from the tree, their faces a mixture of gratitude and sorrow.
They carefully lifted the three men onto stretchers made of woven vines and wood.
Leo gently helped Elara lift Scott. He was surprisingly light, as if the lightning had burned away some of his weight.
As minutes passed by in front of their eyes Scott's body began to change as it became slightly skinny and looked aged, just like how those old men were when they first came to support him.
This is the price he paid to save the camp.
As they carried him back towards the safety of the Heartwood Tree, everyone around made a path for them, their heads bowed in respect.
"Take them to the healing chambers," Jorunn ordered, her voice heavy. "It's the only chance they have."
Soon, Leo and the others were carrying their four saviors deep into the heart of the tree, past the living areas and down into the warm, damp roots.