The monster was only about ten meters away from them. This must be the monster they are referring to. She noticed the leaders and other groups of boys and girls were running as well. She can see that one and a half a human tall and three humans wide is its size. Its head is a mixture of a dog and a cat. It uses its long four legs to run fast. It growled as if it were a monster seen in movies. From the light coming from the moon, she could see how deadly its fangs can be. If her eyesight is correct, its color is brown-black. It's not just an ordinary animal, but a monster. Something caught her eye again. Its fangs are colored... red?
"Let's deal with this first. We have no choice. If you don't want the monster to swallow you, then shut up. Besides, this is the order of the leader; we have no choice."
She recalled the early conversation between the boy who told them to run and the girl who complained. If what he said to 'swallow', it means the monster ate something.
"Dead end!" the cute girl with super short hair and bangs shouted.
They are hereby the river where they were placed after entering this world. And since the river was behind them, they had nowhere else to go.
"Leader, what are we going to do?!" someone panicked.
"There's no other choice," the leader with eyeglasses replied, glaring and staring at the monster seriously.
"We'll fight that," replied the chubby leader and he pulled out a stick with a sharp end.
"What?!" they chorused.
"Boys!" the leaders called them. They immediately came out from hiding behind the trees.
The boys blocked them as if to protect them from the monster. She saw her classmate. He stared at the monster while holding the stick tightly in his left hand. So, he is left-handed.
Strange, there is something wrong with our situation. Is this really what the hologram means about the tri-games? She didn't know what kind of game tri-games are, but she felt like they were playing a survival game right now. 24 vs 1.
"Yuck!" A girl was disgusted by what they witnessed next.
"*buuwarlkkk*"
It also made her feel sick of what she saw. In the stomach of the monster, big worms were moving inside its stomach. There was so much of it that it was embossed on its belly.
"Everyone, don't let your guard down!" A reminder to them by their leader with eyeglasses. "Go!" they signaled.
The boys pierced the monster's whole body with sharp wooden sticks, so the monster cried out in pain. It was not sharp enough to penetrate its thick skin because they did not have any knives or other tools with them. But the boys forced it through to inflict its body.
"Rwaaah!"
"One more!" commands the chubby leader.
The boys gradually attack the monster using their sticks. As they continue to struggle, she's thinking of the odds again. There is something wrong here.
First, why is the river too shallow?
Secondly, when the tri-games start, it's unfair to the players because they don't have a weapon against the monster, regardless of fighting 24 vs 1. The monster attacks a human being, so they can still lose. They weren't aware of when and where will the game start specifically.
Third, with the size of this forest, is it just a coincidence that they encountered the monster? If yes, why only tonight? They've been here since early morning. Also, the time here seems to be running too fast compared to Earth. They only spent an approximate maximum of five hours searching for food and shelter ever since, yet it was already dusk. Did the monster mean to show up at night because it targets them from the very beginning? And since it is at night, it has a better chance of winning. Or maybe because it's hiding something?
She scanned the surroundings. There were only ten boys here. If her suspicion was correct, the two missing boys were injured or worse, dead. But she's hoping they're not. She saw something dark red on the monster's fang; it was probably blood. Just thinking about it makes her feel bad.
She was swallowed up in her thoughts. The monster was still standing. It was just groaning and doing nothing to them. Why doesn't it attack them when it is barely hurt? Often in movies, the monster attacks before its opponent can see an opportunity to attack or escape. But what does this one do? It is just moaning in pain. The boys managed to pierce its body once, but there was barely any blood coming out of it. It must not be a fatal attack to stop a monster like this.
"What the?!" panicked a boy as they witnessed the monster's power. It's unbelievable, but this one can cure itself rapidly.
The other girls were terrified as well and forced to run away. She admits that she was also getting scared. She can feel the increasing speed of her heartbeat. Just so, when they could hurt the monster even for a bit, the worst-case scenario happened because it regenerates. Even so, she tried to be as firm and calm as possible. She just stared the monster straight in its eyes.
Why don't you attack us? Are you being vigilant, or do you also have a weakness?
"Leader, what now?"
"Help!"
"There's nothing we can do!"
"Let's run back."
"N-No…"
The two leaders were also confused. Lying in the sand were the wood sticks and branches they used to attack didn't seem to help much. After a few minutes of deep thought… She already knew the weakness of this one. She hopes this will work, but it's better to try it out.
"Whaaa! 'Don't! Take me down!" a tanned boy shouted as the monster lifted him, gaping. It will attack him. This is bad!
*splash*
"Ahhh!" The monster wriggled and released the boy. They helped him to get up and run away from the monster.
The monster's expression changed. Its eyes widened, staring at its stomach."Urraaawwwrrr!" the monster cries in pain.
They rashly covered their ears because of the noise. They saw the monster moan in pain. Its body gradually decomposes until it is completely reduced to ashes that are strewn with sand and blown away by the wind.
"W-What happened?" questioned someone.
"I don't know. A while ago, the monster was still standing in front of us, and it was going to eat him. Turns out, the monster transformed into ashes."
She sighed because the boy who was nearly eaten was now safe. She also lost the tension and was thankful that the monster had finally been eradicated as well. Despite the monster's death, their eyes widened looking at her.
"W-Why?" she mumbled as she was frightened.