章 30: Flee
Rackshar watched the retreating back of the Elder Athonex with fury building inside him.
'Why would it make such a suicidal move?' he thought angrily.
Rackshar had taunted it, but it still should act with its own self-interest in mind. Rackshar could clearly see an area on the left side of its shell that what concaved, from when it had rammed the craig. To top it off he had been able to clearly see the damage on its head from when it had been smashing it against the rock earlier. Yes, it would probably be able to kill Rackshar if it continued on this path, but it would leave itself crippled if it did, and a crippled beast in a jungle would not survive long.
'Is this turtle sick in the head?' The thought flashed through Rackshar's mind, and the more he turned it over the more sense it made.
First, the Elder Athonex made its home in the same area as a Tomb, which was unheard of. Creatures that make it to heightened evolutionary levels naturally stay away from tombs or are drawn into them and become part of them. This is because to make it to such heights takes very sharp instincts and Tombs emit a terrifying aura.
The aura was so powerful that even low-level creatures stay away from its direct vicinity. Thats why the Hunters were able to camp directly outside of it with no worries. An Elder Athonex should not be in the same forest as a Tomb.
Second, Rackshar had only seen it use one core, a modified version of the bark shell core. He had assumed that the Elder Athonex was simply too arrogant to use other spells on such a low-level creature, but now that he thought on it longer, maybe it didn't have any.
Lastly, even when it used its bark shell core, it used it in such a predictable and unimaginative way. Originally, Rackshar thought it was toying with him. Afterall, if it had used those spikes that were as big as trees better, Rackshar would have had a much harder time getting away.
"A failed god?" Rackshar muttered to himself.
Vibrations coursing through the ground shook Rackshar from his thoughts.
He looked up to see the Elder Athonex charging back toward the craig from the distance. Its powerful legs propelled across the ground leaving deep craters from their impacts. Trees were thrown out of its path leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Rackshar dragged himself to his feet and began to run toward the back of the craig. The inevitable impact came when he was only halfway across the craig's rocky plateau. He was instantly thrown off his feet and began to slide down the rocky surface that was quickly going from horizontal to vertical.
The impact of the Elder Athonex was enough this time to completely topple the huge boulder that was protecting its hated enemy that had killed its children. It didn't matter what it cost, the Elder Athonex would avenge its children.
Rackshar waited until the top of the craig came even with the tree line then pushed off with all his strength, crashing hard into a tree.
The impact was too much for his already devastated body and Rackshar actually coughed blood as he clung to the trunk.
He looked at the blood on his hand with concern.
'That can't be good...'
Rackshar knew he had far overdrawn his body at this point, and he would need several weeks to recover. The problem was that giving up at this point meant death. Afterall, he had already tried fighting and then running away and then fighting again. Yet these stubborn athonexs refused to leave him be.
'Looks like it's back to running away.'
Rackshar began to descend the tree while glancing behind at his ruined sanctuary.
The scene brought a smile to his face. The craig was torn up from the ground and lying on its side, a wide swath of trees crushed from its fall. The Elder Athonex, for its part, was leaning against the fallen craig. Its right side was devastated, the shell of that area was in shreds and far from protecting it the pieces were now acting as shrapnel that pierced into its tough hide. Blood was flowing, painting the craig a rusty crimson.
Rackshar paused as he looked at the gory scene before him, appreciating its beauty.
'This turned out better than I hoped' he thought.
Now that the Elder Athonex was on its death bed Rackshar thought he would be able to reap a huge benefit. Even if it had lost most its cores when it failed to obtain godhood, it still had one advanced level core that would be akin to a priceless treasure.
Rackshar's thinking was cut off by a sudden movement from the Elder Athonex. It raised its head from the ground, its eyes dull and hazy, blood flowing out of the corner of its mouth. It began to look around slowly, almost lifelessly, until its sight finally came to rest on Rackshar, still clinging to a branch halfway up a tree.
The haze instantly cleared from its eyes, burned away by the flames of its rage. An earth-shaking roar was sent to the heavens as the Elder Athonex began struggling to its feet.
Rackshar quickly began to descend the tree to begin his escape once more, but then a slight breeze passed by him filling his nose with a scent that froze him in his tracks.
'Smoke.'
The thought passed through Rackshar's mind quickly as he reversed direction and began to climb the tree. Once he was at the top, he glanced around and quickly spotted the trail of smoke rising above the trees.
It was just a small trail of smoke almost no more than a wisp. A smirk stretched a corner of Rackshar's mouth watching the lazy billows dancing to the breezes tune.
"A campfire." he growled in satisfaction.
Rackshar turned back to see the Elder Athonex had just made it to its feet, its trembling legs looking like they would collapse underneath it at any second.
It took one staggering step toward Rackshar before its leg collapsed underneath it. Still, even then, it kept itself upright with its other three legs. Tilted to one side, it struggled to regain its footing, while never breaking eye contact with Rackshar.
Rackshar's smirk deepened as he watched the Elder Athonex's efforts.
He glanced once more at the smoke trail, memorizing its location.
'Can't wait to see the look on their faces, whoever they are.' Rackshar thought with a dark chuckle.
With that he quickly began to descend the tree once more.
クリエイターの想い 
ShadowOfEmbers
ShadowOfEmbers Yes, I will explain more about the failed gods in the future. Look forward to it.
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