บท 30: Zero's Guardian Angel

"Kai, snap out of it!!" Zero pleaded as Kai towered over him.

"You thought you could run after what you DID?!" Kai yelled.

Zero knew how strong the effect of the Phantasm was and also knew that words might not be enough to pull him out of it. He quickly dodged to the left as Kai brought his blade down, missing Zero's shoulder by a small margin.

"Gah!"

The adrenaline from his encounter with the forest lynx had started to wear off and the pain from the scratch on his back was quickly setting in. He stumbled slightly from the jarring sensation and ended up tripping over an above ground root. Zero tumbled to the ground, unable to catch himself.

Kai stalked his prey with slow steps with his sword at the ready.

"I don't care if I have to chase you to the end of this world or the next. I will feel your heart stop with my own hands."

What the fuck? Zero thought as he quickly got back up despite the radiating pain. He's never given off such a murderous vibe - what...what exactly is he seeing?!

As Kai had his sights set on Zero, Zero couldn't help but remember their first encounter when he was chased through the woods. And just like then he didn't have a weapon to fight back against him; he doubted he was going to have the time to cook up another stunning meal like last time.

"Kai, listen to me. Something happened to us! Whatever you're seeing isn't real."

While he knew it was probably folly to talk reason into him, he didn't have any other options. His bonus dish 'Full On Pork Bun' could only be made once a day. Kai ignored Zero's plea and instead rushed at him with fatal intent.

"Enough of your lies, monster!"

Zero paused at Kai's words - while he knew he didn't actually mean that, there was something about his tone that was very reminiscent of....his parents. That pause also cost him the small window he had to come up with a plan as Kai was upon him now.

"DIEEE!"

Zero felt the fear well up inside of him, but there was also something else. Like a window of power that wasn't there before opening for the first time. That's when they were both suddenly cast in a large shadow.

He looked up past Kai as he was about to swing his sword down and saw the Forest Lynx pouncing from behind.

"What the-!" Zero started.

Kai immediately turned his head but was quickly met with a back swipe of the paw by the forest lynx and was sent flying straight into a tree. His back slammed against the bark and knocked the wind out of him.

Oh no, Zero thought as he feared he was next on the menu.

But the lynx then did something unexpected. It turned it's back on Zero and stood in between him and Kai as he was slowly getting up from the ground.

"You're...protecting me?" Zero said shocked.

The lynx simply turned his head to look at Zero out the side of his eye and gave him a small nod.

"Oh shoot, you can understand me. That's right...we're bonded now!"

The lynx turned his attention back to Kai who had regained his footing and was staring down the lynx.

"What the hell is that thing?" He said with wide eyes. Then he quickly refocused. "No...it doesn't matter. Nothing matters but your deaths!"

Kai swung his blade in an arc from where he stood. "Crescent strike!"

The wave of energy zoomed toward them. "Watch out!" Zero warned the lynx. But the lynx didn't even flinch - an aura of purple energy surrounded it as it bolted forward towards the attack. As he collided with the wave of energy from Kai, it was blown away upon impact and the lynx continued forward unharmed.

"Huh?!" Kai said in shock. He quickly let loose another one but it was met with the same result as the lynx's aura protected it. Kai tried to take a step back but saw that he was cornered against the tree. As he turned around to face the incoming beast, he realized that he was trapped.

The lynx charged right into Kai and barreled straight through the tree, completely ripping it in half as he did so. The top half of the tree toppled to the side and crashed against several other trees in the area. The lynx came to a skidding stop and Kai was sent tumbling across the ground at high speed before sliding to a stop.

He wasn't attempting to get back up this time.

Zero's mouth was hung open as he watched the display of raw strength shown by the lynx. HIS lynx.

"You mean..he could've done that this whole time??" He suddenly counted himself lucky to even be alive. But his attention quickly shifted back to the situation as the lynx now marched to finish off his unmoving prey.

Zero ran to the Lynx's side. "Wait! Don't kill him!"

The lynx stopped mid-step and turned back to his bonded owner with a look of confusion on his face. After all, he was simply finishing off a threat to his owner's life.

Zero stood out in front of the lynx. "He's a friend of mine! He's just not...well in the head right now. That's why he attacked me. But trust me, he's on our side too!"

The lynx looked from Zero to the unconscious Kai several feet away. It let out what Zero deciphered to be a sigh and sat on its hind quarters in front of him.

Zero let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." He reached out, while a little hesitant, and pet the lynx on it's head as a sign of gratitude. To his surprise, the lynx rubbed into his hand. Zero showed a small smile - even though it was basically twice his size, it really was like a cat from back home.

[Relationship with forest lynx improved!] A message appeared.

He then turned around to look at his comrade laid out on the ground.

"Well, let's get him out of here."