"Don't let him get away" Shouted the leader of the Centurions when he realized what Don was doing.

The Demon was already a few steps away from the stunned group. They were slow to react, expecting nothing short of complete obedience. When they did get moving, Don had already built up some speed and was dodging behind trees, trying to break their line of sight. His hopes were dashed when the leader shouted something else.

"[Guiding light]" caused the glow to detach from his weapon and chase after Don. The resulting wisp darted after the demon as quick as a sparrow. Once it caught up to Don, he started glowing and bright streamers trailed behind him, slowly diffusing like a wake in the air. They traced a clear path for the Centurions to follow, showing exactly where he had gone.

Rust Don indulged in the curse before turning his attention to Cel.

Can they see you? He asked. Cel responded in the negative.

Tell the kids to stay hidden, I'll draw them away. This is my problem. I don't want them getting dragged into it.

But- Cel began

Just do it! Don ordered her forcefully I can't be worrying about them if I want to get away.

Cel shouted the order to the monsters, some of which were keeping pace above don, dangerously close to the illumination he was giving off.

When they faded away he had Cel provide updates on what his pursuers were doing. She could trail up to 5 meters behind Don and keep them in sight while they had to rely on the streaks of light he was leaving behind.

They're slower than you, just keep this up and you should lose them when that spell wears off, if not before then.

Don was suddenly very thankful for all the effort he had put into training his attributes. While his 'nimble' trait didn't make him any faster, it allowed him to skip from one solid foothold to the next with uncanny precision. His feet had no trouble at all going exactly where they needed to be. As soon as his eyes found a good candidate, a foot was there, tapping lightly onto the surface before launching him powerfully off towards the next. His longer, beastly legs also helped him to cover more ground with less difficulty.

Without stumbling or pausing to consider, He dashed between trees, hurtled over thorn bushes and quickly outpaced his pursuers. Their armor and unwieldy spears only made it harder for them to chase the fleeing demon. Don was just starting to have fun when all of his pursuers shouted in tandem.

"[E-Pluribus-Unum]"

The sounds of his flight were temporarily drowned out by the blast of a horn which was doubly frightening in its novelty. Then he heard the group crashing towards him just before something really unsettling.

Uh-oh, Move your butt, Don! Cel urged

What happened? Don asked, he chanced a glance over his shoulder and nearly went down hard when a rock shifted out from under his foot. He reluctantly focused ahead of him again. His back felt awfully exposed.

They activated a group skill! They're moving a lot faster now. They probably have at least a few boosted attributes. Stop trying to be so damned graceful and get the hell out of here!

Don took her advice and stopped trying to avoid the uncomfortable underbrush, plowing through it instead. It was a little easier to run like this and Don took the chance to pull a common healing potion out of his inventory. He struggled to drink it while running. He stumbled once and choked a little, but finished it before the Centurions came into view.

Don was starting to run low on stamina and not breathing properly for long enough to drink that healing potion didn't help matters any. He pulled out his only magical stamina potion. It was meant as a countermeasure against the apes but he had learned not to be stingy from his experience with the Jackalope. There was no use in saving the things if he never used them.

Still, he wasn't eager to try and fight five on one, especially when he didn't have any idea how to get past those spears without getting stuck like a wasp on an entomologist's board. Hopefully, the potion would let him outlast the centurions.

Unfortunately, the process of drinking slowed him down again and just after he finished, the Centurions drew close enough to do something he didn't like at all.

"[Lunge]" Shouted the leader of the Centurions.

something slammed into Don's back. He fell forward from the force of it only to find a length of iron-tipped wood growing out of his gut. Then the pain hit.

Don howled in the dark jungle, sending birds winging into the sky, protesting angrily in their musical voices. He lost almost fifth of his health from that single attack and was starting to despair when he noticed a blinking blue box in the corner of his view. That was enough to expand it.

AGI: 19 --> 20 Congratulations!

You have trained your Agility to its limit!

Trait unlocked: Whirlwind Whirlwind

When moving at your top speed, the wind is compelled to chase you.

Top speed increased by 5% CON: 19 --> 20 Congratulations!

You have trained your Constitution to its limit!

Trait unlocked: Hardened Hardened

Gain [character level] natural armor

Bone density and the strength of supporting tendons and ligaments are increased by 15%

Don started laughing. The associated spasms sent lances of pain through his stomach and the nascent laughter abruptly ended as Don coughed up inky blood. Apparently, running for your life was good training. Too bad they caught him. He had almost done it.

Don had plenty of health left but the way he was skewered, there was no way he could escape. The slightest movement sent waves of overwhelming pain shooting through his body. He screamed again when the leader pushed his end of the spear down, using it as a lever and forcing Don to look up at his captors. He arched his back in a feeble attempt to keep the spear from tearing at his insides. Four centurions were arrayed in front of him, spears ready to plunge into Don's exposed chest, but they didn't attack. Why didn't they attack? Don just wanted the pain to end. The leader wanted something else, however.

"Who do you think you are?" He spat from behind Don, giving the spear a jerk that pried another outcry from the demon.

"You disobedient little monster. You thought you could evade the Arbiter's justice? This little vacation is over, you've only made things worse for yourself and caused trouble for the colony. Show some rusting decency and accept your punishment like a true Citizen."

Don was ashamed. What was he thinking? Did he let his status as chief to some dirty little monsters convince him that he could make choices for himself, for others? What right did he have to act so selfishly? He owed a few small debts to the ColoColo, but didn't he owe his Arbiter and fellow citizens more?

The Demon looked up at the centurions full of regret, but his heart nearly stopped when he saw the shadows detaching from the branches overhead to fall towards the spearmen. The spearmen were all looking down at the heretic and didn't notice the danger they were in.

No, Was all he had time to think before the ColoColo were on the Centurions. Then his mind temporarily blanked as the leader tore his spear out of Don. He tried to bring it to bear against his assailant but the long weapon was not suited to hitting something so small and so close. The others had no more luck and in the complete surprise of the attack, none of them had the presence of mind to use their spears to skewer the monsters on their companions.

Hardly more than a second later, the ColoColo jumped away and disappeared back into the foliage, all but one. Dak had tried to apply a second dose of venom and now that the others were free of their assailants, they were eager to enact their revenge.

Don moved without thinking. He dove at the first centurion to level his spear at Dak. He caught his opponent in the stomach and bowled him over. Don rolled through the fall, leaving the spearman tangled in a thorny bush. His armor protected him from the thorns but it also gave them more to cling on to and he was focused on struggling back to his feet when a pair of ColoColo landed on him, pumping him full of even more venom. Before he could dislodge the monsters, he succumbed to the poison.

No one even noticed the fallen soldiers plight. They were entirely distracted by the sudden and ferocious assault of the Demon. Don was thrumming with the energy provided by his potion. His every fiber vibrated with it as it urged him to move, to act!

Don had hardly come out of his roll before he charged back at the soldiers with a bloodcurdling warcry. He made quite the intimidating figure and convinced the remaining spearmen to defend themselves rather than try and help their companion with the smaller monster. The Energizing potion roared through his veins as his heart pounded in his ears.

One spearman thrust his weapon at the demon without the support of his friends. Don couldn't tear his eyes away from the sharp wedge of iron moving inexorably towards his heart. It wasn't blurring with speed but it wasn't moving slow enough to afford him any time for thoughts more complex than 'dodge'.

Don watched in wonder and fascination as his nimble hands complied with his wish, lighting on the spear just behind its iron point and guiding it ever so gently to the side. He felt his knees bending and his upper body twisting, allowing the speartip to pass hardly a centimeter away from his skin. His feet continued forward in a few smooth but powerful steps and he flowed around the overextended centurion, ending up directly behind him. Don wasn't sure which of them was more surprised by the graceful maneuver.

In the next moment, his fascination and pleasant surprise turned to nausea as the incredibly gentle movement was punctuated with a vicious [low kick]. His shin hit just above the centurion's unarmored knee and it buckled inwards. The man collapsed with a scream that was more surprise and horror than pain.

Dak had finished with his poisoning at this point and was gone. The whole confrontation took less than five seconds. One centurion was insensate on the ground, the other was clutching at his leg which bent the wrong way. The last few were standing together, gaping at Don, but the one Dak poisoned was looking haggard.

"Stay back!" Don shouted. It was meant for the ColoColo and while the centurions didn't understand him, they obeyed momentarily. Then their leader bristled.

"A-2" He said just before all three of them unleashed their [flurry] attack at Don. He was still reeling over what he had done to the spearman and took all nine attacks head-on. Don stumbled back, his health plummeting to 12%. The centurion who took the extra poison dose gasped, then keeled over. Only two of the original five centurions were still on their feet, but Don was close to death and his healing potion was basically useless. It still hadn't restored even a single HP. To make matters worse, the leader activated another skill.

"[cleanse]" sent a wave of golden energy out from him to wash over his centurions. Don didn't see any outward effects, but he could guess that he had just counteracted the poison. The two centurions who had run out of stamina didn't rise but it wouldn't be long before they recovered.

The leader knelt beside the crippled soldier but Don wasn't about to give him the chance to do whatever he was planning. He also wasn't going to bet on pulling off another miraculous parry. Don took a page out of the ape's book and tore a branch off of a nearby tree. The last standing soldier squeaked at the display of raw power and Don made the snap decision to throw the branch at him instead. It didn't make for a very good projectile but the soldier was trembling in his boots and didn't effectively defend himself. When he went down, another pair of dark shapes dropped out of the trees onto him. There was a little screaming and thrashing under the leafy branch but he went silent mere seconds later.

During this time, the leader was able to get to the crippled soldier. He had his hands on the man's knee, a golden glow surrounding it and with a sickening crunch, it turned back around to bend in the correct direction. He pulled the man up to his feet, pushed his spear into his hand and faced Don, glaring hatefully. The man he just lifted to his feet didn't look as resolute. He couldn't seem to decide whether to fear Don, or to fear whatever was lurking in the shadowy branches above him.

"Why are you doing this?" Demanded the leader

Don ignored him, It wasn't like they could communicate but he had more important things to be doing anyway.

Cel, have the ColoColo re-dose the fallen soldiers, do it quietly.

He had to make sure the fallen soldiers wouldn't get back into the fight. The [venomous bite] would only keep them down for another 30 seconds but this fight should be decided well before then.

Don looked at the two more closely. He could make out a little mana coming from the scared spearman but there was almost nothing left in the leader's pool. He shouldn't be able to cast many more spells. Don stepped forward. The soldiers stepped back.

Don pointed at the soldiers, then he pointed into the jungle. They understood him well enough.

"You have no authority here Heretic!" spat the leader.

"I am Hendrix, of the Five Paladins, and Four Captains, runner-up in the tournament of heroes! I serve at the direction of the Arbiter himself! Who are you to give me orders?"

Don simply pointed at himself and smiled. That was too much for the soldier. He cried out [holy might] and the slight mist surrounding his entire body burst into curling white-gold flames. He swung his spear, scattering the animal carcasses that hung there. Don rolled to the side, not enough to evade the attack entirely, but enough so the spear lodged itself deeply into a tree before it could catch up to him. Don lunged forward and tackled the paladin. He immediately regretted the decision. While the paladin was unharmed by the flames, they burned Don badly and with a grip like iron, Hendrix clamped his hands onto Don's throat.

"Now" he heard Cel shout and over a dozen ColoColo dropped onto the last standing spearman, bearing him to the ground before he could deliver the Coup-de-grace.

Don struggled against his radiant opponent, clawing at the vice-like fingers as the last dregs of his health pool began draining away. His stamina was dropping faster and faster despite the magical potion he had taken. Just as red was creeping into the corners of his vision, the searing fire dissipated and the paladin's grip weakened considerably. He had run out of mana! Don smashed his arms down on Hendrix's, breaking his hands away from his neck. He forced the paladin's mouth open and poured an Exhausting potion into it. Hendrix sputtered and cursed at the demon but when Don clamped his mouth shut and covered his nose, he had no choice but to swallow.

It wasn't long before the jungle grew still and quiet. Still, except for a blinking notification in the corner of his eye. That was when something odd happened.

For ten meters in every direction, the brambles and leaves began to glow. Little droplets of golden dew grew on their surfaces as the plants withered, losing their inner light. Slowly at first, but then with gathering speed, the droplets detached from the withered stalks and leaves to float towards Don. They flowed around the surface of any obstructions before detaching from the near side like a slow, glowing rain that was falling the wrong way. They gathered on his skin before being absorbed. Don was afraid the Paladin had used some last-ditch skill when he started to glow again. Then the light abruptly winked out as a shockwave blasted out from the Demon, turning the withered plants to dust.

Don stood over his vanquished foe, looking up. His eyes saw past the barren cage which had been a lush canopy just seconds before, and into the terrible void beyond.