His eyes shut in terror - even the feverish course of energy from the berry that had been driving him was no match for the paralysis he experienced from seeing huge body dropping from the sky towards him.

But then, the sound of air being ripped apart, high pitched and quick, like a whip, shot above him again and again and he opened his eyes to see arrow after arrow slotting into the noctogorge's chest. A fiery explosion from the lodged in arrows blew the noctogorge back several feet, and its body slammed into the ground with a thunderous drop.

"The last two are retreating!" said one of the robed ones.

The man got up to his feet and felt his arm being shaken.

"I told you to take the left!" barked the green jewel robed one. "Didn't you learn anything back then? You're still the same blockhead."

The man shook his head, puzzled. "Back then"? Back when? The only memories he had were the scenes of violence he had just witnessed, and comparatively prosaic wandering in water, then grass and fog.

He stumbled over to the noctogorge, now slain, which was on the precipice of crushing him with its grotesque feet, its nails as yellow as a yolk and thick as an egg. But a hole had been blown out of it from the explosive arrows, and now there was only scorched flesh and hanging entrails out of the crust of the gaping wounds.

The stench and the sight of the mutilated corpse hit him and he clutched his stomach as heaved several times, trying to contain his disgust. The irrational confidence which had overtaken him and stifled any fear was quickly subsiding.

And then, the side-effects of the berry took their turn as well, as the nausea that had been signalled to him after taking it was making itself felt.

He bent over, trying to stop the waves of sickness rolling over him repeatedly, until it was too much, and he vomited all over the ground and himself, each time feeling it like a bash from the noctogorge but in his abdomen.

[Blitzen Berry boost has ended. Strength and endurance reset to original levels.]

[You have suffered 20 damage from Blitzen Berry sickness. 16/50 HP remaining.]

He blinked and the words dissipated in his mind. He could feel more words trying to appear but every time his stomach would wrench itself into a knot and release, relaying pain through his limbs. His mind was reeling and another wave of sickness left him writhing on the ground, yet new words still attempted to materialize in his mind, but were rebuffed each time by his agony, like someone who can never get a word in during a conversation. He tried to say "help", but the impetus of speech couldn't reach his lips, and he was left contorting his mouth and tensing his neck in vain, until the mercy of darkness and quiet took his mind and his head swiftly dropped back into the ground.