Alexander barely managed to avoid the creature's first strike, but judging by the amount of dust and rubble it kicked off, plus the fact that it obliterated a couple of trees, he deduced that getting hit by it meant death. He landed roughly on his back and immediately got back up, ignoring any injuries for now. It didn't hurt, probably because of the adrenaline. Well, definitely because of the adrenaline. He scanned the vicinity, trying to catch a glimpse of the creature's silhouette through the dust, to no avail. He tried to quiet down his labored breathing since it could potentially reveal his position, but he was too exalted. He caught a bit of movement and his thoughts froze, allowing him to concentrate fully on surviving.

A figure blitzed through the dust cloud, running directly at him with incredible speed. There was no time to think. He jumped out of the way and ran as fast as he could. He turned to see if the creature was in pursuit and almost screamed. The bear-like thing was almost breathing down his neck. He could see its head clearly and it was covered in countless scars. Even though he couldn't process just how ugly the thing was, his instincts convinced him it was like looking at death itself, deformed, hungry and rabid. He jumped to his left and noticed how the creature's eyes followed him, completely stuck to his form. There, at that moment, he understood he wasn't going to be able to escape this thing. Even as it went past him, unable to stop its incredible momentum, its eyes never left him, and neither did his. That was a mistake.

He didn't know what hit him, but he was suddenly doubling over as all the air in his lungs was forcefully expelled. His vision blurred so bad he had to close his eyes. Although he couldn't see anything, he felt himself spinning through the air, and felt several things hitting his back, until he finally stopped. He didn't know if he was facing up or down, the only thing that registered in his mind was the fact that he couldn't breathe. He coughed and opened his eyes, desperate to get air to his lungs. As he did, he was completely overwhelmed with agony.

Blinding and deafening pain coursed through his whole body. His muscles writhed against his will like they were ripping him apart from the inside. 'Breathe!' he commanded himself with a loud mental scream, 'You're alive, so breathe!' And that's what he did. With every intake of air, his chest protested in pain, so he only took shallow breaths. He concentrated on this as much as he possibly could to diminish his suffering.

The ground shook beneath him and he weakly looked up. The creature slowly approached him, making the earth tremble with each heavy step. Right now it walked like a four-legged animal, its eyes fixated on him. What a mess. How did it end up like this so quickly? A few minutes ago he had found a sliver of light and hope in this awful predicament. His journey was just beginning. And now, he was about to die. His eyebrows rose in realization. He was going to die. This bear thing was going to eat him and that would be his end. Tears began to swell up and fall with no struggle, trailing down his cheeks. He didn't have the strength to stop them. He didn't have the strength to stand up. All he could do was keep breathing.

"H-Help…" he called out as loud as he could, but it came out as a weak and pitiful whimper, and as he did so he had a mental image of the girl with the multi-colored hair, the only one who could save him right now. "Please… help…"

For a second, he thought of taking back everything he said to the girl. For a chance to keep living he would become the heir she wanted him to be. He would do anything. However, he immediately trashed those pathetic thoughts. 'Like hell…' Like hell he would end up a slave for somebody else's ambitions. He would live doing whatever he wanted to do, even if it cost him his life. That's right. Realizing there were countless dimensions to explore had messed with his head. He wanted nothing more than to immerse himself in the unknown and to come out with the answers, but searching for the truth was not his duty. He only did so because it was fun. His life was insignificant in the whole scheme of things. Knowing that, a heavy weight was pulled off of his shoulders and he stopped shaking. The creature's head was right in front of him and he stopped voluntarily breathing.

It opened its muzzle to reveal sets of pointy, ragged, yellow teeth surrounded by an empty void. It covered his vision completely. Unblinking, he stared at the abyss in front. This was it. He had to make sure it crushed his head and all the pain would go away in an instant. At the very least he was alone and no one would remember his worthless struggle. He wondered what would happen to his body back on Earth. It would probably look like he died while having a very bad dream. Well, death didn't seem like a bad thing. He was always kinda curious about the afterlife and though he believed that nothing followed after death, there was a part of him that wanted there to be something. Anything. He had toyed with the idea of taking his own life before, just to find out who was right. Guess he would know soon enough. He closed his eyes and...

'Breathe! You're alive, so breathe!'

Those words. Those damned words. It wasn't like he decided any of this! If it were up to him he would be… he would still be… But there was no point thinking about that now! He was giving it his all in order to survive! Hadn't he won the right to die and rest already!?

A face flashed in his mind. The weapon-girl, wearing the skin of his beloved student, smiling down on him. Mocking him. She probably knew this would happen. She was probably spectating and having fun while he fought for his life. He had no control. He never had. Humans, we were all like tiny leaves at the mercy of forces stronger than us. She and this creature both were strong, unstoppable currents and he was a feeble leaf.

'Breathe!'

But lying down and taking it was never his style. 'I'll show you. If what brings you amusement is seeing me crawling in agony barely holding on to my life, unable to do a damn thing... that's exactly what you're going to get you bitch!' a small spark managed to ignite a writhing flame of anger inside of him, 'I'll scream, kick and punch until I stop breathing, because I'm terrified of dying! But I'll never exchange my life and become your slave! Even if it kills me! You hear m-'

The creature lunged forwards and he jumped to the right. The thing's teeth caught his side and ripped his shirt open, spraying blood on the ground from a new wound. He rolled on the ground, clutching his abdomen, and struggled to stand up.

The pain was too much to handle, but he refused to lay down and wait for that stupid thing to finish him off. He saw it turn around to stare at him again. He glared at its black eyes with every ounce of strength left in him. That's when something began to form in his mind, something so dumb and vague it couldn't be called a plan. However, as he glared at the creature, he decided to take that chance. 'Come on, I'll give you something to remember me by you ugly piece of shit.'

He tried to stand up, but his legs gave out and he fell face first. He bit down a scream as a rather excruciating wave of pain traveled from his stomach to the tip of his fingers. Again, he tried to only take shallow breaths and concentrated fully on another thing. He definitely had a better chance if he simply stood up and tried to run away, but right now he was far slower than he was before, and the thing had always been faster. He certainly couldn't avoid another strike like the first one, which he barely did thanks to his quick reflexes. Though, he thought himself capable of one thing. The creature kept walking closer to his downed form. 'Just a little more. As soon as you come closer, I'll punch the shit out of you.'

His plan- no, not plan, his intended course of action was rather simple. At first, the creature had attacked him using its arms and claws to devastating degree and with a speed he could barely react to. However, once he was injured, the thing had opted to finish him off with a bite. Of course, he knew that this one-sided massacre had finished in two of its strikes, and that wasn't nearly enough information to conclude anything about the creature, but it was all he had. That's why he faked falling down, waiting for the creature to approach and for his chance to come. Perhaps the punch would be strong enough to daze it and for him to escape. Yeah right, impossible, but one could dream, and in the unlikely scenario it did happen, he would run to the clearing with the amazing view. Yeah, that's where he would die.

The creature revealed its teeth once more and, to his shock, lunged from its position instead of approaching him further. Perhaps because it was impatient, or perhaps because it saw right through his plan.

Despite this, he decided to go through with the plan anyway. Screaming, he threw a left hook with all the strength he could muster. Above all, he was angry. He wanted to give this thing back all the pain it caused him. And even if he couldn't pay it all back, then just a little bit was enough. This way, he would have an awesome story to share... He didn't give up to the last moment. He punched a stupid bear in its stupid bear snout, god fucking damn it!

At that moment, he realized something. He had been too engrossed in trying to survive to figure it out, but for some reason, time seemed to slow down for him as he fought. Perhaps it was because his life was in serious danger, as people often said that you see your life flashing before your eyes when you're about to die. But he had been in other fights and he didn't remember thinking so much. He just reacted again and again. As he pondered this, he saw the bear turning its muzzle. He hadn't expected this. However, it was too late.

The creature bit down on his extended arm and he screamed.