Just You Wait

'Hot'

Dark mist filled his surroundings, there was nothing but this cold mist yet he was feeling a scorching heat all over his body

'Too hot, I can't breath'

It felt like his very being was on fire, as if he was stuffed full of it

The constant state of discomfort only grew until his tolerance reached a boiling point

"Haaah haaah!"

The scenery transitioned from darkness to light as his eyes opened abruptly, greeted with the blue clear sky and swaying foliage

"Haah haa?"

Taking in laboured breaths he gave a confused glance to the surroundings but a good look he couldn't get before a big head popped up in his vision

It was bald and smooth but more importantly was the worried expression on its face

"Ooha?"

He felt the now blue-haired gorilla poke his body curiously checking whether he was dead or alive, he didn't need to think to know this was the same gorilla he used sacrifice on

"Oof!"

Hearing his pained sound it retracted its finger hastily, then ran off disappearing between the trees

The gorilla's motives didn't hold his interest currently as he went about checking his body, from a glance one could tell his legs weren't going anywhere since they still looked fractured from the crush in more than one place, his arm on the other hand was now twisted in the right direction which gave him hope of it healing sometime soon

'I need to apply some herbs so it wouldn't get infected'

He thought about summoning Lyra but threw their link he could tell her situation hadn't become too much better, that attack was fatal enough to almost kill her, only because she was a Soul Guardian was she able to start healing after being recalled

'The snake or the spider?'

He had only these two to call out, the snake would be the optimal choice with how smart it was but it would be hard to get the herbs here with no hands and the spider wouldn't know the difference between them, if any of the needed herbs were nearby at all

His debate didn't last long, mainly because the gorilla was back before he made the decision

"Wuhaa!"

There wasn't as much as a small warning before a huge fruit was forcibly shoved into his mouth producing a sour and stinging sensation before he even munched on it

"Puh! Cough cough!"

"Ooohaaha!"

"Guh?"

He just about choked on the damn thing until he spat it out and coughed but the beast didn't seem to agree and shoved the fruit right back his throat, this time choking him for sure

As much as he wanted the sour taste out of his mouth he realized the baboon wasn't having any of it, thus munch he did allowing even more sourness to assault his taste buds until his face looked like it was going to get sucked into his mouth

Seeing that expression the gorilla noded to itself, this seemed to be the expected reaction

"What are you doi- Omf! Mmm!!"

After finishing the fruit Yu tried to complain but another one filled his reproaching mouth, this time the torture didn't stop there as the sour liquid was squeezed onto his wound electing a muffled scream

'The hell is wrong with this thing!? Is it not the least bit grateful that it became stronger because of me?.... Or maybe it's because she became bald'

That looked like a plausible reason else why torture him like this

The painful experience continued on until he was forced to eat two more fruits, only then did the merciless beast let him off the hook and give a big yawn, the sun was up high in the sky yet it lay down and closed its eyes for some rest

Seeing it sleep next to him quietly Yu took a relieved breath and started looking around more carefully, there was a need to figure where the hell he was before making a decision on the next step...when he could start stepping again that is

'This looks like the Whimsical Wilds still'

Same huge trees could be seen from afar, every time he saw these trees he wondered whether they also housed beehives or not

'I shouldn't be thinking about that now, what should be on my mind is what this buffoon plans to do with me'

He couldn't run, he couldn't fight, and for sure he couldn't sneak away while it was sleeping, normal animals were vigilant when they slept in the wilds much less beasts of this rank

'Is that?'

As he looked around more he spotted a few yellow crystals laying by the roots of the nearest tree, these crystals were small except for one much bigger than the rest, their numbers reminded him of the total number of gorillas and their leader

'She must have killed them all, I don't see the bear's crystal though, did she not want it or did it escape? Hmm, I sure hope it died'

He wouldn't forgive it for that sneak attack it did on Lyra, if it wasn't dead he would definitely look for it and kill it with his trusty companion once they got a bit stronger

Day turned to night and before long the sun rose again starting a new day, only then did the lazy gorilla wake up from its long nap stretching next to the severely bored Yu

"Ohaha"

It said picking the crystals up and shoving it to him

"Want me to keep them?"

"Oha!"

"Umm, I'll take that as a yes"

He stored the crystals in his ring, this could be considered compensation for all the ones he used on her sacri-"OOHAA" "They're still here! They're still here!!"

Once the crystal disappeared he was picked up and shaken like a ragdoll by the angry beast until he coughed them back out

"Oooha!"

The crystals were taken and held by the fella while he was dragged along for a walk in the woods

"Haaah….Just wait until Lyra is healed, I'll whoop your ass for this"

In the meantime though it was his ass being beaten against the floor

****************************

While Yu was having one of the roughest times of his life there was another person who was going through just as much trouble

"So you say a howl was heard before the fire started the second time?"

"That's what we all heard"

Willa answered the old man in shabby clothing, her way of acting was rather respectful which boggled her father in law by the side but he had chosen to stay quiet ever since the disaster happened

"Hmm"

The old man bent down and picked up the ash belonging to the burned down guest house, bringing it to his nose for a sniff

"Achoo! Hmm, It smells like ashes"

"....."

It took a good deep breath not to retort at the comment, honestly if it wasn't for the danger she sensed from him she wouldn't have bothered entertaining a conversation with this weird old fellow

"Well, I seen enough, I better get back on the road before that kiddo makes another mess"

Before he left though he gave the woman a good look

"You a retried mercenary?"

"? No, but I used to be an adventurer"

"Adventurer? Hah, been a while since I heard that word, you know what lad if you ever find the need to start hunting again go register as a mercenary, tell em Ol' beggar sent you"

With that he turned and headed into the direction of the woods that even strong mercenaries would think twice before entering, leaving Willa with a thoughtful expression on her face