Chapter 79: The Hunter and the Tiger
For a moment, Gabriel remembered that old story that was repeated so often. At family tables and on emotional afternoons.
The original woodcutter’s father had faced a tiger in an act of heroism and selflessness to protect unknown villagers.
But he was not that man, nor was he the son. He knew clearly that he had everything to lose, especially considering his wounds.
His fists were practically incapacitated and a cruel exhaustion urged the muscles of his body to rest.
The tiger’s growl became even more threatening and violent. He quickly realized there was no escape.
He needed to defy the odds and triumph.
Without warning, the tiger leaped in a beautiful and extremely perfect arc, directly in front of the unprotected Gabriel.
His hands clenched the earth he had gathered in his fist, resisting the pain, and threw it forcefully toward the creature’s eyes and mouth.
He rolled away, avoiding the deadly claw swipe by millimeters.
The tiger had hesitated at the last moment, swallowing dirt in its mouth. It staggered and landed on all four paws.
After a moment of confusion, it recovered. It would not give up easily on its prey.
Gabriel was already running into the distance, spreading his dark blood across the roots and damp rocks. He shouted loudly:
"A tiger! A tiger! A tiger!"
If there was fortunately someone nearby, he would soon know. His mind still focused on the beast pursuing him, crouched with a predator’s agility.
With cunning, he managed to increase his distance from the tiger. Crossing between two uneven trees that intertwined—creating a slight defense against the furious animal.
But in a cruel instant, his luck vanished when he was directly intercepted by the heavy and fast body of the beast. It had emerged like a dancing lightning bolt, striking him brutally.
He rolled painfully over the gravel and wild grass, easily tearing his skin. It was a chaotic blow, but he had twisted his body to avoid the greatest possible damage.
The beast’s muscles rippled beneath its fur. It stalked him with predatory tenderness and silent steps.
A savage smile grew on its face, contoured by hunger and desire.
The law of the strongest.
He was being hunted and did not have the strength to stop it.
The tiger lunged with its two fangs bared. It was a brutal and primitive attack, with the sole objective of tearing his flesh and drinking his blood.
But he managed to impose his own resistance in the last second, striking directly with both legs into the beast’s soft belly.
It released a roar of pain into the air, which reverberated through the trees.
Gabriel’s forearms burned deeply. He had been deeply scratched, producing deep marks of exposed flesh and blood. Adrenaline ran through every inch of his body.
At that instant, a confused and thunderous growl tore through the air, mixed with rage and bewilderment. But it quickly recovered its fearsome ferocity.
Gabriel clenched his bloody and broken knuckles, cracking under his torn skin, and struck with the fury of a hammer.
The blood of both quickly mixed, exchanging wounds in a brutal confrontation.
A small painful moan spread, with the beast retreating slightly.
"You want a damn piece of meat, you bastard?! I have a big piece of meat for you!" Gabriel said to the enraged tiger.
Even so, it was not enough to intimidate it. It fearlessly advanced again, defying Gabriel’s desire for survival.
His blows lost elegance, reduced to a pure exchange of fatal strikes. His fists crashed with raw force into the beast’s body, which kept advancing each time. His knuckles cracked with pain, his skin completely torn.
But even in the midst of the chaos, he dodged with his instincts the tiger’s black jaws. Its mandible snapped close to his face and neck, brushing the air.
The animal was deeply bewildered by the madness that human unleashed. But its empty stomach roared even louder than its primitive instincts, with desire clouding its wisdom.
Then, a cutting whistle sliced through the air.
The beast moaned, with an agonized roar. An arrow had pierced its front leg.
When it tried to flee it was too late. A second arrow cut through the air and pierced its defenseless neck with precision.
When darkness began to cover its vision, a stone with devastating force struck directly against its skull.
"You’re damn crazy, woodcutter!" said a deep voice from the bushes, who quickly revealed himself in hunter’s clothing.
"The stone wasn’t necessary, seriously... You’re injured." He murmured.
He quickly used his arm to support Gabriel, holding his exhausted and staggering body.
He perceived no threat from his timely savior. He was just a skilled archer.
"Always... to the head." Gabriel murmured.
The hunter let out a brief and ironic laugh, laden with complicity. But his smile froze instantly.
Gabriel’s body suddenly went limp, fainting in his arms. The blood loss had affected him to the point of unconsciousness.
When he finally woke up, the old aromas belonging to the forest had disappeared. Instead, a deep smell of medicine and medicinal herbs permeated the environment.
His body was warmed only by the constant effort of the waning kitchen flame.
Nearby, the hunter was sitting. In his hands was a wooden figure, which he was shaping with his knife.
He massaged his temples, with a headache. He was trying to focus his vision. The ceiling above him was made of straw and wood.
But his senses were seized by the burning pain coming from his arms and knuckles.
"Don’t move so much, woodcutter," said the hunter without looking up from his carving. "You lost a lot of blood. I had to cauterize some wounds. It’s really a miracle!"
Gabriel tried to speak, but his throat was dry. He still remembered the tiger’s dark jaws, his desperate battle, and the final death.
Observing how his wounds had been treated, with bandages covering his arms, he asked:
"Why... did you help me?"
The hunter shrugged, continuing with the knife on the wood.
"I heard your desperate screams. A tiger? I had to see it to believe it. But your fight... It was even more impressive, woodcutter."
Gabriel tried to sit up a little, leaning against the wall. The place, despite its precariousness, managed to stay quite orderly.
A small cauldron bubbled near the fire, emanating a strong medicinal smell.
"I have to go back soon..." he murmured, remembering his purpose in the challenge.
The hunter shook his head.
"You’re in very bad shape. In the forest with your wounds, you’re easy prey. Although... maybe not so easy."
Gabriel lay back on the bed. He reflected slightly on the mysterious and valuable experience he had gained in that strange trial.
Amazías... What is a seed of chaos?
He did not speak aloud. But he also could not answer his own question. So he needed to continue with the challenge until the end.
At that moment the hunter set aside the knife and the wooden figure. He approached and offered him a bowl with hot liquid.
"Drink this. It will help with the pain and other common ailments."
Gabriel accepted the bowl with trembling hands. The liquid was bitter, but he drank it without complaining.
Each sip seemed to revive his strength a little.
He was still in the fragile body of an ordinary woodcutter. If destiny wanted him dead, it would have done so long ago.
The hunter finally picked up his knife again and continued carving the wooden figure. It was the silhouette of a wolf, apparently.
"You’re strong for just a woodcutter," he commented without looking at him.
After hesitating, he continued:
"Most would have run and died anyway. You decided to fight."
Gabriel looked at his bandaged knuckles.
"I had no other choice. I still can’t die. We can’t give up."
The hunter nodded slowly, as if he understood more than he said.
"People only need a purpose to do crazy things."
Gabriel nodded.
"You’re an accomplice to madness, hunter. You saved me... Thank you," he murmured from the bed.
"It would have been too heartless to let you bleed out there! Wild animals are terrifying... And the crows." He said with a short laugh.
He turned off the lamp on the table and only kept the kitchen embers lit.
He said in a murmur: "Sleep."
Gabriel decided to spend the rest of the night in that cabin. But not guided by blind trust.
Only a truly kind man could offer shelter and healing. Venturing into the nocturnal darkness of the forest would be a suicidal act.
He needed the man’s experienced guidance to return to Miracle City.
And in his mind even more doubts multiplied as he tried to fall asleep.
He had successfully recovered his memories. With an enormous revelation and confrontation. But he still had to successfully overcome the challenges within the trial.
But, above all, a name continued to repeat in his mind... Amazías Von Tepes.
The traitor and cursed descendant.
The one who urged him to blaspheme against the gods.