The whole group followed, even Ferry. Winter and Brook. The entire group ran as if they'd only read about running in books, struggling to open their bags, arm, close and keep on running.
Blade was ahead, leaving the girls. On the other side Ferry did the same. Fury's eyes rolled.
The whirlpool disappeared, replaced by a sunken dome, filling up half the river's width. It kept pace with them easily.
Up ahead Fury made out a bridge. The dome expanded and sped up as if the creature knew. There was a deadline for the monster to work against. But the idea was absurd, too intelligent a thought for such an immense being.
Fury tossed her bag into the bushes, accelerating overtaking Blade, they copied. She stopped, aimed, firing into the water before aiming again. The waters calmed and those on her side of the bank slowed, breathing heavy.
"Ferry! Get to the trees. Blade run with the others and cross the bridge. And be quick about it!"
Something about the situation told her it wasn't over. She had only three arrows with her, the rest in a shrub. With an arrow ready, she waited, taking slow steps back, stomping her feet.
The waters churned, turning murkier than before.
There was a renewed suction, the water level dropped on her side, rising on the other.
Things changed quickly. The waters on her side bulged and burst, casting a shadow over her. She lost her nerve but, it all happened so fast she didn't get much of a chance to do anything. Muddy waters caught her left eye, drenching her whole left, she reached for a branch while attempting to jump. The move was awkward and awful, humans could have hopped higher.
By pure luck she caught wood and pulled with all her might. Half snapped but enough held and, using one arm, she rocketed herself up. It wasn't enough, its mouth covered her, but her bow was dense enough to block it from cutting her in half.
The beast crashed to the floor and slithered after her, but she was in her element, underdeveloped or not. Using her hands and her feet, she pulled herself up and swung in a circular arc, letting go, floating in the air, constantly assaulted by, branches and leaves.
Her clothes, the fur on her knuckles and skull cushioned the hits until a high branch threatened to bring her momentum to a sudden and excruciating halt. She tilted down and caught the obstacle with her feet only to swing in a loop before letting go, bringing herself down like a missile at the beast with the snapback of the branch.
She'd unsheathed, Spear Cleaver. The sword's hilt was dense, the blade matching, making it as long as a spear but four times as heavy. She held it tight by the base, lifting the weapon high over her head, high enough that the tip touched the back of her heels.
She roared, the cry deep and visceral as she slammed down fast and hard, hitting the beast in the face, digging in. The roar rang out between the trees, mixed with river beast's sheer screams as the creature flailed from left to right, sinking back into the river with her still attached.