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Leon decided that he didn’t like orcs any more than he did while he was still on Earth. The creatures were of a foul nature, simply geared to kill, kill and kill. This particular orc was doing its job well, too well for he was proving harder and harder to get rid of. Simply hiding behind Hakuren and Lesley didn’t prove to be enough anymore as Hakuren quickly gave out his orders, stationing Lesley with Jasper some feet away and leaving Leon alone with the task of getting dirt in the thing’s eyes. 

Sensing the danger the orc posed, Leon followed orders and stirred up the loose dirt around the orc’s feet, allowing Lesley free reign to use his rainbow bear powers. However, the orc decided to advance. Having not seen the great beast, Leon was shoved away by its heavy shield. He was blown off his feet and landed in a heap ten feet away, body aching from where the rusted nails holding the shield together had dug in. Furthermore, his ribs felt sore where the wooden shield had collided with him. Winded, he lay on the grassy floor for several long moments, trying to get his breath back.

A slew of colorful curses left his mouth as he lay face-down – yet again – on the ground, cursing the orc to hell and back. Eventually he found the strength to get up again, knowing that it wasn’t dead yet – judging from the sounds – and it was still a threat to his companions. As hidden as he was, he didn’t want to end up burying four bodies. He mustered up the energy to drag himself up to his knees and then one foot, following with the other. As hard as it was to walk with his chest in such a bad condition, Leon managed to make it back to the clearing where the orc was encased in ice. 

What had happened? Hakuren lay on one side, looking for all the world like he’d suffered severe trauma and even more severe internal bleeding. He felt a mild bit of panic run through him – Hakuren was truthfully the closest thing he had to a friend here, and he sure as hell didn’t want the annoyingly perceptive guy to die. Nevertheless, it wasn’t going to get any better with the orc still running out and about. Lesley had managed another bout of rainbow-power at the beast but Leon was determined to kill it once and for all. 

Gathering up all his energy, Leon focused on the orc. Instead of using the predictable way out, such as summoning a huge gust of wind to blow it fifty miles away, he went down the more destructive route. He was sure Lesley and Jasper would find the aftermath disgusting – and truthfully, so would he – but it had to be done. 

Over the course of several seconds, the air pressure around the orc heavily increased, and suddenly the thing looked like it was being squeezed by a giant invisible hand. Leon could feel the exhausting taking over but a few long seconds later and with a last push, he increased the air pressure around the orc over the limit. The invisible hand that seemed to have been crushing the orc squeezed too hard, and it exploded. Not in the conventional sense where innards and guts flew everywhere; no, the entrails stayed somewhat inside, some slowly leaking out as its bones were crushed to the point where it couldn’t survive. Thankfully, most of it was still encased in ice and spared the others the sight of its slow death. 

All of his energy left his body in a rush, and it took all that he had not to collapse right then and there. Staggering over to the others, Leon chanced a glance down at his amulet; the liquid wasn’t as low as Hakuren’s but it was still very low, as was evidenced by the sudden lightheadedness. He collapsed a little bit away from Hakuren, his world spinning violently. Looking up at Hakuren’s approximate location achieved nothing, for all Leon saw was a green blur flecked with darker colors. 

“Are you guys alright?” Thankfully, he was still conscious and slowly, over the course of a few minutes, the world righted itself again. As he regained his vision, he realized that the orc hadn’t been encased by ice but had been surrounded by great slabs of mirror-like ice. Shrugging it off as a mistake caused by adrenaline, Leon slowly sat up and inspected the rest of his companions for any signs of injuries. Apart from Hakuren, they all seemed well enough. “Great job, you guys! We killed our first orc.”