Lima Bean didn't want to admit it, but she knew they were goners. There were no Lion Bug swarms around and the Griffin was getting closer and closer.

She yelled at Bo, urging him faster but he was out of juice. He was huffing and puffing, though, trying his darndest best to run as hard as he could. And then she heard a very silent woosh and she was yanked out of the air.

The griffin! He had caught up in an instant, without either of them noticing!

She cried out and kicked at the Griffin but he only shook her roughly and grunted in annoyance. She saw the predatory gleam in his eyes as he bit down harder. She saw her health bar plummeting down and then-

Bam!

She went flying out of the beast's mouth as something rammed into his head hard. The attack came from Bo!

The Griffin snarled and turned to face the baby hare. Bo stood his ground although Lima Bean could see his body was trembling from exhaustion and fear.

She didn't know what level this Griffin was, but she could sense he was near Evolution. Beasts grew tremendously strong then. They would have to fight all-out but the chances for them winning were low.

The Griffin pounced on Bo but he darted to the side. His tail shot out and slapped against the beast's leg. It didn't do much damage, but Lima Bean felt it would leave a bruise.

Griffin and Hare went into a game of cat and mouse, with Bo slapping his tail against Griffin's leg to slow him down. The game wouldn't last long so Lima Bean decided to intervene. She turned, aimed her tail just as the beast was about to catch Bo, and used [Wind Chop]. Unlike [Wind Gust], where a foe would just be repelled, [Wind Chop] cut into their body, leaving a nasty gash and/or a broken bone if done just right.

Lima Bean got both! Griffin howled in pain. Bo took that as an opportunity to sink his fangs into the beast's leg. He howled even louder and batted him to the side but the cost came with a chunk of its leg disappearing into Bo's mouth.

The hare grinned savagely at the griffin and mockingly chewed at its leg meat. Lima Bean was just about to tell him to stop playing around when the griffin was on him, slashing at his little body in a flurry of claws and beak.

Outraged, Lima Bean charged the griffin. With a mighty slap of her tail, she was on its back and biting ferociously at the thick skin that covered him.

The griffin hardly acknowledged her, still tearing at Bo. Desperately, she jumped on his head and took a mean swipe at his eye. Now he noticed her.

He swiped up with one paw, scratching her face before she could dodge. Her eyes burned as blood dripped into them, blinding her. She tumbled off the griffin and was helpless as it pinned her down with one paw.

With a sadistic grin on his eagle-like face, he tore one arm off her body and gobbled it up.

The pain almost made her blackout but she couldn't. If she fell unconscious now, she'd be dead. A part of her thought that she'd be dead either way, but she ignored it. She wouldn't die today.

Not when there were so many lima beans to eat!

The griffin had latched on to her ear this time, but Lima Bean drew in a great big breath and used [Torpedo], a Spell she had learned about a year or so ago when a meerkat had dared to steal her lima beans.

It blew a chunk of the griffin's head off and he reared back, taking her ear with it. Even more pain she had to fight against. Her health was dangerously low, barely an eighth of her full HP. Her stamina was quickly draining, too, as she forced herself up and away from the griffin. But she couldn't stop, so she used [Torpedo] again. She got a sick satisfaction when she blew his arm off as he had done to her.

A flash of movement caught her eyes and she saw blurry shape fly at the griffin. Was that...Bo? She couldn't see him all that well. She couldn't see anything all that well because of what the griffin had done to her eyes, but she could tell that the shape was a very bloodied and bruised hare.

He latched onto the griffin's neck and bit down hard. The beast roared and tried to swipe at him, but Lima Bean stopped the blow with another [Torpedo] before using [Wind Chop] on his neck to give aid to the baby hare.

The beast was teetering from side to side; he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Lima Bean was running out of mana, but she reckoned she had enough for one more burst of [Torpedo]. Before she could use it, the griffin used its stump of an arm to smack Bo up and into the sky.

He landed with a sickening crunch and didn't get up again.

The griffin made a pleased sound before keeling over onto its side. Disgusted and infuriated, Lima Bean used her last [Torpedo] on it, severing its head.

{You have killed one Level 49, Lesser Griffin. You have gained 536 EXP. You have gained 46% Evolution progress! Evolution can commence!}

{You have leveled up 23x! Health, Stamina, and Mana fully restored! You have gained 46 attribute points and 23 skill points! All stats increased by 23!}

{You have gained the title [Griffin Slayer] for killing a Lesser Griffin. +5 to all Stats, +6 to Luck.}

{You have gained the title [Small but Mighty] for fighting an enemy 3x your level and winning. The skills [Determination] and [Battle Strength] have been granted.}

{You have gained the perk [Pain Resistance].}

The plan had failed, Bo was near death, and Lima Bean was missing an arm, part of her ear, and both eyes were partially blind. But the Griffin was dead. They had won.

She opened her inventory, pulled out some healing paste she'd stolen from her brothers a few weeks ago, slathered it on Bo, and kissed him goodnight.

Then she settled against his leg and slept.