An off-white notification appeared in my peripheral with a pleasant ding.

Request received.

Eliminate Adrien Galbraith. Reward: Pertinent information. Failure: N/A. Accept | Reject

I stared at the request wondering who’d sent it, who was watching us. Certainly what we’d just done had to be entertaining. With the threat to our lives, I’d forgotten about appealing to the Deities. However, if it was the same crew who’d been following us at Nabu’s Dungeon, they never would’ve guessed we’d be capable of betrayal like this. Especially since so much of what we'd done hadn't been said aloud. The Mod probably had trouble flicking between the split party to cover all bases too.

Was this request from Absalom?

It was bizarre, but I could see the entertainment value attached.

Yet, what got me was that there was no failure punishment. There wasn’t any reason to reject it. I mean, despite Adrien's treatment of us, I didn’t want to kill him.

I never wanted to kill anyone.

He was a sociopath, but having his blood on our hands would make us no better than him if we sought his life for the sake of appeasing the Deities. However, if it came down to it, and we battled, and he lost his life while I defended mine… well, I might as well get something out of it apart from more guilt.

I wasn’t allowed to think about the request for too long. The moment Adrien disappeared, the same noxious fumes that’d wiped out the mordexi guardians started spreading, originating where the brunet had been standing.

Inhaling the gas was what had killed the beasts, I was sure, and with the Loads, they’d been unable to run and escape. So, I took in a large gulp of clean air before the substance could reach us and held my breath. Gigi did the same to my side as my gaze followed Adrien’s invisible form, and we both crept away from the gas.

Tam’s [Track] was very different from [Locate]. It was like a large laser dot, shining, burning, in the core of the subject I’d tagged. Unlike the other ability’s additional peripheral sensory warnings, [Track] was all visual, overlaid on top of what I could see. When I blinked, it disappeared apart from where it was burned into the back of my eyelids.

The sorcerer may not be visible, illusioned away, but I could clearly view his movements as he fled, the glowing red sphere leaving a streak like headlights at night.

I took in the state of my mana and stamina; almost completely dry.

It seemed like there was no better time to call in a favour.

I let Gigi know what I was doing, and xe nodded.

As I began to run in pursuit of Adrien, trusting that Gigi would follow, I opened up the marketplace window and thought about Xanthe. I’d done this before at base, but at the time had no idea what I’d wanted and put it on the “think about later” to-do list. A chat box opened up, and I sent through my requirements. I’d previously tried to talk to the merchant through it, but they hadn’t responded. Whether that be from interference or indifference, I wasn’t sure.

Any self-respecting potions dealer in a RPG would sell what I was asking for. And Xanthe was contractually obliged to pay it up, if they had it.

Please, please, please let Xanthe retrieve this request. Otherwise, I’d be useless on the battlefield. The consequences of that were monumental.

Gigi fell in behind me, dismissing xir shield and dagger to xir inventory. We started cutting across the open expanse of snow. Were it summer it might’ve been a lovely field of grass and wildflowers. Instead, it was a depressing flat white plain. And Adrien’s dot was skating over the top of it away from us.

The throbbing pain in my calf reminded me of the injury, but whatever healing I’d done would have to hold.

My plan hadn't exactly gone as I'd hoped.

I hadn’t been anticipating racing against Adrien to the scout. It was why I’d spent my stamina and mana so freely.

The way I thought it'd work was that Tam would be able to kill her target after Adrien dealt with the last mordexi in the nest. Clearly, I hadn’t taken into consideration that all of Tam’s successful kills had been more like surprise attacks or ambushes. She wasn’t built for straight one-on-one fights; her health gauge closer to mine than Gigi’s or Axel’s (based on her word, at least).

But what was done was done. We had to roll with the punches. Nonetheless, the pride of knowing my trust in her wasn’t unfounded was more than enough for me. All she had to do now was stay alive long enough for me to thank her properly.

Leaving the fumes in our dust, I narrowed all my senses on retaining Adrien’s red dot in my sight, letting everything else fade from my view.

That singular focus was a mistake.

A scream shot out from Gigi, both from shock and pain, as xe crashed forward, snow scattering before xem, xir leg caught by something.

Whatever it was had see-through teeth that were biting into the flesh of Gigi’s ankle. Even from where I was, I could see bone peeking out from the punctures, blood streaming out of the fresh wound. Aghast, I spun on the spot, heading back to Gigi.

Fuck.

It could’ve just as easily been me in xir place. With the HP I had left, that might’ve been a one way trip to the shadow realm.

Once again, frustration at myself churned inside me.

I’d forgotten that Adrien’s abilities had to have included traps. He’d probably scattered them behind him as he ran, cloaked in illusion.

As I rushed back to Gigi’s side, following my footprints in the snow to avoid the same fate, I realised the only reason I hadn’t been caught in it myself was because of my lopsided run from my injury. I’d been favoring my other leg to take the brunt of my weight and that had unbalanced my gait and stride.

The Linnikian righted xemself as I approached, xir hands trembling to clutch at xir hurt foot.

It was not a minor injury. Damnit. If I’d had the system warnings, if Axel had been here, I would’ve been able to— Cursing, not allowing that train of thought to complete, I knelt down, trying to discern what exactly had xir foot locked. However, given the device was invisible, I had no idea what I was looking at. As I examined it, not wanting to touch it for Gigi's sake, based on the shape of the damage, and the invisible jagged edges eating into Gigi’s muscles, it could only be one thing.

A bear trap.

I reached out, wondering if I could figure out how to reset it. I’d never even considered the mechanics of one. And this was magical. Who knew if it could even be released? Would it time out eventually and disappear?

Gigi’s face was squeezed in pain, but xe shook xir head and pushed me away.

“You need to pursue him. This will not kill me.”

I frowned. “What’s your health at?”

“I have sufficient left. Go. We must level up.”

I hesitated, the wound bleeding profusely from the vice of Adrien’s invisible trap.

A moment passed as I gathered my thoughts. During it, Gigi pulled a few items from xir inventory. It looked like one of the first-aid kits Jye had retrieved from Bunnings as well as a few tools. Xe was intending on prying xemself free.

I had to admit the silver-haired alien was right. I couldn’t sit with xem and heal xem up, not if we wanted the best chance at the Dungeon clear. Should we lose this opportunity, the mordexi would respawn, and even if we survived Adrien, I couldn’t see us defeating nearly seventy mordexi on our own. This would've all been a colossal waste of time, and that was a limited resource.

Calmed by xir levelheadedness, I patted Gigi on the shoulder. “Good luck. I’ll be back.” The Linnikian jutted xir jaw in acknowledgment, xir brow still knotted in pain.

Just as I began to consider my pathway forward without stamina and mana, wondering if Dune walking would help avoid the traps, I received a notification from the system.

Item received.

Like a weight off my chest, the potion I’d requested, cliche color and glass bottle and all, glowed briefly in my inventory. I hoped I’d used that favor wisely. I’d been holding off, waiting for a time of need, and this definitely was one, but still… It was like cashing in a Get Out of Jail card at the start of the game. Whether or not it’d come back to bite me in the ass, I guess we’d find out later.

Trusting Xanthe had delivered, I didn’t read any of the potion’s description, time of the essence, and reached into the screen. I plucked the potion out, the boutique, clear bottle revealing indigo liquid faintly glowing within, and I then shotted it back.

It tasted like battery acid and grape. Why did purple things always taste like grape? The potion’s viscous liquid didn’t travel any further down than the back of my throat. Instead, I was grotesquely aware of it piercing into the walls of my oesophagus before tendrilling through the full system of veins of my body, eventually bubbling into my fingertips and toes.

Blanching, I discarded the empty bottle and checked my stamina and mana.

Both were now full.

The extra strong rejuvenation potion had worked, just like in games. I'd added HP to the mix as a preference if possible, but it looked like that was beyond Xanthe’s current wares. Even then I didn’t want to know how much this would’ve cost me without my contract with them. Given the prices in the auction house last time I’d checked, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to afford it. At least not at this point in time.

I wanted to do a little happy jig to celebrate the actions of my past self but set the thought aside.

Now it was time to stop Adrien, no holds barred.

With many more options at hand now, I layered on lightening Loads.

If the sorcerer’s ability were simply summoned bear traps, they’d likely trigger from weight, by stepping on the center mechanism. Load would increase my speed too, the lessened gravity lifting the burden of my body mass. The only other option I’d considered was making an elevated path of [Shield Walls], but I didn’t have the mana or mana regen like Gigi to support that all the way to wherever Tam was, and especially not if I wanted to keep some in reserve for the possible confrontation with Adrien.

I could’ve asked Gigi to start me off… but, no, getting xem out of the trap took priority. It wasn’t something I could request of xem with the long con in consideration. Yes, xe might have [Stubborn] still up xir sleeve, but I didn’t want to push our luck with our lives. What if we didn’t get to the scout in time and all the mordexi respawned in the nest? Xe’d be a sitting duck.

A tremor of pain ran up my leg as I shot forward, hoping against all hope that I was right about weight triggering the traps.

My heart in my throat, I sprinted, accelerating, in the direction of Adrien’s red dot which had slowly grown smaller and smaller during my and Gigi’s exchange. Metaphorically I held my breath, but in actuality, as I ran, the hot air burst from my panting mouth, tension tightening my body.

I was expecting the worst. Each step that felt slightly off was a heartbeat skipped. But the more distance I covered as I cleared the snowy plain, approaching hills in the distance, the lighter my doubts became until I’d pushed past the anxiety almost completely. I wasn’t triggering any of the traps, if there were any about.

I’d been right about the weight, or I’d been incredibly lucky.

As I let myself relax a little, I found my speed increasing. I must’ve been holding back from fear of losing my life. My surroundings whipped by me in a blur.

Still, if the bear traps were what Adrien used to help the others with the horde, it begged the question—how did he get them all in one location?

Once one mordexi was injured, others were likely not to proceed forward any further.

There had to be more behind whatever trap Adrien triggered. More abilities I didn’t know about.

Unsurprisingly, with the sorcerer’s speed buff still in effect, and the Loads assisting me, I was making ground, catching up. His red dot was growing larger, almost the size of my fist. When he’d been standing before me earlier snidely threatening us, the marker had been more like a basketball glowing in his chest.

Fuck, I really needed to work on my endurance. My lungs were burning, sweat dripping down my body, as I pumped my legs beneath me.

~Mordexi Respawning: 3:00~

We were running out of time.

I gritted my teeth and pushed harder.

Adrien’s tracking dot grew.

I was close.

Too close, it seemed. A huge semi-translucent block of white light flashed into existence a few meters in front of me. It was about the size of a school bus. But that was the only thing I was able to note before I had to clench my eyes closed. It was blazingly bright, searing into my retinas; the concentrated power of the sun blasting outward from the block’s center.

Hissing in pain, knowing I wouldn’t be able to dodge it in time with the loose frictional force that the Loads applied to me, I blindly summoned a staircase of [Shield Walls]. Hoping my toe wouldn’t catch on the edge of the blue platforms, I floundered up onto the first step.

As I sprang upward, momentum carried me on, hurtling me above the blinding barricade to the next step. It almost felt like I was flying as I jumped.

I counted the [Shield Walls], having summoned three, a swarm of wasps in my gut from not being able to see. When I reached the last one, I braced myself for the fall that would follow, already regretting the decision.

Eyes still closed, entirely unsure what awaited me on the other side, I vaulted from the top [Shield Wall], my stomach flipping with vertigo, falling, falling, falling, and when I finally impacted with the snowy ground, the air grunted out of me in winded surprise. It'd come much quicker than I'd anticipated.

Thankfully there was no bear trap to greet me. The extra force would've been enough to trigger one, I was sure. But through the pain, I could feel wetness on the back of my right calf that wasn't just the sweat dripping down me. That was not good. I’d split open my leg wound.

Adrien’s ability, the glowing barrier block, even as it disappeared into the distance behind me, was so fiercely luminous that it lit up the blood in my eyelids. Rather than inky black, I could see a crimson, the view discomforting me as my lungs heaved in my chest. When I was finally far away enough to open my eyes, I sucked in a deep breath of air to resettle my mind, and I redirected to race after Adrien’s dot.

Despite the interference, the sorcerer hadn’t gained that much distance. I was able to close it easily enough, ignoring the exhaustion and pain dragging at me.

Adrien’s tracker was about bowling ball size now. I was within throwing distance. That’s when I realised he had slowed down. Were we approaching the scout? As I put on my own brakes, digging my heel into the snow and biting back the grimace the pressure put on my injured leg, the speed buff Adrien had applied finally timed out. Damn.

“Won’t you just die, mouthpiece?” came Adrien’s voice.

From the red ball that indicated his location, the flicker of a spark zigzagged out toward me, homing in. Lightning?! Adrien could attack using ranged electricity attacks?

Fucking sorcerers.

In a panic, I slapped up a [Shield Wall], and the bolt crackled against it, fizzling out as the barrier exploded into a cloud of motes. This ability was strong, that was for sure. My shields were weaker than Gigi’s, but at my current health, they were a good indication of what damage would end me. Not to mention, my HP hadn’t been regenerating, probably due to the continuous damage I was doing to myself by running on my injured leg. I was still barely above 30 HP right now.

If Adrien had slowed, we had to be close to our contested target. I watched his red core start edging around the curve of the hill behind him, his approach cautious though hurried. Had Tam told him her location before when she’d been tracking the mordexi down? It would’ve made sense. It was probably why Adrien thought she’d been telling the full truth.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

But we couldn’t let Adrien kill the scout.

I activated [Locate], and around the hill appeared to be the scout mordexi. It was crawling low, possibly injured from its battle with Tam, and trailing toward… the blue form faded away, the ability’s range weakening the further it travelled. At the very lip of the radar ping, I thought I glimpsed the miniscule silhouette of a cat.

Shit, the scout was still going after Tam. But why had she transformed into a cat again? Especially now she was at critical health. She wouldn’t be able to use the first-aid kit that everyone in Just Friends had received back at base! What was she thinking?

If Adrien got to the scout, I was sure he’d kill it and Tam. And then everyone else.

I had to stop him somehow.

As these thoughts ran through my mind, Adrien shot back another of his electric attacks, the lightning arcing toward me. Again, I borrowed [Shield Wall]. Just like before, it sizzled against the blue hardened material before destroying it completely.

Real original. Wasn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing but expecting different results? Though, I guess it was keeping me from closing the distance, so it had a purpose. Each time I tried to approach, he shot one back, stopping me in place so I could take the brunt of it with a [Shield Wall]. It was slowly draining my stamina stores.

~Mordexi Respawning: 2:00~

He was getting further around the base of the hill. Panic began to surge inside me. I didn’t have anything to get into range. Unlike in our fight with Test Name and the invisible fireballist, he was keeping me too far away for me to throw him off his feet with a well-placed [Shield Wall]. I could dash forward, but he could throw out another of those bright barricades, and I’d be blinded and unable to react to another attack.

What else was there?!

Despite my having gotten used to the pain now, [Cloak] was out of the option. One lapse of concentration and it’d fail; a bad step with my leg would be enough to cancel it. I needed to get close, damnit.

Think, think, think!

I hadn’t retrieved my glaive, so I was without my main weapon. There were a couple smaller daggers courtesy of Axel in my inventory, but even though Gigi had been training us, three days was not enough for me to be confident in a knife fight, especially knowing about Adrien's life draining ability. And with my health bobbing between 30 and 31, I was one, or generously two, of his zaps away from having to rely on [Stubborn]. Engaging in close combat would put me at risk of going down, and no one would be able to stop Adrien from getting the clear, even if I remained alive for the moment.

Was stalling all I could do?

Each bolt he sent my way meant he was focusing more on me and less on reaching the scout.

It wasn’t a pretty solution, and it wasn’t heroic, but if it worked, so be it.

And so, I stalked after Adrien’s dot, staring hard, hating how powerless I felt to do anything more. He sent another zap at me, and I felt like I was playing a poorly designed quicktime event as I flicked up another shield.

Surely there was something more I could do.

This couldn’t be it.

I could run toward the scout and Tam and hope that, what… I killed the scout first? Tam looked to have hurt it but was unable to take it down. If I did manage to kill it, we’d clear the Dungeon, but then Adrien would turn his sociopathic gaze on us. With Tam and Gigi down, I didn’t like our chances. No, we needed to deal with Adrien; incapacitate him somehow… or kill him.

But how? All I was doing was playing for time.

Just as my frustration was beginning to boil over, a hiss of an ability sounded the exact moment after Adrien let fly his previous attack. Another lightning bolt so soon? Fuck, didn’t this dude have any cooldown? I was halfway into summoning another [Shield Wall] when the meaning of the system alert hit me.

Relief loosened my lungs.

He appeared in the blink of an eye, darting forward, a fist clenched that thundered into the ground beneath him as he brought it down. I hadn't seen him use [Ground Smash] in a while. And this was a first, using a punch instead of a kick. His pose looked like something out of a shounen manga; the superhero protagonist making an entrance, crash landing into frame. I remembered him practicing it as a kid, and I found myself smiling despite the situation.

Axel was here.

Probably having seen where Adrien’s previous attack had originated from, Axel had caught the sorcerer’s red dot directly, the snow covered dirt beneath him bursting outward. As debris scattered, the illusion broke, Adrien’s visible form knocked off his feet, crashing to the upturned ground with a surprised grunt.

I’d been thinking Axel was rushing toward Tam, not me, when he’d been cut off from telepathic communications; after all, his other trait that he mentioned was [Swift Footed]. But I was glad he was here now. He could deal with the last mordexi, and I could stall Adrien!

Before Axel could get another hit in, Adrien disappeared again, and the blond swore under his breath. The sorcerer’s red [Track] tag began dipping away.

“Get to the scout, it’s around the hill,” I said. “Clear the Dungeon.”

He shook his head once; a curt, sure movement. “He’ll kill you.”

My relief somersaulted into irritation. But as I scowled, I had to wonder if he was right. I could admit I hadn’t known what to do against the sorcerer. Yes, we'd been batting back and forth, but that'd been when he thought he was just dealing with me alone and had just been trying to shake me off.

If he'd truly fought me, with the rage of his hunt being stolen, it was likely I would not come out unscathed.

I tried to think about the situation objectively.

Adrien was leagues above me, at least in terms of abilities. He had range with electricity and the sun barrier, close combat with the draining and who knew what else, and environment control with the illusion and bear traps. He'd killed three mordexi guardians, twelve hatchlings and who knows how many horde mordexi in his own time. And what was I compared to all that? It nearly killed me just to compromise the guardian’s movements.

Maybe Axel had a point.

Besides, the stubborn glint in Axel’s eyes told me he wasn’t going to leave me here alone. It both pissed me off and touched me, though that also ended up pissing me off too. I was moved by his choice to ignore my orders and in doing so potentially doom everyone else?

Axel may be a better person with me around, but I didn’t know if it worked the other way too.

“Where is he?” he asked me, his brows furrowed.

Repressinging a sigh, I conceded that last time he’d interfered in my actions, he’d probably saved my life. Maybe together, we could take down Adrien before the countdown ran out and then move onto the scout. It was the next best thing. And, given the blond’s obstinacy, the only way forward.

I would be Axel's eyes, and he would be my sword.

To keep him safe from Adrien's lightning attacks while attacking, I activated [Focus], the odd sensory awareness settling over me, and double checked my mana and stamina. So long as Axel could get some good hits in, I still had more than enough to let loose. In the meantime, I could also multi-task and heal my leg. Not being able to use [Cloak] was a disadvantage that irked me.

“He’s about half a meter to your left, one meter in front. Watch your feet for traps,” I replied, holding a hand to my calf and activating [Healing Hand], my gaze following Adrien’s tracker.

Those words were all Axel needed to hear. In a flash, he was at the spot I’d described, his summoned sword slashing through what would’ve looked like empty air to him. To me, Axel sliced the sphere dead on, but as the sorcerer’s form appeared, his illusion once again broken, it seemed like the combatant had only managed to glance across Adrien’s shoulder.

He had dodged.

Axel had cut through the layers and into flesh, but by no means was it a major blow. The blond made a move to get another in as if to compensate, his arms swinging back, readying for an executioner-style beheading.

Adrien’s pained expression only momentarily appeared, staring up at the blade. Tsss. The same lightning bolt sparked through the air from his hand, finger pointing at Axel. Immediately, it redirected to me via [Focus], then Adrien was gone again.

I slammed up a [Shield Wall] to take his assault, paying no mind to the resulting shimmer of the abilities spent. Axel followed through with his attack, bringing his weapon down, but he only split air. Perhaps he’d been hoping he’d be fast enough to catch Adrien. With his speed buff, the man was quicker than Axel had assumed.

“Your southwest, two metres,” I said, and in retaliation, another hiss sounded, and an arc of electricity shot out from the spot I’d identified.

It crashed into the [Shield Wall] I’d already begun forming based on the system alert. Damn, it was so much easier to fight with Axel here. Tendrils of lightning skittered over the shield’s surface before both abilities scattered into sparkles. Ensuring that I kept Axel between me and Adrien’s red dot so I wouldn’t become collateral or targeted, I moved between his attacks too, carefully anticipating and following the sorcerer’s movements.

Axel flickered forward, appearing right next to Adrien’s tag, sword already swinging.

I didn’t know how much mana and stamina Axel had left. Unlike me, he hadn’t gotten the potion from Xanthe. In fact, he looked worse for wear. Judging by the injuries and blood, and his torn clothing, he’d lost just over a third of his life. Still, after fighting fifty-three mordexi, that was better than I was imagining.

I wish we could’ve thrown Adrien to his feet again, but unfortunately, [Ground Smash] had a cooldown. Normally, I would’ve thought it generously short for such a powerful ability, but it might not be up before the countdown for the mordexi respawn ended. And I was not willing to distract Axel in combat when we were in a time crunch.

Almost as if reading my thoughts, an announcement sounded in my head.

~Mordexi Respawning: 1:30~

Speaking of time running out, why hadn’t Adrien used his other abilities? I could wave away the light block one since, just by the size alone, it was a significant ability, so it probably had a longer cooldown. I wasn’t worried about that now I hadn’t seen him use it for a while. But the bear traps… For sure Axel would’ve triggered one by now if there’d been any around.

That meant there weren’t any.

Their summoning had been instant, and it’d been some time since he’d laid the ones back near Gigi. To not use them in this situation was stupid. It would’ve limited Axel’s range of movement, made both Axel and me wary of pursuing Adrien. So why?

Wait.

Since when were bear traps magical? They were things that a scout or tracker used. In fact, the illusion on top of them had probably been what had made them disappear. This ability wasn’t something a sorcerer would typically use. Did that mean…

While it wasn’t cut and dry, I’d assumed that abilities that consumed mana and stamina followed conventional RPG logic. It was obvious to the average gamer, but classes tied to magical fighting used mana and classes tied to physical stuff used stamina.

My general feeling was that for the system's creation of our character stats, class had dictated skills, and starting abilities had set our mana and stamina gauges. It was the only way I could explain why my starting stats had been so… subpar.

I’d started off with minimal mana and stamina precisely because my singular ability matched my class. Technically and mechanically, I didn’t need any of either to activate [Channel].

Of course, the abilities we could buy weren’t limited to that same type of rule, and we could branch out beyond what suited our initial class as we progressed. That also begged the question why we had set classes in the first place.

All this to say, the reason Adrien wasn’t summoning bear traps was because he couldn’t.

Adrien had no stamina left.

He wasn’t regenerating it quickly enough because of his class and or he hadn’t compensated by spending credits on the complementary attributes.

The bear traps weren't one of his initial abilities.

He’d likely come across a similar difficulty that I’d noted when browsing the purchasable abilities. Since the information provided was so limited, it was hard to tell what each ability used in the purchase window, if not impossible. He’d obviously chosen the bear trap ability and then realised it didn’t suit his class but had continued using it anyway since that was the logical thing to do: make use of every tool at your disposal.

If I was right about this, it also made sense about why he had been gone all night. He’d needed to lay down as many bear traps as he could to take on the horde… Those ten hours, he’d be using most of them to restore stamina.

That was one question answered anyway.

Axel’s attack made contact again, catching Adrien across the abdomen this time, and as the sorcerer’s illusion faltered, I saw the ringent wound the slash left behind, blood seeping from it. The combatant had rended through into his innards, some of Adrien's organs beginning to spool out. The sight made my own stomach clench in revulsion. Teeth gritted, Adrien scooped them back in with a shaking hand, and then he went invisible again.

Why did he keep doing the same damn thing?

Was he waiting for us to make a mistake?

And how much damn mana did he have?! Surely he had to be running out? Even with the kind of regen Wren had, she couldn’t keep on using her abilities continuously like this. His illusion one couldn’t be cheap. It was capable of changing our perception of things, not just sight but sound too. I’d heard Adrien scream as he’d charged into the mordexi nest.

In comparison, I was already starting to run dry of stamina with how much I’d been busting out [Shield Walls].

Adrien’s mana pool must be enormous.

He had to have dumped all his credits into it and into buying abilities from players he’d killed, or even upgrading them. But if he had also run out of stamina, that meant… the man was a glass cannon. He was all magic damage, nothing physical.

He’d probably go down if Axel hit him again! Hell, if Axel had managed to get that first attack in proper, Adrien would be dead. That the thought excited me was disturbing. I told myself I wasn’t enjoying the idea of killing him; just winning the Dungeon clear.

As I watched Adrien’s target dot, he stilled, his blood beginning to pool at the spot he stood, soaking into the snow and blossoming around him like the sickly petals of a rose.

Why was he presenting himself on a platter to us?

“Northwest about—”

Axel cut me off. “I see the red.”

Before his last word left his mouth, he dashed to Adrien’s invisible form, sword up and ready, the blade glistening with fresh blood.

This was it.

There was no escaping this attack this time.

But as Axel closed the distance, his eyes flickered, and one of his hands swung up to his throat, clutching it. He gasped, choking, and stumbled back, froth beginning to form over his lips, his sword clattering to the ground. My heart stopped. Axel’s blue eyes bulged, face contorted into pain and dismay. His knees buckled beneath him, and the blond collapsed.

The noxious gas.

Adrien had hidden it with illusion. He'd lulled us into a false sense of pattern and success before launching this assault. Fuck!

My next action wasn’t even a thought.

I was moving.

Holding my breath, I was already darting forward into the invisible fumes to reach for Axel. As I leaned over, I tucked an arm about his torso, heaved his arm over my shoulder, and then stood. Dully, I realised he was lighter than I’d imagined.

My own lungs beginning to complain at the lack of oxygen, I half-dragged half-walked his spasming and sputtering body away from the gas. Even without breathing it, the stench of the fumes had crept up my nose. It was caustic, so much so my eyes had started watering.

Finally far away enough, based on my memory of Adrien’s prior use of the ability, I allowed myself a gasp of fresh air. Then I gently lowered myself and Axel’s shuddering form to rest against the ground, pulling him into my lap.

He looked awful. The image of the dying mordexi flashed in my head, and I pushed it away.

Blinking back the tears from the gas, my own hands shaking, unsure where to sit to heal him, remained where they were, curled loosely about his chest. I activated [Healing Hand] and hoped somehow the ability would permeate into his lungs. His eyes were blinking quickly, air creaking in and out of him, limbs twitching. Maybe it was the panic, maybe it was dawning dread, but the healing started glowing from my mangled hand.

Axel shuddered in my hold, mouth foaming.

It was such a sudden situation flip that my mind was reeling to catch up. But unfortunately my emotions seemed assiduously sharp. Fear formed a chasm in my gut, and the very possibility of losing Axel to this fucking stupid, selfish coward of a sorcerer became real.

My grip on him tightened, and the barely healed skin of my right hand, or rather remaining finger and thumb, broke against him, a thin dribble of my blood oozing over his dirtied clothes. The pain didn't register with me, unable to help but think that if Axel had been in his right mind, in control of himself, he would’ve exclaimed his disgust. Instead, the blond began hacking out his lungs with a wet cough, and blood erupted out of his mouth, sputtering into my face.

I blinked to clear the drops that blurred my vision in time to notice there was something close to horror in his eyes. He clutched at me, trying to restrain himself and his trembling. “Sorry,” he said, voice so raw that it hurt me to hear it.

What number apology did that make now? I realised I didn’t care. Just so long as he lived to continue giving them.

I lifted my good hand to his face, cupping his cheek, and wiped the blood from his lips with my thumb, knowing he would’ve hated looking like that. I tried to smile. “That was a little gross, but you’re forgiven.”

Even as he convulsed, he pressed further into my touch, pain rippling over his facial features, bringing up a weak hand to overlap mine. He struggled to do it, and I realised he was trying to comfort me.

He was poisoned, lungs full of toxins, going through unimaginable agony, and he was still…

This fucking guy.

I felt ill.

As I fought back the tears, not from the gas now, my jaw clenched, an awful reckoning dawned on me.

My feelings for him were a double-edged sword. His happiness influenced mine. And when he hurt… it ached deep inside me, raw, and bruised.

He coughed again, and my anxiety hit a fever pitch. My healing didn’t seem like it was strong enough to mitigate the damage.

He might—

No. I couldn’t think that. Axel would be fine.

Thinking about… what could happen wouldn’t help me. All it would do is make me spiral. Because as I murmured empty words, the skin of his jaw warm to the palm of my hand, I knew I couldn’t lose him.

I couldn’t.

The idea was unfathomable, incomprehensible. A world without Axel simply didn’t make sense. He'd always been there even when he hadn't. And the times that we'd been at our most distant had been some of the hardest in my life.

I centered my focus on the rise and fall of his chest until it started becoming more steady. [Healing Hand] looked to have finally stopped the lingering damage the fumes were still causing, maybe even purged the poison. Thankfully.

So absorbed in Axel, I hadn’t paid any attention to whatever was happening to Adrien, dismissing the other man's insane actions. I'd known he wouldn't attack because of what he'd done.

I couldn't explain it.

Cradling Axel, I turned my gaze to the sorcerer, whose illusion had shattered soon after I had fished Axel away. The fumes, now visibly fluoro green, wafted about Adrien, spreading no further than a few meters. He hadn’t done anything. In fact, he had stayed in the same spot. It was why I'd felt comfortable taking my time to treat Axel like this.

But it didn’t make sense.

The snow under him shifted and scattered with the wild thrashing of his poisoned body as he folded and seized. Limbs were bent at horrendous angles, twitching. He was gurgling, coughing. Dying. Suffering from the same effects as Axel but worse since he remained within it. Adrien’s mouth distended and let out a stomach curdling scream of agony, though it might’ve also been rage, followed by a geyser of mucus and blood.

Had… had he kamikaze’d?

No.

That wouldn’t be logical. He wouldn’t wipe himself out just to get at us.

It had to be something—

The fumes evaporated in an instant.

A golden light, not too dissimilar to the color of Nabu’s eyes, began emanating from Adrien’s body, shimmering off him in waves. A pulse shuddered, the glow scattering away, riding the movement, until the light faded completely.

After a millisecond, Adrien’s previously taut muscles loosened, and he unfurled from his contorted position, casually standing to his feet. Rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck, he cast a cool look skyward.

An empty smile curled at his lips as he said, “My dearest thanks, Korravai.”

Then he turned his gaze back to us.

Adrien had fully restored himself.

~Mordexi Respawning: 1:00~