Albert was aware that someone was watching: he had felt a presence hidden somewhere when he arrived in the cave, but he had been unable to do anything about it. Now he was struggling to protect the girl from the onslaught of flaming bullets coming her way, straining his Power to the extreme to simply tank the hits without any sophistication, simple kinetic shields and nothing more. Then finally the presence made itself known.

It was Lina. She appeared right behind the ranker, coming down from above at the height of an impressive jump from her hiding spot, sword in hand. The man was somehow ready for her and turned around, but this gave Albert relief enough from the constant pressure that he could stop defending Scrappy and attack the man, hoping to find an opening.

At least so he hoped. More bullets exploded out from the ranker, who was visibly straining himself, and whose screams had turned guttural and horrible, chanting incomprehensible things. His hair was turning white, his cheeks sagging and wrinkles forming on his forehead, but the more the man seemed to wither, the more powerful the magic he fired was.

“He’s burning his life force!” Lina, suddenly at his side, said.

Albert had resumed the peculiar construction of Power he was using before to parry the flaming stones. Three steps, and at each third step he would intercept a bullet with his steel ball and it would be reflected back to the sender. Luckily the ranker only seemed to use one attack, mindless as he had become in his rage. Meanwhile, in the back of his mind, Albert tried to figure out how to counterattack.

So far, the mage had sustained more damage from draining his own life force than anything else. However, it seemed that waiting was not an option, as the attacks were increasing in power and speed and not even the two of them could hold them at bay. At the same time, parrying and sending the attacks back to the caster was doing nothing to penetrate the shimmering shield around the B-ranker.

“I need an opening to do my thing!” Albert said. “Can you reach him?”

“If you cover me.” Lina said. She tried to advance, but had to deflect with her sword. Each hit heated the blade to the point it was shining red.

“I’m trying!” Albert grunted.

“But why are you so slow?” She yelled.

Albert grit his teeth. “How else do you think I could intercept these?”

Just as he said that, one projectile grazed against his steel ball. Instead of being deflected back, it was only thrown off course and exploded on the ground next to Albert. The shockwave further destabilized his stance.

Jeff?

I’m using everything we have.

“I’ll cook something up.” Albert said. “Be ready to advance.”

But the B-ranker did not wait for the two to chit-chat, instead ending the spell and immediately advancing himself. Albert had been waiting for the move – more hoping than waiting – and he nodded in Lina’s direction. She did not hesitate, true to her experience as an adventurer, and immediately lunged forward. Behind her, she was vaguely aware of Albert’s form doing some weird hand motions, before a flame – white and hot – seared her back. The B-ranker’s attention wavered for long enough for her to get a stab at him, but she had to immediately backed away when the impossible heat of the flame reached her.

It collided with the man, washing harmlessly away.

The ranker’s face exploded in a contorted grin.

Albert heaved, almost collapsing. He spat out blood, which smattered on the ice with a wet splotch, before his eyes scanned the cave. All this in a fraction of a second. Once he was satisfied – Lina did not know satisfied with what, but she assumed it was because the little girl was safe – he locked eyes with her.

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“Again,” he said.

“Can you even stand?” She asked, incredulous. In her mind, thoughts about his weakness hinted at something she didn’t really want to entertain. But it would be so easy.

The mage did something, and the red haze in her mind narrowed until he was at the center of attention. As the anger changed focus from Albert to the Ranker, she could only hope Albert knew what he was doing. Or die trying. She was quite confident she could escape should she need to.

“Fine.” She snapped, then lunged.

This time, no mass of fire seared her back. Whatever Albert was doing, it was not releasing any heat but a sort of grainy substance like dark sand. She advanced, vaguely aware that Albert was chucking the substance towards the mage.

The ranker’s head snapped towards her, hollow eyes regarding her as if she was nothing more than a pile of garbage. For a moment she felt fear. Then Lina ducked out of the way of whatever Albert had conjured before it could touch her. The distraction proved to be effective, for the sand washed over the ranker and then ignited, setting him on fire.

He screamed, a primal and horrifying thing so sinister that it promised to never leave her memory, burned there as it was. The scream and the smell. Oh, the smell. She had seen her fair share of death, gruesome deaths too, but this was on another scale.

Her mind reeled with images. Lina brought a hand to her abdomen, and it came back red. That’s when she saw Albert towering above her, yanking her hand away and washing her body with a strange tingling sensation. Then heat came, but as she looked up she saw the cold, calculating gaze in Albert’s deep dark eyes. Then the world flashed white. Lina screamed. What was he doing? He was betraying her. He was attacking her. After all she did for him? Why? Why? Why?

She wanted nothing but revenge. Yet, she was—alive?

When she opened her eyes, seconds had barely passed. Scrappy was there, wearing a scared but determined expression as she clutched a small book in her hands. Lina saw Albert look down at her and then back at the charring body of the adventurer, only hatred and anger in his eyes.

“You are healed.” Albert said, offering a hand.

Lina took it with her own shaking fingers, noting that the pain was gone. In fact, any trace of having been hit was gone fast enough she couldn’t even tell if she had been hit at all. Perhaps it had all been a fabrication of her mind. Perhaps he hadn’t healed her at all.

“Why the fuck did you have to attack us?” Albert heeded her inner turmoil no mind and whispered to the dead, burning body.

A shiver went down Lina’s spine. This was not a man – elf – who wanted to kill. This was someone who killed despite his best efforts.

Albert paused for a second, gaze lingering on the dead ranker’s body. Then, he suddenly spoke, turning to face her. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Lina again.”

His face was cheerful, decorated by a smug grin as if what happened wasn’t even real, hadn’t even registered in his mind. As she saw the change, she couldn’t help but feel afraid. Albert wasn’t well in the head.

In fact, Lina thought to herself as she heaved a heavy breath of frigid air, Albert was unstable. She didn’t want to spend one moment longer than she had to with him. Let him go ahead and clear whatever laid in the small tunnel that had killed even the B-rankers. She would just swoop in and—

The girl. What was the girl doing with the elf anyway? Did he kidnap her?

Discordant thoughts flooded her mind. Escape. Save the girl. Albert was friendly. Albert was dangerous. Kill Albert. Run from Albert.

He was staring at her as she struggled, she realized. Cold, penetrating eyes dark and dangerous. Enough to derail her thoughts entirely until only a realization was left in their wake.

She couldn’t leave the girl here alone.

She didn’t even need to think before her hands were on her sword, her body having moved well before her mind had caught up. She was mid-lounge, faster than she had ever seen the elf move, ready to take his head and save the girl.

“You—” She began, but the words died in her mouth when her body collided with an immovable object.

A feeling of frost spread through her chest. She looked down in horror, trying to speak but managing only a gurgling sound. Albert had plunged his whole hand into her chest, where it melted with her flesh in a silvery sheen of molten metal. Gelid.

“No, no, no.” She heard him speak, but he was distant, seen through a long, long tunnel of black and nothing else. “Jeff,” his voice echoed.

For a moment, Lina thought Albert was in great pain. But it couldn’t be right.

***

“Jeff, analyze please. She isn’t acting right?” Albert clutched his forehead with his one free hand, feeling his blood vessels ready to burst. The pain from overusing his Power was exquisite, but his tolerance was growing. He knew that there were numbers in his logs representing exactly how much it had grown, but now was not the time.

Analyzing. Found traces of unknown Doom contamination. Albert, I advise you to leave her here. You don’t have enough Focus left to do anything without injuring yourself.

Albert removed his hand, and Lina slumped to the ground, unconscious. He took a step towards the charred body of the ranker who had attacked him, attempting to scan it.

“S-sir Albert? What is happening?” The soft voice of Scrappy made him pause. He felt villainous.

Fuck me if I leave her here like this.