"So, kind soul, please become the canvas for my next masterpiece, die wailing in agony by my hand, only then can I experience joy again."

Then, a blade was thrust through his heart.

Looking down at his chest, Kai watches the blood flowing down as the blade pierced through his body. His eyes dulled and he fell to the ground.

That was the end of Sleepy.

Standing where Sleepy previously stood, Red was panting and holding her messed up arm. She was sweating badly and didn't look good.

"Shit, Red" Kai struggles to stand up due to the two stab wounds in his legs, blood still seeping out of the open wounds. Luckily, Umbra appears from the shadows under the trees so Kai sits up and leans on her.

"Who's Red?" She struggles as she holds her arm tenderly. Kai inwardly curses after calling her Red out loud, making a mental note to ask for her real name once they're in the clear

"Uh, nevermind, I got mixed up"

After trying to walk while leaning on Umbra, he realises he physically can't so he has to sit on Umbra's back. Luckily, the moon wolf is strong enough to carry him without too much trouble.

Red walks beside him as they slowly journey back to where Noelle and Shorty were fighting. Painfully slow actually, but while they journey Kai realises she's safe after getting a notification.

[13 XP earned]

Sighing, Kai let's his body relax on Umbra as she continues to carry him. Doing some mental work, he decides that the XP share must have a limited range, as he didnt get any XP when Noelle killed Beefcake because he was running in that damn smoke.

After about a minute, they reach a clearing and see Noelle standing above Shorty's mutilated body, her own body not looking best either, it's covered in various cuts and nicks, each of which already on the verge of scabbing over.

Turning to face them, Noelle quickly paces over and points a finger into Kai's face.

"Where is he? That fucking bastard, and why are you with this bitch?"

Frowning slightly at Noelles words, Kai looks at her blankly, thinking he imagined whatever words came out of her mouth due to fatigue, only he didnt and she expects a response.

"What do you mean 'this bitch' I'll have you know that 'this bitch' just saved my life!"

"Didn't have to say 'this bitch." Red scowls slightly, but Noelle ignores her and continues. "She was with Rashik, so why the fuck is she here?"

She then lifts up her scimitar and points it at Red. "Give me one good reason not to kill you right now"

Just as Red is about to pull out her own weapon with her good arm, Kai yells;

"Can everybody just stop! What the actual fuck are you doing? Since when was killing so casual. Shit, I should be in school right now, now look at me! I'm trapped in a forest where the moon kills you with a fucking maniac who's obsessed with her scimitar and some undercover cop who's arm just got fucked up by an invisible man, and a wolf who I talk with in my fucking mind! Like what the hell is even happening, I Killed someone! I actually killed someone, like what-"

The adrenaline of the previous fight wears off and all the fatigue and Mana deprivation catches up to Kai and his eyes close, his body slumping onto Umbra's soft form. Words try to enter his ears but he can't hear them properly, all he hears as he falls unconscious is Umbra's soft whining.

*****

Waking up on the ground an no longer on the back of his familiar, Kai groans as he sits up and looks around. He spots Noelle to the left of him, still taking meticulous care of her blade. To his right is Red, leaning back against a tree with her eyes closed. And right in front of him is Umbra, sleeping soundly as she protects him in her dreams.

... probably

After inwardly sighing at the fact the two didn't kill each other, Kai thinks back to what happened before be passed out. He looks over at Noelle, who looks back, a bit of anger in her eyes.

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"What?" She scowls, the iconic look back on her face. Having no idea what he should say, Kai just mumbles;

"Uhh... Sorry for leaving you alone when we were fighting those two guys. The creepy one tricked me and I tried to get back, but I got lost and..."

Shivering as he remembers the horrifying pain of the moonlight on him, Kai swallows and calms himself a bit before continuing.

"I saw something... The forest is alive, and the reason the tree tops cover everything is because we would all be dead if it didn't..."

Frowning, Noelle stops tending to her blade and walks over to Kai, sitting down beside him.

"What do you mean by that?" She asks, her voice a hint softer, not much softer but it's there.

"The whole sky is a mind attack... I was chased by some creature, it was just a moving blob but it was the size of a truck... It chased me, and just when I was about to give up, I saw light peeking through the tree tops. I ran under it and turned to face the thing, only for it to be shivering in fear behind me. Not knowing why, I looked up and..."

Kai stops, remembering the feeling of his brain being eaten my millions of tiny insects, the pain was so intense he still has the scratches from where he clawed at his face.

"There were no stars, no sky, the thing above us looks like a giant moon... but I don't know. Looking up at it, the pain... It was terrible, my brain felt like it was about to explode, and I even have a skill that gives me medium resistance to mind attacks. I can't even imagine what it would've been like if the trees didn't block it out..."

"The trees blocked it out?"

Kai nods slowly. "That's what I mean, the trees are alive, they blocked out the light, but by then it was too late. The beast grabbed my leg with its tentacles and pulled me towards it, I thought it was over but I tried... I still tried. I cut the tentacle off my leg and look up, only to see the trees opened up above it. It started writhing in pain, so I stabbed it, and I kept stabbing it until it died, I even kept stabbing it after it was dead."

Noelle was silent the whole time, like a therapist listening to their clients problems. With a solemn expression, she tenderly places a hand on Kai's shoulder and softly speaks.

"You did well, anyone else in your situation probably would have died. Be proud you're alive."

Tears well up in Kai's eyes as he brings his knees up to his chest. Umbra wakes up, as if sensing her contracters sadness. Kai wraps his arms around her neck and says in a small voice;

"I'm also sorry for leaving you alone with Umbra, I know you don't like dogs but-"

Feeling a light smack on the back of his head, Kai turns, looking up at Noelle with glistening eyes.

"Don't worry about it, the mutt knows it's place so she wasn't that bad to handle."

She then places a hand on Umbra's head, petting the moon wolf softly. Kai smiles at the sight, also petting Umbra. Just as Kai is about to speak again, there's a rustling behind him. As he turns, he sees Red standing up and walking over. Noticing this, Noelle gets up and walks back to her original position, Umbra following her.

Sighing, Kai looks over to Red, who is now sat beside him.

"I thought you two would be getting along now."

Red smiles softly, then places her hand good arm behind her so she can lean back, leaving her bad bad arm resting on her lap.

"I don't think we will ever get along, and she has her reasons to hate me. Getting along is a different thing compared to putting up with each other."

"But why though? Why does she hate you?"

Red's smile falters and she hesitates. She picks at the grass on the ground and answers;

"That's... not my story to tell. I'm sure Noelle will tell you eventually, but you have to earn her trust first, she's been through... a lot."

Kai sighs, he was always someone who didn't like not knowing secrets. Plus, it's not like he has any, the only secret he kept was his name, and all he did was add three letters onto the end of it. He was 90% certain Noelle knew his name was just Kai at this point.

Kai turns his head slightly to Red, speaking in a soft tone. "I still don't know your real name, and calling you Red out loud would probably cause me to die."

She chuckles softly and smiles. It's only know that Kai is beside her that he realises how pretty the red headed woman is.

Why do I have to be surrounded by women... If this was back on Earth I don't think I would've said a single word. Nonchalance works wonders even in stressful social situations.

"Sofia, thats my name, and I quite like it."

Kai smiles softly at her joke. His feels slightly better now, and all traces of his tears are gone, but the fact he killed someone is still weighing on his mind. Sofia, as if sensing what he was thinking, pats his head and says;

"You're a good kid, this whole situation is messed up but you're doing pretty well. Just... don't die. If someone tries to kill you, make sure you kill them first."

Kai freezes as she pats his head, on the one hand, he kind of likes it, it reminds him of his mother. Pausing, he realises he hasn't thought about his mother the whole time, but now that he does... he misses her. On the other hand...

"Kid? How old do you think I am?"

It's Sofia's turn to freeze this time, she lifts her hand off Kai's head. Hesitantly, she answers;

"Sixteen? Fifteen? I'm not that far off anyway."

Kai slouches, bringing his knees back up to his chest.

"I'm seventeen" He grumbles, to which Sofia responds with a chuckle.

"Well, if its any compliment, you're a very young looking seventeen year old."

It's not... Kai inwardly grumbles, but fails to hold back a slight smile.

"Fine then, how old are you then? I'm sure you're not some secret thirty year old."

Sofia's smile dissapears. "I'm sure at this point Noelle should have thought you not to ask for a woman's age, so don't ask again"

Kai shivers slightly. Another woman who can kill me easily...

At this point, he might not have to fight anymore. Umbra, Noelle and Sofia could probably handle it all.

As if she knew he was thinking about him, Umbra trots over, resting her head on his lap. Kai smiles softly and pats her head, but then sighs inwardly and thinks.

This is going to be a rough month...