Seneos felt quite a bit of bitterness after hearing what his temporary comrade said, but then again should he be surprised? He was already a selfish individual and it was no secret that power could corrupt anything it touched. Someone who was in a much higher sphere than he could reach would obviously care even less about those around them. It was a wonder Hojosa had even bothered to save him.

On the other hand, it was sad to think that a High-Ranking Sleeper trying to save someone was surprising.

"I am dying right now, I won't answer shit! B-But I....I can still carry on."

Oh, he could finally speak, move and...Feel tremendous pain coming from absolutely everywhere in his body. This day had suddenly become the worse he has had in years.

Seneos spat a mouthful of blood as he locked eyes with the mage. The man merely sighed before launching a wide wave of fire behind himself, without even looking at the rapidly approaching wolves. They whined in pain as they retreated. It appeared that only the leader had not taken the bait. Perhaps the mage was a bit smarter than Seneos gave him credits for. But such obvious trickery would not save them.

"Maybe you can, maybe you can't. I couldn't give less of a fuck if I tried. Lay down, try not to spill your guts all over the ground and it should be fine. Hmmm...Perhaps." The mage bit his finger as he pondered over his next move. He had spread fire all around them to buy some time, but the wolves would end up getting through at some point. It was quite odd to see the leader of the pack simply watch the two sleepers. It did not seem to hide a degree of intelligence it shouldn't possess. Instead, it appeared to be waiting for something precise, something it knew would come.

"Alright, well. Can only hope that the others will have some boosters, or else I'm gonna be on the bench for this mission. "

Hojosa gripped the dagger with one hand while small explosions rocked the other. Perhaps he was charging for a bigger one, or perhaps he was only trying to intimidate the wolves. The latter seemed plausible as most of them lowered their heads and stopped circling around the fire, trying to find a way to enter the round perimeter of pure red flames.

Suddenly, a sound attracted the attention of the enormous wolf. The dagger released a hissing sound, not unlike a warning right before it was launched with a speed that exceeded what the normal human eye could follow. Naturally, the leader of the pack had no time to react, as the dagger pierced its left eye. Flames erupted on the wolf's face as Hojosa closed the hand that had been holding it.

"Burrowing Fire" The mage whispered with a smug smile. The wolf howled in pain and fury. It did not take the time to think about its wound; however, and simply charged at Hojosa who had not expected such a reaction.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Seneos gasped in reluctant awe as the arrogant red-hair launched himself right over the wolf, bright flames erupting from beneath his feet. The wolf looked above, barked...And then the world turned white for a brief second, followed by an explosion loud to turn ears into fountains of blood. At the same time, Seneos heard the name of another spell.

"Cremating Fire"

A shockwave sent Seneos flying once more, but this time he was sent towards the beacon, and the spell had been strong enough for him to be well on his way to pass right through it. As he tried to move his body in mid-air, he saw the charred corpse of the pack leader, upon which a slightly panting Hojosa laid a foot. He cockily smiled at the remaining wolves that growled in defiance, perhaps having realized that the man was starting to tire.

Hojosa removed the dagger from wolf's melted eye, bits of flesh and brain sticking to the blade, before sighing.

"Alright, I might have made a mistake when I decided not to take any boosters this morning. But I'll be damned if I can't fuck up some wolves." He taunted the beasts.

Seneos, on other hand, had gone through the portal. Hitting his back on the rough concrete, he quickly tried to get back up and screamed the second after as he realized he had an ankle bent at a morbid angle.

"Aghh, just this once! Ignore the pain, ignore the pain!" He yelled as he attempted the exact same thing once more, with the same result. He could hear voices around, but couldn't focus on them as the pain assaulted his senses, and so did the fact that Hojosa could very well die if he didn't go back inside the beacon as soon as possible. But...Then again, what could he do?

If he went down there, would he only be able to sacrifice himself to save the other Sleeper? He could certainly put himself in danger to help others if that allowed him to reap some benefits. He worked this way. Yet, if there was nothing to be gained except a heroic death, perhaps he should really just play dead on the pavement and wait until someone comes to rescue him.

If he had to choose between the mage and himself, there wasn't much of a choice for him to make. He could swear he heard a voice as he finished that train of thoughts, a small one that felt distant, unlike the ones that were around him at the moment. But he couldn't make out what it was saying. All of a sudden, he could make out some words, and then everything around him started to shake.

"Not...Ready...Yet...Close"

The closer voices became clearer when someone shook him. He felt a liquid slide down his throat. It tasted impossibly bitter, but his body screamed in relief when the same liquid coursed through his veins, making their blue colour much more evident to the eye.

He came back to his own senses in time to hear the questions he had been asked three times already, be repeated.

"Are you the aide for this beacon? Is Hojosa inside?"

He looked to his right and looked at whoever was questioning him with a slightly opened mouth, a bit delirious as the pain had not completely faded and he certainly hadn't felt something this excruciating in a long time.

"Uh...Yes to both? I don't know....I am not drunk enough to ignore the pa-Aghhh fuck!" He screamed as someone pressed a finger against his bent ankle.

An angelic voice quickly reached his ears.

"Wow....I can't believe Hojosa already messed up the mission. It's a new record."