Neither Red nor Eiwin had time to react as Narcha charged forward. Fueled by her own anger, the woman sought to close the distance between her and Reinhart in an explosive sprint, but the man had been waiting just for that.
The glow of the talisman in his hand intensified as Reinhart’s finger crossed over the last line. Rather than throwing the talisman at the woman, though, he waved it up towards the ceiling.
The fireball formed just as Narcha was swinging at him. It clashed against the ceiling, and an explosion of flames and debris shook the room. The impact reached Red and the force of the blow threw him backwards with incredible force against the walls.
He felt the wave of heat singe his legs, but it didn’t seem like the flames had reached him. His ears rang with the noise of the explosion and he couldn’t see anything because of the smoke and dust blocking his vision.
He tried to focus on his crimson sense.
‘They’re moving.’
Red felt Narcha’s and Reinhart’s fluctuations. The man was moving away from him, while Narcha seemed to be blindly moving around, as if searching for him. Her movements were slow, though.
'She' s wounded.’
This wasn’t surprising, considering she had been close to the explosion. Reinhart, on the other hand, didn’t seem affected by it, and soon enough his fluctuation moved out of his range of detection.
There was the third fluctuation, however, which didn’t seem to be moving at all.
‘Eiwin!’
Red moved towards her with some difficulty. As the dust settled down, he could spot Eiwin on the ground, unconscious. Although she was still breathing, Red could feel her fluctuation was even weaker than before. When he looked her over, though, he couldn't find any injuries or wounds in her body.
He called out to Narcha. “I need help here!”
The woman didn’t seem to hear him, though, and continued to rage. “WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BASTARD!?”
Red frowned. “Eiwin is dying!”
“I’LL- What?” Narcha looked over at the boy.
She spotted Eiwin’s unconscious body and her expression changed.
“Eiwin!” she dropped her saber and ran towards them.
Once she got close enough, Red could see the state of her body. There were burn marks running down her left arm and on the side of her head, where most of her hair had been burned off. Her situation didn’t seem as bad as Rog’s, but even then, this was beyond what a normal person could survive against, and the fact she was still standing was a testament to her strength.
Narcha crouched by Eiwin’s side, examining her condition. There were no obvious wounds in her companion’s body, but it was clear her condition was not good. “What is going on, kid?!”
“Her fluctuation is getting weaker.” Red said.
“Fluctuation?!” the woman seemed confused. “What does that mean?!”
“It’s how I can detect people.” the boy tried to be as concise as possible. “I don’t know what it detects, but once someone dies, their fluctuation disappears from my senses.”
“Shit, shit, shit!” Narcha was panicking. “Do you have any pills to heal her?!”
Red shook his head.
The woman gritted her teeth. “What about pills with Spiritual Energy?! Do you have any?!”
This time, the boy nodded. He took out his box with the Burning Vein Pills. “There are special vein opening pills I got earlier. How is that supposed to help, though?”
“Just give it here!”
Red passed over one of the pills to Narcha. She then forced the pill down Eiwin’s throat and made sure she swallowed it.
The younger woman immediately started to sweat, what Red assumed was a side-effect of the fire-attribute Spiritual Energy contained in the pill. To his surprise, though, he could feel Eiwin’s fluctuation stabilize somewhat, which was reflected in her countenance.
Narcha gave out a sigh of relief once she noticed that.
Red stared at her in confusion. “What happened?”
“The ability she used is a Body Refinement Technique that is meant to be powered by Spiritual Energy.” Narcha said. “There are other ways that it can be powered if someone hasn’t opened their Spiritual Sea yet.”
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Red was starting to get the gist of it.
The woman continued. “The technique she uses keeps draining her vitality even after it wears off, though. We can fight it off by using healing medicine that Goulth made for us, but…”
“But she used the last bottle on me, didn’t she?” Red completed her sentence.
Narcha nodded. “It wasn’t your fault… I thought we had enough time to leave this place and get her some treatment, but I didn’t consider the fact this was the second time she was using that ability today. Even if it didn’t look like it, it must have taken a toll on her body.”
The woman looked crestfallen as she spoke.
“But why did the Vein Opening Pill help?” the boy asked.
“The technique she used is based on opening special acupoints. By injecting her body with Spiritual Energy, these acupoints will start absorbing this energy instead of her vitality… But it’s not a solution.” Narcha shook her head. “We still need to get her healing medicine or she won’t get better.”
This sounded awfully familiar to Red’s situation with his own special acupoints.
The boy frowned. “How long does she have?”
"I don’t know.” Narcha shook her head. “I’ve never been in this situation. Eiwin only explained to me what I had to do if something like that happened.”
“I have two more of those pills.” Red handed the box over to Narcha without hesitation. “You can give it to her if she gets worse.”
The woman accepted the box and nodded. “I will…”
A heavy silence fell over the room as Narcha looked over Eiwin’s unconscious body with a look of defeat. Red had never seen her in such a state before.
The woman smiled weakly. “I’m really pathetic, am I not? I was meant to come here to save Rog and get my pill, but look at what happened… Now we have another companion at risk of losing their life.”
Red shook his head. “You’re not the only one who took on that responsibility. It’s not all your fault.”
Narcha laughed. “Not all my fault? If I didn’t rush Reinhart back, then… If I wasn’t lost in rage, none of this would have happened. The truth is that I didn’t consider the consequences before acting, and now Eiwin is paying for it.”
The boy didn’t know how to respond.
“The thought of risking it all crossed my mind even while we were talking.” the woman said. “I thought that maybe whatever risk you and Eiwin would be at from that talisman would be worth it for the pill, even if I could die too… But I suppressed it. I said to myself there were more important things at play here, that nothing was worth sacrificing your comrades over. And yet, when he crushed that pill… I was too weak. I gave in to my anger, and Eiwin got hurt because of it.” she shook her head in disappointment.
“... Can’t we still use the pill, though?” Red asked. “Even some of its remnants?
Narcha laughed. “It’s now how it works, kid. Even if you got every little piece, it would have lost its essence… Besides, can you find any of it?”
The boy looked around. After the explosion and all the stone detritus and dust, he saw no signs of the pill anywhere.
“It’s just as well that I never got that damn pill. I don’t deserve it.” Narcha said.
“Maybe you don’t.” Red nodded.
Narcha looked at him with a smile. “Isn’t this the part where you’re supposed to comfort me?”
The boy shrugged. “I don’t know how to do that. I can only say that from my brief experience, nothing in this cultivation world is about deserving.”
The woman frowned. “That’s not a very pleasant way to look at things.”
“You’re right.” Red nodded. “… You made a mistake, but there’s no point in letting yourself be dragged down by it if you want to be a cultivator. I can only say that Eiwin also told me how much that pill meant to you, and that she was willing to risk herself by your side to help you acquire it. She knew the dangers of this place, and she still went ahead with it. I don’t think she would blame you for what happened.”
Narcha nodded. “Maybe you’re right. Eiwin is a very understanding and kind person, but… That only makes things worse.”
“And why is that?” Red asked.
She sighed. “You really don’t know how people work, do you, kid?”
The boy frowned. “I suppose not.”
“… Then there’s no point in explaining it to you.”
Narcha went quiet again, looking back at Eiwin.
“Will you stay here?” Red asked.
“Someone needs to look after her… And I’m too wounded.” Narcha looked at him. “Why do you ask? Do you still want to continue?”
“I do. The earlier this trial ends, the earlier you can bring Eiwin back to the Sect.”
Narcha scoffed at him. “And so what? Do you intend on winning it against Rickard and those imperials?”
“I do.” Red nodded. “That way we can save Eiwin and I can also continue my path as a cultivator.”
The woman sighed. “You’re not even trying to deny that you’re also doing this for your own benefit?”
The boy frowned. “Why would I? Eiwin helped me in the past, so I will help her when she needs it. But I want to be a cultivator, so my focus will always be on that.”
Narcha smiled. “I guess we know which of us is better suited as a cultivator, then, don’t we?”
Red didn’t know how to respond to that, so instead, he took out a few items from his bag.
“Here.” he handed his Spirit Stones to Narcha. ”Keep this, in case I die on the way.”
“Are you sure?” Narcha asked. “If the trial ends and you’re still alive, you can use these to exchange for some treasures from that bird.”
“It doesn’t matter. These stones might help me, but they won’t change my fate in the long run.” Red said. “I have to always aim for the highest prize if I want to continue on this path. Besides, you might need them to exchange for medicine for Eiwin and Rog, and you can still use what’s left to get something for me.”
Narcha gave him a weird expression, but still nodded. “I guess you’re right.” she stored the stones in her bag. “You need to be careful of Reinhart, Rickard, and those imperials. They’re still out there.”
“Reinhart knows my powers, so I doubt he will risk attacking me. As for Rickard and the imperials… I guess I’ll need to improvise.”
Red still had the Wind Bestowment talisman in his possession, but he doubted it would be enough to defeat Rickard and the imperial agents, considering they were probably armed with even better equipment.
“Just be careful, kid.” Narcha said. “You’re smart, but there are some opponents where no amount of planning will help you win.”
The boy nodded. “I know.”
He recalled the spiders in the underground and the insectoid he and Viran had fought. No plans or clever ideas could help you against overwhelming strength. Thankfully, though, Red had some powers of his own to rely on.
“Then I’ll be going.” the boy said.
“You do that.” Narcha nodded.
Red collected his things and turned around to walk towards the other exit of the room, which he assumed Reinhart had escaped to.
“Oh, and kid…” Narcha called out to him before he could leave.
Red turned around and looked at her. “What?”
“Make sure you kill Reinhart if you see him.”
The boy frowned. “I’ll probably just avoid him.”
“Agh, you little shit!” Narcha glared at him. “Just get the fuck out of here!”
Red obliged her and left without turning back.