I was burning less now. Flaze had summoned a clone that patted me down, and the sprinklers, while laughably insufficient to put out such a big fire, actually did help quite a bit with my own burns.

How does that even work if electronics are fucked?

Flaze herself had transformed back to her regular form. Apparently her cooldowns refresh faster in this state, and so is her energy restored quicker, both physical and magical. Her wounds also heal faster, everything that isn't immediately lethal may be repaired. But that's less relevant with an actual healer around. Me.

In exchange, however, she becomes entirely defenseless aside from her raw stats.

A weakness that's greatly remedied by a clone that can fight in her stead! She really had fucking gamed her Class Selection. Maybe if I actually had the heart to pick that Jackal of All Horses Class...

Her clone finished patting the fires out of myself, giving her original the same treatment as Flaze too had gotten burned when she pulled me out of there.

Problem right now is that I'm still small, for a horse. And while I can carry one adult on my back no problem, I was unsure whether two would even fit.

We forced the issue anyway, and the clone was holding tight, about to slip off from my ass.

I chortled.

Also, everything and everywhere was still fucking burning.

Deciding not to dally any longer, trivial problems like being on fire unimportant, I ran towards the ninth floor with my riders in tow. I jumped up the stairs and nearly slipped on the steps, but I righted myself without falling. I crossed over to the landing and kicked against the wall to reach the next set of stairs. I climbed those again and reached the floor I desired.

The flames had still not reached this place, although the smoke was already coming up. I neighed to Flaze, and she promptly gave me directions. I know I've been here before, but I don't wanna get lost and fuck everything up! We're in a massive time crunch here.

I resumed my run, took a turn there, straight through here, and then another turn, and finally her apartment came into view. But before I could go towards it, I noticed a monster standing guard over the unit.

A dark-purple chitin-like hexagonal body that nearly filled the entire corridor, the creature had no eyes nor any features typical of a face. Below it was an open cavity, the hexagonal body I saw was actually a shell. What poked out of the natural armor were what first appeared to be tentacles, but they ended in the claws of a wild and rabid animal. Limbs both flexible and strong, the heavy looking shell carried with ease.

[Warrior - Lvl 89]

The creature shifted, I felt a terrifying gaze land on myself even though the monster had no visible eyes.

Fuck.

I held back my coming neigh, and hid in a nearby corner, listening with bated breath if the monster had noticed us and was approaching.

It's okay. I still have my Longstrider.

I looked to Flaze, and she was completely ready to retreat. I felt a pang of sadness at how quickly she's willing to abandon something clearly important to her, yet it also made me a bit happy to see, that she's not just chomping at the bit to throw her life away.

But I'm afraid it's my turn to be stupid.

I neighed softly, and she grabbed on tighter to my neck.

"We're really doing this?" She asked.

I neighed again.

"Okay." She recounted to my ears in a whisper, the plan she's come up with.

I readily agreed, a few tense minutes spent preparing.

[Hellish Fireball]!

It's been a few minutes, and we finally came out of hiding. I shot that attack, against a creature nearly thrice my level.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

I immediately bolted away from the monster before even the moment of impact. Clone Flaze dropped off my ass before I even began running.

I heard a subtle splash of fire, the spell should have impacted by now. Yet I heard nary a shriek, and I wondered for a moment if I had missed, or if the creature was just too tough to even notice such weak embers.

I'm certain I aimed for its unarmored legs.

A second passed, and then I heard it. Heavy footfalls, pattering like rainfall during a windy storm. It approached, tearing up whatever lies ahead in its path.

[Longstrider]!

I knew then that we had less time to act than I had hoped. My speed more than doubled, the effect of the skill's Integration, and I shot off like a bullet, having to kick against a wall to turn.

Fuck, the streets outside are wide and it's easy to see if a turn is coming. I didn't account for using this in a building, there's far too little space.

But I'll just have to work with it!

"Monster's spotted my clone!"

Flaze called from my back and I nodded, mapping out in my head the route I'd take.

I arrived at the next turn, and already I can see the next and last one after that. The plan was to simply have the enemy chase after Flaze's clone, while we circle around and approach her apartment from the other side.

It worked, and the apartment came into view. I immediately bolted for the door, kicked it open, and then I heard Flaze yelp.

"GAH! Clone is down!"

Shit, that was too fast!

"The monster only traveled down one corridor over. It'll be back here soon!"

The plan was always to lead it to the stairs, or maybe into some unrelated room, but like this it might still remember we exist and come hunting.

I immediately bolted then for her bedroom, smashed the door apart even though it was actually hanging open already and then delivered Flaze to her destination where she promptly dismounted and began rummaging through her drawers.

I kept on running even after she'd dismounted, circling around her room, knocking aside sheets and furniture. It wasn't the widest space for running, but as a room it was gigantic. Rich people just have it best.

Flames had started to spread, I noticed, coming from outside, the floor catching fire. Flaze hastened her search and found what she was looking for, a small rustic metal case that didn't look all too important, but it was with a numbered lock.

"Found it!"

I neighed upon her proclamation, and motioned for her to get on. A crash resounded then from behind us, the same heavy and constant steps from before.

The door was of course too narrow for the monster, but it obviously doesn't care. Not when it can just smash through any and all obstacles.

Flaze jumped back onto my behind before the monster could tear down all the walls. I took one last look around her burning bedroom, picking up even more speed and going in a straight line.

I jumped off the wide window.

We fell, from the ninth floor. I felt our bodies sailing through the air.

We were falling.

I resisted the urge to scream, and so did Flaze.

She restructured herself into a knight, summoning another copy of herself just below me. With all of our prior preparations, she'd already regained the ability to summon another one.

The clone held her shield up parallel to the ground. I straightened my legs and stepped on her back, as the real Flaze clutched tightly onto my fur, nearly tearing it off.

A second passed, I watched as the ground came closer and closer.

Another second, we right on top of it, moments before disaster.

The next moment, it happened. The loud crash of shield against asphalt. The bones of Flaze's clone crunched and broke against the pressure, her entire body flattening to the ground as I stepped on her from above.

The Flaze behind me grunted, their sense of pain shared. My legs too broke, I felt the bones dislodge and shatter.

But then it was over, and we were not dead. My fall was softened greatly, and a single heal topped me back up. The damage was greatly mitigated as well, by my skills and stats.

Flaze herself was nearly unharmed, and I was honestly running quite low on my resources so she just went back to her base form to recuperate.

I turned my head behind me, facing Flaze. We looked at each other for a few moments, blinking. She chuckled, and reached inside her clothes, taking out the metal box. A few clicks and turns, and it opened, revealing inside a torn picture of her and her sibling, smiling happily. Several more when they were older.

There also were stuff from our time in theatre. People we've performed with, once really close friends, but we've now drifted apart.

To more recent ones, our performances in The Listening Bard. The goofy faces we'd make after each performance, whether a success or not.

Though my presence alone makes it worthwhile.

Heh.

Flaze treasured those moments enough, for them to be within her box of important memories. Other stuff were also included, memorable ones like when he tracked down a dying man's long lost daughter, or when she traveled down to the southern states when a particularly terrible storm passed.

I was also in some of them, though I wouldn't dare claim to be nearly as good a person. It was her idea to begin with, I was merely dragged along.

Man, what a slave-driver. Terrible person all around.

Every single person in those pictures aside from the two of us might very well be dead.

The thought was sobering. The subsequent shouts from the building we'd just jumped off, alarming.

I looked at her, and she nodded.

We better get the fuck out of here.

Flaze hid the box again within her clothing before she transformed back into a knight, the stuff within presumably kept safe. Along with her clothes that remain undamaged when she transforms back.

I did notice however, that her knight form was still charred in places when she shifted. It seems the damage to armor is kept isolated to forms, but repaired over time. My casts of Blessed Heal have never once restored them.

We disappeared then, into the night. My Longstrider was still in cooldown, but that does not stop me from running, my speed slower but still impressive.

It's a shame that a building housing a budding apocalypse community burned down. I can already here their screams, even from all the way here.

I didn't mean it. I'm sorry.

Wow. Is this how the guy that caused all of this feels all the time?

Sucks to be him.