A loud crashing sound followed by a heavy jolt caught them both unexpectedly, nocking Touji from his seat. The horse and wagon came to an abrupt stop as Touji sprawled across the uneven ground with uncontrolled violence.

Slowly lifting his head, Touji’s eyes opened to see the dog's fangs embedded deep into the back end of the wagon’s wooden frame.

“Touji! Get up as fast as you can!” The old man shouted.

Touji quickly heeded his request and sprang up to his feet. His head felt an enormous amount of pressure, but he was more or less without a scratch. Touji rushed back to the cart where Odja continued to fire round after round of arrows at the creature's face and chest from behind the divers seat.

The beast shrieked and yelped, wrenching its head back and forth while still holding on tight to the cart.

As Touji reached the wagon, the Fenrir leapt forward, grabbing hold of Odja between its claws. He was violently pulled off of his seat and pressed deep into the ground under the dog's heavy mass. The horse was completely out of control, repeatedly kicking the massive dog with its hind legs.

Without hesitation, Touji grabbed hold of the plough from inside the back of the wagon. Positioning his hands as if he were carrying an axe with the blade behind his head, he swung it over his shoulders, lodging the metal edge deep into the beast's back. The Fenrir toppled over onto one side, howling in agony. Touji then jumped into the driver’s seat, grabbing the reins in his right hand and whipping the terrified horse to a start. With his left he extended it out beside the wagon, latching it around Odja’s wrist as he pulled him onto the cart.

“Old man, hold on tight!” Touji shouted.

The horse made a mad dash past the wild animal, tearing up the ground under which it trod.

“Odja, you hurt?”

“A little! But nothing severe.”

Touji then turned to see if the animal was continuing to follow them. There it lay, almost motionless on the side of the road, like a large bolder.

Touji let out a sigh of relief. He was pretty sure that it wouldn’t follow them after the injuries it had sustained, but there was no telling what the creatures of this world were capable of. As the Fenrir disappeared from sight, Touji began to feel the pounding of his own heart.

“Holy shit! I can’t believe I did all that!”

He had acted on the adrenaline rush, but now that it was wearing off he was beginning to experience the nervousness which had been held back.

“Touji! Thank you for that. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t there.” Odja said suddenly, carrying a deep sense of gratitude in his voice.

“Ah . . . Right, I did, didn’t I.”

He handed over the reins to Odja and bent over while clasping both hands onto his chest and squeezing tightly.

“Touji! Is something wrong?”

“Nope, just a light case of cardiac arrest.”

***

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No sound was heard other than the galloping of the horse's hooves. The scenery flew by them too quickly for Touji to process. There was still no sign of the Fenrir returning and the birds slowly began their early morning songs.

"I think, I’ll give the horse a rest, now. We're out of danger for the time being.”

They both let out a long yawn as the horse reset itself to a mild trot. Touji could see slightly further down the road, a few dimly lit Aposs guarding the entrance to the small village that they had previously passed through. As the wagon drew closer he began to notice how quiet and almost deserted the place looked at night. Not a single person stirred as the two entered the small town. The lack of sound was a bit unnerving as they had just encountered a near-death experience, and to add to that the arclight in the air seemed to have become denser, making it even harder for Touji to see through the already dark night.

Odja brought the wagon around the town square, stopping in front of a small shack with the word 'infirmary' written over its doorstep. It was slightly larger than the houses beside it, but it appeared to be a little rundown seeing as the white paint had started to peel off its outer walls.

“What are we doing here?”

“I’m going to get the doctor to heal my injuries. They’re not that bad, but I don’t want to make Darra worry.”

-Ah. Makes sense. A good husband wouldn’t want to worry his wife about his job. Even I can understand that.

“And Touji, don’t tell Claria about this either. Okay?”

“Yes sir,” Touji responded, raising his right hand to his forehead in salute.

“Well then, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Can I come in with? I’m interested to see healing magi- I mean arclight at work.”

“Sure, I guess.”

Touji hopped out of the cart and strolled up beside Odja. The old man knocked three times, then waited for an answer. Then footsteps were heard from within the house and the handle on the door turned.

A man in his late thirties appeared and ushered them in.

“Very sorry sir for the late-night visit, but you see, we were attacked on the way here by a Fenrir and I need your assistance to remove some minor injuries. Plus, I was wondering if you could make a report in the morning, a Fenrir warning to be exact. Not sure if this is too much trouble and I'm so sorry it's so very late.”

“All good Mr. Odja. No need to worry about me. I was up anyway and besides it’s not like I’m not used to late-night visits. By the way, who is he.” The doctor inquired as he motioned with his hand towards Touji.

“Oh yeah, he works for me. Touji this is Dr. Emar. He’s been helping the people in this village for the past few years. Doctor, this is Touji.”

“Nice to meet you.” Touji bowed politely.

The doctor stared at him with his eyes narrowed. A strange smile crept across his face as his eyelids continued to narrow till they were almost shut.

“Is something wrong doctor?” Odja asked.

“Nope.” He responded without moving his eyes off of Touji. “Let's treat you now. You can come in too Touji if you want.”

“Thank you.”

They followed the doctor into an adjoining room, dimly lit with an aposs where a few beds and a table lay.

“Just take the furthest bed on the right. This should be pretty short. It's just tissue restoration, right?”

Odja nodded as he sat down on the bed he had been directed to. Emar took out a pair of white gloves from a nearby cabinet. On their palms were imprinted three triangular figures, all carrying strange characters inside of them. Touji wondered if they were a necessary part of this treatment, as sometimes sorcery was performed using some sort of magic circle, at least in some manga. However, he did not know if that was the case for this world.

He stood back and watched as the doctor placed his hands over Odja’s arms and chest while mumbling in low whispers.

As he finished the spell the cuts on Odja’s uncovered arms were slowly filled in with flesh. The same procedure was implemented over his chest and the scratches were slowly removed by the spell.

-Damn. That’s handy. It does take a while though.

After the doctor had finished inspecting his work, he escorted them out and bid farewell.

They once again mounted the cart and ventured the last hour towards their humble abode.

“Well, this has been one hell of a trip.”

“Yeah well, we lost our plough, so now we’re gonna half to deal with the old rusty one. Plus this wagon is severely damaged. I’m also extremely surprised that the horse hasn’t lost its head.”

"Looking at the bright side, we made it back in at least half the time it would normally take." Touji injected into the conversation as he saw the tip of their cabin peek from behind the trees.

Once at the cottage, Touji unstrapped the horse and unloaded all the valuables. They then quickly retreated inside, exhausted from that day’s events.