There were more bartiangs in the buildings and side streets. They were attracted by the calls of the silverback. But telling the child this would not help.

All he could do was get her as far from the silverback as he could.

He sprinted from their cover, darting across the street and up the silverback’s back. He dug his claws into its flesh with every step, but they left little more than shallow cuts in its thick hide.

But it was enough to get its attention.

It swatted after him, its huge clawed hands sweeping down its back to catch Salos.

“Run now!” Salos yelled, his voice echoing directionlessly through the street.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the child run. Good.

Now, to keep this thing busy.

He slipped around its shoulders to its face. His claws sunk into an eye. It squelched under his paw. The creature roared.

A massive paw swatted Salos from its face.

Ribs cracked.

Salos tumbled down, but his body twisted in midair, landing him on his feet several meters away. Pain laced up and down his chest and his legs.

Before him, the silverback stood bloodied. Blood ran down its face and oozed from the cuts along its back and arms. Flesh wounds. Nothing more.

Its remaining good eye glared at him. A shiver ran down Salos’s spine.

The first of the silverback’s reinforcements lumbered from the side streets.

Bartiang (lvl 15)

Bartiang (lvl 16)

Bartiang (lvl 17)

He bolted away from the direction the child had run. The silverback lunged after him, its clawed hands reaching out to crush him.

Salos slipped through them, sliding behind rubble and melting into the shadows with Shadow Step. He rematerialized on the opposite side of the street, nearer again to the child.

The silverback spun, its eye fixed on him.

Abyss, it had some sort of tracking skill?

The level 15 reinforcement swatted at him as the silverback charged down the street.

Salos leapt over the strike, landing on level 15’s shoulders and digging his claws into its neck. His claws came away with a bloody chunk before he darted away again.

The silverback gave chase, its horrible grasping hands always a breath behind him.

Salos slipped under the silverback, bolting for the level 17 ape on the far side. He was on it before it noticed he had targeted it, Hidden Blade sinking deep into its neck. He bolted off again before the thing could stop him.

But more poured from the side streets. And the silverback had not slowed.

Bartiang (lvl 15)x2

Bartiang (lvl 16)

Bartiang (lvl 17)x3

Bartiang (lvl 18)

There were too many for him to handle at once. Too many to fight on his own. Single-handedly taking out large numbers of targets had never been his specialty, not even with his full kit at his true level. This was not what he was good at. This was too much to expect from him.

A child’s shrill scream echoed through the smoke.

Salos’s heart pounded in his chest.

The girl.

He could hardly kill all of them. Not in time.

But he would only draw more monsters to her if he ran to her now without killing these.

It was all useless. It was time to switch tacts. Either the girl was dead or would be in moments. He needed to prioritize himself.

His claws clenched.

He did not owe that child anything.

Children died all the time in this world.

It was the fault of the girl’s guardians for being so weak.

Cass would…

Cass would what? Understand? Hardly.

Cass would cry? Probably. Tonight, when she thought he was asleep.

Cass would…

Why did it matter?

Because Cass would find a way.

She would build a wall to keep the monsters back with Elemental Manipulation while she sprinted off with Wind Step. She would force him to Fairy Fire her while she sent him off to help the child. She would awaken some new skill or realize some new application of an existing one.

He was not Cass. His skills were not so flexible. They were honed from years and years of use. Refined to specific niches of his kit. A kit that he no longer had the entirety of.

All he had was,

Shadow Step

Abyssal Aura

Blade Mastery

Stealth

Fairy Fire

Hidden Edge

That and another half a dozen support or non-combat skills.

Cass could find a way to use a non-combat skill to turn a fight, but he was not Cass. He could not imagine how Inscribe or Runic Knowledge could help right now.

The best he could think of was maybe—if he found the right target—he could distract most of the bartiang with Fairy Fire. But that would not stop the silverback.

Perhaps that would be enough? If he was fast. If he could get to the girl quickly enough, dispatch whatever made her scream, and set her on her way again—as long as the horde was not following him—would it be enough?

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He was grasping at straws.

But it was either grasp at straws or give up on the child.

He would grasp.

He pulled Fairy Fire to his mind. It would have to be enough. But what to target this time?

Not himself; he needed to ditch as many of these beasts as possible.

But rubble would hardly hold their attention long enough. Either they would realize the rubble was not a threat too quickly, breaking the effect of the skill, or they would smash the rubble to pieces in no time. Either way, it would win him seconds at the most.

But the only other things in sight were the very monsters he hoped to draw off with the skill. Fairy Fire could focus an enemy’s ire but it could not create it from nothing. One could not turn allies against one another with it.

Except, maybe…

He Identified the silverback again, rereading the description.

Bartiang Silverback (lvl 20)

[A powerful male bartiang. Silverbacks lead raids of lesser bartiangs into other territories for their queens. Silverbacks are by necessity far stronger than their subordinates as they are constantly fighting off challengers who would claim their position.]

Was that enough?

Salos grasped at the straws in his reach. He doused the silverback in Fairy Fire and bolted toward the child without stopping to watch.

The silverback roared. He could feel the pounding of its feet behind him.

But around him, he heard the howl of the other apes. Howling, snarling bloodthirst.

He glanced over his shoulder as a bartiang leapt on the silverback. The silverback batted its smaller companion to the side, its single good eye fixed on Salos.

Another ape grabbed at the silverback as it passed, its hand fastening like a vice around the silverback’s forearm.

The silverback howled and slugged the challenger.

Another challenger grabbed the silverback’s shoulder. Another clawed at its side. Another clubbed it from behind.

The silverback slogged forward, but every step was accompanied by more bartiang hands grasping at its limbs.

The howling grew louder.

Salos ran.

He did not know if he would be in time.

The girl could not have gotten far. Not on her little legs. Not with her tiny stats. Not without skills.

She could not survive long on her own.

He rounded the corner.

A bartiang had her in its grasp, a meaty hand again wrapped around her tiny forearm. It held her off the ground, her legs dangling.

Bartiang (lvl 15)

Salos burst forward, racing up the ape’s back and latching onto the creature’s free arm.

It would be easy enough to kill it now. His claws could tear through its neck or its spine. He could take its eyes and rend its face. But if he killed it while it still held the girl, there would be no way for him to get it off her. Unlike Cass, he had no knife to cut her free.

The ape howled, shaking its arm and Salos violently.

Salos clamped on, his claws digging deeper into its hide. He lit himself with Fairy Fire. He hissed and snarled.

The bartiang let go of the girl, the now free hand sweeping around to strike Salos.

But Salos was faster. He rocketed up the arm to the ape’s neck. His claws left a long crescent of red across the throat as he leapt away.

A hand grabbed him. It clamped down on his back leg. A yelp escaped his lips. He found himself upside down.

The bartiang staggered, but a cruel grin stretched across its face.

The neck wound was not deep enough. Abyss. How had he failed this badly?

At least the girl was—

Salos blinked. Where was the girl?

There, behind the ape. Her presence flickered inconsistently in Salos’s Perception. Somehow she had figured out Stealth. Good for her. It was not much to look at yet, but it would likely be enough to get her to the edge of town safely enough.

“Get out of here,” he barked at her, flaring Fairy Fire over himself to hold the beast’s attention. Its eyes glowed purple, hungry and cruel.

The girl hesitated, something glinted in her hands.

A knife? No, just a piece of sharp glass. Something she had found in the rubble while she ran?

She inched forward, toward him and the ape.

“Get going!” he shouted. There was nothing a little child like that could do to a beast like this.

She inched closer still. What was she doing? Abyss. She was too close. He threw Abyssal Aura over her, shrouding her in darkness and reducing her presence further.

Did she have no sense of self-preservation?

She took a deep breath. She ran. Toward him and the beast.

Her blade of glass shimmered in her hands, blood ran down its edge. Her blood from clutching the razor edge with her bare hands.

She was insane. She would attack the monster?

She was not strong enough. She was too small.

She was throwing away everything. For what? Useless him?

He would survive this. Eventually, the creature would let go and then he would dematerialize and return to Cass. Eventually, he would be dragged outside the borders of the town and Cass would notice. She would come to his rescue.

Eventually, he would survive.

But the little girl had no way of knowing that.

All she knew was her savior was in danger. And her stupid, stupid little heart drove her to do something unbelievably stupid.

She ran at the monster. It had not noticed her, too busy glaring at Salos and his Fairy Fire.

Salos shook his head. It was impossible, but maybe, just maybe, this was still salvageable.

He brought Hidden Blade to bare and focused on her blade of glass.

Would you like to attempt to apply Hidden Blade to ally’s blade? Ally buffs are outside the normal range of targets for Hidden Blade and will be less effective and consume significant Stamina and Focus.

He whispered yes to the system, feeling the skill engage in a way it was never meant to, stealing away Stamina and Focus as it did.

“Strike here!” Salos highlighted a point on the beast’s spine that he thought she could reach with Fairy Fire. If he was right about the anatomy, that would be between two vertebrae. If she was precise enough, maybe she could disable its legs.

She nodded, charging as fast as her little child legs could carry her. Her body disappeared behind the ape’s. He could not see her.

He could feel Hidden Blade engage to maximum effect. He could hear glass shatter.

The bartiang grunted. It was something like a surprised, “Ooof.”

The girl backed up, her hands bleeding, her glass shard gone.

The ape shifted, its shoulders trying to turn to see what had struck it. But its legs didn’t move.

Its knees crumpled. It fell forward with a gurgling howl.

As they fell, Salos found himself within reach of the beast’s face. His foreclaws ripped across. Blood exploded around him.

They hit the ground. The world spun. The ape landed on top of him. It was heavy.

Salos kept clawing. Blood and flesh surrounded him as he twisted and rolled. Its neck had to be here somewhere. Its heart. Its eyes. He would take them all if he had to.

The ape thrashed around him, howling in panicked pain.

There was a heavy thump. The bartiang froze for a moment.

Another thump and a crack. Blood oozed around Salos.

Another thump and a splat. The ape stilled.

What?

“Mister Kitty?” The child’s voice shook.

He wriggled out from beneath the ape. He managed to get his head out, but his leg was still firmly held in place.

“Mister Kitty!” Relief flooded her voice as she dropped a heavy, bloodstained stone and ran to his side. “Are you okay?”

Human Child (lvl 4)

“You killed it,” Salos muttered, surprise overtaking him.

There were fresh blood splatters over her clothing. The ape’s head was smashed in.

The girl nodded. “Are you stuck?”

“It still has my leg.” No point in pretending he could not talk at this stage. “You need to get to the camp outside of town. My companion will come for me soon enough.”

Probably. Cass would eventually notice his distress. Or, perhaps, wander close enough that he could dematerialize back to her. One of the two. He could wait.

The girl shook her head. “I’ll get you out.”

“That is hardly necessary.” Why did he only run into fools? Was that the state of the world? Or did Cass just attract them?

“Miss Lady cut me out with a knife.” The girl looked down at her ravaged hands. “I’ll go find one. Wait here.”

“Wait, no, stop,” Salos called after her.

She paused. “Do you have a way out?”

“Well, no, but—“

“Then I’ll find one. Just wait!”

“No, stop. Abyss. Why are you doing this?”

The girl stared at him. “Because Miss Lady saved me. And you did too. And, I…” Her eyes drifted down to her feet, her voice falling to a horse whisper. “I couldn’t save mommy.” Her hands clenched at her sides. “So I’m going to save you.”

Salos sighed. There was no point in arguing with an idiot. “Fine. I give up. Just—“

You have surrendered against your will. Non-martial surrender is outside the scope of Assassin’s Yield. Would you like to attempt to use it, anyway? Assassin’s Yield will cost significantly more Stamina.

Salos sighed. It seemed he would only use that skill against lower-level opponents. He accepted.

Space twisted and his ears popped as he appeared behind the girl, everything sore.

“Mister Kitty!” the girl exclaimed.

Salos sighed again, brushing up against her ankles. “I am here. Turns out I had a trick left.”

The girl let out a relieved sigh. She bent down beside him and ran the back of her hand down his back. “Oh, thank the gods.”

Salos pushed her hand away. “Come on, let’s get you to safety. You have a Stealth skill now?”

She nodded.

“Good, use that. Stay close to me. I will have you out in no time.”