David screamed in rage. Arrows zipped one after another at the monstrous troll as it spit out Maddy's head and slammed her body to the ground.

"David, I was able to use Gift of Second Chances. She's still alive. New Lease on Life activated. Get her out of here and heal her!" Joe yelled.

"We need to retreat, now! David, get Maddy out of here, Joe cover them. Me and Paige will keep the troll busy." Levi ordered.

Paige lept at the monster, looking more cat than woman. Her body was covered in fur, and she even had cat ears with the tufts like that of a bobcat. Flashes of blue gleamed as Paige slashed at any weak flesh she could. She twisted and twirled to avoid the troll's swings, more agile than she'd ever been.

The troll never let go of the golden chain, which always seemed to be just as long as it needed it to be, so it was only fighting with one arm. Paige made dodging the blows look effortless, sometimes moving away, and sometimes slipping inside the range of the attacks and delivering a flurry of slashes herself.

As her assault led the troll elite away from Maddy's body, David finally closed in, throwing her over his shoulder and cradling her head with his other arm. Joe followed closely, shield up and eyes on the troll, preparing for any attack, should the troll's focus shift to them.

Levi surveyed their battlefield. He watched Paige fight the troll, looking for when he may need to step in to throw up a Mana Shield for Paige or if any good openings for an attack presented themselves. He watched over the others' retreat, making sure that he could help intercept any attacks, if the troll tried to pursue them. He was also letting his mana and stamina regenerate. Paige was going to run out of gas, sooner or later, and he wanted to be as fresh as possible for when that happened and he relieved Paige so she could escape.

But mostly, Levi thought about the chain. The troll never let it go. The white buffalo obviously had incredible healing powers. And the chain linked the troll to the buffalo. The troll already had absurd regeneration, so with the buffalo healing otherwise fatal wounds, killing the troll was going to be impossible. Levi needed to deal with that first, while Paige still had the energy to fight the troll alone.

Pound for pound, a bobcat was one of the most deadly animals in North America, if not the world. They were known to be more than capable of taking down prey far larger than themselves. Levi had read somewhere that in a fight between their larger cousin, the Canada Lynx, bobcats won almost every time, and they were even capable of holding their own against the much larger cougar enough to discourage cougars from wanting to risk a fight with a bobcat.

Paige was displaying every bit of that ferocity and capability as she quickly avoided every single attack the troll dished out, aggressively returning flurries of slashes. The problem was those slashes weren't doing any real damage to the troll. They were shallow and barely did any damage. They closed within seconds. Levi only hoped her 'gut instinct' proved true and that her poison would stack up enough to effectively damage the troll.

But that wasn't the plan for now. Levi wanted to find out as much as he could for when they came back to fight the troll, but for now, retreat was the priority. Before that, though, he was going to see if he could do anything about that chain.

Levi focused his will into his blade, he needed it to burn hot. He had to try the easiest possible solution first. He watched for an opportunity, an opening where he could land his attack without him and Paige getting in each other's way. As he waited, he felt the heat radiate from his blade. He didn't look down at it, but he could see the white hot glow in his peripheral vision. When the opportunity presented itself, Levi triggered every boosting Skill to max, and in less than a blink, Levi was on the other side of the troll, his slash perfectly executed in his pass.

When the troll had twisted its body in an attack, it had pulled the arm holding onto the golden chain behind its back. Levi had taken the opportunity to sever the troll's wrist, cutting away the hand that held the golden chain.

As Levi slid to a stop, twisting his body to face the troll again, he lowered his boosting Skills back to only high enough to follow the fight and watched to see how effective his attack had been. The smell of burning, rancid flesh filled the air. And for half a second, the heavy, tightly gripped troll hand fell toward the ground. But before it even landed, the golden chain glowed brightly again, and the hand reversed its direction. Healing tendrils of meat reached out for each other as the hand found its way back to the troll's wrist, golden chain still held firmly.

'Well, fuck.'

Levi watched Paige for a moment, making sure she was still good to fight. Her intensity and speed hadn't slowed at all. Time to try the harder method on the chain. And then--win, lose, or draw--they needed to get the hell out of there, broken chain or not.

Levi quickly downed a mana and stamina potion, making sure he had plenty before he tried his next attempt at dealing with the chain.

Then he focused. He'd hardly ever tried to sense magic outside his own body. When he had, he'd never found much success, but he knew it was possible. He'd had at least enough success to get the faintest touches at the edges of his consciousness. He hoped that was all he'd need. There was magic in that chain, and that's what he needed to cut. Levi was going to have to trust Paige could hold her own for a moment, because this was going to take every bit of concentration he had.

It took him longer than he wanted, but he finally felt the faintest notion of magic from the chain. Utilizing all the skill in focus he'd learned from meditation, he isolated that sensation in his mind until he felt like the feeling wouldn't slip away. He held it in his focus until it was all he percieved. He was aware his eyes still saw, yet was completely unware of what they were seeing. He heard nothing except the ringing you experienced when everything was silent. He put everything out of his mind except that magic he needed to sever.

And then he willed his sword to be the thing to cut it. He felt some push back from his Ability, so he forced his will harder. And then Levi felt most his stamina and mana sucked from him so quickly that he actually felt a vacuum sensation within his very being. 'At least that means this will probably work.'

Levi triggered his boosting Skills as far as he dared. He needed a little something left in reserves, at least enough for him to be able to avoid the troll long enough to drink another stamina and mana potion.

Then Levi cleaved through the chain. He watched as his sword passed right through the golden chain like a ghost. Nothing happened, all the stamina and mana he'd just burnt had been wasted. The golden chain remained intact, like he'd done nothing at all.

In his boosted state, he stared frozen in disbelief as the world moved slowly around him. His heart sank. He suddenly felt nauseated as the feeling of utter failure settled in. But now wasn't the time for that. They had to go; it was time to retreat. He decided to go ahead and pull out and drink a stamina and mana potion again before lowering the activation levels of his boosting Skills.

He quickly downed a mana potion, then as he brought the stamina potion to his lips, he saw the chain flicker from its golden color to a dull iron dark gray. Levi's heart surged in the victory of it, and he quickly downed his potion. It had worked, after all. But it didn't change the plan.

Maybe when they fought the elite next time, they wouldn't have to deal with the buffalo's healing. Or maybe the troll would repair the chain. It didn't matter. Even if it did, next time Levi would start by severing the magic of the chain. They'd win the fight next time. For now, it was time for him to relieve Paige, so they could finish their retreat.

Lowering he boosting skills, Levi yelled out. "Paige! Time for you to get out of here. Get ready to switch. Then you book it. Find the others. I'll keep it busy, then play fox a bit before making my escape."

Paige kept up her athletic dance with the troll, but still answered, even as she was backflipping out of reach of the troll's swing. "Got it. I'll get out of here as soon as you jump in."

Levi felt the heat emanate from his blade as his intent and will shifted. Then he maxed out his boosting skills again and surged forward. He lept over Paige's head as he attacked, bringing the sword down in a diagonal slash that opened the elite's chest from collar bone to below her opposite breast, cutting through flesh and clothing alike. It hadn't gone deep, and Levi wished his sword were a little longer. Maybe he could make that happen in the future, but he wasn't to try it in the middle of a fight.

The troll roared in pain and anger as Levi landed. Levi gave Paige a quick glance, "Go!" he yelled. Then he turned his attention back to the troll.

Now, the troll's breasts were exposed. Levi had heard comedians joke about how all titties were good titties, but staring up at the enraged troll elite, boobs hanging and flopping around like someone tried using condoms as water balloons, covered in gray stoney skin, with the nipples looking like hard concrete... Levi had a hard time appreciating that joke.

He lept back as the troll elite swung at him, creating distance and trusting Paige to escape. The troll paused, seeming confused, and then looked down at her chest. She touched her hand to the still open, seared slash. Then she looked down at the chain in her hand, now a dull dark grey. Then she looked at Levi.

Steam began rising from her body, and Levi watched her eyes as they began to glow red. She jerked at the chain, tugging at the buffalo, but the buffalo resisted. The chain broke, and the buffalo ran away in a sprint. Then the troll elite glared at Levi and roared.

Levi maxed out his boosting skills and layered his body in Mana Skin, but he was just a fraction of a second too slow to avoid the attack that came. Moving with a speed far faster than anything she'd shown before, the troll elite backhanded Levi with enough force to send him flying through the air. His Mana Shield absorbed the bulk of the damage, but the pressure of the impact vibrated through his body. His vision went white, his teeth rattled, and the air was forced from his lungs. He was able to maintain his Mana Shield, and was glad he did, as his body finally landed and skipped through the tall grass in a tumble.

He was barely able to regain his bearings as he came to a stop and heard a roar. Looking up, he saw the troll descending from a leap, coming for his blood. Her eyes were still red and the steam left a trail as she soared toward him. He was glad his boosting skills were still active. He almost panicked, but he knew that was the exact opposite way to handle the situation.

He relaxed and let himself be calm, waiting as he watched the troll plummet toward him, calling on his old mindset from when he used to play Souls games, when he used to beat bosses far above his level without getting hit. He let his mind sink into that place of patience and calm, and waited as the troll fell toward him.

Then, at the last minute, he moved. He rolled away as the troll crashed down, sending a shockwave out through the ground that nearly made him lose his footing. But he was ready when the troll lunged toward him and swung.

'Roll through, not back,' Levi told himself, trying to find the old rythym from his gaming days. He didn't actually roll, but he did slip beneath the swing, leaning on his Tai Chi form. He slashed at the trolls legs as he passed beneath it, then easily shifted to face the troll again, ready for the next attack.

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He wasn't ready.

Moving with a speed Levi wasn't prepared for, despite having seen how the troll's enraged form had enhanced its speed, and regardless of Levi's boosting skills still being active, he still didn't see the fist hammering down on him until it was too late. His Mana Skin still absorbed most of the damage. His boosting skills kept him upright, even as he felt his braced legs drive his feet into the ground beneath him.

But the blows didn't stop.

-----

Paige was proud of herself. She'd followed the plan. She couldn't wait to laugh with Levi when they got out of this, and joke about how tough it had been. But she'd only made it twenty meters before she heard the woompph of impact.

Paige spun back to the fight she'd just fled. She saw the troll elite crouch and leap into the air. Looking in the direction the troll had lept, Paige saw someone much smaller flying threw the air then bounce to a stop over a hundred meters away. Levi. She nearly ran back to the fight that moment but watched and waited instead. She had to trust Levi.

Her trust seemed well placed as he rolled out of the troll's landing. He was still in the fight. She grinned as he ducked low into the troll's guard, delivering a slash and repositioning himself.

And then the enraged troll twisted in an unnatural way that seemed like it would snap its own spine, slamming a fist down at Levi with terrifying speed. Levi withstood the first blow. And then, the troll kept pounding.

Paige stood still for a moment. Terror froze her in place. She had no conscious thoughts about her feelings for Levi, but she did have those feelings. And they were all she knew in that moment of terror.

And then she felt the rage well up inside her, climbing up on top of all of the emotions she was feeling. It didn't smother them, only used them as a platform on which to stand. As her thoughts were fading, Paige realized that she recognized that rage. She'd felt it when she'd fought that Lians-thrak. She'd held the rage at bay, then. She'd kept it from completely taking control.

This time, as the rage wrestled for control, Paige simply let go.

'Good.' Was the last thing Paige thought before she let the rage consume her.

-----

Joe stared out over the plains, looking for any sign of Levi or Paige. Joe and David had retreated far enough that that could no longer see the battle before they had healed Maddy. And then they'd waited. They'd waited too long.

"Something is wrong," Maddy said, voicing Joe's own concern.

Her head had been reattached, but her voice came out scratchy, as if there was something in her throat not quite healed.

"You know Levi and Paige, they're probably just doing something a little stupid. But they'll be fine. They always are." David said. It was obvious he had tried to sound confident, but he failed. With his arm draped around Maddy's shoulders, he wasn't able to fidget, but his feet shifted slightly as he spoke, and his voice came out far less casual than usual.

"Maddy's right." Joe turned his eyes from the horizon to Maddy and David. "I'm going back. I'm not asking you to go with me. Matter of fact, I'm asking you not to. If they're in trouble, so much that they can't even get away, things have gone very, very sideways."

Joe didn't wait for an answer. He just turned and began jogging back toward the fight.

"I'm going!" Maddy yelled out.

Joe stopped and turned. He scrutinized Maddy under his intense gaze.

David turned to her, mouth agape.

It wasn't even clear who Maddy had been talking to. She stared into the sky above them. Her hands shook so bad the staff she held was wobbling in her grip.

"No." David said. "No, no you are not, babe. You had your head bit off by a fucking troll. You've done enough. More than enough. And they're probably fine anyway."

Maddy turned to look David in the eyes. "I love you, you know. A lot. Bu-"

"No buts, Maddy. I love you. I can't lose you. It almost broke me earlier."

Maddy put her hand on David's cheek. "I know. But David, I have to go back for them."

"No, you don't, Maddy. We all went in knowing the risk. We did our job. You paid enough." David went silent, closing his eyes. Tears leaked out from the corners of his eyes, and he squeezed them tighter before taking a shuddering breath. His hands were shaking now, too. "Maddy. I can't lose you. Please don't do this."

"I have to, you handsome goof. When Eric took me and the girls, Levi and Paige were the first to step up. I know the story. I know how things went down. I can't leave them in trouble after they refused to leave me... I. Am. Going."

For a moment, David said nothing. Then his hands stopped shaking, his mouth tightened into determination, and he opened his eyes, looking down at her. "Fine. Where you go, I go. But I swear, if something happens to you, it will end me."

----

"Where's... Levi?" David asked through heavy breaths.

Paige was losing the fight as they made their hurried approach. She was able to avoid most attacks and only seemed to be taking grazing blows. Still, each one of those grazing blows was able to send her tumbling meters away. It was a miracle she was able to keep going.

"Maddy...can you use... that mana attack... from earlier?" Joe asked as he kept up his pace.

Maddy breathed heavily, but she managed to answer, "Yeah."

"But... last time..." David interjected.

Joe came to a stop, trying to catch his breath and speak as clearly as possible. "Last time... there was the white... buffalo. It's gone, see." Joe waved a hand over the battlefield. "We can do this. David, I need you to start laying down fire. Pull that thing off Paige... if you can. From the looks of her, Paige is finished. She'll be dead in a minute if we don't get that troll off of her." When David didn't move, Joe yelled. "Now! Go!"

David moved into action under the pressure of Joe's commanding voice. David rapidly moved toward the fight, pulling his bow and firing arrow after arrow at the troll.

Joe turned back to Maddy. "I need you to get as close as you need to fire the attack properly. Charge it as much as you can. We can't risk your attack not doing the job. You understand?"

Maddy's eyes were on the troll, now swiveling its head between David, who was raining arrows, and Paige who seemed to have no quit in her as she continued to slash the troll to little effect.

Joe grabbed Maddy's shaking hands. "You can do this. I'll cover you. You can do it."

Maddy finally caught Joe's eyes. For a moment she just looked back at him. Then she moved. She went around Joe in a jog and ran toward the troll until she found a good range. With a single nod to Joe, she began channeling her mana into a bolt like the one that had taken the troll's head off not even ten minutes earlier.

Time stretched into an eternity for everyone as Maddy channeled her mana into the attack. Joe watched and waited, unable to do anything other than be prepared to protect Maddy. David fired arrow after arrow, and the troll was growing increasingly focused on him. If Paige let up on her assault at all, the troll would be on David in less than a second.

Maddy, just focused. The fight depended on her.

Light blossomed as her attack took form. She watched as mana condensed into a long crystalline shape. Then she began to condense it. It collapsed in on itself, becoming a more and more solid projectile. With each moment, it grew more powerful and bright. It was getting close to being complete. She wanted to release the attack then, but forced herself to push just a little harder and a little longer.

And then the troll noticed.

The troll decided to simply take Paige and David's hits as it turned to Maddy, easily tanking even their most powerful attacks. For a split second, it stood relaxed, arms limp at its side, staring in Maddy's direction. And then it tensed and lept. Maddy's mana bolt flickered, almost firing or dissipating in front of her as the troll executed its sudden assault.

And then, as the troll came crashing down with devastating force, Joe was there with his shield. Somehow, Joe stayed upright as he blocked the slam from the monster. He delivered a quick thrust with his sword, but the troll simply caught the attack in their grip, holding half of the blade, the hilt, and Joe's hand in a single fist.

With a violent motion, the troll yanked Joe up and then slung him forward, snapping its wrist as if popping a whip just at the last moment. Joe went flying. His arm remained in the troll's grip.

Maddy's attack was ready, and she fired, aiming for the troll's head like last time.

The troll swung Joe's arm like a bat. The mana bolt pierced into the arm, burying itself. Before it had time to explode, the troll casually threw it aside.

The explosion of her useless mana bolt was the last thing Maddy heard before the troll slammed two heavy fists down into her.

----

Levi's consciousness returned to hot, wet air hitting his face. He felt the effects of healing at work on his body, but he also felt his mana and stamina being restored. Levi's eyes snapped open and he jerked alert, throwing himself back in a crawl.

The huge wet snout of the white buffalo hovered in front of him, blowing out another warm moist exhale into Levi's face. Levi scrambled back a few more feet in alarm before meeting the creature's eyes.

'Be not afraid, human. I mean you no harm.' The voice was inside Levi's mind, yet he knew without doubt that it came from the buffalo.

"I can hear you!" Levi yelled.

'Be still, human. Quiet, for there is no time. I healed you. Now, you must save your friends. I fear it is already too late for one. But I have done all that is within my power.'

"What..." Levi's thoughts were murky.

It took a moment for Levi to remember he'd been in the middle of the fight with the troll. When he did, he sprang to his feet and looked around. After a quick scan he finally saw the troll, where it pounded its fists into the ground. The ground where he knew one of his friends lay, most likely dead. Then he saw Paige, closing in to attack with an exhausted body and inexhaustable determination. It was a miracle she was alive.

Then Levi saw David. The anguish on his face as he fired arrow after arrow told Levi everything he needed to know. Maddy was gone. He didn't see Joe, so maybe Joe was dead too. But Levi knew the troll had taken Maddy from them. Permanently.

'Go.' The buffalo urged behind him.

"But how..." Levi started to say, but it didn't matter. Without any more hesitation, he took off toward the fight.

----

Paige was covered in her own blood. Levi didn't know how she was even still standing. That question answered itself as he watched her somehow, without ever pulling away from the fight, take out a potion she'd tucked away, pop off the top with her thumb and hold the neck of the bottle with just her mouth. In half a second she'd gotten the bottle in her mouth and had both hands free again, drinking the potion even as she slashed at the troll.

When she finish the potion, she spit the bottle out and roared. Her wounds were healed, but she was slow. Levi knew it would be over as soon as she took another good hit.

He yelled out "Paige, switch!" Paige didn't even acknowledge Levi as he approached. Levi was close enough to help in the fight now. He looked to David, who was furiously firing arrows. They weren't even penetrating anymore, and Levi knew David had ran out of all the higher quality arrows, he'd had.

"David, get Maddy and Joe out of here!" Levi yelled, he threw up a Mana Shield to block a blow aimed at Paige. She still hadn't even acknowledged him.

"She's dead, Levi! It doesn't matter anymore." David snarled back.

Levi summoned his sword and and felt the heat start to radiate from it. "Yeah, well, if we all die here, she'll never get a proper burial, she'll either rot away out here or get eaten by the troll."

David's arrows stopped, and Levi knew he'd gotten through to him.

"Go! I'll deal with this." Then Levi sprang at the troll.

The troll must have expected Levi, because as Levi slashed at the troll's ankle, it jerked its foot forward and twisted. The impact sent Levi rolling, but he quickly recovered and turned to face the troll again.

Paige was still slashing furiously, and Levi finally saw the look in her eyes. She was consumed a in blind rage. It didn't look like it gave her any actual power, though. Her speed and agility were the same and her attacks weren't doing any more damage. If anything the exhaustion was becoming more and more evident.

'I've got to get her out of here.'

As Levi sped in for another attack, he was forced to change his plan last minute to use a Mana Shield to stop the troll's fist from turning Paige into paste. Paige didn't even flinch at nearly being killed.

'This isn't going to work.' Levi abandoned the idea of fighting the troll. It looked like the troll's rage ability had ended. It's eyes had stopped glowing and steam no longer rose from its body. Without the buffalo's healing, Levi could probably kill the troll. But there was no way he could both kill the troll and protect her.

Levi increased his boosting abilities. He couldn't use them at their maximum potential, because he was going to need to run, far and fast.

He sped to Paige grabbing her just as another attack was about to take her out. He didn't stop moving as he threw her over his shoulder. He'd drag her to safety if he had to.

As he ran, Paige clawed at his back. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain. He could take it. He could get her far enough from the troll, she'd probably come to her senses. But she fought hard to escape his grip. Then he felt her bite his back and his grip slipped at the sudden searing pain.

As soon as she'd freed herself, Paige shot back toward the troll.

'Fuck.' Levi's mind spun as he twisted to follow Paige. He didn't know what else he could do.

And then an idea settled in his mind.

His stomach turned as he considered the idea, but his mind was already made up. He shuddered at the thought of what he was about to do, where he was about to go. But he was out of answers.

Levi had never fallen into his meditative state as quickly as he did then. Finding himself within the psuedo-cosmic landscape, he was suddenly afraid he'd be unable to make it back into that deeper part of himself and yet afraid of what would happen when he did. But in an instant, he found himself in the circular space filled with knots of his essence, what he now knew were his skills.

Then, he flexed his will.

He felt it this time, as a real force in this world. He would do this or die. Maybe both.

He felt only resolve as he spoke his will into the universe that was himself. He did not hesitate. He had to keep the promise he'd made to himself.

His world, the meditation space, shook with his words. "Do not let Paige die. And kill that troll. Do whatever it takes." And then, from his perspective deep inside himself, he watched as fire spread from his soul, rippling through his entire being.