Chapter VII

“Ah, it’s finally the weekend! What a wretched last few days!” Jessi Yuahl complained as she, Hirokol, Fayela, and Rennigan made their way out of the one class they shared that semester—the required third year “History of the Age of Ascension”. “That test was a fucking bitch, wasn’t it? Professor Isen needs to learn how to write fair questions!”

Rennigan rolled his eyes with exasperation, sticking his hands into the pockets of his uniform blazer as he fixed the fire mage with a scowl. “Well, Yuahl, maybe if you actually took the time to study, those questions wouldn’t have been challenging at all! I, for one, felt confident in each and every one of them.”

“Kiss my ass, Glaus!” she spat back. “I did study, thank you very much! Hiro, Faye, and I spent the last three afternoons up in the library working our butts off for this thing and you would know that if you actually bothered to join us!”

Rennigan snorted. “Why would I join you when all you would do is distract me? I know you three just goof off with the royal team when you go up there! When I’m by myself, there is nothing to weaken my focus!”

“Why you little—!”

“Jessi, ignore the bastard,” Hiro cut in, taking a step forward to place himself between her and Rennigan. “He’s just being his normal prick self. I’m sure you did perfectly fine and even if you didn’t, it’s over and done with!”

“Exactly,” Faye added with a smile. “You did your best and that’s what matters.”

Not if she flunks the damn class, Rennigan remarked in the silence of his mind. But whatever. These three imbeciles made it more than clear that they don’t give a shit about logic, so why should I waste my breath trying to talk sense into them? Their grades are not my problem.

Coming to that decision, Rennigan shut his mouth as the four of them stepped onto one of the building’s lifts, Hiro casting Ortumo to begin lowering them down to the first floor. The water mage knew they couldn’t get there fast enough, for he desperately wanted to be rid of their obnoxious company. The second they reached the door, he fully intended to walk away as fast as possible so he could return to his dormitory for some well-earned alone time to continue with his studies. If he was lucky enough, the girls would invite Hiro to go out somewhere with them so he could have the room to himself, and to his satisfaction, that was exactly what they did.

“Well, anyway, why don’t we go do something to celebrate surviving the exam?” Faye suggested cheerfully. “I’ve heard Mello’s Creamery is having a sale tonight so we could get some ice cream?”

Jessi nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, I could die for some ice cream right now! I’m in!”

“Yup, so am I,” Hiro added with a grin. “Should we go invite Abi and the others? They just got back from that mission down south, right? I’m sure they’d love to go kick back and chill for a bit?”

“Can we exclude Caeli?” the fire mage grumbled as the lift reached the bottom and they continued down the hallway. “If we invite him, he’s just gonna be annoying, you know?”

Faye laughed and shook her head. “Sure, but it’d look kinda bad to invite the other three and leave him out. He might be a little irritating, but he’s not a bad guy, right?”

“A little irritating?” Rennigan growled under his breath, and though he said it more for himself, it seemed Hiro didn’t miss his snide comment.

“Be quiet, Glaus! He’d probably be more friendly to you if you didn’t push his damn buttons every two seconds!”

Even though Rennigan had already come to the decision to keep to himself and not get involved in their moronic conversation, he simply could not let Hiro’s comment pass. “Excuse me?! I do not push his buttons! I’ll be minding my own damn business, not bothering anybody, when suddenly I hear that stupid fucker call out, ‘Glaus, it’s your best friend’, before running over here to make some unsavory comments about my father! Caeli starts it! Caeli always starts it! I merely ‘push his buttons’ in retaliation!”

“Yeah, whatever,” Hiro said with a dismissive wave, as if having already lost interest in what Rennigan was saying. “Anyway, I don’t think it matters cause if I remember correctly, I’m pretty sure Caeli went up to the Citadel to visit the Princess tonight so he’s not free.”

“Right, he was boasting about that yesterday, wasn’t he?”

Faye chuckled to herself as Jessi gave a sly grin and cocked an eyebrow. “Caeli’s back up with the Princess again? Things must be getting quite steamy then! Who knew Ilirianna’s type was weird pompous assholes, but then again, I’m not gonna kink shame.”

“Er, Jess’, maybe don’t say that so loudly,” Hiro muttered, fearfully glancing around the luckily empty corridor. “I’m not sure the Citadel would take kindly to us talking about the princess’s kinks.”

Finally, they arrived at the front doors and departed the building, with Rennigan instantly turning in the opposite direction from the others, eager to return to the dorm towers. Unfortunately, he only got a handful of steps away before Fayela called after him.

“I know I’m probably wasting my breath, but do you wanna join us for the ice cream, Rennigan?”

He stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder with a scoff. “No, Rio, I would not like to waste my time on something as unnecessary as ice cream. Just because the exam is over doesn’t mean we should slack off! There are other exams coming up, projects to be finished, and essays to be written. You three can have your fun, but I have a job to do and I’m going to do it!”

He then turned on his heel without another word and continued on his way, though he didn’t miss the hushed exchange between Jessi and Faye.

“Why do you bother trying? He’s always an ass about it.”

“Honestly, good question.”

Rennigan grimaced to himself, knowing he was in the right whether they wanted to admit it or not. I’m not going to become the Master of Water by eating ice cream. I’m only going to get Master Rana’s attention by working my ass off night and day! Good on them for lacking aspirations, but I actually want to do something worthwhile with my life! They can make fun of me all they want, for I don’t like them either. We are nothing more than teammates, so I don’t need them to like me.

After all, we are not friends.

***

What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell have I done?!

Crouched on the cold road just outside of Stellareid’s entertainment district, Rennigan Glaus clutched at his silver hair, practically pulling it from his head. His breathing was ragged, his body was in agonizing pain, and he was sobbing uncontrollably, unable to move his legs despite knowing he needed to run away right that instant. But he simply could not do it. His body wouldn’t listen to him, as if everything had shut down and crippled him. For some reason, that memory of the previous autumn clawed its way into his brain, mocking him and forcing him to look upon what he could now never get back—what he failed to realize when he had the chance to.

Why didn’t I go with them? Faye always invited me! She never failed, even though I snapped at her when she tried! She knew she was wasting her breath, but she always reached out a hand and tried to include me! I should have accepted at least once! I should have appreciated what I had, because now they’re gone! They’re all gone!

Jessi Yuahl had been stabbed through the throat from behind, her life snuffed out before she ever knew what it was that had killed her. Hirokol Pafran had defended Rennigan’s life with his own, rushing him towards the mana port before Omorossa cut off his leg, jammed a dagger through his skull, then crushed it. Fayela Rio, too, used her life to defend Rennigan’s as she attempted to hold off the ringmaster long enough for her ally to escape the pocket realm. Yet, through means he still did not understand, she was taken away by the combustion magic of the Kosah-Rei. He watched her body torn apart from within as she was ravaged by the fires that consumed her. In a little under twenty minutes, Rennigan’s entire team was stolen from him, and now it was all over.

They would never again invite him out to ice cream or dinner or even for a mere walk. He would never wake up in his dorm room to Hiro complaining about the classes for the day, nor would he ever find himself in his typical banter with Faye and Jessi. They would never go on another mission together, they would never fight together, they would never again do anything together.

Never, never, never, never, NEVER!

They were a team he convinced himself were unnecessary—that when they graduated, it would be a simple matter to leave them behind and go off on his own to pursue his lofty ambitions of succeeding Nyx Rana. Time and time again, he told himself they didn’t matter to him, but as he watched them get slaughtered, his true feelings—the ones he locked deep inside of himself—ripped their way to the surface and revealed to him what he truly felt. He didn’t appreciate what he had while he had it, and with that memory playing in his mind, he would have done anything in that moment to go back in time, and change his answer.

“Do you wanna join us for the ice cream, Rennigan?”

“You know what, Faye, I would like that. It’s been a long week, so I could use a break from my studies! I’ve never been there, though, so you’ll have to recommend me something.”

Why didn’t I say that?! When she asked, why didn’t I say yes?! My head was shoved so far up my own ass that I couldn’t see what it was I really wanted! They were my friends! They were my friends—my precious team! Why am I only realizing this now, when they’re fucking dead?! WHAT THE FUCK WAS WRONG WITH ME?!

Suddenly, in the opposite direction from the entertainment district, Rennigan heard a crunch in the snow, felt a drawing of mana, and snapped his head upwards to see who had approached. There were five mages dressed in light armor standing just a few feet in front of him, a young woman in the lead that he found he slightly recognized. She was on the shorter side, with dark skin, intense brown eyes, and thick black hair she had tied back behind her head. Her hand was extended towards him, wind magic swirling around it in a warning, and as the two of them gazed into each other’s eyes, he suddenly remembered where he knew her from.

Haleah Narkas. The woman who answered the door when Noctis and I visited Keskivaara.

“P-please,” he stammered, barely able to choke the words out past the sobs. “Ms. Narkas… Help… I… My team, they… Omorossa…killed them… I need—”

“So you’re the only survivor then?”

Her question was spoken in a whisper, but the tone in her voice was not one of surprise or pity, rather it was disappointment. It clicked for him instantly that she was not here by chance, rather she had known what Omorossa was plotting and had not expected Rennigan to survive it. And if that were the case, it could only mean one thing: Rickori Keskivaara had sided with the Kosah-Rei. He did not know what expression he made when that realization dawned on him, but Haleah turned away, as if unable to bear the sight.

“Well, I’m not going to kill a helpless kid,” she muttered back to the soldiers behind her. “Get the cuffs and cut off his magic. We’ll take him back to Rickori. Glaus, if you so much as draw your mana, you’re a dead man.”

Rennigan’s eyes went wide as he watched one of the soldiers reach into a pouch at her hip and produce the requested mana-suppressing cuffs. “W-wait! Hold on a second! My team was murdered in there! Omorossa is with the Kosah-Rei! They killed them all! My team! My friends! Why are you tying me up?! Are you not fighting for peace?! Is that not Keskivaara’s whole deal?! That wasn’t peace! That was—!”

“SHUT THE HELL UP!” Haleah snarled furiously, her mana spiking in further warning. “Peace failed, so this is the next step! Be lucky we are not killing you like Vesh ordered us to!”

“N-no…” Rennigan uttered with a weak shake of his head. “Please…”

Haleah turned away once more, but before the water mage could continue his pathetic pleading, her eyes shifted to something behind Rennigan, only for her features to contort in horror and concern.

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“Mr. Omorossa?! What happened to you?!” she exclaimed, her words sending a painful chill down Rennigan’s back.

He did not want to turn around, but he also knew his life may very well depend on it, so he grit his teeth and tilted his head enough to see the man that had just stepped out of the pocket realm. His skin was covered in red and black burns, his shirt completely burned away to reveal a broad chest covered in even more horrific scars. He no longer had any hair on his head or face and his pants seemed to have barely survived, but even though the imposter Hakelades Omorossa should have been in the most agonizing pain ever, his eyes were still full of life—a life being fueled by a rage that he directed towards Rennigan.

“It seems the combustions were activated early,” Omorossa rasped. “Rio was marked, but she was concealed in her armor, so I didn’t realize it until she charged me. Worry not, though, for my inheritance has spared my life.”

Haleah seemed uncertain of what to react to first, but her head snapped up towards the Fifth Ring looming above before a gasp escaped her lips. Rennigan’s eyes flickered up there as well, and the sight of the pillars of smoke rising into the cloudy sky just continued to add to the crushing feeling he was experiencing.

All that smoke? If that’s from the combustions like Omorossa claimed, then how many people were marked?! What the fuck is going on up there?!

Haleah’s lips tightened with an emotion Rennigan could not identify, but she shook her head to alleviate herself of it, then glanced back at the four mages standing uncertainly behind them, her hand still raised in a silent threat.

“Rolan, heal Mr. Omorossa. Kellie, tie Glaus up.”

Heal him?!

The thought that flashed through Rennigan’s mind was accompanied by fury, for if Omorossa’s wounds were healed, then that would mean Faye’s sacrifice was for nothing. He couldn’t allow that to happen, but what was he supposed to do? He was outnumbered six to one and he had been unable to kill Omorossa when the imposter was alone and Rennigan still had his team backing him up.

“Hold on, Narkas,” the imposter growled, his reddened hand shooting up to motion for her to halt. “Why would there be a need to tie him up? Vesh ordered Glaus’s death, so for what reason are we sparing him?”

“Er…?” Haleah’s features contorted with conflict as she glanced down at Rennigan before turning back to the cultist. “B-but he’s incapable of fighting back. There’s no honor in killing him like this.”

Omorossa shook his head. “There is no honor in anything we’ve done tonight, so why are you worried about it now?” The ringmaster motioned towards the dagger he had slipped into his belt before wrapping his fingers around the hilt. “Though, if it really bothers you, I’d be happy to finish him off myself.”

“Well…?”

Haleah hesitated once more, so the mage named Kellie remained at the ready to cuff Rennigan should that be the route they took. Rolan, however, had no need to await further orders as he brought nature magic to his hand and began approaching Omorossa. Rennigan’s heart stopped, his brain’s processing going faster and faster as he desperately tried to think of something he could do. He could not allow Omorossa to be healed. In fact, at the moment, the man was far weaker than he was back in the pocket realm, for not only was he no longer in his private domain, but he was severely wounded by Faye’s explosion. On top of that, as Rennigan’s eyes flickered to his surroundings, he realized that the road was covered in snow—something he easily could bend to his will. Being outside in the snow meant that now, he was the one with an environmental advantage. If he could just get himself to move, he could turn the tides in his favor and strike Hakelades Omorossa down with his own hands. He could avenge Jessi, Hiro, and Faye. He could make their sacrifices worth something by killing one of the leaders of the Kosah-Rei. He could do it! He could fight back! It might not be hopeless! The environment was to his advantage!

Rennigan’s hands were against the cold ground, and before even he knew what had happened, his mana ejected from his body faster and with more power than he had ever used. He hadn’t even cast a spell nor had he drawn it to his hands. In his euphoria at realizing he had hope, it was like his magic reacted solely on instinct, and he couldn’t have been prouder of the result.

Sharp and powerful spikes of ice exploded from the ground in a circle around his crouched form, and right before his eyes, he watched Keskivaara’s followers torn open. The woman named Kellie was pierced directly in the heart, the life leaving her eyes instantly. Rolan was stabbed by about five of them, his body shredded as the sheer size of the spikes ripped him apart. The two followers who Rennigan never learned the names of met the exact same fate, and while Haleah Narkas was the only one of the five to react, there were too many spikes and she was far too close. Her body was cleaved in two directly at the waist, her top half collapsing to the cold road before it, too, was pierced by the continuously sprouting ice. Omorossa was struck dead on, as well, but just as he was able to survive those direct attacks by Faye, the ice shattered the second it impacted his skin.

And yet, he wasn’t as stable as back in the pocket realm. The imposter stumbled backwards, letting out a grunt of pain as he did so—the first sign of a successful attack by Rennigan himself. Laughing to himself in a fit of madness, finding his mind full of a deep fog, he turned his golden eyes onto the last enemy standing as the cold air began to swirl around his body like a storm of wind. He was feeling a sense of power he had never experienced in his life, and he was not about to question why.

YES! I CAN WIN THIS!

***

Throughout Ijirian history, there were numerous accounts detailing mages who, when faced with such horrific tragedy and hopeless conditions, entered a state of ecstasy in which their magic took over. It was referred to as Rabid Mage Syndrome, or RMS. They were said to temporarily lose all sense of themselves, and rather than incorporating incantations, they simply unleashed their mana in a feral and uncontrollable manner, lashing out with raw strength. Some scientists believed this state evolved in tandem with the fight-or-flight response to enable the mage to go beyond their limits in a desperate effort to live. Naturally, the body wasn’t designed to do this under normal circumstances, and the physical toll it took on the mage could knock them out for extended periods of time. Other scientists believed this state was a myth, for there were plenty of instances where mages faced such conditions and merely buckled under the pressure. The response to this was explained through the concept of individual differences—that some mages were more likely to enter this state due to the possession of certain personality traits, developmental experiences, affinity preferences, among all other aspects that differed across human beings.

The debate over RMS persisted even to that day, but as Quill Tyrus watched Rennigan Glaus obliterate five of Keskivaara’s mages without the traditional drawing of mana or incantation, he decided without a doubt that he believed in RMS and that he was witnessing it right that moment. Rennigan was cackling in unhinged glee, surrounded by massive spikes that were drenched in blood and were large enough that Quill could only see the young man from his chest upwards. The Kosah-Rei cultist was already weakened due to Fayela Rio’s suicide attack, and while his inherited resistance to physical attacks and high tolerance for pain enabled him to remain upright, he was far from an ideal state.

But it doesn't matter! he reminded himself. I was charged with eliminating Glaus, so I have to finish the job! Leiolai can heal me when it’s all over, so I’ll just have to give it everything I’ve got!

But even with his determination, how was one supposed to fight an opponent fueled by pure madness? Rennigan’s mana was ejecting itself without warning, so even though Quill was on his toes, he was not able to dodge the next attack. The barricade of ice exploded outwards even further, growing towards where Quill was just barely recovering his footing and slamming into his body. Were he anybody else, the spikes would have killed him, but instead, he was launched backwards, crashing through the right-hand post of the entertainment district’s red archway before slamming into the street, bouncing, then hitting the road a second time before skidding to violent stop fifty yards from where Rennigan stood. The breath was knocked out of him, his eyes wide in shock at the difference between the Rennigan he confronted in the Hall of Mirrors and the one he was facing now.

Shit…

He pushed himself back to his feet and was soon reminded of how the tables had turned. The sidewalk was covered in snow, which Rennigan could manipulate with ease. Ten yards of that snow erupted into another wave of spikes that Quill barely even noticed before he was sent flying a second time. His charred body crashed through the first floor of the nearby tavern, smashing through the tables and chairs before his back slammed against the front of the bar.

You’ve gotta be kidding me…

He was grateful that the Kosah-Rei opted to evacuate the entertainment district before Quill made his move on Rennigan, for it meant the surrounding establishments would be empty of civilians when a few of them were inevitably destroyed in the coming battle. Quill crawled back to his feet, his body swaying with the daze of the rapid attacks.

His inherited ability came with a tradeoff, for while his body was naturally stronger than almost any other human in Ijiria, his mana supply was pathetic due to the grand majority of it being used to support his resistance. Because of this, he had trained in the art of hand-to-hand combat, which meant that he had to get in close to his opponents if he wanted to beat them. That was why he also learned how to create a pocket realm, for he decided that the mana he did have at his disposal would be better suited to creating a realm rigged in his favor.

Glaus already knows where the entrance is so there isn’t a shot I get him back in there, but how the hell am I supposed to get in close to that?

Quill pulled out his dagger, darted through the hole in the tavern, and emerged back on the street just in time to find that Rennigan was standing within the district’s boundaries, having entered around the archway to avoid reentering the pocket realm. The young man’s golden eyes were glinting furiously, power swirling around him like an icy storm as his mana extended towards the snow covering the district so he could turn it into his weapons.

Goddess grant me strength…

Quill pressed off his back foot, sprinting towards Rennigan with all his might as snow swept in from the sides, a curved barricade of ice exploding from the ground. The cultist jumped over it, clearing the spikes with nothing but his muscles before landing on the other side and pressing forward, only for clouds of snow to suddenly sweep in and erupt into steam to engulf the two of them seconds before Quill would have reached him. With Rennigan’s mana all around him and his sight unusable, Quill was unable to dodge yet another powerful ice burst from the side, and once again, he was smashing through the wall of one of the many casinos.

He was hardly on his feet before the three stories above came crashing down on top of him as the snow on the roof bent to Rennigan’s will to destroy the entire casino. Using a weak burst of Proto, Quill sent himself soaring through the front door moments before he would have been buried beneath the rubble, but Rennigan already had a wave of ice tearing down the road towards where he emerged, so Quill was sent flying down the street and into the ground. He was laying on that road for less time than he was in the casino before the snow from both the sidewalks and the rooftops lurched in and made a second attempt to bury him alive. He rolled to the left to dodge the closest snow, then swung his dagger in a backhanded curve to cut the next wave of spikes out of the air, only to be struck in the back by the third wave and launched into another tavern.

Son of a bitch! he shouted internally with frustration. He’s gonna destroy the whole damn district! At this point, Quill’s only hope was to outlast Rennigan’s mana, but should his run out first, his physical protection would be gone and these spikes would shred him to pieces. The question is: Who’s used more mana, and who had more to begin with?!

Back out in the street, Quill was once again charging Rennigan, and like before, he was sent flying. Now, not only was the water mage using environmental mana, but he was creating more icicles out of his own, adding even more obstacles for Quill to avoid.

Even if I do get close to him, he’ll probably just use that circular attack from before, so I might really be out of luck here! If it starts looking like he’s going to win, I’ll just swallow my pride and flee! I may not have killed Glaus himself, but I eliminated the other three! That’s far more than Barron can say, so Vesh shouldn’t complain!

Unfortunately, that was beginning to look like the inevitable result. The battle was tedious for Quill Tyrus, for if he did manage to avoid the multiple waves of ice, he would be blinded by steam that would then leave him wide open. At one point, he managed to finally get in close, but Rennigan ducked under the arc of Quill’s dagger, pivoted backwards to dodge a side kick, then used that momentum to continue going back as Quill attempted to stab the blade through Rennigan’s chest. The fact that he missed left him open for Rennigan to use not ice, but water, sending a powerful scalding spray out of his hands that knocked Quill back into a building he couldn't even identify due to his attention being solely on the horrific burning sensation coursing through him.

When he opened his eyes, he saw through the gaping hole he’d created that a huge wall of ice was sliding straight for what he realized was another tavern. Quill responded by jumping upwards, smashing his body straight through the ceiling so he could reach the floor above. He was in a guest bedroom that was soon torn apart by the fact that the ice wall was just barely tall enough to smash through the floor in a blast of splinters. As the base of the building was destroyed, the rest of it began to collapse, so Quill darted forward, shoulder slammed through the window, and returned to the street.

How long has it been?! It feels like I’ve been getting tossed around this district for hours, but it can’t have been more than twenty or thirty minutes! How much more does this bastard have in him?!

Landing on the road with such force that it cracked beneath him, Quill took a moderate satisfaction in the fact that there wasn’t a lot of snow left for Rennigan to use, and if he fully resorted to his own mana, he was sure to run out first.

But I don’t think I’ve got much left either… This one’s gonna be damn close…

Quill rushed forward for the millionth time that night, determined for this to be the last one. Rennigan was out of snow, so there were only so many directions he could attack from, and there were roughly fifty yards between them. With his superior speed, he’d close that distance. Quill increased his stride, watching as the icicles formed in the sky around Rennigan and were sent hurtling at the cultist. With clean strikes, he cut the first down, slid under the second, pivoted around the third, then destroyed the fourth, fifth, and sixth with a wide curved arc. Another ice wall shot up from the ground, but that, too, was destroyed when Quill body-slammed straight through it. The fact that it shattered so easily proved Rennigan’s waning endurance, and when Quill was reaching ten yards left, a circle of ice spikes blasted up around Rennigan in one last barricade. Quill jumped with as much strength as he could muster, clearing the spikes completely as he raised his dagger in an icepick grip, Rennigan right below him now.

Gotcha!

Rennigan’s ice blocked him in, leaving him with little room to maneuver. Time seemed to slow, and Quill bore witness to water mage snapping back to reality just in time to process that he was dead. Unfortunately, Rennigan moved just enough to ensure the dagger missed his vitals as Quill plunged it straight through his chest, overwhelming him with strength, and with a swift punch from his free hand to Rennigan’s skull, the boy buckled to the ground in a heap.

***

No… I had him… I had him!

Blood was pooling in Rennigan’s mouth as he felt Omorossa’s dagger ripped from his chest, the young man’s body hitting the road while his skull erupted in horrible pain. He was truly out of strength, having exerted every ounce he had left to kill a man he now realized was utterly unkillable. He may have prevented Omorossa from piercing his lungs or heart, but all he really did was delay an inevitable, for how was he supposed to defend himself now? He was immobile on the cold ground, his eyes barely processing the looming silhouette of the man who had taken everything from him, and who would now take his life. He didn’t even have the strength to shout out, or curse, or cry. Rennigan Glaus would lay there helplessly as his life was snuffed out with nothing more than a whimper.

I’m sorry… Faye, Jessi, Hiro… I couldn’t kill him. I gave it everything I had and I couldn’t kill him… But at least, if I die, nobody else will lose their lives on my behalf…

He wished in his final moments that he could return to the ecstasy he felt when fighting, for that fog was like a drug, but as his consciousness started to wane, he watched Quill suddenly lurch backwards, out of view, as if pulled by something.

What?

Without warning, Rennigan felt arms wrap around his body before he was picked up off the ground and felt the rush of wind that came with flight. Rennigan didn’t understand what had happened until his savior spoke.

“Well now, Glaus, you certainly wreaked some havoc down there, didn’t you? Props on you for not being dead, though.”

It was a familiar teasing and flippant voice, but even in his haze, Rennigan could tell it was forced, as if the young man who saved him was desperate to hide whatever was going through his head. As for Rennigan, he just clenched his teeth with an emotion he couldn’t really identify and uttered through clenched teeth,

“Damn it all… Why is it always you...Caeli?”