Sweat dripped off Serin's brow as she kept scanning the dunes for the archer under the glaring desert sun. The blood trickling down her body an ever present reminder that time was limited.

Serin quickly realized that with time on their side the archer wasn't going to make a move. She grimaced as she tried to plan a way to trap the archer into exposing themselves. The blood loss was dimming her thinking though and she was now certain that either the dagger or the arrows were poisoned. Probably both. She was unsure of the effect but she was starting to feel quite ill.

"Ah, have it your way!" She yelled. Frustrated from the standoff she decided to brute force the issue.

She shot both [Nightmare] projectiles into the dunes. Each exploded in wave of dark mana to inflict any in the large radius with the status effect. She doubted the archer was there. However, she would force them out. As soon as the spells left her hand she recast the skill again in double flooding it with mana for larger radii explosions. Serin sent spells as soon as they formed and began systematically pelting the dunes in search of the archer.

Her mana dwindled with the reckless expenditure, but with a flash the archer revealed themselves out of their stealth skill near one of the last of her [Nightmare] explosions. The archer using a skill quickly sent a flurry of arrows her way. Tens of arrows ripped through the air as they approached her.

With more time to dodge this time around, Serin managed to kick off on her good leg to dodge most of the arrows. Two still found her. One pierced all the way through her bicep landing in the sand behind her. The other stuck itself underneath her collar bone. Despite the new wounds Serin smiled.

Serin double cast [Paralysis] into both hands. The archer was running with a speed that suggested a massive amount of agility. Their speed made tracking difficult, but once again Serin decided to brute force the issue. She started casting the skill as fast as she could painting a path of projectiles behind the archer.

The archer returned arrows and Serin did her best to wobble her way around them. However most managed to bypass her meager attempts to dodge. Her body was mangled, but her spirit pushed on.

It would only take one spell to land and it would be her win. And despite the best efforts of the assassin one finally glanced the archers leg. The paralysis of their leg quickly made them stumble. The archer fell face forward into the sand and tumbled into a front roll as their momentum keep them moving forward.

Refusing to miss this opportunity, Serin followed through with more cast of her [Paralysis] skill. Her mana was bottoming out yet she pushed on. Once she saw the assassin fully go limp in the sand she sent a necrotic charged [Poison] bolt at them. On contact it exploded into a mist that lingered around the archer ensuring an eventual infliction regardless of their resistances.

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With that Serin collapsed back first onto the hot sand.

"I can't move! Get your ass over here, boy!" Serin yelled with the last vestiges of strength in her. It wasn't long that she waited before Quillis appeared. He quickly set the still crying Dalene onto the sand. The infant remained in place on her butt with tears and snot streaming down her face while Quillis attended his mother.

Serin quickly produced numerous healing potions and antidotes from her ring. All of which fell into the sand beside her motionless hand.

"Potion first," she instructed. "In this state I wont survive the extraction of the arrows not to mention the dagger in my leg."

"I can't believe your even alive right now," Quillis said as he uncorked one of the healing potions. With haste he brought it to Serin's lips and let the contents drain into her mouth. Serin gulped down the potion greedily and it worked immediately brightening her pale complex. The downside was that it tried to close the open wounds around the objects lodged inside her, which will only now be even more painful as they pulled them out. But these results showed the quality of the alchemist that brewed the potion as it was able to pull her away from death's door.

"I'll live a little longer now. Go finish them off." Which was something regrettable to Serin. She wanted to interrogate them for information. However, in her condition it was better to get rid of potential risk.

Quillis nodded with a dark seriousness and speed off leaving Serin with Dalene.

Serin tilted her head towards the baby. Dalene looked inconsolable releasing her piercing cries up into the clear blue sky.

"What's the matter child? You're safe now aren't you?"

In the background, Serin heard a thunderous beat like the sound of a hundred horses galloping. It had been a very long time since she heard it, but she recognized the sound as Quillis. She had forbade him then to never use his skill so crudely as it caused just as much damage to him as it did his opponent. It was the sound of his hasted body punching the assassins. She decided to allow it this time. A small vengeance for his wife.

"Come here, come closer to grandma," Serin beckoned.

Serin was actually surprised when Dalene listened. Her cries did not slow but she crawled her way through the sand towards Serin. The warm feeling of the first time her grandchild came to her on her own was indescribable.

The drumming of another assassin being sent off played out as the infant came ever closer.

When the baby arrived, Dalene simply mushed her hands into Serin's face. The crying now right by Serin's ear was painful and sent her woozy heard spinning even more. Though Serin couldn't be happier. Serin laughed cheerily into the air mixing with Dalene's cries.

"You're fine girl. Can't you hear your father taking care of those wretches."

A final rumbling echoed out into the desert and Quillis was back by Serin's side. His hands were bloody and broken. Blood from the assassins had splashed all over his torso and face. The skin where the foreign blood had touched was visibly rotting away as her necrotic [Poison] damaged his low level body.

"A potion and antidote for you too now before you put those foul hands in my wounds," Serin said as she examined his wounds.

He laughed dryly. "Not going to say anything about my methods?" He asked.

"Why would I?" Serin replied with a smile.