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Elizabeth Stroudwater

I get knocked down to the burnt sand from a Crownbear's slam nearby as an Achiya follows through with the attack and tries to stab me in the throat with its flint knife. The raccoon-like creature bears down on me and uses all of its small body's strength to sink the flint-like blade into my skin.

I frantically push with all the force I can muster, rudimentarily forcing a skill like Physical Enhancement into being. You can only do this with elementary skills; the only side effect is pain and exhaustion afterward, and it is actually the best way to learn them. Too bad now is not the time for that.

Instead, the flint knife of the Achiya that will enter my flesh soon continues to fall toward me as war wages around me. The boys of Bonfire are all spread out after we were attacked from our flank. Some other side must have fallen and left their monsters to ambush our back and ruin our strategy.

I watch with horror as the flint knife gets within a single inch of my breast, and I force even more Ether into my arms. The headache that feels like I already have a knife in my brain only grows worse, but it's better than what will happen if this flint gets inside me. Despite being undersized and reasonably unassuming creatures, the Achiya are known for their brutal ways.

Their flint that is suffused with their unique brand of Ether can enter someone's bloodstream like a virus and go straight for their vital organs. The whole way, it cuts up the inside of the person, leaving them dead without anyone even knowing. A small cut by the flint has a chance to be lethal. A big stab to the chest most certainly is.

I grit my teeth and bare my white at the raccoon monster, and use the only other thing I can. I take my Ether and force it into my voice as much as I can, relying on my Sigil to, I don't know, confuse the creature or stun it as I scream at it.

"STOP!"

Because of how close the dagger is to me, I can only make a short sentence as I yell at it. However, this small sentence gains me some time as the creature's face squints and its pressure slightly loosens up. But even this short sentence moves my chest enough to inflict a small cut on me. Pain screams from below my collarbone as I feel something rough and grainy scrape into the wound.

I try to ignore the pain as I use this short opportunity to push the creature off of me and roll to the side away from it. The Achiya stumbles off of me as I scramble to stand despite the small amount of flint in my veins tearing me up.

Standing half-crouched and breathing like I just ran a marathon, I scan my surroundings for anyone. And almost as if in slow motion, I see Woody get smacked by a Crownbear straight into the brick wall of a building. The man's wooden armor made of Ether is instantly turned to splinters, and he goes through the wall from the force.

The bricks and even some of the ceiling of the building fall down on top of him, and the Crownbear goes to follow up and finish its prey.

Upon seeing the man getting put on the metaphorical executioner's block, I run at the bear to help him. Only after my feet move does an idea even begin to form, and it does so quite quickly. Based on what I just did with the Achiya, which is making a ruckus and starting to chase after me again, I can distract or even stop the bear from what it's doing if I put enough force into my words.

Now that might be an exaggeration, but at the very least, I can make them hesitate. Or even focus on me. If I can give Woody just a few minutes to recover, there is a chance he can return to the fight. He looked like he got hit quite hard, but from what I've gathered, he got his nickname before acquiring a Sigil. The man is said to be as quiet as an oak and just as formidable.

So, I sprint at the Crownbear with an Achiya right on my heels. I take a deep breath that I fill with Ether, Inspire, and Yell as I release it at the Crownbear before it slams down into the rubble and Woody, who is underneath with its paws. I figure I can Inspire it to attack me.

Once more, my Ether reaches a tipping point with all these skills, but I try to skirt the edge as I scream, using as few words as possible. There are no Concoctions around after all.

"HEY, BEAR, EAT ME!"

My voice leaves a resounding yell through the current battle occurring all around as the Crownbear attacking Woody is not the only one. Several bears look at me. Far too many for me to be comfortable with, as I was unsure of attracting even one toward me.

Cigar has two stuck within his clouds, along with several other monsters that he is slowly trying to suffocate. Frozen is fighting two along with a trio of Achiya, his chilly temperature slowing them down so he can move freely without getting hurt. Renee and Harvey are struggling against a lone Loperd, a Crownbear, and two Achiya, the two of them are back to back and trying their best not to die. Even Clumsy has one trying to eat him, although that one is stuck on its back from Clumsy's Grease.

The goofy man with his big hat is surrounded by a pond of Grease as he is stuck in the slippery liquid. After all, he's not immune to its properties either. He's lucky the wall of fire burnt out a minute or so ago when Woody couldn't continue to add to the flames, or he'd be toast.

I spin around with fear as several Crownbears, not just the one attacking Woody, turn and look at me. Then, with a simultaneous series of roars that show off the crown on their chests, the bears run at me.

Instantly, I yelp and start to run away. Fucking fuck. I scramble, and almost trip in surprise as seven massive bears come straight for me. The giant creatures make my heart skip a beat and almost bring me back to my paralysis from before, but as they approach, they get my fight-or-flight instincts going. I turn and run around the building Woody falls into as I try to use it for cover. Bears are faster than people in head-on runs, but if I use corners and indoors, then I might be able to outpace them.

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So, with a Crownbear right behind me, the one that was trying to eat Woody, and another six on my tail, I dash through the closed door of a general store. I sprint straight through the store as I yank down stands and shelves the whole way through. I jump over a desk as I run directly out the back door.

I glance back with a quick twist of my neck and see the Crownbears break through everything in their way; even the entrance to the general store was ripped apart by their size when they tried to enter.

With another curse, I keep running across the street to another building. Behind me, the supernatural bears in a whole stampede break through the store's exit meant for more miniature humans. Bricks and pieces of metal from a sign go flying everywhere as they burst through with terrifying roars.

I keep my run going as I don't bother opening the door of a saloon, for I see a metal pole sticking along the side of the paneled batwing doors. It's barricaded. So instead of opening it, I slide underneath and run up the stairs of the saloon to the second floor as fast as I can.

Panicked breaths come from me that reek of exhaustion as I almost collapse at the top of the stairs. But I take a break because I figure that the bears are too big to make it up the stairs to the second floor. That, and truthfully, with the blood I taste in my mouth, I think my lungs are about to explode.

I've done so much yelling, running, and fighting today that I feel like I'm about to die despite my only injuries being some scrapes and the small cut from the Achiya, whom I can see is splattered on the street of Rustbank by a Crownbear through the window. The small raccoon is the most recent fatality from the Crownbears, and they continue onward for me as the leading one slams straight through the locked swinging door.

I feel safe on the second floor for a few moments as the Crownbears struggle to get onto the small set of stairs. But after a few attempts and failures, the leading Crownbear just moves over to underneath me and rears up on its hind legs. In less than a second, I am face to face with a bear with at least one Sigil as I jump back into the room behind me. As I do so, the entire overhang that I was on is ripped straight down and apart. Splinters and woodshavings are sent everywhere, leaving a kind of mist in the air.

My ass and head hit the floor of the room as I fall into it. And as the bear stands up again from atop the rumble of the overhang to look at me, I scramble backward with a scoot toward the window. The Crownbear breaks its way into the front of the room with its paws as the massive bear tries to either pull itself up or break the foundation of the second-story room.

I'm unsure which is which, but I don't care. I back up to the window, and without even bothering to open it, I jump through.

Some glass and splinters from the window and frame stab into me, but it's far better than getting devoured by a bear. I land on the roof of the part of the building that is only one floor as I roll off. Scrambling for leverage, I grab onto shingles and stop my fall momentarily, but a massive crash inside the building breaks the shingle I hold onto.

And so, I roll off of the roof and fall onto the open streets. I feel something break upon impact, probably my arm, as that's what I landed on. A painful scream comes from me as I roll in pain and try to recover, but before I can, I see the dark fur of a bear blast through the wall of the saloon with a spray of wooden shrapnel.

This wakes me up from the pain in my arm, and I look for a direction to run. Behind me is a wall; that building has no entrance on that side. More streets are to my left and right, but they are also filled with Crownbears roaring at me just after they turn the corner.

My head goes back and forth as the bears charge at me, unsure of what to do. But as they get closer, I hear a pair of heavy footsteps and shingles breaking.

In front of me and atop the saloon runs a man with feet covered in flame. He sprints off the roof and lands right in front of me with a fiery flourish, and then just before the leading Crownbear gets close enough to eat me, he releases a gout of fire at it from both of his hands.

Agonizing roars come from the bear before us as Emmet Knox, Bonfire, does his best to scorch it to death. But the other two sides are also covered with Crownbears, multiple to be exact. And so, he switches his double burst of flame from both of his hands as he diverts them to both sides. Two gouts of flame now emerge as I see the man start to shake. Tremors run through his body as he struggles to keep the fire going.

And to make matters worse, the original Crownbear he hit is not dead. It's only severely burned. The giant thing stands and starts to move back toward us. Seeing this, I try to Inspire Bonfire as much as I can. The paltry saturation I lost running for my life is enough for one word without promptly killing myself my knocking me unconscious.

"Forward!"

Bonfire strains to nod as he rears his head back. I hear a bubbling up of something as the creator of flames breathes out a roar of fire. A massive burst of continuous fire comes from his mouth as he strikes the bear that just recovered. Now, every direction from me besides the brick wall behind us is covered in scorching fire.

Emmet Knox holds this trio of blazes for about ten seconds before he falls to his knees, gasping for breath. I look around before I check to see if he's alright. All the Crownbears are burnt and unmoving around us. The scent of cooked flesh comes to my nose. I wrinkle my face as I bend down and check on Bonfire.

"You… okay?

Even now, my voice comes out staggered and rough because of how much I struggle to put air in my lungs. But Bonfire looks so much worse and sounds way worse too. The man is covered in sweat, has numerous burns caused by his own Ether, and has fallen to all fours. He struggles to get some words out as he both thanks and removes my worries.

“Yeah… just… tired… demon slaying… is… tiring… Early… advancement… left me… little… stamina… Thank… you… for… watching… out… for… my boys…”

Hearing that the demon is dead, I relax and fall to the ground beside him on my back. My breath slowly returns to me just as today's exhaustion and pain do, but I still manage some words out.

“Yeah… no problem… That's what… friends are… for."

I hear Bonfire's small chuckle as he collapses on the dirt road beneath us.

"Hahaha…"

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Wyatt Graves

I lie in agony beside Abraham and several other wounded in the open field of mud outside Rustbank almost half an hour after Hura was slain. Sacate and Dakota moved the two of us here while the Woodsman struggled to keep us both alive. He didn't even attempt to take the blade out of my chest until Heath arrived to help him stabilize me.

And so now, I watch the two alongside Earl, preparing to pull the blade from my chest. Heath gives me explicit instructions for what he's about to do and what I need to do as he holds onto my shoulder. I just listen with fading consciousness due to the blood loss and overbearing pain.

"This is gonna hurt. Real bad. I'd give you morphine, but morphine won't help you. You need to stay focused on keeping yourself alive."

Heath points to his heart as he moves onto the part that's not just a warning.

"I need you to use your skills to keep your heart beating no matter how much blood you lose. Don't speak, though. That will only make it worse. You're a tough bastard, but anyone else would already be dead in your shoes. So, you need to fight. Fight to survive just as much as you did against the demon."

Heath leans in close to me.

"I heard you cauterized your own wound. While I am proud of your fast thinking, that was incredibly stupid. Stupid yet bold. Use that boldness to stay alive. Because I promise, you are about to get as close to the pale lady as any man can."

I blink at him twice, doing what he first told me to do if I could understand him. The doctor nods as he covers his hands in warm Ether. Sacate beside him does something similar, but the Ijiraq man is sweating profusely despite the cold weather. He barely managed to keep me alive until now, and he has to preserve my soul in my body a bit longer. Earl shakes out some stiffness as he readies his hand to do whatever he can to help as well.

His Sigil is so broad in application that it can even help with surgery. Wish mine were that awesome.

My loopiness because of blood loss keeps me from being focused. But I eventually get on track as Heath wraps his hands, covered in thick gloves, around the blade. Sacate joins him with one hand as well.

I bare the brunt of my Ironheart against what's to come. So far, the blade stuck in me has kept most of my blood from leaving me, but despite that, I've almost bled out anyway. This next part is going to be ten times worse.

I guess this is what it's like to be an ordinary man without the Bloody Palm attached to them. The artifact still has a temper tantrum and focuses on healing itself compared to me. I only use Ironheart for this because I figure the palm will strike back if I move Daydream.

And I have not yet recovered enough to use anything else. The broken insides and damage left by rampaging foreign Ether in my body prevent me from doing so.

So, all I can do is grit my teeth, squint my eyes, and clench my remaining hand as Heath counts down for me before ripping out the blade and doing all they can to keep me alive.

"On 3!"

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

I wish I only took a bullet like Abraham…