"We need to rush, you're leaking blood like crazy" Eric whispered. The stench of blood, sweat and trash mixing made him want to gag.

"I will bandage your upper body, you take care of the cuts on your legs and arms" Eric commanded and handed her the bandages

"The wounds will reopen again" Ella said

"No they won't, you're not in a fighting shape. Just stay here" Eric hissed

"If he kills you I'll die anyway and your chances are much worse without support" she pointed out.

Why does she always have to make so much sense?

"Okay, but we bandage anyway, it'll buy you a few minutes" Eric said angrily.

They worked in silence, only the sound of Ella's heavy breathing could be heard. It was a little cramped in their underground pocket of space. Their shoulders were touching and they could barely move, nevertheless their movements were efficient, betraying their proficiency.

"You know that I knew that I had to close the wounds, no need to be so overbearing about it" Ella said

"Yes, head researcher" he replied sarcastically. They fell into silence again.

"You're not going to ask me why I didn't help you out at the start of the fight? Or why did I leave you without magical support towards the end?" Eric demanded

"Why would I ask? If you didn't do it then obviously there was a reason" Ella said exasperatedly.

and this is exactly why I hate her, ugh, that trusting fool

"Did it at least work or are we just dead men walking"? Eric asked silently

"It did work, his lips were turning purple and his movements were much more sluggish than at the start" Ella said excitedly.

"You know, you could just run away and come back later" Ella added more somberly after a few seconds

"And leave you here to die?" Eric asked, his voice betraying nothing

"And leave me here to die" Ella repeated

Eric's piercing gaze stayed at her, but he was no longer paying their nervous chatter any mind. I'm going to kill her if we survive

"Movement" Eric mouthed instead

"What should we do Commander?" Ella asked with a smirk

we're about to get killed and she still puts the effort into internationally annoying me, that woman is positively insane.

"It's too risky, one grenade here and we're both dead" Eric said through gritted teeth

"Wait, before we go, you know I like you, right?" Ella asked

Eric ignored her and started using his earth manipulation to dig a hole back to the surface. That bitch is confessing to me, right now, really!!?

"We'll push through the tunnel I dug on the count of five, and be prepared for instant confrontation. I'll be our tank, your role will be support. No need for extra damage, let's wait him out." How can she just say it like that, "you know I like you, right?" it's not like I'm bleeding out and about to confront a hunter, sure, an ideal time to confess, definitely.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

As soon as Eric and Ella came out of the hole they got cut in half. Their bodies shimmered and disappeared into nothing and another pair of them sprang up about ten meters to their right.

"Now I really am out of mana" Ella whispered

"I'm also empty" Eric echoed. Not as empty as your brain obviously, a confession in a situation like this, I can't believe it.

Rufus sprinted towards them, his eyes crimson and his pale skin glistening because of excessive sweat.

Eric hurled the remains of a broken toaster at him. The hunter raised his hand in a block, but the impact barely moved him, instead he continued sprinting.

Oh, makes sense

The sword clashing started. Not even ten seconds passed and Eric was retreating with a massive slash on his thigh. If I survive this, I'll kiss that bastard Gabriel on the cheek for teaching me swordsmanship.

Rufus thrust his sword into Eric's side, Ella was there though, blocking the strike and giving Eric the perfect opportunity to counteract. This started a series of dangerous exchanges which Eric and Ella left alive only thanks to their superior teamwork. However, they still paid a price, Eric's body was covered in slashes and all of Ella's wounds reopened.

Rufus's every attack was clumsier than the last, but it soon became obvious that they were simply not going to live long enough to see the fruits of their labors.

Well, there is only one thing we can do.

As soon as Eric disengaged from the next exchange he grabbed the staggering Ella, threw her over his shoulder and started running away.

It was a useless effort of course, Rufus with his enchanted armor was much faster than them and caught up instantly.

Eric turned around at the last second and shouted "Rufus, it doesn't have to end like this, no one has to die here" That's naturally complete bullshit that doesn't make any sense, but please please please tell me it's enough to distract his clouded mind.

Rufus's glazed eyes locked with Eric’s, but he didn't stop sprinting and stepped directly into the hole that Ella and Eric crawled out of. Rufus's leg got trapped and he lost his balance, but managed to keep himself from falling in. At that moment Eric stabbed him with all his strength through the other foot and started running away.

Rufus screamed in indignation, but Eric didn't care, finally his mind was focused on only one thing. run, run, run!

The minutes passed by and the footsteps following him grew fainter and fainter, until they stopped altogether.

His footsteps were heavy, making a single step forward took all his effort and concentration.

ha..rd to ..thin.. k ..have … to … turn aro.. und.. ha… ve to

Eric changed directions and started walking towards his pursuer. His feet felt like they'd been submerged in lead and the weight of Ella's body made him want to leave her behind a million times.

For a split second his mind sharpened, I … ha..ve .. to.. put …her …do..wn

He gently laid her on the ground and started staggering towards the hunter's corpse. He ruffled through his item sack, po…tion, tw..o p…otio…ns his heart hammered in his chest and then it stopped.

One healing potion and one potion to slow the bodily functions, that's all the healing supplies the hunter had on him.

Eric always knew since the day he was young. There's nothing more important than your life and you shouldn't trade it for anything. People might call you selfish, but Eric always thought that prioritizing his own well-being was only reasonable.

"I'm sorry" he whispered

----------------------------------------

When Ella woke up the moon was already in the sky. She was still feeling a bit lightheaded from all the bloodloss, but the sheer surprise of being alive hit her like a truck. The cold nightly breeze finally broke her out of her reverie.

"Wow, Eric we survived, can you believe that?" she said and started sobbing while she laughed maniacally

"Eric? Eriiic? Don't tease me like this, it's not nice, speak to me"

"Is this because I called you a commander before? I'm sorry, I know you hate the title, but you really deserve it"

"Now come out, stop hiding!"

"Fine, I'll go find you myself if you're not going to show yourself" Ella tried to stand up, but staggered slightly, tripping over some rubbish on the ground.

The rubbish was still unpleasantly warm, probably from the sun.

“Wow, with only the moonlight this piece of trash almost looks like a human body Eric, don’t pout and show yourself, come see for yourself” Elli demanded

She decided to lean down and investigate before Eric deemed to show himself, she froze. Her dizzy mind finally connected all the dots and she fell to the ground in despair.