The battle has reached a stalemate. My wounds proliferate; each of their strikes feels as though a demon is crushing me. Each punch is an explosion of pain that reverberates through my body.
Crusch is also on the brink; her injuries have worsened, and her fracture has reopened.
She has become the target of all attacks, while Ley concentrates on assaulting her with his daggers. I fail to comprehend why this is happening or the motives behind their actions. But what I know is that this must end.
I cannot allow Crusch to suffer any further. Adrenaline courses through my veins as my mind works at full speed. I need to conclude this fight at any cost.
Without hesitation, I propel myself towards Ley with a cry:
"Fu Murak!"
Ley smiles, anticipating my move, but when I'm in front of him, I leap and exclaim:
"Fu Vita!"
I plummet at great speed, my kukri raised to strike. In a vertical motion, Ley tries to defend himself, using his daggers to halt my attack.
With a cry of determination, I clash my kukri against his daggers, shattering them. An expression of surprise crosses Ley's face, but I have no time to pause.
My mind continues working tirelessly.
I must do it; I cannot afford to fail now.
The darkness, a cloud that absorbs all light.
Something that neutralizes everything. I fall to the ground with a broken leg, but I grit my teeth tightly to contain the pain. This is nothing compared to what I have already endured.
My determination strengthens as I hold my kukri high. I must protect Crusch; there is no other option.
This has to work.
I unleash a basic spell, one that yields to no one.
"SHAMAAAACK!" My cry resonates in the air, and a black cloud surges from within me. It absorbs the light around it, and my senses intensify intensely.
But I don't stop here. Something inside me guides me, showing its presence. I can't see its face, but that doesn't matter. My focus is clear.
"EL MURAK!" I propel myself with speed toward that shadow. Ley fades from my sight, but I have no doubts. I spin in a sharp motion and launch a kick with all my strength.
The blow lands, and Ley is thrown far, but I'm not willing to let him escape so easily.
"Goa!" I shoot fireballs in bursts, not seeing where they go, but I feel his movements. Ley skillfully dodges them. However, he finally reacts.
"Fura!" His shout sends a wave of wind that disperses my spells in the air. Ley watches me with a smile, but soon sharply turns his gaze.
"It's over!" Crusch's cry is the signal, and she lunges at Ley, her sword aimed in a deadly thrust.
Crusch's stab is fast and accurate, piercing Ley's abdomen. But in the blink of an eye, Ley teleports, distancing himself from us.
He clutches the wound in his abdomen, meanwhile, Crusch and I stand side by side, prepared for anything.
"Wonderful!" Ley observes his wound and licks his bloodied hand. "Dishes can be spicy too! This pain is just an addition!"
At that moment, a dazzling light illuminates the sky. I lift my gaze and watch as the mist dissipates rapidly. Sunbeams penetrate the empty space, filling it with their brilliant light.
In a matter of seconds, the fog has completely disappeared.
The surroundings transform into a beautiful open field, without clouds to obscure the intensity of the sun.
Victorious shouts echo in the distance, like a distant echo calling us back. Crusch speaks with evident fatigue:
"We have to return."
It's obvious that Crusch is exhausted. She may not be able to move much longer. Ley, on the other hand, is injured, but his attitude shows no discomfort or fear.
His gaze is directed at the sky, his smile widening even more.
"That person is wonderful," he murmurs into the air before looking at us. "It seems I won't be able to give you the gift I promised, my exquisite dish. We'll have to wait for another time for that."
Ley observes Crusch and me, but not as if we were human beings. His desire is to consume us entirely.
"When we meet again, I hope both the appetizer and the main course are prepared. To eat, or rather, to be eaten." Ley stretches his arms and laughs heartily. "A dish prepared with sweat and blood will be truly delicious because food is everything. Now I must continue my feast, feeding while my craving for this delicacy grows."
Ley disappears in the blink of an eye. In an instant, he has vanished completely.
The forest is a few kilometers away, meaning he can move at a speed our eyes cannot capture.
I release a sigh of relief; it's finally over.
"We won," I exclaim with an exhausted tone, turning my gaze to Crusch. But when I do, I realize she is collapsing to the ground.
I hurry to support Crusch, gently laying her on the ground. Her wounds are severe, and there is no time to lose. Grímnir approaches and positions himself beside me, attentive to the situation.
Her most severe wound is in her clavicle. Quickly, I remove my shirt and use it to apply pressure to the wound, while her other injuries continue to bleed.
The distance to the camp is approximately one kilometer, and urgency is imminent. Murak seems to be our best option at this moment.
I lift Crusch, who shows barely any signs of breathing. An urgent thought slips through my mind:
"You cannot die now." I have a promise to fulfill and a debt of gratitude to repay.
Just as I'm about to move forward, I feel an unusual tremor in my body. I step back, my vision begins to blur. My legs shake, and my arms give way without my control, dropping Crusch to the ground.
"Damn!" I exclaim as I fall to the ground, my gaze fixated on the grass.
My heart beats with overwhelming speed. I try to concentrate to gather mana, but something within me explodes.
My body starts shaking intensely, and the next moment, I feel like thousands of needles pierce my skin. Breathing becomes difficult, and the ability to gather mana disappears.
"Bluargh!" A guttural sound escapes my throat, followed by a repulsive mass with a nauseating smell, accompanied by violet smoke. It's a disgusting substance, but that's not the worst part.
What is happening? What is this?
My eyes close uncontrollably, and my body falls to the ground amidst the chaos.
Confusion mixes with anguish; darkness surrounds me. For a moment, I lose all sensation in my body.
It's as if I'm floating in a void, remembering the mist and the feeling of being transported to this world in the past. A bright light begins to filter through my closed eyelids, and gradually, I begin to feel the presence of the ground beneath me.
A gentle breeze caresses my skin, carrying with it a delicate floral aroma.
I realize that I'm not in the same place as before.
I open my eyes slowly, finding myself in front of the entrance to Crusch's garden. Reality hits me suddenly, and a question arises in my mind:
"Have I returned?"
I turn my gaze back, observing the mansion's entrance that remains identical.
Not knowing what else to do, I turn around and enter the garden. Butterflies flutter around me as I walk, and my mind remains blank.
"No..."
I don't want to think, I don't want to face reality. I've died, but strangely, my connection with mana feels normal, and my body doesn't seem to be injured.
I make an attempt to use wind magic, and it flows without any problem.
I keep moving, each step feeling heavy and tired. A voice in my mind whispers:
"Now I can't deny it anymore..."
I begin to process what has happened. Whatever Ley Batenkaitos did, he brought me back to this point, which doesn't align with all the previous returns, which were in a short span.
I feel inevitably I will have to face him again. It seems they have some kind of control over me, and I can't help but think there's something I must do to break this cycle.
My thoughts revolve around the situation.
Why did I die?
Even if my mana reserves were depleted, I shouldn't have died in that manner.
The memory of the crystal and the black mass slides through my mind. There seems to be a connection, but I still don't fully understand its meaning.
Ley Batenkaitos has the power to control mabeasts, suggesting that the attack was somehow premeditated, or so I want to believe. Even though it's a commercial area, if Ley seeks to feed, he wouldn't do it in a place like that.
There's something more.
I am perplexed, a lump in my throat seems to tighten as I make a quick turn to the right, searching with my eyes for Crusch, Félix, and Wilhelm.
However, the instant my eyes land on the small kiosk that witnessed shared moments, a shiver runs through my lips that begin to tremble.
"Aren't they?" I murmur to the air, with a knot in my chest, as I start a frantic run towards that place where we shared laughter and confidences.
My steps become slow, as if an invisible force tries to stop me, but I ignore any sign of doubt that threatens my progress.
Finally, I reach the kiosk; my eyes scan every corner with desperation, hoping to find some trace of them, some hint of their presence.
Bang!
A shot cuts through the air from the nearby open field, a sonorous explosion that shakes me to the core and makes me turn my head in that direction.
My attention focuses on that field, my heart pounding wildly. The feeling that something is out of place deepens in my chest.
This doesn't align with my memories; something has changed, been altered in the fabric of reality itself.
My steps take me toward the field, as if some mysterious force pulls me. But what I find there leaves me speechless, my mind stunned by the sight before me.
A tall figure, a female with waist-length white hair, stands in the midst of that landscape. The aura surrounding her is mysterious and enigmatic, as if woven with threads of ancient magic.
A rifle falls from her hands, crashing to the ground, while her gaze remains fixed on a distant point of the terrain.
Her eyes, deep and full of a story that I can only sense, seem absorbed in thoughts that escape my understanding.
I remain there, an insignificant presence in her world, as she places her hand on her forehead, as if lost in her thoughts.
Strangeness and mystery hover over this encounter, and I feel that time itself fades in the air. I cannot help but wonder who she is, what secrets she holds, and why her presence in this place is so out of place.
My heart beats with fear; I no longer believe in anything, no longer know what to do, think, or wish for.
I stand there, immobile, my eyes fixed on the enigmatic figure before me. I cannot help but feel a strange connection, as if some invisible thread binds me to her.
A mix of emotions wells up in my chest, a cluster of sensations.
I continue walking, as if being guided by a force beyond my control. The woman's beauty is dazzling, almost supernatural, and the atmosphere around her immerses me in a magical and bittersweet sensation.
Sadness seems to emerge from the depths of my being, enveloping me like a melancholic tide. I almost feel as if my senses seek to release that sadness in the form of tears.
A single tear slides down my cheek, falling to the ground like a dewdrop mingling with the earth.
The figure turns toward me, as if my thoughts have reached her invisible ears.
Her presence becomes even more striking as I can appreciate her up close. Pale skin, deep blue eyes that seem to contain an ocean of secrets, and an aura that seems to emanate from a world of mysteries.
My heart beats strongly, as if trying to escape from my chest to approach her. However, despite her beauty and magnetism, I don't feel a carnal or romantic attraction.
It's as if her charm transcends those mundane aspects.
My thoughts become clearer, and I position myself in a defensive stance, my instinct alert to the unknown that this figure represents.
"Who are you?" My voice emerges with a certain tension, a natural reflex to this enigmatic situation.
The words are spoken with caution, as if I'm treading on unfamiliar ground, trying to unravel the enigma unfolding before me.
She closes her eyes and curves her lips into a mysterious smile. My pulse accelerates in her presence, and I feel the air becoming denser around me.
The voice that emerges from her lips reaches me like a familiar echo, a voice I have heard before in circumstances I cannot forget.
I recognize her tone instantly, her cadence, and a shiver runs down my spine.
"I am..." Her words flow with an ease that contradicts the intensity of the moment. "Archbishop of Sin in the Witch's Cult, representing vainglory."