"Heeeeelp! AARGH! PLEASE SOMEBODY HEELP!"

 

The screams sounded far away. Lancer raised his hand up to his throbbing head. His ears were bleeding profusely from the deafening noise. His eardrums were blown to shreds by the sound of the falling rocks.

 

*Cof* 

 

He cleaned his throat, his vision was pure reddish grey. Stone dust was everywhere, making it impossible to see. The fire from the corridor behind illuminating the cave regardless, almost as if it was a part of this hellscape. 

He staggered forward, towards the pleas for help from one one his colleagues, holding his ears with his hands.

 

"Somebody... Please!"

 

Dust filled his lungs every time he inhaled. The pleas for help slowly turned from screams to sobbing. 

The cave had collapsed again. He knew this could happen. But why now of all time? Why to him?! Why to the poor souls who managed to escape that hell with him.

 

"Gahan!?"

 

He heard his colleague's voice. Not one who was with him, one who left with his Leader. Even more so, asking for him.

 

'Have I become insane? Is this what happens when you are about to die?'

 

As he looked up, a faint silhouette became visible in the dust. 

The large build, sword on back and armored figure was impossible to not recognize.

Gahan.

The very man. 

 

"GAHAN!" He screamed.

 

"Lancer?! The fuck you doing here!?"

 

"Ow my fucking foot!" As soon as Gahan answered to him, Garth's voice resounded around the same time as the dust started to settle.

"Lard? Are you okay?" Lancer started calling for his other companions.

 

"No... I'm stuck!"

 

"I'mma help you out. Poert! Where's Poert?"

"Fuck!"

 

"Ain't he that one over there?"

 

"Shit..."

 

Gahan roughly pointed to the side, where someone had collapsed, passed out on the ground. Lancer on the other hand, was trying to locate where Lard was calling him from. Despite the dizziness being almost gone, he still could only barely hear. 

 

*Thump* *Thump* *Roll*

 

Gahan and Lancer turned around at the sound of a rock falling steps. 

There, they could see Garth coming towards them, limping from his foot.

 

"You shouldn't have gotten injured from going down." Gahan was not happy about it.

 

"And I didn't. The fucking rock rolled onto my foot after the fact."

"Think it crushed a couple toes..."

 

"Good thing you can still walk. Try and take those boots off before you lose your foot."

 

"Er... Guys? I think I need your help here..." With Larcer's call, Gahan turned around, while Garth limped towards them. 

 

Lard was pinned to the ground by a large rock, a large part of his body was not visible, as it was stuck under the rock.

 

*cogh*

 

A small amount of blood gushed out as he coughed.

 

"We gotta do this fast. Garth, pull him out when we lift the rock."

 

"All ready then..."

 

The rock, which was massive, did not bulge even when Lancer used all his strength. So he waited for Gahan who leisurely walked towards it.

 

'Why is this bastard always like this?! He's gonna die!'

 

When Gahan arrives, he single-handedly lifts the massive stone with both hands. He makes it look easy, but Lancer knew he had used Herculean Strength. The stone was over a full meter long, wide and high."

 

"Thank you, Sir! Thank you so much!" Lard cried as he was pulled from behind the rock. The pain was still absurd, but being saved was overwhelming.

 

'This fucker goes this far just to show how superior he is...'

 

Lancer was angry, but his subordinate's condition was more important now. 

 

As Garth pulled him, it was clear the injuries were significant. 

 

His hips and one of his legs were completely crushed, his arm was hanging from his skin, all the bones crushed to dust. 

He would survive with a medium tier health potion... But he'd become crippled. 

 

"Let's take this poor soul out of his misery." Gahan pulled his sword, making the already pale Lard freeze in fear.

 

"Stop! We can still save him!" Lancer interrupted.

 

"Save him from what? Death? Death is way better than living as a crippled!"

 

"But he..."

 

"There's no "But"! Are you gonna take responsibility for his life? Carry him around while he slouches unable to even walk on his own? Feed him from your pocket since he won't be able to work? We are mercenaries!"

 

"But he deserves a chance!"

 

"A chance you say... In his place I'd much rather die already."

 

While Lancer sulked, both Garth and Lard just looked away, almost as if this was already expected, or rather, right.

Whether he survived or not, his life would be hell. Even if he managed to get a job in a city, chances were grim for a former mercenary, without any form of education, that could barely even write his own name.

 

"But I'll do as you say for once. Since that other one just woke up." As Gahan raised his sword with one hand, pointing it towards Poert, it was clear he was okay. The man had just risen from the floor.

 

"Oh! Lard! Everything okay?!"

 

"Yeah... I hit my head pretty hard though."

 

"Good grief..." Lancer pulled a Medium quality health potion from his pouch. 

 

Such a potion is rather expensive. It manages to "heal" even grievous wounds. But that's all that it does. It heals as is, stopping death and bleeding. But it doesn't stop the formation of scars, nor recovers all the bones. For that, a High Quality one is required. And those cost so much He'd only seen one once in his entire lifetime. At a store in the Holy Capital. 

He went over and gave it to Lard. Almost forcing him to drink all of the dreadfully tasting liquid. 

It's said that a perfect quality potion is as sweet as nectar. They call it Life Elixir, capable of even restoring lost limbs.

 

But the lower quality ones, especially the Low Quality, which is cheaply sold, tastes like a disgustingly bitter sludge. Medium tier is barely able to be considered edible. 

 

"Ahhh! This feels much better..." As the potion effects kicked in, Lard's pained face finally started relaxing. However, that's as far as his luck would allow him.

"But I can't feel my leg and arm..."

 

"That's to be expected. Hey! Sleep-head! Take care of this one until we come back."

 

"Wait! What?!" Garth was the first one to react to Gahan's unexpected words.

 

"He's just gonna drag us behind. Leave the weak ones until we find the bitch, then we come back to grab them."

 

"Sounds like a plan..." After Gahan's words and Lard's agreement, an ominous silence hovered over them. Until someone dared to break the silence. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, the ceiling that had collapsed was repairing itself above their heads.

 

"What if you don't come back?"