Donva raised his hands above his head, his limbs trembling as he watched Willheim raise his gun once more. His lips were open, but no words escaped. A crooked grin grew across Willheim's face as he took aim, pointing the barrel at Donva's head. "Now that I think about it, I don't need the both of you alive. Just one will serve as bait well enough."

"You don't have to—" As Donva watched Willheim's finger press against the trigger, he flinched his arms to cover his face and turned his head to the side. His entire body tensed up in preparation of the impending bullet. The sound of Primore grew louder as they approached, but the sound of their screams wasn't loud enough to drown out the click that came from Willheim's gun. 

"What?" Willheim blurted out. He pulled the trigger again, only to have the weapon click. The hunter then took his eyes off Donva and hurriedly reached for the clip at the bottom of the rifle. His injured arm shook as he pinched the bottom of the magazine, struggling to get a good enough grip on it to make it detach. 

A long black tentacle stretched out from Donva's outstretched hand and wrapped itself around the front of the gun. Willheim struggled to pull the weapon out of Donva's extended grasp, only for Donva to yank his arm back. The weapon flew out of his hands and landed on the ground between them while the force from the pull brought Willheim to the forest floor on his good arm. 

"Bodahn!" Donva exclaimed. The gunslinger lay face forward in the dirt, his hand still holding onto the area where had been shot. He let out a sorrowed cry, verging on whimpering as he continued to writhe around slowly. 

For the short moment that Donva had his eyes on Bodahn, Willheim crawled towards his gun. The sudden movement caught Donva's attention, prompting him to summon another small portal. The weapon sank into the ground, vanishing from view before Donva sealed it up. 

Willheim slammed a fist into the dirt. "What are you doing?"

"Stopping you!"

"Now we're all going to die!" The hunter turned around. The (name) were now close enough that the long strands of hair reflected the glow of their eyes. "They're right on us!" 

Donva ignored the hunter's words and ran to Bodahn's side. He reached down and lifted him from underneath his arm. Bodahn staggered upwards, grunting heavily as he placed one hand on Donva's shoulder. 

"Save... yourself..." he muttered with what little air he still had in his lungs. 

"No," Donva said calmly. "I'm not leaving you here to die."

"You... got to..." the gunslinger stammered. "No point.... in both of us..."

"I'm not discussing it any further. We're getting out of here."

"How do you plan on doing that, huh?" Willheim shouted. "We're surrounded! You've lost my gun! Bodahn's almost out of ammo! We have nothing!" The man's eyes were widened with rage. He clenched his fists, his wounded arm momentarily ignoring all pain as she reached into the sheathe of his jacket and pulled out a long, silver knife. "I'll make sure neither one of you get out of here!"

With a reverse grip, Willheim lunged forward with his weapon raised above his head. Donva's right arm turned into a long tendril that tightened around Willheim's wrist. With a pull to the opposite side, Donva brought the hunter to the ground. The shift in weight caused him to lose balance, toppling to the side along with Donva. 

Willheim dropped his knife from his entangled hand and quickly used his free one to pick it back. Despite his injury hindering his movement, Willheim plunged the blade into the shadowy tentacle that ensnared him. Donva closed his eyes and grit his teeth, trying to abstain from screaming due to the agony inflicted by the strike. He retreated his tentacle back and turned his hand to normal. Once the shadowy appendage had disappeared, Donva stared at the gaping wound in his forearm. 

Blood coursed down his dark purple skin. A vein had been punctured, making it leak profusely. He let go of Bodahn and quickly took his other hand to clutch the puncture point. Both Donva and Bodahn now lay on the ground, side by side while Willheim rose to his feet. He turned around and saw the (names) standing around among the trees, watching with awe. "Seems like these creatures aren't too different from people." Willheim stated before taking a deep breath. He stood up again and limped towards the two downed men. "It's in their nature to enjoy a bit of bloodshed. Whether they're the ones causing it or not."

"Don't come... any closer..." Bodahn mumbled as he moved his arm as best as he could towards the side of his hip he was laying on. He fumbled around for his pistol, grunting and groaning as the slightest bit of movement caused him agonizing pain. "I'll shoot ya! I can promise you... that!" 

"Look at you! You can't even reach for it!" Willheim barked. "None of us are going to survive. But at least I'll have the pleasure of taking you both out before these beasts get to me!"

Instead of focusing on the large knife that Willheim brandished, Donva's gaze drifted towards the distance. He could see the same vacant plain that he had arrived in taking the transport chamber in the Eco-Dome. With his eyes focused on the area in the distance, he placed both hands on the ground with the palms spread apart. His head quivered as he stared into the distance with squinting eyes. 

"I'm killing you first, Bodahn." Willheim stroked the smooth end of the knife with his finger as he inched closer. He paid no mind to the howl of the Essencima that surrounded them as they watched with agape eyes. Bodahn continued to fumble his hands around his side, trying to pull his pistol out from his holster. Willheim swung his foot back and kicked Bodahn in the gut, making him tumble onto his back.

Bodahn front raised upwards as his back arched up from the ground. In anguish, the hand that was reaching for the gun was now pressed against his spine while his mask distorted his bellowed wailing. 

Willheim lifted his hunting knife above his head, ready to drive it into the gunslinger's vulnerable gut. For a moment, Donva could see bliss on the hunter's face. His eyes were open. The smile that stretched from cheek to check was genuine. The naturalness of his posture. Willheim took pure pleasure in what he intended to do. 

"Now die, Outskirter filth!" 

Willheim maintained his manic grin as he dropped swung his knife down. Bodahn raised his hands over his chest, ready to use them to take the brunt of the impact. As the knife flashed through the air, Bodahn began to sink into the floor.  A familiar black sludge consumed the gunslinger, dragging him into the ground in an instant. 

And as fast it had appeared, the sludge vanished and Bodahn along with it. Only a small puddle of the bubbling black liquid remained. Willheim's knife continued to move, driving straight into the ground. The enraged hunter remained hunched over the dirt, one hand holding onto his weapon as it remained embedded into the dirt. 

The hunter slowly turned around, the bliss in his eyes replaced by pure rage. He stared at the weakened Donva who remained hunched forward with one had holding on his chest as he regained his breath. 

"You..." Willheim muttered. He pulled the weapon from the dirt and stomped in Donva's direction. "You're going to die..." His slow walk turned into a short sprint. The dirtied blade was held at shoulder length and in front of his chest. Willheim's mouth opened wide as he raised his weapon. 

Donva looked up, staring back with austerity. He remained hunched over, keeping his hands on the ground instead of moving them to defend himself. "You notice something?" he muttered.

Willheim didn't respond. Instead he reached down and grabbed Donva by his hair, pulling him back. With the other hand, the hunter put the bladed side of the knife to Donva's throat. "No, I haven't," he said manically. "I'm only focused on you know."

"The... Essencima... they're not attacking..." Donva murmured, trying not to move his throat enough to get cut.

"They love a bit of violence. Can't say I blame them."

"Once you kill me... you're next..."

"It'll be worth it." Willheim's smile returned. The terrifying smirk made Donva raise hands and tug on the hunter's arms. The weapon hovered in place, with Donva managing to pry it just far enough to keep its cool touch off his skin. 

"You're not... listening!" 

"I'm done with this!" Willheim screamed, pulling his arm from Donva's grasp. After the struggle, Donva was on the ground as Willheim was sent back. He shouted an expletive as he looked at his hand that had been cut by the knife during the tussle. The hunter flicked his hand, letting the blood splatter across the dirt. "You're just like Essencima, you know that?" Willheim said, followed by a grunt. "Irritating. Always getting in the way. And no matter what I do... you just... won't... die..."