He landed in a heap and pain shot through his body as a torrent of bruises and cuts were brought to life with each twist and tumble. Still, Ash grit through it all as he slid to a stop and rose back to his feet. 

Blood trickled in thin rivulets down the side of his head, and his conscious swam for a moment, but he refocused himself and searched for the bharghests. Of the two, the one that had borne the brunt of his Thunderous Wave still laid on the ground, smoke wafting off the charred wounds that the spell had raked through its sides. It might’ve still been alive given the way its body twitched every now and then, though that could’ve also been a side effect of the copious amounts of electricity that he’d sent into it. 

Either way, it was out of the picture. The third one though, he spied standing a ways away. The flame that had taken its face had snuffed out, leaving a furless, disfigured and melted patch of flesh that ran along its jaw and up to one blinded eye. It was reeling from his attack, but far from dealt with. Ash grimaced and prepared to face it down when Myr’s roar echoed through the clearing, snatching his attention. His gaze snapped to her despite his own foe stood before him, and he found her in the midst of deathly combat of her own. One dead bhargest laid crumpled beneath a sizable slab of earth, having been reduced to more paste than monster, but the other was holding its own. 

It was the tier three, he realized as he focused his senses onto it, and unlike the rest, it had true offensive abilities all its own. Tendrils of shadow given whip-like form lashed out from its bulk and snapped against the defenses that Myr had raised to keep them at bay, gouging sizable chunks from the earth. 

The woman herself was in a state sorrier than Ash’s own. One arm hung limply by her side, a deep bleeding wound snaking down her shoulder and onto her back, and a thousand smaller wounds littered her bruised and battered body. 

And despite all that, her fighting spirit wasn’t stifled in the least. Her mana exploded and Ash saw the earth beneath her feet turn to sand in a rapidly expanding radius around her. Figures of dust and sand started to emerge into being that Ash recognized, and a fierce wind kicked up in the middle of the clearing. Ash recognized all the signs from his own experiences facing down the woman. 

Myr was going all-in, which was a sign all on its own of how much she was struggling against the beast. He needed to join her. He turned his attention back to the remaining bhargest on his side, and the beast did the same. Despite its lack of sentience, he though he saw an inkling of the same resolve that he felt coursing through his own veins in its feral gaze. 

Whatever came next would be the deciding moment. 

Ash bent low and pressed his palm against the earth. A simple spark from his Burning Hands was left imbued in the grass, slowly sizzling away unnoticed. That done, he rose and mustered Burning Bolts on both his palms and loosed. The arrows of fire seared through the air and struck nothing, their target having dissolved into motes of shadow long before they’d even crossed the halfway point. 

Ash tensed and expanded his senses. He knew that it was coming for him. He was hoping for it. 

As expected, the barest whisper of mana tingled in his senses from a patch of earth a few feet behind him and Ash dove out of the way. For all his readiness, the monster was faster and its claw tore a gouge along his back. His leather armour bore the brunt of the strike, and his enhanced skin proved strong enough to withstand the rest without breaking, but a fresh note of pain joined the symphony of agony that coursed through him nonetheless. More so, the force of the blow was still enough to shove him off-balance and onto the earth. 

Ash swore and immediately injected as much mana as he could onto the patch of slightly smoldering grass that had been beneath his feet. It was the bharghest that stood above it then, its posture mid-pounce, its maw bared and its eyes wide with malice. 

What followed came almost in slow-motion to Ash’s senses. He was half-way down to the ground, his balance lost but his gaze sharp. His eyes met that of the beast’s and he saw a hint of alarm bloom in its mien. Its attention snapped down to the barely visible hint of flame in the grass, and motes of shadow came into being around its figure. 

It had reacted quickly. 

But not quickly enough. 

His mana fanned the sparks left by his Burning Hands into a blaze worth the name. A conflagration of flame erupted where the beast had been, licking at its legs and soft underbelly. An excruciated howl left its lips and Ash crashed onto the earth. A wince took his lips as a spike of pain shot up his battered body but he ignored it in favor of reorienting himself to the beast. 

The bharghest disappeared in a bloom of shadow and reappeared several meters away still on fire. It cried out and fell to the ground in a desperate attempt to snuff out the flame, but Ash wouldn’t allow it such an easy escape. He poured more mana into the magical flame and its intensity surged despite the monster’s best efforts. Its cries subsequently grew in intensity and its efforts redoubled, but its fur proved too flammable and Ash’s murderous rage too great. 

Within minutes the beast was little more than a charred, smoking husk and it collapsed to the earth, its life spent. Ash watched it fall and felt his knees give in as well. He was so tired. Less than a quarter of his mana remained and his stamina was in the gutter. His aches and pains had aches and pains of their own, and the desire to just lay down and give in to his exhaustion was strong. 

But he didn’t. Couldn’t. His eyes turned to where Myr continued to battle the sole remaining bharghest. The beast’s body was a canvas of wounds and bruises, but Myr was in much the same state, if not worse. Her exhaustion was made plain on her face and he didn’t doubt that her mana was close to tanking as well. If things kept up, she was likely to lose. The tier advantage the monster held was the edge that was working in its favour. 

Fortunately, she wasn’t alone anymore, and the bharghest seemed wily enough to have sensed that. It turned its malevolent gaze towards the corpses he’d made of its pack and then towards him. In its eye he saw a hungering, festering hatred that far surpassed any simple bestial desire. It intensely wanted him dead. He shot back with a near-feral glare of his own, his lips bared in a snarl as he rose to his feet and mustered a Fire Bolt in his palm. 

The creature eyed the flame that danced on his palm and then again Myr. A few seconds passed in which no one moved, and the entire clearing seemed as if frozen in time. Ash felt a bead of sweat crawl down his skin, mingling with the ample dirt and blood that stained him, before dropping off his chin. 

The beast growled then and disappeared in a flash of shadow. Both Ash and Myr tensed, prepared for an attack on either of their persons. Seconds passed and none came. Ash still didn’t lower his guard, his jade-green eyes scanning the surrounding forest for any sign of the monster. 

It was only Myr’s voice that eventually snapped him from his weariness. 

“It left, I think.” she said. He turned to her then and she immediately collapsed to her knees. Ash felt worry bloom in him and sprinted towards her despite protestations of his own body. 

“I’m okay, kid. Just... get me inside the burrow. We’re open targets out ‘ere.” Ash nodded and grunted as he lent her a shoulder to lean on as she rose. Together, they made their way to safety as quickly as they could manage. A wave of her hand saw the near-broken slab of earth that had kept the monsters out dissolve back into the earth, and they strode in. A fresh Earthen Shield rose to keep out the bharghest should it return. 

Ash half-carried the woman to her bed and allowed her to slump limply onto its welcoming softness. 

A wince caught her features as she laid down, but it was followed by a relieved smile. “Ain’t nothin’ like a battle to the death to make a day, eh?” 

Ash groaned as he collapsed onto a cushion. Though he didn’t quite agree with her wry statement, he appreciated her humour nonetheless. She wasn’t in too terrible a state if she still had the energy to joke around. It heartened him slightly. 

“Calixxa?” he called out into the depths of the burrow. He didn’t see the girl anywhere, but considering how terrified she must’ve been, that came as no surprise. And as expected, the door to one of the storage boxes tucked away in one edge of the hall creaked open and a green head eventually peeked out from inside. 

The little goblin’s eyes were red and tears readily streaked out down her cheeks, and those tears only intensified as soon as she saw the state of them. The child burst from her hiding place and ran over to him to engulf his leg in a tight hug. Ash winced as a fresh bolt of pain coursed through him, and she must’ve felt his reaction because she immediately pushed away, her eyes wide. 

“C-Calixxa is sorry!” she hollered in between sniffles. “This is because of Calixxa! Calixxa is dangerous. Calixxa did this! Cal-” 

Ash placed a palm on her head and she froze. A strained smile took his lips, and it faltered when he realized that even smiling left waves of pain coursing through him. 

“This isn’t anyone’s fault but those damn monsters. You had nothing to do with this.” he said softly and in the most reassuring tone he could muster. “And I can spend hours telling you that again and again without a problem, Cali, but as you can see, I’m not exactly in the best state right now. Can you help me out by going into the medicinal storage and getting as much of the green paste and bandages as you can? Plus, a tub of water and some rags too?” 

The goblin girl looked at him with wide, worried eyes and hurriedly nodded. She scampered away and disappeared behind a curtain. Ash heard boxes being moved and the occasional sound of something crashing into the ground before she returned carrying as many bags of the paste as her little arms could managed. He thanked her and tiredly turned towards Myr. The woman’s eyes turned to him. 

“You good to patch yourself up?” he asked. 

The woman smiled. “Nope. You’re...” she paused, her expression turning pained as she shifted, “-gonna have to do it for me.” 

He rolled his eyes as a lecherous smile crossed her lips. Crude as she was, he couldn’t disagree. Myr was obviously in no state to do so herself. Hell, he was surprised that she was still conscious and talking considering the ample wounds that littered her body. Especially the festering mass of blood that was her shoulder. The sight of it was enough to make him wince. 

He supposed that her resilience just spoke of how insane her constitution was. 

“Fine.” Ash said. He’d have to make it quick though. His body was slowly starting to give in to its own pains. He needed rest, and soon. Still, he waited until Calixxa had brought him everything he needed and asked her to take shelter in her room until he called for her again. He didn’t want her seeing anything more than she needed to. 

The girl seemed dejected by the dismissal but quietly obeyed and left. He sighed as he watched her go and knew that they’d need to talk soon. But that came later. 

For the moment, he started by stripping her of her armour and inner wear. Myr actually blushed as he stripped her of the last of her bloodied and torn clothes, leaving her naked self bare to the world. Ash’s eyes traversed her body and for all that she was a beautiful and well-built woman, he couldn’t help but find his gaze fixating on the bloody scars and wounds that marred her body. His fist clenched tight and a sudden and overwhelming sense of guilt washed over him as he realized that her state was all his own fault. 

He’d dragged her into this, no matter that she’d volunteered for it. He knew well that for reasons that she’d never explained and he’d never asked, she seemed to have some sense of responsibility when it came to him, and he’d all but taken advantage of that for to his own personal issues. And it hadn’t even been the first time. 

How many more times would he allow her to do so? What if Calixxa really was some font of bad luck, and they would be attacked again and again? Would he continue to let Myr throw herself into harm’s way every time? 

When would it stop? Until she was maimed permanently? Until she died? 

The thought left a sick feeling bubbling in his gut. 

And yet, he couldn’t abandon Calixxa. He just couldn’t. 

But something needed to change. Something had to be done. 

“Stop starin’ kid. You’re not thinkin’ of takin’ advantage of little old me in my weak state, are you? Can’t say that I’m against the idea though.” 

His self-aggrandizing line of thought shattered at the woman’s sexually charged remark. He turned to eye her, and despite her joking tone, he saw that her eyes betrayed worry and fear. She’d noticed his mood. 

“You didn’t cause this, idiot.” she said after a moment. “Ain’t that what you said to the brat? Listen to your own damn advice. I chose to fight. A wuss like you couldn’t have forced me into anythin’ in your lifetime.” 

He chortled despite himself and nodded. “I know. It still... hurts. What if you’d...” he left the sentence unsaid, as if afraid that he’d jinx her. 

“Then I’d have died an’ it’d have been a great death. What’s to it? I ain’t no immortal. I’ll die someday anyway so why not die fightin’ alongside a friend?” 

His heart clenched at her casual tone when speaking of such a dire topic, but he couldn’t find the strength to disregard her words. He was just so tired. He swept a hand through his aching scalp and loosed a long breath before he turned and met Myr’s searching gaze. “You’re right. Sorry. I’m just... in a mood.” 

“Damn right you are, an’ it ain’t the right one. A lady like me is all naked in front of you an’ you’re depressed? That’s the real crime here, kid.” 

He laughed at that and nodded, and strangely enough, he found his mood lightened ever so slightly. Enough that his gaze actually crawled down onto the woman’s womanhood. He blinked as he realized what he was staring at, and a fist lightly slapped against his shoulder. He winced as the touch set off a whole mess of pain shooting up his arm. 

“Don’t stare, idiot.” remarked Myr as she turned away, a furious blush on her face. 

Ash laughed even more at that before he dipped his rags into the tepid water and started to wipe away the blood and grime that marred her body.