Fate’s hand quickened his pace, swapping between bottles until it happened upon a bottle whose faint red glow from his pocket made the boy grin slightly. Just then, though, the boar began its fierce charge, bolting toward him even faster than before!

[Grunt!!!]

Seeing the beast begin its assault, Fate’s only thoughts were of healing himself and getting out of its way as soon as he could, to run away and find a place to hide! 

-Damn, come on you f***ing little…!

However, try as he might, his trembling fingers couldn’t steady themselves enough to draw the potion from his pocket, as if fearing that it might disappear and spoil the hand’s chance of healing its counterpart, much to Fate’s dismay…

The boar steadily grew closer...four meters...three meters...two meters…

Yet even as it grew closer, Fate still couldn’t bring himself to lift the bottle to his lips, watching helplessly as the bloodied beast became clearer in his vision, its tusks covered in debris! 

-Please...just move...just move...just!!!

Fate was unable to think, his only thoughts being of escape as the boar charged ever closer, now only a meter away! But, as his mind wouldn’t direct him, his instincts saw fit to take hold...

Suddenly, just as the boar came within striking range of Fate, his eyes sharpened as he let the red bottle fall back into his pocket and raised his left hand up at incredible speed. Soon, a cascade of red and blue sparks began to surround his arm, burning his skin as they made their way down to his hand!

-What am I…?!!

『Oh...sh*...!!!』

The sparks coalesced in a small orb on Fate’s palm, before launching towards the ground, sizzling his hand! All of this took place in a split second, and in the next second that followed, as the shocked boar’s tusks were almost in Fate’s face…

[Boom!!!]

An explosion of blue flames came into being between them, blowing them both in opposite directions as the burning mana illuminated the night! And, after several minutes, when the flame had seemingly consumed itself, leaving only a meter-long charred mark on the ground and the two combatants nowhere to be found...

….

Fate had been thrown into the forest by the force of the explosion, unable to think of why he had responded that way, even if it was by instinct. However, his momentum cared little for him, as he crashed through branch after branch, before finally colliding with a very thick branch that hung out from its host tree, as if trying to isolate itself from it…

Fate: “Auggghh!!!”

Immediately after impact, Fate began to cough up blood as he looked at his body in horror...He was covered in various cuts and bruises, his right arm was still bent and broken, his left arm and hand were covered in burns from his attack, and it felt like his insides were on fire…

-Why...the…

『Why the hell did you pull an asinine stunt like that?!!』

Fate winced as the screaming voice of his counterpart ran through his mind, but began to drag his body into the foliage of the large tree, before lying down in the embrace of the branches, feeling that his mind had begun to wander into a fog...

-On Earth...a tree that was this large probably wouldn’t have been an oak tree…

『Hey, Dr. House, I think this patient might have hit his head too hard...because he just nearly got myself and himself, with the former being more important than the later, KILLED!!!』

Fate: *cough!*

Fate continued to cough up blood, his lungs continuing to burn as he struggled to breath properly. Even in his hazy state, he still questioned how it was that he hadn’t died from that explosion, or why his instincts had commanded him to create the explosion in the first place, instead of simply running away as his mind had wanted him to do. 

Fate: *cough!* *cough!*

However, coming up with nothing as his mind continued to drift further and further into the mist, Fate, now lacking his previous fears and hesitancy, retrieved the bottle of red potion, even as he felt his arm threaten to collapse and his hand furiously burning…

『Yes, drink it!!! Do not let me get killed, again, you crazy bastard!!!』

Fate felt his body respond to the ‘suggestion’ from his counterpart, as he unsteadily raised his throbbing arm and poured half of the small bottle’s contents into his mouth. He felt a slight tingle pass through him, working its way through his body as the sensation slowly began to fade away…

-...No….

Fate felt the tingling in his body begin to subside, but could still feel his entire burning and his lungs slowly continuing to fill with blood, which made its way out through the corners of his lips…

And slowly, as despair enveloped Fate and his blood continued to slowly leak into the tree, the forest grew silent...

…

Jacob: "Hmmm..."

Meanwhile, from the charred center point of the ring of trees, Jacob looked away from the direction Fate had soared towards, and fixed his eyes on a sinister miasma that had begun to leak from a new path, of fractured trees, that had been created by the explosion, with a sadistic smile...

Jacob: "Young master, it seems that you've only made your first test harder on yourself..."

...