I watched on in worry, as Reinhardt did his best to heal the internal bleeding Balmund must have been experiencing. The ribs probably pierced his lungs, that’s why hes wheezing. He probably doesn’t have much time.

Gwen was sitting with her legs crossed, meditating to focus on regenerating her mana as fast as possible. My sister and I just waited there, sitting with bated breath at how the situation would unfold. Can he survive long enough?

I thought about how the fight could have went differently, If Reinhardt had helped them we might not be in this position now. Perhaps even I could’ve done something if I focused all my mana into one spell, even if it’s just for distraction.

As I sat there contemplating, I got broken out of my thoughts, “CONTACT!” Albrecht screamed. My heart immediately went into overdrive as I quickly turned around to evaluate the situation.

I shouldn’t have. A huge pack of Hyenas came out from the clearing, watching and walking towards us. Fuck, they look bigger than their earth counterparts. Rather than a normal Hyena, they were bigger. As they opened their mouths, panting, I saw that their teeth were bigger too.

Erenwald and Albrecht didn’t wait until the Hyenas had all shown themselves. Erenwald started the fight first by firing an overcharged arrow. It shined in bright crimson as it left behind a glowing trail. I watched the arrow as it hit a group of hyenas, detonating in a dazzling explosion and hopefully killing them all.

Albrecht joined the fray as well, harnessing a wind spell around his feet to propel himself with extreme speed. Dancing around the hyenas with grace and agility, he wielded his glowing sword with incredible precision. With each motion, his sword flashed, taking heads and severing limbs of the hyenas.

However, the hyenas seemed never-ending, with more and more of them bypassing the difficult targets and making their way straight towards us. “Reinhardt!” I shook his shoulder as he kept healing Balmund, “They are coming!” he grit his teeth and stood up.

With a fierce determination, Reinhardt unsheathed his longsword, casting a quick glance at my sister and me. "Your lives are the most important," he said firmly, "but if you can, protect Balmund." With those words, he charged forward to meet the oncoming hyenas, his sword glowing softly as he split one of the beasts in two with a swift, powerful blow.

My sister drew her sword as well, looking towards me with glistening eyes. She tried to smile to reassure me, but it came out looking crooked, “D-don’t worry, I’ll protect you!” She turned towards the battle and gulped hard.

I drew my own one-handed sword as well, trying to calm my nerves as I prepared for the impending fight. Our eyes were fixed on Reinhardt as he battled the hyenas with ferocity, his sword flashing as he took down another beast with a swift strike. He moved with fluid grace, jumping back to keep all of his foes within his line of sight. Eight hyenas stood before him, some biding their time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Reinhardt struck out with his sword in a mighty overhead chop aimed at one of the hyenas. The cunning beast dodged at the last moment, but not before receiving a deep gash across its back. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, two more hyenas pounced on Reinhardt. One sinked its sharp teeth into his left forearm, while the other clamped down on his right leg.

Reinhardt quickly dropped his sword and drew his large knife from his belt. With practiced precision, he plunged the blade deep into the belly of the hyena latched onto his arm. He cut it open vertically, spilling its entrails and blood onto the ground. Seamlessly switching the knife to a reverse grip, Reinhardt drove the point deep into the skull of the other hyena, ending its attack for good.

The other hyenas took a step back at the violent display. Reinhardt opened his arms, inviting them in, “COME ON!” he bellowed in a deep tone, “ARE YOU SCARED?”. Intimidated, the Hyenas turned their heads, looking for an easier target. As if he could read their minds, Reinhardt rushed in, but it was too late.

Having found easier prey, three of the hyenas managed to escape Reinhardt’s wrath and rushed toward my sister and I. Fuck! I quickly called on my mana, wanting to even the odds before they got too close. Overcharging my most destructive spell, I let the lightning flow with all my power.

As I unleashed the ball of lightning, a tingling sensation ran through my arms. The glaring orb transforming into a blazing, radiant white, casting an intense glow upon everything within its vicinity. Despite my best efforts, only one of the three hyenas was caught in its destructive path. The other two nimbly dodged the attack at the last moment.

The impact of the lightning was like a clap of thunder, a deafening explosion that shook the ground beneath me. For a brief moment, the world around me became a blur, my senses disoriented by the sheer magnitude of the blast.

With tinnitus in my ears, I took in the result. The hyena in the middle was consumed by the blaze, the dead animal was frothing as its body convulsed from the electric currents coursing through its veins. The sight was both magnificent and terrifying, a testament to my power.

The other Hyenas were disoriented as well, stepping left and right, trying to regain their balance. One of them even stumbled and collapsed to the ground. My sister seized the opportunity, sprinting towards the vulnerable hyena. She plunged her sword deep into its side, the blade sinking into the soft flesh with a disgusting thud.

The hyena started crying out in agony, wildly thrashing on instinct as it lived it’s death throes. The other hyena, having recovered already, pounced on my sister from her side. She lost hold of her sword as the animal tackled her to the ground. The hyena snarled and snapped as it went for Sister's face and neck. Sister did her best to hold the canine mouth back, redirecting it to her right forearm.

The sounds of their struggle blended in a cacophony of snarls and grunts. Shit! I thought as I sluggishly stepped towards my sister. The magic and intense pressure of the situation having had exhausted me. Finally arriving behind the animal that had been mauling my sister, I took my sword in both hands with the strongest grip I could muster, and stabbed it through the back of it’s skull.

My aim was slightly off though and i missed it’s brain. Instead, the sword emerged on the other side of the hyenas mouth. Despite this, the beast still didn’t let up, it thrashed wildly, trying to kill my sister. Using my stuck sword as leverage, I summoned every ounce of my remaining energy to push it off my sister.

The beast and I tumbled to the left of my sister, the beast growing weaker with every passing moment. The beast barely moved now, as my sister used the chance to quickly pull her own sword out of the other hyenas body. Her eyes blazed in anger as she approached. With a shout, she plunged the sword into the Hyenas abdomen, “DIE!” she stabbed, “DIE!”, and again, the beast long dead now, “DIE!” she cried out in wrath as she stabbed one last time.

My sister let go of her sword and collapsed on her knees, as if her strings had been cut. Tears started rolling down her eyes as she embraced herself amidst the sea of blood. She shook and sobbed, quietly crying.

With exhaustion creeping deeply into my bones, I tried standing up, just to slip and land with my face in the blood. I managed on the second try and walked slowly to my sister. I kneeled next to her and wrapped my arms around her tightly in a comforting hug. “It’s okay,” I whispered softly into her ears, “They are gone now.”

We remained like this, embracing each other as the sounds of battle died out. I kept whispering her reassurances as she hugged me tightly, crying into my shoulder.

Some time passed and sis stopped crying, we still hugged though, comfortably taking in each others warmth. While relaxing in her soft embrace, I thought about the intense fight. We were barely able to kill 3 Hyenas, while Albrecht and Erenwald just decimated their numbers.

It really put into perspective how weak I still was and how much room I had left to improve. I fucked up with the spell too, only hitting a single Hyena and overcharging it with way too much mana! I remembered the sluggishness I felt after casting. If I didn’t have sister to take the brunt of the attention, I would have been dog food! I shudder imagining it.

While thinking about what I could have done better, I heared footsteps from behind me, “Are you two alright?” came the exhausted, yet firm voice of Reinhardt.

I tried turning around to answer him, but sister didn’t let me go, hugging me harder. I decided to just answer from this position instead, “We are mostly alright Reinhardt, Sis got bit in the arm.” I told him with little energy in my voice. “It was close, she almost died.”

“I see,” I didn’t see his expression, but I could imagine him looking at my sister with pity, “I wish we had more time, but we really need to go. It’s dangerous to stay here.”

I strongly agreed with him, definitely not wanting a repeat of any of this. I stopped wrapping my arms around sis, “Come on sis,” I softly whispered. I tried to convince her, “we need to go. I’ll hug you all you want later okay?” she reacted at that.

She loosened her hug and looked me in the eye. With upturned eyebrows and innocent wide eyes, “You promise?” she pleaded quietly with me.

I gave her a tired smile, “Yes sis, I promise.” I helped her stand up, as her legs were still shaky from the confrontation earlier.

As I surveyed the aftermath, my eyes were met with a scene of utter carnage. The once pristine clearing was now littered with the fallen bodies of hyenas, their limbs and heads scattered haphazardly about. Surely Albrecht at work. Others had arrows sticking out of their bodies or skulls, some with burned fur. Where Reinhardt fought, cleaved halfs of hyenas lay on the ground. The rest had singular big puncture wounds from his knife.

The clearing itself bore the scars of battle, with craters dotting the ground from Erenwald's explosive arrows. The ground was soaked in the blood of the hyenas, painting a gruesome picture that resembled a battlefield from a war. The deep red hue added an eerie and disturbing element to the already horrific scene.

I let out a sigh as I approached Balmund, who lay motionless on the ground. Gwen was already at work, her magic emanating a soft green glow as she tended to his wounds. The sight was awe-inspiring, as I watched the deep purple hue of his ribs gradually fade to yellow. Balmunds wheezing stabilized into a calm breathing flow. In my former world, he would have surely died from his injuries.

Balmund stirred, his voice barely a whisper as he asked, "What happened?" He opened his eyes slightly, fixing his gaze on Reinhardt.

"We won," Reinhardt responded, his tired voice gruff. "The beast is dead and scavengers attacked, but we fought them off. Nobody died."

Balmund gave a small nod. "Let's head back to the horses and set up camp," Erenwald interjected, "We only have an hour and a half of daylight left, and we need to prepare for the night."

“Balmund is in no position to move!” countered gwen angrily, “If we go now his wou-“ she stopped talking as Balmund grabbed her arm and held it with a strong grip.

“I’ll be fine,” he croaked out while coughing, “we must go!” his visage turned into one of determination.

Gwens face changed between emotions and landed on resignment, “Fine,” She sighed, looking at Erenwald, “let’s go then.” She spit out.

With Erenwald and Gwen's support, Balmund rose to his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain. We made our way towards the horses, with Albrecht leading the way and Reinhardt bringing up the rear. My sister took my hand as we walked, a comfort amidst the chaos.