For the second time, Acero and Tori stood in front of the large gate that led outside. Though, this time, they were both a lot more worn out. Sweat dripped Tori’s face as she had to run with Gide on her back. Meanwhile, Acero trailed behind her with his hand on the wall as support. He panted and sweated more than her.

She observed him for a bit, trying to figure out what ailed him. “Go ahead and catch your breath, we might need to sprint. And worst case,” she paused to check if Gide was still breathing. “I’ll drop him if I need to. It’s great to work hard for what you think is right, but don’t die for it. There might come a time when you’ll need to do something you don’t agree with just to survive. Remember that if you want to live a long life,” she lectured him.

Acero nodded in response. The weight in his chest was too heavy for him. Running and carrying it around tired him out, preventing him from replying to her with words of his own. A lot of thoughts ran around his head, he was flooded with information. But it wasn’t anxiety that he felt, it was something else that he couldn’t recognize until later on.

“You look ready enough, let’s go. No matter how painful it feels, don’t stop moving those legs,” Tori reminded him. Though it was almost as if she said that to herself.

 

They push open the gate that leads outside, cracking it open a tiny bit so that they can slip through it and not make it noticeable from far away. Outside was pure chaos. Multiple carts, tents, barrels, and other stuff were on fire, and there were multiple craters on the ground. These were the effects of the explosions they heard earlier in the prison.

Luckily for both of them, it didn’t seem like there was anyone around the front gate, Darius and his gang had left it unattended while trying to chase whoever was responsible for it. Not the smartest move they could make, but it was on brand with how they essentially failed to smuggle a piece of paper while being the most prominent group in the drug trade.

 

Acero and Tori immediately sprinted in the direction that Sally told them to. They weren’t trying to find out whether or not Darius was able to capture the culprit.

They were still in the Salt Wasteland, it only took Acero one look at the ground to figure that out. But there was one problem though, he didn’t know exactly how far away they were from the last town. The only difference he saw in the environment was that there were more rocks and soil than salt in the ground, there were even small plants that somewhat resembled grass growing from it.

Shouting came from behind the two as they ran up the steep hill.

“They’re getting away!” one of Darius’ lackeys shouted.

The two didn’t waste any time and climbed up the hill much faster. Rumbling came from behind them as the rest of the gang ran after them. But Acero could tell from the way their feet hit the ground and the sound of their labored breathing that they were as tired as they were. They’d been running around the area trying to find out who the culprit was after all. Acero didn’t think that they could catch up to them.

However, a familiar bleat rang in the air. Acero had to turn around and check it for himself. The four thin legs made the salt crystals bubble up and vaporize. A flame that was supposed to be red had turned yellow because of the high amounts of salt in the area. Each step it took left charred footprints on the ground.

It was a Magma Deer, Acero had fought one before. This was the same kind of animal that left him with severe burns all across his body. And Darius rode on top of it with a customized saddle that would prevent him from getting burned.

 

After making brief eye contact with Acero, Darius brought out his large axe from his back and pointed it at them. He and the Magma Deer went into a trot as they charged toward them.

Acero had to focus on climbing up the hill, turning his head back forward. On top of the hill was a dead tree. Sally had marked it on her makeshift map and used it as some sort of landmark for them to use.

But Darius gained upon them with every second that passed. Once they reached the top of the hill and touched the tree, he was already a few paces away from them.

Suddenly, a large mass of vines appeared from above them. It was like a huge malleable monster swallowed them whole. The scene made Darius and his mount pause for a bit, taking caution of the unknown entity.

 

“I’ll be taking these sacks of shit,” Sally said from above her Vine Golem.

The top half of her face was covered by a mask made out of vines. She also wore a tattered cloak that she stole from someone sleeping on the streets of the town they were previously at. This hid her identity from Darius as she was still a fighter in the Jungle.

Darius spat on the ground. “Were you the one that threw bombs at our base?” he asked.

“Hmm? I’m not sure what you mean. You have a cute dog though. Have a good day!” she said with a grin on her face. She stuck her hands back in her golem and ran off.

Darius tightened his grip on the reins and clicked his tongue, ordering the Magma Deer to go forward. “Who are you working for!?” he screamed as he chased them.

“Ugh, I hate clingy men,” Sally sighed. “Mister? I said that your dog thing looked cute, not you. Can you please stop following me? It’s kind of creepy,” she said.

Acero’s head popped out of the mass of vines behind her. He took a deep breath in as if he just swam in the water.

“Legs! Get the legs. Crippling at least one of them would stop it from jumping around,” Acero said.

“Oh yeah, you’ve fought one of these before,” she said. “Of course, I already knew about that. Who do you think did most of the capturing for the beasts you’ve fought?”

Sally made her golem jump in the air. Acero saw nothing blocking their way, so he looked at the ground. A vine trap exploded from below, catching the Magma Deer in it. Even though it had the elements of fire, the vines merely overwhelmed it and suffocated it, preventing the flames from spreading.

The vines caught the deer but it didn’t catch Darius. He jumped off the Magma Deer the moment the trap activated. Rolling into the ground to break his fall, it didn’t seem like he had a chance to catch up to them now.

Sally was about to turn her head to laugh at the gang leader, but the glowing edge of his axe caught her eyes.

“I might not have prepared for whatever he’s about to do,” Sally said honestly.

“He can channel his energy into his objects, and his weapon can handle huge amounts of it. He’ll fire it off and it’ll pass through this entire construct like butter!” Tori explained.

“Yeah, definitely didn’t prepare for that,” Sally sighed. “Hang on tight.”

“Looks like he leveled up too. The last reports said that he was still Level 12. He’s 13 now,” Tori said.

Acero noticed a small blue square flash in front of her eyes for a split second. It must’ve been the technique she talked about back in the prison.

Suddenly, an explosive sound disrupted his thoughts. Darius had released his power. Now a wave of energy went their way. It was shaped the same way he had swung his axe.

 

Sally split the golem in half. The part that carried them changed its shape into something that resembled a horse, while the one that was left behind turned into a shield.

Darius’ attack blasted it. The wave of energy was still the same shape but it was significantly weaker after getting into contact with the shield. Because Sally’s golem was much shorter, the wave went above their heads and missed them. Hot air temporarily hit Acero’s face as it went past him.

Another crackling sound came from Darius, who was several hundred meters away. He charged up another attack.

“Heh, don’t think I can do that move one more time,” Sally said. “Y'all want to gamble if it hits us or not?” she asked the two.

“I think I can block it,” Acero said.

“Are you crazy!?” Tori exclaimed.

“I’ll see you in hell if you just get decapitated by that thing after I spent the last few days plotting to get you out,” Sally said.

“Tori, can you make sure I don’t fall off? Get behind me,” Acero said.

“It was nice knowing you,” Tori said.

 

The explosion came, and the blinding light came at him. He sat at the back of the vine golem with his shield out, blocking his chest with it. Then, he summoned his helmet.

The moment the wave of energy hit him, he felt his shoulders and the sides of his body burn up as it was the only part of his body that wasn’t covered by his summons. Though, the damage wasn’t as bad because the leather coat took most of it.

He released his summons and looked behind him, checking if they were harmed. Tori was stunned that he was able to defend against it, while Sally chuckled.

She checked on him, then she looked over to Darius to see if he’d send another attack. “I think he gave up on pursuing us, for now,” Sally said. “Hah, look at that stupid smile on your face.”

Acero brought his hands up to his face, and he was grinning from ear to ear. He had finally realized why Reno willingly fought against fighters who were in another class than him. Reno gambled his life just to experience this exhilarating feeling, it made that miserable man feel alive.

 

“How do you kill someone several Levels above you?” Acero asked both of them after a few minutes of riding in silence.

“If you want to survive, you don’t even try. If you don’t have a choice, you’ll need a plan at least,” Tori answered earnestly.

“Grit and creativity,” Sally simply said.

“Mmhph,” Gide grumbled, still unconscious.

 

Acero started to imagine how it would feel to defeat Darius. Little did he know that this was the moment that started his gambling addiction. As of that moment, it was the happiest he had ever been.