Teeth marks, gashes, cuts and bruises littered her body. It hurt. “Oh piz-” Sharply, she bit back down the curse in her second language that wanted to escape. She ran a hand over her face, seeing the change in the status. Ultra Enrage. It was even more vicious with attacks and it killed and ate others with even more fierce attacks and it healed itself! Its life climbed back to around 14 percent! Just how were they supposed to defeat it?! A snort of laughter escaped her as she heard Astor speak. It was a little hysterical, but no one took care. And his last words.. They roused every Player. After all, this was not a real world, after all this was but a virtual world. And yet the instincts that kept her alive were screaming. She did not intend to lose them, or the fear of death. But… Astor was walking towards her. His hair was still down. His arm was gone, blood was dripping with each step he took. Her hand twitched, and the need to heal him almost overwhelmed her, but.. There was no time for healing now was there? It was clear from the state of the monster that if they did not defeat it now, they would all die anyway. As he stopped before her, for moment the darkness seemed to disappear, the sounds of battle likewise. There were only the two of them and the gesture, the touch to brush her hair away, so gentle and careful made her sigh softly and a small, gentle smile spread over her lips. The moment was broken. “Who is the reckless one.” She huffed, folding her hands on her chest, looking pointedly at his missing limb. “Besides, patching you up is my job.” The woman behind Ilusa felt… Unsettled. Her heart beat with more than just adrenaline, anger and fear. Especially as he smiled pained like that, looking at her like this. A grimace appeared on her face at the mention, but she resolutely nodded. “It does seem so. For the greater good and all that… Besides, we are Players.” It went against her every instinct to go into jaws of death for something like that but, it was but a game. This time, she would make the exception. But the idea of fighting alongside Astor again was one that made her blood rush and energy fill her mind and the anger sharpen into weapon. Ilusa took a deep breath, ignoring the pain and focused. The grip on her rod tightened. As he cast his spell, so did she hers; the power from buffs still clung to her. “Strätanë rasjita proushvatën.” The power of light again filled the rod. “Maijilin spöret ne.” To the brim. “Me njamenle.” It had a slight blue hue from the fire. Astor, who ran consumed by fire was a dazzling a point of light. And she followed, struggling but keeping the spell alive. “Quojej frema temamar.” White mixed with blue followed her, even as she thrust forward her rod. The light poured from her wrapping around the fire discharge that Astor sent. The white tinged with blue bolstered the fire, it worked with it to shine light and pierce the enemy. It was a channelling spell, one she had to keep focusing on as it hit the enemy, as it twisted around the fire to burn the unholy thing to cinders. Perhaps that was why she never saw the danger, until suddenly Astor was before her, fire licking his form. There was a moment of confusion, followed by a wet sound of flesh being pierced and then- The rod slipped from her fingers and she stared at him, worry, horror etched onto her face. ‘Not again.’ A stray thought floated by, before she heard that sound again and felt pain. ‘Oh.’ Understanding filled her. Even without looking at the HUD, she knew her health was decreasing. With the hole in her spine she could not heal, especially as she felt her lungs, or whatever was left of it, fill with blood, hindering her speech. The horror left her eyes, there was only sad understanding there. But still she smiled. The pain was immense, but at least, this time- A trembling hand reached her cheek. She watched the teary eyes and smiled a little more, trying to wordlessly reassuring him, that it was not so bad. Ilusa too tried to reach him, but her hands did not want to move, the damage to her spine made them immobile. The fire was dying. Last sparks were the light she could see. He leaned closer and his lips met hers. From surprise her own opened, but she did not avoid them Rather, she weakly pressed back, a barely there movement. His, last words made her eyes widen, shock clearly written on her face and she stared at him dumbfounded. That was beyond her expectations, the honest confession struck her and when her lips opened as she tried to say something back only wet, bloody cough escaped her. The light faded from his eyes and she felt a loss that she did not expect, that hurt, even though she knew it was only momentary. A loud squelch followed as the part of the monster pulled out. It was the only thing that held them up and without it, they both fell down. It didn’t hurt. And the weight of his body ontop of hers was comforting. The warmth was fleeting. The darkness was getting close. The thoughts were slowing down. The death approached. But- Ilusa, no, Nadia, did not want his body to be eaten. With the last vestiges of her will. She gurgled out. A single world. Almost too malformed to work. But the system accepted it. A dim, but pure light flowed from her, to him, wrapping gently around him, protecting him from the monster and- She knew no more.
