The tide does not turn

(Rudeus POV)

When I awoke again, I was being shaken by my shoulders.

I still wasn't in good enough condition to have a clear mind, but a warm feeling brought me out of mine.

I think I heard voices, but all I could hear was muffled voices getting overturned by a ringing in my ears.

When I finally snapped out of it, I panicked and frantically looked around myself.

"Rudeus, calm down."

The voice that reached out to me wasn't calm, but it was enough to get my attention. Although my eyesight was still damaged because of the bleeding Demon Eye, my left eye was intact.

It was Ghislaine. She was missing her eyepatch but still had her right eye closed, with blood traces on it.

Around us were injured people or those who tried to treat them—a total warzone vibe, and us being the losing side.

I looked up to see the red barrier missing. The earlier attack was most likely the cause of its disappearance.

Quickly putting my hand on my head to cast Healing Magic on myself, I was shaken out of it by Ghislaine.

"Rudues, forget about the eye; only one monster left."

"Wait, one? So it is done?"

I got up quickly to look around, searching for the others, but the only one I saw was Sylphy treating another knight.

"Where are the other? What happened over there?"

"The monster is like a human-shaped insect that can regenerate. No matter how often we cut it, it would reassemble itself again. At one point, it managed to paralyze us, steal North God's weapon, and attack your barrier.

I left to check on you guys while the others keep it at bay, but it doesn't look too good."

"Wha... I... HOW!?!?"

'Calm down, kid.'

'Our odds of winning are slim if even the three of them can hold that thing off. And now she has a God-tier weapon with which she could destroy the entire city! How are we supposed to win like that?'

'It must be a mutated Demon corpse of the Immortal tribe, who can reassemble their bodies countless times.'

'THAT IS NOT REASSURING!'

'The best part is only now to come. My great-grandfather, Kalman I, invented a technique to kill an immortal. He intended to use that against the Demon Lord before he took her in as his wife after deciding against killing her.'

'Wait, that's great. Does Sandor know it?'

'Not sure. Sandor's mother taught him, but I'm unsure if she ever learned it herself.'

This back-and-forth is irritating! I will have to go over there, use my Magic to assist in the battle and give Sandor an opening. My body may be internally injured, but it can still move.

"I'll go out."

"No, you will not."

"Ghislaine, this needs my assistance. Once I face whatever is out there, I'll figure something out."

"You're not in the state to fight at all."

"The only damage I have is a damaged eye and a mild concussion. If things go too tense, I might be able to unlock my curse."

"That's not what I meant."

Ghislaine then grabbed my right hand and pulled up my sleeve, showing the fully bloodstained bandages I had on. And I do mean fully. It's felt squishy, given the amount of blood I must have lost for that.

"Do you think you can take anyone on being like this? I had a bit of a talk with that Timothy man. Your dragon brought you to a much more severe state. Is this your every plan? Going in injured and more of a corpse than a fighter?

I don't care what rank you are; this isn't the place for you to be strong anymore. I won't let you go out there like this."

"You're only saying that because you know that it would be something Eris would want you to do because she couldn't do it alone."

"Yes! That is exactly it. And you know why? Because she loves you, you dumbass. And should you die and Eris grieves over you for the rest of her life, then I will forever hate myself for knowing that I could've stopped you."

This argument is going anywhere, just like earlier.

"Let. Me. Go!"

"Over my dead body!"

The more we glared at each other, the tighter Ghislaine gripped my arm. If it means getting out there, I'm ready to slip through her grip.

But then my senses were set on alert. Something was coming this way, and it was targeting Ghislaine and me.

As much as I got into a heated argument with her today, I wasn't cold-hearted enough to just let her die if I could prevent it.

Fully activating my Touki, I put all my effort into pushing the two of us away from the object heading towards us.

We managed to evade it in less than a split of a second... or so I thought.

I have no idea if it was because of my Touki's lessening performance, but I was suddenly much further away from Ghislaine than I thought I should have been, and a weird atmosphere enveloped the area.

Some whip-like object smashed on the ground between us, and the next course was aimed at me.

I aimed both hands at it and intended to cut it with Fire Magic, but some twisted force crushed my elbows. It felt like the space at my sides was getting compressed into a singular point, severing my forearms from my upper arms.

It hurt like hell. It was worse than getting them cut.

Luckily the stumps were sealed shut from being twisted, but that made it all the more painful from having my skin torn apart.

In the next moment, the whip made some noises, like bones readjusting together, and took away the remains of my arms lying on the ground.

Meanwhile, I was at a loss. Without my arms, I couldn't cast any Healing Magic or defend myself properly, or anyone for that matter.

My eyes darted back to Ghislaine and the people behind her, Sylphy included. They had despair written on their face, seeing the state I was in now.

But it wasn't long before the next attack came at me, a diagonal power slash this time.

In disregard of my physical state, I unleashed my Touki and used it to jump to the right, but then the weird atmosphere covered me again, and I was instead on the way to getting hit by the power slash.

'No way. Teleportation?'

My surprise was met with immense pressure against my chest, my Touki blocking it, but it was not enough to stop me from being sent flying through both the wall I created and the city's wall.

I would have suffered much more damage if it hadn't been for my Touki being active. However, as abnormally strong as it was, I still suffered damage internally and could feel how the walls behind me crumbled from the impact.

My consciousness began to waver, and my perception was in chaos, like the inside of the city I should be in now.

My body and mind became completely numb, leaving me with no sensations or thoughts.

Did I lay down on my back, stomach, or side, or even hang from somewhere on the edge? No information came through, and thanks to my state, I doubt I could do something about it.

'Now look at you. You're a mess, and I must always clean up for you. Let me see what I can do for you now, kid. Wait a second. Who are... I see. The true pawns. Well, nevermind, then. For the sake of us both, do what you must, kid.'

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