Lenny

Ritzy, Gerhart, and Talia stood right in front of Mognog and blocked most of his view. But his trained eyes were still more than good enough to catch sight of someone raising a bow through the gaps between the trio's legs. However, he wasn't quick enough to shout, and the three didn't react as fast as they would have needed to dodge the arrow as it pierced through the air.

At Mognog's shout, Gerhart and Ritzy turned around and saw a horribly disfigured and burned man covered in scars lowering his bow. The left side of his face was so badly damaged that even his eye had been lost to the fire. And not a single hair remained on his head. No eyebrows or lips, either.

It looked like it was a miracle the man was even alive.

"Damn. I was aiming for you with that one, Gerhart."

The man's raspy voice forced its way out of the man's burned and smoke-damaged throat, much to the displeasure of the straining remnants of the man's mouth.

"But I guess my aim has worsened after I lost my fucking eye!"

The man's angry shout carried a clearer tone, and it made Gerhart and Ritzy realize who it was.

"Lenny…!?"

"Holy fuck, man, you look disgusting!"

Lenny glared at Ritzy.

"And whose fault is that? You fucking demon! You made me look like this, you vile creature."

"No way, dude. I was trying to kill you, not transform you into that."

"I will make you regret ever being born. I will tear off your flesh, piece by piece. I will crush your bones, burn your vessels, and feed your innards to the dogs. And I will keep feeding you potions until your mind breaks. And when your mind breaks, I will–"

"...guys…."

Talia's weak voice made Ritzy and Gerhart stop listening to Lenny's monologue. They looked at Talia hanging onto Gerhart's arms. Upon feeling Talia's weakness, Gerhart instantly held her up and supported her weight. That was when he felt and saw it.

Lenny's arrow had pierced straight through Talia's chest, a glistening arrowhead just barely visible under her mostly torn shirt.

Talia coughed, and blood dribbled down the edges of her mouth.

By the looks of it, Lenny's poorly aimed arrow had somehow found its way, not only to Talia's chest but also through her heart.

Gerhart's mind blanked. He handed over his potion and Talia to Ritzy, who dropped his bag and bone club on the ground and received the potion and Talia.

However, Talia was too heavy for him to hold up, especially if he was going to try and get the arrow out of her and use the potion, so he sat her on the ground and leaned her upper body against himself. He was careful not to make rough movements or bump against the arrow, but Talia still grunted in pain and coughed up another mouthful of blood.

"W-w-what do I do?!"

Ritzy's hands trembled as they flitted back and forth between the arrow and the potion. He didn't know if he should unplug the potion and give some to Talia so that she didn't die at once or if he should try and pull out the arrow. If he was going to pull out the arrow, in which direction?

Ritzy stuttered and began saying a dozen different things at the same time, none of which made sense.

"I-I-I can't do this! Gerry!"

Ritzy looked around frantically so that he could ask Gerhart for help. But Gerhart didn't respond. It didn't even seem like he heard Ritzy as he raised his bow, arrow in hand, and aimed at Lenny.

Lenny didn't stand still and sought cover as soon as he realized what Gerhart was doing.

Seeing Gerhart deal with Lenny, Ritzy knew he couldn't ask him for help.

He had to deal with his dying friend alone. Panic encroached on his mind and prevented him from forming any coherent thoughts. But he still knew he had to do something, or Talia would die.

"Kiddo!"

Ritzy didn't even hear Mognog's voice over the deafening tumult in his mind.

"Hey! Kid!"

Ritzy moved his hand toward the arrow. Since it was the source of what was plaguing Talia and the cause of her injury, it had to be removed. And then, he could apply the potion and save Talia.

That thought pieced itself together in Ritzy's mind and gave him some kind of direction to follow. It also cleared his mind enough for him to hear Mognog's voice.

"STOP! Don't take it out, kid!"

Ritzy looked at Mognog with blank and confused eyes. Since Mognog was interfering when he was in the middle of the process of saving Talia, Ritzy's immediate thought was to get rid of him. He began undoing the contract to send him back to where he came from.

"If you take out the arrow like that, you'll tear her heart apart! You have to snap it or cut it first!"

Mognog had seen through what Ritzy was planning to do and stopped him when his hand was less than a finger's width away.

Mognog sighed in relief as he sensed that Ritzy had stopped tearing the contract since it was a sign his voice had reached Ritzy.

"Listen to me closely, kid."

"..."

Ritzy's eyes were still hazy, but Mognog could tell that there was some movement behind them and that Ritzy was going to trust and rely on him.

"First, take a deep breath. You won't be able to do anything with your hands like that. You need to calm down."

Ritzy did his best to follow, but with something heavy constricting his chest, it was hard to take a deep breath. Still, his hands didn't shake as much anymore.

"Now, move her shirt out of the way."

Thankfully, Talia's shirt was already in a pretty bad state, so it was easy for Ritzy to find two openings and lay her skin bare so that he had a clear view over both the entry and the exit wounds.

"You're going to have to snap the tail and get rid of the fletchings. Okay?"

Ritzy's head barely moved, but it was still a nod.

"You have to do it while moving the arrow as little as possible. So, no hesitation and quick, precise movements. You got this, kid."

Ritzy struggled to find a good position to do it in, so he gently laid Talia on her right side, which prompted another cough and more blood to spill out of her mouth. Talia tried to say something, but it only came out as a hushed gurgle that neither Ritzy nor Mognog could pay attention to.

With Talia in a better position, Ritzy was free to grab the tail of the feather. He wrapped one hand around the fletchings and the other right next to it.

"Calm and steady, kid. Take a deep breath."

Ritzy barely followed Mognog's order as he tried to steady his hands as much as possible lest he injures Talia's heart even further.

"I'll give you a countdown. Snap on one."

Ritzy's head bobbed slightly.

"3."

Ritzy's eyes fixated on the spot on the arrow between his hands.

"2."

Ritzy's hands gripped the arrow even tighter.

"1."

Ritzy pushed down with his right hand, the one wrapped around the fletchings, while his left hand was as immovable as a cliff.

"Good job."

After successfully snapping the arrow's tail, Ritzy threw it away.

"But don't relax yet. You still–"

Mognog's voice was interrupted by an arrow diving into the ground a few paces away from Ritzy and Talia. It was followed by cursing from Lenny.

"Ignore that, kid."

Mognog's voice kept Ritzy focused on Talia, but it was obvious Ritzy still wanted to find cover as he glanced around.

"Trust your friend. He will protect you two. Concentrate on the person in front of you. One last step, and you'll be done."

Mognog didn't really know whether Gerhart could be trusted to deal with Lenny. But it didn't matter whether Mognog knew it or not. What mattered was keeping Ritzy calm and focused on Talia so that he could save her.

Although she had gotten an arrow through her heart, it wasn't over for her yet. As long as they made it in time and the potions were potent enough, Talia could be saved.

But the hoarse scream of pain from Lenny seemed to have confirmed Mognog's words.

Lenny, upon seeing Ritzy try to save Talia, had gotten distracted in his anger.

Considering the damage inflicted by Ritzy's setting fire to the town, Lenny's wrath was more than understandable. And the pain exploding through his entire body every moment without end only clouded his rationality further.

But Gerhart taking advantage of that distraction and launching an arrow toward his leg only made him angrier. After screaming to vent the sharp pain of the arrow grazing his wound and tearing open the skin he had only managed to patch together by bathing in potions, Lenny glared at Gerhart. Lenny's eye burned with a fury that almost rivaled the flames that had ravaged his body.

But Gerhart was unfazed. He couldn't care less about Lenny's pain or anger. Any kind of sentiment or gratitude he might have held toward Lenny for teaching him the ways of a Ranger as well as making an official certificate were gone like they never existed as soon as Lenny even raised his weapon toward Ritzy and Talia.

And since Lenny had even shot Talia straight in the chest, rage, cold-as-ice, had replaced those feelings. The only thing Gerhart wanted was to put Lenny through even more pain to punish him for what he had done to Talia.

So, when he finally exposed himself and revealed an opening because he focused on Ritzy and Talia, Gerhart grabbed the opportunity without hesitation.

He intentionally aimed at Lenny's leg, both to inflict pain and make it harder for him to flee.

Gerhart didn't think Lenny, in his current state, could escape him. But Gerhart was physically fatigued, even if the strength his adrenaline gave him seemed endless. And Lenny was an official Ranger with quite a few years under his belt. He was bound to have buckets more mana than him.

To prevent any mishaps, limiting Lenny's movements was the first thing on Gerhart's agenda. The second thing was making Lenny harmless.

The hobbling Lenny tried his best to get back behind a hut and take cover from Gerhart. But he wasn't quick enough.

After the first arrow struck true, Gerhart had already grabbed another, one of the few left in the quiver, and drawn his string.

Gerhart squinted and aimed. He had to make a perfect shot, both because he didn't want to waste any arrows and so that he didn't accidentally kill Lenny. And unlike last time, Lenny wasn't standing still. He was hobbling backward with irregular movements and jolting hops.

However, Gerhart felt confident in his archery. His hands were immovable as mountains as he adjusted his sight and pointed the tip of the arrowhead toward Lenny's mostly intact arm. The other one was covered in burn scars, and Gerhart had seen that it was the other reason for Lenny's poor aim since he couldn't hold his bow steady.

So, if Gerhart's arrow hit Lenny's good arm, he wouldn't be able to do anything, whether it be fight back or flee.

Gerhart eased up on the strength in his fingers, pinning the arrow in place and set it free.

The arrow flew through the air with a faint whoosh before grazing Lenny's arm.

The arrow hadn't struck smack dab in the middle of Lenny's shoulder that Gerhart had aimed at, but the pained grunt Lenny let slip was proof that it had done enough damage to render him incapable of firing another arrow.

Lenny tried to hold onto and raise the bow but realized it was useless and dropped it. He glared at Gerhart, eyes filled with venomous rage, as Gerhart began closing the distance.

Gerhart didn't drop his guard just because Lenny dropped his bow and raised his own, an arrow nocked, as he approached. Since Lenny had stopped trying to run, Gerhart didn't bother focusing on so hard on aiming. He loosened the arrow and watched with cold eyes as it lodged itself in Lenny's other thigh.

"You won't survive even if you kill me! Baron Michmond's knights will catch up to you in no time! You won't even have time to try and escape!"

Gerhart didn't say anything as he took several more steps toward Lenny, his last arrow nocked and ready to be fired.

"Well, well, well. Would you look at this? Poor little Gerhart, who couldn't even hunt a rabbit without me holding his hand, is standing on his own two feet. Are you too good to even talk to me now?!"

Spittle flew as Lenny shouted and tried to use the wall of the hut next to him as support. But his leg was quickly failing, and he plopped down on the ground.

"Gerhart! You won't survive! None of you will! All of you will die!"

Lenny's eyes grew more and more crazed as he shouted at Gerhart.

But Gerhart still didn't say anything.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!"

Lenny suddenly shouted for all he was worth as he reached back to grab the knife sheathed horizontally against the small of his back. He tried to grab and throw it at Gerhart.

But Gerhart was ready, and as soon as Lenny moved, Gerhart's arrow nailed his hand to the ground.

"AHHH! GERHART! I'LL KILL YOU! KILL YOU!"