Rangers Endgame

Yakeru's gaze shot back to the bloodhound who was tending to its wounds. With a mixture of both rage and agony in its eyes, it absorbed its tendril and began manipulating the blood pouring out from its body to stop the bleeding.

Aoi coughed, waving her hand to clear the dust until Fuyumi came into view. She rolled her over on her back to assess the damage. Blood spilled out of every laceration that littered her body, regions of her skin swelled and dark splotches began to form.

Her right ring and pinky fingers were contorted at unsightly angles and the gash in her side formed a pool of red underneath her. The only indication that she was still alive was her shallow breathing.

Aoi scrambled to retrieve her wand, clutching it with trembling hands as she contemplated. After healing Yakeru and Kazeki when the philorium sacks were set off, then herself after she tumbled down into the pit, and Yakeru again after freeing him, she'd already reached her limit. Even if she healed her, it was possible she'd still be in worse shape than Yakeru but if she didn't help her now, they'd lose their best chance of survival.

"Aoi!" Yakeru shouted, tossing his health elixir to her.

She had a look of confusion as she caught it.

"But this won't be enough."

"I know, but if you give it to her and then heal her yourself, she'll be in better shape!"

She glanced over at the bloodhound who was still moaning to itself, still tending to its wounds. She looked down at the elixir, then back at the unconscious Fuyumi.

He was right. Since she didn't have much radiance left she wouldn't be of much help had she just healed her outright. With this in mind, she popped open the elixir.

After carefully pouring the health elixir down Fuyumi's throat, her injuries began to heal. Some of the deep cuts in her body had begun mending themselves back together and the swelling from her bruises had come to a halt.

The bloodhound's eyes radiated with both rage and pain. It reached down and yanked the dagger out of its leg, putting it between its fingers and by casually flexing its fingers it snapped the blade in half. As it took a knee with one paw on the ground to steady itself, the blood from its wounds levitated and swirled around its body. Yakeru wasn't sure what it was trying to accomplish but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

After a moment of waiting, Fuyumi's condition had improved, though not by much. From what Aoi could see, there were still several deep cuts remaining and most of the blackened bruises hadn't returned to Fuyumi's natural skin color. More importantly, she hadn't regained consciousness. Left with no other option, Aoi raised her wand over her.

Soft green orbs manifested and caressed Fuyumi's skin before more of her wounds began to heal. Aoi just started casting but she already felt fatigued, breaking into a fit of coughs. Blood trickled from the corners of her mouth as her body was hit with throbbing pain. However, she knew that if she stopped now, she wouldn't have the strength to continue and the hound would finish what it started.

She gritted her teeth, mustering every ounce of willpower she could as her reserves plummeted and the backlash intensified. She began to feel lightheaded and her vision started to blur. Blood spilled from her mouth and the throbbing pain became too much to bear. One by one, the green orbs evaporated as her wand slipped from her hand. The last thing she saw was the stone floor coming closer before there was a thud.

"Aoi?!" Yakeru tested to see if she was still conscious. "Aoi!"

She remained unresponsive even as the beast let out a rage-filled growl.

When his gaze returned to the bloodhound, his eyes widened in realization. The blood that once poured from its wounds now formed into makeshift crimson armor that covered its head and torso. Since it was bleeding profusely earlier, the armor took on a bulky appearance as jagged spikes protruded from its back.

The bloodhound stood up, consuming Yakeru in its shadow. It seemed as though its beedy red eyes pierced through his soul as it peered down at him.

𝘉𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘮! 𝘉𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘮! 𝘉𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘮!

He felt as if his heart would explode at any moment as it hammered away in his chest. Fighting against his fear, he forced his sword out of its scabbard and helplessly held it out in front of him. The blade trembled as terror began to overtake him. The bloodhound made its trudge toward him, the only one still conscious. After all, it preferred its prey to be fully aware. How else was it supposed to hear them wail?

His heart pounded faster with every step the creature took. Its top half was partially shrouded in shadows, the solidified blood around its body making its outline disproportionate. The dim light grazed its wolf-like face just enough to see creases forming on its snout as its demonic smile split its face, its left eye gleaming from its silhouette.

The youth's hair stood on end as a chill ran down his spine. However, before it could advance any closer, its left ear twitched. They both heard faint movement coming from down the cavern.

It stopped its approach and as it turned its head to the source, its smile contorted into a scowl. Yakeru worked up the courage to peel his eyes away from the bloodhound to see what could've changed its mood so quickly. Then he understood immediately.

Down the dimly lit cavern, Fuyumi willed herself to stand, her eyes trained on the beast through the slits in her grime-covered hair. With her relatively unharmed left hand, she grabbed her remaining dagger next to the unconscious Aoi, analyzing the bloodhound's new form.

"I see. So you made clunky armor to stop the bleeding." She assessed.

Her eyes burned with unwavering confidence and anger, unaware of her body's battered state—or rather her rage had overridden the pain for her to notice. This was her last chance to vanquish the beast. Since it was in such a weakened state, this would be her best chance to do so.

Wobbling, she carefully took a step forward. Then another. And another until she worked up enough momentum to sprint as fast as her damaged body would allow her to, preparing for one final assault.

The bloodhound's expression went from one of frustration to one of worry as if it was thinking 'How could she still move like that after suffering so many injuries?!'.

As she rapidly approached the wounded bloodhound, something became evident to her. Although the armor provided some protection, it sacrificed free movement.

Earlier she had concluded that it could only manipulate a limited amount of its blood at a time. Additionally, without excess blood to consume, it couldn't accelerate its healing. Although it was now sporting armor, it had left its neck exposed.

In a last-ditch effort to stop the dagger-wielding maniac, it reached back with both paws in the air, blood swirling out from its pores, and conjured a war hammer. However, just as she anticipated, its bulky armor inhibited its movements, performing a telegraphed wide swing so obvious even the slowest of rangers could evade it.

Miscalculating the distance she'd already traveled, she dashed past the hammer as it smashed into the stone floor behind her.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

Taking advantage of the shockwave, she was propelled forward at blistering speeds as she infused her dagger, the blade producing a trail of amber. After rapidly closing the distance, she rammed her blade into the beast's throat, a small wind current exuding from the point of impact.

The hound's yelp shifted to a high-pitched gurgle as blood filled its throat. The armor it was wearing began to liquefy and its hammer slipped from its grasp, splashing onto the floor as it reverted to its original state.

Although the blade was lodged deep inside its neck, the bloodhound raised its trembling arms to pry her off. With an unholy glint in her eyes, she clutched onto its fur which was now dyed a crimson red, and began relentlessly pumping every ounce of radiance she had into her blade, her veins bulging in her forehead.

The light coursing through its body dimly illuminated its insides, revealing the skeleton's silhouette.

𝘗𝘰𝘱! 𝘗𝘰𝘱!

Radiance resembling a raging fire burst out of its many wounds. Her passion was almost palpable as the seemingly endless stream of radiance shredded the bloodhound's insides. The beast collapsed to its knees as its body had reached its limit. Finally, a powerful wave of radiance forced its way out of its torso and mouth in a bright, fiery explosion, forcing Yakeru to shield his eyes.

𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘔!

When he brought his arm down to survey his surroundings he found that the walls of the cavern were painted red. When his eyes drifted to the center of the cavern he saw an unconscious Fuyumi and the bloodhound, or what was left of it. Most of its torso was missing and if he were a ranger just now stumbling upon a scene such as this, he'd have thought another monster, bigger and stronger, was down here with him.

He scrambled to his feet and limped over to his teammate as quickly as his broken leg would let him. Plopping down beside her, he checked the pulse on her neck before breathing a sigh of relief.

She wasn't in the best condition to fight. She still had cuts, bruises, broken bones and, despite the combined efforts of the health elixir and Aoi healing abilities, the gash on her side hadn't fully closed either.

He couldn't understand how she was still able to fight despite her terrible condition. The only rational thing he could think of was her emotional state. He had gotten used to how closed off and emotionless Fuyumi was, that's why her shift in aura was easily noticeable.

"I've heard how people can pull off ridiculous feats when enraged but this is crazy."

He still couldn't process what he'd just witnessed but a thought crept into his mind, reminding him of how dire their situation was. If at any point Fuyumi were to hesitate in her final assault...

He gulped as goosebumps formed on his body just thinking about how the worst case scenario could've played out. He stood up and limped over to Aoi who was also unconscious but just to be sure he felt for a pulse. After confirming, he pondered what his next move should be. He was certain that there weren't any kobolds in this area.

For a moment, the thought of scouting for the exit crossed his mind but without assistance, he'd risk worsening his condition. He also couldn't drag them out on his own either.

The best, or rather the only option he had was to stay put. He sat on the floor beside Aoi with his sheathed blade in hand. Kenji, Kateshi, and Kazeki were still in the dungeon with them. He knew this because the talisman was still glowing. Assuming nothing had happened to them, his only hope now was to wait for rescue.

He looked between Aoi and Fuyumi lying motionless.

"Hang in there a little longer guys."