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"Alessia, I already told you not to take risks like that! We have to stick together," I shout in my girl's direction as I stow my bow in my inventory and draw my greatsword, at the same time activating my Agility profile to prepare to receive the two wind cheetahs that are rapidly approaching Delia and me.
But the blonde girl ignores me and keeps running alone towards the two farthest enemies, not even bothering to turn around or respond to my words.
'Agh, this new reckless Alessia gets on my nerves. Sword breathing style... She was right; it doesn't hurt if I think ahead of time about the move I want to perform.'
I make a horizontal slash towards one of the two monsters approaching Delia and me.
But the monster dodges my attack by a hair's breadth, backing away as a light blue aura covers its body.
This aura appears to temporarily increase its speed.
But it seems that they can only activate it for short periods because the celestial glow stops covering the feline's body as soon as it gets far enough away from me.
'I have to defeat this enemy quickly in order to help Delia. If these enemies can compete with the speed of my Agility profile plus Sword breathing style, Delia won't be able to hold it off for long. And Alessia... I can't be distracted from this. For the moment, I have no choice but to trust her judgment.'
I rush after the monster quickly, but then a stabbing pain cramps my legs.
'Agh, right... This is more difficult than it appeared when Alessia told me about it.'
I deactivate Sword breathing style, and, after thinking about my intention to move towards the monster, I activate it again.
Almost instantly, I torpedoed forward in a lunge.
This time, the Wind Cheetah fails to completely dodge the attack, and I manage to slightly pierce the skin of one of its hind legs before it turns away again as the light blue aura envelops it again.
"Are you just going to run away?" I ask the monster with a smirk in an attempt to provoke it, even though I know it can't understand me.
'This is stupid! It's not that hard to understand. I'm just going to have to get used to quickly activating and deactivating the skill.'
Speaking with the skill activated, I feel my mouth muscles on the verge of tearing.
I quickly turn Sword breathing style back off.
However, as soon as I do, I have to turn it back on because the Wind Cheetah seems to have understood my mocking attitude towards it.
In a light blue flash of movement, the feline prepares to jump, flexing the muscles of its hind legs, before leaping towards me at full speed.
But my earlier attack must have inflicted more damage than I had thought, because its leap twists slightly to the right.
'Agh... it hurts! However, I'll have to endure it; I can't deactivate the skill now.'
I take the opportunity to move to the left, dodging its lunge with ease, as I stab again with my great sword in the direction of the monster's body.
My sword, this time, pierces the feline's side cleanly, impaling it mid-jump and causing its body to dissolve into golden particles while still in the air.
'Delia... I have to hurry'
I turn back in the direction where Delia was just a few minutes ago, but there's nothing.
'What? Where...?'
I glance around and see her running toward Alessia, spear in hand.
Of the second wind cheetah, there is no sign....
'How...?'
But then I see that Alessia is having serious problems while facing both Teriars at the same time, as she moves slowly and clumsily, dodging to try to minimize the damage inflicted by the big cats but unable to avoid it completely.
'It must be because of that black aura that surrounds the Teriars.... That's the one... NO! FOCUS!'
I run at full speed towards Alessia while still having Sword breathing style activated, which makes it feel like the muscles in my body are being rubbed against sharp blades.
However, my own pain now doesn't bother me in the slightest.
My mind goes blank with anger, and the edges of my vision turn reddish as I run.
Alessia has a horrible tear running the length of her left arm, which hangs limp at the side of her body, and paints the ground with the girl's blood.
She can't see Delia and me, as she is turning her back to face the two dark furred felines, while holding her sword weakly and shakily between the monsters and herself, as a warning.
The two Teriars keep walking in a coordinated fashion from one side of Alessia to the other, looking for an unguarded moment to slip past her guard.
Unfortunately, the monsters spot Delia and me approaching, and, realizing they will soon be outnumbered, they simultaneously lunge towards Alessia in an attempt to eliminate her once and for all.
I quickly overtake Delia, running as if it were my own life at risk.
'Shit! I'm not going to make it!'
In a desperate attempt to get to Alessia before the monsters do, I activate the Strength profile and propel myself forward in a demented leap towards the nearest Teriar's body, aiming my great sword at the beast's chest.
'I won't be able to get rid of the two enemies this way, but at least I'll make it easier for Alessia and Delia.'
Until now, I have been holding back because I wanted us to practice our coordination, not our individual skills, but now the time has come to give it our all.
"Justice Weapon," I shout, and my two-handed sword begins to glow with a bluish-gold aura like never before.
As I approach, I sense my body growing considerably heavier, confirming my theory regarding the significance of the black aura emitted by this particular kind of enemy.
However, the force of my jump maintains my momentum unaffected, allowing me to fly at full speed in a straight line towards the monster.
As I hit the monster's body, I feel as if I were slamming into a concrete wall because of the speed at which I am moving.
At the same time, I hear my two arms creak from the impact, and one of them gives in to the force of the blow, breaking at the level of my forearm.
A searing pain shoots through my body, from the base of my back to my scalp, beckoning me into unconsciousness, but I can't afford to be unconscious at this point.
'I can't fall asleep when my girl needs me!'
Despite the terrible pain, I do not let go of my great sword, which now pierces the teriar's chest from side to side, and I tighten my grip on the hilt with the hand of my healthy arm while I watch as the feline's body begins to dissolve.
Before we both hit the ground, the monster's body disintegrated, and now I continue flying uncontrollably in the direction I propel myself with my jump.
'Ohh, shit. This is going to hurt.'
My flight takes me straight toward a tree on the trail's edge.
Quite understandable, considering the number of trees.
'Agh..'
I crash face-first into a tree and fall like a rag doll to the ground as the sword slips out of my hand from the impact.
'I have to... Alessia'
As I get up with difficulty and dizziness, I turn around to look in the direction Alessia was fighting.
But I see that Delia and Alessia have already taken care of the remaining monster, and that both of them are running towards where I am.
Alessia is no longer shaking, and she moves the wounded arm without any problems.
So probably the wound on her arm is not as bad as it seemed, and we only saw an act by her to encourage the enemies to make a bad move.
Now that there is no sign of enemies, I finally collapse, closing my eyes, exhausted and sore, and making efforts not to scream due to the stabbing pain in my left arm, which hangs at my side, and flexes at a strange and unnatural angle.
"MASTER!" shouts Alessia's distressed voice, coming closer and closer to where I am.
"Emir! How could this happen?" says Delia in a horrified whisper.
"Heal him! Tell me you can heal him!" says Alessia in a desperate shriek.
"Yes, of course I can," says Delia's voice, now sounding very close to where I am.
"No. Heal Alessia first. I can wait," I say in a grunt, not opening my eyes and trying to keep my concentration so I don't scream out in pain.
I am in terrible pain, but I still have more than a quarter of my total HP left, so I know my condition is not urgent.
As soon as they hear the sound of my voice, they both sigh in relief.
"Don't talk nonsense, Master! You need healing more than I do. Don't listen to him, Delia. He's losing too much blood from that horrible cut on his head, making him delirious," Alessia says quickly and hysterically.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S DELIRING..." I scream, channeling the pain I feel in my arm through my vocal cords, and open my eyes to look directly into the teary face of Alessia, who is kneeling beside me, just like Delia.
The fox girl, as expected, is not crying and just looks at me with silent concern, assessing my situation.
'The emotional fortitude of religious people is amazing.'
"...WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING? DON'T EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN, BECAUSE I... DELIA! WHY AREN'T YOU HEALING ALESSIA?"
"Ahh, yeah. Sorry," says the fox girl, who quickly goes over to Alessia to heal her injured arm, while I move my healthy arm to hug the blonde girl's head tightly against my chest.
"Don't ever do something like that to me again..." I whisper softly, very close to her ear, "...you..."
'You're not the only one who doesn't imagine a life if one of us dies.'