"Shulia watch out!"
Despite Sylvester's warning, she got hit by her shadow half.
"Kgh!" She had cupped her hand on top of her heart where the shadow had aimed to hit. The shadow then threw another punch and this one landed right on her face. She spat out blood and a tooth.
Shulia smirked. "Crude imitation. I punch harder." The shadow self titled it's head not quite understanding her words.
In a terrible, slurred voice it spoke, "yOU dUmB." It even tried to imitate her voice but it only sounded hoarse rather than her smooth feminine tone.
Her eye twitched and she landed an uppercut. The shadow's head sunk in and purple pus oozes out, an imitation for brain guts.
"Least I got some brains." She grabbed its neck and lifted it off its feet. "Now get back where you came back from."
The shadow choked back a sob and whimpered. It started to melt into a purple to blue to black goop before falling into the ground with squelch. In its sad melted state it crawled to her shadow. For a second her shadow turned hollow and the goop entered. Her shadow sealed itself back up.
The entire experience left Shulia with goosebumps.
"S-shuila are you alright?"
She turned to see him hobbling down a rock. Blood soaked his clothes and his figure was twitching.
"Sylvester, don't move. I am coming to you." He collapsed.
She hurried up the rock and grasped him only to recoil in shock. His skin was inflamed and a shadow knife was stuck on his side. He was poisoned.
She let his head rest on her shoulder. She fished out a piece of cloth and made him bite into it. She held his head up with one hand while the other went around him and touched the hilt of the knife. "I am going to be moving this. Bite into that cloth."
He weakly nodded.
Taking a deep breath she yanked out the knife.
"Mmghh!!" He clutched onto her, digging his nails on to her skin. She tried not to hiss in pain herself. The shadow knife had sharp barbs growing out of it. It must have hurt more than he let on
"I know, I know, I know. Just…just a little bit more. You are doing so good. Ease up now. Breath for me, yeah?"
He nodded again.
Taking another breath she started to heal him. He groaned onto the cloth as the pain started to fade away.
"Shh…you are doing great…it's gonna be over soon."
After a while Sylvester spat out the cloth. "Haa, haa, haa…."
Shulia silently let him hold onto her for a bit longer. Then she spoke.
"After all this is over, I am going to retire."
Sylvester didn't say anything.
She stood up. "After Oriane we go now. I pray to Lord Gaia that she's alright."
Steadily they scrambled from the rumble.
'Why do these sorts of things always happen to me?'
Oriane shivered, her body gaped with wounds.
'Ooh I deserve this…'
Cowering in pain she briefly tried to meet the Inquisitor's eyes. He only glared.
"Who gave you the permission to stare at me?!" He kicked her to the side.
"Oof!" She tumbled over clutching her stomach. "That hurt…!"
The Inquisitor scowled. "The only problem is you are a Saintess. The more I hurt you the more you heal yourself. What, are you a masochist?"
She looked up and asked through bleeding lips, "What's a masochist?"
He kicked her face. "Did the same person who let you meet my eyes also allowed you to speak as well?"
She coughed pitifully. He harshly grabbed her hair and pulled her up.
Though her eyes were blind she had lowered them in case the Inquisitor hit her again.
"Filthy human…" he spoke with venom as he examined her scar ridden face. "Filthy saintess, daring to covet what is solely reserved for me…"
Oriane mouthed something.
"What?"
"...I am asking if Lord Uranus knows about this obsession. As far as I know, once a saint retires they can no longer be a saint again."
He shook her by his hair. "I was KIA ed! I didn't retire! I was killed! Killed in action!!"
"All the more reason,...Lord Uranus has accepted your death. He lit your funeral candles himself and watched over your grave for 60 days…I don't think he wants you back…"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW!?!?!?" he screamed right in her ear.
"You don't know if he will take me back! You don't know if he will accept me or not! You know nothing!" He threw her back on the floor. Her jaw hit and she nearly bit off her tongue.
She shivered.
He squinted his eyes. "I want to ask you this."
Oriane looked up. "What keeps you going like this? Where do you get your hopes from when I crush them? What," He glanced over her wounds. "is it that keeps you alive?"
"My frien-"
"Don't give me that bullshit."
Oriane stared at him for a long time with her mouth gaping. She lowered her head and clenched her hands. "I just keep hoping that one day something other than spite and stubbornness will motivate me to keep on living."
"So far I haven't found it yet. So I am waiting. I want to feel like I am living."
"A reason to live?" The Inquisitor tilted his head. "What a pathetic answer…"
"I know, I know…Kegh!" Shadow spears came from the ground and out through her back, locking her in place. "Haa, haa, haa…"
"What in the-Argh!"
Her ears perked up. She sensed the aura around her and recognized them.
"Shulia, I found her!"
"Good job! You two leave while I pummel this bastard to death!"
Oriane felt herself being pulled up to her feet only to be dropped again. The aura of both Sylvester and Shulia briefly disappeared before coming back as a faint line.
Worried she hoarsely called out, "Shulia? Sylvester?"
"Haa, haa, haa…they aren't here anymore…" the Inquisitor answered her.
Fear gripped her throat. "What did you do to them?"
"...Haa…nothing much, just maimed them enough to obstruct their mobility."
Low groans reached her ears. "....Oriane…run awa…y…"
The sound of a thread snapping echoed somewhere.
In a flash Oriane had taken down the Inquisitor with her.
He hit the back of his head hard and winced. However that was all the reaction he could give for a second later Oriane stabbed through his skull with a sharp stone.
Blood gushed forth but she paid no heed as she repeatedly stabbed his head. He tried to move her but she straddled his hips to keep him in place. She whispered a spell under her breath and the small plant life growing sprouted thick vines from their roots. These vines then grew longer till they reached them and immediately started to lock the Inquisitor in place.
His fingers twitched and his spider limbs swung wildly in the air. Oriane ignored them like the blood in her mouth. Then he stopped moving. She still kept going. The stone cut into her skin and it was slicked with blood. At times it would slip from her grasp but she held fast to it and kept going.
She knew after a few minutes he was going to rise up again and come after her.
That's why she was trying to make sure he stayed down for a bit longer or until they could escape.
What she didn't know was the Inquisitor getting more crafty as time went on.
What she thought was his guard down for a moment was his first step to his plan. Letting her think she has the upper hand while he prepared for her demise.
So for now he let her do what she wanted to do. He will get her back tenfold after all.
Shulia felt like she was hungover, with her head buzzing. Bringing her hand back from her head proved to be otherwise as it came back wet with blood.
Taking a moment to realize what had happened she scrambled to her feet. Sylvester was laying a few steps away from her unconscious.
Throat drying up, she shook him. "S-sylvester, wake up!"
He wrinkled his brows and groaned before blinking. His gaze was unfocused and he tried to move. Pain exploded from his side and he slumped back.
"Sylvester!"
"...Shulia? Is that you?"
She sighed in relief. "Yes it's me."
He tried to move again but he felt weak from the pain. "...What happened?"
"...I don't know either…I just woke up."
"Where's Oriane?"
"...I don't know. I can't even find the Inquisitor."
"Then we need to look for her." He tried getting up but he screamed. Some of his ribs must have broken in scuffle with the Inquisitor.
"Here let me help." She bent down and put his arm over her shoulder. She slowly stood up with him sighing in pain.
Blinking blearily he softly spoke, "...We…need to…save…her…" His vision clouded and closed his eyes and he lost consciousness.
Shulia noticed this when his weight got heavier. "...I made a promise to get you out."
She gritted her teeth. "And I will keep it. Even if my sprit leave my body!"