Before their confrontation, Loren had already decided who of the group who face whom. He decided that he would lure one of the bandits away by stealing the artifact. The others were apprehensive at first, they surmised that the bandits were in the Storage Stage, it was too much of Loren to face one on his own. But Loren assured them that he was confident in avoiding a direct confrontation, they had seen his skill in navigating through the forest before, and he was sure that the bandit wouldn't be able to catch him.
In the field, Loot and Benson had split in two. Benson stood before Ren, while Loot targeted the elementalist and cowering drunkard. It was planned for Benson to stall against Ren with Relia's support while Loot would kill the other two before joining the others to finish off the last of the bandits.
Loren chose Loot since he was the most skilled out of the two, he should be able to make quick work of the incompetent man and the incapacitated elementalist.
Loot ran towards the elementalist, his duel scimitars spinning in his hands as he approached, a small smile on his face.
Ren noticed that Loot was targeting his companion, but he couldn't move with Benson in front of him. Any attempt he made was halted with Benson stepping in his way, his shield lifted, sticking into Ren's face.
Even when Ren tried to attack Benson, a Magic Missile would fly towards him. Relia had started to stack more spells, unleashing them not to attack Ren but to distract him whenever he made any moves or strikes.
Benson was turtled in his shield, nervous. He only had to distract Ren, there was no reason for them to actually trade blows, but he knew that the man could snap his neck given any opportunity.
Their battle was like a small game of cat and mouse, Benson held his shield with both hands and any punch or kick he received felt like a sledgehammer slamming into him. If not for Relia stopping Ren from attacking consecutively, forcing him to step back after every movement, he was sure that he would have already died.
Benson could only hope Loot finished off the elementalist as soon as possible. Relia didn't have an infinite amount of mana, he wasn't sure how long they could last in this stalemate.
Loot was currently dodging a concentrated ball of flames, the elementalist was too spent, he could only muster a small amount of fire. Nonetheless, Loot knew that any contact with the small blaze wouldn't end up well for him. He moved with the fire, each shift in his body like a dance, every step he took brought him closer and closer to the elementalist.
His attention was on the flame, but his eyes burrowed into the elementalist with killing intent.
Seeing his opponent coming ever closer, the elementalist looked at the man next to him. He was still cowering at the sight of the corpse in a daze.
"Get up r*tard! We're going to die if you keep sitting around!"
But rather than become motivated by his yelling, the man only felt more horror. His pants dampening, he crawled away before going into a full sprint. He fully intended to leave the elementalist for dead.
"Hey!" The man was livid to see him run away. "Get back here! You think Braken's gonna let you live if you run?!"
"You're not going anywhere." Loot's voice sounded as he threw one of his scimitars. It spun in the air, travelling in an arc before arriving at his fleeing foe and cleanly amputating his leg. "Relia really wants you dead, I can't just let you run can I?"
"ARGHH!" Clutching his bloodied leg, the man screamed in pain.
Before long, Loot finished avoiding the ball of flames and was in front of the elementalist. With no distractions, Loot found the task insultingly easy.
The elementalist put out his hand, worried for his life. "H-hey man, we can talk ab-"
Loot swung his sword, decapitating the man before he could finish his sentence. His attention then moved towards the drunkard he met the day before. Seeing his blood pool on the floor, Loot rummaged through the body of the elementalist, grabbing his elemental medium.
Crouching next to the drunkard, Loot placed the red crystal next to the bloody stump that was once his leg. "Is this how you do this?"
Small flames arose from the medium, spreading onto the man. He squealed in anguish as the flames began to cauterise his wounds.
"I can't have you bleed out, I think Relia wants to deal with you herself. God am I a good friend." Loot smiled playfully as he finished tending to the man's wounds, he looked in the direction of Benson, he was having trouble dealing with Ren. Loot prepared to enter their battle.
"I just wanted to be free..." Loot hesitated a little when he heard the man mutter. "...You don't understand how it feels, living in a place like Galan. Knowing you'll never make anything out of your life... It's suffocating. Braken promised he'd make something out of me."
Loot chuckled at his words, he leaned closer to the man. "Yeah, I don't get that, must be because I'm not a loser like you. Relia is from Galan too you know? She's going to become a master eventually, you have no excuse for how sad your life is."
"You... earthborn piece of..."
Leaning into the man's ear, Loot whispered to him. "Just sit still, will you? And prepare yourself, I don't know what Relia will do, but I bet it won't be painless."
Getting some petty revenge against the man, Loot stood up and made his way back to Benson and Relia.
Upon seeing that Loot had finished off the elementalist, Ren started to swear internally. His battle was going nowhere, the two he was facing were like cockroaches, and he couldn't find a chance to get a good hit in. Once Loot joined the fray, the tide of the battle would surely go in their direction.
'Fine... If I'm going to die, I'll at least deal with one of you.'
Ren's mana surged as he pounced towards Benson. Seeing this, Relia unleashed another Magic Missile, aiming between the two. Ren noticed his spell but didn't react, continuing his attack.
[Martial Art: Twin Tiger Fist!]
His hands in the shape of a claw, Ren took a martial stance, invoking the essence of a tiger into his body and striking at Benson. Not an ounce of his mana was left to reinforce his defences.
Loot realised his intention and screamed out. "Benson! Watch out!"
The Magic Missile hit Ren square on his head, the blow caving in his skull. He was dazed by the hit but the momentum in his body stayed. His left fist knocked Benson's shield into the sky while his right shot out towards his chest.
[Loaded Spell: Warding Sheild!]
Relia also realised his suicidal act, unleashing the warding spell she had cast as a reaction. A blue shield of mana formed in front of Benson but shattered as soon as it formed, Ren had used all his mana in the blow he made.
While the spell hadn't completely warded off the attack, it did decrease its strength. Benson winced as Ren's fingers entered his chest, stopping merely moments before puncturing his heart.
Realising that Benson hadn't died from his attack, Ren sighed. "F*ck me dead..."
Leaping in between the two, Loot swung down both his scimitars, bisecting Ren and killing the last of their enemies. Loot turned to Benson with haste, wanting to check on his condition.
Benson was gasping his pain, clutching his chest. But the pain was only secondary to the feeling he had just experienced, he had almost died... Adrenalin pumped through his body as he looked over at Relia, thankful for her warding spell.
"Thanks..."
"Don't talk," Loot pulled out some cloth as he began to wrap it around his wound. "Relia, do you know any healing spells?"
Relia looked down as she shook her head. "No... I'm sorry."
"I can heal him."
The three all shuttered at the sudden voice, grabbing their weapons and preparing for another battle, but stopped upon seeing Rito and Durkson standing before them.
Rito looked at the group with the same expression he always had, but somehow, Loot and Benson found it... eerie.
'We're screwed, aren't we...' Benson and Loot simultaneously had the same thought.