Cort was losing blood quickly from the wounds on his stomach and leg. It hurt, as losing any part of his body often did. If the shadrat were able to work much longer, it could destroy him.
At least, it would destroy the flesh puppet Cort's soul hid in. He wondered what would happen then. He thought of many things as he laid there on the floor, dying.
Regret was there. Cort had led a three-day old dive party to their deaths. He should have worked harder to stop Emile. Even if it meant getting hurt, it beat having everyone die around him.
Other people came to Cort's mind. What would Ashen do without him? He hoped the ermine just stayed hidden. Trying to defend him against the shadrat would just get Ashen killed. Don't come out, Cort pleaded over their connection.
He was met with silence, and prayed that meant the ever faithful servant would behave.
For a flash, Cort thought of his mother. That almost made him cry. Who would tell his mother what happened? He hoped it was his grandfather. That would be best.
The shadrat was lowering his head. It reeked, and Cort hated that the last thing he'd sense was the horrid smell of a rat monster. It was going to bite his neck and finish him off, or at least whatever the flesh puppet dying could be called.
Then it stopped. The shadrat lifted its head and looked away from Cort. He turned his own head to see what drew the shadrat so intensely.
Some woman with bright red hair was charging at the monster. They were holding a sword high, their stance never faltering as they dashed across the stone.
Cort did not know where the young woman came from. He did not even have the strength to warn her. No matter how hard he swung his own sword at the monster, it could only nick the hide.
What could this new person do?
The shadrat roared and met her charge with his own. The girl did not falter. Cort could see her eyes. They were on fire. Full of destructive anger. Yet familiar.
They were both moving so fast, Cort expected them to just collide. The girl reared her arm back, preparing for a thrust with her sword. He wanted to scream to her that it wouldn't work. The blade would just deflect off the hide.
She came to a sudden halt. There was no fear in her eyes as she entered a stance familiar to Cort. Why didn't I think of that? Cort thought.
The shadrat was close to her when she kicked off the ground at an unfollowable speed. Frog Princess's Leap for The Heavens. Somehow, in that moment of deadliness, Cort thought she looked divinely beautiful
Even with her sword held forward and aimed precisely for the shadrat's heart.
The shadrat only let out a gasp as it was run completely through by the sword. At that moment, the beast nearly sounded human. A sword through its vitals was its last memories. The woman drew her blade back and the monster fell.
"Waitress," the girl shouted. "Gather the magic stone and whatever it dropped." She was approaching Cort, and he looked at her more. Something about her was very familiar.
She kept walking, though. Right past Cort even. The only thing over there was Emile. He struggled to crane his neck to watch the woman. She seemed to be an ally, but it worried him not knowing what she was planning.
When she reached Emile, she let out another yell and swung her sword. Cort prepared for the devastation of losing Emile, but that was not her goal.
He heard the stone crumble, and watched the girl stoop down. She stood up, Emile's huge body slung over her shoulder. She carried him away from the flame that was killing him, stopping by Cort for a moment.
"Ashen, fix him up," she ordered. "We're leaving."
Cort did not even feel the ermine crawl out from his hiding place. He simply saw the top of his furry friend's head nodding. The woman carried Emile further away.
"I'm hurting a lot," Cort told his friend.
"So I can see," Ashen replied curtly. He had leaped down to the ground, beginning the process of retrieving Cort's spare parts.
"Are you mad at me?" Cort asked. "Because of what I've told you."
"I am your caretaker, Yan," Ashen replied. He was already stitching the new foot on. "Beyond my role as a servant, I am quite fond of you. So yes, I'm upset that you told me to hide and watch you die."
"Sorry." Cort hissed as the healing magic from Ashen's paws started working on fixing his stomach wound. "Hey, I thought your healing magic wouldn't work on my body?"
"I've adjusted magic formulas on these parts," Ashen answered. Cort could hear footsteps approaching him, and opened his eyes to see Haley standing over him with a concerned look on her face.
"Do all your dives end in disaster?" Haley asked.
"I'm glad that's your only question," Ashen chimed in. The healing magic was done, and the ermine once again vanished underneath Cort's shirt.
"We're on a bit of an unlucky streak right now," Cort replied. Most of the unbearable pain was gone, so he was able to slowly sit up. He was just sore, probably bruised.
When he started looking around, he suddenly panicked. A sudden detail of their situation dawned on him as he saw the red hair on the girl repeatedly casting water magic on Emile.
"Where's Lond?" Cort asked. The only bit of comfort he had is that so far, no one in the party was dead. He needed Lond to be okay more than anything else.
Haley just gestured over to the girl and Emile. "That chick is Lond," Haley answered. "No. I don't know what's going on. I'll have you know that my other dive group is way more normal than you guys."
"That's Lond?" Cort asked, struggling to believe it himself. He had never heard of a boy suddenly becoming a girl. It would explain why the eyes were so familiar.
"Help me out," Cort told Haley as he worked on standing up. She helped him off the ground, and they walked over to join the other two. The redhead hit Emile with one last water spell before facing them.
"He's alive but barely," the girl told them. "And I don't have the mana left to use more water magic. We need to get back to the camp now."
"Who are you?" Cort asked. He was glad to hear Emile was okay, but the stranger was a more pressing matter to him. "Where is Lond?"
"Lond is okay, handsome," she said. She winked and smiled at Cort before walking over to him. There was barely an inch between them when she reached up to run a slender finger along his jaw.
As Cort shivered a bit at the soft, delicate touch, Haley let out a groan.
"My name's Lin Bastion," she told them. "She saw me come out, so she can tell you that Lond is just fine."
"She's right," Haley replied. "Can we go now? I'm hurting and don't want to deal with any other monsters."
"What about Emile?" Cort asked Lin. "Can you carry him the rest of the way?"
"Of course, Cort," Lin answered. Her smile vanished the moment she started speaking to Haley. "By the way, waitress. I'm keeping this sword. Payment for saving your life."
"Whatever," Haley replied. She sounded like she was getting more annoyed with each word Lin said.
Lin ignored it, brushing her hair behind her ears and smiling at Cort again. Cort, ever the ignorant, paid it no extra attention. His body hurt, as it did everytime the healing magic was used on him.
They went back through the labyrinth, battered and bruised but alive