[Skyfreix 18, 0100 A.R]
[Throndrheim]

Current in-game time 12:01 AM

Small pockets of Tamaki's blood pooled beside him like red wine gushing out from a bottle. No matter how much Yuna desperately covered his wounds with her hands, she couldn't stop the inevitable seeing how the lad looked pale in contrast to his normal bubbly self. She steeled her resolve, she wasn't going to let the boy die.

"No no no, not like this," In a desperate tone of voice the light from Yuna's eyes would glimmer faintly. She turned to her partner, "Muzui help me close his wounds!"

"I can't, I'm trying to destroy this thing!" His blade would bounce every time it made contact with the ethereally lit magic circle below them. His voice was also desperate, desperate in saving this town which they built, "Don't worry! He'll just spawn again, you two can find one another after this!"

"He's dying, Muzui! We've got to help him!" She shouted at her partner only to be ignored as the samurai would only focus on breaking the glowing circle. "Tsk." Frustrated, she turned around to the boy who was already wheezing, his eyes flickered weakly.

Yuna took a portion of her shirt to use as a form of a bandage, she tied it around the boy's torso covering his massive wound but even in doing so, she still wasn't able to stop the boy from going paler. She bit hard on her lower lip till she tasted the familiar metallic taste of her blood. Out of her desperation, she went ahead and punched a hole into the stone which Tamaki used to lean onto, causing it to shatter into pieces.

"Y...Yun...Yuna, your...hand," surprised to hear Tamaki's voice, Yuna rapidly caught his hand which tried to brush against her bleeding knuckle.

"Y-yes, I'm alright, don't worry buddy I'll make sure you don't die on me," she forced a smile to appear so that the worry in the young lad's eyes would disappear as they stared at her. For a moment, she was able to see Tamaki's face brighten up, although it was much weaker than the usual smile he had, it made Yuna's smile falter.

Turning away from the boy's face, Yuna found her reflection looking back at her in a puddle of Tamaki's blood, her face looked bruised up, and had different wounds on her cheek but it didn't matter. That was when a sudden idea flashed inside her head, "The potions store! I might be able to stabilize your condition with a potion!" A new light of hope had appeared to her, it's now only a matter of time, "Muzui where's the closest potion store you know of!?" Shot the girl.

"Ah-huh? I'm quite busy here can't you see?" Muzui punched the ground with his fist as a cloud of dust was kicked up by the impact yet it didn't stop the circle from glowing. Tugging at his collar, Yuna brought his face to hers as she headbutted and it connected painfully, "Gah! What the fuck!?" As she shook off the pain, his eyes would end up meeting with a pair of Yuna's fiery hues, glaring at him menacingly.

"You can worry about your base later, for now, Tamaki's life is in danger and you're the only one who can help him!" Her words made the man flinched as her words held so much conviction behind them that he felt like he could never break free from her hold. His teeth gritted with one another, he took a glance at the circle below them, then his attention wandered towards Tamaki. The lad's fading breath made him gulp down, "Quickly! We don't have much time!" Yuna rocked him back to her.

Biting hard, clenching his fists, and then swallowing hard as he could, Muzui glared back to her, "Miller's potion shop is just a few blocks away, we can try and save him if we run fast." Yuna's grip on him was finally released.

Taking off in an almost mad dash, Muzui ended up carrying the boy's body as Yuna would end up falling behind if she were to do it herself. Past the destruction and flames, they were able to see an area where the buildings were nearly intact albeit singed by the fire and had their glass windows bashed in, the area was yet to be set ablaze. Frantically sprinting, Yuna heard a creaking noise before she rolled to the side as a burning house collapsed near them.

ROAR!!!

Past the clouds of smoke, they could make out an outline of a massive winged creature behind the dust. Its eyes would glow in a golden light as it stared down at them, "Crap, this thing is still here." Yuna cursed as she took up her sword preparing to fight the monster only to be stopped by the arm of Muzui.

"Find the wooden sign and you'll be able to treat his wounds," He told her while handing Tamaki to her. Before Yuna could even start a protest, Muzui unsheathed his katana and dashed forward in a blink as he left after the beast. She heard the sounds of fighting beyond the smoke before a beam of light broke through and was aimed towards the sky, slicing a cloud in half.

Shaking off the distraction, Yuna placed it upon herself to find her way towards the place that Muzui told her to go. Behind her, she felt the shockwaves of houses being demolished followed by an explosion, worrying for her partner, Yuna muttered, "Don't die."

She rounded a corner of a street and took a right, there she stopped in front of a wooden sign as she read the words 'Miller's Medicines & Stuff' written on it. A smile popped on her face as she beamed, the place itself looked like a small store as pots of medicinal herbs and plants sat at the front. Yuna thought that Sylvia would enjoy ransacking this place if she were here, shaking her head Yuna stayed focus and burst through the door breaking the lock.

Her eyes traveled to the shelves which held a dozen of many various potions of different shapes, colors, and sizes. Yuna grabbed a handful and brought it close to her face as a small description of the item was brought up. Clicking her tongue, Yuna threw away every other potion as she looked for a healing potion but to her disbelief, the place only had common medicine which is used to treat colds and other common illnesses,

"Not this, not this one either-argh! Where is it!?" Search as she might, the girl was only able to find common medicines, she turned to another shelf, no luck, then to another then another, and another until she had finally scoured the whole store into a giant mess. Running back towards Tamaki who was laying down on a sofa, his blood would end up dripping into the wooden floor which Yuna feared seeing.

You promise to join me and clear the dungeon?! A familiar yet almost distant voice sounded at the back of Yuna's head as she intensely rummaged through a rack of potions.

Knowing how reckless you could be, yes. I'm going to make sure you don't fall into a spike trap again. This time, the voice was that of a man's. Deep and mature, Yuna was reminded of the smile that she was used to seeing on his face.

Oi oi! You two better not be planning on clearing a dungeon without me! The voice of Muzui emerged, this time he sounded much younger than he did.

Snooze you lose, I already have him booked. It the voice of young Reika talking as she taunted Mizuku with her tongue sticking out.

No fair! I also want to join! Mizuku said in protest.

So what dungeon are we clearing today? A different voice appeared this time around, it belonged to a muscular tanned man with wavy locks of hair.

Yay! Dungeon clearing! Can't wait to buy a new pair of boots!~ A woman's voice happily echoed as she declared.

You just bought new boots yesterday... A quiet low toned voice spoke, it came from a dark-haired man who had pale skin.

Ehhh, it's supposed to be me and leader! Go clear a dungeon on your own! Young Reika selfishly puffed her cheeks at them. She received a flick to the forehead as a result of saying those words, Ack!

I think you're forgetting something important here. We work better as a team than just the two of us, like it or not. Looking up, Reika saw the man smiling at her. Her eyes would travel back towards the others that she had just bad-mouthed, they stared at her not with glares but with smiles. We're a team and no team leaves their teammates behind, don't forget that.

Hehehe, there he goes again with his wisdom. Typical boomer. Mizuku ended up laughing which caused the others to laugh as they pointed at the man.

"You guys...I won't fail this time!" As if receiving encouragement from those few distant memories, Yuna's pacing intensified. She picked up some narcotics from a rack and forced some into the boy's mouth to numb his senses of the pain he was in, turning around her surroundings, Yuna procured a small wooden box from behind a shelf.

She opened it and saw a roll of string and a 3 cm long needle. Yuna lit a candle using the flames outside then went ahead and heated the tip of the needle she was holding till it flared into a pinkish color. The heat of the needle burned through her skin as she held it but all of the pain she felt, she ignored by simply continuing.

After tying the piece of string into the needle, she gazed at Tamaki's open wound, taking a moment as she nervously gulped down her throat and started operating on the boy's wound. She hoped that the narcotics had already taken effect only to hear Tamaki wince as she pierced his skin, "Sorry, please hold out a little longer." She persuaded the lad to hold on because her task was going to be a harsh one.

Yuna had to shut the boy's voice out of her head as she tried to ignore his pained squeaks and groans. Thankfully Yuna was able to close the boy's wounds completely, but she wasn't able to make up for the blood that he has already lost as Tamaki was still looking pale. She ended up grabbing his hand, "You doing ok there buddy?"

No response. The only thing she got close to a reply was a slight nod at the boy's part.

Yuna was slightly relieved by his response albeit worried by his state, she still feels happy that he was hanging there. Though, their silence was only a passing moment because as soon as Yuna let a sigh out, the glass windows behind her exploded into shards as a disgruntled groan was heard.

A pointy-witch-hat-wearing Mage, known as Sylvia, righted herself as she stood up and dusted all of the dust from her body. She looked around her then saw Yuna and Tamaki, "Yuna! Tamaki-kun! I'm so glad to see you two!" She ran over and hugged Yuna.

"Oof, y-yeah, I'm glad to see you too Sylvia-san," Yuna awkwardly pulled out from the embrace. "What's going on, why did you crash into that window over there?"

Sylvia had a confused look at first as she recalled what happened, then in an instant, her face turned serious, "We have to get out of here before the Wyvern gets to us!" Just as she said that. An entire half of the building burst into pieces, a roar bellowed an ear-piercing sound as Yuna was swept off her feet by a pair of hands.

"Thank me later," Grinning, Yuna saw Muzui carrying her while sprinting out of a window. Instead of being surprised by the situation she was in, she focused solely on the Tamaki which Muzui anticipated, "Don't worry, the kid's with the others."

Yuna heard a fiddle playing behind them, peering over to see Viola, Surgiu, Aldyn, and Sylvia all running close behind them. For some odd reason, Viola was riding atop one of Aldyn's shoulders while also playing some background music, "Wha..." The female Aquilan looked confused.

"Don't worry, I'm just as confused as you are," Muzui told her.

"Put your back into it!" At the other side, Sylvia was shouting at the top of her lungs towards a certain dark-haired man who was also carrying Tamaki. Surgiu said no complaints as he sprinted across a dozen falling debris and hopping across a few roadblocks.

"Where the heck were you guys when those men attacked!?" Shooting a curious look, Yuna expected a good explanation from them. Let's just say she got a half-decent summary.

"We were fighting that thing behind us!" Sylvia shot.

"Also we took care of those guys, the ones called Shepherds, I think?" Aldyn followed.

"Where is that girl when we need her!?" Surgiu shouted.

"I think she's waiting for us at the gates!" Viola replied. If Yuna and Muzui were being honest, they understood little to nothing in that reply.

But the two of them knew one thing, and that is that they had a plan. The plan was simple. Get the heck out of this place before they get eaten, simple as that.

"Incoming!" Alerted the Mage as all of them immediately scattered to the side. Yuna was blinded by a flash of bright light then in an instant, she heard a loud bang followed by the ground trembling as a trail of blazing destruction was left behind where they were. The once narrow paved road lined with houses, only a smoking trail of what used to be rows of houses remained a line of scorching soil.

"Good call," Aldyn complimented Sylvia, earning a smug thumbs up in response.

"Claws behind you!" Viola's voice caught everyone off guard as a giant clawed hand was directed towards Surgiu from behind. The Assassin rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack as a part of his clothing was ripped open by the razor-sharp claws.

"Close one, nice save!" Surgiu yelled back as they continued their escape and almost nearly seeing the edge of the town's gates. Across a few houses, they saw a path leading to the gates. They took a detour to the left, the ground below them quaked furiously as glowing fissures emanated ethereal miasma from the cracks.

Thanks to that sudden earthquake, the group had to stop running or risk getting crushed by the buildings which collapsed in front of them. They weren't crushed by any buildings, however, but instead, they were bombarded by a roar as a long whip-like tail smashed through the houses and directly towards them. They each did their own thing, the others ran to the other side while others ducked below the tail-swipe.

"Crap, we're so close!" Cursing under his breath, Muzui looked up to see the Wyvern's mouth wide open as an orb of light flickered inside its mouth. Yuna's eyes widened as she saw the beast charging up for a beam at this close range.

The ones out of its range were Sylvia and the others as they stood meters from the two. Attempting to save them, Sylvia was about to cast a spell of her own till a strong gust of wind blew against her, stopping her from even uttering a single phrase of her spell. Another explosion followed as an enormous amount of dust clouded the area where Yuna and Muzui stood. The Wyvern's attack was so strong that it created another crater albeit smaller than the first one.

"No!" Viola gasped as she dropped her instrument.

"Damn it! We were too late!" Yelled Surgiu as he stared at the destruction left behind.

Sylvia would fall to her knees, taken aback by what just happened. Just when they thought that the two of them were gone, the smoke cleared, revealing a barrier protecting Yuna and Muzui inside of it. Standing in front of them, a young silver-haired girl wearing a maid uniform while wielding a silver scythe twice the size of her body.

"You guys get to the gates! I'll take care of this!" Yuna had never met the young girl in front of her, but she somehow felt a sort of familiarity as she looked at the girl's face. The very same crimson red eyes that Yuna was used to seeing. She thought it was Tamaki standing there but taking a look at Surgiu who held the boy in his hands, she was reassured that she wasn't him.

"Got it, thanks kid," turning their back, Muzui was not wasting any more time dilly-dallying as he was focused on surviving. The others helped Yuna and Muzui get up from the crater before they started running once more. Fissures of glowing miasma started multiplying but that did not stop them.

"Finally...I find you." The young maid muttered, getting a low growl in response. Unlike earlier, the Wyvern was not attacking aggressively. It eyes the girl warily, looking at her with a hint of anger.

Raising her scythe right above her head with a single hand, Filicia went ahead into a stance. A great amount of pressure exuded from the little girl's frame, her face turned deathly serious.

Reacting to her presence, the beast roared and used its tail as a whip to attack her, but before it could even connect the girl vanished and appeared close to the Wyvern's face brandishing her scythe as she swung.

Yet before Filicia could even land her attack, she immediately cast a barrier as the beast opened its jaws and biting down at her shield. Once stuck in its mouth, the beast began charging up and fired a beam at the girl, sending her crashing into the ground, not wanting to let Filicia recover the beast raised its two frontal claws and ravaged the area when the girl had landed.

Rocks and wood flew across the air as the vicious barrage of claws caused tremors. After a moment, the Wyvern looked down at the cloud of dust, it inspected the cloud for any movement. When it saw none, it decided to open its mouth and fire another one of its beams.

Slash!

The moment the beast opened its jaw, it immediately shut back down as Filicia dropped a heel kick which closed its mouth followed by several slashes from her scythe until her feet reached the ground. With a thud, the beast fell on the ground, unable to move as Filicia struck its tendons to paralyze it.

Sighing to herself, Filicia released her grip on her weapon as it dematerialized into particles, she wiped a trail of blood dripping down her mouth as she overused her abilities. Turning to the still alive Wyvern, Filicia walked towards its head then knelt on a knee while staring back at it. The beast was silent and did not attack as she approached it, the girl took out a shiny black orb from her cloak then started talking, "I've already defeated you. Form a contract with me as my partner."

"Daughter of man, what is't yond I can gain if 't be true I shouldst f'rm a contracteth with thee?" It spoke, surprisingly fluent with its words.

"Is living not enough? Or are you fine with suffering as a prisoner in your mind?" Her words struck the beast, its eyes widened at what she had just told it.

"How doth thee knoweth about the beshrew?" It raised its voice with anger.

"I know of a way to relieve you of your suffering, but first, pledge your life to me as my partner." She told it. It took its time and closed its eyes, contemplating.

"V'ry well, nameth me and I shalt beest yours. May our fates beest int'rtwin'd as our souls meld into one, may what I feeleth beest yours and what thee feeleth beest mineth. If 't be true one doest wisheth to betray anoth'r, may the heavens striketh those folk with judgement blazing." It replied to her, smiling Filicia placed a hand and nodded to it.

"May you accept your new name, Zulo."

Meanwhile, Yuna and the others were at the gate's front. Only a few more steps ahead as the fissures spread behind them. Aldyn reaches out his hand towards the other side only for it to bounce on an invisible barrier, "No no no! Don't this!" Aldyn slammed his fists into the barrier keeping them inside the spell's range.

Just as when their hope was shining the brightest, it was snatched away as the fissures reach their feet. In a blinding light, their bodies were consumed by the miasma unable to do anything about it. They all shouted, hearing other voices across the town, they were the voices of other people who weren't able to get out of this place.

"My hands!" Everyone turned their heads towards