"Eliot!" She screamed as blood splattered across her face—blood from none other than him.

"Get out of here," he growled through gritted teeth. Further reinforcing his body with mana and with both hands clenched, he slammed down mercilessly on the creature with his elbows.

"KREEEEEEEEE!" Its head imploded with a sickening crunch.

"Damn it," Eliot groaned, pulling out the claw that had impaled clean through his torso. He collapsed to his knees immediately after, pressing his hands against the wound in a desperate attempt to stop the flow of blood, but it was too deep—far too deep.

"Eliot!" Nora reached him, dropping down to assess the bleeding mess before her.

"We have to stop the blood loss! Do you have any healing potions on you?" she asked, visible fear creeping into her voice.

"I… don't," he forced out between labored breaths.

"Don't move, you idiot!" She pushed him back down as he attempted to stand, then frantically tore a strip of cloth from her own clothing. She tied it amateurishly around the wound, trying desperately to staunch the profuse flow of blood, but it wasn't working nearly as well as she'd hoped.

GRRRRRRRRRRR!

Eliot's expression darkened instantly. He gripped her firmly by the shoulders and locked eyes with her, his gaze intense and unwavering.

"Run."

With that single word, he shoved her away from him. Gritting through the pain, he forced himself to his feet just as several wolf-like creatures emerged from the shadows—massive beasts towering over him with no visible eyes, only faces that split grotesquely apart to reveal a horrifying volume of teeth arranged in layers upon layers, like tunnels of razor-sharp daggers.

"Eliot! Ahhhh!" The spot where he'd thrown her led to a steep incline, and she tumbled down and away from the danger Eliot was about to face alone.

With her safely out of harm's way, Eliot manifested his sword and immediately dashed toward the first creature lunging for him.

SHOOWSH!

With one violent slash that literally tore through the air itself, Eliot severed the beast's head clean from its body. But in the very next moment, another creature appeared in his blind spot and sank its clawed hand deep into his back, digging out a disturbing amount of flesh and blood in one vicious motion.

"Argh!" Eliot groaned in agony before spinning around to deliver a devastating roundhouse kick to the side of the creature's distorted face. He used so much force that the beast was launched through the forest, colliding violently with a tree trunk before dropping to the ground motionless… or at least, it appeared that way.

Now only three remained—two flanking a larger one that seemed to be the alpha of the pack, judging by the overwhelming bloodlust radiating from it.

Rather than charging forward to attack, Eliot backed away a considerable distance. He manifested a healing potion, feeling increasingly lightheaded from the amount of blood he was losing. He drank only half of it before storing the rest away. There was a reason for his restraint.

By this point, the creatures had realized that Eliot had no intention whatsoever of approaching them. The one at the center—clearly the leader based on the sheer level of bloodlust it was emitting—suddenly gestured with what passed for a limb. The other two immediately moved out in response, and within moments, Eliot found himself completely encircled.

GRRRRRRRRRRR!

They growled in unison, circling him slowly. Eliot kept careful track of each one's position, making sure not to be caught off guard by a surprise attack.

However, as though reading his mind, all three attacked at the exact same time.

This was a serious problem.

How was he supposed to escape this situation?

"I have to get some distance," Eliot decided quickly. He rushed toward one of the three beasts before the encirclement could tighten too much, then in a sudden explosive leap, vaulted clear over the first creature. The moment his feet touched down on the other side, he raised his hands and linked with Annabelle. In the next instant, he shot out a blazing lance of fire.

"SCREEEE!"

The impaled creature cried out in pain before collapsing, the flames engulfing it completely.

Without wasting another second, Eliot thrust both hands forward and conjured a massive ball of fire. He compressed it rapidly until it turned a deep, dangerous shade of blue, then released it.

KABOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted, destroying everything in the immediate vicinity.

But Eliot knew full well this was far from over. Then suddenly, completely unexpectedly, he lost the strength to even remain standing.

[USER'S MANA LEVEL IS CRITICALLY LOW]

[Eliot, you have to get out of here!] Nelia's voice rang urgently in his mind.

Eliot immediately turned and began running, already feeling his link with Anna severed abruptly.

"I didn't miscalculate this time," he thought desperately as he crashed through the underbrush. "I was supposed to last far longer until she returned, but my mana suddenly runs out prematurely?"

[Perhaps your subtle usage accumulated to drain a huge amount of it?] Nelia suggested.

"That's ridiculous and you know it… What REALLY happened to my mana, Nelia?" He ran through the dense forest completely out of breath, his breathing ragged and uneven, his movements growing more sluggish by the moment. But he couldn't stop—not now. After all, he knew those creatures weren't even close to the worst of what was coming. If he didn't put enough distance between himself and the rest of the pack before they caught up, then he was finished.

[You linked with Anna a while back, right?]

"Yes, it was the quickest way to eliminate those things."

[Well, I think that decision may have backfired. For whatever reason, Anna was able to utilize the seal as it ought to work.]

"I don't understand," Eliot said breathlessly, leaping over fallen trees and dodging every visible obstruction in his path.

[You still don't have the required privileges to learn the full truth about the seal, so I can't explain everything. Though what I CAN say is this: The seal is a two-way street. The same way you can take an affinity from someone, something else can be taken in return.]

"W-what?" Eliot frowned as he collapsed against a tree, completely breathless. "So… y-you're saying Anna somehow took my mana?" he asked in disbelief.

[Affirmative.]

GREEEE!

Before Eliot could turn around to react, something massive slammed into him with brutal force. In the next instant, he was launched backward, smashing through numerous trees in rapid succession until he finally collided with an enormous trunk and stopped. Blood dripped from nearly every part of his body, painting the forest floor crimson.

[What are you doing, you fool?! The plan has already gone completely astray—ditch it and save yourself!] Nelia's voice was panicked now.

"I… would have…" His vision was growing blurry, darkness creeping in at the edges. "But… I lost the ring."

[WHAT?!]

Towering directly over him now was a humanoid creature, almost ridiculous in its sheer height. It had pure white scaly skin, sharp dagger-like fangs, and a single black eye with a blood-red iris that stared down at him with predatory focus. In its massive hands, it gripped an entire tree trunk like a weapon, its sight set dead on Eliot.

Suddenly… it swung the trunk downward with devastating force.

BOOOOM!

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