"Lio."

"...Jolene."

"For somebody who trained directly under their chief for years as a kid, you sure are pretty fucking lousy, man."

Liohime chuckled, as he couldn't believe his eyes.

Jolene Aurora, the Murder-For-Hire Shinigami Soldier of Polar Town was right here with him, in the Lost Forest.

"How the….how did you…"

"What, get here? Well, while you were getting ready to sleep like a fucking baby last night, we and my squad had went through the gate to the second layer, only to find out that we were all teleported at random locations."

"Shit, seriously? That happened to me, too-"

"Didn't ask."

"Ugh."

Liohime rolled his eyes, but then took a better look at Jolene's facial features, noting various scars and wounds, as well as her iconic metallic respirator nowhere to be seen.

Now that he inspected her, actually, she was littered with wounds all over her body, and he swallowed hard.

"You look horrible," he said, while Jolene retrieved her jacket that had been used as a distraction attempt. "Just what the fuck were you doing out here during the day that got you looking so beat up?"

"A lot, let's just say that, darling. Also, you don't look so well, either. No, actually, you look worse. What the fuck are you, shooting range practice?"

"Ha ha," laughed Liohime with a clear sarcastic tone, still in pain as the blood had pretty much stopped leaking out of his body now. "Very funny, Jolene. You should do stand-up comedy."

"You'd be the first joke. You always are. Come, let me give you some first aid."

"No need, dumbass. Can't you see the bleeding has stopped?"

"What the…"

She eyed the wound on his shoulder and his leg for a few seconds, then looked right back at him with a perplexed face.

"Let me guess, you can heal from your Magical Beast now? Why the fuck are you getting cheats?"

Ask the author. He's slowly giving your boy abilities for the final fight, I reckon. (Thank you, Narrator.)

Jolene continued, "I guess that you didn't even need my help then, you fucker."

"No, I definitely disagree with that."

"Then, you need to up your game. There will come a time where I won't be able to bail you out like I constantly do, you know."

Liohime cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes.

"Constantly? Are you just making shit up now-GYAHHHHHHH!!!!"

Jolene had ripped out both arrows that had been stuck inside his healed flesh at the same time, causing him to squirm and bawl once more.

"Hey, Lio, shut the fuck up, will you? You're gonna attract attent-"

"Why the fuck!!! Did you!!! Do that!!!"

"Eh? Well…" she put her index finger up against her bottom lip and pondered before giving a proper answer.

"...Why not? The new wounds will heal anyway, so it's best that I take them both out as early as possible. Also, it's kinda fun seeing you squirm."

T-This bitch…

"You should….have at least…warned me first."

Jolene shrugged on hearing that, before extending her arm to Liohime who accepted her gesture and was hoisted up.

Right after that, however, he threw up blood, and Jolene yelped.

"A-Are you okay!?"

"...Urk…yeah….kinda. I think that was just the pooled up blood from the internal bleeding caused by the poison-tipped arrows."

"Oh, so they had poison, huh? Oke dokie, since you'll alright, go vomit somewhere else. I don't want any other bodily fluids other than your semen on my clothes, so beat it."

With that, she kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling forward and he collided face-first into the grassy earth.

"W-What is your problem, you bastard!?"

"Bwehhh!!"

Liohime cursed her, while she responded by sticking out her tongue.

Suddenly, they both heard a rustle to their left, and they both quickly got into battle positions while remaining close to each other.

"Heads up, Shrimpdick."

"Ugh. I'm not deaf."

"Get ready to use your Magical Beast if anyth-"

Jolene's sentence was interrupted by a roar, and a monstrous variant mix of a bull and lion changed straight at Jolene within a second.

As he was right next to her but out of arms reach, Liohime used vines that shot out of his arm and pshed her out of harm's way, making the beast focus on him.

At that moment, his magical powers had dissipated while a message had mentally popped up within his mindspace.

{ [Receive Abilities] has been used up. Wait until the following day to use this feature again. }

Shit.

Liohime had used up his ability, and the Magical Beast quickly slammed its jaws shut at his head.

--Or so it thought, as both of Liohime Kitagami's outstretched arms had completely held both the upper and lower jaws in place, stopping them from slamming shut and crushing his head instantly. Both of his hands had luckily been blacked between the large fangs of the best, and he was currently pushing against its gums. He continued to strain with all of his might as his muscles were being pushed beyond his limit.

Knowing that he could only keep this up for only a couple of seconds, though, Jolene backed him up, aiming her bow straight at the beast's head.

SHING! Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Bang."

With the arrow stabbing into its skull, Jolene only uttered one word, watching her explosive-tipped arrow do the rest.

POW!

Its head exploded violently, scattering its blood and brain matter onto Liohime's face and the close proximity as the rest of the Magical Beast's body motionlessly fell downwards and collided into the ground with a thump.

Liohime merely glanced over at Jolene with a disappointed face, with the blood and organs of the animal-like entity dressing his face.

"Ah, sorry about that, ahaha," mumbled Jolene, clasping her hands together apologetically, and Liohime merely sighed and averted his eyes.

Well, having her by my side is still a good sign at least. It's much better than being dead right about now, he thought.

"Saved your ass again, though."

Oh, come the fuck on.

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