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Things seemed to be getting worse by the minute for Ren. He was only here to support his master but she seemed to have been keen on not communicating, to just continue to fight on with Yoshihide.
If only they could come to some sort of agreement. But the fight had grown far too intense, he was planning to step in. Hand on his blade, body tilting forward-
“Stop, this is between me and her. I don’t need you to assist me”
Those were the words of his master, said in a cold and callous tone. He wondered why he still followed this woman despite how little she cared for him. No, that was false; he was aware of the why. He was just frustrated that he couldn’t help her any more other than this.
Nonetheless this wasn’t his battle to fight. And his feet began to move, quickly passing the sinners, running around as he continued to ponder. Thoughts drifting in various directions but all returning back to the fate of his master. Her death was a certainty he had to accept that fact.
He could serve better fighting at a different location. The middle nursefather could certainly use some help from what he had heard, though it would be a long time before he’d reach. Thus it seemed like only one choice would remain, to assist those from the ring.
And that woman. Hopefully with her life on the line he hoped that the two of them would actually be able to cooperate. He wasn’t interested in a verbal spat like earlier. Things would have to end quickly or else just like his master they would all be doomed. And despite his antagonistic feelings for Albina, he didn’t want her to die. He didn’t want any of them to die.
He clicked his tongue as his mood soured. He’d deal with her but he wasn’t happy. If only he hadn’t been forced into making the choice to assist her.
Then again neither of the apprentices were easy to deal with…well Lucio wasn’t too bad, they did seem to have some sense of camaraderie. Though Lucio had his own problems. Something he wished he could help him with. But he couldn’t break rank.
As thoughts continued to race through his head, he found himself approaching the battle area. Calisto’s voice echoed out as he seemed to prattle on about his art, though it seemed like he was almost afraid.
“What?” Ren said gulping in fear as he watched Calisto clash with a member of Limbus Company
But this man seemed different from the one they met last time. He was now taller and far stronger than what he had observed earlier. What kind of power did he seem to have tapped into?
It was a one sided fight. Calisto was being manhandled while Albina could do nothing as her attacks were easily deflected by this strange man. No, not just that. The way the man attacked. Each strike had been delivered with pure hatred. It was an intense and overwhelming feeling that made him freeze in place.
In a blink Calisto was dead, scattered into rubble from the sinner’s attack. The shock of the Ring Maestro’s death forced Ren’s feet to move, though he was not close enough yet.
A similar attack aimed for Albina, immediately striking and shattering Fascia, her weapon. The pieces scattered onto the ground, a mixture of metal and guts. A sight that most would find hard to tolerate.
“N-No why did you do that? If you were planning to kill her you should have just killed me” Albina looked down
She gave up. Even as Sinclair rushed towards her, she didn’t move. After all without Fascia, what reason did she have to exist? It was all hollow.
Though her survival instinct suddenly kicked in as she noticed his weapon. And she made an attempt to dodge.
But that was cut off by Sinclair’s halberd, striking at her. It wasn’t at full power but it destroyed a bit of her face, the eye socket now hollow, matching her own emotions.
“I was getting to that”
Sinclair grabbed his halberd and rushed forward, swinging it down onto her-
But it struck Ren’s blade that barely managed to deflect it.
“So there were more of you? It doesn’t matter I’ll finish the job”
The Green Deliverance rained a few more strikes at Ren. Even though they were just normal non-empowered strikes, Ren still seemed to be having an issue with clashing against them.
“You’re far too powerful” Ren said as he attempted to catch his breath, “You weren’t supposed to be this powerful Sinclair!”
“That’s true. I need to be powerful to survive. I’ll let you go if you surrender, not everyone needs to die after all” The green deliverance said, not even glancing towards Ren
“And you’ll be killing her then?” Ren asked, his knees screaming in pain as he forced himself to stand up
“Yes, she deserves to die. After turning her body into that monstrosity. Like her master she will soon be at peace” Sinclair said, eyes gazing into Ren’s almost peering past them
Ren took another deep breath
“That won’t happen” he said as launched forward
His blade met Sinclair’s, both weapons constantly clashing. Each strike pushed Ren back further until he stepped to the side and managed to pull out a lucky hit, actually striking at Sinclair's shoulder.
But even as he bled, he didn’t seem too miffed. His halberd sped up, strikes almost instantly overwhelming Ren who had been relegated to defense. The strikes cut and formed various tears all over his body.
Albina watched the entire fight confused. She wondered why he was even fighting for her. There was no reason after all, especially how clearly he seemed to show his disdain. The hollow feeling seeped into her thoughts, her hopelessness manifesting in the tone of her voice.
“Why are you doing this? He said he’d let you go if you just surrendered, why are you trying to protect me?” she asked, “Just leave! I see no reason that you should be dragged into this as well. Especially since you seem to despise me. Well now I’ll be dead soon enough. Fascia is gone and I’ll leave next. I have no reas-”
Ren's laugh interrupted her as his breath remained ragged, blood pooling down from all the cuts scattered over his body. His feet were shaky but eyes were still determined, despite how bloodshot they seemed to be.
“That is an interesting question, I’d like you to answer it as well” Sinclair said, momentarily stopping his assault, “Think of it as granting your last wish. You may be a despicable creature but I don’t mind fulfilling this tiny wish”
Ren looked at Sinclair and then at Albina
“..I’m not sure” he took another deep breath, “My purpose, I was just following after my master. I was happy that she believed that I could become the Dihui star eventually. But I know that isn’t going to happen, she’s going to die to Yoshihide and so will everyone else if I don’t do something”
“But I don’t have a reason to live anymo-”
“Shut up!” Ren shouted, interrupting her
It was the first time he ever raised his voice.
“You spoke about Fascia. Do you think Fascia would want you to die?” he asked, staring straight at her
“The answer is no,” he said, continuing, “So are you going to make Fascia unhappy by throwing your life away or are you going to help me defeat this monster?”
He finally took another step
“Monster is harsh-”
His halberd rushed forward, piercing into Ren’s chest
“But also fair”
Ren coughed out blood as Albina rushed to his side.
He glared at Sinclair as a pale blue glow surrounded his body.
“Luckily- one of my sword abilities helps shield me. The wound you inflicted wasn’t as deep as you thought” Ren said
“Surprising. Well it seems you’re going to aid this filth, so I have no choice but to take you out first. I truly am sorry about this” Sinclair said giving Ren a look of pity as he raised his Halbeard and swung at him
But the attack was repelled. Albina’s arm shielded him, though of course it had been transformed into a sword.
With both her arms now turned into swords, she swung at Sinclair. But he just stepped back, ready to retaliate with another swing.
Though mid swing Ren struck with his sword. Almost losing it as his arms screamed out in pain.
“Thanks, though we don’t have time to chat. I don’t think he can last too long in this state, so let’s just overwhelm with every ounce of strength we have” Ren said as he wiped some blood of his lip and smiled
“Affirmative. I need to make sure to get revenge for Fascia!” Albina said as she rushed forward
Ren let Albina lead. While supporting her with attacks whenever he could. Every time Sinclair would attempt to attack. They’d quickly strike at him, one after the other. Not giving him a chance to do so. Though all those attacks put a heavy toll on their bodies and they knew they wouldn’t last long.
“You two are far more annoying than I thought, I need to end this now” Sinclair said, his body glowing
Albina interrupted with an attack.
“You’re not pulling off another of those” Ren said slashing at him
His sword clashed against Sinclair’s halberd, the light continuing to emanate.
Sinclair smiled, “I’ve already succeeded, you’re right where I need you”
The energy around Sinclair began to shoot out. Both Albina and Ren were caught in it. But before it could grow even stronger, it stopped and exploded prematurely. Kicking up a cloud of dust and tossing them away from Sinclair.
–
“Hey”
She felt a tap on her forehead
“Are you still alive?”
She opened her single eye to see Ren.
“And it seems you are as well” she said but remained on the ground
Ren nodded, “I’m not sure what happened back there but it seemed Sinclair lost access to whatever power he had been using. It seems there truly was a time limit to it or maybe we just got lucky”
He tilted his head as he looked at her then stood up
“Either way, we can’t just wait here. We need to get going” he said as he lent her his hand
She grabbed it, then attempted to pull herself up..but failed.
“Fine, I guess we can do it like this” he said as he bent down
His hands rested under her body and he slowly raised her up in the air, in a bridal carry.
“This is certainly unique” she said
“Well I just hope none of the other members see this. That would be pretty embarrassing. Well Kira would be the worst, so maybe anyone but her” he said, his face slightly red from embarrassment
Albina pouted.
“Oh so you don’t want to be seen holding me in your arms is that it?” she asked as she turned away
“Not exactly and why are we arguing about this. We have more important things to worry about” he said, “And just to be clear I don’t dislike you as much as you think”
He sighed. And she seemed to turn back to him, watching his expression through her single eye.
“But you always seem to be in a bad mood whenever I’m around. Was that all an act?” she asked
“No, not quite. I will admit I could have been better with how I communicated. So now I want to take the moment and communicate things through. So do you mind if I carry you on my back instead?” he asked
She almost wanted to reject it instinctively, enjoying this bridal carry thing though more so it was the embarrassed look on his face that she wanted to prolong. Ren, he really was strange. Surprisingly she didn’t hate him as much now, perhaps because they almost died. Along with the fact that they actually managed to fight together, it wasn’t something she thought could happen.
“So… You still haven’t answered me yet?” he said, looking at her still in his arms
“...Fine, I’ll get on your back” she said as she tried to wriggle out of his hands
“Careful now” he said as he slowly lowered her down, holding onto her for a bit until she managed to stand
“I’m fine, I don’t need you to treat me like a ch-”
He caught her as she almost tripped, “I think I’ll treat you like the injured person you are, now come on”
He carefully let go of her hand, facing his back to her. This entire situation felt strange, he could feel his heart racing but not due to the fights they just dealt with.
Nonetheless he attempted to shake those thoughts o-
“Ahhn”
He quickly covered his mouth.
“That was a strange sound” Albina said as she hugged him from behind
“That- I was just surpris- Forget it! I was distracted with unnecessary though- ugh…now you’re just poking at my injuries”
Albina’s fingers ran along his shoulders.
“I’m just surprised you managed to survive all of that, that blade of yours really seemed to help a lot” she said, pressing up against him
“Yes it did, though I’m not sure where it is at the moment so if we get caught in another fight we’re done for. And I don’t think you’re capable of fighting either. Guess we need to find a place to hide”
He began to walk. Light and careful steps, he took his time with each movement as he still hadn’t recovered completely. His feet still burned as he kept moving but the pain gradually began to grow more dull.
As he continued to walk his thoughts moved back to her
“I never properly checked up on you. You are fine, yes?” he asked
“I am fine, though it does hurt a lot. I’m sure the same is true for you”
He cracked a smile, “Yep and having to carry you around in this state only makes it worse- Stop I was just kidding. It does hurt but not enough for me to abandon you”
And the silence resumed as she stopped wriggling and he began to continue to walk.
“Your master, what do you think of her?” she asked
“Hmm I thought we would ignore this topic for a bit longer”
He continued to think as his feet moved forward, “I’m not really sure. She was definitely pretty secretive with her life. Choosing to only talk to me about Yoshihide, though there were those odd moments during which her personality shined through. She’s certainly a strange person, then again anyone aged up like her would be”
“I see. It seems you do respect your master quite a bit” she said
“Of course, she’s the reason why I even became an apprentice. And if needed I would follow her to the afterli- Ouch, what was that for?” he asked rubbing his shoulder
“You’re not allowed to talk about dying, especially after you’ve now forced me to live-”
She stopped talking but Ren caught on to what she said.
“I don’t know if I completely understand but what I do know is you’ve lost a lot. A lot of what made you yourself. With Calisto gone, maybe it's around time you think about what you truly want. I guess the same is true for me, I know my master is going to lose her life when she clashes with Yoshihide” He said, sorrow laced in his words
“And you’re fine with it”
“It was her choice, I couldn’t contend with it”
“And what are you going to do from now on”
“I have no clue. I’ve spoken a bit about myself, so I’d like to hear a bit about you”
“There’s not much to say” she said pushing her face into his back
“I don’t mind, the silence is unnerving. I’d prefer to listen to you speak until we find some way out. The house should have working exits despite how problematic things are”
She stayed silent.
He wasn’t sure whether she was just thinking or had decided against speaking.
“I’ll talk, though I haven’t thought about this stuff for a bit”
He nodded
“For most of my life I was just following after Calisto. Just like you he had chosen me. I always wanted him to praise my art, to say that I’d done a good job. But that day never came. In the end I decided that I couldn’t create my own art, that I should only imitate his”
She paused
“And I assumed it didn’t go well?” he asked
“It didn’t. He hated it but from that point on I had been stuck in a rut. I had focused so badly on trying to impress him but it was meaningless. I couldn’t do anything, I was forced to just constantly repeat what I learnt from him. Never innovate, just keep at those same bland archaic techniques stagnating everything”
The silence returned as a few more steps passed.
“What does art mean to you?” she asked
He stopped walking as he began to think about it.
“That’s not something I can answer. If you’re looking for some sort of direction from my perception of art, you won’t find any. I haven’t thought about art. It’s the same for many things, all I focused on was to improve my bladework. Though in the end that could be considered an art as well. Good bladework does have its own sort of beauty to it”
She giggled, “It seems like you do have an interpretation of art despite your earlier comments”
He began walking again.
“It seems you’re right. Thinking through it all. I feel like I’ve been missing all sorts of experiences. And it makes me feel sad. There’s so much out there but I’ve been confined to this house for most of my life… Am I rambling too much?” he asked
“You are. But I don’t mind, your voice calms me. Even though it used to irritate me just a while back. Seems like almost experiencing death has led to us both reassessing things. Thinking about what truly matters” she said
“What truly matters?” he said aloud as his feet continued to move, “If we manage to get out of here. I’d like to experience more things. While I haven’t given up on my goal of becoming the Dihui Star. I’d like to focus on something else in the meantime. Something that I can truly devote myself to so I can reassess things like you said”
“And I’ll be right beside you. Now that Fascia is gone-” she paused as she hugged him tighter, “I feel so alone. I know I’m just forcing myself onto you. But I just don’t want to be alone”
His body flared from his cuts being pressed on. But there was also a warmer feeling that filled his chest. Something comforting that caused him to place his hand on hers.
“You won’t be alone. I saved you and I’ll have to keep doing so. We’re both going to live, we’re going to make it out of her. So don’t worry, just stay by my side” he said rubbing her hand as their fingers intertwined
He continued walking for a little longer until they found an area almost entirely covered in rubble but with a gap that would allow the two of them to hide.
“We’ll have to hide here for a bit. It’s pretty well hidden so we should be safe. Then once we’ve recovered our strength let’s rush out using one of those hidden exits. And we should be safe”
Albina looked at the tiny gap where they were supposed to hide.
“Seems like it’s going to be a tight fit. I see why you chose this place to hide” she said with a smug smile
“Chose- As if I willingly chose this- Haah nevermind. I’ll just head in first” he said pushing carefully into the gap and pulling his legs in
“Now come in. You can tease me all you want later, after you get in here”
The gap was just big enough to fit around two people. Along with having some space to stretch one’s hands.
“I’m entering. Try not to touch me in any inappropriate places. I’m sure you can easily take advantage of this situation if you-”
Ren grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her in, forcing his hand over her mouth.
Soon they both heard whispers in the distance. They weren’t sure whether it was an enemy or an ally and they didn’t have the luxury to try and find out.
Albina could hear Ren’s heartbeat as her ear was pressed against his chest. It was loud, thumping against her body. And she seemed to enjoy listening to it.
Eventually the whispers died down. And they were all alone once more.
“Sorry that I just pulled you in but we can’t get caught here… Are you listening?” he asked as he looked down at her
She had her eyes closed, listening to his heartbeat.
“I am. I was also listening to your heartbeat, it’s pretty pleasant. I wish you could hear it as well. Especially since it’s beating so fast… Even though those whispers vanished, your heart beat still seems just as loud. Why is that?”
He sighed, “Because I’m pressed up against you. How embarrassing, just stop listening to my heartbeat”
“Sorry I can’t do that. So you really do see me as a woman… Hug me” she whispered the last part
Though Ren heard it. And he gently wrapped his hands around her body, softly petting her head with one hand. Causing her to smile and nuzzle into his chest.
“Does this mean you have feelings for me, Ren?” she asked, still nuzzled into his chest unable to meet his eyes
“I don’t know,” he said as he rested his cheek against her forehead, “This is all new to me, having these sorts of emotions. But I don’t dislike it, I don’t dislike holding you close. Leaning on you. All I know is that I don’t want to let you go, I did say I’d take responsibility after all”
He planted a kiss against her forehead and smiled
“That’s good enough… for now” she said, “Let’s get out of here Ren. I’m finally ready to leave this place forever. As long as I can have a future with you beside me”
Ren chuckled but nodded.
“It’s about time. Let’s go Albina” he said as he held her hand
And the two of them left. They managed to finally escape through a secret exit and would have to lay low until things calmed down. But they were ready to start again, together.