The night bell tolled, marking the arrival of midnight.
Darkness swallowed the streets outside, not a single soul wandering the roads. Those still awake had long since drifted into bars and brothels. But with the Mage Knights gathered here, none would come near the Pleasure, Infinity.
So that meant there was no outside interference, no help. He was on his own.
Tello grabbed the barrel of the shotgun, raising it to his face.
Stephen couldn't shape his mana into armor the way Gila had. No matter how hard he tried, Verre's presence smothered his, suppressing every attempt at control.
So what could he do?
That was all that ran through his mind, and he forced himself to stay on that train of thought regardless of how hard it was.
What can I do?
Stephen asked himself, his head slightly raised as he stared at Tello, about to kill himself on Verre orders. Out of everything he had in his arsenal currently, what could work?
Adaptive charisma? Wouldn't work in this situation.
Lucked out? Maybe, but the odds weren't in his favor.
And maybe it didn't even matter, he couldn't know for sure he'd triggered them without the system present.
So what could he do?
He couldn't even use magic, his path was blocked and if he forced it, it would only backfire the same way it did at Rumm's place...
It would backfire... because a path was a conceptual bridge that led to the spirits of the world. When pleaded upon, these deities would allow you to walk through that road, and use their corresponding elements.
But if that bridge was closed and you forced it open, your mana warped into something destructive, tearing apart everything around it, including yourself. Still... if he could push it far enough to touch the start of the bridge, that would be enough.
"Regardless of how much I get hurt," Stephen muttered, his mana bleeding into the room, thick and unstable. Verre turned, noticing it. "As long as I don't die outright... I can heal."
"Trying to plead to the spirits?" She said, staring at him. "My mana won't allow that."
Tello brought his hand to the trigger, his finger just about to push it back.
"Definitely." Stephen said, still building pressure. "I can't call on the spirits and I've never been happier."
"What?" She asked.
"I'm so happy they can't respond to me..." Stephen smiled, "because that's the only reason I can do this."
[MP: 2000/99999]
Stephen could feel the pressure build up, like a violent stream flowing down a riverbank, all to slam against a large dam built the day before. And as his mana crashlanded against the blockage.
[MP: 700/99999]
[Elemental resonance failed]
[Lucked out]
The room exploded.
Stephen slowly stood up, the slather of dust and embers floating around the air. He could barely see anything, but he didn't have time. He knew it.
He glanced through the darkness, the lights that once graced the brothel now dead from the explosion. The entire room lay in gloom, save for the flames burning along the edges and the glints of moonlight seeping through the cracks.
"Tello!" Stephen screamed, on his knees.
He clawed through splintered wood and crumbled stone, coughing against the ash clogging his throat. Somewhere in this ruin, Tello had to be alive. He had to be.
[HP: 10/99999]
[System notification: Health is critically low, rest and wait for recovery]
"I don't have time for that." Stephen said to himself, swiping at the notification before pushing his body forward even though his legs screamed to collapse. Even though his chest did the same.
"Stephen!"
"I don't have time for this right now!" He screamed.
"Tello's by your side!" The voice said again, and this time Stephen recognized it.
"System." Stephen said, then turned to his side. Staring at Tello who lay wounded in the darkness, the sparks of burning wood at the corners of the room barely catching his face.
"What happened?" Tello asked, raising his head.
"We need to get out of here." Stephen said, grabbing Tello by the shoulder and walking out quickly.
As they made their way for the door, footsteps began to clatter behind them, all in little to no intervals.
"What happened?" came Hara's voice as he almost brought a hand to his face but stopped short.
"He has a blocked path," Verre said, rising to her feet. With one hand to the air, a ball of light erupted on her finger, the entire room lighting up at once.
"He forced himself to use magic with a blocked path?" Vivi said, coughing. "That's impossible, he would've died."
Verre glanced around the room, to Cass's charred corpse and a barely breathing Gila on the floor.
"Well he didn't," she said with a smile. "First he can bypass my aphrodisiac's effect, and now he can survive blasting his mana through a blocked path."
Verre almost shook in excitement. "What a man..." Then she turned. "Lyna, bring him to me at once. He shouldn't have gone far."
"Yes, my lady!" Lyna dashed through the door, blades in her hands.
Hara walked past, making sure his feet weren't entering any craters, then just by his side he heard the dropping of water.
He glanced over, to where Verre stood. Her eyes rolled back, her lips biting each other, and from her undergarments...
"I'll go search too." Hara turned. "He shouldn't have gone far... let's go, Vivi."
Vivi walked past, hearing the noise as well, then with a shake of her head.
"Weirdo."
She walked through the door.
The night, loomed large and beautiful, and if he wasn't currently being chased, he might've taken the time to enjoy the sight.
Still, the sky laid thick, almost like a heavy rain approached, the moon hid behind the clouds, further helping him mask his presence.
Stephen limped forward with Tello by his side, blood dripping from his head down to his arm. The explosion had slammed debris on the both of them, but Stephen would eventually recover. Tello would not.
"Get on." Stephen said, pulling Darla in by the reins.
"What?" Tello muttered, then glanced around. They were behind the brothel, by a small corner they'd built to keep the horse in.
"You'll bleed out if we don't get help soon." Stephen said, dragging Darla gently and pushing Tello onto her. The horse glanced at him, as if wanting to neigh in annoyance but didn't. As if it understood their current situation needed silence.
"I knew this night would end up bad." Tello muttered, his head slumping against Darla's mane. His body barely hanging on.
Stephen didn't say anything, he merely pushed Tello in, wanting to get up onto the horse as well, then just before he did.
Tello muttered.
"Where's Gila?"
Stephen cringed.
He'd wished Tello hadn't asked that.
"We have to get you to a doctor or something first," He said quickly, "we can deal with that later—"
"That...?" Tello instantly rose, using the last bits of his energy. "Are you saying you want to leave her behind!?"
"Shut up." Stephen calmed him down, then sighed. "She was shot alright... I doubt she's alive, and even if. It's too dangerous for any of us to go back in there, not when Verre is around."
"We're not leaving without her, Stephen." Tello managed to say, just before his words started to slur.
"We have to." Stephen jumped onto the horse, grabbing the reins in both hands.
Then just as he flicked it, a thud slammed by his side and as he glanced over. There Tello was, on the ground, crawling forward with one hand.
"What are you doing?" Stephen grimaced, "you're going to get us killed."
"She's alive." Tello muttered, dragging himself forward. "She has to be."
"What are you doing this for?" Stephen jumped off Darla, pulling Tello up with one hand and pushing him against her body. "Any second now and they'll find us for Gods sake."
"You don't care about her, do you?" Tello asked.
Stephen didn't react.
Ever since coming to this world, he'd always assumed the populace were just lines of code... but of course, no matter how much he tried to convince himself that was the case. He knew it wasn't.
These were people... real people that cried when falling, that bled when cut.
But even knowing this... he couldn't care less about anyone else that wasn't Tello.
This was his only friend, the only person he could laugh with in this world.
"I'm sorry, Tello," Stephen raised his arm.
"You're going to knock me out?" Tello said staring at him. "So you can leave without her?"
"It's for the best..."
"Is this how friends treat each other?" Tello said, eyes drooping.
"C'mon, don't say that." Stephen instantly remarked, almost as if a dagger had struck his chest.
"I don't want to live without you Stephen... and the same goes for Gila." He said. "She doesn't deserve to die here... but if she does... if you make the decision to leave her."
Tello fell over, his head dropping against Stephen's shoulder.
"I never... want... to see you again."
ARGGHHHHHH!
Stephen recoiled, his head spinning like he'd been in the center of a tornado. After thirty six years total of not having a single friend, the one he finally made was about to hate him.
Then he glanced back, to the footsteps creeping down the side of the building, each one drawing closer.
He had two options, take the easiest route out of this on Darla's back and ensure their continued survival, or head back for Gila to ensure their continued friendship.
And in Stephen's entire existence, even across both worlds. There had never been a tougher choice he'd had to make.
"Darla." Stephen quickly pushed Tello onto her, tying the rein against his elbow. "Don't go too far okay, I'll need you to get out of this."
Then he tapped her hind legs, forcing her forward.
"Go, girl!"
The sound of her hooves slamming against the ground quickly alerted them and as the mage knight pair wrapped around the building.
There was nothing there... nothing, except for a stack of hay and a bucket of water.
They nodded to each other and split up, the both of them searching the surrounding area, and as they approached the fencing walls, Stephen lay within the middle of the large hay stack, blood trickling down his abdomen.
"So you're doing this?" The system's voice came once again and now, Stephen had the time and space to respond.
"Where have you been?!" Stephen whisper-shouted, voicing his frustration.
"There was an issue with the goddess... one that isn't quite resolved yet, but I was sent back to aid you when she noticed you were in danger."
"I needed you a long time ago..." Stephen put his hand over his mouth, forcing his cough to be inaudible.
Then he brought his hand to his face, it was blood stained.
"What's my health looking like?"
[HP: 10/99999]
"You won't start regenerating for about another hour or so." The system confirmed.
"So I'm entering the second phase of a boss battle while being one shot away from total darkness." Stephen laughed at himself.
"I won't suggest that route." The system advised. "I'd hate to see you die despite what you might think."
"I'd hate to see me die too... by the way, can I ask you a question?" Stephen asked.
"Go ahead."
"Lucked Out activates regardless of scenario, as long as the changed effect would be beneficial to me, right?"
"Yes it should... so do you have a plan?" The system asked. "And please don't say the regular bullshit you do."
"That's the neat part about a new route—" Stephen cut himself off. "Oh."
"Please... don't tell me you're serious."
"I'm kidding," Stephen said, then gulped. "I have a plan. It's incredibly stupid and it can only work based on a ridiculously low variable."
"And what are the odds of it working?"
"About five percent."