4 | Crimson

Fanny slaps the back of Gusion's head, "This is NOT the time for jokes, you dimwit!"

"I wasn't joking!" Gusion protests, shooting daggers at Fanny with a small pout. "And dimwit? That's new. Anyway, I wasn't kidding, I'm serious."

Fanny knew that she was the only person who couldn't handle the loading phase, but Gusion thought otherwise. Gusion also ended up breathless during his first few battles in the Land of Dawn, but regardless of the fact that he was just new to this world unlike Fanny, he was able to get used to it easier. Perhaps it was because of the magic he had in him, the ability of his to control light. In the moments he spent in that cold, dark abyss, he'd always place his hand above his heart, the holy, white light emanating from his palm providing him with warmth.

Fanny's breath was shaking, coming in short puffs. She couldn't help but think of the possibility of Gusion's suspicion being true. Fanny was aware that she wasn't real, that she was just a character in a game—but if she didn't belong in this digital world, wouldn't that mean that she'd lose her purpose of existing? The thought of not truly being a part of anything made her lips quiver.

Gusion purses his lips, seeing the way Fanny was reacting.

"Look into my eyes when I say this," Gusion leans closer to Fanny, his eyes locking with her amber irises, "I love you."

Fanny gasps, raisinh her hand to give Gusion a slap in the face—in which the man covers his cheeks as a response. "BLOODY HE—"

Tigreal's palm catches Fanny's, both the assassins shiver at the tall figure beside them. "That's enough, both of you. How insolent! This makes me doubt your credibility of being the two most powerful assassins in the land of dawn."

"I. . Ah—uhm" Fanny splutters, unable to speak from the embarrassment. When has she ever disappointed her brother like this? She couldn't recall the most recent time she's been scolded. "I-I apologize, sir."

Tigreal exhales, "We don't need such foolish behaviour in the the Chivalric Order, Fanny. I expect you to focus on this battle, and train more after this ends."

"Of course, sir."

Gusion stares at Fanny with a look of regret on his face. Fanny's head stooped low; for the first time in years, she'd managed to displease her brother that she respected, much to her chagrin.

"Stop wasting time and get back to your lanes," Tigreal pauses and turns to Gusion, "Focus on winning, your actions are delaying the game's flow."

"Y-Yeah," says Gusion, avoiding eye contact with the knight before him, the hard gaze sent towards Gusion setting him on edge. Without a word, the tank moves and heads to the bottom lane. Fanny ignores the feeling of Gusion's eyes following her and lets herself be propelled by her cables.

Gusion sigha, a frown forming on his face. Why was it so difficult to tell Fanny what he thought? He had an idea as to why they were both affected by the loading phase, but for some reason, he'd do something stupid instead of getting straight to the point with the woman and telling her what he thought was the truth.

Not paying attention to how he was running, he accidentally trippa himself on his own foot and falls to the ground. "Agh!" Gusion grunts, feeling a sting on his hand. He pushes himself off of the ground and dusts the dirt off his clothes, stopping when he noticed a small gash on his palm.

Curious, he runs a finger across the realistic looking wound. Gusion's action makes himself hiss, what was this? They never felt pain from a wound in this world, and the blood was always holographic, made of small red orbs—but what WAS this?

Gusion chooses to ignore it and continues running, thinking of it as nothing serious.

× × × × ×

"Are you serious?!" Harith exclaims, frustrated. "Why are there so many of you again?!"

"It's called ganking, kid," Gusion grins haughtily, earning a scowl from the Leonin. The memory of the mysterious wound was long gone from Gusion's mind at this moment. "Make sure you study more after we beat you in this battle."

Kagura tosses out her umbrella, but misses due to Harith's ability to dash. This flatters the Leonin, removing the frown off his face, "I admire your focus, Kagura."

Suddenly, Harith's lips twists into an audacious sneer, his eyes showing the enhanced bloodlust that he got from killing the turtle, "But you weren't focused enough to see this coming!"

As if on cue, Hayabusa's shadow engulfs Kagura making her squeal, surprised. Gusion cusses, and Tigreal's eyebrows furrow. Minotaur was on top lane with Fanny, trying to push to tower that no one was defending—and that's when Gusion realized.

He tries to teleport, but Diggie reverses time and pulls Gusion back to the exact same position. Dexter's holographic clone sets itself right in front of the two men, and within a millisecond, Claude appears in it's place.

"Ganking, you say?" Claude laughes, "Let's get this started, then!"

A bullet hits Gusion's shoulder, the force slightly pushing him back. "Claude, STOP!"

The marksman freezes, eyes locked on the blood spilling from the bullet wound on Tigreal's heart. Kagura cries out in pain and collapses to the ground, thus making Hayabusa immediately cut off his ultimate skill. He kneels beside the girl, his hands shaking as he tries to figure out what was wrong with her.

There weren't red orbs on the gashes on her body, but instead, what poured from her wounds was something that they've never seen before.

But that didn't mean that they didn't know what it was.

The ninja lets out a yell, the fire shot by the turret burning his arm—hurriedly, he summons a shadow outside of the turret's range and teleports to it with Kagura's unconscious body in his arms.

"Why. ." Hayabusa chokes, tears started to spill from his bloodshot eyes. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

As Tigreal coughs up red liquid, Gusion stares in shock with wavering eyes.

Blood.

Harith grunts and slaps his hand onto his mouth, jumping to the nearest bush to vomit. Claude, Grock, and Diggie pulls Tigreal out the red circle that the turret's crimson glow made.

Everything in Gusion's vision was red, but when he found himself unable to breathe, everything went pitch black.