Fleeting Moment

'It stopped?'

Clack!

Reflected on the cracked glass panes was now an unmoving scenery. That scenery, however, served to tell nothing about where he was. Basically, there was nothing but dense vegetation all around, and as unfortunate as it could get, there were no noteworthy details that could point to a specific area either.

"I guess I'm in the middle of nowhere then..."

Turning to where he left the duo, there was a door left hanging open alongside several corpses shoved aside carelessly. The daggers that once took their life were also gone, probably taken off by force, leaving only a trail of coagulated blood behind on each of the heads.

'Sure're quick on their feet. Now where should I go?'

June didn't have any interest in knowing why the train suddenly halted its movement. Rather, he was more curious about which way the concentrated hostile force was so he could avoid it.

The only problem was there was no way to figure that out without attracting any sort of attention.

'Hmmm....I guess I should still go this way.'

Mentally tired as he was, he didn't put much thought into his decision. Making it on a whim and regretting later was always easier than racking one's brain out.

After another glance at the outside, Jun carried on with his little journey.

***

"Kuk. Where am I?" Jolted awake, Jack found himself on the back of his buddy, who was also his assigned supervisor.

"Rick?"

"Oh, you're awake? Do you feel OK?"

That wasn't the case for Jack. As much as he wanted to say it, his body was, on the contrary, so sluggish he didn't believe he could even move right now.

"Let me down."

"Sure."

Slowly but surely, Jack was put onto the most comfortable chair around. Having cooled down, the pain from his wounds was catching up to him, causing him to bite his lip involuntarily.

"Agh."

"Don't move too much, young master. I need to patch your wounds."

'Hm?'

The pain was constantly eating away his mind, but there was something that caught his eye today - his bleeding thumb. Somehow, there were visible bite marks he'd never find there.

"This..."

For some reason, he couldn't recall how or why it got there, as any attempt of that would only result in nothing. All blank.

'Come to think of it...Didn't I pass out?'

Although his memory was a blur due to a side effect of his [Berserker], his body could remember the sensations.

One moment, he was killing enemies left and right hysterically, and in another, he fell so quickly that even his head couldn't register anything meaningful.

As his arm shook uncontrollably, he realized it was best not to remember anything.

Something horrendously terrifying was waiting at the end of the road, so said his guts.

'Curious.'

"Is something wrong, young master?"

During his contemplation, Rodrick had finished covering more than half of his body in bandages.

It could be said he had grown so masterful at it that Jack felt proud seeing his speed.

"Nothing. Did anything happen while I was out, though?"

"Nothing much, Sir." Rodrick paused a little before continuing, "...We did encounter another student who seemed to be running away?"

"Another student?"

"Yes. I believe his name was.....Ah, I didn't ask for his name."

"I see....That's fine." Jack nodded. "If he's running away, we have no business with him."

"I guess that's true-"

"ACK! Gentle, gentle, Rick."

A displeased expression appeared on Rodrick's face as he tightened the white bandage in quick succession.

"AGH! UGH! That hurts, Rick!"

"This is because you use Berserker too recklessly, young master."

Jack wanted to retort, but he knew Rodrick was right.

[Berserker] was a skill that, once used, wouldn't let the user stop before his body either ran out of fuel or Ether. For the price of rationale, the user gained a massive boost of power, resilience, and battle instinct.

To use it is to be straight-up suicidal. It is to run it down and fight without a care for who your opponents are.

"My bad, my bad, OK? So please don't do that again.....?"

Jack looked at Rodrick pitifully. Rodrick smiled back.

"AAAAAGH!"

"Hmph! You should be thankful that such a wonderful friend is around to keep an eye on you."

Rodrick knew his friend wasn't using the skill without basis. The numerous wounds scattered on both their bodies were proof of how dangerous the situation was. Since they only measured up to middle Level 1 at most, whereas the majority of their adversaries already seemed to be near or above Level 2, [Berserker] was the only card that kept them going.

Moreover, they were mostly doing ambushes as well, with Jack doing the killing and Rodrick in charge of healing and planning.

And yet, their conditions were no good either as things weren't all smooth sailing.

It just went to show how frontal attacks were just way too risky and inefficient, and that even though [Berserker] didn't fit such a style, they had no better choices.

"...At least I didn't hurt anyone unjustifiably, no?"

"I....Yeah..."

Rodrick sighed, staring at his friend now covered in bandages like a mummy. He was reminded of that strange brief encounter, and how relieved he felt when Jack's [Berserker] was stopped. At that point, he didn't even care enough to wonder how the guy stopped Jack despite seeming so weak at first glance.

'I really don't know if it's a blessing or a curse that you can kill without batting an eye, Jack.'

"Is something wrong?"

At least Jack needn't face the other side of the consequences yet. That alone was enough for Rodrick, who didn't want his friend to be hurt.

"No." Rodrick shook his head. "You should take a short rest, young master. I'll watch."

"But..."

Jack was troubled. Rodrick was as drained if not more than him, having chased his [Berserker] state with no rest around. Even if it was part of his job, Jack didn't want Rodrick to exhaust himself.

"Just sleep."

However, Rodrick was just as stubborn.

"..."

"..."

"....Fine."

"Good."

Bitterly, Jack put himself to sleep, his tiredness soon overwhelmed his mind.

"...."

Looking at Jack's relaxed face, Rodrick had a peace of mind as the corners of his mouth curved up. It certainly wasn't a good time to rest, not at all, but Jack had done so much for both of their survival that Rodrick would feel guilty for not doing this.

"Now, what should I do-"

BOOOOOOMMMMM! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!---Thud!

A sharp explosive sound penetrated the air, accompanied by several shakings that caused Rodrick to fall to his knees.

"Ugh...What the?"

***

"Gugh Gugh Gugh Gugh-"

Standing before an ever-expanding pool of blood, Jun stared blankly at the little creature flailing in his hand.

Its appearance was reminiscent of goblins; the only differences were that it was dyed in crimson and that it had horns sprawling out of its humanoid body.

"Imps? No..."

Something felt strange about the "Imp". Its looks were undoubtedly similar to some extent, but it was just not the same thing according to his instinct.

'I guess I should refresh my memories soon. These things used to be so familiar.'

As it tried scratching June's arms with its claws to no avail, he tightened his grip on its neck. A smeary, disgusting mist began to surround its head.

"GAAAAAAAGGGH!"

"Nothing, huh?"

SPLASH!

The creature's body exploded into a puddle of blood, joining its "comrades" as June proceeded.

"Just what is even happening for these to be here?" He sighed, considering his option to turn back.