The Plan

Ryuu kept running after them and evading the monsters, while also ignoring the injuries that she'd started to accumulate. Nevertheless, her efforts didn't betray her as she finally caught up with the Juggernaut and Kisuke, who were still brawling with each other.

While there were only a few cracks on the Juggernaut's head, Kisuke looked like he was already on the verge of death. Of course, this was all just visual effects created by Kisuke's spells and letting out a bit of his blood, as there was no way for the Juggernaut to even cut his skin.

Although he knew that he's a douche for trying something like this, he didn't care and wanted to see how Ryuu would adapt. 'Now then, after all that time of thinking, it's about time for you to come up with your own conclusion.'

Without thinking ahead, Ryuu jumped into the fray and smashed her sword onto the Juggernaut's head, stunning it for an instant. Although the damage she dealt was very minimal, the brief stun was enough for her goal of grabbing Kisuke and running away from the Juggernaut.

Ryuu carried Kisuke in her arms as she ran away. Soon after, the monsters that were chasing after Ryuu caught up and blocked her way. However, this didn't stop the desperate Elf's legs as she jumped into the middle of the pack and started her breakthrough from there, while making sure that Kisuke wouldn't receive any further injuries. In turn, she received much worse injuries than from the time she chased after Kisuke and the Juggernaut.

Nevertheless, Ryuu just gritted her teeth and endured the pain as she continued running for their lives. Luckily, due to its actions, the monsters also saw the Juggernaut as their enemy, making them hold each other back, giving Ryuu a breathing room once she was able to get through the horde of monsters.

With every bit of desperation she had, Ryuu kept running until they returned to one of the safe spots they've used before. But instead of stopping to rest, Ryuu immediately removed Kisuke's clothing and used all the healing magic she could on him without her passing out before taking out their water and washing off his blood, witnessing the large cut on his back.

But since she was in a hurry, she ignored it for now and started removing her own clothes, discarding even her prized haori. After washing the blood off her, she started destroying their clothes and bundled them into small partitions.

Once she's ready, Ryuu went ahead and grabbed some salvageable parts of their clothes and covered their bare minimum before carrying Kisuke on her back and restarting her run. From behind, she could already hear the Juggernaut's roars but she didn't turn her head and just threw the small bundles of clothing covered in blood in random directions in an attempt to buy some more time, "Look here... The Juggernaut's target is me. If you just leave me alone, you could probably escape safely." Kisuke suddenly said.

"No way!" Ryuu instantly retorted, "If you're not getting out of here alive, then neither should I!"

Kisuke couldn't help but chuckle at her words, "My~ You make it sound like we're lovers~"

Ryuu's expression instantly darkened, "If you still have the energy to joke around, please allocate it towards thinking of ways for us to survive!"

"Alright... I'll leave our current situation to you then." replied Kisuke before he closed his eyes. Although he already had something in mind, it didn't hurt to review what he planned to do so that it wouldn't compromise Ryuu's safety, 'Now then... I wonder which direction you will go in?' Aside from material breakthroughs, Kisuke was also very much interested in how the human mind works. In hindsight, he's similar to the Deities of this world, giving challenges to those who take their interest in an attempt to see what they're going to do next.

A few hours later, Ryuu arrived at her final stop, which was another safe spot, and immediately laid Kisuke on the ground before chanting her healing magic since she had already recovered a bit of her Magic Power, "Hey! Are you alive!?"

Kisuke opened his eyes and replied, "I still have a pulse, of course I'm still alive. But for you to ask such a question, it seems like you're in a panicked state."

Panting for air, Ryuu silently went to the corner of the cave after hearing his answer and huddled herself, burying her head on her knees. After the initial rush of adrenaline, her fear took over as she recalled the scene earlier, which was very similar to what happened five years ago.

"Even if I find a way to survive, if you're like this, no amount of planning can save us." Kisuke added to the distressed Elf.

But just as he expected, there wasn't a response from Ryuu so he just went back and closed his eyes again to pretend to rest.

Due to the silence, Ryuu and Kisuke could easily hear the roar of the Juggernaut and the sounds of monsters being smashed to pieces. Every time it would come near, Ryuu would start shaking and she would only calm down when it left the area. This happened several times as the Juggernaut tried to search for them but failed to do so, but not just because of Ryuu's arrangement.

Although what she did was good, it's not a foolproof plan so Kisuke put up an invisible barrier that hid their scent and presence from the Juggernaut.

But as time passed, there was no movement from Ryuu. It was as if she cut herself off from reality to escape. A few more hours later, Kisuke finally lost his patience and sighed, 'I guess I'll just give up now. Time to finish this request.'

But as soon as he got up, Ryuu also lifted her head and asked, "What's the plan?"

Kisuke looked at her and saw her eyes filled with fear, but also determination which was not present before. He smiled and said, "Simple. I'll weaken it while you face it."

Ryuu started shaking yet again but she gritted her teeth and gripped her arms tightly before saying, "Let me hear the details."