Antagonist Protection Service

The very instant that the monster-made hammer came down, silence ensued.

Most of its large figure visible even above the ground layer of fog, the Infected Yeti's surprisingly-wounded body continued to crystallise and recover in real time.

Perhaps, as the majority of its body had already been turned by now, the blunt force of slamming it into the ground was in reality more effective than any pierce or slash he himself could inflict.

John Pierce thought as much, but although the aforementioned monster was likely to be back to its full capacity before long, the truth is that it was the least of his concerns.

'His body...'

It would be remiss to assume that person had died from the attack. Rather, he was absolutely certain of it, and if he concentrated enough, he could prove it by sensing the life of the individual very much still within this chamber, and more precisely, right below where he had just struck.

The problem was, the masked figure's body was currently buried under not just the impenetrable fog, but also underneath the 'protection' of the crystallising Yeti.

"―He is waiting for the Yeti to rise."

"...!"

All of a sudden, a familiar voice sounded, and John Pierce swivelled around.

Right there, someone he was worried he might have lost stood tall.

"Anders! Where have you--"

"Keep your eye on him! There's no time... I'm manipulating his senses through the fog, so he shouldn't come out right away, but stay alert."

The expression on his friend's face was usually serious, but this time, it appeared more grave than he had ever seen.

"...Don't tell me, Sophie's--?!"

"She's fine. In fact, she should be... No, yes. She'll be joining us soon. Don't worry."

With that sort of curt, hurried way of speaking, Anders effectively glossed over John Pierce's concerns. Although, this certainly wasn't the time for them.

He was in a great rush, but if it were to be imagined what kind of encounter must have occurred between him and the enemy, it would immediately begin to make sense.

"John, prepare yourself. Hurry!"

"I got it."

Summoning the white armour to protect his body, and wielding the azure spear in his hands, John Pierce quickly got in position, watching the fallen body of the Infected Yeti gradually finish its crystallisation.

The priority was not that creature, but in fact, what hid below.

In the far back, a safe position as expected for a supporting role, Anders stood; manipulating fog to weave its way into his hand, it formed the shape of a long, cylindrical object before cutting itself off, then solidifying into a sturdy bō staff.

The Infected Yeti, now, was roughly half crystal and half flesh-fur.

Still, it seemed to have no trouble moving, as even the crystallised muscles twitched and spasmed as it slowly began to push itself up and back onto its feet.

Its non-aggressive actions indicated that it hadn't registered the enemy's location hiding right beneath it; the only explanation was that it couldn't sense them under the effect of the fog's distortion.

Regardless, the moment the Yeti rose to its feet, the position of the masked individual was exposed. He wouldn't have been able to see out of the fog due to its density, so before he too lifted his head from the veil, it was their time to strike.

"Haaaah...!"

Expulsing a powerful battlecry from his lungs, John Pierce rushed forth, his sharp gaze pinned to the location on the ground just behind where the Yeti was standing.

Arriving at the feet of the massive creature in the blink of an eye, he paid it no mind and extended his arms forth, thrusting the spear right into the fog.

'This is it...! There's no way he can escape from this--"

THUD-- SHATTER-- CLANGGG~!!

"...!?"

John Pierce's eyes widened.

Somehow, though what he expected to feel was the sensation of piercing fabric and flesh, what he instead felt was the small resistance of something before it was almost instantly destroyed, and immediately following that, a second layer of it.

If he were to compare it to anything in particular, it would undoubtedly most fit the sensation of shattering a struck shield just to hit a second hiding cheekily behind.

Almost as if, out of nowhere, a small formation of shieldbearing infantrymen had appeared.

Crack--- SHATTER~~!

Just as he was confounded, he must have subconsciously exerted more strength into the spear, as both the sensation and sound of the second layer shield also reached him.

However, that was all.

There was no sensation, no sound of torn cloth, ripped fabric, and sundered flesh.

Rather, there was such a sound. But not from in front of him.

"What-- GAH--!?"

All of a sudden, a fierce pain struck his abdomen.

Absent-mindedly, he turned his head down, but before his hairless chin could even connect with his collarbone, he painfully remembered something.

"GRAAAAOOOHH...!!"

"Ah--"

SLAM-!

―The Infected Yeti was also still there, forcing him to be reminded of its existence with a heavy punch to the gut, a simple attack that was yet powerful enough to launch him flying backwards and hit the crystalline wall of the cavern.

"Ngh..."

The white armour he had always entrusted his life to was dirtied not just with debris, but his own blood. Blood leaking from his mouth, blood leaking from somewhere on his lower torso, a place which was beginning to feel excessively cold, and probably somewhere else too.

He didn't have the luxury of examining himself to figure out what exactly that hole in his abdomen was caused by, but he could tell just by feeling the gentle wind blowing through it to tickle his insides that it wasn't by any means negligible.

"C-Cervus..."

So, whilst still lying comfortably in the wall's small crater his body had created, he called the name of the spiritual familiar that would protect him, that had always protected him in such dire circumstances. That tarnished armour then faded, leaving him practically bare with just that standard military uniform.

Clutching the critical wound on himself with one hand, a white glow began to emanate from it. Meanwhile, he wiped the small dribbles of blood on his lips with the back of the other.

Belatedly realising that he had dropped his spear at the initial impact, he dismissed that, too, and called the respective spirit's name.

"Pisces."

Thus, in the air beside his head, water flowed, and a fish about the size of an ordinary cat materialised. Resembling his spear somewhat, the familiar bore a long, razor-sharp bone that protruded from its head, totalling a length almost half that of its own body.

Gradually, the searing pain on his abdomen was starting to subside ever so slightly, but there was something unsettling about the wound that he couldn't quite put a finger on.

In any case, he couldn't pay too much attention to that; the Infected Yeti was slowly making its way over to him, but his real enemy was still nowhere to be seen.

'He must still be hiding in the fog somewhere...'

Incidentally, Anders, who frequently had a habit of vanishing whenever his field of fog was up, was also gone. He was sure the man was still watching on from somewhere, waiting for the right time to intervene as a support.

"Ugh... Was he unaffected by it or something...?"

Thinking back, it didn't make sense for that person to be able to react so quickly when in the fog. Having fought in it many times, he knew well what sorts of effects it had on one's senses, after all.

'...Unless... No, don't let yourself get distracted.'

Just as he was beginning to fall into contemplation, he noticed the Yeti getting a little too close for comfort. Shaking off the unnecessary thoughts, John Pierce pushed himself off the wall and hobbled quickly away from the Yeti. Meanwhile, the swordfish-like familiar swam through the air to combat the monster, buying him time.

Feeling the intense throbbing of the wound, he realised the rate of recovery from Cervus' restorative ability was gradually slowing, as if restricted.

"He must have done something... That attack..."

Was it the same attack the enemy had used to shoot him in the back in the sky?

One thing was for sure, and that was that the pain, though much smaller now, definitely reminded him of it. Although he was never alive long enough to even have the chance to heal it last time, he had a feeling that, even if he did, it would result in the same state of hindered recovery as right now.

In that case, before he accumulates any more damage, he should――

"...!!"

Suddenly sensing something, he turned―

"NGH-- AAAAH...!"

―But it was too late.

A phenomenal impact hit his free-flowing right arm, tearing it off effortlessly from just below the shoulder, letting blood spew like a fountain as the rest of his body was knocked back by the unexpected force and bumping into the wall.

At the very least, him rotating his body at the last moment let only that single limb be destroyed, although it didn't lessen any of the agony.

But could that really be called a 'win'?

"Ghhh...!"

Naturally, John Pierce's remaining hand moved from the hole on his abdomen to the bloody stump at the end of his right shoulder, desperately emitting white light to try and heal perhaps whatever he could, no matter how useless.

Maybe he, himself, knew it was lost. That although not necessarily permanent, he would undeniably be forced to proceed without a right arm for the foreseeable future.

Still, why was it... that he couldn't help but pour all of his magic energy into healing it?

It was not as if he had never lost a limb before. After all, he had died on multiple occasions, was recovering a lost limb such a big deal after that?

Ordinarily, he might not have thought too much of it. The pain was also something he had dealt with countless times, so that too shouldn't sway his emotions to a considerable extent...

...And yet.

'It hurts...'

With his focus split between not letting himself be overcome with that overwhelming, frankly nonsensical amount of pain, he didn't realise.

The tears streaming from his face.

The straining of his muscles and organs.

Even the proceedings of the dire situation around him.

It didn't take long at all before all he could think about, all his mind could register...

'Damn it, why... How...?!'

"Ghh-- Nghaaaaah...!!"

...Was that unbearable pain.