Chapter 227: Doubt
Hana hit the ground hard and pushed herself forward without slowing. Her feet barely steady as she ran straight toward the center where Michael lay.
The noise of battle crashed around her from every direction, but none of it mattered as her eyes locked onto him. Her breath tightening with every step as a growing sense of dread clawed its way through her chest.
"Michael!" she called out, her voice breaking as she closed the distance.
She dropped to her knees beside him, her hands reaching out immediately, but the moment her eyes landed on the wound across his chest everything inside her froze.
Blood had spread everywhere, soaking into the ground beneath him. It was far too much and the wound was far too deep. The damage was something she recognized instantly.
Her hands trembled as they hovered over him before finally touching his shoulder.
"Michael. Hey, Michael, wake up," Her voice shook as she tried to steady it, but it only broke further as she leaned closer, shaking him lightly at first. "Come on... this isn’t funny... wake up..."
There was no response.
Her grip tightened as she shook him harder, panic rising rapidly.
"Michael! Wake up!" she cried out, desperation spilling into her voice as her hands pressed against him, as if she could force him to respond.
Nothing.
Her breath hitched as her hands moved quickly to his neck, fingers pressing against his skin as she searched for a pulse.
For a second, she held her breath.
But there was nothing.
Her eyes widened.
"No... no... no..." The words slipped out weakly at first before breaking completely as her body trembled. "No... no no no..."
Her hands shook as they pulled back. Her vision blurring as tears spilled over uncontrollably.
She shook her head again and again as if rejecting what she had just confirmed. Her chest tightening painfully as reality settled in.
"He... he can’t... no... Michael...!"
Her voice collapsed into sobs as she leaned forward. Her shoulders shook violently while the sound of her crying broke through everything around her.
For a moment, she couldn’t move or think. She couldn’t do anything except stare at him as the truth crushed down on her.
Behind her, the battle didn’t stop.
The clash between Myles and Red continued to explode across the battlefield, their weapons colliding again and again as shockwaves tore through the air. The sound reached her, a reminder that everything was still moving even as she was crying.
Her hands clenched tightly. She forced herself to breathe.
Her tears still fell, but she raised her hand and wiped them away harshly, almost angrily, as if trying to push everything down.
"I can’t stop. Not now!"
Her body still trembled. Fear still gripped her tightly, pressing into her chest and making every breath feel difficult.
"But... I don’t want this... I don’t want to keep going..."
But the battlefield didn’t care. Another clash rang out behind her.
She flinched.
Then she moved.
Hana turned sharply and looked toward one of the ranged attackers who had followed her down, her expression still shaken but her eyes forcing themselves to focus.
"You! help me," she said, her voice rough and trembling. "We need to move him. Now!"
The man hesitated for only a second before nodding, his own fear still visible but overridden by her urgency.
Together, they moved.
Hana slipped her arms under Michael’s body carefully. Her movements were slower now as she avoided worsening the damage, even though she already knew it no longer mattered.
The other man supported from the opposite side, and with effort, they lifted him.
His body felt heavier than it should have.
Or maybe it was just her.
They didn’t stop to think.
Step by step, they carried him away from the center, away from the violent clash between Myles and Red where the ground continued to crack and explode with every impact.
Behind them, the battle raged on.
—
The clash between Myles and Red didn’t slow down from the beginning. Their movements continue to tear through the already broken ground with violent force, creating a circle and crater that the others stay away from.
Their attack collided again and again, each impact sending sharp bursts of Ether into the air while the pressure from their exchange distorted everything around them.
But something began to change.
Myles began to move faster.
Not by a small margin, but enough for the difference to become clear within a few exchanges.
His body flowed from one motion into another. His steps cut clean paths across the ground as his blade met Red’s attacks at sharper angles, deflecting them with increasing precision.
His reactions tightened, his movements refined, and the rhythm of the fight slowly began to shift in his favor.
Red noticed it immediately. His grin faltered.
A slight frown formed as his eyes narrowed and tracked Myles’s movements more carefully. The gap wasn’t large, but it was enough to disrupt the overwhelming pressure he had been applying just moments ago.
Myles didn’t give him time to adjust.
His hand moved and flames ignited.
A cluster of fireballs formed almost instantly and launched forward in rapid succession and flew straight toward Red’s face.
Red raised his weapon, trying to deflect, but the first fireballs exploded on impact, followed by another fireball, each burst of flame erupting in quick succession.
Heat flared violently as the blasts struck him directly. Fire spread across his face and upper body as the force of the impacts disrupted his vision.
"Ghh—!"
The flames burned across his skin, and for a moment his sight fractured under the sudden assault as smoke and fire obscured everything in front of him.
That moment was enough. Myles stepped in.
His body cut through the fading flames as his Fangblade came down in a sharp and powerful arc. The black edge slicing forward with precise intent. At the same time, his other hand moved just as fast, the Noctiryx dagger driving in from a tighter angle, aimed directly at Red’s exposed side.
Both attacks landed.
The Fangblade cut deep across Red’s body while the dagger followed through, sinking into his flesh with controlled force as hot blood burst outward from the wounds.
The impact drove through him before he could fully stabilize, forcing his body to react under the sudden shift in pressure.
Red’s eyes widened slightly as the pain registered. Not just from the damage. But from something else.
His body tried to respond. His healing ability activates instinctively as it always had before. But the process goes through the same way.
It slowed.
The wounds didn’t close as quickly as they should have. The flesh resisted for a longer time than he expected.
That change was enough for him to notice.
His expression changed.
For the first time since the fight began, doubt flickered through his eyes as realization struck him. He wasn’t healing fast enough anymore.
—
