Ryner's Epiphany

"Beast!" Iris called out.

Keifer looked at Ryner with an incredulous expression. "Beast?"

Ryner strained his eyes to look at Iris through the low visibility caused by the rain.

As he did that, he could somewhat make out her face.

"... What is it?" Ryner muttered reflexively.

The Iris who was always energetic, and making trouble for him, now had a face contorting as if she was about to cry.

At that moment, Kiefer asked.

"... An acquaintance?"

Ryner nodded.

"The younger sister of my partner."

"... partner?"

"Yeah."

After giving an appropriate reply, he again looked at Iris. But, it was evident that there was something strange with how she was behaving.

Iris propped something up from the ground.

What was propped up had the same blond hair as her, a face of similar features as her, the face of a peerless beauty.

With long, blond hair that was completely drenched, fair skin, and a flawless face.

But those eyes on that face were shut. And the face looked pale as well.

Looking unconscious.

Or was it because...

She's dead?

"... Ferris!?"

Ryner's big, brown eyes widened with worry as he shouted and sprinted forward.

"Ah." Kiefer exclaimed in surprise but this was not the time to pay attention to that.

It was clear that something bad had happened.

Iris looked as she was about to cry.

And that monster-like, willful, bothersome, one who should possess the strength to become a mighty foe against any opponent, that Ferris was lying on the ground.

It was clearly an abnormal situation.

Ryner ran with all his might. Closing in towards the place where Ferris was lying, at an insane speed.

The nearer he got, the more evident it was that the situation was bad. Iris had dragged Ferris through the rain all the way up till here.

Both of them were drenched and covered in mud, looking pathetic.

As Ryner reached their side, he said.

"What in the world... what in the world has happened?" He looked at the flawless beauty just lying there with rain pouring down onto her pale face. "Ferris?!" Ryner called out.

Iris, while weeping, "Big, Big sister Ferris... Ferris was killed..."

"Wha!"

Instantly, Ryner's heart seemed to stop. How could this be?! No she can't be. This is an illusion! It's got to be! Ryner looked at Ferris. His eyes began to sting with emotion.

Killed?

Ferris?

Ferris was killed... then Ferris is already...

"..."

Ryner placed a finger to her neck, and from that, even though Ferris felt cold from the rain, he could still sense a body temperature and a clear pulse.

Relieved at what he found, Ryner looked at Iris,

"She's alive, you know?"

As Iris was sobbing up her tears, she nodded a few times.

"She, she, she died but then came back to life."

To those words,

"Huh? She died but came back to life?"

"Un."

" What do you mean by that?"

As Ryner asked with a questioning look, Kiefer caught up to him.

"Ryner, you were so fast..."

But Ryner did not answer.

She then looked at the unconscious Ferris, where Ryner had placed a finger to her neck, and turned serious.

"... is she dead?"

Ryner shook his head.

"No, she still has a pulse."

"Her temperature?"

"A little cold, but there's no problem."

"But, if she continues to stay in this rain..."

"Ah, ah, you're right."

"Let's move her."

On saying that, Ryner slid his arms under Ferris and lifted her up bridal style. Her legs and back were covered in mud but he didn't care anymore.

"Yeah."

He acknowledged, and carried her head and body. Ferris' head rested on Ryner's chest. He could feel how cold she was and her body temperature was diminishing at a rapid rate.

How could this have happened? He looked down at her lifeless body. This was serious. He needed to get her inside quickly. Ryner Keifer held onto Ferris' legs just to help Ryner out. And with that, they back-tracked from where they came from.

As they reached the edge of an eaves, Kiefer started knocking on the door of the local tea-house that they sat in when they were waiting for Ferris.

"Excuse me. There's someone injured, can you let us in?"

She called out.

Ryner could only act dumbfounded at Kiefer's sensibility.

In a way, he was fed up with himself for being useless. He had put Ferris in harm's way once again and this time, he could've lost her for good.

He was again stunned into inaction.

After seeing Iris cry, and hearing about Ferris being killed, he was very much stunned.

But there was really no time to be dawdling around.

Due to too many things happening just recently, he had almost forgotten that both he and Ferris were Roland's fugitives right now, and they were being pursued by the military.

It was possible that Ferris might have been done in by those pursuers. No, it's not a possibility; that had to be the case.

Those pursuers could just be nearby.

They were actually able to render Ferris to such a state. The pursuers this time might be tough opponents who were nothing like what they've seen till now. He tightened his grip around the blond just so he could mentally insure himself that she would be okay and he was here now to protect her from harm's way.

There was really no time to be dawdling around.

"Geez, get a hold of yourself."

Ryner said to himself and breathed out softly.