Blood

Roland's army was raiding the little town with large flags. Many of the townsfolk were standing outside with their families. Husbands and wives held their children close and wiped them of their tears. It sickened Ryner to know that Sion had stooped this low. The king of Roland was willing to destroy homes and raid towns for the so called 'sake of the country.

Was there truly any way to save Sion, or did he just have to keep running with Ferris forever? No, he wouldn't run. Not anymore. He vowed to save Sion. He'd just have to postpone it until his partner got better. As he continued running into the shadowy halls of the town, he could feel himself being watched. Ryner activated his Alpha Stigma as he ran with Ferris in his arms. He wasn't able to sense anything.

Suddenly, he felt something lash out from the ground. Just before it could grab him, he jumped back smoothly.

"Still fast on your feet as ever." Ryner heard. The voice caught on with him rather quickly.

"Shit. What the hell?! How did you know we were here?!" It was Miron.

"Ask the girl that's in your arms right now. Did she not tell you what's wrong with her?"

"I wouldn't be playing dumb if I did." Damn it! Is he the one that did this to Ferris? "Are you leading the Roland soldiers too?" Ryner asked.

"Them? Oh, no, I don't lead such weak men. His Majesty didn't let me take leave with them. I had some other business to take care of but it can wait now that my shadow beast has led me here."

"If it's a fight you're after, let's get it done with already." Ryner stated oblivious to Ferris's presence.

"Oh I'm not here to fight. Though, my shadow beasts haven't shed a single drop of blood and they are quite thirsty. I was just testing whether I could find you."

"Find me?" this confused Ryner. How did he know they were there, and how is Ferris connected to all of this? He placed the blond against the wall and rested her sword in front of her. Next, he activated his Alpha Stigma and walked away from her so that she wouldn't get involved. I won't take long so just hold on a little longer.

"Nightmares are just stupendous, aren't they?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Let there be darkness." With those four words, large monsters began to form and approach Ryner.

"What I seek is thunder, Izuchi!" Ryner called out after drawing multiple incantation circles. He never knew that he could draw them so quickly as large bursts of lightning came out and struck the large, purple beasts. They began to dissolve but smaller ones formed, and in larger quantities. I don't have time for games, damn it! Ryner gritted his teeth a little as he drew more incantation circles. He wasn't going to get anywhere at this rate.

"What I seek are the burning fields, Kurenai!" Large flames engulfed the shadow beasts into cinders. Just before Ryner ran towards Froaude, a large shadow beast appeared out of the flames and bit into his left shoulder.

"AHHH!" Ryner screamed as he lost focus on the battle field and placed his right hand over the open wound. The shadow was burning hot as it burned an open wound into his left shoulder. Smaller ones came next and secured him down. Two held him by his feet. Two others bit him on either side of his waist, and one bit onto his right arm. Ryner could feel excruciating pain all over his body. He could feel blood starting to drip down under and over his clothing. All he could do was scream in agony. He wanted to collapse.

"Don't give up just yet," Have you forgotten about your partner?" Froaude asked.

Ryner turned his head back to see that Froaude had grabbed Ferris's neck and pulled her up.

"Let her go!" Ryner yelled desperately. "Ferris!" He could feel the shadow beasts bite deeper into his limbs and the blood rushing down his body, but he didn't care. "Your fight is with me, damn it. Not her! Leave her!"

"On the contrary, she is the key that will unlock the lock to my success." His grip tightened around the blond's neck.

Ryner's eyes widened. His eyes pounded with anger and fear. Anger because he had delusions of competence, and fear for Ferris's life. "Let her go... Let her go. Let her go!" Large pentagonal circles formed around his body. The shadow beasts let their mouths unlock from his body.

Froaude stood there with excitement in his eyes. He wanted to see the Alpha Stigma fully awakened, and then take the pleasure of ending the degenerate's life. By threatening to kill the Alpha Stigma's partner, Ryner Lute would do the job of killing both his partner and himself; killing two birds with one stone. He tightened his grip even more around the blond's neck.

"I'll kill you!" Ryner yelled loudly as he ran towards Miron. Anger blinded his pain as the wounds on his body were bleeding heavily. "What I seek is thunder, Izuchi!"

"Anger doesn't suit you. Do you really want me to put her in front of your attack?" he grabbed Ferris by the neck and swung her around like a rag doll in front of the Izuchi, and then swinging her back so she just grazed it. For a skinny person, he had a lot of upper body strength. "Alas, I'd rather kill her without all the blood sullying my clothes. It'd be a shame for her to die by your hands, don't you agree?"

"Quit messing with me!" Ryner yelled. Shit! I'll kill Ferris at this rate! Damn this all to hell! Tell me what to do, Ferris. I don't know what to do anymore. Ryner could feel the inner parts of his eyes start to take control of him. He could feel himself losing control. The pain from the wounds numbed his body, and the blood loss was affecting his consciousness. The only thing he could do was stare at the blond beauty. She was the lock that could unlock his Alpha Stigma. If she died, he would lose possession of his body to the monster inside of him. I refuse to lose you, Ferris... This is not going to end with your blood shed onto my hands.

Loud footsteps roared throughout the city. They were getting closer to the battle. Ryner had to fight quickly. He could barely fight one of Roland's soldiers, let alone a whole regiment. But Miron Froaude was one of the best there was in the Roland Empire. It ran shivers down Ryner's spine to think what Sion might have done to the other experiments he tested on to make them into strong soldiers. It was madness at its worst and there was no stopping the chaos.

"Damn, and just when I was going to make your lives easier on you too. You will live another day. Be grateful." Miron Froaude let go of his grip around Ferris. She fell onto the ground like a motionless rag doll. A swarm of shadows formed around him. "As a treat for lasting this long, I will surprise you with something you might like." he said no more as he disappeared into the clouded darkness.

Ryner stood there with his eyes starting to relax; trying to process everything. Why did he leave when he could've finished us...? He ran to Ferris and quickly picked her up. By the time he would start running away from the soldiers, they would see him. Ryner was in no shape to fight anything right now. All his important limbs were practically bleeding themselves off.

He scanned the area for a hiding place. The stuff they could hide behind was too small and the stuff that was just large enough was all blown up from his Izuchi. Shit shit shit. This isn't going to work...

"I offer up this contract to bear the wicked spirit beasts that sleep within the Earth." With Ferris on his back now, he sped through the dark alley that he came from before. Next, he made another incantation circle. "What I seek are the burning fields, Kurenai." The flames engulfed the narrow path in burning red and purple flames. He heard the footsteps come to a halt as he dashed through. Damn, this isn't going to hold out for very long. He gripped Ferris tightly and continued running.

There was a loud blast from behind with smoke that startled Ryner. His magic was running out and the blood loss wasn't helping him.

"You're bleeding..." he heard from a far too familiar voice.

Ryner turned his head back to see that Ferris was awake. "Don't worry about it. Glad that you've finally woken up."

"Mmm" she responded. Before you bleed to death, why don't I get off your back so-"

"No time. Just stick with me for a little bit. We have to get away. Sion's sent military to bring us back to Roland."

"I can fight, Ryner. I'll hold them back while y-" Ferris tried saying.

"No!" Ryner interrupted. "Just stay there for a little bit longer. Please… just listen to me."

"Alright." she said as she quieted down. "Enjoy carrying me. Very few get the chance and others long for me to be in their arms. I guess you're one of the few." she chuckled as she looked down. Something caught her eye.

"Yeah, great, yay." Ryner said sarcastically.

Ferris stared at the wounds on Ryner's shoulders. He is still able to run even though he's injured. What happened to him while I was unconscious? Her gown was completely soaked in his blood as well. She looked back to check if anyone was coming. Her eyes grew wide. There was a bloodied trail that was behind them. The Roland soldiers were far from them but that was because they killed all those that they passed by. Men, women, and even children were not spared. Just when things couldn't get worse, Ferris felt her body drop. No, not only hers, but Ryner's too.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Just feeling dizzy. I'll try and hold them off while you get out of here." Ryner said as he applied pressure to his eyes with his thumbs.

"Shut up and move. It's clear as hell that you can't fight now." Ferris grabbed Ryner's arm and put it around her neck. She supported his weight up and started walking.

"Ferris, you won't get away in time. Go!" Ryner yelled. He looked awful and the state he was in destroyed his typical lethargic attitude.

"I'm not leaving you, idiot. Now shut up and let me do this or my sword and your head will have a fight, and my sword never loses." she said as she scanned the area. Up ahead, she saw a bridge that had a small stream going under it. Ferris put one of Ryner's arms around her neck and with much force and speed, she pulled him along the bay and slid him under. Fortunately, none of Ryner's blood dripped onto the ground.

"You're covered in blo-" Ryner tried saying before Ferris's hand cupped his mouth.

"Quiet." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around him to hear the soldiers better. The sound was getting closer and she shivered at the thought that their hiding spot was too obvious. Please just don't come here. Please, please, please. She heard loud footsteps begin to make their way over the bridge. She tightened her grip around Ryner so that they didn't make a sound. Their breathing was miniscule if not any.

The loud steps overruled much of the noise and they kept close so that there was little to no movement. They were in quite a predicament.

Once the footsteps stopped coming from above, Ferris still didn't show any movement, for if Roland's genetically modified soldiers heard them, they would have no counter measure against them.

Ferris felt Ryner's head rest on her shoulder. His forehead was wet; most definitely from sweat. The scene had reminded her of the time he had lost control of himself due to his Alpha Stigma being roused. She glanced out under the bridge. The soldiers had passed them. She exhaled softly.

"They're gone, Ryner." she said quietly.

No reply.

"How about you tell me how you got your injuries while I treat them?" she offered.

"My magic's just exhausted right now..." Ryner said exhaustively. "Can I just..."

"Mmm" Ferris nodded.

Ferris guided Ryner down onto her leg so that her thigh played the role of a 'pillow.'

"I'm going to look at your injuries now." Ferris stated.

"I'll heal them...when I get some of my energy back. I'm gonna take a nap now. Wake me i..." he tried saying before his eye lids collapsed on him.

Ferris chuckled at how exhausted Ryner was. She still didn't understand how he had so much energy to carry her even when his wounds were drowning themselves in blood. As she looked at his lethargic expression, it caught her attention that they were in a town. What happened while I was out? How did he get injured? Where is Iris? So many questions attacked her head and all of them needed answers.

The scent of blood snapped her out of her little trance. She took off the cape that was somehow around her neck. Miraculously, no blood seeped onto it, but it did onto her gown. Making sure that it wouldn't hurt him in the least bit, Ferris took off Ryner's soaked shirt. There were six large bite marks that pierced his flesh; the largest and deepest one being on his left shoulder.

Ferris grabbed one end of the cape and ripped it into a small cloth. Next, she used it to clean his wounds so that the area wouldn't be covered in blood and reduced the risk of infection. The remaining cape was ripped into strips so that they worked like gauze. As she tied the smaller wounds, she made sure that it was tight enough to control the blood flow but loose enough so that it didn't hurt Ryner. Idiot, are you really this accident prone?

While cleaning the blood off of the largest wound, Ferris noticed something. "It's burnt…" she murmured as her hand grazed it.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.

"Hey Ryner, where are you? It's time for dango." Ferris called as she sat in the gazebo of the Eris estate.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He called back as she saw him carrying boxes filled with Wynnit dango.

"I'll get the tea." Ferris said as she went inside into the kitchen and pulled out a teapot and two cups. She placed everything in a tray and carried it out. As she took a step outside, her eyes felt watery. The air had a thick, smoky feel to it. When she looked up, the entire scenery changed from what she saw before she left. Everything was burning. Her home, the trees, the grass, and even the gazebo she just came from were all covered in red flames. Everything dropped out of her hands.

"Ryner!" Ferris called out. "Ryner! Where are you?!" she yelled as she ran to where she saw him last. On the ground was a box of dango burning and not too far from that stood the lethargic Alpha Stigma bearer. Her heart leaped great heights knowing that he was alive.

"Run!" Ferris yelled. But Ryner didn't move. When she touched his arm to pull him away, his body engulfed in flames as well. Her eyes widened as she saw him burning. "NO!"

"This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real." Ferris kept reciting as a mantra. "You're not gone."

"Oh but he is." She heard the same voice she heard in her previous dream. Miron Froaude. "You've killed him with your touch and I didn't even have to lay a finger on him. I thank you for making my job so much easier now."

"What did you do to me!?" She called out to the sky. To this, Froaude laughed. As everything burned in flames, she felt her world breaking into pieces. Life was over for her. The only person that made Ferris believe that she belonged somewhere; her partner; was dead. She killed him.

The fire raged on as it burned everything into nothingness. Her body sulked down as she stared at the flames. She wasn't safe to be around.

Suddenly, a small drop of water fell onto her pale face. As she slowly looked up, water began to pour down; this time with more force. Many of the flames started dying down and retreating as well.

Wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.

Ferris jumped out of her recollection of her dream when she heard Ryner wince from her touch. Making sure she wouldn't hurt him anymore, Ferris tied the 'gauze' loosely but made the knot tight enough so it wouldn't fall off his arm. Once she was done, she placed her hands in the passing river to cleanse them from the blood. Now all she had to do was wait for Ryner to wake up. She brushed her hand into his hair and sighed softly.