AND REASON - AKI POV

Aki instantly establishes a telepathic bond with Azzle and the others. Thankfully, Azzle manages to keep his wits about him and swiftly accepts the connection. Landale and Yumi asks him what is wrong but Aki ignores them.

"Keep him talking, Azzle!" Aki whispers urgently, emphasizing the gravity of the situation. He's too far away, and casting any spells could be perilous since the goblin boss is dangerously close to Azzle. If the goblin boss catches wind of any magical activity, he might just attack Azzle before Aki can intervene.

Clenching his jaw, Aki curses himself for not taking the time to cast protective spells around the camp.

"B-boss!" Azzle pleads, dropping his bow and backing away. He smiles uncertainly at the hulking figure before him, "I knew you were alive!"

"TRAITOR!" the goblin boss screams wildly, taking a menacing step forward, brandishing his large, crude sword.

"No! I was waiting for you to arrive! W-we can take down the hopeless humans together!" Azzle implores, his hands raised defensively as he continues to retreat.

"You think you can fool me!" snarls the goblin boss, his dark charcoal eyes void of mercy, holding Azzle responsible for everything that has befallen him. The fear causing Azzle stumbles and lands painfully on his back.

"I promise, I'm not! I merely a-acted so that human can trust me! Please spare my lousy life!" Azzle pleads as he frantically scrambles backwards.

"I am sick and tired of you alliterations! Die, traitor!" the goblin boss shouts. In just two steps, he's upon Azzle , sword raised high, and Azzle screams in terror as the blade descends.

"Hey, goblin!" a voice suddenly calls out, much closer than it should be, directly to the right of the goblin boss.

The goblin boss halts his downward swing, swiftly slashing to his side, but no one is there.

"What the—?" The goblin boss scans the area in confusion. He spots Aki sprinting towards him from the other side. Aki has used the ventriloquism spell to deceive the goblin boss into thinking he's closer.

It's Aki's last-ditch effort. But he's still too far away, and a sinister grin forms on the goblin boss's face as he senses Aki's desperation to reach Azzle. He shifts his malevolent gaze to Azzle, realizing the bond they've formed during their few days together.

Just as the goblin boss raises his sword, Aki hurls a magic missile. But it's too late; the orbs are too slow. "NO! Fight me! Fight me!" Aki screams helplessly, still dashing towards Azzle.

In the final moment, Azzle raises his dagger to deflect the blow, but it proves futile. The sword still manages to cut through him, leaving a gaping wound in his chest.

The goblin boss gazes down at Azzle, a victorious smirk on his face. He could have cleaved him in two, but he relishes the prospect of watching Azzle die slowly, agonizingly. It's then that the magic missiles strike him in the side, throwing him to the ground.

Sputtering blood from his mouth, Azzle looks down at his chest, where the goblin boss's sword has left a substantial gash. Slowly, his eyes shift to Aki, who stares at him in despair, still sprinting with all his might. Azzle reaches out to him. "Boss..."

Rage courses through Aki as he beholds his fallen comrade. The goblin boss is already starting to rise, the magic missiles having inflicted only minimal damage on him.

Aki leaps, his sword raised high, ready to strike down upon the goblin boss's head. The goblin boss swiftly pivots and skillfully blocks Aki's sword.

He chuckles slowly, "At last, we meet! You're the one who ki-"

Aki slashes at him once more, abruptly cutting off the goblin boss as he is **** to parry Aki's relentless strikes. With fury gleaming in his eyes, Aki continues to assail the goblin boss. The goblin boss is no novice; he manages to parry Aki's attacks, but the relentless **** leaves him no opportunity to counterattack.

"You're going to meet your end, just like your lover did," Aki says with chilling monotony as he swings his sword. The goblin boss moves to parry, but it's a feint. Aki withdraws his sword and raises his left hand to the goblin boss's face, releasing a scorching ray at point-blank range.

Aki steps back as the goblin boss swings his sword wildly, his head engulfed in magical fire.

"Nooo!" Yumi's despairing scream pierces the air. Landale appears on the other side, his gaze shifting between Azzle and Yumi.

The goblin boss thrashes, flames consuming his face, but despite the severe burns, he clings to life.

"If I had my amulet - aagh!" he groans in pain.

Aki swiftly strikes again, stabbing the goblin boss in the stomach. Blood gushed from the wound as the goblin boss collapsed, clutching his stomach, and dropping his sword. Aki steps forward, kicking the sword towards the goblin boss.

"Pick it up," Aki commands. "We're far from finished. An eye for an eye. I'm going to watch you bleed to ****, just as you did to my friend."

The goblin boss retrieves the sword, snarling in anger as he struggles to stand. "You dare - !"

In one swift motion, Aki severs the goblin boss's right hand, causing him to scream in agony as his sword hand is severed. He crumples to the ground, writhing in pain. Aki walks towards the crude sword, stoops to pick it up, and tosses it to the goblin boss.

"I can't believe you don't understand the situation yet. I talk. You don't. Now focus!" Aki says pacing. waiting for the goblin boss to pick up the sword.

In the corner of his eyes, Yumi arrives next Azzle's body. Strangely, Landale is already there, hunched over Azzle, sheltering the body with his own. Aki hears him whispering to Yumi and Aki, still quite furious, moves to pull Landale off of his friend but the goblin boss takes this time to attack once more.

Fortunately, the attack is sluggish, clearly not good with his left hand. Aki parries it easily and kicks the goblin boss in the stomach, the goblin boss falls to the ground. The goblin boss is slow to get up, the wound in his stomach dripping with blood, quickly weakening him.

"Aki..." he hears Yumi plead behind him, but there is hope in her voice. "End it. End it now."

Aki walks toward the goblin boss, parrying it's last ditch attempt nonchalantly. He grips the head and thrust the sword in his gut. He holds its head upright, and watches his eyes until the life leaves the eyes of the goblin boss.

He lets go of the body and the goblin slumps lifelessly to the ground. Aki turns around just in time to see Landale fall forward onto Azzle's body. Yumi quickly catches Landale.

Aki runs over and slumps to his knees with relief, all the strength living him, with what he saw. Azzle is breathing, his wounds are still there but they aren't deep enough anymore.

"What happened?" Aki asks.

Yumi gently places Landale next to Azzle. "He healed him... Using his own life."

After carefully placing the large bandage on Azzle's body, Aki gently lowers him next to Landale near the campfire. Seating himself nearby, he watches as Yumi tends to their feverish companions, tirelessly placing and replacing damp cloths on their foreheads. In the midst of her care, she shares the details of Landale's actions.

When Landale heard and saw Yumi screaming in despair towards Azzle, he swiftly teleported to Azzle, then he used the spell Life Transference to give Azzle the strength.

Aki listens in silence, reflecting on the events. In hindsight, things had unfolded better than it should have any right to be, as he did wanted to ask Azzle how Landale and Yumi managed to catch up to him when he was attacked by the goblins and the manticores.

"How can he teleport and use necromantic spells...?" Aki ponders.

The answer seems straightforward: Landale is a wizard of a higher level than Aki, at least two levels higher. Aki's suspicions are confirmed when he recalls the use of the haste spell.

"Landale used haste on you, didn't he?" he queries Yumi.

Yumi nods, "Yes, I think so... It's how I managed to reach you in time. You don't have that spell?"

Aki shakes his head ruefully, "No... Teleportation and haste are spells two levels higher than mine. Otherwise, I would have used them, Yumi."

"But how is that possible?" Yumi questions. "Aren't we all supposed to leave the academy at the same level?"

Aki affirms, "I'm wondering that too... We were classmates and I'm the best wizard of our batch... Did he just hide how good he was? Still, the strangest thing of all for me is the spell Life Transference - that is spell from the branch of necromancy. Those are forbidden in our academy."

"Maybe he learned it in some hidden section of the academy?" Yumi suggests.

A small smile tugs at Aki's lips, "There's no such thing as a hidden section. I did my best to find such places, but they don't exist. The capital ensures that students learn only what they want them to."

Silence descends upon them as they ponder these mysteries. Aki senses that he's getting closer to unraveling the truth, needing just one more piece of the puzzle to make everything clear.

"How are they?" Aki inquires.

Yumi gently touches their foreheads and replies, "They're stable but still running a high fever."

Aki's gaze drifts to his two companions, both in the throes of their fever. He can't help but be reminded of his own failure and the scar that will forever mark Azzle's body. Despite his earlier suspicions, he now realizes that safeguarding his comrades should always be his foremost concern.

His gaze then returns to Landale, and he finds a newfound appreciation for him. The animosity he once harbored has transformed into gratitude for Landale's timely intervention. Yet, a burning question lingers: why did Landale conceal his higher-level wizardry?

Shaking off his reverie, Aki rises to his feet. "Once Landale recovers, we'll have a conversation. For now, I'll reinforce our defensive barriers around the camp. Let's enjoy the leftover boar when I return."

Yumi and Aki dine in silence, lost in their own thoughts, and not particularly inclined to talk. The near loss of their comrade mere days upon the completion of their journey lingers heavily in Yumi's mind.

A few minutes pass and they decide to just sleep through the night, while Yumi prepares her camp roll, Aki gently drapes a blanket over Azzle's body, shielding it from the biting cold. He had volunteered for the first shift; sleep eludes him anyway.

"I'll wake up in four hours, Aki," Yumi announces softly. "Good night."

Aki nods his acknowledgment.

An hour passes, the rest of the party deep in slumber, while Aki maintains a vigilant watch. Suddenly, Landale's somber voice breaks through the silence, capturing Aki's attention.

"Hey, Aki," Landale begins.

Aki responds with curiosity, "Yes?"

"Do you really not remember me?"

Aki gazes at Landale, who appears lost in contemplation, his eyes fixed on the night sky.

While Aki truly paid no mind to his classmates, as in the beginning he was also left alone by due to his own perfectionist ideals of himself, he feels Landale at least deserves to be acknowledged. "Of course, I remember you. Landale, we were in several classes together," Aki reassures him.

Landale's laughter follows, void of its usual teasing tone, as he reminisces about their shared history. "I was in ALL your classes, Aki. We were paired together."

The revelation strikes Aki, his full attention now on Landale's words, discerning the sincerity in his tone.

"You think you're the only one? No. You were never alone in your pursuit of excellence. Throughout our years at the Academy, I trailed just behind you, always in second place. My grades were commendable, but they could never quite match up to yours. Professors often attributed it to luck. They told me ff it had been any other year, I would have clinched the top spot. As if that would make me feel better."

Landale's bitterness seeps through his words, finally unveiling the source of his resentment toward Aki.

Yet, Aki finds himself drawn into Landale's narrative, momentarily setting aside his suspicions. He refrains from questioning him, compelled to listen.

"I hate you with every fiber of my being, but I know it is all misplaced. You never intended to get in my way. Before I was sent to the academy, I was raised by a single moth-" Landale halts abruptly, inhaling deeply before continuing, his voice tinged with resignation. "I know the isolation that accompanies relentless striving. I faced the same trials and challenges, but I lack acquaintances, genuine friends, or memories of youthful camaraderie and folly. My recollections of childhood and the academy are confined to studying and training."

A pause, a touch of melancholy coloring Landale's words. He fixes his gaze on Aki. "The sole distinction between us, Aki, is that you have Yumi. I have only myself, the Mighty Lan-"

Aki registers a soft snore, interrupting Landale's unfinished declaration. Landale has surrendered to sleep once more. In that moment, a wave of empathy washes over Aki. Rising from his post, he retrieves the cloth that Yumi had used earlier, dampens it, and places it gently on Landale's forehead.

Filled with a mix of emotions, Aki murmurs to the sleeping figure before him.

"One way or another, I hope to remember you, Landale,"