Oh, this day can’t get any fucking worse!
It wasn’t hard to pick up on what happened, there was only one space mage currently gunning for him and the idea that Rook had found him and teleported behind to attack wasn’t unbelievable, even if it was still outrageous. With his thoughts moving at their maximum he processed what had happened, using all the information available to him.
It was obvious he had been teleported underground and based on what he could tell from the effects of bind, Thera was somewhere beneath his feet. Since he knew the man’s skill level and total mana, he knew he couldn’t be more than a hundred meters down when the guy could see where he was teleporting which meant that as it had happened, the immortal had changed his orientation, flipping Ben on his head to try to make him think up was down to waste whatever time and mana he would before figuring it out.
It wasn’t a bad plan either but it suffered too many flaws from what Rook couldn’t know. He’d attacked when Ben was finished fighting but unlike the last time he still had over a thousand points of mana left to spare and he had no clue that Thera would know where he was as well, feeling the same link that bound them.
Which meant he really only needed to last until she found him but he didn’t want to discount the possibility that he’d do something to her as well, teleporting her away to keep her from helping him or whatever other stupid thing he might try, meaning he needed to start getting himself out of there through his own power before he ran out of air and with the mana he had left he began to spend it.
The dirt around him began to move and his body with it, sliding over him and shifting in a way that made him feel like he was being warmed by ants as it slowly pulled him up, shifting past the tonnes of stuff above while he crawled higher, feeling his lungs burn as the seconds went on.
Spending a bit more mana, he condensed some of the surrounding dirt to give him some breathing room before materializing the mix of gasses his body craved, letting him breathe for a bit before continuing but losing the need to go on with the dirt he was moving through pulling away, Thera having made it down and lifting him from the pit below.
“This has not been the best day,” He sighed as her mana pulled him from the depths to her arms.
“I really wish you had something more to say about a second attempt on your life.”
“What else is there to say? Did you shoot that asshole off again?”“No, your new friend is keeping him busy. I can see why she freaks Yuzu out.”
Thera nodded to the side where a bizarrely comical scene was taking place, one where it looked like a formless mass of grey flesh was continually chasing a teleporter until finally catching and eating them, only for them to pop away thanks to their magic soon after and repeating again and again without end.
“Stop trying to eat me you psychotic bitch!” Rook screamed, his clothing soaked in saliva and digestive fluids. “I’m not here for you!”
“You’re here to be a pain in the ass!” The mass, Abel yelled back despite her current form lacking any obvious mouth. “Don’t get in the way of my fun! You know how hard it is to get anyone to play with me?”
…Okay, if she’s going to say stuff like that then I can spar her a couple more times in the future.
“Ben, I can see you being a bleeding heart and if she eats you, you're getting no sympathy.”
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“Will I still get healing though?”
“Obviously, just don’t make it a habit.”
Their small back and forth was enough to catch the ears of the two in the midst of their chase, bringing it to an end with Abel making her way over first, her form shifting back to the more human-like one it seemed she’d wear in that world.
“Don’t worry number two, if he gives you any trouble again just let me know,” She told Ben proudly. “I’m pretty sure I can figure out how to digest him eventually.”
“Pah, you’re not that good,” Rook spat as he walked over, prompting Yuzu to join their side and give a disapproving glare while Abel only looked excited.
“Stay in my stomach then. I’d love to see which of us comes out on top.”
“Go screw yourself. And you, kid! You see you're outclassed too so give up and get lost while I’m still being nice here!”
“Are you really still going to try and hit on Thera while you’re covered in stomach acid?”
“I could be covered head to toe in pure shit and it wouldn’t matter. Doesn’t matter what fancy second-tier skill you have, only one of us is a god and if you get in my way I’m going to make sure only one of us ever gets to be a god, you hear me?”
“Sure, loud and clear, we just need the go-ahead from the only person that actually matters here. Thera, you heard mister god over there, do you want him more?”
“Ben, if he kills you then I’m doing everything I can to make sure the gods hold him accountable even if it means I get to the second tier of sacrilege and if that’s still not enough I’m hitting him so hard he ends up in the sun. There’s literally nothing he can do to convince me to choose him over you.”
Rook backed up a step as she said it but he still glared their way. “Bah, you say that now but I’ve heard of you girly. You have what? A few thousand years ahead of you, maybe more? This guy’s going to be dead before you know it. Pick someone who’s actually going to be around to enjoy ‘cause even if you don’t give in now, you’ll just come looking for me in the future.”
“Then you can keep dreaming about that future. Anyway-” Mid-sentence she spent her power, catching Rook off guard as the force of her blow shot him out into the distant ocean before he could react with his magic. “I’m personally about done for the day. Yuzu, can we walk you back anywhere before we turn in? I just want to lay down and relax after all of that.”
“Sure, but we really do need to do something about Verbum first.”
“Oh, if you’re all done let me take him!” Abel yelled. “I’ve barely gotten to speak to Verbs at all, he can keep me entertained once he wakes up!”
“...Okay, that’s probably fine,” Thera said while Yuzu nodded, both girls thinking about how much he wasn’t going to like that when he came to.
“Just no taking bites out of him without his consent, okay?”
“Ah, he’s only good for intelligence anyway. Even if he gives a lot of it, there’s not much I can use it for. You on the other hand-”
“No, thank you but I’m going to pass. Now come on guys, let’s get out of here before Rook sorts himself out.”
Dragging both Ben and Thera along like she was trying to run away, they heard Abel yell about seeing them again tomorrow while Ben caught sight of her hoisting Verbum over her shoulder while they left, with Thera looking to Yuzu as she did.
“So, have you actually let her get a bite out of you before?”
“I gave her some of my blood in the past like Ben did,” She admitted. “I was trying to understand how her soul worked with Elvat because it’s, well, weird but potentially useful if any of her stranger effects could be induced in a normal one and that was how we all discovered that not only do soul mages give her bonuses to all of her attributes, but especially to her weeping. Seeing as how that’s her most important one and there don’t seem to be many good sources for it, she wants to get more every single time.”
“Oh, yeah I can see why that would be hard to deal with, and… Ben?”
“Hmm? Yeah?”
“You okay? You seem quiet.”
“Ah, yeah, I’m fine. Just a lot on my minds.”
This guy’s going to be dead before you know it.
Despite himself, after everything else that had gone on that day, Rook's words had ended up echoing around Ben’s head, ringing all the more true when combined with his otherwise uncertain future.
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