We Are A Family

She flicked her wrist in the direction of the Draugr, and the sphere of pure heat and hellfire hurled itself towards the creature with breakneck speed. The Draugr roared as it faced the attack head-on with only its fists.

A blood-red stake fell in a straight vertical line, and the Draugr caught one end with ease. It twisted its forearm to spin the stake, concurrently taking a throwing stance at the same time. Efficient—this one word described the Draugr's movement perfectly.

It took no time to ready the stake and pointing one of its razor-sharp tips at the fireball. No, that was a misconception. It wasn't trying to use the stake in some way to destroy the fireball made of pure hellfire. No, it summoned the Oubliette to accomplish a single task. This task was secondary nonetheless compared to the threat that was about to disintegrate its being.

However, it paid no heed to its impending doom and threw the stake with all its might.

"...Utter disgrace," said the Draugr once the music of meat being pierced went through its ears.

The blonde girl coughed up blood. Due to the damage the Draugr had incurred, the fireball she'd created began to flicker and thus vanish into void.

An intimidating stake bore a hole into the girl's shoulder above her missing right arm. She winced from the metallic stench of blood and the throbbing pain hammering at her senses. Had she not pulled herself to the side moments before, the stake would have pierced her abdomen.

How frightening. The prospect of a Draugr mastering not one but two Oubliettes sickened her to the very core. It went without saying that her chance to defeat the Draugr diminished even further due to her battered body.

"...Gaakh!" She coughed up more blood on the spot. No, she couldn't go down this way.

Mustering her remaining strength, she destroyed the stake with hellfire and retreated near the wall.

The Draugr tilted its helmet. "Futile. There's no escape for you."

"..." The Keeper gritted her teeth and recomposed herself. Maintaining this facade of an expression, she covered her wound with her hand to try to clog it with new tissues and blood vessels.

This was an example of one of the Keepers' abilities. The ability to recover—in other words—heal one's injury to a certain degree. Of course, a missing arm would remain as such—a torn limb. Even Keepers couldn't possibly grow a lost limb. Their power was never that omnipotent.

More importantly, the situation at hand was not in her favor in the slightest. If she were to consider the Draugr's ability along with its accrued Oubliettes, then her choice moving forward could only be culled to one digit.

"Faust." The Draugr manifested its ability again to gain more strength, adding up to its already monstrous one. It was as the Keeper had stated—that its ability allowed it to become stronger physically if it kept fighting. If its current state was not enough to trample over its opponent, the creature would use its ability repeatedly even if doing so meant destroying its body from within.

Was there a limit to such a broken ability? Perhaps there was, perhaps there was none.

Sensing the incoming attack that would crush her in one fell swoop, the Keeper hastily willed her dome of hellfire to pulverize her enemy. It wouldn't be enough, but certainly, she could use the time lag for her to retreat out of the hidden room.

. . .

It was then that she met Klaus standing in front of the hole in the wall she leaped out of.

"Hey, you should stay away from the wall," said Klaus as he stood by the Keeper's side, his voice came out hoarse.

He could sense a strong presence inside the hidden room where the Keeper came from. Frankly put, he was scared to fight such a creature, but at the same time, he couldn't ignore the Keeper's state as well. Her features and face resembling Freda aside, his overprotective nature took over his body before he knew it.

For some reason, his body defied the warning trumpets blaring wildly inside his id, but he didn't regret having taken that step. He had resolved to cut ties with the supernatural, and yet, here he was, swimming in its very midst.

"...What are you doing?" asked the Keeper, confused.

She was aware of the Draugr's strength and had spoken of it to Klaus mere minutes ago. Did he forget that in such a short span of time?

"...I don't understand," she added.

"This might look strange—and perhaps it is—but I have my own reasons," replied Klaus as sweat trickled down his cheeks. "I-I love to think about the present quite a lot, you see. So, I've concluded that I'll help you fight whatever monstrosity is residing behind this wall."

"...? Help me?" The Keeper raised an eyebrow, somewhat making an exaggerated frown. "Did I not say what the Draugr is capable of? You shouldn't involve yourself."

"You did say it, and I heard it crystal clear. But I get the gist of what would happen if you go down. Strictly speaking, you and this Dimension would disappear together if I allow that to occur."

"!" The Keeper's pupils dilated as she let out a fraction of a gasp. "...Do you intend to procure the Crown?"

"..." Her question was not unforeseen, but Klaus's objective was nowhere related to such an object. He intended to fight the Draugr with her help, and he hoped that by doing so, he would have saved her life in the end.

"No, I don't care about the Crown or whatever. Since I'm here, I might as well get myself worked up. As simple as that."

"For such a mundane reason?"

"See, my Grandma told me that if I have more experience in this, perhaps I can make a better choice in the future. So, I want to give this one last shot before I decide to call it quits."

"...Is that so?"

"Yeah," said Klaus as he closed the conversation with that simple yet resolute reply.

"...Do as you wish."

"What's your name? I have to call you with a name of some sort," asked Klaus.