"LYNIS, WAIT—!" Jane's voice cracked through the ruined pharmacy, raw from choking.
Too late.
Lynis was already a force in motion—shield raised, boots smashing through dust and broken tiles, every stride fueled by panic and fury. His jaw was clenched, eyes sharp with protective instinct. He barreled forward like a human battering ram.
As he came to a skidding stop right on the side off Jagger's right, Lynis's feet planted firm into the ground slightly bent, his torso twisted like a coiled spring. His arm which held his shield was cocked back, the muscles along his arm strained and flexed as some form of energy began to manifest. The shield itself began to glow with an eerie azure light, and as the words "SHIELD BASH" escaped his lips, Lynis's body exploded into motion.
His entire frame rotated in a single, violent sequence—hips firing first, then his torso, then his shoulders—each segment snapping into the next like links in a kinetic chain. The twist of his body generated a spiraling surge of torque that ran up from his planted feet all the way into the shield.
As the shield connected square on Jagger's chest what followed wasn't an upward jerk, nor a dramatic lift.
It was something far uglier.
A visible shockwave erupted as the shield detonation into Jagger's torso.
The force hit him dead-center, perfectly horizontal, the kind of blow that didn't send bodies arcing through the air but ripping backward like a cable yanked taut.
Every ounce of Lynis's torque compressed into a flat, driving vector.
Jagger's entire frame jolted as if his spine had been punched out of alignment.
His knees didn't get a chance to bend.
His toes barely scraped the tiles.
He shot backward at the same height he'd been kneeling, sliding off his position like a piece of debris caught in a shockwave.
The impact peeled him away from Jane beneath him, flinging him in a straight line—no rise, no arc, just violent displacement.
Hurling across the aisle like a ragdoll. He crashed into a towering shelf of canned goods and supplies with an explosive cascade. Metal shrieked as the framework collapsed, an avalanche of cans and plastics pelting down around him. Canned peaches burst. Soup splattered. The entire unit toppled over, burying him in choking dust and debris.
The crash echoed long after he disappeared beneath the wreckage. The wall behind webbing with cracks.
Porpo, who had been running back with a bundle of rope and an emergency blanket, skidded to a stop, nearly tripping. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!" she shrieked, green whisps of energy flaring in her palm as her grimoire fluttered open with frantic speed.
Jane clutched her throat, coughing violently. Her voice came out thin, broken from the earlier chokehold. "L-Lynis! He—he wasn't… he wasn't attacking!"
Dust swirled around the toppled shelf, settling in a hazy cloud. Through it came a faint movement—slow, weak. A hand. Trembling fingers pushing against bent metal.
Porpo's eyes widened as she turned to Jane. "Did that guy really—?"
Jane touched her bruised throat, wincing. Her voice rasped, barely audible. "He didn't know what he was doing… he wasn't in control."
Porpo's gaze flicked sharply to Lynis. "You probably killed him!"
Lynis scoffed, but his expression faltered. He wasn't heartless. He knew what fear looked like. And Jane's face—pale, shaken, eyes still watery—made something twist in his gut.
Still, he grunted stubbornly, "Control or not, he tried to kill her. I protect my people first, anyway he moving meh."
"What?!" Porpo barked.
Jane raised a hand weakly in reassurance. "It's fine, Porpo… I shouldn't have gotten that close."
Porpo crouched next to her, gripping her shoulders. "Your neck is bruised. You're not 'fine,' you liar."
The crunch of glass under her palm as she pushed herself upright made her wince. "Help me up," she croaked. "The floor is filthy—my hair's all bloody."
Porpo nudged under her arm, Lynis taking the other side despite grumbling under his breath. Together, they hoisted her to her feet. Jane steadied herself, brushing blood from her cheek and shaking shards of glass out of her wet hair.
Her eyes drifted to the collapsed shelf. Jagger's body lay half-buried, unconscious again, dark hair splayed across broken concrete. He looked fragile for the first time—just a boy overwhelmed by a world trying to kill him.
"It was like he was having a nightmare," Jane whispered. "Like he couldn't tell I was a person... and not some monster coming to kill him."
A low vibration traveled through the ground.
A heavy THUMP.
Then another.
And another.
Slow. Rhythmic. Growing closer.
The sound crawled through the broken windows, reverberating through the pharmacy walls. Dust danced with every tremor.
Porpo's eyes snapped upward. "Okay—uh—what the fuck was that?"
"It is a troll, around brute threat level. Even with the 3 of us at level 15, confirm very hard one." He glanced at the unconscious stranger. "If you think of fighting it, we might as well dig our own graves."
Porpo nodded quickly. "We're not staying. Fuck that."
Jane straightened with their support, voice still shredded. "What are our options?"
"Option?" Lynis scoffed. "I already found one escape route can siam that monster. Can loop behind shop and cut through alley. But—" he glared at the collapsed shelf—"I ain't carrying the psycho who strangled you."
Porpo threw her hands up. "For once, I agree with him! Leave him. He's dangerous!"
But Jane didn't move. She stared at Jagger. A quiet storm of conflict.
Determination.
Fear.
Mercy.
"He's just a kid…" she murmured.
"Nope. Nope, nope—don't start your White Knight bullshit," Porpo snapped. "He almost straight-up murdered you, Jane!"
"He wasn't conscious," Jane said firmly, meeting Porpo's gaze. "And he's alone, traumatized, half-dead. We don't abandon people like that."
Porpo groaned in frustration. "Ugh! Why are you like this?!"
Another thunderous THUMP shook dust from the ceiling.
Closer.
Louder.
Hungrier.
Jane's eyes hardened. "Grab him. Now."
Lynis froze. "Have you gone insane? After what he did?!"
"If you're not going to do it…" Jane stepped toward the rubble. "…then I will."
Both Porpo and Lynis stared at her—one horrified, the other defeated.
Finally, Lynis cursed under his breath. "Walo… fine lah! But you owe me big time."
He rushed to the debris, grunting as he pulled the unconscious stranger free. Jagger's body was heavier than expected, deadweight from exhaustion. Lynis hoisted him over his shoulder with difficulty.
"Fucking filthy," he muttered, adjusting his grip as blood smeared across his hoodie. "You ah… definitely owe me big time."
Jane managed a small, tired smile. "Thank you."
Lynis's cheeks flushed a shade redder as he waved his hand dismissively.
"I'm disappointed bro, she made you, her bitch." Porpo nudged, smirking, "Woof. Woof. Fucker."
Before Lynis could explode on Porpo, Jane spoke. "Come on, we're running out of time. Lynis led the way."
Lynis's expression twisted. "OI!"
Jane cut them off sharply. "Enough. We're running out of time. Lynis, lead the way."
He huffed, tightening his grip on Jagger's limp form. "Okay lah. Everyone follow me. And faster one—if that troll reach here, we die."
The three of them slipped into formation once more—
Lynis at the front with the unconscious boy slung over his shoulder,
Jane in the middle,
Porpo covering the rear—
as the next thunderous THUMP shook the pharmacy floor beneath them.