CHAPTER 86: CHAPTER 86 - LIVIA’S BREAKDOWN

The minute passed quickly as Logan ran, breathing heavily with Livia on his back.

He could hear the panthers jumping down and crashing onto the ice far behind him as they were no longer blinded.

"I have to be faster!" Logan shouted, pushing himself to keep running.

In front of him sat two blinded panthers blocking the exit.

’Come on,’ he thought, gritting his teeth. ’If I pass them we’ll be free.’

The two panthers roared wildly, their eyes clearing as Logan neared them.

They looked at him with anger as they conjured several icicles in the air.

Then, the icicles shot towards him.

It was as if time slowed down for Logan.

’There’s no way I can dodge all of them,’ he thought, calculating their trajectories as adrenaline fueled his body.

He shifted Livia to the left side of his back before jumping sideways.

One of the icicles shot past him, severing several strands of his hair.

Several more passed, until he saw the one he dreaded.

The icicle went straight for his midsection as he put all his strength into moving himself several inches to the left.

The icicle shot through his shoulder, completely severing his arm.

Logan gritted his teeth, the pain not having set in yet, before taking one giant leap past the panthers before they could prepare another volley of icicles.

He landed hard, stumbling for a few steps but refusing to fall. His vision blurred for a moment, the world spinning around him as the shock of losing an arm finally started to kick in.

Blood poured out his open shoulder, steam rising from the wound as the phoenix fire fought to cauterize and heal it.

’No!’ Logan thought, clenching his jaw as he forced the raging phoenix fire inside him to stop healing him.

If it healed him now, he’d burn through the last of his mana—and maybe destroy his core completely.

He heard the two panthers roaring behind him, stomping on the ground as they chased after him.

The rest of the pack was nowhere to be seen, likely all having given up after he left their breeding area.

Turning right, Logan heard them closing in.

He no longer had any idea where exactly he could shake these two panthers off. The flames coursing through his body also slowly disappeared, leaving him at most another minute of running.

As he ran down a mountain path, he saw something in the distance.

A small crevice inside the mountain.

’Cave?’ Logan thought, too tired to think properly.

Logan didn’t hesitate—he was out of options.

He dashed inside, the heat leaving his body clearing a path through the snow.

Once inside, he collapsed on one knee, panting, his vision blurring.

Listening closely, he heard them roar outside but they couldn’t fit through the small crevice.

The last thing he heard was the sound of claws pacing outside—then everything went dark.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Everything was quiet.

Too quiet.

Livia’s eyes opened slowly, frost covering her lashes. The cold made her shiver, but the pain through her body was far worse.

’I’m... alive?’ she stared at the ceiling with confusion.

Each breath turned into a small cloud as it left her lips.

"Logan?" Livia asked, her voice hoarse.

Her stomach twisted at the silence.

She winced as she sat up, having broken multiple bones and having no mana in her reserves.

The cave around her was dark, only small light shining through a snow-covered entrance.

"Where am I?" she wondered, looking around.

Suddenly, she froze.

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw Logan lying flat on the floor.

His armor was half-melted, one arm completely gone, and scorched flesh covered most of his torso. Even a chunk was missing near his stomach.

His body laid still.

"Logan?" she breathed, dragging herself closer to him.

Digging her nails in the snow below, she pushed herself through her pain.

"Logan?" she said again, this time louder.

No answer.

Her heart raced as she reached him.

His skin was pale, burn marks covered his entire body, and what was left of his shoulder looked charred. Blood had crusted over his clothes and steam no longer rose from his body.

But then, she saw it.

His chest rose.

Leaning closer, she realized he was still breathing.

’He’s alive,’ she thought, tears welling up in her eyes. ’No signs of any open wounds either.’

A wave of relief washed over her as tears ran down her face.

"I meant for you to leave me," she whispered, her voice cracking. "But you saved my life."

Her hands trembled as she hovered over his body, unsure what to do.

Blood, burns, a missing arm... he looked like a corpse.

"I wish I hadn’t pushed so hard for the stupid mission," she said, warm tears streaming down her face."You were right, we should’ve rested more often."

She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as she tried wiping the tears from her face—but they kept coming.

Never in her life had she been through something like this. The fear she had felt, her acceptance of death, the betrayal, and now Logan—it was all too much.

She tried not to cry, but her breathing got rough, and the sobs came anyway. Her shoulders shook violently as tears poured down, soaking the sleeves of her torn combat suit.

"I should’ve known," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her knees.

She buried her face in her knees and let the sobs take over.

Her sobs echoed faintly through the cave, muffled by the snow and stone.

Minutes passed as Livia completely broke down.

Eventually, her cries faded, leaving only silence and ragged breaths.

’Deep breaths,’ Livia thought, trying to compose herself again. ’I need to calm down.’

Still letting out a few hiccuping breaths, she glanced at Logan.

His chest rose and fell slowly, but steady.

"He’s... stable," she whispered, hiccuping. "Not bleeding, not freezing, just... unconscious."

She wiped her tears away with trembling hands as her expression slowly hardened. ’He carried me all the way here and trusted me with the rest.’

But even as she said it, her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Still, she forced herself to move.

There had to be something, anything, she could do.