Chapter 108 The Chase

Leo, Cain and Rene had been moving at a steady pace while taking a roundabout route to the mountain in hopes of avoiding the creatures chasing them.

They took regular breaks to keep their energy from getting too low just incase they were found and needed to run or fight.

'The sun went down not too long ago. Normally we would stop and rest for the night, but we can't do that while we are being chased. These creatures seem to start catching up to us every so often and we're forced to change directions to throw them off. They're faster than us too, so we can't even outrun them.'

This was one of those times Leo was thankful that ability users could go several days without sleep. Sleeping every night was something they did to stay in prime condition in case a fight was to occur, but when they couldn't sleep for whatever reason, it didn't bug them too much.

"Are they still ~Huff~ ~Huff~ following us?" Cain asked while trying to catch his breath. His Energy might be able to regenerate quickly but his Stamina was much slower. His body was starting to feel overworked after running non stop for several hours.

[Pulse]

"Yes... But they're still far away right now so you can catch your breath." Leo wasn't tired in any way. His Stamina was higher than most ability users thanks to the system, and he didn't need to use his Energy for running.

The only Energy he used was for Pulse, but each time he used it he would replenish all his Energy before he needed to use the skill again.

"We can't ~Huff~ keep running like this. By the time we make it ~Huff~ to the mountain ~Huff~ we'll be too tired to do anything." Cain had to sit down while catching his breath.

"You're right, we need to get rid of them somehow..." Leo was thinking hard about a way out of this situation.

Rene knelt beside Cain and placed her hand on his shoulder "I'm sorry I'm causing you so much trouble. You're only struggling because you have to carry me."

Cain had managed to catch his breath for the most part now "You don't need to worry about that. We need to get there any way we can and this is the best way. Besides, I don't mind carrying a beautiful lady around." Cain winked and Rene couldn't help but laugh.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Cain noticed that Rene had a very confused expression on her face.

"I can feel something strange inside of you, it's something to do with my ability. It's almost like there's an empty well that's slowly filling up. I wonder..." Rene focused on the 'empty well' she had sensed and imagined herself filling it up.

Cain saw Rene trying to concentrate so he chose to stay quiet. In the next moment Rene's hand started to dimly glow a light green colour. The light spread into Cain's shoulder, slightly lighting up his skin near the shoulder.

Cain suddenly felt his stamina returning to him by the second. After only a minute had passed he felt as though he had just woken up from a long nap.

"What did you just do? I'm not tired anymore..." Cain was astonished. He looked at Rene and noticed that she was on her hands and knees breathing heavily.

"Woah Rene, are you alright!?" Cain basically shouted, a slight panic in his tone. Leo heard the commotion and came running over as well. "Cain, what happened, is she alright?"

"I don't know, she touched me and her hand started glowing, then I suddenly didn't feel tired anymore." Cain explained what what happened, hoping Leo might understand what was going on.

'Did she just do what I think she did?' Leo was slightly surprised but he wanted to make sure that he was thinking along the right line.

"Rene, are you alright?" Rene had managed to catch her breath enough that she could speak again "Yes... I'm fine."

Both Cain and Leo were both relieved to hear her say that. "I think I just gave Cain my stamina..." Rene was shocked at what just happened but a smile appeared on her face.

"That's what I thought happened. So you transferred your stamina over to him... I thought your Energy might have been used to recover his Stamina instead." Leo was very curious about this development.

'It seems Rene is able to do more than just heal people. Perhaps he ability allows her to affect the body in general, allowing her do various things, like transferring her own Stamina to someone else for instance.'

"It used a small amount of Energy but it took a heavy toll on me due to my Stamina dropping so quickly... I thought I was going to pass out." Rene sounded just as tired as Cain was a few minutes before but she was still smiling.

'I felt...something. There were so many different types of energy inside of Cain, each with its own colour. White is the colour of his health, since that's the colour of light I create when healing, and green is his Stamina... So what were the others?' Rene was excited to find out what else her ability could do now that she had discovered this.

'Maybe I'll be able to help more once I figure out what these different colours of energy are all for. Then I won't be such a burden anymore.'

Leo helped Rene stand up and for a moment she felt like her legs might buckle, but she managed to stabilize herself and adjust to the lack of stamina she felt.

​ After making sure Rene was alright, Leo spoke up "I've been thinking of a way to get away from those creatures and I can only think of one. I'll lure them away while the two of you continue on to the mountain."

"What? You can't do that, we won't use you as bait!" Rene seemed to be upset that Leo would even suggest such a plan.

"I agree with Rene. You can't expect us to be okay with you taking on all the danger by yourself." Cain seemed adamant about his stance on the matter as well.

"I won't be taking all the danger. That mountain has several cultists inside of it, meaning it's just as dangerous. I'm a faster runner than either of you are so I'm confident I can outrun these things. I'll lure them away for a while and then head to the mountain later on. With some luck I should arrive there around the same time as you."

After hearing Leo explain the plan, Cain was deep in thought. "You can't seriously be considering it, Cain! We can't let him go all alone like that!" Rene seemed furious with Cain for even considering Leo's plan.

"I don't like it either but it's really the best option for all of us. You've seen Leo run before, he's almost twice as fast as I am. If we don't hurry then there's no chance of the villagers being alive when we get to the mountain and these things are slowing us down. This is the best option for everyone." Cain seemed reluctant to do so but he agreed to Leo's plan.

"But... But... What if they catch you... There won't be anyone to help you fight!" Rene still refused to allow Leo to go on his own.

Leo placed his hand on Rene's head "I promise I'll be okay. Those things aren't fast enough to catch me if I run at full speed. This way we have a better chance at saving the villagers and you two are almost guaranteed to make it to the mountain safely."

Rene looked down at the ground and went quiet. After a little while she slightly nodded her head, showing her agreement to the plan.

"I promise I'll be alright. I'll meet you both at the mountain." Leo ran back in the direction of the creatures in an attempt to draw their attention to him alone.

Clay went to pick up Rene so they could continue moving, but stopped when he saw her expression.

She slowly looked at Cain and with a worried tone she asked him "Do you really think he's going to be alright?"

Cain smiled softly "I do. He's the strongest of us, if anyone can do this, it's him." Rene nodded slightly and climbed onto Cain's back without saying a word. Cain activated his ability and the two of them began running towards the mountain again.

Leo stopped to use Pulse a few times while running and eventually managed to find the horde of creatures after changing directions a few times.

The seemed to be searching around a general area that appeared to be a spot Leo and the others had rested in a while ago.

He chose one of the smaller flying creatures and aimed at it. Although the creature wasn't inside his Battle Aura's range, he could still use the ranged attacks to hit targets at a distance because the attack continued to move forward even after it left the Battle Aura. He just lost control of the energy once it left the Battle Aura.

'Alright, it's time to get their attention. Let's start this game of cat and mouse for real now.' Leo thought to himself as he got ready to run.

[Wind Bullet]