Ren destroyed every beast in his path while launching himself at the maximum speed his last hidden elent permitted.
The trajectory being a direct line toward where Ron lay bleeding. Abandoning all caution in favor of his raging urgency that tolerated no delay.
He was basically a blur. Lightning made flesh and leaving a trail of destroyed mutants behind him. So defenders saw him pass and registered vaguely that it was Ren. But combat demanded attention and analyzing too closely was a luxury they couldn't afford when mutants were still coming.
Arriving at the upper breach, he found a scene making his fury intensify… And so softer feeling, difficult to appropriately na.
Because Min was kneeling beside Ron with his hands completely covered in blood.
Not just stains. Covered. Like he'd plunged them into a crimson pool and pulled them out dripping. Red from fingertips to wrists and soaking into his sleeves.
Pressure being applied to the chest wound in an effort to stop or at least slow the bleeding threatening to end Ron's life very soon.
It wasn't working… Not really. Blood still flowed, poured from a wound that was too deep and too wide for simple pressure to seal. All Min was doing was buying maybe so extra seconds of ti. He had been trying to use his water mana to heal to no avail.
Normally he'd make a joke about being unable to use his only important utility as the group's water dual tar. Self-deprecating humor that deflected from the genuine skill he possessed. But now it was no joke, only the terrible desperation of soone knowing he had no way of executing his healing without mana. Failing miserably in his effort while crying because he no longer had a way to help. Even the simplest energy manipulation attempts didn't work when none of his beasts were available to help him channel.
But he was still trying anyway. Forcing it… Pushing against empty reserves trying to squeeze out drops that didn't exist.
He kept crying, quietly, subtle tears easily missed, no open weeping… Just sobs shaking his shoulders as tears mixed with the blood on his hands. Voice breaking as he begged Ron to hold on. To stay alive and don't dare die because Min couldn't save him.
It was devastating in its helplessness.
But at least the physical pressure he applied had reduced bleeding sowhat. Manual compression being better than nothing.
Small rcy since…
Min looked up when Ren arrived in an energy explosion.
His expression showing relief mixed with desperation coming from the urgency and doubt if he would still see Ron die without having been able to do anything effective for preventing the outco seeming inevitable.
"Ren…" Voice cracking. "I can't…there's no mana…I tried but…!"
He didn't say anything beyond that. Simply maintained pressure while waiting for Ren to do what he couldn't.
Luckily Ren had power. Had the ability to tread mana even after hours of fighting and had the knowledge and skill needed to save Ron.
So Min held the wound closed. Waited and hoped he'd bought enough ti.
Ren eliminated the remaining abyssal creatures flowing toward the wall breach with brutal efficiency leaving no survivors.
Electricity jumping between enemies in chain incapacitating them simultaneously. Systematic annihilation of everything threatening the area where Ron lay dying in Min's arms.
And then he knelt beside them. Hands already moving with dense mana to accelerate the healing processes.
Water and light flowing toward the wound in an almost uncontrolled current. Tissues being repaired at a rate exceeding by a lot what a body would achieve in days of ordinary recovery.
It wasn't complete healing that would imdiately restore Ron to combat condition. But it was a stabilization stopping the bleeding and repairing so critical damage to organs compromised by the deep cut.
"Take him," Ren ordered Min with a voice sounding strange even to his own ears.
Tone being harsher than normal. Like his vocal cords were under tension affecting their sound production. Like sothing was wrong with the throat or lungs or whatever made speech possible.
There was sothing in seeing Ren annoyed despite having achieved the objective of saving Ron. Like healing had satisfied one need but left another unresolved.
The rage hadn't dissipated at all. Hadn't been spent through the desperate sprint or healing effort. It was still there. Still building. Still demanding an outlet.
Ron was saved but mutants remained. Things to destroy remained. Things to kill to satisfy the hunger building in the chest where the seed vibrated and corruption spread and sothing that wasn't entirely him demanded blood.
Min observed him with a strange expression.
Noticing the black lines and things about Ren's appearance and behavior not fitting how he normally operated. He was panting in a manner suggesting considerable effort. Or excitent… And there was intensity in eyes that was disturbing in a quality not completely human.
The black veins were more obvious now.
And the electricity… Still crackling around Ren's hands. Min had seen Ren use it. Had known it was possible. But the corruption and altered behavior created a picture that was concerning in ways he couldn't fully articulate.
Yet Min didn't ask beyond his superficial assessnt.
Recognizing this wasn't the mont for interrogation when priority was evacuating Ron to safety. Simply accepting the order with a quick nod and thanking him for the help with brief words communicating genuine gratitude without unnecessary elaboration.
He lifted Ron carefully and began retreating toward the position within the broken walls.
Moving slowly and glancing back at Ren with an expression mixing gratitude with concern. Like he wanted to say sothing but didn't know what. Like he recognized sothing was wrong but didn't know how to address it.
Moving away from his friend slightly from the breach, Ren channeled mana toward the new task of closing the containnt wall that had been compromised.
Reinforcent being sowhat more solid than the original construction had been thanks to additional attention he invested ensuring it wouldn't easily collapse under new pressure.
Forming a barrier that was thicker, stronger than what defenders had managed during the initial construction when ti and resources were limited.
But mana use for that large-scale technique weakened his core further in manner permitting black lines to grow more.
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