Chapter 82: Snap, Crackle, Pop!

"Gah!"

Spittle spewed from Peace’s mouth as he screamed.

His clawed nails shortened and the haze in his mind lifted. All at once, his rationality returned. With it came a new understanding of his ability.

’This prick!’

But that realization didn’t exactly matter...

Nothing mattered other than survival.

For if he died, reason died with him.

The Temple Knight began to twist the blade lodged in Peace’s forearm.

[You have slain Tier 9 A-Class, Light Temple Knight]

Fighting through the pain in his right shoulder, Peace barely managed to throw his right hand across his body to catch the blade and hold it still.

[You have slain Tier 9 C-Class, Defiled Light Acolyte]

[You have slain Tier 9 A-Class, Light Temple Knight]

’Good, they’re still going...’

He could tell that much from the sounds, but he didn’t have the liberty to look toward their half of the battle. Judging by the screams, groans, grunts, and wails, things clearly weren’t going well.

Gritting his teeth, Peace screamed at the Knight.

"Piss off, you rotten bastard!"

He tried to raise his leg to kick the Knight away, but the monster quickly put an end to that by stomping directly onto Peace’s knee.

A loud pop sounded. Agonizing pain followed.

It didn’t seem broken, but something in his right leg had been dislocated.

’Damn it!’

He tried to lift his left leg to kick, but the Knight bashed it back down with its shield, then raised its leg to stomp on that one too. Peace was forced to abandon the attack and pull his leg out of the way.

[You have slain Tier 9 A-Class, Light Temple Knight]

Peace bit down on his lip, his serrated teeth drawing thin lines of blood. Tears welled in his eyes as his strength slowly began to fail him.

One moment of extra effort from the monster would be all it took to mangle his left wrist.

[You have slain Tier 9 A-Class, Light Temple Knight]

And just as that outcome seemed inevitable...

Steady drops of blood began to fall on Peace from above.

[You have slain Tier 9 A-Class, Light Temple Knight]

Straining his neck to look up, he saw the half-dead Volkar standing above him, his hulking hands wrapped around the neck of the Temple Knight that had nearly killed him.

’We... won?’

Suddenly, a mangy hand emerged from the shadows, reaching for Volkar’s leg.

’Fucking freaks!’

Before it could grab the Giant, Peace extended his right arm, seized the spawning Acolyte by the wrist, and yanked it toward him.

The moment its body fell atop him, Peace thrust his head up and sank his teeth straight into its neck.

Black blood spewed out as it struggled to retaliate, but the wound was much too grievous. It was dead within seconds.

[You have slain Tier 9 C-Class, Defiled Light Acolyte]

Swallowing the blood and decayed flesh that had found its way into his mouth, Peace let his head fall to the floor.

’I’m done... with these undead and unloved sacks of rotten shit.’

He cast his eyes toward Volkar, watching the young Giant sway and collapse at his side, landing face down on a mound of monster corpses.

’They worship the Light yet reside in Darkness?’

Tilting his head back, Peace saw that the only person left standing appeared to be Yulis. Maura and Ralph must have been down as well.

’It’s poetic, really...’

Grunting, Peace lifted his head and looked down at his right leg, noticing an awkward bulge beside his knee.

’Yup... definitely dislocated... if not broken.’

And if he didn’t want it to heal wrong, he needed to have it set before consuming a potion or a Spirit Stone.

However...

When he’d ranked up, his bones had mended. That was another possibility, but his next rank was over twenty EXP away, and Peace could hardly stomach the idea of fighting at the moment.

A strained voice sounded from behind him.

"Peace... Are you alive?"

Yulis limped around and sat beside Volkar, pouring a potion over the Giant’s unmoving body.

’If he’s over here... that means he already used potions on the others... or they’re dead.’

Volkar’s wounds began to mend slightly, proving the beast of a man was still alive, even if only barely.

As for Peace...

Despite the immense pain and difficulty moving almost any part of his body, his mortal peril had momentarily subsided.

"Somewhat... the others?"

Coughing as he wiped blood from his face, Yulis rasped:

"Alive... I think."

"Alive but soon to die, is it?"

Sighing, Yulis set down Ralph’s sword, which he must have picked up at some point during the battle.

"That seems to be the case no matter what... For all of us, I mean."

Silence settled over the two, broken only by the distant footsteps of the respawning Temple Knight patrols.

After a few seconds, Peace grimaced and tried to sit up, but to no avail. Resigning himself to his supine stasis, he replied:

"Nah, I’d rather not."

Shaking his head, Yulis said:

"You really are a strange person."

"Oh? So, you see me as a person, do you?"

"Seriously... it’s not the time for jokes."

Peace forced his lips to contort into a smirk.

"If you’re saying that, it means you haven’t given up on surviving, right?"

Yulis cast his gaze back down the path they’d come from, now overrun by Temple Knights.

"...Correct."

Fighting against every cell in his body, Peace pushed himself off the ground and turned himself around until he was sitting against the wall.

Staring at Yulis on the far side of the corridor, Peace smiled.

’As a wise man once said...’

"Good answer."

’Now...’

The blazing pain flared as Peace undid the tassets of his light armor before tugging his pants down, exposing his thighs.

Yulis watched his slow movements with a mixture of horror, bewilderment, and curiosity.

Finally, Peace pulled his pants down to his ankles...

Yulis brought a hand to his mouth and looked away.

Peace took a few deep breaths, then said:

"Could you, uh... do me a solid and push that back in place?"

Still looking away, Yulis shook his head.

"I- uh, no- I..."

"Kid, just do it."

"Huh- but—"

Peace smirked.

"Don’t be a bitch... Wouldn’t it be nice to cause me pain? Remember what my kind caused for you, after all."

Slowly, Yulis’s eyes found their way back to Peace, and his hand fell from his mouth, though he still refused to look at Peace’s knee.

The knee in question had a prominent bulge jutting out to the left of where his kneecap should have been. Well... that was his kneecap. Just not where it was supposed to be.

"We don’t have time, come—"

Tears began to well in the Day Elf’s eyes as he cut Peace off.

"I’m sorry."

"You can do it, man. I need you to."

His tone growing somber, Yulis began:

"Not that... I’m sorry for ever judging you so harshly. I didn’t even get to know you, and I was ready to kill y—"

Scrunching up his face, Peace cut him off:

"Oh, come on. Save the sentimental bullshit for later. Just get over here and do it!"

Yulis stared blankly at Peace, his mouth agape and his eyes watery. Pushing off the wall, he began to shuffle toward Peace.

"Since you want to be a dick about it..."

Without mercy, Yulis brought his hands to Peace’s knee. Bracing his leg with one hand, he began to push against the displaced kneecap.

It felt as though a thousand needles were piercing every inch of his body while he roasted over a bed of coals.

Peace ripped a strip from an Acolyte’s rags and shoved the cloth into his mouth to stifle his screams.

Now, Peace was no doctor, but he could tell this was most definitely malpractice.

’But malpractice makes malperfect!’

After a few excruciating seconds, a loud pop sounded as his kneecap slid back into place...

Of course, even if he healed with a potion now, something would likely remain wrong with his leg. He was banking entirely on the ’evolution’ from ranking up eventually restoring his body, lest he be stuck with a limp forever.

But better to risk a limp than rest forever.

Tearing the cloth from his mouth, Peace drove his right hand into his pocket and pulled out a Spirit Stone, nearly pricking himself on the stimulant.

He tossed the Spirit Stone into his mouth without delay, as if it were a mere vitamin pill.

The sensation of a thousand needles became ten thousand; it felt as if tiny fireworks were exploding throughout his bloodstream.

All the while, Yulis studied his actions with an expression of fear and disgust.

"You—"

Before he could say whatever he wanted to say, Peace coughed up blood all over his face.

"Ack, greuahha! Fuahaha! Shit—shit! H-hurts!"

Yulis gagged and looked away.

"I’m gonna throw up."

Through wild, pained breaths, Peace said:

"Please keep... that a secret... and don’t do it... I can because... I’m special."

Choking back his vomit and wiping Peace’s blood from his cheek, Yulis replied:

"I wasn’t planning to."