Katya coughed, and a small amount of blood spilled from her mouth.

“Oh thank God!” Val cried, “Are you hurt?!”

Katya mumbled something, too quiet for Val to hear.

“What?!” Val asked.

Katya grabbed Val’s collar-guard and pulled him in close.

“Sword,” she repeated, her voice strained.

“Katya, I -”

“Get.” she growled, “My. Sword.”

Val leant back and looked around, seeing the sword lodged in the ground a few metres behind them.

“It’s -”

Again, Katya interrupted him. She sat up and pushed him away, forcing her leg under herself and, with a grunt of pain, driving herself up onto one knee.

Behind Val, the bull bucked and bellowed triumphantly, roaring its rage into the air. It swung its head to and fro, blasting hot breaths from flared nostrils.

Val stood up and cried out in pain as he put weight on what was surely a shattered kneecap, but he managed to help Katya to her feet, and she hurriedly limped off toward the sword. Val followed her, limping even worse than she was, occasionally glancing over his shoulder at the bull.

“At least let me -” he yelled, then stopped suddenly.

He pulled his hands from the pouch on his belt, his gloves covered in shattered crystal and viscous red liquid. He dug around again, finding not a single intact bottle. His face dropped.

Katya reached the sword, and managed to pull it out of the dirt on the second attempt. She swayed as she turned, looking past Val to the bull.

At that moment, the dire bull fell silent, dropped its head low and set its eyes on Katya and the fleeing Val. Its front hoof pawed at the dirt.

Katya met the bulls eyes and, with a heroic effort, pulled her sword up in front of her.

“Get behind me,” she told Val as he reached her, and he did as she asked.

The bull tensed its muscles and Katya set herself in a defensive stance. 

“Katya, please,” Val begged, “We can run, we can get away, I -”

“Just,” Katya breathed, straining with the words, “Just go… I can do this.”

She swayed as her left knee buckled and Val grabbed her, pulling her upright, compensating on his one good leg.

“Katya…”

“Fine, stay,” she told him, “But keep me upright.”

The bull charged toward them, its horns shimmering black with some bestial power, and Katya braced herself. She drew the blade back like a baseball bat and waited, she gritted her teeth and blue fire shimmered up the centre of the blade, casting the red filigree in bright purple. Val held both his arms to her back, sliding his fingers between the joints of her armour and taking her weight.

Just before the bull hit them both, Katya swung the sword and met the charge head on. The equal forces clashed and, at first, neither gave any ground. Blue and black flames licked and twisted, attempting to force the other back, and Katya’s muscles strained against the bull’s charging body. Time seemed to stand still to Val, who was somehow immune to the forward motion of the bull, only feeling the weight of Katya’s body.

And then, it happened. Katya’s blade swung forward, sliding along the bull's horn and slashing across its eye, spraying blood into the air. The bull was knocked backwards, its hooves sliding along the ground, bellowing in agony, and Katya’s blade completed its swing, slamming into the ground beside her.

Val took more of her weight as her legs threatened to collapse.

“Let me go, Val,” she said.

“But -”

“Val, please.”

Val lowered Katya to her knees, extending his busted leg so he could follow her down and keeping his hand on her back to keep her upright. She kept her left hand on the hilt of the sword and watched the bull stomping and thrashing its rage.

Katya exhaled a deep breath and looked over at the group of fleeing adventurers, supporting one another as they entered the trees. 

Val saw her shoulders drop as she watched the others escape and, despite the grievousness of their situation, found himself sharing her relief. 

“Katya -” Val started.

The bull, now one-eyed, bellowed its rage at the two and then fell into muffled silence as a thrown hammer smashed into its face and encased it in a thick coating of ice. 

Val lowered his arm and put it on Katya’s shoulder.

“I don’t think that’s going to last very long,” he said, “Can you move?”

She shook her head.

“Me either.”

Katya’s shoulders shook as quiet sobs started to rack her body. She squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head as she tried to stem the tears that threatened.

“Hey, hey,” Val whispered, soothingly.

Val moved one of his hands from Katya’s shoulder and put it on her head.

“There’s no need for tears,” he said, his own voice thick with emotion.

Val thought about Teddy, about how he was never going to see her again, unless being gored to death by a giant bull would simply kick him along to the next other world in the same way the Nissan Cube that killed him the first time did. But it didn’t seem likely.

In his final moments, Val was forced to realise just how underprepared he was for this journey. Despite everything he’d seen since arriving in this world, he had recklessly assumed that he could somehow do what generations of adventurers had not, and the labyrinth had corrected this assumption. In his desperation, he had committed to a course of action that he did not understand the real danger of, and now he was about to pay the price.

Silent tears fell from his eyes, but he kept his voice even in the vain hope that Katya wouldn’t notice. 

Across the field, the bull stomped and smashed its head against the ground, carving deep cracks in the ice on its face.

“You saved those people,” he said.

Katya scoffed, bitterly.

“And?” she spat, “I lost.”

“Hey,” Val admonished her, “You did your best, and I’m proud of you.”

The crystal on Val’s neck flashed, bright enough that Val noticed it inside his armour. A small popup window appeared in front of his eyes.

‘New skill unlocked: FASTUS PATRI’

Val didn’t speak Latin, nor did he have the time to try and discern the meaning of the message before golden light burst from his palm and poured into Katya’s body. She shone for a brief moment, bright as flame, then as suddenly as it appeared it was gone.

Val pulled his hand away, sure he had hurt her somehow, but she did not seem to be in pain. In fact, she stood up, unsupported, and hefted her blade as if it weighed nothing.

Val looked up at her.

“Katya?” he asked, “Are you okay?”

She nodded.

The bull smashed its head against the ground for a third time, and the ice shattered and sheared away. It trained its one remaining eye on Katya and readied itself to attack.

“Can you run now?” Val said, panicked, “If you’re better you should -”

“No,” she cut him off.

“Kat-”

“Val,” her voice was level, her breathing even, but there was a dark edge of violence to her tone, “I’m not going anywhere.”

The bull sprang forward, its deadly horns shining in the sunlight. 

Val sat silently as the bull bore down on them both, his own body screaming to run, crawl, drag himself away from the charging monster, but he couldn’t move. All he could do was watch.

At the last second, right before the bull would have crashed into Katya, she swung the greatsword up and across her body so quickly that Val didn’t even see it move. The flat of the blade batted away the bull’s horns effortlessly, as if they were nothing, snapping its head back. It didn’t even have time to roar in pain before Katya stepped in underneath it and spun the blade in a wide arc that opened the bull’s throat as smoothly as a surgeon’s scalpel.

Katya turned on her heel, switching the blade to her left hand and driving the entire length of the greatsword into the bull’s chest. The guard hammered into its side and the impact sent it tumbling sideways to crash into the ground, roaring in pain.

Katya let the sword fall with the bull, then watched it thump into the grass alongside a scattered selection of items as the dire bull dissipated into nothing.

Katya’s wounds were gone, and her body hummed with energy, every muscle at the same time relaxed and sizzling with power. Val could only sit silently, waves of relief and confusion washing over him in equal measure.

Just inside the trees, a few of the injured adventurers looked on in awe.