FISTS OF FIRE, EQUAL HEARTS

The silence Noelia left behind was colder and more oppressive than the darkness of the tunnels themselves. Asimil stood there for a long minute, her cruel words echoing in his ears. "Get a life." Maybe she was right. Maybe he was just a nuisance. But then, a new emotion broke through the humiliation: anger. A spark of pure, stubborn defiance.

No. He was not going to give up here just because she said so.

Gritting his teeth, he stood up. His body protested, his life points were dangerously low, but his spirit, wounded as it was, refused to break. With difficulty, limping and leaning against the damp walls, he managed to get out of that dead end. He had no plan, only one goal: to move forward. To survive, if only to prove that arrogant ice queen wrong.

He advanced through a wider passageway, where the ceiling panes of glass emitted a ghostly light. It seemed that the immediate danger had passed. It was then that the shadows on the walls moved.

He was surrounded. He raised his dagger, but he knew it was useless. There were too many of them, and he was too weak. The first stalker leaped, its claws extended, straight for his throat. Asimil could only raise his arm in a vain attempt to protect himself.

—  MAKE WAY, YOU VERMIN!!!! — A thunderous roar, full of wild joy, shook the tunnel. A flash of orange light and intense heat blinded it for an instant. A human comet crashed into the middle of the stalking pack. It was Ikel Ken, his fists wreathed in roaring flames.

What followed was not a battle, it was a massacre. Ikel didn't just fight, he danced. Every punch was an explosion of fire that sent the monsters flying. Every move was a demonstration of brute strength and overwhelming confidence. He laughed as he fought, a thunderous and infectious sound. In less than a minute, all the stalkers had dissolved into data particles.

Ikel paused in the midst of the smoking wreckage, steam rising from his fists. He turned to Asimil, with a smile so wide and bright it lit up the gloom.

—  Whew, that was close, buddy! — he said, reaching over and slapping him on the back with the force of a battering ram. Asimil staggered, almost falling back to the ground.

— Th-thank you — he stammered, still in shock at the sudden and violent salvation.

Surprised by her direct and non-malicious attitude, Asimil hesitated for a second before the words came out by themselves. He told her what had happened. Spectro's ambush, Noelia's rescue and how she had insulted and abandoned him.

Ikel listened intently, his smile fading to be replaced by a frown. But when Asimil finished, the smile returned, this time with more force. He let out a sonorous laugh.

— Hahahahahaha! So the ice princess gave you a lecture! That girl's an iceberg! Don't listen to her, she was probably mad because that Spectro guy ruined her hairstyle! —

Asimil blinked, confused. — Don't you think... that he's right, that I'm useless? — Ikel stopped laughing and looked at him seriously, his honey-colored eyes shining with fierce conviction.

— Listen, my friend. Of course you fell. Of course you almost got knocked out. That's the way this game is! Falling down is part of fighting. What matters is getting up and hitting harder! You know what I mean? Strength isn't about never missing. Strength is to keep getting up until you're the one who strikes the last blow! — Ikel's philosophy, so simple, so straightforward, hit Asimil with the force of a fiery punch. No one had ever said anything like that to him. For others, a failure was a sentence. For Ikel, it was just another step. For the first time since he had arrived in that world, someone did not see him as a walking failure, but as a fellow fighter.

A small, trembling smile broke out on Asimil's face.

— That's the spirit! — roared Ikel, wrapping an arm around him. — Now come on! We've got to find the other two geezers and show that princess how things are done! —

The rest of the way was a revelation. They advanced together, fighting side by side. Ikel was the battering ram, drawing the enemies' attention with his devastating attacks. Asimil, learning from his confidence, began to act rather than react. He used his weak green fire to blind enemies from the flank, to set fire to pools of oil on the ground, to create the openings that Ikel exploited. For the first time, he felt useful. He felt part of something. They forged a genuine friendship in the heat of battle and the banter between bouts.

Not long after, they encountered a lone figure who had just dispatched a stone minotaur. 

It was Sacres.

— Wow, looks like they've been busy — he said, his tone neutral, but Asimil could see a glint of relief in his gray eyes as he saw them both in one piece.

— Sacres! — Ikel greeted. — I was just showing our friend how to fight for real! —

Sacres noted the new camaraderie between them, the confidence in Asimil's stance, and nodded slowly. — Well done. Now, let's find Noelia. —

Sacres activated the equipment's tracker, a small holographic compass. One of the device's four lights, the white one representing Noelia, blinked a flashing red.

— He's in combat —said Sacres, his voice tightening. — And from the frequency, it's a big group. He's in trouble. —

The three looked at each other. The mission had changed. It was no longer about survival. It was about rescuing one of their own, even if she was the most arrogant and coldest of them all. They ran through the tunnels, following the signal, until they reached a ledge overlooking a larger cavern.

Downstairs, they saw her. Noelia had her back to a wall, her breathing agitated, the cut on her shoulder glowing with a "slight hemorrhage" status. She was surrounded by an elite group of Lizardmen, wielding spears and shields. She was fighting brilliantly, but they were wearing her down. It was only a matter of time.