Jill looked bad. Bad enough, his first thought was that she was dead. It was only seeing the gentle movement of her breaths that told him otherwise. Her body looked bent awkwardly. One of her legs was clearly twisted the wrong way, and the way she was slumped on the ground was strange. She was almost twisted on herself, and he worried that her spine was broken. He didn’t really know how flexible she was, but he didn’t think such a sudden bend in her posture was possible. None of that was alarming as her left arm, and the amount of blood she was losing from the myriad of cuts spread over her body. Almost in a uniform pattern, there were cuts engraved across her whole body. They seemed to spread from where her now missing hand was; more than the hand was missing. It looked like something had cleanly cut off everything from the middle of her bicep and down. The amount of blood pooling around her was disturbing. His heartbeat was beating far faster than he expected.

He didn’t detect any immediate danger and let his transformations wane after he had made the jump towards her. He would need to use his energy to open a portal back to the other side. However, that was only something he could do after doing what he could. It didn’t seem like Jill had anything prepared, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened.

He started forming the portal while trying to cover as many of her wounds as he could. Fusing his wood with her body like had done for his own injuries in the past would be a mistake. He had needed his sister’s help to recover properly after that; however, he could still use it to apply pressure and stop more bleeding. He placed his hand against her throat and was glad to feel that her breathing wasn’t obstructed in any way. As he examined her wounds closely, he was surprised by how much his domain was helping him. He could actually feel that she was alive, and how much life she still had within her.

Even knowing that his heartbeat didn’t slow down at all. If anything, it made him more concerned as he could see her life bleeding out of her. It was like she had an aura that he could see gradually growing dimmer. He didn’t notice before but saw it now that he was looking for it. The upgrade to his domain was a strange one. AS the portal finished opening, he gingerly lifted Jill. He was treating her as if she were more fragile than a cracked egg. The unusual lightness of her body didn’t help that impression, as he almost through her from the simple lift. He held her in his hands flatly. A wooden bed formed between his two hands to make her more comfortable.

As he moved her, he noticed that her hair was completely fine. It didn’t even look to be in disorder. It somehow kept to her usual style and kept its usual waves. The way it was almost always perfect was something he hadn’t really noticed before. Although now that he was thinking about it, he couldn’t remember a single time it was even slightly disturbed. Turning Mash started walking to the portal.

He couldn’t avoid seeing around the portal too. The ground was torn up as if something had crashed, but from the ground, he could see more detail of the chaos. The way the stone and dirt were spread out, he could tell that there was a pattern to the destruction. It looked more like something had splashed into the ground and caused the world around it to spread like water. In his mind, he was imagining what damage something like this could do if done in a city. Just what had happened here? The question buzzed around in his mind as he walked through the portal.

The world shifted and he found himself standing in a forest. He could feel the imitations of Priscilla that his friends had and was relieved to see that he hadn’t moved that much. He knew that distance didn’t translate equally between the worlds, but he still wasn’t sure how it worked. It almost seemed random to him. It didn’t matter, and he was just glad to be close by. Wings grew from his back, and the wooden bed changed slightly. It formed a windshield and basically covered Jill. He could still watch her condition with his domain, and this way he could avoid putting any unneeded pressure on her. He lifted into the air slowly and flew steadily towards where he detected where Luke was.

It looked like much hadn’t changed on this side, though he did notice a building as soon as he got over the trees. A stone tower was built where the portal to the other world had been. The style of the building gave him an idea of who he would find there. Just like the other, it was made of a slick black stone. Honestly, it made the structure seem far more menacing like it should belong to some great villain.

The trees didn’t blur beneath him as he flew. He cared more about maintaining his speed and keeping Jill comfortable. The trip would only take a minute or two at worst, and he didn’t want to make her condition worse by going faster. He kept his surroundings in mind but didn’t really process them. The forest below blurred into a few repetitive images of leaves. Finally, he arrived at the tower and flew to where Luke was within it.

There was an opening where he aimed, a tall hole in the wall which probably acted as a window. Now it would also function as a door. Mash easily fit into the window and intruded into Luke’s room hastily. As he landed in the room, his foot hit a wooden table and sent flying. It broke easily as it crashed into the opposite wall. Maybe, he had been going too fast but that was not important.

The somewhat loud entrance turned out to work in his favor, as Luke quickly appeared. He had entered the room from a smaller entrance on the right. The room was mostly barren outside of a few chairs and a bed. Mash could guess that this was probably his bedroom. To attest to that assumption, Luke’s shirt was off, and his hair clung to his head. He had just gotten out of a bath, but he was on alert. It looked like he was ready for a fight, and his body was faintly glowing.

Mash didn’t hesitate upon seeing him and opened up the shell that he had made for Jill. It basically just popped off and fell to the side, revealing Jill laying there. She was still unconscious. At the same time, he started explaining what had happened. Although, it was barely anything.

“Jill needs healing. I have no idea what happened, but it looked like something exploded.”

He wished he had more to say, although Luke didn’t look like he was paying attention. He had moved as soon as he saw the injuries. The healing had already begun, and Mash could see his mana draining quickly. Then Mash noticed something else leaving his body. It wasn’t just his mana but his life. The process shocked him, and he froze. What did he do in this situation? To his perceptions, it almost seemed like Luke was trading his life for her. While noble, Mash didn’t think that was the right choice. He tried to think of something to say but didn’t think he had the right to stop anything from happening. Plus, he wasn’t sure if he even could. Maybe, someone else could save Jill, but he didn’t know if he could get her to them in time. His sister would be ideal, but she was too far away. Another thought came to him, and he spoke without considering his words.

“I don’t know what you're doing, but can you use me instead? I can heal nearly anything, trust me.”

Mash wasn’t feeling particularly confident about most things, but he was sure of his ability not to die. After the incident with his core, he figured he could recover from almost any damage. Honestly, between his skills, he thought it would be a good idea to stockpile on some monster corpses, though he didn’t know if there was an easy way to preserve them.

Mash thrust one of his hands out of the bed. It would still be flat as he simply molded it around his waist. And now Luke could easily grab him, but Luke didn’t even seem to notice it. He seemed solely focused on Jill. Mash spoke a little louder trying to get his attention. His next words were a little quieter than a shout.

“Trust me!”

Despite trying to get his attention, Mash didn’t want to actually risk touching Luke. His concentration was incredible. He was focused to the point that Mash didn’t even see him blink. Some sweat started building on his forehead too, and his grip on Jill grew visibly tighter. Mash decided to trust Luke to know better than to trade his life. Instead, he turned the bed into a proper table and moved around. Whatever happened, he believed that Luke would need his help soon. At the very least, he could be there if he collapsed. Just having a hand there, would mean something.

Mash observed everything with his domain, even the hallway beyond the room. He wanted to make sure that nothing could interrupt them. Although, he didn’t do anything to stop Red when he felt her approach the door. He did the opposite and reached for the door. Wood grew from his hand, a replica of his own arm that extended toward the door. He realized that he rarely used his ability for such simple things. The gesture felt extremely unnatural, even though all he was doing was opening a door. It didn’t have a knob, instead, there was just an indentation in the door that would work as a handle.

The door didn’t fit right, and it creaked as he pushed it open. It scratched the ground, and he could see Red jump in surprise. Just like Luke, she assumed there was a fight and her new weapons started floating in front of her. Seeing her act so similarly to Luke, Mash began to question what the situation here was like. They were clearly tense and prepared for a surprise attack. His attention was dragged away as the visible injuries on Jill were finally healing. Luke’s magic had been flowing into her, but he couldn’t see her condition change. Now that he could see the cuts across her body close, and the missing arm start to regrow he relaxed a little.

“Mash? What are- What happened?”

Red turned the corner and started speaking normally. Her confusion changed to urgency, and she quickly closed the distance before speaking quietly. Mash could hear the door close and realized that she was trying to hide the situation. His concern grew from the way she was whispering. He tried to respond but held back as Luke started.

“Ok, she will be fine. Now, what happened?”

Jill was still healing, but Mash could see what he meant. He could tell that she was physically fine, even if her arm was still in the process of being healed. Red pulled something from her storage space, and Mash realized it was a blanket. She quickly draped it over the still unconscious Jill. Her face was left uncovered, and Jill almost looked like she was taking a pleasant nap. In all the chaos, Mash hadn’t even considered the condition of her torn clothes. Red didn’t comment and was just staring at Mash. Luke was doing the same, and Mash started his explanation.