'Fuck this shit. Let's get to her.'
Eren thought as he finished defending the last arrow from the barrage. He again tried closing in on the ranger despite knowing full well another barrage was going to get aimed at him.
'Blitz Steps!'
'Sedated Perception!'
Eren cancelled his Blitz Bolt and replaced it with his movement spell. He again used Sedated Perception, stacking its effect. This gave him the boost he needed to dodge all the projectiles Renita had been spraying all around her and at him.
Renita knew by now that she wouldn't always be able to keep track of Eren's movement when he uses his movement spell to its fullest. That's why she hadn't relaxed even when he retreated. Because she knew he could gain his ground just as quickly as he lost it.
So Renita had been firing all around her. She had a crossbow in one hand. While with the other, she had manifested her usual mana gun. She didn't care about her mana expenditure anymore. Because she had realized by now that stretching the battle was nigh impossible with Eren in her current state.
Eren had to pay the price for approaching Renita even with his astonishing reflexes and speed. Renita's anticipatory rounds weren't all random. She had studied the butcher's moves and targeted the spots that she knew he could approach from.
'Bzzeeeet!'
A mana bullet grazed Eren's cheeks and sped past it, buzzing in his ears as it tore through the space. There were a few more bullets that had found their targets. Eren had concentrated on dodging all the arrows coming his way this time. So he couldn't dodge all the bullets.
He had decided to dodge the arrows despite knowing they would be following him. He had a plan to make them target their caster if and when he closed in on Renita. He would use Renita as his meat shield to defend against the homing arrows. That way she'll either have to discard those mana arrows or suffer the consequences.
Eren's plan worked this time. He successfully got close enough to strike and got behind Renita. He cancelled his stacked time element spell and his movement spell when he was a few inches away from her back.
The butcher had already stored his weapons away. He grabbed Renita's waist with one hand from behind while the other hand's index finger caressed her right cheek. The index finger had Blitz Bolt running through it, causing a tingling sensation.
Renita only saw Eren's afterimages dancing around her for a short time. And then her waist was grabbed from behind.
Before she could comprehend what had happened, her right cheek felt weird. There was something crawling on it that was extremely cold yet extremely hot. It was a familiar feeling she had felt so many times before. It was an indication for her that she had lost.
The tingling sensation had distracted her for a short moment. And that moment was enough for the homing arrows to get close to her. They would soon be targeting their caster if they weren't discarded.
Renita sighed and waved her hand. The arrows were dissolved in the same air they were birthed from when they were only a few centimetres away from her.
"I… I lost again."
Eren heard Renita's downcast voice while she was still in the position she was at. So he let go of her cheek and lifted his hand off of her waist before standing in front of her.
"You did lose, Renita. But that's also a good thing."
Renita had a blank face after she listened to Eren. The latter tried cheering her in his broken way. This was a genuine effort instead of his usual bullshittery. But for some reason, it came out wrong.
'Erni, that's not how you should encourage this girl. Tell her she is getting better than her previous self.'
Reen spoke in his mind after hearing her master bomb his interactions with the ranger. Eren had a hard time agreeing with Reen. Taking advice like this from someone who couldn't even speak the language a few months back didn't sit right with him. But eventually, he gave in to his pet.
"Err… I mean you are getting better than your previous self, Renita. Your progress is terrifying. That's what's most crucial right now."
Renita shook her head in denial before answering:
"You don't get it, Eren. I want you to see me as your equal. Not your follower."
The butcher was stumped. He didn't want to play dumb. But he also didn't want to reciprocate her feelings. Renita read those feelings in his eyes and continued herself:
"I know you don't see us together, Eren. Not anytime soon. Or maybe forever? I don't know how you feel about us. But I know what I feel about us."
Eren couldn't keep quiet after hearing Renita's statement that bordered on a confession:
"Renita, why do you want to be with me? What do you see in me? I don't think I'll ever be a suitable partner to you or anyone else.
Why do you want to torture yourself by waiting for someone that'll never knock on your doors?"
Renita didn't answer immediately. She pondered every word Eren had said. She would be lying if she told him she wasn't hurt by his reply. But at the same time, she was expecting this. So the ranger looked in the butcher's eyes, placed her hand gently on his chest where his heart was before speaking up:
"Eren, remember when you had told us that the pursuit of power doesn't need a reason? It is indeed true. But the same can be said about love. The pursuit of love doesn't need a reason either.
What good is a long life obtained by higher-ranking status if we don't have the crayons of emotions to colour it up? Shouldn't we try to gain everything that this life has to offer?
You take pride in being selfish. How can you be selfish when you let go of one of the most significant aspects of life?
I don't want to have any regrets, Eren. If I can obtain everything this life has to offer, then when my time comes, I won't fear the Reaper."
'Shouldn't we try to gain everything that this life has to offer?
Not having to fear the reaper.'
Renita's words were repeated in Eren's mind as he remembered memories from his previous timeline.. He also remembered the cold and callous place he was sent to briefly after he had died. What would it be like to not be scared of that place?