Cease the Suffering - Etrian Odyssey II (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 31

AN: Thanks so much Irish_Moon_Dreamer and SakuraiYoake for commenting on the previous chapter! So glad that you liked it! I hope you’ll enjoy this chapter as well. It’s not as long as the previous one and it is kinda a filler, but it has fluff, so that counts for something, right? Enjoy!

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Chapter 31:

Since they had entered the Labyrinth in two teams, they had to depart in separate groups. No one had the strength to venture onto the next floor to have a quick look around just yet. So, thanks the Warp Wire Lynus had with him, he was able to warp his group out. Tobyn had the other’s means of transportation, so they were quite literally right behind them.

Deciding that the report to Minister Dubois could wait until they were fully rested, the exhausted, but thankfully still alive, explorers trudged back to the Inn. It was late, well into the night, but Matron was still awake, seemingly waiting for them. She looked momentarily surprised to see that Lynus was part of the group, but she didn’t ask any questions. She just smiled knowingly before ushering them to get some sleep.

Even though Lynus was beyond tired, he still wanted to check up on the others, to see if they needed any further healing. More specifically, he wanted to check on Axel because of the hairline fracture in his arm and Tobyn because of the injury to his side.

But Hamza put a halt to that. He told him point-blank that further healing could wait until morning. After everyone got some sleep. After he got some.

He was right. Lynus wouldn’t be able to heal to the best of his ability if he didn’t recover his own energy. And with Axel tugging on his arm, practically dragging him up the stairs, he doubted he would be able to get much done anyway.

As soon as the door to their room closed with a soft click, Lynus found himself abruptly pulled into Axel’s arms. The red-haired Landsknecht held him tightly as he pressed his face into Lynus’ hair, breathing deeply. “I can’t believe you could be so reckless,” he murmured.

Lynus immediately knew what he was talking about. Even he was somewhat surprised by his rashness. The furthest he had ever been in the Labyrinth previously was the first floor. And suddenly he was running around heedlessly on the tenth? That was quite a leap.

It was reckless and could have potentially ended disastrously. But, dammit, he would do it again in heartbeat.

Lynus squirmed in Axel’s hold. “Are you ok?” he asked. “Is your arm giving you any pain?”

“Lynus, my arm is fine,” Axel said, with a slight tone of exasperation in his voice. He pulled them apart, just to take Lynus by the shoulders to gaze upon his face with a firm look. “You’ve already healed it.”

Lynus chose to ignore Axel for the moment as he actively began to peel back Axel’s armour, removing the straps and clips in order to get a proper look. And Axel didn’t protest. He simply sighed and helped in the removal of his battle armour, the metal equipment pooling on the floor around his feet.

“What about your side?” Lynus asked, his hand reaching out to touch Axel’s waist, where there was an obviously bloody tear in his clothing. He tried to push the event of how Axel got such an injury into the back of his mind. It was still very vivid, though. The fear he felt still blatant.

He wished he didn’t see that…

Quite an introduction to the dangers of the Labyrinth, huh?

“I’m fine,” Axel stated confidently, somewhat amused by his fussing.

He would be, wouldn’t he? After all, trekking through the Labyrinth was something Axel did every day. He knew the dangers, he knew the potential threats. It was something he did routinely.