Dave barely breathes as he examines Heinz's wound. It's not deep, but the blade that caused it still glimmers with a sickly glow.
"Shit, shit, shit…" he mutters under his breath.
Heinz presses his lips together, his skin growing paler by the second. The poison is spreading.
Dave grips him tighter.
"Hey. Stay with me."
Heinz blinks slowly.
"I'm trying… you're not exactly helping."
Dave ignores the remark. This is no time for sarcasm.
The fallen demons dissolve into nothing, but their echo lingers in the air, like a warning.
They hadn't come to fight.
They came to deliver a message.
Dave clenches his teeth.
Axel.
It doesn't surprise him that his brother would use demons in this dimension to go after him. What does make his blood boil is that they'd tried to take Heinz down in the process. That's something he won't tolerate.
Since when does Axel play this dirty?
"We have to get out of here," he says, looping Heinz's arm over his shoulders.
"I'm not—" Heinz draws a shaky breath, "—dead weight."
"No, but you're sure as hell not a damn tank either."
Heinz closes his eyes for a second, and Dave feels his body tremble. The poison's working fast.
"Dave…" His voice is low, deeper than usual.
A chill creeps down Dave's spine.
"What?"
Heinz digs his fingers into Dave's arm.
"The portal…"
Dave understands before he finishes. His gaze snaps to the alley they escaped through—or what's left of it.
The walls, blackened by battle, still hum with demonic energy.
The portal is gone.
"Goddammit!" Dave kicks a piece of rubble in frustration.
The structure Heinz had built with his arcane symbols is in ruins. Not a trace of the power it once held remains.
Someone destroyed it.
And it wasn't those petty demons. This was done by someone with real power.
Heinz coughs, snapping Dave's focus back to him.
"Axel…"
Dave grits his jaw.
He doesn't say it, but the idea roots itself deeper with every passing second.
Axel wants him isolated.
No escape routes. And if that means taking Heinz down along the way, clearly, Axel has no problem with that.
Dave looks down at Heinz, noticing the cold sweat beading on his skin.
No time to curse at the sky. He needs to act.
"Hold on. I'm getting that poison out of you."
He doesn't know how.
But he sure as hell knows he's not letting Axel win this time.
Dave curses under his breath as he hauls Heinz's weight down the deserted streets. The fever's hitting hard now.
They can't stay out in the open.
If Axel really sent those demons, he's probably watching them even now.
And Dave won't give him the satisfaction.
Heinz lets out a stifled groan, his head lolling onto Dave's shoulder.
"Don't you dare pass out on me now."
No response.
Dave quickens his pace, feeling Heinz's breath coming in short, uneven bursts. The wound isn't bleeding much, but the poison is eating him from the inside.
They need cover. Somewhere to hide. Somewhere he can work.
Somewhere no one will find them.
"Just hang on a little longer."
His eyes scan the crumbling buildings, the shattered streets. Everything reeks of abandonment, like the whole city had been forgotten ages ago.
But Dave knows better.
They're not alone.
They never are.
Finally, he spots what he's been searching for.
A three-story building, windows smashed, doors hanging off their hinges. Not much, but it'll do.
He hurries inside, shoving the rusted door open with a hard kick. The stench of damp and old ashes fills the place.
Perfect.
He eases Heinz down against a wall and crouches beside him.
Cold skin. Ragged breathing.
"Dave…" Heinz's voice is barely a whisper.
"Hey. You're still with me." Dave presses a hand to his forehead and feels the burning heat of the fever. It's getting worse.
Heinz tries to speak again, but his body shudders violently.
The poison's still working its way in.
Dave takes a deep breath. He needs to do something.
He tears a strip from his own jacket, soaking it with a bit of water from his canteen.
"This is gonna hurt. Okay?"
Heinz cracks his eyes open, a flicker of his usual sarcasm still alive beneath the pain.
"When doesn't it?"
Dave almost smiles, but his expression hardens as he presses the cloth against the wound.
Heinz stiffens, his fingers clawing at the cracked floor.
"Easy. It's not your time yet."
Dave works quickly, cleaning the wound as best he can. But this isn't the kind of poison you can flush out with dirty rags and water.
They need something else.
Heinz lets out a shaking breath.
"This… is Axel's doing."
Dave freezes, though he already suspected it.
"How do you know?"
Heinz's eyelids flutter, his breathing shallow and uneven.
"The type of magic… I recognize it. He wanted the portal gone, but… he wanted me too weak to build another."
Dave's teeth grind together.
"Son of a bitch."
Axel had planned this.
Not just trapping him here—he wanted him alone.
Dave runs a hand down his face, trying to keep his fury in check.
"How the hell do we get out of this?"
Heinz looks up at him, surprisingly calm despite the fever burning through his veins.
"We find another way. There's always another way."
Dave lets out a bitter laugh.
"You and your damn riddles."
Heinz gives him the faintest ghost of a smile.
"It's part of my charm."
Dave stares at him for a beat longer.
That pull he's tried to ignore stirs again, quiet but undeniable.
It's not just that Heinz is still fighting despite everything. It's the way he looks at him—with that calm, defiant gaze. It's the way he refuses to give in.
And Dave… he doesn't want to lose him.
Not this time.
He takes a steady breath and stands.
"Stay awake. I'll handle the rest."
Heinz closes his eyes briefly, then gives a faint nod.
Dave doesn't have all the answers, but he knows one thing for sure:
Axel's not winning this one.
Not today.