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The shifting walls and floors settle into place with a resounding thud, Arikado and Soma thoroughly cut off from the rest of their party- save for a few scattered items that fell over on their side in the confusion.
Arikado kneels down. "Hm. Julius's whip has ended up with us."
Soma brushes off his coat. "Oh- is he going to be able to-"
"I imagine that for the common monsters, even fighting bare-handed will be sufficient." Arikado cuts him off. "However- We cannot leave it behind, but…"
Soma winces. "Oh, right, you aren't going to be able to pick it up, right?"
Arikado nods. "Indeed. Additionally-"
Soma reaches down, grabbing the whip. "…It kinda stings to hold, is it supposed to do that?"
"Generally no, not unless you attempt to wield it properly. However, given who you are…" He trails off.
"Ah." Soma looks over the whip - for something that appears so unassuming and ordinary, it radiates an aura of power that unsettles Soma to his very core.
He tucks it away in one of his coat's inside pockets. "There we go."
Arikado sighs. "I suppose that will do. Do let me know if it becomes intolerable, however- I may be able to trade off for some amount of time in that case."
Soma nods. "Yeah, I'll let you know if that happens."
Arikado turns. "I believe, given what we've managed to deduce about how this place works thus far, this way will be the fastest route to reunite with the others."
Soma follows him down the halls - he can feel the whip's power pulsing at his side, separated from his skin by only a few thin layers of fabric.
There's relatively few monsters - thankfully, the cultists focused more on the 'unpredictable, ever-shifting layout' aspect of Dracula's castle than any other when they tried to recreate it.
Or maybe they'd planned to get to the monsters later. Who knows, Soma certainly doesn't.
Still-
He's grateful for that fact, the absence of monsters, as they continue onward, following the path Arikado's planned out.
The whip doesn't stop burning away against his side. He thinks it might be getting worse, but…
If it is, it's slowly enough that it's hard to tell.
Still-
He pulls his coat tighter around him at a sudden chill.
He can manage, Arikado can't really handle such a holy item. He can manage it.
(The whip hates him, he can feel it. She remembers what he's done, and despises him for it.
He can't say he disagrees with her, either.)
Soma grits his teeth, ignores the burning at his side, and continues onward.
It's definitely getting worse.
He's cold, everywhere except the burning fire where the whip is closest to his flesh.
She hates him. She hates him. She hates him. She hates him.
He can feel it down to his bones, a low ache in every movement, her hatred bleeding out into him.
Sometimes, people joke about wondering what they did in a past life to deserve whatever misfortunes come their way. Soma knows exactly what he did. Remembers it all too keenly sometimes.
He can't help but think whatever misfortunes befall him because of it…
Were the scales of justice fair, he could be faring far, far worse.
Her hatred of him is justified. He only remembers the faint impressions of what he did to her, lifetimes ago, how she ended up as just a soul inhabiting a whip, but…
Those impressions are enough.
He stumbles-
"Soma, are you alright?" Arikado asks.
He shakes away the cloud of dark thoughts wrapping around him. "I can keep going."
Arikado's eyes narrow. "That's not what I asked."
Soma shrugs. "Better one of us partially incapacitated than both of us."
Arikado sighs. "You… you are not wrong. Still, if it becomes truly serious-"
"I'll let you know." Soma responds.
It aches like fever burning into his bones. It aches like failure, like justified suffering. He cannot begrudge her this anger. She deserves her revenge, this much he remembers.
He keeps going.
His side burns.
He's barely still on his feet, by the time that-
"Arikado!" Mina's voice calls from the end of the corridor they just entered, and he nearly collapses with relief.
Julius is with her, the two of them rushing over to meet Soma and Arikado.
"Soma!" Mina runs up to him, slamming into him to pull him into a tight hug.
(She's warm, and safe, and-)
His knees waver beneath him.
"Woah- Soma!" Mina catches him, guiding him to sit down on a nearby low table.
Julius looks over him. "Soma, what-"
"Here." He reaches into his coat pocket, grabbing the Vampire Killer and passing her back to her rightful wielder.
(He's still cold, perhaps even moreso without the burning of the whip at his side.)
Julius raises an eyebrow. "You were able to carry it alright?"
Soma shrugs. "…I'll be fine."
Mina gently pokes his side- Soma jerks away with a hiss of pain.
"Take your shirt off." She demands.
Soma complies, slowly pulling off his coat first, and then his shirt beneath it. He finds himself shivering as it comes off, his joints protesting even the minor movements.
"Oh dear." Arikado.
Mina gently pokes at the edges of what looks almost like a nasty sunburn on his side, next to where he was holding the whip. It's reddened and swollen, even starting to blister in a few spots.
She presses a gentle hand to his forehead. "You're running a fever, too…"
He pushes her hand away gently. "You should save your mana, we'll probably need your sealing spells at full strength later."
Her expression tightens. "Soma…"
"Do the two of you have any potions on you?" Arikado asks.
Julius shakes his head. "I think Hammer and Yoko ended up with all of them - at least, all of them that didn't break."
Soma pulls his shirt back on, wincing at the brush of fabric over his side. "I'll be fine, guys. I can keep going."
(Not like he didn't deserve everything she did to him anyways-)
Mina pulls him into a hug. "I- Okay. But if you're having any trouble keeping up tell us, okay? I can spare enough mana for that, or Arikado could carry you or something."
Soma melts into the hug.
He feels safe around her, burying his face into her shoulder. "…Okay. I will."
(He can still feel the whip, humming with her hatred for him from her place at Julius's side.
But, with Mina's arms around him-
It feels just a little further away.)