Ten minutes passed.
Ten slow, grinding minutes of waiting near the coliseum entrance with nothing but silence and tension stretching between Quincy and Even. The uncertainty that had already been eating at them only deepened with each passing second.
Eventually, Even exhaled sharply, his fists tightening until his nails bit into his palms. "Alright," he said at last, voice low and controlled through frustration. "I'm going out there."
Quincy let out a slow breath, already bracing herself for it. "We have no other choice," she said quietly. Then she turned slightly toward him. "Who are you taking with you?"
"I'll take Dirk with me," Even answered immediately, already turning as if the decision had been made long before now. "And I'm dragging the old man back out if I have to."
"I'll help you with Samwell," Quincy added, stepping to move with him without hesitation.
But before they could take more than a few steps, Quincy suddenly stopped.
Her expression shifted, her posture locking as something hit her senses all at once. Her vampiric awareness sharpened instantly, picking up rapid movement long before sight or sound fully caught up. Then came the scent of blood, heavy and unmistakable, carried on fast-approaching bodies.
She turned her head sharply toward the entrance. "Wait," she said quickly. "A lot of people are coming to the coliseum. And they're running."
Even froze mid-step. "They are?" he asked, already pivoting back toward the entrance.
Both of them moved at once.
It did not take long.
The entrance doors burst open as a group of exhausted figures rushed into the coliseum, all of them visibly winded from sprinting all the way from the center of the city. Their breathing was ragged, movements uneven, and their urgency immediately shattered any expectation of a calm return.
Quincy's eyes widened at the sight. "By goddess, what happened!?" she exclaimed.
The state of everyone was immediately alarming.
An unconscious man she did not recognize was being carried by a demon matching the descriptions given by the earlier returnees. Prince Mark had returned without his G.E.A.R., his condition visibly compromised as he carried Callum, whose left arm was looked to be cut off from the bicep while the right was in a state of utter ruin. Clara was supporting Amara's unconscious body, while Vilak kept a steady hand pressed against Amara's back, actively maintaining something unknown to stabilize her condition. Mari was carrying an unconscious Zee. Annabel appeared comparatively intact, though clearly exhausted. Finally, Lia carried a catatonic... Nerissa?
"No time to explain!" Vilak said urgently, still supporting Amara as Clara looked toward Quincy with clear urgency in her expression.
"Do you have anything that can treat a necrotic bullet?" she asked quickly.
Quincy blinked, the question immediately throwing her off. "I don't," she replied at once, then tensed as the implication fully landed. "Wait—did someone get shot with a necrotic bullet?"
Her eyes moved rapidly across the group again, taking in every injury, every wound, every exhausted breath. Then her expression shifted slightly as something else struck her.
*Where's Xain?* she thought, eyes scanning again, sharper this time.
Before she could say anything else, Annabel answered her earlier question.
"Amara got shot by one," she said grimly. "And we don't have any way of treating her."
Quincy's eyes widened.
Even stepped forward immediately. "The Healing Springs! Take her and everyone else who's injured there. It's open again!"
There was no hesitation.
Clara and Vilak moved at once, adjusting their grip on Amara and rushing her deeper into the coliseum toward the Healing Springs without another word, their footsteps quickly fading as they disappeared up the corridor.
"I think I should take him there as well," Prince Mark said, motioning to Callum.
"Please, for the love of goddess, do," Callum muttered weakly.
Without delay, Prince Mark shifted his hold and followed after them, carrying Callum toward the Healing Springs as well.
Quincy watched them go, breathing slightly uneven now as the situation escalated faster than she could process. When they were gone, she turned back to the remaining group still standing in the entrance hall.
"Can anyone please just tell me what happened!?" she demanded, voice strained. "Why are Callum's arms like that? Why are so many of you unconscious? How did Amara get shot by a necrotic bullet? Where is Xain? Who was that unknown man?"
Annabel let out a long, exhausted breath.
"You'll want to sit down for this," she said quietly. "Because a lot happened."