Bab 283: End of a Bloody War

"Come on, Manfred...just a bit further."

Stained in the crimson essence of the very friend he carried over his shoulder, Leon's steps were dulled by his fractured mind as the icy cold rain continued to fall down upon his form. 

An upward slope met him, his boots slipping against the muddy, slippery surface of the path ahead of him as he struggled to surmount its form in his hazed state. 

"...just a bit more." 

He isn't dead. He's with me still. He can be saved. He will be saved, these were the thoughts flooding and repeating through Leon's mind. 

With his next step, the sole of his down-brought boot met only with the unstable, slippery mud of the storm's making, losing his footing as he tumbled back down the hill. As the result of his fall, the body of his dear friend met face first with a hefty puddle of mud, having Leon retrieve him with desperation in his wordless gasps. 

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry…"