Outran (2)

Dargon grinned as he glanced back and saw the girl clutching her ankle in pain. She struggled to get back up, but she was already tired out from the run, and now she was barely hobbling along.

A few dozen meters back, Elric finally rounded the corner, entering the same street the rest of the runners were on.

'Eh, what happened? Eria is on the ground?'

Elric's pace slowed a bit as he approached the girl. He could see a line of blood running down her leg, and there were small chunks of gravel still sticking to her legs.

"Haaah, you okay?"

Eria pulled herself up to her feet, then started limping forward.

"I-I'm fine, I can still finish this."

Elric stopped running, catching his breath as he tried to think of what to do.

'If I keep running, we'll win… I think helping her is better, though.'

Gaining reputation was the main goal of the event. Even if their team wanted to win the competition, it would be a bit hollow if the win was because of an injury.