It’s now been five minutes since the figure has kidnapped the friend that I just made.

“Really, this isn’t good at all...I just got to be Steffi’s friend, for not even a whole day, and up she went...”

My heart ached just thinking about it. However, I should think of this as a blessing. Because, not only did she save my life by pushing me away and risked her own, she was also set to get into the world of my dreams with a golden pass.

I don’t know what level of an immortal the corrupt saint is between other immortals, but I do think that he will take care of Steffi just fine.

So in short, Steffi will not only enter the immortal world, but will do so with a certain degree of a safe-net for her to fall on.

“But...Hehehe! That corrupt saint really left me something cool!”

A flood of information was flowing inside my brain. It foretold of a legend, of a great battle between a dragon and a tiger.

“And then there’s the extra little bit...”

The whole legend is cut up into fourteen verses. The words were filled with ancientness. My now headache-free brain was rolled into full gear, and I tried to make things out of the legend.

The legend went into great detail about their battle, and nothing but their battle. There was nothing about the cause of the battle, nor about its ending.

“But still, I wonder what can I do with this information? Do I have to search for their battlegrounds, and obtain some sort of treasure?”

I simply don’t know.

But still, it got to be something of great importance!

“Now then...should I return home or go check on someone...?”

After all, it’s a bit weird that no one reacted either the loud lightning strikes nor Goldie’s roars.

“And some lightning did set a few houses on fire...”

Even though I didn’t hear any shouts or cries from the houses who caught the fire...

Just as I had a hard time deciding on what my next move would be, a familiar voice sounded from somewhere.

“Little Jean!”

I turned to look at the voice’s direction, “Uncle Jim!” I shouted as hard as I could.

Uncle Jim looked to be in a pretty rough state. His black hair was in disarray, his clothes were burnt ever so slightly and his feet and hands were covered with mud.

Wait...taking a closer look, it seems that the tip of his hair was also burnt. Just a tiny bit.

It seems that Uncle Jim’s house also caught in fire...

Uncle Jim broke in a sprint, and opened his arms.

“E-eh...?”

This form...it seems he wants to hug me...?

He was about three steps away from me in...right about now.

His hands were dirty, his smell simply stank and his clothes are just a mess.

I...I don’t want to be hugged by him!

I bent my knees in an attempt to jump sideways and dodge. Un, dodging is the correct course of action after seeing him in this state.

Seeing that Uncle Jim is about two steps away from me, I sprung from my place and jumped to the right--Into the middle of the road.

“K-kuuh!”

Unexpectedly enough, Uncle Jim seemed to have anticipated my move. As his body made a 45 degree change in course, and practically bear hugged me before my feet even touched the ground.

“You’re fine! I’m glad, I’m glad...”

Uncle Jim then whispered into my ears. Or rather, did it escape his mouth and I wasn’t supposed to hear it?

“Thank god. Thank god you’re safe...”

Uncle Jim continued, as I felt something warm and watery hit my back.

Is...Uncle Jim crying...?

“U-uncle Jim, W-what happened...?”

Why is he crying...?

Does it have to do with why none of the villagers responded to either the roars or the lightning--Heck, the burning of a few houses?

Uncle Jim hugged me for a few more minutes, before letting me down.

“Listen very carefully for what I’m about to say...” Uncle Jim put both of his muddied, big hands on my shoulders. His face was covered in tears. He seemed to have been doing his hardest to hold it in.

“What I’m about to say is really, really, really,”

Whatever he was about to say seemed to be extremely important, because he repeated the ‘really’ three times...

“U-uncle J-Jim...D-did something happen...?”

Oi child, consider yourself lucky to have been able to stay alive~

I suddenly remember what the corrupted saint said when he first saw me, alongside his disgusting ‘V’ sign.

It can’t be, right...?

The villagers...No one reacting...Can it be that no one was able to react, that no one was even there to react in the first place...?

D-daddy...?

Oh right! Right, right, right! Uncle Jim is all fine, right? And his house is still within the village! That means that whatever the corrupt saint said earlier, is all a lie to confuse me!

“Really important, okay?”

I nodded. My eyes slightly teared up, in reaction to Uncle Jim’s tears.

Daddy should be fine. Even if everyone here died, Steffi was taken away by the corrupt saint and Daddy shouldn’t even be here...

Uncle Jim seemed like he was really struggling to say his following words, as more and more streams of tears continued to tumble down.

He seemed to finally let go of something, and said, “From now on, we’re going to go live in Yan city, okay?”

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I trembled when I heard that.

“W-why, Uncle Jim...?”

I struggled my hardest to keep the tears from escaping.

Can it be, D-Daddy was...?

“This village is no more. All those who are still alive, are me...you and Little Aran.”

Thump.

“W-what about Old demon...?”

I mean, he fought an immortal to a standstill, and only lost an eye doing so! He got to have stayed alive, right?

H-hey Uncle Jim, why are your eyes reddening even more...?

C-can it be...?

Uncle Jim shook his head. “Gerard is already gone...”

Thump, Thump.

“Daddy! T-then what about Daddy!?”

My vision finally turned blurry, but I couldn’t even give a damn about them. Daddy! I-is Daddy fine?! He’s my one and only family, aside from Uncle Jim of course.

Uncle Jim seemed to have been struck even harder, as his eyes went complete scarlet. Snot came out of his tanned, handsome face that was twisted to an utter mess. Without a doubt, my own expression was the same as Uncle Jim’s.

“The calamity came from bellow the mountain and killed everything...I think, Raul is no more...”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Memories flashed by.

Daddy’s playful expression. “How come I only get half a potato?!”

Daddy’s kind smile from the day before. “You woke up just in time. Come now, eat with me before I head to work.”

Daddy’s worried expression. “Yes, at first, it’s just ‘slightly burning one’s throat’ but what’s next? Are you going to go ahead and pet a wild dog because it’s simply ‘A homeless pet’!?”

Daddy’s desperate expression.“You’re a charming little girl, Jean...You can always wait until you’re sixteen, then marry any boy from the village and live an easy life. Did you know, that even the village elder’s eldest son has set his eyes on your hand...?”

I fell to my knees.

“Thump.”

“Ouuuu...”

My heart. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!!!!

Dig into it. Make it stop by digging into it! Stop stop stop stop stop stop stop! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!!

I used both of my hands to scratch my heart. Make it stop, make it stop, it hurts! It burns!

“Ouuuuuuu!!!”

My nails started to dig into my skin and a little bit of blood came out. It painted my dirtied hands with a tint of crimson. Digging into my chest hurt a little...but it could not compare to the pain of my heart’s heavy beating.

“Little Jean! No! Stop thinking about it!!”

Uncle Jim hugged me as hard as he could, making sure that my chest and his stomach were glued to each other.

But...this way, how can I dig into my heart and stop its beating?

“I-it hurts, it hurts!! Uncle Jim, my heart hurts a lot!!!!!”

“Shhh...It’s going to be alright, Little Jean. It’s going to be fine...”

I can feel everything inside my body. Everything hurts. Everything I feel at the moment, just makes me want to scream!!

Blood, blood, Yes, If I see blood, won’t I calm down? Won’t all this pain be replaced by a headache? Just like earlier, when I faced the corrupt saint?

I bit my lip as hard as I could, and blood spurted pretty much all over Uncle Jim’s already brown shirt.

Eh...?

W-why, why won’t the headache come? W-why, does my heart hurt even more?

“U-uncle Jim...M-make it stop...! Make my heart stop!! It hurts!!! I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t want to be in a place without Daddy!!!!”

“It’s all going to be fine, it’s all going to be fine...You must not give up, Little Jean...You must stay strong...” Uncle Jim continued to whisper.

“Just stay home, and I’ll teach you medicine! You’ll be my successor!”

“Ouuuuuuuuwaaaaaa!!!”

Is it because I wanted to go and learn how to use a sword?

Is the world punishing me because I refused to become Daddy’s student?

If Daddy will return after I agree to becoming a wife, then I’ll agree! No, please let me become a house wife!!

“Let it all out, Little Jean...”

I-I didn’t even get to apologize for yesterday...Ahhh! It hurts, it burns, it’s killing me! No, perhaps killing me is much better! That way, I’ll be able to return to Daddy and Mommy’s arms!!!

“Hmph!”

I felt my whole body become light, so maybe Uncle Jim lifted me. But I couldn’t have cared any less about that. Daddy’s gone. He’s gone. Daddy will never return. I’ll never be able to see Daddy again.

“We need to hurry up and get as far from here as possible...Due to that damned calamity, this whole mountain would turn into the demon beasts’ territory!”

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A/N: I was supposed to introduce the dad some more, however, I realized that due to my short chapters, that'll be impossible without making the pace of the story extra slow. I apologize for that. I'll try to kick it up a notch, and get to the awesome parts soon. Sorry for not posting any chapters the last two days, didn't have any connection to the internet or even my own laptop! I made a sudden visit outside the country that was supposed to only last half a day, and ended with being two days.