Sweeping the dungeon took Mise and Biride about ten hours. It was annoying work, making their way down through all the mana beasts to the lower lab, then clearing out the bodies and then bringing the entire thing down. Their chimera partner made the job easier, but neither man liked doing it.

“Finally. I still don’t get why we’re being tasked with janitorial work,” Mise grumbled as he stepped out of the cave.

A group of ten guards were standing outside of the dungeon entrance, probably investigating the disappearance of the missing guard they’d killed. Their heads all turned as the group came out of the dungeon.

“What the- how did you get here?!”

“See? Janitorial work,” Mise grumbled to Birdie, who seemed to think differently.

“Janitorial work? Look at all the toys we have to play with!”

In a flash, he leapt forward, slitting the throat of two of the guards with his knives. Mise grumbled and chanted a spell, the throats of another three guards being slit. There was no visual attack; the men just fell down, clutching at their throats and yelling.

“W-wind magic! Everyone take cover!” one of the guards yelled. Someone erected a barrier of earth, but they were already down five members.

“Ten. Smash it.”

The chimera grunted and charged forward like a bulldozer, smashing through the dirt. Once he was done, he just stood still.

“What are you doing, idiot?!” Birdie screeched. “Kill them!”

The chimera nodded again and raised his fist. The guards near him were fleeing, but his size was deceptive. In a blink, he was near a guard, just as fast as Birdie had moved. With a single smash, he pulverized a guard, then opened his mouth, spewing out a torrent of flames, melting another one.

“At least we won’t have to clean the bodies up,” Mise mumbled as he raised his hands.

Far away, two hands of dirt came out of the ground, grabbing two screaming guards. Despite their struggle, they were slowly pulled into the ground, buried alive.

“Come on, leave me a corpse or two!” Birdie yelled. His body slipped into the shadows and reappeared behind the last guard, jamming his knife into the man’s neck.

Just like that, a massacre had occurred.

“It looks like that thing won’t do anything unless we tell it to,” Mise said, looking at the chimera in disgust.

“Hey. Thing. Go pick up those bodies for me.”

Five bodies were collected and brought to the man, who began slitting the wrists. Blood poured out, but Birdie just hummed as if he was used to it.

“You seriously need to get yourself checked out. You’re messed up.”

“Aren’t we all?” Birdie grinned, licking his lips. “Come on, I don’t have any guardsmen in my doll collection!”

“You have tons of different things. That’s not enough?”

“No, no. I need them all. All sorts. Then I’ll be able to have much more fun. I can make a village of my own.”

“I need a raise,” Mise mumbled as he used his hand of dirt to pull Birdie away. “Come on, the bodies will probably still be here by the time we’re done.”

“Let me go!” Birdie screeched, throwing a tantrum, but Mise just pulled Birdie away.

Birdie’s sick habits had slowed their progress, but they were on their way.

~~~

Prota was sleeping when the door opened.

“Hey, Prota.”

She shot up, panting, but calmed down as she realized it was just Fate.

“Oh, sorry. Were you sleeping? I just thought I’d introduce you to Danjo. Danjo, this is Prota. Prota, this is Danjo.”

The dwarf boy waved timidly, but his shyness was overwhelmed by Prota’s lack of sociality. She just stared at him with a blank look. Her mind processed that it was the boy they’d saved in the dungeon, but she couldn’t really think of anything other than that.

Fate turned to John. “He’s still sleeping, huh? Do you know how long it’s been?”

Prota shook her head.

“Hm. I hope he wakes up soon. Anyways, I came to let you know that Danjo will be joining us from here on out.”

Fate sat down and explained about Danjo’s sister and his inventions. Danjo stood near the door anxiously, unsure of what to do.

“I’m sure John would be able to use them well,” Fate finished.

“...John?” Danjo said.

“Oh, that’d be our sleeping beauty over there,” Fate grumbled. “He went and did something stupid, so he’ll be up a bit later. He’s Prota’s brother.”

“Prota’s… brother?”

Danjo stared at the two. Small, white hair, blue eyes on one. Black hair, tall, and strange clothes that Danjo could only presume belonged to the other.

They seemed like polar opposites.

“Alright, Danjo. I still have to introduce you to Albert.”

“Albert?”

“The leader of the Adventuer’s Guild.”

“That Albert? Wait, wait, hold on-”

Fate waved to Prota as he dragged Danjo out. As soon as he was gone, she turned back to John, trying to see if anything had changed. As she stared, she thought that Fate seemed a lot more confident when John wasn’t present. However, after a bit of thought, it made sense. John was just the kind of guy that got you riled up no matter what.

“Wake up soon…” Prota whispered as she left the room to get something to eat.

~~~

Mise, Birdie and Ten were an odd trio, but it seemed the town was used to odd looking people, because no one gave them a second look as they entered a bar.

“Welcome, sirs!” the bartender called out. “New around these parts? We get new adventurers all the time. What can I get for you?”

“Have you seen these people around?” Mise said, slamming some pieces of paper on the counter.

They were rough drawings of Fate, John and Prota based on the descriptions their spy had given them.

“Mm… can’t say I have,” the bartender said. “Can’t say I’ve seen everyone in this town, though. Why’re you looking for them?”

“Bad question. Ten, trash this place.”

After killing everyone in the room, they moved on to the next bar. The same process was repeated in the other two bars, but once they were done, they were no wiser than before.

“Shit!” Birdie cursed. “What if they’re not here?”

“That’s not possible. Let’s just go to the Adventurer’s Guild.”

Birdie thought for a bit. “Breaker told us not to go there.”

“I know,” Mise sighed. “I’d rather not go there either. There are bound to be idiots stronger than the fools in these bars. But knowing you, you don’t give a shit, right?”

Birdie grinned. “Oh, how well you know me.”

After giving Ten some commands to stay still and wait, the two entered the guild building.

“Hello!” Katheryne called out upon seeing some new faces. It was early in the morning, so the place was empty. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Yes, you can,” Birdie said, leaning on the counter with one arm. “Have you seen these three fine fellows of mine?”

Katheryne took a look at the images and started sweating a little. Those three. She didn’t know too much about them, but they were special. If someone was looking for them, it couldn’t possibly be a good thing.

“Oh, so you do know something.”

Birdie pulled one of his knives out and traced his finger on the edge, immediately drawing blood.

“See, I’m not very patient. So I’m going to give you to the count of ten to tell me where they are.”

He stared Katheryn directly in the eyes as he licked the blood off his finger.

“Ten.”

As soon as he began counting, though, Fate and Danjo emerged from Albert’s office.

“Thank you, sir,” Fate was saying as he closed the door.

He looked down the stairs and immediately froze. The bloodlust coming from those two couldn’t be mistaken.

“Oh, just who I was looking for! Not sure who the kid beside you is, but you’ve made some bad enemies, Mr. Fate.”

The door opened again, and Albert stepped outside. “What’s all this-”

He froze as he saw the intruders.

“Katheryn. Get out.”

The receptionist took no time in sprinting away, but thankfully, it seemed the enemies weren’t interested in the friendly receptionist. The situation devolved into a standoff with neither side willing to make the first move.

“Fate. Those are-”

“Enemies. Yes,” Fate said in a low voice. In an even lower voice, he gave a command to Danjo, who also ran off.

“Where did you-”

“Them,” Fate whispered to Albert. “Sir. Get Danjo out of here.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m a lot stronger than you, kid.”

“I want to deal with this on my own.” Fate’s eyes were set as he drew his sword.

“...I’m butting in if things get rough.”

Fate nodded. He wasn’t naive. These two were here to kill him. But if he wasn’t strong enough to beat these two, then he’d never get anywhere.

“...let’s fight outside,” Fate called out.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Sure,” Birdie grinned. “Whatever you want.”

They were cocky. Good. Probably. If they were overconfident, they might underestimate him, but at the same time, it might mean they were too powerful for him to handle. The group stepped out, but before Fate could do anything, Mise slipped away, leaving just Fate and Birdie.

And Ten.

“Ten!” Birdie called out, and for the first time, Fate noticed the chimera. He wasn’t sure how he’d missed the hulking figure in the first place.

“So. Where do you want to fight?” Birdie grinned. Fate clenched his teeth. This was going to be harder than he thought.

~~~

Danjo was running towards the hospital as fast as he could. Fate had instructed him to inform Prota about what was going on. So Danjo was going. However, he’d just been rescued from a pretty terrible form of imprisonment. He didn’t have the strength to do a lot.

That meant that he didn’t notice the dwarf following him.

In a bit, Danjo reached the area near the hospital. However, he hadn’t quite gotten there before noticing a familiar face sitting on a bench, eating a sandwich.

“Prota?” he said nervously as he got closer. The girl flinched as he got near her. Why? He wasn’t threatening, right?

“Um… Fate told me to tell you that there are enemies,” he explained. Prota’s eyes widened as she heard the news.

“Number?”

Danjo was surprised at the girl’s voice. Her intonation was flat and monotone, giving the impression of maturity, but the softness and quietness of her voice made her seem like a child. Based on her appearance, Danjo was going to go with the latter.

“Number?” Prota repeated.

“Uh… two,” Danjo stammered.

“Is that one of them?” Prota said, pointing to a dark corner.

Mise emerged from the shadows with a disgusted face.

“Seriously, the fact that the little girl knew I was there says more than enough about the work I have to put in for this job,” he muttered. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“What the-”

“Followed,” Prota said, reaching for her staff, but then flinched.

It wasn’t there. That was right. She’d left it upstairs.

She desperately wanted to send Danjo to go and get it for her, but if Mise had followed him without him noticing, there was no telling who else was here.

“Sorry…” Danjo muttered. He seemed to be realizing that he was more of a hindrance than a help.

“Hide,” Prota ordered. Danjo didn’t argue as he ran off to somewhere safe.

She stared nervously at Mise. She didn’t know if she could [Reset] here or not, what with John being unconscious and everything.

It was better not to take the risk.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Mise sighed.

The hands came out of the ground, reaching for Prota, but she was faster. Flipping her fingers up, she created a small ball of water and forced it between the ice, freezing the hands together. She leapt out of the way as the flew towards her, but since they were locked together, they were nothing more than a ram or sorts.

“Seriously,” Mise muttered as he raised his hands again.

Prota cocked her head to the side. No chanting? She’d been taught that it was a staple of spellcasting, even though she herself didn’t use it. So far, though, all her opponents had used it.

This wasn’t a normal enemy.

“...!” Prota flinched as she ducked down. She hadn’t been able to see it, but a blade of wind brushed past her cheek, giving her a small cut.

“You’re good,” Mise grunted as he prepared another spell. “Fine. Let’s take it up a notch.”

~~~

“This far enough?” Birdie yawned as Fate led the two to the forest.

“Yeah,” Fate said.

He looked at the giant chimera again. He wasn’t sure he could win this one, but he’d have to. The penalty for losing was probably death. Unsheathing his sword once again, he focused, and it began to develop a soft golden glow. It was nowhere near as intense as the one he’d formed in the cave, but it was there.

Sword aura. Not just any sword aura, though. He hadn’t unlocked that yet.

This was his own special talent.

[God Slaying Sword has been activated: 2%]

“That’s a fancy little toy you’ve got there,” Birdie called out. “Let’s hope you know how to use it!”

He grinned. “Ten. Kill that kid.”

In a blink, Ten appeared next to Fate, who gasped. He barely deflected a punch with his sword, but the force of the blow still pushed him back. He fired off a fireball in return, a cloud of smoke surrounding Ten’s head.

He, too, had been taught chantless casting, even if it was to a far lesser degree.

It looked like he’d need it, because Ten was completely unharmed. The monster swatted the smoke away, and when it was all gone, there wasn’t even a hint of damage. With a roar, he charged again, forcing Fate to just barely jump out of the way.

“How the hell is that thing so fast?!” he yelled as he fired off another spell.

It wasn’t doing anything. Small attacks had no effect here. He’d have to rely on his sword.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced his heart to calm down. He needed to focus. He could do this. His eyes snapped open as he stared Ten in the eyes as the chimera charged at him, but his didn’t dodge this time.

Gripping his sword as hard as he could, he parried the punch. He was forced to take a step back, but he kept his rythm as he flew back into battle. Ten towered over Fate, but that didn’t stop him from plunging his sword into the chimera’s gut.

At least, that was the intention. However, the sword only went in about two inches deep.

Ten roared in pain and jumped back, taking Fate’s blade with him. Unfortunately for Ten, the blade wasn’t just a normal blade. Fate raised his hand, and the sword flew out of Ten’s stomach and returned to Fate’s hand.

“Ooh, a magic blade,” Birdie said. “How interesting. Does a baby chick like you know how to use that thing?”

Fate ignored the man. He was lucky that he wasn’t participating, because Fate would’ve surely been dead otherwise.

No time to mull over possibilities. He had to keep going.

“Haap!” he yelled, then charged forward again.

This was a high risk, high reward fight. Fate dove in and narrowly dodged, ducking and weaving as he continued to slice. The monster was fast, but with the use of some wind magic, Fate could make himself faster. His sword cut time after time, leaving tiny marks that might as well have been paper cuts, but it was something.

It was better than nothing.

Fate didn’t know it, but Ten’s skin had the properties of solid metal, so the fact that his blade was getting through was incredible. His talent was truly blossoming.

Blossoming talent wouldn’t be enough to win this fight, though. Fate could feel his mana supply draining as he was forced to keep his wind magic, but he couldn’t afford to hold anything back here. With a quick chant, he wrapped his sword in flames and leapt back into the fray.

He was going all out. Wind magic to boost his feet, lightning magic to stimulate his muscles, earth magic to smooth the ground, water magic to clear the sweat from his eyes… they were all small spells that worked toward a better fight. He had to keep this up as long as possible. Could he outlast the monster?

Fate hesitated for a moment. Was it even a battle of attiration in the first place? This giant wasn’t even staggering.

“Haha! Having trouble, boy?” Birdie laughed, seeing the hesitation in Fate’s eyes.

Fate grit his teeth. Even if he won against the giant, he’d still have to deal with a second opponent.

“Tch…”

No. He couldn’t give up. He wouldn’t allow this kind of mockery. If he couldn’t do this on his own, he might as well not be the hero.

“Let’s do it.”

[God Slaying Sword] was a unique type of aura that could theoretically let him cut through anything. It was a gift from the goddess herself. However, it wasn’t just a free ability to use whenever Fate wanted. In his current state, it would cost too much mana and energy to strengthen the blade, but that was a risk he had to take.

With a cry, he held his sword up to the sky, and the glow brightened.

[God Slaying Sword has been activated: 10%]

He charged again, and this time, the blade sunk in just a bit deeper. That was it. His fighting spirit roaring, Fate sliced again and again. His mind was overclocking after he casted spell after spell, using a fireball to make a cloud of smoke, or a bright light to temporarily blind the chimera.

Minor cuts would never win the battle, though. He knew that.

He had one shot to put his plan into action. The monster fought predictably. It didn’t change patterns or adjust to Fate’s fighting style. So Fate knew the opportunity would come eventually.

“Now!” he yelled.

He jumped out of the way of a torrent of fire, then waited for Ten to smash his fist into the ground. In that short instant, he grabbed Ten’s wrist and flung himself upwards, adjusting his movement with short bursts of wind. Propelling himself down, Fate plunged his sword into Ten’s neck, the blade going all the way through. Landing feet first on the chimera’s shoulders, he pulled hard, pushing the beast to the ground.

“Huff… huff…” Fate swung his blade once, cleaning it of the flesh that was still clinging on.

“Very good!” Birdie exclaimed, clapping. “I honestly didn’t think you’d get this far!”

“Don’t tell me you’re stronger than him,” Fate said, his heart sinking. He barely had any mana left. Even now, he was struggling to stand.

“Huh? Probably not,” Birdie shrugged.

“Probably not-” Fate started before a giant hand slapped him into a tree.

Ten was perfectly fine.

“This guy ain’t so easy to kill! From what I know, he’s got ten souls or something. Have fun!”

~~~

Prota was starting to feel despair as she fired off another fire arrow.

The floor was covered in ice, the air chilly. Prota could move on it freely, but it seemed that the dwarf wasn’t used to such conditions. The arrow landed, knocking him back, and it was followed up by an icicle. The combo ended there, because the dwarf chanted something, then yelled as he slammed his hands on the ground, creating a fissure.

Prota barely leapt out of the way, floating herself to safety with wind magic. She flung off a few more spells as she ducked behind a building, barely getting herself out of the way of a rush of sharp stones.

She wasn’t winning, but losing wasn’t an option here. She wanted to cast a Blossom of Ice, something she’d grown to use as a finisher of sorts, but the dwarf wasn’t giving her enough time. The same went for blue fire. She’d actually managed to fire off some of that, but after the dwarf had noticed that it was dangerous, he hadn’t been giving her enough time to prepare it.

On top of that, she wasn’t entirely sure what to do. Did she wait for Fate? Was she supposed to win on her own? Stall for time? She was so used to John giving her orders that she was at a loss without him.

The worst part was that Prota was running out of mana. This dwarf seemed strong, but Prota was used to uphill battles. She was responding well, countering spell after spell while countering with those of her own. She’d managed to land a fire arrow and an icicle, but the dwarf was stronger than he looked, since he still seemed fine.

However, Prota was running out of both stamina and mana, and she’d need some soon. She hadn’t had the opportunity to use mana recovery either, and her frail body was starting to break down.

The only source was the dwarf in front of here. Focusing, she started to draw mana out of the dwarf. At least, that was the intent.

In reality, Prota got nothing.

“Oh, so you really can use it,” Mise grimaced. “Soul Siphon. How annoying. Well, it’s a good thing I was told about this in advance.”

Prota froze. Hadn’t Kit said something about this? That her ability could be blocked with the right mental strength? She was used to either having her staff or absorbing the mana. Her entire combat style revolved around it. The constant casting of mana recovery, the barrage of spells…

It was all gone.

In her moment of hesitation, she was blasted back by a burst of air. She coughed out blood as she was slammed into a wall, crumbling like a sack of bricks. She looked like a broken doll, blood trickling down her lips.

“John…” she muttered.

[Thirty minutes]

Her eyes widened. Her vision was still blurry, but the message from the system was clear.

[He’ll be up in thirty minutes. Hold on.]

The message was from Zero. Thirty minutes. She just had to hold on for thirty more minutes. She’d gotten her orders.

Her legs shaking, she slowly got to her feet.

“Oh? You can still get up?”

“You… won’t get John,” Prota said through grit teeth.

“Him? I’ll get him soon enough. I just gotta deal with you first.”