I stared at Bon, who was holding me at swordpoint in the dark night. When he randomly stormed out of the outpost in the middle of their conversation, it’d caught me off-guard, and I couldn’t get far enough away before he saw me and yelled out for the others.

In truth, the fact that his sword was drawn was borderline not even worth mentioning, considering how little of a physical threat he—or any of the other guards—posed to me. If an actual fight broke out, with my overwhelming Level advantage over them, it wouldn’t even be a contest. And even if they somehow got the upper hand, I always had Time Loop to rewind and do the fight again.

I was considering using Time Loop anyway, now that Bon had caught me listening in on their conversation, but honestly I wasn’t sure if that was the right play. They knew who I was—or at least had an extremely strong suspicion—and there was a very real chance that if I, say, went back and didn’t let them catch me, running off and not interfering with them, Bon would end up convincing the other two to turn me in. Or he’d do it himself behind the others’ backs. I needed to talk to them here, so if this was how the conversation started, that was good enough.

Well, I thought I needed to talk to them here. Someone else disagreed.

“Arlan,” Index said as I stared down Bon’s blade, “I am going to reiterate my advice to you for the twenty-eighth time. Kill all three of them right now. Do not give them a chance to speak, run, or do anything at all. Kill them. Leave no survivors.”

I’m not going to kill them.

“If you leave them alive, knowing what they know, you are only leaving yourself up to being betrayed. Do not trust anyone. Especially not someone who hates you.”

I’m not going to murder innocent people just because they happen to know too much. If I clear things up with them and show them I’m not some monster, we can resolve things peacefully.

“It is my responsibility to advise you on how to stay safe. You have personally asked me to give my recommendations in situations like these. And my advice for you is that there is only one guaranteed way out of this alive. Kill everyone who knows your identity. Listen, I get that you have your morals or whatever. But Bon is threatening your life, right? He wants to murder you, an innocent man. Doesn’t that mean your Human justice system would decide he needs to die, in turn?”

First, I don’t think Bon deserves to die just because he’s got the wrong idea about me. Second, Jannin and Poppins have done nothing wrong. They’re even on my side here. But if I murder their friend right in front of them, there is absolutely no way they’ll let me go without reporting me. Which means I’d have to kill them, too. Whether or not Bon is guilty has nothing to do with whether or not they deserve to die, and it’s either all of them or none of them.”

“Arlan. Just kill them. Please. It is literally the point of my existence to keep you alive, and this is the only way.”

You know everything about the System, but you’re just as flawed as everyone else concerning things outside of it. Thank you for the advice, but please let me make this decision on my own.

“I’m not going to let you put yourself in danger for the sake of completely irrelevant lives!” This was the only time I’d heard real desperation and anger in Index’s normally calm, cheery voice. “Please, kill them right now!”

“What’s going on?” Jannin ran up to Bon, flanked by Poppins, looking at me. “Is that…”

“Yes, it’s him!” Bon said. Then he turned to me. “Annor. Or, that isn’t actually your name, is it? Flamin’ liar.”

I held up my hands, trying to keep a peaceful tone. “Guys, this is a misunderstanding.”

“Is it true?” Poppins said. All three of them were facing me. “Are you really the fugitive they’re looking for?”

I took a breath. Lying to them about that wouldn’t work. They’d never believe me. “Yes, they’re trying to kill me. But I’ve done nothing wrong. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Bullshit!” Bon screamed. “You’re a lying piece of shit, and you know it!”

“Arlan,” Index said, “kill them right now.”

“I’m not lying,” I said, trying to ignore Index’s words. “The Demons came to the Overworld because killing me would give them more power. Now Koinkar is in their pocket, and they’re using the kingdom to come after me. They’re not after me because I’m hurting people.”

“Prove it!” Bon said.

I shook my head. “I have no idea how you expect me to do that. If it was so easy to prove, I’d have done it already. It’s my word against the Demons’. I’d hope you would trust your fellow Human more than them.”

“Yeah, c’mon Bon,” Jannin said. “I don’t think this is—”

“Why were you listening to us?” Bon said. He took a step forward, his sword still out.

I didn’t move, instead answering as calmly as I could. “I’d come out here to do something else, and thought I’d drop by. But when I heard you talking about me, I was worried. Afraid you’d turn me in.”

“A-and how do we know you weren’t here to kill us? Murder us in our sleep, or something? Flamin’ killer, that’s what you are! I know it!”

“Arlan,” Index continued talking, “you need to kill them all. Switch to Light Plate, cast Crippling Chill and activate Gravity Well on all three, Rays of Frost at them all too, grab Bon with Noxious Grasp and Sanguine Bond while you continue shooting Jannin with Rays, then—”

“Believe me,” I said while Index detailed the exact methods I could take to slaughter them all, “if I was here to kill you, that would have already been done. There would be no need to speak to you right now.”

Bon took a step back at that, scrunching his face up in a mixture of fear and anger.

“Listen,” I said. “I respect you. I really do. You’re standing up to someone you think is evil, someone you know is stronger than you. To hold up that sword right now takes a lot of strength. You’re brave, and you stand up for what you think is right. You’re a good person, Bon. All three of you are good people. But what you’ve been told is a lie. Propaganda sown by the Demons. I’ve seen person after person fall to their deception and die for it. Please, just trust me here. I’m an innocent man running from people trying to use their power to kill him.”

I could see Poppins nodding along to my words. Jannin seemed to agree, too. Bon, however, didn’t seem convinced.

“I won’t let you get to me! You’re a maniac!”

“Arlan, kill them right now. Please. It would be so easy. Barely ten seconds and they’re dead.”

“What reason do you have to hate me?” I was practically begging, at this point. Not for my sake, but for theirs. “I’m sorry I attacked you. I was drunk, you said something I didn’t like, and I hit you. That’s my mistake. I was too used to solving problems with violence after being on the run for so long. But that was a mistake. A small one. You understand that, right? You don’t really think that’s a reason to kill someone?”

Stolen story; please report.

“It proved to me you’re a violent psychopath, Annor! A liar, and a murderer! If you could’ve killed me there and gotten away with it, you would’ve! It was only because my friends were there to protect me that you left me alive. I won’t let you terrorize more people like that!”

“Arlan, you can close your eyes when you do it. I’ll guide you. I’ll tell you where to point your hand and when to shoot. I’m telling you, you won’t even get hurt. It’d be ridiculously easy. And you won’t see it, I’ll yell so you can’t hear it, either. And you can just turn around and walk away. It’s like it never happened, right? Kill them, I’m begging you. Can’t you see this Bon guy can’t be reasoned with? He’s practically begging you to kill him. Just a few Rays, that’s all I’m asking of you. Just—”

“I’ve been nothing but peaceful to you,” I said. My voice was trembling. Index’s constant begging, Bon’s shouting, it made it so hard to even think. Like everyone was just screaming at me to end them. “One time, when I was drunk, I hit you. And that’s all. I get that you’re afraid, and you don’t know who to trust. But if you just promise me you won’t turn me in, I’ll leave you be. Please just say it. You don’t understand how much I need you to just promise me.”

“Bon,” Jannin said, “let’s just go back to our outpost and talk it through. We can say we won’t turn him in for now, maybe give him some time to go and find evidence that he’s innocent. Annor, can you do that? Like, if you have time, can you prove to us—”

“Don’t turn on me too, man!” Bon yelled. “I thought you were my friend! You’re colluding with this…this enemy! Monster! He’s barely even Human!”

“Arlan,” Index said. “I'm begging you with every fiber of my being. Kill Bon. End his life right now. This is your only chance to ensure your safety and survival. You can't trust him or anyone else. They will betray you. They will turn you in. They will see you dead. There is a threat in front of you and you have the power to end it. For once in your life, you have the ability to completely annihilate someone who is threatening you. Someone who is abusing you. Someone who hates you unfairly. This is what you’ve wanted all your life. To be able to eliminate these threats. You have it. Use it. Use your power right now!”

Bon turned to me. “You’re a monster, hear me! Monster! And I’ll slay you if it’s the last thing I do!”

“Kill him Arlan!”

“Shut the fuck up!” I screamed. My words echoed through the forest. “All of you, shut the fuck up! Just be quiet!”

Bon took a step back, fear written across his face. His trembling sword arm faltered.

“Do you understand all that I’ve done to keep you alive?” I asked Bon, taking a step forward. “When I hit you that night when I was drunk, I gave you a System notification with my Class on it. Identifying information. If you read it, I’d have to kill you. It would have been so easy to do so. I could have killed all three of you without even trying. Do you understand that? I’m Level 20, you fucking idiot! More than double all of you! And guess what? I didn’t do it! I didn’t take the easy solution. I wracked my fucking brain for a way that kept you alive. And I found it. I kept you unconscious until the notification disappeared, while making sure you stayed alive. There was absolutely no reason for me to do that. If I wanted to just keep myself safe, the objectively correct option would be to just kill the three of you and make it look like a monster attack. But I didn’t do it.”

Bon looked at me, taking shaky breaths. Jannin and Poppins shared a glance.

“Then, the next day,” I said, “you showed me that you resented me for hurting you. I get it. You don’t like me. That’s fine. You hold a grudge. But when you got attacked by a Gloomspur, lying on your back about to die from its gas, what did I do?”

He scowled. “You didn’t do anything special. Just—”

“Do you want to know what the objectively correct decision would’ve been? Nothing! You’d established yourself as an enemy. Someone who wanted to hurt me. It would have been so fucking easy to just watch you die. Complete accident, no blame on me. And I wouldn’t be in this mess right now. But what did I do?”

He just stared at me.

“I saved your fucking life anyway! For the second time, I made my life objectively harder just so you could stay alive. And now, we’re standing here for a third time. Bon, I want you to take a wild guess. What the fuck do you think is the objectively correct decision?”

“You’re not proving anything,” he growled. “Just because you didn’t kill me a couple times doesn’t mean—”

“And you’re just making the decision even better!” I yelled out, as if all of the stress that’d been filling my chest was being let out through my lungs. “You are standing here, telling me. Admitting to me that if I leave you alive, you will kill me. There’s no question about it. You will murder me the first chance you get. You understand that, right?! You’re telling me you want to kill me, and your mind can’t be changed. Bon. What is the only way for me to prevent you from murdering me?”

He took a shaky breath. “I…”

“You have been screaming at me this whole time, telling me that the only way I have out of this is to fucking slaughter you! Something that I could easily, easily do. And what have I not done? What have I refused to do at every turn, purely for your sake? Purely to my own detriment? I am actively hurting myself, risking my own life, every single second I leave you alive. Every single second I refuse to kill you. So how in the fuck are you sitting there calling me a fucking murderer?! A psychopath! Evil! When you’re the one who is so fucking eager to kill an innocent man!”

“I…” he shook his head. “I, I’m sorry. I didn’t…”

“I have been nothing but diplomatic. Nothing but peaceful. To be honest, Bon, I don’t want your apology. I want you to understand the gravity of the situation. Not just that your life is at stake here, but also mine. I have deliberately put my life on the line for your sake. Purely because I refuse to stoop to the level of mindless violence. To the level of killing someone just because I don’t particularly like them. I need you to understand that I have put my neck on the chopping block, and I need you to understand that you have repaid that by throwing threats and insults my way. I am fucking tired of defending myself to someone who refuses to even listen.”

“We’ll listen, man,” Jannin said.

“Yes,” Poppins said, clearly trying to diffuse the situation. “Just, tell us what you want to tell us. You have my word we won’t act rashly.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, air flowing from my mouth and impacting the metal visor of my Dark Plate. I took another breath. The tightness left my chest. Another. My nerves calmed, if barely. I opened my eyes. “I won’t kill you. Not Bon, not any of you. And I hope that works as at least some semblance of proof that I’m not some murderer. I don’t have any hard evidence that the Demons are lying, not anything on my person at least, but I’ll work to find something, okay? I’m busy trying to keep myself safe from them, but the moment I have something. Someone who knows information about their coup of the kingdom, someone who can confirm I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ll come straight back to you.”

Poppins nodded. “Absolutely. We won’t do anything until we hear more about this.”

I sighed. “Thank you. And I’ll make it worth your while, okay? I’m going to the capital, maybe I can figure something out about this whole Etrin thing. You guys think the emperor killed the previous empress, Lyra, right? I might be able to get information on that. Publicize it to the people. Or maybe I can go talk to whoever does troop assignments, get you put back in a civilized area. So you guys can actually talk with people again.”

“That…seems difficult,” Jannin said. “N-not that I’m doubting you, or anything. Just…don’t get your hopes up that you’ll be able to do so much.”

“Then I’ll do something else. Uh…” I tapped my hand, thinking. “Oh, I know. If you guys don’t say anything, and I end up safe, I’ll help you out with your jobs. You’re worried about the Dragons going on a rampage, right? I mean, that’s why you’re out here? If the Dragons attack the empire, you’re basically, like, sacrifices. You die to the Dragons and send out a warning to the rest of the people. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. I can go and talk to the Dragons, ask them to avoid attacking.”

Jannin looked incredulous. “You’ll…talk to the Dragons? I don’t think you understand what that—”

“No, no,” I said, “I have an in with them. At least, with a couple of them. I’ve helped Astintash out with some stuff, and it’s on good terms with another monster friend of mine. Astintash even named her after itself. And another Dragon…well, I don’t have as much experience with that one, but I’m familiar enough with it. At the very least, I’ll see what I can do. Maybe I can even convince them to keep your local area clear of other monsters, get them to kill the Shadow Panthers and stuff. Should make your jobs way safer.”

“I don’t…” Bon shook his head. “What do you mean you helped the Dragon with something? How do you even know their names? What do you even…”

“Listen, man. I’ve lived a pretty interesting life. Made some connections. I’m willing to call in some favors to help you out, let’s settle with that. Just say yes.”

“Favors?! With Dragons? How does one—”

“Bon,” Jannin said. “I think we take the deal.”

Poppins nodded. “I’m certainly in favor of getting the Dragons to help us.”

“Yeah,” Jannin chuckled. “I don’t care how in Hell this guy got them on his side. If they can give us safety, I’m taking it.”

I sighed. “Perfect. It’s a deal.”