「Okay, that should be enough…」

A malicious grin appears on Straf's face, and an ice-blue orb appears in front of him again. A blue beam shoots out of it towards the worm, and it explodes into a massive mountain of ice, the lake beneath the worm instantly freezes over, ice spreading outward into a large circle across the water.

The rim of the ice reaches Straf, and he deftly hops onto the surface before the frost has a chance to surround his legs. He walks across the ice towards the frozen worm, taking cautious steps not to slip.

《That's… Interesting. But it will defrost and eventually cause issues-》

Athea praises Straf's temporary solution, but he interrupts her.

「Oh no it fucking won't. I'm not done yet.」

Straf says, and stabs the thick ice with the sword.

Crrrrrk!

The ice creaks and cracks as Straf grunts and starts lifting the massive worm boulder.

《What are you- Wait, are you going to lift it!?》

「Hnnnnnnnnnghhhhh… Yeah! Got a problem with that!? Fuck, this thing is heavy…」

Straf keeps grunting, the ice beneath him spiderwebs as it cracks into an almost fractal pattern. Straf uses 『Hoperender』 for leverage, heaving the gigantic worm-boulder of ice above his head as he walks back towards the grassy field.

《What are you going to do?》

Athea asks, her voice becoming increasingly more concerned as Straf walks closer and closer to the grass. He steps back onto the dirt and walks towards the split boulder without replying.

「What does it… Fucking… Look like? Hnnnnnnnngh!」

Straf answers with a strained question, and he takes the hilt of the sword into both of his hands. With a grunt, he cocks his arms back behind his head, almost falling over…

《Wha-? Wait! Wait wait wait wait!-》

Crrraaaasssssshhhhh!

《Level up. Attribute points gained.》

Straf swings the frozen worm onto the boulder's almost clean-split edge. The ice boulder shatters into hundreds of pieces large and small, along with the worm stuck within. Another tremor begins, the frozen lake shatters, and its pieces jump up and down. The fissure in the dirt grows ever larger, widening further into a miniature canyon.

《Aaaaaahhhhh! Why do you have to cause problems, even if you do as I say!?》

Athea shouts into Straf's mind, as the earth continues shaking. The trees surrounding the clearing rustle loudly, and the rumbling noise masks the constant clattering of the ice fragments shower.

《Level up. Attribute points gained.》

「Hey, from my point of view, I solved two problems. The worm, and you thinking you can use me as a solution to your problems. Next time, think very hard if you really want me to deal with your fuckups.」

Straf shrugs, and he looks over his sword again.

《Level up. Attribute points gained. Skill points gained.》

「Tsk. Another annoying bitch in my head that won't shut up…」

Straf clicks his tongue as the monotone woman's voice pesters him, repeating herself over and over again. The rumbling slows and calms, and the last of the fragments land on the dirt with a dull thud.

「While I still have your attention, before you get distracted by some average schoolboy sent to another world… Is there any reason why a normal, average, iron sword would slip out of my hand when fighting?」

Straf asks, poking the air gently in front of himself with the sword.

《A normal sword? You mean not the one I blessed?》

Athea asks, with clear curiosity in her voice.

「Yeah, a normal sword, unless you're blessing weapons on a factory line.」

Straf says, still gently stabbing the air.

《When did that happen?》

「A few days back, in the arena. I was fighting this guy named The Klaw or some shit, I don't know. All I know is he had a big sword and a mean attitude.」

Straf stops, and looks at the sky with his hand on his hip as he awaits clarification.

《What?… Why were you pretending to be someone else?- You know what? Forget it. Any answer you might have for me will only make me mad. I just know it.》

「Money, duh.」

Straf's arms flop as he shrugs them.

《Tsk. Shut up- What?…》

「What?」

《Quiet, I need to see this again… Oh.》

「And? Did you figure it out? What happened?」

Straf's brows rise, and he shrugs his arms again.

《I don't… I am not quite sure I should even tell you this.》

Athea speaks, pausing momentarily due to inability to find proper words.

「Come on, just spit it out. I killed the guy without even intending to, it was an accident. I thrusted at his neck to spook him a little, and the next thing I know, the sword is already in his throat. Don't you think I deserve to know?」

Straf gestures with his sword and free hand as he talks, looking at the sky. Athea sighs.

《Fine… But promise me that you will not tell anyone. You will take this information with you to the grave.》

「Okay, pinkie promise. Now tell me, the curiosity is killing me.」

Straf shrugs, giving his head a little nod.

《The hilt was buttered. It slipped out of your grasp because of the butter.》

Athea flatly states, sounding almost disappointed.

「What? Why the fuck would there be butter- Ohhh…」

Straf's brows furrow for a moment, but then the realization dawns on him, and they shoot back up.

《…Yes》

「So, wait… Who gets the credit for that kill? Does it count as an assist? 50-50 split? How does it work?」

Straf rubs his chin as he squints, thinking heavily.

《Nobody gets the credit for it, as you distastefully call it. As you said, it was an accident, and I believe you.》

Athea sighs, almost audibly crossing her arms.

「Real butterfly effect, huh? The most surprising things are the ones you never notice. I wonder if Lia would be upset about that-」

《Do not tell her.》

「I won't, relax. Though, I think she'd say good riddance… One last question, what is this soulburn-」

Straf asks, looking at his sword.

《Do not use it.》

Athea insists with a serious tone.

「Huh? Why? I bet you just don't want me to one-shot stuff-」

《Do not use it. Please.》

Her tone becomes even more insistent, and she puts emphasis on her plea.

「You better tell me why it's there and why I shouldn't, then. Otherwise I'll just use it the next time I run into a goblin or something.」

《…I gave that sword that ability by a mistake. Or rather, I regretted it as soon as I did it. I thought the hero should have the power to sacrifice his life to protect what's dear to him, but he never had to use it. Now, the sword remains. And with it, the ability it should never have had.》

「You mean it's an actual, one shot kill ability? Neat.」

Straf nods at the sword in his hand, a chipping of stone still attached to its blade.

《It will kill you. Do not use it. It's true, it will most likely destroy anything in your way, but it will kill you as well. Please, just forget about it.》

Athea speaks with a serious and insistent tone, one that she has not used yet when speaking to Straf.

「Tsk. Alright, fine, but satisfy my curiosity first. Can I activate it unintentionally?」

Straf clicks his tongue and shrugs. He asks while holding the sword up head level, and looking at the sky.

《No. There has to be conscious intent. Moreover, you will feel pain like you have never felt before, and immense existential dread. You'd have to be insane, or fully intent on suffering through it to hold onto the sword until it's ready.》

「Existential dread, huh? Can't be worse than how I got here. Whatever, I don't intend to use it unless it's a massive fuck-you towards something that will kill me anyway.」

Straf shrugs, and throws the sword into his [Portable Storage].

《Promise me that you won't use it.》

Athea implores, still dead-serious.

「Nope. I'm getting out of here before the local yokels find out I yoinked the only reason their village still exists.」

Ignoring the road back, Straf starts walking towards the treeline, in the general direction of the village. He walks around bits and pieces of the worm defrosting on the grass.

《Why!? Do you actually intend to use it!? Do you not care about your life at all!?》

Athea raises her voice, frustrated at Straf's nonchalance towards her warnings.

「You know it would be pretty fucking bizarre if I did? Not only did I already die once, now I'm in a world where life is reduced to just numbers. And it's not some sort of poignant statement on how war is a machine consuming lives, no, it's just nonsense numbers dictating every single stupid fucking thing. I'm surprised eating skill is not a stat you can level.」

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Straf scoffs, glancing at the sky. He walks into the woods, keeping his hands in his pockets.

《…I already apologized. And it's a world you chose.》

Athea speaks softly, almost audibly shrinking.

「Yeah, and I chose that I'm going to fucking break it. If you don't like it, write my name into your little notebook.」

《…What? What notebook?》

「Come the fuck on, really? Out of all the obscure references I drop, you don't get the one everyone else would?」

《What are you talking about? What notebook? Do you not realize how many notebooks there are out there!?》

Athea raises her voice again, this time with mild frustration in her tone.

「Yeah, but only one of them kills. Figure it out while everyone and their dog gets it ahead of you.」

Straf shakes his head as he walks down the hill…

…

「…That's not true! If I was a burden to Straf, he'd say so!」

Cycelia shakes her head, protesting Lily's barrage of polite yet derisive comments.

「Is that so? Or is that what you assume he would do?」

Lily asks, glaring at Cycelia from across the table.

「I…」

Cycelia's eyes widen in response, and she winces as if stabbed in her heart. She frowns, grows small, and starts fiddling with her medallion as she looks back down on the table.

「Hmpf. Thought so. You have never considered Straf is simply a gentleman, and he would not turn you down when you desperately beg for help. You shameful woman, haven't you a shred of dignity?」

Lily crosses her arms and continues berating Cycelia as she blinks rapidly in silence.

「What have you even done for him? Beg, beg and beg? Have you given him anything in return?」

「I… N- No… B- But…」

Cycelia bites her lip and looks further down, hanging her head as the little girl mercilessly assaults her with civilized insults.

「I thought as much. When you're back on the throne, unlatch your maw from him-」

Bang.

Another distant crash resounds from some indistinct direction, and the entire inn rumbles again for a brief moment.

「No…」

Cycelia interrupts Lily, looking up at the vampire girl from underneath her eyebrows.

「What?」

Lily snarls, shocked that Cycelia dared to refuse, no matter how meekly it is done. She holds the medallion perfectly still in her pale fingers.

「Redwing girl… You dare refuse to do as I say?」

Lily growls, grimacing in unveiled fury with her fangs on plain display. Though lightly, gently, quietly, she slams her clawed hand on the table, driving her sharp nails into the wood like knives.

「I'm not going to. If Straf disappears, I will have nobody left-」

「I don't care in the slightest for your reasoning. Once you are on the throne, you are not to burden him any longer. Give up on Straf. Or else.」

Lily growls, her red eyes glare murder straight into Cycelia's frightened emerald eyes.

「I'm not going to!」

Cycelia vehemently refuses, grimacing heavily with clear unease on her face as she breathes heavily under the immense aura of dread coming from the vampire girl.

「How dare you…」

Lily snarls a rhetorical question, and her hand on the table tightens into a loose fist, carving out notches in the wood.

「I'm not going to be a burden to Straf! As soon as I'm on the throne, I'm going to pay him back for everything! He'll be able to ask for anything! I don't want to be a burden to him either… So…」

Cycelia explains with fervor, but her confidence dies down at the end of her argument due to Lily's furious glare.

Bang!

Another sound of a large impact echoes out from somewhere, and the inn begins to rumble intensely. The walls and ceiling creak, and everyone inside the inn, with the exception of Lily, looks at the structural beams and supporting walls. Cycelia's brows furrow as she looks up at the ceiling for just a second out of concern, but her eyes quickly return to the bigger danger before her.

「…So you will not give up on Straf, Redwing girl?」

Lily asks, intensely glaring into Cycelia's eyes as the low rumble continues. They stare at each other for a few moments, rumbling of the ground, clattering of the tankards, and creaking of the walls and ceiling being the only sounds between them.

「I will not.」

Cycelia bluntly declares, staring right into the vampire's eyes with a serious expression.

「…Is that your final decision?」

Lily asks, and another pause ensues in their conversation. The atmosphere becomes so thick it can almost drown people. The rumbling calms.

「Yes. I don't want to be a burden to him, but I don't want to let go of him, either.」

She replies with a nod, maintaining her serious glare in return. After a moment of silence, the vampire scoffs and turns her head back to the door with a disinterested expression. Cycelia takes a deep breath, and exhales in relief, then turns her gaze to the door as well.

…

A few minutes later, the door opens, and Straf walks in with his hands in his pockets.

「Straf!」

Lily shoots out of her chair and exclaims with a smile. Cycelia gets up as well, and walks towards him.

「Yeah, I'm back. I dealt with the thing. Are you two getting along well?」

Straf asks, glancing at both of the girls. Lily looks up at Cycelia, and Cycelia looks down at Lily. Both of them have veiled displeased expressions on their faces, but they shrug in response.

「Huh. Between a dragon and a bat, I thought at least one of you would turn out to be a social butterfly. Whatever, plenty of time.」

Straf says, and turns towards the door.

「Let's get that wood.」

He snaps his fingers, and points his index finger at Cycelia. They exit the inn, and head down a dirt path in the opposite direction of the lake hill.

「…Wood, Straf?」

Lily asks, opening her parasol to cover herself from the sun.

「Ah, yeah, I forgot you weren't there. I'm going to get some manatree wood, there's some in this village. I got the direction from the yokels on the way back, let's hope they didn't burn up in the fire.」

「I see… For what purpose, may I ask?」

Lily tilts her golden head, her twin tails wiggle.

「I just need to craft something, it'll come useful later.」

「…Craft? Ah, you mean magical devices? I see… You are a man of many talents, Straf…」

「Yeah, I guess.」

Straf shrugs, and they enter the ash-covered treeline. Cycelia glances at Lily from the side in silence, trying to avoid bringing the attention of either of them to herself…

…

Straf, Lily and Cycelia walk through the forest for quite a while, and the ash grows thicker and thicker on the leaves and the forest floor. Eventually, Straf notices purple trees in the distance.

「Oh. That must be it. Right, Lia?」

Straf asks, looking straight ahead at the trees' cyan-tinted leaves. A thick smear of ash coats the trees, and the dirt gets muddier and muddier with each step.

「H- Huh? Uh… Um… I… Yes, I think those purple trees there are manatrees…」

Cycelia stammers, glancing at Lily while trying to form a response. Lily returns a bored gaze, then turns her head back towards the trees. Cycelia sighs, and finally manages to get a coherent answer out.

「Lia, what's up? Are you feeling alright? Did you not get enough sleep after all? We did skip breakfast, do you want me to get some ice cream out?」

Straf looks at Cycelia over his shoulder, and Lily scoffs.

「N- No… I'm fine, Straf…」

Cycelia energetically shakes her head, and fidgets with her medallion as she looks down.

「Hm. If you say so.」

Straf grimaces for a second, but then shrugs and turns his attention back towards the trees…

…

「You go first!」

「No, you!」

「It was your idea!」

At the crest of the hill, on the dirt path leading to the lake on the hill, two men argue who should cross up the crest first.

「Fine! But if there's monsters there, don't you dare turn tail and run before I do!」

One of the men points his finger at his companion, then cautiously walks closer to the hill crest. His brows rise as he sees nothing except pale and bloodied chunks on the ground, and destroyed landscape.

「Uh, I don't see anything… Anything alive.」

「What do you mean alive?」

The man asks his companion up ahead, shrugging his hands.

「Just come look, something happened here.」

He says in response, and walks into the clearing. His companion clicks his tongue, and runs up the hill to catch up. They look around and absorb the scene of utter carnage, trying to make sense of it. One of them crouches down and picks up the white chunk to examine it.

「Ew, what the fuck is this? It's slimy and cold… It looks like meat, too?」

He says, looking at the worm's shattered, defrosted remains.

「No clue, what is that mound over there? I'm going to check it out.」

The man's companion says as he walks towards the pile of dirt on the other side of the clearing.

「Hey, be careful. If you see something weird, get ready to bolt.」

「You don't need to tell me, I'm getting the fucking creeps. What the fuck did this?…」

The man cautions his companion, and he waves his hand dismissively at him while avoiding the worm chunks.

「Woah. What the fuck? Why is the boulder split? Where is the sword? Did it fall on the ground- Hm?」

The man mumbles to himself under his breath, he notices something shiny on the flattened grass…

「What the fuck? What made this?…」

The other man furrows his brows at the gigantic tunnel in the dirt. It's dangerously sloped, but level enough to walk into if one is cautious.

「Hey! You won't fucking believe what I found!」

The man runs up to his companion with a gigantic grin on his face.

「What?」

「Look! I just found this laying on the fucking grass!」

The man holds up a fist-sized nugget of solid gold. His companion's jaw drops.

「What the fuck!?」

「…Do you think whatever left this gold here came from this hole?」

He asks, peering into the darkness. The men look at each other.

「If it did, do you think there's more of it there?」

「We should check that out. Let's go get the guys and the pickaxes.」

「How do we split the nugget-」

「We don't! It's mine, fuck off! Dig your own!」

「Tsk.」

The man's companion clicks his tongue while they run down the dirt path they came from…