With Yumi gaining an unwanted rival and an unexpected course set, the rest of her friends faced different troubles and complications. They were adjusting to their new surroundings in their own way. And finding a different means to survive.

Putting his back into it, he pulled up with his legs fighting against nature’s wish to remain still. It wouldn’t be enough to stop him though. He would win in the end. That much was certain. Nothing could change that. Even it knew that much to be sure. All it could do was delay the inevitable. Eventually, it would fail and he would come out on top. He just kept up the pressure.

A tear erupted from below. He smiled. He knew the sound well. It finally gave up the struggle. Only a little more and he would pull out a victory. Digging in more, he gave the finishing blow and the coming victory.

Out of the earth came an almost unhealthy sound as the tree roots snapped painfully or stripped clean from the earth. Seiji gave a deep triumphant roar as the cut trunk finally rose above his head raining down clumps of dirt into the pit.

Seiji dropped the hunk of tree to the ground next to him and sat down on it. He took a long breath to recover himself from the job. It left him a little winded and sweaty from the hot sun. A slightly dirty cloth, from some tunic likely, appeared in front of his face. Seiji looked up seeing Mr. Horri appear before him, the old man that opened his door for him. “Thanks!” Wiping the sweat from his forehead and then bare chest, Seiji glanced over Mr. Horri’s shoulder.

The job wasn’t completed yet. He threw the makeshift towel over his shoulder and lifted the tree stump off the ground. Though his seat, it was also destined for other things. It would make for good wood to be used by the village. And now they could expand their farms. Seiji carried the heavy chunk of wood on his other shoulder walking back with the old man. “Hmm?” asked Seiji, noticing the repeated glances his way.

“Just reminding myself how strong you are.”

‘Oh yeah, Nerine keeps telling me not to overdo it…’

“Are you sure you’re not a Hunter, son?”

“Oh definitely! I’m just your average teenager!” he declared, while effortlessly wielding the tree that likely weighed close to the same as the old man.

Mr. Horri gave a small laugh at Seiji’s reply. “I see!”

“If anyone could be one of those Demon Hunters, it’d be Nerine. Though if they’re as strong as you’ve mentioned it might be fun to go a round.”

“You speak very highly of the young miss.”

“She’s saved my life more than once and she’s helluva lot smarter than me.”

The village started to come up for them. It was still early in the day, so it remained fairly empty. Though opposite of them, Nerine came walking back with two rabbits tied and slung over her shoulder. “She is remarkably skilled at hunting.”

Seiji waved across the village center to her. She slowly approached the two of them, while passing off the catch. Wringing her hands out from the day’s work, Nerine stopped near to Seiji. “Finished your battle with nature?”

“That’s right! I finally won!” He gave her an eager grin ignoring the few strange looks that he got for still hauling around the stump. “I’ve got to drop damn this off to Mr. Tamura, but I’ll be free after that.”

“Very well, I’ll meet you back when you’ve finished.”

Chapter 409 – A Carefree Life

Mr. Horri waved to Seiji, departing for the fields to help with the care of the crop. It wasn’t something that Seiji was needed for, though he did wish to help out more. But that was an argument he lost already.

Behind Mr. Horri’s small hut at the very edge of the forest, which had the game Nerine found, she waited for him. Their usual spot out of the away from the others. He came up behind her leaning over the wood fence with baked food in hand. “From Mrs. Tamura.”

A slight wrinkle came through her forehead looking at the sweets. Nerine took it with some reluctance. “She’s nosy.”

“She’s nice.”

“She says I’m too skinny.” Nerine squeezed her hand not carefully minding the sweet as it crumbled a little. “I’m a soldier! I have a routine.”

Seiji chuckled a little watching Nerine get frustrated over something so small. He leapt over the fence and sat down next to her, staring out into the thick line of trees. “You’re not going to find the same as shit routine around here.”

She finished the gift and dropped her guard allowing her Field to fade. “It’s less advanced, but it’s not too unlike working the border patrol.”

“Is that why you’re good at camping?”

“They’re survival skills, don’t make it sound like a vacation.” She leaned a little at him trying to get her point across when she had no arms to make any sort of gesture. But she slipped and fell into him.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He quickly grabbed her and helped her back up right. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered curtly.

An unconvinced look came over his face looking at Nerine. He could see her breathing still hadn’t recovered. There were slight beads of sweat along her face and a shaking in her body. “I’ve been noticing it’s been getting worse as shit each day. Maybe you should stop, you don’t have to keep it up.”

“I’m fine! I'm a soldier, this effort is not a problem.”

“Nerine…” Seiji stared at her trying to see if she was improving. ‘I know how much you’re struggling, but you don’t have to do it alone… Wish you’d at least talk to me…’ Watching her was all he could do and he hated it. It wasn’t the first day she rebuffed his help. Staying in Japan, he thought that she started to trust him more, but she still put him at a distance on specific things. She was difficult to read for him. “I just want to help, dammit!”

“Your idea of help only causes more troubles.”

“That’s not true!” he protested.

Turning her head back towards the village behind them, she disagreed with that assertion. “Your helping is making them suspicious. They don’t know what to make of you.”

“I tell them that I’m just naturally strong.”

“No normal human is that strong, even naturally. This is going to come to a head eventually.”

“It was your idea to stay here rather than look for Yumi and the others. I sure as shit can’t do nothing!”

“We’re staying still because we have less of a chance of finding the others if we’re all moving. Besides, it’s not as if I’m doing nothing.”

Seiji perked up, remembering the reason that Nerine chose to be a hunter for the village. “Did you hear anything?”

She shook her head and looked back at the forest once more. Her back pressed harder against the wood beam of the fence. “No, the traveling merchants had no rumors that fit with your friends.”

“Our friends, Nerine.”

“Of course…depending on the way the rest are living in this virtual space, we should eventually hear something. They no doubt have more of your leanings, which I’m counting on. We won’t be staying here forever.”

It was something that Seiji hoped for as well. He understood why she had them stay still, though it wasn’t his choice. She made a convincing enough argument for him. Sticking around this village unable to find his friends wasn’t what he planned to do forever. They would reunite again and help Yumi with her personalities.

The sun began to set in the back, signaling to them that it was time to move. Everyone’s day was over now and they would be returning to their homes. It meant that dinner would begin and extra hands were already welcome.

Seiji stood up from the log they used as a bench and stretched out from being in the same position for hours. It gave him some comfort to know that Nerine looked to be doing better. Though with her arms back, he could already see all of that rest starting to melt away once more. She was never going to be convinced against it. “You can take the day off tomorrow. They’ve got a crap ton of food now and there’s not supposed to be any merchants in the area.”

“I’ll be fine, I told you. More than me, you should take the day off. The less they see you doing things that aren’t normal the shorter our time here will become.”

“I’m not even using my true strength, Nerine! I’m holding back.”

“Your idea of holding back leaves much to be desired.”

Seiji crossed his arms looking proud of his progress so far. It had been a lot of work to get where he was now. “Unlike you, I wasn’t born with this. And until now, I haven’t needed to restrain myself. I’m still not used to only using a tiny ass bit. But I’m getting better!”

“It’s unnecessary. Just let me do it.” She remained unconvinced of Seiji’s insistence. Everything was well planned in her mind and he kept risking the plan. She hoped that they would find someone soon. The thought of having to deal with the meltdown and what sort of world this was stressed her out. Not that it was anything less than what she normally dealt with when she was paired with him.

“It’s training!” he repeated, as he told her every day before. Seiji clenched his fist for her as though it was going to prove anything. His strength was already impressive and nearly unrivaled by anyone. It really did nothing to reassure anything.

“Point that training at dinner for now.”

“Yes, ma’am…”

Even if he was a little deflated by Nerine lack of enthusiasm for his efforts, that didn’t change his energy for helping. While he wasn’t perfect in the kitchen, he helped in what ways that he could. And night fell upon the sleepy little village. A normal and uneventful day ended like each one before it, but not to be replaced with the same. There had been a new card shuffled into the deck in the morning.

After breakfast and the start of the villagers going about their daily routine, Seiji and Nerine’s original plans were halted. They didn’t even make it out of the door before they noticed something was off. It was Seiji that noticed it first. A sound that wasn’t normal, it was out of place amongst everything else that he knew from the village. “Shit! Do you hear that?”

“Huh? What?” she asked, not having the sensitivity that Seiji gained. The look on his face was enough for her to know that something was wrong. “It’s not an animal?”

“No, it sounds too damn heavy for that. Whatever it is, it’s big.”

“A demon that they talked about?”

“Shit if I know, I’ve never seen one. But I don’t like the sound of it.”

Nerine turned back to catch Mr. Horri as he stepped out, all prepared for the fields. She stopped him quickly before he got out of their sight. “You need to warn the others. There’s a strange wind in the air, I don’t think it’s safe.”

That immediately caught his attention as his eyes widened in shock. He knew what she was implying, even though she remained uncertain. His hands clamped tightly onto his hoe nearly turning white. “Is it…”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to go check it out. If it is, I’ll try to draw it away from your village.”

“But you’re not a Hunter! You won’t stand a chance against…”

“It’s better than the village being attacked. Now go and warn the others!” Nerine stepped back next to Seiji. She whispered to him to keep it out of the ears of their patron. “Is it coming this way?”

“Hard to tell. I’m not really used to this damn thing. I just know it doesn’t sound right and I’m pretty sure they aren’t alone.”

“Then we need to go, just remember if we fight, keep it out of sight of the villagers.”

They both ran off with Seiji taking the lead. “Got to give me a challenge,” he teased. His ears listened carefully for the sounds letting it guide him to the source. “This is taking too damn long.”

“Don’t. We have to keep our secret.”

“I know! But what if someone is hurt or killed because we took too long getting there!”

“This is a fake world, remember. Nothing is being harmed.”

Seiji clinched his hands together. “This shit is too real! I can’t see it as anything but real!” But their debate on their situation had to stop. They finally made it to the top of the hill that the farms were built into. Down at the bottom, they could both see a large figure. What Nerine couldn’t see that Seiji did was the second person, smaller than the monster. “They’re in danger!”

Without even thinking, Seiji disappeared from the hill. Nerine couldn’t track his movements, only felt the wake of his burst. While not necessarily as impressive as Saki in speed, he still reached the strange monster in moments to save the one being attacked. Seiji’s fist stretched out connecting with the creature, sending it tumbling backwards as saliva and blood sprayed through the air. “Pick on someone your own damn size!” Seiji taunted, wanting it to focus on him.

“I didn’t need your help, idiot.” Suddenly, an arm appeared around the wide neck of the hairy beast as it brought it down to its knees under tremendous strength. An audible snap popped out of it as the arm broke the neck. The dead creature fell down in the grass as the one behind it revealed themselves.

A smile quickly grew over Seiji’s face as he saw them. “Saki!”