When the black coin dropped to the coin, the battle was over.

Mizuchi didn't know what happened. The arms went back inside the portals and it closed behind them.

"Mizuchi!" Eli yelled as both her and Yune ran over to her.

Mizuchi told them what happened. That a white mouse came to her while they were battling. Yune and Eli thought that she was a Light Guardian before they met, but knowing that she just became one added some more worries.

Yune sighed and wanted to confirm, "So, you just became one right now?"

"Yeah. I didn't know that super heroes really did exist. I thought that they were just on the tv," Mizuchi replied ecstatically. She was excited to becoming a hero.

"A super hero? I guess you could say that's what we are," Eli replied. She smiled but there was a hint of worry in her eyes. And Mizuchi could see it.

"What? What's wrong?" Mizuchi asked.

"It's nothing. It's just that it's going to be dangerous. Won't just be fun and games."

"I know that. We have to save people from monsters like that."

Yune nodded her head and replied, "Yeah. More or less. But in hindsight, we haven't really been using these powers. We have them, but never felt obliged to do anything."

"What? You have these special powers and you don't use them? We have super powers. We should use them for something like - I don't know - justice," Mizuchi exclaimed.

Eli and Yune chuckled.

"Justice? You sound like a cute kid, again," Eli replied. They thought that Mizuchi was cute

"I'm serious. And stop calling me a cute kid."

"I know you're serious, but it's still dangerous. What else did your mouse tell you?" Yune asked.

"Well, it told me you became these Light Guardians after the headmaster was attacked."

"It told you that? Well, it's kind of true," Eli replied, "I told Yune this before, but I was a Light Guardian before then. When my parents died in a car crash, I was in the car. It was painful. My whole body felt like it was on fire. There was blood everywhere. But then a white cat came to me. It crawled inside and said it could save me. As long as I became a guardian of the Light, then I would live - that the injuries would heal. And I immediately accepted. I became this way just to live, but I couldn't save my parents. They were already dead."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that," Mizuchi replied sadly.

Eli smiled and said, "It's okay. It was a long time ago."

"Long time ago or not. That feeling is deep within your heart. I know," she replied and Eli's smile faded.

"You're right. But I don't want to dwell on it right now."

Yune then spoke, "As for me, I did become a Light Guardian once the headmaster was attacked. There was a creature that looked like a lizard with metal tentacles coming out of it. It had it's tentacles inside the headmaster through every hole it could find. Her mouth. Her ears. It even ripped open her nails. Sorry. I was getting a too graphic there. Anyways, I saw Eli fighting the creature. Afterwards, she said it had been her first fight with a Night Demon. But even I could tell that. It was throwing her all around the place. Anyways, that's when a white cat approached me. It said almost the same things to you that it said to me. It said that I could save her by becoming a Light Guardian. And I took it without giving any thought. We don't usually go out of our way to find Night Demons. You could say that this creature was our second fight with one of them."

"Second? It looked like you two were working in sync," Mizuchi exclaimed.

"It was more like instinct. I just had a feeling on what to do," Eli replied.

"Same. But I was thinking more," Yune said.

"Thinking more? As if. You were just relying on your guts like me," Eli said with a smile.

"No. I used my head. I was thinking about what to do at each step. I guess I didn't think long, but I still thought about my actions," she replied.

Mizuchi was stunned. It was only their second fight and they seemed like experts.

Then, a man suddenly appeared.

"Hello," he said. This made Mizuchi jump, but Yune and Eli knew who it was.

"Wh-who are you? Are you a bad guy?" Mizuchi asked.

"I don't think so. I don't see myself as a evil, but I'm sure from another's point of view, I certainly am. I'm the shopkeeper. Of if you'd prefer, you can call me the shopkeep. I wanted to introduce myself to the new Light Guardian," he said. He wore a gas mask and a trench coat.

"Yeah. That's the shopkeeper," Yune said as she picked up the black coin on the ground, "Every time we beat one of those monsters, a coin like this will drop. The shopkeeper will take them and give you almost anything in return."

"Anything?" Mizuchi asked to confirm.

"Almost," Eli replied, "The one and only time we ever used his services was to heal Ms. Singh after our first battle was over. He also erases minds and evidence of Night Demon activities to regular people. He doesn't want to start a panic. Or so he says."

"Sheesh. It's like I don't even need to introduce myself when you two are here. Well, at least that means that we can get straight to business. You have a black coin and I'm willing to take it off of you," he said enthusiastically.

"I don't have anything I want right now," Yune said, "Do either of you need anything?"

"Not me," Eli replied.

But Mizuchi was silent. It was the perfect opportunity.

She took the coin from Yune's hands and gave it to the shopkeeper.

"What are you going to ask for?" Yune asked.

She was silent and then bowed to the shopkeeper and pleaded, "Please, can you take me to where mom is. I beg you, sir."

Eli and Yune were surprised by this.

"How polite. Sure I'll even bring your two friends with you," the shopkeeper said and with a snap all of them vanished.