Joe rose to his feet and stepped away after a few seconds. He wiped away his tears, removing any traces and clearing his watery eyes which started to blur his vision. He then took a deep breath before exhaling. Shelly was going to be okay.

Shelly looked at him visibly confused. “Why wouldn't I be alive?”

“Well, you passed out after your mana was depleted."

Shelly's eyes widened exposing her shock. Joe guessed that her memories must've been fuzzy after she ran out of mana. Which made sense considering she was only half conscious at the time.

“It's my fault. I should've never allowed you to heal my injuries. I knew that your mana was low and yet, I allowed you to go through with it anyway. I'm sorry.” Joe clasped his hands together and lowered his head slightly as he apologized.

Shelly shook her head, “no its my fault. I was the one who was stubborn.” She managed to say still holding her temple, her expression displaying a hint of discomfort. “What about your injuries did they fully heal?” She asked, with concerned eyes.

“Yes, I'm perfectly healthy thanks to you.” Joe reassured her. He even went as far as lifting his vest to show her that his injuries were gone. He had a wide grin on his face, unable to hide his delight.

Shelly's eyes softened and she formed a relaxed smile. “I'm glad.”

She slowly clawed her way back to her feet, but her wobbly balance nearly caused her to fall over. Fortunately, Joe was quick to react. He grasped her arm and steadied her to make sure her balance was solid. After he was certain, he stepped away giving her room to breathe.

As Joe observed her, he could see that although her mana was revitalized it wasn't quite at its best. It wasn't low by any means but Joe could see that her mana pool was way larger than what he was seeing.

Joe blamed the potion. Maybe due to it not being the best quality like the old lady admitted, the amount of mana it could regenerate was limited. Not that it bothered him too much, just the fact that Shelly didn't die, diminished his anxiety greatly. Because if she did die, it would've been all his fault.

“I see you're awake child.” The store owner had a smile on her face.

Shelly glanced at Joe.

“The old lady is the one who helped me bring you back from the dead. He gave me the potions I needed to replenish your mana.” Joe explained

The old lady chuckled. “You really like to make someone feel old don't you boy. Why not call me Dorothy instead.”

Joe was glad the old lady finally gave them her name. It was weird calling someone old lady when referring to them, but he also wasn't bold enough to ask for their name or give them a nickname. So old lady was the best he could do.

Shelly immediately bowed infront of Dorothy. “Thank you so much.”

“It's alright child,” Dorothy said, “I don't need you to apologize, I'm deeply grateful to you and that boy for trying to defend my store. So I should be the one thanking you not the other way around.”

Shelly rose her head slowly, when her gaze narrowed on Dorothy she immediately sprung towards her. “Are you alright?“ the worry in her voice was palpable, she must've only realized just now that Dorothy was injured. Shelly's hands ran through Dorothy's charred arms in a panic. “Don't worry I'll take care of these for you.” She promised, her chest heaving.

She rubbed her hands together like she did with Joe as she prepared to activate her skill.

Dorothy patted her on the head with a wide smile on her face. “Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. I have an old friend who'll help take care of me. You should preserve your mana. You don't want to pass out again, do you?”

“But—”

“No buts,” Dorothy said, cutting Shelly off. “You should focus on yourself first and foremost and stop worrying so much about others. You're still a growing girl, you should take care of yourself. Do you know what I'd give to regain my youth?" Dorothy's envious gaze matched her question. “You should enjoy your youth and stop stressing so much.” Dorothy wiped small traces of tears from Shelly's eyes.

She then stepped back before turning to face south of Perina. “I should get going. But before I do. Can you young ones give me your names?”

“I go by Joe. That girl infront you is Shelly.” Joe replied, standing further away from both of them.

“Joe and Shelly… what beautiful names. I hope we meet again someday.” Dorothy had a somber smile as she slowly walked south of Perina before blending in with the crowd.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“That old lady was awesome wasn't she?” Joe asked, creeping up on Shelly from behind.

“Yes.” Shelly said with a gentle smile.

Joe swiftly turned around and started walking across the street. Shelly silently followed him from behind. He came across The Black Blade still shining elegantly, it had been unmoved and was exactly where it was when he dropped it against Stan. Joe crouched low and retrieved it. He gazed at its edges with numerous thoughts clouding his mind. Before violently sheathing it on his rear.

His steps carried him forward, before he came to a stop infront of the ruins of the swordsmith store. The scent of crisped corpses was still in the air, a silent reminder of the lives that were lost. “This all my fault isn't it Shelly?” Joe questioned, his voice low.

Shelly glanced at him with a confused look, “What are you talking about?”

“I'm the one who confronted Stan in the potion store without thinking. I'm the one who caused him to blow up the entire store destroying all of Dorothy's hard work.” He clenched his teeth. “I'm the one who provoked him to fight and I'm the reason this store was also destroyed and all those people got killed. It's me. It's all my fault.” Tears streaked his face, as he clenched his fist. His arms trembling.

“It's not your fault.” Shelly said, gently. “You did what you thought was right and you mustn't apologize for that. These people died because Stan was a psychopath. None of this is on you Joe.”

“But—”

Shelly cut him off. “You once told me. That blaming yourself doesn't change anything. It doesn't change through past and it doesn't bring back all of those who were lost. The only thing you can do is to focus on the future and to ensure the samething doesn't happen again.”

Joe was silent, as his own words were relayed to him. He believed in them, he really did. But the heartache he felt when his mind flashed to those screaming individuals as they were burnt to ashes was indescribable.

After a long minute, Joe spoke again. “That bastsrd wasn't working alone. That guy he wss talking about. Mikey, that must be the guy who sent him to the potion store. We need to find him and make him pay for what happened. I won't let anymore innocent people die because of them. “

Shelly nodded.

Joe wiped away his tears as he questioned. “These people, is there a way you can send their souls to the afterlife like you did back in the black forest?”

Shelly took a moment before she replied. “No.”

Joe's hopeful eyes died.

“My skill needs a soul and a corpse in order to function. But people who have been burned to death most of the time are reduced to nothing but ash. And the thing abou fire is that, it contains a special property which not only destroys the body. But it also destroys the soul as well. Death by fire Is the ultimate form of execution and the worst way to die because you don't get a chance for an after life. Your entire existence is erased.”

Shelly's explanation was hard to hear and only fueled Joe's resentment. “We'll find that Mikey guy and make him pay!”

“Well first we'll need to find out where his hodeout is. Who are his underlings, things like that. If we go to the meat store further down Perina we might find out some information. Plus, refilling our stomachs will be necessary if we want to hunt that guy down. “

Joe wasn't sure, if Shelly suggested this for information or the meat. But he agreed with it nonetheless.

They went further south of Perina, Joe decided to ask a question he had been holding. “Those two kids you were chasing, did you manage to catch them?”

Shelly's head fell to face the ground. Her shoulders slumped. “Yes…” she managed to say.

“That's great, where are they?”

“I only managed to catch one of them. The other one got away.” She replied. “The boy I caught was taken by the townspeople.”

“Really? That's good… right?

“I'm not sure.. that kid looked horrified. He didn't want to steal, I could see it in his eyes. He said Mikey was the one who forced them to steal. What kind of person would use kids to steal? It's wrong!” Shelly's voice grew as her anger surfaced.

“What worries me more is the way the townspeople reacted?”

“What do you mean?”

“They were angry, really angry. I'm scared of what they'll do to that kid. What if they hurt him?” Shelly looked up at Joe, tears flowing down her face.

“Don't worry. They'll probably punish the kid by having him do a lot of chores. And it's a good thing, this way he'll be out of Mikey's reach so he doesn't have to steal. You did good Shelly.”

Shelly didn't seem convinced, she wiped away her tears. As she focused on the road ahead.

The town was in a rebuilding phase, most of the individuals who had their stores burned as a result of Stan's attack were busy hammering away. Many of them seemed to have material on stand by almost as if they knew something like this could happen. At least 8 stores needed rebuilding, the fact they were made of wood is probably what escalated the damage.

A few whispers caught Joe's attention as they walked by.

“You see that kid over there? I hear his the one who killed Stan?” A man whispered.

“What, are you serious? It was so chaotic I didn't even get a proper look at what was happening.” another responded.

“Oh come on, look at him. There's no way a kid like that took down one of the Big 3 it's impossible. “ another argued.

Joe didn't like being whispered about in secrecy. He wanted to keep a low a profile, and having him be the center of rumors was the opposite of that.

He was glad that most of the people didn't seem to know what actually happened during his battle with Stan. At least he could move about a little more easily even if occasional whispers came his way. If everyone knew what he did, he was certain things would be much worse.

The meat store was actually a further away than Joe initially thought. He head caught a whiff of the smell coming from the store and actually belived it was closer than it was in reality. It was actually a 10 minute walk from the potion store so it wasn't even close. Considering the distance, Joe was surprised that the aroma even reached him. But this was mana best meat, it probably had a stronger scent than your regular meat.

Joe didn't have any plans to order anything once they arrived. He was in this purely for the information, unlike Shelly who was in it for both.

They eventually reached their destination. The store stood alone, Isolated from the rest. It had an enormous amount of space dedicated to it. It was wide and was one of the rare buildings to actually be made out of solid bricks. A short staircases led to the entrance, and a silver plate was etched above it. The plate displayed the name of the store. It was written. “Meat is Money”

Joe and Shelly glanced at each other before they made their way up the stairs. They reached a flat platform and the entrance was only a few steps away. A red cloth acted as a makeshift door masking the activities inside.

They both nodded to each other before they pushed the cloth aside and made their way inside.