*SCREEEEECH!*
Another sand worm split in half. Its corpse crashed into the dunes, joining the pile already heaped around me.
'Huff… huff…'
I plunged my sword into the sand and braced myself against it, forcing my trembling legs to stay upright.
'Why won't you give up, Hero?' The Prince called, his voice echoing across the wasteland.
I looked up. The giant eye still hung in the sky, staring down at me.
'Never.' I straightened and ripped my sword free.
'Hahahaha!' The Prince laughed so hard tears gathered in his eyes. 'That's what I love about you, Hero. That spirit. That passion. I want to see every last drop of it!'
The sand around me bulged, then it burst as more worms erupted from below.
'Show me, Hero!'
They shot toward me all at once and I raised my sword. Flames roared along the blade. Sand at my feet melted into glass.
*Swoosh!*
The first worm lunged. I swung. The blade sliced through it without resistance.
Another came. Then another. Then five more. I kept swinging.
'Ahahahaha! More! More! Give me more, Hero!'
The ground vanished beneath me. A worm exploded upward and swallowed me whole.
Darkness. Flesh. Fangs.
I was falling toward a forest of jagged teeth.
Cocytus!
Frost burst from my hand. Ice raced through the worm's insides in an instant. Frozen blood and shards of flesh tore through its guts. In a heartbeat, everything turned still, like a lake in winter.
A moment later, I landed. Red ice spread beneath my boots, the worm's blood frozen solid.
'Huff… huff…'
My knees gave out. I dropped onto the ice and stared down at my reflection in its crimson surface.
'You shouldn't be tired, Hero. There's still so much more to enjoy.'
I slammed my palms against the frozen ground.
Apsis!
Massive swords of ice erupted upward. One after another, they launched forward, skewering the approaching worms, splitting their heads clean off.
Then my strength failed me, and I collapsed face-first onto the freezing surface.
'Surely… that can't be all.'
*CRACK!*
'What?!' The Prince screamed. 'No! No, no, no!'
A hand grabbed me and pulled me up.
'To think I'd see you again like this, Hero,' Chad Prince said. 'How many times has this happened now? I lost count.'
'What's… happening?'
'The old man is disabling the artifact.'
'Artifact?'
The sky shattered. The desert vanished with it. In its place stood a lush forest, green and bright, as though the wasteland had never existed.
'An artifact that manifests a person's inner world…' the old man muttered, turning a golden chalice in his hand. 'Interesting.'
Then he strode over and smacked me across the head with his staff.
'Were all my teachings wasted on you, Hero?'
'You think that prince would be better than me at magic?' He jabbed his staff toward the bound Prince.
'I…'
'No excuses.'
I lowered my head.
'Sorry…'
'I tied him up.' The thief approached, dragging the bound Prince behind him.
'Let me heal you, Hero.'
The priest knelt and placed a hand on my shoulder. Warmth spread throughout my battered body.
'Thanks… everyone.'
'That's what we're here for, Hero.'
I looked around, but then my heart sank.
'Where is—'
'Hahahaha!' The Prince burst into laughter.
'Throw him away!' The old man snapped.
*Thud.*
'What's happening?' The priest asked.
Black sludge leaked from the Prince's body. Wherever it touched, the ground blackened and rotted.
'It's a curse,' the old man said.
The Prince grinned. 'Finally.'
'What's the curse, old man?' Chad Prince asked.
'Hold on.'
A magic circle formed in the old man's hand and began to rotate.
'…'
He stared at it. His expression darkened.
'Old man?'
'I don't know. I can't decipher the language.'
The Prince smiled. 'Young people really are gullible.'
'We need to get to my disciple!' I shouted. 'Hurry up and teleport us, old geezer!'
———————————————————
[Meanwhile. Back at the village.]
'Hero… where did you go?'
Then screaming cut through the village. 'We're under attack!'
His body moved before his mind caught up. He sprinted toward the noise.
Villagers ran through the streets while others grabbed weapons with shaking hands.
'What's happening?' He asked the first person he saw.
The villager pointed toward the outskirts.
An army. A massive one.
He ran to the edge of the village and stared. Rows upon rows of soldiers in steel armour advanced across the field.
Against them, the villagers looked hopelessly outmatched.
'Why are they here?' The boy asked.
'I don't know,' one villager replied. 'They just appeared.'
'Don't worry. I'll talk to them.'
He crossed the field alone. When he stopped before the army, he raised his voice.
'I am the porter of the Hero party! Why are you here?!'
A man on horseback looked down at him.
'You are the porter, correct?'
'Yes.'
The man raised his spear.
'Then by order of His Highness, we have come to slaughter everyone in this village.'
'What?'
The rider turned to the soldier beside him.
'Sound the horns.'
'Yes, sir.'
*BWORRRRRRNK*
'Charge!'
The army surged forward. The rider thrust his spear down at the boy.
*DING!*
A sword flashed into the boy's hand and knocked the attack aside.
'I won't let any of you pass.'
He levelled the blade at them.
'System. Activate offensive mode.'
[Activating.]
Swords began to fall from the sky. One by one, they slammed into the earth around him until the field bristled with steel.
The men stared, confusion giving way to fear.
'Withdraw,' the boy said. His voice was cold. 'Or I will regard all of you as enemies.'
The rider narrowed his eyes and then he raised his spear high.
'Advance! For the glory of the Naldea Empire!'
The boy's expression hardened.
'You chose this.'
The air rippled. Countless swords emerged from empty space, then shot forward. Blades tore through the front ranks, impaling soldier after soldier.
'Don't stop!' Someone shouted. 'There has to be a limit!'
*BOOM!*
Explosions rained down from above. Crates fell from the sky and detonated the moment they struck the ground.
Blood splashed across armour.
Swords kept falling. Bombs kept dropping.
Steel and fire swallowed the battlefield.
Some men screamed and charged anyway. Some fell to their knees and prayed. Some turned and ran.
The boy glanced at the system window at the edge of his vision.
'My inventory is running dry…'
Soon the field was stained red.
*Thump.*
His hand flew to his chest. His knees hit the ground and he coughed up blood.
'What's… happening?'
Black sludge seeped from his skin.
'System… run diagnostics…'
[Running…]
'Cough, cough!'
This time the blood that came up was black.
At the edge of his fading vision, he saw them.
His party.
'He… ro.' He reached out.
Just before his face hit the ground, someone caught him.
'Are you okay?' Dylan asked.
[Diagnostic complete…]
While the boy stared weakly at the screen, the others gathered around.
'What's happening to him, old geezer?' Dylan demanded, holding the boy upright.
'I don't know,' the old man said. 'I can't read the language.'
'Is there really no way?' The thief asked.
'I can attempt something, but it'd be blind guesswork.'
'I… know what it is.' The boy's voice cut through. 'It's… a curse from a god.'
'…'
'A-a-a god?' The old man stammered.
The boy weakly nodded.
'My soul… will be fed… as nourishment to the god's chosen.'
'But how?!' The old man yelled. 'A divine intervention should demand an impossible price!'
The boy slowly lifted a trembling hand and pointed toward the battlefield.
Corpses lay everywhere.
'That… is the price. The blood of his empire.'
Dylan's hand trembled.
'Then now that we know…' his voice cracked. 'We can dispel it, right?'
The old man lowered his gaze.
'Only another god can dispel it.'
*Drip. Drip.*
'What do you mean?' Dylan whispered.
His tears were already falling.
'It means,' the old man said quietly, 'it's impossible.'
Dylan pulled the boy closer.
'Nothing is impossible, if we believe,' he said. 'Please, just try.'
The old man sighed.
'Hero, we can't do anything—'
'God, are you watching?!' Dylan screamed at the sky.
'You said if I save this world, I'll get a reward, right?!'
'I don't need any reward! Just save him!'
'…'
The sky didn't answer.
'God!'
'He… ro.' The young boy called out.
'Yes, what is it?'
'I'm sorry…' the boy whispered, coughing up black sludge. 'For being such an idiot. For trusting that Prince…'
'I forgive you, so please… don't die on me, okay?'
A weak smile touched the boy's lips.
'Hero… I always wanted to do this…'
A holographic screen flickered into Dylan's vision.
[System transferring… 1%]
'You can see it now, right?' The boy murmured. 'That's the system… I kept telling you about.'
[System transferring… 10%]
'No, no, no, no. Stop!'
Dylan's hands were slick with black blood. He tightened his grip anyway, as if holding on would save the boy.
[System transferring… 25%]
'Cough, cough…' The boy slowly raised a hand and touched Dylan's cheek. 'I spent my whole life feeling worthless, Hero.'
Strands of hair slipped free and fell. His skin darkened by the second.
[System transferring… 50%]
'Please, stop.'
Tears poured down Dylan's face.
'But when I met all of you…'
[System transferring… 70%]
'I finally felt… wanted.'
[System transferring… 90%]
'I love you all… more than anything in this world…'
[System transferring… 99%]
'If reincarnation exists… I hope we can meet again…'
'You're not dying on me!' Dylan pulled him into a desperate embrace.
[System transferring complete. Initiating reboot.]
'Bye, everyone…' the boy whispered. 'I'll be watching… from above…'
[System rebooting…]
'And I hope… you'll all save this world…'
Dylan's grip weakened. The boy slipped from his arms and fell gently to the ground.
Dylan's eyelids grew heavy. He fought to keep them open.
'I… won't… let… you.'
He reached out. The boy took his hand softly.
'Farewell,' he said with a faint smile. 'Master.'
That was the last thing Dylan saw before darkness swallowed him.
[System installed.]
[Welcome, Dylan.]
———————————————————————-
[Present day]
'Master! How did I do?'
'You did great.'
'Yay!' Saki bounced in place, grinning from ear to ear.
For a brief moment, her face overlapped with his in my mind.
'…'
'Master?' Saki waved a hand in front of my face. 'Are you still in there?'
I blinked and the image vanished.
'Sorry, I was reminiscing.'
Then Saki patted her stomach.
'Master, I'm hungry. Got anything in the fridge?'
'No.' I shook my head. 'Want to eat out?'
Her eyes sparkled. 'Sure!'
I turned to Eri. 'You okay with that?'
She was seated nearby, practising magic with unusual seriousness.
'Yes, my servant.'
'Alright. Let me pack away first.'
I walked over to the sword rack and returned the bokken to its place. By then, Saki and Eri were already heading toward the door.
'Time to scam Master by ordering expensive food!' Saki declared.
'This lord accepts only the finest cuisine,' Eri added proudly.
I watched them from behind. Then a laugh slipped out before I could stop it.
'Heh.'
She really was nothing like him. She was loud where he had been gentle, shameless where he had been cautious.
'Hurry up, Master! My stomach is about to eat itself!'
'Yeah, yeah. I'm coming.' I walked after them with a small smile. 'So what do you want?'
'Hmm…' Saki pretended to think. 'Something good.'
'Eri?'
'Something that pleases this lord.'
'You two aren't making it easy for me, huh?'
'Of course not,' Saki said with a grin. 'You're Master. You're supposed to think for us.'
'Yes. As my servant, I command you to think in my place.'
I sighed. 'Then I'll take you to hotpot.'
Their faces lit up instantly.
'Hotpot!'
'Hotpot!'
They marched ahead, chanting it like children.
I paused at the doorway and looked back at the dojo one last time.
I slid the door shut.
Then I turned and followed the sound of their laughter.