"Don't be afraid to rely on your comrades Hiro," Leonna said as we walked back to our temporary house. "That was the point of this test."
"Did you do this because of what happened with the wolves?" I asked.
Leonna nodded. "You shouldn't charge into dangerous situations alone. Everyone needs someone to back them up."
"Yeah that was pretty stupid," I admitted. "I pretty much had it coming."
We got back to the house and I immediately hit the sack when we walked in.
"I see you're very tired." Leonna said.
"Standing in water like that can tire someone out you know." I said.
"How does that work?"
"I don't know, maybe I'm just lazy."
All of the lights in the village went on as soon as the night sky rolled in. The bright mixture of colors that shined throughout the village reminded me a lot of The Town of Colors.
"You can't help but smile when you see all of this." Leonna said laying on her bed.
"I agree with that," I said. "Seeing all of this creativity and imagination put together is what I love most about this world."
"And that is why we have to continue to fight against the Army of Darkness. We have to protect these people and this world from the darkness, because we need the light to guide us for all of eternity."
I wonder many things as I lay down on my bed. The world I used to live in. The world I live in now. The people. The towns. The war...
"Hey Leonna, why did this war start?" I asked.
"What do you mean," Leonna asked a little puzzled. "This war started because of Devil. Devil created the monsters and The Army of Darkness to destroy this world."
"Well yeah, but...why though? It can't be because Devil is just simply the antagonist of this whole thing. There has to be a reason, a motive, as to why Devil is doing all of this."
Leonna looked up at the ceiling and didn't say anything for a little while. She was probably thinking about how to answer my question.
"That is a good question," Leonna finally said. "I don't really know how to answer it. I was just born to know what was considered good, and what was considered evil."
"Well, this war has been going on for thousands of years, so of course people these days can't really answer that question."
"This war has been a series of charges and retreats from both sides. From what I heard, it's been like that for the majority of the war."
"So you're saying that neither side has the advantage?"
"Yeah, to put it simply."
Neither side has the advantage over the other. A series of charges and retreats. No clear reason as to why this war started. All Of these things were what kept me up at night for a while. I wanted to figure out all the answers to these questions that were swarming in my head. Why did this war start? Why has it dragged on for so long? Why are they so equally matched?
I knew it couldn't be just as simple as playing good guy and bad guy. There had to be some reason behind all of this chaos. There had to be a reason for the everything that happened at the village as well. If that figure on the horse killed the little girl so easily, then why did he not kill Xylvia. He also simply knocked me out as well. Why didn't he kill me. He could've done it so easily. Why...?
The morning rolled in and Leonna woke me up bright and early. And by woke me I means shook me until I could hear my brain rattle in my skull.
"How are you feeling?' Leonna asked as we walked through the woods.
"Lightheaded and nauseous." I said.
"Don't worry, you'll do fine!"
"I was talking about what you did to me back at the house."
For better context, I'm talking about when Leonna made me swing my sword at a rock with full-force. The vibration almost made my eyes bounce out of my sockets.
Leonna took me out into the woods to find low class monsters. She said after seeing me fight with a little training, I was ready to fight a monster.
We continued walking until we heard a few leaves rustling to our right. I pulled out my sword and got ready to attack. Leonna simply backed away. This was her way of saying "It's all yours."
What emerged from the bush was what looked like a raccoon. It was black with red stripes all around it and has pulsing, purple veins all over it. It wasn't anywhere near as bad-ass looking as the wolf was. The raccoon charged at me with speed. I blocked it's attack with my sword but it knocked me back a few steps. It was a lot stronger than I thought.
"This monster should be a great first kill," Leonna said. "You can learn balance, timing, and focus from fighting this monster."
The raccoon continued to leap at me with it's claws trying to scratch me. I didn't like the blood red color of those claws, so I knew that getting cut by them would be a big problem.
I tried pouring my magic and willpower into the sword, but for some reason it wouldn't summon the dark flame. I knew I had the will to fight, but it wouldn't work.
"What's taking you so long," Leonna asked. "That thing shouldn't be that tough for you."
The raccoon kept trying to slash at me with it's claws. This thing was starting to really annoy me. I was trying to kill it, bit it kept blocking my attacks.
"Seriously why can't I kill this damn thing!" I shouted in frustration.
Suddenly, my sword was engulfed in the dark flame that I've been trying to summon this entire time.
"It's about goddamn time!" I said extremely annoyed.
I held me sword horizontally above my head and charged at the raccoon monster. When I got close enough, I struck the raccoon with everything I had. The raccoon was split in half as it fell to the ground. Black blood spurted from it's lifeless body. I looked at my sword after I killed the raccoon. My first kill.
Why the hell did it take so long for it to activate?