Spinning around I swung hard stopping a hairs breadth from what looks like a very very small winged person? Is this what one calls a fairy?
"What do you want?" I asked releasing killing intent, from what i've read fairies are vicious creatures that steal from people and play sometimes deadly tricks upon the unsuspecting even leading them to the fairy world to be devoured at times.
"I-I am Yu, I have been following you since you awoke in this world, I woke up back then too, I am born of the accumulation of the death you have caused." Yu said, her dress pitch black matching my eyes.
"Why have you not shown yourself until now?"
"I didn't have enough power, or a good chance too, normal humans hunt us fairies looking to make medicine out of us or enslave us to use for war." Yu said sadly as I lowered my sword.
"Who are the other ones here?" I said glancing around, I heard more than one voice before.
"They are fairies like me, but born of nature, they felt the heavy death aura around you and gathered, I have been living with them while absorbing your heavy death aura, so they got curious who I was born from and came to see you." Yu said coming closer and landing on my shoulder.
"Well, I wont do anything to them, I have neither knowledge of magic nor medicine, besides they haven't shown me any hostility so." I replied putting on my now dried clothes, "So, Yu, where did you get that name?"
"I don't know, Yu is Yu." Yu said with confusion written all over her face.
"Then, do you know my name?" I asked, the fairies really like staring at us don't they? Curious little things I can feel your eyes on me in these woods you know.
"Agashi Durlivan, Veru's child, right?" Yu replied swinging her legs happily, "Your actions brought me into this world, of course I know all about you!"
"I see." So she knows about Voice-Chan? Has she been around since the first time I killed in this world? "So, how many lives did it take before you were capable of materializing like this, and also what can you do?"
"Hmmm... I think I started thinking after the first forty deaths, and I could materialize since yesterday when you killed those sixty people," Yu said pensively, so it takes a hundred deaths by my hand in order to create a fairy? "As for what I can do, since you created me, I can take away your death aura and remove any curses on you, and other's without affinity with the fairies can't see or hear me, other's like me also can't be born from the actions of ones without affinity."
Huh... wait... hold on. So she can't be seen by those without affinity? Then I must be extremely rare since I've never heard of fairies before right? Not even a sighting in the woods? Is this perhaps the occult side of this world?
Hum. Well if she can't be seen but can still interact with the material world then she can become a great asset for clearing out the mountains, her scouting ability would be unparallelled.
"Is this your final form?" I asked curiously, she still seems like a child after all.
"No, I grow by eating the death aura you accumulate through killing, as I get stronger I can start doing more things!" Yu said proudly making a guts pose.
"Like what?" Curiously I responded.
"I don't know." She replied sadly, "But I can feel im still growing, so new stuff will probably come."
"Either way your doing great as is right now, your powers are incredible." I replied honestly, with just that the extermination through the mountains would become much swifter.
By the time we arrived back at the city night had fallen, Yu had taken me all over the mountains near the city showing me things she'd found.
Even now the fairies don't dare to show themselves or say hi, huh. Can't blame them if they are normally hunted by humans.
"The funerals for the soldiers are starting soon." Hardvar appeared from the darkness scaring me slightly.
"I see, take me there." I replied walking through the side alleys and exiting a secret gate to the east side of the city, another ten minutes and voices could be heard, shouting?
Grabbing my swords I sped forward, breaking through the thicket swords drawn I shouted, "What is going on?"
"Please, allow me to do the last rites on these poor souls, they are crying out." Seramia is kneeling in front of several people in tears.
"Lord Durlivan!" The people immediately kneeled despite being in tears.
"Stand, stand, those who mourn do not have to kneel." I said standing them up before looking at Seramia, "What is going on?"
"Champion, you know of my ability to calm the soul, these men are crying out, please allow me help sooth their pain so that they may finish crossing over." Seramia said pleadingly.
Glancing over at the families of the fallen who were too grief stricken to respond I looked back at Seramia, "Fine then, but if it causes them more grief the responsibility will be on your shoulders."
"Understood." Seramia stood up, the staff in her hand gathering a large amount of that wind from before, a soothing wind that caused the grieving people to stop crying.
Inside this wind arcane words began firing off in all directions several landing in the graves of the departed.
Slowly but surely the souls of the soldiers began to appear above their graves.
"James!" A young woman yelled running forward, the ghost called James smiling a big smile, one turned into two until all of the people were calling out trying to hold them and talk to them.
"They cannot speak, their souls are already leaving to the cycle, so tell them what you have to say quickly." Seramia said calmly, her blessing dying out like a slow burning candle.
"Sorry, for sending you all to your deaths, your sacrafices will not be in vain and your families taken care of, so pass on without regret." I said bowing my head once more to these fallen.
Their souls looked at one another smiling.
One by one they began to disappear the last of their regrets in this world taken from them.
"Thank you, Seramia." I said lightly, "You wanted a church right? I give you permission to build one within the city, that's okay right, Shion?"
"That's perfectly fine with me, have it built near the main square." Shions voice drifted out, I knew she would be here even if I couldn't sense her.
"Hardvar, make the preparations." I said into the dark getting a slight breeze as my response, he's gone.
"Thank you so much, letting me see my boy one last time!" An older woman took Seramia's hands into her own crying heavily.
Many others going to her. This is not my place to be anymore.
"Lord, thank you too, for coming to see him off, I am sure he was happy to see you come." One young lady said taking my hand.
"Do you not resent me, for sending them to their deaths?" I replied stoically.
"Lord, we here in Durlivan are born into poverty and die in poverty, he died aiming for more I am sure he was happiest while serving under you doing something for his future and ours." She replied kindly.
"Is that so?" I replied, They were looking for a better life and died. I didn't think I would feel so heavy over this.
I will have to improve. I have to lower the casualties.
"Death is inevitable, but for young men like these, it should not come so soon." I muttered sadly.
"What do you plan to do?" Shion asked queitly walking beside me.
"I plan to wipe out every last bandit in these mountains, I will not allow the resolve of these young men to go unanswered." I said calmly.
I cannot allow their deaths to be in vain.
I will pay any price I must, be it in gold or in steel.
The next day I gathered the first unit in the courtyard, having bounced back from the previous day.
"You have all experienced your first battle, a few of you have died. They were each resolved to die on the battlefield! Will we let this resolve go unanswered?!" I shouted.
"No, sir!" They shouted back.
"Then, we will wipe out the bandits in these mountains!" I shouted, "March!"
Falling in line behind me the men of the first unit each had a new kind of aura around them unlike their previous selves that looked all over as though on a school trip, they instead looked serious and cold.
Yu led the way from here, "The other fairies would show me where to avoid out in the mountains, those must be these bandits right?" Last night she said this and today we head out.