"What the…"
The entire inn was covered in flames. Fire covering each part of the building, making sure not to miss a single spot. A crowd of people stood at a safe distance, chattering and watching in awe as the inn burned down.
(Why… why are you just standing there watching…? Why is no one calling for help…? Is the inn burning down that amusing to you?!)
I quickly made my way to the front of the inn.
(I have to stop this fire first.)
I channel up a giant portion of mana.
"Water prism!"
Water surrounds the entire structure of the inn and sizzling sounds of the fire being put out blare throughout the area. After, I began to look around frantically in a crowd full of shocked faces from the giant water magic.
(Where's Valerie and Mary?!)
I use Detection and sense one faint sign of life.
(Why am I only picking up one…? Whatever, I need to get in.)
I immediately rush inside of the burning inn after protecting myself with magic. Burning pieces of wood and sparks fly everywhere as the inside of the building continued to burn.
(The sign was coming from the kitchen!)
I continue my way to the kitchen which looked just as bad as everything else.
"Valerie! Mary! Answer me!"
*cough cough
(Behind the counter!)
I rush to behind the counter to find Valerie and her mother.
"Val, it's me!"
"R-Ryu-"
"Don't worry, I'll get you both out of here. We'll all be fine."
I quickly encase them with a magic barrier.
(Why am I not picking up any life signs from Mary…? No no no…)
"Hey Mary! Wake up! I'm here now! We're going to get out!"
"…"
"Please…"
Mary remained unresponsive.
(Damn it!)
"We have to go, now!"
I pick up Valerie hoist her up over my shoulders.
(I'm so sorry… I'm so so sorry…)
Leaving Mary's lifeless body behind, I rush out of the burning inn with Valerie over my shoulders. Once we're out, I set her down on the ground, attracting the attention of the nearby crowd.
"Oh my goodness, is she okay??"
"Does she look okay?! Now shut the fuck up!"
They quickly quiet down as I activate my healing magic.
(Val's covered in burn marks. What the hell..? This couldn't have been an accident. A building doesn't just burn down like this.)
I continue healing Valerie as guards come rushing in.
"Let us take it from here. We will take her to a medical facility where she can be treated properly."
"Fine.."
I hesitantly stop using magic on Valerie.
"You two, carry her to the nearest medical, now!"
"Yes sir!"
They pick up Valerie and carry her off.
"Mages! Clear out any remaining fire!"
"Yes sir!"
The mages walk inside the burning building to clear out the rest of fire.
"You there. You seem to be the only one with worry on their faces and seeing as you were frantically trying to heal that girl, I assume this place is of importance to you? Do you mind telling me what caused this?"
"I don't know. The building was already on fire when I arrived. It's definitely arson though. There's no accident that causes a fire like this."
"I see. Anyone you might suspect to commit a felony such as this?"
(Who would purposely burn down the inn like this. Maybe if I detect some of the fire magic, I can trace it back to its user.)
I use Detection and quietly concentrate on the remaining bits of fire the mages haven't extinguished.
(I recognize this. And if I recognize this, that means there's only one person who this fire magic could belong to. I only faced one fire magic user throughout my time in this kingdom. Arnold Hylinspurg. That son of a bitch! Urgh! I can't mention his name now without gathering evidence on him because they might get offended that I would dare accuse the Duke's own son of committing a crime like this.)
"Hello..? Sir?"
"Oh sorry. No, I don't know anyone."
(I'll make that bastard pay with my own hands. I have to locate him first. He should still be within a 2 miles from here. Focus… Found him!)
I take off in pure anger towards the direction of Arnold.
~At Arnold's location~
"Hahahaha! I wonder how that pathetic bastard is going to react to his little girlfriends home being absolutely totaled."
"I-I'm not sure this was a good idea. Burning down an entire building with people in it…"
"Shut up, ya pussy. They're commoners, they'll just say it was some accident or something."
"But still, did you really have to follow someone who had nothing to do with your hatred towards Ryuki and possibly kill them…?"
"Of course! That son a bitch needs to pay for how he humiliated me at the tournament. And if Princess Liliana saw this, my chances with her are gone. Plus, the way he taunted me during the match pissed me off! Now shut up, you're getting annoying!"
"S-Sorry."
"Arnold."
"Ughh, what?!"
"How would you like to die?"
"WHA- YOU!"
"You were walking so slow like you were in no hurry to get out of here. Did you think I'd be too busy weeping on the floor over the inn to come after your ass?"
"Fuck!"
Arnold activates his fire magic and shoots fireballs at me recklessly.
"Seriously? You should do better than that. Like this!"
I shoot a massive fireball that Arnold narrowly dodges. The fireball hits a back of a building and leaves a giant hole in it. While Arnold's shocked from the force of the fireball, I close in on him and punch him in the gut hard, knocking the wind out of him. He falls to the ground, gasping for air while clutching his stomach.
"Come on! Don't let out on me now!"
I continue gut checking him as he gasps after each blow. I eventually stop and he crawls over to a corner and pukes.
"Man are you fragile. This isn't even the full extent of what I'm planning to do to you."
Arnold tries activating his magic again but I disable it with my own.
"W-Why… why isn't my magic workin- GAGH!"
I kick him right in the face.
"Y-You won't g-get away with t-this. M-My father w-will- GEURGH."
"Hey. Stop talking. Your voice pisses me off."
I drive my knee right in his face, sending him back against the wall.
"I was taken out of my room and quite literally dropped into an RPG game that somehow became real life. Then, I was nearly killed by Orcs until a Goddess came and gave me powers. Now, I'm a 16 year old boy with incredibly strong powers and yet I couldn't save one person. Despite how powerful I am, I know I can't save everyone and I can accept that. But this…? I can't accept this."
"W-What t-the h-hell are you t-talking a-about?"
I walk over to Arnold trembling on the floor.
"I can't accept someone close to me dying due to a petty grudge held by a childish fuck like you!"
I stomp Arnold's face continuously. Teeth and blood fly as I mercilessly stomp his face in.
"You burned down a place that was very important to someone close to me. You killed her mother and you nearly killed her as well! Now when she wakes up, she has to deal with the heavy reality that her mother and the inn she cared so much for is gone! And it's all because of you!"
"S-St-"
"I didn't like you at first but now I absolutely despise you."
I grab him and repeatedly slam the back of his head against the rock solid ground. After a few more, I stop, making sure he's just barely conscious.
"How about we move on the grand finale?"
"Urghh"
I toss Arnold up onto his feet and grab his head.
"Enjoy."
"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
(Using the skill Despair, Arnold is shown his deepest fears in an extreme manor. In the game, this is a skill used by demons to stun any other race for 30 seconds but can be learnt by humans. When upgraded to Rank III, it's effects can last for 90 seconds.)
After the skill wears off, Arnold collapses and hits the ground.
"M-M-M-M-Mo-t-th-er P-P-P-Pl-ease"
"Silence."
With one last kick to the face, I knock him out cold.
(He's most likely forgot anything about me due to the effects of Despair and when he wakes up, he might either suffer from memory loss due to traumatic events or he'll have permanent trauma.)
"I'll do one more thing."
I approach Arnold's unconscious body and place a finger on his forehead.
"Once you wake up, you will turn yourself in as the perpetrator for this felony."
(In the game, Mind Influence is a skill used to convert the enemy into an ally for 30 seconds. Once converted, they will attack your opposing team. In this world, it can be used to give out orders manually.)
"Anyways, I'm done here."
I leave Arnold in the alley and return to the, now destroyed, inn.
(I got my revenge… but I don't feel any better. About anything. The inns still gone. Val's mother is gone as well… Where the hell is Jincheng? The one time he isn't here…)
"Excuse me? You're the guy who was with the injured girl right?"
I turn around to see the head guard from earlier.
"Yeah…"
"She's awake now if you would like to see her."