I wanted this moment to last forever: just the three of us together, basking in each others' warmth.
When we finally pulled apart from each other, I turned to Arboria, but she had already turned back into an olive tree.
Then, the console on my wrist blinked a few times, indicating a notification. A message read:
[You have received a gift]
It was an axe called "The First Creation's Wish."
I clicked on accept, and the weapon materialized in my hands. It was a four-foot-long battle axe made from hardened wood and vines. The weapon balanced well in my grip, and the leaves along the handle fluttered as I flipped it around.
"Did this come from Arboria?" I asked.
Suddenly, the axe jumped out of my hand.
Literally...it jumped.
When the weapon hit the ground, it transformed, stretching its bark and vines to form a figure.
Soon enough, the vegetation condensed until it resembled a woman with light-green skin and brown hair, almost like an inverted tree if her head were the roots and her body was the leaves. Adding to her nature motif, the woman also wore a close-fitting dress made of wood and vines.
The woman then grinned at me with pearly-white teeth, which made her beautiful face seem to sparkle.
She bowed, saying, "I'm at your service."
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Why, I'm Arboria, of course."
"What about that other tree over there?"
"It's in hibernation. I've turned part of my soul into a weapon so that I could accompany you on your journey."
"Why?"
"It has been centuries since I've seen the outside world, and for the longest time, I've never sought to venture outward again. That was until I met you, dear Hierophant. When my roots touched you, I sensed immense suffering in the future, but I also felt an undying love. You don't know how long I have waited to meet someone like yourself. You have moved my very soul. And so, I wish to see the world by your side."
"Alright, then. I could always use another weapon."
"Yes! Please use me as you see fit!"
Arboria's face tinted a light shade of red.
"Maybe you shouldn't have worded it that way," I said. "Anyway, are you a person, or are you a weapon? I don't know if you're gonna keep walking around or if you're just gonna go back into my inventory."
"I am both subject and object—existence and essence—life and unlife. Though it would pain my feelings if the Hierophant placed me in his inventory to gather dust, I would respect his wishes."
I shrugged. "I guess you can stay in your humanoid form, in that case."
"Thank you for your consideration," Arboria bowed.
"You're welcome. Anyway, let's head out now and get some clothes for Sakimi."
The four of us had barely walked through the apple orchard when Arboria shifted back into an axe, prompting Sakimi to yelp from the sudden transformation.
I picked up the handle and asked, "What was that?"
"I am deeply sorry, Master, but my legs are tired. Please carry me."
"You sound like a baby. I thought you said that you didn't want to stay in weapon form."
"That is true, but my humanoid form puts a great deal of strain on my mana. You see, I have only placed a fragment of my consciousness into this body while the rest of my soul remains hibernating inside the olive tree."
"Hm. Makes sense."
It still felt weird to have a talking axe that could also transform into a hot nature spirit.
While we continued our walk, Sakimi asked, "What happened to me?"
"You were turned into a demon," Marigold replied.
"Do you remember anything?" I asked Sakimi.
"I'm not sure. Everything felt like a fever dream. I remembered the fight against Enzo, but we lost. The demons captured me and took me to a dungeon, where the archdemon cast some sort of spell. It was pain...so painful."
"You don't have to keep going if the memories hurt you," I said.
"No. It's fine. Sorry. But after that spell, I can barely remember anything else. In my mind, I only see bits and pieces like a scattered jigsaw puzzle. The only clear thing was...eating..."
Sakimi hunched over and vomited.
She must have recalled the times when she devoured humans.
"There, there," Marigold said, patting the girl's back. "You'll be fine."
"What have I done," Sakimi muttered. "I can't believe I..."
She threw up again.
"Once we get outside the garden, we can drink water by one of the rivers," I said.
"That's great. Thanks, Ares. But how did you turn me into a human again?"
"I killed you, and then I used a Resurrection Potion."
"Oh. I guess that explains why my body was so sore when I woke up again."
"Sorry."
"It's fine," the girl replied with a soft smile.
Once Sakimi felt a little better, we exited the inner garden and retrieved all our items.
"I'll walk Sakimi to the river," Marigold said.
I replied, "Alright. Take your time."
While the two girls headed out, I took a seat by one of the statues.
"Arboria," I said. "Do you know an easier way to get out of the Garden of Avalon without going through the thunderstorm?"
"Oh, that's easy. I have already cleared the lightning."
Sure enough, the tempests in the skies had grown light in color, becoming normal cumulus clouds.
"You should have no problem flying through them," Arboria said.
"Thanks."
"You are welcome.
But then, I squinted my eyes. A speck had just emerged from the clouds, flying straight for the garden.
The flying object turned out to be a black horse, akin to a pegasus, but it didn't have wings. Instead, it rode threads of mana when traversing the air. It was known as a nightmare.
Two individuals rode on the mount's back, and I recognized them immediately: it was Typhon and the carriage driver.
The nightmare landed gracefully on the soft pink petals, prancing toward me. Even though I didn't move my arms, Arboria readied herself into a fighting stance, having sensed my agitation.
Once he was near enough, Typhon jumped off the horse and bowed.
"Ares, I—"
"How did you get here, and what do you want?"
"We...followed you, but we couldn't fly through the clouds until the storm subsided. I'm not here for a fight, so please...just hear me out."
"Alright. Speak."
Typhon got up and flipped the hair off his face. He still wore the same feminine combat attire, but his leggings were torn in some places.
"I sense great hatred from this woman...er...man," my axe said. "Allow me to strike him down!"
"Stay calm, Arboria. Let's hear what he has to say."
"Did your axe just speak?" Typhon asked.
"Yeah. Ignore that. Now, answer my question: why did you follow us?"
Typhon hesitated for a moment and then said, "I want to join your party."
"Do not trust this man," Arboria said.
"Shush. I make the decisions here."
The last time I let someone join my party, he kidnapped everyone and nearly killed us. It would be an understatement to say that I was paranoid.
But, unlike Iago, I knew Typhon much better. I once recruited him when I first played Serial Slain. Luckily, he didn't appear to be a player character in this world, so he should still be the same person as always.
Even though Typhon's methods might be questionable, his intentions were good at heart. If he joined my party, everything should be fine as long as I kept him in check.
Besides, the inner harem protagonist in me wanted to have another cute...guy...to the party.
Traps aren't gay. I swear.
Maybe my logic for trusting Typhon was flawed, but I wasn't someone who could ever completely trust myself, either. And so, I went with my gut instinct.
"Fine. I'll let you join my party, Typhon."
With a gracious bow, Typhon replied, "Thank you! It would be an honor to fight by the Hierophant's side once more!"
"You are a strange one," Arboria muttered. "You may regret this decision in the future, and yet you still accepted him into the party."
"I know the risks, but the reward is gold."
Soon enough, Sakimi and Marigold returned, and I explained the situation to them. With the new addition to the party, we took off.
I rode on my pegasus while Typhon and the driver rode on the nightmare.
"Ares," Marigold said while we flew. "Would it be a bother if we go back to Rivenvalius?"
"No. You want to find Vortigern, don't you?"
"Yes."
"In that case, let's go there right now."
And so, we changed our course and headed south, toward the place where it all began.
***
We arrived at one of the port cities in Polsius. There, I bought Sakimi some new clothes: another magician's hat and robe. This seemed to be the only attire that she liked.
Next, we took a boat to Rivenvalius, and we landed on Vindport.
Luckily, It didn't take long for Marigold to find her spinebear again. An adventurer had found him wandering the woods outside of Vinport and had returned him to the nearest Guild Hub.
The reunion between Marigold and Vortigern was sweet, but the spinebear and my pegasus had some sort of growling argument. I guess they didn't like the thought of having two mounts in one party. Oh, well.
That also reminded me that I forgot to name my mount. I guess I'll name him Goldie.
Anyway, flying was a little dangerous, and spinebears could hold much more cargo than a pegasus, so I think I'll stick with riding Vortigern for now.
When we returned to Eden, the citizens congratulated us once again for defeating another archdemon. The Fujimoto's rejoiced when they saw that Sakimi had returned safely.
Then, for the first time, my family and my party members all had dinner together with the Fujimoto's.
None of the houses could fit this many people, so we had a picnic under the twinkling night sky. I told the tale of my adventures in Polsius, garnering many horrified looks from Sakimi's parents.
In the end, it was all in good fun.
The next day, Marigold, Sakimi, Typhon, and I headed off once again, waving goodbye to the townsfolk. Our next stop was the continent of Enfernius, where the archdemon Zarathustra reigned.
[New Quest Accepted: Enfernius]
***
A young boy leaned sat atop a tree branch, peering at the Hierophant and his party as they left the city of Eden.
He breathed a sigh of relief to see that everything had worked out fine.
"He truly is a spectacle to watch."
"You're such a creepy stalker," a woman's voice said.
There was nobody around to say the sentence, and to an outsider, it seemed that it had arisen from nothingness.
"You're mistaken, Virgil. I'm merely observing for research."
"Right. Is that why you also made yourself into a little boy, Hashimov?"
"It sucks to be old, you know? Now, I can finally feel some spring in my step! This also makes me think of loli-grannies, but I guess...in this case...I'm a shota-grandpappy?"
Hasimov could almost hear Virgil rolling her eyes.
"In any case," the little boy said. "It looks like I'll be heading off to Enfernius!"
"You better not mess with Claudia and his party."
"Don't worry! It'll all be fine. I'm only here to watch—that's all."
"Right," Virgil replied sarcastically.
"Zarathustra is one hell of an archdemon," said Hashimov. "I got the heebie-jeebies when I interviewed her for the position as a Tester. I'm excited to see how Claudia will burn through the flames of the inferno."
***
The alarm clock startled Iago from his nightmare. Even after a week, he still remembered the fight against Claudia and Typhon.
It was torture.
Today, he had to make up his delayed payments, but he didn't have enough money.
Bianca was as good as gone.
Still, Iago held in his tears. He would do anything—even grovel and beg—for Cassio to extend the payment period.
Even then, it was nothing that Cassio hadn't seen before. Iago had already begged for multiple extensions.
It would all be useless.
That was when Iago noticed an envelope by his front door. Someone had dropped it in through the mail slot.
Iago opened the envelope to see that it was stacked full of cash. He then took out a message that read:
"A bonus for your hard work in testing the game. - Virgil."
For the first time in his life, Iago cried tears of joy.