A loud explosion spread behind me as I crashed into the ground.
The cat and the slime screamed while I laughed. I landed neatly on my feet. Without turning back, I dashed to the side as debris from the building fell after the explosion.
"MEOW! YOU CRAZY!!"
"HUH?"
"SORRY! I AM SO SORRY!"
There we go, how dare this cat.
The cat heaved heavy sighs as we took a safe distance from the debris. The burning was done perfectly. Now that there was no room left, there was no reason for the girl to return.
She planned to kill herself in this place. It was strangely obvious. I had seen many people pushed to the brink, and she was another like them.
The Hero must have seen something similar. It was our policy to not get involved with people who were suspicious in the slightest way. Being too kind, too cruel, too trusting, or too cautious, in a world where we knew no one and had somehow become hot commodities in the form of heroes, we always had to live on the edge.
In that sense, though broken, the girl was far more 'real' than most others.
It was fine to trust her.
And even if it wasn't, I just had to be strong enough to survive without her. Whether it was just one newcomer or even the hero who had accompanied me for years, I was always prepared for a betrayal.
That was what allowed me to give chances.
A house that could become a noose, I couldn't let such a place exist.
"Let's move," I said, ready to go and find the hero and the gamer girl when they appeared running in from the distance.
The hero's gray coat and the girl's white coat fluttered in the wind as they ran with all their might.
"SIR!? What did you do!?"
"Did you burn my home!!?"
"What's all the shouting for?" I snapped. "I have ears."
They didn't have to answer me though, from right behind them came running the giant skeleton warrior in the distance.
It seemed to have heard the explosion and was following us. Perfect, now I knew exactly how I was to make it kill the Apocalypse Manager for us.
"Just relax," I said, waving my hands and walking away into the alleyways. The two running over also did the same and followed me into the alleyways peeking at the building I had just bombed.
They heaved but I shushed them still.
"That guy is too large, it follows vibrations. If you're quiet it won't follow you."
Relafan and Alice nodded at my words.
"Look clearly, Alice. Widen your eyes and look."
I placed my hands on the girl's shoulders and leaned closer to her ears.
"Do you think just killing someone is enough of a revenge?"
The girl stiffened up.
"You…"
She was about to turn but I gripped her shoulders tighter, stopping her from moving.
"Did each moment make you want to die?"
The giant skeleton warrior raised its sword as it stopped in front of the building.
Alice nodded.
"Then you must live."
I whispered softer, her eyes followed the path of the skeleton warrior's blade.
"Revenge doesn't end when you just kill someone, no. With every fiber of your being, you must oppose each and everything they left you with, each and everything they stood for."
The Grand Skeleton Warrior raised its sword up high and screamed.
"If they made you want to die, you must live. If they wanted you to suffer, you must be happy. If they wanted you dead, you must live. If they wanted you constricted, you must be free."
I pressed down on her once again and made her step forward as the sword of the skeleton came hurtling down.
"Reject them, reject their ideals, reject their thoughts, get rid of every single thing they left you with. Until not a trace of them or what they stood for remains."
The sword finally crashed into the building, crushing it down. The Skeleton Warrior did not stop as it continually hacked away at the building.
"That would be revenge."
To fall with them was just caving in front of the suffering.
To kill and leave was just surviving.
To move on…
I let Alice go and stepped behind. I noticed a faint smile on the Hero's face and kicked his shin.
Cheeky bastard.
We both watched as Alice continued gawking at the building.
"Alright," she said. "I guess I can accompany you guys for a bit…"
There we go. Now we truly had a party of five.
The girl turned to us with slightly reddened eyes. She reached into the pockets of her pants under the coat and tossed away her box of cigarettes and a bag of weed.
"Since we'll be fighting, I'll do it properly."
She walked past us first while the Hero followed behind.
"That was a successful mission," I muttered as I grabbed the cigarette and grass and shoved it in my pockets. She had also dropped rolling and filter papers.
Perfect.
Just what I wanted to do. Revenge be damned, who cared about sappy stories?
Having to be convinced to continue fighting was for losers, I just wanted a teammate and the weed.
"Sir?"
"Mister?"
The two in my party called me out and I followed them through the alleyway leading away from the Skeleton Warrior.
"Let's go Dungeon Dive."