On that occasion, I decided to take advantage of the moment and make my way to the headquarters of the fearless. I had managed to stealthily steal Max's map because I longed for a solitary adventure.
As I examined the map, I immediately realized the complexity of the situation. It was an extraordinarily intricate map, and my lack of experience became evident when I couldn't decipher it.
The initial and crucial issue was to determine my location, but I found myself in a dilemma as I couldn't identify which side of the map pointed to where I was.
"What a bother!"
Once again, my plan to escape from them was frustrated. Last time, I escaped under the cover of night, but I returned the next morning. I quickly realized that without the map, my journey would be aimless, and I was certain they would catch up to me before I reached the fearless.
"Darn it!"
I found myself with no other option but to depend on the assistance of those two. Honestly, I loathed the idea, but there was no other way. I would need to trust them to guide me through each encounter with a fearless. I sat on the wreckage on the outskirts of the village and said:
"Now it's up to you, Max."
Staying there until dawn would be tedious, so I decided to take a walk around the village in search of entertainment. However, no matter how much I explored, I couldn't detect the scent of demons anywhere.
As I distanced myself from the village, this absence of the demon's smell continued. It was a peculiar situation. It seemed like some protection kept the demons away from the area, although it didn't explain why the larger demons always invaded on the same date every week.
"Is someone controlling this? Could it be the work of a fearless? Interesting."
I continued moving away from the village, but the situation remained the same, with no demons in sight. I decided to return, and on my way back, I encountered a horrifying scene: a gigantic demon was attacking the village. At first, excitement overcame me, and I began to run towards the confrontation.
However, remembering that the village had expelled me, I hesitated. The idea of simply watching their destruction crossed my mind. Besides, knowing that Max was in the village, I trusted that the demon would be defeated.
"What a mess!"
The prospect of seeing them beg for help and me denying them any hope seemed satisfying. So, I settled on the wreckage, eagerly awaiting the unfolding of events.
"Come!"
After a while, I began to hear someone shouting my name, and by the voice and scent, I recognized it as the short's voice. She kept calling for me, but I didn't respond to any of her calls. The short eventually stopped shouting and fell to her knees, lamenting. It was really amusing to watch that happen, and to realize that my presence was their only hope.
"Hey?"
When I finally spoke, the short looked at me attentively.
"You're very noisy."
The short began to plead for my help. Watching her tears flow as she begged on her knees was a gratifying sensation. It was as if I could crush her like an insect, and she wouldn't be able to resist.
"Lhiahahahahahahahaha!"
I couldn't help but burst into laughter at their situation, but the short insisted that Max needed my help, which got me excited. The idea of helping meant that Max was unable to overcome the demon, once again confirming that I am superior.
"Shut up and show me the way."
I said, and the short asked me to follow her. However, I quickly realized that I had made a mistake by saying that. It seemed like I was being ordered by her, which didn't please me. I activated my Speed Iz, ran to her, holding her by the waist, and we headed towards the demon.
When we got there, I saw Max in a tricky situation. I let go of the short and moved towards the flames. I deactivated the Speed Iz and activated another one of my abilities.
"Brute Force Iz! Second form. Kotxi flames!"
I cut through the flames and struck the demon. From the depth of the cut, I realized that this demon wasn't so formidable, but to easily cut through its flesh, I chose to use the Brute Force Iz, which significantly increased my strength.
Max proposed the idea of delivering the final blow to the demon, and I agreed, although I doubted he could defeat the demon with just one blow.
I activated my Speed Iz, got closer to the demon, and when I was about to cut its leg, I deactivated the Speed Iz, and then activated the Brute Force Iz to deliver the blow. Then, I deactivated the Brute Force Iz and activated the Speed Iz again.
I continued using this sequence until I cut off all the demon's limbs. I called this sequence:
'Third form. Synchronization.'
Although I could easily cut off the demon's head, I chose to see what Max would try and probably fail to accomplish. I couldn't wait for that moment. I sheathed my swords, activated my Speed Iz, and jumped towards the underside of the demon's chin. With the Brute Force Iz activated, I delivered a kick that made the demon look at the sky.
'Consecutive synchronization.'
Now, Max was prepared, and my excitement grew, anticipating his failure. However, when I witnessed his explosive dynamite punch defeat the monster, my excitement faded. I quickly remembered that he had used the same technique on me, albeit incompletely, and by instinct, I said:
"Damn it!"
'Get up, demon! Don't let Max win. You'll die doing nothing like this, useless?'
The demon remained fallen, immobile. It was the first time I rooted for a demon, but in the end, it was a disappointment.
After a moment of silence…
"It's finally dead."
"Probably."
I began to hear voices of people shouting for joy, and their scents were getting closer. I started to distance myself, and the villagers surrounded Max while I moved further away.
"We won, we won, folks. We won!!!"
"No one really died this time."
"Thank you, God, for another week."
"Thank you, Lord, for saving us."
"You don't have to. I just did the minimum."
"Let's salute our hero."
"Yes!!!"
As I walked away, the voices became increasingly distant until they disappeared completely from my hearing.
"Now you're welcome here. You can come back."
"I'm better off alone."
I didn't stop to talk and continued walking, but the short ran and stood in front of me.
"My name is Nawaka Ui. I apologize for the village's insolence. I ask for your forgiveness, and even if they don't understand, I do."
"Doesn't matter."
"Shall we be friends!?"
She made the request with a genuine smile, as someone who genuinely wanted to be my friend. I wanted to ignore her, but this request brought back a long-forgotten memory.
"Izumi, no matter what happens. If someone is kind to you, you should be kind to them. Right, son?"
"Yes, Mom."
"Good boy. One of the meanings of your name is friendship. Izumi, make lots of friends."
"Yes, Mom, I'll make a lot of friends!"
"That's my boy."
I directed my gaze to the sky.
'It's been years, Mom. I don't know how I forgot this memory. I'm sorry.'
Was I really not alone? I turned my gaze back to her and said:
"Alright, I'll come back."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"Cool!!! You can call me Ui. What should I call you?!"
"My name is Izumi Utaya, but they call me Izumi."
"Nice to meet you, Izumi."