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***
The village burns, the corpses burn - everything burns in scarlet flames. It spares nothing - just burns in its strong fiery embrace.
Oh... skills swing, but somehow it didn't make me delirious. However, there was a plus side to them too.
The girl was found quickly! Thanks to a strange desire - chasing after her, I found her curled up in the centre of the road.
I didn't even have to look for her. But her condition made me worry.
In a matter of minutes, the active girl I had met who had smashed the bandit's head in had lost her will and was sobbing in three streams, clutching her hands and not noticing anything. And at that rate she would have been consumed by fire if I had been half an hour late.
Apparently... she hadn't found her mother, or she had, and what was left of her sent her into a deep shock along with the shock.
Oh, well. Time for me to do the honours. I put out the fire nearby as best I could, and the girl is very interesting, and my heart flutters looking at her. She's alone, I think it would be a better thing to take her in than to leave her here alone.
It's very strange... I want to hug her - to hold her body against mine and forget myself for a few days....
Brrr! Shaking my head to the side, I shook the obsession away, and a brilliant thought came into my head.
Slowly I began to walk towards her. With every step I took, the ground beneath my feet crunched like snow.
- *Sobbing* m-mum! - I heard her words as I approached her and stopped.
The girl didn't even notice me and continued to ignore me, tucked into her hands. Eh, I thought she'd react.
- Are you just going to lie there like that? Without even trying to avenge the perpetrators of your mother's death? - I said in a righteous tone that made my helmet growl in amusement.
But the girl stopped sobbing and shaking.
- G-hero...san? - she looked up at me. In her tear-red eyes, there were signs of recognition and life. Right before my eyes, she found the strength to get up from her knees, while still trembling. Her face took on an expression of mild happiness: drops of moisture reappeared in the corners of her eyes, and then she threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around me and burying them in my chest. From surprise I raised my hands, and they were not grasped.
- Uwaaaah! - she sobbed, clinging to me, and I reflexively hugged her back and began stroking her once silver hair. Up close, it no longer looked as white as I thought it would. And her breasts... she has... for her age... just like Vivi's...' I noted in my head for a second as I continued to stroke her head.
- Shh, it's okay...
The girl squeezed her hands, pulling herself closer to me.
*crunch* It clicked somewhere.
'B-b-b-fucking-lutely! Why does it hurt so much!!!'
Her strength wasn't ghostly... as I first assumed... she was really strong! Stronger than me by many times!
'O-o-o-evaluation!'
*Assessment is a success
-35MP*
Mitsuko Hiro - Heavenly Sword Hero
Danger Level: High!
Attitude towards you: Admiration, Love, Admiration, Admiration, [?]
Attitude towards? : Daughter's love, [?]....
Attitude...
...
Heavenly Sword-1, impossible to determine, [?], [?]...
Strength - A+
Stamina - A+
Dexterity - A+
Intelligence - A+
Fuck - that's what I can say looking at this cute heroine... and what's with the celestial sword?
Stop. Love - where did it come from? When? What? Fuck, I don't get it. Okay, I'll figure it out later. It's not a big deal. Love can be many things. That's right. And now,' I looked around, noting that the fire was flaring up with renewed vigour. Is it magical? No matter how much I put it out, it burns again!
Well, we're a little late. Hugging amidst the corpses and cinders sure looks nice... but it's not. And the smell... yeah, for the first time I wanted to eat fried chicken... The girl has calmed down for a minute and is hugging me, trembling. I would not like to interrupt such a picture and, what is to say, I was pleased, but time, as they say, is experience.
The desire to undergo evolution still burns in me with a bright flame, no worse than this fire in the village! Especially when I have only a little bit left!
- Ahem,' I patted her on the head, causing her to squeak in displeasure, and then she looked up at me with a hazy look of glazed eyes and flushed cheeks.
She seemed to be hot... no wonder - we're almost in the centre of a fire!
- Baby...
- I'm not a little girl... Hero-san...' she interrupted me at once, breathing heavily, "I'm already fourteen, n-almost already... n-fifteen!" she said with a certain confidence. - she said with a kind of self-confidence and fainted in my arms.
Exactly! Smoke... poison... I'm the one who's strong and can swing while breathing smoke, but definitely not a girl!
'Fuck, we gotta get out of here before it's too late!' - When I realised and summoned a cloak, wetting it with water magic, I covered the girl's body and head, and picking her up in my arms like a princess, I ran as fast as I could, navigating my mini-map.
The skill of magic eyes is enhanced!
To hell with this skill, the main thing is to stay out of the way....
***
Running is what I was doing. Just a little more...
Covering the girl in a wet cloth, I ran as fast as I could.
But only the strength was becoming less and less... in front of my eyes everything is blazing and floating....
Only the desire to pump skills does not allow me to put out the fire... and what's the use? The air is clearly already poisoned... and I breathe like a horse... even though I'm pumping my skills with this method....
Poison Resistance skill is up!
Disease resistance skill is enhanced!
Skill sharp sniffing increased!
Regeneration skill boosted!
Jerk skill enhanced!
This is the third time... but this is the first time regeneration and jerk have appeared.
- Ha-ha-ha! Fuck, I hope I don't die... because it would be a fucking shame to lose such expensive items!
Oh... I'm seeing glitches again, the important thing is not to fall...
My vision was going in different directions. I couldn't see the fire anymore. Just the faint outlines of its rainbow tongues....
- Arien-sama! - A loud shout came from somewhere outside.
- Mr Arien!
My legs won't hold me, I'm falling to my knees from the weight of the armour....
When did it become so heavy? My mind is foggy... my thoughts are starting to get jumbled....
'Body Reinforcement!' - With my last strength, I used my trump card - maximum power! As pathetic as it sounds... but it helped me. Literally, my entire body was poured with incredible strength. It was on fire, and I didn't need my eyesight anymore.
I could feel the faint fresh air... and I could see Elvina on the mini-map... yes, they had entered the village... we'll have to punish them later, but right now the main thing was to survive!
*jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk *
After making several spurts with a break, I quickly reached the screaming girls and was finally able to rest.
My legs no longer held me... and neither did my consciousness.
In my last breath, I see the blurred faces of my ladies.....
'And they are as beautiful as ever' - my eyelids slowly close, with my last strength I scream and call their names.
- Sir! - yes... I was able to...
The hidden quest 'Ugly Duckling' has been completed.
You have rescued a girl despised by the villagers, the Child of Light.
One level gained. The girl's love.
The level has reached its maximum value!
Choose...
I didn't see anything else. My strength left me and I fell into oblivion.
'Eh-this is the end... right?'
***
The wind slowly blew sideways, scalding me with its cold and burning smell. As luck would have it, the sun was shining brightly, pleasing the plants with a burst of energy. But despite the good weather, there was one sad clearing where three girls had gathered. They were trembling shallowly, shedding their tears....
Pain... fear... despair... desolation... indifference.....
Joyful emotions - they were gone, just like Arien's life.
No matter how many tears they shed. No matter how many prayers they recited. No matter how much magic they used. He lay breathlessly on the ground, showing no signs of life.
The funny thing is, his last words, 'save the girl!' echoed in their hearts with infinite pain.
The girl that Arien had killed, albeit indirectly, accidentally, unknowingly.
It was only thanks to Elvina that she was still alive and lying peacefully on the ground, sweetly indulging in her sleep.
What an effort it had taken to calm Vivi and Aquina and prevent them from killing the girl in a fit of anger.
- Humans, you are the culprits of all misfortune! - She yelled, blowing tears as she hovered over the body of her lover. She wanted to let out all the negativity, to yell at them... the children. Blame them... but she was able to restrain herself... after all, Arien was human himself... his labour should not be wasted.
But... these were only superficial feelings.
Her hatred for humans flared up in her again! A bright burning and raging flame! Betrayal by a past group of humans, torture from human bandits... and a broken heart because of a human.....
Elves had disliked humans before... not all, but many: for their greed, their vices, their bloodthirstiness.
And now - Aquinas didn't see them as rational beings.
Though, she shifted her gaze from Arien to Elvina, who was beside her with a sad face. Tears were slowly flowing from her emerald eyes, and her gaze was glassy and devastated.
Only Arien and Elvina are worthy of being Sane people! The rest of them... nothing more than worms under her feet! Filthy in appearance and soul.
Vivi wasn't far behind her. In her mind...there was a void. Her once blue eyes were dimmed. Vivi sat propped up on her knees and clasped her hands together, staring at nothing. She looked like a living doll. Only one thought kept running feverishly through her mind: Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
And the lousy part, according to the girls, was... the armour wouldn't come off! That's partly why they couldn't save him. It's hard to heal something that had no life in it. Because of the same, they never got to see his face. Because of the complexity of the armour, they were also afraid to kill him while he was still alive. The armour was like it was glued to his body and would not come off.
(A bit from the author: Meaning it had no fastenings. The armour resembled a closed spacesuit, but there were definitely slits for breathing, in general - it was bad luck for the hero to wear such a new-fangled armour. As the saying goes: greed is greedy.)
- We... should surrender him to the heavens...' Aquinas said through her tears, clenching her hands into fists from helplessness.
The girls remained silent. One was staring into the void, the other at the armour. Unable to bear the oppressive silence, Aquina shouted:
- Enough silence! I... can't... please... stop being silent... I...' she sobbed again....
Aquinas trembled shallowly, she stared at the armour. Her hands stroked the helmet now and then. It would go on like this for a few minutes until Elvina rose from her knees towards the girl, drawing Aquina's attention back to herself.
- 'I... must fulfil my lord's last will...' Elvina spoke with a blank stare and a cold voice.
- W-what? Will? What will are you talking about?! How can you say such a thing! That... that girl, she's the reason Arien is dead! - Aquina shouted cruelly, almost gritting her teeth as she jumped up from her seat and grabbed Elvina's shoulder.
The red-haired girl flinched, stopping in place.
- Let me go, Aquina-dono...' she said without turning round, brushing the hand off her shoulder, 'I... must do my lord's will, whatever it costs me...
Aquina stepped back shocked, and then fell on her arse, pressing her hands to her mouth.
- How... why would you say such a thing? - With heartache she hissed, condemning her words. Aquina didn't understand why she was so fiercely protective of this girl. Had it been her will, the girl would have left following Arien.
Suddenly, Elvina turned around. Her gaze was different from before. Gone was that spark of joy and naivety, now replaced by coldness and sadness.
- It is... the will of the lord. - she concluded glumly.
In the end, they spent the past hour shedding tears and hiding Arien's body in a secluded place where no one would find it. And given Aquina's skills, she had done her best.
History does not tell us why they did not burn it and consign it to the heavens.
But now they had to go to a new city and seek revenge on the culprits. Now they had a new goal, but alas, their paths were divided. Aquinas and Vivi united for revenge against the guilty people, while Elvina was going to raise a girl for her master... that is, to take care of her. The girl, however... was no better than the others. Upon learning of her hero's death, she wished to destroy all 'bad people and more!' Of course, she heard that Arien died because of her fault, but Elvina supported her in every possible way and didn't let her become a blank slate. But now she had some harsh training ahead of her....
Arien's sword was decided to be taken by Elvina. Of course, Aqui was against it, but the sword was too big for her and she backed down. Eventually, upon arriving in town, Arien's sword ended up in the hands of a girl named Mitsuko Hiro.
Already in the city, they went their separate ways. And the children they found were sent to the local temple.....