"Dammit... I'm gonna kill everyone..." Lumia muttered. She'd drunk more than her fair share of alcohol, and was lying face down on the table.
They were in a run-down bar in a random town. All of the customers were ill-mannered, and calling the establishment clean would've been generous. There were cobwebs in the corners of the room, and the tables and chairs were extremely old.
"Aw, jeez, here we go again. You've said many times that something terrible happened to you, but seeking revenge is such a waste of your life," Asura, still only four years old, said. She was sitting on the table to eat her food. This was because if she sat in the chair, she couldn't reach the dish.
"Shut up... Don't you want to kill the people who messed up your village?"
"Of course I do."
"See?"
"That's a given. But I won't go out of my way to seek them out. I have my own life—a fun and wonderful life—to enjoy. And so, I won't use it on something like revenge. If, by some coincidence, those people happen to enter my field of vision, then I'll simply kill them without making a fuss of it."
"You're just a kid, and you've already developed your own philosophy on life. Creep. If that time comes and you lose control of yourself, I'm not gonna help you."
While still lying on the table, Lumia turned her face to look at Asura. Despite her age, Asura was already able to use a knife and fork.
"That's not going to happen. Anyway, you've raised me this past year without throwing in the towel, so keep up the good work. I'm more important to you than revenge, aren't I? And make sure you teach me everything about your fighting techniques."
"You...really are a cheeky brat."
"Once I grow up, I'll teach you all of my skills, so it's fair."
It was hard to tell that Asura was only four years old due to how knowledgeable she was. Lumia reached for the bottle to drink more alcohol, but it was already empty. She slowly stood up and raised her arm back to throw the bottle against the wall. However, Asura quickly rushed forward and threw her arms around Lumia's body.
"Don't cause a scene. We'll get chased out again," she said. "You're acting way too wild. Why don't you try smiling once in a while?"
"I can't. I've forgotten how to." Lumia returned the bottle to the table, then hugged Asura back. The warmth in her arms was the one thing that was just barely keeping Lumia together. Asura's presence protected Lumia from her urge to destroy all of humankind.
"Then, do you want to go look at some flowers tomorrow? It's cherry blossom season, if I recall." Asura was happy that cherry blossoms existed in this world.
"I'm not in the mood."
"Really? I thought it would bring you some peace, but that's fine. Then why don't you try skipping?"
"What?"
"Not many people can remain pessimistic while skipping around."
"I...suppose." Lumia sighed before she set Asura down onto the ground. Then she put her head back onto the table.
"I'll give you a kiss goodnight," Asura said. "Sweet dreams."
She jumped onto the chair, climbed onto the table, and pressed her lips against Lumia's forehead. Lumia's breathing evened out in sleep. That was when a group of thugs, who'd been eyeing Asura and Lumia for quite some time, approached their table. One of them swiftly covered Asura's mouth with his hand and picked her up.
Sheesh. It's not as if I planned on yelling. I knew from the start that you wanted to kidnap me, so this is the perfect moment for an experiment.
The thugs hurriedly left the bar and raced off towards their hideout.
***
"Listen, I must thank all of you," Asura said calmly after the thugs carted her to the living room of their base.
Their so-called base was a normal house. There weren't any booby traps or secret rooms. The only thing special about it was being more spacious than the average home.
"You're talkative, kid," the leader of the thugs said as he took a swig of alcohol. He was sitting on the sofa with his legs propped up on the table.
"Aren't you scared?" one of the female thugs asked with a wry smile. She was sitting next to the leader, running her hands all over his body.
"Not particularly. First things first, I should explain why I have to thank you. It's very important."
Asura hadn't been tied up, and was sitting normally on the sofa across from the leader. Other than Asura, there were three other children, and they were trembling in the corner of the living room. One didn't have to think very hard to discern that they'd been kidnapped.
"Go on," the leader said.
As far as Asura was able to confirm, there were seven thugs in the house. Including the leader, three of them were in this very room.
"Right. I'm saving the world."
After Asura said that, the thugs looked at each other and started to roar with laughter. The leader was even smacking his own thigh with his hand as he wheezed.
"So you're playing hero?" the red-haired thug who'd kidnapped Asura said from next to her. "Then lemme tell you some good news, brat. Sir Vino here is the real deal!"
"I was," Vino, the thugs' leader, said with a shrug.
"I see. That's great. You still seem quite young. Did you retire?"
According to Lumia, only one former hero had had their title revoked. So if someone used to be a hero, that usually meant they retired. This only mattered if Vino was telling the truth though.
"Yeah. I took an arrow to the knee during a Demon Lord Expedition."
"Hmm. But if you're a former hero, then even if your knee is messed up, you should be able to stay standing before her for about ten seconds. Of course, that's ten seconds after she decides to kill you."
"Who're you talking about?" the red-haired thug laughed. "You mean your drunk mommy?"
"Let me tell you about her. It's related to how I'm saving the world," Asura said quietly. "She actually wants to kill everyone on the planet." The thugs all started to laugh at Asura's words. "I know. Hilarious, isn't it? She can't do it right away, but if she trains for ten years, then it's completely within the realm of reality."
"Oh, wooooow!" the female thug laughed, clutching her stomach. At the sound of everyone's mirth, a muscular thug entered the living room to see what was going on.
"But if humans die out, then I won't have anyone to enjoy wars with in the future. So, I've been putting a lot of effort in redirecting her interest from eradicating humans to taking care of me," Asura continued with a shrug.
"What's this kid talking about?" asked the muscular man who'd just arrived.
"Who knows?" Vino scoffed. "But she's super funny. She's cute and smart. Maybe we should forget about selling her and have her join us instead."
"Hmm. Do you mean you wish to become my guardians?"
"Yeah, exactly."
"Mmm. You see, I'm in the middle of testing her right now," Asura said with a sneer. "Does she actually care about me? Will she really come rescue me? Have my efforts borne fruit? Will she walk a new path as my guardian?"
Asura didn't know whether Lumia would abandon her, or whether she would...
"Oh, come on now, even if your drunk mommy comes here, there's nothing she can do!" The red-haired thug started to screech with laughter and his lips twisted in a smarmy grin. "Well, she was hot, so we can have fun with her if she comes!"
"She's strong," Asura pointed out.
"It's not like she can win against Vino! He's a former hero!" the female thug proclaimed cheerily as she stared at him.
"I believe I said this earlier, but even if that's true, he'll only be able to stay breathing for ten seconds in her presence."
"Sounds fantastic," Vino said. "Hey, bring me her mommy."
"Huh? But she's an adult."
"She's just a drunk woman. Go."
At Vino's command, the red-haired thug pulled a face, clearly unwilling to obey. It was far riskier to abduct an adult, so it was understandable, and Asura doubted that the thug had any such experience. In other words, the only thing these men could do was kidnap children to sell.
"I don't think it's necessary." After Asura finished talking, Lumia, broadsword in hand, appeared at the door to the living room. It had been left wide open after the muscular thug entered.
"Oh? A swordsman?" Vino stared at Lumia as if appraising her. Her face was red and she was clearly still drunk.
"Asura," she said, a fearsome look on her face. "How many times do I have to tell you? Don't follow strangers home."
"Hey, you dumb bitch, do you have any idea where you are right now?" the muscular thug asked as he approached her.
"Mommyyy! Save meee! They're being mean to meee! Is that how kids would act?" Asura said jokingly.
In the next second, the muscular thug's head went flying. To be more precise, Lumia sliced it off. She did it in a casual motion, as if she were swatting a fly. It was only when the muscular thug's head started to roll on the ground that the others finally saw Lumia as an enemy.
"To meeee!!!" Vino yelled, and the thugs all around the house gathered in the living room.
However, the second they entered, they became corpses. Lumia cut them down as soon as they stepped foot on the threshold, creating a mountain of bodies. There wasn't a trace of emotion on her face. She was simply killing. There was no enjoyment to be had, nor sadness to be felt. It was like watching a trained soldier calmly mow down hordes of enemies.
Oh, wait, she is a trained soldier, Asura thought with a grin.
"You're good." Vino stood up and unsheathed the sword he'd been keeping propped against the sofa. Lumia stared at him, her eyes as dull as those of a dead fish.
"Not a single drop of your enemies' blood on you," Asura commented. "You're as skilled as ever. By the way, he's apparently a former hero."
"He...ro?" Lumia's cheek twitched.
"That's right! I'm Sir Vino, a former hero!"
Lumia stared at Vino. Then, she asked, "Have you participated in a Demon Lord Expedition? Where did you become a hero? In the east? The south? When did you become a hero, and when did you retire?"
"I participated in the last expedition, and I'm from the east. I only just retired!" Vino gave the answer smoothly as if reciting a line.
Lumia barked out a laugh. The sound was vile, as if it emanated from the depths of the abyss. Vino's entire body shuddered fearfully.
"Someone like you, a hero? Then that would make me a Great Hero!" Lumia said as she continued to giggle. There was a broken and aggressive quality to her voice.
"Wh-What's wrong with you..." Vino asked in a terrified voice.
"Are you sure you wanna know? Sometimes ignorance is bliss."
"I bet ten dora they'll piss themselves once you tell them," Asura said.
"The Oathkeeper Brigade." Vino, the female thug, and the red-haired thug were truly shocked upon hearing the words from Lumia's mouth. "Divine Retribution."
Lumia manifested an angel wielding a giant sword. Vino instantly dropped his weapon and started to tremble. Both the female and the red-haired thugs wet themselves, as per Asura's prediction.
"Th-The angel of death..." Vino murmured as he, too, lost control of his bladder.
At this point in time, the Oathkeeper Brigade was still big news. It had only been about a year since the Great Massacre, and the search for Jeanne was still ongoing. The angel of death, Divine Retribution, as well as the perpetrator of the Great Massacre, Jeanne, were viewed with almost as much fear as a Demon Lord.
"Jeanne... Are you Jeanne?" the red-haired thug asked as he shuddered and quaked. "Please forgive us. We didn't know. Please..."
"I'm Lumia!" she screamed, and the angel diced apart the thug.
"Ohh, you split him apart like cubed steak!" Asura laughed.
"D-Don't kill meeee!!!" The female thug ran towards the window. But in an instant, the angel cut off her path and sliced her into ribbons.
"Are you an idiot?" Lumia asked, her expression dark. "Why d'you think I revealed myself as an Oathkeeper? Why d'you suppose I showed you Divine Retribution?" After letting the question hang in the air, Lumia's mouth split in a wide grin. "It's because I never planned on letting you live!"
At the sound of her voice, the angel tore Vino apart.
"How long did it take?" Asura asked.
"What?"
"The time between you deciding to kill them and their deaths."
Lumia pondered Asura's question a little. "I don't know. But probably about a second."
"So he really was lying about being a hero."
"Most likely." Lumia turned to look at the children in the corner and they started sobbing.
"Are you going to kill the children too?" Asura asked. "They know who you are."
Lumia dismissed the angel and returned her sword to the sheath on her back. "No one would believe what children say."
"I guess."
"Let's go." Lumia turned on her heel and left the living room.
Asura followed her, but not before telling the children inside to flee. The two of them left the house and walked for a little while. A cherry tree bloomed beautifully at a corner of the road, and Lumia suddenly stopped to look at it.
"It does bring me peace..."
"Right? If you look at the sky, you'll feel even better."
After Asura said that, Lumia gazed upwards. Asura followed suit. The full moon glimmered amid the sea of stars, casting a gentle light upon the world below. If you asked Asura, it was the type of moon that would look best with a cup of alcohol in hand.
"It's a lovely moon," Asura said.
Lumia reached out towards her. At that moment, a gust blew past them, sending a cascade of cherry blossoms through the air. The petals danced in the wind, illuminated by the moonlight.
"It's beautiful," Lumia said.
"I agree. It's perfect for our send-off."
"Send-off?" Lumia tilted her head.
"Yes. It looks like you still plan on raising me." Asura held Lumia's hand cheerily.
"I'm not so irresponsible that I'd abandon you."
"I see. I'm grateful for that." Asura tightened her grip on Lumia. Now then, the experiment is a success, not that I expected anything less. Next up is mending her broken heart. I can't have her killing everyone in the world, but only time can heal that wound. If she continues to have a good time raising me...
"You let yourself get kidnapped, didn't you?" Lumia said accusingly, interrupting Asura's thoughts.
"Oh? You noticed?"
"Of course. D'you think I'm an idiot? I started following them as soon as they grabbed you."
"I wanted to know if you would rescue me."
"I see. Don't do it again. I was sleepy."
"Yeah. I'm sorry. Let's go back to our inn."
Upon hearing Asura's words, Lumia nodded.
***
It had been around three years since Lumia had started raising Asura. The two of them traveled from town to town, country to country, living as they pleased. In the garden of a town's inn, Lumia was attacking Asura with a wooden sword. Of course, this was part of their training and not an actual fight. It was a clear and sunny day, and it was right around lunchtime. Asura guarded and parried Lumia's attacks with a wooden sword of her own.
"You grow at an astonishing rate," Lumia murmured as she swung her sword.
"Really? I've been feeling down since I haven't grown any taller."
As she said that, Asura levitated several balls of dirt around her. This was an earth element attack spell. She tossed them one by one at Lumia, who dodged them all with a stiff expression. The last time she'd underestimated them, she'd gotten hit and it'd hurt like hell. "My, my, throwing dirt? What a child," she'd thought, only to realize the balls were hard as steel. She hadn't expected something that powerful from the earth element, considered the weakest of the basic ones.
"I didn't mean your height. I meant your combat techniques," Lumia said calmly as she darted forward. It's almost time for lunch, so I'll end it here, she thought as she slashed out with her sword. However, Asura dodged it. That was certainly a surprise for Lumia. She hadn't been going easy on Asura. The hit should've connected.
"I'm not satisfied on that front either," Asura said with a small smile.
It was that expression that tipped Lumia off. She looked behind her and saw the dirt balls that she'd dodged earlier catapulting towards her again.
"I can never let my guard down around you!" Using the wooden sword, she deflected all of the dirt balls. Using the same motion, Lumia deflected Asura's sword as she tried to use the opening to attack, before jumping back to get some distance.
"Hmm. As expected of a former—"
"Stop."
Asura shrugged at Lumia's sharp tone. No one could find out who Lumia really was. Asura knew that, but occasionally said such things to tease her.
"Are you testing to see if I can really give up on revenge?" Lumia asked.
"I'm not," Asura chuckled.
"Little miss, it's time for lunch!" the innkeeper said as he walked out into the garden. "We've prepared lunch for you in the dining hall, so hurry up and eat it" was his true message.
When Asura and Lumia purchased long-term lodgings at this inn, they'd stipulated in their contract that the innkeeper would provide them with breakfast and lunch. Of course, they paid some extra money for the meals. As for dinner, they prepared their own dinners, either buying or making whatever they wanted.
Asura grinned and cheered, "Yaaay, lunch!" She acted as if she really were just a little kid.
The innkeeper looked at Asura and his expression softened. "Little miss, do you want to be a hero when you grow up? You train every day."
"I dunno! I haven't decided yet!" Asura replied with an angelic smile. She jogged towards the innkeeper and stood at his side.
Ahh, he'll likely never guess that all of this is a lie, Lumia thought. The way she's acting all excited like a child, the way she's smiling like an angel, the way she said that she hasn't decided on her future yet... Everything is a lie.
It was impossible to tell whether Asura was being truthful unless you knew in advance. She was just that good at deception. She'd practically elevated it to an art form. Even Lumia fell for her tricks at times.
Her talent was frightening. Sometimes Lumia wondered whether she should continue to raise this child. She already understood that Asura wasn't normal, and not in a good way. When Lumia met Asura, she'd already had one foot in the depths of madness, and even then, she was the sane one between them. That was just how crazy Asura was. Her personality was so terrible that Lumia had no choice but to regain her rationality.
After Asura matured and learned how to fight, she became selfish and cruel. She didn't care about others and only did what she wanted to do. She treated others' lives like they were nothing, as if it was a given that they were worthless, and even enjoyed getting hurt. Her smiling visage was exactly like a Demon Lord's.
"Ma'am, what are you spacing out for? It's time for lunch," the innkeeper said.
"Right. I'm coming," Lumia said curtly before she approached them.
"Little miss, your mom sure is pretty but she's scary," the innkeeper chuckled.
"Mommy, I think you should be friendlier! That'll make your life easier!" Asura said in a chipper tone.
"You're way too friendly," Lumia sighed.
They weren't really mother and daughter. But lately, the farce had become slightly more enjoyable. That was why, in the end, Lumia chose to continue raising Asura.
***
Another four years later, Lumia and Asura were undergoing survival training in the mountains. This was all Asura's idea. By roughing it out in the mountains, they could obtain an indomitable spirit, the strength to survive, and experience in making rational decisions under pressure.
We can also learn how to eat anything we come across, Lumia mused as she munched on a snake she'd grilled over the fire.
It was just past noon during the hottest season of the year. The weather was nice, and sometimes a cool breeze blew through the area. The natural smell of the mountain forest was relaxing. However, it was already the third day of their training and Lumia was filthy, though even that she'd become used to.
Asura had ventured deeper into the mountains on her own in search of provisions. Lumia wasn't particularly worried for her. It wasn't the first time that they'd undergone this training. She would rest up a bit and then go collect some nuts. With that decision made, she lay down on the ground and saw Asura standing above her on some branches.
"What are you doing?" Lumia asked.
"Hmm. I wanted to surprise you, but I guess you found me first." Asura jumped out of the tree. She held up her right hand to show Lumia the dead rabbit she'd hunted. "I was going to drop this on you."
"Why would you do that...?"
"Didn't I tell you? I wanted to surprise you."
"I see..." Lumia replied while still lying down on the ground.
Asura occasionally did bizarre things like this to gauge Lumia's reaction. She placed the rabbit on the ground and said, "There's something else I want to show you, so come with me."
Lumia stood up, and as soon as she did so, Asura walked off at a brisk pace. After heaving a sigh, Lumia followed her. After a while, they came across a cave a group of bandits was using as a base. Two men, dressed exactly like stereotypical mountain bandits, guarded the entrance.
"Oh my, I didn't know there were bandits on this mountain," Lumia said.
"What's great about them is that we can collect their bounties and steal the valuables they collected."
"You sure like taking other people's money, Asura."
"It's because we need funds to make a mercenary group."
At this point in time, Asura had already started collecting money in preparation for their future. But she never once took a day off from their training.
"Is there a reason you're determined to work as a mercenary?" Lumia asked.
"You've started talking in a much nicer manner lately, Teach. It was worth reminding you time and time again to act friendlier."
It had taken long years of work before Lumia changed the way she talked.
"Yes. I'm glad that I decided to work on myself."
"Right? If you want to pretend that you're a good person, you're free to do so. But you don't have to keep up the act around me."
"I am a good person." That was Lumia's honest truth, considering true evil was standing before her eyes. Of course, this was in reference to Asura, not the mountain bandits.
"Uh, right..." Asura muttered. "I wonder where I went wrong in raising you. I don't want you to turn out evil, but I didn't want you to turn good... Wait, I could use this as the conscience of my group..."
"Hey...speak up."
"It's nothing important." Asura smiled. "Let me answer your question. You wanted to know why I'm so determined to create a mercenary group, right?"
"Yes."
"I believe I mentioned it before, but I used to be a mercenary in my past life as well."
"Yes, I remember." However, Lumia wasn't entirely convinced. Asura was a very adept liar.
"I was born the son of a mercenary. Ever since childhood, I wandered around the battlefield with my father, AK-47 in hand. My father was the leader of his group, and after he died, I succeeded him."
"You want to walk the same path as you did in your past? Don't you want to try something new?"
"Of course not. Why would I when war is so much fun?" Asura's grin after saying that was so sadistic that Lumia took a small step back. "'Mercenary group' sure sounds fancy, but we were just an illegal armed organization. But that gave us freedom. I can never forget how much fun life was."
"I can't empathize."
"You liar. You've also experienced the battlefield."
"I'm not the same as you. I fought for a greater good."
"I wonder how long you can keep up that lie for." Asura waved her hand. "Well, whatever. In any case, I want to enjoy my life. And since I was born in a world where magic exists, I want to create a mercenary group that revolves around it." Asura had spent a long time brainstorming ways to effectively utilize magic in warfare.
"That might be difficult. Even if you got a Fixed Element, there's no guarantee that it would be a combat-oriented one like mine..."
"I was able to effectively use even the earth element, wasn't I?" Asura smiled. "This is just an example, Teach, but what if my Fixed Element was flowers?"
"Flowers? It doesn't sound useful at all." Lumia didn't even know why Asura would want to use them.
"Here, look at this." Asura snapped her fingers and a large number of pink petals started floating down from the sky.
They weren't falling down upon Lumia. Rather, they were descending upon the two guards in front of the cave. They looked confused, staring up at the petals as they danced upon the wind.
"Are you serious? Asura, you already have a Fixed Element at your age?"
"Yeah."
"That's truly amazing. But what use does it have beyond creating flower petals? Beyond wedding ceremonies, of course."
"What if I told you they're flowers that can explode?"
"There's no such thing."
"Nope, there is, Teach. Magic is far more flexible than what you and everyone else think. It's simply a problem of perception, creativity, and concept. Next, let me show you an attack spell."
Asura snapped her fingers and the petals that had been floating in the air suddenly vanished. Instead, two petals landed on the guards' heads. As soon as they made contact, they exploded. In terms of strength, they were only capable of blowing off someone's head. But it was more than enough to kill a person.
"The...flower exploded."
"See? What did I tell you? Flowers explode."
"I'm not even going to try to understand that logic," Lumia said, giving up without a fuss. "But it's truly terrifying magic. It's suited for assassinations too."
"I can also set them as traps. It's very convenient," Asura giggled. In Lumia's opinion, she was far scarier than the magic she wielded. "Unfortunately, I can't use them at a wedding." Asura held her hand out. "Unless you want me to shower the audience with the couple's blood."
"No one wants to have a bloodbath at a wedding."
Right when Lumia said that, the mountain bandits all came rushing out of their cave.
"All right. It's time to gather funds for our future mercenary group."
Asura quickly leaped out of her hiding spot. She started to attack the bandits, using a combination of martial arts and magic. It wouldn't be too far off to describe her combat style as that of a warrior mage.
"Ah, wait, that's not it. What was it..." Lumia muttered to herself as she tried to recall what Asura described as her ideal fighting style. "Soldier, not warrior. Right, soldier-mage—a soldier that fought with magic as one of their primary weapons."
One day, Asura is going to pioneer an entirely new way of fighting in this world, Lumia thought. A part of her was proud of Asura for that, and her lips twisted at the thought. No matter how dangerous and insane Asura was, Lumia already loved her as both her parent and her mentor. For an entire year after she met Asura, she hadn't been able to smile. But now, there was a gentle curve to Lumia's lips as she practically skipped out on light feet in order to aid Asura in battle.