Ch. 7 The hero who needs a hero

There were 2 things I had to do before looking for my family, in fact. But I didn't need Mori for the 2nd one.

I had to go outside the walls, and for this, you need to have a guard tag along with you.

I met up with him, and we set off. He did tell me his name, but I forgot it within like 2 minutes, so now I am in the weird situation where I just hope there is never a time when I need to use his name with him also being present.

Guard: "The report said nothing about where you want to go. Are you familiar with the place?"

"I will know when I am on the right track."

If I am good at one thing, that is space orientation.

The guard just sighed and came after me.

As I was expecting it to, the journey took about half a day, by the time we were close to my destination, it was already dark.

Even better, I can recognize the place much easier now.

We set up camp, and we were ready to turn in for the night.

"Please wait here.

Guard: "Wait! Where do you think you are going alone?"

"You can come after me if you really want, but this doesn't concern you. If you do follow me, please keep your distance."

It doesn't matter what he does, but I want to at least feel like nobody else is present for this.

I went to the place I vaguely remembered, and what do you know, he wasn't there.

At that moment, I felt a cold sweat run down my spine. I was pretty focused until then, but I was starting to realize that I was in the exact same place where he was killed, and that guard doesn't seem to have followed me.

I was all alone.

Without thinking, I had already grabbed the weird marble-like handle on my belt and had it transform into a machete.

Those things can really do anything.

As I was distracting myself with that thought, just like last time, something grabbed my leg.

This time, without going into a panic, I hit it with the blunt edge of my weapon and freed myself.

There he was, crawling on the ground, if you can even call it a him at this point.

In the place where the head should have been, there were some weird, blue tendrils sticking out.

"Hiro! Is there anything of you still left inside that body?"

The answer came in the form of a weird screech from the crawling body.

What am I supposed to understand from that? What am I even thinking? Talking to a headless body? Really? I don't even want to know where that sound came from.

"Look, Hiro, thank you for helping me! Thanks to you, I reached The Hub!"

"I will make it quick, I promise! I will cut that thing off and let you rest! OK?"

I went closer to the body. I was not too worried about it overpowering me, but I was still going in to kill something I didn't really understand.

The biggest thing I have killed until now was a small bird, and even that was by mistake, and it left me scarred for the rest of that summer. This one is gonna go with me to the grave, probably.

When I was within reach, that thing got up and jumped at me.

I kicked it back. Some resistance was to be expected, but with how weak it seemed, I thought a kick would calm it down again.

Damn, luck has never been one of my strengths. Of course it wouldn't go that smoothly.

It jumped at me again. I thought of myself as some kind of sword-handling master, and I tried to lop that thing growing out of the neck. I failed miserably and got punched in the chest.

Good thing I never quit working out.

But, sadly, that meant I couldn't end it quickly as I promised.

The next attack, I lopped off his right hand.

It fell to the ground and started screeching again, covering the cut off part in obvious pain.

"I'M SORRY. Sorry, Hiro. I lied to you. I can't make it quick! I can't do anything right! I'm so sorry!"

As I went to finish it off, it started to struggle.

"JUST FUCKING STAY STILL!"

The tendrils were too slippery, and I couldn't cut them. In a fit of panic, or maybe rage, I instinctively went in to cut at the root, that being just above the collarbone.

The blood had somehow dried completely, so there was just the sound of my weapon hitting a dry bone. Again. Again. Again.

Die, die, die die diediediediedie. "DIE"

It stopped moving. Those blue tendrils also turned white, lost their glow, and fell off.

"Thank you for saving me, hero."

I didn't move from there for a while. I just stayed there, on my knees, looking at the stars through the tree branches.

When I finally got up, I washed my body at a spring close by, even if there was no blood, I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was drenched in it. After that, I went back to the camp.

It is extremely rare that I sleep undisturbed until morning. Especially in a tent. I must have been really tired.

On the way back, I wasn't asked anything, and I didn't say much.

If I wasn't thinking about Hiro, I was thinking about Mori.

Just why has she been acting so out of character and so pushy? No way she saw Haru's memories and started thinking of me as an easy target. Their personality is completely different, right?

When I reached the gate, I saw Mori and a bunch of guards waiting at the entrance.

Seeing her calmed down my nerves. I went directly to her, ready to go in search of my next traumatic moment.

"Thank you for waiting for me. Let's go take one of those instant transport things. This time, I will make it quick."

She whispered something to me. I thought I might have heard it wrong.

Mori: "Please get away from here as quick as you can."

"Huh?"

My head was forcibly moved forward when I heard a loud bang, then everything went dark.