Chapter 25: To Live For Yourself

The next morning that Lusha woke up, she had found that Grodd had long left. There was a painting etched on the ground. Well, not quite a painting, but rather a symbolistic image etched into the ground. The image was one that she could recognize easily. It seemed like cave paintings of herself. With her red hair flaring in all various positions and her arms on both sides utilizing three forms of magic.

At the very bottom there was an etching within it that she was not yet familiar with. It must’ve been Urugaml, the language of the goblins. She might have taken more time to understand this language in the past, but goblins were not creatures that she felt interest in.

She did a quick stretch and yawned as she had risen. The smell of blood filled the area he was at, and he recalled the odd Goblin that had appeared. A smile showed on her face. That creature was truly impressive.

Now for the first order of business. “Spatial Magic [Safe-Haven]”

She found herself in this dark void that stretched out for many long distances. An unquantifiable amount of distance to the left, was nothingness. An unquantifiable amount of distance to the right, was nothingness. The same laws applied for above and below. However, if you were supposed to be certain of which way was which, you would have zero understanding of the directions which constituted either end.

She made a faint whistle. A giant crowd had presented themselves before her, composed of all the grotesque compositions. “Hm? This is certainly a surprise.” There were 3 less monsters than she had expected. “I see Horas, Vein, and Silverstar… where’s the other?”

“Ah… there we go.” Lusha appeared right in front of Giren. He was somewhere far off from everyone else. At the very edge, of the void… not truly the edge, but far enough to be considered the edge, was Giren. He was utilizing his “Combat Skill [Renegade Sword Stance 200%].”

He was overstepping the boundaries that should be possible. “I see he must’ve realized the true nature of this void. This was a place where fatigue does not progress in this world. This means physical fatigue, stamina, hunger, and even deterioration of energy. This also means the fatigue one experiences when they grow too old and their bodies begin to deteriorate.

He must have realized that one could not deplete their mana and utilized that factor to his advantage. As such, this man has been running the past couple of hours that have transpired now. “Oh, so this is where you’re at?” Lusha had appeared right in front of him as if she was always there.

“So have you understood the real nature of this world? The fate that you are experiencing right now?”

Giren slashed a sword at her, waving the blade at her frantically. “Stay back! I won’t be taken as well. Stop!” He continued to swing the blade wildly without any type of thought. The man had zero finesse with the blade as he did before. He must have been running around this void with the Renegade Sword Stance ability on. This must have allowed him to take several hits and continue, ignoring the transfers of energy and blunt force bashing that he received.

But see, the true nature of this void was never supposed to be a world for the physical aspects of life. One can “Die” for example, but the same fatigue that causes loss of life, is also nonexistent here. The bodies that are eaten eventually also become contorted and turn into these monsters.

Giren should have seen this two other times by now. This world was a battle that didn’t torture its victims physically, rather, it was a battle of the mental aspects of life. Whenever a group is sent here, there is always at least one of them that refuses to die. Those like him will continue to fight long until before they join the ranks of these monsters. Some continue long until they are no longer able to think clearly.

“So… are you willing to answer a question for me, Giren? If you do so, you may find a way out of here eventually. So tell me… who is the man who requested this mission? Where may I find him.”

Giren continued raving like a mad lunatic. His mind was not quite there yet. He was still lost in his various hours of combat and survival. Lusha sighed. It’s always these type of people that she could not reason with. She would slap the man, but she’d bump into the problem that his Renegade Sword Stance provided. He would essentially be immune to any of the actions she used to pummel him.

“Very well, Horas, Vein, Silverstar, c’mere.” She waved and three different grotesque amalgamations beckoned to her. They inched forward little by little. It seemed to take hours before they appeared.

She touched the trio and performed manipulation magic, changing back to their original forms. Giren stopped, completely frozen in shock as he watched his dear friends return to him. Tears began to fall from his eyes as he fell to his knees. “Y...w-... Horas. V..VEIN! Silver star!!”

The group shook their heads, still in a daze and stumbled around in a completely disoriented manner. “Ugh...it felt like I was in a daze… a terrible dream.” Horas clenched his head as if he had a terrible headache..

“Now… I’ll be giving you all another chance. You have one question to answer, and you all will continue your strive for survival. Who is the one who hired the girl here?”

Giren felt defeated quite a while ago. But the rebirth of his comrades straightened his resolve and his mind. At this point he wanted to do anything that would elicit the witch’s mercy. He bowed with his head on the floor, shedding tears of gratitude.

“Eris!!! The man's name is Duke Eris! He’s located in a small town called Irilin! The biggest manor in the town.”

“Oh?? A Duke? Very well. Well done, Giren.”

She knelt besides the man who’s head seemed to peer far through the hypothetical floor. She placed a hand on the man’s head and smiled. This smile was deceptively warm, but Giren already knew that this creature was not a being bound by normal thoughts.

Behind that soft smile and beautiful aura, was something sinister. The depths of her evilness could not be peered into. When he stared into her eyes, he could only see something darker than the darkest void.

Yet still, he wished for mercy from this witch… more than anything else, he wished for freedom.

“You’ve come along just fine haven’t you? I may be inclined to give you...-” There was a pause. She had strategically said this to allow that thought to marinate in their heads. “I may be inclined to give you all a second chance.”

Silverstar was the first to regain his speech. “Really? Do you mean that? We’ll do anything… so please… please…” He joined the same position as Giren. “Give us one more chance.”

Vein was still reeling from his recovery, as well as the irreparable damage to his brain, but he was still conscious it seems. Both he and Horas joined the ranks of the others, bowing and groveling at her feet.

“That’s right. I’ll give you all another chance.”

The hopes on their faces seemed like they could brighten up this void that was devoid of light. But no sooner than when that flash appeared, did it extinguish. For her next words were crushing. “You may all try and survive again in this narrow void.”

There was a frantic and serious murmur around the entire room. “PLEASE!!”

“We’re Sorry!”

“My Lord!! GIVE US ANOTHER CHANCE! JUST ONE”

“WE SEE IT NOW. YOU ARE A GOD. THE DISRESPECT WE’VE CARRIED CANNOT BE IGNORED BUT PLEASE LET US ATONE.”

“Yes. I -- Me too youl marjesti! I wil devot my lyfe to youe!” Even Vein joined in. It seemed a good portion of his speech had been impeded upon.

“No. That is fine. You will not leave this world yet. My mercy is simply that you all may try again in this world. Now that you know the true nature of this world, you may have a better chance of surviving, hm?”

She turned her back on them, being surrounded by a charade of screams and pleadings. “You all may continue in 1 hour.” These orders were not to the men she had left behind, but the monsters that awaited her orders. This was a world where they were to continue living a life of being chased, or turning into monsters. There was no inbetween, and no middle route. Thief minds will eventually crumble as they all do.

Lusha resurfaced back to the real world and sat on the log she was previously camping at. There, she found Rinn still fast asleep, snoring within her small little blanket. “Hmm… how do I suppose I wake her.”

Well, first and foremost, is to see how she reacts if I stabilize her breathing and her heart. If I feed more energy into her as she gets overwhelmed, it may be that she survives the entire ordeal. Of course her constitution is still frail and weak because she’s but a child …. What I’m really interested in however, is her mental capacity. The end result when she fully awakes may very well be irreparable damage.

She placed one hand on her chest and began to pour energy into her body. This was similar to giving the [Blessing of the One Being] to the goblin earlier. It would surge her body capability and utilize the energy to fill in the areas where it lacked fuel.

“Illusion Technique [Eternal Sleep, Release]” The young girl immediately gasped, waking up from her dream and choking on the feeling of death that she had just felt. She remembered her last thought, cursing this world before she had finally faded into what she perceived as death.

Her eyes scoured the area. They looked dull. When they came upon Lusha, there was barely any little interest that appeared on her face. They were eyes devoid of any desire of living. “Why did you… bring me back here?”

Lusha flicked her head. Of course with the amount of force within just a finger of hers, it could be enough to be considered a punch. She rubbed at the top of her forehead. At the moment she felt exceedingly numb and exhausted. “Why?”

“Because, you’re a young girl who knows nothing.”

“Lusha… I don’t know what you are… but please. I know too much about this world. Much more than someone my age is supposed to know.”

“Is that so? Then what does beer taste like?”

“Huh?.... Why ask something li-like that...I’m not old enough to drink.”

“How do the Birei mountains shine during the cusp of fall and winter?”

“Bir..ei?”

“How does it feel to eat the greatest food you’ve ever tasted, and gaze upon the cosmos with your allies, to be in a completely peaceful world where even dragons cannot appear?”

Rinn was at a loss for words. She didn’t understand anything she was saying. Either none of the names she was listing existed anymore, or none of the words she said made sense at all. Lusha couldn’t be bothered to figure out which one.

“You’ve felt my pain and despair, Rinn. Haven’t you?”

She nodded.

“Well, if someone who can amass that much despair, can still have good experiences and memories that she treasures? Why can you not?”

Rinn was too sad to understand these words at the moment. But she felt some semblance of what Lusha was saying, for she clutched her hands tighter at such a mention.

“It’s okay. You’ll have to learn to teach yourself, to live for yourself. And I know just the lesson to begin with.”

They were finally going to be reaching their destination pretty soon. This world was one full of surprises. Since the moment Rinn had woken back up and was not rambling like a crazed madman, Lusha had yet again been impressed by the surprises this world could throw at him. She had lived for centuries, and there was no one capable of feeling any semblance of her pain, yet keeping their head.

Truthfully, she had met yet another unique entity in this world. To that end, entities like these, were the only thing she felt deserved to be prevalent in this world. If she had started cultivating specially skilled people centuries ago, perhaps she would not even have need to search for death. Perhaps she would eventually reach the outcome the moment she bumped into her first opponent.

These thoughts took hold of her as she took flight with Rinn in her arms. If anything were to go wrong with her search for death, she can always cultivate special talent, and bring about a chain to ensure her death in the future.

This was the reason she created team Infinite. This was the reason Rinn was still very much alive despite being a thorn in her side. If she could truly prove herself worthy, she’d definitely cultivate the early budding ravine of talent that lay within her