Trial

It was now about an hour after sundown and the two were in Palio forest, completing the quest to retrieve three Toriel cores.

Ace and Aliza stood behind a tree, a few meters away from where 4 Toriel stood.

Whispering to Aliza...

“Remind me again... why couldn’t we just attack them while they were sleeping instead of coming at night?”

“That’s no good. You need to properly face one and be able to kill one in a proper encounter.”

--

Ace remembered what Aliza said earlier in the day when they first accepted the job.

“Toriel are nocturnal so they’ll be sleeping in their cave during the day. We will strike at night so they’re awake when we fight.”

Ace didn’t question it earlier, just trusting Aliza with their first quest, but now that he’s actually here, he’s regretting coming at night.

--

“Are you sure we can’t come back tomorrow morning and just slay them while they’re sleeping?”

“I’m sure.”

“Come on, it’s the first quest, we can take it slow...”

“It needs to be done as soon as possible.”

“There’s no rush, let me take my time with this, I don’t think I’m ready.”

Aliza really did want to take it slow, but she couldn’t be easy with him right now.

Toriel were considered one of the weakest monsters, and he was traumatized by them...

She couldn’t let this lack of confidence continue.

If he held it off, how would he be able to face any other monster?

“Ace.”

She looked directly at his face.

“Yes?”

He returned the look.

“---!”

She placed her hands onto his cheeks and brought her face close to his own, staring into his eyes.

“You need to get this done tonight.”

“I promised your parents that I would look over you and you promised them that you would make it back.”

“This quest is the first step to that.”

“So, we need to get it done as soon as possible or we won’t get anywhere from here.”

She removed her hands from his face and stepped back, leaving Ace to think to himself.

--

He was being forced to realize the reality of the situation.

He knew that he had to get over this fear as soon as possible...

He knew that he had to finish this quest as soon as possible...

But... hearing it straight out pained him.

He didn’t want to fight the thing that buried its jaws into him, ripped out his flesh, used him as a chew toy, and gouged his fist...

He didn’t want to fight that thing.

He didn’t want to fight the thing that brought him to the edge of life itself.

He wanted to get away from it and never see it again for the rest of his life.

But... Aliza forced him to remember the reality of the situation.

He made a promise to his parents to make it home and this quest was the first step to completing that goal, so he had to go through with it... tonight.

She was right... if he delayed fighting the Toriel, he wouldn’t move from his current position.

He needed to have a fresh plate before starting his journey, he couldn’t start off by fearing the weakest monster.

So...

“Fine, I’ll do it tonight.”

He resolved himself and was now ready to face the Toriel, the “weakest” monster in Felona.

--

She saw that he was now resolved and ready to continue with the quest.

“Okay, there’s no real plan to this, but I’ll help you out a little with the Toriel.”

Ace responded with a nod to let her continue.

“Toriels are small, purple, child-like creatures with two horns on their heads.”

“They aren’t very fast nor are they very strong.”

“Their jaws are the only things going for them.”

“As long as you keep your distance and deal with them properly, it’ll be just like dealing with a small, aggressive kid.”

“It may be a little harder to deal with three of them, but it still only takes one slash with the sword to finish one off so it shouldn’t be extremely difficult.”

“That’s all I have to say.”

Ace received all her info and advice, then took a deep breath...

“Hahh....”

He was already holding his dagger, so he didn’t have to take it out of his bag.

He unsheathed the dagger and stared at the metal shining at him.

He started whispering to his small blade, too quiet for Aliza to hear...

“I asked you to stay put for a while, but it seems I’ll be using you today.”

Once he finished speaking to his dagger, Aliza spoke up to him.

“Are you ready?”

Ace looked at his blade once more, then back at Aliza...

“I’m ready...”

His voice was unconfident... but Aliza trusted him.

She knew that Ace was strong, not just physically, but also mentally.

He could get through a challenge when he needed to.

So, she trusted in his abilities that he would overcome this trial and slay the four Toriel that were a few meters away.

“On my mark...”

She raised her palm towards Ace to signal for him to stay put.

Then she glanced over to the Toriel and noticed that they were in an unfavorable position for Ace.

The Toriels’ gaze was in their direction, so they would notice Ace coming to attack.

“Get ready...”

She picked up a nearby branch...

“3...”

“2...”

And flung the branch over the monster's heads so they would turn their gaze away from this direction.

“1...”

She waited until the monsters looked the other way...

“Go!”

And Ace ran towards the children-like monsters, charging full speed ahead.

--

----

“3...”

“2...”

--She threw a branch...?

“1...”

--Here we go...

“Go!”

And I charged at the monsters, going for my first strike.

I closed the distance between myself and the nearest Toriel, who was looking away from me.

I got close enough, then raised my dagger towards my shoulder, a height high enough to guarantee that the monster would be killed.

This would be my second kill in this world.

My second time taking a living beings life.

I remembered my first kill and started to hesitate with bringing down my dagger...

How did that monster feel?

Why did it attack me in the first place?

Was it just looking for food to survive?

Did it have a family that it had to return to?

What was its reason for fighting?

All these thoughts rushed into me as my dagger was in the air, causing me to hesitate...

“I promise... I will come back...”

But the promise with my mother overshadowed my hesitation and let me swing my dagger down towards the monster who caused me trauma to this day.

It’s back was towards me... I swung at its head, wanting to finish it off before it got the chance to even catch a glance of me.

I don’t know if it was hatred or just instinct...

“AHHHH!!”

I let out a battle cry as I swung my dagger towards the back of its skull.

The infant-like monster didn’t have the chance to say a word as my dagger entered his brain.

I could feel its blood spray onto my hand which confirmed that my attack connected.

The monster dropped to the floor; my dagger being removed from its head as it fell...

“...”

It was dead.

The monster laid near my feet... silent.

It was dead.

I had completed my second kill in this other world.

“Ah.”

The sound I let out was from surprise that my first intentional kill would be this easy.

I stood there, not knowing what to do next...

Would all of my kills be this easy?

What was I scared of all along?

Why was I panicking so hard?

--Oh... That’s why.

“FAHH!!”

The other threeToriel immediately looked at their fallen comrade and the boy who let out a shout.

--

I didn’t have any time to think... they all started to run.

They ran towards me, the killer of their friend.

This was why I was panicking... their bloodlust was now directed at me.

I was supported by Aliza on my first attack, but now, the rest is all up to me...

How do I fight these monsters that are charging at me with the intent to kill...?

“FAHH!!”

--I can’t...

--I can’t fight these things...

“AHHH!!”

I started sprinting towards the forest...

I didn’t want to be near them...

--Get away from me...!

I didn’t look back as I ran...

“Hahh... Hahh...”

I just kept running until I ran out of breath...

Until I could get away from those monsters...

--

When I ran out of breath, I had no choice but to look back to make sure that I was safe...

“...!”

--She was right...

--

He thought back to Aliza’s words about the Toriel.

“They really are slow...”

He couldn’t see the Toriel anymore nor could he hear their footsteps...

Were they just silent?

Or were they just that slow?

Or was he running too fast?

He started inching his way back towards where he came from...

Slowly, but carefully...

He walked... listening for footsteps... looking for figures...

He continued to walk...

And walk...

“---!”

Until he finally found the three other Toriel, sitting on the floor, in the middle of the forest.

--They’re breathing heavy...

--Sitting on the floor... breathing heavy...

--Are they... tired?

He thought to himself, staring at the three Toriel from behind a tree.

They looked defenseless once again as they sat, trying to catch their breath.

--Isn’t this... the perfect chance...

They weren’t focused on him and they were tired, so the other two wouldn’t chase him when he finished off one.

He crept a little closer...

Then started sprinting to the nearest monster.

“AHHH!!!”

He let out another battle cry as he closed the distance between him and the monster.

Once he closed the distance, he dropped his dagger farther down than earlier, now that his target was sitting instead of standing.

Once again, his dagger inserted itself into its objective and blood gushed out from the purple monster.

He was waiting for the monster to fall, just like last time, not realizing that he has to pull the dagger out himself this time.

“Hurry up...”

The other two raised from their spots and looked over at their second fallen comrade.

They let out a high-pitched scream and started to run towards Ace, his dagger still in their friend’s head.

“FAHH!!”

Once again, their bloodlust was directed at Ace... Ace terrified of it.

“AHH!!”

Ace couldn’t focus on the dagger anymore and started to panic now that they were running at him.

He didn’t have the time to run anymore, and he couldn’t leave his weapon behind... he would be defenseless...

But what could he do on his own?

These things could kill him with one bite.

The monsters continued to close the distance between them and their enemy, rushing towards Ace at full speed.

“AHH!!”

One of the Torielgot close enough to be able to attack, so it opened its mouth and went to chow down on Ace’s lower body.

It closed the distance as much as possible, its’s head extended out in front of its body, wanting to bite as soon as possible.

“AHH!!”

Ace was still terrified, so he closed his eyes and kickedforward at the monster, not wanting it to get any closer than it already was.

He felt his kick connect, but his eyes were still closed so he didn’t know what the situation was like outside of his closed eyelids.

“...”

His eyes still closed... everything went silent.

After a few seconds, he slowly peered them open, wanting to check what had happened.

“---!”

One Toriel was on the ground nearby and the other was staring at its friend on the ground.

Ace was shocked.

The Toriel he attacked was a few meters away on the ground, seemingly unable to get up.

Would they really be sent that far from a kick?

The other Toriel also glanced at its comrade but focused its gaze back on Ace so it could fulfill what its friends could not.

It started sprinting at full speed towards Ace, opening its jaws to go for the kill.

--

Ace focused on the monster sprinting at him and made sure to pay attention this time instead of cowering in fear.

Now that he has seen just how much damage he could do with a kick, he could be calmer and more collected.

He observed the Toriel running towards him...

--They really are slow...

The monster he saw was as fast as a grade schooler.

Ace ran around the small, open field, letting the monster chase after him.

After being chased for a few seconds, he quickly spun and drove a kick into the side of the monster running behind him.

“Gh..!”

The Toriel went flying, landing near its unconscious friend that was kicked earlier.

“...”

Ace walked up to the monster that had his dagger stuck in its head and removed his blade from its skull.

He made his way towards the immobile two Torieland stopped in front of them.

He dropped to his knees and sat in front of them, the two of them unconscious.

“...”

He raised his dagger above the first Toriel and brought it down swiftly, finishing it off.

“...”

Then, he removed his dagger and raised it once again, this time above the other unconscious monster.

He lunged the dagger into the monster, taking its life away.

“...”

He sat there, thinking to himself.

--I killed them...

He glanced at each of the two monsters in front of him.

--I took their lives away...

--I don’t know their circumstances or their motivation for attacking people, but I killed them anyways...

He glanced at both of them once more, then looked up at the moon...

“I’m sorry.”

--

He apologized...

For taking their lives away without looking into what brought them to that point...

For killing them in front of their comrades...

And he apologized to anyone he may have impacted with their deaths.

He felt the apology was necessary after killing them without considering anything or anyone in the process.

They may be monsters, but they must have had some bonds that couldn’t be broken.

They must have had some type of home to return to and some people waiting for them at that home.

Ace took that away from them without a second thought about it...

Because he also has a home to return to.

He has a mom, a dad, and a best friend, all waiting for him to return...

So, he also must fight to return to where he belongs.

And so...

Once again...

“I’m sorry.”

He said as he stared at the moon, letting its light drench him.

---

------

---------

“Are you okay?”

Aliza walked up to him as he sat in front of the monsters.

She has been watching him for the past few minutes, letting him think to himself in front of the deceased monsters.

But, after a few minutes, she decided to go up to him to check up on him.

--

Ace looked back at Aliza who was standing with her hands at her chest.

She looked worried for him.

Ace placed his hand on the back of his head and forced a small, nervous smile.

“Haha... yeah... just finished up here. How do I get these cores?”

He didn’t want her to worry.

He’s been babied too many times these past few days... he didn’t want to be weak anymore. So, he put on a tough act and tried to get Aliza to not worry about him.

“Oh... yeah... I guess we do need those. They should be around the chest area... they act like a heart for them.”

“I see...”

He’s already had enough of digging his dagger into monsters for today.

He didn’t want to do it again, he felt like his trial was already over.

Aliza also recognized this and quickly spoke up.

“It’s fine! I’ll take it from here! You sit by for now.”

“Thank you. I would’ve asked you if you didn’t.”

He went to a nearby tree and sat underneath it... resting his head on the trunk.

Aliza took out her sword and retrieved the cores from the Toriel.

They were small, purple crystals that were a perfect size in proportion to the monster.

She took the cores from the three nearby then went off to retrieve the last one from the one that was a little off in the distance.

Once she returned, she stretched her hand out to Ace to help him up.

“Let’s go, you must be tired.”

“Thanks.”

He got pulled up and they started to make their way back to Furio Village.

“Sorry for asking this early, but do you think you can take them on from here on out?”

She asked just to confirm, but she already knew the answer.

“Yeah, definitely. I’m not scared of them anymore; I’m just going to be feeling a little sympathetic every time I kill a monster.”

Aliza looked to the sky and smiled a little.

“I see...”

She hasn’t known Ace for long, so it was nice to see another side to him that she hasn’t seen before.

This felt like a more mature, thoughtful Ace, than what she’s seen so far.

It made her feel warm inside after thinking that she would continue to see sides of him that she hasn’t discovered.

It also made her feel a little guilty for smiling when this seemed to be another tough time for Ace.

How would their adventures continue from here?

She could only wonder...