Chosen Paths

"Are you okay? You look seriously injured. Please take a rest... I'll handle everything here now." Elina reached out to Kazuki in concern, supporting him to take a seat on the floor.

"...Are you sure you can handle this alone?" Kazuki's voice was strained. His words were weak and unclear, as if speaking through a lot of pain.

Elina nodded with a smile.

Facing the young king, she said, "Lord Jonathan, please take care of him."

King Jonathan approached Kazuki and started healing him with the two other healers.

As for Elina—she faced the demon general, drew her sword, and pointed it towards him.

"Your days are over, general. You shall not leave this place alive. You've hurt the most important man in this world. Now, you will pay the price!"

"You traitor! Leaving your homeland wasn't enough that you had to side with the puny little humans?!"

"You are not to decide what I should have done. You cruel demons deceive other races and take their blood whenever you feel like it. I couldn't stand such cruelty. You ought to be stopped!"

Elina started walking towards him, gradually increasing her pace.

When she got close enough, she lunged towards him with terrifying speed, delivering a devastating kick to his stomach.

The demon general was sent flying upwards, breaking through the roof.

Elina jumped with intense force, reaching the sky. She kicked him again while airborne, sending him crashing into the ground, creating big cracks and a cloud of dust.

She returned to the ground, landing swiftly.

The demon general stood up, bloodied, as the smoke cleared.

"You… won't get away with this… Our king will make sure to kill every last one of you…"

"Are you done talking?" Elina slowly approached him.

"Stop…! Don't come forward!"

She slowly walked past him with a cold gaze.

When she stopped, the demon general's head slid off his body and dropped to the ground. His body fell to its knees before collapsing.

She cut through his head with ease. Such power was terrifying, even to the demon generals.

She looked at the burning town and let out a sigh of frustration. "I couldn't save anyone in the town…"

Black smoke from the fire rose into the sky, covering the stars. Countless corpses of humans and demons littered the bloodstained roads.

Kazuki, on the other hand, was feeling a bit better due to continuous healing.

King Jonathan helped Kazuki stand. "Go to your room and rest for a while. I shall go and look for any survivors. Elina should be back soon to check on you."

Kazuki nodded.

King Jonathan left the castle with the two healers.

Kazuki, struggling to walk, managed to get to his room, using the wall for support.

He sat on the bed and thought, 'I need to get stronger… Just a scratch on my arm, even though I used up all my energy on that attack. I'll die before too long if this keeps up.'

Meanwhile—

Elina was about to turn back to return to the castle when she noticed a mysterious girl standing afar in the dark.

A black robe covered her pale skin, with her face half covered, only exposing her lips and chin.

She lifted her right hand, pointing it towards Elina. "You must accompany him on his journey. We chose you to be his support. Don't disappoint us."

"Wait— Who are you?"

The girl turned and walked away, slowly disappearing into the smoke.

'Who was she? And what did she mean by "they chose me to travel with him?" Was she talking about Kazuki? Wait— I think I kind of get it now… Maybe she was the one who summoned him. If so, then I should have tried to approach her… Ugh!! I'm so stupid! Anyway, enough thinking, I should hurry back.'

Returning to the castle, she hurried to Kazuki's room. After seeing him safe and sound in bed, she let out a sigh of relief.

"I'll be guarding you tonight while you rest." Her gaze was soft yet determined.

"Eh—? Wait— Did you defeat the demon general already? How powerful are you?" He seemed shocked.

"Just enough to protect you from the demon generals." She smiled at him with a soft gaze.

'Why does she seem so happy about it…'

"Anyway, the demons— I don't trust them. So I'll stay in your room." A concerned look was clear on her face.

"I don't think they'll take a ste—"

Cutting him off, King Jonathan entered the room and informed, "Ahem, sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I found some guards who weren't injured. They were just hiding… Well, it's not like they could have done anything against them. Since I've informed you about the situation, I guess I'll go back to my room. Have a good night, gentlemen."

King Jonathan left the room with a little smile on his face. He knew what the mood in the room was.

"I'll sit on the sofa, you just turn off the light and try to get some sleep before morning. We'll be leaving the town."

"Leave? Why?"

"We need to let others know and act accordingly. Now, enough chit-chat. Lay down and sleep."

Kazuki lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, thinking about how he would be able to get back to his world.

The morning arrived, and sunlight entered through the window, shining on the white floor.

Kazuki's sleep was interrupted by the light. Elina had fallen asleep on the sofa while guarding him at midnight.

The sunlight struck her face, making her look like an angel.

"So beautiful," Kazuki murmured.

Elina's sleep was also disrupted by the sunlight. She looked at Kazuki and noticed him staring at her.

"What are you staring at—?"

"Oh—sorry about that, it's nothing."

Elina let out a sigh.

"Before we leave, there's something I need to ask you, and something I need to tell you. It's about a girl who appeared out of nowhere and vanished into the smoke."

"A girl?" Kazuki asked, his expression growing serious. He jumped off the bed and stood up.

"I'm also willing to share my past with you. We should get to know each other better before we set off."