The Bartender Skirmish – Long Live the Hero

I laughed.

My gut shook. My voice raised another octave. You could say it was almost maniacal, and why shouldn't it be? The revenge I searched for so long was only a hop, skip, and a jump from here. Just past the bloody carnage of beasts and heretics slashing one another was the woman of desire. That flamboyant red, wavy hair straightened into an ill-fitting suit. An apathetic expression keeping me tethered in place. And soon, a shining adamantite sword would pierce straight through her heart.

So, of course I laughed. Nothing else mattered, not even the arrow I parried away from my face.

“Selene, please stop this!” A familiar voice called out my name, causing my gaze to waver for a brief moment. A group of three armed with a bow, some daggers, and a spear-tipped staff stood a distance away – not too close to be a threat, but not too far that I couldn’t hear them over the battlefield. The adamantite glow of their armor reminded me of my former party members. If only I could remember their faces…

“[Wind Bullet]!” A barrage of green dots rained down from every side. The staff wielder evidently struggled with such a pitiful display of power. All I needed was a few steps to the left, a step to the right, forward, backward, and a quick curtsy to dodge it. Trivial, really.

“Please <cough>, Selene, listen to what we <cough> have to say!” Oh, and now she was coughing up blood, not that it mattered. Still, it was starting to get annoying. I didn’t have time to waste on them, so I kept my response short and sweet.

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” I mocked, blocking a pair of daggers barreling towards my back.

“Come on, Selene! Don’t you see what you’re–” The dagger gal wasn’t all that stealthy. I could see her moving in slow motion. Look, the bow woman had fired off another arrow, and the staff wielder was gearing up for another spell. The solution was simple: deflect the arrow back to the staff.

“Emma!”

“W-[Wind Barrier]!” the staff barely managed to squeak, protecting her from harm. Though, with that sloppy spell, she fell off her feet, slamming her head against the hard mud.

“H-how could you–!” daggers rent through the air, coming across at impossible angles, not that it made them harder to block.

“Jane, calm–”

“Shut up, Mary! Selene!” Daggers flipped in the air, using the centrifugal force to swing her arms faster. “You could’ve killed Emma with that block! What the hell are you thinking!” The swipe hit hard, but it didn’t even push me back. Daggers spat out a sly “tsk” as she retreated back to her companions. It sounded like they didn’t understand.

“As I said, I’m busy. Go take your whining out on the beasts,” I sighed, shooing them with a flick of my wrist.

“You fu–”

“Jane! Let me do the talking!” Bow lady interrupted. Out of the three, she seemed to be the most mature. Even as she trained her arrow on my torso, she remained poised, taking a deep breath before continuing.

“Selene, what happened to you? We used to have the same goal. We used to save others from oppression and poverty. But look at what you’re doing. Razing an entire town, and for what? For one person? You could’ve asked the guild to step in! You’re the Adventurer God! So why…? Why are you–”

“Seriously…” I muttered, flabbergasted by the baby talk. “You don’t understand at all. If that girl wanted, she could destroy the world! What’s a couple thousand people vs the billions or trillions of lives on this planet?? You think I’m doing this just for revenge?!? Haha… you’re the idiots here.”

Bow lady hesitated. “B-but you have no proof. Even if you did, she hasn’t…”

“She hasn’t what? Done anything yet? I woke up from a coma to a shattered moon, destroyed by another living right next door. Did they do anything before then? If it weren’t for them, people wouldn’t fear the beastmen or oppress humans! And you’re telling me that’s a good outcome?!? What kind of sunshine-and-rainbow reality are you living in???”

Bow lady remained silent, probably trying to think of a rebuttal, but there was nothing to refute. Everything I said was fact. They could choose to believe whatever the hell they wanted, but that wasn’t going to stop my crusade. Kill five thousand now and save the planet, or do nothing and risk being obliterated. There was only one option.

The beasts were expendable – their atonement for pillaging and destruction. Sure, I felt a small pang for the townspeople, but I had to harden my heart. Revenge was just a bonus. This was the only way to save the world.

“Selene–”

“Stop, Mary. That ***** is too far gone. We have to put an end to this.” Daggers glared at me while Bow lady wore a sad expression. The staff wielder could barely sit up, but she began her chant all the same. They were treating me like a monster, like some sort of disgusting beast. Why did I even bother… None of them were worth the energy.

It was time to finish this up. I didn’t care whether they lived or not. I didn’t even care if we continued passing the time, but there was something much more important to deal with. The chains tying me down pulled towards the caste walls more strongly than before. And, out of the corner of eye, just barely within view…

…was a red-haired girl, looking down on the massacre, with a terrifying smile on her face.