That's All That Matters

In an instant, Shige backed off, his nerves tensing from the magical pressure. One quick check of his stats confirmed his suspicions. He was in the presence of a demigod. Every protagonist in the vicinity could see it. They were looking at a man who had already broken the mechanics of Glynn's World and was operating on his own intense magic system. Where did this man come from? Why was he so far ahead of everyone else?

“Listen up!" Akira shouted. "We were brought here on a mission. Now I don’t care how strong you think you are, what you can do, or what kind of party you have. Those thoughts are trivial. The only thought you should have-.” 

Akira stopped to look down at Dige, who was doing his damnedest to get his axe closer to his face. He brushed him off, sending the dwarf flying.

“The only thought you should be thinking is ‘I’m not strong enough’. Until you have gained more levels, until you have reached your max potential, you have not fulfilled your intended duty. It should keep you up at night. It should inhabit every moment of your waking life until you can prove you can handle the task at hand. The mission is clear. Destroy every Demon General.”

His eyes darted to the front near the goddesses, where the demon general Rycilia was staring at him like she had seen a ghost. When their eyes met, she went completely white. 

“And I mean, every general.”

Rycilia could barely scream before a flash step separated her head from her neck, and a moment later, her body exploded like a kaiju villain in a mist of magic and viscera. The stadium was stunned silent, both in awe and fear of this player.

Rycilia’s protagonist could barely move, but his hand did reach out for a spell. “Y-You bastard. How could you? She wasn’t bad. She was-.”

His voice was stopped by Akira’s icy glare.

“Is a pretty face all you need to forget why you’re here?” He asked. “Don’t mistake the enemy for a friend again.”

Akira reached down and picked up several trinkets and gold from the dust pile that was once Rycilia. He tossed it to her hero.

“Use it wisely. I also marked you all as part of my party. Enjoy the free experience.”

“We don’t want the experience!” The protagonists roared. “How could you just kill her so heartlessly!?”

Akira didn’t have an answer for this. There was no way he could convince them that what he did was logical. The nobility above nodded in approval. The people of Glynn's World were in agreement with Akira, as they should, but he knew their words meant nothing to outsiders. He’d have to find another angle.

“Goddesses,” he looked back. “Am I in the wrong for killing a demon general?”

“No, not really,” Rani scratched her head. “In fact, you just saved us a big headache.”

“Let this be an example to all of you!” Elbeth said. “Of what a real hero looks like. Fight demons, quest, and get stronger. That’s all we ask. Will you do that for us?”

The stadium roared with chants while the protagonists contemplated to themselves. He couldn't change their minds immediately. He would let the world mold them first until they socialized into proper heroes. Akira's eyes were on the horizon. There was no time for common ground with the enemy.

As he made his way to the arena gates, a familiar voice rang out at him.

“Akira Kasuga! I’ve come to-.” Dige couldn’t catch his breath. He was suffering from dwarven stamina. “I won’t let you get away.”

“Dige, you’ve gotten stronger,” Akira replied. “But only because of the XP I gave you.”

“You gave me nothing, boy.”

“But you made it here. That’s worth something.” Akira glanced down at Dige’s hands. “You won’t be able to kill me.”

“You surprised me last time.”

“I’m starting to regret trying to help you. You really are useless.”

“Bastard!” 

Dige went in for the swing, but by the time he could take a step, he was already diced into fine cubes. The whole crowd turned to see the spectacle of light and color before Akira sheathed his blade once again.

“I’ll give you all a hint,” Akira said. “To learn a move like that, talk to the guru in Tchin. Good luck.”

As the crowd exploded into chatter, the older goddesses watched the exiting hero with fervent curiosity. What's that man going to do to their wager? Marine, on the other hand, freaked out and sparked with light with an arc of energy flowing up. When the other two turned around, the avatar was back to his old bardy self.

"So, you ever tried it with humans before?"

Marine's conscious rushed back to the lighthouse. If the souls weren’t retained and pushed back into Glynn’s world within one minute, they could find themselves in strange places. Unfortunately, it came in at the tail end of her powers. She wouldn't be able to repossess her avatar for some time, but she didn't care. Her top priority was the dwarf's soul retaking form in her arms.

“Dige, don’t listen to what that hero said,” she cried. “You’re not useless. You just…you just need friends! Please, find them!”

"Akira..."

The second Dige was fully restored, he was thrust from the lighthouse back to reality.

He woke up on his back, 20 meters from where he was annihilated and surrounded by other heroes, all of whom were making their exit.

“So that’s what happens when you respawn,” one said.

“He really did the ‘Teme’ thing before getting rocked. That’s kinda funny.”

“Hey, Dwarf.”

Dige sat up to find Shige standing above him with his party. The two made eye contact. Yep, definitely on the grudge list.

“Nobody’s gonna want you in their party. Make sure you stay dead next time.”

And with that, he walked off. If it were any other moment, Dige would escalate again. His rage and stubbornness desperately needed this debt to be repaid, to right the loss of his honor, but that energy was spent. The dwarf was defeated. Worse, he was lost. The only words left ringing in his head were from the goddess. He could finally remember something from the lighthouse.

“Friends,” he muttered. “Is that even possible?”