Chapter 2: The Village Heroes.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight streamed into the rooms of the house, the Mori family was ready to leave for Reignform.

“Kids, are you ready?” asked their father, giving one last check to the bottles of wine left on a wooden table where he kept every possible type of wine from rare and hard-to-find varieties to recent and common ones.

“Yes, Dad,” the two brothers replied in unison, as they hoisted two large backpacks onto their shoulders. The backpack Kaoru was carrying was almost bigger than he was; inside were numerous books on magic and physics.

Ryo’s backpack was filled with all the items he considered essential: a bracelet he’d made when he was still a little boy, a few medals he’d won, and, of course, plenty of clothes in different colors and sizes.

Mom approached her youngest son, pointing to his backpack. “Kaoru, did you check to see if I put everything in your backpack, or is anything missing?”

“Hmm, yeah, Mom, everything should be there. I saw you even put in the clothes that are a little worn out,” he replied, turning around and feeling the backpack to check if there was actually any extra space.

“Hehe, yeah, at least when you’re training, you won’t risk ruining your clean, neat clothes.”

“Mom, instead of worrying about us, did you pack everything you need?” the older son asked as he hesitantly looked at the backpack his mother was carrying on her shoulders.

“Of course, Ryo. Do you really think I'm that absent-minded?”

Ryo shook his head slightly and snorted. “Absolutely not.”

“Well, then, if you're done checking your backpacks, I'd say we can head out.”

With those words from his father, they left the house, leaving behind the place where they had lived for the past 12 years. Despite the bright early morning sun, the trees provided ample shade over the road, casting shadows across the entire area.

The scene was accompanied by a light breeze and the chirping of numerous birds, which began fluttering above their heads as the family set out.

As they walked along the path, many residents of the small village leaned out of their windows and stepped outside to greet the family.

“We hope you’ll be back soon!”
“Have fun!”
“What a wonderful family you are!”

Hearing all those words, the four of them couldn’t help but feel happy. They were very much loved in that village, because twelve years earlier, they had saved it from an attack that seemed as though it might bring about its end.

The village had been attacked by creatures of various sizes; they were all different. Some were soft, others were hard as stone, but one thing made them all the same. They were all hideous and unsettling.

At that time, Shiro, Miyu, and Ryo were on the move, looking for a place to settle down in preparation for little Kaoru’s birth. But during their search, they couldn’t help but hear numerous noises, the screams coming from that place, and the huge clouds of smoke and dust rising rapidly.

They realized they couldn’t just leave it at that and pretend nothing was happening, so they began moving more quickly to try to get a better understanding of the situation.

When they arrived at the scene, they found a situation of complete disaster. Shiro immediately noticed numerous houses engulfed in flames, with a fire that showed no signs of stopping in fact, it kept spreading.

Miyu stopped instinctively; she knew she couldn’t breathe in that smoke, so she clutched her baby bump tightly while trying to hold her breath as long as possible and began moving quickly toward a safer area.

Ryo, not knowing what to do, began to tremble slightly; what he saw before him was surreal, especially for a child his age. He saw numerous people on the ground, perhaps unconscious from the smoke… while others were already dead.

He swallowed hard, keeping one hand firmly on the hilt, then turned to his father.

“Ryo, if you don’t feel up to fighting, go to your mother and protect her with all your strength.”

He remained silent for a few moments, then looked at the ground and shook his head. “No. I’m sure I can do it.”

The father didn't speak; he didn't answer directly. He drew the sword from its sheath and smiled, looking up at the many houses. “Then get ready to fight.”

At that moment, the two heard the rumble of wooden planks falling and snapping abruptly as they hit the ground. From the rubble and a pitch-black cloud emerged a monster that seemed to be melting. It slithered across the ground, leaving a disgusting, slimy trail behind it.

Shiro watched it closely, quickly scanning his surroundings and the house. His stomach made a strange noise as his teeth began to clench.

“You ugly monster… Y-you’re about to die!” the boy suddenly shouted, drawing the sword from its sheath. “Know that you don’t stand a chance against us.”

The monster showed no sign of retreat; on the contrary, it continued to crawl toward them, its abnormal tongue protruding from its mouth. It began to extend toward the two of them at full speed, even dropping drops of saliva onto the ground.

“Arghhh, you could at least stop drooling,” Shiro said, taking a step back in disgust. He stopped and watched the tongue approach. He sighed deeply and launched his attack. He delivered a sharp, swift slash, completely severing the monster’s tongue.

Ryo stood still, watching his father’s movements with eyes aglow. His hands stopped trembling, and his legs moved forward.

Just when he least expected it, his tongue regenerated, returning to exactly the same length it had been before it was cut off.

But he didn’t stop; he knew that, in any case, his father was behind him, protecting him. He ran without stopping, leaped into the air, spun around, and struck the monster with all the strength he had in his arms.

The monster split in half, completely soaking the ground as if it were slime. But at least it didn’t regenerate.

Those slimy creatures emitted a very strange sound from their mouths; it seemed as if they had something stuck in their throats that prevented them from speaking or uttering a single word.

“Are you okay, Ryo?”
“Yes, Dad.”

There were various noises all around them; the sky was now completely gray, with no trace of blue or sun to be seen.

The creatures kept emerging from the houses, breaking through and destroying the wooden planks as if they were nothing more than flimsy reinforcements.

Father and son fought side by side in every battle. The slime nearly grazed Ryo’s arm, but luckily he dodged it thanks to his quick reflexes.

The father always stayed behind to watch his son in action. He saw him run with all the strength in his legs. He wielded his sword with a skill worthy of an expert not a beginner.

During the clashes, they came across injured people and immediately assessed the severity of their injuries and bandaged the affected areas. Fortunately, a few houses had not been destroyed, partly because, with the arrival of the two heroes, the creatures were busy fighting for their lives.

Ryo sustained a wound to his left wrist during the battles. As he ran toward the slimy creature, his foot slipped on the water released by a monster they had killed earlier. This brought his wrist into direct contact with the saliva, which burned his skin.

“Can you still fight despite the wound?” Shiro asked, carefully examining his son’s entire arm to make sure it wasn’t some kind of curse that would affect his whole arm.

“…To be honest, I actually feel even more pumped up now I don’t feel any burning… and luckily, it didn’t get my right wrist.”

His father nodded, looking up ahead of them. “Good, because now it’s the boss’s turn.”

A deafening crash of shattered wood and brick echoed across the field. A stench of sewage quickly spread, causing even a few small rats still scurrying around the village to flee.

Shiro stood still, one arm holding his sword. His gaze was fixed on the creature. It was at least four meters tall at least twice as tall as the others. It had small holes all over its body, with the only difference being that... everything around him was drenched in its saliva.

His eyes were enormous, and his pupils spun at an astonishing speed. His gigantic body seemed even darker than the others’. Unlike the others, the fire seemed to have no effect on him.

He didn’t seem to be in trouble; he wasn’t melting like the others. He was simply standing there, as if waiting for something. He made the same sound as the others, as if he, too, had something stuck in his throat.

“D-Dad, is that the strongest one?”
His father nodded slowly. “Yes, so let’s not expect him to be like the others.”

At that moment, total silence fell. Only the sound of the fire burning and the smell of something burning made it clear what situation they were in. The ground had become soft from the heat; their shoes sank into it with startling ease.

Shiro raised his sword slightly, checked his wrist, and did a small stretching exercise with his legs, extending them slightly.

And before his son even noticed, he launched his attack. His back was tilted slightly forward, his center of gravity low, and his legs pushed off the ground with rapid, controlled movements.

The wind cut across his face as he advanced, but he didn’t slow down. He had calculated everything perfectly every step and every possible movement.

The sword vibrated slightly in his hand, ready to strike. And finally, when the creature was close enough, his right foot planted itself firmly on the ground as his torso spun. The blow struck the creature’s body like a bolt of lightning, and a sharp, crisp sound echoed.

The creature split in half. Shiro stopped, his heart pounding in his chest. But in an instant, he leaped backward. The creature’s body regrouped and came back together as if nothing had happened.

From the small holes in its body, its saliva began to ooze out first slowly, then in powerful spurts. Shiro took a few steps back to avoid being hit.

The sprays of saliva splashed onto the fire and the ground, causing the flames to grow exponentially and increasing the heat across the entire battlefield.

Ryo couldn’t move forward; his eyes were red from the flames, and his body was starting to burn and darken rapidly.

“I see. So you’re a different kind of creature from the others,” said the man, thoroughly analyzing the creature.

He moved swiftly across the ground, which was now becoming uncontrollable. His legs moved slowly, circling the creature numerous times as it increased the volume of saliva it was spewing.

“Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” the beast screamed, beginning to spin rapidly in place, turning those streams of saliva into veritable projectiles.

Shiro was forced to step back again. But only for a moment. He grabbed the sword and raised it toward the sky; his hands began to move rapidly as he wielded it. He moved it as if he were handling a simple stick; the ease with which he did so was unnatural.

From those movements, a cloud of wind began to form, forcing even Shiro himself to step back.

“Let’s see what happens,” he said, before his hands gave way, causing the sword to fall to the ground.

The wind began to move toward the monster’s silhouette, swirling in a way rarely seen. It seemed to have created a veritable small tornado. Inside it were actual cutting gusts, sharper than the sword itself.

That cloud grew rapidly in size, causing all the surrounding fire to rise up, creating a veritable dome of flame.

The sphere was now as large as the creature itself, and it crashed into him with immense, brutal force. A damp sound filled the air like something breaking, yet not solid.

Schlac… Scgloc… Cracchh

The blow struck the monster’s slimy body, exploding it into a thousand pieces that settled within the embrace of the flames.

Every fragment that fell to the ground made a soft plop… plap sound, like drops of jelly separating from one another.

Shiro thought he had finally defeated the monster, but that wasn’t the case. The battle wasn’t over yet.

The monster’s remains didn’t stay on the ground or among the flames. They began to move, quivering like liquid jelly.

Each fragment made a sound: Glrrrk... slrrrk... plop just like slime moving on its own.

The larger pieces drew closer to one another, pulled by an invisible force. They joined together rapidly with a wet, violent thud.

In a matter of seconds, the creature was whole again darker, denser, and with a body pulsing as if it were breathing.

The beast exploded, melting for a moment before unleashing a torrent of saliva from the holes that had grown larger, making the saliva faster and more powerful.

“I see so the flames don’t affect you at all… in fact, it seems they make you stronger,” Shiro said, quickly moving away toward Ryo.

“Listen, Ryo, brute force is useless against this creature… the flames have no effect… So can I ask you to go get a bucket of water?”
Ryo looked at him puzzled, then glanced around quickly. “S-sure, b-but how do I get the water?”

His father pointed to a metal bucket not too far from them. “There’s a bucket over there; just fill it up halfway.”

The little boy didn’t need to be told twice; he lifted his head and ran toward the bucket, picking it up. “I even know where to find water!” he shouted before disappearing into the trees.

“Well done, my son. This monster is really a nuisance too weak.”

Ryo ran unsteadily, wobbling and nearly falling over and over again. But he didn’t stop; his father had given him a mission, and he had to prove just how good he was.

He reached a river not far away, knelt slightly, and filled the bucket halfway, just as his father had said.

He resumed running, still very unsteadily, spilling a few drops of water on the ground along the way. Luckily, he didn’t tip the bucket over completely and managed to arrive with less than half the water still in it.

“Here I am, Dad!” he shouted, setting the bucket down beside him.

“Thanks, son.” He smiled, gripping his sword tightly. He dipped it into the bucket of water, completely soaking the blade.

“Good, good. Little creature, you’re about to die… What are your last words?” He paused for a moment, then continued with a slight chuckle. “Oh, right… you can’t talk.”

Shiro vanished; he seemed to have become invisible, disappearing suddenly after those words.

Ryo stood there in disbelief, his eyes wide, trying to figure out what had happened to his father.

In the blink of an eye, the sound of a sharp blade cut through the air. Zanggg. The blow echoed throughout the place, even making time stand still for a moment.

The creature began to scream like never before; its body started to burn and evaporate in rapid succession. Its orifices tried to release saliva, but it evaporated before it could even escape.

The body split in half, falling with a dull thud onto the ground. Its screams faded away as its body was consumed by what was now its end.

Shiro reappeared beside Ryo, smiling as if nothing had happened, with both hands on his hips and his sword resting in its hilt.

“Dad?!!” the boy screamed in fright at his father’s sudden appearance.

“What’s the matter?” he replied nonchalantly.
“You scared me…”
“Sorry, sorry… I didn’t mean to.”
“So will you tell me how you figured out we needed water?” asked his son, glancing at the bucket of water beside him.

“Oh, well, it was easy… I noticed that brute force had no effect,” he paused briefly, then continued. “When I threw it into the fire, it didn’t melt like the others; in fact, it seemed to get stronger... So I simply figured it was fueled by the fire, and therefore water would put it out for good.”

Ryo watched him, looking almost confused; his eyes darted around, and his head nodded automatically. “Yeah, yeah... I get it.”

“Thank goodness. Now let's help these poor villagers rebuild the village.”
“What?! I need some rest!”
“Argh, sorry... At least help me tend to the wounded and put out the fires.”
“Yeah, okay...”

The two worked in perfect sync the whole time. In the village, there was a well fed directly by the nearby river. So, using buckets of water, they managed to put out all the flames even with the help of villagers who weren’t seriously injured.

Ryo went to get his mom, who definitely knew more about what kinds of bandages to use on wounds.

Little by little, they set up a proper makeshift shelter to treat the injured, while Shiro and Ryo planned the village’s reconstruction.

At that moment, they became everyone’s heroes. A professional sculptor even dedicated a statue to them. The village felt safe; the three of them had worked so hard for that place.

Wooden plank upon wooden plank, brick upon brick, bandage upon bandage they created a genuine desire to stay in that village.

“Mr. and Mrs. Mori, please stay in our village.”
“Indeed, we assure you that you won’t regret it.”
“You are our heroes; stay with us.”

People stopped them right in the middle of the street. They didn’t stop for even a moment; they offered food, drinks, and even a new place to stay, all to get them to stay.

Thanks in part to the prayers and tears shed by the villagers, the Mori family decided that this was definitely the right place to settle down.

They had become heroes heroes who had saved an entire village from destruction. Entire families had been torn apart, and all hope had vanished.

Thanks to their courage, even the weakest became the strongest.