Those were the times, Part II

The tidal wave swallowed all Cursed in its path as it pressed forward.

After I hastily healed Betta, she sunk her fist in the wall, pulling at the mass of earth so tall one couldn't see the top. And she made it move, albeit slowly. Jacks and I supported her with our magic until the entrance of the crevice was fully closed, locking all the Cursed in the river canal where their only escape path would lead to a plunge down the waterfall.

I both heard and felt the water crash on the other side of the wall. All three of us applied our magic to hold it in place, water leaking through. My arms ached from the exertion and drops of sweat pooled into the puddle at my feet.

After a gruesome few minutes, the commotion ended and the other side fell quiet.

Jacks dropped down with an exhale and Betta, despite her ragged breath, raised a fist at the people of the convoy, the ones we'd been protecting. Cheers followed.

"Go scout the other side," Jacks said. "Make sure no more are coming our way."

I nodded. My body issued a complaint but I reminded it who had contributed the least in this battle. As I stared at the earth formation surrounding us from every side, I asked myself—"Can I aid Jacks by following his orders?"

No, that was too much of a stretch. So instead, I thought about the situation as protecting myself from a fall. Easier to visualize, even if my proficiency with Protective magic was only of lesser tier.

With that mentality, I jumped at the wall and small stairs of energy formed at my feet. I jogged like I was climbing a staircase, picturing new steps appearing with each skip I took. They were meant to save me from the drop.

In a matter of minutes, I stood atop the valley, patches of grass covering the highland. Down below, the river had gone back to a calm flow of ankle-height water. The only proof of the prior devastation was the few select Cursed that got lucky enough to survive the rake.

Most of them moved at a sluggish pace, dragging themselves around. It wasn't worth going all the way down to finish them off.

Even if that means prolonging their suffering?

Well, they were spawns of evil. It shouldn't matter.

But it seemed like someone disagreed with my idea.

He appeared sliding down the river on top of a wave, though one many times smaller than the prior tsunami. When he reached the first few stragglers he dismounted his ride, letting it dissolve into the stream. One by one, he tapped each Cursed on the shell—and as he did, they stopped moving.

This was a man who wouldn't hesitate to cause another catastrophe and massacre them by the hundreds—but when he had the chance to work at his own pace, he ended lives like a mother putting her baby to sleep.

How could he conjure lethal magic in such a gentle way? It was supposed to be more powerful the more righteous you believed your punishment was.

Perhaps that was the key.

Maybe this was what true Justice meant: to deliver the minimal amount of punishment required and without a speck of hate or animosity.

He touched the last one, then began stretching after a job well done. Eventually, his head looked around and raised to find me. I gave an awkward wave, just now realizing how long I'd been observing him.

Riding the air like a surfboard, he flew in my direction.

"Doriiiiiiii!" Right before he crashed into me, he braked himself to drop his momentum—then swept me up in a hug as big as it was soft, not causing an ounce of pain despite how aggressively affectionate it was.

"Are you alright? How's everyone else? Did everything turn out well?"

I chuckled, muffled under his embrace. "Yes, yes and yes."

"Nice." He let me go, only to then grab my armor from the back and lift me on his shoulder. "Then let's reunite with them."

"Wait a second, don't tell me you're thinking abouAAAAAHHHHH!" He threw himself down the valley while carrying me like a sack of rice. The climb that took me several minutes was cleared in a blink.

When I got put back down I hugged the ground, a friend I'd missed so dearly during the last four seconds.

"Good job following the plan," Jacks said. "But you overdelivered. You could've arrived much sooner by keeping things on a smaller scale, even if that left a few more Cursed alive."

"But it looked much cooler this way. I also wanted to give you guys more time in the spotlight before my arrival." For anyone else that would've been such an awfully arrogant statement—but this was Oscar, the man whose words ran purer than a holy spring and warmed any soul they touched.

ᗢ᠃ ⚘ ˚ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ 𖦹 ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘᠃ ♡

Orange lights warmed the walls of the valley—a haven built in the midst of the cold darkness of night, adorned with the boisterous chatter of over sixty people celebrating for the blessing that they could still celebrate.

Thanks to our efforts, the supplies were one day closer to reaching the Western Frontier safely. Normally these kinds of escorts were the work of knights, but us volunteering this time allowed the warriors to get there ahead of schedule. By now, they'd be fighting with their fellows on the frontlines.

Today's battle was proof of how much such reinforcements were needed. If this amount of Cursed were slipping past the Frontier then who knew how many more the knights at the Borders were holding back against.

The Cursed King had to die, and soon—before his spawns could do any more damage.

"... then with a last push and my divine levels of strength, I closed off the valley, trapping those oversized bugs to be washed down the drain and protecting you all. You're very welcome, gah ha ha!" Betta stood on top of a table, drunk on both alcohol and ego.

At least Jacks is keeping an eye in case she turns violent in her stupor.

Oscar was seated in the middle of another group, rambling about some small thing like it was the most engaging event he'd ever experienced. From time to time he'd glance my way and send a smile.

As for me, I rested on the grass—feeding on the ambience, savoring every moment of the present.

This was the life.

Travelling around the world, slaying evil, saving others and getting their thanks—all together with the most wonderful companions I could ask for. Every time I visited a temple I prayed for this happiness to last forever.

And so far, my prayers had been answered.