The Hole Left in Our Hearts

*WHIIRRRR

In a dark forest, a gate activated and three came falling out— Arc, Yuki and Shu.

As they dropped on the floor, Yuki got up, immediately dusting himself off, and with his usual calm, indifferent demeanor said

"We don't have time to rest. We'll head to the nearest town and—"

"—WHY?!"

Retorted Arc, furiously grabbing on to Yuki's shirt with tears welling up in his eyes.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE REI TO DIE?! WHY DID YOU STOP ME FROM HELPING HER?!... and how are you so calm right now?"

"We don't have time for this. We need t—"

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!.....Rei, Rei, Rei..."

Arc retorted, sobbing. His trembling hands still holding on tightly as tears rolled down his eyes onto the leaf next to his feet, one drop at a time.

The cold response he received, however, hit him like a sledgehammer.

"Stop wasting your energy worrying about the dead. She made the decision to sacrifice herself, there's nothing we can do about it now"

"HOW DARE YOU!"

*WHACK

Arc punched him in the face, and before he could hit the ground, Arc grabbed him again, pulling him closer as he turned his face away

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE HER FRIEND! I THOUGHT SHE MATTERED TO YOU! She went on about how great a guy you were, but you're just a coward, a heartless bastard! She was in love with you, but I guess that didn't matter either, right?! To you, she was just a a tool for power, a weapo—"

"SHUT UP!"

Yuki snapped, punching Arc with all his strength, pushing the boy back a couple meters.

"You hit like a little girl—"

"Look at you talking like it's not your fault Rei is dead, human!"

"What did you say?"

Arc muttered, with clear murderous intent, but Yuki shrugged it off and continued, though he was still not looking in Arc's direction.

"The only reason she didn't make it to the gate was because she had to carry your slow, sorry ass. If your beast wasn't injured, she wouldn't have needed to, if you weren't adamant about stopping the adults from sacrificing themselves, she would've made it on time....."

They both clenched their fists as he continued

".....She put the life of an insolent human like yourself above her own till the very end, a clear lapse of judgement on her part, how pathetic"

"DON'T YOU DARE INSULT HER, YOU BASTARD!"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM YOU, MURDERER!"

The both charged each other, Arc with his clenched fist, and Yuki, his fist coated in ygg and ice, entering one strike distance, they both launched their fists at the same time....

But also stopped at the same time. The reason, was Shu who ran in between them, prepared to take the brunt of their attacks.

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!"

He screamed, with tear filled eyes. Taking a deep breath, he continued in a loud, shaking voice.... You could clearly feel the sadness in his soul, carried with each word he spoke.

"Rei wouldn't want us fighting!"

"But Shu—"

"BUT NOTHING! And Yuki! You should be more honest, It's obvious the person who hurting the most here is you!"

"What do mean?"

Arc asked, clearly confused. Shu elaborated

"Rei knew even if the gate was closed, they could still track us down, our only option was to destroy it. However, the only one with that much power's you, Arc, with your two disaster classes...."

Arc's face sank as Shu continued

".... However, with one dead and the other severely injured, that plan was difficult, and with Boss Tetsuro sacrificing himself, it became impossible..."

If Tetsuro, Rei and Arc's Yami gave their all at the same time, they may have been able to destroy it.

"...She had already resolved herself to destroy the gate, even before she got stabbed, so that the hunters won't be able to follow us....She always put others first, that's just how she is.....REIIIIIII"

The boy started bawling uncontrollably over the loss of his sister, during which Yuki finally spoke honestly

"That idiot, always acting on impulse without telling me... Planning was supposed to be my job, I would've figured something out, somehow, someway. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOUR LIFE FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME?!.... Rei..... I...."

Arc finally saw Yuki's face that had been turned away this whole time.

".... I didn't even get to tell you how I feel about you"

His eyes were red, and tears flowing like a river. It was clear he had been crying for quite a while, and trying to hide his pain with all his might, using his cold demeanor as a shield.

Arc remembered something Rei said to Yuki once, in the prison infirmary

"Listen, you don't always have to make yourself out to be the bad guy for everyone's sakes"

And the other thing

"He always prioritizes the feelings of others before his and acts as a rock to protect the rest of us, which is why he sometimes comes of as rude, he's really a good guy"

So that's what he was doing. Ofcourse, he was the one most hurt by this, he's known her for far longer, and was in love with her... He must feel like he's lost a part of himself

The three boys stood still there motionless, each crying severely for the lightning oni who meant so much to them, repeating her name over and over, probably hoping this was all a dream, or wishing for a miracle—maybe she'll just appear behind them with her usual goofy grin, calling them all crybabies and telling them she was okay.

But reality was cruel, and the Overlord System even crueler

[Emergency Mission Failed: Applying Penalty]

"ARRRGGHHHHHHHH..."

Feeling a surge through his body, Arc was overcome with excruciating pain as the system locked down.

****************************

Baldur Prison— The Mines

"Damn! Did a nuke go off or something?"

Muttered Dave as he regained consciousness to see the pile of rubble which was once known as the mines.

While part of him wondered what caused this much damage, that issue was secondary to him

"Craig?! Craig?!.... Holler If you hear me!"

Parading through the rubble, he searched fervently for his partner. Eventually he arrived at what could be considered a temporary landmark

"This boy..... Or girl, I guess....."

Her body was a humanoid shell of ashes, slowly chipping away, one by one by the gentle breeze, blowing across the land.

"...Death by ygg exhaustion, huh? A suicide move, no doubt. Still though..... What a strange demihuman"

Not just was she standing tall, refusing to fall, her corpse had a rather peculiar smile on her lips— a gentle—no, more like a satisfied smile.

She was happy—fulfilled at the very end, and for good reason.

Sure, she didn't live to realize her goal of freeing her sister from the Hunters, however, this time she managed to protect the three people who meant the world to her

This time, she wasn't the scared little girl who watched as her loved one sacrificed everything for her. This time, she was strong enough to keep her loved ones safe, her resolve to get stronger paid off.

That was enough for her, enough for her life to have meaning. Knowing that the three most important people in her life were safe, Rei Izanagi died happy.

Directing his attention away from Rei, he finally found a trace of his partner—completely charred from head to toe

"CRAIG! Please be alive, don't you die"

Rushing to his side, he hoped for a miracle as he knelt down next to Craig's body.

"..... You said you were going to be Paladin, didn't you? C'mon, YOU CAN'T DIE HERE!"

He cried, hitting Craig's body and he felt a slight reaction. He rushed to check his pulse.... It was faint, miniscule, infinitesimal, but...

"He's still alive!"

Though not for long, and the extent of the damage was beyond his healing capabilities.

Carrying Craig Princess style, Dave ran frantically, looking around for the backup he'd called in for earlier, praying they arrive soon... But no one was around

"HELP, PLEASE! MY FRIEND NEEDS HELP, A DOCTOR, SOMEONE, ANYONE..... please.."

Dave was sobbing, desperate to save his friend. At this point he'd even accept help from the devil.

"I can save him.... However—"

And the devil— Selene, appeared before them, with a peculiar proposal.

**********************

Tarossa— A captured gate world far away

The fierce winds ferociously brushed past the hair of a female hunter, seated atop the roof of a building.

The winds didn't faze her though.... rather, it was more like she didn't even notice it, her beautiful azure eyes stared at the distance, dazed....with a strange feeling of dread in her heart.

"RAAIIIIIII....."

She snapped out of her daze, gazing over at the person calling out to her. It was Amy Cross, a cradle trainee who was stationed here about a month or so ago and somehow took a strange liking to her.

She was holding a box in her tiny little arms

".....I got some yellow jam donuts! Wanna share with me?"

With a gentle smile, she took a donut from the box, causing Amy to blush a little.

"You're one weird kid, y'know that?"

"I've told you a million times to call me Amy!"

She retorted, pouting.

"Hahaha, well, everyone else here looks down on me since I'm a demi human, and those who don't are afraid of me, just what's your deal?"

"Afraid? You sure they aren't crushing on you?"

"No way"

Unlike her little sister, it was impossible to mistake Rai Izanagi for a boy— She had beautiful long hair and was stacked in all the right places if you know what I mean.

"But really? Why are you so friendly with a demihuman, kid?"

"I happen to love beasts and monsters! To think those with human level intelligence existed, I never knew before coming here, how facinating..."

She kept going on for over ten minutes

"... seriously, demihumans are the best, If Arc met you, I bet he'd flip"

"Arc? Who's that?"

"Huh? Well he's my....."

Her face turned red and she started fidgeting, stumbling on her words. Taking the lead, Rai asked

"Is this "Arc" a trainee like you?"

Amy's face sank a little, hearing that

"Well, he was. Now, he's working towards opening a farm...."

Amy was still unaware of the truth behind the deportation and thought Arc was living a peaceful life with Katie

"Sorry, Amy. I didn't mean to bring up bad memori—"

"YOU FINALLY CALLED ME BY NAME"

"Kya— You sure bounce back fast"

"Kya?"

Amy reiterated with a mischievous smile, to which Rai turned her head, a little embarrassed.

Amy's smile changed to a hopeful one as she said

"He promised we'll meet again, I just have to become the strongest hunter around before then so he'll be proud of me....."

Drifting off into the land of imagination, she continued

"... He'll pat my head, then hug me, then then....hehehehe"

Her creepy smile was actually kinda cute to Rai since Amy was still a kid.

"Then the two of you will get married?"

"Yes, then we'll have five kids, a dog....a cat's fine too, and we'll live together on the farm, I'll help him with his work and— Ah, why am i saying all this?!"

"Hahahaha"

"Hey, don't tease me, Rai"

Rai took another donut and continued chatting happily with the eccentric Amy. Although, she couldn't shake the weird feeling tugging her heart, and the feeling of dread.

She had no way of knowing her little sister just died

In all the lives she was a part of, Rei Izanagi was an unforgettable existence, especially in the heart of Arc Stollen.

They'd only known each other for less than a month, but it felt far longer— like she'd been there all his life.

Taking up space in his heart, she quickly became one of the the three most important people in his life, and losing her left a huge hole in his heart.

Her death was the the push Ragnarok needed to awaken Ymir, no doubt about that. But, even they underestimated Arc Stollen's indomitable will. Rather, the will be inherited from Rei.

Instead of falling in the abyss, he was at the brink, teetering over the edge, in such a way that a single push could decide his fate.

Arc Stollen was at a Crossroads of sorts— Savior or Destroyer, the next trial he faces will decide the road he takes.