Separation

Darius's body lay before me like human mush, his bones, flesh and fat compacted right in front of me into a ball made with gravity magic.

This simple sight left me Completely disgusted, so I dropped his remains and they scattered on the floor like dirty meat.

I could hear some screams and murmurs of terror and whispers from the villagers but I paid no attention to them.

My mind was focused on one word, on one place, on one person...Hitogami.

And now that he stressed it all, I realized again how naive I am.

"Wasn't it supposed to change my life for the better?..."

"Wasn't I supposed to make the same mistakes again?!"

"Why did I let my guard down so much?!"

These questions plus all the emotions I had stored up inside me formed inside me like a whirlpool of anger.

I wanted to destroy everything in my path, for the first time I just wanted to kill something, kill something with my own hands just to vent all my anger...

The people around me must have noticed the intentions in my gaze and began to slowly move away from me.

"noo...control yourself" I muttered to myself as I clenched my fists tightly.

My stomach hurt horribly, my organs hadn't settled properly so it must have been a total mess in there...

But it was not the time to think about that.

I continued looking around, the rubble of the building now lay unmoved except for a few guards who were looking for the king.

"It doesn't make sense anymore..." I muttered and sat down on the floor to reorganize my options.

My parents are dead and my brother is being taken to Millis, it's not clear when that was, but even with a week's difference unless I could fly I wouldn't be able to reach them...

"ughh...this is all crap!! It wasn't supposed to end like this!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and tears started to flow non-stop from my eyes.

I don't know how long I cried, cried, cried and cried.

I cried like I had never cried in my two lives, I screamed, kicked and shouted to the four winds until I lost my voice.

Nothing mattered to me anymore, I had lost my entire family...

Several people had gathered around me which was annoying.

There was no point in being here anymore, so with this thought in mind I jumped up from the floor and started scanning the place.

"Who was the son of a bitch who took my swooooord!!!" I screamed with all my might and used wind magic to make my voice louder and it worked.

Several guards ran towards me but when they saw me they simply surrounded me while looking at me with absolute terror...

"I'm not going to hurt anyone if no one attacks me!!, I just want my sword!!, my sword!?" I continued screaming while looking around.

About three minutes passed until the same soldier came towards me from the crowd with his head bowed to me.

"I-I'm so sorry my lord, to have known that you were-

"My sword, give it to me," I said coldly.

The guard visibly flinched and raised my sheathed sword an with his belt.

"Hmmp!" With a simple movement of my hands the sword flew from his hands to mine and so I quickly put it on my waist and started walking.

People quickly moved out of my way, none of them spoke to me, none of them dared to do anything and I just walked.

I left the refugee camp area after half an hour and continued walking.

I didn't even bother going back for my "gnu" and my cart, I was in such a state of shock that I couldn't even think about it.

Flauta, Lilia and Hilda hadn't told me where they had gone and I don't even know if they had really left the "capital" or were just on the outskirts of the tent area.

I don't even know how long I'll walk until I reach the hill, I don't even process my own tiredness, nor my hunger, nor my thirst, nor the stabbing pain in my stomach.

"Paul!!!" I heard a familiar voice in front of me and a red silhouette began to charge towards me until it crashed into my chest with great force.

It was Hilda, I were already in the hills area and they were apparently waiting here.

"Paul...you look terrible, what happened over there?" Flute murmured with concern as she approached me with Lilia.

"...my mother is dead and my brother...m-my brother was sent to Milis who knows when!!" I said at the end with a scream and tears formed again in my eyes.

"Oh god...I-I'm so sorry Paul!!" Flute said sadly and hugged me tightly and I burst into tears in her embrace.

I started crying uncontrollably again, I cried like a little kid for literally who knows how long, I didn't even notice when Hilda and Lilia hugged me too but I stayed like that.

"...Paul...and what will you do about your brother?" Hilda murmured after a while in a fearful tone.

"I-I don't know, I don't even know if it's true that they took him to Millis, I don't know where he could be!I don't even know if he's still alive!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, Lilia flinched a little at this but none of them broke the hug with me.

"No matter where he is, rest assured that you will find him Paul, this is nothing after everything you've been through! Don't give up now!" Flute declared while stroking my head.

I just stayed silent as I contemplated her words, My mind was spinning, remembering every conversation with Hitogami and somehow, Gesee came to mind...

I had tried not to think about him for the past few months, but I did think about Shirone's attitude and the way he declared war on me...

"How could I have been so naive..." I muttered while cursing myself internally.

"Paul?...Is something wrong?" Hilda asked and I broke away from Flute's hug.

"All of you... remember the conversation I had with Orsted in the lower jaw of the Red Wrym right?..." I muttered and everyone nodded.

"Yes...how could I forget it?" Hilda murmured with a frown and I sighed.

"You all remember that guy mentioning something about a false god called Hitogami, right?..."

"I couldn't hear your conversation very well, but I do remember hearing that name. Why?" Flute asked, looking at me in confusion.

"...It turns out that false God made contact with Darius and he was the reason why my father, my mother and my brother are dead and missing" I declared with a heavy voice while clenching my fists with anger.

"Paul..." Hilda murmured, her voice heavy with sadness and worry, and Flute pulled me back into her embrace.

"A false god...but what does he want? And why of all people did it have to be you?" Lilia murmured as she closed her eyes thoughtfully.

"I don't know...but I won't sit idly by without finding out first," I mumbled and put my hand inside my robe.

The ring was kept in a sturdy pocket and miraculously wasn't broken by Reída's attack...

"Paul? What are you going to do?" Flute asked and I didn't answer, I just looked at the ring in my hands.

If I wanted your help then I'll have to tell him the whole truth...

Without thinking about it any longer I put the ring on the ring finger of my right hand and with my left hand I injected mana into it, the blue stone embedded in this shine for a few seconds until it lost its shine and...nothing happened, But I was expecting this, this device was just an alert and a communicator so that Orsted would know that I wanted to talk to him.

"Wait!! Are you really going to call him? Do you even know how dangerous that guy is? He'll kill you, Paul!" Hilda shouted as she stood in front of me.

Her expression was one of pure concern, I could see that she was genuinely scared about this.

"I have no other choice, no matter how strong I think I am, I won't be able to defend myself from whatever Hitogami throws at me, I must do it" I declared and Hilda just pressed her lips together in suppressed anger.

I wasn't in the mood to try to comfort her so I just stared at the ring in front of me until some time later I put it back in my robe.

I looked again at the ruins of what was once the capital, my whole new life had been taken away from me in less than a minute, as had my entire family.

Why continue? What keeps me tied to this world?!, Wouldn't it be easier to die and start over with another reincarnation?!

All these thoughts flashed through my mind in a split second as I looked at my hands which were stained with dried blood just like my entire body.

But then I remembered Philemon, I remembered my previous world and I remembered my older brother John...

If he were in my situation, what would he have done?...

"Heh!" He probably would have come for me back to Millis without even hesitation, that's how he was...he would try to save his family no matter what.

"No...no, I have to...." I mumbled as I wiped my tears, my eyes squinting. "I have to save Philemon," I murmured, my eyes burning after crying so much.

"So...are we going back to Millis?" Hilda asked uncertainly.

I looked straight into her eyes and then at Flauta and Lilia.

"No...only I'll go, it's too dangerous" I declared.

"w-what?!, l-like why?,"Why?! What do you want us to do?!" Hilda said with clear confusion.

She looked at me with tearful eyes and tried to get closer to me but Flute grabbed her by the shoulders stopping her.

"No, it's no use Hilda, Paul is right" she said in a stern tone and Hilda froze in place.

"...I'm sorry, you all know that I have Millis as an enemy, If I want to rescue my brother, then I'll have to walk into the lion's den here. I could face ambushes who knows how often...And now without Roxy or Laws covering my back I don't know if I can protect them" I declared firmly.

Hilda was silent for a few moments, her mouth and eyes were tightly closed and she was staring at the floor.

"A-and so where will we go? Paul! My whole family is dead! You're all I have!" She said and tears started to flow from her eyes again.

I remained silent, I knew I couldn't take them but I also knew I couldn't leave them helpless.

I even looked behind her, towards Flauta and Lilia, they hadn't spoken but I knew they were also in the same situation.

"Use all our savings" I declared "...Roxy was heading to Sharia Magic University in the kingdom of Ranoa, the trip is two months, since we are already in the north even you three can make it."

"Sharia Magic University?...and what are we going to do there? Study while you're putting your life at risk there alone?!" Hilda screamed.

"I don't know!! I'm trying, you know?! I don't want to separate from you either, but knowing how dangerous it will be, we have to do it! We're not safe in Asura!!" I yelled as I unleashed all my anger. "You don't have to go to Ranoa, you can go anywhere but Millis, I'm doing this for your safety..." I muttered as I knelt down tiredly, The pain in my stomach and the tiredness didn't let me think straight.

"Paul..." Hilda murmured and gave me a big hug.

After her, Flauta and Lilia did the same and we stayed like that for a long time.

"Do you promise you'll come back to me?" Hilda asked sadly.

"Only if you promise me you'll stay safe," I replied, and she just laughed.

"Yeah, so I'll have to go to Ranoa huh? I never thought I'd have to go to school for shelter" she said trying to lighten the mood.

I just smiled weakly and nodded.

"Flute..." I murmured weakly.

"What's wrong Paul?" She replied and gently and she stroked my head.

"Again, I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. This all got out of my hands...there are several nobles in Ranoa. I trust you'll be able to find a job there, or any decent job." I muttered.

"Relax, I plan to enroll Lilia in the university too, I guess I'll look for a job as a union receptionist again" she said.

"That sounds good..." I muttered and pulled out of my robe a medium-sized bag full of money

"I can trust that you will share it equally, right?" I muttered with a weak smile.

"Hmm! Who do you take us for, Paul?" Lilia said with a weak smile and I nodded.

After that we were silent again, I was in no mood to talk about anything else, I was anxious to leave immediately for Philemon.

But fortunately I was able to spot a merchant caravan in the distance.

"Hey...go in that caravan, they're going to stop in the Latakia region, after that it'll only be a month's journey to Ranoa" I said, Flute and Lilia both nodded with sad expressions.

I looked at Hilda, who was on the verge of tears as well.

I approached her to hug her but she went ahead and kissed me on the lips.

"!!!"

She held onto my body tightly even when I tried to pull away from her.

It was a desperate kiss, she kissed me hard and I could feel her tears mixing with our saliva.

She gave a needed kiss, as if to affirm something, just like how Flute kissed me that time in the forest...

She was desperate.

I don't know how much time passed, but when we separated, she was breathing heavily, her cheeks were red as tomatoes, and she had already stopped crying.

"Hilda I...

"Shh...please let this be our last memory for now" she murmured and kissed me again.

I could see Lilia slinking away nervously, she was equally blushing and her gaze was sad...

Flute on the other hand only had a healthy blush on her cheeks and smiled weakly.

"mmm...Paul...darling, my love...mmm" Hilda murmured between kisses to the point where I started to feel uncomfortable but I let her continue.

About two minutes passed and the caravan was already close, it was time for them to leave.

"Hilda...

"Yes, I know...I love you Paul, when you come back I want us to get married" she murmured and then buried her head in my chest tightly and I could even feel how she was smelling me?!

"...yes, I love you too and that's okay, I agree to marry you" I declared without letting the insecurity in my words show.

She looked into my eyes for a few seconds and then smiled beautifully and finally pulled away from me.

I signaled the caravan, there were about three carriages so they could take them.

"Flute, I don't need to tell you, but please take care of this money, although it won't be necessary, if you manage it well you can live the rest of your life without working" I declared and she nodded seriously.

The caravan did not stop, it only slowed down and after giving give gold coins to the owner of the caravan, he agreed to take the three of them to the end of their route.

The three of them quickly got into the last carriage and so we said goodbye.

I stood there looking at the caravan as it went, I could even see Hilda's silhouette crying silently but I could only sigh sadly.

After about half an hour the caravan only moved back a point in the distance and a stabbing pain in my chest brought me out of my sadness.

"Uurgh!!" A trickle of blood came out of my mouth and the pain became unbearable.

"Haa...I'll have to rebuild everything from scratch, huh?" I muttered with a disdainful smile, looked for a place to rest, and lay down on a rock I created.

I unsheathed my sword and pointed it at the top of my stomach, I would have to destroy everything to rebuild it back to its original form...

"Fuu...fuu...fuu...come on!!! Aggh!! " With a scream I buried my sword in my stomach and started cutting.

...

[in a random tavern, in a random country, in the South of the Conflict Zone]

The dim light of the sunset filtered weakly through the doors of the tavern, the smell of alcohol, food and sweat flooded the atmosphere as well as laughter and some fights.

But in the middle of all this, a man with black hair I remained unperturbed by all this while eating a simple dinner

On his back he carried a huge golden sword tied with a simple rope and without a hilt.

Anyone who saw him for the first time would believe that he was simply a noble boy who ran away from home and took a chance on being an adventurer.

And this could be more unfounded because of his face which resembled a child of no more than 16 years old.

But even the toughest of adventurers didn't dare approach him within a limp of three meters, let alone speak to him.

All except one person, a young man with a monkey face who, without warning, had sat in front of him as if he were nothing.

The black-haired young man was surprised by the young man's bravery or ignorance, but upon seeing his friendly intentions, he immediately dismissed his presence.

Or that's what the young man with hair would have liked to do but to his greatest surprise the young man with the monkey face started talking to him.

The young man was not someone who considered himself evil or inconsiderate so he simply nodded at everything the monkey-faced young man said but one word caught his attention.

"hero" That word set off all the alarm bells of the young man with black hair and that's the only way he paid real attention to the person in front of him.

"I'm sorry... but could you repeat what you said last? I got distracted by something," the black-haired young man muttered.

The monkey-faced boy just blinked in surprise and sighed in resignation.

"I was telling you that there is a very evil guy who calls himself Paul Notos Greyrat, you could finish him off immediately but if you did then you would be called a hero by the people"

At that simple word a smile formed on the mouth of the black-haired young man

"Hmmm, Paul Notos Greyrat?...isn't he one of those nobles in Asura? I had heard that the entire capital had been destroyed" the black-haired young man muttered while scratching his chin.

"Yes, even though he's a child, he's made a huge mess in Millis!!, and it's rumored that he was responsible for destroying Ars..." The monkey-faced man muttered in a serious tone and the black-haired boy nodded.

"Hmmm, so he was the one who destroyed the slave market?...the rumors reached here" the black-haired young man asked and the monkey-faced young man nodded.

"Hah! He really made a mess, huh?..."Okay, do you know where it can be found?" The black-haired young man asked and the monkey-faced young man nodded.

"Yes, he is currently heading back to Ars, if we hurry we can catch him" the monkey face said with a smile

"Good!" The young man with black hair announced and jumped up from his table. "Come with me, buddy!! We have work to do!! The black-haired young man said and ran out of the tavern.

"Hehe... here goes one" Gesse Nukadia muttered with a sadistic smile and so began to follow the young man who ran away.