Huh……? Where am I? I felt really worn out, and my stamina was near-empty. I squinted and blinked a couple of times as rays of sunlight hit my eyes. Trees? I was surrounded by greenery……and my head felt……comfortable. Was I sleeping on something? It was nice and soft……

  "Oh, you're finally awake. How do you feel, are you okay, Kuro?" Inquired a familiar voice.

  I blinked my eyes fully open, to see Fuo's face right above me. Wait, does that mean……I reached towards the back of my head and squeezed the soft surface I was laying on……and as I did, she let out a squeal.

  "Am I……on your lap?"

  "W-well, I……you were badly injured, so I figured, um, that you'd heal faster if you were in a comfortable position, that's all!" She stuttered, averting her gaze.

  "Your thighs are nice," I muttered, shifting my head about and rubbing it on her lap……it was like a foam pillow.

  "S-stop that!"

  Oops, I think I might still be half-asleep, I wasn't really thinking, and I do feel strangely worn out too……

  "Wait, you said I was injured? What do you m……," I began to ask, before trailing off as it all came back to me in a flash.

  "Yeah……I'm sorry……"

  No, that……that can't have been real……

  "H-he……he killed Mika……that r-really happened?"

  ———————————————————————————


  Point-of-View: Fuo Wesroh

  ———————————————————————————


  "H-he……he killed Mika……that r-really happened?"

  "……"

  I couldn't bring myself to answer him, the denial, despair and regret in his eyes was heartbreaking to look at.

  "No, that……that c-can't be……I……i-it's my fault……I should have."

  "You're wrong, it's not your fault! You know that. If someone is killed, it's solely the fault of the killer, you're not responsible for what happened, Kuro," I interrupted, grabbing his shoulders firmly.

  "No, you're wrong……this situation is different……I let my guard down just because the four people closest to me are safe from him……but they're not the only people I care about, I should have realized that he'd do this. And now, they think that I'm the one who killed her, and on top of that, they came pretty close to killing me themselves……"

  He was trembling, his breathing unstable……he was starting to hyperventilate, the situation was starting to overwhelm him. And I could hardly blame him. He'd been replaced by an imposter who was desperately trying to kill him, and had killed his beloved apprentice to provoke him……if that wasn't enough, his friends are helping the imposter hunt him down, and his girlfriend nearly tore his head off.

  And this was the third time that he'd had to run away from Shiro……and for the third time, it was because he refused to fight his friends, despite having gotten painfully close to killing Shiro. With each failure, his despair had grown, and after this last one, which was especially brutal, he was looking pretty crushed.

  "Hey, we shouldn't stay here……it seems like Shiro can sense your location, so we should get some distance. If he decides to hunt you down again, in your current state of mind, you'll probably die. You're probably feeling overwhelmed right now, but you don't have to fight, just stay alive for now……don't forget, if you die, he'll be free to do whatever he wants to Persia and the others," I reminded him grimly.

  He didn't say anything in reply, actually, I don't think he even heard me……he had a dark look in his eyes, and was blankly staring off into space……was he deep in thought or was he broken? Either way, I can't just leave him like this. Fortunately, I still had the Store spell from when we were traveling before. I used it to bring out the cart and the horses, and put him in the back.

  He didn't resist or anything, he seemed to be in somewhat of a daze. He must be in shock……I hope he snaps out of it soon. The guilt of letting Mika die, the pain of having his friends nearly kill him, and the fate of his own life, that could only be secured by killing the person responsible for his current misery……the weight of all that had to be crushing him.

  Or at least……that was what I thought. I couldn't have been more wrong, as I'd find out soon enough……

  Two days later, after we'd been going through the forest area randomly, while making sure to increase the distance we were from the Rustlands, he finally moved. He'd been perfectly still and unmoving till then, slumped in the back of the cart.

  "You're awake at last! Have to admit, for a while there, I thought you'd never wake up……you alright?" I asked, letting out a sigh of relief walking over to him.

  I stiffened as he looked up at me……his eyes had no emotion at all……he looked completely blank and unreadable.

  "Yes, I'm fine. How long has it been since I woke up on your lap before?"

  Wha……h-how could he say something so embarrassing with such an empty expression and in such a blank tone?

  "W-well, um……it's been two days."

  "I see. Hm, that took a bit longer than I anticipated."

  Wait, he did that deliberately? Why?

  "So, um……what were you doing for all that time? Sleeping?" I inquired curiously.

  "No. I was temporarily sealing away my emotions with Lazarus's help, I was inside my own consciousness. From now on, my decisions will be purely logical, until Shiro is dead, after which I will unseal my emotions. But before I hunt him down, I must ensure that I'm significantly more powerful than he is……"

  His emotionless tone was kinda unsettling……

  "Wait, you sealed your emotions? Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked him skeptically.

  "Yes, of course……my emotions were the main reason I lost all three times, that was clear to me, I was being driven too much by emotion, so much so that my actions were erring on the side of illogical……so sealing away my emotions was the logical choice. As soon as Shiro is dead, Lazarus will unseal them," He explained in that monotonous voice.

  "Oh, so you'll be back to normal then?"

  "Not quite……from now till then, all the emotions I would have felt in that time will all flood me simultaneously in the instant my memories are unsealed."

  "That doesn't sound good……will you be okay when that happens?"

  "I don't know. But it probably won't kill me, so it's not a problem."

  "If you say so……anyway, what do you plan to do now?"

  "First, I'll hunt down the remaining monster kings. After that, I'll stay in Platinberg for a while, for three reasons……to plan my next move, to train to get used to using my new powers more efficiently, and most significantly, to stress out Shiro. If nothing happens for a couple of months, he'll likely start getting impatient and desperate, the possibility that I've given up and gone into hiding so that both of us will die is bound to creep into his thoughts as well," He responded, still showing no trace of emotion in his tone or expression.

  "Do we have time for all that though?" I inquired skeptically.

  "Of course we do, there's more than three months left before the deadline. I was too impatient and illogically anxious before, when in reality, I could have afforded to take my time. I'll attack within the first half of December, that's more than enough of a margin of safety. So there's plenty of time."

  He really is thinking a lot more objectively now……there was no emotional influence in his thought process at all.

  "But……what if Shiro starts killing more people, like he killed Mika?" I pointed out.

  "It doesn't matter, he can't hurt the four I most care about, and of everyone else that's left……none of their deaths would impact me all that significantly……he likely knows that too. Additionally, he's unlikely to kill anyone again, the risk of blowing his cover is too great to ignore."

  I don't know if I like this……the cold and emotionless way he was making his decisions was unsettling.

  "So, uh, anyway……when will we start traveling again?" I asked, changing the subject.

  "We'll hunt down the Beast King and Devil King within the day. And then we'll go to Platinberg and stay there for a while."

  Huh? Within the day?

  "Are you sure you're thinking logically? We might be able to find the Beast King within a day since we're already in the forest area, but the volcanic mountain range to the east of Bronztan, where the Devil King is, is two to three weeks away at the very least!"

  "It is logical, and very possible. Lava Serpents are found in the volcanic mountain range, I can use them to teleport there."

  Oh, right, I forgot……between the two of us, with the amount of monsters we had under our control, we could teleport to most places in the world in an instant.

  "Huh……if we'd realized this sooner, we'd have been able to get back to the Rustlands after Platinberg in no time……in fact, we could have teleported to the volcanic mountain range any time after you consumed the life force of the reptile king," I realized with a wistful sigh.

  "Exactly, to overlook such a simple yet significant detail was far too careless……another reason why I had to seal my emotions."

  He's being pretty hard on himself, but I couldn't exactly blame him for that……

  "So……when do we start moving?"

  "Right now," He replied, before summoning a Cobra-Giraffe, "This'll take us close to the location of the Beast King."

  I placed my hand on the monster's leg after using Store on the horses and cart, as he undid the summon, teleporting us to a spot deeper into the forest area. He then began heading straight into a deep patch of shrubbery, using bone blades to cut aside any branches in his way.

  It didn't take us long to find the Beast King, who was hiding inside a cave that was hidden behind a row of bushes. A few fireballs aimed at the bushes was enough to draw out the monster, who came out of hiding with a threatening growl. It was large, with four arms, a fox-like tail, feathered wings on its back, talons on its feet, a lion-like head and a single horn growing out of the middle of its head.

  If I remember right, this one ruled over Four-Armed Apes, Firefoxes, Griffins, Phoenixes, Pegasuses, Chimeras and Unicorns. It was probably pretty strong, maybe the strongest of all the monster kings we'd faced so far, at least in terms of raw strength, but……something told me that it wasn't going to be a threat……not to Kuro in his current state.

  "Who are y……," Began the Beast King with a fierce glare, before trailing off as Kuro entered Vampire God Mode, teleported behind him and drove his claws through his back.

  "I have no reason to listen to or answer anything you have to say……die."

  Suddenly, the Beast King went up in flames and disappeared, before reappearing right above Kuro.

  "Such an insolent creature, I will crush you!" Snarled the Beast King, his eyes glowing with fury.

  "Oh? Interesting, I definitely killed you just then……no matter, I'll just kill you again."

  The Beast King let out a roar as he slammed his fists down towards Kuro, who fired a blast of Repulsion straight up at him, striking his midsection and sending him flying up again with a gasp of pain, blood bursting out of his mouth. Kuro then teleported again, plunging his claws through the monster's side as he reappeared to his left.

  "N-no, impossible……"

  "If you don't die again, I'll just kill you again……and again……and again. It's as simple at that, nothing impossible about it."

  This time, the Beast King's body slumped and plummeted down, collapsing onto the ground……it didn't go up in flames. Wait, could that have been the resurrection ability of the Phoenixes?

  "That was the shortest fight we've had against any of the monster kings……so, how'd it turn out, how are the new abilities you got?" I inquired, walking over to him as opened and closed his fist a couple of times.

  "Quite useful. Now, then……time to hunt down the Devil King."

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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