-Parting Words-

“Everyone, hang on just a little, just a little more, and we will be saved,” Aoi shouted with every bit of strength left in her body. She was barely standing, using a fallen pillar as support. Her magic reserves had already depleted. Even after she used a potion, it depleted again.

By now, they were no longer fighting to subjugate the monster, but to survive themselves. The monster they were facing was just too strong, and for some reason, it had gone berserk suddenly, and its strength increased a few folds instantly. The creature then put them through a wringer, destroying what remained of the whole town, and even leveling a few mountains around. Not only that, they barely managed to save themselves from a laser attack from that tiger’s mouth, which vaporized the road below to sub-atomic particles.

“Aoi girl, it's not that we don’t believe you, but we simply couldn’t stand anymore. We have already depleted our energy just by surviving this far, I don’t think we can do it anymore. My communicator has also broken, I couldn’t contact to head office anymore, no matter how I look at the current situation, it seems hopeless to me.” The old man who was with Aoi from the beginning whizzed out with what strength left, he was no longer floating. Instead, he was laying down on the ground with his face facing the sky. Out of everyone, he was the only one bar Aoi who had the strength to even say something.

“Just a little bit more; please hang on just a little bit more!” Aoi shouted desperately, although she could see the future and change it, unless they perform the action as visualized, the future wouldn’t change. She saw they all getting annihilated by the tiger and another vision where they had to survive for a certain time, and they will be saved. The choice was obvious, but they have to survive first for that future to happen.

She knew all of them are tired, hell, even she was barely standing as it is. But it can't be helped. Survival comes first, no matter what happens. She wanted to survive and also let her comrades survive this disaster. She now understood what it meant to bite more than she can chew. Back then, when her elders said this particular phrase, she snorted at them. Thinking that they underestimating her abilities, she didn’t take them seriously.

But now, she understood the hard way what that phrase meant, not only her life was now in danger, her comrade's life was also hanging on a string. She was getting desperate, especially when the tiger had gone berserk. It was her first time seeing a creature that she couldn’t defeat, even with her Divine Skill that she was so proud of.

ROAR!!!

“Careful Aoi!!” the old man on the ground shouted in alarm. They didn’t know when, but the creature had sneaked behind them and was now ready to trample Aoi to paste. Its paw was just a few inches away from Aoi’s face.

“Ah!” the world seemed to halt for Aoi at that moment, her life started to flash before her eyes. At that moment, many things passed through her head, but everything pointed to just one thing, she wanted to live. Her eyes watered as she thought, ‘I don’t want to die…’ but accepting death was also a part of life. Helpless, just when she was about to accept the huge paw heading to her death, with a sudden flash, her vision covered by a huge back and an equally black shield.

Boom!!

She was flung away from the resulting shockwave due to the clash of the huge shield and the paw. The shield cracked and broke into pieces soon after the paw met it. Even the man who held it had all his heavy armors broke into small parts. The man was thrown like a ball, and it was not until a few more drops that he slides to a halt. His legs and hands were all bent to weird angels. Even his muscles were scraped off and showing bones in some places. He had his eyes closed, and his chest seems not to move at all. He also bleeding profusely.

It's at this time, the old man used the remaining strength in his body and appeared beside the tiger’s eye, hitting a magic attack to its squishy organ, forcing it to retreat. At the same time, he vomited the content on his stomach. Overdrawing magic would have such impacts, after all. He turned around and asked, “Aoi, are you alright?”

“Mr. Kuroe!” Aoi’s eyes were bloodshot when she waw the fallen, unmoving body of the man. She couldn’t believe she was saved at the nick of time like that, but she couldn’t feel happy at all. She crawled towards him, dragging her tired body even though her body was screaming to take a rest. Her eyes slowly watered as her vision became blurry.

“Mr. Kuroe! Can you hear me? Mr. Kuroe?” arriving near him, she rummaged thought her pocked but couldn’t find anything, desperately she searched all over her body, but she couldn’t find what she was searching. She looked at all her steadily standing friends and shouted: “Anyone got a healing potion?”

“…” no one talked, they more or less knew what happened to the man, but even if they want to help, they still didn’t have a healing potion.

“Please, give me one. Mr. Kuroe, he needs a potion immediately, anyone, please give him. I will bear the cost. Just give me one…” she shouted loudly, but no one talked, choosing to remain silent. The old man, after vomiting everything, came towards Aoi and kneeled beside fallen Kuroe. He raised his arm placed it on the guy’s heart, after a few seconds, he sighed and steadily slide it over his eyes, closing his lids.

“What are you doing? What the hell are you doing?” Aoi raged, slapping the old man’s hands away. Her eyes were bloodshot, she gave her worst glare at the man, but he simply sighed and backed away and stood up. Then he looked at the rolling creature that seemed to cant control itself. With his final attack, he had shot through that tiger’s eyes. It was the first time they landed a solid hit since the fight started.

“Aoi! You should protect the kid Kuroe’s body, we will give him a proper burial after this.” The old man’s voice was silent but heavy. It weighed down on the girl like a huge mountain. Aoi, although knew in her heart that the inevitable had happened, still didn't want to accept the reality. She just listlessly stared at the old man’s half-exposed back as tears freely streamed down her cheeks.

ROAR!!!!

The tiger roared once again and came towards them. Seeing this, the old man gulped secretly and shouted, “You brats, run away while you can. Let me handle this thing. I will put this life on the line and buy you guys enough time. Don’t think anything heroic. Just run away..” after that, he gave Aoi a sidelong glance with a smile and said “Aoi, don’t let this hold you down, okay? You must remember, you are to fulfill your promise to that man no matter what, you mustn’t let yourself hold anything back until that day, got it?”

“You, what do you intend to do?” Aoi shouted in rage, but the old man already did something as his body started to glow blue. Then he started to float on air like before. “Please come back, we must run or fight together, isn't that what we promised when we created this team? Are you going back on your word now?” Aoi’s voice was hoarse from all that shouting, but on the contrary old man had a peaceful face. He smiled and looked at the hysteric girl with a smile, and said, “I am sorry, little Aoi, this old man has to break his promise this once. I hope you excuse me after this and visit my grave every so often.” And he vanished into thin air.

“Aoi, let’s go.” The bob cut girl appeared beside her and piggybacked her. The other guy came and piggybacked Kuroe’s dead body. And they started to run with their remaining energy. But, Aoi wasn’t resigned. She started to flail crazily while shouting, “Let me go, let me help him. He needs our help. We must help him!! let me go!!”

“Aoi, shut up!!! Do you intend to waste master Takeda’s sacrifice? Can’t you see, he is giving his all to stop that beast? Are you really going to let his death in vain? He had done his part as this team’s member, now it's our job as team members to escape safely from this place, please don’t make it any harder than it already is.” The bob-cut girl gritted her teeth and shouted in anger, tears freely flowing down from her eyes. Aoi stared at her with wide eyes as tears streamed from her eyes as well. As they ran, they heard a massive explosion, but they didn’t turn around and look back. They knew what happened, so they didn’t turn around to look, least they couldn’t find the courage to run anymore.

It was truly a disaster for this little group.