Along a dirt road, the group of four argued as if they life depended on it. A single topic was never talked about for more than a few minutes. Each one of them pushed the topic from one side of reality to the other vast end. Even though they were at each other’s throats, small smiles could be found sticking to their faces.

“And there goes the last beast,” Desyra spoke, “It hasn’t been half a day yet and the food is gone.”

“Food is food, you see it, you eat it,” Igno replied.

“Not exactly,” corrected Sors, “Unlike you, people have to manage their intake.”

“What a glutton,” said Menor.

Most of the food that they hunted disappeared into the void that was Igno’s stomach. It was near impossible to experience the satisfaction of a full stomach for Igno due to the nature of Igno’s genus. In most cases, the food was immediately converted to energy in Igno’s body.

“Why do you keep saying you are on a see-food diet,” Desyra complained, “A diet does not work like that.”

“It’s not wrong, diet is about what you eat too,” Igno replied.

“Well, technically another definition of diet is food you habitually eat,” Sors added.

“If you take that into consideration, diet could also be ‘Die It’!” said Desyra.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Sors stopped, raising her hand, “We don’t go that far.”

Rolling her eyes, Desyra said, “OH, so killing an entire world just because one person flipped you off isn’t too far.”

“Oi, that guy had it coming.”

“What an unlucky guy,” Menor mumbled.

“Unlucky enough to get his whole world eradicated,” Desyra added.

“At least I turned back time… except for him,” Sors corrected herself.

“And what chain reaction did that cause?”

“Ladies, if you want a cat fight, then fight,” Menor, interjected.

“You, fuck off.” “It’s none of your business Menor.” Sors and Desyra flipped Menor off.

Waving his hands, “I’ll pass.”

“You better, or your wives will be up your ass,” Desyra threatened.

“At least I’m not a failure,” Menor shrugged.

With sparks flying the tension in the atmosphere nearly hit the breaking point. The clash of name calling and comebacks had not reached the point of enlightenment just yet, but their average insult had hit the deepest wells of knowledge.

Off to the side, Igno was cooking popcorn, with extra butter, over a small flying fireball. Juggling the popcorn cornels in a pan, the scent of excess butter filled the air. After a few moments, the pan exploded sending the popcorn flying into the skies. Without a hint of worry, Igno altered the wind to bring the popcorn back and into an extra-large bowl. Throwing a pinch of spices and salt Igno then began feasting, only after popping a can of magically-carbonated water.

Looking over at Igno pleasurably eating popcorn, the three could only click their tongues as Igno was assaulted by various birds. Igno even had a flying bubble of burning oil floating around to deep fry the birds, once he blasted the bird’s head, talons, and feather’s off with high powered winds.

“At this rate, we’ll learn that rumor was about It,” Menor sighed.

The sun had begun to set by the time they had finally found a city. Before they even saw the city Igno had already caused a few of the world’s species to become extinct. Along the way, they had run into a few insects (which were dangerous to the world’s populous), but they killed them like the insects they were.

“Have you guys tried fried gelatin?” Igno asked as he ate a fried, feathered dragon’s leg, “It’s a taste to behold.”

Becoming skeptical, Desyra asked, “How would you even fry a liquid?”

“Actually gelation is kind of an oobleck,” Sors explained, “Frying one requires careful consideration of not evaporating the liquid partials within the gelation. By controlling the heat spread from the frying oil to the gelation, you can create a nice, crunchy, and gooey texture. It’s similar to crystalize liquid carbon.”

“So it’s just a fried crust filled with semi-liquid gelatin?”

“Basically,” Igno answered.

As they all conversed about various foods and how to make them, the town guards could only give wry smiles. None of the guards could understand what the odd-looking people were talking about, even if they spoke the same tongue. Following city policies, the guard told the group that unfortunately they would have to wait for dawn to enter. Because the sun had set a few hours prior, it became difficult to check records, papers, and cargo. Which was reasonable due to the only source of light were torches and flames. The only type of people who could enter at night were people who had pre-done verification.

Hearing such policies the group of four held conflicted smiles. They were not in a rush but, being turned down right in front of their destination after a long walk does not leave a joyous feeling. Desyra then felt a few pairs of eyes staring at her. Noticing the looks she turned her head and saw her companions waiting for her to act. Crossing her arms in an x she said that she was a failure and would not work. With rolling eyes, the group turned around… and walked backward into the city. The simple movement of backpedaling surprisingly worked, as the guards did not act to prevent them. Instead, it seemed the guards did not notice the oddity. By the time they did notice the group had disappeared into the city streets.

Looking back, Igno spoke, “It’s surprising that walking backward always works.”

“Of course,” Menor explained, “No one expects you to walk backward. In theory, the guards constantly see people face one direction and walk in the same direction, so they should not notice a difference.”

“Which makes no sense,” Sors concluded, “But still works… somehow…?”

“The perks of a long life,” Igno said, “Knowing all the brilliant tricks to bypass anything.”

“Are we going to look for an inn or something, for our non-existent fatigue?” Desyra asked.

Shaking his head, Menor said, “After we make a random restaurant rich after It devours the fridge.”

“You know me too well,” Igno cheered, “But which one should we go to? Desyra?”

Lifting an eyebrow, Desyra responded, “What? I’m not your personal escort.”

Shaking their heads in disappointment they decided to ask the city folk. After asking a few people they were recommended to a small restaurant tucked away in the alleyways. Before they stepped into the alleys to find the place, they considered the situation that they could walk onto a secret deal or encountering a damsel in distress scenario. They also thought of other common scenarios that would drag them into a larger conflict. There was even a possibility of all of the tropes appearing at the same time.

“You know it would be interesting if,” Menor spoke, “We ran into a combination of a damsel, who is actually a thief that stole things from a dark underground criminal group. That ended up being cornered by random drunk people, who turn out to be nobles in disguises. Then, in turn, be fighting a group of ‘bad guys’ who are cultists that need blood from a very specific virgin. All the while, all of them are about to be attack by an ancient beast or town legend that was recently broke free from their seal.”

“That’s way too many details, it will never happen. Mrs. Jynx knows what you are thinking.” Sors shook her head.

“It was worth a shot. I mean what’s the worst that could happen? A group of priests running up to us and calling us gods?”

“You really are cruel,” Desyra said, “I know that the moment it does happen, you’ll be on the other side of the world.”

“Of course, grudges die hard.” Menor shrugged.

Throwing a few bets around, they strolled into the alleyways. To the disappointment of the group, nothing had happened. Even if what Menor said had occurred there was a high chance that they would ignore the situation. Sors, had a high power smoke bomb, which causes frostbite, ready to go off if they ran into anything.

Reaching the restaurant they entered, and ordered every single dish possible there. They even pulled out a large bag of money just to show off. What bugged them was that they were mistaken as nobles due to their attire and the sack of money. After a thought of consideration, Menor told everyone in the restaurant that he would pay for everything. When asked for a reason, he only answered with a shrug saying it was a whim.

“You traitor!” Igno cried, “My food!”

Attempting to pat Igno’s back, Desyra spoke, “Don’t worry we can hunt for more tomorrow.”

“I don’t need your pity!” Igno swatted the hand away.

After a few hours had passed Igno had actually eaten all the available food provided by the restaurant. Chugging down one of the last bottles of beer, Igno stood up to find another place to ravish. Only to be stopped by loud sounds of chaos running outside. Being caught by curiosity Igno went and peeked out the door. After a few moments of consideration, Igno concluded that one too many bottles of beer was emptied and went back to drink more. Not understanding Igno’s sudden change of attitude everyone else peeked their heads passed the front door. What they saw perfectly fitted the description that Menor gave earlier, except most of the chaos had passed and a few dead bodies were on the floor.

“So…” Menor asked, “Do I have the right to say I called it?”

Shaking her head, Sors answered, “But the main events already transpired, so…”

“I think it still counts,” Desyra replied, “but…”

“Don’t mind me, not my problem, I don’t care,” Igno muttered, drinking a bottle of beer.

In front of them was a giant rat standing on its hind legs with foam pouring out of its mouth. Ignoring its soaked body of blood, and its smell of alcohol, the rat chewed on a dead man’s body with obnoxious sounds of breaking bones. In front of the rat, there was a person, covered by a torn rag, holding something that was akin to a staff laced with gold decorations. Down the alley, was a few people in white robes running towards the scene.

Putting two and two together they understood the general idea of the scene in front of them. Slowly closing the door, the three went back to finish their food. Telling the restaurant employees that the panic outside could be ignored; everyone pretended that nothing had happened and carried on. Menor took a few bits of raw meat he had stored away and allowed the cooks to prepare them.

While eating the newly cooked meat, the person in rags crashed through the front door. The person slowly rolled to a stop at the foot of the uninterested four, leaving a trail of blood behind herself on the once clean floor. With further inspection, the person had sustained major injuries and should be considered dead. Through some miracle of luck, the person coughed blood and was still alive, somehow.

With their meal spoiled Igno, Desyra, and Menor threw a few punches at Sors. Avoiding the fists Sors complained that it was not her fault. Even if she did nothing, she had to take the blame for most things out of their control.

“H, help me…” cried the wounded person.

“You’ll live through that,” Sors answered.

“Yes, it’s only a few fractured bones, a concussion, ripped muscles, and a gaping wound with blood flowing out,” Desyra spoke sarcastically, “Yes, she’ll survive. While she’s at it she can greet death with open arms- OF COURSE NOT!”

“Tis only a scratch,” corrected Menor.

“You going to eat that pork?” asked Igno ignoring the situation.

“Hm?” Sors checked, “I wonder where she had all that blood stored. There’s definitely more blood pouring out than what her body can hold.”

“Ah? Oh, you’re right,” looked Desyra, “She doesn’t have an arm. Just where is that blood coming from?”

“Whelp, my appetite is ruined,” Menor spoke, “I’ll head off first to find an inn.”

As Menor walked towards the broken door, he quickly ducked avoiding another flung person. The second person landed neatly next to the first one. Seeing the two in the same situation Sors and Desyra could only wonder if this world’s genetic information had a special gene or ability. They have never heard of one that produced literal tons of blood when a person was dying.

After a few seconds of pondering, Desyra shouted, “Shit! He ran away.”

Muttering words of falsehood she ran after Menor while ignoring the bloodbath that was taking place in the alley. Seeing that two of her companions escaped she gave the suggestion of leaving to her last compatriot. Agreeing to the idea Igno paid the tab and left a generous tip. Looking at the floor Igno asked about what they should do with the near-death pair.

“Leave them,” Sors answered, “They’ll survive. We can’t really do ‘anything’ in the first place.”

Understanding the reasoning Igno followed Sors out. Walking out of the restaurant the streets had become littered with corpses of white-garbed people and knights. There were even people praying to the sky asking for salvation or someone to kill the rat. Neither Igno nor Sors did care for the plea of the dying; they did not have a single bit of responsibility to protect anyone in the first place.

“Now that I think about it,” Igno spoke, “You know I never really understood why people just run into danger. It’s like they don’t have thoughts or logic.”

“You would think that people would understand ways to kill a rodent, or at least move it to an open area. Unfortunately, they are caught in the moment. ‘Protect the people’ ‘I’ll hold it back’ ‘JENKINS’” said Sors.

“No, I just think their instincts are just… dull.”

“Suit yourself… Speaking of failed instincts,” Sors looked over her shoulder.

Behind the both of them, the giant rat had broken through the encirclement and was currently running in their direction. With every step the rat took, the ground slightly shook. The stench of flesh and blood polluted the air so much that Igno and Sors pinched their noses. Annoyed with the sudden stink they both thought about ending the problem, but it would bring unneeded trouble. So they booked it, with the rat chasing them.

“What’s the chance of you being mistaken as a helpless civilian?” Igno asked.

“About 55% if there’s no stupid Gary Stu,” answered Sors, “Its 100% if there was one.”

“Well, you can always change your appearance,” said Igno, while running around the roads with exaggerated flips and stunts.

“Ya, ya, ya, did you eat something to attract a rodent?”

“No, it probably smelt your rusty gears.”

“Would you look at that, you aren’t faster when I am rusted.”

“Oh, you’re on!”

While running they lead the rat to an open plaza and began making earth walls. Because there was barely any power used to creating the earthen barriers, the rat broke them in an instant. In reality, the walls were not used to block the rat instead were obstacles for the two causal runners. In their minds, the rat’s presence was noticeable as a blade of grass in a prairie. From a spectators view the chase looked ridiculous. No matter how much strength the rat put into its hind legs it was unable to catch up. Not only that, the ones being chased acted as if they were on a morning stroll.

“DON’T WORRY LADY-“

BANG!

“Ah, whoops,” Sors covered her mouth. She had quickly pulled out a silver rifle and shot four bullets. Each bullet aimed for a knee or a shoulder. Due to the very nature of the bullets, they easily bypass any bits of armor or magical barriers. By pure accident, she attacked when she felt someone that could not see Mt. Tia. It the result of a bad habit in the first place. Destroying the arms and legs of the person, the limbless person fell to the floor.

“Um…” Igno asked, “Shouldn’t you do something about that?”

“No,” Sors responded without a single care.

“I see. You can say…”

“No!”

“You won’t be giving him a hand!”

Hearing the horrible, horrible line Sors instantly spun around and shot the ground in front of Igno. The moment the bullets made contact with the ground the entire city shook with an explosion, holding enough power to turn solids to plasma. The shockwave that was created was loud enough waking up every single sleeping individual with a scare. Unfortunately, Igno was left unharmed, even though he was at the epicenter of the explosion.

Click of her tongue, Sors asked, “Do you know where Menor and Desyra went?”

“Seeing that you attempted to harm me, but failed, I believe that they are off somewhere,” Igno spoke.

“Let’s take our time then. They should be having fun when they are alone.”

“What? I thought you guys hated Desyra.”

“We do, it’s just that because of such situations… We’ll be able to find them soon.”

“Soon?”

Not understanding the implied subject, Igno shrugged and waited. As if on cue the sound of a sonic boom could be heard, giving everyone another fright. With the sound echoing Sors looked at Igno with raised eyebrows, implying that she was right. Locating the area where their companions were the two quickly ran over, leaving the rodent unconscious, due to the shockwave, behind. As a minute ticked by they saw the other two. They found Menor running away from Desyra as if his life depended on it. On the other hand, Desyra was in a trance-like state speaking seductive words that no mortal could turn down.

“GO AWAY YOU ETSRESS!” Menor yelled.

“Don’t run away dear boy, you know mother would take care of you,” Desyra sweetly spoke.

“NEVER ONCE DID THAT HAPPEN! ROT TO THE ZENER YOU THROT!”

“Playing hard to get? Don’t worry I’ll give proper punishment.”

Puking, Igno watched the scene in disgust. With looks of confusion, Igno sought for the logical Sors’ answers as Desyra never acted in such a way before. In truth, Desyra was restraining her personality for the past day as she could not win against multiple people of her level. But the moment she was alone with another person nothing would restrain her. Greed, gluttony, and envy the sins of desire were the base of her existence, except for lust as she failed her own race. Being a formidable foe and at the levels of embodiments, having equal power is not enough to escape her strategic grasp. Luckily for Menor, he was always one step ahead.

Shaking her head, Sors said, “If anyone gets caught, they can say farewell to living as she drains every single thing from them. No one can hide from her once she sets her eyes on them. Well, you and a few other people can, due to your specialties.”

“I see,” said Igno, “No wonder you two hate her. Especially Menor, since he is basically her complete opposite.”

“No, that’s only the tip. The conflict between the two sprouted before Ve was created.”

“Really?”

“It’s true, would you believe me that they led a few worlds to fight each other, for the sole purpose to kill each other?”

After running for a while Menor noticed the two spectators. Changing his evasion maneuvers he teleported to them, in an attempt to stop Desyra. Turning her head Desyra located where Menor went, but because she saw her other companions all color had drained from her face. She had lost all good impressions from the other party. With a flustered look, she walked up to them.

Twiddling her index fingers, Desyra said, “Ha-ha… I kind of fell back into a bad habit.”

Glaring, Menor replied, “Yes, a habit.”

“I understand why I never saw this side of her,” Igno sighed.

“Let’s just book an inn,” spoke Sors, “There’s a chance that we’ll be dragged into things tomorrow or in the following hours.”

Agreeing to a suggestion they stayed at a fairly average inn. It was not too expensive nor was it too cheap. Due to Sors twitch reaction, they would end up being hunted down in the following few days. They all had also agreed to split the group with Menor and Sors in one room while Igno was with Desyra. If Menor or Sors shared a room with Desyra the results would convert the vast city into a creator. With Igno’s specialties Desyra should not be able to cause trouble in the first place.

“Why do I have to share a room with her?” Igno asked.

“Well, you are basically are non-existent,” Menor explained, “You can’t find something that is not there.”

“But-“

“Night!” Sors interrupted.

“-what about… Shit,” Igno complained.