...

"I believe your father already knew about this."

"So do the rest of my family."

"Lady Pavolia, I don't think you understand-"

"Oh I do, sir. I do understand. If I don't, then, why are you here?"

"...I received reports about what your family did behind the scenes during the recession."

"...what of it?"

"Your family must answer for your crimes."

"And these people don't?"

"I-"

"Look here, Mister Investigator, we're the judge and we'll do what we must."

"You don't control one's life."

"Oh, we do now. Unfortunately for you, you just had to suck it up."

"You're no different from these people, even if the outcome saved everything. You just justified that we're capable of inflicting things that only demons from the underworld would."

"...if it takes a demon to restore a pathetic nation, then so be it. Otherwise, you won't even exist if these demons didn't saved this broken kingdom."

"Signals of Hololive 2: The Tale of Risu"

CHAPTER 3: The Snap

Risu woke up, she was still feeling better from all that running. But she still had not took any bath ever since she arrived at the village of 1stGen. She asked for the Sage's help if there was a nearby place here for her to take a bath. The Sage appeared to be busy and just told her that there was a spring just by the far right of this place.

She exited the house and started looking for the said spring. She found the place rather easy but she was not expecting another person there. A woman, to be in fact, bathing on the waters with her grey hair.

Risu introduced herself to the woman and the woman simply looked at her. Her silent reply made things awkward so Risu asked her name directly. The woman introduced herself as "A". To which made the mercenary raised her eyebrow at a letter name but she ignored it. She asked the woman if she was done.

A replied that she is almost done. After that, the woman exited the spring as Risu stripped to get ready to bath. The mercenary let out a sigh of relief as the water started to clean off the dirt and sweat from her body. She noticed somebody watching her and sure enough it was A who was still there.

Risu shyly asked why she was still here, the woman simply replied that she was just here to watch her. The mercenary pleaded that the woman should stop watching her, it was making her uncomfortable. After a few more attempts of pleading, the woman appeared to had enough as she decided to leave the place.

The mercenary took notice of A's outfit, she appeared to be a warrior judging by the looks of it and asked if she was some sort of a knight. A replied to her that it was close but not quiet before leaving.

Risu could only watched the woman leave before she continued washing herself.

After the bath, Risu polished her daggers and ate a loaf of bread given to her by the Sage. She prepared herself to go back to the Peafowl Sanctum to recognized the challenge of Mo. She and the Sage were about to head out when suddenly a group of people appeared and asked the Sage's for a help.

Apparently, when the Sage had called the scholar Miyabi, he asked him to collect a certain material and was away for the moment. So, the village was left with no strong people but the guards, and a bunch demons had suddenly appeared and invaded their village.

The residents had to flee, leaving behind guards and volunteers who are in no proper shape of form to stall the demons.

They asked the Sage for help and the man had no choice but to follow them. He apologized to Risu and asked her if she could go ahead, the mercenary nodded and the Sage told her that he will come back to help her once he was done. They parted their ways as they headed to the opposite direction.

Risu head straight to north and finally found the same area where she tripped over and passed out. She still remembered the way she ran off and head straight there. And behold, she was right. She found the same stronghold where she was with the late-Captain before. Remembering him brought regret in her heart but she cannot be in grief for now while there's an enemy waiting.

She entered the gates and in of the stronghold, she head straight to the tall tower. She went inside and found the podium, there, she saw a set of armor that she recognized. It was once belonged to the late-Captain and his broken sword beside it, and his skeleton inside the armor. Not only his but other guards who perished in the room as well. A grim reminder.

She simply gave a prayer to the late-Captain's death before she head straight forward, she found a door and it appeared to be heading straight to a small, underground cave.

The cave was empty, she thought. It was quiet still and it gave her a chilling creeps. At the end, she found both the handle and the head of the hammer resting upon large slab. She was about to picked it up before she narrowly dodged a string of electricity coming right at her.

She looked to the side and saw the figure of Mo. The Dark Demon praised her for dodging something that was as fast as light, something that only legends do, just like the Three Heroes. Risu simply smiled and told him that he probably prepared something that will only work to the Sage.

The Dark Demon agreed to her, he was not expecting her. Not to mention, he said, that the said Bandit Forest where she was about to pass after the tunnel was a forest filled with ghostly entities from the dead people. Wraiths could torment her there once she stepped in. So he wondered why is she alive.

But he nonetheless do not care as he challenged Risu instead.

The mercenary prepared herself for a hard fight in which she will first taste. Under the strong gaze of the Dark Demon, she managed to keep her cool and calmly glared back.

The Dark Demon first made his move, harboring a large halberd to chop her in half, but Risu swiftly dodged the attack. She counterattacked with her magic from her blades and it proved to be successful. But it would take a lot of hit for her to defeat such monstrosity.

The fight continued on until Mo started using his electric power. Risu carefully maneuvered her way around the Dark Demon, narrowly dodging electricity that could paralyze her again. The dark demon let out a joyful laugh as he told her that she was the first human aside from the Three Heroes to ever last long on facing him.

Risu was getting tired from the fight, but she can tell that the Dark Demon was nowhere near better. She decided to give it all by pouring a massive amount of magic on her dagger, covering it with strong and sharp air that shaped itself like a long blade. The Dark Demon applauded for that impressive magic, but nonetheless, he would not back down.

The two clashed again for the last time. The area around them exploded as the aftermath of their blades connecting made the cave started to shake.

In the end... Risu barely won. The Dark Demon simply laughed as he slowly dissipated in the air, he praised the mercenary for successfully defeating him. However, he told her that it was not the end as he finally disappeared into thin air. Risu had won, but a large wound around her midriff appeared and blood started pouring out. She was tired and covered in wounds.

She picked up the pieces of the Hammer of Eradication and tried to stand up, before she fell over once again. The cave started to shook, she can feel that the place would not last long and that she must leave the underground immediately before she was buried alive. The mercenary crawled her way towards the entrance on the cold ground, leaving a trail of blood.

Fortunately enough, the Sage arrived at the underground and was horrified to see Risu in such state. The saquickly put the pieces of the hammer in his magical pocket and picked the mercenary woman up. Together, they narrowly escaped the falling cave, which also followed with the tower connected in.

Just outside the stronghold, the Sage used his healing power to give Risu a dose of life force. The mercenary managed to live longer as she thanked the Sage but he told her not to move to avoid more injury, he expected something like this to happen but only to himself. The Sage told Risu to be careful in the future.

The mercenary asked why and the Sage who told her that it was not her responsibility in the first place. Everything started to go wrong and it was him and the late-Captain who was left in charge to control the case. But thanks to her help, everything was going smooth and that he can focus asking reinforcements from the capital of the kingdom.

Risu, now fully healed, numbly stood up. But the Sage apologized to her as he cannot seem to remove a marked scar from her midriff where Mo gave her a final blow. The mercenary paid it no mind as she asked the Sage what to do next with the pieces of hammer of destruction.

The Sage tried to convince her to rest, but the mercenary answered him that she was fine still. In the end, the Sage gave in as he told her the next objective.

He told her that the Hammer of Eradication was a powerful artifact that was created by a powerful race known as the Wisps, who are hidden somewhere inside a ruined temple from the hills of Sunflower Field. If she go inside, she will have to find a portal there to go where the Wisps at.

She understood the message and was about to leave. But then the Sage told her to be careful again and the mercenary nodded. She left the place and headed straight back at the Sunflower Field.

She found her way back the said Pav City and encountered the same man again. Risu asked the man where she can locate a hill here where there was once a temple. The man told her that it was just by the north, before the Bandit Forest, a tall hill can be found there and the said ruined temple can be seen from the other side. Risu thanked the man before she heads out.

She arrived at the said hill and walked around it, carefully traversing her way from a somewhat steep sides. After she moved around the hill, there it was, a temple could be seen. She noticed that the entrance was covered in rubble. Thankfully enough, she found a gap in which she could squeezed herself through.

The temple was empty and not a monster in sight, she proceeded to go deeper in the temple. She eventually found herself in a long hallway with a room at the end and saw a portal. She quickly ran towards it only for her attention to be caught by a figure.

It was a man dressed in a strange black outfit and he appeared to be surprised to see her here. He asked what she was doing here, Risu replied that she needed to go to the Wisps and ask them to return back the Hammer of Eradication in its former state. The man asked why and Risu answered him that she needed to destroy the keys that would revive the Baneful Moon.

The man then asked her that it was not her responsibility in the first place and she have no rights to even wield such an artifact. Risu was confused as to why, but she told him that it was her fault in the beginning that led to this mess. The man then told her that, what if, it was just natural for her to deliver the first chest to the enemies.

The man then told her that she had no idea of the situation, and judging by that, everything comes natural and the revival of the Baneful Moon was inevitable. If she only did not trouble herself, everything will come in peace as the end was imminent.

Risu was angered at such statement, to think that there was someone who does not care for the lives of people that are in the Continent of Lo and beyond. The man answered her that it was to be expected after all, and besides, what can she do anyway? She might have defeated Mo, the Dark Demon, but there was just no way she can face an even stronger foe, a deity for that matter.

Hearing that made Risu lose motivation all of a sudden, her will started to waver a bit. But then she remembered the late-Captain and how he gave the chest to her. For one, it was nothing, it was for her to keep the keys away from the demons at all cost. But remembering that made her also feel that, maybe, the late-Captain passed a mission upon her.

The man simply stared at her before he sighed. He conjured a magic spell and the portal that she saw disappeared, and another hallway can be found. Risu asked what happened and the man answered her that the portal that was originally here was a trap portal that will teleport any unfortunate people to the ocean, very far from the land, doomed to drown. Risu shivered at the thought and asked why did he removed it, the man told her that maybe it was just time to change something.

She did not understood what he said to her before he ended up vanishing. She remained still for a moment before she swiftly ran forward and found another portal. Trusting her guts from the portal, she leaped her way through.

A flash of light blinded her for a few seconds before the colors returned, she found herself suddenly surrounded by a bunch of floating lights known as the Wisps. The creatures appeared to wander why she appeared out of nowhere when several knights saw her.

The mercenary lifted herself up as the knights asked her who she was. She introduced herself and her affiliation with the Knights of Faith. Turns out, the knights here are also part of the Knights of Faith and were here to protect the Wisps in case there is an intruder or invasion.

Risu asked the knights to where she can forge the pieces of the hammer back together. They told her that, just by the south, they can find a Wisp there with a red fire. The mercenary woman thanked them as she ran down the streets. The buildings around her are different and otherworldly, not to mention, several alien gazes from the Wisps are following her.

She found the said Wisp that had a flame around it. She asked the Wisp if it could forge the hammer back to normal. The Wisp would not mind but it asked her who told her this place. Risu answered it that it was the Sage who told her of this place then the Wisp asked her in which ancestor was the Sage. Risu had to juggle through her memory but she remembered that it was the Magus, who was the ancestor of the Sage.

She can feel several gasps from the Wisps, even from the one with a flame. She asked what was wrong and that it was just shock to know that. The flaming Wisp then told her that the Three Heroes are the ones who saved them from the discrimination of the world. Apparently, the Baneful Moon was originally a Wisp but then it rebel against the Realm-Emperor of the Hololive Realm. The Baneful Moon, who was once known as the Moon Goddess, was thrown to the abyss. There, the Moon Goddess darkened and it turned into a monstrous creature that wrecked havoc across the lands of the Lo Continent.

Not only that, there was also three powerful Wisps that followed the Baneful Moon. In which one of them was called "A" - who was just next the Baneful Moon as a very powerful being. The mercenary felt like she heard of the name before but her thoughts were interrupted when the flaming Wisps agreed on reforging the hammer back to normal.

At last, the Hammer of Eradication was forged back to normal. Risu was glad to see the artifact back to normal as hope could be seen for the land of the Lo Continent. The flaming Wisp asked her if she wanted to be a legend, she pardoned and the Wisp told her that using the Hammer will ultimately use her soul in the process in order to destroy the keys.

Risu was troubled at this. She did heard this from the Sage, and sacrificing herself. She played it off ago and forgot about it, but now with the goal near, she paled. She asked the flaming Wisp if there was another way other than using the hammer. The flaming Wisp told her that the keys where the souls of the Three Heroes originally are indestructible, only by the likes of powerful beings can destroy it or the Hammer of Eradication by using the weilder's soul.

The mercenary held the hammer in her hands, she do not know if she was prepared for it. She do not know about that and was scared to die. Maybe... Maybe there are still other ways. She clung to that baseless hope for a moment as she prepared to leave the place. But she was stopped by the faming Wisp and asked her if she would like to go back fast.

Risu accepted the help, and the flaming Wisp told her to imagine the place where she was going. She thought of the Sage's house as she closed her eyes. She then opened them back and found herself in front of a destroyed house, surrounded by grey flames.

She was shocked to see a Grey Demon strangling the Sage amongst the burning area. Risu quickly casted a wind spell to the Grey Demon, the said monster was surprised to see her as it let go of the Sage and was thrown off from a distance. The mercenary woman helped the wounded Sage crawled his way out from the mess.

But the Sage cried in pain, a flaming log of wood had fell over the leg of the old man. Risu tried to use her wind magic but the flame just became stronger. She then used a water magic but it was a pathetic attempt as the said water merely evaporated in an instant. She desperately tried to save the Sage before the old man then pushed something to her. Risu recognized that it was a chest that she had originally carried after the Captain's death.

The mercenary feared for the worst as she told the Sage to not give up. But the Sage could only smile before he casted spell to Risu, a strong burst of wind magic blown Risu away and she was thrown from a far distance.

The Sage lied on the floor, wounded and his leg was broken. He gave Risu a goodluck and a farewell before the flames fully engulfed the whole house. The Grey Demon that Risu previously thrown watched the house burned before jumping up in the air and started going to the direction where the Sage threw Risu away.