No sooner had Susumu left Greenhorne than she started to hear an oddly familiar voice. "Ahahaha..."

She jumped at the sudden noise. "A-Azamir?!"

Sure enough, the Dark Lord himself appeared before Susumu's very eyes. "Well, well. Someone's trying to play the hero, is she?" Azamir said, in a mocking tone.

Susumu couldn't lie to herself, she was... Beyond terrifed. Her heart was pounding like there was a drum in her chest, and her legs were shaking so that she could barely stand. Her voice hung in her throat for a second, but she was finally able to get her words out: "...G-Give Jabari his face back! Now!"

Azamir, however, just seemed amused by her terror. "Ahahaha. You're trying so hard, aren't you? Trying so hard to hide how weak you really are... But I can see the truth in your eyes- You're absolutely terrified, aren't you? And just look at the state you're in. Another hit like that and it'll all be over for you, won't it? Ah, you're in luck, however. I have just the thing to finish you as quickly as possible."

Azamir opened his eyes, and some sort of blob-like creature appeared in front of Susumu. He didn't stop there, however. Out of nowhere, he produced... Jabari's face?! The girl could only watch in fear as Azamir stuck the child's face to the blob.

"Ahaha. You're both so cute together," Azamir taunted the girl. "It's too bad, I would've liked to play with you a bit longer... Oh well, one less little pest in my way, I suppose. Ahaha..." And with that, Azamir vanished once more.

"Okay, okay... Just don't panic..." Susumu tried to calm herself down, but it wasn't working at all. "I-I can always just-"

She didn't have time to run away, however, before the slime reared up to attack her. "Waaah!"

And yet, at the same time, the amulet Crown had given her was beginning to resonate with her body. Surprisingly enough, all the pain in her body suddenly faded away. She began to open her eyes, only to wish she hadn't, as she was greeted with a VERY bright light. A voice came from the light. "Susumu... Susumu? Can you hear me? It's me... Garaden..."

"G-Garaden…?" Garaden? The goddess of the world? What was she doing here, and why was she talking to Susumu? "D-does this mean I…" Her eyes began to fill with tears. Was… Was she… Dead…?

"Oh, no! I assure you, you're still perfectly alive!" Garaden tried to explain herself. "You remember that amulet Crown gave you? Well… It allows me to speak to you. And from the looks of things, you're in need of some assistance."

Susumu nodded. "Yes, please! I need all the help I can get right now!"

"Very well then, my dear!" Garaden replied. "You may feel a bit dizzy for a moment, but I think I know just what I can do for you! Haaa... ...HAAAAAA!"

The next thing Susumu knew, she was suddenly dressed in... Some sort of mage's robe! She even had a hat and a wand, and it was even a bright blue color too! "Eh?! Can... Can I really have all this, Garaden?"

"Of course you can, child!" Garaden assured her. "Now go forth, and rescue Jabari's face!" The light faded, and Susumu found herself back in the real world.

"Did... Did that really happen...?" Susumu took a quick look at herself. Sure enough, she was still wearing the robe Garaden had given her, and she felt a lot better as well. "Okay... It's time to see what I can do now!" She charged at the slime with Jabari's face, swinging her wand as she did so.

She managed to do a decent amount of damage, but the slime quickly retaliated by striking at her. And yet, this hit seemed to hurt a lot less than the last one. Was it just her, or were these new clothes making her stronger too? Sure enough, it only took her another hit to take down the slime.

"I-I did it! Now how do I..." Susumu was about to do something to get Jabari's face back, but before she could, it just seemed to... Fly right off of the slime. "Oh! I have to get that face back!"

"Wait just a moment, Susumu!" Garaden stopped her. "It seems like Jabari's face is going back to Greenhorne. Perhaps you should go back there and check on him. But, before you do, Susumu... I have something to ask of you. Well... You have seen the acts of Dark Lord Azamir. And if he isn't stopped, well... Things are going to become a real mess around here. And so, I, Garaden, humbly ask you, brave Susumu... Will you take on the quest to defeat the Dark Lord?"

Susumu couldn't believe this. Garaden was asking her of all people to take on something like this? "W-Well... I-" She almost said no. She almost refused and went home. But... She had also seen what happened to the townspeople. She couldn't just do nothing, could she? "...Garaden, I accept! I-I'm not the strongest of people, but... I'll do it!"

"Excellent, my dear!" Garaden seemed pleased. "Go forth, and save the world's faces from the Dark Lord!" As Garaden's voice faded away, Susumu made her way back into Greenhorne.

Crown, meanwhile, was cradling her son in her arms. "Oh, traveler!" She called out to Susumu. "You... You saved my little Jabari! Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Jabari seemed unhappy about this. "Aww, it was more fun being a monster..."

"I'm just happy I could help," Susumu replied. She still didn't feel like a hero, and yet... She was glad that Crown could be happy again. Her face then turned serious. "But, other people still need their faces back. I've decided that I'm going after Azamir!" She tried to do a heroic pose for effect.

Crown looked slightly worried. "Oh dear. All by yourself? Well... If you can save my little Jabari, then I'm sure you can save everyone else. Good luck, dear!" Crown and Susumu waved to each other as Susumu set out once more.

And thus begins the quest to defeat the Dark Lord Azamir and save the faces of the world! It will be very difficult, but Susumu was confident that she could do it! She'd make new friends, fight enemies, and-

Suddenly, a realization snapped her out of her internal monologue.