Chapter 4: Their Hero

Today was not going to be good. If anything, it was going to go horribly, and he was not down for it.

Eugeo wasn't a stranger to waking up with a bad feeling to start the day off. Sometimes, he would think that Sulinea was going to do something absurd, of which he and his brothers would get dragged into it and be left dizzy and exhausted. At times, he would worry a time when Jink would show up and berate him for no real reason, though thankfully Kiriko's duel with him had practically killed that behaviour completely.

But this was a terrible feeling. The first time he'd ever experienced such was the day directly after they had gone to the northern caves. That such anticipation paid off in the worst way possible had left him deeply scarred, and he'd expected that to be the last thing.

As it turned out, he hadn't woken up today feeling peppy like he had for the past month. Instead, all he could feel was some kind of dread; a cold sweat that left him feeling unbearable, heart drumming in his ears as some kind of phantasmal force lay claim on his soul, whispering in his ears promises of a horrible fate.

'There's… It could just be nothing…' He gulped, looking down to his hands. They were slightly trembling, forcing him to clench and unclench them just to get them to stop shaking. 'Could just be me worrying for no reason…'

He could only hope that was the case. Life in Rulid had been extremely peaceful thus far, and he doubted there would be anything that could possibly shake that in any way.

Heading downstairs after he finished getting changed, he was met with an empty table. His brothers, upon noticing him, perked up and called for him. He walked over, frowning.

"Is Sulinea sleeping in? She usually wakes up early. Is she sick?"

"No, she's already up, but she went out to look for Selka."

"Look for Selka?"

"Yeah," Euden nodded. "Kiriko came by pretty early and asked us if we saw Selka around. When we said we didn't, he told us that Sister Azalia didn't see her. Sulinea offered to help look for her too."

Selka wasn't in the church..? That was concerning. Could be nothing, though for all that he knew about her, she wasn't a rebellious girl who would ever be caught ditching her work.

That meant that something happened, though he severely hoped it wasn't anything to actually worry about. Maybe she'd forgotten something and left the church to quickly get… whatever it was.

And yet, the moment when those words left his brothers' lips, he found that palpitation in his chest growing even worse. It was enough to make him grit his teeth now, eyes slowly gazing towards the window and looking through—and all that greeted him was a bright, sunny day. A scene completely devoid of any form of danger.

Just like the day Alice got taken away.

"…I'm going out."

"Eh? Where to?"

"I…" He didn't know, but he felt staying here doing nothing would have served no one. He needed to do something. Anything to get his mind off the issue. "I'll be back. You two just stay here."

Without waiting for their responses, Eugeo quickly pushed his way out of the house, jogging over to the church. It wasn't difficult to get to, considering how it was one of the bigger buildings here in the village, making it a relatively good landmark when navigating the village.

Arriving there, he found no one playing outside. The kids were probably still asleep. And he didn't see Sister Azalia around. Maybe she was still inside preparing food? Or waking them up since Selka wasn't there.

"Eugeo!" His eyes snapped in the direction of the voice, presented with a worried expression on Kiriko's face.

"Kiriko," he panted lightly. "I heard. Selka went missing?"

"Yeah. I've already checked the entire village, but I couldn't find a single trace of her. None of the villagers had seen her either," the entire village? Damn. Talk about being quick. "You sure you hadn't seen her at all?"

"I didn't… I mean, I woke up and my brothers told me that Sister Azalia came over to our house and asked if we'd seen her. Sulinea's out looking for her."

"Yeah, I passed by her near Ivenda's pharmacy," the ravenette sighed, dragging his hand through his hair. He looked so uncharacteristically concerned. "Where could she have gone..? Is there anywhere that she would usually go to that no one else knows?"

"I don't think so. She usually stays in the village to take care of the church kids."

"No hangout spot of her own? Maybe the Gigas Cedar?"

"No, she wouldn't go there," that place was both his and her sister's favourite place, after all, and he doubted she wanted to be anywhere close to a place associated with her missing family. He stamped down on the rising guilt. "Can you remember anything from yesterday? Maybe she mentioned someplace, or asked anyone."

Kiriko hummed, scratching the back of his head. "Hmm… Nah, I can't really remember much. Even when she visited me in my room last night, we didn't exactly talk about anything… but…" His eyes slowly widened. "No, there's no way."

"What is it?"

"I… I was talking to her about her sister," Eugeo blinked at that. Kiriko continued. "She asked me about why her sister was arrested, so I told her she went to the northern caves and accidentally trespassed into the Dark Territory."

The unease from the beginning of the day sunk his stomach deep down. "No… She wouldn't…"

Would she? He doubted she would have any real motivation to go to the northern mountains, but still… the timing of her going missing today and their talk of the mountains from yesterday could be coincidental, but his gut feeling was telling him otherwise.

"We should go there."

"Eh? You sure she would go there?"

"I… don't know, but if she did, then I'd want to make sure she doesn't do anything that all of us will regret," he met Kiriko's gaze, nodding resolutely. "And even if she isn't, I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"…Well, you're not wrong," Kiriko nodded back, serious. "How dangerous is it inside? If it is, we might need to bring some weapons."

"There isn't much in there. Some small critters and bats, but nothing that could possible attack us. It's usually the forests that we need to be careful of whenever we go in there."

"That so, eh? Then I suppose we won't have to worry about fighting off a wild animal or anything. Alright. Lead the way, then. Hopefully, she wouldn't have already gone inside too deep. We'll bring her back together."

They immediately began running out of the village, shouting their departure to the bewildered guard posted at the exit. Hard pavement turned into wild soil, and their gaze were focused solely on the mountains.

And Eugeo prayed. Prayed to all the goddesses for Selka's safety. He may not have been her friend for what he did to her—caused her to lose her sister—but he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he failed to save her like he failed Alice. He couldn't do that to Gasupht and Sadina again.

If there was one good thing out of their decision to check out the northern caves, they were right on the money when he found trampled grass along the trail to the caves. A spot of cracked ice on the ground was just as good of an indication, so she had really gone inside. He and Kiriko proceeded to travel inside.

Things were okay. She'd just gone inside, but it wasn't terrible. They could go get her before she ended up making the same mistake that Alice did. They could then return to the village and leave this entire mess behind them. No one would be the wiser.

Eugeo had that thought in mind when they finally stepped foot into the cave that he and Alice had discovered all those years ago. Ice shards grew out of the ground and the ceiling, dyeing the entire place in blue and leaving it in a perpetual state of chilly. Massive dragon bones, now a little more deteriorated than the last time he remembered, sat in the same place, but all the gold were now gone. No idea who had ransacked this place.

But nostalgia wasn't the first thing to come to mind. Instead, it was the sight of green-skinned, yellow-eyed monsters standing at the end of the cave.

And Selka, tied up, unconscious on a wagon far behind them.

"G-Goblins…" He found himself whispering. They were cackling, their laughter bouncing off the icy walls. "What are they doing here..?"

There were so many of them. More than twenty of them, while a single goblin towering over all of them saddled a large metal blade on his shoulder, sneering down on him in a way that left him trembling down to his feet. His throat was so dry, his vision blurry, his hands sweating.

They shouldn't be here. While this cave did connect to the Dark Territory, they had never tried trespassing this place before. Not even when he and Alice came here six years ago had they shown their faces.

Why now? What were they doing here? And what were they doing to Selka?

"Hah! Look at that runt! He looks scared like a mouse!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if the Ium just pissed himself on the spot!"

"Oi, oi! Don't spook him too much! You might just kill him with a heartache!"

They cackled again. Typical of them to find his fear amusing. And he cursed himself for being unable to say anything back, his entire willpower focused solely on trying to steady himself.

But what was he supposed to do? There were so many of them, each one equipped with a sword. They were going to kill him. And Selka and Kiriko too. There was nothing that he could do. All that he did was stand there and stare death in the eyes, shaking down to his very boots.

"…geo! Eugeo! Snap out of it, Eugeo!"

A hand snatched him by the arm and pulled him back. He gasped, not expecting the sudden tug, falling back onto his bum while Kiriko further dragged him to hide behind a large chunk of ice. He proceeded to grab his shoulders, his eyes burning into him.

"Eugeo! Listen to me! You need to calm down! Panicking will do you nothing. Just focus on breathing. In and out, Eugeo. In and out."

He'd distantly noticed how he was hyperventilating, lightheaded, which made it hard to follow Kiriko's instructions. Despite that, he forced himself to do as he was told; letting all the air out before sucking in a deep gulp of air before repeating the process, albeit much slower this time to ground himself.

Eventually, his breathing steadied. Vision clearing, he was finally able to hone in on his friend's hardened expression, though there was no mistaking the clear relief on his face. He silently cursed himself for losing his calm back there.

"S-Sorry, sorry… I'm good now."

"Mm, I can see that. And don't worry, even I can see how bad of a situation we're in," he looked past his shoulder, to the goblins that were slowly approaching them with their weapons brandished. Kiriko clicked his tongue. "Have they ever showed up here?"

"N-No. We've never heard of anything like this happening before."

But if it did and they were simply unaware, then that was bad. All of a sudden, he was feeling a lot less confident, and his heart drummed at the idea that they were this close to this village.

"Damn… Yeah, with just the both of us, these numbers won't be easy to fight. But it's not fighting them that's important. All we need to focus on for now is getting Selka out of here."

Eugeo nodded. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, we can do that. But we'd still need to get past all of them. And there's just so many…"

"Which is why you'll rescue Selka while I distract the goblins."

The words forced him to a halt, mind slowing down to comprehend what he'd just said before his whole body clenched up. Green eyes widened with horror. "W-Wait! You're going to fight them? Alone?!"

"We don't have much of an option, Eugeo! If we do nothing, they'll try and take Selka away from here while we're held up! We can't let that happen!"

"B-But you'll be on your own! Against twenty goblins! And their leader—"

"Hey now. Look at me, Eugeo. Eugeo, look at me," he flinched at the emphasis on his name. Forcing himself to properly look at Kiriko, he was met with a confident smile from his best friend, which somehow worked to make him a little relaxed. "It's going to be fine. You know I wouldn't make a plan like this if I wasn't confident in my skills to protect us both. Just focus on what you can do so that I can fight all-out, okay?"

Despite his supposed confidence in himself, there was no mistaking the tightness in his gaze. The way Kiriko was smiling felt like he was smiling for him, which made him feel terrible. Kiriko was doing all that he can not to let his own fear show, something of which was just part of his selfless nature.

How? How could he keep smiling like that? To what extent could he possibly keep himself poised?

Shame overwhelmed him. He understood that he had every right to be terrified, but Kiriko was still trying to be brave. Still trying to focus on their objective and get Selka to safety.

The green-eyed boy gulped, lowering his gaze. "…Are you sure?"

"I… I'm sure."

He wasn't. Eugeo could tell that. And yet, acting timid now would only douse his friend's spirit. If he could help by keeping his own spirit high… "Alright," he raised his gaze to meet Kiriko's once more. Black eyes watched him, alight with determination. "What do we do?"

"I'm going to charge at them with a sword and try to get their attention. You'll run past them and get to Selka. Try to untie her if you can, while you're at it, and wake her up. Otherwise, just carry her and get out."

'Risky… But then again, Kiriko knows his limits better than anyone else. He should be able to hold them off. And he's fast, so he'll be able to avoid getting hit way better than they can,' when put like that, he had a relatively good chance… sort of. "Alright. I'll leave them to you."

They turned their gaze back towards the other side of the cave, to where all the creatures from the Dark Territory were slowly marching towards them, not a single one staying to guard Selka. Such recklessness, though it must have been pride in their own strength and faith in their numbers being more than enough to handle two lowly humans.

A sword stood nearby, its blade buried into the ice floor. It was highly unremarkable, and the faint scars upon its edge meant it was worn from the many years of neglect. And yet, as Kiriko drew it with a grunt, the metal whistling within the confines of the cave…

It looked deadly in his hands—a testament to his own skill as a swordsman.

"Alright… You ready?"

"No… But then again, it's always better to act than to do nothing?"

That single line reminded him once more of his failure of that day. Where he had stood and done nothing while Alice was taken away, tied to a dragon and carried away like a sack of potatoes. He'd stood and watched.

Not this time. This time, he was going to grab ahold of the reins, even if it kills him!

Could he really survive this?

Any sane person would not have rushed straight into a place filled to the brim with monsters, especially on their own. He wished he could have counted himself among that circle, but the desperation of the situation forced his hand, and now he was running.

The immediate surge of adrenaline had done well to purge him of any other thoughts besides getting to Selka. Perhaps that was how he'd managed to run faster than he ever did in his life—almost as if he'd just passed out in the blink of an eye only to now be right beside her. The scene had practically passed him by.

He was breathing hard now. Slowly becoming aware of his body and the fact that he was midway through his own limits. All the years of tree-cutting still didn't amount to much for his stamina, it seemed, and the ache came after, gradually numbing his muscles.

Not letting the adrenaline be flushed away, he quickly grabbed a knife nearby and sliced it through Selka's constraints. "Selka!" He cried out, shaking her.

She wasn't responding.

Immediately, the fear and the panic kicked in. He quickly searched through her clothes, trying to find any spots of bleeding or injury. When he couldn't find anything, he put his ear close to her lips, and a small cold breath sounded.

She was alive! Thank the goddesses. He didn't let himself relax, however, for the sound of metal clashing finally reached his ears. He turned his head back—

In time to watch his best friend deflect the sword of a lesser goblin, quickly unleashing a fast downwards slash into his body, spraying blood into the air and filling the cave with pained screams.

Eugeo despised the sounds more than the sight, the genuine anguish making every fibre of his being recoil in discomfort. But Kiriko pushed on, a steeled expression as he continued dispatching the other goblins, reducing their numbers one by one.

Fast. That was all he could say, for not a single one of them could land a blow on him. Where they had numbers and strength, the black swordsman had speed and skill, and one was proving to be holding themselves far better. Even when four of them practically dogpiled Kiriko, he was able to simply shove all of them away, unleashing a killing blow on each one.

This was far more different than his duel with Jink. Where before, one could have called it 'safe' and predictable, this battle was wilder. Uncontrolled. Kiriko used everything—his fist, his feet, his sword—to disarm and cleave through the goblins, crimson dyeing the cavern floor.

"Tch! You sure think you've got the right to get cocky, Ium? I'll kill where you stand!"

It was the leader now, who charged the crossdresser with killing intent, a quake left behind with every football. Kiriko faced him now, and rather than try to gain distance, met the charge head-on with a battle cry of his own.

A large greatblade slapped aside the human's smaller sword, but Kiriko simply let the momentum carry him away before he rushed back in, parrying each blow and dancing around the wild swings. A strong blow threatened to cripple him, but Kiriko blocked it, his tinier stature belying his own respectable strength.

And then, he pushed back.

With a successful stagger, Kiriko charged in for a horizontal cut, slashing through the goblin's breastplate before backpedalling to gain distance. He flicked his sword to the side, letting out a breath but showing no gaps in his defense.

'He's incredible…'

Just what kind of battles had he fought in the past to have become this great of a swordsman? Just what trials had he bested, that which now translated to his current ability, enough so that he could take on a mob of goblins and a greater monster all on his own?

Crimson light glowed. His green eyes tracked the smaller sword, recognizing the imminent execution of a «Secret Technique». "«Sharp Nail»!" His friend yelled, unleashing three fast slashes that cleaved off the goblin's meaty arm with the third.

And then, for the first time since the start of the battle, Kiriko was cut down.

"Kiriko!" He screamed.

His being trembled upon the sight of blood spraying from his arm, right below the shoulder, where a horrific gash was cut into his flesh. Warm blood splattered on the skin of its owner, his white dress turning into a deep dark red.

No no no. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Kiriko, he… he…

He's going to die.

'Just like Alice.'

Why her face flashed in his mind in that moment, he did not know, but he knew that history was going to repeat itself. It would be worse, comparatively, since if things couldn't change, then three people were going to die all at the same time in this cave. And he wouldn't be able to do anything to change that.

Or could he?

His sword eyed a sword left on the ground, his chest heaving from how hard he was breathing. He looked back to Kiriko, and saw the massive goblin approaching him, cursing him and promising to make his death painful.

No… No, no, no! Not again!

Cursing his own cowardice and Kiriko's possible fate, Eugeo ran.

"Hraaaah!"

"And I'll be sure to chop you up, real nice! You'll make for good food for everyo—Aargh!"

Blood sprayed from his thigh, shock clear in his amber eyes as he stared down. Eugeo glared back.

"Leave him alone!"

"Damn Ium..!"

Eugeo tried again to slash for his leg, but the goblin had already moved backwards, favouring one leg now. Good. That would make it difficult for him to move.

"Kiriko!" He yelled. He looked to his friend, and his heart clenched at the hurt in his expression. "Hurry! You need to get up!"

"I-It hurts…"

Goddesses, he hated hearing him in that moment. The sheer fragility that he exuded in that moment, so uncharacteristic of his typically strong front felt so wrong that Eugeo wished that he could have been so much stronger to protect him.

"I-It's okay! We can get out of here, I know we can!"

"Like hell I'll let you!"

Caught unawares, Eugeo looked back to the incoming monster—and only barely managed to raise his sword, though missing the mark by a large margin when the beast chose to slash horizontally into his defenses, cutting straight into his guts.

It was just the air knocked out of him at first. And then, he could feel his skin rip apart. His body was flung backwards, the impact with a massive crystal formation rattling the bones in his body and shaking his vision.

Then the nausea came.

It was suddenly so much harder to breathe, so much harder to focus. It was a dull feeling at first, but it didn't take long for pain to stab through his being, radiating sharply from his core. Wet, too, as what he imagined to be his own blood forming a puddle below him.

'Oh my god, I actually got cut.'

Kiriko made it look so easy to just dance around their attacks. And here he'd up and taken a blow straight to the gut. Bloody idiot… literally.

Hasty footballs approached him. For a moment, he feared it was a goblin coming to finish the job, but the hand that came under his neck was soft to the touch. Wide black eyes stared down at him in horror. "Eugeo!"

"K-Kiriko…" Even speaking hurt now. He tried not to let his hurt show, but now he was feeling cold—and not just from the temperature in the cave. His whole body was shivering, having broken into a cold sweat and leaving him breathless.

"Oh my god, oh my god… You're bleeding so much…"

"I-I can imagine…" Despite himself, he found himself laughing weakly, though even that hurt him. He almost wanted to cry, but he was desperately trying to hold onto any remaining scraps of pride—then again, in a situation like this, he doubted that mattered much. "At least… you're okay…"

"Idiot..! You weren't supposed to jump in like that! I would have been fine!"

"But I just… didn't want to do nothing…" He must have sobbed, for Kiriko immediately halted. "I failed Alice… b-because I didn't do anything before… I can't let the same… happen to you, Kiriko…"

"Eugeo…"

Goddesses, he really messed up. He knew that he couldn't fight, but he'd tried to help regardless, and now he was dying. Somehow, he wasn't all that bothered by it. It meant that he would get to see Alice again.

And he'd be leaving his family behind—his brothers, who always involved him in fun conversations. His sister, who loved him despite all the distance he'd put between them. His father, who was always patient in teaching him.

And… he'd be leaving Kiriko behind…

"I… I'm so sorry… We promised as children, but…"

"…Eugeo… Wait here."

The warm hand holding him disappeared. Through blurry vision, he watched his friend stand up, his face hidden by a shadow. Behind him, a massive body approached him.

He wanted to tell him to run. To turn around. To do something, yet his words failed him.

For in that moment, Kiriko, with renewed vigour, screamed loudly as he twisted on the spot and charged the goblin, lashing out so greatly that the goblin was knocked back. It turned into a messy exchange of sword slashes right after, showering sparks lighting up the cave as they fought to best the other.

It was like a scene from an epic. A battle between a helpless human and a greater human, persistence and determination carrying through as what should have been a one-sided slaughter is instead turned into a battle on even footing, power warring with aptitude.

And Eugeo watched every moment, up until he eventually lost his consciousness and could no longer feel himself breathing anymore.

And Kiriko was beautiful from start to finish, even as he beheaded his opponent.

…Huh. So this is what being dead meant.

Complete darkness was overtaking his vision, giving nothing away as he was left to wonder what was going on. Maybe he was swimming in the vast space of nothingness, waiting for judgement from the goddesses as to what his ultimate fate would be? Would they decide whether he was a good person or not?

Somehow, he didn't feel all that anxious about it. His mind seemed made up on where his standing was, though it certainly made him feel awful.

'Would I get to see you again, Alice..? Or would I just live with the knowledge that you're far away from me while I sit in a place for sinners?'

While he knew that he'd never done much wrongs in his life, the guilt stemming from his failure to save Alice had always left him feeling like the worst human in the world—even if he knew deep down that there were probably others who'd done far more terrible things than he did.

Ah well. Not like there was no use worrying about any of that now. He was dead, and he was going to be judged soon. That was probably why he was hearing the angel's song at that moment.

Wait a minute. Song?

Maybe that was a part of the procedure, though he swore he wasn't meant to feel this cold. And it wasn't like the kind of cold he'd experienced mere moments ago when he was bleeding out; more like the feeling of touching something cold. And he felt comfortable, as if his head was laying on a pillow. It was slowly making him realize that he was… alive?

Testing the waters, the blond slowly parted his eyelids, squinting even through the darkness. A soft blue glow surrounded him from every angle, reminding him of the cold feeling through his palms and arms. Ice glimmered, an unnatural glow coming from them that brought about the barest amount of illumination within the cave.

'Where… am I?'

"Oh, are you up already?"

The singing had ceased, and in its wake was a voice rich with relief. It took the better part of a minute for his vision to finally clear up, the numbing ache in his skull from earlier eventually giving way for clarity as he blinked. Looking up, he finally meets the gaze of…

"K-Kiriko?"

"Hey."

He was staring up at his best friend's face, his eyes gazing down on him in that gentle manner he'd grown so used to seeing. It felt almost sisterly, and whatever part of him that had at once been left in a state of confusion had simply melted away into a comfortable bliss.

For only a single second, though.

"…Eh?" Realization dawned on him. Green eyes shoot wide. "Aaaah!"

"Sssh..! Selka's sleeping..!"

Like he could actually keep calm in this sort of situation! But he forced himself to quiet down regardless, only now noticing the sleeping girl leaning against his friend's shoulder. She looked pale, but thankfully there didn't seem to be any obvious injuries on her body. Perhaps exhaustion from executing some kind of «Sacred Art» to treat both of them.

'At least… At least she's okay…' Knowing that she was now safe from the goblins alleviated all of his earlier concerns, giving him the opportunity to properly relax. Things had been pretty intense earlier, after all. Looking around now, though, the absence of goblins left this cave in complete silence—and that meant they were completely safe.

"You shouldn't get up just yet. You literally tore your stomach open earlier, after all. Just lie down."

"A-And you? How are you?"

The ravenette tugged a strand behind his ear, smiling. "I'm fine. I was a little wounded, but they've already healed up. I'm more than great now."

"That's good to hear…"

That was the only thing he managed before he turned his head away, acutely aware of the fact that he was burning in the face. Goddesses, had he really been asleep on Kiriko's lap all this time?

'You could just close your eyes and sleep again. I'm sure Kiriko wouldn't mind.'
'No, I don't want to do that!'
'Oh, what's the use of lying? We both know what you want.'

Curse the devilish voice inside of him, echoing his true desires at him. He refused to fall for its whispering, no matter how much he wanted to—Nope! Not going to even acknowledge that thought!

Mentally groaning, he screwed his eyes shut while letting out a slow breath. When he was sure his voice was level again, he spoke once more. "I've got to say, you were… amazing back there. The way you fought all of them without a shred of fear was incredible."

"Ah, well, it'd be hard to say that I was completely fearless," Kiriko chuckled nervously, rubbing his arm. "I mean, you saw how I flinched sometime when he got that hit on me. I… really thought that I was going to die."

"And you still fought, despite how much it must have hurt…" He frowned. "Unlike me."

"Eugeo, come on now…"

"I-I get it. That flesh wound I received was definitely enough to kill me. There was no way I could have continued fighting after I got that hurt… But it wouldn't have happened if I was slightly better."

A sigh. "Eugeo—"

"No, Kiriko, I'm not wrong. If I was actually good at fighting, then I could have actually helped you. All I did was just get myself stabbed like a goddamned idiot."

And man, that hadn't been fun. He really did think that he was going to die in that moment. While he doubted he cared enough about his own life, he knew that his death would leave his family in grief. That was the last thing he'd ever want for them.

In one world or another, that really might have happened because of his own carelessness. How he wasn't actively freaking out when he'd been so close to death was likely because he'd actually gone over the limit, though was fortunately saved from such a fate simply because Selka was there.

Could he actually change that? Could he possibly become someone far better than what he was now?

A moment of recollection came to him, and Eugeo feels his eyes widen. He looked down to his hands, unmarred and steady. He imagines a sword in his hands, and all he can feel is hope.

"Kiriko… Let me ask you this. Do you think you can help train me in swordsmanship?"

"Eh?"

"All my life, I practically gave up on trying to find a way to fulfil my calling. And it's not like I was crazy; there really was no way to cut it down," he turned his head around. While he was a little embarrassed looking up at Kiriko in this manner, he still pushed on, meeting his best friend's eyes. "But with the Blue Rose Sword… I get this crazy feeling that I can actually cut down the Gigas Cedar with it. Can I?"

"I… Well, we probably could."

"Then I think… I want to become a swordsman. I want you to teach me how to fight with a sword, so that I can finally cut down the Gigas Cedar and leave for Centoria."

Black brows fell as the person frowned. "What? Why would you go there?"

"It's where Alice was taken. And… maybe she was killed there. But, at the very least, I want closure. I want to go there and come to terms with it all."

And yet, despite his words, why did a part of him feel as if she was alive there? Was it some foolish ember of hope in his heart, or a fool's notion? He did not know, but there was something drawing him to Centoria. Going there might just end up in disappointment.

But… he had to. As Kiriko once said, everyone had a purpose in life. A greater calling that transcended their own «Sacred Task». Perhaps this was it.

"So… would you train me, Kiriko? Will you make me a swordsman?"

"I…" His eyes fell shut. A deep breath was taken before it was expelled. When those beautiful midnight eyes were open once more, renewed conviction stared back at him. "Yeah, I will."

Good. Great. The opportunity to become something bigger than he ever had been and walk down this road alongside his friend was… it felt strange, he would admit, but it finally gave him feeling; years of being restrained by his calling had dulled everything for him. Now, there was a future worth working for. He might even find Alice. For that alone, he swore to work hard to become the greatest—

A hand came upon his head, stroking his hair with soft, gentle sweeps. The angel began singing once more, filling the cave with a soft tune.

Eugeo's head, earlier filled with all his visions of the future, came blank. All he could think of now was his friend's touch.

'Oh goddesses, what is happening?! Abort! Abort!'
'Oh, shut up. Just enjoy the moment. Just for a little bit.'

And he really was enjoying it. A lot, actually.

…Fuck.

Author's Notes:

Bedman? got released for Guilty Gear Strive a week or so ago, and you know what that means; a sick song to bang your head to. God damn it is good.

And one thing that I never understood is how Eugeo was able to wield the Blue Rose Sword after the cave incident, considering how he hadn't killed any of the goblins. After all, the only way to increase the «Object Control Authority» is to kill something, so that had bothered me a little. At least Kirito defeated Ugachi. Maybe the light novels explained it, so I might not know.

Like, if we take the context of the videogame into consideration, he and Kirito killed that bird in the village, so that would definitely contribute some growth to their authority.