Chapter 4

"Alex get out of here now!" A woman frantically yelled.

Her heavy panting could be heard in between sword slashes. She swung at a woman with eight purple tentacles extruding from her body. They were dripping a yellow liquid that formed steam when it connected with the ground. Dissolving the foliage at her feet almost instantly.

"But I can fight!" Alex called out.

He held his father's sword in his hand, barely managing to hold it before him. Alex's legs were shaking and his arms were trembling with the sword outstretched in front of him.

A man called out in agony from the ground behind the tentacle woman, part of his legs were missing. Steam was coming from the wounds and blood was seeping out. "Just fucking run Alex… Forget about us. Make it to Illias Village!"

The tentacle woman laughed, "Aww don't run, our fun was just getting started. I thought you wanted to play before my meal." She motioned to the boy with one of her tentacles, "Come on boy, I know you want to play around some."

Alex snapped, his legs moved on their own. He charged at the tentacle woman, taking a wide slash across the woman's body. Only for her to backstep and slap his back with her tentacle forcing him to the ground.

"Alex!" The swordswoman screamed before rushing forwards.

The tentacle woman grabbed Alex's leg and pulled him up in the air, the part of his leg where the tentacle grabbed him started to sizzle and smoke. The boy screamed and thrashed around trying to get loose but no progress was made, the tentacle still remained tightly wrapped around his leg.

The swordswoman sliced at the tentacle woman forcing her to dodge each slash aimed at her tentacles or body.

"Oh, Illias… If there was… ever a time… for your guidance… now would be… the time." The woman panted with each attempted strike.

"Praying to your Goddess," The tentacle woman laughed, throwing the boy around with each backstep, "She won't help you, she'll never help you. We both know it, and that's why you're my food."

"I'll… take… my… chances!" The swordswoman yelled before managing to hit the tentacle woman with her blade.

It barely grazed the tentacle holding Alex but it was enough to make the monster let go of the boy. Dropping him to the ground in the process.

Not wasting a chance he ran for his sword that was lying on the ground, picking it up before making himself ready to charge again.

"For the love of Illias, Alex! Leave us, you can still live a life, do that for us! Live for us!" The man on the ground yelled before finding stones to throw in the direction of the tentacle woman.

"Trying to save your kid won't help." The tentacle woman called out sadistically, "I'll find him one way or another."

The swordswoman increased her ferocity, swinging more often with greater force behind each attack. The sword kept missing its intended mark but the tentacle woman was forced back, which made more space between the boy and the monster.

Alex had been through this before, time and time again he watched his friends die. Killed by terrorists and other threats to society. They were threats to people he loved and cared about. It was tiring, it was exhausting, he felt like he only go through grief a few times before it got better.

It never did, not once did it get better, it always felt worse. After each death, each lifeless body hitting the floor it always felt worse than the previous one. There was always something more he could have done, there must have been a way to get them out and to safety.

In this situation, however, he could not find a way, and he could not let their efforts go in vain. His parents in this world guided him and taught him what they could in their short time together.

"Thank you!" Alex called out, "I won't forget you!" Before turning the other direction and running away, towards what he hoped would be Illias Village.

The tentacle woman, however, did not take this action lightly. She moved around the swordswoman and rushed towards the boy.

Only to be stopped by a sword slicing off one of her tentacles completely.

"Don't… think… you'll… get away… that… easily." The swordswoman panted, a grin showed on her face as she smiled at the monster before her.

The tentacle woman looked at what remained of her tentacle and stared back at the swordswoman. "Oh, now you've done it. I'm going to make your death as painful as possible."

She could only grin harder in response, almost in eager anticipation for what was about to occur, "Bring… it… on."

The road back to Illias Village was stressful, his leg was still burning and lightly bleeding from the tentacle and he could see it start to bleed in places from the leftover acid. Worst case scenario would be an infection from this wound as he clearly had no way to clean it. No alcohol and only a small bandage made from what was left of his tunic.

Nothing he had at the moment was clean. Discounting the sweat on his clothes there were still bloodstains from his father's legs getting burned off.

A slight breeze was helping to keep Alex cool, but the humidity in the forest was not helping his exhaustion. His body was weak and frail, his muscles were small and underdeveloped, and his endurance was next to nothing. It took almost all he had to pick up his father's sword and attempt to fight with it.

"Please, Illias, just let me make it there." Alex whimpered.

The path ahead was physically clear, but it was by no means short. The road from Illiasburg was supposed to be safe, protected by a few roaming guards from the capital of the region. However, they became fewer and fewer the closer it got to the temple. But monsters were less present around the temple, likely due to the influence of the goddess herself.

The constant fear and distaste the monsters had for Illias and her followers was understandable. She was the bain of their existence after all.

On an annual basis, the Goddess Illias herself came down and blessed heroes. Trusting them on a journey to bring the Monster Lord to justice ending her reign over the humans. Despite what the locals believed, the monsters held oppressive control over every human settlement in the world. Ranging from the Monster Lord's castle in Hellgondo to Illiasburg on the Illias continent itself.

From what Alex could understand the people in this world were content to let the monsters decide their fate. Where they could travel, where they could grow food, and where they could even live. The monsters controlled it all and nobody bothered to do anything about it, not the governments, not the church, nobody. They were all blinded by the quest to kill the Monster Lord.

A few hours of walking had passed and Alex was on the brink of passing out. He was surprised his body lasted this long. A four-year-old normally would not be able to travel this far, but maybe Illias was watching over him, giving him the strength when he needed it most. Alex would have to ask her when he gets baptized as a hero.

Before long, the trees started to break and more light began to shine in front of him. The forest was ending, he had made it. The straw tops of village homes were the first things he saw, along with the fences that held in what little livestock they had.

"Alex!" A woman called, clearly frightened, "Alex is back!"

She ran up to him and hugged him tightly, "Where are your parents?" She asked.

He looked at her in the eyes, "They're gone Betty," Alex spoke in a monotone, "A tentacle monster killed them… Crippled father and fought mother while I ran away."

Betty looked at him with tears starting to form in her eyes, before Alex could say anything she picked him up. "Come on Alex, I'll patch you up at my house."

He fell limp when Betty picked him up, his head resting against her shoulder. The fight and constant traveling afterward had finally got to him. Alex managed to stay conscious but his body could no longer hold itself up.

Over Betty's shoulder, Alex could see another woman rushing out of her home followed closely behind by a boy. The woman was slim with golden blonde hair while the purple-haired boy looked around his age.

"What happened to Alex?" The blonde spoke before falling in line and walking with Betty, "Where are his parents?"

"A Roper got them and he managed to walk all the way back here. Paul is gone but Diane might still be out there, he doesn't know."

Alex weakly spoke up, "She's gone… Don't look for her Lucifina… She barely managed to free me. The Roper… was a fighter."

"Alex don't speak about your Mother like that. We both know she could outmatch any monster. I'll go look for her, maybe she managed to walk closer." Lucifinia chastised. "Betty, watch Luka until I get back."

Betty nodded before Alex spoke again, "We were ambushed on the road… I've been walking since before noon."

Lucifina ignored the child and walked toward her house, likely to retrieve a weapon she stashed away from Luka. Alex knew she tried to hide the world from Luka while she could, most parents would if they were able and had some sense of protection like they had here.

"Betty, is Alex going to be okay?" Luka asked,

"He's going to be okay Luka, don't you worry about him."

The three of them arrived at Betty's home and she immediately went to look for a clean cloth to wrap up Alex's leg after placing him on her bed. When she returned looked at his wound for a good while.

The waiting started to get on Alex's nerves so he spoke up, "Betty…We need alcohol or liquor… to clean the wound."

The woman looked at Alex confused, "No, I'll just wrap it up to stop the bleeding and you'll be fine."

Alex shook his head a frown growing on his face, "I'm going to get an infection if you don't… I'll die in the state I'm in."

Betty ignored the boy and started to bandage his leg, "Alex just rest, I'll get you some food, but you just need to rest and pray and you'll be fine."

Luka walked up and grabbed his hand, "Illias watches over us, Alex, don't worry. She'll make you better and we can play again!"

Betty came back with a bowl of stew and helped Alex eat the meal. Getting something in his body would help him heal. The wound was not that bad but considering that acid was left on his skin and it continued to eat away at him for hours on his way back here.

It was a burn and if there was anything that he had learned it would have a fairly large chance of getting infected if it was not properly cleaned, considering the amount of open skin. Not to mention that he had no idea if the roper released some sort of pathogen in its acid to keep its prey down.

The villagers would not believe him and Alex doubted that anyone would just offer up alcohol to use on his leg, straight alcohol was not cheap. So he simply had to wait it out and hope the worst would not come. Until then he would sleep.

Eventually, Lucifina returned. Alex woke up at the sound of her opening the front door. When he looked around he saw Luka laying asleep right next to him, and Betty nowhere to be found. However, he could hear the two speak from outside the bedroom door.

Lucifina was the first to say something, "Diane's dead as well, I found two swords on the side of the road and nothing else around aside from some blood-stained grass. The roper got them both."

Betty sighed, "I was afraid you'd say that," She paused, "Alex and Luka are asleep in my room. I can take care of Alex for a few days until he heals but after that, I can't, I'm too old to watch over him."

"I know Betty, but we can't just leave him alone. He needs someone to watch over him and take care of him. He's only four years old!" Lucifina said.

"Then why don't you take care of him? I doubt Luka would mind a brother, especially considering the two of them are friends." Betty said.

Lucifina pressed her hands on her head, "You know that would put a target on his head, the villagers already don't like me because I'm an outsider. We don't want to put him through that if we can help it. At least let him sleep at your house, we're neighbors after all."

"I can work with that," Betty replied, "I'd rather have him be respected here than not."

"Thank you Betty. I'll take Luka home now and get out of your hair." Lucifina said before walking towards the bedroom.

When the door opened Alex looked Lucifina directly in the eyes, "Anything?" He asked calmly.

"I brought your parent's swords," She went over and hugged the boy in question, "I'm sorry Alex."

Lucifina went to pick up Luka and before she could walk out the door Alex called out to her.

"I'll make it through it," His voice turned to a whisper, "I always have."

It took three days for the infection to set in.

Alex got his hopes up after day two, everything looked fine when he peaked under the bandage while looking for a more clean cloth to replace it with. Unfortunately, Betty immediately put the same bandage back on, but from what he could see the wound was still red but healing.

He felt a fever set in while he stared at the red outline around the burn sores. Some puss was foaming out of the wound, it was not the worst, but an infection was still an infection. Dying of sepsis was not something Alex had in mind.

Betty gaged when she took the bandage off and immediately went to hug Alex, "I'm so sorry Alex, I'm so sorry."

Alex looked at her, "I'm not going to pretend this is okay, but you didn't even try. I asked you to clean it, why didn't you at least try."

She looked at him solemnly, "The village ran out of honey, this is the best I could have done."

Alex spoke up, "Can you take me to the temple? Maybe the priests will have some tools for draining the puss. They're supposed to be at least somewhat versed in medicine. Plus I can pray there, maybe Illias will take pity on me."

He survived the ordeal with the roper, this would be nothing in comparison. There he was fighting against another being as intelligent as him, maybe even more so. But here, it was just bacteria. Any boost to his health would help him fight this infection.

Betty carried Alex to the temple, his leg bandaged back up in the hopes of preventing it from getting worse. Once they arrived the guards outside the temple stopped them in their tracks.

"What business do you have at the temple." One young guard called out.

"We need to see the priest for help, Alex is getting worse and it's from his wound," Betty said with tears in her eyes.

The guard walked up and looked at Alex, he inspected the boy and watched Betty's reaction.

"Come," He said, "I'll take you to the priest and he can let you know more from there."

The guard led them through the massive temple, it looked like a cathedral on the inside. There were works of art on the ceiling depicting various events from history. Illias descending from heaven to guide humans. Illias baptizing Heinrich before his journey to defeat the Monster Lord. Among other events that he could not place.

They eventually moved away from the artworks and towards a darker section deeper into the temple. The torchlight was dim and failed to illuminate the massive walls to the same degree that the sunlight did. However, Alex was still able to see, if only barely.

Taking another turn they eventually reached a room with several priests on the inside, all reading some books, likely scriptures.

The guard knocked on the door that was left open, "Phillip, this boy needs medical attention."

A priest in the back perked his head up and walked over. His robes covered most of his thin frame but he seemed old from what Alex could tell.

Phillip smiled, "Let me have a look at the child in another room. What is his name?"

The priest continued to walk past them and ushered Betty and Alex to follow him.

"My name is Alex."

"It is a good name son, Illias blessed your family with a strong young boy. She will not take you away from them lightly." The priest said.

"She won't take me from them but that did not stop the monsters from taking them from me," Alex said solemnly.

"I'm sorry Alex." The priest responded, "Illias works to protect us but the monsters seek to break her protection."

The group walked into a room that was much more heavily lit, and the sun was poking in from a sunroof. A small table lay in the center of the room with a fabric sheet resting on top. While a fireplace was present in the corner with a table of metal instruments directly next to it.

"Place the boy on the table and I will inspect the wound," Phillip said,

Betty complied and stepped away, across from Phillip and the fire.

Phillip slowly removed the bandages around Alex's leg and began to inspect the wound. Poking around turning his leg to understand the scope of the injury.

Alex could see the puss coming from the sores. The outlines around the burn marks were a deep red and there was a clear line between what the roper grabbed and what was left untouched.

"This wound is clearly rotting, the monster which inflicted this must have infused its limbs with dark magic. We'll have to drain it as best we can, hope, and pray. If the condition worsens we will have to remove the leg in its entirety to protect Alex." Phillip said.

Amputation was a last resort and Alex knew it. He knew that if the priest said his leg needed to come off he would not survive the surgery. Alex could trust Philip for treating the infection, but he could not trust him for performing an amputation. He could not trust anyone with that here.

Even with magic and Illias' blessing he doubted he would survive a surgery like that. Not to mention he doubted he would be able to function with a missing leg.

Phillip put a thick glove on and grabbed a metal instrument with it. He placed it on another metal sheet before moving the sheet into the fire to let it heat up.

After a few minutes, he removed the metal sheet and picked up the instrument. With his off hand, he said a few words silently to himself that Alex could not pick up. Before Alex understood what was happening water started to form and cover the metal instrument. Steam pouring off of the hot metal.

"Betty can you help to hold him down, this will hurt. Alex stay strong, this is for your own good."Phillip said,

Phillip moved the metal closer to the wound, ready to force the puss from his body.

"That is enough Phillip."

Only to be stopped by a feminine voice from above them.

Alex opened his eyes that he did not know he had closed and stared directly at a woman with bright white wings behind her. She was covered by a golden dress and had a tiara of the same color on her head. Her blue eyes shined like diamonds only to be complimented by her golden blonde locks of hair.

"Illias." Betty and Phillip said, awe clear in their voice. The priest's voice wavered as the metal instrument in his hands dropped to the ground.

Alex was unable to speak, the woman before him was beautiful. She was nothing like he had ever seen before. The stories did not do her justice. She emanated an aura around her of nothing but purity and benevolence.

"Please, leave us. I'll speak with Alex alone." Illias spoke

"Yes my goddess," Philip said before grabbing Betty by the arm and pulling her out of the room.

When the two were out of the room Illias spoke first.

"Your continued faith brings me joy. Despite your otherworldly origins, you choose to believe in me and renounce your old world traditions." Illias said with a smile.

"I-I'm honored you noticed my faith goddess Illias," Alex paused before continuing, "but how could you tell, how did you know I'm not from this world."

"You guide with knowledge and experience that someone your age should not possess. How you consoled Luka when his father left was akin to a father caring for his own son." Illias said.

"But most of all, your eyes have no light, they don't shine as a child's eyes do. They show the hardships you have experienced throughout your life."

"My eyes?" Alex spoke with confusion, "you can see all that through my eyes?"

"When I look in your eyes I can see the magic in your soul. The wind of innocence is not present, it's been replaced by a burning fire so strong that I have seen very few like it." Illias said with enthusiasm, "You have the potential to be a great hero Alex, one along the lines of Heinrich."

"I've always planned on being a hero because I was a soldier in my past life," Alex said with a hint of sorrow in his voice, "I fought to protect my nation from any potential harm. I tried to help as many people as I could because I knew sometimes violence was the answer. Not everything can be solved with a pen and flavored words."

"Everyone back home preaches that violence is never the answer, that violence only breeds more violence, and that an eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind."

He looked at Illias in the eyes with passion and his voice filled with determination, "Not everything is so simple… When ideas get put down they are left to simmer in the oppressed people's heads and they only get stronger from there. That's how the revolutions of my world started, both the good and the bad.

"But when a dangerous idea is left floating around they'll act on it sooner or later. If the idea itself is not discredited, it will come back from the dead, because if one person has thought of it another will soon enough. But, if the people who hold the ideas are left alive, then the ideas will spread faster and faster."

"That's why you can't just talk things out and hope everything will be fine. We can't just stop people from thinking something, but we can make them think it's morally wrong, and that's how ideas die. That's how you get rid of the monsters Illias."

The goddess in question looked at Alex with an everpresent smile, it threatened to turn into more than a grin and she covered her mouth with her hand. She straightened her posture and floated down to Alex, sitting next to him on the table and her wing wrapping around him.

"You have a perspective that nobody else in this world has… and that's a good thing. You can be the hero that saves the world from the evil that plagues us and has for centuries. You can bring these practices to light more than I can. My direct influence can only go so far."

Alex looked over at her, "I'm only a boy right now, I need time and conditioning before I can really do anything. Most I can do right now is spread ideas here and there, that is if people even believed me."

Illias smiled, "That's where my angels come in. Provided you are willing, one of my angels can guide you on your quest. She'll be able to have a much more direct influence than I can have on this plane. This temple is the only place I can descend from heaven."

"I will accept any help from you or your angels, goddess Illias," Alex said with fervor.

Almost immediately another figure descended from the sky. Both her wings and her hair were a pristine white and went down to her hips. She wore a light blue dress that was much more modest than Illias'. While her eyes were a light silver but did not show the same shine that Illias had.

"I am Aurelia, It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She said in a monotone voice.

Alex extended his arm offering Aurelia a handshake, "I'm Alex, it is a pleasure to meet you."

The woman in question took his hand and shook it. Her grip was significantly stronger than what Alex had anticipated.

"She will be your guide Alex," Illias spoke, "If you stray from your path she will be there to set you straight. If you lose heart she will be there to remind you why to fight and to keep moving on. She will teach you everything she knows and when the time comes you will be a hero unlike the world has ever seen."

"I will help you to prepare your physical body, but until we start weapon training I will teach you the ways of this world." Aurelia said, "The monsters are more of a threat than you know."

"Thank you both," Alex said, "I will make the world a place where everyone can live happy and safe. I won't let you down."

Illias smiled, "I know you won't Alex, just have faith and we will always be here for you. You are not alone. Just let me do one thing before I leave."

Illias moved her hands over to his infected wound and began speaking to herself. Before long he could see a golden glow coming from his leg. He watched as the puss vanish from his wound and the burn marks recede. When the light dimmed the wound was missing in its entirety.

"Farewell Alex," Illias said with a smile before she vanished from sight.

After Illias' vanished the holy glow that was present disappeared as well. Leaving the room lit by only torch light and the fire.

Aurelia moved toward Alex and picked him up, making him stand in front of her. She was significantly taller than him, almost doubling his size. It made sense considering his age, but he wondered if he would grow to be as tall as her. Height tended to make a difference when melee combat was considered.

"Come," Aurelia said, "the woman and priest are waiting."

Alex followed but before she opened the door he spoke up, "Shouldn't you hide your wings or can you even do that? I'm not sure the villagers would be happy if someone they thought was a monster walked out of the temple."

Aurelia hummed and placed a hand under her chin in thought, "It is a fair concern, the people of this village have likely never seen a valkyrie before. I suppose I can, it would be best to not frighten the people here if we intend to stay for several years."

In response to her words, her wings pulled themselves into her body. She twisted her back a few times in response to the changed center of gravity.

"There, that should work," Aurelia said, "Now, let us move on."

She opened the door and walked out with Alex trailing close behind her. Standing outside the door were Betty and Phillip, having idle chatter.

"Betty, Phillip, this is Aurelia. She's going to guide me on a quest to becoming a hero." Alex said quickly before the two could make any comments.

Phillip stared in awe with his mouth hanging open while Betty quickly looked between Alex and Aurelia.

Betty was the first to speak up, "You're going to become a hero? Is that what Illias spoke to you about?"

"That's the plan, I'm going to save this world from monsters so that innocent people can live their lives free from fear and harm," Alex said.

"He was chosen by Illias and it is a quest that he himself wishes to take." Aurelia chimed in.

Phillip continued to mumble to himself while Betty sighed, "Alex has always had a special fight in him. If Illias wishes for him to become a hero then he was always destined to be one."

Eventually, Phillip broke out of his constant mumbling, "y-y-your an angel. I-I've read about your kind h-holy texts… A valkyrie, one of heaven's g-greatest warriors."

Aurelia stood tall and crossed her arms across her chest, "I am a valkyrie, priest. I am here for Alex so please do not come to me with questions, I will not answer them. The texts will provide you with all the information you need."

Alex looked at Phillip with a smile, "Thank you for trying to treat my wound, but Illias healed me so I won't be needing your help for now." He kicked his leg out to show that the wound was missing.

"I-Its another miracle." Phillip said in awe, "You Alex, will do great things for the world."

"Don't worry Phillip, I plan to," Alex said.

Aurelia placed her hand on Alex's shoulder and spoke to the other two, "It is time we left, I understand Alex's old home is still unclaimed. We will stay there until his training is complete. Until we meet again."

With that Aurelia and Alex left the two to talk. Betty was comforting Philip who was having a hard time coming to terms with what had happened. While Betty seemed calm on the outside. It was hard to tell how she was dealing with everything, the death of her friends and then their child being trained by an angel.

Alex was unsure of how the village would come to accept Aurelia, they were against outsiders. He hoped that she would be quiet about her holy presence, otherwise the villagers might see him as a prophet and he was not ready for that responsibility. In time maybe, but not right now.

The two of them eventually reached outside of Alex's home, only to spot Lucifinia and Luka standing outside of it. He looked toward the door and saw two swords laying against it.

Luka looked up and when he saw Alex he immediately ran towards him and hugged him.

"Alex you're alive!" Luka cheered, "I was so worried when mom told me you weren't at Betty's house."

Alex chuckled and hugged him back, "I'm okay Luka, all it took was a literal miracle. I'm safe and healthy."

His eyes widened at the mention of a miracle, "You saw Illias?!"

When Alex nodded his head Luka became excited, "What was she like?"

Lucifina walked toward the two at the same time Aurelia did, they looked each other in the eyes but did not speak to one another.

Lucifina spoke up, "It's good to see you healthy again Alex. We came by to drop off your parent's swords, I had a feeling you would have wanted them."

Alex nodded his head again, letting go of Luka, "Thank you Lucifina, I can't tell you how much that means to me." Alex paused and turned around to find Aurelia at his side, "This is Aurelia, I met her in the temple and she said she would take care of me from now on."

"This is true, Illias asked me to watch over him and I'm not going to disrespect the goddess' will," Aurelia said while staring at Lucifina.

"Oh that is good to hear," Lucifina responded while not taking her eyes off of Aurelia, "Just make sure to do what you believe is right Alex, do what your mom and dad taught you."

He could feel the tension in the air, these two knew each other and he could not place why or how. How would Lucifina speak with a valkyrie of all people? Maybe it's not Aurelia's first time in the human world, he would have to ask her about it later.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you two. Alex has much to learn and the best time is always the present." Aurelia spoke before moving towards the door.

"Take care you two… Come on Luka let's go home, you can play with Alex later once they are all settled in." Lucifina said.

Aurelia and Alex walked inside the house while they each held one of his parent's swords. Alex sat on the floor and stared at it, moving it around as best he could.

This was his final memory of his parents in this world. He could not let it go to waste, he could not squander their memory. Alex knew that monsters were the reason this all happened, they were the reason he was here, there was no doubt in his mind. There was an evil that needed to be dealt with and a goddess chose him to deal with it.

Alex understood how much family meant to people, he would not let his parents' deaths be in vain. By the time he was done with this world, he would make sure every monster in it was dead or dying and that the world would see the true threat that they posed.

Illias gave him a true purpose here and he would be her instrument.