"E-Ellis?" Clara muttered, trying to peer into the dust cloud. As the dust slowly faded, Ellis was nowhere to be seen. The only thing that was left was the vassal jar on top of a bloody smear on the ground.

"Wow. He must have had a lot of defense," Midas said, reaching towards the jar.

"SOLAR STRIKE!" a voice Clara didn't recognize hollered, summoning a wall of black flame in between Midas and the jar. Clara turned towards the voice and paled.

Hol was slowly walking towards Midas. His armor, usually gray with blue and red outlines, was now black with bright glowing red lines spread across the armor. His eyes were burning red, with the pupils barely visible, and a look of rage on his face. He was dragging a large red scythe in his hand as he slowly made his way forward. Black flames were jumping from his weapon and armor onto the ground, turning the grass to ash. Clara heard the ground crack every time he took a step forward.

"H-Hol?" she stuttered, taking a step away from him, but the hero ignored her. Clara saw a single tear run down his cheek before it got incinerated by the flames.

"I can understand why you're pissed, bu-" Midas began.

"Ravine Strike!" Hol cut him. He grabbed his weapon with both hands and slammed it into the ground with all his might. Cracks began to spread from the weapon and surged towards Midas. They gathered and met in front of him, splitting the earth apart and sending a wave of flames at the unwanted guest.

"Aqua Splash! Vanishing Jewel!" Midas countered the flames with a blast of water. The two elements collided, blasting steam in all directions, which Midas used to vanish from sight. Hol couldn't see where he was, so he picked up the jar and raised his weapon again.

"Whirlwind Strike!" Hol spun his scythe and summoned a tornado of flack flames, burning everything around him. Clara yelped and crawled away before the flames reached her. She continued to look at the fight from the sidelines as the two men clashed. She wanted to Help Hol, but the pressure the two men were exerting made her tremble. She felt that she would die if she tried to poke her nose into the fight.

"Cosmic Barrier!" Midas countered, summoning a barrier to guard himself from the flames. As the flames collided with the forcefield, cracks began to form on its surface. Midas looked at the cracks in a panic and swapped to another ring. "Damn it! Tornado Blast!"

The ring on his finger suddenly sent a burst of yellow wind, blowing the flames away. Midas' armor began to change and morph into a black and yellow robe. His ring gave off a sinister yellow glow and a dark mist began to appear from his body.

"DIE! THUNDER STRIKE!"

Hol sent a burst of black thunder at Midas, shattering the barrier.

"Second Ring, Third Ring, Forth Ring, Fifth Ring, Full Hand!" Midas called out his skills, summoning four more rings on his hand and tying them together with a glowing thread.

"ERST STRIKE, SECOND STRIKE!" Hol screamed, sending two blasts of fire at Midas.

"Change Ring," he replied, transforming his rings. His speed seemed to increase as he quickly dodged the two attacks and got behind Hol.

"Change Ring! Shrapnel Shot! Earth Missile Fireball! Thunder Bolt!"

Hol turned around only to be met with a range of attacks blasting him in the eyes. He raised his hand to block him and Midas took that moment to lunge forward and grab the vassal jar.

"LET GO!" Hol screamed, swinging his scythe at Midas.

"Portal Ring!" he countered, teleporting behind him with the jar in his hand.

"YOU!"

"Well, I'd say it's been fun, but it honestly hasn't. I have a lot of problems in my world I need to fix so this is a necessary sacrifice," he said, turning towards the dimensional crack. But large black chains suddenly wrapped around him, holding Midas in place.

"Change Hoe (Attack)!" the chains turned pitch black, sending spikes in all directions. The screeching of metal pierced the ears of everyone present as the thorns bit into Midas' armor. The chains began to float, pulling him up into the air.

"DEVOURING SWINE!"

The ground opened up and a large metal pig burst forth. It opened its mouth full of long sharp teeth.

"MAGIC BIND! CHANGE RING!" Midas yelled, summoning several magic circles around the mouth, stopping it from eating him. Several spikes burst from the circles and pierced the swine's mouth.

"Cosmic Barrier!"

The barrier burst forth and the chains began to break, letting Midas jump away. Hol lunged at him with the flaming scythe in hand.

"Portal RIng!"

With those final words, Midas disappeared completely. A bright flash was seen from the crack of the wave and the sky returned to normal.

Enraged, Hol hit the ground several times while screaming curses. Flames burst forth in every direction, melting the armor left behind by the wave. He stopped and dropped to his knee, exhausted from everything that just happened.

"Hol?" Clara took a step forward to Hol and raised her hand.

"Why didn't you stop him?" Hol asked, slowly turning to Clara. "Why did you just watch as he ran away?!"

Hol stood up and began to walk towards Clara, his flames burning brighter. A knight stepped in between them and raised his sword.

"Stop, Farming Hero. Even if you are a hero, I cannot allow you to hu-"

"MOVE!"

Hol grabbed his face and launched him across the field as if he was a small pebble.

"D-damn it! The farming hero has lost control. Subdue him!" the commander yelled to the other knights, and charged forward. Several knights followed him, but were quickly put out of commission with a punch or a kick from Hol, sending them flying.

"Move, small fry! This doesn't concern you!" Hol yelled, slamming the commander to the ground.

"H-Hol… please… stop…" she pleaded, taking a step back.

"SHUT UP! You're a holy hero, yet all you've done so far is stay back and whine! You can barely cook or fight, so what use are you?!" he hollered and lunged at the girl.

"Ch-ch-chain bind!" she stuttered out, wrapping chains around Hol.

"SHUT IT!" he yelled, ripping the chains to shreds and jumping into the air. Clara jumped to the side, just barely evading the burning scythe. The ground below her erupted into flames and sent her flying away.

"AAAAAGH!" Clara screamed, as the flames burned her skin.

"Even now you can't even fight back. You're just a burden to everyone!" Hol roared, reaching for her head.

Chara tried to jump out of the way, but Hol grabbed her foot and threw her to the ground.

"H-hol! Wait!"

"Someone like you shouldn't have been summoned! I'll summon someone else myself!" he yelled, pointing the flaming scythe at Clara. "Chain Bind!"

"HOL! I'M SORRY! SO PLEASE-" she tried to plead, but Hol wasn't listening.

"Change Hoe (Attack)," he said, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile.

"AAAAAGH!" Clara screamed, as the spikes on the chains pierced her armor.

NO! I don't want to die! Someone help me!

"Devouring Swi-"

"Hol!" a voice called out to him. Hol turned towards the voice, only to receive a small needle to the eye.

"AAAAAAAAGH!" he hollered in pain, clutching his eye. He pulled it out and glared at his attacker.

"God damn it. Of course I'm the one who has to clean up your sh*t!"

The skill wore off and Clara collapsed to the ground. She turned around to see someone dressed in a light blue martial arts uniform similar to her own, with glowing shards decorating it. A blue mask covered her face, but her similarly blue eyes stared Hol down. The female wore armor alongside a mix of futuristic and steampunk gauntlets, as well as a belt filled with random gadgets around her waist.

"YOU B*TCH!" Hol screamed, lunging at the figure. He raised his scythe and swung at her head. She ducked under it and slapped something onto Hol, and then jumped to the side.

*BOOM*

The object on his chest exploded, kicking up a large cloud of smoke. Hol lunged out of the cloud, completely unharmed, and swung at her again. The woman's gauntlets and boots began to glow. She ducked under his scythe and punched Hol in the gut, sending him flying. He dug his scythe into the ground to stop himself and glared at the figure before him.

The bleeding eye was back to normal, and his face was filled with rage. His look screamed bloodlust as he glared at the figure before him.

"As a Pacifier, I have to stop you here! Your weapon did not summon you here for this purpose!" she declared, pulling out other gadgets.

"SHUT UP!" was all Hol screamed back, running towards her.

She threw several darts at him that dug into his armor. The area around the darts began to lighten a bit, as the ominous aura slowly faded.

"DIE YOU PEST!" he screamed at the top of his lungs and jumped into the air. However he seemed slower than before, while the Pacifier dodged his attacks easily.

He growled and with a sudden burst of speed he managed to grab her by the collar.

"GOTCHA!"

"Shut it, you alcoholic!" she yelled back and headbutted him. Another explosion rang out and she was flung from the cloud of dust. Her mask was on fire so she tore it off and tossed it to the side. Clara's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Laura's face under the mask.

"That… hurt!" Hol bellowed, stumbling out of the smoke. The flames on his weapon were extinguished, and his armor was cracked in several places. But despite that Hol didn't seem to be damaged. He began to run towards Laura again.

"FIRE!" the knights captain yelled. Hol turned around to see several arrows made of light fly at him. Dozens of glowing arrows and spears crashed into him.

"DAMN YOU!" he yelled, changing his direction, but Laura threw another explosive at him.

"You are outnumbered, your weapon is neutralized and more knights will be here soon. Transform your weapon back and stop this madness!" Laura commanded, pointing a large needle with a small blue flower on its end.

"SHUT UP!" he screamed, running at her again. She sighed and threw a ball at his feet.

It exploded, sending small metal balls flying under Hol, pushing him off balance. Laura lunged forward and knee kicked him in the face. Before he could recover, she stabbed the needle into his shoulder and punched him with her glowing glove. A beam of light burst forth and launched Hol back.

Hol screamed and swung at her, but she ducked and jumped back. Several more glowing spears hit Hol in the knee, shattering a part of his armor. He jumped at the knights and swung his weapon at them. A barrier suddenly appeared and wrapped around Hol, slamming him to the ground.

"Whirlwind Strike!" he yelled, shredding the barrier and sending the knights flying.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Several more explosions rang out as Laura showered Hol with glowing grenades. She ran up to him and punched him in the face again, but Hol managed to hold onto her collar this time. He pulled her closer and punched her in the stomach, sending her flying back. Before she could recover, he jumped into the air and swung his scythe at her head.

"ERST SLASH!" Clara yelled, sending a small beam of energy at Hol. It knocked him back just far enough to let Laura dodge the strike and recover. He turned around and ran towards her, but several barriers cut off his path again.

"FIRE!" the captain yelled, launching a spear at Hol's head. He grumbled and tried to run at the knights again, however he was intercepted by Laura with another volley of explosives.

"Damn it," Laura grumbled, as she pulled an empty hand out of her explosive pouch. Hol yelled out in pain as a large metal arrow hit him in the side. He pulled it out and glared at the source. A large ballista was stationed at the top of a hill not too far from the battlefield. Another arrow was launched, but Hol shattered it with his scythe.

"DAMN YOU! WHY DIDN'T YOU SHOW UP EARLIER AND SAVE HIM!" Hol screamed at the top of his lungs and fired a 'Solar Strike' at the ballista, shattering it to pieces.

Laura jumped into his back and stabbed a glowing dagger into his shoulder, making him scream in pain. He swung his scythe at her with all his might, but she managed to duck out of the way.

His movements were becoming sluggish and he was slowing down considerably. Another volley of arrows crashed onto his body, throwing him onto the ground. He coughed up some blood and tried to stand up again.

Laura pulled out something that resembled a scifi gun with a small pattern made of stars on the side, and shot several beams of light at Hol. A soft click was heard and the blasts stopped.

"Damn! How much resistance do you have?! I pumped you with a tranquilizer strong enough to put down a chimera!" Laura yelled, throwing the gun at Hol's head. He slapped it away and tried to lunge at Laura again, however his body was finally beginning to give out. Hol swung his scythe desperately but his balance was off.

"DAMN YOU!" he yelled, as his body collapsed onto the ground. His weapon stopped glowing red and soon returned to a small hoe. Hol's tattered armor lost its black and red accent and returned back to its usual form.

"Hah. Finally. I thought he was never gonna fall asleep," Laura let out a sigh of relief and made her way over to Clara, who was still trembling.

"Hey," Laura said, putting a hand on Clara's shoulder. "It's ok. You can calm down for now."

"E-E-Ellis… he… he died?" Clara stuttered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't think about that for now. Are you hurt anywhere?" Laura asked, grabbing Clara's hands. She saw burn marks and deep cuts with blood coming out. Several stars appeared around Laura's hands, and the cuts began to heal. Laura frowned as the wounds didn't completely disappear like she expected.

"GET ME A HEALER OVER HERE!" she yelled at one of the knights. "You're gonna be ok, Clara. We'll heal you up in no time!"

Clara didn't hear her. Her ears started ringing as she looked around the battlefield. Several knights picked up Hol's bleeding body and began to drag him away, other knights screamed from the burns from Hol's weapon. The whole air smelled burned, almost suffocating. Clara's breathing became ragged and her whole world began to spin. She tried to grab onto something, anything, to stop the world from spinning, but her vision slowly faded to darkness and the last thing she felt was the cold burnt ground on her face.

==}—

The first thing Clara saw when she opened her eyes was a pure white ceiling.

Huh? Where is this? How did I get here?

She raised her hands to block out the light and her eyes widened. Her hands were bandaged up, but the bandages themselves looked like they had been burned. She reached for her body and felt that her legs and torso were also bandaged. Her clothes were replaced with a white hospital gown. A jar, knife and hoe were drawn at the front of it in gold, shining brightly under the bright light of the glowing crystals.

She looked down and saw that she was laying on a bed with several golden symbols on it. A low groan startled her. She looked to her side and saw Hol also bandaged up and wearing a similar gown as her. He didn't seem angry anymore, and the ominous aura around him was no longer present. His bandages also didn't seem to be as dark as hers.

What happened? We were just teleported to the wave and then… ELLIS!

The memories flooded Clara's mind. The monster of the wave, a vassal from the other side, a loud explosion, Hol rampaging, the screams of the knights…

"SHUT UP! You're a holy hero, yet all you've done so far is stay back and whine! You can barely cook or fight, so what use are you?!"

"Even now you can't even fight back! You're just a burden to everyone!"

"Someone like you shouldn't have been summoned! I'll summon someone else myself!"

Clara trembled as the memories continued to swirl in her mind, until the bed below her seemed to disappear. She collapsed to the floor and screamed in pain. Her entire body felt like it was hit by a wrecking ball and lit on fire. Her hands and legs burned and her vision blurred again.

"Hero, please calm yourself! Your body is still recovering!" someone next to her yelled. Clara took a few deep breaths and looked at the person next to her. She looked like a nun with a symbol of the 3 weapons around her neck.

"What… happened?" Clara gasped out, her voice hoarse. She raised her hand to her neck and felt more bandages wrapped around it.

"You have been hit by cursed flames. We applied bandages with holy water, but unfortunately it seems they aren't strong enough."

I've been cursed?

"But do not worry. We have dealt with this curse before. It shouldn't last too long. You will have to go to the holy water springs for a bit, and you should recover in a week or two at most," the nun assured her.

Clara nodded and reached for the bed to try and stand up. The nun held Clara's other arm and helped her back into the bed as Clara opened her status. The nun quickly left the room and Clara was left alone with Hol again.

"Hmm. How long was I out for this time?" he groaned, startling Clara. She grabbed the sides of the bed for fear of falling off again.

Clara looked over at Hol from the corner of her eyes. He clutched his head as if hit by a massive headache.

"Damn, how much did I drink? Did Ellis drag me here?" he grumbled. He was about to say something else, but his glance fell on Clara.

"Clara? What happened to… you…"

Realization dawned on him as his memories replayed in his head. His face paled as he looked around.

"Did I…?" Hol tried to ask. He looked at his weapon and then at his status. "Sh*t…"

Clara looked away from him and took a deep breath.

"Clara… are you… doing alright?" Hol asked, trying to find the right words. He tried to reach his hand out but Clara moved away.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. Hol didn't pry any further and nodded. An awkward silence hung in the air. Clara lifted her weapon to her eyes.

"Why did you pick me?" she mumbled, looking at the knife in her hand. It didn't respond, only shimmering in the light of the church.

I have to get stronger. If I want to make it out of this world alive, I have to get as strong as I can.