I Own a Brothel in Another World

Chapter 64 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Bard’s Highway to Hell

Meanwhile, on the road towards the village of Vilre, south of the capital of Ronerulle...

“What’s with this cliché timing?! Why did there have to be an outbreak just as we decided to head back to the capital?! Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh…” Shino whines while making a mess out of her hair.

I chuckle quietly. “Well, isn’t it always like that?”

She stops ruining her looks and glances at me, who is riding on a horse by her side. “What do you mean by that, Natalie-san?”

“In all these novels you always talk so much about, isn’t it a common trope for the heroine to get interrupted whenever she tries to confess? We are technically heroes summoned into another world. What if it’s not Kamil but Mr Carter who is the main character in our story?”

Shino pales instantly and her eyes widen. “Oh no… Oh no, no, no, no… Don’t tell me I will be unable to express my feelings for sensei and remain a side character forever while he creates an incredible harem of foreign beauties and falls in love with them!” She starts rubbing her head even more forcefully. “Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh! I should have been honest with myself back on Earth! What do I doooooooooooooo?!”

I shake my head with a soft smile. Since our last talk by the fire, Shino became a little less secretive with her love for Mr Carter, which resulted in her beginning to worry about it more and more even after all that talk about not minding anything that happens around him as long as she could be by his side.

She still doesn’t talk openly about it with anyone else besides me, but she certainly changed and others definitely noticed that. Well, maybe besides Kamil. He always has been oblivious to everything else besides his own existence, and it’s actually even worse now after Vanessa joined us.

He can’t get his eyes off her, whatever we do and wherever we are. If Shino changed then he suddenly turned into a completely different person. 

「Does love at first sight have such a strong effect on someone? Or love in general? I don’t remember becoming much different when I realized my feelings...」

I take another peek at Shino, who is slowly calming down her emotions, and with a smile, I observe how she employs one of the breathing techniques she learned from her family, to regain control over her mind and body. A sight almost like from martial arts movies.

Before she finishes, I move my gaze forward onto Vanessa, riding between Kamil and Marcia. After we escorted her to the king of Ronerulle, we agreed to take her with us to Evalitia’s capital after the burial since that was where we were going to be headed anyway due to Shino insisting on us returning.

But, during the three days we stayed at their place to rest a little, a report arrived, saying that Abyssals have been spotted in the vicinity of one of the villages in this kingdom. Vanessa is a very kindhearted person and instantly requested her father to send her there so she could help. 

She will definitely become a great ruler with how much she cares for the people, being able to instantly put away her thoughts on her brother’s death and focus her mind on doing everything she can to help those that are still living.

I’m sure the king would have begged us to help too, and that’s pretty much our role in this world anyway, but before anything of that had a chance to happen, our great Hero stepped forward and swore an oath to assist the princess in saving her people.

Thus, we are currently heading towards the village which reported the sudden appearance. Our return has been delayed a little, but this is also a chance to learn more on the topic of Abyssals. And hopefully, to prevent the massacre that happened in the mining village back in Evalitia.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh…” Shino releases a long sigh and captures back my attention.

“You good now?”

“Yes…” She nods. “Why am I so unlucky, Natalie-san…”

“There’s no reason to think about it. We both know it was just a coincidence. Besides, a day or a month won’t make a difference if the both of you have feelings for each other, right?”

“I know… But, it’s still frustrating… Anyway,” she then bows to me slightly, “I’m sorry, Natalie-san. I feel like I’ve been forcing you to talk much more than usual due to my recent behaviour.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind it. It’s good to be open about yourself.” I wave my hand.

She giggles a little. “That sounds weird coming from someone who rarely talks about themselves. Or talks in general.”

I return my gaze forward and glance down. She is right, it does look weird. I’m always giving advice to her or my coworkers on movie sets, but I never share many things about myself with them. Even with her…

“Ah! I’m sorry! I just realized how rude that was! I really don’t mind you being like that! I actually really like your demeanour!” Shino starts hastily apologizing.

I smile faintly seeing her panicky expression and hearing her words. “I know, so don’t sweat it.”

“Hey! We’ve let the horses rest enough. Time to resume our pace. Don’t fall behind,” Paul shouts and the both of us look forward just to see him waving in our direction.

“Roger that, Paul-san!” Shino answers back and turns back to me. “I guess we should end our chat for now, Natalie-san. I don’t want you falling off your horse again.”

She giggles while I shake my head and we raise the speed to catch up to the vanguard. Seriously, it’s not my fault I’m so bad at riding horses… How can others do it so easily? I always had issues with this, even on the set, needing the help of stuntmen in such scenes.

We completely refocus on the road and make our way towards the village as fast as we can. According to Paul’s predictions, we should arrive there tomorrow around noon. That’s a day faster than the king said, but still slow when it comes to coming for the rescue. We can only hope and pray there were no big attacks yet and the civilians are safe. 

I really need to raise my Tier and magic more. I’m sure I can learn some kind of spatial travel method, like the ancient Gate spell left behind in Evalitia’s capital by previous generations. Too bad there are only three spatial tunnels leading towards three, far borders of the Human Kingdom, so it can be used only to arrive at these points. One direction is excluded since it’s covered by the sea.

During my time in the castle, I thought I’ve learned a lot and developed my magic to a satisfactory level, but after what we’ve gone through already, I realized I only scratched the tip of the iceberg. I should ask that Acting Court Magician Cornelia for more guidance when we get back.

We ride in relative peace. Nothing much happens on our way to the village, besides a few short, forced stops to repel wild animals catching onto our scent. Vanessa said it’s nothing uncommon on these roads and it’s usually just beasts, without any stronger monsters in the vicinity. I can see how escort quests can make adventurers and the guild thrive.

Night falls and we make a stop in a clearing by the road. Judging by the burnt ground here and there, it’s a popular spot for people to set up a camp and rest. We don’t have any carts or cargo so we take only one-third of the space with our tents and fireplaces.

Shino, Paul and Marcia are the ones who usually prepare food other than our rations. The first one can decently deal with eastern-type meals, but due to our supplies of rice and similar things being low, the latter two take the main role, thanks to their experience.

It shouldn’t be necessary to say from where Paul has it, survival in the wilds is quite an important part of the military, but in the case of Marcia, she just likes cooking exotic dishes. And the meat of various fantasy creatures does certainly qualify as exotic ingredients to her. Thank Goddess people in this world know how to properly make and use spices.

After eating together, we split into two groups, as usual. Kamil, Marcia and Paul, now also accompanied by Vanessa, sit by the main campfire while I and Shino move to the one on the side to pass time before sleeping in a little less loud atmosphere.

I bring my guitar onto my lap in the form of a provisional table and bring out my small notepad. Flipping through the pages, I quickly arrive at a clean one and press my pencil over its surface, beginning to write.

{Day 396

Nothing notable happened today. We are still on the road towards Vilre village. We should arrive tomorrow at noon if everything goes according to the plan. I really hope nothing critical happened there yet for the sake of Vanessa’s compassion. I’m sure she is not unfamiliar with death since she was born in this world, but I can’t help worrying that seeing a freshly devastated village could have an impact on her gentle heart.

Anyway, no use worrying about the future. Shino is growing more prominent since the night she earnestly accepted her feelings. She is still the same Shino, but at the same time, it seems as if her smile has gotten even more charming. They do say that people tend to look prettier when they are honest with themselves. I wonder if X XXXXX XXXX XXX XXXX XX X XXXXXXXX XX XXXXXXXX?

Guess I’ll end it here. My mind is wandering off.}

I sigh softly after crossing out the weird thoughts I put on paper again and end the new entry in my diary. I take a glance at Shino sitting on the opposite side of the fire. She is tending to her weapon with a gentle smile. It brings one on my lips too.

A strong breeze hits me from the side and the notepad flutters while the pages flip in chaos. I cover my eyes for a moment so that nothing falls into them, carried by the chilly current. After it passes, I look down at my diary.

{Day 1

I still can’t believe it, but it really seems we somehow ended up in another world like in one of these novels Shino and teacher love. Honestly, it’s a bit too much to take in.

I didn’t have my usual diary on me when that happened, so I’ll be starting a new one.

We landed in a throne room and were asked to save the world from destruction. Such a cliché trope. We were pretty dazed, but teacher Carter stood up as our representative, even getting angry for our sake, in front of someone who called himself a king. He is always so daring for others...

We can’t get back immediately, so we decided to see it through for now, after we had a talk with that king and his aides. All the stats and stuff, it’s almost like a game, but I know it’s not at the same time. This is our new reality.

Honestly, I’m a little scared but also relieved that teacher Carter is with us. As shameless as it may be, I know we can rely on him for anything. And Shino is here too. I’m really glad. Really, really glad she is okay...

We should do our best as a group to keep everyone safe and protect each other.}

Shortly after I finish reading the very first entry and reminiscing about the past, footsteps reach my ears from the side. Vanessa makes her way here and we look at her.

“Hey. Mind if I join you girls?” She waves and smiles.

“Of course not, Vanessa-san! We don’t mind more company, right Natalie-san?”

I nod to Shino’s words. Vanessa comes closer and sits down near her.

“Now that I think of it, why do you keep calling people like that? I’m sorry if I come out as rude,” she asks.

“Ah. Ummm…”

“Same as in Naharren, there are many languages on Earth, where we came from. Shino’s mother tongue uses these suffixes as honorifics, to show proper respect and closeness to others. Even though we are not speaking it, she always believed that other languages don’t show enough of that respect and kept adding these into other tongues. So, she’s just overly polite with everyone. It’s part of her upbringing. She could be viewed as a princess in our world,” I take the question over, expecting Shino not to be able to prepare a good explanation under the sudden pressure.

“Natalie-san! You are making me look like some kind of a weirdo!”

“Well, if we consider what’s normal, aren’t you one?”

She visibly pouts at me and Vanessa chuckles softly, glancing at us afterwards. “I understand. I’ll bear that in mind. That’s certainly something unique, but I guess it’s like having an accent. I believe it should be possible to find similar cases of people using parts of their own dialect in other languages amongst all the races here.”

“That’s true. Sensei definitely knows at least four of them. Or maybe more.”

“Sensei?” Vanessa shows a curious expression.

“It means teacher in her language. He spent most of our one-year training learning about this world and other races, but we split in the end due to his Class being… not suitable for this task,” I explain vaguely.

Vanessa nods. “I get it. To be able to learn four or more foreign languages, he must have received the blessing of some kind of a scholar. There are some Classes that aren’t strong.”

“Ummm… Not exactly…” Shino mutters quietly and drops her gaze to the ground.

“Hm? What is his Class then?”

I stare at Shino, wondering if I should answer this question or leave it be. She, for sure, won’t be able to—

“It was something called… Sexmancer…”

But, she proves me wrong. 

Vanessa’s eyes widen for a quick moment and then she cocks her head back in understanding. “Ah. I see now. Certainly, it would be hard for you considering your teacher-student relationships. I apologize for prying into your private matters.”

“Do you know what it does?” I ask after seeing her reaction.

“Uhh, well… To some extent…” A slight blush appears on her face.

Shino suddenly moves closer to her and pretty much pierces Vanessa with her curious gaze. “Please, Vanessa-san! Can you tell us what you know about it?”

“Are you sure it’s okay? I mean, wouldn’t it be better if he was the one to tell you since he didn’t in the past?”

She glances at both of us and we nod. Mr Carter definitely wouldn’t mind.

“Alright then. Ekhm. Just so we are clear, all I know comes from fictional novels I stumbled onto in my mother’s chambers. There was a certain one that told the tale of a Sexmancer hero making his way through the realm. It was… quite a vibrant one.” She smiles wryly. 

“Anyway, he supposedly could empower his companions for the fights as they would get buffs from… taking his seed… into their bodies… You can guess what was the focus in that story… Most of the other abilities described there were… similar...”

After Vanessa finishes, I instantly lock my eyes with Shino.

“Natalie-san… Do you think…”

“...that was the real reason why he didn’t come with us?” She nods. “There’s no doubt.”

“Yeah. I agree. If it was like that, then sensei must have exiled himself from the party to not make us disturbed. He most likely couldn't imagine talking about specifics in our group. Especially with Kamil-san and Paul-san around.”

We stare at each other in silence for a moment longer and then sigh in unison.

“He sounds like a very thoughtful and caring man,” Vanessa comments.

“You have no idea how much, Vanessa-san,” Shino replies. “Sensei always puts others above himself. We knew that and yet… We should have figured that out sooner…”

“We should…” I add.

“Well, you can talk with him the next time you visit Evalitia’s capital, right? After hearing you talk about him, I’m sure he understands it already, but you should let him know that it doesn’t bother you girls. Even if… you are not planning to partake… in such activities… with him...” Vanessa’s skin flushes a little again.

Shino suddenly stands up with a determined gaze. “Yes! We need to return quickly! I can’t let sensei feel like he has to distance himself from us!” She then bows to us. “Natalie-san, Vanessa-san. Thank you for tonight. I’m going to sleep now. I need to rest as much as I can so that we finish this up as soon as possible. Goodnight!”

With a hasty step, she leaves towards her tent and disappears inside shortly after. I trail after her with my eyes until her figure no longer remains in my sight. She was thinking about him so much she completely forgot to get all flustered over what we were talking about.

I sigh softly and hear a giggle afterwards. Returning my gaze to the front, I notice Vanessa staring at me with a smile while supporting her cheeks with both hands as her elbows rest on her thighs.

“Is there something on my face?” I ask quietly.

Her smile grows even wider. “Oh, no, nothing. I apologize for staring so much. I just didn’t expect to find someone the same as me amongst the fabled Heroes.”

I lightly furrow my brows at her and she giggles again. Vanessa then stands up and leaves towards the main campfire where now only Paul is sitting, beginning the night shifts.

「Did she…?」

I shake my head and walk to my tent too. There’s no point in making assumptions. It can only cause misunderstandings.

The next morning, we wrap up the breakfast, pack in a flash, and resume our trip. Shino is in high spirits from the very sunrise. She emanates an aura as if she could take on a whole army by herself. I should watch her carefully in case she loses attention to her surroundings in battle.

Four hours into the ride, I notice some commotion in the vanguard and they begin slowing down. Shortly after, Vanessa makes a loud whistle with her fingers, playing a melody similar to the morse code from our world. We all gather around her to see what’s happening.

Then, a small but very fast bird descends from the sky and jumps around her like a hummingbird. It’s way bigger than its Earth counterpart and looking more like a cross between it and a raven. It finally sits on Vanessa’s shoulder.

“What’s with that bird?” Marcia asks.

Vanessa pinches its legs and brings forth a small capsule. “It’s an emergency messenger. They are trained to fly along the travelling paths and circle above people for a short moment before flying further. They come down if they hear the call I made earlier. Most adventurers and people with military professions know it.”

She opens the container and unrolls a piece of paper, reading it quickly. Her eyes widen for a brief moment and she hastily stuffs the message back into the tube, reattaching it to the bird’s leg.

“It’s from Vilre. Their hunters spotted a higher number of Abyssals in the forest and they are expecting an attack. We need to hurry!” She flings the bird into the air and it flies away at an amazing speed.

“Wait a second.” I stop everyone before we break into a gallop and bring my guitar from behind my back.

Vanessa looks a little anxious, but she understands I wouldn’t stall them without a reason. I close my eyes and focus my mind on recalling a specific melody. In a flash, a musical staff appears in my imagination. A clef and notes follow soon after it.

Without wasting any time, I begin playing my guitar and the notes disappear from the lines as I hit them, starting to fly from right to left. I don’t have time to listen properly to the output and I do my best to finish the piece invoked by the Symphony of Wind skill as soon as possible. 

Ten seconds after I start, the music ends and I make a deep sigh. Targeting twelve individuals at my level is extremely draining. I didn’t only buff us but also the horses. They are the key factor here.

“Amazing. I would praise your music more, but every second counts. Let’s go!” Vanessa nods at me and we depart.

Thanks to my magic, we are now able to make the horses run almost 50% faster than their previous best speed for around three hours. They will also feel less fatigue from it, so we can push them to their limits without worry.

In a bit over an hour, the trees begin clearing up a little and we notice the wooden palisade in the distance. There’s no smoke or any other signs of something bad happening coming from behind it, but we can’t be too sure. Abyssals aren’t bandits that set everything on fire. Everybody could be already slaughtered.

I shake my head to clear my mind from unnecessary imagery and focus on recalling all my spells and abilities. The rest of us seem to be preparing for a possible battle too. We’ve fought with a few Abyssals, but we’ve never defended a village from a swarm. I can’t be the only one nervous here.

We finally arrive close enough to see the gate clearly. And we quickly realize it is under assault as we’ve feared. But, fortunately, it looks like there are only slightly over a dozen of these monsters trying to break inside through here, of various sizes and shapes.

“Paul! What’s the plan?” Kamil shouts while we still ride towards them.

Ever since that accident in the mines, Kamil toned his ego down a bit and Paul assumed his rightful role as our strategist. Shino often fills him up on monster trivia she learned from Mr Carter during their short conversations, which were more in the form of her stalking him until he spoke up to her.

Anyway, it’s good that Kamil stepped down. Thanks to that, we can now have someone competent to come up with a course of action in the span of seconds. And, this time too, Paul doesn’t let us down.

“Vanessa! Can you push them away from the gate?”

“No sweat!”

“Good. On my signal then. Kamil, get yourself between them and the gate the instant she finishes! Grab their attention! Marcia will support you!” He looks at them in turns and then glances back at us. “Shino, get them from the flank! I’ll stay with Natalie in the back and rain arrows at them! Natalie, apply defensive buff on everyone besides us as soon as possible.”

“Time to squash some trash!”

“Aye, aye, captain!”

“Understood.”

“Got it,” I reply as the last person.

We all ride the last two hundred meters in complete focus and stare down our enemies in the form of many beastly shapes made out of purplish, almost eldritch-like, shadowy substance. They look like irregular dogs, wolves, tigers, monkeys and similar beasts and animals.

“Now!” Paul shouts and everyone, besides Kamil and Marcia, pulls the reins to stop.

Vanessa jumps off her horse, brings out her staff while midair, makes a few spins, and shoves it into the ground. It begins to tremble under our feet and we watch a wave of earth rises just in front of the gate and travels towards us like a tsunami, scooping almost all Abyssals on its path.

Kamil and Marcia stand on their saddles and jump into the air just before the tall wave of mud reaches them. They fly above it as it passes them, catching the horses too. That was unavoidable. I’ll heal them later. Humans are more important right now and this is not lethal.

The pair lands on the ground behind the rolling earth and prepares their abilities. Vanessa’s spell crashes down into the surface shortly before our position and I instantly begin playing the Hymn of the Royal Knights, not closing my eyes this time.

A bluish aura surrounds everyone for a brief moment as my powerful yet withdrawn melody fills the air and it soon vanishes. The buff has been applied. Various Abyssals begin crawling out of the accumulated lump of earth. Figured it wouldn’t be enough to deal with them.

“Draconic Sharpshooter Arts - Tears of the Azure Sky!”

Paul activates one of his skills and aims his bow upwards. A powerful, dark blue bolt of energy soon shoots from his weapon and explodes in the air. Six streaks of a similar colour fall from that point and speed towards the ground, hitting some of the monsters. He launches more of these attacks while observing the battlefield.

Kamil easily blocks the assault of six wolf-like shadows, striking back from time to time, while Marcia dances around enemies with a smile as usual. Nothing here can even reach her. Shino quickly annihilates any Abyssals that pop out of the gathered earth before they even fully emerge from under it. She is really determined. Vanessa holds her ground properly too.

I could make things faster and use my area of effect magic, but since Paul hasn’t called for it yet, I don’t step over the line. I’m sure he is also thinking about the next fights we might encounter inside and doesn’t want us to exhaust our reserves at the very entrance. I totally don’t mind being inactive. As a healer and support, it’s my duty to be as efficient as possible. The games Shino forced me into playing taught me at least this much.

We deal with all enemies in less than five minutes. Just to be sure that there are no more of them hiding in the mud accumulated from the surge, I create tens of thin wind needles with a wave of my hand and skewer the lump with them. A bit of dark smoke rises from the created holes.

“We should be done here. Let’s move inside,” Paul commands and we all nod. We run to the gate. “Hey! We’ve dealt with the Abyssals! Let us in! We are here to help!” he shouts as loud as he can.

We wait for a short moment but nothing happens.

“Maybe all the wardens are at other—”

The creak of the huge doors opening interrupts Shino and we quickly run inside with our horses. I’ve already dealt with the injured ones. They didn’t suffer much from the earth.

“Vanessa, Natalie, can one of you reinforce it somehow?” Paul asks before the doors start closing.

We look at each other with Vanessa and she ponders for a second, nodding afterwards. “Leave it to me.”

She then runs to the middle of it and begins her magical dance with her staff. After a few spins and pirouettes, she shoves it into the ground and a wall of earth rises in front of her, covering the whole gate high and wide. She runs back to us and we look around.

We instantly realize why it took a while to open. Only three men are now pushing the gate so we help them finish closing it and then throw the massive log into the hooks to lock it. They must have struggled to get it off.

“How is the situation?” Paul asks as soon as we get done.

“The Abyssals are focusing on the southern gate. We left this one as soon as we realized it might be a diversion. We don’t have enough ranged fighters to cover all of them,” one of the men answers.

“Lead us there, quickly!” Vanessa pretty much orders the man and we nod between ourselves.

We leave the horses and run after the villager while the other two stays to watch the gate. It doesn’t seem like this place is too large as we can already see the center after a short while. From what we can observe, there are no signs of battle on the streets. At least in the direction where we came from.

In the middle of the main plaza, our guide slows down for a moment and changes directions, heading towards some other man.

“Chief! Chief! Help is here! The northern gate should be secured!”

We all realize that this must be the leader of Vilre and follow after the villager to meet the man.

“Boston! That’s great! I assume it’s you six. Thank you for your assistance, but we still require it if you are willing! The main gate is going to break at any moment!” The middle-aged man bows his head to us.

“That’s why we are here. We'll do everything in our power to repel the attack!” Vanessa answers him.

During that exchange, Paul readies his bow straight up and closes his left eye. Everyone senses mana gathering in the air and turns to look at him. Some kind of an orb forms above the tip of his arrow and four streaks of red energy cover the shaft.

“Eye of the Falcon,” he calls some technique out and releases the projectile.

We watch as it flies upwards and then flashes in red. Paul covers his closed eye with his hand and focuses. Meanwhile, the arrow begins falling back down but at a much slower pace. I squint my eyes and notice that the attached streaks of mana make it spin while also rotating like a fan and slowing the descent as a result. Such an interesting skill.

“Looks like only the main gate is in danger. The rest should hold. I don’t see any intruders. No monster should have made it over the palisade,” he speaks after a moment. “Chief, did you start evacuating people?”

The man is in a daze for a second but gets out of it when Paul turns to him with his single eye. “Ah, yes. People are moving from that direction to buildings around the centre.”

Paul cancels the technique and rubs his chin before speaking again. “How are your reserves, Vanessa?”

“A bit over a half.”

“Chief, bring everyone to this plaza at once. Vanessa, when most people get here, create a bunker and cover the area, leaving some windows with bars on the top so that they don’t suffocate. Can you manipulate the structure to create and seal the entrance in turns?”

“Yes, no problem.”

“Then do so when more people come late. Stay outside of it and protect the bunker just in case. We’ll take care of the main gate.”

Vanessa looks at us for a moment and then nods.

“But why—”

The chief tries to ask questions but is interrupted by Paul. “You don’t have enough soldiers to protect every home. If Abyssals break through somewhere, they’ll massacre them one by one and defenders will struggle to move between them. It’s much safer to protect one spot with lots of space around. Now go.”

The man doesn’t question him again after hearing such a detailed and militaristic explanation and runs off, screaming orders to other people in the area. We share a nod with Vanessa once more and run off towards the southern gate.

We don’t need to follow anyone this time so we utilize our speed buff from my song to its fullest and get to our destination in under a minute. I catch the expressions of some villagers who are running towards the gate with provisional weapons as we pass them. I’m pretty sure they are not believing their eyes due to how fast we move.

When we get there, it becomes obvious that Paul was right. The gate is cracking in many places and the log is also almost giving up. If he was able to see so much detail with that technique and wasn’t only guessing, then I’m in awe.

“What do we do now?” Shino asks him as we stop.

“I counted around fifty of these things there. Six medium-sized and one two times bigger than the gorilla-like thing we fought in the mines. Hmmmm…” He ponders for a quick moment. “Kamil, did you get ahold of that spell you called your finishing move?”

“Oh, that shit? Hell yeah, man! But, I’ll become as limp as a dick after a three-night marathon by using it just once.”

Marcia snorts and I roll my eyes. Crude as ever. If Vanessa was here he would have never phrased it like that. I always hated people like him. With just a bit of experience on the set, you start recognizing fake acting subconsciously.

“Natalie,” Pauls call my name so I turn my attention to him. “We might need to rely on you this time. I want to try to end things in one go.”

“What do you need?” I ask.

“How is your fire magic?”

“Quite good in my eyes. What do you have in mind?”

He points towards the gate. “Can you raise walls of fire to cut off all intersections and create a tunnel along the main road?”

I take a glance where he points and then behind me, trying to calculate this in my mind. “Doable. How far?”

“First five intersections.”

“Alright. And then?”

He looks at Kamil. “That move doesn’t hurt you, right?” Kamil nods. “Natalie will create one more wall across the street at the end of our tunnel and you will stand there with Shino. You two will hold your ground until all of them come to you and then Natalie will cover the path back, trapping them in a square formation. Shino gets out with her Shadow Step and you disintegrate the enemy. Simple?”

“Oh man, this is so lit! I’m in!” Kamil gets fired up and I nod after Paul glances at me again.

Without wasting any more time, we begin our preparations. He and I get onto the roofs to watch over everything from above. Marcia runs to the wardens to let them know what is cooking up and Kamil with Shino ready themselves in the middle of the main road.

As soon as Marcia waves at us, we nod at each other with Paul. I gather my mana and slowly raise thick walls of powerful fire over the path we discussed before and close it behind Shino’s and Kamil’s backs. The fire reaches even higher than buildings and connects above them, just in case these monsters get the idea of climbing onto the structures.

“Good thinking,” Paul praises me for the quick fix and readies his bow.

Soon after I finish with a bit of sweat forming on my forehead, from all the focus and not the heat, the gate is opened. Abyssals flood the fiery corridor and look a bit lost at first, trying to run past the flaming obstacles, just to screech in pain after getting in contact with them. My magic is not that weak, you know?

I hear a roar, but it sounds closer to what a Human would release rather than them, and most of the enemies begin rushing towards Kamil. He must have used some kind of a taunt. Paul keeps skewering enemies with his mana-covered arrows as they run to reduce their numbers. Some of the quicker Abyssals reach the duo fast.

While Kamil focuses mostly on defending his front, Shino skillfully covers his back. Her sword techniques and gracefulness are as impressive and beautiful as always. A small smile forms on my lips.

「Stop it, Nat! Focus on keeping the walls up! Just a few more monsters!」

I berate myself internally and observe the wave of the rushing Abyssals, waiting for a moment when I can close their escape path. It arrives just a few seconds later and I raise one more wall, releasing the ones which are now outside of the enclosed area.

Shino disappears into Kamil’s shadow while he laughs. “Hahahaha, fuckers! This is what you get for going against the Hero!” He points his sword clad in a golden aura into the sky and shouts with a booming voice as many Abyssals pile on top of him. “Diviiiiiiiiiiineeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Reeeeeeeeeeeetriiiiiiiiiiiibuuuuuuuuuuuutioooooooooooonnnnnnn!”

We all glance up and see the clouds above us starting to swirl and move aside from the spot where he is pointing at. Soon after they part, something flashes in the distant sky and an immense pillar of light crashes onto Kamil in a blink of an eye, covering the whole area I enclosed with my fire. Loud humming accompanies the bright spectacle and we can still hear him laughing from the epicentre.

I take down all of the walls to allow others from our party and the village wardens to prepare for interception of any remaining Abyssals that could have somehow avoided that golden ray of heavenly annihilation.

The pillar finally disappears and we are able to glance down where it hit. There’s nothing left there besides Kamil standing still in the same pose as when he invoked the skill. Or magic. Or whatever that incomprehensible move was.

“Huh. Not as limp as—”

Paul begins to comment with a smile when Kamil suddenly faceplants into the ground. The sight makes both of us chuckle and we shake our heads. I glance towards the gate while we make our way to the ground and notice that they closed it already. 

Dealing with any leftover Abyssals that could have been left behind around the village should now be a piece of cake. I better head to our Hero first and help him recover at least a bit.

I arrive by his side shortly after Shino and Marcia flip him onto his back since he can’t even lift a finger. He makes eye contact with me and grins.

“You know what, Nat?”

“Hm?”

“I just realized it would have been even more epic with a dope-ass track playing in the background.”

I roll my eyes and sigh. But of course...