gone flying and slammed into the wall of a building. The fire had largely gone out in the impact, but the underling was twitching and convulsing nevertheless. Merciless attacks were raining down upon it. "Even! If! Master! Kaito! Himself! Desired! It! Know! That! Being! Beaten! To! Death! Is! A! Light! Punishment! For! Your! Rudeness!" With the expression of an ogress, Hina shouted as she struck the underling between every word. Her attacks were focused on its chest, and its vegetal body was all but reduced to mincemeat. Her gaze was ice-cold, and after she'd confirmed its death, she gave a light nod. "...And stay dead, filth." Her voice frigid, Hina turned back toward Kaito. When she did, her expression made a complete about-face. She exhaled reverently, a bright smile floating to her face as she sandwiched her halberd between her bountiful breasts and hugged herself tightly. "Splendid work, Master Kaito! Given your skill, nobody would suspect that this is your first battle since you began learning magic! I would expect nothing less from my beloved! How lovable you are, how gallant, how cool, how I wish to hug you!" "Th-thanks? Although I'm pretty sure you were the only one who did anything impressive there. Like, for real." "Oh my, no, that wasn't the case at all. How humble you are. But even though these creatures are mere underlings, their resilience is nothing to scoff at... This trash is quite a handful. From here on out, I'd be better off crushing them than cutting them." Then they heard a scream. Kaito and Hina looked up with a start and then nodded to each other and ran off. They ran by some residences and an area near the rock face to the west where the locals would sell fish from carts before reaching a group of buildings made from thick, sturdy walls. A voice was audible from within an open door to the east. "There!" When he charged inside, Kaito witnessed Hell. What would happen if you tied someone's limbs together with barbed wire and then pulled on them until they reached their limit? What would happen if you stuck tentacles into someone's abdomen while they were still alive and then churned them around? What would happen if you squeezed someone's body until their bones broke and they vomited up all their organs? Within that building, all those questions had been thoroughly answered. The two underlings had dispassionately slaughtered the family, as if it was just another day on the job. The remains of the grandfather, father, and mother were stuck to the tiled floor. It looked as though they'd been killed in that order. The room was fairly large, and alongside the wall, harpoons, fishing tackle, boats, and old nets were lined up on sturdy wooden racks. Among them, jars of colorful preserves and heavy-looking sacks were crammed together. Apparently, this building was a storehouse. Based on the fact that it had no windows, the family within must have missed the Church's evacuation order and been discovered by the underlings. That had resulted in the dreadful spectacle before Kaito. However, there were yet survivors hiding among the jars of pickles. The survivors were a pair of children. A young boy and girl with flushed cheeks were huddled together. Having just finished crushing flesh, the underlings hadn't noticed Kaito and Hina yet. The underlings trampled over the remains of the motherâ€”more specifically, her stomach, which was hanging out of her mouth like a fish pulled up from the deep seaâ€”and reached for the children. The young boy was in shock, and he stood motionless. His ankle was hanging out from the hiding spot, and ivy was about to wrap around it. Right before it could, though, the boy's body was pulled into the space between a jar and a rack. The young girl was yanking on the boy's arm and trying to force him to move. She was probably his older sister. She raised both her arms to try to conceal him and then glared at the underling. However, the brave front she put up soon vanished, like the flame of a candle. Her face scrunched up, and she let out an animalistic moan. Still, though, she never stopped defending the boy. There was something in her eyes, something surpassing familial love and the resolve of a sister. Suddenly, a particular memory flashed through Kaito's mind. There was a time when a boy with red hair had sacrificed himself to shove Kaito out of harm's way. Muttering a small curse, that boy had a smile that looked like he was about to burst into tears before he was pulled away by the spider. Then he was eaten alive. Even though he hadn't wanted to die, the boy had wished for Kaito's happiness and instinctively protected him. ...Neue. Ever since he'd survived that, not a day had gone by without Kaito recalling that name. Before he noticed, he had pierced the underling through the back. Kaito plunged the whole blade, along with the fragile-looking rubies that adorned it, deep into the underling. The underling, dumbfounded, turned around. As their eyes met, Kaito grinned at it. "La (burn to death)." As he spat out the word, his mana burst forth. The sword burst into flames within the underling's body. The underling let out an incomprehensible cry and lashed out. Then it turned to charcoal from the inside out. Kaito, not letting his guard down for a moment, released a second and third burst of flame before ripping his sword free. The remaining underling frantically extended ivy toward him. Then Hina landed behind it. "Hiyah!" After receiving her two-legged kick, the underling crashed headfirst into a rack. A jarful of fish pickled in oil fell down and shattered. The rack swayed and then came collapsing down upon the underling. Not missing her chance, Hina picked up her halberd and held it aloft. She wielded it like a meat tenderizer, bringing it down on top of the rack and striking the underling again and again and again. With each loud, rhythmic strike, the rack grew flatter and flatter. A green, foul-smelling liquid spread out, mixing together with the oil and the vinegar. As the smashed rack came as close to the ground as it would go, Hina stomped on it with one foot before softly snorting. Kaito, too, kicked the carbonized underling in the stomach. Like a bad joke, it fell into pieces and crumbled to the floor. His anger momentarily abated, Kaito realized that he was trembling. "Wh-what's...happening to me? The underling was dead. There was nothing more to be afraid of. Kaito, trying to suppress his trembling with logic, knelt down on one knee. Trying desperately to feign composure, he called out to the dumbfounded girl. "Are...are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" "...Da...y..." "Huh?" A hollow voice leaked forth from the girl's mouth, and Kaito responded carelessly. His prompting acting as a trigger, the girl suddenly opened her mouth. Her throat rang a little as a heartfelt scream poured forth. "Da...ddy... Mommy... Grampa... No, no, nonono, nâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹! Nâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹oâ€‹!" "Yeah...right... I'm sorry. We didn't make it in time, did we?" As if Kaito, too, was an enemy, the girl lashed out at him and continued screaming like a wounded animal. Realizing that letting this go on would put her in dangerâ€”she might bite her tongue or go into convulsionsâ€”Kaito immediately stuck his hand in her mouth. Her eyes widened as she bit down on his fingers. *** Hina was about to make a move, but Kaito reined her in with a glance. Kaito was all too familiar with the despair that accompanies events that can't be undone; in his case, it had been his own untimely death. So he rubbed her back and patiently said the same thing again and again. "Settle down; you're okay. You're gonna be okay, so I need you to settle down." Suddenly, the girl's body went limp. However, it wasn't because she'd calmed down. It seemed that her spirit had simply been wound too tight and had gone slack. Even so, they didn't need to be concerned about her going into a panic anymore. Kaito pulled his bloody, spit-covered fingers from her mouth, wiped them on his shirt, and then extended a hand to the young boy. The boy's eyes were dead, but he still reached back and squeezed Kaito's wet hand. Kaito gave a short nod. If he could still grab on to proffered hands, he was probably okay. Picking up the girl and holding the boy's hand, Kaito stood up. He closed his eyes and then shook his head. "Yeah, there's no other way... I'm sure I can manage. Definitely. It'll be fine." Mumbling ambiguously as he thought, Kaito opened his eyes. Nodding once more, he spoke in a voice full of determination, completely unlike the one he'd just used. "Hina, I need you to take these two to the teleportation circle, the one to the castle, and then come back once you've made sure that they're safe." "Wh...? You say that, but that will require a good deal of time! You'll be in danger!" "I can't activate the circle on my own. They'll be in danger if we take them with while we fight or if we leave them here while we fight...and time's too precious for us both to take them. Please." "...That certainly is a decision overflowing with mercy toward these siblings as well as the people of this town. However, to me, your safety is of the utmostâ€”" "My body is immortal. As long as I'm careful not to lose too much blood, my soul won't disappear. No matter how much I get I hurt, I'll be able to survive. Please. I don't want to see anybody else die like Neue did." Kaito bowed deep. Back when things were peaceful, he'd filled her in about Neue, little by little. He'd told her that the only reason he was still alive was because a boy had sacrificed himself to save him. Hina sucked in her breath as though she'd been struck. Kaito's sense of justice wasn't particularly on the strong side. He and self-sacrifice didn't belong in the same sentence. And he knew that he didn't have the strength to back up his words. However, even if he had to put himself in danger, there were some things he never wanted to see again. He never wanted to watch someone sacrifice themselves like that again. Yeah...that's right. I dunno how many more times I can take that. And to that end, he had to do whatever he could. His face still pointing toward the ground, he made his request to Hina. "Could you think of those kids' lives as my life for me?" "Please, Master Kaito, raise your head. I've been being exceedingly rude." Immediately, Hina dropped to one knee. Not having expected that response, Kaito was flustered. As she did, she bowed even deeper before eloquently speaking. "I failed to consider your resolve and, in doing so, caused you to lower your head... I have been indiscreet and oh so very rude. Later, I shall hand down the punishment for my irredeemable error myself. For now, I shall abide by your orders and momentarily withdraw. However..." In a flash, Hina brought her head up. She looked directly at Kaito, his reflection cast in her emerald-green eyes. From within them peeked a sense of love and heartbreak and powerful anxiety and concern, like that of a woman leaving her husband alone on the battlefield. "You asked me to think of these children's lives as your own. However, I have long since thought of your life as my own." "Hina, I told you to stop saying that." "Indeed, but to me, it is the absolute truth. Master Kaito, it is precisely because we are in this situation that I tell you this. My place in life is by your side, my love, and should I