�You may have talent, Will, but if you don�t get used to adjusting your precision, you�re going to wind up dead!�

Yes, this world, which I had been reborn into eight years ago (by their count), was a dangerous place. There could be no doubt about it. For example, just take the magic and Words of Creation I was learning.

In case anything went wrong, I was practicing outside, on the hill where the familiar temple stood, and I was not having much success.

�Gus, my results are all over the place. Is there really nothing we can do about it?�

�No. It�s just how the Words are. Get used to it.�

I was not finding magic very reproducible. I could get something working, try again the next day, and then never get the same thing to happen again. As for why�

�Let�s review. State the process for casting magic.�

�Umm, three steps. Sense the mana that fills the world, bring it together in resonance with your own mana, and pronounce or write the Word of Creation.�

The arche, the primordial chaos: mana. Sense it, and achieve resonance and convergence. Then, by pronouncing or writing a Word of Creation, define the mana into some form�for instance, fire. On paper, it was that simple. But there was no real room for creativity, and no way to make the results more reproducible.

�What you say is correct. And there have been many attempts through history to seek consistent results from magic. Many sages have bent their ingenuity toward this end, but there is only so much that can be done. Having experienced it firsthand, I expect you can appreciate why.�

�Yeah. The biggest problem is how the mana isn�t consistent.�

For the past few years, I had been sharpening my perception under Gus�s guidance. Fortunately, it seemed I had some talent, and I became able to detect the presence of mana�the thing magic was made of, its fuel. Supposedly, the world was infused with mana, but what I discovered was that mana levels weren�t the same everywhere.

Imagine splashing a few drops of ink into water, and then agitating it just a little. The ink would be concentrated in some parts and dilute in others. What�s more, these parts would flow in an irregular fashion. And that�s just your fuel supply.

�Mhm. There have been a number of attempts to create a consistent mana environment. Convergence devices, for instance�precious gems, precious metals, extremely ancient wood. But I�m afraid��

�The results weren�t worth the cost?�

�Mmm� The mana inside the human body is also in flux, you see. There is a limit to what can be achieved with atmospheric mana convergence alone.�

Even if you managed to maintain a certain level of consistency in the mana outside your body, the magic user�s own mana, which was required to resonate with it, would still be unstable. Just like the external mana, it varied in concentration like the water and ink from our example as it meandered around the body. This aspect was similarly complicated, and even more difficult than the external mana to mess around with.

�That being said, it undeniably has some effect. Staves made with ancient wood, precious gems, and precious metals are the symbols of sorcerers.�

It seemed that the idea of a sorcerer bearing a staff was part of this world�s concepts, too.

�Why don�t you use a staff, Gus?�

I had at least seen him holding a staff number of times before. It was studded with emeralds and had a handle at the top like a duck�s beak.

�A grandiose staff attracts attention. In a battle situation, not only will you be singled out if you allow yourself to be discovered as a sorcerer, but the use of a convergence device makes it easier for the enemy to pinpoint the source of your magic.�

That reason was so grounded and pragmatic that I found it a bit unsettling.

�Hmm, we�ve gotten off track. We were talking about the fluctuations in the Words. The mana that fills the world and the body is in flux and not consistent. Attempts have been made to gather it into something consistent, but there were limits to what could be achieved. And human fluctuations also exist in the speaking and writing. To be strictly accurate, humans can never speak the exact same words twice.�

I understood what he meant. Even if the same person were to speak the same words, the waveform of the sounds would be different every single time. No matter how many times a person were to write the same letter, it would never come out exactly the same way. That was obvious enough, really. After all, we humans were not machines.

�For all these reasons, the general consensus is ultimately that one has to use their intuition to determine when the circumstances are right.�

So the only conclusion that could be drawn was that turning magic into a consistent mass-produced product was impossible. The professional expertise of the sorcerer would always be called upon to fine-tune things to follow however the mana felt like behaving on that particular day.

�That�s frightening.�

�Indeed it is.�

My imagination was correct, then. This was not the magic from computer games, which you could spam by burning your MP. It was far closer to the unstable and powerful magic of classic fantasy.

�You must not brandish the Words recklessly. The use of power brings with it significant danger. Well, I dare say I�ve told you enough stories about that.�

Indeed, this was far from the first time Gus had repeated this to me.

According to Mary and Blood, it was no exaggeration to say Gus was worthy of being called a Grand Sorcerer. They had told me, with full faith, that even though his usual manner didn�t hint at it in the slightest, he was a force to be reckoned with when he decided to show his true strength.

Gus himself never bragged about it. Rather, the tales he told were always cautionary, and intended to teach a lesson. There were many of these stories.

There was the sorcerer who tried to reshape the nearby terrain, triggered a huge earthquake, and was swallowed up into a deep fissure.

Another sorcerer periodically manipulated the weather, and ended up destabilizing the area�s climate and being tormented by hunger.

One sorcerer succeeded in transmogrifying himself into an animal�mental faculties and all.

A sorcerer directed a powerful decomposition magic at his sworn enemy, got tongue-tied out of sheer hatred and anger, and blew himself to pieces.

There was even one about a sorcerer who opened a hole to another dimension and got eaten by something inside.

�Just learn to use small amounts of magic, sensibly and precisely. And if possible, find a way to not use it at all.�

Minor works of magic were useful for getting a fire going, keeping bugs away, manipulating perception (for parlor tricks), or searching for things. Though their effects were small, the risk associated with a mistake was also low. You could fail as spectacularly as you liked, and it wouldn�t lead to anything you couldn�t laugh about later.

According to Gus, a true sorcerer�s ideal was to not use magic at all, and in those situations where magic was necessary, to use the least magical effect to achieve the greatest possible result. Magic was a tremendous amount of power for a single person to possess, and since the possibility of random accidents and human error was ever-present, I felt that his style made a lot of sense, logically speaking. There was only one issue.

�In short�use it like money.�

Gus would twist his logic to reach some incredible conclusions.

�This again?�

�Yes, this again. It�s important,� he insisted, as serious and stubborn as ever. �If you want something done, you don�t have to use magic. You just buy the tools you need or hire some people. Reshaping the terrain is a powerful piece of magic, but if you�ve got money, you can just hire laborers and workmen to do construction for you instead. Make no mistake,� he shifted close to me for emphasis, �the ability to earn money and make it work for you is just as important as magic!�

I flinched. �Whoever heard of a ghost with a money fetish?!�

�You try suffering in my position! I can�t caress gold or treasure, can�t feel it between my fingers��

�He�s a pervert!�

�Who are you calling a pervert?!�

�You!�

�Right�change of plan! We�re going to spend all of today learning about money and all the wonderful��

�No! Today was the legends! We were planning to start the legends today!�

�And you don�t think money is more important?!�

�Maybe it is for you, but you can�t just change the plan!�

�Mmmhh� You do have a point. The money talk can wait.�

Gus could get a little crazy like this sometimes. Seriously, was an incorporeal sorcerer supposed to come off like this? Still, there was no doubting the veracity of Gus�s stories. Many of them were a lot of fun to hear, too.

�I told you a little of the story a long time ago, up to the birth of the evil gods and the killing of the Creator, correct?�

�Yeah.�

�That began the age of conflict between the gods of good and evil. If I were to name the most prominent of their battles� Hmm, yes. Will. Have you seen that sculpture?�

�Huh?�

�The one in the temple of a man with a sword and scales.�

I did remember it. It was a statue of a solemn and dignified god, who was holding a sword symbolizing lightning high in his right hand, and bearing a set of scales in the other.

�Yeah.�

�He is the god of lightning, Volt�the ruler of the virtuous gods, who presides over order and judgment. He is also husband to the Earth-Mother, Mater, the goddess to whom Mary shows devotion.�

Interesting. I was wondering which of those gods held the top spot. Come to think of it, gods of lightning commanded important positions in many mythologies from my previous world, too.

�Volt has a brother, also a god, of course�the god of war, Illtreat, whose domain is tyranny. He rides a chariot pulled by two divine horses, Greed and Wrath, who ride with the speed and ferocity of a raging hurricane.�

Gus continued, �The two of them have led their minions in countless battles against each other, but all of their episodes follow a similar pattern. The older brother, Illtreat, maintains the advantage during the battle�s opening stages, but the kindhearted Earth-Mother Mater grants her husband protection in his time of crisis. With his sword of lightning given the protection of the goddess, Volt begins to fight back, and ultimately, drives away Illtreat. However, Illtreat continues lurking deep under the earth, and when he finally regains his power after many moons, he waits for his younger brother to show a moment of peace-addled weakness. Then, he challenges him again to battle.�

Gus spun one finger in a circle. �And so the cycle continues.�

I nodded, then tilted my head in thought. Lightning isn�t always a symbol of the terror and absolute authority of the heavens. When agriculture is prospering, lightning is a herald of blessed rain.

�So� is this a fable about how governments start with violent, tyrannical rulers, but as the farming goes well, law and order slowly spreads through society. But eventually it falls apart again, and violent revolution becomes inevitable?�

Gus�s eyes opened wide. �You�re sharp,� he said, nodding. �The battles between minions under the protection of Volt and Illtreat do roughly take that form. It would make sense for that to have been depicted as a battle between gods.�

�Protection?� I asked.

�Ah� That refers to the power the gods give their minions.�

�Huh? Um, literally?�

�Literally. What�s so confusing about that?�

Gus spoke as if this was perfectly obvious, but based on my memories and perception from my previous life, it was a little hard to picture the idea of a god directly giving power to a person. He could have meant something like giving them courage or luck, but with the way he was talking, I felt that wasn�t quite it.

Besides, I remembered what Mary had once said, that the three of them had formed a contract with the god of undeath. If I was to take those words at face value, it meant that the gods of this world could at a minimum turn humans into the undead. I didn�t know what else they were capable of, but it seemed possible that this world�s gods were capable of physically interfering with reality. But what exactly did that process involve? I had just started to consider this question when Gus cleared his throat and continued talking.

�Well, it�s not very important. The war between the gods culminated in every one of them losing their body of flesh. After that, both forces left this dimension behind, and now, it�s difficult for any of them to interfere with this world in any great way. In any case, I�m sure one particular thought springs to mind after hearing this story?�

�It does?�

�Mm,� he grinned roguishly. �The whole business of labeling the two sides as �good� and �evil� is purely a human convenience.�

�Uh?� I made a stupid, confused noise.

Gus elaborated for me. �Think about it. Volt, presiding over even corrupt systems of order, can easily be an evil god, and Illtreat, commanding the revolutions to overthrow corruption, can likewise be a good one. But the reality is that Volt is never spoken ill of, and neither is Illtreat ever glorified. The priests would not take kindly to me saying this, but in the end, the classification of gods into good and evil categories is merely an artifice created by their followers.�

I could tell from his face that he was completely serious as he continued to speak. �The gods are not like us. Their thoughts and actions are concerned with matters of an entirely different scale. My theory is that what makes the good gods �good� is that they have a comparatively similar thought process to normal people, they are cooperative, and their thoughts and actions are more or less harmless to society. Of course this is just between you and me!� he laughed.

This was a world where gods actually existed and had influence. People had to have deep faith in them�yet here was Gus, unorthodox and unbowed.

�Gus, you�re� pretty rock �n� roll.�

�Rock �n� roll?�

�I dunno, you�re� different. In a good way.�

Hearing this, the venerable sage broke into another wicked grin. �The words kids come up with sometimes� Yes, it has a good ring to it.�

He seemed to like it. There wasn�t the slightest doubt in my mind�he really was rock �n� roll.

Blood and I were by a small spring at the foot of the hill, with its glorious view over the lake and the ruined city. The two of us were squaring off.

�Okay. Practice swings done, running exercises done� Let�s do a little swordplay.�

As a warm-up exercise, Blood would give me a stick�either resembling a one-handed sword, or resembling a spear�and make me practice swings or thrusts. Which one we�d use was up to what Blood felt like, but the sword was slightly more common. He said that the spear was a weapon for the battlefield, and the sword was a weapon you carried on you at all times, so it was more important to focus on the sword at first.

After finishing the practice swings, we would do some long-distance running and short-distance sprinting, and after that, �swordplay.� This was a game where we each held a soft branch or something similar, then tried to slap each other with them. Unlike the relatively boring practice swings and long-distance running, this was actually pretty fun, even though it hurt sometimes. Blood was good, though, and wouldn�t let me hit him easily.

�You�re eight years old now, so I�m gonna start hitting a little harder.�

�Ueeegh?!�

�What�s with that reaction?�

�You�re stupidly strong! If you hit me hard, I�ll die!�

It hurt sometimes already, even with the rule about �barely touching�! If he hit me hard�

�It�s okay, it�s okay. You�re exaggerating with �stupidly strong.� I�m only bones. You�ll be fine.� Blood paused. �Well, probably.�

�P-P-P-P-Probably?!�

Blood�s laughter was loud. �Just don�t get hit, then. What�s the big deal?�

�Stop, stop, stop!�

He advanced on me with the soft branch. �Oh, yeah, you can use magic, if you want. I bet you�ve got something, right? Something Old Gus taught you? Fireballs, lightning bolts� Go on! I can take it!�

Blood was still moving toward me as he spoke. He was already pretty close. Despite saying I could use magic, he had no intention of giving me the chance.

�Ah, you�re so unfair!�

�Fwahaha! There�s no mercy in battle, Willie, my boy!�

As Blood closed in, I shouted the first thing that came into my head. �Acceleratio!� It was a combat Word I�d learned from Gus.

�Oho,� Blood said, impressed.

I felt my entire body quicken, and sprung backward like a shot, kicking up dirt as I put distance between us.

He was watching me with interest, and I wasn�t about to waste that chance. I yelled the Words I�d been holding back as a trump card. �Currere Oleum!�

Instantly, a thick layer of grease covered the grass under Blood�s feet. He cried out, and his feet slipped from under him.

I�d made the grease out of mana, and it would disappear again after just a little while, but it was more than suitable for making someone slip! And while I had the upper hand�

�Cadere Araneum!� I dropped a sticky, spiderweb-like net on him that I�d made out of Words.

�Ah�Hey!� The web clung to him. He fought on the ground to get it off, but the more he fought, the more entangled his bones became.

You could seriously injure yourself if you messed up with fire or lightning magic, but failing at grease or web magic wouldn�t cause any catastrophes. If magic couldn�t be reliably reproduced, then I just had to make the best of it and use it intelligently. Just like Gus said, there was no need for flashy magic. Small amounts of magic, used sensibly and precisely, did the job.

I shuffled forward slowly, so the grease wouldn�t take my legs out, too. After getting close enough, I let out a single energetic shout as I slammed him with the branch. It made a dry thwack as wood hit bone.

�Gwagh! Damn it, I yield!�

�Yessss!� I pumped both fists and yelled with delight. It was a shutout victory I�d never expected.

�Pretty good,� Blood said, impressed. The web and the grease had since disappeared. �Did that come from Old Gus?�

�Yeah,� I answered.

He laughed, his will-o�-the-wisps flickering. �Seriously, you�ve really got it! I feel like I understand why Gus calls you a genius.�

I looked at him, confused.

�I mean� I expected you to play with fire. Go for big flashy fire or lightning magic, you know? Most young sorcerers do.�

�Eh� That stuff�s not for me. Gus says it�s dangerous.� I agreed with him, too, especially when a mistake could lead to me blowing myself up. Risky power that you can�t control isn�t power. It�s just a hazard. Maybe my previous life�s memories also influenced me here.

�It�s great to see you�re taking it in. A flaming arrow or something would�ve been no trouble for me, anyway. I could�ve just dodged it and closed in on you.�

�Y-You could?�

�You bet I could. If I really wasn�t kidding around, I could even deal with that web-grease combo,� Blood said casually. �Not that it�d be easy.�

I couldn�t even imagine how he�d go about that. �Um, how?�

�As the web fell towards me, I�d forcibly wind it around the stick in my hands, and then I�d just have to run through and out of the grease area, focusing hard on keeping my balance.�

One heck of a direct solution. �Wait, you were going easy on me?�

�Of course I was. You�re a kid. If you lose all the time, you�ll start thinking you don�t have a chance, and that sucks all the fight out of you. It�s important to get familiar with winning. And don�t get me wrong, I was fighting serious, just not giving it everything. When an adult like me can�t handle an attack from a kid without going all out, if you ask me, that�s basically a loss right there.�

I had to admit he had a point. No adult could brag about beating a child in a contest of physical strength, and if they had to summon all their power to get there, for all intents and purposes, that�d be a defeat in more ways than one.

�Will, listen. Old Gus is a Grand Sorcerer. They used to exalt him. Called him the Wandering Sage. He slew monsters, he stopped floods, and he rediscovered a number of the old Words personally.�

�Huh��

I�d heard him called a Grand Sorcerer a few times already, but I hadn�t fully appreciated how incredible he was.

�That method you were using, of focusing on manipulating the situation on the battlefield and impeding your opponent, instead of blasting them with firepower? That�s one of the answers Gus arrived at�the end result of years and years of trial and error. He may be a grumpy old man, but in terms of what he�s capable of, he�s the best of the best. Make sure you remember what he teaches you. He deserves that much.�

�Yeah. Don�t worry. I respect him, you know?�

�All right, then,� he nodded.

�Um, you were a really great warrior too, right, Blood?�

�Sure was. I don�t wanna brag, but they used to call me the War Ogre.� Despite saying he didn�t want to brag, he clearly loved to tell me about it. That was very Blood. �Mary had a title, too. She was called Mater�s Daughter. Actually, there was a period where the three of� uh.�

�What?�

�It�s just, if I start talking about that, it�s gonna lead someplace heavy.�

I could imagine that. Why was my earliest memory of this life here, in this ruined city�s temple, cut off from human society? Especially given that they�d apparently once been tremendously big names, why were these three living here as the undead? These questions had always plagued me, and it was probably fair to suspect that the current situation wasn�t the outcome of a happy ending. Mary and Blood would sometimes let something slip, but they would never speak about it at any greater length.

�Will you tell me someday?�

�You bet. Just like I promised�when you�re a bit bigger. And all in the right order.� Blood stretched lightly, and took hold of the branch again.

�Right, let�s go again! This time, no magic!�

�Whaaaaa?!�

Blood was upon me before I could even protest. I swiped my branch at him in panic, but he dodged it effortlessly, and the pliant branch he was holding swished towards my face. I shut my eyes reflexively.

�Are you stupid?! Don�t shut your eyes!� The tree branch slapped me across the forehead.

�Ow!� I crouched down, clutching my forehead. The branch was flexible and curved like a whip. Even when he wasn�t putting much power into it, when it hit you at a reasonable speed, it was still quite painful.

�And crouching down in pain? Even worse. Now look what happens.�

He scratched the tops of my feet and pushed me over. If this was an actual battle, I�d have been kicked around like a soccer ball. My organs might even have ruptured.

�Even if you get punched right in the face, don�t close your eyes. Replace your reflexes with training. In a contest like this, where a single instant can make the difference between winning and losing, only an amateur would take his own sight away. So when you get hit, put up with it and move in.�

�M-Move in, even when I�m hurt?� Wouldn�t you normally back off and ready yourself for another try? That was what I figured, at least.

�Will, if you step back after taking a hit, what�s your opponent gonna think?�

�I don�t know��

�I just got a great hit in! And he�s wincing and stepping back! It�s working! I�ve got the upper hand! Now�s my chance to finish him off! Right?�

Ah�

�Of course he�s gonna press you even harder, trying to finish things then and there. Meanwhile, you�re injured, and at a disadvantage when it comes to defending or running. Trying to avoid a bad situation just ended up progressively making things worse. That�s called not thinking things through� hm? Why are you looking at me funny?�

While avoiding risk and keeping your distance, the situation slowly deteriorates into something that can�t be salvaged. I was more than familiar with that concept.

�So� you go forward, and then what?�

�That�s easy,� Blood laughed. �You rush headlong in there and attack like crazy.�

It was an aggressive, brute force approach.

�You�re dead if you step back anyway, so you go for broke. You keep your attacks coming, and bury your sword or spear or fist, whatever you�ve got, in there over and over. The other guy�s thinking �I landed a great hit! I�ve won!� He�s gonna be taken by surprise. If you wail on him right away, you can get in a good hit or two of your own. Then, sure you�re injured, but you�re level again at worst. You might even turn it all around and win on the spot.�

When you take a painful hit, move in. Step forward and give back what you were given.

�Even if he staves off your attacks, you�ll put doubt in his mind. �I thought I landed a good hit, but� did he not feel it? Did I just make him angry? Maybe that attack isn�t going to work on him?� And if you can get him thinking stuff like that�� I felt like a grin had spread across Blood�s skull. �He will back away from you. Switch to defense. Give you breathing room.�

You may be at a disadvantage, but your opponent won�t know that. Don�t be afraid of risk. Take that step into an uncertain future. Snatch the initiative away from the opponent.

�Your instincts when attacking are good, but you get cold feet too easily. We�re gonna have to work on that. Just remember,� Blood flexed his arm. �Get ripped, and you can solve pretty much everything by force.�

All I could see was bone. �Very funny, Blood.�

My comment seemed to shock him, and he looked a bit depressed.

A few months went by. The weather got progressively hotter, and we started having days in a row of scorching sun.

Gus�s lessons meandered from magic and myths to arithmetic, book-keeping, and economics, and sometimes even to law and civil engineering. Blood�s lessons, however, were always extremely straightforward.

�First off, you need to build muscle and stamina. They�re more important than anything else.�

Blood bent his arm, as if to draw attention to his biceps. Of course, there was no muscle there, only his naked humerus.

�Don�t I need to learn technique? You know, moves and stuff?�

�Useless without muscle.�

Instantly dismissed. Was it really like that? I found it difficult to accept such a blunt statement. Perhaps it was the influence of all the manga I�d read in my previous life, where the little guy beat people bigger than himself a surprising amount of the time.

Blood seemed to sense I wasn�t convinced.

�Hmm� Okay, then, Will. Could you knock me over without using magic?� He assumed a firm stance. The sight of that nearly two-meter-tall man of bone in a stable crouch felt incredibly powerful. There was no way a kid of eight years (give or take) could have done anything.

�No.�

�Didn�t think so. Our builds are completely different. You can�t overcome that without a weapon, even with a master�s techniques. Differences in build, weight, muscle�all these translate directly into power. Sure, having a move or two up your sleeve gives you a chance to turn things around. That�s why everyone makes a big deal out of them. We all love to root for the underdog. But you don�t wanna bank on that.�

Before I knew it, he had closed the distance on me, and with a nimble flick of the foot, he took my legs out from under me. Just before kissing the grass, I reflexively curled up my body and impacted the ground, breaking my fall with a technique Blood had drilled into me.

He�d sometimes test my falls like this by taking me by surprise. If it wasn�t good enough, I�d be put through endless practice again, and spend the next few hours rolling on the grass.

�Okay, great job. Well, uh, this is what reality is like, most of the time. The big guy always has the upper hand. Being big is that much of an advantage, and a strength. Though, I guess, you can�t always say that, not when weapons and magic get involved.�

Blood explained that wielding a particularly deadly weapon helped to reduce the importance of physique. Certainly, if an adult and a child were to fight either bare handed, with knives, or with guns, the guns would come closest to leveling the playing field.

�Still, that doesn�t change the fact that physique and muscle are important. You need to work out a lot, eat large meals, and get bigger.�

�Yeah.�

Obviously, for your workout to turn into muscle, you have to eat more calories than you burn. If it doesn�t turn into muscle, all the exhaustion of the workout counts for nothing. Blood always called that a waste. In my previous life, I�d had an unbalanced diet. I ate very little, at irregular times. This time, I wanted to eat regular meals, and I wanted to eat a lot.

�So, about muscle. What�s great about muscle is it�s good in any situation. Let�s say you�ve got� I dunno� someone light on their feet, who can throw real sharp, accurate punches.�

I imagined a boxer.

�He winds up in a slow, draggy grappling situation. How useful are that fighter�s techniques gonna be?�

Even at close range, he could probably punch a little at his opponent�s sides, but it�d probably do significantly less damage. I remembered that in boxing, there was an actual technique like that, called the clinch.

�Okay, now let�s say that instead you�ve got a guy who�s good in a grapple. He�s got throwing techniques and choking techniques. But his opponent�s got quick feet, and cleverly keeps his distance, and keeps darting in and punching him. How useful are those techniques gonna be?�

�Hmm�� The techniques didn�t seem much help in that situation, either.

�There�s plenty of situations where you won�t be able to use your techniques to their full potential. But �having strong muscles� is gonna be useful in pretty much all situations. It�s almost never gonna work against you. If you�re in a tiring grapple, muscle�s gonna let you pin down your opponent. If you�re trying to keep your distance, it�s gonna give power to your punches. Same thing if you�ve got a weapon. If you have good muscle strength, you can swing it easily, again and again, and you can keep your opponent�s weapon pressed back.

�Your techniques and moves, on the other hand, I�m not saying they�re useless, but they�re not gonna do anything for you outside the specific situations you can use them in. Same thing with weapon skills. You�re not necessarily always gonna be carrying your favorite weapon�but your muscles, they�re not gonna leave you, not so long as you keep up your training.�

His analysis was very realistic, and what he was trying to tell me was simple. Muscle strength and physique were the basic parameters, and moves and techniques were nothing more than a bonus, added on top if and only if the situation permitted it.

�So it should be clear which one�s more important to do first. First the muscle, then later the moves. Got it?�

�Yeah, got it. You�ve really thought all this through. I didn�t expect that��

�You thought I was an idiot, didn�t you? Come on over here. Blood�s got a present for you.�

I let out a fake scream and ran off, and Blood chased after me, laughing. Even when we played around like this, it was an opportunity for Blood to help me train my body and teach me all kinds of things.

Like how to throw stones. Not barehanded, like skipping stones over water. Something more useful in a battle situation.

Down the hill, on the opposite side to the city, past a field with rows of gravestones, was a dense forest. Blood and I were moving through it in a low crouch, each of us holding a long rope that we�d made by braiding together many long blades of grass. At one end of the rope was a finger-sized loop to prevent it from slipping, and in the middle, we had woven a pouch just big enough to fit a ping pong ball.

It was a weapon called a sling. I remembered from my previous life that it had been used by people like the Old Testament�s David and the Irish hero C� Chulainn. It existed in Japan, too, where it was called the inji-uchi.

There was a good-sized gathering of wild birds near the edge of the forest.

I put my middle finger into the rope�s loop, found a suitable-looking stone, and put it into the pouch. Then I lightly pressed the other end of the rope between my index finger and my thumb. After swinging the sling around a couple times to build up speed, I released my fingers with precise timing, freeing the stone held in the pouch. While the rope stayed attached to me thanks to the loop around my finger, the stone whipped through the air, straight toward the bevy of quail pecking at something just outside the forest. It hit one directly in the side. An instant later, there was a tremendous flapping of wings, and the birds all flew off at once.

�Okay! Great job! Check it!� Blood called out.

I glanced over at him to see him launch his own stone into the middle of the escaping flock. One of them dropped from the sky. I ran the ten meters to the quail I had taken down while wondering how I was ever going to get that good.

The quail was twitching; there was still life in it. It was struggling unsuccessfully to get away from me, and I thought its wing might have been broken. It looked so pitiful that, for a moment, I couldn�t help but feel sorry for it�

�Will, don�t let it suffer! Break its damned neck already!�

Spurred on by his voice, I held the quail down with the thick cloth I�d prepared. I could feel it fighting through the cloth. After stopping it from resisting with its beak and claws, I applied full pressure. I felt the horrible physicality of its neck breaking, and the quail went instantly and completely limp.

A short distance away, Blood was recovering his own bird. It must have died on impact, because I never saw him finish it off.

My quail�s big, round eyes had now lost their light completely. As Blood made his way over to me, I put my hands together as Mary had taught me, and prayed for the bird to rest in peace.

�Used to killing yet?�

�Not really.�

Hunting and killing animals�this, too, was part of Blood�s lessons. But killing weighed heavily on me. I couldn�t get used to it. I couldn�t kill without emotion, without hesitation. I wondered if my memories from my previous life were holding me back.

�I don�t want to kill.� Was I just being a baby?

�Hm? You think I do?�

�Huh?�

Blood gave a light shrug. �Look, if I let myself think about it too long, I don�t wanna kill, either. Of course I resist the idea of killing, whether it�s a person or a bird. But you�ve gotta understand��

Blood paused there, and poked my chest with a fingertip. �If I need to, I can put that aside and kill by reflex. That�s the way of a warrior, and that�s what I�m trying to teach you. �Cause on the field of battle, that�s a matter of life and death.�

Then, he took the quail�s dead body out of my hands. He tied its legs together with the other�s, and hung them over his shoulder.

�Okay. Let�s bring down a few more.�

�Yeah.�

I could feel so much care in Blood�s words and actions. Once again, I thought, What an amazing person he is.

The birds we killed were, of course, destined for the dinner table. I came back after being worked into the ground by Blood and Gus to find Mary already done with setting out the food.

The quail, feathers plucked and innards removed, had been rubbed with salt and herbs from the garden beside the temple. Then they were roasted and set onto a plate. They were still steaming hot, and fat was dripping off them. My mouth watered as the delicious smell of cooked meat permeated the room. In addition, there was a soup with all kinds of vegetables in it, and thick, beautifully colored multigrain bread. I couldn�t wait.

Mary laughed softly. �Don�t worry, the food isn�t going anywhere. Say grace before you eat.�

�Okay!� It was Mary�s policy that I should always sit down properly and pray before eating. I put my hands together as I always did, and spoke the words that I had been taught. �Mater our Earth-Mother, gods of good virtue, bless this food, which by thy merciful love we are about to receive, and let it sustain us in body and mind.�

I was living on a regular schedule in my new life, waking up in the morning, working out with Blood, learning from Gus, and eating the food Mary made for me. It was a great departure from my past life, in which I woke up whenever, ate whatever, and sat in my room forever in front of my monitor. My biological clock became disrupted, and my messed-up lifestyle sent my health into a slow decline.

Only now, having been reborn, did I finally understand how great a mistake that was. A weakened body led to a weakened mind. I wasn�t about to let it happen again.

�For the grace of the gods, we are truly thankful.�

The quail we had captured were rich in flavor and just chewy enough. The fat made them truly delicious. There was a lot of bone and not much meat, but it was so good, I didn�t care. Too engrossed to talk, I endlessly picked the meat off the bones.

Every so often, I went for the bread, whose simple taste perfectly cleansed my palate of the meat�s strong flavor. Sometimes I mopped up the juices from the meat on my plate with it, which tasted great as well. The soup, too, was salted just enough, and felt like it warmed every part of my exhausted body. It truly was a blissful dinner.

�This is really delicious, Mary.�

Another little laugh. �I�m glad you�re enjoying it.�

A mystery remained, however. A big mystery.

Mary, Gus, and Blood were all undead. They didn�t eat. Couldn�t eat. Therefore, there was neither a need for them to produce food, nor to keep any in storage. In fact, I hadn�t seen any sign that they�d cultivated any large fields. Even the small garden had apparently been restored after my arrival, and while it contained vegetables and herbs, no grains were growing there.

The ruins of the city to which this temple belonged were clearly cut off from human society, so there wasn�t anywhere you could buy things. Other than things like salt and honey, which didn�t spoil in the first place, any food that had been in the ruins wouldn�t have just rotted by now, but would have become nothing more than a dry powder or stain on the floor.

All of which raised the question: Where had this bread come from? Where did they get the grains? The kiln?

Of course, I thought of the possibility that they could have made the food with magic. I�d already proven that grease could be made, so if you said �bread� or �pork� in the Words of Creation, perhaps the mana would assume that form?

After some investigation, the answer was �no.� You could, Gus told me, make something resembling food, and it would make you feel full if you ate it, but it was beyond human ability to create nutritious food with magic.

I found Gus�s quote about it, �No man can fill his stomach by swallowing his own Words,� to be pretty amusing. But I felt the real heart of the issue was we didn�t fully understand the Words of Creation, and didn�t have enough information about the creatures of this world. Proteins, vitamins, and the other details of what constituted nutritional value were still undiscovered here, so there hadn�t been any progress on analyzing the Words relating to those things. As a result, attempting to create bread would only give birth to the ultimate diet product, which looked like bread, but contained zero calories.

This explanation seemed to make a lot of sense to me, anyway. I�d heard that putting the ancient language of magecraft to medical use, which of course involved fiddling with the complicated human body, was a difficult field in which little progress had been made. That seemed to support my theory.

Getting back on topic, my point was this. The fact that there was enough food for me to have something to eat every day was, by itself, abnormal. And yet, the fact of the matter was that some kind of food was always here, every single day. Which meant that there must be some other factor I hadn�t considered.

�Hey, Mary. This bread� Where do you get it from?�

�That�s a secret.�

So many mysteries.

It was simply baffling. No matter how I thought about it, I could reach no other conclusion.

Their three histories were baffling, the origin of the food was baffling, and above all, I myself was an enigma. I�d once made the simplistic guess that I might have been an abandoned child, but even that was now looking suspicious, and for one reason. I never saw any smoke.

The thought had come to me recently that at this level of civilization, wherever there was a human settlement, there should also be smoke from cooking fires. So I�d been paying extra attention to my surroundings looking for some, but no matter what time of day it was, and no matter what direction I looked in, I couldn�t see any such thing.

Of course, I didn�t actually know how visible smoke from a cooking fire would be at a distance, but I was able to recall the rough knowledge that there was a method for calculating the distance to the horizon. You were meant to make a right triangle with one side equal to the radius of the Earth, and another equal to the radius of the Earth plus the height of your eyes, and apply Pythagoras�s theorem. If I remembered correctly, it came out at four to five kilometers or thereabouts. Of course, whether I could apply that directly to this world or not seemed iffy, but it would be good enough for reference.

Those four or five kilometers would be even longer with a higher viewpoint, which was why ships in search of land had a lookout with good eyesight stand at the top of a mast. Similarly, things higher than the ground beyond the horizon could be seen beyond it. Mountains, for instance�and smoke.

So if a child whose eyesight wasn�t bad were to look for a tall column of smoke from the top of a hill, he should be able to see at least a few dozen kilometers. But there was no smoke to be seen. In other words, I couldn�t find any signs whatsoever of human habitation.

As for how all of this was related to the �abandoned child� theory, it was quite simple. If I was an abandoned child, then there must have been a biological parent or someone else who couldn�t continue to raise me. Someone had to be responsible for abandoning me.

I hadn�t even been one year old when I became aware of my memories of my past life, and babies� bodies were fragile. If you were going to abandon a baby, you probably wouldn�t take them a terribly long way before doing it. There was certainly no need to bother journeying all the way here, to this ruined city inhabited by the undead, clearly dozens of kilometers away from any human society.

A normal adult male could walk an average of about thirty kilometers per day on a reasonably maintained road. Include the return trip, and that meant that to drop a baby off fifteen kilometers away would take an entire day. Any further than that would require camping out somewhere remote.

This made no sense. If I really had been abandoned, I would have to ask: what the heck kind of parents would waste more than an entire day, even camping out overnight, just to get their baby as far away from them as possible?!

Given this, I was forced to think that maybe the likelihood of me being abandoned was lower than I thought. But then where had I come from? I spent some time contemplating other likely possibilities, but I couldn�t come up with any good ideas. I surely hadn�t simply sprouted from a cabbage patch, so my real parents had to exist somewhere, and must have had some history with this ruined city.

I couldn�t be the kid Mary and Blood had before they became undead? Nah, no way. Those three most likely became undead around the same time the city fell into ruin. I was virtually certain of this, because of the occasional mentions they�d drop in daily conversation about what the city was like before.

The city showed signs of deterioration over a considerable stretch of time. It wasn�t something that could have happened in just ten or twenty years. The time periods didn�t match up. If they became undead fifty or a hundred years ago, it was impossible that their child could have been born just eight years ago.

The only other scenario, that Mary could have had intercourse with Blood and gotten pregnant while both of them were undead, felt� even less plausible. Which meant that any of the three of them were definitely not my real parents, leading me all the way back to my original conclusion: that I had no clue about my own background.

Maybe it made the most sense to think that an irresponsible couple living on the road left me here? But no, that too felt wrong. After all, not a single human traveler had passed through this place for the past seven years. I thought and thought, but no answer came.

Who was I?

�Will?�

�Wagh!� I almost jumped. I�d gotten lost in thought.

�Is something the matter? You stopped.�

�Sorry, Mary. I was doing some thinking.�

Mary didn�t scold me. She just smiled gently. I�m sure she would have looked beautiful if she�d still been alive, but now� I couldn�t help but feel a modicum of fear from an expression like that. I�d mostly gotten used to the feeling by now, though.

�Some thinking? But don�t you think it�s hot today? Why don�t we get this finished, and then you can think inside, where it�s cool.�

�Okay.� I nodded and swung the grub hoe upward again.

I�d discovered that soil tended to be pretty heavy and hard. Tilling was hard work for a child like me. At first, I couldn�t get the hang of the hoe at all, and could only get the blade to penetrate a short distance into the ground. Now, though, it was going in quite deep, given my size.

We were in the temple�s vegetable garden. It was summer, so brightly colored tomatoes and eggplants were growing there. The garden had apparently been neglected for a long time, but they had gathered up some wild vegetables and the like, and started maintaining the garden once more for me. Herbs such as thyme, lemon balm, mint, and lavender had been planted at the garden�s edges, where they also served as a bug repellent. Their individual strong aromas mixed with the smell of the soil.

An area of the garden had been left unused up until now, and it was this that I was currently helping Mary to plow. She wanted to use it for carrots, which needed to be sown during the summer, and also for autumn�s potatoes and onions.

The names, appearances, and planting seasons of all these vegetables and herbs, as well as how to harvest them, were all things I had learned from Mary.

I was receiving my scholarly education from Gus, and learning how to fight from Blood, but I had the feeling that Mary was the person I had learned the most from. How to dress appropriately, how to use the toilet, proper etiquette, classic children�s fairy tales, stories from the past, how to grow vegetables, how to maintain farming tools, how to fold cloth, how to wash it, and how to clean a room. And when I hung around Mary, she would explain everything patiently, politely, and properly, from the beginning.

In my past life of conveniences, I led a failure of a lifestyle, and therefore, I had almost no proper knowledge about life, as embarrassing as it was to admit. In that respect, Mary had a firm grasp on things. She was clearly more suited to make it in the world, more so even than Gus and Blood, who were out of touch and a bit too savage (respectively).

She went to bed and got up at regular times, and every day, she would weed the garden, air out the blankets, clean around the temple, and perform a litany of other tasks. And she was educating me to be able to do them, too. If Mary hadn�t been here in this temple, I may have turned out to be good-for-nothing again.

However, even Mary had a mystery about her. A few times a day, she isolated herself in the temple�s main hall. I�d been told not to go in there during that time. She told me she was praying. While that was going on, Gus and Blood would not-so-subtly hang around me, and make sure not to let me into the hall.

Maybe she really was just praying in silence, and wanted to be able to concentrate. But there were so many mysteries piling on top of each other, part of me couldn�t help but think this had to be related to one of them.

While turning up the ground with my hoe, I decided: I was going to check. There was a chance that I could find a clue toward solving all of these mysteries.

And finding a way to solve the mysteries was the only thing inside my head.

I decided to pretend to be ill.

During my training with Blood, I acted like I wasn�t feeling well, and said I wanted to rest for a bit. Perhaps because of how diligently I�d been training before then, Blood believed this without any signs of suspicion, and told me to go rest in my bed.

For a while, he watched over me as I lay there, but before long, he muttered something about going to catch something invigorating, and disappeared in the direction of the forest. I�d figured that Blood�s personality wouldn�t allow him to loiter beside the bed for long.

I tiptoed out of the room, taking care not to be found by anyone, and secretly headed toward the hall. Trying not to make any sound, I opened the door as slowly as I could, and peered inside. The instant I did, I caught my breath.

Mary was engulfed in flames.

With a silver tray on the floor in front of her, she was kneeling there, in the middle of a band of faint light streaming from the skylight, facing a sculpture of one of the gods, her hands together in a posture of fervent prayer.

She was oblivious to the white flames covering her body and the thick cloud of smoke surrounding her.

My mind went blank.

I ran inside screaming, but Mary didn�t show any signs of having noticed me. Her posture absolutely unbroken, as if she had become a stone statue herself, Mary continued praying.

Panic shorted out my brain. Sweat was beading on my face. My ears were pounding. My throat hurt, and only then did I realize how loudly I was shouting. But even from right beside her, it elicited no reaction.

Desperate to do anything, I extended a hand towards her. She was still blanketed in flames. Her body was horribly burned, and had the appearance of red-hot charcoal. I touched her with my palm. It sizzled and burned.

Intense pain almost pulled my hand back by reflex. I suppressed it, internally screaming at my body that I didn�t care. I didn�t care if I hurt myself. Mary was in danger. She was in danger!

The panic frying my brain paralyzed every other sensation. I shrieked as I shook her over and over. �Blood! Gus! Help! Mary, Maryyyy!�

�How many times did I tell you�� Gus said, scowling at Blood and Mary.

�My fault. I was careless,� Blood said, his head lowered in apology to the other two.

�No� I�m the one to blame for keeping it a secret from him for so long.� Mary was hanging her head dejectedly. Her body, which had been so badly burned, was now, somehow, completely back to normal.

I was in my room, lying on the simple but functional bed, surrounded by stonework walls. My head was spinning, and my hands hurt. Really hurt. I groaned, hugged the blanket, and tried as hard as I could to put up with the pain.

My memories of the event were a little vague, but I gathered that Gus had heard my screams and come flying in through the wall. Apparently, I�d been shaking Mary as she refused to move, and screaming frantically, not even caring about my burning arms. Gus had torn me away from her immediately, and given me some magically augmented first aid, but as you�d expect, I ended up with burns on the palms of my hands and all up my arms.

I�d heard that full-blown burns hurt a lot, and whoever had said that wasn�t kidding. Both my arms were throbbing and intensely painful. Sometimes, people receiving medical treatment for serious burns all over their body beg the people around them just to kill them. I felt like I could understand those people now. I felt like saying it myself.

�Uh, about Will�s hands� Think he�ll make a full recovery on his own?�

�A tricky question. Fortunately, his fingers didn�t stick together, at least. If he got away without some degree of scarring, I for one would be very surprised.�

I could hear a frightening conversation going on around me. Scarring? Yeah, I guess so. At the time, my hands had felt like I�d grabbed a lump of burning coal, and on top of that, I hadn�t let go. They were currently wrapped in clean cloth, but I could tell that some kind of fluid was oozing out of me and being soaked into it. I was certain that if I unwrapped it, the horror inside would make me want to cover my eyes.

This might even interfere with my ability to properly open my hands or grip things. The thought was honestly scary. But for some reason, I felt strangely calm about it.

�Will� I�m sorry, Will. I should have� I should have just��

�No. It�s my fault for lying and peeking.�

The fact that Mary was back to normal probably meant that was a regular occurrence, and she had been keeping it hidden from me so that I wouldn�t worry. And I had gone and injured myself, badly enough to leave a scar, trying to help her when she didn�t even need it.

�There�s nothing for you to be sorry for,� I said. �I�m just glad you�re okay.�

It was reckless behavior, borne of ignorance. I was sure that some people would have called me a fool for it. But all I felt was relief. What I did may have been completely pointless, but the fact remained that Mary was safe. The woman who had so kindly nurtured me in this world since birth was safe.

And as for me, I had managed to take action. I had taken action for Mary�s sake, without ever looking back, without ever letting selfishness or self-preservation get in the way. I didn�t do what my past self would have done. I didn�t let fear get the better of me, and make any kind of excuse to stop in my tracks.

So�

�Don�t worry about it so much, okay?� I could smile at Mary from the bottom of my heart.

You have nothing to apologize for, I thought. I�m so glad you�re safe.

�Will�� Mary was looking at the ground and trembling. I wasn�t used to her looking like that, and found it hard to guess what she was thinking. �Thank you, Will� Thank you.�

She held my head tightly as I lay flat on the bed. I could smell her smell, like fragrant wood burning. It was soothing and pleasant.

�So.� Blood had clearly been waiting for Mary to calm down before questioning me. �You want to tell me why you went and faked an illness just so you could snoop on her in the middle of her act of worship?�

It was his serious voice. Apparently, I was in for a lecture.

I couldn�t blame him. It�s a bit weird for me to say this, I guess, but whatever the circumstances might have been, I�d gotten myself injured doing something I�d been prohibited from, so I deserved to receive a proper scolding for this.

�I�ve always been curious why the three of you are here. And why I�m here�why I�m the only one alive here. And� I thought if I peeked on her worshipping, even though you told me not to� I might find some kind of clue��

It brought to mind the phenomenon of �reactance� in psychology, and what we in Japan called the �don�t look� taboo, which often appeared in folktales. There are times when something being forbidden is precisely what draws you to it. That being said, I had intended to just take a little peek and nothing more. If Mary hadn�t been in the state she was, I wouldn�t have�no, that was just an excuse.

�Didn�t I tell you that I�d talk to you about it one day when you�re bigger?� Blood�s posture changed, as if he was sighing. �Do you think we�re the kind of people to ban you from doing something without a reason? Do you think we�re liars? Will, you�re a smart guy. You know that if we�re banning you from doing something, there�s a good reason why, right?�

Yes, absolutely I did. I just lacked patience. There was no other way to put it.

�U-Um, Blood, I don�t think you need to be quite so hard on Will. It was just his child-like curiosity.�

�Mary, you keep quiet for a minute.� He stopped her hesitant attempts to cover for me, and asked me again as he looked down at me. �Will. Do you have any other reason or excuse?�

�No, I don�t. I�m sorry.�

I had barely finished saying it before Blood raised his bony fist and slammed it powerfully onto my head. The blunt force of the impact shook me. My head swam. Tears welled up in my eyes. I didn�t want to cry, but it happened by reflex.

�Next time, you talk it over with me or Mary or something before you go thinking about doing something like that. I won�t stand for you randomly wandering off without telling us. There�s ruins around here, and� well� it�s just dangerous.�

I nodded meekly. The thought crossed my mind that I couldn�t remember the last time I�d been reprimanded this harshly. It must have been early in my past life. After all, everyone had given up on me by the end. They knew that lecturing me would achieve nothing, and were careful not to get involved.

But here, Blood was making himself the bad guy to help me. By getting angry with me, he was doing what was best for me, while fully accepting the risk that I might develop a fear of him or want to stay away from him as a result. It felt kind of strange to be happy about being scolded.

�Oh, and Will?� Blood unclenched his fist and ruffled my hair. �I�m proud of you for flying in there and helping Mary. That injury is a badge of honor.�

I could feel the corners of my mouth curving upwards. �I am your apprentice��

�This little guy� C�mere, you!�

Mary had a relieved smile on her face as she watched us laughing and playing together. Gus shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

Once things had settled down a bit, Gus made a suggestion. �Incidentally, Mary. Perhaps it�s time we told Will about the worship? I�ll admit that it�s difficult to reveal things about our histories to this boy. Say the wrong thing, and he�ll connect the dots and have the full picture drawn on his own. That said, I would prefer not to have to endure this more than once.�

�Yeah, I�m� Gotta say, I�m with Gus. Feels safest.�

�Yes, all right,� Mary nodded. �This has taught me that keeping too many things secret can actually be more dangerous.�

Gus turned to me with a solemn look on his face. �Will. This� may disturb you a little.�

Disturb me?

�It�s about your food. Mary has been using that act of worship to summon it all this time, and she burns during the act.�

Wait, what?

�You must have seen the silver tray? When her act of worship is over, the food appears upon that tray.�

�Is this� a joke?�

�Do you honestly think I would joke about this?�

Wait. Slow down. This is too much to take in.

�T-Tell me more,� I said, barely managing to get the words out. Gus explained for me.

The art of �benediction,� sometimes called �divine protection� or simply �miracles,� was a method for borrowing the supernatural powers of the gods, who had lost their bodies in battle in the age of myth, disappearing beyond this dimension. Gus had touched upon benediction very briefly in one of his lessons, when he�d talked about the �protection� that the gods gave to their minions. But this was the first time he had called it by name.

Benediction was the art of manifesting those gods� powers into the world through one�s own body. It was the glorious work of the gods, which could heal illness and injury, create food and drink such as holy bread and wine, and carry out other feats that could not be performed by means of the ancient language of magic. The gods could deliver revelations to the people blessed with their divine protection, helping them in risky situations. When mastered, benediction could even bring the gods themselves down into one�s own earthly body.

However, it also imposed greater restrictions upon the user than magic, which used the Words of Creation. Since benediction involved borrowing the power of a god, it couldn�t be used unless the user and the god were on good terms. It required strong devotion, and the kind of spiritual nature that could find favor with that god. It also couldn�t be used to do anything the god disapproved of. For instance, benediction would not allow you to use highly aggressive attacks against the minions of another benevolent god, and if you were wicked and unrepentant, the god would withdraw benediction entirely.

So that was benediction, a mystic art that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with magic, and with its own advantages and disadvantages. As for why hadn�t I heard about it before that point�

�I never told you,� Gus explained, �and I hid all the books relating to it. If you had heard about it and learned about it, you would have guessed that Mary could use it. You�re clever like that.�

Mary was devout and virtuous, and now that I knew about benediction, she seemed exactly the kind of person to use it. Gus was right. I probably would have guessed.

�Before long, you would have read my books and so on, connected the dots as you do, and discovered that Mary was bursting into flames. Then, you would have said that you didn�t want her making food for you if it meant her turning into a ball of fire. And I am sure that your mind would not have been changed, not even by us telling you that we are high-level undead, and our bodies recover easily from such a minor thing as being burned.�

�Well, yeah, I wouldn�t like it, but� why does she set on fire in the first place?!�

�Well, uh��

�Because I became undead,� Mary said. �Because I betrayed Mater our Earth-Mother.�

�Mary��

Her eyes were lowered, and her head, too. Her expression was one of deep sorrow.

�We became undead by entering into a contract with the unhallowed god of immortality, Stagnate,� she continued. �The god of undeath is a foe to Mater our Earth-Mother. The tainted undead burn at the slightest touch of her divine energy.�

I remembered the sculpture in the temple. Mater, the Earth-Mother, was the woman with the loving smile, who was holding a baby in her arms, and standing in front of a background of growing rice plants.

�What I did was beyond forgiveness. I betrayed her, and this is my punishment.�

Then why did she keep praying? �For me?�

Was she praying like that just to make bread for me to eat every day? Becoming consumed by flame every time? If that was the case�

�I� I�ll work in the fields more! I�ll hunt! So��

Mary smiled gently. �It�s not like that, Will.� The soft embrace of her voice put my fears at ease. �Offering regular prayers to Mater has been a routine of mine since well before I met you.�

She wasn�t lying. Mary couldn�t lie with a smile like this, with a voice like that. Seven years spent with her had taught me that.

�Mater our Earth-Mother is the guardian deity of children. After meeting you, I also began to pray for a little food from her, but my habit of praying itself is no different now than it ever was.�

�Mary speaks the truth,� Gus said. �I guarantee it myself.�

�I told her a few times that maybe she should pack it in now, but she won�t have it,� Blood added, making an expression that I thought looked a little displeased.

Gus, too, gently nodded.

�Why?� I asked, confused. Not even my past memories were helping me to make sense of this. If what they were saying was true, then before I was around, Mary had been inflaming herself every day in return for absolutely nothing. �Doesn�t it hurt?�

�It does. I�d cry from the pain, if I still could.� She smiled.

Her reason was simple. Even after betraying her, even if pain was her only reward�

�I still revere Mater.�

To be able to smile through all this� She�s beautiful, I thought.

Mary was a mummy, and looked like a dead tree, or a monk who�d starved to death. Anyone�s first surface impression of her could only be to find her horrifying or grotesque. But to my eyes, she looked absolutely beautiful.

She had betrayed the one she revered�probably not willingly�and was now rejected by her, roasted by flame every time she tried to come close. Undeterred, she kept trying again and again, and was rewarded every time with terrible pain.

With my lack of religious faith and flimsy life experience, both in this life and my previous one, I couldn�t begin to understand her suffering, and could only imagine how difficult it must be for her. All I knew was that it had to be hard. It had to be painful. It wouldn�t have been any surprise if undirected feelings of hatred and resentment had built up within her. They would have in me. At least, the old me. I was sure of that.

But Mary accepted her suffering calmly. I had never once seen her speak badly of anyone or show hatred toward anyone. That was what made her look so beautiful to me.

�Even if my prayers aren�t accepted� Will�� She added my name softly. �I still believe that prayer has meaning.�

I wondered if that was true. I hoped that it was.

�And even though Mater doesn�t speak a word to me� since I met you, she has been blessing me with holy bread.� Mater the Earth-Mother was holding a baby in her sculpture, and Mary had mentioned that she was the guardian deity of children, too.

�Even if I cannot receive her forgiveness� just that little bit of assistance has been a great salvation for me. That�s all thanks to you, Will!� she added in a mischievous tone. �I�m really sorry for keeping quiet about it. I hope you�ll still eat the bread I give you.�

My arms were covered in burns, and Mary was regularly being set ablaze. That was more than enough to make that bread impossible to swallow. But I felt� I could still manage it.

�Yeah� I will. But can you do something for me?�

�What is it?�

�Let me pray with you from now on.�

If at all possible, I wanted to understand Mary even a little more.

How things looked to her�and how things felt to her.

He was like an entirely different person. Just a menacing look and a threatening pose made him this frightening?

It didn�t look to me like this was some kind of illusion or disguise. It was definitely Gus. But what had made him so deathly angry? Why was he even here at all?

�Ah��

� I�ll supervise, of course, but if there�s an accident, you�re seriously gonna die. So, uh, try not to end up dead.

I remembered Blood�s words.

Saying, �I�ll supervise, but there�s the danger of accidental death,� meant that I probably wouldn�t die unless said accident really occurred. In other words, no matter how arduous the lesson was, it was still a lesson. Unless I bumped straight into an enemy unprepared, somehow died instantly, or made some horrendous mistake, I could expect help to come if the situation became more than I could handle.

How would they get that help to me? If anyone was to be tasked with helping me here, in this city underground, surely it would be Gus, who, as a specter, could pass through walls. The job of tailing me would be impossible for Mary, and no doubt very difficult even for Blood. Gus had almost certainly been constantly watching me as I wandered around this underground city, battled, and searched for the exit. Which had to mean�

�This is� part of the lesson?� I asked, with trepidation in my voice. Maybe this was another part of the lesson, where Gus would be my opponent. I wanted to believe that it was.

My instinct was blaring all its warning sirens at full volume, screaming at me that I was wrong.

�It is, right? Are you going to tell me what I�m su��

He started drawing a Word in midair in place of an answer. I could tell by looking at it. That was an attack Word.

Magic for killing someone.

The instant I recognized it, I turned on my heel and chose to run. I didn�t have a clue what was going on. But I could sense it. I needed to run, as fast as possible! While being wary of what was behind me, I ran as fast as I could toward the room�s exit.

�Expergisci,� Gus said, spinning a Word from his lips in a bone-chilling tone.

Near the exit I was just about to run through, the pile of rubble shifted and stood, taking the form of a nearly three-meter-tall giant that scraped the ceiling.

�Wh�?!� It was a golem, made with the power of magic! Gus had engraved a complex Sign into the rubble ahead of time, and had now incanted the Word to awaken it.

The character he�d drawn with his finger was for show. He�d drawn it to make me choose to flee. Which meant� that Gus had already sectioned off this place, and turned it into his own meticulously prepared kill zone.

By the time I realized that, the golem�s fist was already closing in on me. There was no way I could fully block the overwhelming mass of that fist with my little, circular shield.

Waiting until the last possible moment, I shifted my body and dodged the blow. Then, as if to counter, I thrust forward with the magical spear I�d just obtained. I was aiming for its stomach�specifically, the Sign that was sustaining it.

The point of the spear sank into the rubble golem like a skewer into meat. I swept it sideways, and scraped off the Sign. The golem turned back into individual chunks of stone debris and crashed to the ground�but barely a moment later, something grazed the side of my face and shot past it, making a hard impact with the wall and shattering there.

I immediately leaped to the side. The exit receded.

Barely an instant after I wondered what had just been shot at me, several more pieces were flying my way. Rubble! I looked back at Gus to see a large Word drawn in midair, around the circumference of which were floating countless tiny pieces of rock.

He fired them at me one after the other, like bullets from a handgun. This magic was Stone Blast, and what�s more, a very advanced version!

�Uhh�Wahh�Ahh�?!� I rolled across the floor, trying to avoid them.

I couldn�t block all of those fine fragments of rubble with my shield. They hit me in places and stung like fire. Fighting to control my breathing, I prepared to speak the Word of Negation for the next pellets that had just been cast at me, but then�

�Cadere Araneum.�

I felt a chill of fear. I was familiar with this magic. It was the Word of Web-making. I had used it in my training with Blood, so I knew firsthand how dreadful this magic could be.

I quickly flung a Word of Negation upwards. The web vanished. I put up my shield and tried to make a dash for the exit, but slipped right over on the grease that had run under my feet without any warning.

What� What was going on? He was casting this magic way too fast. Even Gus shouldn�t be able to chain spells one after another as fast as this! I turned my eyes to him, and realized the truth. He was performing verbal incantations and written inscriptions in parallel.

�Double casting!� I knew it was possible in theory, but making even the slightest mistake while using the Words could lead to the caster�s own destruction. To speak and write different Words at the same time, while also correctly allocating the mana for each�I could tell without even trying it. It wasn�t simple.

�Khhh�!� I madly rolled around, avoiding yet another rubble barrage. I tried to escape out of the greased area, but down came another web.

Paralysis. Weakening. Slowdown. Cloud of Sleep. An endless number of brutal enfeebling techniques overwhelmed me.

If I stopped moving for even a second, I would fall victim to the hail of rubble. Using the Words of Negation and my own body movements, I somehow avoided taking any lethal hits. I made a number of unsightly attempts to escape, but all to no avail. I was desperately trying to manage, but I was slowly but surely being cornered�

Expressionless, but presumably tired of my resistance, Gus spread his hands apart.

�What?�

The Signs being drawn in the air glinted with mana. Two of them�different ones for each hand.

He was still incanting Words nonstop from his mouth.

Triple casting.

�No� way��

There was no more hope. Simple mental calculation told me that this proved Gus was capable of unleashing a whole additional person�s worth of firepower. There was no possibility of escape. I couldn�t get away. I was going to be killed.

Gus was looking down on me mercilessly, preparing to activate his magic without the slightest hesitation. He was serious. He was really going to kill me.

Why? Why?

�Gus�� I was going to be killed by the parent who had raised me, without even knowing why.

No, I thought.

No, no no no.

I don�t want to die. I don�t want to die! My eyes filled with tears. Thoughts raced through my mind.

I don�t want to die. I have to run. But I can�t run. I�ll never be able to get away.

I don�t want to die.

I don�t want to die.

If I don�t want to die�

What do I have to do to not die?

This spear has Words engraved on it. It works on specters.

Use it like a javelin. Throw it at him. Impale him. My own voice whispered calmly to me inside my head.

I might be an instant faster right now. If I impale Gus� If I strike him just right� If I kill him, I can live.

He was the one who tried to kill me. He�s getting what he deserves. So�

Impale him. Just impale him. Impale him. Impale him.

KILL HIM!

As I listened to the insane screaming echoing inside my head, I forced a smile, and, with tense hands� I cast the spear aside.

The sound of it rolling away echoed awfully loudly. Surprised, Gus stopped activating his magic.

�Gus? Hey, Gus?� What was I meant to say? I didn�t know. But there was something I did know. �If you have to kill me, that means� you must have some good reason why, right?�

He would never do it otherwise. Even now that things had come to this, I could still believe that.

I loved him. I really loved him.

�Gus? Old Gus?� I spread my arms. I tilted my head back, and exposed my throat, to make it an easy target. �It�s okay. You don�t have to give me a �chance to fight back.��

He swallowed, and seemed like he wanted to reply, but choked on his words. When was the last time I saw Gus this surprised? It might not have been since I answered that question about words when I was young.

�I get it,� I said.

If Gus had been serious, this whole farce would have been completely unnecessary. I was the only living being in this space underground. All he needed to do was blast Ignis around enough, and he could have killed me, and only me, by depriving me of oxygen and poisoning me with carbon monoxide. Even more simply, he could have just used a shock magic to collapse this large room�s ceiling. Since Gus was a specter and could pass through walls, he could also pass through a collapsing ceiling. Again, I would be the only fatality.

Yet Gus had tried to kill me with a drawn-out method like Stone Blast. As if he was giving me a chance to fight back.

�I get it� I understand what you�re doing, but��

I could tell that this was the best compromise Gus could afford to give me. But even then�

�I don�t want to kill you, Gus��

Tears spilled from my eyes. Of course I didn�t want to die. I was scared�very scared. The memory of having died once already didn�t change that in the slightest. But even so�

�I�d rather die than hurt you, Gus��

Something welled up inside of me, expanding like a balloon, and I started to hiccup uncontrollably. I felt so uncool.

I�d wanted to accept death. It wasn�t like I hadn�t gone through it before.

�If this is important to you,� I hiccupped again, �that�s all I care about.�

Gus was still just lingering there in silence, not casting anything. I smiled awkwardly at him.

�You can kill me. I�m not afraid to die.� Forcing my lips into a tight smile, I tried to act as stoic as I could. I couldn�t let my death be unsightly. I was Gus�s apprentice.

�J-Just try not to make it hurt too much� please��

Slowly� Gus approached me. I clenched my quivering hands. He reached out, and held a palm over my head. I closed my eyes tightly, and the next thing I heard�

�Ahh, sorry, boy! I went a bit too far, didn�t I?! Hah hah hah!� Gus spoke and laughed in a loud, exaggerated voice, and pretended to stroke my head with his translucent hand.

�Huh�?� I was shocked.

�It looks like I win! I did have the terrain advantage, though. Come on, pick yourself up. I know, I spooked you, but it�s not all bad. You got some valuable experience in what a battle with a mage is like, didn�t you?�

This couldn�t have been a lesson, and that wasn�t what was shocking me. No�it was because Gus was trying to pretend that this had all been a lesson.

His voice was the proof. He was never normally this loud or voluble. Why? Had emotion gotten the better of him? Was that possible, for someone of Gus�s caliber? No way. But then� why?

�Gus��

�Now, now, we can talk later! You defeated a vraskus and even obtained a spear. Blood will be over the moon! Now let�s not dawdle any longer in this vexatious place. Come along, Will!� Gus was being incredibly verbose.

�Oh, I know!� he said, far too brightly. �I bet you were impressed by that double and triple casting! Now, tricks like that are bad manners, but in the heat of battle, you�re better served knowing them. I�ll teach you things like that as well from now on. How does that sound? Come on, cheer up, won�t you? Please?�

My face must have looked awful at that point in time, but right now, even Gus looked like he might have been about to cry.

There were definitely mysteries surrounding this city, the three, and my background. Blood would probably tell me everything before I was fifteen.

The day for light to be shed on all these mysteries was fast approaching.

The days that followed the Gus incident were no different than the days that had come before. Even after I made it to the exit with Gus and reunited with Blood, I didn�t breathe a single word to him about our fight. I trusted Gus, and if he wasn�t going to disclose it to Blood, there must be worthy reason why.

Of course, that meant I was hiding something, so I might have acted a little strangely. But I had been thrown into a den of the undead, and had only just come back from that altogether crazy training, having spent half a day there. A little bit of strange behavior was easily misinterpreted by Blood and Mary as the effects of fear and tension which hadn�t yet worn off.

To add to that, as it turned out, a vraskus skeleton actually spelled quite a bit of trouble. As Gus reported to Blood how my training had gone, and got to the part where I had to fight a vraskus, Blood gave a hum of understanding and tried to cheer me up, saying it was no wonder Gus had needed to jump in and help me. He didn�t sound like he�d even considered the possibility that I might have won by myself.

Gus told him that I beat it on my own, and Blood�s jaw dropped. Literally. His entire bottom jaw fell off and dropped to the ground. The sight of Blood in a fluster trying to fit his jawbone back on was pretty surreal.

Was a vraskus really that much of a problem? It had seemed several times less powerful than Blood to me, but maybe it was weak compared to what they were usually like for some reason. Yet as far as I�d been taught, the abilities and skills of the undead never changed from how they�d been in life.

�Umm, how difficult an opponent is a vraskus to you, Blood?�

�Hm? Me?� he replied, folding his arms behind his head. �I could just charge straight in there and lop its head off.�

Huh. Then a vraskus wasn�t very strong after all. Blood had just been underestimating me slightly, or thinking I wouldn�t be able to achieve my full potential in an actual battle.

�Then I still have a long way to go. I can�t rest easy just �cause I beat a vraskus.� If you get full of yourself every time you get the slightest bit stronger, you�re just setting yourself up for a fall. I had to rein it in.

Blood and Gus both made strange faces after hearing that comment, and mumbled, �Yeah,� and �Indeed,� and other indistinct things I couldn�t make out.

Hm. I felt like I was laboring under some huge misunderstanding.

With my confusion unresolved, the conversation moved on to the spoils of battle. I�d spotted old coins and ornaments underground, but due to the hassle of carrying them, the only thing I�d brought back was that single short spear. It was my first battle trophy, and the three of them showed great interest in it. We all looked at it together, and spent a while discussing its various aspects.

The blade of the spear was straight, double-edged, and reasonably long. Together with the shaft, it made for a spear that was longer than I was tall.

The curved point of the blade was long, and there was a straight temper line dividing the blade from the rest of the metal. The steel shone with a cold and brilliant light. The base of the blade, where it joined the shaft, was pinched inwards on both sides. Blood liked the look, calling it quite seductive.

The shaft was a tasteful dark brown. According to Mary, it was made of walnut. A bronze ring with a Word engraved in it was set at the base of the blade.

Overall, it was a functional spear, seemingly of dwarven make. However, the fact that all the nonessential elements had been pared away gave it a beauty and impact of its own.

The dark color of the handle contrasted impressively with the steel blade, gleaming a bright white as it reflected the light. When I thought about how this was my weapon I started getting a little excited, which was unusual for me. So much so that I couldn�t help myself from grabbing it and taking it to the garden to practice swings and form.

It�s a fact of life, as embarrassing as it is to admit, that all men long to have something of their very own that they can obsess over, be it a weapon, a car, or whatever else. I was sure that any male would be able to understand this feeling.

Gus looked at the spear in close detail with me, while re-explaining what to look for. After careful inspection, we found that this spear was known as Pale Moon. The blade and the shaft had both been endowed with magical effects through the Words of Creation.

On the blade, there were Words to augment its ability to penetrate and sever, and Words to protect it against wear and destruction. In addition, a Word based on Lumen was engraved there, making the blade serve also as a source of illumination with adjustable range and brightness. It didn�t seem like it could shine brightly enough to blind an enemy, but it was certainly enough for lighting my way through the dark. No need for a torch, then.

The handle, meanwhile, in addition to the same Words for strength and quality retention, was engraved with Words pertaining to the contraction and expansion of matter. It appeared that its length could be adjusted, to a limited extent, over the span of a few minutes, while still preserving the material�s hardness and toughness. It couldn�t suddenly be extended in the middle of a fight, but it could be used as a pike if the situation called for it. As a short spear, it could be carried into small spaces.

They weren�t flashy effects like fire or shock waves, but each was undeniably useful. I could think of endless ways to use this thing.

This was amazing. It really was amazing. It was a real magic weapon! And it was mine! I got even more carried away, testing out a whole different range of lengths, seeing what they felt like to swing, and polishing the spear repeatedly even though it wasn�t dirty. The three�Blood and Gus in particular�watched me with very warm eyes.

The days after that passed peacefully.

Blood�s lessons now sometimes involved descents to the underground city, but I�d gotten used to it. Sometimes with Pale Moon and sometimes with a longsword, I experienced battle after battle against undead demons. Even when I encountered demons on the same level as a vraskus, they still caused me less trouble than in my first fight.

Eventually, not only did I end up memorizing the structure of the underground city, but nothing down there was a match for me anymore, so Blood started giving me handicaps. For example: I was to enter the underground city with only clothing and a dagger, acquire weapons and armor while there by stealing them from the undead, and return after taking down a certain number. That was pretty hard, but it didn�t take me all that long before I managed to get the hang of that as well.

Incidentally, though I picked up a number of well-preserved weapons and ornaments, none of them were able to outshine Pale Moon. Nevertheless, I thought it was a very useful experience to try out all kinds of different equipment. There were poor-quality weapons where I favored quantity instead, equipment with names, long weapons, short ones, and everything in-between.

Just as Gus had promised, he taught me the secret tricks to the double and triple use of magic.

Even in my previous world, writing different letters with your left and right hands was an impressive trick, and I also remembered seeing street performances where the performer would play an instrument while doing something else at the same time. Multicasting magic was similar to those tricks. Just like Blood�s martial arts, the trick was probably to train your body to remember useful combinations so you could pull them off without thinking.

Gus and I settled on a few practical combinations together. I practiced them to build up my muscle memory. But double casting aside, triple casting was simply far too difficult, and I couldn�t entirely pull it off yet. It must have taken Gus many long years of practice to get that good. I wanted to catch up to him someday.

His lectures changed, too. There was no more relentless cramming.

�This will suffice for your scholarly education.� In our usual classroom, Gus nodded at me with a smile on his face. �It�s time you learned something different.�

�Something different?� I asked, and Gus nodded.

�Go down to the underground city with Blood and gather up some coins,� he said, in a serious tone. �I�m going to teach you something important.� I sat up straight and nodded.

I had no idea what Gus was planning to use the coins for, but if he was speaking this seriously about it, I had no doubt that it really did have to be a matter of some importance.

After a while, Blood and I returned with the coins.

�Ah, good. I�ve been waiting for you.� Gus was carrying dice, a bowl, and� what looked like playing pieces and a board.

�Oh! It�s been a while. Up for a game, old man?!� Blood said, in a really cheerful voice. �Hey, Will, you�ve never played before, right?!�

I didn�t answer.

�No big deal, I guess, only takes once to get the idea� Will?�

�Um. Gus?� I said.

�Yes?� Gus replied.

�Isn�t this� you know� gambling?�

��Gambling� is such a crude term. Have a little elegance. Let�s call it an intellectual game.�

�It is gambling!�

�All right, all right, there�s no need to lose your temper.�

�Yes, there is! I thought you had something really important to teach me! Why gambling?!�

�Oh, I daresay you would be surprised by what intellectual games have to offer.� And that finally started Gus on his train of sophistry. �When you become an elite sorcerer, a modest familiarity with intellectual games is to be expected. Games of this sort are occasionally used for duels between sorcerers. Magic is dangerous in many ways, after all. If you get into a dispute with a sorcerer you detest, and have a physical battle, it is not uncommon for both sides to destroy each other, which is a result that serves no one. Which is why, in the case of a dispute, one will on occasion draw up a contract, and resolve the conflict through an intellectual game, so as to��

Memories of card-game manga from my previous life flashed through my mind. But thinking about it, games being used as the format to settle a duel wasn�t just a manga thing. There were real, historical examples as well. So maybe, even in this world, it was a good idea to learn how to�

�Oh no, you�re not getting me like that!� I shook my head rapidly. �Gambling is gambling! Mary would be so angry!�

�Oho� Will, my boy�� Gus grinned. �You are scared, I see.�

�What?�

�No, no, no. There�s no need to hide it. It�s only natural that you would be intimidated by the prospect of directly competing against me, the exalted Wandering Sage, in an intellectual game.� His smile was a mocking one. �Yes, and Mary will be angry, after all. No one could blame you for running away! For fleeing! Yes, run, boy, run. I will have my fun with Blood.� He even added a sneering cackle onto the end.

�Oh, that�s it.� I couldn�t help but respond to his provocation.

So, I proceeded to respond to his provocation.

As you know, gambling is addictive. So much so that pathological gambling was an actual recognized disorder in my previous world.

Gambling stimulates the brain. Panic and anger if you lose, but pleasure and satisfaction if you win. Eventually, the brain becomes desensitized to these stimuli, and the person seeks out stronger stimulation, becoming more and more hooked. There was plenty of literature written about this in my previous world, and I hardly needed to quote it to say that countless people had fallen to the allure of these devilish games.

Why am I telling you all this? To illustrate a simple point:

�Double six! Looks like I take this one, Old Gus!�

�Tch! You always did have good instincts��

�Okay, next game! Let�s play again!�

The devil was not so easily eluded.

The game involved moving pieces across a board using dice, in a similar way to backgammon.

�Okay, let�s go again. Hold up, though, before we start. Will, there�s a trick to this. Let me teach you. See, there�s this thing called an unlucky streak.�

�Pure fantasy!� Gus scoffed. �There are only results and probabilities. Play logically for long enough, and ultimately��

�Yeah? And who�s the one being slowly bled dry here?�

Blood currently had a big pile of gold coins in front of him. He had taken a lot of minor losses, but never missed when it mattered. Watching him made me want to believe in instinct and streaks of luck.

I remained silent, my eyes on the sizable mountain of silver coins I had amassed by making safe decisions and avoiding big showdowns with Blood. I was currently second.

Gus made a guttural sound of frustration. He was, of course, last. Even though he talked about the importance of theory and probability, whenever a big clash arose between him and Blood, his obstinate personality led him to discard all that and try to outdo him.

I wanted to play well and maintain second place, and if possible, find just the right opportunity to snatch first. So, strategically speaking, my next move should be�

A loud bang interrupted my thoughts. The door was open, and Mary was standing there.

All three of us opened our mouths and made an �ah� sound at the same time.

For a moment, she said nothing. She had her eyes cast downward, and a gentle smile on her face. It appeared to be the same expression she always had, but for some reason, I couldn�t stop trembling.

�You three, sit here.� Her calm voice made me break into a copious, cold sweat.

�I, ah, well,� Gus started.

�Mary, I can explain��

�It was Gus�s idea��

We all waved our hands before us as we tried to defend ourselves.

�Sit here.�

Not one of us could disobey Mary�s smile. Her lecture was long and severe, and taught me something very important: getting hooked on gambling is a bad idea!

Although Gus�s gambling parlor operation was not to be repeated, it did show the large ways in which his lessons were changing. In comparison, Blood�s didn�t change much.

�Hfff!� I exhaled. I was bare-chested, gripping a tree branch, and doing pull-ups. Slowly, to make my back muscles work, I pulled my body up.

With one hand.

�Hfff!�

�Man, your back�s gotten pretty thick.�

Blood�s training was a constant. Train your body, train your technique, practice your skills�hunting, tree climbing, rock climbing, swimming, gathering food�and while doing that, gradually build your knowledge of how to identify the different fish and plants you encounter.

The training never changed. My body, however, was slowly changing to cope with it. I did pull-ups with both hands at first, then with weights, then one-handed. Push-ups, too, I did with a weight on my back, or while in a handstand.

I�d developed visible abs, I was building a muscular chest, and my arms and thighs were getting thicker and stronger. Bit by bit, I was changing into the muscled warrior that Blood had once been.

�Okay, that�ll do,� Blood said, after I�d run through my basic training routine for the day.

�So what are we doing today?� I asked. �Sparring?�

�Nah, I�ve got a little something else in mind today. We�re gonna look for a beehive. Go splash water on yourself and wash the sweat off, put plenty of layers on, and come back here with a cloth.�

I nodded. I splashed cold water on myself, washed off the sweat, put a lot of clothes on, and returned to Blood.

When I got back, Blood was peering into a small jar. He seemed to be grinning.

�Hm? What�s that?�

�Have a look.�

I peered inside. There was the richly sweet smell of forest grapes, and at the same time, my nose was filled by a second, very distinctive smell. I could see bubbles rising in the liquid inside.

�Okay, listen, Will. What I did was, I got this pot to boiling temperature, and I put in the juice of pressed forest grapes��

�You�re making alcohol?�

�Oh, you do know!�

�So the reason you�re looking for a beehive��

�Yup. We�re gonna shove honey in here and sweeten it up.�

If a certain type of fungus gets into a liquid containing sugar, it starts breaking the sugar down and producing alcohol. Of course, the more sugar you add, the higher the alcohol concentration, and the harder the drink.

�A man�s gotta be able to handle his booze,� he said.

�Are you sure Mary won�t get angry?�

�Come on. She doesn�t need to know, right? It�ll be our secret!� His will-o�-the-wisps were twinkling, and he looked like he was really having fun. It was too hard to turn him down.

I was on board without much convincing, and the two of us ran through the forest looking for a bees� nest. We laughed loudly together as we smoked it out. It was no trouble to get the honey, and we added it to the jar.

I tried some bee larvae on Blood�s suggestion. They were surprisingly tasty. It hit me how much rougher and less fussy I�d become, compared to my previous life.

We left it for a number of days, and after checking that it had properly fermented and become alcohol, we sat in secret opposite each other and enjoyed a drink together. Having said that, Blood had no throat or tongue, of course. No sooner had he poured it into his mouth than it was dripping onto the ground.

�Oh, that�s good. That�s damn good,� he said with relish. I was sure he couldn�t taste it, and couldn�t get drunk, either. Yet Blood looked like he was loving it, and seemed to be having a lot of fun.

�Yeah.� This drink, shared with Blood, tasted wonderful to me as well.

With nothing much to snack on, we poured cup after cup, and got drunk while gazing at the moon. It wasn�t long before a really nice, light, floaty feeling filled my head, and we were laughing like idiots at the smallest little jokes. We got more and more excitable, and when it got to the point where we were acting like a pair of total drunkards�

�You wanna show me you�ve got guts?� Blood slurred.

�Yeah?�

�Let�s go peep on Mary getting undressed.�

�Ooh, gutsy!�

�I am gutsy, aren�t I?�

�Hahaha!� We both laughed our heads off. How did this end up happening?

Obviously, I knew in my head that this was not something we should be doing. I feel sure that even as dulled as my brain was, it was still correctly asking me, What�s even fun about this in the first place?!

�Ahahahah!�

�Ahahahah!�

It�s just that it was pointless asking that question to a drunk.

We moved quickly. The temple�s corridors were wobbling. No, wait, that was me.

We judged our timing, and swiftly moved to the door of Mary�s room. I could hear the rustle of fabric. Blood and I peeked through the gap, and saw that Mary was just taking off her loose robe.

Blood and I both were capable of moving around very quietly and expertly when we wanted to. Peeping on someone was easy for us� or would have been when we were sober.

�Ah��

�You�idiot!�

I wobbled, staggered, and brought us both crashing to the ground.

Mary shrieked. �Wh-Who�s there?!�

We tried to run, but weren�t fast enough. She was able to find something close at hand to wear, and in no time at all, she had put it on, darted out, and caught us both.

�Will?! Blood?! What in the world�ugh, you reek of alcohol!�

I rarely saw Mary this flustered.

�Um, I� this isn�t�!�

�Heheh, thought we�d take a li�l peek at you getting changed.�

�Wh�Wh�Wh�?!�

If she�d been alive, her face would surely have gone bright red. The way Mary was losing her composure in embarrassment was actually adorable, and I felt my heart leap for just a moment.

�What are you two doing?!�

A red handprint was left on my cheek. As for the main culprit, Blood, Mary socked him so hard that his skull spun in circles. Then she got on top of him, pinned him down, and punched him repeatedly.

Not only had we gotten completely plastered, we�d peeped on a lady in a state of undress. The punishment fit the crime. Frankly, we�d gotten off lightly.

And when I woke up the following morning, for some reason, I�d had a wet dream. Yes, for the first time.

My voice was breaking around this time, so it wasn�t surprising, but to think my awakening to sex was Mary getting undressed. My awakening to sex was Mary getting undressed. And to make matters worse, Blood found out, and he doubled over laughing while pointing a finger at me. I kicked him.

And, as I washed my soiled loincloth, I made him swear to me that we�d take this secret with us to the grave.

No more booze. Seriously, no more.

Focusing on my �episodes� with Blood and Gus may give you the impression that I was a mischief maker of the highest order. But I was basically a good kid. I� thought I was, anyway. Probably. Most likely.

�Mary, I weeded the field. Also, I put the washing out.�

�Thank you, Will.�

�Also, I dusted the gods� statues and laid down some flowers.�

�Oh, my goodness.�

As proof, recently, I�d gotten to the point where I wasn�t just helping Mary with the chores, I was beating her to them. Surprisingly, that was much more difficult than it sounded. I couldn�t wait around for directions. I had to have a total grasp of her procedure, think about what was needed, and carry it out before she could.

Mary was quick. She told me that the trick to not letting chores get on top of you was to take care of things immediately the moment you noticed them. The cleaning tools and the farm tools were kept within easy reach at all times, and if she noticed a little bit of dust or a weed, she dealt with it then and there, and got it out of the way.

To do things before she could, I had to constantly be on the lookout, and I couldn�t let myself get lazy, either. Always thinking about reducing Mary�s workload as I went about my business taught me more, in a way, than even the lessons being given to me by Blood and Gus. At least in terms of how it impacted my regular life, it was far more important than strengthening my muscles.

If I�d at least done some housework in my previous life, I could have been slightly less of a burden on my family. Now that I was living in this world, I never wanted to make the same mistakes again.

�Thank you very much, Will. Well, now I have some time on my hands. I know, why don�t I cut your hair today?�

�Ah, good idea.�

My hair had grown quite long without me really noticing it. When was the last time Mary cut it for me?

She was good at haircutting. Gus, incidentally, never once offered, and the one time I asked Blood to do it could be summed up with the word �appalling.�

�Okay, ready. Thanks, Mary.�

My voice had finally stopped changing recently. I�d grown much taller, and my shoulders had gotten broader, too. I�d overtaken both Mary and Gus in height, and although I still couldn�t stand shoulder to shoulder with Blood, the difference in our physiques had narrowed quite a bit. I could practice unarmed combat with him now.

It was a refreshingly cool autumn morning. Mary chopped away at my hair, showing no hesitation with the well-sharpened scissors.

�I can see your Adam�s apple sticking out now. You might start growing a beard soon.�

�Yeah. Maybe I�ll get Blood to teach me how to use a razor. I wonder if he remembers.�

Mary let out a little laugh. �I wonder. I expect he hasn�t used one for a long time.�

Electric razors were so common in my previous world. I wondered how many young people had ever shaved their beards with a straight razor. I couldn�t do it either, of course. I�d have to learn.

Then again, cutting yourself with a razor looked painful. If the customs of the outside world would allow it, maybe it wouldn�t be so bad to let it grow�

�Come to think of it, what did Blood�s face look like?�

Gus looked like he always had. Mary was just sapped of moisture, and still had her abundant blonde hair and her gentle eyes, so her, I could at least imagine. Blood was the most difficult.

Mary stopped snipping and looked into the distance wistfully.

�Blood looked quite different from you. I�m sure you can tell from his skeletal structure. His arms and neck were thick, and he had broad shoulders. He had a wild face� an indomitable face, full of confidence. His hair trailed in the wind like a lion�s mane. He had sharp, piercing eyes. Perhaps he looked a bit too tough to call good-looking?�

I imagined burly muscles overlaid on Blood�s familiar skeleton. I stretched skin over them, and added hair. A piercing stare, wild and brawny, a lion of a man.

�Whoa, I can see him.�

�You can, can�t you? He was pretty cool,� Mary laughed, a little shyly. Maybe they really did have something together.

I couldn�t really tell, because neither of them would ever relax their self-restraint as adults in front of me. Even with my previous life�s memories, I obviously didn�t know much about the subtleties of this kind of thing.

Mary resumed snipping, and once again pieces of my hair started falling to the floor.

Her hands were moving as though this was second nature to her. From time to time, she would peer at me from different angles to check how it was looking.

�All done,� she said after a while, and showed me a hand mirror.

A young man with a clean-cut and cheerful countenance looked back at me from inside the mirror. He had slightly messy chestnut-brown hair, and I got an impression of meekness from his deep blue-green eyes. From just his face he�d look like a pampered rich kid, but with the muscular body, he was more like a young warrior from a good family instead.

Marie chuckled. �I think you�re pretty good-looking, don�t you?�

�I don�t think so. I�d have preferred a face like Blood�s.� This world seemed to be dangerous, so I thought a strong-looking, intimidating face with presence would probably be more useful. And on a more personal level, I just wanted to be like him. �It�s a bit of a shame we don�t look much alike.�

�Two Bloods might be one too many,� Marie said, laughing. �But I think you really are looking a lot more grown�oh, yes.�

�Hm?�

�It�s going to be time for your adulthood rite soon, remember,� she said, as she removed the cloth from my neck and brushed up the hair on the floor. �You need to think hard about your guardian deity, and decide on your oath.�

Crap. I�d totally forgotten.

This world had many gods. Major gods, minor gods�all different, and all respected by someone.

Every individual person had their own �guardian deity,� the god that person had the most faith in. I was told that until a child became an adult, he was considered to be under the protection of his parents� guardian deities. The adulthood rite was about parting with that protection: determining your own guardian deity, making an oath, and wishing for protection yourself.

And it was held that people should live and die in a manner with which their own guardian deity would be pleased. It sounds restrictive, but it was apparently possible to perform the rite again at a later time to change your guardian deity, if your attitude or circumstances changed.

Also, it was normal for people to worship other gods than their guardian deity when the situation called for it. For instance, just about everyone would make an offering to Whirl, the god of wind, before setting out on a journey. It didn�t seem to be a very strict type of polytheism.

Their perspective on life and death was based around reincarnation.

When a person died, they would be summoned beyond this dimension, to the place of the gods they believed in, where they would be judged on their actions in life. If the god received them favorably, repose would be given in the pleasant fields. If not, penitence would be demanded in the wilderness of suffering. And after a certain period, they would be reborn again. After countless such rebirths, after the soul had been refined to the highest degree, that person would ascend the ladder to godhood. The highest of heroes and saints would surpass the dimension of humans, and become gods.

I found this hard to understand in concrete terms. In the polytheistic worlds of Japan and ancient Rome, truly exceptional individuals were worshipped after their deaths as gods. Was the goal to become something like that?

The temple�s hall was magnificent as usual. So much time had passed since I first awoke here on that day. Through the course of growing up and learning about this world, I�d come to know the names of each and every one of the gods depicted in these statues. These were the most famous of the gods, who had existed in this world since long ago.

The imposing man with an air of gravitas, in the prime of life, bearing a sword in the shape of lightning in his right hand, and a set of scales in the other�

This was the god of justice and lightning, Volt. He was the leader of the virtuous gods. God of gods and guardian of humans, he commanded the blessed rains, as well as the lightning that was his divine judgment. Many put their faith in him, from the ruling classes to the common people. His brother, the evil god Illtreat, had command over tyranny, and the two of them often fought fierce battles.

The woman with the loving smile, who was holding a baby in her arms, and standing in front of a background of rice plants growing out of the earth�

Mater the Earth-Mother. She was the god to whom Mary showed devotion, and governed the gifts of the earth and the raising of children. She was also said to be wife to Volt. Blessings made to her commonly related to farming and child-rearing, and people in rural areas in particular put deep faith in her, along with Volt.

The moustachioed man of short, beefy stature, with roaring flames at his back, hands gripping a hammer and tongs�

This was the god of fire and technology, Blaze. He was also said to be the forefather of the dwarves, and I often saw reliefs of him in the dwarven city underground. In addition to receiving the devotion of craftsmen, he was seemingly also popular with warriors, just as Volt was, for his advocacy of the merits of a fiery temper and ceaseless training. Incidentally, Blood had taken Blaze as his guardian deity.

The young person smiling amiably, holding a glass of wine and a number of gold coins, and surrounded by what seemed to be pictographs representing the blowing wind�

The god of wind and exchange, Whirl. Progenitor of the halflings, a bright and cheery race of little people, Whirl was a trickster with command over commerce, exchange, freedom, good luck, and other such things, and had the devotion of merchants, gamblers, and travelers. Small shrines dedicated to Whirl could often be found at the roadside.

The fine young woman clad in thin cloth, submerged up to her waist in a clear stream, holding a bow in one hand, and reaching out with her other to what might have been a fairy�

The god of water and greenery, Rhea Silvia. She was a capricious goddess, who was also said to be the foremother of the elves. She ruled over the seas, the rivers, the forests, and all their blessings, and also had domain over hunting and elementals. Hunters, fishermen, lumberjacks�many of her followers had occupations with ties to nature. The view of her as a capricious god may have arisen from her connection with natural disasters. Incidentally, although I had never seen them, elementals and fairies existed in this world, too, and there was a special, specific system of mystical techniques for borrowing their power.

The one-eyed old man who radiated intelligence, standing in front of some kind of inscription, holding a cane and an open book in his hands�

This was the god that Gus had once talked to me about who had created our letters. The god of knowledge, Enlight. He was a god who had many followers among intellectuals. It was said that his single eye perceived what could be seen, while his missing eye perceived what could not. Gus�s guardian deity was in fact not Enlight, god of knowledge, but Whirl, god of wind. According to Gus, �It is far better to travel with money than to be surrounded by books in an ivory tower.�

These six gods were the ones worshipped in a particularly large number of regions. The legends said that these gods had a Ragnarok-style battle with the evil gods, which ended in mutual defeat, and now both sides were healing their wounds beyond this dimension. However, I�d also been told that from time to time, they would send something called an Echo into this world, like a body split off from their own, to help guide people. These Echoes of the gods, both good and bad, made sporadic appearances in the epics I had been told through story and poetry.

The scale of everything I�d been told was on another level. I was planning to live a normal life. I doubted that I�d ever have anything to do with any of that stuff. As these thoughts went through my mind, I took a look at the sculpture with the lantern that had once inexplicably fascinated me.

The god of unknown gender, standing in front of no background, with a long-handled lantern in their hand. The child of the god of lightning, Volt, and the Earth-Mother, Mater. The god of the flame, whose domain was the endless cycle of transmigration. Gracefeel.

Gracefeel was a god resembling the Grim Reaper, with control over souls and reincarnation. They were said to appear before the souls of the dead, and show them the way with their lantern, guiding them to the fields of the gods, and to the next life. Little had been told about Gracefeel. Their gender was unknown, their appearance undescribed. They were extremely reticent, even for a god. They rarely offered revelations, and the unique arts they bestowed through benediction were scarcely useful.

A priest of Mater the Earth-Mother, for example, could use benediction to make the land fertile, to see a baby delivered safely for mother and child, or to give health to growing children. The god of lightning, Volt, offered benediction to judge the truthfulness of the target�s words. High-level priests could pray for rain to fall on land that was suffering a drought.

Gracefeel�s benediction, on the other hand, was reasonably lacking in practical use, and included things like granting repose and guidance to the souls of the dead.

In this world, the gods were able to exert actual influence on reality. I had personally grown up eating porridge and bread that had actually been made through benediction, so I wasn�t about to doubt it. If one day benediction suddenly awoke within you, that would be a life-changing event. You would suddenly be able to heal wounds and perform all manner of other miraculous feats, and would become the talk of everyone around you. It would be like winning the lottery. Because of that, many people factored practical considerations, such as the benediction they would receive, into their choice of guardian deity. As a result, Gracefeel was not that popular.

It was very natural for people to think that way. If you could only receive a single lottery ticket, of course you�d want it to be the one with the biggest jackpot. The devotion the gods amassed in this way translated directly into their power, and the more power the gods gained, the more people would follow them. This has kind of started sounding like a lecture on wealth inequality, hasn�t it?

In any case, that was Gracefeel: a second-string god, whose name would always come after the big six. Maybe the reason Gracefeel fascinated me so much was that I still had my memories from my previous life. I couldn�t help but feel a curious bond with them, given that their domain was samsara and the eternal flux of all things.

I looked around the temple. I was due to turn fifteen at this year�s winter solstice. I would make an oath to one of these gods, name them as my guardian deity� and then, in spring, I would probably leave this temple. The living had to return to the living. All three of them were thinking it, as if it was obvious.

I looked at my hands in silence. These hands were different now. The discoloration pattern from those burns, traveling up my arms, was still there. There were small cuts and dirt on the palms, from helping out Mary with chores and garden work. Ink stains, from my studying with Gus. Blisters, from my training with Blood. They weren�t the hands I�d had when I was young. They weren�t the unhealthy hands I�d had when I was the old me. They were hands that had been put to something.

I really had been taught so much. So many different things. Mary told me before that she didn�t know what things were like out there, just that it was very likely dangerous. Gus and Blood, too, said nothing about outside society. I still didn�t even know why I was here. But there was at least something I could say for sure.

These hands, which had been indelibly shaped by so many teachings, were full of the kindness the three of them had shown me. No matter how dangerous it was out there, no matter how harsh a place it was for an outsider of unknown origin, the three of them had taught me enough that I�d be able to survive.

One day� I wanted to come back here. If possible, with friends, or a family. And I�d introduce them to Blood, and Mary, and Gus. This is the house I grew up in, I could say, and this is my dad, and my mom, and my grandpa.

What would the three of them say when they saw me back? Would they be pleased to see my friends and family? What could I bring them as a gift?

My imagination was filled with that simple happiness.

�Which god would the three of you recommend, if you had to name one?� I�d decided it was worth at least asking the three of them for their thoughts on a guardian deity.

Blood was first to answer. �Unless you�ve got some actual idea for how you wanna turn out, I�d just make some harmless oath to Volt.�

�Oh, that�s a good suggestion,� Mary agreed. �A wide range of people have faith in Volt, and he has the most social trustworthiness, too.�

�Hmm, Indeed.� Even Gus was on board. �A wise decision� A rarity for you, Blood.�

�Bug off.�

Gus gave a single disdainful snort in response.

�Now, now, you two. Stop that.�

Blood grumbled, clearly dissatisfied.

Coughing to clear the air, Gus continued. �Whirl is also not a bad choice for a guardian deity, but a number of Whirl�s followers are gamblers or thieves. I would certainly agree that Volt is a step up in the aspect of social trust. He seems the better choice.�

The three of them settled very quickly on Volt, god of gods, and ruler of justice and lightning.

�I�m surprised you all agreed so easily.�

�You can hardly go wrong with Volt,� Gus stated plainly. �That�s the simple truth. And it�s not as though you can�t change it later.�

Blood nodded. �It�d be a different story if you had dreams of becoming, I dunno, a craftsman or a scholar, but how can you dream like that when you don�t even know what the world�s like out there?�

�The best thing is for you to keep your options open,� Mary said thoughtfully, �so I would say that Volt is best, followed perhaps by Mater our Earth-Mother.�

All this talk about there being �no need to narrow your options at this stage� and �choosing something so you�re prepared, no matter what you choose in the future� was making me feel like I was choosing a career path.

Pick a high school with an ordinary curriculum�it can�t do you wrong. Like that.

�Okay, I�ll keep that in mind. And what kind of thing is good for the oath? In the �Berkeley Tale of Valor� you told me before, he swore upon Volt�s lightning sword to vanquish all evil.�

�Yeah�� Blood sounded worried. �That�s a legendary epic. Don�t go getting all starry-eyed and making an oath like that, you hear me? A strong oath makes it easier to receive protection, but you end up letting yourself in for one hell of a rough fate. Become a hero or die, basically.�

�I�m sure the gods find idiots like that much more willing to get themselves into trouble,� Gus said.

So there were beliefs like that connected to these oaths as well. It remained to be seen how much truth there was in the stuff about �rough fates,� but I had no intention of making such a difficult oath anyway. I wasn�t going to puff up my own importance and think I was special just because I had memories from a previous life, and I had no aspirations of becoming a �hero.�

�Yes, a normal person�s oath would be something like�� Mary pondered for a moment. ��I swear to live my life doing as little evil as possible,� perhaps.�

Gus listed off a few more. ��I will show consideration for my neighbor,� �I will speak no lies,� �I will treasure my family�� and such.�

Treasure my family� that one sounded nice. Summing up the examples I had heard so far, I said, �So basically, I just need to swear something like �I will live a proper life and not do anything bad�?�

�Roughly, yes,� Gus said. �That being said, sometimes one makes an oath that is suited to the personality of his individual god.�

�Umm, like?�

�Uhh, so what I did was,� Blood said, �I swore to Blaze to train every day and get stronger. Blaze values discipline and a honed craft.�

�My vow to Mater was a little more abstract,� Mary followed up. �I swore to live true to her will.�

Yes, that suited the two of them perfectly.

�As for me,� Gus said, �all this about guardian deities and oaths and such looked like a hassle. I chose Whirl because it seemed the most relaxed option, and I swore to do what I wanted and have fun with life.�

Old Gus was definitely rock �n� roll.

That about wrapped up the discussion. Mary went to the lake to do the washing, and Blood to the forest for firewood. Autumn was already ending. Not to moralize like an old fable, but preparing for winter was important.

As for me, I was taking a lesson with Gus. I practiced double casting over and over, raising my proficiency. Gus�s lessons had now become very hands-on.

�Listen, now, this is important. When attempting to use magic in a situation where your opponent can attack you before the count of five, never waste time thinking. Cast a spell by reflex, something you have trained your body to memorize in advance. You�ll find that most of the world�s sorcerers are overly theoretical. They always think first. A good number of them are incapable of what I�m telling you.�

Gus told me there were countless people who had died this way, shot or cut down while vacillating over what to use. Some even destroyed themselves by deciding to use a Word they weren�t familiar with and screwing it up.

That said, it wasn�t surprising. The majority of sorcerers were city scholars or handymen. People like me and Gus, who studied magic while envisaging how it would be used in battle, were by far the minority.

�Intelligent strategy is for when you have time to consider it. In a sudden encounter, don�t waste time thinking up terrible plans. Press the enemy hard with magic you�re familiar with. Complex chains of magic risk total failure if a single link breaks. The simpler the spell, the more resilient.�

Gus�s thoughts on battle tactics were very similar to Blood�s teachings. Maybe this was just what happened when your skills were shaped by actual battles.

�And Will, you will particularly benefit from identifying when it�s appropriate to rely on the Words and when it is not. Because you have the option of fighting with the techniques Blood drilled into you.�

I didn�t know if it was the presence of mana, or if this world was just made that way, but you could achieve greater results with training in this world than you ever could in my previous one. The physical abilities of a proper warrior in top form were a little bit monstrous.

I mean, take Blood. When he wasn�t running in a lower gear for the sake of my training, he could bend with ease the thick steel poles I used for swinging practice, and he could run with the speed and acuity of a swallow in flight. It was a bit scary to think that my own physical abilities were beginning to follow suit. A little bit further and I�d be superhuman.

Magic, on the other hand, carried the risk of self-destruction if you made a mistake in writing or pronunciation. Because of this, the area within about ten meters of the opponent was inescapably the exclusive domain of the warrior.

Gus, however, did know several �bad-mannered, underhanded tricks� for such a situation. I wondered just how many people this guy had taken down from within warrior range.

�Of course, the best outcome is for there not to be a fight in the first place, but if things do get heated, judge correctly.�

I nodded.

�Oh, something else,� Gus said. �I�ve been dabbling in astronomy the last few years, and I found out when we can expect the next winter solstice.�

My eyes opened wide upon hearing that. Had he been looking into that especially for my fifteenth?

�Say� Will. I have a request.�

�A request?�

�Mm,� he nodded. �Blood will probably ask you for a one-on-one battle, to be held on the day before the winter solstice, or thereabouts. An all-out battle, with nothing held back, and Mary standing by to offer healing and regeneration through benediction.�

His words didn�t surprise me. I�d been thinking for a while that Blood was likely to suggest something like that. And I was ready to take him up on it.

�Will�� Gus�s expression was heavy. �Could you� lose that battle, in a way that Blood won�t find out?� The words he forced out of his mouth were full of anguish.

�Why?�

The time I was almost killed by Gus came to mind. Back then, too, there was some unknown thought behind Gus�s actions. Without ever telling me, he had ruminated over some circumstances I didn�t know, and come to a conclusion that led to him trying to kill me. And then, for some reason, he stopped.

�Why do this?�

�It�s important.�

�No.� Not that.

�Not me, you! Why do you keep leaving me out of the loop?!� Without even realizing it, I was yelling at him in anger.

�I know you�re not an idiot! I know you wouldn�t trample over someone�s feelings without a reason!� I tried to grab him by the collar, but my hands swiped the air.

I glared up at him as he floated above me. �I�m capable of doing what you ask if you�d actually explain things to me! I�d lose on purpose for you! I�d offer my life for you, like I did back then! So why won�t you ever tell me anything?! Am I that untrustworthy to you?! Am I that insignificant to you?!� The words I�d been keeping bottled inside my heart poured out as if a dam had burst.

Gus still had a pained look on his face, and it didn�t change as he spoke. �Sorry, Will� I can�t. Sorry.�

I lowered my head and clenched my fists. I had to wrench the next words out of me.

�I see.� So that was how it was.

�Then� Then don�t expect me to help you.� I verbally pushed him away. I couldn�t lose such an important fight on purpose without even knowing why. �What you just said� I�ll pretend I didn�t hear it.�

This was going to be my last chance to challenge Blood at his full potential, without any restrictions getting in the way. As a warrior myself, I wanted to give it everything I had, and I was sure that Blood was thinking the same thing. To lose that on purpose, without even knowing why� It was just impossible.

But I wouldn�t tell on him to anyone. I didn�t hear anything. Simple as that.

That was my final word, and neither Gus nor I said anything more.

A few days later, Blood informed me about my final exam.

But what about his weight? If you simply tried to lift Blood into the air, would he be as heavy as he was in life? No. I had proven that with the vraskus. Becoming a skeleton reduced your weight. That had to be a clue to how I could defeat Blood, who was exceptional as a warrior.

The weight of all a human�s bones, including spinal fluid, is less than ten percent of their total body weight. Even if Blood had been a huge man weighing well over a hundred kilos before he died, now, he could only weigh around ten at the most. Even including the weight of his weapons, he couldn�t weigh more than fifty. I roared louder than ever before. As Blood lost his balance, I thrust my longsword into him with all my strength. I was aiming for his spine. All I needed was one hit�

�Will.� A gently spoken word reached my ear.

An instant later, my longsword was caught and trapped between his ribs.

�Wh��

As soon as Blood, holding his massive broadsword, had fully caught my longsword�s blade between his ribs, he twisted his body and pulled it away from me. It was the rib-cage equivalent of catching an incoming blade with your hands, only possible because Blood was a skeleton.

Taken by surprise, I didn�t manage to let go of my longsword�s hilt in time, and before I realized it, my arm was being twisted with the full mass of the broadsword, and I was pulled to the ground, slamming against it. The shock of the impact knocked the wind out of me.

�You fought pretty good.� I tried to get up as fast as I could, but a blade was already resting right against my neck.

It was Blood�s spare single-handed sword, the one that had been hanging from his belt. The blade was matte black, and a crimson design ran vividly along its length. Was this a magic sword? I almost felt like calling it a demon sword. Though it wasn�t really the time for it, I admired the sword�s beauty, in spite of its sinister look.

�I yield,� I said quietly, declaring my surrender.

Gus obviously had a number of different thoughts going through his head, but I didn�t even get to the stage of deliberately losing or not. Even after putting together a plan, even after giving everything I had� it pained me to admit it, but in a plain and simple test of sword skills, I just couldn�t beat Blood.

�Good job,� Blood said. �Damn, that was rough. Not having muscles is a real drawback.� The match settled, Blood sheathed his sword.

As usual, I didn�t know how to start responding to that comment, but I got what he meant. Just as I was about to say something, a bone-chilling voice filled the air. �Blood?�

�Ack! Mary��

��Ack?� That�s not a very nice way to respond to me.�

Mary had both her hands on her hips and was glaring at Blood, her expression clearly indicating how angry she was. Being a mummy, Mary didn�t have any eyeballs. It made her look extra scary.

�I told you not to use that move anymore, didn�t I?�

That move? Anymore?

�U-Uh� what was this again?�

�Don�t you play dumb with me! That move where you catch your opponent�s weapon in your rib cage!�

�Yeah, but� it�s not like I have organs anymore.�

�What?!� I shouted, incredulous. �Blood, you did that while you were alive?!�

�Yes, he did!� Mary was inconsolably angry. �Can you believe this man?!�

I shook my head. He was truly unbelievable.

I�d been thinking that move was only something an undead being could perform, but I suddenly remembered that the undead never advanced. With very few exceptions, all the attacks and so on that they could use conformed to what they knew in their previous life. In other words, he wouldn�t have been able to pull off an insane stunt like that unless he had experience with it from before he died.

�He was facing a demon who had a rapier with the Word Penetratus inscribed on it.�

�Yeah, he was an agile little pest, and good with his weapon. He slipped right by me and looked like he was going for Mary, so naturally I��

�Naturally?!�

Naturally, he allowed himself to get stabbed in the torso, caught the demon�s weapon in his ribs, twisted him to the floor and lopped his head off? No person in their right mind could call that a natural course of action. Only the War Ogre could do something like that.

�H-He�s lucky he survived��

�He would have been dead without my benediction!�

�Yeah, and I trusted you! That�s why I did it!�

Wow, the strategies a team can use. And he did it in the first place to protect Mary.

�Excuse me! I thought you had died on the spot! I was actually worried! Now did I or didn�t I ask you never to do it again?!� It was rare to see Mary snap at anyone like this. I understood where Blood was coming from, but I could understand Mary�s feelings, too.

Come on, Blood. Of course she was going to be angry.

I put on a smile and chuckled dryly. There was no better way to respond to this situation. From there, I watched Blood get chewed out for a while. I may not have had much experience with relationships, but I wasn�t stupid. There was a saying about grabbing a dog by the ears, after all.

Blood loudly pretended to clear his throat. �Uhh, anyway. Will, even though you couldn�t beat me, you�ll have no troubles if you�re this good. Even though you couldn�t beat me. Even though you couldn�t beat me!�

�Stop saying that! You�re so annoying!�

Gods dammit! How the hell was I supposed to predict that twisted maneuver?! I put together a proper strategy in advance�how to deal with the huge power of his broadsword, how to exploit his low weight, all that stuff�and I nailed it all, just to have it turned around on me at the last second!

Blood laughed loudly. �Wanna tell me how you�re feeling right now?�

�Gaaahhhh! I�m gonna face you head-on and destroy you next time!�

And then I�ll say, �Well? Well? How are you feeling right now?� Right to your stupid face!

He was still laughing. �That�s the spirit, that�s the spirit, Willie, my boy��

�All right, that�s enough!� Mary said. She slapped him upside the head.

�Ow!�

Yeah, take that. Serves you right!

�Both of you! Please, will you be more serious?!� She got angry at me, too. �Go on! On with it!�

�All right, all right, I hear you�� Blood said grudgingly. �So, uh, yeah. If I had some killer move or secret tech to pass down, I coulda taught it to you right about now.�

�You don�t?�

�Nope,� he said plainly, and shrugged. �You and me have different ways of fighting. I�m not trying to turn you into a copy of me. So the moves that are useful to me ain�t gonna be the ones useful for you. And anyway, like I said before, moves are situational. You can�t bank on just one.� He spoke confidently and calmly. I could feel the air of a battle-forged warrior about him.

�What matters is the basics. Remember all the stuff I�ve taught you, and be ready to use it any time.� He bumped his fist against my breastplate and held it there. Mary smiled as she watched us. �Me and Mary� We�ve taught you everything important you need to know.�

His skeletal fist had no warmth. But I was sure I could feel something warm emanating from it, filling up my chest.

So I gathered a little bit of courage and replied, with pride and a smile on my face. �Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Mom!�

Blood laughed loudly. ��Dad�? Never really thought about it. I guess I am.�

�Yes, I believe you are,� Mary said. Her giggle was quiet and ladylike.

I started to feel kind of embarrassed, and unconsciously scratched the side of my face with my finger. The three of us laughed together for a short while.

I felt a sense of belonging. The thought that I�d have to leave them in spring was incredibly hard to come to terms with.

�Okay, what about this,� Blood said, after our laughter had settled. �I can�t teach you any ultimate moves, but, uh, what about something to mark your independence?�

I looked at him, perplexed.

�I�m giving you this.�

He undid his sword belt, and presented me with the magic sword he�d used to settle our match: that sinister, bewitching, matte black single-handed sword. �This is the strongest demonblade I have in my possession.�

The strongest? Of all the ones he owned? But� I mean�

�I didn�t even win��

�I said it�s to mark your independence. Go on, pull it out.� He pushed it into my hands, belt and all.

I hesitantly wrapped the belt around me, and with some level of trepidation, drew the single-handed broadsword from its scabbard. It was a matte black and double-edged. The weight was distributed toward the end of the blade, which was a little thicker and wider than the rest of it. I thought it would probably cut well. The decorative elements of the sword gave it a kind of forbidding impression, and the crimson pattern running down the blade had a beguiling beauty to it.

�Its name is Overeater. It�s one of the very best demonblades. It�ll cut down whatever you swing it at, even the Echoes of the gods, so long as you can strike true. The Words inscribed on it are very difficult to figure out, but I can sum up the effect in one sentence,� Blood spoke, matter-of-factly. �As you cut down living beings with this sword, it recovers your life force. The more you cut, the more you recover.�

Huh? �Wait, what? Did I mishear that?�

�I�ll say it again. As you cut down living beings with this sword, it recovers your life force. The more you cut, the more you recover. You didn�t mishear. If you�re in a melee, you can just let your mind wander and swing this thing around aimlessly. You�ll still be the last man standing.�

Realizing the implications of this, I went pale.

�You�re smart. I�m sure you already get it, but� I don�t want you pulling out this thing unless you have to. Don�t lean on it,� Blood continued, in the same dispassionate tone.

�It�ll make you feel strong, but this ain�t the type of sword that�s meant to fortify the wielder�s spirit. If you lean on it, sooner or later you�re gonna become dependent on it. You�ll get cavalier about your sword skills, and they�ll become a shadow of what they are right now. It�ll go right to your head, and sooner or later you�ll fight someone who�s just plain better, or someone will poison you, or you�ll get surrounded by archers at a distance, and back you�ll go for another spin �round fate�s eternal wheel. That�s what makes this a true demonblade.

�As for me, I�m undead. I�ve got no life force in the first place, so this thing does jack all for me. It�s just dead weight. So I�m giving it to you. Despite all the stuff I�ve said, I�m sure you�ll be fine with it. You can tell what it�s useful for.�

Mary nodded in agreement. Both of them had faith in me and believed I could handle this terrifying thing. My old memories flashed through my mind, and my heart ached a little. Was I really as great a person as they believed I was?

�Now, then. When a warrior hands down his demonblade, custom dictates he tells its story! And I�m not gonna be the guy who breaks an ancient tradition. So let�s talk about this sword!� Blood�s voice brightened, as if to erase the gloomy atmosphere that had briefly cast shadows over us. �And, of course, the history that surrounds it. Our history. Your history. The history you�ve been longing to hear.�

I couldn�t believe I was finally going to find out. It had been on my mind for so long.

�Blood�� I said, at a loss for words.

Blood looked at Mary. She nodded, smiling. �You�re your own man now, Will,� she said.

�I promised you I�d tell you when you got bigger,� Blood went on. �And you�re more than big enough now, in body and heart. It�s gonna take a while, but I�ll tell you everything. This is the story of the king among kings of the demons who tried to conquer this continent: the High King of the Eternals. It�s the story of the deaths of many heroes. It�s the story of our defeat. It�s the story of how we died��

A rush of icy-cold wind blew past us through the graveyard at the base of the hill.

��and it�s the reason why you grew up here.�

Though numerous titles existed to refer to that king of demons, there was no one who knew his true name. He was called the Undying Bladefiend, the King Among Kings. The Purest Evil, the Inexhaustible Darkness, the Rider of Warstorms, the Cackler�

The High King of the Eternals.

Two hundred years ago, the continent of Southmark, which had been enjoying long-standing peace, was invaded by a demon king who went by that title, and who commanded an army of innumerable demons.

�It was global pandemonium stirred up by the demon kings of the Abyss,� Mary said. �They had designs upon this plane, and they had been biding their time, awaiting their chance.�

�High-ranked demons you really don�t wanna see often. Kings, Generals, all those guys�they all came crawling out of the woodwork.�

The demon kings had conspired together to launch one hell of a riot. To give an idea of the sense of scale, the vraskus, who I had defeated before, was classified as a Commander. General was the next rank up, and King was the rank above that.

Based on my experience with the vraskus, I thought I could possibly handle one General surrounded by Soldiers, if I were prepared to accept significant risk. Against a King, though, I probably stood no chance, not without making some completely unrealistic assumptions like fighting one-on-one.

If those kinds of demons had poured out like an army of ants, well, it wasn�t hard to understand just how terrible that would be. Society wasn�t entirely made up of people like me who�d undergone combat training. And dispatching a group of Soldiers took time and physical energy, even if you did have that experience.

�On top of that,� Blood continued, �those Generals and Kings that spilled out into our world conducted a number of grand rituals to their god, the god of dimensions. They offered that god huge amounts of flesh and blood. You probably learned geography from Gus, but, uh� my advice is, don�t go thinking it�s still the same today. Wouldn�t surprise me if there were massive holes blasted in the land and now it�s sea, or if the sea dried up and now it�s land.�

�As if they�d been waiting for all of this to begin,� Mary said, �the minions of the god of tyranny, Illtreat, and the god of undeath, Stagnate, also became active all over the world. The good gods expended a lot of energy to oppose them. There were many such battles, which raged fiercely enough to change the map forever. Information became quite confused and chaotic. The different regions completely lost contact with one another.�

I found it a little difficult to imagine chaos on that scale. Anyway, basically, the world became a confusing mess.

�So� thanks to that, we�re pretty much clueless about what the other continents were like back then,� Blood said. �The only stuff we know is about the High King, who was the main one going berserk in Southmark.�

�He had some pretty worrying nicknames,� I said.

�Yeah. Don�t get me started. That guy was so screwed in the head, I wanna add a few more. He didn�t look like much�just a brat with cruel-looking eyes. But��

But?

�First off, when his blood was spilled, it�d turn into Soldier demons. When his flesh was sliced off, it�d turn into Commander demons. He could keep on making them forever.�

�Again, are my ears playing tricks on me?�

�I could say it all again if you want.�

�Hax��

�Hax?�

�I mean� he�s a cheater!� He could just keep multiplying his forces infinitely? What kind of a bad joke was that?!

�Nothing but blades could hurt him, either. Blast him with magic or shoot him with arrows, he wouldn�t take so much as a scratch. And not only that,� Blood sighed, �but his favorite sword was Overeater here.�

I blinked.

�You get the point. He was insane. He was constantly cackling as he cut down his enemies and got cut himself, multiplying his army as he did.�

�I�m speechless.� What a freaking cheater.

Mary took over. �The reason that he came to be called the High King, meaning the King Among Kings, was because of his performance in battle, which was outstanding even among the King-ranked demons. It was far above and beyond the norm.�

Her voice dropped to a mumble. �Many cities were consumed by the demon hordes. This was one of them. It was an important hub for lake transportation, but even with the combined determination of the humans and the dwarves to protect it, it was barely a few days before it fell.�

She gazed over the ruined city with distant eyes. �And it was this city where the High King remained, producing demons. They took control of all of the nearby water transportation. Vessels full of Soldier and Commander demons used the water routes to invade settlements in various places. It was day after day, night after night of bloodshed and arson. Because there were so many refugees, the cities which were still safe had to deal with internal struggles. Sometimes they couldn�t take them all, and had to turn people away. There were riots. The rioters were slaughtered in droves��

I felt sick just listening to it.

�No one could kill him. The collapse of Southmark was thought inevitable. And not only that, but the High King�s reach would easily extend across the strait and intervening sea separating Southmark from the continent of Grassland to the north. Everyone had almost accepted it,� Mary smiled, �when Gus�the Wandering Sage Augustus�declared that now was the time to strike, and put forward his plan to destroy the High King.�

My eyes opened wide. �Now was the time? Wait a second. The High King is surrounded by an infinite horde, he can�t be killed by arrows or magic, and the only thing that works on him, the sword, causes demons to be born from his spilled flesh and blood. And he has a demonblade that heals him when he counterattacks back.�

�Yes.�

�Destroy him� How? In the first place, who�d even be capable of killing�hm.� I stopped mid-sentence. A light bulb was flickering inside my head. I felt like I almost had something.

I thought it over. A demon army. Arrows and magic don�t work, only swords. Blood and flesh become demons. Demonblade. City. Underground city. Blood�s battle techniques. Mary�s benediction. Gus�s strategy�

�Aha.� An idea shot through my brain like an electric current. �I�ve got it.�

Yeah. Yeah, this was it. There was a chance this way. He could be killed, if it was done correctly.

�Whaddaya mean, you�ve got it?�

�Have you really figured it out?�

�Yeah. Probably.� I touched my hand to Overeater, which was hanging from the sword belt around my waist. In theory, this should work. It should be possible to kill him this way. �Gus probably planned to have an elite team infiltrate the city through the underground.�

This city had a complex underground quarter filled with dwarves. There were likely secret passages there, too, though I lacked the talent to find any. If they could get inside through one of those, it was possible that they could slip by the demon forces and strike directly at the center.

�And he�d probably use some locating magic to pinpoint the location of the High King beforehand. That�d probably be really easy for Gus.� I got the sense that Mary and Blood were surprised. It looked like I was right so far. �And then��

My chin in my hand, I went over the idea that had flashed into my mind one more time. The question was how to kill him. Arrows deflected off him, magic couldn�t scratch him. He could be slashed with a sword, but demons would well out from him infinitely, and if you took a single hit from his demonblade, all the wounds inflicted on him would be healed. There was probably only one way to do something about that.

�Steal his demonblade during the fight.�

I�d been told that Overeater recovered your own life force when you cut your opponent. Judging by the name, it probably sucked life force from them or something. The point was, the whole problem started because the opponent had that sword.

The enemy could only be damaged by slashing, and that blade let him keep hitting you while recovering his wounds and generating an endless stream of little guys. There was no way to win. But the demonblade, which was one of the premises of this �unwinnable� situation, was just an object like any other, and could be handed over or stolen. It wasn�t one of the abilities inherent to the High King. It wasn�t something he�d been born with.

�Once you stole his demonblade, the High King�s own peculiarities would be his undoing.� The more you cut him, the more little guys would spring out ready to heal you. And hadn�t Blood told me that in a melee, you could just swing this sword around brainlessly and be the last man standing?

You�d be able to keep slashing at the High King, using the weaklings flowing out of him as a source of healing. The High King, on the other hand, wouldn�t be able to recover anymore, having lost the demonblade, which was his healing item.

�If it came down to an endurance contest, the High King should be the one who�d give up first�� I muttered thoughts incessantly. �As for how to steal it� First, Gus would clear out the guys around him with a large-scale magic spell. The High King can�t be hurt by magic, so that�s perfect for us.�

We�d just need to get him into a one-on-one battle, even temporarily. �Then Blood, you�d go in for the attack. Mary would heal both you and the High King with benediction. That would stop any more demons from appearing.� If his flesh and blood would turn into demons, then healing the wounds themselves should stop that. The aim of this first phase wouldn�t be to injure him�it would just be to steal his weapon.

�We�d probably need some help stopping the demons coming in at us from the outside. A few dozen� Actually, maybe a hundred or so?� These people, too, would probably be pretty talented elites, but the numbers I imagined surrounding them couldn�t be underestimated. Our forces would presumably be gradually whittled down.

�Then you, Blood, you�d use your rib-cage trick, or grapple with him, or cut his fingers or hands off, basically whatever you have to do to get the demonblade from him. This part definitely worked.�

�Hey, hold it,� Blood said. �How can you be so sure?�

�The fact that you have the demonblade in the first place proves you managed to steal it from him, right?� Silence from Blood. I thought I was right. �And that�d be checkmate.�

The High King�s abilities were so unfair he was basically cheating, but theoretically, he could be killed this way. There was no way Gus would�ve overlooked an opportunity like that. He�d have gathered a team of elites together somehow, and pulled through.

�The High King� died, I guess. But there�d still have been hordes of demons left over. Enough to crush our small squad�� And everyone died. Basically, a mutual defeat. What a sad conclusion. But even so, the continent was saved�

�No, Will,� Blood interrupted.

What?

�You really are a genius. I�m surer now than ever. But your conclusion,� Blood said bitterly, �is wrong.� Blood looked disgusted with himself.

�We� I� couldn�t kill the High King.� His words were filled with deep despair and resignation.

�You� couldn�t kill him?�

Blood�s head was cast down, toward the floor. Mary nodded in answer to my question.

�Will, you imagine things correctly. All your guesses have been astonishingly accurate in describing exactly the strategy Gus decided on. Just as you imagined, Gus clawed back the possibility of killing the High King, making use of every factor visible to him. And in fact, his plan was successful,� Mary said calmly.

�But�� Her voice sounded distant, as though she was gazing at something without substance far away. �But the High King had more to give beyond the factors visible to Gus. He was a monster beyond even Gus�s expectations.�

Now I really was lost for words. I didn�t even have it in me to call him a cheater again. What was this guy?

�The High King tore away his childish appearance, and revealed his true nature, taking the form of a hideous and grotesque warrior. And, um� well�� Mary faltered, as if it was hard for her to say the rest.

Blood finished for her. �When the High King got serious, he was a better swordsman than me.� He was looking into the distance. I wondered if he was remembering his fight with the High King.

He spoke again. �Nothing worked. I�d fought big guys like that a bunch of times before, but this was the first time in my life that I just could do nothing.�

It was beyond imagination. Blood was no match for him? What level of skill must this guy have had? What would a person need to amass, and how much, to have a hope of reaching such dizzying heights?

�My demonblade was slicing nothing but air, and he was cutting me apart with some lousy demonblade he pulled out with the Word of Dispatch. Meanwhile, farther out, our allies who were acting as our wall from the demons were getting crushed.� He spoke of it with a feigned smile, like it was a cheap nightmare. �I can make excuses till the cows come home, you know? He was the boss of the demons. King Among Kings. His body�s abilities were like nothing I�d ever seen. The demonblade I stole was a single-handed sword, handled different to the greatsword I always used. And so on. But you know what? I had enough support. I had Gus�s magic, Mary�s benediction. The High King was injured enough, too, from his kid form.�

His opponent could make excuses just as he could. Battles were often like that in the real world, he told me glumly. �And he wasn�t a lot better. Just a little. Probably just one step higher, that�s all. One step further up, to a height I couldn�t reach while I was alive.�

It probably cut a terrible wound deep into Blood�s heart. I�d never heard him sound this depressed before. He was normally so bright.

�I still think about it. What I was lacking, what I could�ve done��

Mary lowered her eyes in silence. It looked like nothing she said would be any comfort.

�But it�s too late now. You know it like I do. This is as far as my sword will ever reach.�

The undead didn�t progress.

No matter how much Blood thought about it, no matter how much he swung his sword, he would never be able to climb that one last step, where the High King stood above him.

Blood fell silent. After a short while, Mary sensed that he didn�t want to talk anymore, and continued where he left off. �When it seemed likely that we were going to lose, Gus and I used all the techniques available to us to place a seal on the High King. It was at least something we could do.�

That meant they�d abandoned the possibility of Blood winning. I knew well that the three of them deeply trusted one another, and had respect for each other�s personalities and skills. This was the moment when they should have been most relying on Blood�s full potential to do what he was capable of doing. To go ahead with an action that was as good as telling him, �You�re incapable?� How must he have felt?

�Fortunately� it succeeded. A miracle from Mater split the ground, and with the High King bound by Gus�s arts, he was swallowed into a giant chasm. We sealed him deep beneath the earth.�

That was the end of the High King of the demons, who had conquered the majority of this continent.

�We knew that it was nothing but a play for time. Among the demons, there were a lot of sorcerers proficient in the use of the Words, and powerful priests who served the god of dimensions. The people we had in charge of the outer wall had already been taken down, and it was only a matter of time before the demons closed in on us.�

And once the three of them were defeated, what then?

�Then all the demons would gather, and they would have all the time in the world to break the seal on the High King. Our desperate, last-ditch attempt would achieve nothing.� Her tone was laced with despair and deep regret. �When it came down to it, at the very end, we weren�t able to trust in Blood.�

No matter how low the probability, they should have kept believing in the chance that Blood�s sword would find its mark, until the last possible second. Mary�s voice clearly communicated that.

�And then��

A frosty wind picked up. We�d been talking for so long that I was chilled to the bone.

�And then, as if to mock us��

A shiver ran through my body.

�An Echo of the god of undeath, Stagnate, appeared before us.�

An Echo. An incarnation of a god�

�The evil gods are not a monolithic entity. They all operate under different philosophies, and will cooperate if it�s in their interest to do so� and vice versa.�

�The High King probably wasn�t great for the god of undeath.� Blood seemed ready to talk again. �That guy was too strong. Godly Echo or not, the High King with Overeater in his hand could�ve cut him down and killed him, cackling as he did it.�

The High King would conquer the entire continent of Southmark as Dyrhygma�s minion, and his greedy fingers would extend to the next. His army, which would only swell as time went on, would probably accomplish the conquest of a second continent, and maybe the entire world. And the demon, the monster capable of this, was one that even the gods struggled for a way to kill.

�If anything, it was good news for the god of undeath that the High King got sealed. So he came to us with a deal.�

�What did he say?�

�He said we were skilled, and asked us to become undead and join his forces. In return, he�d wipe out the horde of demons all over the city. And then we could watch over the seal as undead for as long as we liked.�

�The god of undeath, Stagnate, was once allied with the forces of good. He strayed from that path when he could no longer stand seeing the tragedies of life and death. His desire is to create an eternally stagnated world without tragedy, by turning talented souls of all kinds into the undying. He scouted us out,� Mary said, voice positive.

�We got picked on, more like,� Blood corrected her, shrugging. �We were basically forced. He told us to choose, but like hell we had a choice. We accepted his �offer.��

Mary had told me once that they were �traitors to the forces of good,� and that she had betrayed Mater the Earth-Mother, the very god she had faith in. That referred to the contract made at that very moment.

�And so we became undead. I�d had my flesh cut up by the High King, and became a skeleton, nothing but bones. Mary became a mummy, probably �cause she got roasted by Mater�s flames as she became undead. And Gus became a ghost. I guess he had no attachment to his old man body anymore. We all got to keep our intelligence from when we were alive. Top-of-the-line undead, we are,� Blood said, not sounding the least bit happy about it. �Then he wiped the city clean. There was no way the lower demons could resist the authority of a god. Their bodies got reshaped, and they all got turned into undead. Not the way they normally go, that�s for sure.�

Which explained why undead demons were roaming this city even now. It was all linking up. The reasons behind everything I�d seen up until now were becoming clear at last.

�And as for us, we became the protectors of the High King�s seal, with these undying bodies.�

They explained to me that, for a time, the city was periodically visited by underlings of the High King attempting to break the seal, but the three of them repelled those demons in every instance. The three of them never tired, never slept, and unless they were completely destroyed, even their wounds would heal on their own. Now that they were perfect immortal beings, who didn�t even have to fear sunlight, no one was a match for them.

�And that began our next two hundred years,� said Mary. �We buried our allies, who had taken on the High King with us. Gus set up a magical early-warning network covering the city. And then, we simply stayed here, continually protecting the seal.�

�Wasn�t like we had much else to do. We were bound to this place by contract. We could only go so far from the city, and we couldn�t even check what was going on outside using magic. Did all the human habitats of Southmark get destroyed? What happened to Grassland to the north? We were stuck here not knowing jack. A few times, we even said to each other that humanity might�ve gone extinct. And then one day��

�One day�?�

�You came, Will. Or, properly speaking, a bunch of demons came, and brought you with them.�

Oh, so that was it.

�I get it now.� All the information connected in my head. �So, I was a human sacrifice, meant to break the seal on the High King.�

That was why a baby was here, in these faraway ruins, miles from human civilization.

I laughed brightly. �No wonder you couldn�t tell me! It must have been way too hard to tell me I was originally meant to be a sacrifice for a demon when I was just a kid.�

The atmosphere around Blood and Mary softened when they saw how I was taking it. �Yes. Blood may be crass, but even he knew to restrain himself on this topic.�

�Oh, crass, am I?� They were back to their normal selves.

�After we dispatched the demons, we had a little bit of a debate with Gus over what to do with you, Will. In the end, we decided to take care of you and raise you.�

Maybe the reason Gus treated me brusquely was because of the argument they�d had then.

�And the fact that the demons were able to bring you here means��

�That somewhere, somewhere pretty close, there�s gotta be a place where humans are living.�

Babies were weak and frail. Even though demons could use magic, there was still a limit on how far they could have transported me.

�We don�t know what things are like out there. The situation could be quite grim��

�But we figured, okay, so we�ll just give you the strength you need to get through a situation like that. I think we did pretty good.�

And that brought me right up to the present moment. I finally understood how I�d gotten to where I was. The mysteries were solved, and the past and the present were connected with a single straight thread.

From here on, I was going to be heading to peopled lands that had likely suffered and survived a time of tempestuous upheaval. I�d use the strength the three of them had entrusted me with to embark on my new life. And one day, I decided, I�d return to this city. I would bring my new family and friends with me, and introduce them to Mary, Blood, and Gus.

Maybe we could even rebuild this city again. One day�

�Forget about us, and have fun living with the living, okay, bud?�

�Will, be happy, and don�t forget to pray and be good.�

Huh?

�I couldn�t have wished for a better disciple. Even in today�s exam� I mean, content-wise, you beat me hands down. You�re a whiz kid and a smart-ass, and I love you, my son. Keep on getting strong.� Blood ruffled my hair roughly.

�I was happy that we could be a real family, if only for a short time. Will, my darling boy. Never forget that your mother loves you.� Mary held me gently.

�Huh? Wait�� Wait. Why? You guys�

�You�re� speaking like we�re never going to see each other again��

Just then, the sky was suddenly covered by thick, dark clouds. The way they moved was unlike any cloud I�d ever seen. The wind began to spiral noisily above the hill.

A laugh echoed through the air. It was a disturbing laugh, obscured by noise, echoed and overlapping itself many times. Something jet-black, like pure darkness, belched out of thin air. That unsettling black smoke, like you might expect to spout from a volcano, started to coalesce into a human form.

It was the form of a young man. He was slender, his proportions unnaturally perfect. His skin was pale as could be, as if no blood ran through it at all, and his eyes were dark and lifeless.

�Satisfied with your farewells, heroes?�

The mere sight of him, the mere sound of his voice, caused me to freeze up like something was holding my soul in an iron grip.

�Yeah.�

�Please, go ahead. We�re ready.� Blood and Mary dropped their gazes, neither of them seeming to offer any resistance.

I felt as if my entire body had turned to ice. I couldn�t do a thing. My soul understood that the being in front of me was a being of absolute power that humans were helpless to resist.

�At long last, you two have lost your attachment.�

I had no idea what was going on. But I had to move.

�In accordance with our contract��

I had to move.

�I hereby claim��

Blood and Mary� I had to�

��your souls��

Why couldn�t I move? Move, move! Move! Please� mo�

��as my own.�

My brain froze. I watched in horror.

�Vastare!�

I woke again, my mind still clouded. I was lying on my back. I could see the cloudy night sky.

A snake�s teeth were sunk into my arm. Immortal god blood was being poured into me through a gap in my gauntlet. My arm hurt. Really hurt. And it felt hot.

Heroes surrounded me, all of them undead, layers upon layers of them, vigilantly pointing their weapons at me.

Beyond them, the god of undeath was laughing, confident of his victory.

There was clearly nothing I could do. It was a checkmate position, an endgame state. But I felt the strong pounding of my heart. It was still beating, still thumping out its regular rhythm.

Okay. Then things were going to be okay. A heat like magma inside my chest was gradually pumping around my body in time to my heartbeats. There wasn�t much sensation left in my hands, but I slowly put them together. I�d learned from Mary that this was how you prayed in this world.

�Gracefeel, who presides over eternal flux.� New power was circulating around my body, like a refreshing breeze. I knew instantly how it was meant to be used, as if it was second nature. �Please, go forth with me.�

I would choose my guardian deity, and make my vow. Today was the winter solstice. A day of celebration, when children flew the nest. The day they were given the protection of the gods.

�Benediction?�

Sensing something strange, the god of undeath�s expression twisted. It was not surprise. It was derision toward meaningless resistance.

�Hah. As if being able to use that accomplishes anything. Superficial tricks won�t help you now that my blood has been pumped into your��

The low growl of a flame igniting interrupted him. White flame erupted from my arm. It wasn�t hot. Instead, I felt that something unholy within my body was being burnt away.

Okay. I could do this.

�Stigmata?�

The badge of honor I�d obtained when I learned about Mary�s prayers�the burns on my arms. My arms had been roasted by the flames of a god.

�Wait, your body�Just how much holy bread have you been eating?!�

Though Mary was one of the undead, she had been praying to Mater for my daily bread every single day. Her constant prayers, and her unbreakable heart, had completely upended the god of undeath�s expectations.

�And I swear this to you, my God.�

� A strong oath makes it easier to receive protection, but you end up letting yourself in for one hell of a rough fate. I remembered Blood�s words, and forced my mouth into a grin. A rough fate? Bring it. If I could beat the hell out of the god of undeath right here and now, that was a small price to pay!

�I dedicate my whole life to you! As your blade I will drive away evil, and as your hands I will bring salvation to those in sorrow!� I randomly thought up a strong oath. Somewhere, I thought I heard the god of the flame�taciturn as ever�let out a small laugh. �This I swear on the flame of Gracefeel, goddess of flux!�

Fires lit up beside me as if in proof. The light from them was a soft, warm glow.

She didn�t just lead souls after death. I was certain that she shone on all things with souls until the moments of our deaths, whether we realized it or not, tirelessly, constantly, and with quiet love and affection.

�So you have gained the protection of Gracefeel.�

The god of undeath�s expression was contorted.

�A shame� Truly a shame� I would dearly have liked for you to join my forces. But if she has taken you in, then there is no more use trying.�

Suddenly, I could sense murder in the air. Up until now, he�d been trying to convince me to join him. But from now on, he would be trying to kill me. Both of us were deadly serious. We had, to my regret, reached the stage I�d been trying to avoid: a straightforward fight to the death.

But now� Now, I did not see myself losing!

�God of undeath, Stagnate! I will defeat you, and honor my vow!�

�Young warrior, perish unfulfilled!�

With the clashing of our cries, the final battle began.

�Kill him!�

The god of undeath was first to act. At his command, the undead heroes thrust out their blades. Enclosing on me from all directions, it was a literal wall of steel. There were no ways to escape it, no openings to strike with a blade.

So as power erupted from the depths of my body, I struck out with it in all directions, letting it erupt as it desired. Space bent slightly around me, and an invisible and sacred pulse surged from within me, sending voiceless screams echoing around the graveyard.

They were not screams of pain. They were cries of repose, which expressed the joy of release. The skeletons turned to dust, and the wall of steel crumbled like sand. Rusty old weapons and armor fell one after another, creating a cacophony of clattering metal. I wasn�t going to risk looking up, but I could sense that a flame had flared into existence at one point in the sky overhead, and had floated into the sky and disappeared.

I�d definitely heard it, a long time ago: Gracefeel�s benediction granted repose and guidance to the souls of the dead. The blessing�s name was Divine Torch.

It was rarely focused upon, because there wasn�t much advantage to having a user of benediction, who was a valuable healer, fighting on the front lines directly against undead. But in this situation, it was incredibly powerful.

The god of undeath gathered together wandering souls once more, and started awakening the corpses sleeping in the graveyard. In response, I prayed again to the god of the flame. Another invisible pulse, and all the lost souls in the area were peacefully guided back to the gods.

�Unbelievable� you only just became a priest!�

Either the speed or the range of my blessing must have taken him by surprise. He was right. I had only just become a priest. But I knew how to pray. I�d been praying all along, watching Mary, learning from her. There was no way it could cause me any hesitation now.

�Acceleratio!� I turned my brain off and charged straight at him. I wasn�t going to use any convoluted plans.

�Khhh��

I knew from our exchange so far that the god of undeath wasn�t particularly skilled at swordsmanship, or hand-to-hand fighting in general. If he were, I would never have been able to connect twice with my blade, even if I had taken him by surprise. So I didn�t play around with gimmicks. I just closed the distance relentlessly. I just needed to get up in his face. Then, I could strike and strike again with my demonblade, and this time, scatter him to the winds before he even had time for a counterattack!

�Vas��

The hairs stood on the back of my neck as I heard him speak. Still accelerating sharply, I kicked hard against the ground and felt the strain on my legs as I leaped directly to the side.

��tare!�

The Word of Destruction, cast with even greater power than Gus could muster. The ground split and exploded. I�d avoided taking a direct hit, but I was disoriented by the cloud of earth and sand that was kicked up, and the lingering effects of that ravaging blast. I stumbled to the ground. The god of undeath had unleashed that magic of destruction at the earth, so close that even he was caught in the blast.

Of course. How had I forgotten? Echoes of the gods could only be harmed by extremely powerful magic or by demonblades. In other words, he had no need to fear the effects of his own magic. The fundamental principle that guided an ordinary person�s use of magic didn�t apply to him. He couldn�t have cared less whether he caught himself in the blast.

I now understood the reason he hadn�t developed great skills in swordsmanship or physical combat. If he could use magic this wicked within a swordsman�s range, he had no need for sword or fist. If someone got too close, he could just blow them both up with magic. There was only one reason he hadn�t done that before now. He�d been trying to convince me to join him.

A secret boss, I�d called him, and he was definitely living up to it. An Echo of the gods. He wasn�t the kind of opponent I could easily snatch victory from just by awakening to a bit of new power. But I still had no intention of losing.

Using magic a little unconventionally was nothing major. Now that I knew about it, I could deal with it. With renewed resolve to crush him here at all costs, I jumped to my feet, while healing all my cuts and minor injuries with the blessing Close Wounds.

The cloud of particulate dust and sand that had been kicked up was still hanging about the area. Silence fell. Where was he going to attack from? In this low visibility, careless movements could leave you open.

As if extending my sense of touch beyond my skin, I searched for mana in operation. If there were any large movements�forewarnings of an attack that could clear out a large area�I would have to jump clear of this place immediately. And if my opponent showed any careless movements to me, I�d jump in close to him and deliver the finishing blow.

As the seconds dragged on, a worrying premonition flashed through my mind. It was a revelation from Gracefeel, warning against my current actions.

I paused in confusion for a moment. The god of undeath was fighting me. Fervently, with clear intent to kill me. The situation looked evenly matched, so if he kept on fighting� No� wait. Wait.

What if� What if he wasn�t fervently fighting?

�Oh, shoot!� The temple! The temple, hurry! �Acceleratio!�

I ran.

I ran and ran and ran.

I dashed up the hill at full tilt.

Everything the god of undeath had said and done had been a bluff! His surprise, his fervor, his irritation, they were all a show to make me think he was fully engrossed in our battle! And then he kicked up dirt and sand to stall for time�

�Damn it!�

His goal had been to remove the troublesome piece I�d become from the board of battle, and leave me aside while he went after Blood and Mary!

I sprinted and sprinted. I incanted the Word of Acceleration over and over. I pounded up the withered grass of the hill, running at full speed through the cold air.

I thought I understood, but I really didn�t. He was a god who had lived for an unimaginably long time. A being not of this world, beyond human measure.

I thought I had the picture of that being, but it had not been a complete one. If I was to believe his words, perhaps he did view me as someone worthy of a little caution and attention. But that said nothing about how important it was to him now.

He could appear much later to eliminate me or try to change my mind. In ten or twenty years, when I was facing a crisis; thirty or forty, once I developed doubts about whether my choices had led me to the right place; fifty or sixty, once I started to experience the discomforts of old age. Even if I managed to kill the Echo, a human couldn�t do anything about the god himself at the end of dimensions. The god of undeath surpassed human reckoning, and had several chances.

The bigger issues for him were Blood, Mary, and Gus. Now that I had obtained the blessing of the god of the flame, I could return them to samsara. The heroes he had marked and halfway drawn in would be stolen from him. But he wasn�t absolutely sure he could kill me with his current splinter now that his other half had been destroyed by Gus.

He likely coldly calculated the risk and return, and chose to play the fool. He deliberately hammed it up, like some story�s cheesy antagonist, showing me surprise and anger, and making me temporarily forget the risk of being circumvented. It�s exactly what I was trying to do at the beginning! I tried to get him to focus on me and forget about them, and instead he was the one who made me forget. If I hadn�t had that moment�s warning from the god of the flame, everything would have been over for sure. What a horrifyingly cunning opponent.

I continued to run. Only one thought filled my mind.

Don�t be too late. Please, don�t be too late!

When I made it all the way to the top and the temple came into view, I saw that the main doors had been flung wide open.

�Mary! Blood!�

At the back of the temple� was the god of undeath. He was stretching out his hand toward Mary and Blood, who were covered in wounds. They had probably tried to resist. Gus was sewn to the wall by the black mist, and Blood, standing to protect Mary, was already beginning to crumble.

As soon as I witnessed that scene, I knew. The conclusion was forced upon me. With this much distance� and this little time� I was never going to make it. None of the three were in any condition to deal with him.

The blood drained from my head. Was this really happening? After coming all this way, after even borrowing the power of a god, after finally evening the odds� was it all really going to end with me being careless enough to fall for a conman�s trick?

�Hah hah hah!�

The god of undeath extended his hand triumphantly, and it seemed to move toward Blood�s skull in slow motion�

But the next instant, that hand was knocked away.

�Huh�?� It wasn�t me. Nor was it Gus, Blood, or Mary.

The one who had knocked aside the god of undeath�s hand was a woman clothed in soft raiment. She was blocking the way to Mary and Blood, shielding them.

I didn�t recognize her. And yet, I definitely felt like I knew her.

Mary�s empty eyes opened wide, and her voice trembled with a wordless sound of amazement and disbelief. Impossible tears fell from the corners of her eyes.

The woman turned toward Mary and smiled. A loving smile, a caressing smile. And then the woman�s form melted gently into the night air, as though it had been no more than an illusion.

Nothing more was needed. The message couldn�t have been clearer.

Mary had always had her forgiveness. She never hated Mary in the first place.

But Mary wasn�t looking for forgiveness. Lenient treatment wasn�t what Mary wanted. So she watched over Mary, and continued to scold her as she desired. And this continued, and continued, without her ever removing her protection, for two whole centuries, until the time came when Mary could forgive herself.

What mother wouldn�t come to the aid of the daughter who loves her in her time of crisis? The god that Mary worshipped with such devotion, Mater, was indeed a great goddess.

Knowing the truth of everything, Mary broke into tears.

The god of undeath froze at the sight of his assured victory slipping from his grasp.

And with deep gratitude to Mater for this unexpected opportunity, Blood and I sprang into action.

�Gracefeel, god of the flame! Repose and guidance!� I immediately made the decision to use benediction. And I was aiming for Mary and Blood.

�Wh�?!�

The god of undeath stared, wide-eyed in a clear state of shock. He surely hadn�t anticipated that I would blast one of my moves at the people I was trying to protect. The blessing I was using was Divine Torch: the invisible, sacred pulse that returned souls to the cycle of reincarnation.

�Tch! Stagnate, samsara! Go astray, guidance!�

He knew what I was intending and unleashed an unholy pulse of countervailing nature, nullifying it. He was standing in front of Mary and Blood, guarding them.

It was a strange sight to see, but because I was targeting Mary and Blood, he had no choice but to protect them. If I launched attacks at him instead, he would probably attempt to take their two souls in the meantime, trusting that as a splinter of a god, he could survive just long enough to complete the task before getting annihilated.

As far as the gods were concerned, their Echoes were disposable. They required time and effort to bring into the world, but could certainly be replaced. He would gladly trade annihilation for Mary and Blood.

But if I managed to hit them with Divine Torch, that would be an entirely different story. I was certain they wouldn�t resist it. They would slip out of his clutches, and return to the eternal wheel.

If that happened, the entire reason he went to the trouble of sending a splinter down to this dimension in the first place would evaporate. It would turn out to have been a complete waste of effort. In order to prevent that from happening, the god of undeath was forced into this strange situation where he had to protect Mary and Blood from me for as long as the focus of my benediction remained on them.

Ironically, his situation was exactly the same as that of a superhero, standing in front of the citizens who need to be protected, in the face of attacks from the villain. His only choice was to put his body in front of them, and protect them from being so much as grazed by my benediction. His attention was divided, distracted with the task of completely negating my moves.

With a breathy grunt, Blood transferred all the strength left in his wounded body into a single downward swing of his favorite two-handed sword. Even if it wasn�t as impressive as Overeater, Blood�s favorite weapon was itself a demonblade, and one worthy of his skills with a sword. It couldn�t be ignored.

The less than a second that the god of undeath spent on a reactionary dodge�

�Acceleratio!�

�would be more than enough for me to fly down the length of the temple!

�V-Vas��

He attempted to incant the Word of Destruction.

�Tacere, os!�

An instant�s silence was forced upon his mouth. It was Gus. He was still sewn to the wall by the black mist, and he was wearing the world�s smuggest grin. The power that Gus could wield right now was obviously extremely limited, and yet he had interfered in the best possible way at the best possible moment.

� Just learn to use small amounts of magic, sensibly and precisely.

I remembered the words he�d taught me all that time ago. This Word of Silence, this glorious and dastardly attack, epitomized Gus far better than the grand magic that was the Word of Entity Obliteration.

My right foot met the ground. I kicked forward again, closing the distance like a bullet. Left foot. Right foot. The walls on either side of me raced backward like arrows in flight.

I was already upon him�

I screamed a war cry, and then�

Impact. Resistance.

Overeater was buried in his chest.

�Gahk�!�

I pulled it out, and slashed again. Then another slash, and another. The god of undeath tried to evade and defend, but at this range, I was in complete control.

�Why, you� Damn you!�

Slash. Slash. Slash. The crimson thorns shooting from the demonblade tormented his body.

�Will� Will, son of Mary and Blood� Will, disciple of Gracefeel!�

He glared at me, his murky eyes full of hate. It wasn�t the fake hatred and bloodlust from before. This was true hatred, true bloodlust.

�I will not forget your name! If you will not surrender to me, I will make sure you never sleep easy again!�

He had marked me out now for sure.

�You sound like a two-bit villain,� I said bluntly, and blasted the god of undeath, covered in crimson thorns, with every last bit of purifying power I could draw from the god of the flame.

At last, the formidable Echo of the god of undeath started crumbling away.

If I was afraid to make an enemy of a god, I wouldn�t have defied one in the first place.

�I swear on the flame of Gracefeel�� I pointed the tip of my demonblade at the god of undeath as he gradually vanished. �You will not own me. I will live and die as it should be.�

That was my personal declaration of hostility, and my final farewell to the disappearing splinter of the god of undeath. The Echo replied to my words with a hate-filled stare, his eyes locked on mine as he turned to dust. I didn�t break his gaze until he was gone.

After the god of undeath�s Echo was annihilated, I spent a while on alert, half-expecting a third splinter, or further enemies. Once I was finally sure that we�d won, it wasn�t joy that filled me, but a sense of relief so overwhelming I slumped down to the temple�s floor.

I sat there, the temple around me in terrible shape from the earlier battle, and breathed out a long sigh. He had been a strong opponent, without exaggeration.

Strangely, any awesome feeling of personal accomplishment was entirely missing. Maybe it was because many of the reasons we won were the work of other people.

I wielded the high-level demonblade I�d received from Blood, Overeater. Gus destroyed his Echo�s other splinter early on, which was supposed to be his ace in the hole. The god of the flame protected me as my guardian. And Mary�s guardian deity, Mater the Earth-Mother, bought us time just when it was most needed.

That wasn�t all. There were all the things that Blood, Mary, and Gus had generously shared with me, which gave me my familiarity with swords, magic, and prayer. Those gifts included something even more important than battle skill, something human, deep at my core.

It took all these things, piled one on top of another, to achieve this narrowest of narrow victories. I could easily have died, and if any one of those elements had been missing, I wouldn�t have stood a chance. It was thanks to the protection of my god, and most of all, thanks to those three. I was blessed to have such people around me.

As I thought about how lucky I was, a pair of arms wrapped around me tightly. �Will� Will� I�m so glad you�re okay�� The friendly smell of fragrant wood burning enveloped me.

�Good job, Will.� A bony hand without any softness messed up my hair.

�Hmph. He�s the son of Mary and Blood, blood relation or not. I should certainly hope he could accomplish this much.� That choice of wording, belittling even when he offered praise.

�Mary! Blood! Gus!� Their voices moved me to tears.

Finally, I got the sense of what I�d achieved. I remembered something very obvious: defeating a powerful enemy like a hero in a story was never my goal. All I wanted was to protect these three, my precious family. I didn�t want to curl into a ball like a coward. That was my only wish, and I risked my life hoping I�d achieve it. And I did.

�I did� I did it��

I stood up, and fought like I should. I didn�t curl up in a ball and hug my knees. They were all here, all three of them. I protected them.

�Thank the gods� Thank the gods�� My chest tightened with hundreds of different feelings. Tears trickled down my cheeks. �I�m so glad you�re all safe��

I returned Mary�s hug, and looked at Blood and Gus. They were smiling. They were all smiling. As if it were contagious, I smiled back through my tears.

�Okay!� Blood dragged out the word and shook a fist in the air enthusiastically. �I think we�ve got a victory to celebrate, and we owe Will a coming-of-age party, too!�

�Yes. This place needs a lot of tidying up, but I think it can wait for a day or two.�

�Indeed. In that case, I have a two-hundred-year-old bottle of dwarven spirits that�s been waiting for just such an occasion.�

�Firewater?!� Blood said. �Blazing hell, Grandpa Gus, you kept that quiet!�

�What, you suggest I should have wasted this fine drink on a child?�

�Dwarven firewater?� I asked. �Is that good?�

�It most certainly would be,� Gus said, �if only I could drink it!�

�Oh, come on, old man. Pretend.� Blood sounded exasperated with him. �This is a time for celebration!�

�Yeah. Come on, Gus, drink with us!�

�Will, don�t you go drinking too much. You remember what happened the last time. That had better not happen again, do you understand me?�

�Y-Yes!�

�Man, when you stare at people with your eyes wide open like that, your face looks goddamn terrifying.�

Mary laughed softly, not offended. �It�s not as bad as yours.�

Gus burst out laughing. �Very true.�

�Go on then, Grandpa Gus. Show us where you hid the drink.�

As we chatted noisily, and followed behind Gus, Mary and Blood�s knees gave way, and they collapsed to the floor.

For an instant, I didn�t understand what had happened. �Ma�ry? Blood?� The words that came out of my mouth felt very much out of place.

�Ahh� Yup. No good.�

�It seems that way, doesn�t it?�

The two of them attempted to stand several times, but eventually gave up. Their legs would no longer work.

�It�s just how things are, I�m afraid. Our attachment is gone, we refused to sell our souls to the god of undeath, and we remained faithful to the good gods. It would be foolish to think we�d be allowed to remain as undead.�

�Well, yeah. Gotta say, though, I was hoping we�d get cut some slack until the party ended.�

�Gracefeel is already making great allowances for us, you know. It wouldn�t have been at all strange for us to have disappeared immediately.�

I couldn�t understand what they were saying. I didn�t want to understand.

�Uh, so, Will. Me and Mary, this is as far as we go.�

�Y-You�re kidding.� The words spilled reflexively from my mouth. I didn�t want to accept it. �Y-You�re both playing a trick on me.� My voice was shaking. �This is supposed to be a party, don�t be so mean��

�Will, you�re a clever boy� You understand, don�t you?�

I couldn�t fight it. I knew, in some part of my head, that things were going to turn out this way. And after that look and those gentle words� I knew it was over.

�You said it so suddenly, I wanted you to just� laugh and say it was just a joke� I wanted you to�� My feelings of denial slowly withered and died. I breathed out deeply, and nothing was left inside but a tinge of resignation and a lonely, hollow sadness.

�Sorry, bud.�

�I�m sorry, Will��

Both of them might have felt the same way.

�Isn�t there anything we can do?�

�There isn�t.� Mary shook her head. �Even if there were, we mustn�t.�

�It was you who said it, Will. It�s that �live and die as it should be� thing. Okay, sure, we wavered on that for a while� Got there in the end, though! Just took the scenic route. Pretty sure a couple centuries still counts as a scenic route. Just about.�

�Besides, parents are meant to die before their children. That�s a law of nature. A law of the earth.� Mary�s words were fitting for a priest of Mater.

�Mm. Yeah. Yeah, you�re right.� That was how things were meant to be. The god of the flame would probably say the same thing.

But�Even so�

�I know I mustn�t say this� but� I can�t help it. I�ll just say it once, okay? Even after everything you�ve said, I�m still not happy to see you die.�

No. No way. I don�t wanna see that happen. I don�t wanna see Mary and Blood die.

These were forbidden words for me, both as a child standing in front of his dying parents, and as a new priest of the god who presided over souls and samsara. They were words that threatened to undo the pretentious declaration I�d made to the god of undeath.

Yet I couldn�t help but say them.

�I want to come back here someday and see you both again. I want to have more fights with you, Blood, and beat you sometimes and be beaten sometimes, and then we�ll say stupid crap to each other. I want to do chores with you again, Mary, and maybe you�ll tell me how much I�ve improved. I want you to see my kids, my grandkids, and I want you to teach them all kinds of things, like you taught me.� That had been my dream. My sweet reverie, which some part of me had always known would never come true.

�How could you say you�re going to disappear now?! You can�t go! You can�t, I can�t take it! How am I meant to go on without you?!� My voice was trembling. My tears spilled out uncontrollably. �Don�t go� Please� I don�t care if you cheat� Please just stay��

I knew how pathetic I must have looked to them as they watched me. Crying, screaming, throwing a tantrum. Just like a child. But even so, I had to tell them.

�Mary��

�Yes, I know.�

They looked at each other and nodded. Then, they both balled their hands into fists, and clonked me on top of the head. It didn�t hurt. It was just a gentle knock.

�No. Now stop acting like a baby.�

�Blood is quite right. Be reasonable.�

After they told me off so gently, I couldn�t contain my unbearable sadness anymore. I cried my eyes out, tears flowing in streams down my cheeks. My face crumpled up, and I could hardly see through the tears. I heaved with sobs, over and over again.

When was the last time I had cried like this? The feelings I was full of wouldn�t even come out as words anymore.

�Hahah, I think that�s the first fatherly thing I�ve done in ages.�

�Will didn�t need a lot of looking after, did he?�

They laughed together.

�Come on, Will.� Blood turned to me. �We�d do anything for you, you know that. But come on. Some things you just don�t do. How are you meant to go on without us? I�ll tell you how: you find a way. Us humans sometimes lose stuff we think we can�t live without. But what you�ll find is, we don�t die so easy, so long as we keep on eating and sleeping. And we find new things that are important to us, as well.�

Blood pulled me close to him, and for the first time since I was a baby, he hugged me. As expected, it was a hug without a hint of warmth, nothing but hard bone and holes that let the cold air in. He ruffled my hair in the exact same way he�d done ever since I was a child. That absolutely uncomfortable feeling drew tears from me again.

�When you get out there, make yourself a lot of good buds, pick up a few pretty chicks, and have some fun.�

�Blood,� Mary said in a drawn-out, admonishing voice, �you mustn�t encourage him to be unfaithful. Will, always be loyal in love and marriage! Good gracious, this man�� Mary tutted at him.

�Oh, and Will,� she continued, �you swore a strong oath to the god of the flame and succeeded in carrying out deicide. These are the acts of a legendary hero. You have a turbulent fate ahead of you.� Mary was sitting perfectly upright as she spoke. Her words were solemn, like a priest delivering a message from the gods. �There will be times when you will suffer a loss. There will be times when you are blamed unjustly. You may be betrayed by those you help, the good you do may be forgotten, and you may lose what you have built up and be left with nothing but enemies to show for it.�

Her serious atmosphere quickly softened. She beckoned me over to her, and held me tight. �Love people anyway. Do good anyway. Don�t be afraid of loss. Create, don�t destroy. Where there is sin, grant forgiveness; where there is despair, hope; where there is sorrow, joy. And protect the weak from all kinds of violence. Just as you defied that immortal god for our sake.�

She probably understood that this would be our final embrace. �Will, William, my son. My darling son, Blood�s darling son.� I could feel her arms trembling as she held me. Mine were as well. �May the protection of the good gods and the spirits of courage always be with you.�

Mary�s face suddenly looked blurred and doubled to me. It wasn�t because of the tears. It was probably her spectral body, separating out from her physical one. I now saw the slender form of a woman standing there, with luxuriant blonde hair and downcast, emerald-green eyes. She had the look of a mother, graceful and kind.

�Listen,� Blood said. �Always move forward and have confidence in the outcome. All a man needs is determination, and he can try anything. You�ve got a habit of sinking into deep thought. Don�t let it stop you from moving.�

Blood�s form started looking blurred, like double vision, too. I now saw red hair like a lion. Sharp eyes, befitting a warrior. A well-sculpted, muscular body. He bore the look of a father, wild and jaunty.

I engraved their appearances and the words they�d given me into my heart. I was sure I�d never forget them. They would shine upon my life like Gracefeel�s flame.

We stayed like that, in silence, for a while.

Someone behind us cleared his throat. I turned around to see Gus. Four glasses and an expensive-looking bottle of firewater he�d brought from somewhere were levitating in front of him. The sight of him floating there on his own, looking completely out of place, was somehow hilarious. We all cracked up.

After that, we all drank together. The first liquor I�d ever drunk as part of a group of four had a mellow fragrance and strength enough to burn my throat. I would never forget it.

That night, guided by the divine torch that was Gracefeel�s lantern, my parents returned to samsara.