Chapter 47: Walk Beside Me

"I am the Earth Mother, the one who presides over all of nature. Tremble before Casoh's First Creation!"

A sudden debilitating weight seemed to crush my shoulders. Marigold and Sakimi felt the same thing as they doubled over, too.

"None of you deserve the Blessing of Avalon," Arboria said.

Then, the tortoise expanded in size, becoming almost two stories tall.

Marigold shot arrows, and Sakimi threw spells, but none of them could do any damage.

I sprinted toward Arboria and put all my force behind a single punch, knocking one of its legs off-balance. Without any weapons, I had to rely on my bare hands. Luckily, because of my high level, pummeling this massive creature almost seemed like hitting a normal tortoise.

"Marigold! Sakimi! Stay back!" I said. "Only someone with Primordial blood can hurt her!"

Millions of petals danced in the wind, forming a barrier around the entire clearing, keeping out my two companions.

I continued landing punch after punch, knocking the tortoise's head back and forth.

Arboria growled. "Damn you, Hierophant. As creations of Casoh, I would have considered us siblings, but your true nature is chaos!"

"Just shut up and shed your tears!"

Even though I didn't have any weapons, I still had my skills and spells.

I activated Lightbringer to increase my attack, and I used Angelic Blaze, which coated my fist in holy flames. With this, I launched an uppercut that sent Arboria's front half into the air. She was still at eighty percent health, but if I kept on my assault, I should be able to whittle down her HP.

"You selfish humans!" Arboria screamed, slamming her foot on the ground. "Because of you all, I had to seclude my garden. Because of you all, Casoh became tainted with darkness!"

"Tainted?"

"She once loved humans, but as time went on, they grew more and more demonic, succumbing to the sins of the world!"

Arboria slammed the ground again, sending rubble flying in my direction. In response, I punched them out of the way, blowing them up in mid-air.

"Love is no more!" Arboria wailed. "Only hate rules the world!"

Blasts of wind came from the sides, sending petals in my direction. The first attack caught me off-guard, slicing my side, but I quickly recovered and dodged the others. Then, I used my Pegasus spell, summoning my mount.

I flew high up into the air. Then, I divebombed, using Angelic Blaze once again, plummetting like a meteor. Upon impact, I created an explosion on Arboria's back that caused her to lose her footing.

While Arboria was on the ground, I jumped up and landed on her head, continuing my onslaught of punches.

"Give me your tears!" I yelled.

"I will never succumb to hatred!"

Violent vines erupted from underneath my feet, causing me to jump back. Still, I didn't let up my assault. Upon dodging, I immediately weaved through the plants' openings, making it right in front of Arboria's face once again.

I launched a side hook, a jab, and an uppercut. Then, Arboria's eyes became scarlet, and she shot a blast of flames, forcing me to duck. The heat seared my back, but adrenaline was still rushing through my veins.

"Hatred! Your blood runs thick with hatred! I will make all of you perish!"

"Shut up with your hatred nonsense!"

I dashed underneath Arboria's vulnerable underbelly and punched upward with enough force to make a crater underneath my feet while sending the gigantic tortoise into the air.

"I'm not doing any of this for hatred!" I said. "I only want to save Sakimi!"

Before Arboria could come crashing back down, I sprinted toward her head and threw another uppercut that flipped her body backward. Arboria fell on top of her shell, wriggling around in an attempt to get back on her feet.

I punched and punched and punched. My fists were starting to go numb, but I didn't stop.

"Ever since starting my journey, I've failed over and over and over again!" I yelled. "So many people have died because of me. I've been betrayed, and I've betrayed others! If I had anything to hate, it would hate myself!"

Angelic Blaze ended its cooldown, and I used it again. Arboria wailed in pain as more holy flames scarred her face.

"This isn't anything personal, Arboria. I need your tears for Sakimi, and I don't care what I have to do. I'll kill the first spirit if I have to! I'll even make an enemy of nature itself! After all my failures in life, I've forgotten what it feels like to ever win!

By now, my vision grew blurry. Tears dripped down my cheek, but I kept on punching.

"I'll keep on plowing forward, and I'll destroy everything in my way! If nothing is there to stop me, I can't lose. Only then can I finally succeed!"

I could barely see, and my sobs were slowing down my attacks.

"I made a promise, and I'll keep fighting as long as that promise stands! No matter how useless it is, no matter how many times I fail, I'll keep fighting in this absurd world! GIVE ME YOUR TEARS!

"Stop!" Arboria screamed.

I paused mid-punch and wiped my blurry eyes. Arboria was crying too.

"I understand now," she said with a sob. "You aren't...fighting out of hatred. You're fighting out of love. You've given up on finding any meaning to this meaningless life. You only live to rebel."

Arboria staggered, getting back on her four legs. She then bowed her head.

"Here, Hierophant. I surrender my tears to you."

I touched Arboria's face, automatically placing the tears into my inventory.

"You are unlike anyone that I have ever seen," Arboria said. "Your love runs deeper than the deepest trenches of darkness. Your love may yet grow wicked, but hatred will never taint your soul. I thank you, Hierophant, for showing me that Casoh was wrong. There may still be a light that can save humanity."

The vortex of petals subsided, letting Marigold and Sakimi back into the clearing.

They were about to attack, but I said, "Don't. It's over now."

"Not yet!" Sakimi yelled. "I challenge Arboria to a—"

But the girl collapsed before she could finish her sentence. Marigold had used another sleep arrow.

"You've gathered all the ingredients?" Marigold asked.

"Yes."

I opened up my console, went to the items tab, and clicked in the "craft" subsection. Once there, I inserted Thello's blood, a human heart, Arboria's tears, and Typhon's weapon.

[Successfully crafted 1x Resurrection Potion]

A vial materialized in my hand. The turquoise liquid bubbled on the inside, and it shimmered underneath the sunshine.

Finally.

I placed the item back into my inventory and walked to Sakimi, where she was sleeping soundly. She looked so peaceful that I didn't want to disturb her. Still, it had to be done.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

The next few moments were almost more painful for me than for Sakimi. I grabbed her and slammed her body into the ground over and over again, slowly taking down her health. This was only possible because Arboria removed the Blessing of Avalon when we first entered the clearing.

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see her beaten body. Even still, that didn't stop her wails from reaching my ears.

Every time I struck Sakimi, she screamed and cursed. This time, I wasn't hurting her to knock her unconscious; I was going to kill the girl.

The agony lasted less than a minute, but time seemed to dilate.

An eternity later, Sakimi's health dropped to zero, and her body started to dissipate. Tears lined her cheeks, and she gazed at me with the eyes of someone who longed to see the other shore.

"I'm sorry," I said again.

Then, I took out my Resurrection Potion and used the item, prompting a line of text to appear in front of me.

[Who would you like to resurrect?]

"Sakimi Fujimoto."

I waited a few seconds.

Then, the potion popped out of existence as Sakimi rematerialized.

Glitter gathered on the ground, forming feet and legs until her entire clothless body had returned to the physical world. Her horns were gone; she was a human again.

A shiver ran down my spine, and goosebumps covered my skin.

"Finally. After all this time."

Sakimi eyed us all in confusion, but she soon noticed that she was completely naked. Sakimi squirmed, covering herself up while Marigold put a cloak over the girl's body.

Tears welled up in my eyes once again, and I fell to my knees.

A tremendous feeling welled up inside my gut. It was unlike no other.

Joy couldn't even begin to describe it.

Was it catharsis?

Relief?

Peace of mind?

Elation?

I was never good at explaining my emotions.

But after all this time without Sakimi...

"She's finally back."

I embraced Sakimi with all my might.

"Woah! Hold on! I...can't...breathe!"

Marigold joined the hug as well.

I wanted this moment to last forever: just the three of us together, basking in each others' warmth.