The Great Star Twinkled

I am lazily standing at the top of the hill.

In a spot several steps from the front of the house, I am lazily standing.

Now, this is not fun.

[Arrrr!!! ... Fraagh!!! ... Grrrr!!! ... Shiii!!! ... Hrrr!!! ...]

The whole place is being echoed by the sound of gritted teeth and the uncontrollable desire to grind flesh or bones. I can hear the droplets of overflowing saliva and, at the same time, the trembling sounds of these carnivores growls.

Hundreds of beasts are cautiously crawling with bloodlust.

"Hundreds of them, huh?"

I muttered tiredly because these monsters are not even so weak.

I can tell that every single one of them is at least capable of destroying this hill in one strike.

I wonder how they even get satisfied by human meat alone; why don't they eat each other instead? After all, they are big beasts.

A gigantic bear then stood in front of me. It appears from nowhere due to its speed. Though I'm sure that it just came out of the bunch around here,

"Hey... Hey... are you sure you are going to eat me ahead of the others? This could result in infighting in your bunch."

I talked to it while seeing its condition. I can see it trembling really badly. Its saliva is stickily pouring onto the ground.

"Hrrrr...."

Is what I hear growling as the lip of the bear shivers from how hard it grits its teeth.

"Eh, You are very hungry, huh?"

I pulled out my sword.

"Too bad for you; it turns out, I am just as hungry."

I activated my sword.

The dark surroundings become clear.

It's not that it's really dark because it's almost full moon tonight. I can still see the faces of these beasts glaring at me, even before I activate the sword. It's just that being illuminated by the light makes the place more clear.

-By the way, activating my sword is not done by using any triggers or such. I am only readying my hand when it activates. It is a sensor system designated for instant-reaction required situations. -

I then swung my sword to the left. (obviously because my sword is in my right hand.)

-Remember that the whole place is being echoed by the sounds of crying, howling, and growling beasts. -

As I swing my sword, those sounds fade away little by little.

Finally, I finish one full swing, and, at the same time, the echoing sounds are no longer to be heard.

The first half of my swing is for the half curve of the hill, and the other half is also for the other half curve of the hill. (I didn't cut the hill. I mean those monsters ascending the part of the hill.)

When my swing reaches its midpoint, I turn around to eradicate those beasts in the back, completing my full swing. (because the whole hill is being surrounded.)

And right now, I am in the backyard.

Though I am not sure if this could even be called a backyard, After all, there is no way to tell where the front door is. The first floor of this house is void. More like a pavilion.

There are eight sidewalls, making it clear that it is an octagonal-designed space. Four windows and four passages. The four passages are doorless. There are just curtains hanging as a cover.

The base of the house is a square concrete floor. But in its midst is a wide, eight-sided space. Where four sidewalls have passages. It has four large windows on the remaining four sidewalls. Making the space almost completely open-sided.

The first floor is being excessively covered by the second floor's roof.

This house also has a curving terrace.

On the second floor, you can hear voices as the people inside, whom you already know, are chitchatting.

It appears that the first floor is just a resting place for relaxing.

After all, we are on top of a hill. A perfect spot for relaxing one's mind.

My face trembles due to how satisfying the feelings can be if I could get the chance to rest here in a windy summer.

Thus, I can't tell where their backyard is.

"sigh"

I look at my sword.

"One swing, huh?"

I felt sadness at how powerful I am.

I killed those numerous strong beasts, and it didn't even count time. This is what is called zero-time combat. Everything stops if I am activating my sword, after all.

and yet...

-I turn my eye in the direction of Frisha Kingdom. -

My fully equipped mode could not even keep up with the speed of that monster.

"100 percent... 200 percent... Aha.. ha.. haha"

I chuckled in shame and frustration.

I can feel my cheeks tickling; I'm probably about to release tears.

I then quickly strengthened myself.

I look at my sword again.

"Things now will be different. By the time I get a hold of that magic, I will eradicate you. Dungeons!"

I uttered it as I pointed my sword in the direction of the dungeon.

I then slid the sword into its scabbard.

I pat it as I say.

"That monster is really scary, isn't it? Thank you for your help; we survived!"

Yes! This sword is what I am using when I and Sei go to the dungeon and meet that...

"Sigh"

My other sword didn't survive; it got overcharged by the final blow I used. It even cut my arm (chuckles).

But my other equipment is in the repair house. Somehow, they can still be repaired.

So currently, I am going to use my light sword.

Without my full equipment, I can't really control the speed, so it's tiring me out. You can say I am very weak in this condition.

I then turned to enter the house.

While at it, a flash illuminates the whole area.

I immediately turned to look at it.

When I saw it, I narrowed my eyes. It's just the big star after all! Seriously, I have been seeing this almost every night now.

What happens to its rarity?

"Sigh"

Well, somehow, something has changed. It's twinkling now.

I then enter and head directly to the second floor.

"Whoah, you're done already?"

The girl welcomed me with a question while stirring the food she was cooking.

"Ah, yeah, haha."

I answer, rubbing the back of my head and chuckling.

It seems it was too fast for them.

"Sir Azroth is really powerful."

Girvacks added a smile while caressing his sleeping daughter.

I waved at him with a smile.

Ayrimir is at the table, cleaning and tuning his bow.

Sei is on the terrace.

"Hmm..." i breath out in relief. How nice of them to invite us to a shelter!

I then put my sword to one side and sat around the table, talking with the boy.

"Whoah. You sure know how to check your item. But... aren't you too young for that?"

"I am; I am only 15 years old after all."

Ayrimir smiled at me.

"Huh? I'm surprised you enjoy such stuff; you should just look for more peaceful fun entertainment. Take, for example, going out with your older sister for sightseeing."

The boy's smile was mixed with sadness.

"Yeah, I would love to, but it seems there is no safe place for sightseeing anymore. That is why I wanted to free our town from these beasts, but..."

He smiled at me blissfully.

"You see, it's impossible for us."

"Uh... Yeah... "

I was surprised because what he said was too obvious. It's too obvious that they are too weak to confront the beasts. I'm surprised he knows they are weak, so I ask...

"Then why are you still trying hard?"

"huh?"

"You know, spending your time fighting rather than looking for remaining enjoyable stuff or activities? Just like constructing strategy to how you can escape? You can at least get fun from that, right? After all, you say you can't fight the beast, then why not escape?"

"Have fun constructing strategy? Hmm, well, yeah, I think it's fun. But what if we fail?"

"Huh? Well, I think you failed to construct your strategy to success. That aside, at least you ran."

Ayrimir looks at me with a look of wonder, wondering why I am fond of running.

He then said:

"I wanted to survive; that is why I am fighting. I want to be strong! So that somehow I can protect my loved ones in times of trouble."

"huh..."

I react in a monotone voice.

"What if you can't protect them?"

I ask you to discourage his sacrifice.

"I will do my best!"

Best? I am surprised

I then returned his question recently.

"But if you failed?"

Once again, his smile has been tainted by sadness, saying,

"Well, I guess I will die fighting for my family."

He answered with a low, silent voice.

I am speechless.

There really are different people in the world.

So people take pride in dying as heroes? A thing that my father really hates. Whatever the reason, dying is always a shame.

That is why I am mourning their deaths now and forever. Because their death is the only thing that they will never ever accept!