Give or take

It was night. Venions party just finished lunch. They were preparing the tents. While preparing the tents Lilia asked,

"hey Melissa."

"Yes?"

" Do you know what kind of place we are going to, this time?"

Melissa looked at Lilia,

" yes , I know."

" then tell me."

Melissa kept looking at Lilia with a mischievous gaze and said,

"If you want to know then give me a kiss."

Hearing this Lilia's face became red as a tomato.

"stupid, boob monster, idiot@$_#$$#$#@$@_##$@$#@$#@#$#@"

"Oh my, oh my. Dear Lilia seems flustered."

"You, you… forget it. I will just ask some one else."

Seeing that Lilia was about to go away, Melissa gave up.

"ok, ok I will tell you. Just sit down."

"Hmph, you better do. Or I will…"

"You will?"

"I ,I will never talk to you ever again."

"Ok, ok , please don't stop talking to me."

Melissa and Lilia sat down and Melissa started explaining the place they were going. Lilia was new to adventuring. so she didn't know the continent very well.

After a few minutes of explaining,

"so you are saying that this no man's land is a place with no vegetation at all." Lilia said.

"Yes, although its surrounding is filled with greenery the no man's land itself is barren." Melissa said.

"Why is that, though?"

" no one knows. This land is nearly as big as our kingdom. But due to its barren state no country claims it. Many people has tried to figure out why that place is so lifeless. There are only a special type of black tree grows there. These trees has no leafs. Many has researched these trees. But alas no full proof consensus has emerged. No one knows why this place is in this state.

Though there are some local myths about that place."

"Myths?" Lilia's interest was piqued further. She was an avid fan of novels.

" yes, myths. Do you want to here one?"

"yes, please."

Melissa began narrating the story to her,

""""There once was a devil so vile and evil,

He made a contract with the gods above,

He had to kill a hundred people who loved him,

And then he would get his one true wish.

He went around the world with a wicked smile,

He seduced and slayed whoever crossed his path,

He did not care for their feelings or their lives,

He only wanted to fulfil his twisted wish,

He reached his ninety-ninth kill with ease,

He thought he was unstoppable and clever,

But then he came to a land called Akira.

And there he met the princess who changed him forever,

She was beautiful and kind, a ray of light,

She saw something good in him that he did not see,

She made him feel things he never felt before,

She made him want to be a better being,

He fell in love with her and she with him,

He forgot about his contract and his wish,

He only wanted to be with her and make her happy,

He thought he had found his true bliss.

But fate was cruel and tragedy struck,

The princess died in a political struggle.

The devil was heartbroken and filled with rage,

He cursed the land and all its people.

He made it barren and lifeless, a wasteland,

He killed everyone who lived there, friend or foe,

He did not care for the consequences of his actions,

He only wanted to make them pay for their sin.

But the gods were angry and they intervened,

They saw his sin was too great to ignore.

They sealed him in the land he had destroyed,

They made him suffer for evermore.

He could not escape or die, only lament.

He could not see or touch his beloved again,

He could only remember her face and her voice,

He could only feel his guilt and his pain.

And so he remains there to this day,

A lonely devil in a cursed land,

A reminder of what love can do,

When it is twisted by a wicked hand.""""""

"The end" Melissa said. Truthfully it was just an old myth but this was a really popular story behind the no man's land.

Lilia looked at Melissa with teary eyes, "poor devil, he suffered so much but all he got was pain."

Melissa hugged her and said,

"there there, don't cry. It's just an old myth."

After that they talked some more and went to sleep.

The next morning they flew through the forest on Lilia's bird.

While flying Lilia asked,

" How much more."

Jakir who was trying to cover his face from the violent wind said,

"the no man's land starts from just behind that mountain."

Lilia commanded her bird monster to further follow the river.

But when they crossed the mountains they were stunned.

" pink trees?"

*

*

*

< Good morning, master. >

" uuu. Astra just a little more."

<It's already noon, master.>

" but I'm still so sleepy."

< Master should learn to wake up early. It's good for your health.>

"urg. Fine just give me a second."

Sakura woke up and did her morning routine such as brushing and eating.

"Astra?"

< Yes, master.>

"How many EP do I have?"

< at this moment, 0.7 >

" urgg, do I have to nuke a landscape again?"

< Master can hunt normally, though. >

" but I don't know how to fight."

< Master, doesn't need that. You can just punch them.>

" oh wait, you are right! My physical stats are in the five thousands today. Surely I can hunt something, right?"

< I think master is still underestimating herself. With your stats you can probably fight a baby dragon on a toe to toe basis with your physical stats alone. >

" well I am not even surprised anymore."

Sakura stretched her limbs and prepared to go down the mountain for some exploring and hunting.

On the way down she pondered,

" Hey Astra, I have really high strength right?"

< Yes Master's strength is in the five thousands. Which is equivalent to the most powerful humans alive. >

" Then, cant I jump really high, if I put a lot of strength in my foot?"

< yes. >

Sakura put a lot of force in her feet and launched herself in the air.

*Boom

To her Surprise she propelled into the air like a rocket.

"woah! So pretty!"

She looked at the forest filled with cherry trees and was mesmerized by its vastness and beauty. Though there was a big crater in this beautiful forest.

< Reminder, master is not flying. >

"Huh, what do you mean…woahhhhhhhhh!!!"

Sakura just realized that she was starting to go down.

" aaaaaa… Astraaaa.. help me."

< Master, shouldn't worry. This kind of fall won't hurt, much.>

"what do you mean much. This will definitely hurt a lot. Save me!"

Sakura pleaded as she neared the ground.

< sigh. >

As Sakura got nearer and nearer to the ground she closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. But, After some time when Sakura didn't felt the impact she opened her eyes. Though, what she saw surprised her. She was being held in a princes carry. The person who was carrying her was a women. She had long dark hair. Her hair was so dark that even the sun light couldn't reflect on it. Her eyes sparkled as if stars were twinkling in them. The women had a kind smile on her face.

Even as a woman Sakura couldn't help but blush.

" Are you okay master."

" huh!"

That tone sounds familiar.

" wait, Astra!!"

( 5 minutes later.)

" So you can come out."

< Yes >

"why didn't you come out, before?"

< Its because I didn't need to. >

" so, you only come out when there's a need?"

< Yes >

"but, why?"

< Because, I want to be with master. >

" Uuuh…you know, that is a weird thing to say."

Sakura and Astra kept arguing while Sakura walked toward the river. The river was her only form of navigation.

She walked for a few hours but couldn't find any monsters.

" Astra, where's the monsters? Didn't you tell me that there were monsters in this forest?"

< There are monsters in this area. They are just hiding from you.>

"huh? Then how am I supposed to hunt.?"

< I can detect them for you, if you want, master. >

" ok then do it."

<There 250 is a armoured lizard meters north-west from where you are standing.>

Sakura followed Astra's words and arrived at a cave nearby.

" Is this the place?"

< Yes >

Sakura looked at the gloomy cave.

"hello, is anybody home?"

She said.

< Master, what are you doing, this is a monsters house they won't understand you. >

"oh yeah sorry about that. But what should I do if it doesn't come out?"

< Master can destroy the cave if you want. >

" with magic?"

< No, you can destroy it with pure brute strength. Just raise your hand and punch towards the cave as hard as you can. >

" That sounds really easy.

Eeei!!"

Sakura raised her hand and punched toward the cave as hard as she could.

*Boom

As if hit by a missile the cave disintegrated by the air pressure. Rocks and debris flew chaotically.

After a while when the dust settled, The place where there stood a cave is now a big circular Canyon.

"Did I get it? Where is it?"

<Yes master got it< p>

<Yes, master got it. But unfortunately the armoured lizard was fully disintegrated by air pressure. Su no carcass left behind.>

"Uuu…why would you call it a armoured lizard if it couldn't defend from the freezing air pressure. I though it's defence was high."

< it was high. It's just masters punch was too strong.>

"Oh, is that so?"

Sakura looked at the small canyon she created and couldn't deny that Astra was right.

< Yes master is really amazing. >

After that they continued hunting. On that day the monsters nearby felt earthquakes every now and then and the forest became cluttered with holes, crakes and canyons.

*

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*

In a foreign country, in the Capital of Kirishima, at a certain castle, a maid was walking. She was walking elegantly as she whore a simple kimono. She went to a room that was being heavily guarded. She greeted the guards and opened a certain door. This door lead to a garden.

But when the maid saw a certain tree in the garden her eyes constricted.

"the holy tree has bloomed flowers!!!!!" she screamed.

In just a few moments many people gathered as the holy tree bearing flower is a big news.

This holy tree hasn't ever bore flowers in the history of the kingdom. Many people though that it was a dead tree as it didn't have any leafs either.

The emperor quickly arrived to see the scene. He was mesmerized by the beauty of the tree.

" Quickly call the saintess. Tell her that it's a urgent summon from the emperor."

The guards quickly went away.

After his orders the emperor looked at he tree. It was mesmerizing. The pink flowers blooms as if they have been waiting for a millennium to bloom like this.