Two Warriors

At the village's border, a demonic being mowed down trees with the intensity of a rioting dragon.

It looked like a boar, but the power of it far outweighed anything a simple animal could do.

The creature's mind was filled with one thought:

'Kill Humans!' Specifically them, rather than specifically targeting life forms in the way.

It could sense humans in the direction it charged.

bang. Bang. BANG.

The ecosystem was being harmed by the insane charge of the creature. Its rush was unstoppable.

Finally, the boar felt that humans were close by.

In front of it were an oddly dense pile of trees that seemed unnaturally bunched together, but the Lesser Demon merely snorted. Trying to mow down these weak plants like they were blades of grass.

BANG!!!

After a loud crash, the squealing of a pig could be heard at the village's borders. It failed… It failed…

The Demon boar couldn't fathom why it had failed.

"I seem to be right, Farhon. There was something heading here." A mild and gentle voice spoke out.

Out from the bushes nearby walked out a pointy-eared man with a mechanical gauntlet on his right arm, and a thick tech coil behind his elbow. These two weapons giving off the impression of a Fighter.

The boar became guarded.

It got ready to charge at the scrawny looking elf man with another powerful rush. Killing him.

Only… The elven man didn't seem to acknowledge the boar. Merely pointing upwards at something.

Shiiing!

Before the Demon could register a blade being drawn from above, its head was beheaded off.

The sword continuing to hit the ground like a lightning bolt. Revealing a familiar Warrior.

But they weren't done yet…

Farhon and the elf man dodged out of the way when another Demon boar rushed at him.

Slamming into the fence of trees (which now had a large crack forming on it), then facing the duo.

This happened multiple times.

The crack was becoming wider, and it was becoming a situation outside of their control.

"…I'll go take care of the village, you take of these stragglers." Taking responsibility, the elf man didn't even need prompting to leave the battle and focus on the fence. Defence being Farhon's problem.

Farhon drew his blade again and faced the horde with determined eyes, but still had room to talk.

Especially when he heard his friend call out:

"How is your son doing?!" The elf man asked while watching the sword being driven through Demons.

His gauntlet pointing at the fence of trees. Altering their positions by communicating with them all.

He was forming a cage for this horde of Demons.

One could feel vitality and Mana from his gauntlet.

"Fine. Just needs rest. You?" Farhon sliced through Demon boars one after another, but still spoke up.

Their conversation went on for a while until the subjugation was complete. All the Demons dead.

Their bodies returning back to normal boars after death, and the miasma going into the atmosphere.

After all, all they had was sell what they hunted.

Properly dismantling them for meat and leather.

Both of them were experienced in this for different reasons. Farhon knowing due to his former job.

"Graid, where are you looking?" He noticed his elf friend looking at a slash done to the ground earlier.

Ascertaining the depth and power.

"I never get tired of seeing you fight." Graid couldn't be more amazed by such simple methods.

"You see it everyday." Farhon tilted his head.

"Which is why I never get tired of this." (Graid)

"It's just me swinging my sword about. Compared to a Magic User, am I that interesting?" (Farhon)

"…Diana might not know due to being a non-standard type of Magic User, but I've told you before that Internal Qi is as special as Mana. It just runs on different principles." Graid shook his head.

He could feel the inferiority complex Farhon had about coming from the boonies, even if the family he'd ran from was of Noble Lineage. Those of the coloured kingdoms were nothing in front of Graid.

They were of different worlds.

Graid was a man fashioned with the latest technology created by Celest Vagabond himself.

Comparatively, Farhon was just a Warrior that had gained his abilities simply through getting a Class.

He looked at the gun on the elf man's waist and mechanical gauntlet. Feeling even more small.

Only close to Faustus City and the Holy Doctrine's headquarters would there be people like Graid.

Those who have both been physically enhanced into elvish people, and fitted with the best tech.

Only there would a Warrior be holstering a gun.

And Farhon felt iffy swinging his sword around in front of him. If only it had lasers and stuff on it.

"Hey, Graid, can you maybe…" He pointed at his sword and clearly wanted a bit of an upgrade here.

"No." Was the simple answer.

"Come on~ Aren't we good friends here?" Farhon thoughtlessly massaged his shoulders with a laugh.

Even though his hands were still bloodied…

"Stop. Look, it's not like what you're thinking. We have been walking two separate paths. Because of that fact, you just CAN'T use them." This was ignoring the fact one of them used Mana and the other Qi. Graid could only explain things like this.

"…Cheap. I'd pay you back." Farhon, being the type of guy he was, wouldn't give up on it so easily.

He'd cry and beg for one of them light sabres!

"Hah… Fine." Graid knew that the only way to persuade him was with a showcase of the facts.

He took off the muzzle-like gun attachment on his clothes, then pressed a button on the side of it.

Woosh. A red beam sabres of energy manifested.

After turning it on to show what this was, he shut it down. Returning the light sabre to its original state.

"This is called a MagiBlade. I personalised it for my own use, but this is still an ordinary Sacred Weapon used at New Faustus." Graid then put the MagiBlade tech hilt in his friend's hood hands.

Farhon was deeply excited. Giddy at the prospect of swinging around such a cool looking weapon.

Only to find that him pressing on it did nothing.

"Huh?" He looked at the elf man accusingly.

"I only know how to use Mana. If you want to arm yourself, you'd have to find someone with the same Base Quality as you." Graid knew these words would break his friend's heart, but that was it.

Base Qualities couldn't interact with each other except on rare occasions. They had separate traits.

These functions were what made it impossible to use Qi in a MagiBlade in the first place, because Qi could only be manifested outwards by high level practitioners. The opposite for Magic Users.

"You always mess with me like this!" Anger filled Farhon's eyes. He childishly threw the weapon.

Making Graid have to lean over to pick it up.

"I tried to warn you." He'd really tried to dissuade him multiple times, but was always being ignored.

"Then why make fun of me all the time?!" There was a dread inducing fury in Farhon's eyes now.

Graid couldn't help stepping back.

"When did I do that?" He unconsciously armed himself. These was a tension to the atmosphere.

Among the smell of blood and death, it is said that the miasma Demons radiated caused madness.

If so, then was miasma getting to him already?

Maybe he shouldn't have said anything earlier…

"You keep on saying my swordsmanship is 'rare' and 'interesting'. Well… It's not. Literally everyone uses one of the Three Schools of Five Natures. If that's not talking me up for nothing, then what is it supposed to be?" Farhon walked towards him.

When he got close enough, the elf man jumped out of the way to see the trees behind him sliced apart.

"And I JUST reinforced them!" Graid was now also getting worked up thanks to losing his cool a little.

Giving a chance for the Miasma to infect him.

But he managed to calm himself enough to continue past that: "Farhon, I really meant it."

The advanced swordsman watched his pointy-eared friend say this sincerely. Without deceit.

It made the man… embarrassed.

Farhon lowered his blade while hiding the joy he felt from looking cool in front of his old friend.

Trying to keep a straight, emotionless face.

Graid misunderstood this action as anger again, so he complimented the guy to the highest heavens:

"People of New Faustus don't practice swords anymore. Only places far from the real battlefield have Warriors like you, who study and train the ways of the sword. That's all." He put up his hands.

"That so…?" Farhon sheathed his blade and acted uninterested in all that, but Graid knew otherwise.

The vanity in this man was annoying…

At the very least, he signed in relief that his friend didn't want to fight to the death like earlier now.

"So how's Miliv doing?" Farhon embarrassedly changed the subject when realising his own fault.

Miliv was the name of the elf man's only son.

"He should still be in bed right now. I didn't want to wake him until I came back, so…" With that being said, Graid left without saying anything more. He was certain this unstable guy would blow up again.

"S-sorry!" Farhon scratched his head and watched the back of the elvish man while he was leaving.

Feeling he had someone else to apologise to now.

Maybe this was bad luck.

…..

….

…

..

.

When Steve got out, he was enveloped by the smell of nature that came from the farms.

Poop.

A whole lot of it assaulted his senses.

But he had no concerns about the detailed smell of animal excrements from the ranches at the side.

Nor the truly despicable amount of pollen smell coming from the green grass and wheat fields.

"Oh~ Is that Farhon's boy? Is your mother doing okay?" An old lady in the fields smiled at him.

"Don't tease the boy. He might be shy." An old man who seemed to be the woman's husband spoke up.

Although this wasn't the first time seeing him, they had no idea what Steve's personality was like.

He was always obediently following his parent's footsteps. Not straying towards them. Ever.

"Good morning! I'm Steve!" The boy waved at them with a smile. Going out felt real refreshing to him.

Since this was one of his regular outings, he headed towards his favourite spots to relax.

Under the shade of a big tree by the corn fields.

Which was a little far and hard to navigate towards due to the length of the yet-to-be-harvested crops.

It was under the cover of these crops that he'd heard a sound nearby. A child shouting angrily:

"Demon! Demon! Demon! You've straight up turned into a Demon!" He heard someone roar this.

When he rushed to see what was happening, he saw a kid being stoned by three young boys.

That child seemed to be running away in fear.

"I'm not…! Waaah! I'M NOT!" She was crying and couldn't get her words in order. It threw him off.

What was he seeing?

Village kids nowadays were usually united with a sense of community. Parents all knowing each other and all. It couldn't be helped that neighbours would get on better terms through interactions.

Steve turned his eyes to see that the elven girl being indeed looked different from the rest.

He couldn't see her face due to her covering it up stubbornly, but it was easy to see her long ears.

Those naturally pointy ears...

'An elf?' Was what Steve initially thought, but had thrown out the possibility with what he knew.

Elves definitely didn't exist in this world.

There were myths about them, of course… but there was nothing regarding 'real' elf sightings.

Didn't that mean she really WAS a demon?

Should he join in?

Just as he thought that, the girl tripped over. It became increasingly obvious she was normal.

A regular, ordinary child.

'Should I help her?' It would be the right thing to do here, but it was one against three right now.

Even if she helped him, the odds wouldn't even.

Farmer kids weren't weaklings. They learnt from seeing their family move around all the time.

Plus, they looked really healthy.

He didn't need his enhanced senses to see that they were probably well-fed and filled with energy.

Comparatively, he was really skinny.

Just like his past life.

Since helping her wasn't easy, it wouldn't be his fault if he looked the other way. It was… a pity.

Steve wanted to help, but his hands were tied.

They were too emotional to listen to reason.

'Do I want this?' Suddenly, the voice of his older self resounded within. He remembered a scene.

A dead body in front of the girl who killed his wife.

His inaction and laziness was the cause of his wife's death. How he had brushed off hardships.

What would've happened if he had tried in life?

Maybe it'd be far from a perfect life, but Samantha wouldn't have divorced him if he had ANY merit.

Even if he couldn't give her a child, there were ways to get surrogate children or even adoption.

Maybe it might not be his blood, but she wouldn't have felt the need to infantilise him into a child.

One that constantly needed attention.

There was a difference between being sickly and refusing to grow up. Refusing to take responsibility.

REFUSING TO BE A MAN.

Self-derision turned into anger that flooded his eyes. Fine…! Fine! He'd do this for his own sake.

No longer be a bystander being pulled by the wind.

"Stop there, little shits!" Steve let his anger get the best of him for the second time. Shouting lividly:

"She's not a Demon!" He stood up for her.

This was probably the first time in his two lives he'd ever stood up for someone other than his own self.

Ignoring any excuses he had to look away.

He ran in front of her at full speed, only for- Thud!

A rock slapped into his head and caused him to become dizzy. His anger started to dissipate.

'Fuck…' The pain had made him more rational.

He couldn't coast off his fury anymore. If he wanted to protect her now, he had to do it sober.

But the pain hit hard…

"You traitor. Get him!" Rocks hit his body one by one. Stones heavily hit his body one by one.

But he didn't move away.

It would be too embarrassing for him to back out now that he was already doing what he wanted.

Even if it was painful, he just had to grit his teeth.

The girl behind him could only silently look at his figure with tears in her eyes. Until they were done.

THUD.

"Stop!" After they ran out of smaller stones, one of them had chucked a big one onto his forehead.

Steve fell face first…

He was still conscious enough to hear the voice of the girl behind him, but not enough to do anything.

They hadn't held back in pelting him with stones.

His body was muddied and bruised head to toe.

"Traitor… but he… Hey, is this really right?" But his actions combined with her tone made them reflect.

It wasn't as if these kids had no conscience.

The two boys looked at their leader, but all he did was push them over. Sneering at their cowardice.

"If you guys won't, then I'll do it myself!" The one leading them suddenly started to transform.

Not like a Power Ranger, but like a shapeshifter that had been wearing human skin this entire time.

The child grew three times larger into an armoured figure. Looking down at Steve and the girl scarily.

"Traitors will die first!" The kid charged at Steve with brutality in his eyes. Using his Innate Gift.

A showcase that was enough to attract the attention of Nobles if they saw he had Awakened.

Something only few were able to do.

There would be some anticipation to what this child will become after getting a Class, but that was it.

Right now, these things only served to end their fate. Steve had no way of escaping his stomp!

"Don't hurt… Don't you dare hurt him! STOP." The elf girl stood in front of Steve and protected him.

The golem boy stopped himself mid attack.

He could see that the girl was appealing to him.

"Max, aren't we blood brothers?" The elf girl raised her fist towards him, which confused one person.

Steve, who was watching them.

It only now occurred to him that this girl was wearing clothes for boys. Not a pretty dress.

"Maybe before you got Cursed." Max spat.

"I'm not… Believe me. Why do- You… Don't you trust me anymore?" She struggled to ask this.

It didn't even takes second before all her hopes in him were crushed… Along with many bones.

"Go back to Hell." He pushed her hard enough that she was slammed against the tree. Hurting herself.

Her spine was majorly injured in the collision.

There were no words exchanged after this. The look of this guy was enough to say everything.

He was going to kill Steve first.

The amount of malice people had towards Demons wasn't to be underestimated. 'Traitors' executed.

'Is this how I die?' Steve found it to be a pity.

He wasn't that scared of death. With him having to live with that very real possibility in his past life.

His sickly nature wasn't cosmetic.

The only thing he found odd was that he wasn't as accepting of his death as he was in his past life.

Something started to brew in him for the first time.

"I don't want to die…?" He mumbled inaudibly enough for the golem kid to hesitate briefly.

Listening closer to Steve's words.

Memories of his current life and all the good things he'd have to let go of, and many he'd severely miss.

As well as the people he'd never see again.

Even if death meant another reincarnation and survival, he didn't want to lose everything this time.

Fighting spirit was being born in his heart.

A silver glean was appearing in his eyes the closer the hand got to his head. Ready to crush his skull.

"MAX!" But his awakening was interrupted by a feminine voice that had deepened with energy.

An inhuman roar followed a lunging figure.

The silver glean in Steve's eyes dissipated when looking up to see a red eyed demon on the golem.

That elf girl had snapped.