Chapter 45: Out of the Graveyard

Under the rubble, an intimidating voice speaks to Razier. It's the type of voice you would expect from a tyrant or a dictator. The voice is accompanied by a floating head that, easily recognizable by a scar that cuts through its left eye. It asks,

"Razier Rosso, do you wish to become a true monster? Do you wish to follow the path of one that kills humans? Do you wish to only live for yourself and your survival? Answer me now!"

Razier, quickly losing strength and consciousness, barely mutters,

"Y-Yes..."

The voice replies,

"Very well. I will grant you that power."

Razier's eyes shut as he finally loses consciousness.

On the path leading out of the graveyard, the gang departs with Saiba on Uma, Lazaro on his Scaled Horse, and the rest inside the wagon. Saiba checks his stats. It now reads,

[Level 41. ATK: 51. DEF: 51. SPE: 43]

He cheers and shouts,

"Alright! I got 11 more Levels! Just a little bit more and I'll get to 50!"

Disappointedly, Lazaro opens his [SI] and says,

"You got 11?.. I only got 5 this time..."

Saiba asks,

"Shouldn't we be levelling up together?"

Lazaro answers,

"I was probably too far from you guys, so we weren't actually partied up."

His stats now read,

[Level 32. ATK: 36. DEF: 37. SPE: 35]

Saiba asks,

"What about you Lily?"

She answers,

"I only got 7 since I didn't help out with the Skeleton King."

She opens her [SI] as well, and turns it towards Saiba. It reads,

[Level 40. ATK: 44. DEF: 38. SPE: 49]

He stares at it and is in shock. He shouts,

"Woo-hoo! I'm a higher level than her now!"

Lily shouts back,

"It's only by one! Plus, I would definitely beat you in a duel!"

Saiba sits happily on Uma. They arrive back at the fork where they first got lost. The sign still has the same three options: [To Estrelia City], [To Cambross Town], and [To Soulless Graveyard]. Saiba asks,

"Hey Marco, didn't you say that you guys were from Cambross Town?"

Marco nods yes. Saiba decides and says,

"Sounds good! We'll drop you off at your place first then, before we continue to the Underworld."

Saiba looks at Lily as she gives him the signal to let him know it's okay. He pats Uma on the head as Uma starts on the path to Cambross Town while Lazaro trails behind.

While travelling, Saiba says,

"Hey Marco, Belliel... Sorry about what happened to your brother back there..."

Marco replies,

"No, no! It's okay! He turned himself into a monster... defeating him there was the right move!"

Saiba asks,

"How did you know he was there anyways?"

Marco answers,

"Well, we were actually playing around in the graveyard when we fell into the dungeon. We heard his voice and immediately knew it was him. We tried looking, but then we got ambushed by the giant skeleton. That's when you and your girlfriend saved us!"

Lily whispers,

"Girlfriend!? When did I become this guy's girlfriend!?"

Saiba rubs his chin,

"I see..."

Belliel says,

"Thank you for saving us, mister!"

Marco nods in agreement. Saiba blushes and replies,

"D-Don't worry about it! It's just a hero's job!"

Marco asks,

"When you say hero, do you mean 'the' hero?"

Saiba answers,

"The hero? I mean, I'm the Legendary hero of Estrelia, if that's what you're talking about..."

Marco suddenly gets very nervous as Belliel says,

"A legendary hero? That's 'cause you're really strong, right, mister?"

Saiba blushes and laughs awkwardly. Marco whispers to Belliel,

"Hey Bell, that's the Legendary Hero... The one that's chosen by the King... The one that's gonna save us all..."

Belliel doesn't seem to realize who she's really talking to. Marco shouts,

"It's a pleasure to be in your presence, mister Hero! Thank you for help and I apologize for causing you trouble!"

Saiba continues to laugh awkwardly while saying,

"You don't have to be so formal..."

He whispers to Lily,

"Am I really that famous?"

Lily just shrugs.

Finally, the gang pulls up to a quaint village. It quite a normal one, just some houses and other essential buildings. It's the most normal place Saiba has been too since he got to this world. The sun begins to set as they head on inside.

Marco points out a brightly-lit house and says,

"That's where we live!"

The house is fairly normal. It has stone walls, wooden supports, and slanted roof. A middle-aged man and a woman walk out of the house with worried expressions.

Marco and Belliel hop out of the wagon at the same time and start running towards the couple. Belliel gives the two a big hug as she shouts,

"Mama! Papa! I missed you!"