“Is the King… dead?” I can’t hear his heartbeat. No, it’s not that I can’t hear it. It’s faint. Almost gone.“Lady Rai,” says one of the doctors, wiping away his tears. “The King… We did all we could.”"No… This can’t… This can’t… be. Father… he—”"Get up Rai!!" I scream. "It's not over yet!!""What? Who do you think you are? Can’t you see Lady Rai is in—""Don't touch me!!" I roar, as a doctor attempts to stop me. I glare into his eyes, and he hesitantly moves back. I pick Rai up. Did she not hear me? No, it’s her mind. Due to the shock, her mind is close to breaking. I put my hand to her head and say, "Healing Magic: Mental Heal."She regains consciousness and looks at me confused. "Haruki, what...?""No time to explain. Use your Lightning Magic on the King.""What!? What are you—”"Ok," interjects Rai. "I trust you, Haruki."“Good. I will teach you a spell. Just repeat after me. O neftrhud gdo, ighir mavyeditnennnhtd iatin. Bekul ble, aret dcna, mrrcm. Tl aeottortd eya oueorhn gpd m

After three weeks of travelling, we finally reach Serpent’s Nest. "The town looks..." "Disgusting," says Rai. The look in her eyes is that of hate. Is it the town, or is it...? “Let us go and find Elsie Bloom. Knowing her, she likely knows of our arrival and is planning her escape from this town. Time is of the essence—” "Get out of this town, you damn swindler!!" A woman, pink-haired and rose-eyed, runs with a bag of money. The outlaws occupying this town are chasing her. The woman laughs and screams, "Good luck catching me, you half-baked crooks." The woman looks at us as she is running. Her grin widens as she screams, "Oh no!! It's the Commander of the Valkyrie Knights, Erika Blade, and Her Highness, the princess of the Sakura Kingdom, Rai Sakura. They have come to raid Serpent's Nest. It's finally happening!!" "Wha...?" "Erika Blade?" "And the Princess?" "I'm not getting captured today. Let's go!!" All the crooks that ran after the woman run in all directions until the to

"Why did you seek me out, Princess Rai?" asks Elsie, wiping her weary eyes. "We need your help defeating Leviathan." "Leviathan!?" she gasps. She looks in my direction, and asks, "Why would you need me when you have a walking disaster next to you? If anything, I'd say Haruki here could easily handle Leviathan by himself." "That would be impossible," I confess. "Why? You haven't even met Leviathan yet. And, if you use that white-haired form of yours, you could defeat anyone." "There's a limit to my transformation." "A limit? And what would that be?" asks Rai. "When I use that form, I hear a voice whisper in my ear." "A voice? What does it say?" My chest tightens up as I recall the sinister female voice. "'Kill them... Kill them all!!' is what she says." The memories from before flash through my mind. "I can suppress the voice; however, if I use it longer than a certain period, I can feel a presence inside me trying to rob me of my conscience." "And what is that period?" "Five

"This can't be... Where is the village?" "We looked everywhere, Haruki. Are you sure this was the right way?" asks Rai. "Of course, this is the right way," I roar. "Then where is the village!!" screams Elsie. I look around. The smell of the village still lingers in the air, like it's still here. But it's not. What's going on? "I-It... could be... an enemy's magic..." says Erika, shivering. "An enemy's magic?" I ask. "But when could we..." A light goes off in my head. "The barrier," I say, "That can be the only plausible explanation." "But didn't you cast a barrier of your own, Haruki?" asks Rai. "The enemy's barrier may have been more powerful than mine." "A barrier more powerful than yours?" questions Elsie. "I find that hard to believe, seeing as you defeated me using my magic before." "I know many magical spells; however, I do not have experience using them. I may have used too little mana in my spell. It could be that, or..." "Or?" "Or we are dealing with an expert in t

I regain consciousness and jump up, panting heavily. I look down, "A bed?" I ask confused. I start looking around, "Is this... a home?" What happened? Why did I regain control of my body? What was that voice? Why did Hafiz tell me to leave Grand Order? Too many questions, and too few answers. The door to this small cottage opens. I jump off the bed and ready a fighting pose. An old man, carrying piles of wood enters and sees me up. He walks past me, as if he is completely ignoring my existence, and feeds the fireplace with the fresh wood. The room fills with a welcoming heat. The old man opens the pot - which was over the fire. A mouthwatering smell fills the air. He grabs a ladle and scoops some of the stew into a handcrafted wooden bowl. He places the bowl down and fills two more bowls. "Are you just going to stand there?" asks the old man. I sit at the table and start eating. After one bite tears fill my eyes. "What is this?" I ask, chomping down on the chunks of meat and gulping