Micah was dreaming.

That was the truth she was forced to realize as she felt her own consciousness return once again. The wonderful dream about the time where she suffered most was both terrifying and sad, but also provided her the most important lesson she had ever learned in her life. Without that suffering, she would never have come to appreciate Yuu as much as she did, and would never have found the conviction to save him at all costs. She’d have run away like a coward, convinced herself that there was nothing she could do, and hid beneath a veil of ignorance for the rest of her life.

Unforgivable… A Mikasa that acts like that should just go and die.

A Mikasa that learned absolutely nothing from being abandoned by her brother should just go and die.

Well, setting that aside, the very fact that she was dreaming meant that she wasn’t dead, and the sensation of regaining consciousness was not exactly uncommon for her at this point. That meant that she hadn’t been killed by those monsters when she passed out from Mana Depletion and her wounds from fighting Talahanan. So… she was saved?

As her head cleared up more and more, she felt the sensation of a blanket beneath her body, and soft grass underneath it. A gentle breeze floated over her, and she could hear the familiar sounds of forest fauna that had been her company for the last several weeks on her way to Kleinwald.

Micah opened her eyes, and as expected, the same forest was there to greet her, brightened with a healthy glow from what looked like the mid-morning sun. However, the place she was in wasn’t a place she had seen before. Some sort of makeshift camp had been set up a ways away from the road, with a campfire that still bore the ashes of a recently snuffed flame, one other empty resting spot aside from her own, and what seemed to be a pile of supplies and clothes, including her own tattered cloak, acolyte robes, and scarf-

“Ah-!” Feeling as though her throat had been tightly constricted, Micah raised a hand to check and disprove what her eyes were showing her. Instead, they shot open as she met nothing but her own exposed neck, and right away her vision swam as her head began to throb painfully.

While struggling to even get a breath out, Micah scrambled over to where the pile was and snatched the scarf. In the blink of an eye she’d donned it, and finally felt the invisible grip on her lungs loosen and her airwaves open once more. She put a hand to her chest and quietly knelt there as her heart rate gradually calmed down. Soon she felt calm once more, and finally had the presence of mind to take stock of her current situation, and of herself.

First of all, it was a safe bet to say that she had indeed been saved from the monsters. Her wounds had been tended to and wrapped cleanly, and even her tattered clothing had been removed. There was no sign of her rescuer around, but based on the second blanket laid near the fire, there was probably only one of them. A Hero maybe?

Either way, while it was a relief to know that her quest to find Yuu had once again avoided being cut short, that didn’t mean she was safe. In fact, her current situation was extremely dangerous, as her rescuer had almost certainly seen her face and the true colors of her hair and scarf. In other words, her cover had effectively been blown.

Where were they? Were they coming back? What should she do when they do? Micah’s mind which had just gotten a chance to rest was now racing with new questions piled on top of the ones already plaguing her. Her rescuer’s abilities and skills were unknown, so instead of diving headfirst into a fight she couldn’t be certain of winning right after recovering from previous injuries, maybe it was simply better to run away? Or maybe she should hide somewhere nearby, wait for them to return and gauge their strength, then when their guard is down go for the ki-

Micah paused, breath catching in her throat as the sound of approaching footsteps broke through her anxious contemplation, and she whipped around just in time to hear a voice.

“Oh, you’re awake? Great!” It was the sprightly tone of a young girl, sounding similar in age to herself. Big, brown eyes looked upon her with a shine as glittering as the specks of light peeking through the tall forest trees. At a glance she looked to be slightly taller, dressed in traveler’s clothes covered in leather armor, shorts, and thick boots, with fingerless gloves adorning her hands. Long, light brown hair, partially tied in a tail along the side of her head while the rest fell down to around her mid-back, was concealed in part by a…

W-What the-?! That thing’s huge!

It was a sword. A massive broadsword easily as wide as the girl herself and seeming almost as tall. The blade would easily reach to about her upper torso where her chest was if stood next to her, while the handle would cover even more distance up to about her chin. And yet, despite having what would no doubt weigh at least 20-30 kilos on her back, the girl looked completely unperturbed as she carried a large sack on one shoulder and held a bundle of logs in her arms.

She brought the logs to an area of the camp that housed other wooden materials like twigs and branches and deposited them into the pile. Brushing her hands against each other to clean them, she then turned to Micah with a bright smile. “I figured you’d be asleep for at least a little while longer, so I brought some more firewood to make breakfast.”

“B-Breakfast…?”

“Yup! See, look,” she spoke excitedly as she removed the sack from her shoulder. “I found a good spot to dry the meat I got from those dead monsters, and it looks like it turned out even better than I was expecting! I was planning on storing most of it and cooking the rest for us after you woke up. You hungry?”

“Uh… um…” Micah couldn’t help but be stunned by how upbeat the girl was and how casually she was speaking. There were a myriad of things she wanted to ask, but she couldn’t really settle on one and instead found herself stuttering.

The girl picked up on her awkwardness quickly, and after a moment she set the sack down. “Oh! I’m sorry!” She wiped her hand on her shorts and offered it, along with a bright smile. “I’m Ellie! I happened to be traveling in this area and found you unconscious in the forest, so I went ahead and looked after you until now. What’s your name?”

“Ah, I'm M-Mariel...” Micah, though still somewhat surprised, still had the presence of mind to mutter the name of her alias in a low voice as she reached out to take her hand. Still, she had to wonder if there was even a point to using a false name in this situation. The girl had clearly seen her face, and her hair, eyes, and scarf were all their normal colors, meaning that something must have happened to the mana crystal that was hidden in her robes. With that in mind, a false name tied to her real features could work against her in the future.

This girl didn’t seem to be from Kleinwald though, and if she really was a traveler then it was likely that she wasn’t even from Zaoth, so… maybe it was okay?

If Circe were here, she’d tell me that the right thing to do is protect my cover no matter what. In other words, to eliminate anyone that’s seen my face.

But killing kids was...

...

...Well either way she’d already spoken, so all she could do was grit her teeth and bear with the consequences. If it did seem as though this girl was a threat to her alive, she’d consider it.

“Nice to meet you, Mariel!” The girl, Ellie, greeted her energetically, and even the way she shook her hand was oozing with enthusiasm. “Well, I’m sure you’re confused about a lot of things, but why not sit down for now? I’ll get started on breakfast.”

-----

Somehow, Micah had ended up going along with her suggestion and was now sitting across from her in front of the campfire while chewing on the dried meat of the monsters that had attacked her before. Ellie had assured her that there were no contaminants in it, and as she let the tender flesh slide down her throat, she couldn’t help but feel her gnawing hunger becoming satiated. The taste was a bit bland, but it seemed Ellie didn’t have anything like spices with her so it couldn’t be helped. Still, it was fine enough that she ended up eating quite a bit of it.

“So you were hungry, huh?” Ellie commented while watching her. “Should I cook some more?”

Micah paused mid-bite at her voice, embarrassed that she’d lost herself for a moment and just started indulging. She quickly shook her head and took a smaller, nibbling bite instead.

“It’s alright, no need to hold back! You looked like you were in pretty bad shape when I found you, so you gotta do everything you can to get your strength back, you know?”

“Bad shape, huh…” Partly to switch the subject and partly because it was a good time, Micah thought about how she hadn’t at all been expecting to survive after falling unconscious and decided to offer her gratitude to the strange girl. “I guess I owe you my life then. Thank you for saving me.”

“Oh no, I didn’t really do much!” she responded immediately. “All I did was treat your injuries and give you a place to sleep until you woke up. I wasn’t the one who saved you or anything!”

“Wait, you weren’t? So the monsters…”

“They were already dead when I got there. You don’t know anything about that?”

“No…”

...What? Judging from her clothes and her weapon it seems like she’s an aspiring Hero, so I figured she was the one who dealt with those monsters at the last minute, but you’re telling me she wasn’t the one who saved me? Then who did? There’s no way the monsters just died on their own…

“...W-Well! Maybe a bigger predator came along and took care of them, and since you were unconscious it thought you were dead already and left you alone?” Ellie scratched the back of her head awkwardly while offering up that explanation with a dry chuckle. From where Micah was sitting, she looked just like a little kid. “Anyway, it’s only been a little over a day since I brought you here, so I’d say you made a pretty miraculous recovery!”

“Is that so? Then I really am thankful for your help. Even if you weren’t the one who killed the monsters, I may not have recovered so well without you. Thank you very much.”

“F-Fuwaaa?!” Micah lowered her head respectfully, but where she had been expecting the girl to finally relent and accept her gratitude, instead Ellie let out a weird noise and nearly fell over in a fluster. “R-Really, there’s no need to be so polite! I’m sure anyone would’ve done the same! C’mon, quit it alreadyyyy!”

“...Pfft.”

“D-Did you just laugh at me?! You laughed! Hey, you really laughed at me just now!”

“No, you’re mistaken.”

“I can’t believe you if you turn your face away while saying thaaaaat!”

As the older(?) girl whined at her while seeming on the verge of tears, Micah continued putting on a poker face and returned to eating her food. But inside her heart, she could feel a warm feeling spreading outward in the face of their light conversation.

Talking like this with someone… it’s been a while, huh.

-----

Once the pair had finished their breakfast, Ellie busied herself storing the rest of the meat and checking her supplies. As Micah watched her from the blanket she was forced back onto to get some more rest, her thoughts drifted back to the events that had transpired the previous day.

Talahanan was dead. She hadn’t actually seen him die, but the fatal blow was struck and she felt she could trust his word that he couldn’t regenerate. His daughter had shown up at the last second too, but it was unlikely that she could do anything to save him—and the same went for his wife, who was still unconscious. Now that some time had passed, he should have bled out and died, so it was probably safe to conclude that she’d completed her mission as requested. The only issue now was…

“La, la, la-la~”

All things considered, things weren’t as bad as they could’ve been. She’d been surrounded by monsters while on the brink of death, but in the end was saved by someone; or something. And after that she was found by a girl traveling on her own and rescued. She could probably attribute Ellie’s arrival to coincidence, but the deaths of all those monsters was a bit too convenient for her to write off.

Ellie had theorized that a larger predator had appeared, but was something like that really likely? Then again, what other explanations could there be? Even if she was saved by a person, why had they just left her there after killing the monsters? It didn’t make sense from a logical perspective, as it suggested that her rescuer didn’t want her to be killed, but didn’t care if she succumbed to her wounds. Well, she had no clue if it was even a person in the first place.

Either way, her current situation was more important. With her only means of transportation destroyed, she was effectively stranded in Zaoth with no easy way home. Getting access to a private carriage like the one Circe had provided her wouldn’t be easy, and riding on someone else’s carriage would make it difficult to keep her cover. The ideal scenario would be to take multiple carriages on a carefully-planned route so that she didn’t stay with anyone for too long, all the way until she gets back to Regalia.

But she didn’t have the money to hire so many carriages anyway, and relying on the goodwill of others was just more likely to make her memorable to each carriage she joined. Then again, the idea of a child hitchhiking from Zaoth to Norith all on her own was bound to be memorable anyway. So what was the best option?

“One more thing.” Micah turned back at the sound of Circe’s voice to see her cross her arms and lean back in her seat while furrowing her brows. “I did say all of that about you having no backup, but if you don’t come back in two months I’ll send someone to look for you.”

...That was probably it. Circe had made it clear before she left that she’d send backup if Micah didn’t return. Still, it had only been around a month since she left Regalia, meaning that she shouldn’t expect to see anyone for another few weeks at least.

That was a bit problematic though… What was she supposed to do during that time? It was too dangerous to go to a nearby settlement and risk being remembered, and she was by no means a survival expert such that she could live in the forest. There were monsters roaming around here anyway, so it was a terrible idea to begin with.

...Hold on. Isn’t this situation pretty bad? I might actually starve and die before I’m saved.

It was either that or risk blowing her cover. Between the two the latter was obviously better, but who knows how Circe would react. If she still found use for Micah she’d probably work to cover things up again, but that would put her even further in the woman’s debt, which was not at all an ideal scenario.

“Hm, hm-hm, hm hm~!”

And then there was this girl. Ellie was still going through the supplies with a joyful expression, practically dancing around the camp as if it were the most fun thing in the world.

What was she supposed to do about this? She could mull over risks all she wanted, but this person had already seen what was beneath her disguises. There were many issues with that alone, but in particular Ellie would be able to confirm that she was in Zaoth around the time of this incident, which someone could potentially use to link her to Talahanan’s assassination. With that in mind, dealing with Ellie was definitely a high priority before she could safely return to Regalia. Micah still wasn’t entirely sure how to go about that though.

In order to test the waters a bit, she decided to ask a leading question and see how the girl responded. “...You’re not going to ask?”

“Hm?” Ellie made a questioning noise as she continued working. A bird song echoed through the trees, and her light tune picked up as if to mimic it.

No matter what, she always seemed to be sporting such a carefree smile. Micah wondered how someone so young could be in such a good mood under these circumstances, but put that question aside and instead repeated herself. “Aren’t you going to ask… why I was out there?”

Ellie paused. As she finally turned around to face her, Micah noticed that her brows were angled upwards in a sympathetic expression. “If I asked you… would you tell me?”

“...No, I wouldn’t,” she admitted honestly.

“Then I won’t ask!” Ellie replied. “I mean, I am a little curious about why you’re out here all alone, but that isn’t any of my business, right? Aren’t your parents worried about you though?”

“...Probably, yeah.” Micah balled her fists in her lap as her gaze fell slightly.

She knew it wasn’t intentional, but the girl’s question had brought to mind many things.

Family... What even was “family” to her now?

The first thing to come to mind was Bernadetta and the rest of the nuns. It had only been ten years, but the time she spent with them had caused her to endear to them far stronger than she’d originally intended to, until they had effectively become one of the rocks in her life. The four of them were probably all waiting for her next letter, eager to hear about what new adventures she was having in Regalia. Eager to soak up whatever new lies she would spin for them.

It was wrong of her. It made her feel like an absolute trash human being but… she really hoped she would get to continue sending them.

And then there was her real family, or perhaps more accurately, her old family. Her two parents back on Earth that she hadn’t seen in what felt like forever. On that day when everything changed, her parents had sent her and Yuu off for school like any other. She knew her parents had been worried about her ever since Kou died, which was why she did her best to be a good, supportive daughter for them.

Her friends too, Makoto, Nari, and Mio. They were the closest friends she’d ever had in her previous life—practically family in their own right—and some of the only people she ever truly trusted.

Thinking about how much she must have crushed all of them with her death made her feel even lower than trash. Even if this was the path she’d chosen for the sake of protecting Yuu, she still wished things could have gone differently back then.

And of course, there was Yuu…

…

Damn it. If… If only she hadn’t been so stupid and gotten herself killed that time, then…

Ellie watched her expression fall, and instantly went into a panic. “W-Waaaah!!! Did I make you remember something bad?! I’m sorry! Really, I wasn’t trying to-”

“No… It’s alright. I was just thinking about how I need to get home quickly,” Micah lied, forcing away the negative thoughts building in her head and replacing them with a sentiment that was true enough in its own regard.

“O-Oh, is that it?” Ellie’s frantically waving arms slackened, and she let out a long sigh of relief. “Well, I’m sorry anyway. For what it’s worth, I’m probably also making my family worry by being out by myself like this. Which is why I have to get my business done quickly and get back too.”

“Business…?”

Eh? What kind of business does a kid like her have in this kind of place?

“Mhm! Actually, I know I may not look it, but I’m a Hero!”

“A-A Hero? You?” Micah’s eyes widened in genuine surprise. The girl looked no older than thirteen, so the idea that she was on a similar level to the likes of Leo and Mariel was just insane.

And, as Micah realized a moment later, probably not true. “...W-Well, actually I’m still in training. But right now I’m on a genuine assignment!”

That made more sense. Still, an assignment?

Grinning pridefully, Ellie took a seat on the ground near Micah and began to explain. “I’m part of a small team that was sent here to investigate the recent rise in hornbear populations.”

“Hornbear?”

“Yup. You know, the things that attacked you before? They’re known to have pretty big, bear-like bodies with claws and fangs, and also have those large curled goat horns on their head.”

Oh, so those things were called hornbears. I’d heard that most monsters were supposedly extinct, so I never bothered to read too in-depth on them. Guess that was my mistake.

It was also interesting to know that their appearance here in Zaoth was significant enough to prompt a response from Heroes. If that was the case, then it was probably more than just Kleinwald that had suffered attacks, and the overall situation must have been pretty bad. Really, it was the worst timing for her to come to Zaoth for her mission, but Circe probably hadn’t been made aware of the monster problem until after she’d already left.

...Somehow, the image of Circe waving her hand and saying, ‘Ah well, she’ll probably be fine’ caused a twinge of irritation within her.

“The Hero Association was concerned about the possibility of a legendary monster being the cause and wanted us to confirm it before they took more serious action to resolve the situation.” Ellie crossed her arms and took on a more serious expression, frowning slightly. “Even so, I don’t agree with their decision to send only a handful of us to assist the local Heroes. With all that’s been going on, there’s more than enough reason to bring in way more to protect the villages that are in danger.”

“...”

“Ahh… sorry, was I going too fast?” In response to Micah’s confused expression, Ellie showed another sympathetic smile, then held a finger up to explain. “The Hero Association is an organization that gathers and manages the Heroes of the world. You seem to already be familiar with Heroes, but I’m guessing the ones you’re thinking of were Freelance Heroes—or those who aren’t affiliated with the Association and instead work solo or within their own structured groups. They’re the more common type of Hero to find, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve seen one or two before. But those from the Hero Association are called Licensed Heroes, and they’re different in that their careers are managed by the organization.

“How much you’re paid, what jobs you take, who you work with, most of it is decided by them, but the rewards are way better than what Freelance Heroes get. Wages for one thing, but also prestige and benefits like discounts at shops. Really, it’s super awesome!”

“...I see.”

Well, I already knew what the Association was, but I may as well let her keep talking and get a refresher. I’m more interested in what she said after that though.

“What’s a ‘legendary monster’?”

“Hm? Oh, right!” Ellie perked up as Micah brought her back on track, but the girl’s expression quickly settled again as she mulled over the answer. “Hmm, well… How do I explain this? Have you heard of Red Day?”

…

...

...Eh?

“Red… Day?” Micah tilted her head at the unfamiliar term, and Ellie nodded to herself with an understanding smile.

“That’s it, right? Kids like you probably wouldn’t hear about this sort of thing. Even I don’t really know all of the details myself.”

“What is it? A holiday?”

“Not really. It’s more of… an event that happened sometime in the past,” she answered, looking entirely uncertain. “Well, as far as I know, it seems like there was a huge explosion of miasma that spread out all across the world one day. There was apparently so much of it that it leaked into the atmosphere, turning the sky blood red. That miasma also affected things like plants and animals, killing them or turning them into the creatures that we know as monsters today. And sometime during all of that, demons began to emerge as well, sparking a large-scale conflict that was almost on the level of a world war. In the end though, the world’s Heroes managed to defeat all of the monsters and demons, and the survivors were put into Demon Country.”

“Wait, so the demons were given their own nation after they were defeated?”

“No, I don’t think that was their intention at the time. At first the land was meant to be a prison to house all of the demons that were captured alive, and it probably went by another name until the demons eventually declared their own sovereignty.”

“Oh. I see.” Micah waited for her to continue, but after a couple of moments realized that that was the end. “...Huh? Is that it?”

Ellie nodded, still looking unsure of her own explanation. “Mhm. Or well, at least that’s how it was told to me. I guess that’s as far as anyone knows about it, but you’d think that the origins of demons and miasma would have a bit more detail to it, huh?”

Understatement of the century…

Seriously though, that event sounded extremely important, so why hadn’t she heard about it before? She’d read through some of Magi’s history during her time in Halloway, but no such event as this was ever mentioned. In fact, there was very little information about demons in the first place, no matter where she tried to find it.

“You were mistaken for a demon? I suppose I can’t blame them for thinking so, considering demons are known for their incredible strength and horrendous brutality. Hearing threats along the lines of the ones you gave from the mouth of such a young child would make anyone think they were facing a true monster. Regrettably, the only information I can give you about them is likely things you’ve already read.”

Come to think of it, Brunhilde had said something similar in the past when she’d asked about it. And even within Circe’s collection of books she hadn’t seen information regarding this ‘Red Day’, or the origins of demons.

But that just wasn’t possible. Even if they magically appeared out of thin air one day, there would have to have been some record of it.

...Was the information being purposefully withheld from the public? That was a wild theory, but even if it were true then who was withholding it and why? If an aspiring Hero like Ellie only knew bits and pieces of the story, then it was safe to say that someone within the Hero Association—or perhaps the organization itself—likely knew even more. Were they the culprits?

“...? Mariel?” Ellie asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

...I should stop thinking about this. It sounds like something weird’s going on, but that has nothing to do with my present situation. I’ll just ask Circe about it later.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I was going to tell you what legendary monsters are.”

“Oh, right. Are their origins also tied to Red Day?”

“That’s right. Apparently, the miasma that leaked out into the sky also formed together into large concentrations that got scattered all over the world. Legendary monsters are what we call those that were directly affected by those concentrations, and ended up transforming into four insanely powerful creatures.”

“What? How powerful are they?”

“I’ve never seen one myself, but from what I’ve heard their powers were seriously off the charts. Most demons couldn’t even compare, and it took entire companies of Heroes to even injure them.”

“...”

Micah was pale.

Wait, so… demons aren’t the most powerful things in Magi? The hurdle goes even higher than that? And if God is the most powerful then… is my target for [God’s Blessing] farther away than I thought?

Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? A million? Or maybe even higher? Would Micah even live long enough to reach the level of strength needed to fight God?

That was…

“D-Don’t worry though!” Ellie took notice of the expression on Micah’s face and frantically waved her hands around to placate her. “All four of them are already sealed away! They were too powerful to be killed, but the Heroes back then were smart and found a way to seal them with magic, so they’re not a threat to us anymore!”

It seemed like she’d misunderstood Micah’s dread as being fear of the legendary monsters themselves, but Micah didn’t bother correcting her. Instead, she took a deep breath and steadied her nerves.

No, it didn’t matter how high the hurdle was. If she started to lose confidence now, then everything she’d done up to this point would be for nothing. Just put it out of your mind and focus on the matter at hand.

“...Wait, they’re not a threat? But didn’t you say that the Hero Association thought a legendary monster might be the cause of these monsters appearing?”

“A-Ahh… well… that’s true,” Ellie muttered, her expression falling slightly. “Despite what I said about them being sealed, these hornbears perfectly match the description of one of the legendary monsters from back then. Its name was [Baphomet].”

“[Baphomet]?” Micah blinked, mildly surprised. That certainly wasn’t a name she expected to hear in a world like Magi.

“What? Do you know it?”

“No, ah-, i-it’s nothing,” she said, waving off Ellie’s perplexed expression.

Micah was by no means an expert on religion or Christianity, but she was pretty sure the name “Baphomet” referred to a satanic figure of some sort. She remembered seeing a picture of a goat-headed figure once or twice in the past.

Was… there some significance to that? If not, then how could a name like Baphomet appear in Magi? Coincidence? But these “hornbears” as they were called also had goat-like horns, so Micah found it hard to believe it really was just a coincidence.

Ah, she was getting sidetracked again. This really wasn’t the time for such tangents.

“Sorry. So you guys think this [Baphomet] is the one behind the attacks?”

“Well, not entirely. The monsters we’ve been seeing are definitely [Baphomet]’s offspring, but the core issue is that they’re even appearing in the first place. After all, [Baphomet] should’ve been sealed along with the rest of the legendary monsters.”

“So did the seal wear off or something?”

Ellie looked troubled by the question, and her brows furrowed in doubt. “Mm, well I don’t want to believe something like that is possible. The seals were made by some of the best mages of their time. Even the Association didn’t think they could just wear off on their own.”

“But if that’s not the case, there’s only one other possibility isn’t there?”

“That’s…” Ellie paused, looking even more troubled. Micah understood why though, and now also understood why the Hero Association was so wary of the situation.

“So someone intentionally undid the seal. That’s a pretty scary thought.”

“I know. The Association even thinks it was done by a Zaothern Hero, which is why my team’s purpose is to assist the local Heroes rather than taking charge of the situation, and also why we’re comprised of members of different nations. But since we don’t know the culprit’s motives or identity, we were instructed to secretly investigate the locals leading the response efforts before resealing [Baphomet].”

“What? At a time like this?” Micah gave her an incredulous look. What Ellie was saying was that her team was basically told to do nothing and watch the situation while waiting for the culprit to reveal themselves. It wasn’t the worst idea in the world if their goal was to prevent this kind of thing from happening again, but from the perspective of the villagers being left to fend for themselves it was extremely cruel—especially for a group calling themselves “heroes”.

Ellie seemed to agree with her, and she nearly fell over with how quickly she sat up and slammed her fists against her thighs. “Right?! Every day we spend waiting in Jochen, more and more people are being hurt by these monsters! The members of my team don’t seem happy with the situation either, but nobody listened to me when I said we should go against our orders and do the right thing. That’s why I had to go by myself in the end.”

“Wait, so… The reason you’re out here all alone is…”

Ellie nodded, smiling proudly. “Mhm! I’m gonna go and reseal [Baphomet]! Well first I have to find it though…”

“H-Hold on…!” Micah suddenly found herself sitting more upright as well. “But didn’t you just say that these legendary monsters were insanely powerful? That most demons couldn’t even compare?!”

“Yeah, why?”

“Y-You…”

Micah couldn’t even form a response to her questioning look. Was this girl alright in the head? She didn’t look any more than a year or two older than herself, but she planned to go and fight something called a legendary monster all by herself?

Seemingly picking up on her thoughts, Ellie’s proud expression returned, and she crossed her arms confidently. “Hmhm~! You’re worried about me, aren’t you Mariel? Well don’t worry! I may not look like it, but I’m actually pretty strong, you know!”

Even if you say that… There’s no way I can believe you can do what the strongest mages in the world could barely do…

But Micah found it hard to voice those thoughts, and instead watched quietly as Ellie stood up. “Ah, speaking of that, I better get going! I had a good rest here, but I shouldn’t waste any more time if I want to find [Baphomet] quickly.”

“Y-You’re going now?” Micah asked hesitantly as the girl happily trotted over to retrieve her sword.

“Yup! But you should keep on resting. Your injuries are mostly taken care of, so if you just wait a bit longer my team should have noticed I was gone and set out after me. Make sure you hide if any monsters show up, and tell them what happened to you so they can take you to a safe place.”

Ellie’s expression never changed even as she hefted the massive sword onto her back with ease and gathered up some supplies in preparation to leave. Rather, she looked somewhat excited, likely content with the idea that she’ll be acting as a true Hero would and proactively deal with the threat at hand.

But it seemed like she really wasn’t considering the potential, or rather, highly likely danger of the situation. Was it because she really had the strength to deal with it? Or was it just childish naivety and overconfidence?

And why was Micah getting so anxious watching her like this?

“Okie-dokie! All packed up and ready to go. See you later, Mariel! When I get back, I’ll tell you all about the awesome battle I had with [Baphomet], so let’s be friends okay?”

“Ah… O-Okay…”

Ellie waved her arm in a large arc above her head while grinning from ear to ear, then turned to begin walking across the forest trail towards the gathering of trees on the other side.

…

…

What was the right move here?

Staying put at the camp until more Heroes arrived was obviously out of the question, so the only choice was to head back on her own once Ellie was gone.

Right now, her back was getting smaller and smaller as she continued walking away.

In just a few seconds, she would disappear into the treeline.

What would happen to her after that?

Would she come back?

Would she be gone forever?

She could get surrounded by monsters just like Micah herself had.

But she said she was strong right? Plus she was an aspiring Hero. Monsters probably wouldn’t be an issue for her.

She could search for weeks on end without finding anything, and eventually run out of food and starve.

But she seems pretty resourceful, so that doesn’t seem like it’d be much of an issue…

But what about [Baphomet]? Could one young girl really do the impossible and defeat a legendary monster all by herself?

“O-Oh, is that it?” Ellie’s frantically waving arms slackened, and she let out a long sigh of relief. “Well, I’m sorry anyway. For what it’s worth, I’m probably also making my family worry by being out by myself like this. Which is why I have to get my business done quickly and get back too.”

Wait… her family? Don’t tell me, the members of her team…

…

…

“Agh, jeez…!” A frustrated noise escaped Micah’s lips as she suddenly grabbed at her hair.

Even though she knew this wasn’t her responsibility and that this could potentially come back to bite her, even though Ellie had full confidence in her ability to defeat [Baphomet] on her own and generally didn’t seem all that incapable of handling herself, the idea that such a kindhearted and positive girl could die if Micah did nothing here caused her to stand and start running.

“Wait!”

“Eh?” Ellie stopped and turned around as Micah called out to her. With a puzzled expression, she waited until Micah caught up to her. “What’s wrong, Mariel? Aww, did you want to tell me not to go ‘cause you’re still worried~? I’m telling you, I’ll be fine-”

“I… I’ll go with you.”

“...” Ellie went quiet at Micah’s muttered declaration spoken with her gaze averted. She stared silently with slightly wide eyes for a few moments before opening her mouth. “H-Huh? Really?”

“Y-Yeah. Really.” Micah still kept her gaze to the side, somehow unable to look the girl in the eyes. “I may not look like it but… I’m pretty strong too.”

Setting aside the risks, there were also benefits to joining Ellie’s crusade as well, such as the potential experience boost to [God’s Blessing] from seeing, fighting, and helping to seal something known as a legendary monster. Plus if she somehow managed to keep her cover, having an ally linked to the Hero Association could provide its own benefits as well. All in all, though it was a pretty risky venture, this was an opportunity she couldn’t really pass up.

Not to mention…

“No matter what reasons anyone has, whether it’s to hurt someone or protect someone, violence shouldn’t be okay. The power to hurt and to kill people… it should never be okay. It’s because such an awful power exists that this world has become so rotten, and that children like you—children like my daughter—have to suffer for it.”

Talahanan’s words were still fresh in Micah’s mind. She still believed the man was a fool, and that his pacifist ideology that he couldn’t even back up in the end was also incredibly foolish.

But… even so… If only to make up for destroying the man’s family, she wanted to honor those words just this one time, and erase the thing that possessed the greatest measure of the power to hurt people—the cause of this whole mess, [Baphomet].

If she could do that; if she could put an end to the suffering caused by these monsters… then maybe he'll be comforted a bit in whatever new world he’d been taken to by God.

That would be her final reciprocation to him.

Ellie’s silence continued, and Micah figured it would take a bit more than what she’d said to convince the older girl to let her tag along. However, while she considered what she should say…

“Okay, sure!”

“E-Eh?”

Unexpectedly, Ellie pressed her palms together and her expression practically erupted with joy. “I actually had a feeling you were pretty strong! I mean, your wounds didn’t all look like they were caused by the monsters I found you with, so you must’ve been fighting pretty hard for your village before then. Still, I didn’t think you’d actually want to come with me!”

“I-I see...” Micah found herself once again at a loss for words as Ellie took one of her hands in both of her own and shook wildly.

“Let’s seriously be friends, okay Mariel? We’ll travel together, protect each other, find [Baphomet] and deal with it once and for all to save the Zaothern villages! I don’t know how long we’ll be journeying for, but please treat me well!”

…Was this girl really alright in the head?