“One, two, one, two… my, my. It's only been one lap and you're exhausted already? Come on! You still have two more to go."

“Ha… shatap! Ha… don't you have any mercy?”

"No."

"Cruel rabbit..."

Summer is approaching, making the outside air sweltering. In such conditions, a fragile little girl was urged to exercise rigorously.

Erm, to be fair, most of what she does consists of light training such as running, push-ups, sit-ups, and so on. However, for someone who had barely moved since birth, these exercises were extremely exhausting.

"Ah! Give up! Clara gave up!” 

"What a pain in the ass...”

“Ha… in the first place, why does Clara, a MA-Gi-CIAN, need to master martial arts?!"

“Here we go again… is this magnificent Raph supposed to tell you over and over again?"

"Yes, please."

"You will die, dummy! Don't talk about slaying monsters, even a mere wild boar can easily kill you!"

"Ahh! Why again does Clara need to embark on an adventure? The outside world is scary. Clara wants to sleep under her warm bed, forever…"

"Th-this brat… Don't ever change your mind after making a contract with me! Now, get off your lazy arse!"

A week ago, a rabbit-like being, Raph, proposed a deal to Clara. Shortly, it was, "If you agree to go on a journey, this Raph will grant you, a miserable person, this! Tada! 

"What is this, you say? This is a manual about rebirth rituals. The name says it all. What you do is collect all the material and do the ritual! Not only will your abnormality be gone, but you will also be granted a very, very long life!

"Of course, it wouldn't be an easy task. What do you think?"

Tempted by the offer, Clara immediately accepted the deal.

As a bonus, Raph would also drill Clara until she is strong enough to explore the world on her own. However, for some strange reason, he doesn't bother to teach Clara's specialty, magic, and insists the girl master martial arts.

"Your magic talent is great. There's no need for me to teach you. However, if you want to survive in this world you need to be a bit rounded. That's why I focused on martial arts." That's what he says.

Regardless, Clara really, really hates physical activity.

"Listen, Clara. Your lack of power will cause you to feel helpless on several occasions in the future. Mark my words…"

****

Clara struggled to open her eyes. Her head felt dizzy. She remembered drinking a lot with brother bear, and then… What happened afterward? She couldn't remember. 

Did someone bring her to some suspicious place after she left unconscious? Hopefully not.

"Ugh."

The headache is so irritating. Luckily she wears a ring that can cure toxins. Her blurry vision began to clear up once the intoxication had dissipated.

After that, the first thing she realized was that her disguise had been exposed. Her two-layer disguise, makeup and illusion magic, had worn out. Maybe because of the alcohol.

This will be a lesson to be more careful in the future. Especially when she is still a young maiden. 

Put that aside, there are two things that are currently bothering her. 

First is that, right now, she is in someone's arms. That's right. A huge arm currently hugs her tightly.

'Di-did someone really brings me to a weird place!?' She freaked out. 

Clara wanted to scream, but a big hand immediately sealed her mouth.

"Mmpph! Mmpphh!"

"Ssstt! Be quiet!" A familiar voice whispered to her ears.

Clara immediately turned her head to see a big round face that she knew well, "Brother Bear?"

Clara calmed down and then she once again observed her surroundings. Most likely she is still at the Lauren, precisely behind the bar because in front of her is a rack full of wine. Moreover, the bar master and his son also snuggle not that far from them.

Bro Bear slowly let go of his hand. Clara then whispered, "Wh-what happened?"

Bernardi replied with a finger pointed across the bar. 

She got a bad feeling. 

It was because the second thing that bothered her right now is, the air was filled with the smell of blood. 

Clara nervously peeked behind the bar and then she saw something ridiculous. Bingo, her feeling was right.

Lauren was in a semi-destroyed state. Tables and chairs lay broken on the floor. On top of that were corpses lying with one thing in common, either they lost their hands, feet, or heads, or all of that. 

"Mmph!" Clara resisted the urge to vomit. 'What's going on?!'

Her attention quickly turns to a group of people surrounding someone with bloodstained appearance.

The bloodstained person still had a smirk even while surrounded. Maybe because he held hostages in his arms, or maybe he is just crazy, or both.

They are currently in the deadlock, ready to make a move at any moment. 

"What happened?" asked Clara.

Bernard replied, "There was a bang, and then that crazy bastard came in and started a massacre."

"What?"

It was so easy to understand yet so confusing. A bang? An asylum patient?

Nonetheless, they still need to get out of here as fast as possible.

Clara once again asked Bear bro, "What's now?" Which he answered with a shrug.

The situation is bad, but not the worst. There is just one enemy and almost ten people surround him. If this continues reinforcements might come by then, so time is on their side.

Moreover, that crazy bastard was injured so badly that maybe he would die because of blood loss. 

"If we can somehow save the hostage, perhaps-"

"No, that is not his hostage. That is his ammunition," Bernardi refuted.

"... Pardon?"

"They are his ammunition."

According to Bernardi, the crazy bastard had the ability to turn anything he touched into a bomb, including the human body.

"Is, isn't this bad?"

"Yeah, it is. But we don't have to beat him. As long as we escape, that is."

"Right. Escape…" Or they can wait until reinforcements arrive. "By the way, where are Carrado and your other sibling?"

"Verga had left before this chaos happened. As for Carrado… he is in the pile of corpses."

His answer shocked Clara entirely. In reflex, she rechecked the pile of corpses, but she couldn't locate Carrado's body anywhere...

It was just a few hours ago that they were still chatting, but now… he is gone.

Life is full of unpredictable events.

However, now is not the time to mourn. She needs to think of some strategy to get out of this situation.

Time goes by and both parties are still in the exact position as if the one who makes the first move would lose. 

"Why, why is there still no reinforcement!" Clara sighed.

With all this commotion why was the city guard still not here? Wasn't they a little incompetent? Clara became impatient.

Bernardi on the other hand had a stiff face. Somehow his appearance brings the little girl a bad feeling.

"About that... you see a pile of corpses right there?"

"Yeah?"

"That is our reinforcement."

"... Excuse me?"

Turns out the situation is worse than she predicted. 

In truth, The crazy bastard arrives with a bunch of pursuers but he had already wiped them out.

What makes the situation worse is that the conditions outside are also no less urgent, so perhaps there will be no reinforcements in the near future.

Clara swears to god she just drunk for an hour and she already missed so many big events.

"It's no good. What should we do...?"

For now, let's just hope she was wrong and the reinforcement was on the way.

However, hope is famous because it's never there when it's really needed.

Ten minutes later and still no sign of reinforcements coming. 

"It's hopeless!"

She imagined various plans in her head but all to no avail because she lacked information.

Clara already regrets her decision. Again, why is she sneaking in the middle of the night? In the first place, why did she even think to embark on an adventure?

The outside world is truly scary!

Father, mother, Clara doesn't want to meet you yet!

Ah! She wanted to cry but her tears wouldn't come out.

"Don't worry. No matter what happens, this Bernardi will ensure your safety!"

"Brother Bear…"

Bam!

Suddenly they heard a sound like a roof collapsing.

'What now?! Please give this fragile little girl a break!'

Clara and bro Bear once again peeked on the scene. To their surprise, the situation changed in their favor. The clashes had broken out. 

If Clara had to guess, it might be because a person launched a surprise attack from the upper floor but failed to finish him off. 

Nah, it might count as a success because a newly long wound opened in that crazy bastard's body. Moreover, the attack caused the crazy guy to lose his ammunition.

Regardless,

"He's strong…"

Clara already guessed before but, wasn't that guy too strong? With his condition, he was still able to match up with eleven people at once. 

Most of the reason was that his terrifying ability made people afraid of being too close to him.

"It's our chance," Bernardi whispered.

This is their only opportunity to escape. Bernard immediately took Clara, the pub owner, and his son to the entrance.

"Watch out!"

Somehow the crazy bastard still managed to throw a skull at them just as they were about to reach the entrance.

Seriously, why doesn't he leave them alone?

Bernardi prepared to take all of the damage alone but that's not needed. Clara crushed one of her earrings and released a premade spell from it.

Third-tier magic: Protect.

A thin white layer protects them from skull explosion. With this magic, they even can withstand an explosion that destroys the entire pub to ashes. It's a bit overkill but better than sorry. 

"Nice cover! … what's up?"

"Please wait for a moment... "

Since magic protection has some time left, Clara thought to vent a little of her frustration.

First, she closed her eyes while making a posture like she was praying. Then she visualized a blue spike in her head. Lastly, she chants a few lines of words. 

Ta-da!

Second-tier magic: Icicle, ready to launch!

Luckily they fought while keeping their distance from each other, so there's still plenty of room for her magic to attack.

"Eat this!"

The spike shot toward its target with astonishing speed, and then… there's no then. The crazy bastard can easily dodge Clara's magic.

"Ho-how…?"

"Don't worry. That is quite impressive for a child your age. It's just your opponent is a monster." Bernardi tries to cheer her up.

"Aahh!"

She doesn't let her frustration go but instead becomes even more frustrated.

Well, there's nothing she can do. It's better for her to quickly escape from this place.

Suddenly, the battlefield once again changed drastically.

From the pile of corpses, a body rises and strikes the crazy bastard in his blind spot. The blade successfully penetrated the crazy bastard's chest. The others didn't waste this opportunity and immediately attacked the criminals

"Wait, isn't that Carrado? Why is he still alive?"

"Who says he's dead?" Barnard answered with a smirk.

She had been tricked, backstabbed, and quite possibly…

Regardless, it is a good thing Carrado is still alive.

"It's over..."

"No, it's not."

Bernardi pulled Clara and others out of the pub. Just by then, another twist happened.

AAAaAaaAAaaaaAaAAA

Something like a banshee scream terrorizes everyone hearth on the Denia, shattered their mind apart. It is so terrifying that it makes babies cry and grown-up men pissed their pants.

Fortunately, the scream only lasts for a second. Otherwise, Mayor Darton may need to hold a mass funeral tomorrow.

Clara required some time before regaining her sanity.

"Wh-what the hell happened tonight!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"It's the worst."

Bernardi carried Clara, the owner, and his son then ran as far as possible.

As the fight at the pub continued, that deadly cry had definitely turned the tide. The slim hope of winning the battle was now extinguished.

That's right. Even if Carrado managed to thrust his blade into that crazy bastard, the chance of winning was still low. It's just how strong that bastard is. And now they don't have any chance.

Bernardi just hopes his brother can escape that hell alive.

Unfortunately, that's not how the world works.

"Wawawawawa…"

"... Fuck."

A few moments later the entire Lauren, a legendary pub in the commercial district, was blown up.