I was drained. My entire body felt like lead, and my mana kept spluttering out. Was it the aftermath of trying to save Norn? Forcibly overclocking to keep Stella safe?

I wasn't sure, but I couldn't move. Couldn't see, hear, sense anything at all.

...No. That wasn't right. I could still hear.

It was raining. Water droplets splashed against the walls of the tower I made. Not only that, but I could hear Stella babbling.

Thankfully, she wasn't crying.

So it was fine if I rested a bit more-

"So there were living beings in this tower after all."

My eyes snapped open.

There was someone standing there. A looming figure clutching a gleaming spear.

Stella started to cry.

Hearing that, I mustered what little mana I had and forced my body up, using the wall as leverage. After that, I quickly staggered to stand in front of Stella's bed and glared at the intruder.

...Dangerous. I could intuitively sense that the figure standing there was someone at least as strong as Dad. Maybe not as ridiculous in terms of improvising, but there was a battle-honed and confident aura radiating off the figure that could only come from countless life and death battles.

Not only that, but I could vaguely see weird mana emanating from him.

My vision was still messed up. My right eye was completely dark, and my left eye was blurring things together. But I could see that there were a few different types of mana swirling around him. One was an eerie bright shade of green that seemed to be around his entire body. Another was a piercing red mana floating somewhere around the figure's head. And the last was a familiar white mist shrouding that red mana... No. It seemed to be floating around like a wig?

Why was-

No. Focus.

"Who are you?"

I was in bad shape, so I had to buy time.

The figure stepped forward.

I grit my teeth and wracked my head.

Stella was still crying.

My body... I didn't have any physical wounds. Right. It was all a result of overusing mana.

Still, doing that took a physical toll and I felt so *empty.*

But my body was fine. The only thing wrong with me was my right eye, but if I focused... Yes. My other senses were working. And mana... I didn't have any. But there was a lot of ambient mana here that seemed easy to manipulate.

The figure took another step forward.

I glared at him and slowly shifted my stance. Left hand out in a fist. Right hand held loose at my right waist. Right foot back, left foot forward...

Dammit. I should have kept up my habit of wearing my wand and my new sword.

Still.

"I'm warning you." I looked into the figure's eyes... At least, what I thought were his eyes. The darkness and my blurred vision didn't let me see much. Still, I looked at him and said, "I don't care who or what you are, you won't hurt my sister."

The figure... No. It was definitely a man now that he got closer. One with a well-honed body and tribal clothing.

The man looked at me and said, "Are you not afraid?"

Stella cried harder.

I wanted to look back and comfort her, but I didn't dare risk it. Instead, I kept staring at the man and said, "It doesn't matter if I'm afraid. You won't hurt my sister. No matter how powerful you seem or how sharp that spear is, you're going to be in for a big surprise if you think that I'll let you touch even a single hair on my sister's body."

A long monologue. A seemingly brave speech. But in actuality, I was stalling.

My mana was still tapped out, but I was managing to draw in some ambient mana to use. Enough for... an Advanced-ranked spell?

Damn. This was what most magicians used? This piddling amount?

Argh, whatever.

I couldn't cast any destructive spells, but mana was mana. I'd just have to make up for it with logic, faith, and imagery.

And right now...

There wasn't enough for a sword. Or even to cover my hand for reinforcing it.

But there was enough to make a thin strand. One just about the length of my hand.

If I reinforced that, made it like piano wire...

"...So the world has changed to the point that even young children must become warriors." A tired and heavy tone of voice. One that seemed to carry genuine remorse.

I blinked.

Was it a ruse? That guy had Being W's mana on him, so it was suspicious. And the timing was too coincidental. But...

The man threw his spear behind him, letting it clatter against the floor. At the same time, he took a few steps back and held up his hands. "I mean you no harm."

"...Sure. And I'm god."

A snippy response. One that I reflexively said. 

Dammit. Dad was definitely a bad influence. 

Thankfully, it didn't seem to bother the guy. Even so, I kept staring at the man, observing him. He might be unarmed, but at this distance...

He shifted his head, looking past me. "Will you not tend to your sister?"

"...Are you going to attack?"

Stella was still crying, but I couldn't lower my guard. Not while I was still recovering.

I continued to draw in ambient mana just in case, but...

"Have you been separated from your family?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

Before I could answer, the man nodded and said, "You must have been if you two are alone in this dark tower. And Human children, this far from home..." The man trailed off and looked at me one more time.

I tensed.

But then the man spun around and left. Grabbing his spear, he walked down the stairs in the tower and vanished.

I waited a bit to make sure he wasn't just tricking me. But after seeing his blob of color move away from the tower, I let out a sigh of relief. After that, I quickly turned around to pick up Stella.

"Sorry, Stella."

My baby sister sniffed and then snuggled her face into my chest.

I carefully held her in my arms and then sat down against the wall.

"What a mess..."

I couldn't make out her face. Right now, Stella just looked like a blob with faint wisps of silver and gold flickering around.

Dammit. That Being W got me good...

But I couldn't dwell on that.

Live and learn. I'd have to account for that later.

But right now...

I forced a smile and gently patted Stella. "There, there. Everything's alright, Stella. Big bro won't let you get hurt."

Stella sniffed. At the same time, I felt my shirt get wet. Tears from Stella's face.

Was she about to cry again?

That wasn't good.

We were in the clear with that weird guy, but if this place had monsters...

"Don't cry, Stella. Um. Let's see..."

Singing worked last time. And Stella seemed to like the sound of Japanese, so...

What other songs did I remember?

...Nothing but Anime songs.

Damn. Were there any others that sounded like lullabies...?

Ah. Right. There was that. The lyrics were a bit dark, but the tone of the song and the melody should be soothing. So...

I shifted Stella to make her more comfortable and smiled. "Big Bro... No, Onii-chan will sing you another song, alright? It's probably not that good, but..."

I closed my eyes and started to sing.

-LIV-

*Mou anata kara aisareru kotomo...*

A lonely and sorrowful song, barely audible beneath the rain.

Ruijerd leaned against his spear and listened to it.

A melody sung in a language that Ruijerd didn't understand. Even so, the lonely emotions within it were clear despite that.

"A pair of unfortunate human children... And one that appears to be a newborn infant..." Ruijerd glanced back at the tower and then looked out at the surroundings.

It was different. Though day, dark clouds had gathered to rain over a land that had not had rain in countless years. More than that, the familiar barren wasteland had been changed into lush grassland.

But only a portion.

As Ruijerd swept his gaze across the surroundings, he saw more oddities.

A section of the ground with foreign trees. Another section that seemed like a portion of a mountain had been scooped out and dropped onto the ground. A glistening azure pond.

It wasn't everywhere. In fact, it seemed to be localized around the tower where those children took shelter. Further out, the terrain was the same as always: an arid wasteland.

Not only that, but at that arid wasteland, the rain suddenly cut off, as if clearly marking a barrier.

In total, a strange distortion in both the weather and land.

Ruijerd narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Is this Laplace's doing...?"

Such drastic changes could only come from such a powerful being. And yet...

Roars in the distance.

Ruijerd looked over and saw unfamiliar monsters moving towards the tower. Powerful creatures that even seasoned human adventurers would struggle with, let alone a child and an infant.

The Supard warrior pulled his spear out of the ground and then scanned the surroundings with his third eye. As he did, he thought back to the child in the tower. The young human boy with silver hair and bloodstained eyes.

"...He was strange."

The child had stared at him without a shred of fear. Tension, but not fear. Instead, it had been the resolve of someone willing to throw their life away to cut down the enemy in front of him.

A warrior's mindset. Admirable. And from his hair, it seemed he was a formidable magician... Or at least had talent in magic to have suffered mana strain.

But even so, a child could not protect a newborn on his own. Especially not against these approaching monsters.

So.

"...What warrior would leave children to die like this?"

Ruijerd had many questions for the children. And he had many concerns as well.

But for now, he would hunt.