Anaheim stared at Khrx with a wry smile on her face. His head had enlarged to the size of a dragon’s and swallowed the two dead cows in a single bite. If he could eat them like that, then why did she even bother butchering the first one?

Khrx’s head shrank back to its regular size, but his stomach bloated like a balloon. He exhaled and rubbed his bulging stomach as he leaned back in his seat. “Cows are amazing,” he murmured and closed his eyes, his tail drifting back and forth along the ground. “So much mana and meat.”

Anaheim shook her head. She went to Khrx’s side and played with his ears. They reminded her of the pet jaguar she had acquired when her mother had abandoned her in the Azamon Jungle in Zabril. “Aren’t you going to tell me what happened to you? Luke kept pestering me to watch over you.”

“You met Luke?” Khrx asked, opening one eye. He closed it again as he exhaled, leaning back in his seat even further. His legs jutted out as his head slid down the backrest.

“Mm.” Anaheim lifted his legs and placed another seat underneath them to prevent Khrx from falling. “But what happened to you? Who was that woman?”

Khrx told Anaheim about his experience in the underworld, his stomach deflating while doing so. By the time he had finished his story, he finished digesting the poor cows. He glanced at Anaheim. “Do you know why Luke tricked me into dying with that command prompt?”

“He wanted to play the game with you,” Anaheim said. “He built an altar that lets guild members respawn inside as long as no one is attacking the guild. He said it’d be faster if you died and spawned.”

“I knew Luke wouldn’t kill me without a reason, but I don’t like him killing me,” Khrx said with a snort. “He has to be punished! Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“[Resolution]. Duh.”

***

Lorin flew over a small town with the sun shining down on her glossy black wings. The level of activity within the town caused her to raise an eyebrow. Hadn’t she wiped this place off the face of the earth last week? How did it become occupied again so soon? She shrugged. Well, she wasn’t going to question her good fortune. Perhaps her luck had something to do with being Khrx’s companion.

“She’s here!” a voice shouted from down below.

Lorin grinned as she flapped her wings once, a feather coming loose. As it fell down, it expanded, growing larger and larger until it was the size of the town. It covered the roofs and walls of the buildings, the feather’s barbs acting like a sticky web. Shouts and screams rose up, and Lorin’s grin widened upon hearing them. “I send these offerings to the Sun God. May he burn ever brightly!” Lightning crackled around her as she channeled a spell she had stolen from Monika. “Lightning Storm!”

Dark clouds gathered below her, forming a man’s face. The man opened his mouth and roared, causing lightning to rain down like spittle. The feather was set ablaze as the yellow bolts struck and pierced it, raining down on the people who were in the streets. The buildings caught fire and the town walls burned down, black smoke and ash flowing up into the air. A familiar feeling surged around Lorin, causing her to shudder. She closed her eyes and hugged her shoulders until the feeling passed. Her stats had increased again. The penalty from her title had disappeared a while ago; in fact, she was stronger than the first time she had met Khrx.

Lorin hummed to herself as the black clouds dispersed. She sat cross-legged in the air, waiting for the fire to burn out while keeping an eye on the entrances and exits. The screams had stopped or had been drowned out by the crackling of the flames, but Lorin still waited. The ones who survived her initial salvo, those were the special ones she’d steal skills from. She hoped there’d be at least two or three. She had to get stronger, strong enough to barge through the underworld to save Khrx. It didn’t matter how many people had to die; they all revived after all. And her feelings of guilt and morality…, she had thrown those away with the bodies of her previous companions. Quality over quantity, she’d become the strongest.

A section of the flames stopped moving. A second later, they flickered out of existence, replaced by a layer of ice. Lorin’s eyes narrowed, and she drew her sword and shield—high quality items she had plundered from a caravan. Her wings pressed against her sides as she plummeted towards the layer of ice. Her sword glowed red, then orange, then yellow. While channeling the skill she had stolen from a Rutkish warrior, she shouted, “Barrier Crusher!”

The tip of her sword collided with the layer of ice. The ice cracked, then shattered into millions of tiny crystals, revealing the building it was guarding from the flames. Lorin’s shield turned green as she extended it towards the roof, blocking her face. The faint image of a rhinoceros appeared around her body, its horn at her shield. “Shield Crash!”

The building screamed with a chorus of splintering wood and crashing timber as Lorin pierced through the roof. A group of people shouted as planks and shingles fell onto their heads. Before they could react, Lorin spun around with her sword outstretched. A beam of light extended from the sword, slinging through the room like a whip. The light passed through everything it touched, leaving behind faint lines. Blood flew into the air as armor, skin, and flesh alike were separated. The mangled bodies fell to the ground, leaving behind one wizened man wearing blue robes.

“Ice Cage!” the man shouted as Lorin’s skill ended, her sword no longer emitting light.

Lorin raised her sword as tendrils of ice rose up around her, creating a birdcage-like structure in an instant. Lorin’s sword swung downwards, shattering the ice in front of her. She stepped over the broken pieces and flicked her wrist. Her sword flew out of her hand and stabbed into the man’s shoulder, nailing him against what remained of the wall. Flames billowed into the room, casting a red hue on Lorin’s body.

The man screamed as Lorin approached. He grabbed the hilt of the blade and tried to pull it out but couldn’t. “Monster, remember my name! I am Draziw Dloc of Sursia. I’ll rip your head off with my bare hands one day, just you wait! Logout!” The man’s eyes glazed over as he slumped backwards.

Lorin pierced her hand into his chest, grabbing onto his heart. “What’s mine is mine. What’s yours is mine. Everything I desire belongs to me.” Her hand clenched down, causing the man’s heart to burst. “Appropriate!”

Lorin licked her lips as knowledge of new skills flooded her mind. She wrenched a bloody pulp out of the man’s chest and tossed it aside before retrieving her sword. She flew up into the air, accompanied by smoke and ashes, her skin stained with soot. She sheathed her sword and cleaned the blood off of her hands with her skirt. Another set of skills, another step closer to saving Khrx. Today was a good day. It wouldn’t be long until…. A warm feeling formed in her chest and tears involuntarily came to her eyes. She stared off into the distance towards Luke’s city. “Khrx?”

***

Awakening Cycle 1,072,362: Day Unknown but I’ll call it 20.

Dear Diary,

I always thought Fufu would be the craziest woman in my life—she ate a moon and destroyed a continent after all. But now, I realize she might have some competition.

Anaheim is an undying hero. She’s not really crazy, but I can tell she’s not right in the head either. There’s these little things about her. Like how efficiently she can butcher a cow. Oh! I have to tell you about the cows later, but let me finish my train of thought first.

Then there’s Theda. Theda turned the remaining moon into her mana vessel and declared she was going to usurp this world’s afterlife. I wasn’t even aware our world had an afterlife, but Theda said she could sense it. I wonder if she’ll meet Sneksnek and Tsorfy.

And there’s also Lorin…. Lorin’s probably the sanest of them all, but she has some little issues. Like she wipes her wet hands on her skirt instead of with a towel and her food can kill people. But she’s levelheaded and stable otherwise.

I don’t miss Fufu as much these days, but I’m still trying my best to bring her back.

Love,

Khrx