As I search whatever is surrounding me, I notice I'm on the same bridge where I got struck by that string of lightning...Or so I think because I don't remember this place being too quiet. On second thought, this place is quite similar. There's a river flowing fast underneath this bridge with several lighting poles lining within the railings of this bridge.

Back to my focus on where the heck that damn woman is, she surprises me by asking, "Are you looking for me?", to which her voice is coming from behind me. I turn around to face her, preparing my plan to slay her once and for all. Even if she has caught me off guard with her teleport ability, it's better than staying at that dungeon. I get myself ready to attack except I forgot one big thing...

"Ah! My sword! I forgot to bring it!"

"So? Are we done now, Plank? It's getting very late. I'm supposed to have dinner with Sensei..."

"Enough! This is not dinner time! It's battle time! Guess I've to use my fists to punch you until you cough too much!"

"You know you can use your legs, Plank. Then again, I guess there's no existence of martial arts training in Branshire."

"Wha...martial? Well whatever! Are you ready or not, Demon Princess?!"

As I'm about to lunge at her, I heard a high-pitched voice. A young kid is shouting for help. We try to find where that voice is coming from. When we do spot the kid, it's a boy and believe it or not... it's Atsushi.

The reason how I'm able to identify him is that he's still wearing the same clothes since his encounter with me. A crimson shirt and short, beige pants. I run towards the railing so that I can bend down and look closer. When I do, I gasp in horror for I'm witnessing Atsushi trying to save a puppy that's sitting on a big rock right in the middle of the river.

I remember him saying that he's looking for his friend's puppy and that the puppy in front of him is the one. As he stretches his left hand to grab the puppy, the river looks like it's beginning to flow heavier and faster...

Wait. There's no thunderstorm so why...

Suddenly, the ground is shaking that even Purple Lady over here is caught off guard. The next scary thing happens...a scream belonging to a monster.

Then, it appears as a tempest, forming and showing up several steps away from Atsushi. When the dusty wind coming from it almost blinds him, Atsushi is stunned to see whatever is in front of his sight that he loses his footing, falling into the rapid river.

It happens so fast that I got myself worried about him as I search for him. Fortunately, he can swim as he struggles to keep himself afloat. Coincidentally, the puppy jumps off the rock and swims towards Atsushi. The kid gets a good hold of it, but then, the monster screams again.

As soon as that cloud of dust has finally dispersed, I am able to see the full appearance of the monster. It looks terrifying. No. In fact, I recognize the monster somehow for I know what it's called in Branshire. A stone-made creature standing at around three times my height. BUT... instead of stone, the creature is entirely made of gleaming blueish ice with its eyes and mouth glowing a bright dark blue inside of them. I don't want to believe, but this creature is the rarest of its species...

"Eis-Golem...But why..."

"What's your plan, Plank?"

"Huh?! This isn't the time to ask your stupid question!"

Without thinking of the consequences of charging without a plan, I'm going to save Atsushi. I stretch out my right hand to summon my Levitation Shield. I intend to use it to get from this high up to down below where Atsushi is seen holding onto an edge of the riverside; the puppy is cuddled up in his left arm. But as I'm about to hop on my transport, something is pulling me back. No. Something is forcing me to stay still. I turn around what's holding me back literally. It turns out nobody and not even the Demon Princess is doing it. However, I eventually find the source...only to see my shadow is being held by a short-looking shadow. This can only mean one thing.

"Hey, woman! What do you think you're..."

"Schatten-Richter. A rare soul-like judger I've found from Blackshore Forest. I didn't expect it'll be of use until now. It'll be holding you back until everything is over."

"Wait, wait! I don't know why you're doing this, but I've to save that kid..."

"Then, it's gonna hold you until the kid is dead."

"Wha...stop joking around, you damn demon! That kid is in danger..."

"If that's the case, why didn't you save any in Branshire?"

That last sentence nearly makes me feel conflicted. I fight back with my words of questioning to her.

"That's enough of crap, woman! Whatever you saying won't make me hesitate to save one kid. And that's where I'm heading now."

"The day I met you."

"Huh? What about it?"

"You just finished attacking the Regular Golems somewhere in Greenshore Forest. Once they're destroyed, you were on your way back to Tolldon. Along that rocky road, a small village called Vesutoa has vanished. No. It was SWALLOWED by something."

"Vesutoa...wait...what are you..."

"The whole village is gone for good. Right before that moment, you were invited to stay, but then you ignore and told them this:"

"I've got an important mission to do, so I'm not staying with you lot."

That time...I lied. Instead, I went straight to that pub where eventually I met...It can't be...that village...

I don't know if it's that monster's Aura is making the air feel colder or my own where I'm feeling guilt all of a sudden. I deny that kind of feeling is stuck in my conscience because I don't want those past memories coming back at this awful moment. And yet, I keep on going, having this awful-feeling conversation with her even if I'm about to break down unexpectedly soon...

"What does that...have to do with Atsushi's need for...help?"

"Saving when it's necessary isn't like you, Plank. Of course you didn't know that other Demon General was going to attack that village. Likewise, you wouldn't be able to defeat..."

"LIKE I ASK! WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ATSUSHI?!"

"Isn't your belief that you only save people who'll give you benefits in the end?"

My body freezes not because of the damn shadow holding back my own, but because she's right about me. About my own qualification. About why I keep on saying I'm worthy to be Branshire's Hero. She's right about why I save people. I only have to save those who are able to give back what they have to me. I must believe that because...

Darn it! Flashbacks of my dad are coming back...and they're unpleasant memories. The one where those bastards, who tricked him into saving those goods...is the worst of them all. Because after that incident, my dad started drinking every single night...

"Hey, Plank."

She calls me. I'm unable to get angry at her for I feel heaviness in my heart right now...I look at her purple eyes and somehow they're glaring, but at the same time, they're staring at me with a pitiful feeling.

"Do you want to know how a human like you can kill a monster like me?"

As I stare at Atsushi's struggle to get himself and the puppy on dry land, the Demon Princess says this sentence with coldness and without kindness in her voice.

"To kill me, you must not be a hypocrite."