“We can’t! There has to be some way to stop this!” I try one more time to convince him as Perideen impatiently tugs on my arm. “Can’t you kill the Bloodfiend? Isn’t this what you came here to do?”

“Kill it? Unlikely. If there are already advanced variants like Infested Blood Rats around, then the nest is established. These rats are one of the worst kind of Blood Servant for me. Not fast, or strong, but they breed like all hell and only ranged fighters can safely take them on. I have a couple throwing knives, but it’s not enough. If the Secthead was here, she could stop this. But there’s no way I can fight my way through.” He stops trying to pull me away and goes to pick up his blue gemstone. The brilliant glowing surface has been chipped on one corner, ruining its beauty but it’s light is still strong. “Our best option is to get the hell out of the region. Once a few towns are wiped out, somebody will come.”

“Could we lock them in here? What if we just shut the door?” I ask. “Won’t they be stuck?”

“Not for long. I told you, these are advanced variants! They look dumb now, but the Bloodfiend controlling them is going to mature soon! Once it does, it can even compel the rats to commit suicide. The door to this place is thick, but they’ll blow through it soon enough, trust me.” Perideen scratches his head. “We need to go! More Blood Servants are going to come. We’re just too late…if we got here a few days earlier, there would have been time…”

A few days earlier?

Wait…isn’t this my fault then?

If I hadn’t forced Perideen to let me come along wouldn’t he have arrived in time?

FRICK FRICK FRICK!

“There’s no way? Absolutely no way to stop this? Are you sure?” I try one last time. At this, the assassin just rolls his eyes. However, at the last second, his eyes widen. I realize he’s staring at me. A sliver of hope blossoms in my chest, “Yes…you’re thinking of something. What is it? Do you have a way?”

“How badly do you want to save this town?” Perideen slowly breathes out. “Enough to stake your life on it?”

“I don’t care about Tosa, but I have a friend in Sines. No…I have family in Sines.” Closing my eyes, I set my shoulders. Perideen nods, seeing my determination. “Tell me what you’re thinking. Actually…wait, if it’s just a few people, could we make it back and evacuate them before the swarm breaks out of here. Is that an option?” Go back to get Natalia, Pisa, and Nadania out? Abandon Sines to the rats until reinforcements come from Ravenmore City? That…wouldn’t be bad. But her home…my home…I wouldn’t want to see it overrun. And those stupid villagers. Well, do I really care about them? Not really…

Abruptly, the image of Glacia’s face comes to mind. She frowns at me.

Sorry, Glacia. But if it’s my life or theirs, there’s really only one option.

I’m not a hero.

“You don’t understand the level of enemy we’re dealing with here.” Perideen sighs. “I assume you’re talking about that Demi-Cat and her family. Maybe her parents might be able to go fast enough since they’re adult Demi-Cats, but there’s no way a child can outrun an Infested Blood Rat swarm. It’s going to be tough just getting you out of here, if we make a detour in the direction of Sines, we’ll probably die too!”

Damn.

Could I leave Natalia to save my own skin?

ASFMIKAEMFKE

Why am I thinking again?

How is that even an option?

“There has to be some other way!” I think frantically. Every second, my blood pressure shoots up a little bit more as the walls of the Mausoleum press in around me. It’s like I’m being suffocated by the pounding in my head. The darkness doesn’t feel like home anymore. I hate this. “Please, think of something else!”

“You…” The assassin isn’t happy. He warily flicks his gaze around, searching the side tunnels to individual graves in case we’re being snuck up on. “Damnit, the Secthead didn’t tell me you were an idiot. There is no other way! We need to go!”

“Please! I…I…won’t leave her behind! I can’t…” That’s all I can say. Perideen’s hand trembles. He gives me a hard glare. I’m pretty sure he’s debating whether he can just grab me and drag me out of here. But when he sees the determined set of my shoulders, he gives up. I need to convince him to try! “Even if you go, I won’t!”

“Fine. There is one other way. But it’s incredibly risky. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what you want to do. Either we leave…” He rolls his eyes, but I can tell he’s being more serious than he’s ever been, right now. I frantically shake my head and he gets the message. “Ugh, I suppose it’s option two then. Listen closely, based on the fact that we haven’t seen anything but a couple rats so far, the Bloodfiend is probably still maturing somewhere. I’m guessing it’s not a human variant, but some sort of animal, else we would have seen signs of leadership. That means it’s mid-metamorphosis right now. Essentially, it’s likely stuck in a cocoon. Very hard to kill, but no offensive abilities. There’s a window of opportunity before it finishes developing, where a strong enough blow could pierce its defenses.”

“How strong? Can you do it?” I ask. Perideen shakes his head, pointing at his sword.

“Not strong enough. My sword isn’t sharp enough.” He explains. “On the other hand, that spell of yours…the Mudbomb or whatever…can you make it any bigger?”

Earthen Icebomb?

Can I make it more powerful?

If I didn’t hold back…I’m not sure how strong it could be.

Last time, I didn’t want to accidentally damage the house, but if I committed everything into making the biggest explosion possible…

“I can.” I declare confidently, seeing where this is going. “But I don’t know if it will be enough to break the Bloodfiend’s defenses.”

“It probably won’t be.” Perideen dashes my hopes. But then he continues, “However, it doesn’t need to. Until the Bloodfiend finishes growing, it will lack intelligence. The Infested Blood Rats around here will simply attack anything they encounter. If we were to lure them all to the location of the Bloodfiend and then detonate your spell…!” He opens his hand and blows out behind the bandana on his face while clicking his tongue.

*Pop Pop!*

“A chain reaction?”

“Exactly. But it needs to be big. They won't all pop at once otherwise.”

“How would we get out then?” I scratch my head. “Is this a suicide plan? If we try to leave before the Earthen Icebomb goes off, won’t the rats just follow us? If they aren’t next to the Bloodfiend, it’ll be pointless, right?”

“It would be…unless we seal them in.” Perideen reaches into his pocket. He withdraws a white kabuki mask, like Romy’s. However, this one is shaped like a dog. Holding it in his hand, he looks at me, “I know you have a spell that can create an ice barrier. The question is…do you have enough mana to seal them in and pull off the explosion?”

Do I have that much mana?

For that matter…can we even fight our way to the Bloodfiend?

Since I can’t see far enough ahead, going in now is the equivalent of walking in blind.

I’ve…always had a plan before.

Without one, I should run without question.

But…I can’t leave Natalia.

It’s not an option.

Am I going to let a few little rats trample over what’s precious to me?

Heh, like hell I am!

That’s something a normie would do.

Really though…

I wish my hands wouldn’t shake so much…

I’ve been trained by a mage and an assassin.

Shouldn’t I be tougher than this?

Ah damnit, I guess it’s time to stop running-

Let’s put all my cards on the table then!

“We’ll try it.” I force a ferocious grin onto my face behind the handkerchief. “I can’t guarantee the explosion will be big enough, but we might have one more…advantage.”

“Mmm?” Perideen is curious, his mask halfway to his face. He stops, and gives me another look. “And what is that?”

“The rats, you can’t attack them because some of them might explode. But not all of them will, right?”

“Only about one in ten. However, you saw what happens if you happen to meet the wrong one.” He replies. I nod.

“Listen to me. I think I can tell which ones will explode. If you’re about to attack one of them, I’ll warn you. But I can only give you a second to react. Do you understand?” I explain. His eyes widen.

“You…how can you know?”

“I…I just know. Just trust me.”

“Acolyte…are you sure?” Perideen becomes even more serious, if that was even possible. I’m asking a lot of him. Basically, forcing him to risk his life for my own reasons. But I always said I was a selfish person, right? Besides…this was his mission…

“I’m sure.”

“One hundred percent, sure?” He stares into my eyes, but before I can answer, he seems satisfied by what he sees. “Heh…can’t believe I’m saying this, but alright then. I’ll believe in your warnings.”

“You have to really try to attack them first. Start to throw a knife, pull back to swing your sword, the intent needs to be there. Or else I won’t know.” I may be revealing a bit too much of myself right now. However, now is not the time to quibble over the future and hidden secrets. The life of someone precious to me is on the line. I need to give this my all!

“Alright then, anything else I should know?” Perideen asks.

“Nothing. Let’s go!” I shake my head and point down the hallway. “I’ll conserve as much mana as I can, until the very end. Thank you for doing this! You’re really a hero!”

Always good to compliment someone in situations like this, right?

“Tch…Kid, you don’t need to lay it on so thick. I don’t give a damn about the town. If I wasn’t convinced that it’s impossible to get you out of here against your will, I’d have left the moment those Blood Rats appeared.” He puts on his dog mask and becomes a true Rainstopper assassin. A child and a masked hound pace through the dark corridors of the Mausoleum tonight. Though we bring light in our hands, the shadows press in deeply into our hearts. It seems…our journey will decide the lives of everyone in Tosa. But ironically, Perideen only cares about my life. And I only care about Natalia. But our reasons don’t matter.

Tonight, let’s pretend to be heroes!