The elf flew around the swordsman a couple of times, and then 'glued' to the sword.

“Wow! Is that a sword? You're really amazing. Why is it covered in crap? And why do you have an iron hand? Where'd you lose your eye? What else did they cut off?”

Guts tried to shake the elf off his sword, and when the elf flew away, he swung his weapon in an effort to slice the troublesome flyer in half, but the elf dodged it, making a loop in the air.

“Do you want to play?” - The elf squealed happily.

“What is this creature?” - Guts spoke to me, abandoning his unsuccessful attempts to catch or cut the little man with wings.

“Elf, he's your master now.” - I answered, smiling slyly. – “I give him the Philosopher's Stone.”

With those words I swiftly approached Guts and pushed the ruby into his armor pocket.

“Oh, old man, do you really want to separate with that?” - The elf was surprised, and froze in midair.

Guts frowned, stuck his sword into the ground, and pulled out a ruby. The bloody ruby gleamed ominously in the firelight.

“Yes, I think the new owner will need it more.”

“What is that thing?” - The swordsman frowned, glancing from the stone to me and back again.

“I told you. It's a Philosopher's Stone. If you swallow it, you will be immortal. All your wounds will be healed, and you'll get the power to kill demons without any effort at all.”

“And you're just going to give me a thing like that?” - Guts didn't believe it.

“It's not that simple. He comes as part of the deal.” - I nodded at the elf. – “And believe me, this exchange is equal ... Elf?”

“Yes-yes, he's my new master now. Besides, he's picked up the stone himself, so it's fair.”

“Well, I'll leave then.”

With these words I 'rushed into the night', and after only a few seconds I disappeared from sight of the astonished swordsman.

“What... what the fuck?” - Guts expressed his admiration of my scenic talent.

“Oh, you seem to know a lot about that.” - The elf nodded. Right now my Vritras crystal was inside the elf's body, so in fact I was the elf, and the unknown 'old man' had already turned into a formless filler of Vritras' body and was resting inside of the fuinjutsu seal space. – “But I guess I'll have to give you a little lesson, though. There are three kinds of fuck-ups: full, whatever, and whichever. What kind of fucked up stuff are you talking about now?”

Guts frowned even more, slipped the ruby back into his pocket, gripped his sword more comfortably, and tried to smack me down, but I easily dodged it.

“Hey, that's rude!” - I resented it. – “We haven't even properly met yet, and you're already trying to kill me. My name is Fuck. What's your name?”

Guts didn't answer my question. Instead, he gripped the sword with both hands and tried to get me again. I reacted by flying around his head and screaming in his ears.

“What's your name? Hey! Can you hear me? Hello? Are you deaf or what? Shit, did that old man give the stone to a deaf person? That's not even funny!”

“Get away from me, you little punk!” - The swordsman enraged, finally realizing the futility of his efforts to hit me.

“I'm not a punk!” - I was offended. – “My name is Fuck!” - I said proudly, hovering in front of my new companion's face.

Guts tried to grab me with his artificial left arm, but missed me again by just a few millimeters.

“You're oblique! You can't hit me. Is it because you have one eye? Or have you always been oblique, but since you have one eye, it is not obvious? In any case, can a one-eyed man be considered as oblique? Hey, can you hear me? Don't ignore His Grace the almighty Fuck! Are you aware that I know a thousand and eight catch-all songs? And tonight, you have a chance to learn at least a hundred of them. You didn't tell me your name, either. If that's the case, I'll call you angry hedgehog.”

“My name is Guts!” - The swordsman roared. While I chattered, he tried to grab me a few dozen times, but none of those attempts were successful.

“So you're not deaf?” - I was relieved. – “Why didn't you say so before. So, Guts, as I've explained, there are three kinds of fuck up shit: full, whatever, and whichever...”

“So this rock's the problem?” - Guts pulled out the Vritras crystal, which I handed him under the guise of a Philosopher's Stone. Without thinking for a second, he swung it around and tossed it into the bushes.

“Hey, hey, hey! That's priceless stuff! It gives immortality!” - I immediately rushed into the bushes and a second later brought the stone back. – “If you use it, you can enjoy my company forever! Besides, didn't you think you could get rid of me that easily?”

Guts growled softly. I dashed toward him, evaded his hand again, and shoved the ruby into his armor's pocket.

“Don't lose it, it's an important thing.” - I started another lecture. – “If you don't take care of your property, I'm gonna have to give you a lecture about environmental care. You know what the environment is, right? And what is ecology? And how is acid-alkaline balance different from water-salt balance?”

“Can you shut up?” - The swordsman couldn't stand the torture.

“Shut up? What do you mean? What do you mean, shut up? What and where do I have to shut up?”

“Shut your mouth!!!” - This scream of the soul echoed throughout the night forest, frightening even the demons.

“Mouth? How will I talk then?”

“You won't. Just shut up.”

“Just shut up?” - I was surprised. – “Hmmm. But if I don't talk, how am I supposed to warn you about the danger? I have to be sure you're okay and you're not in danger.”

“I'll feel much better if you keep quiet.”

“Oh...! Bug.” - I was offended, and then I flew away into the woods.

Guts sighed in relief, glanced around, and darted away as well, naively hoping to hide from me under the cover of night. Until dawn, he walked along the barely visible path in the light of the young moon. An ordinary man would have broken his legs long ago, but Guts was no longer an 'ordinary man. Now he was a half-spirit, because spiritual energy pulsed through his body from head to toe. Every time he killed a demon, the otherworldly creature's life energy poured into his body, giving him strength and restoring his health.

Because of this demonic energy, I couldn't simply yank his soul out of his body and move it into the Vritras crystal. Right now, both Guts's material and astral bodies represented something strange, and the invisible bonds emanating from the victim's mark braided every part of his body. Of course, part of the mark was also on his soul, but I didn't want to ruin the whole 'composition. Who knows, maybe Azatot needs all that demonic energy? So, my plan to 'amplify' Guts was a bit more complicated.

In the morning, when he emerged from the marshy forest, Guts found a dry spot and fell asleep for several hours, leaning his back against a tree. And when he awoke, the 'elf' was already happily flying around, carefully inspecting every item he owned, especially the sword.

“Good morning, angry hedgehog. How did you sleep?”

“You again!” - Guts growled, already believing he'd gotten rid of me.

“What do you mean again?” - I was surprised. – “I didn't leave. Today I slept well in the hood of your cloak. It's not only warm, it's also soft...”

Guts again attempted to catch me with his hand, and missed again. After that, he defiantly stopped paying attention to me, focused, and moved on. From time to time I 'entertained' my companion with monologues, which he studiously ignored. We walked this way until about four p.m., when a small town appeared in front of us.

Guts quickly found the local pub and went in to replenish the wine he'd been sipping since the morning to calm his frustrated nerves. On the road of the angry swordsman appeared a local alcoholic who had been beating up Isidro, the same boy I'd encountered immediately after my arrival in this world.

Seeing this abuse, Guts didn't hold back, but immediately punched the alcoholic in the face, removing the rest of his teeth and shards of jaw. The victim's associates tried to intervene on her behalf, and paid for it with their teeth. The swordsman's inhuman strength allowed him to guarantee the maiming and knocking out of a man with just one blow.

After resupply, Guts turned and headed out of the tavern. I flew toward another character in the main story of the world. It was a 'real' elf named Puck, who had been tied up with rope and used as a knife-throwing target by beaten bandits. Technically, this elf was a sylph - a spirit of the air. But unlike the simplest spirits, he could take human form, plus he had a mind. However, his mind was at the level of an eight year old child.

“Hey there, little fella!” - I called the elf. – “Looks like you need my help.” - My tone was full of superiority and smugness. – “Fine, I'll get you out of here, and in return you'll be my minion.”

“Who are you?” - Puck stared at me in a daze, forgetting the rope that bound him.

“I'm an elf!” - I said proudly, hovering in the air.

“What happened to your wings? They don't look like the wings of an elf.” - Sylph, who was not actually an elf, protested.

“What about my wings? I have the wings of a high elf.”

“High elf?” - My would-be minion slumped.

“Of course, the highest. Regular elves like you originated from dung flies, so your wings look like the wings of a fly. But high elves are originated from dragons, so my wings look like dragons' wings.”

“What?! From what flies?!” - Puck was furious, trying to lunge at me and tear me to shreds. But the rope around his neck stopped him just an inch away, preventing him from reaching me.