Some time after the sun had touched their cave, they prepared to leave. They had their weapons, their shabby combat armors. Considering that they were going out, they weren't choosy about whom to bring with them. Adults or children must contribute in one way or another. Of course the boys had to be more focused on fighting, thus they were to bring young ones with them. Not a strange thing, they often bring young boys out for them to gain experience and learn.

In this dangerous place, even children must fight.

"Stay safe," Chio said gently as she gave Kinzo a hug.

"Yeah. We'll be back later this afternoon. With the water."

Chio nodded with a smile. Kinzo glanced at the tent, he wanted to see his child for a bit, but regrettably, he was still deep asleep. He wouldn't want to wake him up. He was kind of sensitive to noises, and no one would want him to start crying. Kinzo moved on and joined up with the group.

He patted Soshu on the head. "Soshu, you good?"

"Yeah." He brandished his short sword. Well, considering his small stature, it looked like the average sword on him.

Maro stood in front of the crowd. "Looks like everyone's ready. Then, let's get going." He turned to the rest of the adults and children that were left. "Keep our home safe."

"Sure!"

"You can count on us."

"You all better come back whole!"

After giving each other assurances, Kinzo and the others moved out of the cave. Kinzo glanced up at the clear sky, it was looking to be a beautiful day. It was a good sign. Whatever happened last night, he hoped it was nothing, and it wouldn't disturb their lives. That was why they needed to at least check out what happened, and if it was safe. If it was too much for them to handle, they'd withdraw and leave it alone. If it was a powerful monster, then it was crucial they knew of its presence so they could prepare, just in case.

They scaled down the mountain without facing any monster. And they headed straight to the patch of woods. When they got closer, they became more careful, spreading out their members. They quietly walked through the woods and slowly made their way to where they found the bright flashes.

Eventually, the core group gathered and observed a surprising scene, hiding behind the trees. The area was damaged, the soil had signs of impact, trees were damaged, and there were what seemed to be corpses of monsters. They were charred, so it was hard to tell what they were exactly, but there seemed to be two dead creatures.

"What monster could that be?" Kinzo asked Maro.

"Who knows. There could be hundreds of monster species here. But that's not important right now, look at that."

Kinzo shifted his eyes and saw a young woman lying down on the side of a tree, her body covered in her cloak. She seemed to be deep in her sleep. She had strange white hair, nothing that he had ever seen before.

"A person? She alone?" Soshu chimed in from their side.

"It would appear so."

How is she even alone in this place?

"What are we going to do?" Soshu asked.

"Well, she's alone," Kinzo said. "With our number, we could certainly handle her. If she's someone dangerous. However…" Should they even interact with her in the first place?

"She looks rich, though," Soshu said.

"What's being rich has to do with it?" Kinzo was puzzled why he would bring it up.

"I mean, she might have a lot of money or something valuable. You could use that."

"Me? What are you talking about?"

"You're gonna need money when you're going to leave, right? A lot of them."

Kinzo was flabbergasted by his suggestion, but it was not really out of the question. Indeed, they would need money if he and his lover, and his child, were to leave for civilization. They found some money from their caravan, but it wasn't that much, and it was not like he should take all of them. It would be selfish of him to take all of it. Therefore, if that girl over there had money, or something valuable to sell, then it might be nice to have.

It might be a bit cruel to do that, but she was a stranger. Not part of their group. In this place, you must only trust and care for your own.

"Robbing her is secondary," Maro said. "For now, let's figure out what she's here for."

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"I mean, she could be running away or something," Kinzo said. "She might just be trying to survive."

"Could be, or she could be someone that could threaten us. Her presence here might mean there may be others. Like a group of raiders or bandits. Nothing is certain."

"So we figure out what she's here for first?" Kinzo asked for assurance.

"Yeah. But if we are to approach, we need to make sure she doesn't do anything dangerous. We need to keep her under control the moment she wakes up. We don't want needless confrontation."

Keeping a stranger under control was something they must do to keep everyone safe.

"What if she attempts to attack us immediately?"

"Hm."

"What about letting a kid like me approach her first?" Soshu said.

"Why would we do that?" Kinzo raised an eyebrow. "Putting yourself at risk."

"No, it might work," Maro said. "People don't just strike at a kid out of nowhere. They will get confused first. A kid is the least threatening thing you'll see. And people generally hesitate."

"Are you crazy?" Kinzo found it absurd to put Soshu in danger like that. They wouldn't know how things would go.

Soshu cockily grinned. "Come on, I can do it, Kinzo. I'm just gonna sneak up on her and point my sword at her face. Easy peasy."

Kinzo groaned, still hesitating about that idea.

But the kid merely held out his sword. "Trust me. Besides, I can fight, you know."

Kinzo let out a sigh. "Alright. Go."

With that permission, Soshu slowly approached the girl with the quietest steps he could take. Somehow, the girl wasn't able to detect him, she must not be so strong to not notice. Once the girl was within reach, Soshu slowly pointed his blade from behind and into her face.

It was at that moment that the girl moved. She moved so fast that Kinzo couldn't even follow nor react. And the next thing he saw was Soshu pressed on the ground, and a dagger pierced his neck.

"What…?"

Kinzo's mouth dropped open, he was in shock, in utter disbelief. He couldn't understand completely what had just happened. Everything seemed to slow down, and his eyes were fixed on Soshu with a blade in his throat. No one could react, no one could see it as it happened. It was all too sudden. Never could Kinzo imagine something like this could happen.

"No…"

Once reality had settled slightly, his heart raced, and his emotion flared. His chest felt like it was burning. Tears threatened to come out of his eyes.

Who is she?!

And things escalated quickly. He rushed into the open to confront the girl, all because of his intense emotions. He lost the clarity of his mind. As he conversed with her, his heart was filled with regret. The death of the kid he cared about dominated his mind. He shouldn't have let him do it. They should have approached this differently. He should have made another choice.

Soshu was still too young. Who would even kill a kid just like that? Without any second thought? This woman was a repulsive person. He didn't intend to kill her, but now, he must avenge Soshu. No matter what. He must. All reason had left his body and thoughts.

And this woman was strange, she seemed out of it. She looked terrible, drained. She looked weak. They were confident that they could take someone like her. However, it turned out that she was not alone. There was a little girl with her, roughly the same age as the other children.

At any rate, they must avenge the one they lost. A dear friend.

And they began fighting. Kinzo was skilled enough, not that skillful, but above average in their group. However, he couldn't keep up with how the young woman moved at all. She was too quick, and clever. No matter how much he swung his sword, he couldn't land a hit on her. And she didn't even use any kind of magic, at least, from what he could see. He never thought that someone so fragile looking could be so strong.

And his complacency resulted in his eye being pierced by a dagger. It was something he wasn't able to evade. It was impossible. And it was the most painful thing he had experienced, causing him to collapse to the ground. He didn't know what to do with this injury, the pain and the confusion, it all made him feel dizzy.

He looked around, and he watched his uncle Maro fight the young woman. However, he was pierced in the throat.

"U-Uncle…!" He couldn't believe it.

He was the most skillful in the group. He taught Kinzo how to fight, and the rest who didn't have the skill to do so. For him to die in that girl's hands was something Kinzo refused to believe. However, reality was cruel.

Why? Why is this happening?

He looked around, and he saw that the little girl that was with the young woman was killing the others as well. Her hands were like a monster's. What was she? What were they? Who was this woman?

Goddess…?

No, such a thing was absurd.

There are no gods here.

That was the truth. It should be. Not in this misbegotten land. How could a god exist in a place like this?

And then he watched the young woman slaughter more of the children that came with them. Young, precious kids. And she held no emotion in her eyes whatsoever, as she did such a heinous act. She never had a sign of hesitation. She was heartless.

Monster…

She was no goddess. She was a heartless monster.

And seeing how each of the children died in her hands, it broke his heart. He was filled with anger, resentment, and, most of all, regret. He begged for it all to stop.

Did I do something wrong?

Once her opponents had all died, the woman slowly approached Kinzo. Her eyes lacked any emotion. Just a deep pool of dark emptiness, she was just completely indifferent.

He resisted, but got stabbed in the heart as a result. A sharp pain erupted in his chest as the woman heartlessly twisted her blade inside his body.

"Now then, whose fault is it?" she said. "The death of your comrades. Mine… or yours?"

Whose fault was it, really? Was it all his fault?

Chio… Kyojie.

He didn't want it to end this way. He still had something to live for. For his family. For the future he wanted for them. Yes, inside, he wanted to really leave this place and find a better life. He wanted something better for his son. For Chio to be happy. Indeed, simple happiness. That was all. Such a thing was impossible to achieve in this place, mired with danger and death.

And yet, his dreams, his life, all too quickly were taken. Without a warning. No one here imagined they would die here, in this person's hands. Not him, not his friends. Was everything for naught?

I don't want to die.

But no matter what he wished, how much he wished, his fate was already certain. In the end, his life was insignificant. His death here was a result of a single mistake.

The mistake of meeting a wrathful goddess.

And he was made an example.

So, the death of his comrades, and those that were about to die. Who was really to blame? The goddess whose blade struck them? Or themselves?

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