Daniela’s voice shook as she screamed. I prayed that Beowulf would stay true to his promise as I smile at her. Then I close my eyes and wait for death.

Ahh, at least my second death would not involve sinking within that feeling of heat and coldness. There won’t be any pain if my body was instantly crushed by this giant foot. Now that I think about it, I had a much more lively time in this world than I ever did in the old one.

It was lonely working alone in a time without the sun.

It was fun talking with Daniela in a time with the sun.

It was hard greeting every morning with a tired body.

It was exciting greeting every night with a tired body.

But now I would die. How good would it be if I were to awake once again on that mist covered hill?

With such fanciful hopes in my chest, I waited for the final blow.

“Or not. I think that I have changed my mind.”

“?”
“?”

The weight on my chest lifted.

“What…? Aren’t you going to kill…?”

“I have told you, I had a change of heart.”

A change of heart. I see. Well, I guess that couldn’t be helped then.

“Bastard! I want my resolution bac…”

“Asagii!!!”

Daniela’s face was a tear-stained wreck as she wrapped her arms around me. I couldn’t see a thing as she covered me.

“Ah, I thought you were about to die…! Uuu…!”

“Daniela…”

She had cried so much on my behalf. I couldn’t help but feel happy. The trick was to hug girls at times like these. I say to myself, but my body does not move. The hit I had previously suffered still remained as damage.

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

“I will not say that you are stronger than me, but no one else has ever harmed me as much as you two have. It would be a waste to kill you.”

Beowulf had apparently been born within this forest territory. In some point in his long life, he had gone from being a forest wolf to a being Beowulf. He said that he did know the reason for this change… But regardless, not once in his long existence had he suffered so much as he had tonight.

“Not even when I fought against a wyvern. Well, they are the most simplistic creatures. Your attack was most surprising.”

“But this strategy could have been conceived by any human. There are many people in the world who are much stronger than me.”

“That may be so. But this place is all that I know. That is why I am considering going on a journey to train. I must search for one who is stronger than I.”

He said and then smiled. Somehow, that just made him even more frightening.

“Are you sure won’t kill me just to commemorate?”

“Do you want to die so much?”

“If you kill Asagi, I will kill you. Even if it is the last thing that I ever do.”

Daniela’s voice echoed in the quiet ruins.

“I enjoy living. Perhaps I’ve seen enough danger for one day.”

“Hmph…I do not know about that.”

Daniela glared hard at Beowulf, but then she took a step back when I tapped her on the shoulder.

“Well, if you say that you’re not going to kill me, I will gladly accept that. It would be very inconvenient for Daniela if I were to die here.”

“That is true.”

And so the battle with Beowulf ended. …at least, that seemed to be the case?

“Hahhh… I’m relieved, but so much more tired now.”

I exhaustedly looked up at the ceiling. It seemed that the previous blow from Beowulf had caused parts of the ceiling to collapse, letting the moonlight flood into the room. Perhaps the clouds had parted because the light seemed much brighter now.

Just then, a faint light shone through a fissure in the wall in the corner of the room. What was it? Was there a room on the other side? I leaned forward to get a closer look. Then Daniela raised her head.

“Asagi… What is it…?”

“…Look over there. There’s a light…”

“Hmm…so there is.”

We both look hard at the crack.

“Ah, I can break it down if you wish.”

Perhaps Beowulf was feeling considerate, he kicked a chunk of broken wall that was right next to my head with his leg. I hiss with surprise. I thought I was going to die.

The chunk of wall flies right into the fissure and with a thunderous crash, brings the wall to the ground. The once faint light combines with the light of the moon as it shines on us. My body was finally able to move again, and so I stood up to inspect what was on the other side.

Next Chapter