Chapter 208: Iron Will

  Prota took out her staff, staring Destiny down.

  For a moment, she was more curious than anything. She’d never properly fought the hero. They’d sparred, yes, but they had yet to fight with something of importance on the line. In that scenario, who would be the victor?

  “Are you stupid?” Anta yelled in her head. “It’s obviously you!”

  Prota was so surprised she almost fell over, as if Anta’s voice was a physical force that could push her around.

  “And is this guy an idiot? Who does he think he is? Seriously, you idiots with a saviour complex are going to be the end of me,” Anta continued to grumble. “It just doesn’t make sense. Why is he stopping you?”

  If she had known the answer, Prota might have said something, but truthfully, she had no clue.

  “Fine,” Anta sighed. “Just go beat him up. If you do that… well, I’m sure he’ll reconsider.”

  One last time, Prota nodded.

  That was right. This version of Destiny didn’t even know how to properly utilize his God Slaying Sword. He was a fourth-circle mage and knight level fighter, if she remembered correctly.

  Even without the core she’d had before, her current knowledge of magic and skill could easily defeat nearly any foe at this point in the [Story]. Of course, like Anta had said, there was always the off chance that the [Author] did something to mess with things, but…

  Well, no. There was no point in thinking about things she couldn’t control.

  For the moment, all she needed to do was win.

  “Then, I’ll make the first move.”

  Destiny dashed forward, nearly catching Prota off guard. Still, she quickly regained her composure, dodging by a hair’s width. Her eyes narrowed as her vision locked onto the opponent, tracking his every move.

  This would be her first test of real combat. The people she’d fought so far had yet to be proper combatants. She’d either ambushed her enemies, or fought against groups of weaklings. Destiny, on the other hand, was a trained warrior with proper technique. Well, there was Elfin, but a test wasn’t something she would count. He was going easy to begin with,

  Prota could only hope her training was working.

  “That’s good,” she heard Destiny say. “You’d need to dodge at least that much.”

  She frowned. He still had time to talk. Once upon a time, she’d appreciated it when her opponents underestimated her, but she wasn’t weak anymore.

  “Fine,” she muttered.

  The air turned just a bit warmer as she summoned her domain. It wasn’t Heatwave, so it wouldn’t have any physical effect, but that was fine. All that mattered was that her spells would cast much faster. Of course, it was overkill, but she wouldn’t give Destiny even a sliver of doubt that she was weak.

  “Destiny!” Kit suddenly yelled, her voice full of worry. “Watch out!”

  “Watch-”

  It was too late. Prota snapped her fingers, and a dozen blue fireballs immediately swarmed Destiny, homing in with incredible speed. The hero yelped, dodging most of the spells, but a few managed to hit their target, knocking him back. When the smoke faded, Destiny had taken some visible damage, but not nearly as much as Prota might have hoped.

  That was fine. It wasn’t like Prota was planning on leaving things as they were, anyway.

  By the time Destiny had recovered his vision, Prota was already close, much to the hero’s surprise, given that Prota had mainly displayed the traits of a caster. Of course, it was easy to forget about her performance against Elfin after seeing her obliterate a golem, but that was Destiny’s fault and nobody else’s.

  “What the-”

  A blue fireball resided in Prota’s right hand, while a swirling ball of wind rested in the left. She pushed both forward, immediately summoning a wall of ice to protect herself. The resulting explosion completely shattered the barrier, sending Destiny flying.

  “Kh- what the hell are you?!” he yelled.

  His mouth opened as he yelled some kind of chant, but nothing happened.

  “What- what’s going on?”

  He smashed into a tree, dozens of leaves drifting down as the thing shook violently from the impact.

  “Destiny!” Kit yelled. “That’s a domain! I don’t know how she knows how to do that… but you’ll have a harder time casting your spells. Right now, it’s tuned for fire based spells! Use fire magic!”

  “Fire magic?” Destiny said, his tone suddenly more upbeat. “Got it.”

  Prota suddenly felt a sense of dread.

  She’d never used domains in a fight like this, but come to think of it… there was no reason the enemy couldn’t make use of a domain Prota had set up, right?

  “You’re right!” she heard Destiny laugh.

  Looking over, she saw him holding half a dozen fireballs. Regular fireballs, not anything special, but that alone was a stronger spell than he’d ever cast during this fight. He hadn’t even chanted.

  “Alright. Round two.”

  Prota braced herself as the hero charged forward, but she was more than ready. Instead of fleeing, she managed to weave between his attacks, once again dodging by mere inches every time. She wasn’t scared, though. She’d faced death far too many times for a fight like this to have any stakes at all.

  At the moment, all she felt was confidence and the desire to win.

  A blade of plasma formed in her open hand, and she swung upwards, forcing Destiny to move back. He immediately responded, using his momentum to swing around and force his blade forward, but Prota was already gone, having repositioned herself for another attack.

  “What the hell is this?” Destiny gasped. “What’s with your expertise in magic?”

  Prota didn’t respond, but the faintest of smiles formed on her lips. That was right. For once, she was the one holding back, hiding secrets. She wasn’t going all out just to eek out a victory.

  This time, Destiny was the one who would struggle.

  Still, the battle was surprisingly close. While Prota was far more experienced, Destiny still had some powerful magic on his side. However, it was only a matter of time before he lost. He was losing stamina far faster than Prota was, even with her small body.

  Prota didn’t want a win like that, though. She wanted something decisive.

  “Last one,” she called out, leaping back.

  Destiny was panting, although it was hard to tell just how tired he was with that mask on.

  “Fine. Last one.”

  It was all or nothing. Prota would exhaust herself with this. To begin with, it wasn’t a spell she could cast without her domain at the moment, and it was true that the domain was slowing her down. She couldn’t push through it to conveniently use her ice spells, or any other spells for that matter, and that was definitely handicapping her.

  Of course, she could eventually adapt. It wasn’t like she would lose. Her combat expertise was still better than Destiny’s, although she had to admit he was quite the fighter. If she continued on like this, she could easily end the fight with no risk at all.

  But this wasn’t a matter of losing.

  It was a matter of winning.

  While the two might seem the same, spiritually, they were entirely different things.

  It was one thing not to lose.

  It was another to win.

  “Dragon of Fire.”

  Prota immediately felt something like a tugging sensation in her gut, almost painful in nature, but she endured. Sweat poured down her face as her core was depleted, even using up all the reserves in her staff. She thought she’d perfected this spell, but it seemed an increase in core size was still needed. Or perhaps there were consequences to casting a spell her body wasn’t meant to use?

  Regardless, the end result was what mattered: a giant dragon of blue flame, snaking around her body, ready to strike at her will.

  “Go.”

  Destiny raised his blade, prepared to defend.

  One last strike.

  One last stand.

  The dragon flew forward, twisting through the air, its jaw wide open as it threatened to devour Destiny. With a cry, he raised his blade above his head, prepared to strike, when a blur moved before him.

  “Kit?!” Destiny yelled.

  She didn’t answer. She just held her hands out, blocking the attack, slowly being pushed back by the sheer amount of flames being produced.

  “What the- what is this attack?” Kit yelled, gritting her teeth. “This- argh!”

  She finally pushed it away, sending the spell into the air, where it exploded violently, shaking the trees. Panting, she looked back down to see Prota similarly out of juice, lying flat on the ground.

  “...that was still weaker than that other spell you cast, wasn’t it?” Kit said quietly. “Just what are you?”

  “...did I win?” Prota said weakly.

  She looked past Kit, staring right at Destiny, who hesitantly stepped forward.

  “I… why are you fighting so hard? For what?” he said quietly. “Is it really worth it?”

  “You lost,” Prota pointed out. “I won.”

  “You’re just a kid!” Destiny yelled. “You shouldn’t be-”

  “Des,” Kit said, interrupting his rant. “That’s… we can’t call her a child. Not with that kind of skill. Not with that kind of resolve.”

  “But-”

  “I don’t think she even went all out against you, Des,” Kit explained. “Or am I wrong?”

  The fox looked at Prota, who shook her head.

  “...you were fighting Mystics in your past life, weren’t you?” Kit asked. “Or something of that sort.”

  A nod. Kit sighed, turning back to Destiny.

  “Des. Even if that’s a child in years… we can’t just ignore her. If she wants to do something, if she’s resolved to carry that burden, then all we can do is help her.”

  Prota nodded again. That was all she wanted.

  Help.

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  “...fine,” Destiny sighed. “It looks like I’m not changing your mind, anyway. Just tell me. Did I try to stop you in my last life, too?”

  Prota sat up, looking away.

  “Hey. Is… is something wrong?” the hero asked.

  “Last time… world didn’t need saving,” Prota muttered. “Different this time.”

  “Ah. I see.”

  That was all Destiny said. He looked away for a moment, feeling a little awkward.

  “Fine. I get it. Not that I like it, but… I understand, now. It sucks, doesn’t it? The hand life deals us.”

  He moved over, taking a seat beside Prota. Thankfully, he seemed to have remembered that she disliked physical contact, because he made sure to scoot a respectful distance away.

  “Sorry about all that,” he sighed.

  To Prota’s surprise, he reached up and took his mask off. His curly silver hair tumbled down as he shook his head, revealing a sweaty, tired smile.

  “I’m not supposed to take this off while I’m here, but you already know what I look like, right?”

  Seeing him was a bit of a whiplash to Prota. She’d just gotten used to seeing an adult Destiny, only to see him so young again. Still, this was the look she was most used to, so it didn’t take her long to adjust.

  “Seriously… I don’t know how I’m supposed to deal with you,” Destiny laughed. “You look so young, but you definitely don’t act like it. And you’re stronger than me. Is that even supposed to happen?”

  “No,” Kit said curtly. “It’s not. You’re the hero, for goodness sake.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Still… I’m sorry, Prota.”

  Prota sat up a little straighter. Why was Destiny apologizing?

  “It’s just… I shouldn’t have done that. Your goals aren’t something for me to judge. I think I was just… well, a little confused. It’s not a good excuse, but it’s all I can say. So, really. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re just sorry because you got beaten by a little girl,” Kit snorted in amusement. “She probably has spells a lot stronger than that. I have a feeling she’s limited only by her mana core.”

  Destiny whirled around. “What?!”

  “Well? Are you?” Kit said, hands on her hips and a wide grin spread on her lips.

  Prota hesitated for a moment. Eventually, she gave an ever so slight nod of the head. Kit immediately burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.

  “I knew it! Seriously, you never stood a chance!” Kit exclaimed. “Weren’t you supposed to be some super elite soldier? Ten years of training, and for what? Prota, how long have you been fighting for?”

  “...also ten years,” Prota muttered.

  That was a lie, but she was afraid to instigate anymore than she already had.

  “Hey! Then it’s fair! She was learning magic in her past life! I wasn’t!”

  “You have, like, eighteen years of age on her! Maybe more!” Kit was still laughing her head off, seemingly incredibly amused by the situation. “You’re just embarrassed!”

  “No, I’m not! She should be that strong if she’s going to save the world, anyway! I wasn’t going to let her go if she couldn’t beat me!”

  “But she beat you without even revealing all her powers. So who’s the real loser, huh?”

  Prota didn’t bother to pay attention anymore as the two bickered. Instead, she fell back, staring up at the bright blue sky, the burden on her heart easing. It would always be there, but moments like these would remind her that she was fighting for the right cause.

  That her burden was worth carrying.

  “I forgot,” Anta suddenly said in her mind. “That guy… he was always trying to do the right thing, wasn’t he? That’s why he got into so many fights with John.”

  Prota nodded happily.

  “Yeah. Well, I guess it can’t be wrong if two different people said it.”

  “...huh?”

  “Go. Let’s have some fun, Prota. There’s no point in worrying about this for a whole five years or something. Yes, we’ll have to deal with John, but in the meantime, there’s no other goal to meet. We know we’re strong. We know we can do it. So in that time… let’s go live a life worth living. Then, when John gets back to his usual self, we can tell him all about it. Right?”

  “Nn. Right.”

  A gentle breeze blew through the air, carrying the smell of the forest, the rustling of branches completing the soothing atmosphere.

  That was right. The present was the present. No longer was Prota burdened by thoughts of uselessness or the fear of being abandoned. No longer did she need protection from every enemy that came her way.

  This was her world to take over. In the end… she should be capable of at least that much.

  ~~~

  “...you’re saying that girl did that?”

  Destiny had challenged Prota somewhat instinctively, but he hadn’t realized there would be consequences to his actions. Apparently, they’d fought close enough to the town that some of the adventurers had seen Prota’s deflected spell in the air, and had panicked upon seeing it. Of course, Albert had called Destiny in to know if the hero knew anything about the matter, and in the end, Destiny was forced to explain what had happened.

  “Yes, sir. I… I wanted to see how strong she is, so I challenged her to a spar. She… she may be far more competent than you may have thought.”

  “Ha!” Albert laughed. “Is that so? I see. For you to even be admitting defeat… shall I try her on myself?”

  “...think about your reputation, sir.”

  “What reputation? It’s not like I enjoy this job, anyway,” Albert grumbled.

  “Is that something you should be saying in front of me?”

  “Ah, what do you know, kid. You’re a third party, anyway. The sooner I get out of this stuffy chair, the better. Anyway, back to what we were talking about. You’re sure she’s on board?”

  “Yes. And, um… she asked if you could pay.”

  Destiny rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he remembered Anta’s strict speech. Well, for someone who’d experienced the world, asking for money wasn’t the strangest of requests. Still, to hear such words out of such a young body’s mouth was definitely awkward.

  “Pay?” Albert let out another short laugh. “I see. Then, fine. I’ll treat her as any other mercenary… did she seem to be seeking fame or anything of the sort? I can’t promise any of that. To begin with, this whole operation-”

  “No. She prefers to stay hidden,” Destiny said, interrupting the guildmaster. “So there are no problems there. In the first place… I believe her end goal is pure. So, there are no worries about any of this.”

  “What are you, some kind of walking lie detector? Whatever. Kid, just keep doing a good job. I’m sure we’ll solve this soon.”

  Destiny bowed. “Thank you, sir.”

  With that he turned to take his leave.

  ~~~

  “Anta,” Prota said suddenly.

  She was lying on her bed, ready to fall asleep, when she’d come to a realization.

  “I want to save Danjo.”

  “...are you stupid?”

  To Prota’s surprise, Anta came out, similar to the way Zero did. She was floating around, semi-transparent, although instead of being black and white the way Zero was, she was instead in full colour.

  “No,” Prota said, somewhat upset. “Stop calling me stupid.”

  “I call you an idiot because you say stupid things. Don’t say something stupid, and I won’t do it.”

  Prota wanted to refute the argument, but she was having a hard time doing so. It was true that, for each time Anta had insulted her, she’d also given her equally valuable advice. Well, it wasn’t like the soul had any truly malicious intent, but still…

  Well, in the end, it did take Prota’s mind off the burdens of her mind.

  Just like the way Zero did with John.

  “Anyway, you can’t do that,” Anta sighed. “Do you still not understand the butterfly effect?”

  “But-”

  “Look, I’m gonna explain something, ok? Destiny needs to experience that dungeon. He needs to see the horrors that go on in there. It’s part of how he’ll develop, how he’ll grow. You remember, don’t you? How John nearly killed himself to develop Destiny’s ability.”

  “...fine,” Prota muttered.

  It was true. There were timings to these things, after all. Prota didn’t fully understand how the flow of time worked, but she did understand that certain things would only happen in tandem with other things. Fighting Doctor was more than simply beating the man; after all, she wasn’t confident enough to storm into the base on her own and wipe out every enemy within. There were the chimeras, to begin with, and then there was Breaker and Doctor himself.

  Perhaps, if she had the abilities she’d had in the past, it would be possible, but currently, such a thing could never be done.

  For the first time, she was beginning to understand a frustration John definitely had, but hadn’t really expressed. The understanding that you were meant to be stronger, but were simply being held back by factors you couldn’t control.

  “I know it’s hard,” Anta sighed. “But we might end up with a worse outcome if we rush things. For now… let’s keep going slowly.”

  “Nn,” Prota nodded, burying her head in her pillow.

  Responsibility was an annoying thing to bear.

  ~~~

  “Sir.”

  A trembling man came into Doctor’s office, immediately prostrating himself before the thing posing as a human.

  “Yes, yes. What is it this time?”

  “An unexpected factor has arrived.”

  “Oh? Unexpected, you say? I hope it isn’t as unexpected as someone new joining the team.”

  “W-well, it’s something like that.”

  Doctor stood up, an aloof smile resting on his lips. “And, pray tell, why shouldn’t I kill you for failing to deliver something of interest?”

  “It’s an anomaly!” the man gasped. “A being stronger than anything we’ve ever seen! She’s supposed to be human, but there’s no way that’s possible. Our spy reported that she was able to obliterate a golem with a single spell, even though she appears to be a mere child!”

  Doctor’s eyes snapped open.

  “Oh. Oh, I see.” He giggled to himself giddily. “You may go, now.”

  “Y-yes!”

  The man scampered out of the room like a scared dog, leaving behind Doctor, whose grin had widened to an inhuman level.

  “A child, eh? Then, how interesting of a specimen will you be…?”

  ~~~

  “Hey. I know I said you could do whatever you want, but where are you going now?”

  “Training,” Prota said simply.

  “Training? What, are you gonna sit in some secluded area like some monk?” Anta laughed. “Please, something like that’s not going to-”

  She stopped as she realized where Prota was.

  “...the guild hall?”

  “You can’t read my thoughts?” Prota said as she pushed the door open.

  “I mean, yeah, if I need to, but that’s lame. Come on, don’t you want someone to talk to? It’s no fun if I’m just some kind of systematic companion that does all your grunt work and explaining.”

  “...nn. That’s nice.”

  Prota walked up to Katheryn, who jumped a little as Prota got close. It seemed she often had that reaction after Prota had submitted the goblin ears for the subjugation quest, but that was fine. It was better than being treated like a little kid all the time.

  “Ah, hello, Prota,” Katheryn said with a strained smile. “Looking to complete another request?”

  “...no. Cave of Trials. Need access,” Prota said simply.

  If anything, she’d gotten a lot more comfortable with speaking to others. Her speech was still choppy and inefficient, but at this rate, that might never change anyway.

  “I see. I’ll- wait, you know about the Cave of Trials?” the receptionist exclaimed.

  “...give it.”

  “Y-yes. I see. I’ll send a messenger shortly. Please wait a little while, and then everything will be set up. I wish you the best of luck.”

  Prota nodded as she went to sit down at a table. Her eyes were strangely focused as she waited for her request to go through.

  “Ah, so that’s what you were up to. It is good training… but why this?” Anta wondered. “There are some good requests to take on. You could even ask to spar again with Destiny, or maybe even Kit. Why this?”

  “...last time, met different John. I met you. Reacted to [DEM]. So maybe this time… something new. Something to learn.”

  She clasped her hands, preparing herself for the trial to come.

  “This time… I need to do it myself.”

  How is the last arc?