The Laughing Swordsman

Chapter 334 – Friend!

The red scars that snaked across Apollo's body gradually closed up while the intense waves of heat died down.

As for Vicar, his elongated hair shortened while the fur on his body retracted as well.

Apollo gave him a look.

"So… you changed your mind now?"

Vicar chuckled.

"I suppose so. I did fully intend on accepting change if you won, but did not truly expect you to win."

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"Though if you decided to fight to the bitter end, I'm not sure if I would be able to win."

Vicar shrugged his shoulders.

"That battle would end up taking far too long. I figured I might as well save some time."

Apollo nodded.

"Ah… I'm going to collect the eggshells now."

Vicar laughed.

"Yes, you go do that."

And Apollo began to do just that. Several of the eggshells were scattered from their fight earlier, but they weren't damaged. He hoisted the biggest one up, then made sure to empty it of any leftover water, then used it as a base to carry the rest.

Vicar was silent for the first few moments, but eventually decided to speak up.

"Now that I truly calm down and understand the situation for what it was, I now understand it is impossible for the world to remain the same."

Apollo pouted.

"Well, that is obvious, right?"

Vicar chuckled.

"Yes, yes it is."

He shut his eyes.

"Even when things appear to be the same, they have still changed. Every tiny interaction has had some sort of impact over the person who I was, and the environment around me."

Apollo let out a soft hum.

"It may change the person you are, but at the end of the day people have a choice. You can choose to be brave, or you can choose to be afraid."

Vicar smiled.

"I suppose so. Though I must say, it truly is difficult to choose and be brave, even when it should be so easy."

Apollo let out a soft sigh. He thought about how he had spent the majority of his life essentially in the state Vicar was in, pointlessly wasting away. It was only when the perpetual time loop occurred that he was forced to learn how to stand for his own sake.

To do something because he decided to.

"…Yeah. It really is hard for no real reason."

Vicar laughed.

"I wonder why that is."

Apollo shrugged his shoulders as he picked up another eggshell.

"I don't know. Maybe there is no reason."

Vicar looked at the wall as though there was some sort of work of art placed on the wall, despite it just being a plain rock wall.

"No reason…"

The corner of his lip turned up.

"Haha, it just makes me wonder why there is no reason, as contradictory as those thoughts are."

Apollo lifted up the last eggshell he could find, then turned to Vicar.

"What do you plan on doing now, then?"

Vicar blinked a few times, caught off guard by such a question.

"…What I plan to do?"

…

"Waaah!"

Hex had both of his sleeves raised high in the air as the wind battered against him. He was currently the back of a black shadow in the form of a giant bird, Blackie.

"This is quite the convenient mode of transport."

Lena sat comfortably on the middle of the black shadow and gently brushed its smooth back, fascinated with the texture.

"It doesn't feel the most secure, though."

Talon was sitting behind Lena, closer to the end of the bird. He grasped onto the black shadow, slightly anxious about falling.

After all, the four of them were currently flying high above in the sky.

Though Talon was quite confident he could survive many injuries by using the black flesh residing in his heart, the fall truly was truly too far. He would almost certainly die, after which there would be nothing to heal.

Hex giggled.

"This is the most secure! Blackie is best, after me!"

Lena clapped gently.

"Wow! That sounds amazing."

Hex put both sleeves against his hips, sticking out his back confidently.

"Of course! Me is always best!"

The corner of Talon's lip twitched. He decided to pretend the last few seconds never happened.

"Hey, how long will it take to get to your friends?"

Hex hummed.

"Dunno!"

Talon's eyelid twitched.

"Well… how far away are they?"

Hex shrugged his shoulders.

"Dunno!"

Talon blinked a few times.

"Then… do you know where they are?"

Hex flailed his sleeves around.

"Dunno!"

Talon nearly choked.

"Then how are we supposed to find them?"

Hex turned around to look at Talon and tilted his head to the side.

"Dunno!"

Lena giggled.

"It appears we may end up searching for quite a while."

Talon opened his mouth, but closed it right after.

"I suppose so."

And so, the group ended up sailing through the air for quite some time. Other than the wind and snow landing on them, it was rather uneventful.

That is, until another voice came from the distance.

"Waaaaaaaaaah!~"

There was a black dot, far off in the distance shooting through the air.

Talon narrowed his eyes.

"What is that?"

Hex pressed his sleeve down onto the top of his head and stuck his head out.

"Mm… me don't know."

Talon frowned.

"We should probably steer clear of it."

Lena looked at him and tilted her head to the side.

"Why should we do that?"

Talon's eyelid twitched.

"What if it's dangerous!"

Lena waved her hand dismissively.

"Brother, you shouldn't be so judgmental all the time. Why do you assume that the person is dangerous?"

Talon really wanted to retort, saying that he wasn't assuming anything. Rather, he was just being cautious. However, he also felt like he wouldn't win the argument, thus just kept his aggrieved emotions to himself.

Eventually, the black dot became clearer and clearer.

At some point, Hex stood up with an excited expression. He pointed at the dot with his sleeve.

"Friend!"