The Laughing Swordsman

Maya had been pierced by the spear.

But instead of reeling in pain, she was calmer than the sea.

Maya looked at Aviel's shadowy figure with a deadpan expression.

She used her free hand to grasp the spear.

Maya clutched on the spear as though she was death itself, grabbing the souls of the deceased.

There was a tug, but the spear did not budge.

Following that, there was a heave.

However, Maya's death grip did not waver.

It was almost like Maya was a mountain.

When all is said and done, Aviel was much stronger than Maya.

He could cast many spells freely and did not have to destroy his body in the process. On the other hand, every spell Maya cast would bring her closer to the doors of death.

Not to mention Maya's condition was bad before the battle even began. On top of that, she did not have a weapon to match Aviel.

Any logical person would bet Aviel would be the winner.

And that decision would make sense.

So what was happening?

There was a look of despair on Aviel's face while Maya's was expressionless.

It was almost as though it was Aviel that had been pierced by the spear instead of Maya.

Aviel was stronger than Maya, there was no doubt about that.

However, there was one thing he could not match Maya in.

Cruelty.

Not just cruelty to one's enemies, but themselves.

It was what let Maya remain standing.

It was what let Maya push through the pain.

It was what let Maya rage harder than a hurricane ever could.

Aviel could never match that.

Maya walked forward, letting the spear skewer her further.

Her dark red hand lifted. Her forefinger raised, pointing towards Aviel.

A fireball converged at the tip of her finger.

Maya knew that she would be caught up in the explosion being this close.

But she didn't care.

Aviel panicked.

He was afraid.

So much so that he gave up on the spear altogether.

Aviel turned around. Yet, before he could even take a step, a fireball exploded on his back.

He took the full brunt of the explosion. His body was flung forward and charred black.

For just a few seconds, he remained alive.

His eyes filled with despair as death stood above him.

Then...

The candle went out.

Maya had been hit by the residual explosion.

She flew backward, smacking against the floor.

The front of her body was charred black and the spear had fallen out of her stomach.

Her face could hardly be seen through the black soot covering it.

...On the bright side, she wasn't bleeding.

But that came at the cost of some fractured bones.

However, like a demon, Maya stood up.

She wasn't done.

Not yet.

...

Apollo headed off to the Forest of Misery.

He used the red waves in the shadow world to guide him.

He encountered a few eagles and wolves on the way. As such, he got some food to fill his stomach.

Apollo lamented over the taste of raw meat. He missed the food that Ned and the others made, but there was not much he could do about it.

He let it go and focused on the task at hand.

As Apollo navigated his way between the trees, his eye caught an anomaly.

There was a little girl prancing about in the forest.

She was chasing after a small white butterfly.

The butterfly was weary. It was deathly afraid of the girl behind it but had run for far too long.

In the end, it plopped into the snow, exhausted.

The little girl crouched down and looked at the butterfly curiously.

She had long purple hair and beady green eyes.

The little girl had tight fitting shirt and shorts, both jet black. She was wearing a loose red coat on top.

The coat reached down to her knees and was generously lined with white fur.

Despite the cold, the little girl did not seem to mind. She kept her coat unbuttoned, causing it to fly about with the wind.

There was a little golden bell around her neck that let out a soft chime at the slightest movement.

However, the most notable thing...

Were the two fluffy cat earns adorned on the top of her head.

The little girl reached out her finger, trying to poke the butterfly.

Running on fumes, the butterfly flapped its wings one last time. It was able to take itself off the ground, flying a few steps forward.

Then, it died of exhaustion.

The little girl's fluffy ears twitched.

She tilted her head to the side and poked the dead butterfly.

Apollo spared a glance, but that was all. He kept running towards his destination.

But... the situation didn't go as he hoped.

"Heyyyy!"

Apollo's eyelid twitched.

He continued running, pretending he didn't hear. He hoped that the strange girl would just give up.

However, the girl was persistent. She waved her hands in the air as if that would somehow get Apollo's attention.

"Waitttt! Can you tell me why my friend won't play with me anymore?"

Apollo grit his teeth, pushing himself to run faster.

After a few minutes, it was silent.

Apollo was gasping for breath. He figured that he lost the strange girl.

As such, his steps slowed to a stop. He used his free hand to hold the side of a tree.

Apollo was hunched over, panting. It did not take long for him to recover.

He shook his head and looked up.

...To see the strange girl staring at him curiously.

The girl tilted her head to the side with a smile on her face.

"Hehe, that was fun! Thanks for being my new friend!"

The corner of Apollo's lip twitched.

"I am not your friend."

With that, he bolted off.

At this point, he wasn't sure if he was going in the right direction. His main priority was to shake off this strange girl.

The little girl was not discouraged by Apollo's remark. Instead, she chased after him with a giggle.

"Hehe, you are so weird, friend!"

It was at this moment Apollo recalled the butterfly that died of exhaustion.

....Perhaps he made a mistake.