"Ivan, one person is enough for this." Riku's tone was cool and final.
Ivan tensed. "Don't be reckless! If you go out there alone and run into any other race, even the weakest beastman, you know what'll happen—you'll be torn to pieces."
That's how fragile humans are.
Death might be a release for some, but to throw your life away for nothing is just cowardice.
To Ivan and Couronne, it looked like Riku had given up on living.
Riku was the most talented among them. At just thirteen, he'd led the settlement through years of flight, keeping casualties to forty-six as the group grew to two thousand. Anyone else might die for the cause, but not Riku—he was hope, the pillar of the settlement, their one true leader.
"Don't worry. I'm not being reckless." Riku's voice was calm. "This time, going solo is the best move."
"But—" Couronne started, but Riku cut her off.
"Couronne, do you really think I'd abandon such a beautiful, lovable sister to go throw my life away? I haven't even proposed to you yet."
He flashed her a sudden smile, his golden eyes locking on hers.
"Wha—?!" Couronne's face turned crimson as she let go of his collar, flustered and waving her hands in panic.
"Pfft—what a youthful confession." Ivan burst out laughing. "Honestly, you two should've gotten married long ago."
"Hey! Teasing your big sister isn't fair, Riku!" Couronne protested, cheeks red but eyes sparkling.
"I always keep my promises," Riku said, slinging his bag over his shoulder and heading out without looking back. "So just wait for me to return."
"Geez…" Couronne sighed, reaching after him, then let her hand fall. She didn't know what he was planning—but she was sure of one thing:
Riku wasn't running off to die.
'Still, something about him… feels different now,' Couronne murmured, her cheeks still faintly red.
"Ivan… Shouldn't we go after him?" Ivan asked, scratching at his stubble.
"Let's trust him this time. Riku's not the type to do anything foolish." Couronne shook her head, her voice soft.
"Alright, got it." Ivan nodded. In the past, whenever someone found something useful for humans—anything with 'spirit' energy, for example—temptation always followed.
But Riku would always calmly take it away and toss it aside, knowing such things would attract other races.
Even if an artifact could save countless lives, he never hesitated to get rid of it.
That's why, as long as Riku was in charge, they trusted his judgment.
Still, it was impossible not to worry—Riku hadn't told them anything.
…
Leaving the settlement, Riku adjusted his dust mask and glanced up at the sky.
Blood-red clouds drifted overhead, as if the world itself was bleeding from endless war. Greenish-black ash (rei mukuro) fell everywhere, piling up on the ground.
It looked beautiful, but Riku knew the truth.
Those glowing "black ashes" were actually the corpses of spirits—their light flickering out as they died.
[black ash (rei mukuro)]
Deadly poison to almost all life, including humans.
Touch it, your skin burns.
If it gets in your eyes, you go blind.
Breathe it in, your organs dissolve.
Even the strongest races avoided the black ash in great quantities.
"Humans really are stubborn creatures," Riku muttered, leading his horse and mounting up. He set off at a gallop.
His goal was the wreckage of a Dwarf warship—but mainly, he was after treasure chests.
The nearest bronze chest was a little off the main route.
Three days later, Riku stood atop a hill.
Those three days were more dangerous than he'd expected—he'd spotted several beastmen in the distance and gone far out of his way to avoid them.
Luckily, low-level beastmen were dumb and lacked the ability to stalk prey. Riku's careful, deliberate movements kept him from being detected.
Otherwise, he would have been forced to use Shambhala to teleport away, but that would have consumed a lot of stamina.
After all, Riku was just an ordinary human. Compared to Sheele from Akame ga Kill!, his stamina was nowhere near as good. With such stamina, he could not use Shambhala more than a couple of times at once.