It's a quiet night in the village of Arlam. Everyone is sleeping soundly.
Yet there was one group still awake. They anxiously rested in one of the houses the village had gratefully given them.
This group being Emilia, Ram, and Rem.
There was a strange silence. For the half-elf, she was resting in a different room than the sisters.
Even from here, she could faintly hear them speaking. From the few words she could make out, they were talking about something personal, so she chose not to disturb them.
The quiet stretched out. Only faint voices and the crackling of torches filled the room.
She sat on the bed her legs close to her chest, worry aching through her heart.
She wished she could just go straight to the forest and help Xenophanes. But she couldn't, at least not alone.
She wished Rem and Ram would get better soon, so they could hurriedly help Xeno, but she considered that wish selfish.
The sisters both needed rest, and above all else, they had a lot of things to talk out. They needed time.
Something the half-elf wished they had. If they did, Xeno wouldn't have been so... worrying.
So Emilia sat in the silence, unable to do anything but wait.
Wait and wait a lot more.
...
Across the room from Emilia, the oni sisters were reconnecting with each other. Years of self-blame, loathing, and guilt were laid bare.
While it would take more than this to get Rem out of her inferiority complex, it was a start. That's what mattered most right now.
Eventually, the topic shifted naturally toward the catalyst for this change.
Xenophanes.
Rem was worried sick. There wasn't a moment where she wasn't looking out the window. She would have gone to help him straight away if not for her sister forcing her to rest.
Rem was looking out the window, with Ram beside her. She placed a hand on her sister's shoulder.
Ram: "He'll be fine, Rem. Get some rest."
Rem turned to her sister.
"B-But what if Xeno-kun—"
Ram: "Rem, listen to me. Xenophanes may be shameless, take advantage of his situation to be lazy or perverted, and be completely reckless while making everyone worry about him, but he isn't an idiot when it counts. He can take care of himself just fine."
...
Well, at least she listed one good quality, so I guess it counts as a compliment.
Either way, Rem was comforted because despite insulting him, she could tell Ram was just as worried as her.
Rem quietly touched her head, missing the lingering sensation of Xeno's hand and the way he smiled at her.
He wasn't putting up a brave face unlike yesterday. His smile was... so gentle and determined...
It looked beautiful on his face.
A small blush crept up on her cheeks.
Ram: 'Why do I randomly feel the urge to hit Xeno in the face?'
Suddenly, the sound of music began playing, drawing both of their attention.
Rem: "Sister, do you hear that?"
Ram: "Yes, I do. It sounds like it's coming from..."
Both sisters' eyes widened.
"The forest." Both of them said.
Rem immediately stood up and prepared to head for the door, but was stopped by her sister.
Rem: "Sister, let me go. Something must have happened to him."
Ram: "Rem, stop! I know this might sound strange, but I think I know what he's doing."
"I won't deny that something happened. It's probably why this 'OST,' as he calls it, is playing. But that's a good thing."
Rem froze, staring at her sister.
Ram: "I think. He's using it to attract all the mabeasts to one spot."
Rem: "Then we'll need to help him! In that case, won't he be in danger because of it? I... I don't want to lose him."
Ram: "Rem, I understand. But I don't think that's the only reason he's doing this."
Rem: "What do you mean?"
Ram: "I think he's also doing this to tell us he's alright. Rem, remember what I said in our conversation about what happened after Xeno went unconscious?"
Ram seated Rem back down while she desperately recalled their conversation.
After a while, a look of realization came over her.
"Everything Xeno made using his ability disappeared."
Ram: "Correct. So as long as his music is playing, it's telling us he's fine."
This actually made Rem calm down significantly. She still wanted to go, but was comforted by the information.
What she didn't know was that what Ram had said was something she desperately wanted to believe herself.
...
Let's cut back a few minutes, to understand what the heck Xeno's doing.
Xenophanes is calmly travelling through the forest, his guard completely down. Normally, that would be suicide.
But he's non-existent, so it's fine. The Wolgarm couldn't even notice if he stood in front of them.
So that's what he's been doing since he left: sneaking up on mabeasts, killing them with his tendrils, activating Gluttony, rinse and repeat.
This was the safest method, though it had a massive downside.
Xeno needed to manually find them, which was slow considering how big the forest was and how many of them there were.
According to Gluttony, there were still 200-ish left. He didn't have the Envy or the stamina to do this the whole day.
Well, maybe he did, but he didn't want to find out.
Resting against a tree, he needed to come up with a new strategy. One that could attract a lot of mabeasts and a way to kill all of them.
Xeno: 'Hmmm, what should I do? My Envy supply is 17% now, and that's only because of how conservative I'm being. Alright, Xeno, you're having a good streak of being competent, so use that. Think of another plan.'
He looked toward the corpse of a Wolgarm.
Xeno: "..."
His left eye pulsed as it stared at it.
[Mabeasts are attracted to your miasma.]
Xeno's eye lit up upon hearing that.
Xeno: 'Miasma, of course... What's miasma?'
[Miasma is a toxic, corrupted form of mana that is associated with the Witch Cult, the Witch of Envy, and Authorities. Rem calls it the Witch's scent, and mabeasts are highly attracted to it.]
Xeno: 'Right, I have even more questions, but those can wait. So how can I use my 'Witch's scent' to draw these mutts?'
[Currently, it's not enough for that. In order to draw out a lot of Wolgarm, you have to increase it. You can do that by shouting that you can Return by Death.]
Xeno: 'Doesn't that a have death penalty for anyone who hears it? Eh, that just makes things easier for me.'
Xeno gets up, take a sharp inhale, then shouted at the top of his lungs–
"I CAN RETURN BY DEATH."
...
...
...
Nothing happened.
Xeno looked around confused.
"Ummm, Gluttony?"
[....You're still non-existent, nobody can hear you.]
Insert audience face palming.
...
Xenophanes, now having deactivated Gluttony, stood in a relatively open area. The chances of him getting ambushed here were low if he was being careful.
He once again took a deep breath, then—
"I CAN RETURN BY DE—"
The words couldn't continue as the world itself froze, losing all of its colour, out of nowhere. A shadowy hand, similar in appearance to the one Xeno could make, spawned.
Xeno: "W-What!?"
The hand swept into his body, approaching his heart. It gently caressed Xeno's heart, running a finger along its surface. Pinching it, before possessively holding it shortly after reluctantly letting go.
The hand vanished into the ether.
Time resumed as Xeno twisted in shock. The sudden movement shot pain through his spine.
Xeno: "Ah!"
He fell to his knees, clutching his heart and breathing heavily.
"What the fuck was that!?" he said, his eye turning red.
[That was The Witch of Envy warning you. If you tried to tell anyone about RBD, next time she'll grab your heart instead of caressing it.]
"Why didn't you tell me that? And don't you dare say—"
[You didn't ask.]
Xeno: "..."
"Whatever. Did my miasma increase or not?" he muttered, carefully getting back up.
[Yes.]
Xeno: "Good." With that, he activated Envy.
It only took moments before he heard Wolgarm rapidly approaching his location.
His tendrils readied themselves, but not for the fight. He used them to launch himself into the air.
He made himself a platform to stand on in the air, out of the Wolgarm reach but not too high.
Xeno: "Alright, mutts. Let's do this."
He glared watching as Wolgarm after Wolgarm swarmed him in waves from all directions.
But Xeno didn't fear this onslaught. Instead, he looked determined.
There were people worried about him.
He knew the moment they were done resting, they'd come rushing to help. Something he couldn't allow. They didn't need to get hurt.
Xeno: 'I really am a fucking hypocrite.' He thought amused.
The battle started off with him growing one of his appendages to a massive size and slamming it down on the Wolgarm.
The moment the tendril impacted the ground, everything in its path be it the trees, insects, or the Wolgarm were all flattened.
The ground creaked and uprooted as webs of cracks spread around, dust flying every where blocking Xeno's vision of the area.
Envy 14% remaining.
From the dust, multiple Wolgarm ran along the tendril.
But they didn't make it far, as his other appendages fired away, ripping through their bodies.
But more and more claimed the appendage, which was a fatal mistake.
Because Xeno lifted his massive tendril as fast as he could. Some of the Wolgarm fell off during the process, but the ones that remained were chucked high into the sky, falling to their dooms.
Xeno repeated this process once again, to his suprise, the Wolgarm once again climbed up the appendage.
Xeno: 'The heck? I don't know much about wolves or animals in general, but shouldn't they be smart enough to not fall for the same trick twice?'
He questioned this while his tendrils continued to attack.
Once again, he made the Wolgarm on his tendril fall to their doom.
Xeno: 'If they're this dumb, I can totally just repeat this strategy. This is going to be so much easier now.'
Xeno: "..."
'I jinxed myself, didn't I? I can just feel it.'
He looked around for something to go wrong.
"Awooooooooo."
From the distance, slowly stepping into the fray, was the puppy that started it all.
Guarded by four Wolgarm, it looked up at Xenophanes with a mocking expression.
It snickered at him as an ominous red aura surrounded the puppy.
It began its transformation.
Its body started growing in size, and its tail elongated, growing spikes that made it resemble a spiked club.
The boss Wolgarm stood even larger than the others, with even bigger and sharper teeth.
It let out a booming roar that rustled the leaves of the nearby trees.
Xeno: "..."
Xeno's expression grew serious. His singular eye gazed upon its form.
That thing and Meili started this entire mess. It's because of them he became crippled. Because of them he lost his right eye (even though it still works perfectly fine). Because of them Rem drowned herself in guilt and self-blame again.
Xeno didn't know where the child assassin was. Even if he did, he couldn't bring himself to harm a child.
But this Wolgarm? It's fair game.
"Alright, you overgrown mutt, prepare yourself."
Xeno smiled.
Xeno: 'I'm in a forest, and it's the middle of the night. This'll be perfect.'
Xeno snapped his fingers.
Envy 8% remaining.
[Hurt for the Broken World OST: Hopeless Wail]
"Let's finish this. My way."
Xeno kick-started his attack by jumping off his platform at the same time he used his massive tendril to attack the boss Wolgarm.
It rushed to the side at a much faster speed than the other Wolgarm, avoiding its fate of being crushed, though that couldn't be said for the others.
Landing safely with the help of his tendrils, the surrounding mabeasts charged at him.
Xeno ignored them.
He hurled himself towards the boss Wolgarm. The Wolgarm missed their attacks as he flew off the ground.
The massive Wolgarm, seeing Xeno's actions, did something that sounded like mocking laughter before growing closer to Xeno itself.
While running, it also used earth magic to boost its pack toward Xeno directly, intending to make them crash into him.
Which proved to be ineffective, as Xeno sliced them in half midair.
Xenophanes landed near by the pack leader.
The boss Wolgarm lunged at him, along with the surrounding pack.
Xeno covered his back and sides by swinging his massive tendril in a wide arc.
For the boss Wolgarm in front of him, he snapped one of his tendrils at it, but that wasn't enough.
It bulked up in thickness. The tip morphed into a buzz saw, placing itself in the middle of the beast's mouth.
Successfully stopping it.
Envy 7% remaining.
Xeno pushed the saw with more force, grinding it deeper into its jaw, sparks flying off due to the friction.
Xeno kept using his other appendages to fend off the mabeasts while he pushed onward with the saw.
The boss Wolgarm roughly gripped the ground, trying to stop itself from sliding back.
"What's wrong?" Xeno asked, his eye staring at it.
"You wanted a piece of me, so come on—"
Xeno's black smile stretched wide across his face.
"Open wide."
Realizing fighting against the saw was pointless, it reeled back, freeing itself, blood dripping from its mouth.
The boss Wolgarm growled at him furiously, using earth magic to make earth spikes burst forth from the ground.
Xenophanes didn't dodge because, well, the back pain would be killing him.
Instead, a wall of bones manifested, blocking the attack.
Envy 6.25% remaining.
Xeno glanced back, seeing all the nearby Wolgarm were dead. He used plan B.
He lightly tapped the ground, and a wall of bones surrounded him.
Envy 5.5% remaining.
It didn't take long for the boss Wolgarm to smash its way into and out of the encirclement of bones.
It turned back, confused. Not only had Xeno disappeared, but so had his Witch's scent.
As it pondered that, Xeno was currently on the boss Wolgarm's back.
Before that, his attention had been on his tendrils. They were visibly dimmed and stiffer to control.
You can't tell, but Xeno is using both Envy and Gluttony. He only did it once for a short while, and for good reason.
When he's using both, they become significantly weaker.
He positioned his appendages and struck toward the boss Wolgarm's head.
Deactivating Gluttony, the strike landed with full force.
It roared in pain, wailing and struggling for a bit before—
It dropped to the floor.
Dead.
...
...
...
Xeno was tired, both mentally and physically.
He was really reaching his limits of endurance. Not with his situation, but with all of the loops.
He finally dealt with the boss, but the minions?
They didn't stop coming.
Drawn in by his scent and perhaps even the music. The reason didn't really matter.
But he was getting really tired of this shit.
The stress and fear of death looming over him. The grueling day of fighting and more fighting.
He entered this forest somewhere around 3, and now it was midnight.
Midnight.
Then there's the fact of his promise to Beatrice. He still needed to reward her sweetly for her help.
Or Emilia, Ram, and especially Rem. They all worried about him, waiting to jump into action, praying for his safety.
Rem almost got herself killed because of this mess.
He promised the sisters he'd return. They're trusting him with this.
And it's too much pressure.
He doesn't want any of this.
He wants to go back to the days where he was lazy, bantering with Ram and playing with Beatrice.
When the only thing he needed to worry about was getting enough sleep.
He's not a hero. He's a lazy butler.
And so he made his final decision tonight.
Xeno: "I'm so fucking done with this shit. I don't care how long it takes, but I'm killing every single one of you shits."
'And we need something more accurate for the occasion.'
Snap.
[Horrortale OST: Assured Prey V3.]
Five more tendrils sprouted from his back as two of them lifted him up.
Envy 3%
The Wolgarm mindlessly charged at him from all directions, uncaring of their leader's death.
All of them morphed into something different.
A hammer.
Envy 2.5%
An axe.
Envy 2%
And finally, one sharpened like a blade.
Another a mace.
Envy 1%
His three tendrils, being used for mobility, sprang him straight toward the mabeasts.
Xeno: "Come at me, you bastards!"
He blasted all of his tendrils towards the mabeasts.
All of them primed and ready to rip and tear through them as they almost reached the beasts.
Before—
"El Goa!"
Fire fell from the sky.
The Wolgarm, all of them at once, erupted into flames.
They howled in extreme agony, their flesh burning, seething, and melting off their bones.
By the time Xeno's appendages reached them, they had all been reduced to ash.
All 127 Wolgarm attacking Xenophanes.
"Loooks like I made it in time." Said a recognizable whimsical voice.
Descending from the sky and landing with a soft thud was the greatest magician in Lugunica, Roswaal.
"Oh Xenophanes, you suuure do know how to give people a fright, dooon't you?" the clown exclaimed, seeing all of Xenophanes' appendages.
Xeno: "..."
Shortly after, Roswaal analysed his current condition.
"Hooow terrible! Your state is even worse than everyone described."
He noted the scar on Xeno's right eye and the fact that his pupil was gone.
Xeno: "..."
"Buuut worry not, my dear Xeno. I already took care of the problem. I can sense it. There are no longer any curses on you."
Xeno: "..."
Roswaal: "Please do say something. The suspeeense is killing him." He said dramatically.
Xeno: "... Fuck you, Ros."
...
Emilia, Rem, and Ram all stood at the fence line separating Arlam Village from the Wolgarm-infested forest.
They anxiously waited in anticipation for both Roswaal and Xeno's arrival.
Rem: "Sister... do you think Xeno is okay?" she whispered.
Ram turned to her sister with her usual confident smile.
Ram: "Of course. Lord Roswaal will bring that idiot back in one piece."
Emilia: "I really hope so."
They no longer had to hope or pray, as they heard the voices of Xeno and Roswaal before they promptly came into view.
Roswaal was carrying Xeno by the shoulder while flying steadily.
"Xeno!" Emilia and Rem shouted with explosive joy.
Gently landing, Xeno continued on with their conversation.
Xeno: "So, do you agree, Roswaal?"
Roswaal: "Of course, Xenophanes. You earned yourself a wooounderful week off."
Xeno let out a sigh of relief.
But the moment his feet touched the ground and he moved away from Roswaal's grasp, Rem jumped at Xenophanes, unable to contain her emotions or tears.
Xeno: "Rem! Wait!"
But it was too late. Rem had already embraced him in a hug.
Roswaal: "My, my. You've grown unexpectedly close in my absence." He teased.
Ram and Emilia were surprised by the sudden action, but their surprise quickly turned to alarm.
If she didn't stop now, his damaged spine might just—
Snap.
The sound reverberated through the air as Xenophanes went limp against Rem.
"Xeno!" the girl yelled out his name.
But it was pointless, as Xeno had already lost consciousness.
Bruh.
Out of everything today that could have possibly knocked him out—
it wasn't the exhaustion, or the mabeasts, or anything like that.
It was a hug.
...
A brand new day arrived.
Xenophanes woke up with dead eyes.
Why?
Well, because despite the proof that he didn't die, there was some part of him, a small persistent part of him, telling him that he died the most pathetic death in existence.
He died a death so pathetic that not even people in anime or fiction could have died a death like this.
But he did.
He died to a fucking hug.
And that same part of him, told him to retire and dig a grave for himself, even if nobody remembered it.
He does.
This embarrassing stain would forever be a part of his worthless existence.
Luckily, his descent into madness was interrupted by the one who caused it.
Rem entered the room carrying a tray with soup.
"Good morning, Xeno-kun." She said, resting the tray on the table while sitting on the seat near him.
"Yawn. Good morning to you as well."
He got up and stretched his back, only to flinch. Getting used to his new lifestyle was going to take some time.
Seeing him, she tried to remain composed.
But she felt as if all her emotions were going haywire.
There were a lot of things she wanted to say, but her thoughts were going so fast she couldn't properly voice them. She was struggling to the point that she felt like she was drowning.
Rem: "Are..."
Xeno: "?"
Rem: "Are you truly alright?"
Xeno: "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
He waved it off, flexing his arms to showcase his strength.
Rem: "I'm sorry..."
She lowered her head in shame and apologised sincerely.
Xeno: "Huh? Sorry for what?"
Rem: "It's... it's my fault that you're like this... and it's my fault that you had to go back into the forest... If only I wasn't there... If maybe I hadn't come, then you could have saved the children... Then maybe you wouldn't be..."
In her mind: If she hadn't been there, Xeno could have solved the entire incident by himself after seeing how capable he was over the past two days.
This alone reinforced in her mind that she was...
Worthless.
Rem: "I'm so sorry."
Xeno: "..."
Xeno's eye looked at her.
Her voice trembled, tears trickling down her eyes.
Rem: "I understand that, no matter what, I'll always be seen as the inferior sibling of the oni race. That I will never reach my sister's level... because I am nothing more than her worthless substitute."
Ram: "Why... why was I the one to keep my horn? Why couldn't Sister be the one to keep hers? Why was she only born with one horn?"
Rem: "Why did we... have to be born as twins?"
Rem: "I apologize... That was a strange thing for me to say... Please forget it."
She said while wiping her tears away. For a while, the room was completely quiet.
Pat.
She froze, feeling the warmth of Xeno's hand rubbing her head.
"Sigh, you really know how to put a guy on the spot."
Rem was surprised. She lifted her head, and what she saw shocked her.
Xeno's usually featureless eye had changed.
Now his eye could only be described as peering into a prism.
The outline of his eye was a crystal-clear white. While the eye itself held depth of colours and emotions seemlessly blending together.
The sight was truly...
Rem: "Beautiful."
The word escaped her mouth before she could stop them.
Xeno: "But I'll try again. Look, I'm not the smartest guy around, but if I had to guess, you believe the reason Ram lost her horn is because of your actions."
He lied, knowing exactly how Ram lost her horn due to Roswaal. But he needed to do this carefully. His brain went into overdrive.
"But I don't think so. Like I said yesterday, it was something completely out of your control, so stop painting yourself in such a bad light."
Rem: "But—" She snapped out of her daze.
Xeno: "But even if that was the case, Ram doesn't hold you accountable for it. In fact, she praises you at every chance she gets."
Rem: "Sister is far too kind. That's why I feel horrible..."
Xeno: "But why? I can understand your guilt, but why go that far?"
Rem: "Because... if my sister still had her horn, she would do things better than I ever could... I'm worthless..."
Xeno: "Stop trying to define yourself based off one moment. Take it from me, I've lived it. I know what it feels like. I let a person's moment of extreme grief define their entire character."
"I was so struck by their past actions that I refused to let go. And you know what happened? In the end, I accidentally k-k-killed someone they held dear just to prove myself right."
Rem's eyes widened in surprise at Xeno's admission.
Rem: "You killed someone?"
With everything she knew of Xeno, the idea that someone as honest as him could ever take someone's life was difficult to believe.
Xeno: "...Yes, I did, and I've regretted it to this day."
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. Living in the past won't fix anything. It won't change anything...It'll just drive you into a corner you can't return from without paying a price."
Xeno gazed toward the floor, the sensation fresh on his mind. His hand on Rem's head trembled uncontrollably.
Even after days, he still found the act of killing to be the worst feeling in the world.
Rem was surprised, but shortly after, she grabbed Xeno's hand with both of hers, holding it gently and firmly.
Xeno took a deep breath, then turned back to her, staring into her eyes.
She did the same.
"Don't be like me and look at what you already have, not what you've lost in the past. You still have Ram's love with you, even if you don't realize it. But just like how Ram is your world, you are hers too."
Xeno: "She without hesitation dropped everything she was doing and rushed straight into a forest full of mabeasts just to make sure you were safe. You're irreplaceable to her."
After hearing his words, Rem felt her soul being engulfed by the loving memories of her sister.
Even when she had her horn, Ram still valued her above all else in the village despite all the praise she had gotten for her potential.
Rem: "What if... Rem fails? Rem is... very weak. I'm sure she'll end up leaning on you."
She glanced away, avoiding eye contact. Unsure how to feel.
Xeno: "Then do it! I didn't get this far on my own. The only reason I'm standing here is because I leaned on others. And if you fail, I'll be there to pick you up and carry you on my crippled back towards the future if I have to."
Xeno: "So tell me, Rem, will you walk towards the future with me?"
Hearing this caught her by surprise as she turned to look at him.
Once their eyes met, she could see a softened expression on his face.
While his eye expressed a multitude of emotions—
Concern for her well-being.
Certainty that she was wrong in her assessment of herself.
Determination to help her.
And finally. Hope that she would take his hand and move forward.
Warm tears trickled down her face once more.
Rem: "You're really bad at this."
Xeno was taken aback by the response, before grinning.
Xeno: "Heh, told you I'm not good at this kind of stuff."
The oni was crying and laughing as Xeno stroked her head with his hand.
Rem: "Yes! I would love to walk towards the future with you."
...
...
...
Let's give them some privacy, shall we?
Whatever happens afterwards, let the two of them enjoy it in peace.
No need for us to intrude.
...