[IC] [Damiann47]The Legend Of A Hero Gone Wrong[Hebigami Shiho]

[Hebigami Shiho]

A month has passed ever since the quest of the hero, Noboyuki, and the princess, Rena, started. Going from town to town, solving people's problems as it is the duty of the hero and collecting money and whatnot, the both await for Noboyuki's sacred power to finally arrive to him, as it was predicted by the ancient legend of the hero back in the kingdom. Still, and while he has been getting by with just physical abilities and the use of his sword, it proves to become harder and harder as they encounter different and larger enemies. Stopping in a little town between their travels to take a rest, Noboyuki sighs heavily, after going into a library to confirm some of the lore of the world he finds himself into.

Former salaryman and graduate from a prestigious school in Tokyo, Noboyuki never actually did expect to be suddenly transported away. Yes, sure, it might seem like a pretty good adventure for any 16 year old in the middle of his youth, but for someone who has actually already gone past his prime and lived a boring, grey life in the suburbs with a boring job... Well, this quest to eliminate the demon lord wasn't actually all that exciting, in fact, it seemed like quite a pain, and his companion was pleasant to look at and nothing more. She had her moments when she was cute, but, well....

Noboyuki took one of the books and tried to read through it, but... "No use, huh?" He put the book right back into the shelf he took it from. The spoken language was the same, but the written? Heck, he didn't have an idea of what the hell it said. It all seemed like scribbles to him. He could always go to Rena and ask for her help, but whether she'd help him or not was an entirely different matter. He was in a little library of the quiet and peaceful town that had yet to be tarnished by the power of the Demon King Lucifer. Having been informed just the bare minimum, Noboyuki only knew that he had to slay such a being, but no more than that. Seemingly, his sacred power would open a path, but he didn't have a damn of that. He calmly walked out of the library with a hand in both of his jacket's pockets. Now, where was Rena? As much as he would have like to leave her somewhere else, he really couldn't. It'd mean dead for him, without her divine protection.

[Damiann47]

Rena thanked the elder as she stepped into the sun, beyond the thatched roof home. He'd been very helpful the information on demon movements throughout the region was surprisingly in depth, from the sounds of it they shouldn't have any troubles moving ahead, its always nice when fortune smiles. The royal girl clutched the album traverler's cloak tightly, despite what one may think with her status as a princess through and through, she was also much more pragmatic for quite frankly traveling by foot was no time to wear dresses. Besides she herself was a seasoned traveler anyway, in the past she spent years in other courts across the kingdom, and then a few located in nearby foreign allies. Of course none of that came easily, attempting to convince her father to allow such things certainly took some time. In the end Rena was thankful for the experience, and looking back those exact experiences were paying off.

The last month was not easy for sure, maybe within the first week money ran out, although not to her surprise, honestly there wasn't much to give at all. This forced them, or really rather Noboyuki, to take on odd jobs for merger earnings. Sure there was the satisfaction of assisting the people, they needed the help without a doubt, Rena just hasn't expressed as much to the hero. While considering Noboyuki, he had actually proven to be resourceful, and apparently well educated ignoring his obvious ignorance of her world. What's more the hero had proven to be quite skilled as a swordsman, not everyone could take on a demon especially alone in his case. In reality Rena didn't mind the man at all, in fact she had a deep respect for him, as for saying as much that was far out of the deal. Noboyuki was still a commoner, even with his position as the hero of prophecy... she still had social norms to adhere to.

They agreed on staying in the sleepy hamlet for at least a day, even if Rena in truth wanted to pass the opportunity up, mainly out of concern for whatever damage the Demon King may cause if they delay too long, she couldn't ignore the need for a proper rest. As a bonus due to their importance, the elder gave them free lodgings at the only taven for miles around, the owner wasn't too happy but ultimately overruled. First things first, Rena had to find her hero, he did say that he wanted to vist the local libary, a rare occurrence really, she doubted he managed to glean anything from the trip unfortunately his lacking the ability to read her language was well too known. When she approached the tiny stone building, Rena caught sight of Noboyuki, good looked as if he wrapped up whatever business he tried to take care of.

"Finally, hope you're done wasting our time by looking at books, you know you can't understand them anyway, right?" She spoke with authority fitting for royal blood, "While you were struggling to grasp basic writings, I had a talk with the elder. Good news is he agrees to house us for a day, food and shelter of course."

[Hebigami Shiho]

And there she was... her royal highness. She didn't seem to know the meaning of the word 'nice', and Noboyuki was sure most of her body was composed of pure, pure disdain for him. If she had even a shred of respect for him, well, he couldn't sense as it was. He was either too dense to feel her respect or it was truly inexistant. Noboyuki was sure it was the latter, at the very least, he knew he wasn't dense... probably. "Yes, I know that. I just wanted to see if there was something around a library that wasn't actually written with the feet of someone who actually thought they could write. My, my, doesn't anyone here know how to use the alphabet? It's way simpler than those crappy drawings in everything. And I say that as a Japanese man, our writing is kinda like that but with different drawings." Noboyuki sighed once again. Anyway, who the hell came up with so many different languages in the first place? At the very least, Rena was good enough as to secure them a dry and comfortable place to spend the night.

Trying his very best, Noboyuki put on a smile on his face. "Great! It seems you don't only dally around while I try to make any sense of what you call writing here. Let's go right now, I'm a bit tired and my shoulders are soo stiff." He moved his head around, and it cracked a bit. A good idea came to his mind, looking at Rena with a bit of a perverted look in his eyes. "Why don't you give me a massage, Rena? I'm pretty sure that if I got a massage like that, I'd sleep like a baby tonight." He said happily. He liked to joke around like that, even though he didn't always come out with the upper hand after making a bad taste joke like that, neither when he was overly sarcastic. Well, it was just the wat the world had made him. For someone of his frame and look (he wore glasses), the only thing he could do about others was outwit them when they were way bigger than him. At the very least, this world had given him some kind of super boost to his strength, making him able to go against huge monsters all by himself, and using knowledge he got in his own world, handling a sword was really right up his alley. It was when he wielded his sword that he truly felt like a 'hero'.

Regardless of Rena's response, no matter what kind of comeback she had for him, Noboyuki would make his way to the inn. If anything was true, is that he was really tired. And some guy told him that if he slayed a nocturnal monster for him, he'd give him a lot of money, so he wanted to rest up and go for it later. Extra money never hurt, and maybe he could buy something for Rena. She wasn't all that bad once you get used to her. If you ever do.

[Damiann47]

"No." A flat retort from the girl. Deserving of respect or not Noboyuki had his faults, mainly his tendency to be "witty" and somewhat perverse... could be worse. Rena had gotten used to his strange mannerisms, and really his blatant lack of respect, which wasn't uncalled for honestly considering her own treatment, she was by no means a hypocrite in that sense. If anything else the hero was just a foreigner if one were to ignore his actual orgins, Rena spent enough time with other cultures that getting used to the unusual whims of her partner did not take long. The most she knew of Noboyuki was he came from "Japan" yet he'd never talked much of it, which was a shame since she loved hearing about far off lands.

On that specific day Rena wasn't too talkative and followed silently behind the otherworldly companion. While she didn't admit it, she was in truth fairly fatigued it had been far too long since they've been able to find a proper bed. Rena imagined the brief silence from her wouldn't go unwelcomed... as much as she disliked being unpleasant, she couldn't take any risk showing favor, already she could hear the gossip weaving throughout the courts the very last thing she ever wanted to do was fuel those whispers. A crowned heir traveling alone with a holy hero of the same age at that left a lot in the way of rumors, in uh less savory ways.

As the hamlet wasn't the largest of settlements the duo found their way to the taven relatively quickly. It was a simple establishment, respectable in both look and service yet nothing more than that, not like the owner had much competition. Without a word Rena delt with the said owner, a gruff man like most taven owners strangely enough, out of earshot from Noboyuki she negotiated for their room. Not long after they were standing in a single small space, clearly a very plain room which was fine for Rena, wouldn't have been fair to expect more. There were two separate beds, each one on opposing walls. Before the hero was able to make a move Rena had already claimed the left most one, she flopped down on the mattress cloak trailing behind her trajectory, fluttering like a cloth butterfly.

"Haven't seen a real bed for so long..." Yay for actual beds.

[Hebigami Shiho]

Well... Not what he expected. Rena seemed to be a bit too tired today for his jokes. Noboyuki seemed a bit annoyed that she felt like that, but nevertheless, he'd leave her alone for the time being. He better than anyone knew just how much people hated being pushed around when they didn't feel all that well. So, he just walked to the hamlet alongside her, just as silent as she was. At the very least, it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. They walked all the way there and Rena, being a little too secretive, talked to the owner. Well, now what the hell should he do now that Rena started flirting with the elderly owner of the inn? He leant against a wall, waiting for the next thing to happen while he waited for Rena.

Still, it sure was nice to finally have some kind of actual place to stay in, unlike most of the times that they camped outside. Being a hero had its perks, every now and then. For instance, if he were to go to a bar and say he was the hero, a lot, and he meant, A LOT, of women would start swarming him. Whether they searched for political power, money, or simply liked a man with status, didn't matter. At the very least, it made Noboyuki feel relieved. Maybe he'd do it again one of these days. Not today, though. He was just as tired, and he needed some rest before the monster hunt for the night.

Finally, Rena came out and they went to their room. It always disappointed Noboyuki immensely that there were two beds in the room, though. "Hey, Renaaa...." He protested, much like a child. "How much did this cost? I bet getting a double room was expensive. Why not have a single room so we can cuddle closely together?" Even though he said so, he was already making his way to the bed. "But, not that it matters anymore. You should also get some rest, we are busy during the night." He said, and didn't realize until later that what he said could be badly misunderstood. But he didn't care anymore. The fluffiness of an actual bed swallowed him whole and his eyes became heavier by the minute. Soon enough, he was asleep. Well, if the princess had something to thank Noboyuki for was his lack of snores during night time.

[Damiann47]

"The elder sent word of our arrival beforehand, two of us means two beds and before you ask I know this as the owner told me." Rena responded with her typical attitude, and she was ignoring his obvious, prevented comments on purpose, not at at willing to acknowledge them. Minutes of total silence passed before she decided to roll over trying to figure out why she was being ignored. She was more than ready to reprimand the disrespectful hero, already a notable scowl occupying her features, that is until the realization dawned upon her. The man must have been exhausted to have fallen asleep so quickly, instead the scowl feel away to a neutral, but soft expression.

"Good, get some sleep. You have to work hard tonight, like always." Rena spoke quietly, perhaps not on purpose, maybe just so she wouldn't wake him up. Noboyuki needed to rest for some time, well the both of them really, but he's the one who fights not her. Rena slipped out of her cloak and hung it on the end of her bed, underneath was her normal clothing (What you see in her picture, minus the crown.) Pretty soon the princess herself fell asleep.

Hours later Reba woke up, if one were to guess about an hour before midnight. She had a dreamless sleep, that said she was not the type of person who dreams often anyway. A momentary look revealed that Noboyuki hasn't awaken yet, great meant she could prepare for their trip without distraction. At the far end of the room the owner, or whoever may have worked at the taven, left them dinner on a plain desk present in the room. Beef stew, still warm, and a wedge of barley bread. Rena put her share to the side, she could eat it while working, as for the hero's bowl, well that was placed on the side table beside his bed. Rena found their bags and started to unload some of their contents onto the desk, these were bunches of papers and books. Seeing as Noboyuki couldn't read, she handled all the written work, she felt it was fair.

Rena looked at various maps of the surrounding areas, earlier she got the details on the night job so with a stick of charcoal she marked where they should search first. It was a system of way points with a designated allocation of time in one area to comb before moving on. The plan was to follow this strategy until they come across the beast, or until dawn. Out in the field Rena's job was to keep them on track, being the guide of course. As a side note this style of planning was developed by the Eskar military, quite frankly had also shown to be effective during recon by scouts, so of course Rena payed attention to this much to their benefit. She continued to work diligently unaware as to wether or not Noboyuki had awoken yet.

[Hebigami Shiho]

Between dreams, Noboyuki was sure he heard something from Rena, but he was way too tired to be able to think about it anymore. Even so, he felt like making snarky retort like, 'damn, why don't people in this world tease us a bit more...' or something like that. Not that he wanted to be teased, but in animes back in his world, well, it was a common development having to sleep in the same bed with the firl you were in a quest in. Well, not that it mattered anymore. He went to sleep without a worry in the world.

When Noboyuki woke up, it was already midnight, about half an hour after Rena herself, and he could hear her scribbling something. Well, she did have to do everything related to writing, since Noboyuki was about as useless as a rock when it came to that. It wasn't that he was an idiot, he liked to think he was quite a genius when it came to anything but writing the blighted alphabet of this world was just torture for him. He brought himself up, despite his body begging to be let to rest just another hour. He yawned, scratched his head and then stretched out a bit, before sitting on the bed's side. Well, he had just slept a bit, but he had certainly dreamed about things. Things from his world, how boring it all seemed, and how tedious his parents were to try and order him around. Yeah... it felt better being here, some times.

He stood up and looked at Rena. Well, it wouldn't be nice to interrupt her when she seemed so concentrated in her work. Besides, eh felt like he needed a bath, real bad. He was kind of sweaty after the nap, not to mention that they hadn't been in a real inn for a while now. A bathtub that needed to be filled with buckets seemed like a better idea than to continue on like that. Some habits died hard, and his habit of bathing everyday would take the longest to die. It was a good thing in his world where just about everywhere had enough water to bath yourself, but here, where a lot of the country was woods and whatnot? Heck, he didn't even remember the feeling of water in his skin when he took a relaxing bath. He just hoped bathing wasn't a luxury only reserved for royalty like Rena.

"Good morning, night might be better, but anyhow." Noboyuki simply said, in a bit of a low voice. Whether Rena took notice of him or not, well, it might be better if she didn't. Having to explain himself as to why he wanted a bath would just make him some more of a wuss than he seemed already just by the look and entire aura he gave. He stepped out of the room and went to where the owner was, asking for a bath. Of course, there was one in their room, but it seemed as if they had gave an open air bath a try. It was already filled and ready for use. Well, he'd be damned. He immedietly requested that one. Definitely having a bath like that would make wonders for him, even if he sounded like an old man.

Settling down in the spacious bath, he let himself relax and letting out a relieved sigh as he felt the water by his chest. "Now, only if Rena-tan would come and wash my back, I could certainly die happily." He still felt hungry, though, and he was sure that he saw some food by his side when he woke up, but hadn't been smart enough to eat it first.

[Damiann47]

Rena barely registered Noboyuki getting up, too entrenched in her work to really notice anything but paperwork. It wasn't until later she happened to notice the empty bed, funny thing is he left the stew alone possible missed it or some other reason. Whatever, instead of concerning herself in something trivial, she got right back to planning, he'll probably eat later, hopefully. Rena found a star chart, fairly crude in reality, but accurate enough to use for broad navigation of course only useful at night. A few foot notes later, she was confident that they'll won't get lost long as nothing goes wrong.

She still had no idea where the hero went off to, maybe to get some fresh air. Rena knew they had little bit more time until they set out, the creature is practicular for what times it ventures out. During her talks with the owner earlier she requested for a bath, the taven had one so taking advantage of such a thing wasn't about to be passed up. She whistled an improvised melody while outside of the bathroom, her clothes folded neatly by the door. A bath was one of those small luxuries Rena learned to forget since they've started to journey. She thought she heard some water splashing, it didn't make sense but in the end she opted to forget it.

The next series of events were in a blur if Rena were ever to recall them, the best summary could be said to be "awkward", because she found where Noboyuki went. Nothing happened as Rena stood there, trying not to make the situation worse, just how did this happen? Did he tell her about a bath? If he did was it her fault? A high amount of self control and solid composure went into standing her ground, even with the view the known-to-be-prevented hero had. Hiding biological responses was something she couldn't do as a slowly her face turned red. Eventually Rena took the one action she could think of, and that was to turn around a leave. Finally out of sight, she for a lack of a better word, facepalmed. What just happened?

[Hebigami Shiho]

Well... Noboyuki sure got a good show while in his bath. The only bad thing? That the princess probably saw things she shouldn't see. He was just as shocked as her, but he didn't have any time to try and stop his natural body reactions. And by that, he meant those a man has that will probably ashame him in society. Whether she saw or not was irrelevant right now. He was planning on relaxing while he was there, but any kind of relaxing he could've had was destroyed by the sudden arrival of Rena. He didn't even feel comfortable there anymore. Maybe the guy thought they had that kind of relationship and said that on purpose? Maybe he thought they'd ahppily share a bath like lovers? Well, damn, what an open minded geezer he was then. Or at the very least, a really malicious geezer. that got his kicks out of seeing people miserable.

Not that he was miserable right now, mind you, in fact, he was quite satisfied with the turn of events. He quikcly gathered his things, put some pants on and left the bath, seeing Rena on his way out. He didn't even saw her, and merely continued on his way. "The bath is now all yours, Rena. Have fun." He said, jokingly while he walked away, before stopping and looking back at her with a lecherous smile in his face. "Also, thanks for the treat. I'll be dreamming some real good things tonight thanks to you." He said and gave her a thumbs up, before walking away towards their room. Well, he might as well get something to eat, whatever that thing left aside his bed was would make do for now.

He hurried back to their room and started on eating the stew left beside his bed. He needed the energy anyways. He still wondered what kind of creature he'd be facing today, he only got that it was nocturnal from the guy that gave him the, 'quest', to call it something. It felt more and more like an RPG world the more he thought about it. He finished off the stew and quickly got dressed up and ready for action with his sword hanging around his waist. He then went out of the room and decided to wait for Rena in the lobby. Or he could go peek on her right now that she was taking her bath, probably. Decisions, decisions... He knew the sacred power would come in handy right about now.

[Damiann47]

She so wanted to punch the arrogance out of him, so badly. Not that was an option, like at all, she had a feeling it was either her own fault... or maybe a certain gruff man whom they recently met, the audacity. The point is, she was the one who walked in and so the blame had to go to herself, it was only fair that way, at least that's what she thought. Even then Rena couldn't pass up the bath, despite the water being used, the thought of Noboyuki's... uh uncovered body once touching the exact same water was not comforting. She thanked her luck that it was an isolated incidence, not even in her worse nightmares could Rena imagine what sort of rumors would've been born from all this.

The bath was anything but relaxing as she wanted, still she attempted to ignore the images floating in her mind, they're both adults meaning they were more than capable of moving on, Rena just couldn't ignore the initial shock that remained. Soon enough she was done and dressed, when she returned to their room it seemed that Noboyuki already gathered his equipment, plus he clearly ate the beef stew was probably cooled off by the time he gotten around to eating it. Rena donned her cloak, grabbed small a book that held all her field notes, and the map she prepared for the mission. In the dark it'll be harder to read any of it, with luck the moon would provide enough light anyway.

They couldn't waste anymore time, if they were unable to find and slay the beast that very night they wouldn't be able to try again for a full day, a day that she felt couldn't be spared. Noboyuki was ready to move out it looked like as he waited in the main hall, Rena had already placed the bath event towards the very back regions of her memory, they had a job to do they had to remain on task. She marched up to the man, bringing forth the level of authority that came naturally to her.

"If you're about done loitering about, we have to start the hunt right now. I don't need to tell how much of pain it'll be if the beast is not dead by dawn, we do not have to time to try again." Rena rolled out the map on a nearby table, pointing to it. "This is the nearby woods where the creature is commonly reported, hope I don't need to tell you that much. I tried to make it simple for you, these circles here are the search zones, we spend the appropriate amount of time before continuing onto the the next area, and so forth."

Rena let out an exasperated sigh, "We're burning too much time, don't fall behind." With that the nightly hunt was on.

[Hebigami Shiho]

She seemed all ready to go as well. Though she still wore that dress on her that seemed to be uncomfortable to no end. 'Well, to each their own, I guess...' He thought. Well, it seemed like some kind of damn important royal dress, but Noboyuki wasn't one to nitpick. Even less when her role in the whole adventure was protecting him and not getting any of the actual action. Even he would feel frustrated, but since he wasn't a woman, he couldn't look fabulous while he waited. He let out a giggle at the thought of that, and made it sound a bit as if he were mocking her. He cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm done loitering. The hunt can start whenever." He flashed a confident smile at her.

He rested his hand on his sword's hilt and approached the table to see what his little strategist had planned out for the day, err, night. He merely nodded and said 'hm' while she gave out instructions. It still hurt his pride that she thought he couldn't understand more than just simple figures in the map. He was pretty intelligent, it was just the fact that he couldn't read that stopped him from showing that was the case. No, well, that isn't something someone intelligent would say, would it? Anyhow, back to the problem at hand.... "I see, I see. This beast won't last any longer. Not as long as the reknown hero Noboyuki has something to say about it!" Noboyuki said, pounding his chest with pride. It was the least he could do to show that he wasn't actually scared of whatever the hell it was.

Noboyuki followed after Rena, increasing his pace to be walking right beside her. "As long as her highness does her part, I'm pretty sure we can get this over with before dawn." He said. It was going to be an easy hunt, something told him that. At the very least, it seemed to be his heroic power, or instinct, that made him think that. He started feeling like a hero for the very first time since he arrived there.

Soon enough, the woods were in sight, and as soon as they went into them, Noboyuki took his sword out of its sheath and appeared to be ready for battle. "Be sure to stay behind me, princess. I don't want anyone getting on my bottom just cause you got slightly hurt." Noboyuki put himself in front of her while he walked towards the place she had told him about. He just hoped the first thing they'd see was the monster they had to eliminate. Going back to sleep was first priority.

[Damiann47]

Rena briefly glared at Noboyuki, "Don't press your luck..."

No matter, it did make sense for him to lead on being the one with the sword and whatnot. The small party reached the start of the wilderness stretching beyond the hamlet's borders. Every so often Rena stopped them in order to check their position, she didn't say so but figuring out the land in person is harder than simply reading maps, more so during the dead of night. Fortunately Rena was able to reliably guide the both of them through the dark trees, at least she hoped as much.

During one of their stops Rena was uncommonly quiet, she almost looked worried if Noboyuki were able to clearly see her in the darkness. After some time she spoke up.

"So, Noboyuki. Have you noticed how these, well monsters we face have been getting stronger? I'm getting worried, that we, or uh honestly more like you wouldn't be able to keep up for much longer. Your powers haven't emerged yet right? I... have to admit, I'm getting worried."

[Hebigami Shiho]

"Well, this is a surprise." Noboyuki started, with a bit of a grin in his face. He never dropped his guard, though, and was ready for anything that might leap at them any second now. That didn't take away any of his sarcastic demeanor, though. "You are actually worried about me. It's nice for a change." Noboyuki finished with another big smile on his face. As if to demonstrate his prowess, he started rolling his sword around with a lot of ease in his hand. "There's no need for sacred power when you have cool skills like this. I've always been more of a DPS kind of guy rather than a mage." He said, talking in video game terms of his own world.

Still, he soon noticed that Rena might not know what the hell he is talking about if he talks like that. They were terms only natural for him, since he liked to play games from time to time. "Ah, sorry. What I was trying to say I am not the kind to rely on powers like those. The support you give me is just magnificent." Noboyuki said to her, with a wink.

While he was fooling around, though, they had already arrived to the desifnated spot before they even knew. Or at the very least, really near to one of those spots. It was something gigantic, that was walking on all four of its legs, wait, no, its steps said that it had more than just four legs, maybe six? It seemed just like something straight out of hell. It was a bit more of a surprise than what he initially thought it'd be. For something roaming the woods, it just seemed too feral and aggressive, aside from scary.

The Monster

"R-Rena, what is that? Is it even from around here?" Noboyuki readied his sword. While his initial appearance threw him off a bit, he was now ready to go at it. The fact that it may be a demon was still there, and that meant that it had some connection to their overall quest. "It doesn't even seem like an animal." Still, whatever the thing was, it was already on the offense. It slashed at Noboyuki and he barely deflected its sharp claws with his sword, sending it back a few steps. Its four arms spelled problems for Noboyuki, not to mention the tail. He wasn't as confident as before, and that last hit seemed to be more to test him rather than actually fighting him.

[Damiann47]

None of this looked good for them, Rena didn't freeze up exactly although she felt somewhat numb. This... thing looked nothing like the description, still now she thought about it the pay was almost too good to be true. "I... don't know its nothing out of the demonology manuals I've studied." She threw her bag on the ground, already shifting through the many papers within. "Alright, listen me I need time to figure what this beast is, just do what you can and don't get reckless..." The last word trailed off, she caught herself before saying anything else.

Rena struck a touch, here was hoping the extra light wouldn't attract the wrath of that abomination. She started with history texts, demons haven't plagued the earth for too long really, perhaps only appearing just before she was born. Even then these books had to be the most accurate as they were recorded by actual scholars. She quickly flipped through the yellow parchment, whatever it was the damned thing had to be notable somewhere, that is assuming any information was present in the first place. Five minutes later she slammed the book shut in frustration. During that time Rena tried to block out the sounds of conflict as Noboyuki tangled with the walking nightmare... alone.

Rena knew the hero couldn't die, that wasn't her main concern. Despite being technically immortal he could still be critically wounded, or crippled, losing a limb was not out of the picture. What if he were to sustain a serious head wound? What kind of life would he even live at that point? Rena breathed deeply, losing her clam would be very deferential, well that was putting it lightly. Next set to search through, local legends she had bought and collected over time. Not nearly as reliable but should be more relevant.

About halfway through Rena landed on a particular page, the top of which had the words Joungha the Corpse Taker. She read over the entry, the description of its subject matched the monster before them word to word. Her heart sank, this was bad, more than bad they were way out of their league. "Noboyuki, uh..." Rena couldn't stomp down the sheer panic creeping into her voice, "We are in huge trouble, this is not a demon... no its something more than only a demon."

[Hebigami Shiho]

"Take your time!" Noboyuki jumped to the side, barely dodging the thing's claws directed at his face. He hadn't been injured in battle as far as they had come, there was never a thing like this around that actually seemed like a real problem before, so he just supposed the rest would be as easy. Grind some levels, get to the boss with a few more on you than you should and kick his ass. Of course, neither life nor games could be as easy. As he thought that, a double attack from the monster with two of its arms was deflected by Noboyuki's blade, making some sparks come out. It seemed the thing's claws were as sharp as metal, enough as to make friction. Yeah, life had things like this, while a game auto-adjusted the level of the last boss to your current leve.

"Not fair, I tell you. Well, what can you do about it?" Noboyuki smiled, even if his smile was a lot smaller this time. The fact that the thing hadn't moved at all while they were battling and was just attacking when Noboyuki came near to it made him think it was certainly strange. Neither had it used all of its arms, he was using two, three at max, or its tail. It seemed to be more intelligent than he thought. And that head... it creeped him out of his mind. If he didn't think hard about his next move...

And that was when the thing finally moved and dashed against him. A flurry of attacks fell upon Noboyuki as it used all four of its arms to ravage him. It was a relentless flurry of attacks. Noboyuki barely managed to avoid any kind of fatal damage, but he still had scratches all over him. Like that, Noboyuki would have been ready for a counterattack, had it not been that the beast took his head with its tail and lifted him. It was applying a lot of pressure and Noboyuki felt the claws it had stabbing his neck and the back of his head. "You....!" Feeling a bit more enraged now, Noboyuki stabbed his sword on its tail. Of course, it didn't go through its hide quite as planned, but it still stinged enough for it to let go of him.

Noboyuki fell to the ground and coughed a bit, before squinting his eyes to look at the beast. "Then, what is it!? It doesn't seem like an angel to me!" He was pissed and was shouting now, but soon stood up and regained his composure. Well, damn, the fight didn't seem to be going well.

[Damiann47]

Rena was truly beginning to become fearful, Noboyuki wasn't looking good, still early in the battle and he was covered in scratches, nothing serious, she uttered a small prayer for their good fortunes, so far that is. "It is not an angel, we are facing Joungha the Corpse Taker, it used to be worshiped by the tribal people who used to reside near here. Joungha is not a common demon, he is a forgotten deity... a malicious one." Rena tugged on Noboyuki's arm, trying to pull him to eye level, she wanted to fully covey the dire situation they were in through the solem gaze in her own eyes.

"You cannot fight this alone, especially without your divine powers, the better part of valor is knowing when to run. No amount of gold is worth this."

Rena prayed beyond all hope that Noboyuki will listen to her wisdom, although he had been known to be stubborn, and there was their crafted relationship to consider as well...

[Hebigami Shiho]

"If I were some kind of big shot hero like those you often see in animes, I'd refuse to back down." Noboyuki said, and quickly turned around, averting from Rena's gaze and barely deflecting another attack of Joungha. A god, huh? Well, that was troublesome. What kind of f'd up group would worship that, though? "But I have some more common sense than those guys. Any amount of hard work and guts won't get us out of this." Noboyuki jumped back, putting some distance between the two of them. "We'll run on my signal... 1...2...3, GO!" He shouted, turned around and started running full speed. He'd have taken the princess' hand, weren't it for the fact that he knew she was quite capable of running away by herself.

Still, as he was running away, he felt something taking his leg and cutting off a big part of his ankle. It would be impossible for him to cure instantly, and maybe the fact that he was dragged back to where the beast was had deactivated the protection of Rena. He DID drag him around a good bit, after all. His tail was way larger than what one would think. Trapping Noboyuki under its body and roaring at him, Noboyuki somehow taught it was it for him. But there was no way he could let the princess get involved. Joungha approached him and opened what seemed to be its mouth.

Noboyuki felt scared, but more than anything, he was angry. There was no way he would let it end like this. "Bastaaaard!" With his sword, he slashed right at its face, but before he could get to it, Joungha put its hand on the way. However, and somewhat miraculously, Noboyuki cut through its hand and it fell to the ground. It didn't wail, neither did it let out a loud voice of pain, but it merely looked at its hand, or where it used to be. It was surprised, at the very least, Noboyuki noted that. It was his chance. He slipped out of below it and ran away to the hamlet yet again. He'd be able to talk things with Rena after that.

[Damiann47]

Thank the Gods Noboyuki actually had the sense to run, Rena was worried she would've had to do something stupid and drastic to hold the hero back. She waited for his signal when to run, able to trust his judgement, after all he was the one who handled combat. She was ahead of the man as they fled from the scene, an after thought was what if Joungha decided to chase after then, he probably wouldn't have a hard time running them down. Whatever that didn't matter, she kept up her mad sprint through the thick underbrush, the rough growth tried its best to halt her progress but she didn't have any of that.

Finally she stopped at the edge of the woods, the soft glow of the hamlet just on the horizon. Joungha was a being of darkness, even the simple candlelight would be more than enough to chase the god away. Rena turned to face Noboyuki... problem was that the man turned out to be missing. It was then she outwardly started to openly panic, somehow he must've gotten trapped by something, maybe even Joungha managed to capture him. The worse part is since he gotten separated from her... oh he was vulnerable without her protection. The thought drove Rena deeper into her panic, she paced back and forth anxiously debating on what she should do. She perked up at a distance roar, it had be that cursed creature, what did that roar mean? Could've meant nothing, or maybe frustration, or maybe even in victory.

Rena stood in place, seemingly paralyzed, no, he wasn't dead. It would take a lot more to end Noboyuki's life, not with his spirit. She finally absolved to take some kind of action, the heir crouched down in order to grasp a branch, undoubtedly useless against Joungha, but it was something in her hand. Before Rena was about to rush back for her partner, there was nearby rustling before long the silhouette of a man appeared from beyond the forest, it took her a moment to register who it was, Noboyuki!

"You're alive! Oh thanks the fortunes above, you're still alive!" Rena broke out into a laughter, of course one of relief, but also to discharge the large amount of nervousness that built up. "I..I lost you, I knew you didn't have your protection, and with Joungha out there I just assumed the worse. I'm relived, you didn't die." She fully knew her act was gone, she never expressed herself truthfully like this before, yet that didn't matter. Rena softly whispered at the end, being barely audible, "I wouldn't know what to do if you died...

[Hebigami Shiho]

Noboyuki was glad to hear Rena so earnestly worried about him, but, honestly, there was no time to be doing that. God only knows, pun intended, what that Joungha might try now that he sliced up his hand. Noboyuki didn't stop running even for a second and took Rena's hand and brought her with him inside the hamlet. "Doesn't matter right now! RUN!" It was just an instant action he pulled there, he didn't even really think about it. After a while from running while dragging Rena around with him, they finally arrived to the hamlet. The owner seemed worried, but Noboyuki just told him to back away as soon as he approached them.

Now, being able to catch his breath, Noboyuki crawled to the nearest sofa he could sit on and then let himself just... relax there... The tension and adrenaline suddenly left all of his body and he became truly relaxed now. Seemingly, Jonghua didn't follow them there. He hoped, at the very least. "It's good that you were worried about me. Makes me feel-!" And now, without the tension and adrenaline from before, his foot finally started hurting as it should.

"Craaaaap! Ow.... This hurts... like hell..." It was truly something, just how much it hurt. He didn't let even a tear escape his eyes, though. He hurried to take his pants off his wound. It was really fugly, definitely so. The whole back of his feet aside from his talon had been cut off. The claws of that thing weren't anything to toy with. He was surprised at how he could even run here. "Don't look, Rena." He said, covering his wound with his hand. "Go get some bandages. And maybe some alcohol."

[Damiann47]

Rena was caught by surprise, wasn't too hard considering she was already knocked off of balance over concern for him. She didn't fight Noboyuki as he purposely lead her by the hand away from the horror that probably was hunting after them. They were going so fast, she barely had time to say anything, too busy trying to keep up. When they made it back to the taven she breathed a long awaited breath of relief, they were for sure safe now.

Rena forgot about finding actual furniture to rest on, instead she sat down on the floor, anything was good enough. She leaned back, touching the front of the sofa, of which Noboyuki lied upon. She was attempting to calm down, relax and regain her composure, they were alive that's all that mattered. Noboyuki was about to go on about something, not that she was quite paying attention, not on purpose, only too tied. Suddenly he cried out in pain. His discarded parts were covered in blood, actually just one if the legs... that is a lot of blood.

He shouted at her to stay away, Rena didn't listen. She shoved his blood soaked hands away, the sight was brutal. A whole chuck of his back foot was gone, it had to be from Jonghua. Why didn't Noboyuki say anything? She truly thought they survived unscathed. The owner of course heard the commotion, continuing to be helpful the man retrieved clean rags and the strongest alcohol he had in stock. Rena told herself to think him personally when this was over. She kept ignoring any resistance that have came from Noboyuki, as the examined the wound she became less hopeful for a full recovery. The wound was terrible, very deep and to the bone, in fact she found bone fragments scattered around the area, but no arteries were cut, plus he probably will get to keep his foot.

Rena poured a some of the alcohol into a tankard, this was going to be painful. "Drink, please, some bone has been shattered I imgaine that's why you're in great pain. I need to remove the bone shards, you know that, so please try numbing yourself before I start."