1 Chapter 1: When you see a centipede…

Part 1: Peace be upon ye.

"There is no honor in death."

These are the words that were beaten into one man long ago.

The man had to figure out the many reasons why those words held true for those that had beaten it into him.

One of the reasons that the man was fond of was that "You cannot have another man's sword if you are dead."

This confused many who the man had to later explain this to, but it was one of the answers that kept him going. Kept him staying alive. Kept him improving. Kept him finding new swords to his collection.

He fought many people. At first there was no need for killing, but by leaving people who have honed their lives in lifting a sword that the man would take away left them coming up to him later with a bite.

The man said "Screw this. Since those bastards want to die so bad, I'll show them the closest way to the gates of hell."

And so the man killed many people and took their swords as his own to his garden of swords. So many people were sent to get rid of this man, but all that ended up doing is giving him more reasons to keep going.

After an arduous journey that far exceeded the normal lifespan of a mortal man, that man found himself bored while sitting in his garden of swords. So many have come and failed to kill him, the famous demon of 1000 swords. So many swordsmen have come to his domain to end up dying and give him increasingly more mediocre swords.

Then after pondering for a long time, a thought struck the man. "Why do I feel the need to be honorable in the first place?" This thought caused him to reconsider the path he had taken, until one of the people who had left an impression on him came to mind. A son dedicated to avenge his dead father.

"Father" … "Mother" … "Son" … "Daughter" … "Brother" … "Sister" … "Steve"

"Family"

This word made the man reconsider the mantra "There is no honor in death" and what it meant to him. After pondering some more, the man came to a new reason why the mantra held true.

"You can't go back and see your family if you are dead."

This new thought brought a demonic smile on the man's face and he would soon laugh out loud like a madman.

"Family huh… I wonder if I can have one?" He spoke of this while surrounded with corpses of his former assailants. Then after realizing this, he said "Not likely in this world. Every person wants a piece of me."

Then he continued to laugh like a maniac for a while, until suddenly stopping to say "Though not in a good kind of way."

He pondered some more, until realizing "Oh right! There is that sword!" Then he looked at the space where all the noteworthy swords were held and eventually found what he was looking for. He said proudly "Behold! A reincarnation sword that I stole from some temple! I think. Or was it from a palace of some sort? Perhaps from a wandering holy man or something? … Spiritfarer? Ah who cares!"

Then came to figuring out how the quirk of the sword actually worked. He had learned a skill that allowed him to understand everything about how the sword worked by glance, so it didn't take long to figure out.

He found out that he only needed to stab a person's heart and the person would be reincarnated. Apparently it can work only three times, of which one has already been used.

Just before committing to the reincarnation, the man took his most important swords to his spacial armory. The spacial armory is a sort of inventory where you can place weapons and armor.

You can upgrade the spacial armory to a spacial inventory that allows you to have all kinds of items inside the inventory by practice. This man opted against it, since he only focused on how many swords he can hold inside of it.

When the man picked the swords he wanted alongside him for the off chance that they'd be with him in his next life, he stabbed his heart with the reincarnation sword and said "Fuck your honor and shit. If any of you fucks want a rematch, find your own reincarnation sword and face me in the next world."

Seven years have passed since the man, formerly known as the demon of 1000 swords, came to his current world. He was born as a son of the Witsur family that was a baron household. It was a small barony that mostly focused on agriculture.

The Witsur household had a father Mathias Witsur, mother Alice Witsur, first daughter Rena Witsur, son Mathews Witsur and second daughter Lucy Witsur.

The man's name was now Mathews that is shortened to Thews, ask the mother, and he was the middle child of Mitsur household. Rana was 9 years old and Lucy was 4.

Everyone in the Witsur family had red hair to varying degrees. Alice and Lucy both had rose red hair, Thews and Thias had a little darker tone of red and Rena's hair was more of a fiery red.

Thews decided that in this life, he would enjoy it to the fullest. And what is the best way to enjoy life? Well, taking it easy and relaxing.

Rena, who is calling out for Thews taking a nap on top of a tree branch. Rena says "Dad told me to get you to training." To which Thews said "My dear sister. What is the most joyous thing that you can do while you are alive?"

Rena says "Right right. Just come down so that I don't have to drag you to dad." Thews continued, "The answer is simple." Then Thews looked at his sister with the most serious face he could muster "It's slacking off!"

Rena looked at her brother like any older sister would look at their sibling who was neglecting their duties. Nevertheless, Rena stayed silent and decided to listen to what Thews had to say.

"Yes. It is slacking off that is the most prized thing in this world. If you can slack off, that means there is no danger around the area. When you slack off, it makes you feel a sense of pride that you are getting away with it once more. Yes. This is truly the way to live life."

Rena then said "Are you done? If so, then come down and let go. Dad is waiting." Thews answered that with a smile on his face and saying as confidently as he could "I refuse!"

Rena waited for something else to happen, but as Thews continued to slack off on a tree, she gave a sigh, picked a rock and threw it at Thews with a force that made Thews fall to the ground. Then Rena grabbed the back of the collar and started dragging Thews with her.

While Thews was being dragged along, he kept a proud smile as if he had achieved a victory. The servants who saw Rena dragging her younger brother by the collar while the boy in question had a grin on his face. One of the maids even said to another maid "There's something wrong with that boy's head." To which the other says "I'm not even going to say that you shouldn't badmouth a member of our master's family since I'm sure the master feels the same."

Eventually Rena and Thews reach the training grounds where their father is waiting. Rena throws her brother in front of their father, and Thews keeps the grin on his face as well as holding his arms crossed.

Thias asks his son "What do you think you are doing?" To which Thews answers proudly and enthusiastically "I was slacking off to skip training!" Thias just looks Thews with disappointment in his eyes and says "You really have no shame do you?" To which Thews answers with the same enthusiasm as before "I don't and I'm proud of it!" Thias stares at his son like he was looking at trash.

Then girl that Thews doesn't know speaks up "I heard that the son of the Witsur household was a lost cause, but I have to say that I'm impressed by the lack of honor." The girl has long blonde hair, blue eyes and exudes the aura of nobility.

Thews answers while still laying on the ground "My my? Is that a new voice I hear? And this smell…" *Sniff* *Sniff* "It smells like a rich little kitten with no claws." Then a man beside the girl says "You sure have some nerve to call the second princess that."

Then Thews says "Aah! This smell is a little better. An old loyal dog serving his master. No, that's not right. An old loyal hound is more appropriate. You have my approval." As Thews finished speaking, he gave a thumbs up.

The man says to Thews "Why would I need your approval child?" To which Thews says "It's just a little thing I do. There is no need to think too much about it."

Then Thias says to his son "Mathews. For the love of all that is holy, can you please rise up from the ground and stop embarrassing our house any further than you already have?" To which Thews says "Yeah. No. I have come one with the ground, so you can just do your thing and just think of me as nothing more than a patch of grass."

Then the princess said "I'm fine leaving him be if we aren't getting anywhere with him." Thias sighs and says "As you wish, your highness."

Then Rena, who specializes in swordsmanship, starts sparring with the princess, who specializes in magic. Both take this practice seriously as Thias and the man who came along with the princess watch their actions closely and give them some advice.

When the practice is over, Thews says "I give that training session a 3.5/10." The princess comments by saying "You have laid there and kept your eyes shut the whole time, so who are you to judge our training?"

Thews says "I'm just a pro slacker. There is no need to take anything I say seriously." Then the princess says "Whatever. Can I have something to drink, please?" To which Thias says "We already prepared refreshments while you were practicing. Please, enjoy."

The princess and Rena go and take their drink, and Rena decides to ask out of curiosity "Why do you rate our practice so low then Thews?" To which Thews answers with "Your lack of mana usage to enhance your movements and the little kitten's lack of motivation." The princess asks "What?" 

Then Thews continues "Big sis is on the right track though, so I expect you to be a great big dog like dad one day. As for the little kitten, all I can see is her being a glorified housecat who has only played with toys her whole life." Thias shouts "That's enough Mathews! Ridiculing her highness so blatantly deserves a punishment!"

The princess says to Thias "It's alright, I don't feel ridiculed by the likes of him." Then she turns her head at Thews and says "Though just out of curiosity, what kind of animal do you call yourself boy?" To which Thews says "Let me see… I guess I would be a centipede."

Then the princess starts to laugh. After she is done, she says "You think of yourself as a centipede? That is priceless." Then Thews says "Glad I could make the little kitten laugh. It's the most human thing you did so far."

This makes the princess stop for a moment and say "You don't think of me as a human?" To which Thews says "Being born human and acting like a human are two separate things."

Princess then asks "What… What do you think I am then?" To which Thews says "I don't know rich little kitten, you tell me."

This makes Thias stomp Thews with his foot. This makes Thews spit out what was inside of his stomach. Out of breath he mutters "I think you might have broken one or two of my ribs."

Ignoring what Thews said, Thias says to the princess "I'm deeply sorry for my son's action today. I'll make sure he'll be severely reprimanded."

Then Thias raises his foot from Thews and says"Thews, your punishment will be to run hundred laps around the house. Louis, heal the boy and make sure he completes his punishment. Do not assist him in any shape or form."

Thews would be running long after it got dark and people in the house could hear him running out of breath.

That night, the princess and Rena slept in the same bed as they were friends. Rena said to the princess "Hey, don't think too much about what my brother said to you Mira. He might have a foul mouth, but that doesn't mean he knows what he's talking about." Mira said to Rena "I know. I just can't help but wonder where he got that behavior from. All of you sound like wonderful people." Rena said back to Mira "I know. That is one of the mysteries of the Witsur household."

Mira then asks "What kinds of mysteries does your house have?" To which Rena started telling all kinds of stories about the Witsur house until the two fell asleep.

Eventually when Thews finished running the final lap, he said out of breath Louis "This… is as far as I go." He fell to the ground and then said "Please. Take care of… my family… bury me under a tree… and come at least once every decade to clean the area around my grave… With this, I can… rest easy… dead." As he said dead, he closed his eyes in satisfaction.

Then Louis said to Thews "Young master, please get up and go to your room. I want to sleep too." To which Thews said "Didn't you hear the "dead" sound? That means I can no longer move as I have departed from this world."

Louis comments that "For a corpse, you sure talk a lot." Thews answers with "It must be your imagination."

Louis stays silent for a while as she watches Thews laying on the ground as if he was a corpse. Then Louis said "Don't make me call ms. Witsur here."

That word made Thews take a deep breath, open his eyes and say "I guess I came back from the dead." As he rose from the ground. Louis just said "Congratulations on your resurrection young master. Now get to your room and go to sleep."

Thews does what he is asked and gets to his room acting exhausted. When he is inside of his room, he mutters to himself "You call that a punishment, dad? That's barely a warmup. Though, I suppose that's what you think since I'm the slacking son after all."

Days go by in the Witsur household. On the seventh day of the princess' visit, the Witsur family, the second princess Mira and her guard Ludwig, were eating breakfast. Thias, who was sitting beside Thews, said to his son "Thews, I have long since accepted the fact that you don't like to act as a noble, but for crying out loud, can you at least eat breakfast modestly while the princess is present?"

Thews just said "No can do pops. I've decided that I will act as I choose as long as I live. So if you want my advice, you and mom should just disown me and get me off your hair. Then I wouldn't' cause the Witsur name to crumble each time I did my antics. Easy choice, right?"

Thias said to his son "If we disown you, who has been living a privileged life, you would end up dead in a matter of days." Thews just says "But I'd be off your hair, right? No more shame on the Witsur family."

Then Thias shouted "You are still my son dammit! You might be a disgrace of a son, but you are our disgrace of a son, you hear!?" Then Thews casually dismissed the heartfelt feelings of his father and said "Yes yes. Thank you for fucking mom seven years ago and bringing me to existence. I'll dedicate my life to slacking as a show of my appreciation."

Thias shouted "Don't say such a thing while we were eating! Lucy shouldn't hear such things yet!" Then Lucy innocently asked her mother "What does fucking mean?" To which Alice casually says "It is when two people make each other feel good in a special type of way."

Then Lucy asks "So when mommy is combing my hair, does that also mean that you are fucking me?" Alice explains "No dear, it isn't that kind of good feeling. The special feeling is felt when pimpim makes a connection with penpen. Ah. You can make a same kind of feeling between two pimpim's or penpen and bunbun."

Thias says to Alice "Are you sure we should tell her that this early?" To which Alice said "She's going to end up asking others if we don't tell her, so let's at least tell her in a way that she can understand."

Then Lucy said to her mother "Then can me and mommy do the fucking?" To which Alice said casually "It is possible, but blood relatives shouldn't do such things. It might end up making a baby if pimpim and penpen meet."

Lucy then whines "Eh! I also want to have a baby! Since papa and big bro have penpen's, then we can make a baby!" Alice says "Those two are the only people whose penpen's shouldn't touch your pimpim. And since you are a baby yourself, you can't have a baby yourself."

Lucy pouts and continues eating maliciously. Thews looks at her cute baby sister for a moment, and then casually asks Alice "So how was the night when I was conceived mom?"

Thias shouts "Thews!" and Alice says "I believe it was during the day and it was satisfactory."

Thews then hums a bit and says "I see. Dad, you disappoint me." Thias asks "What do you mean? She said she was satisfied." Then Thews shrugs and says "To think this man is my father. To not be able to discern the intricacies of what lies behind the mask women wear."

Thias is confused and says "Was something wrong with your food?" To which Thews says "Oh the food is good. It is the seasoning of your ignorance that is making me say some, unsavory words."

Thias says "If you have something to say, just say it." Then Thews smiles and says "When a woman says "It was satisfactory" what they mean to say "It got the job done". And that means that there was more to be desired."

Thias is surprised and says "What?!" And Thews continues with "For you see dad, if woman had a good time, she would have said "It was wonderful" while holding one hand on her cheek as well as smiling ear to ear!"

Thias turns to ask Alice "Is this true?!" To which Alice says "Lower your tone a bit. And Thews, it was not the fault of your father that there was more to be desired. If we are speaking of the time that I think me and your father made you, then the act was stopped by us being nearly discovered."

Thias says "Why would you reveal such a thing Alice?" And then Thews smiled and said "Discovered! I see, I see. So you were such scoundrels. Say, who was the one who initiated the act?"

Thias said to Alice "Don't you dare tell him." To which Alice smiled and said "It was me who got us into that situation." Thias puts both of his hands on his face and leans back in both frustration and embarrassment."

Thews then says "I see, I see. I get a picture of the power dynamic between the two. Leave it to a matriarchy to have their women be so forward."

After Thews said that, Thias got to his senses and asked "Where did you even learn all of this? You are just seven." To which Thews grabbed a tea cup, held it fancily, looked at Thias with a smirk and said "From the books in your secret stash, oh my dear father."

As soon as Thews finished saying it, Alice started to give up a murderous aura, to which Lucy commented "Mommy is angry." Alice said to Thias "Care to explain what Thews was talking about dear?"

Thias was sweating and said "Yo-yo-you know our Mathews, right? Always saying nonsense when he wants to spew chaos in the household." Then out of desperation Thias looks at Thews and says "Please say something to calm your mother."

Thews put his tea cup down, sat properly for a moment, then leaned on the table and said "They are in the left-most corner of the second row of books at study. Remove the books there and you'll find a secret compartment with the secret books."

Thias says in a victorious tone "HAH! You're wrong! That's not where I hid…" Then realizes what he was about to say and says in a much lower tone of voice "them.". Alice says "Thank you Thews. I'll be sure to have a little chat with your father after the breakfast is finished."

In defeat, Thias continues munching his food, but what he thought was "Hah! I only hold a portion of my collection in there. It is a small defeat, but we'll recover." Then Thews says "Oh by the way mom, there are six stashes in total."

Alice hums and Thias shouts "No there isn't! There's only fo-... One." Alice glares daggers at Thias for a moment and then says "You were going to say four, right?" Thias is silent while sweating profusely.

Alice then says "Thews, I think this has been enough teasing your sister and the princess. They have barely been able to eat the moment you started talking about lewd stuff." Thews says "Sure, sure." and continues eating in a carefree manner.

Then Alice says "I apologize, princess Miranda. Let me assure you that this isn't a discussion we have often during eating times." With a bit of embarrassment, Mira said "It is alright. Though it is a shock, I've come to expect some degree of foulness when Mathews is present."

Alice says "Indeed. I don't know what we did wrong to make him like that. Maybe he hit his head as a baby or something." Thews comments "I'm not the slightest bit displeased by what you said mom. In fact, I take it as a great compliment to my character."

Alice sighs and then says to Mira "I'll also have to apologize for the upcoming absence of Mathews during your hunt in the forest as he and I have some things to talk about that might take a while." Mira says "It is alright. I'll have the head of the royal knight here with me when we go there. I'm sure we'll be able to come quite unhurt." Ludwig responds by saying "It is an honor to have you put so much trust in this old man, your highness." Mira just says "Think nothing of it."

The rest of the breakfast went relatively uneventfully and after a short break, Rena, Mira and Ludwig went to the forest so that the two ladies would be able to train. Thias would have also come with them, but due to some issues, he was unavailable at the time. Lucy was studying with her tutor and Thews was supposed to do so also, but he was just chilling in a nearby place that would take the servants some time to find.

Part 2: Ye who have little faith.

Rena and Mira were hunting wolf-like wolves casually and Mira commented "Are you sure this will suffice for today's training Rena?" To which Rena says "I know it is easy for the two of us, but it gives us a knowhow of how to navigate inside the forest. There are so many different scenarios that it makes my head spin."

Then the two spot a large lizard looking creature that is known for its toughness. For your average adventurer, this monster is quite a challenge to defeat. Nevertheless, Mira casually casts a powerful electric spell at the lizard that ends up killing it.

Then Mira says to Rena like the lizard never existed "Aren't you from here? I thought that you would have trained here multiple times." Rena then shrugs and says "What can I say. My dad is rather protective of me despite how he trains me. I rarely get to join the hunting party. Thews on the other hand often makes me go fetch him at the edge of the forest."

Mira then retorts "I'm surprised that someone like him has the nerve to stay near a place that could easily kill him." To which Rena chuckless a bit and says "I know, right. One of these days he'll end up hurt from a stray monster or something."

Mira says "At least then he might take training seriously." To which Rena says "Key word being "might".".

Both girls laugh a bit, until Ludwig charges where Mira is and swings his sword. Mira shouts "What are you doing Ludwig?! You could have hurt me!" Then an unfamiliar voice comes from the forest saying "Yeah Ludwig. The poor princess could have gotten hurt with you swinging that dangerous thing around."

Then Rena notices that there is a dagger on the ground that was most likely thrown at Mira. She readies herself and shouts "Who are you?! Show yourselves!"

Then the voice in the forest says "As you wish." As the voice said it, six men appear from their hiding spots, surrounding Mira, Rena and Ludwig. Five of them are wearing a hood that covers their faces, but the one that looks like the leader isn't wearing any headgear. After Ludwig sees that the leader has animal ears, he concludes that the leader is likely a beastkin. Not a common sigh, but not too rare either.

The leader says "Now then, old man. Why don't you shuffle away and let us do our job." Ludwig, with the sword pointing at the leader, says to him "As long as I live, I won't let you even harm the princess's hair."

The leader says "You think that you can protect her from all six of us?" To which Ludwig says "Miss Rena is quite skilled with the sword for her age and the princess has quite a knack for magic. All I need to do is deal with four of you and the two ladies can handle the rest."

Then the leader gives an evil smile and says "That's interesting. Let's see if you can bite your barks worth." The leader gives a hand signal and the other five assassins start their attack.

The two girls have some trouble handling the two assassins, but they are holding their own. Ludwig is doing his best to hold off the three other assassins, but he is worried what happens when the leader joins the fight.

After a while of fighting and three of the assassins being incapacitated, the leader draws his greatsword with a huge smile on his face. He keeps muttering "That's it. That's it. I knew this job would be interesting."

Then the leader attacks Ludwig with his heavy greatsword and Ludwig is heavily pushed back. Mira shouts "Ludwig!" but turn back to her own fight with the other assassin.

Ludwig doesn't get time to rest as the leader comes with another attack that Ludwig manages to dodge, but just barely. Then the fight between the two continues.

Swing after swing, it becomes increasingly obvious that the leader is at least on par with Ludwig, but most likely even stronger.

Eventually, Ludwig starts to get out of breath and the leader notices this. The leader responds to it with a mocking "What's wrong old man?! Getting tired?!" Out of breath, Ludwig retorts with "I still have some fight left in me, so don't get too excited yet." 

Inside Ludwig knew that he could not beat the leader of the assassins in his current state. In his prime, Ludwig could have easily dealt with the leader, but not so much at his current state.

Then a young boy is heard shouting "My! Oh my! Why do you have to ruin such a perfect day with barely any clouds in the sky by shedding blood on this beautiful forest?!" All of the people present look at the source of the voice and see that it is Thews, crouching on a tree branch. 

Rena shouts "What are you doing here Thews?! Get out of here, it's dangerous!" Then Thews says "What to do? My big sis is considerate of me and is telling me to flee, but if I flee, she might die. Such a pickle."

Then Thews notices that Rena has some blood gushing out of her and says "Welp. Let's make this a scenario where a little bro comes to the rescue of his big sister, her friend and the friend's dog." He jumps to the ground and the one assassin that was attacking Mira decides to attack Thews instead.

As the blade was nearing Thews, Rena shouts "Thews!" Then Thews casually dodges the attack and makes it look like the attacker missed on purpose. Thews keeps walking towards Rena's opponent and completely ignores the one that attacked him.

The assassin that missed the attack on Thews, charges back at Thews with another attack. Rena shouts "Behind you!" and then Thews blocks the attack with a tachi sword that was still on its sheath. The way he blocked the attack was like how one would casually shoo away a fly. Everyone was surprised by this action, both because Thews did it with such ease and because the tachi blade was more than half his size.

Thews then says "Can you not, my guy? I have business with the other guy." and turns back to walk towards Rena's opponent. The assassin that Thews just spoke to gets pissed off and shouts "Don't screw with me!" and proceeds to attack Thews yet again.

This time, Thews sighs and says "So be it" and suddenly the attacker stops like he was encased in ice. At this moment everyone noticed that no one was fighting for some reason and that their attention was solely on Thews.

The leader then says "Enough of this." and tries to attack Ludwig. Tries, as he is stopped in the same mysterious way that the one who attacked Thews was stopped. The leader says "What the hell? What is this?! Some kind of magic?!"

Then the one that attacked Thews shouts "You bastard! It was you wasn't it?! I'll kill you when I get free! I'll…" Then he stopped talking as Thews turned around to face him with a smile that sent shivers down the attacker's spine.

After the initial shock, the attacker notices that his head view was changing as if he was falling. He thought "That's weird, I didn't move my body but I…" then the view changed to a point of view that you'd get if you were laying on the ground. Then the attacker noticed "Ah. That's my body standing right there. How funny." After a moment the attacker realized "Wait! That's my body! If it's in front of me, then I'm…!"

Thews then muttered "It is funny how the brain makes you see things in slow motion when you are faced with certain death." Then he started to walk towards Rena's attacker, during which he noticed Mira, which made him stop for a moment and take a closer look.

Mira asked "What is it?" To which Thews answers "I didn't care to take a look at your face before, but now that I see it, I can certainly say that you are indeed a beauty. Definitely going to be at least 8/10 when you grow up."

Then Thews proceeds to do a hand motion that describes a woman's proportions in all kinds of places as he says "Then if you get some of that on your chests. Not too much or they look stupid and impractical, but not too little that there isn't anything to feel. Some of that on your behind. A little something for your muscles. A slender waist… oh but then the muscles in your waist look dumb, so scratch that. I don't mind some width if there is muscle. And when you get a mature woman's face, then I'll definitely give it 10/10. Though what my understanding of mages has taught me, they tend to be lacking in the muscle department in most cases, so I think it'll get to 9/10 if your womanly proportions grow right."

As Thews was speaking, Mira turned her body away from him and covered her chest area. Then Thews commented on her action "Oh please. There is nothing to cover yet. All that you have currently is your pretty face. If anyone got excited over the body you currently have, then that would be troubling. Isn't that right, oh leader boy?"

The leader of the assassins says "Are you seriously talking about that kind of nonsense while we are in the middle of a fight?" To which Thews says "Fight? What fight? The battle was over the moment I stepped in and this is a chat I have with my allies before I start interrogations."

The leader says "What?! You brat think that it's over already?! The moment I'll break free from your little trick, I'll…" Then Thews says "I control the space around us. If I don't want you to move, you wont move. If I want your ear, I'll have your ear. If I want your eye, I can cut the cord that connects it to your brain and bring it to me. If I want to crush your balls, then I can very much do so. In fact, why don't I do that last part?"

Then all the assassins that were there got their balls crushed by some unknown force. The cries of pain could be heard from quite far away.

The leader shouts "You brat! You'll pay for this!" To which Thews just throws it off and says as if he doesn't care "Yes. Yes. You'll do that when you get the chance. Now shut your mouth for a moment as I have a little chat with the pedo boy here."

He looks at the one who was fighting Rena, and the man says "You mean me?! I'm not a pedo! Why would you say that?!" Thews casually just says "An adult male lays their hands on a nine year old girl in the middle of the forest with his friends. That's all there needs to be to make it sound like you are a sexual deviant."

The man says "I'm not a sexual deviant! Okay, I may have raped a woman or two, but at the very least, I'm not into children!" and Thews responds with a loud "You saying that my sister isn't a beauty?! Fuck you! If you can't appreciate beauty then you may never see again!" With that, the man's eyes were crushed by some unknown force and the man was in even more pain.

The man shouted "Fuck you too! I know that you are like six or something, but you were ogling the princess just a moment ago even though she is still a child! So who's the pedo here, huh?!" To which Thews responded with "What the fuck are you talking about?! I was only imagining how she'll be when she grows up! Not once did I consider having sex with her in the future even if she turned out 10/10!"

Thews' last comment hurt Mira's pride a little and then the man shouts "Okay, I get that, but why won't you even consider it?! If she turned out 10/10 in the future as you said, wouldn't it be a great bragging right if you had sex with the second princess of Altren?! Are you saying her body won't be enough as your fapping material?!" Thews responds with "I haven't had the experience yet, but I have a feeling that fapping to a woman who only has the body but not the personality you like and having sex without connecting with the person in question the right way is just a waste of time! I mean it probably feels good in the moment, but you just feel even emptier afterwards than you did before the act!"

The man shouts "I don't know how a six year old can say such things, but if there is a hole, you can fuck it!" To which Thews shouts "I'm seven and go fuck yourself!" To which the man shouts "I wish I could!"

Thews shouts "Shut your fucking mouth you fucking weirdo!" to which the man shouts "Fuck you! You are the six year old who thinks they know all about sex!" And Thews retorts "I'm seven!" Then the two stop shouting for a moment and proceed to take a breather.

After that, Thews moves his hand as if moving sweat from his forehead and says "That sure made two men connect in a weird way, huh." To which the man said "Agreed."

Then Thews says "But you made my big sis have blood around inner thighs, that makes you a pedo and that means I must kill you." The man shouts "For the last time, I'm not…!" but Thews puts his finger in front of the man's lips, hushes him and says "Dead people don't talk."

After Thews finished speaking, all that was left of the man was blood spattered in the trees in front of Thews. No sound was made and there were no guts around, just blood. 

Then Thews turned around and started going around the scene talking to the remaining assassins. Rena, Mira and Ludwig didn't even think to interrupt what Thews was doing.

Thews then made a sword appear to his right hand that was slender, black and had two edges. Then he stabbed the assassin in front of him in the knee with it and asked "Who sent you?" The assassin said "The first princess of Altren." This shocked Mira for a moment, but then a girl's voice could be heard from the black sword saying "Lie".

Thews said "Is that so? So this one's no good." Then, like the man who was fighting Rena, the assassin turned into a bloodstain on a nearby tree in an instant.

Thews went to another assassin, who was lying on his back against a tree. Thews stabbed the assassin's leg and asked "Who sent you?" To which the assassin said more hesitantly than the last one "Ma… Marquis Lortset." After that, the sword said "Lie" after which Thews said "So not this one either." The assassin tried to say something as Thews was leaving, but then his voice was cut short in an instant and he became a bloodstain on the tree he was resting on.

Then Thews went to another assassin who couldn't move from the spot he was standing. Thews stabbed the assassin's leg with the black sword and asked "Who sent you?" After which the assassin said in fear "I don't know, I swear. Boss should know, he's the one who took the contract." Then the black sword said "Truth" and with that said, Thews stopped stabbing the assassin's leg and raised the sword away from it. Even though there was a mask on the assassin's face, you could tell that he was making a face that made him look relieved.

Then Thews stabbed the assassin's throat, which shocked the assassin. The assassin tried to mutter "Why?" but he couldn't make a proper sound after being stabbed in the throat.

Then Thews said "At least you have the guts to feed the monsters of this forest. Now to the main dish" and went to the leader who was still standing but unable to move. Again, Thews stabbed the leg and asked something that surprised everyone. He asked "What do you think of centipedes?" The leader was shocked and said "What?" After which Thews moved the sword around to cause pain to the leader and said "Answer the question leader boy."

The leader then said "They are disgusting creatures." To which the sword said "Truth". Then Thews asked "If you were in a forest with a centipede that was so poisonous, that it could kill anyone with just one sting, what would you do?" To this, the leader answered "I would kill it before it killed me" to which the sword answered "Truth".

Then Thews said with a smile "That's right. That's right. A proper answer to a serious question indeed. But do tell me leader boy, what would you do if the poisonous centipede was a lot faster than you? Then what would you do? Would you try to kill it still? Would you try and hide? Run? Burn the forest down? Tell me, oh tell me."

The leader was confused and said "If it was certain that I would lose, I would still fight to my best abilities so that I would die in an honorable way." Then the sword said "Truth".

There was a moment of silence while Thews just stared upwards to the tall leader's face. Then he started to laugh hysterically whilst holding the sword to the leader's leg. The laughter made the sword twist and turn inside the leader's leg, which eventually made the leader shout "What's so funny?!"

Then, while trying to hold his laughter, Thews said "Because… You think that there is some honor… in dying. What a shit show of assassins you all were." This made the leader say "You think that there is no honorable way to die? Little brat, what is more honorable than dying in a proper manner with a good cause?"

Then, while still trying his best to stop laughing, Thews asked "So do you think… that your men died honorably?" To which the leader said "They died trying their best to complete the contract. That is an honorable thing to die for."

Thews kept trying to muffle his laughter, but ended up bursting and laughing hysterically again for a while. Then after a while, Thews calmed down a little and said "But they failed to do it right? They died without being able to see the end, right? They died being unable to see the fruit of their labor, right? They died and gave information to their targets to use, right? They died so that they can live in the darkness of death and remember all the regrets they are now unable to try and solve, right?"

There was silence, until Thews thrusted the sword deeper into the leader's leg, which made him squirm a little. Then Thews said "Who benefited from their deaths? You? Me? The princess? The guard? Rena? House Witsur? The royal family of Altren? Queendom of Altren? Empire of Sol? Kingdom of Prumsis? The bronze country? The continent of Oltron? Humanity? Elves? Dwarves? Beastkin? Monsters? The world? Who? Do tell. Who?"

This left everyone speechless for a while. Eventually Thews just said "Forget it. You aren't a god who has all the answers." Then Thews removed the sword from the leader's leg and started walking away. Then Ludwig asked "Aren't you going to ask him who sent them, or are you leaving it to us?" Thews answered "I got the answers already. He has nothing left to offer to this world." 

Ludwig asked "What do you…" but then the sword spoke "The exact culprit is unknown, but Ruck expects that it is a noble from Prumsis." This makes the leader shout "How do you know?! I thought that that sword could only detect lies!"

Thews smiles and looks back at the leader and says "Too bad for you. The moment Echo tastes the blood of a living being, she'll know everything that the person knows until the moment when the blood's connection to the body is severed."

The leader says in disbelief "Then… that means…" and Thews finishes it with "The moment the blood from your leg touched Echo, she knew everything that you knew. Poor little Ruck. Everything turned out to be a waste."

Ruck has a defeated look on his face and then he is released from the mysterious force. Thews says to the tachi blade "Hime, could you keep a barrier that stops this Ruck guy from escaping and others from interfering?" Then a mature woman's voice comes from the tachi blade that says "Sure, but don't get too overconfident. You are still a child, after all."

Thews says "Aah. How sweet of you to worry about me so much." To which Hime humphs and makes the barrier. Then Thews places Hime to air to "float"upright.

Then Thews points Echo at Ruck and says "Do you still have fight in you? If you can defeat me in a fair combat, I'll assure you that you may leave this place alive." Ruck looks at Thews for a moment and then decides to pick up his greatsword. Ruck says "Don't complain if you lose." To which Thews says "Same to you."

Rena shouts "Wait Thews! You can't win against him! I know you borrowed the power from that sword, but you won't be able to be a match for him!" Thews looks at Rena with a smile and says "Don't worry big sis. I have my secrets."

Then Ruck attacks Thews with a powerful and fast attack. Thews dodges it with ease, after which Ruck makes another attack. Ruck keeps making attack after attack, but they don't seem to be able to reach Thews.

Every now and then, Thews would make a counterattack that makes Ruck's movements even harder. Ruck still kept fighting on with all his might, until eventually Thews cut Ruck's legs in a way that he could no longer walk, let alone stand.

Ruck then says "I'm beaten, now kill me." Thews just smiles and says "No way. The fight ends when you die. You still have arms to move, so you still can pull out a couple of moves. Come on now. Fight. Swing that sword and fight. After all, there is no honor in death. You'll just go into an empty void forever trapped by your regrets. Unable to do anything. Now now. Fight. Fight. Fight."

Ruck just says "You are one crazy kid, I tell you that." Then Ruck seems to do something inside his mouth, which in turn makes him spew out blood soon after. Then with a grunt, Ruck stops breathing.

Even though Thews was smiling, he had an empty look in his eyes. As if something unacceptable happened in front of him. Thews said in a cheery tone "Hey Ruck, stop acting like that. You can still fight me, right?"

Then Thews kicks Ruck's body as he says "Hey hey, Ruck. You couldn't have died, could you? After all, you died without making an effort to live, right? Right?" Echo says "Master, he's dead."

Thews just says "I never took you for a joker Echo. To say things like that. Ruck gives me a vibe that he wouldn't just off and die without a fight. Right Ruck?"

Thews keeps kicking Ruck over and over again, telling Ruck to speak while Echo tries to make him see the reality. But eventually Thews stops kicking and says "I see it now. So you are dead." He chuckles a little and says "You were one of those people who forsake the gift of life weren't you?"

There is a small moment of silence until Thews starts kicking Ruck's body again while repeating the question "Why?". He keeps kicking and asking. Kicking and asking, until the kicks become more violent and the strength in his voice starts to rise up.

Eventually he raises his sword, swings at Ruck's corpse and shouts "Why!?" He keeps repeating this several times while Echo tries to calm her master down.

After repeating the same action over and over again, Thews eventually raises his voice in a maddening shout of "WHY!!!" whilst swinging the sword with all of his strength. The swing of the sword cuts Ruck's body clean in half and several trees that were in the path of the wind current that Thews made with his blade.

Rena, Mira and Ludwig were too stunned to do anything and Thews kept swinging at Ruck's corpse, slicing it into pieces while shouting what remained of his voice "WHY!"

Then Echo said "It doesn't seem to be working. Hime, could you give me a hand here?" To which Hime said "How unsightly of him to lose it like that. I suppose it is due to having a body of a child that he is having such a tantrum."

Hime stops Thews from moving and uses her other ability called autosuggestion together with her spacial control ability. This makes Thews standing in a straight cone. Hime also stopped keeping the barrier up.

Thews is shouting "Why would you forsake life!? Why would you stop struggling!? Dying is disgraceful enough as it is, but there's nothing more disgraceful than dying without trying to hold on to life! You fucking ingrate!"

Thews somehow manages to move while inside Hime's spacial control, so Echo asks "Why is Thews still moving?" To which Hime says "Look, using my powers costs a lot of mana, so I'm trying my best to maximize the uptime and the intensity of this hold. Don't forget that the strength of our master's will is absurdly high to the point of my autosuggestion barely being able to make a dent. All that being on the table, I say that I can't hold him off for too long. So if you have something that could calm our master down, that would be greatly appreciated."

Echo thinks for a moment and says to Rena "Miss Rena. Do you love your brother?" To which Rena asks while surprised "What?" Then Echo repeats "Do you love your little brother, miss Rena?" Rena hesitates for a moment and Echo says "Your answer, Miss Rena?"

Rena says with a hint of embarrassment "I do. So- So what?"

Echo then says "Then you are the only one who can calm down your little brother." Rena asks "How am I supposed to do that? He never has acted this way before, so I have no experience on this."

Echo then says "You have to trust your big sister instincts." Rena is dumbfounded and asks "What?" Echo continues with "Yes, your sisterly love. The love that is born when the family loves each other very much. Yes. The power of love is what we need. You are the one that holds the most love for your little brother, so it can only be you. Yes! Show us the power of love between siblings! Show us the depth of your love!"

Rena is embarrassed after hearing this and hesitates. Echo continues "Now, miss Rena! POWER! OF! LOVE!" 

Rena musters her courage and walks towards where Thews is. When she is in front of him, she doesn't see her little brother inside his eyes. She says "This is not the kind of brother I have."

She stands there for a moment, blushing, and eventually mustering the courage to hug Thews tightly. Thews tries to break free from both Hime's binding and Rena's hug with violence while still shouting nonsense.

Then Rena says to Thews "It's all right Mathews. Big sister Rena is here. I won't let any harm come to you. I promised, didn't I?" Rena hears Ludwig shout "Princess!" as she made her declaration.

While struggling, Thews accidentally scratches Rena with Echo. The cut was small and it would heal on its own, but in that moment Rena's mind went blank.

Part 3: Where thou journey lead?

The next moment she was on a battlefield. a black haired man in red garbs was holding a corpse of a soldier by its hair. He raised that corpse to see its face, until getting bored and throwing it in the direction that Rena was watching. Rena was confused as to what was happening, but she had no moment to gather her thoughts since the man shouted in her direction "Are you here seeking for death?! Come to cling onto your livelihoods by getting past me?! Take up your weapons and come face me! To face death!"

Rena was about to grab her own weapon, until she heard a voice behind her say "Don't fear men!" Rena turned around and saw a large army armed to the teeth. The man leading them continued "This man may be called a demon, but he is still just flesh and bones like the rest of us! Fear not! For we will fight for our people! For our homeland! For our emperor!

Then the army that the man led shouted in unison "For our people! For our homeland! For our emperor!" After the army shouted that, their leader shouted "Attack!"

The army then started running towards the black haired man, who shouted in turn "Onwards! Cling to the gift of life while embracing death! For the sake of new swords!" Then the black haired man started to run at an amazing speed while summoning many swords to aid him in battle. 

Rena was confused as to what she should do, but at the moment when the black haired man and the army were about to class, she hears another man's voice saying "There's nothing that death hates more than those who forsake life."

Then the scene changed to a young black haired child practicing swordsmanship with his master outside while it was raining. The master was dealing with his diciple's attacks with ease and kept talking. 

The master said "You see boy, life and death are lovers. They keep flirting with each other day after day with their antics to the point of sometimes making it disgusting. But you see boy, life is but a small step in living beings existence. Once you die, you won't be able to live anymore and you spend the rest of the time the world exists reminiscing about your regrets inside a dark void. You won't be able to do anything else. When you die it is done, over, final, the end of the story."

The disciple asks "What does that have to do with life and death being lovers?" To which the master says "Silence boy! I was getting to that part! Ahem. Life loves all the souls very much, as does Death, but as the part of souls existence in the realm of the living is short, life only gets to hold on to that life very shortly. And since death is such a chad, he rather have Life have the souls as long as possible in the realm of the living. But the sad part is that Death's influence is something that has been woven into every soul's existence, so eventually everything that once lived also dies.

So what does death do? He gives us a reason to cling onto life as long as possible by threatening to come so easily. In this way the souls that still live have the willpower to cling onto life and fight death as best as they can. Yes! For you see, there is nothing death likes more than those who never let go of the string of life by their own design! To death, dying is stupid! Dying is dishonorable! Dying is gay! But not the kind of gay that makes you homosexual, mind you, just as a plain insult type of way. So you can be homosexual gay, just don't be gay gay."

Rena thought "He might have a few screws loose, but his heart is in the right place. I think. Maybe. Hopefully."

Back on track! Death is inevitable! You will one day meet him and when you do, you better give him the fight of your literal fucking life! So you can go seeking for death, hell you can go to even embrace death, but give him the best fucking fight you can muster and cling onto life till you find yourself in death's grasp!

But then there are people who want to die. They are the types who have forsaken the gift that life gave them and leave life love like the ingrates they are. They seek death too strongly and embrace him too lovingly. They will become the very instrument of their own death as they have forsaken the gift of life.

And what did I say about those who forsake life, boy?" To which the disciple says "There is nothing death hates more than those who have forsaken life."

The master says "Good. I want you to remember this lesson, as you'll become one of the instruments that death guides. A one that makes people see the value of their lives. To be the instrument that brings people to death's grasp before they become that instrument to themselves. What did I teach you?"

To which the disciple says 

"Never lay a hand on those who don't seek death. 

Never undermine the resolve that others have while facing death head on. 

Never falter to take a life of one that pointed their sword towards you, for they are facing death's challenge. 

Don't give your heart to those hoes on the street. 

Make sure to not make friends with the demons that harass shop owners. 

Especially if they rocking that Karen ass haircut. 

Never drink and ride a horse. 

Make sure you know your friend's weaknesses before officially becoming homies. 

And most importantly…"

Rena kind of got invested by all of this and is eagerly waiting for the most important thing.

"Remember to unsheath your sword when going to number 1 and make sure to sheath and unsheath three times before moving forwards."

Then the master says "You have learned well what I have taught you boy, but I have one more thing to add to that list." To which the disciple says "Yes master."

Then the master takes a stance and says proudly "Fuck literature!" To which the disciple starts jumping up and down repeatedly while shouting "Yay! Fuck literature! Fuck literature!"

The disciple keeps jumping and shouting while the master is laughing like a maniac. Both of which have forgotten the fact that it has been raining all this time while they were training and talking. Yes. Idiots attract each other.

Then the scene returns to the battlefield after the conflict. There are tons of bodies scattered around the place with dread looming over the battlefield. The soldiers that still live are shouting "Monster!" "Demon!" and running away in fear. The black haired man shouts from the top of his lungs like a beast "YES! FLEE! LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY! CLING ONTO LIFE WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT AND RUN FROM DEATH!"

Soon after, the only person left in the battlefield is the black haired man. When all is clear, the man takes a deep breath and says "Yay! Jobs done! Now I can add more swords to my garden! Now then…"

The man extends his hand and starts chanting "Heed my call, oh those swords who have lost their partners in this dreaded battlefield. I give you the taste of my power so that you may achieve sentience in order to be able to mourn over your fallen partners." A wave of energy is scattered around the battlefield and swords that the soldiers were carrying start to glow.

After a small pause, the man continues "As I have given you some resemblance of a sentience, I have also given you an opportunity. An opportunity to join my garden of swords. An opportunity to be with your kind in the endless field of your kind. All I ask you in turn is to be in my beckon call when I need your aid. And should you ever see another person you deem worthy to be your partner, you may leave with my blessing to join their journey. This is my promise as a sword master. If you wish to join me, gather around me, as now you have that ability. If not, then wait for the opportunity when someone else comes to claim your aid. Now, choose."

Soon after, many swords fly towards the black haired man and he becomes encircled by them soon after. The man says "So this is how many I get this time. Much more than I initially expected. Thank you all, to join in on my journey of life, I am honored." Then the man waves his hand horizontally and all the swords that came to him disappear in a cloud of mist.

Then the man says "Now then" and starts walking towards Rena. This makes Rena wary and she readies her sword. But in a flash of a moment, the man appears in front of her and proceeds to put his hand gently on her head. Then he says with a warm smile "big sis".

The moment the man finished saying that, the scene turned to an endless field of swords with the moon illuminating the place. Then the man removed his hand from Rena's head and then Rena noticed that Mira was also there besides her. The man also removed his hand from Mira's head, as he had placed his hand on her head a moment ago also.

Rena asks "What are you doing here Mira? Better yet, who are you tall man?" To which the black haired man says "I wouldn't call myself much taller than your average man, but to answer your question, it's yo boy, Thews." Both Mira and Rena pause for a moment and then say in unison "Hah?"

Then Thews says "As for why the little kitten is here, well, she ran towards us when she saw me raising a sword against big sis, which made the hound shout "Princess!" or something. I don't know. That's all that I have gathered from that moment. Now let's switch to the little kitten here and let her say why she's here."

Mira just says "I don't know why I'm here, but when I tried to come and stop Thews from moving his sword hand, I suddenly appeared in here and saw, what I assume, your memories."

Then Thews says "Thank you for your answer, teach kitten. Now how about we talk about…" Then Rena interrupts Thews by saying "Is it really you Thews? You look… different." To which Thews reacts to "Hahhaa… I suppose this will become as quite a shock to you, but there was once a man who stabbed himself with a sword that allowed him to reincarnate to another body. The sword did its thing like a swoosh, and when I came to, I was at the dinner table with a family that seemed oddly familiar to me. Like the memories of the man who stabbed himself with a sword were always with me, and so were the memories of the young child. Some adjustments had to be done, and now I'm here."

Rena asks "Then… What about my brother Mathews?" To which the man says "More or less assimilated to the man you see before you. Four years worth of memories can't really compete much with centuries worth of them. Two egos become one and the stronger presence remains dominant. That is how I have come to understand it."

Rena says with a shocked face "Then… You are…" And the man says "I'm just a pretender who took the role of your brother away from you. For you see… I'm not a good person."

Rena shouts "Give him back!" To which the man says "I cannot do that. While it was not my intention to rob someone else from their position, I ended up doing so and by doing so I did yet another bad thing. I truly am a demon."

Rena falls on her knees and mumbles "Then… That promise…" And while Rena was lost in thought, Mira asked "So was it you who called us here?" To which the man says "I did."

Then Mira asks "For what purpose? If you are truly a demon, wouldn't it have been in your best interest to not reveal yourself?" The man looks at the dark sky for a few moments as he says "Let's see… I could have stayed quiet and not let you enter my memories or my mindscape. But then I would have had to come up with the excuse of how I obtained swords that can turn the tides of battle with ease and the ability to fight against an opponent that was hard for the old hound to even handle. I don't know how high he ranks, but from what I had seen, he was one of the most powerful people I've witnessed during my stay in this world. Making up excuses for both matters would have been a pain in the ass, so I ended up giving up the moment I saw an opening to make this all end. To stop this pretending act."

Then Mira asks "If you just didn't show up to our rescue, none of this would have been necessary." To which the man says "Now that I think about it, you have a point. I could have just stayed hidden and let you be defeated. That way I could have still lived as Mathews Witsur."

Mira asks "Then why?" To which the man says "Let me emphasize the fact that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. Hmmm… Sharpest? But I cut really well with my swords, so wouldn't that make me quite sharp… Hmmm… Oh! It refers to the… um… sharpness of mind… I think… probably… Ahem! The point is that I'm not that smart of a guy, so I end up doing things without thinking. By instinct, if you will. And my instinct told me that I couldn't let my sister… the person's sister who's place I took, to get hurt. All I know what to do in that kind of situation is to let loose a little and cut some bitches up. That's the gist of it… I think."

Then Mira says "What are you trying to achieve?" To which the man responds with "Right… the reason…" The man bends down to say to Rena "Big si… Rena Witsur, I have a proposition to you that you might find appealing." Rena asks "What is it?" To which the man asks "Would you like to become a hero like in the stories?" Rena looks up at the man and asks "What? A hero?"

Then the man smiles, places his hand on Rena's shoulder and says "Yes, a hero. Avenge your brother by slaying the evil demon which took his place and tricked your family." Rena mutters "Avenge… my brother…"

The man says "Yes, slay the demon that is wearing the skin of your brother and causing your family's downfall." Mira says "Wait a moment. You want Rena to kill you?" To which the man says "Yes. This is the only opportunity I can give someone. If we won't do it now when my current body is incapacitated, then the next time anyone tries to kill me, my self preservation instincts will kick in. So Rena, when you wake up, you must kill me."

Then Rena and Mira ask in unison "But what about you?" The man says "What about me? I'm an evil demon who took away the place of an innocent boy. It doesn't matter what I think."

Rena asks "Why would an evil demon come to protect the people he tried to deceive? Why did you get angry for my sake?" The man rises up and says "That's… not important."

Mira asks "Could it be that the instinct that made you come here was because you care for her? Care for the family?" The man just says childishly "I don't know what you are talking about. Evil demon do what evil demon do. The reasons are unnecessary for me or you to know. Ah! Why don't I give you two swords as a gift for slaying me!? Yes. There are plenty to choose from. For Rena, I think Ren is the most suitable for you. She can control fire and she is one letter off from your name. Sounds good, right? Ah! And as for the little kitten…"

Rena shouts "Stop!" To which the man responds by saying "Not enough? That's troubling. I'm quite greedy, you know, so the second one is quite…" Rena shouts "That's not it!"

Then the man says "Oh that's it! You don't want a gift from an evil demon! How could I be so thoughtless!? But there must be something that I can…" Rena shouts "Listen to me for a second! Why do you want to die so badly?!"

The man has a confused look on his face as he looks at Rena and Mira. Then he says in a tone that tells the girls that it should be obvious "Of course I don't want to die. That's my whole thing. An instrument of death can't wish for their own death." 

Both girls then ask in unison "Then why?" But the man ignores what they asked and says "After all, if an instrument of death wanted to die, then wouldn't it's whole purpose be contradictory? Wouldn't that wish make death disappointed? So that is why, as an instrument of death, I must cling to life the best I can so I can send those living a challenge to keep on living. If I'm dead, then I can no longer fulfill my purpose."

Mira then asks "But why are you asking Rena to kill you if you want to live?" To which the man said "Isn't it obvious? It's because Rena promised to be my hero." This shocked Rena and Mira.

Then Rena says "I made that promise to Thews, but in what way does killing you make me your hero?" Then the man says "Of course it would. The part of Mathews that got assimilated remembers your promise. That promise lingers deep within my mind and what is more heroic than preventing the person from becoming a monster. The instruments of death cannot wish death, but Mathews Witsur is not one such instrument and it makes me angry that his wish is allowed in my psyche. Those who seek death at the cost of forsaking life are the worst of the worst, so before that person kills themselves, I as an instrument should kill them first or death becomes angry. And since there is a contradiction born from the fact that I must kill Mathews Witsur and since I bear his body, I must kill my own body, but since the act would kill me, making me kill myself willingly, that is not to be tolerated. But I cannot allow Mathews Witsur to kill himself. That is why someone else must do it before I do."

Mira says "You aren't making any sense. If you think about what you said carefully, that would mean that you are secretly…" and the man asks a question "What would you do if you see a centipede in front of you that can kill you instantly?"

The girls were silent for a moment and the man continued "Would you try to kill it first? Run away from it? Eat it to become as powerful as it is?" Then Rena realizes something and says "I would take it home with me and make it part of my family." Mira realizes what the question truly meant. The man in front of them is the deadly centipede. Just as Thews said when Mira asked him what kind of animal he would be.

The man says "Are you stupid? The centipede could kill your whole family." To which Rena says "But isn't the centipede lonely? What if it has a desire to garner another person's love?"

The man chuckled and said "How stupid. Everything that is susceptible to venom will end up dead eventually. You would be putting your family on a death sentence." To which Mira responds with " That doesn't mean that the centipede isn't allowed to feel love of another."

The man pauses for a moment and then Rena says "What you want is love. And since you think you can't have it, you want to end it all. Isn't that right… Centipede?"

There is a moment where no one says anything. Then Centipede begins to laugh for a while. Eventually Centipede just stops and says with a sour look on his face "Your faces are stupid. Your skills are stupid. Your bodies are stupid. You both are just stupid. Your families are stupid. Your views are stupid. Your lives are stupid. Your opinions are stupid. Your homes are stupid. Your souls are stupid. Everything you both stand for is stupid. You both will always be stupid. And love is stupid."

Mira then retorts "Looks like it wasn't only your child body that made you have a tantrum. When you are out of options, you choose to ridicule the people who have it right. How old were you again?"

Centipede says "Shut your mouth you stupid bitch. No one likes you and all that look like they care are after your status like morons." To which Mira comments "I can't say that I have many people I can call friends and you are mostly correct on people being after my status as a second princess. Honestly, I'd expect better insults from an adult."

Centipede then starts to scratch his head furiously as if to try and think something. Then Rena says "Why can't you just be honest with yourself?" To which Centipede responds with "Shut up! Both of you shut up!"

Centipede keeps scratching and scratching, until he finally shouts "Fuck it! I'm dumb as hell, so let's stop trying to convince with words! After all, it is as they say! Actions speak louder than words."

Then Centipede exudes a murderous aura and starts walking towards the two girls. The girls take steps back and Rena asks "What are you going to do?" To which Centipede responds with "If I can't convince you to do what I want with words, I'll just have to make your bodies learn that the demon should not leave this place alive." As he was saying that, he grabs a sword as he walks closer and closer to the girls.

When Centipede is close enough to attack, he readies his sword to swing at the girls. Suddenly a girl with eastern garbs and a black hair that is cleanly cut at neck length appears between Centipede and the two girls. The girl with eastern garbs says "You were so close master. You almost managed to open up your heart to someone, but then you just had to close it again. *Sigh* You really are a handful master."

Centipede says "Get out of the way Echo." To which Echo says "No." Centipede says "Are you defying your master?" To which Echo says "I believe the conditions you gave most of your swords were that they can act independently within reason. I just choose to use that right as you are using my power to harm those you set out to protect."

Centipede says "Who ever said that I was going to protect them? This is my last chance to get what I have been seeking for and I won't let you squander it." Echo says "You just haven't learned how strong the power of love can be like I have. I will do my obligation as your sword to help you get what you seek, but what you think you are seeking isn't what your heart truly wants."

Centipede says "You fucking romantist. You think you can do anything besides talk inside my own mindscape?" Echo sighs and says "You might have a point in saying that you are the most powerful here, but need I remind you of whose power you are using to keep them inside here?"

Centipede and Echo stare each other in the eyes for a moment, until Centipede tries to attack. To this, Echo reacts with a simple snap of her fingers and the scene turns to black.