little girl?

"Who do you think you're talking to? I'm not going to answer any of your questions because it's useless. I'm going to kill you and rape that girl!" Alan's voice dripped with saliva mixed with blood, his intentions clear and horrifying.

Realizing that negotiation was futile, I understood that he intended to kill me and abduct the girl. But why was I referring to her as a girl? She appeared older than me, though technically, I was older than her when I was in that world.

The girl looked at me with panic, grasping my collar urgently. "Hey kid! Put me down. How long are you planning to carry me like this? That D-rank monster is about to kill us. I need to protect my bodyguards."

I turned to face her, my breaths heavy and labored after the ongoing battle with Alan. Despite her exhaustion, she was determined to defend her bodyguards, one of whom lay barely alive on the bloody ground. "How do you plan to protect your men when you're at your limit? It's only a matter of time before your body gives out!"

"Then what? Stay in your arms like this and wait for him to kill us? I don't care, just put me down! I don't take advice from kids," she declared, shaking herself free from my grasp. With determination in her eyes, she gripped her sword tightly and faced Alan.

"I will not die before I kill you and avenge my bodyguard!"

Alan's laughter echoed through the air in response to her declaration. He signaled his minions, who lunged at her from all directions. However, the girl wielded her sword skillfully, spinning it through the air.

"Flames of heaven!" she exclaimed, her voice ringing out with a strange name. With closed eyes, she took a deep breath.

"Hay, what are you doing? That minion is going to kill you—" I exclaimed, watching as the small flocks of Alans closed in on her. Suddenly, blue flames emerged from her sword.

"Huh, what is that... It somehow seems familiar." Before I could react further, she opened her eyes, swung her sword, and decapitated the minions.

I was taken aback by the sudden display of hidden power, though her swordsmanship seemed lacking, and the flames weren't fully ignited.

"You see, I'm not weak! I can take on you and your minions alone!" she declared, pointing her sword toward another group of minions.

With her remaining strength, she launched another attack, taking out the minions. But soon, she lost her balance and fell to her knees, panting heavily.

"She's almost at her limit. If she continues like this, she'll collapse. I need to intervene before she loses her life," I thought, scanning the surroundings for something to aid us against Alan's minions.

After quickly scanning the surroundings, my eyes fell upon the rusty iron pipes lying in the corner. Without hesitation, I grabbed one of them.

"Is that all you can do? You can't even touch me, yet you still claim you can kill me? Pathetic," Alan sneered at the girl's futile attempts to fight back. Losing interest in toying with her, he signaled for his minion to bring her to him.

As the minion swooped down toward the girl, she attempted to defend herself with her sword, but her strength was depleted, and she collapsed to the ground.

"No... Am I going to die? Please, someone save me!" she pleaded silently in her mind, unable to voice her desperation. Helpless, she watched as two minions closed in on her, resigned to what seemed like her inevitable fate.

"Swing, swing!"

"Huaaaaa!"

"Huaaaaaa!"

In a sudden burst of action, I leaped between them and struck the skulls of the two minions with the rusted pipe, causing them to roar in pain as their blood spilled onto the ground.

Alan watched me in shock, his eyes wide open. I had dispatched his minions as if they were nothing more than stray dogs. The girl, still on her knees, stared at me in astonishment, unable to believe that I had just killed the small Alan with a simple iron pipe.

"That kid just killed the D-Rank monster with a rusted pipe! Am I dreaming? This must be a joke, right? How can a kid defeat a D-Rank Monster with a pipe, when soldiers can't even kill them with guns... Wait, is this kid also an Arcane fighter?" she pondered, her thoughts racing as she observed me standing against the Alans.

"You killed my minions, kid! Do you have any idea what you've done? You won't leave here alive. I'll make you suffer a fate worse than death. Cut off his limbs!" Alan seethed with anger, his minions soaring toward me with daggers drawn.

"No, I will not only kill your minions, but I'll also end all your life right here!" I declared defiantly, closing my eyes and swinging my sword gracefully from right to left, dispatching half of his minions in one fluid motion. One small Alan attempted to attack me from behind, but I instinctively lowered my body and evaded his strike. With swift precision, I drove the pipe between his eyes, ending him instantly.

The girl watched me blankly as I killed the Alans one by one, effortlessly dodging their attacks. "He just killed a herd of D-rank monsters and avoided their attacks like it was nothing, without using any arcane power. His swordsmanship is unparalleled, unlike anything I've ever seen... Who is this kid? I don't remember him belonging to any great families."

Alan gritted his teeth in rage, thinking, "Who is this human? Did he kill my men with a mere pipe? I don't see him using any external strength or magical item. Then what is it?"

I may have lost my divine power, blessings, and holy sword, but one thing I haven't lost is my experience and mastery of swordsmanship. Only a few people have mastered swordsmanship in centuries, after training for countless years and surpassing human limits. But I achieved mastery within just one year, stunning everyone and leaving all swordsmen in that world questioning their existence, some even succumbing to envy or incompetence.

But that's not the whole truth. In my journey, I encountered the soul of a sword master who taught me every basic and secret technique of swordsmanship in my consciousness for more than 100 years, pushing me to surpass my limits. Yet, in reality, only a few days passed for everyone in the real world.

I thought quickly as the minions approached me, tightly gripping the rusted pipe and shoving it between their wings. The minions writhed in pain as I targeted their weaknesses. "There are many weaknesses for evil creatures like them. If I cut their wings, they won't be able to attack or defend themselves."

I swiftly cut the remaining minions' wings, but I didn't expect to exhaust myself so quickly. "Huff... Huff... I exhausted sooner than I expected. I can't perform any spells, not even low-tier recovery magic. If I keep fighting like this, I won't be able to win against that big Alan. He's waiting for me to get tired so he can easily kill me."

Alan saw me panting and sweating, realizing that I wouldn't be able to keep up much longer. My body had reached its limits. He grinned as he appeared behind me.

"What—"

"Smash!"

Before I could finish my phrase, he smashed me from the side, sending me flying into the wall.

"Hhhaaaa!"

"He's defeated that kid, and he's going to torture him until he's alive... Should I save him? But I'm out of strength. I can't kill that Alan," the girl helplessly stared at me, hoping someone would save us.

"Hahahahaha! You weakling human wanted me dead, but you chose the wrong enemy. I was curious about you for a moment, but I lost interest when I realized you're just a kid. Enough, now it's time to pay the price for intervening in my business," Alan spoke, bringing his dagger closer to my face.

"Huh... Am I going to die again? First Victoria and Alexander, and now by this Alan? Goddess... Aurelia," I thought, remembering her face just before my death. I thought I was going to see her again if I died, but suddenly, I felt an unknown power emerging within me. I didn't know what was happening, but I opened my eyes and saw Alan take a few steps back.

"Huh? What is this? What's happening to this kid?" He blindly watched with wide eyes.

"Huh... What's happening to him? His body is emitting a strange light," the girl thought, observing as Alan stepped back and lowered his guard. She saw an opportunity to kill him. She tried to stand up, but her knees buckled, and she gritted her teeth in pain.

"Huh... What's happening to me?" I wondered aloud, feeling a sudden surge of power coursing through my veins. The sensation was oddly familiar, reminiscent of moments spent communing with Goddess Aaaaah! The feeling intensified, enveloping me in a searing heat that seemed to scorch my very skin. Despite the agony, I endured, knowing it paled in comparison to the trials faced with dragons in my previous world.

Gradually, the pain faded away, leaving behind a sense of reborn. Yet, as I surveyed my transformed form, a sense of bewilderment washed over me. My once ordinary skin now radiated a luminous white, my hair cascading in silvery-white strands down to my waist. And my eyes, once black, now glowed with a gentle pink hue.

"W-what? What just happened to me?" I murmured, examining my hands and the ethereal strands of my hair. My gaze shifted towards Alan and the girl, both of whom stared at me in disbelief, as if beholding a specter.

The girl's breath caught in her throat, the pain in her body momentarily forgotten as she beheld my sudden metamorphosis. "A white glowing skin like the moon, eyes aglow with a pink hue... Is he... divine?" Her cheeks flushed, warmth spreading through her body as she struggled to comprehend the inexplicable feelings stirred within her by my otherworldly appearance.

"W-what? What happened to you? Why do you suddenly look like this? Explain," Alan blankly looked at me, his gaze sweeping over my transformed appearance.

I didn't reply to him; instead, I stared at my hands, thoughts swirling in my mind. "I can feel mana inside me now. I can perform low-tier magic spells. But that's not the only thing I should be thinking about. My hands and hair... They look very familiar, like I've seen them when—"

"Boom!"

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion from above the building.

"Who did that? I didn't tell anyone to blow up the building!" Alan screamed in rage at his remaining minions. They shook their heads, denying any involvement.

The girl and I raised our heads to the sky and witnessed a giant rift opening above us, from which a mysterious figure descended.

Everyone present watched the figure with vigilant gazes until it touched ground.

"A girl?" I mused, observing the exquisite beauty of the little girl descending from above. But as I looked closer, my heart skipped a beat, and my eyes widened in astonishment.

"Aurelia? When did she turn into a little girl?" I stared at the child before me, her features mirroring those of Goddess Aurelia—pink eyes, a cute face, and an otherworldly aura surrounding her.

She sighed and calmly surveyed her surroundings until her gaze landed on me. Tears welled up in the corners of her pink eyes as she dashed towards me, clinging tightly and crying out, "Papa! Papa! Papa, finally meet you! I missed you so much!"

"Huh... What!"