Sweet relief

Trying to stand, Aoi winced in pain as a sharp nerve shot through her body, forcing her back to the floor.

"Piece of shit," She swore, to no one in particular.

At this point, a couple of her bones were probably broken. Aoi slowly turned her head and surveyed the surrounding. She was in what seemed to be a very dense forest, with towering trees blocking out the moonlight. It was almost pitch black where she was. The cold ground alongside the ruffling leaves gave an eerie atmosphere to where she was.

Suddenly, Aoi started to cough out blood. Her body convulsed with pain as she splurged the ground with a crimson red. Once she finished, she rolled onto her back and lay there helplessly. She took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself.

But it seems like the gods aren't that kind.

A loud thud resounded through the forest as the ground shook near her. It seemed like her blood had attracted the scent of a beast. Aoi's sixth sense kicked in making her muster every muscle fibre in her body to stand up. Moving her legs, she started to run as fast as she could in the opposite direction of wherever the noise was coming from.

Despite doing whatever she could, the thuds only grew louder and louder. The ground shook violently making her knees buckle but she refused to stop. If she stopped here, that would most definitely guarantee her death. Her broken bones grinded against each other, causing her excruciating pain but she kept going.

As she ran, trees were being flung left and right, making way for the beast. A misplaced branch caused her to fall down face-first onto the ground. Blood started to leak from her nose as she turned around.

Her eyes turned into fear as she looked at the magnificent beast that towered over her. Flames consumed its body, making the forest glow in an ethereal orange hue. It was surprising how it didn't burn the forest down.

A-rank Beast - Infernofangs.

She tried to stand back up but before she even could, its paws swung, slamming into her side with a sickening boom. The force launched her through the air, before she crashed into a tree, denting it in the process. As she gasped for air, Aoi felt the pain shooting through her body.

But the beast had no sympathy. It pummeled her into the ground and covered her with flames. The sound of Aoi's limbs being snapped echoed through the forest as she was swung around like a ragdoll.

The trees and leaves were painted in a gruesome shade of red as her blood splattered. The life that was once present within her eyes faded away as she mindlessly stared at the bear. Seeing its toy like this, the bear lost interest and crushed her skull.

The forest once again fell into silence as the bear made it's way back to its abode. Aoi's mangled corpse lay there, still and lifeless. Her clothes were torn, her limbs had been twisted and her skin charred and blackened from the flames.

A faint golden light enveloped the young girl and a robotic gender-neutral voice spoke

[System Bestowal Confirmed.]

[Commencing Bestowal.]

[Host Status: Deceased.]

[Initiating revival process]

[Revival unsuccessful]

[Retrying]

[Revival unsuccessful]

[Analysing corpse]

[Corpse declared unsuitable for soul.]

[Requesting permission from administrator to reincarnate Saito Aoi]

[Permission declined.]

[Command Input: Create a new body similar to her Ex-body and transmigrate her into it.]

[Command Accepted.]

[Extracting DNA from body]

[Extraction complete]

[Creating new body.]

[Special Conditions: 'Angel, Similar prowess' Have been set]

[Generating body.]

[Creation Complete.]

[Extracting soul]

[WARNING: SOUL HAS BEEN DAMAGED]

[Halting process.]

[Requesting aid from administrator]

[Aid Granted. Supplying power to heal soul]

[Healing soul]

[Condition has been met due to Administrators energy: Limitless(Hidden)]

[Soul healing complete]

[Extracting soul]

[Soul Extraction successful]

[Inserting Soul into new body]

[Soul insertion Successful]

[Requesting System]

[System Type Granted: Bard's System]

[Administrator has gained permission to modify 'Bard's System']

[Modification Complete]

[Assigning personality to system: Docile, Introverted, Speaks with no-nonsense, Concerned for the host]

[Assigning voice type to system: Gentle, Soothing and melodic]

[Providing system with basic information on the world and its host]

[System Creation completed]

[Started Package has been provided towards host]

[Teleporting host]

[Teleportation complete]

[Administrator wishes Host: Saito Aoi, luck]

=== [] ===

Tattered and bruised, the heroes returned to the camp with a downcast gaze. They had battled long and hard against the Goblins and it had clearly taken its toll. They were all exhausted, both mentally and physically. Who knew that intelligence could be such an advantage.

Thankfully, there were some outstanding performers. Takeshi, Miyata and Cho all fought bravely in the frontline and managed to carry their party to victory. In the short time that they had been in this world, Takeshi became very adept with the sword, slashing enemies left and right. Though, understandable, he did have some issues with the newer enemies.

Miyata Meanwhile uses his fist as his weapon of choice, smashing into the enemies and leaving no room for mercy. Cho, for her part, wielded a large claymore during the battle. Due to a sudden influx of goblins, she went berserk and turned the tide against them. But unfortunately, that came at a cost as she is pretty tired

In the backlines too, were some good supporters such as Aimi and Emiko. Every physical wound, whether it be a cut or a stab, was treated by the two of them. They also helped by buffing their allies in the battle.

Cho was currently at the back completely walking at a leisurely pace with Aimi who was practically limping. Her mana had almost been depleted during the battle, having to take care of the many injuries. Neither spoke to the other but instead basked in the very uncomfortable silence.

Arriving at the camp, most of the heroes jumped onto their tents and took a long-deserved rest. Cho however, couldn't rest just yet. She was currently looking for a short girl with absurdly long black hair. Aimi followed behind her which Cho decided to ignore.

Unable to find her, Cho decided to ask a maid who was basking in the moonlight. She tapped her shoulder, and asked "Excuse me, Have you seen a short girl about this tall," She gestured at her shoulder height "Blue eyes and long black hair?"

The maid scratched her head and replied. "Hmmmm… Ah yes! There was someone like that. But I didn't see her after the first day."

Cho thanked the maid before turning her back. She continued to ask around but everyone gave similar responses. It was either that they never saw her or only saw her on the first day. Slowly, panic started to settle in as she realised that Aoi was missing.

"I'll look for her," Cho thought out loud.

The girl who had been trailing behind her for the past hour finally decided to speak up, "Cho, you should rest."

"How can I rest when Aoi might be in danger" she spoke, her voice rough with emotion.

"I know you want to look for her, but look at yourself first" Aimi spoke, as she gently grabbed Cho's arm. She moved her palm towards her friend and gave it a soft squeeze. "You could hurt yourself. I promise I'll help you."

Although Cho was still reluctant, she gave in to her fatigue. Her head had been ringing for a couple of hours but she had powered through with sheer will alone.

"For now, let's ask the knight to help, okay?" Aimi suggested, her voice soft and kind.

"Fine…" Cho replied.

Quickly, the two of them made their way to the head knight and informed him of the situation. The head knight quickly responded by mobilising a couple of high-ranking knights and sent them to look for her. The two girls meanwhile, made their way to the tents and hit the sack.

The following day, Cho stumbled out of her tent and approached the head knight and asked on the whereabouts of Aoi.

"Unfortunately, we were not able to find Madam Aoi. It's as if she disappeared." He stated.

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE," Aoi replied, a bit too loud. "Can't you use magic to locate her?"

"We've tried that, but there is no sign of her." The head knight responded while shaking his head.

It was then that Aimi got out of her tent and spotted Cho who was grabbing the collar of the Head knight. She ran quickly and grabbed Cho from the back.

"Calm down Cho. What's going on?"

Cho pushed her away and turned around with tears streaming down her face. "They couldn't find Aoi," she said in a trembling voice

Aimi's eyes widened at the outburst. Without even thinking about it, she hugged the girl tightly and placed her head on her neck... "It's okay…" She comforted.

The implications of Aoi's disappearance were clear as day. Despite the presence of an A-Rank knight, Aoi was still missing. It was impossible that a group of at most C-Rank heroes would be able to find her.

Cho fell to her knees, her tears pouring down her face as Aimi knelt beside her. Cho hugged Aimi as tightly as she could, almost afraid that she too would disappear.

=== [AN:] ===

With this, this marks the end of the prologue. Ill be taking my time and planning out the second volume so it might take a little while.

Anyways hope you enjoyed reading <3

(PS: If you notice any mistakes or want to say anything about the novel, please do. K bye.)