9 Moving Forward

Name: Hiro Satomi. Age: 20. Gender: Male

Summon Type: Commoner. Magic Attack: 45

Magic Defense: 50. Skills: Water Magic, Earth Magic

"Nothing. If that's true, then what's up with these flames."

I kept looking at the dark flame on my hand that kept dancing around. I didn't know what to think of it. What was that dark flame that ignited my sword and my entire body? Where did it come from?

"I guess this is just another reason as to why I need to train myself," I said to myself. "Those army guys are way stronger than I am. If I'm going to rescue Xylvia, I need to get stronger."

The only problem was that I didn't know how to get stronger. I knew that killing monsters helps you gain more control of your magic, but the most powerful monster I killed was a D-Class monster.

When fighting against a monster, you can see their class, how powerful they are, by simply looking at them. The monsters were all created by Devil as another way to destroy mankind. However, members of the Army of Light as well as the Hero found a way to use the monsters to their advantage. They found out that killing them and drinking a drop of their blood increased your magic level. The army found out about this when one of the members was suffering of starvation. She became desperate and ate the meat of a monster, but consuming too much of it caused her to become "Corrupted" (A human turning into a monster). Another member decided to only drink a drop of it and not only did he not get Corrupted, his magic was also more powerful. Everything else is pretty simple. The more powerful a monster is, the more powerful you'll become when drinking their blood.

I've only drank the blood of a monster once or twice because I don't fight them most of the time. Xylvia and I would either run away from them until we lost them or hide until they went away. Only rarely did we have to fight them and even after killing them, Xylvia and I only found out about it two weeks ago from now.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, I eventually found another village in ruins. All of the buildings were burned to the ground. Ashes and debris were scattered all over the place. As for the villagers, they were also scattered all over the place...covered in blood.

I simply stood there without saying anything. Tears were streaming down my eyes. I didn't want to know how many other villages they destroyed. I didn't want to know how may tears they caused. I didn't want to know how many people they killed. I just didn't want to know.

I spent about an hour burying all the people in the ground. I didn't just want them to be left like this. They all deserved a funeral at least.

"May the great goddess protect you." I said putting my hand together in a prayer.

I continued walking in the direction until I suddenly footsteps approaching me. I didn't have time to react before a knife was inches away from slicing my throat.

"Who are you." said a female voice.

"H-Hiro Satomi." I quickly said.

"Quit joking around," she said. "I've had a pretty shitty day, so the last thing I need is someone lying about being the Hero."

"What...oh wait no I'm not THE Hero, my NAME is Hiro."

I didn't know what else to say until the girl suddenly backed away and got on one knee while keeping her head down.

"I-I'm so sorry," she said a little frightened. "I didn't know, I swear."

She had her eyes on the sword that was strapped next to my waist.

"Please forgive me Hero," she said looking up at me. "I had just witnessed many villages get burned to ashes, so my attitude may be a little on-the-edge."

Does she think I'm the Hero because I have this sword?

"Ok, this is a big misunderstanding," I said. "I'm not the Hero, and I found this sword in a cave system that I explored with my..."

I paused. The moment I thought of Xylvia was the moment I remembered when she got captured. Seeing her get slashed like that send an awful feeling throughout my body.

"Does something trouble you?" the girl asked.

When my senses came back to me, I noticed both of my hands were clenched into fists. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself and relaxed my hands.

"I'm sorry about that," I said. "Someone that I care about was just captured by members of the Army of Darkness. They burned down a village and killed many people."

"Dammit...," her face was filled with anger and frustration. "I swear to all the people who lost their lives...I will not stop until every last one of those monsters are dead..."

I felt the same way she did. Up until last night, I never really thought much of the war between the two armies. I've always just had loads of fun with Xylvia. However, the moment that Xylvia was taken away from me was the moment I finally woke up in the middle of this harsh reality of this distant world. I wanted the Army of Darkness to suffer from bloodshed, but Xylvia was a million times important to me right now.

"Do you mind if I ask your name?" I asked the girl.

"No," she said. Then she stood up and introduced herself. "My name is Loenna. I was born and raised in The Town of Colors. I was trained by my father to be a swordswoman. I was later drafted into the Army of Light at the age of nineteen. I've always wanted to get my revenge against the Army of Darkness ever since they killed my parents and little brother, so I did my hardest to fight. I climbed the ranks and became a squad captain a year later. I led my squad into battle three days ago, but they were all wiped out along with the village that we fought to protect. Now here I am three days later."

I got a good look at her as she told her story. She was a few inches taller than me with dark brown hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a suit of golden armor with black shoes and a long, silver sword. Her face had the look of a warrior's.

"May I ask your name?" Leonna asked me.

"My name is Hiro Satomi. Not 'Hero', HI-RO."

"Hiro...Satomi...Hiro Satomi," she said. "Well now, it's nice to make your acquaintance Hiro."

She held her hand out to me. I took it and gave it a few shakes.

"Likewise." I said.

Leonna stared at me for a few moments, then she started to walk around me as if she were taking notes of my appearance.

"...Um...Leonna...what are you doing?" I asked a little concerned.

"Six-foot, two inches...black hair...dark green eyes...face of a daredevil...well equipped..."

She circled around me a few more times before she finally stopped in front of me.

"There, now I know you visually." she said.

"Ok...uh...anything else you need to know about me?" I asked her a little weirded out.

"Well, I would like to know your backstory and your personality. Oh, and I'll also need to know if you've had sex with anyone over the last sixty days."

I froze when I heard her say that last line.

"Uh...I'm sorry. I think my ears were a little broken there for a second," I said extremely concerned. "Do you mind saying that again for me please."

Leonna started to blush a little when I asked her that.

"W-Well...there have been cases where people have contracted a disease through I-intercourse. And...I j-just need to know...f-for my own safety. You know, in c-case you t-turn into a monster!"

I really didn't have time for this. I should be hunting for C-Class monsters right now. I needed to get to Xylvia before they do something terrible to her.

"Look, I really need to get going," I said to Leonna. "Someone that I care about was taken from me and I need to get to her before something bad happens."

Leonna stopped blushing and quickly went back into her warrior self.

"Ok then," she said. "If you need to get to your friend, then I'll shall accompany you."

"Wait, you're willing to risk your life to help a stranger like me?"

"Well of course. It's my job as a member of the Army of Light to help someone who is in dire need. Plus...you don't really look like you can take on a member of the Army of Darkness yourself."

As much as that hurt me on the inside, she was absolutely right. I may have been able to take down a couple of them, but that was all just a rare fluke. Besides, that one guy who killed that little girl is still someone who is on a whole other level of power. I am way behind him, and I needed to get stronger if I want any chance at being able to beat him.

"Will you help me get stronger," I asked Leonna. "I may be weak, but I've still got room to grow. However, I can't do this alone. Will you help me?"

Leonna pulled her sword from her sheath and stabbed it down on the ground. Then, she got down on one knee and placed her hand on her chest as if she were saluting me or something.

"I swear, on the name of the Army of Light and the great goddess Gleam, I will help you get stronger. I will follow you on your journey, I will help you get stronger, and I will help you rescue your friend."

She looked up at me with her bright green eyes, and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. This girl is willing to lay down her life for someone like me.

"Thank you." I said almost shedding a tear.

"Now then, shall we be off." Leonna said walking ahead of me.

"Sure thing," I said. "Let's move forward until the very end..."