[please give me power stones!!]
"nngh..." My voice felt heavy, as if I hadn't opened my mouth in centuries.
I didn't know what had happened or where I was.
"The last thing I did was fight Peikak and Pablo and now?..." I muttered as I weakly opened my eyes only to find myself In a completely white room and in front of me was a man with no face except for a toothy smile.
"Haa...am I dead?" I muttered as I let my body fall to the floor, even being here, the exhaustion was simply tremendous and Now that I was looking back, I hadn't slept well in at least two days, the time I was unconscious in Elinalise's care doesn't count for me.
"Almost! But no, Pablo's body cushioned the blast a bit along with your barrier aura," Hitogami muttered in the same playful tone as always.
"Well, that's good..." I mumbled as I closed my eyes trying to sleep.
"Hey! Are you really going to sleep right here? Do you even know where you are?!" Hitogami's playful expression faltered for a moment but not too much and I opened my eyes again.
"Yes, unless you have some good advice, on second thought, better not, I'm in all this for your advice, just shut up and let me sleep." I answered lazily.
"Hmm! You can't be more disrespectful! Even with all the advice I've given you!!" Hitogami threw a tantrum, stamping his feet on the floor.
"Helpful tips? Your most recent advice led me into a trap where I almost died like ten times!!...Fifteen swordsmen? Who the hell do you think I am?!" I screamed as I sat down on the floor in frustration.
"I'm sorry! But the path Gesse took wasn't planned! His decision to betray you came out of nowhere and I couldn't warn you in time." Hitogami's voice slowly faded as he spoke.
I raised an eyebrow at this and looked at him directly, or tried to.
"How did it come out of nowhere? Aren't you the god of humans? And how come you couldn't warn me?" The words came out of my mouth in an accusatory manner and Hitogami's figure hunched.
"Hehe well... you just said it friend!! I am only the God of Humans! And Gesee is a demon! I can't intervene with him and I couldn't do it with you because it can only be done when you dream!, And when Gesse made his decision you had already woken up" Gesee's voice returned to its usual playful tone and he put his hands behind his back.
"..." I remained silent as I digested his words, it was true that Gesee was a demon and Hitogami's words seemed convincing but my instincts simply wouldn't let me lower your guard in his presence.
"But still, you were able to take care of everyone, right? Now your main problem is getting back to your group..." Hitogami muttered and I narrowed my eyes.
"Where are they? Tell me now!" I demanded loudly.
"Hey! Slow down, speedster! Your group and Laws are fine. Laws is still running through the forest looking for the carriage, and they are already a couple of days away from the nearest city, If you want to catch up with them you should hurry," Hitogami muttered as he walked in circles around me.
"That's it? No advice or anything?" My voice came out involuntarily and I regretted it the next moment.
But it only took this much for a terrifying smile to form on Hitogami's face.
"Heh...I thought you didn't want my advice anymore, my friend!" Hitogami said dramatically while wiping a fake tear from his face.
"Tell me now, before I regret it," I murmured softly as I sat on the floor.
This only made Hitogami's already terrifying smile only grow bigger and he approached me slowly.
"Hey...what are you planning?!" I yelled as I quickly got up from the ground.
"Calm down! I just want to be closer for more confidence!!" The guy said dramatically while hugging himself and then his expression became serious.
Here he goes...
"Ahem!, Paul Notos Greyrat!...listen carefully to my advice because I won't repeat it a second time!!..." The guy said raising his arms and made a dramatic pause to look at me.
"what is it-
"You're in the middle of a very dangerous area, young Paul! And with the destruction you've caused, you'd better get out of there! Unless you want to face the terrible black wolves!!"Hitogami's voice grew quieter and quieter as he stared at me.
"Black wolves? What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"Just simple wolves, but your mana reserves are almost in negative numbers and even if you heal, your mental fatigue will make it impossible for you to face them" the pixelated man said while crossing his arms and I speak with an incredibly serious voice to what they were used to.
"I see, so which way should I go?" I asked.
"That's easy, just follow the moon until you get back to the path and always stay out of the trees if you want to get eaten alive" Hitogami muttered while scratching his chin.
This seemed to be his first useful advice, but the way he said it and the naturalness of it gave me chills, I didn't know why, but I knew that even with this new advice so harmless I could feel that something would go wrong for me.
"Okay...follow the moon and avoid trees, anything else?" I asked as I went over the key points.
"...don't trust demons, they'll only bring you trouble" Hitogami's voice echoed in my mind as I just stared at him in shock.
"Wait! What kind of demon? Roxy is a demon!!" I screamed but Hitogami's image had already vanished from my sight.
"Don't trust...the demons...the demons" I could only hear the echoes of his voice and I sighed irritably.
I immediately felt a force pulling me forward and followed by an intense headache... I woke up...
...
"nnngh?!..." I opened my eyes suddenly only to wake up on the floor, I felt an enormous pressure on my body and everything was dark.
"Is it nighttime already?...Yeah, the moon is still there, of course," I muttered to myself as I scanned the surroundings.
Apparently I was covered in debris and my battle aura was still active so I felt tremendously weak, but other than that, I didn't feel the pain that one would expect from such a powerful explosion as it was the one I received fully.
"Oh?, "You're awake!" A familiar voice murmured next to me and my instincts kicked in again, but sadly I couldn't see where the voice was coming from.
"Gesee..." The name tumbled angrily from my lips as I desperately looked around.
"Heh...you caught me! Looks like life hasn't treated you so well, has it, buddy?" Gesee's voice echoed from all around, like hundreds of clones hiding in the darkness.
I immediately tried to get up but a huge piece of rock was on top of me.
"Why did you do it Gesse? I considered you a friend, I thought we would conquer the world alone" I murmured while with magic I slowly dissolved the enormous rock on top of me.
"Yes... I believed it too, I believed it for a long time in fact, you know?!, and what did I get in return?!" Gesee's voice grew louder, as if he were shouting directly into my ear.
"..."
"That's right! Nothing! Absolutely nothing! While you were having fun with your women, I was left in the background! You even had the nerve to treat me like your clown!! I'll never forgive you for that!"
"You know that's not true. I stood up to so many people just so you could live, and I never asked for anything in return, and yet you dare to complain to me?!" My voice came out as loud as I could but my tiredness made it falter.
"Don't give me those shitty excuses!! None of this would have happened if you hadn't jumped in to rescue that damn Hilda girl in the first place! We'd still be adventurers And not damn fugitives who can't rest because they're running away from Millis without rest!!" Gesee shouted, his voice deafening my eardrums, to the point of making them vibrate.
The huge rock dissolved completely but all the dust fell on top of me burying me again so I used wind magic to get it off me.
"I know you're not serious. You got along well with Hilda. What made you change your mind so drastically? The money? Tell me how much they gave you and I assure you I would have given you more!" I screamed as I weakly got up from the ground.
"This isn't about money, that's what he told me. I realized that your presence is an evil for this world, like that of all the nobles!"
"What did he tell you? Who? The cardinal? Maurice?" My voice became more cautious as I looked around and conjured a fireball in my hand.
The place around me immediately lit up, revealing hundreds of rubble and I could faintly see a figure covered in a black hood who hid when I saw him.
"I saw you Gesse...get out of there, you haven't killed anyone I care about and that's why I don't hate you, let's just talk!" I muttered as the fireball in my hand grew bigger to illuminate the place.
"Ha! And have the same fate as all those bastards?! No, thank you! He told me you would try to convince me!!"
"Him?...Who is him? Who gave you those ideas? Was it Darius?..." I muttered as I put the pieces together in my mind.
"He's none of them! But he opened my eyes! He taught me the truth!"
"And what is that truth?..." I muttered as I searched for my Sakka sword which fortunately was intact at my waist.
"You must die, so that this world does not collapse!! You, your family and your descendants will be responsible for the death of this world! And I myself will be in charge of stopping you!!" Gesse's statement had me frozen in place as my eyes narrowed.
"The destruction of this world?...what the hell are you talking about, damn monkey! Come out of the shadows now!! " I demanded while using gravity magic to destroy the largest debris.
"tch...I know I can't stop you now, but I'll team up Paul, I'll make sure you don't threaten this world, in any way!!" Gesse shouted and immediately a barrier formed around me.
"!!!"
The barrier caught me off guard, I tried to use magic but it dissipated instantly.
"Gesse!! You can't leave me here!! If you do, it will be a declaration of war!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"Calm down! It will only last an hour! You better enjoy your last months of life because there will be no place on earth where you can hide after!" Gesee announced and his voice became weaker with each word until I couldn't hear it anymore.
"Gesse!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs only to receive no response and fell to my knees.
The barrier's color was blue so it was an advanced rank one, but still...my mana was already too little to penetrate it with stronger magic...
"Even if the hour-long thing is a lie, I just have to wait until my mana regenerates completely and I can destroy it..." I muttered to myself as I let myself fall on land full of debris.
Gesee's words still echoed in my ear as I closed my eyes trying to get some rest.
At some point I lost track of time and the dyshipo barrier without making a single sound.
"...at least he's telling the truth," I muttered as I got up from the ground and looked around.
About twenty meters away was an empty magic circle, which meant he had stolen Mauricio's group's barrier but modified it with some kind of device...
I looked up at the sky and the moon was a little below its highest point, dimly illuminating the forest, which meant it was past midnight.
Without thinking about it for a moment, I started walking towards the moon as Hitogami had instructed me, and I also went over his words in my head.
"don't trust demons..."
"Heh, doesn't seem like it, huh?" I muttered with a weak smile as I walked around the place.
Everything was dark and my feet only stepped on rocks which meant that I was still inside the crater.
But no matter how much I walked, the path of destruction did not end until I reached a steep area which was difficult to climb and right in front of me was the rest of the forest.
"So that's as far as the explosion goes..." I muttered as I looked around.
There was the threat of the black wolves and that of Gesse, I knew I could take care of the macaque in an instant but my muscles burned horribly, my fencing would not work unless I rested.
So following Hitogami's advice I hurried to walk through the forest trying not to make too much noise.
After another half hour of walking I finally reached an area that divided the forest in two with a line that extended from right to left.
The path...
But there was a problem, well, actually two.
I didn't remember this part of the path and didn't know which direction I was supposed to go, I was totally lost now...
"Haa...where are you when I need you most Laws!!!" I shouted in frustration as I sat down on the side of the road.
I could only think of one way to find my way around the forest and that was to create a huge earth pillar to see if I could see a bit of the lights of Shirone's capital, But with my current mana reserves, I'm more likely to faint before I can do it.
But then I looked at the moon and it was on the left side of the road.
"...let's bet it all" I muttered and jumped up from the ground to continue walking.
The road was completely dark and silent, only the sound of my footsteps was audible which honestly scared me a little now with how weak I was.
I walked for hours, the moon was getting lower and lower and my feet were starting to get numb and my tiredness was increasing more and more.
But even at those moments my mind wandered in other matters.
My mother, Philemon, Roxy, Hilda, Laws, Flute, Lilia and finally Gesse...
All those people occupied my mind as I walked.
It's been months since the disaster in Mana and I haven't heard from my mother or Philemon.
Hilda and Lilia were out there for the three days I've been gone, I don't even know if there was another group waiting for me across the road or something.
God...I hope it's just my excessive paranoia, but even if it is, the possibilities are endless but my mind and heart won't accept them all.
I shook my head again, pushing the thoughts out of my brain.
Thinking about it wouldn't do me any good, it wouldn't do me any good, it would just distract me...
I continued walking for hours, the moon was completely hidden and the first rays of the sun came out hitting me right in the face.
My feet felt extremely heavy as I walked and my mind was spinning due to the extreme tiredness I felt.
But a sound reached my ears...
The sound of a speeding carriage rattling...
I quickly pulled over, my hand on the handle of Sakka and...
I saw it, it was Laws driving the carriage at full speed towards me.
When we both looked at each other, he gave the horses a strong whiplash that stopped suddenly And without waiting a second longer, Laws jumped out of the carriage with incredible skill and started running towards me.
Maybe it was just the sight of him, but my posture instantly relaxed and I fell to my knees on the floor.
Fatigue invaded my body and my eyes closed instantly and I fell to the ground or that must have happened because Laws caught my body at the last second.
"Paul! Paul! Are you okay?" Laws' voice sounded like a murmur which I couldn't answer no matter how much I wanted to.
"Paul! My love!!" Hilda's voice came from beside me and I let out an involuntary sigh of relief.
"If he's breathing, I'll put him in the carriage! Roxy, get some blankets ready to make him comfortable!" Laws shouted at the top of his lungs and he picked me up.
"You're safe now Paul, we're all fine, you can rest" Laws' words sounded like a lullaby because the next moment I lost consciousness and fainted.