Chapter 33: Giving the Elf some Pure Love I

I thought we’d find it soon, but expectations keep betraying us.  

Two days of roaming with my search skill always on leave my head heavy, my focus slowly slipping.  

Without the Goddess’s Water Bottle, I’d have collapsed long ago. The water in the Goddess’s Water Bottle relieves fatigue and restores MP. Thanks to its endless supply, I burn through far more MP than I should and still manage.  

“Big Bro. Over there.” Karen speaks, crouching low.  

“Where?”  

“There, by the sheer cliff. A Sin Wolf.”  

As if choosing our meeting spot, the Sin Wolf waits majestically atop the cliff, eyeing us.  

“Let’s go.”  

At Karen’s signal, I follow silently.  

Then it leaps down the cliff’s edge.  

“What!”  

“D*mn…”  

Just when we spot it, it bolts?  

It’s not some legendary Pokémon, is it? That’s too much!  

Peering down, I spot the Sin Wolf sitting casually, scratching its ear with a hind leg.  

Like it’s daring us to come down.  

“…Big Bro. Should we jump?”  

“No way. That’s over 8 meters. One bad landing, and your leg’s done.”  

“But… it’s right there.” Karen sighs.  

With our goal so close yet out of reach, no wonder she’s frustrated.  

Should I shoot magic from here? 

No, Fireball’s range isn’t that long. No guarantee it’d hit the Sin Wolf either.  

Haven’t I done enough?  

I’ve got no reason to push through this urgent mission. It’s just a hassle.  

But Karen’s different. She has a dream. A reason she has to catch this Sin Wolf.  

“Karen. Why do you want to be a hero candidate? To join a hero’s party?”  

“I want to meet him again.”  

“Again? You’ve met the hero?”  

“Yeah. When I was a kid. A beast attacked me, and a passing hero saved me. I want to thank him…”  

Karen smiles shyly, brushing it off. 

To stand proudly by the hero’s side. That’s why she’s aiming to be a candidate?  

Not the story I wanted to hear, but telling her to quit feels wrong. Let’s keep going as far as we can.  

“We’ve got its location. Let’s circle around.”  

I open my inventory to check remaining food.  

Water’s infinite, so no worries there.  

Then I sense movement behind us.  

“Hey, what’re you staring at?”  

It was a man’s voice, laced with mockery.  

Turning, I see four rough-looking guys smirking at us.  

Something’s off. 

They’re closing in, like they’re cutting off our escape.  

“Big Bro.” As Karen moves closer to me, one guy suddenly shoves me.  

“Huh?” 

My b0dy floats.  

A chill hits, and I’m already plummeting, sucked downward.  

“Ugh, argh!”  

Wind Spirit!  

I hastily wrap myself in spirit magic and hit the ground.  

Even with the spirit absorbing the impact, the pain makes me want to hurl my guts.  

“Big Bro!”  

“Urgh.”  

Raw pain stabs through my entire b0dy.  

“Don’t get distracted!”  

I look up.  

Four unfamiliar male adventurers peer down, snickering.  

Were they the ones watching us when we set up camp?  

They snuck up from behind. 

D*mn it!  

“Boyfriend! Don’t worry. We’ll play with your girl for you.”  

“Get away!” Karen draws her sword.  

But the four guys laugh, cornering her. 

With the cliff behind her—there’s no escape.  

“Urgh…!”  

They say you can’t trust fellow adventurers.  

Isti was right. I need to call Isti now…!  

“Grrrk.”  

I spring up and spin around.  

The Sin Wolf glares at me. 

Was this thing always this huge? I’d believe it’s a small bear.  

“Big Bro!!”  

Oh, d*mn it!  

The Sin Wolf charges me. 

It’s too fast to dodge, I summon a Wind Spirit to block its forepaw strike.  

Time’s running out!  

“Stay still! Want to fall too?”  

“Don’t wanna die? Then behave.”  

“Hey! This chick! I said stay still.”  

It’s chaos, and I’m losing it…  

If I use the Wind Spirit to call Isti, won’t the Sin Wolf kill me?  

I don’t want to think it, but that’s likely.  

While I weigh my life against calling Isti, something falls.  

“Ugh, argh…!”  

“Karen?”  

Karen threw herself off the cliff.  

“That crazy b*tch!”

“D*mn it.”  

“What now?”  

“We’re done. Told you to hold her properly.”  

Their voices fade.  

The adventurers seem to have given up and left.  

Now, only one problem remains.  

“Karen, get up!”  

“Ugh, urgh…!”  

Karen staggers to her feet, but her leg’s clearly injured.  

The Sin Wolf targets her instantly.  

“Fireball!”  

I launch a Fireball from behind, hitting the Sin Wolf.  

It dodges with eerie precision, shifts its focus, and charges me.  

No way. Too late…!  

“I’ve got this…!”  

Karen shoves me aside and takes the Sin Wolf’s attack.  

She’s flung back like she was hit by a car, rolling across the ground, bl00d gushing from her stomach like a punctured dam.  

“Ha, ugh!”  

I clench my teeth, forcing down fear.  

I can’t tremble now—that’s all I know.  

I focus hard on the Wind Spirit. I knew deep down it might come to this.  

I can’t handle this alone…!  

“Isti!!”  

Karen taking the hit bought me a split-second chance.  

But how fast can Isti find us when I don’t even know where she is?  

How do I hold out until then?  

In that fleeting moment of thought—a gust blows, and Isti arrives.  

Literally in the blink of an eye.  

“Decal!”  

Isti sees my state and makes a face I’ve never seen before.  

“I’ll kill it right here!”  

The Sin Wolf zigzags toward Isti, but it can’t even reach her, repelled by a wind barrier.  

“Yelp!”  

The Sin Wolf tumbles, realizing the gap in strength, and starts fleeing in a panic.  

But Isti’s already nocked an arrow, aiming at it.  

For some reason, I shout—  

“Isti, don’t shoot!”  

I stop her.  

“I’m fine. Calm down. Just scratches from the fall.”  

“What about her?”  

“Karen…”  

“…Ha… ha…”  

Karen’s barely breathing, her consciousness gone. Her face is pale from massive bleeding. Seconds from losing a fatal amount of bl00d.  

“She took the Sin Wolf’s attack for me.  

Right after falling, she must’ve been dazed.”  

“…The cliff. Who pushed you, Decal?”  

“Yeah, Isti. The wolf’s not the issue now. Bring those b*stards to me, every last one!”  

Isti vanishes with a gust, just as she came.  

“Karen, hold on… I’ll heal you now.”

I rummage through my inventory and pull out the Eight-Colored Giant Clam.  

It heals on contact, right? 

D*mn it! My trembling hands drop it to the ground.  

What am I doing? I grip the clam tightly and press it to Karen’s wound like staunching bl00d.  

“Ugh…”  

Karen coughs up bl00d.  

Argh! Is this really a healing clam?  

There’s nothing else to trust. Even to my untrained eye, Karen’s wound is fatal.  

“Am I dying?”  

“No big deal. You’re not dying.”  

“….”  

Thank goodness. The bl00d’s slowing.  

The Eight-Colored Giant Clam’s effect is incredible. Karen’s wound starts closing before my eyes.  

Unbelievable…!  

I’m grateful for the miracle.  

Keeping this clam was the right call. It saved Karen’s life.  

Seeing color return to her face, I sigh in relief.  

Just then, Isti returns.  

She’s dragged the four who pushed me and sets them before me.  

“Decal. These the ones?”  

“Eek, eek!”  

“We’re sorry!”  

“We lost our heads for a sec. We didn’t mean it.”  

The four kneel, begging.  

They look shaken, like they’ve been through a rough time.  

“See? Humans can’t be trusted.” Isti mutters with disgust.  

A chill runs down my spine.  

“Thanks, Isti. You saved us.”  

Isti’s eyebrows twitch.  

“Decal. The Sin Wolf nearly killed you. Why stop me from shooting?”  

“If you killed it, Karen couldn’t fulfill her dream.”  

“Your life matters more to me.”  

“Yeah. Karen saved my life. So I wanted to do that much for her.”  

Isti glances at Karen, unconscious on the ground.  

Then one of the groveling guys pulls a knife from his wa!st and lunges at Isti.  

“Argh!”  

But Isti doesn’t even look, repelling him with a Wind Spirit. She coldly nocks an arrow.  

“Decal. What do we do with them?”  

“……”  

“We’ll never do it again.”  

“Mercy!”  

One tried to stab Isti, yet now pleads like it never happened.  

I know well. They’re just groveling to save their skins. Not one truly regrets it.  

Normally, I’d never mention Isti’s name to scum like this. But it doesn’t matter now. 

“I’ve got a fun idea.”  

No need to teach anything to those about to die.  

Snap.

I snap my fingers, putting the four adventurers into a trance.  

Isti steps back, watching me.  

“You will ‘absolutely obey my commands.’”  

“Absolute… obedience…”  

“Obedience…”  

The suggestion isn’t a trigger—it’s a switch.  

They must obey consciously to feel fear. Like when I punished Beleira to show my power during my first world transfer. But this isn’t cute punishment.  

“Isti. Stay with Karen.”  

“And you?”  

“I’ll handle these.”  

“Got it.”  

What I’m about to do is simple.  

Clap.

I clap, waking the adventurers.  

“Get up, vermin.”  

“Gasp!”  

“My b0dy’s moving on its own…”  

“From now on, I’m your god.”  

I point where the Sin Wolf fled.  

“Find the Sin Wolf! Run!”  

“Argh!”  

“No, no!”  

The adventurers sprint off, faces pale with terror.  

I summon a Wind Spirit and follow lightly.  

One of them screams. He’s found the Sin Wolf.  

“Vermin, assemble!” I gather them and face the Sin Wolf.  

Honestly, I’m not confident fighting it alone.  

From combat to Wind Spirit magic to spellcasting, it’s all still foreign to me.  

“Let us go!”  

“Please, I can’t move!”  

“What are you doing!”  

But hypnosis is different.  

I’ve controlled people with it since I was a kid.  

With hypnosis, I can dominate this situation.  

The Sin Wolf growls, wary of us.  

“Risk your lives to stop its movements!”  

“Ugh, argh!”  

“Nooo!”  

The four obey, drawing their swords and charging the Sin Wolf boldly. Their faces scream fear and despair, but they’re soldiers unafraid of death.  

“Grrrk!”  

The Sin Wolf swings its paw, tearing one’s thr0at. 

Even with a slashed thr0at, he clings to it.  

Obeying my command to the last.  

“Argh! If it’s come to this… die!”  

While my puppets fight, I focus quietly.  

“Fireball.”  

An overcharged Fireball, three times a soccer ball’s size.  

First time I’ve tried this.  

“Fireball.”  

I cast another. 

MP drains insanely, but I don’t care.  

“Argh!”  

“My arm! My arm!”  

“Even if you can’t fight, cling to the Sin Wolf desperately.”  

“Stop!!”  

The Sin Wolf’s pinned by the four, who cling even half-dead.  

“Fireball.”  

Three.  

Thanks to the Goddess’s blessing, I’m immune to fire and feel only warmth.  

But they turn to me, horrified, feeling searing heat.  

“Fire magic? What are you planning?”  

“Stop! We’re human, not beasts!”  

“Hold it tight. It’s your god’s command.”  

I aim three Fireballs precisely at the Sin Wolf and the four.  

It’s simple.  

Hypnosis lets me control humans to trap even the nimblest prey.  

(MP insufficient.)  

(MP insufficient.)  

(MP insufficient.)  

My last shred of MP.  

I pour it all into Fireballs and point to launch them.  

“Arghhh!”  

The overcharged Fireballs are devastating.  

The first incinerates the four and the Sin Wolf. The second shatters the human barricade with its shockwave.  

The third slams into the staggering Sin Wolf’s head, exploding.  

(Level up.)  

(Level…)  

Power surges through me.  

Killing the Sin Wolf skyrockets my level—up nearly 30, it feels.  

“Hoo.”  

My first kill.  

Watching people burn doesn’t feel great. But if you ask if I feel nothing refreshing, that’s not true.  

They were criminals who deserved to die socially.  

I have no such excuses in me.  

This is murder, plain and simple.  

I killed them in rage for pushing me off the cliff and trying to touch my w0man.  

I breathe deeply and accept it cleanly.  

And strangely, a smile forms naturally on my lips.