Now then, now then. A kid was the last thing I would expect to find here. And why did he even sneak up on me and pointed a blade at me? Whatever his intention was, it wouldn't be good, considering his first actions. Did I feel guilty killing someone this young? Pfft, why would I? I'd kill a baby in a heartbeat.

Was I being rash in killing him instantly? No questions asked, just actions first type of thing? In this place? No, I was in no way being fucking rash. Everything was dangerous here, and after what happened to me very recently, I say I was pretty justified. And sneaking up on me like that, yeah this boy deserved to die.

I pulled my dagger out of him, and his blood dripped from the tip.

"SOSHU!"

I instantly rose and turned towards the source of that shout. There was a young man, around the same age as me, that stepped into the open. He looked at the dead kid with wide eyes, tears moistening his eyes. He was utterly grief stricken. I mean, from their point of view, it would be absolutely shocking. One moment, their friend was alive, and then, in the next moment, they're dead.

And where the hell is Nira?

That girl, she didn't even warn me about these people.

And then, more and more men started coming into the open. They were of varying ages, there were a few boys that looked younger than me, plenty that were around my age, and some of those that were adults. Not really a good situation for me.

"What have you done?" one man asked in a low breath.

"S-She killed him just like that?"

"How?"

"That's terrible."

"Look, she's beautiful."

"She looks rich, she must have something expensive with her. Make her pay."

I frowned. Were they intending on robbing me? How cruel, for them to intend on robbing a lone girl sleeping in the woods.

"That doesn't matter right now!" The one who stepped in first cried in grief. "That damn bitch killed Soshu!"

My cheek twitched slightly upon hearing how he referred to me as. They were not giving me a good impression right now. And thus, I had decided… They were hostile.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! I'm taking everything you have for killing my dear friend!" He pointed his sword at me.

I raised an eyebrow. From the looks of it, they had quite a bond. Well, not like I cared. The strangers were spread out, as if trying to prevent me from running just about anywhere. Ganging up on a lone girl, how unbecoming of them.

It was then that Nira arrived, running and stopping at the edge of the perimeter the moment she saw the group. "G-Goddess! I-I'm sorry!"

"Where were you, Nira?" I asked, disregarding the people before me.

"I…I was… I didn't notice."

I let out a sigh. "Let's talk later. For now, hold."

"Hah! Pretty cocky of you, making a little girl call you goddess," said the young man.

I slowly turned my gaze to him. "Cocky? It is merely a fact."

"If you're a goddess, then I'm something better than you," a younger boy suddenly chimed in, mocking me. "You look like crap for someone to be called a goddess."

I had to admit, I looked like shit. But there was nothing I could do about it. I valued looking my best, I always want to be beautiful. And my current situation frustrated me so much, and this fucking annoying kid pointing that out only served to annoy me further.

"We weren't intending on killing you," said a man in his early thirties. "But after what you did. We must get vengeance."

Ah yes, the cycle of vengeance and whatnot.

"The desire for vengeance is great and all. But can you succeed?" Even I have to defend my life. It all boils down to their power of carrying out such an endeavor. "And it is quite unfair, you intend to rob me. You pointed a blade at me in my sleep. Do you even have a right to take revenge?"

Playing victim, playing innocent, how sickening.

"Shut up! We weren't going to kill you!" shouted the emotional young man that I met first. "You didn't have to do that!"

"How stupid." I sensed some flaw in that logic, meaning, he was stupid as fuck. I hated idiots. I was feeling so irritated. "I'm not in the mood right now to deal with this."

"Better give us everything you have. Else we'll hurt your kid!"

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One man approached Nira with a sword pointed right at her face. Nira glanced at me, indirectly asking what to do. And then, the rest of them brandished their swords, the youngest ones holding wooden spears with sharp stones at the tip. Kinda primitive, huh?

"I'm so tired right now," I said. "So I'll give you a chance. Pick up this corpse right here, leave, and we don't see each other again. That way, you'll at least see tomorrow."

"You think we're stupid? Even if you're a warrior, you look weak right now, and we outnumber you."

"What's the point of giving you everything if you'll just kill me?"

The oldest man in their group stepped forward and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, as if to calm him down. "A survival rule. You take something from us, we take something away from you. A life, for a life."

I grinned. "I kinda agree with that. However, I also have a rule. If you threaten me in my horrid mood, I'll wipe you all out." My gaze darkened, and my face grew emotionless. "And I tell you, I am not in a good mood."

"Let's end this peacefully and don't resist, girl."

"Whatever, what a waste of time." I pulled out a small dagger in my other hand. "Nira, kill them all."

And the next thing was a scream of agonizing pain. Nira had just shredded the arm of the man before her. Seeing the monstrous arm of the little girl, it left everyone stunned.

I stepped forward, moving in to engage the enemy without a shred of magic in my body. The oldest man was removed from this daze and moved in to attack me. His weapon glowed, and he swung his weapon in the air, sending a slash of light.

I adeptly dodged it by tilting my body, while at the same time, I threw the small dagger into the man's foot.

"Agh!"

The young man who resented me charged in and attacked me with his mana filled sword. "You bitch!"

I pulled out a small dagger, and as I dodged close, I pushed the small blade into his right eye. He cried in pain as he quickly placed a hand on his eye, the dagger stuck in it. The oldest man swung his blade at me, and I parried his sword before pulling out a medium dagger and stabbed his elbow. And then I swiftly pushed a blade into his throat, blood spurted out as his eyes widened. I was too fast for him to even respond.

"U-Uncle…!" The young man was on the ground as his eye was bleeding horribly. And he looked at his uncle with a horrid expression.

And then multiple more young men charged at me. They didn't use any magic, so I easily dealt with them — cutting their throat, stabbing them in the chest, piercing their throat. And then, as if in desperation, a couple of kids ran up to me.

"Stop it!"

"I'll kill you!"

Considering that they were weak as hell, they may as well be annoying mosquitoes. I destroyed their feeble spears. After that, I stabbed the throat of a younger kid. The other I stabbed in the chest. And believe me, they were so soft, like pushing a blade into a sponge. The little things dropped to the ground like the insects they were. Their blood colored the soil.

"No! No, no! Please stop!" The young man with a dagger stuck in his eyes begged.

"Stop? No. I told you, I'll wipe you out."

"They were just children."

I slowly approached him. "Old, kid, doesn't matter to me."

"You ruthless witch." He raised his sword and attempted to strike me. I casually deflected his blade and subsequently stabbed him in the heart. He froze in place with widened eyes. I twisted the dagger. And he groaned in pain.

"Now then, whose fault is it?" I said. "The death of your comrades. Mine… or yours?" For messing with me.

Indifferently, I pushed him away.

I turned around to see that Nira had dealt with some young men slash adults. There were a couple of children left, the same age as Nira. In appearance anyway. One kid was left standing frozen as he stared at the bloody scenery before him, where his friends died. Meanwhile, one kid was swinging his feeble spear at Nira. But the latter was only evading his attacks, when she could have easily dealt with him.

Interesting.

"Die! Die! Die! Monster!"

Nira had a conflicted expression on her face. And she easily pinned the kid on the ground.

The kid struggled with a strained expression on his face, but with Nira's strength, he couldn't escape even in the slightest. He forced his eyes to look at his friend standing frozen. "Jiro! Run! Tell everyone what happened! Snap out of it and run!"

The freezing kid took a moment before he managed to collect his thoughts and started fleeing. I let him go. I returned my gaze to Nira. She had not killed the kid yet.

I slowly approached her. "What's wrong, Nira?"

"... I…" She merely stared at the kid before her.

I slightly tilted my head. "You hesitate? Why?"

"He's… He's like me."

So far, Nira had been killing adults, and adults that wanted to harm us. She had not killed children yet. So she drew the line at that, huh?

"I see. But you can't just let him go."

"..."

I crouched down right next to her and directed her a sincere gaze. "Do you wish to walk my path with me, Nira? To be by my side."

"... Y-Yes."

"If that is so, then you must do as I command. Remember what I ordered you?"

She closed her eyes for a moment. "Kill them all."

"Yes. So, it doesn't matter what they are, you must fulfill my order. In my path, there is no room for hesitation, Nira. Hesitation will be our undoing."

"..."

"So, overcome this obstacle. Kill him. Our enemy."

The kid tried to move but he couldn't escape, there was no way he could escape someone like Nira. Nira, meanwhile, took a deep breath. She seemed to be gathering the strength to fulfill her task.

She shifted one hand to the kid's shoulder and pinned him down, keeping him in place. And then, she slowly raised her other clawed hand over the kid. Her hand paused.

"Do it, Nira. End it."

And then she brought down her claws into the kid's chest. The kid stopped all motion. Nira took in deep breaths as she slowly stepped back, staring at the corpse before her. She looked conflicted. I gave her a moment to process, let her thoughts settle.

And then a short moment later, her breathing became more stable.

"Well done, Nira. Remember, if they are in our way, if they try to harm us, they deserve no sympathy. And most of all, follow what I say. It is for all of us. And there will be occasions where I will need your help. Can I completely rely on you?"

"... Yes… I will do what the goddess needs of me."

I placed a hand on top of her head. "Good. For now, take slow breaths."

"O-Okay."

"So, where were you?"

"... I… I felt bad for what I did last night. And… I reflected."

Wow, how nice of her.

Although maybe she did it a bit too much to the point that she didn't notice the enemy. But then again, she was still a child. Children are emotional little creatures.

"I see. At any rate, you have been doing splendidly."

"... Yes."

"... Are you ready to move?"

She nodded. "But one ran away."

"I let him. He will lead us to their hideout."

"Hideout?"

"We need supplies, and they may have the supplies that we need. And they tried to rob and kill us, it wouldn't be weird to give the same courtesy."

Maybe I was being wrathful… No, I was. Even if I were, there was still a practical reason for raiding the enemy.

Before moving out, I first retrieved all my daggers.

"Now then, let's track him down. He shouldn't have gotten far yet with all his little legs."

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