Salvos

Daniel Song flinched as he watched the Nebular Spear impale Simag. It ran through the Archdemon, propelling him into the side of the mountain. His corpse pinned on the rock as a plume of dust and debris shot up.

Salvos shook her head. She strode forward with a sigh.

“No levels. That sucks.”

“Finished?”

The [Will O’ Wisp] asked, flitting back to the ground. Daniel found himself being lowered as the golden flaming figures descended.

“Yep! My clones can deal with the rest of the Demons.”

Salvos waved a hand dismissively as Daniel was settled to the ground. The young man blinked.

“Your… clones?”

“Well, they’re not exactly clones. They’re made from fire and not made from me. I’d say they’re weaker copycats. Fakers.”

She huffed, and one of the ‘clones’ shook a fist at her. The other clone rolled her eyes and ushered the first clone forward. Together, they took off to deal with the fleeing Demons. The real Salvos beamed.

“They’re useful, though. Very helpful.”

“I… see.”

Daniel wasn’t sure what to say. He watched the Salvos clones go, unleashing a storm of golden flames in the distance. He turned back to the real Salvos, and finally, he approached her.

“Salvos, I…”

He hesitated. The young man glanced over at princess Faith and prince Bel. They were being tended to by Garland as the man and woman accompanying Salvos huddled over.

If not for them— if not for Salvos arriving just in time— they’d all be dead right now. Even though Daniel had tried his hardest, he would’ve failed in protecting them. He couldn’t save anyone. Quite the [Hero], he was.

It was probably such a pathetic display. He used to be able to fight alongside Salvos. She probably thought he was so weak right now. He was almost ashamed to even speak with her. He averted his gaze, hanging his head—

And he paused. He felt a pair of arms wrapping around him. Daniel blinked and looked up to see the silver-haired girl laughing. She hugged him with a smile.

“Hey, Daniel.”

He slowly hugged her back. That was right. It had been a while since he last saw her. He must’ve forgotten what she was like. Even if the way she thought was alien to him— even if she was… well, Salvos, in how she acted. She still truly cared for him

Salvos cocked her head.

“How have you been doing?”

Daniel returned the smile.

“Not going to lie, I haven’t been doing great. But now that you’re here… I’m sure I’ll do much better.”

I wasn’t really sure how long it’d been since I last saw Daniel. But he’d changed a lot since then. He hadn’t leveled much, but I could tell that he managed to grow in other ways. I could tell just from the look he wore on his face.

“Salvos, do you have any healing potions? My friends— they’re hurt.”

I drew back from him and blinked.

“Um, sure— Willy!”

I called out to the [Will O’ Wisp]. Willy sighed and flitted over to check on them. Daniel watched as a green fire shot out, slowly landing on those who were injured.

“What is that?”

“That? That’s Willy. He’s a [Will O’ Wisp].”

“I knew that much. But how did you meet him? Is he Edithe’s summon?”

I shook my head.

“Nope. I haven’t seen Edithe since we split up in Viechester— when I last saw you. I met Willy while in the Bloodied Gulf.”

“You were in the— actually, I shouldn’t even be questioning it.”

Daniel chuckled. He looked over at one of the injured Humans. A woman with brown hair. He sighed in relief as her injuries closed up. The other injured man recovered as well thanks to Willy’s green flames. Willow and Zane helped him up. And behind him was—

“Princess Faith!”

My eyes widened. I excitedly tugged at Daniel’s shirt, pulling him over to greet the princess.

“Do you remember me? We met one time like a year and a half ago— it’s me, Salvos!”

She looked up at me weakly. Her skin was pale— like she’d been dipped in freezing cold water. But otherwise she was mostly fine. A thin smile spread across her lips as she nodded.

“I remember you, Salvos. You left quite the impression on me when we met back then. Of course I’d remember you.”

“She remembers me, Daniel! A princess remembers me!”

I was practically bouncing on my toes as I turned to my companion. He scratched the back of his head.

“Uh, yeah…”

“I apologize for this unsightly scene.”

Faith laughed, almost bitterly. She drew to her feet, helping the boy with her— her brother, probably— up and bowed with him.

“Thank you for saving us. We would be dead without your aid.”

“Oh, don’t mention it at all. When I heard you guys were in trouble, I came as quickly as I could. With help, of course.”

I gestured at the two resistance members who accompanied me. They flushed, averting their gaze as princess Faith turned to them. She bowed her head at them as well.

“Thank you— to the both of you. I recognize you. You worked for Duke Landry, didn’t you? You were his bodyguards.”

Willow exchanged a glance with Zane. She straightened, nodding stiffly.

“Y-yes. We gathered whoever we could after Ertos fell to rebel against Inoria. Gavyn Windborne is with us too— he’s our leader.”

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear he’s still alive.”

Faith sighed, smiling. She raised her left hand and patted both the resistance members on the shoulders.

“Good work. You’re fighting the good fight.”

My eyes flickered. I stared at Faith for a moment. Something was amiss. She was…

And I gasped.

“Faith— your right hand! It’s gone!”

The princess blinked. She shifted back, hiding her right arm behind her back.

“This is…”

“What happened?”

I ran up to her, inspecting the stub where her hand should be. Faith shook her head,

“It’s fine. It happens during war. This is nothing to worry about.”

“No— this isn’t right! Here…”

I reached into my [Dimensional Pocket] and produced a glinting elixir. One that pulsed with magic. Faith’s eyes grew wide. Willow stepped back.

“That’s a…”

“Potion of Regeneration.”

The princess spoke, meeting my gaze.

“Are you sure you want to give this to me? A Potion of Regeneration is worth…”

“It’s fine! You’re a princess! You should use it!”

I raised her arm, pouring the Potion of Regeneration until there was only a little bit left in the bottle. It was still enough for recovering maybe a body part or two.

Faith stared as her hand regrew from the stub. She flexed her newly regenerated hand before turning to me. Her lips quivered. She opened her mouth.

“I…”

And tears streamed down her cheeks. I was taken aback.

“Um, what?”

“Adventurer Salvos, I am forever in your debt.”

She bowed once again, deeper than before. Then she turned to Daniel.

“And [Hero] Daniel Song, I owe you more than just my life. You owed nothing to me. Yet, you saved me. You risked your life for us.”

Faith held her brother’s hand tightly.

“Thank you.”

Daniel hesitated. He scratched his cheeks, not really looking at either the princess or the prince.

“I… arrived too late. I should’ve come sooner. There is nothing to thank me for. I could’ve done more to prevent what happened at Ertos.”

“But you did what you could, and thanks to that, my brother and I are alive today. So, again, thank you.”

Faith was insistent. I nudged Daniel on the shoulder.

“Just accept it.”

I smiled at him.

“Sometimes, you just have to accept it when others praise you,”

Not like there should be any reason for others to not praise me. But Daniel always grew shy and aloof when he was lauded for his actions. He nodded slowly.

“Right. I was just… uh, doing what [Hero]’s do.”

I watched as he cringed as he said that. Faith didn’t seem to mind, and her brother even brightened. Willow and Zane just respectfully lowered their heads. The [Warrior] who’d been with Faith and Daniel crossed his arms approvingly. But someone laughed.

“Even you were embarrassed by that.”

A brown-haired woman strode up to us from behind. The injured woman healed by Willy.

“Amanda…”

Daniel shot a glare at her. I raised a brow.

“Who’s this?”

“She’s—”

“I’m his girlfriend. We met at a bar ”

She smirked, hugging his arm. Daniel flushed, and I blinked.

“Nice! I’m Salvos, it’s nice to meet you.”

I proffered her a hand. Amanda paused, staring at it.

“You… aren’t jealous?”

“No. Why would I be?”

I tilted my head. Daniel’s shoulders sagged for whatever reason. Then he shrugged Amanda off him.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Salvos. She’s an assassin who was hired to kill me. We fought, a few things happened, and now we’re working together and I’m forced to deal with her crap.”

She drew back from him, harrumphing. I tapped a finger on my chin.

“Huh. Neat.”

I glanced over at the group of Humans. Then I looked up to see my clones returning from dealing with the last of the fleeing Demons. I nodded at Willy and clasped my hands together.

“Alright. Now that all that’s settled, we should go back to the hideout.”

Faith stepped forward, looking towards the northeast.

“We can’t stay in Elutra, Salvos. We need to leave this country. Inoria is relentless. They won’t stop. They’ll keep sending Demons after us until we’re dead.”

“And we will leave for Shedos.”

I agreed with her.

“We’re just going back to grab the other resistance members first. Then we’ll all go to Shedos together.”

“You’ll… what? How will you do that?”

She blinked blinked. I gestured at Willy.

“Don’t worry, I have help. It’s not too much trouble.”

“...right.”

Faith acquiesced. My wings unfurled from my back as we began to take off.

“Anyway, we don’t have to worry too much about more Demons coming after us. After all, according to Simag, they’re going to be preoccupied, right?”

“Wait, what are you talking about, Salvos?”

Daniel narrowed his eyes. I glanced over at him.

“The Demons— Simag said that they’re busy dealing with Belzu. So, we will probably be fine.”

There was silence. A long pause. Everyone exchanged glances. Princess Faith pursed her lips. Then Bel— the former prince of Elutra— raised a hand.

“Who’s Belzu?”

Belzu could feel his army slowing. Their numbers had been depleted— slowly whittled away as the Primeval Demon made his way through Inoria. He didn’t think it’d have taken this long to arrive at Shedos, but he didn’t think that Regnorex would already be making a move so soon.

Levithus was in the Mortal Realm. A [Hellprince] of the Netherworld. One of Regnorex’s generals. And he was here to put an end to Belzu’s rebellion.

He’d led an ambush that forced Belzu into Inoria. Away from other Human nations— and into the den of Demons. The only reason why Belzu still lived was because of the weapon he held in his hand.

The Sword of Alexander. It had been enough to repel Levithus’ assault. But not at the cost of many of Belzu’s Mindreapers.

He had to replenish his army somehow. He needed to still grow stronger. His current strength wasn’t nearly enough to dethrone the Demon King.

Beluz’s bulbous eyes flickered. He spotted a city up ahead— a relatively large city. It didn’t have much defenses, but it was teeming with life. With Humans. Individuals who could be turned into his soldiers. Be it in undeath, or be it through what was left of his Mindreapers.

And he decided on his next destination.