The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo's body was broken down. That's what let it reform into something different.

Layers of flexible bone formed over his joints. His rib cage expanded, as did his lungs.

His shoulders in particular were reinforced the most, giving him broader shoulders.

Apollo was awake for the entire process. When it was done, he slowly stood up.

He looked at the scene around him. Demon corpses were scattered all over the ground. However, what littered the snowy expanse were eagle bones.

Apollo had eaten them all.

He tried to take a step forward, then stumbled. He was surprised by his sudden increase in strength.

However, he adapted to it in just a few moments.

He stepped into his shadow. With a flash, he was in the shadow world.

He turned to the direction he saw the red waves, then left promptly. From there, he ran through the snow, off to kill his target.

There were a few eagles and wolves on his way there, but they all died easily. Although Apollo wasn't particularly hungry, he ate them anyway.

He would occasionally go back to the shadow world, just to make sure he wasn't off course.

Over time, the red waves became weaker, until they disappeared altogether.

Apollo continued forward and came to a clearing.

He could see a village in the distance through the trees. Although the village was large, it did not have any walls.

"You got this Erin!"

Apollo heard some voices.

"Yeah, I got this!"

Apollo put his hand on the trunk of a tree and stepped forward.

"Waaaah! I can't control it!"

There was a large plain in front of him.

In that plain was a guy with jet black hair and hazelnut pupils. Next to him were two girls.

One of them had a pair of glasses on and was just a tad shorter than the guy. She had long black hair along with hazelnut pupils. She appeared to be more refined and mature than the others.

As for the other girl, she was quite short. She was noticeably younger than the other two, especially because of the baby fat on her face. She had short black hair and bright blue pupils.

Currently, she was sticking out both hands. Soft strands of mana were coalescing at the tips of her fingers.

A massive fireball was conjured in front of the little girl, causing her to panic.

The guy turned to look at Apollo, then panicked.

"Erin! Divert the spell, someone's there!"

The little girl freaked out.

"I don't know how to! Oh no!"

The fireball shot towards Apollo. It was traveling rapidly, expanding as it went.

By the time it was in front of Apollo, it had a diameter of ten meters.

His eyes widened.

For a moment, he mistook it for the sun.

Then, everything was black.

...

Apollo was laying in a bed.

When Apollo came to, he felt his entire body ache.

He forced out a voice through slightly parted lips.

"...Mommy?"

Sounds of shuffling echoed around him.

"Ah, he's awake!"

"Quick, get the food!"

Apollo's eyes slowly opened to see the girl who was called Erin, anxiously looking at him.

Erin smiled sheepishly.

"Ehe... Sorry."

Apollo tilted his head.

"Mommy? Why are you sorry?"

Erin blinked a few times.

"Eh? No, no I'm not your mom. I'm Erin!"

Apollo pouted.

"Mmm... I want my mommy."

Erin was at a loss for words.

"...Sorry! Oh no, what have I done? He has amnesia now!"

The mature girl walked over while holding a plate.

She sighed.

"Thankfully, he survived. Things still aren't at their worst."

Apollo's eyelids fluttered open.

"Mommy?"

The corner of the mature girl's lip twitched.

"No."

Apollo pouted once again.

"Aww... where did my mommy go?"

The mature girl smiled bitterly.

"I am not sure, but we will help you find her, ok?"

Apollo nodded happily.

"Ok!"

The mature girl sighed.

"Anyways, my name is Alyx. What is yours?"

Apollo smiled.

"It's a swallow!"

Alyx furrowed her brows.

"Sorry, what?"

Apollo opened his mouth but suddenly tilted his head to the side. There was a confused look on his face.

"Wait... it was soprano!"

Alyx tilted her head to the side.

"...Are you sure?"

Apollo nodded but stopped himself again.

"Oh, wait. It's Apollo! You were the one that called me that, remember mommy?"

Alyx's eyebrow twitched.

"I am not your mom."

Apollo pouted.

"Oh..."

Alyx sighed.

"Anyways, Apollo, can you move your arms?"

Apollo nodded.

"Yeah, look!"

Apollo stared at his arms. They were completely stationary.

He gasped.

"Ah! I can't move my arms!"

Alyx smiled bitterly.

"Alright, well we can help you eat for now. It was our fault this happened after all."

Alyx held a cup of water to Apollo's mouth and slowly tipped it back.

Apollo sipped like he was a puppy, quickly drinking it all up. He was more thirsty than he realized.

Alyx set down the cup with a thud. After that, she brought over a plate of noodles.

Once the plate was in front of him, Apollo could clearly smell the warm noodles. He had never experienced such an alluring scent.

Although his recent diet wasn't the most luxurious, it should be known that Apollo had eaten high-quality food in his village.

Despite the fact it consisted mainly of vegetables, they still tasted far better than most cuisines in this world. And that was for when it was raw.

What made the alluring scent most strange was that it appeared to be made of normal ingredients.

Alyx held out the fork with some of the noodles on the end. Apollo couldn't help himself, darting upwards to bite it.

In the end, he ended up stabbing the fork into the roof of his mouth and hurting his teeth from biting down so hard.

Alyx gasped.

"Slowly! Geez..."

Apollo giggled.

"Sorry!"

More surprising than the smell was the taste of the food.

While Apollo embraced the taste, a muffled voice came beyond the walls.

"Hey, I got something special for you guys!"