A Hero’s Burden

“Tell me… was it really necessary to go to such lengths?”

Villy peered into the deep pit, her eyes wide as she tried to discern what lay at the bottom. Yet, the excessive gloom allowed her to see nothing but utter darkness.

“Of-of course it was! If it wasn’t this deep… they might have climbed out. Yes, climbed out. Have you ever watched old zombie movies? Don’t the zombies in those always form human ladders to scale walls?”

“Huh? Your little brain can think that far ahead?”

Villy turned to Liu Yu with a suspicious gaze, clearly disbelieving the impromptu lie the young girl had concocted.

However, this was no time for probing questions. She steadied the head-shaking, grey-haired girl, fixing her with a grave stare as she posed a question that would determine their future fates:

“Do you think those people who fell in still have a chance to survive?”

‘…’

Liu Yu averted her gaze, knowing, even with her lack of common sense, that the survival rate for ordinary people falling down a cliff was exceedingly low.

Furthermore, those thugs, apart from their ability to ignore pain during combat, had not displayed any superhuman physical capabilities.

‘Which meant…’

“No, no… surely not. Am I truly going to be burdened with more than a dozen lives at such a young age!?”

“You’re quite self-aware, Miss Liu Yu. Regrettably, for a long time to come, I’ll likely only be able to visit you in prison. I’ll miss your soft chest… *ahem*, your little face.”

‘She had almost blurted out her true thoughts.’

After a brief silence, Liu Yu became exceptionally agitated, shouting and yelling:

“You, you, you, you… You incited me! You’re the true culprit, the mastermind behind it all! If I go to prison, you’ll have to come with me, and we’ll even have to share a cell!”

“I only told you to dig a hole, not to create an abyss! Even if I did go to prison, there’s no way I’d be housed with you.”

Despite being deeply moved by the thought of this person wanting to drag her along even to prison, Villy nonetheless declined the tempting proposition.

She pulled out her phone, snapped a few pictures of the deep pit, and resumed her communication with Yao Jing.

[Yao Jing: How are things on your end? I’m almost at the destination.]

[Robin: Liu Yu has dealt with the enemies, but the biggest problem now is…]

‘She sent the freshly taken photos.’

[Robin: All those out-of-control thugs fell into this pit, and their condition is currently unknown.]

[Yao Jing: …How deep is it? What are the casualties like?]

[Robin: I think they’ll all end up in the ICU, and it’s not certain they’ll all make it out.]

[Yao Jing: …I’ve already notified the regulatory bureau’s rescue team. Both of you should get away and lay low for a bit. We’ll link up after I arrive on site.]

[Received.]

Having received further instructions from Yao Jing, Villy was surprised not to see the short figure nearby. She glanced around curiously, eventually spotting the grey-haired girl squatting on the ground in front of a shop, idly drawing circles.

‘What a perfect opportunity!’

She tiptoed around behind Liu Yu, and with lightning speed, snatched off her sunglasses, gave her cheek a playful pinch, and let out a triumphant cackle. “What are you doing, hiding here and playing all by yourself, little ~Liu~Yu~?”

Ignoring Villy’s antics, Liu Yu simply stared blankly at the sky. From Villy’s vantage point, a faint shimmer of tears could be seen at the corner of her eye.

‘She wasn’t crying, was she?’

Villy, looking puzzled, asked, “You’re crying.”

“I’m not crying.”

The grey-haired girl retorted at light speed, “My eyes are just watering.”

‘Isn’t that the same as crying?’

Villy grumbled inwardly, utterly unable to comprehend Liu Yu’s mental state. One moment she was laughing and chatting, and the next she was utterly dejected.

According to Yao Jing, this was typical childish behavior, quick to arrive and quick to depart, never truly taken to heart.

Villy, however, didn’t quite agree. While Liu Yu generally acted like a child, she never wavered in serious matters.

‘She could almost be considered… half an adult.’

‘Therefore, she absolutely wasn’t crying because of my prank.’

‘Absolutely not!!’

****

“Drip.”

“Drop.”

Large raindrops splattered onto the ground, continuously kicking up sprays of water.

Even though chaos reigned below, the metallic orb hovering in the air silently continued its mission.

Liu Yu reached out her hand, intending to catch the rain, but as soon as a drop touched her palm, it was swallowed by a burst of black mist.

She stared blankly at her pristine palm.

Without explicit instructions, the Shadow indiscriminately devoured anything that might affect her body.

This began when she first gained control of this power from the [Life-Eating Hound]. No, that wasn’t right. Tracing it back further, from the very moment she awoke, the Shadow had continuously protected her, allowing her to survive in the wilderness and enabling this damaged body to live a normal life.

Rain, temperature fluctuations, non-human monsters, and even vague, abstract concepts were all targets for its elimination.

‘With one exception.’

‘That was… humans.’

Not merely humanoid creatures, but actual, verifiable humans.

Only when confronting beings identified as human would the Shadow adopt a passive defensive mode.

‘Why was that?’

A moment’s thought yielded the answer.

‘Because the [Shadow] was a power left behind by Vanguard.’

It was only natural that a hero of humanity would not harm humans. Even without any memories, instinct would still prevent it from attacking them.

‘So…’

‘Was this the source of the overwhelming sadness in her chest?’

Whether intentional or not, the lives lost in the deep pit were a foregone conclusion. Even if they were just a group of idle thugs…

‘They were still the humans *I* was supposed to protect…’

‘Whether good or evil.’

‘Whether in the past or the future.’

‘This was the responsibility *I* was meant to bear.’

‘That’s right…’

‘This was the meaning of *my* existence.’

‘And *my* promise to *them*.’

A certain [Will] was unleashed from the depths of her heart.

The grey at the tips of her hair began to recede, revealing glimpses of silver.

‘*I*…’

A pure, cerulean blue, like that of a vast ocean, colored her right eye.

In this new vision, a silver-white longsword materialized before her, its ceaselessly flowing light akin to a bright candle guiding the future, capable of banishing all darkness completely.

‘That was…’

Liu Yu tremblingly reached out her hand, inching closer to the longsword. ‘If only she could grasp it…’

‘If only she could grasp it, she would…’

‘Truly…’

‘It was merely a step away, yet felt as distant as the ends of the earth.’

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong with you? Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

A cold sensation spread across her face. Snapping back to reality, Liu Yu found Villy wiping her cheeks, a soggy sleeve mingling with the girl’s tears as it smeared across her face.

“I’m not crying! What are you doing, you idiot? Ah… *achoo*… Let go of my hand, you flat-chested menace!”

Villy’s movements stiffened, and she awkwardly withdrew her hand.

Her clothes were already soaked through from the rain, faintly revealing her orange underwear, though her overly flat chest unfortunately failed to convey any feminine allure.

“A-a-a… *achoo*!”

‘A stuffy nose, runny nose, cough, sore throat.’

This was the first time Liu Yu had experienced the sensation of illness since waking up.

Although she didn’t know how this person had bypassed the Shadow’s defensive mechanisms, thanks to her clumsy actions, Liu Yu could now finally understand the feelings of the teacher who had presented that physical examination report.

“*Achoo*!”

After giving Villy, who was feigning innocence beside her, another fierce glare, the girl reluctantly but proactively took her hand and led her away.

“Where are we going?” Villy asked.

“Where else? Take me to buy medicine… *achoo*. Thanks to you, I… *achoo*… have my first… *achoo*… cold. My head feels so dizzy, you have to take responsibility.”

“Can’t you just use your omnipotent [Shadow] to figure something out?”

“I want to, but *achoo*… it doesn’t respond at all when I tell it to cure my cold.”

“You just don’t know how to use it, do you?”

“How could that be?” Liu Yu retorted. “I’m a… *achoo*… Shadow master!”

“Pfft.”

“You dare to laugh? Die! Take this headbutt!”

“Ow, jeez! Stop headbutting my chest, you little brat!”

“Your flat chest will get even flatter, that’s karma… Ah… *achoo*!”

The two of them continued their bickering as they headed towards the nearest pharmacy.