The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

The Hallowed's wooden body continued to burn—until all that was left were ashes and charcoaled sticks.

I just watched it burn in case some shit happened and it stood up again.

Thankfully, that didn't happen.

-Woah, you took care of the boss monster alone, and he looked strong too.

Zephyrus said as he landed on my left shoulder.

-Meep!

Pyro chirped proudly, puffing out his chest, clearly taking credit for the finishing blow as he rested on my right shoulder.

I had already cancelled [Fuse] the moment I saw The Hallowed catch fire earlier.

-Anyway, what was that last attack of yours when you combined your sword and Wallace Family's artifact?

Zephyrus asked suddenly, turning to look at me.

He was probably talking about when I combined [Celestria] with [Nyx], coating them both with [Blaze].

I glanced at him for a second...

"I did it on impulse. I knew only Pyro's fire could deal serious damage to that thing, but the boss was too fast to be hit by a fire bullet, and I can't use [Fuse] on my sword. So I combined the two instead to solve that."

Then I explained simply.

-Ohh... that's smart...

Zephyrus mumbled in awe, blinking a few times.

-Meep!

Pyro didn't understand a word I said, but he was still cheering for me regardless.

"Meh."

I just shrugged at them, a small smirk creeping onto my face.

Getting compliments from them lifts my mood up.

...

...

...

After The Hallowed had completely turned to ash—

Tap- tap- tap—

I walked toward its remains and crouched down. Then, from the finely dusted coal—

Fwip—

"Got it."

I picked up a red gem.

It was one of its eyes.

"Now off to find the other one. I hope I didn't shatter it."

I mumbled as I stood back up.

Meanwhile, Zephyrus and Pyro were cooking dinner.

They were using remnants of The Hallowed's wooden body as makeshift skewer sticks for roasting meat.

...

*****

It didn't take me long to find the other eye of the boss monster. Probably just a few minutes of poking around.

And fortunately… It wasn't broken.

I let out a small breath of relief seeing it still fully intact.

Anyway...

"Here, take these, guys."

I handed Zephyrus and Pyro each of The Hallowed's red gem eyes.

-Hmm?

-Meep?

They looked between me and the gems with confusion all over their faces. I could tell they were weirded out.

"Haha, just take them, it'll help you two."

I said with a chuckle.

"Do what I did with the mini-boss cores using them. These will help you both evolve to the next stage."

Then I added with a confident smile.

-?!!

-!!!

Their eyes shot wide open after hearing that. They each took a red gem from my hands quickly.

The two kept glancing between each other and then back to me.

They look really cute.

"Just store them for now, let's eat first. I'm hungry."

I said to them as I plopped down.

-...

-...

The two of them went quiet.

But after a short moment...

-I'm hungry now too.

-Meep!

They set the red gems aside, and we all dug into dinner that they made.

"This was the boss monster's territory, so no other monsters are around here. You could already tell on our way in."

I said as I chewed.

"Let's use this temple as our base so we can all get a proper rest."

I suggested.

And immediately—

-Got it.

-Meep!

Zephyrus and Pyro replied in sync.

No doubts and hesitation in their voices.

*****

After dinner...

-See you later.

-Meep...

Zephyrus and Pyro decided to begin using the red gems right away.

"Good luck to the both of you."

I told them, waving my hand slightly.

"Don't worry, nothing's going to bother you. And if by chance something tries to—I'll handle it."

I added to reassure them.

-Meep...

Pyro seemed hesitant, his big eyes staring at me with worry. He was clearly bothered about leaving me alone for a few days.

I just shrugged at him, and with a confident smile—

"I trusted you both before, and you two survived, Pyro. Have some faith in me—I'll be fine."

I told him firmly.

-Mhm. Mhm.

Zephyrus nodded along, backing me up without a word.

And just then...

-Meep.

Pyro finally stopped looking at me with those sad eyes.

Now, his gaze was steady. Determined.

Seeing that—

-Looks like we're both ready now. Let's start.

Zephyrus said with calm certainty.

-MEEP!

Pyro chirped loudly, declaring that he'll miss me.

"Me too. I'll miss you both."

I said softly.

-...

-...

They both went silent.

"I'll be just right here, waiting."

I declared.

They nodded at me.

And finally, after that—

-Let's begin, Pyro.

-Meep!

S W O O O S H~!!!

They closed their eyes and began meditating.

The red gems floated in front of them, glowing brilliantly.

"..."

I just stood silently, watching over them.

-...

-...

"..."

The room became painfully quiet.

"Looks like I'll be all alone for a few days."

It felt... kind of lonely.

*****

I set up a tent around Zephyrus and Pyro for some extra protection. I quietly left them inside of it.

I didn't want to disturb them or risk breaking their focus.

Instead—

"Time to get the reward for killing the boss."

I made my way toward the far end of the room with that thought in mind.

The tent wasn't far—still set up at the center of the room.

Anyway, to where I stood…

My eyes locked onto an old table made of stone at the end of the room.

It was cracked. Crumbling.

It had already collapsed into a pile of useless rubble.

But—

I know this. I remember this from the game.

There's something under that wreck.

So, gripping [Nyx] tightly in my right hand—

SLASH—!!

I swung horizontally straight weakly.

BOOM!

The old stones shattered on impact, blasting apart as my sword carved through them.

A thick cloud of dust burst out instantly. Chunks of debris flew in all directions.

I took a step back. Covered my mouth.

"..."

Then the dust eventually began to settle. And when the air finally cleared—

There it was.

SHIIIING—

A gold scabbard lying in the middle of the shattered stone.

It wasn't empty either.

A sword rested inside it.

"..."

My eyes gleamed.

"Jackpot."

I smirked and muttered that.