I sighed. What was I supposed to do now? I’d been the one trying to think of him as a friend; really, we’d only paired up because it was easiest, so I’d thought this would have been enough to get him to let this go. But for some reason, he was still keeping at it.
What could I do?
Maybe I could seal him from moving by using a Word. But Words were a little bit unreliable... Aha. I could choke him out by compressing his carotid artery. I took a step towards him.
“‘Gnomes, gnomes, form a fist! Clench your hands and strike the foe!’”
The ground behind me ruptured, and a great many small stones came flying towards me. It was the spell Stone Fist.
Apparently the pain was causing Meneldor to make bad decisions. That surprise attack from behind was something I’d already seen when I first fought him, and although this was certainly a powerful spell, it gave me a lot of advance warning. It was the kind of spell best used as part of a team. I could simply dodge it.
But as I started moving my feet, I realized. The spell was headed for Meneldor.
In that instant, I was pressed to make a decision. If I avoided it, Meneldor would take serious damage. So without even thinking, I stopped in my tracks and hardened my defense—and an endless onslaught of pebbles battered my body.
I groaned. My body was throbbing all over. I lost control of my legs, and they gave out.
“Hah! ‘I’ll go solve it myself.’ What a load of pig shit!” Menel approached me while I was still in terrible pain from Stone Fist. “You’re just being a goddamn coward!” He kicked me in the stomach as hard as he could.
I was wearing mail, but even so, he’d kicked me in a spot where his spell had also hit moments ago. It hurt like hell. I crumpled to the ground, trying not to shout out in pain.
However, Menel wasn’t entirely unharmed himself. His shoulder was dislocated, and as I looked up at him, I saw that Stone Fist had hit him, too. That wasn’t surprising; he’d been asking for it with the way he used that spell. He was covered in mud, he looked unsteady on his feet, there was foam at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were bloodshot. His usual handsome features were nowhere to be seen. It was painful to look at.
I shakily got to my feet. “What’s the point of you doing all this?” I suddenly found myself asking. “If you keep going like this, you’ll be putting your own life in danger. We were just together because it turned out that way. There’s no reason for you to go this far.”
“Hah. Maybe, yeah.” He smirked. “You’re right. I’ve got no reason to follow you anymore, and no reason to go out of my way to try to stop an emotionally unstable wimp who’d take things to this extreme and go running off just because he got horribly beaten one time.”
“Then why—”
Menel’s smile softened, and he cut me off. “See... We’re friends,” he said, with a mud-covered smile.
I almost doubted my ears.
“Friends stick together. When my friend goes nuts in the head, I feel like doing something about it.”
“Oh...” Those few words hit me much harder than any fist or spell.
“Where you came from is a mystery, you don’t know half the things you should, and I’ve sometimes thought you might be a bit suspect. But you’re a kind person, and you’re always trying your best to do things right. I know that.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“You saved my life, you saved the villages... And all this time we’ve spent traveling and fighting together was fun. And I’m really grateful for you sending off the people back at the village.”
Like holding my hands over a warm campfire on a freezing cold night, those words quietly warmed the cold and dark parts inside me.
“Will, you’re my friend," Menel said, standing unsteadily in my way. “Friends don’t abandon each other.”
No words would come. Tears welled in my eyes.
“So... We still fighting?” He stood defensively.
I slowly shook my head. “You win.” My despair, my sense of being all alone, all of it had vanished without a trace. I didn’t think I was this temperamental. “Sorry. I was... I dunno. I lost control.”
Menel laughed dryly. “Happens.” He winced, clutched his shoulder, and glared at me. “You’re a real pain in the ass.” Then, his tone completely changed, and he said brightly, “A win’s a win, though. One to me, I guess!”
I grumbled. “I only said that so you’d quit bugging me!”
“Hah! Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that.”
I suddenly realized that the rain had lifted. We joked with each other and laughed together. It seemed that we’d had our first ever argument, and I had lost.
There was a bit of a commotion going on in the village when we got back. After all, I, my equipment, and Menel had all disappeared. Reystov and the other adventurers had been just about to go looking for us.
“What happened?” Reystov asked.
I may have healed Menel’s wounds, but both he and I had come back covered in mud. It was no wonder Reystov had such a scowl on his face.
“I’m sorry for making you worry. I lost my head thinking I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt, and tried to do everything myself. And then Menel beat the stuffing out of me.”
“No no no. You don’t get to just skip over what you did to me. Feckin’ ruthless...”
“I’m really, truly sorry.” I abjectly apologized.
Yeah, simply speaking, that was what it came down to. I tried to do everything myself and got punched. That summed the whole thing up. It sounded ridiculous, even to me.
“Tough-guy disease,” Reystov said, shaking his head.
Maybe he was right. This might have been the kind of idea that only strong people were susceptible to.
“And sometimes it kills them.”
That might actually have happened, had I just gone running off like that. I was so glad Menel had been there for me.
“I’m really sorry for all the trouble I caused. I’m okay now.”
“We won’t screw up next time.”
“Are you planning to take on that thing again?”
“Yes.”
Even now, I could remember exactly what that chimera had looked like. I remembered that huge body, bigger than a wyvern’s; the horde of beasts it had following it; the way it was charged with contempt, ridicule, and malice toward the small. I could remember vividly the wickedness dwelling in its glinting black eyes. That thing had to be hunted down and killed. And besides...
“Chimeras don’t come about naturally. That was definitely the product of a demonic ritual.”
There were definitely demons behind that, and more than likely, they still had their sights on that city of the dead and were intending on reviving the High King.
“Let’s bring them all down before they run off someplace else.”
The adventurers laughed when I said that.
“So we’re going right back up against the enemy we just lost to?”
“This is a dumb and fun-as-hell adventure, all right.”
“Right, I’m gonna go hunt down some reinforcements.”
“Let’s go big! We gotta show that thing who’s boss.”
The powerful enemy made them laugh all the more ferociously. They looked happy, like they were really enjoying themselves.
“Yeah, it’d bug me to let that beast have the last laugh. I’m gonna crack all three of its heads open.” Menel laughed, too.
“Yeah... Let’s get our honor back.” I grinned too, as if everyone’s smiles were contagious. And then, to raise everyone’s fighting spirit even more, I used one of Gus’s special tricks.