Across The Realms

Chapter 19 (Holly Vendetta Chapter 6)

"Excuse me? Destroy the world?" Kairo asked with worry in his tone

"That's what I heard, at least. Once.. I.. pull this... out!" Holly replied as she continued to grip onto the sword's hilt till her hands slipped and she fell on her buttocks

Kairo took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down. He needed a plan to survive long enough to move to the next world, but not more than an hour in and the first person he meets wants to destroy the world. Almost like a light bulb was glowing on top of his head, a plausible idea came to mind.

Crossing his legs and straightening his posture, Kairo teased "You can keep messing with that sword, but based on speculation alone I can tell you that it's impossible to remove. Lucky for you, I have an idea. However, there are conditions." 

Blatantly ignoring Kairo's offer, Holly chanted "Inventory, White Steel."

As the words were spoken, a shiny silvery sword that looked brand new appeared in her hand. Clenching tightly at the hilt, she swung her blade at the sword on top of the altar. Only to look like two similar sides of magnets repelling one another, followed by a force so strong that her entire body was thrown across the room and knocking her unconscious.

Upon waking up minutes after, she noticed Kairo was sitting beside her. 

As she rubbed the back of her head, she said "Y'know what? I'll hear what you have to say. Then I'll decide if I wanna go with your plan or get tossed across the room a few more times."

Noticing that Holly was willing to compromise, Kairo continued "I did a quick check on the object while you were out like a light. You can't remove it, not now. Mostly likely, not ever. I, on the other hand, could. Just, not right now."

"You are aware I could threaten your life this very second."

"You wouldn't dare, because you would be killing the only person that might have a chance at helping you complete your life long journey."

Followed by a sigh of disappointment, Holly questioned "Fair enough. Tell me, earlier you said not right now? Why is that?"

"See this scarf around my neck, it allows me to jump between different worlds. Only downside is, I can only jump to the next one three days after my latest arrival."

"Right. I still don't see how that helps me."

"Okay, much like my clothes or backpack. They're objects that I'm in contact with when I jump worlds. So, what if I..."

Before Kairo could finish, Holly butted in with her realisation "So, what if you held onto the sword when you jumped?!"

"Exactly." 

"This could work. It most certainly sounds better than getting tossed around while bearing no results."

With tension built up within the atmosphere of the room due to the seriousness of the topic of conversation between the two, a bubbly sounding growl from Kairo's stomach caused it to crumble immediately. An awkward smile filled with embarrassment could be seen on his face, as Holly burst into laughter over how untimely that was. Rubbing his tummy as he explained how hungry he was, Kairo fell unconscious.

Though he awoke moments later, the scenery was completely different. It was no longer the four walls filled with torches at every end. He was outside. He could see the sky. Buildings. Streets. Monster carcasses. Holly standing guard in front of him with blood all over her sword and clothes. 

"Ugh.. Hey, have you been protecting me while I was unconscious?" Still a little groggy, Kairo queried

"Yup. I teleported us out of the tower too"

"I guess I must have been pretty exhausted after edg... Do you have any food?"

"Sadly, no. I too am quite famished. We're gonna have to hunt for some. I was just waiting for you to wake up cause you're too heavy for me to carry."

As Kairo got up, Holly led the way to a monster hunting ground. She explained to him that she had been eating monster meat for as long as she could remember, but not all monster meat are edible. There was one in particular that she was most interested in hunting. It was a six-feet tall Wild boar. She emphasised how the meat had a savory taste at every bite with a burning sensation as it went down the throat. Kairo could do nothing but drool as Holly continued talking. 

After spending almost two hours hunting down animalistic type monsters and feasting on their meat, the two newly founded companions sat at a campfire Holly made in the middle of the street. They exchanged names and their backgrounds. For example, what drove Holly to climb every floor of the tower to achieve her goal or why Kairo ended up in the room where the sword was. As they continued to chat, it was almost easy to forget the troubles both of them went through to make it here. Finally, the food was settling into their stomach and Holly was getting sleepy. To which, Kairo offered to keep the first watch. Making sure they were safe as she slept or to warn her of danger if he could not handle it. 

Unfortunately, for Kairo peaceful times are but a mere illusion. Just when Kairo thought his current situation was getting better, something caught his attention at the corner of his eye. As he turned to look, he spotted a young woman painted white from head to toe as if she were a ghost at a distance. She signaled him to follow her as she ran and disappeared behind the corner pillar of a building. Thinking that she was not too far from where he was resting, he got up and chased after her. 

As he followed after her and took a turn at the very same pillar, Kairo froze in place as a two storey tall minotaur wielding a giant axe was staring right at him.