If I, Mika Elbar, remember correctly, it was around the time, when I was knocked out by Yater. His pressure was so overwhelming that I could not even lift a finger against him.

After he dislocated my jaw, everything went black.

So this was just a percentage of the Demon King’s power, huh?

I thought that this was it for me.

I will die.

And not only me, but the others, too. Wendy, Zack, Judi, Adin, Ron, Gerard, Ophelia and the others from the group. Everyone will die.

I tried my best, didn’t I?

Even if Wendy, Zack and Ophelia were in their best form, they still could not have won against Yater. So how should I have done that?

I did as much as I could and it was not enough.

So let me...

...rest for now.

[...]

Hm? The voice was barely audible.

[...stray ...Future...]

I recognized the voice. This gentle voice belonged to the system that was by my side for years.

Was I beginning to hallucinate? Did it not say that it would be out of reach for a while?

But I have to wonder.

How would the outcome look like if the system would be here?

Would I have been able to defeat Yater? Would we at least be able to escape from here alive?

It was in that dire situation that I needed his advice the most.

Or did I become too dependent on it?

Since I can remember, I was always following its advice. I did all the quests and did not even question them.

[You are about to stray...]

Its voice got clearer.

But at that moment, I did not really pay attention to it.

I was thinking.

Why was I listening to it so obediently? Did I not have anything better to do than listen to it? Didn’t I have an ambition?

...

Wait...

Ambition?

I was wondering if there was a goal I had in mind.

I was a child back then, so what could it have been?

Becoming a hero? Exploring the world? Slaying monsters? Defeating the Demon King?

...

Just what was it?

Then, the system’s voice echoed in my mind loud and clear.

[You are about to stray from the Promised Future. Doing so will lead to death. Do you still wish to continue?]

Is there even an alternative option?

[Not only you will die. Everyone else, too.]

...

I knew that. But what could I possibly do in my current state?

[The others at the academy will die, too. Lily, Sylvia and Belian.]

What do you mean?

[Those in the village will die, including your parents.]

This isn’t funny. Cut to the point. What do you want from me?

[Are you sure about giving up now knowing that everyone will die?]

...

[Forget about your childhood. What is it that you are yearning for currently?]

I want...

Then, the last couple of weeks flashed in my mind.

The time, when I had to enroll in Loogam. When I met Ophelia, Lily and Sylvia. When I experienced the dorm life. When I ate lunch with new people. When I was learning and training with my class, they all respected me.

My heart began to ache.

[Do you remember now?]

How stupid of me.

Of course, I remember.

[So what will you do now?]

I will not give up yet!

[I see. I can feel your willpower even from here.]

[It is just like he said. Something unexpected may happen.]

I had the feeling that those words were not directed at me.

[Well then. I will now bestow upon you the third installment.]

Third installment? Wasn’t it meant to be the reward for the upcoming quest?

[Enhancing recovery rate.]

My mind, which was shrouded in darkness, started to get illuminated by a shrill light.

[Enhancing physical attributes.]

My body was heating up.

[Unlocking resistance towards demonic aura.]

My doubts and fears faded.

[Unlocking the usage of Holy Light.]

New information flooded my brain.

[Third installment completed.]

I was feeling light. My mind was clear. My body was brimming with power unknown to me.

But something else changed in me.

And yet, I could not really say what it was.

I opened my eyes.

"..."

The first thing that crossed my mind, when I saw Yater’s back, was utter disgust.

"What the-"

So I grabbed his neck from behind and threw him away from me.

The next thing I did, was moving the rest of my body out of the wall, where I was stuck.

I put my hand on my dislocated jaw and put it back in place with a crack.

From below, I heard Yater laughing. he was shouting something in excitement, but I did not pay any attention to his babble.

[The third installment was successful.]

[The aptitude test was passed.]

[You have now met the requirements to enter the Promised Future.]

[You will face sadness, agony, losses and tragedies.]

[Do you still wish to proceed?]

"Yes..."

I did not really care about being on the path to the Promised Future nor did I understand what it was.

My parents, the people in the village, Ophelia, Lily, Sylvia, Gerard and the others I got to know...

Their faces occupied my mind.

[Continuing the fight for more than a minute is not recommended.]

"Shut it."

I want to protect them.

I will do anything to achieve that.

You want a part of my lifespan? Take it.

You want to dish out punishments? Do it.

I have to forsake my humanity? I will gladly do so.

This was just a small price to pay if I wanted to fulfill my dream of living a normal and relaxing life with my beloved ones on my side.

[There will be moments, where you will curse your fate, but keep in mind that no matter how cruel it will be, everything will turn out alright as long as you keep walking this path.]

"It sounds like you can see into the future."

I jumped down.

And as soon as I landed, Yater came rushing at me.

Unlike last time, I did not feel an ounce of fear.

Thus, I managed to dodge his punch, which seemed slower than his previous attacks. Was it all thanks to the so-called third installment?

Yater was looking at his fist.

"Yes, this is it! This is how it should be!" he shouted.

He turned to the direction where Martha was heading.

"I admit that your plan to toy with those humans’ emotions was good, but nothing beats a fight with a strong opponent!"

He began to laugh hysterically.

"Hey, should you really turn your back on your enemy during a fight?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, I apologize, I know that I just labeled you as a strong opponent, however, I still think that you can’t beat me." he replied bluntly.

"Is that so?"

"But rest assured. Aside from those ranking higher than me, there are only a few people whom I consider as strong foes."

I summoned Excalibur into my right hand.

"Should I feel honored then?"

Pushing myself away from the ground, I leaped to Yater and quickly swung Excalibur.

"You can consider this as your greatest honor." he said as he evaded the vertical slash.

Then, I instantly switched to the Holy Spear and swung it horizontally. But he crouched down to avoid being hit.

I jumped backward into the air and threw the spear at the ground beneath Yater.

"Enlarge."

The Holy Spear grew in both length and width, almost grazing my halo as I fell.

"Shrink."

In its original size, it was returned back to me.

However, Yater was not seen at the spot where I threw the spear.

Only after I lifted my head up, I saw Yater, who was jumping up reaching the same height as the roof.

It seemed like he was not able to dodge the attack without taking damage as his left foot and a part of his calf were missing.

I ran to the spot beneath him and immediately launched another spear throw at him.

"Tch..." he clicked his tongue as the straight and vertical spear throw grazed him.

Yater landed on the ground not far away from me.

"This is fun...!" he stated in a creepy tone.

"Do you think about nothing but entertainment?"

He laughed again.

"You can’t understand us because you’re still young!"

"Hm?"

"Why do you think we go so far as to prepare hostages to lure you all to this fortress? Why do you think did I go to such lengths to impersonate one of your comrades?"

"..."

"Besides obeying our liege, we demons only strive to find methods to kill our boredom! And we just happened to want to test how fun it would be toying with human emotions. Before killing you, we wanted to see your desperate faces seeing the hostages."

Gerard and his teammates had to suffer just for that?

"But seeing your faces after seeing how a trusted comrade of yours goes around and kills you was truly fantastic!"

That was why you copied Ray Taker?

"Still, this is the highlight! Fighting against- Hmph!"

I shut him up with a punch connecting to his mouth and slammed him into the ground. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

[Recommended combat time will be exceeded in 20 seconds.]