“You’re not reality defenders! You’re reality devils!” the old woman shrieked, shaking a fist at us. She tried to chase us but moved at the speed of a turtle.

  Damn it! How had I messed up this badly?!

  And it wasn’t like I could just fix this by going back in time, either.

  Vacinay stirred at the shouting, blinking blearily as Hessien carried her. She looked around, confused.

  “Uh… why are they trying to stone us?” she asked.

  The crowd hurled rocks with all their might—but they were just a little too weak to be a real threat.

  “It’s complicated,” I muttered.

  Hessien scoffed. “Lumine threw a fireball. Burned down the whole village.”

  Vacinay’s brow furrowed. “The village was empty, right?”

  “Nope.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Holy shit! You’re going to jail.”

  I threw up my hands. “Shut up! It was an accident, not murder!”

  “Manslaughter, then?” She smirked. “‘Oh, I’m sorry, Jury, I accidentally burned the village down…’” She waved a hand dismissively. “Anyway, so… want to get rid of the evidence?”

  I stared at her. “What?”

  She mimed a finger gun. “You know. Witness removal. Like the cartel? Or the Yakuza?”

  “No! Absolutely not!”

  “Damn…”

  A puddle formed ahead of us.

  I hesitated, glancing back at the raging mob. Nothing I could say would fix this.

  So, I did what I did best—I ran. Super speed had to be good for something.

  “I’m sorry!” I shouted over my shoulder.

  It didn’t take long to lose them in the jungle’s dense undergrowth.

  I collapsed onto a thick, gnarled root, head in my hands. “I’m a goddamn murderer…”

  “Yep,” Ghomas drawled from where he lay sprawled out on the ground. “Can’t you just go back in time and fix it?”

  I gritted my teeth. “How? I can’t go that far back.”

  Hessien, deep in thought, suddenly murmured, “It’s weird, though. Why would the half-men who kidnapped people from that village leave anyone behind? And if they were invaded and mass kidnappings happened, why didn’t the villagers evacuate, afraid the half-men would return?”

  I jerked upright. “Wait—are you saying there’s a chance I’m innocent?”

  He glanced down at Fairy Tanya, waiting for her input.

  She frowned in thought before asking, “Possibly. When you looked into the past, what exactly did you see? Any visual or auditory details that seemed off?”

  I crossed my legs, trying to recall. They were just outside, looking up…

  But I hadn’t had enough energy points to go back far enough to notice anything strange. Not after waiting this long.

  Vacinay, still rhythmically bumping her chin against Hessien’s head, chimed in, “There were the old and the young meant to be sacrificed. Maybe the villagers sold them to save themselves?”

  “I don’t know. Damn it,” I muttered, frustrated.

  Just then, Yamanda materialized in the middle of our group.

  She cracked her neck, scanning each of us—lingering even on Tanya, who scowled in return.

  I looked away, trying to act casual.

  “I heard everything,” Yamanda said.

  “It was an accident!” I blurted.

  She shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter. I sensed the fireball at the last second and saved most of them. Barely.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  I shot to my feet, arms spread wide. “So, I’m not a killer?”

  “Well…” She scratched her head. “I was in a rush, so I didn’t check the houses. But, uh, those people were already in really bad shape.”

  “Oh. So I just killed the sick…?” I winced. “That’s still—”

  She nodded slowly. “Yup… Anyway, you all did great!”

  Before I could process that, a bright light engulfed us. The towering trees vanished.

  We were outside the Reality Defenders’ summoning and living quarters. I hadn’t noticed before, but a massive D.R. sign loomed at the top of the four-story building.

  Yamanda yawned. “I’m gonna rest. If the president or his royal guards ask where I am, tell them you don’t know. Because you literally wouldn’t.”

  You know, it was kinda weird they were called royal knights when there wasn’t a royal family.

  She was about to teleport away but paused. “Oh, right. What are your levels? Gotta file a report.”

  I just stared at her.

  She sighed, planting a hand on her hip. “Come on. You guys are natural-born murderous child soldiers. You tore that half-man apart without mercy. You can’t be that downhearted over an accident.”

  “Well… it’s different when you kill people who look like people.” I hesitated. “Okay, that sounds kinda racist, but—wait, no! I mean, those half-men were evil. Their morals were screwed up, so it didn’t feel bad to kill them.”

  Yamanda gave me a long stare.

  Then, with a smirk, she said, “Don’t overthink it. Trust me.”

  Vacinay crossed her arms. “So, where are the people you saved?”

  …Silence.

  Yamanda waved dismissively. “Got to go, bye!”

  And just like that, she vanished. So much for that report.

  She’d lied, hadn’t she…?

  Ghomas nodded slowly. “One thing’s for sure—you can’t say she doesn’t care about your feelings.”

  “Ugh…” I groaned in distress.

  Hessien slung an arm over my shoulder. “Don’t worry. When they start demanding your head for your crimes, I’ll claim you’re innocent.”

  I turned toward him slowly, like a robot. “Funny thing—how the hell can you claim I’m innocent when I’m not? I literally did it!”

  Vacinay smirked. “We lie! Like lawyers! ‘My client’s guilty?! Where’s the damn proof?!’”

  She framed a rectangle with her fingers. “‘What?! This is her in 4K?! Objection! How do you know it wasn’t an illusion, or that she wasn’t mind-controlled?!’”

  Ghomas snorted. “Better hope those guys in the forest don’t testify against you, ’cause your ass will be grass.”

  I dropped to my knees. “I can’t go to jail… Do you know what they do to frail, short girls like me?”

  Hessien looked away. “You’ll end up as some big, muscular lady’s lackey. And not in the good way. More like the that’s rape kind of way.”

  Ghomas nodded. “Better prepare to commi— Oh, wait, you’re semi-immortal… Damn, you’re just gonna keep having horrid experiences…”

  I grabbed my hair in frustration. I couldn’t let that happen. I refused to. What could I do…?

  Vacinay’s words from earlier echoed in my head. Remove the evidence… No, no. I couldn’t do that…

  But I really hadn’t meant to… UGH!

  Tanya, bored with my crisis, rolled her eyes. “Worry about that stuff later. It’s pointless to dwell on it now.”

  I took a deep breath. “You’re right. What happens, happens.”

  I was obviously faking my calm.

  Tanya floated over to Hessien and snapped her fingers. “I want to rest now.”

  Hesitantly, he opened his mouth.

  She shot into his mouth and disappeared. His face twisted in disgust as he gagged.

  Ghomas snickered.

  Before he could say anything, Hessien shot him a glare. “Make a gag reflex joke. I dare you.”

  Ghomas grinned. “You’ve got to work on your throat ga—”

  Hessien lunged at him, but Ghomas darted away, laughing.

  “I’m going to kill you! You think everything’s fun and games, huh?!” Hessien shouted.

  And there I was, left alone, watching Vacinay’s hair flutter as she clung tightly to Hessien’s head.

  Hm…

  What was I supposed to do now?

  Damn, I really screwed up with that fireball.

  Oh well. I was still going to deny the exis—

  Then, a single thought cut through my anxiety. A solution. No, no…

  But… yes.

  I turned away from the Reality Defenders’ building, gazing into the distance. The forest was hidden behind the many buildings, but I had a plan—a perfect one.

  One I couldn’t afford right now… but had to make a priority.

  MIND WIPE!

  Yes! That was the solution—I’d make the victims forget everything.

  Was that a bad thing? …Yeah. But it only cost around 27 skill points. Maybe I should just accept my punishment—

  Then Ghomas’ words resurfaced in my mind, along with all the horror stories my father had told me about prison.

  A shiver ran down my spine. Hell no! What if they locked me up with prisoners at my level? With OP cards?

  Damn it.

  I needed to get out of the public eye. Now.

  I pressed against the double doors, but they didn’t budge.

  A voice called from inside. “Who is it?”

  Oh god. Yuen.

  I groaned. “Lumine Markish, Reality Defender.”

  “Proof?”

  “…How am I supposed to show you proof?”

  “You have to say, ‘Lord Yuen—’”

  “Just open the door. I’m not in the mood.”

  Silence. Then a click. The doors swung open, and Yuen stood there, eyeing me with confusion.

  “Your pants… Why are the ends burned? And why is your shirt so big?”

  I glanced down. Right. I’d burned the pant legs because Ghomas was too damn tall. I thought it looked kinda stylish.

  I shrugged. “No idea. But thanks for not dragging out the nonsense.”

  “Hmph. I know when to get serious. Good luck.”

  “Thanks.”

  I made my way to the living quarters. The doors had been left unlocked, but whatever.

  In the bathroom, I stared at the toilet—or shitter, or cylinder, or whatever they called it here.

  Not like I’d ever planned to use it. Now that I had fire powers, there were… other ways to handle waste.

  I climbed into the bathtub, grateful someone had cleaned it after the mess earlier. The walls were abnormally tall, almost like a containment chamber.

  Turning on the faucet, I listened to the slow trickle of purple water filling the tub.

  I tossed my clothes aside and sank in once the water reached my waist.

  My mind was blank. I kicked at the water, feeling no resistance. Raised a foot, watching my toes break the surface.

  With a sigh, I leaned back, letting my hair soak. At least the fire skin skill had burned away all the blood and guts.

  I tried floating. Failed.

  Giving up, I let myself sink to the bottom, holding my breath.

  …Maybe I didn’t need a mind wipe to fix this.

  What if I gained a death skill?

  I summoned a new skill card. It remained pure white, waiting for confirmation.

  Yes! A skill that could revive the dead—but not as zombies.

  “Give me a life skill card.”

  White cracks spread across the card’s surface, revealing an image of an angel cupping brown soil in their hands.

  “Genius!”

  Shit—I’d spoken underwater.