The Laughing Swordsman

Lucifer curled his finger.

And the fireball followed, rushing relentlessly towards the city.

Nearly every single citizen panicked when they saw this.

Some fainted, escaping in a certain sense. Some ran away, as though that could actually do something. And some simply stood there, losing control over their bowels.

However, there was hardly any time to even properly process their fear, as the fireball had reached right above the city in just a few seconds. It seemed like the city had a roof for a moment.

A roof made of excessive quantities of magma.

And then, the roof fell down.

The earth shook.

Wind blew.

And a bright light outshone the sun.

A massive explosion reverberated throughout the forest, followed by a relentless rumbling sound.

Maya\'s eardrums directly burst, causing some blood to spill out of her ears. She had lifted her head to witness the explosion, but...

"AHHHHHHHHHH"

The light was too blinding. She lost both her hearing and her sight at the same time, hearing a blaring ringing and a searing pain in her eyes.

Maya\'s eyes were bloodshot and watery. She covered them with her hands, but it was already too late.

The damage had been done.

Lucifer looked over and chuckled faintly. He was trembling ever so slightly, while frightening amounts of blood began trickling down his body.

Lucifer unraveled one of Maya\'s fists, the one that was holding the black fruit. The fruit itself was a little crushed, but still relatively intact. Lucifer tossed it into his mouth, and in just a moment, his injuries healed rapidly.

Then, he pointed a finger towards Maya, casting a healing spell on her.

Maya\'s burst eardrums directly healed, able to hear once again. Her burned eyes reverted to their original condition, able to see once more.

Her hearing gradually returned to her.

Maya slowly moved her hands away from her face, still panting heavily. She was about to look towards the explosion, but hurriedly averted her eyes.

Lucifer laughed.

"You can look now, it won\'t hurt your eyes."

Maya worked up the courage to sit up and look forward. A gigantic mushroom cloud had formed above where the city used to be. At the top of the mushroom cloud was another cloud, but in the form of a ring.

Even now, they were still expanding.

Maya let out a gasp of awe, simply due to the sheer size.

Lucifer chuckled.

"Looks pretty cool, no?"

Maya slowly nodded.

"Y-Yes."

Without warning, a wave of wind and heat passed over them. Maya immediately slammed back into the ground, while her body was partially roasted, including her demonic features.

As for Lucifer, water began to drip off just above him, as though a small screen formed around him. He turned to Layla and blinked a few times.

"Ah right, sorry."

The small screen expanded into a tiny dome, fighting off the waves of heat and wind. Lucifer casted another healing spell, restoring Maya once more.

She began gasping for air, still partly traumatized about the explosion. After a bit of hesitation, Maya was able to stand up.

She looked towards Lucifer, then at the explosion.

A tidal wave of snow picked up, ripping like water. The surrounding trees were directly uprooted and thrown to the side, while the ones further away bent dangerously, on the verge of snapping.

As for where the city used to be, there was only a massive crater. The edges of the crater were bright red, which gradually transitioned from orange, then a blinding yellow the closer it was to the center. 

Lucifer looked over to Maya.

"Well, all the people there died."

Maya stammered for a few moments before finding the words.

"Y-Yeah... they are."

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.

"So, what are your current aspirations? Your goal has been achieved, after all."

Maya furrowed her brows.

...What did she want to accomplish?

In reality, she still was having difficulty accepting the entire situation. Even harder to accept than the massive fireball, was the fact her wish for the city to be purged had already been granted.

It happened too fast.

Ended too soon.

Maya blinked a few times and stared at the still rising mushroom cloud.

"I..."

Her demonized features gradually retracted. Her black horn sunk back into her head, while her hand shrunk in size. The cracks in her skin began to mend, while her skin itself went from black to a healthy pink.

Tears overflowed from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks.

"I don\'t know."

Lucifer laughed.

"Great answer."

Maya turned to Lucifer, confusion apparent in her eyes.

"W-What?"

In response, Lucifer smiled softly.

"That only means one thing."

He spread his arms out wide, as though trying to grasp the entire world.

"There are countless outcomes waiting for you. The possibilities are endless!"

Maya wiped away her tears with her index finger.

"But..."

She sat back down on the ground and curled up into a ball, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"I-I just want to go back. I don\'t want to be here anymore. I don\'t want to live like this!"

Lucifer\'s arm dropped to his sides. He looked at Layla a little strangely, then let out a soft sigh.

"You can\'t go back."

Maya began to rock back and forth.

"B-But"

"You can\'t."

Lucifer shook his head.

"Even if you could, you would be a different person. Because of that, they would also be different people. Going back doesn\'t revive them."

He narrowed his eyes.

"It only means they have truly died."

Maya shivered.

"But-"

"I am not arguing with you."

A dangerous glint flashed by Lucifer\'s eyes.

"I am simply telling you the truth."

Normally, Maya would be scared. However, she just continued to rock back and forth, faintly sobbing.

Frankly, she could hardly care about anything.

Everything just felt...

Empty.

Maya took in a haggard breath.

"Then... what am I supposed to do?"

Lucifer peered over at her.

"Well, for starters, you have to repay me for blowing up that city and I want to get to know you."

A smirk formed on his face.

"So follow me."