Chapter 25: What did you do?!

"Did I die?" Gina asked softly. "I remember the skeleton running his blade through my heart. I remember everything going dark. Joshua, I died, how am I here?"

"It's okay." Joshua replied. "I was able to bring you back."

"How?!" Gina asked frantically. "You can't just bring back the dead! Once someone is gone, they are gone! How did you bring me back?!"

"Don't worry about it, Gina." Joshua said as he ended his hug and pulled her away from him, so that he could look her in the eyes "What is important is that you are back. Nothing else matters."

"But no one had ever brought anyone back from the dead." Gina said. "It is not something that can be done."

"Then how did I do it?" Joshua asked.

"That's why I am asking you!" Gina yelled.

"Joshua you in there?!" Doreen asked as she poked her head inside the door to the kitchen. "The trail of skeletal remains ended here, so… There you are!"

"Doreen?" Joshua asked. "Why did you come after me?"

"Why did you charge off like a bat out of hell?" Doreen asked. "Honestly, I have never seen a man so frantic in my life. I see why now."

"Joshua, who is this?" Gina asked.

"This is Doreen, she is an A-ranked adventurer." Joshua explained.

"I am his future party leader." Doreen said. "It is a pleasure to meet you, miss."

"My name is Gina." Gina responded. "Joshua, are you really going to join his woman in a party?"

"My sister and Doreen want to join me in my quest." Joshua explained.

"You have a sister?!" Gina asked.

"Apparently I have a half-sister." Joshua replied. "I just found out myself."

"Oh, okay." Gina said.

Doreen looked at the two, who were still on the floor. She noticed Gina's blood-stained shirt with a large hole where her heart laid. She could also see the black chain tattoos on Joshua's arm.

"Joshua, what did you do?" Doreen asked. "And think twice about lying to me."

"What do you mean?" Joshua asked. "I rushed to save Gina."

"No, I mean after that." Doreen said. "That mark on your arm and the missing wound on Gina's chest. Explain. Now."

"He brought me back to life." Gina said. "He won't tell me how."

"Joshua!" Doreen yelled.

"Gina, why did you tell her?!" Joshua complained.

"Because I want to know how you brought me back!" Gina said. "I am worried about what you might have done to do that. Since you won't tell me I thought maybe if we ganged up on you, you would tell us."

Joshua did not think it was wise to tell the girls about the man in white, at least not until he knew more about him. "I just begged the gods to bring her back." Joshua lied.

"Nope." Doreen said. "That I am not buying. You have an extremely high-level curse on your arm, and you want me to believe that it is just some miracle? I call bullshit."

"Joshua, just tell us." Gina said with a pitiful look in her eyes, trying to sway his heart. "I am just worried that you might have done something terrible to yourself for my sake."

"Don't worry." Joshua said. "I didn't sell my soul or anything like that. I will be fine, I promise."

"If you say so…" Gina replied.

"So, you really won't tell us?" Doreen asked. "Or was that part of the deal?"

Joshua paused. He wondered what Doreen knew. She had to have known about the man in white, why else would she use the word deal?

"Oh?" Doreen said. "So, I am right then. Your silence tells me all I need to know."

"What?" Gina asked. "What does his silence tell you?

"It tells me that Joshua must have made a deal with a dream demon." Doreen said. "Those who make deals with demons are not allowed to discuss them. Though I cannot imagine the demon capable of bringing back the dead. That amount of power is terrifying."

"I did no such thing." Joshua said.

"Those chains on your arm are in the historical records at the guild." Doreen said. "There is no denying what they mean. They signify a contract with a demon. My question is how could you be so careless? Don't say it was for love. Don't tell me you may have doomed the entirety of the world, for something as trivial as love."

[Was he a demon?] Joshua wondered to himself. [I mean I don't exactly know what he was, he could have ever well been a demon. Of course, that would mean that a demon was responsible for bringing me here… No, he couldn't be a demon. A demon wouldn't bring me here and give me the demon slayer ability.]

"I am telling you I made no deal with a demon." Joshua said.

"Then who did you make a deal with?" Doreen asked.

"That I don't know." Joshua said. "But I am certain that he wasn't a demon."

"What did you trade?" Doreen asked. "What did you trade for this young girl's life?"

"He simply wanted a favor." Joshua said. "I wouldn't have agreed to it, had it been anything bad."

"Oh, and what is this not-so-bad favor?" Doreen asked.

"I just need to kill the dungeon boss." Joshua said. "I was planning on doing that anyway, so it's a free deal. Gina gets to live, and I still do what I was planning on doing anyway."

"Why would a demon want the demon boss dead?" Doreen asked. "That makes little sense. That is really all it wanted?"

"I told you he wasn't a demon." Joshua said.

"Right." Doreen said. "Just some other overpowered being that can raise the dead. But definitely, not a demon."