“Woohoo! Hell yeah!” Steiff and Brise thundered westward, the Reisen Gorge falling off steeply to their left, while the vast green plains rolled by to their right. Though Brise was driving steadily down the highway, Steiff’s driver was clearly enjoying herself as she veered wildly from the rocky cliffside to the grassy plains.
“Shea’s sure in a good mood. She sounds like one of those bikers you see in movies.” “Hmm… I kind of want to try driving it too.”
Hajime watched Shea drive with an amused expression on his face. He was driving Brise with one hand, his other arm hanging out the window. Shea was the only person not sitting inside Brise with him. At her insistence, he’d let her drive Steiff instead.
She’d been more taken with the motorcycle, as it allowed her to feel the wind on her face as she drove, but with how much their party had grown, Hajime had ended up using Brise for transport more often than not.
She could have stuck her head out of Brise’s window as they’d drove, but it wouldn’t really have been the same. And because Yue always took the seat next to him, she couldn’t stick to Hajime like before either. After much insistence, Hajime had finally caved and agreed to teach Shea how to drive Steiff.
Since it was operated via mana manipulation, it wasn’t actually that hard to master. Shea didn’t even have to move the handlebars manually if she didn’t want to, as it could all be done magically. Since Shea could control her mana directly too, learning how to drive had been a piece of cake. And once she’d mastered driving, she’d fallen in love with the motorbike.
Even now she was driving all over the place, drifting, popping wheelies, jackknifing, and generally doing crazy stunts that would have put a pro stuntman to shame.
Since both acceleration and braking were controlled magically, it was a lot easier to pull stunts with Steiff than a normal motorcycle. That being said, Shea’s driving skill had far surpassed Hajime’s at this point.
He didn’t particularly mind that she’d become a better driver than him. What he did mind was that now that her skills had improved she took every opportunity to show off and rub it in his face. It seemed Shea was one of those people whose personalities did a complete 180 when they started driving.
Yue also watched Shea drive around, a hint of longing in her expression. Hajime didn’t think his heart could take it if Yue turned into a 90s gangster too, so he swore in his heart that he’d never let Yue drive.
Heedless of the inner turmoil within Hajime’s heart, Myu clambered up onto Yue’s
knees and stared at him, eyes glittering with excitement. She pointed at Shea, who was currently doing a handstand on the handlebars.
“Daddy, Daddy! I wanna do that too!”
“Not happening.”
“But I wanna!” Myu started thrashing about in Yue’s lap.
Yue got a firm grip on Myu so she wouldn’t fall down and scolded her gently. Myu started pouting, and Hajime finally relented.
“Myu. I’ll let you ride it with me later, so be good okay?” “You will?”
“Yeah. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you get on with Shea, but if it’s with me, then I guess it’s alright.”
“I can’t go with Shea-oneechan?”
“Absolutely not. Just look at her. She’s posing on top of the handlebars. It’s kind of scary how good she is… But there’s no way I’m letting you ride with someone who drives like that.”
Shea was standing atop Steiff’s handlebars, covering her face with her right hand while raising up her left shoulder. It looked just like Jojo’s trademark pose.
Hajime stared as she laughed maniacally, vowing to himself that he’d never let Myu ride with Shea as long as he lived. He then glared at Myu, impressing on her that she better not ask Shea to drive her around in secret either.
“Two-wheelers are pretty dangerous though, so I don’t really want to let you ride in one as it is… Maybe I should make a children’s seat for Steiff? I could probably use… Hmm…”
“Yue-oneechan. Daddy’s talking to himself again. He’s weird.”
“He’s just worried about you… I didn’t think he’d be so overprotective.”
“Fufu, Master’s a surprisingly doting father. I must say, the discrepancy between how he normally is and how he’s acting now is quite… Haaah… Haaah…”
“Yue-oneechan. Tio-oneechan’s making weird noises again.”
“That’s just how she is, don’t worry about it.” Yue absentmindedly patted Myu’s head as she talked with her.
It had only been a short time since Myu’d started traveling with them, but Hajime had already given up on being called anything other than daddy. At first, he’d tried everything he could think of to get Myu to change her mind, but he’d be defeated at every turn by her teary-eyed face. He’d grown strong enough to kill the monsters that inhabited the abyss, but he didn’t think he’d ever match up to this little girl. And so, daddy had stuck.
As time had passed, Hajime had begun doting on Myu more and more. At this point he
was just like those idiotic fathers he’d seen on TV. Shea was hopeless, and Tio was a pervert, so it fell to Hajime to raise Myu into an upstanding young woman. Or so he thought, anyway. At present it fell to Yue, the level-headed member of the party, to rein Hajime in when he was clearly being too overprotective.
Yue was a little disappointed that Myu was cutting into her alone time with Hajime, but at the same time she was enjoying acting out the motherly role.
She covered Myu’s ears so she wouldn’t be corrupted by Tio’s perversion, then shut the dragon up with her magic.
Hajime absentmindedly watched Shea, who wasn’t even riding Steiff at this point, but rather clinging to its rear as she sent it careening up and down the cliffside, while he considered what materials would make for the best car seat.
The party continued driving down the highway like that. After a few hours, they arrived at Horaud.
Originally, Hajime had planned on passing the town by, but Ilwa had asked him to deliver something, so he’d taken a small detour. It was more or less on their way to the Grand Gruen Volcano, so he wasn’t going that far out of his way anyway.
Hajime looked around nostalgically as he walked down the main street of Horaud. Myu noticed the slight shift in Hajime’s attitude and lightly patted his forehead from her perch atop his shoulders.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?”
“Hm? Oh, it’s just I’ve been to this place before… It was only four months ago that I was here, but it feels like years have passed…”
“Are you really okay, Hajime?” Yue laid her hand on Hajime’s arm and looked up at him worriedly. He simply shrugged his shoulders. A second later, he was back to his normal self.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just got lost in thought for a little bit. It’s not like me to get sentimental, but this is where it all began, isn’t it…? I spent a night here nervous and afraid, then the next day we went into the labyrinth… And then I fell.”
“……”
As Hajime reminisced about that fateful day, Yue, Shea, and Tio looked up at him, their expressions unreadable. Yue seemed content to stay silent, but Tio couldn’t restrain her curiosity.
“Hmm… Do you never wish you could do things over, Master? I have only heard some of what transpired back then, but… you do not hate all of your previous comrades, correct? Are there not some you were particularly close to? Do you never wish you could still be with them?” Since Tio hadn’t known Hajime for as long as the others, she wasn’t as familiar with his past. And because she was straightforward by nature, she had no compunctions about asking whatever came to her mind.
Perhaps the way she went about it was a bit insensitive, it was just her way of showing she cared about her comrades. Her constant perverted antics always gave Hajime headaches, but he actually liked this blunt side of her.
He wasn’t offended by her question at all, and organized his thoughts as he considered the best way to answer her question. As he sifted through his memories, he suddenly remembered the conversation he’d had the night before his fall. Kaori had to come to his room, wearing nothing but a white negligee. They’d talked under the moonlight, drinking his sorry excuse for tea. She’d sworn she would protect him no matter what. And even when he’d fallen, he remembered her tortured expression as she tried to jump down after him. It was only her comrades holding her back that had stopped her.
Yue squeezed his arm, snapping him out of his reverie. When he looked down, he saw her staring intently at him. He returned her gaze, and his expression softened.
“You’re right, I was pretty close with some of my old classmates. Still, even if I could turn back time and return to that day, I’d do everything the same way.”
“Oh, and why is that?”
The reason why was obvious from Hajime’s expression, but Tio still asked anyway. He covered Yue’s hand with his own, and replied without ever taking his eyes off her. A faint smile formed on the edge of her lips. Her cheeks were slightly flushed too.
“Obviously… so I could meet Yue again.”
“Hajime…”
For an outpost town, Horaud was surprisingly lively. Mercenaries, soldiers, and adventurers alike flocked to the Great Orcus Labyrinth both to gain experience and raise their levels, and hopefully to make a fortune harvesting mana crystals. Merchants followed in their wake, hoping to relieve said adventurers of some of that fortune. Because the strength of monsters was strictly regulated by floor, it was one of the most popular, safest training spots in the kingdom. As such, it stood to reason that the town’s main street would be the busiest section.
Yue and Hajime were standing in the middle of that bustling street, staring at each other.
They were so lost in each other that they took no notice of the hundreds of people walking around them. They received a lot of curious looks and jealous stares, but as always, the two ignored them. They only had eyes for each other now.
“Did you hear that, Tio-san? He didn’t say ‘us.’ Just Yue-san. And now they’re flirting in the middle of the street again. They don’t even care where they are anymore, do they? And what about us, are we just supposed to sit there and watch? When are we going to have those kinds of special moments with Hajime-san? I’ve been ready for him to come on to me for ages now, but I keep getting treated like some kind of comic relief character… I mean, I get it. I know Yue-san’s special to him. One of the reasons I joined them was because I wanted that kind of relationship the two of them have. So it’s fine if Yue-san gets special treatment. In fact, if Hajime-san started ignoring Yue-san, I don’t
think I’d even like him anymore. If he ever did anything to make her sad, I’d be the first one lining up to kill him. But… But you know? I thought I was making progress with him too. I thought I was finally getting somewhere, but nothing’s happened. Even if Yue-san’s special to him, he could at least look at me every once in a while, right? I’m offering myself up on a silver platter here, but he still won’t take me. What kind of guy ignores a girl when she’s trying so hard to seduce him!? Someone needs to teach him a lesson. I wanna flirt with Hajime-san too! I wanna do all those things with him in bed too! I wanna do all those things he did with Yue-san too! What’s so wrong about that!? You’re the pervert here, Tio-san, so tell me what the problem is!”
“Sh-Shea. I understand your resentment very well, but you need to calm down. You cannot go around shouting things like that in public. Look, you’re attracting more attention than they are now. And wait, did you just insult me there at the end? I cannot believe you would call me a pervert in the middle of the street… Haaah… Haaah… I can feel people staring coldly at me… Haaah… Haaah… Mmm…”
Now the flirting couple had been joined by a bunny girl who’d screamed how she wanted to fuck a guy at the top of her lungs, and a beautiful older woman who was panting heavily after being called a pervert. A lot of the people who’d stopped out of mere curiosity hurriedly left.
“Daddy, Shea-oneechan and Tio-oneechan are…”
“Myu, don’t look at them. Pretend you don’t know them.”
“Shea… Maybe I should tie Hajime up and leave him with you for a night…”
Shea’s shouting had brought Hajime and Yue back to the real world, and they quickly began pretending Shea and Tio had nothing to do with them. At the same time, Hajime decided to pointedly ignore Yue’s last statement. He didn’t want to have to suspect she was luring him into a trap every time they were alone. Though, he didn’t want to actually get caught in said trap, either. Well, Yue wouldn’t really do something like that… right? She’d tried something similar before, but surely it would be fine to trust her now. At least, that was what Hajime kept telling himself.
The party had caused such a scene in the middle of the street that the guards had come out to see what all the commotion was about. Sighing, Hajime grabbed Shea and Tio by the collar and dragged them somewhere less crowded.
Hajime was used to receiving jealous glares every time he walked into a populated area, but for the first time he felt like people were looking at him in pity more than anything else.
After extricating themselves from the crowd, Hajime and the others finally arrived at Horaud’s adventurer’s guild.
Hajime pushed open the guild’s doors with Myu still sitting on his shoulders. Unlike the other guild branches that he’d visited, this one’s front doors were made of metal. There was a massive groaning noise as the double doors creaked open.
Last time Hajime had been in Horaud he’d had no need to visit the guild, so this would
be his first time inside. The inside of Horaud’s guild was exactly how he’d imagined a guild hall should look like.
The walls were peeling and holes in the floor had been hastily covered up with wooden planks. Dust and grime gathered unchecked in the less-used corners of the room. The building’s layout itself was no different from the other guild branches he’d visited. There was a huge counter dead ahead, and a restaurant to the left. However, it seemed this one also served alcohol. A few grizzled old men were already well into their cups, despite the fact that it was barely past noon.
Some of the adventurers sitting on the second floor walked over to the railing to see who the newcomers were. As far as Hajime could tell, all of the adventurers on the second floor were pretty strong, relatively speaking. It seemed there might have been some kind of unspoken rule that only the higher-ranked adventurers used the upper floor.
The adventurers all had a different air around them compared to the ones Hajime had seen in other cities as well. There was an edge to them that had been missing from the laid-back adventurers Hajime had met in Brooke.
I guess they’re all so tough-looking because they’re used to fighting monsters in the labyrinth. You’d have to be decently strong to want to come here.
Though, even if one took all that into account, the atmosphere in the guild room was strangely strained. Something serious enough to put these hardened adventurers on edge must have happened.
Everyone’s eyes focused on Hajime and his group.
Myu let out a terrified squeal and tried to hide behind Hajime’s head.
Jealous glares settled on Hajime, as was usual whenever he walked into a crowded area accompanied by Yue, Shea, and Tio.
He took Myu off his shoulders and cradled her in his arms. She buried her face into his chest and shut out everyone’s stares.
A few of the adventurers got up from their seat and headed over to the group. It was obvious from their expressions that they wanted to teach this cheeky little kid who’d just barged in here a lesson. They had no real reason to be so hostile toward him, they were just jealous. That, and the strained atmosphere in the guild had gotten them itching for a fight.
They hadn’t even considered the possibility that he might be in trouble and had come to the guild to request help… not that something like that would ever happen. The only thing on their mind right now was beating Hajime up to vent their own frustrations.
Normally he wouldn’t have paid them any mind, but since he’d become an overprotective father, he was going to make them pay for scaring his daughter. He gently patted Myu’s head and shot the adventurers advancing upon him a withering glare.
Then, without warning… he unleashed a wave of Intimidation so powerful that it blew the adventurers back. The pressure was so strong that they could physically feel it.
They cowered before Hajime, their earlier confidence nowhere to be seen. The less experienced adventurers fainted on the spot, while most of the others returned meekly to their seats.
They shivered in fear, cold sweat pouring down their backs. It took everything they had to keep from fainting like the other adventurers had.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the oppressive presence vanished. The adventurers gasped for air, only just realizing they’d been holding their breath the entire time. More than a few of them had wet themselves, and some looked like they were about to hurl. Hajime flashed them all a feral grin.
“Hey, all of you bastards that glared at us.”
“Ah!” They all jumped when they heard his voice. Everyone was staring at Hajime like he was some kind of monster, which in a sense, he was. He ignored their fear and laid down a request… No, a command.
“Smile.”
“Huh?”
He was met with confused stares.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said smile. Like this. You’ve gotta show that you’re not scary. Wave your hands and stuff too. It’s because you all look so intimidating that you scared her. What’re you gonna do if you traumatize her for life, huh?”
Then don’t bring a little girl with you to an adventurer’s guild in the first place! The adventurers all thought unanimously, but none of them had the courage to actually say it. Cowed by his Intimidation, the adventurers all forced themselves to smile. A few feebly waved their hands at him too.
It was a truly surreal sight, all these hard-faced adventurers smiling stiffly, trying to pretend they were friendly. Hajime nodded in satisfaction, then whispered something into Myu’s ear.
She timidly looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Then, at Hajime’s urging, she slowly turned around. She was greeted by the sight of hardened adventurers trying their best to look friendly.
“Hiii!” As expected, their forced smiles did little to assuage her fears, and she buried her face into Hajime’s chest once more. And so, Hajime narrowed his eyebrows angrily.
“You call that a smile!?” Hajime roared, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
Don’t be ridiculous! The poor adventurers turned to Yue for salvation, tears forming in the corners of their eyes.
Yue breathed a deep sigh, walked up to Myu, and whispered something into her ear as well. Once again, Myu hesitantly turned to face the crowd of adventurers. They once again tried their best to look friendly.
She stared at them for quite a bit longer this time. Finally, her face broke out in a smile and she waved back at them. The adventurers forced smiles suddenly turned into natural ones when they saw how cute she was. Hajime nodded in satisfaction and put Myu back on his shoulders. His business with the adventurers concluded, he walked up to the counter.
Silverware clattered to the floor as he walked past, but he paid no heed to the people around him.
For once, the person manning the reception counter was a cute girl. She was about the same age as Hajime. This was the first time the adventurer’s guild stereotype actually fit. Unfortunately, the effect was ruined because she was frozen stiff. Having Hajime that close to her made her unbelievably nervous.
“Is the branch chief here? I’m here to deliver a letter from the Fuhren branch’s chief… I was requested to give it to him in person.” He handed over his status plate to the receptionist. She accepted it with trembling fingers. Though she was nervous, she still did her job admirably.
“Y-Yes. Let me just confirm your identity. U-Umm, does this mean you’re here… on a direct request from Fuhren’s branch chief?” The reason she was so surprised was because it was rare for a mere adventurer to undertake requests from someone as high-ranking as a branch chief. However, when she saw the ranking on Hajime’s status plate, she understood why he’d been chosen.
“Y-You’re gold ranked!?” At most, maybe 10% of all adventurers were gold. And the names of all gold-ranked adventurers were kept on a roster that every guild worker had memorized, including this receptionist, and yet she’d never heard of Hajime before.
When they heard her exclamation, all of the other adventurers stared at Hajime in shock as well. After a few seconds of silence, the entire room burst into conversation.
The receptionist paled as she realized she’d accidentally blurted out Hajime’s personal information for everyone to hear. She bowed as low as she could.
“M-My deepest apologies, sir! I didn’t mean to say it so loudly!”
“Ah, I don’t really mind. Could you just call the branch chief over for me?”
“O-Of course! Right away!”
Hajime smiled to himself. If I hadn’t said anything, I bet she’d spend another hour apologizing. After all the commotion he’d caused in Ur and Fuhren, it was pointless to try and pretend he was just a normal adventurer anymore.
He attracted enough stares as it was by bringing along a kid and a harem of beautiful girls with him everywhere. Adding gold-ranked adventurer to the list of oddities didn’t really change much at that point.
However, Myu still wasn’t used to getting so much attention. She squirmed uncomfortably as she looked at everyone. The way she moved was reminiscent of how Tio writhed in pleasure whenever Hajime insulted her. Hajime slapped her for teaching Myu
such unwholesome things, which caused even more of a stir with the crowd.
Finally, after a few minutes, Hajime heard someone thundering down the corridor.
A black-clad figure burst out from the hallway situated on the side of the counter. He looked around wildly, his eyes passing through the crowd. He was obviously in a great hurry.
Hajime’s eyes went wide in shock. This was someone he recognized, and the last person he’d expected to see here.
“Endou?” The black-clad figure was none other than Hajime’s classmate, Kousuke Endou.
Endou wheeled around in surprise. He cast another panicked glance around the room, but didn’t spot the person he was searching for. Growing impatient, he loudly shouted,
“Nagumo!? Is that really you!? It is, right!? Where are you!? Nagumo! You’re alive, aren’t you!? Get out here, Hajime Nagumo!” Many of the adventurers clapped their hands over their ears. His voice was really loud. Endou’s extreme impatience implied that he wasn’t just in a hurry to see an old classmate he’d thought dead. There was something urgent he needed from Hajime.
Yue and the others stared expectantly at Hajime. He awkwardly scratched his cheek. If he was being perfectly honest, he’d rather not have talked to Endou right now. Nevertheless, he dutifully stepped forward and called out to him.
“Uh, Endou? I can hear you, so can you stop yelling so loudly?”
“Nagumo!? Where are you!?” Endou turned toward Hajime, reacting to his voice. The depth of the desperation in his voice shocked Hajime.
His eyes met Hajime’s for an instant, but then he looked away again and started looking around the room once more.
“Dammit! I can hear you, but I can’t see you! Are you a ghost!? Did you really die after all!? Is that why I can’t see you!?”
“I’m right in front of you, moron. Just calm down, man. Weren’t you supposed to be the world’s most unnoticeable person?”
“There it is again! That’s your voice! And just who are you calling the king of invisibility!? I’ll have you know that the automatic doors at stores open for me one-third of the time!”
“Wait, so even they don’t notice you two-thirds of the time…? You’re really something.” After that exchange Endou finally realized the white-haired boy with the eyepatch was indeed Hajime. He scrutinized Hajime’s face. Hajime turned away awkwardly. He wasn’t used to guys staring so intently at him.
“A-Are you… Are you really Nagumo?”
“Yep. In the flesh. I know I look pretty different now, but it’s me, Hajime Nagumo.”
He looked so different from the boy Endou remembered that he still couldn’t completely believe it. He looked Hajime up and down again. Eventually, he was forced to accept it really was Hajime. He had the same general facial structure, and only Hajime would know about how invisible Endou was.
“You’re… really alive.”
“Obviously. I’m standing in front of you, aren’t I?”
“Everything about you has, changed though… like your appearance, and the way you talk…”
“I had to crawl my way out of hell. There’s no way I’d stay the same after that.”
“R-Really? Well, I guess that makes sense… Still, I can’t believe you’re really alive… Thank god.” He may have turned into a drastically different person, but Endou was still relieved that his classmate yet lived.
Though he’d been jealous of the attention Kaori gave Hajime, much like the other guys, and had turned a blind eye to Hiyama’s bullying, he’d never once seriously wanted Hajime dead. Endou had been as shaken as the rest when he’d witnessed Hajime fall. It was only natural that he’d be happy to know his classmate hadn’t actually died.
“Wait, so… you’re really an adventurer too? Gold-ranked at that…”
“Pretty much.”
Endou’s expression did a complete 180. From one of relief, to one of panic.
It was then that Hajime noticed Endou was surprisingly ragged. What on earth happened to him?
“So not only were you able to make it back from the depths of the labyrinth alive, you’ve become strong enough to reach the highest rank in the adventurer’s guild? No way…”
“More or less, yeah.” Upon hearing that, Endou broke down and clung desperately to Hajime’s shoulders. His face was a mixture of desperation and regret.
“Then I’m begging you, come back to the labyrinth with me! If we don’t hurry, everyone’ll die! We need all the help we can get! Kentarou and Jugo could die any minute now! I’m begging you Nagumo, you’ve gotta help us!”
“W-Wait a second. What the heck are you talking about!? What’s going on? What do you mean they could die any minute now? You guys have Amanogawa, don’t you? Shouldn’t you be fine no matter what happens? Captain Meld and the others are there too, right? Even if you face a Behemoth now, you guys should be fine…” Hajime had never seen the normally composed Endou so distraught. Endou’s face fell and he sunk to his knees at the mention of Captain Meld. He managed to squeeze out a few words through his despair.
“…died.”
“Huh? I can’t hear you. What’d you say?”
“I said he died! Captain Meld, Alan-san, and all the other knights! They’re all dead! They died so I could escape! It’s my fault! It’s all my fault! And now they’re all gone!”
“I see.” Hajime replied solemnly.
As Hajime hadn’t possessed a combat class, he hadn’t been that close to Captain Meld. That being said, he’d always thought of the captain as a nice man. And the day he’d fallen, Meld had been the only one who’d believed in him despite the fact that he was labeled incompetent by everyone.
Had he been the callous person he’d turned into right after escaping the abyss, he might not have cared at all about Captain Meld’s death, but at present he felt a twinge of sadness. Enough that he prayed Captain Meld would find happiness in the afterlife.
“So what exactly happened?”
“Well…” Endou numbly began recounting the events that had led to his escape.
However, before he could start in earnest, a voice stopped him.
“Shall we continue this conversation inside one of our private rooms? It seems that boy over there has something for me as well.” A grizzled old man well into his sixties stepped out of the hallway. There was a large scar running down his left eye.
Judging from the fact that the receptionist was with him, Hajime guessed that he must be this guild’s branch chief. He recalled the strained atmosphere that had filled the room when he’d first entered and looked back down at Endou. He was practically sobbing now. Yeah, maybe it’s best we don’t talk about this here.
Endou had probably broken down once here already, and spilled that something bad had happened to the hero party and their escorts. That was probably why everyone was on edge.
The branch chief took Endou by the arm, pulled him to his feet, and marched him back inside the hallway. All the strength had drained out of Endou after that outburst, and he meekly let himself be dragged along.
Hajime reluctantly followed along. Whatever story he was about to be told, he had the feeling he really didn’t want to hear it.
“Demons, huh…?” Hajime’s voice echoed through the quiet room.
Across from him sat Horaud’s branch chief, Loa Bawavis and Endou. Yue, Shea, and Tio all sat next to him. Myu was resting on his lap.
Endou had just finished recounting the story of what had happened in the labyrinth. Both Loa and Endou had dark expressions on their faces, and the air was heavy. No one had imagined the hero party would get done in so easily.
Myu was seemingly unaffected by the gloomy atmosphere, as she was happily stuffing her face with the snacks Loa had laid out for them. She’d actually looked a little worried at first, which was why Hajime had started feeding her snacks to pacify her. Though their conversation was too difficult for Myu to follow, she had at least been able to tell that it was nothing good.
“Anyway, what the heck is with that girl!? Why’s she just sitting there eating snacks!? Don’t you guys get how serious this is!? Everyone might die!”
“Hiii!? Daddy!”
Unable to stand it any longer, Endou angrily pointed a finger at Myu. She let out a terrified squeal and clung to Hajime.
Naturally, Hajime wasn’t going to let that slide. He wouldn’t forgive anyone that hurt his daughter.
“You bastard… how dare you take it out on Myu? You wanna die, huh!?”
“Hiii!?” Endou shrank back and shrieked in a high-pitched voice not unlike Myu’s.
Next to him, the girls all sighed.
“He’s totally become a father now.”
“He called Myu ‘his daughter’ earlier too~”
“I wonder if Master will be able to give her up when we reach Erisen.”
Hajime ignored their comments. The only thing in his mind right now was how to calm Myu down.
Loa sighed as he watched Hajime soothe Myu down and decided to move the conversation forward.
“At any rate, Nagumo. Thanks to Ilwa’s letter, I understand the gist of your situation. I see you’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, though most of it just sort of happened.” Hajime spoke of his unbelievable feats as if they were no different than going on a walk for him. He shrugged his shoulders, and Loa smiled in amusement.
“According to this letter, Ilwa wants me to endorse your promotion to gold rank, and to assist you in any way I can. I more or less understand what’s going on, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve heard that you not only single-handedly annihilated an army of sixty thousand monsters, but that you completely destroyed Fuhren’s underground crime ring in half a day. Frankly, I find it hard to believe you’re actually capable of all of these things, but I can’t imagine someone like Ilwa lying. If he told me you were the demon lord himself, I’d still believe him.”
Endou’s eyes flew open in surprise. He’d assumed Hajime must have gotten a little stronger since he’d managed to escape the Great Orcus Labyrinth on his own, but he’d thought Hajime was still nowhere near his level.
After all, Hajime’s job was Synergist, and he’d been labeled incompetent by the rest of his class. Sure, he might have become a gold adventurer, but the people of this world were all fundamentally weaker than the summoned heroes. He’d expected the most Hajime could do was repair the broken teleportation circle and maybe support them from the rear.
The reason Endou had come to the adventurer’s guild in the first place was to recruit high-ranked adventurers to go rescue Kouki with him. Obviously they wouldn’t have lasted a second on the lower floors, but they could at least have guarded the circle on the 70th floor.
There were a few of Meld’s knights that had been stationed outside the labyrinth, but he’d tasked them with relaying everything to the capital. At best, they’d maybe been able to protect the circle on the 30th floor. Only adventurers silver rank or above would be strong enough to survive on the 70th floor.
He’d gone up to the second floor to try and convince adventurers to join in his cause, but all of them had turned him down. Not only did he want them to guard the 70th floor, a place no one had ever been to, he wanted them to fight against creatures that had decimated the hero party, the hope of all humanity. On top of that, all of the kingdom’s elite knights had been slaughtered. As it was, the adventurers were all fearing for the future of the human race.
When he’d heard the commotion, Loa had grabbed Endou and dragged him to the back to get the full story. It was then that the receptionist had shown up with Hajime’s status plate.
It finally dawned on Endou that he might have been severely underestimating Hajime’s strength. It was possible he was actually way stronger than him, and maybe even Kouki.
While Endou was still frozen in shock, Loa and Hajime continued their conversation. “Don’t be ridiculous. The demon lord wouldn’t even be a threat to me.”
“Not even a threat, is it? You certainly have some confidence in yourself. In that case, I’d like you to prove your claims by taking on a certain request on behalf of the Horaud adventurer’s guild.”
“You want me to go rescue the hero party?”
Endou suddenly snapped back to reality when he heard the word “rescue.” He leaned forward and started begging Hajime once more.
“Th-That’s right! Nagumo, we need to go save them! If you’re really that strong, then you can do it, right!?”
“……”
Endou’s eyes lit up with hope, but Hajime’s reaction was not what he was expecting. Hajime stared off into the distance, weighing his options. Endou had thought Hajime would jump at the chance to rescue his comrades, so he was confused when Hajime didn’t reply instantly.
“What’s wrong!? They could be dying while we waste time here! What’s there to think about!? They’re your comrades!”
“My comrades?” Hajime turned his gaze back to Endou, his eyes cold as ice. Endou faltered in the face of his intense glare. Fear warred with his stubborn desire to save his friends. Eventually, stubbornness won out, and he held his ground against Hajime.
“Y-Yeah. They’re your comrades, so we’ve gotta go save—”
“Don’t just go make them my comrades for your own convenience. I’ll say this now, but all I’ve ever thought of you guys as is classmates. That’s all. Not really all that different from strangers, really.”
“What!? But… how can you…”
Hajime ignored Endou’s stuttering and went back to considering the merits and demerits of going to save Kouki’s party. As he’d said before, he considered the rest of his classmates mere acquaintances at best. He wasn’t terribly interested in getting revenge on the person who’d dropped him into the abyss, but neither did he think too fondly of his former classmates.
However, he also wasn’t going to just abandon them outright. Even now, Aiko’s words had a profound effect on his way of thinking. If he let them die for no good reason, it would be betraying everything he’d promised his teacher back in Ur.
Plus, there was at least one person who was more than just an acquaintance. There was a girl who’d promised she’d protect him, despite the fact that everyone else had called him incompetent. Just as she’d feared, her dream had turned into reality and Hajime had been cast into the abyss. He’d asked her to protect him that night to try and assuage her fears, but in the end she hadn’t been able to fulfill her promise.
Ever since he’d returned to this town, he’d been thinking about her more and more. Her tortured expression as she’d watched him fall into the darkness was still fresh in his memory.
“Shirasaki… Is she still alive?” Hajime muttered quietly. Endou looked up in surprise.
He quickly realized he needed say something or Hajime would likely refuse to help him.
“Y-Yeah. Shirasaki-san’s alive. In fact, if it wasn’t for her, the rest of us would probably be dead right now. I honestly thought Jugo and Yaegashi-san were done for during that first attack… Shirasaki-san’s amazing. Her healing magic is something else… Ever since that day you fell, it felt like she changed, you know? Like, she started training so hard we were worried about her… And she kind of became more mature? Or well, that’s what it feels like, anyway. It’s like she’s always got something on her mind now. She’s not as scatterbrained as she used to be…”
“I see.”
Endou talked about everything that came to mind, even though all Hajime had asked was if she was alive. There was a brief moment of silence.
Hajime sighed loudly, scratched his head, and looked down at Yue.
“I’ll follow you no matter what your decision is. Do what you want.”
“Yue…” She took his hand in hers, and he gently squeezed back. He was eternally grateful to Yue for being so understanding.
“M-Me too! I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, Hajime-san!” “Heh. Naturally, I too will always be by your side, Master.” “Umm, umm, Myu will too!”
The others quickly spoke up before Hajime and Yue could start flirting again. Myu didn’t fully grasp what was going on, but she didn’t want to be left out of the fun.
“What’s with this harem development…” Endou muttered in disbelief. Hajime ignored him, then turned to face his reliable comrades.
“Thanks, guys. To be honest, I really don’t want to deal with god’s chosen hero… but there’s someone I owe a debt to, so I’m gonna go save her. Though knowing them, they might have fought their way out already.”
In all honesty, Hajime couldn’t have cared less about Kouki and most of the other students. In fact, he would’ve preferred not to get close to them, since they were effectively being manipulated by this world’s corrupt gods.
Still, he’d always felt bad about not letting Kaori know that he was still alive. He had no doubt the reason she’d pushed herself so far was because of him. She was one person he’d rush to save if she was ever in trouble. She’d been the only one who’d tried to protect him. And though he didn’t know it, even now she was soldiering on because she believed he was alive.
Besides, the danger to him would likely be negligible. From Endou’s description, he guessed the four-eyed wolves they’d encountered were the same ones Hajime had fought in Ur. And the chimeras and cats seemed no stronger than the monsters he’d fought in the first couple of floors of the labyrinth. He wouldn’t even break a sweat.
“U-Umm, does that mean you’re going to help?”
“Yeah. Chief Loa. If possible, I’d like you to still make this a formal request from the guild.”
“You don’t want the guild’s managers thinking they can ask you to do things for free?” “Pretty much. Oh yeah, one more thing. Do you have a room I can leave Myu in?” “Of course, that won’t be any problem at all.”
Endou breathed a huge sigh of relief when he heard Hajime was coming, but Hajime ignored him and continued talking to Loa.
He was hoping to leave Myu in the guild’s care while he went to rescue everyone. Strong as he was, he didn’t want to risk taking her somewhere that dangerous. Like before, Myu was not at all happy about being left behind. However, this time everyone managed to convince her together, and they left Tio to be her babysitter. Finally, they prepared to
depart, with Endou leading the way.
“Hey, hurry up and lead us there, Endou.”
“Hey, don’t kick me! And how come your personality’s so different from what it was before!”
“Quit asking dumb questions. Hurry up, I want to reach them in a day… No, half a day. I’m not happy about having to leave Myu behind, so we’re gonna get this done as fast as possible. I’m worried about leaving her alone in the hands of that pervert.”
“Man, you’ve like, really become a dad, haven’t you? And you’ve got a harem of beautiful girls with you…. What the heck happened for that meek Nagumo to end up like
this…” Endou grumbled to himself as they ran through the labyrinth floors. He’d regained some of his former composure now that he’d recruited Hajime’s help.
Endou had been pretty confident in his agility, but that pride had been ripped to shreds as Hajime and his friends easily outstripped his speed. He pushed on as fast as he could, praying that his friends were still safe…
“Ngh…”
“Suzu-chan!”
“Suzu!”
Suzu groaned and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was her two best friends, Kaori and Eri, looking happily down at her. It took her a few seconds to fully regain consciousness, but eventually her mind cleared up enough that she could speak.
“T-This is an unfamiliar ceiling.”
“Suzu, we know you’re a comedian at heart, but maybe you should lay off the jokes until you’re feeling better.”
Her voice came out as a hoarse croak. Shizuku had rushed over the moment she’d heard Suzu awaken. She was both impressed, and somewhat exasperated that Suzu would try to crack jokes even in this situation. She pulled off her leather canteen and brought it up to Suzu’s lips.
Suzu greedily gulped down the water.
“I feel like I’ve just come back to life, literally,” she exclaimed as she finished drinking. After that, she unsteadily rose into a sitting position. Kaori and Eri hurriedly supported her.
It was so very like Suzu to act cheerful even after she’d just recovered from near-fatal wounds. Her bright demeanor lifted the spirits of her classmates.
However, despite her forced cheerfulness, Suzu’s face was still pale. She’d burned through much of her mana with that last barrier, and she’d lost a lot of blood. There were dark circles in her eyes, and her smile was strained. It was a testament to the strength of
her will that she managed a smile at all. Both Shizuku and Kaori really respected Suzu for this very reason.
“Suzu-chan. You should rest for a bit longer. Your wounds have closed up, but you lost a lot of blood…”
“Ah, so that’s why I’m feeling so dizzy~ I can’t believe that horrible demon could do such a horrible thing to my fair skin… She pierced right through me. Hey, don’t you think that’d make for a great line in porn?”
“Suzu! You’re a girl, don’t say such vulgar things!” Eri blushed as she reprimanded Suzu. Nomura and Nakano, who were nearby, snorted with laughter, but Shizuku’s stern glare shut them up.
“Suzu, I’m glad you’re finally awake. We were really worried about you.” “Hey, you alright? You’re white as a sheet.”
Kouki and Ryutarou came over to check up on Suzu as well. Both of them were smiling tiredly.
Kouki especially had expended himself a great deal in the earlier battle. Fortunately, the after-effects of using Limit Break had finally begun to fade, and he was feeling a little better.
“Morning, Kouki-kun, Ryutarou-kun! So everyone managed to run away safely, then? Let’s see, everyone looks fine… Wait, is it just me, or are we missing someone?”
“Oh, you mean Endou. We told him to escape ahead of us. Since he’s the stealthiest out of all of us, we thought he might be able to slip through the floors unnoticed…”
Suzu glanced around the room, making sure all of her classmates were accounted for. Kouki explained everything that had happened since Suzu fell unconscious. Kondou and Saitou had been unpetrified some time before Suzu had woken up, so they’d already heard his explanation.
“I see. A lot happened while I was unconscious, huh… Oh yeah, thank you so much, Kaorin! It’s thanks to you that I’m still alive!”
“Healing’s my job, Suzu-chan. I only did what anyone would do. You don’t have to make such a big deal about it.”
“Man, you’re even cooler when you act all stoic like that! Will you marry me?”
“Suzu… you’ll just scare her if you propose while you’re still paler than a ghost. I really think you should rest for a bit longer.”
Suzu clung to Kaori, while Eri scolded her. Shizuku was waiting on standby to stop her by force if she went too far. In a way, it was business as usual for the four girls. Everyone else was worrying about the possibility that they might never see the light of day again, but these four girls were acting the same as always. Seeing them act so composed helped calm the other students down.
Unfortunately, someone had to go and ruin the atmosphere just as everyone was starting to look up.
“What are you guys smiling about? Nothing’s changed! We could still die at any minute! If you’ve got time to be cracking jokes, how about you think of a way out of this mess!” Kondou yelled at Suzu. Next to him, Saitou glared angrily at everyone.
“Come on, Kondou. You don’t have to put it like that. Suzu was just trying to cheer everyone up…”
“Shut up! You don’t have any right to talk to me like that! You… You lost! Thanks to that, I nearly died! Goddammit! Hero my ass!”
Kouki tried to calm Kondou down, but his words just added fuel to the fire. Kondou snapped, lashing out at Kouki this time.
“Bastard… Do you know why you’re still alive right now? It’s ’cause Kouki risked his life to make an escape route!” Ryutarou started yelling back, but Kondou wasn’t willing to back down.
“If you’d done your job and won, we wouldn’t have had to run away in the first place! Besides, anyone could tell that we were at a disadvantage! You should have just pretended to take the demon up on her offer and then killed her later! But no, you just had to act all noble and start fighting! This is all your fault!”
Kondou rose to his feet and stared Ryutarou down. Saitou and Nakano stood up as well, backing him up.
“Ryutarou, it’s fine. You’re right, Kondou. And I’ll take responsibility for my failure. Next time, I won’t lose! We know what those monsters are capable of, so we won’t get caught by surprise again. Next time that demon comes, we’ll win!” Kouki sounded confident, but Saitou wasn’t convinced. He turned to Kouki and muttered something darkly.
“But last time, you couldn’t win even with Limit Break.” “T-True, but… I-I’ll win this time!” “What makes you so sure?”
“Because this time, I’ll use Divine Wrath. As long as you guys can protect me while I’m casting…”
“But if you start casting such a long spell, the demon’ll know something big’s coming, won’t she? She’s sure to do something to stop it. Besides, we don’t even know if that was her entire army or if there’s more monsters.”
No matter how Kouki tried to reassure them, Kondou and his friends had lost faith in his strength. They began complaining one after another.
Living with the constant fear of death had eroded their composure. It was inevitable that they’d try to push the blame onto Kouki and start demanding he provide proof that he could win against those ridiculously strong monsters.
Ryutarou’s aggressive response only served to fan the flames of their resentment. Tsuji and Yoshino tried to break up their argument, but they only succeeded in worsening the situation.
Finally, it got to the point where Ryutarou and Kondou raised their weapons at each other. Nervous tension filled the atmosphere. Kouki put a hand on Ryutarou’s shoulder, trying to hold him back, but the blood had rushed to Ryutarou’s head now, so he simply glared angrily at Kondou, fists raised. Kondou glared back, his spear at the ready.
“Everyone, calm down! Whether you like it or not, Kouki’s our only hope of making it out of this alive! We need his Limit Break to have any chance of taking down that demon. There’s no way she’s going to let us go, and he’s the only way we can kill her. Why can’t you get that through those thick skulls of yours?” Shizuku tried to reason logically with Kondou and the others, but they weren’t in any mood to listen. Suzu even staggered to her feet and apologized to Kondou, but that didn’t help either. Just as Kaori was thinking the only way to get everyone to cool their heads was to bind the lot of them, she heard a low growl from outside the room.
“Grrrr…”
“Huh!?” Everyone present recognized that voice. They all froze, their frustration transformed into fear in an instant. Everyone knew what those monsters were capable of. They held their breath, afraid even the slightest noise would alert the monsters to their presence. Their eyes were glued to the hidden entrance to their room.
Claws scratched against the wall. Someone gulped. Endou had erased all traces of their scent from the area as well, so monsters, even high ranking ones, wouldn’t be able to find them that easily. That didn’t stop everyone from breaking out in a nervous sweat, though.
The party wasn’t anywhere near fully healed. Suzu especially was in no condition to fight. Kaori and Tsuji had taxed themselves to the limit to heal everyone, and had almost no mana left. The vanguard fighters had more or less made a complete recovery, but only half of the rearguard had enough mana to keep fighting. They were all out of mana potions too, so it’d be a few hours at least before they could be of any help.
The loss of Kaori, Suzu, and Tsuji would be especially hard to make up for. Everyone was hoping against hope that the wolves wouldn’t find them. All that separated them from death was a single door.
After a few minutes of pawing the walls, the monsters finally turned around. Silence filled the room. No one relaxed until they were sure the monsters had left. Once they could no longer sense the monsters’ presence, the students collectively breathed a huge sigh. Some of them fell to their knees in relief. Most of them were sweating buckets.
“If you’d kept arguing like that, they would have found us. For the love of god, just stay quiet until we’re all healed at least.”
“G-Got it…”
“W-We will…”
Shizuku wiped the sweat off her face. Kondou apologetically lowered his spear. Their close shave had given everyone a harsh wake up call.
Then, just as everyone started thinking they were safe…
“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” The door to their hideout was blasted to pieces.
“Uwaaah!?”
“Kyaaaaaah!”
It was blown apart with such force that the rubble struck Kondou and Yoshino hard enough to send them sprawling to the ground.
Shimmering outlines informed the party that they’d been found by a pack of Chimeras, the one enemy they’d hoped to avoid facing.
“Everyone, get in formation!”
“Goddammit! How’d they find us!?” Kouki quickly gave out orders as he unsheathed his sword. Without hesitation, he charged forward. Kouki couldn’t afford to let the monsters regroup. Chimeras were impossible to spot when they weren’t moving. Ryutarou stopped at the entrance, determined to prevent even a single monster from getting into the room. However…
“Uwooooooooo!”
“Ngh!”
A Super Bulltaur slammed into Ryutarou with the force of a tank. Ryutarou grappled with it for a moment before being overpowered and pushed to the ground.
Dozens of cats with tentacles took that opportunity to dart into the room. They lashed out with their numerous tentacles, taking the rearguard by surprise. A barrage of tentacles headed toward Kondou, who was still standing dumbfounded at the same spot he’d been when their argument had ended. He desperately tried to fend the tentacles off with his spear, but there were too many of them. However, just as he was about to be turned into a living pincushion…
“Sacred Shields!”
“Sacred Shields!”
Thirty or so glimmering shields appeared in front of Kondou. They appeared at an angle, deflecting the storm of tentacles. Kaori and Suzu’s instantaneous reactions, plus the fact that they were able to cast the spell with barely an incantation, were truly impressive. Together, they’d managed to put out thirty shields in the span of less than a second.
Still, because Suzu barely had enough strength to stand, and because Kaori was practically out of mana, their shields were more brittle than usual.
One after another, the shields of light shattered. Even though they’d been summoned at an angle to deflect the tentacles and not take them head on, they still didn’t have enough strength to endure the tentacles’ onslaught. The ones directly in front of Kondou were
repelled, but a few of the others made it through, heading straight for Nakano and Saitou.
They tried to dive out of the way, but as mages their physical stats weren’t very good. Though they managed to avoid any fatal wounds, they still took a considerable chunk of damage. One of the tentacles grazed Nakano’s shoulder, while another slammed through Saitou’s thigh, pinning him to the ground.
“Shinji! Yoshiki! Fuck! Daisuke, back them up!” “O-Okay.”
Ever since they’d escaped, Hiyama had seemed lost in thought. Kondou hadn’t said anything to him because he’d wanted to give him some space, but the time for contemplating had long since passed.
Kondou dragged Nakano and Saitou to Suzu’s side. Though Suzu’s physical condition was terrible, she’d recovered a considerable amount of her mana. He figured they’d be safest next to her. And because Kaori was next to her, she could heal them easier too.
“Kouki! Use your Limit Break and fight the monsters outside! We’ll handle the ones in here!”
“But Suzu can barely move…”
“At this rate we’ll just be overwhelmed! Please, you’ve gotta cut open a path for us!”
“Leave things here to me! No one’s dying on my watch!”
“Got it! I’ll be counting on you, then! Limit Break!” Kouki hesitated for a moment, but Shizuku and Ryutarou managed to convince him. He realized if he didn’t do something soon, they’d all be dead.
This was his first time activating Limit Break twice in a day. As expected, it put a great deal of strain on his body. Normally, he could maintain Limit Break for around 8 minutes, but he suspected it wouldn’t last that long the second time around. That meant he needed to focus on defeating the demon as fast as possible. He dashed out of the room at top speed.
When he emerged into the octagonal room, he was met with a disheartening sight. The demon was staring coldly at him, protected by a veritable army of monsters. A white two-headed raven sat on her shoulders.
He could feel his anger boiling up. She was the one who’d hurt his comrades. She was the one who’d had them hiding like cornered rats. And she was the one he needed to defeat if he wanted his friends to survive.
“Hmph, you certainly wasted a lot of my time. I’ll have you know I have missions far more important than dealing with you…”
“Shut up! I’m gonna rip that arrogant tongue out of your mouth! Prepare yourself!” Kouki began chanting a short spell. Without the full incantation, he doubted his Divine Wrath could harm the demon, but he was confident it would at least be powerful enough to cut open a path. His sword began to glow.
The demon sneered at him. At her command, two of the Super Bulltaurs pulled something out from behind her.
Kouki went slack-jawed when he realized what that “something” was. He was so shocked he even lowered his sword. Wide-eyed, he spoke in a trembling voice.
“M-Meld-san?” Indeed, what the Super Bulltaurs had dragged forth was Captain Meld. He was drenched in blood, and obviously on the verge of death. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that he was groaning occasionally, Kouki would have thought him already dead.
“Y-You bitch! Let Meld-san—!?” Kouki’s anger overrode his common sense and he charged forward. Having predicted that would happen, the demon was already prepared for his attack. Just before he reached her, he found his way barred by a looming shadow. He looked up with a start and saw a massive fist bearing down on him with inhuman speed.
He instinctively held up his left arm to shield himself. The giant fist blasted through his puny arm with ease, then connected with Kouki’s torso. Kouki felt like he’d just been hit by a truck. The blow sent him flying so far he slammed into the wall behind him. The force of the impact was large enough to leave a Kouki-shaped hole in the wall.
“Gaaah!” The air burst from his lungs and he slid to the ground in a pathetic heap. He slowly raised himself up with his remaining good arm, blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. That attack had been powerful enough to damage his organs.
From the looks of things, it had given him a concussion, too. His vision blurred as he looked up at what had hit him. A huge, three-meter-tall monster stood before him, its fist still outstretched.
The monster had the head of a horse with tusks, the torso of a man with four arms, and the lower half of a gorilla. It glared at Kouki with bloodshot eyes, steam billowing from its snout. This monster was on a completely different level from the ones they’d been fighting so far.
The horse-head monster retracted its fist and mercilessly charged Kouki. He stopped mere inches from Kouki’s face and brought its hands down in a crushing blow.
Kouki, who was still on all fours, trusted in his instincts and rolled to the side at the last second.
The monster’s fists slammed into the ground a second later, reddish-black shockwaves spreading outward from the point of impact. The ground literally exploded, a huge crater forming where the monster’s fists had struck.
This was this monster’s special magic, Mana Burst. It was as simple as it sounded. It just created shockwaves of mana at the point of impact. However, just because it was simple didn’t mean it wasn’t powerful.
No longer reeling from his concussion, Kouki finally rose to his feet. Still, before he could do more than raise his sword, the horse-head monster was in front of him, swinging its fist down.
Kouki tried to block the blow with his sword, but his left arm was broken, and his right arm alone couldn’t bear the impact. He was blown away once again, barely avoiding a fatal blow. He continued desperately defending against the monster’s four arms, and the shockwaves that came from each Mana Burst. His movements grew duller, and he couldn’t find a single opening to launch a counterattack.
“Ngh! How strong is this thing!? I’m even using Limit Break!” “Graaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Even with Limit Break active, Kouki was being easily overwhelmed. If he kept defending, eventually he’d just be beaten down. And so, he steeled himself to take a few hits, then went on the offensive.
However…
“Ah!?” Before he could launch an attack, his legs gave out. His Limit Break’s time limit was up. The recoil from using it twice in a short span of time was so great that he couldn’t even stand anymore.
The monster mercilessly pressed its advantage. As Kouki sunk to his knees, it slammed its fist cleanly into Kouki’s stomach. There was a massive boom as its fist connected.
“Gaha!” A spray of blood spewed from Kouki’s mouth as he flew back into the wall. The strain from using Limit Break, plus the damage from that last attack was more than his body could handle. He fell to the ground, unconscious. The only reason he wasn’t dead was because the monster had held back on its final attack.
It walked up to Kouki and gruffly lifted him by his collar. It presented the unconscious boy to its master, the demon. She nodded in satisfaction and recalled the monsters she’d sent into the students’ hideout.
A few minutes later, Shizuku and the others cautiously stepped outside. They despaired when they saw a massive monster more powerful than anything they’d faced before staring them down, a defeated Kouki in one of its arms.
“No way… Kouki… lost?”
“Th-This can’t be happening…” Shizuku cried out in disbelief.
Kaori and Suzu were too shocked to even say anything. They just stood there in stunned silence. Seeing that they’d all lost the will to fight, the demon coldly addressed the students.
“Hmph, I never thought it would be this easy. Looks like… you really were nothing more than overconfident brats after all. And here I was worrying I may have underestimated you.” Pale-faced, Shizuku nonetheless bravely asked the demon a question.
“How did you do it?”
“Hm? With this. See, look.” She nodded to Captain Meld, who was still held by the two Super Bulltaurs. When Shizuku spotted the half-dead knight, she realized instantly
what must have happened. The demon had used Meld to distract Kouki and hit him with a sneak attack. Anytime Kouki saw someone he knew hurt, he was liable to lose his cool.
The demon must have realized that as well from their last battle. And so, she’d hidden her strongest monster with the Chimera’s magic, and then baited him into range.
“So what do you want with us, then? There has to be a reason you didn’t just kill us all when you had the chance.”
“Yep. Looks like I was right, you really are the brains of this outfit. Don’t worry, it’s not some crazy request or anything. I just thought maybe I’d try inviting you guys over to our side one more time. Last time your little hero started waving his sword around before we could really talk. Unlike him, some of you actually seem pretty skilled, so I thought I’d ask again. Well, what do you say?”
A few of the students hesitated. Shizuku watched them out of the corner of her eye and asked her second question.
“What are you going to do with Kouki?”
“Fufu, you’re a sharp one. Sorry, but I can’t let your hero friend here live. I doubt he’ll change his mind about switching sides, and you guys probably can’t convince him to either, right? He’s one of those guys who thinks he’s better than everyone else, after all. He’ll have to die here.”
“I take it the same holds true for us if we refuse, correct?” “Naturally. There’s no way we can just let a future threat go, right?” “Aren’t you worried we’ll go along for now and then just betray you later?”
“Of course. So, if you do agree, we’ll be putting you on a leash. Don’t worry. We’ll just make it so you can’t turn against us, but otherwise you’re all free to do as you wish.”
“So semi-free slaves, basically. We can do whatever we want as long as it’s not attacking you guys.”
“Bingo. Thank god at least one of you has a brain. Now, I recommend you use that brain of yours to make the logical choice, unlike your poor hero friend.”
The other students listened to Shizuku and the demon’s conversation, a mixture of unease and fear in their eyes. If they refused, they’d be attacked by the same monster that had easily defeated Kouki. They would almost certainly die. However, if they agreed, they’d be muzzled like dogs, unable to ever fight against the demons again.
In other words, they would no longer be “Ehit’s chosen warriors.” Even if they returned to Heiligh, they doubted the Holy Church would be willing to shelter a bunch of kids who were no longer useful for the war effort, which also meant they’d likely never get to return home. Either way, their future looked bleak. Finally…
“I-I think we should take her up on her offer!” Eri was the first to speak. Trembling, she voiced her opinion. Surprised, Shizuku turned to look at her friend. On the other hand, Ryutarou went red with rage, then rounded on Eri.
“Eri, you backstabbing bitch! You’re just gonna abandon Kouki, huh!?” “Hiii!?”
“Ryutarou, calm down! Eri, why do you think we should say yes?” Eri shrank back in the face of Ryutarou’s wrath. Shizuku only just managed to restrain him in time. Eri took a deep breath and clasped her hands to her chest.
“I-I just… I just don’t want everyone to die… I don’t want Kouki-kun… to die either, but… Hic…” Tears began spilling from her eyes. Everyone else’s hearts began to waver as well. Another one of the students backed Eri up.
“I’m with Nakamura. There’s no way we can win. Our options are annihilation or survival. The choice should be obvious, right?”
“Hiyama… So you don’t give a shit about what happens to Kouki, huh!?”
“What do you want us to do, Sakagami? Die together with Amanogawa? That’s the only other option.”
“No! That’s not what I meant!”
“Then unless you’ve got a better plan, shut the hell up! Right now our priority is making sure as many of us get out alive as possible.” Hiyama’s words convinced even more of the students. Like he’d said, the only way to survive was to agree to the demon’s conditions.
The only reason they hadn’t agreed right away was because they’d felt guilty about abandoning Kouki just to save their own skins. They couldn’t bring themselves to sacrifice him like that.
The demon saw that they were beginning to waver, and offered a compromise.
“Hmm… If leaving your hero friend to die is the only thing you’re worried about… I don’t mind letting him live. Granted, I’ll have to put him on a much tighter leash than the rest of you. But if you want him to live, you all have to agree to defect.” Shizuku quietly clicked her tongue. She’d predicted the demon might try and make an offer like that. If she’d really planned on killing Kouki, she could have just killed him after defeating him. There was no reason to put on this whole show.
That meant the reason she’d kept him alive was so she could use him as a bargaining chip. Their first fight with the demon must have impressed her enough that she still wanted them for her army. The reason negotiations had broken down last time was because of Kouki’s self-righteous selfishness. Still, it was entirely possible the others weren’t so stubborn, which was why she’d devised this plan to win over everyone else.
First, she’d kept Kouki alive so the students wouldn’t hate her for killing one of their own. Second, she’d cornered the students into a choice between servitude and death. Third, she’d guided them into thinking submitting wouldn’t be such a terrible idea, as long as Kouki somehow got out alive. Finally, she’d promised to spare him as well, removing the final obstacle. This way, the students wouldn’t feel any guilt about choosing to surrender, making it seem like the only logical option.
This was despite the fact that there was no proof that she’d keep her end of the bargain. And it’d be too late for regrets if she killed Kouki after she’d collared all of them. That being said, it was still better than all of them dying here.
Even Shizuku, who had seen through the whole plot, was thinking agreeing would be for the best. As long as they could make it out of this situation alive, there was still some hope of saving Kouki.
It would be to the demon’s benefit for all of them to switch sides here too, so it was possible she’d try and treat them well. After all, losing Ehit’s chosen warriors would be a huge blow to the humans. Their best fighters would have defected. Their betrayal would undoubtedly leave the humans in despair. The demons could deal no greater blow to the humans.
Secondly, the students would be a huge boon to the demons’ fighting force. This particular demon’s primary mission was to clear the Great Orcus Labyrinth and obtain the godlike power said to be sleeping at its depths. So far, she’d easily been able to slaughter all the monsters she’d encountered, but there was no guarantee the lower floors would be as easy. She’d actually lost a good chunk of her fighting force to Kouki’s party, so she wanted to replenish her ranks. Recruiting Shizuku and the others was the most efficient way to do that.
And from her point of view, that was achievable with minimum effort. Her plan had gone without a hitch so far, and at this rate they would capitulate soon. Her lips twitched into a faint smile.
But then, at the last second, her carefully laid plans crumbled.
“G-Guys… don’t do it… Don’t listen to her…”
“Kouki!”
“Kouki-kun!”
“Amanogawa!”
Kouki had finally woken up. Everyone’s eyes were on him.
“She’s lying to you… She killed… Alan-san and the others… Don’t… trust her… She’ll just make you into slaves… She’ll make you fight against the humans… Run… Don’t mind… me… Just… run…” Kouki would rather die than let his friends agree to a deal that was so obviously a trap. Even if there wasn’t a sure chance of success, he hoped they would run instead. However, Hiyama shook his head.
“How many of us do you think will even get away? Wake up, Amanogawa! We’ve lost! It sucks that the knights died, but… well, they knew what they were getting into! Nothing we can do about it! Right now, we need to save as many of us as we can!” His voice echoed throughout the chamber. Hiyama couldn’t believe Kouki refused to bend, even when it was obvious all hope was lost. All he was thinking about was how to make it out alive. In his mind, it didn’t matter if everyone else died as long as he and Kaori survived. However, if they made a break for it now, it was likely they’d all die.
On the other hand, if he they defected to the demons, there was a chance he could show off his value and get appointed to a high-ranking post. If that happened, it was all but guaranteed that he could make Kaori his own. Especially if these “leashes” the demon was talking about could make someone do anything. As long as Kaori was his, he didn’t care if she still had any free will of her own or not. He saw her as little more than an object.
Once again, the students wavered. Hiyama’s words had swayed them, but they also respected Kouki.
Then, an unexpected voice chimed in with their opinion. It was a hoarse, barely audible voice, but everyone heard it clearly. It came from the person everyone respected the most in this world. The one they trusted to make accurate judgments no matter the situation. The one everyone saw as their role model. To many of them, his words were law. And this is what he said:
“Ngh… You kids… think only about how you’re going to survive! Do whatever it takes to stay alive! I’m sorry… for dragging you all into our war… The more time I spent with you all… the more I came to regret relying on you to solve our problems… so please, live to make it home… Don’t worry about us… From the start… this was our fight to fight!” Those weren’t the words of Heiligh’s knight commander anymore. They were the words of a single man, Meld Loggins. This was what he personally wished for, not what his job required of him. The reason he’d finally dropped his responsibilities was because he knew this was where he would die.
As the students all stared at him in shock, he squeezed out the last ounce of his strength and shook the Super Bulltaurs holding him off. His body began to glow with light and he threw himself at the demon.
“Demon… I’m taking you with me!”
“Wait, that’s… Heh, planning on blowing yourself up? How very gallant of you. I must say, I’m actually rather impressed.”
“Die!” The light grew to a blinding intensity. Meld looked just like Kouki did when he was using Limit Break, but upon closer inspection it became evident that the light was coming not from Meld’s body, but from the pendant hanging about his neck.
The demon recognized the pendant, and praised Meld for his resolve.
The jewel inside the pendant was known as “Loyalty’s Promise.” It was a magical item that created a powerful explosion in return for the caster’s life. All of the high-ranked members of the Heiligh Kingdom and Holy Church were aware of what it did. As the dark magic demons employed included spells that could read a portion of their target’s memories, all powerful people within the kingdom carried one around with them. If they were ever to be captured, they could use it to kill themselves, and hopefully their enemy, and keep the demons from learning any valuable information.
The students called out to Meld when they realized what he was trying to do. The demon, however, who was the target of the attack, seemed wholly unconcerned.
Meld’s jewel grew brighter and brighter. Just before it burst, the demon acted.
“Devour it whole, Absod.” And just like that, the light coming from Meld’s Loyalty’s Promise vanished.
“Wha—!? How on earth!?” Strictly speaking, it hadn’t vanished. It was being sucked away. He turned to the direction the light was going and saw a six-legged turtle with its maw open wide. That was what was sucking away Meld’s final attack.
It seemed that monster’s name was Absod. Its special magic was “Mana Absorption.” It could absorb the mana of other people’s spells and store it in its shell. However, it couldn’t absorb multiple spells at once, nor could it transform the mana into anything else. All it could do was suck in a spell and fire it back out. Still, it was capable of sucking up even high level magic. It was the natural enemy of mages.
Soon enough, all the light from Meld’s Loyalty’s Promise had been sucked up, leaving it no more than a simple jewel. As he watched, dumbfounded, something suddenly slammed into Meld’s torso. The impact wasn’t all that strong. He looked down to see what had hit him.
There was a dull brown knife sticking out of his stomach. More specifically, a blade made out of sand had been thrust so deep into him that the tip was poking out of his back. Drops of blood dripped from its tip, staining the rock below.
“Meld-san!” Kouki coughed up blood as he called out to his mentor. Meld looked from his wound up to Kouki. “Sorry,” he mouthed with a bitter smile.
The sand blade swung to the side, sending Meld flying. He hit the ground like a ragdoll, and lay unmoving where he landed. A pool of blood spread out from under his stomach. Everyone could tell the wound was fatal. It was a wonder he’d managed to move at all with the wounds he’d already had, but this time he really was done for.
Though she knew it wouldn’t make it in time, Kaori still desperately tried to cast long-range healing magic. She succeeded in staunching the blood loss for a short while, but Kaori was out of mana too, and she didn’t have the strength left to close the wound.
“Nooo! Please! Don’t die!” Kaori was so drained of mana that she couldn’t even stand, but she still continued casting without pause.
“I honestly didn’t think he had enough strength left to stand, let alone pin me down. So this is what the kingdom’s strongest knight is like. You’ve earned my respect. Unfortunately, you’ll have to die here… This time, I’ll be sure to finish you off. How about the rest of you? Is this as far as you all go as well?” The demon flung the blood off her sand-blade and stared at Kouki and the students. Most of the students were trembling in fear. This was the second time they’d seen someone close to them die. They knew in the back of their minds that unless they submitted, they’d be next.
Hiyama opened his mouth to accept, but someone cut him off before he could.
“…us.” Kouki muttered something so quietly that it was barely audible. Even though he was in no state to do anything, there was a heavy pressure emanating from him. Hiyama swallowed the words he was about to say.
“Huh? What was that, you half-dead hero?” The demon scoffed at Kouki, certain the most he could do was whine like always. He lifted up his face and glared daggers at the demon.
She fell silent when she saw the look in his eyes. Possibly because his pupils had turned silver and were now glowing. The immense pressure he was radiating forced her to stagger backward. Her instincts screamed that whatever he was doing was dangerous. Now was not the time to worry about appeasing the other kids. She needed to kill the hero right away.
“Ahatod! Finish him!”
“Rwaaaaaaaaah!” The horse-headed monster, Ahatod, roared obediently. It activated its Magic Shockwaves and pounded on Kouki with two of its fists.
However, just as they reached him, Kouki’s entire body was enveloped in a violent whirlpool of white light. It rose up to the ceiling, turning into a solid glowing pillar. He slammed his fist into the arm that was holding him, pulverizing it instantly.
“Raaaaaaaaaah!” Ahatod screamed in pain and dropped Kouki. With movements that seemed impossible given his current wounded state, Kouki followed up with a swift roundhouse kick.
There was a loud boom as his foot connected, and this time it was Ahatod that was sent flying into the wall. Ahatod tried to rise back to its feet, but it no longer had the strength to move. It lay there in the wall, struggling fruitlessly.
Kouki hopped from foot to foot and stretched his hand out. His sword responded to his call and flew back to him. He glared coldly at the demon. The giant pillar of light subsided, and Kouki’s body began to glow even brighter than when he’d used Limit Break.
The dire situation had unlocked his full potential, and he’d learned Limit Break’s only derivative skill, Overload.
While Limit Break only tripled someone’s base stats, Overload multiplied them by five. Though, it also put even more of a strain on the body than Limit Break, forcibly drawing out every ounce of strength its caster possessed. At best, Kouki could maintain this state for 30 seconds. And the exhaustion that followed would be twice as debilitating.
Still, he was too angry to worry about any of that right at the moment. He let his wrath take over and charged the demon. His only thought was to get revenge for Meld. That was what was giving him the strength to remain standing.
The demon seemed flustered for the first time, and she hurriedly ordered her monsters to defend her. The Chimeras, cats, and Super Bulltaurs all rushed him as one. Claws, tentacles, and maces all descended upon him. However, Kouki didn’t even bat an eyelid. He swept them all aside with a single stroke of his blade and continued charging the demon.
“You monster! How dare you kill Meld-san!”
“Tch!”
Kouki swung his sword down without a moment’s hesitation. The demon clicked her tongue and transformed her sand sword into a sand shield, but Kouki’s sword sliced through it like it was butter, and bit deep into the demon’s shoulder.
The only reason she hadn’t been sliced in half was because she’d had the foresight to leap back before Kouki’s blow struck. Still, her wound was deep, and the shockwave from his attack had sent her flying backward.
She slammed into the wall and slumped to the ground. Kouki swung his sword from side to side as he advanced upon the demon.
“Unbelievable… I didn’t think it was possible for you to make a comeback from that… If this is some kind of joke, I don’t much like the punchline.” This was as cliched as it got. The hero getting a sudden burst of strength just when everything was beginning to look hopeless. The demon’s mouth curled up into a sardonic grin. She seemed resigned to her fate.
The white raven perched on her shoulder had started casting healing magic, but it was too late. She wouldn’t recover in time to defend against Kouki’s next attack. Realizing this was checkmate, the demon pulled out a small locket from her pocket.
Thinking she was planning on blowing herself up like Meld had been, Kouki hurriedly closed the distance between them. He didn’t care if the demon died, but he didn’t want his comrades caught up in the explosion. He needed to finish her off before she set off the bomb. However, the locket didn’t have a Loyalty’s Promise in it.
“I’m sorry, Mikhail… it looks like I’ll be going on ahead of you… I love you…” Surprised by her words, Kouki hesitated for a second. He hadn’t expected the demon to have a lover. Confused, the demon looked back up. She should have been dead by now, but Kouki’s sword had stopped a few millimeters in front of her face.
Kouki stared at her dumbly. The two locked gazes for a few seconds. There was something in her eyes that made shivers run down Kouki’s spine.
Seeing his hesitation, and guessing what had caused it, the demon sneered at him again. Her scorn shook Kouki even further
“Pathetic. Did you only just realize that you’re about to kill someone?”
“Ah!?” Up until that point, Kouki had been taught by Ishtar that demons were heartless and cruel, no better than monsters, really. In fact, he’d thought they were basically like an advanced form of monsters. The fact that they were using monsters to fight had only further cemented that idea in his mind. He had never considered that they might be just like people, that they had friends, lovers, parents, things they were willing to fight and die for. Rather, he hadn’t wanted to consider that possibility, but when he’d seen the demon staring at her locket, Kouki had been forced to confront reality. The reality that who he was about to kill wasn’t some heartless “demon,” but a person with feelings just like him. Killing her, whether it was justified or not, would make him a murderer.
“To think you didn’t even consider us people until now… Rather arrogant of you, don’t you think?”
“N-No, I… I just didn’t know…”
“Hmph… More like you didn’t care to find out.”
“I-I…”
“Well, what are you waiting for? I’m just another monster to be hunted down, right? Another soulless creature to be eliminated. Get it over with already. You’ve done this hundreds of times already.”
“I-If we just talked things out… I-I’m sure we could…” Kouki lowered his sword. The demon looked at him with eyes full of contempt. By way of a reply, she gave out orders to her monsters.
“Ahatod, get the swordswoman! The rest of you, attack the others!” Ahatod had finally recovered enough to move. It dutifully got up and lumbered toward Shizuku. While Shizuku didn’t possess the overwhelming charisma Kouki did, she was the one who always calmly analyzed every situation and came up with the optimal solution. In a way, she was the most dangerous member of the party.
That was why the demon had sent Ahatod after her, while the rest of the monsters kept the others at bay. She’d made up her mind. It would be better to kill them all here than try to bring them over to their side. Kouki’s sudden power spike had proven too dangerous. He couldn’t be allowed to live.
“What!? Why!?”
“You still don’t get it, do you? We’re at war, kid! An immature brat like you having so much power is a threat! That’s why I have to kill you all. You better go save your friends or they’ll all die!” The demon had no interest in negotiating anymore.
Kouki turned around just in time to see Shizuku get sent flying by Ahatod. Ahatod was far stronger than even the other monsters the demon had brought with her. Surprise attack or no, it had managed to overpower Kouki even while he was using Limit Break. There was no way Shizuku stood a chance.
Pale-faced, Kouki rushed over to Shizuku. With his body strengthened with Overload, he was able to block Ahatod’s fists. Then, in one fluid motion, he cut off one of Ahatod’s arms.
But before he could deal the finishing blow, he felt himself go weak at the knees once more. He pitched forward, unable to maintain his balance.
Overload’s time limit was up. Taxed far beyond its limits, Kouki’s body froze up. After using Limit Break twice in one day and then Overload right after, he didn’t even have the strength to move.
“D-Dammit, why now of all times!?”
“Kouki!” Shizuku rushed forward, covering for Kouki. She aimed her slash at the
wound Kouki had just created. Even a powerful monster like Ahatod couldn’t endure having its wounds gouged out, so it backed away screaming. Shizuku took that opportunity to grab Kouki and retreat to the safety of their comrades.
Kouki was out of commission, and everyone had their hands full keeping the other monsters at bay. I’m the only one who can do it! Shizuku thought to herself. She glared coldly at the demon. Unlike Kouki, she was prepared to kill.
“Oh my, I see you’re prepared to kill. You’re more fit to be the hero than that spoiled brat over there.” The white raven had finished healing the demon, and she slowly got to her feet.
“It doesn’t matter who the hero is. It’s our fault that we didn’t realize he wasn’t prepared to kill, but I’ll rectify that mistake here and now!” Shizuku had known just how straightforward and naive Kouki was, and she’d known he’d never fought another person before. She blamed herself for leaving that problem alone until it was too late.
It wasn’t as if Shizuku had any experience killing others either. Honestly, she didn’t particularly want to experience it, either. However, she’d known that if they were fighting in a war, the day where she had to would come eventually. Ever since she’d first picked up a sword, she’d been taught about the weight of a life, and what it meant to hurt another person.
It finally seemed like the moment had come, but she could feel her resolve wavering. The reality of what she was about to do weighed heavily on her, and she felt like just curling up into a ball and crying. Still, she stamped down her feelings and resolutely stared down the demon.
She settled into her stance, then prepared to launch her fastest attack.
However, a second before she could, she felt shivers run down her spine. Trusting her instincts, she leaped to the side. Not even a second later, one of the cats’ tentacles shot through the spot she’d been standing.
“I never said Ahatod was the only monster after you. Your resolve is admirable, but do you really believe you can kill me while evading your other foes?”
“Ngh!”
“And it’s not like I’m going to just stand here doing nothing, either.” As she said that, the demon began chanting a spell.
Thanks to her No Tempo, Shizuku’s attacks couldn’t be predicted. She continued fending off the waves of monsters that came after her, but she was unable to find an opening to close in on the demon.
The worst part was that Ahatod could match Shizuku’s inhuman speed. Despite its massive frame, it was able to keep up with her. Every time Shizuku thought she was getting close, Ahatod would show up and blow her away with its fists.
Shizuku mainly relied on her agility in a fight, so her defense was paper-thin. Instead, she used only her speed to dodge and parry blows, but because Ahatod’s Magical
Shockwaves still hit her even if she dodged its fists, she kept on taking more damage. At this rate, it was a matter of time before she was beaten down.
Worse, every bit of damage she took dulled her movements ever so slightly. And in a battle as close as this one, that would be fatal.
“Gaaah!”
Finally, one of Ahatod’s blows connected. Shizuku tried to parry with her sword and sheath, but its powerful fist smashed right through her weapons and into her shoulder.
She skid across the ground, coming to a stop a few meters away. Drained of all her strength, she lay there, unmoving. Her right arm was bent at an unnatural angle. It was clearly broken. The blow had done a number on her internal organs as well, and she was coughing up blood.
“Shizuku-chan!” Kaori cried out, but her friend simply lay there, her hands still tightly gripping her broken blade and sheath.
At that moment, thoughts about their current plight and the fact that she was completely out of mana vanished from her mind. Kaori knew she couldn’t do anything even if she went to Shizuku’s side, but all she could think about was how her best friend was in danger.
She ran toward Shizuku. Because she was completely drained of mana, her footsteps were unsteady, and she nearly tripped. Her comrades tried to stop her, but she didn’t listen. Nothing was more important than Shizuku right now. Naturally, monsters swarmed toward the now defenseless Kaori.
However, walls of shining light rose up to block their path. The glowing barriers created an unbroken road toward Shizuku.
“Ehehe. No one wants to be alone at the end.” Suzu had done the impossible. Though she was on the verge of fainting, she’d managed to create a wall of barriers stretching from her to Shizuku. There was a faint smile on her lips.
Suzu knew they were all going to die here.
And so, the least she could do was use the last of her magic to make sure her best friends didn’t die alone. This, of course, meant her barriers protecting the rest of the party weakened. Suzu mentally apologized to the rest of her friends, but even if she’d done her best to fight, they were doomed.
A few attacks managed to get through and graze Kaori, but she was able to reach Shizuku more or less intact. She lifted Shizuku’s limp body and held her close.
“K-Kaori… what are you doing… Hurry up and go back to the others. It’s too dangerous for you to be out here.”
“No. It’s dangerous no matter where I go. If this is where it ends, I at least want to be by your side, Shizuku-chan.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t beat her.”
“I’m sorry I can’t do more either. I don’t have any mana left.”
Kaori smiled at Shizuku and cast a small spell to dull Shizuku’s pain. It was such a basic spell that it cost practically no mana. Shizuku gripped Kaori’s hand with her remaining good hand and smiled back.
A huge shadow covered the two of them. Ahatod had arrived. It stared down at the two girls with bloodshot eyes. With a ferocious roar, it raised all four of its fists.
Suzu’s barrier was still protecting the two of them, but it may as well have been tissue paper in the face of Ahatod’s immense strength. One blow would have been all that it would take to smash Suzu’s walls to pieces, and the shockwaves would be enough to kill Kaori and Shizuku.
As she stared death in the face, memories of her life flashed through Kaori’s mind.
So this is what they mean when they said your life flashes before your eyes when you’re about to die. For some reason, Kaori felt extremely calm. The last thing to pass through her mind was that moonlit night she’d vowed to protect Hajime. She remembered every word they’d exchanged. The terrible taste of the tea he’d made. The way he’d smiled awkwardly when he’d suggested she protect him. It was only after he’d fell that she realized she loved him. She’d come this far because she’d believed he was still alive, but all of that was coming to an end.
“In the end, I couldn’t keep this promise either.” Tears spilled from Kaori’s eyes. She’d hoped if they ever met again that they could start calling each other by their first names.
If this was going to be the end, she at least wanted the memory of having said his name at least once.
“Hajime-kun…”
And so, she resigned herself to her fate, but…
There was a thunderous crash, and the ceiling above Ahatod’s head crumbled. A giant jet-black spike punched through the hole, red sparks running down its length. The spike smashed into Ahatod’s head with considerable force. Ahatod never stood a chance. The spike tore through Ahatod like he was butter, destroying the monster that had caused Kouki and the others so much trouble with ease.
The spike drilled into the floor, Ahatod’s ravaged body pinned to the ground by its 120 centimeter long length. The fearsome monster was barely recognizable.
Everyone present was stunned into silence. Kaori, Shizuku, Kouki, and even the demon stared blankly at the spike.
A silence unbefitting of a battlefield fell across the room. A single figure dropped from the hole in the ceiling, breaking the fragile silence.
He landed softly, his back facing Kaori and Shizuku. Carefully, he examined his surroundings as he kicked away bits of Ahatod’s flesh. Then, he turned to face the two girls huddling behind him.
The moment Kaori locked eyes with him, she felt a shiver of electricity run down her spine. Ever since that fateful day, it had felt like her heart had been encased in a block of ice, but in an instant it had thawed, and now she could hear it pounding loudly in her ears.
“I see you two are as inseparable as always.” Kaori could feel her heart bursting with joy.
His hair color was different. He looked like a different person. The way he talked was different. Even the look in his eyes was different.
But Kaori knew. She could tell instantly.
It was him. The person she’d been searching all this time for.
It was Hajime.
“Hajime-kun!”
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