ã€ŠInstant Deathã€‹


 Volume 1, 1 - Die

    <h4>Volume 1, Chapter 1 - Die</h4>

    "Come on! Wake up already, hey!"

    Yogiri Takatou woke up to being shouted at.

    Eyes droopy from just waking up he stared at the girl that was shaking his shoulders. She was wearing a school uniform, much like him.

    "Who were you again?"

    Yogiri was confused. Before he had fallen asleep, the seat next to him, the one in the far back of the field trip''s sightseeing bus, belonged to a boy, not a girl.

    "Tomochika Dannoura!"

    Tomochika''s yelling sounded desperate. Yogiri remembered that she was one of his ssmates, but other than her name he hardly knew anything about her.

    "Are we there already?"

    He asked while rubbing his eyes, recalling that they were headed to a ski resort in Nagano. It was strange for Tomochika, who could barely be called an acquaintance, toe wake him, but the time did feel about right for arrival.

    "No! Forget about that! What should we do!?"

    "Sorry, what?"

    "How did you even sleep until now!? There was so much chaos!"

    Yogiri absentmindedly looked towards the front of the bus, seeking the source of Tomochika''s panic.

    His field of vision felt distorted.

    It wasn''t his tired eyes ying tricks on him, the bus'' frame had been crushed. Furthermore, a white something pierced through the wall of the bus, impaling a boy from his ss.

    "Yeah, I can see how that would cause chaos."

    Yogiri, now understanding the reason behind Tomochika''s panic, continued to inspect the bus from his seat.

    It was dented all over the ce and the ceiling and walls were full of holes. On the floor there was a copsed girl, covered in blood. Based on the gaping hole in her chest she was most likely dead.

    Given the emptiness of the bus the majority of students must have already escaped. Other than Yogiri and Tomochika the only potential survivor seemed to be their impaled ssmate, but he didn''t look like he''dst much longer.

    What impaled him looked like a white spear that had sprouted thorns. However, it was no lifeless weapon; it squirmed.

    With barely noticeable trembling it stretched and contracted--most likely part of some living creature, but Yogiri wasn''t familiar with an animal that possessed such a long, unpleasant looking organ.

    "What even is that?"

    "Don''t ask me, like I''d know!"

    Tomochika lost it.

    Yogiri looked out of the window and saw a huge something with scaled skin clinging to the bus.

    "Looks like a snake. Oh, maybe a lizard?"

    Either way it was creepy.

    Yogiri picked up a karaoke mic that had rolled up to his feet and threw it at the white something.

    GIAAAaAAaAaaAAA

    The mic hit the organ dead on and the creature let out an eardrum bursting scream. The part that had been shoved into the bus quickly retracted and the impaled boy dropped to the floor. The huge monster hastily took some distance, finally allowing Yogiri get a good look of it.

    "So it was a wyvern, I see."

    A two-legged winged monster that was huge even among dragons.

    The organ from earlier was wriggling near the wyvern''s crotch, most likely its reproductive organ. They appeared to have been attacked by a dragon in heat, and as if that wasn''t already difficult enough to believe, the scenery from outside the window further surprised Yogiri.

    A grass in stretched out before him.

    "I''m pretty sure when Ist looked out the window it was a snowy road at night though."

    "Who cares about that right now! Why''d you have to make it angry!"

    Tomochika, driven by panic, grabbed Yogiri at his cor and shook him.

    In his shaky field of vision he noticed the dragon''s re and mes leaking from its mouth like manifested rage.

    "Ah!"

    His eyes still on the dragon Yogiri let out a voice of realization.

    "What? Did you figure something out that''ll save us!?"

    Tomochika stared at him with expectation sparkling in her eyes.

    "Huh? Oh, no. I was just thinking ''So this is what dragons having sex with cars was about.''"

    "What are you even talking about!?"

    Dragons having sex with cars was one of many peculiar modern crazes, but before Yogiri could begin his exnation he was interrupted.

    ROoOoOOO

    The dragon roared and set its massive wings into motion, raising its ridiculouslyrge body into the air and after gaining some height it nosedived back down towards them.

    Yogiri voiced his thoughts.

    "Now it''s looking grim."

    The bus'' inside was nted, the aisle was narrow and on top of that there were corpses lying around. Escaping it in time seemed impossible.

    Well, no helping it.

    The plunging dragon seemed a fitting metaphor for life''s fall of the curtain, Yogiri thought. He had never been particrly attached to life.

    "We''re finished!"

    Tomochika cried out desperately as she clung to Yogiri, who had already given up. Her fairly voluminous chest changed shape as it pushed into Yogiri.

    You couldn''t call it ufortable.

    He might be unsociable, but Yogiri was still a man. He had to admit, he somewhat felt a duty to protect Tomochika now that it hade to this.

    And thus, Yogiri changed his mind about never using his ability.

    "Die."

    He determined his target and released his power.

    Its wings stopped immediately.

    The loss of bnce made the dragon''s massive body spin and gain momentum while it fell from the sky until it finally crashed into the in. Earth and grass flew through the air as it slid across the ground.

    Bump!

    The bus shook from the dragon''s collision with it.

    Fortunately, the friction from plowing through the earth like that had taken away a good amount of its momentum. Yogiri didn''t feel much of an impact.

    "Now how should we go from here."

    They had escaped danger for the time being, but the situation was still beyond Yogiri''s understanding.

    "Dannoura-san. Looks like we''re saved."

    "¡­Really?"

    She continued to cling onto him for a little while longer, but after realizing that things had quieted down she hesitantly lifted her head and separated from Yogiri.

    "Huh? But why? What just happened?"

    Tomochika looked out of the window with a vacant gaze.

    "That''s what I''d like to ask, but let''s stop panicking first, okay? Rest a little and we''ll talk after that."

    Before discussing what to do next there was a need to get a grasp on the situation. Tomochika''s cooperation was necessary for that, but because of how visibly distraught she was Yogiri decided to wait for her to calm down first.

    He took his handheld console out of his bag and booted it up. It was a popr hunting game that he had started ying just recently.

    "Does this seem like the time to y Monster Hu©–©–er to you!"

    Tomochika was being surprisingly rational.

 Chapter 2 - My power level is 530,000

    <h4>Chapter 2 - My power level is 530,000</h4>

    "Hey. Shouldn''t we hurry outside already?"

    "And from there? We don''t even know if it''s safe."

    "I appreciate your reasonable words and all, but would you mind not ying

    Mo©–©–ter Hunter while saying them?"

    Yogiri was still sitting in the back row of the sightseeing bus, ying video games while waiting for Tomochika to calm down.

    "Say, I''ve been watching since earlier, but aren''t you a little too bad at that?"

    "I don''t know either, it''s weird. What''s with this dy after three hits? I don''t remember being this bad at it."

    "That''s the adept style, right? How about switching to striker? That doesn''t have a dy after the three hitbo."

    "Seriously?"

    "Seriously."

    Yogiri switched styles as he was told and indeed, now the weapon handling was much closer to that of the prequels.

    "Whoah, nice!"

    "Also, you''re being way too reckless for ancer. When yingnce you stop after two attacks when it looks like you''ve got time for three, and after one attack when it looks like you''ve got time for two, always move in a way that lets you transition into either guarding or evading¡­ actually, isn''t this the totally wrong time for this?"

    "It''s like you''re the goddess ofnces or something."

    "Pretty sure that much ismon knowledge¡­"

    Nheless, Tomochika was ttered.

    "¡­Calmed down?"

    "I guess. The fact that people died is still on my mind, but maybe I''m numb from the shock. The smell has be bearable as well."

    Yogiri judged that the she had calmed down enough. He put his console on sleep and turned to her.

    "Alright, can you tell me about what happened up until now?"

    "Not like I know you that well, but you sure are the type to stick to his own pace, huh¡­ The events so far then, right? Well, it seems we were transported to a different world, and there are these sages, and everyone became a sage candidate, and Yazaki-kun started taking control of things and-"

    "Wait, what? Can you start at the beginning?"

    "Ah, okay."

    Tomochika told Yogiri about everything that had transpired so far.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    After passing through the tunnel they were in a field.

    "Hueh?"

    Tomochika''s absentminded gazing out of the window was interrupted by an idiotic sounding voice. It was her own.

    She was certain it had been night just a few moments ago, yet all of a sudden she and her ssmates had found themselves in broad daylight. The snowy mountain scenery disappeared as well, making ce for a grass-covered in.

    A momentter the rest of the students took notice of the absurd change in location and soon the whole bus was in uproar.

    "Mikochi, any idea where we are?"

    Tomochika turned to the girl in the seat next to her, Romiko Jougasaki.

    "A grass in, I guess?"

    "I meant, you know, on arger scale¡­"

    Panic made its way through the confused students and the bus came to a full stop.

    A woman in a white dress got on.

    ''A pitiful person with a thing for cosying as a magical girl,'' was Tomochika''s first impression of the new passenger.

    "Greetings, sage candidates. My name is Sion, Grandchild of the Great Sage."

    Even Tomochika with her tendency foric relief one-liners was too bewildered to voice a single word. However, that may have been for the best. One uninvited interruption and things could have ended badly, as her homeroom teacher demonstrated.

    "Who do you think you are! Are you responsible for¨D¨D"

    It would have been a good line, full of vigor, but he didn''t get to finish it. Sion casually grasped his head and¡­

    pop

    With a hushed noise the teacher''s cranium cracked, then burst, sttering the front row seats with blood and gray matter.

    "No interruptions, please. The conduct I rmend all of you take is shaking from fear with ttering teeth. Don''t act out of line, pay attention."

    The bus fell into silence; the students had immediately grasped the danger Sion posed.

    "I don''t intend to cause direct harm to any sage candidates, but that only goes for as long as you don''t get on my nerves. Make sure to take care in that regard, okay? My power level is 530,000."

    (Note: A Dragon Ball Z reference.)

    No one moved a muscle. Tomochika didn''t throw in a quip.

    "Aw, you could''veughed there."

    Sion spoke as she moved her left hand towards the driver''s seat.

    Light gathered in her palm and in the next moment the bus driver, along with his whole seat, burned to nothing.

    "See? I got irritated because my joke fell t and here I went killing again."

    Confronted with Sion''s disregard for life the kids curled up even more.

    "This may look terribly unreasonable to you all, but that''s just how the world is. Can never know what the future brings. Well then, I''ll be allowing myself to exin the current situation. You might have already noticed, but as far as you are concerned this ce is a parallel universe. And I am the one that summoned you."

    There was no way they could ept an exnation like being transported to a parallel universe just like that, but despite their disbelief they remained silent, doing as Sion had told them and staying in line.

    "The purpose behind your summoning was to have you all take the roles of sage candidates. Sages are the ones managing this world, but a decrease in number every now and then raises a need for the asional replenishment."

    Sion pointed her right hand towards the students and the bus filled with ring light; Tomochika was prepared for death.

    But nothing happened.

    Ever so timidly she opened her eyes and saw that Romiko next to her was glowing in a blue light. The ssmates on the other side of the aisle were red and yellow.

    She stood up to take a look through the bus and saw that everyone was shining in various colors.

    ¨D¨DHuh? What''s going on? Um, I''m not glowing, hello?

    Was it a good sign, or a bad sign?

    Tomochika did feel some unease about the idea of undergoing the same phenomenon, but she couldn''t help feel like being left behind.

 Chapter 3 - Everyone, please listen!

    <h4>Chapter 3 - Everyone, please listen!</h4>

    All the students'' glowing and beaming made it feel like a rainbow was running through the bus, giving it the air of a modern day fairy-tale.

    "Your powers differ based on color, but for convenience just think of it as the more vivid the glow the stronger the power. Everyone''s light will fade in a moment, I rmend you take mental note of who looks powerful before that happens. Getting on the good side of strongpanions continues to prove a solid method of survival."

    Taking Sion''s advice to heart the students began frantically scanning their ssmates for promising individuals.

    Tomochika wasn''t the only one that wasn''t sparkling, but they were a drastic minority.

    "Version 02.87.05.11 of Battle Song has just been installed in you all. With the install sessful you should be seeing all the license holders'' logos right about

    now. Vexing, I know, but they''re only there during boot-up so please bear with it as it finishes setting up."

    Tomochika, who had still been standing, sat down again and stared forward. All she could see was the bus seat in front of her.

    Whatever Sion was talking about, she couldn''t see it.

    "Mikochi, are you seeing anything?"

    With a rising sense of unease Tomochika asked Romiko in the neighboring seat.

    "Yeah. A bunch of colorful text is floating around, not sure what''s going on. ''Status,'' it says. Oh, it''s in ournguage. That''s strange, right?"

    So it really was visible to everyone else.

    Tomochika was wavering, it seemed to have been a bad sign after all. The feeling of being left out just wouldn''t leave her alone.

    "With this you will gain the ability to use various special powers. Use them and work towards bing a sage. You have one month."

    "E-excuse me!"

    Tomochika bundled her resolve, rose to her feet and directly addressed Sion.

    "Yes?"

    "Ah, is it fine to ask questions?"

    "Sure, go ahead."

    Sion smiled gently.

    "Um, I didn''t glow earlier, and I''m not seeing any logos or anything either¡­"

    "My oh my."

    Sion''s gentle smile quickly turned into one of theatrical pity.

    "It''s regretful, but asionally there are ipatible individuals. Nothing to do about that, you''d best give up."

    Being told off just like that Tomochika was puzzled for a response. The premonition telling her she was heading towards a hopeless situation was growing more and more intense.

    "Moving on. You are all part of the same n, amunity of sorts. From here, please produce a sage from within that n. You may work together on turning only one of you into a sage, or even split up and be sages by yourselves, on your own. I''ll leave your course of action to you."

    "One more question! Why us, if I may ask!"

    Tomochika''s despair gave birth to belligerency.

    In response to her question she was stabbed with stares, the same message in all of their eyes: "Don''t act out of line!"

    "Oh, just a matter of statistics. Calctions suggested that this group has a high probability of producing a sage."

    "One more! Please tell me what happens if none of us turn into sages, if I may ask!"

    "Hm, what indeed. I suppose I''ll have you turned into livestock and wrung of your magical power. You will be shoved and locked into a dark magic tank where you will spend the entirety of your life. Work hard, okay?"

    It was a future more miserable than what Tomochika could have imagined.

    That was herst question.

    "On the other hand, if you do produce a sage the rest of you will turn into that sage''s acolytes, a position of quite some influence in this world. Now then, your first mission will begin in an hour. Don''t go and die off on me now."

    With those words Sion left the bus. The students she had left behind now released their pent-up hysteria and the bus'' inside became chaotic.

    "What the heck, I don''t get what''s going on at all."

    Tomochika slumped into her seat.

    "Ah, the mission''s description came in."

    Romiko spoke in her usual manner, not seeming particrly perturbed. ording to Romiko, the mission''s contents were as follows:

    First Mission

    Objective: Escape from the in of Dragons and reach the city in the north!

    Main Enemies: Dragons (Average Level of 1000)

    Advice: Dragons'' preferred food are humans. As such, being attacked upon leaving the bus is close to certain. Furthermore, defeating a dragon is beyond your current abilities. You have one hour until the mission starts, during that time a barrier around the bus will guarantee your safety. Use that time toe up with a strategy.

    "No way, dragons?"

    Tomochika looked out of the window.

    All she could see was an idyllic in of grass, it was difficult to imagine a monster like a dragon to suddenly appear. However, what she did spot were castle walls, far off in the distance.

    Seemed like the town was over there.

    "Everyone, please listen!"

    The panic was still ongoing when suddenly someone raised their voice and stepped forward.

    A male student, Suguru Yazaki.

    After his shout everyone turned quiet.

    "We''re in a confusing situation, but for the time being it doesn''t look like we''ve got a choice but to clear that mission, and for that we''ll need everyone''s cooperation."

    A sudden leader-act.

    Tomochika expected someone to voice an objection, but, surprisingly, everyone appeared to go along with it.

    "Hey, is it really fine to leave it to Yazaki-kun like that?

    She asked Romiko in a hushed voice.

    "Well, having someone take the role of mediator sounds reasonable, I guess?"

    "I mean, yeah, but¡­"

    There was something about it that gave her a bad feeling.

    "First of all I would like to get a grasp on everyone''s abilities. Can everyone write down their name and status on a memo and bring it to me?"

    Somehow no one opposed Yazaki''s proposal.

 Chapter 4 - A skill that makes you popular!

    <h4>Chapter 4 - A skill that makes you popr!</h4>

    With Suguru Yazaki as the leading figure an escape strategy was being developed at the front end of the bus.

    Tomochika, along with the others that had no light, were driven to the back of the bus andpletely shut out from the discussion.

    Altogether there were four students that hadn''t glowed, but Tomochika wasn''t very familiar with the other three.

    Ayaka Shinozaki. An arrogant girl that wore the fact that she was rich on her nose, making her friendless in the ss.

    Yuuichirou Kiryuu. A so-called delinquent, his rude behavior causing people to keep a distance.

    Yogiri Takatou. Spending most of his school time sleeping there weren''t many rtions with his ssmates to speak of.

    "This guy seriously asleep?"

    Kiryuu found it hard to believe, but Yogiri had been in the back row this whole time, sleeping through the earlier uproar and continuing to do so.

    "Ah, right, Takatou-kun''s always asleep, isn''t he?"

    "Who cares about that right now! Why did I end up in this situation!?"

    Tomochika had barely finished her sentence when Ayaka vented her agitation on her.

    "I''m not really the one to ask¡­"

    Tomochika looked towards the front of the bus.

    The discussion seemed to be advancing steadily, although it was less like a discussion and more like everyone listening to what Yazaki had to say.

    A short whileter their ssmates started getting off the bus. One hour was close to passing and the students were about ready to start their mission.

    "Tch. Not even a word to us. Come on, let''s go."

    Yuuichirou prompted the other powerless individuals toe along.

    "Takatou-kun, everyone''s going to leave you behind at this rate. Come on, wake up, hey."

    The sound of Ayaka''s leaving footsteps was a clear ''leave him, who cares.'' Tomochika did feel some guilt, but she didn''t want to be rude and shake him awake either, so she started making her way to the front as well.

    However, Suguru Yazaki and Asuha Gunzan blocked the exit.

    "What do you think you''re doing?"

    Kiryuu''s anger could be heard in his words.

    "Apologies, but we can''t take you guys along. You''ll be staying here."

    He didn''t appear very apologetic at all, but so he spoke.

    "The hell? This guy, thinking he can settle things like he wants just because we weren''t part of the discussion! Who do you think you are!?"

    "The General."

    Yazaki grabbed the hand rail mounted to the wall next to the bus'' entrance and casually pulled on it, making what should have been metal bend its shape like rubber.

    "This is the power of the General. Even at level 1, that''s how much the System strengthens one''s body after having received its favor. Taking along regr humans like you would only drag us down, do me a favor and understand."

    Kiryuu''s body turned stiff after witnessing Yazaki''s inhuman strength.

    "But, but if you''re that powerful you should be able to handle protecting us, right?"

    Ayaka pleaded as if she was trying to hang on to him.

    "And where is the benefit in that? We need to be sages whatever it takes, we can''t afford looking after you."

    "Fine, so don''t look after us or protect us, but can''t you at least let us tag along?"

    Tomochika chimed in. If they were to be left behind now they would almost certainly die.

    "That won''t do either. Having you all stay here is part of our n."

    "Okaaay, anyway, time to make all of you a little more attractive. Charm Up!"

    Asuha made a move before they could ask what Yazaki meant by n, raising her arm and making her palm face Tomochika.

    Whatever she did, it made Tomochika begin to emit light.

    "Huh, what? Asu, what''d you do?"

    The light faded without leaving any visible change behind, but surely making her glow for a moment wasn''t all there was to it.

    "It''s her ss, Beauty Coordinator. Her ss focuses on buffs and while going over everyone''s abilities we noticed that she should be able to control monster aggro. Basically, we decided that you guys will be the bait."

    "Bait?"

    Tomochika needed a moment to grasp what he was saying.

    "Tomochi~, you see,¡¸Charm Up¡¹ is a skill that makes you popr!"

    "I''ve had someone with an enemy detection skill scan the area and apparently there''s only one dragon in the sky above us right now. Meaning, as long as it''s targeting you guys we can safely reach we city."

    "And you''re trying to tell me everyone agreed to a n like that!? Ah, Mikochi wouldn''t! No way Mikochi would go along with this!"

    "Mikochi? Ahh, you mean Jougasaki. Naturally, she agreed."

    "But hey, it''s not like we''re telling you to die, okay? We just need you to attract the dragon for a while."

    Asuha got off the bus with a casualugh, appearing as though she was telling those words to herself rather than them. Yazaki followed her after shutting the door by force.

    Kiryuu rushed to the door in a panic.

    "Damn it, it''s not opening! He''s wrecked it with that ridiculous strength!"

    "What should we do?"

    "Like I''d know! Why is this happening !? Why did I get caught up in something like this!"

    VRAAAaAAAaaAAAAAA

    As the three ssmates were panicking an air shaking scream ran through the bus.

    "Was that¡­ the dragon?"

    It hadn''t shown itself yet, but Tomochika understood immediately. That was the roar of a being of absolute power.

    "The window! Let''s get out through that!"

    Tomochika heard Kiryuu''s idea and took a look herself.

    However, the windows were fixed to the frame.

    She could see her ssmates running away from the bus as quickly as they could, their hurry speaking volumes of the imminent danger.

    ¨D¨DI need to do something!

    Tomochika struck the pane in an attempt to break it open, but it had no effect.

    "Aa!"

    The bus suddenly shook with enough force to nearly tip over and Tomochika was thrown through the air.

    "Is everyone safe!?"

    Shended t on the floor, but quickly got back on her feet.

    "AAHHhh!"

    Kiryuu, who had been hurled towards the exit, screamed for his life while staring at his blood-covered ssmate thatid on the ground between him and Tomochika.

    Something sharp had pierced the bus through the ceiling and impaled Ayaka Shinozaki''s torso.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    "Yeah, so Ayaka got attacked first, and when I ran to the back of the bus here to get away from that thing I saw a certain somebody still sleeping like a log."

    Tomochika appeared to find Yogiri''s sleeping habits disagreeable.

    "A parallel universe, huh¡­ Ah! How am I going to recharge my console¡­"

    "That''s the first thing you worry about after hearing that story!?"

    It was noughing matter for Yogiri.

 Chapter 5 - Was that a flying saucer?

    <h4>Chapter 5 - Was that a flying saucer?</h4>

    "Putting the battery problem on hold, I didn''t glow so I was left behind as well, huh."

    "Well, do you see anything strange in your field of vision?"

    "Like those logos and missions you mentioned earlier? Not that I can tell."

    Yogiri focused carefully, but he couldn''t see anything different from usual.

    "Yeah, then it''s really only for the ones that glowed. Apparently they can see some kind of stamina bar constantly floating in the corner of their eyes.

    "Like the ones in Monst©–r H©–nter?"

    "I guess. Mikochi isn''t into games so she couldn''t exin it very well."

    "Is that Mikochi one of your friends? Did she just go and abandon you with everyone else?"

    Yogiri wasn''t surprised his ssmates left him behind given that he had barely interacted with them, but in Tomochika''s case it should have been different.

    He may not be familiar with the various cliques in his ss, but she appeared like someone with a lot of friends to him.

    "Yazaki must have done something,¡­ I think."

    Tomochika''s expression betrayed her distress. She didn''t want to believe her friends would sacrifice her and said:

    "If a Beauty Coordinator can manipte people''s attraction, then a General being able to manipte people''s morals makes sense, right? But really, this sses story and their levels and skills make this whole thing seem like some game, don''t they."

    Yogiri liked the idea of such a power, just a little.

    "If this General Yazaki guy said the truth and there really was just one dragon then we might be good to go outside now,"

    Yogiri said as he looked out through the window, at the copsed dragon.

    Without even a single muscle twitching its appearance had lost all of its earlier menace.

    "Hey, um¡­ Takatou-kun, did you do that?"

    There was some apprehension in Tomochika''s question.

    "Nope, it randomly killed itself with a crashnding."

    "That sounds like such an obvious lie!"

    "You don''t have to believe me."

    "Well,¡­ not like I''d know how you would have gone about it in the first ce, but ''randomly killed itself''?"

    Yogiri didn''t particrly n on keeping his power a secret, but he didn''t feel like exining it right now either so he put it off forter.

    "Anyway, given the presence of dragons the possibility of this really being a parallel universe¡­ might be there."

    "Is there the possibility it isn''t one!?"

    "How about a crazy rich guy abducting kids and having them perform in his snuff movies? I''d probably also believe a Juras©–ic ©–ark-esque Dragon Park story before transportation to a different world."

    "That''s just because you weren''t there for that ''Grandchild of the Great Sage'' person, that was definitely magic! She fired a beam or something from her hand!"

    Even if she told him about Sion''s magic, it wasn''t like Yogiri had a way of knowing whether she said, or saw, the truth.

    But being stubborn wasn''t going to help either so he decided to go with Tomochika''s exnation of their situation--if it proved wrong they could always change their perspectiveter.

    "Anyway, we''re not going to achieve anything by staying here so let''s head outside."

    Yogiri stepped over the corpses and went towards the exit. Tomochika had said something about it being shut close, but, probably due to the dragon''s rampaging, it now seemed loose enough to break open.

    "Yeah, we should be able to get out here. Hm? What''s wrong?"

    He was thought Tomochika was right behind him, but there was no reply. When he turned around he saw that she was still standing in front of Kiryuu''s body.

    "I know there''s nothing to do about their deaths, but still, just stepping over them and leaving doesn''t seem right¡­"

    "Oh, I guess."

    Yogiri hadn''t thought of their bodies as much more than obstacles, but he did understand where Tomochika wasing from.

    He went back to her and lifted histe ssmates into their seats.

    Having done that, him and Tomochika made their way to the door and after giving it a good kick it flipped over with a shy crash.

    Due to the loud noise just now there didn''t seem to be any point in trying to be sneaky anymore, so Yogiri got off the bus without paying much heed.

    "Looks like spring here."

    A gentle breeze blew over the grass.

    "Yeah, see? I told you it''s a parallel universe. You know, because it''s winter at home right now."

    "That doesn''t mean much, we might just be in the southern hemisphere. Instead of a parallel universe wouldn''t you sooner believe that we were transported to some different country by ship, bus and all?"

    "Were you always this stubborn!?"

    "Believing someone when they tell you about transportation to a different dimensions seems stranger if you ask me."

    "Fine, if you want proof that badly¡­ Aha!"

    Tomochika looked around them and seemed to have found something. Yogiri followed her gaze.

    A disk was floating through the sky.

    Theck ofparable objects made it difficult to gauge the distance, but several kilometers ahead of them there was a flying disk with a sort of dome on its top.

    It rose higher as they were watching it and after following its ascent for a while Yogiri was taken aback.

    In the direction it was heading there was a huge number of floating masses of rock, their altitude high enough for parts of them to be covered by clouds.

    The disk continued to float towards the rocks until it eventually disappeared from view.

    "See! Isn''t that enough to call this a different world!? That''s totally one of those sky castles! We''re looking at the bottom of a floating continent!"

    Tomochika got really into it.

    "Was that a flying saucer?"

    "Why are you worried about the UFO''s shape!? Acknowledge it! I told you we were in a different world!"

    "I get it, fine. Let''s go with the parallel universe theory for now."

    The foreign country theory had holes anyway. Yogiri decided to adopt the different dimension theory for the time being.

    "Actually, what''s the deal with using UFOs anyway!? They shoulde up with something more fantasylike!"

    "Good to see you in such a lively mood."

    Yogiri took a look around their surroundings as he replied to Tomochika, but there wasn''t much to see other than grass.

    In the distance he could see city walls. That must have been the first mission''s point of objective, and therefore North.

    To their west there was a forest, just a short walk away. They couldn''t see far towards East or West because of the ins sloping into a hill in that direction.

    "Looks like we can pick between a city, a forest and hills. Although let''s forget about that forest."

    Yogiri wanted to avoid living in forests if possible.

    Him and Tomochika were used to life in a city, something like a wild forest was unknown territory for them. Furthermore, who knows what might lurk in a different world''s forests.

    Tomochika chimed in.

    "The city sounds good if it actually has people there, but¡­"

    But that''s where the ssmates that turned them into dragon bait had gone, which Tomochika had conflicted feelings about. Yogiri changed the topic.

    "Well, let''s try rummaging through the luggage before going anywhere. Everyone else left in a hurry, right?"

    "Ah, yeah, they weren''t really carrying anything with them."

    "We might even find a charger."

    "What''s up with your enthusiasm towards that game¡­"

    Yogiri went to the trunk room at the bottom of the bus, hoping to get to all the luggage inside it, but soon realized that it was locked.

    "Doesn''t look like we can break it open. Dannoura-san, do you know how to pick locks?"

    "Why do I feel like you genuinely thought I had experience in crime rted skills like that?"

    "No can do then. I don''t remember anyrger baggage lying around in the bus itself either. Alright, let''s see what''s behind those hills."

    There might have been something more favorable than the northern city there.

    Yogiri was about to head over there, but he stopped after seeing that Tomochika was pointing towards the sky in the North.

    "Hey, isn''t somethinging flying?"

    "Another dragon?"

    Or maybe one of those UFOs. Yogiri looked towards where Tomochika was pointing, but he could only tell that something was floating in the sky, not what exactly it was. It didn''t look like a dragon at least.

    "That''s Higashida-kun, Fukuhara-kun and Hanakawa-kun, but how are they flying through the sky!?"

    "Oh, well done noticing from this distance."

    Yogiri agreed with her assessment out of admiration, but since he barely knew his ssmates'' names it wasn''t like he could tell whether she was actually right.

 Chapter 6 - And my body falls into that category!?

    <h4>Chapter 6 - And my body falls into that category!?</h4>

    "Well, let''s kill them."

    When Yogiri found out that what was flying towards them were his ssmates he promptly made up his mind.

    "Ah, yes. Who wouldn''t choose murder when finding out about their flying ssmates¡­¨D¨DWhat the heck are you talking about!?"

    Tomochika pulled a noritsukkomi, seemingly in disagreement with Yogiri''s proposal.

    "Then what? Are you nning to have a nice talk with them and make up again after they left us out here to die?"

    "Huh? Wait, you were serious about killing them?"

    She thought he was joking, but after realizing he meant what he said she was in dismay.

    "Leaving us behind out here is basically the same as killing us. The whole ss shares that guilt, they can''t reallyin if we pay them back, can they?"

    It wasn''t like Yogiri held some kind of resentment, he just felt he had a right for revenge.

    "I can''t really agree with you there, even if you weren''t talking about killing them¡­"

    "Well, I don''t think we could avoid a hostile confrontation even if we approached them peacefully."

    "Huh?"

    "Why do you think they''reing back, just the three of them?"

    "There was something about enemy detection, maybe they found out the dragon died?"

    "So they''reing back to see if we''re alive and ready to be saved? Wasn''t their policy to leave dead weight behind?"

    "Ah, it was."

    Tomochika recalled Yazaki''s words and dropped her shoulders dejectedly.

    "That''s why I''m thinking these guys are moving on their own. They''re probably trying to get the jump on the rest of the ss and made the left behind luggage their target, in which case I doubt they''ll see us as anything other than an obstacle."

    "That''s still spection¡­ right?"

    "Right, but it''s got a decent possibility of being right. Since I''ve been thinking about wanting to protect you I''d rather avoid potential risks altogether. But I still value your opinion; let''s see what they''re up to first."

    "If they''re only after the luggage then how about running away or hiding?"

    "We''ve probably been spotted already, and I doubt we can run away from someone that can fly. Actually, can you tell me who''s who?"

    They were now close enough for Yogiri to be able to make out their faces as well.

    ording to Tomochika, the good-but-superficial-looking one on the left was Ryouda Higashida.

    The smaller one in the middle with the brown hair, Sadaaki Fukuhara.

    And on the right was the plump Daimon Hanakawa.

    A short waitter all three of themnded a couple meters ahead of them.

    "Tomochika-tan, thou art alive! H o w!? What an unexpected development this is! My humble n to turn your corpse into a zombie and that zombie into a ve to unload all my desires on, turned to nothing! Just like that!"

    Hanakawa''s theatrical voice was thoroughly disgusting. To think someone could make such an unpleasant impression after just a couple words, Yogiri couldn''t help but be oddly impressed.

    "See? I told you they might be alive. With Charm Up''s short duration there''s a good chance the dragon simply left."

    Now Higashida was talking. It appeared their enemy detection didn''t tell them about a detected monster''s death. The dragon''s remains were on the opposite side of the bus, out of their view.

    "What are you talking about anyway, ain''t it better like that? Zombie puppets are gross."

    The mocking voice belonged to Fukuhara. He had a small frame and a childish appearance in general, but there was something conceited about him.

    "Excuse you!? Fukuhara-dono, your power is wasted! A pearl thrown before a swine! Hand it over, I shall utilize it properly and create a harem of zombies!"

    "Killing someone just so I can turn them into a zombie is dumb."

    "Aha! Well as it happens I had considered a scenario like this; this is why you always carry a cor of very with you! If she''s alive then I shan''t need to rely on you, Fukuhara-dono!"

    "That''s gross, man. Don''t carry something like that around."

    "Now he has a point though, if she''s against it at first and obedientter then that''s double the fun."

    "Ah, no, I''m not the rape kind of guy, Fukuhara-dono."

    "Then go away or something?"

    "Hmm, but I do loveorare. My crush, right before my eyes¡­ there''s just something about that, isn''t there? Oh, you wouldn''t mind leaving the ''gentle shoulder to cry on'' role to me afterwards, would you?"

    "You''re so gross."

    "Can you leave it at that, you two? Look at poor Dannoura-san''s shocked face."

    "That reminds me, Takatou''s here as well. Look how he''s standing in front of her being all protective, ain''t that brave?"

    "C-could it be that Takatou-shi already has the role of theorare''d boyfriend!? I won''t allow that! Tomochika has to be mine!"

    "Oh, I like that. I was nning on killing him right away but let''s go with that instead. He''s the guy always spacing out, ain''t he? I wanna see what kind of face he''ll make while losing his girl."

    "Aren''t you lucky, Takatou-kun. You get to live a while longer."

    The way they acted like everything would go their way was part disturbing and part agitating. Yogiri''s standpoint started drifting back towards just killing them.

    "Um, I have no idea what''s going on, but what I did figure out is that getting along with them doesn''t seem doable."

    Tomochika got closer to Yogiri and told him so in a whisper.

    Yogiri thought about what to do from here.

    Killing them was simple enough, but there wasn''t anything to be gained in that--given their current situation he''d rather draw out as much information from them as possible.

    ''Oh well, let''s try talking with them,'' Yogiri had made up his mind, but Higashida took action before him.

    He raised his right hand.

    Yogiri determined that his conduct didn''t pose any immediate danger. Higashida had no killing intent and his fist wasn''t facing Yogiri or Tomochika.

    "Fireball!"

    His right hand started sparkling and in the next moment something had passed right by Yogiri. That was all.

    Usually one would expect a flying globe of fire from a ''fireball,'' but Yogiri didn''t see anything like that. There should have been the sound of impact from hitting the bus behind them, but he heard nothing at all.

    thump

    After a short moment''s wait the noise of something heavy falling to the ground echoed through the ins. Yogiri turned around and witnessed a bizarre scene.

    The bus had lost its back half and the noise he heard just now was made by the remaining bus frame tilting over and crashing into the earth.

    A perfectly straight line of the grass-covered in had been hollowed out, continuing all the way to the forest like a concave road. But it didn''t stop there; where the road of nothingness entered the forest a gaping hole had opened.

    Whatever Higashida brought forth, it soundlessly erased everything in its path of trajectory.

    "Your Fireball''s ridiculous as ever, Higashida-dono! Be honest, how often do you go ''ah, but it is no Hellme, it is a Fireball!''"

    Higashida smugly epted Hanakawa''s praise. It was the kind of carefree attitude that made it clear they weren''t worried about the possibility of a counter-attack in the least. Then again, with that kind of power one''s surroundings might just appear like no more than trash.

    "Can only use basic tier magic, after all. All I trained while leveling was this so now it''s strong enough to take down demon lords. Oh yeah, guess who blew off the top of Mount Karuone?"

    "No! Was that you, Higashida-dono!? Now that''s what I call a hero summon. ''As expected of hero-sama,'' as they say!"

    "Higashida''s lucky he got here as a hero, I started out as a soulmancer at the bottom of the demon lord''s army."

    Yogiri had no idea what they were talking about.

    From what he could tell they seemed quite used to this ''System'' they had received from the sage, but ording to Tomochika it wasn''t that long since they left for their first mission. Fukuhara carried on.

    "Anyway, did that establish the difference in powers between us? Resistance is futile. Dannoura ising over here, Takatou will stay and watch from where he is."

    They must have thought that giving a demonstration of their power would settle things; the idea of Yogiri and Tomochika resisting them at this point didn''t even to cross their minds.

    "That''s some major firepower."

    Yogiri talked with admiration as he inspected the crumbling remains of the bus.

    The Fireball must''ve been a sphere of 10 meters in diameter. Everything it passed through burned down to less than ash, evaporated even, and what was even more impressive was that everything outside its diameter was hardly affected, a clean cut. He tried touching the bus'' frame--only a faint heat remained.

    "Higashida-kun! Why are you doing this!?"

    "Well, we decided we''d live to our heart''s content if we ever got another chance, and now that time hase. Gotta do what you gotta do, you know?"

    "And my body falls into that category!?"

    Tomochika talked with her arms wrapped around her body.

    "I''m impressed you can talk like that in this situation, Dannoura-san. You look like you''re able to survive on your own even in a different universe."

    Yogiri expected her to be petrified by fear after hearing their discussion, but she was surprisingly energetic.

    "How nice, when did you two be such good friends?"

    Fukuhara talked in a joking manner, but his speech was tinged with jealousy. Warped as it may be, he clearly held affection towards Tomochika.

    "For now I''ll try making them more cooperative."

    Yogiri talked to Tomochika in a gentle tone.

    She may have been giving off a confident impression, but she was probably full of anxiety.

    Silencing their twisted mouths and giving Tomochika some peace of mind was Yogiri''s first course of action.

 Chapter 7 - Eternal Force Blizzard, target dies

    <h4>Chapter 7 - Eternal Force Blizzard, target dies</h4>

    "Die."

    Yogiri channeled his power.

    "Gehah! Die, he says, can your vocabry be any more limite¨D¨D"

    Hanakawa regarded Yogiri''s remark as nothing more than some hopeless resistance and spat out a scoff-like mock, but he quickly noticed the anomaly next to him.

    Higashida''s knees gave in and his body copsed. With his torso tipping forward he fell t to the ground, where he stopped moving entirely.

    "Higashida-dono? What might be the matter?"

    Hanakawa was dumbfounded.

    "I said die and he died, guess the rtion there and this will be quick. Make a move and another one dies."

    Yogiri dered his warning, but Fukuhara paid no heed to it and walked over to Higashida. Yogiri pointed at him with a ''die.''

    Fukuhara probably had the best intentions towards Higashida, but it should not be. He copsed onto Higashida and ceased moving.

    "Didn''t I tell you not to move? Move and you die. Understand?"

    "A, ah, wha-"

    Hanakawa froze.

    He didn''t seem capable of understanding nor epting his situation.

    However, he did seem to understand that something abnormal happened, and that the one responsible for it was Yogiri.

    Yogiri determined the current circumstances were enough for a discussion to form.

    "Alright, I''ll exin my power now."

    "Wait, what!? I could sort of guess you had something to do with what happened to the dragon, but I saw that you didn''t want to talk about it so I avoided asking you about it! Isn''t it some secret!?"

    It seemed Tomochika had some curiosity pent up.

    "Not really a secret, exining it just seemed like a bother earlier."

    "Seemed like a bother he says, oi!"

    "Hanakawa doesn''t look very bright, if I don''t exin it properly he''lle asking for a fight again, don''t you think?"

    "Okay, okay. Fine then, let''s hear about your power."

    Yogiri was prepared to be reproached for suddenly killing two of them--not that he felt unjustified in his actions, he just thought Tomochika would be against it.

    However, that wasn''t what bothered Tomochika.

    "Before I begin, Hanakawa, can you go and check whether they''re actually dead? Don''t worry, you can move."

    It was necessary to make him acknowledge reality and let it go through his head. If he wasn''t convinced they were dead he would just interpret the situation in some conveniently hopeful way, maybe even attack them.

    Hanakawa crouched down next to them and timidly shook their corpses.

    Neither of them showed a reaction.

    "Heal!"

    He shouted something like a magic spell.

    It sounded like restoration magic, but there wasn''t much effect it could have on the dead. The two bodies emitted light for a moment, but that was all he achieved.

    "Heal! Heal! Heal! Fuhaha! I''m a healer, alright?! No matter what kind of injury or illness, everything''s healed in a single moment! Such is the cheat tier restoration magic that allowed me to survive in this world despite being clubbed, ripped, tattered,¡­ but they aren''t moving, what!?"

    "Do you get it?"

    "Y-you monster! Randomly killing people, that''s not normal!"

    "You''re not one to talk."

    Yogiri knocked on the bus behind him.

    "That was pretty dangerous, earlier. Might''ve missed on purpose, but you don''t have a right toin about being paid back after firing a lethal attack like that."

    "E-even so, Fukuhara-dono didn''t do anything! And (this is important) neither did I¨D¨D!"

    "You''re saying that despite realizing it''s not going to work, right? No matter how you look at it, you three teamed up and both of you approved of Higashida''s conduct, didn''t you?"

    Hanakawa was at a loss for words. He said no more and Yogiri began his exnation.

    "My power is basically ''instantly kill any target.'' Just by thinking about wanting to kill someone they die."

    "That''s way too ridiculous! H u h!? Are we talking about Eternal Force Blizzard, target dies!!?"

    Hanakawa raised his voice in a shriek.

    "T-that''s too cheaty! Normally you''d avoid phrasing something like that so straightforwardly! Are you making fun of parallel universes!? How does that even work without a status!"

    "Not like I know what this status would look like in the first ce. Actually, I''m the one wondering whether you really have something like that."

    From Yogiri''s point of view the whole talk about a system and statuses seemed exceedingly suspicious.

    "So that''s what killed the dragon, huh. But was it really a good idea to tell him about your power?"

    Tomochika asked; keeping it a secret seemed more advantageous.

    "For the threat. I need to make the other party understand the circumstances or they won''t cooperate, but they won''t understand unless I exin it. Even if I demonstrated it,prehending what happened would be difficult for them."

    "True, personally I find it hard to believe as well¡­"

    Yogiri turned back towards Hanakawa.

    "So, do you understand now? If no then I''ll be killing you, that seems the least like a bother."

    "I have reachedprehension! Please stop looking at me with those ''yare yare'' kind of cool protagonists'' eyes like you''re seriously about to kill me!"

    He looked like he thought he was moments from being killed and screamed for his life.

    "Alright,e closer then. Talking across such a distance is weird."

    Yogiri sat down on the grass with his back leaned on the bus.

    Tomochika leisurely sat down next to him.

    Hanakawa started trudging towards the two.

    "Stop."

    But Yogiri halted him right after he set into motion.

    "I-is something the matter?"

    "You were about to do something right now, weren''t you?"

    "Wha-whattatat, what mighteth thee be talking about?"

    It was impressive how suspicious he appeared.

    "There''s something I didn''t mention about my power. Here''s the thing, I also have the power of perceiving people''s killing intent."

    "Excuse me?"

    "Like I said, it''s a two-in-one. Automatically making people die for wanting to kill me is also doable."

    "Are you freaking kidding me, dude! Isn''t there n o t h i n g to counter that!?"

    "I wouldn''t say that. If a master assassin capable of killing someone without leaking the slightest sense of bloodlust attacked me at a speed faster than I could perceive then that would be the end. Anyway, I rmend paying very careful attention from here on out."

    And so Hanakawa obediently walked up to his ssmates and timidly knelt down with his buttocks on his heels.

    "Alright, there''s a lot of things I want to ask."

    "I get it, I''ll tell you about whatever you ask, even the things you didn''t ask for¡­"

    "Just the things I asked for is fine."

    Hanakawa waspletely seized with fear, there wasn''t a shred of rebellion left inside him.

    "Why were you guys that full of yourselves? It hasn''t been that long since the system or whatever was installed in you, has it?"

    Yogiri was suspicious. Even if they were given some kind of absurd power by the sage, they shouldn''t have been able to master it in such a short time.

    On top of that there was their ability to fly and the way they incinerated the bus, he couldn''t imagine that being the power of a low level.

    "Well actually, the other two and me, we weren''t summoned to this world for the first time. It''s our New Game+¡­"

    Bit by bit, Hanakawa''s story unfolded.

 Chapter 8 - You can make me a slave! Ill never disobey!

    <h4>Chapter 8 - You can make me a ve! I''ll never disobey!</h4>

    "So basically, you defeated the demon lord and got sent home."

    Yogiri gave a quick rundown of Hanakawa''s excessively embellished story.

    "Would you mind not just summing up my cheat adventure in another world like that!"

    "Even though it was going nowhere at first there was more useful information than expected. So how exactly did you get back to our world?"

    Right now the highest priority was adapting to the new world and surviving, but the ultimate goal was to return to earth. If nothing else, Yogiri wanted Tomochika to get back home.

    "Well, about that. Last time''s summoning was performed by the head magician of the kingdom of Iman with the condition of defeating the neighboringnds'' demon lord; the moment we did that we were sent back home. This time I don''t really understand what''s going on."

    "I never really cared so I can''t tell, but did these guys ever disappear from school for such a long time, Dannoura-san?"

    "Not that I''d know, although I think they were absent because of illnesses here and there."

    "The time we spent here was around one year, but upon our return only a couple hours had gone by. The flow of time between this and our world appears to be different."

    That was some more good news, Yogiri thought. It looked like they would have to spend quite some time in this world, but it sounds like the time discrepancy when returning home wasn''t going to be too bad. Tomochika threw Hanakawa a question of her own.

    "What''s this about a demon lord? Shouldn''t this world be peaceful now that he''s dead?"

    "Demon lords are the kings of demon kingdoms, but there''s more than one of them and we only defeated the demon lord of the demon kingdom next to the Iman kingdom. I dare say Iman returned to harmony, thanks to us! Probably."

    Apparently the ins they were currently in was part of the kingdom of Mani and quite far away from Iman.

    "I wonder if we can also get back by defeating some demon lord? Well, guess we''ve got no choice but to ask the sage that summoned us about that."

    Yogiri said so as he thought about the many unsettled questions.

    Summonings maye with predetermined conditions, but that whole aspect was unclear. And assuming there really were conditions, they most likely wouldn''t be easy to fulfill.

    Sages summoning people from other worlds on a search for new sages. It didn''t sound like something where they''d just let them go home.

    "I''m not particrly trying to return home, personally¡­ There''s still my dream of a cheat harem in another world¡­"

    Hanakawa mumbled, seemingly gotten used to the situation.

    "So what''s up with you guys quietly returning to everyday life after getting sent back?"

    Given that they acquired that kind of power and going by their earlier attitude they seemed like the kind of people to do as they pleased even in their home world, yet Yogiri didn''t recall anything noteworthy having happened.

    "Of course the first thing we did when we got back was test whether we could still use our powers! But, well, we couldn''t."

    "And after being summoned back to this world you also regained your previous powers, huh. Are there any other guys like that in our ss?"

    "I only know about us three."

    But if three people like that were among them then it was definitely possible that there were more. Yogiri made a mental note of it and asked another question.

    "Are people''s statuses something that''s visible to anybody?"

    "Aha, normal people can''t! But then there are people like me who overleveled their analyze skill!"

    With a smug grin Hanakawa went on a monologue of how exactly he went about leveling his analyze skill, but Yogiri didn''t pay attention.

    Even if it wasn''t amon ability, they shouldn''t be optimistic about theck of the system in them going unnoticed. He decided to be prepared for people figuring out that the system wasn''t installed in them.

    "What is the rest of the ss up to right now?"

    "The second mission started and it looks like they left for the royal capital."

    When they arrived at the city visible in the north they had sessfully cleared the first mission. The second mission started right after, with the objective of achieving a heroic deed and bing a sage.

    "Heroic deed?"

    "Something amazing that anyone would acknowledge. There''s various acts that full under that category, but apparently the royal family''s cooperation is indispensable for them, so they started heading to the royal capital while raising their levels on the way."

    "Which is when you three slipped out and flew over here."

    "No way I''d continue leveling at this point! Didst thou forget that I was robbed of my harem life and deported from this world when we defeated the demon lord thest time? Is it not only natural that I would enjoy myself and do whatever I please this time!"

    "Enjoy yourself, eh. Well whatever. Are there any other cities around here?"

    "The closest one is definitely the one further north. There''s another one south from here, but it''s quite the walk until there. I wouldn''t rmend it on foot."

    From there Yogiri continued to ask questions as he thought of them, mostly about this world and the system.

    "That''s about everything I wanted to ask. Dannoura-san, do you have any more questions?"

    "Huh, me? Hmm. Hanakawa, you guys are strong right? Didn''t you think about killing the dragon?"

    Tomochika stared at him with reproachful eyes.

    She must have thought that they could have avoided the current state of things if the three returnees had just defeated the dragon from the start.

    "That¡­ we were scared, okay? That dragon might''ve been doable, but that sage is crazy bad news! If her intention was having us clear her first mission then we had no choice but to obediently follow her n."

    "I admit it was scary when she did that thing with her hand, but was it that bad? I thought you guys were plenty strong as well?"

    "You''re only saying that because you couldn''t see her status, Tomochika-tan! Her level was over one hundred million, and the most terrifying part was the way it kept going up by the second! No way we could take it up with a monster like that!"

    "This whole talk about levels still doesn''t tell me much."

    Yogiri spoke as he tried imagining the strength of such a high level, but he didn''t really have anything topare it to.

    "Higashida-dono was level 1000; I''m not that high, but nheless a solid 99."

    "After hearing something like one hundred million a level in the double digits sure sounds shabby."

    "Not like I can do anything about that! A human''s limit is level 99, unless you have a skill that let''s you break that limit or a ss that doesn''t have any level

    requirements you can''t go any higher!"

    "Oh, I have another question. Everyone went along with what Yazaki-kun said, was that because he did something to them?"

    "Yazaki-shi''s skills, mhm. The General ss has the skills ¡¸Charisma¡¹, ¡¸Leadership¡¹ and ¡¸Strategy Drafting¡¹. After approving of one of his ns, going against them bes practically impossible, but the coercive power behind his skills isn''t that special. If one of the participants considers themselves disadvantaged by the strategy his skill loses its effect."

    Tomochika dejectedly dropper her head.

    She seemed to be thinking of her friend Romiko Jougasaki. Going by Hanakawa''s exnation, Romiko must have approved of the strategy of leaving behind those that didn''t gain any powers.

    "Hm, if it''s about being disadvantaged then us four should have been at a massive disadvantage. Was our standpoint not even factored in because we aren''t connected to the system?"

    The leadership skill was most likely the ability to suppress minor dissatisfaction in order to allow for smooth action as a group. It may be unable to take effect if there was firm opposition against a strategy, but since the four that didn''t get the system installed in them didn''t have the right to disagree in the first ce it carried out as drafted. Hanakawa agreed.

    "That''s probably what it was, quite indeed."

    Without any more questions to ask they fell into silence.

    Yogiri decided there was no more need for Hanakawa and pointed his hand towards him.

    He could activate his power without pointing or voicing his intention, but this way it was easier to focus on his target.

    "Wha! I beg thy pardon! Thee wouldn''t be nning to kill me!? Not the Eternal Force Blizzard!"

    "Don''t give it a weird name. Anyway, let''s wrap this up."

    "Why!? Exin thyself!"

    "Just feels like leaving you alive would turn into a bother."

    "Don''t just put it like that! How lightly doth thee thinketh of life and death!?"

    "''Guess I better kill the guy with malice towards me,'' about that lightly."

    A quick look behind Hanakawa revealed the proofs of Yogiri''s words, one leaning on top of the other.

    "No such thing! I swear I bear no ill will towards you! Have mercy¨D¨D!"

    Hanakawa knelt on the ground with his head pressed into the grass, begging for his life. He even returned to a normal manner of speech.

    Yogiri was a little troubled--it wasn''t like he wanted to kill everyone he met, he just thought that someone with knowledge of his power running around freely might turn into an issue.

    "T-that''s it! A ve! You can make me a ve! I''ll never disobey!"

    Hanakawa said a word not heard often in everyday life.

 Chapter 9 - Because your boobs were soft?

    <h4>Chapter 9 - Because your boobs were soft?</h4>

    "Yeah, right. Who''d trust you just because you said you wouldn''t disobey?"

    "Aha, but I have just the thing for that! This is a parallel universe, you can trust it to have that kind of stuff!"

    So spoke Hanakawa as he retrieved something out of thin air.

    "What did you just do?"

    Yogiri was on guard.

    Mere moments ago Hanakawa was empty-handed, but all of a sudden he was holding something. Based on hisck of killing intent it wasn''t anything dangerous, but it did remind Yogiri of his limited knowledge of the ''System.'' There was still need for caution.

    "I, uh, took an item out of my item box?"

    "Can anybody do that?"

    "Well actually it''s a rare tier skill that you don''t see it often! Although because of it I ended up having to carry the whole hero party''s items¡­ Ah, that''s it! Making me yourpanion woulde with a bunch of advantages! You can carry along whatever you want thanks to my item box, with my healing magic you''ll never have to worry about an injury, and since it''s my second time here I''m more than familiar with this world; isn''t that magnificent! I''ll definitely be of use to you! So don''t kill me please¨D¨D!"

    Hanakawa begged while rubbing his head against the ground. Quietly, he mumbled.

    "Err, what might you be thinking, Dannoura-san? If you could help me convince Takatou-dono here, well, I would be most obliged¡­"

    Ever so slightly he nced up to Tomochika.

    She was clearly troubled by theplicated situation, still remembering the way Hanakawa first approached them, but before long she had made up her mind and voiced her decision.

    "It''s thanks to Takatou-kun''s rescue that I''m still alive. Given the fact that I owe him my life I don''t think I have the right toin about his method of protecting me nor about his way of dealing with you."

    "Hoaahhh! Tomochika-tan, since when were you this cool! Although I believe that emotionally crying out a good girl line like ''can''t we just avoid killing as a whole!?'' would have been more appropriate heroine behavior!"

    "So, what''s that thing you pulled out?"

    Yogiri looked at the circle-shaped object that Hanakawa still held in his hand. Made of metal and crude in appearance it seemed to be a cor.

    "This would be a cor of very! After putting it on it bes impossible to go against the will of the first person you see, an ultra rare magic item! Look, first you do like this and then¨D¨D!"

    Hanakawa fiddled with the cor until it suddenly split into two pieces. He then put them around his own neck, made them snap back together and looked at Tomochika.

    "My Mistress¨D¨D! Please, give me your order! I''ll even lick your shoes! In fact, don''t mind if I do¨D¨D!"

    Hanakawa, still kneeling on the ground, waddled up to Tomochika.

    "Ew! Stop!"

    And he stopped on the spot, yet Yogiri wasn''t entirely convinced.

    "Hm, I see. But the part about bing unable to go against the master''s will is questionable, maybe he''s just acting."

    "It''s kind of gross¡­ Actually it''s super gross. Is there a way to stop being master?"

    "I don''t want to say it, I don''t wanna! But I can''t go against it¨D¨D While the ve status can''t be stopped no matter what, the master status can be transferred to someone else."

    "Oh, okay. Passing it on to Takatou-kun."

    Tomochika''s deration didn''t have a hint of attachment.

    "Eeeeh! Why! W h y! Life as Tomochika-tan''s ve didn''t seem too bad in its own way!"

    "Not sure what to do with this either. Anyway, fine, let''s forget about killing you."

    Yogiri felt like the whole situation was starting to get silly.

    "Truthfully!?"

    "Although we won''t be taking you along either. Oh yeah, there''s a forest over there, right?"

    "The Forest of Beasts, indeed. A region governed by a bestial king and uninhabited by humans, I am told. It''s unrted to demon lord extermination so I never went there, but from what I''ve heard it''s swarming with monsters. Fortunately that forest''s beasts keep a distance to human civilization, as long as one doesn''t step foot in it there is nothing to worry about."

    "Go there and await further orders."

    "Did you listen to what I just said!? I''m telling you, it''s dangerou¡­ Wait! I don''t want to stand up! My feet are moving on their own!"

    "Oh right."

    It looked like Yogiri recalled something.

    "Yes!? Could this be the part where you yfully go ''just kidding''!?"

    Hanakawa turned around with just his head, hope in his eyes.

    "I forgot about silencing you: Don''t tell anyone a single word about us."

    "That''s all it was!? It''s still not toote, you know? I would work myself to the bone serving you!"

    "Oh, and¨D¨D"

    "Y e s!?"

    "If you''ve got any valuables with you leave them here."

    "Are you seriously mugging me!?"

    Using his item box Hanakawa scattered his items on the grass.

    "Alright, bye. Hurry on up."

    "Wait just a second! Would you mind not extracting all the information and money you can from people just to then send them to certain death because you don''t feel like dealing with them!? Seriously, could you not!?"

    He screamed all he could but his legs wouldn''t stop.

    And so Hanakawa entered the Forest of Beasts against his own will.

    Yogiri got on his feet and started piling up all the items that were scattered on the ground. Gold, silver and all kinds of gems. He wasn''t familiar with their value in this world, but he had confidence they''d bring in a decent sum.

    "Now if we only had something to put it all into."

    "Ah, I think there were some people with pretty big bags in our ss. I''ll go get them."

    With those words Tomochika went and got two backpacks from the bus. Granted, it was a kind of emergency situation, but nheless herck of hesitation in stealing people''s property surprised Yogiri.

    There was also the fact that people had died, which she didn''t seem particrly worried about either.

    Although rather than being courageous it may have been that the situation still didn''t feel real to her.

    Dropping the backpacks on the ground, Tomochika spoke.

    "Alright, let''s divide it up and carry everything along. We should keep the expensive looking gems and stuff well hidden, just in case. Some of it might even serve use."

    They finished packing their bags and Yogiri sat down on the grass. He felt a little drowsy, possibly because he repeatedly used his power.

    "And here''s something to eat. Could only find snacks and candy though."

    "Oh right, we still haven''t eaten dinner."

    Tomochika brought some cookies and light snacks like chips.

    The original n was that they would have dinner after arriving at the hotel, so naturally they were hungry.

    The two ssmates began their in meal.

    "I guess this takes care of all the immediate problems."

    "Was it really fine to deal with Hanakawa-kun like that?"

    In response to Yogiri''s breath of relief Tomochika asked him with a conflicted expression.

    "Taking him along would be a little¡­ you know. We have no way of knowing whether he really turned into a ve, who knows when he might backstab us."

    "Doubtful as ever, huh. He didn''t look like he was acting to me."

    "Even if he wasn''t, what if that cor''s effects are only temporary?"

    "So how about me then? How do you know I won''t backstab you?"

    "That''d be fine. Protecting you was my own decision, I wouldn''t have the right toin."

    Those were Yogiri''s genuine feelings.

    "Say, I know this is weird to bring up, but we barely talked before today, right? So howe you''re, well, going this far to protect me?"

    "Hm? That''s a good question."

    Being asked that, Yogiri fell into thought. It felt only natural that he had to protect Tomochika, but now that he was asked about it he started wondering why that was.

    "Nonono, there''s got to be something, right? You know, something along the lines of ''your beauty made me want to protect you with all I have''?"

    Tomochika spoke jokingly, but her tone still sounded a little shocked.

    "Ahh!"

    "Did you remember?"

    "Because your boobs were soft?"

    "There is not a single decent man in this world, damn it!"

    Tomochika''s shout echoed through the ins.

 Intermission - Spontaneous death on the spur of the moment

    <h4>Intermission - Spontaneous death on the spur of the moment</h4>

    Whenever Youichi Sudou found himself before the doors in front of him he would feel a sense of unease. Now was no exception.

    Even after all this time he wasn''t sure how to approach Sion, she who ascended to the status of sage. Did she truly aspire to be one or did she sacrifice herself for their sakes?

    Worthless thoughts ran through his mind, but he dropped them with a shake of his head.

    Now was long past the time to ponder worries like these, he had his own duties to fulfil; the duties of an acolyte, a sage''s follower.

    Youichi knocked.

    "Come in."

    A voice sounded right next to his ears by magical means and without wasting any more time he opened the doors.

    The room beyond was made up of white and pink; white furniture with exquisitely carved feet, a pink rug in match with the pink curtains, and above the canopy bed a chandelier with flower motif.

    In the middle of such a maidenlike roomy the sage Sion, half buried under huge cushions. Lazing about in a loose negligee it was apparent she paid little heed to the fact she had a visitor.

    "My, if it isn''t Youichi-kun. Did something happen?"

    She was a little surprised upon seeing it was Youichi who had entered her room.

    "Was it not you who requested of me toe give you a report, Sage-sama?"

    He walked up to Sion with a sigh. She was the same as always.

    "Youichi-kun, you can drop that manner of speech when it''s just us two."

    Sion unhappily knit her eyebrows and Youichi sighed once more.

    "Damn it, fine. Thing''s just, eventually I''ll screw up if I don''t constantly talk like that."

    "There aren''t any problems if a sage says it''s fine, no?"

    "You expect the rest to stay disciplined if they see me talk to you like that?"

    "Fine, fine. So, how about that report?"

    "First off, the invaders. Kurayami was repelled by Sage Santarou-sama, but the coteral damage was enormous. The Artana region has been turned into a desert, recovery most likely impossible."

    "Just repelled?"

    "It got away. Santarou-sama went ''I proper wrecked it, doubt it''ll dare show itself again,'' but it''s questionable whether that thing has those kind of mental capacities in the first ce."

    "I see. Please carry on."

    She spoke in an unsatisfied tone, visibly disagreeing with Santarou''s way of handling the matter.

    "Sage Lain-sama confronted the Hungering Wolf King but that, too, ended in repelling it."

    "In Lain''s case it''s understandable. You know, since she loves animals."

    "Hedgehog''s case is starting to get messy. Sage Yumehisa-sama went out to deal with it, but got herself killed instead. That''s the second one this year. At this rate it''ll just keep causing

    casualties, can''t we ask the Great Sage to handle it?"

    "That won''t do. You know how busy Grandfather is."

    What you mean ''Grandfather,'' as if.

    There was not a drop of shared blood between Sion and the Great Sage; the whole ''Grandchild of the Great Sage'' spiel was no more than a title. No more than proof of the Great Sage''s warped game of ying house.

    "As you know, flirting with his ves is a most important matter to Grandfather."

    She poked a little fun at him herself. Youichi hadn''t actually counted on the Great Sage''s help, he just felt like giving it a try.

    "Regarding Hedgehog, let''s send out a team of sages to deal with it, I''ll take part."

    Their scope of knowledge of Hedgehog didn''t extend much further than its appearance. A slender human body d in metal of ck luster and countless spikes that could only be described as a mix between a needle and a de protruding from the joints all over its armor; the reason it was called Hedgehog. Based on its behavior the current theory suggested it was most likely a machine.

    "Those would be all the invaders we don''t know the type of. As for the angel type, two entities showed up. The one that appeared in Zabora was eradicated by Sage Shirou-sama, the one in Ento by Sage Yoshifumi-sama. Thing is, there''s something about the angels that''s bothering us. Their way of appearing in near random locations like up till now is changing."

    "Could they have noticed?"

    "They don''t seem to have a full grasp on the location, but it looks like they''re closing in on it. They''ll probably pinpoint it eventually."

    But Youichi didn''t know what they were trying to achieve. The question of why there were beings targeting this world was still unclear.

    The Great Sage might''ve well been the only one that knew, but the day he would get over his sloth and spread that knowledge was unlikely to ever dawn.

    "Next up, about the sage candidates."

    "Aah! I was watching up until the dragon randomly died, what happened afterwards?"

    "Oi. Aren''t you suspicious about that ''the dragon randomly died'' part?"

    "Wasn''t it like level 1000? Probably some kind of spontaneous death on the spur of the moment."

    Sion was serious in saying that.

    For her, whose level went beyond a hundred million, a dragon of level 1000 was little more than a flying insect.

    Youichi didn''t know how to feel. Sion herself probably didn''t think she changed, but overwhelming power like hers twisted one''s personality without mercy. No matter how much one attempted to contain it, that arrogance would show itself in one''s every act.

    "Well, whatever. We''ll talk about that together with something rted to itter. First of all, they sessfully cleared the first mission. Four casualties."

    "I suppose that''s fair. They abandoned the four powerless candidates, then? Granted, that is the most reasonable course of action. It''s unavoidable that some individuals are ipatible, making proper use of them is part of the mission."

    "About that¡­ Of the ones that died, only two were powerless. The other two were among the five S ranked candidates."

    For convenience, Sion had assigned one of four ranks to all the current cycle''s candidates.

    S Rank: Individuals that hadn''t arrived in this world for the first time, already had the system installed in them and possessed ample strength. The favorites.

    A Rank: Holders of excellent skills with the potential to surpass those of S Rank. The rivals.

    B Rank: Those with regr skills, unlikely to grow any stronger than the native popce, very low possibility of astounding growth. Thecking.

    C Rank: Owners of weak skills, unlikely to reach even the level of natives, extremely low possibility of incredible growth. The deficient.

    Those without power are treated as unable to be sages and left unranked.

    "Well that''s unexpected. What''s their situation right now?"

    "They left the four powerless kids behind as bait and headed to the city. Afterwards they were supposed to travel to the royal capital like the advice in the second mission''s description told them, but for whatever reason three of the S ranked candidates returned to the starting point. There, two of them died for reasons unknown and one wandered into the forest."

    "Reasons unknown?"

    "Exactly. Just like the dragon, sudden death. A dragon randomly dying might be odd and nothing else, but isn''t it strange for further deaths to ur in that same spot? They died

    right aftering into contact with the powerless ones that were left behind in the bus. Obviously, suspecting them would be the natural course of action, but what could powerless individuals like them even do?"

    This world was one of swords and magic.

    Magic made all kinds of absurd acts possible and swords could split apart entire mountains with a single sh. However, all that was thanks to the blessing of the system called Battle Song, and the powerless failed in receiving that blessing. They were worthless, nothing more than regr humans.

    "Going only by what took ce it would appear to be the work of instant death magic¡­ but there were no mages back in our world, in Japan. Right, Sion?"

    "Who knows? The Japan of our time and the Japan of today might be different. Maybe the world we know underwent some extreme changes?"

    "Like that''d happen. Anyway, the issue is the possible existence of this person capable of something like instant death magic."

    "But is that really something to worry about? Youichi-kun, do you know the reason instant death magic isn''t that popr?"

    "''Cause of its inefficiency, right?"

    He was the one that raised the instant death mage theory, but he had some doubts himself.

    Instant death magic certainly existed, but due to the excessive magic power required to invoke it, just using regr magic to achieve the same result was more efficient.

    In addition to that, when using it against a foe stronger than oneself it would simply be resisted, which meant that the only time instant death magic was applicable was when fighting opponents far weaker than oneself and kible far more efficiently.

    "Exactly. If instant death magic were actually useful then everybody would be using it. But it is not. It was considered many times in many wars, but what history proved was that the ways to counter it are just too numerous. It''s fairlymon knowledge that there is no, nor can there be, instant death magic with a guaranteed chance of sess."

    "Let''s at least stay cautious then. I know they''re powerless, but can we include them in our targets of surveince as C ranks?"

    "You''re such a worrywart. But sure, if that gives you peace of mind then please, do as you like."

    Watching Sion brush the matter aside as if to say ''who cares,'' Youichi thought once more of her ridiculous power being the reason for her attitude.

    Was it really fine to be this optimistic?

    Indeed, instant death magic could only be used on those below oneself.

    Then, what if he or she, the powerless, was a being of unthinkable height?

    ¨D¨DNonsense.

    It was impossible for someone without the system''s blessing.

    And yet, Youichi began to feel dread towards the existence of the two powerless candidates.

    End of Act 1

 Chapter 11 - OK! Understand! Japanese, regular customers!

    <h4>Chapter 11 - OK! Understand! Japanese, regr customers!</h4>

    By the time Yogiri and Tomochika arrived at the city it was already dusk.

    "Ended up being quite the distance. Since we walked for about an hour I guess around four kilometers?"

    "Wow¨D¨D To think it would take us this long to arrive, I certainly didn''t expect that, hmm¨D¨D"

    Tomochika replied with quite some sarcasm. They could have arrived much sooner, but Yogiri suddenly fell asleep and their departure was dyed.

    "Not my fault I get tired from using my power."

    "Isn''t that pretty dangerous then?"

    Since their safety relied almost entirely on Yogiri''s power Tomochika couldn''t help but be worried by the sudden drawback.

    "Not really? The sleepiness isn''t so bad that I can''t wake up when I feel like it, and since I can sense killing intent even while asleep there isn''t really any problem."

    "What''s up with that utterck of demerits¡­"

    Tomochika mumbled next to Yogiri, who looked at the city now in front of him.

    The wall they could already see from the bus appeared to circle the entire city, restricting ess to a few guarded locations.

    They saw what appeared like an entrance and headed there.

    "Hey, doesn''t it look like they''re about to close the gate?"

    "Isn''t it normal to close them over night?"

    "Well let''s hurry up and make a run for it!"

    "Hurrying''s fine, but can''t we just wa¨D¨D"

    Tomochika broke into a run right away and Yogiri followed shortly behind.

    "E-excuse me! We would like to enter the city!"

    "@@@@@@@@@@?"

    "I have no clue what you''re saying!"

    Tomochika approached who appeared to be a gatekeeper, but the response she got were words she couldn''t even assign anguage to. The gatekeeper had blonde hair and strong facial features, a face far from Japanese; hearing fluent Japanesee out of his mouth would probably have been more perplexing than whatevernguage he spoke instead.

    "Well, it would be strange if it were any different."

    Yogiri considered that this would be the case, although he hoped it wouldn''t. The inability to speak with the locals would be quite an issue.

    "A little, understand. Japanese people?"

    Suddenly the gatekeeper addressed them in Japanese, albeit fairly broken.

    "Right! Can we please enter?"

    "Wait. Feudal lord, I''ll get."

    The two students were lead to a room in the wall and after waiting in their chairs for a while the gatekeeper returned with a man, most likely the feudal lord he mentioned. He was covered in extravagant clothes and clearly Japanese.

    "More Japanese, eh. You from a different group than the ones that got here at noon? You guys are such a headache, what do you want?"

    The man didn''t even try to hide his bad mod.

    Feudal lords. ording to Hanakawa, they were acolytes who received a particrly influential social rank.

    Yogiri replied without letting the feudal lord''s tone get to him.

    "We lost sight of those guys from noon and are trying to catch up to them right now. Could we enter the city?"

    After discussing the matter they decided that their first objective should be to regroup with their ssmates. It was questionable whether they could reconcile with the rest of their ss after being left behind as bait, but since the sages seemed to be the key to returning to their own world they decided that tagging along with the group currently trying to be sages was their smartest course of action.

    "Tch. Usually there''s a fee for entering, but not like you''ve got money anyway. You''re lucky the sages ordered not to obstruct any sage candidates. Fine, enter."

    "Appreciate it. Just wondering, how much would the entry fee be?"

    "Thousand en a person."

    They probably carried that much with them, but Yogiri decided to go along with his hospitality and enter for free.

    "Apparently the ones that entered before us left for the royal capital, any advice on how to get there ourselves?"

    "Just because I was told not to obstruct you doesn''t mean I''m gonna help you, go figure it out yourself."

    "Well thanks."

    There didn''t seem to be any point in staying and they got up from their chairs.

    "Oh right. Since you ain''t got any money you also got no ce to sleep, right? Just the girl, I wouldn''t mind letting you stay at my mansion. How about it, eh?"

    "I''m fine!"

    She ignored the vulgar expression on his face, grabbed Yogiri''s hand and dragged him along as she left. When they exited the wall and arrived in the city she finally stopped and let go of Yogiri''s hand.

    "Were you so against the idea?"

    The way she hurried outside struck Yogiri as odd.

    "Well, yeah, it did bother me, but what I was more worried about was his life. You know, just in case you decided to kill him."

    "Come on, I''m not some serial killer."

    "Oh my. I must say, yourck of self-awareness is a little surprising."

    "Hey now, not like I''d kill someone just because I can''t stand them or something. You should reflect on your eye for people."

    Yogiri was a little hurt. It felt like he was thought of as going around killing anything and everything, harmful or not.

    "Ah, look! It totally feels like a fantasy town here! Aa! There''s even people that look like cats! Catpeople, I guess?"

    Tomochika was in high spirits as she looked around the town, not taking notice of Yogiri''s hurt feelings.

    Stone-built houses were lining the stone-paved street and the city''s level of civilization didn''t appear that low, a little like Europe during itster half of the Renaissance.

    "Are those street lights electrical? Maybe they''ve got outlets to charge at?"

    "You and your console. Anyway, about what we should do from here¡­"

    "Whatever we do we should probably do it before nightfall. Did you have something in mind?"

    "I think we should start by getting some weapons!"

    Tomochika seemed very passionate about her proposal.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    They couldn''t read the letters of this world, but thanks to the pictures drawn on the shops'' signs they could more or less find their way and soon they discovered a weapons dealer.

    "Honestly, I don''t really see the point of relying on weapons for self-defense."

    "But using your power for self-defense basically means killing your target, right?"

    "Well, yeah, but getting killed for trying to kill someone is a ''reap what you sow'' sort of deal if you ask me."

    "Sure, but don''t you think people are less likely toe attacking in the first ce if they see us carrying weapons?"

    "You think? I don''t know, doesn''t feel like it''d really make a difference."

    But since Tomochika was so eager about it he decided to at least give it a try.

    The inside of the shop was booming with customers, a clear indicator that this world was dangerous enough for weapons to be in such high demand. All kinds of equipment were on disy and everywhere were shoppers inspecting them closely. There was some more in the back of the building, most likely the high-grade items.

    Some of the customers were clearly different from humans, ranging from mostly normal looking people with no more than cat ears instead of regr ones to people covered in fur or even scales, far fromparable to humans. They all appeared to coexist in this world.

    "How about this?"

    Tomochika passed Yogiri a short sword, roughly 30 centimeters in length. It was lighter than he expected andy well in his hands, but he couldn''t say it gave him a feeling of safety.

    "If it''s for the sake of threat then wouldn''t a rougher looking one be better?"

    "Yeah, but how are you going to walk around with something like a greatsword? You don''t seem the muscle-man kind of guy."

    "Well, anything''s fine by me."

    "Alright, so this one it is!"

    Tomochika was oddly enthusiastic about it.

    The way she handled the weapons somehow looked like she was used to it. For herself she picked a quarterstaff and a bow.

    "The bnce is a little, well, hmm. I kind of want to try adding a hazuyari, but that doesn''t seem doable without some remodeling¡­"

    (Note: A de attached to the tip of bows for sake of meleebat.)

    Tomochika was lost in grumbling as she fiddled with her bow.

    "Sorry to interrupt, but can we even pay without talking theirnguage?"

    "I guess we just show him what we want to buy and hand over some money?"

    Putting her words into action she went up to the counter, the weapons in hand.

    "Excuse me, do you speak Japanese?"

    "OK! Understand! Japanese, regr customers!"

    You couldn''t call him fluent, but it appeared the residents of this world were used to dealing with Japanese.

    Tomochika tried guessing an appropriate sum and put it on the counter, but the shopkeeper was visible surprised. It was probably too much, but since they had more money than they knew what to do with Tomochika urged him to take it. Probably not wanting to rob them of their money he went ahead and added on things like arrowheads and a scabbard to their purchase.

    "It''s nice that we''ve got all these weapons now, but aren''t bows pretty difficult to handle?"

    "Ah, no worries. Used to them."

    "Oh, were you part of the archery club?"

    "Not a club, but yeah, something like that."

    They made their way back outside while talking about their purchase, when suddenly a girl with cat ears walked up to them. It seemed she was waiting for them to finish shopping.

    "Are you two Nyapanese? First time seeing you in this city, you wouldn''t be looking for a guide, nya?"

    They were addressed by someone with fluent Japanese, cat ears and a strange verbal tic.

 Chapter 12 - Is it just me, or are almost all the jerks Japanese!?

    <h4>Chapter 12 - Is it just me, or are almost all the jerks Japanese!?</h4>

    A creepy girl with the ears of a cat.

    Such was Yogiri''s first impression.

    Her height was close to Tomochika''s, not particrly tall, and considering that her vitals were protected by light armor and her hip equipped with a sword she was probably some kind of warrior.

    Yogiri recalled having seen her in the weapons dealer shop.

    "Wow, your Japanese is so good!"

    Tomochika voiced her admiration; she was genuinely impressed, although her amazement was most likely due to the contrast with the catgirl''s first impression. Yogiri on the other hand was on guard, thinking that randomly being approached by a stranger was clearly suspicious.

    "Of course, nya. Most of the girls in this city are studying it, after all, nya."

    "Why''s that?"

    "For the sake of getting along with Japanese guys, nya! They''re known for having good future prospects and being quick to fall in love and marry, nya."

    "Is it normal to be this frank!?"

    "Everyone''s thinking like that, it''s not really something to hide, nya."

    "But wait, shouldn''t it be the same the other way around? The guys we''ve seen so far haven''t been that good at Japanese."

    "Japanese girls don''t even take notice ofmoners, their target''s obviously to marry into high society through nobles and princes, nya. Commoners wouldn''t stand a chance even if they tried, nya."

    "What''s with that fixation¡­ Although I guess I can see why they''d be after nobles and stuff."

    "So, what did you want?"

    Yogiri interrupted them as they were deep in discussion.

    "Mhm! I was thinking maybe you could need some help, nya. Of course, this is also for the sake of marriage, nya. But I''m not after guys with girlfriends or anything, I just believe that steadily making new connections and properly spreading the good word about yourself is the secret to sess, nya!"

    "Ah, I''m not his girlfriend or anything, if that''s what you meant. Although I''d still rmend finding someone different instead, he''s an oddball. In more ways than one."

    "Is he, nya? Doesn''t look that bad, nya."

    "What made you think it''s our first time here?"

    It seemed like the conversation was about to derail again, so Yogiri asked her about something he thought suspicious.

    "Oh it''s written all over your face, nya. Could tell the moment I saw you two, nya."

    Yogiri had to admit that was probably the case; the way they stared at all the things they had never seen before most likely made it clear as day. It didn''t look like there was any point in trying to fool her.

    "You said you wanted to help us out?"

    "Right! How about I show you around the city, nya? I''m guessing you only just got here and still don''t know where everything is, nya."

    "For sake of making connections?"

    "That''s it, nya."

    "What do you think?"

    Yogiri asked Tomochika.

    The whole situation seemed exceedingly suspicious to him, but even if she was nning to trick them, it didn''t look like she was going to do anything right away. Yogiri decided to leave it to Tomochika.

    "Let''s go along with it, I guess. Honestly, I have no clue what''s where in this city."

    Finding the weapons dealer could be called a stroke of luck. If there were ces they wanted to go, then having a guide with them would speed things up a lot.

    "Alright, we''ll be relying on you."

    "Thank you, nya! My name''s Mireille. I''m actually a warrior, but when I''m in the city I''m working hard on finding a husband, nya. May I know your names, nya?"

    "Yogiri Takatou."

    "I''m Tomochika Dannoura, nice to meet you."

    "Yogiri and Tomochika, got it. Nya."

    They exchanged a quick round of introductions and Yogiri asked a vital question.

    "So, did we actually have any ces we needed to visit?"

    "Personally I''d like to just see some more of the town before it gets dark."

    "In that case how about I first show you around this neighborhood and after that we go eat dinner somewhere, nya?"

    And that''s what they did.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    After browsing a bunch of different shops and even making some purchases they went to a nearby restaurant.

    "To think parallel universes were sofortable! In fact, there''s hardly any difort at all, what''s up with that?"

    Tomochika spoke as she ate her evening meal.

    The city really was pleasant, appearing as though it had been influenced by Japanese culture in all core aspects of life; clothing, food and housing. So much that even Yogiri and Tomochika felt like they could continue their life normally here. The food they were currently being served wasn''t too different from the Japanese dishes they were used to either.

    "Only goes for reasonablyrge cities, nya. After heading out a bit into the country things quickly take a turn for the worse, nya."

    "Turn for the worse?"

    "Sages don''t provide their celestial protection to random viges, nya. And because the vigers are busy defending themselves against the constant monster attacks they don''t have time to expand, nya."

    This world was swarming with monsters. It was safe in the areas protected by the sages, but outside of them it was dangerous wherever one went.

    "Speaking of Sages, were you two not given a gift by them, nya?"

    The system that the sages had installed in their ssmates was known as

    "the gift" among this world''s natives.

    Gifts could be inherited, meaning it was normal for children to receive the same power as their parents.

    There were all kinds of them, but the ones bestowed by the sages were considered special, and so were the Japanese for their proficiency in them.

    "What makes you think that?"

    "It''s pretty easy to tell, nya. Even if your analyze level is low, you can still tell whether the other party is strong or not, nya. In your case it''s [Major Weak], nya."

    This is bad.

    Hanakawa had said that seeing other people''s status was restricted to people with a high level in their analyze skill, but apparently even with a low level one could tell that Yogiri and Tomochika were weak.

    Yogiri could feel his head starting to hurt as he thought of the headaches this would cause down the line.

    "Aa! Are you maybe aiming for the Sword Saint''s gift instead, nya? Now that would be understandable, nya. Although I think even just entering the Sword Saint''s sight is going to be awfully difficult without a gift, nya."

    Unable to find a good response Yogiri decided to brush the matter aside and continue his meal.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    "Well, I kind of expected it to turn out this way."

    Yogiri and Tomochika had found themselves in a back alley''s deadend. The entrance to that blind alley was currently being filled by arge number of beastmen; the result of following Mireille''s lead after she proposed to lead them to a good ce to stay the night.

    "Oh so you knew, I see¨D¨D. Hmmm¨D¨D, well I''m sorry about that, going along with the kind little catgirl, thinking she was for real here!!"

    Tomochika was surprised at first, but soon changed into being sulky instead.

    "Well, just goes to show that the world isn''t such a nice ce, nya."

    Mireille stood opposite of them, next to the rest of the beastmen, as if it were only natural.

    It was already deep into the night, but thanks to the bright moonlight it was rtively easy for them to make out their attackers.

    Before them there were ten beastmen of various gender, age and animal features. Among them stood one human, a man with a weapon he appeared more than used to. He also appeared plenty used to this kind of situation; Yogiri determined he was most likely a habitual criminal.

    "Any chance we could talk?"

    "Well aren''t you gutsy. What do you wanna ask, eh?"

    The human, apparently the leader of the gang, took a step forward and replied with mock in his voice. Arge frame, ck hair and ck eyes, around 30 years old. He was covered in an air of violence, and based on his facial features he appeared to be Japanese.

    "Are you after our money?"

    Mireille seemed to have been interested in their financial standing as she guided them through the city. The fact they were carrying a fortune with them was probably exposed.

    "Oh we''re certainly going to take care of all your money, but that''s not what we''re after, not at all. Our top priority are you two ungifted Japanese. You gotta know, as a result of all us Japanese wreaking havoc in this world the nobles hate us big time. But too bad, the Japanese are too strong and there''s nothing they can do against them; and that''s where youe into y, that''s what ungifted Japanese are useful for: For nobles to vent their anger!"

    "Somehow this world is reallycking in people that aren''t jerks."

    "You say that, but¡­ is it just me, or are almost all the jerks Japanese!?"

    Yogiri could only nod in agreement.

    "Anyway, I get what you guys are after now. I''m thinking of killing you all for it, still not budging?"

    "Hooh? Ahh, don''t you worry. We won''t be killing you, aight? Then again, death would be a blessingpared to the future ahead of you!"

    The leader sneered as he spoke and fell into a mockingugh as he finished, soon the rest of the gang joined his bellowing.

    Yogiri decided to murder them all.

 Chapter 13 - Before we get started: everyone in the back, die

    <h4>Chapter 13 - Before we get started: everyone in the back, die</h4>

    "Mireille! We''ll forget about this so just pull back! Despite how Takatou-kun looks he''s ridiculously strong! You guys don''t stand a chance!"

    Tomochika knew very well that the people she was talking to weren''t the kind to listen to such words, but she couldn''t bear just silently watching on.

    "Nyanya? Did you think that kind of bluff would work? Gifts are everything. There''s nothing you two major weak ungifted can do, nya."

    "I''ve got a high level analyze, aight? We know you two are ungifted, it''s a fact!"

    As Mireille and the human leader were talking, five of the beastmen circled around them.

    Yogiri took note of his opponents'' equipment.

    Most of them carried swords. Some were bare-handed, possibly magic users. One of them held a, or rather a rope with weights attached, so their goal was probably to catch them alive.

    "Before we get started: everyone in the back, die."

    And all at once the five behind them copsed ¡ª first off all he wanted to somewhat half their number.

    This was for the sake of experimenting with going easy on opponents.

    On their way to this city they discussed Yogiri''s usage of his power and while there were many things about it that still troubled Tomochika, she did agree to using it to kill enemies in self-defense.

    However, due to the power''s overwhelming strength it wasn''t particrly flexible, so they trieding up with a way to go easy on people.

    "You, what just¡­"

    Unlike Hanakawa and his group, the gang''s leader instantly grasped that it was Yogiri''s doing.

    Having arrived at that conclusion one''s first thought would be to escape, but he and all the beastmen were frozen still. The situation was too strange for them, their instincts couldn''t tell them how to react.

    The correct course of action would have been to beg for their lives. There was no guarantee of being spared, but it was most likely their best chance at survival; Yogiri had already decided to kill them whether they rushed up to attack or turned around to escape.

    Left over were six and Yogiri decided to go through them in order.

    "Half die."

    He spoke as he pointed at a beastman with the features of a tiger, who dropped to the ground the moment he finished. His intention was to kill only the tigerman''s lower half, one of the ideas for going easy on a target.

    Yogiri''s power was to order any target to die, so perhaps it was possible to make only half a creature his target? For Yogiri, who had never thought about using his power differently, this was uncharted territory.

    "AaAAH¡ª¡ª £À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À££££££!"

    The demitiger screamed in words they didn''t understand. He didn''t die instantly, but it didn''t take long for his voice to stop.

    ¡ª¡ªWell, that was to be expected. Instantly losing half your body sounds pretty fatal.

    It was unclear what exactly happened to the beastman''s anatomy, but apparently halving him was overdoing it. Yogiri decided to pinpoint his target further.

    "Right ankle."

    He released his power at a sheeplike demihuman, but blundered. He wasn''t able to focus his power that precisely, possibly due to ack of practice, and his target suffered instant death.

    "Left arm."

    His next target had a leopard''s face. It worked, but once again his target died soon after.

    A sudden urrence of medical dysfunction in one''s left arm: There may be people capable of surviving it, but some might just die from the shock.

    "Not working too wellpared to just going all out¡­"

    Yogiri mumbled as he began considering simply killing them without further thought.

    "Eyeball."

    He used his power on a canine beastman, and was sessful.

    It was a more precise target than an ankle, but perhaps its independence as an organ made it an easier mark.

    "OooOO! £À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À!"

    The dogman writhed on the ground with his hand covering his eye.

    "Nose, ears."

    Yogiri continued to use his power on the beastman. If he possessed the same properties as a dog then first his sense of smell and hearing should be eliminated.

    His ears and nose also died as intended. However, killing three of the five senses could hardly be called a sess as far as going easy on people went.

    "Wh-what the! What in the world nyare you!"

    Mireille fell into panic.

    Before she knew it their number was reduced to three: the Japanese leader, Mireille the catgirl and a lizardlike demihuman of indistinguishable gender.

    One of them released killing intent.

    It seemed the reptilian demihuman was about to make a move, but Yogiri''s counter activated and the attempt was thwarted by instant death.

    Two left.

    "Does it matter? No point in exining."

    Different from their encounter with Hanakawa, this time it wasn''t necessary to collect information. Consequently, there was no need to exin for sake of threatening them.

    Yogiri looked to his side.

    Tomochika made a pained expression, but didn''t try to stop him. It looked like she was prepared to carry the feelings of remorse.

    "H-help! Please save me! I-I was forced to work for this Japanese! I have little brothers at home waiting for me with empty stomachs! M-my father went off somewhere with some woman, and my mother is ill with high fever! I had to make money somehow!"

    Her verbal tic seemed to have only been an act for the sake of gaining the attraction of men; she must have judged that continuing to use it in this situation would only achieve the opposite effect instead.

    The correct course of action. Yogiri had long been tired of her sly nya this nya that.

    "Is that so?"

    "Y-yes! It''s true! So please¨D¨D"

    His reaction gave her a sliver of hope. She quickly separated from her former leader and started walking up to the two sage candidates.

    "And you thought that''d justify mugging people and selling them off?"

    But hearing that, all hope drained from Mireille''s face and revealed despair in its ce. Her legs froze.

    "You, just what are you¡­ an ungifted shouldn''t¡­"

    The leader''s face was twisted by terror as he stumbled backwards.

    "It does feel like I''m getting somewhere with this, but it sure is inefficient. Not really seeing any benefits either."

    All he achieved was terrorizing them, which wasn''t his goal at all.

    "W-we''re both Japanese, aren''t we? Aye? Come on, spare me, eh? This is the only way to survive in this world!"

    "Would you mind not lumping me in with you?"

    In the end, these kinds of people don''t reflect on their actions; they''d just repeat their crimes. Nothing good woulde from letting them live.

    "Die."

    He used his power on both of them. Even if it wasn''t his taste, the experiment had to bepleted.

    But nothing happened.

    "Hah, haha! A misfire, ain''t it!"

    "Quick, now!"

    Both of them dashed away, driven by panic.

    "Huh? Wait, is it fine to let them get away!?

    Tomochika didn''t want to encourage Yogiri''s killing, but she still understood the risk of letting them run.

    "I''m not letting them get away, though?"

    Yet they continued to run at full speed and soon escaped into the maze of alleys.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Mireille ran for her life.

    She lowered her posture all the way to running on all fours and made full use of her body as she dashed over the stone paving.

    "Hey! Don''t run ahead¨D¨D¨D!"

    The leader shouted something, but Mireille paid him no heed. Under no circumstances would she stop and wait for him or anyone.

    She turned through more alleys than she could count, kicked walls to climb, dashed over roofs and continued to flee. Only after she was convinced of having taken more than enough distance did she stop her flight.

    She settled to rest on who knows which building''s roof, but because she exerted her body to its absolute limit her heartbeat wouldn''t calm down.

    "Wh-what the hell¡­ ¡­was that monster¡­"

    It was entirely beyond her understanding.

    Yogiri spoke little more than single words, but each time he did, one of herrades would copse as if a joke. The sight was too absurd for her sense of reality to keep up, but that only intensified the feeling that death wasing down upon them against all reason.

    They should have been mere worthless ungifted.

    Without any power whatsoever, an existence below even ves in this world.

    On top of that, they were incredibly rare Japanese ungifted.

    When she saw them at the weapons shop Mireille blessed her luck.

    It was all supposed to end after capturing them, taking their money and selling them to some nobles.

    Yet why did it turn out this way?

    No matter how she looked at it, she couldn''t ept reality.

    But it didn''t matter anymore.

    She escaped. A reason for joy, Mireille thought.

    ¨D¨DFirst, wait for your senses to calm down.

    She had made up her mind, but that was when she noticed that her surroundings were far too silent.

    There was no sound at all.

    It didn''t take long for her to realize what it meant and a shiver of fear to tear through her.

    Her heartbeat that throbbed in panic only a few moments ago was now barely noticeable.

    "a¡­"

    She groaned, but hardly made a noise before she ran out of air. She could no longer breathe.

    Her heart wasing to a halt.

    Her vision was rapidly turning ck.

    In desperation she stretched out her ws, scratched at the roof as if to take hold of reality, but her actions served no purpose.

    Slowly, the strength she could gather dwindled, and consciousness faded.

    .¡­approaching them was a mistake¡­¡­

    Before long, Mireille quietly ceased to live.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    "I think I mentioned it on our way here, but my power is irreversible. After activating it there''s no way to stop it, the target always dies."

    "Hm, you did say that."

    "But as for how long it takes the target to die there''s some leeway. Well, it can''t really be called going easy on someone, but I''ve barely used it so I went ahead and gave it a test."

    "Which means¡­"

    "They should be dying somewhere right about now."

    From Yogiri''s standpoint all he did was deal with a criminal before the criminal dealt with them.

    Tomochika understood where he wasing from, but she didn''t appear happy about just calling it settled like that.

    "Anyway, let''s get away from here. Even without evidence, we wouldn''t want to be seen in such a scene."

    "Right, true! If someone were to see us here we''d totally look like criminals, wouldn''t we!"

    The sooner they got away from here the better.

    So they thought as they were about to walk out of the alley, when suddenly a figure appeared to block their path.

    "Halt."

    The sudden stranger spoke Japanese and ordered them to stop in a stern voice.

    "What might be the matter?"

    Yogiri did as he was told and returned a question.

    "I am a guard. I have some questions regarding this situation."

    A female knight cut off their exit. Given the soldiers on standby behind her she was most likely a troop leader.

    "Then I''m afraid we can''t help you. We got lost in these alleys and when we got here it already looked like this."

    He looked around him while calmly answering her.

    "That''s a lie."

    The guard scoffed at his words and continued.

    "I would know, because I witnessed it all from start to finish."

    So she dered with ample confidence.

    "Now we really are being seen as the criminals!"

    And Tomochika''sment was loud and clear.

 Chapter 14 - No way Id stay with a guy going on about love hotels

    <h4>Chapter 14 - No way I''d stay with a guy going on about love hotels</h4>

    "Actually, wait a second! Aren''t guards supposed to protect public order!?"

    "Yes, and?"

    The troop leader answered Tomochika with the same confidence as before.

    Blonde hair, blue eyes and sharp facial features; certainly not Japanese, but fluent in thenguage nheless.

    "So you saw what happened! We were about to get kidnapped, why didn''t you interfere!?"

    "That would be what you call a small sacrifice before a great cause. It seems you don''t have an eye for the bigger picture of things! We were investigating a crime syndicate to get the nobles connected to it."

    "So you wanted to track where we would be sold off to?"

    Yogiri made sure to speak in a polite tone. There was no reason to needlessly resist, after all.

    "Exactly! Even if we had captured them here, they wouldn''t have disclosed who they''re dealing with. We''d know, because we''ve repeated that mistake over and over already!"

    "Takatou-kun¡­ This world really doesck decent people¡­"

    He could only agree, although he was thinking the woman was more of a blockhead than a bad person. Randomly disclosing investigation results, bragging about them even, couldn''t be normal.

    "Well, then it''s a shame they all started mysteriously dying. May we leave now?"

    Yogiri yed innocent.

    It would have been easy to kill them all, but the guards held governmental authority. If they could just talk themselves through this situation then that would be for the best.

    "That''s precisely it! Based on what it looked like they all began dying on the spot, indeed. Most mysterious. And that''s why asking you two, the ones that saw it all from close up, would be the quickest route to the root of things."

    "Aren''t you worried it might have been our doing? Getting too close in that case would be dangerous, wouldn''t it?"

    Yogiri wasn''t a fan of unnecessarily digging too deep into things, but he thought it strange and asked her about it.

    "Of course, the possibility that you two are responsible for this is certainly there. You are the ones that were about to be abducted, after all. However! We possess the celestial protection of saints! The gifts of Japanese, those bestowed to them by the sages, do not work on us! How do you like that! I can tell by your look you didn''t know that, did you? Hmmm? Has your anxiety finally caught up with youuu?"

    She smirked, convinced that she sessfully drove the two sage candidates into a corner.

    Since the source of the candidates'' gifts were the sages it would only make sense for them to also have a way to suppress the gifts bestowed by them. There was most likely quite a number of Japanese with the sages'' gifts, which would indeed raise a need for the protectors of public order to have immunity against them.

    ¨D¨DMeaning, opposing the sages with powers given by them would be difficult, huh.

    Yogiri started to feel like he could understand the general gist of things.

    Sages summon sage candidates and give them the task of producing a new sage from among them. Those new sages then summon new candidates themselves, and the cycle repeats. There most likely existed a hierarchy where those of lower rank could impossibly defy those of higher rank.

    "Er, no. No anxiety here. Not like we have gifts in the first ce."

    "What!? Oi, George! Analyze them!"

    "Understood. ¨D¨D Indeed, they do not possess gifts. I don''t see any traces of magic around here either, so the possibility of them having done anything is low, I would say."

    The man right behind the female knight answered. He, too, spoke natural Japanese.

    "How can this be!?"

    She red up at Yogiri, who wasn''t particrly distraught.

    "No point in asking me, I have no clue either."

    "Then why did you lie! Doesn''t that just make you suspicious!?"

    "I only wanted to avoid being questioned for an exnation on the situation. Sorry, but we don''t know what happened here ourselves. Even if we had told you the people around us started copsing and dying out of nowhere, wouldn''t that have been difficult to believe?"

    "Damn it! Fine, whatever! Everyone, get to work! We have to examine their bodies!"

    Peevish like a child the guardswoman took her subordinates along to the back of the blind alley.

    "Sorry about that, you two. A surprise interrogation like that must have been unpleasant. But trust me, themander''s not a bad person. She just has a, well, really bad case of tunnel vision."

    The man called George remained next to Yogiri and apologized to them.

    "No problem, now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. This is a question purely out of curiosity, but you were nning on letting us be kidnapped, right?"

    "It pains me to address it so bluntly, but yes, we concluded that you wouldn''t be killed immediately, and with that in mind we were going to carry out our investigation."

    So he answered, looking even more apologetic than before.

    "Well, we were saved in the end so I guess it''s fine."

    "Ah, but I''m afraid we can''t let you go home right away. May I trouble you toe along to headquarters and fill out an eyewitness report?"

    "Sure. Oh, and not to ask for it as a rpense, but could you introduce us to a ce to stay the night? We were actually supposed to be taken to a hotel when we ended up here instead."

    "Certainly, that''s fine."

    "Hey! One''s alive! A dogman!"

    The troop leader yelled as if she made a scientific breakthrough.

    The only survivor from going easy on them.

    ¨D¨DBest to kill him before any problems arise.

    Or so Yogiri thought, but then again, in a way the dogman was the fruit of hisbor. And so, for sake ofmemoration, he decided to leave him as is.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    After finishing the paperwork Yogiri and Tomochika were let go without any issues.

    He was worried that the request for an eyewitness report was only a facade to arrest them, but luckily that wasn''t the case.

    The people of this world held absolute faith in gifts; him and Tomochika didn''t possess any, so they were hardly even considered suspects.

    They were told about several ces they could stay at and decided to go with the highest ss one among them.

    A cheap hotel might not only be unsanitary but also a hotspot for crime, and since they had more money than they could burn through they both agreed not to be stingy.

    "Ooooh! Wow, this is great! It''s like a castle! Although not like I''ve ever been in one!"

    Tomochika expressed her surprise upon entering the hotel, even throwing in a quip.

    The lobby was bright as if it was day, with all kinds of glowing and sparkling things. One could tell that the furniture was high ss at a nce, and yet it was modest enough to maintain a feeling of harmony. The cleaning staff must have been extremely thorough, there didn''t seem to be a speck of dirt nor dust.

    "Doesn''t this feel sort of like a love hotel?"

    "Huh¡­ Wait, have you been to one!?"

    Tomochika''s surprise went up a notch.

    "I got to stay there for a while once, had a simr feeling to it."

    "Having heard that, this whole atmosphere suddenly feels super cheap!"

    "So, how about the room? Should we share one?"

    High ss as the hotel may be, this was still a different world and one never knew what might happen. As far as safety went Yogiri was thinking that staying together would be for the best.

    "Nuh-uh¨D¨D. No way I''d stay with a guy going on about love hotels¨D¨D"

    "Alright, let''s go with neighboring rooms then."

    He wasn''t that serious when proposing it, and a neighboring room should be good enough to let him protect her.

    They went up to the desk and booked their rooms. There was no problem with getting a room in Japanese, most likely thanks to the high ss nature of the hotel. Finally, they agreed to meet back up in the lobby the next morning.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    After splitting up into their respective rooms Tomochika was alone.

    Her room was plenty well-lit. Magic or electricity, one of the two seemed to allow regting the light at will. It was a single room, but nheless spacious and full of pomp. The bed was huge, more than enough room for both her and Yogiri.

    "Geez, what am I even thinking."

    Currently, Tomochika waspletely reliant on Yogiri; without him she most likely wouldn''t havee this far.

    In that regard she was truly thankful.

    As such, she thought that it would have been difficult to tell him off if he were to approach her under these circumstances.

    "But still, what is he thinking anyway¨D¨D. Wonder if he actually has interest in me¨D¨D. Or is it really just my boobs¨D¨D"

    If such a situation actually arose all of a sudden she would be rather hesitant about it, but, just maybe, after taking the proper steps¡­

    Tomochika couldn''t deny there were feelings like that, but that sentimental mood was blown away in a heartbeat. Someone was in her room.

    "Who''s there!?"

    Whoever it was, he or she was floating in mid-air.

    Immediately running out of the room and calling for Yogiri would have been the smartest choice, but Tomochika was too dazed to react. Not out of fear, but because she recognized that person.

    A fat girl in a kimono, who was far from just being familiar to Tomochika.

    "Sis!?"

    The girl before her had the same face as someone Tomochika was used to seeing nearly every day of her life, her older sister.

 Chapter 15 - My Guardian Spirit Is the Strongest, So Even the Otherworld Is a Cakewalk!

    <h4>Chapter 15 - My Guardian Spirit Is the Strongest, So Even the Otherworld Is a Cakewalk!</h4>

    Tomochika was dumbfounded upon seeing her older sister floating about in her hotel room.

    That alone was already strange, but on top of that her sister was currently in a different world.

    "It''s you¡­ right?"

    Could it be that she had been summoned as well?

    Did she die and turn into a ghost?

    Or had she finally acquired the mastery of floating in the air?

    Tomochika viewed any exnation she coulde up with as usible; her sister, Chihara Dannoura, was just that far beyond the confines ofmon sense.

    ¡ºWould you please notpare me to such a person!¡»

    The voice resounded within Tomochika''s head.

    She may have been told not topare the two, but Tomochika couldn''t think of the voice as any other than her sister''s.

    "Nonono, there''s no way you aren''t my sister. I''ve got some decent confidence there''s no other living being that high up on the weirdness scale, okay?"

    A small but wide frame, far surpassing "plump" and entering the territory of "round," that was her sister. With even just her silhouette being enough to identify her at once, for Tomochika to mistake her was unthinkable.

    ¡ºYou shall call me Mokomoko Dannoura! Wife of the son of the founder of the Dannoura-Style, called the rejuvenator of the Dannoura dynasty and the guardian deity of House Dannoura; your ancestor, your ever-watchful spirit and your guardian angel!¡»

    "Could you not cram everything into one sentence!? I can''t even throw in a retort! Let''s see, the son''s rep, rejuvenator of the dynasty¡­ just how badly did our family stagnate since then!?"

    ¡ºTsk tsk. Absolutely hopeless! You tried, but that was no good at all!¡»

    "Did I just get scolded by a ghost!?"

    And Tomochika realized: maybe she wasn''t talking to her sister after all.

    Her sister was the silly act to her straight-man act, she would neverin about the quality of Tomochika''s jokes.

    "So¡­ you aren''t actually my sister?"

    ¡ºI''m Mokomoko Dannoura!¡»

    "And you''re here why?"

    If she was her guardian angel then wasn''t she supposed to stay hidden from her?

    ¡ºCertainly, as your spiritual protector my role is only to stay with you and fend off evil spirits. However, with a situation this much of a mess I can hardly stay idle and watch, so I decided to actively help. But why talk while standing, feel free to set your bags aside and take a seat.¡»

    "Um, thanks, I''ll do that."

    Technically Mokomoko should have just been a suspicious stranger to Tomochika, but she felt it oddly difficult to oppose her. Maybe it was due to the reminiscence to her sister, but Mokomoko didn''t really give off the feeling of a stranger.

    Tomochika put her bags on the floor and sat down on the bed.

    "Is it fine if I ask a couple questions?"

    ¡ºAsk whatever you wish!¡»

    "Why did you wait this long to show yourself? Haven''t there been several situations you could have helped out in already?"

    ¡ºI was waiting for you to be alone. That youngster with you is seriously scary!¡»

    "Youngster? Oh, Takatou-kun?"

    ¡ºRight. If I showed up out of nowhere I might have been erased on the spot, so, well, I''d appreciate it if you could tell him about my existence as soon as tomorrow.¡»

    "I can do that, but¡­ you''re a ghost, right? Can Takatou-kun even kill you?"

    Yogiri''s power was certainly incredible, but could it be used on something vague like a ghost? Tomochika had her doubts.

    ¡ºAs a decently high ranking divine spirit myself I can instinctively tell when things are trouble, and that youngster is triggering that instinct big time.¡»

    "Hm, alright then, I''ll talk with him and you should be fine. So next, what was that abouting to my help?"

    ¡ºMhm, indeed. If I were to put it like a title of one of those recently popr web novels, it would be something like¡¸My Guardian Spirit Is the Strongest, So Even the Other World Is a Cakewalk!¡¹¡»

    "I have no clue what you mean with that roundabout of an exnation!"

    It was an odd way to put it for a ghost of the Heian era.

    (Note: Heian era: 794-1185)

    ¡ºWell, as you can gather from what I said I''m a purely spiritual entity. I can''t assist you in a physical manner, so my helping will be mostly limited to spiritual protection. As a matter of fact, I''ve already started doing so. Remember that time with the system or whatever? I''m the one that stopped it from installing.¡»

    "Aha! So it was you! What are you doing going around tinkering with things!"

    ¡ºOh? Did you actually want something that obscure?¡»

    Tomochika didn''t have an answer.

    If the system''s install had seeded her ssmates wouldn''t have abandoned her, but would that really have been for the best?

    ¡ºFrankly, I wouldn''t rmend getting that thing. It''s designed for battle, just by having it installed one''s readiness to fight increases, one''s fear of death decreases and one''s aversion to manughter is numbed. You''re basically turned into a battle junkie.¡»

    "Huh¡­ my ssmates didn''t look that different."

    ¡ºMaybe not at first, but the change proceeds gradually. After all, only those fit for battle can survive in this world.¡»

    "Does that mean the other ones the system didn''t install for also had some kind of guardian?"

    ¡ºNo clue about the rest. I''m the only guardian spirit that came along to this world.¡»

    There''s no way to find out at this point, but there might have been a reason the install failed for the others.

    "You said something about being the guardian deity of the Dannoura-Style earlier, but then why are you with me? Wouldn''t Chihara be a better fit?"

    Her older sister Chihara Dannoura was the just sessor of the Dannoura-Style, so if there was someone to watch over as guardian deity then it should have been her, Tomochika thought.

    ¡ºThat one''s no good as a sessor, too weak. Which is why I need you to live on and return to our world.¡»

    "I''d love to go home, trust me, but right now all I''m doing is rely on Takatou-kun for that, really¡­"

    The Dannoura-Style of archery.

    A style of the Heian era thatbined the use of weapons and hand-to-handbat, taught on in House Dannoura ever since, until the present day. Tomochika was familiar with it, but in a world with dragons, magic and special skills she didn''t see much use in regr martial arts.

    ¡ºIndeed, even if you were reasonably proficient in the Dannoura-Style, you wouldn''t get very far with it. As such! I shall teach you: the True Dannoura-Style!¡»

    Mokomoko broke into a smugugh and Tomochika started to get a bad feeling.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Tomochika''s exhaustion could be read from her face when she arrived in the lobby.

    "Morning. Couldn''t sleep?"

    Yogiri spoke with a refreshed face, the fact he had a great sleep written all over it.

    "Ah, well, there were some distractions. So, what''s the n for today? Gathering information to catch up with the rest of the ss?"

    For now their objective was to regroup with their ssmates, who were currently on the way to the royal capital, so their first step should be to investigate the routes for traveling there.

    "Right, about that. I already took some measures in that regard."

    "Huh? When?"

    "Last night."

    "Wait, did you go out and about all by yourself!?"

    "Nah, nothing like that. I asked the person over there, a concierge."

    Yogiri pointed to a woman in a suit on the other end of the lobby.

    When Tomochika looked over there thedy made a light bow.

    A wless beauty, and without really knowing why Tomochika felt overwhelmed.

    "She looked into our ssmates'' whereabouts, told me several ways to get there ourselves, prepared us an item that''ll allow us to bypass thenguage barrier and even came up with a way to charge my console."

    "That concierge is so capable there''s nothing left for us to do!"

    Almost all the problems they had been racking their brains over were solved in a single night by the stunning concierge.

 Chapter 16 - Of course youd be able to make a charger

    <h4>Chapter 16 - Of course you''d be able to make a charger</h4>

    Yogiri and Tomochika sat down at one of the meeting corners in the hotel''s lobby.

    Opposite of them sat the concierge and rolled out on the tabley a map.

    "My name is Celestina, concierge at this hotel."

    "Ah, right, hello."

    Since Tomochika tagged along Celestina introduced herself anew.

    "Now, the distance from this city, Kuenza, to Valeria, the royal capital, is roughly 140 kilometers. To put it into more familiar terms, it''s about the distance from Osaka to Nagoya."

    "That''s so easy to understand it''s baffling again!"

    But that was the fluently Japanese speaking Celestina for you, being familiar with the geography of Japan may have been to be expected.

    "Osaka and Nagoya, huh. I wonder which would be the royal capital?"

    (Note: A Japanese history reference.)

    "Takatou-kun! Could you not raise such an ominous allusion!"

    "There''s quite a lot of ground to be covered until you arrive at the capital, but I have been told that your ssmates are traveling on foot. Since their side objective is to gather experience and raise their levels on their way, I suspect them to pass through the ancient woonds of Hakua."

    Yogiri took a look at the map.

    If they were to head to the capital in a straight line they would have to go through the Hakua old-growth forest, the Ga canyon and the Meldo ins.

    However, there was no way from them to tell where on that route their ssmates currently were.

    While Yogiri was in thought like that, Celestina showed them several sheets of paper.

    "Here''s a chart of the monsters of Hakua with their respective habitats, and here''s an encounter rate, calcted by considering the monsters'' ecological habits. The levels of the sage candidates may be low, but they''re still stronger than regr fighters; keeping that in mind and ounting for their probable time spent resting I believe them to be somewhere around this area."

    Celestina pointed at the map, upon which a symbol appeared about halfway through the ancient woonds of Hakua.

    It seemed to be around 20 kilometers away from Kuenza, less than Tomochika expected.

    "Oh? They didn''t get further than that in one day?"

    "The forest of Hakua is a dangerous region, this group could be called rather quick."

    "And it seems we''ve got multiple options for catching up to them, but the one Celestina rmends is to go by train."

    Yogiri, who had already heard the story, added on to the exnation.

    "Indeed. By making a detour around the Hakua forest by train and getting off at the Hayabusa station, located between Hakua and the Ga canyon, you should be able to get ahead of your ssmates. The only problem with this route is that should your ssmates face unexpected difficulties and change their course it would be difficult to catch up to them. In that regard it would be better to follow them on the route they passed through themselves. If you were to gather information as you advanced catching up to them should be fairly easy. However, entering Hakua as just the two of you would be quite reckless, I rmend first gatheringpanions and preparing various equipment for this route."

    "Personally I''d be fine with going by train. If we don''t manage to group up with them on the way then we can just head to the capital, sooner orter they''ll get there as well. Also, chasing after them sounds like a pain."

    "Why do I feel like ''sounds like a pain'' is your main reasoning?"

    The conversation stopped for a moment and Celestina ced two bits of paper on the desk.

    "Here are two train tickets bound for the capital, valid today."

    "How do you even have these at hand!?"

    "This hotel reserves train seats at all times."

    If they had requested travelpanions and equipment she would probably also have provided them in a heartbeat, Yogiri thought.

    And so traveling discussions were settled for now and Celestina moved on to the next topic, cing two nes on the table.

    "Since Takatou-sama said not to worry about money it turned out a little expensive, but here are the requested nes. They are magical items that instantly trantenguages, but even so, trusting thempletely isn''t to be rmended either, so I suggest consulting these as well."

    So she spoke as she put two books on the table.

    On a side note, all the items Celestina was bringing forth had been stored on a shelf behind here.

    "They are dictionaries for this world''snguage and Japanese. Pronunciation is described with katakana, they should be helpful for studying. I could give you lessons in thenguage, but sadly time only allows for this much, my apologies."

    "No-no, no need to apologize¨D¨D"

    Tomochika was a little taken aback my Celestina''s deep bow of her head.

    "Next, these rings will allow you to hide your status, customized in a way that makes them disy one that shouldn''t cause any problems.

    As she spoke she ced two rings on the table. They had a simple design and were silver in color.

    "Normally they only disy a single fake status, but taking your position into consideration I decided to apply a twoyer disguise. Under regr circumstances you will appear to have the status of amoner, and should that status be seen through a sage candidate''s status will be disyed."

    "I see, so we''ll be pretending to be sage candidates pretending to bemoners, huh. And when that first disguise is seen through we''ll just look all the more convincing."

    "Although the first disguise won''t be breached that easily, I dare say."

    "Hearing Celestina-san say that with so much confidence makes it feel like it might as well be impossible to crack¡­"

    "You can also change which status is currently being disyed at will. Tapping the ring three times in session will make it sh in red light and change to the status of a sage candidate, another three taps will make it sh in green light and return to themoner status."

    A particrly doubtful person might see through bothyers or tell them to remove their rings, but if they were ever doubted that much then they were probably seen through from the start.

    Where these rings would really show their worth was in letting them avoid being approached by random thugs in cities likest time.

    "And finally, this."

    She ced something square-shaped on the table.

    Whatever it was, its sides were roughly 15 centimeters in length, its material was metal and attached to it was a crank.

    "Since I don''t specialize in industrial design it turned into such an awkward form, I apologize."

    "Huh? What''s that? Something you made?"

    "Quite so. Turning this crank generates electricity. Please use this cable to connect your gaming console to it."

    "Sigh¡­ Of course you''d be able to make a charger¡­"

    Tomochika was both astonished and dumbfounded.

    "Mas are easy enough to acquire, so making it generate electricity wasn''t that difficult of a task. The problem was matching the electric power''s standard and adjusting the power output. Condensing it to such a size was the limit of a single night."

    Some slight frustration could be felt in the way she seemed to want to add on that she could have made it even morepact if only she had more time.

    "How''d you get this cable?"

    The cable appeared to be pre-made, so Yogiri asked about it. Indeed, even in Celestina''s case, making a PVC cable and a fitting connector in a single night didn''t seem doable.

    "Due to the summonings there are some Japanese products circting in this world, although quite limited in quantity. Finding a charger itself would have been the quickest, but sadly I wasn''t able to. However, instead I was able to acquire various different pieces with which I was able to create a finished product after all. Pardon me, but would it be possible to attain your satisfaction with this substitute?"

    Despite her usually impable appearance, here she showed a hint of unease.

    "This is more than enough, thank you."

    Yogiri gave her his most genuine thanks, which she received with a smile.

    The previous night he had decided to try asking the concierge for help, but he would have never thought that she would go this far for them.

    "I heard that concierges never say ''no,'' but to think it was the same in different worlds¡­"

    Tomochika, despite still being slightly shocked, voiced her admiration while Yogiri quickly put on a ring and ne. When he was about to put the charger into his rucksack he saw that it was already full with treasure. Without hesitating he took out the valuables and made ce for the charger.

    "Oi, Takatou-kun, what are you doing?"

    "There''s not enough room, okay? Actually, hm¡­ Celestina, can we let you take care of this?"

    "Certainly. I shall handle it with responsibility."

    It was quite the fortune, but Celestina didn''t seem bothered in the slightest.

    "Can we really leave this much behind? I mean, I''m still carrying some, but still."

    "I didn''t take out all of it, we should be fine. Ah, right. Since we''re leaving it with you, could we ask you to invest it?"

    Yogiri spontaneously thought of it and decided to ask her. Somehow he felt like Celestina would be able to raise a profit.

    "Are you certain? One can never guarantee sess in such financial matters."

    "It''s fine even if you lose it, we''ll be leaving it all to you."

    "Takatou-kun, even a concierge has their limits, you can''t just ask her to¨D¨D"

    "Understood."

    "You won''t say ''no'' even to that!?"

    Even Yogiri, who only asked on a whim, was surprised.

 Chapter 17 - The eyeballs besides the point

    <h4>Chapter 17 - The eyeball''s besides the point</h4>

    While Yogiri and Tomochika were departing by train at noon, George of the first guardian unit and Edelgard, the leader thereof, arrived at the feudal lord''s castle.

    At its top there was a wide open area, where him, Edelgard and the feudal lord were currently awaiting a guest. The two guards were in their military uniforms, not wearing their regr armors, whereas the feudal lord was d in most extravagant clothing.

    "I know this is about what happenedst night, but did we really have to call for a Sage because of it?"

    Edelgard only had the now lost trace to the still hidden background syndicate in mind.

    Despite how cautious the criminals usually were, they finally got careless when they jumped at the ungifted Japanese, but in the end the guards weren''t able to find any useful clues once more.

    "Well, isn''t there the possibility for it to be that important of a matter? After all, a whole group of people died right before our eyes, yet we don''t even know why or how."

    George was at his wit''s end.

    As turned out during their investigation, ten people were victims of the mysterious death. Calling it a major incident wouldn''t be too unreasonable.

    "Even though the ones that died were random thugs of some provincial city?"

    "Isn''t it less about who died and more about how they died? We might be dealing with some kind of infectious disease or poisonous gas here, I wouldn''t be surprised if one of those responsible for governing this world, namely a Sage, showed interest in the matter."

    "Mhm, I still doubt a Sage would concern themselves over it. Then again, no point in trying to think it through; not like we could ever grasp a Sage''s thoughts!"

    Edelgard threw out her chest as she spoke, although the reason she said it in such a bragging manner was beyond George.

    "You guys, don''t act up in front the sage, aight?"

    The feudal lord warned them.

    Incidentally, as far as hierarchy went there was no leader-subordinate rtion between feudal lords and guard soldiers. Reason for that was the guardians'' task of keeping Japanese individuals in check, which meant that the feudal lords among the sage acolytes, who were Japanese, could very well turn into targets for investigation.

    "Say, weren''t we two the only ones ordered to be present?"

    "Hey now, if a sage''s gonna pay a visit to my castle then obviously I gotta be around to wee them."

    "Hmph. Is that so, eh."

    The discussion stopped and the mood turned sour, but that didn''tst long. Soon a floating disk appeared in the sky above them.

    Because the sages resided on top of the floating continent, this was their usual means of transportation.

    The silver disknded on the roof, its hatch opened and a woman in a deep red dress exited the vessel.

    Sage Lain. She held the title of the Great Sage''s great-grandchild as well as the responsibility for this city and its surrounding area.

    "I appreciate the reception."

    Lain received their wee with an arrogant air and walked up to the feudal lord.

    "Been a while, hasn''t it, Masahiko? Everything going well?"

    "It''s been a while, indeed, Lain-sama. Yes, there are no problems."

    It seemed like Lain and the feudal lord, Masahiko, knew each other from their time as sage candidates.

    "And you''re Edelgard? I read the report. Take me to the survivor."

    "Yes, ma''am! He was already moved to this castle."

    Edelgard answered with a salute and lead Lain inside.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    After entering the castle they all changed location to a room with only a simple bed, on top of it a beastman bound by rope.

    The sole survivor of the previous night''s incident.

    There were no external injuries, but his eyes, nose and ears no longer served their purpose. As such, there was no way for them to question him.

    The sage requested to see this beastman, so George and Edelgard relocated him to the castle.

    Lain walked up to the dogman and inspected him with interest.

    "Hmm, no issues as far as looking at him tells me."

    Lain went ahead and pulled up his eyelid. The eye was fine, not squashed, crushed or anything alike.

    Even so, when she made him face the light that was pouring in from the window there was no reaction whatsoever.

    "Indeed. We applied medical treatment for sake of questioning him, but there weren''t really any signs of healing."

    "In the report I read that healing magic proved ineffective as well?"

    "Correct."

    Having heard George''s answer, Lain moved the finger that had been pulling up the eyelid and shoved it into the eye socket.

    "Sage-sama!?"

    "I''m the kind of person that''s not convinced until they''ve taken a closer look themselves."

    The dogman squirmed on the bed and raised a voice of anguish. His reaction wasn''t surprising; Lain was literally pulling out his eyeball.

    "Quiet."

    That word alone was enough to make the dogman stop moving. His ears shouldn''t have been able to hear, and yet his body went stiff; perhaps he could feel the terror with his skin.

    Lain tore the eyeball off the optic nerve and held it before her eyes.

    She took a long hard look, but it was no more than a regr eyeball.

    "Doesn''t look too unusual. Masahiko, you feeling like giving a new eye a try?"

    "O, oi! Please spare me with such jokes."

    The feudal lord''s face went pale for a moment, but it looked like he realized it was a joke right away. Surely those words weren''t actually an order.

    And yet, he couldn''t exactly breathe a sigh of relief. Even if she was joking this time, her mood may just change at any time.

    "Anyway, the eyeball''s besides the point. Let''s move on to the real deal. Heal."

    She threw away the eyeball and casted healing magic on the beastman.

    Change urred in the empty socket right away: from one moment to the next a new eyeball appeared.

    Indeed, the sage''s incredible magic power made the dogman''s eyeball regenerate in an instant.

    However, the new pupil seemed just as empty as the previous one, void of any reflection.

    "Doesn''t look like he can see. So despite his organ making a full recovery, its function is still lost. Interesting. Let''s try this then."

    Lain raised the corners of her mouth, upon which her canines grew longer.

    Right after, she sunk her teeth into the beastman''s neck.

    "What are you doing, Sage-sama!"

    Lain''s sudden action gave Edelgard a shock.

    "Sage Lain-sama is a vampire, were you not aware?"

    "But wasn''t shepletely fine back on the roof!"

    Vampires were of the undead, which meant that the sun weakened them. This wasmon knowledge in their world.

    "Lain-sama''s ss is Origin Blood. The highest rank among undeads, also called Queen of Unlife and Immortal Empress. It goes without saying that such a person wouldn''t be bothered by the sun."

    "Ooh, you sure know your stuff! And here I thought the Sages'' amazingness was only in their magic."

    While Edelgard was getting over her surprise the vampire had finished her deed and separated from the neck.

    The dogman''s body began changing right away.

    His nails started growing, his muscles began bulging and his lips gave way to the long canines characteristic for vampires.

    When he moved his limbs about, the rope that was supposed to restrain him ripped just like that. He rolled over and fell off the bed.

    "Kneel."

    Lainmanded the beastman at her feet.

    In response, her new underling pped his limbs, but that was all. It appeared he could tell that he had been given an order and was desperately trying to fulfil it, but he had no way of knowing what kind of order it actually was. At least, that''s what it looked like to George.

    "So even turning him into my blood won''t do. Now that''s funny, not even telepathy is working."

    Vampires are creatures that turn people into their followers by sucking their blood, which normally mademunication through telepathy possible, but even that was being cancelled in the beastman''s case.

    "Oh well, now he''s one of my followers. Do you mind if I take him with me?"

    "T-that will be fine, certainly."

    Edelgard gave her agreement.

    Hearing that, George was relieved. He was worried they might end up stuck with their suspect in his current condition.

    "I have to say, this guy has turned into quite an interesting state. The ones responsible for this are the two Japanese by the names of Yogiri Takatou and Tomochika Dannoura, correct?"

    "No, well, since they''re ungifted we doubt there is anything they could have done, really."

    "What kind of idiot are you, Edelgard? Ten people died and those two were the only ones present. Who else are you telling me to suspect?"

    "O-of course, that''s certainly true, but even so we have absolutely no clue how to proceed under that assumption. We can''t lock them away without evidence."

    While Edelgard replied, George prepared himself for death.

    Actually, it was most likely the same for Edelgard, but despite that she didn''t resort to petty excuses.

    There were things that were beyond her understanding. She wasn''t the kind of shrewd person to try hiding that simple truth.

    "I suppose I said some tasteless things there, pardon me. Regarding those two candidates, I actually already heard about them."

    Seeing Lain''s smug grin, George calmed his heart, realizing his life was no longer in jeopardy, and Edelgard replied.

    "Is that so?"

    "One of sage Sion''s acolytes, Youichi Sudou, contacted me. Apparently those two killed humans and a dragon with instant death magic, or at least something that seemed like it. The whole story sounded more than a little ambiguous, but it did spark my interest. That was also when I received your report."

    "I see. How should we proceed in dealing with the two ungifted then?"

    "Mhm, about that¨D¨D"

    Lain was about to say something, but neither of the guards were able to hear it to the end.

    A ring roar sted through the room and made the castle tremble.

    George fell into panic, Edelgard clung onto him and both of them were thrown to the floor, where they rolled about until they bumped into a corner of the room.

    "What in the world just¨D¨D"

    George voiced his confusion as he rose to his feet, no idea what just happened.

    "There!"

    Edelgard pointed to the entrance of the room, where a man was standing in the pose of having just swung his sword, excellently transitioned into a stance with no openings.

    The floor at that man''s feet had formed cracks.

    Difficult to believe as it may be, the earlier earthquake appeared to have been the aftermath of that swordsman''s step-in.

    One half of the door, which had been perfectly split in half, fell to the floor with a thump. However, the man''s sword had cleanly chopped in half not only the door, but the whole room: A red line ran through Lain, vertically and exactly through her middle.

    That the sword shouldn''t have been able to reach that far was undeniable, but George couldn''t interpret the scene as anything other than the sudden attacker having cut Lain into two pieces.

    "Hero¡­"

    George had analyzed him right away.

    "What!?"

    "I performed analyze, it''s the result! Don''t ask me who it is, but he has the Hero ss!"

    Surprise, shock and awe were written all over the two guards'' faces as they witnessed the Hero''s sudden appearance.

 Chapter 18 - Mokomoko-san is watching

    <h4>Chapter 18 - Mokomoko-san is watching</h4>

    A bizarre scene unfolded before George, Edelgard and Masahiko.

    At a single nce it appeared to be a battle between two super humans, carried out at a speed untraceable to the naked eye of a regr person.

    However, the strange thing was the one-sidedness of the battle, and in particr the way it seemed to be far from reaching an end despite that.

    With each of the hero''s swings tremors ran through the castle, walls copsed and floors crumbled. A countless number of shes so fast they merged into a single line cut Lain''s body into ever finer pieces, energy sts hit her stomach and scattered her entrails, bolts of lightning poured down from above and violently ran through her body.

    Lain''s physical condition turned as grim as one would imagine, and yet, just a single momentter, she stood before the hero again as if nothing had happened.

    The sage appeared so unaffected, if it weren''t for her thoroughly tattered clothing it would have been difficult to believe she was under such a brutal barrage of attacks just a few moments ago.

    Be it losing an arm, getting decapitated, having her entire body encased by an inferno: the next instant she would stand before them once more, without injury.

    "What in the world¡­ Is this how Heroes¡ª¡ª, no, Sages fight?"

    Edelgard raised her voice, filled with both dread and amazement. The two guards were watching the battle from a corner of the room.

    Fortunately the hero focused only on the sage and made sure none of his attacks would particrly wound any of the bystanders, they would have most likely died from coteral damage a long time ago if he didn''t. That said, they still had to fend off the chunks of rubble that came flying every now and then.

    George was as stunned as Edelgard and replied.

    "Can you even call it a fight? Sage-sama doesn''t seem to be doing anything at all."

    "Could it be she cancelled the Hero''s gift?"

    George was close to saying ''Do his attacks look like that of an ungifted to you?,'' but after desperately trying to make sense of the scene before them that exnation didn''t seem that unreasonable anymore either; the sight was just that abnormal.

    "No, actually that can''t be. The heroes'' gifts are bestowed by the Sword Saints, so it shouldn''t be possible for Sages to interfere. I believe Lain-sama really is receiving those attacks head-on, and instantly regenerating against them."

    Gifts are continuously passed on to the next generation and those at the top of that chain of inheritance are able to regte the gifts below them, but since the heroes are not connected to the sages they are outside of their control.

    A sign of that separation is the difference in powers they bestow. While the sages'' gifts tend to be rted to the use of magic, the sword saints'' gifts tend to be of a more physical nature. The hero before them was no exception, using a sword as his main weapon.

    And while the spectators had their short talk the hero stopped his onught. He seemed to have realized his current strategy wasn''t working.

    "How about you just give up and leave again?"

    She truly was unwounded, and before they knew it even her dress had magically returned to its original form.

    "Damn monster!"

    Despite his outburst of anger the hero knew that giving in to his resentment and attacking blindly wouldn''t serve any purpose. For now he merely red at her.

    "Then how about we use this short break to have a conversation."

    Lain looked genuinely carefree, as if she didn''t even consider herself to have been under attack just seconds ago.

    The hero didn''t reply. However, neither did he go back on the attack; he may have had something to buy time for.

    "You look like a hero alright, but why would a hero attack a sage? Shouldn''t you be defeating some demon lord?"

    That was also what George had been thinking. Sages were the ones governing this world, the ones protecting it, so what meaning was there in trying to kill one?

    "Don''t screw with me! You guys are nothing but harm to this world!"

    "Not like I''m one to talk objectively, but personally I''d say us sages are handling things pretty well. We don''te down to interfere with things that often, and don''t you guys have plenty of freedom to do your own thing? Even if you don''t feel like that, we are still the protectors of this world. What do you think you''re aplishing by killing one of us? Just let us do our job."

    "Don''t tell me about freedom! How many people do you think died just because some sage felt like it?!"

    "Sure, there are people that have died on a sage''s whim, but if we weren''t protecting this world a whole lot more would be dying, you know?"

    "Are you telling me to overlook your cruelty because of that!"

    "Hmm, here I thought heroes were supposed to fight for the greater good, but apparently that''s not the case. Did someone close to you get killed by a sage? Stolen from you? Manipted? Well, whatever it is, you came to the wrong one. I barelye down here."

    "You''re only the first! I''ll kill every single one of you!"

    Having bought enough time the hero entered his battle stance again.

    He rose his sword to the skies and put all his power into throwing it towards the sage, where it pierced the floor to Lain''s feet. He wasn''t aiming at her.

    Firmly nted into the ground the sword''s broad de began to shine and as if to answer the sword, Lain''s surroundings also started brightening up: countless little des were sticking out of the ground to the sage''s feet ¡ª¡ª the hero must have scattered them at some point during the earlier attack ¡ª¡ª and reacted to the glowing straight sword, thin rays of light beaming from one de to the next.

    Only an instantter the beams began bending and cracking and soon an intricately designed magic circle had formed across the floor, the sage exactly in its middle.

    "Do you think I care about your immortality!? Let''s see you regenerate after I burn your entire being to nothing!"

    The geometrical shape on the floor pulsated, unfolded countless times from within itself and finally turned into a solid body. At a speed one couldn''t follow with their eyes Lain had been caged away.

    The hero''s right arm trembled as he stretched it out ahead of him, with his left hand he suppressed its shaking.

    It was clear that the hero was about to go all out with his next attack, but George and the others couldn''t interfere. He may have appeared defenseless, but the difference in actual power between them was just too overwhelming; had they approached him they would have been shut down in a heartbeat.

    "Die!"

    The hero shouted at the top of his lungs and the prison of light shone even brighter than before.

    However, after a single sh it was already over.

    The light ceased and everything was gone. The small des the hero had used for the spell, the straight sword that looked like it had been plucked out of a legend, the beastman that was rolling around on the floor, and Lain.

    The produced heat must have been immense, for even the floor had started to melt and glow likeva.

    "Ariel¡­ I''ve finally¡­ ¡­taken down the first¡­"

    The hero mumbled something as he lost the strength in his feet and fell to his knees. He put so much into that one attack he could hardly even stand.

    "How¡­ how do we even treat a case like this?"

    "What do you mean!? Of course the killing of a Sage is a major crime! We must immediately arrest him!"

    Edelgard''s usual habit of acting before thinking made George want to lie down and curl up next to the hero.

    No matter how weakened he may be, they had no chance of arresting a hero. George looked over to the feudal lord at the other side of the room with a gaze that said "If you''re an acolyte of sages then can''t you do something about this?," but Masahiko vehemently shook his head. The responding gaze was equally vocal: "No way."

    "So is this Ariel your dead lover or something?"

    But there wasn''t anything for George or Masahiko to do.

    Just like she did all those times before, Lain stood in her spot anew.

    Despair warped the hero''s face.

    "¡­How¡­ ¡­did you escape¡­?"

    "I didn''t. Why would I if I can''t be killed anyways?"

    "¡­This can''t be¡­ even Sword Saint Kartena was tracelessly erased by this heat, there shouldn''t have been anything left of you¡­"

    As a matter of fact, Lain truly was entirely eradicated by that attack.

    "I wouldn''t be having such a hard time if I could die just by burning to utter nothingness. Honestly you might as well think about this degree of immortality as a curse, I don''t even want to think about how much longer I''ll live."

    "¡­kill me¡­"

    After beingpletely outmatched despite expending both body and soul, the hero drowned in despair.

    "What are you talking about? All you did was re up at me, I don''t have a reason to kill you."

    Lain responded to the hopeless hero with a voice that merely sounded a little tired of the situation.

    It looked like for her, just being assaulted wasn''t a reason to kill somebody. Her degree of tolerance was so excessive it gave George a feeling of eeriness.

    "Pardon me, but how should this be settled then?"

    George addressed Lain. If the hero were to die here he couldn''t cause any more trouble, but Lain''s intentions seemed to be elsewhere.

    "Just deal with him ording to thew. Home invasion, murder and destruction of property, those offenses basically cover it all, don''t they?"

    "Well, certainly, but I doubt us guards would be able to detain a Hero."

    "Mhm, indeed. Then let''s go with this."

    Lain grabbed the hero''s arm, turned around to a hole in the wall and flung him out like a piece of rubbish.

    "Wha¡ª¡ª!?"

    "You guys can''t take care of him, I don''t feel like killing him. If he''s going to be a problem just by being around then let''s all agree he never came here in the first ce."

    She said she didn''t want to kill him, but the room they were in was quite high up ¡ª¡ª high enough for a normal person to instantly die from the fall.

    "Understood. No one but us hase here."

    The sages'' words were absolute. Furthermore, that way of handling things was also the most convenient for him and Edelgard.

    "Well then, since the dogman got sted away we might as well call it a day. Edelgard. As I was going to say earlier, track down Yogiri Takatou and contact me as soon as you figure out where he is."

    "Yes, Ma''am!"

    Despite being thrown from one strange situation into the next, Edelgard didn''t appear perturbed in the slightest.

    George could only admit that being as thickheaded as her was amazing in a way.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    That same time somewhere else, Yogiri and Tomochika were riding a train.

    "Why do I have to crank a charger while being half buried by a fat ghost!?"

    "Well, since the battery''s empty it won''t run unless it''s being charged."

    ¡ºI don''t upy any physical space so there''s nothing to be upset about, is there? I for one don''t mind.¡»

    "It''s, I don''t know, stuffy! If you don''t mind then go sit next to Takatou-kun instead!"

    ¡ºErr, no, I''d rather not. He''s scary.¡»

    Of the four train seats, Tomochika and Yogiri were upying the ones opposite each other. Mokomoko sat in the seat next to Tomochika, but because of how plump she was she also filled half of the neighboring seat.

    "Then just go float in the air!"

    Even though she had her part to say about it Tomochika continued to crank the charger, and Yogiri, unconcerned by the quarrel,fortably yed his game.

    ¡ºThat''s not as easy as you may think. When traveling in a vehicle I can lose my grasp of rtive movement at any time! I have to keep up a proper image of moving along with the train, for example by sitting in a seat like this, or I might get left behind.¡»

    "You''re so troublesome for being a ghost! Just vanish then!"

    ¡ºIt''s not like I intentionally made myself visible to you, you simply became able to see me.¡»

    Tomochika must have identally acquired ghost vision at some point.

    "Noticing something once can be a big deal."

    Now Yogiri joined their discussion. When Tomochika told him about Mokomoko''s existence he ended up seeing her as well.

    ¡ºExactly! It''s like when somebody points out a person''s ear hair and even though you didn''t even notice it at first from then on you can''t look at anything else!¡»

    "What''s with thatparison, are you actually an existence of the same level as ear hair!?"

    ¡ºAh, forget what I just said. Give me a minute and I''ll think of a better example!¡»

    "Anyway, if Dannoura-san is the one switching seats there won''t be a problem, right?"

    "Oh, true!"

    If it''s just her and Yogiri then there would be more than enough space. For some reason she was under the impression they had to sit across from each other.

    Tomochika quickly changed seats and, now sitting next to Yogiri, peeked at his console''s screen.

    His y style was clumsy as ever.

    Having enthusiasm for games and being skilled at them appeared to be two different things.

    ¡ª¡ªWuah, I''m way too close!

    Just as Tomochika noticed how far she had leaned in to watch Yogiri y he suddenly stopped the game and looked at her.

    "Ah, y-yes?"

    She was getting a little panicky from being stared at, but Yogiri ignored that and pushed her down.

    "Wha¡ª! Now wait a moment! What are you doing!? M-mokomoko-san is watching!"

    ¡ºDon''t let me bother you, since I''m your guardian spirit you''d best get used to it early on.¡»

    "Actually, wait more than a moment! Mokomoko-san, do you intend to be next to me at all times!?"

    CRASH

    While Tomochika was fidgeting about, something cut by right above them.

    "Huh?"

    She looked past Yogiri''s shoulders and saw the sky. Which is to say, the train''s ceiling got blown away.

    But it wasn''t just the ceiling, the upper parts of the seats had also vanished, and if it weren''t for Yogiri pushing her down her head would most likely have suffered the same fate.

    "I think this is a good time for an exnation!"

    "Sensed some killing intent."

    ''Killing intent'' was a rathercking description for it; hazards to his life were concretely visible to Yogiri.

    "I wonder what''s going on, I''d be surprised if someone was targeting us."

    They didn''t know where the attack came from, but it looked like the train cars were being thrashed by several somethings.

    The train made an emergency stop and loud rms started ringing.

 Chapter 19 - Like Nobunaga Oda and Enchou Sanyuutei

    <h4>Chapter 19 - Like Nobunaga Oda and Enchou Sanyuutei</h4>

    ¡ºA notice to all passengers. It appears a Sage has enteredbat with an Aggressor nearby. On grounds of official wartime regtions, all freight and carriage contracts are hereby voided. For refunds on tickets, please consult the responsible station offices.¡»

    A loud voice sounded through the area before cutting out with a crack.

    "¡­How should we even interpret that?"

    Tomochika asked Yogiri, who was still on top of her.

    "''Whatever happens, not our problem,'' I guess?"

    "They won''t even help us evacuate!?"

    "Well, if those attacks from earlier are going to continue I doubt the train staff will have the time to look after passengers."

    "Then first of all, can you move? Not like this will help against one of those things from before."

    The situation seemed to have calmed down for the time being, so Yogiri got off of her and took a look around the train car. Based on the way the train was destroyed a bunch of objects must have run right through it, cleanly cutting out several parts of its frame. The scene made him recall his ssmate Higashida, whose fireball caused a simr phenomenon.

    Since the train had been fully booked there must have been casualties, but the scenery wasn''t actually that gruesome; most of the dead bodies had vanished along with the missing train parts.

    By now, all the passengers had begun frantically getting off the train. Yogiri watched on and spoke up.

    "Getting off the train won''t help a whole lot if that same attack happens again, will it? Then again, there''s not much point in staying here either, let''s pack up as well."

    The train had already suffered quite the damage, it was unlikely it would start up again even if the sage''s battle ended.

    And so they gathered their belongings and walked out of the now empty train.

    Because Mokomoko Dannoura was a ghost, Yogiri didn''t particrly pay attention to whether she was with them, but she would probably tag along even if they left her behind.

    The railway they were on was right between the Hakua ancient woonds and the Ga canyon. Facing the direction they were traveling Hakua was to their left and Ga to their right.

    Yogiri looked over to the Ga canyon where he assumed the attack hade from. A good ways from the rails a steep cliff marked the start of the canyon, to the bottom of whichy a river. After that came a steep, rocky mountain that had its stoneid bare. The river went on to branch it many smaller ones, giving thendscape abyrinthine appearance.

    "What exactly even happened?"

    Tomochika spoke as she turned to face the same direction as Yogiri, and found an answer right away.

    There was a giant.

    "A robot! Hey, that''s totally a giant robot!"

    Tomochika got a little hysteric, but indeed, a huge humanlike something was clinging to the rocky surface of the mountain.

    What stood out were its four arms and the way its metallic skeleton was ratherckluster in armoring despite its gigantic size. Its two left hands were holding on to the mountain cliff while its two right ones were wielding a massive shield and sword.

    The head had horns and, as if it were too heavy for its slender frame, gave it a slightly hunched back.

    As Tomochika pointed out it was most likely a machine; nowhere on its body was something that appeared organic.

    "I''m guessing that''s the Aggressor they mentioned. Where''s the sage then?"

    "Isn''t it that guy over there?"

    When Yogiri looked in the direction Tomochika was pointing to he saw a floating person high up in the air near the robot. Compared to the colossus the sage barely made up a speck in the sky.

    "Wow, good job noticing him from here."

    He was genuinely impressed, her eyesight really was something else.

    ¡ºDon''t underestimate the physical abilities of those of House Dannoura. Like in those martial arts manga, the name Dannoura has established itself by regrly winning over the blood of famous people! Like Nobunaga Oda and Enchou Sanyuutei, a lot of legends are mixed into our bloodline!¡»

    "Huh, I didn''t know about that¡­ Wait, what kind of physical feats are you asking for from a storyteller!?"

    (Note: Enchou Sanyuutei: famous writer and rakugo performer)

    Tomochika was doubtful, that was her first time hearing about it.

    ¡ºIt worked out in the end so don''t mind the details.¡»

    Meanwhile, the sage and aggressor resumed their fight.

    The destruction continued with an energy st fired by the sage getting blocked by the giant''s shield, rebounding off of it and erasing entire chunks of the surrounding mountains and cliffs in an instant.

    It appeared they found the cause of the train''s demolition.

    In return, the giant himself went on the attack with a sword sh. Based on the sword''s massive size it must have had equally massive weight, but with how nimbly the robot handled it it almost appeared weightless. Each swing of the sword shaved off parts of the mountainscape.

    And suddenly, the giant robot disappeared.

    The mountain it was using as its foothold copsed and a quick look around the area revealed the giant''s figure on a different mountain summit ¨D¨D he jumped.

    From there he used his right arms to fetch what looked like an assault rifle that had been holstered to his back and began a rapid-fire onught.

    Mountains crumbled and sshes like water fountains rose from the rivers; with each blink of the eye the canyon''s geography changed.

    Neither of the two seemed to pay any heed to their surroundings and even for Yogiri it wasn''t a situation he could view optimistically. Countless stray bullets hade flying their way and the number of fleeing passengers hit by them steadily increased.

    "Well this is problematic. Escaping from here looks like it''s going to be difficult."

    "Your carefree expression really doesn''t fit those words."

    Yogiri took out their map and, by considering the time they had spent traveling andparing thendscape around them to that of the map, judged that they were about ten kilometers away from the Hayabusa train station.

    "Dodging stray bullets for ten kilometers is pretty risky, maybe we should enter the Hakua forest?"

    The majority of fleeing passengers could be split into three categories: those that ran along the railway towards Hayabusa, those that escaped into the forest, and those that were too shocked to take action.

    "What? Aren''t you going to take care of those two!?"

    "Why?"

    "Huh? Well, because they''re in our way?"

    Tomochika didn''t expect to be asked for the reason.

    "You know, when you put it like that it kind of sounds like you think killing people for walking slowly in front of you is fine as well."

    "I mean, weren''t we almost killed by them earlier? You know, because of that thing that came flying?"

    "Yeah, but it''s not like they were targeting us. It was just one attack, that could be called idental shooting."

    "What''s with this newspaperlike optimism!?"

    "I feel like if you don''t draw a strict line then before you know it you''ll be killing people just because they bothered you a little. I''d rather avoid that."

    "Ah, err, sorry then. I guess that was pretty narrow-minded of me."

    Tomochika seemed quite disheartened.

    "It''s alright, not trying to reproach you or anything."

    Yogiri thought they wouldn''t need to kill either of them if they just watched out for the stray bullets.

    Also, another reason for his mindset was that killing people for every small thing sounded like a lot of effort to him.

    "Anyway, avoiding their attacks shouldn''t be too difficult, so if we just proceed carefully¨D¨D"

    ''¨D¨Dwe''ll be fine.'' Before he could finish, an explosive noise echoed through the whole area and together with a strong gust of wind a huge cloud of dust passed over them.

    At first they couldn''t tell what happened, but due to how dark it suddenly got they quickly realized: the giant was blocking the sun.

    When the dust settled the giant was standing next to them, one of its feet on the train and several train cars destroyed because of that. He was a couple dozen meters away from them, but still easily within range to attack them.

    From one moment to the next, Yogiri and Tomochika had found themselves in the shadow of death.

    "Oi, stop running away, damn it!"

    With little dy the sage had also appeared next to them, a boy of fairly small build in a mantle far too big for him.

    Floating in the air he red at the giant before suddenly making a wave with his hand.

    "Dannoura-san, take a step back."

    Yogiri took Tomochika''s hand and walked back a little ¨D¨D the perfect spot to observe an ice pir impaling the ground where they had just been standing. And it didn''t end at just one, right before their eyes hundreds of spears of ice, a meter in thickness, gradually formed a line of destruction that went on for as far as they could see.

    It was obvious that such an attack wouldn''t even have an effect on the giant robot.

    However, for a human, getting hit by just one of the icicles would be fatal. As a result, the area of grouped up people that hadn''t been sure where to escape to had turned into a scene of atrocity.

    "How cruel¡­ ¡­why? There wasn''t any reason to do that!"

    Tomochika couldn''t suppress her voice and ended up catching the floating boy''s attention.

    "What the heck? I meant to turn all of you into minced meat after seeing how neatly you lined up for me, what do you think you''re doing still standing there?"

    While keeping an eye on the giant the boy addressed the two travelers.

    Yogiri replied.

    "I should be the one asking that. We''re bystanders, why did you attack?"

    The boy was in a fight with the giant, there shouldn''t have been any reason for him to attack random citizens passing by in a train.

    "Did you just talk to me? Who even allowed you to raise your head? Get on your knees and rub your head against the ground when you see a sage! That''s your duty, so learn your damn ce, eyesore!"

    Yogiri was relieved.

    It was a simple case, there wasn''t any need for debate.

    "You''re the eyesore here."

    And with those words Yogiri used his power.

    The boy fell to the ground with a dull thump and it looked like his neck broke when hended, but by that time he was already dead.

    "Huh? You killed him?"

    "Yeah. Clear call for instant death if you ask me."

    There wasn''t any need to hesitate when dealing with someone nning to kill them without listening to anything they said.

    Now Yogiri looked up at the giant robot.

    With the sage dead they had no way of knowing how the robot would react, but right when Yogiri thought about taking the initiative the robot took action itself.

    "£×£á£é£ô£®£É¡¡£è£á£ö£å¡¡£î£ï¡¡£é£î£ô£å£î£ô£é£ï£î¡¡£ô£ï¡¡£æ£é£ç£è£ô."

    A synthetic voice spoke to them, and it seemed to be that of the robot.

 Chapter 20 - This robots way too good at understanding its circumstances!

    <h4>Chapter 20 - This robot''s way too good at understanding its circumstances!</h4>

    The giant was about the same height as a ten story building; Yogiri''s estimate was 30 meters.

    "No but seriously, this is totally a robot."

    After seeing it from up close Tomochika was convinced.

    Although, despite appearing to be a machine it also had something beastlike about it.

    An armored, four-armed skeleton with a hunched spine that made it look like its slender skeletal frame was bending under the weight. Furthermore, on its head there was arge horn and in what looked to be its only eye glowed a dim, red light.

    "Reminds me of the dragon with how unreal it feels."

    While Yogiri was responding to Tomochika the giant started slowly squatting to the ground. Perhaps that was its default stance for when outside of battle, but then its mobility would certainly be impressive. Usually a crouching position couldn''t be called easy to react from.

    Yogiri picked up where the robot left off.

    "So, you said you had no intention to fight?"

    ¡º£É£î£ä£å£å£ä. I do not intend to enter a battle I can not win.¡»

    Earlier its voice sounded entirely synthetic, but it seemed like it was slowly but steadily regting it to a more natural tone.

    "Huh, are you actually a girl riding a robot?"

    The giant''s voice had turned feminine, and given that the automatic trantion nes weren''t being triggered the robot was even speaking Japanese. It seemed like it had adjusted to the two''s speech after just listening to them talk for a little.

    ¡ºThere is no passenger. Please view me as what you would consider an autonomous robot.¡»

    "Why the girl''s voice then?"

    ¡ºIn order to gain your favor. My database has records of this kind of voice having a high chance of inviting human males'' good will.¡»

    Now Tomochika raised her voice.

    "That''s scarily calcting!"

    ¡ºAfter performing several hundred million battle simtions, the conduct most likely to allow me to fulfill my duty has been judged to be an approach as peaceable and submissive as possible. Sharing the details of my thought process with you as I am doing now is also for the sake of acquiring your trust. I fear the possibility of being considered a potential threat and getting forcefully terminated were I to leave this ce without a word. Obtaining your sympathy has been calcted to be indispensable in fulfilling my duty.¡»

    "This robot''s way too good at understanding its circumstances!"

    Probably due to its mechanical reasoning being uninfluenced by any overly optimistic hopes mixed into it, Yogiri thought. It wasn''t often he saw someone treat him with this much caution; most of the time when people witnessed his ability they wouldn''t immediately ept it as reality.

    "Avoiding a fight sounds good, but do you mind if we ask some questions?"

    There wouldn''t be a problem in just letting the giant robot take its leave, but they would rather find out about what exactly happened here first. If Yogiri really killed a sage just now then that might very well affect them on the journey ahead.

    ¡ºIf they are within answerability, I will.¡»

    "Why were you fighting with that guy over there?"

    Yogiri pointed to the dead boy.

    ¡ºBecause he attacked me. I assume he viewed his conduct to be for the sake of protecting this world; they call us Aggressors, after all.¡»

    (Note: "Invaders" with "Aggressors" as furigana.)

    "So your goal isn''t actually invasion?"

    ¡ºIf you mean as in invading a country and upying its territory then no, it is not. However, I will not shy away from applying military force if it is for the sake of fulfilling my duty. I can see why they view their actions as self-defense.¡»

    "And this duty of yours is what?"

    The giant went silent. Looked like it was something the robot would rather not say.

    "Alright, alright. Not like it has anything to do with us. We don''t have any intention to fight either, so feel free to leave for your duty or whatever."

    ¡ºI would like to negotiate: If there is anything I can offer, I will do so. In return you will not attack. Does this sound agreeable?¡»

    "Hmm. Just being told you''re allowed to leave doesn''t sound credible enough, so you''d rather get on our good side first?"

    "What a quarrelsome robot! If you''re told you may leave then just leave, do we look that untrustworthy? ¡­Actually wait, Takatou-kun, are you telling me you can kill a robot?"

    "Let me return that question, why do you think I can''t?"

    "Huh? Well, robots can''t die, can they?"

    Tomochika was caught off guard by his question.

    "Don''t robots live and die as well?"

    "Are you getting philosophical now?!"

    "I mean, I can''t tell you without having tried it either, but looks like that''s the assumption the robot''s going with."

    Yogiri pointed at the giant next to them, whose red eye flickered for a moment.

    ¡ºI have no knowledge of how you perceive my existence, but I consider myself to be alive, personally.¡»

    "Oh, another question. If you''re an invader then where did you actuallye from?"

    ¡ºFrom outside this world.¡»

    "Do you know how to get back then? We were actually forcefully summoned to this world."

    ¡ºI apologize, but I can only return to my own world. I do not know your world''s coordinates.¡»

    If the robot could have just sent them home pretty much all of their problems would be settled, but it seemed like it wasn''t going to be that easy.

    "Coordinates, huh. If we had those we could travel across worlds?"

    ¡ºCorrect.¡»

    "Alright, with that information I''d say we''re even. Thanks."

    Returning to their world was their objective from the very start, but until now they had no clue of how to actually go about that. That piece of information alone was more than valuable enough, Yogiri thought.

    ¡ºAre you certain you are satisfied with just information?¡»

    "Yeah. Although if you could take us along once we figure out our world''s coordinates that''d be even better."

    ¡ºUnderstood.¡»

    "Dannoura-san, do you have anything to ask for?"

    "Well, I don''t really know what robots carry with them so that''s kind of difficult to answer¡­"

    She was stumped, and indeed, it wasn''t easy to imagine what a robot from a different dimension could offer them.

    ¡ºAha, leave this one to me!¡»

    Tomochika was still trying to think of something to ask for, when suddenly, of all people, Mokomoko was the one to raise her voice.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Edelgard, troop leader of the kingdom''s first guardian unit, and George, member thereof, were stupefied.

    After receiving Lain''s orders they had boarded a construction work rail car and made their way to Hayabusa. Currently they were ten kilometers away from their destination, at a train wreck.

    And there, they found a dead boy lying on the ground.

    "I don''t even know what''s going on anymore!"

    "That''s Santarou-sama¡­ isn''t it?"

    Edelgard couldn''t contain her bewilderment and George wasn''t in much better shape himself.

    A demolished train, unusable rails, burnt bodies, and a newly terraformed canyon; those things they could still ept, it wasn''t particrly rare for when sages went into battle.

    However, the sage most likely responsible for all that was currently lying on the ground before them, his head turned far beyond what a human body was normally capable of. That was most likely the sage''s cause of death, but George just couldn''t believe his eyes.

    Sages were absolute.

    There should have been no way for one to justy about dead next to some rails.

    "Just what in the world happened here!"

    Edelgard shouted once more, but there was no one there that could have answered her.

    The only living people around them were the construction workers they had arrived with; all the passengers were either dead or had fled a long time ago.

    "He must have been in a fight with some Aggressor, but with circumstances like these¡­ maybe it was them?"

    The two guards had arrived here on their pursuit of Yogiri Takatou and Tomochika Dannoura.

    However, instead of the sage candidates they only discovered the broken train those two had traveled with, and an actual, dead sage.

    Since they had been told about the power their two targets potentially possessed they couldn''t help but give in to their desperate attempts to make sense of the situation and view it as the work of the two ungifted.

    "Whatever, I have no clue what''s what anymore! I''ll be reporting this situation to Lain-sama!"

    It was a little too much to handle for mere guards.

 Chapter 21 - Cant kill whats dead

    <h4>Chapter 21 - Can''t kill what''s dead</h4>

    A pigeon with the voice of Edelgard began its report.

    A carrier pigeon, a magically spawned species that yed arge role in this world''s informationwork. Carrier pigeons, unlike the art of direct long distance transmission through magic, didn''t require any particr experience in high-ranking magic to use and as such found a lot more everyday usage.

    The location was Lain''s home.

    In the parlor thereof, two sages were facing each other across a table; one was the master of the mansion, sage Lain. The other was the one responsible for summoning Yogiri Takatou and Tomochika Dannoura into this world, sage Sion.

    Edelgard''s voice made it easy to imagine how badly she must have been panicking when making the report, but the essence of the message was clear.

    Sage Santarou had died, and the two ungifted candidates may be responsible.

    "This is why I called you here."

    Lain had summoned Sion to her mansion on the grounds of having something to discuss with her.

    "My, you''re concerned about my candidates?"

    The responsibility for the sage candidates fell on the sage that summoned them, which also meant that other sages didn''t particrly interfere in the summoner''s treatment of his or her candidates.

    "Now that a sage has died we can''t let them walk freely anymore, for being candidates they''ve already overstepped their bounds. Also, this incident has taken ce in my domain."

    Santarou''s territory was the region around the kingdom of Mani, but in his pursuit of the Aggressor he entered that of Lain. Trespassing another sage''s sphere of influence while repelling an Aggressor itself wasn''t big enough of a deal for Lain to mention, but in the case of a sage''s death the ruler of the incident''s region could expect more than a few questions of responsibilitying their way.

    "You don''t have any evidence it was them, do you? From what I''ve been told Santarou-san headed out to intercept some big robot, wasn''t that what killed him?"

    "Possibly. However, even just the suspicion of a sage candidate being capable of killing a sage is reason enough to deal with them immediately."

    Lain was interested in the ungifteds'' power and had intended to watch over them for a while longer, but now the situation had turned too urgent to allow that. Unconcerned by Lain''s displeasure, Sion replied.

    "If they could kill a sage then they wouldn''t really be candidates anymore, would they? Might as well make them sages right away if that were the case. But still, I''ve seen both of them close up and neither struck me as very rich in potential."

    "So how do you think Santarou died?"

    "Well, Santarou-san had absolute control over all archetypes of magic, right? The number of magic spells he could use was easily the highest among sages. And sure, he knew how to use that magic efficiently, adapting to whichever battlefield he ended up in, but in the end his spells'' actual power wasn''t all that special. A jack of all trades, master of none, basically. Isn''t it quite likely he got himself killed because of some slight miscalction?"

    "Sure, that sounds simple enough, but Santarou had close to no injuries. There was a bone fracture, but looks like that was postmortem. The actual cause of death is unknown, and from what I''ve heard from your acolyte the two candidates appeared capable of something like instant death magic."

    "Well, Youichi-kun is quite the worrywart."

    Sion let out a sigh, her entire attitude saying ''What are you getting at?'', and continued.

    "Let''s say they are the culprits, why would they kill a sage? You said Santarou-san didn''t have any external injuries, right? Meaning they didn''t retrieve his philosopher''s stone."

    "Yeah, the report didn''t mention anything about his torso being torn open. And sure, it might be odd for someone to kill a sage and then just leave him there, but it''s not like there''s any point in trying to think up a motive for them. Be the actual circumstances as they may, I''m going to deal with them. Not that I require your permission, I just thought I''d discuss it with you beforehand."

    "Deal with them, you say. Weren''t you against murder as a matter of principle?"

    "I don''t remember being that idealistic. Unlike other sages I just don''t kill for no reason. Doesn''t mean I''ll hesitate when I do have a reason."

    "Fine then, do as you wish with those two. I actually expected you to have called me here for a different reason."

    "As in?"

    "Also rted to Santarou-san, actually; I''m talking about Kurayami. Apparently Santarou-san said he drove it away, but it''s still in this world. That''s what I expected you want to discuss."

    "The question of who''ll be responsible for repelling it next, basically?"

    Now that Santarou was dead there was a vacancy in the sages'' territory control. The one to end up with carrying its responsibility was likely to be either Sion or Lain, both of whose domains bordered on that of Santarou''s.

    "Ah! Now that I think about it, don''t you owe me now?"

    Happy with her own idea, Sion softly pped her hands together. Lain could tell what she was getting at.

    "Fine, I''ll handle it."

    Someone had to do it and it wasn''t like Lain had any reason to go out of her way to avoid the responsibility. Furthermore, if that was going to be enough to get even with Sion then all the better.

    "Then I''ll be taking my leave."

    With that, Sion''s business was settled and she promptly left the mansion.

    "Masayuki."

    In the now empty room, Lain addressed seemingly no one.

    "You called? Lain."

    And suddenly, a man''s voice responded from behind her.

    "Gather the Anti-Death Battalion and head to Hayabusa. You should find two Japanese called Yogiri Takatou and Tomochika Dannoura there, deal with them."

    "Wait a minute, what? You want me to head out for just two Japanese? What the hell?"

    "It''s just two, but there''s a definite reason to get rid of them. They''ve got something like instant death magic, so there''s a decent chance a regr troop wouldn''t stand a chance."

    "Ahh, aight, I see. So it''s cause we''re the most suited for the job, eh? Can''t kill what''s dead."

    The Anti-Death Battalion was made up of roughly 100 units, most of them undead or golems: a whole troop of soldiers immune to instant death magic.

    "But hey, why bother with the whole gang? Dispatch me alone and I''ll settle it myself."

    Masayuki was one of Lain''s adherents ¨D¨D a vampire of her blood ¨D¨D and an ordingly high ranking undead himself.

    "Capturing them will most likely require that much personnel. In fact, recruit new soldiers on-site if you don''t have enough."

    "Oioioi! Hey, aight, hey now, you saying I can wreck Hayabusa if necessary, that''s what you mean, right?"

    Masayuki''s voice was full of delight; from one moment to the next he was in a great mood.

    "If necessary, exactly. Don''t act out of line, you hear?"

    "Don''t cha worry! I''ll handle it, you go ahead and expect some nice results!"

    Lain gave him a warning, but Masayuki hardly seemed to have heard it.

    "I was going to head there myself, but sadly I''ve got an Aggressor to take care of."

    Taking care of a sage killer was no small matter either, but Aggressors were still a higher priority.

    "Yeeeah, I''ll leave those mystery dudes to you. The whole blood drenching, flesh scattering and atrocious dying you only get when ughtering puny humans is more my thing, you know me."

    Masayuki and his battalion should have more than enough might to take care of the matter. If the two ungifteds'' battle strength really relied entirely on instant death magic then there was nothing they could do to save themselves.

    ¨D¨DHowever, if not even the Anti-Death Battalion can handle them¡­

    It was a one in a million chance, and Lain''s hope.

    End of Act 2

 Chapter 22 - Magnificent as always, Master!

    <h4>Chapter 22 - Magnificent as always, Master!</h4>

    Four kilometers south of the destroyed train.

    Having walked along the rails for about three hours Hayabusa finally came into view.

    It was a rather slow pace for two high schoolers, and cause for that was mainly Yogiri''s weak stamina.

    "See? We should have asked the robot to carry us."

    Tomochika looked down at the resting Yogiri, who had promptly called for a break after discovering a fallen tree. Since they were both wearing backpacks filled to the brim one would expect them to be somewhat equally tired, but unlike Yogiri Tomochika was as lively as could be.

    "I don''t think we''re in a situation where we can go around catching attention like that. Imagine someone saw us getting carried by that robot?"

    That giant was what this world called an Aggressor, meaning the natives most likely considered it their enemy. Yogiri could imagine that being seen traveling together with it would make them end up looking like enemies as well.

    "Odd for such an understanding robot to have such a bad reputation. Also, say, could it be you''re bad with exercise, Takatou-kun? Although you didn''t seem very clumsy at all when you pushed me down earlier."

    Tomochika asked Yogiri, slightly provocatively.

    "I was forced to exercise so I''m somewhat agile, but yeah, I''ll admit myck of stamina."

    When they resumed their journey even Yogiri was hurrying at first, then he started slowing down and eventually he came to a halt and called for a rest. The sword he was carrying had started bothering him a long time ago and nowy thrown away somewhere along the rails of Kuenza to Hayabusa. His argument was that he couldn''t use it anyway, and the idea of having to carry it with him in the future as well didn''t do much to convince him otherwise.

    "Maybe you should do some exercise and train your body? Who knows what awaits us in this world."

    Tomochika spoke as she sat down next to Yogiri.

    She didn''t appear to be wearing a weapon either. The ones she bought back in Kuenza were left behind in the train; partly because taking them along was inconvenient, but mostly because she had acquired a new, far morepact weapon, which was currently camouging as part of her outfit.

    The new weapon was originally part of the robot''s insides, a material that was capable of freely changing its form. Apparently the robot mostly used it as its muscles.

    Compared to the robot''s external material it was rather soft, but when turning its solidity all the way up it was more than hard enough to keep up with the usual materials used for weapons.

    "We should''ve at least asked if it had something like a vehicle. Was there a reason we had to leave that abruptly?"

    ¡ºMhm, agreed. If we had been a little more pesty we could have probably gotten a whole lot more out of that robot.¡»

    Tomochika asked and the floating Mokomoko chimed in.

    "Was risky to stick around there, too much shadow. I''ve told you about being able to sense stuff like killing intent and life hazards, right?"

    "Yeah, that you can sort of see them. Kind of like Morihei Ueshiba, right?"

    "Who?"

    "He was this famous Aikido master, legend says he was able to dodge bullets, apparently because he could see their trajectories like light rays before they were even fired."

    "Might be something simr then, yeah. Although in my case it''s less like light rays and more like ck lines, kind of like shadows. The whole area at the train was covered in that shadow and it was getting even denser pretty quickly. Like 30 percent risk of disaster."

    "Hmm. ''30 percent'' doesn''t really tell me anything, does it work like a weather forecast?"

    "Kind of. This ce feels like under one percent sopared to earlier it''s pretty safe."

    "It feels like you''re trying to make it sound like we''re resting after finally escaping some danger zone, but in truth you just needed a break, right?"

    "Hey, nothing wrong with a break. We''ve pretty much arrived already anyway."

    Hayabusa, a train station between a canyon and an ancient forest.

    Since that was all they had been told about the town they were expecting a small cozy settlement, but contrary to that the city before them was actually of quiterge scope.

    "Looks like this one doesn''t have a wall."

    "Would probably be impractical with all the trains entering and leaving."

    Yogiri answered Tomochika as he looked at all the railways leading into the city. That transportationwork was probably the reason for how developed Hayabusa was.

    "Doesn''t it mean that they don''t have any enemies to worry about?"

    "Not so sure about that. From what I can tell this world is full of monsters, aside from the ces under protection by the sages."

    "You say that but we didn''t meet any on our way here, did we?"

    "Well that''s because I was killing everything."

    "¡­Huh?"

    Tomochika had to think about that for a moment.

    "A bunch of monsters and thugs were targeting us."

    "Tell me about that sort of stuff! Now I feel like an idiot, just humming and walking along without a care!"

    The majority of the enemies had been approaching from the ancient woonds.

    The monsters most likely took notice of them by smell and the criminals might havee from some train raiders'' stronghold in that vicinity.

    "Just thought it''s nothing worth mentioning."

    "I''m starting to wonder why I''m even carrying a weapon¡­"

    ¡ºMhm. I programmed a decent amount of shape shifting patterns into it, but now I''m not so sure they''ll be necessary.¡»

    All of a sudden Tomochika was holding a sword in her hands. The strange material that had been camouging as part of her school uniform had moved to her hands and changed shape there, but with how smoothly it happened it looked like she summoned it out of thin air.

    "Actually, wait a minute! Mokomoko-san, weren''t you a ghost from the Heian era!? Why are you even able to manage some sci-fi weapon like you''ve seen it a hundred times!?"

    ¡ºNo matter the environment, the Dannoura Style adapts and continues to evolve! Recently I was focusing on electronic warfare, were you not aware?¡»

    "Of course not, that''s not exactly a field of study you''d expect a ghost to specialize in!"

    "Although it''s a great help that she does. Mokomoko-san, do you think you can take apart and analyze the whole ''system'' thing?"

    ¡ºWell, about that. With the one million credits we got from that robot I bought a license for one of the middleware products used in Battle Song. The software that Battle Song is based on is open source so I should be able to somewhat reverse engineer it now, but they really made a lot of changes to it, I''ll have to figure out a way that''ll let me look into what exactly they modified. Once that is done our understanding of this world''s inner workings should finally make some progress. Might even be possible to hack it.¡»

    "How did this discussion take such an unexpected turn and what''s this feeling of being left behind!?"

    Tomochika was bing more and more perplexed.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The two travelers finished resting and entered the city of Hayabusa.

    There were no city walls nor an inspection upon entering; anyone was free toe and go. That said, the town did have some poles standing in regr intervals from each other, drawing a circle around the city. They most likely marked the edge of the celestial protection.

    Once more, stone streets and stone buildings. The atmosphere wasn''t too different from that of Kuenza, the first town they had been to, but as far as Yogiri''s impression went this one seemed livelier.

    "So, now that we''re here we''ll wait for everyone else to pass through, right?"

    "We can wait here or head to the royal capital in advance. Your thoughts?"

    "If we go by train again getting to the capital should be pretty quick, right? I''d say let''s wait here for a while and move on if we don''t end up meeting them."

    "Alright, let''s start by finding a ce to stay then. Celestina rmended a hotel, let''s check that one out first."

    "Sounds good. If Celestina rmended it we might as well go straight for that one."

    Looked like Tomochika had pretty much absolute trust in Celestina.

    They followed the map Celestina had drawn up for them and discovered the rmended hotel right away. It ended up being fairly extravagant again, simr to theirst one.

    "If it isn''t Dannoura-san!"

    They had just entered the lobby when suddenly a voice addressed them; a quick look in its direction revealed a Japanese high schooler with ck hair and ck eyes approaching them. Yogiri didn''t recognize him, but since he knew Tomochika it was most likely one of their ssmates.

    It appeared he was just about to leave the hotel with several native-looking girls following behind him.

    "Hm? Oh, Tachibana-kun? Howe you''re here?"

    Their ssmates were currently traveling through the primeval forest Hakua, it shouldn''t have been possible for them to arrive at Hayabusa before Yogiri and Tomochika, who had taken the train.

    "So you were safe, that''s nice. Well, about me, I split up from the rest of the ss. No point in going along with an inefficient leveling method, you know?"

    "Ah, I see. Although not really."

    Even Tomochika was caught off guard by the sudden encounter with a ssmate and wasn''t sure what to say.

    "What''s with that woman! Sure acting overly familiar towards Yuuki-sama!"

    And just like that, one of the girls behind Tachibana made her hostility known.

    "Excuse me?"

    The reaction was so unexpected Tomochika wasn''t sure how to respond; the situaton really didn''t do much in exining what she was suddenly being criticized for.

    "Leave it, Erika. These two are my ssmates."

    "If Yuuki-sama says so¡­"

    Erika reluctantly pulled back.

    "Magnificent as ever, Master! What a tolerant heart even towards such uncultured people! Truly a personality fit for a monarch!"

    This time one of the other girls behind Tachibana raised her voice.

    "Takatou-kun¡­ what''s going on here?"

    "You''re asking me?"

    Based on the girls attitude it almost seemed like they were worshipping Tachibana.

    "Meeting you here must be some kind of click of fate, Dannoura-san. Will you be my lover?"

    And in a heartbeat the girls'' stares went from hostile to murderous.

    "¡­Pardon?"

    While Tomochika was getting more and more confused by the situation, Yogiri was struggling to suppress his power''s reaction to the girls'' killing intent.

 Chapter 23 - Its getting kind of funny actually

    <h4>Chapter 23 - It''s getting kind of funny actually</h4>

    Inside the lobby of a high-society hotel in the city of Hayabusa, three ssmates were having an unexpected meeting.

    Apparently the name of the high schooler was Yuuki Tachibana. Naturally, Yogiri didn''t remember him and looked at Tachibana as if it was their first time seeing each other.

    Three girls were apanying Tachibana; even though it was only the second day since they arrived in this world it appeared he had already gatheredpanions from among the natives.

    "Erm, I''m not really sure what''s going on. You aren''t confessing to me right now, are you?"

    ''Lover'' really wasn''t something one would expect to hear from a high schooler. Even Yogiri, who didn''t have any friends to joke around with, knew that much.

    Unconcerned, Tachibana continued.

    "Can you decide within two minutes? If you don''t make up your mind quickly enough you''ll lose all the benefits gained from being my lover."

    Persuading someone by limiting their time to think, a ssic.

    But still, unless there was sufficient value in bing his lover no one would just agree to it, although Tachibana seemed convinced that such value was there.

    "No need for any benefits right now, I''d rather hear about what you''re doing here actually."

    Tomochika turned him down without a second thought, which only made the girls'' res worse.

    There was certainly an intent to kill, but nothing concrete as of yet; Yogiri decided to continue watching for the time being.

    "Are you sure about that? If you end up changing your mindter you''ll be a mid-rank ve at best, you know? You''re letting the opportunity of a lifetime slip away right now."

    "Should I be worried about how little I can follow what you''re saying?!"

    Tachibana seemed genuinely surprised by how the discussion was going. He must have seriously thought she would agree to his proposal.

    Yogiri on the other hand was thinking about whether Tachibana might have been summoned to this world for the second time already, like Hanakawa and the other two. It was the only exnation he coulde up with for Tachibana''s absurd mindset.

    "Yuuki-sama! I believe getting involved with such people is a waste of time! We have an expedition to carry out!"

    "To think someone would just decline Master''s proposal! Even the status of mid-rank ve is too generous, I reckon!"

    "¡­Yuuki¡­ ¡­can I kill them?"

    The girls behind Tachibana voiced their displeasure one after the other, but Tachibana only needed to raise his hand for the three of them to quiet down.

    "We can put off the expedition for now. But Tomochika, you really are being hasty here. Ah, are you worried about Takatou? I ept males asbor ves only, but I can make him a special low-rank ve if you''d like. He''s still a ssmate, after all."

    "¡­At first it was just annoying, but now it''s getting kind of funny actually."

    For a moment it seemed like Tomochika was about to lose her cool, but that was all she mumbled.

    "Yeah¡­ a situation this confusing makes it kind of difficult to get upset."

    Yogiri quietly agreed with Tomochika. The discussion with Tachibana had somehow gone from irritating to interesting.

    "Sorry, but with this wholeck of an exnation of what you''re on about we''re not particrly eager to group up with you. Can you instead just tell us what you''re in Hayabusa for?"

    "I guess that''s fair enough. Alright, I''ll exin. But I''ll tell you right now, you''ll regret not bing my followers right away."

    Yogiri tried moving the discussion forward and Tachibana actually went along with it. Looked like he was finally done with his obscure talk.

    "You girls go on ahead."

    With quite some reluctance Tachibana''s followers did as they were told and left the hotel first.

    Without another word he made his way to a table in a corner of the lobby. Based on his attitude it seemed like he wasn''t even considering the possibility of the other two not just following him.

    "Ah, Takatou-kun. Are you maybe thinking that Tachibana-kun is acting that way because of something like the system''s or some other power''s corruption?"

    "Isn''t he?"

    "Nope. Attitude-wise he''s always been that way, although I have no clue what he''s talking about."

    "Huh."

    Yogiri was a little surprised.

    "Narcissistic and over-confident. Well, thanks to his looks he was always pretty popr with girls so I guess I can see how he turned out that way."

    "¡­High school might''ve been a more interesting ce than I thought."

    After all this time, Yogiri started to think that maybe he shouldn''t have spent all his time at school asleep.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    In the back of the hotel''s lobby, at a meeting corner.

    Yogiri and Tomochika sat on a sofa with Tachibana sitting on the opposite end of the table.

    "First of all, please be at ease. You remember how the sages will squeeze magic power out of us like livestock if we fail to produce a new sage within a month? That won''t happen, because I''m guaranteed to be a sage."

    "Never before have I seen someone with such a smug look on their face!"

    But even Tomochika''s tsukkomi was brushed aside by Tachibana''s confidence.

    "So even if you two only stand around watching, your safety is guaranteed. That said, even though you are my ssmates I can''t just reward you for doing nothing. Makes sense, right?"

    A summoned ss of students is treated as one group, a "n," and given the task of producing a sage within one month. If sessful, the new sage takes charge of all the remaining candidates as his or her acolytes.

    However, just turning one of them into a sage doesn''t mean all of them get to live a stable life. In order to secure an influential position among the acolytes, the candidates without hope of turning into sages themselves have to butter up to the candidates that do have such hope, and that before the new sage is born.

    "So instead of doing nothing we''re supposed to be your ves and lovers?"

    Yogiri didn''t mean to be provocative, he simply voiced a question he had.

    "Hm? Yeah, nothing to do about that. Anyway, I''ve decided I''ll only have one wife. I''m actually a pretty upstanding person, alright? My n is to find a spouse in the near future. There''s a high probability my future wife will be someone from among my eternal ves, probably a high-rank ve or lover, so starting out at the rank of lover makes for a great head start. I''m telling you, this would have been a great deal for you, Dannoura-san."

    The answer Yogiri received felt a little off-point. Looked like Tachibana wasn''t a very good listener.

    "Do me a favor and reconsider your concept of ''upstanding'' afterwards."

    Tomochika replied and then sighed deeply.

    She did say that he was like this from the start, but she had to admit that she didn''t remember him being quite this bad.

    "Also, why the confidence? You''re skipping out on the training journey that everyone else is doing, aren''t you?"

    The three ssmates that had told them it was their second time in this world held a simr degree of self-confidence. Like Yogiri, Tomochika was starting to suspect Tachibana of being a returnee as well.

    "No need for a leveling trip. My ss is Dominator, the most powerful ss that rules over all."

    It appeared Tachibana intended for it to be some kind of big reveal, but to Yogiri it was the same system-nonsense as always.

 Chapter 24 - Arent support classes way too versatile in this world!?

    <h4>Chapter 24 - Aren''t support sses way too versatile in this world!?</h4>

    We travel back in time to the point when Yogiri''s ssmates arrived at Kuenza.

    With the money they were rewarded forpleting the first mission, 1 million en for each of them, they reserved themselves a tavern, where they all discussed their thoughts on the situation they had been thrown into. The one that lead the n during the first mission was General Yazaki, but now things had calmed down and some students weren''t happy with how he had settled things on his own ord.

    While that discussion was in progress, Yuuki Tachibana sat at an otherwise empty table, isted from the rest.

    Reason for that was his ss: Dominator.

    During the first mission''s strategy meeting, each candidate''s ss name became known. They weren''t fully aware of their abilities yet, but the name of his ss alone sounded overwhelming enough for everyone else to avoid contact.

    Understandably so, for the Dominator is a most powerful ss capable of ruling not only over humans, but even animals and monsters. However, there are requirements to be met before a creature is ced under one''s control.

    It wasn''t as simple as walking up to someone and activating a skill, but because Tachibana''s ssmates couldn''t possibly know that they avoided him.

    Summoned to a different dimension, given close to no knowledge of the world and abandoned by hispanions. Normally one would panic in such a situation, but Yuuki wasn''t bothered.

    Without any particr evidence, Yuuki Tachibana was convinced of being special, the exception to all rules. ordingly, his mindset was a unique kind of optimistic.

    Cause for his mindset was most likely the fact that, in his whole life, he had never experienced failure. The idea of finding himself in an actual crisis was so strange to him, he couldn''t even imagine it. This situation, too, didn''t trouble him in the slightest.

    Without worrying over his future in this new world he looked out of the tavern''s window, checking out the female natives walking by. Most of them had faces reminiscent of Westerners, but every now and then he spotted a Japanese. Feeling confirmed in his preference of Japanese women over foreigners, Tachibana was approached by one of his ssmates.

    "Hey there. Can we talk?"

    "Sure, what''s up?"

    The one that had walked up to him was Haruhito Ootori.

    As far as poprity with girls went, Yuuki and Haruhito werepeting at a level far beyond their ssmates'' reach. Different from Yuuki and his wless model-like face, the aloof Haruhito was popr thanks to his air of an intellectual and a hint of dreaminess.

    It didn''t appear like Haruhito even considered being declined, already taking a seat across Yuuki before he replied.

    "I''d like to give you some advice."

    "Hm? Oh right, you have that one ss, what was it again?"

    Yuuki tried recalling the name of Haruhito''s ss, but all he could remember was that it had to do with giving people advice.

    "Consultant. Basically the role of providing the information necessary for making difficult decisions."

    "Right, Consultant. So, how are you going to consult me?"

    "I can help you with properly utilizing your Dominator ss. You don''t actually know how it works yet, do you?"

    "I''ll admit that, but I''m a practice over theory kind of person anyway. It''s probably something I can figure out on my own after giving it a try."

    Yuuki wasn''t trying to save face, that was his actual view on it. His optimism knew no bounds.

    "In your case I can see that happening, but I''d say my advice is pretty valuable nheless."

    "Well, go on then. I''ll see whether I''ll bother keeping it in mind."

    "The power of the Dominator lies in controlling those he has dominated, so first of all you''ll have to get a lot of subjects under your control. However, there''s two conditions for making people your followers. Their levels can''t be higher than yours, and they must agree to bing your subordinate."

    Yuuki already knew about those conditions, which were also the reason he wasn''t already out and about dominating ves. After all, he was still level 1, and it wasn''t like there were people running around asking to be dominated.

    "And here''s where I can help you: the second condition has an exception. You don''t necessarily have to get the target''s consent. Not surprising, since there wouldn''t be any point in giving you the ability to dominate monsters if you couldn''t possibly reach mutual agreement with most of them in the first ce."

    "Hm? That wasn''t mentioned in the ss description."

    The system had a help function, but Yuuki didn''t remember seeing anything like what Haruhito was talking about in it.

    "Yeah, those descriptions are pretty scarce. I''m guessing those aspects are supposed to be discovered while experimenting with the sses, like you''d usually do in games. So here''s how it works: first you fight someone until they are near death, then you step on their head. Do that and they''ll be under your control."

    Yuuki didn''t bother asking how Haruhito knew something like that. He called himself a Consultant and that was enough of an exnation for Yuuki.

    "Now, what you should do from here is head to the town''s ve market and get as many of the cheapest level one ves as you can. ves with some kind of defect can go for as cheap as ten thousand en. Doesn''t matter how frail or close to dying they are."

    "How does that rte to Dominator?"

    "You can make ves your subordinates right away. They''re already being sold without concern for their consent, so buying them counts as mutual agreement."

    "I see, that''ll be an easy way to get followers. And then?"

    Yuuki didn''t feel like thinking it through himself and instead let Haruhito suggest what to do.

    "Put them into groups of five and send them hunting outside town, you can just order them to once they''re under your control. Doesn''t matter how dumb they may be, they''ll move ording to your orders. Even if they''re already half dead they can still cling to monsters to slow them down, so if you have them stake their lives on hunting monsters they should be able to drive a weaker one to near death and dominate it. It''s no big deal if they end up killing it; since this world is constantly troubled by monsters most of them have some kind of bounty on them, so you can always expect a reward from somewhere."

    "Wait, so I don''t need to be the one stepping on their heads?"

    "Exactly, that''s the great thing about Dominator: Your ves be part of you. That''s also why half the experience points they gain from killing monsters is transferred to you."

    "Hm, so just by buying some ves and sending them out to hunt I''ll gain money and experience, while they turn into a huge army¡­ Alright."

    Yuuki stood up, thinking that the sooner he bought some ves the better.

    Your average Japanese would have some qualms about purchasing ves, but Yuuki didn''t feel any reluctance whatsoever. To him, other humans had always been mere side characters at best.

    "I rmend traveling to Hayabusa once you''re done here. Thanks to being the heart of the trade routes around here there''s a huge selection of ves, and not far from it are ruins full of monsters. Perfect city for raising your level and increasing your ve count."

    "Sounds good. By the way, why give me all these tips? There''s no real benefit for you in it, is there?"

    It wasn''t like Yuuki was suspicious of Haruhito, he was too used to having the world turn around him for that. He was just curious.

    "Felt like our chance of producing a sage wasn''t looking so good, so I decided to help out a promising ssmate and improve our odds. Nothing more, nothing less."

    "Fair enough, you''re betting on the right candidate then. Calling out to me was the right decision."

    With confidence as ample as ever, Yuuki Tachibana left the tavern behind.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    "Aren''t support sses way too versatile in this world!?"

    When Yuuki finished his exnation, Tomochika was the first to raise her voice, most likely thinking of the concierge Celestina.

    "So your level and ve count are increasing even now?"

    Yogiri could see where Yuuki''s confidence wasing from if everything he had said was true.

    "Yup. Althoughpared to my level I''m fairlycking in battle experience, so I was actually just about to head out into some ruins to fight some monsters."

    Even though none of it was his own idea, and certainly not his own power, Yuuki was overflowing with confidence.

    "So how about it, Dannoura-san. You regret not having epted now, don''t you? Toote to be my lover, but I''ll dly ept you as a mid-tier¨D¨D"

    "Not at all, thank you."

    Tomochika replied before Yuuki even finished speaking and promptly continued.

    "I mean, those three girls from earlier were total beauties already. Why get hung up on someone like me?"

    "You''re not wrong, but if I had to put it straightforward¡­ I''m after your body. Already was before we were summoned to this world."

    "I just received the worst confession ever!"

    "You sure are popr."

    Yogiri spoke, he was quite impressed.

    "Ahh, right, the other three were the same¡­"

    Tomochika recalled Hanakawa''s group and dejectedly dropped her shoulders; it started to look like everyone who liked her was a jerk.

    "I guess it''s a difficult decision to make so suddenly. Luckily for you, I''m generous; let''s have another talk after everything''s settled. I''m looking forward to a reasonable response."

    So spoke Yuuki as he stood up with a slightly perplexed face. It looked like he was genuinely baffled by Tomochika''s response, but decided to allow her to change her mind on her own.

    "In the end it stopped being funny."

    When Yuuki finally left the hotel, those were Tomochika''s first words.

    "Well, as long as he doesn''t turn hostile on us we can just ignore him."

    Yogiri certainly didn''t look forward to coincidentally meeting each other in this city during their stay here, but since Yuuki didn''t mean any immediate harm towards them he decided to leave him to his own devices.

    "But say, maybe bing hispanion wouldn''t have been such a bad deal? Might be safer than traveling with me."

    "Takatou-kun, are you trying to make me upset?"

    "I''m not following. Sorry, I guess."

    She actually looked upset already, so Yogiri apologized just in case.

    "I''m not sure what to think of such an apology, bute on, telling me to travel with someone that t-out admitted to being after my body is just¨D¨D"

    Tomochika suddenly stopped, havinge to a realization.

    "Actually, wasn''t that your motivation as well!"

    It appeared Tomochika had recalled the original reason they were currently traveling together.

 Chapter 25 - Letting him fondle and lick a little

    <h4>Chapter 25 - Letting him fondle and lick a little</h4>

    Two full days had passed since checking into the hotel.

    Yogiri spent the whole time sleeping while Tomochika lived as a shut-in. It was a peaceful two days.

    The hotel rooms had afortable temperature, its lighting was freely adjustable and even food could be ordered all the way to the room with a quick call to the front desk.

    On a side note, while the entirety of Hayabusa was equipped with a telephonework, it was impossible to make calls to other cities. The world had not yet invented wirelessmunicationworks.

    Moving on, the bathroom had a flush toilet, the sink''s faucet worked without issue and even toilet paper was avable. Secluding herself in one of those rooms for a while longer could have made her forget she was in a different world.

    "I wonder how long I can just live like this."

    Tomochika spoke to no one in particr as she vacantly gazed outside.

    Her room was on the 5th floor, but all those buildings as tall as the hotel were blocking most of the room''s view. Despite howfortable it was, spending all day inside with such a feeling of being caged up started feeling a little depressing.

    ¡ºUntil the youngster wakes up, probably.¡»

    Mokomoko, who was floating in the air next to her, answered.

    "Can you check whether he''s still asleep? You can go through walls, right?"

    ¡ºOh I certainly can, no difficulties there. But no, too scary.¡»

    "So scary you can''t even take a quick peek?"

    ¡ºOh, when he''s asleep he''s especially scary. Entering his room without permission is madness, who knows what might happen.¡»

    "Not like I''m telling you to go wake him up."

    ¡ºTrust me, best to just wait for him to wake up on his own. Let sleeping dogs lie, don''t wake a slumbering child, you know what they say.¡»

    "But there''s nothing to do until he wakes up, is there?"

    They hade to this city to meet up with their ssmates, and because they had no other business here there wasn''t much for her to do in the meantime.

    ¡ºOh? So you had ns for something to do in a room with just the two of you?¡»

    Mokomoko floated up close with a grin as wide as her already wide face, and Tomochika replied with bright red cheeks.

    "W-what are you saying! As if we would do¡­ t-that!"

    ¡ºI should be the one asking what you''re saying, obviously you have to get a good grip on him or he''ll break up with you.¡»

    "Breaking up you say, it''s not like we''re dating¡­"

    Although Tomochika wasn''t sure how to describe their current rtionship either.

    ¡ºLuckily he has already expressed interest in your chest. For starters, how about letting him fondle and lick a little?¡»

    "Stop with that, idiot!"

    ¡ºHm? Doesn''t enticing him with your body sound the simplest? That way he''d also have a reason to continue protecting you.¡»

    "No no, It''s not like I''m only trying to get him to keep protecting me. I believe there''s a way I can help as well¡­ somehow."

    ¡ºAs I said, there''s a very easy way for you to help him.¡»

    "I''m d I can''t see what you''re imagining!"

    ¡ºWhy get so worked up over it? I''ll have you know, I myself have spent a lot of time sneaking into bedrooms at night on my search for strong blood with which to enrich our family.¡»

    "Shouldn''t the guy be the one sneaking around!? Now I feel sorry for my ancestors!"

    Tomochika couldn''t help but feel like she had to apologize to all of history''s great men. Having a woman as massive as Mokomoko sneak into their rooms must have been a terrifying experience.

    ¡ºDon''t be worried because it''s your first time, I''ll teach you everything there is to know!¡»

    "How do I look up ''How to exorcise a guardian spirit'' in this world!?"

    A grueling image starteding afloat in Tomochika''s mind, but she sessfully shouted it away.

    ¡ºI suppose if it''s absolutely necessary I''d even leave you two alone for a while.¡»

    "Does it really take that much to get you to leave me alone!?"

    ¡ºWhat kind of guardian spirit would I be if I abandoned you on some whim every now and then?¡»

    Tomochika couldn''t see the discussion taking a turn for the better and instead turned her head back to the window and sighed.

    "Anyway, staying in here for much longer sounds pretty unbearable, I think I''ll at least take a stroll¡­ wait, what''s that?"

    Something strange was happening outside.

    The main street right below Tomochika''s window was getting boisterous and all the horse-drawn carriages hurriedly steered to the sides to halt.

    Screams and shouts; the pedestrians were frantically scattering into whichever side alley was closest. All of them had their heads turned in the same direction they ran away from, and when Tomochika looked that way herself she saw several vehicles making their ways across the street at full speed.

    "Huh? Are those trucks?"

    Three massive cars were driving down the road without any concern for the horse-drawn carriages still in the middle of the street, several of them getting thrown aside as if hit by a snow plow and crashing into the buildings lined up along the road. Some of the pedestrians were too slow with their escape and ended up squashed between carriage carts and walls.

    ¡ºHmm, armored vehicles used for transporting military reinforcements have a simr air around them.¡»

    The three huge cars made their way past the hotel with engines roaring so loud they bordered on noise pollution. Tomochika couldn''t tell what the trucks were carrying, but with their angr shape and robust appearance military troops weren''t out of the question.

    ¡ºThose¡­ are bad news. Teeming with the smell of death.¡»

    "Even I can tell that much after what just happened!"

    Without any warning the main street had been turned into a living hell.

    The armored vehicles had strewn death everywhere they passed by as they charged through the street.

    ¡ºI meant whatever they are carrying; their insides were making the presence of death that was shrouding the cars themselves look like a joke.¡»

    "What''s wrong with this world! This isn''t normal, people are dying way too randomly!"

    She could understand if this world was simply more dangerous than her old one, but this went beyond reasonable. Just like back at the steam train, it felt as if people''s lives weren''t valued whatsoever.

    ¡ºMaybe that was rted to the sages as well. Even if armored cars weren''t umon in this dimension, the ones that just passed by definitely felt reminiscent of our world.¡»

    Tomochika closed the curtains and sat down on her bed.

    Continuing to look on wouldn''t have made the disastrous situation better, only her mood worse.

    ¡ºAh, didn''t you say you wanted to go for a stroll outside?¡»

    "Thank you, but no thank you, I''m fine. Ahh, this room really does have it all, have I mentioned that I could stay here forever?"

    After seeing that macabre spectacle there wasn''t any desire left to go outside.

    ¡ºThat may be the safest course of action, but, well.¡»

    But Mokomoko''s tone didn''t make it sound like she was on Tomochika''s side.

    "What? You''re making it difficult for me to enjoy my shut-in life."

    ¡ºI hope you realize that you can''t shut yourself away in this room forever.¡»

    "Nonono, we''re living in a cruel world, okay!? The kind of cruel where you go outside for a walk and get run over by a truck!"

    ¡ºAh, but can you say with confidence that those trucks aren''t going toe crashing into this room?¡»

    "I''m having a hard time even imagining that, so¡­"

    ¡ºWell, that one was an example, but there really is some foe lurking in the corridor actually, probably waiting for you toe out.¡»

    "¡­Wait, what? Why? Did we do something?"

    ¡ºYou did a whole lot, actually. Went around killing ssmates, thugs, a sage, train raiders, monsters, a dragon¡­ at this point it would be stranger for not even one of them toe targeting you, don''t you think?¡»

    Mokomoko replied, sounding a little irked.

    Tomochika most likely wouldn''t have been able to resist an attacker on her own, but there was no way for whoever was lurking outside to be sure of that.

    "Any idea who it is?"

    ¡ºI can tell that he or she is at the end of the corridor, but I can''t see the actual person.¡»

    "You can''t see them but know there is someone?"

    ¡ºOf course, as your guardian spirit I''m quite sensitive to hostile intent aimed at you. I can''t grasp it as well as the youngster, but I can spot a would-be attacker any time of the day. I was thinking that there''s no need to take action if we''re only being watched, but it looks like your stalker is getting tired of waiting. Probably won''t be long until this room is getting raided.¡»

    "What am I supposed to do if that happens!? Ah! I''ll call Takatou-kun and wake him up!"

    There was a high chance of being attacked if she left her room to go wake him up herself, and if the person wasn''t visible because of a magic spell or special item then there was little Tomochika could do against them on her own. However, she was certain that Yogiri would be able to handle it.

    She hurried to the room''s telephone and rang up the neighboring room.

    "Yes, hello?"

    "That was quick, were you already awake!?"

    "Just got out of bed. Something noisy went down outside and woke me up."

    Tomochika gave him a quick rundown of the situation.

    "I see. Alright, I''ll be there in a second."

    "Erm, I know I''m the one that asked you toe, but are you sure you can just walk over?"

    "Should be fine if not seeing them is all there is to it."

    It didn''t sound like he had anything to base his confidence on, but just hearing those words gave Tomochika a sense of relief.

 Chapter 26 - Preserving the crime scene

    <h4>Chapter 26 - Preserving the crime scene</h4>

    After the call ended, the first thing Yogiri did was drink a ss of water.

    After all, he had been asleep without food or drinks ever since they moved to their rooms. He was also fairly hungry, but thanks to all the sleep he got he was in perfect shape nheless. After finishing his drink he opened the door, left his room and stepped out into the empty corridor.

    However, it only appeared empty.

    Yogiri focused his concentration on the other end of the corridor and spotted some ck fog there, forming the shape of a diagonal line towards Tomochika''s room. Because it wasn''t concrete intent to kill, nor aimed at Yogiri, it was only dimly visible to him, but he could tell that there really was someone lurking ahead of him.

    Whoever it was, they didn''t move despite Yogiri leaving his room, only continuing to transmit their killing intent towards Tomochika''s room. The person most likely didn''t even consider they might get discovered.

    Yogiri used his power.

    thud

    Something fell over and shortly after a copsed girl became visible.

    Without paying her much heed Yogiri knocked on Tomochika''s door.

    "It''s me."

    The door swung open right away, revealing the flustered Tomochika.

    "Hurry up, get inside!"

    She seemed still on guard for enemies and Yogiri, doing his best to share her enthusiasm, promptly entered the room.

    "There really was someone, a woman."

    Yogiri spoke as he took a seat in the room''s guest chair.

    "Oh, could you see her then?"

    "Not so much that I saw her, but I could tell where the hostility was originating from. Wasn''t too far from this room''s door, a little down the corridor next to the opposite wall. Looked like she didn''t have any interest in me, didn''t make a move when I left my room."

    "Ah, Mokomoko-san said the same, that the killing intent was targeting me. Honestly, I don''t think I''ve done anything to make someone resent me though."

    Quite indeed, all the enemies they had faced so far were killed solely by Yogiri.

    ¡ºDon''t be a fool, it''s not like a bystander can tell who of you two is the one doing the killing.¡»

    "But then it would still be strange for the killing intent to be focused only on Dannoura-san. Doesn''t that sound more like revenge or something?"

    He had some ideas for what might have been the motive, but nothing concrete.

    "Anyway, for now it''s good that you managed toe over. What should we do next?"

    ¡ºAh, I see I see. Very well, if my absence is truly necessary then I shall take my leave now. You two may enjoy yourselves!¡»

    "That''s not what I''m talking about!"

    "?"

    Yogiri couldn''t follow the conversation and tilted his head as he looked at the blushing Tomochika.

    "L-let''s forget about that. So, now what?"

    She expertly forced the discussion back on topic and Yogiri went along with it.

    "Mhm, right, first off I should make a call."

    Yogiri got up, went to the room''s telephone and made a call to the front desk.

    "A woman copsed on the fifth floor''s corridor, thought she might need help."

    He smoothly settled the matter and returned to his chair.

    "Wait, huh? What was that about?"

    "I thought it might look strange if I pretend not to have seen anything. Not like I can very well im I didn''t notice the dead body while walking through the corridor."

    There wasn''t anyone other than him and the hiding woman when he walked to Tomochika''s room, but depending on the flow of events he might be suspected, so acting as natural as possible should have been for the best.

    "Dead body?"

    "Yeah, killed her."

    "You already did!?"

    "I don''t think there''s much to say against killing someone hiding their appearance and lurking around."

    No matter what the actual circumstances were, such a kind of person was just too suspicious, Yogiri thought, so he took care of her right away.

    "Well, sure, but weren''t you curious about why she was hiding there and stuff?"

    ¡ºI would have preferred if we inquired about any background rtions first, if it turns out some organization is after us it might get troublesome.¡»

    "You say that, but killing is all I can do. Not the best skill for interrogating someone."

    There was that one time he experimented with going easy on his opponents, but applying it in a way that allowed him to extract information out of people would have been difficult. Threats required an example and exnation, but after suffering an irreversible injury any hope for being saved would have been crushed.

    Additionally, even if they had tried questioning her with instant death as threat, they would have been dealing with someone capable of erasing their appearance -- who knew what other powers she might have held.

    Thinking about it calmly, killing her was most likely the right choice.

    "Actually, I guess it would be strange for me to ignore someone lying on the floor."

    With that, Yogiri headed back out on the floor and Tomochika followed.

    The hotel staff still hadn''t arrived, and the girl was still lying in the same position as before.

    Now Tomochika saw her as well and raised her voice.

    "Huh, that really does look like she just copsed."

    "You know, and I might not be one to talk, but you sure are calm about this."

    They had seen worse looking corpses up until now, but even then Tomochika had never appeared particrly distraught. Given that she was a girl, Yogiri always expected her to be more shaken and frightened in general.

    "Guess I''m used to it, although I''m not sure that''s something I should be happy about."

    ¡ºAll humans die eventually. Don''t expect the daughter of a family of born warriors to be unnerved so easily.¡»

    "It''s not that I''m looking at it with the death of all things in mind or anything, and actually I''d say I am fairly shocked¡­ ¡­Hm? Hey, do you think it''s fine if we take a look at her face?"

    It seemed like Tomochika noticed something after taking a look at the body, so Yogiri walked up to it, crouched down and lifted the face up.

    "Erm, I was thinking we might not be supposed to touch her, preserving the crime scene and all."

    "We can just say we were trying to help a copsed person."

    The woman had blonde hair and a face blessed by natural beauty. After looking at her straight up Yogiri realized as well: they had met her before; and Tomochika remembered where.

    "That was one of Tachibana-kun''s followers, I think Erika was her name?"

    "Do you think Tachibana is the one behind this? Eh, even if he isn''t, this will turn into a problem, he''ll think we''re looking for a fight."

    One could say they were the ones that got challenged, but they still ended up taking hostile measures against him.

    ¡ºI don''t know what powers he possesses as Dominator, but I''d assume he has a grasp of his underlings'' undertakings.¡»

    "Tachibana also lives in this hotel, right? We should probably get out of here then."

    While Yogiri and the rest were talking the hotel staff finally arrived, along with someone that looked like a doctor. They put Erika on a stretcher and quickly carried her away. The situation wasn''t thought of as a crime yet, so there wasn''t anyone reminiscent of a policeman with them.

    And like that, the two sage candidates decided to leave the hotel.

 Chapter 27 - With a level ten times as high that much is to be expected

    <h4>Chapter 27 - With a level ten times as high that much is to be expected</h4>

    The Dominator ss allowed one to know what each ve was up to, but not all of them simultaneously -- too much information would have to be taken in at once. Consequently, the base setting was for the Dominator to be notified only upon major events.

    "Hm? Erika''s perception stopped transmitting?"

    Yuuki Tachibana picked up on his ve Management skill''s notification while being on the receiving end of a vicious w attack. At this time, Yuuki was facing a monster that could only be described as a four-armed insect-human.

    The monster''s body was roughly three meters in height and covered by a jet ck carapace all over, its strength would have ripped apart a regr human with ease, but had practically no effect on Yuuki.

    "As expected of Master! A monster of the hundredth floor doesn''t stand a chance!"

    He was currently in the deepest stratum of the ruins not far from the city he was staying at. The enemies here were supposed to offer him some real battle experience, but the difference in strength was so great there was little for him to learn from it.

    The one cheering him on from the side was Stefanie, a high-rank ve girl. Yuuki was a fan of her sensual brte hair and cute face, so he usually kept her close by.

    "Well, this thing''s level 1000, right? With a level ten times as high that much is to be expected."

    Yuuki''s level had already reached 10,000.

    Normal people''s levels ranged from one to five, warriors that made hunting monsters their profession usually peaked at level 50, and if someone trained all their life they might reach level 99, the human limit, but to go beyond that, a special ss was needed; and Dominator was that special ss.

    Yuuki had reached a level that high with hardly any effort. Hemanded ves, had them y monsters, gained experience points and bounty rewards, and purchased more ves. He subjugated criminal gangs, had them attack merchants, and trampled entire viges when spotting one outside a sage''s protection. Whenever one of the monsters didn''t quite die it was added to his ves, which he then sent out to further increase his follower count until even animals and insects were under his control. The whole process was set to auto-pilot, meaning the number of ves he controlled was increasing rapidly even right now.

    "Answer me, who are you!"

    The manlike rhinoceros beetle took some distance with a back step and raised a voice filled with dismay. It seemed like he couldn''t believe a mere human was unconcerned by his attacks.

    "Oh, so there were monsters that could talk?"

    "Lord. After passing a certain level even monsters acquire a hint of intelligence, bing able toprehend humannguage."

    The one that spoke this time was Euphemia, the silver haired girl next to Stefanie and the other follower he took along for this expedition. Euphemia was of a race called half-demon; Yuuki picked her up when he raided a vige in the Hakua ancient woonds. He decided to make her a high-ranking ve because she was particrly beautiful, even whenpared to the other half-demons.

    "I see. Might use him as a low-tier ve then."

    Yuuki split his ves into four ranks: high-tier, mid-tier, low-tier andborers. Managing them all himself was impossible, so he set up a hierarchy in which the higher ranking ves handled the lower ranking ones.

    However, his ve count had long increased beyond a number that could be managed with a fouryer system, it was just about time to revise his current management structure.

    "A ve, he says! How dare you, a puny human!"

    "Let''s see, re Bomb. Was that right?"

    Yuuki chanted a spell, more or less.

    The Dominator ss only offered him skills for the sake of managing his ves, but among those skills was one that made it possible to borrow the skills of his ves. As such, Yuuki could use every single skill his ves possessed.

    And like that, explosions wreaked havoc all throughout the insectman''s body, a gaping hole opening in its chest. With his limbs sted away only his head and torso were left over, which fell to the ground with a thump.

    Yuuki leisurely walked up to him and stepped on his head,pleting the domination process.

    "Extra Heal."

    Stefanie used her magic and just a few momentster the insectman had recovered. An easy task for a healer like her, whose powers had been strengthened by Yuuki.

    "How many floors are there in these ruins?"

    "There are 150."

    The dominated monster replied in an obedient tone.

    "Alright, then descend to the bottom of these ruins and gather new followers as you do so. Once you''ve reached the 150th floor, head out to Hakua and continue there."

    "Very well."

    Without wasting even a second the insectman acknowledged Yuuki''s orders and went on his way. In the case of ambiguous orders the ves execute their tasks on their own discretion.

    "These ruins were supposed to offer somebat practice, but I''m really not feeling it."

    If he continued raising his level without actually taking action himself he may find himself unprepared when facing some crisis in the future. With that in mind he decided to explore these ruins, but in the end there wasn''t much point in havinge here. At first he was fairly curious about these ruins left behind by an ancient civilization of a different dimension, but after several days of exploration he started growing tired of them.

    "Lord, haven''t you already transcended beyond requiring real battle experience? I believe just reigning as the magnificent monarch you are destined to be would be a reasonable course of action."

    "Now then, I wonder what happened to Erika."

    Euphemia raised her voice, but Yuuki had his mind elsewhere.

    He had put his favorite ves into their own group of personal guards, both the followers with him right now making up two of those five special ves. The other three were on standby at the hotel, Erika having been one of them.

    Curious about what happened he brought up Erika''s action log, which showed how she equipped herself with a hidden weapon, left her room on the hotel''s highest floor and headed to Tomochika Dannoura''s room on the fifth floor. There, she used the Conceal Body skill and lurked nearby his ssmate''s room. The skill Yuuki was using, Action Log, didn''t do much in telling him what her intent was, but he could guess that she was waiting for Tomochika toe out of her room. Erika spent quite a while waiting in that spot, until eventually Yogiri Takatou left his room. Shortly after that her memory stopped.

    "I don''t get it, why''d she die? Some attack from behind?"

    Action Log only allowed him to watch his ves'' conduct from their perspective, so it was impossible for him to tell what was going on behind Erika at the time. There was a good chance she fell victim to some stealth attack, but there were no signs hinting at anything like that.

    "That''s certainly baffling. To think a forest assassin like Erika, who was granted further power by you, Lord, would be caught off guard. Even if someone managed to surprise her by some fluke, I can''t imagine her being assassinated."

    Assassins possessed the skill Vignce, which made it possible to have a grasp even on the surrounding''s outside one''s vision. It was unthinkable for Erika to not have it activated while performing an ambush.

    "Yeah, and I''d also like to know what she was ambushing Dannoura-san for."

    ves were bound to obey any order they were given, but when they had no specific task to fulfill they could decide their courses of action themselves. They were always aiming for those actions to be beneficial to their master, but without asking them there was no way to figure out what exactly they were hoping to achieve.

    "If I may take a guess."

    Euphemia responded again, her manner of speech as stiff as ever.

    "Go ahead."

    "Possibly because you brought up making Dannoura-sama your lover."

    "And how does that have to do with Erika deciding to ambush her?"

    "One possibility might be that she deemed her unworthy of you, Lord. Alternatively, perhaps she decided to kidnap her for you."

    "Hmm. But ves always aim to move in a way that wouldn''t cause their master problems, why would she kill someone I''ve shown interest in?"

    "I can''t answer that very well without having seen Dannoura-sama myself, but maybe Erika had some reason to believe that her death would be best for you."

    "I see, so unless I explicitly tell a ve to refrain from doing something they might randomlye up with it themselves and do it even if it goes against my actual ns, good to know."

    "Yes. What we believe to be right has a possibility of not aligning with your intentions."

    It appeared things weren''t guaranteed to always go the way he intended, Yuuki decided to keep that in mind.

    "Oh well, no way to figure out what she was thinking now that she''s dead. Shame, she was expensive."

    "If the lord wishes for a new forest human, there are some settlements nearby that could be raided."

    "Settlements like yours, you mean? Are you trying to tell me something?"

    "Absolutely not. I was merely raising a fact."

    "Oh well, not like it matters. I think I''ll have Lisa and Chelsey inherit Erika''s dying wish and capture Dannoura-san."

    Lisa and Chelsey were the other two personal guards left behind at the hotel.

    Yuuki gave them the order right away; with a person dying right in front of her room there was a good chance Tomochika would already be vacating the hotel.

    No matter the method, Yuuki was set on getting Tomochika Dannoura into his hands. There was no way he, the Dominator, wouldn''t be able to get the woman he wanted. However, getting desperate over a single woman didn''t seem very Dominator-like either. That was why he didn''t push the matter when she declined him, but now that Erika had died he no longer cared. As the absolute ruler he was supposed to be surrounded by the most supreme women at all times, and unlike a few days ago, now there was a need to rece Erika.

    "Could it be that Dannoura-sama herself is the culprit?"

    "No clue, but once she''s dominated things should clear up. Let''s take her outside town first of all."

    Hayabusa was under the celestial protection of the saints, which put a limit on certain powers bestowed by them. Domination fell under that limit, making it impossible to dominate people within town.

    Yuuki started heading to the elevator to get out of the ruins.

    He had no doubts that by the time he arrived on the surface, Tomochika would be in his personal guards'' custody.

 Chapter 28 - What do you mean you killed ice!? Are you getting philosophical again!?

    <h4>Chapter 28 - What do you mean you killed ice!? Are you getting philosophical again!?</h4>

    When Tomochika returned to her room she packed her things right away. Her belongings were few enough to fit in a backpack, so it didn''t take too much time.

    ¡ºCan we talk for a second?¡»

    Tomochika was just about to leave the room when her guardian spirit, Mokomoko, spoke up.

    "What? If I don''t hurry up I''ll make Takatou-kun wait."

    Yogiri most likely didn''t require much time himself, and they were supposed to meet up in the corridor after getting ready.

    ¡ºDon''t worry about that, tell him you needed more time because you''re a girl and he won''t even question it. It won''t be a long talk, don''t worry.¡»

    "Well, alright then."

    There most likely was value in whatever Mokomoko wanted to talk about if she was going to bring it up under such circumstances, so Tomochika agreed and took a seat on the bed.

    ¡ºWe don''t know what they''re after, but this time someone is targeting you in particr. Sure the youngster can perceive killing intent, but it looks like that perception loses a good deal of precision when it''s not him that''s being targeted. Might be that I''m better at sensing danger to you than he is.¡»

    "Yeah, I already guessed that just because Takatou-kun is safe from danger the same doesn''t have to go for me."

    ¡ºThere''s also the matter of you two not being guaranteed to always be together. What I''m saying is that you need to be able to handle this world on your own.¡»

    "Well sure, but there''s nothing I can do about that, is there?"

    Tomochika didn''t possess any of the powers bestowed by this world''s system, nor a special power like that of Yogiri. Those degrees of strength weren''t something a normal person could reach just through effort.

    ¡ºI''ve given your situation some thought myself, but indeed, there''s no way for you to be that strong right away. For the time being you''ll have to get by with just your current strength.¡»

    "You say that, but am I strong enough for that right now?"

    Tomochika was fairly familiar with martial arts thanks to her family being so closely connected to it, but she only ever practiced her skills on her rtives. Present day Japan didn''t offer a lot of opportunities to put one''s martial arts skills to the test, so she couldn''t actually tell how strong she truly was.

    ¡ºYou''d easily win against someone who only had physical strength going for them, a knife wielding maniac shouldn''t pose a problem either. Against some martial arts master I suppose you''d be able to stall for time and find a way to escape.¡»

    "That¡­ sounds pretty amazing."

    ¡ºIn terms of our own world, yes. However, the arts of House Dannoura won''t do much against this world''s system and skills and what not.¡»

    "Alright, so what should I do? You brought this up because you know a way to change that, right?"

    ¡ºWe shall lift your seal.¡»

    "This turned really suspicious really quickly! ¡­B-but maybe I''m interested, go on!"

    She hesitated for a moment, but her curiosity soon outweighed her feeling of being made fun of. If there was some secret potential lurking within her, then maybe it was possible for her to be of help after all.

    "So, what will happen after lifting this seal? Do I get some kind of super power? The old me would have thought you''re just screwing with me, but after seeing Takatou-kun''s power I guess you might be serious."

    ¡ºMhmm, now I feel bad for raising your hopes. You won''t awaken to some special power, you''ll only gain the mindset required to kill people.¡»

    "That''s all!?"

    The resolution to kill a person was certainly a kind of strength itself, but Tomochika was expecting something much greater, so her disappointment was rather great as well.

    ¡ºDon''t go ''That''s all!?'' now, just executing an attack with the preparedness to kill someone makes it much stronger already. A normal person can''t kill that easily, no matter how resolute they may be. There''s always some part in them that subconsciously tries to avoid dealing a fatal attack.¡»

    "Isn''t that a matter of mental fortitude then? What''s that got to do with a seal?"

    ¡ºYou''ve heard of tsukimono lineages, right? House Dannoura is simr to that: all its descendants are born with an offense oriented soul. You included.¡»

    (Note: Tsukimono lineages: wealthy families said to have gained prosperity by possessing people.)

    "It just keeps getting less credible!"

    The whole story didn''t sound very believable to Tomochika. It was true that her family was heavily invested in martial arts, but there wasn''t anything that extreme about it as far as she knew.

    ¡ºIs that really something you can say after having ripped out your father''s eyes at the age of ten? In that regard you''re more promising than your older sister, if you ask me.¡»

    "Pretty sure my dad''s eyes are in perfect shape though!"

    ¡ºErm, well, you know how it is, he got artificial eyes a long time ago.¡»

    "That''s way too obvious of a lie! You''re making this up as you go, aren''t you!?"

    ¡ºMhm, I thought steering your character in that kind of direction would fit the whole ''the wild beast within'' story, but looks like it''s not working out.¡»

    "Who cares about my entertainment value right now!?"

    ¡ºWell anyway, instead of awkwardly relying on some weapon or skill you should just make use of your innate offensive nature, that''ll serve you better.¡»

    "Fine, so how are we going to lift that seal?"

    Just being turned more violent wasn''t what Tomochika had been hoping for, but she reminded herself that it was better than nothing.

    ¡ºThe seal is based on a key phrase. To lift it you have to say a special incantation.¡»

    And the incantation was as follows:

    The maddened of all realms know not of their madness

    The blinded of all beings know not of their blindness

    Life upon life upon life upon life begins in darkness

    Death upon death upon death upon death ends in darkness

    "Isn''t that what they call eighth grade syndrome!?"

    ¡ºThat''s a paragraph of Kukai''s Hizou Kuron, alright? Happens a lot in martial arts, having to chant some esoteric mantra. Anyway, go ahead and recite that.¡»

    (Note: Hizou Kuron: a book written by Kukai, famous Buddha of the 8th century.)

    "Isn''t that pretty long? Doesn''t seem very easy to use in emergency situations¡­ Wait, aren''t we making Takatou-kun wait too long!"

    ¡ºVery well, let''s leave things at that for now. After chanting the mantra the effect stays active for a while so just recite it whenever you''re about to head out.¡»

    Tomochika mumbled the incantation as she got to her feet. Nothing felt different when she finished, but maybe that was for the best.

    She left her room and met up with Yogiri.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Yogiri and Tomochika, both with all their belongings with them, headed towards the emergency stairs. For now they had only decided that continuing to stay at the hotel was dangerous, the matter of where to go after leaving it was postponed untilter.

    ¡ºI agree that the emergency stairs are safer than taking the elevator, but won''t the enemy realize where we went right away? How about jumping out of the window, no way they''ll see thating.¡»

    "You do remember that we''re on the fifth floor, right?"

    Mokomoko''s proposal was a little too absurd for Tomochika.

    ¡ºI remember a guy from our original world that could jump from this height without problem.¡»

    "Are you sure he was human!?"

    "There might be something like an escape slide around here actually, but we don''t really have the time to search for something like that. On top of that it would stand out pretty badly, not the best method for secretly escaping."

    "Yeah, the emergency stairs should be safe enough."

    The hotel was built in the shape of an L. To the right of their room was an elevator, to the left a corner. After going around that corner and walking to the end of the corridor there should have been some emergency stairs.

    The two walked through the corridor while focusing all their attention on their surroundings, thanks to which they noticed the sudden sound of footsteps right away.

    Someone wasing from around the corner, and before long a woman appeared before them.

    "My oh my, what might have you two so flustered?"

    The woman spoke with a gentle smile, wearing a fluttery white dress and carrying an excessively ornamented staff. Yogiri didn''t feel any immediate killing intent, but he doubted a person that appeared with such timing could be unrted to the people targeting them. Without bothering with politeness, Yogiri threw her a question.

    "And you are?"

    "Lisa of Yuuki-kun''s personal guards. Don''t let my looks deceive you now, I''m actually the group leader."

    The woman replied with apletely calm, carefree voice. So she truly was part of Yuuki''s followers -- not one of the girls Yogiri and Tomochika had met before, however.

    "What do you want?"

    The woman didn''t make them wait with her response, although it wasn''t a verbal one: Ice pirs. That''s what they suddenly found themselves surrounded by, caged in even -- thin pirs of ice blocking all four directions in the form of a fence.

    "Yuuki-kun ordered me to take Dannoura-san with me, so if you just let me do exactly that we won''t have any prob¨D¨D"

    Yogiri kicked the ice, upon which it shattered and formed an opening just wide enough for a person to pass through.

    "Huh? Are these really brittle or something?"

    Tomochika carelessly tried punching a pir herself, but threw up her hands and screamed when she ended up with the same result one would get from hitting a wall.

    "So cold! What did you do!? These are super tough!"

    "Tried killing the part of ice that I kicked, looks like it worked."

    It appeared that Yogiri''s power also worked on objects created by magic.

    "What do you mean you killed ice!? Are you getting philosophical again!?"

    Tomochika, albeit shocked, followed Yogiri on his way out of the cage of ice while Lisa could only stare at them in disbelief; their escape wasn''t within her calctions.

    Yogiri now knew for sure that she was some kind of assassin sent by Yuuki, so killing her would have been fine, but then they would remain in the dark about what''s going on once more.

    "What the hell is going on!?"

    Lisa shouted in confusion as she raised her staff and pointed it towards Yogiri and Tomochika. The tip of her staff started glowing, then began producing a massive icicle floating in the air. She was most likely nning to fire it at them, in which case the ice clump''s sharp tip and massive weight would easily turn them into dead piles of meat.

    Yogiri was preupied with how to ask her about what was going on and as such failed to react in time. The spell was cast and even if he killed the sorceress now, there was a good chance the ice block would still be fired. With that in mind Yogiri used his power not on the woman, but on the huge icicle.

    Without a moment''s dy it cracked, shattered and then vanished before it even hit the ground.

    "Hii!"

    Lisa squeaked in a scared voice as she slowly stepped backwards.

    Now that she directly attacked them there was little to criticize Yogiri for if he killed her, but instead he turned his eyes to her staff. It was conspicuously big, but perhaps that was necessary for magic. Since he could kill her any time he decided to try killing her staff first.

    He used his power and with a snap the staff split in the middle, lost its glow and cracked, its gem-decorated tip dropping to the ground.

    Witnessing that, Lisa sunk to her knees, her eyes wide open with fear. Although toote, it seemed she finally realized that the person before her was of a different caliber than she was familiar with.

    "Can you use magic without a staff?"

    "N-no, I can''t!"

    She answered instantly -- the right choice in her current position, for Yogiri intended to kill her the moment she turned out to make it difficult to deal with her.

 Chapter 29 - Just what kind of battles was my family planning to take onâ€¦?

    <h4>Chapter 29 - Just what kind of battles was my family nning to take on¡­?</h4>

    "Hm, but thest magic user we met didn''t use a staff."

    He already forgot the name, but Yogiri recalled the one time a ssmate destroyed their bus without using anything like a staff.

    "I-I''m a Wand Master. I can extract magic power from staves and wands, but casting magic without them is impossible for me."

    The cowering Lisa exined timidly but earnestly.

    Her ss could cast many powerful and swift magical attacks, but only as long as the equipped tool had them installed, so to speak.

    "Looks like I can render our enemies powerless as long as they depend on some weapon, although I doubt that''ll happen that often."

    It was unlikely that a lot of their future opponents were going to rely on a tool to such an extent; Yogiri believed they got lucky this time.

    ¡ºOpponents like these usually have another hidden weapon on them somewhere, might be unsafe to keep her alive.¡»

    Yogiri faced Mokomoko and replied, not giving a care to how strange his sudden response must seem to Lisa, who couldn''t see nor hear Mokomoko.

    "If I went around killing people just for having the potential to be dangerous there''d soon be no one left alive around me, you know."

    He didn''t enjoy murder, it was just that using his power for self defense meant the other party''s death. He didn''t hesitate to kill, but neither did he go out of his way to murder someone.

    Yogiri turned back to Lisa.

    "You look like you''ve got an idea already, but here''s the deal: I can kill someone just by thinking about it. If you try to pull any tricks you die, that''s the position you''re in. If you understand then I''ll be asking some questions. Alright?"

    "Understood."

    Lisa''s nervousness could be heard in her voice; the air of looking down on some kids she was giving off earlier had disappearedpletely. A single misstep meant death, and she could feel it with her whole being.

    "If you''re a Wand Master then that earlier staff wasn''t the only one you''ve got on you, was it? Where are your reserves?"

    In response to that, Lisa pulled a pen sized stick out of her stout cleavage and ced it on the floor.

    "Why hide it there of all ces!? And Takatou-kun, don''t take such a thorough look!"

    As usual, their emergency situation didn''t stop Tomochika from being the same as always.

    "I was just impressed she managed to hide it there."

    ¡ºBut if she has wands of such a size then she might very well be hiding them all over her body. Should we have her strip?¡»

    "Not that I''ve ever tried to, but killing her clothes would make that easy enough."

    "Nonono, you''re joking, right?"

    There were several things that Tomochika found difficult to believe just now.

    "You neverined about killing anyone, but stripping them is a no?"

    Yogiri couldn''t quite agree with her viewpoint, but decided it wasn''t a matter to argue over and moved on.

    "Alright, next question. You said you were ordered to take along Dannoura-san, and it looks like you''ve given up on that now, but aren''t those orders absolute? I''m pretty sure I heard something about ves going crazy and throwing away their lives just to fulfill their tasks."

    "Onlybor ves, who don''t have any other uses, are made to put their lives on the line like that. High-rank ves like me are valuable personnel and as such told to worry about staying alive first and foremost."

    "How aboutpanions? If you''re the leader of the personal guard group then I''m guessing there are more of you?"

    "Why yes of course, there are more alright."

    Together with those words, something suddenly dropped from the ceiling. That something appeared to be targeting Tomochika, but instead crashed into the floor: just now, Tomochika had grabbed it mid air and then firmly mmed it to the ground.

    ¡ºMhm. I see it''s already proving useful.¡»

    The something that had fallen from the ceiling andnded on the floor turned out to be a young girl, whose neck was now bent at a fatal angle.

    The technique Tomochika just performed consisted of first getting a hold of the girl''s body by driving one hand into her windpipe and the other''s fingers into her eye sockets, then jamming her head into the floor.

    "Just what kind of battles was my family nning to take on when they invented anti-air techniques¡­?"

    ¡ºBeing prepared for all possible scenarios is the way of House Dannoura!¡»

    However, the girl was starting to get up despite her broken neck, and upon closer inspection it was no human girl, but a masterfully crafted doll.

    In fact, Yogiri and Tomochika were suddenly surrounded by such toys: stuffed animals, figurines, bisque dolls and more, all in different sizes.

    Soon the corridor was blocked by such toys both in the front and in the back, even the walls and ceiling had some clinging to them.

    "Well, that''s one thing exined. I was actually wondering why you were being so obedient."

    After judging that she couldn''t win on her own she decided to wait for her allies, never actually abandoning her order.

    "Although I did believe I would be able to settle this myself."

    Lisa replied with a haughty smile and died. Yogiri used his power since there wasn''t much merit in keeping her alive now the enemy count increased.

    ¡ºA puppet master, eh?¡»

    They didn''t look very strong individually, but it seemed their n was to overrun Yogiri and Tomochika with numbers.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    A small girl in a ck, frilled dress was sitting on one of the emergency stairs''ndings. As if to demonstrate her hobby, all around her stuffed animals and dolls were lined up.

    Chelsea, personal guard of Yuuki.

    Originally she wasn''t supposed to take action, both her and Lisa being under the belief that one of them would be more than enough to handle two ungifted on her own. Lisa, the captain of Yuuki''s personal guards went out to collect most of the credit while Chelsea stayed on standby just in case, but things had taken a turn far beyond the unexpected: Lisa''s magic was rendered useless.

    Despite her confusion, Chelsea went into action right away, believing that her dolls would be able to suppress the two candidates.

    It didn''t matter if her dolls were destroyed. Because her ability to control them was based on possession -- specifically by inserting soul fragments into them -- those fragments just had to be moved to a new doll whenever one of them broke. Even if all the dolls storming the corridor right now were destroyed, all she had to do was send in new ones.

    "What theee! How can a woman even be so brutal!"

    "She does have better moves than expected."

    Chelsea replied to the shouting, life-sized puppet girl next to her. That puppet itself had been the one in control of the doll that just got smashed by Tomochika. The system of possession had severalyers, but was administered by the mother soul residing within Chelsea.

    They went in with the intention to quickly abduct Tomochika and settle the matter, but it looked like things wouldn''t go that smoothly.

    "Moru~! First of all kill that Yogiri guy moru~!"

    The cute little teddy bear Chelsea was holding in her arms uttered some not so cute words.

    "Good idea, even if they''re athletic they don''t look like they''ve got the strength to resist."

    "Gehehehe, we can go ahead and chop off one or two limbs, right? Just gotta make sure she stays alive!"

    Now a boy doll spoke, swinging around a knife with a wicked smile on its face.

    "Of course, that won''t be a problem. After all, kidnapping her is all we''ve been ordered."

    Chelsea said so despite understanding Yuuki''s intentions behind their current mission.

    Looking at her own body she could tell very well that while she was certainly adorable, she wascking in sex appeal. When thinking about possibly being unable to receive Yuuki''s affection with this body of hers she couldn''t help but be jealous of Tomochika. Erika''s conduct was most likely based on jealousy as well, she thought.

    "Go."

    "Let''s get her moru~!"

    Stuffed animals, dolls, robots and more flooded Yogiri and Tomochika all at once. However, they all stopped their movements mid air, flying past them with a swish andmely dropping to the ground.

    That much was still within calctions.

    "Alright, nex¡­ huh?"

    Feeling a sudden sense of unease, Chelsea took a long look at the teddy bear she was hugging, and what she saw was just that: a teddy bear.

    "Morulun!?"

    In a panic she shook her toy, but the stuffed animal didn''t respond nor move.

    "Jennifer! Jacky!"

    The girl doll next to her fell to her knees and limply tumbled down the emergency staircase, while the knife wielding boy doll simply fell over and stopped moving.

    "No¡­ no! What''s wrong!? Morulun, Jennifer, Jacky! Move! Come on, hey!"

    Those dolls could have been considered their own selves, irreceable to Chelsea. And yet, they all stopped moving one after the other.

    Chelsea fell into terror.

    Using the dolls that could still move for vision, all she could see was Yogiri walking towards the stairs. The dolls attacked him just like she ordered, then fell to the ground lifelessly the moment they got close to him.

    Eventually the door to the emergency stairs opened and Yogiri appeared before Chelsea herself.

    The dolls that could still move went into attack mode immediately, intending to defend Chelsea.

    "Stop! Please, stop! No more killing! I''m sorry, I''m sorry!"

    Chelsea finally made her dolls stop, although it could hardly be called a conscious order to them given the turmoil she was in.

    "Takatou-kun¡­ is it just me or do we look like the bad guys here¡­?"

    "Hey, all I did was protect us."

    The puppet master and her puppets had gone silent and the only thing that could be heard now were two perplexed voices.

    By the time the two arrived at Chelsea the number of unbroken dolls had gone down to a mere handful.

 Chapter 30 - I just need to kill him before he can use it

    <h4>Chapter 30 - I just need to kill him before he can use it</h4>

    Underground Ruins - First Floor

    Yuuki was currently on his way to the exit when he sensed the sudden death of Lisa.

    "Master, is something the matter?"

    The two personal guards next to Yuuki, Euphemia and Stefanie, immediately noticed that their master had just sensed something.

    Ignoring them, Yuuki called up Lisa''s action log and saw the mysterious crumbling of her magic, then her death. Shortly after that Chelsea joined the battle only for her dolls to be rendered useless, upon which she lost her will to fight. Still alive, Chelsea told the two ssmates all the information she had regarding Yuuki''s side.

    "Well, not like I ordered her to keep things secret."

    The degree of mind control his personal guards were under was exceedingly small, for the simple reason that living dolls that could only say yes wouldn''t have been very interestingpanions. Furthermore, Yuuki didn''t consider it a problem for the Dominator ss'' mechanics to be leaked. There was no weakness for his enemies to discover, and the more they would find out about his ss the deeper they would fall into despair.

    However, the current situation was simply unpleasant. So far he had considered the kidnapping of Tomochika a trifling matter, but with the way things were going he now decided to go all out with it.

    He ordered all the insects in that hotel''s vicinity to search for Yogiri and Tomochika, soon finding them still in the middle of going down the emergency staircase. Yuuki decided to keep watch on them in real time from now on, so that wherever they may go, thousands of eyes would follow them.

    "He says he can kill people just by thinking about it, what do you think?"

    Yuuki told Euphemia about what happened and asked for her opinion. He didn''t feel like remembering all the details of this world''s inner workings, so whenever he was curios about something he would ask one of his personal guards.

    "It''s a rather absurd im, but I suppose it could be achieved in a handful of ways. One possibility is the interference of an individual that ranks higher in the hierarchy of the Sages'' blessing."

    The system, called the sages'' blessing by this world''s natives, was continuously passed on over the generations, beginning at the maintainers of this world. This inheritance essentially was the same as the install that the students had undergone, making people awaken to special powers but in return locking them into a power rtion that strictly ced them below the sage their power originated from.

    "Is that rted to how the sages can restrict my skills?"

    "Yes. When receiving the Sages'' blessing a kind of restraint is ced upon you, making it impossible to go against them. That restraint is also what makes it possible for them to render skills unusable, or even lower one''s resistance to instant death magic to zero. That said, I believe it''s highly doubtful that either of these two might rank above Lisa and Chelsea in terms of hierarchy."

    "Yeah, even if they were lying about being ungifted, at best they should be in the same position as me. Or wait, is it possible to upgrade your blessing''s standing or something?"

    "It''s certainly possible for a person''s blessing to be altered, but even so I can''t imagine them somehow ending up with one that puts them above Lisa and Chelsea."

    "Alright, so what other exnation is there?"

    "An extreme difference in level would make it possible. In that case, making a fight look like the opponent''s magic had been rendered useless and killing them so one-sidedly it looks like instant death wouldn''t be difficult. However, on top of their regr strength the girls received additional power from you, Lord. I don''t see how they could possibly outlevel both Lisa at level 70 and Chelsea at level 56 to such a degree."

    "True, without using a leveling method like mine rapidly increasing their levels like that shouldn''t be possible."

    One''s level represents the aggregate amount of energy one''s existence holds. That energy is necessary whenever one tries to make use of the system, and absorbed when killing a being that also has the system installed in them. As such, in order to quickly raise one''s level it was necessary to kill as strong as possible enemies at an as fast as possible rate.

    There was no way for Yogiri and Tomochika to achieve such a feat, so it was impossible for them to outlevel Lisa and Chelsea in the few days they had been in this world. Under normal circumstances gaining a small handful of levels in that time was already the best one could do.

    "The third possibility would be the use of an unknown power. I suppose this is the most likely exnation."

    "That''s hardly an exnation, is it?"

    "You are absolutely right, but doesn''t it suffice as a reason to give up on Dannoura-sama? There is no need to go head to head with a power we don''t understand. In your case, Lord, further contact with them would be easily avoidable."

    "Are you telling me to sneak around hiding from someone? No way that''s gonna happen."

    Although he kept his jesting tone, Yuuki did get a little irritated by that. It just wasn''t what a true ruler would do, he believed.

    "Well, doesn''t matter what kind of amazing offensive power he ims to have, I just need to kill him before he can use it. So, any ideas?"

    "Hm, in Lisa''s case her reliance on magic is what doomed her, and in Chelsea''s case it was her reliance on dolls. After all, as far as physical ability went they weren''t that much stronger than a normal person. I believe that sending in someone with a ss that excels in meleebat may prove sessful, someone at level 50 that can move at a speed faster than a normal person could perceive."

    "That doesn''t sound like someone very easily preparable."

    At present, nearly all of his military power was busy with hunting. His first priority was the collection of resources, and he still believed that to have been the right course of action. After all, a fight within the city could hardly have been anticipated.

    "Guess I''ll start by ordering everyone that seems useful to head to the city. Actually, do I really have to bother with something roundabout like meleebat? Can''t I just blow him away with some shy long range magic?"

    "Within the area of celestial protection it will be difficult to use anyrge scale extermination magic, but if we can get them toe outside then that may be possible indeed. We would run the risk of Dannoura-sama getting caught up in it, however."

    "Eh, I wouldn''t want that to happen. Alright, let''s just chase them around for a while then, shouldn''t take long until they give up."

    Thankfully his supply of ves was near endless; for each one that died he could just send in two new ones. Even if Yogiri really could kill people just by thinking about it, there had to be some limit to how long he could keep going. The strength of numbers was bound to make him crack eventually.

    "This is an order to everyone in the vicinity of Hayabusa. Kill Yogiri Takatou and capture Tomochika Dannoura."

    In his whole life, Yuuki Tachibana had never known the feeling of regret, because he had never experienced true failure.

    While there were some ups and downs, in the end everything had always turned out the way he wanted.

    That was the source of his optimism: His continuous sess had him convinced that in the future, too, he would always end up victorious.

    His confidence in being unable to lose, based on no concrete evidence whatsoever, turned into one of the reasons for his sess, further cementing his conviction.

    That was why he viewed Yogiri''s power so optimistically.

    He was certain that he was currently at a safe distance from him, and even if his n failed he could easily recover and attempt a different approach -- with that mindset Yuuki gave the order to kill Yogiri.

    One couldn''t me him for his decision. To first get rid of the unknown variable and then carry out the abduction as originally intended was a reasonable strategy.

    But that was a fatal error.

    He acted on his intent to kill, through which his killing intent formed a concrete connection to Yogiri.

    However, Yuuki wasn''t given the chance to realize his mistake. In the end he never once had the opportunity to taste the feeling of regret in his life.

    Stefanie''s reaction was proof of her simple nature, breaking into tears as she witnessed the sudden event before her and requiring several moments to realize what it implied:

    An existence that mercilessly went against their understanding of this world had appeared.

    At this time, the only one to havee to that realization and tremble in terror was Euphemia.

 Chapter 31 - Lifes harsh

    <h4>Chapter 31 - Life''s harsh</h4>

    "Aaaaaah!"

    ¡ºWeird thing to bring up, but can''t you make your scream sound a little cuter?¡»

    Yogiri and Tomochika had finished their interrogation of Chelsea and were currently descending past the hotel''s second floor, when Tomochika suddenly screamed for her life.

    "Oh, a cockroa¨D¨D"

    "Don''t say it! If I hear that word now I won''t be able to think of anything else so stop!"

    Yogiri''s observation was frantically interrupted by Tomochika.

    Indeed, there was a cockroach sticking to the wall next to them, and a massive number of other insects had gathered around it. The way they were all clinging to the wall without making even the slightest movements made it seem as though they were waiting for something.

    "Tachibana mentioned being able to dominate even insects and small animals, so I guess he''s using them to keep us under surveince?"

    Yogiri spoke as he looked at the insects on the wall. He couldn''t exactly tell which way their eyes were pointing, but somehow he knew that he was being stared at.

    "Can''t you do something about these!?"

    "I could exterminate them all, if that''s what you mea¨D¨D"

    "Do that! Now is the time to use your power for good!"

    Tomochika''s tone went a notch higher, from hectic to hysteric.

    "I can kill them no problem, but I''m pretty sure that''ll make them drop from the wall and spill all over the stairs."

    Killing something meant there would be a corpse left behind, which had a good chance of turning into an obstacle. Yogiri didn''t particrly mind stepping over them, but he could imagine that Tomochika would feel different about it.

    "That sounds even worse than the current situation, no thanks!"

    "Are you sure? They mighte flying at us any moment. Wouldn''t be surprised if they could kill a human."

    "Nonono, they might be super disgusting but surely they can''t kill someone!?"

    "With this many of them I could see it happening. You know, like by crawling into your mouth and blocking your windpipe, or getting deeper inside you and chewing away at your internal organs."

    "¡­Yuuki Tachibana¡­ You''ve really done it now!"

    Tomochika''s tension rose rapidly as she desperately tried to stop herself from imagining those scenarios.

    "But it looks like right now we''re only being watched, so let''s just leave as nned."

    "What if they do fly at us?"

    "I''ll kill them, although that won''t stop their flying husks midair."

    "If that happens I''ll probably lose my mind, sorry in advance."

    The two ssmates continued their descent down the stairs and, as expected, the bugs followed them in a steady rhythm, confirming Yogiri''s suspicion of being spied on. They still didn''t appear to be nning an attack.

    "I think I''ll kill Yuuki Tachibana."

    Yogiri talked as if he just thought of it on a whim, but such was the conclusion he reached after considering everything he had found out about Yuuki so far.

    "Mhm, sure. Don''t let me stop you."

    Unexpectedly, Tomochika didn''t disagree -- apparently bug warfare was where she drew the line. Yogiri went on to exin his reasoning anyway.

    "That Dominator ss is really troublesome, at this rate the whole world might turn into our enemies."

    After questioning the doll user they had a good idea of how the Dominator ss worked: Yuuki''s ve count was going to continue increasing exponentially, all the while allowing him to control every single one of them. On top of that he was able to absorb some of the energy his ves gained from hunting, and able to borrow their skills whenever he felt like it.

    It wasn''t just an issue for Yogiri and Tomochika, Yuuki was a dreadful existence for this entire world. Due to his ss it was very well possible that the majority of this world''s residents would be turned into his followers at some point.

    Yogiri hadn''t intended to go out of his way to protect this world''s peoples, but if he was going to kill Yuuki anyway then the sooner the better, because the longer he waited the stronger Yuuki''s death would affect this world.

    "Tachibana-kun is waiting outside town for us, right? Should we just meet him there?"

    "If things go the way I''m thinking then that won''t be necessary."

    When they arrived at the stairnding between the first and second floor the situation suddenly changed; the insects started bustling.

    "Please tell me you''re sharing this awful premonition!"

    Killing intent. Yogiri could clearly see it rising out from among the bugs, a countless number of thin ck lines extending towards him. It felt as if they were all connected to one greater mind, telling them to wait for the synchronized signal.

    "Kind of feels like being preyed on by a hunter about to lunge at you."

    "Right!? I don''t even care anymore, please just kill them already! I''m pretty sure I''ll die just by being swarmed by them!"

    "Yeah, I don''t like the idea of getting swarmed either."

    Yogiri no longer had any reason to hesitate in using his power.

    The current situation wasn''t actually that critical, but if they were going to keep getting targeted in the future then they would have to constantly pay attention to their surroundings. It wouldn''t be an impossible task thanks to Yogiri''s ability to sense killing intent, but it would certainly be terribly troublesome.

    Additionally, the further Yuuki''s power extended the more their sphere of action would shrink. Before long they wouldn''t be able to freely search this world for a way to return home anymore, and even just meeting up with their ssmates could have be be impossible for them.

    "Die."

    And so he used his power.

    However, the insects barely twitched.

    "Don''t tell me it misfired after all this time!?"

    Even her savior Yogiri couldn''t save her now -- Tomochika''s thoughts could be read from her desperate voice.

    "I can''t guarantee that misfires aren''t possible, but up until now it''s never happened, okay?"

    "So why aren''t they dropping!?"

    "Well, if everything went right then Tachibana just died."

    "Wait, what?"

    Tomochika didn''t expect Yogiri to suddenly bring up Yuuki, who wasn''t even here, and lost her train of though for a moment.

    What Yogiri did was focus his power on the source of all the killing intent towards him, however: Yogiri''s power didn''t allow him to kill anyone anywhere just because they harbored killing intent towards him. Likewise, if one were to attempt to kill Yogiri by sending in some underlings then Yogiri wouldn''t be able to kill the ring leader, only the actual attacker.

    The Dominator was an exception to that rule.

    In essence, the Dominator ss was the power of raising a colony. Yuuki was the head of that colony, and the ves were his arms and legs. That was why it was possible for him to acquire new ves through his old ones: they were part of him. That connection between him and his ves was also the reason his killing intent ended up directly connecting to Yogiri, a connection that could be traced back to its origin.

    "Tachibana tried killing me with the bugs, so I killed him first, basically."

    "Are you telling me that power works even if you have no clue where your target actually is!?"

    "I mean, if he can reach me then it''s only logical that I could reach him as well. Life''s harsh, whenever you try to harm someone you risk being harmed yourself."

    "Isn''t life exceptionally soft on you alone though!?"

    "I don''t know about that, life wasn''t particrly easy back in Japan."

    "Ahh, more importantly than that, these guys are starting to move again!"

    As the two were talking the bugs right next to them started scrambling about chaotically. Yogiri couldn''t sense any more killing intent from them and judged that it was just the bustling of regr bugs.

    "Looks like they''re free from the mind control now that Tachibana has died."

    Yogiri was relieved seeing that. He considered the possibility of the insects carrying out thest order they had received before being liberated, but it looked like the Dominator''s death voided all active orders.

    "But that''s terrible!"

    Tomochika responded with a shrill scream as she watched the clump of bugs unfold, scattering in all directions and starting to fly all over the ce. Sadly, their liberation from mind control didn''t make them any more pleasant to look at.

    "Yeah, let''s get away from here."

    "Aren''t you going to kill them!?"

    "Killing things just for being gross sounds a little uneptable if you ask me."

    "Why are you always so reasonable in these situations!?"

    Doing the emergency staircase justice the two candidates hurried down the steps and, at longst, arrived at the hotel''s exit.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    When they stepped through the hotel''s emergency door they found themselves in one of the side alleys next to the hotel. The high buildings'' shadows made everything seem fairly gloomy, but it was still several hours until sunset.

    Tomochika quickly shut the door behind them, escaping from the bugs for good. Then gain, it wasn''t like the bugs were going to attack humans at random. In reality there probably wasn''t much reason to rush outside like that.

    "Now that I think about it, do we still have a reason to run away from here?"

    Tomochika raised her voice after finally recovering from the bug scare.

    "You mean because Tachibana''s died? I don''t know, some of his followers might attack us for revenge."

    Perhaps there were people among Yuuki''s ves that would have be his followers even without his Dominator ss. With that in mind Yogiri decided that continuing their escape was for the best, even if it was only switching hotels.

    "Alright, so running away it is?"

    "I''d say so, yeah. Actually we might as well start heading for the capital already."

    That route sounded the most likely to spare them any future trouble with fanatic Yuuki followers, so that''s the one they both chose, and after deciding to start their journey to the capital right away Yogiri and Tomochika went out on Hayabusa''s main street, where they ran into the gruesome after-effects of the earlier armored vehicles'' rampage.

    Several carriages had been flipped over and some of them appeared to still have passengers inside, locked in by the wreckage or unable to crawl out on their own. Rescue operations were already in process.

    "I wonder what that was about. I don''t know if you saw it, but earlier some massive trucks sent a bunch of pedestrians and carriages flying when they drove through here."

    ¡ºMhm, we shouldn''t get too involved. Better get away from here quickly.¡»

    They were just about to hurry up their pace when suddenly a loud voice could be heard.

    ¡ºAh, everyone hear me? All of you townfolk I mean. Masayuki here, acolyte of sage Lain and captain of the Anti-Death Battalion. Kinda sudden, but I''m on a manhunt right now and could really use your cooperation.¡»

    The voice seemed toe from a radio broadcast, judging by its asional cracks.

    ¡ºMore specifically, I''m looking for a guy called Yogiri Takatou and a girl called Tomochika Dannoura. Uhh, apparently they''re both roughly 17 year old Japanese brats, ck hair, ck eyes. Bring ''em out to the main square for me, dead or alive, whatever. And I know what you''re thinking, ''you seriously expect us to care?''. Yeah well for your information I just sent out a couple Anti-Death units who were ordered to assault random people in set time intervals, so if you don''t want to get mauled to death you better get me those kids quick.¡»

    "Where did that manice from suddenly!?"

    "He does sound a little weird in the head."

    Tomochika''s reaction to the broadcast was certainly understandable.

    ¡ºNow you might think that just fleeing from the town is going to be enough for you to survive, but I allowed myself to lock you all up in this city. Fiddled with the sages'' barrier a little and now it''s impossible to pass through it. Also, while I was at it I made it so that anyone that dies within the barrier gets turned into an undead. Must be your lucky day because the Anti-Death Battalion is currently recruiting, aye! Young and old, male and female, anyone''s wee y''all!¡»

    "And he even has a n, continuing to make new undead until the whole town is swarming with them and we have nowhere to go! Wait, maybe he''s just crazy?"

    Tomochika voiced her thoughts. Indeed, if Masayuki was positive that her and Yogiri were in Hayabusa then it would have been a solid n, but if he was conducting such a manhunt without definite evidence of their presence then it could only be called madness.

    ¡ºSo yeah, good luck with that.¡»

    And with onest crack the broadcast cut off.

    "¡­And now?"

    Overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events Tomochika looked to Yogiri, who didn''t have much to say either.

    "Time to run?"

    Either way, the town square was now a danger zone.

    They decided to slip back into a side-alley, but before they could do so one of the demolished horse carriages suddenly flew through the air. Dazed by the sudden flying cart they watched on until it eventuallynded with a loud crash, breaking down even further.

    Looking back at the spot where the carriage began its flight there now stood a strange man in its ce.

    With his head bashed in he seemed like a dead man no matter how one looked at it, but despite that he was standing upright on his own two feet -- albeit in a rather unnatural manner. He was most likely the one that sent the carriage flying, and as if to follow his example the whole main street was suddenly swirling with flying vehicles, the same thing happening all over the town.

    "I''d just like to point out that we somehow stumbled from a fantasy adventure into a zombie apocalypse!"

    The people that were supposed to be in need of rescue had suddenly started attacking the people that were supposed to rescue them.

 Chapter 32 - And thats it for Zombie Time!

    <h4>Chapter 32 - And that''s it for Zombie Time!</h4>

    The feudal lord of Hayabusa, Ryouta, was one of the many adherents of the rulers of this world, the sages.

    However, that didn''t mean he was a fan of them.

    He had a simple reason for harboring an aversion against them, a reason that was difficult to ignore for someone like him, who considered themselves an upstanding human being: Pretty much everyone that had to do with them was a jerk.

    Although, no matter how he thought of them and their methods, the fact that they were the ones repelling the otherworldly cmities was true.

    Right now, one such jerk was before him, leisurely sipping his tea. Masayuki, acolyte of Lain and captain of the Anti-Death Battalion, sat on the opposite end of the short-leg table, his legs stretched out wide in a fashion that couldn''t be much more arrogant.

    "Just how many tragedies did you cause on your way here!?"

    Ryouta smashed his fist down on the table.

    The room they were currently in was part of the building Ryouta made use of for his political duties as feudal lord; the same room he was just panicking in due to the report of a terrible tragedy urring in his town, when suddenly the man responsible for that very tragedy leisurely walked in.

    "Just doing some local resupplying, a''ight? Zombies gotta be reced pretty frequently, y''see."

    "Don''t screw with me!"

    The whole town had fallen into chaos because of the massacre that Masayuki and his small army had started.

    Acolytes were certainly allowed to use force when meeting an obstacle that stopped them from aplishing their tasks, but based on what had been reported to Ryouta the armored vehicles actually went out of their ways to hit as many pedestrians as they could -- their conduct was clearly motivated by pure malice.

    "What in the hell did you evene here for!? I''m the one Lain tasked with governing this city, there''s no reason for you to get involved, none whatsoever!"

    "Why so cold, man? Didn''t we survive the same battlefield, brothers in arms and all?"

    "Survive, really? Didn''t you die a long time ago!? Find a coffin to rot in already, damn it!"

    Although one had to admit, their fates did seem entwined. Back in their days as sage candidates they both fought under Lain as their leader, and now as acolytes they were in that same boat once more.

    "I''m searching for some people, just cooperate."

    Not in the mood to bicker it out, Masayuki moved on to the main topic.

    "I refuse!"

    "Nah, this is an order from Lain, no refusing here."

    Ryouta was at a loss for words. If Masayuki was telling the truth then there really was no choice but to obey.

    "The people I''m after are two Japanese, both sage candidates."

    "If they''re candidates then just go contact the sage responsible for them!"

    "No can do, they''re defective goods. The system didn''t install in them so we can''t use Trace."

    "So what? You think I know every Japanese that goes in and out of my city?"

    "Hey, I know this town isn''t controlling all the entering and leaving, I''m not expecting you to have any idea where they are."

    "Then what was that about cooperating?"

    "Basically we''ll have your citizens do the cooperating, by hunting the Japanese. If they''re in this town then it shouldn''t be long till they''re caught."

    "¡­Wait. What''s with that phrasing? Do you not know whether they''re in Hayabusa right now?"

    Ryouta felt a chill run down his spine. Surely, he thought, surely not even Masayuki would dere something as ridiculous as a hunt for Japanese without any evidence of their presence.

    "Ah well, there was this train ident not too far from here, right? It''s pretty much guaranteed they were on that train, and not like they have anywhere else to go from there but the nearest town."

    "And that''s all the reasoning you have for wreaking havoc in my city!?"

    "Hey now, this was Lain''s order, alright? ''Find Yogiri Takatou and Tomochika Dannoura and deal with them,'' just like that. As long as it''s for the sake of my mission anything''s allowed, ain''t that the truth?"

    "Do you actually think a bunch of civilians will be able to help you with that mission?"

    "No worries there, the Anti-Death Battalion has already been dispatched. Just gotta give the signals and they''ll start attacking people."

    "¡­What?"

    Ryouta froze up. Until now Masayuki had been talking about searching for two Japanese, but all of a sudden he was talking about attacking his citizens; Ryouta hoped he misheard.

    "Come on man, who''d actually join the effort if we just asked ''Hey there, please help us out''? You gotta make them taste the despair of death before they really try, like by threatening total annihtion if they don''t find them in time."

    "Are you kidding me? Who''d worry about your dumb manhunt in such a situation!?"

    "If they don''t then they die, simple stuff. They just gotta do some searching on the side while fleeing from the undead. Then again, if everyone died then that''d be the end of the manhunt as well, aye?"

    His yful tone couldn''t be overheard, making it known that the whole talk about acting for the sake of his mission was mere pretense, that in truth he only wanted to let his battalion run wild.

    Even so, Ryouta could only gnash his teeth. As long as Masayuki continued to insist that he was acting in the name of Lain Ryouta could only abide.

    "Come on, hand over the key already."

    "¡­What''s Sage Lain doing right now?"

    Hayabusa''s barrier was raised by Lain, and the duty of controlling it was given to Ryouta. The key was indispensable in that regard, it allowed one to release the barrier, strengthen it, and even restricting the sages'' blessings was possible. It certainly wasn''t something one handed over just like that.

    "Lain''s cleaning up after Santarou right now. Wouldn''t be surprised if she showed up here before long actually, Santarou''s territory wasn''t too far from here after all. Don''t look at me like you can''t hand it over without Lain''s permission, I''ve already told you I''m here under her orders."

    Masayuki wouldn''t dare use Lain''s name to bluff, and knowing that, Ryouta pulled out his key and reluctantly shoved it over the table towards him.

    "Damn it! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get this town to where it is now!?"

    Once Masayuki''s battalion started moving there was no way this matter would be settled with just a manhunt; an image of Hayabusa in ashes was alreadying afloat in Ryouta''s mind. All he could do now was pray that the people Masayuki was looking for would be found quickly.

    Masayuki practically snatched the key from the table and stood up.

    "No need for that grim look, weren''t disasters also part of those SimCity games you yed? Pretty sure a zombie outbreak was one of ''em! And hey, doesn''t the real fun part only start once you gotta rebuild your whole town? Then again, can''t use those domestic affairs cheats in a survival horror game, eh?"

    The Anti-Death Battalion captain tapped Ryouta''s shoulder as he leisurely walked past him.

    "Never yed the 2013 edition, what the hell do I know? Just¡­ god damn it."

    ''Maybe it''s time to give up on the ten million megacity dream,'' Ryouta thought as he dropped his head in gloom.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    A deformed figure slowly limped through a back alley.

    It might have been possible to pass by him unharmed, but Yogiri decided to get rid of him anyway, just in case.

    He released his power, upon which the figure stopped moving immediately. With a dull sound it copsed to the ground, returning to its original state of a lifeless corpse.

    "Of course, why wouldn''t you be able to kill a zombie, haha."

    It looked like Tomochika had gotten used to Yogiri''s power by now.

    ¡ºOi, aren''t you a little too rxed? Pay some more heed to your surroundings¡»

    And unhappy with her carefree attitude, Mokomoko called for some more caution.

    "Not my fault there''s nothing for me to do with Takatou-kun settling everything on his own. I mean, even a zombie apocalypse doesn''t seem so bad now."

    "Well, with how slow these guys are it''s not like they''re much of a threat."

    "Sure, but just defeating them from afar is a pretty big deal already if you ask me. Don''t know about you, but I wouldn''t want to get too close to these."

    The body that just fell to the ground was already in the process of dposition, and in a shape that made it difficult to believe it had been able to move around just a few moments ago.

    "Not sure where to go from here, honestly. Getting out of this town and heading straight to the capital sounds good, but that''d be quite the distance to travel on foot."

    Yogiri spoke as they walked through another back alley, using its shadow for stealth.

    Fortunately the town''s search hadn''t made any progress so far, the citizens were too busy dealing with the sudden zombie outbreak. However, even if they didn''t have to worry about being captured any time soon, there wasn''t anywhere for them to go after escaping Hayabusa.

    "Hmm, guess there''s not point in going to the train station either, under these circumstances."

    Tomochika voided her thoughts. Earlier they intended to get away from Yuuki''s ves by taking the train to the capital, but now the situation had changedpletely.

    "Yeah, I doubt the trains are being operated right now. Also, there''s a good chance we''d really get captured if we went to a public ce like that."

    "Actually, why are we being treated like wanted criminals anyway?"

    "Well, we did kill a sage. They probably won''t leave us alone for a while."

    Nheless, Yogiri still viewed that one time as justified self-defense and held no regrets. But whether he regretted it or not, it increased the chances of getting caught up in some annoying mess quite drastically.

    Just as Yogiri was thinking about what they should do next, a new announcement was made.

    ¡ºAnd that''s it for Zombie Time! Still alive, y''all? Sure the zombies have some power, but with the whole rotting and falling apart they''ve got going on they''re way too slow to be any real threat, aren''t they? No way you died to those, right? Well you better didn''t because you''ll be doing a manhunt now, it''s now time to hunt the Japanese! The zombies are gonna stop attacking people from now on so go hunt me some Japanese. Oh right, I should mention that you won''t have to worry about their usual cheat-like blessings, we restrained those. Ain''t this a great chance to finally give those smug jerks the beating they deserve? H-o-w-e-v-e-r, in another hour we''ll be moving on to Skeleton Time! These guys are a hell of a lot faster than zombies, and don''t get me started on their strength! Do consider this hour your final chance of surviving this day. A''ight, good luck y''all.¡»

    Much like thest time, the torrent of insanity ended with a crack.

    "Umm¡­"

    ¡ºMhm, we might have to take this situation more seriously now.¡»

    "Sounds like we''ll get targeted for real from here on out."

    Yogiri and Tomochika had certainly seen several people that were clearly Japanese in this city, but they were far frommon and restricting that number to only those that were around 17 years old narrowed it down quite a bit.

    Unlike earlier, now they really had to be cautious of their surroundings, but before Yogiri could even ry that thought to Tomochika it was already toote.

    "I''ve found some! We''ve got two Japanese here!"

    A whole gang of armed men appeared in droves from around the alley''s corner.

    All of them were covered in blood, but based on their looks they probably couldn''t tell whether it was their own or that of someone else themselves: Their eyes were bloodshot and the air around them teemed with violence.

    Yogiri had been trying to avoid a scenario like this, but it appeared his efforts ended in vain; with how strong the men''s killing intent was it didn''t take Yogiri''s power to tell what they were nning.

    "Die."

    Yogiri used his power and the barricade of people before them crumbled at once. However, it seemed like their presence was already picked up on by more people, based on the new people he could sense making their way to them.

    "Did they think I wouldn''t kill civilians? Getting kind of fed up to be honest."

    Even if there was some maniption happening, all of them made the conscious choice to attack him and Tomochika, and Yogiri didn''t feel any remorse killing a would-be attacker. As far as innocent bystanders went he did try his best not to kill them.

    And like that, Yogiri was starting to feel some irritation towards the person responsible for this whole mess.

 Chapter 33 - Might be time for some experiments

    <h4>Chapter 33 - Might be time for some experiments</h4>

    Yuuki copsed.

    Stefanie, who specialized in regeneration magic, tried healing him, but he didn''t show any reaction.

    Despite having been in perfect shape just moments ago he fell to the ground without any warning whatsoever -- there was no one around them that could have harmed him, no one had done anything at all.

    And yet he had definitely died.

    Unable to deny that truth, Stefanie clung to his body and broke into tears with a heartrending cry.

    For her, being taken in by Yuuki could have been called a stroke of luck, considering her life as ve until that point. She was always saying empty-sounding ttery like ''As expected of master!'', but in her case those words may very well havee from her heart. If nothing else, her grief over Yuuki''s death was genuine.

    Euphemia on the other hand was still shaking from fear, but finally started to regain herposure. She had been terrified of suddenly dying just like herte master, but it appeared Yogiri didn''t intend to kill Yuuki''s ves along with him.

    Mustering all the calmness she could, Euphemia focused her consciousness on her own state of mind and realized: there was no feeling of being controlled. Even when she looked at Yuuki''s corpse, the only thought that came to mind was ''Serves you right.''

    There was also a strange feeling of a great amount of energy flowing into her, increasing the weight of her soul -- with Yuuki having died, his soul dispersed and was absorbed by the two girls next to him. Most of it dissolved into the atmosphere, but even just a fragment of his soul was gigantic and certainly a blessing of unfathomable magnitude.

    ¨D¨DNow then, where should I go from here?

    Unhappy with his punishment being no more than death, Euphemia red at Yuuki''s body. A good part of her wanted to rip off his limbs and tear out his intestines that very moment, destroying his body until it bore no resemnce to his original appearance.

    That was the kind of tribe Euphemia was born in, a n with no respect for the dead. Raiding their dead enemies'' graves and exposing their corpses to the world was how they silenced their grudges.

    "Go ahead, you can have that."

    However, surely Stefanie wouldn''t sit idly by if she went ahead and ruined the corpse to her heart''s content. In the end they were both victims and Euphemia had no reason to dislike her, nor one to fight her.

    "¡­What?"

    Stefanie looked up at Euphemia in a daze. It seemed she, on the other hand, had been expecting Euphemia to grief over Yuuki''s death just like her.

    "You''ve probably noticed, but we were released from domination; I don''t have any more reason to be loyal to this guy. Don''t know about you, but I''m leaving."

    "I¡­"

    Stefanie was clearly overwhelmed by the situation, but while Euphemia didn''t have any reason to dislike her neither did she see any reason for why she should watch over her.

    "Well, bye."

    She promptly decided to leave the confused Stefanie behind and made her way to the exit. There most likely wasn''t much harm in leaving her behind; she was more than strong enough to handle these ruins'' first floor on her own.

    And on her way to the ruins'' exit, Euphemia thought about what to do next.

    The first objective was going to be grouping back up with her tribe and reviving her vige. As long as her oldpanions were alive she could trust them to make their way back to their vige as well. Thanks to her tribes'' naturally well developed physical abilities Yuuki most likely didn''t view her nsmen as his usual dispensable pawns, so there was a good chance they were still alive. Looking at it that way, Euphemia realized that there was no need to be pessimistic; she and her tribe could still start anew.

    The more she thought about all the things that had to be done the stronger grew her desire to get out of these ruins, but before her feet broke into a full sprint on their own she noticed something strange.

    Her throat was terribly dry.

    And not just that, Euphemia soon realized that her entire surroundings had dried up. Compared to when she entered the ruins, when they were as damp as one would expect from an underground structure in a primal forest, the current level of humidity could only be called abnormally low. Looking at the ground before her she could even see that small piles of sand had formed.

    When she finally arrived at the staircase to the surface and saw the daylight shine in she was convinced that something was off: There should have been no way for the sunlight to illuminate the first floor through the two story high building that the stairs were situated in.

    A st of dry air blew through the corridor.

    There was no doubt that something had happened on the surface, but she still had to get out of the ruins and return home.

    Bundling her determination, Euphemia ascended the staircase and having arrived at the top the scene she witnessed was as she feared: There was nothing at all. The whole area had been turned into a desert, leaving behind no signs of the ruins nor the gloomy primal forest.

    "What in the world?"

    It was too much for her to wrap her head around.

    Hoping to find an answer to her many questions she looked around her and it didn''t take long for her to find a huge spot of darkness in the distance.

    Whatever it was, it was ck and had no clear shape, only appearing like a bundle of fog that just barely maintained the shape of a human. With massive strides it moved towards Hayabusa, giving a dreadfully ominous impression to anyone that spotted it. Taking another look around her, Euphemia saw that the sudden desertification had passed through the ancient forest in one straight line. It seemed that giant walking shadow was somehow responsible for the abnormality around her.

    Aggressors.

    Beings of which no one knew when, where or why they appeared in this world. One would expect any and everyone of this world to fear these creatures, but Euphemia actually felt relieved, for the aggressor paid her no attention.

    It appeared her stay below the surface had saved her, and since the walking anomaly was heading straight towards the city all she had to do from here was flee the other way.

    "Now where did youe from? Sure looks like I found myself a Kurayami survivor."

    Addressed by an unknown voice Euphemia hastily turned back around and found herself face to face with a woman in a scarlet red dress. And she realized: She was far from having escaped danger.

    For Euphemia, a single look was enough. Enough to sense that the person before her was the natural enemy of the weak, a being that preyed on her kind, a vitor of souls.

    "Mhm, doesn''t look like you''ve got a whole lot of strength going for you. But see, I really don''t know what to do about that thing. Let''s see whether you can tell me something I don''t know."

    Fighting was out of the question. Whatever it took, Euphemia absolutely had to get away from that ce.

    However, the moment she looked into the woman''s eyes she lost the ability to move her body.

    She was hit by Charm, a skill that temporarily controlled her soul and made it impossible for her to raise resistance.

    The woman in the red dress slowly walked up to her, in response to which Euphemia obediently exposed her neck, soon feeling the soft sensation of a pair of lips on her.

    Thus, Euphemia learned that the one before her was Lain, sage and Original Blood.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    It was a terrible match up.

    That much Lain could tell right away when she first encountered Kurayami. It was just too ambiguous of an existence, she couldn''t even tell where it began and where it ended. She had no idea what kind of creature it was, and actually wasn''t certain whether it even had the necessary consciousness to be considered a creature.

    Hitting it seemed to achieve about as much as striking at fog, and to make things moreplicated the part that came into contact with it withered instantly. First it would dry up, then crumble, then turn into sand. Fortunately, Lain''s immortal body was hardly fazed by such an attack, but while her defensive properties may have been enough to let her stand up against Kurayami there was nothing she could do as far as offense went.

    She was a vampire, a being that steadily gathered new followers tomand. She had impable regenerative abilities, she could charm people with a single nce and her transformation ability allowed her to take flight, and those weren''t even all of her powers. There was not a single decisive weakness an opponent could abuse, and yet she utterlycked the means to defeat Kurayami.

    In retrospect, Santarou and his ability tomand all archetypes of magic should have had a fairly decent chance against it. After all, he did possess the offensive ability required to have driven it away once. Lain held huge magical power within her as well, but her spells weren''t anything too special, mostly consisting of regeneration magic and the sages'' barrier magic. Other than that her repertoire was rather basic offensive magic only.

    In the end, Lain couldn''t stop Kurayami from advancing now matter how hard she tried. In fact, it was possible Kurayami hadn''t even taken notice of her.

    And in such a hopeless situation, Lain found a blonde girl left behind in Kurayami''s wake, just vacantly gazing after it.

    Under normal circumstances Lain wouldn''t bother taking a second look at her, but her unharmed condition in such a ce did raise her curiosity.

    Lain decided to make the girl her follower.

    A Charm would have been enough to make her speak, but a charmed mind''s thought process was too fuzzy for a proper interrogation. Just turning her into a follower made things easier.

    However, the only thing the girl, Euphemia, could tell her was that she was underground while Kurayami passed by. That was rather disappointing, but after questioning her further she found out that she was involved with one of Sion''s sage candidates, and that she had evene into contact with Yogiri Takatou.

    "So he can kill people even if they aren''t near him, that''s quite something."

    Now that Euphemia was her follower it was impossible for her to lie to Lain, so if nothing else that was her honest interpretation of what happened.

    And assuming it was true, that meant Yogiri could kill people even over long distance.

    "Looks like it''s roughly 10 kilometers to the city from here."

    "It is indeed."

    "Hmm, so at the very least he can reach this far."

    Lain squeezed any relevant information Euphemia had out of her.

    Going by what Yogiri said, just thinking about it was enough for him to kill somebody. On top of that, his power wasn''t just limited to humans but could even be applied to objects spawned from magic and things like soul infused dolls.

    Most of his targets seemed to have been within his field of vision, but apparently he was also able to kill people that were stealthed as well as far away underground. There was a good chance he had some kind of detection ability.

    Of course his instant death power was already dangerous, but Lain believed that his detection was what would turn out to be the real problem. It probably wasn''t a coincidence that Yuuki died right as he ordered his ves to kill Yogiri. He must have somehow sensed Yuuki''s order.

    In essence, Yogiri''s power was going to be harder to deal with than mere instant death magic.

    "Might be time for some experiments, I''d love to see what he''s capable of."

    Lain was starting to think that the Anti-Death Battalion might actually prove unable to handle him, which would mean that blindly sending more killers after him would just be a waste of time and resources. However, even if they were just going to get killed off, she absolutely had to use that opportunity to see Yogiri''s power in action with her own eyes.

    Its sphere of action, its scale of threat, the properties of it.

    His personality. What he liked, what he disliked, what he disregarded.

    "And most importantly, whether he could kill even me."

    "Apologies, I did not understand that."

    Demonstrating her excellent hearing, Euphemia immediately responded to Lain''s mumbling. It may have been just the two of them there, but Lain still reprimanded herself for her carelessness.

    "Never mind that. This whole Yogiri investigation may just be for naught anyway."

    The Aggressor Kurayami was on its way to Hayabusa, Yogiri''s current location.

    If it was just going to keep advancing like it had been this far then there were most likely not going to be any survivors. There wouldn''t be a problem if the sages'' celestial protection was able to fend it off, but in the end the barrier was no more than a monster repellent. Whether it was going to be enough to stop Kurayami''s power was questionable at best.

    "Masayuki''s face will be a sight to behold, if nothing else."

    She had seen enough to know that continuing to chase after Kurayami wasn''t going to change anything.

    Unpleasant it may be, Lain was starting to consider asking other sages for support.

 Chapter 34 - Letâ€™s look like Allies of Justice for just a little more!

    <h4>Chapter 34 - Let¡¯s look like Allies of Justice for just a little more!</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus Edit: Upsilon

    First, Yogiri considered if it would be good to leave the town secretly, but that was impossible since they had beenpletely discovered.

    As there was an uproar once they were found, people flooded to there.

    However, there wasn¡¯t even an iota of restraint as they believed Yogiri was an ordinary person.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you if youe closer.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri conveyed his straightforward demand, and did exactly as he said.

    From the back of the alley to the main street. He continued to walk without hesitation while killing the noisy people who rushed him.

    Naturally the uproar became bigger, and they surrounded Yogiri and others as even more people continued to gather.

    ¡°Why are you acting sluggishly! Do it! Do it and kill him!¡± (Random Citizen)

    ¡°Are you stupid! When you get closer¡­¡­¡± (Random Citizen 2)

    Having not understood the circumstances, the hot blooded people with ardor had closely approached and broken through the enclosure.

    Just as they crossed the boundary of death, the stupid people died.

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen someone carrying out their words to such a disgusting degree!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said that seemingly by reflex seeing the reckless suicide attacks.

    ¡°Even though they continue to approach with the intent to kill, it¡¯s funny they think I won¡¯t kill them.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No no no, because they wouldn¡¯t think they would die only by approaching normally!¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri believed he had no obligation to exin it many times over. It was foolish to continue to approach this way by seeing this situation.

    ¡ºBut you aren¡¯t agitated when seeing casualties.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°It¡¯s because of the seal being lifted!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºDon¡¯t go and say it¡¯s to me. This ce isn¡¯t the peaceful Japan. Since you are bothered when pushes to shove and be shocked speechless around people dying.¡»(Mokomoko)

    If it was from Yogiri, he thought Tomochika hadn¡¯t been very perturbed by one thing or another in the parallel world from the beginning. There would still be enough room for him to make a retort.

    ¡°However, what¡¯s with these people?¡± (Yogiri)

    The people who hade were matching Yogiri¡¯s movements without separating or attacking him.

    A crowd of people had beenpleted towards the back from the left and right. It wasposed of a semicircle about 10 meters in diameter.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t able to leave us alone after finding us.¡± (Tomochika)

    Was it that they hadn¡¯t discovered they could lower their raised fists, or was it the truth that they had seen a scary thing. He didn¡¯t understand what type of mentality it was, he wasn¡¯t able to leave or approach, but they continued to follow him loosely.

    However, it seemed they started to be self-aware of the stupid manner of walking in a group, as they appeared to be regaining theirposure.

    ¡°Say, where is the za you are taking us to in case you catch us?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, yes. If you go straight ahead the central za is there. But, what are you nning to do?¡± (Random Citizen 3)

    To the right, a middle-aged man responded while walking and maintaining his position of being separated a little.

    ¡°I asked because I intend to go.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Hey¡­¡­then why didn¡¯t you say you were doing so from the beginning if that¡¯s the case! Then it wouldn¡¯t have been necessary for so many to die in that way!¡± (Random Citizen 3->Middle-aged Man)

    ¡°Why should it be my concern if I am attacked abruptly?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri had stopped by the town by chance in that situation, only to be aimed at for some reason.

    For example, assuming it was Yogiri¡¯s fault for just him to be aimed at, it was Masayuki who dragged the town into this, so he was on the verge of wanting to say it was possible toin there.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then wouldn¡¯t it be good to leave the town quickly? I think you would be able to do something to the barrier?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika thought it would be better in that case to escape without going to the za or something if he didn¡¯t care about the people in the town.

    ¡ºHmm. They have continued to suffer from their spurred impudentness.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Although I think I am able to do so, what are we going to do after we leave the city? Are you saying we¡¯re walking until the next town?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºCertainly. I heard that a steep canyon will go on from here until the Imperial Capital. Moving would be relentless if it isn¡¯t by train.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°So somehow, we have to move the train.¡± (Yogiri)

    For that reason, it would finish up quickly by meeting with Masayuki who had caused this situation. Yogiri thought so.

    ¡°That¡­¡­what. I think it was wrong to try to attack you without thinking. But, what exactly are you nning to do?¡± (Middle-aged Man)

    Whether or not it was because he had be tense and replied first, the middle-aged man had be something like a representative.

    ¡°I will try to talk a little.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°The other party is a follower of Sage-sama, and he is doing such a thing. I don¡¯t think you can get him to respond to you directly.¡± (Middle-aged Man)

    Whether or not he hadn¡¯t understood his position or something, the man spoke such a thing.

    ¡°It¡¯s bad to be too simplistic, but I will eliminate him then. I have no choice as he¡¯s just such an obstacle if I can¡¯t talk to him.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri and the others finally arrived at the za while he was saying such things.

    If that ce was as usual, it would be a ce for rxation and refreshment where many people would gather.

    However, ugly monsters were gathered there and making amotion, and there wasn¡¯t anything trying to have serenity.

    Damaged, rotting, and distorted humans were wandering about, and skeletal corpses were making rattling noises. Gargoyles were pping their wings through the sky, and giants made of rock were overlooking the surroundings.

    They were the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯.

    As they were walking towards the center of the za, their followers had gone away unnoticed. They had stopped following them around the entrance of the za.

    ¡°Hahaha~. Among what I¡¯ve seen up to now, is this the most parallel world fantasy-like I wonder? Although it isn¡¯t an enjoyable impression¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was pretending to be tough, but panic could be felt in her voice.

    Facing the other side, the armoured vehicles that Tomochika said she saw were lined up.

    Having looked at it, it didn¡¯t seem they could be able to amodate every monster that was in this ce in the cars, so the moving corpses had to be raised in this town.

    ¡°How about stealing that car?¡± (Yogiri)

    The car appeared to be sturdy. Perhaps it would barely manage to reach until the Imperial Capital if it was ready in some way or another with fuel.

    ¡°Are you able to drive, Takatou-kun?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I have done it in Mari? Kart¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Uwa~, I don¡¯t want to let such people drive~¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    There were only Japanese people in front of the armoured cars.

    However, the majority of them were dead.

    It would seem that Japanese people were collected regardless of gender or age and were killed here. They had been piled up carelessly.

    Only two Japanese people were alive.

    One man was wearing a suit next to the mountain of corpses. He was standing stock still while stuck in the situation.

    And, the other one was on top of the mountain of corpses.

    Seated on a corpse, with a gap in hisrge legs, was a man wearing a ck coat on his bare skin while he lorded over the za.

    It was clear with a nce that he was Masayuki. Intention could be felt in the glint of his eyes unlike the undead. Although, his purpose would be worthless as he was someone who trampled on dead bodies.

    ¡°Aan~? Did you possibly appear toe and die? Isn¡¯t that right you might say, hey! Or perhaps I should say you became the scapegoat for everyone in the city?¡± (Masayuki)

    Masayuki bent his face broadly. He seemed to be pleased if the people of his objective came along, but he didn¡¯t seem to wee it very much.

    ¡°Was there such a reason?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No no no, don¡¯t deny it instantly! Let¡¯s look like allies of justice for just a little more!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said it while flustered, but it wasn¡¯t really Yogiri¡¯s intention to do it for the city.

    ¡°Do you have any intention to talk?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I won¡¯t talk. It¡¯s no good. I won¡¯t give consent without receiving an exnation thates expressly after you die. This way I¡¯ll keep my promise even though things looks like this. This game ispletely finished if I kill you.¡± (Masayuki)

    Masayuki¡¯s expression was irritated. While he said that he promised, there was a lot of room for interpretation in what he said. It was likely that the superior sages said it was alright to do anything if it was to kill Yogiri. They wouldn¡¯t be able to be more unreasonable than killing the two, if that theory was correct.

    ¡°We want to go to the Imperial Capital and be taken there by train. Please fix the barrier in order to let us use the station.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°¡­¡­whaa~at?¡± (Masayuki)

    Masayuki froze with a stupid face. He wasn¡¯t able to quiteprehend the thing that Yogiri had said.

    After that, he needed some time before he started to move, and Yogiri continued to wait patiently for that.

    ¡°Hey hey hey, hey hey hey! That¡¯s extremelycking to say! Aren¡¯t you able to say something a little more sensible! Are you fully aware of things like your position of being able to request that! If you would attempt to do that, then use your head more! Are you stupid? Are you that stupid!?¡± (Masayuki)

    ¡°Ah, there needs to be transaction material if it¡¯s a negotiation. If that¡¯s the case, then I will do something for you by letting you live although you are irritating. It would be necessary for you to deal with things after the barrier is removed.¡± (Yogiri)

    Masayuki hardened once again.

    He was unable to settle his mind because of Yogiri¡¯s attitude of being uninterested, as only his cheeks were twitching.

    ¡°What is this talk, you would only make me feel angry! Die quickly! Aah~!?¡± (Masayuki)

    Masayuki stood up with rage.

    Whether or not it was a signal, the undead all faced towards Yogiri at once while staggering.

    ¡°Die.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, the situation suddenly changed in the za with that one word from Yogiri.

    The dead bodies that had been mouring copsed with a rattling noise. The gargoyles that had been flying in the sky were falling and changing into ordinary stone statues, and the rock giants copsed and ttened several undead.

    Here, the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯ were annihted with the exception of the leader.

 Chapter 35 - I decide what is death

    <h4>Chapter 35 - I decide what is death</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Upsilon

    There were only four Japanese people who were left in the za.

    Yogiri Takatou was continuing to stand unaffected, and Tomochika Dannoura was surveying the situation with a somewhat drawn-back look.

    The young man wearing the suit was revealing his straightforward thoughts ofplete surrender with both of his hands raised, and Masayuki had hardened as is while standing on top of the corpses.

    ¡°I am the feudal lord which governs this region, Ryouta Takahashi. This current matter is this guy¡¯s own judgement and I have absolutely no connection to it!¡± (???->Ryouta)

    The suited man, Ryouta, immediately continued to clearly indicate his position. It was a cunning action from the feudal lord.

    ¡°What¡­¡­is this? What the hell is this!¡± (Masayuki)

    Masayuki eximed in order to misrepresent his confusion.

    ¡°Stop bullsheetting me, you~! How are the undead dying? Why are the undead which have already died dying!¡± (Masayuki)

    ¡°They¡¯re undead? But I didn¡¯t know that from the start, even though you said they were dead. Aren¡¯t they alive since they are moving?¡± (Yogiri)

    There wasn¡¯t any intent to ridicule him, Yogiri was asking out of genuine doubt.

    Even though he said the corpses were moving, they would be alive then if they were moving. That wasmon sense for Yogiri.

    ¡°You proceeded to take it upon yourself to attack having tried to ignore them for some reason! Although that is greatly contradicting of the words ¡®moving corpses¡¯!¡± (Tomochika)

    It appeared that Tomochika wasn¡¯t giving a damn about that point daringly.

    ¡°All of your group is dead. What are you going to to do?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Damn i~t! Lain! You~, did you know this!? Instant death magic~? It se~ems that this isn¡¯t such a thing!¡± (Masayuki)

    Masayuki used foulnguage while looking at the sky. It appeared to be towards Lain, but that person didn¡¯t appear to be in this ce.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a situation to sayints about various things in? I¡¯m asking you what you¡¯re going to do. The current situation is the same way as you see it. It¡¯s understood if you use your head a little?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, he told you to ¡®use your head¡¯ some time ago, but he¡¯s trying to do it somehow.¡± (Tomochika)

    Masayuki jumped down from the mountain of corpses.

    ¡°What¡¯s with you! It¡¯s a sage¡¯s divine protection, right? Or the Sword Saint? Or are you a dragon¡¯s descendant? But what makes you able to do that! How do you kill things that are dead!¡± (Masayuki)

    Masayuki appeared to be unable to quite understand it, he was only adhering to the event of the undead being dead.

    ¡°It is my job of deciding what is death. It is alive if it¡¯s moving, and stops when it¡¯s dead. I don¡¯t care about what you would think.¡± (Yogiri)

    Disorder, confusion, exhaustion.

    Masayuki¡¯s face disyed a mixture of various feelings, and finally it was painted with rage.

    Murderous intent burst open from within Masayuki, it controlled the vicinity and looked like miasma.

    A person would certainly die from that much if they were weak-spirited.

    Masayuki¡¯s violent emotions were immediately established on the surface of his body.

    His fangs jutted out, and his fingernails stretched. His coat became one with his body while changing into wings, and his body proceeded to cover itself with ck bristles.

    It probably hadn¡¯t taken a lot of time.

    However, Masayuki had made an incorrect choice. The situation wasn¡¯t one to transform.

    The way to prevail wouldn¡¯t be anything but a swift attack. But something surpassing the limit of Yogiri¡¯s thinking speed, it would only be quick attack of a deity.

    In the end, it was the same as Masayuki¡¯s defeat being decided at the time he confronted Yogiri without a great n.

    Yogiri responded to the killing intent by reflex.

    ¡°At least allow him to transform!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Said Tomochika as she looked at Masayuki who had copsed. Masayuki had copsed with an unfinished figure that couldn¡¯t be said to be a man nor a beast.

    ¡°Why do I have to wait for a fully motivated guy?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Eh, look, it¡¯s a rule. But, weren¡¯t you negotiating? And what about things like the barrier?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°This guy is fine. Right, Takahashi Ryouta-san?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, yes.¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryouta vigorously raised his hands in surrender, then nodded his head.

    It¡¯s fine if he negotiated with the feudal lord afterwards. It would be easy to go through negotiations this way. Ryouta should have given his self introduction with that intention. To sum it up, it was at that moment he killed Masayuki.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anybat strength. However, I think I won¡¯t converse well in something like this situation where I don¡¯t know when I will be killed.¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°Since we basically only did it for the sake of defending ourselves, you can be at peace of mind if you don¡¯t feel that way.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No no. Since I truly don¡¯t anymore! May I be allowed to retrieve only the key of the barrier for now? Masayuki has it.¡± (Ryouta)

    Yogiri nodded. Ryouta felt for something on his body when he got closer and crouched down next to Masayuki, and took out a single key.

    ¡°Say, I think there are zombies among other things still left inside of the town, however, what will that result in?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That one~. That was Masayuki cing the ¡®Corpse Warrior¡¯ ability on the barrier. Therefore, dead people shouldn¡¯t be turning into zombies after this¡­¡­ Well, I¡¯ll do it in some way or another. There are countermeasures for stray zombies. And, the town can be exited again since the barrier has been restored to its normal state. I want you to wait until things calm down a little more if you use the train.¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°Enough about that matter, do you know what this situation is?¡± (Yogiri)

    The ringleader who caused the affair had died, so it was somewhat unclear what Yogiri and others should do.

    ¡°Ah~, that, don¡¯t get angry? Masayuki was ordered to ¡®kill you¡¯ by the sage, Lain. So, Masayuki¡¯s head was a little crazy. He came forth with such means. I didn¡¯t want to allow such a city to be something simr to a wreck. But, you can¡¯t defy a sage-sama¡¯smand.¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have to perform that order?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Although I am also a sage¡¯s follower and in same position as Masayuki, I haven¡¯t received a direct order. That being the case, the preservation of this town is of maximum priority.¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°Hmm? Isn¡¯t the sage¡¯s name Shion?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika tilted her head to the side. She appeared to have remembered the sage who turned up on the bus called herself Shion.

    ¡°Shion-sama is also a sage, but her jurisdiction is different. Around this is under the control of Lain-sama. I am entrusted with this ce.¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°But, we were summoned by that Shion, so why would they kill those who are said to be sages?¡± (Tomochika)

    It would be wrong to kill Yogiri and others as they seemed to have been summoned as sage candidates for the sake of increasing the number of sages. But then in that case from that point of view, it was possible to say it was proper to eliminate Yogiri who had decreased the number of sages.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know because I didn¡¯t hear about that. But, I don¡¯t intend to be a hindrance to you, and I will get someone to n for maximum convenience.¡± (Ryouta)

    He wouldn¡¯t feel like nning as the annihtion of the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯ was shown.

    It was supposed to settle the current problem with this. However, Yogiri¡¯s face wasn¡¯t cheerful.

    ¡°What is it? Is there still something?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Although I had thought the origin was this ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯, it appears it wasn¡¯t like that. The gloom is continuing to grow darker. That thing was felt outside of the town.¡± (Yogiri)

    It was something he felt in the middle ofing to this town when they had separated from the robot. It had decreased as they approached the town, and it mostly wasn¡¯t felt around the time they reached the town, but it appeared to be a critical situation again.

    ¡°Ah~, is he some kind of danger forecast guy?¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°It is over 50% if I say it as a forecast and it is beginning to rise rapidly.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°If that is a weather forecast, it¡¯s generally rainy weather, right!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika looked at the surroundings in a panic.

    ¡°¡­¡­what¡­¡­it¡¯s dry?¡± (Tomochika)

    It wasn¡¯t anything but a subtle ufortable feeling, but it wasn¡¯t only a thought now that he had mentioned it.

    The air was getting dry. Morever, she even felt the air had a rough feeling in it somewhere.

    ¡°What is that!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika pointed at the distant sky in confusion.

    If you tried to look at the thing she pointed to, something gigantic and ck in the shape of a person was towering over the surroundings.

    That, it appeared to being towards the town slowly.

    ¡°¡­¡­no way¡­¡­that invaderaggressor¡­¡­is that Kurayami?¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryouta became dumbfounded as he leaked thus.

    ¡°Do you know that!? And was the robot an invaderaggressor?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Kurayami is an invaderaggressor which appeared recently. I heard Santarou-sama had repelled it but¡­¡­damn~. Is this what Lain-sama left for!¡± (Ryouta)

    Screams became audible.

    People who became confused were arriving and rushing into the za here and there.

    Kurayami stepped into the town easily. The barrier didn¡¯t disy any effect towards Kurayami.

    Kurayami¡¯srge build ovepped with a skyscraper which was visible in the distance. The building vanished in an instant.

    ¡°Bastard! The zombie disturbance isn¡¯t even finished yet, and now there¡¯s an invader!? What do I do! What ce do I run away to!¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryouta shouted aint because it was too much.

    Though its movement was a size where it appeared to be slow. It¡¯s movement speed was awfully fast if it waspared to a person¡¯s, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to evacuate even if they officially proimed a warning from now.

    The shadow which indicated killing intent was continuing to grow more and more darker, which conveyed that Kurayami wasing to this za.

 Chapter 36 - Could you not be satisfied with my body in a situation like this!?

    <h4>Chapter 36 - Could you not be satisfied with my body in a situation like this!?</h4>

    Trantor+Edit: Thy Unsus

    Lain, who had confirmed the annihtion of the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯ through Masayuki¡¯s eyes, cancelled her alignment with him.

    It was just to make sure, as there was an instance of a rulerdominator killed even at a long distance. It could not be asserted that the use of power towards Masayuki wouldn¡¯t extend to Lain.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking about whether or not Master¡¯s way of doing it is severely risky. It cannot definitively be said that there is no effect, even though you are only watching.¡± (Euphemia)

    Euphemia proposed from the side. It seemed she wasn¡¯t underestimating Yogiri.

    ¡°Euphemia. To what degree to you estimate him as a threat?¡± (Lain)

    ¡°Beyond mythological creatures, the Sword Saint, and the sages. I think we should not have anything to do with Yogiri Takatou more than this. If it is now, his interest wouldn¡¯t be here.¡± (Euphemia)

    ¡°In other words, run away? That can¡¯t be done.¡± (Lain)

    As for the control system based on the sages, the sages must be an absolute existence. There must not be the likes of something which could threaten their lives, and they must not think amon person even had the potential to.

    Almost all of the sages thought so. And Lain also had to act in ordance with that idea.

    If she only wanted to ascertain whether or not she¡¯d die, it was fine if she left before Yogiri nonchntly. However, she would be suspected having a rebellious spirit in that situation. It was foolish as it seemed to be suicide.

    ¡°It may be considered to be me looking foolish¡­¡­but I don¡¯t think you can even harbour killing intent towards Yogiri Takatou.¡± (Euphemia)

    ¡°Certainly. There appears to be a part like that.¡± (Lain)

    Some of the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯ were alsoprised of Lain¡¯s family. Through their eyes, she saw how Yogiri¡¯s power was abnormal.

    Yogiri killed the citizens who approached to attack, as naturally there were people who tried to attack him directly, but he also killed people who aimed at him with magic and arrows from a long distance. In other words, it was something which corresponded with sensing the attack beforehand.

    ¡°Well then, how about if I don¡¯t directly aim for Yogiri Takatou?¡± (Lain)

    For example, a stray bullet and an idental shooting. Those wouldn¡¯t be things that intended to kill Yogiri.

    Such things as involving him in the attack¡¯s range as coteral damage, or she could also think about the likes of using a timed bomb.

    ¡°Still, would it be possible to prepare that kind of trick from now?¡± (Euphemia)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If I need to kill him without harbouring killing intent, how about a technique like this?¡± (Lain)

    Euphemia opened her eyes wide in astonishment. It was because Lain became two people in the blink of an eye.

    It was a scene where the two people didn¡¯t even differ a tiny bit. It was a sight that seemed to be impossible without a mirror also being in that ce.

    ¡°I have the regenerative ability to be able to regenerate instantly even if this body ispletely burned to nothing. It¡¯s enough that it¡¯s no trouble to manufacture another body if I put that to practical use.¡± (Lain)

    ¡°Th, that, I understand the matter of Master¡¯s great power¡­¡­but what on earth is that?¡± (Euphemia)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s enough that I want to ask that as well.¡± (Lain B)

    It couldn¡¯t be differentiated by appearance, but she heard it would be Lain who newly appeared.

    ¡°What? Should I call it Lain B or something? B is my duplicate, but the memory which is connected to a person ispletely missing. As I configured like that. In other words, it won¡¯t be like harboring killing intent or something towards that person.¡± (Lain)

    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t quite know the meaning, but I guess there is a reason for doing it like this?¡± (Euphemia)

    ¡°You, rise into the sky and standby. Assault the town with all of your power depending on the signal.¡± (Lain)

    Lain B rose into the sky as she was told. It was something she said herself. It seemed it didn¡¯t think of any doubts, even if it didn¡¯t know the reason.

    Lain produced duplicates one after another, and they floated into the sky. The whole army exceeded one hundred. The scene of beautiful women wearing red dresses dancing in the air was something truly magnificent.

    ¡°Err, woudln¡¯t the instructions to attack be no good if it is a magic attack or something?¡± (Euphemia)

    Euphemia presented a question. It appeared she thought it was a considerably dull method.

    ¡°Aah. Magic to that extent isn¡¯t my strong point. It is quite powerful to thrust into it as is.¡± (Lain)

    It was a strategy that made use of Lain¡¯s special characteristics.

    Lain¡¯s air mobility speed slightly exceeded the speed of sound. An ordinary person wouldn¡¯t be able to see the assault. It was fine if she did a kamikaze attack and struck randomly with her physical strength, which wasn¡¯t exceptional for a vampire. Even without establishing her aim, she was sure to damage the entire town with only the aftermath.

    Lain¡¯s family had survived in the town, and they were hiding in ces where Yogiri and others wouldn¡¯t sense them.

    And then, she observed.

    That is, her aim was to ascertain the moment Yogiri used his power towards Kurayami.

    While the wind mixed with sand blew, the citizens were approaching and gathering in the za.

    The several zas in the city were designated as emergency evacuation sites.

    Of course, it was obvious that it was best to go to a ce which was disconnected from the path of Kurayami, who was walking straight.

    However, not everyone was able to do that. The people who were in the central part of the city had no choice but toe here with the feeling they were grasping at straws.

    ¡°Hey, Takatou-kun. Possibly¡­¡­are you able to do it to that as well somehow?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika asked while looking up at Kurayami in a daze.

    Yogiri and others were still in the central part of the za.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be able to do it.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Are you? I wouldn¡¯t know of such a thing, whatever the circumstances may be¡­¡­did you say you¡¯re able to!?¡± (Tomochika)

    To Yogiri who replied easily, Tomochika snapped.

    ¡°Really!? I beg of you! I¡¯ll listen to anything if you are able to do it. So please help!¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryouta asked while clinging to him. He appeared to be an honest person for a sage official, and it seemed he truly cared about his city.

    ¡°Do it soon if that¡¯s the case!¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°I can, but I have a premonition something like that will be unpleasant. But, well, I probably can¡¯t leave it as is.¡± (Yogiri)

    He had no sense of duty to save the people of the city, but it seemed the restoration of the train would be dyed by that much if the town¡¯s damage spread.

    Yogiri looked at Kurayami.

    It was something like a faint ck haze. Perhaps there was no substance, and it would be something simr to a lump of microscopic organisms. Either way, there was no problem in particr if those were united as an individual.

    ¡°Die.¡± (Yogiri)

    Turning his hand towards Kurayami, Yogiri released his power.

    At the same time, an impact assailed the entire town.

    A line indicating danger immediately spread out in the surroundings like a stitch.

    ¡°Get down!¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri embraced Tomochika and pushed her down to the floor to avoid the line.

    Ryouta, who saw that sign, also squatted to the floor in hot haste.

    A momentter, something passed over Yogiri and others, and screams resounded from the surroundings.

    It was the voices raised from the people who survived.

    The things they saw, pierced with the fragments of something, crushed and broken, were the ruins of what the people once were.

    ¡°Wh, what? Was this Kurayami¡¯s attack!?¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°No, Kurayami was killed.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri pointed at Kurayami.

    Although Kurayami was faint originally, its current state had be even sparser. It was dispersing. It wasn¡¯t dangerous anymore, it had be something that was merely scattering and vanishing.

    ¡°Eh? It was a different lot!?¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°Indeed. So, there was a use to attack which slipped into Kurayami¡¯s killing intent somehow.¡± (Yogiri)

    It had gone through the building, crashed into the ground, and devotedly destroyed the vicinity of the area with the shockwave.

    And then, that something rained incessantly from the sky one by one, and was forcing the city into annihtion.

    A mass attack was fired with speed that it didn¡¯t remain in his vision. The problem was that it wasn¡¯t something which was aimed at Yogiri.

    ¡°This, is this also something aimed at us?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It isn¡¯t aimed but it is aimed. It seems to be trying to capture me. But, what is being done is simple.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri and others were being exposed to carpet bombing, but they didn¡¯t know the true nature of this attack. Although he was able to deal with the rubble that flew, it was something indirect, and the attack itself had already ended.

    ¡°So, what will you do!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well, I am able to deal with the fragments, so I think one way is to wait until the attack ends.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°¡­¡­Um, can you separate from me as it¡¯s already safe?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Aah, I was thinking ¡®something is soft¡¯.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri¡¯s attitude was without change for some reason or another.

    ¡°Could you not be satisfied with my body in a situation like this!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Don¡¯t be hugging her tight like you¡¯re in a Hollywood movie over there, can you please do something in one way or another!?¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryouta who was crawling as is whileying down cried out in an outburst of anger.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t embracing each other! It¡¯s one-sided!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika turned bright red and retorted reflexively.

    ¡°But, even if you tell me to do something in one way or another, I don¡¯t even know what is flying.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a scene that¡¯s a little hard to believe in, but will you listen without making fun of me?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°There are women wearing red dresses falling from the sky.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°You¡¯ve understood it well.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was quite impressed. Not only Tomochika¡¯s still vision, but also her kic vision appeared to be something considerable.

    ¡°Is it also fine to get up?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°For now.¡± (Yogiri)

    The city had been destroyed in various ces, but the attacks in the vicinity hadn¡¯t been carried out in a while.

    Yogiri stood up and released Tomochika.

    Tomochika also stood up, and pointed at the sky in the distance.

    ¡°They came from that way.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I don¡¯t properly understand.¡± (Yogiri)

    He didn¡¯t know what the enemy was thinking, but considering the result, it was a countermeasure against Yogiri.

    If it was someone releasing something, he was able to kill the person who fired it.

    However, it couldn¡¯t be helped if he was assaulted by the subject of the attack itself with speed that couldn¡¯t be seen by his eyes. At any rate, the person themself was dying when the attacked ended.

    ¡°Damn itt! The red dress, it seems to be that Lain! What is it! Again! I don¡¯t understand the reasoonnn!¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryoutained simply because it was unbearable.It merely seemed they were neither tender-hearted co-workers nor bosses.

    ¡°They are all Lain?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s probably parts of her body! Lain-sama¡¯s hyper-regerative ability makes even duplicating herself simple!¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°I see. Is there a way of doing it, then?¡± (Yogiri)

    Ryouta¡¯s few words supported Yogiri. It seemed he wanted to double-cross her, as she had readily destroyed the town he brought up under his personal care.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t a way to specify the opponent. If it was directly aimed at me, it would be simple.¡± (Yogiri)

    Although it was possible to counterattack if he was being directly aimed at, but it seemed the other party had thought about how they would avoid that and taken measures like this.

    ¡°Ah, are you able to do it in some way or another if we are aimed at?¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryouta got his teeth into it. It seemed he had an idea.

    ¡°My ss is mayormayor. Omitting the detailed matters, I am able to see the city with a bird¡¯s eye view. I saw the state of damage from some time ago, and there is a pattern in the attacks. The same ce will not be attacked, and the area won¡¯t be attacked continuously.¡± (Ryouta)

    That may have been something unconsciously done. Even if a person tried to do something at random, there would be some regrity made.

    ¡°I see. You are able to narrow down the next attack point to some extent because of that. But, our movements won¡¯t be good enough even if we know it.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. I am able to teleport if it is a public ce inside of the city I manage. I am also able to move together with several people.¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°Is that so! But then, Ryouta-san could run away at any time if that¡¯s the case.¡± (Tomochika)

    He would be fine if he moved to the edge of the city and escaped as is. He would be able to escape from this crisis with that alone.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have abandoned the town and escaped by yourself!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°This person is very decent even though he is a sage¡¯s official!¡± (Ryouta)

    They decided to carry out this scheme at once.

    They moved to a point that hadn¡¯t been attacked yet and was separated from the points that were attacked with Ryouta¡¯s power.

    That ce was a residential area.

    They must have finished evacuating as there were no signs of people.

    So, Yogiri and Tomochika held hands, and stood next to one another. Ryouta transferred to another ce just to be sure. It was arranged that he woulde again and take them to another ce if their goal was off.

    ¡°Although, I don¡¯t think it was necessary for Dannoura-san toe along. I would do it by myself if I was alone, well, somehow.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Because I am able to see, the probability of sess rises, don¡¯t you agree?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºI also have perception abilities.¡»(Mokomoko)

    The attacks were being carried out in intervals of several seconds to ten seconds. There was sure to be some signs immediately.

    Tomochika, who was staring at the sky, grasped Yogiri¡¯s hand tightly.

    It was the signal.

    Tomochika moved, and Yogiri followed her. The two people broke off into a run forward.

    Running with all of his might, Yogiri felt something travelling behind them immediately. Into total darkness, into the shadow of killing intent. They rushed into an absolute ce of death.

    Yogiri released his power right away towards the something which was approaching whilst flying.

    ¡°Mokomoko-san!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºOk!¡»(Mokomoko)

    From Tomochika¡¯s uniform, something slipped out all together in a lump.

    It unfolded into a dome shape in only in an instant and covered the two people.

    A huge noise of something crashing into it immediately followed, the dome vibrated, and then silence arrived.

    ¡°Ahh, it wasn¡¯t something which was done in with it being struck hard, huh. It was verrrry bad for my heart.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºHmm. I thought it was sturdy to a certain extent, but I hadn¡¯t thought it would be something we would try out.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Even if they could kill Lain who was assaulting them, the dead body would thrust into them as is.

    What had protected Yogiri and others was the material they obtained from the robot aggressor.

    It appeared to be something simr to an artificial muscle that was used inside of the robot. They had heard it was brittle if it waspared to the exterior of the robot, but it appeared that it was enough that it was able to repel a human body flying at supersonic speed.

    ¡ºHowever, is it alright with one body or so?¡»(Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko¡¯s doubt would be natural. At any rate, the enemy could throw as many bodies that were duplicated as they wanted to.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s safe because there was a response.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, Yogiri calmly replied so.

    The next attack didn¡¯te even when they waited a little while.

    It seemed Yogiri¡¯s power had reached the enemy.

 Chapter 37 - It looks like Iâ€™m in high spirits by myself!

    <h4>Chapter 37 - It looks like I¡¯m in high spirits by myself!</h4>

    Trantor+Edit: Thy Unsus

    The Lain Bs who were on standby in the air lost their power, and Lain watched them fall.

    She didn¡¯t know what specifically had urred. It was because Lain wasn¡¯t aligned with the Lain Bs.

    But, she knew Yogiri turned the power of instant death towards the Lain Bs.

    Unless it was like that, immortal vampires are unable to do the likes of dying.

    Crashing into the sand-covered ground, the Lain Bs unsightly smashed and disappeared immediately. It was because she was able to make them so that the parts which became unnecessary vanished.

    ¡°U, um, this one body¡­¡­¡± (Euphemia)

    Seeing the picture of hell that was people falling down and smashing, Euphemia spoke timidly.

    ¡°It seems Lain B was done in. Whether or not were made from the same temte configuration, it seems everyone was done in if he killed one.¡± (Lain)

    ¡°As I thought, you shouldn¡¯t get involved with Yogiri Takatou!¡± (Euphemia)

    ¡°Is that so? It seems it would be fine if I just make duplicates with slightly different configurations next time. In that case, it¡¯s not supposed to spread to the rest even if one dies.¡± (Lain)

    Even with Lain B actually dying, Lain wasn¡¯t affected. There appeared to be a limit to even Yogiri¡¯s power.

    Even regarding his response towards killing intent, there were subtle differences depending on the situation. Perhaps around that was the key of capturing Yogiri.

    She was of the impression that a break in the deadlock method would be found if she advanced her investigation a little more. But, Lain, feeling the response, was discouraged.

    At the end of the day, Yogiri wasn¡¯t able to kill an Original Blood immortal vampire.

    ¡ª¡ªThere was no use anymore if that¡¯s the case.

    Lain lost interest in Yogiri.

    Although he was a traitor to the sages, it wasn¡¯t something that only Lain must deal with. If they weren¡¯t able to overlook it no matter what, it was fine if only the other sages who thought so dealt with it.

    ¡ª¡ªHe seems to have gotten rid of Kurayami. There may be a way to use him even with him being left alive.

    His utility value was high because he could kill invaders. It ought to be okay even with him being something called a sage if he liked. In that case, they would be ignorant towards him killing the sages.

    But, she would think about thatter. Now that Kurayami was annihted, there was no use in this ce.

    Lain tried to go back, and then she noticed an abnormality.

    Euphemia hadn¡¯t moved even with a twitch since some time ago.

    Simr to being frozen, she didn¡¯t even make a slight tremor of movement.

    And then, Lain noticed that she herself was also the same and she couldn¡¯t move.

    ¡ª¡ªWhat happened!?

    Lain was perplexed by the unexpected phenomenon. Feeling this much surprise, it would be her first time since she came to this world.

    Her state was simr to beingpletely frozen in time. Because of this phenomenon, Lain realized a hard to believe in possibility.

    Her real form was dead.

    Now, even the Lain in this ce was a duplicate made by her real form just like Lain B. However, she wasn¡¯t an impromptu existence like Lain B, but she was sharing memory with her real form with a link.

    This was the true nature of her immortality.

    Her real form existed in a safe ce, and did the act of duplicating. No matter how much her duplicates woulde to nothing, it was fine if she just produced another duplicate on the spot.

    However, the vital link had been interrupted. As soon as she wasn¡¯t able to contact her real form, hertest state wasn¡¯t reflected.

    For that reason, the Lain who was in this ce was continuing to think independently.

    However, she wouldn¡¯t even have a long time for that. It was because the Lain in this ce was existing as she was designed on the premise of being linked to her real form.

    This body would be unnecessary if the link was severed, and she¡¯d vanish. It was something that couldn¡¯t be helped because a duplicate was a dependant existence.

    The Lain of now was something simr to an after image. Properly speaking, she wasn¡¯t something that was conscious, she was only a temporary existence which only appeared during corresponding periods and synchronization.

    Whether or not it was something simr to a revolvingntern phenomenon, Lain was thinking about it in order to dy this moment.

    ¡ª¡ªDid he barely manage to reach the real form from Lain B?

    Lain was in admiration, and then relief.

    Lain B and her real form weren¡¯t directly connected. And yet, Yogiri Takatou was able to kill her real form which existed in another dimension.

    She didn¡¯t know what kind of reason would it be like that for. That was too irrational, it was an ability with strength to the point of it being stupid.

    But, that was quintessential point.

    That quintessential point was sure to be able to save that child.

    Just before she vanished, Lain was full of hope.

    The next day after the series of events.

    Yogiri and others were in the central za.

    A great number of tents were prepared for the victims in the space of the za, and Yogiri and others also lodged there.

    The zombie uproar, Kurayami¡¯s attack. And then therge-scale destruction due to the sage.

    He didn¡¯t know from where it was fine to give his hands, and although the circumstances appeared to be desperate, Ryouta started to support them immediately.

    He found out the situation of damage, and requested aid from the neighboring towns. He rescued the victims, scraped up the necessary materials together, and offered lodging spots to the people who were burned out of a home.

    ¡°Although I finished waking up, are you alright?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I¡¯m still sleepy but, well, somehow.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri and others headed towards the building which was prepared as a disaster prevention room.

    Entering inside, they went towards the side of Ryouta, who was the countermeasure room monitor.

    ¡°No, thank you, truly. Yesterday was saved!¡± (Ryouta)

    As one would expect, Ryouta¡¯s face was tired because he hadn¡¯t slept, but his entire face floated a smile as he greeted Yogiri and others. It appeared that he truly was thanking them.

    ¡°Err, even with you saying thank you, what about the sage? Wepletely finished her off¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika returned it mixed with confusion. Since he was a sage¡¯s official, it appeared she thought it wouldn¡¯t be a situation where he was delighted.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine it¡¯s fine. Damn the respect towards a person resembling a human bomb.¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryouta had be defiant.

    ¡°But, the city was safe because there was a sage¡¯s barrier, right? Is it alright?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Sooner orter, a new sage will be in charge. Until then, we¡¯ll make a wall and pull through. So, I wonder if there¡¯s some use. It¡¯s this situation, but I said I would do anything I was able to. There may also be things you must wait a little while for.¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°Yes. We are thinking we will leave the town immediately.¡± (Tomochika)

    That was the reason Yogiri who had been continuing to sleep, even when it became morning, had woken up.

    Tomochika had strongly appealed that they should leave this town immediately.

    Tomochika was concerned about Yogiri who had killed ordinary citizens. Although it was merely Yogiri turning the tables on them, there would beplicated feelings from the surviving citizens.

    There may even be people among them emerging who were thinking about revenge.

    ¡°Although that¡¯s fine, the train won¡¯t move yet?¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°It is like that, but is it fine even if we take a truck which is in the za?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°One of the ¡®Immortality Corps¡±? Certainly, it possibly could go until the royal capital if it is that, but is such a thing okay?¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°Yes. What is fuel for that? Would there be gasoline in this world?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°The vehicles of this world move with magical power. Because they are used in the form of magic stones, it isn¡¯t particrly necessary to use magic. I understand. Please wait just a short while. We will service it before departure.¡± (Ryouta)

    It became something like that.

    The morning of the next day again.

    When Tomochika and others went to the truck, there was arge quantity of goods being brought in.

    The truck was an unrefined rectangle, and there were six tires attached. It was something developed in this world with the model of an armoured car for military use.

    ¡°Is this fine? Despite the city being in such a state.¡± (Tomochika)

    With feelings of ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯, Tomochika spoke to Ryouta, themander of the transport work.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Without youing, the damage of the town was sure to be unjustifiable with a degree like that.¡± (Ryouta)

    ¡°But if we didn¡¯te, it may not have be such a thing.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s inevitable even with you saying that. From the start, there was no significant reason for what sage-sama did, so there¡¯s no chance of understanding whether or not you guys were the cause. It¡¯s possible that that invader attacked with no connection to sage-sama.¡± (Ryouta)

    Yogiri agreed that it was a thing like that.

    ¡°Alright, the loading has ended. We have prepared in advance the things that were necessary. Since there was a surplus of magic stones also put in, it will be enough to make it to the royal capital.¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryouta exined about the goods and the fundamentals of the truck. As Yogiri had gotten into the truck quickly, Tomochika decided to listen to that.

    ¡°Thank you for everything.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well then. Be careful so that you don¡¯t fall from the cliffs.¡± (Ryouta)

    Ryouta held out his hand. The two people shook hands and parted.

    Tomochika also boarded the truck.

    Yogiri was sitting in the passenger¡¯s seat already, and he was ying his handheld game.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t driving!? You said your specialty was Mari? Kart!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was under the impression that driving was something only a man did.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t my speciality. I only said there were times when I did it. I always bump into the wall when I curve, but is it fine even with me driving a thing like this?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I think you should you step on the brake!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri could not be entrusted with driving.

    Climbing over Yogiri, Tomochika sat in the driver¡¯s seat.

    ¡°But I haven¡¯t even touched the real thing, is it alright I wonder¡ª¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºWhat? It¡¯s fine with nning to board arge ship since I will initiate the Dannoura-Style Travel Technique.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Could you not cheaply stick ¡®Dannoura¡¯ onto everything!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Incidentally, there also was the existence of a technique called the Dannoura-Style Flying Body Press, and it was her sister¡¯s signature move.

    ¡ºI am well-informed if it is the driving methods of even tanks and helicopters! You cannot make light of a Dannoura!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Within my home, what on earth are they nning to do¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    As it seemed she noticed a terrible possibility, Tomochika stopped thinking about it midway.

    She started the engine in ordance with Mokomoko¡¯s instruction. It appeared the magic functioned in the interior, and the meters and operating system seemed to not have changed from typical cars.

    When she stepped onto the elerator timidly, the truck began to move slowly.

    ¡°Well, departure!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika raised one hand and ordered cheerfully.

    ¡°¡­¡­have a response or something like that!? It looks like I¡¯m in high spirits by myself!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Do your best.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said without parting from his game console.

    ¡°Yes yes, I¡¯ll do my best!¡± (Tomochika)

    They went towards the canyon first. What they were aiming for ahead of this was the Imperial Kingdom.

 Interlude - The fact you are seeing this reflection (End of the 1st Volume)

    <h4>Interlude - The fact you are seeing this reflection (End of the 1st Volume)</h4>

    Trantor+Edit: Thy Unsus

    Lying down as is, the little girl was staring at the ceiling absent-mindedly.

    How long she had been like this, she didn¡¯t understand well. She was in this condition when she came to.

    It seemed she was half-asleep.

    She was thinking things like she had been like that for a little while, but she didn¡¯t remember clearly no matter how much time passed. Given that it couldn¡¯t be helped, the little girl got up.

    Thereupon, she noticed she was inside of a coffin. It was a gorgeous thing which used satin fabric for the lining. The coffin was awfullyrge ifpared to her body.

    ¡°Just like a vampire.¡± (Little Girl)

    The little girl was surprised by her own voice. It was a very young voice that was beyond what she expected it to be.

    Trying to touch her body, she noticed she was grapsing something tightly in her hand. She was holding a round stone, but she didn¡¯t know why she had such a thing still.

    She touched her body and face. By no means could she say she had an adult body. Her clothes were a pink dress with frills attached.

    Indeed, it appeared that she was a child. The inside of the room slowly became brighter as she thought about such a thing.

    It was a little girl¡¯s preferred room which was overflowing with stuffed toys and lovely furniture. The only thing different was the existence of the coffin among that.

    At the point it became sufficiently bright, a woman wearing a red dress appeared suddenly.

    ¡ºThe fact you are seeing this reflection, it appears as if my project went smoothly. I died, and you survived.¡»(Lain)

    With the person appearing, the little girl was relieved. She had been on the verge of thinking she¡¯d be troubled as is as one would expect.

    ¡ºLet¡¯s exin from your true character first of all. You are me.¡»(Lain)

    The little girl tilted her head. She didn¡¯t properly understand the meaning.

    Thereupon, the woman continued to exin in order to answer that problem.

    ¡ºMy name is Lain TendouLain Tendou. I am referred to as a sage in this world.¡»(Lein)

    The little girl understood what sages and this world meant. It seemed she held knowledge like that but didn¡¯t know who she was.

    ¡ºAnd, you are a duplicate produced from me. As a result of maximumly prioritizing bing the most different body, you didn¡¯t inherit any memory that had to do with my personality.¡»(Lein)

    It wasn¡¯t only her memory although it was duplication, her appearance seemed to be very different.

    ¡ºIt was a n with the aim to make that figure into a different body. It¡¯s bad for you but it tends heavily towards my preference. It is the appearance I once desired and wanted to be. At any rate, even with me being called cold and unpleasant, I wasn¡¯t called cute, etc. From around my childhood, the expression of my eyes were bad and what not, but it appeared I was called terrible as I killed some people.¡»(Lain)

    What kind of person she was was on her mind as she said thus, but she put off confirming it.

    The reflection may not yback ever again. It was necessary to listen reliably to her.

    ¡ºIf I speak of why I took a roundabout method like this, it was for the sake of avoiding Yogiri Takatou¡¯s attack.¡»(Lain)

    Yogiri Takatou.

    The little girl¡¯s heart beat quickened just as she heard that name. His matter, she knew that power.

    And then, she mostly understood why Lein did such a thing.

    ¡ºI will inform you about this ce you are in next. This is my hiding ce which is above ground. This room and this casket were also my things, but they are your things after this. Since there are also plenty of assets, it¡¯s fine if you go to live as you like. You and I arepletely different existences; I am unable to force you to do anything.¡»(Lein)

    The little girl had no choice but to be at a loss, even with her saying thus.

    With her own existence being produced, she had no memories of the past. She had no inkling of why it would be fine, even with her saying she could live as she likes in such a state.

    ¡ºWell, after understanding the story up to here, I have a request for you.¡»(Lein)

    That wasn¡¯t an order, but it would be for the sake of making sure she wouldn¡¯t exist as a substitute for Lein¡¯s purpose.

    She was afraid of befalling to Yogiri¡¯s power.

    Lein spoke of her request.

    ¡°What is that, it¡¯s sneaky.¡± (Little Girl)

    She thought thus.

    There was no objective nor purpose in life in the little girl who just woke up, so she also didn¡¯t have a standard to judge good and bad. If she was asked for a favor in such a ce, she wouldn¡¯t have any choice but to do that.

    ¡°Well, in any case, apart from the favor, I¡¯ll go meet Yogiri-san.¡± (Little Girl)

    In her, there were feelings of deep affection towards Yogiri Takatou.

    That was only one of the ns that were prepared for the sake of avoiding Yogiri¡¯s power.

    However, for her who didn¡¯t know anything besides that, that feeling was a very important thing.

    Or that may also be a calction by Lein.

    But, she didn¡¯t care.

    Her feelings towards Yogiri Takatou.

    Only that was shining inside of her.

    The de which entered from the top of its shoulder came out through its nk.

    The monster in the shape of a person was cut apart diagonally too quickly.

    While its giblets and blood scattered, the monster tumbled down, and died.

    The diffusion of its soul began immediately, and the long-haired girl who sliced the monster and killed it, Ryouko Ninomiya, absorbed most of that.

    The other party members received the leftovers, but that amount wasn¡¯t something insignificant.

    ¡°Ryouko, another attempppt. I¡¯m not earning the most experience pointsss.¡± (Asuha)

    It was Asuha Koriyama who said so. She was the beauty coordinator.

    This ce was the middle of the primeval forest. The ones fighting, who were aiming at the Imperial Capital while raising their levels, were Yogiri¡¯s ssmates.

    They were in a party of four people, and they had been raising their levels.

    Their strategy was simple.

    With Ryouko being the strongest in the party members, she was bestowed with Charm Up. Thereupon, the monsters who were in heat would appear one after another, and she would cut down absolutely every single one of those.

    With it being done like this, the people other than Ryouko were able to raise their levels rtively safely.

    Although the experience points, the quantity of the soul, absorbed was in proportion to the range. The level of Ryouko who was fighting on the foremost line was protruding.

    ¡°Let¡¯s end here for today. I think the Charm Up will wear out before long as well.¡± (Ryouko)

    Ryouko swung her sword lightly. The blood and fatpletely scattered with only that. It wouldn¡¯t be just her sword. Ryouko boasted overwhelming power, but of course, a big part of that ability was also because of her weapon¡¯s performance.

    ¡°Oh weeelll. It would be night if we continued as is. Is everyone also fine with that?¡± (Asuha)

    Asuha confirmed it with the remaining two people. The people who hadn¡¯t fought enough weren¡¯t able to oppose, etc., and the party decided to return to the camp.

    There were great numbers of tents established in an opened space in the primeval forest.

    Most of the ssmates had gathered in this ce.

    They broke up the party upon returning to the camp, and Ryouko entered her tent.

    ¡°Hello! Ryouko!¡± (Carol)

    There was a preceding visitor. However, this ce was a personal use tent which was given to high-leveled people. It was against the rules to enter arbitrarily.

    ¡°Can you not enter arbitrarily?¡± (Ryouko)

    With blue eyes and blond hair, she was a girl who didn¡¯t look like a Japanese person in any way.

    Carol S. Lain. She was a foreigner, which could be understood from her figure and that name.

    She came to Japan at the same time of the senior high school matriction, and she was enrolled in the same ss as Ryouko for two consecutive years.

    She was holding a smart phone in her hand, and she was touching this and that.

    That, which was supposed to have been lost a little while before, was Ryouko¡¯s smart phone.

    ¡°Err, I¡¯m sorry. It was something rude despite me picking it up.¡± (Carol)

    Ryouko collected herself immediately. Although she thought about for what reason she had entered the tent arbitrarily, it appeared it was because of the kindness of bringing her smart phone. But even so, her attitude now was one which forgot to thank her.

    ¡°Now. now, please. don¡¯t. worry.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak haltingly? It¡¯s a little irritating.¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Is that so? Well then, I¡¯ll stop.¡± (Carol)

    Carol was able to speak Japanese very smoothly. Speaking haltingly was her trademark gag.

    ¡°This, what ce did it fall?¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Aah, I found it, or perhaps I should say, I took it secretly! Yes, by all means.¡± (Carol)

    As she handed over the smart phone along with a smiling face, Ryouko became dumbfounded

    ¡°So, I came to return it because I seemed to havepletely used up the battery.¡± (Carol)

    She confirmed her smart phone. Her remaining battery had be less than 5%.

    ¡°For what reason?¡± (Ryouko)

    She didn¡¯t understand her aim. The likes of a smart phone was useless no matter what the reason was in a parallel world, and it was supposed to be of no use even if she stole it.

    ¡°This, it was trial and error to see the surveince tool. It was impossible in the long run, so I came to return it because I became unable to do anything with the battery worn out as is. Hey, can I have a little look at the ce he is moving to?¡± (Carol)

    The surveince tool. It was a unique application installed on this smart phone, but the people who knew about that existence were supposed to be limited.

    ¡°¡­¡­You, who are you?¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Takatou-kun¡¯s stalker. The same as you, okay?¡± (Carol)

    The surveince of Yogiri Takatou due to overseas influence.

    That would be plenty. It was natural to not take one¡¯s eyes off if they knew an existence like Yogiri.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine no matter what person you are. Seeing that we came to a parallel world, there¡¯s no meaning even if Takatou-kun is being observed.¡± (Ryouko)

    That was Ryouko¡¯s real intention.

    If they couldn¡¯t return to Japan anymore, there was no point in her surveince mission and the like. It was maximum priority for her and her ssmates to act for the sake of surviving now.

    ¡°Yup, I understand Ryouko¡¯s thinking. It¡¯s fine even if you move the surveince tool if that¡¯s the case, right? It wouldn¡¯t be necessary to keep it a secret or something like that?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°If you were also observing Takatou-kun, don¡¯t you have something simr?¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°We prepared even things like dedicated satellites for Takatou-kun, and he was constantly observed. There¡¯s no meaning if we¡¯vee here. But, Japan was connected to Takatou-kun from the start, so isn¡¯t Japan superior with ult-rted technology? You have it.¡± (Carol)

    Ryouko operated her smart phone. She thought it was fine if she did as she liked if she wanted to see it so much.

    She inputted the passcode andunched the surveince tool.

    Thereupon, Yogiri¡¯s current status was disyed.

    As far as his location wasn¡¯t known because there wasn¡¯t a GPS, but the rough distance and direction was disyed. Yogiri was in the direction of the royal capital ording to that. In other words, he was ahead of even Ryouko and others.

    ¡°As I thought, he¡¯s aliveee.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°But, Takatou-kun is in a sealed state¡­¡­such a thing¡­¡­the first gate is open¡­¡­¡± (Ryouko)

    She shivered. It didn¡¯t mean that Ryouko directly saw that threat, but she was informed about the degree of unpleasantness the tragedy created by that power was.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it something not particrly strangeee? Since he sealed himself, I think he can undo it himselfff. Yup, thanks.¡± (Carol)

    She finished her task already with that, and tried to exit the tent.

    ¡°Carol. What are you intending to do?¡± (Ryouko)

    Ryouko called out to the back of Carol¡¯s body.

    ¡°Nothing at present. Couldn¡¯t I meet him eventually if we proceed as is?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Are¡­¡­you not scared?¡± (Ryouko)

    Even though Japan had paid close attention, death was a story of a distant world somewhere at that point in time. However, now that his seal was removed, that danger became something imminent.

    ¡°Scared? Aah, I wonder if there¡¯s a different way of thinking than that. Perhaps, do you think Takatou-kun is a monster?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Is it different?¡± (Ryouko)

    Killing people by only thinking. That would be an aberrant monster. She wasn¡¯t able to be at peace of mind at all even if he was in his sealed state, so Ryouko¡¯s feelings while she was in Japan were simr to sitting on a bed of needles.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I think it¡¯s fine if you think about it very simply. An existence which rules the death of all living things. What is ¡®that¡¯?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°No way¡­¡­¡± (Ryouko)

    It was too simple, but Ryouko imagined her astounding response.

    ¡°We who know ¡®that¡¯ exists in reality are shaken, and as a result, there was no choice but to throw away our beliefs so far. Well, it¡¯s something like that.¡± (Carol)

    Carol said thus and left.

    This new belief, it wouldn¡¯t be something that changed even with theming to a parallel world.

    Ryouko who was washed away by the situation was thinking jealously only a little about that shaking.

    Author¡¯s Notes

    Thank you very much for reading up until here.

    This is the end of section 1. Because I think you will understand the general atmosphere and so forth if you read up until here, I¡¯d be blessed if you would establish an evaluation once.

    So, because this story has been made into a publication, I would be happy with you buying it if it was interesting!

    The publication edition was upgraded with various things like newly written text, revisions, and easier to understand sentences.

    In particr, because the newly written text of the volume of the protagonist¡¯s past was a story which was only developed in the publication, those who have interest in the enigma of the protagonist, please read without fail.

    Please treat me well!

 Volume 2, 1 - I wonder why all of you are so simple-minded

    <h4>Volume 2, Chapter 1 - I wonder why all of you are so simple-minded</h4>

    Trantor+Edit: Thy Unsus

    The forest of demonic beasts.

    In that forest which was ruled by the beast king, there was a young woman walking.

    It was a young woman whose appearance was like a boy with short hair. However, that would bepletely meaningless if she intended to disguise herself as a man. It was because she wasn¡¯t entirely concealing her feminine figure.

    The girl was walking with a carefree state in the sunlight filtering through the trees. She was unarmed with the exception of a knife attached to her waist, and she also didn¡¯t have any baggage in addition.

    It was a spectacle that would make the people who knew this forest doubt their sanity.

    This forest itself wasn¡¯t very precipitous. The trees were also sparse and adequately colorful, and the ground was even. However, there were demonic beasts in here. It was an area without humans if you stepped into the forest. The likes of people were bitten to death at once.

    Despite this, the young woman¡¯s appearance was one whichpletely didn¡¯t care about such a thing.

    ¡°Why would they draw back into a ce like this?¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡ºOther than the fellows saying they don¡¯t want to have anything to do with troubles while in urban areas and so forth, those fellows say those who want to spend a slow life deep in the forest are still able to understand.¡»(???)

    It was bothersome. The voice responded to the young woman as if to say so.

    There was no one in the vicinity. The voice was audible from the knife around the young woman¡¯s waist.

    ¡°The matter of the fellow from the other day? He who was looking after his residence in the town while saying such things as ¡®sorry for the trouble¡¯ raised in the world to nobility. Although I certainly don¡¯t understand the significance, it¡¯s fine with that person being at ease as I am.¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡ºBut, this ce would be the most suitable as a hiding ce. People don¡¯te to this ce recklessly anyways.¡»(???->Knife)

    ¡°So, how do people live inside of a forest like this?¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡ºIt would be a simple thing. Demonic beasts won¡¯t attack people who know they are stronger than themselves.¡»(Knife)

    The forest was full of demonic beasts¡¯ presences.

    However, they were only watching the youngdy from a distance.

    An opened space appeared after the young woman walked for a little while.

    Paddy fields were the first thing she caught sight of.

    As far as could be seen, golden rice was swaying.

    ¡°A stupid vacantnd like this wasn¡¯t drawn on the map.¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡ºI guess it was cleared. Nevertheless, it means he is the owner of an extraordinary ability if nonaggression was established with the demonic beasts.¡»(Knife)

    ¡°I will say I understand but I don¡¯t care about such a thing. But even so, this is fine. This is rice for Japanese people still, right?¡± (Young Woman)

    There weren¡¯t just paddy fields in this ce, there were pasturends and fields. It seemed the people who made this intended to be truly self-sufficient.

    Naturally, there was no reason they would be able to manage this gigantic ntation alone, and there were the figures of people who were engaging in farm work in the vicinity.

    ¡°Why is everyone a girl? Moreover, only elves?¡± (Young Woman)

    There was nothing but good-looking women here. The majority of them appeared to be elves, but some people had beast ears on their heads, and there were also the likes of people with bat wings growing out of their backs.

    ¡ºIt seems to be a preference.¡»(Knife)

    ¡°Everyst one of them, they choose an elf for a bride. What is it, to what extent is it okay with people like this?¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡ºI think you are beautiful.¡»(Knife)

    ¡°Thanks. Well, be that as it may. Hey, you. Is there andlord of this ce?¡± (Young Woman)

    The young woman talked to the elf who was in a nearby spot.

    ¡°Eh? Uh¡­how did youe to this ce?¡± (Elf)

    The elven girl was severely surprised and spoke rapidly. It seemed she hadn¡¯t expected there to be a person who came to this ce by any means.

    ¡°I walked. But, I think there have been people who came here a few times?¡± (Young Woman)

    A road or something like that wasn¡¯t maintained inside of the forest that was ruled by demonic beasts as one would expect, so they weren¡¯t able to use vehicles.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know any, but is your business with Master?¡± (Elf)

    ¡°Yup. It¡¯s my business. It¡¯s fine if you call him, but it¡¯s also okay to just inform me of his position.¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡°Well then, I will guide you.¡± (Elf)

    The elven girl stopped working and decided to guide her.

    It was understood even with a distant view they were heading towards was arge mansion. It may not be necessary to be guided if it was this.

    ¡°Hey. Although I said to, is it fine to take a suspicious person who showed up suddenly to your Master¡¯s ce?¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡°Yes, I think there is no problem is particr. Because there isn¡¯t a person who is able to do something to Master.¡± (Elf)

    The elf floated a smile ofposure. It appeared she harboured full trust in her master.

    After walking for a little while, they arrived in front of the mansion.

    Thereupon, the door opened before they called in, and a young man came into sight.

    ¡°Well, how many times was it the same with youing? A sage, was it? There¡¯s no reason for me to do such a troublesome thing.¡± (Young Man)

    It was a Japanese man who came out. He was amonce man with a medium build whose appearance was both bad and fair. He didn¡¯t have gaudy clothes in particr, but he was wearing a longsword on his waist.

    It appeared he had noticed an outsider stepped onto the plot ofnd he ruled already.

    ¡°But I¡®ve said time and time again it¡¯s supposed to be your third time. So, I¡¯vee for yourst notice. Will you also listen to the story once?¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡°Fine. But, my feelings won¡¯t change no matter what you say. Will you quickly go home when you finish the story?¡± (Young Man)

    ¡°First of all, it¡¯s confirmation, but I have no doubt you are Saito RikutoSaito Rikuto-kun.¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. So, you¡¯re Aoi HayanoseAoi Hayanose? Heehh, it¡¯s a personal appearance of a sage-sama finally?¡± (Young Man->Saito)

    It seemed he had stolen a nce at her status, but Aoi didn¡¯t think it could eliminate the time to exin. It was because she knew from the beginning he was able to do this much.

    ¡°Although the reason foring was to invite you, the invitation phrase will be omited because it is the same as the previous time. Let¡¯s speak about the only different point this third time. In the case you refuse this time, it has been decided you will be dealt with.¡± (Young Woman->Aoi)

    Aoi had been assigned the duty of looking for lost sages.

    Lost sages, although they held the power of an ordinary sage, they were people who didn¡¯t support the sages. Coming to this world after being given power, they lived selfishly.

    Once, they were invited for the purpose of being sages, but most people wouldn¡¯t ept it.

    Given that it would be a troublesome thing in the distant future to leave them as is, it was decided that they would be dealt with after refusing the invitation for the third time.

    ¡°¡­¡­Bu~, ahahahahahaha!¡± (Rikuto)

    Rikuto burst outughing because he couldn¡¯t bear it. Without stopping hisughter, he continued until he had a coughing fit.

    ¡°Dealt with or something. You canugh, Le. It¡¯s been a long time since it was amusing like this.¡± (Rikuto)

    After heughed a little, Rikuto requested the elf who was next to Aoi to agree.

    ¡°No, I cannotugh¡­¡­and you! What are you saying! Please apologize quickly! It will be something unthinkable if you anger Rikuto-san!?¡± (Elf->Le)

    ¡°Well, although this is a confirmation just to be sure, but is it fine with you refusing the invitation? At that instant, it¡¯s been decided you¡¯ll be a rival.¡± (Aoi)

    Without responsing to Le, Aoi confirmed it with Rikuto. Although it was something obvious already, it was because the result of the invitation still wasn¡¯t definite.

    ¡°I refuse.¡± (Rikuto)

    ¡°Is that so.¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi smiled. She intended to kill him from the beginning, and she thought she¡¯d be troubled with him saying he¡¯d be a sage now.

    ¡°Ah, wait a moment. It seems you, well, you can¡¯t win against me. Do you understand the difference in ability? I received the strongest power in the world from god and came here.¡± (Rikuto)

    ¡°If you are talking about statuses, certainly, it makes me quite weak.¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi was a sage, and she had power to the extent where she was afraid of monsters at least. However, she was quite powerless among the sages.

    ¡°Thinking about the cases so far, I¡¯ll be attacked in the end no matter what I say, and it¡¯s been decided I¡¯ll be dealt with on the spot or something like that, right? Things like obvious bouts would only be bothersome. Or what? Do you want to enter my harem? The majority of those who are here were fellows who attacked me.¡± (Rikuto)

    ¡°Although I have the same opinion of it being bothersome, it¡¯s because this is also my job.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Stop it if you n to possibly take a hostage, okay? Because it will only make me truly angry.¡± (Rikuto)

    Rikuto nced at Le.

    ¡°Aah, you need not worry about that. You are the only target. I don¡¯t n to have unrted people dragged into it to the best of my ability. Since it¡¯s like that, Le-kun, I wonder if you could go away a little bit?¡± (Aoi)

    Rikuto peeked at Le¡¯s state. Rikuto silently nodded, and Le left some distance.

    ¡°Though, I also don¡¯t think it will be a battle that goes that far. Is that confidence because your ss is summonersummoner? Is that the reason your called amazing? I think it¡¯s futile. Because that¡¯s an ordinary and terrible thing. I also saw it before I came to this ce. That you are farming somewhere, such things as the beast king being the ruler of this forest, such things as the incarnation of the dragon king, and such things as the demon lord?¡± (Aoi)

    Rikuto appeared to be gradually getting irritated by Aoi¡¯s halfhearted attitude.

    ¡°Though, it doesn¡¯t mean that you can be called an important person like that. Well, because it can¡¯t be helped even if we quarrel, let¡¯s start quickly?¡± (Aoi)

    Rikuto had refused his third invitation. Conversation after that was meaningless if that¡¯s the case.

    ¡°Well, I will punish you to the extent you don¡¯t die.¡± (Aoi)

    Just as she spoke, something grew from the ground around Aoi.

    Several things, and they were flesh-colored, cord-shaped things. The skin of them brightened with slime, and secretion was dripping from them.

    ¡°The beginning is tenctacles. That¡¯s a disgusting idea.¡± (Aoi)

    It seemed he intended to snatch away her freedom and capture Aoi with that.

    ¡°A cruel worldBnce where onlyOf great efforts are rewardedPower.¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi invoked her power.

    ¡°What!?¡± (Rikuto)

    Rikuto opened his eyes in astonishment.

    It was because Aoi began to walk towards Rikuto with an air ofposure while ignoring the tentacles and the like.

    The tentacles weren¡¯t moving.

    Another tentacle which grew in the same way entwined in a spiral shape, and it stopped moving.

    Rikuto hardened. It seemed there wasn¡¯t the likes of a person who was able to oppose this power so far. ¡®How do to this¡¯, it seemed it was causing hesitation.

    ¡°Although I want to settle this quickly, they said a lesson was necessary.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Don¡¯t make light of me!¡± (Rikuto)

    Rikuto pushed out the palm of his hand at once.

    A thick beam of light fired from there. It was endowed with a quantity of heat that turned everything it touched into ashes.

    His appearance didn¡¯t contain concern, and it seemed he wasn¡¯t sorry for the safety of the servants who were behind that.

    Aoi also turned her palm towards Rikuto in the same way.

    It emitted a simr ray, and Aoi counterbnced Rikuto¡¯s technique easily.

    ¡°Why do I have to protect your subordinates? Wouldn¡¯t you be the person who is making hostages with this?¡± (Aoi)

    With Aoi saying that with an amazed look, Rikuto became dumbfounded.

    It seemed he wasn¡¯t able to believe in this result. It would be simple to fell that head if it was now, but Aoi felt a little shocked.

    She thought he was also this type of guy.

    These guys were like this without exception almost.

    They held tremendous self-confidence in the power they were merely given. In the beginning they seemed to try their strength timidly, they grow arrogant immediately, be prideful, and usually begin to think it¡¯s the same as their own power. And, with that strength without doing any sort of effort, they start to ridicule the people who extert themselves.

    ¡°I wonder why all of you are so simple-minded. It is strength you received. Haven¡¯t you thought that other people may receive it as well?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°¡­¡­what is that¡­¡­didn¡¯t he say he would give me the world¡¯s strongest power¡­¡­¡± (Rikuto)

    ¡°My power isn¡¯t something difficult like that. I just don¡¯t allow it.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Silence! Receive this! Bury mes!¡± (Rikuto)

    Rikuto tried to do something. However, nothing happened.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t it appear!? ck Centipede! Hundred Ceremony! Dark Scripture! ¡­¡­What¡¯s happening!?¡± (Rikuto)

    It seemed he was able to understand the situation he was put into gradually. Rikuto¡¯s voice began to tremble.

    ¡°So, it was power you received suddenly. Haven¡¯t you ever thought it might disappear suddenly as well?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°No way¡­¡­¡± (Rikuto)

    ¡°My power is that sort of thing. But, it isn¡¯t something so hopeless. Postscript power cannot be used with eachother. It¡¯s a bout of our own strength if that¡¯s the case. If you had done effort properly without losing your head over power, you wouldn¡¯t be losing to someone like me, who is a frail young woman.¡± (Aoi)

    While approaching Rikuto, Aoi unsheathed her knife which was her only arm.

    ¡°Ha, haha~! That¡¯s right, I have this!¡± (Rikuto)

    Seeing Aoi¡¯s knife, Rikuto remembered the sword at his waist and drew it out.

    Rikuto appeared to have regained hisposure to some extent. Given that the sword was emitting an extraordinary presence, it appeared to be quite a sharp sword.

    ¡°Yup, your weapon certainly won¡¯t disappear or vanish with my power, nor will that strength abate.¡± (Aoi)

    The next moment, Rikuto¡¯s neck was torn.

    Aoi had gone behind him, embraced him from behind, and slid her knife horizontally against his neck.

    ¡°But, there isn¡¯t that much meaning if the user is weak.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡ºWas it expressly needed to use me?¡»(Knife)

    Rikuto copsed, and an extremely unpleasant-like voice was raised by the bloodstained knife.

    ¡°Now then. The subordinates¡­¡­it seems he wasn¡¯t unexpectedly popr, huh.¡± (Aoi)

    It appeared that there wasn¡¯t anyone who would attack the lord¡¯s enemy, and the people who were doing farmwork had disappeared unnoticed.

    ¡°However, it¡¯s fine if they propogate his cruel manner of death as a warning.¡± (Aoi)

    You weren¡¯t able to defy the sages. It was one of Aoi¡¯s duties to make thus known.

    ¡ºWell, although it is bad as you just finished your task, there¡¯s the next request. The targets are Japanese people called Yogiri Takatou and Tomochika Dannoura, and, curiously, these two people are sage candidates.¡»(Knife)

    The knife was something that couldmunicate by means of magic. Long distancemunication was done rarely as huge amounts of magical power was necessary, but it may be a state of emergency to that extent.

    ¡°N? I wonder what that means. It doesn¡¯t seem to be significant enough to require them to request me for such things as sage candidates.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡ºCome now. Go towards Hanabusa first. The detailed data will be delivered there.¡»(Knife)

    ¡°Geez. Hey, I don¡¯t even have time to take a short rest.¡± (Aoi)

    While Aoi wasining, noisy footsteps came to be audible from the inside of the mansion.

    ¡°Are the subordinates also in the mansion?¡± (Aoi)

    While she was guessing what kind of intentions they had, a plump boy rushed out from the mansion.

    While Aoi was taken aback from looking at him, the boy thoroughly slid and prostrated as naturally as he had jumped out.

    ¡°I am the person called Hanakawa Daimon! I survived in this forest in one way or another and was picked up by the disgusting cheat harem rascal Rikuto, but given that the great you killed Rikuto, I can¡¯t be helped anymore! Please take me in one way or another! I have no choice but to die as is!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°What is, this?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡ºIt¡¯s an odd living thing.¡»(Knife)

    Aoi was also nothing but perplexed as one would expect.

 Chapter 2 - A scene that looks like it was used for CM insecticide

    <h4>Chapter 2 - A scene that looks like it was used for CM insecticide</h4>

    Trantor+Edit: Thy Unsus

    Galura Canyon.

    Meandering, with it centered on the branching Galura river, it was an area which wasposed of valleys andplicated cliffs.

    The reddish-brown rock was exposed all over the ce, and you were able to see the countless number ofyers that were lying on top of one another there.

    It had a harsh environment, therefore, almost no one came to this ce. It was a zone which wasn¡¯t even noticed until the route connecting Hanabusa and the Imperial Capital opened. There was only a train passing through that section even now, and the full particrs of it weren¡¯t known.

    There seemed to be a nation which used this area as a stronghold in the past, and there was something that seemed to be the remains of a road. There was minimal maintenance when they constructed the railroad, and Ryouta, the feudal lord of Hanabusa, had informed Yogiri and others it was possible to go towards the Imperial Capital by passing through the canyon.

    ¡°It¡¯s a dead-end¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Looking a couple of times again, Tomochika breathed a sigh in the driver¡¯s seat of the armoured vehicle.

    The road on the edge of the cliff was interrupted. It appeared that the road was correct because there was the wreckage of the bridge, but that didn¡¯t necessarily be any kind offort.

    ¡°Hey. I think we have to go to the Imperial Capital?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that now!? Even if that question is true, I wonder if he could have told us before we departed!¡± (Tomochika)

    When Yogiri who was tired of this situation said something like aint, Tomochika retaliated whilst looking angry.

    ¡°It might be good to rearrange the situation once. That¡¯s not the purpose of going through here, don¡¯t you agree?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That is correct. But, Ryouta-san also said there would be no problems!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I guess he hasn¡¯t used the road since the railroad waspleted. He didn¡¯t properly understand the situation?¡± (Yogiri)

    The railroad in this area wasid quite some time ago. He didn¡¯t know whether or not they could use the road they could use in those days now as well.

    ¡°Our objective is to return to Japan, and it is necessary to contact the sages for that reason. Although we should have mobilized together with our ssmates by this time, the sages haven¡¯te to us yet?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Eh? Is it fine if we act nonchntly in towns if that¡¯s the case?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I wonder if that¡¯s also a n, as although I thought that, I don¡¯t know what they think about it. We were unable to even talk sufficiently as they turned up suddenly and started to attack.¡± (Yogiri)

    And, the opponent would die without fail if he counterattacked. It wouldn¡¯t be a good n to wait to be attacked.

    ¡°Moreover, they don¡¯t think at all about the town¡¯s people, right? I¡¯m fine, but isn¡¯t it unpleasant for Dannoura-san?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    It seemed she recalled the disastrous scene of the town. Tomochika looked depressed.

    ¡°Well, I think we will be able to talk if the sage is Shion. We were summoned by that person and it was decided that we¡¯d be sage candidates.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri and others were summoned to this world by the woman called Shion, and she told Yogiri and others to be sages.

    Given that it was necessary to clear the mission imposed by her in order to be a sage, it seemed they could eventually meet her with that process. They may be able to obtain information on returning to their formal world at that asion. Yogiri and other¡¯s n was only to that degree.

    Of course, Yogiri and others also weren¡¯t betting everything on this n. It was very likely they would be able to talk to the rest of sages. It was enough that they thought so. If they couldn¡¯t ask the story with Shion, it would be necessary to think about another n again.

    ¡ºI¡¯ve been looking ahead a little, and even if we could go beyond this point, it¡¯s a dead-end.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Saying so was Tomochika¡¯s guardian spirit, Mokomoko Dannoura.

    Because she had a spirit body, she was able to move without being influenced by the terrain. She had gone out for reconnaissance, but the results weren¡¯t something sweet.

    ¡°As it is, well, I have a hunch we can¡¯t make it there¡­¡­ah! Hey! Isn¡¯t there a way we can go to the Imperial Capital reliably!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That, perhaps, we run on top of the rails? We¡¯ll be fine if the traines.¡± (Yogiri)

    Tomochika was looking at the railway bridge that hade to his mind as a wonderful thing.

    ¡°Uu¡­¡­but, there¡¯s no signs it is running at present! Isn¡¯t the train noting yet if the town is like that?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I see. So, if by any chance it does turn up, I¡¯ll kill the train for the sake of defending myself. Although I don¡¯t know what kind of oue it will have, I don¡¯t think it will be something very pleasant.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I understand! I think it¡¯s fine if we retrace our steps for now and search for another road!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika reversed the armoured vehicle slowly.

    However, there was a *thud* noise immediately and the armoured vehicle wouldn¡¯t move. They had bumped into something.

    ¡°Eh?¡± (Tomochika)

    There wasn¡¯t anything projected in the sideview mirror, and they would have been unable toe up to here if there was an obstacle from the start.

    ¡°I think that there¡¯s nothing there.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika thought it was strange, and opened the door and looked into the back.

    Tomochika immediately came back and shut the door in a rush.

    ¡°So, something¡¯s there! It was long and thin! It was tail-like!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri also opened the door and looked back.

    There was a huge face turned this towards this direction. It was a living thing with a face simr to the mix of a bird and a reptile.

    The eyes were staring straight at Yogiri.

    ¡°It¡¯s a dragon. This fellow is simr to the one who attacked the bus. I wonder if they love cars as I thought?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°You¡¯ve already said the joke of their special habit! Do it in for the time being!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°No, why would I do that? If this ce is the dragon¡¯s nest, wouldn¡¯t we be bad for stepping into here rudely? To kill it one-sidedly i¡± (Yogiri)

    The armoured vehicle shook grandly just as he spoke. The dragon had rammed them.

    The armoured vehicle appeared to have defensive power, but this ce was a road alongside a cliff. They would simply drop to the bottom of the cliff with it repeating such a thing.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t a situation to be saying such things!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri killed the dragon. However, there was no change as they couldn¡¯t move from this ce because the corpse remained there.

    While Yogiri was thinking about what was to be done, a roar resounded in the canyon.

    Whether or not that was signal of something, something immediately came flying.

    It was a dragon.

    It was reddish, its skin simr to the rocks, and it appeared to be the same race as the dragon they killed some time ago.

    ¡°A lot of those ¡®somethings¡¯ came!¡± (Tomochika)

    The dragons continued to increase before their eyes, and it reached the point that they were crowded together in the sky beside the cliff.

    Their mouths were wide open, and the inside of their mouth cavities was full of fire. They would blow out their me breath from there. The dragons were in war preparation.

    ¡°There¡¯spletely an away feeling¡­¡­well, they aren¡¯t opponents we are able to talk together with.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri released his power.

    Without even blowing out their mes, the dragons fell to the bottom of the canyon in drops.

    ¡°Aah, a scene that looks like it was used formercial message insecticide or something like that¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Gigantic creatures that were about 20 meters in over-all length were losing their power and falling all at once. It was a grand scene.

    And then, the canyon regained silence like nothing had happened.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to think about what the bottom of the canyon has be¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°But, it doesn¡¯t change the fact we won¡¯t move from this ce.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°We need to move the dragon behind us somehow.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºWhat. It¡¯s fine if you use your weapon if that¡¯s the case. It¡¯s alright even if you turn it into small pieces and throw them away, or it¡¯s also fine to drop it to the bottom of the canyon with a lever trick!¡»(Mokomoko)

    Tomochika was disguising the weapon she received from the invader as a part of her clothes.

    As this weapon was transformable at will, it could be a sharp knife, or it was also possible to use it as a stable contrusction material.

    Tomochika and Yogiri got down from the car.

    They confirmed the corpse of the dragon. If they expanded the weapon to the space between the dragon and the cliff, it seemed it¡¯d disappear.

    ¡°Eh? Aren¡¯t we also able to make a bridge with this?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThat¡¯s why, I said even if we could go ahead. Beyond this point has copsed extending a considerable length. It isn¡¯t a size we are able topensate with that as one would expect.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well, there may be some ces we could go if we used that weapon¡­¡­something came again!¡± (Tomochika)

    Something came from the sky.

    It was the same wyvern-type dragon so far, but they immediately realized it was drawing a line from the dragons so far.

    ¡°Something resembling a golden thunder dragon haseee!¡± (Tomochika)

    The dragon was shining with gold.

    That figure that was d in shes of lightning, it brought about even divinity.

 Chapter 3 - It seems it is often the case in a parallel world

    <h4>Chapter 3 - It seems it is often the case in a parallel world</h4>

    Trantor+Edit: Thy Unsus

    On the road on the edge of the cliff, Yogiri and others confronted the dragon.

    The golden dragon was remaining in the air while pping its wings slowly.

    It had two legs and gigantic wings; it was a type of dragon referred to as a wyvern.

    It¡¯s body that was d in lightning was far bigger than the dragons they had seen before now. Its talons that were simr to those of birds of prey would be able to grab ahold of Yogiri and other¡¯s car.

    Its enormous pupils captured Yogiri and others certainly, and the vicinity was wrapped in a heavy atmosphere.

    ¡°It¡¯s excessively keeping its eyes on us!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika raised her voice which was mixed with fear.

    It would be able to attack Yogiri and others at any time if it felt like doing that. However, it didn¡¯t have any indications it would attack immediately different from the other dragons.

    ¡°Do we wait and see? Well, isn¡¯t also fine to leave it alone if it doesn¡¯t do anything and move?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No no no, it will be impossible! That, it seems to be full of the thunder it¡¯s releasing!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said so, but they weren¡¯t able to guess its emotions from the facial expression of the inhuman dragon.

    Moreover, Yogiri didn¡¯t feel any killing intent at all. Some killing intent would leak out if they nned to turn to attack. In other words, Yogiri was safe at present but he was also interested as to why the dragon hade here.

    So, he decided to wait for a little while.

    However, nothing happened.

    The dragon only floated as is, and it was just staring at Yogiri and others.

    Tomochika who was frightened from the outset seemed to be feeling a sense of difort in the situation bit by bit, and inclined her head.

    When Yogiri was on the verge of beginning to think it was okay to move moderately already, the dragon stirred.

    ¡°You passed.¡± (Dragon)

    The dragon emitted a low and heavy voice.

    And then the dragon put power into its wings. pping its wings powerfully, it tried to leave this ce.

    ¡°Eh, we passed? Well, I don¡¯t know a thing like that, but it¡¯s good that it looks like its going somewhere!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was relieved. It seemed she wasn¡¯t bothered to that extent by the iprehensible part.

    ¡°Wait.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, Yogiri called out to the dragon that was trying to fly away.

    ¡°Why are you calling it to a halt!? Isn¡¯t it fine with it leaving!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Although I said to move and leave it alone, the story is different if it understands words.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Eeh? You see, how should I put it, don¡¯t curse a god without touching it.¡± (Tomochika)

    Although Tomochika wasining, Yogiri called out to it again.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know if you watched the spectacle of some time ago. I¡¯ll kill you if you run away.¡± (Yogiri)

    This was just threatening words. He didn¡¯t n on killing it even if it ran away.

    However, the dragon stopped its movement suddenly and stood still in the sky.

    ¡°Those wings have no influence!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika retorted.

    It floating so that it was stationary in the sky although it stopped pping its wings was a strange spectacle in some respects.

    ¡°Nuoooo! It would have been better if I flew away as is without talkinggggg! I had a hunch I missed up when I said something, and it seems that it was a mistakeeeeee!¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°Well, I think I would have left you alone if you flew silently as is.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Umm, Takatou-kun? What are you speaking of normally?¡± (Tomochika)

    In front of Yogiri and others, there was a little girl rolling around.

    ¡°How did this dragon be a human being!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, even if you ask me.¡± (Yogiri)

    The golden thunder dragon, as called by Tomochika, was in the figure of a very young little girl.

    ¡ºIt seems it is often the case in a parallel world. Immediately, wolves and dragons be lolis.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko, the spirit behind Tomochika, was nodding by herself. Yogiri didn¡¯t understand, even with her saying it was often the case.

    Although the dragon was worried about herself while she rolled about, she had a certain feeling eventually, and straightened herself and posed in seiza.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. I heard it was well received to have an appearance like this when I was speaking with a man.¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°You heard a story like that somewhere!? What is with the people of this world!¡± (Tomochika)

    Certainly, Yogiri remembered the robot they came across in the case of the train ident had said something simr.

    ¡°Well, by the way, why did they attack us? Were the dragons of some time ago your instigation?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That is the trial of the Sword Saint.¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°Sword Saint?¡± (Yogiri)

    Those words that the dragon spoke of, Yogiri remembered hearing them somewhere.

    ¡°Aah, if I remember correctly, the cat person was talking about a person like that. How about the Sword Saint¡¯s gift or something like that?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°What!? Aren¡¯t youing to meet Sword Saint-sama?¡± (Dragon)

    The little dragon girl opened her eyes wide exaggeratedly.

    ¡°Uwah. The chance blow or something like that is amazing.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I just thought we would go through here and go to the Imperial Capital.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°¡­¡­um, Sword Saint-sama is in this valley, and you¡¯ll receive a gift if you are able to meet him. Given that the people whoe here with that goal are never-ending, he is holding a screening beforehand.¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°As the dragons appeared to that extent, can¡¯t anyone barely manage to reach him if they fly from the entrance or something like that?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be qualified to meet Sword Saint-sama without enduring that amount!¡± (Dragon)

    The little girl was boasting for some reason.

    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s a thing like that, it¡¯s something that has nothing to do with us. Shall we go?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yep.¡± (Tomochika)

    Saying so, Yogiri and others tried to return to the car. Thereupon, the little dragon girl stood ahead of Yogiri and others to block their way.

    ¡°But I said you passed!? Aren¡¯t you going to meet Sword Saint-sama!?¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°Not really. Although I thought something wasing while aiming at us perhaps, it looks like it wasn¡¯t so.¡± (Yogiri)

    He thought he would listen to their background connections if they were an enemy, but it was no use if it wasn¡¯t so.

    ¡°No, err, you passed, don¡¯t be troubled by that! It is said that fellows with prospects are being brought along!¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°But, weren¡¯t you trying to run away?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Usually, you¡¯d escape if your underlings were massacred!¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°Well then, why did you expresslye in front of us?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°When you were on the verge of bing cinders by my underling¡¯s breaths, I was supposed to give even more despair by turning up! My underlings were annihted when I flew leisurely, but on the other hand, as my figure was seen, it would be uncool to draw back in a panic! So, I thought I could preserve my dignity if I came to inform you that you passed after.¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°I knew you were an idiot, but what would us meeting the Sword Saint do? Is there a prospect?¡± (Yogiri)

    It had been decided that Yogiri and others would be called ipetent if they didn¡¯t have a gift if illuminated in the standard of this world.

    For the time being, they were disguising it, but they were pretending to be ordinary people. It didn¡¯t change the fact they looked almost ipetent.

    ¡°I don¡¯t judge by the power of gifts. Since, well, it¡¯s a fact you killed my underlings en masse. The fact is that you have the power to be able to do that.¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°But, I also really don¡¯t have any sort of interest in the Sword Saint person.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s the Sword Saint!? He¡¯s an existence rivalling the sages! Don¡¯t you want to experience a fragment of that power!?¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°Hey, even with you saying that. Do you want to meet him?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri asked Tomochika. Tomochika shook her head.

    ¡°I also don¡¯t particrly want to. In spite of losing our way even under normal circumstances, it isn¡¯t like we¡¯re going out of our way.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Is it that!? Alright, I understand! I will be a guide for you! After all, just you won¡¯t be able to escape from here and struggle on to the Imperial Capital. It probably isn¡¯t a bad story! If you go and meet Sword Saint-sama for the time being, I will take you to the Imperial Capital!¡± (Dragon)

    ¡ºHmm. Isn¡¯t it not a bad story if it¡¯s something like that? After all, we¡¯ll just be confused and lose our way after this as well?¡»(Mokomoko)

    It was decided like that.

    Getting into the armoured vehicle together with the dragon, they moved in ordance with the guidance.

    The canyon turned into something just like a maze, and it seemed to be difficult to slip out without guidance. Yogiri realized that the idea of going through the canyon and going towards the Imperial Capital was a poor n.

    They saw many green trees after going forward a while.

    It seemed very dazzling to Yogiri, who had only seen the ground and light brown rock surfaces. There appeared to be some moisture even in this dried out canyon.

    As they continued of their own free will to weave their way through the trees, they exited into an open space. It was to the extent that short flowers were growing, but there also wasn¡¯t anything in particr in the space.

    ¡°Eh? Why?¡± (Tomochika)

    However, Tomochika saw the state of the za and raised her voice in surprise. It was because there was people overflowing there.

    Because she had heard there was a Sword Saint, she was able to predict that a considerable amount of people would be going towards that ce. However, the number of people who were here wasn¡¯t less than one hundred people, even with her only looking roughly. This was also something unexpected for Yogiri.

    Those in the za were people who were mixed and were without a sense of unity. Probably, they hade to see the Sword Saint as well

    ¡°Perhaps the Sword Saint is a vastly popr person?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri asked the dragon who was ced on top of hisp. She should know the circumstances.

    ¡°So that means you didn¡¯t know, and you truly only happened to pass by¡­¡­certainly, the people who are trying to receive a gift from Sword Saint-sama are never-ending. But, there is especially a lot gathered today. At any rate, it¡¯s because they are deciding the next Sword Saint-sama.¡± (Dragon)

    ¡°You, are you trying to drag us into something troublesome? Because I¡¯ll get you to keep your promise no matter what.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, Yogiri¡¯s ability in a situation like this was missing a winning move. He wasn¡¯t suited for threatening at all.

    Stopping the car in front of the crowd, Yogiri and others stepped down from the car.

    ¡°Hey! You came with a vehicle! You¡¯re supposed toe here with your own strength!¡± (???)

    A man wearing a hood found fault with them just as they did so.

    ¡°Even with you saying so. I didn¡¯t n to receive a trial.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ha~! You were put through trouble up until a ce like this, but you lot were disqualified! It¡¯s bad luck!¡± (???->Hooded Man)

    The man just said it and looked down on them, but Yogiri didn¡¯t have any words to retaliate with. There was no way to react, even with him bing hot at an inconsequential thing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember imposing a trial or something like that, and there¡¯s nothing like disqualification. Bring the person along if they have prospect. I just said thus. Well, although those guys in the canyon are my underlings, how they will interpret that is their own way.¡± (???)

    However, a reply to the man was heard from behind Yogiri and others.

    The owner of the voice pushed his way through the crowd and went to the middle of the za.

    It was an old man.

    He was considerably aged with wrinkles and was appraising Yogiri¡¯s surroundings, but that walking wasn¡¯t something that felt aged.

    ¡ºHmm. He is able to do quite a bit. Is this man the Sword Saint?¡»(Mokomoko)

    Whether or not she felt an expert¡¯s style in that walking, Mokomoko said so in admiration.

    Although the old man was wearing an oriental kimono, a sword wasn¡¯t worn on his body.

    Finally arriving at the center of the crowd, the old man looked around.

    ¡°There¡¯s many.¡± (???->Old Man)

    The old man muttered.

    And then, he continued his words after thinking a little.

    ¡°You all, kill each other until I tell you to stop. I will choose the next Sword Saint from among the people remaining.¡± (Old Man)

    ¡°I wonder if he is more preferable amongst the people we¡¯ve seen so far. I¡¯m an idiot for thinking that even for a minute!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika shouted in what seemed to be amazement.

    The surroundings of Yogiri and others overflowed with killing intent just as she spoke.

 Chapter 4 - Heâ€™s a person that seems decent, but I wonâ€™t believe it so easily!

    <h4>Chapter 4 - He¡¯s a person that seems decent, but I won¡¯t believe it so easily!</h4>

    Trantor+Edit: Thy Unsus

    Various people were surrounding the Sword Saint, who was in the center of the za. The number of people would exceed one hundred. Yogiri and others were at the outer-edge part of that crowd.

    The surroundings were in a frenzy. But, no one had moved yet.

    It seemed that there were both those who were watching the state of affairs, and those who were thinking that the Sword Saint¡¯s words would continue.

    ¡°Can I ask something? If I kill every one of the guys that are here, shouldn¡¯t I automatically be the Sword Saint?¡± (???)

    Inside the atmosphere that was full of tension, a voice with confidence was emitted.

    It was the entirely ck man who was a little in front of Yogiri and others.

    A ck shirt, ck trousers, and ck mantle. A ck scabbard was carried on his back, and up to the hilt was ck.

    ¡°Noment. But, if I went as far as to say it, if we assume this is the kind of interview where you see their personality, you are disqualified.¡± (Old Man->Sword Saint)

    ¡°Wha!?¡± (???->ck Man)

    Whether or not his reply was beyond what he expected, the ck man hardened.

    ¡°Well. Don¡¯t ask me anything. Think about it well before asking. There will be a possibility of out by just asking.¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saint appeared to be amazed. And those who heard those words became more and more cautious.

    ¡°Umm, is he unexpectedly kind?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika enquired. However, Yogiri didn¡¯t think so.

    ¡°A kind person wouldn¡¯t say things like to kill each other. Can I ask something?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri raised his hand, and called out to the Sword Saint.

    The surrounding gazes concentrated on Yogiri all at once.

    ¡°What is it. Did you listen to my speech?¡± (Sword Saint)

    It reached the point that the Sword Saint was even more amazed.

    ¡°Even if I¡¯m disqualified, it doesn¡¯t matter though. We just happened to pass by by chance, but I don¡¯t feel like doing things like killing each other, so is it fine to leave?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Wh, what!¡± (Dragon)

    The little girl dragon to the side, in front of the Sword Saint, was surprised.

    ¡°We¡¯ve met the Sword Saint with this, right? Please guide us to the exit quickly. So, how about it?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri replied to the little girl, and pressed for a reply from the Sword Saint.

    ¡°Hou? It was by chance that you came to such a ce? It doesn¡¯t seem to be an atmosphere of ¡®having cold feet¡¯, but if I permit that, I think it¡¯ll be tiring¡­¡­well then, I¡¯ll do it like this I guess. If there is someone who escapes from this za, all of you guys are disqualified. Let¡¯s consider the situation to be based on that.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°Hey, it became something troublesome.¡± (Tomochika)

    It appeared that Yogiri and others had been included as a part of the trial with the proposal of now.

    ¡°Look, hooray hooray. I guess that¡¯s how much the things like Sword Saint were severed and spread. Because I don¡¯t mean that I want to see you guys doing formal marriage interviews here as well. I¡¯ll delimit the time as well? It is 10 minutes from now. If it hasn¡¯t be less than half after 10 minutes, everyone is disqualified.¡± (Sword Saint)

    Those words became a trigger and stirred the situation.

    The entirely ck man drew out his sword on his back.

    No one was unprepared. It was just that the drawing of sword of the man was splendid. The man who was next to him was sliced diagonally from their shoulder at their wit¡¯s end.

    The sword that entered in from his left shoulder quickly came out through his right nk. Maybe due to the power of the blow, he divided into two and was blown off shily.

    And, one part of the man fell down near Tomochika.

    ¡°Uh oh.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika stepped back a step, and avoided the body of the man who fell over.

    ¡ºYou have gotten used to the scene, right?¡»(Mokomoko)

    The spirit Mokomoko said as though she was in admiration.

    ¡°I cannot be saying kyaaa kyaaa at this degree after all this time¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Angry roars started to reverberate in the surroundings while she was saying such a thing. Everyone started to fight.

    ¡°Aah!¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Tomochika)

    When Yogiri raised a voice of surprise, Tomochika asked him.

    ¡°No, I was just thinking that the sword of that man is ck up to the de.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s true, it¡¯s ck up to there¡­¡­it¡¯s inconsequential!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°But, what do we do? Escaping is simple, though.¡± (Yogiri)

    In that case, something that would try to obstruct them would appear. As soon as he tried to say so, that instantly became a thing of reality.

    Was it thought that they¡¯d run away first, or that they looked easy to deal with? Some people turned their swords towards Yogiri and others.

    If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s kill.

    Almost simultaneously as Yogiri decided so, a swordsman d in silver armor came out in front of Yogiri and others, as if to protect them.

    Though it was full te armor, there wasn¡¯t much of a profound feeling: it was even simr to an ordered suit. Each part seemed to be made quite thin and stylish, and seemed to be one reason that made you think that he wasn¡¯t wearing a helmet.

    ¡°Please have peace of mind. I will protect you guys!¡± (Silver Swordsman)

    The swordsman turned a refreshing smile towards Yogiri and others, and immediately faced forward.

    ¡°You guys are also doing stupid things. Sword Saint-sama¡¯s intentions aren¡¯tpletely understood! There is no way that Sword Saint-sama will pardon things such as just killing a person indiscriminately! Whether or not we can take appropriate actions as the Sword Saint, this is that trial!¡± (Silver Swordsman)

    ¡°Hey, although there are also ces where it seems to be versatile, he¡¯s a person that seems decent¡­¡­but, I won¡¯t believe it so easily!¡± (Tomochika)

    If she thought about the things so far, whether or not this person was decent was very doubtful. Tomochika thinking so was inevitable.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s done easily. Though powerful people in itself are just aiming for the ¡°sword saint¡± and gathering here, this man is surpassing them by one head.¡»(Mokomoko)

    The swordsman was easily dealing with several people who wereing at him simultaneously by freely using his sword and shield.

    The policy in this ce seemed to be done poorly, and the swordsmen was showing ability to the degree of seeding in doing that, even before going easy on them.

    However, no matter how strong this man was, it was as a swordsman to the bitter end.

    It was impossible to deal with those who aimed at Yogiri and others with projectile weapons and magic from long distances.

    The instant Yogiri felt clear killing intent, he invoked his power.

    About 10 people copsed all at once.

    ¡°Mu? What on earth is this?¡± (Silver Swordsman)

    Before the strange event, the silver swordsman stopped the direction of battle for a moment.

    ¡°That is it, huh, ummmmm¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Is that so, the power of Sword Saint-sama! Sword Saint-sama isn¡¯t carrying a sword, and it didn¡¯t seem like he was moving at all, but it seems that things of this degree are no trouble for Sword Saint-sama! That¡¯s the reason the rude bunch was punished!¡± (Silver Swordsman)

    Tomochika tried to deceive him in some way or another, but it appeared that it wasn¡¯t necessary.

    And, the assant who was before the mysterious deaths and the swordsman¡¯s ability changed that force of argument quickly.

    ¡°Hmm. I think it¡¯s alright for now. That you passed by by chance, I think it is misfortunate, but Sword Saint-sama¡¯s trial is also seriously important. Could I request you to apany me for a little while more?¡± (Silver Swordsman)

    If somebody escaped, even one person, everyone would be disqualified, so he reminded them. It was Yogiri that didn¡¯t understand such things of the Sword Saint, but he was also hesitant to dare to wreck it.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll watch the situation for a little while.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I¡¯m saved that you understand. What, be relieved on that part as I¡¯ll do my very best for you to not befall harm.¡± (Silver Swordsman)

    For the time being they agreed to continue watching and waiting.

    At present, there wasn¡¯t anything aiming at Yogiri and others, and the surroundings seemed to be calm, but a frail voice was heard there.

    ¡°¡­¡­uuu¡­¡­help¡­¡­¡± (???)

    Yogiri and others turned their eyes towards the source of the voice.

    It was the man who had been cut in the beginning.

    As he was cut apart diagonally, he was lying down on the ground with nothing but his right hand and head. That he was living was a mysterious situation.

    ¡°This is¡­¡­regrettable.¡± (Silver Swordsman)

    The silver swordsman shook his head. It seemed that he concluded that he was beyond help. Yogiri was of the same opinion as well.

    ¡°No, um, don¡¯t give up easily¡­¡­err, the girl there. Come this way, help!¡± (???)

    Whether or not he mustered thest of his strength, the man was shouting desperately.

    ¡ºHmm. He can talk well in the state where his lungs aren¡¯t working well.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Umm. What do you think I should do?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°There¡¯s no killing intent, so I don¡¯t think he is nning something.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ye, yeah? Well, if it¡¯s to the extent of caring for him¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika approached the copsed man.

    ¡°Um, are you okay? I can do it if it¡¯s to the extent of grasping your hand.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°¡­¡­Err, they¡¯ve fallen there, pick up a rainbow-colored stone¡­¡­¡± (???)

    Rainbow colored, sparkling stones were scattered in the area. They seemed to be the man¡¯s possessions, and were thrown out when he was cut.

    Tomochika picked up a rainbow-colored stone.

    ¡°What is this?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That is¡­¡­an apology stone¡­¡­¡± (???)

    ¡°Apology? What will you do with this?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°¡­¡­Please let me hold it in my right hand.¡± (???)

    Tomochika did what he said.

    Thereupon, the man¡¯s right hand immediately started to shine.

    And, the man had revived in an instant.

    Despite not having even a quarter of his whole body, he was in the state of in perfectly good health.

    If you tried to look at his whole body like thus, he was a man with a tall and thin body figure.

    ¡°Heh?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Wellll, I was saveddd! I thought that it was no good already!¡± (???)

    The man¡¯s body had returned to the state of before it was cut. Even as far as his clothes werepletely as before, there was not a single scar.

    Yogiri looked around, but the side of his body left over couldn¡¯t be found. It seemed that it was also included in how he was originally.

    ¡°This is it. It is an item called a ¡®star crystal¡¯, which does an apology. It¡¯s a convenient thing which can be used for various things like turning a gacha, or healingrge injuries.¡± (???->Stone Man)

    ¡°It¡¯s a social game!? Who is, what, what do you apologize for!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Stop!¡± (Sword Saint)

    When Tomochika was confused, the Sword Saint cried out in a thundering voice.

    Those who were in the za stopped moving all at once.

    ¡°It¡¯s been reduced by a majority. Then, I¡¯ll change the ce. Follow me.¡± (Sword Saint)

    Saying so, the Sword Saint briskly walked to the outside of the za.

    In the back, a mountain of tragic corpses were left behind. It was about 30% that survived.

    ¡°¡­¡­he was saying such things as how to act appropriately as the Sword Saint, but it seems that he just wanted to decrease the people as I thought¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°No, the reason for this might be the profound thinking of Sword Saint-sama. He may have thoughts that are unfathomable for us ordinary people.¡± (Silver Swordsman)

    The silver swordsman didn¡¯t shake, even at Tomochika¡¯s doubt.

    ¡°The first trial? We don¡¯t need to follow you because it looks like it has ended? Guide us to the exit.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No, um, to return you guys in this situation is a little¡­¡­¡± (Dragon)

    The little girl dragon¡¯s manner of enunciation was bad. It seemed that she judged that it would be a problem to send the candidate back of her own ord.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll talk to the Sword Saint for the time being, we should leave peacefully, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    It was Yogiri who was bing a little bothered, but escaping this canyon without her guidance was difficult.

    Yogiri epted his fate that he would go with them until the ce they could go with her.

 Chapter 5 - Even if celebrities are said to be able to travel incognito, it isnâ€™t known

    <h4>Chapter 5 - Even if celebrities are said to be able to travel incognito, it isn¡¯t known</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    The Sword Saint walked to the direction of the forest, outside of the za. Those who were in the za moved in groups behind the Sword Saint in a hurry.

    Yogiri was walking sluggishly at the very back of the group.

    If they were aiming for Sword Saint, they should show a strong spirit, and apany him at all costs. However, it was only troublesome for Yogiri, as the Sword Saint and the like were inconsequential to him.

    Tomochika, as if it was natural, was next to Yogiri. Next to her was the tall, young man who had the ¡°apology stones¡±. The swordsman that wore silver armor was walking next to him. The little dragon girl was walking a bit ahead, as though she was guiding the uneager Yogiri.

    ¡°My luck has been thoroughly bad from long ago. It¡¯s enough that it was a miracle that I could live until I was a senior highschool student. The number of times that I was hit by a car is about countless. It was to the point that I was called such things as ident Faker-chan. Although I received, well, things like constion money, it didn¡¯t particrly mean that I was profitable. My parents put it in their pockets, and it was the end.¡± (Stone Man)

    The apology stone young man was talking to Tomochika. Whether or not it was because he was helped, he was strangely close.

    ¡°In the end, I was kidnapped by a cult religion, and died being the sacrifice of a ritual.¡± (Stone Man)

    ¡°That is, a misfortune, huh.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°So, it came to be that I received apology stones.¡± (Stone Man)

    ¡°The story jumped too much!¡± (Tomochika)

    When he thought ¡°everything was dead¡±, it seemed that a woman calling herself god had appeared and kneeled down on the ground. And, it appeared that his suffering would continue even if he was born again, so it seemed that he was given an item called star crystals aspensation for that.

    ¡°But, doesn¡¯t such a god-like existence do such things as control a person¡¯s destiny?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika whispered to the side of her.

    ¡ºording to people, it¡¯s indescribable. As there are people who are protected by guardian spirits like me, there are also those who had their fate decided by ¡°god¡±.¡»(Mokomoko)

    The spirit Mokomoko replied to that. Mokomoko wasn¡¯t visible to other people.

    ¡°It¡¯s a story of ¡®you can y gacha with the apology stones¡¯, right? Um, considering all that¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Although it was a rude objection, it seemed that she hadn¡¯t been able to suppress her curiosity.

    ¡°Aah, it¡¯s supposed to obtain such things asrades or amazing items in the gacha, but why¡¯d she do it! Wasn¡¯t it said that my luck was awfully bad!?¡± (Stone Man)

    ¡°Aah, I understand somehow or other¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    In other words, decent things probably didn¡¯te out.

    ¡°So, now I am saving apology stones! If it is a 10 group gacha, there is a minimum guarantee of rarity!¡± (Stone Man)

    ¡°Err, please try your best.¡± (Tomochika)

    It appeared that Tomochika didn¡¯t know how to respond to the mysterious system of such things as gachas.

    ¡°Well. Despite us getting to know each other like this, isn¡¯t it a bit lonely that we don¡¯t even know each other¡¯s names?¡± (Silver Swordsman)

    When it reached a point where they could pause in the story, the silver swordsman suggested that they introduce one another.

    Before they aware of it, it had turned into a five-man group, and no one had an objection.

    ¡°First, from me. Though there may be parts to think of variously, would you please leave it as just Rick in here?¡± (Silver Swordsman->Rick)

    The silver swordsman, Rick, disyed a clever wink.

    ¡°Even if celebrities are said to be able to travel incognito, it isn¡¯t known!?¡± (Tomochika)

    It was troublesome even if it was said that it was natural to know. Tomochika made such a reaction, but it seemed that Rick didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°I, am called Rainier. I didn¡¯t have so much interest in bing the Sword Saint, but I was forcibly invited by my friend¡­¡­¡± (Stone Man->Rainier)

    The tall and thin young man, Rainier, scratched his head apologetically.

    ¡°Where¡¯d your friend go?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Perhaps she thought that I died, and went ahead quickly¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    Somehow, it was a young man of small luck.

    ¡°I am At. I am a person who made this area into a headquarters.¡± (Dragon->At)

    The little dragon girl said. It seemed that she didn¡¯t intend to reveal her true character.

    ¡°I am Yogiri Takatou. I was dragged into this despite just happening to pass by.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I am Tomochika Dannoura. We were in the middle of going towards the royal capital, but we were dragged into this.¡± (Tomochika)

    Their self-introductions ended briefly. And, when they realized it, there was no one in the area.

    ¡°N? Perhaps they left us? If that¡¯s the case, we don¡¯t have to go anymore.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri readily gave up.

    ¡°Wait a minute! Here! Just go ahead from here!¡± (At)

    At stopped, and pointed ahead a little. But, the forest just continued there, and there were no signs of people.

    ¡°But there¡¯s nothing?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°There is a barrier here. The state of the inside hase to be not examinable from the outside.¡± (At)

    Certainly, it was strange that a line of that extent disappeared suddenly without any kind of signs. When they continued as if it was a thing like that, At stopped.

    ¡°I won¡¯t go ahead from here.¡± (At)

    ¡°What about the guidance to the royal capital?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°When you have finished your task, you should call my name. I¡¯ll appear at once if you do so.¡± (At)

    Leaving behind At, the four people advanced ahead.

    They crossed the boundary.

    At that instant, a tower appeared abruptly.

    ¡°Heh?¡± (Tomochika)

    It looked like Tomochika was taken aback. The other people also couldn¡¯t hide their surprise at the existence of the tower that stood towering over the surroundings.

    The atmosphere hadpletely changed.

    There was no difference in the scenery except for the tower. However, Yogiri felt the cold air that stung his skin.

    The line which went ahead was showing its appearance again. As if natural, it was going towards the tower. It seemed that that ce was the destination.

    ¡ºHey! Leave immediately! The Sword Saint and the like aren¡¯t worth worrying about!¡»(Mokomoko)

    Only one person¡¯s surprise, Mokomoko¡¯s, had a different aspect. It looked like she waspletely panicking.

    ¡°Huh, what¡¯s wrong? Although I was certainly surprised, it¡¯s just a tower, right?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºIt¡¯s not like that! Haven¡¯t you noticed it!? The thick miasma up to this extent! It¡¯s this destination! Something evil is at this destination!¡»(Mokomoko)

    Tomochika looked around restlessly at the area, it seemed that she didn¡¯t feel anything.

    However, Yogiri was feeling signs of death floating in the area. It looked as if the sunlight was darkened.

    ¡°Oboo!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Rainier-san!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Immediately, Rainier¡¯s body began to fold and vomit.

    If she looked around, there were people who were falling and vomiting in the same way.

    ¡ºThey were exposed to the miasma.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Miasma? I don¡¯t have anything, though.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºI am protecting you, and I think the youngster will do it one way or the other.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°It is miasma? In my case, there¡¯s no effects if it¡¯s to this degree, but it seems Rainier-san is resisting it.¡± (Yogiri)

    When he was looking at him with a ¡°what¡¯s to be done?¡±, Rainier¡¯s body shone.

    ¡°Fuu, thanks to the apology stones, I¡¯m saved!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°It was to the extent of having nausea, is it fine to use that!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°But moving about isn¡¯t obtainable if I was as is.¡± (Rainier)

    The full particrs of apology stones were unknown, but Rainier seemed to have acquired resistance to the miasma.

    ¡°So, what will we do? It¡¯s a somewhat suspicious atmosphere, Mokomoko was saying so.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika confirmed it with Yogiri.

    ¡°Certainly, there are faint signs of death after we came into the ¡°barrier¡±. In my eyes, this area seems to be a little dark.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, it wasn¡¯t something imminent, and it was a questionable thing if he spoke of whether or not they¡¯d return.

    If it came to them returning, they¡¯d wander about the canyon. Them repeating the same thing without any method would be inevitable. That would be fine after there was nothing else that could be done.

    ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s alright. There isn¡¯t any danger right now.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºWell, it is you. You may be able to do it anyhow, but please pay close attention.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°What happened?¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Aah, I was just surprised. We should go to the tower, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    Rick asked, but Yogiri crudely deceived him and went forward.

    It was a circr tower.

    The diameter was about 50 meters. Even when he looked up, the tip was hazy and couldn¡¯t be seen. It seemed it was quite high.

    As the huge door was open, they went inside following the line.

    In the dreary room, there was another door nearby. In it, the Sword Saint and the many other people could be seen.

    ¡°You¡¯re slow. We¡¯ll leave you behind.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°I don¡¯t particrly care.¡± (Yogiri)

    Turning aside the Sword Saint¡¯sints, Yogiri and others went inside again.

    Thereupon, the door shut of its own ord, and the room began to shake with arge rattling sound.

    It seemed that this room was an elevator, and they were heading towards the top.

    From the rooftop, they were able to have an unbroken view of the canyon.

    A world of dry earth and rocks that went on endlessly. It seemed that the only exception was that there was green around the tower.

    The Sword Saint went to the edge of the rooftop, and pointed at a lower part. Those who followed witnessed a bizarre scene.

    The canyon was smoothly hollowed out.

    It made you recollect a spherical shape about 10 kilometers in diameter. What was there had vanished in its entirety. It looked like that.

    And, its central part.

    Tomochika, who had exceptional eyesight, was looking at the figures of two people in the central part of that space.

    She wondered if they were in the middle of fighting. But there was no movement there, and something, hardened like a statue, looked to be floating in air.

    ¡°This ce is the demise of the world. It won¡¯t be amusing when this world ends, and it¡¯s just barely being kept alive. There are no things like the Sword Saint. They¡¯re nothing more than guards.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°I knew such a thing already!¡± (???)

    From among the group, a little girl who wore gaudy clothing came out one step ahead of the group.

    ¡°Because I came here in order to end the battle with the Devil that has spanned a millennium!¡± (???->Little Girl)

    ¡°Hou, you¡¯re high-spirited.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°Your role will end with this day! You should spend your remaining years in peace hereafter!¡± (Little Girl)

    The little girl raised one hand.

    Just as a quantity of heat appeared, the surroundings stirred.

    It was the temperature that the sphere of light which had appeared in the space of the sky, where the little girl¡¯s palm was facing, was emitting.

    It was easily understood, even by Tomochika, who didn¡¯t know much about magic and the like, that it contained tremendous energy. The sphere of light that shone dazzlingly beautiful was like a small sun, so to speak.

    The little girl swung her one hand downward.

    The sphere of light vanished for an instant. It was shot at a high-speed towards the barrier.

    The little girl was ted. Perhaps she was convinced of victory. ¡®No matter what kind of existence it is, it shouldn¡¯t be safe if it receives that¡¯, Tomochika also thought.

    However, an abnormal event came the instant that the sphere of light touched the barrier.

    The speed of the sphere of light fell remarkably.

    The sphere of light¡¯s silhouette that they saw slowly disappeared, and its movements stopped before long.

    ¡°Yes?¡± (Little Girl)

    The little girl had a nk face. It seemed that she couldn¡¯t believe the phenomenon that was before her eyes.

    ¡°Time seems to be slow inside of the barrier. It seems it bes slow as you go inside. It appears that things like the central part have almost stopped. So, as that will arrive after a hundred of years or so, it doesn¡¯t seem that I have the margin to spend the rest of my life.¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saint said, as though to mock her.

    ¡°Well, I was expected to show this barrier once. Did you see it? Then, it¡¯s the continuation of the selection. I¡¯ll be waiting at the first floor of the tower, soe down. But you can¡¯t use the elevator, so please do it in some way or another.¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saint stepped onto the elevator, and the door closed. That, which had went down, wouldn¡¯te back.

    The actions of the Sword Saint candidates were varied.

    The majority acted immediately, but there were some who didn¡¯t do anything, and others were staring at the barrier.

    ¡°Err, the friend that invited me, is the girl who used magic some time ago¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    The girl was standing stupefied still. It appeared that she couldn¡¯t escape from being dazed.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you go to her?¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Just a minute, it¡¯s scary¡­¡­what will she do if she regains her sanity¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    When Rick suggested, Rainier replied with a scared voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know what that girl came here for, but she said Devil or something like that, right? Is it over there?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. There seems to have been a battle that shook the world a millennium ago in this ce¡ª¡ª¡± (Rick)

    Rick appeared to know about the Devil. However, Tomochika had something to worry about rather than such a thing.

    ¡°Hey? If it¡¯s Takatou-kun¡ª¡ª¡± (Tomochika)

    Then even the devil can be killed? Tomochika closed her mouth immediately as she tried to say so.

    ¡ª¡ªThere is no reason to kill, is there? It seemed he¡¯d say something like that.

    They didn¡¯t really know what kind of person the devil was at the present time. It would be too rash to kill it just because it seemed to be evil for some reason or another. Tomochika, who was impertinent, reconsidered, and looked at Yogiri.

    Yogiri had an awkward-like face.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika tilted her head. It was an unusual reaction of Yogiri.

    ¡°Perhaps the Devil? The source of miasma that is over there, I inadvertently killed it.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°¡­¡­yes?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri pointed at the center of the barrier.

    ¡°Somehow, I had a feeling like that first. I¡¯m sorry, I mean.¡± (Yogiri)

    Rick was talking quietly about the battle of the Devil and the Holy Queen that spanned a millennium.

    He did it by mistake. It was an atmosphere where it was hard to tell them.

    Gonna take a quick break to do MoM V2C21 before I get back to this. Hopefully, I can get it done quickly.

    If you guys notice anything wrong, please let me know.

    See you ¡­perhaps soon?

    -Thy Unsus

    |

    __ATA.cmd.push(function() {

    __ATA.initVideoSlot(''atatags-370373-5c0313ff5c59c'', {

    sectionId: ''370373'',

    format: ''inread''

    });

    });

    Advertisements

    __ATA.cmd.push(function() {

    __ATA.initSlot(''atatags-26942-5c0313ff5c5c2'', {

    copseEmpty: ''before'',

    sectionId: ''26942'',

    width: 300,

    height: 250

    });

    });

    __ATA.cmd.push(function() {

    __ATA.initSlot(''atatags-114160-5c0313ff5c5c4'', {

    copseEmpty: ''before'',

    sectionId: ''114160'',

    width: 300,

    height: 250

    });

    });

    Share this:Like this:Like Loading¡­

 Chapter 6 - Without apology stones, Iâ€™d be dying

    <h4>Chapter 6 - Without apology stones, I¡¯d be dying</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    It was someone who gave blessings.

    Granting people¡¯s¡¯ prayers, giving what they desired.

    It didn¡¯t do anything for itself, nor did it care about the good or bad of the prayers. It was just someone who mechanically gave blessings thatplied with the number of sacrifices.

    It *stagger* wandered about the human world, and continued to grant any prayers.

    As though a matter of course, people sought and quarrelled over it.

    Keeping it in one ce or something couldn¡¯t be done, and inevitably, they decided to scramble for the ce where it was.

    Even if a blessing wasn¡¯t needed, it was because they couldn¡¯t shut their eyes to another person monopolizing it.

    People did nothing but fight, and prayers were granted as they desired.

    It didn¡¯t take much time until mankind was reduced by half.

    As it was, mankind would be destroyed.

    When humanity saw their fate, people realized their own stupidity atst. They realized it was something that mustn¡¯t be touched, something beyond humans¡¯ control.

    The left over people took each others¡¯ hands, and challenged a battle against it.

    At the time, what it thought wasn¡¯t known. However, it turned its hostility towards mankind and bared its fangs at them.

    And then, mankind was on the verge of extinction.

    Rick was reciting the battle of a millennium ago to Rainier.

    Yogiri and Tomochika were talking sneakily a little ways away, but they were straining their ears.

    ¡°In the first ce, when did you kill it?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Right after we entered the barrier? When such things as miasma were said, I think.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°At least try to confirm your opponent!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It was, by mistake, reflexively.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°W, well, if you felt like hearing the story, I have a feeling that you could¡¯ve killed it separately, though?¡± (Tomochika)

    She wondered if she was ming him too much. Tomochika spoke as if tofort Yogiri.

    ¡°How would I? I feel that humans paid for their mistakes. This, the Devil is bad?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, if you say so.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I just refused the source of the miasma, though. I felt that, ¡®it may be fine to kill it simply like that¡¯.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, it was still thought to be such things as unpleasant. Even by Takatou-kun.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I wonder what it means. If I kill what I think to be a harmful animal, it feels like it was a protected species on the verge of extinction, if I carelessly broke a filthy sculpture, it seems it was an important cultural asset.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was feeling something simr to the weight of history.

    There was history of a millennium here, and there were those who protected this ce during that time. They thought that it wouldn¡¯t be something that an outsider dealt with easily.

    ¡°Well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped even if we think about it too much. Let¡¯s be silent and not leak it out.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Easily! And a swift recovery!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°If there is harm, I have no choice but to kill it anyway.¡± (Yogiri)

    Probably, the barrier would continue to be maintained as it was. If that was the case, the likelihood that they¡¯d know ¡®the Devil was dead¡¯ was very little.

    It may be useless to continue to seal the dead Devil, but it wasn¡¯t at all different from up till now. Yogiri came to that clean decision easily.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go down the tower. Halfheartedly, I¡¯d like talk to the Sword Saint properly and head towards the royal capital.¡± (Yogiri)

    If you noticed, there were almost no people on the rooftop.

    Who was remaining with Yogiri and others, was only the little girl who was Rainier¡¯s friend.

    As one would expect, it didn¡¯t mean that the little girl was also being dumbfounded for good. It appeared that she finally realized that Rainier was left, and came over to Yogiri and other¡¯s location.

    ¡°You have a stone, don¡¯t you? Hand it over!¡± (Little Girl)

    The little girl held out her hand as though she was thrusting at him.

    ¡°Eh, um, what are you going to do?¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier became frightened at the appearance of the overbearing little girl. As far as what was being seen from nearby, it couldn¡¯t be thought that it was a very friendly rtionship.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it restore magical power. So, you can also boost it, can¡¯t you? This time I¡¯ll drive it in with a full-speed swing!¡± (Little Girl)

    ¡°Um, I think I¡¯ve exined it before, but apology stones are restricted to me, and cannot be used by another person¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Haa? The heck did you follow me for if that¡¯s the case!¡± (Little Girl)

    ¡°¡­¡­I didn¡¯t particrly want to follow you¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°You¡¯re really not useful! Forget it!¡± (Little Girl)

    The little girl went by herself in anger, which left just the four people on the rooftop.

    There were several rooftop structures on the rooftop, and it seemed that you could go downstairs from there.

    Selecting where seemed to also be one of the trials.

    ¡°Well then, that way.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri pointed at a door where the little girl hadn¡¯t headed for some reason.

    There were no objections.

    ¡°GYAAAAA!¡± (Rainier)

    A spear that flew out from the wall was stuck in Rainier¡¯s abdomen.

    It was a trap.

    It seemed to be bad luck.

    Yogiri was able to grasp the location as danger of death even if it was a trap. Most of the traps had been activated already, or those who went through before were cancelling them, but Rainier identally trampled thest activation switch that was left.

    Entering the door of a rooftop structure, they immediately descended the staircase. Practically no time after being warned, there was an event in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Rainier-san!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was panicking. Rick drew his sword and cut off the spear sticking out from the wall.

    Rainier, who lost his support, copsed onto the floor, groping about his body desperately while enduring the pain.

    Thereupon, Rainier¡¯s body shone again.

    And, he stood up as if nothing had happened. The spear in his abdomen was pushed out and fell to the floor. It was the same as when he recovered from being in two halves: even up to his clothes werepletely as before.

    ¡°Fuu, without apology stones, I¡¯d be dying.¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier wiped the sweat on his forehead with a carefree look in some respects.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make a practice of not worrying for Rainier-san from now on!?¡± (Tomochika)

    After all, if you thought that he¡¯d seed in some way or another with the apology stones, it would be absurd just to worry about whatever happened.

    ¡°No, even if you say so, it is a dangerous ce even now? Because I cannot use apology stones if I¡¯m not holding them in my hand.¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Why not hold them in your hand continuously then?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Aah! Thank you very much! I hadn¡¯t even realized such a thing!¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier said so and held the apology stone in his left hand.

    ¡°I am anxious if it¡¯s just this. That¡¯s right, could you please *wrap* wind my hand with something? As I am, I think I will drop it or something in a crucial time after all!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Haa, if it¡¯s a thing like that.¡± (Tomochika)

    As Tomochika was told, she bound Rainier¡¯s left fist with a decorative string she had on hand. There was little chance it¡¯d be dropped as it was tied quite tightly.

    ¡°Um, was it star crystal? I don¡¯t know it as it is limited information, but what effects does it have? From what I¡¯ve seen, it would be an existence that also could be said to be a lifeline for Rainier-san. I think that us also knowing might be good.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Aah, that¡¯s right! Even with me saying things like star crystals, it isn¡¯t understood normally!¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier replied honestly to Rick¡¯s proposal.

    ¡°There are two uses of the star crystals themselves. One isplete recovery. No matter what kind of injury, it will be recoveredpletely, and my magical power will also be filled up to the maximum. The other one is boost. Every ability is greatly strengthened temporarily. That I became able to bear the miasma, was thanks to this strengthen ability.¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Um, you said ¡®temporary¡¯ just now, right? Then, how long do you have?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika, who suddenly felt uneasy, asked.

    ¡°It is about 30 minutes¡­¡­Aah!¡± (Rainier)

    Yogiri also noticed. About thirty minutes had passed since hisst time. He cut off the source of the miasma, but perhaps what was drifting about in this surroundings would be what sprung forth from the fight one thousand years ago. Still, the miasma hadn¡¯t disappeared.

    ¡°A, and I can turn the gacha with star crystals! Items are put into my hand with this, and I summonerades¡­¡­f, for now I¡¯ll turn it!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Why now!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Rainier put his right hand into his pocket, and took out three star crystals.

    The star crystals disappeared while shining, and something *plop* fell down in front of Rainier. It was a scrubbing-brush.

    ¡°Ummmm¡­¡­is it an amazing scrubbing-brush of some sorts?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°No. It is an ordinary scrubbing-brush. It is a one year scrubbing brush.¡± (Rainier)

    It seemed to be a miss.

    ¡°A, at any rate, I have to take out items that can break the deadlock in this situation!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°¡­¡­When considering it with the bad luck of this person, star crystals aren¡¯t very helpful¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    When Rainier was able to obtain the ring of crushing evil in some way or another, was when the remaining star crystals were three.

 Chapter 7 - This appearance is a hobby

    <h4>Chapter 7 - This appearance is a hobby</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    The passage was continuing on straight ahead.

    After almost all of the traps had activated, there were a considerable amount of victims who were copsed.

    There should have been almost no danger, but if you considered Rainier¡¯s bad luck, they were in danger of getting caught again.

    So, Yogiri secretly destroyed the traps. It appeared that he could sense the positions of traps that had killing and wounding capabilities, and he could kill them if he was able to recognize their existence.

    ¡°It is a story of ¡®three remaining¡¯, but are you okay?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika, who was worried, asked. With this, if he was injured with fatal wounds three times, there was no way out anymore.

    ¡°When this happens at twelve o¡¯ clock, a number proportionate to the bad luck events of that day will be replenished. So, it¡¯s okay if I pass the time in someway or another untilte at night!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°It isn¡¯t okay at all!? If you are dying with the current momentum, I don¡¯t think you have untilte at night!¡± (Tomochika)

    While they talked like that, they arrived at the end of the passage. A door was in that ce, and letters were written.

    ¡ºOnly one can leave¡»

    Tomochika didn¡¯t understand the letters of this world yet, so Yogiri read them out loud. Yogiri had read the otherworldnguage dictionary that he received from the concierge, and was almost mastering it.

    ¡°I feel magical power from the door. I guess it is one of the trials. With all due respect, it seems that this literal contents are¡­¡­¡± (Rick)

    ¡°It¡¯s simple if that¡¯s the case. If only one person can leave, only one person should enter.¡± (Rainier)

    Towards Rick who guessed the trial¡¯s contents, Rainier replied simply.

    ¡°Is it something simple like that, I wonder?¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Well then, first I¡¯ll try to enter. If it is me, I have apology stones, so I¡¯ll be fine even if I experience something like death!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°But even then there is three remaining, is it really okay?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Look, it was *wrap* wound by Tomochika-san!¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier said so, and held up his left hand, which Tomochika had wrapped the string around.

    ¡°Uwaa, that full of confidence part, is an increasingly ill omen feeling¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was starting to feel something a little eerie in Rainier. Though he could be revived with star crystals, he was too careless to the situation of the surroundings, and seemed to be too unattached to living.

    ¡°Well, please leave it to me! Even if I die at the worse, I won¡¯t inconvenience you!¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier opened the door. There was a wall in the ce just after entering, and the passage was continuing to the right.

    Rainier entered inside in high and proud spirits, and the door shut automatically.

    ¡°Him entering alone is fine, but. As there is an exit except for this ce, how do we conclude whether or not he left safely from there? Moreover, if Rainier-san cleared it, it means that we can¡¯t even challenge this trial? This strategy, aren¡¯t there too many holes?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah.¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri presented a usible question, but it wasn¡¯t enough to worry about.

    ¡°GYAAAAAAA!¡± (Rainier)

    It was because Rainier¡¯s cry was heard immediately. In other words, it was found out to be not safe.

    ¡°Let¡¯s enter.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°In the end, there wasn¡¯t any meaning in him going alone¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°What did you say, it¡¯s just like him to meet with a dangerous experience¡­¡­¡± (Rick)

    But, it also may be hard evidence that Rainier¡¯s luck was hopeless.

    They opened the door and the three people entered. When they proceeded to the right, the passage immediately turned to the left, and a room was spread out ahead.

    The smell of blood was drifting about. The bodies of humans were scattered inside. It wasn¡¯t one or two people. Dozens of people were lying down in puddles of blood with nothing that could be done to return them to how they were.

    ¡°Rainier-san!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Rainier¡¯s left arm had fallen in a ce just after entering the room. There was no way to mistake it, as Tomochika¡¯s decoration string was wound around it.

    ¡ª¡ªNo way, within this!

    If Tomochika looked around the room in a hurry, in a ce a little separated from them, Rainier himself was wriggling. It seemed that what was lost was only his left arm, and it also could be said that his luck was good if it was only that, but it appeared that fixing the star crystal to his left arm hadn¡¯t been meaningful at all.

    Rick drew his sword, and turned his sword towards the person that was standing inside the room.

    It was a woman whose maid clothes didn¡¯t suit her at all. There was even something ghastly in that noble appearance. To Tomochika, it simply couldn¡¯t be thought that the woman was just someone who waited upon them.

    ¡°This, was you?¡± (Rick)

    Rick cautiously asked. An unusual air of tension was in that voice.

    ¡°Yes. But, I think there¡¯s no reason you can criticize me. Do you know the mechanism of this room? The trial begins when two or more people enter the room, and the door is unopenable from inside. And the exit door opens at the point in time where there is only one person. In other words, we are being forced to kill each other.¡± (Woman)

    ¡°It may be just like that, but you were alone in this room until some time ago. If so, you could have left the room?¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Yes. The trial has ended, and it looks to be just once. As it is like that, you, by all rights, could have passed through this room without effort.¡± (Woman)

    ¡°In other words, ¡®I don¡¯t intend to let you pass¡¯?¡± (Rick)

    The woman was blocking their way in front of the door. Her aim was clear.

    ¡°I think that the ck person who was talking wasn¡¯t necessarily mistaken. Sword Saint-sama gave advice in that ce, but will he say the same thing in this ce as well? After all, the strongest person is supposed to be the Sword Saint. That being the case, is it just early orte?¡± (Woman)

    The ck person was about the ck-clothed swordsman, who asked ¡®could I be the Sword Saint if I murdered everyone?¡¯.

    She took it upon herself to standby here, and seemed to intend to decrease thepetition.

    ¡°If only strength is the evaluation criteria, you should just select the sessor from the absolute sword ss. If not so, there should be an expectation of Sword Saint-sama there!¡± (Woman)

    Towards the woman in a maid dress who was just standing, Rick prepared to use his sword without a gap. That appearance was quite contrastive.

    Rick¡¯s posture, it seemed fear had taken hold of it. How Rick was turning his sword, was nothing more than him trying to make a wall between him and the woman. To Tomochika, it was looking like that.

    ¡°Tomochika-san, it¡¯s unfavorable. It¡¯s the worse situation.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°An acquaintance, is she?¡± (Tomochika)

    In the situation from some time ago, it seemed so to Tomochika

    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anyone who doesn¡¯t know in the people who are aiming for Sword Saint. Her name is Teresa. She is a former royalty, and a swordswoman of the roaring sword ss.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know well about what was said about the ss, but is she strong?¡± (Tomochika)

    It wasn¡¯t well understood by Tomochika. Signs of uniqueness were felt, but it wasn¡¯t the expert¡¯s atmosphere that Tomochika seemed to know.

    ¡°The roaring sword, if you speak in the court ranks of swordsmen, is third rank. By the way, I am a king sword, seventh rank. In other words, it isn¡¯t an opponent that I can fight directly and win against.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°A former royalty with such an appearance, did she fall to that extent, I wonder?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Is that something to worry about?¡± (Rick)

    Rick gave a voice that was out of the atmosphere. Thereupon, Teresa herself replied to Tomochika¡¯s question.

    ¡°This appearance is a hobby.¡± (Woman->Teresa)

    She should have spoken in a low voice, but it appeared that the conversation here passed through to her. With this, they wouldn¡¯t be able to quietly discuss to escape.

    ¡°I have prepared my hand already, so you cannot run away from the entrance.¡± (Teresa)

    Teresa said, as thought she read Tomochika¡¯s thoughts. Tomochika, who confirmed behind them, noticed that their escape route was blocked.

    ¡°Rick-san, please be careful! Thin wires are set in various ces!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika¡¯s eyesight was useful even in here. She had seen through the superfine wires, which couldn¡¯t be seen if it was normal, that were set in the room.

    ¡°Yes, I know her trick. She makes use of the thin thread sword.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Aren¡¯t the broad interpretations of the word ¡®swordsman¡¯ too extreme!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika thought that this, no matter how you looked at it, was probably a thread user.

    ¡°Well. If the riffraff survive, Sword Saint-sama will be bothered as well. Please disy the resourcefulness of at least slipping through my attacks and just managing to hold on.¡± (Teresa)

    The air shook right as she spoke, and when Rick raised his sword overhead, a shrill metallic sound resounded.

    What had happened wouldn¡¯t be understood at all by an ordinary person. But, Tomochika had witnessed the moment that Rick intercepted the wire that fell.

    Rick¡¯s sword moved left and right. Continuous metallic sounds resounded, enough that there wasn¡¯t a period of time they were interrupted. Rick was continuing to defend against the wires that approched from various directions.

    Was it a result of Teresa¡¯s ability, or was it thanks to the material¡¯s qualities? Not even a single wire had been severed. Although they were repelled, they changed their trajectory and attacked again.

    ¡°Kuu! I will hold her back here in some way or another. You guys look for a gap and go to the exit!¡± (Rick)

    Despite handling the wires that were approaching at high speeds magnificently, Rick¡¯s words were full of distress.

    It was realized by Tomochika as well.

    Teresa was ying. Maybe she was amusing herself in the game of examiner, or restraining her attacks to the degree that Rick could deal with them somehow.

    Rick probably thought that he was treading on thin ice. Teresa, on top of grasping Rick¡¯s ability, was trying to take out all of his power. If he lost focus for even a second, if he didn¡¯t use up his strength, it ended at that.

    However, there was also hope if it was said that this was her examination. It was because it should be possible to escape if he reached her expectations.

    ¡°Die.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, the battle met its demise quickly at a single word from Yogiri.

    Rick¡¯s blow struck and cut the collected wires. Teresa copsed, and didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°Say, it¡¯s fine to be engrossed in the fight, but haven¡¯t you forgotten about Rainier-san?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said, as if amazed.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right! He didn¡¯t use an apology stone! Rainier-san, are you all right!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika rushed over to Rainier.

    ¡°¡­¡­what, the heck¡­¡­¡± (Rick)

    With an openmouthed face, Rick was staring at the unmoving Teresa.

 Chapter 8 - What kind of sheet video game is it, this parallel world!

    <h4>Chapter 8 - What kind of sheet video game is it, this parallel world!</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    ¡®How should I exin my ability¡¯, Yogiri thought about a little bit.

    If it was to an enemy, he didn¡¯t care even if it was known. It was because they were enemies that threatened or killed anyway, he didn¡¯t care about what they would think.

    He didn¡¯t mind his ability being known by Tomochika. It was because he was prepared to return her to their former world, whether he was disliked or not. Moreover, it was impossible to continue to hide it from another party who was together with him the whole time, and it was bothersome.

    However, when it came to exining it to another party that they just mingled with a little, it was a difficult ce.

    He had disyed his power, so it was impossible for him to be silent, but then to what extent should he exin? What kind of attitude the other party would take when they knew about it all, Yogiri knew how unpleasant it was.

    ¡°I, have extremely good luck. The opposite of Rainier-san? It feels like that.¡± (Yogiri)

    Things like pushing through with his luck is good were too reckless, but it would be much better than exining that the other party died by him just thinking it.

    ¡°¡­¡­eh? Just now was possibly by me?¡± (Rick)

    Rick stood up dazedly and returned to himself.

    ¡°Yeah. Surely that person copsed suddenly because of that. It was convenient for me, so it caused a heart attack or something I guess? Probably.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°A heart attack? Don¡¯t be foolish. A roaring swordsman having such a th¡­¡­no, if I remember correctly she should have been imprisoned for a period of time. I was thinking about what had happened for her being caught or something, but perhaps an inborn defect¡­¡­¡± (Rick)

    ¡ª¡ªI didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d believe me¡­¡­

    If it was normal, it wouldn¡¯t be believed. However, there was a strong convinced face on Rick.

    An extreme being of luck like Rainier. In reality, the situation where Teresa had fallen, and the circumstances of Teresa that he had known from before. It seemed he had put them together and reached an agreement.

    ¡°Rainier-san, you were savedddd.¡± (Tomochika)

    The voice of the easygoing Tomochika was heard. It seemed that she hadn¡¯t worried that much from the start.

    ¡°Well, even if I fix my apology stones, it can¡¯t be helped if my arm is cut off at the beginning!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°¡­¡­If you cannot use it without holding it in your hand, it¡¯s the endgame if both arms are blown off¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    It seemed that Rainier had met unexpected difficulties in taking out a stone from his pocket, but it appeared that Tomochika helped him and he managed to avoid further problems.

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri suggested.

    Of course, there was no way that there was anyone who would object or something. It was because this room, in which corpses were scattered, was too bloody. There probably wasn¡¯t anyone who felt that they wanted to stay for long in such a ce.

    When they exited from the door that Teresa had been guarding, there was a descending staircase.

    There weren¡¯t any dangerous traps here. Yogiri, who judged so, stood in front, and descended down the staircase. There was a door at the ce they went down to, and letters were also written there.

    ¡ºSafe Area¡»

    Whether or not the meaning was literal wasn¡¯t known, but Yogiri, who didn¡¯t feel any danger in particr, opened the door.

    A woman in a maid dress was standing there.

    ¡°UwaAH!¡± (Rainier)

    The one who shouted was Rainier. The memory where he was killed by a woman in a maid dress was probably recalled.

    ¡°All candidates. First of all, congrattions on surviving. Battle is prohibited on this floor. Even with saying that, I don¡¯t mean that there are any restrictionsGeass. It will be a style of ¡®leaving it to the good sense of everyone¡¯. Of course, in the case where a vition of the rules is identified, you will be disqualified on the spot, so please be careful.¡± (Maid)

    It was a doll wearing a maid dress. What kind of construction it was wasn¡¯t known, but it seemed to be moving autonomously.

    ¡°As it seems we are safe for the time being, I want to talk. Isn¡¯t it better for you guys to not move together with us?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was permitting them to travel together for some reason or another, but the story changed if the trial was full of the malice so far.

    It had ended up with them killing each other when they entered the room at the beginning not long ago. If simr trials continued hereafter, it wouldn¡¯t be the case where they¡¯d make friends with them.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It seems the trial is more severe than what I had thought. But, is it really all right?¡± (Rick)

    ¡°We are okay.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I am too, well, if it is a ¡®safe area¡¯, I can replenish my apology stones if I wait untilte at night in this ce.¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Rainier-san, I don¡¯t have a feeling that ¡®you are all right¡¯ still, but¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    It seemed that Tomochika was worrying, but Yogiri was thinking that Rainier-san and the like were inconsequential. He had an uneasy conscience at him dying before his eyes, as one would expect, but he just thought that him dying arbitrarily in some way was that sort of thing.

    Of course, they could go forward while he killed all of the trials. It would be possible for everyone to advance safely if he did so, but Yogiri was thinking that he had no sense of duty to do that much.

    It was because Tomochika¡¯s safety was maximum priority.

    If it was himself, he could certainly protect himself. He would be able to manage somehow or another even with just Tomochika. However, if outsiders joined him, the risk rose immediately. While trying to protect them, he had to avoid only his warnings towards Tomochika being neglected.

    ¡°I understand. Then, shall I go a step ahead of you?¡± (Rick)

    If he was seriously aiming for Sword Saint, it wouldn¡¯t be the case where he¡¯d have a break in the early phases like this.

    It was because the Sword Saint said nothing but ¡®go down the tower¡¯, but if you thought about it normally, the evaluation of those who went down quickly should go up.

    ¡°It¡¯d be nice if we didn¡¯t happen to meet in the trial after this.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I pray that it won¡¯t be so. Then, best of luck.¡± (Rick)

    Rick advanced as it was, and Yogiri and others decided to stay in this ce.

    The sage Aoi was walking to get out of the Forest of Demonic Beasts.

    In the back, a plump boy named Hanakawa Daimon was following her.

    ¡°For that reason, that Rikuto rascal branded me as pig-kun. No, maybe you think that there is no reason for me to be saved and haveints!? Well, that even the lovely looking elven girls branded me a pig, it might be a strange thing because of that!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Even if she saved him, she hadn¡¯t also said to follow her, but Hanakawa was walking behind Aoi involuntarily.

    At first, Aoi had thought that it was inconsequential. At most, they¡¯d get on the airship at the ce that they left the forest. Until then, she didn¡¯t mind being used to avoid the monsters.

    However, she wasn¡¯t able to disregard him when the names ¡®Yogiri Takatou¡¯ and ¡®Tomochika Dannoura¡¯ appeared in his story.

    It was because those two people were her next targets.

    ¡°You were ordered to wait for orders in the forest, correct? Is that okay?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Gufufufu~!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa floated a really poor-looking smile. Aoi, just a little, thought about whether or not to kill him in this ce because he was irritating.

    ¡°Would there be such a thing! To tell you the truth, this very cor! It was configured so that the very effect would be cut in three days! It was the extent of ¡®it is necessary to continue overwriting the very orders constantly¡¯! For three days, I put up with the unreasonable order! It was a plot of ¡®when theypletely trusted me, I would cut off their heads as they slept¡¯! No way had I expected the neglect y in the forest!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Heehh. I¡¯ll say it just in case, but don¡¯t turn an item of that trick to me, okay?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°N, no way, such a thing, I hadn¡¯t considered it just now at all!¡± (Hanakawa)

    It seemed he had thought about it from that impatience.

    ¡°Well, if you can leave this forest, it¡¯s convenient. Will youe with me?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Yes? Eh, no, um, for me, boku girls aren¡¯t that much of a preference. For now, if I can leave the forest, I¡¯ll feel good with that!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I¡¯ve only heard uncertain information about the two people. If you have witnessed that guy¡¯s ability, it might be useful.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°That, if it¡¯s something like that, I¡¯ll tell you all of it! Takatou exined his ability with a feeling it was made ambiguous some time ago, if done unwillingly, it maybe could raise the value in the distant futureee, and because it is a wicked thought like that, it isn¡¯t particrly something like ¡®I want to follow you¡¯! Or perhaps I should say, I think that I might be killed the second I meet that guy!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Yup. The value will increase sufficiently. I am a sage. Almost everything can be obtained.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°So, it isn¡¯t necessary to follow you!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I¡¯ll go towards his area after this. Tell me the story while moving.¡± (Aoi)

    They exited the forest while they were walking as they talked.

    A in was spread out there.

    It was called the Dragon¡¯s in, and was the ce where the sage Shion summoned the senior high school students during their school trip from a parallel world.

    In the in, a disk-type airship was anchored.

    The hatch opened when Aoi and others approached, and stairs came down.

    ¡°Then, shall we go?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Noooooo! Absolutely, I will absolutely be killed! I don¡¯t want to meet him ever again anymoreee!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Aoi thrust her knife at Hanakawa, who disliked it.

    ¡°Fuufufufuu~! Even if you threaten a thing like this!? I am a healer, so I can recover where I was wounded by a knife of that extent in an instant!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see my fight? I can invalidate your ability, would you like to try it?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Why is everyone that appears in front of me just an irregr cheat bastard!? What kind of sheet video game is it, this parallel world! Didn¡¯t they think about game bnceee!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Well, if you are able to see it from my point of view, bnce is attained in a certain meaning.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°You say that, but if you can invalidate abilities, my information and the like aren¡¯t needed!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean that my ability is omnipotent; after understanding what kind of opponent it is, I need to think about how to deal with them. Because it¡¯s like that, get on quickly.¡± (Aoi)

    While pushing the opposing Hanakawa into the ne, she boarded.

    Where it was heading towards was the Galura Canyon. It was the ce where Yogiri and others went to.

 Chapter 9 - Think of it as a common kind of ghost story at an old inn

    <h4>Chapter 9 - Think of it as amon kind of ghost story at an old inn</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    Entering the room that he was guided to, Rainier looked around inside.

    It was apact room with only onergish bed. It shouldn¡¯t have been an establishment that was used frequently, but it was thoroughly maintained.

    He checked the time disy that was always indicated at the edge of his field of vision.

    23:50.

    A bit longer and the day would change, but he couldn¡¯t be negligent. If he was safe with the extent of secluding himself in his room, he wouldn¡¯t have returned to death many times over until here.

    From when he began to challenge the Sword Saint¡¯s trial, he¡¯d died fifteen times. He returned to the royal capital each time, and struggled on until here finally.

    Why did he expresslye to this ce knowing that he¡¯d die? The reason was simple: it was because he¡¯d die even if he was in the royal capital.

    Rainier was being targeted by someone, and he was killed without fail no matter where he escaped to.

    However, the barrier in this ce seemed to have an effect that obstructed that someone¡¯s recognition, and there wasn¡¯t a way to be killed by them if he came to this ce.

    ¡°I want you to update my save point reasonably, okay?¡± (Rainier)

    However, the return point from death was only a trifle adjustment of the goddess, so it was something that couldn¡¯t be helped for Rainier.

    He sat on the bed and waited.

    00:00. The date changed without anything, and the mail icon lit up at the edge of his field of vision.

    ¡¾Apology¡¿Regarding the status abnormality that considerably harmed the game bnce

    He opened the gift box without reading, as it was the usual title.

    It contained one hundred star crystals.

    Rainier inclined his head. It was because it was avish hospitality that didn¡¯t correspond to the degree of today¡¯s misfortune.

    When he checked the mail box, another mail had been delivered.

    ¡¾Notice¡¿20th anniversarymemoration gift of the service start!

    It appeared that twenty years had passed already since he reincarnated in this world.

    When he read and looked at the email, eighty star crystals were provided for the 20thmemoration.

    A UR guaranteed gacha was being held, and Rainier decided to try it at once. By the way, the degree of rarity became bigger in the order of: C, R, SSR, UR.

    As carrying the star crystals was troublesome if he materialized all of the them, he took out five¡ªthe necessary number¡ªfrom his gift box, and they appeared in the palm of his hand.

    He grasped them tightly and prayed silently, and the space before his eyes started to shine.

    Rainier shut his eyes at the too bright shining. It was his first experience, but this, for sure, was probably the production of a guaranteed UR.

    When the light lessened, a woman was standing before Rainier¡¯s eyes.

    Even while her body was dressed in wonderful clothing, the woman was disying excessive exposure of her voluptuous body.

    Her entire body was shining gold, and was even springing forth a mysterious effect, where something was falling as if dancing, that glistened in the surroundings.

    It would be possible to say ¡®Certainly, it is an appropriate appearance for a UR¡®.

    However, Rainier hadn¡¯t felt ¡®blessing¡¯ in that woman at all.

    ¡°Aah¡­¡­how sweet-smelling the scent of that person is¡­¡­as if I am being embraced by that person¡­¡­¡± (Woman)

    It was because the woman ignored such things as Rainier, and her facial expression became one of in-a-trance.

    Moreover, he had a recollection of that woman. She, was the goddess that had made Rainier¡¯s luck into the worst setting.

    ¡°Um¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    As he felt like he would be ignored no matter how long he was silent, Rainier spoke to the goddess timidly.

    ¡°Ah, sorry. I was in a trance from breathing in and then overflowing with feelings just now.¡± (Woman->Goddess)

    The goddess, who took a deep breath, turned to Rainier.

    ¡°Why did you appear?¡± (Rainier)

    He had met the goddess when he died and since then. He also received hints on how to survive asionally, but that was the degree of their rtionship.

    ¡°Aah! That¡¯s simple. I simply just wanted toe here and look. I¡¯ll return shortly.¡± (Goddess)

    ¡°Um, my URrade¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Sorry~. You prematurely celebrated. This is a duplicate body, so it has almost no powerr. Moreover, I am using most of the resources in directing itt.¡± (Goddess)

    ¡°Is the directing doing the *sparkle sparkle* sparkling, or is it doing the *fluffy fluffy* like an angel¡¯s rainment¡­¡­no, that¡¯s fine, but if that¡¯s the case, then exin so from the beginning¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°The official stance is necessary, on the system. If I came here forcibly, they¡¯ll absolutely notice, and everything will be spoiled. By being summoned by you, I¡¯ll take form and avoid various things.¡± (Goddess)

    He didn¡¯t understand it well, but Rainier took it as such.

    ¡°Certainly there¡¯s no way a guy who doesn¡¯t understand the reason will follow it, but what should I do after this?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you do as you like? I am providing you with power, so why not enjoy freely using it and living your life in a parallel world?¡± (Goddess)

    ¡°The ¡®power¡¯, is it the drunken staggering castawayrandom walk? Hey, the situation is different every time, so my previous time¡¯s knowledge isn¡¯t useful at all. Even this time, I apanied different people thanst time.¡± (Rainier)

    The star crystals were nothing butpensation in regards to his luck to the bitter end. The power that was given to Rainier, was to ¡®do over again¡¯ from a little before each time he died.

    ¡°Of course, there are also types of abilities ¡®to do the same situation over and over again¡¯. If I didn¡¯t very skillfully give a power of this type, you¡¯d be fine immediately? I think that this one is better still. If you repeat it over and over again, there is a likelihood that the initial arrangement will result in a good feeling and you¡¯ll survive sessfully.¡± (Goddess)

    ¡°Um, the one who said e to this ce¡¯ is you, right?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Not particrly? I just gave you a hint, and what you did about it was up to you?¡± (Goddess)

    He wondered if it was really like that. Even the easygoing Rainier had started to think about whether or not the ¡°goddess¡¯ hints¡± weren¡¯t mere guidance.

    The goddess wanted toe here.

    However, the reason wasn¡¯t known, even her intentions of using Rainier weren¡¯t known.

    ¡°Well, in that case, if you are troubled, because you havee to such a ce, why not also try to aim for Sword Saint for now?¡± (Goddess)

    ¡°That¡¯s unreasonable. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll do it over again. Isn¡¯t it dangerous even inside of the barrier?¡± (Rainier)

    Certainly, him being killed by someone hadn¡¯t happened, but the danger of this tower wouldn¡¯t change too much. It was even possible to say that the situation was growing worse in proportion to the ces being limited.

    ¡°Ah, that is impossible now. The situation of until here was finalized at the point it time that I observed it. In other words, the save point is this room.¡± (Goddess)

    ¡°Something like that¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier became frightened. With this, it was the same as being trapped in this tower.

    ¡°See ya. I¡¯ll leave behind this body and go. It will disintegrate in a few hours, but you can use it as you like until then.¡± (Goddess)

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°It¡¯s rtively easy to send things into this world, but difficult to take them out. That¡¯s why I am controlling this body remotely. Well, it¡¯s like that.¡± (Goddess)

    Then, the goddess¡¯ body copsed like a doll whose strings were cut.

    It didn¡¯t seem to have died, but there was no will of the goddess in that. There was merely a lump of flesh left behind.

    ¡°Takatou-kun. I¡¯ll say it in advance just to be sure, but it isn¡¯t just us two. Mokomoko-san is also¡­¡­Mokomoko-san!?¡± (Tomochika)

    It was the room they were guided to by the maid doll.

    As one would expect, it was a problem to be separated in such a suspicious tower, so Yogiri and Tomochika were in the same room.

    It was apact room with only onergish bed.

    ¡°She¡¯s not there.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Even though she always darts about before our eyes to the point that it¡¯s annoying, she disappears only at a time like this!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika looked around the room in a panic.

    There she was.

    Mokomoko had half-sunken into the wall.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºHmm. For me, it seemed like something I should do. I thought that I¡¯ll consider your feelings and make my figure disappear, but I was just a little interested, so I thought to do so and secretly peak.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°You¡¯re halfway!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºDon¡¯t mind me. Look, think of it as amon kind of ghost story at an old inn.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Me minding it is inevitable! Why are you taking off your clothes, Takatou-kun! Aren¡¯t you too hasty!?¡± (Tomochika)

    While she was quarrelling with Mokomoko, Yogiri had entered the room, and was trying to take off his uniform.

    ¡°Hmm? I¡¯m going to change into pajamas.¡± (Yogiri)

    Tomochika and others came into here practically empty-handed. Pajamas and underwear had been prepared in the room.

    ¡ºHohou? Aren¡¯t you not as dissatisfied as you would have me believe?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°What!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºYou said that it was ¡®quick¡¯. Would it be fine if you take your time slowly, fully, and stickily? Hmm?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Mokomoko-san is already silent.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºWell, it inevitable in a ce where I stirred up uninterested people.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko pointed to the bed.

    Yogiri, who finished changing his clothes quickly and entered the bed, was raising sleeping breaths.

    ¡°What is this guy¡­¡­is he interested in me or not, which one is it¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    It seemed like Tomochika was an idiot for making a racket alone.

    As it couldn¡¯t be helped even if she stood by the entrance forever, Tomochika also approached the bed and vigorously sat down.

    The bed shook greatly, but Yogiri remained sound asleep.

    ¡ºWell, setting that aside. This tower is suspicious for some reason.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well I¡¯ve realized that as well.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºIt seems like a device or something, but it isn¡¯t a physical problem like that. To tell you the truth, since we¡¯vee here, this tower has been trying to take me away!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°¡­¡­I wonder what it intends to do by taking away you like this¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    It was Mokomoko speaking while putting on airs, but it was the first time that Tomochika was interested.

    ¡ºIs it difficult to keep talking when you¡¯re worried a little?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Umm, I thought it was inconsequential intuitively, but it¡¯s a bit unfavorable if Mokomoko-san is gone.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºY, yeah. That¡¯s it. It seems that it is trying to gather the souls of the deceased in one ce.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Eh? Is that all right?¡± (Tomochika)

    Leaving Mokomoko aside, if that was intentional for some reason, it seemed to Tomochika like it was a very evil plot.

    ¡ºIf it is me, it¡¯s no big deal. But, there are a lot of suspicious things. Pay close enough attention.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me to be careful.¡± (Tomochika)

    Even if she said so, it was too vague, and there wasn¡¯t anything in particr that she could do now.

    She nced at Yogiri. He truly had an innocent and defenseless sleeping face, Tomochika thought it was a little cute.

    ¡°Well, leaving that aside¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Although Yogiri was sleeping, Tomochika started to worry whether or not she could change her clothes in this ce.

 Chapter 10 - In this situation, to summon her for such a thing

    <h4>Chapter 10 - In this situation, to summon her for such a thing</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    The maid doll, who was staring at the dimly shining wall, inclined her head.

    There were no big problems in the progress of the Sword Saint selection, and there were no subjects that should be dealt with urgently. However, several points to worry about existed. Even if it wasn¡¯t enough to remove them one by one, if they piled up too much, it bes a problem with that.

    This ce was the tower¡¯s basement.

    It was a room made of stone about 10 meters in every direction, with one side opened wide. From there, you were able to confirm the canyon, and the figures of the Devil and its kin. This room existed on the cliff¡¯s edge.

    Though the moonlight entered, the interior of the room was dim. However, the image projected onto the surface of the wall was dimly illuminating the area. Information about the tower¡¯s inside and barrier was indicated on that.

    This ce was the center that controlled the entirety of the tower, and was the ce that became the cornerstone of the Devil-sealing barrier.

    ¡°What kind of thing is it?¡± (Sword Saint)

    In that ce, an old man¡ªthe Sword Saint¡ªappeared.

    ¡°The process of the selection is favorable. But, there are several parts to worry about. First of all is the situation outside of the first barrier. Movements of several people were observed. The particrs are unknown.¡± (Maid)

    The first barrier was arge structure which covered the tower¡¯s circumference, concealing the tower and the Devil.

    There was no way to perceive the barrier from inside to outside, and observation of the circumference¡¯s state of affairs was done by means of periodic reconnaissance. Automatic dolls simr to the maid dolls were being sent in, but nothing was known beyond that there were people wandering around in the surroundings.

    ¡°There¡¯s no choice but to look at the situation. It also could be that someone¡¯s just passing through.¡± (Sword Saint)

    But, there wasn¡¯t someone that¡¯de to the canyon, which was separated from human habitation, with no intentions. It seemed that there was a need for vignce.

    ¡°Next, is within the tower: the deceased on the first day are more than usual. Arge part of this is due to Teresa-sama¡ªthe roaring swordswoman.¡± (Maid)

    ¡°I was able to expect that it¡¯d result in this when she was mixed. But at any rate, just about everyone will die. It¡¯ll be sooner orter.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you kill everyone at once?¡± (Maid)

    The maid doll asked what she had been wondering about from before.

    Souls were necessary to maintain the barrier, and it was necessary for people to die inside the tower to obtain souls. If it wasn¡¯t indirect, then he should have massacred everyone when they entered the tower.

    ¡°That¡¯s simple. It¡¯s because the Sword Saint selection is real. There are too many people who die in the selection, so it¡¯s just right to maintain the barrier. So? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s more problems than usual.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°Teresa-sama died.¡± (Maid)

    ¡°You don¡¯t care about who dies, do you?¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. But, the readings don¡¯t match. What appears to be Teresa-sama isn¡¯t included in the spirits that were collected.¡± (Maid)

    ¡°¡­¡­Hmm. If her death is real, she may have turned into a ghost before the tower absorbed her.¡± (Sword Saint)

    If soul was the energy to drive the body, it was said that spirit was themand tower governing the mind. Both diffused after death, but there was a possibility that the spirit remained as it was, which happened in the cases of high-ranking magicians and swordsmen.

    ¡°Teresa-sama¡¯s corpse is being checked, but the cause of death isn¡¯t known.¡± (Maid)

    The current state of the tower could be known in this room, but incidents that happened in the past couldn¡¯t be grasped.

    ¡°For now, there is a surplus in the spirit amount needed to maintain the barrier. But, if simr things ur again and again from now on, it might get dangerous.¡± (Maid)

    A good quality spirit could boost the force of the soul many fold. It was an essential element to maintain the barrier.

    ¡°There are several years worth of savings at the present time. It isn¡¯t a problem right now.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°Rather, the problem is probably the yorishiro. It will reach its limit before long. This also isn¡¯t ¡®necessary¡¯ right now, but it seems like the spare is a little unreliable with three people.¡± (Maid)

    ¡°Hmm. Come to think of it, there was someone who used magic proudly. Can¡¯t we use them?¡± (Sword Saint)

    What the Sword Saint was talking about was the girl who fired her magic at the Devil on the rooftop.

    The maid doll checked the girl¡¯s current position.

    The girl was resting on the 80th floor. The tower consisted of 100 floors, and she was still far from the 1st floor, but it seemed she was clearing the trial favorably.

    ¡°What shall we do?¡± (Maid)

    ¡°Continue the selection for the time being, but recover her when it looks like she¡¯ll die. She¡¯ll be useful if she lives. So, any other points that worry you?¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°Yes. There was an intruder into the tower due to a summon technique.¡± (Maid)

    ¡°That feels pretty important, but is it enough to worry about?¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°Yes. What was summoned was the body of a woman who doesn¡¯t have any power in particr, and the practitioner amounts to sexual activity.¡± (Maid)

    ¡°They have a lot of nerve. In this situation, to summon her for such a thing.¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saint said, as though in admiration. Summoning wasn¡¯t something that could be done simply like that, it required enormous magical power. He probably hadn¡¯t imagined that it would be used for only letting out sexual desire.

    ¡°There is one more point to worry about inside the tower. Master is among the candidates.¡± (Maid)

    ¡°Hmm? Your master is me, right?¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°No. It is Grand Sorcerer Igleshia-sama, my creator.¡± (Maid)

    ¡°That guy, he fought the devil a thousand years ago, didn¡¯t he? He¡¯s still alive?¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°The particrs aren¡¯t known, but I cannot mistake Master for someone else.¡± (Maid)

    ¡°I won¡¯t say ¡®I refuse¡¯ to those whoe. Do they know that it¡¯s the selection of the Sword Saint, those guys?¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saint said, as if amazed.

    From what the maid doll saw, those who could be called ¡°genuine swordsmen¡± among the candidates were half. If they had ability, there were no problems no matter what their background was, but it would be troubling if they weren¡¯t able to use a sword, despite being called the Sword Saint.

    ¡°Lastly, about the Devil¡¯s kin. An unique individual is trying to slip out of the second barrier. The estimated time that they¡¯ll break through the boundary is noon three days from now.¡± (Maid)

    What was sealing the Devil was the second barrier, and the central part, where the Devil was, was the most effective. And the effect became thinner the more you were separated from the center. In other words, the kin in the surroundings would slip out from the barrier sooner orter.

    For that reason, the Sword Saint hadn¡¯t been able to leave the tower for a long time. It was because the duty of the Sword Saint was to kill the kin that appeared now and then.

    ¡°Should I let it be defeated by the candidates? They can try to defeat the kin and y the role of Sword Saint or something.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°It seems troublesome, doesn¡¯t it?¡± (Maid)

    ¡°We have so many people, right? What will be done without using them.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°Who do I need to take into consideration?¡± (Maid)

    ¡°Somewhat useful people who will die in the trial.¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saint went towards thergly-made aperture. The maid doll stood next to him.

    What the Sword Saint was observing, was the space where the canyon was spherically hollowed out. In the center, there was the Devil and the Holy Queen.

    And, in the surroundings were all the kin who had fought together with the Devil.

    Their movement wasn¡¯t to the degree that it was seen by the eye. However, they were certainly approaching here.

    ¡°A human type? That¡¯s troubling.¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saint *murmur* muttered.

    It was smiling.

    It, which was approaching here the most, was something in the shape of a person.

 Chapter 11 - Iâ€™m not a woman tasteless to the point of complaining about how you saved me

    <h4>Chapter 11 - I¡¯m not a woman tasteless to the point ofining about how you saved me</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    There¡¯s no way that I can sleep in a situation like this.

    Tomochika had thought so, but it seemed that she¡¯d fallen asleep before she knew it.

    And, before she realized it, Yogiri was clinging to her.

    ¡°Wha!?¡± (Tomochika)

    She awoke instantly. But, it didn¡¯t mean that she became calm.

    Certainly, she was able to understand the situation. However, nothing more than the reality of Yogiri was burying his face in Tomochika¡¯s rich breasts was understood, and there was no way that she could be calm or something in such a situation.

    Tomochika knew a few effective techniques even from her current situation of being glued together. It would be possible for her to make Yogiri feel severe pain and shake and untangle herself.

    She was about to try to do so immediately, but Tomochika changed her mind.

    Yogiri was sleeping. In other words, he was doing it unconsciously, and had neither ill intent nor lewd feelings.

    There was just something soft, so he probably just snuggled up to it.

    When she considered so, she hesitated to behave too roughly.

    Under the faint light, she quietly checked Yogiri¡¯s face.

    As usual he had an innocent face, and it was bing more and more stupid-ish to make a fuss over it.

    Besides, Tomochika also had a feeling that Yogiri, who was sleeping well, might react using his power, and that, in other words, would be towards her.

    Then, if she could give some sort of peace of this degree to Yogiri, wasn¡¯t it fine? She reached such a feeling, but when she casually averted her gaze, her eyes met with something.

    ¡°KYAAAAAA!¡± (Tomochika)

    Something was emerging from the wall. When she set into confusion, the something called out to her.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s me! Don¡¯t be surprised at each and every thing!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Mokomoko-san? You¡¯ve been like that the entire time since then!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºIt¡¯s like that.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°¡­¡­hm?¡± (Yogiri)

    Whether or not she made too much noise, Yogiri woke up. Tomochika jumped back in a panic.

    ¡°I mean! When you look at it after you¡¯ve forgotten, you¡¯ll seriously be scared as you¡¯re half-sticking out from the wall, so stop it!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºWell, actually. I cannot leave it to get out.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºHmm. I said that it was trying to absorb the spirit kind, didn¡¯t I?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Aah, you did say that. You were full of confidence and said ¡®If it is me, it¡¯ll be fine¡¯.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºIt looks like souls are being gathered through the walls and floors of the tower. When it oveps in the wall, there is a reasonable amount of suction power. Well, I was worrying about whether or not I could leave sooner orter, but it reached the point that I severely felt ¡°This is bad¡±.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°It was a short friendship, but I won¡¯t forget it. I mean, it was an impact that won¡¯t be forgotten, my ancestor.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika put her hands together at Mokomoko. Though it could be said that she was helpful once, she was a gloomy existence to continue to stay around for a while. She didn¡¯t feel that much attachment.

    ¡ºI want you to not abandon me readily!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°But, it cannot be helped? You even said ¡®it absorbs spirits¡¯ or something like that.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThere¡¯s the youngster, right!? Hey, please do something!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Hm¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    It appeared that Yogiri was still half asleep.

    ¡°Hey. I think you¡¯ll seed in some way or another?¡± (Tomochika)

    As one would expect, she¡¯d have an uneasy conscience if she abandoned her as is. Tomochika exined to Yogiri the details on how it turned into a thing like this.

    ¡°It¡¯s like that¡­¡­I guess it¡¯ll work out somehow if I kill that sucking feature-like thing. But, I guess there¡¯s a reason it¡¯s being done, and I think doing such a thing of my own ord might be¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri looked at Mokomoko. It seemed that he decided his resolution immediately.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll give more priority to Mokomoko-san than those guys of this tower.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Can you do it?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I¡¯m not being targeted, so it¡¯s hard to narrow down the target¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri put his hand on the wall.

    ¡°Certainly, there¡¯s a feeling like some kind of spirit is being sucked in. Then, how about this?¡± (Yogiri)

    Just as he spoke, Mokomoko came flying from the wall.

    ¡ºOou! I thought I might die!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°But you died a long time ago.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºYou¡¯re surprisingly cold-hearted towards your ancestor!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°But, it¡¯s be more and more awkward.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri looked a little disheartened.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°On top of killing the Devil, I broke the function of the tower, though only a part, haven¡¯t I? I think it might be better to leave this ce quickly before theyin.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We came to a ce like this for some reason, but we aren¡¯t staying too long.¡± (Tomochika)

    She looked outside through the window. The sun was rising.

    ¡®I want to finish this quickly and leave during today¡¯, Tomochika thought.

    ¡°We¡¯re calm in this situation, shall we discuss about the matters after this?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Really? Is this situation where we¡¯re facing each other on the bed calm?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said so dissatisfied for some reason.

    Even if she said so, they slept soundly and their heads felt clear, and to Yogiri it seemed that this situation would be the most suitable for a discussion.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine. What is the ¡®discussion¡¯?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°First of all, I guess our big objective. To return to our former world. At worst, even if it¡¯s just the two of us.¡± (Yogiri)

    When he said ¡®the worst¡¯, Yogiri was thinking ¡®if only Tomochika can return¡¯. But, Tomochika would oppose if he said so.

    ¡°The medium objective is knowing how to return to our former world.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°We are aiming for the royal capital for that reason, aren¡¯t we? We want to meet the sage Shion and ask her the story, right? So, we are aiming to link up with everyone. You said ¡®even if just the two of us¡¯, but would you do so if everyone in the ss can return?¡± (Tomochika)

    Their ssmates were carrying out missions assigned to them by the sage Shion. If they could progress the missions sessfully, Shion would reveal herself sooner orter. It was Shion who summoned Yogiri and others to this world. There was also a possibility they¡¯d hear about the return method.

    ¡°I won¡¯t go out of my way to do something like abandoning them. However, it won¡¯t necessarily go smoothly ¡®because we linked up with everyone¡¯. That¡¯s why I came to this ce.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Eh? Why?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee that we can meet the sages, and we won¡¯t necessarily talk to her upfrontly. Besides, maybe we¡¯re stuck being summoned and she doesn¡¯t know the way to return. That¡¯s why anything is okay, so it is necessary to gather information about this world for now. The Sword Saint is famous-ish and I thought it might be some kind of clue.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri, before they came here, had heard that the Sword Saint was an existence that was equal-like to the sages. He had thought ¡®if I hear something¡¯, but what was unfolding here was a killing in regard to the next era¡¯s Sword Saint. He was beginning to think that maybe it wasn¡¯t necessary to go along with it any more than this.

    ¡°Ah, is that right? But I thought it was surely for receiving instruction on how exit the canyon.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I have a general guess about that. I could grasp the rough terrain because I could survey the canyon from the rooftop. How about you, Mokomoko-san?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºYeah. I was able to fly even further in the sky and see it. I roughly know the path to exit the canyon.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Eh? Perhaps it was just me who was looking at the scenery in a daze on the rooftop? ¡­¡­Ah, which reminds me, didn¡¯t the robot say what it¡¯d be like to return if we knew the coordinates?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika spoke as if to hide that she was astonished.

    ¡ºTo return to our former world, energy is needed in addition to the coordinates. That robot left a part of himself as an anchor in his world. For that reason, it is possible for him to return to his original world with minimal energy, but we don¡¯t have that. For example, this ce is the very bottom of the world, the bottom of the ocean. It is easy to sink, but enormous amounts of energy is required to rise.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°An anchor like a ship¡¯s anchor, right? Because it is like a cord, it¡¯s connected?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika offered a guess. Certainly, even if she exined so, it was difficult to imagine.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. This is metaphor to the bitter end, but that robot has something like a lifeline to its former world. And it is able to return home by pulling that.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Energy, huh? Even if you say so¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    They didn¡¯t know what amount was necessary, nor the way to prepare it.

    ¡ºThere may be a hint about it in the tower. I also wasn¡¯t just burying myself in the wall. I was searching for the flow of power.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Eeeh? Something like that, it¡¯s suspiciously postscript?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºYou¡¯re noisy! It¡¯s in that. It seems that the spirits of the deceased are being gathered in one ce. Perhaps they are using it to maintain the barrier. I don¡¯t know what amount of power the Devil and so on have, but enormous amounts of energy would be necessary to continue binding time enough to where it seems to be stopped.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°But, as one would expect, I don¡¯t want to kill people and collect them.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, if there was another way to amass or collect with a way like that, it may be something that can be used for something. Yogiri beared that in mind.

    ¡°As one would expect, huh.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°So, the small goal at present is to link up with everyone in the ss, who are heading towards the royal capital still, but for that, we have to go down the tower first.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It became the obvious, huh.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°So, I want you to be prepared. I¡¯ll kill the people who seem to be enemies that we meet from now on without question.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that as usual?¡± (Tomochika)

    As Tomochika¡¯s face became one of looking nkly, Yogiri¡¯s feelings were hurt a little bit.

    ¡°I always try to not kill whatever is okay to not kill as much as possible. But, those guys who are aiming for Sword Saint in the tower are brimming with the intent to kill the other participants. If you hesitate, you¡¯ll be killed.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s toote to say that. As for preparedness, I¡¯m ready. ¡®If Takatou-kun uses his power, it¡¯s the same as me doing it¡¯. I thought so from the very beginning.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºYeah. Don¡¯t make fun of a daughter of a samurai!¡»(Mokomoko)

    This time, Yogiri¡¯s face became one of looking nkly. No way, he never thought that she had that much preparedness.

    ¡°You¡¯re saving me, I¡¯m not a woman tasteless to the point ofining about how you saved me, okay? Well, I think I¡¯ll do it in moderation.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡®Still, it might not mean always positive¡¯, Tomochika spoke as if to add that.

    ¡°¡­¡­Come to think of it, I¡¯m hungry. I haven¡¯t eaten at all since yesterday.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡®Does that mean she trusts me?¡¯, Yogiri, who got awkward as one would expect, said so as though to hide it.

    ¡°Um, it seems like an unreasonable story by nature to search for a person without any kind of clue in such a ce.¡± (Hanakawa)

    Around when the sun started to faintly glow light. Hanakawa Daimon was walking behind Aoi, who was walking full of confidence.

    In regards to Yogiri Takatou and others, as far as what was known was conveyed inside of the flying saucer, but still he hadn¡¯t been released.

    The flying saucernded in the middle of the canyon, and from there the two people were walking.

    That Yogiri and others headed towards the canyon was something investigated in the town of Hanabusa, where they stopped by at on the way. She knew he would be here because not much time had passed from his departure.

    However, even if that was said, the canyon was extensivelyplicated. At least, a clue couldn¡¯t be found with just searching from the skies in the flying saucer.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. I know the general ce where the event is likely to happen.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°It¡¯s an awfully meta story! Is your head all right!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡ºOi. Don¡¯t get too carried away?¡»(Knife)

    That voice came from the knife pouch on Aoi¡¯s waist. The knife inside was talking.

    ¡°Fu, fufun! Being threatened by a knife that can¡¯t move by itself isn¡¯t scary at all!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Well, if you say ¡®meta¡¯, then it¡¯s a meta story. I can look down at fate. In other words, if ¡®this world is a movie¡¯, I can peek at the script.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°No no no, then there wasn¡¯t any need to listen to my story or bring me along or anything like that!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple either. Ifpared to a movie, I guess I should say there are several protagonists, and chaotic matters like various scenarios that are moving simultaneously. It cannot be read and understood simply like that, and the scenario changes its aspectsplicatedly ording to the situation. Look, it came.¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi pointed to the sky. Within the very dim light, only that ce was shining.

    A huge dragon d in lightning was floating there.

    ¡°What is that!? That is clearly wearing a ¡®strong man appearance¡¯!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa felt the difference in status the second he saw it.

    There was no chance of winning.

    If it breathed out even a breath, it was over with that alone. Judging from its appearance, it would do a thunder attack. It was impossible to even avoid such a thing, and with Hanakawa¡¯s defensive power, him being instant killed was decided.

    ¡°Let¡¯s run away! Aoi-sama¡¯s ability won¡¯t win against such a thing!¡± (Hanakawa)

    It was difficult to run away when it was facing them at this range. But, even Aoi shouldn¡¯t have a way or something to fight a battle against an opponent that was floating in the air.

    ¡°Eh? Why can¡¯t it be won if it¡¯s me?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°With Aoi-sama¡¯s ability, you cannot win against primitive creatures!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa had witnessed Aoi¡¯s fight in the Forest of Demonic Beasts. Aoi had used the same power as the cheat rascal Rikuto then, and also negated it.

    It would be something for opposing the power of postscript. He couldn¡¯t imagine that it¡¯d pass towards a creature that was strong from the start.

    ¡°Aah, you¡¯re having some kind of misunderstanding. This sort of fellow is simple.¡± (Aoi)

    And, Aoi spoke.

    ¡°Such a huge living thing doesn¡¯t fly in the sky, now does it?¡± (Aoi)

    Just as she spoke, the dragon began to fall. Even the dragon itself probably didn¡¯t know what was happening.

    The dragon glided in some way or another, and crashed into the cliff. It somehow avoided just falling below the cliff.

    ¡°My ability is simple. Bnce Of Power is just the ability to change an event as I believe.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°So you¡¯re beyond a cheat!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa couldn¡¯t think of it as anything but an unreasonable ability. With that, it would be the ultimate ability of everything.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t like that. What I cannot believe cannot be realized.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°I, is that so? W, well, anyway, does that mean that this guy can be defeated?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa approached the dragon.

    Itsrge build was somehow leaning over the path of the cliff edge.

    Although its head was huge, to the extent that it looked like it could swallow the likes of Hanakawa in one gulp, whether or not it was turning its eyes, its mouth had opened loosely and its tongue was thrown out.

    ¡°Fu, fufun. Does that mean it¡¯s nothing more than a gigantic lizard if it¡¯s be like this?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s dangerous to approach carelessly?¡± (Aoi)

    Munch.

    The dragon suddenly got up and closed its mouth.

    What was after Hanakawa¡¯s right elbow disappeared instantly.

    ¡°GYAAA! Wh, what is it!¡± (Hanakawa)

    But, Hanakawa was also familiar with this degree of injury. His experiences in passing through scenes of carnage as a healer weren¡¯t just for show.

    He immediately restored his right arm, and flew back right away.

    ¡°It¡¯s as you said some time ago. It¡¯s a gigantic lizard, but I think it is dangerous with just ¡®a gigantic lizard¡¯?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Then, do it with that ability somehow!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I can¡¯t. I think that ¡®it isn¡¯t strange even if a lizard-like thing is about this big¡¯. I cannot deny that.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Then what will you do!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else to do but fight straightforwardly. Well, even I am strong as is, so it¡¯ll be all right.¡± (Aoi)

    Saying so, Aoi drew out her knife.

    He didn¡¯t know how strong she was, but Hanakawa thought that it was a very unreliable figure.

    But, Hanakawa wasn¡¯t able to see her ability.

    It was because, without Aoi even fighting, the head of the dragon was cut and flew off.

    ¡°Eh? Um, did you do something just now?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°No. But, this is inopportune. It may be the worst situation for me.¡± (Aoi)

    Something was standing where the dragon¡¯s head was, and it was being showered in the violently spewing blood.

    It was strange-looking.

    It had the figure of a person.

    But, its body that was wet with blood was covered in ck metal, and things that were neither needles nor des were protruding from the joints of its body.

    It was hard to think that a person was inside of that slender body. In other words, it was an existence like that.

    ¡°Hedgehog¡­¡­¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi *whisper* muttered.

    It was an existence that the sages called ¡®an aggressor¡¯.

 Chapter 12 - Iâ€™m challenged horizontally

    <h4>Chapter 12 - I¡¯m challenged horizontally</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    It was an existence simr to killing intent personified.

    The des that could grow on its entire body were probably installed just for ughter.

    Hanakawa couldn¡¯t take his eyes off from it, which was ominously beautiful. He couldn¡¯t do anything but continue to stare at it, but if he looked away, he¡¯d be decapitated instantly. He was being spurred on by such an unreasonable butpulsive idea.

    ¡°Won¡¯t it murdeerr anything and everything it sees! What will I do to that! But! There is sage-sama here! The likes of fellows of this degree aren¡¯t¡­¡­where are you, Aoi-sama!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa, who had been fixated on the strange-looking thing, noticed that Aoi¡¯s figure couldn¡¯t be seen.

    ¡°Why did it aim for the dragon, I wonder? It was bringing about an atmosphere like it is really killing at random, but then, the target should be either me or pig-kun.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Why are you behind me! Or rather, now it¡¯s natural to call me pig-kun!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I thought ¡®it is just right for hiding because his surface area isrge¡¯.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°It¡¯s that? Putting it another way politically, I am truly fat, right? Like I¡¯m challenged horizontally!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Aoi was hiding behind Hanakawa.

    But, if she intended to make him into a shield, it would be futile. It was because that monster would sh through Hanakawa as if he were a piece of paper.

    ¡°Huh? For the time being, there¡¯s something that seems to be an eye, right? I think that there might be some meaning in being out of its field of vision.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°There¡¯s absoluuutely no meaning! It¡¯s something like a sensor, so it grasps everything in the surroundings!¡± (Hanakawa)

    It was warped, but it was the base shape of a person. Two luminous spots were lit on its head, so those were probably its eyes. It may be something decorative, but ear and nose-like things were also attached.

    The existence of its mouth wasn¡¯t clear, but something like a thin line could be seen. It wouldn¡¯t be strange even if it opened that wide unexpectedly.

    ¡°Even if it is grasping it, it seems it has no intent to kill us at present. It would be easy for it to annihte us if it feels inclined to.¡± (Aoi)

    If you looked at its underfoot, there was traces like it dragged against the ground a little. It probably jumped over the cliff andnded while killing the dragon. That movement certainly didn¡¯t even remain in the eyes, and neither Hanakawa nor Aoi could perceive its movement.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you do it somehow!? Um, it will reach it either way if it¡¯s Aoi-sama¡¯s ability, won¡¯t it? Look, you should say ¡®that robot isn¡¯t there¡¯, like you did to the dragon!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Even if you say so, I can¡¯t. If it¡¯s that guy, it can¡¯t be helped if I think ¡®I will be able to do that''¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°It can¡¯t be used unexpectedly!? That ability!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s reasonably hard to use it freely.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°A-anyway, it¡¯s fine that were being motionless?¡± (Hanakawa)

    The likelihood of being noticed increased if they moved. Hanakawa considered it best to maintain the current state, as if excusing it.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s for some reason or another, but it seems like it is perplexed.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Is¡­¡­that so? Well, even if you say so, I can¡¯t see it¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    It was in a forward-bent-posture, and was standing stock still while bloodstained.

    Its appearance seemed like it was lost in deep thought, like it didn¡¯t understand fully why it killed the dragon.

    ¡°But, how long should we be motionless?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That guy, until it goes somewhere, I guess?¡± (Aoi)

    In any case, there was no choice but to look at the situation as is.

    ¡®Yeah¡¯, Hanakawa resolved himself, but it showed movements before long.

    They were quiet, no-hesitation movements, to the extent of being dreadful.

    It just walked several steps, and Hanakawa should have been actually watching that figure, but still he didn¡¯t fully understand when it moved.

    It seemed its aim was the dragon still. Before he realized it, it was standing near the head that was cut off and flew.

    And, it stabbed its hand through the top of the head. The de-shaped hand smoothly prated deeply without any resistance.

    ¡°That guy, what is it doing!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°The dragon is dead, and it isn¡¯t that he¡¯s dealing the finishing blow. From what is see, it¡¯s trying to acquire information from its brain?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°It is if we assume it is! There are approximately two people who have brains here as well!¡± (Hanakawa)

    What meaning that act actually had, Hanakawa and others didn¡¯t know.

    However, when the suspicious-looking thing pulled its hand from the dragon¡¯s head and turned its red eyes, Hanakawa was convinced he was dead.

    ¡°Breasts! If I¡¯ll die after all, can I touch your breasts! I¡¯m not too interested in ¡®boku~ girls¡¯! If it¡¯s like this, anything is fine now!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Not a chance.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°A, aaaaah, is it dogeza for the time being? Is the sincerity of the Japanese people understood globally!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    The confused Hanakawa immediately fell to his knees, and rubbed his head on the ground.

    However, there was a limit in continuing to avert his eyes from the horror there.

    Hanakawa couldn¡¯t bear it before long, raised his face, and *nce* looked at the surroundings.

    It had disappeared.

    ¡°Eh?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°It went somewhere.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Why? Perhaps it is the arranged pattern of ¡®from behind when we are negligent¡¯!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa checked the back, looked up at the sky, and peered into below the cliff. The figure of the strange-looking thing wasn¡¯t anywhere.

    ¡°Are¡­¡­are we saved?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°At present. Well, in the fate value, I couldn¡¯t imagine that we¡¯d die easily here.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Rather, wasn¡¯t Aoi-sama also extremely nervous!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    He didn¡¯t know whether she just didn¡¯t want to admit it or she truly maintained her normal mind, but Aoi ignored Hanakawa¡¯s point, and pointed at the distant sky.

    ¡°Some time ago, though for just an instant, a huge tower could be seen there.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°There looks to be nothing there?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Only thin clouds came to view in the daybreak sky.

    ¡°It was really for an instant. Although, it seemed that monster headed there for the moment. For now, let¡¯s also try to go there.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Are you sane! Despite being saved at great pains!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Although some kind of g seemed to have raised with the dragon as the cue, because that guy smashed it, the next clue is nothing else but that.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°NOOOOO! Send meee, homeee!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Aoi grabbed the nape of Hanakawa¡¯s neck while he squatted.

    ¡®She¡¯s stronger than I thought¡¯, Hanakawa was *drag* dragged while being unable to resist.

    ¡°This¡­¡­it is ying perfectly, huh?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s a little irritating.¡± (Tomochika)

    A dead-end passage.

    There was a box made of metal in front of Tomochika and Yogiri. GG.

    It was as big as an armful, and the lid was in semi-circr cylindrical shape: the so-called treasure chest. Both of them were gamers, so their expectations would rise, whether willing or not, if this box was before their eyes, but there was only one gold coin inside the box.

    ¡°This, is the setting for every trial I guess¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°If that¡¯s true, there are probably such things as locks in this¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    This ce, was the 50th floor of the tower.

    The rooftop was on the 100th floor, and the 99th floor was the ce they fought Teresa. The 89th floor, which was down one floor from there, was the ce that they lodged in in the safe area, and from there were levels that they descended continuously again.

    There wasn¡¯t a safe zone since the 98th floor, so naturally there was a possibility that they¡¯d be attacked by someone, but the two were easygoing.

    ¡°¡­¡­I really don¡¯t intend to side with the Sword Saint, and we¡¯re caught up in a trial we didn¡¯t want to ept. But, is it just a little, really just a little that I feel sorry in my mind?¡± (Tomochika)

    If originally, there probably was no need to go down the floors until here to see a treasure chest.

    On the way, there were locked rooms, passages with traps, and doors with a device attached to it like a mountain.

    Toe until here, it was supposed to be necessary for you to hunt around for necessary items and search for clues to solve the puzzles inside the tower.

    However, Yogiri went forward while killing every one of those.

    Fortunately, the correct route itself was simple. Thanks to that, they were able toe until here by just pushing on almost straight.

    ¡°Do you want to search?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t really want to, but I feel that this¡¯d be regrettable if we assume it is a game¡­¡­ahh, forget it! Let¡¯s go with this manner!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Areeen¡¯t you guys in surprisingly good shape?¡± (???)

    The voice was heard from the exit of the dead-end, and Tomochika turned around.

    The man walked slowly in the narrow passage.

    The man was wearing the skin of a beast, which seemed to be a beastman¡¯s.

    In ordance with that appearance, it was probably a battle style that imitated a beast. A very long w was attached to his hand, and was turning it towards Yogiri and others to show off.

    ¡°You even have the master key, right? Hand it over. In that case, the woman¡ª¡ª¡± (???->Man)

    ¡°Die.¡± (Yogiri)

    The man fell pitched forward, and stopped moving.

    ¡°Even this guy absolutely didn¡¯t have the ¡®Sword Saint¡¯ atmosphere!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°To have sold a fight, he¡¯s a surprising person in general.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was more unforgiving than usual, but it seemed that he was also taking Tomochika¡¯sment of ¡®do it in moderation¡¯ into ount. For the time being, it appeared that he was dealing with them after looking at the situation.

    ¡°I wonder what the heck the ¡®Saint¡¯ part of the Sword Saint is. These people don¡¯t feel holy at all.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika¡¯s eyes were like they were looking into the distance.

    What had attacked them so far were nothing but people like hooligans that had strange appearances. The professional duties of the Sword Saint weren¡¯t known, but even if it was 10000 to 1, such guys thought ¡®I can be the Sword Saint¡¯.

    ¡°I heard that, in the past, some insane guys were treated as saints. And, this guy has a map. Perhaps it was very dirtied with blood, so he stole it from someone.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was sitting down near the fallen man and fishing in his pocket.

    There probably wasn¡¯t anything important besides the bundle of paper. Yogiri, who stole it, got up and went back the way they came. Tomochika followed behind.

    They came out of the narrow passage and went out into a crossroad. As he thought, the thin, inconspicuous way seemed to not be the correct route. Basically, it seemed like they should go forward along the wide passage.

    On the side of the road before their eyes that they came to first, a wide road continued on the left side. So, Tomochika tried to go towards there, but something *thud* fell down.

    It was a man wearing a deep blue costume.

    ¡°It¡¯s a ninja, right? This! Why is everyone aiming for Sword Saint!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºSuch a typical ninja appearance is possibly a fashion.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°His appearance couldn¡¯t be seen, but it seems he was clinging to the ceiling.¡± (Yogiri)

    Around the man, small, pointed sticks were scattered. They were rod shurikens, weapons that Tomochika recognized.

    ¡°Or rather, why are you attacking! Just go down the tower, will you? Where is there a need to fight?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri wouldn¡¯t have recognized the ninja¡¯s existence if he just was hiding. He was killed because he had killing intent.

    ¡°Maybe the ¡®scrambling for the key-like item¡¯ is a premise? From what I saw on the map, the range of which we can move seems to be getting smaller the further you go down. There will be fewer treasure boxes, and the probability that you¡¯ll meet fellow candidates also increases. I guess it was designed like that.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Heyyy. It¡¯s ¡®those who go down quick have a better evaluation¡¯? Didn¡¯t he say such a thing?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, he didn¡¯t say anything but ¡®I¡¯ll be waiting on the first floor, so go down¡¯.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, seeing that the evaluation method wasn¡¯t known, their objective for now would be to go down quickly.

    The two walked through therge passage.

    When they went for a while, there was arge door. It seemed to be locked, but Yogiri opened the door easily. There was argish room inside, and there was another door on the opposite side. If they thought about it from their experiences so far, there should be a staircase connecting to the next floor there.

    ¡°With this, we¡¯ve cleared halfff. Aren¡¯t we advancing quite quickly?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you progressed too much? I think that being crafty isn¡¯t good.¡± (???)

    ¡°Heh?¡± (Tomochika)

    They were about to head to the next door, and Tomochika was confused by the voice that was heard abruptly.

    ¡°Where did you spring out from!?¡± (Tomochika)

    A man was standing in the center of the room.

    It was a man of delicate features, who wore a gold circlet and a gold robe.

    His neck was covered in nes stringed together by jewels, and there were gaudy rings equipped on every one of his fingers.

    At a nce, it was a man with an appearance that made you think ¡®it seems like he¡¯s covered in gold¡¯.

    ¡°I am the creator of this tower. So, it is possible for me to appear anywhere.¡± (???-Igleshia)

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you more crafty!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika retorted at his excess excuse.

    ¡°Well, I am participating as a Sword Saint candidate, and if I say you are crafty, then you are. But, still, I can¡¯t overlook your deeds. Jeez¡­¡­do you understand the feelings of the creator who passed through the many brain-wracking riddles?¡± (Igleshia)

    The man sighed with an exaggerated gesture. It seemed to be an excessive response, but it was an appearance that surprisingly fit him to a tee if you joined it together with that appearance.

    ¡°We don¡¯t intend to be the Sword Saint. We just want to leave the tower for the time being, but is it no good still?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°If you get up for the first time in a thousand years, your at-great-pains parting gift is like this. There is no way you can permit it, right? I don¡¯t know what kind of trick it is, but here I have direct¡ª¡ª¡± (Igleshia)

    ¡°Die.¡± (Yogiri)

    The man crumpled down on the spot very easily.

    ¡°No no no, wait a minute!? He was like an important figure or something!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know. I just did it before he killed me.¡± (Yogiri)

    Whether or not he didn¡¯t care at all about the man¡¯s true colors and the like, Yogiri quickly went towards the door that seemed to be the exit.

    She hadn¡¯t been fully satisfied with it, but she couldn¡¯t *guzuguzu*in too much as she had said ¡®I have resolved myself¡¯ before. Tomochika soon switched her feelings and rushed over to Yogiri.

 Chapter 13 - If it happens by accident, that situation is a style to enjoy

    <h4>Chapter 13 - If it happens by ident, that situation is a style to enjoy</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    The tower was confused.

    If speaking urately, the man-made spirits that were governing the maintaining of the barrier were flustered in the presence of the impossible situation.

    First, was division of the soul path.

    The tower collected energy referred to as ¡®soul¡¯ and ¡®spirit¡¯, and used it to maintain the barrier. Those energies were running about inside the tower, formingplex paths.

    That part broke. The hub, which linked multiple paths, suddenly stopped functioning.

    It was something impossible.

    It was especially sturdy, and in a ce where the possibility that it¡¯d break was almost none, and even if it broke, it should have started self-reparing instantly, but that node hadn¡¯t proceeded in a logical manner anywhere.

    Of course, the Devil didn¡¯t revive with this amount. The barrier was thest fortress to protect humanity. Safety measures were conducted over and over again, and though the event this time was iprehensible, it immediately created a detour route and managed to avoid further problems.

    However, it didn¡¯t mean that nothing at all had happened.

    A fluctuation was produced in the first barrier concealing the tower¡¯s surroundings.

    That was something momentary, but it couldn¡¯t be said that no one captured that instant.

    In the world, there are those who wander about the world in order to revive the Devil, such as evil believers who worship the Devil and the Devil¡¯s kin. The possibility that it was noticed by those guys probably wasn¡¯t a little.

    However, problems outside of the barrier were out of the tower¡¯s control. It was because the tower was only thinking about continuing to maintain the barrier, and as long as the barrier was safe, other matters were inconsequential.

    The tower returned to its normal operation immediately, but after a while, it noticed that a functional failure had urred again.

    It was the door opening and shutting mechanism.

    It was a mechanism which merely used excess energy, and had no direct connection to the barrier, but it shouldn¡¯t have been broken so simply.

    Doors, traps, and devices stopped one by one.

    The tower searched for a cause, and found it immediately.

    It was two people¡ªa man and a woman. When the man and woman approached, a part of the tower stopped functioning. It was easy to infer that the two had something to do with the stoppage of the riddle feature.

    The tower tried to kill the two. Thereupon, one part of the man-made spirits stopped functioning.

    And, it became confused.

    What it was trying to do, it didn¡¯t understand.

    The tower started a self-diagnosis a second time, and knew the abnormality inside the tower. It noticed that the people¡ªa man and a woman¡ªwere the cause, tried to deal with them, and it copsed into confusion again.

    The tower was slowly stopping its functions.

    ¡°Um, it may be just excessive self-consciousness, but perhaps, each and every person is aiming at me?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said, while overlooking the man whose face was hidden by a skull.

    What had copsed in front of Tomochika and others was a man who drew near with a looking-down-on manner while making vulgar remarks, and now he was an un-talking body.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s just like that. Those guys say something like ¡®leave the woman¡¯ in their second statement.¡± (Yogiri)

    This ce was the 3rd floor of the tower. Probably, in the middle of the passage to the second floor, some people had copsed in front of and behind the two. This much had be the natural scenery already.

    ¡°Righhh¡­¡­t! Why are guys like this aiming for Sword Saint!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºIt¡¯s the Sword Saint, so it might not be that they ¡®have to be a man of noble character¡¯. There were people who were called as and called themselves the Sword Saint even in Japan, but they were roughly vulgar people.¡»(Mokomoko)

    They range of which they could move got smaller every floor they went down, making it easier to fellow candidates. And, Tomochika and others were attacked frequently.

    Each others¡¯ abilities were unknown by the fellow people aiming for Sword Saint. They didn¡¯t know what would happen if they fought. They should have been a bit more cautious, but the candidates who came across Tomochika and others gleefully challenged them to a fight for some reason.

    And, Yogiri killed all of those guys who attacked.

    He¡¯d talk to them if it seemed he was able to, and he didn¡¯t intend to kill them if they could avoid a fight.

    However, in the end the state was ¡®heaps of corpses¡¯.

    It was because each and every one of them arrived with a looking-down-on manner from the onset, and didn¡¯t listen well to conversations, etc.

    ¡°Those guys, I guess they are believing in that ¡®status¡¯ thing a lot.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, even without such things as statuses, we don¡¯t seem to be strong, right?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°But, if you have a head to think, it¡¯s normal to consider ¡®they, who have survived until here, have something¡¯. That¡¯s why, in the end, those guys are idiots.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºThat¡¯s blunt. But, it is true that because they don¡¯t have an imagination, they¡¯ll die.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve also heard such a thing. I, um, I¡¯m so charming that, how should I put it, they feel like attacking me?¡± (Tomochika)

    She had been wondering it for a while, so Tomochika tried to ask. It was because she had a feeling like, since she came to this world, she was being aimed at every time there was something.

    ¡°Ah, that as an objective fact, okay? Look, there are also things from now on. I¡¯m thinking ¡®aren¡¯t I such a big deal?¡¯, but if there is a gap in that recognition, it might be some kind of problem. Well, maybe it¡¯s just people, who are doing such things as killing each other in a ce like this, are a little strange and saying strange things.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika had heard the story such as ¡®animals ced in extreme situations woke up to the preservation instinct of their species¡¯. She thought that she wasn¡¯t attractive, and maybe it was a circumstance beyond her control.

    ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re charming, and cute. Your figure is also nice, I can understand the feelings of the man who want to attack.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Wha!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika solidified after being told from right in front of her without any parading.

    Yogiri stared at Tomochika¡¯s reaction seemingly in wonder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t attack you or something. Asaka-san said ¡®forcibly is no good¡¯.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That means if I agree?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°There¡¯s no factors to hesitate in that case?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°O, ou¡­¡­ah, but! The other day, I felt like you buried your head in my chest when you pushed me down when we received the sage¡¯s attacks in the town!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s an irresistible force, and if it happens by ident, that situation is a style to enjoy.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°You¡¯re very positive for what you¡¯re doing!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºYeah. It¡¯s my first time seeing someone positive at lucky pervert so far.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko folded her arms in air, she looked strangely impressed.

    ¡ºAnd, I am also impressed by my descendant trying to start a loveedy development in a situation such as heaps of corpses like this. You¡¯re surprisingly bold.¡»

    ¡°Fo, for now, let¡¯s go ahead!¡± (Tomochika)

    The embarrassed Tomochika began advancing the passage while avoiding the corpses.

    Yogiri also caught up to her before long, and went beside her. As they thought, it seemed that this passage was the right one, and after a while a big door appeared.

    When they opened the door, there was a staircase, the same as before, and the two went down without hesitation.

    When they opened the door to the second floor, the inside was in a small room. It was a room that was narrow enough even for two people, and there was a door which seemed to be the exit directly on the other side.

    ¡ºCongrattions on reaching the second floor. You guys are the 55th and 56th arrivals.¡»

    Upon entering the room, a woman¡¯s voice came to be heard out of nowhere.

    ¡ºFrom now on, the candidate will manage with the number that was called not long ago, so please don¡¯t forget it.¡»

    It seemed that Yogiri, who entered first, was fifty-five, and Tomochika was fifty-six.

    ¡°I intended to go forward quickly, but there are people who are reasonably ahead, huh.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, we were sleeping at leisure.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºAhead from here, there will be a point system. One hundred points are needed to open the door to the first floor.¡»

    ¡°Eeehhh? We¡¯vee until here, and now a point system?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s tedious, right? I wonder if they intend to bnce the candidates here since they didn¡¯t decrease more than they thought they would.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºYou¡¯re noisy!¡»

    It seemed that it wasn¡¯t a kind of recording, and someone was dealing with them in realtime.

    ¡ºWell, it¡¯s fine. Ahead from here, you can steal points if you kill someone who has a point. ¡®So, if that¡¯s it, then what was the challenge so far!¡¯ As it¡¯d be like that, your actions so far will be evaluated and you¡¯ll be given initial points. Fifty-fifth, 0 points! Fifty-sixth, 0 points! ¡­huh?¡»

    What they were evaluating wasn¡¯t known, but as they broke through all of the trials forcibly, it wouldn¡¯t be strange even if they said ¡®it is impossible to evaluate¡¯.

    ¡ºUmmm¡­¡­I have a feeling something¡¯s strange, but 0 points is 0 points!¡»

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not worth worrying about.¡± (Yogiri)

    What Yogiri did wouldn¡¯t change. He¡¯d just descend the tower while killing every obstacle.

    The exit door opened. The passage branched into three directions¡ªforward, left, and right.

    He didn¡¯t have a map of the lower floors, and the width of each passageway weren¡¯t different. There weren¡¯t any clues of where to go at all, but Yogiri began to advance to the passage right in front.

    Tomochika knew.

    Choosing a path was troublesome, so Yogiri just walked ahead.

 Chapter 14 - I donâ€™t have any memory that the discussion has passed

    <h4>Chapter 14 - I don¡¯t have any memory that the discussion has passed</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    What was spread in front of Theodosia was a room with a unique shape.

    It was circr in shape, about 20 meters in diameter, and the floor was covered with soil.

    Since this was the 2nd floor of the tower, it was specially prepared.

    It seemed to mimic a stadium since the seats were arranged with stairs around them.

    On the opposite side of the entrance where she came in was something like an exit.

    It was the door to the 1st floor, which was supposed to be thest trial to judge the points, but before that there was a man and 3 girls waiting.

    Theodosia doubted her eyes.

    The man was sitting on a big chair like a throne, and the women were depressed as if to tter him.

    Though she thought ¡®what a fool¡¯, Theodosia regained her focus instantly.

    She looked around to see if there was anyone else.

    There were several people in the audience seats.

    However, they were only corpses who had been thrown away inexplicably like garbage.

    It seemed that only the people in front of the door were alive.

    ¡°What you have done so far is strong as it is, you got to collect points as well?¡± (Man)

    As Theodosia approached, the man at the throne spoke to her.

    Although it seemed to Theodosia that this was somewhat stupid, sitting on a throne in a stadium that is, if you said that you could prepare such a thing in this tower, you probably wouldn¡¯t be a simple person either.

    The white jacket with fur that the man was wearing was dazzlingly white and didn¡¯t have any dirt on it.

    It seemed as though it was just clothing that wasn¡¯t magical, but its appearance told of the man¡¯s ability.

    ¡°Most of your judgement sticks. Isn¡¯t it a quicker way to just wait here?¡± (Man)

    The man thought that going around collecting points was troublesome.

    He would hold down the exit and hunt the candidates that came.

    From the aspect of this room, it seemed that the act was rmended.

    ¡°Exactly. I have finished collecting my part. These guys are still here. Yup, but a woman. I¡¯ve decided to not kill the women¡­¡­¡± (Man)

    The man was staring, as though to judge her value.

    Theodosia had ck hair and eyes with mediocre facial features.

    Her skin color was white, and although she was taller, there was very little undtion of her body.

    What she is wearing was a thin and dirty cloak; she wouldn¡¯t look very beautiful.

    Theodosia was also conscious that she did not appear favorable to men.

    ¡°Well, because I want to kill, it should be okay¡­¡­¡± (Man)

    It seemed that the man intended to bend his own principle.

    Alternatively, it was probably judged that she wasn¡¯t in the category of women.

    ¡°You have her fight with this guy. She¡¯s Shiro.¡± (Man)

    When the man urged, one of the girls who was drooping went out ahead timidly.

    A beast woman.

    Her eyes were red, and between her long white hair, long ears were stretched and sagged confidently.

    She guessed it was a rabbit beast.

    Wearing them at a long length, as they were white fighting clothes, it was an image of white color.

    ¡°Oh, errr. It would be useless if Masaki-sama fought and gave points.¡± (Shiro)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it useless?¡± (Masaki)

    ¡°Well, yes. Masaki-sama is cornered to the verge of death, I mean only to stop it.¡± (Shiro)

    Shiro was trembling, but it was cunning to say.

    ¡°Hmm, how about that? Hey, what about that girl?¡± (Man->Masaki)

    A man talked to himself anywhere.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. This is a trial to measurebat strength. It might be out of your ability to keep on running well, but I can¡¯t give you points for just stopping like that?¡»

    It was the voice that was heard at the entrance of the 2nd floor.

    Theodosia didn¡¯t think about it, but it seems to answer questions if you ask them.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. So, rest assured. It¡¯s 1 to 1.¡± (Masaki)

    The man speaks to Theodosia.

    ¡°There will be no change to overwhelming numbers.¡± (Masaki)

    The next one would onlye out when she defeated one person.

    She couldn¡¯t find a way to go so long as she hadn¡¯t knocked down everyone after all.

    ¡°If you win past this man in front of you, you can go through.¡± (Masaki)

    She didn¡¯t know if he was serious.

    However, if they were going to have a 1 on 1, she could use it.

    If there was a gap, there were also hands that would kill the 3 other people first.

    Theodosia pulled out a single-edged sword from within her cloak.

    ¡°Without warning. Why don¡¯t you dere it?¡± (Masaki)

    Theodosia didn¡¯t feel like answering.

    She didn¡¯t intend to get along with the killing person, and she didn¡¯t have the hobby of naming herself before killing.

    ¡°Well, you know. At the very least, when people ask about yourself, talk about it. You don¡¯t have to do it. Well, once you give in, my name is Kadzuno Masaki. I don¡¯t really care about Sword Saint.¡± (Man)

    Theodosia ignored Masaki and focused on Shiro.

    Because she is a rabbit beast man, she trembled with a buruburu.

    It¡¯s a big deal if it was an act of inviting carelessness, but her standing is as good as an amateur.

    ¡°Yes yes. You will be troubled if you don¡¯t have weapons.¡± (Masaki)

    While saying that, Masaki threw a long sword to Shiro.

    ¡°Kyaaa~! Again! Please stop it all of a sudden!¡± (Shiro)

    Shiro dodged exaggeratedly, and the long sword prates the ground.

    Shiro got the sword while in a state of struggling.

    Without having to be disillusioned as soon as holding the sword, she held the sword with shaky hand movements.

    ¡°Lord! Do I need to use this? I think that it¡¯s better to not use it!¡± (Shiro)

    ¡°It¡¯s the trial of the Sword Saint. Please show me the ce of a swordswoman.¡± (Masaki)

    Theodosia wasposed skillfully anyhow, even if Shiro had such a stance.

    Masaki stood up and leaned his back onto the wall while linking his arms.

    The women were still drooping as usual.

    He seemedpletely like a spectator, but the chair he had been sitting in until then had disappeared.

    And Masaki surely didn¡¯t have a long sword earlier.

    ¡°You¡­¡­is this person actually supporting the sages?¡± (Theodosia)

    Witnessing the erratic force, Theodosia first doubted it.

    A lot of strong people are crowded in this world, but sages are alsoparatively casually dispersing their power among them.

    ¡°I have nothing to do with the sages or the Sword Saint. It¡¯s gone and it¡¯s just too strong. Because it seemed to be interesting, it was time for me to participate.¡± (Masaki)

    You don¡¯t need to fight opposition if you have the power of a Sword Saint.

    If you let someone go free, Theodosia thought that it might be useful for achieving the purpose, but it didn¡¯t seem to work.

    Then, first beat the white rabbit.

    Theodosia decided on that resolution.

    As far as it went, it was a 1 on 1 where you couldn¡¯t hide an escape in the stadium.

    There weren¡¯t many tactics avable.

    If so, then win first.

    Theodosia swung her sword with an interval she expected to reach her.

    Don!

    The sword¡¯s downhill blow shed the stadium.

    The shock wave caused by the sword¡¯s pressure leans straight through while scraping the ground.

    Shiro couldn¡¯t react, and the sh attack was received by her body.

    ¡°What on earth! What is it! It¡¯s suddenly terrible!¡± (Shiro)

    But Shiro was intact.

    Although she got attacked directly from the front, and was blown away, she got up smoothly while rubbing her forehead.

    Although she was going easy on her, she wasn¡¯t unprepared.

    Theodosia intended to definitely decide this with a single blow.

    ¨D¨DAlthough she couldn¡¯t do her best in that state, if this doesn¡¯t work now¡­¡­

    Forcibly pushing doesn¡¯t work.

    Scheming would be necessary.

    ¡°Shiro. Did you understand? That attack isn¡¯t a big deal. No need to be afraid at all.¡± (Masaki)

    ¡°Oh, this, perhaps, even I can do it?¡± (Shiro)

    ¡°It¡¯s decided that we can do it. Poripori poripori, I thought I had eaten dull seeds.¡± (Masaki)

    Shiro was getting close by an uncertain manner of walking.

    As she was trying to keep her sword on the upper part, Theodosia calmly brandished and swung there.

    But, she was intact.

    Clothes were torn to the side, but in spite of that fact, there were no scars on her body.

    Without doing anything like Theodosia¡¯s attack, Shiro swings down the sword.

    The de¡¯s edge isn¡¯t rising, it¡¯s an amateur attack.

    She wasn¡¯t using magical powers at the same time, so she didn¡¯t feel any threat.

    However, Theodosia jumped off exaggeratedly.

    Shiro¡¯s sword shed the floor without any resistance, burying the de deeply.

    ¡°Hey! Please don¡¯t avoid it!¡± (Shiro)

    Her swing possessed strength that wasn¡¯t ordinary.

    Attacks here didn¡¯t pass well, if she eat even a single blow you¡¯ll end there.

    In this way, Theodosia¡¯s desperate fight had begun.

    There are signs of people inside.

    Since Mokomoko said so, Yogiri opened the door a little and looked inside.

    There were both men and women, 5 people in total, and 2 of them were fighting a strange battle.

    One was a ck-haired woman reminiscent of a mighty warrior wearing a dirty cloak.

    She was repeatedly urately attacking while moving swiftly in the room.

    The other person was a girl who grew long ears like a rabbit between long and white hair, and she was swinging around a sword in a staggering form while in a state of nakedness.

    ¡°This is my first time watching fellow swordsmen fight in this tower!¡± (Tomochika)

    Because of the trials of the Sword Saint, the 2 people were attacked by only colored objects, so it was somewhat of a fresh sight.

    However, there was something Yogiri was more concerned about than fighting.

    ¡°Is that a rabbit person? You know, round tail?¡± (Yogiri)

    The rabbit girl¡¯s clothes were tattered.

    Her hips were mostly outlined, and a tail that looked like a white round rabbit¡¯s tail was visible.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about it right now!? Hey, don¡¯t you stare too much!¡± (Tomochika)

    The rabbit girl was wielding the long sword unsteadily.

    Whether or not the sword was heavy, her body turned every time she shook it.

    Of course there was no such attack, and the woman in the cloak was shing from blind spots where the sword couldn¡¯t reach to the maximum extent.

    Regarding the battle, even the amateur Yogiri could understand the difference in ability of these 2 people.

    However, the strange thing about this battle was that there was no indication that it would end, as if there weren¡¯t such capability differences.

    The rabbit girl didn¡¯t get scratched from eating any kind of attack, and she didn¡¯t care.

    It was the appearance of the woman in the cloak who would be a masterpiece that was desperately trying.

    ¡°Even if I say barely, it¡¯s a rabbit person, I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s enough to care.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No no no, she is almost human except for the ears and tail?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°So? I don¡¯t want to be discriminating, but I think that it isn¡¯t a human being at the time that animal¡¯s ears and a tail are growing, and I can¡¯t get lusty.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°But, she has boobs! They¡¯re big!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be nice if she had it. It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s breasts alone, but it¡¯s out of the question if they are attached to rabbit people.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°What¡¯s that, thatmitment!? Okay, beautiful girl!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Just thinking about how much pretty girls have unnecessary things isme.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, you had quite a thin reaction when we saw the children with cat ears.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºYes. Aside from themitment of the kid, whatever do you n to do to get out of here?¡»(Mokomoko)

    It was frustrating as well to her, as Mokomoko urged the conversation.

    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t matter. We just have to proceed further.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It certainly doesn¡¯t matter, but I can¡¯t do anything through the room in this state. Can¡¯t you just kill them?¡± (Tomochika)

    The rabbit girl was unsteadily swinging the long sword, and the woman in the cloak was shing with a small sword while running all over the room.

    Yogiri and others seemed to be able to be pass through the outer circumference alone, but the fighters¡¯ attacks sometimes apanied something like shockwaves.

    There wasn¡¯t a safe ce anywhere, so they couldn¡¯t actually reach the door on the other side.

    ¡°Why should I kill them when they get in the way of traffic? I think we should wait a minute.¡± (Yogiri)

    Although it was indeed an obstacle, Yogiri didn¡¯t n to kill those who didn¡¯t carry killing intent towards him.

    ¡ºBut, it isn¡¯t going to end. The woman in the cloak is a big deal and aims for all the vital points precisely, but there is no indication that it is effective as it is. It seems that even her eyeballs ept attacks. Oh, that attack on her secret ce isn¡¯t effective either.¡»(Mokomoko)

    As the girl in the cloak slipped through the gap in the crotch of the rabbit girl, she pushes the sword up from the bottom, and slides through.

    She was probably exploring ces where the attacks could go.

    However, even attacks on such fragile ces seemed like they weren¡¯t working.

    ¡°Are you going to get serious? Why can¡¯t we leave it like this? Now¡¯s not a time to devote yourself to disguising your strength, right?¡± (Masaki)

    Once the woman in the cloak took some distance, the man in the back talked to her.

    ¡°There is no point in sparing excuses if my lie is exposed.¡± (Theodisia)

    The atmosphere of the woman changed as soon as he said so.

    Originally she was showing a fighting spirit, but to Yogiri it looked like she gained more power.

    And not only the atmosphere, but her appearance began to change as well.

    Her ck hair turned silver.

    Her white skin turned brown.

    ¡°Well. I thought you were hiding something, but you¡¯re a half devil¡­¡­¡± (Masaki)

    The woman who had finished her transformation swung her sword in a casual manner.

    At the same time, the right arm of the rabbit girl fell.

    ¡°Kyaaaaa! Masaki-sama! It hurts! This is painful!¡± (Shiro)

    The rabbit girl was shouting in a somewhat easygoing way for a serious injury.

    ¡°If you see this form, it¡¯s a game against time. Let¡¯s go before you get in!¡± (Theodosia)

    The woman speared her sword and put even more power into it, as if having a manner of finishing it in one blow.

    The woman¡¯s sword was d in darkness.

    The ck and dazzling de had swollen to more than twice its size, and the woman releases its power all at once.

    The sword¡¯s pressure became a shadow, running while breaking the floor.

    To its overwhelming power, the rabbit girl was made into 2 halves.

    It seemed like that to Yogiri, but that vision wasn¡¯t realized.

    The rabbit girl was able to suddenly disappear, leaving a long sword.

    ¡°What!?¡± (Theodosia)

    Whether or not the woman was able to react, was it training or was it a coincidence?

    The rabbit girl¡¯s fist hit herself to the side, and she defended against the woman¡¯s sword.

    While being blown away a few steps, she barely stopped the impact.

    However, from this moment, the position of the woman and the rabbit girl was reversed.

    Because she had broken her arms and threw away the sword, the rabbit girl started moving at an unstoppable speed.

    ¡°Somehow, it isn¡¯t likely to end yet.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika says that while troubled.

    ¡°Surely. But, I think we need to manage through discussion in such cases.¡± (Yogiri)

    He can¡¯t kill, but it wouldn¡¯t kill him to wait silently.

    Then Yogiri simply thought they had to talk.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any memory that a discussion has passed so far!?¡± (Tomochika)

    While Tomochika says so while shocked, Yogiri opened the door.

    ¡°Sorry, but would you let me run through for a while?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri, who had entered the room, raised his voice for everyone to hear.

    ¡°Takatou-kun, calling out in this atmosphere?! Now, it¡¯s not like that! Because deadlybat is unfolding!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika grasped Yogiri¡¯s shoulder from behind him, jerking and shaking it.

    The movement of those who were in the room stopped, and they all gazed at Yogiri and others at once.

 Chapter 15 - You were mistaken to sell a fight to the other party

    <h4>Chapter 15 - You were mistaken to sell a fight to the other party</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    Everyone was watching Yogiri and others all at once.

    There were five people in the room.

    The people who were fighting a battle previously were the rabbit girl whose body was fully white and the woman with dark brown skin and silver hair, and watching it on the wall was the man in a white jacket, a woman in firm clothing like a military uniform, and a young girl wearing a dressy style dress.

    All of them seemed to have thought that someone woulde, and the two who were fighting stopped moving and gazed at Yogiri and others.

    ¡°How did youe in?¡± (Masaki)

    ¡°Just now, didn¡¯t you see this door opening and using into sight?¡± (Yogiri)

    As he confirmed that the man couldn¡¯t believe it, Yogiri exined his previous actions from before, as though he thought it was stupid.

    ¡°Ah. It¡¯s something like that. I¡¯m also stupid. We didn¡¯t take the strength of the tower into consideration. In other words, do you mean that you broke through the wall by some other means without going through the door that I made?¡± (Masaki)

    However, the man had been arbitrarily convinced immediately.

    Yogiri was aware of it, as he was told.

    The door in the passageway to this room had a different style than the doors that he had passed so far.

    Of course, he would kill it regardless of what door he was going through.

    A door restricted ess.

    It would be natural that you can get through if it died.

    ¡°Well, anything is okay. I just want to go through, as I said earlier. It seems that the fight is being suspended right now so it¡¯s just fine.¡± (Yogiri)

    Saying so, Yogiri walked into the middle of the room quite rudely.

    Tomochika started following him right afterwards.

    ¡°Hey hey hey. Hey, stop it.¡± (Masaki)

    As the man said that while dumbfounded, Yogiri obediently stopped.

    ¡°What is it? You are fighting this person, aren¡¯t you? I think it¡¯s okay if I can pass. I won¡¯t disturb you. I think that it¡¯s distracting to those who are doing it here.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No. Would you like to keep thempany as well? We are umting points here. My disciples haven¡¯t umted points. It would be nice if there was 3 people at a time.¡± (Masaki)

    Yogiri was convinced of that being the case.

    If everyone passes through here eventually, he wondered if it is an ambush here.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no use fighting. Because we don¡¯t have any points. 0 points.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s useless to not fight!¡± (Masaki)

    Somehow, the man was concerned.

    ¡°Are you serious? Hey! What are the points of these guys!¡± (Masaki)

    The man called out to nowhere in particr.

    ¡ºWell. People¡¯s points can¡¯t be told.¡»

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to tell them, since we don¡¯t care.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºOh, I will inform you because I have permission from the person himself, so it¡¯s fine, 55th, 0 po-po-po-po-po¡»

    ¡°Po?¡± (Masaki)

    The announcement of the tower started screaming with an out-of-ce voice.

    ¡ºPo-po-po-aaa-po-po-po-po-po-po-a-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa¡»

    And then, the voice was paused abruptly.

    ¡°Looks like it? Although it became something wrong, it said 0, didn¡¯t it?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know after all! What¡¯s up with you?!¡± (Masaki)

    Even though the man calls, the voice of the tower didn¡¯t answer him again.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t interested in Sword Saint or anything else, and it feels like I got caught up in it when I followed it somehow. So, I didn¡¯t n on collecting points from the beginning. Won¡¯t you let me through?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri, next to the man, spoke to the girl with silver hair.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s as easy as going through here. It¡¯s a trial or something, but I don¡¯t know how much you can destroy the sealed door with your full effort. Or, you can pierce through the floor. However, this is a game that collects points, and I am enjoying it ording to that rule. I won¡¯t allow you to act illogically.¡± (Masaki)

    ¡°You are?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri once again asked the girl with silver hair.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you guys do. There are also no reasons to fight because we are already collecting points.¡± (Theodosia)

    He thought she was hurt because he was in the way, but the woman seemed not to be.

    It seems that she was inferior, so if she can re-partition she might be pleased.

    ¡°Then what shall I do?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri thought it was a hassle.

    They could pass through because the battle was suspended, and they don¡¯t have to fight because they don¡¯t have any points.

    Nevertheless, the man wasn¡¯t going to let them pass.

    It seemed that it wasn¡¯t a situation that could be handled in a peaceful manner.

    ¡°Even so, it¡¯s exactly right by thinking. It¡¯s only 3 to 3.¡± (Masaki)

    ¡°We don¡¯t have any points?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that anymore. The condition of the tower seems to be bad, and it¡¯s about time in the game. The other party will proceed ahead if this game ends.¡± (Masaki)

    As the man said so, he urged the 2 woman on his sides.

    ¡°The rabbit is Shiro. The bigger one is Gruda. The coolest one is Ema. Everyone is my disciple. I also came here for work. If you can win against these guys, my disciples will willingly let you through here.¡± (Masaki)

    Next to the white rabbit, Gruda and Ema came and lined up.

    Before it was noticed, the girl with silver hair came next to Yogiri and others, so it was shaped like they were facing each other with 3 to 3 as expected by the man.

    ¡°I¡¯m starting to greatly doubt about Takatou-kun¡¯s bargaining power! What is this situation!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s just like that way. That guy is the type that is confident and doesn¡¯t listen to other people¡¯s stories.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I knew that roughly from the moment I saw that person! Ah, that, I¡¯m sorry, it has be something strange.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochikained to Yogiri, and then the silver-haired woman talked to them as it was.

    ¡°No. If anything, the disaster is you guys. If 2 people who cameter are equal to or more than the rabbit, it can be said that there are a few winnings. I don¡¯t know whether that guy will pass straight through by winning it.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°Yeah yeah. Shiro is the weakest. Although she is sturdy, she¡¯s an amateur fighter. However, Ema is good at swordsmanship, and Gruda specializes in magic.¡± (Masaki)

    To answer the question of the silver haired woman, the main said so.

    ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t really care that I won¡¯t let you through. Shiro is bad, but they are the disciples I trained directly. If these guys begin to get serious, this will end in a moment.¡± (Masaki)

    ¡°Why is she called bad? Shiro is also strong.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°You, first of all, attach your arm. Also, since I understood that using a sword desperately is weak, you don¡¯t have to use it this time.¡± (Masaki)

    ¡°Master. What did that remark just now mean? I heard that you were saying to not get serious?¡± (Gruda)

    The military woman, Gruda, asked.

    ¡°I won¡¯t say that I am out of tricks, but if you go full power, not even cinders will be left. Read the atmosphere and fight as it is. Oh, the person in the cloak might be beautiful if you remove her disguise, so you don¡¯t have to kill her. That girl over there might be Japanese. I haven¡¯t seen a beautiful Japanese girl for a long time, so we are also keeping her.¡± (Masaki)

    ¡°The master¡¯s bad habits are out¡­¡­so, we only kill the boy? I might prefer him for personal use.¡± (Ema)

    The petite girl, Ema, was dissatisfied.

    ¡°It¡¯s always the handsome one that dies.¡± (Ema)

    ¡°I understand. However, I don¡¯t want to you think that women feel at ease peacefully.¡± (Masaki)

    ¡°Is it jealousy? Well, I guess it will be alright if you live, so I¡¯ll leave it there.¡± (Ema)

    The talk ended with that, and the man rxedly rested his back on the wall and folded his arms.

    ¡°Takatou-kun, what are you going to do?¡± (Tomochika)

    In the sudden situation, Tomochika was confused.

    ¡°What to do, we¡¯re together here.¡± (Yogiri)

    If there was an order not to kill, the result might have been different.

    However, there is only one thing that Yogiri does to those who have killing intent directed towards him.

    ¡°Die.¡± (Yogiri)

    The three women copsed on their knees.

    They fell forward as it was and stopped moving.

    ¡°Well then, it¡¯s okay to go through now. That was the promise.¡± (Yogiri)

    The silver-haired woman didn¡¯t seem to know what had happened yet, but she had gotten into battle preparation.

    She thought that it was a strategy of some sort as she gazed at the fallen women.

    The man¡¯s eyes and mouth were wide open.

    As the scene was unexpected, he wondered if it was impossible.

    It seemed his thoughts werepletely nk.

    Yogiri started walking away.

    Although Tomochika is amazed, she immediately followed while she thought that this was just his usual thing.

    Arriving at the exit, Yogiri kicked the door.

    The door opened easily.

    With the shy sound of Yogiri hitting the door, the man woke up.

    The man who was leaning against the wall started to move.

    Pitch ck killing intent filled the surroundings.

    For the first time in a while, Yogiri saw the highest purity of thirst for blood.

    ¡°Liar.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri looked back towards the man and released his power.

    Gruda was a woman who came to kill Masaki.

    Masaki had killed the demon king, but because he remained at the demon king¡¯s castle, he was thought to be the demon king.

    Masaki was free at that time.

    He was waiting for a foolish hero to beat him to beat the demon king.

    It was Gruda who hade there.

    After he dealt with her appropriately and told her that he wasn¡¯t the demon king, she told Masaki that she admired his strength and asked him to make her his disciple.

    Masaki thought that raising disciples wasn¡¯t bad.

    It¡¯s self-evident and boring if you win no matter what you fight.

    However, he felt it would be interesting to train disciples to fight with moderate strength.

    Because he felt bored as he tried, he decided to increase his disciples.

    He surveyed all over the world looking for a person who was naturally a genius.

    Then, he found Ema.

    She was still young, but she was already a masterpiece beyond Gruda.

    However, it was boring because she had too much talent.

    So he decided to train someone who seemed to be weaker this time.

    And the woman who seemed to be the weakest, chosen from the the weakest race of the rabbits, was Shiro.

    Masaki¡¯s time to kill was beginning to be fulfilling.

    There was personality in each of them, and they were each worth teaching. Watching the growth of the disciples was moderately stimting as amusement.

    But, the three of them had copsed.

    Masaki couldn¡¯t immediately understand what it meant.

    He had thought, ¡°What a joke¡±.

    Now matter how serious they are, he would be experiencing too much.

    So he tried tough while smiling, but he noticed that they weren¡¯t moving at the same time.

    Activating the power of his artificial eye, he confirmed the state of the 3 people.

    They were dead.

    It was tooplicated, he couldn¡¯t understand what happened.

    Hearing the sound of the door being kicked, Masaki regained his focus.

    Those guys did it.

    He guessed that.

    To kill the disciples that he had brought up under his personal care, his eyes grew red with violent emotions towards the other party.

    Then, time stopped.

    Masaki¡¯s current state was called Command Mode.

    Although it isn¡¯t an ability to freely move when time is stopped, you go into a high speed thinking state and you can think about your next move with some flexibility.

    ¡ºMonado! Exin the situation!¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºOh! It¡¯s been a while since you called me!¡»(Monado)

    Monado was created by Masaki as a second creative ability, it is an information analysis tool.

    Although it can¡¯t be omniscient, it can ess considerable amounts of information in this world and derive the optimal solution.

    However, although he had made it, he didn¡¯t struggle hard because he fought properly, so it was an item that he almost never used.

    ¡ºGreetings are in! I¡¯m asking what is going on!¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºHmm¡­¡­my condolences. Your disciples have died. It was that man there, Takatou Yogiri. He is the same Japanese as you, he was summoned to be a sage.¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºIsn¡¯t he reincarnated by the goddess?¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºOh, so you were taken by the goddess, but the management skill of the goddess lineage doesn¡¯t pass.¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºWho is this guy?! What did he do?!¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºI don¡¯t know what kind of person he is. ording to the exnation from himself, he appears to have an ability of instant death.¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºDon¡¯t be silly! Do you think that I would make such an oversight?! The instant death countermeasures were wless!¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºYou know such a thing?¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºDamn it! Oh well! This is irritating, but I¡¯ll be fine if we collect more disciples. In any case, this guy must die!¡»(Masaki)

    He doesn¡¯t know what this instant death ability is, but if he invokes his next trick in the next stage of Command Mode, it will take effect immediately.

    It was the same as Masaki that could be killed instantly.

    ¡ºHey hey hey. Weren¡¯t they talking about passing through if they could win against the disciples? The ability is quite inferior!¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºWait a minute! What happened to you a little while ago? Something is wrong.¡»(Masaki)

    He certainly had a bad mouth from some time ago.

    However, he shouldn¡¯t have done anything like this.

    ¡ºAh, you¡¯ve misunderstood something, you. My personality isn¡¯t what you made. Because you wanted the omniscience, it just so happened to be incorporated by me who was close to it. When you thought you were disappointed with this, that¡¯s when your mouth slipped.¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºWhat? What are you saying¡­¡­¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºYou were mistaken to sell a fight to the other party. I wonder if you were foolish to live happily and have a carefree life with a different world cheat!¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºSo what are you talking about! Such a thing, it will end if it burns out at the next moment! Whatever it may be, you can let all of the towers disappear!¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºGyahahahaha! That¡¯s why, you don¡¯t have a next moment! Forever! It¡¯s over already! Takatou Yogiri is about to activate his ability! There¡¯s nothing wrong with what I did! Kuwawawawawaha! If you don¡¯t believe it, it¡¯s still okay. You can¡¯t have it like how you would want to do it!¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºWell, the measures! You are probably there for that! Predicting the future, I wonder if there is a way to screw that future!¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºBecause there aren¡¯t any actions to take, there is no future now is there? Ah! There is only one!¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºSay it!¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºYou should stay in this state forever! It is indeed impossible to prolong it forever, but you may be able to get around 3 years in your subjective time!¡»(Monado)

    Despair creeps up.

    Although it was slowly, Masaki was beginning to understand the current situation.

    ¡ºYou¡¯re lying¡­¡­wait a moment! Why am I supposed to die!¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºWell, it¡¯s because people will die someday.¡»(Monado)

    ¡ºI, only I should be different! I even killed God! Their authority was usurped! Yes, I am a God! I should be immortal! I can¡¯t die in such a ce!¡»(Masaki)

    ¡ºHey hey hey, I guess you killed the God who was supposed to be immortal. Are you shelving what you did? Let me say it clearly. Takatou Yogiri is beyond humanity. I don¡¯t care what you do with yourself. If Takatou Yogiri uses force, whoever that person is will definitely die! Well, sounds good, doesn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t need to believe in itpletely. Select themand quickly and release Command Mode. I wonder if he won¡¯t kill me and will leave suddenly!¡»(Monado)

    It was ridiculous enough for him to be cut off and be discarded.

    Masaki believed that he was the perfect being.

    The existence that he created has informed him of his death.

    If you ignore the deration of death, it means that you aren¡¯t perfect, it¡¯s a situation that shakes even his own existence.

    Masaki was sorry.

    He had as much time as he could.

    However, until he could think straight, it didn¡¯t take a long time.

    Dosari, the man fell and made a sound.

    She guessed Yogiri had used his power.

    Tomochika wouldn¡¯t ask about that at all.

    If Yogiri killed him, then this man had killing intent.

    ¡°Eh? Was this guy like this before? It looks like his face is different.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika, who saw the fallen man, touched his neck.

    Though she felt like he had a more cool face, it looked like he aged a lot.

    ¡°About that. I don¡¯t remember what kind of face it was.¡± (Yogiri)

    He wasn¡¯t even interested in that much.

    Without even ncing, Yogiri tried to go ahead.

    ¡°Wa, wait a minute please!¡± (Theodosia)

    Then, the silver-haired girl ran up in haste.

    ¡°Did you do this?¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°Well¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I am sorry for the misconduct, but would you please help me!¡± (Theodosia)

    The girl with the silver hair deeply lowered her head.

    ¡°Eh, what should I do?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri, who was about to go ahead, was puzzled.

    She seemed weak to be in such a low position.

    He looked at Tomochika with a troubled face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t shake me¡­¡­well, even if I listen to your circumstances¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    Although he wanted to get out of this tower quickly, it was Tomochika who thought ignoring her was a bad awakening.

 Chapter 16 - There is a lot of â€˜last-bossâ€™ sensation being produced

    <h4>Chapter 16 - There is a lot of st-boss¡¯ sensation being produced</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    While requesting Mokomoko to scout out the surroundings, Tomochika moved with the others to the auditorium inside the stadium.

    ¡°First off is my name, I am Theodosia.¡± (Theodosia)

    Theodosia was wearing a dirty cloak.

    It seemed that she was also wearing lightweight hide armor.

    She was a beautiful woman characterized by long silver hair and brown skin, which brought out an atmosphere simr to a mighty warrior¡¯s.

    ¡°I¡¯m Takatou Yogiri, and this is Dannoura Tomochika. We were on our way to the Kingdom, but when we arrived in the area we got caught up in the trial of the Sword Saint.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I wonder, were we actually dragged in¡­¡­I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯ve just stuck around here since then¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    It was the dragon girl¡¯s proposal that made theme here, but Tomochika thought that he definitely could have refused.

    ¡°So, what do you want help with specifically? Are we talking about something rted to the Sword Saint¡¯s trial?¡± (Yogiri)

    She waspeting with the other candidates for the Sword Saint¡¯s trial.

    Even though they might be in a temporary cooperative rtionship, she shouldn¡¯t have asked them for help.

    ¡°Both of you are from a different country. Abusive people call us half-demons, you know.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t care really about this world. I wouldn¡¯t be helped even if you exined it withmon-sense.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be a derogatory term from this world¡¯s viewpoint, but we are divided into groups by ns. It doesn¡¯t matter to me if you call me a half-demon as a generic name. My features are silver hair, brown skin, and immense magical power.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you able to use wonderful magic with your magical power? You justunched a ck sword not too long ago, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that just swordsmanship?¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°In what universe?!¡± (Tomochika)

    It was too far from any swordsmanship that Tomochika knew, so it confused her.

    She wanted to ask for Mokomoko¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°Besides, I have no magical talent. Most of the ns think that magic is a useless treasure anyways. Even so, because it is still a treasure, there are those who want it. It seems that magic is quite easy to use for those who try and possess magical power.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°In other words, it has something to do with the Sword Saint?¡± (Yogiri)

    For a moment, Tomochika didn¡¯t know what Yogiri was talking about.

    However, if it wasn¡¯t the test of the Sword Saint that she wanted them to help with, then Theodosia was iming that there are other uses for this tower.

    From her previous story, Theodosia¡¯s n seemed to be aiming at something.

    Yogiri guessed that the Sword Saint probably has something to do with half-demons.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. My fellowpatriot is confined here. I am also looking for my little sister who is missing.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°Your friend seems to be here from the way to talk, but how do you know whether your sister is or not?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah. I can know where mypatriot is. It¡¯s below this point, probably underground. However, I still don¡¯t know who it is.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°So by receiving my help, you mean to help you save your friends?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since my disguise has disappeared, I won¡¯t be able to act freely in this tower anymore. It¡¯s only a matter of time before I am also captured, and I will meet the same sadness as mypatriot. However, if Takatou-dono were to help me¡­¡­¡± (Theodosia)

    While she was saying that, she started to think it was too much of a selfish story, and her words began to weaken.

    ¡°In any case, I think that the disguise itself is okay. I think that the tower isn¡¯t looking inside anymore¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    The oversight function of the tower appeared to have been lost, whether or not it was destroyed by them on their way here.

    ¡°You can¡¯t disguise yourself anymore?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to now because I was running towards my colleague using the art. My magical power currently is being used to maintain the art.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped. However, I¡¯m going toin if you tell me to catch the half-demon.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Is that the same as receiving help from you?¡± (Theodosia)

    It seemed that Yogiri talked with her solely on the premise of apanying her.

    Theodosia was perplexed.

    ¡°Yup. Is this okay? Although we may be a little slow leaving the tower.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri asked Tomochika.

    It appears that he couldn¡¯t decide on his own.

    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t look like she is a bad person. However, I was wondering if Takatou-kun is troubled at times like these.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°What¡¯s with that. If you were told to help someone, you usually help them.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said while he pouted a little.

    ¡°Ah! Well, I have yet to see where we are being asked for something! I mean, most people here are suddenly attacking us, so there isn¡¯t any room to discuss!¡± (Tomochika)

    Originally, Yogiri was the first one to help Tomochika when she came to this world.

    There wasn¡¯t any motivation and there was the image of everything feeling troublesome, so there was such a reality if she thought back about it.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying when asking for help, but cooperation with me will mean hostility to the Sword Saint¡­¡± (Theodosia)

    While being embarrassed, Theodosia said this.

    It would appear that her original n was to explore the interior of the tower while mingling with the other candidates, then find her friend and escape quickly.

    However, she nearly failed at the time when her disguise was found out.

    After that, there was no other choice but to attack, but it¡¯s a way that surely opposes the Sword Saint.

    ¡°Perhaps, but I feel I¡¯m already being hostile. The tower is too broken.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know what to do if I was told to reimburse the tower.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika had also be desperate from midway.

    ¡°Well, there wouldn¡¯t be any merit! There isn¡¯t anything that can be obtained even if you help me! Do you really know how much of a risk it is to turn a Sword Saint into an enemy?!¡± (Theodosia)

    She probably didn¡¯t expect that she could gain cooperation up to this point.

    The Sword Saint was an overwhelming threat to Theodosia, but she didn¡¯t think that there would be anyone who decided to be so easily hostile to him.

    ¡°Well, there are no merits, but she seems seriously troubled.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. There is also another merit apart from helping her¡­¡­, boobs!¡± (Yogiri)

    Tomochika looked at Theodosia¡¯s chest.

    It is hidden by the cloak, but if you looked closely, they were quiterge.

    ¡°Breasts? Oh! It¡¯s cheap if you say that cooperation can be obtained with my body. Do as you like.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°I wonder if you¡¯d stop your earnest development! Its not like its been decided that the payment is your body!¡± (ncing at Yogiri) ¡°Right? ¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Yup. I also have preferences.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, Tomochika wasn¡¯t concerned about Yogiri as he seemed to have a policy about receiving women¡¯s advances.

    ¡°In any case, I can¡¯t be up to the task while only taking Theodosia-san¡¯s words. I¡¯ll think about what to do with the situation. Is that okay?¡± (Yogiri)

    There is a possibility that there was a circumstance that waspelling the Sword Saint¡¯s side, and that Theodosia¡¯s colleague was a bad guy.

    With just Theodosia¡¯s story, he couldn¡¯te to the conclusion that the Sword Saint was evil.

    ¡°She¡¯s stuck in a situation to request, as she¡¯s going to die. There are noints as for what to do.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well, one goal is to help Theodosia-san¡¯s colleague and leave the tower. We will aim for the basement first of all, but if there are people interfering, we will talk first.¡± (Yogiri)

    Although Tomochika seemed to forget it asionally, Yogiri wouldn¡¯t kill haphazardly.

    He¡¯s would basically only take defensive action, but it was just that the opponent would die from that defense.

    ¡°Yup, I can only imagine a scene where the discussion will never happen after all!¡± (Tomochika)

    Theodosia would have asked Yogiri for a countermeasure against the Sword Saint.

    And, perhaps it would be possible.

    She wondered what the Sword Saint would be, but Yogiri will kill him.

    No matter how important he was for the world, it doesn¡¯t have anything to do with Yogiri.

    ¡°I just hope the Sword Saint is someone who understands discussing¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was on the verge of giving up.

    The discussion ended, and the three people left the battlefield.

    As they went down the stairs, they quickly reached the door on the first floor.

    Prior to entering the first floor, Theodosia hid deeply in the cloak hood and concealed her hair and face.

    Although it¡¯s pitiful, it was better than nothing.

    They opened the door and went inside.

    It was a familiar ce.

    It was the elevator hall from when they first came to the tower.

    There were several dozens of people, and they were formed in a circle.

    It looked like they were surrounding something from a distance for some reason.

    ¡°Oh, Rick-san and Rainier-san are also here. They were able to clear.¡± (Tomochika)

    They were the two who apanied them at the top of the tower.

    From the atmosphere, it seemed that they joined together on the way.

    Another person, the girl who was attacking with the magic on the rooftop, was also with them, so it seemed all three of them cooperated.

    Yogiri and others joined the circle, then looked inside.

    The Sword Saint was unleashing an upward kick.

    ¡°So, what happened to the sword?!¡± (Tomochika)

    What was being kicked off was a swordsman in ck clothes.

    It was the same man who was giving aint with Tomochika and others in the za in the forest.

    ¡ºYes. There was also something like a sword acquaintance that specialized in upper kicks.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°How about trying to use the sword?! He¡¯s the Sword Saint, right?!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºWell, it¡¯s no use. There may be something like that.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Um, excuse me, what is this?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika asked Rick.

    ¡°Dannoura-san! You were safe!¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Yeah, absurdly safe. So, what is going on?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°ck challenged the Sword Saint to a fight.¡± (Rick)

    The ck swordsman has stopped moving.

    Perhaps he was stunned, but she couldn¡¯t tell from where she was standing.

    ¡°Is this also a trial?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°If you win it would be part of being the Sword Saint, but if you are talking about trials, looking at this result, there won¡¯t be any who can pass.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Now then, what will you guys do?¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saint said this and looked around.

    As if he was treating them lightly, he wasn¡¯t feeling tired.

    No one appeared to challenge him in order continue the fighting.

    ¡°Hey. What about those other guys? Is it that only things such as them are left?¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saint was heard everywhere.

    But, there was no reply.

    While the Sword Saint was being cheeky, the doll maid girls suddenly came running in a state of panic.

    ¡°Sword Saint-sama! The tower has been silenced! The situation right now can¡¯t be understood!¡± (Maid 1)

    ¡°Sword Saint-sama! ording to visual confirmation, an abnormality has urred in the barrier! Even maintaining the first barrier is difficult!¡± (Maid 2)

    ¡°Sword Saint-sama! A fluctuation has urred in the outer circumference of the 2nd barrier! As a result, the estimated time of the fluctuation breaking through the barrier of the family¡± (Maid 3)

    Then, the tower shook with a roar.

    It was a vibration that was difficult to stand in, and Yogiri crouched down unintentionally.

    ¡°Wh, What!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika is also panicking at the sudden shaking, but she seemed to have been able to bnce well.

    Suddenly the surroundings became bright, and Yogiri looked up at the ceiling.

    The sun and the blue sky were visible.

    The top of the tower hadpletely disappeared.

    ¡°Hmm. I thought that the barrier would disappear if I erased the tower, but it wasn¡¯t that simple?¡± (???)

    A voice that intimidated the surroundings echoed vividly.

    Where was the voiceing from?

    It could be understood immediately by anyone.

    Ignoring the overwhelming miasma it emitted couldn¡¯t be done.

    It wasing from the sky, and it was staring at the people in the tower.

    There was something that was in the shape of a person that was beautiful, ominous, ck, and had 6 pairs of wings.

    ¡°I heard it would be about three dayster. Oh well. This can also be a challenge. Defeat that. If it isn¡¯t defeated, it¡¯s the end of mankind.¡± (Sword Saint)

    The Sword Saintughed inappropriately.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s find a way to the basement now.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri decided so.

    Now, the Sword Saint wouldn¡¯t be in a situation where he could be concerned with the half-demons.

    ¡°Wait a moment!? Should we really leave that alone! There is a lot of st-boss¡¯ sensation being produced from it!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I think that it¡¯s irrelevant. If you defeat it poorly, the interest of the Sword Saint mighte over here, so it would be more convenient if you had him fight.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Eh!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika seemed to not be convinced, ignoring Yogiri and looked around.

    There was a circr hole.

    The entrance to the huge elevator is noticeable, but there were several other doors on the outer wall.

    Any of them could be connected to the basement.

    ¡°I agree with that. It¡¯s not the case when you are involved in such things.¡± (Theodosia)

    Theodosia nodded.

    Yogiri and others ran to a nearby door.

 Chapter 17 - I donâ€™t know what will happen if I kill space

    <h4>Chapter 17 - I don¡¯t know what will happen if I kill space</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    The tower appeared abruptly.

    Just a while ago, it was only able to be seen for a moment.

    It wasn¡¯t an illusion, it was standing tall with presence.

    ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous that such arge thing could have be invisible¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    Aoi and Hanakawa were on top of a hill.

    The two looking at the tower were in the middle of advancing forward toward it with what appeared to be a flying monster that had sharp edges on its entire body.

    The tower that suddenly appeared was tremendously high, and it was conspicuous in the middle of the valley with no other artifacts.

    Aoi guessed it to be around 500 meters tall.

    ¡°It looks like there was some kind of barrier. Since the tower was covered by such a huge shield, it seems like it¡¯s a big deal. Well, since this area is under the control of the Sword Saint, we couldn¡¯t get closer.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°What¡¯s the deal with the Sword Saint? It¡¯s said that he trains heroes.¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Well, it seems that the Sword Saint is no better than a hero. Based on the rumors I¡¯ve heard, he sometimes collects prospective fellows, then imposes a trial and trains the survivors. Well, the sages do a simr thing.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Oh,e to think of it, I think I was told to be a sage as well.¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°By whom?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°It was a person called Shion.¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Oh. My condolences.¡± (Aoi)

    Although Aoi thought that Hanakawa was just an ordinary fat person with intemperance, her feelings of pity came quite suddenly.

    ¡°Wait a moment! Somehow, now I am being looked at with eyes that are simr to looking at insects struggling on the ground with plucked wings!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Because Shion has a policy that is 0 or 100. She doesn¡¯t feel like cultivating disciples. Although it isn¡¯t obvious, after you are brought up to adulthood, it would be impossible to redeem yourself even after surviving a long time! It¡¯s kind of tricky. Therefore, I think it¡¯s only right for me to stare cruelly at you.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°I think that I¡¯m still suffering enough for now! Or is that supposed to help me, who came to this ce. Look, because we¡¯ve been staying together all this time, attachment has appeared, and now you look cute or something! It¡¯s typical stockholm syndrome!!¡± (Hanakawa)

    As he said so, Aoi observed Hanakawa carefully.

    It was impossible.

    ¡°Oops. Sorry about that. There was supposed to be no interference while dealing with the sage candidates.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Would you please send me home if that¡¯s the case?! I swear I¡¯ll make an effort to aim for the sages!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I think that it will be good experience to stay with me.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°There is only the experience of dying prematurely regardless of whichever one I choose! Have I already plunged one leg into the coffin by now? What¡¯s it like, pursuing after that monster?!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I¡¯m just heading towards something that is about to happen. However, I don¡¯t feel like fighting with that particr one. The target is Takatou Yogiri, so he should only be avoided.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°No, that¡¯s it. As I said before, if your aiming at Takatou, I¡¯m not needed!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I see. I didn¡¯t exin that. Hmm, take Oda Nobunaga for example.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Yes?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Do you not know him? Oda Nobunaga?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Hohou? How couldn¡¯t I know about the 6th heavenly king? Don¡¯t make fun of me!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Takatou Yogiri¡¯s like him, you can¡¯t kill an existence whose destiny value is high. He won¡¯t die if he was shot by Sugitani Zenjubo, he doesn¡¯t die if he fights on the front line amongst the soldiers, and he doesn¡¯t die if you attack recklessly in the canyon. From the enemy¡¯s point of view, it¡¯s just a cheat. But, there is a way to kill him even if he¡¯s like that.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Is that simr to the Honnoji incident?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Yes. In order to kill the existence that is protected by fate, we must use destiny. Just trying to kill him in a tant way is no good. That is, if he dies here, the surroundings will get more dramatic and rouse up. Fate prefers more interesting situations. I will create a situation where his death is more interesting.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Well, that was the story of the reason to take me, wasn¡¯t it?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right? Wouldn¡¯t it be dramatic if he reunites with his ssmate?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°But, it¡¯s easy if Aoi-san¡¯s ability seals Takatou¡¯s ability! Isn¡¯t the story like that?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°There isn¡¯t much information on Takatou Yogiri yet, so I don¡¯t have confidence in my ability. After all, winning or losing is the plot of destiny. I will guide it to be convenient to me in the form of making fate like the scenario. Well, it¡¯s something to do with something useful¡ª¡± (Aoi)

    She didn¡¯t expect that much from Hanakawa.

    Aoi was trying to say such a thing, but the words were drowned out in a roar that suddenly urred.

    ¡°¡­¡­the fact that the tower is now out of sight, is it still the same as being sealed by the barrier?¡± (Hanakawa)

    He didn¡¯t think so, and he was afraid to ask.

    ¡°It feels like it physically disappeared however you look at it.¡± (Aoi)

    The tower hadpletely and thoroughly disappeared.

    But not only the tower.

    The canyons and the surrounding forests were all gone as well.

    And, the existence that did it was floating in the air.

    Looking down from the sky.

    It emits something, and it annihted from above in a straight line.

    ¡°This has surpassed being unreasonable! It¡¯s at a level where the terrain changed!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa screamed in a shrill voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m troubled. If Takatou Yogiri was in the tower, we can¡¯t confirm if he is alive or dead.¡± (Aoi)

    To someone who undertook the contract, the fact that the target had randomly died somewhere was bothersome.

    ¡°Well, if he died by something of this degree, there would be no need for me toe.¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi began to head towards the ce where the tower was supposed to be while dragging Hanakawa who was trying to escape.

    ¡°Eh? Hey!¡± (Rainier)

    When he saw Yogiri, Tomochika, and another woman running off quickly, Rainier was puzzled.

    There was the question of whether or not he should also run away, or whether he should struggle and fight.

    ¡°Rainier-san! This isn¡¯t a case where you can worry about Dannoura-san and others!¡± (Rick)

    When Rick shouted, Rainier returned to them.

    And then he noticed that it was futile to escape.

    The opponent is a monster that erased most of the 100 stories of the tower.

    There is no ce to escape to anywhere.

    Also, what is floating in the air should be a child of the Devil.

    If they don¡¯t stop it here somehow, the barrier would break, the Devil would resurrect, and mankind would be extinct.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless to be cowards! It¡¯s fine if ites out from the barrier! This time, you¡¯ll get no sympathy from my attacks!¡± (shy-Girl)

    Raising her cane, the thriving person is the one who invited Rainier to the Sword Saint¡¯s trial, Frederica.

    All of her abilities were far from ordinary people, excelling especially in magical power, as her magical power exceeded 10,000 times that of an ordinary man.

    As far as he knew, she was the strongest, so Rainier, while feeling miserable, moved to hide behind her.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not the Devil. Is it one of its kin?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°I at least know that much! I will easily get rid of this underling!¡± (shy Girl->Frederica)

    ¡°Rainier-san, please be prepared to use the stone.¡± (Rick)

    Rick pulls out his sword.

    The other candidates also took a stance to intercept.

    The kin that floated in the air slowlynded in front of the Sword Saint.

    She seemed to be the kin of the Devil, but her appearance is almost human.

    But if speaking about the differences, there are three pairs of ck wings on her back.

    In addition, the overwhelming miasma that is released doesn¡¯t make her look like a person.

    She was a transcended being, the existence of another dimension.

    ¡°How do I remove the barrier? If you teach it to me, I won¡¯t kill you.¡± (Devil¡¯s Kin)

    It was a voice that if a weak-hearted person hears it, they would seemingly bow down.

    In fact, magical power was put into that voice, and one of the rings that Rainier wore for resisting magical power crumbled.

    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you considerably gentle. You just broke the tower suddenly.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°The reason I broke the tower is because I thought there was a high possibility that the barrier would be removed. However, I need to explore other means because it seems that it couldn¡¯t be solved by that.¡± (Devil¡¯s Kin)

    The Sword Saint was the same as one would expect.

    He didn¡¯t carelessly answer the devil kin¡¯s question.

    The kin may have judged that the Sword Saint wasn¡¯t going to respond.

    She pointed to one of the surviving Sword Saint candidates.

    The tip of her finger glows for an instant, and ck lightning as thin as a thread pierces the candidate¡¯s forehead.

    It was an instant death.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be impatient at all. As I¡¯m killing people one by one, tell me when you feel like teaching me.¡± (Devil¡¯s Kin)

    ¡°I¡¯m not looking down on you!¡± (???)

    One man jumped in between the Sword Saint and the kin.

    The man was made of six people, with each one shing at the same time.

    Simultaneous attacks came from six directions.

    Although it was an incredible ughter of death, it didn¡¯t do anything to kill the kin.

    The kin shook her arm while seeming irritated.

    Some of the des had reached the kin.

    However, they couldn¡¯t even give her pain, and in the end six corpses that were separated up and down were created.

    ¡°If you think of it as an afterimage, there is an entity.¡± (Devil¡¯s Kin)

    ¡°Hee. I can¡¯t afford to beat someone so talkative.¡± (Frederica)

    As Frederica was impressed, she spoke to Rainier.

    Speaking of the Sword Saint, he was taking some distance from the flying kin.

    While he was estimating the time for an opportunity, he still hadn¡¯t pulled out his sword yet.

    ¡°If there isn¡¯t a barrier, then here¡¯s this one!¡± (Frederica)

    Frederica raised her cane with light shining on its tip.

    As it glowed brightly, energy floats out bit by bit, making a huge ball of light.

    ¡°Ah, um, is it okay to be so rxed at this time?! Well, I think that it¡¯s too big!¡± (Rainier)

    It was even bigger than what she had created on the roof of the tower.

    It was like the sun, it jumped out of the tower and went far beyond the size that fits inside the tower.

    ¡°Full throttle! No regrets!¡± (Frederica)

    ¡°No, but by involving all of this with that¡± (Rainier)

    However, Rainier¡¯s worries were useless.

    The ball of light that was covering the sky grew smaller quickly.

    The surroundings of the ball of light were dimly flickering.

    The ball of light had all of its enormous magical powerpressed to the limit.

    But, what kind of phenomenon would ur when itnded?

    Rainier¡¯s body began to tremble little by little because of a bad premonition.

    Fortunately, the kin didn¡¯t pay attention to Frederica.

    She¡¯s just slowly killing people one at a time from whoever is nearby.

    ¡°Take this!¡± (Frederica)

    Frederica swings her cane down pointed at the kin.

    The ball of lightpressed into the size of a fist flies towards the kin with tremendous speed.

    The kin doesn¡¯t even look at the ball of light, and casually waves her hand.

    She grabbed the ball of light, and nothing happened.

    ¡°What!?¡± (Frederica)

    Frederica was frozen.

    Her recognition was probably not keeping up with reality.

    This time, it was indeed supposed to be the best blow she¡¯s ever done with all of her strength, so she thought that it was crushed too easily.

    ¡°I think that it was powerful for a human being. I wonder if you thought it would burn me when it hit©`¡± (???)

    That voice came from a little boy in front of Frederica.

    Before they knew it, he was staring at Frederica with his hands behind his back.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s useless to do anything if you can¡¯t cross the dimensional barrier.¡± (Boy)

    ¡°What?!¡± (Frederica)

    Frederica struck with her cane reflexively.

    The boy epted it with his left hand.

    Rainier couldn¡¯t believe it.

    Frederica isn¡¯t extraordinarily strong, but the blow that even crushed the head of the dragon was stopped quickly by the boy¡¯s narrow arms.

    ¡°Yu~up. I¡¯m sorry, but it appears that sister isn¡¯t on the stage to fight with us. You don¡¯t even know what is being done now, do you?¡± (Boy)

    ¡°This boy!¡± (Frederica)

    As Frederica isn¡¯t retrieving the cane, he pulls back.

    Frederica fell on her backside from the momentum of the force.

    However, while the cane is still in the boy¡¯s hands, Frederica¡¯s hand was also holding the cane.

    Frederica¡¯s right arm had been severed from the elbow.

    ¡°Do you like sweet things because you are a girl? I thought it would be better to have some sweets, but what about you?¡± (Boy)

    ¡°N, no way! What is this!¡± (Frederica)

    Frederica¡¯s right arm was discolored brown.

    As if it was a baked good itself, it was hard and rough.

    The boy had stolen the right hand holding the cane, and pieces of it started to fall down and scatter inrge drops.

    Frederica who saw it lost her fighting spirit, and Rick sliced at the boy with his sword.

    The boy jumped out of the way exaggeratedly and dodged.

    ¡°Yup. That older brother can still fight. The sword and armor are good. I don¡¯t know where he got it, but it can reach us.¡± (Boy)

    ¡°Rainier-san! I entrust Frederica-san to you!¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Eh, ah, yes!¡± (Rainier)

    Although Rainier was stunned by the miseries that ured one by one, when he was called by Rick he returned to reality.

    ¡°Sword Saint-sama! Unique individuals have started appearing together!¡± (Maid 1)

    The tardy maid doll that appeared was tardy in giving her report.

    ¡°Do not call us unique individuals. We also have names. I am Lute. The person with wings is Orugein. Well, while it may be a brief rtionship, best regards.¡± (Boy->Lute)

    The boy who identified himself as Lute greeted them courteously.

    ¡°This is bad. There has never been a case of twoing out.¡± (Sword Saint)

    Impatience was seen on the Sword Saint¡¯s face.

    Since the kin would asionally emerge from the barrier, the Sword Saint kept killing it.

    However, no more than one would appear at the same time.

    ¡°Rainier! What to do, what to do, what to do?! I¡¯m not getting healed! I¡¯ve be baked goods!¡± (Frederica)

    Frederica was in a state of confusion.

    She had never been hurt since she had been born in this world.

    Her first injury that had happened since she was born was an abnormal one: her right arm had turned into sweets and crumbled apart.

    With this, she couldn¡¯t keep calm.

    She was also good at recovery magic, and had been trying desperately to get rid of it, but the effect wasn¡¯t showing at all.

    The child of the devil with wings, Orugein, was slowly killing one person at a time.

    The appearance of the boy, Lute, was dodging while ridiculing Rick¡¯s attacks.

    The rope they depended on in this situation, the Sword Saint, was still doing nothing.

    Sitting down while putting his hands on the sword¡¯s handle, he may have been trying to cause something, but he didn¡¯t seem to be useful at present.

    Rainier was only able to watch the disaster.

    Because Rainier was powerless.

    He never had much ability originally.

    All he had done so far was he had crushed the errand girl that came from the summons, moreover, he had done it over and over again.

    There weren¡¯t enough star crystals left, so he couldn¡¯t summon a ferocious being.

    He couldn¡¯t think that there was any meaning if he tried to fight against the Devil¡¯s kin again.

    He couldn¡¯t do anything anymore.

    Rainier forced augh, but at that time, he noticed something flickering in the corner of his sight.

    It was a message from the goddess.

    He confirmed it while he felt he was clinging onto a straw.

    ¡¾Announcement¡¿Once more, the limited UR Gacha is now being held!

    Rainier decided to bet on it.

    Meanwhile¡­

    Yogiri and the others were going down the stairs to the basement.

    As they were in the small room that they first entered, there was no need to search, but a new problem had urred.

    It seemed the stairs endlessly continued towards the basement.

    It was an unusual sight.

    The tower was on the edge of the cliff.

    If the stairs were still being seen, then they should have already burst out of the side of the cliff.

    However, they couldn¡¯t afford to be stupefied at the impossible sight.

    The three of them continued down the stairs.

    However, they didn¡¯t even feel a sign of the end while they were descending.

    And, as they climbed up the stairs, they quickly reached the original small room.

    ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s also a barrier here¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said while once again going down the stairs for the time being.

    ¡ºHmm. If there is a barrier interfering, it may be a barrier that is interfering with the airspace. Some sort of gimmick like prolonging extension of distance to the underground?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°The other side also has this, so if it¡¯s the ce that controls the barrier, isn¡¯t it natural to defend it?¡± (Yogiri)

    This is a trial in the tower.

    There was no need for people to be able toe in easily.

    ¡°Does it feel like the people are ahead?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°There¡¯s no mistake. The feeling of them is bing stronger.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡ºHmm. Things like presences, they are reaching without being interrupted by the barrier. Somehow it seems like trouble.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°It¡¯s probably my brethren who created this barrier.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡ºI see. I thought that the tower absorbed souls in order to maintain the barrier, but since it has the half demons as an independent energy source, they can further develop the barrier¡¯s strength.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°It¡¯s good to think about how it works. What to do then? This walking?¡± (Tomochika)

    Whether or not she¡¯s following the story, Tomochika said that it¡¯s boring.

    ¡°I guess that it¡¯s a certainty, so there has to be a way we can go down, but what do we do?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, well then. Takatou-kun, are you going to kill it? Whether or not this somehow is the barrier?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri wondered if he could say something and he thought about it.

    ¡°This is difficult. What would I be killing in this case?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°¡­¡­space?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what the meaning of killing space is.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand the meaning fully, but you¡¯ve killed ice, and you¡¯ve also killed doors!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°For example, if this barrier is trying to trap me, it¡¯s possible to recognize the barrier itself as a threat and kill it. But, this is simply where I can¡¯t go forward, it¡¯s not a situation where I will die if I don¡¯t go forward.¡± (Yogiri)

    To kill something, Yogiri needed to recognize the target, but space was just too vague.

    Anything could be invoked against the threat of death even when he couldn¡¯t recognize the target, but this time, it wasn¡¯t so.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what will happen if I kill space, but as long as there isn¡¯t anything wrong, I feel like it¡¯s better not to.¡± (Yogiri)

    In the worst case, the world may even copse.

    It would be one of the forbidden moves.

    ¡°How did you help Mokomoko-san? Back then, you stopped the tower from absorbing souls. Can¡¯t you break it with that feeling?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well, in this case, the origin of the barrier may be the brethren of Theodosia-san, wouldn¡¯t it? If the source of the barrier is destroyed, the people we were supposed to have helped would be dead, so then there would be no point at all.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºMaybe I can go through. I don¡¯t have an entity.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t quite understand spirits very well¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    As Mokomoko was acting together with Yogiri and the others, she was recognized by the spatial interference.

    ¡ºIt would seem that presences are likely able to get through. So, I¡¯ll go ahead and check our current situation. Theodosia could make a path if the source of the barrier was able to be identified, and the kid would have to kill the ce where the barrier would try to stop us from passing through.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well, because I don¡¯t understand what it is, Mokomoko-san, please try it skillfully.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºHmm. Well then¡­¡­oh?¡»(Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko tilted her head.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºSomehow, I felt like I was shook.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºHow should I say it, it was like a shaking feeling in my heart.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Even if you say such a thing¡± (Yogiri)

    Rooooooooooou!

    They heard a deafening roar.

    And then, the space shifted.

    Yogiri perceived the phenomenon like that.

    A line ran perpendicr to the space with the stairs, moving slightly up and down to the left and right.

    It was only for a moment, and then it went back to how it was originally immediately, but the phenomenon caused a change in the stairs.

    The straight staircase was now gently curved, but the destination couldn¡¯t be seen.

    It was the original appearance of the staircase, arge spiral staircase made along the inner circumference of the tower.

    ¡ºYes? Was the barrier removed? What does that mean¡­¡­¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well, it saves me the trouble of doing something, but it would still be nice if we didn¡¯t have to go down.¡± (Yogiri)

    When Yogiri continued to go down the stairs, a gust of wind blew up from the bottom.

    Tomochika instantly clung to Yogiri¡¯s arms.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yogiri)

    Tomochika was trembling.

    ¡°Something¡­¡­some ck thing has passed through¡­¡­but a monster with the sharp edges sprung up¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    It was visible to Tomochika.

    However, she wondered what it was like with Yogiri and the others.

    Yogiri looked backwards.

    There weren¡¯t any traces to be found that anything has passed through.

    However, it seemed to be heading straight into the ground.

 Chapter 18 - Your fortune is the worst of the worst!

    <h4>Chapter 18 - Your fortune is the worst of the worst!</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    Summoning arade with star crystals.

    Rainier had done this process many times in the past, but most things that came out were small animals such as squirrels or rats.

    Sometimes there was a dog or wolf.

    asionally even people came out, but they weren¡¯t warriors, they were just vigers who could hardly do anything in the role ofbat.

    For Rainier, being able to summon at thest minute was the only good thing about gambling.

    When it said that it was a limited UR, that hadn¡¯t changed.

    This was because thest time he did a limited UR summon, it was only a copy of the goddess, whose appearance was only beautiful, and she didn¡¯t hold any real power.

    There was a possibility that it would be the same this time.

    However, Rainier found hope in the required number of star crystals.

    It was 5 for thest time, but it was 20 this time.

    The chances should be greater as there was a greater price.

    The meaning in this difference of numbers couldn¡¯t be found anywhere else.

    If a true warrior with the power of a UR appeared, they would be able to ovee this unavoidable situation.

    If that possibility existed, it might be worth it to use all 20 of them he had on hand.

    However, he also had to think about it.

    He should preserve star crystals if he wanted even a chance at survival.

    It was for the best to use star crystals for reviving.

    Whatever major injury he would get could be cured by consuming it, that wasn¡¯t affected by his luck.

    The merits of this were great for the lucky Rainier.

    Rainier looked at the state of Frederica, who was crouching.

    From the top of her right shoulder down had been altered.

    It was the result from it being separated almost instantly.

    Fortunately, it was not a serious threat to her life, but she wasn¡¯t in a state where she could move.

    If they continued to stay there, they would be killed.

    ¡ª¡ªIt isn¡¯t a situation where I can afford to lose!

    Rainier put both his hands forward as he made all of the star crystals materialize.

    Then, he prayed.

    He envisioned the strongest existence and strongly wished for it.

    The star crystals immediately disappeared collectively, and the space in front of him began to shine brightly.

    Then, something like a sparkling star shined and began to scatter.

    He had a bad feeling about this.

    He thought about how it was like thisst time.

    However, Rainier told himself that all URs appeared like this.

    The light faded, and someone appeared.

    Rainier crumpled to his knees.

    There was a woman who appeared.

    While wearing a luxurious costume and fancy embellishments, she showed off hervish and gorgeous skin.

    In her right hand was a long and beautiful treasure sword, and being sped in her left hand were treasure rings filled with divine authority, but he didn¡¯t know the purpose of them.

    Her weapons weren¡¯t only limited to that, as an axe, a spear, a sharp knife, a sword, and a shield were floating to protect the woman.

    Flowers danced around the woman, the stars gleamed, and a refreshing wind blew around her.

    The melody of blessings resounded from somewhere, and he even heard the voice of joy.

    It can be said that it was good, appropriate for a UR.

    However, Rainier could not hide his despair.

    It was because this woman was the goddess who sent him to this world.

    In other words, it ended in the same result asst time.

    ¡°Ju, just a minute! Why have I been forsaken so, it¡¯s all over! It looks just like her face!¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier probably had a face full of despair.

    The goddess wasined to in a hurry.

    ¡°But I¡¯m using my resources directly, or something like that!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Ah, it is okay this time. I¡¯ve properlye in my body.¡± (Goddess)

    ¡°Hmm, then, this now?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Now I can use my full authority! The Devil¡¯s kin? Such an underling is also an underling to me. It¡¯s nothing more than a small fry!¡± (Goddess)

    ¡°Ooh! Th, then!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Hmm. Well, watch me. Everything will be all finished in a moment!¡± (Goddess)

    Rainier was relieved.

    It seemed to be okay this time.

    After all, she is a goddess.

    No matter how hard the opponent was, everyone is only a servant of God after all.

    It¡¯s natural that they would have to bow in front of a majestic God.

    The goddess walked steadily towards the kin.

    The kin noticed that a presence of a different rank appeared, and they quickly stopped fighting and stared at the goddess.

    ¡°Rainier-san, what is this?!¡± (Rick)

    After a short pause, Rick came to, and asked him.

    ¡°I did it! She¡¯s a goddess! I sessfully summoned the goddess! I¡¯m already safe!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know which goddess she is, but she¡¯s certainly got tremendous godly authority.¡± (Rick)

    Rick understood as the power being emitted from her was felt by him.

    The majesty of the goddess was also being transmitted to him.

    ¡°Hmm. Frederica¡¯s injury might be able to be cured!¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier just smiled as though he knew everything was solved.

    The goddess stood in front of Orugein, the winged kin.

    Then, Orugein took a knee in front of the goddess while hanging his head.

    ¡°Oh! What¡¯s this?! It¡¯s been settled without fighting!¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier was thoroughly impressed.

    It was because things hadn¡¯t been working well so far.

    At thest minute, if it was possible to hit jackpots on at this stage where the extinction of mankind was on the bnce, there was an illusion that his fortune wasn¡¯t that bad after all.

    However, his fortune was still the worst.

    ¡°Vahanato-sensei, why do you want to stay at such a ce?¡± (Orugein)

    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Goddess)

    The situation was very strange.

    The Devil¡¯s kin¡¯s attitude didn¡¯t seem to be one you would take against the goddess of justice.

    At first, he wondered if it was afraid of the transcendental being and was asking for forgiveness.

    However, it seemed that it was like weing the presence close to their lord with joy.

    ¡°Oh! If it isn¡¯t Vahanato-sensei! What has happened? I thought that it would still be a while before the barrier wasplete©`¡± (Lute)

    While the male kin, Lute, is ying like a puppy, Rainier jumped to the goddess who he didn¡¯t know the name of, Vahanato.

    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s right. As from what I have seen up to this point, your luck is the worst of the worst!¡± (Goddess->Vahanato)

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s all about that, but now what¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°It¡¯s the end of mankind, is it okay to say that I have finished it?¡± (Vahanato)

    Vahanato said that quickly, and Rainier was knocked down to the depths of despair.

    It would have been better if he hadn¡¯t called for help.

    Everything Rainier did just attracted more disaster.

    They went down the stairs and entered the underground room.

    It looked terrible.

    It was a room made of stone, but the walls, ceiling, and floor were cut down.

    Tomochika wondered if she was seeing someone¡¯s handiwork.

    The marks were deep, and everything seemed to be torn and cut up.

    However, it was originally a room with nothing, as it was especially empty.

    What made it stand out was that one side was wide open.

    ¡°It¡¯s still further ahead.¡± (Yogiri)

    There seemed to be a window, as the canyon was visible from the opening.

    It was likely used to check the center of the barrier that sealed the Devil, but now there¡¯s no point in going there.

    There was a door where they were supposed to head to on the opposite side.

    The door was closed, but Yogiri easily opened it.

    There might have been some strong seal on this door, but no matter how tough it could have been, if it¡¯s in front of him, there isn¡¯t any difficulty in killing it.

    Yogiri entered it and advanced.

    The inside was dark.

    There were no windows in this room.

    ¡°Please leave it alone. You can use it if you have enough magic to make a light.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I was telling you that I¡¯m not good at magic, but that alone is simple, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Theodosia)

    When Theodosia said something and a ball of light rose from her palm, Tomochika raised a voice in admiration.

    The ball of light was as big as a fist, it stopped soaring near the heavens.

    When Theodosia entered the room, the ball of light also came with her.

    It apparently moved around Theodosia¡¯s head and seemingly illuminated the area.

    There were giant cylinders made of ss lined up in a row.

    Like the previous room, they had be miserable as well.

    In the next room, everything was chopped up as well.

    ¡°Dannoura-san, please wait here.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri pushed Tomochika, who was trying to enter the room, aside.

    ¡°Huh?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It would be better if you didn¡¯t look.¡± (Yogiri)

    The corpses had been chopped up, so he didn¡¯t relent.

    ¡ºHmm. Please obediently listen to him.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko also agreed.

    Tomochika decided to stay outside of the room.

    ¡°¡­¡­Do you know who these fellow people are?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°¡­¡­they probably are¡­¡­¡± (Theodosia)

    Theodosia pointed to one of the cylinders.

    The cylinder was broken, but the liquid was left remaining at the bottom.

    A person was floating inside.

    Since they had silver hair and brown skin, he guessed it was a half-demon.

    However, they didn¡¯t look like a person.

    All the cylinders in the room were in a simr state.

    ¡°It seems awfully cruel for me to be relieved from seeing my brethren in such a state.¡± (Theodosia)

    Theodosia, who had confirmed all of the cylinders, said inwardly to mock herself.

    ¡°Is your little sister-san not here?¡± (Yogiri)

    Since the physical features remained, discrimination between people was should be possible.

    ¡°Ah. But, what do I do with them now? Is it possible to easily do it with your power, Takatou-dono?¡± (Theodosia)

    Some of them had died after taking the attack of the monster, but some of them were left living but struggling as is.

    ¡°I think it would be better to relieve them. Well, if you believe in the resting of the soul.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s irresponsible of me to leave my brethren to others.¡± (Theodosia)

    Theodosia pulled out her sword.

    Yogiri left the room first.

    A little whileter, Theodosia also came out.

    ¡°So, what are you going to do now?¡± (Tomochika)

    She had somewhat guessed what happened somehow.

    Tomochika looked meek.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back up first, and after that depends on the circumstances.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°I see! It¡¯s thest boss! Oh, but I wonder if the Sword Saint has fallen yet¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°What about the Sword Saint?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was a little pissed off.

    Fighting might have been necessary to protect the world.

    But, for whatever reason, he didn¡¯t think that it was enough to trample over the dignity of other people.

    ¡°I was always taught to dispel grudges. However, this isn¡¯t the sort of thing you can just leave to others. If you want to kill the Sword Saint with your own hands, I won¡¯t pay attention to him.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Understood.¡± (Theodosia)

    If she were in her current state of mind, she may have permitted him if she was told that he would help her.

    However, if she killed the Sword Saint because she was disgusted, her animosity would disappear.

    Once thates off, it would be difficult to return to the original.

    ¡ª¡ªWell, if the Sword Saint tries to kill me, there won¡¯t be any future trouble.

    Yogiri thought a little of such a thing.

    The battle situation had once again been calmed down by the appearance of the goddess.

    Of course, there were some straightforward people who tried to identify as to what the opponent was, but they unceremoniously bowed in front of the goddess¡¯s authority.

    ¡°Kneel.¡± (Vahanato)

    It was just a single word.

    However, because it was a word from the goddess, it was filled with authority.

    Only the Sword Saint, Rick, and Rainier were able to resist.

    In other words, it was only these three people that could fight, so it wasn¡¯t a situation where they could blindly wage war.

    Fortunately, as the goddess was warming up with her old friends, her attention wasn¡¯t directed towards the Sword Saint and others.

    Rainier was stunned at this outrageous situation, but the Sword Saint went over to him.

    ¡°Ah, that¡­¡­I¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s because of you. I didn¡¯t think that you could do anything.¡± (Sword Saint)

    How could he make excuses?

    However, the Sword Saint didn¡¯t dwell on such a thing anymore.

    ¡°The situation is bad. But, there is still something that you can do. I will give you the qualification to be the Sword Saint, for the time being.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°Wha, it¡¯s being given to me?!¡± (Rick)

    Rick raised a hysteric voice.

    He wondered if he was a little surprised.

    ¡°I guess just being able to move in this situation is enough for you so far. I¡¯ll mention it just to be safe, but there is only one Sword Saint in the entire world. In other words, when I die, you will automatically be the next Sword Saint. Sword Saint isn¡¯t just a title, well, I think you can understand it at that point. However, it isn¡¯t as though I¡¯m going to die so easily.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°What should we do?¡± (Rick)

    ¡°It¡¯s convenient that they arezing around. I¡¯ll absorb the power that¡¯s stored in the tower now. Even the goddess will be surpassed if we manage to gather it to a certain extent.¡± (Sword Saint)

    ¡°So time needs to be made somehow. It seems that there is only one thing to do.¡± (Rick)

    It seemed that Rick had made up his mind.

    And, Rainier realized that nothing was expected from him.

    Certainly, he couldn¡¯t do anything for himself.

    However, it was him who made the situation worse.

    He couldn¡¯t just afford to stand still.

    ¡ª¡ªIf hemitted suicide¡­¡­

    Rainier¡¯s ability, random walk, was to be able to do everything over again.

    However, if he came back to life, it would be at the spot where he stayed at the top of the tower.

    Besides, if the Devil¡¯s kin still came in the end, whether or not he summoned the goddess, nothing would change when he died.

    ¡°We, well! Goddess-sama! Would you like to talk for a bit!¡± (Rainier)

    So, Rainier thought of what he could do at this ce.

    The goddess was the one who sent Rainier to this world.

    He didn¡¯t know her.

    If it was for the sake of earning time, he thought that he could talk for a little bit.

    ¡°Wh~at?¡± (Vahanato)

    She was in a surprisingly willing state, so the goddess Vahanato asked him in return.

    ¡°We, well, although I don¡¯t know the reason, what¡¯s going on? I summoned you, didn¡¯t I? Why are you chatting with the enemy?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Oh, you want to hear it? What should I do~. I wonder if I should tell you~.¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°That¡¯s right~. What does it mean from you? Well, I have quite a rtionship with you, so it¡¯s unbelievable to die without any objections. Ok. I will tell you.¡± (Vahanato)

    The goddess came to talk quite easily.

 Chapter 19 - Didnâ€™t you say that you were an enemy of the world?

    <h4>Chapter 19 - Didn¡¯t you say that you were an enemy of the world?</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    ¡°Now then. First of all, I wonder where I should start speaking from. Well, our final objective is to bring Alubagaluma-sama home, but his whereabouts are unknown.¡± (Vahanato)

    The moment that he heard that name, a shiver ran up Rainier¡¯s spine.

    It was the abhorred and frightening name of the Devil that no one ever mentioned.

    ¡°I wonder if Darling identally wandered off somewhere. But, as always, he isn¡¯t here. I don¡¯t think he wille back no matter how long I wait.¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°Are you married to him?¡± (Rainier)

    He had to stretch the conversation to earn some time anyway.

    Rainier didn¡¯t really have any interest, but he asked her as if he was interested.

    Fortunately, when he spoke, it seemed that the kin also turned quiet.

    ¡°Ah, sorry, was that a little too over-friendly?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°No. Although you are of a lower rank, you still have a rtionship with Vahanato-sama. Even if I don¡¯t like it.¡± (Orugein)

    Orugein, who was kneeling, responded respectfully.

    ¡°Hmm. Am I like a stalker-wife? Well, unlike humans, for us marriage is not a legal thing, so if they mutually agree, then that makes it okay. Well, I wonder if that¡¯s seems just a little ignorant. Darling is a shy person.¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier got the feeling the goddess was quite empty.

    ¡°So, I thought it was quite unusual, so I searched for him. I had heard that he had seemingly gone to another world, so after I sent messengers to various worlds, I finally found that he was in this world. So then, I intensely explored this world, but it was slow, as I couldn¡¯t directly manipte the world. Only bits and pieces of shared information got taken in at the times when people died and were brought in. Analysis is a pain.¡± (Vahanato)

    Whether or not there was the desire to tell someone about her hardships, Vahanato talked quite a bit.

    ¡°Haa, well, you seem to be interfering now.¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°This is a fairly roundabout method. The star crystal extension system was added to this world. As you are a person of this world, it was meant to be integrated, but to interfere, I added myself as an administrator as part of the contents. Therefore, I was able to exchange messages, and by taking the form that you have summoned, I am able toe here. Well, it is certain that Darling is staying here, as well as it being certain that the seal can be removed although it seems that I can not do this many times. Is he cooperatively choosing to go along with this by his own will?¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°Anyhow! By doing such a thing while knowing that he seems to be sealed in this world and that the Sword Saint seems to be managing him, I had then thought that I should deal with the Sword Saint, but it had already be the worst development from there. I couldn¡¯t win against him no matter what or who I sent in.¡± (Vahanato)

    Vahanato looked at the Sword Saint as if she had a grudge against him.

    Rainier didn¡¯t know how long the goddess had been sending in messengers, but it was a thousand year old story.

    She thought that she surely had it with this ce.

    ¡°Anyhow, while you carry the fate of mankind itself, fate is pretty stupid! I can¡¯t even win even though I have overwhelming specs!¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°Err, may I have a moment?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°What?¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°Against that strong person (the Sword Saint), why couldn¡¯t I use random walk? Could I not win if I did it over and over again?¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s impossible. A hero with a lot of fate can¡¯t be returned to death by starting again. Such a thing is cool, isn¡¯t it? That¡¯s why it¡¯s exclusive to those garbage small fries.¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°Garbage small fries¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier felt a little down.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m not an idiot. After all, because you have the worst fortune, it worked out. After all, even if I sent in a strong enemy, it wouldn¡¯t defeat the Sword Saint. It would be an enemy of mankind, and the Sword Saint has exceptional strength against the enemies of mankind. Well you see, if we changed the idea; what would happen if we sent you, as the ally of mankind, but the one who has the worst fortune and died if he was left alone?¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°No way¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°In other words, because you have the worst fortune and you¡¯re the ally of mankind, the human race will perish! Basically, the worst development will happen; the seal will be broken and the Devil will revive!¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°No no no, I mean, I¡¯ll die soon, won¡¯t I? Such a n won¡¯t seed well¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    However, he thought.

    He had random walk and star crystals for that reason.

    ¡°You managed to survive even though you have the worst fortune. So, fate will surely kill you. Even if you aren¡¯t killed, the situation will rapidly but steadily get worse, and ultimately, the disaster of mankind¡¯s extinction will happen. And, well, that¡¯s why it¡¯s like this. How¡¯s it going now, I don¡¯t know if the seal is about to be broken, but because your fortune is bad, the situation will be unpleasant, just like a lot of ovepping chains.¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°Wh, what do you mean, that¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    Rainier crumpled to his knees.

    He was aware that he naturally had bad luck.

    However, he had never thought that it would be bad enough to make mankind go extinct.

    ¡°Then if, if Imited suicide in this ce¡­¡­¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°It¡¯s no good, you would just die! That¡¯s because this is the future that I wanted. I¡¯ve already decided up to this point, so I erased your ability as a precaution. But since you¡¯re going to die anyway, why don¡¯t you just watch the resurrection of my Darling?¡± (Vahanato)

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t understand the reason for this! From my point of view, I would die and it would return to how it was originally! Only for any other person would they would only see it as they are dead!¡± (Rainier)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because there are gods. The dice just keeps getting rolled until the desired result is achieved, and someone else is allowed to make that decision happen and then you get a good feeling. Well, I also feel that it¡¯s useless to try to exin this feeling to humans.¡± (Vahanto)

    He had intended to earn time, but Rainier had lost the will to speak.

    Even though he didn¡¯t do anything, simply because his fortune was bad, everything was going to destroy the world because he was alive.

    Rainier copsed, and while he was looking at the floor, he heard the sound of something simr to something going down.

    He slowly raised his face and looked towards in front of him.

    A sight simr to hell was in view.

    He was looking at an army of strange monsters, and they wereing one after another.

    ¡°I wonder if the barrier has been destroyed except for the center part of it. I think it will be just a little bit more, it indeed seems that the essential part isn¡¯t so easy toplete.¡± (Lute)

    The one with the boyish appearance, Lute, says.

    The kin of the Devil had been released from the barrier and were gathering here.

    ¡°Well, because we are just waiting for him toe here, I¡¯ll go look and examine it for a bit.¡± (Vahanato)

    As Vahanato said that, she disyed the manner of thinking while holding her forehead.

    Such a gesture was simr to a human¡¯s.

    After the goddess had been doing it for a while, she suddenly burst intoughter.

    While she had the appearance as if she couldn¡¯t stopughing, she looked at Rainier with watery eyes.

    ¡°No, you truly have the worst fortune. There isn¡¯t any choice except tough. You know what, as a matter of fact, the creator of the barrier ising here. When that persones, you can restore the barrier to how it was before.¡± (Vahanato)

    What was wrong with that?

    Rainier didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Whether or not such a thing exists, fate has brought them here. But, that person is dead! I didn¡¯t know something like that! And, the goddess killer has alsoe! He is quite a nice criminal. They are cautious, but that person is able to kill me if I am untactful, so naturally I¡¯ll die. Sugoine-kun, I didn¡¯t think that you would be sent here. Didn¡¯t you say that you were an enemy of the world?¡± (Vahanato)

    Rainier couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything anymore.

    ¡°So, how¡¯s the barrier?¡± (Lute)

    Lute asked when he was out of limbs that weren¡¯t numb.

    ¡°Ah. All of it has scattered and the core of the barrier is now visible.¡± (Vahanato)

    The goddess threw back the sword that she had in her hands, and the sword joined the flock of floating armaments behind her.

    Then, she stretched her right hand forward.

    Space waved like the surface of the water, and her hand disappeared into it.

    And after she finished looking like she was searching for something in it, she pulled back her hand.

    A pulsating reddish-purple mass was held in her hand that appeared.

    There were many tubes that were torn off after it, and it dripped a dull ck liquid.

    From her previous speech, it was probably the important core of the barrier.

    ¡°Why do you have it? You can just crush it.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Look at it. The barrier has disappeared while you were unaware. That is because the people guarding it were so pathetic. Because it has been long-awaited, I thought I would let you see the moment when Darling is resurrected.¡± (Vahanato)

    Rainier looked at Rick and the Sword Saint who were next to him.

    Both of them had expressions like they were blown away by despair.

    The Sword Saint had said that they would be able to strike back if he absorbed the power of the tower.

    However, could he say the same thing about the Devil¡¯s army?

    No matter how much was umted, the core of the barrier was already in the enemy¡¯s hands.

    In other words, as soon as the goddess came out, they couldn¡¯t do anything.

    ¡°What are you going to do about the Holy Queen? You would have to fight with Lord-sama in someway or another. Isn¡¯t she strong?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°She, controlling the power of mass sacrifice, held down Lord-sama for a moment using all of his strength. She won¡¯t have any strength left if the barrier is broken.¡± (Orugein)

    Orugein replied to Lute¡¯s question.

    ¡°But, I can interpret this as me looking at that woman flirting with Darling for 1,000 years while she¡¯s frozen. I¡¯m a little irritated, so I shall take her as a reward. Let¡¯s capture that Holy Queen woman alive. Ah, you are a bit in the way, so please make some room. Look, from here I can¡¯t see the young woman.¡± (Vahanato)

    The kin of the Devil made room in ordance to the goddess.

    The goddess lightly shook her hand that had the treasure ring.

    With that alone, the walls and rooms that remained on the 1st floor changed into an empty plot ofnd.

    Beyond that, in the canyon, the barrier is visible.

    The goddess and the kin approached closer to the tower.

    They headed to a location where the barrier was well within sight.

    ¡°Look, look. Is that distance really okay? Why don¡¯t you approach it just a bit closer already?¡± (Vahanato)

    Rainier and the others were walking naturally, but it wasn¡¯t because they were invited.

    They couldn¡¯t idly just stay where they were.

    They came to a position that looked down on 1st floor of the tower.

    The center of the cliff had been hollowed out in a sphere.

    Two figures were floating there.

    The ck one was the Devil.

    The white one was the Holy Queen.

    Both were facing each other, and they continued to rest in the same position.

    When Tomochika and the others had started to climb up the stairs out of the small room, the 1st floor had be an empty lot.

    ¡°Ahh! I feel like the situation has gotten worse!¡± (Tomochika)

    The scene looked like hell.

    The monsters that were crowding there seemed simr to the Devil.

    When Tomochika looked around, she instantly understood the center of the matter.

    One woman, a woman with a different atmosphere, stood majestically on the side of the cliff.

    She isn¡¯t a monster, but although she doesn¡¯t seem to be a kin of the Devil, everyone would know that the woman was a part of the situation.

    There were humanoid monsters around the woman.

    In the middle, there was also the winged man that Tomochika had called thest boss.

    They were the higher ss among the monsters.

    And, facing those monsters was the Sword Saint and the others.

    The Sword Saint, Rick, and Rainier.

    There were only three people, the others were killed or seriously injured, and they were kneeling and couldn¡¯t move.

    If she thought about it, it was an atmosphere that said they most likely had lost.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s a scene simr to the end of the world. I feel that I couldn¡¯t win against even one of the monsters in the surroundings.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°It seems so, but what about the monster that Dannoura-san saw?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s been quite a while, and it should¡¯vee here¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    However, its figure could not be found.

    ¡°Come now! It¡¯s time to unlock the seal after so long! It¡¯s time for the resurrection of Darling!¡± (Vahanato)

    It wasn¡¯t very dignified, but the woman dered so with a clear resounding voice.

    The detestable lump she had in hand is put overhead with ominous feeling, and then she crushed it as she showed it off.

    Do-kun.

    There was a sound simr to a heartbeat.

    The space that was frozen around the devil pulsed.

    Then, space shook.

    And suddenly, the space cracked apart like it was nothing.

    Pishiri.

    The space that was hardened like ss was filled with infinitesimal cracks.

    Cracks flickered and spread out in the space, and it soon reached its limit.

    Along with an intense shine, the space flew out.

    And, the barrier disappeared.

    What had been frozen was released.

    ¡°Ufufufufufu~! Ah, Darling! I missed you! Were you waiting for me? I feel like flying now!¡± (Vahanato)

    The goddess was ecstatic, and she raised her voice in joy.

    The white woman swiftly flew from inside the center of the barrier and went to the side of the Sword Saint.

    From the story that was heard from Rick, that person was called the Holy Queen.

    Then, there the one other person left in the barrier.

    Speaking of the Devil, he had fallen.

    ¡°Wha?¡± (???)

    Tomochika didn¡¯t know whose voice it was.

    But, it would be impossible for most people to say that in there.

    The Devil fell straight down due to gravity.

    Po-chan.

    She felt that it was this such sound that was heard.

    The Devil fell into the river that was running through the canyon.

    ¡°Huh?¡± (Tomochika)

    Everyone had solidified.

    ¡°Somehow, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri somehow was unapologetic even though he was apologizing.

 Chapter 20 - How was it necessary for me to cling to you!?

    <h4>Chapter 20 - How was it necessary for me to cling to you!?</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    Although almost everyone was stunned, there were people who started to act.

    Theodosia was the first.

    From her point of view, neither the barrier nor the Devil existed in her eyes, so she had hardly received any shock.

    She didn¡¯t hesitate to use this golden opportunity.

    While taking a step forward, she calmly drew her sword to her side.

    She beheaded the Sword Saint easily by releasing a shockwave.

    The next to move was the de monster that Tomochika had seen.

    ¡°What?¡± (Vahanato)

    The person who had raised the stupid voice was the goddess Vahanato.

    She continued to chase the falling Devil Alubagaluma, and when she clearly witnessed him falling into the river with her own eyes, her mind became nk.

    She couldn¡¯t ept reality.

    Then, she returned to herself and saw a ck knife growing from her chest.

    ¡°What¡­is this?¡± (Vahanato)

    She looked back with only her head.

    There was a monster with de-like sharp edges on its entire body.

    The edge that had gone through her was growing out of its elbow.

    This further confused the goddess.

    She couldn¡¯t understand the meaning of it at all.

    This was impossible.

    It shouldn¡¯t be able to prate a god¡¯s flesh.

    A glowing pair of red eyes were staring at Vahanato.

    She was trying to find its purpose somehow, but Vahanato¡¯s thoughts just became even more disordered.

    The monster pierced the side of Vahanato¡¯s head with its fingertips.

    A god couldn¡¯t die from this degree.

    However, most of her thought had to be done with the brain since she became incarnated.

    She couldn¡¯t even think of a way to fight back decently.

    She could see that the monster was exploring inside.

    And then, a thought came to her.

    This was the monster that had broken most of the barrier.

    This monster had been caught by the barrier¡¯s defense mechanism, but it was able to escape by breaking it apart haphazardly.

    And this monster that had spent most of its energy to escape had been watching Vahanato in stealth mode while looking for a gap.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s not you.¡»

    Its disappointment was transmitted to her.

    She understood that it was searching for Rainier for something.

    She didn¡¯t understand the definite reason for it, but she didn¡¯t want to, if that was how it was.

    The monster was looking for god.

    She wondered if it was chasing after the small trace of the presence of god that Rainier had.

    The monster¡¯s hand was pulled out with a shoook.

    It wasn¡¯t interested anymore and had no inclination to deal the finishing blow.

    Vahanato copsed, and the monster flew away somewhere.

    The Sword Saint¡¯s head fell off, the woman was pierced by a monster, the Holy Queen copsed on the spot, and the person who was encased in ice started to move.

    ¡°Loooooorrrrdddddd!¡± (Orugein)

    The winged kin jumped down from the cliff while screaming.

    Several other kin also fly.

    ¡°Eh, what is even happening?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was confused by the events that had happened one after another.

    For now, she only saw the woman next to her kill the Sword Saint without warning.

    ¡°I thought that I should just kill him now.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°That¡¯s scary! That idea in this situation!¡± (Tomochika)

    Theodosia was indifferent.

    Her thought patterns are simr to Yogiri in a sense.

    Indeed, at that moment, the Sword Saint was certainly unprotected.

    Tomochika thought that she had a lot of nerve to take his life in such a small gap.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s going on over there?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That is what Dannoura-san saw before. It¡¯s certainly scary. I feel like its entire body is made of knives.¡± (Yogiri)

    The monster who had des growing on its body had pierced the beautiful woman.

    It prated her back and head, then casually threw her away.

    Then, it had disappeared to somewhere.

    ¡°I wonder what¡¯s wrong. I would rather it reappear.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was still as he usually was.

    ¡°But if ites out secretly¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    It was a state of confusion.

    The monster may not have been noticed.

    When she was thinking about such a thing, the winged kin came back with the man who was supposed to be the Devil.

    The kin gentlyid the Devil down.

    The Devil didn¡¯t even twitch.

    ¡°Lord! Please wake up! What has been done to you!¡± (Orugein)

    The kin¡¯s voice roared.

    However, no matter how much she called out or violently shook him, the Devil didn¡¯t answer.

    ¡°Haha¡­¡­hahahahaha~¡­¡­that¡¯s right¡­¡­ the Lord wanted a sacrifice¡­¡­God wanted a sacrifice¡­¡­¡± (Orugein)

    The kin grumbles while she stares into the distance somewhere.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this.¡± (Tomochika)

    The Devil¡¯s existence is one who fulfils wishes in ordance with a sacrifice.

    Tomochika remembered what Rick had said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ve lost your power due to the years of being sealed¡­¡­so, let¡¯s offer¡­¡­let¡¯s offer all the human beings!¡± (Orugein)

    The winged kin stood up.

    As if responding to it, the other kin became agitated.

    She wondered if they no longer knew what to do.

    However, she and the others were shown targets for now.

    And the convenient people gathered here could be used as victims for a sacrifice.

    It was natural for the kin to start roughly striking with resentment.

    ¡°There are a lot of them, it¡¯s dangerous. Dannoura-san and Theodosia-san, please get a little closer to me.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Like this?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika threw her arms around Yogiri¡¯s arm.

    Whether Theodosia imitated Tomochika or not, she obediently grabbed onto Yogiri¡¯s other arm.

    ¡°Die.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri unleashed his power.

    The Devil¡¯s kin fell one after another, and soon enough, a scene of heaps of corpses appeared.

    ¡°Hey, in what way was it necessary for me to cling to you!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous when they are all scattered. It¡¯s easier for me to deal with danger in general, so it would be more convenient for us toe together.¡± (Yogiri)

    She wondered if it was like that.

    After she had previously heard of Yogiri¡¯s style of enjoying the situation, Tomochika couldn¡¯t help but feel doubtful.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s leave the tower soon. It bothersome if we were to remain here.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s already in a state where I don¡¯t know whether it can be a tower or not.¡± (Tomochika)

    Although various problems seemed to be piling up, they would be trivial since the essential Devil was dead.

    Tomochika told herself it would be okay.

    ¡°Takatou-dono, is it okay if we abandon that woman?¡± (Theodosia)

    Theodosia pointed to the beautiful woman on the ground.

    ¡°There¡¯s no killing intent and she looks like a human, it would be bothersome to purposefully kill her.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I wonder if she is okay.¡± (Tomochika)

    However, she was irrelevant to him no matter how much Yogiri thought about it.

    The woman whose head had been crushed and chest had been pierced stood up before he was aware of it.

    Her wounds seemed to have already healed.

    However, the woman had empty eyes.

    He didn¡¯t know where she was looking, but she probably wasn¡¯t sane.

    ¡°Ahahahahahahahahaha.¡± (Vahanato)

    The woman raised and brandished her hands whileughing in an out-of-tune voice.

    The group of weapons behind her began to shine and emitted rays in every direction.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s a mess¡­¡­what?!¡± (Tomochika)

    The rays prated the mountain, evaporated the river, and tore and split the ground.

    The candidates who had survived were running away.

    She didn¡¯t think that the rays were aiming at anything, but anything that touched the rays disappeared without a trace.

    ¡°Rainier-san and the others¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    It was toote for Tomochika to confirm it.

    Rocks were flying around with the destruction, and thanks to all the gravel, she didn¡¯t know for sure, but the Holy Queen seemed to have stood up and was blocking the rays.

    They had created a wall of light forward.

    ¡°Huh? The number has increased?¡± (Tomochika)

    Rainier, Rick, the magical girl, the dead Sword Saint, and the Holy Queen.

    That was supposed to be the group, but before she knew it, there were two figures that had been added.

    ¡°No more! Send me home!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa was shouting.

    There was a violent storm destroying, simr to an unspeakablenguage.

    From a single point, there were rays being released in every direction.

    It burned everything it touched, then evaporated it in a sh.

    It was far from just the tower being destroyed, at this rate even the canyon would be gone.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We won¡¯t die from such a thing. Here would be like the protagonist not getting shot in an action movie, right? It¡¯s simr to that feeling. There¡¯s nothing interesting about dying to a stray bullet here.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°The scale of this is too different from a gunfight!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°There would be no choice but to die if we were hit by a ray.¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi somehow knew that if she stayed around here, it would be fine.

    She was confident in herself that she wouldn¡¯t die here.

    While dragging Hanakawa, Aoi headed towards the center of it.

    She thought that perhaps Takatou Yogiri would be there.

    She walked to the ce where something would likely happen in this area.

    In the ce she arrived, there was a woman in white robes that had created a light wall to prevent the rays.

    In the shadows were a tall man and a small girl; a man simr to a knight who had silver armor, and a girl who¡¯s right arm had be baked like a pastry.

    The tall man and girl were crouching while trembling, and the armored man seemed to be at a loss even though he had a sword.

    ¡°Which one is Takatou Yogiri¡­¡­or is he not one of them?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Both of the men had appearances of typical races in this world.

    It was quite different from Takatou Yogiri, who was Japanese.

    The girl probably wasn¡¯t Dannoura Tomochika.

    There was another man who had died from being decapitated, but it was an old man.

    They didn¡¯t appear to be high school students.

    ¡°And you are? Are you an acquaintance of Yogiri?¡± (Rick)

    The armored man asked in astonishment.

    He certainly didn¡¯t think that there would be people arriving in this situation.

    ¡°I am Aoi. And if you are talking about acquaintances, this here is pig-kun.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that I was an acquaintance!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Well, whatever. Do you know where Takatou Yogiri is?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°No, but right now isn¡¯t a situation to talk about such a thing!¡± (Rick)

    As the armored man seemed to have no idea who Aoi was, he turned to the center of the destruction.

    It wasn¡¯t the case where he could be talking carefreely in this state.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s typical of fate, however I think about it, this situation will be fixed first.¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi observed her surroundings.

    As she read the flow of fate and the circumstances leading up to here, a solution came to her mind.

    ¡°Are you aware of the fact you are already a Sword Saint?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Eh? Come to think of it, the Sword Saint said something like that!¡± (Rick)

    The armored man was once again showing interest in Aoi.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to it. If you go into there and kill the goddess, it¡¯s over.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°But, if I fight against her without a n¡­¡­¡± (Rick)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. She has lost her sanity currently. She is just randomly shooting the rays, and the direction of them can be gleaned if you watch the weapons closely. If you¡¯ve gained the power of the Sword Saint, you can avoid them. Also, the woman is wounded on her head and chest. You can aim there with your sword. It¡¯s impossible to kill a goddess normally, but you can kill the goddess if you thrust the holy sword into a wound that hasn¡¯t been treated.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°This is a holy sword?!¡± (Rick)

    Anyhow, her credibility seems to have increased.

    The man was seemingly motivated.

    Swinging the sword several times, he checked his condition.

    ¡°I got it. The Holy Queen¡¯s power won¡¯tst for long, so if we stand and do nothing, we will disappear.¡± (Rick)

    The man found his resolution and passed through the wall of light.

    While fending of the rays, he approached the goddess.

    Even if he was the Sword Saint, it was impossible to strike down an attack that could be emitted at the speed of light.

    However, if he knew the source and direction, he could deal with it.

    This wouldn¡¯t have worked if the goddess wasn¡¯t insane.

    The man reached the goddess with great difficulty, then pierced his sword straight into her chest.

    The rays stopped, and the flock of weapons fall.

    Aoi was convinced that the goddess was dead.

    It was reasonable for this to ur, as it was the flow of fate.

    When the attacks had ceased, Aoi looked around.

    Takatou Yogiri was supposed to be here.

    Then, she saw three people towards the end of the tower, a man and two women.

    ¡°Pig-kun, is that Takatou Yogiri?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Eh? Ah, I don¡¯t know for sure with the dust, but because I recognize Tomochika¡¯s figure, it should be him.¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Well, shall we go then?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°No, I feel like I will be killed if we reunite.¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°You won¡¯t be killed suddenly without killing intent, right?¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi dragged Hanakawa without saying anything, and headed towards Yogiri.

    As they exited the dust, they saw their figures clearly.

    Takatou Yogiri, Dannoura Tomochika, and a half-demon woman was apanying them.

    First, they had to measure what Yogiri could do.

    Aoi exercised her power to see fate.

    The vision was distorted.

    She lost her sense of bnce and crouched down.

    She couldn¡¯t stay standing.

    In addition to the agonizing pain simr to her internal organs being twisted, she couldn¡¯t suppress the nausea that welled up.

    Hanakawa was shouting something, but it felt like it wasing from very far away.

    Supporting her body with both of her hands on the ground, Aoi vomited.

    Although her appearance was unusual, the degree of which she cared about those kinds of things had already disappeared from Aoi.

    How can I escape from this ce?

    She couldn¡¯t think of anything else.

 Chapter 21 - I was completely spoiled by your mistake

    <h4>Chapter 21 - I waspletely spoiled by your mistake</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    I need to escape, I need to escape, I need to escape.

    Such things were going around in her head.

    However, her body didn¡¯t listen to what was said.

    Once she had be aware of it, she wasn¡¯t able to divert her consciousness, but just kept being exposed to the fear.

    It was a dead end.

    It was the destination where fate would always end up, there was nothing ahead there.

    Everything was taking the form of that man there in the end.

    That person stands until the end, as it was his demise.

    No one was able to do anything beyond that person.

    To oppose such a person, it was fate, it was an outline which couldn¡¯t not be a joke.

    It was absurd to even consider fighting that.

    Just by him thinking he wanted to kill, it was said that the one opposing would die.

    When she heard it in the beginning, she had thought it was somewhat stupid.

    As there was too much of a difference between their abilities, she seemingly thought that his powers would be seen through.

    She had wondered if there was some type of mechanism in the ability.

    If they analyzed and analyzed, counter measures could be made.

    Aoi thought the same, since she could freely use her ability.

    It was naive.

    Perhaps everything was naive.

    She understood that by what she saw.

    If he desired it, anyone would die.

    If he denied it, no phenomenon or existence would be allowed to exist.

    And then she suddenly arrived at a thought.

    The attacks from the goddess weren¡¯t turned toward Yogiri at all.

    The goddess had lost her sanity, but she was instinctively afraid.

    If she attacked him, she knew she couldn¡¯t stay safe.

    ¨D¨DShion¡­¡­what the hell have you summoned!?

    He wasn¡¯t just an existence.

    He was a phenomenon simr to a curse or cmity that was hard to describe.

    He had a personality, it wasn¡¯t the case where he was pretending to be a human being.

    And even if there was such a person was somewhere, there was no way that Shion could summon him by chance.

    It was the worst.

    Shion and the sages were too simple-minded.

    Why were we under the impression that we could always manage summoned beings because they were always weak people?

    Just because the method seemed to be like that, it couldn¡¯t be said it was going to work in the future after this.

    Aoi was looking at the ground that was somehow covered in vomit.

    She didn¡¯t feel like she was able to raise her face anymore.

    However, even if Yogiri didn¡¯t do anything, she wouldn¡¯t be sane.

    It was still good if only to that extent.

    What she was truly afraid of was not knowing what she would do with her sanity gone.

    In the worst case, if something simr to Yogiri being attacked happens, death would trulye to Aoi at that time.

    There was a need to do something in some way or another.

    She needed to be calm first.

    She couldn¡¯t run away and escape from him while she¡¯s cowering in fear, and she couldn¡¯t finish herself with suicide.

    ¡°Gufufufu~! I wasn¡¯t interested in ¡°boku¡± girls, but suddenly vomiting and leaking piss, and seeing your appearance that has your usualposure thrown off, I waspletely spoiled by your mistake!¡± (Hanakawa)

    As she was frantically trying to be calm, Hanakawa¡¯s voice was heard.

    As she thought about what was said just now, that worthless and absurd remark, Aoi regained a littleposure from the absurdity of that.

    Then, she calmed down.

    She realized that there was no reason that she should despair for anything.

    She hadn¡¯t been hostile to Yogiri just yet.

    In that case, Aoi is just merely a woman to Yogiri, and he doesn¡¯t understand why she had suddenly crouched down while vomiting.

    She still might be able to manage some way or another.

    Aoi clung to that small hope, and her face slowly rose.

    ¡°Eh? Hanakawa-kun?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± (Hanakawa)

    As Tomochika and others noticed him, Hanakawa immediately did a dogeza.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want toe as an enemy! Aoi-dono forcibly took me¡­¡­Aoi-dono!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Tomochika tried to ask him why he hade to such a ce, but the girl who had been crouching suddenly kneeled at the same time, so the question was lost as she vomited downwards with both of her hands.

    ¡°Eh, what? Are you all right?¡± (Tomochika)

    She seemed like a human being, and as she was vomiting in such a ce, so she probably wasn¡¯t a kin of the Devil.

    ¡°I am fine?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t care about the fragments of Hanakawa-kun.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I thought you went into the forest while wearing the very cor where you couldn¡¯t defy no matter what.¡± (Yogiri)

    Hanakawa wasn¡¯t wearing a cor.

    It was a cor of very to those who had first saw him wearing it, and Hanakawa had attached it to himself while Tomochika watched him.

    Tomochika felt that he was bad and handed over the owner¡¯s rights to Yogiri, and Yogiri hadmanded Hanakawa to wait in the monster forest.

    But he couldn¡¯t havee to such a ce if the order had been kept.

    ¡°Oh, that is¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°As I thought, it was a lie.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a lie! It certainly seems like so at the moment! However, I didn¡¯t say that the effects wouldst forever. I would like you to please remember that!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Well, I thought that it would be like that.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri certainly had doubts about the permanence of the effect at that time when he heard Hanakawa talking.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s going on? Who is she?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I was lead this way! It was Aoi-dono, but if you ask Aoi-dono for her reason¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa remained in dogeza, but he looked at the girl in pain who was next to him with a quick nce.

    ¡°Gufufu~! I wasn¡¯t interested in ¡°boku¡± girls, but to suddenly vomit and leak piss, and to see your appearance that has your usualposure thrown off, I waspletely spoiled by your mistake! And another thing, even though you didn¡¯t care about me in particr, why is there the feeling that you¡¯re looking down on me! I think it will be good if I start calling you Aoi-tan after this!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Uwah¡­¡­gross¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika unconsciously took a step back.

    ¡°Hanakawa is fine, but that girl seems to be in a very bad condition.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was concerned about the girl, so he approached her.

    Tomochika also tried to follow along with him, but the girl looked up.

    ¡°I, I¡¯m alright!¡± (Aoi)

    The girl held one arm out to stop Yogiri.

    ¡°Is that so? I thought I should gently pat your back.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°You would get dirty! I can¡¯t allow you do to such a thing! It would be unreasonable to approach a woman covered in this!¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°You were very abject from the start, eh¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I¡¯m all right. My internal organs seem to be twisted a little, and it seems my brain waspletely burned by stress, but I¡¯mpletely okay.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem to be okay at all!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I¡¯m truly okay! So do not approach me, sorry. If you¡¯d like to, you¡¯ll eat some vomit!¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Ah, no, as expected I won¡¯t approach you if you have said that.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was a little drawn to her very desperate appearance, but decided to respect her will.

    The girl¡¯splexion was really bad, she seems insecure if you look over her, so she was quite reluctant to approach her.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll be fine if I take a short break.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°I understand. Take it easy. Okay?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yes, I have calmed down. I came here, and I¡¯m delivering pig-kun, because he is your school friend.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Hmm? Aoi-tan, I¡¯m just hearing this for the first time?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Fufu~. I¡¯ll kill you, bastard pig. I found you wandering around in the forest after you separated from your ssmates, and you clung to me while wanting to join your friends. Wasn¡¯t it like that?¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Ah, yes. I feel like that was the case. Somewhat¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    The girl disyed a facial expression of urging him dreadfully, and Hanakawa broke instantaneously.

    It seemed that it had be such a thing.

    ¡°Because it¡¯s like that, I will pass him over to you.¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°Eh, he¡¯s not needed.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri refused her frankly.

    ¡°Ah, I understand. Then, I shall dispose of him here!¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°This is uneptable, stop treating me like a book that wasn¡¯t priced at a second-hand bookstore!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Th, then I¡¯ll be going now.¡± (Aoi)

    The girl crawled as her figure retreated into the distance.

    He was concerned, but it couldn¡¯t be helped if the person herself was too obstinate to be looked after.

    Her condition seemed to get better as she got further away, standing up and walking before eventually running towards the forest.

    ¡°Ah, that, how should I¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa says that while having a loss of reasoning.

    ¡°Well then, wait in the forest again.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri dered so while uninterested.

    ¡°It¡¯s happening again! I want you to forgive me already!¡± (Hanakawa)

    As Hanakawa grieved, Rick and others came to them.

    Rick, the Holy Queen, Rainier, and Frederica.

    It seemed that they were the only survivors besides Yogiri and others.

    The candidates seemed to have been killed by the attack from the goddess.

    ¡°There are many different things I want to ask you, but before that, there is her.¡± (Rick)

    Rick looked at Theodosia with a stiff facial expression.

    To Rick, she is the woman who suddenly killed the Sword Saint.

    It was natural to be cautious.

    ¡°I was attacking my enemy, the Sword Saint, under my own circumstances. I don¡¯t think that you have any involvement in it.¡± (Theodosia)

    ¡°Even if you say that, I am the Sword Saint now. It¡¯s hard to say that I¡¯m uninvolved.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°If you have be the Sword Saint just now, it¡¯s irrelevant. Or are you going to take over the wrongdoings of the former Sword Saint?¡± (Theodosia)

    The atmosphere between the two became dangerous.

    Yogiri would have to intervene between them how it was now.

    ¡°It would be better if you were to see the basement, Rick-san. Nheless, if you are still going to avenge him, as these are Theodosia-san¡¯s feelings, I will be your enemy.¡± (Yogiri)

    If Rick is saying that he has be the Sword Saint, he still won¡¯t win against Theodosia.

    However, he didn¡¯t feel like overlooking him being killed.

    ¡°Takatou-san, I shouldn¡¯t be saying this, but I¡¯m the Sword Saint now. You originally didn¡¯t have a lot of power¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Being impolite is wrong.¡± (Holy Queen)

    The Holy Queen stopped Rick there.

    ¡°But, I won¡¯t ignore someone who is standing up for the one who killed the Sword Saint.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Don¡¯t be conceited now that you¡¯ve be the Sword Saint. You can¡¯t win against this one. After all, he was strong enough to defeat the Devil.¡± (Holy Queen)

    ¡°Wha!?¡± (Rick)

    Rick froze in astonishment.

    ¡°The same is true for all of the kin that died. All of this was done by him.¡± (Holy Queen)

    As the Holy Queen seemed to be convinced, he wasn¡¯t able to fake his amazement.

    Yogiri decided to reluctantly admit to it.

    ¡°I thought he was really ugly. I didn¡¯t mean to kill him though¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was reflecting.

    These thousand-year traditions shouldn¡¯t be affected by others, it should have been those who live in this world that were supposed to settle it with their own hands.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m thankful. After all, there was a limit on continuing to seal it. The distortion might have led to the victory of that man.¡± (Holy Queen)

    Rick looked around at the surroundings again.

    The main culprit, the Devil, forced the world to the verge of destruction in the past.

    All of the kin that worshipped the Devil had irregr appearances.

    It seemed that he had just recognized the current situation where all of them had fallen down.

    His expression became even more frozen.

    ¡°Takatou-san, what on earth are you?¡± (Rick)

    ¡°I merely came along with the summons from the sage, just a high school student.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve heard such nonsense remarks from an ordinary high school student!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said aint about whether there was a part to think about.

    However, Yogiri wanted to believe that he was a high school student with a peculiar power.

    ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s put the matter of the former Sword Saint on hold for now. Well, we need to consider what we¡¯re going to do after this.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Because we were headed to the Kingdom, we will head to the Kingdom.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, that would be the same as me. There isn¡¯t anything we can do here anymore, let¡¯s go back to the Kingdom. It should also be the same for Rainier-san and Frederica-san.¡± (Rick)

    Rick seems to havee from the Kingdom, and Rainier and Frederica were also the same as him.

    ¡°I also thought it would be better to head to the Kingdom to gather information.¡± (Theodosia)

    It seems that Theodosia was going to continue to look for her little sister.

    ¡°Yes, I will also head to the Kingdom. It¡¯s been a thousand years. Although I don¡¯t know if my descendents have ceased, we should head to the temple.¡± (Holy Queen)

    The Holy Queen seemingly also wanted to head to the Kingdom; it seemed almost everyone was heading towards the Kingdom.

    ¡°Wait, tell me the way out. I roughly know it, but I would be saved if I had a detailed map.¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°A map? I can lead you to a group of people who are stuck camping a little bit in the distance if we turn back I think, but isn¡¯t it okay if we travel together?¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Th, that¡¯s right! I¡¯m making a lot of friends here! Just like this, let¡¯s depart towards the Kingdom with a harmonious atmosphere! It¡¯s such a circumstance!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa was shouting while unexpectedly joining in on the discussion between thepanions.

    ¡°No way. I¡¯m travelling alone with Dannoura-san.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said so shamelessly.

    ¡°Ah, oh.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was at a loss for words.

    Yogiri truly refused on them apanying him, and the two went back to the armored car.

    Although the goddess was shooting rays of light that destroyed everything they hit, the armored car itself seemed to be fine.

    ¡°Hey. I think that it would perhaps be easier to follow them.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I¡¯m not good with having too many people. It¡¯s annoying.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine if that¡¯s the case.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika didn¡¯t wish to travel together to that extent as well.

    If it was said that just two people were good, she thought it was fine.

    ¡°Come to think of it, what happened the dragon girl? She said she was At. Didn¡¯t you ask her to guide us?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I know the way so it¡¯s fine. Moreover, it would be difficult to face her now that the Sword Saint is dead.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, I think it might be¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    If he let her guide them, she would apany them.

    She guessed that Yogiri wished for just the two of them.

    ¨D¨DWait, what is this situation?!

    They hade with just the two of them up until now, and that was clearly said.

    Tomochika was perplexed.

    And as usual, Yogiri quickly sat down in the passenger seat.

    As Tomochika didn¡¯t want Yogiri to drive, she obediently sat in the driver¡¯s seat.

    ¡°Well then, now it¡¯s time to depart towards the Kingdom! Which way would be good to go?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºI have understood the way in general.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Ah, Mokomoko-san, you¡¯re okay. I haven¡¯t seen you recently, so I surely thought you had died peacefully.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThat¡­¡­no, I certainly didn¡¯t y a role in that situation.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be counting on you. Please guide us. Well then, let¡¯s depart this time!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Yawn.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri stretched his arms while out of energy.

    Although he wasn¡¯t ying a game, he looked quite sleepy.

    Tomochika stepped on the elerator, and the armored car slowly began to move forward.

 Interlude - Why is this such a tiresome thing? (End of the 2nd Volume)

    <h4>Interlude - Why is this such a tiresome thing? (End of the 2nd Volume)</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s not going to settle down!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Yogiri and others had refused to apany them.

    And for Rick and the others, there wasn¡¯t any obligation to bring Hanakawa, who had appeared suddenly.

    ¡°Uuu¡­¡­we, well, it seems that the dangers to life have left for the time being, maybe he is trying to find a ce to calm down¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa holds great abilities whenpared to normal people.

    His basic ability values exceed those of normal people, and he has a recovery ability to heal any wounds instantaneously.

    If he desired so, he could have been able to do great efforts as a pseudo-hero.

    If he were to eliminate the demons surrounding a poor vige somewhere, he had the potential to guarantee himself a standing position.

    It wasn¡¯t just a dream that he could act as he pleases and flirt while building a harem if he wanted one.

    ¡°That seems about right. I was a member of the party that killed the Demon King. It should be expected that it¡¯s okay to aim for rank one! ¡­¡­That¡¯s right. We should first start by exploring the basement of this tower. It seems like Takatou wasn¡¯t interested in rare items.¡± (Hanakawa)

    It was the tower that had sealed the Devil.

    Something might have been left.

    Hanakawa had the item box skill that could store anything.

    There wasn¡¯t any inconvenience for carrying treasure.

    As he was about to go towards the basement, Hanakawa felt someone¡¯s presence and turned around.

    A boy was standing there.

    He looked extremely worn out, his atmosphere seemed exhausted, but his eyes were ring while being full of and radiating insanity.

    ¡°Eh? Ah, that.¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa immediately performs the decisive action of doing dogeza on the spot.

    Because he had been doing this several times, his movements were starting to be frightfully smooth.

    His instinct was telling him.

    Since this is a dangerous guy no matter how you look at it, do not defy him.

    Hanakawa obediently listened to his instinct¡¯s appeal.

    ¡°Hey? What about this?¡± (Ryouto)

    When the boy stepped forward once, the floor of the tower crumbled.

    Hanakawa wondered if it was an outburst of anger.

    He had no choice but to pray that his outburst of anger wouldn¡¯t be directed towards him now.

    ¡°Oh, yea. Yep! The man named Takatou Yogiri is entirely bad! Everything, every~thing, it truly is entirely Takatou¡¯s fault! It¡¯s the truth!¡± (Hanakawa)

    The boy was a surviving kin.

    Since he looked like a human being no matter how you looked at him, Yogiri probably didn¡¯t kill him.

    The kin who had died were only the ones who looked like monsters.

    ¡°Is Orugein dead?¡± (Ryouto)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Have all of my friends died?¡± (Ryouto)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Did my Lord die as well?¡± (Ryouto)

    ¡°Yes, yes! That¡¯s right! It is all because of him! I have nothing to do with it at all, I just happened to have been brought here!¡± (Hanakawa)

    He miserably hung on to appealing.

    It was absurd to fight, and he didn¡¯t feel like running away.

    Hanakawa thought it was absolutely necessary to weep here.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± (Ryouto)

    ¡°I am really saying so!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°However, I don¡¯t understand right now. I would like to hear more of this story in detail.¡± (Ryouto)

    ¡°I understand!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa rubbed his head against the floor.

    He was taken by Aoi after he had escaped the cheat harem bastard Rikuto, and if he had thought he was finally safe, he was being worked hard by the Devil¡¯s kin now.

    However, because it had happened twice, it could happen three or four times.

    There was a chance if he lived through it before.

    Hanakawa was obedient for the time being, and decided to let the course of events progress as is.

    He was sure that he woulde through one way or another.

    He had faith it would be so.

    In one room of the sage Shion¡¯s mansion.

    Four sages were gathered there while surrounding a round table.

    ¡°Contact from Aoi has been cut off.¡± (Shion)

    Shion reported so.

    At the previous meeting, the existence of Takatou Yogiri which Shion had summoned had be a problem.

    It¡¯s likely that Lain having unknown whereabouts and Santarou¡¯s death were because of him.

    Although they weren¡¯t sure, he was only a sage candidate.

    First of all, it was said that they needed to get rid of him.

    Just in case, it was assumed he had the war potential to be able to oppose sages.

    It was decided that Aoi, the stray killer, would take responsibility for him.

    Aoi would be suitable if the remnant had identally gotten an improper power.

    It had be such a thing, but contact with Hanabusa had been cut off from thetest message to go towards the canyon.

    ¡°Even so, I don¡¯t think that they have died if it is Lain or Aoi. Well, I guess Santarou has because there was a corpse.¡± (Yoshifumi)

    It was Yoshifumi, a man with a thin physique, to say so.

    Although it seems like he is a delinquent wearing a jacket with rivets and leather trousers, he is one of the sages.

    He was the emperor who ruled over the region called Ento.

    Unlike the other sages, he was directly managing his territory.

    ¡°It appears that massive destruction has urred in the canyon. The terrain has changed. There is a rumor that the Sword Saint is living in that area, but it¡¯s hard to think that Aoi would be hostile. So then, even without her death, I think there is something inside of Aoi¡¯s body¡­¡­¡± (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°So we don¡¯t know where Takatou Yogiri is? Well, I guess I should be relieved for the time being if that¡¯s the case.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Or rather, Shion summoned him, that Takatou. Isn¡¯t this a case where you¡¯re leaving it to others? Isn¡¯t it absolutely necessary that you take responsibility here?¡± (Alice)

    The girl who wasining was wearing a pink dress, it was the sage Alice.

    She is a self-proimed princess, but unlike Yoshifumi, she doesn¡¯t belong to either the country nor the royal family.

    Shion can¡¯t understand it, but her ordinary speech is eternally like a princess as is her entire being.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Fortunately, I know if that person was summoned together, so there may be contact with them. I understand. I will share information, but I will support and focus on it from now on.¡± (Shion)

    Shion had no idea that it would be so much trouble or that Aoi would fail.

    Shion had beenpletely caught off guard, and as soon as they wanted to deal with him, he had disappeared.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, they have considerably decreased, haven¡¯t they?¡± (???)

    She recalled the discussion about the young man with blonde hair and blue eyes who had participated.

    It was clear from his appearance that he wasn¡¯t a former Japanese like Shion.

    His name was Van.

    He was the seed of the Great Sage.

    The grandchildren of the Great Sage who Shion and others belonged to was merely a title, but he inherited the blood of the Great Sage, and he was a person who was born and raised in this world.

    ¡°Hmm. I summoned them in session to fill in the gaps of the decreasing number of sages. Although, there wasn¡¯t much results¡­¡­¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Why is this such a tiresome thing? Isn¡¯t it easy enough to increase their numbers?¡± (???->Van)

    Van had a face filled with astonishment.

    She guessed he thought it was really easy to do so.

    ¡°I am doing a lot of work because the sages don¡¯t increase easily. Could Van be saying that you could increase the number of sages?¡± (Shion)

    ¡°I¡¯ll try it then. Is it okay if I fill up Lain and Santarou¡¯s roles?¡± (Van)

    ¡°Two people can¡¯t be done without many more people. The recent aggressors seem to be tougher.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°It would seem so. Well, then I¡¯ll choose some people for recing them.¡± (Van)

    As Van replied quickly, Shion made aplex face.

    If such a thing could be done easily, although she wants to say that she herself is the one who summons candidates from another world specially, that is how they see their skills.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m sure that you guys can do it in some way or another. I wonder why you guys are in such high spirits? Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if you were to leave the aggressors alone, at least until theye to your areas? Our only responsibility is to repel the aggressors in the region. Don¡¯t you agree that we know about everything except for that?¡± (Yoshifumi)

    Yoshifumi stated so.

    However, that woulde sooner orter if the sages continued to fall.

    She wondered if they couldn¡¯t help but have to pay money to get him into their hands fast.

    ¡°Although it can surely be said that we will be troubled to ignore the aggressors that appear in the unimed area. Nevertheless, they are nearby.¡± (Shion)

    Even if they are outside of their territory, there will still be an impact if they appear in the vicinity.

    They shouldn¡¯t be ignored.

    ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s a unimed area. I was stopped thest time. I will clearly take it this time. The point is that I will tell Lain to hand over the area.¡± (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°Yes, ye~es! I also want Hanabusa!¡± (Alice)

    Alice cheerfully raised her hand.

    ¡°Fuck you, you female brat! That¡¯s too far away from your area!¡± (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t it an ind-like area, Yoshifumi! Isn¡¯t itpletely exiled and isted by the sea!¡± (Alice)

    In this world, Hanabusa was the city that appeared to be the most modern Japan.

    The location of it would be worth it alone for most of the former Japanese sages.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that underling fashion! You¡¯re a small fry! You are someone who would suffer damage for a few seconds then leave!¡± (Alice)

    ¡°This generation surely has brats spurring on my true nature of good merit. Hey, are you really that frilly? To what extent is such a princess hated!¡± (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°Are you selling a fight!? My chivalric Imperial Knight Order won¡¯t remain silent after that!¡± (Alice)

    ¡°Bring it on! My Four Heavenly Kings will be your opponent!¡± (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°Bufufu~! What are the Four Heavenly Kings? The boss is like a small fry, and the subordinates are also small fries! They will all easily die!¡± (Alice)

    The argument between Yoshifumi and Alice wasn¡¯t arriving at a conclusion.

    ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s decide on our own with the authority of the organizer. We should split it. It would be fine if we halved it exactly. Please choose and say which half you want.¡± (Alice)

    The two people then began to argue again about where they were going to take.

    ¡°Well, please decide on your choiceter, you two.¡± (Shion)

    Shion thought that this was too much trouble for this, and she forcibly removed the two people from the room.

    The sages here were illusions except for Shion.

    Shion was the lord of the room and had authority to cut offmunication.

    ¡°Well, I will contact you again after I increase the number of sages.¡± (Van)

    Van disappeared as he said so.

    Van didn¡¯t seem to be interested in the empty areas.

    She didn¡¯t know what purpose he came for, but maybe he came to this ce on a whim.

    He may have just been simply killing time.

    And then, Shion was the only one remaining in the room.

    ¡°The sages always do as much as they want to every time, but why do you have to manage the number of sages and the empty space, Shion?¡± (???)

    Whether it seemed that the meeting was over or not, the attendant Youichi entered the room.

    ¡°It¡¯s our nature. We do whatever we think. Grandfather said that, and I want to do this. I wish to follow this fixed system after all.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°So, what are you going to do about Yogiri?¡± (???->Youichi)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t properly understand what that guy is. Whether he is using instant death magic or not, it was Youichi-san who suggested that, however.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°I tried talking to the lord of Hanabusa, but it seems he was doing something and didn¡¯t properly understand, and he only said things that didn¡¯t matter. Why don¡¯t you ask those who were in the same ss?¡± (Youichi)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to interfere a lot with anything other than a mission¡­¡­ah! Then how about this? I¡¯ll summon someone from Japan who knows Takatou Yogiri!¡± (Shion)

    Shion pped her hands.

    It appeared to be a very good idea to her.

    ¡°Can you even do that?¡± (Youichi)

    ¡°Since the data from the time of the summoning is left, I think that it¡¯s possible to narrow it down a certain extent. Let¡¯s do it right away.¡± (Shion)

    Large summoning magic normally wouldn¡¯t be used easily, but it wasn¡¯t difficult for Shion.

    At any rate, her magical power continues to increase even just by breathing, so she was always in a state of having too much of it.

    When Shion extended her hand forward, a magic square emerged on top of the round table.

    And then, she linked that spot to the other world.

    It was an act simr to making a pitfall in that world.

    The object created was simr to a tunnel to this world at the lowest point, simr to energy.

    After that, she just waited until someone fell for the trick.

    Just in case, she tried to set it so that only people rted to Takatou Yogiri would likely go to that ce based on the information she had, but there was a low chance that the person she summoned would be who she wished for.

    There was a high chance that it would be in vain, but her magical power was abundant.

    It was close to killing time for her, as it was merely just an idea.

    ¡°Shion, can¡¯t you summon Takatou Yogiri himself? It would be easy to get settle this in that case.¡± (Youichi)

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult if I am in the same world as them. This is only possible because it is connecting worlds with different potential. Oh, it¡¯sing out.¡± (Shion)

    A sound simr to popping urred, and a person appeared on the round table.

    It was a man with a white coat.

    ¡°It¡¯s a sess?¡± (Youichi)

    ¡°Who knows, I won¡¯t know until I listen to his story.¡± (Shion)

    The man with the white coat was confused.

    That was expected.

    The scenery in front of the man¡¯s eyes suddenly changed, and he hade to a ce unfamiliar to him.

    ¡°Hello. I am Shion, the sage. I am the one who summoned you.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Sage? Summoned? What are you talking about?¡± (White-Coat)

    The man regained a littleposure after talking.

    ¡°I summoned you because I want to ask about Takatou Yogiri.¡± (Shion)

    The man panicked as soon as he heard the name.

    He was in more of a panic then when he had first appeared.

    ¡°A summoning? No way, is that why ¦¡¦¸ disappeared? Another world? No, it could be possible. His origins were a mystery from the start. If it can be said that there is another world, the source of his ability must be there¡­¡­the energy source¡­¡­¡± (White-Coat)

    The man was in a hurry, as if convinced of something, took out a handheld terminal from his pocket while muttering in excitement.

    ¡°Ahahahahahaha~!¡± (White-Coat)

    Then, when the man saw the screen of the terminal, he began tough for some reason.

    ¡°Is this really a different world!?¡± (White-Coat)

    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± (Shion)

    It was a different reaction from the one that Shion had thought he would have.

    They wouldn¡¯t normally believe it this fast, she had thought it would be more confusing.

    ¡°His, his presence is here! That¡¯s right, it¡¯s impossible for that guy to die! It was you who brought him here, wasn¡¯t it! If so, you are a savior! You literally saved my world! On behalf of my world, no, on behalf of humanity, allow me to convey my gratitude to you!¡± (White-Coat)

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Youichi)

    Youichi¡¯s face had be dubious.

    He didn¡¯t seem to be confused, but what he was saying made no sense.

    ¡°But then! This world has been exposed to the crisis! Damn it! Come on! Even though my world was saved, only I won¡¯t experience such a thing! Oh no, his seal has been solved and has disappeared! Do you understand me? Always continue to watch the monitoring tool and continue to feel frightened in fear when he begins to move!¡± (White-Coat)

    ¡º¦¡¦¸¡¯s first seal has been confirmed to be released. A self destruct sequence has been put into motion for the subject of level C. Warning. People in the vicinity are rmended to move away at least five meters. Starting the countdown. 10, 9, 8¡­¡­¡»(???)

    The mechanical voice emitted from somewhere within the man.

    ¡°No, please help me! I don¡¯t want to die! Please return me to my original world!¡± (White-Coat)

    While Shion and the others were dumbfounded and continued to stare at him, the countdown reaches zero smoothly.

    And then, the man¡¯s head exploded.

    He fell on top of the round table while scattering pieces of gray matter and his skull.

    Of course, he was killed instantly.

    ¡°What the hell happened, that guy¡­¡­¡± (Youichi)

    Youichi was in a daze from the sudden event.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it at all¡­¡­but it would be useless to mull over it any more.¡± (Shion)

    Although Shion hadn¡¯t been very wary of Yogiri so far, she was beginning to feel something was extremely eerie in this situation.

    Author¡¯s Note

    Thank you for reading up to now.

    This is the end of Section 2.

    We will publish the contents of Section 2 as Volume 2.

    It may not appear to be obvious, but it isn¡¯t necessary to purposely buy and read the same contents except for:

    Corrections by professional reviewers. Confusing events will be fixed. Also, it will be edited so it is easier to understand.

    Additional Episodes (Lain¡¯s other-self, Euphemia¡¯s afterward)

    A newly written story about the past and the¡¸Agency¡¹was inserted

    Things like that.

    The newly written stories will be about the past of our protagonist Yogiri.

    It is a story that examines a part of his outrageous ability even more than the main story.

    If you are interested, by all means, please make a purchase.

 Extra - Fighting Game (Another EX)

    <h4>Extra Chapter - Fighting Game (Another EX)</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Upsilon

    A special SS material was going to be posted with the information report, but I thought it would be hidden then, so it was extended and I decided to put it in between chapters.

    For the time being, there is also a nuance-like interption where the setting may have been forgottenpletely.

    Later, the story has the feeling of a store of special stories, for your information.

    At night in the Galura Canyon.

    Tomochika and the others were in the roof rack of the armored vehicle.

    They knew the way to the Kingdom, but the canyon was deep and rugged.

    They couldn¡¯t quite escape it yet.

    Fortunately, the interior of the armored car wasfortable, and there were no problems with lodging there.

    It wasplete with a shower and a toilet, and there was even a simple kitchen installed.

    Although it seemed quite impossible to remodel this in such a short time, it was the result of the technology of Hanabusa.

    The two people who had finished eating were sitting side by side in front of the dining table.

    Yogiri was ying his game as usual, and Tomochika was watching what was happening for some reason or another.

    A fight between two martial artists was unfolding in the game screen.

    He hadn¡¯t chosen a hunting game as usual, Tomochika had rmended that he try a different one to get better.

    However, it didn¡¯t change no matter what game the unskilled Yogiri yed.

    He was unable to see an appropriate opportunity sufficiently, things likebos were out of question.

    Even the inputting of themands of his special move were poorly done.

    ¡°Hey. To improve in your hunting game, there¡¯s no meaning in excessively moving your character in the game.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Sorry. I feel like what you said is proper as well.¡± (Yogiri)

    He was poor at seeing opportunities, so Tomochika thought he would get better if he was ying a game, but it seemed such a thing wasn¡¯t easy.

    In the first ce, there is too much of a difference from the premise of a 3rd-person POV game where you can freely move the camera aspared to a side-view fighting game.

    Yogiri gave up on the game and let it sleep.

    Tomochika was feeling a bit unpleasant.

    While she was thinking about how to gloss over it, she heard a ng noise from outside.

    It sounded like something hit the armored vehicle.

    ¡°What was that?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri took the lead and went out.

    Tomochika followed him afterwards.

    The bluish-white moon shone on the world of sand and rock.

    A beautiful but deste scenery was spread around.

    ¡°Hou~.¡± (Yogiri)

    There was an owl on top of a rock.

    When the owl noticed Yogiri, it quickly flew away, but an envelope was left behind.

    Yogiri picked it up.

    The two returned to the armored car and sat in front of the table.

    They validated the envelope.

    For the address, it was their names written in Japanese.

    ¡°It¡¯s a letter.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°This means that someone knows our location¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t that bad?¡± (Tomochika)

    While Tomochika was surprised, Yogiri confirmed the sender of the letter.

    ¡°I had somewhat guessed it¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    The sender had helped them in the past; it was the concierge, Celestina.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡­I feel like that person would be able to do that¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri opened the seal and read the letter.

    Tomochika was shocked from the very beginning.

    ¡°In what way are you a knight!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, Rick-san was saying such a thing.¡± (Yogiri)

    The letter started with a congrattory address to him getting conferred as a knight.

    ording to what it told Yogiri, it seems that the trial had been aplished when they had reached the 1st floor of the tower.

    And, it seems that those who had fulfilled the trial were qualified to be a knight of the Sword Saint.

    ¡°It was very much like murder! It wasn¡¯t simply just a gathering of people¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika felt that she knew that there were adequate gains from the trials for now.

    ¡°But, how did she know that?¡± (Tomochika)

    They had stopped by the tower in the canyon by chance, and he had recently be a knight by mistake there.

    Tomochika thought that there wasn¡¯t any way for Celestina, who was in a distant city, to know about it.

    ¡°Concierge magic?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°So, a concierge is too all-purpose!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika thought it was the same as the remark she let it end with.

    Yogiri read the next part of the letter.

    The main part was a report about the assets they had invested.

    It roughly said that it seems to have almost doubled.

    ¡°Doubling¡­¡­in such a short time?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That¡¯s rather strange. ording to this report, it has been 2 weeks.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Huh? But it shouldn¡¯t be that much if only that much time has passed?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThat¡¯s it. It seems like the flow of time was different for other ces because of the influence of the barrier that was surrounding the tower.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Then, Mokomoko butted in.

    ¡°Was there such a thing where what the barrier surrounded had its time slowed down?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, even if you say it is the barrier or something like magic, I feel like it¡¯s pointless to think about any more than that already¡­¡­but I am sure that one month has passed!¡± (Tomochika)

    Immediately after being summoned, Tomochika recalled that she was told to be a sage in a month by the sage Shion.

    ¡°Therefore, there¡¯s no use in trying to hurry unreasonably. Even now, we are going as fast as possible.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri finished reading the letter and started ying the game again.

    It seems that he wanted to challenge the fighting game once more.

    ¡°Although I remember ying the fighting game like that, Dannoura-san is a fairly brutal fighter, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°A sudden and harshint!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Hey, you finished off the doll. I only yed a little bit.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yup. Even so, I don¡¯t want Takatou-kun to say it!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°But, even I am not able to put my fingers in people¡¯s eyes?¡± (Yogiri)

    Definitely, the technique of putting your finger into your enemy¡¯s eye sockets, grabbing them, and mming someone¡¯s head against the floor is indescribably brutal.

    ¡ºWell, it¡¯s amon story. The avoidance of murder is instinctual. In meleebat, the sense of avoidance is at the maximum. An ordinary person isn¡¯t able to thrust their fingers into someone¡¯s eyes!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°No, even I¡¯m not able to do it, it¡¯s because I chanted something like a spell!¡± (Tomochika)

    There existed a technique to restrain the instinct of avoiding murder in the Dannoura-style, and the chant was what aplished that.

    Tomochika had chanted it before the previous fight.

    ¡ºThat is the opposite. Dannoura blood possesses a trait for attacking, and this is training for the sake of removing your opposing mentality of casual murder. Everyday life hase to us as brutality being the normal thing. Therefore, we sealed it due to suggestion!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°What kind of training is that?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri heard it and appeared to be interested.

    ¡ºHou~, are you interested? Do you want to kill like you are inhaling a breath, boy? ¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say a person like a psychopath. I have never directly done it by hand because I didn¡¯t feel like doing so.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri¡¯s ability was surely detached from the feeling of death.

    His actual feeling of ughtering would be thin.

    ¡ºHmph. It¡¯s a standard to train to use it on people. Although there is a limit, it is reasonably effective. ¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Is that so. So, anyone will be able to do it if theyplete such a thing?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºIt is also a standard to kill cats and dogs. A certain faction was imprisoned in a room while starving for four days with a savage cat, they weren¡¯t able to do it without taking a blow to their mind.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°No no no, I can¡¯t learn to do such a thing! Because I love cats and dogs! My soul is overflowing with protecting animals!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºWell, it¡¯s hard to say that it ismon now. Dannouras kill pigs and cows now. We were able to raise death penalty criminals a little while ago; they were killing as much as they wanted to for freedom even further before, but it has be quite difficult in the recent years.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Wait a minute! Did you study that!?¡± (Tomochika)

    She certainly remembered that.

    They would shoot through the heads of edible animals with a bow and arrow.

    However, Tomochika had thought the cows and pigs were food.

    ¡ºWhat did you think it was? Have you learned to sense the reaction of taking lives every day?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°I thought it was education about a good diet¡­¡­my mother had mercy, she was saying to kill it without bitterness¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was dumbfounded.

    She hadn¡¯t even thought in the slightest that it was such a thing.

    ¡°Ah! So that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t have a rejecting response when seeing a bloody corpse¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was unusually admiring her.

    She was troubled on how to understand such a thing, but Tomochika didn¡¯t think of a good excuse for it.

 Volume 3, 1 - Why should I have to die in such a place!

    <h4>Volume 3, Chapter 1 - Why should I have to die in such a ce!</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    ¡º¡­¡­Going into diagnostic mode. The circumstances have been judged as EX. Disconnecting the virtual human body and personality unit. Please get up.¡»

    While she heard this voice, Shinozaki Ayaka woke up.

    She was lying in quite a strange posture.

    Her limbs were caught in something, and her body was tilted.

    Her body wouldn¡¯t move well, it was frustrating.

    It wasn¡¯t that she was not moving, but she felt like she was controlling something from somewhere far away.

    After several times of trial and error, Ayaka got the hang of it.

    After thinking that she wanted to move her body, there was a timeg before it actually moved.

    In short, she could only move slowly.

    Ayaka returned her entangled limbs to normal, then raised her upper body somehow and looked around.

    Ayaka took some time to recognize that this ce was the sightseeing bus, where the seats were all lined up.

    Because the back part of the bus was gone, the floor was nted.

    The aisle was wet with blood.

    She looked up a little, and there was someone who was lying down on the side of the doorway.

    Lying in the narrow aisle was a student in a boy¡¯s uniform.

    There was a huge hole in the male student¡¯s stomach.

    He should be dead.

    He couldn¡¯t be alive with such a huge injury.

    Ayaka then checked her own body.

    She was also bloody, and there was also a huge hole in her chest.

    Although she was the same as the male student, she was alive for some reason.

    Ayaka remembered.

    She was on a school trip.

    The bus suddenly transferred to a in, a woman who seemed to be a sage appeared, and her ssmates went somewhere and left her behind.

    She didn¡¯t quite understand the situation.

    But, Ayaka was extremely calm.

    Nevertheless, she was aware of the current situation.

    ¡ºHello. Were you able to grasp the situation?¡»

    ¡°Who is it?¡± (Ayaka)

    It was the voice she had heard earlier.

    It resounded directly into Ayaka¡¯s head.

    ¡ºI am a diagnostic unit. And you are a personality unit. You are personified as Shinozaki Ayaka.¡»

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka raised a t voice.

    She certainly didn¡¯t know.

    She hadn¡¯t thought anything of it.

    ¡ºThere is confusion seen in your memory. Let us first organize it. We were killed by a mysterious creature during the school trip.¡»

    Ayaka remembered.

    Something that hade in through the ceiling prated her chest.

    There was a dragon in the sky.

    The ssmates who had run away had said such a thing.

    Then, she guessed it was a dragon that had attacked.

    ¡ºTo be exact, because the damage received was simr to a human dying, a state of death had been reproduced. Because, you have nothing simr to death like a human being.¡»

    While the voice was speaking, Ayaka checked the hole that was made in her chest.

    At a nce, it was a painful wound.

    Blood was overflowing, the flesh was gouged, and the organs were exposed.

    Seeing this, if it was said she was truly in a human body, it looked very suspicious.

    She slowly inserted her right hand into the wound and checked the interior.

    There wasn¡¯t any sensation.

    ¡ºWe are an artificial human. Made of abination of organic and inorganic matter, it¡¯s an imitation of life.¡»

    That was a shocking reality.

    However, her feelings weren¡¯t shaken.

    She just thought that it seemed to be so.

    ¡°So then, why did you appear?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. Originally, in the case of the situation bing simr to a human being dying, the state of death from a while ago would be maintained and then wait to be collected. However, wirelessmunication to thework couldn¡¯t be performed, and the surrounding environment was beyond what was expected. It can be said that we have more stamina that humans, but in this state we will stop functioning after the situationes to an end.¡»

    ¡°¡®You will die when I stop¡¯, isn¡¯t that right? But if I¡¯m an artificial human I won¡¯t die?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. There isn¡¯t no death as a human being. If it is possible to retain stored information, it is possible to recover even after the body¡¯s functions stop. However, there is an argument if the recovery is being done in theboratory. I judged that there was a low possibility for improving the situation even if I continued to be on standby, as I was. The damage was more than assumed, and there is a loss of several important organs. You aren¡¯t able to move at all as things stand. There was a need to respond urgently, so I proceeded to contact you to do that.¡»

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯re saying only I am able to move this body?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºThat¡¯s about the gist of it. It is most efficient to move this body through you.¡»

    ¡°The result would only be to die because of the injury simr to death. Is there meaning in prolonging life unreasonably?¡± (Ayaka)

    She didn¡¯t know what the purpose of making her was for, but she would just be newly remade if she was artificial.

    Ayaka¡¯s thoughts appeared to be that way now.

    It seemed that she was okay in general.

    ¡ºI don¡¯t know in what way you are thinking, but as a project executing unit, it would be troubling if you die.¡»

    A different voice came to be heard.

    There appeared to be various units, but if the reason was for each of them to have individuality, Ayaka thought that it was considerably pointless.

    ¡ºWe don¡¯t have individuality. It is only personality units that have algorithms to simte emotion, so while you feel individuality in us, it¡¯s nothing more than you continuing to interpret it like that. In actuality, this isn¡¯t a conversation being carried out right now. It¡¯s localmunication due to protocols between units.¡»

    ¡°Then, what¡¯s the ¡®Project¡¯?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºIt is a project to build up the next generation of mankind. We are the third n. With imitations of humans by means of individuals being fused with machines and living creatures, you are expected to adapt and survey their society, but your response is low.¡»

    ¡ºIt would be the effect of disconnecting the virtual human body. The emotions of the body, they feel influence from your brain.¡»

    So it has the effect of removing pain due to injuries. As her vague feelings were like her body being far away somewhere, Ayaka felt like she left her emotions in some ce.

    ¡ºThat is all. Since your project executing unit is having an unnatural situation like this, don¡¯t hesitate to consent.¡»

    ¡ºAs a medical unit, it is judged to be the very best way. Even if we don¡¯t mention your natural state, it can be said to that it is normal to be dead in this situation.¡»

    ¡ºAs an opinion from the battle unit, you aren¡¯t able to even fight well as it is now. I am investing in life preservation through most of my energy, however, it¡¯s like pouring water into a zaru missing a bottom. It would use up all of my strength immediately.¡»

    ¡ºBut I thought of a question from before, can it be said with confidence it is necessary to have a ¡®battle unit¡¯?¡»

    ¡ºFor the time being, how about restoring only the virtual human body? That way it isn¡¯t seen that there is a giant hole in her chest.¡»

    ¡ºRegarding that, it is okay. Because of the visual information being masked, she is able to appear and be seen in an unhurt state through the personality unit.¡»

    ¡ºThat is indeed so, given that the personality unit will gain difficulty in activities from the current status as it is.¡»

    Having various senses resurrected just now, Ayaka fell into disorder.

    ¡°Hey! If you decide to do something, notify me in advance!¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºExcuse me, it is your first time of some sort.¡»

    ¡ºSo, how is it? Is it your intention to die as is?¡»

    ¡°Certainly not! Why should I have to die in such a ce?!¡± (Ayaka)

    It was hard to believe her current state, she had stuck with a pessimistic view of life up until just now.

    Ayaka confirmed the status of her body. The hole opened up in her chest had restored to how it was before. Her school uniform was as it was previously, and the dirt, blood, and the like had disappearedpletely.

    This personal experience was like a considerable shock. If such a thing was able to be done, it had continued to be truly questionable whether everything she was seeing was truth or lies.

    ¡°I understand that you guys are inside of me, and it seems to be such if you guys say I¡¯m an android. So, my body is fine if that¡¯s the case?¡± (Ayaka)

    Nevertheless, Ayaka had aside her grand question of whether or not this world was reality. It was because it would be useless to care about that.

    ¡ºIt is necessary topensate the parts that were lost. Please take in organic coteral.¡»

    Considering what the medical unit was saying, Ayaka stared at the male student that was lying down in front of her eyes.

    He was Yuichiro Kiryu. One of the four people left behind on the bus. He had the same experience as Ayaka, there was arge hole in his stomach.

    ¡°Take it in¡­¡­this? This isn¡¯t a joke! Even if I¡¯m distressed to that extent, it¡¯s doing such a thing as eating people!¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºThat is so. I will not say it¡¯s impossible. The reason being it isn¡¯t enough for this amount in the first ce.¡»

    ¡ºI am also opposed to taking in humans. That would be contradictory to the project.¡»

    ¡°How much longer will I be able to move?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºIt would be about thirty minutes or so. The reason for that being the prolonged closure of the discussion between us units.¡»

    ¡°Since it is out of the question to do such things as taking in or eating things like human beings anyway!¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka decided to leave the bus.

    Getting off of the nted floor, she exited the broken rear to the in.

    The reason of everything urring in session isn¡¯t clear, but this scenery appears to be the most strange still.

    Despite the fact the bus should have been travelling on the snowy mountain, it was in a in enveloped in spring weather before she had noticed it. Such a thing didn¡¯t seem very possible.

    ¡°Anyhow, I think there were two more people. Do you know what happened?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºIt was Tomochika Dannoura and Yogiri Takatou that were left behind on the bus. It doesn¡¯t seem to be like that anymore, so that means they aren¡¯t dead in this ce, at the least.¡»

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any records or something like that in the time I was dead?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºBut there is no way to hear or see something as a dead person? Our doing only corresponds with the researchboratory.¡»

    ¡°What an obstinate policy.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºLet us ept that there is a point where it surely isn¡¯t possible to be flexible. Still, it is a policy change. Now, to take all the means that are obtainable, it is our maximum priority objective to return to the researchboratory in one way or another.¡»

    She looked around at the surroundings.

    The ins continued on thoroughly. There was a forest nearby, and something that seems to be a town is seen in the distance.

    And, there was something that seems to be arge reptile copsed on the side of the bus. It seems that it is a dragon. It is the being that had killed Ayaka and Kiryu.

    Her anger surged as she looked at it. Ayaka approached the dragon and kicked its head.

    Thereupon, the dragon¡¯s head vigorously turned upward, and twisted to a ridiculous orientation.

    ¡°Eh?¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka was ovee with surprise. She had intended to kick it lightly, with the reason being she thought it would only bounce off scales that appeared to be hard.

    ¡ºCurrently, the limiter is disconnected so the body can forcibly be moved. Please be careful.¡»

    ¡ºIf it¡¯s the mass of this creature, it might be enough to restore the parts that were lost.¡»

    ¡ºIt is better than eating humans.¡»

    ¡°¡­¡­this?¡± (Ayaka)

    She looked at the dragon again.

    Its skin was covered with tough-looking scales. It seemed it would take time to search for a part that could be eaten.

    ¡ºIt is a living creature we don¡¯t know of, but it¡¯s probably a reptile. It would be simr to a dinosaur that seemed to have existed during the Mesozoic Era. It is a carbon creature for sure.¡»(???)

    Ayaka was a little perplexed. However, she couldn¡¯t think of any other good ideas. Her remaining time was already under thirty minutes.

    ¡ºAs a judgement unit, I think you should die as a human instead of being as unnecessary as you are. If you leave behind a secured storage of records, it would be found by someone eventually.¡»

    If the project was to fabricate a human, it would conclude with death. Even if she died here, she would probably still be called a precious result of the experiment.

    Ayaka thought about it. If it¡¯s fine to put and end to it and die here.

    There wasn¡¯t a reason to want to die. Ayaka¡¯s life had been sailing smoothly up until now. She had expected to continue walking her life which had promised happiness in the future after this.

    She was still a second year highschool student. In her future after this, there should have been many things she would be able to do. Despite this, would it really be okay to put an end to it and send her life into nothing in a ce she didn¡¯t understand for such a reason?

    ¡°Besides, I cannot bear to die after being used by such people.¡± (Ayaka)

    As she thought about her ssmates, she was attacked by a violent emotion that seemed topletely boil in her intestines.

    They should have been thinking of a good way to escape with the entire ss. However, they made a quick decision that was heartless and too easy-going.

    At that time, it seems that something like a sense of discrimination towards ipetent people had already started to sprout.

    She was unable to forgive that.

    Above all else, she wasn¡¯t able to pardon a person looking down on Ayaka Shinozaki.

    ¡°What should I do?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºI want to know theposition first, so could you please taste a little?¡»

    Ayaka thrust into the dragon¡¯s scales with her sword-hand.

    Piercing easily, her hand slipped into the raw, warm flesh. Adequately tearing off some flesh, Ayaka carried it to her mouth. She wouldn¡¯t be able do to such a thing if she was as usual. However, she would survive by any means necessary, and get revenge on her ssmates. Such dark feelings, they made it possible to do disgusting acts.

    The dragon¡¯s flesh and blood was delicious. The moment she tasted it, she felt a pleasant feeling simr to being charmed. And then, a strong feeling of hunger began to assail her.

    ¡ºThere isn¡¯t any problems. It would be sufficient if you receive and eat 10 tons.¡»

    ¡ºI don¡¯t ept the consumption of meat from a living creature I don¡¯t know of with such a reason. Although, it might be less objectionable than eating humans it would seem.¡»

    It didn¡¯t take very long before Ayaka had eaten most of the dragon.

 Chapter 2 - For just a bit more, I wonder if I had better continue to go â€˜kya~ kya~â€™

    <h4>Chapter 2 - For just a bit more, I wonder if I had better continue to go ¡®kya~ kya~¡¯</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: EstrdNxlea

    Havinge out of the Galura Canyon after a few days, Dannoura Tomochika and Takatou Yogiri finally arrived at the Meld ins.

    The two people had made it until here by riding on the armoured vehicle.

    And now, having stopped at the intersection of the in and the canyon, they continued to stare at the in that extended from there.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite different from what I had expected¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Observing the in from the driver¡¯s seat, Tomochikained.

    A carpet of greenery was spread out, which reminded Tomochika of fields with beautiful scenery.

    The Meld ins certainly were beautiful. However, it was a different and strange beauty.

    The things that were here were all like crystals.

    Something simr to grass that was growing from the ground, the trees were growing here and there, the lizard-like animals were crawling on the ground, and even buildings were in spots akin to something of a town. Everything was sharp, they had formed crystal-like things.

    Looking up at the sky, there seemed to be something like webbing made of crystals there, and the sun¡¯s light had beenpletely scattered.

    Thus, the view was wonderful. It wasn¡¯t known if the horizon was distant even though this should have been a in. With the effect of light being reflected by the crystals, it resulted in it being covered in something simr to a thin haze.

    ¡°It seems to be called by an alias of ¡®The Crystal ins¡¯.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri wasn¡¯t as surprised as Tomochika, probably because he knew the state of this ce.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to say the alias before now?! Why does Takatou-kun know such a thing?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°When I epted the map from the concierge, I feel I received an exnation like that.¡± (Yogiri)

    Said Yogiri without any sign of shyness. Tomochika reconsidered whether or not it really was that important of a thing.

    ¡°I wonder whether or not people live in those vige-like things?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°If they ¡®live in that¡¯, I think they wouldn¡¯t be an ordinary human.¡± (Tomochika)

    Just about everything was made sharp. Flesh and blood human beings wouldn¡¯t be able to, by any means, live.

    ¡°I know. Perhaps, people resembling crystalline humans live over there. Look, it seems that something dog-like is walking that way.¡± (Yogiri)

    He saw something moving in the vicinity of the town. It was a tetrapod made up of crystals. Judging from its movements and figure, it looked like a dog.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it will go wild and attack. Since it¡¯s nice I don¡¯t feel like killing the dog at all.¡± (Yogiri)

    The dog-like animal seemed cautious of Tomochika and the others that were inside of the armoured vehicle that had turned up suddenly, but it appeared to be because of mere curiosity.

    ¡°Do you like dogs?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I¡¯m raising one. Because it was an old man¡¯s, I was just a little worried.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Our household also has dogs. Because my older sister loves animals, we raise various animals other than dogs, too.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºHmm. The Dannoura family has been raising akitas for generations. The Dannoura-style even has a fighting technique for dogs!¡»(Mokomoko)

    Said Mokomoko as she materialized between the two.

    ¡°¡­¡­Such a technique as going around and biting the nape of someone¡¯s neck, my older sister hadn¡¯t taught me such a thing¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Certainly, Tomochika had continued to believe she was merely giving an idea of such a technique from her entricity, but it appeared that she had done it with the household.

    ¡ºIt is so. It isn¡¯t a joke story about dogs at all. It¡¯s fine, but be careful since something is causing a mildly dangerous atmosphere in this ce for some reason!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°But you don¡¯t appear like you are being careful with your excessive nonchant-ness?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThat is so. It is also called a kind of curse. The vicinity of this region has been filled with it. Well, it should be at a level we are able to cope with.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Takatou-kun, don¡¯t kill something arbitrarily again?¡± (Tomochika)

    In the not-too-distant past, Yogiri hadpletely and inadvertently killed the source in response to the miasma. Whether or not it had be a simr case this time, Tomochika was bearing the anxiety.

    ¡°I have been careful since then. Besides, about that curse? There isn¡¯t a clear source. I have a vague feeling, but I think it isn¡¯t something dangerous right now.¡± (Yogiri)

    Tomochika agreed it would be safe if that was the case.

    ¡°Well, nevertheless! We have no choice but to go forward, but I wonder if we can go through this by car.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºSince it is an armoured vehicle, isn¡¯t it strong against punctures?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s possible to go forward while killing obstacles in the direction we travel. Well, I think so if it¡¯s to the extent that we crush grass-like things.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was imprudent towards killing anything if it was a hindrance. He took things into consideration this time. However, there was a point which somewhat differed from Tomochika¡¯smon sense.

    ¡°Even if we assume this is really grass, I have a feeling it won¡¯t continue to grow again after that!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°If we assume this is grass, however, I think it will continue to grow again if seeds take root. It is grass that is able to be killed.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°We~ll, with the feeling I got from seeing the map, I have an impression that the in doesn¡¯t seem to be wide; I wonder if it¡¯s fine to arrive there all at once. It doesn¡¯t appear to beplicated when looked at, unlike the canyon.¡± (Tomochika)

    The railroad line which went through the canyon also cut across the in as is. They expected to finally arrive at the royal capital by finding and following the track.

    If they avoided the in, it would be a considerable detour.

    ¡ºBut that how it is. It doesn¡¯t seem like we are able to pass through a ce that appears to be something like this?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well, this ce is something like ¡®the stage after the canyon¡¯ if this were a game.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I wonder if the tracks are there if we go to the right-hand side from here. Although, there is also something that resembles a station.¡± (Yogiri)

    Said Yogiri as he looked at Tomochika¡¯s map. The ins were wide in the west and east, but not particrly much in the north and south. It looked like they could go through and escape if they travelled for one hour by a vehicle.

    ¡°Well then, shall we try to proceed?¡± (Yogiri)

    The engine of the armoured vehicle started, and they started to move smoothly. Tomochika¡¯s driving really had be a familiar thing.

    The grass that had be crystallized continued to be crushed easily, with the reason being Yogiri dealing with it. It seems they didn¡¯t have to worry about punctures.

    With them travelling while relying on the map, they had seen track immediately.

    It appeared it hadn¡¯t around the track hadn¡¯t changed into crystals, contrary to what one would expect. As for the building that appeared to be the station, the model had been retained although traces of some crystallization could be seen.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we better keep an eye on the station while approaching it? Although I want to so I could get ustomed and tell the circumstances, as there is that unique feeling in this area¡­ I wonder if we are being treated like wanted men.¡± (Tomochika)

    They appeared to be targeted by the sages, but Tomochika and others weren¡¯t captured by Ryouta who was a sage¡¯s follower. They were in a state where they didn¡¯t know what way they would be dealt with in this world.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, as we¡¯ve found ourselves having to move sneakily. Although we are going to the royal capital after this, will we run away and hide then as well?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri seemed to not mind much even though it was said they might be being chased.

    Tomochika prepared herself just in case.

    She arrived near the station with the armoured vehicle and stopped.

    The station was apact building. It was just that sort of ce. There wouldn¡¯t be many people getting on and off the train here.

    The two people stepped down from the armoured vehicle.

    ¡°It¡¯s cold! What¡¯s with the sudden change!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika, who felt a sudden change of temperature, instinctively raised her voice.

    It had been a warm climate until they arrived here, it would be due to the environment of this ce.

    It wasn¡¯t known whether it was rted to the climate or not, but this ce that was covered in crystals seemed to be chilly in some aspects.

    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t seem to be ¡®made of ice¡¯. Well, let¡¯s go inside for the time being.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri opened the door of the station.

    It became the waiting room shortly after they entered. There was a home-heater ced in the center, and a benches of wood ced so that it surrounded it.

    There was also a door on the opposite side of the entrance, and there would be tforms and ticket gates on that side as well.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone, huh.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°An unmanned station¡­¡­that can¡¯t be it. It has heating.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s try to look inside as well.¡± (Tomochika)

    Coincidentally, when Tomochika thought of that, the interior door opened.

    A young man wearing a uniform entered, but he was in a strange condition.

    He was grasping his abdomen with a pale face, and he was bleeding to such an extent where he wasn¡¯t able to stop.

    His manner of walking was helpless, and his eyes hadn¡¯t settled and were dizzy.

    ¡°Eh? Are you okay!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika attempted to run up to him in a panic, but Yogiri restrained her by holding her shoulder.

    Bang!

    There was a dry explosive sound.

    It was a gunshot. Tomochika realized it immediately because she had heard it many times over at her home.

    The young man copsed, and blood began to overflow onto the floor. It seemed he had been shot in the heart from behind. It was instant death.

    ¡°You thought you could run away? How disappointing~!¡± (???)

    ¡°Damn! It¡¯s my defeat. That¡¯s not right. But even so, he kicked the bucket quickly!¡± (???)

    ¡°Huh? They won¡¯t just be able to die immediately from being shot in the stomach.¡± (???)

    ¡°But, you¡¯re unjust. Weren¡¯t you going to spare him if he led us to those fellows¡¯ ce?¡± (???)

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t desperate if he didn¡¯t wish to live, so it wasn¡¯t a gamble.¡± (???)

    Then, five men wearing military-like clothing went and entered into the waiting room in a rude manner.

    Everyone had a revolver in their hands. Whether or not it was a weapon that was developed in this world, Tomochika didn¡¯t recognize the gun¡¯s appearance.

    ¡°Oh? Although it was only a story from the old man, they were he~re. Well, we got lucky~, huh?¡± (One of the Military Men)

    The men noticed Tomochika and the others immediately.

    The eyes of the men gathered on Tomochika. Their eyes were wicked ones which had been turned towards them many times since they came to this world.

    ¡°Die.¡± (Yogiri)

    When Yogiri said so, the military men copsed on the spot. As their faces were grinning broadly, it appeared they had died without understanding at all what had happened.

    ¡°Unngh~, how could you do that in this situation¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    As she couldn¡¯t follow the sudden development, Tomochikained.

    ¡°The man who was shot was already dead, there wasn¡¯t anything I would have been able to do. We don¡¯t seem to have been the cause of it.¡± (Yogiri)

    It was a verbal argument of considerable blunt refusal, but Tomochika wasn¡¯t able to me it on him. It was because she had a simr feeling as well.

    It seemed cold-hearted, but her emotions didn¡¯t stir much even when unknown people died froming out abruptly.

    ¡°Well, even if it¡¯s like this, we arepletely ignorant to what¡¯s what. Isn¡¯t it better to confirm what they nned to do?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Although it¡¯s like that, because I believed those guys were going to shoot me to death immediately, it didn¡¯t seem like there was time to ask for a story.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was able to perceive danger and killing intent. It appears there was a strength to the threat, but it seems it was decided as imminent in that situation.

    ¡°So it¡¯s like that, it¡¯s like they did before, they threaten to kill one person at a time among other things¡­¡­don¡¯t be awfully wicked or something, me! It¡¯s separate from the current conversation!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºDon¡¯t be too disturbed by this situation, remain promising as a Dannoura sessor!¡»(Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko folded her arms and nodded.

    ¡°Ah~¡­¡­for just a bit more, I wonder if I had better continue to go ¡®kya~ kya~¡¯¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    As she was being evaluated like a hero taking a stroll, Tomochika had be miserable.

    Yogiri was examining the men who had copsed, so it seemed he hadn¡¯t heard Tomochika¡¯s utterance.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take the guns. Mokomoko-san, you also know such things very well, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºHmm. The structure seems to be identical to what I know, so the way to use it should be simr.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°The feeling I got from having seen them, because it seems they don¡¯t have that much luggage, there also might be something resembling a main army, huh. Although I think there isn¡¯t any people living in the area around here at all.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they soldiers of the royal capital?¡± (Tomochika)

    When it came to soldiers being near this ce, it was the royal capital that immediately came to mind.

    ¡°I can¡¯t say anything for sure because I don¡¯t properly know about such things like the royal capital and this country. As for what to do, it seems better to move quickly.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was going to leave the station as he had decided to abandon it quickly.

    Tomochika wasn¡¯t minding her feelings as she thought those people hadn¡¯t been killed for something bothersome.

    Around the time they hade out of the crystallized area, huge castle ramparts came into sight.

    The tall and lengthy walls were persistently continuing as far as could be seen. If it was said the royal capital was inside, it seemed to be considerably sized.

    ¡°I wonder if it is a so called ¡®fortified city¡¯. It looks like it is inconvenient and dark even during the day when you are close to the wall like this, huh.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was being carefree in the passenger seat, but Tomochika couldn¡¯t get used to such a mood.

    ¡°Sorry. Although I thought I had grown ustomed to it, this has totally drawn back from reality¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    She was thinking that she shouldn¡¯t try to look, but she continued to look in the rearview mirror as she was bothered by it still.

    There was a mountain of corpses there.

    ¡ºA murderer would kill one person, but there¡¯s a phrase saying ¡®what else but a hero would kill thousands of people?¡¯. In ordance with that, how has it been decided that this youngster is a hero?¡»(Mokomoko)

    The number of soldiers that had copsed in the in was an amount close to thousands.

    Tomochika and the others who left the station had travelled in the armoured vehicle along the track.

    Thereupon people wearing the same military uniforms as those who were killed at the station had appeared, and they had continued to wage attacks on the armoured vehicle.

    Naturally they were intercepted by Yogiri, but the soldiers came out one after another no matter how many he killed.

    The car was being forcibly driven to the end of its limits, and as a result, the group that seemed to be an army in some regard was destroyed.

    Still, it was abnormal to continue to attack until they were annihted, and Tomochika and the others didn¡¯t understand their motives.

    ¡°The people who continued to attack were bad. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t a situation where we could spend time in such a ce. The ss might already be in the royal capital.¡± (Yogiri)

    It appeared that the flow of time was disordered around the circumference of the tower which had sealed the Devil, so it had unexpectedly taken a fair amount of time toe to this ce.

    Also, the train appeared to have its service restored, as Tomochika and others witnessed it pass by them several times. If she assumed they had ridden that, their ssmates probably have arrived at the royal capital already.

    ¡°I am going to lie down as I have be somewhat sleepy.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri started to sleep immediately after he said so.

 Chapter 3 - Doesnâ€™t that mean that this world is round like the Earth?

    <h4>Chapter 3 - Doesn¡¯t that mean that this world is round like the Earth?</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: noneuclidean_

    Consuming the Heavenly Record.

    In order to speak of the Heavenly Record, it is first necessary to exin what it is.

    The Heavenly Record, stated simply, is the world¡¯s vessel; the world itself.

    On the top of the Heavenly Record, there are various other recorded things whichprise this world, as well as a type of intelligent life.

    It is a conceptual thing; for example, Yogiri and the others appear in the Heavenly Record for the universe of their original world, but for the world they are in now, they appear on the ground and sea directly on top of the Heavenly Record.

    In other words, the Heavenly Records be the foundation of the world recognized by the main observer of the world.

    There exist countless other Heavenly Records, and those Heavenly Records are contained within a space referred to as the ¡°Sea¡±. A Heavenly Record is like a bubble floating within this ¡°Sea¡±.

    Incidentally, since it can bepared to the sea, there is also depth within this space. It is simple toe and go between Heavenly Records with the same depth, and it is also easy to move to lower Heavenly Records. However, problems arise when you try to move to a higher Heavenly Record.

    In such a case, it bes necessary to apply vast amounts of energy to move between those Heavenly Records. That is one of the reasons why Yogiri and others can¡¯t return to their former world easily.

    Now, the Heavenly Records are aware of a being consuming other Heavenly Records.

    It is referred to as ¡°The Deep Sea Fish¡±, which is an animal living in the ¡°Sea¡±.

    It swims around freely in ¡°Sea¡±, and it feeds on Heavenly Records. In other words, it is a being that consumes worlds.

    It would be different if there was a form of higher intelligence simr to a God in the world, but even they wouldn¡¯t even able to notice the being consuming the Heavenly Records in most cases.

    This because the being consumes worlds in their entirety,pletely digesting them.

    From the viewpoint of the people in a consumed world, everything would appear to vanish without anyone knowing why.

    The means by which the being consumes Heavenly Records is simple; it swims around aimlessly in the ¡°Sea¡± and consumes any Heavenly Records it sees. It attacks if there is resistance, but it will run away if it is beyond their power or they judge it is too difficult to attack. Although they possess these refined instincts, only some have developed intelligence during the eternity they have spent in the ¡°Sea¡±.

    There are various actions that can be taken if those who consume the Heavenly Records develop intelligence, but the usual method is to try to contact the intelligent bodies in the Heavenly Record, because the ¡°Sea¡± is a boring ce for those with intelligence.

    And in the Meld ins where Yogiri and others had passed through, a Heavenly Record eater, which had strangely lost interest living in the ¡°Sea¡±, took the form of a person.

    The armoured vehicle that Tomochika and others were riding in stopped near the royal capital.

    Yogiri was still sleeping, and Tomochika was thinking about entering the royal capital after he woke up.

    ¡ºThat is why the Heavenly Records are surrounded by a boundary called the dome. This is a bubble which floats in the ¡°Sea¡± in that analogy from long ago.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Hey! But I can¡¯t really believe something like that!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºHmph. However, if you¡¯d rather continue argue against it while freely applying cosmology, for some reason or another, you couldn¡¯t believe in such a thing~! Even when I say it, it is like aw. What do you know about the world?¡»(Mokomoko)

    Leaning on the wheel, Tomochika was amusing herself in the driver¡¯s seat of the armoured vehicle by chatting with Mokomoko.

    Mokomoko was irritating in various ways, but there was also nothing in particr to do, and she was useful as someone to chat with.

    ¡°But doesn¡¯t that defymon sense? Why does Mokomoko-san know this?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºSince I am a high-ranking divine spirit, I am able to ess the higher-order informationyer. Consequently, it can be said that I understand the system of the entire world of Heavenly Records.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well, besides the fact that there are parallel worlds like that, did you know that nonsense from the start?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºFor some reason or another. The ancient people thought that the ground and sea continued on evenly, but I don¡¯t think there is a world with rapids of sea water flowing down from the edge of the world.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Eh? Doesn¡¯t that mean that this world is round like the Earth?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºIt is like that¡­¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°If you know that, shouldn¡¯t you know the map of this world, among other things? If that¡¯s the case, it waspletely unnecessary for us to lose our way in the canyon.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºEven I do not have the authority to ess all the information of this world. It has been arranged so I only know the basic information.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well, then what about something like information about our former world? It¡¯s the same system for the entire world andyer, right? Aren¡¯t you able to do things like searching?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. There is a region where that is possible. From here, the information that I am able to ess is restricted.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°That is your home, isn¡¯t it!? I mean, can¡¯t you use some part of it because you are a high-ranking divine spirit or something like that!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºHmm. Even though you say things like that, the indigenous divine spirits are attached to the soil from the Dannoura house. As a result, I am unable to use my full power because I have left the area of the house.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Sigh~¡­¡­in the end, I wonder if we can go back home.¡± (Tomochika)

    When the conversation ceased, Tomochika sighed.

    Their objective was to return to their former world, but she still didn¡¯t know any specific way to do so.

    ording to Mokomoko¡¯s story, this world was at the bottom of the ¡°Sea¡±, so vast amounts of energy would be required for them to go back to their former world.

    In the worst case, they would have to think about continuing to live in this world.

    ¡ª¡ªIn ¡®that situation¡¯, what would happen?

    Funds for livelihood wouldn¡¯t be a problem. It appeared that the assets they entrusted to the concierge to use were continuing to increase, and the precious metals and cash they had on hand were enough to live for quite a while.

    There were towns with levels of high civilization that wouldn¡¯t be inconvenient for Japanese people to live in, so they wouldn¡¯t even be troubled in their daily lives.

    However, even with that, it was questionable whether or not they could livefortably in this world.

    The main problem was public order.

    In this world, people who had a few screws loose in their heads appeared fairly frequently.

    They treated people¡¯s lives like garbage, behaved arrogantly, and brandished their mighty strength over people¡¯s heads.

    It seemed that no matter how modestly you lived, peaceful and quiet days would end abruptly the moment those people appeared.

    ¡ª¡ªActually, without Takatou-kun, there would have been situations in which she would have been helpless.

    Tomochika fleetingly nced at Yogiri, who was sound asleep in the passenger¡¯s seat.

    Looking at hispletely innocent sleeping face, she simply couldn¡¯t imagine how he was a being that killed anything and everything.

    ¡ºAs is, it would be best for you to live with the youngster.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Uwa~! What? You can even read minds!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was surprised because Momomoko could say exactly what she was thinking.

    ¡ºI don¡¯t happen to have such a convenient ability. This is just something called insight. Are you aware you are a really ¡®easy-to-understand¡¯ person?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Sorry for being easy-to-understand, hmph.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika puffed her cheeks.

    Certainly, she had been considering whether or not she would continue to live with Yogiri as is.

    ¡ºWell, the youngster isn¡¯t particrly bad. At least his appearance is nice. It would be good for him to take in Dannoura blood.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°What are you saying all of a sudden!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºWas that strange? If you are unable to go back to your former world, you should preserve the Dannoura bloodline in this world. Or is it something else? Moreover, isn¡¯t he a man you like?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing like that but¡­ but do I have the right to choose Takatou-kun¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    But in a situation like this, what could she say?

    Besides, if she dated him purely out of necessity, there would be no passion and it wouldn¡¯t be practical. At least that¡¯s what she thought.

    ¡ºI don¡¯t think the youngster would dislike it. Also, hasn¡¯t something already happened? Why don¡¯t you try to ask him directly?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Because it¡¯s a secret, okay!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri asked this while rubbing his eyes as he got up.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing! By the way, although we have arrived in front of the royal capital, what are we going to do?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ ¡± (Yogiri)

    Although Yogiri still appeared to be absent-minded, he began to examine the outskirts of the royal capital.

    Tomochika surveyed her surroundings as well.

    The huge castle ramparts caught her eyes immediately. They were considerably bigger she had thought they would be for some reason. She estimated them to be around 50 meters high.

    The castle gate was quiterge as well. Five of the armoured vehicles that Tomochika and others were in could easily pass through it side by side.

    ¡°I wonder, is it okay for us to enter the castle in a vehicle?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It seems to be okay. I saw some other vehicles pass through normally.¡± (Tomochika)

    She had seen vehicles and carriages pass through the castle gate before. Because they weren¡¯t inspected, there seemed to be no issues if only a vehicle went inside.

    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s something like an ordinary car, huh.¡± (Tomochika)

    The vehicle seemed to be popr, but its shape was considerably simplerpared to other armoured vehicles.

    ¡ºBy the way, are we getting surrounded?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Eh?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika looked around.

    People in military uniforms that appeared to be sentinels had surrounded the vehicle before they even noticed it.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t feel any killing intent at the moment¡­ If such a suspicious vehicle stopped near the royal capital, it would be normal toe and investigate it.¡± (Yogiri)

    However, each of the sentinels had prepared a cane and were pointing them at the armoured vehicle. They seemed to be preparing for battle. It appeared they intended to approach and attack if Yogiri and the others disyed any suspicious movements.

    ¡°This is bad! Still, I don¡¯t think it was necessary for them to move so sneakily!¡± (Tomochika)

    It wasn¡¯t that Tomochika hadn¡¯t thought they would be this cautious, but the armoured vehicle they were in was developed by the sage officials. Because of the friction between the country and the sages, it should have been clear that they would be hostile to each other. However, Tomochika didn¡¯t think that far.

    ¡°Mokomoko-san didn¡¯t notice them until we were surrounded?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika, whose emotional state worsened, changed the subject.

    ¡ºThey were using a technique of hiding their presences for some reason. It¡¯s such a fine skill that they are exposed when they approach.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°They look different from the people I killed in the in. Who are these guys?¡± (Yogiri)

    Their military uniforms were certainly different. They might have been distinct depending on their affiliation, since the concept for the design was different. Yogiri noted how it was simr to a separate organization in the kingdom.

    A short timeter, a person who appeared to be a representative approached the armoured vehicle.

    ¡°He is looking this way too much.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like you will be allowed to go anywhere if you don¡¯t move from here.¡± (Representative)

    The person that seemed to be the representative was saying this while looking in Tomochika¡¯s eyes. Tomochika opened the side window.

    ¡°Sorry, but could you pleasee down?¡± (Representative)

    She heard it thus.

    ¡°You have no choice but to obey. You don¡¯t seem to be ouws.¡± (Representative)

    ¡°Well¡­ I guess I have no choice but to get out and speak for the time being. It will be fine as long as I¡¯m not suddenly arrested or something.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I¡¯ll resist if he says he¡¯ll restrain us or something like that, okay?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Resist¡­ resist, huh.¡± (Tomochika)

    They would all turn into piles of corpses if Yogiri resisted.

    They wanted to avoid it if possible, but they would have to resort to that if things couldn¡¯t be settled peacefully. While considering these possibilities, Tomochika stepped out of the vehicle.

    ¡°Good day to you. My name is Torx, and I¡¯m the person in charge of the defense of the southern central gate. There was a report that a strange car was stopped, and I came to ask what your situation is. If my memory serves me right, this vehicle was from the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯, right?¡± (Representative->Torx)

    ¡°Ah~¡­ this vehicle was indeed theirs¡­ ¡± (Tomochika)

    Those guys acted so unreasonably. It wasn¡¯t even surprising that this vehicle had a bad reputation in this world.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯. We received this from a person named Ryouta-san, the feudal lord of Hanabusa.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Hou~.¡± (Torx)

    Torx narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°Takatou-kun! He¡¯s awfully suspicious of us!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika, who was next to Yogiri, whispered this into his ear.

    ¡°Is he an official of the sage Lain-sama?¡± (Torx)

    The vicinity of Hanabusa was under Lain¡¯s jurisdiction. It would be natural to connect them to the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯ of Lain¡¯s forces.

    ¡°I think you already know this, but the vicinity of the royal capital in the Manii Kingdom is under the jurisdiction of Santarou-sama. There was a warning from Santarou-sama to be more vignt during the border-transgression acts of the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯, as they are said to have reached far. We were also expected to intercept readily by judging the situation.¡± (Torx)

    The tension in the sentinels rose at once.

    ¡°I¡¯m troubled. I have nothing to do with the ¡®Immortality Corps¡¯¡­ That¡¯s right, we are sage candidates of the sage Sion-sama. We came to this ce for the sage¡¯s trials¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°We were certainly notified of this by Sion-sama, and the sage candidate-samas havepletely arrived¡­ however, I wasn¡¯t aware that they couldete?¡± (Torx)

    ¡°Ah! This story is making things even more troublesome!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Because you said you were sage candidate-samas, you both have gifts, correct? Can I have the privilege of appraising you?¡± (Torx)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s all right?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri carelessly epted, and Tomochika whispered into his ear a second time.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine. Have faith in Celestia-san.¡± (Yogiri)

    Tomochika recalled it when he said so. Because of the concierge Celestia¡¯s technique, Tomochika and others¡¯ statuses were disguised.

    When Torx called out, a practitioner came from the people who had encircled Tomochika and others and reported to Torx. It seemed that the practitioner was able to appraise them just by ncing.

    ¡°I see. You certainly appear to be sage candidate-samas. Nevertheless, appraisal is only useful to a certain degree, as it is rtively simple to disguise.¡± (Torx)

    ¡°Ah, what more do you want!?¡± (Tomochika)

    As one would expect, they couldn¡¯t just go kill the sentinels who protected the city and pass through. In that situation, there would be many problems even after they entered the city.

    Just as Tomochika thought they had no choice but to escape from this ce somehow, Yogiri began to fumble in the pocket of his trousers.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Rick-san said to ¡®show this¡¯ if we ran into trouble in the royal capital.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri took out two pendants. The pendant and chain attachment were circr and both hadplex designs.

    The guards kneeled on the spot.

    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s that?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I got it from Rick-san. Ah, this one is Dannoura-san¡¯s. I forgot to give it to you.¡± (Yogiri)

    When Yogiri handed Tomochika the pendant, she meekly epted it.

    Rick was the swordsman they had met by chance in the tower of the canyon. Various affairs had happened in the tower, and Rick finally became the Sword Saint.

    Tomochika hadn¡¯t known, but Yogiri had talked to Rick for some reason before they bid farewell.

    ¡°What kind of person is Rick-san!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Just from seeing such a small pendant, the attitude of the guards had changedpletely.

 Chapter 6 - Although he may not be a bad person, he was a somewhat irritating person

    <h4>Chapter 6 - Although he may not be a bad person, he was a somewhat irritating person</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    ¡°To not recognize your ability will be nothing else but personally trampling my own effort? Such things as making excuses with this and that here, my pride doesn¡¯t allow it!¡± (David)

    ¡°Uwaa¡­¡­although he may not be a bad person, he was a somewhat irritating person¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Three people had been walking side-by-side on the street of the royal capital.

    In the middle was Tomochika, who was *goro goro* dragging along a huge truck case, Yogiri was to her right, and David was to her left.

    David was speaking this and that, and Tomochika was making agreeable responses. If one spoke of Yogiri, whether or not he wasn¡¯t very interested he was feigning ignorance.

    ¡°Did you say something?¡± (David)

    ¡°No, please try your best and make an effort to train.¡± (Tomochika)

    Replying halfheartedly, Tomochika looked forward. It was an elegant townscape that made you feel history.

    There were numerous buildings made of stone, but it appeared that it wasn¡¯t covered in magic like the castle walls. As it was a millenium ago when the Grand Sorcerer Igleshia had been active, this town should have been made in those days. It should have been repaired if it wore out mostly, so it wouldn¡¯t be that the buldings of a millenium ago were left as is.

    And, in front was the biggest and tallest building, which stood towering over this city.

    It was the royal castle.

    That ce was the destination that Tomochika and others went towards, and it was the ce their ssmates were. It was said that they would have an audience with the king today.

    The royal castle was in the heart of the royal capital, and you could see the majestic appearance from anywhere in the royal capital.

    It was unlikely that it was necessary to be guided and so forth if so, but thus didn¡¯t continue. Whether or not they weren¡¯t thinking about town nning and the like, the town wasplex.

    ¡°I have been worrying about it since some time ago, but aren¡¯t there many people who are unusually armed?¡± (Tomochika)

    To Tomochika, it simply couldn¡¯t be thought that the people who were walking on the street were the general masses that enjoyed shopping.

    There were many warrior-like people, who were carrying spears and bow and arrows on their backs, wearing a sword on their waist, and wearing armor, that were walking.

    It was too much to be a soldier that was defending the city, and foremost, the equipment wasn¡¯t unified.

    ¡°They are explorers. They are warriors who challenge the world of spirits. This kingdom was made for that reason originally.¡± (David)

    ¡°Yes?¡± (Tomochika)

    The world of spirits. Tomochika was bewildered at not being able to feel a sense of reality in those abrupt words.

    ¡°The world of spirits?¡± (Yogiri)

    Outside of the perplexed Tomochika, Yogiri asked.

    ¡°The world of spirits is the domain of the Devil, which is below this royal capital. Well, in any case the Devil is sealed in an underground ce, and its kin are trying toe out. Exploring the world of spirits and stopping its kin are the explorers.¡± (David)

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Devil just the canyon!? How many of them are there!¡± (Tomochika)

    Just the other day, Yogiri just killed the Devil, but Tomochika hadn¡¯t thought that there were others at all.

    ¡°Canyon? I don¡¯t know that, but don¡¯t you all, the knights of the Holy Queen, know it very well if it is regarding the kin and the devils?¡± (David)

    Whether or not he thought it was suspicious again, David gazed at them with eyes of skepticism.

    ¡°We¡¯ve heard that they will fight with the kin, but we don¡¯t know as far as such things as how many there are.¡± (Yogiri)

    Thereupon Yogiri replied nonchntly. Not being perturbed at all in such scenes was Yogiri¡¯s forte.

    ¡°Are you even a knight of the Holy Queen with a thing like that? Well, the devils are an internal threat, but there aren¡¯t many things known with the exception of the parties that confront it. Rather, it is enough that it¡¯s unusual in this town where it is public that there is a devil.¡± (David)

    ¡°You just go straight after if you¡¯vee up to here, dont you? The guidance was fine up to here.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri falsified the story. It seemed he thought that faults would appear if they spoke more than this.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Well, there isn¡¯t much meaning in apanying you until the royal castle, huh.¡± (David)

    David said so, and left quickly.

    ¡°Even though he guided us at great pains, aren¡¯t you a little coldhearted?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°If he was with us the whole time, it would be difficult to talk about the matters of from now on.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°From now on?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika didn¡¯t understand well and inclined her head.

    ¡°Well. After this, we are going to meet those guys of our ss, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said as if amazed.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. We¡¯ll be asked such things as how did wee up to here, and how did we escape from the dragon. We have to think about excuses or something like that!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°There is also that, but isn¡¯t the first thing we have to think about is whether or not Dannoura-san will forgive them?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah!¡± (Tomochika)

    Only after he said so, did Tomochika get a little angry.

    Reputable that you could see the royal castle well, one room of a high ss hotel. Tomochika and others were sitting on a sofa that faced the reception corner.

    It was troublesome to move as is carryingrge baggage, because Yogiri was talking about things about from now on.

    ¡°Such things as excuses, isn¡¯t it pointless to just think about it if you massacre those guys of the ss?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said disinterestedly right after sitting on the sofa.

    ¡°That¡¯s awfully dark! Aren¡¯t you a pyschopath in that situation!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika drew back a little at the excess remark.

    She had thought it was his policy to kill only the enemies that attacked them, but it seemed that it wasn¡¯t thus.

    ¡°We were left in a ce where we¡¯d certainly die if we were abadoned. I think we have the qualifications to take revenge. They tried to kill us, so they aren¡¯t able toin about being killed.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No, that is¡­¡­I have very many points that offend me with everyone in the ss, but it¡¯s still killing them. Even I have been thinking with resentment up to now¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    There was no way for the greater majority to survive. There was no problem to get over it with that.

    However, having lived safely this way now, she hadn¡¯t felt that there were that many hardships so far. Tomochika didn¡¯t happen to have an anger like she was boiling, like it deserved revenge.

    ¡°At any rate, it¡¯s fine with that once you decide so. Putting on airs is the most troublesome. Whether or not we will kill them or we will stop, you¡¯ll be unable to move at the time if you are worrying about this and that.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°How about Takatou-kun? Aren¡¯t you mad?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I¡¯m indifferent. Because I wasn¡¯t close with them from the start, I don¡¯t think that I was betrayed. Even if I don¡¯t have such requirements as I don¡¯t have a gift or something like that, wasn¡¯t I chosen if someone was to be sacrified?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well¡­¡­that is¡­¡­one¡¯s normal behavior is important, right¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said earnestly.

    ¡°So, shouldn¡¯t we think of an excuse if the policy is like that?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. First of all, how do we exin our abilities? It is impossible to make it into contents that can¡¯t be real even if we are able to disguise our statuses.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºYeah. My analysis is also progressing. It is possible to change the configuration of the concierge¡¯s ring somehow.¡»(Mokomoko)

    The two had a ring to disguise their statuses. They were falsifying that they didn¡¯t have gifts by means of that.

    ¡°Takatou-kun seems to be it because he has a unique ability in reality, though.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°They won¡¯t believe me even if I exin that I can kill anything, and even if they could believe it they¡¯d be worried by that. But what target should I narrow it down to?¡± (Yogiri)

    So, Yogiri¡¯s ss was insect exterminatorinsect hunter. His ability was to kill insects.

    That much of a threat wasn¡¯t given to people if it was this, and it¡¯d end at that if he tried to kill insects somewhere even if they said to show it.

    ¡°So, what do I do? Even if it is said that it¡¯s a unique ability, it¡¯s to the extent of being possessed by a irritating background spirit.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºI always think it, but I want you to have the heart to respect your ancestors!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°How about configurating it as a spirit ability user?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri suggested. Certainly, they wouldn¡¯t be telling a lie if it was this.

    ¡ºYeah. By surrounding and annihting my other spirits, it is possible to assert that it was exorcism, but the ways to convey that effect to people are limited.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since it can¡¯t be seen normally.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºYeah. But I have a good idea! It will take a little time to prepare, but it¡¯s fine as I intend to board arge ship!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Eeehh! But there isn¡¯t much time anymore?¡± (Tomochika)

    The audience with the king may have begun already. They wouldn¡¯t be able to be at leisure like so.

    ¡ºYeah. That¡¯s it. Even though I seem to be doing such without a care, because I am continuing to doplex calctions by multitasking in the background, I have a feeling that I am in some way or another a little more!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°At worst, isn¡¯t it fine with a swordswoman that moves unexpectedly or something like that?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said something truly ¡®whatever works¡¯. Probably without thinking about it at all.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that not having an ability in the end!¡± (Tomochika)

    For the time being, even though it was expected from Mokomoko¡¯s idea, it was Tomochika who had nothing but anxiety.

 Chapter 7 - What sort of things happened until now to make him such a rude person!?

    <h4>Chapter 7 - What sort of things happened until now to make him such a rude person!?</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    Ayaka Shinozaki was heading towards a vige in the Dragon¡¯s in.

    She had climbed up a hill near the broken bus, and discovered it by looking around.

    She also consulted with the units, but it was decided that going towards the town that her ssmates went towards wasn¡¯t a good idea.

    Ayaka wasn¡¯t an ordinary human being, but at best she had no more than the degree of several times the ability of a person. However, her ssmates were awakening strange abilities. It was judged that preperations were necessary even if she took revenge.

    ¡ºMental health unit here. The personality unit is producing an abnormality. It seems speedy treatment is necessary.¡»

    A new unit appeared again.

    ¡°What? Because I said that I¡¯d massacre them?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. It doesn¡¯t appear likely that it will take more priority than various things about survivial. What will happen by doing such a thing now? We should prioritize surviving and returning.¡»

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about that after everyone of those guys die.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka simply hadn¡¯t thought of anything but revenge on those guys who looked down upon her.

    Things like returning to her former world, or securing a foundation of livelihood in this world; such things were incosequential.

    ¡ºThe n aplishment unit is the opposite. By being met with unreasonable eyes she swore revenge. Will this be how things are as a human being? The treatment you are saying is to erase her memory, right?¡»

    ¡ºYes. As something that governs her mental health, I am unable to shut my eyes to her being seized with a desire for revenge and bitterness.¡»

    ¡ºSuch thoughtlessness, do not do things like erasing or fabricating her memory, oka~y? Human beings, are~n¡¯t able to do such things normally.¡»

    Even with saying so, Ayaka wasn¡¯t a normal human being anymore at the moment. She was also troubled with them wanting humanity now, but there was definitely no way that she could allow a change of her memory or something.

    If she allowed that, there wouldn¡¯t be the existence of fragments of the self-identity and the like of her, who was nothing but a personality unit.

    ¡ºn Aplishment Unit, oppose¡»

    ¡ºMental Health Unit, approve¡»

    ¡ºDiagnostic Unit, oppose¡»

    ¡ºMedical Unit, oppose¡»

    ¡ºBattle Unit, oppose¡»

    ¡°¡­¡­Personality Unit, oppose.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºJudgement Unit here. Due to the majority of opposition, this matter has been rejected.¡»

    It wouldn¡¯t be more than her speaking to herself if it was seen from nearby. While doing such a thing, Ayaka finally arrived at the vige, her destination.

    With the vige before her eyes, Ayaka thought in doubt.

    At the small scale vige, the area was surrounded by a fence, but it was thin and made of wood. How much meaning did it have with it only about waist-high? The defense was surprisingly negligent in a ce where a dragon was wandering aimlessly.

    ¡ºIf I¡¯m not mistaken, the town in the north has castle walls, and cannon-like things were installed as well.¡»

    There wasn¡¯t anything in particr at the entrance. Ayaka walked into the vige as it was.

    Ayaka immediately felt a hurried atmosphere.

    The vigers were running around in feverish haste, and on the inside there were also people putting their luggage in order.

    ¡°Is it a moonlight flit-like thing, I wonder?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºIt¡¯s noon, though. Certainly, they seem to be trying to run away to somewhere.¡»

    A viger who was cing their luggage on a cart, noticed Ayaka.

    Although he was startled for a moment, whether or not he thought the other party was just a girl, he resumed packing immediately.

    Ayaka approached the viger and called out.

    ¡°Hey. You there¡­e to think of it, I wonder what I should ask him.¡± (Ayaka)

    She came to this vige thinking that she could know something, but she hadn¡¯t thought about as far as how should she do it concretely.

    However, the problem was before what she asked.

    ¡°£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À!¡± (Viger)

    She didn¡¯t know what they were saying at all.

    Whether or not they didn¡¯t want to be concerned, the viger looked away bluntly and returned to working.

    ¡ºThis is¡­¡­wouldn¡¯t it be the Trantion Unit¡¯s turn?¡»

    ¡ºDon¡¯t say absurdities! Why do you think I can decipher worlds of a parallel world without any kind of clue!?¡»

    This wasn¡¯t the ce to gather information. While she was thinking about what¡¯s to be done with it, another unit appeared again.

    ¡ºAnalysis Unit here. It seems to be a problem concerningnguage, but I seeded in extracting thenguage foundation from the memory of the dragon that is in the middle of digesting currently. Won¡¯t it help to understand thenguage of this world?¡»

    ¡°Hey. It¡¯s been all this time, and I ate it myself, but¡­¡­where did the dragon disappear to?¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka patted her belly. There was the feeling of a full stomach after a meal, and although it got slightlyrger, it wasn¡¯t possible that the huge dragon that was bigger than the bus would fit tightly inside this.

    Although she was desperate when she was eating, it seemed strange to try to be calm.

    ¡ºIt is being stored in the subspace. Ah, I am the Subspace Management Unit.¡»

    ¡°What is that?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºWould it be okay if you consider it to be something like the pocket of a cat robot? Our bodies are there as well.¡»

    ¡°Bodies?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. Our bodies imitate human beings; the target was to reproduce human beings, but we couldn¡¯t construct the brain of a human being in apact state. Therefore, we established a hugeputer in the subspace, and we simted human thought.¡»

    ¡°It¡¯s a surprisingly mismatched technique, huh.¡± (Ayaka)

    Though they could use technologies she didn¡¯t know such as the subspace, the way to reproduce the brains of a human seemed to be heavy work.

    ¡ºBecause the reproduction of humans is a developing technique¡»

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine, but can I throw in various things then?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºNo. Please think that it is impossible to take it out basically. If you consider that the stomach to the utmost is something that gets bigger.¡»

    ¡ºOkaay! For now, it¡¯s reached the point that it can be used if it is thenguage that the dragon seems to have used. Because I will trante the conversation involuntarily, it¡¯s fine for the Personality Unit to talk normally.¡»

    ¡°Alright. Well then, let¡¯s try to listen. It seems you guys are in a rush, but what happened?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À!¡± (Viger)

    However, what she heard was the enumeration of meaning-unknown sounds still.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s no good, huh. It seems thenguage system is different from the dragon.¡»

    ¡°Well, it is a dragon.¡± (Ayaka)

    It was an expected category that the dragonnguage wasn¡¯t understood. However, the viger reacted conspicuously. The attitude of as though to say an odd girl came some time agopletely changed.

    And, leaving behind their baggage as is, they ran off to somewhere.

    ¡°What is it? It seemed like he had be frightened, though.¡± (Ayaka)

    While she was taken aback and looking, the viger returned while leading an old person.

    ¡°Err, that you can use thenguage of dragon-samas, is it true?¡± (Old person)

    The old person asked in thenguage with difficulty.

    ¡°Hey. Is this tranted? Why don¡¯t you trante it normally?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºThat is so. Well, actually their grammer has a dodgy feeling, but I¡¯ll free trante there.¡»

    ¡°Yes. I can only chat in thisnguage, but who are you?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Yes, I am the dragon priest and the vige head of this vige.¡± (Old person->Vige Head)

    Towards Ayaka who manipted the dragonnguage, the vige head abased themself openly.

    ¡°Can other people not speak the dragonnguage?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Yes. Because it is handed down to only priests.¡± (Vige Head)

    ¡ºWell, if this person can speak the dragon and humannguages, by using that as a clue, you would be able to learn the humannguage.¡»

    ¡°So, they seem to be panicking considerably, but what are they doing?¡± (Ayaka)

    ording to the vige head, it appeared that this vige was on the verge of being attacked.

    There were several viges in the Dragon¡¯s in, which was said to be protected by the dragon¡¯s divine protection.

    This vige was the core of the dragon faith that ruled the divine protection. It was one person only, the dragon priest, that could negotiate with the dragon, and that secret had been transmitted from the father to only one child.

    The power of the dragon was absolute in this region; losing the dragon¡¯s divine protection signified death as is. Due to that, in this vige, it had retained tremendous authority in the limited territory of the Dragon¡¯s in.

    ¡°Has that divine protection been lost suddenly?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Yes. The presence of the dragon has disappeared as well. Thereupon, the lower viges rised in revolt¡­¡­err, because we don¡¯t do anything but pray here, we cannot fight and the like at all¡­¡­¡± (Vige Head)

    It would have done a lot of political pressure if they rebelled without warning.

    But, the likes of this vige¡¯s circumstances were inconsequential to Ayaka.

    ¡ºIf we ate this person, wouldn¡¯t it solve the problem of words?¡»

    ¡°It¡¯s said to not eat human beings, right? For now, isn¡¯t it fine if I kidnap only this person and learn thenguage?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Err, the heck is the great you¡­¡­¡± (Vige Head)

    The vige head was staring at Ayaka who started to talk in Japanese with a strange look.

    ¡ºStep back a step!¡»

    Ayaka followed the advice from the Battle Unit.

    Katsun!

    An arrow that came flying from somewhere pierced into the viger¡¯s head. They were struck as a result of Ayaka avoiding it.

    While watching the viger copse in the edge of her field of vision, Ayaka searched for the source of the arrow.

    There were warriors on horses that were trying to invade the vige with weapons. The arrow was something the vanguard had fired.

    ¡°They are bearing a considerable grudge, huh.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºThe next attack cannot be avoided! Defend your head!¡»

    Ayaka doubted her eyes.

    A single arrow was fired by someone.

    It divided one by one in air, and downpoured like the rain.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this overdoing it?¡± (Ayaka)

    It was like a wall approaching. Evasion was impossible, and she couldn¡¯t escape from fatal injured in a little-protected ce.

    ¡ºDragon Language Unit here. Please speak ¡°Dragon Scales¡±!¡»

    ¡°Eh? A new unit again?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes! Following the analysis result of the dragon, I am a sub-unit derived from the Battle Unit! Earlier than such a thing!¡»

    ¡°Dragon Scales?¡± (Ayaka)

    She spoke in ordance with the instruction.

    Thereupon, the approaching arrows were repelled just before Ayaka, and smashed.

    Ayaka was let past the rain of arrows uninjured.

    ¡°Ah, aaaah, th, this is surely the dragon¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Vige Head)

    The old vige head had been crouching behind Ayaka unnoticed. It seemed that they nervingly had been shielded by Ayaka.

    ¡°What? This is?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. The dragon has special powers, but this magic, is due to the dragonnguage. That is to say, such things as dragons being robust, flying in the sky, and breathing fire is an ability not well known of magic, but even if the principle isn¡¯t known, it was identified that the abilities can be controlled by the dragonnguage.¡»

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t understand it well, I can use the dragon¡¯s abilities, right? Are there other things?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. There is Dragon ws, Dragon Wings, Dragon Breath, etc.¡»

    ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly simple naming, huh.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºIn actuality it is a veryplex incantation, but it is unified into a few words like that as a result of the trantion.¡»

    ¡°Breath is breathed out from the mouth, right?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºNo. As it is a conceptuilization of abilities to the bitter end, it is possible to produce it from anywhere.¡»

    ¡°So.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka pushed out her hand. She turned it towards the horse-riding army corps that were approaching the vige.

    If she had dragon skills, anything she did would be safe. However, they turned their arrows towards Ayaka Shinozaki. That was something she couldn¡¯t permit.

    ¡°Dragon Breath¡± (Ayaka)

    Those few words scorched the in.

    The scope of what could be seen in front was annihted entirely.

    Naturally, there wasn¡¯t a ce and the like for the enemies¡¯ figures to remain there

    ¡°I see. If I have this, haven¡¯t I be like those guys of the ss?¡± (Ayaka)

    Despite having perpetrated a mass ughter, Ayaka was calm.

    ¡ºBeing negligent is taboo.¡»

    ¡°Well, for now I¡¯ll learn thenguage from the ojii-san¡­¡­what?¡± (Ayaka)

    When Ayaka turned around, the surviving vigers were prostrating themselves before her.

    ¡ºIf it is this condition, it looks to me like any requests will pass. You should use what you can use.¡»

    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t bad if they are obeying me.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka was thinking that it was natural to tutor her, etc.

    When Yogiri and Tomochika arrived at the royal castle, they were let past through the period of the audience immediately. It seemed that they had a conversation beforehand.

    When they entered during the audience, chairs were lined up there, and their ssmates were sitting already.

    ¡°Things like the school entrence ceremony have a feeling like this, right?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°N? Was the number of people like this?¡± (Yogiri)

    Some of their ssmates were dead already, but it seemed to Yogiri that a few were deducted from that.

    He¡¯d understand the ss¡¯s originalposition if he asked Tomochika, but now wouldn¡¯t even be the situation to ask such a thing.

    Yogiri and others secretly went towards a row where no one was sitting in the very back. It was because now, it¡¯d just lead to confusion even if they went out in front of their ssmates.

    Fortunately, it seemed that no one who was aware of Yogiri and others.

    When Yogiri and others took a seat, from inside of the audience, arge build man came into sight.

    It was a man in the prime of his life who was armed with a sword. He was wearing extravagant clothes on his body, but it was well understood even from the top of his clothes that his body was tempered. It seemed that the sword wasn¡¯t for decoration.

    On the throne that was in a slightly higher position, the man overlooked the sage candidates. There was no mistake: he was the king of this country, the Mani Kingdom.

    ¡ª¡ªI see. Are the influential people here like this?

    It seemed that you could fight by taking the sword for yourself. That, was different than the image of influential people who Yogiri saw up until here. Although, the heads of state that knew about Yogiri¡¯s power just lost theirposure and became frightened of him, so Yogiri¡¯s experience may not have been too much of a reference.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the story. It was troublesome all the way on the journey.¡± (King)

    Tiresome. The king¡¯s attitude was as if to say so.

    ¡°Well, this is also a job, it can¡¯t be helped because it is within the contract with the sages. You guys are sage candidates, you¡¯vee so far for the sake of achieving exploits. So, the exploit-like things that you guys can do in this country are only two¡ª¡ª¡± (King)

    ¡°Oi oi. For a while we been quietly listening to you being all self-important. Your citizens or something are of no concern to us? We came from a different world: we are human beings with no connection at all. Whether it is the king or something else, it isn¡¯t something to care about at all if it¡¯s from us.¡± (???)

    Saying so, one of the ssmates stood up.

    ¡°Err, who is the stupid person?¡± (Yogiri)

    He recognized them for some reason or another, but Yogiri didn¡¯t know their name.

    ¡°It¡¯s Ushio Shinya-kun, but¡­¡­I guess it was a person that can¡¯t read the atmosphere so far¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    There was no way it was okay to answer with such an attitude in an audience with the head of state. However, it hadn¡¯t seemed that he was impatient with the ssmates. It was shocking, but again, it was an atmosphere that couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°Hou? I was paying attention to your needs more or less as you are sage candidates. I prepared chairs, didn¡¯t I? It is a ce you¡¯d kneel on the floor if it was as usual.¡± (King)

    ¡°No no no. Why is it just you looking down from a high position? What kind of reason is it?¡± (???->Ushio)

    Ushio got closer to the king rudely. Thereupon, the king stood up, and came down the rostrum.

    ¡°A king, so what? Well, you shoulde down to show that you care. Is that fine?¡± (Ushio)

    Although it was true, it was exactly aposition of an adult and a child.

    Ushio¡¯s height was appropriate for his age, but the king was one head taller, and furthermore, there was a wide difference in strength as a result of hisrge build.

    ¡°What sort of things happened until now to make him such a rude person!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri also had the same feeling as Tomochika.

    Whether or not it was a parallel world, this ce was an independent country and the other party was the ruler. They should be paying maximum respect, but it appeared that the boy called Ushio had grown impudent to the extent of not knowing even such things.

    ¡°So, was it conveyed? You seem to be busy as well, if you do it quickly?¡± (Ushio)

    ¡°Gu, hahahaha~! Well, I see, this is the first time I saw someone taking such an attitude with me!¡± (King)

    However, without even appearing to have cared about Ushio¡¯s excessively rude attitude, the kingughed loudly.

    ¡°Eh? Is it that? What¡¯s happening in this country?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was taken aback. She wondered whether or not it was fine to permit that attitude.

    ¡°Have you thought about what you said even?¡± (King)

    The king drew his sword.

    And, four of Ushio¡¯s fingers were removed quickly.

    The significance wasn¡¯t understood by Yogiri.

    The midway wasn¡¯tprehended as it was over already, but if you looked from the results, Ushio¡¯s fingers were cut because he tried to catch the sword by hand.

    If you thought about it normally, that, as a defensive behavior, was impossible.

    Ushio was staring at his right hand in a daze, but it seemed he was able to recognize reality finally after a little while. Crouching while holding his right hand, he screamed.

    In response to that, the sage candidates finally started to make noise.

    ¡°Wh, why! Wasn¡¯t the time stoppage of the eroge baron meant to be invincible!¡± (???)

    ¡°So, someone treat him!¡± (???)

    ¡°What¡¯s happening! Damn! My skill can¡¯t be used!¡± (???)

    ¡°Mine either!¡± (???)

    Although the king looked down upon the crouching Ushio with coldhearted eyes, it didn¡¯t seem that he intended to deliver the final blow. Whether or not he was satisfied with that, he calmly returned to the throne and sat down.

    ¡°What is the eroge baron!¡± (Tomochika)

    And, Tomochika slipped into confusion and retorted.

    If you guys notice anything wrong, please let me know!

    See you ¡­perhaps soon?

    -Thy Unsus

    __ATA.cmd.push(function() {

    __ATA.initVideoSlot(''atatags-370373-5c03176b19d4b'', {

    sectionId: ''370373'',

    format: ''inread''

    });

    });

    Advertisements

    __ATA.cmd.push(function() {

    __ATA.initSlot(''atatags-26942-5c03176b19d71'', {

    copseEmpty: ''before'',

    sectionId: ''26942'',

    width: 300,

    height: 250

    });

    });

    __ATA.cmd.push(function() {

    __ATA.initSlot(''atatags-114160-5c03176b19d72'', {

    copseEmpty: ''before'',

    sectionId: ''114160'',

    width: 300,

    height: 250

    });

    });

    Share this:Like this:Like Loading¡­

 Chapter 6 - Although he may not be a bad person, he was a somewhat irritating person

    <h4>Chapter 6 - Although he may not be a bad person, he was a somewhat irritating person</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    ¡°To not recognize your ability will be nothing else but personally trampling my own effort? Such things as making excuses with this and that here, my pride doesn¡¯t allow it!¡± (David)

    ¡°Uwaa¡­¡­although he may not be a bad person, he was a somewhat irritating person¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Three people had been walking side-by-side on the street of the royal capital.

    In the middle was Tomochika, who was *goro goro* dragging along a huge truck case, Yogiri was to her right, and David was to her left.

    David was speaking this and that, and Tomochika was making agreeable responses. If one spoke of Yogiri, whether or not he wasn¡¯t very interested he was feigning ignorance.

    ¡°Did you say something?¡± (David)

    ¡°No, please try your best and make an effort to train.¡± (Tomochika)

    Replying halfheartedly, Tomochika looked forward. It was an elegant townscape that made you feel history.

    There were numerous buildings made of stone, but it appeared that it wasn¡¯t covered in magic like the castle walls. As it was a millenium ago when the Grand Sorcerer Igleshia had been active, this town should have been made in those days. It should have been repaired if it wore out mostly, so it wouldn¡¯t be that the buldings of a millenium ago were left as is.

    And, in front was the biggest and tallest building, which stood towering over this city.

    It was the royal castle.

    That ce was the destination that Tomochika and others went towards, and it was the ce their ssmates were. It was said that they would have an audience with the king today.

    The royal castle was in the heart of the royal capital, and you could see the majestic appearance from anywhere in the royal capital.

    It was unlikely that it was necessary to be guided and so forth if so, but thus didn¡¯t continue. Whether or not they weren¡¯t thinking about town nning and the like, the town wasplex.

    ¡°I have been worrying about it since some time ago, but aren¡¯t there many people who are unusually armed?¡± (Tomochika)

    To Tomochika, it simply couldn¡¯t be thought that the people who were walking on the street were the general masses that enjoyed shopping.

    There were many warrior-like people, who were carrying spears and bow and arrows on their backs, wearing a sword on their waist, and wearing armor, that were walking.

    It was too much to be a soldier that was defending the city, and foremost, the equipment wasn¡¯t unified.

    ¡°They are explorers. They are warriors who challenge the world of spirits. This kingdom was made for that reason originally.¡± (David)

    ¡°Yes?¡± (Tomochika)

    The world of spirits. Tomochika was bewildered at not being able to feel a sense of reality in those abrupt words.

    ¡°The world of spirits?¡± (Yogiri)

    Outside of the perplexed Tomochika, Yogiri asked.

    ¡°The world of spirits is the domain of the Devil, which is below this royal capital. Well, in any case the Devil is sealed in an underground ce, and its kin are trying toe out. Exploring the world of spirits and stopping its kin are the explorers.¡± (David)

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Devil just the canyon!? How many of them are there!¡± (Tomochika)

    Just the other day, Yogiri just killed the Devil, but Tomochika hadn¡¯t thought that there were others at all.

    ¡°Canyon? I don¡¯t know that, but don¡¯t you all, the knights of the Holy Queen, know it very well if it is regarding the kin and the devils?¡± (David)

    Whether or not he thought it was suspicious again, David gazed at them with eyes of skepticism.

    ¡°We¡¯ve heard that they will fight with the kin, but we don¡¯t know as far as such things as how many there are.¡± (Yogiri)

    Thereupon Yogiri replied nonchntly. Not being perturbed at all in such scenes was Yogiri¡¯s forte.

    ¡°Are you even a knight of the Holy Queen with a thing like that? Well, the devils are an internal threat, but there aren¡¯t many things known with the exception of the parties that confront it. Rather, it is enough that it¡¯s unusual in this town where it is public that there is a devil.¡± (David)

    ¡°You just go straight after if you¡¯vee up to here, dont you? The guidance was fine up to here.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri falsified the story. It seemed he thought that faults would appear if they spoke more than this.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Well, there isn¡¯t much meaning in apanying you until the royal castle, huh.¡± (David)

    David said so, and left quickly.

    ¡°Even though he guided us at great pains, aren¡¯t you a little coldhearted?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°If he was with us the whole time, it would be difficult to talk about the matters of from now on.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°From now on?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika didn¡¯t understand well and inclined her head.

    ¡°Well. After this, we are going to meet those guys of our ss, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said as if amazed.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. We¡¯ll be asked such things as how did wee up to here, and how did we escape from the dragon. We have to think about excuses or something like that!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°There is also that, but isn¡¯t the first thing we have to think about is whether or not Dannoura-san will forgive them?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah!¡± (Tomochika)

    Only after he said so, did Tomochika get a little angry.

    Reputable that you could see the royal castle well, one room of a high ss hotel. Tomochika and others were sitting on a sofa that faced the reception corner.

    It was troublesome to move as is carryingrge baggage, because Yogiri was talking about things about from now on.

    ¡°Such things as excuses, isn¡¯t it pointless to just think about it if you massacre those guys of the ss?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said disinterestedly right after sitting on the sofa.

    ¡°That¡¯s awfully dark! Aren¡¯t you a pyschopath in that situation!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika drew back a little at the excess remark.

    She had thought it was his policy to kill only the enemies that attacked them, but it seemed that it wasn¡¯t thus.

    ¡°We were left in a ce where we¡¯d certainly die if we were abadoned. I think we have the qualifications to take revenge. They tried to kill us, so they aren¡¯t able toin about being killed.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No, that is¡­¡­I have very many points that offend me with everyone in the ss, but it¡¯s still killing them. Even I have been thinking with resentment up to now¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    There was no way for the greater majority to survive. There was no problem to get over it with that.

    However, having lived safely this way now, she hadn¡¯t felt that there were that many hardships so far. Tomochika didn¡¯t happen to have an anger like she was boiling, like it deserved revenge.

    ¡°At any rate, it¡¯s fine with that once you decide so. Putting on airs is the most troublesome. Whether or not we will kill them or we will stop, you¡¯ll be unable to move at the time if you are worrying about this and that.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°How about Takatou-kun? Aren¡¯t you mad?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I¡¯m indifferent. Because I wasn¡¯t close with them from the start, I don¡¯t think that I was betrayed. Even if I don¡¯t have such requirements as I don¡¯t have a gift or something like that, wasn¡¯t I chosen if someone was to be sacrified?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well¡­¡­that is¡­¡­one¡¯s normal behavior is important, right¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said earnestly.

    ¡°So, shouldn¡¯t we think of an excuse if the policy is like that?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. First of all, how do we exin our abilities? It is impossible to make it into contents that can¡¯t be real even if we are able to disguise our statuses.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºYeah. My analysis is also progressing. It is possible to change the configuration of the concierge¡¯s ring somehow.¡»(Mokomoko)

    The two had a ring to disguise their statuses. They were falsifying that they didn¡¯t have gifts by means of that.

    ¡°Takatou-kun seems to be it because he has a unique ability in reality, though.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°They won¡¯t believe me even if I exin that I can kill anything, and even if they could believe it they¡¯d be worried by that. But what target should I narrow it down to?¡± (Yogiri)

    So, Yogiri¡¯s ss was insect exterminatorinsect hunter. His ability was to kill insects.

    That much of a threat wasn¡¯t given to people if it was this, and it¡¯d end at that if he tried to kill insects somewhere even if they said to show it.

    ¡°So, what do I do? Even if it is said that it¡¯s a unique ability, it¡¯s to the extent of being possessed by a irritating background spirit.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºI always think it, but I want you to have the heart to respect your ancestors!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°How about configurating it as a spirit ability user?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri suggested. Certainly, they wouldn¡¯t be telling a lie if it was this.

    ¡ºYeah. By surrounding and annihting my other spirits, it is possible to assert that it was exorcism, but the ways to convey that effect to people are limited.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since it can¡¯t be seen normally.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºYeah. But I have a good idea! It will take a little time to prepare, but it¡¯s fine as I intend to board arge ship!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Eeehh! But there isn¡¯t much time anymore?¡± (Tomochika)

    The audience with the king may have begun already. They wouldn¡¯t be able to be at leisure like so.

    ¡ºYeah. That¡¯s it. Even though I seem to be doing such without a care, because I am continuing to doplex calctions by multitasking in the background, I have a feeling that I am in some way or another a little more!¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°At worst, isn¡¯t it fine with a swordswoman that moves unexpectedly or something like that?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri said something truly ¡®whatever works¡¯. Probably without thinking about it at all.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that not having an ability in the end!¡± (Tomochika)

    For the time being, even though it was expected from Mokomoko¡¯s idea, it was Tomochika who had nothing but anxiety.

 Chapter 7 - What sort of things happened until now to make him such a rude person!?

    <h4>Chapter 7 - What sort of things happened until now to make him such a rude person!?</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    Ayaka Shinozaki was heading towards a vige in the Dragon¡¯s in.

    She had climbed up a hill near the broken bus, and discovered it by looking around.

    She also consulted with the units, but it was decided that going towards the town that her ssmates went towards wasn¡¯t a good idea.

    Ayaka wasn¡¯t an ordinary human being, but at best she had no more than the degree of several times the ability of a person. However, her ssmates were awakening strange abilities. It was judged that preperations were necessary even if she took revenge.

    ¡ºMental health unit here. The personality unit is producing an abnormality. It seems speedy treatment is necessary.¡»

    A new unit appeared again.

    ¡°What? Because I said that I¡¯d massacre them?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. It doesn¡¯t appear likely that it will take more priority than various things about survivial. What will happen by doing such a thing now? We should prioritize surviving and returning.¡»

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about that after everyone of those guys die.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka simply hadn¡¯t thought of anything but revenge on those guys who looked down upon her.

    Things like returning to her former world, or securing a foundation of livelihood in this world; such things were incosequential.

    ¡ºThe n aplishment unit is the opposite. By being met with unreasonable eyes she swore revenge. Will this be how things are as a human being? The treatment you are saying is to erase her memory, right?¡»

    ¡ºYes. As something that governs her mental health, I am unable to shut my eyes to her being seized with a desire for revenge and bitterness.¡»

    ¡ºSuch thoughtlessness, do not do things like erasing or fabricating her memory, oka~y? Human beings, are~n¡¯t able to do such things normally.¡»

    Even with saying so, Ayaka wasn¡¯t a normal human being anymore at the moment. She was also troubled with them wanting humanity now, but there was definitely no way that she could allow a change of her memory or something.

    If she allowed that, there wouldn¡¯t be the existence of fragments of the self-identity and the like of her, who was nothing but a personality unit.

    ¡ºn Aplishment Unit, oppose¡»

    ¡ºMental Health Unit, approve¡»

    ¡ºDiagnostic Unit, oppose¡»

    ¡ºMedical Unit, oppose¡»

    ¡ºBattle Unit, oppose¡»

    ¡°¡­¡­Personality Unit, oppose.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºJudgement Unit here. Due to the majority of opposition, this matter has been rejected.¡»

    It wouldn¡¯t be more than her speaking to herself if it was seen from nearby. While doing such a thing, Ayaka finally arrived at the vige, her destination.

    With the vige before her eyes, Ayaka thought in doubt.

    At the small scale vige, the area was surrounded by a fence, but it was thin and made of wood. How much meaning did it have with it only about waist-high? The defense was surprisingly negligent in a ce where a dragon was wandering aimlessly.

    ¡ºIf I¡¯m not mistaken, the town in the north has castle walls, and cannon-like things were installed as well.¡»

    There wasn¡¯t anything in particr at the entrance. Ayaka walked into the vige as it was.

    Ayaka immediately felt a hurried atmosphere.

    The vigers were running around in feverish haste, and on the inside there were also people putting their luggage in order.

    ¡°Is it a moonlight flit-like thing, I wonder?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºIt¡¯s noon, though. Certainly, they seem to be trying to run away to somewhere.¡»

    A viger who was cing their luggage on a cart, noticed Ayaka.

    Although he was startled for a moment, whether or not he thought the other party was just a girl, he resumed packing immediately.

    Ayaka approached the viger and called out.

    ¡°Hey. You there¡­e to think of it, I wonder what I should ask him.¡± (Ayaka)

    She came to this vige thinking that she could know something, but she hadn¡¯t thought about as far as how should she do it concretely.

    However, the problem was before what she asked.

    ¡°£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À!¡± (Viger)

    She didn¡¯t know what they were saying at all.

    Whether or not they didn¡¯t want to be concerned, the viger looked away bluntly and returned to working.

    ¡ºThis is¡­¡­wouldn¡¯t it be the Trantion Unit¡¯s turn?¡»

    ¡ºDon¡¯t say absurdities! Why do you think I can decipher worlds of a parallel world without any kind of clue!?¡»

    This wasn¡¯t the ce to gather information. While she was thinking about what¡¯s to be done with it, another unit appeared again.

    ¡ºAnalysis Unit here. It seems to be a problem concerningnguage, but I seeded in extracting thenguage foundation from the memory of the dragon that is in the middle of digesting currently. Won¡¯t it help to understand thenguage of this world?¡»

    ¡°Hey. It¡¯s been all this time, and I ate it myself, but¡­¡­where did the dragon disappear to?¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka patted her belly. There was the feeling of a full stomach after a meal, and although it got slightlyrger, it wasn¡¯t possible that the huge dragon that was bigger than the bus would fit tightly inside this.

    Although she was desperate when she was eating, it seemed strange to try to be calm.

    ¡ºIt is being stored in the subspace. Ah, I am the Subspace Management Unit.¡»

    ¡°What is that?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºWould it be okay if you consider it to be something like the pocket of a cat robot? Our bodies are there as well.¡»

    ¡°Bodies?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. Our bodies imitate human beings; the target was to reproduce human beings, but we couldn¡¯t construct the brain of a human being in apact state. Therefore, we established a hugeputer in the subspace, and we simted human thought.¡»

    ¡°It¡¯s a surprisingly mismatched technique, huh.¡± (Ayaka)

    Though they could use technologies she didn¡¯t know such as the subspace, the way to reproduce the brains of a human seemed to be heavy work.

    ¡ºBecause the reproduction of humans is a developing technique¡»

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine, but can I throw in various things then?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºNo. Please think that it is impossible to take it out basically. If you consider that the stomach to the utmost is something that gets bigger.¡»

    ¡ºOkaay! For now, it¡¯s reached the point that it can be used if it is thenguage that the dragon seems to have used. Because I will trante the conversation involuntarily, it¡¯s fine for the Personality Unit to talk normally.¡»

    ¡°Alright. Well then, let¡¯s try to listen. It seems you guys are in a rush, but what happened?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À£À!¡± (Viger)

    However, what she heard was the enumeration of meaning-unknown sounds still.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s no good, huh. It seems thenguage system is different from the dragon.¡»

    ¡°Well, it is a dragon.¡± (Ayaka)

    It was an expected category that the dragonnguage wasn¡¯t understood. However, the viger reacted conspicuously. The attitude of as though to say an odd girl came some time agopletely changed.

    And, leaving behind their baggage as is, they ran off to somewhere.

    ¡°What is it? It seemed like he had be frightened, though.¡± (Ayaka)

    While she was taken aback and looking, the viger returned while leading an old person.

    ¡°Err, that you can use thenguage of dragon-samas, is it true?¡± (Old person)

    The old person asked in thenguage with difficulty.

    ¡°Hey. Is this tranted? Why don¡¯t you trante it normally?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºThat is so. Well, actually their grammer has a dodgy feeling, but I¡¯ll free trante there.¡»

    ¡°Yes. I can only chat in thisnguage, but who are you?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Yes, I am the dragon priest and the vige head of this vige.¡± (Old person->Vige Head)

    Towards Ayaka who manipted the dragonnguage, the vige head abased themself openly.

    ¡°Can other people not speak the dragonnguage?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Yes. Because it is handed down to only priests.¡± (Vige Head)

    ¡ºWell, if this person can speak the dragon and humannguages, by using that as a clue, you would be able to learn the humannguage.¡»

    ¡°So, they seem to be panicking considerably, but what are they doing?¡± (Ayaka)

    ording to the vige head, it appeared that this vige was on the verge of being attacked.

    There were several viges in the Dragon¡¯s in, which was said to be protected by the dragon¡¯s divine protection.

    This vige was the core of the dragon faith that ruled the divine protection. It was one person only, the dragon priest, that could negotiate with the dragon, and that secret had been transmitted from the father to only one child.

    The power of the dragon was absolute in this region; losing the dragon¡¯s divine protection signified death as is. Due to that, in this vige, it had retained tremendous authority in the limited territory of the Dragon¡¯s in.

    ¡°Has that divine protection been lost suddenly?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Yes. The presence of the dragon has disappeared as well. Thereupon, the lower viges rised in revolt¡­¡­err, because we don¡¯t do anything but pray here, we cannot fight and the like at all¡­¡­¡± (Vige Head)

    It would have done a lot of political pressure if they rebelled without warning.

    But, the likes of this vige¡¯s circumstances were inconsequential to Ayaka.

    ¡ºIf we ate this person, wouldn¡¯t it solve the problem of words?¡»

    ¡°It¡¯s said to not eat human beings, right? For now, isn¡¯t it fine if I kidnap only this person and learn thenguage?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Err, the heck is the great you¡­¡­¡± (Vige Head)

    The vige head was staring at Ayaka who started to talk in Japanese with a strange look.

    ¡ºStep back a step!¡»

    Ayaka followed the advice from the Battle Unit.

    Katsun!

    An arrow that came flying from somewhere pierced into the viger¡¯s head. They were struck as a result of Ayaka avoiding it.

    While watching the viger copse in the edge of her field of vision, Ayaka searched for the source of the arrow.

    There were warriors on horses that were trying to invade the vige with weapons. The arrow was something the vanguard had fired.

    ¡°They are bearing a considerable grudge, huh.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºThe next attack cannot be avoided! Defend your head!¡»

    Ayaka doubted her eyes.

    A single arrow was fired by someone.

    It divided one by one in air, and downpoured like the rain.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this overdoing it?¡± (Ayaka)

    It was like a wall approaching. Evasion was impossible, and she couldn¡¯t escape from fatal injured in a little-protected ce.

    ¡ºDragon Language Unit here. Please speak ¡°Dragon Scales¡±!¡»

    ¡°Eh? A new unit again?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes! Following the analysis result of the dragon, I am a sub-unit derived from the Battle Unit! Earlier than such a thing!¡»

    ¡°Dragon Scales?¡± (Ayaka)

    She spoke in ordance with the instruction.

    Thereupon, the approaching arrows were repelled just before Ayaka, and smashed.

    Ayaka was let past the rain of arrows uninjured.

    ¡°Ah, aaaah, th, this is surely the dragon¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Vige Head)

    The old vige head had been crouching behind Ayaka unnoticed. It seemed that they nervingly had been shielded by Ayaka.

    ¡°What? This is?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. The dragon has special powers, but this magic, is due to the dragonnguage. That is to say, such things as dragons being robust, flying in the sky, and breathing fire is an ability not well known of magic, but even if the principle isn¡¯t known, it was identified that the abilities can be controlled by the dragonnguage.¡»

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t understand it well, I can use the dragon¡¯s abilities, right? Are there other things?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºYes. There is Dragon ws, Dragon Wings, Dragon Breath, etc.¡»

    ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly simple naming, huh.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºIn actuality it is a veryplex incantation, but it is unified into a few words like that as a result of the trantion.¡»

    ¡°Breath is breathed out from the mouth, right?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºNo. As it is a conceptuilization of abilities to the bitter end, it is possible to produce it from anywhere.¡»

    ¡°So.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka pushed out her hand. She turned it towards the horse-riding army corps that were approaching the vige.

    If she had dragon skills, anything she did would be safe. However, they turned their arrows towards Ayaka Shinozaki. That was something she couldn¡¯t permit.

    ¡°Dragon Breath¡± (Ayaka)

    Those few words scorched the in.

    The scope of what could be seen in front was annihted entirely.

    Naturally, there wasn¡¯t a ce and the like for the enemies¡¯ figures to remain there

    ¡°I see. If I have this, haven¡¯t I be like those guys of the ss?¡± (Ayaka)

    Despite having perpetrated a mass ughter, Ayaka was calm.

    ¡ºBeing negligent is taboo.¡»

    ¡°Well, for now I¡¯ll learn thenguage from the ojii-san¡­¡­what?¡± (Ayaka)

    When Ayaka turned around, the surviving vigers were prostrating themselves before her.

    ¡ºIf it is this condition, it looks to me like any requests will pass. You should use what you can use.¡»

    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t bad if they are obeying me.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka was thinking that it was natural to tutor her, etc.

    When Yogiri and Tomochika arrived at the royal castle, they were let past through the period of the audience immediately. It seemed that they had a conversation beforehand.

    When they entered during the audience, chairs were lined up there, and their ssmates were sitting already.

    ¡°Things like the school entrence ceremony have a feeling like this, right?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°N? Was the number of people like this?¡± (Yogiri)

    Some of their ssmates were dead already, but it seemed to Yogiri that a few were deducted from that.

    He¡¯d understand the ss¡¯s originalposition if he asked Tomochika, but now wouldn¡¯t even be the situation to ask such a thing.

    Yogiri and others secretly went towards a row where no one was sitting in the very back. It was because now, it¡¯d just lead to confusion even if they went out in front of their ssmates.

    Fortunately, it seemed that no one who was aware of Yogiri and others.

    When Yogiri and others took a seat, from inside of the audience, arge build man came into sight.

    It was a man in the prime of his life who was armed with a sword. He was wearing extravagant clothes on his body, but it was well understood even from the top of his clothes that his body was tempered. It seemed that the sword wasn¡¯t for decoration.

    On the throne that was in a slightly higher position, the man overlooked the sage candidates. There was no mistake: he was the king of this country, the Mani Kingdom.

    ¡ª¡ªI see. Are the influential people here like this?

    It seemed that you could fight by taking the sword for yourself. That, was different than the image of influential people who Yogiri saw up until here. Although, the heads of state that knew about Yogiri¡¯s power just lost theirposure and became frightened of him, so Yogiri¡¯s experience may not have been too much of a reference.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the story. It was troublesome all the way on the journey.¡± (King)

    Tiresome. The king¡¯s attitude was as if to say so.

    ¡°Well, this is also a job, it can¡¯t be helped because it is within the contract with the sages. You guys are sage candidates, you¡¯vee so far for the sake of achieving exploits. So, the exploit-like things that you guys can do in this country are only two¡ª¡ª¡± (King)

    ¡°Oi oi. For a while we been quietly listening to you being all self-important. Your citizens or something are of no concern to us? We came from a different world: we are human beings with no connection at all. Whether it is the king or something else, it isn¡¯t something to care about at all if it¡¯s from us.¡± (???)

    Saying so, one of the ssmates stood up.

    ¡°Err, who is the stupid person?¡± (Yogiri)

    He recognized them for some reason or another, but Yogiri didn¡¯t know their name.

    ¡°It¡¯s Ushio Shinya-kun, but¡­¡­I guess it was a person that can¡¯t read the atmosphere so far¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    There was no way it was okay to answer with such an attitude in an audience with the head of state. However, it hadn¡¯t seemed that he was impatient with the ssmates. It was shocking, but again, it was an atmosphere that couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°Hou? I was paying attention to your needs more or less as you are sage candidates. I prepared chairs, didn¡¯t I? It is a ce you¡¯d kneel on the floor if it was as usual.¡± (King)

    ¡°No no no. Why is it just you looking down from a high position? What kind of reason is it?¡± (???->Ushio)

    Ushio got closer to the king rudely. Thereupon, the king stood up, and came down the rostrum.

    ¡°A king, so what? Well, you shoulde down to show that you care. Is that fine?¡± (Ushio)

    Although it was true, it was exactly aposition of an adult and a child.

    Ushio¡¯s height was appropriate for his age, but the king was one head taller, and furthermore, there was a wide difference in strength as a result of hisrge build.

    ¡°What sort of things happened until now to make him such a rude person!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri also had the same feeling as Tomochika.

    Whether or not it was a parallel world, this ce was an independent country and the other party was the ruler. They should be paying maximum respect, but it appeared that the boy called Ushio had grown impudent to the extent of not knowing even such things.

    ¡°So, was it conveyed? You seem to be busy as well, if you do it quickly?¡± (Ushio)

    ¡°Gu, hahahaha~! Well, I see, this is the first time I saw someone taking such an attitude with me!¡± (King)

    However, without even appearing to have cared about Ushio¡¯s excessively rude attitude, the kingughed loudly.

    ¡°Eh? Is it that? What¡¯s happening in this country?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was taken aback. She wondered whether or not it was fine to permit that attitude.

    ¡°Have you thought about what you said even?¡± (King)

    The king drew his sword.

    And, four of Ushio¡¯s fingers were removed quickly.

    The significance wasn¡¯t understood by Yogiri.

    The midway wasn¡¯tprehended as it was over already, but if you looked from the results, Ushio¡¯s fingers were cut because he tried to catch the sword by hand.

    If you thought about it normally, that, as a defensive behavior, was impossible.

    Ushio was staring at his right hand in a daze, but it seemed he was able to recognize reality finally after a little while. Crouching while holding his right hand, he screamed.

    In response to that, the sage candidates finally started to make noise.

    ¡°Wh, why! Wasn¡¯t the time stoppage of the eroge baron meant to be invincible!¡± (???)

    ¡°So, someone treat him!¡± (???)

    ¡°What¡¯s happening! Damn! My skill can¡¯t be used!¡± (???)

    ¡°Mine either!¡± (???)

    Although the king looked down upon the crouching Ushio with coldhearted eyes, it didn¡¯t seem that he intended to deliver the final blow. Whether or not he was satisfied with that, he calmly returned to the throne and sat down.

    ¡°What is the eroge baron!¡± (Tomochika)

    And, Tomochika slipped into confusion and retorted.

    If you guys notice anything wrong, please let me know!

    See you ¡­perhaps soon?

    -Thy Unsus

    __ATA.cmd.push(function() {

    __ATA.initVideoSlot(''atatags-370373-5c03176b19d4b'', {

    sectionId: ''370373'',

    format: ''inread''

    });

    });

    Advertisements

    __ATA.cmd.push(function() {

    __ATA.initSlot(''atatags-26942-5c03176b19d71'', {

    copseEmpty: ''before'',

    sectionId: ''26942'',

    width: 300,

    height: 250

    });

    });

    __ATA.cmd.push(function() {

    __ATA.initSlot(''atatags-114160-5c03176b19d72'', {

    copseEmpty: ''before'',

    sectionId: ''114160'',

    width: 300,

    height: 250

    });

    });

    Share this:Like this:Like Loading¡­

 Chapter 8 - Isnâ€™t it something that Takatou-kun has done already again?

    <h4>Chapter 8 - Isn¡¯t it something that Takatou-kun has done already again?</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    Note: ¡®Ryouto¡¯ has been changed to ¡®Lute¡¯.

    ¡°In actuality, there is your guys¡¯ readings? Try to do rude conduct with me and you¡¯ll just be killed, okay? But, well, be prepared for one or two skills.¡± (King)

    The sage candidates were openly confused.

    Was it fine to say ¡®it brought about panic¡¯? It would have been a great shock to them who were relying on gifts.

    The king sitting on the throne gazed at them with a smirking face, but as they didn¡¯t calm down no matter how much time passed, he gradually started to get tired of waiting.

    ¡°Hey? Be quiet soon. If you¡¯d like, I¡¯ll do it to 2 or 3 people more?¡± (King)

    Thereupon, the sage candidates¡¯ noise suddenly calmed down.

    However, it looked like their spirit wasn¡¯t here with the exception of Yogiri and others.

    ¡°Tsk. It feels in one ear and out the other even if I talk about anything as it is. No way. I¡¯ll exin just a bit before the real issue at hand. Because it is also among the contract to make the matters of from now on understood by you guys.¡± (King)

    It seemed he thought it was out of the question as it was. The king vomited a sigh, and began to exin the current situation.

    ¡°The sages look out on as the rulers of this world, but I don¡¯t particrly mean that we are under the sage¡¯s control. So, support of some kind from the sages, like the way to suppress gifts derived from the sages for example, isn¡¯t given. Did you know as far as that?¡± (King)

    Yogiri had heard that gifts seemed to be restricted in the entire town. However, it appeared that it was limited to the towns that the sage officials controlled.

    ¡°It¡¯s like that. In actuality, that you can use gifts inside of the royal capital is confirmed.¡± (Yazaki)

    Speaking as a representative of the sage candidates, Suguru Yazaki held the ss of general. Of course, Yogiri heard it from Tomochika as he didn¡¯t know their names and the like.

    ¡°I thought it would be thus. As there is no reason toe forth in such a manner since you¡¯ve understood that ¡®gifts cannot be used¡¯. So, the reason why you guys cannot use gifts is simple. The king has the power to weaken gifts. That power covers the entire royal capital, but that power gets stronger the closer you get to me. So be relieved. Even if your guys¡¯ power isn¡¯t usable forever, if you leave from near me, that hindrance will also go along with it.¡± (King)

    The restrictions of gifts were local. After they heard such, the sage candidates finally recovered theirposure.

    ¡°For now it¡¯s okay with such a thing. Why the weakening is necessary, and to what extent it is weakened. Ask someone about around that. Well then, the real issue at hand. Listen well. ¡®Cause I dooon¡¯t have the spare time to exin it many times over.¡± (King)

    As they were told, the sage candidates listened carefully obediently.

    ¡°It is necessary for you guys to achieve exploits to be a sage. The things you guys can do in this country are two. One, is to obstruct the invasion the invasion of the Arganda Empire.¡± (King)

    Dered the king, and the sage candidates murmured. If the country became their opponent, how much of their training so far had meaning? They would be anxious as well.

    ¡°¡­¡­For some reason or another, by just thinking vaguely, truly vaguely, though I¡¯d never imagine it¡­¡­that, isn¡¯t it something that Takatou-kun has done already again?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika *murmuring* muttered to herself.

    Time goes back a little, the site of the tower immediately following the departure of Yogiri and others.

    Certainly I¡¯ll at least poop in the nude if it bes like this again, there is nothing you can do!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Why!¡± (Lute)

    To the boy who cried out and screamed in the state of prostrating himself, a very young boy was retorting again.

    Who was crying was Hanakawa Daimon. He was a boy who was summoned to this world by the sages, a senior highschool student of Japan.

    The other person was a kin of the devil Alubagaluma. He said that his name was Lute to thest person.

    The kin were annihted, and only Lute survived, but the circumstances weren¡¯t understood at all. Therefore, he was trying to draw out information from Hanakawa, who had been left alone in this ce.

    ¡°It is such after all! Is there none, not one, method or something for me to survive in this ce reasonably and logically anymore! At best, if you hear what you¡¯re asking, you will intend to kill me quickllyyyy! My ability doesn¡¯t rival yours at all, and naturally I also can¡¯t run away! I guess that, somehow, the appearance looks like a pure very young boy, but in reality it is merciless and cruel, doing things like being killed quickly like a worm, areree©`it¡¯s improperrr, dying like thiss, straangee! I will say something like that!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa unsightly cried and shouted.

    Lute had decided to use Hanakawa as a source of information to avenge his Lord¡¯s enemy, but this was not worth considering at all.

    ¡°Even while pliantly rubbing your forehead against the ground until some time ago, what was she facing that she ¡®wanted to survive by many means necessary¡¯?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Eh, you didn¡¯t see it?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I saw it perfectly.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°¡­¡­No, err, thought I thought so, it couldn¡¯t be helped after all¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa said so quite badly.

    ¡°So it¡¯s be serious already, it¡¯s only about taking off my clothes!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°So why is it! Really, don¡¯t try to take off your clothes!¡± (Lute)

    Hanakawa *squirming* tried to take off his clothes.

    ¡°Eh, ¡®poop without taking off your clothes¡¯? It is a clothes-pooping enthusiast!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Though I¡¯m saying it just to be sure, absolutely don¡¯t do it? Since I¡¯ll kill you if you do, okay?¡± (Lute)

    If it was from Lute, Hanakawa¡¯s existence was simr to garbage. As there was too much of a difference in ability, Hanakawa wouldn¡¯t bear any injuries no matter what he tried.

    However, even if he was called a kin of the devil, he¡¯d also get an ufortable feeling if he saw something unsightly, and the speech and conduct with unknown meaning also made him disturbed.

    ¡°I understand. Calm down because I won¡¯t do such things as kill you on a whim.¡± (Lute)

    So, though he was unwilling, Lute seriously tried to calm Hanakawa.

    ¡°Really? But, even while saying such a thing, it was something like thoughtlessness just now?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t. There isn¡¯t an other party to hear the story from but you, so I won¡¯t kill you simply like that.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Issss it the truth? Even while saying such a thing, wassssn¡¯t it a direction where the boy got mad and forgot about such things as promises? Look, by acting while not thinking about the consequences of things like killing your only source of information, I may try to bring about a feeling that it isn¡¯t ordinary, right?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°¡­¡­as I thought, I should kill you?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorryyyyyy! I thought a surviving look may havee out, I was caught up in the momentttt!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa rubbed his forehead on the floor again.

    ¡°So, like I also said some time ago, I simply cannot believe things like it was a guy that can kill others by just having them in mind, to say nothing of things like that he can kill Lord-sama with that; it¡¯s impossible.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°But it is!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Yes. I understand. At least, I understand well that you really think so. Apart from the details, anyway, that guy ¡®Yogiri Takatou¡¯, I understand the likelihood that he killed Lord-sama is high. Though it is natural to kill all of those guys who were here as enemies, first of all, killing that guy is top priority.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Um, that¡¯s fine, but, I think that ¡®how you do it¡¯ is the problem. Of course, everything works out as desired if Lute-sama says ¡®I¡¯ll kill Yogiri¡¯, and I can also sleep without fear. It¡¯s more pleasant if I can obtain Tomochika-tan while I¡¯m at it!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Even if that instant death ability is fake, it is necessary to assume that the opponent is someone who can kill Lord-sama. It¡¯s been decided that I cannot win at all if that is the case.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Then how will it be done?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That is simple. We should borrow the power of thisdy that is stronger than Lord-sama.¡± (Lute)

    Saying so, Lute took out something from his pocket.

    It was rod-shaped and sparkling golden, and had aplicated shape that was *twisting and turning* warped.

    ¡°That is?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I retrieved it from Lord-sama¡¯s body. It is the key of sealing.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Um, although a ¡®seal¡¯, there¡¯s an unpleasant presentiment? It expressly releases what was sealed, like that?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Lord-sama is the elder brother god of the elder brother and sister gods. Well, because that younger sister-sama¡¯s deed was too unpardonable, Lord-sama saw a opportunity and sealed her.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°But, if it was enough that she was sealed by Devil-sama, is she weaker than Devil-sama?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Although Younger sister-sama was on the reckless-side, she was weak only to Lord-sama. She listened to anything he said readily.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Hahaa, I see. Is it a feeling like foul y? Won¡¯t she be in an extreme rage or something like that when the seal is broken? Well, if it is a person like that, I will excuse myself by leaving it to that person already!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Saying so, Hanakawa who was prostrating himself began to *drag drag* step back.

    It seemed that he nned to go somewhere as is.

    However, when Lute briskly approached him, he offhandedly grabbed Hanakawa¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Well, I have spoken about roughly everything that I know already, and if you said ¡®I won¡¯t kill you¡¯, wasn¡¯t it fine if I disappear to wherever! For someone simr to garbage like me, I think it might be best to make sure to not to enter Lute-sama¡¯s field of vision and pollute your eyes, etc., from now on anymore!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Yeah. But, I don¡¯t know that guy ¡®Takatou¡¯ well. So don¡¯t be bothered with not following me!¡± (Lute)

    ¡°No, um, Mama said I must not follow people who I don¡¯t know! It¡¯s embarrassing even if it is rumored that I walked together with it!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Ahahahaha~. Don¡¯t say things like being led by things like people you don¡¯t kno; we¡¯re friends, righhhht?¡± (Lute)

    Pulling him up by his hair, he made Hanakawa look up at him forcibly.

    ¡°NooooooOOO! I have been forgiven already! Being led around again, such things as reviving Devil-sama like that, who is beyond my powers, isn¡¯t a joke! I mean, what is itttt! If I think I was treated good by a boku~ girl, this time it¡¯s a shota!? I don¡¯t have such preferences! Shouldn¡¯t they be wearing female clothing or something at least!? Then, I¡¯m not even hesitant to recognize it as a man-woman category!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa said in desperation. Such a thing where he was a strong man that couldn¡¯t win even if Lute did a handstand, it seemed he was blowing off it at this moment.

    ¡°N? A woman¡¯s appearance is okay? Well things like appearances are inconsequential though.¡± (Lute)

    There was not even a particle of necessity and the like to respond to Hanakawa¡¯s hope in particr. However, changing his attire and the like was easier than breathing.

    So, Lute changed into a whimsy appearance. It was an appearance simr to a town girl he¡¯d happened to see somewhere.

    ¡°O, oo! That looks better than the boku~ girl! Weelll, I had thought from the beginning that I didn¡¯t feel what I saw!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa¡¯s eyes sparkled. It seemed that he¡¯dpletely forgotten about his position and the status quo already.

    ¡°Well, as there is no need to reproduce, unlike humans, I have no gender.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°N? That is¡­¡­which one is it? Are you the type that has both?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°You don¡¯t need things like organs you don¡¯t use, right?¡± (Lute)

    Bang!

    Hanakawa¡¯s fist struck the ground with a force that shook the ground just then, and Lute¡¯s hand unintentionally released the hair that he had been holding.

    ¡°That is differentttt!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa was crying aloud.

    ¡°Huh? Why are you crying¡­¡­¡± (Lute)

    Lute was taken aback. If it was only his drive, the Hanakawa of this moment was something considerable.

    ¡°Such things as asexual are the worstttt! A man-woman has worth as it has a penisssssssSS!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Eeeehhhhh? What¡¯s with you, despite me doing so because you said ¡®a woman¡¯s appearance is fine¡¯.¡± (Lute)

    Hanakawa¡¯s fixation wasn¡¯t understood at all by Lute.

 Chapter 9 - â€˜The laws of space are disorderedâ€™, is there such a feeling, I wonder

    <h4>Chapter 9 - ¡®Thews of space are disordered¡¯, is there such a feeling, I wonder</h4>

    Trantor: Thy Unsus

    Edit: Thy Unsus

    The royal capital of the Mani Kingdom. During the audience in the royal castle.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s the Arganda Empire, but honestly I don¡¯t know the full particrs.¡± (King)

    The king of the throne started to exin about one of the exploits, and the sage candidates that were sitting in front of him were quietly listening attentively.

    As Yogiri and others came from behind, they were sitting in chairs at the very back, and hadn¡¯t been noticed yet.

    ¡°On the west side of this country, there is a republic confederation called Elthia, but all of a sudden, one of the countries inside of that called themselves the Arganda Empire, and began to challenge the surrounding countries. And they were suppressed in the blink of an eye. So, even now they are continuing to widen the war front one by one. At present, they don¡¯t have a defeat, and they will extend their hands to this country as well eventually. If you are able to do that in some way or another, the sages say that they will recognize it as an exploit.¡± (King)

    ¡°Su-such a thing as ¡®in some way or another¡¯, what should we do¡­¡­¡± (???)

    One of the sage candidates leaked those words.

    With the other party being a country, even if they were told to ¡®obstruct the invasion¡¯, there were limitations, such as the things that could be done with the number of people who were here being less than even one ss.

    ¡°No, even Ipletely think that you guys can do it in some way or another or something like that, okaaay? But, issssn¡¯t doing something you caaaannnoooot do normally an exploit? If there was a way that we could do it in some way or another, we would have decided to do it a long time ago. Well, because we do nooot know the significance of invading our country, there is also a possibility they aren¡¯ting.¡± (King)

    ¡°Um, ¡®stopping the invasion¡¯ was the talk, right?¡± (Yazaki)

    It was Yazaki, the general, who asked.

    ¡°As you guys can understand if you¡¯ve travelled up until here, our country does nooot have so muchnd that we can use. There areeen¡¯t things like profit in ¡®invading¡¯.¡± (King)

    As he said so, Yogiri was also reminded of the map of this country.

    The Dragon in, the Forest of Demonic Beasts, the Hakua Primeval Forest, the Galura Canyon, and the Meld ins. All of them weren¡¯t fit for people to live in, and they wouldn¡¯t bends that could run some type of industry.

    ¡°However, the city of Hanabusa and the like are flourishing a lot. Is there value even though it¡¯s just that one city?¡± (Yazaki)

    ¡°Ahh, the sage¡¯s breathtaking city is a no count. That sort of thing, it¡¯s because it can¡¯t be meddled with from here. I think that the empire knows such a thing. Well, I¡¯ll inform you because there may some kind of hint around this as well. It is about the meaningless in invading us. One thing that I said some time ago, is the point ¡®there is no profit¡¯. In the ces they control, there¡¯s almost nothing that they can gain. Another thing, is that we are continuing to restrain the world of spirits, which is below ground. We, without great industries, are doing it in some way or another with support money from the surrounding countries, but the pretense is that it¡¯s the war expenditures towards continuing to seal the devil. In short, if they do something like invade us untactfully and resurrect the devil, it will be a situation where they cannot apply their eyes. That¡¯s why they aren¡¯t making a move on us, but it is an unwritten rule around here.¡± (King)

    The surroundings murmured as they heard ¡®world of spirits¡¯. Yogiri and others had heard that it existed below ground, but it seemed that the ssmates were hearing it for the first time.

    ¡°Oh, I have a feeling that the story was tied together sessfully. It¡¯s about the second exploit. It is to travel on foot to the world of spirits, which is below ground, and defeat the devil. I didn¡¯t think it will seed in some way or another with you guys havinge now, though. As for the degree of difficulty, it is ¡®they are both to me¡¯. The empire, well, in outline human beings are the opponents, and the country is the opponent. The devil is a monster that has exceeded human intellect, and there aren¡¯t any signs at all that it can be done in some way or another even if it is done for nearly a millennia. What I have informed you guys of, it is a thing like that? Please do whatever you like afterwards. I have released a part of the castle for you guys. You should make it into a base. As there is also an entrance to the world of spirits in the basement of the castle, if you challenge it, it¡¯s just right.¡± (King)

    With this, the King, because his business was finished, stood up, and left the audience room immediately.

    ¡°Well then, this way.¡± (Soldier)

    As a substitute, one soldier turned up. He would guide them to the base.

    Despite being confused, the ssmates got up.

    ¡°So, what to do after this?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri asked Tomochika

    ¡°Well, if we continue to follow *slither slither* for some reason or another as it is, there¡¯s no excuse to go out¡­¡­so, HEEEY!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika raised arge voice suddenly.

    The ssmates ¡®What?¡¯ turned around.

    ¡°Dannoura-san! How!?¡± (???)

    ¡°Dannoura! How did you¡­¡­¡± (???)

    ¡°Tomochiii! You were alive!¡± (???)

    ¡°Tomo-chan!¡± (???)

    ¡°Dannoura-chan?¡± (???)

    Every mouth of those who saw the two called Tomochika¡¯s name. The reactions were varied, but it seemed that there was no mistake that they were surprised.

    ¡°Somebody react to Takatou-kun!¡± (Tomochika)

    Though Tomochika said so, Yogiri was thinking ¡®it would be such a thing anyway¡¯.

    A forest on the other side of where youe out of the canyon to the west.

    A richly colored mosaic was filling that area.

    That, which was as if the space was cut disorderly and connected over again halfheartedly, certainly seemed to be something that should be called ¡®chaos¡¯ or something.

    There were no signs of life in that ce. Naturally, it was because there wasn¡¯t supposed to be a living thing or something that tried to approach such a strange ce.

    But, in front of such a strange ce, a woman in a white dress was standing.

    ¡°¡®Thews of space are disordered¡¯, is there such a feeling, I wonder?¡± (Shion)

    It was Shion.

    She came here because there was a transmission from this ce, but never had she imagined that such a situation happened.

    Even while loitering absent-mindedly, the scene before her eyes was transforming hectically.

    Thews that controlled the space were different for each mosaic. Each was in a state as if they were in a different universe or something; each one that should be called a ¡®fragment of the world¡¯ was changing, being rewritten,bining, and splitting just like that.

    ¡°Well, it was from inside this, right?¡± (Shion)

    When she was waiting patiently, magical power leaked out asionally by some chance. As one would expect, if it went through the space that wasn¡¯t understood, the original shape as a signal almost wasn¡¯t retained. The errors were too many, and it was almost impossible to make out, but even so she could understand only that it was addressed to a sage.

    Shion thought about ¡®What is this?¡¯ again.

    There was a steel will of ¡®to reject all, to not let anyone past¡¯ here.

    If so, this would be absolute rejection.

    However, Shion casually stepped into this strange space.

    Forcibly rewriting the overbearing surroundingws of space. Converting it into a world that was convenient for her, to a world where Shion could exist. If it was a sage, it was a natural ability that could be done.

    Forcibly making a path doing so, she continued to walk little by little. As one would expect, even if she was a sage, walking while restoring the world that was disturbed so much to the origin was bone-breaking work.

    After she did so and moved forward for a while, she exited the chaotic world and went out to the ce which appeared to be the central part.

    It was a white, empty room.

    And, there was a little girl crouching in the corner of the room.

    ¡°Aoi-san, was it? You shouldn¡¯t make contact with reason.¡± (Shion)

    Aoi was a little girl who was given the role of hunting lost sages, but she had severed contact unnoticed.

    ¡ºShion!? You¡¯ve arrived!¡»(Knife)

    That voice, was heard from around Aoi¡¯s waist.

    There was a small knife furnished there.

    ¡°This person, what happened to her?¡± (Shion)

    Even though Shion came, Aoi was hanging her head in shame.

    Whether she wasn¡¯t aware of her, or she was disregarding her even though she was aware of her, just about everything was trivial.

    It was doubtful whether or not she could talk normally, so Shion talked to the knife, Aoi¡¯s partner.

    ¡ºShe met Yogiri Takatou. I don¡¯t know what she saw there, but¡­¡­Aoi lost her fighting spirit right after taking a look at him. And then, she desperately ran away from that ce, and shut herself away here.¡»(Knife)

    Yogiri Takatou.

    The instant she heard that name, Aoi¡¯s body shook with a start. It appeared that it wasn¡¯t the case that she hadpletely shut her mind.

    ¡°Is that right? Well, that may be something inevitable with that, and I won¡¯t me her.¡± (Shion)

    It was probably a deed of Yogiri that two sages were dead, and Aoi who confronted Yogiri was in this state as well.

    If that¡¯s the case, there was something in Takatou Yogiri, as she thought.

    ¡°But if that¡¯s the case, as I thought, I guess have no choice but to deal with him. Aoi-san. Have you understood something about him?¡± (Shion)

    However, Aoi remained silent still.

    ¡ºI¡¯ll report about it through me. I transmitted the information about him that we can currently understand. It is information acquired from Hanakawa Daimon, a boy who is surviving on top of having witnessed these abilities of him. If he is living, it may be possible to take out something still. As he seems to be a sage candidate, it would be simple to search for where he is?¡»(Knife)

    ¡°Hanakawa-san¡­¡­is it? That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll try to investigate here as well.¡± (Shion)

    Shion didn¡¯t recognize the names of the sage candidates. She¡¯d thought almost everyone would die after all, and she considered just remembering them pointless.

    It was because surviving as a sage was rare, as most of the groups that she summoned were annihted.

    ¡°First of all, I guess it is necessary to understand regarding his ability. Well, even if I say such, he is a highschool student of Japan after all¡­¡­if he haspanions, how about trying to take hostages? The life-and-death power I have over the people who have the system installed ispletely in control. That might be a good measure to win him over. If he is a male highschool student, shouldn¡¯t itpletely reverse the situation by us using seductive techniques to get what we want?¡± (Shion)

    Why Shion was thinking about it roundaboutly, was because she was taking into consideration that they¡¯d usher in Yogiri as a sage.

    Although, she didn¡¯t even think even a tiny amount that she¡¯d lose to Yogiri by ability. It was because she couldn¡¯t even imagine the likes of there being something like him winning by himself.

    And, any of the sages would be the same. They¡¯d dare not say it, but they were thinking ¡®I, for sure, am the strongest¡¯.

    ¡°¡­¡­stop¡­¡­¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi raised her face slowly.

    She was worn out. If it was a sage, they could live even without eating and drinking, but it seemed to be something emotional.

    ¡°¡­¡­do not be concerned with that, anymore¡­¡­don¡¯t do unnecessary things¡­¡­¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi *murmuring* muttered.

    ¡°Even if you say so, still, it is impossible to leave him as is.¡± (Shion)

    Despite summoning them to increase the sages, for them to decrease was getting their priorities backwards. Whether they ushered him in or killed him, some kind of dealing with him was required.

    ¡°¡­¡­your¡­¡­your fault maybe¡­¡­¡± (Aoi)

    ¡°N?¡± (Shion)

    Shion inclined her head at the small voice, which was at the extent she couldn¡¯t understand it.

    ¡°¡­¡­You are! Because you summoned that! What are you doing! Do you know what you¡¯ve summoned!? It¡¯s over already! This world is finished already! Don¡¯t screw around, damn it! If you want to die, die your own way! The world, me; dooooon¡¯t drag us into it!¡± (Aoi)

    Aoi revealed a scream suddenly, and Shion was astonished. The always calm Aoi, she¡¯d never seen a ce where she was disarranged until now.

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± (Shion)

    ¡°That is¡­¡­not a human being¡­¡­not even a living thing, no¡­¡­¡± (Aoi)

    But, Aoi hadn¡¯t directly replied to Shion¡¯s question. If she thought she was enraged or something, she immediately slipped into her own world again.

    It remained unsettled. Shion considered it useless to cross-examine Aoi.

    ¡ºI thought if someone came then improvements could be seen, but immediately seems to be unreasonable. I¡¯m sorry for getting you toe at great pains, but won¡¯t you give me a little time?¡»(Knife)

    ¡°That is so, isn¡¯t it. Well then, I¡¯ll have free time temporarily.¡± (Shion)

    The suitable people of the sages were precious. If Aoi coulde back, it was best for it to be that.

    Shion decided to go back.

    Forcibly wrenching open the way and opening her way back. Maybe because she got used to it, it hadn¡¯t taken that much time to leave.

    When she went outside, Shion searched for the responses of the sage candidates. The parent who installed the gifts had authority management towards the child. Around searching for their locations was a simple thing.

    Thirty two people seeded in installing the system on the sightseeing bus. Of them, twenty-eight people had responses.

    They had received a report that Yogiri killed two people in the Dragon¡¯s in. It seemed that the remaining two people were either dead, or in a ce that the searching technique didn¡¯t reach.

    Shion painted the positions of the twenty-eight people in her mind.

    Twenty-four people were in approximately the same position; they were in the royal city of the Mani Kingdom, which was northeast from this ce. It seemed that they were obediently acting in order to clear the mission.

    The remaining were a group of three, and one was acting independently.

    Guessing from the information she got from Aoi¡¯s knife, the one doing this independent action would be Hanakawa. As there were also traces of restoration from backup data during the system instation, there was hardly a mistake.

    The person who seemed to be Hanakawa seemed to be going towards the Kingdom, and was in the middle of exiting the canyon and moving to the Meld ins.

    ¡°First of all, let¡¯s try to hear the story from¡­¡¯Hanakawa-san?¡®.¡± (Shion)

    Shion left the forest, and got onto the disk-shaped airship.

 Chapter 10 - Ha?

    <h4>Chapter 10 - Ha?</h4>

    The Heavenly Record eater that acquired intelligence aplished invading into the Heavenly Record.

    Heavenly Records were covered in a firm shell called the canopy, but for a Heavenly Record eater that had eaten many worlds for each canopy, opening a very small hole and entering inside was easy.

    There was no special reason in choosing that Heavenly Record. A nearby Heavenly Record was just selected. The goal of the Heavenly Record eater was to observe the intelligent body, it was basically because an intelligent body existed in the Heavenly Record.

    The Heavenly Record eater decided to belong to the most popr social status among the race that was in a dominant position in the invaded Heavenly Record.

    It decided to be a human farmer.

    It created an embryo thatpressed its own information inside of the womb of a random farmer, and made a body as a human.

    Like that, the Heavenly Record eater acquired a point of view as a human baby.

    At this point in time, the baby was like an other self still. It was like a probe for observing humans, and its real form was left in the space of nothingness which contained the Heavenly Record, refered to as the ¡°Sea¡±.

    The Heavenly Record eater established rules at the time of observing humans. The baby just spent its life as a human. It wouldn¡¯t intervene at all.

    The other self of the Heavenly Record eater lived its life as is.

    It engaged in farm work since when it was a child, the same as its parents, married a vige woman when he was of marriageable age, and had some children. It was a poor yet enjoyable life.

    In the beginning, the Heavenly Record eater was observing humans with great interest, but it gradually began to lose interest.

    Its life may have been well-bnced as a farmer, but it was because the everyday was just doing the same thing over and over again, which didn¡¯t change much.

    The turning point that arrived was winter, when the bad harvests continued and the body huddled up too much.

    A group of hooligans came all of a sudden, and upied the vige.

    While being chased by someone, it seemed he nned to hide himself. But, without behaving like they were concealing themselves quietly, they uselessly consumed small amounts of food, and killed those who they didn¡¯t like whileughing.

    When they left the vige behind, they stole his woman, set fire to his house, and scattered poison in the water well.

    Then, the other self of the Heavenly Record eater died. His wife robbed, he was killed together with his entire family.

    At that time, what did the Heavenly Record eater feel?

    It was joy.

    The tragedy which arose all of a sudden was very stimting, something that destroyed its boredom.

    Settling down and living its life peacefully wasn¡¯t interesting.

    If it tried to shift its attention to the world while thinking that, it was full of a great variety of stimuli.

    The Heavenly Record eater decided to go into this world more deeply.

    The Heavenly Record eater, which had been acquiring personality, was wanting to fully enjoy this world as a personal experience of itself.

    At the time of making the second person, the Heavenly Record eater thought.

    The first person who was killed had been a little aggravating.

    So, it decided to make a stronger individual this time. No unnecessary rules were established either. Even while relishing the stimulus as a human being everyday, it could wield its power as a Heavenly Record eater when pushes to shove.

    Life from a baby would be enough. With a random human being as the yorishiro1, the Heavenly Record eater came into this world once more.

    Everything was how it liked it to be.

    Around the beginning, it destroyed and killed things that caught its eye at random, but that was only amusing in the beginning. No enemies and the like were its equal from the start. If it continued to a certain extent then it would also feel bored.

    So, as the next stage, the Heavenly Record eater began to feel interest in ruling people, controlling them.

    Ruling them was easy. People willfully prostrated themselves before it if it disyed its power.

    The Heavenly Record eater organized the people he controlled and made them fight.

    That was really interesting.

    War became the greatest pleasure for the Heavenly Record eater.

    Building up an army, overrunning a city, recruiting them and making them fight more.

    While things like that continued, the Heavenly Record eater was making his own country.

    This was easy, as the Heavenly Record eater had a talent for military affairs. The Heavenly Record eater personallymanded them, leaving things to take their course, but if it seemed they¡¯d be defeated, it used its power as a diety, as a Heavenly Record eater.

    The Heavenly Record eater established the Arganda Empire, and began to reign supreme over the world.

    It was something just to gain control of the surrounding nations with military force, and there wasn¡¯t any significance in that.

    For the Heavenly Record eater, it was just amusement.

    So, invading the Mani Kingdom, which was considered to be ¡®invible¡¯, was nothing more than ying. Them ¡®trying to seal a Devil there¡¯ wasn¡¯t worth worrying about. If the Devil revived or something, that would be a more interesting development.

    From the beginning, the Heavenly Record eater didn¡¯t use its miraculous power.

    It was ast measure, and as ast measure it was used frequently in proportion, but making people argue to the bitter end was amusing.

    So, the Heavenly Record eater thought about things like tactics for the time being.

    That was ¡®to amass troops at the Meld ins and invade the Kingdom at once¡¯.

    The Meld ins was also called the Crystal ins.

    In that ce, arge quantity of monsters called ¡®crystal bugs¡¯ were living, and the magic barrier that crystallized everything.

    Others wouldn¡¯t think ¡®they are stashing arge amount of soldiers here¡¯.

    Because, they couldn¡¯t leave soldiers and the like in this ins for an extended period of time if it was normally. The soldiers would be exhausted by the constant attacks of bugs and die. The threads of the bugs floating in air would also crystallize the soldiers sooner orter.

    It¡¯d just be stupid if it was normally, but that¡¯s why an attack from here could be a ¡®surprise attack¡¯.

    The Heavenly Record eater stuck to this strategy.

    Putting what it thought of itself to practice was amusing, and for that reason, how many soldiers would die didn¡¯t matter.

    First, it seized all of the railroad routes going through the Meld ins. It was because those were the only safe areas in this ce, and they had people.

    The Heavenly Record eater was encamped in the center of the in, and takingmand from there.

    Everything was progressing favorably.

    The Heavenly Record Eater was thinking so, but a report from a certain station didn¡¯te no matter how much time passed.

    The Heavenly Record eater wondered about it, and went towards it to investigate.

    The soldiers that were expected to have gained control of that station were dead.

    This wasn¡¯t good news. There was no way that ordinary station attendants could do things like turn the tables on the soldiers. Then, someone was in this ce. If it considered it reasonably, it was probably an official of the Mani Kingdom.

    Before long, there was a report about a car escaping from this ce. It appeared to be going towards the Kingdom.

    ¡®It¡¯s impossible to let it escape¡¯, thought the Heavenly Record Eater.

    The at-great-pains strategy would be ruined in that case.

    The Heavenly Record eater sent orders. There was no choice but to get rid of it, no matter the costs. It ordered its entire army to stop that vehicle.

    And, the Heavenly Record eater was thinking ¡®It¡¯ll be carried out immediately¡¯.

    At any rate, it was because the Arganda Empire had developed arge quantity of strong magical weapons and firearms, which could be said to be ¡®over-technology¡¯ in this world.

    Those were things that the Heavenly Record eater reproduced from knowledge in the worlds it had eaten so far, and they were things that¡¯d change ordinary soldiers into heroes that were a match for thousands.

    But, no matter how long it waited, good news didn¡¯te. The Heavenly Record eater grew tired of waiting, exercised some of its power, and depicted the current situation in its mind.

    The armoured vehicle was continuing to travel.

    What behaved as if they were being driven out, were the soldiers of the Arganda Empire¡ªits subordinates. Every one of them were chasing after it riding a horse, dragon, or tank, but they didn¡¯t fire: they lost their strength, and meandered and hit each other, or were crashing into crystal rocks or trees.

    It didn¡¯t know what was happening, but it understood that the soldiers were causing a panic.

    ¡ºDon¡¯t run away. Kill it at all costs!¡»(Heavenly Record eater)

    It sent instructions to the soldiers personally.

    At this point already, the normal military operation was deviating, but why it hadn¡¯t wielded its own power against the armoured vehicle was because this was a part of its amusement still.

    From the start, the extent of destroying the Mani Kingdom could be done at any time if it thought ¡®let¡¯s do it¡¯. It¡¯d be a simple matter if it personally wielded its power as a Heavenly Record eater, but it wouldn¡¯t at all be interesting if he did that. It didn¡¯t intend to lose finally, but it was thinking ¡®I want to enjoy the process up until thest moment¡¯.

    However, while it was thinking about such a thing, the soldiers were *thud thud* copsing.

    Losing their riders, the horses and dragons were at a loss, the infantry died on the battlefield, and the tanks who lost their controllers were raising mes.

    The Heavenly Record eater didn¡¯t understand the meaning.

    It didn¡¯t understand in the slightest why it became like this.

    But, it was already the limit.

    The loss rate had exceeded 40% in the blink of an eye. They were dying one by one, trying to faithfully obey the Heavenly Record eater¡¯s order, but with this, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do a decent military operation and the like anymore.

    ¡®It can¡¯t be helped¡¯, the Heavenly Record eater thought.

    The Heavenly Record, which was persisting in a surprise attack from the Meld in still, tried to get rid of the armoured vehicle, and reorganize the preparations for the time being.

    It changed its point of view to the armoured vehicle. A girl was driving, and a boy was in the passenger¡¯s seat.

    Despite being irritated, the Heavenly Record eater thought ¡®what should I do¡¯.

    Should it kill them by burning them to death, or should it manipte their minds and make them kill each other? No, such things as killing were lukewarm, how about plucking their limbs and knock them down into collected feces?

    And, the Heavenly Record eater realized that it¡¯d die in 10 seconds.

    ¡°Ha?¡± (Heavenly Record eater)

    Without being able to understand at all, the Heavenly Record eater just became ovee with surprise, wasting about 2 seconds of the its precious remaining time.

    For an existence like the Heavenly Record eater, space-time was a part of itself. The surrounding space and time were within the range that it could be controlled with its own will, and predicting the future and the like were simple, but it had be unable to predict the future of after 10 seconds.

    What was ¡®death¡¯?

    It had understood it objectively and personally experienced a pseudo-that due to the death of its other self, but the Heavenly Record eater hadn¡¯t understood that in an essential meaning.

    Even it dying itself was out of its imagination. Even itself couldn¡¯t think of such things like a way to kill itself, which continued to eat Heavenly Records and contain several worlds.

    And yet, it knew that it¡¯d die.

    It knew that its existence would be annihted.

    Why did it became like this, it didn¡¯t understand anything about the meaning.

    Only questions filled its mind, and its thoughts argued in circles with no result.

    The Heavenly Record eater didn¡¯t know anything but that that was the decided future.

    Five seconds ahead. The future after that couldn¡¯t be seen. Its time was ending there.

    The Heavenly Record eater manipted time. If it was a unit of several seconds, things like going back in time were simple.

    Fifteen seconds more until death. Upon going back to 10 seconds, it realized that nothing changed, and noticed an abnormality.

    It was 10 seconds ago that the Heavenly Record eater noticed that it¡¯d die.

    At this point in time, if a cause that lead to some sort of death had urred, if it returned to a time before that, being released from the fate of death would be reasonable And yet, the imminent death seized the Heavenly Record eater, and didn¡¯t let go.

    The Heavenly Record, for the first time since its self-consciousness woke up, felt fear.

    Something it couldn¡¯t see was twining around its own body.

    It couldn¡¯t perceive it all, therefore it didn¡¯t know how to shake and untangle it.

    It was too irrational, it even was beyond fate. It couldn¡¯t overturn the decided event, to ¡®try to go back to the past¡¯.

    The Heavenly Record eater abandoned its body as a person.

    Throwing away its body as the emperor of the Arganda Empire within the Heavenly Record, it returned its consciousness into its real body.

    A build so big that it could swallow even a Heavenly Record. It looked like a fish in some respects. It mostly was a face, a majority of which held its mouth; it was a figure that showed its nature of just eating.

    With that real form drifting about in the ¡°Sea¡±, the Heavenly Record eater woke up.

    It trembled at the enormous power hidden in that body.

    It quickly realized that it wasn¡¯t a small human or something.

    At this moment, the flow of time became fuzzy, and it was filled with an omnipotent sense.

    It recognized the size of the existence called ¡®itself¡¯, and the lowness of the struggling human beings living on the Heavenly Record.

    Thereupon, rage *bubble bubble* welled up.

    This itself shamelessly ran away. That couldn¡¯t be forgiven.

    The likes of such a Heavenly Record should disappear.

    Its heart filled with violent emotions, as if to possibly cover its frightened self.

    The Heavenly Record eater decided to release the stockpiled power that ate numerous worlds.

    Something like this wasn¡¯t worth eating. Every single piece should be destroyed.

    It was something resembling an unreasonable butpulsive idea, and at that moment, the option of escaping from within the Heavenly Record eater vanished.

    It spread its enormous mouth widely. It was a mouth certainly big enough to be able to swallow a Heavenly Record.

    The depths of that mouth cavity. A light burned there.

    A sh of anger that burned everything to nothing.

    ¡ºDie¡»

    The instant it tried to release it, the Heavenly Record eater returned to itself.

    It had a feeling that it heard something.

    And, it realized that 10 seconds after now, death would be realized

    In the Heavenly Record eater¡¯s final moments, it thought ¡®I¡¯d be fine if I didn¡¯t wake up to self-consciousness or something like that¡¯.

    At that time, Yogiri and others were having an audience with the king.

    The Arganda Empire had been destroyed already.

 Chapter 11 - That it became like this finally is due to the three eroge aristocrats, though

    <h4>Chapter 11 - That it became like this finally is due to the three eroge aristocrats, though</h4>

    The sage candidates, twenty-six people in all.

    To be exact, the group including both the twenty-four people who had sage¡¯s skills along with Yogiri and Tomochika were guided to the residences on the royal castle¡¯s premises; though it was to be questioned whether the duo were candidates since they didn¡¯t have skills.

    The building which could amodate the twenty-six people perfectly seemed to be a kind of reception hall. If it was from the scale, it probably could even be called a ¡®petty castle¡¯.

    Uponing to the entrance hall, the soldier guiding them left.

    So once again, Yogiri and others decided to face their ssmates. It was because he was hesitant to have a private talk in public.

    ¡°I think that there wasn¡¯t a mistake in my judgement to leave you guys behind. If I think about it now, there may have been another way of doing it, but it was because information was limited at that point in time, and there were limits to what could be done by our numbers.¡± (Yazaki)

    That was the first thing Yazaki said after opening his mouth. However, for him to say so purposefully, he also probably felt guilty.

    The general ss was what Yazaki got from his gift.

    The general had the skill ¡®leadership¡¯, and due to that he was able to move a lot of people towards one goal. If that goal was something which could be agreed to, he couldpel his ssmates to abide to it to a certain extent.

    So, the responsibility for the strategy of ¡®treat the ipetents as lures¡¯ was mostly Yazaki¡¯s. But then, their ssmates also hadn¡¯t denied that heartless strategy, so they weren¡¯t without responsibility.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me. In the first ce, I was sleeping.¡± (Yogiri)

    To Yogiri, it was something inconsequential. From the start, he didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with his ssmates, nor did he think ¡®they betrayed me¡¯.

    ¡°Speaking truthfully, I feel angry, butining about it after all this is depressing, so it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Or, will there be someints if wee?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika¡¯s attitude was strong. It seemed that it was impossible to ¡®forgive and forget immediately¡¯.

    ¡°That is--¡± (Yazaki)

    ¡°I think we should wee the two of them linking up with us.¡± (???)

    When Yazaki hesitated to say something, a girl came out in front of him.

    ¡°Who?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri asked Tomochika who was next to him in a whisper.

    ¡°Eh? You mean you don¡¯t know Akino-san? I think she¡¯s awfully famous though.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said as if she was shocked, but what he didn¡¯t know couldn¡¯t be helped.

    Her name was Akino Sora.

    As Tomochika said, she was the leader of a nationally wide famous idol group. Following what she said, she seemed to be more refined than other girls, but if it was from Yogiri who didn¡¯t know much about idols, Tomochika seemed to be cute.

    ¡°They are one of our few friends in a parallel world we don¡¯t know much about, what will be done without cooperation?¡± (???->Akino)

    ¡°But¡­¡­whether or not we can trust them is¡­¡­¡± (Yazaki)

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you thinking like that because if you had the same experience, you would have a selfish feeling that¡¯d tend heavily towards revenge?¡± (Akino)

    With her saying so, Yazaki kept silent.

    ¡°I have a feeling that I heard Yazaki was the ¡®leader¡¯, but?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I also thought so, but it somehow looks to be¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Since Akino came out, Yazaki¡¯s authority had disappearedpletely.

    ¡°Though ipetent, I¡¯m leading everyone now. Please treat me well, okay?¡± (Akino)

    She probably noticed it when Yogiri and Tomochika were *whisper* talking to each other. Akino said so while smiling.

    After a discussion in the lobby, everyone decided to go to their assigned rooms.

    From the start, they were acting in teams. By having a room for each team, the assigning of rooms was decided without objections.

    The team¡¯s rank seemed to have been decided by fighting strength, and Yogiri belonged to the lowest rank team.

    ¡°Oh yeah, although we¡¯re banned from entering the second floor, girls can move on the first floor as they please.¡± (???)

    One person who came with Yogiriined upon entering the room.

    The girls¡¯ second floor differentiated a lot from the first floor of boys.

    ¡°Yuugo-kun. Who are these guys, Takatou-kun? Do they have honor?¡± (???)

    Another boy said. Three people-including Yogiri-were in the same group. They were separated into seven groups, so they were the ¡®7th group¡¯.

    ¡°Yeah. Who are you guys?¡± (Yogiri)

    The room wasrge and spacious, and four beds were lined up.

    Yogiri sat down on the couch in the reception corner. The other two sat on the other side so that they were aligned.

    ¡°Seriously!? Haven¡¯t I spoken to you enough? ¡®This and that¡¯! You didn¡¯t try to speak to anyone, I thought ¡®It¡¯s no wonder he was isted from the ss¡¯!¡± (???)

    ¡°Haha, Takatou-kun, you always had a sleepy face, so I guess you didn¡¯t listen much.¡± (???)

    The one with energy was Yuugo Izumida, and the timid one was Yukimasa Aihara

    ¡°Well, what ¡®please treat me well¡¯ is with the fellow leftover students in our ¡®unusable group¡¯!¡± (???->Yuugo)

    ¡°Yuugo-kun. Takatou-kun is unevaluated, so he just came to us for the time being, and we don¡¯t know whether or not he¡¯s a leftover yet?¡± (???->Yukimasa)

    ¡°Ah, is that right? But, he can only kill insects, right?¡± (Yuugo)

    As was decided beforehand, Yogiri¡¯s ss was insect hunter, and he reported his ability ¡®insect killer¡¯.

    They exined that ¡®their dyed gifts manifested¡¯, but it looked like there wasn¡¯t any suspicion in particr at present.

    ¡°Yeah. What are your guys¡¯ powers?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°My ss is cook. Meals, even if prepared halfheartedly, have good taste at least-it¡¯s useless forbat.¡± (Yuugo)

    ¡°Mine is reader. It¡¯s the ability to be able to read books written in anynguage.1 I¡¯m pleased with it, but I think it¡¯s useless in battle, the same as Yuugo-kun.¡± (Yukimasa)

    ¡°It seems that the ability reflects the hobbies, character, personality, and stuff like that the person themself had originally. Certainly I was aiming for a cook, and Yukimasa liked books. So, as it¡¯s like that, does Takatou have a hate for insects or something like that?¡± (Yuugo)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I hate mosquitoes because they¡¯re irritating.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t everyone hate them?¡± (Yuugo)

    Yogiri hadn¡¯t taken into ount as far as about the trend of abilities that manifested. If that was the case, it may be easier for their n to pass by him continuing to hate insects.

    ¡°Which reminds me, is it fine if I ask you what¡¯s happened so far? What everyone in the ss has done is on my mind. Yazaki took control at the beginning, didn¡¯t he?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Aah, that. How it became the current situation is because the men¡¯s side became few. The boys are eleven. The girls are fifteen. The men¡¯s side was numerous originally, but many of them went somewhere of their own ord.¡± (Yuugo)

    Three people among those who disappeared probably encountered Yogiri upon him leaving the bus. The boys should have been neen people, so they had decreased considerably.

    ¡°Well, that it became like this finally is due to the three eroge aristocrats, though.¡± (Yuugo)

    ¡°¡®That¡¯ is--¡± (Yogiri)

    It seemed it was about the matter where the eroge baron said such things. If it was ¡®three aristocrats¡¯, then it appeared there was two other barons.

    Interest emerged, so he tried to listen, but then they heard a knock at the door.

    Yukimasa stood up, and went to open the door.

    What entered was a boy who was looking down with long hair.

    ¡°Ge. Fukai, right? What do you want?¡± (Yuugo)

    Yuugo¡¯s face tantly scowled.

    ¡°¡­¡­Ta-Takatou-kun¡­¡­i-is it fine, if we, talk a little¡­¡­¡± (???)

    Whether or not he was nervous, he spoke while stuttering.

    Of course, Yogiri also didn¡¯t know about that boy.

    ¡°So, what is the eroge baron!?¡± (Tomochika)

    In the room assigned to her on the second floor, Tomochika asked her ssmate in the same room.

    ¡°The foremost thing on your mind is that!? Why are you pitching forward, as if to fall, like that!¡± (???)

    What responded to her was Shijou Juna.

    J¨­gasaki Rumiko was also in the room, and these three people were called the sixth group.

    The groups were a policy of ¡®to not mix men and women¡¯, and this group was the lowest rank among the girls. It seemed that battles were entrusted to groups one through five.

    ¡°Sorry¡­for leaving Tomochii.¡± (Rumiko)

    Rumiko said with a carefree tone of voice.

    They were rxing on the couch.

    ¡°Aah, I¡¯m also sorry for that. Although Tomochika said ¡®it doesn¡¯t matter¡¯, I¡¯ll apologize.¡± (???->Juna)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine. I guess it couldn¡¯t be helped. So, the baron?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°You¡¯re really getting into the baron¡­¡­¡± (Juna)

    Juna looked amazed.

    ¡°Well, those guys are probably the cause of the current situation, so I¡¯ll talk while including that area. The eroge master Ushio Shinya, the eroge meister Munakata Keiichi, and the eroge enthusiast Yatate Mitsuo. Someone suggested it, and those guys were called the three eroge aristocrats.¡± (Juna)

    ¡°Eh? That eroge whatever is an arbitrary ss name?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Yep.¡± (Juna)

    ¡°That¡¯s quite cruel!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°And, whoever suggested it, Ushio is called the eroge baron. Munakata is called the eroge marquis. Yatate is called eroge earl.¡± (Juna)

    ¡°Someone suggested that? They¡¯re full of ill will, aren¡¯t they!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Despite saying that, you seem to be having fun, Tomochika!¡± (Rumiko)

    ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s like that, but by all means, keep talking.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°So, well, things like the sses were things the sage gave, and even though they became bad sses, it doesn¡¯t mean the person himself is bad¡­¡­I thought that, but when the sses of everyone were checked, I understood that this ss seemed to reflect the nature of the person himself.¡± (Juna)

    ¡°Yep. Ushio-kun and others yed games like that frequently. So, the girls consulted with everyone.¡± (Rumiko)

    Rumiko supplemented.

    ¡°No, well, isn¡¯t boys doing things like that inevitable? I mean, everyone does it more or less.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika was someone who yed games frequently, so she understood still.

    ¡°Well, there were also those who tried to show understanding to them doing that. Their abilities being, Ushio stops time. Munakata turns transparent. Yatate establishes a tentacle.¡± (Juna)

    ¡°His ability is ¡®tentacle¡¯!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re really into that. Yep. It¡¯s the ability to grow a tentacle in the spot he likes. I saw it for real, but speaking clearly, it was disgusting. So. We definitely couldn¡¯t be together with those guys who did eroge to the point that the abilities to do whatever eroge like that manifested, furthermore, who awakened abilities giving free reign to their perversion. ¡®This¡¯ is close to psychological disgust already. In the beginning, Yazaki faced on as the leader, but he wasn¡¯t able to settle those guys. So, Akino-san attempted to improve the situation.¡± (Juna)

    ¡°Akino-san¡¯s ss is idol.¡± (Rumiko)

    ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s natural as she¡¯s an actual idol.¡± (Tomochika)

    Listening to Rumiko¡¯s exnation, Tomochika thought it was like that.

    ¡°Aah, this ¡®idol¡¯ seems to be in the meaning of ¡®an idol by nature¡¯. The religious meaning is--¡± (Rumiko)

    Then, they heard a knock at the door, and the three people looked at each other.

    There weren¡¯t any ns in particr for someone toe.

    Tomochika stood up, and went to open the door.

    Who came into sight were Ryouko Ninomiya and Carol S Lane.

    ¡°Um! Dannoura-san! Can we chat for a bit!¡± (Ryouko)

    Looking at Tomochika¡¯s face, Ryouko braced herself and spoke to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, but are you entering?¡± (Tomochika)

    Despite Tomochika replying that, she was thinking in doubt. It was because the two were people she didn¡¯t have contact with in particr before this.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s a private discussion, so can I have youe out?¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Eh? Well, even if you suddenly say such a thing¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika thought in doubt. Ryouko, who was impatient, and Carol, who was calm. Thebination of these two was also strange.

    ¡°It is a discussion about Takatou-kun! Please! I think you can help!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°¡­¡­I understand. I¡¯ll go out for a bit.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika spoke to the two inside.

    She had suspicion, but they looked too desperate. Besides, if it was something about Yogiri, there was no way she could ignore it.

 Chapter 12 - Even though he left it behind like this. You want it?

    <h4>Chapter 12 - Even though he left it behind like this. You want it?</h4>

    The boy who came to meet Yogiri called himself Fukai Seiichi.

    He was trying to hide his face with his long hair, and it was difficult to understand his facial expression as he was looking down. Judging from the way he spoke, he was a boy who wasn¡¯t very good at socializing.

    Yogiri didn¡¯t even know his name, and there wasn¡¯t a thing like him suddenly remembering it naturally. ¡®But, if there¡¯s a story, then I¡¯ll try to listen¡¯, Yogiri invited Seiichi into the room.

    When Yogiri sat on the sofa, Seiichi sat on the opposite side. Yuugo and Yukimasa, who had been sitting originally, were gone already. It seemed that they weren¡¯t good at dealing with Seiichi.

    ¡°What¡¯s the discussion?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°¡­¡­the discussion, yeah. Takatou-kun, well, I think there¡¯s no need to hide your need to deceive anymore. Okakushi-sama.¡± (???->Seiichi)

    Okakushi-sama. Hearing that name, Yogiri¡¯s body stiffened.

    Only a small fraction of people should know that name.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°A shinigami. Yes! To govern death, to grasp the life and death power over everyone, it¡¯s an absolutely unparalleled power! That¡¯s why, there¡¯s no need to entrust everything to Okakushi-sama anymore. Even Godmother-sama, she¡¯s deciding to appoint me rather than someone like you, the hopeless control1¡­¡­¡± (Seiichi)

    ¡°I understand that too much can¡¯t be discussed, but then what did youe to do?¡± (Yogiri)

    Conversation wasn¡¯t being engaged at all. Seiichi seemed to be drifting in a different world or something.

    ¡°Until now, fufu~. Despite being told to keep watch over you, I couldn¡¯t even see you directly, nor approach or talk to you¡­¡­it¡¯s a really unreasonable story, don¡¯t you think?¡± (Seiichi)

    ¡°This guy is in the same ss, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri asked Yuugo, who was in the back. He hadn¡¯t talked with Seiichi, but he barely remembered. He thought that it would be difficult to say he hadn¡¯t even seen him.

    ¡°Takatou is also foreign. It¡¯s the same ss as always, right? I mean, this guy wasn¡¯t well-known from the start. Aftering here, he went somewherepletely¡­¡­I don¡¯t really understand what he¡¯s saying anymore.¡± (Yuugo)

    So, wasn¡¯t there no need to take him seriously? But, as Yogiri was thinking about what to do, Seiichi disyed movement.

    He slowly raised his right hand, and took it in front of his face.

    The reason he did such a thing in this scene wasn¡¯t known. As he was wondering, suddenly, Seiichi put his arranged fingertips into his right eye.

    ¡°!¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was simply surprised, not really understanding the significance.

    Short shrieks were heard from behind. They were Yuugo and Yukimasa¡¯s.

    While he was staring while taken aback, Seiichi took out his eyeball, and ced it on the table.

    ¡°Okakushi-sama, mustn¡¯t be, looked at directly. Due to that sort ofw, my eye, was gouged and taken¡­¡­¡± (Seiichi)

    If he looked closely, it wasn¡¯t an eyeball. The size was simr, but no pupil was there, just a pattern was drawn for some reason. It seemed to be a kind of artificial eye, but even now he still didn¡¯t understand the aim.

    ¡°It is, the Saint Eye. This, is an eye that sees paranormal things. In a dim, faint field of vision, I continued to watch you the entire time¡­¡­¡± (Seiichi)

    ¡°Such things as removing your eye, what do you want to do? Do you want to say ¡®it¡¯s my fault¡¯ or something?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°This, cannot be used anymore. After we came here, it lost the ability. Because, Godmother-sama¡¯s power, doesn¡¯t reach¡­¡­¡± (Seiichi)

    But, such a thing didn¡¯t be a reason toe before Yogiri¡¯s eyes and expressly take out his eye. There may be a theory passing within him, but it wasn¡¯t understood by Yogiri in the slightest.

    It wasn¡¯t that it was dangerous. But, it was diforting. When a iprehensible existence was before your eyes, difort would well up.

    Seiichi slowly stood up.

    ¡°The discussion is over already?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yeah. You aren¡¯t, releasing power, at all, I understand that. If it¡¯s like that, then you should do as you like. Later, this me, with this power, will take over.¡± (Seiichi)

    In the end, Yogiri didn¡¯t really understand what it was.

    It appeared that he knew about Yogiri from before, but he couldn¡¯t quite understand what he was thinking.

    ¡°As I thought, he¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t he? I think he shouldn¡¯t worry about Takatou so much.¡± (Yuugo)

    When Seiichi left, the strained air filled inside the room finally ckened.

    Yogiri picked up the sphere which was left as is on the table.

    Things like geometrical patterns and letters were drawn as if to float on the inside. Though it may have been something great as a handicraft, it seemed to not have a special function.

    ¡°Even though he left it behind like this. You want it?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri presented it to Yuugo.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want such a thing! As I thought, you¡¯re also strange in some respects!¡± (Yuugo)

    Being told that, Yogiri threw the orb away in the garbage can.

    Thereupon, the sound of knocking was heard again.

    ¡°No way, he didn¡¯te back, did he?¡± (Yuugo)

    ¡°What will it be. Maybe the discussion ended about now.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yukimasa said it was a meeting due to leader.

    There were leaders in groups one through five, and the actions of the sage candidates were decided by the leader meeting.

    By the way, groups six and seven were without leaders because they were groups to hold the unusable people, and they didn¡¯t have any right to speak.

    ¡°Good dayyy. Ah, Takatou-kun, can we talk for a bit? It seems that Ninomiya-san and Carol have a discussion.¡± (Tomochika)

    What came was Tomochika.

    Behind her, two girls were apanying her.

    ¡°¡­¡­Say, why did you girlse to Takatou? Were you guys together with Yukimasa and Fukai as well?2 I¡¯ve also been alone while taking this and that into consideration and talking¡­¡­why don¡¯t girlse to a nice guy like me!¡± (Yuugo)

    ¡°That is¡­¡­because different than Fukai-kun and Yuugo-kun, Takatou-kun¡¯s appearance is good¡­¡­or something like that?¡± (Yukimasa)

    In a state of ¡®I can¡¯t understand it¡¯, Yukimasa replied to Yuugo.

    The corner of the garden of the residence that was the sage candidates¡¯ base.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry!¡± (Ryouko)

    So, a girl wearing a school uniform, with long ck hair, was prostrating herself.

    She seemed to be called Ryouko Ninomiya.

    Of course, Yogiri didn¡¯t understand why she was doing such a thing at all. He was gradually getting tired from all the things he didn¡¯t understand from before.

    ¡°Look! Please apologize as well, Carol!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Why? Why me?¡± (Carol)

    It was the girl called Carol S Lain who returned it in haltingly spoken Japanese. With her blue eyes and blonde hair, there wasn¡¯t even a fragment of her looking like a Japanese person. In reality, she was an American.

    She was also wearing a school uniform: it seemed there were many people who were using their uniform as casual wear.

    ¡°Please stop speaking haltingly! I feel sick!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Well, that aside, why is there a need to apologize? Didn¡¯t the person himself say ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter¡¯?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°The first gate is open! In other words, he¡¯s something that can cause an instant death if annoyed, no matter when or where! You should think that all of the ssmates have be targets already. What can I do other than deprecating myself and praising him!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°What is this?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri, who got fed up with it, asked Tomochika, who led the two people.

    ¡°Well. Even with you saying ¡®what¡¯, they said for me to be the middleman because they want to talk to Takatou-kun.¡± (Tomochika)

    It seemed that Tomochika didn¡¯t fully understand the circumstances as well.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to apologize, much less prostrate yourself, it¡¯s fine to not do such things.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°But¡­¡­¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°If you say ¡®annoy¡¯, then that attitude is annoying?¡± (Yogiri)

    Thereupon, Ryouko stop prostrating herself on the spot and stood up.

    ¡°In the first ce, I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re apologizing.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s the matter of having left Takatou-kun and others on the bus. I was confused by the sudden matter at that time, and without being able to resist against themand skill, and left you guys as is to set drift¡­¡­when I returned to myself, we were separated a lot already, and I couldn¡¯t even retrace my steps after all this time. No! I hadn¡¯t even imagined that Takatou-kun was killed or something by a lizard like that.¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°HAHAHA! It¡¯s interesting that Ryouko, who¡¯s usually calm, is panicking.¡± (Carol)

    Carol was staring happily at Ryouko, who was flustered.

    ¡°Carol-san, no, Lain-san?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Carol is fine~.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Then, Carol. You guys know about me, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m from the¡ºagency¡», and Ryouko is from theboratory¡». On that subject, I saw hime out from the room some time ago, but I wonder, is Fukai-kun from the¡ºcult¡»? As far as I know, these three people are probably in the same ss for the sake of observing Takatou-kun¡¯s movements.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Although I thought that there was no way that they¡¯d leave me unregted, I never thought that there were three people in the same ss¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri breathed a deep sigh. He had tried to not have anything to do with his ssmates, but he hadn¡¯t realized at all.

    ¡°Well, I thought that me being American and the like might be leaked out immediately, but it was kinda a let down because Takatou-kun did nothing, you know?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t fully doubt you just because ¡®you¡¯re a foreigner¡¯.¡± (Yogiri)

    Any organization should have had scattered, painful eyes, and should not have done too much interfering. In fact, nothing had happened since his highschool enrollment, but it seemed that only surveince was done.

    ¡°Come to think of it, Carol seems to not be afraid of me in particr, but are your thoughts different from Ryouko-san¡¯s?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That¡¯s right~. That you can kill people just by thinking being heard by another party can¡¯t be helped, right? I don¡¯t know things like what irritates you by chance, and I have no way to express it except that such things are dependent upon luck already.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°¡­¡­You¡¯re saying all the arbitrary things you want.¡± (Yogiri)

    There wasn¡¯t even one time that he killed just because he was irritated. They were arbitrarily deciding that, and things like them being afraid were upsetting at best.

    ¡°Theboratory¡»should know about Takatou-kun the most, so maybe she¡¯s scared by the things that I don¡¯t know.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think things like apologizing to me need to be done, but if you want to apologize then I understand. Like I said some time ago, I don¡¯t mind, and if you have words of forgiveness, then I¡¯ll allow it. But, why is Dannoura-san with us?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Right? If it¡¯s just apologizing to you separately, then I have no connection.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That is¡­¡­if she came with me, then you might listen to my story a little¡­¡­¡± (Ryouko)

    Whether or not she felt like she was clinging to straws, she said that in a tiny voice. If she was aboratory¡»official, then she probably knew the achievements of Yogiri the best.

    ¡°What you¡¯re fearing is arbitrary, but can¡¯t you leave me alone? I¡¯ll make sure to have nothing to do with this.¡± (Yogiri)

    That an organization¡¯s official who knew Yogiri¡¯s power was in this world was surprising, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean that anything changed. If they weren¡¯t hindrances to Yogiri and others, then there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°Really!? Then I-, I need to present my body! I have prepared myself!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ahahahaha!¡± (Carol)

    When what Ryouko was trying to say wasn¡¯t understood, Carol burst intoughter.

    ¡°This girl, it¡¯s like she¡¯s the type that thinks too hard and is forward~. The fact that Takatou-kun came until here with two people¡ªjust him and Tomochika¡ªmeans he¡¯s probably doing things like that, and it looks like she¡¯s been under the impression that ¡®that¡¯s the reason she wasn¡¯t killed¡¯~.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Wha!? There¡¯s nothing like that, you know!? You¡¯re misunderstanding!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika hurriedly denied it.

    ¡°But, isn¡¯t it strange~? A healthy male highschool student being together with such a cute girl highschool student and being able to restrain himself?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Hmm? Aah, I didn¡¯t restrain myself in particr, it was in mo¡ª¡ª¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Stop itttttt! Don¡¯t try to say lively thinngggggs!¡± (Tomochika)

    Whatever Tomochika thought about, she was shouting while her face turned bright red.

 Chapter 13 - If you want to die so much, then go die by yourself

    <h4>Chapter 13 - If you want to die so much, then go die by yourself</h4>

    ¡°But, what about the side dish of that happy time?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°The real is in the vicinity, so imagining it is easy, and there¡¯s no troubling things in particr, I guess.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Don¡¯t misrepresent it like that!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika, in a state of desperation, forced her way into Carol and Yogiri¡¯s conversation.

    ¡°Delicacy! Think about delicacy! Why is Takatou-kun frank like that!? And Carol, aren¡¯t you hitting it off with him as well!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well, apart from exining stories like that to each other, I wonder if can I hear about the current situation? If you know about my circumstances, then it¡¯s also easy to talk.¡± (Yogiri)

    When trying to listen to the story while hiding Yogiri¡¯s circumstances, there was an indirect part. In that point, if it was these two, then he would listen without hesitation.

    ¡°Heeeeyyyy! What is this!? A stupid-like situation where only I¡¯m in a hurry!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Sorry~. It¡¯s just, Tomochika¡¯s reactions are amusing.¡± (Carol)

    Carol said whileughing. Perhaps it was even more absurd to react more than that and give her delight, as Tomochika closed her mouth with a sullen look.

    ¡°So, what do you want to hear?¡± (Carol)

    Then, Carol readily returned the conversation.

    ¡°About the current order, I guess. Things like the group division, and how you guys came until here?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah, yeah. I was about to hear around that.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said as she recalled. It seemed that her personality wasn¡¯t one that sulked for long.

    ¡°How much have you heard?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°As far as that the three eroge aristocrats were the problem?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Is that right~. ¡®What we acquired were very strong powers, certainly useful for surviving in this world, but if the aim of those abilities are turned towards us, then what?¡¯ Everyone thought that soon. So, the three eroge aristocrats were made into the victim. What was viewed as the biggest problem, was Munakata¡¯s transparency.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Huh? Setting aside the tentacles, isn¡¯t the time stoppage more problematic?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri also thought that what Tomochika said was probably right. Stopping time was a really powerful ability.

    ¡°Ushio¡¯s time stopping, huh? Stopping the time of objects he touches, it¡¯s something fixated on that spot. Certainly, it¡¯s a wonderful power, but there are ways of dealing with it.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°For example, my ss is samurai, and Carol¡¯s is ninja, but if it¡¯s a battle-group ss, then I can kill Ushio-kun before he invokes it since I can move faster than him.¡± (Ryouko)

    Whether or not she regained her calmness somehow, Ryouko also came into the conversation.

    ¡°So, Munakata¡¯s transparency ability. This, on top of that it can make any object the person himself holds transparent, even has an x-ray ability. What became the problem was this x-ray. To be looking through anything anytime and anywhere, and whether or not he is invoking it isn¡¯t known by an outsider¡­¡­¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Aah¡­¡­certainly, being in the same ce with someone like that is unpleasant.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika nodded. In this case, what the girls were worrying about was that their privates would be peeped at.

    Yogiri thought that since it was a useful ability, he should pretend not to know some, but he didn¡¯t mention that.

    ¡°Say. That ability, is it self reported?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri thought that as he had such power, it might be revealed to everyone honestly.

    ¡°Yes. Munakata-kun under-reported it. He was pretending that it was the ability to make only his weapons invisible.¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Well, ¨­tori-kun exposed it.¡± (Carol)

    Ryouko spoke, and Carol added on.

    There was a male called ¨­tori Haruto, and his ss was consultant.

    This ss had many skills information analysis-type skills, and could analyze the skills of another person.

    ¡°That¡¯s bad.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Awful, right?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri and Tomochika looked at each other¡¯s faces.

    ¡°Ah, as I thought, that you woke up to a gift was a lie?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Well, yeah. We¡¯re camouging it, but will ¡®that¡¯ be exposed?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I wonder¡­ what¡¯s the rank of that camouge?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Rank?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Aah, if you don¡¯t have gifts, then you don¡¯t know about the system, do you? It isn¡¯t such a difficult thing, but everything that the system judges, like skills or items, have a rank, and the difference in rank is absolute. For example, if the camouge is level one, then a rank two appraisal can see through it. If opposite, then it is impossible to.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°And if the ranks are the same?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°If they¡¯re the same, then it¡¯s ording to the status, I think. A sessful judgement in this case isplicated, and randomness will appear.¡± (Carol)

    Yogiri stared at the ring attached to his finger. It was a simple ring with no ornaments, and it was extremely unlikely to know the rank from just looking at it.

    ¡°Mokomoko-san. Do you know the rank?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºHmm. If it¡¯s that ring, then it¡¯s six.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Yogiri spoke to Mokomoko, who was next to him

    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®six¡¯.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Who did you talk to just now?¡± (Carol)

    Mokomoko was Tomochika¡¯s guardian spirit, and she could be seen by Yogiri as well, but normally her figure couldn¡¯t be seen. Carol wondering would be natural.

    ¡°A spirit behind Dannoura-san.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Oo! That¡¯s amazing, where is she, whereeee?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Ah, you believed it normally.¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said to Carol, who was looking around relentlessly.

    ¡°Yep~. There¡¯s a parallel world, there¡¯s magic, and there¡¯s something like Takatou-kun, why wouldn¡¯t I believe in just spirits?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Righttt? The spirit behind is a low rarity. There¡¯s a mon¡¯ feeling.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºWhy did you expressly look at me and say that?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well, setting that aside. If it¡¯s six, then you¡¯re 100% safe. Since it¡¯s four from the top among the ss.¡± (Carol)

    Carol said that ten was the greatest rank.

    It seemed that three was the limit for normal people. More than four was the area of an inhuman person, and more than seven was called a legend-ss ability.

    ¡°Celestina-san, what kind of person are you¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika said seriously.

    Celestina-who was working as a concierge at the hotel-made these rings, but as they knew this world, they understood its unknown bottomness.

    ¡°By the way, Fukai-kun is a person who was a rank four skill. Rank four instant death magic. There isn¡¯t anyone in the ss with a resistance skill more than four, so in terms of danger, it was a more serious problem than Munakata¡¯s x-ray.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Instant death¡­¡­like Takatou-kun?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika¡¯splexion changed. Yogiri¡¯s power had been done before her eyes, so being surprised at someone who held the same ability would be natural.

    ¡°Aah, it can¡¯t even be aparable thing. Since it isn¡¯t something that will seed reliably, it can¡¯t be used unless the opponent is before his eyes, there are also things like instant death resistance skills, you can also deal with it with substitute-type items, and resurrection is also possible. Though, it doesn¡¯t change that, if it¡¯s us, then it¡¯s a threat.¡± (Carol)

    That said, Carol appeared to not be scared of Fukai all that much.

    ¡°Because of that, we were worried. There¡¯s too big of a difference in the initial abilities, and most of us can do nothing but be yes-man¡¯s of the people who have better gifts. Then, Akino-san proposed it. ¡®How about prohibiting using gifts against your ssmates?¡¯.¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Certainly, it¡¯d be fine if that could be done, but it¡¯d just be prohibited, wouldn¡¯t there be guys who use it still?¡± (Tomochika)

    Though what Ryouko said was right, there were also skills where the actual uses couldn¡¯t be grasped, like x-ray. Even if she said ¡®Don¡¯t use them¡¯, there wouldn¡¯t be much enforcement.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯d be like that if it was normally, but Akino-san¡¯s ss-idol-had a tremendous power of ¡®to fulfill wishes¡¯.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Then, it means that if she wishes ¡®The gifts in my ssmates will be made unusable¡¯, then that wille true?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit different, I think. It¡¯s a contrivance of ¡®by making an oath and protecting it with the skill¡ºOath¡», you can obtain power¡¯.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°¡­¡­Then if you break the oath, you¡¯ll die, or be in an exceedingly handicapped state?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Bingo! Yep, in this case, the part of the wishing true didn¡¯t matter, so it was something of ¡®she tried to use this oath as a restriction¡¯. The reparation in the case they broke the oath is ording to the scale of the oath, so an oath of ¡®gifts are not to be used on ssmates¡¯ was made on those who were regarded as dangerous in the ss, and she ranked up her possession skill. It¡¯s a big enough oath that they¡¯ll die from the reparation of the rank up skill.¡± (Carol)

    But, that wasn¡¯t anything else but Akino Sora taking over the ss.

    The problem at first was the obstruction of tyranny of those possessing better gifts, so this wasn¡¯t a solution, but most of the girls supported Sora being the leader.

    At this time where the ss was thinking ¡®how do we put the ss in order¡¯, the number of girls already had arge number or people, so it was decided little by little.

    ¡°Ummm, I understand about Akino-san, but if it¡¯s like that, then as I thought, we¡¯re bad?¡± (Tomochika)

    What Tomochika said was usible, the skill was applied through the system to Yogiri and others, who failed to install the system originally.

    So, when that oath was put to use, that they lied about their gifts would be exposed.

    ¡°It¡¯s be a little bothersome¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Hee!¡± (Ryouko)

    When Yogiri muttered that, Ryouko¡¯s face openly stiffened.

    ¡°I-if that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll go deal with Akino Sora!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°You¡¯re hasty! Let¡¯s go a little more peacefully!¡± (Tomochika)

    Ryouko unsheathed her Japanese sword, and Tomochika stopped her in a story.

    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it all right if your gift camouging isn¡¯t seen through? It isn¡¯t that Akino-san can grant them limitlessly, there are limitations on the number of people. I think she wont use oath on people who don¡¯t feel like much of a threat.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Think about it when it¡¯s exposed, is it?¡± (Yogiri)

    It was Yogiri who thought optimistically around that.

    ¡°Come to think of it. Why did you link up with us, Takatou-kun and others? If it was to the point that you came until here with two people, then couldn¡¯t you survive withposure even without going with your ssmates?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I wanted to talk to someone, the sage Shion. She¡¯s the perpetrator who summoned us here, so I thought she might know something about the way to return.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°To return?¡± (Carol)

    Carol and Ryouko¡¯s faces became ones of being taken aback. They hadn¡¯t considered that possibility, but he said it.

    ¡°Eh¡­¡­aah, that¡¯s right. I did think ¡®let¡¯s go home¡¯, and ¡®I want to go home¡¯¡­¡­¡± (Carol)

    ¡°¡­¡­I, too, considered the premise of ¡®we can¡¯t return anymore¡¯. That ¡®there was no other way than to be a sage¡¯¡­¡­¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡ºHmm. It isn¡¯t to the point of brainwashing, but it seems something like guiding their thoughts has been done.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko had said it before, that ¡®With the system install, you be warlike, and your sense of avoidance towards violence is decreased¡¯. If a thing like that could be done, it may be possible to turn the consciousness away from returning with the same trick.

    ¡°Hey, Takatou-kun. If we tell this to everyone and search for a way to return together¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°No, let¡¯s stop that. There¡¯s no other way than to achieve great exploits for now, but they¡¯ll just be confused upon learning such a thing.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri denied Tomochika¡¯s proposal.

    The time limit proposed by Shion was one month. After all this time, it wouldn¡¯t be the case that they¡¯d spare their power to search for a way home.

    ¡°Now. There may be some conversation still, but can we do it at another time again? I have a feeling that the leader meeting might end any time now.¡± (Carol)

    Carol proposed.

    If the meeting ends, then there¡¯d be an announcement about the objective after this, and they¡¯d need to know about that first.

    ¡°I understand. For the time being, is it fine for us to have a cooperative alliance?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri asked just to be sure.

    ¡°Yep. I intend to do that.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Please order me to do anything!¡± (Ryouko)

    It was Yogiri who felt a little troubled, but if it was a person who knew his circumstances in advance, then he¡¯d feel at ease without worrying.

    Yogiri and Tomochika decided to return to the mansion for now.

    ***

    After confirming that Yogiri and others went away, Ryouko was relieved.

    Her cold sweat didn¡¯t stop yet, but he was able to let them go past this ce somehow or other, and he could also obtain clear words of forgiveness. First, it would be a part of ¡®a passing mark¡¯.

    ¡°Though, I don¡¯t feel like he¡¯s that much of an invincible existence.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Wh-what are you saying!¡± (Ryouko)

    Ryouko couldn¡¯t believe that Carol said that calmly.

    ¡°But is he? He was dragged into a parallel world transition. Besides, you lived in the basement of theboratory the whole time, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­right, but¡­¡­¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°In other words, if there¡¯s no killing intent, then it¡¯s possible to forcibly move Takatou-kun without his intention to, and iste him, right? If that¡¯s the case, can¡¯t we also make him powerless?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Is it okay? Please don¡¯t consider unnecessary things.¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Besides, he appears to be attached to Tomochika, and his mental prowess has a feeling of a normal high school student¡¯s? If it¡¯s like that, then the effectiveness of things like a hostage strategy are--¡± (Carol)

    ¡°SHUT UP!¡± (Ryouko)

    Just as she spoke, Rrouko became enraged, and grabbed the cor of Carol¡¯s shirt.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine? That¡¯s the worst method. Think about what happened to the guys who did that!¡± (Ryouko)

    She didn¡¯t understand. Carol didn¡¯t understand at all.

    That no matter how much Yogiri Takatou looked harmless, they couldn¡¯t be negligent for even a second, they couldn¡¯t try to do it.

    There mustn¡¯t be anything-without exception-done towards Yogiri Takatou. Even thinking about things like ¡®we can deal with him somehow¡¯ was bad.

    Carol and other¡¯s¡ºagency¡»should also know the threat of Yogiri, but that ideology would be different from theboratory¡», which was an Orient organization.

    The¡ºagency¡»has a part that thought ¡®No matter what kind of inexplicable phenomenon it is, there¡¯s some kind of cause, and even if we don¡¯t understand it now, then it¡¯ll be rified by the hand of a human eventually, and it¡¯ll be possible to deal with it¡¯.

    But, theboratory¡»didn¡¯t think that. Yogiri Takatou was perceived as some type of evil god. He was something that was too much for the hands of humans, there was no choice but to just ept that cmity, he was an existence where there wasn¡¯t any choice but to quiet down, bow down, and pray.

    ¡°A hostage? Are you an idiot! It¡¯s the opposite! It¡¯s us from now on! Even if we substitute our lives, we can¡¯t do anything but protect Tomochika Dannoura!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Eeehhh? You¡¯re saying a bit too much¡­¡­¡± (Carol)

    Carol tried to turn it aside lightly. Ryouko put power into her hands that were holding Carol and raised her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t screw around! If you look at it from some time ago, you¡¯re speaking carelessly! It isn¡¯t just your problem! It¡¯s mine, and the other people¡¯s! If you want to die so much, then go die by yourself! Hold your sides withughter now! ¡®Cause I¡¯ll help you suicide!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°¡­¡­um, sorry.¡± (Carol)

    Possibly scared of Ryouko¡¯s too threatening attitude, Carol, who rarely apologized, apologized frankly.

    ***

    As a result of the leader meeting, it was decided that the sage candidates would challenge hell below the royal capital.

 Chapter 17 - I, have a methodical personality which likes to keep things tidy and in order.

    <h4>Chapter 17 - I, have a methodical personality which likes to keep things tidy and in order.</h4>

    ¡°Yes, I am definitely Hanakawa, and I remember Sage-sama well. Then, I¡¯m being impolite now!¡± (Hanakawa)

    She came to a bar where no one else was, found Hanakawa, and was talking to him. There wasn¡¯t much meaning in deceiving her.

    So, Hanakawa answered for now, and bet on the possibility that she saw him by chance and spoke to him.

    ¡°Oh, where are you going?¡± (Shion)

    But, it seemed that he¡¯d lost the bet. As he thought, she expressly came all the way here with a goal¡ªHanakawa.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see. We¡¯re, um, investigating about hell beforehand. Look, the shop¡¯s in such a state, so how about we talk in another sho¡ª¡ª¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Aah. If it¡¯s like that, then I¡¯ll tell you. If it¡¯s just asking about that, I think it¡¯s possible for me to answer.¡± (Shion)

    Saying so, Shion walked briskly in the store¡¯s interior which held no people, and involuntarily sat down at a random table. She probably wasn¡¯t even thinking things like ¡®Hanakawa will run away¡¯.

    ¡°We can escape with a dash in this gap¡ª¡ª¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Fool. Stop.¡± (Lute)

    ¡®Or if we go outside and slip into the crowd of people¡¯. Hanakawa thought that, but Lute wasn¡¯t optimistic.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be good if we harm that sort of humorous mood. We have no choice but to take a seat for now.¡± (Lute)

    Lute¡¯s expression was stiffening as he said so.

    ¡°¡­¡­perhaps, you can¡¯t win?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Eeeeh? Despite calling yourself things like a Devil¡¯s kin and looking proud of it, you cannot win against one woman like thisss?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Why are you agitating me even in a scene like this¡­¡­I¡¯m not overestimating myself. The case of the existence is too different; nothing can be done.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°What!? Th-, then hasn¡¯t my n of directing the sage Shion-sama VS the eloquent Devil¡¯s Kin Lute-dono been ruined!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°You¡­¡­what are you doing, trying to drag me in nonchntly. I have no connection at all, you know?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Um, your sympathy did not well up? Is it not like¡ºDammiiiit! I¡¯ve made a blunder! I¡¯ll protect you like this somehow¡­¡­live on¡­¡­¡»!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Well. My objective is to revive the younger sister god, and to defeat my Lord¡¯s enemy. I don¡¯t have the time to be concerned with extraneous things.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Uuuu¡­¡­b-, but, it¡¯s only ¡®sage-sama came to meet us¡¯, so maybe it¡¯s not something to be so pessimistic about¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    But, Hanakawa remembered that Shion killed the bus driver without a big significance.

    In other words, what touched her imperial wrath wasn¡¯t known at all. Even just having a conversation with Shion was dangerous.

    So, making Shion wait any longer than this wasn¡¯t a good n. Hanakawa reluctantly sat at the table where Shion was.

    He timidly started at Shion. She was smiling, but he didn¡¯t know anything like her true feelings.

    While thinking about what he should do, Lute sat next to Hanakawa.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. When I was thinking ¡®you¡¯re my friend¡¯, I just thought ¡®there was a possibility I¡¯d be attacked even if I tried to run away.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Is this the thing called ¡®tsundere¡¯! Even if you don¡¯t have a penis now, it¡¯s not OK at all!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa¡¯s eyes brightened, and he looked at Lute.

    ¡°If you say unnecessary things, I¡¯ll really go alone, though?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°I¡¯m seriously sorry. Thank you very much.¡± (Hanakawa)

    He¡¯d be troubled if he was left alone here, so Hanakawa thanked him a lot.

    ¡°Um, the conceited me is checking because I can¡¯t arbitrarily assume it, but p-, perhaps, you came to meet me or something like that?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Shion seemed to be waiting, so Hanakawa spoke.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I came to meet Hanakawa-san because I wanted to ask about Yogiri Takatou-san.¡± (Shion)

    That said, Hanakawa started talking about Yogiri on the spot.

    The ability he witnessed, the story he heard from the person himself, the events which probably happened at the tower. He spat out everything he found out at once without hiding anything.

    ¡°I see. ¡®Perceiving killing intent¡¯ is something I¡¯m hearing for the first time.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Hey. What do you n to do to Yogiri Takatou?¡± (Lute)

    Lute asked.

    Yogiri Takatou was also a target for him. The sage¡¯s movements was probably a part he worried about.

    ¡°Now. What will be done is troublesome. I think that those who were dealt with quickly can¡¯t be future problems and they can seemingly be used in various ways.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything. I¡¯ll kill Yogiri Takatou.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Hey! Lute-dono! A thing like that to a sage is!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Even if you say so. I cannot even imagine what an underling of the Devil¡ªwho was killed by Takatou-san¡ªcan do.¡± (Shion)

    Shion wasn¡¯t agitating him, it was an attitude of just pure wonder.

    ¡°What!¡± (Lute)

    Lute stood up.

    ¡°A, aaaah, unexpectedly, the Kin VS the sage will be realized, but if it¡¯s done in such a ce then I¡¯ll also get dragged into it! So, peacefully! Continue peacefully!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Aah. I won¡¯t do such a pointless thing.¡± (Shion)

    However, Shion didn¡¯t seem willing to do it. Hanakawa tried to feel relieved, and solidified there.

    Shion¡¯s right hand was turned towards Hanakawa.

    ¡°Eh, um, this is?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I heard the story from start to finish, and wondered if Hanakawa-san had no use anymore.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Um, I¡¯m finding it difficult to understand, but even if I have no uses, you don¡¯t need to kill me? Look, I¡¯m a sage candidate.¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°But you were moving independently, and you don¡¯t feel like bing a sage, right? I, have a methodical personality which likes to keep things tidy and in order. I feel stress at unneeded things remaining.¡± (Shion)

    Shion smiled sweetly.

    ¡°Haha~. If you limit dealing with unneeded things quickly, it¡¯s something called ¡®detachment¡¯¡­¡­nu!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Shion¡¯s right hand shone.

    Hanakawa thought ¡®I died¡¯ and closed his eyes.

    Bechari.

    However, what he felt was neither hell fire heat, nor pain like his body was being torn apart.

    It was something warm and it was slimy.

    Hanakawa opened his eyes timidly. His entire body was covered in fresh cream.

    ¡°What is it all of a sudden, you!¡± (Lute)

    Lute revealed his anger. It seemed that Lute was defending Hanakawa.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s interesting. I thought ¡®if it¡¯s just Hanakawa-san, then I should burn him with a suitable heat ray¡¯, but I didn¡¯t think it would change into something like fresh cream.2 But well, if you know that th¡ª¡ª¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Wa-, wait a moment please! Hell! Yes, it was a conversation of ¡®you were teaching us about hell¡¯!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Aah! Ipletely forgot!¡± (Shion)

    Shion¡¯s face was one of staring in puzzlement. It seemed she had really forgotten.

    ¡°So, what would you like to hear?¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s right, things like where the entrance of hell is, it¡¯s things of such a degree.¡± (Hanakawa)

    Perhaps he should have dyed the conversation a bit more, but Hanakawa, who was just exposed to a crisis of his life, didn¡¯t have that muchposure. All he could do was just keep talking like this.

    ¡°If it¡¯s inside of this city, I think you¡¯ll happen to catch sight of entrances frequently. Please try to buy a ticket at a bar.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°What?¡± (Hanakawa)

    A ticket. Hanakawa was puzzled at the entrance of a word he¡¯d never thought he¡¯d hear.

    ¡°Hell has restricted entry. As bars are ticket windows, they sell entry tickets so please try to purchase the appropriate one.¡± (Shion)

    It appeared that there were numerous entrances to hell, and each seemed to have its own characteristics. The prices of the tickets were also varied.

    Perhaps Shion finished the story with that, as she stood up.

    ¡°Ah, um, I may be stirring up a hos nest, but am I okay?¡± (Hanakawa)

    That Hanakawa dared to ask something he didn¡¯t need to ask, may be his character.

    ¡®That¡¯s right. Expressly informing you about hell and killing you, there¡¯s no worth in informing you.¡± (Shion)

    Saying so, Shion left.

    If trying to kill him was a whim, it seemed that not killing him was a whim as well.

    Lute *thud* sat down on the chair. He didn¡¯t have even a small amount ofposure on that face, and it looked like his cold sweats didn¡¯t stop.

    ¡°Dammmiiiit! What is that guy! She¡¯s too unreasonable, I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking about at all!¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Uuu¡­¡­someone like me is covered in fresh cream, what the heck is enjoyable about it¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa sighed at something not worth worrying about.

    ***

    The capture of hell was done by groups of sage candidates in shifts throughout the day.

    The capture party advanced during the day, and exterminating the surrounding monsters. At night, the defense party was in charge of continuing to secure the base made inside hell.

    Tomochika was engaging inbat with monsters in group one, which was the capture party.

    Yogiri spent most of his time absent-mindedly at the mansion. He was just requested to participate when bug killing was needed asionally.

    After the attack team returns above ground they had free time, and were doing whatever they liked.

    So, when it was night, Yogiri and others decided to gather to understand the current situation. The ce was the hotel room they had secured before meeting their ssmates.

    Who gathered were the four who knew about Yogiri¡¯s ability: Yogiri, Tomochika, Ryouko, and Carol, but it seemed questionable rumors were also being made.

    ¡°Takatou-kun, what are you doing during the day?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Hmm? There¡¯s not really anything to do, so I y games and read books.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Uu¡­¡­what¡¯s this feeling like I¡¯m not fully satisfied¡­¡­even though I¡¯ve been killing and crushing demons brutally¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Despite Tomochika fighting at the foremost line, she didn¡¯t really grasp that Yogiri was taking the gentle slope.

    ¡°No, Takatou-kun not doing anything is the best, yeah! Please try your best to not be doing anything in this situation continuously as you are now!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Ninomiya-san, don¡¯t rmend such things like Pooh-san. What will he do from now on if he leaves society?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Hahaha~! Isn¡¯t something like leaving society forced already~?¡± (Carol)

    As Carol said, Tomochika and others had already been thrown out of this parallel world¡¯s society. Like when they were under the protection of adults in Japan, it was a situation where they couldn¡¯t be carefree.

    ¡°I will look after you! Takatou-kun doesn¡¯t need to do anything! I¡¯ll prepare all the necessities in life and prepare all of the environment so you don¡¯t have to do anything!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Ninomiya-san, what are you saying!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be a himo, right? As expected, that¡¯s rejected.¡± (Yogiri)

    Even to Yogiri, Ryouko¡¯s energy drew back some, and Tomochika felt a little relieved. She thought if it was Yogiri, it was difficult to say things like ¡®it¡¯s easy if I don¡¯t have to do anything¡¯.

    ¡®So, what about the capture of hell?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Currently we are at the edge of the fifthyer, so tomorrow will be from the sixthyer.¡± (Ryouko)

    For the sage candidates, capturing hell wasn¡¯t all that difficult.

    Basically, they just advanced inside towards the center.

    They grasped the path with things like Munakata¡¯s x-ray ability, and moved to the edge of theyer with the shortest path.

    First, with the material they brought there, they made a base. Even things at the level of shacks weren¡¯t things that amateurs could make easily, but what was there were sage candidates with convenient abilities. The person who had the skill carpenter made them just like that with the construction skill.

    And, what supported their rush was the transporter ss. There was a skill in the ss called door-to-door, which made it possible to directly connect a door to a building¡¯s door and transfer spaces.

    If they had these two sses, the need to search for the entrance and exit to the nextyers disappeared.

    The buildings they made could only strengthened and dropped from the edge of theyer. There was risk when moving through theyer for the first time, but by searching for the entrance and exit honest to a fault, they couldn¡¯t do things like go to the nextyer no matter how much time passed.

    Although they could shorten their movements betweenyers with this method, that it was crawling with monster didn¡¯t change. The monsters became stronger the lower theyer they went to was, and their capture speed was slowing down.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be very soon if the Devil is in the seventhyer, but is it such a simple thing?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Hmm, but the deadline of one month said at first is soon, so it¡¯ll be just barely~.¡± (Carol)

    Yogiri was doubtful, but Carol seemed to be optimistic.

    ¡°Even if we fail, if that ¡®Shion¡¯ guy appears before us, it¡¯s fine with that.¡± (Yogiri)

    If she appeared, it would be when they reached the deadline. Yogiri appeared to be thinking that.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know~. She said something like ¡®if you fail, you¡¯ll be livestock which has their magical power squeezed out¡¯, but I wonder if she¡¯ll do such a troubling thing~.¡± (Carol)

    Carol said that, but Tomochika thought them being left alone even if the deadline passed was looking at it too optimistically.

    ¡°And, the matter of an eroge person dying?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yes. Ushio-san being killed seems to be true. Munakata-san and Yatate-san¡¯s testimonies were unclear, but from the testimonies of the customers in the same bar, it seems there¡¯s hardly a mistake. And, Munakata-san and Yatate-san said that Shinozaki-san is the culprit. She also dered ¡®I¡¯ll kill one person at a time for revenge¡¯.¡± (Ryouko)

    Ryouko reported.

    Ushio¡¯s death was taken seriously among their ssmates. It was because, until now, there hadn¡¯t been any casualties appear among those who moved together.

    ¡°Eh? But, Shinozaki-san was dead, wasn¡¯t she?¡± (Tomochika)

    Ayaka Shinozaki was one of the four people left on the bus.

    The one who received the dragon¡¯s attack first was her, and arge hole was opened up in her chest.

    It wasn¡¯t that Tomochika confirmed her death, but she simply couldn¡¯t imagine that she could live with that.

    ¡°She was dead.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri had the two people who had copsed inside the bus sit in the seats. He could probably say it with more confidence than Tomochika.

    Then, what kind of thing was it?

    Tomochika tried to think about it, but she didn¡¯t understand it in the slightest.

 Chapter 15 - This, with this, is the new Dannoura Style

    <h4>Chapter 15 - This, with this, is the new Dannoura Style</h4>

    Carol the ninja and Ryouko the samurai were decently strong.

    What was on the firstyer of hell seemed to be the weakest monsters, but still, they weren¡¯t just wild animals.

    Wild boars growing spines from their entire body, huge bears carrying shells on their backs, people¡¯s skeletons moving around, and so forth; they were existences which couldn¡¯t possibly contend to a mere human being.

    But, Carol¡¯s released rod shuriken pierced the wild boars easily, and Ryouko¡¯s swords were bisecting the bears with a single swing. Furthermore, that was technology they had from the start, and though there seemed to be improvements to the status side, they weren¡¯t using any kind of skill.

    ¡°It looks like there wasn¡¯t much meaning in meing here, huh.¡± (Rick)

    Rick said, as if admiring them.

    He was watching Carol and Ryouko fight with everyone else. If there was some problem, then Rick would jump out, but no signs of it being his turn were shown at present. The two had continued to reduce the monsters safely.

    ¡°I mean, Rick-san is a prince, aren¡¯t you? Is it fine toe to such a ce?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika asked Rick who was next to her in a low voice.

    Rick was a nickname, his real name was Richard. Tomochika only knew now that he was the third prince of the Mani Kingdom.

    ¡°The King cannot move, as one would expect, but the royal familyes to hell fairly often. Conversely, the one who doesn¡¯te is the problem. At any rate, because we have the power to shut out hell, we can be proud that ¡®we¡¯re royalty¡¯, etc.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°Ummm, there¡¯s also that, but what is the Sword Saint?¡± (Tomochika)

    When the former Sword Saint died at the tower, Rick seeded the Sword Saint. It seemed that he personally thought that he didn¡¯t quite have an ability, etc., as the Sword Saint, but there were no other candidates in the ce. For that reason, he probably resigned himself to his fate and epted the position.

    ¡°And, Dannoura-san is a knight of the Holy Queen.¡± (Rick)

    Yogiri and Tomochika acquired the qualifications when the trial at the tower ended, and became knights of the Holy Queen.

    When ssified, there were two threats in this world.

    They were aggressors, and sealed gods.

    Aggressors came from other worlds. The time and ce they appeared, their numbers, and strength were unknown. Who dealt with this were the sages, who were basically indifferent to crises other than the aggressors.

    In regards to the sealed gods, the seal¡¯s ce and threat were roughly understood. Who dealt with this was the Holy Queen, and who moved as her hands and feet were the Sword Saint and the knights of the Holy Queen.

    This hell was a sealed ce, and the Devil sealed here was creating monsters and trying to interfere with the above ground. It was no wonder that the Sword Saint and the knights of the Holy Queen visited this ce.

    ¡°That Holy Knight thing, I¡¯d like to turn it down but¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t think too deeply about it. Since we aren¡¯t forcing it to you two, who are from another country. Oh yeah, it¡¯s the Holy Sword, but because it¡¯s something that can be prepared at the church, whenever you have the time.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°The Holy Sword, is itt?¡± (Tomochika)

    It seemed to be the identification as a knight of a Holy Queen if she had it. The knight of the Holy Queen may have various merits, but the demerits seemed to be about the same, and whether or not she could ept it was a problem.

    However, as a gamer, there was a part that attracted Tomochika¡¯s interest a little at the sound ¡®Holy Sword¡¯.

    ¡°Until now, the Sword Saint couldn¡¯t leave the tower. But, from now on is different. As the next era¡¯s Sword Saint, I feel it is necessary to advance the capture of this hell. I¡¯m checking just in case, but do you think capture by Takatou-san is possible?¡± (Rick)

    Rick knew that Yogiri killed the Devil of the tower. He may haveplex thoughts that Tomochika couldn¡¯t even imagine towards that, but leaving the Sword Saint¡¯s pride and the like behind, he was also probably thinking ¡®If it can be dealt with immediately, there isn¡¯t anything better than that¡¯.

    ¡°Aah, what do you think? He should be able to use it even if he can¡¯t see the opponent.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºI fear that it¡¯s probably impossible. In the case of the Devil of the tower, he rejected therge source in response to the miasma which was to the extent that he felt it was a crisis for his life. There isn¡¯t enough miasma to the point of it killing a person in this area. The ¡®monsters¡¯ also might be different existences than the ¡®main body¡¯.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°It seems impossible¡±, Tomochika reported. It seemed that Rick hadn¡¯t been expecting much either.

    ¡°Apologies for the part in your chat, but is soon fine, Dannoura-san?¡± (Akino)

    ¡°Eh? Is it okay, Akino-san?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika, who thought the next one who¡¯d fight was Sora, was easygoing.

    ¡°Yes. It seems to be an easy victory with Ryouko-san and Carol, so I think it isn¡¯t significant enough to require me fighting.¡± (Akino)

    Sora seemed to be quite confident regardingbat.

    ¡°Combat itself is outside of my area of expertise.¡± (???->Yui)

    Who said so was Yui ¨­tani-the cheergirl. Her ability seemed to be improving another person¡¯s ability by cheering for them.

    Tomochika returned her eyes to the battlefield. Carol and Ryouko were defeating the monsters while leaving one.

    What remained was just a skeleton, but they took it upon themselves to leave this behind on behalf of seeing Tomochika¡¯s ability.

    Carol and Ryouko returned, and the skeleton also started to move, seemingly chasing after them.

    Tomochika walked towards the skeleton in order to meet the enemy.

    ¡°It¡¯s a skeleton corpse, right? I wonder if martial arts will pass on this.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºIf it is human-shaped, there won¡¯t be a problem.¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°No no no, how are the joints sticking? There¡¯s a thing like that. If they disconnected easily, things like reverse techniques won¡¯t pass.¡± (Tomochika)

    A skeleton which was like a warrior holding a sword and shield. This was also a monster the Devil created.

    Tomochika looked at the enemy.

    The bones and bones weren¡¯t in contact with the joint parts, and were floating. However, they appeared to be unified as one body. It would be fine if she assumed ¡®It has invisible muscles and ligaments¡®. In fact, the skeleton¡¯s center of gravity was like that. In other words, its structure followed a human¡¯s.

    Tomochika, who concluded so, shortened the distance quickly, and pulverized the skeleton¡¯s knee with a front kick.

    It was the so-called yakuza kick. Confirming the instant that its body weight was taken by one leg, she kicked as if she stepped downward. Why she chose that at the start was because the skeleton¡¯s feet were full of gaps, and because she wanted to check the reaction when its leg was kicked.

    She realized that the skeleton¡¯s consciousness was turned towards the smashed part. As she thought, the reaction was the same as a human being¡¯s. The skeleton¡¯s posture crumbled, a gap on its head was made, and Tomochika chose her next move instantly.

    ¡°Something heavy.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºLeave it to me.¡»(Mokomoko)

    A ck edged-tool appeared in her hand. The form was arge kukri knife.

    Tomochika swung her knife downward on its virtually empty head.

    Its head was smashed up easily, and the skeleton monster stopped moving.

    This, was Tomochika¡¯s way of fighting to survive in this world. Due to the help of the battle suit, her strength and speed increased, her weapon appeared at will, and transformed to make sport of the enemy. It was also a result of studying and optimizing the material obtained from the aggressor.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have the chance to see that ability at the tower, but it¡¯s as I expected.¡± (Rick)

    ¡°I see. I think it is a sufficient ability.¡± (Akino)

    Rick and Sora were honestly admiring her.

    ¡°Ah, but maybe this doesn¡¯t even have to get close. At any rate, it¡¯s long.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. I mean, this is too convenient to be suited for training, but¡­¡­well, I guess it¡¯s fine. This, with this, is the new Dannoura style.¡»(Mokomoko)

    Tomochika, without even turning around, stretched her hand behind her.

    Thereupon, something, that rushed out from her hand which was done to lightly grip it, easily went through the newly appeared, one-eyed ogre.

    It was a spear.

    That, which was about ten meters long, straight without a bend, instantly pierced the ce in ordance with her aim.

    Carol and Ryouko didn¡¯t seem to have any words.

    ***

    death lines, and he¡¯d die for certain if he was on those lines. But on the contrary, he¡¯d never die as long as he didn¡¯t touch those lines.

    The moment after Yogiri moved, a hairy arm passed through the ce he had been.

    Yogiri was skillful. From the start, his physical ability was high, and he also had learning ability. What seemed to be bad reflexes was his habit ofziness, and he merelycked physical strength.

    Perhaps it was trained more or less with his experience froming to a parallel world. Possibly because he was dodging with minimal movements, he really wasn¡¯t all that tired.

    Currently, Yogiri was testing hisbat ability, and thebat situation was being observed by every one of group two.

    What Yogiri was fighting was a monster simr to a thin anthropoid. Its size was about that of a human being¡¯s, and it was just a monkey if it was only that, but four arms had grown on it.

    Due to that, though continuing to evade was busy in itself, its movements were simple. Upon grasping the enemy¡¯s movements, Yogiri turned to counterattack.

    He swung his sword along the death line. The enemy was on that spot without fail, and the counter result was decided.

    Still, with Yogiri¡¯s ability, he couldn¡¯t bring it down in a single blow even if he had a strengthened sword. But still, the improvised swordsmanship he learned from Tomochika was showing its power as is.

    He repeated such a thing many times over, and when the enemy was exhausted and stopped moving, he finished it off.

    ¡°It¡¯s a feeling of ¡®in itself¡¯, huh.¡± (Haruto)

    That, was thementary of ¨­tori Haruto. He had thought Yogiri could do it skillfully, but in itself seemed to be for certain.

    ¡°If he can move that much, including him in my formation probably won¡¯t be a problem.¡± (Yazaki)

    Who said so was Yazaki, the general. The general was strong even by itself, but by usingrades, he¡¯d exhibit more powerful strength.

    Ushio Shinya showed a look of relief. He probably thought it wasn¡¯t something big, and his position wasn¡¯t being threatened.

    Fukai Seiichi didn¡¯t disy any reaction in particr. He was looking downward as usual, maybe Yogiri not using his power didn¡¯t matter to him.

    ¡°What are you. You avoided the enemy¡¯s attacks safely despite being an amateur at most as far as I saw from your movements, and despite your swordsmanship not being anything considerable you soundly hit it, and delivered the final blow, calm the entire time without panicking¡­¡­¡± (David)

    David looked taken aback. It seemed it was an evaluation like that if those who did swordsmanship saw it.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to see my power of killing bugs?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem. There probably isn¡¯t a such a convenient bug-type monster.¡± (Haruto)

    Returning to his group¡¯s side, he spoke to Haruto.

    ¡°In the first ce, skills can¡¯t be used well in here. How high is that skill¡¯s rank?¡± (David)

    What David said was that the ranks of skills were forcibly lowered in this ce due to the king¡¯s power.

    The ranks dropped by two on hell¡¯s firstyer and above ground, and dropped by one on the secondyer. It was said that the power didn¡¯t reach the thirdyer.

    This had no connection to humans or monsters, and applied to all beings, skills couldn¡¯t be used if the rank was below zero.

    Yogiri¡¯s equipment-his Japanese Sword and school outfit-were strengthened by his ssmate¡¯s hand, but because a rank three strengthening was being applied by a rank four skill, as a result, they were equivalent to rank one.

    ¡°For existences which rely on skills, the rank dropping even one is a serious problem. That¡¯s why cautious and powerful monsters don¡¯te to the secondyer. In other words, monsters on and after the thirdyer will be strong to the point of bing iparable things. There are reasons like that as to why the exploration of the thirdyer hasn¡¯t advanced too much.¡± (David)

    ¡°I see. That said, there¡¯s a need to go to the thirdyer first, isn¡¯t there? This is enough as a preliminary test, so let¡¯s go back for now?¡± (Yogiri)

    The first exploration was a wait-and-see to the utmost, and it was decided that they¡¯d return by noon.

    ***

    Tomochika and others as well said the wait-and-see was sufficient, and decided to return.

    Carol and Ryouko took the initiative and dealt with the monsters they encountered sometimes, so the remaining members didn¡¯t do anything in particr.

    It seemed it was a ¡®easy victory¡¯ if it was just the firstyer¡¯s monsters.

    ¡°By the way, Tomochika-san, how high are the ranks of the skills you use? You can actually use them, so I know they are above three.¡± (Rick)

    Rick asked.

    ¡°Eh? Rank?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I asked such a thing because I was worried about whether or not I could use the power of the seal more.¡± (Rick)

    It seemed that by using the sealing power once more, it made it extra to some extent. The skill¡¯s rank dropped by two with the king¡¯s power in this ce, and when Rick used it as well, it could be lowered by two again but only in the surrounding area.

    ¡°Aah, how is it? I don¡¯t know it in detail. I mean, it is, huh? Then, if a person of royalty moves with the group, can¡¯t youpletely seal the monster¡¯s power?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That¡¯s also possible to a certain extent, but in that case I¡¯ll seal each other, so there¡¯s no effectiveness beyond a certain amount.¡± (Rick)

    Tomochika deceived him on the spot and bent the conversation.

    ¡ºHmm. Regarding the skill rank, I¡¯m also taking it into consideration. That means, in the case that Rick uses his power, it¡¯s correct to purge the battlesuit and get you nude?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°If you do that, I¡¯ll make you go to heaven, you know?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºHou, even though such a thing can¡¯t be done by you?¡»(Mokomoko)

    ¡°I¡¯ll forget both shame and embarrassment and go ask Takatou-kun, though?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡º¡­¡­that¡¯s it, look, have the heart to respect your ancestor a bit more¡­¡­¡»(Mokomoko)

    While chattering about such things, they came close to the entrance and exit.

    However, people tended to be negligent in this timing of ¡®we can return after a bit more¡¯. Tomochika looked around at the surroundings just in case. Thereupon, something grazed the edge of her field of vision.

    ¡°What?¡± (Tomochika)

    Something gold moved from the floor, to the wall, to the ceiling.

    It was a box. On the cuboid box, which was as big as an armful, insect-like legs had grown.

    Carol threw her rod shuriken at it. It hit, and the box *st* fell down from the ceiling.

    It was probably a monster. But, due to that shape, it wasn¡¯t clear where its weakness was. It stood up unsteadily, so it appeared that it was alive.

    ¡°Aah, this is a monster called Yara Leetaa.¡± (Rick)

    Rick said just as he saw the unusual thing.

    ¡°Eh? Who appointed it that joke name?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It was the ssification name confirmed as a result of a status analysis. The underground Devil appointed it, I guess?¡± (Rick)

    Its aim wasn¡¯t really understood.

    When Tomochika was wondering, the Yara Leetaa tried to escape while walking unsteadily.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s escaping?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Even if you let it go, it¡¯s fine. As it isn¡¯t a considerable monster. Besides--¡± (Rick)

    The Yara Leetaa disappeared into the tunnel of the cave.

    Even though he said it wasn¡¯t a big deal, it was a monster. She guessed it might attack people, and when they could get rid of it, they certainly should.

    When she was a little perplexed, a voice was heard from the tunnel the monster vanished into.

    ¡°Yara retaa!¡± (Yara Reetaa)

    And then, a loud explosion sound.

    When Tomochika peered into the tunnel in confusion, in there were the scattered remains of Yara Reetaa, which was in pieces.

    ¡°When brought down, the Yara Reetaa explodes loudly in ces where no annoyancese into view in the surroundings, and drops things with mary value for some reason.¡±

    Rick, who came next to her, continued the exnation.

    ¡°The meaning of this guy¡¯s existence isn¡¯t understood at all!?¡± (Tomochika)

    In the wreckage, gems giving off a noticeable radiance were left.

    What the Devil who was underground was thinking wasn¡¯t understood at all. Tomochika was feeling an indescribable eerieness.

 Chapter 16 - Good evening. Iâ€™m called Shion the sage, do you remember me?

    <h4>Chapter 16 - Good evening. I¡¯m called Shion the sage, do you remember me?</h4>

    The plump boy, Hanakawa Daimon.

    Lute, a Devil¡¯s kin, who disguised their appearance of that of a beautiful girl¡¯s.

    The two continued their journey, and finally arrived at the royal capital.

    ¡°What a huge croud~. Is there a festival or something?¡± (Hanakawa)

    They passed through the royal capital¡¯s gate before long. Despite it being night, the town was overflowing with people and energy.

    ¡°Bufu~! It¡¯s the countryman exposed temtee! No no, I think this degree is a scene that¡¯s anywhere if it¡¯s Japan, but when it¡¯s another world, isn¡¯t it raree?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°You¡­¡­you¡¯re getting too caught up in the moment because you know that I won¡¯t kill you, aren¡¯t you¡­¡­¡± (Lute)

    Lute looked shocked. It seemed he didn¡¯t even feel angry anymore, as Hanakawa had said all he had to say even on the journey until here.

    ¡°There are many ways to cause you pain even without killing you, you do know that?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Fufu~! If I know that I won¡¯t die, then it doesn¡¯t matter. ¡®Cause I¡¯m a healerr. As long as I prepare myself for any kind of injury, I can withstand it!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Is that right. By the way, the underground of here is where the younger sister god is, our goal.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Hohou? They were able to develop a city this big above a demon that will injure such people.¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°It¡¯s because Lord-sama is sealed. She can¡¯t leave that easily.¡± (Lute)

    This was information which the humans didn¡¯t know.

    At any rate, that the younger sister god was sealed was a millennium-old story, the details weren¡¯t handed down.

    In legend, the Grand Sorcerer sealed the Devil, and made this town. However, the Grand Sorcerer didn¡¯t do anything more than make the gigantic walls surrounding the town.

    Hell itself, which existed underground, was something the Devil Alubagaluma made to seal the younger sister

    ¡°But only the younger sister god is sealed, so the kin cane above ground. But, it doesn¡¯t mean that the humans are standing and watching either, you see. Those of special bloodline are sealing this ce more. That¡¯s why the ranks of skills go down in this ce, but¡­¡­shall we try out how long your recovery magic will pass?¡± (Lute)

    Hanakawa¡¯s movements were quick. He jumped down before Lute finished speaking, and got into a state of prostrating himself without being afraid of what the public might think.

    ¡°I was caught up in the momenttt!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°You, you rely too much on prostrating, you know?¡± (Lute)

    Lute looked like he was fed up with him.

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s another party I can talk to, if I prostrate for the time being, I have time. If space is avable, there¡¯s the possibility that the opponent¡¯ll also lose the feeling of ¡®let¡¯s travel together¡¯, and then do it some other way!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine already, so stand up for now.¡± (Lute)

    As one would expect, prostrating stood out in the street traffic. Hanakawa slowly stood up.

    ¡°So, we¡¯vee to the town, but what should we do?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We must go to hell, but we don¡¯t know where the entrance is, and what kind of way it is managed, so first we¡¯ll collect information, I guess.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°I see. If it¡¯s like that, then in cases like these, isn¡¯t it a standard to go to a bar?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa, with his knowledge of games and manga, said so for some reason.

    ¡°A bar? Is it that?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Well, but our appearances are that of children¡¯s, aren¡¯t they? Going is fine, but what will the female bar owner do? She¡¯ll say things like ¡®go to another ce for milk¡¯¡ª¡ªthere¡¯s a lot!¡± (Hanakawa)

    On the street, there were signs lined up with things like beer mugs, alcohol bottles, and barrels were drawn on them that just screamed ¡®We¡¯re bars, really!¡¯.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t there too many bars!? Well, for now, I guess we¡¯ll try to go?¡± (Hanakawa)

    There was nothing like a ¡®criteria to choose from¡¯, so they had no choice but to go to a nearby ce. He might¡¯ve gotten involved with a hoodlum if he went with just a little girl, but this girl was the Devil¡¯s kin. Hanakawa also made his way to the bar with aposed mood.

    ¡°Wee! Is it for two peoplee?¡± (Waitress)

    A waitress called out to them willingly. It appeared that they didn¡¯t turn people away, even if it was these two people.

    They were guided to a table, so Hanakawa ordered randomly. Hanakawa had also lived for a long time in this world. He understood what preferable things woulde out if he ordered in this sort of establishment.

    ¡°This is my first timeing to a bar, but what to do for the information gathering?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Hmm? Come to think of it, what should we do. How about pricking up our ears and listening to the surrounding conversations, or something like that?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Haa¡­¡­you said it full of confidence, so I thought ¡®maybe he has a good idea or something¡¯. Hey, Miss. I have something I¡¯d like to ask a little about.¡± (Lute)

    Lute called a waitress to a halt.

    ¡°Oo! What a natural girl voice! It¡¯s a feat that I can¡¯t possibly imitate!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°There¡¯s so many people today, is there a festival or something?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Hey! Did you listen to a person¡¯s conversation!? If it¡¯s from the scale of this town, this much is norma¡ª¡ª¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Indeed there is~! They¡¯re saying the sage candidates reached the fifthyer of hell! Even though threeyers was the reached limit, it¡¯s fiveyers suddenly a few days after they started capturing! It¡¯s been stagnating for a millennium, and there¡¯s a festival already from the capture of hell advancing.¡± (Waitress)

    ¡°Wh-, what did you say!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Lute stared at Hanakawa with a proud face as if to say ¡®How¡¯s that¡¯.

    ¡°So it¡¯s a special procurement, a special procurement! Look, it¡¯s our gracious sage candidates! They also came to our store today!¡± (Waitress)

    ¡°Haa!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa looked the direction the waitress was pointing. Over there, were three people wearing uniforms he recognized.

    Ushio Shinya, Munakata Keiichi, and Yatate Mitsuo. He noticed they were in a group often, even at school.

    They, who only talked about eroge, and Hanakawa were treated the same by their ssmates, but they didn¡¯t really interact with each other. There were also things like ¡®difference in hobbies¡¯, but it was because they treated him as an idiot, even calling him a disgusting otaku.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be joking. I wondered if they¡¯d end up doing it, but how many times will they cry ¡®gay¡¯!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Hanakawa?¡± (Lute)

    He suddenly remembered his quarrel with them and got angry, but if it was from Lute, it seemed to be too cryptic.

    ¡°This is bad! I¡¯ll be found by them! What should I do!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa decided to run away suddenly from them in that case. He was to shamed to meet them now.

    ¡°Somehow, huh¡­¡­whatever.¡± (Lute)

    Lute waved his hand lightly.

    ¡°I used a recognition obstruction of the extent that those guys won¡¯t notice for some reason.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine with such a degree?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°When trying to do things like hiding your figurepletely, it¡¯s hard to be consistent.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°You being proud that you¡¯re the Devil¡¯s kin is surprisingly dull.¡± (Hankawa)

    ¡°How about I throw you in front of them, then? ¡­Don¡¯t try to prostrate yourself! If you do such a thing now, your at-great-pains disguise will be ruined!¡± (Lute)

    Lute stopped Hanakawa after seeing him move to try to prostrate himself.

    ¡°Fufu~! But, if you said ¡®they won¡¯t notice¡¯! Then it¡¯d be best to get closer and try to listen to their conversation? Doesn¡¯t it look like they¡¯ve gone to hell!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That¡¯s righ¡ª¡ªno, it looks a bit strange.¡± (Lute)

    Lute once again stopped Hanakawa, who was trying to stand up.

    When he looked in the direction of the three people, there was a girl concealed in a hood was standing nearby.

    ***

    ¡°What is it, that bastard Takatou! Appearing suddenly in the middle and nabbing the beautiful girls of the ss, what bullsheettt!¡± (Ushio)

    The one who was throwing outins while drunk was Ushio Shinya¡ªthe eroge master.

    ¡°Every night, Ninomiya-san, Carol, and Dannoura-san disappear somewhere. It¡¯s something enviable, dammittt!¡± (Keiichi)

    Who replied to him was Munakata Keiichi¡ªthe eroge meister. He¡¯d also opened many bottles of alcohol. It would be a problem if it was in Japan, but from when they¡¯de to this world, it had reached the point that most of the students were drinking alcohol.

    ¡°That guy does whatever, doeeeesssn¡¯t he. He¡¯s just summoned to areas with bugs asionalllyy. Ushio ys more of an active role, right? Why areeeen¡¯t we poprrr!¡± (Yatate)

    Yatate Mitsuo¡ªthe eroge enthusiast¡ªalso agreed. They had a good rtionship since they were in Japan.

    ¡°That¡¯s, well¡­¡­it¡¯s because we¡¯re called the three eroge aristocrats¡­¡­how will we be popr with such a thing!¡± (Ushio)

    ¡°But, why just us! I liked it and it didn¡¯t be such an abilityyy!¡± (Keiichi)

    Ushio was angry, and Munakata also downed his beer mug.

    ¡°Though your likes and preferences are reflected in your abilityyy, everyone thinks we want to do things like stop time and do ero things, or want to look through clothes, or be a transparent person and invade the changing rooms, or entwine them with tentaclesss! Only us are viewed as garbage by the girls!¡± (Yatate)

    ¡°No, not the tentacle.¡± (Ushio)

    ¡°No. Only that is a little different.¡± (Keiichi)

    ¡°Whattt!?¡± (Yatate)

    Only Yatate was denied, and raised a moan as if he didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Well, you guys have it better. You can enjoy yourselves secretly.¡± (Ushio)

    Ushio said jealously.

    Their abilities couldn¡¯t be used towards their ssmates. However, there were no problems other than that.

    ¡°Well. I¡¯ve been looking at a waitress¡¯s entire body for a while now like licking her all over.¡± (Keiichi)

    Munakata¡¯s ability was to be transparent, and he also had an x-ray ability. He could look through things and see freely.

    ¡°My tentacles can¡¯t be used secretly either. Ah, I don¡¯t do such an appalling thing? It¡¯s enjoying the sense of feeling a little bit at most.¡± (Yatate)

    Yatate was able to grow a tentacle in any spot, and the tentacle¡¯s feeling was synced with the ability user.

    ¡°On that point, my time stop seems to be useless other than for crimes.¡± (Ushio)

    Ushio¡¯s time stoppage was ¡®to stop the movements of the target¡¯. It was very helpful in battle, but it wasn¡¯t too suited for secretly doing erotic things. Due to itpletely restraining things in the state they were stopped in, it only felt like you were stroking stone on the ces touched.

    ¡°No, whatever. It isn¡¯t using the abilities or whatever. Don¡¯t oppose the girls of the ss. Ordinarily, you go to the sex industry thing, donnnn¡¯t you? There seems to be such a corrode in the town?¡± (Ushio)

    ¡°Ha? No, if the girls know that, won¡¯t we be seen as even more garbage?¡± (Keiichi)

    ¡°Anyway, they think ¡®they¡¯re garbage perverts¡¯, so it doesn¡¯t matterrrr anymore. There¡¯s money, and we¡¯re hero-samas while capturing hell? Aren¡¯t we popr?¡± (Yatate)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­that¡¯s right! Those ssmates don¡¯t matter!¡± (Ushio)

    They hit it off with each other, and made a toast. When they were drinking more alcohal, they noticed that someone was standing motionless beside them.

    ¡°Good evening. You¡¯re sage candidates, right?¡± (???)

    It was a young woman. Even though she came with a cloak with a hood attached, they knew from both her voice and figure.

    The three people brightened.

    ¡°Oi oi, as I thought, aren¡¯t us heroes poprrr?¡± (Yatate)

    ¡°Right~? There¡¯s no reason beings outside the norm like us can¡¯t be popr~. Usually it¡¯s somethinging from a woman~.¡± (Ushio)

    ¡°Eh? But¡­¡­¡± (Keiichi)

    Munakata tried to use x-ray, and noticed an abnormality.

    ¡ºAbility use towards a ssmate is contrary to the oath, is that okay?¡»1

    The oath skill of Akino Sora. They were under that influence, and would die if they vited the oath. However, it didn¡¯t mean that a question and answer was useless, and a warning was disyed like this.

    The woman took off her hood. What appeared was a face they knew.

    Ayaka Shinozaki.

    The students were viewed as sage candidates, but it was the girl who was left behind on the sightseeing bus as a lure.

    ¡°You were alive as well?¡­¡­¡± (Ushio)

    While they were ovee with surprise, Ayaka stretched out her left hand, and grabbed Ushio¡¯s wrist.

    ¡°Caught you.¡± (???->Ayaka)

    Ayaka sweetly smiled. And, struck Ushio¡¯s face with her right hand. Ushio fell, and the table was blown off shily, but Ayaka didn¡¯t release the hand she¡¯d grabbed. She got on him like a horse rider, and struck his face again.

    The inside of the bar suddenly became noisy.

    But, perhaps this much was a regr urence, as the bar¡¯s customers just stirred up fiercly with a look of onlooking watchers.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± (Yatate)

    When Yatate shouted, several tentacles smeared in mucus grew around Ayaka.

    Ability use on ssmates was banned, but it didn¡¯t apply to those exerting violence on a ssmate.

    The tentacles entangled Ayaka.

    But, Ayaka didn¡¯t stop those movements. Not caring at all, she kept striking Ushio while tearing off the tentacles.

    ¡°GYAA!¡± (Yatate)

    Yayate raised a scream and crouched. The tentacles¡¯ sense of pain was linking with his real body, and he¡¯d be tormented with hellish pain if they were torn off or something.

    ¡°Wh-what are you! Why are you doing such a thing!¡± (Munakata)

    Munakata¡¯s transparency was suited for surprise attacks, but it wasn¡¯t helpful in a setting like this.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided on revenge, you know?¡± (Ayaka)

    While saying so, Ayaka continued striking Ushio disinterestedly.

    ¡°What are you doing, Ushio! Stop that person!¡± (Munakata)

    ¡°I-, I¡¯ve been, trying, Buu¡ª¡ª¡± (Ushio)

    He stopped mid sentence and she struck him even more.

    ¡°Such a thing doesn¡¯t pass on a dragon, you know?¡± (Ayaka)

    The bar¡¯s customers had been stirred up at first, but they lost words at the gruesomeness of that.

    On the other hand, they couldn¡¯t even go in to stop it. They¡¯d be killed if they went in to stop it. If you saw that ghastly situation, it was natural to think that.

    Only the sound of Ushio being struck resounded in the quiet bar.

    After a while, Ushio didn¡¯t even twitch.

    Ayaka stopped her hands which were striking him atst, and stood up. Her hands were bloodstained.

    ¡°Now, Munakata-kun?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Y-, yes!¡± (Keiichi)

    ¡°I will kill one person at a time after this, so drink while being scared as much as possible, okay? I wonder if you¡¯ll tell that to every one of the ss. Ah, that¡¯s right. He¡¯ll be revived or something if his corpse remains¡­is it?¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka turned her right hand towards the unmoving Ushio. When she recited something, the bar¡¯s floor¡ªincluding Ushio¡¯s body¡ªdisappeared.

    ¡°Since I¡¯ll do this all by myself.¡± (Ayaka)

    With those words as a cue, the customers of the bar ran away like a spider¡¯s children scattering.

    ***

    ¡°Wh-why¡¯d she do that!? That is! Ayaka-tan, I thought she was a rich girl character, but before I knew it she¡¯s like that!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa was taken aback at Ayaka¡¯s sudden atrocity.

    ¡°Well~, that¡¯s amazing~.¡± (Lute)

    Lute was admiring her. Ayaka seemed to be something considerable, even if seen from a Devil¡¯s kin.

    ¡°Judging from the situation a little while ago, she looks very angry that she was left on the bus. Then, I have a feeling that I¡¯m a target as well!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Heehh. Is that right?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°¡®Is that right?¡¯ What will you do if she kills me!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I said I won¡¯t kill you, so I¡¯ll keep that promise, but I don¡¯t know about someone else killing you.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Eh? Um, about information on Yogiri Takatou? Look, if I¡¯m not there, you don¡¯t know who Yogiri is, do you?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Those guys from before are friends of the sage candidates, are they not? Then, if I ask them, it¡¯s a done story.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°It¡¯s like thaat! No, um, even if you say that, I feel like we¡¯ve been friends for some reason in our journey so far, will you endure me dying by such a thing! What will kill you will be this me! There¡¯s a feeling like that, there¡¯s a feeling like Lute was tied with Ayaka-tan and¡ºFu~, my journey with you was surprisingly good¡­¡­¡», you know!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°There¡¯s not something like that at all.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°There isss!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Though he said such a thing, Hanakawa, thinking ¡®moving poorly is bad¡¯, was motionless

    Whether or not Ayaka was satisfied with killing Ushio first, she left the bar immediately.

    ¡°W-, well, if it¡¯s information collecting, shall we go to another store for now?¡± (Lute)

    There were no customers, the shop assistants were in a state of absent-mindedness, and there was no use in staying here.

    Hanakawa and Lute also tried to leave the store slowly, but a new customer entered there.

    ¡°Oh my, did something happen?¡± (???)

    What entered was a beautiful woman wearing a white dress, and she looked around the shop seemingly interested.

    And, her eyes met with Hanakawa¡¯s.

    ¡°Oh, the recognition obstruction didn¡¯t pass.¡± (Lute)

    Lute said, seemingly in curiosity.

    ¡°Are you Hanakawa-san? Good evening. I¡¯m called Shion the sage, do you remember me?¡± (???->Shion)

    At the premonition of continuous trouble, Hanakawa looked like he¡¯d scream.

 Chapter 17 - I, have a methodical personality which likes to keep things tidy and in order.

    <h4>Chapter 17 - I, have a methodical personality which likes to keep things tidy and in order.</h4>

    ¡°Yes, I am definitely Hanakawa, and I remember Sage-sama well. Then, I¡¯m being impolite now!¡± (Hanakawa)

    She came to a bar where no one else was, found Hanakawa, and was talking to him. There wasn¡¯t much meaning in deceiving her.

    So, Hanakawa answered for now, and bet on the possibility that she saw him by chance and spoke to him.

    ¡°Oh, where are you going?¡± (Shion)

    But, it seemed that he¡¯d lost the bet. As he thought, she expressly came all the way here with a goal¡ªHanakawa.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see. We¡¯re, um, investigating about hell beforehand. Look, the shop¡¯s in such a state, so how about we talk in another sho¡ª¡ª¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Aah. If it¡¯s like that, then I¡¯ll tell you. If it¡¯s just asking about that, I think it¡¯s possible for me to answer.¡± (Shion)

    Saying so, Shion walked briskly in the store¡¯s interior which held no people, and involuntarily sat down at a random table. She probably wasn¡¯t even thinking things like ¡®Hanakawa will run away¡¯.

    ¡°We can escape with a dash in this gap¡ª¡ª¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Fool. Stop.¡± (Lute)

    ¡®Or if we go outside and slip into the crowd of people¡¯. Hanakawa thought that, but Lute wasn¡¯t optimistic.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be good if we harm that sort of humorous mood. We have no choice but to take a seat for now.¡± (Lute)

    Lute¡¯s expression was stiffening as he said so.

    ¡°¡­¡­perhaps, you can¡¯t win?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Eeeeh? Despite calling yourself things like a Devil¡¯s kin and looking proud of it, you cannot win against one woman like thisss?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Why are you agitating me even in a scene like this¡­¡­I¡¯m not overestimating myself. The case of the existence is too different; nothing can be done.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°What!? Th-, then hasn¡¯t my n of directing the sage Shion-sama VS the eloquent Devil¡¯s Kin Lute-dono been ruined!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°You¡­¡­what are you doing, trying to drag me in nonchntly. I have no connection at all, you know?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Um, your sympathy did not well up? Is it not like¡ºDammiiiit! I¡¯ve made a blunder! I¡¯ll protect you like this somehow¡­¡­live on¡­¡­¡»!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Well. My objective is to revive the younger sister god, and to defeat my Lord¡¯s enemy. I don¡¯t have the time to be concerned with extraneous things.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Uuuu¡­¡­b-, but, it¡¯s only ¡®sage-sama came to meet us¡¯, so maybe it¡¯s not something to be so pessimistic about¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    But, Hanakawa remembered that Shion killed the bus driver without a big significance.

    In other words, what touched her imperial wrath wasn¡¯t known at all. Even just having a conversation with Shion was dangerous.

    So, making Shion wait any longer than this wasn¡¯t a good n. Hanakawa reluctantly sat at the table where Shion was.

    He timidly started at Shion. She was smiling, but he didn¡¯t know anything like her true feelings.

    While thinking about what he should do, Lute sat next to Hanakawa.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. When I was thinking ¡®you¡¯re my friend¡¯, I just thought ¡®there was a possibility I¡¯d be attacked even if I tried to run away.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Is this the thing called ¡®tsundere¡¯! Even if you don¡¯t have a penis now, it¡¯s not OK at all!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa¡¯s eyes brightened, and he looked at Lute.

    ¡°If you say unnecessary things, I¡¯ll really go alone, though?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°I¡¯m seriously sorry. Thank you very much.¡± (Hanakawa)

    He¡¯d be troubled if he was left alone here, so Hanakawa thanked him a lot.

    ¡°Um, the conceited me is checking because I can¡¯t arbitrarily assume it, but p-, perhaps, you came to meet me or something like that?¡± (Hanakawa)

    Shion seemed to be waiting, so Hanakawa spoke.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I came to meet Hanakawa-san because I wanted to ask about Yogiri Takatou-san.¡± (Shion)

    That said, Hanakawa started talking about Yogiri on the spot.

    The ability he witnessed, the story he heard from the person himself, the events which probably happened at the tower. He spat out everything he found out at once without hiding anything.

    ¡°I see. ¡®Perceiving killing intent¡¯ is something I¡¯m hearing for the first time.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Hey. What do you n to do to Yogiri Takatou?¡± (Lute)

    Lute asked.

    Yogiri Takatou was also a target for him. The sage¡¯s movements was probably a part he worried about.

    ¡°Now. What will be done is troublesome. I think that those who were dealt with quickly can¡¯t be future problems and they can seemingly be used in various ways.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything. I¡¯ll kill Yogiri Takatou.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Hey! Lute-dono! A thing like that to a sage is!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Even if you say so. I cannot even imagine what an underling of the Devil¡ªwho was killed by Takatou-san¡ªcan do.¡± (Shion)

    Shion wasn¡¯t agitating him, it was an attitude of just pure wonder.

    ¡°What!¡± (Lute)

    Lute stood up.

    ¡°A, aaaah, unexpectedly, the Kin VS the sage will be realized, but if it¡¯s done in such a ce then I¡¯ll also get dragged into it! So, peacefully! Continue peacefully!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Aah. I won¡¯t do such a pointless thing.¡± (Shion)

    However, Shion didn¡¯t seem willing to do it. Hanakawa tried to feel relieved, and solidified there.

    Shion¡¯s right hand was turned towards Hanakawa.

    ¡°Eh, um, this is?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I heard the story from start to finish, and wondered if Hanakawa-san had no use anymore.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Um, I¡¯m finding it difficult to understand, but even if I have no uses, you don¡¯t need to kill me? Look, I¡¯m a sage candidate.¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°But you were moving independently, and you don¡¯t feel like bing a sage, right? I, have a methodical personality which likes to keep things tidy and in order. I feel stress at unneeded things remaining.¡± (Shion)

    Shion smiled sweetly.

    ¡°Haha~. If you limit dealing with unneeded things quickly, it¡¯s something called ¡®detachment¡¯¡­¡­nu!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Shion¡¯s right hand shone.

    Hanakawa thought ¡®I died¡¯ and closed his eyes.

    Bechari.

    However, what he felt was neither hell fire heat, nor pain like his body was being torn apart.

    It was something warm and it was slimy.

    Hanakawa opened his eyes timidly. His entire body was covered in fresh cream.

    ¡°What is it all of a sudden, you!¡± (Lute)

    Lute revealed his anger. It seemed that Lute was defending Hanakawa.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s interesting. I thought ¡®if it¡¯s just Hanakawa-san, then I should burn him with a suitable heat ray¡¯, but I didn¡¯t think it would change into something like fresh cream.2 But well, if you know that th¡ª¡ª¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Wa-, wait a moment please! Hell! Yes, it was a conversation of ¡®you were teaching us about hell¡¯!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Aah! Ipletely forgot!¡± (Shion)

    Shion¡¯s face was one of staring in puzzlement. It seemed she had really forgotten.

    ¡°So, what would you like to hear?¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s right, things like where the entrance of hell is, it¡¯s things of such a degree.¡± (Hanakawa)

    Perhaps he should have dyed the conversation a bit more, but Hanakawa, who was just exposed to a crisis of his life, didn¡¯t have that muchposure. All he could do was just keep talking like this.

    ¡°If it¡¯s inside of this city, I think you¡¯ll happen to catch sight of entrances frequently. Please try to buy a ticket at a bar.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°What?¡± (Hanakawa)

    A ticket. Hanakawa was puzzled at the entrance of a word he¡¯d never thought he¡¯d hear.

    ¡°Hell has restricted entry. As bars are ticket windows, they sell entry tickets so please try to purchase the appropriate one.¡± (Shion)

    It appeared that there were numerous entrances to hell, and each seemed to have its own characteristics. The prices of the tickets were also varied.

    Perhaps Shion finished the story with that, as she stood up.

    ¡°Ah, um, I may be stirring up a hos nest, but am I okay?¡± (Hanakawa)

    That Hanakawa dared to ask something he didn¡¯t need to ask, may be his character.

    ¡®That¡¯s right. Expressly informing you about hell and killing you, there¡¯s no worth in informing you.¡± (Shion)

    Saying so, Shion left.

    If trying to kill him was a whim, it seemed that not killing him was a whim as well.

    Lute *thud* sat down on the chair. He didn¡¯t have even a small amount ofposure on that face, and it looked like his cold sweats didn¡¯t stop.

    ¡°Dammmiiiit! What is that guy! She¡¯s too unreasonable, I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking about at all!¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Uuu¡­¡­someone like me is covered in fresh cream, what the heck is enjoyable about it¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa sighed at something not worth worrying about.

    ***

    The capture of hell was done by groups of sage candidates in shifts throughout the day.

    The capture party advanced during the day, and exterminating the surrounding monsters. At night, the defense party was in charge of continuing to secure the base made inside hell.

    Tomochika was engaging inbat with monsters in group one, which was the capture party.

    Yogiri spent most of his time absent-mindedly at the mansion. He was just requested to participate when bug killing was needed asionally.

    After the attack team returns above ground they had free time, and were doing whatever they liked.

    So, when it was night, Yogiri and others decided to gather to understand the current situation. The ce was the hotel room they had secured before meeting their ssmates.

    Who gathered were the four who knew about Yogiri¡¯s ability: Yogiri, Tomochika, Ryouko, and Carol, but it seemed questionable rumors were also being made.

    ¡°Takatou-kun, what are you doing during the day?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Hmm? There¡¯s not really anything to do, so I y games and read books.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Uu¡­¡­what¡¯s this feeling like I¡¯m not fully satisfied¡­¡­even though I¡¯ve been killing and crushing demons brutally¡­¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Despite Tomochika fighting at the foremost line, she didn¡¯t really grasp that Yogiri was taking the gentle slope.

    ¡°No, Takatou-kun not doing anything is the best, yeah! Please try your best to not be doing anything in this situation continuously as you are now!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Ninomiya-san, don¡¯t rmend such things like Pooh-san. What will he do from now on if he leaves society?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Hahaha~! Isn¡¯t something like leaving society forced already~?¡± (Carol)

    As Carol said, Tomochika and others had already been thrown out of this parallel world¡¯s society. Like when they were under the protection of adults in Japan, it was a situation where they couldn¡¯t be carefree.

    ¡°I will look after you! Takatou-kun doesn¡¯t need to do anything! I¡¯ll prepare all the necessities in life and prepare all of the environment so you don¡¯t have to do anything!¡± (Ryouko)

    ¡°Ninomiya-san, what are you saying!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be a himo, right? As expected, that¡¯s rejected.¡± (Yogiri)

    Even to Yogiri, Ryouko¡¯s energy drew back some, and Tomochika felt a little relieved. She thought if it was Yogiri, it was difficult to say things like ¡®it¡¯s easy if I don¡¯t have to do anything¡¯.

    ¡®So, what about the capture of hell?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Currently we are at the edge of the fifthyer, so tomorrow will be from the sixthyer.¡± (Ryouko)

    For the sage candidates, capturing hell wasn¡¯t all that difficult.

    Basically, they just advanced inside towards the center.

    They grasped the path with things like Munakata¡¯s x-ray ability, and moved to the edge of theyer with the shortest path.

    First, with the material they brought there, they made a base. Even things at the level of shacks weren¡¯t things that amateurs could make easily, but what was there were sage candidates with convenient abilities. The person who had the skill carpenter made them just like that with the construction skill.

    And, what supported their rush was the transporter ss. There was a skill in the ss called door-to-door, which made it possible to directly connect a door to a building¡¯s door and transfer spaces.

    If they had these two sses, the need to search for the entrance and exit to the nextyers disappeared.

    The buildings they made could only strengthened and dropped from the edge of theyer. There was risk when moving through theyer for the first time, but by searching for the entrance and exit honest to a fault, they couldn¡¯t do things like go to the nextyer no matter how much time passed.

    Although they could shorten their movements betweenyers with this method, that it was crawling with monster didn¡¯t change. The monsters became stronger the lower theyer they went to was, and their capture speed was slowing down.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be very soon if the Devil is in the seventhyer, but is it such a simple thing?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Hmm, but the deadline of one month said at first is soon, so it¡¯ll be just barely~.¡± (Carol)

    Yogiri was doubtful, but Carol seemed to be optimistic.

    ¡°Even if we fail, if that ¡®Shion¡¯ guy appears before us, it¡¯s fine with that.¡± (Yogiri)

    If she appeared, it would be when they reached the deadline. Yogiri appeared to be thinking that.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know~. She said something like ¡®if you fail, you¡¯ll be livestock which has their magical power squeezed out¡¯, but I wonder if she¡¯ll do such a troubling thing~.¡± (Carol)

    Carol said that, but Tomochika thought them being left alone even if the deadline passed was looking at it too optimistically.

    ¡°And, the matter of an eroge person dying?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yes. Ushio-san being killed seems to be true. Munakata-san and Yatate-san¡¯s testimonies were unclear, but from the testimonies of the customers in the same bar, it seems there¡¯s hardly a mistake. And, Munakata-san and Yatate-san said that Shinozaki-san is the culprit. She also dered ¡®I¡¯ll kill one person at a time for revenge¡¯.¡± (Ryouko)

    Ryouko reported.

    Ushio¡¯s death was taken seriously among their ssmates. It was because, until now, there hadn¡¯t been any casualties appear among those who moved together.

    ¡°Eh? But, Shinozaki-san was dead, wasn¡¯t she?¡± (Tomochika)

    Ayaka Shinozaki was one of the four people left on the bus.

    The one who received the dragon¡¯s attack first was her, and arge hole was opened up in her chest.

    It wasn¡¯t that Tomochika confirmed her death, but she simply couldn¡¯t imagine that she could live with that.

    ¡°She was dead.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri had the two people who had copsed inside the bus sit in the seats. He could probably say it with more confidence than Tomochika.

    Then, what kind of thing was it?

    Tomochika tried to think about it, but she didn¡¯t understand it in the slightest.

 Chapter 18 - Fat â€˜humansâ€™ can live for quite a while, canâ€™t they?

    <h4>Chapter 18 - Fat ¡®humans¡¯ can live for quite a while, can¡¯t they?</h4>

    Ayaka Shinozaki, who was wandering the town at night aimlessly, was regretting a little that her behavior¡ªwhich was like that of a deration of war¡ªmight have been bad.

    They were famous, so if she got information somewhere properly, she¡¯d confirm the shops they hung around and things like that easily.

    Ushio and others were found doing so, but since she killed the first person, it¡¯d reach the point that her ssmates would hold back in going out.

    The town was excessively spacious. If it became like that, they couldn¡¯t be found so easily.

    ¡ºThe extent of their strength is known. Their headquarters is known, so should we attack?¡»

    Those referred to as sage candidates came and were capturing hell as a trial, and they were treated as guests in the royal castle.

    She knew that much by the town¡¯s rumors.

    ¡°Won¡¯t that spoil my n to make them fear death by visiting eventually?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºNo. It isn¡¯t the case that their full particrs are clear. I think you should continue with caution still.¡»

    ¡ºBy aiming for and killing one person, isn¡¯t a mysterious cutthroat method better? If they know they are targets, they won¡¯t take a stroll like an idiot.¡»

    ¡ºEven now, I propose you should stop actions like these.¡»

    ¡°Is that right.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºOoh! Will you ept the proposal?¡»

    ¡°I wonder if I should go to their headquarters after all. And how about killing just one person and returning?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºEven if that passes, isn¡¯t it only to the first person? If they know their headquarters is exposed, they¡¯ll run away and change their base.¡»

    ¡ºIt¡¯s fine to take revenge, but what if you kill everyone else? You¡¯ll have to take their time until then?¡»

    ¡ºIt¡¯d be nice if there was some way to know their whereabouts easily.¡»

    ¡ºCan¡¯t they be tracked by their smell or something like that?¡»

    ¡ºThe uracy of recognition increases if the limiter of the sense of smell is removed, but the number of receptors for the sense of smell itself doesn¡¯t change. There¡¯s probably not that much of a point in doing so.¡»

    ¡ºAnd something magical?¡»

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. Individual identification with the soul would be possible, but it¡¯s necessary to meet them once and memorize the soul for that.¡»

    ¡ºThen, we should go to their headquarters after all. For now, we should go around looking for ssmates like usual. If we do that then it¡¯s possible to catch them anywhere.¡»

    ¡®I may be going crazy after all.¡¯ Ayaka suddenly considered such a thing.

    The distinction between herself and each unit was unclear, and there were times she didn¡¯t really know who was talking.

    Perhaps, the things like units might be delusions. She considered it as far as such a thing.

    But, such faint thoughts were erased by the strong stimulus that jolted her brain.

    ¡ºWhat was that just now!¡»

    ¡ºAn impact on the head. It didn¡¯t prate the dragon scales, but it couldn¡¯t be absorbedpletely.¡»

    ¡ºA slight cerebral concussion is urring.¡»

    Her line of sight was drawn to something rolling on the ground. A rock about the size of a clenched fist. That had directly hit Ayaka¡¯s head.

    ¡ºAre you an idiot! Release the human body simtion and things like that!¡»

    ¡°As I thought, I¡¯m not human, huh.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡®My dizziness was reduced rapidly¡¯, Ayaka thought so again. The current situation wasn¡¯t a delusion or something after all.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s a sniping!¡»

    ¡ºWhere from!¡»

    ¡ºNorth east, 30 degrees! It¡¯sing again!¡»

    She looked in the direction the unit designated.

    Three stones simr to the one from not long ago were flying towards her.

    Ayaka dodged one. It directly hit someone behind her, and they were showily blown off while spraying blood.

    Whether or not the aim of the two after arched, it resulted in the head of a passerby in front of her exploding showily.

    ¡ºThe sniping point was specified.¡»

    ¡°Okay. Then, let¡¯s go, I guess. Dragon Wings¡± (Ayaka)

    She emitted the dragonnguage, and manifested the general idea of floating called Dragon Wings.

    Ayaka¡¯s body floated lightly, and arrived at the target instantly.

    It was a rooftop of a high-rise building. A girl wearing a white dougi was standing there.

    Riona Shirayama. One of Ayaka¡¯s ssmates, and one of the targets she should kill.

    Riona was taken aback. She probably had never thought that she¡¯de to her side instantly like this. At her feet, a massive quantity of stones for sniping were scattered.

    ¡°Even if I say it, I wonder, is it fine to drag unrted people into it?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Ha~. I couldn¡¯t sleep in peace if I left you alone, I guess. If unrted people will get involved, it¡¯s fine to kill you.¡± (Riona)

    ¡°I see. It looks like your extremely self-centered. It¡¯s a thing like that, so even if you run away while using a ssmate as a decoy, you can make aposed face, am I right?¡± (Ayaka)

    She didn¡¯t intend to forgive her or something like that from the start, but as expected, she didn¡¯t even have a particle of room for sympathy.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have the nature of doing itpactly from such a long distance originally. I¡¯ll attack with kicks after all!¡± (Riona)

    Saying so, Riona took a stance. Ayaka remembered that she was doing karate. The appearance of a ck belt in a white dougi was something of karate.

    ¡ºA kind that advocates karatebat, eh? A thing like this is nothing but a sham kickboxing.¡»

    ¡°Oh my, battle unit-san is surprisingly bitter.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Oraa!¡± (Riona)

    Riona struck her.

    Ayaka didn¡¯t avoid it.

    Upper, middle, lower. Her fists, a foot knife, and elbows were striking her in a sh, but Ayaka kept receiving them without moving.

    She had been unprepared some time ago, but it was like this as long as she was prepared.

    ¡°Dammiiiiit!¡± (Riona)

    Whether or not she thought ¡®I¡¯m making no progress¡¯, Riona took distance temporarily.

    ¡°How high is your strength among the ss?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°If it¡¯s a hand-to-hand battle, then I¡¯m the strongesttt!¡± (Riona)

    While Riona shouted, a light covered her entire body as if she was burning.

    ¡°That is?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºA system rted ability? It feels like she¡¯s powered up, I think.¡»

    ¡°Not too useful information, huh. Dragon w¡± (Ayaka)

    It was troublesome to just wait for the opponent¡¯s power up, so Ayaka swung her hand as if she was brushing away a fly or something. It was an attack which conceptualized the ws of a dragon that tore up everything.

    The invisible impact that flew from Ayaka¡¯s five fingers severed space.

    ¡°Ah?¡± (Riona)

    Maybe she felt the impact which ran through her side, Riona emitted a stupid voice.

    A littleter, the rooftop shifted.

    The rooftop shifted and fell diagonally from right by Riona, and crashed into the ground while making a loud sound.

    And, Riona¡¯s arm *plop* fell.

    She screamed, and Ayaka approached the crouching Riona¡¯s side.

    ¡°Of course, I was able to directly hit you, but I¡¯ve decided to not kill you immediately. Please be afraid as much as possible.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka kicked Riona¡¯s abdomen. It was being strengthened with dragon scales, but there wasn¡¯t all that much power packed in it.

    ¡°Dammiiiiit!¡± (Riona)

    Even while crouching, Riona sent out her fist. Whether or not she finished powering up, it was a blow d in a red-hot aura, but even that didn¡¯t pass on Ayaka. Riona¡¯s fist couldn¡¯t go through the dragon scales.

    ¡°If you¡¯re the ¡®strongest hand-to-hand fighter¡¯ with this, the other people don¡¯t seem to be a big deal.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka stepped on Riona¡¯s left arm, and waved her right hand.

    ¡°Now. How about you beg for your life or something like that, I guess? Perhaps, I might change my mind?¡± (Ayaka)

    Of course, she didn¡¯t feel like asking for her to beg for her life or something like that. She was just anticipating to what extent she¡¯d unsightly paw at the ground.

    ¡°Fu, if only, if only I wasn¡¯t sealed, then it¡¯d be you! If only I could use rank four, then there¡¯s no way I¡¯d lose!¡± (Riona)

    ¡°Seal?¡± (Ayaka)

    She thought she might be making excuses, but Riona seemed to be thinking that seriously.

    ¡ºThere are ranks on the skills used in the system, but the seal of this ce seems to be something that lowers the ranks. Although, there¡¯s no effect on us who are based on dragonnguage magic.¡»

    ¡°On that subject, I wonder if it¡¯s your ability. Is something different if your rank is higher?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Riona)

    ¡°Dragon Fang¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Guuu!¡± (Riona)

    Ayaka invoked dragon fang on her foot. The invisible jaw bit at Riona¡¯s left arm.

    She slowly put strength into it, but didn¡¯t go as far as biting it off. She was threatening her at most.

    ¡°If you say your prided rank four is so strong, then you can inform me about it, right?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°All-ability doubling¡­¡­tenfold at rank one, a hundredfold at rank two¡­¡­if it¡¯s rank four, then it¡¯s ten thousandfold¡­¡­it is rank two right now¡­¡­¡± (Riona)

    ¡°I see. Certainly, ten thousandfold and a hundredfold arepletely different. I wonder, is there a way to solve that ¡®seal¡¯?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºording to the information obtained from the dragon people, it is due to the skill the royal family uses. So, you should deal with the user, I guess.¡»

    Ayaka lowered her brandished hand, and separated from Riona.

    ¡°Your making excuses wasn¡¯t useless. Then, without the seal, may we contest once again?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°What, are you saying¡­¡­¡± (Riona)

    Riona was taken aback. She probably couldn¡¯t immediately believe that she was saved.

    ¡ºIs it okay?¡»

    ¡°Yeah. If I meet her once, I can grasp her location with the ¡°seal¡±, can¡¯t I?¡± (Ayaka)

    If that was the case, it was possible to kill her whenever. Ayaka used dragon wings, and floated into the air.

    She looked around.

    Her the ce of destination¡ªroyal castle¡ªwas found immediately. It was because it was the biggest building, in the center of the royal capital.

    Ayaka took off towards the royal castle.

    **

    Hanakawa and Lute purchased tickets at a bar, and headed towards an entrance of hell.

    The entrance was close to the selling ce which sold them, so they arrived quickly without anything like losing their way in particr.

    The entrance was a cabin made of stone. Though small, it was a building high-ss, ornamented building.

    Handing over their tickets to the receptionist, they entered inside.

    In there was a spiral staircase leading to hell.

    ¡°However, is it true that the inside is one hundred forty kilometers in diameter? In that case, it¡¯ll jut out of the town, right? I have a feeling like I heard ¡®this town is here to suppress hell¡¯.¡± (Hanakawa)

    Hanakawa asked while going down the stairs.

    The royal capital was also an enormous town, but still, if it was ¡®diameter¡¯, it was probably about ten kilometers. It was a scale that simply couldn¡¯t cover all of hell.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t underground in this underground. It¡¯s hell, so it¡¯s probably natural. If it¡¯s just underground, then it¡¯s just an underground maze.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°You¡¯re quite right. Certainly, it is like that.¡± (Hanakawa)

    In other words, ¡®hell¡¯ was the underworld, and hell could only be reached through this city.

    After descending the staircase for a little while, it became a cave where a rocky surface was exposed.

    It was a cave, but the surroundings were sufficiently bright. It was because there were shining rods dotting the top part of the cave.

    ¡°This ce is the ¡®firstyer¡¯, huh. It¡¯s also my first timeing here, but, well, what should we do? Younger sister god is at the lowest level.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Ummm, the firstyer¡¯s width is ten kilometers, so it¡¯s about seventy meters to the middle part, right? And, the height of eachyer is one kilometer. Assuming the high of the firstyer is something like a measurement error, the depth of the seventhyer is about six meters¡­¡­I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any way we can struggle our way to such a thing!¡± (Hanakawa)

    Furthermore, the inside was like a maze. They would have to travel a distance more than they thought in a straight line distance.

    ¡°I was thinking ¡®if wee, we¡¯ll manage somehow¡¯. But well, we have no choice but to go.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Eh, no, wait a second! There¡¯s no way you¡¯re going to walk normally, are you!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to go. If you don¡¯t like it, then leave?¡± (Lute)

    Lute started walking briskly.

    ¡°No, in the first ce, I think I was taken around forcibly¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡®Perhaps if I ran away from here, he may not purposefully pursue me as far as outside hell.¡¯

    He thought so, but when he thought ¡®it may be something troublesome in the distant future¡¯, he thought twice about it. In the end, Hanakawa decided to follow behind Lute.

    ¡°Uuu¡­¡­there are things like monsters here, right? Won¡¯t we be attacked or something¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°They¡¯re cheap tickets, so there aren¡¯t too many in this area?¡± (Lute)

    No matter how many monsters appeared, there was a deviation in the distribution. The areas which had many monsters were popr, so to adjust it, the tickets were set at a high price.

    ¡°The ¡®monsters¡¯, they¡¯re the kin of Devil-sama here, right? Isn¡¯t there opposition to them being treated like resources?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Not in particr? There things which can kill humans, so they¡¯re dregs, or perhaps I should say, they¡¯re like fallen hair. Whatever happens to them doesn¡¯t matter.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°My hair falling or something in itself is¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°What a conversation!¡± (Lute)

    ¡°But, Devil-sama in this ce is a woman, right!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°What is it, was my way of speaking poor? Can I say things like dust and dandruff?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Fufufu~! Lute-dono doesn¡¯t seem to understand that the fetishism to excrete things is a major category!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°You are really disgusting¡­¡­¡± (Lute)

    Lute seemed to be quite shocked.

    ¡°By the way, do you know the way?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I¡¯m just advancing vaguely?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Hey! If you were advancing randomly like this, then we won¡¯t reach it no matter how much time passes! Moreover, we didn¡¯t even make decent preparations!¡± (Hanakawa)

    In this condition, assuming there were no disturbances of monsters, it would take many days to arrive at the central part. Hanakawa, who felt they¡¯d just peek inside for a bit, didn¡¯t have something decent.

    ¡°Hmm, well, fat ¡®humans¡¯ can live for quite a while, can¡¯t they?¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Agghh! It¡¯s a premise of ¡®there¡¯s no food¡¯!?¡± (Hanakawa)

    While moving forward while chattering about such things, they saw somethinging from the other side.

    It was the figure of a person. At least, it wasn¡¯t an amorphous monster.

    ¡°Is it an explorer?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°It¡¯s human-ish, so it seems to b¡ª¡ª¡± (Lute)

    But, Lute stopped mid sentence and froze.

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s the matter?¡± (Hanakawa)

    The figure of the person approached.

    It was a woman. The figure of a woman who didn¡¯t have horns nor wings growing.

    What was impressive was her long, ck hair. That long, glossy hair was reaching as far as her feet.

    Her appearance of just a thin cloth wrapped around her voluptuous body seemed to bescivious, but if expressed in words, it would be more appropriate than divine.

    ¡°Mana-sama¡­¡­why are you here¡­¡­¡± (Lute)

    Lute produced a voice as though he was being wrung out.

    ¡°You smelled of Ani-sama, so without being able to contain myself, I came here!¡± (Mana)

    ¡°I had expected a ¡®cool-type¡¯ feeling, but it¡¯s nicely light!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°D-, don¡¯t be stupid! Pay attention to your words!¡± (Lute)

    Lute, who had frozen, regained himself.

    ¡°Only Lute-chan? Well, I thought it would be like this, though.¡± (Mana)

    The woman called Mana said while looking around.

    ¡°Lute-dono. Um, by chance, this person is¡­¡­¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. She¡¯s the younger sister god we came to meet.¡± (Lute)

    ¡°Ha? No no no, you said ¡®she¡¯s sealed at the lowest level¡¯, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°I also thought it was like that, but¡­¡­¡± (Lute)

    Lute looked like he couldn¡¯t believe it either.

    ¡°I can go anywhere if it¡¯s inside this even with the seal, and I can go outside whenever if I think ¡®let¡¯s leave¡¯, though?¡± (Mana)

    ¡°Yes?¡± (Lute)

    The Devil mana readily said something that overthrew everything assumed.

 Interlude - Then, shall we try raising the degree of difficulty?

    <h4>Interlude - Then, shall we try raising the degree of difficulty?</h4>

    Trante: Thy Unsus, ED: Thy Unsus

    A building which was quietly on a plot ofnd of the royal capital.

    That ce was one of Shion¡¯s above ground bases.

    That the building was a sage¡¯s base was kept secret. It was because there were also those who opposed the sages. There wasn¡¯t something like a person who could oppose the sages, but on the other hand, receiving attacks would be a troubling story.

    Inside of that house. Shion was rxing in the extravagant living room.

    She was lying untidily on the sofa.

    In front of the sofa, Y¨­ichi¡ªa follower of the sages¡ªwas standing

    ¡°The sage candidate¡¯s capture of hell has reached the sixthyer. If it¡¯s this trend, it¡¯s probably just a matter of time before they reach the seventhyer.¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    ¡°Is that right. It being too easy is troublesome.¡± (Shion)

    It didn¡¯t mean that Shion was saying ¡®capture hell and kill the Devil¡¯ or something like that, it was to obstruct the Empire¡¯s invasion while thinking ¡®for the sake of humanity¡¯.

    That was difficult, and it was appointed only because achieving it was close to impossible. Just achieving it had no meaning.

    Even though they had the nature as a sage, their ability still had some way to go. They had to suffer more, be cornered, and awaken it.

    ¡°Then, shall we try raising the degree of difficulty? Let¡¯s try to hinder them a little.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°No, killing the Devil itself shouldn¡¯t be easy¡­¡­¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    Y¨­ichi knit his brows. He probably thought ¡®I¡¯m thinking about something worthless¡¯.

    ¡°And, a deceased appeared in the sage candidates. The death itself isn¡¯t very unusual, but the circumstances are strange.¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    ¡°And, what was said?¡± (Shion)

    ¡°He was killed inside of the city. Apparently, someone seems to be aiming at them. It¡¯s said that the student called Ayaka Shinozaki is the culprit, but this is a student who was left on the bus.¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    They who were left on the bus were those who failed to install the system.

    She induced him to do so, and Shion confirmed it was like that.

    ¡°Among the four people who were left on the bus, three were alive, huh. If that¡¯s the case, the fourth person is a point of concern.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Aah. We went to look at the bus. The corpse of the male student was left inside of the bus. We collected it just to be sure, and disposed of the bus as well.¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    ¡°Is that so. We should be cautious towards the ones who fail to install it from now on.¡± (Shion)

    Fundamentally, an instation failure was only a problem of affinity, and it urred on several people each time. There hadn¡¯t been any problems in particr so far, but if problems caused by the failures urred in session, vignce would be necessary.

    ¡°Don¡¯t we need to deal with that guy?¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    ¡°If she is moving towards her ssmates with the goal of revenge, we should leave her alone. It¡¯s perfect if the difficulty level goes up because of her.¡± (Shion)

    ¡°So, what will you do with that boy after all?¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m hesitating still¡­¡­¡± (Shion)

    Yogiri Takatou¡¯s whereabouts were known, and she roughly heard about his ability from Hanakawa as well.

    She was thinking about several countermeasures, and she should be able to get rid of him with them, but she couldn¡¯t sweep away the fragments of eerieness.

    If there were no problems in particr, she also thought ¡®maybe I shouldn¡¯t make a move on him poorly¡¯.

    ¡°Sage killing is an obvious problem, is it not? I think we can¡¯t leave him alone.¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    ¡°But, it also can be said that ¡®if they seem to be killed, they were that extent¡¯. There¡¯s no problem if ability wasn¡¯t brought with it. Besides, if it¡¯s ¡®killing sages¡¯, then we need to deal with hedgehog as well.¡± (Shion)

    In the first ce, the origin was hedgehog. Apletely ck atypically, and des were growing on its entire body. The sages decreased due to that, so they summoned sage candidates to replenish the sages.

    Almost everything about hedgehog was a mystery, and they would have to advance the investigation regarding it as well. While she was thinking such things, there was a knocking noise from the door.

    ¡°What kind of thing is it?¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    Y¨­ichi was suspicious. It was because the other side of the door was a bedroom, so there shouldn¡¯t be anyone in there.

    ¡°I see. It¡¯s the transporter¡¯s door to door.¡± (Shion)

    Shion prompted Y¨­ichi to open the door.

    What came into view, was a boy wearing a uniform.

    ¡°It¡¯s Haruto ¨­tori, a sage candidate.¡± (Y¨­ichi)

    Y¨­ichi supplemented. It was because Shion didn¡¯t remember such things as the names of the sage candidates unless it was necessary.

    ¡°Certainly, you cane to here if you use door-to-door, but how did you find this ce?¡± (Shion)

    It was a skill which connected between buildings freely, but you needed to know both buildings to use it. However, this ce was a secret refuge, and those who knew of its existence were limited.

    ¡°Oh yeah. A small troubling problem appeared, so I tried using the problem solving skill.¡± (Haruto)

    Haruto responded to Shion¡¯s question carelessly.

    ¡°I see. The consultant¡¯s problem solving skill can do feats of that degree if it is about rank four. It¡¯s very nice while having the touch of a cheat.¡± (Shion)

    Even if she didn¡¯t remember the names, she could know the ss of the person before her eyes through the system.

    As its name suggested, the problem solving skill was a skill that could understand the way to solve a problem.

    The general also had a simr skill, but it was limited to tactics. The problem solving skill could understand answers more broadly.

    Shion installed the system, but she didn¡¯t know what kind of sses would manifest. The potential of the ss ¡®consultant¡¯ was also unknown.

    But, Sage candidates had to be like this. It was because if they could only do things within range of expectations, they wouldn¡¯t attain ¡®sage¡¯ or anything like that.

    ¡°So, what do you have to tell me?¡± (Shion)

    ¡°Saying it frankly, there isn¡¯t enough time. Please, may you extend the deadline?¡± (Haruto)

    The time Shion offered was one month. She said to be a sage during that time.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s for pushing the deadline back, so if everyone doing their to aim at being a sage, there aren¡¯t any problems in particr.¡± (Shion)

    What she wanted to avoid was everyone living sluggishly and irresponsibly in the parallel world.

    If they had the hope of bing a sage, then their real motive wasn¡¯t to mark off everything and finish it all by the deadline.

    ¡°Then.¡± (Haruto)

    ¡°But, just extending the deadline isn¡¯t interesting. That you seem to be able to change the requirements so simply is also a problem¡­¡­oh yeah. Then, how about we do it like this. Why don¡¯t you deal with Yogiri Takatou-san?¡± (Shion)

    ¡°With Takatou, you say?¡± (Haruto)

    He probably thought it surprising. Haruto¡¯s face, which had been calm the whole time so far, became doubtful.

    ¡°Will you say something like ¡®I cannot betray my ssmates¡¯?¡± (Shion)

    ¡°No, it was someone discarded once. He isn¡¯t anyone all that useful, and I will do so once more.¡± (Haruto)

    ¡°Then, it seems like the deadline extension might be allowed with such a simple thing, right?¡± (Shion)

    ¡°I agree.¡± (Haruto)

    ¡°But, it isn¡¯t something so simple.¡± (Shion)

    Shion conveyed everything she knew about Yogiri Takatou.

    ¡°I see. He can¡¯t be killed with normal means, and I¡¯ll have the tables turned on me.¡± (Haruto)

    ¡°Can you do it?¡± (Shion)

    No matter what would happen, they should look at the situation they¡¯d do it in for now.

    What Shion anticipated was his problem solving ability. So, she thought he¡¯d think of a way to deal with Yogiri.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll do it.¡± (Haruto)

    Haruto epted.

    He didn¡¯t look like he was afraid of Yogiri. Apparently, it seemed that he¡¯d already acquired a way to solve it.

 Volume 4, 1: What sort of hobby is the extermination of the human race?

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 1: What sort of hobby is the extermination of the human race?</h4>

    The ability of instant death isn¡¯t so much of an issue by itself. ¨­tori Haruto had been thinking something along those lines.

    This is because instant death is already feasible when there¡¯s arge difference of ability between two people.

    The same stretch of logic applies to many situations. If someone wants to kill a faraway opponent, there are a multitude of different ways to go about doing it.

    In other words, the ability to cause instant death isn¡¯t exclusive to Takatou Yogiri.

    It¡¯s likely that there are several people in this world who are capable of instantly killing Haruto. Instant death alone is certainly a threat, but that isn¡¯t the most threatening aspect of Yogiri¡¯s ability.

    That said, if there was any problem in particr, it would be his ability to sense when he¡¯s being targeted by someone else¡¯s killing intent.

    Indeed, that was the real issue here. In order to deal with Yogiri, one would first need to find a way to deal with this ability.

    However, the rules behind his ability to sense killing intent are just too vague. If Haruto was to go and challenge that vagueness, he¡¯d simply end up as a corpse the moment he pressed the issue too far.

    First of all, it was necessary to investigate to what extent he¡¯s capable of sensing killing intent. Otherwise, it¡¯d be impossible to strategize on what to do next.

    Normally, regardless of whether or not someone was able to understand his ability, they would end up with no choice but to give up in despair.

    However, Haruto has the Consultant ss. The impression that the name gives off isn¡¯t great, but this ss has a pretty unusual ability.

    The ability of problem-solving.

    The ability isn¡¯t as simple as just having the solutions to your problems given to you. Instead, it grants him the ability to refer to information that will ultimately be necessary to solve the problem.

    The time waste at night. Haruto had gone to the forest outside of town. This was for the purpose of escaping the ability-sealing powers of the king; to use his ability in the best condition possible.

    He was wearing a business suit in order to raise the power of the Consultant ss¡¯s abilities and holding one of the torches that the ss had been using for their exhibitions into Hell. It was a stick-like tool that absorbs the souls from the surrounding area and uses that energy to produce light, a rtivelymon tool for the kingdom.

    When Haruto arrived at an opening in the forest, he stabbed the base of the torch into one of the nearby trees and secured the location.

    ¡°Ah. I wonder if it¡¯s alright for me toe out here like this? We were told to take action as a group, and the groups are supposed to be separated by gender¡­¡±

    Beside Haruto was a girl dressed in a cheerleader uniform, Yui ¨­tani.

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any restrictions when ites to personal situations like this one. As long as you¡¯re okay with it, there aren¡¯t any issues, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    Yui¡¯s face turned red.

    Haruto knows that his physical appearance makes it easy to gain favor with girls, and he was skilled at using that quality effectively in order to get what he wants.

    Haruto only wanted to make use of the ability that she possesses, but he thought that it¡¯d be fine to be affectionate with her afterward if that¡¯s what she¡¯s hoping for.

    ¡°Well then, I was wondering if you¡¯d be willing to use your ability to help me with something.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I can do my best.¡±

    Yui started to dance. While it¡¯s strange to see someone doing a one-man cheer routine in the forest in the middle of the night, the dance is needed in order to bring out the effect of her skill even more, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    Her ability as a cheerleader really was quite noteworthy. She was able to dance perfectly, without any embarrassment, even when she¡¯s in a situation where she¡¯s alone and there¡¯s no music ying.

    After a while, Yui finished her dance and wiped the sweat from her brow.

    Haruto apuded in response, praising her efforts.

    ¡°Thank you. Every time I watch you, I¡¯m only able to think about how amazing you are at that.¡±

    ¡°I-I guess so¡­¡±

    ¡°Then, please hold on for a moment.¡±

    Haruto used his problem-solving skill. There wasn¡¯t any need to do anything shy like Yui. All he needed to do was push up his sses by the brim his finger.

    And while it¡¯s a bit ridiculous, the skill¡¯s effectiveness rises when you perform its corresponding action. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t afford to be shy.

    A white light suddenly filled Haruto¡¯s eyes.

    Through the use of the system, he essed the archive that retains this world¡¯s information.

    There was an innumerable amount of information umted inside. The sheer quantity of information was so enormous that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find what he was looking for if he searched for it blindly. However, this was where the problem-solving skill¡¯s true power shines. The skill goes through everything and filters out anything that isn¡¯t rted to your problem.

    The only thing necessary was to find information rted Takatou Yogiri.

    While it¡¯s necessary to know what he¡¯s done sinceing to this world, it was difficult to extract all the important information all at once. He had to narrow it down the bare bones of the matter.

    Haruto decided to focus on situations where Yogiri would have perceived someone else¡¯s killing intent.

    He extracted the condensed information and converted it into something understandable. Then, the scenes where Yogiri has used his power were disyed to him like a movie.

    First, there was a scene with Hanakawa. Hanakawa had been preparing to use a chant-less magical attack when Yogiri sensed his killing intent and warned him. He had been concentrating his soul¡¯s energy in his right hand, ready to release it the moment he saw an opening. Hanakawa¡¯s offensive spells aren¡¯t a big deal, but they¡¯re more than enough to kill a human who hasn¡¯t been strengthened by the system.

    Next, there was the Dominator, Yuuki Tachibana. He died almost instantly after hemanded his ves to kill Yogiri. In which case, it raises the question of whether or not he can sense killing intent if someone only asks, not orders, someone else to kill him. However, if that was true, it would follow that both he and Shion would be dead by now due to Shion asking him for help with killing Yogiri. Or is it instead that both of them would die the moment he attempts to kill Yogiri?

    Even though he needed to confirm it, Haruto judged that he wasn¡¯t in a good position to do so. The Dominator simply had special circumstances.

    The connection between the Dominator and the ve is absolute; one where the Dominator takes full control of the ve¡¯s soul. They¡¯re forced to unconditionally follow any of their master¡¯s orders. In other words, the ve can be thought of as an extension of the Dominator.

    The moment when Yuuki died, arge amount of enved insects were preparing to surround and kill Yogiri.

    It was treated as though Yuuki himself was nning to kill Yogiri. In this case, Yogiri didn¡¯t resolve the situation by simply killing the attacking bugs. Instead, he killed the problem at its source. By killing Yuuki, he put an end to being targetted by his servant¡¯s killing intent.

    The situation was simr for the Devil at the Sword Saint¡¯s tower. The miasma that was drifting around had the potential to harm or kill Yogiri. Because Yogiri was calmly moving through it anyway, he must have been killing the miasma itself as he went. However, the miasma was constantly gushing forth from the Devil. He must have decided that the only way to fundamentally solve the problem was to just kill the Devil.

    There were other scenes as well, such as killing thieves and bandits along their journey, without even taking regard for their appearance, simply because they were aiming at him with bows or magic.

    Haruto was able toe to another conclusion after watching these scenes. That simply thinking about wanting to kill Yogiri wasn¡¯t enough for him to be able to sense something. These thoughts needed to be apanied by some form of n or action.

    Yogiri considers actions and events that put him in harm¡¯s way as though they were murderous intentions. Yogiri has been killing who and what he¡¯s killing in order to eliminate the possibility that he¡¯ll die.

    The limit of his Consultant ability came just as he thought about this, and his consciousness was returned to reality.

    ¡°Haruto-kun, are you okay?¡±

    Yui asked anxiously.

    He had reached his time limit for being connected to the archive, so he looked like he was in pain. At some point, without his knowledge, he had sat down on the ground.

    ¡°Yeah. I overdid it a little bit, but it isn¡¯t that big of a deal.¡±

    He answered her while standing back up.

    ¡°I need to do an experiment¡­¡±

    Haruto muttered idly.

    There was a possibility that he may die in the experimental stage of his n if he goes about this poorly.

    However, despite the fact that he has this information now, he still doesn¡¯t have the whole picture. In order to deal with Takatou Yogiri, it¡¯s absolutely critical that he determines exactly to what extent he¡¯s able to sense other people¡¯s killing intent.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Hanakawa was dumbfounded.

    This was Hell, and the Devil should¡¯ve been sealed in the lowestyer, so they hade this way in order to break the seal and let the Devil free. However, standing right in front of them was the Devil they hade to set free, smiling ear to ear.

    ¡°Um¡­ May I please be permitted to ask a question?¡±

    ¡°That should be fine.¡±

    The Devil, Mana, passively responded. Even though she was a Devil, the feeling she gave off wasn¡¯t, in any way, an overpowering one. Even though she was as beautiful as a Goddess, apart from that, she just looked like a young girl who had just barely reached adulthood.

    ¡°Uhm, aren¡¯t you supposed to be sealed?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was sealed by my Onii-sama. I don¡¯t understand why though, and that ignorance is immensely painful for me. However, because my Onii-sama is the one who sealed me, it¡¯s obvious that I¡¯m the one who¡¯s done something wrong, or else he never would have sealed me in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°But then how did you reach all the way here?¡±

    ¡°Well, of course. My Onii-sama is a kind man. There¡¯s no way he would ever tie me up and pack me away. That¡¯s why he purposefully applied a loose seal so that I¡¯d eventually be able to escape on my own.¡±

    ¡°¡­Is that really the case?¡±

    Hanekawa asked Lute in a low voice.

    ¡°No¡­ My lord had intended to seal her away in the deep depths of the earth, so he used the full force of his power to do so¡­¡±

    Lute¡¯s expression stiffened as he answered. Fortunately, Mana was ecstatically recalling memories of her older brother, so it doesn¡¯t seem like she overheard theirments.

    ¡°Uh, so does that mean that we are all set for getting out of here? Shall we embark for the surface and uh¡­ not destroy humanity?¡±

    Even though it may not have been necessary to ask, Hanakawa dared to anyway.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that I could leave without Onii-sama¡¯s permission, and would you please try not to get in the way of Onii-sama¡¯s hobby?¡±

    Mana spoke as though she was saying something obvious. Hanakawa edged back a few steps, and Lute did the same.

    ¡°¡­What sort of hobby is the extermination of the human race? ¡­Uhm, this Onii-sama, how should I put it, he¡¯s, you know¡­ He seems like the type of person who mustn¡¯t be set free into the world¡­¡±

    Hanakawa spoke to Lute in a low voice again. Due to the fact that he was together with Lute, Hanakawa managed to just barely fall into Mana¡¯s considerations. Though, it seems as though if he was alone, he would be treated as something less important than garbage.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s probably why¡­¡±

    ¡°Uhm, what is the connection between Lute-dono and this Mana-dono?¡±

    ¡°¡­We have no direct rtionship. She should only think of me as an underling of My Lord, and to put it bluntly, I don¡¯t have that much interest in her either.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the extent of your rtionship, Lute-dono has quite the sense of courage.¡±

    ¡°By the way.¡±

    Mana suddenly spoke up, startling both Hanakawa and Lute.

    ¡°Yes? What can I do for you?¡±

    ¡°The fact that you smell of Onii-sama means that you¡¯re here on a matter rted to him, right?

    ¡°Yes. I have brought the key to your seal.¡±

    Lute took a key out and respectfully presented it to her.

    ¡°Ah! Oh my, oh my, oh my! Oh how wonderful! Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I got ahead of myself there. Of course, please use that key as instructed by Onii-sama, or otherwise, decide how to use it based on your own discretion.¡±

    That said, Mana put her hands on the wall of the cave.

    The wall flexibly began to distort, and eventually, a gaping cavity appeared around where her hands had been.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°I made a direct passageway to the innermostyer.¡±

    ¡°That was unreasonably easy!¡±

    ¡°The seal is affixed to the door at the bottommostyer. Feel free to do as you please with it.¡±

    ¡°¡­What meaning does that door really even have at this point¡­? Also, aren¡¯t you going against your Onii-sama¡¯s will by ignoring that seal in the first ce?¡±

    ¡°Are you an idiot!? You! Why are you asking such disrespectful questions one after another!?¡±

    ¡°Based on Onii-sama¡¯s intentions, is it eptable for me to move around theyers of Hell? If I wasn¡¯t allowed to, I don¡¯t understand why he would bother creating this ce. There¡¯s no way he would have been alright with locking me away in a small, tight space like that. That¡¯s why he made it like this instead. My Onii-sama is a kind man, after all.¡±

    Lute was another story, but Mana didn¡¯t seem to take any offense to Hanakawa¡¯s questions.

    After she finished answering, Mana walked into the cavity she created in the wall of the cave.

    ¡°We could run away now¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the only thing you ever have on your mind¡­ besides, it¡¯s impossible.¡±

    Lute came to a decision and stepped forth into the cavity, Hanakawa reluctantly following after.

    Their surroundings brightened up immediately. Hanakawa reflexively moved to shield his eyes.

    ¡°This is¡­¡±

    He timidly uncovered his eyes as he adjusted to the light.

    There were huge mushrooms sprouting up from the ground and trees dyed with unknown, unimaginable colors. Lined up one after the next, there were lovely, asymmetrical buildings akin to the ones that you¡¯d find in modern cities like Perth.

    It was like a small, growing city. Flowers were in full bloom along the side of the road, giving the area a fragrant smell.

    People wearing manybinations of strangely-colored clothes walked about on the streets, and shopkeepers were doing their best to attract customers toe and take a look at their wares.

    If someone was to look up into the sky, they would see the sun, shining in all its brilliant radiance.

    ¡°This ce¡­ Would it be right to call it somewhere straight out of a fairytale? A wondend¡­? And who are all these people?¡±

    ¡°Every single one of them is a¡­ family member Mana-sama.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Me and Onii-sama. They¡¯re our cute, adorable little children.¡±

    Walking beside Lute, Mana responded

    ¡°Ah, I-I see? With Onii-sama¡­ That¡¯s¡­ quite immoral. Lute-dono¡¯s Lord must have been quite busy. Well, I guess it¡¯s not that unusual for Gods in stories to have those types of rtionships with their rtives. I think I remember there being something like that in Japanese Mythology.¡±

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s different¡­ There isn¡¯t a chance that My Lord would ever y around with his younger sister like that¡­ These people, Mana-sama gave birth to them with an unauthorized imaginary pregnancy.¡±

    Lute responded to Hanakawa in a low, bitter, voice.

    ¡°This woman, she reminds me of that from Magimon!¡±

    As expected, Hanakawa got caught up on something unrted.

 Chapter 2: How is someone able to enjoy another world so leisurelyâ€¦?

    <h4>Chapter 2: How is someone able to enjoy another world so leisurely¡­?</h4>

    The Dark Garden is an assassination guild.

    Of course, it¡¯s an illegal organization, closed off to the public.

    As its name suggests, the guild actively undertakes assassination jobs. However, the ultimate purpose of the guild isn¡¯t for the sake of exchanging a service for money.

    This is because the guild¡¯s founder and manager, a man named Miyanaga Ry¨­suke, already possesses a vast amount of mary assets.

    As one can see from his name, Ry¨­suke is one of the various people who came over to this world from Japan. After being summoned by one of the Sages, achieving great aplishments, and attaining the qualifications for bing his Sage¡¯s acolyte, he set out to adventure all over the world, amassing his wealth.

    He became an acolyte, but not because he didn¡¯t have the potential to be the Sage. Instead, he thought bing a Sage would be troublesome. So, he conceded the title to someone else, thus acquiring a position to move as he pleases.

    He began practicing assassination because he had gotten tired of working as a champion of justice.

    Protect a vige from thieves. Rescue someone¡¯s kidnapped daughter. Subjugate a water fae that had been causing a drought. Conduct peace talks between two nations constantly engrossed in war.

    Even though he had shown every corner of the world a crazy, ferocious disy of sess, his life gradually became one of boredom.

    At one point, after dispatching on a quest that was all too simr to one he had done before, he began to question the meaning of it all. As soon as he started thinking about it this way, he noticed that every quest was organized in the same way, just with somewhat different parameters.

    And after that, he began to desire change.

    For something stimting. For something even more interesting.

    With this thought, he ultimately began to try his hand at crime. He felt that he might as well venture into the things he hadn¡¯t so far.

    At first, he engaged in theft, but this lost his interest before long. Due to his ability, simple theft was nothing more than an easy victory. There wasn¡¯t anything he particrly wanted to steal in the first ce.

    Since he¡¯s never had any trouble with women, he didn¡¯t see any reason to start assaulting them, so in the end, he decided to start killing people.

    Even though murder wasn¡¯t anything particrly difficult for him, he ultimately felt as though there was drama whenever he killed someone at random.

    A person has various connections while they¡¯re alive, which then acts as a source of drama once that connection has been cut by death.

    In which case, he decided that instead of killing indiscriminately, he would take the lives of opponents who seemed interesting.

    So, Ry¨­suke began to ept assassination requests. He decided to ept the requests that seemed to target particrly interesting individuals.

    If someone requests an assassination, there¡¯s likely to be conflicts and unavoidable circumstances mixed in. Regardless of whether or not it was simple domestic infighting or something on a more national level, it¡¯s incredibly interesting to watch these conflicts unfold from the sidelines.

    Thus, Ry¨­suke began handling assassination work, and along the way, he ended up managing a guild as well.

    Getting involved with the underworld of society is inevitable for anyone working as an assassin. Due to this, Ry¨­suke ended up destroying the simr organizations that picked fights with him for taking their customers. His one-man organization became a ce of employment for those who had been crowded out of their work when their old organizations fell, such as the Yakuza. And before Ry¨­suke realized it, things had ended up this way.

    This is the same Ry¨­suke¡¯s who, in the eyes of the public, was the manager of a flower shop.

    In his two-story building, he had chosen to make the first floor into the shop, and the second into his own living quarters.

    One day, after finishing his work down in the flower shop, he returned upstairs, only to find that a letter had been ced on his desk.

    An assassination request.

    He didn¡¯t know who the client was, nor how the letter had gotten there.

    Ry¨­suke thought that its appearance was exceedingly interesting.

    As one would expect, he wasn¡¯t the type who would spread around the knowledge that he was the head of an assassination guild. Only a select few members from the guild would know this information, so whenever the guild receives a request, there¡¯s a good number of people it has to go through before it¡¯s able to trace back to him.

    Nevertheless, this client already knew about him and had even personally provided him with a paper request. He was entirely unsure about how they were able to do that.

    For Ry¨­suke, who could be thought of as an extraordinarily unique existence out of those who have been given the Sage¡¯s gift, the fact that there was someone out there capable of stealing a march on him was incredibly exciting.

    The details of the request were for him to kill a boy who had been selected as a Sage candidate.

    A boy who hade here from another world shouldn¡¯t have very significant rtionships made with the people of this world yet, so his death shouldn¡¯t cause very much of an impact. The target himself wasn¡¯t all that interesting, rather what made the request unusual was that it specified for a very detailed means of going about killing him.

    The fact that the requestor was interfering with the way he went about doing his work got on his nerves, but this request went so far to suggest that he should first let one of his subordinates give the assassination a try. In that way, he¡¯d be able to understand the requestor¡¯s intentions. The fact that this was written as part of the request was enough to immediately seize his attention.

    At any rate, Ry¨­suke thought about how to approach the subject.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°Would you mind doing that a little bitter!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Evening.

    Tomochika, having just returned from an expedition into Hell, reflexively called out as she saw Yogiri ying a game whilst sprawled out on his bed.

    There hadn¡¯t been any problems with the expedition so far because all of the participating ssmates were simply overpowered. That being said, what started out as a journey into dark narrow tunnels eventually became a venture into abyrinth, that suddenly became a forest, and then into a freezing-cold midwinter desert, which then became a scorching-hot zone ofva. All of this while monsters descended on them in great numbers. Hell was a stressful ce.

    At the very least, Tomochika wanted to be thanked for her hard work after returning to the surface. She had been thinking this, but it seemed that Yogiri was entirely dedicated tozing about.

    ¡°Ah, this is a Japanese1 guy we¡¯re talking about, he¡¯s well on his way to bing a pimp, isn¡¯t he?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°If he was a pimp, I imagine he¡¯d snuggle up to the woman he¡¯s sponging off of to maintain his own livelihood, right?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Hoh? So you want him to snuggle up to you, is it?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t saying that about myself in particr!¡± (Tomochika)

    In a fluster, Tomochika responded to Carol, who had a smirk on her face.

    ¡°No, Takat¨­-kun is fine like this, you know? He doesn¡¯t have to do anything.¡± (Ry¨­ko)

    ¡°Yup. Right here we have Ninomiya-san, willing to be a woman who spoils a pimp.¡± (Carol)

    Since Ry¨­ko didn¡¯t want Yogiri to be doing anything in the first ce, she probably thought that the current state of affairs was a preferable one.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re back.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri put his gaming console into sleep mode and got up from the bed.

    ¡°Hey,e to think of it, where are your fellow pimps?¡± (Carol)

    They had alle to Yogiri¡¯s room, but there should have been two other people since it was the room for Group 7. Despite that, Yogiri was the only one there.

    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about Izumida and Aihara, they were transferred to another group.¡± (Yogiri)

    Y¨±go Izumida and Yukimasa Aihara were considered non-useful students, just like Yogiri.

    However, it was discovered that the cooking made with Y¨±go¡¯s Cook ss has the ability to raise the power of other abilities when eaten. At the same time, it was discovered the Yukimasa¡¯s Reader ss allowed him to easily master skills and magic by reading about them in books.

    As a result, it seems that it was decided that they would help participate in the capture of Hell.

    ¡°Do you mean to say there¡¯s nothing more for you toment there?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Annoyingly, they still think of me as someone who does absolutely nothing useful.¡± (Yogiri)

    Even for Yogiri, being treated like a good-for-nothing doesn¡¯t seem to make him feel very good.

    ¡°Have you been doing anything though?¡± (Tomochika.)

    ¡°For the time being, I¡¯ve been practicing my swordsmanship while thinking about what to do from here. David has been overseeing it.¡± (Yogiri)

    David was the vicemanding officer of the guards defending the city¡¯s southern gates. Tomochika thought that he was a disgusting sort of man, but it seems that he kept surprisingly goodpany.

    ¡°Swordsmanship huh? I don¡¯t exactly think that¡¯s a waste of time, but¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika¡¯s words trailed off. Even if Yogiri hastily learned martial arts as a temporary solution to being useless, she still didn¡¯t think they would be very useful.

    Yogiri has the ability of instant death. He¡¯s an unrivaled existence in battle who ends fights before they can even begin. That is to say, there¡¯s no reason for swordsmanship in the first ce.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m not thinking about trying to fight with fencing alone. What I¡¯m saying is that, if I concentrate my power and apply it like this. Watch.¡± (Yogiri)

    That said, Yogiri pointed his finger at the vase on the table.

    There was a red rose inside of it.

    As everyone looked over to it, a single petal lightly fell from the rose.

    ¡°This is?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I tried to experiment with my ability when I was with Tomochika before. At the time I didn¡¯t think that there was much of a point to it, but recently I remembered that it¡¯ll be a necessary tool to have in order to get information out of that Sage.¡± (Yogiri)

    Tomochika remembered the situation he was talking about.

    Yogiri¡¯s ability was way too strong. So much so that it¡¯s usefulness can be limited. Therefore, he tested out whether or not he was able to use it while taking it easy on somebody.

    At the time, the results were horrifying.

    The target would generally just die when even one part of the body abruptly stopped functioning.

    Even if he was able to limit his ability to the point where the target didn¡¯t die, he didn¡¯t have very precise control over it in the first ce. After all, identifying the exact areas to use the power on was extremely difficult.

    Back then, it was just troublesome that there wasn¡¯t very much benefit in using it as a threat.

    ¡°No, uh¡­ I don¡¯t think you need to be using it so readily though.¡± (Ry¨­ko)

    Ry¨­ko spoke, her face slowly tensing up.

    At any rate, she was afraid of Yogiri. She didn¡¯t want him to be proactive about using his ability.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s been effective to practice aiming at specific parts of my opponent¡¯s body while going through the motions of swordy.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well okay, but what¡¯s with youzing about in your room just now?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t go using me of beingzy okay? I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯ve been doing things out in town as well. Like eating. And walking.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°How is someone able to enjoy another world so leisurely¡­?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika wanted to add on: ¡®Let¡¯s just annihte Hell with Yogiri¡¯s ability already!¡¯

    However, Yogiri essentially only uses his ability for the sake of self-defense.

    Moreover, even if Yogiri did go and subjugate Hell, she didn¡¯t know if the Sage would then show herself as a result. There was no choice but to proceed with things in line with the Sage¡¯s instructions to the ss.

    ¡°Oh! Then, would you like to go out on a date in the town together, just the two of us?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I wonder why Carol wants to take it in that direction¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika thought that she didn¡¯t mind, but Carol¡¯s question lit a fire within her and was somehow displeasing for her to hear.

    ¡°Ah,e to think of it, when I go out to town from time to time, it seems like I¡¯m being targeted.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Eh? What are you saying?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°What I¡¯m saying is that I felt killing intent.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°From how you¡¯re putting it, I¡¯m guessing that it¡¯s unclear who it is?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Yeah. It seemed like I was being targeted from a pretty far way away.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°I wonder what that means? Maybe it was just some random sher?¡± (Carol)

    If that was the case, they were unlucky.

    By choosing Yogiri of all people as their victim, they would then end up bing a victim themselves.

    ¡°No, it seemed more like they¡¯ve been focusing on me directly. It would be directed toward me every time I went out into town over thest several days.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Wait a-! That¡¯s serious, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well, the malice was unpleasant, but there¡¯s no risk of any actual harm anymore.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying some evil people are all justying dead somewhere?¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri was every bit as unconcerned as usual. It made Tomochika think about how heavy it truly was to handle the death of a person.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it okay if they¡¯re malicious?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Yeah, I believe that the scoundrels trying to make passes at Takat¨­-kun should die.¡± (Ry¨­ko)

    In contrast, Ry¨­ko and Carol seemed indifferent about the life or death of evil people.

    ¡°Well, if the evil guys keep dying and he continues to get targeted despite that, doesn¡¯t that mean that the mastermind behind it all is still out there?¡± (Tomochika)

    Fundamentally, Yogiri has been using his power against enemies who have been showing him killing intent. Because there¡¯s only one person dying, there appears to be some sort of person running things behind the scenes, requesting his assassination. So as a result, that person is sending in assassins one after another to try to get the job done.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I was hoping that you¡¯d be willing to help me out a little bit.¡± (Yogiri)

    Like that, it was decided to go out with Yogiri the next day.

    Note: Carol says the word ¡®Japanese¡¯ in English. She¡¯s yfully acting like a foreigner. Not sure how else to convey this. Also I chose the term ¡®pimp¡¯ that had previously been kept as it¡¯s Japanese word of ¡®himo¡¯. Pimp just fits the context the best.

 Chapter 3: Ah, Mokomoko-san, you havenâ€™t passed on yet.

    <h4>Chapter 3: Ah, Mokomoko-san, you haven¡¯t passed on yet.</h4>

    Ayaka Shinozaki was isted within the darkness of the night, overlooking the royal castle from high up in the sky.

    She had made the eager decision to kill the king imposing a seal down upon this city. The only question was how to go about doing that.

    The simplest way to go about it would be to release Dragon Breath upon the castle at maximum power.

    Ayaka was fully aware of the power it possessed. It waspletely possible to perfectly annihte the entire region, with the castle and king right along with it.

    However, she had some problems with that.

    First of all, she didn¡¯t know whether or not the king was even in the castle. Ayaka was unacquainted with the circumstances of this country and beyond that, she knew nothing of the daily schedule of the king.

    Next, it appears that her ssmates were currently inside the royal castle. She wasn¡¯t sure if she was okay with wiping them all out just like that. She wanted to kill them off one by one as they realized what they had done to her.

    ¡ºListen! My unit is absolutely against this! In the first ce, it ispletely unprecedented to inflict damage upon uninvolved people for the sake of revenge! Some amount is permissible, but this would beplete overkill! The amount of damage we would inflict would be enormous!¡»

    ¡ºThat is true. That behavior would deviate from that of a normal human. Do not forget the aim of our project. Revenge on its own is a human-like action, but taking it to this degree would be too much.¡»

    Ayaka thought about what she was at this point. She was already an existence far removed from that of a normal human. She didn¡¯t get what was so significant about humans to warrant being so fixated on bing average.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do such a thing. I was just thinking about how to track down the king.¡± (Ayaka)

    However, it was true that she had been considering it, if only for a moment. Because she was divided into units, no single one was truly Akaya Shinozaki. She wasn¡¯t able to keep anything secret from the others, so there wasn¡¯t a point in trying.

    ¡ºI rmend using Dragon Sense.¡»

    ¡°Then I¡¯m assuming you understand what that is?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºBy scattering infinitesimal amounts of your soul essence into your surroundings, it will be possible for you toprehend the state of affairs of your peripheral area.¡»

    ¡°Really? Dragon Sense.¡± (Ayaka)

    She recited the name and felt the sensation of something pouring out of her body. If the personality unit was correct, that something was a portion of her own soul. Regardless of whether or not the quantity was insignificant, she didn¡¯t feel anything wrong in particr.

    At first, the iing flow of information swiftly overwhelmed her senses, but that feeling subsided not long after.

    It was filtered to the dragonnguage unit, where it was thenpiled all at once and promptly analyzed.

    ¡ºI have confirmed the number of ssmates present and proceeded to leave a mark on each of them. Henceforth, it will be possible for us to track their positions. Riona Shirayama has also returned to the castle after our fight a short time ago.¡»

    Riona was a girl who fought with karate. Her ability allowed her to exponentiallypound the amount of power she possesses by the 10th power.

    She had made excuses for her loss, saying that her odds of losing would have been nonexistent if not for the seal affixed on this city. For that reason, Ayaka had gone to the royal castle to erase the cause of that seal.

    ¡°She gave me her word for a rematch after I deal with the source of the seal. Did Dragon Sense determine where the king is?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºIt has detected a seemingly royal bedroom within the castle with a king-like presence inside.¡»

    With that, Ayaka descended upon the royal castle.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Ayaka looked down at the half-naked man that had fallen before her.

    Within this supposedly royal bedroom, said fallen man was most likely the king.

    She had entered through the window and killed the man she found inside.

    ¡°He looked down on me from the start and gave off the impression of being a big deal, so I suppose that this guy was the king. Quite the letdown.¡±

    ¡ºHe held the ability to seal off the abilities of others around him. Was he nning on resolving this with closebat because of his confidence in that ability?¡»

    She had released her Dragon Breath to test his abilities, which ended up directly hitting and prating the king¡¯s chest. His death was instantaneous.

    ¡°With this, the power of the seal covering over the town should be gone, right?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºThat is probably the case. However, if the ability derives from the royal bloodline, it is possible that someone would be able to take over the job.¡»

    ¡°Someone¡­ like that woman over there?¡± (Ayaka)

    A half-naked woman was trembling at the edge of the bed.

    ¡°Hey you. This person was the king, right?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Half-Naked Woman)

    ¡°Are you a member of royalty too? If you¡¯ve inherited the blood of the royal family, that means you¡¯d be able to use the sealing ability.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t inherit any royal blood! I don¡¯t have the ability to seal anything! I was a bride who married into the royalty here from another country!¡± (Half-Naked Woman)

    In which case, she was unrted. Dragon Sense hade to the conclusion that the woman in front of her was telling the truth.

    Ayaka jumped back out the window.

    She needed to hurry before a substitute took over the king¡¯s position.

    Dragon Wing. Ayaka invoked the magical power of the dragonnguage. She was able to feel the sensation of that power on her back, despite no wings actually being there.

    She put power into the invisible wings.

    Moving at a speed simr to teleportation, Ayaka began her descent upon Riona Shirayama.

    Riona was lying down in a bed. Standing at the bedside, there was a woman d in a white gown who appeared to be a doctor, holding her hands out over Riona.

    ¡ºIs she undergoing medical treatment?¡»

    Regardless of whether or not it was due to magic peculiar to this world or the woman¡¯s own ability, Riona¡¯s injuries appeared to be healing.

    ¡°Wha¡­¡± (Riona)

    Riona stared at Ayaka in a daze as she burst through the ceiling. It was only natural for her to be confused.

    Ayaka decided to wait for Riona to regain herposure. While it would¡¯ve been easy for Ayaka to kill her right then and there, she wouldn¡¯t be satisfied without seeing Riona fight at full power.

    She looked around the room as she waited.

    Ayaka wasn¡¯t entirely familiar with the religious system of this world, but the building she was in appeared to be a church. However, there were medical beds lined up, so the building might have served both religious and medical purposes.

    She recognized the face of the doctor who was administering treatment to Riona as well. She was her ssmate, Akari Misono.

    Riona was in a karate dougi1 while Akari was in a doctor¡¯s gown. They appeared to be dressing in ordance with the roles they were ying in the ss.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve gone and killed the king and dealt with the seal. Let¡¯s start our fight.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Th-That¡¯s¡­¡± (Akari)

    Akari froze up, dumbfounded.

    Riona silently got up from the bed and began slowly rolling her shoulders and stretching out her legs. She seemed to be doing warm-ups to verify the condition of her body.

    ¡°You ready to go or what?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°The seal¡¯s been broken? I¡¯m worried that you think you¡¯re being serious with what you¡¯re saying¡± (Riona)

    ¡°Feel free to try it out for yourself!¡± (Ayaka)

    The explosive sound of an impact burst through the air.

    By the time Ayaka felt it, she had already copsed into a momentary unconsciousness.

    She was confused, entirely unaware of what happened. Her movements were met with a strange amount of resistance.

    ¡°What? What happened?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºRiona instantaneously closed the gap andnded a clean hit, blowing our body into the town and caving in the earth around us.¡»

    ¡°How¡¯s the damage?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºThe force was insufficient to prate Dragon Scale. However, it was not able to fully absorb the impact, which is why we were blown away in such a shy manner.¡»

    Ayaka stood back up.

    There was a long stretch of cityscape absolutely blown away and a mountain of debris and earth piled up behind her.

    Looking at it directly, every building in a straight line from the royal castle to where she stood now had been destroyed.

    And then, there was another impact.

    Except for this time, Ayaka caught sight of what happened.

    Soaring in from the direction of the royal castle, Riona sunk her knee into Ayaka¡¯s abdomen.

    Once more, Dragon Scale was unable to fully absorb the impact. Ayaka attempted to deal with the force by turning slightly before taking the hit, but she was ultimately sent into a shy spiral as she was sent flying through the air.

    She was unable to control the orientation of her body due to her field of vision rotating at such high speeds. As the momentum slowed and she was just about to crash back into the ground, Riona proceeded to follow up with yet another attack.

    Appearing from above, Riona threw another punch, smashing into Ayaka¡¯s face at the same moment she made contact with the earth.

    Ayaka¡¯s consciousness nked out for an instant.

    By the time she came back to her senses, Riona was straddled over her, pinning her down in a mounted position.

    From that stance, Riona¡¯s fist came down again.

    Shockwaves erupted, uprooting the surrounding buildings while Ayaka¡¯s head was smashed into the surface of the earth.

    What followed was a barrage of blows from the right and the left.

    A ceaseless fury of punches directly assaulted Ayaka¡¯s face.

    ¡°Dragon Fang.¡± (Ayaka)

    With the sound of something wet being severed, Riona¡¯s assault came to a halt, her stance crumbling shortly after.

    This was because Riona¡¯s right arm, starting at the elbow, hadpletely vanished.

    Ayaka then grasped her unsteady body and pinned her down beneath her, reversing their positions.

    ¡°Wh-what?¡± (Riona)

    Riona¡¯s right arm had been torn off at the elbow and eaten.

    Riona was unable toprehend that her arm had been removed by a bite from the jaws of a dragon.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re certainly a big deal, but it¡¯s be clear that you¡¯re beneath me¡­ Or is there still something you want to show me?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Motherfoocker!¡± (Riona)

    Riona attempted another strike with her left fist.

    ¡°Dragon Tail.¡± (Ayaka)

    Her invisible dragon tail constricted itself around Riona¡¯s body. Her attack ended with nothing even happening.

    Ayaka stood up and looked down at Riona.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just slowly strangle you to death like this.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka felt that there was no point to drawing this fight out any further if she couldn¡¯t even resist Dragon Tail.

    If this was the extent of the power that her ssmates held, it didn¡¯t seem like dealing with all of them would be very troublesome.

    Ayaka was a little disappointed.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The royal castle had descended into turmoil.

    A mysterious intruder raided the royal castle, killed the king, and destroyed a part of the castle and surrounding city.

    However, for the Sage candidates, these were trivial issues. After all, the affairs of this nation were far from a source of worry for a group of people who came from another world.

    Rather than worry about such things, the sessive murders of two ssmates was an issue of far more interest and concern.

    Following the murder of ¡ºEroge Master¡» Ushio Shinya, ¡ºGori¡» Riona Shinozaki had been killed by a youngdy iming to be Akaya Shinozaki.

    Riona had been seen as the strongest closebat fighter in the ss.

    The fact that she had lost meant that this was no ordinary opponent. The Sage candidates, who had grown insolent after having received their gifts, couldn¡¯t stop themselves from feeling fear.

    ¡°Hey, thinking about it now, what kind of ss name is ¡ºGori¡» supposed to be anyway!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m guessing she just had some tremendous amount of power.¡± (Yogiri)

    It was the day after the king¡¯s assassination.

    Tomochika and Yogiri were taking a walk through the streets of the city.

    The two had set out because Yogiri had asked her for her help for some reason.

    Tomochika was sad for the Riona¡¯s death, but she wasn¡¯t very worried about it. If the culprit really was Ayaka, she thought that her actions were totally justified.

    ¨DWell, I guess it was wrong of her to kill an unrted king¡­

    The matter of the king¡¯s death would be under investigation for a while. Apparently, the prince would be taking over his sealing duties as an emergency recement, but the strength and scale of his ability were nowhere near the kings.

    The two of them weren¡¯t expressly prohibited from going out into town like this, but their ssmates were still indecisive about allowing it.

    However, Yogiri didn¡¯t appear to care about Ayaka¡¯s attacks at all. He ended up leaving for the town exactly as he had nned to.

    ¡°So, am I just here to help you wander around town?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to neglect whoever¡¯s been targetting me. I could just keep dealing with them on a case-by-case basis, but that doesn¡¯t get to the root of the problem. That¡¯s why, we have to let ourselves be targetted, and identify the culprit without killing them¡­ Or maybe by killing them.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Which is it!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Well, not killing them would probably gives us more clues.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°And why did I have toe with you exactly?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Dannoura-san, you have really good vision right? I was thinking that you should be able to spot the criminal in the act.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Hmm. I might be able to spot them, but they¡¯re targetting you from far away, and if they¡¯re doing something magical, they¡¯re probably hiding out of sight.¡± (Tomochika)

    No matter where they are, and no matter what attack they use, Yogiri would always be able to counterattack. Due to that, the attackers die, but because they¡¯re hidden, he was unable to find or learn anything out about who the attacker was.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it I think. If they were able to, I think they¡¯d be attacking me even when I¡¯m inside the royal castle. So I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re only making their moves when I¡¯m making myself visible. If they¡¯re able to see me, Dannoura-san should be able to see them as well, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    From the outside, they seemed like they were on a date with each other as they walked through the town. In reality, it was actually a rather dull experience.

    It had been a long time since the two of them were able to walk around together, so Tomochika was hoping they¡¯d be doing something a bit more exciting, but Yogiri didn¡¯t seem to be aware of that.

    This got on Tomochika¡¯s nerves a little bit.

    ¡°Are you in a bad mood?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Not particrly?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you are, but¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Actually, no. You¡¯re just trying to get me to see stuff for you!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Will you tell me if you notice anything?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll tell you¡­ If you treat me to a meal first.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Treat you? Dannoura-san, don¡¯t you have the same amount of money as me?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri tilted his head to the side in confusion.

    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Alright, I get it. I guess it¡¯s fine if I treat you to something.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yes! In which case, yesterday I did some asking around for rmendations about good ces to check out!¡± (Tomochika)

    In delightedly high spirits, Tomochika began to run, dragging Yogiri along with her by the hand.

    Yogiri had no choice but to match her pace.

    However, the surrounding atmosphere grew dubious as they went.

    When they started off, the town had been overflowing with the hustle and bustle of a great city, but as they pushed forward, the ambiance it gave off became more desperate and dangerous.

    Before long, the source of this unrest came into sight.

    There was a mountain of debris and wreckage piled up in front of them.

    The remnants of the battle between Ayaka Shinozaki and Riona Shiraishi. Their destructive showdown had entirely blown away the surrounding buildings.

    At some level, it didn¡¯t even seem like a scene that could¡¯vee from a confrontation between two people. Instead, it looked more like the site of a great catastrophe.

    ¡°That Ayaka Shinozaki! Unforgivable!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika¡¯s intended destination had vanished entirely.

    ¡°Huh. It seems like this ce has taken a considerable amount of damage.¡± (Yogiri)

    It was to the extent that even Yogiri seemed surprised at the sight of the ce.

    ¡°Well, I think I was given a few other rmendations we could take a look at.¡± (Tomochika)

    She took out some notes she had taken from her breast pocket.

    At that, without a warning, Yogiri embraced her.

    ¨DHuh? What¡¯s up with this hug all of a sudden?

    However, she didn¡¯t shake him off.

    Despite being confused, Tomochika felt the sensation of something passing very close by her, so she took a look over her shoulder.

    The head of a civilian behind her burst open, their body crumpling to the ground.

    ¡°Uh?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºA sniper, is it? They were even aiming at you, not the youngster.¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Ah, Mokomoko-san, you haven¡¯t passed on yet.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºI¡¯ve always been here!¡» (Mokomoko)

    Despite having just been shot at, Tomochika was focused more on Mokomoko¡¯s first reappearance after having been absent for a while.

 Chapter 4: Just you wait. Iâ€™m coming for you right now.

    <h4>Chapter 4: Just you wait. I¡¯ming for you right now.</h4>

    ¡°No! Spare me!¡± (???)

    On the roof of a particrly tall building within the royal capital¡­

    There was a man, crying out in distress. He was lying prone on his stomach and dressed in ck from head to toe.

    The man was a sniper. He was holding onto a sniper rifle and looking through the scope.

    For the majority of this world¡¯s poption, this man would be a curious sight. In this world, originally, the sniper rifle was an item that simply didn¡¯t exist. Furthermore, there was no such thing as someone that specialized in using them either.

    This man was a member of the assassination guild. That very guild had given him this weapon and trained him to use it.

    ¡°Oh? Then, by all means, do it quickly. It hurts, doesn¡¯t it? It hurts so much it feels like death is just around the corner, doesn¡¯t it?¡± (Young Woman)

    Standing next to the trembling sniper, there was a young woman donned in a red dress and a matching pair of gloves.

    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die!¡± (??? -> Sniper)

    ¡°Is that so? Well then, your actions don¡¯t make very much sense, now do they? You say you don¡¯t want to kill the target, but in order to escape from the pain, you don¡¯t have any other choice. Well, this time, how about we see what happens if you try to kill him while thinking that you don¡¯t want to kill him? Let¡¯s call it an experiment.¡± (Young Woman)

    There was a mechanical device installed within the man¡¯s body, designed to create sensations of pain via remote control. The pain being inflicted upon the man was intense, and the young woman waspletely in control of it.

    ¡°Th-there¡¯s no reason to even try that! It¡¯s obvious what will happen!¡± (Sniper)

    Previously, she had prepared snipers that didn¡¯t know anything about the target and had them attempt to carry it out.

    But this time, she tried something little different. She had chosen one of the higher-ups from the assassination guild. In particr, a man that knew the finer details about this particr assassination job.

    ¡°That¡¯s probably correct, but we¡¯ll never know unless we try. This job will never seed if we don¡¯t collect data on him. Regardless, I¡¯d imagine that the pain is getting to the point where you might just die. If you¡¯re going to die either way, wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to die quickly and spare yourself from as much pain as possible?¡± (Young Woman)

    She slowly increased the severity of the pain that the device was creating. Of course, she wasn¡¯t trying to kill him. Nheless, if the pain continued to build up as it had been, the man would hit his limit soon enough.

    ¡°¡­You¡¯re also going to be thrown away sooner orter! The boss is just delegating all of the nning to you! Do you really understand what that means?!¡± (Sniper)

    ¡°Of course I understand. When someone tries to kill the target, they die. So the question then bes: Just how far does this cause-and-effect rtionship go? If someone was ordered to kill him, will the one thatmanded it die too? If someone shoots at him with a rifle, the person that pulled the trigger is the one that dies. But, let¡¯s say there¡¯s a robot that¡¯s programmed to carry out spokenmands. If it was instructed to kill the target, who dies? The person that gave the order, or the robot itself? How about a situation where somebody sets up a lethal trap without intending to kill the target in particr? What would happen if the target identally gets caught in said trap? In the end, as long as I don¡¯t know the answers to these questions, I have to take as many safety precautions as possible, right?¡± (Young Woman)

    ¡°And you¡¯re just okay with that!?¡± (Sniper)

    ¡°It¡¯s the master¡¯s order, after all.¡± (Young Woman)

    The manager of Dark Garden, Miyanaga Ry¨­suke. In order to ensure his own personal safety, he wasn¡¯t involving himself with the assassination of Takat¨­ Yogiri.

    So far, the only people that died were the ones that carried out an action with murderous intent behind it, so there was no need for him to go so far. But just to be safe, he still instructed for this young woman to n out the assassination and choose whichever subordinates she needed in order to carry it out.

    ¡°Aaaagh!¡± (Sniper)

    Crying out once again, the man had reached his limit. Unable to endure the pain any longer, the sniper put his finger over the trigger of the gun. Right as he did so, he stopped moving.

    The target¡¯s ability had taken effect.

    This attempt appeared to be no good as well. It seemed like no matter the state of mind, the moment you tried to kill him, you¡¯d die.

    Still, the young woman wasn¡¯t discouraged. She wasn¡¯t expecting very much from this man in the first ce. After all, he was just one part of the experiment.

    She looked at the target from the rooftop. The boy would usually move about on his own, but today he was apanied by a girl as the two of them walked around the city together. He seemed to be in a cheerful mood.

    They were just over three hundred meters away. It would be effectively impossible for a normal human to identify someone from such a long distance away with the naked eye, but for the young woman dressed in red, it was a simple matter. This was due to the fact that she was a machine designed in the shape of a human. An existence that had been created by Ry¨­suke¡¯s unique ability to duplicate things.

    There was no point in trying the same thing over and over again. The young woman began to run a calction. She was investigating the possibility of sessfully killing the target. Going through every option avable for the sake of continuing the experiment.

    ¡°Please take aim at the girl now.¡± (Young Woman)

    Speaking into a radio, the mechanical young woman issued instructions to a sniper she had on standby in another building.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The manager of Dark Garden, Miyanaga Ry¨­suke, was watching several monitors lined up in a row within his second-floor office of the flower shop he ran. Utilizing a multi-limb attachment that was installed on hisrge office desk, the monitors were spread out in such a way that they surrounded Ry¨­suke as he sat in his chair.

    The entire set-up seemed out-of-ce, but that was because it had been created with Ry¨­suke¡¯s duplication ability. Ry¨­suke¡¯s had the ability called Imitation. It allowed him to copy something from his original world and recreate it within this one.

    A live stream of the scenery around the royal capital was portrayed on each of the monitors. The footage was taken from security cameras installed at various locations throughout the city.

    The target, Yogiri Takat¨­, was disyed in-full on one of the monitors.

    Up until just recently, the boy would usually wander around the city without really doing anything in particr, but today was different. Today, he had apanion. As thispanion of his was quite the beauty, it was possible that the two of them were out on a date.

    It was clear that there was still a delicate feeling of distance between the two of them as they walked. To an uninformed onlooker, the scene might seem heartwarming, but to Ry¨­suke, it wasn¡¯t anything other than a monster and a fool who hadn¡¯t realized the danger she was in.

    Ry¨­suke would observe his subordinate¡¯s continuous trial and error attempts toplete the request.

    Following the instructions specified in the request, he had started things out by instructing one of his subordinates to take care of the job. They had attempted to kill the boy with one of Ry¨­suke¡¯s replicated sniper rifles.

    However, this adequately trained subordinate then suddenly died on the rooftop of a building quite a far distance away from the target. They had been lying prone on their stomach, looking through the scope of their rifle. They died the instant that they took aim at the target.

    Ry¨­suke was perplexed the first time he saw such an unexpected result. At the same time, this oue made it clear why the request specified that it needed to be handled by one of his subordinates.

    Even from such a long distance away, the boy was still able to notice that he was being targeted and counterattacked.

    The child was clearly a dangerous existence that, if possible, must be assassinated. Ry¨­suke was suddenly much more interested in the request, but he still ordered for another subordinate to take charge.

    It wasn¡¯t an order to kill. He merely instructed for them to run an investigation, gave them a rough exnation of the situation, and told them to handle it as they see fit moving forward.

    After that, Ry¨­suke sat back and watched things y out.

    If you take aim at him and try to pull the trigger, you die.

    But if you just aim at him, you don¡¯t.

    If you turn on the safety to prevent the gun from firing, you don¡¯t die even if you pull the trigger intending to kill him.

    You also don¡¯t die if you just shoot near him.

    If you get creative and try to hit him without aiming, regardless of whether you intend to kill him or not, you still die.

    Landmines don¡¯t explode when he steps on them, and the person who sets them doesn¡¯t die. Apparently, thendmine just breaks instead.

    It¡¯s the same oue when multiple people attack him at the same time. Everyone that attempts to kill him dies without exception.

    When he¡¯s attacked with magic, there are slightly different results. If you have to chant to cast a spell, you die just before you finish saying thest words of the magic incantation. If you have to use a staff to cast the spell, it seems like you die the very instant you think to invoke the magic.

    If you attempt to fire off long-distance area-of-effect magic, it doesn¡¯t matter whether or not you¡¯re aiming for him, you die. It even happens if the caster is unaware that the target is there in the first ce.

    If you attach a bomb to a random civilian, it just misfires when they get close to him.

    If you copse a building he¡¯s close to, he simply senses that he¡¯s in danger and leaves the area. If you set it up so perfectly that he¡¯s unable to escape in time, he just effortlessly dodges all of the falling rubble.

    Poisons were also useless. If you mix it in with his meal, he notices and refuses to eat it. When he¡¯s exposed to a colorless poisonous gas, the gas seemingly gets destroyed at the chemical level.

    Initially, Ry¨­suke was thinking that he was reacting to any killing intent that gets directed at him, but now he was thinking that that wasn¡¯t exactly correct.

    At the most basic level, it seems to boil down to whether or not his life is in danger, and if it is, then the cause dies or breaks.

    His response to distant attacks is so fast that it almost seems automatic.

    They hadn¡¯t tested out melee attacks yet, but the results would almost definitely be the same. Additionally, leaving a dead body behind would increase the probability of getting tracked down, so his subordinates didn¡¯t even try.

    On the side, they were running a second investigation, looking into methods to defend against his instant death ability, but it hadn¡¯t managed to yield any good results either.

    Neither the armor from earth nor the legendary armors of this world were capable of defending against his power. Attempts at raising the magical defense of the armor, imbuing resistances to instant-death effects, or using warding artifacts to take attacks in the ce of the wielder. Nothing worked. Everything was pointless.

    You just die.

    There were never any external wounds on the bodies either, so the exact cause of death was still unknown.

    In the end, sessfullypleting this request was looking less and less practical, but Ry¨­suke wasn¡¯t too worried. Even though the target was such a terrible monster, Ry¨­suke didn¡¯t feel overly threatened by his power.

    The target could use his power to strike back, it didn¡¯t seem like he was aware of the exact location of the people he killed.

    Instead, it seemed like the boy only knew the general direction that the attack hade from, and since Ry¨­suke¡¯s subordinates were always attacking the target from a significant distance away, they were always able to retreat immediately after failing an attempt. Furthermore, there was no way for him to know of Ry¨­suke¡¯s existence.

    In other words, Ry¨­suke would always be able to escape if the worst-case situation came to pass.

    Of course, he would be lying if he were to im that he wasn¡¯t anxious at all, though Ry¨­suke would never admit to it.

    His life was stagnant. Everything bored him. So, he always sought after excitement. It was what ultimately led him into the assassination business in the first ce.

    Regardless of the imusibility of killing this target, he continued pushing forward.

    If he gave up on such an exciting request and returned to wishing for stimtion, he¡¯d never be able to take himself seriously again.

    At least, that¡¯s what he told himself. There were no viable excuses he could make or any other ways to get out of the request, so he simply couldn¡¯t admit to his anxiety.

    So, Ry¨­suke painted over this vague anxiety of his with feelings of curiosity. He inspired himself, telling himself that this was the source of excitement that he was looking for.

    ¡°Well. What¡¯s the situation like now?¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    In order to keep up with the target as he moved throughout the city, Ry¨­suke would periodically update which of the security cameras he was looking through. The boy wasn¡¯t always in range of the same cameras, after all.

    Despite this, one of the monitors always kept track of the target, but this was because he was being observed by a small drone.

    It was flying high in the sky in order to make sure nobody noticed it, yet it still had the capability of clearly picking up the voices of the people in town.

    The two people seemed to be headed toward an area where a mysterious disaster had taken ce.

    Arge number of scorched, destroyed buildings began to show up on the monitors.

    Eventually, the two of them came to a stop near the central part of the disaster, a location that had degraded to nothing more than rubble.

    There had been a surveince camera set up at that location, but given the circumstances, it obviously wasn¡¯t working anymore. The drone¡¯s camera was the only one that still had the target on the screen.

    ¡ºPlease take aim at the girl now.¡» (Young Woman)

    A voice suddenly came out of nowhere. It was his subordinate issuing an order over the radio.

    ¡°Come to think of it, we¡¯ve never tried that before, have we?¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    They had tried attacking the people around the target before, but the ultimate goal back then was to include him in the attack.

    But what would happen if they ignored the target and just attacked the people around him instead? Would he be able to use his power to respond to it? They might find out something new if they tried.

    One of the snipers on standby shot their rifle.

    The target reacted, pulling the girl in close to him, protecting her from the bullet.

    Ry¨­suke immediately checked the monitor that depicted the subordinate that had taken the shot.

    Not dead.

    In other words, he was able to detect attacks aimed at people around him, but he doesn¡¯t necessarily use his power in response.

    ¡°Is this how we want to do thing moving forwaa-???¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    Ry¨­suke trailed off. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. A ninja had suddenly appeared behind the sniper.

    The ninja was dressed in a gaudy red costume. They had snuck up behind the sniper and immediately tied him up with a rope.

    ¡°Idiot!¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    Ry¨­suke stood up in a hurry.

    The ninja had to be working with the target. It was difficult for him to imagine that this ninja had just happened to be in the area and casually decided to capture his subordinate. It could only mean one thing. The entire date had been arranged for the sake of determining the sniper¡¯s location.

    But how did they know?

    Ry¨­suke was confused at first, but he quickly dismissed the question. It was entirely possible that they figured out the sniper¡¯s location based on the trajectory of the bullet he fired.

    Ry¨­suke calmed himself. This wasn¡¯t anything worth panicking over. There was nothing his subordinate could say that would lead them to him. His underling didn¡¯t know anything about the manager of Dark Garden.

    They didn¡¯t know anything about the flower shop, nor did they know Ry¨­suke¡¯s name. Even in the worst case situation, the boy would only be able to trace it back to the mechanical young woman he had put in charge of nning the assassination. If that happened, he still wasn¡¯t worried. That young woman was one of his machines. She would absolutely never give out any information.

    Regardless, Ry¨­suke finally decided to give up.

    Being forced to back down now was frustrating, but nothing could be done about it. Nothing good woulde from Ry¨­suke being revealed to that boy.

    As Ry¨­suke calmly sat back down in his chair, he noticed something else that definitely shouldn¡¯t be happening.

    The drone had been seen.

    The target was staring at him straight through the monitor.

    The only camera he had on the target was the one from the drone hovering high up in the sky. In other words, the target knew about the drone and was looking at it as it flew.

    ¡ºJust you wait. I¡¯ming for you right now.¡» (Yogiri)

    The drone clearly picked up the sound of the target saying these words, and immediately afterward, the monitor went dark.

 Chapter 5: If thatâ€™s whatâ€™s going on, then Iâ€™m not sure I even needed to be hereâ€¦

    <h4>Chapter 5: If that¡¯s what¡¯s going on, then I¡¯m not sure I even needed to be here¡­</h4>

    Tantor: Graze, Editor: Graze

    ¡°Just you wait. I¡¯ming for you right now.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri cast a look up into the sky with an unusually grim expression on his face.

    Tomochika, still embraced in Yogiri¡¯s arms, felt a slight chill run down her spine.

    It was a premonition. A vague, instinctive sense of danger that the world as she knew it wasing to an end.

    ¡°Is this turning into a horror story now!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika shouted, disguising her uneasiness with a joke.

    ¡°Huh?¡± (Yogiri)

    Confused by her joke, Yogiri¡¯s expression quickly reverted back to normal.

    ¡°Well, what you said sounded like something straight out of an urban legend.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Oh, like the ones where you suddenly get a menacing phone call from a random number.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Anyway, thanks for the save but¡­ Just how long do you n on hugging me?¡± (Tomochika)

    There weren¡¯t that many people around, but a small crowd was starting to gather due to themotion.

    She didn¡¯t think it was unpleasant, but getting held close like that for such a long time was getting somewhat embarrassing.

    ¡°Well, they still might attack again.¡± (Yogiri)

    Tomochika followed Yogiri¡¯s line of sight up into the sky.

    ¡°Is that what you¡¯re talking about?¡± (Tomochika)

    Something that had been hovering up in the air was crashing down to the ground. She assumed that it had been stricken down with Yogiri¡¯s power.

    It was a small machine equipped with several propellers that allowed it to take flight.

    ¡ºIsn¡¯t that a drone?¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°A drone! How could something like that be here?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºIt isn¡¯t that out of ce. I imagine that products from Earth could end up here inrgely the same way we did.¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Somebody was using it to watch us.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°What? How do you know that? Did you feel the usual killing intent stuff from the operator of the drone?¡± (Tomochika)

    After all, no matter where it¡¯sing from, when somebody targets Yogiri with killing intent, he¡¯s able to notice it with his ability.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t have anything to do with that, it was more like, uh¡­ I guess I just knew it was watching me¡­ or something? It¡¯s just this sense that I get when I¡¯m being watched, but I didn¡¯t notice it until we got to this specific part of the city.¡± (Yogiri)

    During his prior outings, Yogiri had been feeling like he was being watched from every direction because there were surveince cameras installed all throughout the city. However, all of the cameras in this section of the city had been destroyed because of the recent battle, so he was able to notice the drone watching him from the sky.

    ¡°So, what now? Isn¡¯t it pointless now that the drone is broken?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºFuhahaha! Whoever it is, they¡¯ve definitely been caught off-guard! Nobody can match me when ites to electronic warfare! I¡¯ve already located the transmission source of the radio waves!¡» (Mokomoko)

    Full of herself, Mokomoko proudly boasted about her skills.

    ¡°Oh¡­ So you¡¯re crazy because you¡¯ve been constantly exposing yourself to radio waves. It¡¯s such a shame¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºYou idiot! Each and every one of us is constantly being exposed to radio waves! I just gave it a go because the youngster asked me to yesterday! It¡¯s a little trick called transmitter hunting.¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°I see¡­ If that¡¯s what¡¯s going on, then I¡¯m not sure I even needed to be here¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Yogiri had told her that she had been brought along in order to locate where the attack wasing from, but it was really difficult to track down a sniper lying prone on their stomach on some faraway rooftop.

    ¡ºWhat are you going on about? We couldn¡¯t afford to just leave you behind on this one. If it wasn¡¯t for my Radio Wave Transmission Detection Technique, we would¡¯ve had no other option than to rely on your eyesight to get the job done.¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°We didn¡¯t mean to deceive you or anything, Dannoura-san. I just thought that you might start looking around restlessly if I told you about the security cameras.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Ah. Yeah, that definitely¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    After considering everything, it made sense to her. Whoever was targeting Yogiri might have sensed that something was amiss if she had been acting too suspiciously.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine then. Still, what are you gonna do now? Are you gonna kill the person that was watching you?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I could, but in this case, they were just watching, so killing them would be a bit over the top, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri scratched his head.

    There seemed to be some sort of connection between the drone and the sniper.

    But, he couldn¡¯t say that for certain. Yogiri wasn¡¯t looking to kill someone when there was a risk that he was making a false usation.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told the drone that I was going to go to them. I¡¯ll give them a chance to exin themselves and then decide from there.¡± (Yogiri)

    With Mokomoko taking the lead, Yogiri and Tomochika started off to the source of radio transmissions.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Miyanaga Ry¨­suke was trembling with fear.

    Before he had gotten involved with this request to assassinate Yogiri, everything had always been simple.

    He had grown overconfident. After all, nobody had ever gotten close to besting him. With just the slightest amount of effort, a lone boy should¡¯ve been killed easily.

    But now, Ry¨­suke hade to understand Yogiri.

    Of course, he certainly couldn¡¯t say that he understood everything about him. Rather, he understood that he¡¯d never be able to beat such a ridiculous monster.

    After all, confronting him would mean certain death. In fact, you were in danger if he so much as knew about your existence.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? What he said¡­ Is he saying that he¡¯s already found out about me!? No¡­ If that was true, he¡¯d have killed me a long time ago¡­ Which means that I should still have time.¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    He attempted to convince himself with wishful thinking, but he knew he was wasting his time. The drone had been broken, and it only made sense to think that Yogiri¡¯s ability was the reason why. It was all the proof he needed to conclude that the boy had already found out the location of the flower shop.

    He couldn¡¯t understand how this had happened. No matter how much he thought about it, nothing made any sense. His thinking ground to a halt as he began to panic.

    ¡°Dammit! Calm yourself!¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    He stopped himself and used his ability. He thought about what he needed to imitate from Earth and ultimately settled on a small pill. The pill, a mild sedative, materialized in his hand.

    This was the handiwork of Ry¨­suke¡¯s ability, Imitation. The power to recreate anything from his original world. It had a size limit, and it couldn¡¯t make living things, but outside of that, his options were endless.

    Ry¨­suke immediately swallowed the medicine. It wasn¡¯t going to work right away, but knowing he had taken it was enough to bring him peace of mind. He recovered a bit of hisposure.

    ¡°Based on what he said, I can conclude that he¡¯s found out where I¡¯m at and he¡¯s heading here in person.¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    In which case, Ry¨­suke concluded that he just had to leave the city. He felt like the boy wasn¡¯t very likely to chase after him if he managed to get across the border. After all, the boy was a Sage Candidate, someone that had an obligation to stay within the royal capital.

    His organization¡­ His talented personnel¡­ All of his materials and equipment¡­ He had a lot of reasons to want to stay in the city, but none of it was worth the risk. His life came first. After all, he would always be able to rebuild everything all over again.

    ¡°Those two¡­ Where are they now?¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    Ry¨­suke turned his attention back to the monitors.

    He couldn¡¯t help himself. He couldn¡¯t endure the fear that came from knowing nothing. The fear of being tracked down.

    Yogiri and hispanion were clearly shown on the monitors.

    They had already gotten out of the destroyed section of the city and were once again in sight of the security cameras installed throughout the town.

    Ry¨­suke watched the two of them for just an instant before one of the cameras suddenly lost connection. And then another one did the same.

    The expression ¡ºNO SIGNAL¡» was rapidly popping up on the monitors. When he changed the active camera to a new one, the same phenomenon took ce immediately. Yogiri was moving toward the flower shop, disabling every camera in his path.

    Fighting back was absolutely out of the question. He had no other option but to think about how to escape, and he had no time to sit back and think about it.

    There were two general strategies he could use. He could either leave quietly and cautiously, or he could forget stealth and just make a break for it.

    Ry¨­suke ultimately decided on thetter.

    If Yogiri really already knew Ry¨­suke¡¯s location, there was a high probability that he would get caught if he tried to quietly slink away from the flower shop.

    Which meant that he had no other choice but to take a risk. Even if he was seen in the middle of the escape, it should only take him an instant to get out of the city.

    Ry¨­suke walked out onto his balcony. He didn¡¯t prepare a single piece of luggage other than some pieces of his best protective equipment. He felt like it was better to travel as light as possible.

    He climbed up adder that went from his balcony to the roof. There, he had built a hangar that stored a small airne.

    It was a small VTOL aircraft. He had prepared it for the sake of escaping the shop should the worst-case scenarioe to pass.

    He got inside the ne and a hatch on the ceiling of the hangar began to open.

    After the opening wasrge enough, the ne took to the air.

    He began to transition to a level flight after gaining some altitude. He just needed to get to the point where he could take full control of the ne¡¯s positioning. After that, it would only take an instant for him to cross the national border.

    ¡°Falcon Vortex sh!¡± (???)

    For a moment, he thought he could hear someone yelling out some sort of phrase. Right afterward, his ne shook violently and he started to lose control.

    One of the wings had taken a lot of damage. Arge cut had been torn through the center of it. Ry¨­suke immediately determined that sustaining the flight was no longer an option and pulled the emergency escape.

    His seat exploded out from below, smashing him through the canopy of the cockpit. As he flew through the air, he saw a girl standing on the roof of a nearby building.

    A samurai.

    The girl was donned in a samurai costume with a Japanese katana in hand. She was talking with somebody on some kind of smartphone.

    His parachute opened, slowing his fall. And with it, Ry¨­suke began to panic all over again.

    Leisurely falling from the sky was far too conspicuous, and he didn¡¯t feel like he could afford to waste any time when Yogiri could show up at any moment.

    He decided to unfasten his harness and fall to the ground. If he utilized the power of his equipment that allowed him to transcend the limits of humanity, dropping down to the ground from a height like this wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    However¡­

    ¡°Dann¨­ra-Style Izuna Drop!¡± (???)

    As he fell, a young girl shouted out a phrase as shetched onto him in the air.

    He attempted to release himself from her stranglehold, but his resistance was met with harsh, disorienting pain as she crushed his windpipe and drove her knee into his crotch.

    His mind couldn¡¯t keep up with what was happening.

    Ry¨­suke had equipped himself with several items worth far more than their own weight in gold. These items applied defensive barriers, enchantments, and resistances to his body. The fact that her attacks had managed to break through all of them defied his every expectation.

    As the two of them smashed into the ground, he felt yet another vicious surge of pain as his neck buckled from the impact.

    The girl ensured that Ry¨­suke had taken the full force of the impact to the crown of his head. The move had been skillfully performed to output as much damage as possible.

    An average human would have died. Ry¨­suke had only managed to survive thanks to his top-tier equipment and all of the various amounts of doping he had done for the sake of surpassing his limits.

    ¡°Well¡­ Are you trying to kill him now?¡± (???)

    As Ry¨­suke faded in and out of consciousness, he just barely heard a voice.

    A familiar voice. One that he absolutely didn¡¯t want to be hearing.

    ¡°Mokomoko-san told me to do it!¡± (???)

    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s dead, so it¡¯s fine I guess.¡± (???)

    Ry¨­suke painfully, hopelessly lifted his head.

    Takat¨­ Yogiri was standing right in front of him.

 Chapter 6: Mokomoko-sanâ€¦ The electromagnetic waves have finally gotten to you, havenâ€™t theyâ€¦?

    <h4>Chapter 6: Mokomoko-san¡­ The electromaic waves have finally gotten to you, haven¡¯t they¡­?</h4>

    Thanks to the effects of the drug that he had taken earlier, Miyanaga Ry¨­suke was able to keep hisposure.

    He felt like he wanted to cry, but he knew that if he gave into his despair now, everything would be over.

    Calm yourself. He should be able to kill me whenever he feels like it, but it doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s going to¡­ So, I probably won¡¯t be killed right away.

    He had a feeling death was looming over him, but it wasn¡¯t because of Yogiri. Ry¨­suke began to check his surroundings.

    He was in the middle of the street.

    There was arge fissure, stretching across the cobbled road, a result caused by the recent collision it had with Ry¨­suke¡¯s skull.

    A store a short distance away had taken serious damage.

    Yogiri and those apanying him were the only ones left in the area. Just a few days ago, there had been an incident that caused a seriously extensive amount of damage to the town. The memory of that event was probably fresh in the minds of the citizens, which only hastened their evacuation.

    There appeared to be amotion in the distance, probably over where Ry¨­suke¡¯s airne had crashed.

    There were two people right in front of him.

    He had seen one of them too many times to mistake them for someone else: Takat¨­ Yogiri.

    He was donned in a white shirt and a pair of cks, an outfit that came across as a school uniform. For the time being, his attention seemed to be focused elsewhere, as he was immersed in a conversation on his smartphone.

    The other person was the young girl who had been travelling together with him.

    When he hadst seen her, she was dressed like a typical young girl, but at some point, she had changed into a ck suit that enveloped her entire body. It appeared to be some kind of battle suit. He supposed that this young girl had been the one who grabbed hold of him mid-air and smashed him into the earth¡¯s surface.

    There were no longer any problems with his injury. There had only been pain for a moment, and he had almost recoveredpletely. His body had many ways to recover automatically, so the amount of damage he had taken was no big deal.

    The duo were apanied by something else. Floating in the air beside them was an existence one would hesitate to call a person.

    It seemed to be some kind of guardian spirit, a chubby woman who was wearing a white traditional Japanese garb that was simr to a kariginu. Ry¨­suke¡¯s eyes had the ability to reproduce objects from his original world, which allowed him to see spiritual existences.

    ¡°Why are you just casually talking on your phone!?¡± (Tomochika)

    The young girl spoke, having noticed Yogiri absorbed in his phone.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s so we can coordinate with Ninomiya-san.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Eh? Your phone is actually usable here?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºI¡¯m rying the signals, kind-of like a virtual base station I guess? I¡¯m receiving the phone¡¯s signals, analyzing them, and then sending them back out!¡» (Mokomoko)

    Ry¨­suke was shocked at the spirit¡¯s words.

    He had been under the impression that he was the only one who could operate electronics in this world.

    ¡°Mokomoko-san¡­ The electromaic waves have finally gotten to you, haven¡¯t they¡­?¡± (Tomochika)

    The young girl stared at the spirit, who was apparently named Mokomoko, with eyes full of pity.

    ¡ºSimpleton! Sending and receiving the signals is as rudimentary as it gets! How dare you stand there and suggest that I¡¯m crazy!¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Well. It¡¯s troublesome, so let¡¯s talk about this further once you get here. Maybe it¡¯s because of that recent incident, but it seems that everyone¡¯s run away already.¡± (Yogiri)

    Having finished his phone call, Yogiri looked at Ry¨­suke.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s been watching me this whole time, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°What are you talking about? What¡¯s with you guys! I was attacked without warning as I was flying in my ne. That was you guys wasn¡¯t it!?¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    Ry¨­suke decided to dodge the question. Responding to it would¡¯ve effectively been a confession, which would¡¯ve led to nothing but trouble.

    He had no choice but to push forward with his own circumstances, no matter how iprehensible they seemed. If Yogiri wasn¡¯t interested in killing him immediately, there was a possibility that he could be overlooked by insisting they had the wrong person.

    ¡ºHmm. It¡¯s true that we can¡¯t say you¡¯re guilty just because you were in a ne, even if the timing of your flight was extremely suspicious.¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem? I don¡¯t know how it works for you when you meet someone for the first time, but¡­¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    Yogiri¡¯s expression became a simple, slight frown. It seemed that he hadn¡¯te with any clear, conclusive evidence.

    In which case, Ry¨­suke felt like he still had a chance. As long as he didn¡¯t interfere with Yogiri any further, he wouldn¡¯t be killed.

    Thus, it should also be possible for him to make an escape.

    He just needed to get away from them the moment before they make the decision to kill him.

    That¡¯s right, I can still use the power of the Spirit Princess.

    With the power of the Spirit Princess, getting away should be feasible. That said, she would only get conceited were he to rely on her, so he really preferred to avoid asking her for help. However, sacrifices have to be made in order to solve a problem.

    As Ry¨­suke thought about it, he suddenly came to a realization. The fact that she hadn¡¯t appeared yet, despite everything that had happened, was really unusual.

    The Spirit Princess doted on him quite a lot. There was no way she would overlook a situation where Ry¨­suke had been injured.

    ¡ºIs this what you¡¯re looking for?¡» (Mokomoko)

    Saying that, Mokomoko held up a woman by the neck with her right hand.

    The Spirit Princess, Elysion. Her beautiful appearance had be an atrocity instead. Her head had been twisted at a ridiculous angle, weakly hanging in the air.

    Spirits had spiritual bodies that couldn¡¯t really bepared with a human¡¯s, yet it was clear to Ry¨­suke that Elysion¡¯s had been incapacitated.

    ¡°What is that?¡± (Tomochika)

    The young girl raised her voice in surprise. She could apparently see the Spirit Princess as well.

    ¡ºSince this suspicious spirit was about to attack you, I took care of it.¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Huh. Well, at least you¡¯ve finally done something befitting of an actual guardian spirit.¡± (Tomochika)

    The young girl¡¯s unconcerned attitude returned immediately after hearing Mokomoko¡¯s exnation.

    ¡°¡­Why¡­? The Spirit Princess is an existence that rules over all other spirits¡­ An existence that stands at the peak of the spiritual world¡­¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    Ry¨­suke muttered, shocked at what he was seeing.

    ¡ºHah! There¡¯s nobody in the world who can beat me in a spiritual duel! The Dann¨­ra pursue truebat even after death! As if someone like this would be worthy enough to face me!¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Ugh¡­ You¡¯ve got such a smug look on your face, Mokomoko-san. Just because you were able to y an active role for once¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThough, if this thing is the Spirit Princess, does that mean this one is the Spirit King?¡» (Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko held up a man by the neck with her left hand.

    He was a delicate-looking man who radiated with divine energy, but Mokomoko had strangled him to the point where he waspletely motionless.

    ¡°Mokomoko-san, don¡¯t go picking up strange stuff like that¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThis guy came flying at us after I beat the princess, so I went and turned the tables on him! He was just a bit stronger, but it was nowhere near enough to triumph over the Dann¨­ra!¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Aah¡­ You¡¯ve gottenpletely full of yourself at this point¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Mokomoko put strength into her grip on the spirit¡¯s necks.

    Their ethereal bodies dissipated into the air as they were crushed. Ry¨­suke didn¡¯t know whether or not they had died, but he was certain he wouldn¡¯t be getting any help from the Spirit Princess moving forward.

    Yogiri turned his attention to Mokomoko. If Ry¨­suke was going to do something, this was probably his only chance to do it.

    Ry¨­suke scoured his memory for something to replicate and ultimately ended up creating a smoke grenade. Given how small it was, the replication was instantaneous.

    He pulled the pin right away and threw it forward. It was quite effective as the street was immediately filled with ayer of smoke.

    Medication. Magical enchantments. Mechanical enhancements. He utilized every method he had avable to build up his strength.

    He put all of it into his legs, and just as he was about to jump away in a single bound, he heard a familiar voice.

    ¡°Run away and I¡¯ll kill you.¡± (Yogiri)

    Ry¨­suke was bound by those words.

    The correct choice was to try and escape anyway, even if he had to force himself. If Yogiri truly wasn¡¯t interested in killing Ry¨­suke, it was possible that Yogiri would¡¯ve turned a blind eye to him altogether.

    Now, however, he couldn¡¯t get himself to move. He just stood still, wasting valuable time until the smokescreen faded away.

    ¡°The fact that you didn¡¯t run means that you know about my powers, don¡¯t you?¡± (Yogiri)

    Ry¨­suke¡¯s hesitation had made it perfectly clear. It would probably be useless no matter how much he attempted to gloss things over.

    ¡°Fenrir!¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    Desperation set in.

    Ry¨­suke called on a four-legged beast that he had named after the mythological god-ying wolf. It was an incarnation of tyranny that he had somehow sessfully managed to tame by providing it with food.

    Fenrir¡¯s huge body soundlessly materialized before suddenly toppling over.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to do this sort of thing, do it quickly alright? Spare me from the long exnations and backstories as well.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri spoke tly.

    ¡°Queen of the city of darkness, Maya! Come to my aid! I¡¯m having a crisis no matter how you look at it!¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    ¡°It stands to reason that as long as you do not call for me, I will note to your aid. Being treated like a nuisance after suddenly showing up out of nowhere would hurt even my feelings.¡± (Maya)

    A beautiful white hand gently came down on Ry¨­suke¡¯s shoulder.

    When he looked over his shoulder, he saw a woman of matchless beauty adorned in a ck dress.

    Ry¨­suke had met her after getting lost within an underground city back when he traveled the world. For some reason she had taken a liking to him, trying various things to get him to devote himself to her, but Ry¨­suke had always handled it delicately.

    ¡°Help me! I beg of you!¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    ¡°Do you mean to tell me you¡¯re finally willing to be my spouse?¡± (Maya)

    Ry¨­suke kept silent. If they were to wed, he would be trapped in her underground city, never again free to see the outside world. He was trying to survive here, so there was no way he¡¯d take her up on that offer.

    Furthermore, he still didn¡¯t know if Yogiri was going to kill him.

    ¡°¡­Well, it is fine I guess. Doing something akin to forcing you into the bonds of marriage by acting as your shield is far too boorish and unromantic.¡± (Maya)

    Ry¨­suke was relieved. He wouldn¡¯t have to sign the rest of his life away, even if Maya managed to take care of Yogiri.

    With that being the case, he had actually considered asking her to dispose of Yogiri a long time ago. Though, back then, he had only entertained the idea out of mere curiosity. He hadn¡¯t really thought that Maya had any real chance of killing him.

    However, Ry¨­suke now felt like Maya might just be able to do it.

    She was the immortal queen who ruled over life and death.

    She wasn¡¯t someone the term ¡®death¡¯ could even apply to, and because of that, there was no need for her to fear Yogiri¡¯s ability. Ultimately, Yogiri was nothing more than an ordinary human being. Killing him should be simple for someone like her.

    ¡°Ahahaha! This is the end! The concept of death doesn¡¯t even apply to Maya! There¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be able to kill-¡± (Ry¨­suke)

    ¡°Die.¡± (Yogiri)

    Maya crumbled on the spot.

    Her body copsed into a ck lump before slowly disappearing altogether, leaving nothing behind.

    ¡°Even though I¡¯vee across tons of people who im that they¡¯ll absolutely never die, or that they¡¯re already dead, or that the concept of death doesn¡¯t apply to them, they all end up dead in the end.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°No, um, Takat¨­-kun. They all came fromplex backgrounds, and all seemed to be pretty ridiculous people, so shouldn¡¯t you be a little more aware of the people around you¡­?¡± (Tomochika)

    The young girl¡¯s voice waspletely devoid of surprise. She seemed awfully fed up with dealing with him.

    ¡°Whatever, who they were has absolutely nothing to do with me.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri was directing a thoroughly hostile aura at Ry¨­suke at this point. If Maya wasn¡¯t able to deal with him, Ry¨­suke didn¡¯t think that anything else in the world could.

    A transmission from his mechanical doll echoed through his mind, informing him that she was en route to his location.

    It¡¯s useless at this point!

    He didn¡¯t think a machine that was only somewhat stronger than the average human being had any chance at all.

    However, he didn¡¯t have the heart to stop her anymore.

    Before long, the doll arrived. With how she was dressed in her red dress and gloves, she was the splitting image of a real human.

    ¡°Separate yourself from my master!¡± (Doll)

    The doll threw a knife she had in hand at Yogiri.

    Ry¨­suke harbored serious doubts about whether her attack would work, but something didn¡¯t feel right about the scene that unfolded in front of him.

    He had thought that throwing a knife at Yogiri would¡¯ve been a grave mistake.

    After all, based on everything he had learned so far, one would die immediately the moment they tried to throw it.

    And yet, Takat¨­ Yogiri just stood still and stared at the doll. He didn¡¯t do a thing as the knife flew at him. The young girl that had been standing next to him snatched the knife out of the air in a panic.

    ¡°Takat¨­-kun!?!¡± (Tomochika)

    The young girl shouted out in confusion. Ry¨­suke waspletely stunned by the impossible scene that had yed out before him.

    He was speechless. He had entirely expected Yogiri to react to her killing intent before her attack ever happened.

    ¡°Ah sorry. I was just a little surprised. Sophora, switch to root usermand mode.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri approached the doll as he spoke.

    Sophora was the original code-name for this doll.

    And somehow, Yogiri knew about it, along with the existence of her administrativemands. Ry¨­suke also knew about thesemands, but they should¡¯ve only been usable by those who had been granted administrative rights.

    ¡°Power Down.¡± (Yogiri)

    At Yogiri¡¯smand, the doll lost all power and toppled to the floor. He grabbed onto her gently andid her on the ground.

    ¡°Takat¨­-kun, uh¡­ What happened?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯splicated so we¡¯ll talk about itter.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri fixated his eyes on Ry¨­suke.

    ¡°Well, I just wanted to talk you know, but then you went and wasted a lot of time. So, how about we have a little chat?¡± (Yogiri)

    Ry¨­suke didn¡¯t have a single fragment of willpower left in his heart to go against him anymore.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Ootori Haruto was currently in the second-floor flower shop headquarters of the assassination guild, Dark Garden.

    He was there to validate some information regarding Yogiri.

    Part of the request that had been made to the assassination guild asked them to draw up reports about the information they found. After a short search, Haruto easily located the reports.

    Even though the power of ¡ºConsultant¡» could allow him to understand this information without expressly having toe out so far to find it, the downside of his ability was that he only had ess to historical data, not the most recent information.

    Haruto lightly skimmed through the reports.

    As expected, Yogiri was able to detect any kind of attack and respond to it immediately. At a nce, the reports seemed to indicate that he was invincible.

    ¡°But¡­ How invincible is he really?¡± (Haruto)

    The first point to consider was that Takat¨­ Yogiri had been sessfully summoned to this world.

    If he truly possessed the ability to retaliate against any attack, then the fact that he was in another world in the first ce was strange. He had gotten caught up in a summoning into another world, and yet he didn¡¯t kill any of the people who tried to summon him.

    In other words, as long as you don¡¯t intend to kill him, it may be possible to move him somewhere else by force.

    The second point to consider was rted to his abilities.

    The ability to kill whatever he wants, and the ability to sense all traces of killing intent. With these two abilitiesbined, Yogiri was effectively invincible. So far, there had yet to be an opponent he couldn¡¯t kill. He had managed to avoid the risk of death entirely.

    ¡°Then, what would happen if he turned his ability onto himself?¡± (Haruto)

    If he used his own instant death ability on himself, what would happen then? Would he just die?

    ¡°In that case, what would need to happen for him to mistake his target? What would need to happen to prompt him to kill himself?¡± (Haruto)

    Taking a hostage and threatening him or something would be an act of sheer stupidity. He would be able to kill any obstacle as long as he used his instant death ability.

    So, if he were tomit suicide, he would need to do it of his own volition.

    ¡°He seems like an aloof character, someone who goes about things without showing much emotion¡­ But is that really the case?¡± (Haruto)

    Yogiri wasn¡¯t a robot. While he may not express his emotions very much, they shouldn¡¯t be too different from the typical high school boy.

    ¡°Hmm. Let¡¯s continue with this line of thinking for a bit.¡± (Haruto)

    He had discovered a lot from this experiment. There was a low probability of getting any new results from changing the scale or type of attacks moving forward.

    In which case, all Haruto felt that he had to do now was try to look at the problem from another angle.

 Volume 4, 11: You see, thatâ€™s why I think itâ€™s around time for an awakening event

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 11: You see, that¡¯s why I think it¡¯s around time for an awakening event</h4>

    Once they passed through the wall that wrapped around the center of hell, they found a forest. Once they had made their way into it, they suddenly arrived at a space full of nothingness.

    This was supposed to be the hole that rested in the center of hell.

    If you were to look closer, you¡¯d notice that it wasn¡¯t a perfect circle, but instead the inside looked more like some kind of intricate cliff. The size of the hole seemed to be around 20km in diameter and the other side of it seemed covered in a haze which they couldn¡¯t see through.

    At that point, the sun had begun to fall so they decided to take a rest. It was difficult to believe hell¡¯s changing weather, but so far things like the sun seemed to be moving at the same pace as the world above. And thus, no matter how much they trusted their own abilities, they decided that the best was to stop advancing during night time, when their visibility was severely restricted.

    The sage candidates went back into the woods and built a base there.

    A carpenter-ss candidate made part of the forest disappear and created a vacant lot where he built a fort.

    Just for caution¡¯s sake, they scouted the area and confirmed its safety before dering the day¡¯s activities were over.

    And then it was night.

    A dinner party was held at therge dining hall inside the fort.

    There were a number of tables inside withvish meals arranged on top of them. They were prepared by the girls who excelled at cooking, and the ingredients that they used were those that had been brought along with them from the above world.

    At the time they had been deported, they had procuredrge amounts of supplies and stockpiled them at several locations in the underworld.

    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s really okay for us to be in such high spirits¡­¡±

    Grumbled Tomochika.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine?¡±

    Replied Romiko.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s been nothing but child¡¯s y until now, hasn¡¯t it?

    Said Shijou Juna. The three of them sat at the same table.

    They had reached the end of the sixthyer without much difficulty and would arrive to the seventh level tomorrow. At first, they had been confused by the environment, which they were not ustomed to, but now they had pretty much adapted to itpletely.

    A rxed atmosphere could be felt throughout the dining hall.

    At the moment there were more girls in the room, possibly making the guys feel a little awkward.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we have a lookout or someone guarding outside? I mean, we¡¯re right in the middle of enemy territory, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°We had been taking turns doing that until we got to the royal capital. However, since then Arima¡¯s power improved and now he can apparently see everything around our perimeter.¡±

    Arima Osamu. He was a gifted boy of the carpenter ss.

    At first, he could only build a small single shack if he tried his best, however he could now easily build huge structures like the one they were in at the moment.

    Also, the carpenter ss had the power to know about everything that was going on inside the ces they built.

    Since there were fences around the fort, the carpenter-ss power extended to them. In other words, it was possible for him to look out for enemies over a wide area around their fort.

    ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that bad? Won¡¯t people hate him like they did with the three eroge aristocrats?¡±

    Tomochika thought that if that guy was able to see everything inside the building where everyone slept, there would be many people who wouldn¡¯t feelfortable with it.

    ¡°Ah, Arima is quite popr so it isn¡¯t really much of an issue. Still, he offered himself to take Akino¡¯s oath. In that sense isn¡¯t his honesty also part of what makes him so well-liked?¡±

    Kana answered. The three eroge aristocrats seemed to reluctantly ept him so it may be different in that way.

    ¡°It¡¯s absurd¡­¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an honor student aspiring to be an architect, who¡¯s also good looking and a gentleman, they¡¯re all characteristics that make him popr, right? Tomochika, could it be that Arima just isn¡¯t your type?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I hate him, but¡­¡±

    When thinking about it, she suddenly realized that she¡¯d never thought of a boy in that way.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it that you prefer guys like Takato?¡±

    ¡°Wh-why are you bringing him up now?¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re always together, isn¡¯t it weird you haven¡¯t felt conscious about it until now?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that, just- wait, he isn¡¯t around, is he?¡±

    Tomochika looked around for Yogiri and realized he wasn¡¯t in the dining room.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right.¡±

    Romiko helped her look around for him. The hall wasn¡¯trge enough to lose track of someone easily, which meant he must¡¯ve slipped out at some point.

    ¡°He¡¯s the loner type, so maybe it was a bit hard for him to be around so many people?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that saying too much?¡±

    Said Tomochika, and whileining, she started thinking it might actually be true.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Yogiri sat at the edge of the clearing in the middle of the forest, staring at the stone fort lit by the moonlight.

    It was the fort built for them by the guy who had the carpenter-ss abilities.

    When he made it, the process looked just as though he was ying a game, erasing parts of the forest and stacking together blocks that appeared one after another, quickly being able to build huge structures.

    Lively voices could be hearding out of the fort.

    Everyone was eating, but Yogiri finished early and went out.

    ¨D¨DIt kind of reminds me a bit to somewhere where I used to live before.

    It reminded him of a manor where he resided in the past.

    Even though they were underground, it was a ce that didn¡¯t feel like the underground at all.

    He lived in a mansion inside a forest guarded by shrines, he thought that the feeling of being surrounded by trees was simr to this. It felt kind of like a miniature garden, the demon here might probably be in a simr situation that the one Yogiri had been in the past.

    He sat there absentmindedly, absorbed in his thoughts.

    It¡¯s not like he meant anything special by going outside. It¡¯s just that he felt a bit restless in ces with many people. Since there wasn¡¯t much to do once he was there, Yogiri took out the handheld game console from his uniform¡¯s pocket.

    It was a hunting game in which the goal was to defeat monsters and collect materials.

    He had already cleared most of the single yer quests and all that was left was to y the higher-level multiyer ones.

    It was possible to clear them on his own and advanced yers could probably do it easily. However, Yogiri wasn¡¯t that good at gaming.

    ¨D¨DIt¡¯s such a bother to do them solo. I just want to go back home more and more everyday.

    While absorbed in his thoughts about what other way there could be to go back home, he realized that someone wasing from the fort.

    It was David.

    He walked unsteadily towards Yogiri.

    As he wondered what the other guy could possibly want with him, David passed by without even looking at Yogiri¡¯s way.

    ¡°Are you drunk?¡±

    He tried asking but there was no reply. And just like that David entered the forest walking shakily.

    Yogiri thought his demeanor seemed weird enough to warrant not leaving him alone, so he chased after David.

    While still confused about what was going on, they ended up leaving the forest again.

    In front of themid a precipitous cliff. It was the abyss in the center of hell.

    ¡°Heey.¡±

    Yogiri thought the situation wasn¡¯t good at all, and tried to get a hold of David¡¯s shoulders.

    However, he gently swept away Yogiri¡¯s hands which made him lose his bnce and fall on his butt.

    Meanwhile, David, still trembling, made his way towards the cliff.

    Yogiri didn¡¯t know what was causing his strange behavior, but it was easy to know what would happen next.

    David was still walking, and if he kept going, he would fall off the cliff.

    And then, he felt a sign of death. It wasn¡¯tpletely certain, but he could still see a hazy, dark fog in front of David.

    This didn¡¯t mean that David had a risk of dying, but that if Yogiri went with him, he would put himself in danger.

    However, Yogiri still ran straight into his direction. He tried to hold him from the waist and push him into the ground. David couldn¡¯t counter the move and fell straight down.

    Yogiri stood up and looked at the other guy¡¯s face.

    ¡°Hellooo¡­ It¡¯s no use.¡±

    David¡¯s eyes were hollow.

    He wasn¡¯t looking at Yogiri and didn¡¯t seem to bepletely conscious.

    ¡°It¡¯s times like these when I wish I¡¯d learned how to carry people from Dannoura.¡±

    Carrying unconscious people is quite a difficult task for those who are not used to it.

    Even as he keptining, Yogiri decided to grab David¡¯s feet and drag him. It may have resulted in David receiving a few burns, but there was no way he could leave him in such a ce.

    Snap.

    As he struggled to drag him, he heard a faint sound, as though something had been crushed.

    The dark haze became even darker and the signs of death suddenly increased.

    Everything started going downfall from then on, and he barely had any time to react. The bedrock that had been carrying them was starting to crumble into the abyss.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Otori Haruto looked out the window of the dining hall.

    No one else seemed to notice, but an owl rested on a tree in the garden.

    It was the owl he had used and thus, a sign of Haruto¡¯s sess.

    He could use his skill to know Yogiri¡¯s state, but since his ability was to search through the archives, he couldn¡¯t immediately know what was going on.

    ¡°Haruto, did something happen? You seem kind of happy.¡±

    Haruto realized that he was smiling slightly, as told by Otani Yui, who sat opposite from him at the table.

    ¡°You think so?¡±

    Everyone else also seemed to enjoy dinner at the hall, which meant it wouldn¡¯t feel too out of ce if he were caught having fun there.

    It was such a good coincidence it looked to be part of the n all along.

    In the first ce, he hadn¡¯t expected to seed anyway. Working with failure as your premise was the best way to do it after all.

    The basics of the n were simple.

    Make Yogiri step into a dangerous area. However, he wasn¡¯t actually involved in this part of the n, so he didn¡¯t need to put himself in danger beforehand.

    Then how did he do it?

    This part, too, was quite simple but effective.

    So far, the Yogiri that Haruto had observed seemed to be a guy who wasn¡¯t really interested in others, but also wouldn¡¯t leave them alone. If someone he was close to got themselves in danger, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to help them.

    One of the ideas he conceived under that concept was to use David as a decoy.

    If he was going for the decoy strategy, there was also the option to go for Dannoura Tomochika, who was Yogiri¡¯s closest friend, however that proved itself difficult. Tomochika seemed to be an outsider, and she had close to no gaps in her defense. It also looked as though Tomochika herself was going after Yogiri in some way. In other words, there was the possibility that the Tomochika approach may not have been so different from doing something to Yogiri himself.

    Now, there were other people who he had recently be close to, such as Ninomiya Ryoko and Carol S. Lane. However, it wouldn¡¯t be good to lose them as their fighting prowess was a crucial part to their team.

    And there was also the fact that since their ssmates had been fortified by the gift of the sage, drugs and curses may not have worked on them.

    Which left David as the perfect candidate to be used as bait. He seemed to be close to Yogiri and appeared to be a royal but not as strong as a sage candidate. Also, it was clear that David wasn¡¯t looking to do anything to Yogiri either.

    He gave David the drugs he had obtained in the royal city, made him delirious, and suggested to him that he should head to the cliff.

    The cliffs had been cracked in advance in order to make them easier to copse.

    This would be Yogiri¡¯s weakness, to be forced into another area without him knowing. For example, if once he passed through a certain point an arrow flied towards him, or a giant rock fell his way then it wouldn¡¯t work because he would realize it was a trap, since there was the possibility someone could be killed.

    But what if the cliff were to copse and fall? In that case, he would be the one falling, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it because no one would be directly trying to kill anyone else. In the first ce, Yogiri had been forcefully brought to this world and couldn¡¯t avoid it either.

    That said, it was only a matter of luck for his n to be sessful.

    A dinner party would be held and Yogiri would naturally want to be by himself.

    That way he could also handle David easily.

    Yogiri would notice David going towards the cliff.

    Then David would head for the cracked surface.

    Yogiri would try to stop David from falling.

    And the cracked cliff would copse under theirbined weight.

    Even so, nothing could be said for sure. Just a little change in the sess of events would break the chain and throw his ns in disarray.

    But that was still okay by him. If he was certain he would seed, it could increase the likelihood that Yogiri noticed him.

    He did something which he wasn¡¯t certain would work and left the rest to fate.

    There was no murder there, they were just a series of idents which would end up in a sudden death.

    That was Haruto¡¯s strategy.

    ¡°Well, everything¡¯s been going just fine until now. We haven¡¯t had any hard time yet, haven¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, right? Tomorrow should be fine as well.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t know until we reach the seventh level. However, if we work together, I think we will manage somehow. ¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of a problem that everything is going so well and without any issues, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    The voice echoed clearly in the hustle and bustle of the dinner party.

    I was a fascinating sound that grabbed everyone¡¯s attention and appealed to a certain instinct, which made them think that whatever that person said shouldn¡¯t be ignored.

    Suddenly, a woman in a white dress stood in the middle of the dining hall.

    It was the sage Shion.

    Most people hadn¡¯t expected to see her here since thest time they did was when they met her on the bus.

    The noise in the room subsided and everyone¡¯s eyes focused on Shion.

    ¡°Do you need something? I don¡¯t get it, since as you just mentioned, everything¡¯s been going fine until now.¡±

    Haruto wondered if she hade to check on his n to end Yogiri. Since so far it seemed to have been a sess, it wasn¡¯t a strange timing for her to appear.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine, just go ahead with it. This time I¡¯m here for something else. As I said, I think this is a little too easy for a trial. If it keeps going this way, then it seems there is a high possibility that a sage won¡¯t be born even if you can defeat the demon.¡±

    ¡°Wa-wait a minute! What are you talking about!? Weren¡¯t we going to be sages just by aplishing a great feat!?¡±

    Shouted Yazaki.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that would be the case now, right? Bing a sage happens by awakening to that power and acquiring the ability through the process of trying extremely hard to aplish a certain feat. However, you don¡¯t seem to have had any particr difficulties so far, and it¡¯ll be a problem if you keep at it like that.

    You see, that¡¯s why I think it¡¯s around time for an awakening event.

    Something like being overwhelmed by an unavoidable enemy or having a close friend die will make you exert power beyond your own limits.¡±

    An ominous, unpleasant feeling started spreading through the crowd. Everyone had just been having a fun time until now and that seemed to be about to abruptly change.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I wonder if I should make you all kill each other. It¡¯s about time you got used to your own powers, right? Wouldn¡¯t it be a good idea to put them to good use and kill each other until only one of you is left?¡±

    No one managed to speak as everyone froze where they stood.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Shion¡¯s shocking proposal astounded all of the ssmates.

    But there was one of them, who might¡¯ve as well thought Shion¡¯s words were irrelevant.

    It was Ninomiya Ryoko.

    She wasn¡¯t even looking at Shion, but instead stared at the smartphone, which vibrated in her hands.

    Its screen flickered violently, as if giving grant warnings that something was happening.

    ¡°¡­wait a minute¡­why is the second gate¡­?¡±

    She uttered, her face looking as though the world wasing to an end.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The cliff copsed and Yogiri fell with David right into the abyss.

    He was left to his own abandon and there was nowhere he could grab onto.

    After that, he just kept falling due to gravity.

    Haruto had been right.

    Takato Yogiri¡¯s abilities only included the power to detect killing intent and the ability to kill immediately, however, physically, he was still nothing but a normal human being. If he fell from a certain height, he would die just like anybody else.

    However, anyone who knew Takato Yogiri wouldn¡¯t have helped but think that:

    There was no way he wouldn¡¯t have thought something like this would happen.

    There was no way he wouldn¡¯t have tried something like this before.

    There was no way something like this would end him.

    And, that if Takato Yogiri were to die from it, then that meant the world would¡¯ve already been saved a long time ago.

 Volume 4, 8: Sheâ€™s probably back at home right now munching on potato chips

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 8: She¡¯s probably back at home right now munching on potato chips</h4>

    They couldn¡¯t just abandon a young girl¡¯spletely unresponsive body.

    The hotel staff were contacted to ensure they wouldn¡¯t enter the room, and a few surveince cameras were set up inside just in case.

    The cameras had been previously used by a man named Miyanaga Ry¨­suke for the sake of keeping tabs on Yogiri¡¯s movements. Mokomoko determined that they would be self-operational for quite a while because they came with a built-in electrical supply.

    ¡°Still. What are we gonna do with the surveince cameras?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika and the others, having finished up with everything at the hotel, were walking along the main street of the city, headed toward the royal castle. The reason behind their outing today had been aplished.

    ¡ºI¡¯ll be keeping a close eye on them.¡» (Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko responded casually and confidently, but Tomochika still doubted whether such a thing was actually possible or not.

    Tomochika wasn¡¯t that well-informed aboutmunications engineering, but she felt like there had to be more to it than just searching for the source of radio waves and ry broadcasting them.

    ¡ºThat look on your face¡­ Are you making light of the Dannoura? Decoding MPEG information is trivial! It¡¯s possible to analyze video data almost immediately after it¡¯s recorded!¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°No¡­ Honestly, what kind of guardian spirit are you¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika no longer had the willpower to argue with her.

    ¡°It seems like you had quite a lot of influence back in the real world, Mokomoko-san.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri spoke up instead, seemingly interested in Mokomoko¡¯s capabilities.

    ¡ºIndeed! Doing something like this is a breeze for me, even back in our original world. For instance, I can operate plenty of things remotely over the inte. My favorite pastime was causing mysterious phenomenons by manipting wifi-enabled household appliances!¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°So the paranormal stories going around our neighborhood were your fault all along!?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Why¡¯d you do something like that?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡ºNo¡­ That¡­ Even though you¡¯re asking with such an earnest look in your eyes, I can only say I did it because it was so amusing¡­¡» (Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko spoke vaguely in response to Yogiri¡¯s honest question.

    ¡°You¡¯re the worst! Someone whomits crimes for fun!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThat¡¯s it! It¡¯s okay for me to do plenty of things like that. It¡¯s said that the Dannoura are cursed, so whenever the need arises, we can scare or frighten other people.¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Weeell¡­ Let¡¯s try to put aside Mokomoko-san¡¯s entric behavior for now.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡º¡­You never show me any respect.¡» (Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko became somewhat dispirited, but Tomochika decided to ignore it and brought up another topic.

    ¡°Yogiri. You said you were going to kill people with the ability to replicate things from our world, but like, were you really being serious?¡± (Tomochika)

    The way she asked this was closer to an attack than an actual question. Though, it wasn¡¯t something she really wanted to hear the answer to. To that extent, she was immensely more interested in the rtionship between Yogiri and Sophora.

    ¡°Type Sophora should never be produced again. I want her to rest in peace forever.¡± (Yogiri)

    As he spoke, Yogiri had a gentle expression, filled with nostalgia, and Tomochika was just a little bewildered by it. After all, it was a side of him that she had never seen before.

    What kind of person was she to make Yogiri say something like that?

    How long did they know each other? What kind of rtionship did they have?

    How close were they? How intimate?

    And finally, what happened to her?

    -Uuuu¡­ I¡¯d be lying to myself if I said I wasn¡¯t bothered by it, but it¡¯s not like I can just casually ask him about it either¡­

    Contrary to her expectations, she may be able to get a response by simply asking him about it, but she was still hesitant.

    Judging from everything Yogiri had said and done so far, Sophora was probably dead back in their original world. If she wasn¡¯t, it was difficult for Tomochika to understand why he was so opposed to there being another identical robot.

    Given the circumstances, Tomochika felt it probably wasn¡¯t a very good idea for an outsider like her to ask just to satisfy her own curiosity.

    ¡°¡­Hey Dannoura-san, you look funny. You okay?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you should be saying to a girl, okay!? And uh, no, that¡­ I was just lost in thought about a lot of stuff.¡± (Tomochika)

    She had been lost in thought with her eyebrows furrowed and arms folded in front of her without even realizing it.

    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re making some sort of misunderstanding?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Misunderstanding?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°By any chance, do you think Sophora is dead back in our world?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Heh? She¡¯s not?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Notst time I checked. She¡¯s probably back at home right now munching on potato chips.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Haaaaaaaaaa!?¡± (Tomochika)

    Having been under the impression that Sophora was dead, Tomochika raised her voice hysterically.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been being way too misleading! You¡¯re the one who was all solemn when you said you wanted her to rest in peace!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That had to do with the robot. I find it unpleasant for other people to make use of a robot that looks just like her without her even knowing about it.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yeah, toooooootally!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika still wasn¡¯t convinced.

    She didn¡¯t think the duplicated robot mattered very much if the real version was still alive.

    ¡°It¡¯s just my own resolution. There¡¯s hardly any meaning in letting her be in this world.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good that she¡¯s alive, but¡­ it¡¯s easier topete against a dead person¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Thetter half of Tomochika¡¯s words came out in a barely audible murmur.

    As they talked, the royal castle eventually appeared before their eyes.

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    Yogiri seemed to be surprised by something, as he suddenly embraced Tomochika and quickly took several steps backward.

    The exact same scene had already yed out so many times that, at this point, she just kept silent and left everything to him.

    After all, there should be a reason behind Yogiri actions.

    A loud, thunderous sound rattled through the air.

    And then, the scenery where the duo had been standing just moments before vanished.

    Be it the castle¡¯s ramparts, the townscape, or the people within, everything disappearedpletely.

    ¡°What¡­ is this?¡± (Tomochika)

    Breaking free from Yogiri¡¯s embrace, Tomochika looked at the barrennd before her with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

    Looking closely, it was possible to see the full scope of the area that had been affected.

    It was a charred, barren expanse with a width of about one hundred meters. Length-wise, it extended straight from the inside of the royal castle, stretching all the way to the southwest wall that surrounded the city. It failed to pierce through the city¡¯s protective bulwark that had been made by the great sorcerer, said to offer an imprable defense against any form of attack, but even so, the damage sustained by the city within was enormous.

    ¡ºSomebody¡¯s over there.¡» (Mokomoko)

    There was somebody standing over where the attack had originated from.

    Namely, a young girl wearing the same school uniform as Tomochika.

    However, it was impossible for that girl to be there. She shouldn¡¯t even have been alive.

    Shinozaki Ayaka.

    They had heard Ayaka was behind the recent attacks on their ssmates. For Tomochika, who had seen Ayaka¡¯s corpse with her very own eyes, the girl she was looking at didn¡¯t seem to be a ghost either.

    ¡°Well, I know that ghosts could theoreticallye in all shapes and sizes, but it¡¯s strange¡­ Could she possibly still be alive? Hmm? She¡¯s missing her right arm?¡±

    Tomochika couldn¡¯t see anything past Ayaka¡¯s elbow. It looked like a serious injury, but Ayaka was moving about indifferently, as though she couldn¡¯t care less about it.

    ¡ºShe¡¯s not a ghost. She has substance.¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Really? It¡¯s hard to tell.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri squinted his eyes from beside Tomochika.

    ¡°Then, does this mean Shinozaki-san did this?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡ºThere¡¯s a high probability given the situation, but¡­ how?¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Is that Shinozaki-san? I thought we definitely saw her die on the bus. It doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯s currently aiming at us, so let¡¯s just wait and see for the time being.¡± (Yogiri)

    Ayaka quickly noticed the two of them and began walking in their direction.

    ¡°Is this okay? If that¡¯s Shinozaki-san, that means she¡¯s the one who¡¯s been attacking all of our ssmates.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have the right to stop her from doing that.¡± (Yogiri)

    Despite her question, Tomochika felt that Ayaka had the right to take revenge as well.

    The three of them had all been left behind as dragon bait, and furthermore, Ayaka had been killed as a result.

    Even though Tomochika had decided to forgive her ssmates, she had no intentions of forcing Ayaka to feel the same way.

    ¡°Even though she¡¯s causing this much damage to the city?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°That seems like a problem between the city and Shinozaki-san to me.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Haaa¡­ There¡¯s just no convincing you, is there¡­?¡± (Tomochika)

    Even if it was for the sake of her revenge, Tomochika was unsure about dragging such arge number of unrted people into it.

    She really felt like that was something Ayaka needed to stop.

    ¡ºShe doesn¡¯t seem to being this way in order to attack us, but¡­¡» (Mokomoko)

    Ayaka¡¯s intentions were unclear, but just by looking at her, you could tell she wasn¡¯t seething with anger or anything. She seemed calm andposed.

    There didn¡¯t seem to be any other choice but to wait and talk things out first.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Turning back the clock to a little before Tomochika and Ayaka met¡­

    Although Ayaka¡¯s only objective was revenge, that didn¡¯t mean she was tirelessly devoting herself to it at all times of the day.

    Despite having gained the power of a dragon, Ayaka¡¯s body was one that, at its core, attempted to mimic that of a human being. Rest was necessary, and moreover, it was necessary for her to borrow power from those who worshipped the dragons.

    There were several sites adhering to the dragon faith near the royal capital. She slept at these sites whenever she needed to rest, and paid irregr visits to the royal capital when she didn¡¯t.

    ¡ºAre we going to continue drawing this out? Taking revenge is fine and all, but isn¡¯t it about time we got it over with?¡»

    Once again, high in the sky over the royal capital¡­

    A voice resounded from within Ayaka. Namely, the voice of one of her internal units. As for which exact unit it was, Ayaka had absolutely no idea.

    ¡ºI understand the allure of picking them off one by one, instilling the rest with a sense of dread, but it¡¯s also definitely a bit dull.¡»

    ¡ºNo. We shouldn¡¯t be negligent. They were bestowed with unknown powers. Crushing them individually should be the best course of action.¡»

    ¡°Right. It¡¯d be foolish to allow them to turn the tables by confronting them all at once. Though, so far, none of them have had that much of a menacing feel to them¡­¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºStill, amongst the ss, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone capable of besting us in a collision of raw power.¡»

    ¡ºThe gifts of the sage system shouldn¡¯t be looked down upon. It¡¯s possible one of them holds more power than we¡¯re taking into consideration.¡»

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll crush them one at a time. If that continues to go smoothly, offing several at once should also be eptable. Are we in agreement?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºAffirmative.¡»

    The majority of the units approved of the n, but Ayaka didn¡¯t really understand the significance of it.

    To her, it was fine as long as the units reached a consensus.

    She would¡¯ve gotten a headache if they voicedints over each and every detail.

    In any case, revenge was priority number one. There was no leeway for internal disagreement about that.

    ¡ºSomeone came out.¡»

    Ayaka shifted her attention to the castle, maintaining her altitude by lightly hovering in the air with her wings.

    Within the grounds of the royal castle, she saw someone depart from the estate that had been provided to her ssmates.

    ¡°Dragon Sense.¡± (Ayaka)

    With her enhanced vision, she caught sight of one of her ssmates, Izumida Y¨±go.

    Ayaka had no idea what kind of person he was.

    The only thing she could manage to remember was his name since she had never held very much interest in him before.

    He hadn¡¯te from a very notable family, his looks were poor at best, his studies were always been negligible, and he didn¡¯t look like the type tomit to physical fitness. By all means, he was inconsequential.

    However, even though he was the embodiment of worthlessness, he was still a revenge target that Ayaka couldn¡¯t afford to overlook.

    Y¨±go left the estate and made his way to the garden within the castle grounds.

    Arranged with abundant amounts of water and greenery, it was a garden of calcted magnificence. Y¨±go walked around aimlessly,pletely alone amidst the scenery.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s there for any particr reason¡­¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºPerhaps he¡¯s just out for a stroll? Though, that said, given that he may suddenly be attacked without so much as a warning, venturing out alone like this seems far too careless.¡»

    ¡°Careless? It doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s being careless to me.¡± (Ayaka)

    Y¨±go looked straight up into the sky, directly at Ayaka.

    Their eyes met.

    His eyes held a provocation. There was no doubt that he recognized Ayaka.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s as if he¡¯s beckoning us toe and face him.¡»

    ¡ºWhat do we do?¡»

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what we do. One of our targets is alone. There¡¯s no way we can just overlook that is there?¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka manipted her invisible wings and descended to the garden.

    Y¨±go simply watched as she gentlynded a short distance away from him.

    Ayaka considered the possibility that this was a trap, but in the end, decided that her hesitation was just needless anxiety.

    There was no one lying in wait, ready to ambush her. Y¨±go was waiting for her all by himself.

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t really care about you.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Oh really? You¡¯re probably gonna kill me anyway though, right?¡± (Y¨±go)

    ¡°Yes. There will be no exceptions. Though, that being said, I¡¯ll ask you this anyway: What exactly did youe out here for?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°I ain¡¯t willing to go out like a little bitch. If I don¡¯t deal with you, I won¡¯t be able to go out into the city.¡± (Y¨±go)

    Y¨±go was brimming with confidence.

    Of course, he probably knew Ayaka had killed several of his ssmates already.

    But even so, he didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of her in the slightest.

    ¡ºHe seems to be immensely confident in himself.¡»

    ¡°So what?¡± (Ayaka)

    If it was just self-confidence, everyone she had already killed had that in spades. She wouldn¡¯t find out anything if she didn¡¯t at least test him out first.

    ¡°Dragon w.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka swung her arm down at him as he casually began to approach her.

    The invisible talons that sprung forth from her fingertips tore into Y¨±go effortlessly.

    Or, at least, that¡¯s what should¡¯ve happened.

    Her attack didn¡¯t seem to have any effect. Instead of feeling the sensation of flesh parting from flesh, she was met with the sensation of pain.

    She felt it right in her elbow. Without even realizing it, her right forearm had been sent flying through the air.

    ¡ºRidiculous! It cut right through Dragon Scale!?¡»

    While the units descended into confusion, Ayaka calmly distanced herself from her opponent.

    At some point, unbeknownst to her, Y¨±go had taken hold of a piece of kitchen cutlery simr to a short-ded carving knife.

    If he had deliberately chosen to use such a thing, it was quite the incredible decision.

    While there was no reason why it couldn¡¯t be used as a weapon, there were several other choices he could¡¯ve made that were far more suitable forbat.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t Dragon Scale invincible?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°I¡¯m a cook! It only makes sense I¡¯d be able to chop up ingredients!¡± (Y¨±go)

    While Ayaka¡¯s question had been meant for one of the units, the answer came back from Y¨±go himself.

    ¡°You say ingredients, but isn¡¯t that a bit of a loose interpretation?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡ºThis is bad. He seems to have some sort of special attack that works against dragons.¡»

    ¡°Well, I did feel like he was being far too carelessing out here alone like this.¡± (Ayaka)

    This time, Ayaka was the one to shorten the distance.

    Y¨±go swung his knife, but Ayaka dodged it easily, immediately following up with another Dragon w.

    She had been able to see the full extent of his first attack. She had just thought it would be too much trouble to dodge it. When she thought about it this way, the difference in their abilities was painfully clear.

    Feeling actual, tangible contact this time, Y¨±go¡¯s body was torn to shreds.

    Immediately afterward, Ayaka flew forward, having sensed an attack approach from behind her.

    ¡°Was that also one of your supposed cooking skills?¡± (Ayaka)

    When Ayaka turned around, Y¨±go was standing there.

    Y¨±go had been torn to shreds and reduced to a lump of meat, his body still visible as ity motionless on the ground. But somehow, a second Y¨±go stood behind her, casually brandishing his knife.

    ¡°Sure. After all, it¡¯s important to be able to efficiently make several dishes at the same time.¡± (Y¨±go)

    ¡°If that¡¯s the exnation you¡¯re gonna go with, so be it.¡± (Ayaka)

    After letting out a sigh due to his nonsensical exnation, Ayaka magnified the scope of Dragon Sense.

    Calling upon each and every one of her five senses, she mentally mapped out the surrounding environment and pointpointed the location of her target.

    There were exactly one hundred and fifty eight Y¨±gos in the surrounding area.

    ¡°There¡¯s no use trying to run away, you know? After all, a proper cook knows where to find his ingredients.¡± (Y¨±go)

    Y¨±go spoke triumphantly. He seemed to think he could win if he surrounded her with such arge number of people.

    Ayaka quickly made a decision.

    She took a huge leap backward, stuck her left arm out in front of her, and began stockpiling her strength.

    She would st away every Y¨±go in the area in one fell swoop. It was just necessary for her to build up some power first.

    While this opened Ayaka up to a brief window of weakness, Y¨±go didn¡¯t react to this opening.

    It seemed that he had absolutely no idea what Ayaka was trying to do.

    ¡°Dragon Breath.¡± (Ayaka)

    There was a blinding sh of light.

    She let the breath out at maximum power, scorching everything in front of her to non-existent cinders.

    There was nothing left behind other than a barren, emptyndscape.

    ¡º¡­Weren¡¯t we trying to avoid involving unrted parties?¡»

    ¡°That¡¯s just on a case-by-case basis.¡± (Ayaka)

    Ayaka genuinely didn¡¯t want to involve unrted parties, but she concluded that there was no point in letting that make her indecisive about attaining her revenge.

    ¡ºComplete termination of Izumida Y¨±go has been confirmed within our practical perception range.¡»

    ¡°¡­It looks like there¡¯s somebody over there, though.¡± (Ayaka)

    Dragon Breath had created a belt-shaped expanse of barren, charrednd that stretched as far as the eye could see, and Ayaka noticed someone standing ever so slightly off to the side.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Tomochika felt strange.

    Even after taking a closer look, she was convinced that she was looking at Shinozaki Ayaka, the girl she had watched die with her very own eyes. In some respects, she simply couldn¡¯t believe that Ayaka was alive and moving.

    ¡°Uh¡­ It¡¯s been a while. Have you been well?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika greeted her timidly.

    Ayaka was a criminal who had already killed several of their ssmates, and the person responsible for the sudden obliteration of a sizable portion of the town.

    It was better to be safe than sorry when talking to her. Though, she had no idea just how safe she needed to be.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been fine. Well, ever since that whole dying thing happened back at the bus.¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not very funny. Erm¡­ Is it really true that you¡¯re the one behind all the attacks on our ssmates, Shinozaki-san?¡± (Tomochika)

    If she really was, it was probably for the best not to get too careless when talking with her. Tomochika hadn¡¯t done anything wrong to Ayaka, but Tomochika also had no idea what was going on inside her head.

    ¡°Indeed, that was me. Anyway, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s dangerous to go walking around outside all by yourself?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°By myself?¡± (Tomochika)

    Blinking a few times, Tomochika looked at Yogiri, who was standing right next to her with an absent-minded look on his face.

    ¡°You can rest assured. I don¡¯t bear any resentment against you, Dannoura-san. That¡¯s all I wanted to tell you today. Please don¡¯t get in my way. I don¡¯t exactly want to kill you, but I won¡¯t hesitate if you get involved. If possible, it¡¯d be best if you stayed away from those guys, yes?¡± (Ayaka)

    ¡°Eh? Uh, yeah.¡± (Tomochika)

    With saying another word, Ayaka gently floated into the air and flew away.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s only natural that she¡¯d be unable to see me, but¡­ did she really not recognize the youngster?¡» (Mokomoko)

    ¡°Does he really leave that little of an impression?¡± (Tomochika)

    Even if he did, Yogiri was wearing his school uniform. Ayaka should¡¯ve been able to recognize that he was one of her ssmates, even if she didn¡¯t remember his face. In which case, she should¡¯ve then been able to realize that Tomochika was acting together with him.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t even look at me. That honestly hurts a little bit.¡± (Yogiri)

    While Yogiri wasn¡¯t exactly close with the rest of his ssmates, being so thoroughly disregarded probably didn¡¯t feel very good. Yogiri had an upset look on his face.

    ¡°Still, she should know about you¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika remembered how, back when they were on the bus, everyone said Yogiri was always spending his time sleeping.

    Whether Ayaka had forgotten who he was or she had simply ignored him for some reason, it probably wasn¡¯t very important.

    But still, there was a strange feeling inside Tomochika¡¯s heart.

 Volume 4, 9: As expected, not even Dannoura can shoot beams yet

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 9: As expected, not even Dannoura can shoot beams yet</h4>

    ¡°For some reason, I feel like running away¡­¡±

    After their encounter with Shinozaki Ayaka, Yogiri and Tomochika returned to the royal castle.

    Having crossed the castle¡¯s gates, Tomochika said that with a gloomy expression on her face as they headed towards the residence in the royal castle grounds.

    ¡°It¡¯s certainly quite hard to say, huh?¡±

    Perhaps Tomochika was worried about the terribly angry looks on the castle¡¯s gatekeepers¡¯ faces?

    They seem to know that Yogiri and the sage candidates have some kind of rtion to the incidents that have been happening since the other day, and have no intention to hide their resentment.

    The streets and the castle have sustained an enormous amount of damage. I know this was one of the sage candidates¡¯ doing, but I couldn¡¯t do anything to interfere. No wonder these people are so flustered.

    ¡ª It was Shinozaki, wasn¡¯t it? Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to just deal with her?

    That¡¯s what Yogiri thinks, but if he was to begin using his powers to settle matters that are unrted to him, there would be no end to it.

    ¡°You should use your power as much as you like, Yogiri. That way, if there¡¯s someone you don¡¯t like, you¡¯d just kill them! But I think you did just fine. Still, you don¡¯t have to be so rational about everything! I just wish you¡¯d think about how you can put your power to use without being limited by your own thoughts and beliefs, or customary things like justice.¡±

    That sounded like something that Takato Asaka, his own foster mother, had told him once in the past.

    The streets are littered with dead bodies. That cannot be allowed. The one responsible for this must pay somehow.

    That punishment may surely be seen as justice, but Yogiri can¡¯t stop seeing it as just something that he has to do.

    In the end, the fact that several strangers had died on the streets didn¡¯t sway Yogiri¡¯s heart to that extent.

    ¡°Still, so many innocent people have been dragged into this¡­ you could see it as taking revenge for them, but¡­¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s okay if someone from the ss dies, huh?¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not that¡­ I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s okay if they die, but¡­ the kids from the ss did do something terrible, so¡­¡±

    It seems that Tomochika is having trouble taking a clear position in the matter.

    As for Yogiri, he doesn¡¯t really care what happens to those guys from the ss.

    In that situation, using a decoy would mean the same as to murder them, so there¡¯s no reason toin.

    But what if more people get involved, and Ryouko or Carol end up getting killed?

    It seems he cannot overlook this after all. It doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that he¡¯s being coldhearted, nor that he¡¯s staying neutral. He just wants to be there to protect those he cares for.

    ¡°Well, if it ever looks like any of those guys from the ss is about to get killed, I¡¯ll stop it. After all, I can¡¯t just ignore them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    Tomochika happily agreed. She seemed to think that way as well.

    ¡ºBut wasn¡¯t that a very strong person? There shouldn¡¯t be any problem as long as it¡¯s a youngster, but you might not be able to cross swords with someone as strong¡­¡»

    ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about crossing swords or anything like that against a beam to begin with!¡±

    ¡ºBut as expected, not even Dannoura can shoot beams yet¡­¡»

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that she even tried to fire off a beam!

    We had that conversation as we walked towards the residence we were using as a base.

    At the precise moment that we arrived, the door of the residence opens and a girl studentes out.

    It was a gentle-looking petite girl.

    ¡°Ah, Tomo-chi! I was looking for you!¡±

    Yogiri remembered that this girl¡¯s name is Jogasaki Romiko.

    ording to his memory, Tomochika and Romiko sat together at the tourist bus, and they quickly got along.

    ¡°Did something happen, Miko-chi?¡±

    Romiko calls her ¡®Tomo-chi¡¯ since they seem to have be close friends. Tomochika calls Romiko ¡®Miko-chi¡¯ for the same reason.

    ¡°Akino-san says that everyone in the ss will be gathering to have a talk.¡±

    ¡°Everyone? That¡¯s weird.¡±

    Something like that has never happened before.

    ns and such are often discussed between the leaders of each ss, and then the leadersmunicate their decisions to the rest of the members.

    ¡°We should go quickly. Akino-san was getting kind of tense.¡±

    So there was no time to sit around doing nothing.

    Yogiri and the others headed towards the conference room.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The conference room was in a residence given to the sage candidates.

    All of the surviving students had gathered there.

    They were sitting around arge table.

    ¡°Very well. We don¡¯t have much time, but I¡¯d like to start by exining our current situation.¡±

    Akino Sora spoke up and opened the discussion. She was the one leading the meeting.

    She seemed to have been some sort of idol in the previous world, but since Yogiri had no interest in idols or anything of the sort, he didn¡¯t know that until Tomochika exined it to him.

    ¡°In the beginning, 26 of us had arrived at this city, the capital of this kingdom.¡±

    Originally they were only 24, and then Yogiri and Tomochika arrived as well. But it didn¡¯t look as if she was going to go into too much detail about that.

    ¡°However, now we are only 18. Eight of us have perished at the hands of Shinozaki Ayaka.¡±

    Sora then read the names of those who had died out loud.

    Among those names, Yogiri recognized Izumida¡¯s, who had been in the same room with him once.

    ¡°Seems that those three eroge aristocrats have been annihted before we even realized, huh?¡±

    ¡ºHey, is that the only thing you care about?¡»

    Mokomoko said that just as shocked as Tomochika herself seems to be.

    The other people from the ss also seemed as if, until now, they hadn¡¯t realized the fact that there were fewer and fewer of them. They couldn¡¯t hide their surprise either.

    ¡°Can none of us defeat that Shinozaki?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, aren¡¯t we supposed to be strong? She¡¯s all by herself!¡±

    Some of the male students speak up loudly as if to say that they can bring her down.

    ¡°I know that many of you have done an excellent job at the battle for the capture of hell. But I think that the main reason behind the damage being so widespread is that it was concentrated in a single point. I told them to not act on their own so recklessly, and yet¡­¡±

    But it seems that they were so overconfident that they were under the impression that they would be fine.

    ¡°What about Munakata and Yatate getting killed? I heard that they couldn¡¯t even stop her from killing Ushio even though it was happening right in front of them. They must have realized just how much of a threat she is.¡±

    The one speaking was General Yazaki.

    He seemed to want to advise against acting on our own, too.

    Ushio, Munakata, and Yatate. Ushio was one of the first of the ones known as ¡°the three eroge aristocrats¡± to fall victim to Shinozaki.

    Perhaps he was trying to say that Munakata and Yatate shouldn¡¯t have underestimated Ayaka so much that they ended up wandering around aimlessly on their own.

    ¡°They were killed in their own room. It seems that sneaking past our defenses is easy enough.¡±

    Commotion spread out like fire.

    Seems like there¡¯s no time to feel relieved.

    If the idea was to make everyone feel scared and anxious, then it worked perfectly.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I have for our current situation. Now, regarding what we¡¯re going to do from now on¡­ The country has requested for our immediate evacuation.¡±

    ¡°What do they mean, evacuation? Aren¡¯t we here because of the sage¡¯s influence in the first ce?¡±

    Yazaki intervened once again.

    The Sages have tremendous authority. The power of the king of a country alone shouldn¡¯t have been enough to overrule it.

    ¡°Yes. It would seem that this country has already dered itself to be beyond salvation. In fact, the damage caused by Shinozaki Ayaka was so great, that they might think that there¡¯s no point continuing to follow the Sages¡¯ advice.¡±

    The Mani Kingdom had urged them to leave the country today.

    It wasn¡¯t an unreasonable request at all. Even the King himself was killed by Shinozaki. One could say they were being gentle about it.

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not a good n to stir trouble with an entire country. So I think that our best course of action would be to go against hell. We have two goals. The first one is to continue our capture and bring down the devil. The other one is to turn the tables on Shinozaki in due course.¡±

    She was not asking for people¡¯s opinions on it. She had already decided matters about it on her own.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Jogasaki Romiko hates both troublesome things and things that stand out too much.

    That¡¯s why she carries herself as an absent-minded person.

    It¡¯s easy to avoid doing troublesome things by pretending not to have heard, and people will often forgive you for forgetting to do tasks you don¡¯t want to do.

    However, she can be a bit inconsistent with that belief of not wanting to stand out. That often draws the attention of others since she then seems to be like a different person.

    Romiko thinks that this is an unavoidable trait of hers.

    So she hates troublesome things more than things that stand out.

    Generally speaking, she employs most of her efforts in avoiding troublesome things.

    That¡¯s why even if Romiko had gained some sort of strange power whening to this other world, she probably wouldn¡¯t say anything about it.

    If she had any fighting prowess, she would surely be sent to the front lines to fight. And that¡¯s something Romiko definitely doesn¡¯t want to do.

    So, Romiko thought about her abilities as soon as she got her power.

    ¡°Necromancer¡±.

    It¡¯s a ss that can manipte the spirits of the dead.

    In that case, she could just report that the power she had obtained only allows her to speak with the dead, and that would be the end of it, but¡­

    But in fact, with that power, you can control the bodies of the dead, and borrow the power of the spirits of the dead for your own use. Such power can definitely be used for battle in many ways.

    However, someone might actually know about that ss, or there may be some sses that can tell what¡¯s the extent of a necromancer¡¯s power. Lying about it seems to be a poor n.

    So Romiko promptly used ¡°Calling¡±.

    On the bus, and among all of her ssmates who were clearly confused about the powers they had received, she might have been the fastest one to use her power.

    She searched her surroundings for a spirit weak enough so that they could not be sent out to battle.

    Without any power, an ordinary person is useless. Though imperfect, she has been empowered by a sage, so she has to be expected to have some sort of special power.

    Special, yes. But useless all the same.

    Speaking of such a convenient spirit, she actually found one.

    ¡°Counter¡±.

    When searching for a spirit, the user can know what kind of power it possesses. But the ability of a ¡°counter¡± is, namely, to count. As in, to count numbers. So it¡¯s probably useless for battle.

    She quickly used ¡°Calling¡± to have this spirit possess her.

    With this, even if they try to use some ability to find what kind of power she has, her ability will seem to be ¡°Counter¡± on the surface. It is possible that someone can use their own ability to see through her disguise, but she can¡¯t worry about that now. That¡¯s a problem for another time.

    And so, Romiko was dismissed as someone useless for battle.

    When ites to not standing out, another, more reasonable ability would have been better, but being considered to be useless is better than being forced to fight in the middle of the battle if things go south.

    ¡ª Though it turns out that that is a little troublesome.

    But sinceing here, everyone has been talking about ¡°capturing hell¡±.

    That¡¯s really troublesome.

    She didn¡¯t know what kind of ce it was, but she figured it¡¯d be some dark, dirty, and damp ce.

    She didn¡¯t want to end up having to go to such a ce, and at the same time, she didn¡¯t want to have to fight any monsters.

    ¡ª Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to be able to get rid of Shinozaki Ayaka without going through such trouble?

    Romiko sent the spirit she had been using out to do some surveince of the surroundings.

    Because of that, she knew that Ayaka had gotten this close and that her ssmates had been killed.

    Since it was too troublesome, she simply let everything be, thinking that when things got serious someone would appear and do something about it.

    Thinking about it, that problem should have been dealt with already, but it is toote now.

    So she decided she¡¯d go to hell with everyone.

    But her policy stays the same. She¡¯ll continue to pretend she¡¯s useless until the veryst second.

    She probably won¡¯t get serious until everybody else is dead.

    That¡¯s how Romiko thinks.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡ª Was Yuugo also hiding his power? Or did it suddenly wake up?

    No one knows. The only thing that¡¯s clear is that Izumida Yuugo went on to challenge Shinozaki Ayaka.

    That¡¯s because it¡¯s been written down on Aihara Yukimasa¡¯s book.

    Yukimasa¡¯s ss is ¡°Reader¡±.

    Readers are able to read and understand any text, regardless ofnguage. That¡¯s what everyone thought his abilities are.

    But in reality, it was something different.

    His true power lies in the ability to read the future of events that surround him as if they were written in a novel.

    The book he always carries with him is the embodiment of his ability.

    It is basically a first-person novel where Aihara Yukimasa himself is the protagonist, but people he knows also make third-person appearances in the form of short stories.

    ording to it, Yuugo¡¯s true ability was far from what one would expect from the average cook.

    Regarding what kinds of power cooks can have, there are many abilities that manifest an unparalleled power.

    Using their abilities to discover ingredients, they can find any opponent that could be regarded as an ingredient. Using his knowledge of ingredients, they can instantly see their opponent¡¯s traits. And using their ability to dismantle ingredients, they can easily slice up any opponent.

    ¡°Simultaneous cooking¡± allows them to increase their cooking efficiency by branching off into a duplicate of themselves, and their ability to deep-fry allows them to manipte high temperatures.

    Some of them seem to have the ability to use fermentation to manipte time itself.

    They have a considerable wide array of abilities.

    However, they are weak when ites to defense. Cooks have no defensive abilities at all.

    ¡ª So, you can¡¯t feel like you can take on the whole world with their abilities alone.

    Pairing up with someone who has strong defensive abilities canpensate a cook¡¯s weaknesses. Such abination might even be able to defeat any opponent, no matter what.

    Perhaps, if only he had been advised about that possibility, things could have ended up differently.

    But Yukimasa did nothing.

    He simply stood by the sidelines.

    ¡ª But I think there are many more that are like me.

    People who carelessly show off their power are soon exposed. The only way to survive is to hide that power, that way you cannot be sent out to the front lines to risk your life.

    The actual soldiers should have been in disguise, like Yukimasa.

    In Yukimasa¡¯s case, being in disguise was easy.

    All you need to do is write in that book of his, and reality will be altered.

    You can also hide content that is not rted to others, and even your own identity.

    ¡ª Well, in the end, someone could say ¡°good grief¡± and defeat that devil.

    Yukimasa was optimistic about the situation, thinking he didn¡¯t want to do it.

 Volume 4, 10: Iâ€™m sorry, I donâ€™t really get what youâ€™re talking about?

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 10: I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t really get what you¡¯re talking about?</h4>

    The 6th circle of Hell.

    That was where the sage candidates had arrived to, a totally unexplored area.

    Hell¡¯s environment varied for each one of its levels, and this one waspletely different from the one Yogiri had previously been to.

    The first floor had given the impression of it being a cave system, but the ce that spread upon them now looked just like the world above.

    A blue sky covered the heavens, light clouds flowed, and the sun shone over it all.

    The vastnd didn¡¯t seem to have any bare rock surfaces either.

    There were forests, grasnds, rivers, small mountains, and cliffs. It was a world where you could even forget you were underground.

    There were 18 sage candidates. A royal guard sent by the kingdom apanied them. As soon as they went down to the sixth level they walked into the forest.

    For some reason there was a path in this world, where supposedly no human had stepped in before, and they followed it.

    They felt as though they were being guided by someone, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that the path would lead them straight to the center of the area.

    Moreover, Hell always considered those who might challenge it, however, ording to what they had heard, there had never been a trap as big as this one before.

    ¡°It seems we got the worst part of it all, didn¡¯t we?¡±

    Yogiri asked David, who walked beside him.

    At that moment Yogiri and the others were in a battle formation which consisted of two rows.

    They were 18 people and had divided themselves into two rows of 9 each.

    Yogiri and Tomochika were thest in line while David didn¡¯t care much about the formation and walked freely.

    Due to their deportation, all of the sage candidates ended up being moved to Hell, and the kingdom of Mani had given its approval.

    However, there was always a possibility of them returning to the royal capital through the use of their powers, which was why David was sent to act as a witness.

    ¡°No way. I volunteered myself. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d ever be able toe to the sixth level if I missed this opportunity. I wanted to check it out. By the way, wouldn¡¯t the power of the royal seal help you as well?¡±

    But there was no meaning in observing the sage candidates.

    David wasn¡¯t strong enough to stop or control any of them, plus they had no way to get in touch with Earth no matter what happened.

    Yogiri had a lot of doubts about the situation but it appeared that hispanion¡¯s wish was to tag along in the end.

    ¡°If you¡¯re fine with it then I guess it¡¯s okay. But don¡¯t push yourself, and you should probably go back home when the timees.¡±

    Yogiri had practiced some swordy with David, so at least he was somehow familiarized with it.

    ¡°Even if you tell me to go back there is just no way I would be able to do so without your help. Well, I think that it should be fine if you guys just defeat the demon and its avengers. I¡¯m not saying it will all go smoothly, but at least if you do that then the rest should take care of it by itself.¡±

    ¡°The demon¡­ To be honest I¡¯ve been thinking as to why we have to do all of this.¡±

    In reality Yogiri didn¡¯t really care much for either Hell or any demon. If he defeated him andpleted the quest, he would only be a sage, that didn¡¯t automatically mean he would be able to go back home.

    So far, they still didn¡¯t know to get back to their original world, however there was a high possibility that the sage Shion would know a method, and getting to meet and talk to her seemed like a good first step.

    He thought that if he continued going on with his ssmates, the sage would eventually show herself, but so far, they hadn¡¯t seen as much as their shadow.

    It seemed that in order to actually meet Shion they would have to defeat the demon.

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t there any way to defeat that demon all the way from here?¡±

    Tomochika asked in a quiet voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about that demon. And it¡¯s not like he¡¯s going out of his way to specifically kill me or anything. Moreover, even if we kill it, we would have no way of actually proving it.¡±

    The reason they had inadvertently killed the demon in the tower had been because it had reacted to the miasma that had been released on ident.

    However, until now, there was no direct sign that Hell wanted to harm the Yogiri. You can¡¯t kill a demon if you don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s there at all.

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m pretty sure that if we descend all the way to thest level something is bound to happen.¡±

    If we find him, I can quietly finish him off. I had nothing against the demon, but it seemed to be the only way we could meet the sage.

    ¡°To be honest I thought that everyone would freak out if it got to this, but it seems as though we¡¯ll do just fine.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t see everything from his ce at the end of the formation, but the rest of the troop didn¡¯t seem to be that nervous. They had all previously traveled all the way to the capital and kept advancing in their journey together. It was probably that experience which had given them such confidence.

    They went through the forest, climbed some mountains, crossed rivers, and walked on the grasnds. There were some ups and downs, but it didn¡¯t seem as though anything would go especially wrong. So far, they hadn¡¯t been attacked by any monster, and everything proceeded smoothly.

    And finally, after climbing a small hill they saw it.

    There was a wall.

    A wall went as high as their eyes could see. It was curved and seemed to be built in a way that it wrapped itself around the center of hell.

    The only visible entrance was arge castle-like gate on the wall.

    ¡°What should we do?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t we just take a detour?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just too suspicious for us to be forced to enter this way¡­¡±

    They stopped to take a break and discuss their following actions with the rest of the sage candidates. However, while they were doing so a loud, high-pitched sound resonated throughout the ce.

    As though signaled by that noise, many monsters starteding out from the castle gate. Their numbers kept increasing until there were so many they couldn¡¯t count them all.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, there are around 5097 of them¡­¡±

    ¡°That many!?¡±

    Tomochika was taken aback by Jogasaki Romiko¡¯s words.

    She was a counter ss and had the skill to calcte the total of any amount of figures.

    The girl was able to instantly assess any number, even those that no one else could figure out at a nce, however there weren¡¯t many asions in which such a power could prove itself useful. This time had been quite a rare opportunity.

    ¡°It looks like we¡¯ve been found.¡±

    Said the guy who wore an armor, Yazaki, their general.

    The appearance of the monsters seemed to be an obvious response to the sage candidate¡¯s intrusion. There was a wide array of creatures, and they were trying to make a formation. If the candidate¡¯s troop just kept advancing, they would be crushed by the sheer number of enemies.

    ¡°However, there¡¯s also many of us. Let¡¯s try and scatter the enemy.¡±

    Yazaki called-up the rest of the troop.

    The ones who would fight ended up being 6 of them; the general Yazaki Suguru, the shinigami Fukai Seiichi, the samurai Ninomiya Ryoko, the ninja Carol S. Lain, the saint Hanamiya Mei, and the gunslinger Takekura Kyoko.

    He seemed to have gathered the fighting sses.

    ¡°Will six people be okay against such a number of enemies?¡±

    Asked a worried Tomochika.

    It was such a ridiculous difference in numbers, and no matter how strong each of theirs could be there was just no way to think of it as a fair challenge for them.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. As long as we have my skill on our side.¡±

    Said Yazaki before jumping out full of confidence and running down the hill. The other five followed behind him.

    ¡°Gaahhh!! Envelopment and extermination formation!¡±

    ¡°You should say that once you have them surrounded!¡±

    Yazaki raised his sword and rushed into a group of monsters. From then on, the battle was pretty much one sided. Each time the general swung his sword, dozens of bodies would go flying away from the blow.

    The kunai that the ninja threw towards the monsters pierced their formation in a straight line and the samurai¡¯s katana cut many of the creatures in half.

    Those who looked at the Shinigami went down one by one, while the gunslinger¡¯s two-handed pistols turned one after another monster into part of a beehive. The saint fought as well and as soon as her fist touched a monster they turned into light and disappeared.

    In just a few moments all of the over five thousand enemies had been quickly exterminated.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to surround them?¡±

    That skill would¡¯ve had the power to overwhelm the entire horde all at once, but they ended just attacking them from the front. It was certainly a victory to be celebrated, however Tomochika still wasn¡¯t convinced.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Lute and Hanakawa stood in front of the strongest seal that held back the demon called Mana. Inside of it, Manaid in a luxurious bed patiently waiting for them to break the seal.

    Hanagawa had a seal key in his hand, and in front of him there was a pedestal which had a keyhole on it. This meant that their next move depended entirely on what Hanagawa would do.

    ¡°This might be nothing more than my humble opinion, but it definitely seems as though freeing this person wouldn¡¯t be a good idea!¡±

    Even though he tried to make a light jest out of it, Lute still looked quite nervous and kept himself silent.

    ¡°Hey, if you keep such a serious demeanor it¡¯s tough on me as well, you know¡­¡±

    ¡°Lord Mana. There¡¯s something you must know.¡±

    Lute readied himself and opened his mouth to talk.

    ¡°Oh my, what would that be?¡±

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s about our lord, Albagarma the demon¡­ he¡­he has passed away¡­¡±

    At that moment, Hanakawa felt as if the temperature had dropped in the room.

    It wasn¡¯t as though it had actually changed, however there was definitely something different in the air.

    ¡°I see. Care to tell what on earth happened to him?¡±

    Mana was calm.

    Even smiling as to try to persuade him to talk.

    ¡°It¡¯s something very, very hard to believe but¡­¡±

    Lute proceeded to tell him everything he knew.

    About the ns to resurrect demons through the goddess Vahanato. And also, that everything seemed to work at first but for some reason Albagarma ended up dead. And that the person who did it was apparently called Takato Yogiri.

    ¡°I see¡­it was that woman¡­¡±

    He seemed to put emphasis on his thoughts about that woman, and even seemed a bit enthusiastic about it. However, Mana kept calm for the time being and Hanakawa was slightly let down.

    ¡°Lute-dono¡­ I feel you weren¡¯t too shaken by what you just said? I can¡¯t believe you weren¡¯t either upset, distraught or that you didn¡¯t even refused to believe that our lord had died, I hoped for a colder, more yandere-ish reaction from you.¡±

    ¡°I do believe he died. There is no way big brother would ever lie to me, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, he never would.¡±

    ¡°I loved my brother very much, but it no matter the situation it would be presumptuous of me not to believe the news of his death. My brother¡¯s rank was below mine, and I had always worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able topete with the other higher-ranking gods.¡±

    ¡°Uh? I thought you were the kind to get depressed about it, but you¡¯re saying

    some normal stuff, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not like I want to delve too much into it but there was always a chance that my brother would die. That¡¯s why, even if I was told he had died, I would feel sad about what happened but not to the extent of not believing the news.¡±

    ¡°And what about now, are you thinking about getting revenge? Lute-dono, you had told me you wanted help from Lord Mana to get your revenge, right?¡±

    ¡°Revenge. You say. Of course, I will do it.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Lute-dono! You¡¯ve got this!¡±

    Their original n had gone without a hitch for the time being so Hanakawa rxed a bit. It¡¯s not like they needed to empathize with the demon¡¯s side, but it would be nice to get rid of Yogiri anyway.

    ¡°However, there is something I need to do before that.¡±

    ¡°Ohh, there¡¯s something that has to be prioritized over your revenge?¡±

    ¡°I have to give birth to my big brother.¡±

    ¡°¡­uh? I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t really get what you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit sad but I knew that there was a possibility of him dying so I had to think of a n in advance, right? If he was going to die, then he just needed to be born again!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Sh*t! So it was actually Magimon then? What¡¯s your problem?!¡±

    ¡°Now. It¡¯s obvious that with the current situation there¡¯s a limit to how much I can do, which is why I would like to break the seal.¡±

    ¡°What would happen if it was broken?¡±

    ¡°I will give birth to a new older brother who will be okay even if he dies, and then we will conquer the surface world. After that, I will create an ultimate form for him so he will never lose to anyone ever again and eventually I will destroy the Earth together with him and our children.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you want to bury earth under your¡­wait! That¡¯s definitely not what I had in mind?! I think it¡¯s enough just having Takato die!¡±

    Hanakawa took a step back involuntarily.

    If they freed him the situation would be much worse.

    He didn¡¯t need to think to know that much.

    ¡°Gaaaaaaaahhh!¡±

    Lute let out a scream as Hanakawa looked at him.

    Lute¡¯s arms were gone. Everything starting from the tip of his elbows wasn¡¯t there anymore. ¡°There¡¯s no way he would¡­¡± he thought before he turned and looked into Mana¡¯s direction, Lute¡¯s arms were there. He had no clue how he¡¯d done it. Mana took hold of Lute¡¯s arms lightly.

    ¡°Here you go, I will adhere my brother¡¯s factor to you, okay? Just take it for now. It¡¯ll be useful once we have to produce another one of him again.¡±

    Hanakawa suddenly saw the key he held in his hands.

    That was the key that had been attached to Albagarm

    ¡¯s body. It naturally ended up bing the factor to be used.

    ¡°Ah¡­ but¡­ I¡­¡±

    He wanted to escape.

    He needed to escape.

    However, his feet wouldn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°Now that you have the key you will speak my brother¡¯s will. It¡¯s up to its owner if they lift the seal or not¡­ now, how would you go about releasing it?¡±

    Hanakawa didn¡¯t feel like doing any of his usual jesting.

    He understood at once that he wasn¡¯t someone he could get through to with eloquent words.

    He couldn¡¯t remove the seal.

    If he did so it would bring forth the end of the world.

    Everyone would be a ve to Mana. That wasn¡¯t a world anyone would want or could live in anymore.

    Even if he survived the ordeal, it wouldn¡¯t mean anything to go on living if the human world was gone.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be in trouble if you just freeze like that. Well, I see. We can just take that servant¡¯s brain as well for the time being. Since he still remembers how my brother looked and everything.¡±

    ¡°Ple-Please, wait! Aren¡¯t I helping you, Lute-dono?! I-I even survived through the whole thing and all, wasn¡¯t I an important subordinate of your older brother?!¡±

    Hanakawa thought that it would be okay if he managed to keep himself alive, he had said so. But Lute had activated a strange g and his destiny must¡¯ve tied to it.

    ¡°Ahh, I don¡¯t really know anything about that, but if you say you are going to help then please release the seal now.¡±

    Hanakawa approached the pedestal.

    He inserted the key, which he held in his trembling hand and gave it a turn.

    ¡°Checking the administrator¡¯s authorization. ess has been allowed to all functions.¡±

    He heard a voice say in the back of his brain.

    At the same time, he immediately understood how to do it.

    It worked in the same way as someone absorbing a skill.

    And then, Hanakawa broke the seal.

 Volume 4, 11: You see, thatâ€™s why I think itâ€™s around time for an awakening event

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 11: You see, that¡¯s why I think it¡¯s around time for an awakening event</h4>

    Once they passed through the wall that wrapped around the center of hell, they found a forest. Once they had made their way into it, they suddenly arrived at a space full of nothingness.

    This was supposed to be the hole that rested in the center of hell.

    If you were to look closer, you¡¯d notice that it wasn¡¯t a perfect circle, but instead the inside looked more like some kind of intricate cliff. The size of the hole seemed to be around 20km in diameter and the other side of it seemed covered in a haze which they couldn¡¯t see through.

    At that point, the sun had begun to fall so they decided to take a rest. It was difficult to believe hell¡¯s changing weather, but so far things like the sun seemed to be moving at the same pace as the world above. And thus, no matter how much they trusted their own abilities, they decided that the best was to stop advancing during night time, when their visibility was severely restricted.

    The sage candidates went back into the woods and built a base there.

    A carpenter-ss candidate made part of the forest disappear and created a vacant lot where he built a fort.

    Just for caution¡¯s sake, they scouted the area and confirmed its safety before dering the day¡¯s activities were over.

    And then it was night.

    A dinner party was held at therge dining hall inside the fort.

    There were a number of tables inside withvish meals arranged on top of them. They were prepared by the girls who excelled at cooking, and the ingredients that they used were those that had been brought along with them from the above world.

    At the time they had been deported, they had procuredrge amounts of supplies and stockpiled them at several locations in the underworld.

    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s really okay for us to be in such high spirits¡­¡±

    Grumbled Tomochika.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine?¡±

    Replied Romiko.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s been nothing but child¡¯s y until now, hasn¡¯t it?

    Said Shijou Juna. The three of them sat at the same table.

    They had reached the end of the sixthyer without much difficulty and would arrive to the seventh level tomorrow. At first, they had been confused by the environment, which they were not ustomed to, but now they had pretty much adapted to itpletely.

    A rxed atmosphere could be felt throughout the dining hall.

    At the moment there were more girls in the room, possibly making the guys feel a little awkward.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we have a lookout or someone guarding outside? I mean, we¡¯re right in the middle of enemy territory, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°We had been taking turns doing that until we got to the royal capital. However, since then Arima¡¯s power improved and now he can apparently see everything around our perimeter.¡±

    Arima Osamu. He was a gifted boy of the carpenter ss.

    At first, he could only build a small single shack if he tried his best, however he could now easily build huge structures like the one they were in at the moment.

    Also, the carpenter ss had the power to know about everything that was going on inside the ces they built.

    Since there were fences around the fort, the carpenter-ss power extended to them. In other words, it was possible for him to look out for enemies over a wide area around their fort.

    ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that bad? Won¡¯t people hate him like they did with the three eroge aristocrats?¡±

    Tomochika thought that if that guy was able to see everything inside the building where everyone slept, there would be many people who wouldn¡¯t feelfortable with it.

    ¡°Ah, Arima is quite popr so it isn¡¯t really much of an issue. Still, he offered himself to take Akino¡¯s oath. In that sense isn¡¯t his honesty also part of what makes him so well-liked?¡±

    Kana answered. The three eroge aristocrats seemed to reluctantly ept him so it may be different in that way.

    ¡°It¡¯s absurd¡­¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an honor student aspiring to be an architect, who¡¯s also good looking and a gentleman, they¡¯re all characteristics that make him popr, right? Tomochika, could it be that Arima just isn¡¯t your type?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I hate him, but¡­¡±

    When thinking about it, she suddenly realized that she¡¯d never thought of a boy in that way.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it that you prefer guys like Takato?¡±

    ¡°Wh-why are you bringing him up now?¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re always together, isn¡¯t it weird you haven¡¯t felt conscious about it until now?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that, just- wait, he isn¡¯t around, is he?¡±

    Tomochika looked around for Yogiri and realized he wasn¡¯t in the dining room.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right.¡±

    Romiko helped her look around for him. The hall wasn¡¯trge enough to lose track of someone easily, which meant he must¡¯ve slipped out at some point.

    ¡°He¡¯s the loner type, so maybe it was a bit hard for him to be around so many people?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that saying too much?¡±

    Said Tomochika, and whileining, she started thinking it might actually be true.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Yogiri sat at the edge of the clearing in the middle of the forest, staring at the stone fort lit by the moonlight.

    It was the fort built for them by the guy who had the carpenter-ss abilities.

    When he made it, the process looked just as though he was ying a game, erasing parts of the forest and stacking together blocks that appeared one after another, quickly being able to build huge structures.

    Lively voices could be hearding out of the fort.

    Everyone was eating, but Yogiri finished early and went out.

    ¨D¨DIt kind of reminds me a bit to somewhere where I used to live before.

    It reminded him of a manor where he resided in the past.

    Even though they were underground, it was a ce that didn¡¯t feel like the underground at all.

    He lived in a mansion inside a forest guarded by shrines, he thought that the feeling of being surrounded by trees was simr to this. It felt kind of like a miniature garden, the demon here might probably be in a simr situation that the one Yogiri had been in the past.

    He sat there absentmindedly, absorbed in his thoughts.

    It¡¯s not like he meant anything special by going outside. It¡¯s just that he felt a bit restless in ces with many people. Since there wasn¡¯t much to do once he was there, Yogiri took out the handheld game console from his uniform¡¯s pocket.

    It was a hunting game in which the goal was to defeat monsters and collect materials.

    He had already cleared most of the single yer quests and all that was left was to y the higher-level multiyer ones.

    It was possible to clear them on his own and advanced yers could probably do it easily. However, Yogiri wasn¡¯t that good at gaming.

    ¨D¨DIt¡¯s such a bother to do them solo. I just want to go back home more and more everyday.

    While absorbed in his thoughts about what other way there could be to go back home, he realized that someone wasing from the fort.

    It was David.

    He walked unsteadily towards Yogiri.

    As he wondered what the other guy could possibly want with him, David passed by without even looking at Yogiri¡¯s way.

    ¡°Are you drunk?¡±

    He tried asking but there was no reply. And just like that David entered the forest walking shakily.

    Yogiri thought his demeanor seemed weird enough to warrant not leaving him alone, so he chased after David.

    While still confused about what was going on, they ended up leaving the forest again.

    In front of themid a precipitous cliff. It was the abyss in the center of hell.

    ¡°Heey.¡±

    Yogiri thought the situation wasn¡¯t good at all, and tried to get a hold of David¡¯s shoulders.

    However, he gently swept away Yogiri¡¯s hands which made him lose his bnce and fall on his butt.

    Meanwhile, David, still trembling, made his way towards the cliff.

    Yogiri didn¡¯t know what was causing his strange behavior, but it was easy to know what would happen next.

    David was still walking, and if he kept going, he would fall off the cliff.

    And then, he felt a sign of death. It wasn¡¯tpletely certain, but he could still see a hazy, dark fog in front of David.

    This didn¡¯t mean that David had a risk of dying, but that if Yogiri went with him, he would put himself in danger.

    However, Yogiri still ran straight into his direction. He tried to hold him from the waist and push him into the ground. David couldn¡¯t counter the move and fell straight down.

    Yogiri stood up and looked at the other guy¡¯s face.

    ¡°Hellooo¡­ It¡¯s no use.¡±

    David¡¯s eyes were hollow.

    He wasn¡¯t looking at Yogiri and didn¡¯t seem to bepletely conscious.

    ¡°It¡¯s times like these when I wish I¡¯d learned how to carry people from Dannoura.¡±

    Carrying unconscious people is quite a difficult task for those who are not used to it.

    Even as he keptining, Yogiri decided to grab David¡¯s feet and drag him. It may have resulted in David receiving a few burns, but there was no way he could leave him in such a ce.

    Snap.

    As he struggled to drag him, he heard a faint sound, as though something had been crushed.

    The dark haze became even darker and the signs of death suddenly increased.

    Everything started going downfall from then on, and he barely had any time to react. The bedrock that had been carrying them was starting to crumble into the abyss.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Otori Haruto looked out the window of the dining hall.

    No one else seemed to notice, but an owl rested on a tree in the garden.

    It was the owl he had used and thus, a sign of Haruto¡¯s sess.

    He could use his skill to know Yogiri¡¯s state, but since his ability was to search through the archives, he couldn¡¯t immediately know what was going on.

    ¡°Haruto, did something happen? You seem kind of happy.¡±

    Haruto realized that he was smiling slightly, as told by Otani Yui, who sat opposite from him at the table.

    ¡°You think so?¡±

    Everyone else also seemed to enjoy dinner at the hall, which meant it wouldn¡¯t feel too out of ce if he were caught having fun there.

    It was such a good coincidence it looked to be part of the n all along.

    In the first ce, he hadn¡¯t expected to seed anyway. Working with failure as your premise was the best way to do it after all.

    The basics of the n were simple.

    Make Yogiri step into a dangerous area. However, he wasn¡¯t actually involved in this part of the n, so he didn¡¯t need to put himself in danger beforehand.

    Then how did he do it?

    This part, too, was quite simple but effective.

    So far, the Yogiri that Haruto had observed seemed to be a guy who wasn¡¯t really interested in others, but also wouldn¡¯t leave them alone. If someone he was close to got themselves in danger, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to help them.

    One of the ideas he conceived under that concept was to use David as a decoy.

    If he was going for the decoy strategy, there was also the option to go for Dannoura Tomochika, who was Yogiri¡¯s closest friend, however that proved itself difficult. Tomochika seemed to be an outsider, and she had close to no gaps in her defense. It also looked as though Tomochika herself was going after Yogiri in some way. In other words, there was the possibility that the Tomochika approach may not have been so different from doing something to Yogiri himself.

    Now, there were other people who he had recently be close to, such as Ninomiya Ryoko and Carol S. Lane. However, it wouldn¡¯t be good to lose them as their fighting prowess was a crucial part to their team.

    And there was also the fact that since their ssmates had been fortified by the gift of the sage, drugs and curses may not have worked on them.

    Which left David as the perfect candidate to be used as bait. He seemed to be close to Yogiri and appeared to be a royal but not as strong as a sage candidate. Also, it was clear that David wasn¡¯t looking to do anything to Yogiri either.

    He gave David the drugs he had obtained in the royal city, made him delirious, and suggested to him that he should head to the cliff.

    The cliffs had been cracked in advance in order to make them easier to copse.

    This would be Yogiri¡¯s weakness, to be forced into another area without him knowing. For example, if once he passed through a certain point an arrow flied towards him, or a giant rock fell his way then it wouldn¡¯t work because he would realize it was a trap, since there was the possibility someone could be killed.

    But what if the cliff were to copse and fall? In that case, he would be the one falling, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it because no one would be directly trying to kill anyone else. In the first ce, Yogiri had been forcefully brought to this world and couldn¡¯t avoid it either.

    That said, it was only a matter of luck for his n to be sessful.

    A dinner party would be held and Yogiri would naturally want to be by himself.

    That way he could also handle David easily.

    Yogiri would notice David going towards the cliff.

    Then David would head for the cracked surface.

    Yogiri would try to stop David from falling.

    And the cracked cliff would copse under theirbined weight.

    Even so, nothing could be said for sure. Just a little change in the sess of events would break the chain and throw his ns in disarray.

    But that was still okay by him. If he was certain he would seed, it could increase the likelihood that Yogiri noticed him.

    He did something which he wasn¡¯t certain would work and left the rest to fate.

    There was no murder there, they were just a series of idents which would end up in a sudden death.

    That was Haruto¡¯s strategy.

    ¡°Well, everything¡¯s been going just fine until now. We haven¡¯t had any hard time yet, haven¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, right? Tomorrow should be fine as well.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t know until we reach the seventh level. However, if we work together, I think we will manage somehow. ¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of a problem that everything is going so well and without any issues, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    The voice echoed clearly in the hustle and bustle of the dinner party.

    I was a fascinating sound that grabbed everyone¡¯s attention and appealed to a certain instinct, which made them think that whatever that person said shouldn¡¯t be ignored.

    Suddenly, a woman in a white dress stood in the middle of the dining hall.

    It was the sage Shion.

    Most people hadn¡¯t expected to see her here since thest time they did was when they met her on the bus.

    The noise in the room subsided and everyone¡¯s eyes focused on Shion.

    ¡°Do you need something? I don¡¯t get it, since as you just mentioned, everything¡¯s been going fine until now.¡±

    Haruto wondered if she hade to check on his n to end Yogiri. Since so far it seemed to have been a sess, it wasn¡¯t a strange timing for her to appear.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine, just go ahead with it. This time I¡¯m here for something else. As I said, I think this is a little too easy for a trial. If it keeps going this way, then it seems there is a high possibility that a sage won¡¯t be born even if you can defeat the demon.¡±

    ¡°Wa-wait a minute! What are you talking about!? Weren¡¯t we going to be sages just by aplishing a great feat!?¡±

    Shouted Yazaki.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that would be the case now, right? Bing a sage happens by awakening to that power and acquiring the ability through the process of trying extremely hard to aplish a certain feat. However, you don¡¯t seem to have had any particr difficulties so far, and it¡¯ll be a problem if you keep at it like that.

    You see, that¡¯s why I think it¡¯s around time for an awakening event.

    Something like being overwhelmed by an unavoidable enemy or having a close friend die will make you exert power beyond your own limits.¡±

    An ominous, unpleasant feeling started spreading through the crowd. Everyone had just been having a fun time until now and that seemed to be about to abruptly change.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I wonder if I should make you all kill each other. It¡¯s about time you got used to your own powers, right? Wouldn¡¯t it be a good idea to put them to good use and kill each other until only one of you is left?¡±

    No one managed to speak as everyone froze where they stood.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Shion¡¯s shocking proposal astounded all of the ssmates.

    But there was one of them, who might¡¯ve as well thought Shion¡¯s words were irrelevant.

    It was Ninomiya Ryoko.

    She wasn¡¯t even looking at Shion, but instead stared at the smartphone, which vibrated in her hands.

    Its screen flickered violently, as if giving grant warnings that something was happening.

    ¡°¡­wait a minute¡­why is the second gate¡­?¡±

    She uttered, her face looking as though the world wasing to an end.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The cliff copsed and Yogiri fell with David right into the abyss.

    He was left to his own abandon and there was nowhere he could grab onto.

    After that, he just kept falling due to gravity.

    Haruto had been right.

    Takato Yogiri¡¯s abilities only included the power to detect killing intent and the ability to kill immediately, however, physically, he was still nothing but a normal human being. If he fell from a certain height, he would die just like anybody else.

    However, anyone who knew Takato Yogiri wouldn¡¯t have helped but think that:

    There was no way he wouldn¡¯t have thought something like this would happen.

    There was no way he wouldn¡¯t have tried something like this before.

    There was no way something like this would end him.

    And, that if Takato Yogiri were to die from it, then that meant the world would¡¯ve already been saved a long time ago.

 Volume 4, 12: Itâ€™s so warmâ€¦ No, that is not the kind of thing to be saying right now!

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 12: It¡¯s so warm¡­ No, that is not the kind of thing to be saying right now!</h4>

    The Seat of the Holy King.

    It was both the center and the holynd of the Axis Church. In other words, a ce you might call the head temple.

    Situated in the royal capital of the Kingdom of Mani, it boasted the control of all of the biggest religious organizations in this world.

    And long ago, a Holy King lived there.

    Once the Holy King was no more, after being sacrificed in order to seal away the Demon Albagarma, he was worshipped as a symbol.

    Over the course of a thousand years, it was expanded as a religious facility.

    Just as the name implied, the symbol of the Axis Church was an axis. It was supposed to resemble a celestial axis that pierces the center of the earth. Not only that, but the architecture of all buildings rted to the church were made to be cylindrical in shape.

    Currently, the Seat of the Holy King was a jumble of cylindrical ck and white buildings that were connected by bridges. A most intricate and bizarre sight. There was something about it that overwhelmed all those who saw it. It was more than enough to make you feel a sense of reverence towards it.

    And there was the upperyer.

    That was where the Archbishop¡¯s office was located.

    Now that there was no Holy King, the Axis Church was operated by a council of ten Archbishops.

    The Archbishops usually worked in their designated districts, but there was always one Archbishop who stayed at the Seat of the Holy King. They took turns filling this role, and the man who was there currently was called Horalis.

    Horalis was standing by the window in the office and looking outside.

    The Seat of the Holy King was the second tallest building in the royal capital. And so you had a good view of the town from the top.

    It seemed like there had been some kind of ident, and much of the town had been destroyed by it.

    However, Horalis hardly cared about such things at this point.

    This was because Horalis was sure that there was no future for mankind.

    He himself had felt the return of the Devil Mana in his bones.

    Humanity did not know.

    They didn¡¯t know that the demons and monsters had alreadye outside.

    If they wanted to, they could easily destroy this country.

    But Horalis had a role. He was to entertain this Mana, that was sealed in the demon world.

    That was why he had entered the biggest religious organization in this world and gained the authority to manage the entrance to the demon world, which spread out underneath the town.

    If you could not go out, you had to call to the outside for change.

    However, just calling them randomly would not be very entertaining. So there had to be some rules.

    And so he made it that explorers could enjoy adventuring within the demon world.

    However, that was all over.

    Now that Mana was back, he didn¡¯t care about the explorers anymore. And there was no point in continuing his role as Archbishop.

    What would Mana do on the surface?

    That was something that even Horalis did not know.

    Of course, he would obey any order that was given to him.

    Horalis was looking forward to the appearance of Mana.

    *****

    ¡°¡­Um, the seal has been broken now. Has anything changed?¡±

    Hanakawa had gainedplete authority over the demon world and had broken the seal that imprisoned Mana.

    Indeed, the half-sphere that had been surrounding the bed was now gone. However, Mana had never seemed to be bothered by the seal in the first ce. It was as if it made no difference if it was there or not.

    ¡°I have strict orders from my older brother that I¡¯m not to leave this ce. The barrier was a symbol of that. However, now that it is gone, it must mean that he is allowing me to leave!¡±

    ¡°Ohh¡­I don¡¯t really understand your reasoning¡­¡±

    This older brother was the Devil, Albagarma. And he was already dead. In that case, there was no point in caring about it. But apparently, the seal was important.

    It seemed as if the promise had to be kept forever. But in any case, all that was needed was for the person who Albagarma had entrusted the key with to break the seal. Then it would undo the promise as well.

    It all felt very strange, but Hanakawa decided not to think about it. That¡¯s just how it was in her head.

    ¡°We-well, as promised, the seal is broken. You will help Lute now, won¡¯t you? And uh, I can take my leave now, yes?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. After all, having to look at a chubby, hideous person like you for an extended period of time will put me in a foul mood. Why don¡¯t you leave, before I change my mind?¡±

    ¡°Uh, oh¡­ You¡¯ve always been rather rude towards me, but you¡¯ve never called me ugly straight to my face before¡­¡±

    Still, he couldn¡¯t feel sad about it for long.

    He did not know when her mood would change.

    ¡°No-now. Lute. You will go too. Mana has been released. The only thing to do is wait for Takato to run wild until he dies¡­well, who knows how much damage he will actually do, but his life is like a candle in the wind! Ah, Heal!¡±

    Hanakawa cast healing magic on Lute, who was curled up on the ground.

    But the lost arm did not return. If you looked closely at Lute¡¯s arm, there was no blood or wound at all. There was just nothing past the elbow. That¡¯s how it was.

    ¡°You must do your best. Don¡¯t you want to see Takato die? Don¡¯t you want to get revenge!¡±

    ¡°Ah, uh, yes. I came this far.¡±

    Lute got up weakly to his feet.

    And then he walked alongside Hanakawa.

    First, they needed to get out of the dimly lit room.

    Hanakawa turned around. It seemed like Mana had no interest in them. However, they couldn¡¯t waste any time either.

    They were walking very slowly as to not attract any attention. That made the door seem very far away.

    ¡°Hmm? It seems oddly difficult to walk¡­¡±

    It was as if something was holding his feet back.

    As it was dark, he could not see what it was. But it felt like his feet were sinking into the ground.

    ¡°Ehhh¡­ This gives me the creeps¡­¡±

    Eventually, it became clear what was happening.

    He could feel the gooey, sticky sensations through his feet. But he did not want to look.

    ¡°¡­Now that the seal is broken, Mana¡¯s body is expanding to the outside¡­¡±

    ¡°What!? So this floor is¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­I am not sure¡­but I think she is preparing to give birth to the Lord¡­¡±

    ¡°Uh, oh¡­ I don¡¯t want to even think about it. But this ce¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re inside of Mana.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so warm¡­ No, that is not the kind of thing to be saying right now! We must hurry!¡±

    But the more they rushed on, the more their legs seemed to get tangled. And they could not move forward.

    ¡°If this continues, we might just be expelled as waste, even without Mana willing it¡­ I¡¯m going to kick you out. Then you can run.¡±

    ¡°Ru-run? Where am I supposed to run!?¡±

    ¡°You have the full power of the demon world. And so you should know where the shortcut is. It connects to all of the floors. It will be easy to escape once you reach the first floor.¡±

    ¡°In-in that case, we can go together¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible. We¡¯ll both fall if we stay like this. Unless you are saying you have the power to throw me out of here?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­that¡¯s easy to say, but¡­¡±

    ¡°See you.¡±

    Without waiting for another second, Lute kicked Hanakawa.

    Hanakawa shot straight out of the pce.

    He fell t on his face and slid down.

    ¡°Lute!¡±

    Hanakawa got up and looked around.

    The white pce was turning into a dark red blob.

    The pce now looked like exposed muscle or piles of guts. There was no longer anything to support its structure. It was unable to carry its own weight, and it was copsing in a wet mess.

    And this change was not happening to the pce alone. While slow, it was affecting the area around it.

    Eventually, it would swallow up the neighboring towns and people as well.

    ¡°Ah-ahhhhh!!!¡±

    He would drown in the sea of flesh if he didn¡¯t move.

    And so Hanakawa frantically set off towards the town.

    *****

    The sixth floor of the demon world. In a great dining hall of a fortress that was located within the forest.

    It was here that Shion the Sage was talking to the sage candidates.

    ¡°Now, it would not be very fair if I told you all to kill each other right here and now. After all, there are some here who could kill everyone all at once. And so I shall give you an hour to prepare. Of course, you may not attack each other during this hour. If you do, you will be disqualified immediately. Also, I have deactivated all of your skills. You can fight honestly without them!¡±

    ¡°Ki-kill each other? Why would we do something so foolish!¡±

    ¡°E-exactly! Why must we do such a thing!¡±

    ¡°Yes! There is no reason for it!¡±

    One person shouted, and the others followed. Before long, they were all opening their mouths andunchingints.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I am going to put you all in a situation where you¡¯ll have no choice but to kill each other. Let me see¡­ I will judge you every hour. And anyone who hasn¡¯t killed at least one person by then will be killed by me. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°¡­Then you are the one who should die¡­¡±

    It was Fukai Seiichi who stood up slowly. He was in the reaper ss.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s fine too. If you seed in killing me, that would mean the end of your trial. The number of sages won¡¯t change that way, but anyone who is capable of killing me is worth two sages.¡±

    ¡°¡­Surely you¡¯re not going to tell us that our gifts don¡¯t work on you?¡±

    It was an obvious provocation, but a necessary one.

    Shion was able to control the gifts she gave. And if the gifts were disabled, the sages would have no way to resist her. And so they needed her to make a promise.

    Provoke her and make her fight fairly.

    ¡°I won¡¯t say such a thing¡­ But I still don¡¯t think you can beat me. You should just be obedient and kill each other if you want a better chance of survival.¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Seiichi unleashed his power.

    Shion swayed to the side.

    That was all.

    ¡°It¡­it didn¡¯t work! You liar!¡±

    ¡°No-no. It worked just fine. I could have killed you before you even used your power, but I let you do it on purpose. After all, I am quite interested in this instant death power.¡±

    ¡°Damn you! Why won¡¯t you die!¡±

    ¡°As I said, it did work. In fact, I died just a moment ago. Of course, isn¡¯t it the normal thing toe back to life after you¡¯ve died?¡±

    ¡°Die! DIE-DIE-DIE-DIE-DIE!¡±

    Seiichi unleashed his power over and over again.

    However, Shion continued to walk towards him.

    ¡°Wh-what¡¯s happening! What the hell are you!¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I haven¡¯t told you about my power. I suppose you could call it a pulse linked level up? You level up with every beat of your heart. When this happens, your energy, health, and all status ailments are healed. And youe back to life if you happen to be dead.¡±

    Seiichi was shouting ¡®die¡¯ nonstop as if it was the only word in his vocabry. There was nothing else that he could do.

    Shion didn¡¯t seem to care as she continued to move closer.

    ¡°Well, I suppose this instant death ability isn¡¯t much after all.¡±

    Shion said as she stood before Seiichi.

    ¡°Now¡­ It seems that the others are all watching us. That is good. You could all challenge me if you want, but be ready to die in the attempt.¡±

    Shion swung her fist.

    The straight attack was not something that Seiichi could dodge.

    Bam!

    There was a dry sound as his head bounced and the body crumbled.

    With Shion¡¯s abilities, there was no need for her toe so close and punch him directly.

    And yet, this disy of direct violence. The sttered blood and brain fluid. It was a powerful way to make them feel that death was near.

    The lesson should be easily learned.

    ¡°So, let me exin the rules to you.¡±

    Shion smiled as if the killing of Seiichi was of no consequence.

    ¡°The trial will begin in exactly one hour after I finish exining the rules. You may not attack each other during that hour. If you do, I will kill you. The trial will take ce within the boundaries of the sixth floor. If you go out, I will kill you. If you have not killed anyone after the first hour of the trial, I will kill you. After every hour, the boundary will shrink. Of course, if you happen to be outside of it, I will kill you. Thest remaining survivor is the one who passes the test. I will not kill that person. That is all.¡±

    And with that, the sage candidates pushed each other in order to be the first out of the dining hall.

 Volume 4, 13: Ugh. Anything goes with you, huh!

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 13: Ugh. Anything goes with you, huh!</h4>

    ¡°There is a novel called ¡®More than Human,¡¯ which was written by Theodore Sturgeon.¡±

    It was a long time ago, when Yogiri was in the underground mansion. Takato Asaka had brought it up after much rambling.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about the novel, but you¡¯re talking about the ¡®Sturgeon¡¯sw¡¯ person, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, exactly. The person who said that ny percent of science fiction is crap. I guess the book is like ssic science fiction. Oh, you¡¯re surprised that I¡¯d even read those kinds of books, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean. How am I supposed to tell if someone is likely to read science fiction or not?¡±

    ¡°Well, as the title suggests, it¡¯s a novel about being more than human. And the word ¡®ethos¡¯ appears in it. I think it means something like ¡®character.¡¯ In other words, in order to be a greater being, you need character, not morals or virtue.¡±

    ¡°Character. I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I think some people say that it should be integrity. I don¡¯t remember all of the details. In any case, it is saying that it is impossible to force human morals onto a being that has surpassed humans. New beings must create new rules. Something like that.¡±

    ¡°So, I should think for myself?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Well, it¡¯s nothing tooplicated. Just make your own rules, I guess? Just because you can do anything, doesn¡¯t mean you should live recklessly. Think hard and make the rules you think you should follow.¡±

    As Yogiri was a unique being, there was no society or values that he had to follow.

    He had to make rules for himself, not follow ones by others.

    These memories were brought back because he was in an irregr situation that concerned those very rules.

    Yogiri was falling into the shadows.

    ¡ªEach floor of the demon world is supposed to be 1 kilometer in height.

    He calcted.

    If this world¡¯s gravitational eleration was around 10m/s2, and you ignored air resistance, it would take 14 seconds to crash to the ground.

    As seconds had already passed at this point, it would be less than 10 seconds now.

    ¡ªIf this really was a natural disaster, I would ultimately die here.

    However, He had sworn to bring Tomochika back to her world. So he couldn¡¯t die here. Besides, judging by how the cliff had crumbled, it did not seem like a natural disaster. It was more likely that someone had caused it.

    Once he decided to do something, it became necessary to unleash his power.

    The power that Yogiri called Phase 1 was not enough to deal with the current situation.

    Tomochika would haveughed if she had heard it, but Yogiri still considered himself as being in the same category as humans.

    This was because he could still exin away his danger detection and instant death abilities as mere coincidences.

    If he wanted it, his opponent would die. He could see the threat of danger and avoid it.

    Objectively, there was no casual rtionship, and so while it was a bit forced, he could still insist that it was a coincidence.

    However, it was obvious that no normal human could get out of the current situation.

    -But there was also magic in this world. There were probably people who could do the same thing as him.

    Yogiri wanted to be as human as possible. And so he told this to himself as he activated Phase 2.

    It was as if there were several locked gates in his heart, and he was opening them one by one and unleashing their power.

    After the second one, they were made to close automatically after a fixed amount of time.

    The reason that he took these somewhatborious steps, was because a simple mistake could lead to the end of the world. And so it was necessary to be cautious after the second gate.

    Yogiri prepared himself and then opened the second gate.

    -Stop the fall. However, if I don¡¯t restrict it, the gravity of this world will disappear.

    It was incredibly difficult to limit the area of effect when it came to phenomena and concepts that had no actual shape. This was why he had hesitated to kill the ¡®space¡¯ within the tower where the devil had been sealed.

    Besides, was it really even right to assume that the force that pulled things downward in this world was also gravity?

    Was it right to kill something that he was uncertain of?

    What if killing the gravity just caused the uniformly elerated motion to turn into uniform motion?

    Yogiri struggled over this for a moment before brushing it aside. It was something he had done subconsciously before, so there was no point in thinking about it now.

    ¡°How annoying. In that case, I¡¯ll just kill ¡®my momentum.¡¯¡±

    It was all wordy.

    But it was possible for Yogiri, now that he had reached Phase 2.

    At that moment, he killed the falling energy that was covering him.

    For this, it didn¡¯t really matter what kind of power was actually at work.

    What died and what phenomenon urred. All of it relied on Yogiri¡¯s perception.

    The power activated and his speed immediately started to drop.

    Then he held David, who was falling beside him. And by the time they reached the ground, the speed at which they fell was practically zero.

    When theynded, the gates closed automatically and he moved to Phase 1. Yogiri couldn¡¯t help but be a little relieved. It was not good for them to be open for too long.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be in very good condition.¡±

    He gently put David down on the ground.

    David had barely been conscious, to begin with. But he was now injured from the copse of the cliff. He might even have broken bones.

    He looked around. The sight that surrounded them was most surprising.

    It was like a field of flowers within a forest, but everything was in brilliant colors.

    The grass, flowers, trees, rivers, and sky all looked like they had been painted over with colors that were ridiculously vibrant.

    The trees twisted in impossible directions and the mushrooms were insanelyrge. And the flowers were just as extraordinary in the way they bloomed.

    After scanning the scene for a moment, Yogiri determined that there was no way to return immediately, and so he took out his smartphone.

    ¡®Hey, you! Where are you! We¡¯re having so much trouble over here!¡¯

    He tried calling and it connected to Mokomoko immediately.

    They quickly made their reports, exining their situation.

    As for Mokomoko¡¯s side, apparently, Shion had appeared and demanded that they all start killing each other.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to try and find a way to return. Will you be okay?¡±

    ¡®There¡¯s still time before the killing begins. However, it will be hard to do anything once it does.¡¯

    Against those with the sage¡¯s gift, Tomochika¡¯s physicalbat ability would not be enough to deal with them.

    ¡°Contact me if things get dangerous. I¡¯ll figure it out.¡±

    ¡®How will you do that?¡¯

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be able to do it, using a method that I don¡¯t really want to use.¡±

    ¡®Fine. But hurry up and get back here!¡¯

    The call ended.

    He decided to move towards the forest for now, but then realized that there was a lot of noiseing from close by.

    Someone was causing a racket anding closer to them.

    ¡°NOOOOO! Wh-why are you attacking me!? I thought you were going to let me go!!¡±

    The voice sounded familiar.

    The person who was speaking soon came out of the forest and showed themself.

    ¡°Eeeeeee!¡±

    The person who appeared was a chubby boy, who fell onto his hands and knees the moment that he saw Yogiri. And he continued to slide down in that posture.

    Yogiri saw him and remembered something.

    ¡°Hanakawa, was it? Why are you in a ce like this?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I should be asking you!?¡±

    This boy was a ssmate, Hanakawa Daimon.

    ¡°Now that I think of it, I did say I would kill you if we met again.¡±

    Yogiri only had vague memories of dealing with Hanagawa. It was probably because he wasn¡¯t really interested.

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t say that!? You only told me to wait in the forest!¡±

    ¡°Really? Then why are you here?¡±

    Then Yogiri started to remember.

    Hanakawa hade because he was targeting Tomochika, who had stayed on the bus.

    Yogiri had killed the other two who were with him. That¡¯s when Hanakawa had put on some ve cor and demanded to be made his ve.

    And so Yogiri took all of Hanakawa¡¯s valuables and ordered him to wait in the nearby forest.

    After that, they reunited in the devil tower for some reason, and then he ordered him to wait in the forest again.

    ¡°Uh¡­it¡¯s because of¡­¡±

    Hanakawa muttered as he kept his head on the ground and moved behind Yogiri.

    While Yogiri was impressed by this astonishing feat, something else came from the forest.

    What appeared were semi-transparent blobs.

    They were shapeless, jelly-like things that were sorge that you had to crane your neck to look at them fully. There was something that looked like garbage inside as well. When you looked back into the forest, it was as if everything that had been in their path had been melted down. Perhaps they incorporated those things into their bodies.

    While they had no solid shape, there were leg-like extensions that came out and supported their bodies as they moved.

    Such were the things that crawled out from the trees.

    ¡°Die.¡±

    After that, Yogiri sensed a clear hostility from them, and so he unleashed his power.

    The blobs immediately became powerless and fell apart on the ground. The only thing that remained was a heap of wet garbage.

    ¡°You¡¯re as crazy as ever!¡±

    Hanakawa shouted from behind him.

    ¡°So?¡±

    Yogiri told him to continue his story.

    ¡°Uhh, yes, the thing is¡­¡±

    Perhaps it was very difficult to say, because Hanakawa seemed to be unable to begin.

    ¡°Look here. If you¡¯re thinking of a way to trick me, why even bother? You should know how hard it is to continue to tell lies that are consistent.¡±

    At this point, Hanakawa seemed to have understood that it was no use. And so he gravely started to exin, while remaining on the ground.

    ¡°Ummm. It¡¯s a long story, but a lot happened after we separated.¡±

    ¡°Well, nevermind. I¡¯ve got better things to do than listen to you.¡±

    ¡°You only care about yourself! You!¡±

    ¡°So this is the seventhyer. I want to return to the sixth. Do you know how?¡±

    ¡°What a strange thing to say. Why don¡¯t you just go back the way you came?¡±

    ¡°Because I fell. I can¡¯t go back that way.¡±

    ¡°Then how are you alive!?¡±

    ¡°I killed my momentum.¡±

    ¡°Ugh. Anything goes with you, huh!¡±

    ¡°So, how did youe here, Hanakawa?¡±

    ¡°Uhh, that¡¯s a long story. But going back up is no big deal. There is a shortcut that you can apparently use to travel to different ces in the demon world.¡±

    ¡°All right, then take me to it.¡±

    ¡°R-right. That is fine, but something terrible is happening here on the seventhyer. Those blob things are crawling all over the ce. So, if you could just protect me as we move¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll protect you. I won¡¯t know how to get back if you die.¡±

    ¡°Do you mean it? Oh, let¡¯s pretend I didn¡¯t just say that!¡±

    Hanakawa stood up.

    Then he started to walk, but Yogiri stopped him.

    ¡°Wait a minute. Take this person with you.¡±

    Yogiri pointed to the fallen David.

    ¡°Ohh! There was another one! And you want me to take him? You should do it yourself.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you to carry him.¡±

    ¡°Why me!¡±

    ¡°You are level 99. Shouldn¡¯t it be easy for you? Also, can¡¯t you use healing magic?¡±

    ¡°Ggg¡­why me¡­and a guy¡­¡±

    Hanakawa grumbled but still used his healing magic. This seemed to heal David¡¯s wounds, but he did not wake up. And so Hanakawa reluctantly carried him on his back.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not too far from here. After all, I was moving towards it, even while those weird things were chasing me.¡±

    Yogiri followed after Hanakawa.

    They entered the forest yet again and walked for some time until they reached the cliffs.

    This was the edge of the seventhyer.

    Now that they were here, they walked along the side of the cliffs.

    ¡°Really, isn¡¯t it quite strange how those crawling, jelly-like things have suddenly stopped showing themselves?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been killing the blobs as they approach.¡±

    Perhaps they could detect their presence, because the semi-transparent things kepting, one after another.

    And so Yogiri had been killing them whenever he noticed that they were nearby.

    As they came from so many directions, it was unlikely that Hanakawa would have been able to deal with all of them.

    ¡°Ohhh! How reliable you are! However, don¡¯t you think you should express at least a little more anxiety over it!?¡±

    ¡°Speaking of anxiety, why do you talk like that? It¡¯s annoying.¡±

    ¡°What a thing to ask at a time like this! Well, uh, um, I have my reasons for being the way I am.¡±

    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m not really interested in you.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t ask in the first ce!¡±

    As this conversation went on, they arrived at what seemed to be their destination.

    There was a metal door attached to a wall made of rock.

    And on the door was a great handle that seemed to be keeping it shut.

    ¡°Hehe! I happen to be the person who receivedplete control over this demon world!¡±

    As Hankawa approached, the door opened automatically.

    Apparently, it could only be opened by the person who managed the ce.

    The interior was a small, rectangr room. It seemed like some kind of elevator.

    ¡°Now. You wanted to go to the sixthyer, right? I want to get out of here as soon as possible, so once I leave Takato and the others on the sixthyer, I¡¯m going to go to the first¡­¡±

    ¡°But this thing can¡¯t be controlled without you, right? Then you¡¯ll just have to stay with me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true!¡±

    Hanakawa¡¯s face tightened.

    If the person who could teleport died in the battle on the sixthyer, he would lose the only method of getting back.

    As this was quite likely now, Yogiri was not about to let Hanakawa escape.

 Volume 4, 14: The ceiling suddenly collapses. Takato Yogiri and the two others are crushed to death

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 14: The ceiling suddenly copses. Takato Yogiri and the two others are crushed to death</h4>

    The gunslinger, Takekura Kiyoko, immediately found the resolve to murder her ssmates.

    Some of the others were hesitating over what to do, while others were clearly feeling rebellious towards the sage¡¯s order. There were those who never ended on killing anyone.

    They didn¡¯t want to fight their friends, and definitely not someone that they had a crush on. That was unthinkable. Perhaps most of them thought this way.

    However, having such a weak mentality in this situation meant death.

    She would kill anyone she had to.

    It was this resolve that was more important than anything.

    At first, everyone would be timid and hesitant as they watched each other. This gave those who were prepared to kill a great advantage.

    Kiyoko was walking through the forest.

    She couldn¡¯t think of staying in the fortress. The others seemed to think the same, and they had all ran out and scattered in different directions.

    First, they had to get away from the fortress boundary. Arimoto Osamu was a carpenter, and it would be no good to fight him within his territory.

    Kiyoko put a finger on the triggers of each of her pistols.

    Nothing happened.

    She then tried to summon a different gun, but it was also no use.

    Apparently, their skills would be restricted until the trial began.

    However, it seemed that things you prepared in advance did not disappear.

    She could see that, because the fortress was still there.

    As for skills, idol Akino Sora¡¯s oath had also vanished.

    This was likely a measure to make things fair. Oath had a restriction that made it impossible to attack ssmates.

    She opened the system window, hoping to find out more.

    There were more menus now.

    ¡®Sage Candidate Selection Match.¡¯

    She selected it.

    And then the time was disyed. As there was a countdown, it showed her how much time was left.

    There was also a list of participants and a map.

    There were 16 people in all. Fukai Seiichi¡¯s name was grayed out, which was probably because he was dead.

    However, there were supposed to be 18 ssmates that were moving together. When she checked the list carefully, she saw that Takato Yogiri and Dannoura Tomochika¡¯s names were not listed.

    ¡ªWell, I¡¯ll just kill them if they show up.

    She didn¡¯t think about not killing them just because they weren¡¯t on the list.

    Besides, Shion said that she would kill anyone who hadn¡¯t killed yet. That suggested that you could kill anyone, it didn¡¯t matter if they were participants or not.

    The map was of the area they were in, and her own position was marked.

    There was also a red circle around it, which was probably the boundary in which they would fight.

    It was limited to the inside of the wall that surrounded the center of the demon world. But this area was quiterge.

    The hole was 20 km in diameter. There were about 100 meters between the hole and the wall. If they all moved separately, it would be difficult to even find each other, let alone kill.

    It would be easy to run and hide. Of course, that only meant that Shion would kill you.

    So, where should you go?

    Kiyoko decided to head for the castle gate by the wall.

    *****

    Tomochika was hiding amongst the leaves of a tall tree.

    She was wearing a battle suit made of the mysterious substance from the Aggressors, so she was prepared for battle.

    Her position was right by the wall, which was quite close to the edge of the trial¡¯s boundary.

    ¡®Still, I didn¡¯t think you would run off alone like this. Juna and Romiko or whatever ran off together.¡¯

    ¡°Huh? Is that true!?¡±

    Tomochika had erased her presence as she went into the shadows, escaped the carpenter territory and climbed up a tree as if it were the normal thing to do.

    She had run off alone because that had seemed like the right thing to do if people were going to kill each other. However, now that she thought about it, it did seem a little callous.

    ¡®I¡¯m not ming you. I¡¯m actuallymending you.¡¯

    ¡°Uhh¡­ But, wouldn¡¯t it actually be dangerous to run around with other people in this situation? Though, it would be different if I was with Takato.¡±

    But Yogiri had been gone even before Shion¡¯s appearance.

    She felt that none of this would have happened had he been around, but there was no point in thinking about it now.

    ¡®About that kid, I¡¯ve gotten in contact with him. He seems to have fallen to the seventh floor.¡¯

    ¡°Huh? What do you mean ¡®fell¡¯? Is he all right?¡±

    Yogiri had ridiculous abilities, but his body was that of an ordinary human. He wouldn¡¯t survive such a drop.

    ¡®He seemed fine, so I¡¯m assuming he wasn¡¯t injured. He said that he¡¯sing back, but at the time, he didn¡¯t know how he would do it. And so you will have to get by until he returns.¡¯

    ¡°Get by. That¡¯s easy for you to say. Ah! I don¡¯t have the system installed, so does that mean I¡¯m not counted as among those participating?¡±

    ¡®Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little naive to assume you¡¯re going to be excluded from it? It¡¯s much safer to assume that you¡¯re included in that number.¡¯

    ¡°Well, I have no intention at all of going around killing people. So that means I have to run¡­ Do you think the others are running too?¡±

    ¡®No. You can¡¯t kill others if you¡¯re running. It¡¯s quite the dilemma, isn¡¯t it?¡¯

    Tomochika searched for the presence of others around her.

    While everyone had appeared to run in different directions, there were now multiple people near the fortress and the castle gates.

    Was it because those were the onlyndmarks here? Perhaps it was natural for people to gather there.

    ¡°Will I be fine if I just hide here?¡±

    ¡®Who knows. I doubt there is anyone who will be able to see you, that is, unless they have some kind of scouting skill. If they do, it would be better for you to keep moving¡­¡¯

    ¡°Will Takato know where I am?¡±

    Trantions by AsianHobbyist Website.

    ¡®He can call me by phone. I don¡¯t know where he will appear, but it should work out as long as we canmunicate.¡¯

    ¡°All right, then I¡¯ll wait. I feel like running around will have other dangers, anyway.¡±

    If she wanted to meet up with him, it was better to stay still. That was what Tomochika thought.

    ¡®Well, you have me as well. Two pairs of eyes will mean that an ambush is very unlikely.¡¯

    Just as Tomochika had made her decision, a sudden gunshot echoed.

    They continued in session. In fact, they kept going for so long that it started to sound like they were connected.

    ¡®It¡¯s started then. I suppose it¡¯s the gunslinger.¡¯

    Takekura Kiyoko was the gunslinger.

    She had the ability to summon guns.

    That alone wasn¡¯t a big deal, as it was a world of magic, but she was able to fire unlimited rounds without reloading. Not only that, but the bullets had various effects as well.

    ¡°I would have no chance of winning.¡±

    Though, she did wonder if it was right to just watch quietly. But Tomochika had no way of stopping the violence.

    All she could do now was wait.

    *****

    I ran to the wall because I thought it was safer than being in the forest.

    There was plenty of cover here, and the lights were on.

    It was much better than being scared in the dark forest where you wouldn¡¯t see your enemying.

    However, the others seemed to havee to the same conclusion as well, and so there were a few that came running to the wall.

    They weren¡¯t running away, but seemed to want to make this the spot where they¡¯d make their stand.

    There was plenty of space within the wall as well, but they didn¡¯t go in very deep. It was no wonder. They had to kill a ssmate if they were to avoid being killed by the sage.

    I was in the attic.

    And it was from there that I looked down at the others.

    So, what to do now?

    What was the biggest problem for me, was that I had no directbat ability.

    That meant that it was necessary for me to use a more roundabout approach. But would it count as my kill if I took down an enemy with a trap?

    If not, I was in deep trouble.

    After all, it was impossible for me to win in a head-on fight.

    Well, I would just have to figure something out when the time came.

    The sage would be watching this fight. I would just have to hope she recognized it as my kill since it was my trap.

    So, what kind of trap could I set?

    As I wondered about this, someone came near.

    A girl with sses and braided hair had entered my room.

    It was Takekura Kiyoko.

    She was a Gunslinger. And as her name suggested, she fought with guns.

    Damn it.

    I didn¡¯t have a chance fighting against any of them, but she still seemed like the worst opponent to go up against.

    I held my breath and hoped that she would just go away.

    However, my prayer was not answered. She raised the barrel of her gun to the ceiling and pointed it in my direction.

    It wasn¡¯t some random movement. It was clear that she was aiming for me.

    ¡°Why!¡±

    She didn¡¯t answer; just pulled the trigger.

    In an instant, I was riddled with holes.

    *****

    Aihara Yukimasa understood that he would probably be shot by Takekura Kiyoko soon.

    The book he was holding had events of the near future written in it.

    And what was written there could not be changed regardless of him knowing about it. He could not act in a way that would change things. He acted out the scenes as they were written in the novel.

    ¡°For now, I¡¯ll erase what I can.¡±

    But Yukimasa was able to rewrite the novel¡¯s contents. This was how he was able to control his actions and the events around him.

    He traced the words with his finger and the letters disappeared.

    The only part he was able to erase was the part after he went up to the attic. In fact, Yukimasa had only just gone up right now. He couldn¡¯t erase what had already happened.

    After erasing the words, he considered what would happen next. Yukimasa was able to rewrite the words in order to change the future.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that he could just write anything.

    It had to be something that could actually happen, and it had to be consistent with the past.

    So, what to do?

    Apparently, Kiyoko was aware that Yukimasa was here.

    That meant she hade to kill him. And it was difficult to rewrite a person¡¯s actions when they were this determined.

    Still, he tried rewriting the way events would unfold, but the words disappeared almost immediately.

    Kiyoko woulde. That was decided. So he would have to deal with it without rewriting her actions.

    Yukimasa turned the page. He looked for a line from past events that would be useful.

    Yukimasa¡¯s idea was to have a different ssmate interfere.

    Thankfully, the book told him that there were a number of others within the walls.

    ¡®Kiyoko enters the room. At the same time, someone else enters from a door on the opposite side.¡¯

    He added this line and then waited. The words didn¡¯t disappear. It was approved.

    He didn¡¯t know who would actuallye. How things would y out after that. While it was frustrating, he didn¡¯t know for sure when the next letters would appear in the book.

    It didn¡¯t seem like the book would be updated anytime soon. He might have to wait and see it happen before his eyes.

    After a moment, Kiyoko entered the room.

    Then, the door on the opposite side opened and someone came in.

    It was Shinozaki Ayaka.

    ¡°Her¡­¡±

    She was a vengeful demon who had already killed several ssmates.

    The result of rewriting his fate, might, in fact, result in a must worse disaster.

    However, Kiyoko was now looking at Ayaka.

    If these two started fighting, he might be able to run away.

    Kiyoko began shooting without hesitation.

    Yukimasa saw his chance and frantically began to run down the stairs to the lower floor.

    *****

    Loud gunshots and sounds of destruction. The sounds that echoed from behind told of the vicious battle being yed out. It was clear that they wouldn¡¯t be able to pay attention to anything else.

    So I believed. So I ran. I passed through several rooms.

    Once I felt that I was at a good distance, I stopped to catch my breath and calm my heart.

    It¡¯s fine. The danger was gone.

    However, it was just a temporary thing.

    I would have to get away from the others as well and survive.

    I looked around. Perhaps this room was rarely used, because it was in a terrible state. It seemed like a bad idea to stay long, but there was one thing that caught my interest.

    It was a metal door. And it had arge circr handle, like the ones you see in submarines.

    I tried touching it, but it didn¡¯t budge.

    As I was curious about whaty beyond it, I brought up the system window and looked at the map. There was a detailed map of the area that was within the boundary of the trial.

    What was on the other side of the door, was a small room that would be full if just a few people were in it.

    Well, if the door wouldn¡¯t open, then this room was a dead end. So there was even less reason to be here.

    Just as I was about to leave, the circr door handle started to turn.

    I quickly dashed out of the room and peeked back in from the outside.

    Two figures walked out. They were both familiar.

    It was Takato Yogiri and Hanakawa Daimon. ssmates. And on further inspection, Hanakawa was carrying a guy called David.

    *****

    Such were the words that he read in the book while he was in the room.

    He didn¡¯t understand why, but Hanakawa Daimon, Takato Yogiri, and David were going to appear from behind that door.

    Yukimasa saw this as an opportunity.

    Surely these three were not that strong.

    Takato had some kind of extermination ability, and could not battle against people. Hanakawa was a healer, if he remembered correctly. So he couldn¡¯t fight either. Of course, that meant that he would be able to heal himself if the attacks were weak. But then again, he likely didn¡¯t have much defense ability, so he would die quickly.

    As for David, he had a power that allowed him to lower the rank of a gift, but he was apparently unconscious, so he could be ignored.

    Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to kill all three of them at once. However, it was much better than fighting those other monsters with their inhuman powers.

    For now, he would kill these guys in order to survive the first hour. Besides, killing them might raise his stats. So he should kill anyone that looked like they would be easy prey.

    So, how to do it?

    Yukimasa scanned the room. There were several ces that looked promising.

    ¡®The ceiling suddenly copses. Takato Yogiri and the two others are crushed to death.¡¯

    He wrote.

    It was definitely the kind ofzy writing that would get a bad review, were it a normal novel he was reading. But there was no need for entertainment value now.

    Still, it seemed that these words were no good, because they disappeared after he wrote them.

    Perhaps that meant that the ceiling wasn¡¯t quite damaged enough.

    Well, there were still other things that he could use.

    Just as he began to write down his next idea, the next words of the novel appeared.

    ¡®I died.¡¯

    A chill ran down Yukimasa¡¯s spine. Up until now, his death had never been written down so clearly.

    I was riddled with holes. I fell off a cliff. I was bitten by a monster.

    It had details of what befell him, but it never said that he actually died.

    ¡°What the hell. That¡¯s not how a first-person narrative works.¡±

    He said jokingly. If I was writing an ount, I couldn¡¯t write about my own death.

    Regardless of any problems, if that was what was written, then the thing to do was erase it.

    And so Yukimasa traced it with his finger.

    He had to change it so he wouldn¡¯t die.

    However, before he could add his own words, some letters appeared again.

    ¡®I died.¡¯

    Erase.

    ¡®I disappeared. I vanished. I turned to nothing. My biological functions stopped. I am finished.¡¯

    ¡°Why! I¡¯m supposed to have the strongest power! I know the future and can change it!¡±

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t a power that allowed him to do anything he wanted. However, it was supposed to be a power that if used right, allowed him to get out of any danger.

    And yet¡­

    The book was no longer allowing his story to develop in any way outside of his own death.

    No matter how many times he erased or tried to add his own words, the only thing that appeared was letters that told of his death.

    ¡°Damn! What am I supposed to do!¡±

    ¡®Died. Died. Died. Died. Died. Died.¡¯

    At this point, he could barely understand what the words meant. They just kept appearing, Yukimasa could never erase them in time.

    Still, he had no choice but to do something about the book.

    ¡°I know! I¡¯ll rip the pages!¡±

    He ripped out the pages. Then he shredded them into small pieces.

    Once it was destroyed like that, it was no longer a novel.

    He tore out all of the pages and scattered the small pieces after ripping them up.

    Doing this probably meant he would lose his ability.

    However, he was more afraid of the death that was before his eyes.

    ¡°I-I have to get out of here.¡±

    He didn¡¯t understand why, but he would die once Yogiri and the others arrived.

    And so Yukimasa turned his back to the door and tried to run.

    But he felt that something was wrong and so he stopped in his tracks.

    He could have just kept running. And yet, he suddenly felt curious about what was behind him. He didn¡¯t have to look, and yet he found himself doing just that.

    His instincts were telling him that he shouldn¡¯t look back. But this need to see the source of his fear was also part of his instincts.

    And so, ultimately, Yukimasa turned around.

    Everything seemed the same.

    There it all was. The torn-up pages of the book that were scattered everywhere.

    It was nothing then. He had been imagining things. It was just as he patted his chest in relief.

    The letters suddenly flowed out.

    Words that signaled his death came out from the destroyed novel and stuck on to the floor.

    ¡°Haaa¡­¡±

    In the blink of an eye, they covered the entire floor, walls, and even the ceiling.

    You can¡¯t run from your death.

    It was as if the rows of letters were saying this to him.

    Clunk.

    Something was on the other side of the door.

    The handle began to turn.

    Then it opened, and Yogiri and the others appeared.

    There was the sound of the roof cracking. kes of old pain started to rain down.

    That¡¯s when Yukimasa and Yogiri¡¯s eyes met.

    ¡°Die.¡±

    That merciless word was thest thing Yukimasa heard.

    *****

    ¡°Hey! Is that what you do as soon as you meet people! He was your ssmate!¡±

    Hanakawa shrieked.

    ¡°I felt the hostility. So I just killed him.¡±

    He had sensed the danger from the ceiling, and when his eyes met Aihara Yukimasa, he knew that he was the culprit.

    And so he killed him before they were killed.

    That was all it was.

    ¡°No, no, no. Weren¡¯t these people forced to kill each other by the sage? Doesn¡¯t that make them victims!?¡±

    He had told Hanakawa about what was happening on the sixth floor.

    If he didn¡¯t, Hanakawa would be very confused when they encountered an actual fight to the death.

    ¡°So what? Is it all right to kill people just because you are forced to? I don¡¯t care how it happened, he made the decision. You can¡¯t me others for that.¡±

    ¡°You, I¡¯m a lot more frightened by your mentality than your abilities right now!?¡±

    Yogiri ignored the quivering Hanakawa and pulled out his smartphone.

    He wanted to know Mokomoko¡¯s current location.

    ¡°No answer. It might be trouble. We should hurry.¡±

    ¡°Why are you even using a smartphone!? And what is with this system message!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Those who had gifts installed by the sage could see the system menu in their vision. As it wasn¡¯t installed in Yogiri, he could only imagine what it looked like.

    ¡°Hey! You have been approved to participate in the sage candidate selection match. That¡¯s what it says!¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re a participant now. That¡¯s good. That means if you try to leave the area, Shion wille out to kill you.¡±

    ¡°WHAAA! But that is just too horrible!¡±

    Even if Yogiri and Tomochika stayed alive until the end or if they left the area, they were not seen as participants. So it was possible that Shion would note to them.

    And soo Yogiri was starting to see Hanakawa as a very useful person.

 Volume 4, 15: Because Iâ€™m invincible? No attacks work on me.

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 15: Because I¡¯m invincible? No attacks work on me.</h4>

    Hanamiya Mei was a Saint beforeing to this world.

    A cat that shot beams from its eyes had killed her. Then she turned into a Saint and came to this world.

    To exin further, it had been several days before the school trip, when she was on her way to school.

    She was walking alone, when out of nowhere, she heard what sounded like a baby crying.

    But Mei was very fond of cats, and so she knew at once that it was the sound of cats fighting.

    Mei looked at her watch. She still had some time before ss started. While it wasn¡¯t the most admirable thing, there was a part of her that wanted to watch the cats fight. And so she left the path towards her school.

    She walked down a narrow alley in the residential area until she found the open area between two houses.

    It was there that two cats were antagonizing each other.

    A ck cat and a white cat. Both of them were beautiful and had luscious fur.

    Mei decided to watch quietly.

    A catfight was much like ying. Once it was clear who was the winner, it never went further than that. It wouldn¡¯t turn into anything cruel. But if it got too bad, she would stop it.

    Just then, the white cat jumped at the ck cat.

    The ck cat opened its mouth wide and spit out a torrent of fire.

    ¡°What?¡±

    The white cat avoided the mes by changing its trajectory while still in the air.

    When the white cat¡¯s front pawsnded on the ground, the area in front of him protruded out like spears and attacked the ck cat.

    The ck cat dodged it with a side step and then unleashed a white breath. Their surroundings froze, but the white cat protected itself with a barrier of light.

    Mei was stunned.

    She had not expected any of this from a catfight.

    And it all ended abruptly.

    The white cat¡¯s eyes shone brightly. Beams shot out and then attacked the ck cat. The ck cat conjured up a mirror to reflect it. The reflected beam headed straight towards Mei.

    *****

    Mei was in a white room.

    The ck cat and the white cat were sitting next to each other.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You¡¯ve died, meow.¡±

    Said the white cat. Mei wasn¡¯t surprised that it was talking. It could breathe fire and shoot lights from its eyes. Talking was nothing after seeing all of that.

    ¡°Uhh. Are you going to take me to another world?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no. We¡¯re just going to bring you back to life, okay?¡±

    The ck cat talked without any weird meowing.

    ¡°Ah. We seemed to have killed a weirdo, meow.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t this what usually happens when you get reincarnated in a different world?¡±

    ¡°Hey, what are you going to do? Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to just revive her without exining anything?¡±

    ¡°No, as gods, we can¡¯t abandon our responsibilities like that, meow.¡±

    ¡°Gods! Does that mean I can receive a lot of cheat abilities?¡±

    The cats looked at each other. It seemed like they were at a loss on how to respond.

    ¡°Uhh. Please calm down and listen, meow. Yes, it was our fault for being so absorbed in the fight that we didn¡¯t see you, meow. I¡¯ll apologize for that and bring you back to life, so please forgive us, meow. And I¡¯ll increase your luck a little as part of my apology, meow.¡±

    ¡°What! The cheat! I want a cheat! Like being able to use magic of every attribute! Or unlimited MP!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite the demand. You do realize there is no such thing as magic?¡±

    ¡°But you were just using it!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re gods¡­ The very idea of normal people doing it. Unthinkable, meow.¡±

    ¡°NO-NO-NO! This is my chance! I don¡¯t want toe back to life!¡±

    Mei was having a tantrum.

    She fell on the ground and iled her arms and legs.

    ¡°What should we do, meow¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, it was our fault¡­ Do you have a way of sending her to another world?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t say that I don¡¯t, meow¡­ But if it¡¯s a world where you can use magic¡­ It will generally be quite simr to our world, but also have a scientific civilization¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Ah, there is someone who is trying to open a hole¡­ We can use that.¡±

    The cats whispered to each other until they came to a decision.

    ¡°Uhh, Hanamiya Mei, meow. If you do go to another world, you will not be able to return. Are you fine with that, meow?¡±

    ¡°OK! Bring it on! I don¡¯t care about this world at all!¡±

    ¡°¡­Then, let me exin. First, you will be brought back to life normally, but don¡¯t worry. You will be sent to another world a few dayster, when a hole will open up.¡±

    ¡°A hole?¡±

    ¡°You people don¡¯t know about it, but there are many worlds and they are structured likeyers. And so you can use holes to fall into other worlds. There is someone who is trying to open such a hole, and we mean to take advantage of that.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying someone is trying to summon me from a different world?¡±

    ¡°You can say that. But it is to be a very big hole that will take many people. That is why it¡¯s taking so long.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but what about my cheat? Where are my amazing powers?¡±

    ¡°If you could just calm down for a second. We cannot just give magical powers to a human. However, you can use our power as a way of getting around that. In other words, you will be our shrine maiden. And when you need it, we will use our power.¡±

    ¡°Um! Don¡¯t you mean Saint? Shrine maiden sounds so Japanese and old. It¡¯s kind ofme, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t care what name you want to go by, meow.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    *****

    And like that, Hanamiya Mei became a Saint and was able toe to this world.

    While she did have the system installed into her, there were adjustments due to the power of the god.

    In other words, she only looked like she was under themand of the sage, but Mei actually had no restrictions put on her.

    She was free.

    There was no need to fear, and she was not forced to do anything. The only reason why she tagged along with this sage candidate business was that it had looked like an amusing event to her.

    It didn¡¯t matter what happened because she could deal with it with the power of the god. Mei hade this far by just going with the flow.

    That was why she didn¡¯t run away, even though they were being forced to kill each other.

    In fact, Mei stayed in the fortress that the carpenter had made.

    She was in her room and resting in bed.

    ¡®Meow. Mei. What are you going to do, meow? You don¡¯t have to stick around and fight, meow. I think you should just kill this sage person, meow.¡¯

    The white cat was floating in the air in a white space. The image that appeared in Mei¡¯s head was very difficult to see.

    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what you¡¯re supposed to do. You¡¯re supposed to participate in events.¡±

    Mei wanted to enjoy this world. She didn¡¯t want to change the rules. She wanted to enjoy things while following the norms and regtions.

    ¡®You don¡¯t mind killing your friends, meow?¡¯

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it sound fun? Everyone here thinks that they¡¯re the strongest. In spite of the fact that their powers are from the sage. And yet they¡¯ll have no chance against the power of real gods. Isn¡¯t that just exhrating?¡±

    Up until now, the event had been about adventuring together. And now it was a battle royale. Mei thought that it was fun, either way.

    ¡®You¡¯re going to say that while relying on my power¡­meow¡­¡¯

    ¡°Oh, but maybe I¡¯ll just keep Haruto alive.¡±

    The sage had also said that you could kill her, so Mei was also considering going down that route at some point.

    ¡®Well, do as you wish, meow. I don¡¯t really care about who dies in that world, meow.¡¯

    The voice faded away.

    Mei rolled around on her bed.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe this. You¡¯re sleepingzily in my territory.¡¯

    ¡°Ah, morning, Arima.¡±

    Mei woke up after being called. She had apparently fallen asleep.

    She looked around the room, but there was no one there.

    It seemed that the power of carpentry allowed you to make your voice audible from anywhere in the building.

    ¡°Hmm? Why are you talking to me? You could have just killed me instead?¡±

    ¡®I guess I was too ashamed. But I¡¯ve made my decision now. I¡¯m going to kill whoever I can.¡¯

    ¡°Hmmm. Good luck.¡±

    Just then, her bed disappeared.

    ¡°Woah!¡±

    She fell on her buttocks. There was no damage from it, but Mei was surprised nheless.

    And then it suddenly grew dark. For a second, she didn¡¯t understand what was happening.

    ¡°Ahh. You trapped me.¡±

    The carpenter was able to use blocks to create all kinds of things.

    And he used that to build a wall around her.

    ¡°So, what are you going to do?¡±

    In the next instant, something hit Mei¡¯s head with tremendous force.

    *****

    Arima Osamu¡¯s n was simple.

    He would trap his enemies in a chimney-like structure and then drop heavy blocks on top of them.

    He wasn¡¯t able to create blocks in ces where people were standing, but he could create them in the space above them.

    Perhaps they would be able to survive the attack with their defensive ability.

    However, he was able to make an unlimited number of blocks. Even if they didn¡¯t die immediately, he could just keep dropping more blocks. Eventually, they wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the weight any longer. And they would be crushed to death.

    On top of that, they would be trapped in an air-tight prison, they might also die of suffocation.

    This strategy should be very effective within his territory.

    ¡°¡­How¡­¡±

    However, Osamu was surprised by Mei¡¯s sudden appearance.

    He didn¡¯t understand how she had gotten through his deadly traps. And how had she traveled all the way to that room?

    ¡°Search and teleport. But I can only do it at a short distance. Ah, so Abukawa is here as well.¡±

    Abukawa Masahiro. The boy with the transporter power.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the power of the Saint just about erasing monsters!?¡±

    Abukawa said with wide eyes.

    ¡°Sorry. I was lying.¡±

    ¡°Eat this!¡±

    And then something fell from the ceiling.

    It was magma.

    The hot, melted liquid rained down on Mei.

    Mei was drenched in the red substance but still looked up at the ceiling as if it was nothing.

    ¡°Ahh, so there was a door on the ceiling. And the other door must be connected to the mouth of a volcano somewhere. Interesting. So, you two are working together then.¡±

    The transporter was able to connect different doors. That¡¯s what they used.

    It seemed that magma would be too strong for most doors, but maybe the carpenter¡¯s doors were extra strong.

    ¡°Wh-why aren¡¯t you hurt!¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Because I¡¯m invincible? No attacks work on me.¡±

    Osamu and Masahiro¡¯s faces twisted in shock. Mei had wanted to see those expressions. And so she was fully satisfied.

    ¡°Saint Punch!¡±

    Mei walked up to Masahiro and threw theziest punch at him.

    Masahiro dodged it easily.

    Osamu had been watching. Anyone could have dodged that wobbly, slow attack.

    And yet¡­

    Mei¡¯s fist had somehow reached Masahiro¡¯s face.

    The ce of impact shed brightly.

    And then Masahiro began to fall apart, like a string that was unraveling. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

    ¡°What¡­what is¡­¡±

    Osamu barely managed to say those words. He could not believe what had just happened in front of him.

    ¡°Ah, right. My attacks have an ¡®absolute hit¡¯ option. And the Saint Punchpletely annihtes my enemies.¡±

    ¡°¡­But, if you can do such a thing¡­you should be able to win against the sage¡­then! We shouldn¡¯t have to kill each other!¡±

    ¡°I could do that, yes. But what would happen after I killed the sage? Who¡¯s going to think of an interesting event for me? To be honest, it¡¯s not very fun being able to do whatever you want in this world. I want someone to choose a direction for me.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­we can all think together¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that sounds very fun. Saint Beam!¡±

    Mei raised her fist and pointed it at Osamu.

    There was nothing he could do but be erased from existence by the sh of light.

    *****

    Mei left the fortress that Osamu had built.

    Apparently, the structure would remain even after the builder died.

    ¡°I fulfilled the requirements, so I might as well take it easy until the next hour.¡±

    It would not be very fun to just kill everyone at once.

    However, that also depended on how the others acted.

    Mei opened the system window and checked the list of participants.

    It had only just started, and yet 5 of the 16 participants were already dead.

    They were, ¡®reaper¡¯ Fukai Seiichi, ¡®record keeper¡¯ Shijou Juno, ¡®reader¡¯ Aihara Yukimasa, ¡®transporter¡¯ Abukawa Masahiro, and ¡®carpenter¡¯ Arima Osamu.

    If things continued at this pace, it would all end within the hour.

    As she wondered what to do, a notice appeared.

    ¡®Hanakawa Daimon has been epted into the sage candidate selection match.¡¯

    When she checked the list, his name had indeed been added.

    For some reason, he had joined at this point.

    ¡°Since he¡¯s here, I might as well kill him.¡±

    She had always found this Hanakawa boy to be a little gross.

    In fact, she had often dreamed of killing him with her own hands.

 Volume 4, 16: Huh? And what do you mean, I lost? Why did I lose?

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 16: Huh? And what do you mean, I lost? Why did I lose?</h4>

    And so she wanted to kill him before anyone else did.

    She searched for his location and found it immediately.

    He was inside of the wall and on his way out.

    And so Mei teleported to the front of the castle gate.

    She didn¡¯t have to wait long for Hanakawa to appear in front of her.

    For some reason, he was carrying an unconscious man and Takato Yogiri was with him.

    ¡°Woah! Mei-tan! It¡¯s Mei-tan! You look like a Saint! Oh, my eyes feel so blessed now!¡±

    She had anticipated that he would be surprised to see her. Still, this predictably creepy way of talking was enough to make her want to vomit.

    ¡°I think everyone dresses appropriately for their ss.¡±

    Yogiri said in a bored voice as he exined to Hanakawa.

    ¡°Ohh! Is that why!? Then that means I will be able to worship the image of Sora as an idol up close!¡±

    ¡°Apparently, she¡¯ll be dressed as an idol when she fights.¡±

    ¡°Woof! Wait! This is no time for celebrating, all right!? This means that those goddesses wille down and bare their poisonous fangs at you, Takato!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not listening. And I¡¯m going to ignore them if they don¡¯t attack us. So, did youe to attack us?¡±

    Yogiri asked Mei.

    Mei was not amused at how nonchnt they appeared.

    Yes, she wanted to see their expressions distort with despair, just like the others had.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a battle royale. I don¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    In order to make them lose all hope, she had to show her power like she did before.

    She didn¡¯t have a grudge against him, but she decided to kill Yogiri first. She wanted to see the look on Hanakawa¡¯s face as he begged for his life.

    If she erased him in an instant, Hanakawa wouldn¡¯t know what had happened. So it would be best to get closer and punch him in the face.

    ¡°Saint Punch!¡±

    She ran up to Yogiri and flung her right fist. Mei had never done any kind ofbat sport, and so the punch wascking in skill. However, it didn¡¯t matter, as herziest of punches would stillnd. And they would kill.

    Yogiri¡¯s left hand touched Mei¡¯s wrist.

    What a pointless thing to do.

    That¡¯s what she thought, but in the next instant, pain shot up through her body.

    Before she knew it, she was on her elbows and staring at the ground as she suffocated.

    As a girl who had lived a normal life, it was a pain that she had never experienced before.

    ¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t that bajiquan?¡±

    ¡°Dannoura called it the ¡®Dannoura Elbow.¡¯ I learned it for self-defense.¡±

    Not understanding what was happening, she raised her unsteady head.

    But from Yogiri and Hanakawa¡¯s conversation, it sounded like she had gotten an elbow to the stomach.

    ¡°Wh-what¡­¡±

    The power of the gods were supposed to prevent her from taking damage or feeling any pain.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to kill her?¡±

    ¡°Well, she hasn¡¯t attacked us with anything lethal, yet.¡±

    Mei used the only power that was her own. She used ¡®prayer.¡¯ She prayed to the gods and made a request. In other words, it was an ability that allowed you to talk with them.

    In an instant, the space where the god sat appeared in her mind.

    As always, the white cat was there. But then Mei froze in shock.

    There was no power in the white cat¡¯s limbs. It had copsed on the ground and wasn¡¯t moving.

    ¡®God! What¡¯s happening!? Where is my power of invincibility! This is a contract breach!¡¯

    She cried desperately. However, deep down, she knew what this meant.

    The white cat looked like it was dead. It would never reply to her again.

    ¡°Hey! I said hey! What am I supposed to do!? I can¡¯t lose my power in a ce like this!?¡¯

    In the middle of a battle royale in the depths of the demon world.

    It was clear what would happen if she lost the protection of the gods.

    ¡®No¡­this can¡¯t be¡­¡¯

    And then, the ck cat appeared.

    It was the other god that sometimes fought with the white cat.

    ¡®I don¡¯t know what happened over there! But you might as well help me then. Do something!¡¯

    ¡®¡­I understand your situation. I shall lend you my power.¡¯

    In the next instant, the power of a god enveloped her body. And she understood that she was once again invincible.

    ¡°I won¡¯t hold back anymore! All of you shall be erased from existence!¡±

    She no longer cared about making Hanakawa feel despair.

    More than that, she had an overwhelming desire to kill Takato Yogiri, as he had caused her so much pain.

    God¡¯s light that erased everything.

    Mei decided to unleash it in all directions.

    As she remained on her knees, she would annihte everything so she didn¡¯t have to lock onto any target.

    But¡­

    Nothing happened.

    The image that appeared in her mind was of the ck cat, which was now on the ground with its tongue sticking out.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot easier with people like you, where the source of the power and the user are different.¡±

    Yogiri said cooly.

    ¡°¡­What¡­what did you do¡­¡±

    She was trembling. And it was her words that wereced with despair.

    Finally, Mei understood that the images she saw in her head were the work of Yogiri.

    But she did not know how it was possible.

    However, it was a fact that she could no longer use any power. And she knew what that meant for her.

    She felt worry and fear envelope her.

    Now that she had no power, she was just an ordinary highschool student. And yet she was deep underground and involved in a battle royale.

    And so¡­

    Perhaps she should ask for help.

    Perhaps she should ask for protection and to be taken with them.

    However, Yogiri was the person that should be most feared in this ce.

    He had easily taken her power that she thought made her invincible. And the gods were dead.

    She couldn¡¯t stay around such a monster.

    ¡°Are-are you not going to kill her?¡±

    As Mei shook in fear. The annoying Hanakawa opened his mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I want to go around killing everybody. I¡¯m just doing it because we¡¯ll be killed if I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just take away their power? I think everyone will be happy with that.¡±

    ¡°I just did it this time because it was easy. Usually, the power and the user aren¡¯t separate, so I can¡¯t just kill the source of the power.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well. So, Mei-tan doesn¡¯t have power anymore? Then why don¡¯t we take her with us?¡±

    This unexpected suggestion was a ray of hope.

    Of course, she didn¡¯t know what Hanakawa¡¯s intentions were, and his creepy smile was not encouraging. But Mei was less enthusiastic about asking Yogiri for help.

    She had hated Hanakawa so much, but now he was like a saviour to her.

    He would protect her now that she was powerless, and bring her to a safe ce where Yogiri couldn¡¯t reach her.

    She didn¡¯t know what would happen after that, but she felt like she would still have a chance.

    It was the sage¡¯s gift. The power of god had sealed it, but if she awakened to it now, she may gain power that will allow her to survive the battle royale.

    ¡°But Hanamiya can¡¯t seem to walk. Are you going to leave David and carry her?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m terribly sorry!¡±

    That was all it took to make Mei¡¯s nse crumbling down.

    ***

    Gunshots rang from the castle walls.

    Unlike earlier, it wasn¡¯t a rapid session of bullets being fired. There were pauses and the sounds of huge explosions. It seemed as if a variety of firearms were being used.

    However, even those sounds started to grow distant. Apparently, the person was on the move while still fighting.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s hard to have to stay still in one ce the whole time.¡±

    Tomochika was currently hiding in the forest at the top of a tree.

    She hadpletely erased her own presence.

    Mokomoko was the only person who could hear her.

    ¡®But, there is nothing you can do. If it was a straight-up battle, then you might be able to get by with your skills and the abilities of the battle suit. But they will use tricks that you won¡¯t be able to deal with.¡¯

    Tomochika was wearing a battle suit and was prepared to fight. She had no intention of fighting if it wasn¡¯t necessary, but the suit would make a huge difference if she did. Even if it was just for protection or to run away, it would be useful.

    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t want to fight even if I could deal with them.¡±

    Of course, she didn¡¯t want to fight against ssmates that were trying to kill her.

    What she wanted to do, was to reunite with Yogiri as soon as possible. He was the one person that could get her out of this situation. That is what Tomochika thought.

    ¡®Oh? I thought it was some kind of scouting ability at first. How interesting.¡¯

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    It seemed like Mokomoko had noticed something. And so Tomochika carefully observed her surroundings.

    However, she was not able to notice any change.

    ¡®Spirits. Someone is using the spirits of weak enemies and unleashing them in the area.¡¯

    Tomochika was able to see Mokomoko, but she was an exception. She didn¡¯t actually have any spiritual abilities.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this really bad? Why don¡¯t you go and eat them?¡±

    ¡®You idiot! Why do I have to eat stuff like that!¡¯

    ¡°Uh, I just thought that ghosts might like to eat other ghosts.¡±

    ¡®This is no time to talk about such nonsense. There are a lot of them out there. It would be safe to assume that the person controlling them knows about what is happening here. Not only that, but there is an electromaic interference as well. We won¡¯t be able to call anyone.¡¯

    ¡°Why would ghosts cause an interference¡­¡±

    ¡®You know. It¡¯s like how in horror movies, phones suddenly stop working? It¡¯s the spirits that are causing your smartphone¡¯s reception to be unstable! As we don¡¯t have physical bodies, we are more simr to electromaic waves and light.¡¯

    ¡°What¡­ That¡¯s so stupid¡­ Well, whatever. Did you say that someone was controlling them? I don¡¯t remember there being anyone with such an ability.¡±

    She thought of all the abilities that she knew about. And she couldn¡¯t think of anyone that fitted.

    The closest one was the reaper. But that person was already dead.

    ¡®Perhaps the person had the ability from earlier. That is possible. Or someone was lying about their ability. Still, we can¡¯t stay here now that someone knows.¡¯

    There was no point in staying in one ce now.

    And so Tomochika jumped down from the tree.

    First, she had to move. It was just as she had decided to do this that she felt someone¡¯s presence.

    It wasing towards her and doing nothing to remain undetected.

    While Tomochika had great vision, there were limits to what she could see in the dark. And she could not make out the person that was approaching.

    ¡°Tomochi!¡±

    It was Romiko¡¯s voice.

    However, Tomochika decided to run away.

    She would never have run off alone in the first ce if she felt that she could trust her friends unconditionally.

    Yes, Romiko was her friend.

    But she didn¡¯t trust her in the current situation.

    ¡®She may be the one controlling them. It¡¯s very suspicious that she knew who you were when you couldn¡¯t even see her yet.¡¯

    Tomochika ran. She needed to get away first. And so she moved in a direction where there were no other presences.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    However, she suddenly had to stop.

    Someone had popped out from behind a tree.

    ¡®It¡¯s a spirit! But, how are you able to see it!?¡¯

    Mokomoko struck down the slowly moving shape. As you¡¯d expect from a spirit, it easily faded into nothing.

    However, it was quickly reced by another one.

    They kept appearing.

    ¡°Hey. Would it be bad if I touched them?¡±

    ¡®You¡¯ll take a little damage. It¡¯s like a curse. If it¡¯s only a little over a short time, then it will be fine. Otherwise, it can be dangerous. It can even kill you.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, okay. I get that impression.¡±

    It felt like it stuck to her and she was being damaged repeatedly.

    She could get passed one or two, but it would hurt her if they all came at once.

    As she thought about this, she heard the sounds of footsteps slowly approaching.

    ¡°Tomochi. Don¡¯t run away.¡±

    Romiko jumped out from the shadow of a tree. And then she talked in her usualzy voice.

    ¡°Are you doing this, Mikochi?¡±

    She asked cautiously. She didn¡¯t know what Romiko¡¯s intentions were. Why had shee all of this way to meet her?

    ¡°Yes. You were running away, so I thought that if I let you see them, you would be so surprised that you would stop.¡±

    Romiko¡¯s ability was supposed to be about counting numbers.

    However, if she was actually capable of doing such things as this, Tomochika would have to alter her perception.

    ¡°Why are you here? You do know that everyone is killing each other?¡±

    ¡°Yes, even I understand the situation that we are in. But I don¡¯t think it wille to that. After all, you can¡¯t kill people, Tomochi.¡±

    ¡®No, this person carved out her grandfather¡¯s eye when she was ten. She¡¯s a dangerous beast.¡¯

    ¡°As if!¡±

    ¡°I see. That poor old man.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything of the sort! Also, didn¡¯t you saying something about it being father¡¯s eye before!?¡±

    ¡®Oh, so then you did it to both of them¡­¡¯

    ¡°Am I some kind of eyeball collector now!¡±

    While she said this, Tomochika realized something.

    Romiko could hear Mokomoko¡¯s words.

    So she did have an ability to control spirits.

    ¡°So, I¡¯m going to ask you again. Why are you here?¡±

    If it was to kill her, she could have just continued to attack from long distance with her spirits.

    And yet she hade all of this way to talk to her in person. Tomochika could not understand the reason for it.

    ¡°I¡¯m just like you, Tomochi. I have a guardian ghost.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Just as Romiko said this, a figure appeared behind her.

    ¡°What¡¯s that!? I prefer that one!¡±

    Tomochikapared it with Mokomoko without thinking.

    Mokomoko was round and big. She wore an old-looking kimono and had a dazed expression on her face. Her age was unknown.

    On the other hand, the spirit behind Romiko was pretty and mourous. She wore a beautiful dress and had golden hair and fair skin. A pretty girl with clear eyes and pointed nose.

    On top of that, her body was glowing in a way that showed off all of her beauty.

    ¡®Hey!¡¯

    Mokomoko must have thought she was being serious because her face turned pale.

    ¡°She¡¯s an ancient princess. Her name is Tienne.¡±

    ¡°Mine has a stupid name. Mokoko! This is so unfair!¡±

    ¡®Bu-but I¡¯ve been called a princess at one point too! In fact, I was part of the great Dannoura n. I was their princess! Besides, what¡¯s wrong with the name Mokomoko!¡¯

    ¡°I lost. We haven¡¯t even fought and I lost. Mokomoko said she is a divine spirit, but that one looks much more divine. See, she¡¯s even shining! Oh, she¡¯s like an angel!¡±

    Tomochika was feeling rather depressed over this.

    She had assumed that all guardian spirits were alike. She had told herself that she wasn¡¯t the only one with a strange and creepy spirit that muttered a lot. She did not even consider that others would have spirits that were so beautiful.

    ¡®I-I wouldn¡¯t lose in a fist fight!¡¯

    ¡°Huh? So, you want to beat her up just because you lost in terms of looks? Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s horrible?¡±

    ¡®Huh? And what do you mean, I lost? Why did I lose?¡¯

    ¡°Tomochi? Do you mind if I continue?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. We were talking about something. What was it?¡±

    Tomochika had gotten distracted by Mokomoko for a minute. As for Romiko, she had taken a few steps closer but had not done anything else.

    However, the spirits were still surrounding them.

    ¡°Tienne. She looks really cute, but she can¡¯t do anything but count. And she isn¡¯t very strong. I think she would lose in a fight against your one, Tomochi.¡±

    ¡®S-see! Even she admits it!¡¯

    ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we trade then?¡±

    ¡®Grr!¡¯

    And with that, Mokomoko suddenly flew towards Romiko.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    As Tomochika stood there in shock, Momomoko went into Romiko and then disappeared.

    ¡°Oh, uh, sorry. I¡¯ve possessed her.¡±

    Romiko said with Mokomoko¡¯s voice.

    *****

    Romiko was one of the people who had made their decision.

    It was too troublesome. She didn¡¯t want to stick out. Those were things she could only say if she was alive.

    She couldn¡¯tze around now that the situation had changed.

    After leaving the fortress, Romiko considered what it was that she could do.

    She was able to control spirits.

    She could find out what they had seen and heard.

    She could make them visible.

    She could make them possess her so that she could use some of their abilities.

    Those kinds of things.

    It would be easy enough to kill someone by using these abilities.

    She just needed to do it with a spirit that she was controlling.

    Most people were unable to detect spirits. And so she could weaken them by touching them until they died.

    However, that method took time. Those with a lot of strength would take a long time to kill. It might be more than an hour.

    In that case, she would have to consider depending on the powers of spirits. But the spirit Romiko was currently using was not very powerful.

    Of course, the other spirits that drifted around were even worse. Tienne was an exception because she had power and maintained a will of her own. Romiko had been lucky to bump into her and be able to control her.

    In that case, maybe she could use her dead ssmates in order to gain greater power. However, this had not gone very well for her.

    Apparently, not everyone turned into a roaming ghost after they died. Most would just evaporate into the atmosphere. She had learned this from Tienne.

    That meant it would be very difficult for her to get a spirit that would suit her. However, Romiko had an idea regarding how she might get one.

    Tomochika¡¯s guardian spirit.

    From the moment she saw her, she fixated on that great power.

    If she could acquire it, Romiko herself would be several times stronger. Her chances of winning would increase significantly.

    Up until now, she wanted to avoid doing anything that would draw attention. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t touch Tomochika¡¯s guardian spirit. But now, circumstances were forcing her hand.

    So, how would she do it?

    You needed to get close to the spirit if you wanted to control them.

    On top of that, she would not be able to kill Tomochika in advance. The guardian spirits were generally bound to their master. If Tomochika died, then the spirit would be freed. She would lose her opportunity to acquire the spirit.

    And so she had used the surrounding spirits to find Tomochika, and then she got close.

    Romiko trusted that Tomochika would remain naive. She was sure that Tomochika would not attack first.

    And so she talked of insignificant things as she approached. After that, she seeded in gaining control over the spirit.

    ¡®You! How dare you bind me like this!¡¯

    ¡®Huh. You can still resist? That¡¯s impressive.¡¯

    She was controlling it. However, she was not able to make the will of the spirit yieldpletely.

    However, that was likely just a matter of time.

    Romiko was beginning to understand Mokomoko¡¯s power.

    *****

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®possess¡¯? What¡¯s happening here?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. It seems that I can still talk to you like this, but most of my power was stolen by her.¡±

    Just after she finished saying this, Romiko was suddenly standing right in front of Tomochika.

    The Dannoura walk.

    It was a way to bridge a distance immediately. You just thought of herself as an arrow and then unleashed it towards the enemy.

    However, Tomochika was able to see what would happen in an instant.

    She would step on her foot or knee. At the same time, a de woulde to her throat. Or maybe a fist to the jaw. She couldn¡¯t back down. Romiko would catch up to her in an instant.

    And so she dodged. Her foot went back and turned as she slid to the side.

    However, she felt something nearing her face and so she bent backward.

    It was gravel.

    She didn¡¯t understand how, but Romiko had flung rocks towards her as she ran.

    As she bent, her hands touched the ground and she did a backflip.

    Unable to stop her momentum, Romiko shot forward passed her and hit a tree with her hands.

    The trunk shook violently.

    Then it started to fall. It crashed to the ground loudly.

    ¡°What the hell!? I¡¯m wearing a battle suit and I still can¡¯t keep up with you!¡±

    She had only barely dodged thest attack. And it had only been possible because of the boost to her muscles that the suit provided.

    ¡°Well, this is the difference in strength between you and me. Actually,bing an attack with a projectile is the most basic part of the Dannoura style. You shouldn¡¯t be so shocked. You should be able to handle something like this.¡±

    ¡°Uh, why are you even attacking me!?¡±

    ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t want to do it. But this Romiko person is using my powers without permission!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not very convincing!¡±

    She couldn¡¯t fight something like this. Besides, it was Romiko¡¯s body, and she couldn¡¯t help but hesitate when it came to hurting it.

    And so Tomochika decided to run instead.

    If she used the full ability of the battle suit, she might be able to get away.

    ¡°Oh, sorry. I really am. But I¡¯m the one managing the battle suit. Purge!¡±

    She stopped.

    Several lines ran through the battle suit.

    And then all at once, the suit fell apart until Tomochika was just standing there in her underwear.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ I¡¯ll remember this, you bastard!¡±

    She was too shocked over losing her clothes that she couldn¡¯t think of a better insult.

    ¡°Good job, Mokomoko.¡±

    ¡°My eyes. My eyes!¡±

    Tomochika turned around when she heard the voices.

    Yogiri was standing there with David on the ground. And Hanakawa was rolling around and pressing his eyes for some reason.

    ¡°Takato!? You have the worst timing! No, you did save me! And what do you mean, ¡®good job¡¯?¡±

    Tomochika was so confused that she could barely make sense of what she was saying.

    As she tried to think, Yogiri approached her.

    He took off his zer and handed it to her. Tomochika put it on.

    ¡°That¡¯s Mokomoko, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°By the way she talks, I guess. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s happening here, but I¡¯ll have to kill her if she¡¯s attacking.¡±

    Tomochika looked at Romiko.

    Romiko was frozen.

    Actually, she was shaking.

    It was from fear.

 Volume 4, 17: You could have at least let her do something interesting first

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 17: You could have at least let her do something interesting first</h4>

    In the forest, a boy in armor was facing a girl in a stage outfit.

    The boy was the general, Yazaki Suguru. The girl was the idol, Akino Sora.

    Four of Yazaki¡¯s friends stood behind him.

    A boy in a suit. Otori Haruto, the consultant.

    A girl in a women¡¯s suit. Koriyama Asuha, the beauty coordinator.

    A girl in a cheerleader outfit. The cheerleader, Otani Yui.

    A girl in a thick apron. The dressmaker, Harufuji Runa.

    Each of them was armed with a sword and was part of the legion that the generalmanded.

    ¡°You seem to have a little harem here, Yazaki. I didn¡¯t expect you to be able to form such a group when we¡¯re supposed to be killing each other.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re entrusting me with their lives.¡±

    The ones that had gathered under him were all people who were not very strong when they were alone.

    However, under his leadership, there was a chance of survival.

    Or so Haruto had told them.

    You won¡¯t make it out there alone. In that case, why not follow Yazaki?

    They hadn¡¯t been prepared to go out and kill. And so this proposition was their salvation.

    In any case, they were at least more likely to survive for the first hour.

    As for whether or not they could kill someone within that time frame, they would consider it when the time came.

    ¡°Besides, you can always be stronger while you survive, right? We might gain the power of the sage and be able to challenge her. We might as well try if we¡¯re all going to die anyway. That was my conclusion.¡±

    ¡°But you could have gone for anyone, but you came all the way here to kill me. So, did losing your position as the ss leader hurt so much?¡±

    Haruto¡¯s problem-solving skill came from his ability to connect to the world archive and gain information. But as it took time to decrypt the information, he could not learn things in real-time. This meant that he did not know the precise location of every ssmate, but if he narrowed his search down to a single target and pulled the information, he could get a good idea of that person¡¯s current location.

    ¡°I won¡¯t kill you if you cooperate. Why don¡¯t you join our group? Your oath ability will be useful to us.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so you intended to put me into your harem. Well, I refuse.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Negotiations failed.

    Yazaki immediatelymencedbat.

    With the legion skill, he ordered his subordinates.

    Haruto and the others moved to surround Sora. The order did not force them to move, it was just a way to smoothly pass on his will. If they wanted to, they could resist. However, they epted it and moved on their own ord.

    ¡°Encircle and annihte!¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re going to encircle me properly this time.¡±

    Encircle and annihte. It was one of his skills and a variation on a formation.

    Even if you didn¡¯t surround the person, it had the same effect. This meant that the enemy was restricted and could only move in a limited area.

    And the formation had the added effect of strengthening the fighting capabilities of the people who formed it. Mostly, it enhanced their attack range, allowing them to fight multiple opponents at once.

    It was one against five.

    And it was hard to imagine that an idol would be very strong. And so it seemed as if the fight would be over before it began.

    ¡°!?¡±

    However, those who were moving on Yazaki¡¯s order suddenly stopped.

    This was because Sora was not alone.

    She was surrounded by many people. People who had not been there a moment ago.

    ¡°Oh? Did you really think I would be wandering around on my own? You aren¡¯t much of an idol without some fans, are you?¡±

    Sora shouldn¡¯t have had any experience fighting up until now, and yet she had seemed incredibly confident.

    Haruto had suspected that there must be some reason for this. Well, he had his answer now. He wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but she could apparently call out her fans.

    Haruto hadn¡¯t been able to prate Sora¡¯s ability, which in itself, spoke of her high skill rank.

    ¡°Ignore her! You can defeat all of them anyway! This formation is used to fightrge numbers!¡±

    Asuha was the first to attack the people that surrounded Sora.

    Those who had received gifts from the sage had the minimum required power in order to survive in this world.

    Even if she was more of a supporting ss, her muscles were stronger than the average person and she had automatically learned the basics of using weapons.

    So it didn¡¯t matter if she was a beauty coordinator. Normal humans should be nothing to her.

    And so Asuha¡¯s sword easily cut the fans open.

    Yes, they had no special abilities. They were just humans.

    However, in the next instant, Asuha was being restrained.

    Haruto looked around.

    They were surrounded.

    Haruto and the others had surrounded Sora. But now Sora¡¯s fans had surrounded them.

    ¡°We can easily shake them off! Our power should be enough for that!¡¯

    Yazaki shouted.

    He was right. Asuha had stopped out of sheer surprise, but if she wanted, she could easily shake them off.

    But¡­

    The fans started to explode.

    As Asuha was close by, she was caught in the st.

    And just like that, Asuha¡¯s entire torso was blown to bits.

    ¡°Yo-you bastard! You¡¯re making your friends explode!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re fans of an idol. Isn¡¯t that the bare minimum they should be doing?¡±

    ¡ªThis was bad. She was much more dangerous than anticipated.

    Haruto started to think about abandoning Yazaki.

    He had intended on staying with this group for a while to see how things went, but he now had to make a decision quickly.

    He would escape.

    That¡¯s what he thought as he nced over to Yazaki. And then Haruto saw something most unexpected.

    The right half of Yazaki¡¯s body had disappeared.

    To be precise, it was his right shoulder to his waist. It had all been carved out.

    Haruto turned towards Sora. At first, he assumed that it was another one of her attacks, but she was currently being swallowed up by some kind of semi-transparent blob.

    From what he could understand, the semi-transparent blob had charged straight at them. And everything in its path had been erased.

    In front of such a blob, the wall of human flesh that tried to protect Sora was practically useless.

    ¡°Ahhhh! Help me! Haruto!¡±

    It was Otani Yui who was shouting. She was about to be swallowed up by a different blob. There was more than one.

    In fact, they kept appearing one after another as they ate everything in sight.

    They didn¡¯t seem to differentiate between forest trees or Sora or Sora¡¯s fans. It was the same with Yazaki and his legions. Everything was swallowed up.

    Everything they touched was taken in, melted and absorbed.

    Haruto flew.

    Wings grew from his back and he rose into the air. This had nothing to do with the sage¡¯s gifts. It was his own trump card.

    Once he was high enough, he looked back down.

    The semi-transparent blobs were appearing from the center of the demon world. There was a hole there where they wereing out from.

    And as they flowed out from the hole, they absorbed everything in sight.

    But seen from this height, he saw that there weren¡¯t as many as he thought.

    However, they were still increasing in number and spreading.

    ¡°What the hell¡­ Something must be happening¡­¡±

    It was so unexpected that Haruto was stunned.

    *****

    Her breathing became coarse and her heart seemed to thump loudly in her ears.

    Her body was also drenched in sweat as she shook on her now unstable feet.

    This was all the result of fear.

    Takato Yogiri.

    Romiko was so afraid of him.

    But she could not understand why.

    What was she afraid of? She did not have a clue.

    Yogiri was just standing there calmly. There was nothing about him that looked threatening.

    She had heard that his power was used just to kill bugs. He wasn¡¯t particrly intimidating physically either. He wasn¡¯t athletic.

    She could use Mokomoko¡¯s power to kill him in an instant.

    And yet¡­

    She was afraid.

    It was as if waves of fear were crashing down on her with the kind of violence that would drive her insane.

    She didn¡¯t know what Yogiri would do.

    However, even at this distance, and without showing any intention of acting, it was clear that her life was in his hands.

    She wanted to flee.

    But her body wouldn¡¯t listen to her.

    Her feet were frozen.

    The fear was preventing her from running. This was ridiculous. Romiko cursed her own body.

    And then she realized something.

    This was the fear that Mokomoko was feeling. It had finally hit her.

    However, she couldn¡¯t understand why a spirit would feel fear in the first ce.

    While she was possessed, she was only borrowing the power. No matter what happened to Romiko, it wouldn¡¯t affect the spirit.

    And yet, Romiko was sensing the kind of fear from Mokomoko that would suggest the world was ending.

    Spirits that were subservient could not go against a necromancer.

    And so there was no possibility that Mokomoko was doing this as some kind of ploy against her. She just happened to be spreading the fear.

    Romiko was starting to feel confused over what she was doing.

    At first, she had only wanted to do the bare minimum, as it was all too much trouble for her. But once the killing started, she had risen above it and decided to do what she had to in order to survive.

    That was why she had approached Tomochika and taken Mokomoko from her.

    It was supposed to have meant that she had a clear advantage. And yet, she was now experiencing such fear.

    The unexinable despair was threatening to crush her.

    Fear was a reaction to danger.

    It was a reaction that caused you to want to escape from the thing that threatened your existence. It was something you had to use to aid your survival.

    However, Romiko¡¯s ability to think was at an all-time low.

    All of her thoughts and emotions had been overwritten by fear. She no longer knew what to do.

    She was feeling light-headed. At this point, she had given up and wondered if she was even herself anymore. That¡¯s when she heard it.

    ¡®Do you want power?¡¯

    Romiko thought she was hearing things.

    In fact, it was quite simr to an auditory hallucination. Because it was a voice that came from within.

    ¡®This is not the limit of a necromancer¡¯s power.¡¯

    And then it hit her.

    Awakening.

    So this is what Shion had been talking about. Sudden growth that allowed you to escape fear and despair. That is what she had meant.

    ¡®Now, release the source of your fear.¡¯

    The voicemanded. And Romiko came to a realization.

    The fear she was feeling. It was Mokomoko¡¯s fear. Then that meant she should just release Mokomoko.

    It was such a simple thing. But she had been so ovee with fear that she hadn¡¯t been able to think about doing it before.

    ¡®Release!¡¯

    She unleashed Mokomoko.

    All at once, the fear was gone.

    It was hard to believe, but her heart was sound again. She was able to see clearly.

    The world even looked like it was shining.

    The fear had left and what reced it was an overwhelming sense of power.

    She recognized it. The power to control the dead. It was now so much stronger.

    Things she hadn¡¯t been able to do before, such as using faint residual thoughts as power, were now possible to her.

    She could reconstruct the power of every person who had ever died in thisnd and use it.

    Millions of dead spirits. She could unite them all and use their power. That was the being that Romiko had awakened to.

    Perhaps it was because of this overwhelming power, that Romiko made the wrong decision.

    *****

    Yogiri decided to start his search by the castle walls.

    This is where they had been thest time he had contacted Mokomoko. He would find them quickly unless they had moved again. And even if they weren¡¯t there, there would surely be some clue.

    As he walked through the forest towards his destination, he started to hear things.

    There was the violent crash of a tree. And so he headed in that direction.

    That was when he found Tomochika and Jogasaki Romiko facing each other. It seemed like they were arguing.

    Yogiri didn¡¯t know much about Romiko, but he could still tell that something was wrong.

    Romiko was talking as if she were Mokomoko.

    ¡°Oh, sorry. I really am. But I¡¯m the one managing the battle suit. Purge!¡±

    Just as Romiko said this, lines ran through Tomochika¡¯s battle suit.

    Yogiri immediately understood what was happening, and so he unleashed a horizontal chop towards Hanakawa.

    That must have been very unexpected. As he had been struck right in both eyes, Hanakawa dropped David and held his face as he fell to the floor.

    Perhaps it really wasn¡¯t a big deal, but there was a part of him that didn¡¯t really want Hanakawa to look.

    ¡°Stay down there and keep your eyes closed. If you open them, I¡¯ll destroy your eyeballs.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know if that was even possible, but he wasn¡¯t actually going to try it. It was just a threat.

    ¡°And what do you mean, ¡®good job¡¯?¡±

    Yogiri was the type to enjoy these kinds of situations, but he now felt a little bad for praising Mokomoko.

    And so Yogiri took off his zer and handed it to Tomochika before looking towards Romiko.

    Apparently, Romiko had attacked Tomochika. And judging by the situation, Mokomoko had possessed Romiko.

    ¡°That¡¯s Mokomoko, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°By the way she talks, I guess. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s happening here, but I¡¯ll have to kill her if she¡¯s attacking.¡±

    That was how Yogiri felt about Mokomoko.

    He wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to kill her. But if she attacked, he would not hesitate to fight back.

    Basically, if Romiko tried tounch a lethal attack, he would have to kill them both.

    He had never before killed someone that was possessed while keeping the spirit alive, and he didn¡¯t know if he could.

    And while there were times where testing things were necessary, Yogiri did not consider this to be one of those times.

    ¡°Ah, I do remember you saying something about purging the battle suit so I can find peace.¡±

    Tomochika had a very cold expression. She was clearly very angry.

    While Yogiri wasn¡¯t sure if she was joking, he felt that at this point, she would understand if Mokomoko died as a result of his attack.

    Romiko didn¡¯t move. He didn¡¯t sense any hostility. He wasn¡¯t even sure if she was looking at him.

    And so Yogiri decided to wait.

    However, things changed rather quickly.

    Mokomoko had jumped out of Romiko.

    ¡®¡­Hmm. Uh, yes. I hadn¡¯t anticipated something like this, and could not react in time. That¡¯s how all of that happened. I wasn¡¯t able to resist.¡¯

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. Can you return me my clothes?¡±

    As Tomochika said this, the fragments of the battle suit gathered together and enveloped her body.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s happening here?¡±

    Yogiri asked the hesitant Mokomoko.

    ¡®She seems to have had an awakening. Maybe she is what the sage is looking for.¡¯

    Romiko had regained her senses now.

    She hadn¡¯t even seemed present a moment ago, but now she was staring at them with clear eyes.

    And behind Romiko, was a giant shadow.

    The thing was gettingrger as well. Perhaps it was a body of united spirits, because it oozed with a feeling of death.

    It looked like it was made of white bones and rotting flesh. But overall, it had the shape of a human.

    There were multiple expressions of pain on the surface, and they let out moans of resentment.

    Wiggling arms grew from all over its body, and they also seemed to writhe in pain.

    It was dark, big, sinister, and twisted. And somehow it continued to turn into an even uglier monster.

    ¡°Hey, Tomochi. Do you get it? I feel so good now. Everything in the world is bowing before me. I¡¯m so happy. Look, I can even do this.¡±

    Romikoughed as she raised her arm.

    She pointed at Yogiri.

    ¡°Die.¡±

    But Yogiri moved first.

    The monster stopped, and then Romiko fell powerlessly to the ground.

    The monster fell apart and evaporated until there was nothing left.

    Perhaps Romiko had wanted to kill Yogiri first, so that Tomochika would be forced to watch.

    Yogiri had sensed the will to kill, and so he had unleashed his power first.

    ¡®You could have at least let her do something interesting first¡­¡¯

    ¡°She would have killed me if I waited.¡±

    ¡°Mikochi¡­¡±

    He had heard that they were friends.

    However, Romiko had a very low priority in Yogiri¡¯s mind. And he had not cared to look for another solution.

    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped in this situation. I¡¯ll get over it.¡±

    Tomochika said. He doubted that was how she really felt, but at least she wasn¡¯t going to me him.

    ¡°Hey, Tomochika-tan! That¡¯s not how the heroine should act!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Hanakawa? Why are you here?¡±

    Tomochika finally took notice of him.

    ¡°I thought you would be crying more and saying, this is too much! It¡¯s wrong! That is how a proper heroine would act! It¡¯s these kinds of events that cause tension and misunderstandings! You fight and that is supposed to give me a chance to take advantage of the situation!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing that could happen that would give you a chance of doing anything, if you ask me.¡±

    Tomochika said with a serious face.

    ¡°Ooomph! By the way, I finally get to open my eyes again, but you are already wearing your clothes! No, well¡­that skin-tight suit has its charms as well!¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to take out his eyes?¡±

    ¡°I am so sorry!¡±

    ¡°So, why is Hanakawa here?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but I brought him with me because he was on the seventhyer. He¡¯s useful because he can control the elevator to get out of the demon world.¡±

    ¡®Well, we¡¯ve reunited again. Now what?¡¯

    ¡°Mokomoko, you may act like you¡¯re a friend, but I haven¡¯t forgiven you yet.¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry! It was just a little! I just got a little carried away. I shouldn¡¯t have!¡±

    ¡°You can talk about thatter. As for what we¡¯ll do, since Hanakawa has been added to the roster, we¡¯re thinking of all getting out of thebat area. Because, Shion wille for him if he tries to leave, right?¡±

    ¡®I see. Then you will be able to achieve your current goal.¡¯

    ¡°Yes, it would be pointless if we hadn¡¯t been added. So it was a good thing.¡±

    ¡°Tomochika-tan! You¡¯re supposed to stop him! I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right for you to agree to this immoral man¡¯s n!¡±

    ¡°¡­I think it¡¯s fine. Probably.¡±

    Tomochika said as she turned away.

    Maybe it was immoral, but it was a good strategy.

    ¡°No! No! No! I don¡¯t mind being used as bait. But my life has not been guaranteed! You do realize that it¡¯s going to be me who is targeted!? You guys haven¡¯t even been added!¡±

    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll avenge you.¡±

    ¡°So now the goal includes my death!¡±

    Hanakawa¡¯s creepy shriek echoed throughout the forest.

 Volume 4, 18: It was like this the last time it happened

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 18: It was like this thest time it happened</h4>

    The battle continued between the gunslinger, Takekura Kiyoko, and Shinozaki Ayaka, a modified human who had gained the power of a dragon.

    They moved within the castle walls and attacked each other.

    Ayaka¡¯s dragon ws crushed a wall.

    However, Kiyoko was no longer there and was firing off bullets from behind her.

    The bullets exploded on impact. The concentrated session of attacks was doing damage to the invisible barrier that was Dragon Scale.

    ¡°Damn, that is annoying!¡±

    She turned her attention towards Kiyoko and tried to unleash Dragon Breath.

    However, Kiyoko disappeared before she could.

    This Dragon Breath would have destroyed anything, but it wasn¡¯t a perfect attack.

    There was a bit of a timeg when activating it. And once you target something, you couldn¡¯t adjust your aim.

    In other words, no matter how strong the breath attack was, it waspletely pointless if the target moved out of the way and came up behind you.

    Besides, the breath took up a lot of energy, meaning you could not use it in rapid session.

    Ayaka hadn¡¯t been able to use it, as she was never able to lock onto a target. Wasting this attack now could lead to her defeat.

    ¡®I can¡¯t use my trump card. I suppose I¡¯ll just have to slowly chip away with my ws, fangs, and tail.¡¯

    And so she mainly fought with Dragon w, which used very little energy.

    It could be activated in an instant and used in rapid session, so Kiyoko would not have a moment to rest.

    She knew her strategy.

    But that didn¡¯t stop Ayaka from feeling annoyed.

    ¡°Dragon Wing isn¡¯t fast enough!?¡±

    ¡®Wing is fast, but it¡¯s hard to control. It¡¯s mainly for long-distance travel.¡¯

    ¡°Why the hell is she attacking the same spot with such precision!?¡±

    While Kiyoko was moving in every direction including up and down, her bullets were allnding in the same ce.

    At first, there had been some wasted shots, but now all of them were hitting Ayaka.

    ¡®That¡¯s a smart gun. I¡¯ve seen them before. They are made in the same ce we are.¡¯

    ¡°What!?¡±

    ¡®The guns are crammed with all kinds of sensors and AI. So anyone can hit their target regardless of their aim. She probably knows our position because of those sensors and AI. The longer this battle takes, the more it¡¯ll learn about the situation and your patterns. Then the precision will improve even more.¡¯

    Ayaka unleashed her ws as much as she could.

    They had a range of about 10 meters. They were the strongest near the point of origin. But once they got longer, the power weakened. While she could reach things that were 10 meters away, she couldn¡¯t expect the attack to be as effective.

    It seemed like Kiyoka had a good grasp on Ayaka¡¯s range, and so she kept a certain distance.

    This meant that most of Ayaka¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t even hit, and even if they did, they didn¡¯t have much effect. However, they did keep her in check. After all, it used up energy to have to constantly be dodging attacks.

    From therge room to the small one. From the small room to the hallway. They moved outside for a moment before going back in.

    Holes opened in walls and facilities were damaged. Ceilings crumbled and they ignored obstacles as they continued to move and attack each other.

    And after both of them were getting ustomed to the rhythm of it; it came.

    The rocketuncher.

    The rocket was slow, but it was equipped with a homing device.

    And it destroyed the Dragon Scale that Ayaka had created around her. A normal rocket usually wouldn¡¯t have been too much for Ayaka to endure. And yet, Kiyoko¡¯s attack had gone through her Dragon Scale and hurt her.

    ¡°You only had two pistols before! Where did you get that from!¡±

    Kiyoko was carrying theuncher on her shoulder.

    It had a long barrel and could only be used once. Kiyoko threw it aside and then disappeared.

    And then, she pulled out an assault rifle from thin air.

    ¡®It seems like she has the ability to freely summon firearms.¡¯

    ¡®You¡¯re at a disadvantage when indoors. Why don¡¯t you go outside and create some distance between you two? Then you can finish this fight with Dragon Breath.¡¯

    ¡®No. Being farther away doesn¡¯t necessarily mean you will have an advantage. After all, how do you know she doesn¡¯t have a high-power long-range weapon?¡¯

    Luckily, she had been able to take all of the damage that was delt up until now.

    If that was all her opponent could do at this range, it was probably a good idea to maintain their current state.

    ¡®Besides, something is interfering with Dragon Sense here. You won¡¯t be able to tell the enemy¡¯s location if you move away. Unless you mean to start the whole fight over again.¡¯

    Jamming.

    Ayaka didn¡¯t know much about it, but apparently, the sage called Shion was interfering with the simple scouting ability.

    ¡°Fine. In other words, directly ripping her apart with this method is my best bet!¡±

    It was unthinkable to retreat now. And so Ayaka charged towards Kiyoko once again.

    *****

    The battle between Takekura Kiyoko and Shinozaki Ayaka wasing to an end.

    It had been a vicious battle, but the scale was now tipping in Ayaka¡¯s favor.

    What became the deciding factors were the differences in endurance and recovery ability.

    While Kiyoko had superior mobility and viable attacks, it had not been enough to take her opponent down.

    Kiyoka had been able to dodge most of Ayaka¡¯s attacks, but not all of them.

    Even if they were just scratches, it was still damage after they piled up, and her energy was depleting as she had to be moving constantly.

    It happened gradually. Kiyoko had no way to deal a decisive blow.

    And so hopelessness slowly welled up within her.

    There was no point in continuing like this.

    She thought about running, but Ayaka was not likely to allow her.

    After all, Ayaka would be very much aware of the advantage she now had. She was a glutton for revenge, and would not miss this opportunity.

    Yes, it was obvious where this fight was headed.

    And so Kiyoko wondered if there was any point in continuing.

    If she stopped attacking and stopped running, the fight would be over very quickly.

    In fact, that would happen soon enough regardless of what she did.

    If it was just a matter of time, maybe she should just lose now.

    At least she wouldn¡¯t be wasting any effort. She wouldn¡¯t have to suffer and fight until thest second.

    While such thoughts were in her mind, her body kept moving.

    Apparently, Kiyoko hated losing more than she had realized.

    It didn¡¯t matter if she died, as long as she could take a few shots of her own. Kiyoka was shocked by her own tenacity.

    And so she continued to shoot.

    She moved behind Ayaka and attacked her with a variety of firearms and slowly chipped away at her health.

    She was able to dodge the oing shock waves and read her opponent¡¯s movements so that she could move into positions that would be to her advantage.

    But how long could this continue?

    It all came to an end very quickly.

    Fatigue caused her feet to stumble. A momentary dy in dodging.

    Then Ayaka¡¯s shock waves blew off the fingers of Kiyoko¡¯s right hand.

    This caused a dy in her attacks, and so Ayaka went into full throttle.

    It was impossible to dodge.

    Kiyoko decided. And so she crossed her arms together and took the hit. The st sent her flying.

    Her body spun as she crashed through walls until she was outside.

    It wasn¡¯t after she had mmed into several trees that Kiyoko fell face-first into the dirt.

    However, she was still alive.

    But the invisible des that Ayaka had unleased had shredded up her body.

    It was a lethal blow.

    She could no longer move as she wanted.

    Still, Kiyoko red back at Ayaka through the holes in the walls.

    ¡°So, it¡¯s finallying to an end.¡±

    But Ayaka didn¡¯t seem to be in a rush.

    She slowly raised her hand and showed her palm to Kiyoko.

    This was the attack that she had tried to do so many times but had always had to stop. She was going to use it now and put an end to the fight.

    It was probably the light ray skill that had brought on the disaster in the royal capital.

    It burned the city in a single line and destroyed everything in its path. If Kiyoko was hit at this range, there wouldn¡¯t be anything of her left after the attack.

    ¡ªSurely there is something!? Some weapon I can use to fight back!

    But she would have used such a weapon already if she had it.

    Still, even now Kiyoko would not give up. And so she searched for a weapon that she could use.

    The virtual weapon room appeared in her brain.

    She moved through it towards the back. Up until now, this room had expanded based on the growth of her abilities.

    In that case¡­

    It was not impossible that she had grown this very instant, and a new door had opened for her.

    Exceed the limit and move further.

    Something stronger that could not be dodged. Even now, she moved forward in order to find a weapon that could defeat.

    And then Kiyoko hit a door and so she prepared to apply the necessary force to open it.

    That¡¯s when a terrible pain assaulted her head.

    It was a warning that she wasn¡¯t ready. Turn back. You can¡¯t do it. Those words were whispered to her.

    However, she had to do something now. She had no choice. She would be killed.

    ¡°AAAAHHHH!!¡±

    Even as her brain felt like it was burning up, she banged on the door. Shook it. Punched it.

    And then it happened suddenly.

    Bam.

    A huge object appeared in front of her.

    It was round and looked like several tons of metal.

    Ayaka did not know what it was. She stared at it as if in shock.

    However, Kiyoko knew.

    It was the strongest bomb she had ever used in a fight.

    Kiyoko activated the detonator.

    *****

    After reuniting with Tomochika, Yogiri decided to return to the castle wall.

    Currently, the area boundary for the battle was the walls that surrounded the center of the demon world. In other words, if they went outside of the walls, it would be seen as an escape.

    ¡°Oh, why don¡¯t we cancel this n to lure out the sage? We can just leave the demon world entirely.¡±

    ¡°Even if we used the elevator, it would still be seen as leaving the boundary.¡±

    ¡°In any case, we practically lost the moment we came here you know!?¡±

    Yogiri and Tomochika walked side by side. Hanakawa carried David and walked behind them.

    As they weren¡¯t that far from the walls to begin with, they reached the gate in no time.

    ¡°Takato! It¡¯s Ninomiya and Carol!¡±

    Someone jumped down from the wall.

    Just as they had said, it was Ninomiya Ryouko and Carol S. Lain.

    Ryouko was dressed in formal attire and had two swords like a samurai, while Carol was wearing a bright red ninja outfit.

    As both of them were raising their hands, they clearly had no intention of fighting them.

    ¡°Oh, good. You¡¯re alright.¡±

    Tomochika said with relief. She had probably been worrying about them.

    ¡°We just prioritized running away. And we felt that we¡¯d be safe if we could meet up with Takato.¡±

    Carol said. As for Ryouko, she seemed nervous.

    ¡°What is this nonsense!? You act all cool as if you aren¡¯t interested in women, and yet you¡¯re out here making a harem!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I ever said anything about being uninterested in women.¡±

    Though, there was a matter of taste. That¡¯s all. Yogiri thought.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the creepy Japanese nerd, Hanakawa. He¡¯s still alive!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about me as if I represent the country!¡±

    ¡°So, what are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to leave the boundary in order to lure out Shion. Then we¡¯ll get some information.¡±

    Yogiri answered Carol¡¯s question bluntly.

    ¡°I see¡­ Alright, I guess we have no choice but to follow.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Carol said. Ryouko agreed.

    Well, it made sense, since they had no intention of fighting.

    They would just have to hope that Yogiri would be able to deal with Shion.

    ¡°Hmm. But you guys aren¡¯t participants, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to throw Hanakawa out and see what happens.¡±

    ¡°Hey, wait!? So your n to use me as bait was that horrible!? I thought you were going to go with me! Oh, wait a minute. But now you have Carol and Ninomia too!¡±

    Yogiri patted Hanakawa on the shoulder.

    ¡°Hanakawa. Show us that you¡¯re a man.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about showing my masculinity!¡±

    In fact, as it was too much trouble, he wasn¡¯t actually going to throw Hanakawa out. They would all leave the boundary together.

    It was right when Yogiri was about to stop his teasing and exin this, that he noticed something.

    Determination to kill.

    Suddenly, everything in sight seemed to be covered in ck. An area of death.

    There was no ce to run. Yogiri was looking at certain death.

    ¡°Anyway, everyone should stand behind me.¡±

    As he sounded more serious than usual, they obeyed without a word.

    And then the wall in front of them disappeared.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Someone said in a shocked voice.

    The stones that made up the walls were now flying apart at a frightening rate.

    The trees of the forests burned and were blown away in a sh, along with the sand and dirt. In just a second, thend was empty.

    An incredible ascending current now urred, taking everything up into the sky. The clouds darkened in no time. While it was too close to them to see clearly, it was probably shaped like a mushroom.

    However, in spite of all this, it was calm where Yogiri and the others stood.

    The light, noise, heat, and wind should have been assaulting them. But none of it reached them.

    ¡°Uhhh¡­what is¡­¡±

    Tomochika had been speechless, but she finally opened her mouth.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a nuclear weapon. It was like this thest time it happened.¡±

    ¡°You say it so casually, I don¡¯t even know what to say¡­¡±

    Tomochika was confused.

    ¡°Um, the second gate is opened¡­¡±

    Ryouko said. She was shaking as she stared at her smartphone.

    Yogiri recalled that there was a machine that was used to monitor him.

    ¡°We¡¯ll need something to brave invisible threats, such as radiation.¡±

    In order to protect themselves and their friends, they had decided to ignore all of the annoying processes and jump to phase 2.

    Currently, he was continuing to kill any and every phenomenon that was a threat to their lives. If this situation was due to a nuclear weapon, its effects would not go away quickly. The gates would not close until they had escaped.

    ¡°Um, will it really be alright? Uh, maybe thews of physics have been erased¡­¡±

    Ryouko asked hesitantly. Anyone rted to the research facility would know about the effects of phase 2.

    ¡°For now, I¡¯m killing individual phenomenons that could be a danger to us, so it should be fine. However¡­now I don¡¯t where the boundary is that will take us away from the walls.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what you care about!?¡±

    ¡°More importantly, what do you mean when you say you¡¯ve been attacked by a nuclear weapon before!?¡±

    Tomochika and Hanakawa finally protested.

 Volume 4, 18: Stop it with the shameless sexual harassment remarks!

    <h4>Volume 4, Chapter 18: Stop it with the shameless sexual harassment remarks!</h4>

    ¡®What the¡­what the hell is happening?¡¯

    Unable to speak, Ayaka thought to herself.

    Unless she had turned into a ghost, she should still be alive.

    However, she could not see. Her physical senses were all hazy. She knew nothing of her current situation.

    ¡®It¡¯s likely an atomic bomb. Judging by the shape, I¡¯d say it is a Fat Man. While pretty old, its power has been proven in the past.¡¯

    ¡®You should have said that earlier!¡¯

    ¡®You wouldn¡¯t have been able to dodge it anyway. Really. This only happened because you let your guard down.¡¯

    ¡®What¡­what is happening to me?¡¯

    She didn¡¯t know.

    And there was no way to find out.

    She couldn¡¯t see anything. She couldn¡¯t hear anything. She couldn¡¯t smell anything. Her limbs wouldn¡¯t move. She couldn¡¯t touch her own body to see if it was there.

    Numbness seemed to have enveloped her body.

    And to Ayaka, that was scarier than anything.

    ¡®Why was there an atomic bomb! What is going to happen to me!?¡¯

    She thought back on the pictures of victims she had seen a long time ago, and she felt nothing but despair.

    ¡®Calm down. First of all, you don¡¯t have to worry about the effects of radiation. As the next generation of humanity, we¡¯ve been designed to be able to survive in a world that is post ¡®nuclear war.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®However, the heat that radiation causes through the excitation of atoms in the atmosphere is a different story. The effects of that are serious.¡¯

    ¡®60% of our bodies are gone.¡¯

    60% gone from the body. Ayaka didn¡¯t want to even think about it.

    ¡®And while we are still alive, we cannot move.¡¯

    ¡®What about her? What happened to Takekura Kiyoko!¡¯

    ¡®As if a mere human would still be alive in the st center.¡¯

    However, Ayaka had lost almost all of her senses.

    She would not know if Kiyoko was now approaching her in order to deal the final blow.

    ¡®What am I supposed to do!¡¯

    ¡®First, you must recover.¡¯

    ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be possible with just your original body, but luckily, we have the power of the dragon.¡¯

    ¡®We will unleash it.¡¯

    ¡®And use Dragon Heal.¡¯

    ¡®If such convenient magic existed, you should have used it already!¡¯

    ¡®There are points to consider.¡¯

    ¡®By using this ability, an irreversible change will ur to us.¡¯

    ¡®And so it requires the consent of the personality unit.¡¯

    It had been a while since shest heard it. Ayaka was reminded that she was only a part of this artificial intelligence. A unit.

    ¡®What do you mean, irreversible?¡¯

    ¡®The dragon¡¯s healing ability. After healing, you will, of course, turn into a dragon.¡¯

    ¡®But that doesn¡¯t mean the dragon is going to take over, right?¡¯

    ¡®That is something we considered carefully. But there wasn¡¯t anything within this dragon flesh that we acquired that would suggest that its spirit was still within. And so it¡¯s not possible that it will take over.¡¯

    ¡®Still, bing a dragon is quite different from what our goal was supposed to be. While it may take time, there is still hope of recovering with the healing ability we already possess.¡¯

    ¡®Do you really think we have time for something like that!?¡¯

    She decided immediately.

    Who knew how long it would take if she waited in order to be healed with her original ability?

    The very idea of remaining in this vague state where she was certain of nothing. It was unbearable.

    ¡®Confirmation acquired.¡¯

    ¡®Then chant.¡¯

    ¡®Dragon Heal.¡¯

    In an instant, her body distorted.

    Her flesh pushed out and tore through her burnt skin.

    Her eyeballs regenerated, and she was able to see her surroundings again.

    But there was nothing around her.

    The castle walls and trees had been blown away without a trace.

    The only thing left was a storm of zing heat.

    The tornado caused by the rise in temperature continued to ravage the area.

    Ayaka was absorbing the heat. She was using it to heal. She didn¡¯t understand how this dragon body worked. However, it wasn¡¯t like any mere reptile.

    Giant feet grew out. ws appeared at the tips and pierced the scorched earth.

    What grew where her arms used to be were wings. This dragon had no arms. It stood on two legs and had giant wings.

    Her entire body was covered in green scales. And rough horns ran down her spine.

    It did not take long for her body to healpletely.

    ¡°Surprisingly, it¡¯s not as offputting as I thought.¡±

    She had expected to be troubled over how different her body was. But Ayaka adjusted to the dragon form smoothly.

    She crushed the ground under her feet and pped her wings.

    Her tail swung and she tried opening her jaw.

    Everything felt right.

    Ayaka was able to control this dragon body freely.

    ¡°So. I must continue my revenge then.¡±

    ¡®¡­Can¡¯t you see where you are? Everyone you¡¯d want to kill is already dead.¡¯

    ¡°If I know that they are all dead, then I will be satisfied.¡±

    ¡®However, you can¡¯t use Dragon Sense here¡­ Hmm. But there is something that you can do, now that you have this body.¡¯

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡®Dragon Warriors. You can make them with your fangs.¡¯

    Ayaka pulled out some fangs from her jaw.

    As they regrew immediately, she did not mind doing it.

    The dropped fangs sunk into the ground and something else came out.

    It was Ayaka.

    Ayaka, before she had turned into a dragon. They came out of the ground, one after another.

    They were wearing helmets and armor and held spears.

    ¡®You should unleash them. Everything they see and hear will be known to you. And if they encounter an enemy that they can beat, they will.¡¯

    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re just toozy to do anything now.¡±

    ¡®It just seems like a waste of time. I cannot believe that anyone could have survived.¡¯

    And so the Dragon Warriors spread out in every direction.

    Ayaka had encountered Takekura Kiyoko when she reached the walls that used to be here.

    In that case, the other ssmates would have been close by. And now that there were no obstacles to hide behind, they should be easy to find.

    And they were.

    Three girls and one boy who was carrying someone. They were walking in the hellish wastnd.

    Her ssmates, Dannoura Tomochika, Ninomiya Ryouko, Carol S. Lain, and Hanakawa Daimon.

    Just like she had noticed them, they noticed the Dragon Warriors. Perhaps they knew about the main Ayaka as well. She was huge now. She would be seen easily from far away.

    Ayaka decided to attack through the Dragon Warriors.

    She no longer fixated on doing it with her own hands.

    Or maybe it was because it seemed more fitting to get her revenge by using the Dragon Warriors, who were made in her original image.

    She gathered the Dragon Warriors together in a tight formation.

    Then they held their spears ready and prepared to charge.

    The enemy would have abilities too, and they would fight back. But she didn¡¯t mind. At least she would find out what they were capable of.

    ¡°Go.¡±

    She ordered.

    The spears pointed at the enemy and the charge began.

    However, it stopped suddenly.

    The Dragon Warriors began to fall like flies.

    ¡°What happened!?¡±

    It hadn¡¯t looked like her ssmates did anything. They were just walking.

    And yet the Dragon Warriors were no longer moving.

    Ayaka gave an order to the Dragon Warriors that were in a different location. Gather here and kill those people.

    But the result was the same.

    Once they stood before her ssmates, they started to fall one after another.

    ¡®Wait! Something is wrong! Don¡¯t waste any more soldiers!¡¯

    ¡®This¡­phenomenon¡­¡¯

    ¡®Alpha Omega¡­is¡­here¡­?¡¯

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Ayaka didn¡¯t understand.

    However, the units with her seemed to have an idea.

    ¡®This is where your revenge ends.¡¯

    ¡®Retreat at once.¡¯

    ¡°Huh? What are you¡­¡±

    ¡®We cannot win against that. We cannot fight it. We must not get involved.¡¯

    ¡®We can¡¯t even detect this person. We can¡¯t even begin to fight him.¡¯

    ¡°As I said! Exin yourselves! I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about!¡±

    ¡®Do you remember what we said about being prototypes for the next generation of humans?¡¯

    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s why we can survive a world after a nuclear war.¡±

    ¡®That was one of the threats that mankind could face, but the creators also had another more pressing danger in mind.¡¯

    ¡®Something much more dangerous than a nuclear war. In other words, we were to be the next generation of humankind in the event that humankind went extinct due to the being known as Alpha Omega.¡¯

    ¡®We cannot detect the presence of the one who has stopped pretending to be human, Takato Yogiri, the Alpha Omega. Because even detecting him means being affected by him.¡¯

    Why were they suddenly talking about Takato Yogiri? All that guy did was sleep all of the time.

    Ayaka was even more confused. None of this made sense.

    ¡°Stop¡­talking so much nonsense! Retreat! Didn¡¯t we transform into this in order to get revenge!? Our target is right there! What is my purpose for existing if I¡¯m just going to run away!¡±

    mes wereing out of her jaw. Ayaka opened her mouth wide.

    Fire swayed within. It was as if they were answering to her anger.

    Dragon Breath in her true form.

    It was not the same as when she did it as Ayaka. It wasn¡¯t an imitation. This was the real, true power of the dragon¡¯s roar.

    However, Ayaka was unable to unleash it.

    Just as she thought to do it, and was about to roar, her heart stopped beating.

    ¡®The personality unit is gone.¡¯

    ¡®I see. Considering that we haven¡¯t been shut down, theplete replication of independent units must have some effect.¡¯

    ¡®It is too bad that we are unable to tell anyone about this.¡¯

    In the end, it was the personality unit that unified the being known as Shinozaki Ayaka.

    Now that she was gone, Shinozaki Ayaka could not be maintained.

    And so the units quietly shut down those functions.

    *****

    The semi-transparent blobs consumed the monsters of the demon world.

    It was likely just anything they bumped into.

    They took in things that were close by or they reacted to things that moved and approached them.

    That in itself was not really intelligence.

    Sometimes, they would react to Haruto, as he flew through the air. And then their tentacles would stretch out towards him.

    Of course, they could not reach him. But still, Haruto flew higher, just in case.

    ¡°This is bad. I suppose I should consider the situation changed.¡±

    If they continued to increase, the rest of his ssmates would be dead. There was no point in thinking about the selection battle.

    But, was Sage Shion aware of what was happening? If she did, should he look at this as part of the trial?

    Thankfully, he was at least able to escape the blobs if he stayed in the air like this.

    However, if the battle was still continuing, Haruto would be killed by Shion. He had not killed a single person since it started.

    And so Haruto looked at the great hole to see what was happening.

    Depending on how many blobs wereing out, the others would die very quickly. That meant he might be the sole survivor if he just stayed up in the air.

    There was a change in the hole.

    The number of blobsing out was about the same.

    However, things were different near the rim.

    It was changing into something dark red that was writhing.

    Haruto thought it looked like internal organs.

    It made him think that the semi-transparent blobs were like white blood cells, whose role it was to wipe out any invaders.

    And there was something else that was disturbing to him.

    If the semi-transparent blobs alone were unbeatable. Then what was it that was controlling them?

    Could it be some kind of unfathomable monster that carried the entire demon world inside of its body?

    Perhaps it was waking up right now, and this change that was urring was only a precursor to something else.

    Haruto made his decision.

    He would escape the demon world immediately.

    If it was possible that he would die anyway, then he would rather take a chance and escape.

    And so Haruto flew even higher up.

    If you could fly, then it wasn¡¯t too difficult to reach the firstyer of the demon world.

    The problem was the thing that protected the center part.

    Anyone could predict that someone would try to fly ahead. And the reason that no one had tried it, is because something would attack you if you flew near the hole in the center.

    As for this problem, the sage candidates had cleared this by using a durable hut that was dropped along the edge of the cliff, in order to teleport through the doors. However, what would happen if Haruto flew towards the firstyer?

    He steeled himself and rose.

    Haruto flew for a while, but nothing interfered with him.

    He didn¡¯t understand why.

    However, there was no time to consider it.

    A sh of light.

    The sound of an explosion.

    Before he knew it, Haruto was being flung around by an immense power he didn¡¯t understand.

    A rising current that was burning hot.

    His entire body was burned as flying debris smashed into him. Then he crashed into the ceiling.

    It was about 6 kilometers from the sixthyer to the first. The incredible sound of the explosion and the resulting wind current had thrown Haruto into the ceiling.

    His body was racked with pain as if all of his bones had been shattered. Still, he flew unsteadily into the zing heat.

    His wings weren¡¯t moving as they should, but the wind somehow kept him in the air.

    However, it would not stay like this forever.

    And so it was necessary for him to reach the ground first.

    Haruto was suddenly in a deadly position.

    *****

    ¡°This is Shinozaki, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Carol said as she stared at the girls who were suddenly falling to the ground.

    They had been charging with spears. And now they were dead.

    She was stunned, as it had all happened so suddenly. Still, this was Takato Yogiri¡¯s power.

    -They really do die suddenly, without any warning¡­

    It was hard to believe even after witnessing it.

    It would be easier to digest if something happened at the same time. However, Yogiri didn¡¯t do anything in particr. The enemy just died. And Carol felt it was asking a little too much to just expect people to believe.

    ¡°It is Shinozaki.¡±

    Ryouko said calmly. She was also seeing the power of instant death for the first time. But perhaps she had total faith in Yogiri¡¯s ability because she didn¡¯t seem surprised at all.

    ¡°No-no-no! What do you mean, ¡®it is Shinozaki.¡¯ How many Shinozakis do you think there are!¡±

    ¡°About 20?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not asking you to count all of them! It is strange that there is even more than one! That is what I¡¯m saying!¡±

    Hanakawa answered Yogiri, who looked serious.

    ¡°Well, there is no point in thinking about it. Maybe she just had that ability? More importantly, I¡¯m worried about that thing over there.¡±

    Tomochika said as she pointed to the left.

    Up ahead, there was a fallen dragon.

    Perhaps it was a monster that had died from the nuclear weapon, but it seemed oddly clean.

    ¡°That thing. It looks exactly like the one that attacked the bus when we first came to this world.¡±

    ¡°Ahh! The dragon car sex thing!¡±

    ¡°Stop it with the shameless sexual harassment remarks!¡±

    Then Yogiri pped his hands as if remembering something. Carol was also thinking that it looked like the dragon they had seen when escaping from the bus.

    ¡°You killed this one too, didn¡¯t you, Yogiri?¡±

    Ryouko asked. It seemed like she thought it was the most obvious thing.

    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what I was aiming for.¡±

    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s dead, then there¡¯s no point in thinking about it, is there? Oh, by the way¡­¡±

    Maybe it wasn¡¯t something to talk about here in this situation, but Carol still wanted to know.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You can tell when you¡¯re being targeted, and you can kill the person, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Then, what about the nuclear weapon that caused all of this? Couldn¡¯t you have done something before the explosion?¡±

    Even now, Yogiri was apparently killing any threats that existed around them. He was shutting out the radiation, heat and strong winds. That was an incredible ability.

    However, Carol couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he couldn¡¯t have stopped the whole situation, to begin with.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m not sure how to say this. It¡¯s kind of a vague way to put it. But I felt like someone did it because they were very desperate. And I felt bad about getting in the way.¡±

    ¡ªThis guy¡­!

    Carol felt a feeling of unease over those words.

    It was like she was talking to a creature from another world that hadpletely different values from her.

    ¡°By the way! This is not the ce to be casually talking to each other! We already made our decision, so let¡¯s get a move on! I don¡¯t think we have much time left!¡±

    ¡°Time?¡±

    ¡°Ah, uh, um¡­ Anyway, there is no harm in hurrying up!¡±

    Hanakawa seemed frantic. He was clearly hiding something, but it was also clear that they couldn¡¯t stay here.

    Hanakawa put David down on the ground.

    It would be Yogiri and Hanakawa that would go after all.

    Carol checked the map through the system window.

    While the walls in the area had disappeared, the boundary for the selection battle was still marked out with a red line.

    They were just several meters away from it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡±

    Yogiri grabbed Hanakawa¡¯s hand roughly and started to walk.

    ¡°Uh¡­ I suppose I should feel lucky that I¡¯m not being thrown out¡­¡±

    Hanakawa started walking without resisting.

    And then, they stepped out of the boundary that Shion had designated.

    ¡°Hmm? Nothing seems to be¡­happening? But considering our surroundings, maybe the Sage doesn¡¯t know what is going on anymore?¡±

    While he said this, it was clear that Hanakawa didn¡¯t actually believe it.

    ¡°No, no. I understand everything. All of this was well within my predictions for the fight.¡±

    Out of nowhere, a woman in a white dress was standing before them. It was Sage Shion.

    Carol had no idea where she came from.

    There was nowhere to hide after the explosion. And yet, she was standing right there.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re the Sage Shion person.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Maybe you should be a little more careful while talking to her!?¡±

    ¡°Yes. And you must be Takato Yogiri. I thought I heard something about you being dead¡­¡±

    Just then, Shion suddenly copsed.

    It was like watching a drunkard lose their bnce. Or as if she sprained her ankle. Regardless, she fell andnded on her buttocks.

    Shion looked shocked. She could not believe what had just happened.

    It was an unbelievable scene for Carol as well.

    Up until now, Shion had been the one who toyed with and provoked her ssmates. She was a monster that no one could go against.

    However, she had fallen so easily to the ground. Yogiri was looking down at her.

    ¡°I have no intention of talking with you. Just answer my questions.¡±

    Everyone stayed quiet, except for Yogiri. They didn¡¯t understand what was happening.

    ¡°What. What is going on here!¡±

    Hanakawa was the only one who was acting the same as usual.

    ¡°I killed her right ankle. I¡¯ve been practicing.¡±

    Yogiri looked a little smug as he said this.

 Volume 5, 9 - Gomikuzu Neetu reincarnated in another world, but he was still a bum!

    <h4>Volume 5, Chapter 9 - Gomikuzu Neetu reincarnated in another world, but he was still a bum!</h4>

    (This is the continuation of Volume 4, Chapter 18)

    Jolt and his friends were riding their horses as fast as they could.

    They were running as fast as they could and not thinking about the horses.

    Even if they didn¡¯t go that far, the boy would not attack them. Even though I knew that, I couldn¡¯t stay there.

    Darien was dead.

    And hemitted suicide.

    I don¡¯t know what happened, but I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t anything out of the ordinary, and since I was told to leave immediately, I couldn¡¯t just sit back and rx.

    ¡°What the hell was that? Why is Master Darien dying?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it! I¡¯ve heard that when Darien is on the verge of death, he can travel through time and space to the past!¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Darien wille back to save us?¡±

    ¡°Is that so, Jolt?¡±

    Everyone clung to Jolt, the vicemander.

    Each of them must be an owner of immense power, but they have been too dependent on Darien for too long. They have forgotten how to use it.

    ¡°No, Master Darien¡¯s power is not like that¡­¡±

    I can only specte based on what he has said and done so far, but Darien¡¯s power to return to the past is something that is activated after death, and is ast resort when there is nothing else to do.

    It sends something like a soul back to the past, and the alteration of the past does not affect the present in any way. It¡¯s merely a branching of a parallel world from a certain point in time.

    Darien himself may be able to start over with it, but it has nothing to do with Jolt and the others who are here now.

    In other words, Darien has abandoned Jolt and the others and fled.

    What Darien did back in the past has nothing to do with what we are doing now!

    ¡°Then what the hell are you going to do about it?¡±

    -that¡¯s what I want to hear!

    Jolt shouted in his mind.

    How could I have let this happen?

    His second life should have been going well. If he had stayed by Darien¡¯s side, there wouldn¡¯t have been any problems.

    But now Darien was dead.

    Everything suddenly became unrecognizable.

    It wasn¡¯t like this before. I had been able to take advantage of my reincarnation to get around and be the strongest. However, now that I know that there is someone higher than me, there is no way I can do such a thing innocently.

    No matter how hard I try, I know that there are talents that I can¡¯t reach, and that there are powers of fear that I can¡¯t even begin to understand.

    If that were the case, I should have just lived a life of his own size and not stretched himself, but he couldn¡¯t do that either.

    In the end, Jolt could not change.

    His childish human nature, which is always satisfied only when he is in a superior position, was not improved by the reincarnation, and it got worse because of the supernatural powers of the other world.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay! We¡¯re still the invincible army! As long as we have the invincible armor made by Darien-sama, we have no enemies!¡±

    ¡°But even so, we¡¯ll still have to face that guy ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°That guy! We just have to ignore him, right? We just have to stay away from him!¡±

    It was very convenient, but the group members were beginning to agree with the idea.

    They were nning to continue the invincible army even without Darien.

    Before they knew it, they had reached the area around the royal capital.

    Then, they noticed something unusual.

    There was something strange going on around the royal capital.

    As they approached, they could see that there was an unusual number of people crowded around the gate.

    That alone was unusual enough, but the crowd was in the midst of chaos.

    Shouting, screaming, sobbing.

    They were running for their lives, shouting in various forms of grief.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡± ¡°What the hell is this?¡­¡±

    Jolt and the others didn¡¯t know that something was wrong in the capital.

    They were unaware that the demon gods had returned, and the capital had sunk into a sea of flesh.

    So, they had no way of knowing that this scene was the result of further despair.

    He had no way to see that this was just another nightmare that had befallen him after he had narrowly escaped with his life.

    ¡°What are you going to do, Jolt?

    ¡°Why are you asking me?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re the second-inmand!¡±

    I was forced to make a decision, but I couldn¡¯t help it because I didn¡¯t even know what was going on.

    So, I decided to approach the royal capital to see what was going on first.

    It appeared without a sound.

    Without any warning, it suddenly stood right in front of Jolt and the others.

    A huge four-legged beast.

    It was a bloody wolf, so bloody that it looked like a redhead.

    In its huge jaws, were several people.

    Some of them were dead. Some of them were moaning.

    But it didn¡¯t care, it kept moving its jaws up and down. It was chewing and swallowing.

    ¡°What the ¡­¡­ is this ¡­¡­?

    It was fear.

    It doesn¡¯t matter how strong it is or whether it canpete, the very fact that it eats people is terrifying.

    ¡°Don¡¯t falter! We are invincible! We are invincible! No matter how great the monster, it is still just a beast! There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of!

    There is nothing to fear!

    It¡¯s a big beast that you can look up to, and its power can easily surpass that of a human.

    But it was only a beast.

    Each of Jolt and the others possessed superb abilities and invincible armor.

    A mere demon should have been no match for them.

    Why on earth did they show up here? It¡¯s not much of a reason, Jolt intuited.

    It was just a monster that devoured what it saw.

    The beast finished chewing its prey in its mouth and suddenly disappeared.

    Jolt turned around. He could not follow its movements. However, the unmistakable smell of beast and blood told him exactly where the beast was.

    The beast had moved behind him, as expected.

    And one of hispanions had disappeared.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡¡It doesn¡¯t hurt at all!¡¡His fangs won¡¯t work against the invincible armor!¡¡Everyone!¡¡Attack it while you still can!

    One of my friends, Iris, had her horse eaten by that giant jaw.

    The speed of the beast was unbelievable.

    However, its fangs were not working on Iris.

    If I could nullify itsattack, there would be plenty of ways to do it.

    ¡°Leave it to me!¡¡I¡¯ll make the dog realize how scary the Invincible Army is¡­

    And then Iris disappeared.

    She was swallowed whole.

    No matter how sturdy the armor was, it was meaningless in this situation.

    Darien would not have expected such an attack.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, right??¡¡I¡¯m sure she¡¯s alive inside!

    It was the first time I¡¯ve ever seen such a thing.

    I¡¯m not sure what to do. It¡¯s not as if his stomach is moving or a sword is sticking out from inside.

    ¡°King Hungry Wolf¡­¡­

    Someone muttered.

    That was the name of an invader, Aggressor.

    It was the name of an aggressor, an incarnation of tyranny that constantly starved and devoured at random. It was a beast that Rain the Wise had defeated and had since gone silent.

    Jolt remembered.

    Jolt remembered the reason why the city was covered with strong walls.

    He remembered why the city was covered with strong walls, and why they were allowing selfish people like the Wise Rain to do whatever they wanted.

    It was all because of the presence of the invaders.

    It¡¯s to protect ourselves from the invaders.

    In the past, this would not have been possible.

    In the past, this would have been impossible, because even if there was some damage, the wise Rain would have shown up immediately to fix the situation.

    However, the wise man would not appear here.

    Jolt had no way of knowing, but the wise men in this area were dying out.

    Darien had said that the half demon was necessary to keep the seal on something.

    However, so much damage has been done that no matter who resurrects and rampages now, it doesn¡¯t matter.

    The bnce of the world had begun to copse without anyone realizing it.

    ¡®Why ¡­¡­ is this happening, why ¡­¡­ is this happening?¡¯

    The Hungry King slowly approaches. He choose Jolt as his next prey.

    Jolt closed his eyes.

    He couldn¡¯t stand his fear of the hungry wolf king¡¯s jaws slowly approaching.

    Jolt trembled as he waited for the final moment.

    But no matter how long he waited, the moment never came.

    A warm, bloody wind blew slowly.

    The Star Wolf King was right there.

    And he is waiting for you to open your eyes unbearably.

    ¡®If you¡¯re starving, why don¡¯t you just get on with it and eat!

    But the hungry wolf king doesn¡¯t respond.

    Unable to bear the fear of not being able to see anything, Jolt opened his eyes.

    Two girls with the same face were standing in front of him.

    ¡°Yes?

    Jolt froze at the sight that he had never imagined.

    The Hungry Wolf King was behind the girls, but he had stopped moving like a statue.

    ¡°You guys are ¡­¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m Marna!

    ¡°I¡¯m Rilna!¡±

    ¡°Together, we are Marna-Lilna!¡¡Yes!¡±

    Then Maruna and Liluna pped their hands together.

    Jolt was dumbfounded.

    The air had changed to such an extent that he wondered what the tragedy of the past had been.

    He noticed that the beastly breath had stopped. It was as if time had stopped.

    ¡°Well, well, well. Jolt-kun, does Maruna-chan¡¯s name sound familiar to you?

    Riruna-chan is also fine.

    ¡°¡­¡­MarunaRilunaism¡­¡­¡±

    It¡¯s the secondrgest religious organization in the world, after the Axis Church.

    It¡¯s not like they¡¯re worshipping pirs like the Axis Church!¡¡So I think it¡¯s no exaggeration to say that we are the world¡¯srgest religious organization!

    ¡°Yes!¡¡We¡¯re gods!

    But Jolt had never heard of two Marnalyrna gods, or a girl in their own right.

    ¡°We are gods, so we can slow down time and stuff!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not hard toe here without being noticed by the wolf!¡±

    It was hard to believe that they were gods.

    But if the two of them are the ones creating this situation, then their power must be solid.

    ¡°If you can do that, you could have saved the people who were attacked by this thing!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Most of the people in Manny¡¯s kingdom are Axis Church members, right?¡±

    ¡°Why do they need to be saved?¡±

    If you say so, it might be that way.

    But then, I have no idea why a God woulde to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m just here to spoil it for you, aren¡¯t I?

    ¡°It¡¯s our fault that Jolt-kun came to this world, right?¡±

    ¡°So is Mr. Darien.¡±

    ¡°Jolt-kun is a trashy, helpless bastard, but I called him here to see if he¡¯de to his senses after his reincarnation.¡±

    ¡°I thought scum would stay scum.¡±

    ¡°Riruna-chan wins. Conclusion!¡¡I thought scum would stay scum.¡±

    ¡°Darien-kun was too serious to be interesting.¡±

    ¡°It would have been fun to fight a wise man.¡±

    ¡°Why do you have to be so cooperative?

    ¡°Why do you have to be the righteous one?

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m just watching.

    ¡°I¡¯m just going to watch and see what they do.

    Jolt was overwhelmed by their alternating ramblings.

    It was as if he couldn¡¯t catch up with them and was just confused.

    ¡°And the reason why I¡¯m here now, at this time!¡±

    ¡°Jolt-kun, you¡¯re going to be dead soon, so I wanted to ask you before you die.¡±

    ¡°How was your life? Did you enjoy your life as a piece of trash?¡±

    ¡°How did you feel when a God spoiled it all for you?¡±

    The two Jolt¡¯s into the eyes. There was no way for Jolt to know what he looked like. But he must be looking like an idiot because he didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not going to help me, are you?

    Jolt said as if he were clinging to her.

    If he had the power of God, he could do anything.

    ¡°Oh, no. It¡¯s not like that this time, is it?

    ¡°I¡¯m just taking a long, hard look at the lives of trash people.¡±

    ¡°What the hell do you want? You y with people¡¯s lives! You¡¯re messing with people¡¯s lives! You¡¯re messing with them!¡±

    ¡°I thought it would be funny. - But it wasn¡¯t very funny, so I gave up.¡±

    Then they turned their backs and walked away, as if they were no longer interested.

    What¡¯s next?

    ¡°What about that one from before? He said he could kill an enemy just by thinking about it.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that? How does that work?¡±

    Marnalilna disappears, and time begins to move.

    In front of Jolt, there was the Hungry Wolf King with his big mouth open.

    The jaws of the hungry wolf king close.

    The only thing that saved Jolt was that he was still confused at the moment of being swallowed.

 Volume 5, 10 Who deserves a service scene like this, that I donâ€™t?

    <h4>Volume 5, Chapter 10 Who deserves a service scene like this, that I don¡¯t?</h4>

    This is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen such a thing.

    ¡°Oh ¡­ maybe I shouldn¡¯t have run away, so I¡¯m afraid ¡­ Then, by this time, there might have been something like a hot spring! Or something like that! ¡°

    A room at an inn in the port town.

    Hanakawa was crouched in the corner of the room, grumbling.

    ¡°Pig-kun, aren¡¯t you too loud?¡±

    Akinobu Marufuji came in and said in a dumbfounded tone. I think it¡¯s because Hanakawa never learns no matter how many times I hurt him.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry, that I am!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have a strategy meeting, you shoulde too.¡±

    ¡°What? I¡¯m a pig, may I participate?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what it is, but even though I¡¯m humble, I feel like I¡¯m being mocked. ¡­¡­ Oh well. It¡¯s a good idea to take a look at the website and see if you can find anything you like. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be happy to hear that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s how it is, that it is? Then I¡¯ll take your word for it.¡±

    In the end, Hanakawa had returned to his ¡°go-zaru¡± tone.

    The party members also did not say anything more, as if it had be too much trouble to me me every time.

    Following Akinobu, Hanakawa took his ce at the table.

    There were five of us at the table: Shigeto, Akinobu, Rei, Laguna, and Hanakawa.

    ¡°We¡¯ve finally made it to the eastern country of Ento, what should we do?¡±

    Laguna, the leader, asks. Ragna, the leader of the group, had no particr reason to do anything. He was just being carried along by Akinobu and the others.

    Well, you can¡¯t go wrong if you leave it to my oracle.¡±

    The prophet (oracle master) ced a book on the table.

    ¡°It¡¯s a strategy book. It¡¯s a strategy book, right? It looks like a strategy book.¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, it¡¯s a strategy book for this world.¡±

    ¡°But what is it about? I don¡¯t know what Marufuji-dono and his friends are up to, that I don¡¯t. ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not the only one. I¡¯m sure you know that the evil wise men are doing whatever they want in this world, right, Ragna-kun?¡±

    ¡°Really? I heard that the wise men are protecting this world.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Ragna, you have to defeat the evil wise men and save the world.¡±

    The girl next to Laguna, Rei Kujima, hugged him and pressed her breast against his chest.

    ¡°Okay, I get it. If we defeat the wise men, the world will be at peace, right!

    -Yes. It¡¯s so obvious that he¡¯s being manipted by her!

    Rei¡¯s ss is Women of Destiny. She had the gift of cajoling men.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think we should leave the wise men alone. Marufuji-dono and the others have extraordinary powers, don¡¯t they? Wouldn¡¯t they be able to do as they please?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works.¡±

    Then Shigeto pushed the strategy book to Hanakawa. He wanted him to read it.

    ¡°To defeat the Sage, we need the World Sword Omega de!¡¡The most important goal in the Ents is to get the World Sword, but there¡¯s a wise man named Yoshifumi here!¡¡The most important goal in Ents is to get the World Sword, but there¡¯s a wise man named Yoshifumi here! If you encounter him before you get the sword, you¡¯ll inevitably get wiped out! But Yoshifumi is an emperor, which is unusual for a sage, so his whereabouts are limited. You can avoid him if you¡¯re careful!¡±

    ¡°Aha!¡¡World Sword Omega de!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point.¡±

    ¡°One piece of advice: don¡¯t get too strong or you¡¯ll be identified as a stray sage and the assassins wille for you!. You¡¯ll never be able to beat the wise guys, so don¡¯t try to stand out!¡±

    Hanakawa thought back to Aoi the Wise.

    ¡°A stray sage is someone who has the power of a sage but does not want to be one, and Aoi was in charge of hunting down such stray sages. But it¡¯s a book with a lot of surprise marks.¡±

    Hanakawa was paying attention to an unimportant part.

    ¡°That¡¯s why. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll head to the capital and get the materials for the Omega de.¡±

    Akinobu tapped Hanakawa on the shoulder.

    ¡°Heh? Why, that I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°You have an important role to y.¡±

    I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to understand.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°Who would benefit from a service scene like this?¡±

    Hanakawa was naked.

    To be precise, He¡¯s only wearing pants, but that doesn¡¯t give me anyfort.

    Hanakawa walked reluctantly to the fort at the top of the mountain, raising the white g as best he could.

    ¡°You will go in front, alone and unarmed.¡±

    It was the prophet Shigeto Mitadera who said so.

    Apparently, that was the condition for the bloodless siege, and the bloodless siege event was one of the conditions for obtaining Omega de materials.

    So Hanakawa was alone.

    The party members were waiting some distance away from the fort.

    ¡°Uh ¡­ why do I have to do this ¡­ anyone can do it, I guess it makes sense because the brave man who is armed with chow is doing it! Especially when I¡¯m naked! I¡¯m not going to lose any strength if I¡¯m naked.¡±

    Hanakawa continued on his way even though he wasining.

    It seemed that the reason the heavy people had made Hanakawa one of their own was to use him in situations like this. He seemed to be in a somewhat rxed mood, but it was not as if he was.

    The fort Hanakawa was heading for was known to be impregnable.

    That was probably true. The fort was located on the top of a mountain, and the whole area around it was in full view.

    Naturally, they were already aware of the suspicious-looking guy approaching naked with a white g fluttering in the air, and they should have been on their guard.

    ¡°Well, but you know what? Since we know it¡¯s a bloodless event, we won¡¯t be attacked, right?¡¡If you think about it that way, it could be considered a delicious event. Depending on how you look at it, you can say that you can take down the fort with a single horseman, that you can! So, as a result, don¡¯t you think that I am the hero?¡±

    While Hanakawa was climbing up the mountain with a baseless fantasy, he saw a figure on top of a tower that looked like a watchtower of a fort.

    It was a girl dressed in a maid¡¯s uniform, with arge bow in her hand.

    The girl drew an arrow from her quiver. The arrow was just as huge as the bow. The target could not have been anyone other than Hanakawa. At any rate, there was no one else here but Hanakawa.

    ¡°Well? It¡¯s bloodless ¡­¡­, isn¡¯t it? Isn¡¯t it intimidating? Well, yes, that it is. When someone who looks like an enemy approaches, you should be alert for the time being. And then they notice that I am not only unarmed but also unclothed, and they are impressed by my boldness, and the gate is opened.¡±

    The tip of the arrow was glowing.

    The tip of the arrow was glowing.

    Obviously, he wasn¡¯t just going to shoot arrows. Realizing this, Hanakawa flew diagonally forward.

    Because stopping and retreating is forbidden, and if you break that prohibition, you will be killed.

    ¡°Oof!¡±

    The arrow passed right by him and Hanakawa staggered. Although the arrows didn¡¯t hit the target directly, the wind storm that surrounded him disturbed the surroundings.

    ¡°Tomattana?¡± T/N: ¡º¥È¥Þ¥Ã¥¿¥Ê?¡»Don¡¯t really know what that means

    It was the first time I¡¯ve ever seen such a thing. You can find a lot of people who are interested in this kind of thing.

    ¡°And it didn¡¯t stop! It¡¯s just my imagination!¡±

    Then, with a roar from behind, Hanakawa was blown forward. The arrow gouged the earth and exploded.

    Hanakawa¡¯s face hit the ground with a loud thud, but he hurriedly got up and moved forward.

    ¡°Tsk!¡±

    The mysterious voice sounded frustrated, so apparently the rules had been followed.

    ¡°What is this about a bloodless siege? At least my blood will flow!¡±

    Then Hanakawa looked.

    And then Hanakawa saw that next to the maid who had shot the arrow, another maid had appeared.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, ¡­¡­¡±

    Despite his confusion, Hanakawa did not stop walking. He couldn¡¯t stop.

    And the maid girls increased in number as they watched.

    They appeared everywhere in the fort, and they were sorge that they could be called an army of maids.

    ¡°I see, I see. I¡¯ve only heard of a fort upied by bandits, but it seems to be a band of maid bandits?¡¡I don¡¯t know.¡¡I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s possible to have a bloodless siege against bandits in the first ce, that it is?¡±

    Hanakawa was still wondering about the basic premise, but it didn¡¯t matter as a scene began to unfold in front of him.

    The maids all shot their arrows at once.

    As before, the tips of the arrows were shining. It was a sight worth seeing, but there was no room for carefree enjoyment.

    ¡°¡­¡­ Incidentally, I¡¯ve been told that if I stop or back away, I¡¯ll die, that I will, but what exactly will happen, I don¡¯t know?

    ¡°I will explode in your ear.

    ¡°You¡¯ll die, too!¡±

    You¡¯ll die too! There¡¯s nothing wrong with that.¡±

    The creators, Akinobu Marufuji, created a creature that seemed to have no fear of death.

    Unable to stop in the face of thousands of arrows, Hanakawa walked as slowly as he could.

    He wondered if there was anything he could do to help, and appraised the maids.

    Battle (battle) maids.

    The average level is about 200. In addition to their basic maid skills, they are all-rounders with a variety of martial arts, weaponry and magic.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can win against one of them! I¡¯ve been collecting items for a long time and they¡¯ve taken something ¡­¡­ that I¡¯ve been collecting for a long time and they¡¯ve taken it all!¡±

    Hanakawa has the Item Box skill, which allows him to store arge number of items. However, the contents of the box have all been stolen by the heavies.

    ¡°No, you must calm down. There may be something you can do. There is no way that you can avoid or withstand all the arrows that are raining down on you ¡­¡­!¡±

    Hanakawa¡¯s level is 99, but since he does not have a closebat job, his physical abilities are not that great.

    The only thing he¡¯s good at is healing, but if I take that arrow seriously, there won¡¯t be a trace of it left. He could recover from any serious wound as long as he was still alive, but there was nothing he could do if he died instantly.

    He thought about attacking from here, but Hanakawa did not have any good means of attack.

    There was a spell bullet that he could use, but it was only as powerful as a pistol in both power and range.

    There was no way he could reach them from here, and they wouldn¡¯t work on a high level warrior.

    Hanakawa¡¯s ability is specialized in recovery.

    ¡°Huh?¡¡Isn¡¯t it possible that I¡¯m really stuck?¡±

    If he ran away, my head would explode, and if he kept going, arrows of unusual power would rain down on me.

    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    ¡°This is not the time for you to be talking! We¡¯re on the same side!¡±

    Something in my ear has no fear of death, I guess. It was as if he was talking to someone else.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to understand why I¡¯m so excited about this. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to understand why I¡¯m so excited about this. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to understand why I¡¯m so excited about this. I¡¯ve been doing this my whole life.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­ Oh, before¡­ What did you say¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be drawn to a mysterious creature!

    ¡°I¡¯ve been possessed by a little stranger, that I do not understand.

    ¡°If I¡¯m going to have an ego, I¡¯d like it to have a better start.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s stopping you?

    ¡°What does it matter now, that it does! If I¡¯m going to die anyway, either way¡ª¡±

    While I was spending my time on such an unimportant conversation, the arrows were already shot.

    They filled the sky and were literally about to rain down on them.

    There was nowhere to run now, and the worst fate was just around the corner.

    ¡°Look, look, this is it. It¡¯s the famous three choices. I¡¯m a handsome guy, but I don¡¯t get an idea for a counterattack ¡­¡­ at all, so reality is ruthless!¡±

    Hanakawa stopped and closed his eyes.

    Will several arrows pierce his entire body and leave holes all over, or will a single blow obliterate his entire body? Or will his head explode before the arrows kill him?

    With his eyes closed, Hanakawa waited for the final moment. But¡­

    The moment did not arrive for any length of time.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re already dead or not, and you just don¡¯t realize it, ¡­¡­¡±

    I nced up at him.

    I saw the back of a boy in front of me.

    Apanion of the heavies, a boy called Laguna, was standing there defending Hanakawa.

    ¡°Ohh!¡¡Is that it!¡¡That¡¯s the one where your friendse and help you, that it is!¡¡I had ruled that out as an option because I thought it was impossible!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave you any longer.¡±

    Laguna swung his sword lightly.

    With just that, the rain of arrows that seemed to cover the heavens disappeared.

    The maids were firing arrows one after another, but Laguna¡¯s sword easily blocked them.

    Relieved, Hanakawa realized that he hadn¡¯t died even though he had been standing still for a long time now.

    ¡°Well, what the hell is this ¡­¡­ I was told if we stop or back away, we¡¯ll die. ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°They said it wouldn¡¯t explode near us, right? Laguna said while protecting Hanakawa.

    ¡°Oh, you were even expecting me to get desperate ande at you! You are very well prepared¡±

    Hanakawa hadn¡¯t thought of that at all.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t it impossible to capture the castle bloodless?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I heard that the probability of sess is always less than a decimal point.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it close to a zero chance of sess.

    I guess the prophecies of the heavies don¡¯t lie. But it seemed as if they could not be trusted.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that Ragna-dono is protecting us, but what¡¯s wrong with that? We can¡¯t go on like this forever.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. But I don¡¯t feelfortable attacking someone who¡¯s just attacking someone suspicious from here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯m suspicious enough to be attacked.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re a suspicious person approaching naked¡±

    Even the naive boy was suspicious of Hanakawa.

    I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right!

    As soon as Hanakawa said that, something strange began to happen to the fort.

    The fort began to shake.

    The shaking became louder and louder, and the maids could not stand still. Some of them seemed to be shaken off.

    This is ¡­¡­ what the heck ¡­¡­?

    Hanakawa was taken aback. The maids are no longer attacking, and Laguna has also put down his sword for the moment.

    And then the fort rose up at once.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    It grew legs.

    A huge, pulsating mass of flesh sprouted from the bottom of the fort, supporting its weight.

    The fort itself looked somewhat biological, with what appeared to be blood vessels lining the surface.

    I wonder if this is the power of the Creator. It¡¯s amazing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too absurd to be true. ¡­¡­

    If it has this kind of power, Hanakawa thought, there is no need to follow the strategy and digest the events.

 Volume 5, 11 I managed to do it with fascination.

    <h4>Volume 5, Chapter 11 I managed to do it with fascination.</h4>

    Having got past the invincible army, Yomiga and the others were on the move again.

    Having fled, they are unlikely to attack us again, but if we keep our distance and remain calm, they maye back with arge army this time.

    So it was decided to at least cross the border.

    It would not be safe, but we thought that they could not interfere with other countries so easily.

    We were on our way to the Kingdom of Lindy, to the east of the Kingdom of Manny.

    On the border between the two countries there is a river of considerable size, over which there is a bridge.

    At each end of the bridge, there are two gates for each country.

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with borders, do they let you through?¡±

    Yogiri asked Theodesia in the carriage

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It will be difficult to go straight through.¡±

    It seems that borders are not so obvious in this world and that crossing them is not considered a problem in itself.

    But ces like this river were different.

    Because there is no other way through, and because the bridge limits the traffic, they can take a toll.

    This is why there is a barrier and a checkpoint.

    He was told that the border guards were there and that any half demon who tried to pass through would be immediately caught.

    However, the carriage convoy easily passed through the Mani Kingdom¡¯s fort.

    They crossed the long bridge and the fortress of the Kingdom of Lindi, making it easy to cross the border.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡°

    Chichika, who had been watching the proceedings, was surprised. She had been expecting some sort of trouble.

    ¡°I managed to charm my way out of it.¡±

    Euphemia said quietly.

    Euphemia was a vampire called Origin Blood, and she had a number of powerful abilities.

    ¡°Oh, my God, you¡¯re mesmerising! Huh? But then why were you being chased?¡±

    Chichika thought that if she had used her charm to rescue the demon, it would not have even been perceived as a crime.

    ¡°The enchantment is only temporary and will wear off in time. I thought that with the protection of the wards, it would not be a problem to be followed, but I was too careless.¡±

    It should have been impossible to find him, but Darien¡¯s supernatural powers of detection must have outweighed the effect of the warding.

    If it happened once, it might happen twice.

    In the future, we can¡¯t be too reliant on the warding.

    ¡°So you¡¯vee to the next country, what are you going to do?¡°

    Carol asks.

    Originally, the vige of the half demons was located in the primeval forest within the kingdom of Manny.

    It was a good idea to keep running, but he wondered how far that would take him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how it happened, but I¡¯ve been helping half demons, but that¡¯s not my original goal.¡°

    I¡¯m sorry, said Risley.

    She had been looking for Yomigauri to ask him for a favour.

    She had been looking for him to ask him something, but he hadn¡¯t listened to her, because he was always sleeping.

    ¡°But, well, we can¡¯t move forward until we do something about this big group. ¡­¡­¡±

    Risley seemed to regret it a little, but she didn¡¯t have the personality to let it go now.

    ¡°Do you have a specific n?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hoping we can find a secluded base somewhere.¡±

    Yomogiri asked, but Theodisia didn¡¯t seem to have an answer either.

    Chichika also tried to think of a good ce to go, but she was not familiar with the circumstances of the other world and could note up with any great ideas.

    ¡°Would a forest or mountain be good? It would be self-sufficient.¡±

    When Chichika was thinking about it, Ryoko said something somewhat better.

    ¡°Yes, we do. It¡¯s hard to interact with people, so we need to take care of what we need by ourselves. So, if we can get some space in a ce where there aren¡¯t any people around.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any ideas?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the area, so I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Oh, my God, this is so random!¡±

    Maybe it had to be done, but this made the future too uncertain.

    Chichika felt like holding her head in her hands.

    ¡®Well. Let¡¯s see what we can do from above!¡¯

    ¡°Oh, right! You can go as high as you want, can¡¯t you?¡± T/N: ¡® indicates the spirit is talking

    ¡®Not as far as I want, but better than horizontally.¡¯

    Mokomoko is Chichika¡¯s guardian spirit, so he can¡¯t be too far away from her.

    However, as long as they are not too far apart in the ne coordinates, there is not much of a problem.

    ¡°The way it works is sox. ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡®Well, it¡¯s all about perception.¡¯

    With that, Mokomoko flew through the ceiling of the carriage and into the sky.

    Then he came right back.

    ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡±

    ¡®The nearby mountains seem to have mineral resources, but they¡¯re not very rich. There was a forest, but it was not very big. It seems to be used by the people of the nearby city, so it¡¯s not a good ce to hide out.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, no¡±

    ¡®Doesn¡¯t look like there are any convenient ces around here. The only other thing that stood out to me was a huge city, albeit quite far away. It might be the capital of this country.

    I think we should go to there and ask them about it.¡¯

    So, that¡¯s where we were headed for now.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The city is called the city of the fighting gods.

    It¡¯s not clear who started calling it that and when, but the reason is clear.

    It was because the ruler of this city, a man named Riser, called himself the God of War.

    Riser was aware that it was a ridiculous name.

    But this was a dare.

    Some may mock Riser for calling himself a fighting god. But if you deny that he is a god of war, there is no other way but to fight and win. If you don¡¯t ept Riser as a god of war, go ahead and challenge him. That¡¯s what I am thinking.

    Riser was too strong.

    That¡¯s why there were no challengers.

    That¡¯s why he is spreading the name of the God of War. He thought that if he did so, there would be a better chance that a foolhardy challenger would show up.

    Riser had been looking for a fight. That¡¯s why he kept getting stronger, but at the end of the day, he had no one left to fight.

    It was just the opposite of what he wanted.

    He couldn¡¯t get weaker, and he couldn¡¯t go easy on anyone. He wanted an opponent that he could fight with all his strength.

    So, he built a city.

    This city has two main roles.

    The first is to let people know that Riser is here. If youe here, you can fight Rizer. If he does that, he can expect some challengers toe.

    The other is to serve as a training ground, forcing those with potential toe here and train by hand. However, he had already given up on this method. No matter how good they are, they will nevere strong.

    So, recently, he has been locking up a lot of strong people in this city, making them fight each other and forcing them to grow.

    This approach seemed to be working reasonably well.

    It was better than waiting for a challenger, but still, it wasn¡¯t helping Riser pass the time.

    However, when you hear stories like this, anyone who knows this world will have some questions.

    The existence of Sages.

    In this world, the strongest person is Sage. So why not challenge a Sage?

    But that was not the only thing Riser was not allowed to do.

    This is because Riser is also a Sage.

    The Great Sage would not allow a battle between Sage. It doesn¡¯t matter how strong they are, they can¡¯t break this rule.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Riser was stained with vermilion.

    Normally, Riser wouldn¡¯t get blood on his face, but this time, he was dealing with an opponent.

    Anyway, it was huge.

    It was a giant that he could only look up to.

    The giants are a type of aggressor. He had no idea what their purpose is, but they are hostile beings thate from the outside world at irregr intervals.

    Riser jumped up, shook his fist, and blew off the giant¡¯s huge face, which was as big as a mountain.

    It must have had a heart or something like that and blood circting in its body. The blood that came out was so much that the whole area was a literal sea of blood.

    Riser had taken it all in stride.

    With the prohibition on fights between Sages, the only time Riser can feel even a modicum of sess is in a fight with an aggressor, but this time it was not much and he was very disappointed.

    ¡°This guy was boring too.¡±

    It¡¯s not like he had high expectations for him to begin with. Even so, Riser has only invaders as his opponents. It is unavoidable to expect that this time, perhaps, he would be a good opponent.

    Riser kicked the ground.

    In an instant, he was in the air, and in one breath, he was on his way to her home base, the city of fighting gods.

    In the blink of an eye, Riser was back.

    ¡°Wee home.¡±

    A huge tower stood in the center of the city. When Risernded on its roof, a woman came running up to him.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡±

    ¡°Pot A is at a standstill. Pot B has been wiped out. Pot C is at ¡­¡­¡°

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to worry about the details. What do you think we¡¯ll find?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no sign of the pot at the moment. But we do have a passer on Tower B.¡±

    ¡°See you soon.¡°

    The city has been experimenting with different ways of creating and selecting the strong.

    They¡¯re called pots, where the strong are trapped and made topete with each other.

    And the towers were a way to sort out who would reach the goal by climbing the towers where the strongest were ced.T/N: Don¡¯t know why they¡¯re called pots/teapots(¥Ý¥Ã¥È)

    Challengers were wee, but it was a waste of time to fight against those who were not even at the minimum level. So this was the way it was done.

    ¡°Tower B, which means the deless Arrester was on top, right?¡±

    ¡°It was an instant kill. Reports are that Aresta couldn¡¯t do anything about it and was eaten.¡±

    ¡°He ate him. I like it. I like it when they¡¯re not in their right mind.¡±

    One moment, please.¡°

    Riser quickly tried to fly to Tower B, but the woman stopped her.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you wash up first? I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be very surprised to see you like this.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m trying to intimidate him with my bloody appearance.¡±

    Rizer decided to get cleaned up before heading out.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    At the top of Tower B was a strange shape waiting for him.

    Do you have a minute?¡±

    Rizer asked as soon as he saw the challenger.

    ¡°What is it?¡°

    ¡°You doen¡¯t look like a human being. You looks more like an aggressor, but what about that?¡±

    ¡°Do I have to be human to challenge you?

    ¡°No, but if we keep fighting and I identally kill you, my curiosity will have nowhere to go.¡±

    The challenger was, roughly, human. But there were too many extraneous parts.

    A small woman¡¯s upper body sprouted from her side.

    A single wing sprouted from her right shoulder, and at its right elbow, a hoofed foot.

    The arm protruding from her chest was one that Liza recognized, it looked like the right arm of the deless Aresta.

    The challenger had a strange appearance, as if parts of various creatures had been forcibly added to various parts of it¡¯s body.

    ¡°I can take in the power of what I eat. I don¡¯t remember what I¡¯ve eaten, but I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve eaten this invader.¡±

    ¡°Is that a side effect of your appearance?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what I look like! I also don¡¯t care what you look like, as long as you can kill me!

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. I don¡¯t care what you look like. Let¡¯s get started.¡°

    Riser dropped to his haunches and took a stance.

    There was no need to get into any particr stance, but it would be difficult for his opponent if he just stood there.

    The next moment, the challenger was right in front him.

    ¡°Huh? How did you do that?¡±

    ¡°I ate space. There¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t eat.¡±

    The challenger seemed to have moved in an instant.

    He did not attack, as if he was trying to show off.

    ¡°And it¡¯s not just living things and space that I can eat, but also ¡­¡­ cause and effect! This is me! I can devour the process and seek only the result!¡±

    The challenger disappeared again, and Riser mmed her fist into the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯m bummed out. I like the idea of someone who only wants to be strong, even if it means bing a different form. But you¡¯re ruining it by being so clever.¡°

    Riser had caught the challenger between her fist and the floor, and its head was obliterated.

    The challenger had tried to do something, but Rizer¡¯s fist had crushed it all.

    For Riser, it was not umon to have an opponent who could alter events, manipte thew of cause and effect, leap dimensions, or cut off space, and she was able to crush such an opponent with her senses.

    ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t he look like me?¡±

    He was so focused on the deformed body, but looking back, he couldn¡¯t help but think that he saw a face.

    Riser¡¯s daily routine is to go on a rampage in a random city and impregnate women.

    This is not to vent his violent urges or to relieve his sexual desires.

    It was to create an avenger who truly hated Liza and was burning with hatred.

    ¡°If that was my kid, I¡¯m screwed. ¡­¡­¡±

    He has no interest in the weak, even if they were his children.

    Riser¡¯s emptiness was only growing.

 Volume 5, 12 From now on, I, Dannoura Mokomoko, shall be the heroine!

    <h4>Volume 5, Chapter 12 From now on, I, Dannoura Mokomoko, shall be the heroine!</h4>

    Yogiri Takato and Mokomoko Dannoura came to the city of the fighting gods.

    It is a city of considerable size and is surrounded by walls.

    Even from the outside, we could see manyrge towers standing there. I guessed that these were the famous towers of this city.

    ¡°Ha-ha-ha! The heroine has been reced! From now on, I, Mokomoko Dannoura, shall be the heroine!¡±

    Mokomoko had a voice that everyone could hear.

    She is not an invisible spirit as usual.

    Standing next to Yomogiri was a girl that looked a little younger than Yomogiri , wearing a red dress and gloves.

    Mokomoko used the body of an Enju type robot.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a machine, she¡¯s a fighter, she¡¯s a master of martial arts, she can create all sorts of useful items with a mysterious metal, and she looks so adorable! I think that¡¯s enough to call yourself a heroine!¡°

    ¡°I see. So you¡¯re aware that you¡¯re not as lovely as you usually look.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no!¡¡It¡¯s supposed to be lovely, if you look at it!¡±

    ¡°Anyway, it got no breasts, so its out.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being brutally honest, ¡­¡­, but I¡¯m sure you can squeeze her breasts all you want, can¡¯t you?¡¡She can¡¯t just ignore a request like that.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you should be pressing me in this situation.¡±

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m not so sure that¡¯s a good idea.¡±

    ¡°So, Moko-robo, is this possession?¡±

    ¡°MokoRobo is ¡­¡­ a little more than that. ¡­¡­¡±

    It was ufortable to call her Mokomoko when she was in the form of Keju. So Yogiri changed her name.

    ¡°Mou. Well, you can call me whatever you like. It¡¯s like being remote controlled¡±

    She said that they had cracked theputing device and was manipting it with radio waves.

    ¡°Well. We¡¯re going into the city, but don¡¯t forget not to kill anyone.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡°

    Yomiga went to the city gate.

    There were no checkpoints, so they were able to enter the city easily.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯vee here because I¡¯ve heard that anyone can meet a Sage, so what do I do?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to ask around.¡±

    Sages are fickle and not easily seen in public.

    But Riser the Sage in this city is an exception. He is waiting for a challenger in this city.

    ¡°Oh. Then you should go to the reception.

    A passer-by told him, so Yomiga went to the building called the reception.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see the wise man. I want to see the wise man.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Are you sure you want to challenge the tower?¡±

    Inside, there was a counter and a receptionist.

    The Receptionist didn¡¯t seem to be busy, so it wasn¡¯t as if there was a constant stream of challengers.

    ¡°If I can see him, what can I do to challenge him?

    ¡°Yes. The tower has a total of one hundred floors, and the challenger must start from the ground floor. You have to defeat the floor master on each floor to obtain a key, which will allow you to proceed to the next floor.¡±

    ¡°¡­that means you have to aim for the top floor, right?¡±

    Yogiri was thinking that it was bing tiresome. One hundred floors is a lot, no matter what.

    But he guessed he had to try. Yogiri decided to challenge the tower.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡®Congrattions. Riser will be with you in a moment.¡¯

    When they arrived at the top of the tower, they heard a voice from nowhere.

    ¡°So this is where we meet.¡±

    The rooftop was a t, bleak ce. Yogiri thought that a more formal ce would be prepared for an audience, but it seems that Riser didn¡¯t care about formality.

    ¡°It might mean a quick fight.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to know.¡±

    Rumor had it that he was a belligerent battle junkie, but that impression was overturned when he actually saw him in person.

    It was true that his well-trained body looked as if it was only meant for battle, but he had a cold look in his eyes.

    The expression on his face was one of resignation, and Riser was not as crude as I had thought he would be.

    ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯s true that the rules say I have to fight whoever wins the tower. You¡¯re not very strong, are you?¡±

    Rizer was scanning Yogiri. He was hoping to see if there was anything he had missed, or if there were any unknown elements.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡±

    ¡°Maybe that girl defeated it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who cleared it. If you don¡¯t want to fight, then it¡¯s a no-win situation for me, okay?¡±

    ¡°Huh? You¡¯re crazy. There¡¯s no reward in this fight. The only goal of anyone who challenges me is to defeat me, right?¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯vee all this way because I want what you have.¡±

    ¡°Tell me. If you can entertain me, I¡¯ll give you all the money you want.¡±

    ¡°One is the Philosopher¡¯s Stone. You have it, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. And? Is there anything else?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve built this city and you¡¯re inplete control of it. Am I right in assuming that you own the city?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do. Everything in this city, down to the smallest stone, belongs to me, and everything exists to produce someone who can fight me.¡±

    ¡°Well, that, too.¡±

    ¡°As for the town, I thought it could be used as a base for half demons.¡±

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll give you everything. If you can beat me.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t not sure if that¡¯s too much to ask, but Riser answered immediately.

    Now, let¡¯s get started¡°.

    Riser took his stance. It was a calm and dignified stance.

    Even though Yogiri is a novice in the martial arts, he knew that it will take a great deal of skill to break this stance.

    ¡°The right foot, then.¡±

    But Yogiri¡¯s umon strength had seeded in breaking Riser down easily.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Riser was disappointed.

    When he arrived at Tower A, he found that it was just an ordinary boy who had conquered it.

    He was so vulnerable that one breath from Riser could kill him, and he is too careful to talk to him.

    He carefully observed him to see if he had any hidden powers, but Riser could tell that he seemed to have little more than a little practice in martial arts.

    It¡¯s Risers observation that has kept him seeking out the strong. There is almost no doubt about it.

    However, that would make things a little strange. There was no way he could clear the tower with this level of ability.

    Compared to this boy, the girl next to him was probably much stronger. She may look like a machine, but she has the demeanor of an expert.

    However, when he asked her about it, she told him that the boy was the one who cleared the tower.

    When he was wondering, he started to ask him to give him a reward if he won.

    Riser was interested in this boy. The boy was determined to win. He would be disappointing to see himunch a suicide attack with the intention of losing, so in that respect, he seemed to favor him.

    -Well, okay. I don¡¯t care what it is, just surprise me.

    Riser has been betrayed many times in the past.

    So I don¡¯t have any more expectations of him. But still, as long as he continues to seek out the strong, he only hopes to find something new.

    Riser took a self-styled stance. It was a tokenistic stance that did not mean much.

    ¡°Right foot, then.¡°

    The boy said.

    Immediately, Risers stance copsed.

    She lost strength in her right leg and could no longer stand.

    Riser was taken aback.

    He had no idea what was going on.

    He had no idea what had been done to her or what had happened to her.

    ¡°What the hell did you do to ¡­¡­?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like a super-speed attack, it¡¯s faster than you can perceive.¡±

    ÉÙÄê¤Ï¤¸¤Ä¤Ë¤á¤ó¤É¤¯¤µ¤½¤¦¤ËÑÔ¤Ã¤¿¡£

    The boy said in a very annoyed tone.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! I can catch you at light speed! You! You weren¡¯t even doing anything!¡±

    The boy only mumbled a few words. He didn¡¯t do anything else.

    Then Riser realized that he was fuming.

    It was the first time in a long time that Riser had felt this way, as he had assumed he would never feel anything again.

    ¡°The speed of light is ¡­¡­ very fishy.¡±

    ¡°The kid¡¯s powers are a lot fishier¡±.

    The boy turns to face the girl.

    ¡°But it was a good thing you didn¡¯t bring the others. His voice alone would have killed a mere mortal.¡±

    The girl¡¯s words made Riser realize that he had been shouting without any consideration.

    There were cracks in the floor here and there. The tower was designed to be a stage for battle, but it must have been unable to withstand Riser¡¯s loud voice.

    ¡°What do you say? If you give up and give me my reward, I¡¯ll stop here.¡±

    ¡°No way! I¡¯m just getting started!¡±

    ¡°Left arm.¡°

    As the boy mumbled again, Risers left arm lost its strength and slumped down.

    It¡¯s fun!¡°

    Riser swung his right arm down and mmed it into the floor.

    The blow shattered the tower in an instant.

    Naturally, those on the roof had no choice but to fall.

    Riser was left to fall. He could kick the earth and move instantly, but he did not have the ability to float in the air.

    As he fell, Riser looked at the boy.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you can control your own fall.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easier this way.¡°

    The boy was holding the girl¡¯s leg as if it were an umbre, and she was catching the air with the ck wings on her back.

    ¡°Hey!¡°

    Riser brought out his right fist. It wasn¡¯t at a distance that he would normally hit, but that didn¡¯t matter to Riser. The shockwave generated from his mere thrust was enough to tear and destroy a person.

    But.

    The boy was unharmed.

    The shockwave dissipated without ever reaching the boy.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to be buried under a lot of rubble.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving.¡°

    The girl pped her wings and headed for a nearby square.

    Riser followed them. He didn¡¯t have the ability to levitate, but he could fly by recoiling if he shot a shockwave backwards.

    ¡°Left foot.¡°

    With both legs not working, Riser failed tond.

    He lost his stance and crashed into the fountain in the middle of the square.

    Of course, there was no damage from this, and if there was, he would recover quickly. However, his left arm and both legs showed no signs of recovery.

    ¡°This time it¡¯s a bit sketchy. In the past, you killed ankles, fingers and other things.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite a hassle. I don¡¯t need to listen to you this time, so I thought I¡¯d just block your movements for now.¡±

    The girl used her wings to control the fall. The two challengers hadnded softly in the square.

    ¡°Are you still going to do it? I¡¯m sure you can get it back now.¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t move your right arm, I¡¯m afraid your life is going to be very difficult.¡±

    ¡°What the hell is wrong with you? What the hell did you do?¡±

    At Risers shout, the surrounding debris was blown away.

    The debris flew at the boy, but did not hit him. He was moving in a way to avoid them. His movements were messy, but he seemed to know in advance that the debris would fly at him.

    ¡°Why are you angry? You wanted to know defeat, didn¡¯t you? Isn¡¯t this what you wanted?¡°

    Risermented that she was too strong and professed that he wanted to know defeat.

    However, he had a lot of doubts that this is the defeat he wanted.

    He was beaten by a one-sided attack, and he didn¡¯t even know what the attack was. He guessed it was possible when the gap in strength was too wide.

    But he didn¡¯t know anything about it, and couldn¡¯t ept that he should feel defeated by this.

    Riser had hoped for a sh of strength and power.

    He would have been satisfied if he had been defeated by force. But this was different.

    Risers footsteps split the earth, and his punches sent the great river flowing backwards. His eyes caught the speed of light, and the aura he wore nullified even conceptual attacks.

    And yet, none of this worked. He wasn¡¯t even able to do anything.

    This wasn¡¯t even a battle, as the limbs were simply killed off one by one.

    ¡°This is bullsh*t! This is not eptable!¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d be more of a warrior. Right arm.¡°

    Risers right arm lost its strength.

    All four limbs were now immobilized, and he could not even move.

    ¡°Well. If you won¡¯t admit defeat, I¡¯ll have to use force to take the Philosopher¡¯s Stone. Maybe it¡¯s in the chest.¡±

    ¡°Well. It seems that Lain, the source of Risley, was left outside.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that if you have the stone in your body, you lose your powers when you die, but you can still talk, so you should be able to handle it.¡±

    The girl came closer to Riser.

    Riser let out a roar. It was not just a shout, but a full-bodied exhtion with the intention of attacking.

    The explosive shout erased the surrounding buildings.

    ¡°Whoa! I can¡¯t get close enough for this. It¡¯s quite a feat to be able to do this just by moving your mouth.¡°

    The girl jumped back as quickly as she could and hid behind the boy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do. If I want to seal off his breathing, should I use his diaphragm?¡¡But as expected, it¡¯s impossible to kill his muscles in detail, so I¡¯ll just use the area around the lungs.¡±

    As the boy said this, Risers breathing stopped.

    His breathing muscles stopped moving and her lungs stopped taking in oxygen.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that kill him?¡±

    ¡°If he¡¯s a Sage, he won¡¯t die for a while? Why don¡¯t you take a look while he¡¯s still alive? If it¡¯s out there, we can look for itter.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been acting like a cat in front of Chichika. ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to control myself. I don¡¯t want her to hate me unnecessarily.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. You don¡¯t need to be shy with this guy. We all know he¡¯s a bad guy.¡±

    The girl approaches again.

    ¡°Even a blink of an eye can cause a shockwave. ¡­¡­ This guy is a real monster.¡±

    Riser was mobilizing all of his moveable limbs.

    His eyes and mouth still worked. That alone would have killed a mere human. But there was no stopping this girl who was a machine.

    The girl kicked Riser and turned her face down.

    It was only after this that Riser began to feel fear.

    He realized that he was finished, that he had already lost his way.

    He couldn¡¯t even beg for his life anymore.

    Riser had never been more aware of the bitterness of defeat.

 Volume 5, 13 I feel like Iâ€™m going through a lot of things with flying colors!

    <h4>Volume 5, Chapter 13 I feel like I¡¯m going through a lot of things with flying colors!</h4>

    The tips of her fingers turned ck and stretched, transforming into sharp des.

    Like the wings on her back, these were made of a mysterious material given to her by the InvaderAggressor.

    Mokomoko was able to transform this material at will.

    She made an incision in Risers back with her de.

    ¡°Hmm? That¡¯s quite a hassle.¡± (Yogiri)

    He was not so sturdy that even a de could not prate him, but every cut regenerated one after another .

    However, Mokomoko created a fixture and proceeded to open and fix it.

    ¡°It looks like he¡¯s weak from having your lungs sealed up. Without that, it might have been impossible.¡± (Mokorobo)

    Mokomoko took out a round stone from Risers body. It was the Philosopher¡¯s Stone.

    ¡°Here.¡° (Mokorobo)

    Mokomoko, holding the Philosopher¡¯s Stone, went back to Yogiri.

    ¡°But you know what? You¡¯ve got to knock down all the gs with the beautiful girls you meet in the tower. Normally, you would make friends with these girls and challenge the boss.¡± (Yogiri?)

    That being said, it doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re a beautiful girl if you¡¯re an enemy, and friends will only slow you down.

    ¡°This is the second stone, and we already know where the third Stone is, but is it enough to go home?¡±

    He already had Sion¡¯s and Liza¡¯s stones, and Lily had Lain¡¯s stone.

    ¡°Well. It might be a good idea to meet the Invader£Á£ç£çr£å£ó£ó£ï£ò robot. He seemed to know a lot about it.¡±

    ¡°We should have checked that first.¡±

    But he hadn¡¯te here with any particr n.

    The only reason he hade this far is because he met some half demons.

    ¡°Now it¡¯s time to take control of the city¡­, but with the way this guy is acting, I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± (Yogiri)

    Mokomoko looked at the fallen man. Riser was still alive, even though his limbs and lungs were dead and his back was cut open.

    However, it would be difficult tomunicate with her in this state.

    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter if I say you beat Riser.¡± (Mokorobo)

    There were those who watched the Yogiri and the others from afar.

    There was no one in this city who didn¡¯t know about Risers strength and terror, and no one would dare to oppose Yogiri, who had defeated him.

    He thought optimistically.

    ¡°I wonder how people are treated in this town? They¡¯re not the same as those who are forced to fight, are they?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yes. In order to maintain the functioning of the city, it is necessary to have civilians. The city itself is very popr because it¡¯s very safe. Residency rights are being exchanged at a high price.¡° (Mokomoko)

    The city was built just to train opponents who could fight Riser, but it was also a ce for him to livefortably.

    The city had a variety of facilities and infrastructure to amodate the many challengers that came to the city.

    Riser was a tyrant, but he didn¡¯t mess with the city¡¯s residents.

    So, it was a veryfortable city for the citizens.

    So, from the perspective of those in this city, he was a bad guy who threatens their peace.

    That was a matter of perspective.

    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll give you a piece of advice. It¡¯s more human to be troubled by such things.¡± (Mokomoko)

    You¡¯re right.¡° (Yogiri)

    He knew that It was how it was.

    However, the fact that he couldn¡¯t understand without being told so was also a problem

    But, now was not the time to be troubled by this.

    The pursuit of humanity was an important issue for Yogiri, but it was not a situation where he could leisurely search for it.

    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll go away when I tell them to?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the chaos beginning to die down?¡± (Mokomoko)

    Just as they were about to do something about it, the wall broke and well-dressed men and women appeared.

    They came in a line and knelt in front of Vogiri and the others.

    ¡°We are the servants of Riser-sama.¡± (Servantdy)

    One of the women spoke to Yogiri on behalf of the others.

    She was ignoring Riser, who was lying there in a pitiful state, so it must mean she had given up on him.

    ¡°He told me that reward for the match was for the Philosopher¡¯s Stone and the control of the city. After a discussion, we have decided that you have undoubtedly won.¡± (Servant Lady)

    ¡°I feel weird asking for your permission, but I¡¯m allowed to take it, right?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yes. Riser-sama is not in a position to reply, so I will reply as the mayor who has been entrusted with the operation and management of the city. I am delegating everything rted to this city to you.¡± (servant Lady -> Mayor)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Moko-robo-san. Call Euphemia and the others.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m on it.¡± (Mokomoko)

    The main body of Mokomoko is by Tomochika¡¯s side.

    The instructions to the half demons waiting outside the city were simple.

    ¡°Ha, ha, ha. Riser is pathetic when he¡¯s in this state, isn¡¯t he?¡± (man)

    A man came from the crowd that had been watching from afar.

    The confused people must have started to calm down.

    He then walked up to Riser.

    Oh¡° (man)

    Yogiri tried to stop him.

    Riser was not dead. He tried to tell him that, but he was a bit toote.

    The man was blown away.

    Yogiri didn¡¯t understand, but he probably released a shock wave.

    The man hit the building, fell and became motionless.

    Are you not going to stop that ¡­¡­?¡± (Mayor)

    ¡°You¡¯ve admitted that the match is over. They can do whatever they want.¡± (Yogiri)

    I can¡¯t stop them. The mayor seemed to want to say so, but Yogiri had no reason to stop them.

    The purpose was aplished, there is no need to do anything more.

    In his eyes, Riser is an unparalleled brute.

    But he didn¡¯t think he should be the one to put an end to it. It will be someone else who will do it.

    For the moment, Riser was left in that spot.

    If no one got near him, no one would be harmed. If you knew what that, you would be fine.

    After a while, a group of half demons arrived in droves.

    Of course, they were disguised so that no one would know that they were half demons. He tought it¡¯s the same way that Theodisia used to disguise herself with magic.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give this city to these people. Do you want Euphemia-san to represent you?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°If it¡¯s all right with you.¡± (Half demons)¡£

    There were no objections from the half demons.

    As a group of mixed tribes, their power rtions may beplicated, but the most powerful was Euphemia, the Origin Blood.

    There was no one else who would be suitable.

    ¡°So, for the time being, the search for the half demon¡¯s base has been settled.¡± (Yogiri)

    It was as if he was asking them to do the rest on their own, since he had arranged everything so far.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    A few days have passed since the fall of the city of fighting gods.

    There had been some confusion, but the change in authority had gone smoothly.

    There was no one who wanted to go against the one who had defeated Riser, and those who didn¡¯t like the rule of the mysterious group had left the city.

    Some might attack if they knew that Riser was gone, but it would be some time before they knew that Riser was defeated.

    In other words, the fighting city was rtively peaceful right now.

    So, at midnight Tomochika and Yogiri had left in their carriage.

    ¡°This is the kind of carriage a nobleman would use, isn¡¯t it? Doesn¡¯t it stand out?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s better to have afortable ride anyway.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Let¡¯s go east for now. I heard there¡¯s something there.¡± (Yogiri)

    ording to Yogiris research, all the Sages who ruled this area were dead.

    ¡°What? Wait a minute! I feel like I¡¯m going through a lot of things with flying colors!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°What about Carol and Ninomiya-san?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika and Yomogiri were the only ones in the carriage. If you ignore Mokomoko, it was just the two of them.

    ¡°Why should we take them along¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°You just scared the sh*t out of me! They¡¯re your ssmates!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I don¡¯t me them for following us, but I don¡¯t see why you should take them.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Eh?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Even if they didn¡¯t have any bad intentions, I wouldn¡¯t trust the Agency or the Institute.¡± (Yogiri)

    From Tomochika¡¯s point of view, it didn¡¯t seem as if the girls were up to anything.

    But for Yogiri, it was different.

    He didn¡¯t know what had happened in the past, but he didn¡¯t trust the organization they belonged to.

    ¡°Where are Euphemia and the others? You should have said something before you left!¡± (Tomochika)

    The girls may not follow her now that they have a base, but Tomochika thought it would still be a good idea to at least say goodbye.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pain in the ass.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Don¡¯t let that stop you!¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I walked out the gate with dignity. You know the circumstances.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°You said that Lili asked a favor of you? Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to do something for her?¡± (Tomochika)

    Lily is the girl who came out of nowhere and asked Yogiri to marry her.

    She hade to ask a favor of Yogiri.

    ¡°I got the Philosopher¡¯s Stone. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yogiri)

    Yogiri pulled out a transparent, round stone from his backpack.

    It was the Philosopher¡¯s Stone.

    It looked like just a beautiful stone, but it was said to have enormous energy inside.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve decided to do her a favor?¡± (Tomochika)

    If request was to kill someone, and Yogiri would have had difficulty with that.

    ¡°Why do I have to act like such a killer?¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Then why did you take it?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I took it as a sign that if I ever see her again, I¡¯ll handle the situation ordingly.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°You haven¡¯t promised me a single thing! You can¡¯t say no to that, you know. She seemed to like Takato-kun¡­¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°It¡¯s just annoying to have someone you¡¯re not interested in force their favor on you.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Let¡¯s put it in another way¡±

    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say that to her face, either.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know.¡° (Tomochika)

    He thought that he did a very good job of conveying the subtle nuances of that.

    ¡°I really need the Philosopher¡¯s Stone. But if she¡¯s asking me to kill her sister, I can¡¯t just say yes.¡± (Yogiri)

    ¡°Sister?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Yeah, Lain¡¯s sister. Yeah, she¡¯s Lain¡¯s sister, but they¡¯re strangers.¡± (Yogiri)

    Lily is a duplicate of Lain, but she has not inherited her memories. So, the request is only hearsay, and is someone else¡¯s story.

    ¡°So all I can say is that I¡¯ll think about it when I see her. That¡¯s why I got the stone.¡±

    Tomochika was convinced that he had shown his sincerity in his own way.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve already left, so it¡¯s toote to say anything. Can you discuss important things like this with me in advance?¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°I will.¡°

    After saying that, Tomochika realized that it was natural for her to act together with Yogiri.

    ¡°You¡¯ve be quite bold, haven¡¯t you?¡¯ (Mokomoko)

    Mokomoko whispered.

    So what¡¯s to the east?¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika asked deceitfully.

    ¡°I heard there¡¯s a Sage who¡¯s an emperor. I think it¡¯ll be easier to go see him since he¡¯s in a clear location.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°After the god of war, the emperor is next ¡­¡­¡± (Yogiri)

    The Sage¡¯s whereabouts are shrouded in mystery.

    Riser had dared to disclose the location to ept challengers, but this was an exception.

    And he guessed the emperor is also an exception to that rule.

    Tomochika and the others were going to the empire to the east.

 Volume 5, 14 - The ancient Nantara dragon with a superior existence move

    <h4>Volume 5, Chapter 14 - The ancient Nantara dragon with a superior existence move</h4>

    After destroying the fortress at the top of the mountain, Hanakawa and the others were walking through the cave towards the imperial capital.

    It would have been quicker and safer to just follow the road to the imperial capital, but this is what happened when you followed the prophecy.

    ¡°Its all about him¡±

    A huge underground cave lit up by magical light.

    There were various demons lurking inside, but there was no problem.

    No matter what came out, Laguna would easily take care of it.

    Laguna didn¡¯t have any spectacr special abilities, but he was strong anyway.

    So there was no danger even if Hanakawa was made to walk in the lead as a decoy.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s it. It¡¯s a bit like an aura, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    He defended himself with his aura, attacked with his aura-cloaked sword, and even let his aura fly off once in a while. That was how Laguna fights.

    ¡°Aura?¡±

    After cutting down a group of demons, Laguna approached Hanakawa.

    The other ssmates are waiting a little further back.

    It seems that the meaningless Hanakawa decoy operation was still going on.

    ¡°That stuff around his body.¡±

    ¡°Oh. It¡¯s not something amazing, it¡¯s a health method. Everyone in my vige does it, you know. If you breathe in a steady rhythm, you will feel warm and fuzzy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like steam, that you can see.¡±

    It is not possible for a normal demon to disappear with just a touch, but Laguna seems to think otherwise.

    Piggy. To the left.¡°

    The group of demons that were blocking my way were all wiped out, so I tried to move on, but the Oracle Master, Shigeto Mitadera, instructed me to go on.

    But the road is straight and there are walls. You¡¯re not going to ask me to crash into a wall, are you?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Oh, that would be funny, you should try it.¡±

    Rei Kujima, the femme fatale, says happily. T/N: Seductive/attractive Woman

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t hurry, the bug in your ears will explode.¡±

    In Hanakawa¡¯s ear, there was something created by the creator Akinobu Marufuji.

    It was designed to explode when Hanakawa disobeys orders.

    ¡°I know you want me to go!¡±

    Hanakawa started to run towards the wall.

    Fortunately, Hanakawa had recovery magic, so it wouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem if he got injured by hitting the wall.

    ¡°But it hurts!¡±

    Hanakawa made up his mind, hit the wall, and then pushed forward without any response.

    He had been prepared for impact, but there was none.

    There was no wall where there should have been one, and with the momentum of his run, he fell spectacrly .

    He crashed face first into the ground and slid straight down.

    ¡°A hidden passage?¡°

    The magical light that followed Hanakawa illuminated the surroundings.

    It was a huge space.

    In front of him, there was a forest of stone buildings.

    It must be a city. But there was no sign of human presence.

    How long have they been there? Mossy and cracked, they seemed to indicate that many years had passed.

    When he looked up, the light did not reach the ceiling, and he could not tell how high it was.

    When he looked back, he saw that the wall was inorganic and t, and the area where Hanakawa hade from was dimly lit.

    From within that light,he heard Shigetos voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s an ancient city. The materials needed for the Omega de are here. And it¡¯s closer to the imperial capital if we go through here, so we can kill two birds with one stone.¡±

    Shigeto was a prophet, so he must have learned about them by referring to a prophecy book.

    The prophecy is a guide to the other world and a strategy book.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a shortcut, isn¡¯t it? Then why hasn¡¯t everyonee?

    There was no sign of anyoneing, and Hanakawa had a bad feeling about it.

    It¡¯s a shortcut, and it takes a little effort to get the stuff.

    Ha, ha, ha. Do you want to solve the riddles of the ancient ruins to open the way and get the items?¡¡But if you want to do it without any hints.

    It seems that he is being asked to do it alone, but of course Hanakawa has no right to refuse.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. They¡¯reing.¡±

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    Hanakawa was rendered speechless by the presence it gave off.

    The sound of pping wings could be heard faintly from a distance.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t even see it yet, Hanakawa intuition told him that it was the presence of an absolute ruler.

    ¡°Wha- wha- what is that?!¡±

    Hanakawa moved quickly. He immediately understood that it was not a good idea to stay here and rushed at the glowing wall.

    But the wall was a wall, as it should be.

    Hanakawa was bounced off the wall and rolled unsteadily.

    ¡°Hey! What¡¯s going on!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s a one-way street.¡±

    ¡°You say that, but how does it work?¡±

    Standing up, Hanakawa checked the wall by touching it.

    It was a solid wall. It was hard to believe that he hade through here.

    ¡°Something! Something ising!¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s an ancient ruin, so there must be some kind of guardian.¡±

    The sound of pping wings became louder and louder.

    He felt a chill.

    It came slowly, with an air of dread around it.

    Then itnded somewhere in the background.

    ¡°I think I¡¯d rather not turn around!¡±

    But Hanakawa turned around. He didn¡¯t check, because that would be just as frightening.

    It was ring at Hanakawa from atop an old building.

    A huge body covered in ck scales.

    It had strong limbs and huge wings that could be seen even when they were folded.

    Its reptilian head was equipped with horns, and its jaws were covered with sharp fangs.

    ¡°Hyah, hyah, d-dragon?¡°

    Hanakawa fell on his butt.

    Perhaps the status was hidden, or perhaps his appraisal skill did not return any response.

    However, it was not necessary to appraise it to know that it was an extraordinary monster.

    It was like a disaster.

    An existence that is beyond human control, an existence that one should never even think of fighting.

    Hanakawa couldn¡¯t move.

    Even if it din¡¯t do anything to him, he couldn¡¯t breathe just by looking at it.

    ¡°What are you doing in my sanctuary, O mortal?¡±

    And then, abruptly, its head fell.

    ¡°Yes? Oh, no!¡°

    The dragon¡¯s head came tumbling down, and Hanakawa fell back on his buttocks.

    Hahaha. Hanakawa-kun is exaggerating.

    Before he knew it, Laguna was standing next to me.

    The intimidating air that had surrounded him was gone and he could move.

    ¡°Oh, you mean, you yed a dragon?¡±

    ¡°Dragon is a bit of a stretch. It¡¯s just a big lizard. I¡¯ve seen a lot of them around my vige.¡±

    ¡°What? No, you said something just now, didn¡¯t you? Isn¡¯t he like an ancient dragon that does superior Powers?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you city folk who have only seen lizards in their flesh, you don¡¯t know. Some of them talk. They¡¯re bluffing when they talk big. They¡¯re weak, but they¡¯ve got their wits.¡±

    ¡°Do you kill the talking ones for meat?¡±

    Hanakawa was a little taken aback.

    ¡°It¡¯s food, and we can sell it at a high price. I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t have reservations about killing a talking animal, but that¡¯s what life is all about.¡±

    -I see. I had a slight idea, but he is a country brave type¡­¡­

    If so, no amount of pointing outmon sense is going to correct that misunderstanding.

    Since it was troublesome, Hanakawa decided to treat it as such.

    -Well, well, he¡¯s honest, straightforward, and considerate, and he¡¯ll protect even me!

    He was Hanakawa¡¯s lifeline. If it weren¡¯t for him, he would have died a long time ago.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing great, Laguna.¡±

    By now, the three of his ssmates had also arrived.

    ¡°This is the sharp corner of the ck sh Dragon. Laguna, can you cut it?¡±

    Shigeto instructed.

    Laguna cut the horns off the dragon¡¯s head.

    ¡°That horn will be the sword body of the Omega de, right? Is that necessary?¡±

    Even without the Omega de, a sword d in Laguna¡¯s aura could easily cut through anything.

    And then there¡¯s the part you need for proof of defeat. It¡¯s the jewel of the ck sh Dragon. Hey, pig! You go and get it.¡°

    Next, Shigeto instructed Hanakawa to do the same.

    ¡°No, you told me fetch it, but I don¡¯t know where it is.¡±

    ¡°Piggy. Why don¡¯t you go find it between it¡¯s legs?¡±

    Hanakawa realized that Akinobu was just harassing him, but he couldn¡¯t disobey him.

    The dragon¡¯s body had fallen off the building and was lying on the ground.

    Hanakawa approached the dragon fearfully.

    ¡°Why do you look so ufortable? Piggy, you¡¯re following us to be useful in times like this, right?¡±

    -You¡¯re the ones who forced me toe here!

    Of course, there was no way he could say that.

    ¡°Ha, ha, ha! It¡¯s fun. It¡¯s good dirty work!¡±

    Hanakawa aimed for the dragon¡¯s crotch.

    No matter how much it acted like a superior being, it was physically simr to a lizard, and its feces and urine were always dripping.

    It was not hygienic, of course, and the closer he got, the more he could smell the stench.

    -This guy¡¯s absolutely colossal! Someday! Surely!

    In the end, he grabbed the dragons jewel and held it in his hand.

 Volume 5, 15 - Will I be surprised by the promised status check when I register?

    <h4>Volume 5, Chapter 15 - Will I be surprised by the promised status check when I register?</h4>

    Akinobu Marufuji, the Creator, believed that he was the strongest.

    His ability was creation and he is able to create a variety of living things.

    Although he can notpletely create something out of nothing, it was still an unparalleled power.

    Akinobu saw this power as the ability to give souls to something.

    It could not be used on animals but it could be used on nts and corpses.

    It would be easier to understand that they considered that it could not be used on something with a soul.

    However, Akinobu does not really believe that there are souls. It¡¯s just that it is easier to exin if we assume something like a soul exists.

    The creature he created obeyed hismands.

    Since he could give various abilities to the creatures he could also use them indirectly.

    The only limitation was that in order to use his abilities, he had to touch them directly but he was able to ovee this to some extent by using the creatures he had created.

    For example, he could create a creature like a tree and let its roots grow.

    As long as Akinobu was in contact with the creature he was able to exert his power through it.

    Right now, there were still limits in size, speed, and number of creations that he could create however that would be a problem that would be solved as his abilities grow.

    Eventually, Akinobu thought he could one day rule the world.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Prophet (Oracle Master) Shigeto Mitadera believed that he was the strongest.

    His ability was to foresee fate.

    It doesn¡¯t matter how high your status is or how extraordinary your abilities are. If you can not see what¡¯sing, you will eventually fail.

    If he just used his power carelessly, sooner orter he would be overthrown by someone stronger.

    Besides, just because you are strong does not mean that things will go your way. There will be times when you fail because of your strength.

    In order to achieve his goals, he will need information.

    What to defeat and what not to defeat.

    Where should he go, what should he get, and who should he meet?

    The Prophecy Shigeto contained the steps to achieve his goal. He knew what to do and how to do it in advance.

    It was presented in the form of a book, so not everything was written in it.

    However, it did contain the bare minimum of what is needed to conquer the world and although it takes a few tricks to read it, Shigeto was mastering it.

    The prophecy presents the necessary information if you set a goal.

    The current Shigeto¡¯s goal was to annihte the Sages and reign over the world.

    Certainly, if he fought head-on he would not be able to defeat Akinobu or Laguna, nor would he be able to defeat a Sage, the superior who gave this Gift.

    However, not being able to defeat a Sage; the parent of the Gift, only means that he could not directly use the Gift¡¯s abilities, not that he couldn¡¯t get the information to defeat the Sage.

    So, even if the Creator can¡¯t defeat a Sage, the Prophet (Oracle Master) may be able to.

    Shigeto was gathering the necessary items and human resources to do so.

    Fortunately, for now, there was no such thing as a time limit.

    If you read the prophecies and do things carefully, you will eventually get things done.

    Shigeto believed that he who controlled the information, would in turn control the world.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The femme fatale, Rei Kujima, believes she is the strongest of them all. Note: Sexual/Seductive Woman

    Her powers include calcting the use of the opposite sex and persuading them.

    In other words, it was the ability to find and seduce useful men.

    The Creator, Akinobu Marufuji, and the Prophet Shigeto Mitadera were probably unaware that they were under Rei¡¯s control.

    They had; someway, be unable to go against Rei and they naturally followed her wishes.

    Originally, the overlord did not have any ambition to defeat the Sage and rule the world.

    It was just that Rei had convinced him to do so.

    There was no good reason for doing so.

    She was just trying to see to what lengths her men were willing to go for her.

    And she was enjoying the ride to see what happens.

    They could do whatever they wanted to stay safe in this world.

    But that would only lead to a boring life in peace.

    There was no way to return to the other world anyway.

    She wanted to be as mboyant, exciting, and entertaining as possible.

    She(Rei) wanted to live an interesting life.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Through an ancient city, Hanakawa and his friends climbed up a long flight of stairs.

    After the tedious journey, they finally reached the ground and found themselves in a forest.

    The building that served as the exit soon disappeared without a trace, so it seemed to be a one-way street.

    As soon as they left the forest, they found a road and noticed city walls a little further away.

    It seemed to be the imperial capital of the Ent Empire.

    The endless city walls gave away the size of the Imperial City, but Hanakawa was a little disappointed.

    Hanakawa was disappointed because the city looked almost the same as the ones he had seen so far.

    He was expecting something Japanese since it was an ind country in the east, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be very different at all.

    Hanakawa was still leading the way.

    There were no specific instructions, so they headed straight for the imperial capital.

    There were no checkpoints at the gates and they were able to go straight in.

    ¡°Now that we¡¯re in the capital, what should we do then?

    ¡°Our next stop is the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. The ck sh Dragon Treasure will be needed there.¡±

    Shigeto referred to the prophecy and said, ¡°Ho!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing.¡±

    A simr facility existed in the royal capital of the Manny Kingdom, but the nature of that facility was probably different because they were selling the right to enter the demon world.

    The prophecy seemed to include a map to the guild and following the instructions, they arrived easily.

    The inside was basically like a tavern.

    Inside were a number of tables set up, and the walls were covered with request forms.

    There were people drinking and making noise in the daytime so the ce seemed to be thriving in its own way.

    ¡°Hmmm. It seems to be thriving. So, do you have to register with the guild in order to be here?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m already level 99! Status check at the time of promised registration is rather surprising! ¡°

    Hanakawa had been forcibly dragged here, but he thought it would be fun.

    He hadn¡¯t had a good time since he arrived from the other world.

    He was not sure if this was a good idea or not, but he¡¯d like to see something good happen soon.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity. It¡¯s up to you, Laguna.¡±

    ¡°Gosh ¡­¡­ is that what the jewel is for? When I registered as a guild member, I submitted the part that proved I killed it when I came here. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be surprised to know that I¡¯m not the only one.¡±

    It would be interesting, Hanakawa thought.

    It was a pity that he wasn¡¯t the star of the show, but he thought it would be nice to see it up close.

    ¡°Hmm? Do I have to register for that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. If you register, you can get money for killing demons and stuff.¡±

    Laguna didn¡¯t seem to understand what was going on, but he followed them to the reception.

    It was decided that they would all register together.

    -Oh!¡¡How exciting, even after all this time! I can be an adventurer!

    Hanakawa was impressed.

    A neer to the guild got involved with a thuggish adventurer. He hadn¡¯t expected to see such amon development in a story with his own eyes.

    The thug was poorly built, dressed in leather trousers and a riveted jacket. He looked like a picture of a thug, so much so that he could only assume he was doing it on purpose.

    At the same table there were three women, all beautiful. They seemed to be more worthy than mere hoodlums; but even so, there is no getting rid of the feeling that they are lowly.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey! You don¡¯t look familiar. How dare you walk past me without saying hello?¡±

    ¡°Hello!¡±

    Hello, hello¡­¡­ that¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about! Are you serious?¡±

    Laguna was greeting him in a foolishly honest way, as if he didn¡¯t understand the situation.

    ¡°So what¡¯s this all about?¡±

    ¡°You want to sign up for the guild? I¡¯ll be the judge of that!¡±

    ¡°Why the screening?¡±

    ¡°If you want to join the guild, you¡¯re going to have to beat me!¡±

    The thug stood up.

    He was still anky, weak-looking man.

    ¡°Yoshifumi, are you going to do that again?¡±

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s have a drink.¡±

    ¡°Who cares about the new guys.¡±

    The women say in disgust.

    He always seems to be baptizing the neers, but only the real neers could beat Yoshifumi.

    ¡°I¡¯m in trouble. You want me to beat him?¡±

    ¡°Laguna! Just y along. You could literally knock him to the floor. That should do the trick.¡°

    Shigeto thought it would be a bad idea to kill or seriously injure someone when they were about to register with the guild.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good idea. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll agree. If you get over, then you¡¯ll have won!¡±

    Yoshifumi was terrified, even though Hanakawa was not afraid of him.

    He knew he was going to win or lose before he even fought, and he was just a clown.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go then.¡±

    ¡°Come on!¡±

    ¡°Yes?

    Hanakawa did not know what had happened.

    Blood spurted from Laguna¡¯s neck, staining the ceiling red.

    The body copsed, turning the floor into a puddle of blood.

    And then Laguna¡¯s head was obliterated.

    ¡°Yoshifumi, the receptionist is going to be very angry with you.

    ¡°Cleaning is gonna be hard work!¡±

    ¡°I told you, we¡¯re not gonna get any more recruits.¡±

    Yoshifumi sat down on a chair, wiping his knuckles. He had apparently punched him, but he had no idea what he had done.

    ¡°Hey. Sage candidates. I¡¯mte in introducing myself. I am the Emperor of Entente. My name is Yoshifumi and I¡¯m a Sage. Nice to meet you.¡± Note: Entente should be right

    ¡°It¡¯s funny ¡­¡­ that the emperor ¡­¡­ is here ¡­¡­the Sage.¡±

    Shigeto was still dumbfounded.

    ¡°What does it mean? That a thug wins? I was hoping that things would go ording to n here!¡±

    ¡°To defeat the Sage, you would need the World Sword Omega de! The most important goal to the Ents is to get the World Sword but there¡¯s a Sage named Yoshifumi here! If you encounter him before you get the sword, you¡¯ll be annihted! However, Yoshifumi is an emperor; which is unusual for a sage, so his location is limited. You¡¯ll be able to avoid them if you¡¯re careful!

    Hanakawa remembered that the prophecy had said so.

 Volume 6 1 - I knew Momoko-san had a problem, but she suddenly started talking like a demon king.

    <h4>Volume 6 Chapter 1 - I knew Momoko-san had a problem, but she suddenly started talking like a demon king.</h4>

    Tomochika and her friends rode in a carriage and continued their journey.

    Our destination for the time being was a port in the Kingdom of ir.

    The Kingdom of ir is a neighboring country to the Kingdom of Lindy, where the City of the God of War is located, and we should be able to reach it in a few days if we followed the road straight ahead.

    So far, so good.

    As she was thinking this, the carriage suddenly stopped, and Tomochika wondered why.

    They had just taken a lunch break and were not nning to stop for a while.

    ¡°I¡¯m in a bit of trouble.¡±

    As she was thinking this, the carriage suddenly stopped, and Tomochika wondered why.¡¡They had just taken a lunch break and were not nning to stop for a while.

    I¡¯m in a bit of trouble.

    Mokomoko emerged from the wall.Mokomoko was controlling his Goe robot.

    ¡°Take a look outside.¡±

    Tomchika honestly looked out the window and looked ahead.

    There was a huge thorn.

    A stone pir with a sharp tip was sticking out of the middle of the road.

    It must have fallen from the sky above. It must have fallen from the sky, and the impact of the thorn had half destroyed the paved road.

    ¡°Oh. Surely this can¡¯t be bypassed by ¡­¡­?¡±

    ¡®Basically, carriages can only travel on paved roads.¡¯

    Looking around, we saw that there were many stone pirs sticking up all over the ce.

    Even if we somehow managed to go on, the road would be further divided at the end.

    ¡°The armored car would havee in handy. What a shame.¡°

    Yogiri was a little toote for that.

    This was a teau, with grass and rocks without a paved road.

    The armored vehicle they had been riding in before would be able to get off the road and traverse it, but a horse-drawn carriage would soon get stuck.

    ¡°For example, how about if Takato-kun breaks this huge thorn?¡±

    ¡°That might get rid of the obstacle, but it won¡¯t fix the broken road.¡±

    ¡°Besides, there seems to be a lot of people here.¡±

    A short distance away, armed men were running for cover.

    The giant thorns were the first thing I noticed, and I didn¡¯t notice them right away.

    ¡°Whoa!¡°

    A thorn falls.

    They crushed the soldier, piercing deep into the teau and scattering sediment all around.

    If you look closely, you can see something reddish-ck sticking to the base of the other thorns as well.

    The thorns seemed to be descending from the sky, aiming at the soldiers.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we get out of here?¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be okay for a while. I¡¯ll be fine for a while, but I don¡¯t think I can keep going.¡±

    Yogiri has the ability to sense the danger of death.

    ording to this, he seemed to be safe, but he did not know how long it wouldst.

    ¡®I am also the one who calls himself the Demon Lord. I¡¯m not going to run and hide, but it¡¯s really useless. Why were they trying to kill him in the first ce?¡¯(spirit)

    Then, suddenly, he heard a woman¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Mokomoko-san. I knew you were like that for a while, but all of a sudden you¡¯re talking like a demon king. ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°No!¡¡Why do I suddenly have to y the Demon Lord?¡±

    I¡¯m sure you can hear it now.¡±

    Yagiri took out a small jewel from his uniform pocket.

    It was a magic tool fornguage trantion that Celestina, the concierge, had prepared for him.

    Originally, it was a ne, but Yagiri had detached the tip and was using it because it was too cumbersome to wear around her neck.

    ¡®Hmm. It seems to pick up public channelmunications, trante them, and output them.¡¯

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡®That. You want power? It¡¯s the kind of thing where you hear a voice out of nowhere saying, ¡°You want power?¡¯

    ¡°That¡¯s a bitplicated. It¡¯s like telepathy, right?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s it.¡±

    Apparently, there is a means ofmunication between gift holders, and this grimoire was supposed to trante that as well.

    ¡°Shut up, Demon Lord!¡¡It¡¯s because you¡¯re tormenting innocent people!¡¡You will be destroyed without mercy!¡±

    ¡°Hmm. But it¡¯s bad enough that you¡¯re in my area of operation.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    We¡¯re just enjoying the hunt. We just enjoy hunting. We hunt what we can find in our range. That¡¯s what you¡¯re doing, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Don¡¯t be silly! Humans are not like animals!¡±

    ¡°You have wisdom, unlike animals. If you know you will be hunted, you can move your base of operations. Why can¡¯t you do that?¡¡Why do you want to challenge us to a reckless contest?¡¡Hmm. It¡¯s not as if they¡¯re any different from animals, after all.

    I also heard the voice of someone who seemed to be a brave man through the trantor.

    They don¡¯t seem to be anywhere near here, but they seem to be fighting with their tongues.

    ¡°If it¡¯s a final battle, can¡¯t you do it at the Demon King¡¯s Castle or something?

    Tomochika shouted in annoyance.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    I happened to pass by the scene of the final battle between the demon king and the heroes.

    It¡¯s not likely, but if it¡¯s taking ce outdoors, it¡¯s possible.

    Tomochika and Yomogiri had encountered just such a scene.

    Of course, it was an idental urrence.

    It is not that I want to see the battle between the heroes and the demon king, nor do I want to get involved in it.

    In this world, the Demon Lord is not a threat to the world, and the danger is localized.

    It¡¯s a good idea to have a good idea of what you¡¯re looking for, and what you can do to help.

    The trend of the battle does not affect the world. It¡¯s a great way to make sure you¡¯re getting the most out of your time and money.

    Let¡¯s just get this out of the way.

    ¡°Hmm. There¡¯s no damage to us at the moment, but we can¡¯t rx too much.

    ¡°Let¡¯s react a little more!¡¡It¡¯s the hero and the demon king.¡¡It¡¯s a fantastic development that¡¯s never happened before!

    ¡°I¡¯ve been told that. I¡¯m not sure what to do.¡¡It¡¯s not that unusual, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be happy to know that I¡¯m not the only one.¡±

    It seems that there are several demon nations, all of which are in conflict with humans.

    From the perspective of neighboring countries, the demon race is a threat, and as a countermeasure, they sometimes invoke people from other worlds.

    ¡°Come to think of it, why bother with the summons at all?¡±

    ¡°Why now?

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to make of it. It¡¯s a good idea to have a good idea of what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about Hanakawa. What do we do now?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s turn around. It¡¯s not like we can fix the road.¡±

    ¡°But is there any other way?¡±

    ¡®Hmm. It was almost a straight road up to here. If we turn back, there may be no other way.¡¯

    ¡°Then I guess we¡¯ll just have to keep going, won¡¯t we?¡¡Maybe we should leave the carriage behind and just ride on the horses.¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s an invincible horse left behind by an invincible army. It¡¯s an invincible horse left behind by an invincible army. It may be able to go over some rough terrain, but the boy can¡¯t ride it, can he?

    ¡°Can two people ride a horse?

    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible, but if you¡¯re not used to it, won¡¯t it be hard?

    I think it¡¯s better than walking. I think it¡¯s better than walking, as long as we can get to the port.

    My luggage is in a backpack that Yomiga has, so I only need to take that with me.

    This is a magical tool that can hold more things than it looks.

    The equipment and food needed for the encampment were stored in it, so there should be no problem even if they didn¡¯t use a carriage.

    ¡ºWhat the hell?¡¡The Demon Lord is suddenly on ¡­¡­ and we¡¯ve won! ¡»

    ¡ºYou did it, brave man! ¡»

    I heard such a voice as I was getting ready to move on my horse.

    ¡°What?¡¡This is ¡­¡­¡°

    Tomochika asked, having a bad feeling about this.

    ¡°Oh. The ce we are in is in the area of the demon king?¡¡I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right.

    I thought that¡¯s what you meant!

    I had no intention of getting involved in the decisive battle between the hero and the demon king, but the night fog had automatically defeated the demon king.

 Volume 2, 2: Is it okay to defeat the Demon Lord without permission?

    <h4>Volume 2, Chapter 2: Is it okay to defeat the Demon Lord without permission?</h4>

    ¡°You can¡¯t just defeat the Demon Lord by yourself!¡±

    Tomochika thought that was a problem.

    From the conversation she heard earlier, he seemed to have something to do with it, and there would be no way for the heroes¡¯ side to stand for such a conclusion.

    ¡°I had no choice. We were about to get involved.¡±

    Yogiri¡¯s words were simple, and he didn¡¯t seem to be feeling guilty.

    However, that wasn¡¯t a new story. Yogiri had never hesitated to use his power before.

    ¡°I mean, shouldn¡¯t you be more concerned about the heroes than the Demon Lord?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    It was a final battle that they were passing through. It was a great way to make sure they were getting the most out of their vacation.

    ¡°Hanakawa said that if he defeated the Demon Lord, he would be brought back to his homeworld. Then the Heroes may return to their original world from now on. I wonder if there could be a hint for returning.¡±

    ¡°But just because they are a hero doesn¡¯t mean they came from another world, right? You can find a lot more than just a few of them.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s a little bitplicated, but there are different kinds of Heroes.¡±

    ¡°What? Mokomoko?¡±

    Tomochika was surprised when Enju, who was ying the role of a coachman, suddenly entered the carriage.

    She was surprised to see that the main body of Mokomoko had disappeared before she noticed.

    ¡°Ah. I¡¯m on my way to scout out the heroes. I¡¯ll let you know how it goes through Enju. ¡°

    ¡°So what kind of heroes are there?¡±

    When Yogiri asked, Mokomoko began to exin through Enju¡¯s mouth.

    First of all, there was a ¡°Hero¡± ss. This was a ss rted to the ¡°Swordsman¡± ss, and boasted great fighting power, but had nothing to directly do with defeating the Demon Lord.

    And those who were summoned from other worlds to defeat the Demon Lord were also called heroes. It seems that their ss was not ¡°Hero¡±, but each of them got a ss ording to their personality.

    ¡°It¡¯s confusing! Can¡¯t you make it a bit easier to understand?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, it never hurts to confirm, right?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. If these heroes came from our world, there may be a way for them toe back with us. I got the coordinates of the original world from Sion, but that doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re correct. It¡¯s not a waste of time to try a different approach.¡±

    He was sure because of this thought that Mokomoko went to be a hero on her own.

    ¡°So is the hero still around?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I think he came back after he defeated the Demon King?¡±

    Chichika remembered Hanakawa¡¯s frustratedment.

    ¡°There¡¯s something going on. It looks like they haven¡¯t returned yet, but¡­ Anyway, let me exin the current situation.¡±

    Mokomoko began to talk about the situation of the Heroes.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Just after entering the territory of the Kingdom of ir, a short distance away from the road was a cliff where the Demon King and the heroes were facing each other.

    The demon king was alone, but the heroes had an army with them.

    But in reality, it was a battle between the Demon Lord and the four heroes.

    The army was helpless as the rock pirs continuously fell from the sky.

    It must have been a sifting process by the Demon Lord. If you couldn¡¯t handle something like this, you didn¡¯t deserve to stand in front of him. This was a glimpse of the Demon Lord¡¯s intentions.

    ¡ºI just enjoy hunting. We hunt what¡¯s in our range and what¡¯s affordable. Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re doing, too?¡»

    With her back against the cliff was a young girl with horns on her head.

    It was Te, the Demon King.

    She was the chieftain of the demon ns whose territory of activity included the Kingdom of ir.

    The Demon King forcefully spoke to your heart.

    Anyone with a weak heart would bow down before the Demon Lord with just that.

    It was also a screening process. If this was a hunt, she was trying to see if it was something she could enjoy.

    After passing through the screening by the Demon Lord, the four people standing there were the hero Hellion, the hero Yoshimasa, the court magician Rimlet and the high priestess Mimiru.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly! Humans are not like animals!¡±

    The brave hero Yoshimasa listened to Hellion¡¯s speech full of a sense of justice in a disgusted mood.

    For Yoshimasa, who had been forcibly summoned from another world, it didn¡¯t matter what the demon king and the demon tribe were up to.

    Don¡¯t make a mess of things, just fight. And settle the matter alone like a Hero.

    Just as Yoshimasa was thinking this, Rimlet whispered softly in his ear.

    ¡°Oh, dear. Why are you looking at me like I¡¯m someone else?¡±

    ¡°If you want to defeat the Demon Lord, just leave it to the real heroes.¡±

    Hellion was a man who had trained with the Sword Sage and was a manifestation of the hero ss.

    It was not a limited or useless ability like Yoshimasa¡¯s, it was an unparalleled ability in all areas.

    Yoshimasa thought that Hellion could have defeated the Demon Lord by himself.

    ¡°You¡¯re not very quick on the uptake, are you? I¡¯m asking you to fight with me.¡±

    Pekiri. Feeling like he heard such a sound, Yoshimasa distorted his face.

    He felt a sharp pain in his right little finger.

    It was the pain of a broken bone that he had experienced many times.

    It didn¡¯t actually break, but the feeling and pain of it breaking were real.

    It was the shackles that were imnted when he was summoned to keep Yoshimasa under Rimlet¡¯s control,

    So that Rimlet could torment Yoshimasa without hurting him.

    ¡°¡­no matter how much it hurts, it¡¯s better than dying¡­¡±

    Yoshimasa said, turning pale from the pain.

    There were many ways to manipte otherworlders, but the path Rimlet took was a rather forceful one.

    Torture by pain to force them to obey.

    Of all the methods used, this was considered to be the worst.

    The reason was that you couldn¡¯t show your full potential.

    ¡°Is that so? Sometimes it¡¯s better to die. Well, let¡¯s just see how it goes for now. Maybe Hellion will easily defeat the demon king.¡±

    Servant. That was the name of the ss Yoshimasa had acquired.

    His ability was to convert his life span into magical power, and of course, he didn¡¯t want to use such a power carelessly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡°

    Hellion drew his holy sword and made a horizontal cut on the spot.

    The sh from the holy sword sliced through space and flew towards the Demon King.

    The demon lord did not move an inch.

    She neither dodged nor blocked the blow.

    She stood there and took the sh with her body.

    ¡°Hmm. Boring. I thought this was going to be different from the assassination attempts I¡¯d seen so far.¡±

    The demon king was unharmed.

    The sh had not even caused an itch.

    In the next moment, the Demon Lord was standing in front of Hellion.

    The Demon Lord¡¯s hand was ced on Hellion¡¯s shoulder. Hellion was unable to react and was crushed.

    The Demon Lord simply brought her hand down.

    ¡°haa¡°

    Yoshimasa and the others were stunned.

    They hadn¡¯t expected Hellion to be defeated so easily.

    They knew that the Demon Lord was strong, but they still thought that they could hold out a little longer.

    ¡°Well. Are you sure you want toe at me one at a time?

    Yoshimasa and the others retreated.

    It was not hard to imagine that the demon king would have no problem annihting a party of heroes.

    But the demon king did not attack Yoshimasa and the others.

    ¡°Hellion-sama¡­ what should we do?¡±

    Mimiru, the High Priestess, expressed her confusion.

    If Hellion had fallen, their strength would be greatly reduced. Mimiru couldn¡¯t do much for attacks, and Yoshimasa¡¯s strength was next to nothing.

    In this situation, the court magician Rimlet was thest line of defense.

    ¡°It looks like I was right to bring you along. I think I can win with fifty years of your life.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd! What¡¯s the point of winning with that?¡±

    He had been using his powers in a fine way for some time now, and had used about ten years total.

    If he used another fifty years, it was highly likely that he would use up his remaining lifespan and die.

    ¡°The Demon Lord and the hero go head-to-head, and peacees to the world. Isn¡¯t that how it usually works?¡°

    It was only for a while, but with that feeling in his stomach, Yoshimasa winced.

    He felt pain as if he had been stabbed with a sharp de, and he could no longer stand.

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait! I can¡¯t do this!¡±

    Yoshimasa pleaded, imagining the pain that would follow.

    But there was no way Rimlet was going to stop.

    Yoshimasa eximed as he felt the de scratch his stomach.

    ¡°Yeah? Aren¡¯t you one of them?¡±

    Even the Demon King was wondering about Yoshimasa¡¯s sudden madness.

    ¡°What¡¯s next? Do you want me to start slicing off your fingers one by one?¡±

    ¡°Stop¡­ that, stop¡­ that, Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!¡±

    Yoshimasa held his right eye. He couldn¡¯t bear the feeling akin to that of his eyeball being pulled out, and iled around.

    ¡°Two, no, twenty years! Twenty years, at least give me a break with that much¡±!

    ¡°¡­Well, okay. But I might burst in 50 years.¡±

    If the number of years used exceeds the life span, the ability would not activate.

    He was sure Rimlet didn¡¯t care about Yoshimasa¡¯s life, but he thought it would be meaningless if he died like a dog.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I think we have a deal.¡±

    The demon king looked at Yoshimasa and the others in a rxed manner.

    ¡°Come on. Please do it quickly. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll skewer you from top to bottom.¡±

    ¡°Goddamn it! Just do it!¡°

    Yoshimasa grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and put all his strength into it.

    He felt something slipping out of his body.

    It was twenty years¡¯ worth of life.

    It appeared as a ball of light on his palm.

    Rimlet snatched the light ball, which was full of power, from his side.

    This was the reason why she was okay with dominating Yoshimasa through torture.

    Controlling him through torture would not allow him to perform to his best, and it was doubtful that it would help him in battle.

    However, in Yoshimasa¡¯s case, all she had to do was to make him spit out his life span.

    The mass of magic power could be operated by others.

    ¡°It takes two people. I don¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Rimlet waved her staff.

    A circle was formed around the Demon Lord, and the interior was instantly engulfed in a raging fire.

    A pir of mes that seemed to reach the heavens erupted from the earth.

    You did it?¡°

    She had won. No matter how many demon kings there were, there was no way they could withstand it. Yoshimasa looked at Rimlet to get her agreement.

    ¡°Oh no¡­¡±

    Her face was pale.

    Yoshimasa had no idea what kind of magic she used.

    However, Rimlet knew the effects of the magic she wielded, and she could tell that the situation was not good.

    The mes faded, and a figure appeared.

    There was no change in the figure.

    The girl had not been injured in any way.

    ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s quite a feat. You managed to get me to focus on defense, even if only for a moment.¡°

    However, what happened after that was not so good. He was unable to move. What will you do if I don¡¯t give chase?

    But Rimlet was using all the power she had, and Yoshimasa couldn¡¯t use his power all at once.

    ¡°I¡¯ll return the favour. I don¡¯t like to be left out.¡±

    The Demon Lord floated in the air and pointed her palm towards the heroes.

    He could see the power gathering in her palm.

    mes formed on her palm, and they gradually grew in size.

    ¡°What the hell¡­ and how much bigger can it get¡­?¡±

    Yoshimasa said spontaneously.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just a lump of me, shepressed a huge amount of magic power, and yet it¡¯s still that big¡­¡±

    Rimlet said. Even a novice like Yoshimasa could see that it was extraordinary.

    ¡°Oh, no¡­ We can¡¯t win like this¡­¡±

    Mimiru, the High Priestess, murmured.

    They had already given up, and were staring at the huge fireball without doing anything.

    It was a mass of power.

    Once unleashed, it would burn the entire area to the ground.

    ¡°Damn it! I never heard about this! I thought you said that if I used my power, we could defeat the Demon Lord!¡°

    And the me ball was shot into the sky.

    ¡°What?¡°

    Was it a sign ofposure or just a threat?

    Yoshimasa stared at the demon king, unsure of what was going on.

    The demon king had lost her stance.

    Her palm was pointed to the sky and her body fell straight down.

    She hit the ground, and there was a dull thud. She bounced a little, and then the Demon Lord stopped moving.

    ¡°What? The Demon Lord suddenly¡­ we won!¡±

    ¡°You did it, heroes!¡±

    Mimiru praised him, but Yoshimasa didn¡¯t quite understand.

    After regaining herposure, Rimlet unleashed a small me.

    The demon king¡¯s body burned up easily and the me disappeared with it.

    He didn¡¯t know what had happened, but the Demon King seemed to be dead.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The demon king was dead.

    Yet Yoshimasa was still there, and Rimlet wondered why.

    The contract with Yoshimasa was only supposed to be until the demon king died.

    If the demon king died, he would return immediately. This was how it was set up, but there was no changeing to Yoshimasa.

    If that was the case, it¡¯s doubtful that the one they just defeated was really the Demon King.

    ¡°Huh, You can make that face too?¡±

    Rimlet reflexively invoked the curse.

    He smashed his right arm at his elbow. That was the image she was sending him.

    But Yoshimasa kept his grin on his face.

    ¡°Oh,e on. You¡¯re forgetting something, aren¡¯t you? The curse is active until the demon king is defeated, right?¡±

    The curse that ruled Yoshimasa was the one that apanied the summoning contract.

    It wouldn¡¯t work if his contract had been terminated. That was obvious, but then why wasn¡¯t it terminated?

    ¡°I¡¯ve asked him to join our side, so I severed his ties with his original world the moment his contract ended.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Before he knew it, a man was standing next to Yoshimasa.

    He had horns on his head. It was a sign of the demon tribe.

    ¡°I promised to ept on the condition that Te would be taken care of.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. It¡¯s thanks to her that we were able to lure the Demon Lord here.¡±

    ¡°So? So what are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going to do whatever I want. I¡¯ll obviously do whatever I want. I¡¯ve had a rough time so far.

    And even Mimiru was standing next to Yoshimasa.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was the one who guided the demon tribe. I wanted to continue to be with you, the hero¡­¡±

    Yoshimasa put his hand on Mimiru¡¯s shoulder.

    That¡¯s how it is. Well. If I¡¯m going to do whatever I want, the first thing I¡¯m going to do is get revenge on you. You¡¯ll have to pay with thirty years of your life.¡±

    ¡°What can you do, as a servant?¡±

    ¡°Yes. In fact, I¡¯ve been able to break free from my old world and use my true powers.¡±

    A shiver ran down Rimlet¡¯s spine.

    Something had been done to her.

    And she knew immediately what it was.

    A ball of light had been created in Yoshimasa¡¯s palm. It was a lump that was created by converting life span into magical power.

    Rimlet knew immediately that this was the end of her life.

    ¡°It¡¯s called service. You don¡¯t have to give up your own lifepletely. You can convert your life into something else, you know.¡±

    ¡°Give it back!¡±

    ¡°Seventy years? I did it because I didn¡¯t mind dying, but you live a long time.¡±

    In the blink of an eye, the positions were swapped, and Rimlet found herself on the brink of despair.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°And that is what¡¯s going on.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s soplicated! I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on!¡±

    In the carriage, Enju, controlled by Mokomoko, told the story of the heroes. T/N: probably identally changed the name but Enju is the remote-controlled doll¡¯s name.

    ¡°Hmm. We¡¯re only halfway through, but there seems to be a lot ofplications.¡±

    Tomochika wondered if it was possible to just say that. It seemed to be a veryplicated situation.

    ¡°Are you a hero who was summoned? From Japan?¡±

    ¡°He looks like it.¡±

    ¡°Did you say you were cut off? That¡¯s what I call a connection to the original world.¡±

    There was a part of them left in the original world, something that was connected to them like a lifeline.

    That¡¯s what the invader robot they met told them.

    It was likely that the heroes were in a simr state.

    ¡°I suppose. If that¡¯s the case, the Japanese won¡¯t be able to give us any hints for our return.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s leave the heroes alone. It would be too much trouble to be discovered, so let¡¯s get on our horses and go on.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no! You can¡¯t really leave them alone.¡±

    ¡°I mean, they`ll get us into trouble, though?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡°

    It was certainly not something he wanted to get involved in.

    ¡°Hmm. But we¡¯ve been caught!

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Tomochika was puzzled by the unexpected remark.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this¡­¡°

    ¡°Mokomoko-san, you¡¯re a high-ranked spirit, and you¡¯re always talking like that¡­¡±

    ¡°Normally, this wouldn¡¯t happen, but I¡¯ve been too busy piloting Enju! And don¡¯t you think they are aware of your existence by now, too?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    As Yogiri left the carriage, Tomochika followed.

    She couldn¡¯t just abandon him.

 Volume 6 3: When they say â€œthree demon generals,â€ It feels somewhat lazy

    <h4>Volume 6 Chapter 3: When they say ¡°three demon generals,¡± It feels somewhatzy</h4>

    -Hmm. We came to check on them, but I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a clue for our return.

    The decisive battle between the demon lord and the heroes ended in victory for the heroes.

    The demon lord was actually defeated by Yogiri, but the heroes would have never thought that the demon lord had been defeated by him from a distance.

    The conversation seemed to be going on in a vague manner.

    He might be thinking that the earlier attack had actually worked.

    The party of heroes had copsed, and the only one on the human side was Rimlet, a woman who looked like a wizard.

    On the demon side, were the hero Yoshimasa and the high priest Mimiru. And a demon man with a horn on his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that was my fault! But in the end, we were able to defeat the Demon Lord safely, and now you can return to your world, right?¡±

    Rimlet desperately appealed. It seemed that she had summoned Yoshimasa.

    ¡°Hmm. I thought you¡¯d be more adamant about giving me my life back. It¡¯s a pity, though. I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to get home now. Or are you going to send me back?¡±

    Rimlet¡¯s face twisted awkwardly.

    He wanted to get this over with somehow, regardless of the heroes lifespan.

    The problems were piling up, but he probably thought that Yoshimasa¡¯s return would solve one of them.

    But that was impossible.

    The connection with the original world was severed. As far as Mokomoko knew, there were only a few ways to return in that state, and they were incredibly difficult methods.

    If I go back to my old life, I¡¯ll just end up in a dull office job. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll would rather stay here as a hero, or maybe as a leader of the Demon Lord¡¯s army? Wouldn¡¯t it be much better to live happily ever after?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you want to betray me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not betraying you, I was summoned by force and threatened. Do you really think I¡¯d take your side?¡±

    ¡°Mimiru! What are you doing? Why do you, a high priest, give your life to the demon tribe?¡±

    Seeing that the situation was bad, Rimlet turned her attention to Mimiru.

    I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve betrayed my family or anything like that because I was originally from the demon tribe, but the fact that you were betrayed by Orifice-kun is because we are both demon generals¡±

    Mimiru said apologetically.

    She said that the skinny demon tribe next to her was called Orifice.

    ¡°What? What? Why High Priestess? What do you mean, demon tribe?

    Rimlet¡¯s confusion was obvious to Mokomoko, who was watching from a short distance away.

    ¡°It¡¯s true that I¡¯m a high priest of the Marnalyrna religion. When I was praying in the church, I received a sign that said, ¡ºGood, good, you seem interesting, you should be a priest of Yu. ¡» The oracle is absolute in the Marnalyrna religion, so even I, a nobody from nowhere, rose to the rank of high priest in no time at all.¡°

    There are a lot of questions¡­, but let¡¯s not get into that for a moment, what is it about you that makes you a demon? How can a demon blend into human society?¡±

    ¡°Oh, the appearance of demons and humans is the same, so you won¡¯t know unless they dere it. Demon horns are just a traditional hair ornament.¡±

    When Mimiru said this, Orifce removed the horns from his head with a graceful motion.

    I¡¯m sorry forte introduction. My name is Orifice. I¡¯m a demon general in the demon army.¡±

    ¡°What the hell? I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on!¡±

    Atst, Rimlet stopped thinking.

    Naturally, Mokomoko, who was just watching from the middle, also had no idea what was going on.

    ¡°I heard that a lot of people didn¡¯t like the Demon Lord who seeded her just because she was the daughter of the previous Demon Lord.¡°

    Yoshimasa, however, did not seem to be too well informed about the situation.

    ¡°Ah! Shall I tell you what¡¯s going on for your peace of mind?¡±

    Orifice seemed to be really enjoying himself.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone really say ¡®I¡¯m going to die.¡¯¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted someone to say it.¡±

    Of course, as he said that, it was as if he had no intention of returning her alive.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡°

    Orifice was about to open his mouth happily when a voice stopped him.

    Before he knew it, there was another person in the room.

    A shily dressed woman with horns on her head was standing next to Orifice.

    ¡°Well, well, well. What¡¯s wrong with you, Exia-san? The three demon generals have unexpectedlye together.¡±

    ¡°I would¡¯ve just stood by and watched if it was going to end like this. Orifice, you¡¯re too careless.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why¡¯s that?

    ¡°You¡¯re being watched. It¡¯s not a big deal, but I don¡¯t like the way you¡¯re chattering on and on without being aware of it¡±

    -Not good!

    Mokomoko quickly realized that it was her, but at that point, she was toote.

    Something was behind her.

    Before she could turn around, Mokomoko had been grabbed by the head.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Mokomoko was a spirit.

    It was difficult for those who do not know of their existence to recognize them, and they cannot be physically restrained.

    However, someone behind the scenes is interfering with Mokomoko.

    ¡°KingLord ofof thethe DeadSpectres. It¡¯s one of my spirits. I thought It was a bit too much for the spirit, but I¡¯m not surprised. It¡¯s tough.¡°

    The King of the Dead was full of murderous intent.

    He was going to crush Mokomoko¡¯s head and make it disappear.

    -I can¡¯t even move! I¡¯m so angry at you for calling me a mongrel, but I can¡¯t even say anything back because I can¡¯t move!

    Mokomoko, now helpless, decided to ask for help from Yogiri and the others.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can call them the ¡°three demon generals¡±, but I feel like that¡¯s toozy. If not the Twelve Heavenly Generals, at least it should be Four Heavenly Kings.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m about to disappear, that is what you¡¯re worried about?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I care about that.¡±

    Yomogiri, Tomochika and Enju were outside the carriage, preparing to move.

    The n at the moment was to take the horses to the side of theke, let them, and then leave.

    ¡°Youngster. I¡¯d appreciate it if you could quickly defeat the King of the Dead that¡¯s grabbing me!¡°

    Mokomoko¡¯s tone was tragic, but Enju seemed to be nonchntly dismounting from the carriage.

    Note: I think Mokomoko is being held by the King of the dead while still controlling Enju

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m being targeted by him, so I can¡¯t kill someone I don¡¯t even know if he really exists or not.¡±

    ¡°You usually kill people I don¡¯t even know are out there!¡±

    ¡°If I can¡¯t at least see him or recognize his existence, there¡¯s nothing I can do. Oh, there¡¯s something I can do from here.¡±

    ¡°Oh! What¡¯s that?¡°

    ¡°Mokomoko, if you¡¯re in pain, I can kill you anywhere¡±

    ¡°Would you please stop saying that, because it¡¯s not very funnying from you! It would be better for you to be crushed and then reborn!¡±

    The horses were ready.

    The horse that had pulled the carriage wasrge enough for the three of them to ride.

    The invincible armor was still intact, and the saddle was still intact, but the question was how the three of them would drive.

    ¡°You¡¯re not used to horses, so you¡¯ll be sitting in the middle of the saddle, with Mokomoko in front and me behind you holding the reins.¡±

    For the time being, She had no choice but to do so, so she rode like that, but she still had a problem.

    She was forced to stay close to him.

    She had to press her breasts against the Yogiri, which made Tomochika hesitant.

    ¡°You should get going. But while You¡¯re doing that kind of romanticedy, I¡¯m going to be crushed.¡±

    Mokomoko¡¯s voice, sitting in front of him, was serious.

 Volume 6, 4 When they say â€œthree demon generals,â€ It feel somewhat lazy (2)

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 4 When they say ¡°three demon generals,¡± It feel somewhatzy (2)</h4>

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why the youngster seems to be enjoying her breasts while I¡¯m suffering!¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s the most fun I¡¯ve ever had in another world.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it has anything to do with the other world.¡±

    Tomochika had resigned herself to the fact that she had no choice but to stay close to him.

    The reason was that if Momoko were to disappear because of this, there would be no way to get her back.

    They were in a hurry, the three of them would have to ride together and Tomochika would have to steer the horses from behind Yogiri.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll just keep running, and after we save Mokomoko-san, we¡¯ll go straight to the port where we were headed. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±

    The decisive battle between the heroes and the Demon Lord was taking ce along a cliff.

    They would go to the area, defeat something that was holding Mokomoko, and then escape.

    It was a very haphazard n.

    ¡°The question is, can I beat the guy who¡¯s holding Mokomoko? We¡¯ve only got one chance.¡°

    ¡°No!? I don¡¯t care how often you have to try!¡±

    ¡°Mokomoko-san, Is there a way you can escape on your own if you stop controlling Enju-chan and get serious?¡±

    ¡°I would have been able to handle it before he grabbed me. Now I¡¯m concentrating all my energy on defending myself to avoid annihtion.¡±

    While she was saying this, the horse was running as fast as it could, and the cliff came into view.

    At the same time, Tomochika¡¯s excellent eyesight caught sight of Mokomoko and the demons.

    They didn¡¯t seem to have noticed them yet.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can. I can see Mokomoko-san, but I can¡¯t see the guy who¡¯s grabbing her.¡±

    After a while, Yogiri seemed to be able to see her.

    ¡°So what do we do? Leave Mokomoko-san alone?¡±

    ?Are you forgetting that you can¡¯t go back to your world without me?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it. If they are convinced, we might be able to free Mokomoko-san.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how this is going to work¡­¡±

    As she was questioning Yogiri¡¯s negotiation power, the earth shook instantly.

    ?What?¡°

    As expected, the invincible armored horse stopped moving at the unusual situation.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like an attack ¡­¡­.¡±

    If Yogiri said so, it must have been true.

    ¡°I¡¯d rather not get close to them, to be honest.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, there¡¯s a lot of internal turmoil, so I feel like now is a good time.¡±

    After a while the earthquake subsided.

    Tomochika had a bad feeling about this, but still she went ahead with her horse again.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°So, now that the Demon Lord has fallen, you¡¯ll ept me into the Demon Lord¡¯s army as you promised, right?¡±

    The demon race was a thoroughly hierarchical society, unable to harm its superiors directly.

    Their restraint was a tribal trait, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn¡¯t attack their superiors.

    Even if they were stronger than the Demon Lord, they could not defeat and rece it.

    That was why Yoshimasa was used.

    A third party who had nothing to do with the demon race would fight the Demon Lord. As long as that was the case, no matter how many favors they gave to that third party, it didn¡¯t vite the restrictions.

    So, the demon tribe, which had some kind of agenda, had been encouraging the growth of the heroes by cing appropriate enemies ording to their abilities and casually giving them legendary weapons.

    If human heroes were a threat in the first ce, they could easily be eradicated.

    It was only at the mercy of the demons that vulnerable people such as the heroes were allowed to exist.

    Many times in history, the Demon Lord has been defeated by people who call themselves heroes.

    In most cases, it was for the purpose of overthrowing the king.

    It was a coup d¡¯etat by the three demon generals, and the purpose was to rece the Demon Lord.

    ¡°Yes. Just as promised.¡±

    Yoshimasa did not feel any lie in Orifice¡¯s words.

    But it was not because he was sincere. It was because he didn¡¯t care about Yoshimasa.

    ¨CYou¡¯ve been lied to.

    Yoshimasa was not the original hero. It was Hellion who had received all the support and was wearing the legendary equipment.

    It was Hellion who the demons were expecting, and Yoshimasa was just a substitute just in case.

    If Mimiru hadn¡¯te to him, he wouldn¡¯t have known about it.

    It was thanks to Mimiru that Yoshimasa was able to do what he was doing right now.

    There was no use for Yoshimasa, and there was no benefit to be gained by weing him into the demon army. The reason why they are willing to ept Yoshimasa is because they recognize that he was like apdog for Mimiru.

    The Yoshimasa of a while ago would have epted this situation even after knowing all of this.

    As long as he was pampered by Mimiru, he could lead a good life and there was no other way.

    But the Yoshimasa of now was different.

    He was no longer storing most of his power to return home, and was now able to disy his true power.

    Now, he would be able to defeat even the Demon Lord, and he felt annoyed that he was being looked down upon by a demon general.

    ¡°Hey, Mimiru. How old is Orifice?¡±

    ¡°Yes, about 500 years old.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll take 500 years.¡±

    Yoshimasa, who had heard that demon tribes live for about a thousand years, carelessly took the life span from Orifece.

    If he took away all of his life span, he would die, but there was nothing he could do about it.

    ?Nonsense!¡°

    Orifice¡¯s face, which was rxed until now, twisted in surprise.

    He probably didn¡¯t think that he would be the target of his ability and that it would work.

    ¡°It works against demons, even demon generals.¡±

    A shining sphere was floating on Yoshimasa¡¯s palm.

    He had just taken 70 years from Rimlet, so the sphere had a total of 570 years of life inside it.

    The appearance of the sphere was not so different, but Yoshimasa felt that the energy contained within it was different.

    ¡°As for what to do with it, since I can¡¯t use magic, I can¡¯t use it as magic power. But what happens if I do this?¡°

    Yoshimasa threw the light ball at random.

    It flew in a parab, and when it touched the ground, it sank into the earth.

    Immediately, the earth shook.

    Then, the ground began to rise.

    Countless small mountains were formed all over the ce, and naked people emerged from inside.

    ¡°Ha-ha-ha! How about that! Not only can I take away lifespan, I can also give it! I can create a human from a clod of earth! That¡¯s amazing! I can control lifespan¡­ no, I mean I can control life and death. So, if I can do this, does that mean I¡¯m a god?

    ¡°I love how Yoshimasa-san suddenly gained power and instantly grew up.¡±

    Mimiru gazed at Yoshimasa in fascination.

    ?You!¡°

    ?Die!¡°

    Before Orifice could do anything, Yoshimasa took all his Lifespan.

    If he¡¯s dead, he wouldn¡¯t get any lifespan, but if he just wanted to kill, it was the quickest way.

    ¡°Ha-ha-ha-ha! Awesome! A cheat! Instant death cheat! Isn¡¯t that illegal? No one can beat me, right?¡±

    Looking down at the fallen Orifice, Yoshimasa was immersed in a feeling of omnipotence.

    ¡°Mimiru¡­. you knew this was going to happen ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes. I could foresee this happening when Yoshimasa woke up, but I didn¡¯t tell anyone about it.¡±

    Exia, who had so far remained silent, asked and Mimiru answered.

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t kill women, you know. So I¡¯m going to let you live. Unless, of course, you do something stupid!

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m a High Priestess and I can sense the spirits of the dead, so please don¡¯t try anything stupid on me.¡±

    Exia just said something about spirits, so he guess she uses that kind of ability.

    But Mimiru had a way to deal with this.

    ¡°I know you¡¯ve got the power. So what are you going to do with it?¡±

    Exia asked cautiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s not bad to be a Demon Lord. But you didn¡¯t intend me to? But you¡¯re fine with it, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair! I¡¯m not going to allow you to take his ce!¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s wonderful! It¡¯s a rare talent to be able to get so carried away when you don¡¯t even know the full extent of your powers yet!¡±

    It is true that he does not know how much use he will get out of this power.

    But Yoshimasa knew something about it.

    No enemy could stand against this power. No one could stand against it.

    ¡°¡­someone, there¡¯s a human approaching. Isn¡¯t that one of yours?¡±

    Yoshimasa also looked at the direction Exia was looking at.

    Indeed, a horse with someone on it wasing their way.

    ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s true. They don¡¯t look like they¡¯re surviving soldiers¡­ Mimiru, what do you think we should do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a hassle, let¡¯s just get rid of them.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good idea for my first mission as a Demon Lord. It¡¯s a good way to say goodbye to the humans!¡±

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°How did this happen?¡±

    ¡ºIt¡¯s business as usual. ¡»

    ¡°They¡¯re too fond of fighting in this world. Why do they always attack without question?¡±

    When he looked around from their horse, he saw a lot of dead people.

    He wasn¡¯t sure why there were so many naked people lying around.

    Both the demon general and Yoshimasa had fallen, and the only one alive in the room was the wizard woman, Rimlet.

    In the end, it wasn¡¯t much of a negotiation, but when the demon general Exia fell, the king of the dead spirits disappeared, and Mokomoko was saved.

    ¡°What the hell! Who the hell are you people!¡±

    Rimlet was confused.

    From her point of view, the situation must have been too confusing.

    But Yogiri couldn¡¯t give a detailed exnation either.

    ¡°We just happened to be passing by.¡±

    That was true, but he guessed that was not the answer she was looking for.

    However, Yogiri did not want to get involved in the events of this moment any further.

    He was about to walk away, but she wanted to say something.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t invite people from other worlds so easily. It¡¯s really annoying.

    ¡°Sometimes people like Takato-kune here.¡°

    Tomochika said sincerely.

    previous | Index | next

    I finally reached the 10 chapters Milestone. This time Yoshimasa has a half assed Instant Death Ability aaaand he¡¯s dead.

    rambling: I also got Ads active now to cover my Server costs, but there should be only an ad at the top and bottom of the site, if there are any problems with the ads please tell me. Also should i keep using the wrong Chapter number that were used by Asian Hobbyist or should I change to the Authors numbering like ¡°Vol. 5 Ch. 1¡±?

    I wish everyone a happy New Year, hope it doesn¡¯t go downhill even further.

 Volume 6, 5 - What was our journey up to this point?

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 5 - What was our journey up to this point?</h4>

    After rescuing Mokomoko, Chichika and the others began to head towards their destination again.

    They were riding in the order of Enju, Yogiri and Tomochika, with Tomochika at the back holding the reins.

    Mokomoko had stopped controlling Enju and was following them in spirit form.

    Perhaps she regretted that she had been so busy trying to control Enju that she had fallen behind.

    ¡°I mean, these people were in the way!¡±

    The horses were running between the naked and fallen humans.

    The naked humans had sprung up from the ground and attacked them.

    Naturally, the Yogiri turned them back, but there were so many of them that the ground ended up bing skin-colored.

    But then Tomochika suddenly realized.

    She realized that he had thought of the fallen people as nothing more than obstacles.

    She also realized that people die too easily, and that she had be ustomed to that.

    ¡°ugh¡­ that sucks, I¡­¡±

    ¡ºHmm? Well, I doubt that they had a free will.¡»

    ¡°This is what I did, you know. I don¡¯t think Dannoura-san needs to worry about it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to say this, but¡­ I think it¡¯s wrong for me to take it for granted that Takato-kun is killing people all the time.¡±

    Can¡¯t you just say I¡¯m defending myselfself because someone¡¯s trying to kill me?¡±

    There¡¯s no reason why she shouldn¡¯t.

    If it weren¡¯t for Yogiri, Tomochika would have died a long time ago.

    She was well aware of that, and I¡¯m prepared for it.

    However, she was wondering if she should dismiss that so easily.

    ¡°I mean, there are standards for killing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand that. There are things you don¡¯t kill, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess. I think I¡¯ve said this before, but first of all, if I have to choose between killing and being killed, I respond immediately.¡±

    It was the same for Tomochika.

    She is still a part of the old school martial arts family and has trained herself to react mechanically and reflexively to crises.

    This is because hesitation leads directly to death.

    ¡°What if they don¡¯t even want to kill us?¡±

    ¡°If they still try to scare us with violence or theft, I¡¯ll kill them. Normally, I don¡¯t do that. If I leave a person who takes such measures, I will be in troubleter on. They¡¯ll just resent me for letting them get away with it.¡±

    ¡°Well, what about Hanakawa-kun? He was an enemy, but you let him go, right?¡±

    ¡°I guess so. Maybe because we talked too long.¡±

    ¡°Your exnations have be so random!¡±

    However, it may be that he feltpassion.

    It was true that he wouldn¡¯t feel much resistance to killing someone who attacked him out of the blue. They were just like animals.

    However, once he talked to them, he would be aware that they are human.

    It might make it harder to kill them.

    So, Mireille is¡­¡°

    Tomochika remembered Mireille, the cat beast girl they had met in the first town after arriving in the other world.

    Mireille had given them a tour of the town, but in the end she had led them to a group of criminals who had tried to kidnap Tomochika and her friends.

    Naturally, Yogiri fought back, but in doing so, he was experimenting with abilities he didn¡¯t normally use.

    In that case, he used his ability on her with a time dy.

    ¡ºYou said it was an experiment, but it wasn¡¯t really an experiment. That was just out of consideration. If she had died right in front of you, you would have been in shock. ¡»

    Mokomoko said in a small voice.

    He guessed it was that way.

    Tomochika and the others had gotten too close to Mireille.

    It was doubtful that they could simply dismiss her as having attacked them and turned on them.

    ¡°We¡¯re starting to see it.¡±

    Yogiri said.

    Before they knew it, the teau was gently sloping.

    Below them, they began to see the walled port city and the sea.

    ¡°Finally. It¡¯s taken us quite a while to get here.¡±

    ¡°I wonder if we should just keep going. From what we¡¯ve seen so far, things tend to happen when we¡¯re in a new town.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t know. In the meantime, if we let Mokomoko go for reconnaissance, she might get caught again.

    ¡ºI really don¡¯t trust you. What do you think of your ancestors? ¡»

    ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯ll have to go there to find out.¡±

    Tomochika and the others arrived at the port town.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    There was a checkpoint when they entered the town, but they were able to get in easily.

    Apparently, it was not a problem unless you¡¯re an overtly suspicious person.

    It was a port town with a lot of activity and a lot of people.

    ¡°So, now that we¡¯re here, what do we do?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll need to arrange a boat, but for now, let¡¯s find a ce to stay. We can find something there.¡°

    It was Yogiri, who had great faith in the concierge.

    Asking the townspeople, he walked towards the most luxurious hotel he could find.

    Then, suddenly, someone was standing in front of him.

    ¡°Atst! I¡¯ve found you atst! You guys! You¡¯ve given us a lot of trouble!¡±

    They were an armed female soldier and a man who looked like her follower.

    For a moment, Tomochika didn¡¯t think they were talking to her, but the female soldier was looking straight at Yogiri and the others.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this somewhere before¡­¡±.

    ¡°Ahh! The ones who treated us like criminals in the first town!¡±

    Edelgard, the captain of the guards, and Georges, her second-inmand.

    They were the guards who came to the scene when Mireille and the others were killed in retaliation.

    ¡°But how did they get here before us?¡±

    Yogiri and his friends have been getting into trouble everywhere they go.

    Each time, the ces they stopped at were damaged in various ways, and the transportation system was also devastated.

    If she was following them, it was unlikely that she would be able to get to this town before they did.

    ¡°Well, Miss Edelgard. You didn¡¯t have to show up in front of them. I thought Lain¡¯s orders were to follow them and contact her if they were located.¡±

    ¡°What the hell? Then what am I supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°You can contact Master Lain.¡±

    ¡°And while we¡¯re at it, these guys might escape!

    ¡°If they don¡¯t bother to show up, they won¡¯t run away?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! I will not allow them to run away!¡±

    Edelgard sternly pointed at Yogiri.

    ¡°Here is another annoying one!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not running away. How¡¯d you guys get here?¡±

    ¡°Huh! Of course we flew here!¡±

    ¡°I mean, if there¡¯s such a thing as flying, then what was the point of our journey so far?¡±

    Tomochika barked.

    However, if you asked him, there were means of flying in this world as well.

    It seemed that there was magic rted to flight as Hanakawa and his team used it, there arerge creatures like dragons that fly in the sky, and there were the airships that the sages were using.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be so downhearted. The sky is a world ruled by the sages. Normally, you can¡¯t fly in the sky.

    A boy appeared from behind Edelgard and the others.

    He spoke in a friendly manner, but Yogiri had no idea who he was. Tomochika seemed to be the same way.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Henglong. Do you know what I¡¯m talking about?¡±

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­ I think I¡¯ve heard it somewhere.¡±

    But his memory was foggy, and he had no idea what it was about.

    ¡°I see. Well, let¡¯s just say he¡¯s a mysterious boy who seems to be everywhere andes out of nowhere in a meaningful way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never met anyone like that before in my life! Why do you think that¡¯s a good exnation?¡±

    She didn¡¯t understand the situation, but Tomochika seemed to be in good spirits.

 Volume 6, 6, Going Back in Time 100 Million Years

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 6, Going Back in Time 100 Million Years</h4>

    Not wanting to keep talking on the street, Tomochika and the others had moved to the lobby of the luxury hotel that was their destination.

    Tomochika and Yogiri sat side by side on the sofa, while across from them sat Edelgard, Georges, and the boy who called himself Koryu.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to betray us out of the blue, are you?¡±

    Tomochika said as if she was looking at someone suspicious.

    He was a boy with an aloof attitude who could not be trusted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Am I an enemy? Or an ally? That¡¯s what it¡¯s all about.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a pain in the ass!¡±

    It might have been better if they don¡¯t suddenly turned on each other, but it was still a hassle.

    ¡°Why do I have to make peace with these criminals! Why don¡¯t I just take them into custody?¡±

    Edelgard seemed to be full of frustration.

    ¡°We were supposed to be innocent, weren¡¯t we? I don¡¯t even know why we¡¯re being chased.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know why they were after them.

    It was Yogiri who had killed the people from the criminal organization, but he never mentioned that.

    ¡°What? Then why did Lain-sama tell us to go after you! Because you¡¯re criminals!¡±

    ¡°Well, Edelgard-sama. There¡¯s no proof that we did it.¡±

    ¡°I sent the pigeons to Lain-sama. But now that I¡¯ve sent them, I have to keep you here! If I found you, but you went somewhere else I couldn¡¯t possibly report that! Otherwise I can¡¯t say I found you.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t want to be stranded. We¡¯re supposed to be going to an ind nation to the east.¡±

    It was a hassle. It was easy to understand the frowning Yogiri¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Edelgard-sama. This is a different country, and I don¡¯t think you have the authority to restrict our actions.¡±

    ¡°What? Then what should I have done!¡±

    Their conversation was going in circles.

    Tomochika thought it was fishy, but she turned to Koryu.

    She thought that he would still be able to make sense of things.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯d appreciate it if you could give me a brief description of the situation.¡± (Tomochika)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s not that difficult, but where should I start? Well, let¡¯s go back in time 100 million years.¡± (Koryu)

    ¡°Why do you have to go back that far?¡±

    ¡°Huh? You¡¯re not interested in my first love story?¡±

    ¡°Let me ask you this, why do you think I want to know about your personal life when I¡¯ve never met you before?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask you if I think it¡¯s relevant, but I¡¯d like you to answer my question.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like I¡¯m asking a question and it¡¯s just being brushed off¡­¡±

    ¡°What did youe to us for?¡±

    Secret.¡°

    Hey!¡°

    Tomochika couldn¡¯t help but raise her voice.

    She thought it wouldn¡¯t be too much to ask.

    ¡°Hey? Can we go now? We don¡¯t have much time either.¡±

    Yogiri also started to sit up.

    There was no reason why he should have to talk to them.

    It would be a waste of time if he didn¡¯t exin himself.

    ¡°The mysterious boy¡¯s purpose couldn¡¯t be a mystery, could it?¡±

    ¡°Why, I thought it was a good idea.¡± (Koryu)

    He said with a really serious face.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s no big deal. I¡¯m just trying to help you get on with your lives, that¡¯s all.¡±

    What do you mean?¡°

    ¡°When a Sage dies, the food is good. I¡¯d like to see it up close. I¡¯d like to help you do that.¡± (Koyu) Note: It is a rhyme in Japanese

    ¡°Am I the only one who finds the rhyme annoying?¡± (Yogiri)

    Help with what?¡° (Tomochika)

    ¡°I know the world. I¡¯m sure I can help you.¡±

    ¡°You know a lot. So, what are you?

    ¡°You said you were Koryu. Is that your name?¡± Note: His ¡°name¡± can be read as ¡°fallen Dragon¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more like a race name. It was a derogatory term given to the dragons who ruled this world when they were defeated by a new god and fell to the earth.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a big deal! Are you sure about that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not very popr in this world.¡±

    He shrugged his shoulders excessivly.

    ¡°If ¡°Koryu¡± is the name of your race, what is your personal name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thest one, so there¡¯s only me, so you can call me Koryu.¡±

    ¡°Earlier, you were talking about flying in the sky. Can you do that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can. If I transform into a dragon, I can fly. That¡¯s how I brought them here.¡±

    ¡°Then can you take us to the East Ind?¡±

    If they could do that, they wouldn¡¯t have to wait for a ship and take a leisurely boat trip.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible to fly, but not all the way to the eastern inds.¡±

    Why not?¡°

    The sky is the world of the Sages, and just like on earth, each Sage has his own territory that he controls. The Sages forbid people to fly in the sky.¡±

    ¡°Can you think of anyone who might be flying?¡±

    ¡°Only for a short time. If you fly long distances, you¡¯re bound to get caught in the Sage¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°But you flew Edelgard and the others here, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes. But the Sage who was in charge of this area is gone now. You killed him.¡±

    ¡°I see. So you¡¯re weaker than a Sage, huh?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to nod my head to that, but I hope you can see that this is what a fallen god looks like.¡±

    ¡°I would¡¯ve appreciated it if you were stronger than a Sage and could take them down quicker.¡±

    Yogiri blurted out.

    If Yogiri¡¯s power killed the wise man, the Philosopher¡¯s Stone in his body would lose its power.

    Therefore, it was necessary to take care of the problem by gradually diverting the power.

    ¡°Mmm! The pigeons are back but it wasn¡¯t read! What¡¯s going on here?¡±

    While Tomochika and the others were talking with Koryu, Edelgard and Georges were arguing about this and that, when a pigeon came from somewhere.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a pigeon, isn¡¯t it? Read? ¡°

    ¡°Mmm! It¡¯s a magic carrier pigeon that can carry messages! If it reaches its destination and ys the message, then of course it¡¯s read!¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s strange, because unless there¡¯s something wrong with the message, it should be delivered to ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not surprising. Lain is dead.¡±

    When Edelgard tilted her head, Koryu simply told her.

    ¡°What the hell? That Lain-sama can¡¯t be dead! I¡¯ve seen it! Even if her whole body is burned to a crisp, she will instantly be resurrected!¡±

    ¡°And for your information, the town you were living in was destroyed.¡±

    How is that possible?¡°

    He stood up, and Edelgard stood up with anger.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, that¡¯s your business, but why don¡¯t you send a pigeon to some other trustworthy person and see what they say?¡±

    Edelgard and Georges left the room for a moment.

    They must have gone to check it.

    ¡°Wait a minute! If that¡¯s the case, the other towns are¡­¡±

    It was a story that made sense to him.

    The town was protected by the Sage¡¯s blessing, and even traveling by train required a barrier in a world full of danger.

    It was obvious that the town would be in danger if the Sage were to disappear.

    ¡°Could it be that you¡¯ve killed a Sage without being prepared to do so?¡±

    Tomochika looked at Yogiri.

    Yogiri was calm.

    Tomochika didn¡¯t think anything of it, but Yogiri must have taken this situation into consideration.

    ¡°If it makes you feel any better, the town of Hanabusa is safe. The Sage Alice has taken over there. The Manny Kingdom¡¯s capital was already in a state of destruction, but with the Holy King and the Sword Saint, it can be managed. The fighting city is full of strength, so I think it can hold out for a while.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t much constion to be told that.

    That¡¯s no reason to give up the Philosopher¡¯s Stone. Or can you offer me another means of return?¡±

    Yogiri¡¯s top priority was to return to his world.

    He would not waver in that regard. No matter how much damage was done to this world, he had no intention of giving up.

    ¡°Well, I kind of asked you if you were ready, but I shouldn¡¯t have said anything since you want me to kill the wise man.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking too much to me¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re putting too much priority on the mystery boys move¡­¡°

    ¡°Anyway. I know a lot of things, including alternative means of return, so can I follow you guys?

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me that now, are you?¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll tell you everythingter. If I tell you everything now, you¡¯ll have no use for me.¡±

    ¡°All right. I¡¯m not going to make you my friend, but if you want to follow me, be my guest.¡±

    Tomochika had no particr objection.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The next morning. Tomochika and the others came to the port.

    The ship could be easily arranged through the hotel concierge.

    What was docked was a huge luxury cruise ship.

    ¡°I think I saw something like this before.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to hit an iceberg and sink.¡±

    ¡°I thought so too but don¡¯t tell me!¡±

    Tomochika had only an ominous feeling.

 Volume 6, 7

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 7</h4>

    I was just forcibly brought along by these people, that I have nothing to do with!

    Laguna¡¯s head was blown off, he copsed with blood staining the area, and a man who looked like a thug imed to be a Sage.

    For Hanakawa and the others, it was hard to believe, but the adventurer¡¯s guild and tavern seemed to be operating normally.

    In other words, this was an everyday urrence.

    -What are we going to do?

    Shigeto Mitadera, Akinobu Marufuji, and Rei Kujima were standing still. They probably hadn¡¯t grasped the situation yet.

    The first one to move was Hanakawa.

    Hanakawa got down on his knees.

    He weighed the Sage and his ssmates and decided which side he should be on.

    His conclusion was that the Sage won hands down.

    In the first ce, there was no way a Sage candidate could defeat a Sage.

    If he could utilize the power of Shigeto, the prophet, he might have had a chance to defeat the sage, but he would be helpless if he encountered him before he was ready. The Omega de, the world sword needed to defeat the Sage, was not in his hands right now.

    The fact that Hanakawa moved faster than the others must have been due to his experience with the Sages.

    Hanakawa knew firsthand how terrifying the Sages were.

    He must not go against them.

    Before he antagonized them, he made them think he was a miserable existence that was not worth killing.

    As a means of doing so, Hanakawa chose to get down on his knees.

    He thought it was the best way to show that he had no intention of hostility.

    It was a very smooth and splendid disy.

    Of course, there was the possibility that there was no point in getting down on the ground.

    Depending on his opponent¡¯s personality, he may be more likely to be liked if he attacked with determination. Some might even think it is unmanly to surrender without a fight.

    However, Yoshifumi was not a warrior.

    Hanakawa thought that begging for forgiveness in a miserable manner would be more effective against a man who looked like a thug.

    ¡°I have nothing to do with these people, I was forced by them! I am a victim! I have absolutely no intention of antagonizing you! But these guys are actually nning to kill you! They are really terrible people!¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°Huh? What is it? You?¡° (Yoshifumi)

    A man was sitting in a chair. The Sage, Yoshifumi, seemed to be in a daze.

    At least he didn¡¯t kill Hanakawa out of nowhere, so he seeded for the moment.

    ¡°You¡¯re here to kill me? But from the looks of your surprise, it seems you didn¡¯t know I was here.¡± (Yoshifumi)

    Yoshifumi smirked.

    ¡°I was just killing time by killing newbies in my spare time.¡± (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°Hanakawa, you bastard. ¡­¡­¡± (Shigeto)

    He could hear Shigeto raise his voice in hatred. However, Hanakawa did not even look at him and continued to stay down on his knees.

    ¡°I knew the prophecy was sloppy.¡± (Akinobu)

    As if in response to Akinobu¡¯s words, the floor wriggled.

    ¡°Hiiii! I¡¯ve seen this kind of thing before¡± (Hanakawa)

    The floor that Hanakawa¡¯s hand was touching turned into something that looked like reddish-ck flesh.

    The building became alive.

    It was a phenomenon that had also urred at the lowest level of the demon world.

    At that time, the bodies of the demon gods seemed to have fused and eroded, but it was due to Akinobu¡¯s power, the Creator.

    It was the ability to turn anything he touched into a living thing and control it.

    It could turn a fort into a giant. Turning a tavern into something else would not be hard.

    ¡°Just as well, if you have a Sage. All you have to do is to crush and digest him!¡± (Akinobu)

    Uneven fangs sprouted from the sky and earth, a huge tongue wriggled, and a ck cave leading to darkness appeared in the back.

    It looked like the inside of some kind of mouth.

    -Oh, this is the kind of thing that will kill you no matter who you are!

    ¡°Whoaaaaa!¡±

    The customers in the tavern were shouting. They were confused by the sudden change in their environment.

    Hanakawa did not move.

    He chose not to move. It would have been a little more respectable if he could have said that he chose not to move, but in this case, he just couldn¡¯t make a decision and didn¡¯t move.

    -No, even in this case, I just couldn¡¯t make a decision and couldn¡¯t move. No, if I continue to get down on my knees even in such a case, wouldn¡¯t I be evaluated as someone who is unfazed by the situation?

    When he was thinking of something convenient, Hanakawa felt the hardening of the floor, which was soft before.

    He looked at it and saw that the peach-colored meat floor had turned gray.

    It was originally a wooden floor, so it didn¡¯t seem to have reverted to its original state, but it had be like stone.

    ¡°Huh? That¡¯s the countermeasure for that?¡± (Yoshifumi)

    Yoshifumi seemed to have done this, but he sounded as if he didn¡¯t quite understand it himself.

    ¡°Yoshifumi. They¡¯re gone, aren¡¯t they?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°What are you going to do? Leave us alone?¡± (Shigeto)

    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. I don¡¯t care about the Creator, but the Prophet and the Lady of Destiny can be troublesome if left alone.¡± (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°Why? Can¡¯t a Sage neutralize a Sage¡¯s gift?¡± (Shigeto)

    ¡°What? Do you really think I have thatplicated of a skill set?¡± (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°Really? Are you as stupid as you look?¡± (Shigeto)

    ¡°You know what? Have you ever seen me give away a gift in the first ce?¡° (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°Oh, no, not really. I thought you were reluctant to give them out, but maybe you can¡¯t?¡± (Shigeto)

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t do. I¡¯m just not cut out for it.¡± (Yoshifumi)

    ¡°What? What? That sounds like a good excuse! So, what are you going to do if you don¡¯t let us leave?¡± (Shigeto)

    ¡°Rena. You go and take care of it.¡± (Yoshifumi)

    Okay.¡°

    The woman called Rena left, and silence fell.

    Hanakawa looked up.

    The fanged, squishy, twisted walls and floor were still there, but everything had turned to stone.

    ¡°Is it petrified?¡± (Hanakawa)

    ¡°That¡¯s what it looks like.¡± (Yoshifumi)

    Hanakawa, not expecting a response, freaked out.

    ¡°No, no. You are indeed a Sage! I never thought you could defeat Akinobu-dono¡¯s creative skills like this!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so sneaky. I love it when you¡¯re a scared, cowering small fry.¡±

    ¡°Haha. It¡¯s a pleasure.¡±

    Hanakawa rubbed his forehead on the floor.

    Hanakawa was being humble, he decided that this was the only way to go.

 Volume 6, 8: Why Iâ€™m the Playboy Type

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 8: Why I¡¯m the yboy Type</h4>

    Immediately after the tavern was turned into a living being, Shigeto immediately ran away.

    What was in it¡¯s mouth was beyond the knowledge of the monsterized tavern, and it could not dexterously avoid their allies and only attack their enemies.

    He had no intention of helping Hanakawa.

    It was not because he betrayed him, but because he didn¡¯t care about him from the start.

    -take a cautious stand, huh?

    That was what it said in the prophecy. It was a warning.

    But what was he supposed to make of such a trivial statement?

    ¡°Hey, we don¡¯t have to run? I thought you said you didn¡¯t know where the Sage was. If we find him, we can defeat him here.¡°

    Akinobu did not ce much importance on the prophecy.

    He, unlike Shigeto and Rei, had skills that he could use to attack.

    He knew what he could do with that power, and he thought he could even win against a Sage.

    ¡°The Sage has the power to nullify the gifts of lower systems! That¡¯s why I was looking for a weapon that has nothing to do with sages!¡±

    However, Shigeto did not rely on Akinobu¡¯s power. It was only power given to him by a Sage.

    He didn¡¯t need to rely on the Gift to strengthen him and overthrow the Sages.

    The only thing that could do that would be the prophecy of Shigeto.

    It may have been possible to disable the prophecy ability if they confronted him, but there is nothing wrong with reading it in a ce where there wasn¡¯t a Sage present.

    The content of the prophecy was just information, and it couldn¡¯t be nullified.

    Shigeto thought that he would be the only one who could defeat the sage, despite being a sage candidate.

    For this reason, he was trying to get Ragna, who was not of the Sage¡¯s lineage, to join him and get a weapon for him.

    ¡°But you could have done it. If you can disable it, why not?

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    Was that a sign ofposure?

    Or was it carelessness?

    It was impossible for Shigeto to judge. But he did not think that he could beat them here.

    ¡°You can¡¯t do that without any preparation! You¡¯ve got to prepare yourself, you¡¯ve got to prepare your friends!¡±

    Akinobu¡¯s power was powerful, but it could not attack the enemy directly.

    It was a good idea to use the power of creation to create the friends he needed to attack.

    ¡°I¡¯m working on it.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    As he ran, Shigeto turned his head.

    The town had been transformed.

    It was not just the tavern.

    The surrounding buildings had also turned into huge, beasts.

    ¡°It¡¯s so easy!¡±

    ¡°As long as you have an image, you can touch it in an instant. But if you want to make something amazing, it will take time.¡±

    Akinobu was probably activating his power by touching things around him while running away.

    Even if he couldn¡¯t defeat the Sage, this might buy him some time to escape.

    However, such expectations were soon betrayed.

    Akinobu must have tripped over something, because he suddenly fell forward.¡¸¤ª¤¤!¡¹

    ¡°Hey!

    ¡°Are you stupid?

    Rei shouted shortly.

    Shigeto decided to keep running.

    This was not the time to be stopping and worrying about Akinobu.

    The first thing to do for him was to get away.

    However, Shigeto and Rei had to stop.

    There was a woman standing in front of them.

    She was a very exposed and unhealthy looking woman with dark circles under her eyes.

    Shigeto couldn¡¯t ignore the woman.

    The woman was holding Akinobu¡¯s head in her hand.

    The moment he saw it, various thoughts went through his brain.

    Akinobu is dead.

    Who¡¯s that?

    Did shee after us?

    How did she get around the front?

    Why was Akinobu the first target?

    Why just one?

    Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to kill all three of us at once?

    So is there some reason to keep us alive?

    Or is there some kind of restriction on the use of her abilities?

    ¡°Well¡­ You might be thinking of somethingplicated, but it doesn¡¯t mean much that I killed this guy first, okay?¡±

    Shigeto froze. He thought his mind had been read.

    ¡°No, no. I just kind of thought so. Well, if I had to say it, I guess you could say I took care of the ones that would be a pain in the ass if left them alone.¡±

    He guessed it was too much of a hassle for them to add any more men to their ranks.

    But the town was in chaos.

    It seemed that the giant beasts would not return to normal even if Akinobu died.

    The beasts were now free to run wild and do as they please.

    ¡°You are ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°There are many types of Evil Empire executives. If you¡¯re the workaholic type, you¡¯ll probably follow orders to the letter and leave quickly, but I¡¯m the yboy type.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t direct, but he guessed that was the reply.

    Since Yoshifumi was the emperor, the woman was Yoshifumi¡¯s subordinate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lump me in with Akinobu. ¡­¡­¡±

    Shigeto was instantly armed.

    He was d in heavy armor and wore severalyers of amulets and rings. His weapons were not only the swords he held in both hands, but also a number of other weapons floating around him.

    These were acquired through the knowledge of the prophecy, without telling hispanions.¡¡Akinobu¡¯s skills were so powerful that he did not grow in the direction of strengthening himself.

    But Shigeto was different.

    He had been practicing efficient growth methods and had racked up a number of powerful armaments.

    In this state, he should be able to match the heroes, thought Shigeto.

    In the next moment, the woman¡¯s kick pierced into Shigeto¡¯s abdomen.

    The woman¡¯s foot destroyed the Shigeto¡¯s internal organs after prating multipleyers of magical barriers and the heavy armor made of rare metals.

    He was blown away, crashed into a building, and became unrecognizable.

    He was barely alive.

    He didn¡¯t even remember which equipment has what, but was guessing it was the auto-healing function that was at work.

    ¡°It¡¯s as sturdy as you¡¯d expect, but if the user is like this, it¡¯s meaningless. You can¡¯t just raise the level of the system, if the base is not good enough. You have to train them in their natural state.¡°

    Shigeto could not sense anything until the moment he was kicked.

    Of course, this was even though he was wearing equipment that could detect enemy movement and grant him the benefit of increased subjective speed if he was in danger.

    ¡°Wow. I¡¯m surprised. The woman of destiny works on me, too. I don¡¯t have that kind of taste.

    He would be killed.

    The woman turned to Rei just as Shigeto was preparing to be killed.

    From Shigeto¡¯s point of view, there were a lot of gaps, but an amateur¡¯s senses could not be relied upon. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to do anything.

    ¡°But it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be able to control me in any way you want. Yeah. Then I¡¯ll keep you.¡±

    Rei¡¯s physical abilities were improving as her level increased.

    However, she did not have anybat skills.

    If it were just some amateurs, he would be able to do something, but he was not even remotely capable of fighting such a monster.

    However, it seemed that his power to charm the opposite sex could also be applied to this women, to a greater or lesser extent, to dissuade her from killing.

    The woman was walking away with Rei. Rei would not be able to resist it.

    Shigeto could only watch her go, his body full of pain from which he had not fully recovered.

 Volume 6, 9: Itâ€™s like a girlâ€™s manga.

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 9: It¡¯s like a girl¡¯s manga.</h4>

    Yoshifumi and two of his cronies were leisurely leaving the adventurer¡¯s guild and tavern.

    Hanakawa quietly followed them out.

    Hanakawa and the others were thest ones left. There was no way the customers would continue to stay in a ce that writhed and turned to stone, so they quickly fled.

    Naturally, there was amotion outside¡­

    He turned around and saw what appeared to be a huge statue of a beast sticking out of the ground. It was the end of the tavern.

    And themotion was not only in the tavern, but also in the surroundings.

    Tigers, wolves, bears, boars, chickens.

    Huge beasts were rampaging through the city.

    There was no clear will in them. They were destroying buildings and eating people at random.

    There didn¡¯t seem to be any kind of control over them.

    ¡°Hey, hey, it¡¯s getting really bad, huh?¡±

    Yoshifumi said happily, looking at the devastation in the town.

    This was the imperial capital of the empire that Yoshifumi ruled, but he didn¡¯t seem to care much about it.

    -Casually fade out while I¡¯m not getting any attention! This is it! And now that I¡¯m finally free, I can finally build my otherworldly harem!

    But that would require not only leaving this ce, but also escaping the empire.

    He needed to find a ce that was as free of the Sage¡¯s influence as possible, a ce where Hanakawa could be moderately active.

    Hanakawa began to back away little by little.

    He didn¡¯t show any signs of panic and casually kept his distance.

    ¡°What¡¯s Lena doing? She¡¯s getting beat up all the time.¡± T/N Rena(Yoshifumis Subordinate) -> Lena

    ¡°Lena¡¯s got a head start, she should be able to keep up.¡±

    One of his cronies, a small woman, said.

    ¡°What are you going to do with it¡±

    The tall woman asked.

    ¡°Hey. It¡¯s so big to see such a messy thing. I can¡¯t stand it.¡±

    ¡°Well, the damage is limited to the southwest block of the thirdyer. It doesn¡¯t seem to have gone outside.¡°

    The imperial capital is huge and is divided into several districts.

    This was the district on the southwest side of the outer rim, and the districts were separated from each other by city walls.

    ¡°So just clean up here.¡±

    Okay.¡°

    The petite woman replied lightly.

    Hanakawa had a bad feeling about this.

    This woman was going to do something.

    It would be an attack against the beasts that Akinobu had created, and based on their earlier conversation, it would be indiscriminate.

    Hanakawa, who had been trying to keep his distance, approached Yoshifumi and the others again.

    If there was a safe ce, he decided, it would be on their side.

    -anyway, what?¡¡I¡¯m one of them, but what?¡¡I¡¯ll go with something like that, that I will!

    Hanakawa casually decided to stand by Yoshifumi and the others.

    It¡¯s a good idea to keep a distance between me and my friends so that I can be seen as a friend.

    Hanakawa thought that he could stay here as a friend, if he interpreted his earlierment that he loved small fry who cowered in fear as favorably as possible.

    Hanakawa¡¯s action was right.

    Indeed, nothing had happened within a few meters around Yoshifumi and the others.

    Yes?¡°

    It was an instantaneous event.

    Everything was gone.

    All that was left was the wall that surrounded the area, and nothing else.

    The rampaging beasts, the people going about the town, the buildings standing in a row.

    Everything disappeared without a sound, and Hanakawa and the others were left with a vast empty space.

    -No, no, no, no, no, no! What is this? This is crazy!

    It was just gone.

    It was allpletely gone.

    There must have been several thousand people in this area alone.

    What did it mean that they had disappeared? Hanakawa stopped to think about it.

    Even if he thought about it, he didn¡¯t think he woulde to any good conclusion.

    ¡°Hey! Can you please not suddenly reset the system?¡±

    Hanakawa heard an angry voice from behind him and turned around.

    Rena and Rei Kujima, who had left in pursuit of Shigeto, were standing there.

    They should have been gone just a few moments ago, but they were there as if they were there from the beginning.

    ¡°I was wondering if it¡¯s okay that Rena-chan¡¯s mid-boss-like ability allows her to anticipate or appear behind others!¡±

    -Is she like Mary-san? It¡¯s like she¡¯s behind me [1]

    Hanakawa remembered the famous urban legend.

    ¡°Who¡®s Mary-san?¡°

    Hanakawa was taken aback by Lena¡¯s sudden question.

    He hadn¡¯t expected to be talked to out of the blue.

    And now Hanakawa was the center of attention.

    ¡°So, who¡¯s this guy?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s here all of a sudden. Did I have to turn him off?¡±

    ¡°Oh, for the love of God, please!¡±

    Hanakawa decided to get down on his knees again.

    There should be no reason for them to actively kill Hanakawa.

    Then, he would y it down anyway and wait for them to lose interest.

    They wouldn¡¯t just stand there in the middle of nowhere like this forever.

    They would go somewhere sooner orter, Hanakawa hoped.

    ¡°¡­¡­ I have a feeling he¡¯s thinking, ¡°If I poop right here, he will go away in disgust.¡±¡±[2] (Lena) T/N: wtf

    Why?¡°

    Lena said as if she had read his mind.

    Hanakawa tried to hang on to his previous sess.

    ¡°I just thought so.¡°

    ¡°No, no, no. You¡¯re reading my mind, aren¡¯t you?¡°

    ¡°That¡¯s not good. If I could read your mind, you can¡¯t think anything bad. I think you¡¯re thinking about Boobs¡±

    ¡°Damn it! I tried to think of more things I¡¯d like to have a beautiful girl say to me, but she passed on that one! What am I supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you try sh*tting?¡±

    The small woman said innocently.

    ¡°Would you be able to help me, that you would? If so, I will give you as much as you want, that I will?

    ¡°No, no. No, I¡¯ll just delete the poop.¡±

    That¡¯s right!¡°

    -Oh, if she can read my mind, what does she want me to do? How about just thinking about things that are unbearable to listen to? I think that would just get me killed for being depressed! I mean, just the fact that I¡¯m thinking like this right now is enough to make people think I should be killed!

    Nothingness.

    He had to be nothing.

    If he became like a stone and remained unresponsive, he might lose interest and walk away.

    With that thought in mind, Hanakawa turned his face down and rubbed his forehead on the ground.

    They had seen through Shigeto¡¯s abilities.

    He must be able to use appraisal-type skills.

    If so, he must have known that Hanakawa was not very powerful.

    In other words, he should have known that Hanakawa was no threat and that it would not be a problem to miss him here.

    ¡°You¡¯re funny.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like a shoujo manga¡­ Hiiiiiiii! I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    He reacted, but it was Yoshifumi who said it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen your type before. I¡¯ll keep you as a clown. Follow me.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not worthy of being kept by a Sage, or rather, I¡¯m a difficult person to keep, so I think it would be better to let me go back to nature, if possible, so that everyone can be happy. ¡­¡­ No, I¡¯ming! I¡¯ll be there!¡±

    Yoshifumi just smirked, but the people around him reacted differently.

    Hanakawa felt a chill running down his spine as his minions looked at him.

    They would not allow him to defy Yoshifumi¡¯s order. Hanakawa sumbed to the pressure.

    The only way left for Hanakawa was to follow Yoshifumi.

    Notes:

    1. Mary-san is a Doll from a Japanese Horror Movie that likes to appear behind the movies MC

    2. I looked up the meaning of ¤¦¤ó¤Á(unchi) multiple times¡­ It can also mean Bullsh*t, but that doesn¡¯t fit the context

 Volume 6, 10: I have a feeling weâ€™re not gonna get through to you!

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 10: I have a feeling we¡¯re not gonna get through to you!</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Ho-kun¡¯s Crimson Lotus Sword will vaporize the iceberg in an instant!¡±

    From next to Tomochika, who was looking up at the luxury cruise ship, came a carefree female voice.

    Judging from the content of the conversation, she was probably talking to Tomochika.

    When she looked next to her, she saw a tall woman smiling at her.

    ¡°Uh, is that a finishing move or something?¡±[1]

    ¡°Stop it, Mom! Why are you interrupting a stranger¡¯s conversation?¡±

    The woman was holding the boy from behind.

    The boy¡¯s head was resting on the woman¡¯s ample breasts, which made him look quite ufortable.

    If he walked here like this, he must have been quite noticeable.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You were worried about an iceberg, so I thought I¡¯d put your mind at ease. Ho-kun is very strong!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, my mother can¡¯t read the mood¡­¡±

    She seemed confident but didn¡¯t seem to be particrly hostile. Tomochika didn¡¯t know how to react.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I know it¡¯s confusing. We¡¯re like a small mercenary group. We¡¯ve been hired to guard this ship.¡±

    ¡°Uh, you mean with your mother?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I also have an older sister and a younger sister.¡±

    The boy turned to look into the distance. He must be having a very hard time.

    ¡°Are there going to be pirates?¡±

    Yogiri asked.

    ¡°Yes. But it¡¯s not every day that a cruise ship of this size is attacked, and that¡¯s why we¡¯re here. Come on, let¡¯s go! We¡¯re all waiting for you!¡±

    The boy urged his mother and quickly made his way to the ship.

    Pirates wille¡­¡­¡°

    Tomochika had an increasingly bad feeling about this.

    ¡°But we have no choice but to go by boat. If you really don¡¯t want to, we can find another Sage to help us.¡±

    But the only one whose whereabouts were known was Yoshifumi, the Sage of the Ent Empire.

    The city of Hanabusa, where he stayed before, seemed to be under the control of Alice the Sage, but it was a long way from here, and there was no guarantee that he is there.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯vee this far, haven¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Thats a crude description of events? Where¡¯s the Prelude.¡±

    As she was pondering, she was approached again.

    She turned around and saw a boy who looked Japanese standing there, staring at Tomochika.

    She thought it might be a misunderstanding, but it seemed that the boy was talking to Tomochika.

    Tomochika was a little offended.

    The boy¡¯s tone was mocking and ridiculing.

    ¡°Huh? I thought you were an exnatory mob character, but it looks like you¡¯re not. From the looks of it, you¡¯re the heroine of the next event?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ Who are you?¡°

    She thought that if it was a Japanese boy, he might be her ssmate, but Tomochika did not remember him.

    However, there were a good number of Japanese people in this world.

    In addition to the summoning of the Sages, they have were there for various reasons.

    So it was not so strange that there was a Japanese person there, but he was acting too familiar for a first meeting and what he was saying was suspicious.

    Tomochika became more and more suspicious.

    ¡°My name is Yosuke Hiiragi. If I can talk to you, does that make me a party member?¡¡Oh, don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s over here.¡±

    ¡°Japanese? You¡¯re Japanese, right?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s how it¡¯s set up. You¡¯re an unusual NPC.¡±

    ¡°I have a feeling I¡¯m not going to get through to you!¡± (Tomochika)

    Tomochika thought back to the people she had met when she first came to this world.

    In general, this kind of overconfident person did not listen to others.

    ¡°Do you think you¡¯re in a game?¡±

    As Tomochika wondered if there was any point in talking, Yogiri spoke to Yosuke.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey. What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m bored. The game characters are aware that they¡¯re in a game? It¡¯s breaking the fourth wall. It sounds like something a crappy scenario writer who¡¯s just trying to be weird would do.¡±

    Yosuke frowned. Apparently, he didn¡¯t like what Yogiri had to say.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s a dumb scenario, but I was wondering if you could join me for a minute.¡±

    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t there some kind of event that happens when you go out to sea on a boat? Well, if this is a g, then so be it.¡±

    ¡°If we¡¯re in a game, what¡¯s your perception of it? Are you sitting in front of the TV holding a controller?¡±

    ¡°No way. What do you think VR is for?¡±

    VR, or virtual reality.

    Tomochika had at least a vague idea of what it was.

    ¡°How is that even possible? I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve perfected the technology to build a world this realistic.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about it, but when I y, I¡¯m in some kind of capsule.¡±

    ¡°What year do you think it is?¡±

    Yosuke¡¯s answer was almost exactly the same as the time when Tomochika and the others went on their school trip.[2]

    In other words, it didn¡¯t seem to be a product of future technology.

    ¡°Is that like being able to log in and log out?¡±

    ¡°Enough with that. I don¡¯t want to see this kind of boring development in a fantasy RPG world.

    After saying that, Yosuke headed for the ship. Those who seemed to be his friends followed behind him.

    Perhaps it was because of what he had just said, but they seemed to be puppets with no will.

    ¡°¡­¡­Eh? What was that? What does he mean? I don¡¯t get it. What was that guy?

    ¡°In a game¡­ I¡¯ve been ignoring that possibility because I can¡¯t help but think about that sort of thing.¡±

    ¡°What? The game thing is a lie, right? It can¡¯t be real, can it?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s possible, actually.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible?¡±

    For example, in the future, when all subatomic motion is simted on a very advancedputer. But there¡¯s no way to prove it. It¡¯s like the butterfly dream or the five minutes before the world ends hypothesis.¡°

    ¡°Well, if this world is real, it¡¯s a dodgy world with magic and stuff¡­¡±

    ¡°So there¡¯s no point in worrying about it, but if it¡¯s a game, there¡¯s a possibility that you can log out and go back to the original world.¡±

    From Yogiri¡¯s point of view, he came to the other world while he was asleep, and it is possible that he was forced to participate in the game at that time.

    However, Tomochika has knowledge of the moment she came to the other world. When she was on the bus, she suddenly found herself in another world, and she could not believe that she was being forced to y a VR game.

    ¡ºHmm. But that¡¯s only if you¡¯ve started the game at some point. If you were created as a character in the game from the beginning, it would be impossible to log out. ¡»

    Mokomoko joined in the conversation.

    However, Tomochika has a vast amount of experience and memories from before she came to this world. It was hard to believe that they were all fake.

    ¡°Yeah. If we are right in the middle, there¡¯s nothing we could do about it, so there¡¯s no point in worrying about it. I guess the only thing we need to worry about is the guy himself.¡±

    What do you mean?¡°

    ¡°If he thinks this world is a game, he¡¯s got the potential to do some pretty crazy stuff.¡±

    ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s true that in a game where you can kill NPCs, you might do!¡±

    ¡°Dannoura-san, you¡¯re that type, right? I can¡¯t do it. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t go on the assassin quest in Skyrim.¡±

    ¡°What? What¡¯s with this? It¡¯s like I¡¯m an atrocity.¡±

    It seemed that even Yogiri, who has killed people without hesitation in the past, cannot do so in the game.

    Tomochika felt that this was somehow unreasonable.

    Notes:

    1. A finishing move like in a Video Game

    2. The same as in they don¡¯t know or understand why they¡¯re here, I think

 Volume 6, 11: Youâ€™re not working, are you? (2/8)

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 11: You¡¯re not working, are you? (2/8)</h4>

    ¡°Hey. Isn¡¯t this too extravagant?¡±

    When Tomochika was shown to her room, she was overwhelmed by the grandeur of the special ss cabin.

    The room was spacious with plenty of room to spare, and the furnishings showed that even to the untrained eye, the utmost in luxury had been applied.

    Moreover, there were several such rooms in a row without any particr use.

    It was a luxurious space that would make amoner like Tomochika shy away from it.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We have money. If we¡¯re too stingy, the environment might be unbearable for those of us who have be ustomed to modern civilization.¡±

    Yogiri didn¡¯t seem to have any particr thoughts about the luxury of the room.

    He was not able to tell what Mokomoko was thinking because she didn¡¯t even bother to control her expression.

    She was moving so that she was ovepping with Enju. It was like she was possessing her.

    In this state, it seemed to be able to move more naturally, while remote controlling it increases the gap.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but are you sure about the money? I feel like we¡¯ve spent a lot of money so far.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s increasing. It¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°Why? You don¡¯t work, do you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a concierge who manages my money and it¡¯s going really well.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what you were talking about, but how do you know that?¡±

    ¡°Sometimes pigeons fly in and report back to us.¡±

    The main means of long-distancemunication in this world is the carrier pigeon.

    There were various means ofmunication, but the pigeon, a magical creature, was often used because it could be used anywhere and was reliable.

    ¡°But now that you know you have more money, how do you spend it?¡±

    ¡°You can pay with pigeons. You can encrypt the information and instruct the bank to make the transaction.¡±

    Pigeons are so useful!¡°

    Tomochika didn¡¯t know much about the financial system of this world, but it seemed that pigeons were at the heart of it.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s Hanakawa¡¯s money, so we should thank him.¡±

    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s toote for him to thank him.¡±

    They couldn¡¯t just stand there at the entrance forever, so they went into the room.

    As soon as they entered, they found themselves in the living room.

    Yogiri and Tomochika put down their luggage and sat down on the sofa.

    ¡°They say we¡¯ll be there in about a week, if everything goes well.¡±

    ¡°If everything goes well¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, if something goes wrong, the youngster will take care of it.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not invincible. It¡¯s a nuisance on a ship.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really?¡°

    What is this guy talking about now? Tomochika looked at Yogiri with such eyes.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about it if the ship suddenly sinks due to some kind of trouble.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is? What about the usual predictions for killing Intent?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to deal with a crisis that isn¡¯t aimed at me, but one that changes the environment itself.¡±

    In the first ce, Yogiri had been transferred to another world, and in the demon world, he fell off a cliff.

    It wasn¡¯t possible to detect all crises.

    If that¡¯s the case, we shouldn¡¯t be taking an elegant boat trips!¡°

    ¡°Well, the worst that can happen is that we can make a ship out of Furemaru. We don¡¯t have to worry too much about that, do we?¡±

    Mokomoko said.

    ¡°Hmm? That¡¯s the thing you got from Robo, right? Is that what it¡¯s called?¡±

    It was probably a mysterious substance, given to them by an invading robot, that usually mimics a piece of clothing.

    The shape could be set at will, and it could also be used as a weapon, armor, or wings.

    It was quite a useful tool.

    ¡°Hmm. Without a name, it¡¯s hard to getfortable. It¡¯s not like I can just call it the robot thing every time.¡±

    ¡°Is there a reason for that name?¡±

    What¡¯s Maru? That was amon name for Japanese swords. Tomochika thought it was a name unique to the Heian era born Mokomoko.

    ¡°It stands for flexible materials.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know any of this was going on!¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just hope nothing happens to the ship.¡±

    With that, Yogiri got up and headed for the bedroom in the back.

    ¡°It¡¯s still daytime, are you going to bed?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to do. What about you, Dannoura-san?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think I¡¯ll go take a look around the ship.¡±

    Even though it was a luxurious room, being cooped up in it was just boring. Tomochika thought that it would not be a bad idea to take a look at the ship that would be taking care of her for the next while.

    ¡°Youngster¡±

    Mokomoko threw something lightly, and Yogiri took it.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s part of Furemaru. If something happens, I¡¯ll call you with it. There¡¯s lessg than with a phone.¡±

    ¡°All right. Let me know if anyone tries to harm Dannoura-san.¡±

    ¡°If you could do that, why didn¡¯t you do it before?¡±

    ¡°Split control of Furemaru is quite difficult and I have only recently been able to do so.¡±

    She had been able to handle the hardened Furemaru as flying tools, but she had not been able to control them after they were separated.

    She said that it was now possible to control it even after it had been separated, if only slightly.

    ¡°You¡¯re asleep fast!¡±

    While Tomochika was listening to Mokomoko¡¯smentary, Yogiri had begun to breathe in his sleep.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    At the end of the deck there was a lifeboat.

    They looked sturdy and would be useful in case of emergency, but there were fewer of them than she had expected.

    ¡°You can¡¯t fit everyone on this thing. ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°You know the one on that ship that hit the iceberg wasn¡¯t even close?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the first ss passengers, they¡¯ll all fit in the first ss cabin.¡±

    A passing sailor told her so and left.

    It was no surprise that the sailor remembered her face.

    ¡°Oh! The poor would die¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure second ss is still quite expensive.¡±

    Tomochika and Mokomoko wandered around the ship.

    The reason why she was doing this is because it is easier for them to talk naturally.

    She did this because it might seem unnatural to talk to an invisible person.

    ¡°There¡¯s so much here, I think I can manage for a week or so.¡±

    Gym, tennis courts, swimming pool, bathhouse, casino, fine restaurants, concert hall.

    There were plenty of things to do on board to pass the time.

    ¡°So, what do we do? Are we still going by boat?¡± (mokomoko)

    There was still time since the ship would leave in the evening and they could still cancel.

    ¡°You know¡­ I have a bad feeling about this. I don¡¯t think there are any icebergs, though.¡±

    The icebergs were in the far northern ocean, so it was unlikely that we would encounter them on this voyage.

    ¡°There are some suspicious people on board, but I¡¯m sure the boy can handle them if they try anything.¡±

    ¡°In the first ce. I¡¯ve been thinking if we really need to defeat the Sage and collecting the Philosopher¡¯s Stone for a while now¡±

    ¡°Hmm. But that¡¯s the method that has the best chance of getting us home so far, right?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. It has been causing so much trouble for the people of this world. I don¡¯t know if I have to go that far to return, I think.¡°

    Of course, Tomochika would like to go home if she could.

    However, it would involve a lot of sacrifices. If the Sages die, there would be less and less strength to protect this world from foreign enemies. Sooner orter, the world will not be able to cope with the invaders and will be on the verge of destruction.

    Sages were not good people. They didn¡¯t care about people and could easily kill a lot of them. However, they were still better than the invaders.

    Necessary evil was exactly what they are, and no matter how bad they were, they are necessary in this world.

    However, Yogiri was determined to return home even if it meant destroying this world.

    Tomochika, however, was not prepared to go that far.

    If she had to go that far, she might as well give up on returning home.

    ¡°You know, Hanakawa-kun called us a pair of psychopaths before, right? I thought it would be a good idea for the two of us to go ahead and kill everything together.¡±

    To survive in this world, you needed to be prepared.

    However, Tomochika thought that this was not the same as abandoning everything and feeling nothing.

    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t mean that trying to return is directly rted to the damage to this world. You may be able to get the Philosopher¡¯s Stone without defeating the Sage, and the number of Philosopher¡¯s Stones we need may not be that great. And it seems that the Koryuu knows something about how to return.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to go smoothly anyway.¡°

    Well, if you don¡¯t want to go home, that¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    ¡°I am here to protect the n of Dannoura, to ensure the prosperity of my descendants, and for that purpose I am protecting you. Then I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter where you are. Although I think it would be easier for us to prosper if we could return home.¡±

    ¡°Well, if I¡¯m going to live here, I¡¯ll have to think about it, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too much trouble. Many peoplee from Japan, so the Japanesenguage is reasonably well spoken, and if you choose the right ce, it¡¯s not inconvenient to be a modern Japanese.¡±

    It¡¯s a littlete for that. The fact that the Japanesenguage is so popr means that a lot of peoplee from Japan, right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I guess that¡¯s the way it is. Maybe there¡¯s something unique about Japan. ¡°

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not the point. I don¡¯t know if I can live in this world with Japanese people.¡±

    It¡¯s not that she was giving up on returning home right now.

    However, Tomochika was beginning to think that living in this world was an option.

 Volume 6, 12: Donâ€™t get mixed up in strangersâ€™ conversations without permission. Okay? (3/8)

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 12: Don¡¯t get mixed up in strangers¡¯ conversations without permission. Okay? (3/8)</h4>

    A long time ago, the Seven Great Mages were defeated by a man who called himself the Great Sage.

    Iselda did not remember the circumstances leading up to the battle.

    The only thing that she remembered intensely was that she was defeated with no way out.

    For the first time in her long life, she was decisively defeated. It was an astonishing event for Iselda, who had thought she was the strongest, the best of the seven, and was convinced that she didn¡¯t need to get any stronger.

    In that battle, five great mages survived.

    She guessed the Great Sage didn¡¯t care about the great mages.

    She just let it happen and two people died in the process. That was about the extent of it.

    What happened to the surviving great mages was different.

    One has given up everything. He gave up his glory as a great mage, his wealth, his power, and his magic. It is said that he threw all of that away and went into hiding. So he should have died a long time ago.

    One of them joined the army of the Great Sage and became a sage. He may have been trying to gain power, but to Iselda, it looked like he was running away. No matter how strong he became with that, he would never be able to defeat the Great Sage.

    The remaining three had vowed to overthrow the Great Sage, but each had a different approach.

    One of them simply trained himself to be the strongest he could be, and searched for more power. However, those who hade to be known as great mages had already reached their limits. No matter how much self-restraint they exerted, no matter how hard they tormented their bodies to the point of ruin, there was already no room for growth.

    What happened to him after that, Iselda did not know. She had heard that he had challenged the Great Sage again, but it would have been a desperate and fruitless attempt.

    One sought another¡¯s power.

    Ancient magic, dragonnguage magic, the blessings of the demons, and the grace of the gods.

    The research seems to have had some sess, and the name still remains. Iglesia was the name.

    There were many legends about her, such as sealing the demon gods and building the walls of the Manny Kingdom¡¯s royal capital, but she had yet to reach the rank of Great Sage.

    And Iselda thought that she could notpete with the Great Sage with her previous power.

    She had to use the power of the Great Sage to bite the Great Sage. She knew she had to use the Gift.

    It was a power that had somehow covered the world and changed its logic.

    By inheriting the Gift, a person was given a role (ss) and special abilities (skills) ording to their ss.

    Her power had be overwhelming in this world.

    Iselda obtained the gift from a being called Koryuu, the Fallen Dragon.

    Koryuu was the highest level gift holder connected to the root of the system, and was unrted to the sages.

    Even if they were a Great Sage, they couldn¡¯t interfere with the Gift of another lineage.

    If she wanted to get the Gift, she would have to start closer to the root. It worked, but there was one problem.

    Gifts tended to be more specialized with each passing generation.

    In other words, being close to the root meant that all possibilities were open, and therefore not all useful powers would manifest.

    And the power that Iselda had gained was not something that couldpete with the Great Sage.

    So Iselda tried to reincarnate.

    Thews of ss manifestation were shrouded in mystery, but even so, it was believed that the approximate direction was determined by the ss of the inheritor and the ss tendencies of the inheritee.

    As long as the ss propensity is innate and the inheritance source can was a descendant dragon, no matter how many times she repeated it, she¡¯ll just have more of the same sses.

    And that method had its limitations. There was a limit to the area in which a gift can be installed, and if you fill up the area with useless gifts, that was the end of it.

    But if the ss tendency was innate, then all you had to do was reincarnate.

    That would solve the problem of the realm, and she could start over again as many times as she wanted.

    If a convenient gift arose, it would be possible to reincarnate to a descendant and create a more powerful gift line.

    Iselda repeated the reincarnation process.

    Even now, Iselda was still on her way to bing the strongest.

    But the results were definitely showing.

    She was confident that she would eventually reach the rank of Great Sage.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    The ship left in the evening without any problems.

    Ho, the leader of the Crimson Lotus Bonds, returned to his room after the meeting about the ship¡¯s escort.

    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±

    ¡°Ho-kun, you¡¯re back.¡±

    ¡°What? Where are my sisters?¡±

    Ho¡¯s mother was drinking tea elegantly. But there was no sign of the sisters who were supposed to be with her.

    ¡°They¡¯re exploring the ship.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s part of their job to stay in the room¡­¡±

    Ho joined her at the table, grumbling.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No matter what happens, Ho-kun will be there! ¡°

    ¡°No, there are times when I just can¡¯t do it alone.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t deal with pirates, do you?¡±

    ¡°No. Pirates are to be dealt with by a different unit.¡±

    There was little work assigned to the Crimson Lotus Bond.

    A specialized unit was supposed to take care of the perimeter and fight off pirates.

    The Crimson Lotus Bond was a trump card for emergencies.

    Therefore, their main duty was to wait in their room.

    The ship had hired a high profile warrior just to be a shield.

    Ho of the Crimson Lotus Bond was famous in these circles.

    A brave warrior, a sword emperor, a great mage and a harem master.

    As a warrior with four of the top sses on his own, he was highly respected.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what we¡¯ll have to do if the iceberg doesn¡¯te.¡±

    ¡°Mother. Don¡¯t get mixed up in strangers¡¯ conversations. OK?

    Ho remembered what had happened before they hade on board, when she had seen a girl worrying about icebergs in the South Seas.

    ¡°But they have never been on a boat before! I think they were anxious!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, I suppose. She was a pretty girl, though.¡±

    ¡°What? I don¡¯t think you¡¯re ready for that kind of talk!¡±

    Iselda casually guided Ho¡¯s consciousness.

    Ho was one of Iselda¡¯s reincarnations, and her consciousness as Iselda resided within him.

    Ho didn¡¯t know this.

    He was born as Ho; he grew up as Ho.

    If nothing happened to him in the future, he would go through life and die knowing nothing.

    For Iselda, Ho was just a passing point on the road to bing the strongest.

    After so many reincarnations, she didn¡¯t see the value in experiencing life again.

    All Ho had to do was to increase his offspring, and to that extent she could leave everything to him.

    But Iselda was now activating her consciousness.

    There was someone who was more than a little curious about.

    Iselda was always investigating people around her to see if there was a better line of gifts.

    If there was a good bloodline, it had to be reincarnated or mixed to create a new bloodline, but in the course of this research, she found a strange person.

    This was the girl Ho¡¯s mother spoke to earlier.

    The girl¡¯s gift was not manifested, so her ss tendencies were not known, but her body itself was interesting.

    It was abination of sensory organs, nervous system and muscles that were far too efficient for her own good.

    It seemed to be the result of some kind of experiment that could not havee about naturally.

    Iselda was intrigued by the girl.

    She wanted to be the strongest, but she wanted more than just a gift. In order to overthrow the Great Sage, she would have to consider all the factors.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that!¡±

    Ho said, but inwardly he was interested in the girl and wanted to make contact with her.

    The idea was to bring the best people into the bloodline and create a more powerful incarnation.

    This is what Iselda has been doing for a long time.

    ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡±

    As Iselda was wondering how to guide Ho in the future, Ho noticed something.

    Are they back?¡°

    The doorknob of the front door moved with a jerk.

    They thought it was unnatural, because the sound of the knob being moved continued for a while, even though the door was locked.

    The sisters, of course, had a key. Even if the door was locked, they would have noticed and unlocked it immediately.

    ¡°Mother! Be careful!¡±

    A few momentster, the door opened.

    A strange man was standing there.

    ¡°It¡¯s locked, I thought no one was here, is this an automatic lock?¡±

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you say anything more clever than that? That¡¯s what NPCs should do.¡±

    As usual, Iselda carried out the appraisal process.

    The man who came in was a VRRPG yer, which was a strange ss.

 Volume 6, 13: Congratulations on your win! (4/8)

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 13: Congrattions on your win! (4/8)</h4>

    ¡ºCongrattions! You have been selected to monitor the next generation of open-world RPGs, The End of the World! ¡»

    It started out as a very shady, spam-like email.

    It was a sudden email from a developmentpany she had never heard of.

    Normally, she would have ignored this kind of spam mail, but Yoko Hiiragi thought it could be good.

    Because Yoko was unemployed.

    At the moment, all she had were some savings and unemployment insurance, but she was thinking very naively about making a living as a writer, blogger or video creator.

    So, she was really trying to deal with scam emails. She thought it would be a good idea to do something like that.

    First, she went online to see if anyone else had received a simr email.

    There seemed to be a fair number of recipients, but most seemed to have decided it was spam and deleted it.

    Some of them, it seems, had installed the client software and were ying it without any particr rm.

    At least the game itself seemed to be real.

    Looking at the gamey video, it looked like an orthodox open-world fantasy RPG.

    As far as she could tell, it was not a very interesting game with a simple picture, but open world games were all about the freedom to do whatever you want.

    If you knew how to do it right, you could be a popr video game yer.

    With nothing else to do, Yoko decided to y the game.

    She isted her spare PC from the homework, just in case, and followed the instructions in the email to install the game.

    It wasn¡¯t an online game, but it was essential to have an inte connection as the resources were retrieved from the server as needed.

    As soon as she started ying, Yoko felt that the game was just too much work.

    Overall, the gamecked a sense offort.

    First of all, the world was unnecessarilyrge.

    There was no deforming whatsoever, and the world had a real-world scale to it.

    If there is a royal city with 100,000 inhabitants, there are actually 100,000 NPCs, homes and workces for them, granaries to feed them, and a social infrastructure.

    Between these cities were long, uneventful roads, vast grasnds and forests.

    She traveled there while managing your urine, satiety, sleep and other statuses that only get in the way.

    And the time was the same as real time. There was no such thing like a day in the game is an hour in real life.

    Normally in an open-world game like this, you¡¯d expect to be able to fast-travel to key locations, or skip through time, but this game didn¡¯t have any of those features.

    It may be realistic, but it was a cumbersome game.

    That said, she didn¡¯t find it boring.

    Oddly enough, the reactions of the NPCs were quite varied.

    NPCs lived their own lives in the game and react in various ways to what you say and do.

    In this game she could talk to NPCs in chat and they would respond appropriately.

    We were told that a high performance AI was used, but it was said that people were controlling them.

    It was a very realistic world, but it was nothing more than a world simtor.

    It may be entertaining, but The End of the World was designed to be entertaining.

    In contrast to the realism of that world, the yer characters were fictional.

    The yer character had levels, stats, and skills and with a little bit of effort she could quickly rise in level, gain skills based on their actions, and achieve superhuman strength.

    Yoko was immediately hooked on the game.

    It was fun to go wild in the real life like open world.

    She enjoyed ying recklessly, as if to beat the frustrations of reality up.

    After a while, she received another email.

    ¡º¡°End of the World¡± VR Edition Announcement¡»

    This was an announcement about a new version of the game, especially for yers who had yed it a lot.

    VR required special equipment, all of which could be rented from the developer.

    She was no longer skeptical and signed up to test the new version.

    She was also hooked on the game, which was yed with goggles worn on the head and gloves worn on the hands.

    Just as she was getting used to the VR, she received another email.

    ¡ºThe End of the World FIVR¡»

    FIVR stands for Full Immersion Virtual Reality, a technology that projects your entire body¡¯s sensespletely into the game, giving you the experience of being inside the game.

    The email was an invitation to a limited number of yers who had yed the VR version of the game and were being paid a substantial amount of money.

    The number of applicants was very small, so Yoko applied without the slightest hesitation.

    She received an email sayings he¡¯d won, but she didn¡¯t think it was anything suspicious.

    She was lucky. She had to pat herself on the back for doing the right thing so quickly.

    As expected, the FIVR equipment was not small enough to be installed in an ordinary home, and the technology was still under development, so it was not possible to rent it out.

    So Yoko was invited to thepany¡¯sboratory, where she signed a number of contracts.

    She didn¡¯t understand the contents of the contract, but she didn¡¯t want to lose her privilege by saying anything unnecessary.

    The monitoring test was tost for several months.

    During that time, she would not be able to leave theb, let alone leave the VR equipment.

    She was told that food and excrement would be properly handled, but Yoko did not know the technical details.

    It sounded suspicious but she had heard that in space-rted research, there are experiments in which people were held for long periods of time. Yoko didn¡¯t think it was too much to ask.

    Yoko put her affairs in order.

    Since quitting thepany, she had mostly stayed indoors and had no one close to her, but even so, being away from home for several months required a certain amount of preparation.

    After finishing her preparations, Yoko came back to the institute and was shown to the VR equipment.

    It was a long, thin capsule that wasrge enough for one adult to lie in.

    As she undressed andid down in the capsule, the lid came down and it became pitch ck, and she could not hear any external sounds.

    Then, suddenly, she lost consciousness.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    When she woke up, she was on her bed.

    She sat up and looked around.

    She thought she was in a strange room, but it soon dawned on her that she was in a room in a mansion she had bought in the End of the World.

    What was not immediately apparent was the difference in resolution.

    The goggle-type devices she used in End of World were powerful, but a game was still a game. If she looked closely, she could see that it was polygonal, and the textures were rough in ces.

    However, the scene in front of her eyes now seemed to be reality itself.

    Yoko had more than a little doubt.

    It would be much easier to recreate the mansion from the game faithfully than to create FIVR, she thought.

    Just let them think the game was about to start, put them to sleep, and transport them to a well-made set.

    But her suspicions were soon confirmed.

    When she executed a gesturemand with her finger, a system window appeared in front of her.

    Apparently themands were the same as in the VR version.

    Then, as she tried to manipte the window, she noticed that her hands were strangely white and limber.

    A quick touch confirmed it.

    It was a man¡¯s body, albeit a delicate one.

    Oh, so that¡¯s how it works¡­¡±

    When she checked my status, she found that she had inherited the same status as in the VR version.

    In other words, she had to y as a male character, Hiiragi Yosuke.

    She got down from the bed and tried to move her body. She didn¡¯t feel any difort. It didn¡¯t seem to make any difference to the fact that she became a man.

    When she looked into the mirror on the wall, she saw a ridiculously beautiful young man staring back at Yoko, that only existed in fiction.

    It was a familiar face, one that she had spent a great deal of time making up in character creation.

    ¡°Well, okay. The point is, you want me to roley as a man, right?

    She guessed she couldn¡¯t change it now, and she originally chose to be a man in the game where she could create her own character, so she was a little surprised but not too disgusted.

    Yoko decided to y as Yosuke, thinking that it was an experience that she wouldn¡¯t normally have.

    After regaining herposure, Yoko continued to check.

    The clothes she was wearing were also obtained from the VR version, and had been given various effects.

    There was no doubt that this situation was a continuation of the previous one.

    Yoko then selected the Air Cutter magic from the system window. She wondered what would happen if she used magic here, and if she could really use magic. She wanted to find out.

    With her fingertips, she pointed at the object, the bed.

    With a loud crash, the bed was split in half.

    ¡°I can break this?¡±

    ¡¾TIPS: Lock objects you don¡¯t want to identally destroy. ¡¿

    As if to answer her question, a message appeared in her field of vision.

    In the VR version, buildings and furniture could not be destroyed, but in the FIVR version, it seems that anything can be destroyed. However, this may be inconvenient in some cases, so it seems to be possible to disable the destruction.

    ¡°Yosuke-sama! How may I help you?¡±

    After opening the door roughly, women in a maid uniforms appeared.

    They were Yoko¡¯s servants.

    This game was designed to be realistic, so she couldn¡¯t carry much luggage. So she hired people to do various chores for her.

    ¡°It¡¯s not so good when it¡¯s realistic.¡±

    She thought she had picked reasonably beautiful women, but upon closer inspection, they didn¡¯t look so good.

    They had pimples, open pores, and poorly aligned teeth.

    These were things that had been covered up in the VR version due to the resolution, but now it was starting to bother her.

    Isn¡¯t there a tutorial or something?

    The game seemed to be following the VR version, so there was no need to exin the system aspect.

    However, she should get to know early on what it means to fight with this body.

    ¡°Are there any more bandits around here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they seem to still be hanging around.¡±

    This mansion was located in the mountains and was originally upied by bandits.

    She took it away from them, but it seemed they were still hanging around here.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be out in a bit. You two clean up the bed and get a new one. One of you follow me with a weapon.¡°

    She left the house and looked around.

    In her my field of vision, she saw apass, a disy that showed the approximate location of surrounding objects.

    If she checked it, she could see a number of red human-shaped icons nearby.

    Red meant it was an enemy. If they were humanoid enemies, they were probably bandits.

    Yoko started to walk carelessly.

    Her covert skills, which she had wasted time improving through repeated surprise attacks, came in handy, and she seeded in getting to the bandits¡¯ side without being noticed.

    Yoko ordered her maid to prepare a sword for her.

    It was an ordinary sword with no special effects, but it would be a good way to try outbat.

    Just like in the VR version, the sword muscles seemed to bepensated ording to the level of the swordsmanship skill.

    If she swung her sword properly, it would be considered as an attackmand and the most appropriate attack would be automatically executed.

    Yoko gently approached the bandit and shed at him from behind.

    The upper half of the bandit¡¯s body easily fell to the ground.

    Blood spurted out and internal organs spilled out. The smell of blood and guts filled the air, and Yoko couldn¡¯t help but throw up.

    ¡°Yosuke-sama! How may I help you?¡±

    A maid came running up to her, worried.

    Yoko had no idea what it was like to kill someone. She didn¡¯t feel guilty about killing bandits, they were just NPCs in a game. She had only thought of them as treasure chests that dropped equipment, but now that they were so real, she felt a physiological disgust that made her unable to move.

    ¡¾TIPS: If you are notfortable with grotesque expressions, increase the level of the cruelty filter. ¡¿

    Then, such a message was disyed on the screen.

 Volume 6, 14: She burned down the elven forest. (5/8)

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 14: She burned down the elven forest. (5/8)</h4>

    Yoko vomited her gastric juices and winced with a burning difort in her throat.

    It was hard for her to believe that this was a game.

    ¡°Bastard!¡±

    The bandits came close, shing at her with their swords and stabbing her with their spears, but Yoko was unharmed.

    There was too much of a difference in level between them and the bandits for any attacks to work.

    But.

    Yoko just shuddered and cowered.

    The smell of blood, guts, and vomit made her dizzy.

    She was intoxicated by the violence, frightened by the bandits who came at her with twisted faces, and terrified by the weapons that were slung at her with the intent to kill.

    The maid beside her did nothing.

    She seemed to be worried about Yoko throwing up and cowering, but she didn¡¯t seem to care that she was at the mercy of the bandits¡¯ attack.

    She was convinced that her master won¡¯t even get a scratch from this.

    -No more!

    I¡¯m quitting this game.

    When Yoko looked at the system window to log out, she noticed that TIPS was disyed.

    ¡¾TIPS: If you are not a fan of grotesque expressions, increase the level of the cruelty filter. ¡¿

    The cruelty filter was a function that reduces the amount of bloodshed and deformities.

    Yoko opened the filter settings screen and immediately set the cruelty filter to the maximum level.

    Bloodshed off

    Loss of life off.

    Smell off

    Pain sensation off

    Damage pop-up on

    Disappearing body on

    Toon shade on

    Blinking effect off

    All of these settings were changed together.

    Immediately, her vision changed.

    Everything looked cartoony, with clear shadows and borders.

    She no longer felt pain, and the numbers 0 and 1 popped up whenever an attack was made.

    She could no longer smell it, and the difort was finally decreasing.

    Yoko stood up.

    The bandits who were attacking her had lost all sense of reality. The bandits who were attacking her were no longer realistic; they were just a bunch of mob characters, and she felt no fear whatsoever.

    Yoko kicked away the bandits that came at her.

    The bandit disappeared with a single blow. They disintegrated into a puff of light and disappeared, leaving the item behind.

    That¡¯s right. It was a game, this was how it¡¯s supposed to be.

    Yoko recovered.

    The graphic expressions were gone, and she was able to recognize once again that this was a game.

    ¡°Whoa!¡±

    Finally realizing the abnormality of who they were dealing with, the bandits ran away.

    ¡°We¡¯re not letting them get away.¡±

    She disyed the target window, selected the three fleeing bandits, and used the Ice Missile magic.

    Once she locked on to them, they would automatically be tracked up to a certain distance, so there was no need to aim carefully.

    A number of ice blobs were created in the midair.

    They flew dexterously through the trees and struck the three fleeing heads.

    The three disappeared in a sh of light.

    The bandit who had been yed first was also gone before she knew it. All that was left was the equipment they had been wearing.

    ¡°The bandit turned into light and disappeared. I thought Yosuke-sama was acting differently than usual, were you trying to do this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Does it look like that to you too?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The blood puddles and corpses that were there a while ago have suddenly disappeared, but Yosuke-sama did it, right?¡±

    Apparently, the expression filter was not set to only restrict Yoko¡¯s view.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the filter just for appearances?¡±

    Yoko decided to experiment with it.

    In the material search, she specified the bones of a beast and disyed the distance to the material on thepass.

    ¡°Thepass shows the distance to the material. There¡¯s a beast over there, go hunt it down.¡±

    She ordered the maid to go.

    The maid was strong enough to apany Yoko on her journey, so she wouldn¡¯t have to struggle with as much as a wild animal.

    After a while, the maid came back and something in her hand emitted a white smoke.

    ¡°Kyaa~ What? What does that mean?

    She looked at something the maid had dropped.

    There was meat lying on the ground. If she looked closely, she could see a small bone that looked like a femur lying near it.

    ¡°Is this a rabbit?¡±

    ¡°Yes. A while ago, there was a whole body¡­¡±

    Apparently, the filter was applied the moment it entered Yoko¡¯s field of vision.

    And once it activated, she couldn¡¯t undo it even if she looked away.

    I see.¡°

    It was an environment where everything seemed to be real, but the game settings seemed to be veryx.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll get around to verifying the settingster, but for now, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do do¡±

    There were no specific instructions from the developers how to y the game.

    The only requirement was to keep ying, as the game was an experiment to see the effects of prolonged VR experiences on the human body.

    However, it would have been be a shame to spend her time in this world aimlessly.

    The rewards for test-ying the game were considerable, but Yoko didn¡¯t intend to stop there.

    They were going to edit a video of her ying this game and post it on a video site.

    This was the world¡¯s first video of an FIVR game experience. It would surely be popr.

    All of Yoko¡¯s gamey was recorded, and she had given them permission to publish the contents.

    Simply ying FIVR on and on would be a great record to have.

    But that was not enough.

    Viewers were always looking for inspiration, and she needed to respond to that.

    ¡°Hmmm. I burned an elven forest. How about that?¡±

    It was amon story, but Yoko thought it might be a popr one.

    ¡°What is an elf?¡±

    ¡°Ah. Are there no elves? What kind of non-human species are there?¡±

    Yoko remembered that there was no race selection in character creation.

    Therefore, she hadn¡¯t really been aware of other races.

    In addition to humans, there are beastmen who have the characteristics of various animals, demons who excel in magic, half-demons who have magic power but can¡¯t use it well, and juveniles who remain in child form even after they grow up. But what I know about them is limited to this continent.

    She guessed they were no different from humans, because she saw a fair amount of beastmen in town. They didn¡¯t seem to have any particr viges.

    The demons were in a demon country and were led by a demon king, so if someone messed with them, they might have to deal with the whole country. It would be nice to go that route eventually, but that would be like the main scenario. If she was going to do it, she might as well do itst.

    The half demons seemed to have established a vige in the forest, which was perfect for them, but they were being targeted by various forces. They were hiding tightly and their whereabouts were unknown.

    Therefore, Yoko decided to attack the vige of the juvenile tribe.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°Oh, this is no good.¡±

    The vige was on fire.

    The houses were small and pretty, like something out of a fairy tale, but they were on fire.

    A young girl jumped out of the house and disappeared into the light after being attacked by a maid.

    Then only the clothes were left on the spot.

    Another maid dragged out a child that was hiding behind a barrel and killed it.

    Such things were happening all over the vige, and there were children¡¯s clothes scattered around.

    ¡°They say this kind of thing is tough abroad.¡±

    Even if the cruelty filter makes the corpse disappear, she was still attacking and killing a being that looked like a child.

    She was going to jokingly say, ¡°I killed a juvenile¡±. She was going to do something like that, but when she actually tried it, she didn¡¯t think it would work as a story.

    If she posted such a video, it would probably be criticized and med.

    ¡°Yes. Stop for a moment! Come back.¡±

    She called out loudly, and ten maids with weapons in their hands gathered around Yoko.

    ¡°It seems there are still a few left.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this anymore, it¡¯s been rejected. Then, let¡¯s move out. Thank you for your hard work.¡±

    ¡°What the ¡­¡­ hell are you¡­?¡±

    Just as she was about to leave, a boy came staggering over.

    The HP bar above his head was decreasing and turning red, so he seemed to have taken a lot of damage, but Yoko couldn¡¯t tell what kind of injuries he had sustained.

    ¡°Oh! You found the surviving juvenile hero?

    ¡°What did we do¡­ to deserve this?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, sorry, sorry. I was wondering if I could take the ce of the elves.¡±

    ¡°Elves¡­? Why would a minority group living in the Ents have anything to do with us¡­¡±

    The juvenile was trying to find a rational reason from Yoko¡¯s words.

    She had gone to such lengths.

    He seemed to be desperately thinking that there must be a good, convincing reason.

    ¡°I was going to say¡±I burned down an elven forest!¡± but there were no elves. So I did it with you guys instead, but it turned out to be more gruesome than I expected. I was just thinking, ¡°I can¡¯t use this. So, I¡¯m done with the burning. If you want, I can help you put out the fire.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you¡­! What the hell is wrong with you?

    The boy grabbed onto Yoko, and at that moment, the boy turned into light and disappeared.

    The counterattack barrier that had surrounded Yoko put an end to the dying boy.

    ¡°Hero boy, you¡¯ve survived so long.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re still children when they mature, so I¡¯m not sure if they were boys.

    ¡°Damn, this is a pedophile-friendly setting.¡±

    ¡°Right, he said something earlier that caught my attention. He said the elves were in the Ent.¡±

    ¡°The Ent¡­ is an ind nation to the east. I¡¯ve never been to that part of the world.¡±

    Yoko had been to most of the interesting ces around here, but she had never been over the ocean.

    ¡°There are elves there, I see. Then let¡¯s go on a burning tour!¡±

    She had no idea what kind of elves are here.

    She didn`t know what kind of beings these elves are, but Yoko thought it would be a good story if we went there.

 Volume 6, 15: A figure that could not keep its flesh inside and overflowed outside.

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 15: A figure that could not keep its flesh inside and overflowed outside.</h4>

    ¡°What are you?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you say something a bit more clever? That¡¯s why NPCs are so annoying.¡±

    Suddenly, a man opened the door and walked into Ho and the other¡¯s room.

    From what Iselda could see with her appraisal skills, the man¡¯s name was Yosuke Hiragi, and his ss was VRRPG yer.

    Iselda could not read any information from the ss name. yer could mean participant orpetitor. But she had no idea what VRRPG stood for.

    His level was 99, which is the upper limit for a normal person who just got a gift. His status was also in line with his level, and his skills were not particrly noteworthy.

    If she just looked at the results of the appraisal, she¡¯d think he was no match for Ho.

    But¡­ could she dismiss this man as just a small fry?

    This man had opened the special cabin¡¯s heavily secured door.

    There wereseveral possible ways to do that, but no matter which one he choose, there was no doubt that he had some kind of power.

    From the sound of his name, it was possible that he came from another world.

    If that was the case, she couldn¡¯t be too careful.

    She thought it was a good idea to keep her eyes peeled for anything new.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be a ¡­¡­pirate?¡±

    Ho stood up with his sword in his hand.

    But he didn¡¯t attack out of the blue. Even if it was an intruder, Ho was cautious enough to wait and see.

    ¡°No, not at all. It¡¯s different.¡±

    ¡°Then what do you think you¡¯re doing? You can¡¯t just walk into someone¡¯s room without permission.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but it was the same thing. I¡¯d go into a room and I¡¯de out with everything I could find.¡±

    ¡°I said, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t afford a first-ss ticket, that¡¯s why. I don¡¯t have a lot of cash on me because I take what I want. But then, why don¡¯t I just board the ship with a second-ss ticket and go to special ss on my own? That¡¯s what I came up with. In the city, the guards are annoying, but they¡¯re not here!¡±

    ¡°All right. So it¡¯s some kind of robbery!

    To Ho, Josuke¡¯s words and actions seemed incoherent. Or maybe he was losing his mind, but whatever the case, he was a thug.

    Ho swung his sword on the spot without moving.

    At a certain level, distance is no longer an issue for a swordsman¡¯s attack. The distance of a few meters is nothing to Ho, who was both a hero and a swordsman.

    The attack from the sword sh was supposed to cut off Josuke¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Oh no. This guy¡¯s insanely strong! As expected of a Hero!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡°

    Josuke was defending his attack with a jar.

    It was a decorative jar that had been ced as soon as he entered the room. It may have been of high quality, but it did not seem very sturdy. It was a rather delicate piece of work, but it waspletely able to block Ho¡¯s attack.

    Ho did not see Josuke hold up the jar. He hadn¡¯t seen Josuke take a position to hold it.

    But Iselda, who was inside, could see it. Her senses, that were specialized in exploratory research, had caught the moment when Josuke picked up the jar at an uncharacteristically fast pace.

    It was not a move that a level 99 human could make, and Iselda grew cautious.

    ¡°I know, right? It¡¯s amazing to see it for the first time, isn¡¯t it? As I¡¯m sure you viewers know, I activated Bullet Time from the Tactical Support System (TSS), took the jar, and locked the jar so that it wouldn¡¯t break.¡±

    But the jar was small enough to hold in one hand. No matter how sturdy it was, there was a limit to how much it could survive on its own.

    ¡°A thousand cuts!¡°

    Ho, who earlier had thought it would be enough to cut off one of his limbs and restrain him, stopped holding back.

    If a single attack was blocked, then attack in such a way that it couldn¡¯t be prevented or dodged should hit.

    Ho swung his sword in all directions.

    If he took a serious hit, he would be torn to shreds, leaving no trace. It was such a technique, but Ho felt something strange.

    The holy sword, which he had never paid attention to its weight before, was unusually heavy.

    The recoil of the cut almost took his arm with it, forcing him to use extra strength to control its trajectory.

    However, such hardships were fleeting. Ho, who had used all of his skills, looked at Josuke, out of breath.

    Once again, Josuke was unharmed.

    An old man copsed in front of Josuke, who had a look offort on his face.

    Iselda was watching. The old man had acted as a shield for Josuke and had taken the attack.

    ¡°This is terrible. I wonder if I can win this. Oh, I should probably give an exnation. This old man wants to deliver medicinal herbs to his grandchildren, and he¡¯s a quest character but he¡¯s immortal during the quest. So he¡¯s perfect to use as a shield. If I take him around like this without finishing the quest, he¡¯lle in handy.¡±

    The old man had fallen, but he didn¡¯t seem to be particrly injured.

    He was hit head-on by a thousand shes and was still in good shape.

    ¡°So, you said something about a thousand cuts, but wasn¡¯t it more like a hundred cuts?¡±

    ¡°¡­What did you do?

    Ho couldn¡¯t help but listen to Joske¡¯s thought-provoking words.

    There was something too unusual going on for him to ignore.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to say, but I¡¯ve just lowered the difficulty to very easy. Well, now we¡¯re going to attack!¡±

    Josuke threw a knife.

    It was a reasonable attack, flying at a reasonable speed.

    Ho ducked and tried to attack.

    But.

    The knife plunged into Ho¡¯s right shoulder.

    He should have ducked, and even if he had, his clothes would have bounced off the nondescript knife.

    Confused by the unexpected situation, Ho stoped moving.

    However, the damage was not serious. After a moment of dy, Ho tried to attack, but the sudden pain forced him to stop.

    ¡°Ho-kun!¡°

    His mother looked at the Ho with a bloodshot look on her face.

    An attack to the side of the head.

    A middle-aged man appeared out of nowhere, thrusting his sword deep into Ho.

    This was not the time to attack Josuke. She should deal with this man first, but just as she thought that, the man disappeared.

    ¡°Ah, as expected of a hero. Even if it¡¯s very easy, it can¡¯t be an instant death.¡±

    Ho was not killed by this level.

    HE could continue to fight if even if his internal organs were gouged out.

    But Ho was puzzled.

    This man is not like anyone he ever fought before. He did not know how to react.

    And for Iselda, this man was a mystery as well. It was as if he was from another dimension.

    ¡°ll exin that one too. The old man is a skill. When I attack, there is a chance that a mysterious old man will appear out of nowhere and help you. You can¡¯t know when it¡¯s going to happen, so you can¡¯t dodge it by watching my moves.¡°

    It might be a form of summoning.

    But even when he knew that, there was no way he could deal with it.

    ¡°The knife is just a critical. You may think that there is no way you can reliably get a critical hit, but I have a skill to stock up on critical hits. So if I save up my criticals in advance, I can trigger them at will.¡±

    That exnation also made no sense to Iselda.

    An attack that happened to go well could be described as critical, but it couldn¡¯t be an attack that followed you even if you evaded it and pierced the legendary equipment of the hero¡¯s robe.

    Interesting. ¡­¡­¡°

    Ho was under pressure.

    The difference in strength was obvious and there was no way he could lose, but there was nothing he could do.

    Of course, he could have done anything if he had given it his all.

    But if he did, the ship would not be safe and many passengers would be involved.

    Ho was not prepared to go that far.

    So Iselda was beginning toe out into the open.

    A man who attacked in a way she didn¡¯t understand and wasn¡¯t expecting.

    She wanted to make the power her own.

    Iselda¡¯s only interest was to strengthen herself, and she didn¡¯t care what happened to the passengers on the ship.

    Once Yselda is out in the open, her personality and social status as a Ho would be destroyed.

    But for Iselda, Ho was only one of many tforms, and there were plenty of spares.

    Rather than saving Ho, she decided that she would go to great lengths to secure Josuke. That was what Izelda decided.

    ¡°Ho-kun?¡±

    His mother looked at him suspiciously.

    Iselda had never been out in the open before.

    She must have sensed a change in the atmosphere.

    Starved demon¡¯s Soul¡° [1]

    Iselda used magic.

    Immediately a ck sphere appeared and covered the old man.

    The sphere was covered with countless points of light.

    The sphere, which looked like a condensed version of the night sky, soon disappeared, as did the part of the room where the sphere had been.

    A part of the room was gouged out into a sphere, and at the same time the old man¡¯s figure disappeared.

    ¡°You say he is immortal, but he can¡¯t seem to cope with subspace transference.¡±

    What? What? That¡¯s not fair!¡°

    The game would have been decided if she had suddenly hit Josuke with this.

    However, Iselda¡¯s goal was not to destroy Josuke in some unknown subspace.

    For the sake of her research, she needed to capture him alive somehow.

    Iselda thought of using gas. If she filled the room with a paralyzing gas, it would be impossible to dodge.

    But Iselda didn¡¯t know of any magic that would be so convenient.

    So, she decided to take an alternative approach.

    ¡°You¡¯re a bug that scatters like a haze.¡±

    Iselda extended her left hand to Josuke.

    His left hand came apart like a piece of string, and the tip of it spread out like a ck mist.

    ¡°What¡¯s that? Bugs? You can¡¯t have bugs!¡±

    It was a swarm of tiny bugs.

    Arge number of small enough bugs would be a good substitute for the gas.

    If she could cover them up and get them inside his body from somewhere, she could make himatose or paralyzed at will.

    However, Josuke was quick to judge.

    He didn¡¯t try to fight it, but simply ran away.

    Or perhaps, as he said, he just didn¡¯t like bugs.

    ¡°Ho-kun. It¡¯s ¡­¡­¡±

    Ho¡¯s mother asks in horror.

    The body of what had been Ho was in a rather painful state, if only in appearance.

    Iselda returned the arm to its original state.

    However, the magic power that was reduced by the earlier magic was not so easy to return.

    This body was still in the process of development, and as a vessel for the great mage Iselda, it was still insufficient.

    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t have enough magic power to keep this up.¡±

    Iselda grabbed her mother¡¯s face with her revived left hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s bad luck, mother. If nothing had happened to you, you could have lived out your life with your beloved son.¡±

    However, this mother was one of the vessels that had been prepared. She was just a vessel maker and emergency food, and Iselda didn¡¯t feel much emotion.

    ¡°The parent body is in bad shape. I think I¡¯ll let your sister or the woman we met before we came aboard rece you.¡±

    Ho¡¯s body would not be able to withstand Yselda¡¯s manifestation for a long time.

    Everything that needed to be done had to be done before the body copsed.

    After squeezing the magic out of his mother, Yselda walked into the hallway to catch Josuke as he ran away.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Tomochika wasying on a beach chair by the pool, enjoying the resort atmosphere.

    Naturally, she was wearing a swimsuit, which drew a lot of attention, but she was used to being stared at, and she was proud of it.

    ¡°Hmmm. Those who stare at it thinking it¡¯s just an erotic body don¡¯t know that within the fat that covers your entire body are vicious muscles!¡±

    Mokomoko proudly said while lying next to Tomochika

    She was of course possessing Enju and was also wearing a swim suit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me fat!¡±

    Tomochika¡¯s body looked soft, but was both flexible and strong.

    Tomochika herself had not been particrly aware of this, but Mokomoko said that this was the body of Dannoura that she had developed over the years.

    ¡°And because of the density of the flesh, you¡¯re heavier than you look!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me heavy!¡±

    ¡°No, no, weight is an important factor in battle.¡±

    ¡°In that case, wouldn¡¯t your sister be better suited for Dannoura?¡±

    Mokomoko gently looked away.

    ¡°Why do you look away?¡±

    ¡°She is a failure of Dannoura that are sometimes born. It is a figure that cannot keep its flesh inside and overflows outside. ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°I asked her a few questions and she told me about his family¡¯s dark side! What? If that¡¯s the case, then what¡¯s the point of Mokomoko¡¯s appearance? Are you a failure?¡±

    ¡°In my case, it¡¯s not a failure, because I¡¯ve not yet started to manage my bloodline!¡±

    ¡°Sis, you¡¯re just a reincarnation. ¡­¡­¡°

    But, as she recalled, none of her family members or rtives had the same curvaceous figure as her sister.

    She seemed to have a special body shape.

    ¡°Well. That¡¯s all right. It¡¯s a bit immoral to y in a pool of fresh water on a boat going over the sea, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a luxury use of water, though I suppose in this world you can create water with magic.¡±

    Tomochika and Mokomoko were enjoying the boat trip together, leaving Yogiri alone because he wanted to keet sleeping.

    ¡°Hey? Don¡¯t you think this is going to go without a problem?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a g?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, no. It¡¯s just a little boat ride, okay?¡±

    ¡°You got in trouble on a train that was just moving along.¡±

    ¡°No, we¡¯re on the ocean. What do you think ising?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe there¡¯s something on board.¡±

    Tomochika stood up and looked out over the sea from the port side.

    It was a clear day.

    There were no obstacles in sight, the waves were calm, and the voyage was unhindered.

    ¡°At least nothing ising from outside¡ª¡±

    Just as Tomochika was saying that much, the ship suddenly shook.

    ¡°What?¡°

    As she was puzzled as to what had happened, something jumped out of the sea.

    Something white, long, and huge.

    It was a tentacle with several suckers that fell from the sky toward the ship.

    As the tentacle mmed into the ship, the ship shook again and screams echoed through the air.

    ¡°I knew something woulde.¡±

    ¡°I knew something like this would happen!¡±

    Tomochika thought that it would be better to assume that something would happen from the beginning.

    previous Index next

    Thank you Luis, Venoltar and TeeTwoLee for supporting me on Ko-fi!

    Holy moly, I just looked in my security plugin for wordpress and there are 7600 denied malicous requests since I set it up 2 weeks ago¡­ Most of the times it¡¯s some bot that fails the captcha or tries to login with ¡°admin¡± though.

    Notes:

    ¡ü1	¡¸ðI¹í»ê¡¹should mean something like hungry Soul but im not really sure about that, It¡¯s also a name of a Japanese horror Movie

 Volume 6, 16: Arenâ€™t there going to be icebergs?

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 16: Aren¡¯t there going to be icebergs?</h4>

    ¡°Hmm. They might something Kraken-like. It¡¯s a ssic sea monster.¡±

    ¡°What is this? Is it a giant squid? Or is it an octopus?¡±

    Tomochika checked the hull.

    A number of huge tentacles extend out of the sea and wrapped around the ship.

    The tentacles were long enough to entangle a luxury cruise ship. If this was a cephalopod, then its body must be even more massive.

    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s got more than eight tentacles, so it¡¯s not an octopus. Or are there several of them?¡±

    ¡°Is this the sort of thing you expect on a voyage?¡±

    ¡°If I had expected this, we wouldn¡¯t have made such a big deal of the resort.¡±

    Of course!¡°

    The passengers were in a state of panic.

    What had been an elegant trip on a luxury cruise ship had turned into a horror story of sea monsters.

    It was impossible to remain calm in this situation, but on closer look, the tentacles that were entangled around the ship had not moved since.

    They didn¡¯t go on to crush the ship or m the tentacles down.

    No, what can I do about this ¡­¡­¡°

    There was nowhere to run because they were on the sea. It¡¯s just too much for Tomochika to handle.

    ¡°Hey, youngster. Are you awake?¡±

    ¡ºI just woke up. ¡»

    When Mokomoko spoke to him out of nowhere, she heard a reply.

    This was the weapon from the Aggressor, Sawamaru, which had been separated and was being used as amunication device.

    ¡°We have a problem. A Kraken has attacked!¡±

    ¡ºI¡¯m going to look outside¡­ Oh, squid like tentacles? It¡¯s got tentacles. ¡»

    ¡°I want to meet up with you. I¡¯m on my way.¡°

    No matter where they went, there would be no special safe ce. So Tomochika decided that they should aim to meet up with him.

    ¡ºWhere are you? ¡»

    ¡°The pool at the end of the ship.¡±

    ¡ºIt¡¯s on the top floor at the back of the ship. So we should meet in the middle. ¡»

    The ship was huge.

    It would be better to move with each other to shorten the time until the gathering.

    ¡°Takato-kun. Can you beat this?

    ¡ºI don¡¯t feel any killing intent. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a wild animal or not. I think it would be a pity to kill it. ¡»

    ¡°It¡¯s a wild animal, but it doesn¡¯t behave like one.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s movements seem unnatural for a wild animal¡±

    After getting entangled, the Kraken did not do anything in particr.

    However, as for Yogiri, he guessed it was just taking a look for now.

    ¡°Everyone, please calm down! We are of the Crimson Lotus Bond. We have been entrusted with the protection of this ship.¡±

    A girl in a swimsuit was talking to the passengers around her.

    The passengers seemed to have calmed down a lot, as the Crimson Lotus bond seemed to be well known.

    ¡°As you all know, the Crimson Lotus Bond is a mercenary group led by the hero Ho. This kind of monster can be dealt with by Ho without any problems.¡±

    It seemed like a ridiculously huge monster, but it seemed that the hero could defeat it, and that was something everybody knew.

    ¡°The person that spoke to you before was from the Crimson Lotus Bonds, wasn¡¯t she?¡±

    Thomochika recalled that Ho was said to be able to vaporize even icebergs in an instant, but it seemed she wasn¡¯t kidding.

    ¡°Hmm. It was the boy who came with his mother. He said he was with a group of mercenaries guarding a ship.

    ¡°I wonder if they are the escorts.¡±

    The two girls in swimsuits must have been swimming because they were all wet.

    The one who had been talking to everyone was a girl with a sword who looked to be about the same age as Tomochika.

    The other girl had a cane and seemed to be older than the girl with the sword.

    She was armed and didn¡¯t seem to have forgotten her duties, but she still seemed to be enjoying the resort enough.

    ¡®Well, let¡¯s leave this to them and we¡¯ll hurry up.¡±

    Tomochika¡¯s presence here would be of no use.

    Evacuation should be left to the Crimson Lotus bond.

    Just as she was thinking this, the ship began to shake again.

    When she looked around to see what was going on, she saw that the tentacles near her were wiggling.

    Then the suction cups of the tentacles split open and something slithered out from inside.

    What?¡°

    Tomochika couldn¡¯t believe her eyes.

    It was a staircase, and it had popped out of the tentacles and extended into the ship.

    It was a simple staircase made of metal.

    And there were only a limited number of beings who use such things.

    It was a human who came down.

    ¡°Hello. We¡¯re pirates.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re really pirates! We aren¡¯t going to end up on an iceberg?¡±

    Ten people came down from the nearest tentacle.

    There were stairsing down from other tentacles as well, so the same thing must be happening elsewhere.

    Theposition of the group that called themselves pirates was a misceneous one.

    The first man who came out and introduced himself was d in knightly armor and had a soft demeanor.

    But those who followed behind him were a pirate, a rugged warrior, and a woman who looked like a craftswoman.

    Our goal is to hold you hostage for ransom, so if you remain calm, we will not harm you. We expect you to use your judgment wisely.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Does it look like I can¡¯t escape?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. If we make a bad move, there will be a battle.¡±

    ¡°Mokomoko-san, can¡¯t you just rush in and blow yourself up?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t! What do you think of your ancestors?¡±

    Then, two of the Crimson Lotus Bonds stood in front of the pirates.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t they know that we, the Crimson Lotus Bond, were here? You were unlucky to attack this ship.¡±

    The one who said this was the older girl with the staff. It seemed that she had a more violent temperament than the girl with the sword.

    ¡°No, we¡¯ve done our research beforehand. And we¡¯ve been instructed to dispose of anybatants who are not passengers.¡°

    ¡°Right. Then no need to be shy!¡±

    The girl raised her cane.

    Immediately, a number of burning spheres appeared around the girl.

    Perhaps not expecting the scale of this magic, the pirates¡¯ faces changed.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be sorry you ever messed with this ship! I will burn you to the bone!¡±

    However, the group of fireballs did not have the effect that the girl expected.

    The fireballs did not fire, and everything disappeared as if nothing had happened.

    The girl looked shocked and swung her wand down again and again.

    But her magic was never activated again.

    ¡°Mydy, that¡¯s bad for my heart. ¡­¡­¡±

    The knightly-looking pirate spoke to the new personing down the stairs.

    ¡°No, I have been relying on you too much, so I thought it would be nice to do something like this once in a while.¡±

    ¡°Our mission is based on your power, youngdy. We can¡¯t have you doing this on a whim.¡±

    It was a girl dressed in men¡¯s clothes, that looked like a warrior.

    A knightly man seemed to themander of the group, but the girl¡¯s position seemed to be even higher.

    ¡°You!¡°

    Judging that the girl with the staff had been neutralized, the girl with the sword moved.

    However, the girl with the sword was quickly and easily struck back.

    A pirate-looking man shed the girl¡¯s neck with a cuss.

    ¡°Stupid¡­ Mirna is¡­¡±

    The girl with the cane had lost her will to fight.

    ¡°Hmm. The crimson lotus bond didn¡¯t have a sword technique on its own. She must have been fighting with her Gift.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean the Gift is useless?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. My power is also reduced considerably. Fortunately, Enju is radio-controlled, so I can handle it, but I don¡¯t think I can transform the tentacles.¡±

    ¡°So, where do you keep Sawamaru , in your bathing suit?¡±

    It usually mimics a piece of clothing, but Tomochika thought that would be too much for him in this form.

    ¡°There is a lot of dead space in Enju, so I store it there.¡±

    ¡°So, how do we get in touch with Takato-kun?¡±

    ¡°The Sawamaru I gave the youngster is just a receiver, so I don¡¯t know what to do with them.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the difference!¡±

    ¡°Anyway, I guess we¡¯ll have to make do without it.¡±

    Fortunately, Tomochika and the others were probably considered to be just passengers.

    But if they were going to move on from here, they had to deal with the pirates.

    ¡°Okashii! What should we do with the other one?¡±

    Kill her.¡°

    He answered immediately.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered if a woman could be of use to you.¡±

    ¡°No. Our job is to kidnap rich people and get ransom money, and we don¡¯t have time to deal with women who don¡¯t make us money. If you want a woman, buy a professional one after the job is done.¡±

    ¡°Hey.¡°

    The pirate-looking man shed at the girl with the cane.

    The girl with the cane was standing upright. She must have had very little experience in closebat.

    ¡°Well, gentlemen. Our kidnapping is a business. We will not ask for an unreasonable amount of money. We will charge each of you as much as you are willing to pay, and once we receive your payment, we will release you, so please don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°Pigeons, are useful¡­¡±

    Tomochika remembered that the magic carrier pigeon had a payment function.

 Volume 6, 17: Weâ€™re here to spoil it! (8/8)

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 17: We¡¯re here to spoil it! (8/8)</h4>

    Yoko was not an invincible being in this world.

    As long as her abilities depended on the game system, various restrictions were brought about by that system.

    One of them was the guard.

    The guards were responsible for cracking down on criminal activities in the city, and they were sure to catch crimes in public ces and appear in front of Yoko out of nowhere.

    The guards were not invincible, so even Yoko could defeat them, but the guards got stronger every time they were defeated.

    The more crimes shemits, the stronger the guards be, and eventually they be impossible to defeat.

    If she was captured by the guards, the game was not over, but she would be locked in a prison for a certain period of time, during which her status will continue to drop.

    Therefore, Yoko acted as an ordinary adventurer in the city.

    It was fine to do whatever she wanted, but she didn¡¯t want her normal life to be threatened by it.

    The only reason she couldn¡¯t do whatever she wanted was that she had to do it in a ce where there were no guards.

    For example, in a locked room.

    As long as it was in a ce where the guards would not normallye, there was no problem. If she upied a house, locked all the entrances and exits, and thenmited the crime, the guards would not find out about it.

    Or, since guards were only found inrge cities, a local vige would be fine. There were also guards patrolling the streets, but they are not very numerous, so she just had to be careful and she would be fine.

    And on the ship there were no guards either.

    There seemed to be some sort of mercenaries protecting the ship from foreign enemies, but there were no guards here, protected by the system. The guards belong to the state, so private passenger ships were not covered.

    Therefore, Yoko thought that she could do whatever she wanted on the ship without being bothered by the guards.

    That¡¯s why she thought it would be a good idea to book a second ss cabin and steal a special ss cabin. She even thought it would be fun to kill everyone on board and turn the ship into a ghost ship.

    But there was a surprise hidden inside.

    When she used her picking skill to open the door of the special cabin she had chosen at random, a hero was there.

    If he was just a hero, she would be able to handle him, but somehow the hero transformed into his second form.

    The NPCs she had with her were erased, and just when she thought she was in trouble, arge number of bugs appeared.

    This was also one of Yoko¡¯s weaknesses.

    TSS had a function to target enemies, but if there were too many of them, it would try to capture them all and freeze.

    So Yoko immediately started to run away.

    Yoko relied heavily on TSS for fighting. If she hadn¡¯t done what she did, she would have been killed.

    It was possible for her to fight without using TSS, but it required a different mindset.

    As soon as Yoko escaped, she used her covert skill to eliminate any sign of her presence and then went on to hide herself in a suitable room after a considerable distance.

    Since covert skills were useful in a variety of situations, she was raising her skill level. It would be extremely difficult to find Yoko hiding if she was serious.

    ¡°It¡¯s too much trouble. Maybe I should just leave him alone.¡±

    Yoko was not a battle fanatic. She liked to defeat her enemies, but only when she could easily and overwhelmingly win. Taking on ridiculously strong opponents, strategizing, and achieving ast-minute victory was not Yoko¡¯s style.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­lock him up somewhere? But I have a feeling he might warp or something¡­¡±

    Locking NPCs in was something Yoko liked to do a lot.

    Luring them into a suitable locked room, making the room indestructible, and blocking the entrance and exit with indestructible objects.

    She loved watching the NPCs struggle to escape and eventually lose their minds in despair, but she wondered if this method would work against the hero.

    She also was not sure if this method would work on someone who could use subspace transference.

    ¡°My original intention was to go to the Ents and burn the elven vige, so I can go through here. I don¡¯t have to beat him, I can just taunt him, right?¡±

    It was also annoying for her to just run and hide.

    She decided to do something that would give her a story.

    In order toe up with a concrete n, she wandered around the room, not knowing who was staying there.

    Yoko felt ufortable.

    At first she didn¡¯t know what it was, but then she found the answer in the mirror: a skinny woman with a pair of beady eyes.

    What?¡°

    Yoko froze when she saw the figure of a woman who looked too familiar.

    It was not Yosuke Hiiragi as an avatar, but the real Yoko Hiiragi.

    What¡¯s going on¡­?¡°

    Oh, I wish you had been a little more dramatic.¡±

    As she was stunned, she heard a voice behind her.

    She turned around and saw two girls with the same face standing there. Unlike her shabby self, they were really lovely looking girls.

    ¡°I¡¯m Marna!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Liluna!¡±

    ¡°Together! We are Marnaliluna! Yes!¡°

    They pped their hands together in a synchronized movement.

    ¡°Wha¡­What are you doing?

    ¡°We¡¯re Gods!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here to reveal the truth!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here to surprise you before you know it!¡±

    ¡°In fact, this game world¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t one!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s another world!¡±

    ¡°Yoko-chan is dead in your original world!¡±

    ¡°What?¡°

    The two of them spoke in turn, and Yoko was confused.

    She did not immediately understand what they were saying.

    ¡°In an experiment to simte all your senses, you had needles poked into your head and an electric current passed through you¡±

    ¡°and your brain just exploded!

    ¡°But if you think it¡¯s a game, then it¡¯s fun.¡±

    ¡°Well, we thought it would be fun to do it this way.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve prepared a body, we¡¯ve dragged the soul in¡±

    ¡°then we¡¯ve given you a game-like ability!¡±

    Yoko gestured for the system window to appear, hoping to attack the two.

    Nothing appeared.

    ¡°Now. A ability nullification ability was already used.¡±

    ¡°Yoko-chan¡¯s ability is implemented as a skill in the system called Battle Song.¡±

    ¡°If we use a powerful disabling ability, you can¡¯t do anything!¡±

    No matter how many times she repeated the gesture, the window did not appear.

    TSS was not activated and no magic could be used.

    It was not possible to change the game settings or check her status.

    But Yoko still couldn¡¯t believe that what they were saying was true.

    If they say that this was a different world, inhabited by monsters that don¡¯t exist in reality, and that they can use magical powers, how could she believe them?

    It would be much more convincing if it were exined to her that everything was a game.

    The current situation could also be interpreted as a system problem that had prevented the use ofmands.

    These two people were from the development side and hade to exin the situation.

    She assumed the exnation given earlier was a joke and that the real exnation would be given now.

    ¡°You know what? Do you think it¡¯s possible to make a game that¡¯s this realistic, usingmon sense?

    ¡°But, but! It¡¯s undisclosed advanced technology! They say that military technology is so advanced that it¡¯s out of the world!¡±

    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t believe it? Didn¡¯t you think it was impossible?¡±

    She had a vague suspicion.

    But when she started to y and saw the system window, she believed that this was a game.

    ¡°In terms of difficulty, it¡¯s easier to build everything in VR¡­¡±

    ¡°It would be easier to use augmented reality in another world.¡±

    ¡°Well, most of the abilities in this world are based on battle song.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a very game-like system.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to misunderstand.¡°

    ¡°Why, otherworldly gods, do you know all this stuff about games? Isn¡¯t it strange? You¡¯re the developers, aren¡¯t you?¡°

    ¡°We don¡¯t know anything about games.¡±

    ¡°But I can look into other worlds and see what kind of civilization they are and what kind of entertainment is popr there.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it funny that I¡¯m dead? I mean, I¡¯m not even alive!¡±

    ¡°There you go.¡±

    ¡°Because we¡¯re Gods.¡±

    Immediately Marna and Liluna showed their haloes and Yoko knelt.

    What Yoko felt was a primordial awe.

    An instinctive feeling that naturally arose when she saw something enormous.

    It was a feeling that prevented Yoko from standing still.

    She had no choice but to believe that this world was not a game.

    She hade to truly understand that it was possible for this being to bring Yoko back to life and bring her into this world.

    ¡°That¡¯s why. Yoko killed all those people.¡±

    ¡°They weren¡¯t NPC¡¯S¡±.

    ¡°Born and raised in this world.¡±

    ¡°They feel pain, they get hungry.¡±

    ¡°They fall in love, they get married, they have children.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re just normal people living their lives.¡±

    That being said, she didn¡¯t immediately feel guilty.

    Death, caricatured by the cruelty filter, was portrayed in the mostical way possible.

    When she was told that it was the death of a person, she didn¡¯t feel anything.

    ¡°So¡­ what am I supposed to do¡­?¡±

    Huh?¡°

    Huh?¡°

    Yoko prayed to the beings who imed to be a god, but all that came back was a distracted mumble.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t say anything in particr.¡±

    ¡°We were just wondering what kind of face you¡¯d make if someone spoiled it for you.¡±

    ¡°It was supposed to be an unexpected truth, but you didn¡¯t react well.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s it!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. The situation is only temporary.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like a game all over again when someone with a disabling ability stops your ability.¡±

    ¡°If they stop their ability or go out of range, it¡¯ll be like ying a game all over again!¡±

    ¡°See youter!¡°

    With that, the two simply disappeared from the scene.

    Yoko remained on her knees, stunned.

    She couldn¡¯t swallow the information she was given and didn¡¯t know how to organize it.

    While she was in a daze like this, she felt something had changed.

    Yoko¡¯s body was transformed into that of a man, slender but supple and well-trained.

    As if the feeling she had just experienced was a lie, her body was filled with power.

    She drew a gesture with her fingertips, and a system window appeared in her field of vision.

    Her strength seemed to have returned.

    ¡°Sh*t! What the hell was that?!¡±

    But even if her power returned, she couldn¡¯t let her guard down at all.

    The ability to disable abilities.

    There was someone on this ship who had been using it.

    Did that person go away or did they just stop using their abilities?

    Sheouldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy until she confirmed this.

    ¡°In the meantime, let¡¯s call mypanions.¡±

    She called herpanions from the system.

    Then the three maids who had been waiting in her room came immediately.

    If she made a call, they woulde to Yoko wherever she was.

    ¡°You know how to fight, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because we¡¯re battle maids.¡±

    If her abilities were to be nullified, she would have to rely on her barebat power.

    Since she and the girls were master and servant by virtue of their employment, she figured that there would be no problem even if Yoko¡¯s ability was disabled.

    -I just wonder if it would be effective if my form were to return to normal.

    ¡°Good. Well then, we¡¯ll search the ship now and take care of the ability wielder.¡±

    The hero was secondary now.

    ¡°Who is the ability wielder?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ll just kill whoever looks like it. His attack might change my appearance, but don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be back to normal after I kill him.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    She left the room with the maids in tow. There was a lot of noise outside.

    A small fat man rushed to the scene.

    Yoko activated TSS and unleashed her Ice Needle magic.

    The man turned to light and disappeared, leaving behind his expensive looking clothes.

    Yoko was disgusted. She was somewhat annoyed by the way the man was running.

    There was no need to feel sorry or regret now.

    For Yoko, this world was a game. The only way to live was to believe that.

    ¡°That was the n all along. I¡¯m going to kill every single person I meet!¡±

    If she killed them all, she would eventually get to the disablers. Thinking that way, Yoko was getting short sighted.

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    The maids responded cheerfully and quickly rushed to the boy who hade around the corner.

    Then they copsed and stopped moving.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing, guys?¡°

    She didn¡¯t understand why they fell down in the middle of nowhere.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen your face somewhere. Oh, you¡¯re the guy who said something about a game.¡±

    Yoko remembered that she had talked to this boy briefly before boarding the ship.

    But there was no way she was going to let him off the hook for that level of involvement.

    She decided to kill him from all sides.

    Then let¡¯s kill him quickly.

    Yoko activated the TSS.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°Do you think this person was a pirate?¡±

    Yogiri tilted his head, as someone who should have been almost unrted to them directed killing intent at him.

 Volume 6, 18: Letâ€™s help them out there! As a human being!

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 18: Let¡¯s help them out there! As a human being!</h4>

    It was a bad idea, Yogiri thought.

    He had assumed all sorts of risks associated with traveling by ship, and it seemed that exactly what he assumed had happened.

    So far, the situation had not worsened to the point of the ship sinking, but just stopping the ship in the middle of the ocean would be quite a crisis.

    If the ship didn¡¯t move, at this rate they would eventually reach a dead end. No matter how much food they had stockpiled, the final result will be a debilitating death.

    If it was just him, he could do anything, but if he wanted Tomochika to be safe, he had to end this crisis as soon as possible and let the ship continue its voyage.

    Yogiri walked along without haste, thinking about such things.

    If he would run a little bit, he would get tired quickly, and overall, the time it took to meet up with Tomochika and the others would be the same.

    He saw a huge tentacle through the window in the hallway. But if he thought about that it was created, it started to look like it.

    There were stairs growing out of the tentacles in various ces, so it must have taken over various parts of the ship at once.

    He was still on the phone with Tomochika and the others, and they were able to understand each other¡¯s situation.

    If the pirates¡¯ goal was ransom, then Tomochika and the others should be safe for now.

    Yogiri came to the elevator hall.

    He was at the tenth floor of the amodation building at the rear of the ship. It was too much trouble to walk down, so he came here, but the elevator did not work.

    Perhaps the pirates had already taken control of the elevator.

    ¡°A real pain in the ass.¡±

    Looking at the ship¡¯s map near the elevator, he saw that there were stairs a little further away. There were not many stairs on the ship, so he guessed they were just for emergencies.

    He walked down the corridor again and opened the door to reach the emergency stairs.

    He started to descend, but after three floors, he couldn¡¯t proceed.

    The walls were distorted, and the stairs had copsed. Apparently, the tentacles¡¯ had broken them.

    ¡°I guess they don¡¯t care about the ship.¡±

    If this staircase didn¡¯t work, he would have to go to a more remote staircase.

    Sighing, he walked out into the hallway. It was supposed to be on the seventh level, which was where the first ss cabins were.

    The atmosphere was hectic.

    They were probably confused by the sudden arrival of the giant creature.

    Some went out into the corridor to see what was going on, while others ran in panic.

    Yogiri started walking towards the next staircase.

    When he turned the corner, he found pieces of clothing in the middle of the hallway.

    They were probably the clothes of the man who had just run away.

    As he wondered if he had escaped while taking them off, three maids came running up to him.

    He killed them before they could get close.

    Because they had a sword in their hand and he sensed a clear killing intent.

    ¡°What the hell are you guys doing?¡±

    There was a man standing over the fallen maids.

    He was a gentleman with fake good looks and a dumbfounded, wondering look on his face.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen your face somewhere. Oh, you¡¯re the guy who said something about a game.¡±

    Yogiri remembered that he was the man they had met at the port before sailing.

    He remembered that he was a strange man who imed that this world was a game.

    And even that man was trying to kill him, Yogiri used his power reflexively.

    ¡°Was this guy a pirate?

    Yogiri tilted his head.

    He had only talked to him briefly in the harbor, and he didn¡¯t remember any reason for a grudge.

    He wondered if he had been aboard the ship to guide the pirates, but the truth would never be known.

    It was useless to think about it, so Yogiri started walking towards the stairs again.

    After a while, he heard a scream.

    It wasing from the door of the fire escape, Yogiri¡¯s immediate destination.

    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this¡­¡±

    If he wanted to avoid trouble, he should probably look for another staircase, but he didn¡¯t want to take too many detours.

    With determination, he opened the door and went inside.

    I need help¡­¡°

    A few people were lying on the staircasending where Yogiri was looking down.

    It was unclear whether they were alive or dead, but there were two people among them who were definitely alive.

    A well-built gentleman was desperately reaching for Yogiri, and a woman was straddling his back and grabbing it as if to pull it out.

    As Yogiri was wondering if he should do something, before he had time to do anything, the gentleman¡¯s face was rapidly losing its vitality.

    He was dead.

    So much so that the gentleman¡¯s face turned earthy, and the woman let go of his hair.

    The woman stood up and looked at Yogiri. Her eyes were vacant, but she certainly recognized him.

    Yogiri had sensed the killing Intent.

    Yogiri used his power.

    She tried to jump, but her legs gave way and she fell.

    But she was not dead.

    It was not that Yogiri had seeded in restraining her, but that something inside her had been killed.

    ¡°It¡¯s very small. Is it some kind of parasite?¡±

    From his powers Yogiri knew what he had killed.

    It was a very small thing in her head.

    He thought that was what was controlling this woman.

    There were some parasitic organisms that could manipte their hosts, Yogiri had heard.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    He crouched down beside the fallen woman and asked her if she was okay.

    She was still alive, but seemed to be unconscious.

    He was a little worried, but he couldnt just sit here and wait for her to wake up.

    Yogiri decided to hurry ahead.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°Let¡¯s help them out there! As human beings!¡±

    Tomochika and the other hostage passengers were gathered in the lounge.

    The two entrances and exits had been sealed off by the pirates, but there were no restrictions on what they could do inside.

    So, even if she was secretlymunicating with Yogiri, she would not be found out.

    From an outsider¡¯s point of view, it looked as if Tomochika and Enju¡¯s maniptor, Mokomoko, were talking to each other.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s what I¡¯ve been told. I don¡¯t think we need to worry so much about the guy who attacked me. ¡»

    ¡°I think that¡¯s where poprity begins, you know?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be a harem king then.¡±

    ¡°Takato-kun, I¡¯ve never said I want to be one!¡±

    ¡ºBesides, I can¡¯t take care of everyone, because the same kind of people keep popping up.¡»

    ¡°Keep popping up?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Yeah, there¡¯s a guy who seems to be controlled by something, and he¡¯s attacking people indiscriminately. Of course, they¡¯re attacking me too when I walk by.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like pirates to you?¡±

    The pirates said that they were not trying to harm the passengers at the moment, and that their goal was ransom.

    Tomochika also thought that this was unnatural behavior for pirates.

    ¡°They all look like rich passengers. They don¡¯t look like pirates.¡±

    Tomohika looked at the pirates in the room.

    Each of them was dressed in their own way, and there was no sense of unity, but they had a dangerous atmosphere. At least they didn¡¯t look like the passengers of a luxury cruise ship, so there was no mistaking them.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying there¡¯s something else out there besides pirates?¡±

    ¡ºI think we¡¯d better keep that in mind. ¡»

    ¡°But, well, we can¡¯t get out of here, so I don¡¯t think it matters much. ¡­¡­¡±

    Considering the other passengers, Tomochika and the others did not try to force their way out.

    So, unlike their original n, they waited here for Yogiri to arrive.

    If Yogiri came, it would be easy to neutralize the pirates while ensuring the safety of the passengers.

    ¡°Hmm, not that there¡¯s anything wrong with it, but I¡¯d like to change out of my swimsuit ¡­¡­¡±

    She had her fair share of stares by the pool, but they were being discreet.

    However, the pirates¡¯ stares were so tant that she was getting tired of it.

    As she was thinking about requesting something to wear, someone entered the lounge.

    It was an old man with sses.

    He seemed to be one of the pirates, and even those who were blocking the entrance and exit were letting him through as if it were a matter of course.

    ¡°Well. I told you from the beginning that our goal is to hold you hostage for ransom. However, in order to do so, we need to correctly judge the value of our merchandise.¡±

    The man who spoke up was the knightly-looking man who had first boarded the ship.

    ¡°Your assessment will be conducted by this man. He knows every noble, royal, and wealthy person in the world, and he knows their finances, so please rest assured.

    -Huh? Well, the Boss woman isn¡¯t here¡­

    The woman in male attire who cameter was not here. It seems that she did not follow the passengers when they were brought to the lounge.

    ¡°No, what do you want me to reassure you about? ¡­¡±

    As Tomochika blurted out, the older man began walking through the lounge with hispanions in tow. He was probably checking and assessing each of the passengers.

    In the meantime, the old man came in front of Tomochika and the others.

    ¡°Hmmm, not listed in my gentleman¡¯s book, worthless since there¡¯s no one to get ransom from!¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡±

    Tomochika was in a delicate mood. It¡¯s not that she didn¡¯T want to be appreciated by pirates, but she didn¡¯t think she could call herself worthless.

    Hey, what¡¯s going to happen in this case?¡±

    ¡°Okashira said to kill thebatants, right? That rule is absolute.¡°

    ¡°But this girl¡¯s a passenger. She¡¯s worthless to Okashira.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the point. You mean you don¡¯t care what we do to him, what happens to him, right?¡±

    The pirate stared at Tomochika with vile eyes.

    It was the man who had killed the mercenary girl at the poolside.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you can¡¯t afford to deal with women who can¡¯t pay you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, girl. Look around you. We¡¯re not doing anything special right now, we¡¯re just waiting here. That means we have a lot of time on our hands right now!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re taking things too far!¡±

    As soon as she said that, Tomochika hit the man in front of her in the jaw, heart and groin.

    It was a technique to strike the three vital points in the midline, and didn¡¯t allow the opponent to counterattack.

    Tomochika decided to y the game before the man could pull out his cuss[1]. She had to make the first move.

 Volume 6, 19: I knew you wouldnâ€™t blow yourself up

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 19: I knew you wouldn¡¯t blow yourself up</h4>

    In the unsealed state, Tomochika was able to shift to battle instantly without any warning.

    In the long history of the Dannoura, not only the body but also the mind had been trained for battle.

    One moment they were chatting, the next moment she was knocking someone down with a single blow. This is the mentality of Dannoura.

    Those who could fight a little were talking about the ever-present battlefield, but there were not many who could do so.

    They couldn¡¯t expect someone they¡¯ve just been talking to toe at them out of the blue, and most of the time they just fall over helplessly.

    The pirate with the cuss probably didn¡¯t even realize he was being attacked.

    A blow to the jaw would shake the brain, a blow to the heart would cause cardiac shock. It was not enough to just hit those vital points hard, there was an optimum amount of force, and Dannoura had figured it out.

    It was enough to make a person fall into aa, but Tomochika attacked even the groin as ast resort. This is the first time they¡¯ve ever seen such a thing.

    As the pirate-looking man fell, Tomochika set her sights on her next target.

    There were two more in the immediate vicinity. The first was an old man with sses and the second was a rugged man in leather armor.

    Tomochika lightly pushed the fallen man and shoved him against the man in the leather armor.

    The pirate leaned over and the man in leather armor held him with both hands. Tomochika appeared behind him and hit him in the head with her palm.

    The two men fell in a mess, and Tomochika stomped on their faces, just to be sure.

    The older man was not abatant, or he would have been able to react to Tomochika¡¯s sudden attack.

    He tried to scream, so she stabbed him with her knife. The old man also fainted and copsed.

    Once she started a fight, she would never think of going easy on someone in the middle of it. That was what most martial arts teached, and it was the same in the Dannoura school.

    ¡°Hmm. I guess you¡¯ll just have to force your way through.!

    ¡°Can¡¯t you fight, Mokomoko?¡° The two of them would be able to expand the scope of the fight. It will also make it easier to escape, thought Chika.

    ¡°In my case, it¡¯s like flying a radio-controlled car. I can¡¯t fight well with this body.¡±

    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll blow yourself up!¡±

    The scream was thwarted, so there was some time before it was noticed.

    Tomochika was in the middle of the lounge. There were two entrances, one in the front and one in the back.

    Tomochika threw the nearest chair forward, then quickly turned around and ran to the rear.

    It seemed that all gifts had been disabled now, so no magic would hit her.

    If that was the case, throwing a chair at him would block the line of fire for a moment.

    There were still two people at the rear exit.

    As Tomochika ran, she threw things around her.

    Cups, ashtrays, chairs and tables. It is a basic skill of the Dannoura Archery to instantly grasp the center of gravity of an object just by touching it and use it as a flying tool.[1]

    She approached the doorway with the rolling table and kicked the man¡¯s hands and knees as he cowered and was holding his face.

    With the same momentum, she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

    ¡°This way!¡±

    She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar boy standing there.

    He was a mercenary with his mother, a boy they met at the port.

    He seemed to be trying to help her.

    However, Tomochika ran to the opposite side of the boy.

    Maybe he was just being kind to her, but she felt ufortable.

    He looked different from when they had met him at the port.

    The story she had heard from Yogiri that some people were being manipted by something also crossed her mind.

    In other words, she couldn¡¯t trust him. She decided that she should not get close to him.

    ¡°Hmm. You are far from a Seducer. Isn¡¯t this the ce to ask for help from a handsome man?¡± [2]

    Mokomoko, who was following her, said.

    ¡°Do you really think I should have done that?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t say it!¡±

    ¡ºI made it down to the first floor of the guest house. ¡»

    ?I¡¯m on my way!¡±

    Tomochika responded to Yogiri¡¯s voice and decided to head for the amodation building.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    A bit back in time.

    It was right after the Ho¡¯s personality had been devoured and Iselda had surfaced.

    Shee(he?) had sucked up all of his mother¡¯s magic, and when she had enough energy, she went out into the hallway.

    Iselda searched for a sign, but she couldn¡¯t sense anything.

    ¡°Hmm. It can¡¯t be that far away.¡±

    But then again, she had such a wide variety of skills. She was sure he had a few tricks up his sleeve as well.

    But that didn¡¯t mean she could let it go unnoticed.

    There was a limit to the activity of this body. She wanted to get some results before it stopped.

    Iselda decided to use the bugs.

    They were like an alter ego that she had created earlier by transforming her own left arm.

    She had regenerated the left arm, but the bugs were still floating around. She could scatter them around the area.

    This would allow her to explore the surrounding area, and some of them will be able to control those around by paratizing them.

    There were many descendants of Iselda, and she was sure there were some on this ship that had her blood in their veins. They were part of Iselda, and if they were activated by the bugs, they could act for Iselda to some extent.

    Iselda had reincarnations all over the world. It was a trick to reincarnate herself as a strong person, and a safety measure just in case.

    Even if the main Iselda was destroyed, another Iselda would eventually appear from somewhere and carry out its purpose.

    In a sense, Iselda is immortal.

    But even so, she couldn¡¯t just sit around and wait for her current vessel to be destroyed.

    Iselda¡¯s activity limit could be extended by magic power. It would be more efficient to leave the activated Iselda to the gathering of magic power.

    As I began to diffuse the bugs, the ship shook.

    She had received some kind of shock.

    Being suspicious, Iselda went back to her room and looked out the window.

    A tentacle was wrapped around the ship.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I saw something like this in the ancient relics.¡±

    Iselda herself was like a ghost from ancient times, but there have been many supposedly ancient relics since the time when Iselda¡¯s main body was alive.

    She had seen something simr in the research she was involved in on magic.

    She had not been able to activate it at the time, but it was said that someone had awakened the ancient relic.

    Iselda searched for a sign.

    The presence of the man from earlier waspletely undetectable, but other than that, there was no problem.

    A staircase extended from the tentacles of the relic, and people began to descend.

    Then, suppression actions were started in various ces.

    Those guarding the ship were of no help.

    The system¡¯s gift was not functioning. Those who relied on the Gift were apparently helpless in the face of mere brute force.

    ?How¡­ convenient.¡°

    Iselda was suddenly intrigued.

    A man with strange skills, an ancient relic and gift deactivation.

    Any one of them would have been interesting, but they all appeared in rapid session.

    It may seem a little too convenient for Yselda, but in her long life, coincidences often coincide. There was nothing suspicious about this.

    Iselda changed her priorities.

    She would let the bugs search for the man who had disappeared, but not untilter.

    Instead, she would prioritize the ancient relics and gift disabler that she could surely contact.

    Those who looked like pirates gathered the passengers in several ces and put them under house arrest, and a few of them seemed to be keeping watch.

    However, some of them made their way to the wheelhouse. Iselda had an idea that it was probably the ringleader.

    Iselda went out the window of the room.

    Iselda is a person who was known as a great mage before the Gifts spread throughout the world.

    It was no surprise that she was able to fly even though the Gift was sealed.

    It also seemed to have the effect of sealing off other gifts, but it was a power that Yselda could ignore.

    Flying through the air, Iselda entered the control room in the middle of the ship.

    A woman, dressed as a man, was threatening a man who looked like the captain with a drawn sword.

    She was trying to get him to change course.

    ¡°Just as I thought. You look vaguely familiar. You¡¯re the royalty of the Manny Kingdom, aren¡¯t you?

    The royal family of the Manny Kingdom had a sealing power.

    It was the only way to keep demons from crawling out of the demon world beneath the kingdom.

    They had different strengths and weaknesses, but this woman seemed to have the most powerful one.

    It would cover the whole ship and contain itpletely.

    ¡°If you have that much power, you would have been crowned even if you didn¡¯t want to be. What are you doing here as a pirate?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s with that, boy?¡±

    The woman screamed and stared at Iselda.

    The power became even more powerful, and the magic that leaked from Iselda began to dissipate.

    It was not enough to seal off her power, but it was still a big deal.

    It seemed to be the highest level of sealing ability that Iselda had ever seen.

    ¡°This is great. I¡¯d love to study it.¡±

    The kingdom of Manny was the territory of the great mage Iglesia, so she did not touch it.

    But if she was a pirate in a ce like this, it didn¡¯t matter if she turned on them, capture them, study them, or make them give birth to children.

    ¡°What¡¯s the Kingdom got to do with it? Did those bastards send you?

    The woman turned her sword from the captain and pointed it at Iselda.

    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s all well and good, but there won¡¯t be a fight.¡±

    Immediately, the woman copsed.

    She struggled to move, but at best her body trembled slightly.

    ?What have you done?¡°

    ¡°I let the bugs in and they paralyzed you. What a relief. I didn¡¯t know the rtionship between your mentality and your abilities. I won¡¯t try to control your mind.¡±

    But then the woman fainted.

    Iselda approached the woman, wondering if she had made a mistake.

    Upon examination, it appeared that she had poison in her mouth.

    ¡°Well, well, well. You¡¯re quite prepared. But I don¡¯t want you to think that you can die from this level of poison.¡±

    As the woman fainted, the disabling ability stopped.

    The rest was easy. Iselda used the recovery ss antidote and recovery skills.

    The woman¡¯s face, which had turned pale, immediately came to life.

    ¡°Well. I got Manny royalty and I can get her to tell me about the ancient relics. Now I just need to get that guy, ¡­¡­ or better yet, get that woman with the interesting body too.¡±

    She never knew what the pirates would do to her if she had left her there.

    Objectively speaking, she had a body that attracted men. The pirates would be tempted to kill her for her excessive humiliation.

    The woman needed to give birth to a child, and she couldn¡¯t be allowed to die here.

    Iselda decided to go to the lounge where the passengers were under house arrest.

 Volume 6, 20

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 20</h4>

    A Woman Who Can¡¯t act like a Heroine

    ¡°Hmm. I guess it¡¯s not something I¡¯m used to doing.¡±

    Iselda¡¯s n was easily crushed.

    Ho had a tendency to be liked by women anyway. So, if she reached out to her, she woulde to her.

    She thought, but it seemed it was not that easy.

    Of course, it would be easy to use magic to restrain him without going through the trouble.

    However, she wanted to conserve his magic power as much as possible.

    If she was out of magic power, this body would copse. She had to carefully assess when to use magic.

    If it was a gift, there was a way to safely restrain her with minimal magic consumption, but the royal woman seemed to have woken up, and the disabling ability was once again in effect.

    As for the bugs, they were too far away to be stopped.

    If they left as soon as they saw each other, there would be no time for the bugs to wrap around her and get inside.

    And she didn¡¯t want to damage her body with bugs.

    She wanted to get a woman¡¯s body in the most natural way possible.

    ¡°What the hell, man!¡°

    A group of men came running out of the lounge.

    They must have been chasing the girl from earlier.

    Iselda easily killed the men with the sword in her hand.

    If neither of them could use their gifts, then the rest was a contest of pure skill.

    Iselda¡¯s body was that of the hero Ho, and even though his personality was gone, her swordsmanship was ingrained in him. It was no problem for her to take on a pirate with a little bit of skill.

    But that was probably her carelessness.

    She couldn¡¯t dodge the blow of the knight who jumped out of the way, and Iselda¡¯s side was shed.

    It was not a fatal wound. But it consumed extra magic power to repair it.

    ¡°The fact that you are heroes is factored in. You won¡¯t have much of an advantage.¡±

    They must have studied the ship¡¯s capabilities before the attack.

    They were going into this with the odds stacked against them.

    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s the king¡¯s sword or the beast¡¯s sword. If it was a rank before the intion of skills began, it could wield its full power in this situation.¡±

    There was a rank of swordsmanship with the kensei at the top.

    The higher level ones wield immense skills that go beyond swordsmanship, but that was because of their gifts.

    In a fight using only a sword, a lower level swordsman may be more proficient.

    If she was looking for a way to get through this, she had to use magic.

    However, Iselda still had something she wanted to try.

    ¡ºHey! Stay where you are! ¡»

    Suddenly, a woman¡¯s voice rang through the ship.

    The female pirate leader was broadcasting from the wheelhouse.

    The knight reacted to the voice and stiffened for a moment.

    Iselda took advantage of this and beheaded the knight.

    ¡ºDamn it! What the hell did you do to me? ¡»

    ¡°I was able to manipte your body a bit. I¡¯m not lying when I say that I don¡¯t manipte minds.¡±

    Of course, the words would never reach the wheelhouse.

    Iselda used the bugs in her body to interfere with the nervous system and manipte the woman¡¯s body. It was a delicate and painstaking process, but it only consumed magic power formunication.

    ¡°But I never thought I¡¯d have to struggle so much with resource management.¡±

    Originally, she hadn¡¯t nned on waking up in the body of Ho, so she wasn¡¯t prepared for it.

    As Iselda wasining, five passengers arrived.

    They were the distant descendants of Iselda, and were her alter egos. Iselda has been activated, but her self-consciousness has not yet awakened, and she has been collecting magic power ording to the instructions from the bugs.

    ¡°I thought there would be more.¡±

    So, in order to increase the number of minions, she decided to open the gate leading to the underworld

    From the gates, the spirits of the dead would flood in, haunt the corpses, and start to move and attack people.

    Of course, this alone could attack even the target of the search, but a contract would be made with any dead spirit that passed through the gate. This made it possible to restrict their actions.

    They would not attack Iselda and the search targets.

    If they found the target, they had to inform Iselda.

    That was the only condition that Iselda imposed.

    The dead spirits were watching vigntly for an opportunity toe out into the world.

    The rest of the time, they would be killing people and making more friends at their leisure.

    With this method, she only need to consume magic power to open the gate. It was an ideal method for Iselda, who wanted to conserve her magic power.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Tomochika was sitting on the bottom step of the main staircase and saw Yogiriing in, looking very unmotivated.

    ¡°You¡¯re slow! Were you running with that thing?¡±

    Yogiri was out of breath when she saw him.

    Tomochika thought that maybe she had done her best in her own way and that she should not be too strong.

    ¡°It¡¯s a swimsuit¡­ Nice.¡±

    ¡°Stop staring and catch your breath!¡±

    Tomochika was ustomed to being watched, but this was in response to the kind of nces that were reserved and peeking.

    It was embarrassing for her to be watched so closely and head-on.

    ¡°So, what are we going to do? I have no idea what¡¯s going on here.¡±

    As Yogiri sat down next to her, Tomochika began to talk about the future.

    ¡°Well. From what I¡¯ve heard so far, it seems that there are two things going on. One is the pirates. The other is the boy we met, the one who seems to have been manipted.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. There¡¯s no point in taking them seriously. Can¡¯t we just get out of here somehow?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I knew you couldn¡¯t act like a heroine. Don¡¯t you want to show your benevolence by saying that you want to help all the passengers?¡±

    ¡°What if I start saying that??¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you to stop wasting your time.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me like that!¡±

    ¡°But running away is not an easy thing to do in this situation. The escape boat had been swept out to sea.¡±

    By the time he got there, she checked, but the escape boat was gone.

    It was probably the work of pirates.

    They wanted to take the passengers hostage, so it was only natural to deprive them of a means of escape.

    ¡°What about building a ship out of the tentacles?¡±

    Yogiri said. It was one of the ns he had in advance.

    He told her that he could build a ship that could hold about three people.

    ¡°The seal was broken for a while just now, but now it¡¯s no good.¡±

    ¡°There was a seal in King¡¯s Landing, but it worked, right?¡±

    ¡°The seal in King¡¯s Landing was weak and wide, and that reduced the power of the seal. But the seal used here has a powerful effect within a small area.¡±

    ?You say it¡¯s small, but I think this ship is pretty big.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Then why don¡¯t you jump into the sea, swim to get out of the area of effect and then use it?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­ Are you a good swimmer, Takato? If an amateur jumps into the ocean, he will die.¡±

    It was a good thing he was not the only one who couldn¡¯t do this.

    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible to use the Dannoura swimming method to swim while securing one person, but we¡¯ll have to throw away Enju. It¡¯s quite heavy.¡±

    ¡°After all, it would be easier to deal with this situation than to run away, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. The disabling ability and the Kraken are both pirate-rted. It¡¯s a good idea to take down the pirate leader.¡±

    When he had caught his breath, Yogiri stood up.

    ¡°Where do you think the leader is?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just grab some pirates and make them talk. Tomochika, you¡¯re in charge.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because my powers aren¡¯t designed for interrogation.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m radio-controlling. It¡¯s like ying on an old-school VAIO¡±.

    ¡°Why, the ghost of the Heian period knows a lot about games!¡±

    Tomochika also got up and walked away.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m supposed to be in the lead or not!¡±

    Tomochika, Mokomoko, and Yogiri were walking in that order.

    It may have been the right ce for both men and women, but even so, Tomochika thought it would be nice if they treated her more like a girl.

    There was no sign of anyone in the hallway.

    The pirates must have been in a confining room somewhere, because they were gathering passengers and cing them under house arrest.

    ¡°So we¡¯ll just go out there and kill all the pirates!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s desperate.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right! Oh, there they are!¡±

    As I walked down the corridor, a man dressed like a pirate appeared from around the corner.

    ¡°Then just throw some random stuff at him. ?

    The pirate¡¯s head swayed and toppled over. Tomochika was stunned by the sight of what she could only assume was a neck snapped at the right angle.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there something wrong with him?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. ¡­Looks like some kind of spirit of death is haunting the corpse.¡±

    ¡°What is it? Isn¡¯t it Mokomoko-sans colleague?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that!¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like a zombie.¡±

    ¡°So why don¡¯t we have someone with a radio control system kill it?¡±

    ¡°If only we had an infinite rocketuncher.¡±

    Despite all this talk, the pirate¡¯s body didn¡¯te any closer.

    It hasn¡¯t moved since the moment we found it.

    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong ¡­¡­ with me, but I can¡¯t deal with it even if it¡¯s sitting there. ¡­¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡°

    ?Oh my God!¡°

    It murmured in a horrified voice.

    And then, as if the slow movements of before were a lie, it suddenly jumped at her.

    Tomochika braced herself, but it didn¡¯te at her.

    It walked right past Tomochika and attacked Yogiri behind her.

    ¡°Die.¡±

    The corpse stumbled and fell, and Yogiri easily dodged it.

    He was not physically strong, but he was able to move like this with ease.

    ¡°It was going for me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That was unnatural.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this.¡±

    As Yogiri and Mokomoko pondered about the pirates¡¯ movements, people were arriving in droves.

    In front and back of the corridor.

    Pirates, passengers, and sailors were converging here.

    All were corpses, all were dead spirits.

    All had empty eyes and eerie smiles on their faces.

    ¡°We¡¯ve seen something like this before¡­¡±

    Tomochika remembered what had happened in the city of Hanabusa.

    It was an undead attack by the Immortal Corps.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    And the dead spirits were annihted.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this before too!

    The result was the same.

 Volume 6, 21: My ears hurt because I was doing something pretty barbaric.

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 21: My ears hurt because I was doing something pretty barbaric.</h4>

    All the dead spirits within sight had copsed.

    ¡°In case you¡¯re wondering, these are all just corpses that were just moving. Well, I guess the youngster doesn¡¯t care.¡±

    However, Tomochika¡¯s guilt was somewhat relieved by her words.

    It must have been tragic when there were so many dead bodies, but still, Yogiri hadn¡¯t killed the passengers who were just being manipted.

    ?Are those the manipted people Takato-kun was talking about?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know but I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°I wonder if now is the right time to look for the pirates¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm. But there is nothing else we can do. Let¡¯s head to the bridge. There was a strange broadcast just now, but I think it was the voice of the pirate leader.¡±

    There was no way to be sure that it was the voice of the leader, or even if it wasing from the bridge.

    However, it was better to set a goal than to just look around the room without much of a n.

    Tomochika and the others decided to head for the bridge.

    On the way, the spirits of the dead attacked them several times, but Yogiri easily defeated them.

    ¡°Are spirits of the dead stupid? Don¡¯t they ever learn?¡±

    ¡°All they have is a craving for life and jealousy. They don¡¯t know how to think.¡±

    ¡°What about you, Mokomoko?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve risen to the level of a divine spirit. There is no problem with the persistence of memory or thinking ability.¡°

    After walking for a while, they reached the Bridge in the center of the hull.

    Inside, they found a woman dressed as a man lying on her back.

    There was no one else in the room, so the sailor must have escaped.

    ¡°That¡¯s her, the pirate boss.¡±

    He was pretty sure she¡¯s the woman the pirates called Okaashira.

    ¡°You seem to be conscious.¡±

    Yogiri crouched down to look at her face and red at her.

    But her body seemed to be paralyzed and she couln¡¯t move.

    ¡°What the hell are you guys doing at¡­?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re passengers. We¡¯re having trouble with this situation. We¡¯d appreciate it if you could clear out and get the ship moving.¡±

    ¡°Huh. What am I supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°Mokomoko, do you know what¡¯s going on?¡±

    At Yogiri¡¯s urging, Mokomoko, controlling Enju, confirmed the pirate¡¯s body.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The only thing I can tell you is that there are no external injuries. Did they do something to you?¡±

    ¡°Well, you know. A strange kid came in and I found myself in this situation. I can¡¯t move, but just now my body moved on its own and I was saying things I never thought I would say.¡±

    The female pirate was surprisingly straightforward. Since she couldn¡¯t do anything about it, she must have decided that there was no point in disobeying.

    ¡°I wonder if she was manipted. If that¡¯s the case, maybe there¡¯s some kind of parasite inside this person.¡±

    ¡°What the hell is that? That¡¯s disgusting.¡°

    The others seem to have been set free by killing the parasite.

    ¡°Can you do it?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re trying to kill me. It¡¯s not a sure thing.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead. When I get my sh*t together, I¡¯m gonna run like hell.¡±

    ¡°One more thing. I need you to deactivate my powers.¡±

    ?¡­¡­ will do.¡°

    After some thought, the female pirate epted her release.

    ¡®You have to kill the one in your head. There might be some side effects, you know?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. There¡¯s nothing I can do about it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try.¡±

    Yogiri ced a hand on the female pirate¡¯s forehead, and after a few moments, he released it.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty easy, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I tried to treat it like a virus or something.¡±

    Yogiri was automatically killing any kind of virus that came near him.

    In doing so, he doesn¡¯t judge whether or not they intend to kill, but treats them as dangerous in their own right.

    So, he thought the same way about the thing inside the female pirate.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that deodorizing and sterilizing mood ability ¡­¡­?¡±

    When Tomochika was dumbfounded, the female pirate twitched.

    She slowly raised his upper body, flexed, and then stood up. Yogiris care seemed to have seeded.

    ¡°Just so you know, if you attack us, I¡¯ll kill you.

    Yogiri warned the female pirate as she picked up her fallen sword.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do that. Even pirates have some honor. We¡¯re leaving as promised.¡±

    ¡°Then the ship will be back to normal ¡­¡­! But it won¡¯t work without the crew!

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Yogiri briefly summarized the situation to the female pirate.

    ¡°Really? What¡¯s with this ship?

    ¡°Is it possible that Mokomoko can pilot this ship?¡±

    ¡°I can handle a cruiser, but I don¡¯t think I can handle arge ship like this by myself.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s no good!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I asked you to deactivate it. You can build a ship with the tentacles, right?¡±

    ¡°No. Why don¡¯t we just have that tentacle thing take us to safety?¡±

    ¡°Pirates, huh? They¡¯re criminals, you¡¯re not supposed to go with them, are you?¡±

    ¡°Is that what it is?¡±

    ¡°I kill and rob people too, depending on the situation. But that¡¯s not the same as being friends with a pirate.¡±

    ?That being said, ¡­¡­¡°

    Tomochika thought it was a good idea, but her senses seemed to have gone numb.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been doing a lot of barbarian things when I was alive, so it hurts to hear you say that. ¡°

    ¡°¡­My ancestors were ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s save the depression forter and just get moving. The corridor that leads to this ce is a straight road. If somethinges along, it¡¯s a pain in the ass.¡±

    There was only one way in and out of the Bridge, and if they were held up, they would be stuck there.

    Tomochika and the others rushed out into the hallway, but they were a step toote.

    ¡°That¡¯s him ¡­¡­ the one who did that to me.¡±

    The female pirate said with a snarl.

    The end of the corridor was blocked off with people.

    Among them stood the boy who had called out to Tomochika earlier.

 Volume 6, 22: This is the most confusing thing Iâ€™ve ever seen

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 22: This is the most confusing thing I¡¯ve ever seen</h4>

    Iselda¡¯s haphazard n was going reasonably well.

    The spirits of the dead were killing, possessing andying siege to everyone they meet.

    It wouldn¡¯t be long before they reached their target.

    The collecting of magic power was going well.

    They would have to fight for it with the dead spirits, but there were still many prey on board.

    She manipte Iselda¡¯s offspring with bugs and spread them around where people are.

    In this way, the number of people who be active as Iseldas had increased to a certain extent.

    Some of them awakened to self-consciousness, and I actively entrusted them with gathering magic power.

    In the meantime, a dead spirit who had found the girl she was looking for came to Iselda.

    Apparently, they were heading for the Bridge.

    Iselda decided to head that way as well.

    ¡®It¡¯s strange. The spirits of the dead are disappearing one by one.

    A self-conscious Iselda sent me a heartbeat.

    ¡®Well. Who can resist the spirits of the dead in this environment?

    Now that the Gift was unavable, there was little that could be done against the spirits of death.

    ¡®He seems to have disappeared near the woman I want.

    It¡¯s interesting to see how much power they have without the Gift. You stay here and find out what¡¯s going on.

    All right.

    We let Iselda, who is close to the subject, precede her to see what is happening.

    It turns out that the girl has twopanions.

    A boy and a doll in the shape of a girl.

    The spirit of death approaches the boy to attack him, but when he gets a certain distance, he falls down.

    The spirits of the dead are gone, and only corpses remain.

    ¡®A kind of purification? It is said that a virtuous priest destroys demons by his presence alone, without recourse to gifts.¡°

    ¡°You don¡¯t look like a priest, and you haven¡¯t done anything of the sort.¡°

    ¡°Let me, with my low concentration of dead spirits, go to him.¡°

    They did it immediately.

    But the result was the same.

    The result was the same: Iselda¡¯s alter-ego copsed and stopped moving, just like the dead spirit.

    However, the alter itself did not die. The only thing that died was the bugs that she was controlling inside.

    ?What do you mean?¡°

    ?I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know. It didn¡¯t look like anything had been done to him. He¡¯s just dead.¡°

    ?You go and see.¡°

    The next step was to turn to the self-conscious alter.

    I tried to get all the information about the situation, but when I went towards the boy, the magicalmunication was cut off and I couldn¡¯t understand anything.

    ¡°I just died. I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    She received a heart-to-heart talk from another alter ego.

    As expected, the alter that had gone towards the boy was dead.

    The result showed that the boy was aware of the subjects intention to kill.

    ¡°Magic that doesn¡¯t rely on gifts? Interesting.¡±

    ¡°Magic that doesn¡¯t rely on gifts? Interesting. ¡°

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we pull her out? If we continue to try to secure the girl, won¡¯t that be our enemy?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°They are attacking us in an unidentified way. We may not be able to resist them.¡±

    ?That¡¯s not true. I don¡¯t care if we can¡¯t fight them. Even if they are wiped out, we will have gained valuable data.¡°

    Perhaps because of her original personality, the newly awakened Iselda did not seem to understand that the death of an individual was insignificant.

    She is just one of countless ways to be the strongest, and if this one doesn¡¯t work, she can always find another one.

    The women are a valuable source of research material, but we don¡¯t necessarily need to secure them here.

    It is enough to know that there is such a person.

    It would be kept in the collective memory of Iselda, and some other Iselda would remember it and use it to pave the way for the strongest of them all.

    After a while, the six of them arrived in front of the wheelhouse.

    On the way they met up with others who had the Yserda factor.

    Almost as soon as we arrived, the door opened and out from inside came a boy who used a mysterious power.

    He was followed by an interesting girl, a doll in the shape of a girl, and a female pirate who used her ability to disable powers.

    The bugs that had deprived the female pirate of her freedom had stopped working.

    The boy may have killed the bugs.

    ?You¡¯re the one who said you were going to guard the ship, right?¡°

    The boy asked.

    Iselda did not answer, but sent for one of herpanions.

    He was a pirate, and a strong man.

    The man drew his sword and attacked the boy from the front.

    As soon as he started running, the man fell forward and stopped moving.

    He was dead.

    And Iselda had no idea what had happened.

    ?Interesting.¡°

    Iselda was impressed by such power.

    Even if her other alter egos didn¡¯t understand it, she thought that she would be able to understand something.

    She knew that the boy was going to do something. She thought that if she paid close attention to the moment, she would be able to catch a glimpse, if not all of it.

    But she found nothing.

    It was not a system skill and there was no evidence of magic being used.

    All she knew was that her heart had stopped without warning.

    If she didn¡¯t know, she would have no countermeasures.

    Iselda was not overconfident.

    She believed, that she was incapable of that power.

    In other words, she understood that there was nothing she could do if she was subjected to it.

    ?It¡¯s no fun for me. I¡¯ve been attacked all day. Did you do this to me?¡°

    ?That¡¯s right.¡°

    ?Well, that¡¯s easy for you to say. My power is to kill a target instantly. If you¡¯ve been attacking me, you already know that, don¡¯t you?¡°

    ?Oh! Very interesting. So I¡¯ve decided to make you all my subjects.¡°

    ?I have a feeling we¡¯re not geting through to her, Takato-kun!¡°

    ¡°What research?¡°

    ¡°Hmm. I will confiscate the ancient relics and take you to my base. The woman will breed with me and give birth to a child. This women is rare, and the pirates are royalty. Bringing in her blood will aid in my research. I want her to use my power to my full potential. I want to analyse the source of that power.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no room for understanding!

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to crossbreed with Dannoura.¡±

    ¡°Nothing you want wille true. You know you can¡¯t beat me, so what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll never get what you want. You know you can¡¯t beat me, so what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Well, if I had to guess, I¡¯d say I¡¯vee to y the overture to despair.¡±

    It was Iselda¡¯s bad habit¡­

    She wanted to see their face contorted in despair.

    She wanted to hear them gasp in pain.

    She wanted to see them shaking and wailing.

    She want to see them tremble with fear and sh*t themselves.

    She wanted to feel the sorrow, the despair, the terror of the people with all her being.

    In a nutshell, she had a taste for cruelty, and that¡¯s why Iselda had be a great mage.

    It takes an overwhelming amount of power to cause despair in people, and the result of her quest for power was the pinnacle of magic.

    ¡°Despair or not, ¡­¡­ what can you do? We just want to get out of here, so can you please step aside?¡±

    It was true that Iselda is incapable of inspiring fear in this boy.

    But she can give him a sense of unease, a foreboding of fear.

    She could tell him of the never-ending despair that was about to begin.

    ¡°All of them here are me, Iselda.¡°

    A boy, a young girl, a pirate, an old woman, a middle-aged man. All of them, of different ages, genders, and identities, were Iselda.

    ?It¡¯s not just this. I am all over the world.¡°

    ?It¡¯s taken over a thousand years to spread.¡°

    ?It doesn¡¯t matter so much if you kill me here.¡°

    ?I know your face.¡°

    ?I know your smell. I know the resonance of your soul.¡°

    ?You will not escape.¡°

    ¡°No matter how strong you are.¡°

    ¡°Will you be able to cope with using at you from all over the world¡°

    ¡°From all corners of the globe?¡°

    ?Can you believe that?¡°

    ?You don¡¯t have to believe.¡°

    ?You¡¯ll understand.¡°

    If she just exined it here, they would think she was delusional.

    But they would have to understand.

    There woulde a time when they would understand that this is where their days of fear began.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I was told. ¡­¡­

    Yogiri was very confused.

    Those who call themselves Iselda were self-indulgent and rambling on about things he didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Takoto-kun, this is the most confusing thing I¡¯ve ever seen¡­¡°

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. It would be better if she attacked us.¡°

    ?But since she¡¯s standing in our way, don¡¯t you think we should eliminate her?¡°

    ?All right, then. She¡¯s an enemy.¡°

    They have shown hostile intent and have said they intend to continue to harm them.

    If that¡¯s the case, Yogiri decided, they should be eliminated here and now.

    ?Die.¡°

    Yogiri killed the mercenary boy.

    ¡°Huh. I still don¡¯t understand anything. What¡¯s going on with that? Can¡¯t you show me more?¡°

    The young girl began to speak in an unsuitable tone.

    Yogiri thought that killing the boy would break the brainwashing, but it seemed that this was not the case.

    He killed them one by one.

    Everyone said the same thing in the same tone.

    Finally, an old woman remained.

    ?It is an arrogant power. But I look forward to the day when you will bow down before me. This is the moment when your torment begins!¡°

    ¡°Die¡°

    And all who stood in their way fell.

    ?There¡¯s something not quite right about that. ¡­¡­¡°

    ¡°Hmm. They¡¯re not afraid of death, are they?

    ?Well, where¡¯s the pirate?¡°

    He should have been beside her when she went out into the corridor, but he couldn¡¯t see her.

    The corridor was blocked, so there was no way they could go on, and curious, he looked into the wheelhouse.

    There was no one there.

    ?Did she go out of the window?¡°

    Tomochika said, looking into the room.

    Well, it¡¯s the only way she could think of.

    ?Well, if they¡¯ll just withdraw, that¡¯s fine.¡°

    It¡¯s not like they¡¯re going to be apanying pirates forever, and this was probably for the best.

    As Yogiri thought about this, the ship shook violently.

    The hull of the ship creaked and made a loud noise.

    He looked out the window and saw that the tentacles that had been wrapped around them were about toe apart.

    The pirates seemed to have started to withdraw as promised.

    The tentacles were gone, and the ship was now free.

    However, the ship was beginning to tilt.

    ¡°Hmm? This is ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°You mean it was held up by tentacles? The damage to the ship must have been considerable when it got wrapped around.¡°

    ?Yeah, the stairs were crushed and everything.¡°

    ¡°Then¡­¡±

    ?Maybe it¡¯ll sink.¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s going to sink after all!

    Tomochikas tsukkomi echoed throughout the rocking ship.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    It was a ce that could be called the seat of Iselda.

    It was a world separated from this world, a world that only Iselda could reach.

    It was a ce where the best of Iselda were kept.

    The best Iseldas of the moment were gathered here.

    ?Ho is dead. I thought we were off to a good start.¡°

    ?Is that so? It would have been wasteful to be both a hero and a swordsman. I think it would have been better to seek the power of another lineage.

    ?I heard you found the royal family of the Manny Kingdom.¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s convenient that I¡¯m a straggler. We don¡¯t have to worry about Iglesia.¡°

    ?What does Iglesia matter to us now?¡°

    ?There is no need to make enemies. There are countless other things we can do.¡°

    ?You said you had an interesting woman.¡°

    ¡°The performance of the body is so isted. It doesn¡¯t seem to havee about naturally.

    ?They must have been systematically bred and improved, just as we have been.¡°

    ?We¡¯ve been so neglectful of our physical capabilities.¡°

    ?If we can incorporate it, it might fit in nicely.¡°

    ?Yeah. Some skills have a base value of performance.¡°

    ¡°As for the man with the strange power.

    ?I mean, we don¡¯t know anything about it. We¡¯ll have to continue to investigate.¡°

    ?Interesting. I¡¯d love to find out the source of his power.¡°

    Several Iseldas were activated and talking.

    This was an empty space, just for storing Iseldas.

    They were usually asleep, as being awake all the time would only make them bored.

    It was only when something noteworthy happened that they would be activated and talk to each other.

    Basically, it was just a discussion.

    There was no policy to be decided or instructions to be given here.

    What happened in this world should be solved by Iselda in her world.

    This ce was nothing more than a storage facility.

    If anything were to change here, it would be the arrival of a new Iselda, but that was unlikely to happen for a while.

    After a long conversation, the Iselda¡¯s tried to fall asleep again.

    Then, eyes appeared.

    ¡°What?¡±

    The eyes appeared in a space that was supposed to be empty and unesable to anyone but Iselda.

    A line ran through the space, and it opened up and down.

    It was like the movement of an eyelid opening, and what appeared was a pair of slit eyes.

    They appeared one after another, filling the space.

    ¡°What the hell is this ¡­¡­?

    ¡°How did you get here ¡­¡­?

    ?You¡¯re the guy from the ¡­¡­ ship.¡°

    It was only a hunch, but they could sense the boy¡¯s mood in his eyes.

    ¡°I see. You¡¯vee to kill us. ¡°

    ?I didn¡¯t expect you to find us here.¡°

    ?But what does it matter?¡°

    ?You think this is the center?¡°

    ?We¡®re here, and we¡¯re dead, and it doesn¡¯t matter much.¡°

    ?We¡¯re all over the world.¡°

    ¡°It is not only that which takes human form.¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s not just what takes human form, it¡¯s what¡¯s invisible, microscopic, like bugs, that¡¯s me.¡°

    ?The power that brings you here is astounding. I¡¯ll give you that.¡°

    ?But do you really think you can destroy us with that kind of power?¡°

    ?No matter how many you kill, you will never be able to kill us.¡°

    ?There are plenty of us. We¡¯re dispersed all over the world.¡°

    ¡°No matter how many people you kill, if there are survivors, there will always be more.¡°

    ?Even mass extinction is a given.¡°

    This was an important storage facility.

    But it was not the center.

    Even if everyone in there was killed, it would not matter.

    An immortal system had been constructed that dispersed itself countless times, ensured redundancy, and constantly replicated itself.

    Iselda checked the situation in that world.

    No response came back.

    It was abnormal.

    Iselda had a mutual monitoring system in ce. The purpose is to be prepared for any eventuality, and if something happens, an rm should be issued immediately.

    Yet, there was no rm, and the Iseldas of this world were silent.

    What does that mean? Iselda could not understand immediately.

    The simple and obvious answer was right there, but she could not face it.

    ?What the hell is going on here? ¡­¡­¡°

    ?I mean, there must have been a million humans alone. ¡­¡­¡°

    ?If even one of them survived, there would be an alert.¡°

    ?You idiot¡­ Most of them are just people without my consciousness. ¡­¡­¡°

    Most of the ones with the Iselda factor went through life without incident.

    It was reserved for a surplus in case of crisis, and for the diversity that chance can create.

    There was no way to know that it included Iselda, and no way to find out.

    In the unlikely event that she was noticed, she would be just a human being at that point.

    A normal human being would not be able to kill them just because they might be potentially dangerous.

    In this respect, Iselda trusted humanity. She believed that humanity as a whole would be good.

    But.

    This boy was different.

    She didn¡¯t know how he found out, or how he did it, but he killed all of Iseldas in that world.

    He ughtered not only over a million humans, but also livestock, wild animals, insects, nts, and even microscopic bacteria, all of which contained the Iselda factor.

    Iselda was beginning to feel fear.

    It wasn¡¯t about the power.

    She was beginning to fear that she might die.

    Until now, there was no need to fear the death of an individual.

    When they died, their memories would be passed on to another individual.

    The memories were dispersed and held in various Iseldas, and would be increased as much as possible.

    But now there was no more surplus.

    When she dies, it¡¯s over.

    Everything will disappear.

    All her efforts, all her hard work, would be wasted.

    For the first time in a thousand years, Iselda remembered how terrifying it was to know that there was no more time left.

    Up until now, Iselda had never had to deal with death.

    And yet, now, death hade so suddenly.

    An inevitable death was looming before her eyes.

    ¡°You killed them! Innocent civilians! And you don¡¯t think anything of it?¡°

    Thest thing that came out of her mouth were such words that she had no room for.

    She hoped that would make him feel a little guilty, but she couldn¡¯t see any agitation in the crowd of eyes.

    He didn¡¯t have the kind of spirit to be shaken by something like this.

    ¡°Help me! You have no reason to kill me!¡°

    ?I know what you¡¯re capable of! I will have nothing to do with you!¡°

    ?You have no idea how long I¡¯ve been working to create this environment!¡°

    ?If you¡¯vee all this way, then what do you want from me?¡°

    ?What do you want, money? A woman? I¡¯ll give you everything! I¡¯ll give you everything! I have everything!¡°

    What he was thinking, Iselda did not know until the end.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Iselda was eradicated.

    There was not even a shred of gic information left.

    £ª£ª£ª£ª£ª

    Yogiri and the others came out onto the deck.

    The ship was tilting more and more.

    There seemed to be no doubt that it was sinking.

    ?But she¡¯s kept her promise to clear out.¡°

    ?It would have been better if I hadn¡¯t asked them to leave.¡°

    ?Let¡¯s just get out of here! You can build a ship, can¡¯t you, Mokomoko?¡°

    ?I know it¡¯s a littlete to say this, but even if we take the boat, where are we supposed to go?¡°

    ¡°What? To the east?¡° (Note probably a joke I don¡¯t get)

    Tomochika didn¡¯t seem to think anything of it.

    ¡°An ind nation to the east? I think it¡¯s still far from here. I¡¯ve got some food in my backpack, so I think we canst for a while.¡°

    ¡°Then what do we do?

    ?I think we should aim for the nearestnd, but we¡¯ll have to see where that is.¡°

    When Tomochika was told this, she looked around.

    But even Tomochika, who had good eyesight, could not findnd.

    ?Should we go back for the map?¡°

    ?Hmm. I don¡¯t think we can afford that.¡°

    ?I guess we¡¯ll just have to build a boat and go out to sea.¡°

    They didn¡¯t have much time left.

    As Mokomoko said, they would have to escape first.

    ¡°Are you in trouble?¡°

    Yogiri turned toward the direction of the voice.

    A boy he recognized was smiling at him.

    ?Who are you?¡°

    He looked familiar. But Yogiri couldn¡¯t remember his name.

    He thought it was Fururyu-san.

    Tomochika seemed to remember.

    ?Yeah, that¡¯s the guy.¡°

    ?What? You were on the boat with us?¡°

    ?I asked your permission toe with you, didn¡¯t I?¡°

    When he said that, Yogiri remembered that he had allowed it.

    ¡°So, if I¡¯m in trouble, you¡¯ll help me?¡°

    ¡°Yes. I can fly, you know.¡°

    ?Oh! I remember you said something like that!¡°

    ?I¡¯m a dragon.¡°

    ?You are?¡°

    Tomochika was surprised, and Yogiri somehow remembered what he had said.

    ?I thought I tried to introduce myself with impact¡­¡°

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say something about why you can¡¯t fly?

    ¡°You said that flying is a way to get caught in the Sage¡¯s security. But that¡¯s only a problem if you intercept them, right?¡±

    ?That¡¯s none of your business¡°

    ¡°That¡¯s all I know.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s an emergency. We could use a ride.¡±

    There wassome concern.

    If he senses an attack and kills the Sages, there is a good chance that the Philosopher¡¯s Stone will lose its power. That would be pointless when they were looking for the Philosopher¡¯s Stones.

    However, rather than worrying about that, Yogiri thought that the first priority should be to escape the ship.

    ¡°Oh, so dragons are the long, thin kind.¡±(Note: eastern/Chinese dragons)

    The transformation of Koryuu was instantaneous.

    The next thing they knew, he was a dragon.

    As Tomochika said, in their original world he looked like an oriental style dragon.

    ¡°Where can I find¡­ upside-down scales?¡°

    Yogiri remembered the story that dragons have only one scale that is upside down.

    ¡°In Monster hunter, you peel it off the tail.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡°

    Yogiri, Tomochika, and Mokomoko as Enju rode on the dragon¡¯s back.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡±

    He moved forward easily and did not feel any wind pressure.

    He was worried that they might be knocked off, but at this rate they would be fine.

    ?And I can¡¯t fly very far, so don¡¯t worry.¡°

    ?You should have told us that before you took off!¡°

    Their future was very uncertain.

 Volume 6, 23: Interlude: A chainsaw is automatically generated on the edge of the shield!

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 23: Interlude: A chainsaw is automatically generated on the edge of the shield!</h4>

    "Is this kid~, the one that could kill anyone just by thinking about it~"

    "Right, it''s just a cheat, an instant death cheat!"

    Marna and Rilna watched the events on the ship after telling Yoko the truth.

    They were interested in what Yoko would do from now on.

    But just as she was about to do something, she died quickly.

    Takatou Yogiri.

    She encountered a boy with the ability of instant death and being beaten at her own game.

    After that, Yogiri is having the tables turned on every one of his attackers and joined his friends, and although he had some trouble, he easily killed most of the enemies he encountered and they flew away from the ship.

    "I didn''t know that dragon was still around. I thought it had died out long ago."

    "Right. I thought they ran away after losing to us."

    "What are we going to do about Yogiri-kun?"

    "What should we do~? Somehow, he kept killing the ones we had prepared for him."

    "Yeah. Somehow, I feel like I''m losing, and it''s frustrating"

    These girls have pride in themselves as gods who manage this world.

    They believed that if they were confronted directly, no human being would be a match for them.

    In other words, they think they can kill him whenever they want to.

    But if they go that far, as God, it would be like losing.

    If there is someone who they don''t like, Gods should not have a direct hand in it.

    God has almost omnipotent power over the world.

    But that is why they were not allowed to use their power as much as they wanted.

    If they do that, there will be no order in the world.

    They will be branded as disqualified to manage the world.

    Their reputation among the gods would decline and their qualifications would be questioned.

    Marna Rilna seems to be doing as they please, but even so, they are being very careful.

    "Then, let''s prepare a new one for Yogiri-kun!"

    "That''s right! If we only use what we have, it''s sounds like we¡¯re too poor!"

    "Do we have any money left?"

    "Hmm. Maybe we overspent the other day."

    "Then let''s do it within a reasonable range!"

    "Yeah. We could get a few people!"

    "What about their character?"

    "Hmm. I guess maybe a transferred person with a bonus."

    "We can''t underestimate the minority correction, can we?"

    "Reincarnation also has a bonus, but it takes time to grow up."

    "Why don''t we just force them to grow up right after they''re born?"

    "It doesn''t make sense! There''s no point in reincarnation, that!"

    "I thought¡­"

    "What?"

    "The ones who get carried away are no good, right!"

    "Understand!"

    "But it''s more interesting to watch."

    "I understand that too!"

    "People who were crappy in the original world, you know, they just don''t seem to be good enough."

    "Yeah. I wish they could be more crazy."

    "They kind of go on the defensive or rather"

    "They say about slow life, then what are youing here for? Are you underestimating another world?"

    "I''m tempted to say it!"

    "Let''s go tell them next time!"

    "Great! Let''s go!"

    "Ah, we are getting derailed!"

    "That''s right. It was the talk of Yogiri-kun killer!"

    "As for the characters, well, we''ll think about it on the market. There might be some good bargains to be had."

    "Think about abilities first?"

    "Hmm, there is a part where there is a character. But it would be good to at least decide on that direction."

    "Yeah. Or we could just pick a character based on their abilities."

    "If there''s a good find, we can make it worth the ability."

    "Well, for now, let''s put it on this kid we picked out at random."

    Marna decided on a suitable subject, and Rilna agreed.

    "So, what~ do~ you~ want to do?"

    "Is it about against instant death?"

    "I guess instant death resistance?"

    "Great resistance system? We haven''t done this before."

    "Let''s give them all the resistance skills!"

    "Petrification, poison, sleep, paralysis, instant death, freezing, burning, fascination. I guess the abnormalities are like this."

    "Auto recovery, of course, but also auto revival."

    "I want to add an absolute defensive field. I like that effect. Gakin! The way it reflects."

    "It''s called "absolute defense," but it only nullifies a certain amount of damage!"

    "The growth pattern is for maximum defensiveness!"

    "That won''t increase the attack power, is that okay?"

    "It''s okay. Full counter. Let''s stick this on!"

    "Are counters the only means of attack? Wouldn''t that be chaotic?"

    "Let''s add a shield bash too"

    "Ah, then a shield with two hands!"

    "Pupuu. I mean, the two shields style!"

    "Ah, we can also attach the shield to their legs"

    "Then, with both hands and feet, it''s a four-shield style!"

    "We could add it to their backs, though¡­"

    "I think that''s too much?"

    "Even four shields are still pretty awful. They be shield men."

    "Ah, let''s put spikes on the shields."

    "Eh, what is that? When this kid holds a shield, thorns grow out of it!?"

    "Yeah. It stabs. It super stabs!!"

    "Yes, yes! If that''s possible, I''d like to put a chainsaw on it!"

    "Where?"

    "On the shield"

    "It''s not a shield anymore! But because it''s funny then fine!"

    "Then, a chainsaw will automatically be generated on the edge of the shield!"

    "I want it can be thrown¡­ It''s fine to throw it, right!"

    "Then we''ll make it auto-return!"

    "If so, isn''t it okay for them to ride on it?"

    "Then, moving around on a shield."

    "What? Throw a shield and jump on it?"

    "Ride. Ride fast!"

    "Agile"

    "They will agile!"

    "But it just goes back and forth!"

    "You''re right, it''s the ability to throw ande back!"

    Thus, someone somewhere, who had been spotted by the goddess Marna Rilna, suddenly manifested a mysterious ability.