Sousetsuka

Final Battle

...........


I could tell the Fusion was done once the light enveloping me subsided.


『Oaa!!』


The black barrier covering Demon King broke apart at the same time.
Revealing his Final Form in all its glory with a grand shout.


Put in one word, it's a giant.
The metal and porcelain-like matter covering his whole body has a luster to it with black patterns all over it.
It looks hard at a glance but considering it's pulsing along with the muscles, it seems to be a form of elastic skin.

His elbows and knees have got sharp thorn-like things protruding on them.
Each of those thorns must possess enough attack power that far outstrips the best Unique Magic Beast's equipment.

His stature easily exceeds 20 meters.
'Cthuga' Spirit that serves Alma Mama may be bigger, but the presences he exudes is in a whole other dimension.
Demon King would easily decimate Cthuga in seconds.

A super heavyweight, super sized, simple and offense-oriented design.
You might think it lacks that last bit of sinister oomph for being a last boss, but try standing right in front of this thing, I bet you'd struggle to stand faced with its pressure.


The Demon King's original face is buried on its forehead.
That's the weak point huh... How am I even supposed to land a hit there.


The large mouth of demon king's head where the small face is buried flapped open. 


『...Now then, I have kept you waiting. I beg your pardon.』

"I don't need your apologies. Gimme your head on a platter."

『That I cannot comply. For it is your head that shall be severed.』


We're both probing each other's strength while hurling sarcasms.
Our fight has long since started. The slightest let up would bear a dire consequence.


『I ask thou.』


Perhaps he's starting with a feint by throwing a question.


"What is it."





『Where has Hero, gone to?』


....

Eh, what is he even saying.

His word prompted me to check on myself for the first time after fusion.


It's the same eye level, nothing feels off.
My clothes changed from looking adventurer-like to a business suit. What the heck.
Nothing seems amiss besides the sudden suit.

Hold it, hold up. All of us did fuse. I'm sure of it.
But my gender hasn't changed, I probably look the same as usual too. What's going on.


『...It matters not. Die.』


Demon King's fist was right before my eyes not a moment after he uttered that.
Fast!? I couldn't see him moving at a--


"...Eh?"


My body reflexively moved away before the fist hit me.
I didn't even realize I had already drawn the katana on my waist and slashed at the fist while dodging the attack.
I never swung a katana in my life before yet it felt so natural in my hands like I've been at it for decades. 


『...I suppose it shan't be quite simple.』


Demon King murmured like he foresaw this.
Uh yeah go on and get it on your own when the person in question himself is full of questions.


...Could it be that Kajikawa Hikaru has become the fusion's base form? And without my appearance changing in the least at that.
As I tried to cool my head off, I sensed the feelings and consciousness of Hero-kun, Alma and the girls inside.

Is it because my body is not that of this world's human, so the Fusion ended up incomplete and their Status gets added to my buffer Status instead?
That hypothesis is kinda pushing it but I can't think of any other explanations considering our situation now.


"T, thank goodness...!"

『...What makes you put that look as if you have narrowly overcome death.』

"Well y'see, I really don't want to turn into a woman which would be the case had Neora-kun been the base. Just so we're clear here, I absolutely am not a misogynist, but getting turned into one myself is a bit..."

『....』
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >

Demon King is glaring at me like he can't believe it.
It's a grave problem for me you know.


"I've got a suit on somehow but asides from that, all good. Praise be."

『What are you relieved about.』

"...If by any chance that frilly dress stayed on, do you really want to have a front row look at a spare old man unit wearing that dress in all its glory?"

『I shall deny it with my all.』


Even Demon King frowned at the though of that nightmarish sight.
Hmm, this suit is so easy to move around despite how it looks. I don't feel restricted at all.
I can tell it's real sturdy too. It's soft yet I can't see it ever tearing off. How'd that even work?


『To think that you took over the hero as the fusion base. I do not believe such a case has ever occurred in all history... Truly you are incorrigible.』

"I'm just as surprised y'know. Haa, it's good that I don't get to be a woman but having to deal with this mess myself instead of pushing it all on Neora-kun is a pain."


...Ah, I can sense Neora-kun protesting in my mind.
'Why aren't you a woman, that's unfair!' or something. Don't ask me.

Leviara isn't keen on having to fuse with me.
'...Why does it have to be with this monster.' Stop that, you're gonna make me cry.

Olivie is as anxious as she is gritting her best to support Neora-kun.
'No matter what, no matter who I'm up against. I'll give it my all for my dear Neora-san.'
This girl sure got the guts... It makes me look like I'm peeking at someone else love affair. It's not a good feeling.


And, Alma.
...I almost regret fusing now.

It's the worst.

The worst.

I should have conveyed my feelings to her sooner if I knew I'd end up peeking at hers.


『Please don't worry about it. I can sense how you feel as well, Hikaru.』


It's as if I could hear her say that without a voice.
That was probably Alma's thought.
...Ah, crap it's the final battle and here I am feeling both embarrassed and happy, aah, no, aaaahh!!


"It's all your fault you stupid demon king!! I'mma beat you up!"

『...You appear to harbor a misplaced anger toward me, but it is you that shall meet your end.』


He clapped at me like he was trying to flatten a mosquito.
PAAN, a huge shockwave that could easily kill 20-30 people spread out along with that loud booming sound.


It was super easy to dodge though.


『...!』

"Raaa!!"


I went straight to Mana Flight from my jump to dodge the clap, heading for Demon King's weakness (probably) on the forehead.
I cut at Demon King's head with an iai slash while simultaneously striking it with my great hammer via Remote Mana Control.


Two shrill metallic sounds resounded just before they hit, repelling both my katana and great hammer.


...That pseudo-blocking again huh.
Guess I can't expect to hit his weak point willy-nilly.


After moving around a tad, I see that I seem to have gained the effects of Hero's Brave Skills.
I can finally use Skills too, or so I thought before I found out there was no particularly flashy move I could use.

By the way, 'Skills', 'Master Skills' and 'Unique Skill', Gravity Magic from Alma's accessory are all apparently gone.
As it looks like, ※Unobtainable※ still works its magic on every Skills besides Brave Skills... I was kinda hoping for it too.

Brave Skill is probably an exception to avoid the paradox of 'Fused via Valorous Fusion, but Valorous Fusion is unusable.'
Or maybe they're treated as a different category from ordinary Skills or something.


！


『Haaa...!!』


Bird shaped flames showed up all around Demon King as he growled.
A type of Offensive Magic huh... I can tell each and every one of those is loaded with much much higher firepower than Alma Mama's Advanced Magic.


『Hmph!』


Those flaming birds flapped their wings and flew toward me as if they had wills.
They're fast, hard to predict and I also have to deal with Demon King himself.


All the better though!


I folded open giant hands made of mana cushion and grabbed the birds with them.


"Guoooooooo!!"

『Wha...』


I threw them all back at Demon King while he was dumbfounded!
Fuhahahaha! Fool, half-baked Offensive Magic Spells are easy pickings for me!

The flaming birds landed on Demon King, but it didn't seem to do a thing.
His skin got some burn marks but I can tell it's fine inwardly.
Even though the floors and walls where those birds landed melted.

I couldn't have thrown back Offensive Magic that powerful if it were me before the fusion. It's a simple matter now.
I've got the fused boosted stats of Hero's Party Members and all the buffs from Aizawa-kun's Energy Control. It's just a dizzying amount.
My Attribute values are probably around 200,000 right now. Same with Demon King I bet.

I'm smaller which means more maneuverable.
Meanwhile, even though a lot of attacks don't work well on Demon King due to his sheer size, stuff like air resistance must make him slightly slower.
It's very slight yet enough to be a decisive factor to give me the upper hands in mobility.


But that doesn't change the fact that I'm still at a disadvantage.
The moment the buffs I got from Aizawa-kun's group end, my defeat is all but assured.
I don't have unlimited mana or stamina either. No replenishing them either since I can't use Item Screen. I've only got a few vials of Recovery Potions on hand.

Meanwhile, Demon King can use stamina and mana without limit thanks to his Title.
His body is paradoxically sturdy and elastic. Both my katana and great hammer don't work as well.
To top it off, attacks on his vital get blocked and nullified with extreme precision.

It's an opponent I'd have to take my time on yet that's the one thing I must avoid.
A protracted battle would only put me in a bad spot.
It's a crappy game where Demon King has access to unlimited resource while I've got very little.
It's gonna be a real pain in the arse trying to find an opening to land a decisive strike on his forehead.


...But, it feels like I've overlooked something important.
Not just one, around two at that. Maybe due to all my boosted Attributes, my intuition, the ghost in my head is whispering me that.
Something hopeless. Something something overturn.

...Menu-san could have told me what if only it were here.

Previous Chapter

641 What To Do? What Do?

(What have I done... Well, whatever, I guess?)

I have to take care of this thing if I want to keep going anyways. I'm just doing it sooner.
Another question pops up in my mind. How many times have I hit this giant boss's chin?

I have never hit the same place for so many times in Accelerated State before.
I can't imagine how will it end, and this Dyulden Second Form is pretty tough.
No telling how much tougher he is compared to ordinary men. You can't really tell someone's endurance without testing it firsthand.
Yet I'm sure the end result won't be less even against a monster like this thing. I shiver at the the possible outcome of someone eating this many hit.

I'm afraid of undoing Acceleration. But I can't progress if I don't.
I steeled my resolve and undid Acceleration.

The scene was straight out of a nightmare.
His neck instantly twisted off and spun high into the air.
Then it stopped mid-air before it immediately, BAM!, popped off.
The leg I used as a foothold broke into pieces and the arm I one-two punched crumbled down.
Having lost its support, the gigantic body fell down with a loud thud.

"The expression he had when the head stopped was like... 'Ugeeeh'... It looked so gross."

I'm sure he couldn't understand why he was suddenly spinning or how he died.
I feel bad for doing something so cruel. Yet I don't regret it.
Just gotta be careful next time.

"Ah, figured that killed him off for good. They're starting to vanish."

Dyulden's body turned translucent as it crumbled down into blue light particles.
Same goes with pieces of his organs that got splattered everywhere.
It looks beautiful especially after that grotesque showing.

"Ah, right, this doesn't solve everything yet. What to do about... The dungeon core?"
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
The most important thing had slipped my mind. That is how to take care of the Dungeon Core.

I can't opt to just leave it alone.
Best thing to do is to take Dungeon Core out and let the dungeon collapses on itself but that's gonna draw all the attentions to me. I don't want that.

I alone went in the dungeon, beat the Dungeon Master and took the Dungeon Core out even though I'm not an adventurer.

I can't even imagine how much problem would that cause. One thing for sure though, nobody else has ever done the feat.
There will be no stopping the news from traveling far and wide, which includes my existence. Rumors about Griffon have probably spread, but I don't want to bolster that further.

What do then?


"...Destroy it I guess? But then, this dungeon will self destruct, no? I'd probably get caught in it if I don't get away right after..."
This space will turn into nothing. Me included if I'm still inside.

"Ah, but I do posses the 'Power' to avoid that."

After realizing that, I come face to face with another snag.

"So, where is he hiding the room that houses the Dungeon Core?"

Previous Chapter 

Do You Have the Resolve

This chapter starts from Hero's POV

After leaving Floor 21 behind, we Fast Traveled away from some really familiar looking ruins.
I wanted to go straight to Demon King's Castle but we couldn't get to the chamber. Probably because Demon King is there.

As I was wondering what to do, I noticed Alma and the others standing by near the castle.
I had put Markings on Alma and Reina beforehand to prepare for them joining my party so I can Fast Travel to them anytime.
...I see, that's why he suggested me to add them. He foresaw this far ahead. But then, can't it just be Alma?


"Uh, isn't it cause you hate the idea of letting a man join as the final member?"

"Besides, the last person is currently higher leveled than Neora-san, so he must have purposely lied to avoid Neora-san rushing it..."


...Yup. If I were to be honest, I still can't get over having an all girl party.
But we really can't afford that right now though we still have to do something about our level difference. Really.

<<A certain Feature becomes available once he reached Lv90. I believe he was aiming for that.>>

You're telling me that feature can solve the issue with level difference?

<<In all likelihood yes. That man has amassed an absurd amount of Resource after all. It's as if he defeated the last boss of a world or something...>>

What was he doing on Floor 21 anyway...
Well whatever, we gotta join up with Alma quick.



I teleported next to Alma where she was waiting with several other members in front of Demon King's castle.
They all look surprised... No wait, they don't look all that surprised? They're kinda glaring at me looking kinda impatient.


"You're finally back! We've been waiting forever!"

"What took you so long. Kajikawa-san's fighting on his own right now, yaknow?"

"...Yeah, he's a boy who just looks like a girl. My eyes musta played a trick on me back then, yep."

"Welcome back, Neora. We've heard everything from Hikaru. Add me to your party quickly and let's go to where Hikaru is."

"O, ou...?"


They're all inching on me hard. Leaving aside one guy who's muttering something dumb.
It's good that things go smoother without me explaining but it's also kinda hard to accept.


"Once I'm a party member, perform fusion immediately."

"Next up, Baredo, Rasfin, Alan, Hiyoko and I will buff you with Energy Control."

"Better than us draggin' yer feet up there... I still don't like it."

"And once all that's wrapped up, I'll be carrying you to Demon King with Shadow Dive."

"He thought that far ahead huh..."


Demon King's plan was super simple and nasty, but Kajikawa-san won't lose on that front.
If Kajikawa-san was on Demon King's side by some sorta mistake... Humanity prolly won't even last three days. Way scary.


"Quit spacing out, and fuse already dangit. Go beat the crap outta that Demon King."

"Y, yeah yeah I get it. Lend me your hand Alma, I'll add you to my party."

"Un."


I gripped Alma's hand and added her.
Activating Valorous Fusion.


My body as well as Alma's, Levia's, Olivie's glowed and turned transparent.
Four lights mixed into one.

....

.....


........Err.


Valorous Fusion you see, is a Skill that gives me the sum package of the fused party members' abilities, combat experience and knowledge.
A not insignificant amount of memory and feelings also get transmitted to me, mixed in with my own.

The feelings Alma's got for Kajikawa-san is so strong, I'm taking it head on.
...Kajikawa-san's so blessed. Blow up.


The light subsided as the Fusion completed.
And now, I just gotta get buffed by Aizawa (dumb brat), Radia and the rest then Reina's gonna take me--

...?
Why are they all looking at me in silence? What's wrong?


"Fuhaa...!"

"W-whoaaa... I ain't never seen anyone like her..."


Ah, I seldom showed Valorous Fusion in front of anyone, no wonder they were surprised.
...Hm, Aizawa just grabbed my hands. Ah yeah yeah, go ahead and buff me.


"Marry me."


.....


Wha?

Wha?

Whaaa?


Aizawa dropped a huge bombshell with his hands still grabbing mine.


"Oy, this ain't no time to joke around. Actually, ewww. You said it yourself earlier, I'm a man."

"I'm being serious. I declare without a shadow of doubt that right now you are the most beautiful..."

"Hey, the hell you're blabbering about, for real!? Your eyes don't got focus on, pull yourself together dangit!!"


Wait wait wait! Was this guy always like this!? Something's obviously not right with him.
Checking his State shows "Charmed [Maximum] (Target: Neo Raifu)."
Is it cause I fused with Alma? What? Was Alma a Succubus or something?


"Aah aah aah... Well, can't really blame him when she's this gorgeous..."

"Look away, Baredo... I hate to admit but she's quite the temptress."


Reina was half laughing while Rasfin said something while covering Baredo's eyes.
Eh what? What's going on with me?

<<No uh... How about you look at yourself in the mirror for now?>>

I'm afraid to check but I gotta see myself on a hand mirror.


"……………Ｏｈ"


My face reflected on the mirror... Is the incarnation of Beauty itself.


My red and silver forelock now has black hair from Alma mixed in, and my features has become even more devilishly attractive.
It's not just my face looking pretty. There's this sort of charm that directly aims at men's instinct in a barrage... My vocabulary can't express it.
My body's all filled up here and there thanks to Olivie, yet they're all perfectly in harmony.

I really loathe to admit, but my fused form which was already a pretty girl before Alma has now become an unreal super pretty girl that perfectly embodies the ideal beauty in men's dreams.


....No good, this is not good. She's too cute. Too beautiful.
I'd have confessed to her without a second thought if only she weren't me.


"....Why can't this girl leap out of the mirror..."

"You're kinda sounding like a narcissist there."

"I'll make you happy for the rest of your life. Once Demon King is defeated, let's--"

"Oh shaddup! Just get on to buffing you dumbaaarse!"


I slapped Aizawa's face twice, thrice to forcefully wake him up and got the buff done.
We don't have time for this crap, not when everything might end for real if we're too late...



<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >

~~~~~~~~~Kajikawa's POV~~~~~~~~~~






"So Reina got me here afterward where I saw you locking hands with Demon King. I was going for his neck given the chance but nope, he dodged that."

"Yeah, no way you could defeat Demon King just like that. Thanks a lot for the save."


Sounds like things went mostly as planned.
...I'm worried about Aizawa-kun in all sorts of ways though.


"! Hikaru, what happened to your eye!"

"Ah, Demon King gouged it out. Sorry, mind healing me with magic?"

"Sure thing, but I can't grow missing organs back you know."

"That's fine, I can do it myself as long as I've got HP... See."

"U, uwaa, it really did grow back..."


Fumu, I was sure he should know about Life Force Control now that he's fused with Alma. Guess he doesn't get to access all of her memory and knowledge.
Well, nobody wants to share everything with another person so this is good.


"...I see, to think you rescued the hero even after time slip had taken him into the far future. Truly you are our greatest adversary, Kajikawa Hikaru."


Demon King murmured while glaring at us.
Well, the hero he finally went all the trouble of banishing got back here not a moment later after all.


"However, he must have lost the Grace of Revival after his connection was temporarily severed from this timeline, correct?"

"...Well yeah."

"If so, I have no need to expend effort on such a serpentine scheme. I merely ought to exterminate you here and all is well."


He found out about the loss of Revival already huh.


"For your information, I'm way stronger than I was before, yano?"

"...It appears to be the case. Attribute values that exceed my True Demon Release deserve extol indeed. Tremendous Status."


All thanks to the Energy Control buff he got from Aizawa-kun and the others outside. Think they're around 70000-80000 right now.
They're probably around 10k-ish without the buff.


...Hold it.
Something felt amiss with what he just said.

He could see Status?
Meaning, his Menu Function is back online...!?


"Heroes have three Great Graces."

<<U...!?>>

<<...!?>>


Noises ran through my and Neora-kun's Menus a moment after Demon King started speaking.
The usual blue screen turned into sand blank tv-like with a sizzling sound.


"The first being Heroes' abundance of powerful Skills including Brave Skills and their superhuman Attributes. The second being Grace of Revival. And lastly--"


<<Oh... No...! This... Is...!>>

<<■Jamming... ・Akin to Virus・...・Forced・ ...Shut Down・...>>


"The existence of Menu Function."


Our Menus' Noises got worse with every word Demon King uttered.
What the hell's going on...!?


"My Menu has malfunctioned due to my imperfect reincarnation. It has lost several Features, and gained a particular new one. The feature to amplify Menu Function's bugs, capable of affecting other Menus."

"You're talking about this!?"

"Indeed. It is a feature that forcefully shuts down Menu Function for a period of time. I name it 'Support Virus'. It has put my Menu Function in a hibernated state yet my situation is far from dire, unlike you two."


Oh crap, I won't be able to fetch all those potions I stockpiled in Item Screen.
No, more importantly!


"Menu!! Quick give Neora-kun--"

<<...『Resource Transfer』・・..It is・..・...Done..・..>>


'Fsh' Menu Display disappeared along with that vanishing sound.
I tried opening Item Screen, Map Screen and Status Screen to no response.

...He got us good, who could've thought he can do something like this too...!


"Well then. Now that we all have lost our Menu Function. Have you sufficient recovery items on hands?"

"Y, you bastard...!"

"It appears you have them all stored in Item Screen. Be ashamed not... Such was the way of Souma Ryuta as well."


Considering that geezer's personality, he probably hoarded a mountain of trash inside. Demon King's Item Screen must look like a chronic hoarder room.
...The only thing we have left are several vials of potions intended for Alma's immediate use.
Might be a tad chancy against Demon King.


"Very well then, and now onto your disposal... Gu, uuu....!!"


Demon King crouched down and started groaning.
Almost looks like he's in pain, but that's not it.
The power I feel from him is gradually increasing, no his body itself is swelling.
Is he seriously gonna transform into his Final Form now...!?


"Like I'd let you!!"


Neora-kun swung his katana at Demon King, but a black barrier covering Demon King stopped his attack.
...Guess you're not allowed to attack during the transformation.


"Dammit... It's no good, the recoil feels all wrong. Ain't no way we breaking this."

"No stopping the transformation huh... Guess we'll finish our business too while he's at it."


I stretched my hand to Neora-kun.


".....Are we seriously gonna do this?"

"There's no winning this fight if we don't. Demon King's power is already doubling as we speak. Gotta shoot every shot we got."

"...Err, isn't it impossible cuz I'm lower leveled than you?"

"Before hibernating, Menu-san transferred exp points to you, Neora-kun with 'Resource Transfer'. Your level should be higher than me now. No problem."


Yep, I acquired 'Resource Transfer Feature' when I reached Lv90.
An incredible feature that lets me transfer exp points I didn't use to level up other people.

Apparently Menu-san forcefully unlocked a part of this Feature to preserve the Resource I got from defeating that Kyuubi BBA on Floor 21.
It wasn't possible to give it to other people until I reached Lv90.
The amount was quite enormous, I glanced and saw Neora-kun at Lv94 now.


We might just be able to defeat Demon King's Final Form if we add my Attributes in there.
Neora-kun opened his mouth and confirmed me one last time.







"...Hikaru is going to turn into a woman, albeit temporarily, once we're fused. Do you have the resolve?"


.....

AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
No! Absolutely not!! Why must I bid farewell to my son!
But there ain't no more hands we could use besides this! I get it! I get it really, but dangitall!!


"..................I really really don't, but this is no time to act selfish."

"Okay then, let's do it."

"...Yeah you go and get 'em."


Neora-kun grabbed my arm before both our bodies got wrapped in lights.
...Ah, I've steeled myself and all, but, still...

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter 

640 Usual Word

After about a minute, his broken leg shined blue and started healing.
The torn leg is returning to its original state before my eyes.

"Restoration? Recovery? Healing? ...Ah, guessing it's mana related cause he's connected to the Dungeon Core."

I murmured when that classic setting crossed my mind.
He must have overheard me. Dyulden replied once his pain was gone.

"...Indeed, that is correct. Nobody can kill me! I'm the only being able to open the passage to the Core! Weep in despair! You shall forever be locked up here unless I lie defeated! Yes, as a punishment for hurting me, you shall become my plaything for the rest of your life!"

Where did he even get all that confidence from? He couldn't even dodge or bear the pain from my attack.
I can't even begin to fathom how his mind works. This guy can't win against me. Is he incapable of processing that fact from what just elapsed?

"Don't get ahead of yourself just because you managed to land a low blow on me! Ugaaaa!"

Looks like this guy is averting his eyes from reality. He greatly swung his arm at me while still on his knee.

There's no way such a large swing can hit me. But the range was surprisingly huge, I couldn't guarantee it wouldn't graze me even if I easily dodged.
Therefore, I entered Acceleration to be safe.

(Well now, where should I aim next?)

I can't get my mindset out of the game, I'm now deciding which parts to destroy next.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
(It's gotta be the arm. But the swinging one is out of range. Guess I'll go for the one touching the floor.)

Dyulden has got one knee and one arm on the ground which is my next target.
I walked up to it and went with a kick. A low kick if you will.
But just that is gonna give the same end result as earlier which is boring. So I jump and hit his arm from the elbow above as well.
Still not feeling enough, I turn my sight at the knee.

(This guy won't be able to perceive my attacks anyways. It'll be same old torrent of questions like 'Why?!', 'How did you do it!?'.)

As a Dungeon Core is supposed to be a crystallization of mana, this guy will probably keep regenerating until the core runs out of mana. 
And as he keeps getting wrecked and regenerated, he'll eventually say 'Who are you really!?' as his last word.
Might as well send him to the afterlife while the guy's still ignorant.
With that decided I jump on top of his knee.
Then I jumped lightly and punched his chin once.

(Whoopsie! And land... Hm? Is one punch enough? Maybe another?)

I got on the knee again and let out a full powered jump kick.

(Hyatts! And land! 100 points!)

I had already spent a long time in Accelerated State by this point. Yep, I was in a state of euphoria.
Also, I still couldn't shake off feeling like I was in a game, like it was a fever time.

Second Form Dyulden was already wrecked beyond belief by this point.
I had forgotten all about my earlier feeling of pity for him.
It was like a child in an amusement park, I didn't stop hitting his chin for ten more times afterward.

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter 

As Hero in The Realest Sense

This chapter is from Hero's POV again

Once we finished exchanging information and formulated our plan, we managed to find a door that connects to real time Parallecia.
...Or to be exact, it's Parallecia 624 years in the past but we apparently can go back to present day Parallecia by spending 624 years in a room that quickens the passage of time first.

The room in question is pure white with partitions every few meters. Each partition has a clock on the wall. It's very weird.
...You can tell at a glance the spacetime works wonky here.


"Don't go deeper in or you'll get to be Urashima Tarou."

"...Ura-sima?"

"Err, you might end up slipping past the correct time and get thrown into the far future instead."

"Yep. The passage of time goes faster the deeper you go in, or more like slower from the perspective of people outside."

"...Was that an idiom from Japan? I can't believe you people can understand so much from so little..."


Wonder if the world here doesn't have a similar fairy tale? Like Rip Van Winkle maybe.
First we spend 600 seconds or 10 minutes in the 'One second here, one year outside the door' spot.
Then around 400 seconds in 'One second here, one week outside' spot to fine tune the time.


"There'll be no going back if you spend even a second deeper inside by mistake so yeah, take it easy, sip some tea or something."

"...This man really went and got us a tea table and cushioned chairs."

"It's so relaxing our fight to death against Demon King just earlier almost feels like a lie..."


...I mean, I'm not complaining. I just don't get how can this man stay composed.
Meanwhile here I am losing my mind over the prospect of having to fight that Demon King.


And without the grace of revival at that.


Heroes' biggest advantage is the ability to be immediately revived endlessly. It enables them to keep going until Demon King is defeated, risk free.
Without this Grace, the world is at risk of ending the moment a hero is beaten. It's an extremely important ability.
And I no longer possess it.

I had been cut off from the Revival Formula engraved on the world itself the moment I was sent from present day Parallecia to another world, or more like the future dead Parallecia.
There is no linking me back to the formula. The goddess might be able to do it, but even if I somehow manage to get in touch with her, there's no guarantee she can reconnect me according to Menu.


<<Activating and maintaining the Revival Formula requires an extreme amount of Resource. We don't have enough energy to consume unless another person from earth gets reincarnated here.>>

What's a 'Resource'?

<<It's a type of energy in broader terms. Or rather, a component that can transform into any form of energy. Earthlings have an unbelievable amount of Resource within their body. Their latent potential to become anything without a Skill is also thanks to that tremendous energy contained in them, you see.>>

...I don't really get it, but in short, there's no hooking me back up unless we sacrifice an earthling.
Maybe we can find someone on a death row.

<<Can you not with those disturbing thoughts!? No, it can't be done! The earth's god would definitely penalize us if we did that!>>

Ah, figured earth has a god too.
So we gotta get the permission from that god?

<<Yep. Once every several hundreds years, a human who dies on earth gets to be reincarnated as a Hero in Parallecia. They act like a porter that brings the Resource within them here. That has been repeating many times for over tens of thousands of years in Parallecia.>>

So, it was my turn this time huh.
Are you sure you're allowed to tell me that.

<<Nope! Goddess would scold me if you found that out before Demon King is defeated... But Neora-san already got an inkling didn't you? That the epic of Hero defeating Demon King is a farce at global scale.>>

...Well yeah.
Also, Demon King and demons are the regulators with the sole purpose of culling humanity, right?

<<Yes. If they don't exist and humanity proliferate unchecked, it's gonna turn out like Neora-san's...  'Oishi Shinobu (Neora-san in previous life)'s' earth, on the verge of dying due to resource running out.>>

This revelation is only gonna put reincarnated people in a bad spot in this world, so I won't publicize it.
Being known as the hero who defeats the Demon King is going to make all kinds of things smoother, especially to those who love isekai genre.
...Just like I was.


Haa... Well, that didn't really come as a shock since I already expected it.
That's for the goddess to deal with, it doesn't change what I gotta do.

Defeat Demon King, save the world.
The only thing that changes is it's no longer a farce now. It's the real deal.
...Frankly missing the revival has got me scared stiff.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >

"Whoops, it's about time. Guys, put this on."

"Eh, what's with that weird mantle. I don't wanna."

"Is there something that necessitates us to do so?"

"It's called 'Veil of Tengu', an equipment that conceals your presence by consuming your mana. Past Kajikawa Hikaru (me) is going to enter this room soon, we gotta stay out of his sight."


Ah, the Kajikawa-san that initially found this room is coming huh... Man it's so convoluted.
We hid in the veil for a while before someone entered the room and left not long after. I couldn't really see it well since it happened so fast but that must have been the past Kajikawa-san.


"Phew, there he went. Well then, I should get going as well. You guys do your best."

"Hey, can't we get back earlier too? Like maybe we can prepare for stuff in secrecy before the final battle..."

"Don't. Menu-san said there's a high risk of causing unpredictable outcomes when two of the same person exist at the same point of time."

"Like say?"

"Like a god much greater than Earth's and Parallecia's gods handing down divine punishment, destroying the entire world."

"...Yup, we're gonna wait for our correct timeline. Yes."


I thought it was something to do with Time Paradox but things are way out of my hands if it relates to the godly side of things.
It's not worth risking to lose everything anyways, we just gotta wait patiently like the good kids we are.


We exited the room back to Floor 21 once it was the time.
We should be able to return by opening the door to real time Parallecia now.

...Starting anew without revival huh.


"Aah, if only I could run away to another world, heck, maybe even back to Japan."

"Neora-san, that's..."

"Hey, are you seriously going to run away with your tail between your legs now after all this time?"

"Oh come on, I'm just grumbling out loud. I get that I can't run nor I plan to. It's just that..."


I've experienced death countless times now.
Both Levia and Olivie have shared the suffering as well.
I won't let there be another time.

I don't care about myself. I'm scared of dying but I already died once on earth. Were I to die again, it just meant my borrowed life ends for real.
But that's not the case with Levia and Olivie.

The only reason I let them join me without much thought was because of Grace of Revival. I invited them in the fight against Demon King because I knew they were never at risk of dying for real.
But not anymore. A death is final now.
As such, I absolutely won't let them die.


"Don't die on me, you two."

"Hah, says the person who's died the most. Worry about yourself first."

"Besides, we're one mind and body once we are fused. We'll be fine as long as Neora-san is alive."


...Fair points.
Now that it's come to this, I'm gonna beat the crap outta Demon King with sheer will and grab our happy ending.
Now then, time to head back. It should be the door next to that wooden door.



Knock knock, someone knocked on the wooden door.

...Eh? Aren't these doors supposed to be safe as long as you don't open them from this side?
Oh crap, some unknown monster from the other side might get in here at this rate!
...Calm down me, I gotta calmly and politely refuses them.
Err, what should I say, what do, what do, telling them to stay away sounds bad, what do I do, ah geez I got no time to overthink!


"It's occupied."

"Ah, excuse me."


Aaah I'm an idiot! What is this, a toilet?! There's tons of way to phrase that better!
And the person who responded right at the other side! What? Did you want to use a toilet booth for real?
...Gotta go back to our world pronto before more weird stuff crops up. That sudden knock was real bad for my poor heart...

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter 

639 This Is My True...

His skin turned purple, bat wings grew on his backs and his face became demonic looking.
Two horns popped up on his forehead, large fangs grandly poked out of his mouth.
The white on his eyes turned black with vividly red pupils.
He's now a three meter tall muscled gorilla macho.

"This is my true form! You're the first ever person who made me assume this form. You can pride yourself on that. I always took my time tormenting all the people I caught as an entertainment, but you, I will kill you right away. I cannot imagine getting bested in this form but you are a risk. I shall make sure you're dead."

His second form looks kinda the lord of a castle, vanity-like.

(I'm no Belm*nt though? I don't even got a vampire killer as my weapon.)

I looked up at my opponent while recalling a certain orthodox Gothic action game.

"I shall hold nothing back! Eat this!"

His voice was clear, sonorous and grating to the ear.
Dyulden opened his mouth wide where a flame swirled. Dunno how it works, but he's probably gonna shoot out a torrent of flame or a fire ball.
Targeted at me. Of course, I'm not gonna take it lying down.

(He's gotten so big his head is grazing the ceiling huh... How do you even move around like that...)

I have enough composure to nonchalantly think that. Since I've entered Accelerated State already.
I had Accelerated the moment he was charging flame in his mouth.

(Well then, since it doesn't seem like he's willing to talk anymore what's with wanting me dead and all, guess it's time to end this once and for all.)

A bit late for that since I'm here to clear this dungeon in the first place.
Guy can't complain dying. The being before me is no longer human anyways.
Meaning, I just gotta beat him up like a monster in a game.
Just see him like an RPG boss.

My mindset immediately turned game-like.
I am the protagonist. In front of me is a giant boss.
I felt like I was playing a 3D action game.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
(Alrighty! The first thing you do to giant bosses like this is 'aim for their legs'!)

I walked up to his right leg and unleashed a full powered straight punch with. The punch caved in for about 4cm.

(Yeah! Let's undo Acceleration and see how it goes for now. Next up...)

I turned off Acceleration to see monster Dyulden's reaction.
I didn't wait at all before a splitting shriek filled the room.

"Gyoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

The right leg I punched bent weirdly, or more like it broke apart. Like crack crack, creak creak.
The monster fell prostrating on the ground and started groaning.

"Ah, did I go overboard? Hmm? I did put my all into that punch cause I dunno how much damage was enough. Guess this is to be expected."

Ordinary humans would have died. I figured a being this big would survive, and I was right.
Yet, the damage was grave enough to this monster. He's groaning in agony trying to contain the pain.
Looks like it's gonna take a while till he gets over his pain and back on his feet.

"Hmm, normally I should aim for the vital to deliver huge damage while he's down... Maybe not."

The way he got downed so anticlimactically and so pitifully made me decide to give him a time out for now. 

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter 

The 'Them' Encountered Before Exiting Floor 21

This chapter is from the POV of Hero who was time leaped into the future.

There is nothing here.
There's nobody around either.
I can't even find a single grass growing on Map Screen.
No matter how many times I checked and rechecked. The result stayed the same. The only object here is a wasteland of a dead planet.

...Or so it should be but then a reading blipped up on my Map Screen without warning.
It's someone I know.

Fearing the reading would soon disappear, I ran toward it at with all my might.
The other party seemed to have noticed us and started approaching as well.
I almost burst into tears once we got close enough to make out each other's figure.


"Oo--------yy!!"


I shouted with all the breath in my lungs. I wanted a respond, I didn't care if it was just a dream or an illusion.
The other party seemingly responded in kind, waving their hands at us.

By the time we got close enough to touch, I was on the verge of crying.
All I do is crying lately. But I bet anybody would if they were in my shoes.


The reading shown on my Map is none other than my Japan-born acquaintance, Kajikawa Hikaru in person. 
...No really, how'd he even get here anyway?


"Haa, haa, haa, Kajikawa, san, how, are, you here...?"

"O, ou? No uh, I should be the one asking that, why are you all here?"

"D-Demon King abducted us right after we beat the Demon Chief during the war, then we got thrown here."

"Wha? Wait, eh? H, hold on a minute. That's way too much information. Did a big battle break out somewhere? And what do you mean Demon King abducted you!? What's going on!?"


...? Something doesn't feel right.
I get that my wording could have been better but his reaction is just all kind of wrong.
It's as if he doesn't know about the war on Continent 3 like he didn't go on a huge rampage all over the place himself.


"Heck, weren't you supposed to be busy doing that Hero's Trial thingy to get your Job Change? Why are you even taking part in a war."

"Wha? Uh I'm already way done with Hero's Trial. I mean, you broke through the ruins straight to the innermost--"


<<Stoop! ...Hello Kajikawa-san, may I ask some questions?>>


Menu's display interrupted me.
Kajikawa-san's eyes popped wide at the sudden display screen.


"Uwaah, that startled me. Err, is that your Menu-san? What's up?"

<<Kajikawa-san, what are your immediate goal right now?>>

"Eh? What do you mean? ...Err, I'm trying to find a way out of Floor 21 and stumbled upon a door that connects to this place by chance."

"...Floor 21?"


Hold it, I'm getting confused here.
What's going on?


"Menu-san told me this is the dead Parallecia hundreds of millions years in the future. I was glancing at my Map thinking there shouldn't be anything alive anymore when I found you guys' readings here."

<<...I see. This is quite a convoluted situation we found ourselves in... But it seems we can avoid the worst case scenario. Phew, I thought we were done for good...>>

Oh come on! Don't just get it all by your own!
I'm utterly baffled here! I demand an explanation!

<<Okay okay, I'll explain from start to end, don't get all prickly on me now. On your period today?>>

Hell if I got one. Just give it to me straight.


<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
....


The result of Menu's analysis by cross referencing with the Kajikawa-san here is both understandable and hard to understand.
The gist of it would be like so.


① I fell for Demon King's trap and time slipped hundreds of millions into the future.

② I can't get revived anymore now that I'm cut off from the Hero Summoning Magic Formula. There is no going back unless I  know a way to go back in time. AKA checkmate. It's all over for us.

③ ...Or so we thought but then the 'Past Kajikawa-san' who was trying to get out of Floor 21 opened a door that connects to this era and found us. And here we are.


Floor 21 is where spaces and times are completely out of whack. It's connected to any eras in the past or future. Even parallel worlds altogether.
One of those doors is 'Parallecia hundreds of millions years in the future' in almost the exact time period as the one Demon King threw me to.
...Uh no, that's way beyond plot convenient. What kind of miraculous RNG did this guy just pull.


"...I'm scared of my Luckiness myself. Luck Attribute-sensei is way too overpowered."

"Demon King's Luck being 0 might play a part too here."

"At any rate, we can go back to our time period as long as we follow this past Kajikawa-san back right."

"T-thank goodness... I, thought we can't go back anymore...!"


Levia and Olivie expressed their relief.
...Yup, I'm just as glad. I was about to seriously believe Kajikawa-san betrayed us and we'd have to spend the rest of our life here.
When in fact he's the key person that's gonna get us out of this pinch... Uwaah, I feel so bad about it now.


"...Err, I'm still trying to find the door that's connected to real time Parallecia myself and it's prolly gonna take a while. Just keep that in mind while you follow me okay."

"We'll wait forever if we have to. So long as that can bring us back home... Really, thank you so much."


I feel guilty about doubting him but telling this past Kajikawa-san about it is only gonna confuse him so I'm just gonna say my thanks.
'Oh don't worry about it', he said as he led us to Floor 21.


There's doors everywhere in Floor 21, top bottom left right it doesn't matter. It's making my sense of directions awry, so eerie.
The door exteriors are all over the place too. I'm not even sure if some of those designs fit to be called doors.


"Hmm, wonder which door is it. Here maybe?"


Kajikawa-san opened an iron door. Inside is a silver haired woman with a black colored forelock crouching, bound by chains.
She's paying us no heed, muttering to herself in her position instead.


"Ah, got it wrong. Excuse me."


BAM he slammed the door shut.
...Wait wait wait, what was that. I mean, who.


"...You sure we can leave her alone?"

"We ain't going back for years if we keep playing along with every one of these. We don't know her situation and my intuition is telling me getting involved won't do us any good anyway."


Hmm, I only saw a glimpse but she was quite a cutie. Her body was quite bombastic too.


"Quit making a lecherous look, you!"

"Ooow!"


Levia kicked my delusion away... Okay okay, let's keep going.

Kerclack


"Hey you, do you know, where my eye is. I dropp--"


SLAM


"Next one."

"...What the hell was that..."

"This place is chock full of doors housing that kinda stuff. You mind, you lose."


Kajikawa-san spoke with vacant eyes... He must be speaking from experience.

...We opened tens of doors afterward trying to find the door to our world.
All while exchanging information and planning out our next move.


"Knowing the future in detail might get me make a different decision than I should which could bring about unforeseen consequences. Just tell me the general gist of things."

"Ah, you mean like, Time Paradox?"

"Yup. Menu-san said the world itself could wholly reset worst comes to worst. Please keep risque intel to yourself."

"What the, that's scary..."


With that in mind, I only told this Kajikawa-san vague details such as 'Things will happen in around a week' and so on.
This should afford him to take actions that are advantageous to humanity once he gets back.


"But did you really go up against Demon King with just the three of you?"

"They got us good before we sorted out all our party members. Future Kajikawa-san told me, 'Fuse with Alma and Reina then defeat Demon King with a combo of Shadow Dive and Magic Swords'."

"Hmm, that's not a bad plan but your stats are still way below Demon King in his Final Form, so I dunno... Hm, Menu-san, what's up?"


Kajikawa-san's Menu displayed a Screen while we were discussing which members to put in my hero party.

<<Suggestion for the two renaming members. First one is Almatina. The other one is...>>



....
Umm, yeah.
Honestly, that thought did cross my mind, but I wonder about that...


"...Eh. But won't that erase most of Hero's advantages."

<<It is estimated that the acquired merit will more than make up for the demerit. Those who join 'True Hero' Party Member gain a big boost in Status Values. By making a good use of Energy Control after Fusion, these members have the best chance at triumphing over Demon King.>>

"...What's it like in percentage?"

<<...Estimated to be around 50%.>>

"Best chance and it's only 50%..."


...Both Kajikawa-san and I would rather not if we could help it but we can't help it in our situation.
We can't come up with a better person in the end and so the plan is to fuse with Alma first before the last person. Then we fight Demon King.
...Oh man, I was hoping everybody besides me would be girls. Well since Alma is joining, I might as well include her in my harem ah, Kajikawa-san, I'm sorry please don't make that if-glare-can-kill look and point that at me, I'm real sorry, forgive me!

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter 

Chapter 638 Moment One Stops Being Human

"That's right! I am no longer on the side of the deprived anymore! From this moment on, I shall be the one depriving you lot for all eternity!"

Sounds like this Dyulden guy has gone off the deep end after staying in this dungeon for so long.
From where I stand this man wasn't always like this originally.
He mentioned something about blood sucking. Guessing he's a vampire of some sort now.
He must have been a human originally if he was a founder of this city.

The same incident that happened 100 years ago was probably this Dyulden guy's doing too.
Dunno how he got to become a Dungeon Master but the enormous mana he received from the dungeon core likely transformed him into an inhuman being.
It's probably the same mechanism that turns normal animals into magical beasts when they're fed with powerful mana.
Humans are ultimately an animal. That possibility is not off the table.

"Nobody can stand against me and this power! Hahaha! That's right! You must be here to plunder my fortune as well! You're dead! None shall plunder from me ever again!"

There's no logical connection to that. He's incoherent. He doesn't care about my circumstance at all. Dyulden can never go back to his old self.

"We could communicate at first though... Guess it's inevitable. But how do I deal with this? Can't decide..."
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
Dyulden sprung up and lunged toward me. 
His arm was raised high, ready to claw at me. His nails look unnaturally sharp like small knives.
I swiftly swatted it with my left hand. A karate move, 'Uke'.
His lunge might have been moderately fast yet not quite at a level that necessitated Acceleration.
He might manage to take out those who have never been trained or unprepared but not me.
I raised my alertness level to max the moment he declared he's gonna kill me. Yet, his weak attack was a let down.
He might be fast but the way he grandly swung his arm far is a no no.
That's amateur hour. As someone who was trained in martial art, it was nothing more than a simple swing.
The gap in our experience afforded me to deal with him in Normal Mode.
One thing is clear now. Dyulden obviously knows nothing about fighting.

And yeah, I didn't just stop his swing, I swatted it away. My swat which I put some power into and his full powered swing clashed.
I came out on top. Dyulden had a look of shock on his face as he lost his balance and exposed himself to attacks.
I gave him a get well straight fist to the torso. With a pared down strength.
I put less power into my fist here than the swat earlier.

You could tell it was a critical hit. It felt good to unleash an attack with a satisfying impact for once.
Dyulden got sent flying in a bent position and crashed on the seat he was sitting on earlier before rolling on the ground.

Dyulden stood up after about ten seconds. His eyes weren't looking straight ahead.
They look unfocused.
I stayed on my toes while Dyulden stayed still.

(His arm, doesn't look broken. He took a hit from me head on, ordinary humans would have gotten their arm broken.)

I'm well aware of my super strength. Dyulden's arm is intact despite getting hit by my relatively strong swat.

"And that was a clean hit on the torso too. I get that it's not ineffective, but it's kinda shocking how he managed to endure that."

My initial guess is spot on. Dyulden is no longer normal.
Guy might believe he has transcended.

"I didn't put too much strength in that punch sure but you can't be human anymore if you could stand up after taking that on."

As if proving that, Dyulden's body started growing in size before my eyes.

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter 

Heroes Always Show Up Late

This chapter starts from the long purple haired female captain Vijikaranna.

"Kuh...! Is this, the end of the line for us...!"

"Weak, you are far too weak humanity. We may have the grace of Demon King empowering us but to say it's a disappointment is an understatement."


Each city is only invaded by about 20 demons.
A small enough number we normally would be able to deal with if they were ordinary demons.

But they're not.
Each and every one of these demons is powerful enough to obliterate a city on their own.
We can't hope to win against such forces...!


"...All units, avoid close quarter combat! Focus on defending by shooting Farslashes and magic!"

"B, but those demons have been shooting far stronger ranged attacks than we could hope to match. Our attacks can't stop them..."

"It should serve to offset the firepower for a tad... It's frustrating but they're simply on a whole other level. Our chance of victory is extremely slim. Put our effort into holding them back, not winning!"


We are weak. The battle earlier made that painfully clear.
I admit it. I lack the overwhelming strength to eradicate demons like that black haired monster.

So what of it.

We, the Anti-Demon Army, exists to protect people from the threat of demons even if it means risking our life.
All the better if we could defeat demons.
But if that is not possible, then we simply have to focus on protecting.

At one point, my envy was exploited to entrap me into getting brainwashed. But thinking clearly, there's no point feeling envious about that irrational strength in the first place.
I must focus on what I can do instead.


"Captain! We have finished evacuated all areas besides the west district!"

"Alright, go finish that--"


An especially huge explosion sound resounded before I could finish issuing orders.
The direction is... The west district!?


"C-captain! Demons showed up out of nowhere at the west district!"

"They're attacking the residents there! We have to save them asap!"

"Hurry it up! Stop those demons even if you have to use yourself as a shield!"


If only that black hair was around at times like this but there's no end to what if-ing.
Doesn't matter where and how those demons decide to show up, it won't change what we have to do.


"Strike back at the west district demons! Save as many citizen as you could, bring them to safety!"

"C-captain! Their barrage of attack is  too severe! We cannot possibly hold it back!"

"Nevertheless, it has to be done! The fact that we cannot best them is obvious from the very start!"

"B-but...!"


...I get how horrible I'm acting. It's like I'm telling my subordinates to go die.
I never wanted to be such a horrible superior.

And yet, that's exactly why we exist.


"...All units, follow my lead."

"Eh, C-captain!?"


Then, allow me to lead by example.
I will take the very first fall.
Please forgive me with this.


"Hmm? That human is rushing here all by her lonesome."

"She must have a death wish. Very well, I shall grant it to her."


The demons are sneering and ridiculing my charge.
Yeah, go on and have a laugh! I'm the biggest of fool who ordered her subordinates to die!
But even a fool has pride, and I'll let you watch a showing!


"Now, die... Uh...?"

"W, what the, my strength, it's..."

"The effects of Lord Demon King's Skill, have been cut off!?"

"Has something happened to, Lord Demon King...?"


...?
The demons suddenly got all flustered up.
Is it just me or does the pressure emanating off them seem weaker.

Unsure on what and why, but I won't overlook this chance!


"This is our chance! All units, attack those demons altogether!!"

"""Acknowledged!!"""


That Black Hair mentioned something about heading off to fight Demon King.
Did his fight bring about this change to these demons?
...I loathe to admit, but his assistance comes at the most opportune moment.
I'll give him my thanks, this one time... I'd never do this to any other man.


"Dammit, we don't need Lord Demon King's grace to slaughter the lot of you!"

"It's time for, True Demon Reguhaa!?"


Someone drop kicked the group of demons that was rearing to go at us.
What tremendous speed...! Just who's---


"W-what the hell are... you...!?"

"Eh..."

"...No, for real though, what is even...?"


The demons were all dumbfounded.
Same goes for us Anti-Demon Army, we've been stopped dead in our tracks.



"Ofuhahahahahaaaaaai! I have come darniiiiiiiit!"


......................
A completely hairless head with a questionable content, and a body bulging with muscles wearing nothing but a single underwear. A man with those features is making a ruckus on his own where he stands.
There's no way that won't freeze anybody.


"Come at me you demons!! I'mma play with y'all till Hero-chan comes baaaaaack!"

"G-get away from me!!"

"Die! Just die already!"

"Whoa there, that ain't gonna hit moiii! I been honing this stuff all my liiiife!"


The demons shot a barrage of magic at the muscled man, but not a single projectile managed to hit him.
The way he kept making a weird emphasizing pose whenever he dodged an attack is utterly irritating.
The way he moves is so needlessly refined and so uselessly efficient....


"Captain! That buck naked pervert is throwing the demons into chaos!"

"Ignore him!!"

"P-perhaps we could use him as a decoy as long as we look away from his gross appearance!"

"I can't accept it on the basis of that fatal appearance!!"

"I get you! I so get you, but you know!"


....There's really nothing good with getting involved with men.


<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >


~~~~~~~~~POV of the monster fighting Demon King~~~~~~~~~






"Gugiiuugwuuu...!!!"

"Fumu, you managed to dodge by a hair's breadth... Nay, that felt amiss. Are you employing some manner of tricks?"


Demon King murmured as he crushed an eyeball he took from me.

It hurts, it hurts so bad I'm gonna die. My immediately vision narrowed down.
Blood is spilling out of my eye socket like a waterfall.


I explosively energy buffed myself for a brief moment the instant Demon King's finger was sunk in my head.
My brain remained intact thanks to that but he managed to nab an eyeball.
...It would have been over the moment his finger sunk on me if not for my HP buffer.


"This should be a sufficient demonstration of my superiority over you... Or perhaps you intend to win with but an eye?"

"Shut, the hell, up...!"

"...This is my last warning to you. Leave this world at once. I am indebted to you for your help that granted me this power. I shall overlook you, and you alone."


He urged me to run away again. Dunno what's on his mind.
Debt, huh. Guy's either a real stickler to rule or he simply has no interest in me.


"..Hey, Demon King."

"What."

"Do you have, something you cherish?"

"...?"


Demon King frowned with a dubious look.
Well I guess that did come out of nowhere.


"How about, Souma Ryuta?"

"What...?"

"He muttered 'Yukana' when he left us. Who's that?"

"...That is insignificant. Both to you, and to me."

"Wasn't that insignificant thing the reason Souma Ryuta sought reincarnation? Regardless whether I'm leaving or dying, I just gotta know the truth behind this."


Demon King frowned, looking really ill-humored.
He obviously isn't keen on talking about it despite what he said.

But then, he obliged which I didn't expect.


"...Souma Ryuta's goal was to 'Be reborn in this world and reunite with his reincarnated spouse'."

"Ah, I knew it. Yukana was his wife, yeah?"

"'Yukalatina', a woman beautiful to the very end. The curse of word that woman left for Ryuta was the beginning of everything."

"Curse...?"


Demon King spoke while laughing dryly like he couldn't believe it himself.


"Souma Ryuta gave a nod when she asked him to 'Reincarnate after his death and reunite with her'. It was an impossible request, yet his love for her did not allow him to respond any other wise."

"...So he took that seriously and went around to find a way to reincarnate with his memory intact?"

"Menu told him that a hero's soul is sent back to their world, Earth, once they die here. Dying as is would have him break his promise. Thus he searched for a way to reincarnate in 'this world'."

"There's no way to know who he's going to reincarnate into even if he succeeds though."

"Exactly. It's a hopelessly foolish and futile wish... And yet Souma Ryuta simply cannot bear to do nothing toward honoring his promise. After exploring countless options, he at last arrived at Floor 21."


...It went about as I expected.
That geezer was awkward beyond belief.
He even half succeeded and ended up with the worst possible result, reborn as Demon King.


"Well, that foolish wish is what enabled me to come into a realization on Demon King's true role."

"...."

"That is the end of my story. Thus I ask thou once more."


Demon King asked while sharply glaring at me.


"Forfeit your life, or step aside. What say you."

"...Neither of 'em. I've got mountains of things I cherish in this world. I'd rather die than leaving all that behind and go back to Japan."

"...It is so."


I may not go as far as looking for a way to reincarnate, but even I've got things I won't back down on.


"A shame truly. I loathe to return good with evil, however, I too have a wish toward a world of demons."


Demon King got right next to me in the blink of an eye.
My hands reflexively locked with his, like a contest of strength.


"You may die now."

"Ugugigigi...!!"


My hands are creaking. I've been putting all my energy into my Strength, yet Demon King easily outstrips me.
He's overwhelmingly stronger than me it's like an adult against a child.


"You shall lose your means to defy death once your arms have been crushed. Pile Bunkers shan't do a thing against me now."

"Agugagagagaaaaaaaa!!!"


I can tell my bones getting fractured.
They're gonna break for real at this rate...!!



"!? Tch!"


Just one last step before my arms broke apart for real, Demon King let go of my hands and stepped back while clicking his tongue.
Someone stood in front of me, replacing Demon King's position.


...They're here at last.



"Kept you waiting, Hikaru."

"Ou, you sure did. Dangit, thought I was a goner there..."


There stood a girl.

Long blond back hair with a mix of red, silver and black forelock.
Light purple left eye and blue right eye. Her proportion is unbalanced yet there's a harmonious and fantastical attractiveness to it.
I'm convinced she's the most beautiful woman in the world presently. As for the gender inside.


"Wait, did you always call me by my first name? Neora-kun."

"...It's probably cause Alma is also fused with me, I wanna call you dear on reflex, wait, no, what the hell! Stop that!"


Neora-kun who should have been sent far into the future is standing there while blushing and scowling.
...He's gotten even cuter than ever, though I guess that's only natural with Alma in the mix.


"...How are you, hero, here. How did you escape that future of death...?"


So Demon King inquired while glaring hatefully at Hero-kun.
...For real though, thank goodness I found them right before left Floor 21 for good.

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter 

637 Outwardly That

I lost track of the distance I walked. I stayed on course onward without looking back once.
I slice and dice any wall in my way. I dig and dig walls upon walls no matter how thick they are.
Who even is a maze. The walls I cut have the same soft texture as a pudding, I've gotten addicted to the sensation of cutting them. Can't stop, won't stop.
I got so much into it I was hoping I'd come across more walls when the path had none.
It's the adverse effect of staying too long in Accelerated State. It messes up my mind.

(Hyahhoi! Wall, it's wall, wall! I'mma scoop you out~~)

I can no longer deny being called a weirdo. Nobody is present to objectively denounce me here so I've got no brake right now.
The goal is to go straight ahead and nothing else.
My method would definitely send this maze's maker, the dungeon master or something, scream in terror but I don't care.
I'm gonna clear this dungeon my way.

I eventually ran into a stairway after breaking who knows how many walls.
That was when I came back to senses and undid Acceleration.

"Ah, it's already over huh~. It was so much fun too."

My mind was still being weird. I even felt disappointed after getting to the stairway.

"No choice. Guess I'll go down. Wonder what's lying in wait there?"

I recalled my original goal and climbed down.
The next floor was a small room 10 meter wide in all directions.

A chair shining gold lies at the furthest end of the room. Alongside a man sitting on it.

"Ho? I was wondering why my skeletons never came back, now this is unusual. An uninvited guest at this room."

His face looks pale, he's got fangs and he's wearing a white shirt with black trousers. A black mantle is hanging by his shoulders. The underside of the mantle is fashionably red.
His hair is short golden colored, straightened to his back. Red colored eyes.
Yup, one being immediately came up on my mind when I saw him. It blanked me out for an instant.

"What's the matter? You will not name yourself? Hmph, such insolence. Such arrogance before me. I shall drain all the blood in you after giving you plenty of time to regret your conduct."

"Ah, sorry for that. My name is Saito. I'm here today to ask you about the dungeon that got connected to the Dwarf Kingdom, if you would."

I'm used to these sudden declarations of murder. No, I mean, I really shouldn't but let's let it slide for now.
Getting straight into battle would not answer any of my question. As such, I opted for a greeting for now.

"Hmph. It's too late for you. You have slighted me. Your death is all but assured. But I am magnanimous. I shall give the answers to your insignificant questions. Be grateful of my magnanimity. For I have shown a cur like you leniency. This shall prolong your soon to end life if only for a short while. You may thank me."

I paid his word no heed and threw my question.

"Err? Then, I take it you're this dungeon's master?"
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
I thought of confirming things one by one and started with the most basic one.
Gotta get all I could out of this being while he's still in a good mood.

"Indeed! I am the very master of this dungeon! Korek Drasor De Dyulden... Oy, why are you not falling to prostrate yourself with the utterance of my name?"

"Ah, sorry I come from a really rural village, you see. I don't know anything about great men and their names. And I won't bow or prostrate. I don't know why should I do that after all."

"Kuh! Has the world forgotten about me!? ...Hmph, inevitable. I shall teach you, ignoramus. I am the very pioneer who founded the town in this land. As well as the lord of the city that was built afterward."

"Okay. So, why are you a dungeon master now?"

"...Your attitude remains unabashed after hearing my great feat... Fumu? You must be looking down on me, do you not? Unforgivable! I never forgive anyone who looks down on me!"

The guy's getting all fired up on his own. His extreme mood swing is kinda taking me aback.

"Eh, no I don't. I literally have no idea what, how and why should I revere you. I mean, building the town is impressive I agree but that was in the past right? Why should I lower my head to you considering your current action? You sent out skeletons to outside world and endangered the populace, no? How is that great? So, any chance you're willing to tell me why a past lord of the city is here and doing that kinda stuff today?"

"Every single one of you... Making a mockery out of me... None of you knows the hardship of pioneering, yet all you do is trying to siphon my wealth... Failures, the lot of you..."

"Err, can you not go off into your own world?"

This Dyulden guy started muttering to himself while facing upward for some reason.
I tried to remind him again, but he wouldn't listen to a word I said.

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter 

Demon King and Monster

Attack! Attack! Attack and keep attacking nonstop!


"Gaaaaaaaaa!! Daruaaaaaaa!!!"

"Hmph...!"


Strike! Hit! Land as many hits as I can!
Pay no mind to defending! Just repel those incoming attacks away with pile bunkers! Dodge! Don't flinch and keep attacking even if I get hit! Don't stop moving!

I gotta keep the pressure on or else he might snatch this battle's tempo and end it instantly.


"Dworyaaaaa!!!"

"Haa!"


Demon King's sword and my great hammer got locked in a clash.
Guy's got real incredible strength...! I've been focusing my energy on my Strength Attribute yet he's pushing me back!


"Gugigigigigiiii...!!!"

"...You truly are a risk factor. To think you have gotten much stronger than that time against Kyuubi."

"Ain't nowhere near you tho'!!"

"!"


I struck him with Pile Bunker while our weapons were interlocked.
Demon King took a defensive position to block it.

Dammit, that was a clean hit yet I couldn't even land a scratch.
I saw some sort of spark effect when my pile connected. Was that some kind of Skill Ability?

<<Martial Art Lv10 'Punish Block', activating this ability within 0.1s of being hit will nullify any damage. It is possible to prolong the invincibility phase by chain linking the ability.>>

Screw that! The heck's up with that fighting game-like blocking! Let's go Justin.
Nobody could win against Demon King if he keeps using that ability indefinitely.

<<The user cannot move while the ability is in action therefore it is not possible to attack during activation. The ability's high mana consumption and the requirement for precise timings limit its usefulness to adept users exclusively.>>

<<However, as Demon King has inherited the combat experience of Souma Ryuta, he has shown himself as an extremely adept user of the ability. Additionally, the title 'Demon King' has the effects of ignoring mana and stamina consumption which enables unlimited usage of the ability.>>

Wait a minute, did you just blurt out the most outrageous thing ever there.
What do you mean 'ignore mana and stamina consumption'. How'd you even win against that.

This means drawing this battle out is a bad idea. The only way to win is to kill him in one hit to his vital.
But this battle is all about buying time... Actually, how long are they gonna keep me waiting anyway.


"Have you digested your Menu's warning?"

"...Yea. What's up with that dumb cheat of a title. Unlimited mana and stamina, are you kidding me."

"It's the privilege of a Demon King... It shan't surprise me if you somehow acquire it."

"Oh can it!"


I can't believe the demon king himself brand me as one. That hurts my poor heart~
Actually, so it looks like he can see Menu's screen as well. The words should have been mirrored yet he easily deciphered them too.


"I take it you have come into the realization that a protracted battle is ill advised... Come, show me your worst."

"Sure, thing!"


Who'd rush ahead foolishly just because they got told to. He's just gonna block me anyway.
I hit him with my greathammer which he blocked again, dealing no damage.
Pile bunker turn now! A barrage of 'em!


"Ora ora oraa!!"

"Naive. What a soft attack."


...He blocked 'em all with a composed look.
I shifted the timing of each pile ever so slightly yet he easily saw through them all. Guy gotta be an expert of rhythm games.
He also called my attack soft... Well, have more softies then!


"Cheeeeeriaaaa!!"

"Another Pile Bunker. A fool and their one trick indeed."


I closed in and struck him with Pile Bunkers from every part of my body and of course, Demon King easily blocked them all.
In the exact same way he's been doing it.


"...You are, yeah."

"!"


He frowned after seemingly noticed something was off with a few of the pile bunkers he blocked.
But of course, since half of those piles are fake piles made of caramel-like sticky mana.

They're too soft to be an effective means of dealing damage. It doesn't matter if they're blocked, they just need to stick on him.
How do you like the softness huh?


I converted the glued mana into electrical energy! Transform! You know, the usual pattern. Get electrocuted.


"Kuh...!"

"Zeei!!"

"Ha!"


I detonated my greathammer and swung it at the electrocuted Demon King but he stopped the attack with his sword.

The amount of electric energy I generated was enough to turn a Demon Chief into a charcoal, but all it did to Demon King was forming a slight frown on his face, it didn't slow him down at all.
His RES attribute is too high get him Paralyzed huh. That must have felt like a static shock to him.

But I ain't done yet.
I've been spending all my free time coming up with all kinds of tricks in battle... Call me a delusional idiot if you will.
I'm gonna test out all the nasty tricks I thought up on this guy, kekeke.


"Fsh!"

"Whoopsie!"


I blocked Demon King's slash with Mana Blade Rev.
He had Mana Blade active too. The sound of blades made of mana clashing reverberated intensely in the surroundings.

As our blades kept clashing again and again, I came up with an especially wicked trick.
...Is it legal to do I wonder.


"'Mana Blade Severance'."

"Uii!?"


Demon King split into three and attacked me from completely different directions each.
Think Spada Geezer used this move once back then. Having to deal with two additional annoyances all of a sudden is real nasty~

I never said I couldn't do that tho!
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >

"Fu, woraaaaaa!!"

"Nu...?"


I let loose two clones made of a blend of mana, energy and life force with one gripping the greathammer while another having the meat cleaver I got from that headless burger shop clerk to deal with Demon King's clones.
...Greathammer will do fine, but that meat cleaver randomly alters its attack power, I can't help but worry.


"...To think you are capable of such a move. Truly absurd in all levels..."

"Says the one who did it first!"

"Their carriage is flawless despite wielding that greathammer. A threat indeed... But what do you hope to gain with a meat cleaver?"

"Tch...!"


Dammit, the meat cleaver's been giving me nothing but a bad RNG. It's all fumbles after fumbles.
The cleaver kept getting flung far away every time Demon King's clone clashed with it. Proof of its insufficient attack power.

Oh shoot, the cleaver's flying my way now!
If it hit me when its attack power was at an all time high...!


"Kuh!"

"Got you."

"No you don't!!"


I narrowly managed to grab the cleaver but Demon King used the chance to slash at me.
I was nearly got cut in half if I didn't manage to stop his sword with the meat cleaver.

That was when


"Wha."

"Aat!?"


The instance the meat cleaver touched Demon King's sword, the sword got thrown off Demon King's hand at tremendous speed.
Both Demon King and I had our eyes open wide in surprise... Eh, what just happened?

<<'Meat Cleaving Kitchen Knife' attack power was around 40,000 in that moment.>> 

How is it so high!? But it had been hitting like a paper fan just now. For real this burger knife's got some real drastic difference in attack power!
But nice! That managed to send that sword flying off Demon King's hand!
Which made Demon King's clones disappear. They're made through a Swordsmanship-based Master Skill after all.

I won't miss this chance.
I turn my mana into a thick concentration of combustible liquid.
And, ignite!!


BOOOOOM!! A loud booming sound filled the chamber.


"Kaha...!"


That was a clean hit of my high powered pile bunker on Demon King.
His body managed to stay in one piece, the pile couldn't pierce through him but he's not exactly unharmed either.


"Tch..."


He ran for his sword on the ground while clicking his tongue at his wound but he's one step too late.


"! ...It's gone...?"


Fufufu, fuhahahaha!
Dumbarse! It was already over the moment you let go of your sword!

I had been coating that sword with my mana every time it locked blades with my Mana Blade Rev.
Once that sword was off his hand, all I needed to do was lift it with my mana and dumped it in my Item Screen as demonstrated. And now we got ourselves an unarmed Demon King.
How do like it huh? Getting your beloved sword stolen right under your nose? Hey tell me?


"...Goodness gracious, truly a tricky opponent you have proven yourself as. Your fighting style has no fixed form. Souma Ryuta's combat experience has failed to contribute for even a moment."


I mean, that's the strongest hand I got over you.
Spada, Souma Ryuta was a master of swords. Nobody out there can match him in swordsmanship.
I believe the reason why Alma Papa and Spadia-san lost to him is not only due to the gap in Attributes but also due to their reliance on 'Swordsmanship'.

I took that sword off him now.
Demon King has not only lost his weapon's additional Attack Power but also most of his abilities, he should be much weaker now.


Or so I thought at that point of time.


"...Geh."


A black flower-like pattern surfaced on Demon King's left cheek.
His Attributes doubled in the meantime.

Second Form, he must have unleashed True Demon Release.
Oy oy, isn't True Demon Release supposed to be only usable once a day. Eh, is this another effect of Demon King Title? Too much privilege is not a good thing, I tell you~

Demon King thus spoke with a far more intense pressure than he was before he got unarmed.


"Have you braced yourself for your demise, Kajikawa Hikaru."

"...For my survival, sure."


I'm sweating bullet inwardly and outwardly while cracking up a half of a joke.
The half serious part being my intention to survive.


"Very well."

"!?"


I got blown away the same moment I felt a severe impact on the meat cleaver in my hand.
I saw Demon King raising one leg... Did he kick me away? I didn't see him moving at all...!


"Perhaps I should gouge out the brain this time."


Demon King reached out to my head as he spoke.
His finger is sinking in my head at speed far beyond I could perceive---

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter

636 How to Clear an Annoying Dungeon

I punched the wall ahead of me with all my might. Yup, punched.
A hole opened in the around 20cm thick wall. I kept punching over and over again until there was a big enough hole to snugly fit a person.
Of course I'm not in Accelerated state. Normal mode.
THUD, pieces of wall fall every time I hit it. Once I thoroughly destroyed the wall that stood before me and the dungeon passage beyond it, I resumed my trip deeper into the dungeon.

Why am I doing this you ask, it's cause of that first image.
An endlessly straight passage connected to the entrance with no end in sight. I bet that would get me to the stairway to the next floor.
From that hypothesis, I arrived at this conclusion: I might as well just recreate the passage by breaking all the walls in the way.
So yeah, I punched the wall with all my rage like I was venting.
And sure enough I was right. I murmured 'Jackpot', when I saw the straight passage revealed beyond the broken wall.

"To begin with, it's not like I have to follow the rule just because it's a maze. I've got the power to easily break these walls, I'd be dumb if I didn't make use of it."

Yep, normally this is not possible. You don't come up with this kind of plan even if you've got the power either.
Psychologically, people stop when they hit a dead end. A psychological blind spot.
But what if they're equipped with the right tool to break walls? I'm sure they'll consider that option.
But what about if they're empty handed. Most people won't reach this kind of conclusion.
But I have the strength. A monstrous strength capable of breaking these walls bare handed.
Couple that with my perverse mentality that affords me to break the rules.

"I remember how dumbfounded I was when I read that character breaking maze walls in Trial of Ha*ta."

An out of the box line of thinking of the unrestrained. That left a huge impression on me which gave me this solution.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
Afterward, I kept going straight ahead.
I kept bumping into left turns, right turns, T junctions along the way which I all ignored by wall breaking into the straight path.
By the tenth right turn, my punches could no longer break the wall in one hit.

But that didn't stop me. There was no stopping me. If Normal Mode doesn't cut it anymore, I'd just slice and dice these walls in Accelerated state.

(Even iron feels like tofu in Accelerated State, these walls have no chance.)

I took a sword from my magic bag.
Then I cut, and cut in Accelerated State before undoing it.
The sword sunk into the walls easily but it wasn't long enough to connect to the other side so I had to keep entering and exiting Accelerated State to check how it went.
I repeated the routine for some time before I got fed up with it and opted to push the cut walls away with my hands.

Eventually I arrived at the other end, to another straight path. The wall I cut was four meter thick.
I couldn't be bothered to punch these walls anymore and kept walking ahead in Accelerated State.
Nobody else is here anyway, no need to fear dragging someone in it.
I was already fed up when I came across yet another wall and repeated the above routine.

(I absolutely won't take any turn until I reach the goal. I just know I'd lose my bearing if I took even one turn. Forward and onward.)

My mindset has turned to that while feeling so done with anything mazes.

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter

Guildmasters' Battles And, Finally On the Move

This chapter starts from Daijel's Guildmaster, Velgarando's POV.

Demons are burning down town of Daijel.
Each and every one of these demons is a power house matching Advanced Job, no, nearly Special Job holder level.
Ten-odd of those beings are invading this town, and that's the number we know.


"Don't try to defeat 'em!! Just focus on defending!!"

"You're up against Special Job-tier of monsters! You ain't gonna last a second!"

"M-Master! The demons are approaching the east gate too!"

"Dammitall! Keep the barrier up! Use all the scrolls and magic tools we have! Don't think about what happens after this battle, just focus on surviving this moment!"


I've been using my Abilities as a 'Commander' to boost our personnel's combat power and hold back the demons, but it ain't gonna last forever.
We're barely holding up, we likely won't last another hour, maybe even a few minutes.

Just how many demons they sent to this little backwater town!
Buildings and facilities get blown into smithereens every time those demons shoot their magic, meanwhile none of our attacks put a damn dent on 'em!


"Hurry up with the Remote Mana Ore Depth Charge! That stuff at least works on 'em!"

"F, finished setting up the unit in District A!"

"Bait and blow 'em all! Finish the set up at other districts while you're at it! Everyone's gonna die if you don't make it quick!"


The suspicious magic tools Kajikawa gave us worked surprisingly well, but we didn't have enough time to make a whole bunch.
Daijel woulda long been gone if not for this stuff. But they ain't gonna keep working indefinitely!

We coulda put up a good fight if only we got even just one Special Job holder with us, but they all got dispatched to bigger towns, we ain't got none here.
We don't have means to evacuate this town and get the people to another town, heck there ain't no safe town anywhere. The entire dang world's been turned into a battlefield.
...The world mite' be ending for real.


"Mana Ore Depth Charge, set off! ...It's no use, those demons have been injured but they're far from dead!"

"That's plenty enough! Shoot 'em with everything you got, magic, arrows, Farslashes, anything! Shoot! Shoot shoot shoot, don't give 'em time to relax! Just keep shooting!!"


I know how unreasonable I'm being with these orders, but we gotta use everything in our disposal to slow them down even for a second.
We've lost more than 30 soldiers, and adventurers already. The number is only gonna grow in all likelihood... Me included.


"Master! T, this spot is dangerous, please fall back!"

"Shut it! Coulda asked ya the same, why'd a receptionist be here at the frontline! Get back!"

"O-our defense line is going to collapse if we lose you, our only Commander! You must not die here, Master! I'm begging you, please retreat!!"


Neia got teary eyed from my yell, but she wouldn't stand down.
...This gal's usually the last thing from reliable, when'd she turn into a full fledged adult.

I ain't staying here by choice either.
But the effect of Commander's ability boost is higher the closer they are to their allies.
Meaning, me shouting out orders here is far more effective than getting all cozy in the back.

That mighta worked well enough against ordinary opponents, but it be nothing but a tickle against these demons.
I gotta leg it here in the frontline to squeeze out every last drop of my buff.

But even this powered up buff is nothing more than a slight assurance against these demons.
Dammit, y'all are dealing with an over sixty geezer! Gimme a damned break!


"T-they've broken through the last defensive line of the barrier!"

"They're going to smash through! What should we do, what can we do!"

"At least get civilians to safety with Teleport magic..."

"Fool, there ain't anybody who could do that handy stuff here! Where'd you wanna take 'em to anyway when erry town's like this!"

"B-but we have no means to oppose them once the barrier is breached! Everybody is going to die!"


We could have fought back if only there were one Special Job holder buffed with my Skill Abilities and support magic, but there ain't no point what if-ing this stuff.
Think! Think, think! What's the best way to get through this with the cards we got in hands...


The last defensive line got smashed through along with the sound of glass breaking.


"...Hmph, what irritating resistance. You vermin."


The demon who broke the barrier grumbled with a frown.
...It's the end.


Both the civilians and us could only fall into despair, powerless to even scream.







~~~~~~~~Lolimast POV~~~~~~~~~







"Run! Keep running! Run like your life depends on it!!"

"Ivran-chan! There's a demon at the fork ahead!"

"Ah geez, how are they so persistent!"


I've been frantically shielding the fleeing civilians from the demons' assault by cooperating with my stupid sister.
We're up against 20 Special Job-tier demons. What are we even supposed to do here.
That strongest couple can probably take care of them, but my stupid sister is the only Special Job holder at this town.

Well, we still have it better though.
Velga-managed Daijel doesn't even have a single Special Job holder and only a few Advanced Job. It won't surprise me if that town's fallen already.
It's like having to deal with 20 Gluttony Slimes. There's only despair.

I've been chugging Mana Recovery Potion to continually cast Spirit Magic and keep those demons in check, but I'm hitting my limit soon. My tummy's bulging out. Urp.


"Haa, today might very well be my last. Oh well, I've lived for three hundreds years already. I've had enough hahaha."

"Quit spouting that dumb crap, stupid sis! I've only been around for a hundred years, okay! Even I've still got mountains of things I wanna do, let alone all those short lived humans! Don't you give up on me, keep moving!"

"Okay okay... Phew, I can't stay weak hearted when my little sis is doing her very best now, can I? Sowwy Ivran-chan, I'll give you a hug later, so forgive me okay."

"Quit it, siscon. Gross. You can go ahead of me."

"Why so heartless!?"


...Hahaha, I see I'm still peppy enough to crack a joke. I can't believe myself.
Despite what I said, I'm thankful for my stupid sis... to Aina-ane.

While I was having that embarrassing thought to myself, a guild staff member contacted me in a huge panic.


"T-terrible news! Priest-sama was mind controlled by the demons and used that card again...!!"

"That, card? ...Eh, no way, you can't be serious now!!?"


Oy oy oy, are you for real. We're already at our wit's end here. Physically and mentally speaking.
We gave the new card Soarer-kun resealed to a different priest. There's no way that thing is gonna come out again, right...!?


"!! Ivran-chan! Don't go that way!!"

"Eh?"


Not a moment after Aina-ane shouted with a serious tone uncharacteristic of her, I saw a black tsunami coming straight toward me all while swallowing up the city in its path.


...Ah, not good. I'm dead.




<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >


~~~~~~~~~~Scarymast's POV~~~~~~~~~~







The left side of my vision is dyed black.
I can't see, anything... My left eye is no more huh.


"G, guildmaster! We can't go on anymore, we have to run!"

"Yeah, you go and run Naima. Lead as many civilians as you can to safety by yourself. You likely have a better chance surviving if you head for the Monster Prairie than any other town."

"You should go with us, Guildmaster! You can't fight anymore in your condition!"


I could only hear Naima's voice from one of my ears.
Looks like my left ear is done for as well... I'm kinda scared to look at a mirror.

I should have worked harder to better myself had I known it would come to this point.
I always believed an individual prowess means nothing before an army until this moment.
...This town's adventurers and soldiers cannot hope to stand against these demons.


I may be weaker than my prime day but I don't believe I can win against these demons even at my prime.
Each and every one of them is as strong as that white demon I saw at Continent 5 or even more perhaps. That's just unfair.


"Quite persistent are you. I give you my respect in spite of your utterly feeble strength."


The demon slowly walked up to me while laughing vulgarly.
...His hollow compliments annoy me to no end.


"Surely you jest. I have, not, lost, yet...!"

"So you are, at least your guts are anything but feeble... However."


The demon vanished from my vision before he finished talking.

Not good, I lost sight of him. Where is he coming from, I can't see my left, my blind spot...!


My body was hit by an intense impact like I just got rammed by a boar.
I saw the demon with one leg up as I was getting blown back into the wall. It was a kick as it seemed.

The back of my head and spine were hit hard as I crashed into the wall. I couldn't stop myself coughing up blood.
I felt a sharp pain from deep within my nose. A mixed mess of hot and cold sensations assaulted my whole body.

...I can't, move.


"Ga, ha...! Haaa, aa...!!"

"...What a sorry sight. All that bravado is meaningless without strength to back."

"You have fought well. I'll put an end to your struggle."


I could hear the demon making his way to me.
...I had experienced many close calls in my life before but never to the point where I could feel death so close like this.
The demon's footsteps sound like those of the reaper's... Which they are.


I wonder if Naima managed to escape with the people.
Forget about me. It's fine.
My only wish is them surviving through this...


"Oy, I see those humans escaping that way!"

"Isn't that a magic beast territory. Did they lose sight of directions from desperation."

"Searching and killing them all in that big area is going to be a pain. Exterminate them here and now!"


...S, top.
Please, stop it.

Please, I'm begging, nobody else die...!


"...Some...one..."

"Hmm, what, last word? Or perhaps you're gonna beg for your life now. Ha, and here I thought you were worthy of respect. You're nothing but a pitiful human."


I know how unsightly and pitiful I am I could die from shame, but I can't help but cling on something, anything.
Please, please...


Someone anyone will do, please help, us...!


"Now, meet your end. Worry not, you will be at peace soon."


The demon raised his arm to finish me off



before I saw his head vanishing from neck up.







『...Guru』


My consciousness fell into darkness right as I overheard the growling sound of a magic beast which felt intelligent somehow.







~~~~~~~~A certain Fierce God's POV~~~~~~~~







"W-what the hell is this thiiiiiiiiiiing!!?"

"T-True Demon Relea, agyaa!!!"


Brittle.
Weak.
Out of question.


"H, hold it!! What is your game here, we're"

『Guru.』

"Ogoaaaa!!"

"W, why is this thing siding with humanity when he's not even Tamed!?"


Even the slightest poke broke these rabble into pieces.
They are not unlike withered branch of fallen trees.


That is the last of the 'Reddened' bunch in this herd's dwelling.
According to Black Hair <<Kajikawa>>, there should be other dwellings under attack.
Truly a pupil who works his master hard. I shall not be satisfied unless he prepares twice the usual amount of meal.

I am done cleaning up the dwelling near my mountains, the dwelling where many human hatchlings live and another small dwelling nearby.
The next one is the dwelling with a huge herd and the village ahead of that one.

I am able to arrive at the next herd in a count of three.
You may pass to the afterlife, reddened bunch.


And, Black Hair (Kajikawa), come back soon. I am famished.

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