บท 28: Chapter 32: Entrenched Grasp
[Day 2]
Asahi led the group out of the confines of the faculty office. Apart from corpses lying here and there, the hallways looked clear, possibly because the hordes had abandoned the school building for a more crowded place. The undead worked toward a unified goal — ending humanity. The goal would be impossible to achieve if they remained inside the academy.
'I can hear some on the first floor.'
(Umu. My love, there is a matter I wish to discuss.)
'It's not like you to ask for permission.'
(It's about Ai—)
Tap. Tap. Tap. The duo of Saeko and Shiori hastened their footsteps and flanked his sides.
Saeko looked at him with a soft gaze. "Asahi-kun, let us know when you feel tired. We can lead the way."
Despite having faith in his abilities, she still believed him to have the same limits as a human. As an athlete, she was all too familiar with the exhaustion that kicked in after prolonged physical exertion. She hoped for him to accompany Shizuka in the rear and lead from there.
Shiori's lips curled into a playful smirk. "Saeko is concerned about Asahi-kun. How cute."
Eyes widening, Saeko shot a glare at Shiori. "I thought we were together on this!"
A chuckle escaped Asahi's lips. "Shiori, the backstabbing one."
"I totally am," Shiori said with a giggle. "Asahi-kun, we have Miyamoto and Takashi to help us with combat."
"Less work for me to be honest." Asahi looked back at Rei and Komuro. Both of them seemed determined to get through the whole ordeal and reunite with their parents. "I'll still lead, though."
"Stubborn man," Shiori grumbled. "Have it your way then."
The twins didn't seem uncomfortable within the new world. Rather, they seemed to be having a blast without the restraints imposed on them by society.
While walking through the hallways, he began talking to the goddess in his head.
'This weapon had Primeval Mode, right? What was the trigger again?'
(By imbuing it with more elemental energy,) Klyscha explained. (Your body is filled to the brim with this energy. Just one conscious thought will move it to your desired location, like you did before.)
He shut his eyes and focused on directing the flow of energy down his right arm. A sensation both unbelievably heavy yet incredibly light rushed through his limb, discharging into the Primeval Ax. The weapon erupted with a burst of dark purple, almost black aura, which then wrapped itself around the ax like an enchantment.
He waved his ax around with a cheerful grin. "Talk about flashy."
The sudden manifestation of magic brought the group to a halt, their eyes fixed on him as if he was an animal in the zoo.
With a sigh, he turned to face them. "I know I'm handsome, but can we not stop here to admire my charming face?"
Saya pointed a finger at his ax, her eyes wide with shock. "Y-You have a Vision!"
"Not all magic is created by Visions," Asahi clarified and disengaged the Primeval mode. "Consider it my innate power."
"Hmph. My flames are cooler."
"Haven't you heard that it's rude to compare?"
"Wha—I wasn't comparing."
Asahi chuckled. "Let's keep moving."
They found no hostile forces on the second floor's hallway, but the floor underneath had quite a number of shambling corpses. Lacking the finesse of normal humans, these undead couldn't find a way out of the school on their own.
At his current capability, a hundred undead wouldn't pose a threat to Asahi. The two dozen couldn't hold him for more than one minute.
He killed his way through, while the duos of Komuro and Rei and Saeko and Shiori supported him in finishing the undead. Rei enhanced her strength and agility through her Vision and Komuro enhanced his metal bat with his Vision's metal enhancement. Still, the two paled in comparison to the teamwork and raw skill of Saeko and Shiori.
'They will be unstoppable with Visions.'
Unfortunately, the acquisition of Visions demanded extreme stress, a state none of them currently found themselves in.
Nevertheless, as they stood now, they could likely kill a Ravager or two with his help. But the world didn't throw another Ravager at them. They were as rare as he had expected; only powerful souls could inherit aspects from the higher entities, like the Ravager of Destruction inherited its Destruction aspect from Destruction.
[You earned 22 XP from killing [Level 1 Decay's Apostle]
[You earned 22 XP from killing [Level 1 Decay's Apostle]
[You earned 22 XP from killing [Level 1 Decay's Apostle]
[You earned 22 XP from killing [Level 1 Decay's Apostle]
…
[Requirements fulfilled… You have raised the mastery of the Passive Skill 'Basic One-handed Weapon Mastery' to S.]
(Finally!)
'I'll master the rest tonight. Of course, after we do the dirty.'
(About that… There's something I must show you.)
He nodded his head. 'Sounds serious. I'll be ready.'
Glancing back, Asahi found Saya's gaze fixed upon him, seemingly befuddled by his combat prowess and his magic ax. Shizuka's eyes held curiosity, but she refrained from questioning him, trusting he would reveal his secrets when the time was right.
[–Shiori Busujima: Affection +4]
[–Saeko Busujima: Affection +1]
[–Shizuka Marikawa: Affection +3]
[–Saya Takagi: Affection +6]
[–Kyoko Hayashi: Affection +3]
[–Rei Miyamoto: Affection +8]
[–Komuro Takashi: Respect +10]
[–Kazu Ishii: Respect +19]
[–Hirano Kohta: Respect +25]
The flood of notifications made him dismiss everything with a swipe of his hand. He already had plans to review everyone's status through the Partner function after reaching Rika's place.
"Is it just me, or do they feel weak now?" Komuro asked as he looked between his glowing metal bat and the dead corpses on the ground. "I don't feel exhausted after swinging a dozen times."
(Vision boosts attributes.)
'Figured as much.'
Saya slapped Komuro's back. "Don't go jinxing us, you idiot."
"Huh?"
Rei stared at Saya. "I agree with Komuro. Killing them feels easier, both physically and… emotionally."
Shiori gave Rei a gentle push from behind. "Save the analysis for later. Let's focus on our objective."
Asahi led the pack, and they quickly made their way to the stairs. Another familiar scene occurred that was very reminiscent of the main plot. With the protagonist's group by his side, he couldn't stop the main plot from following him.
The scene was of students being cornered by a small group of undead.
Without hesitation, Asahi engaged his ax in Primeval Mode and infused it with even more elemental energy to activate the skill 'Entrenched Grasp'. Once he felt like it was enough, he hurled the ax towards the undead.
Suddenly, a swirling vortex materialized before the undead. The ax vanished into the portal, seemingly swallowed by the void. A heartbeat later, another portal tore open the space above Asahi, and the ax reemerged.
The ax was still spinning toward the undead. Even Asahi struggled to track its movement. Then the ax smashed into the first undead's skull, exploding it in a shower of putrid flesh and brain matter. The weapon magically adjusted its trajectory towards the remaining three undead. Their heads burst like watermelons, splattering the ground and the students.
'The strength of a giant.'
(The elemental energy you fed the ax is equivalent to five average individuals. It's the ultimate move of your weapon, but you can use it over and over without consequences.)
'All thanks to my race, right?'
(Yup.)
[You earned 22 XP from killing [Level 1 Decay's Apostle]
[You earned 44 XP from killing [Level 2 Decay's Apostle]
[You earned 44 XP from killing [Level 2 Decay's Apostle]
[You earned 44 XP from killing [Level 2 Decay's Apostle]
…
"Marikawa-kun," Saya whispered in awe. "What... what the fuck are you?"
Saya had enough of the bullshit that she straight up questioned whether he was a human or something supernatural. Judging from everyone else's gazes, they held the same opinion, well, apart from Shizuka and the twins.
Asahi reached out and flicked Saya's forehead. "You're being rude again."
Saya's hands flew to her forehead, rubbing the spot as she glared at him. "I was being reasonable. How the hell can a human make portals? You gotta be something demonic!"
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "I… I sold my soul to a demon god in exchange for power."
"Woah, seriously?! Why did you go that far?"
"Aa-kun, why?!"
They took his joke at face value. It took him a minute to diffuse the misunderstanding. The same time allowed the students to regain their composure.
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