章節 47: Cruising to the town of Horaud - A17
***
As the group cruised in Hajime's car, a relaxed vibe settled in with soft music playing in the background that Gojo was playing through the use of his abilities. Until out of nowhere—
"Yall wanna listen to some Mommy ASMR together?" Gojo dropped the craziest line to date. As he got more used to playing song tracks from recalling memories.
The shit that came out Gojo's mouth was so unexpected that Hajime immediately slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden halt. The abrupt stop jolted everyone, and Hajime turned to glare at Gojo, his eyes a mix of annoyance and irritation.
"Get out," Hajime commanded, his voice cold.
"Dis was but a joke, of course. But I was thinking, since we all miss our families—well, most of us do—listening to something like that might actually help—"
Before Gojo could finish, Hajime fired actual bullets infused with a red electric surge, transforming them into a railgun blast. But Gojo's Limitless ability effortlessly neutralized the projectiles, freezing them in place within inches of his face, rendering them completely harmless.
"Papa, What is Mommy ASMR?" Myu asked innocently, her big eyes filled with curiosity. Real. Hajime has been trying to shoot Gojo once a day now because the amount of shit that comes out of his mouth was way too inappropriate for a child to hear. Naturally this was a normal occurrence on the daily.
"Don't worry about it, Myu," Hajime quickly interjected, trying to steer the conversation away from the awkward topic.
"It's for people who miss their mommy—" Gojo began, but Dark Magician Girl swiftly covered his mouth with both hands. She didn't know what Mommy ASMR was either, but she didn't like the sound of it. And more importantly; If Gojo wanted a mommy, she could be the one for him! She thought.
Not a single soul here knows what Mommy ASMR except for Gojo and Hajime. The rest of the group could only tilt their head curiously now at what Mommy ASMR is.
Yue glanced at Hajime, "Hajime…"
"No. It's…extremely complicated to explain. Especially when Myu is here." Hajime groaned as he reasoned to Yue who was heavily interested in knowing what Mommy ASMR is.
[I can play the PG13 version of those.] Gojo telepathically communicated to Hajime through the telepathy stone.
[What the hell were you doing in your free time to remember every single detail of that—] Hajime shot back, but was cut off by someone speaking aloud.
"Well, I do miss my mom... But if Hajime is rejecting it, then there must be a good reason, right?" Shea said, trying to rationalize the situation.
"I also miss my mom, Goshujin-sama..." Tio added, her expression neutral as she closed her eyes, lost in memories of her childhood.
"Myu too!" Myu chimed in, her voice cheerful.
Hajime momentarily glanced at them when he heard them.
Yue looked at Hajime with an understanding look, choosing not to pry further. She knew that Hajime missed his mom too.
When Hajime looked in the rear mirror, he sighed when Gojo was making a purposely nasty smirk with a crazed expression on his face.
"Well, Gojo is not going to be playing that nonsense. Nothing good comes out of those. Just stick to the regular soundtracks," Hajime muttered, his tone decisive.
"Hai hai," Gojo shrugged nonchalantly as he reclined on the soft cushion he had set up for himself and Dark Magician Girl.
Given that they had a minor in their group, and considering the merfolk's sensitive hearing, Gojo had needed to keep the music soothing and easy to the ear. The merfolk's ears were extremely sensitive to some sound and vocal vibration.
So far, Gojo had been playing a selection of game tracks and OSTs, including themes from Maplestory, Runescape, Nier, and various anime series. While most of the music was well-received, some tracks were skipped due to their potential discomfort for Myu's sensitive hearing.
It truly was a moment of leisure.
***
However, the same couldn't be said for the chosen heroes' of students exploring the dungeon.
Somewhere deep within the 89th floor, after running away from floor 90. There was an octagonal room with exits on four sides. There was also a concealed room that existed on one side, in between two of the exits. It wasn't terribly large, but it made for a great hiding spot. The entrance was camouflaged, so it was hard to spot from the outside.
Kouki and the others were currently cooped up inside, taking a short break. Everyone's expressions were dark. Their minds were all preoccupied with the battle they'd just escaped from. Many of them still hadn't had their wounds healed, and were grimacing in pain.
There were lots of casualties but not enough to be extremely life threatening… yet. But they are on the border of life and death right now.
Out of everyone in the safe room, Endou was the only one not inside as he was entrusted with an important mission. He'd headed out alone to inform Captain Meld of what they'd encountered on the 90th floor.
His ability to go unnoticed. Despite the fact that he was neither overly gloomy, nor a terribly quiet person, his friends often lost sight of him. And when they looked around in a panic, they'd be surprised to see him still standing there right next to them. His naturally weak presence, coupled with his Assassin skills would easily allow him to run all the way to the 70th floor where Captain Meld was without being noticed by a single monster. He'd already been a master of hiding back on earth, but he'd polished his skills to new heights since being summoned here. Even those with the Sense Presence skill couldn't easily find him. It was for that reason everyone had entrusted Endou with delivering this information.
When he'd left, Endou had been in tears. Nothing was more frustrating than leaving your comrades behind and running away alone. Though those tears may have been due to the way his friends had tried to 'convince' him he was the best suited for this mission. Saying things like "no one is as unnoticeable as you," or "I can't even tell when you're around sometimes, so there's no way the monsters will," or "you know, you're so forgettable I actually forgot your name for a few seconds," probably didn't do much for his confidence.
However the information they held was crucial—vital to the safety of both the heroes and the kingdom.
But the reason they'd sent Endou off was not to ask for reinforcements, but to inform Meld and the others of the demon they'd encountered, and the monster army she led.
Ishtar and the others already knew that demons were able to control monsters. And that they didn't use simple brainwashing, but a method that allowed the monsters to maintain some semblance of their will. However, they had grossly miscalculated the strength of those monsters. The humans were so worried about the numbers of demons they could bring to bear against people, not the strength of those individual monsters they controlled.
Yet the monsters the students had faced were strong enough to not only wipe out everything on the 90th floor with ease, they had even been able to beat even the hero's cheat party. If the demons had always possessed such power, humanity would have been annihilated long ago.
In other words, Ishtar's information hadn't been mistaken at the time, but the demons had since leveled up their monster taming abilities. Not only had they gained the advantage of numbers, but they also outperformed
humans in individual strength.
Kouki and the others knew they had to get this information to the Holy Church as quickly as possible.
When Kousuke Endou made his way up the floors, avoiding contact with all monsters. Slowly but surely, he was approaching the 70th floor where Captain Meld was.
Upon finding him, Endou explained what had happened to the remaining heroes. At first, Captain Meld was confused, but as the story progressed, his expression grew more grim. The situation was far worse than they had imagined.
After discussing what they feared might be a worst-case scenario, Captain Meld made a grim request. He asked Endou to save only Kouki, should the worst come to pass. "The world needs a hero," he'd said. "A person with the hero class."
Endou's heart sank at the request.
As they neared the end of their conversation, monsters under the demon's command appeared—Chimeras. Once again, Endou was entrusted with escaping to the surface and informing the higher-ups. Captain Meld and his knights bravely held off the monster horde, buying Endou time. As Endou fled, his heart ached, knowing he was leaving comrades behind.
One by one, the knights fell, their lives sacrificed to prevent the Chimeras from catching up to Endou.
Finally, he found the teleportation circle. He quickly activated it, escaping tearfully to the upper levels of the dungeon.
But the Chimera-like monsters were relentless. They followed him through the teleportation circle, arriving at the 30th floor where more knights were stationed to guard the gate.
The knights on the 30th floor were slaughtered as if they were nothing, swept aside in an instant. Endou, in desperation, destroyed the teleportation gate to stop more monsters from coming through. He stayed behind to fend off the remaining Chimeras, but despair gripped him as he realized not a single knight had survived. The floor was littered with their bodies, lifeless and broken.
Endou, in a desperate move, destroyed the teleportation gate to stop more from following. He stayed behind, fighting off the remaining Chimeras, but despair gnawed at him. Not a single knight had survived. The scene was carnage. The knights who had bravely defended the magic circle on the 30th floor were all dead. Endou, drenched in grief, wept, cursing himself for his inability to save even one.
Once again, he was the sole survivor.
That cruel truth weighed him down, coiling around his heart like a chain. The only thing keeping him going was the mission, entrusted to him by the comrades who had fallen and those who were desperately depending on him. He ran on, driven by duty, with no room left to think about anything else.
***
Hajime and the crew were taking their time, leisurely crossing the plains. Up in the air, Gojo could be seen riding behind Dark Magician Girl, his arms wrapped around her as they flew together on her staff. After being kicked out of the car earlier, Gojo had found himself her passenger, and from the look on her face, she was thoroughly enjoying his company.
Down below, Shea was tearing across the landscape on Steiff, her motorcycle, screaming with excitement as she sped along.
Hajime had ended up using Brise for transport more often than not. After much insistence from Shea, Hajime had finally caved and agreed to teach Shea how to drive Steiff. And once she'd mastered driving, she'd fallen in love with the motorbike.
Since it was operated via mana manipulation, it wasn't actually that hard to master. Shea didn't even have to move the handlebars manually if she didn't want to, as it could all be done magically. Since Shea could control her mana directly too, learning how to drive had been a piece of cake.
"Uwaa! How is she even pulling off a wheelie at that speed, while doing a handstand on the hand grip?" Gojo squinted in disbelief as he watched Shea perform the impossible.
"Mana," Dark Magician Girl chimed in cheerfully.
"Oh, right..." Gojo clicked his tongue in frustration.
Although Gojo and Dark Magician Girl could easily speed up their journey, they chose not to. Rushing would spoil the fun of an adventure to another world! Sure, they're using a conventional car, but it was created from materials and through from this world, so it doesn't really count. Besides, Gojo has an air vehicle in their spatial inventory that could travel extremely fast.
Crazy as this may sound but Shea's driving skills with the motorcycle has even surpassed Hajime in a matter of an hour… she was increasing in real time.
He didn't particularly mind that she'd become a better driver than him. What he did mind was that now that her skills had improved she took every opportunity to show off and rub it in his face. It seemed Shea was one of those people whose personalities did a complete 180 when they started driving.
Shea was even blatantly showing off to Gojo, who responded by creating a giant pothole on the road with his azure blue curse technique. But Shea skillfully dodged it. Gojo was about to continue but quickly gave up when he found himself being shot at by Hajime, who had to maneuver around the pothole.
Myu clambered up onto Yue's knees and stared at Hajime, eyes glittering with excitement.
She pointed at Shea, who was currently doing a handstand on the handlebars.
"Daddy, Daddy! I wanna do that too!"
"Not happening."
"But I wanna!" Myu started thrashing about in Yue's lap. Yue got a firm grip on Myu so she wouldn't fall down and scolded her gently. Myu started pouting, and Hajime finally relented.
"Myu. I'll let you ride it with me later, so be good okay?"
"You will?"
"Yeah. There's no way in hell I'm letting you get on with Shea, but if it's with me, then I guess it's alright." "I can't go with Shea-oneechan?" "Absolutely not. Just look at her. She's posing on top of the handlebars. It's kind of scary how good she is... But there's no way I'm letting you ride with someone who drives like that."
Shea was standing atop Steiff's handlebars, covering her face with her right hand while raising up her left shoulder. It looked just like Jojo's trademark pose.
Hajime stared as she laughed maniacally, vowing to himself that he'd never let Myu ride with Shea as long as he lived.
It had only been a short time since Myu started traveling with them, but Hajime had already given up on being called anything other than daddy. At first, he'd tried everything he could think of to get Myu to change her mind, but he'd be defeated at every turn by her teary-eyed face. He'd grown strong enough to kill the monsters that inhabited the abyss, but he didn't think he'd ever match up to this little girl. And so, daddy had stuck.
Fortunately for Gojo, he managed to persuade Myu to call him "Gojo" or "Onii-chan" occasionally by offering her a bribe.
~
Meanwhile, Gojo was hugging behind Dark Magician Girl as he sat behind her on her staff. Honestly, he was a bit bored. They were traveling at the same pace as Brise, even though they could have gone much faster.
Much like Dark Magician Girl, she only needed to use very little mana to fly on the staff. At the same time, she had to stay conscious of and manage various tasks, such as direction, maintaining altitude, and speed. However, she had been used to using these techniques since she began her training as a mage extremely long time ago, as this had become second nature to her.
At the moment, she was feeling a bit frisky and daring. As they sat together on the staff, which felt more like a bench, she began to touch Gojo playfully—under his pants, his shirt, and even his—Gojo didn't mind at all and allowed her to do whatever she wanted.
The party continued down the highway like that. After a few hours, they arrived at Horaud.
Originally, Hajime had planned on passing the town by, but Ilwa had asked him to deliver something, so he'd taken a small detour. It was more or less on their way to the Grand Gruen Volcano, so he wasn't going that far out of his way anyway. Gojo and Dark Magician Girl continued to follow him.
***
Upon arriving in the town of Horaud, Dark Magician Girl looked around with a sense of familiarity and sighed.
Meanwhile, Hajime strolled down the main street, his eyes reflecting nostalgia as he took in the surroundings.
Normally stern, Hajime now had a relaxed, almost normal look on his face.
"Feeling nostalgic?" Gojo asked, though his gaze was fixed on something on the ground.
Hajime shrugged, his expression softening just a little.
"Yeah, something like that. This place brings back memories, not all good ones, though."
He paused, then added, "It's strange. I'm not the sentimental type, but this is where it all started, isn't it? I spent a night here, nervous and afraid. The next day, we entered the labyrinth… and then I fell."
As Hajime spoke, Yue, Shea, and Tio looked up at him, their faces unreadable.
"Can't relate," Gojo muttered, still staring at the ground—or rather, at whatever was beneath it.
He was currently trying to analyze the structure below, trying to understand the labyrinth in its entirety.
Crazy… these Liberators sure are creative, he thought.
The labyrinth was incredible to him. Just imagine—a tower that could constantly recreate real, genuine monsters on every floor, with virtually no cost for each one destroyed. It was the god-tier creation magic. In his opinion, it was one of, if not the, most overpowered abilities, especially for innovators, creators, inventors, crafters or something like that.
When Gojo was internally studying… Tio struck up a conversation with Hajime.
"Hmm... Do you never wish you could do things over, Master? I have only heard some of what transpired back then, but... you do not hate all of your previous comrades, correct? Are there not some you were particularly close to? Do you never wish you could still be with them?" Since Tio hadn't known Hajime for as long as the others, she wasn't as familiar with his past. And because she was straightforward by nature, she had no compunctions about asking whatever came to her mind.
"You're right, I was close with some of my old classmates. But even if I could turn back time, I wouldn't change a thing."
"Oh, and why's that?"
Hajime smiled softly and squeezed Yue's hand. "Obviously... so I could meet Yue again."
"Hajime..." Yue blushed as they stood together, lost in each other, oblivious to the bustling street around them. Curious glances and jealous stares went unnoticed; they only had eyes for each other.
Nearby, Shea grumbled, "Did you hear that, Tio? He didn't say 'us,' just Yue. They're flirting right in the middle of the street again. When's it my turn? I've been waiting for him to notice me forever! I know Yue's special, but come on! I thought I was getting somewhere, but he still ignores me. What kind of guy overlooks a girl who's practically throwing herself at him? I wanna flirt with Hajime too!"
Now, the street was filled with curious onlookers—watching the flustered bunny girl and the older woman, both causing more of a scene than the couple.
The party had caused such a scene in the middle of the street that the guards had come out to see what all the commotion was about.
Gojo was only half-paying attention to whatever Shea and Tio were rambling about. His mind was elsewhere, focused on a new challenge: the Orcus Labyrinth. He was seriously considering speed-running the dungeon to get his hands on the Age of God magic as quickly as possible.
Could I just blast my way down to the 100th floor with Hollow Purple? he wondered. Is that even allowed?
He wasn't sure, but the thought of skipping straight to the final floor by blowing a hole with Hollow Purple was incredibly tempting.
After maneuvering through the crowd—despite the scene they caused—Hajime and the group finally arrived at Horaud's adventurer's guild. Just as they were about to enter, Gojo spoke up.
"You're bringing a kid into the guild?"
He glanced at Myu, still perched on Hajime's shoulder.
"Why not?" Hajime responded casually. "We're just here to deliver a letter, then we're out."
Gojo paused for a moment, then simply muttered, "Right."
"..."
Hajime pushed open the guild's doors with Myu still sitting on his shoulders. Unlike the other guild branches that he'd visited, this one's front doors were made of metal. There was a massive groaning noise as the double doors creaked open.
Last time Hajime had been in Horaud he'd had no need to visit the guild, so this would be his first time inside. And the inside of Horaud's guild was exactly how he'd imagined a guild hall should look like.
The layout was similar to the other guilds he had visited—a large counter straight ahead and a restaurant to the left.
Adventurers from the second floor leaned over the railings, peering down to see who the newcomers were. From what we could tell, the adventurers up there seemed to be a little bit stronger from our point of view.
These adventurers had a different air about them compared to those in other cities. There was a sharpness, a readiness to fight, that had been missing from the more laid-back adventurers compared to Brooke.
Even so, the atmosphere in the guild was tense, more than usual. Something serious enough to make these hardened adventurers uneasy had happened. All eyes focused on Hajime and his group. That wasn't entirely surprising to them, given the overwhelming and almost unreal attractiveness they exuded.
Myu let out a terrified squeal and tried to hide behind Hajime's head.
He gently patted Myu's head and shot a look at the adventurers with a withering glare.
Then, without warning... he unleashed a wave of Intimidation so powerful that it blew all the adventurers back. The pressure was so strong that they could physically feel it.
Gojo puffed up his
The less experienced adventurers fainted on the spot, while most of the others returned meekly to their seats. They shivered in fear, cold sweat pouring down their backs. It took everything they had to keep from fainting like the other adventurers had.
While Hajime played the overprotective father, Gojo casually strolled to the reception desk. Flashing his credentials as a member of a gold-ranked party, he quickly explained that they were on a mission to deliver a letter from the Fuhren branch chief, with orders to deliver it in person.
"A direct request from Fuhren's branch chief?" The receptionist's eyes widened in surprise. It was so rare for a mere adventurer to receive a task from someone of such high rank. But when she saw the status plate Gojo handed over, her shock deepened.
"Wait, you're... you're all gold-ranked!?" she blurted out, her voice carrying across the room.
Realizing her mistake, the receptionist paled and bowed as low as she could. "M-My deepest apologies, sir! I didn't mean to say that so loudly!"
The names of all gold-ranked adventurers were recorded on a roster every guild worker had memorized. Yet, she had never heard of Gojo Satoru or the others.
"Get the chief here or whatever." Gojo said, waving her off before turning his attention back to Hajime, who was now busy slapping Tio for teaching Myu inappropriate things.
Finally, after a few moments, the sound of someone thundering down the corridor filled the guild. A black-clad figure burst from the hallway near the counter, his eyes scanning the room in a panic.
Hajime's eyes went wide in shock. He recognized the person instantly—someone he hadn't expected to see here.
"Endou?" he exclaimed. The black-clad figure was none other than his classmate, Kousuke Endou.
~
[So, he is Endou Kousuke?] Dark Magician Girl standing next to Gojo in spirit form telepathically communicating.
[Hard to notice him, but not impossible, right?] Gojo's eyes fixed on the newcomer.
[Strange… I feel like I've never seen him before. And he's part of the heroes' party?] Dark Magician Girl murmured, her brow furrowing in thought. [Though, I think I spoke to him once.]
[It's a unique trait of his. It's not connected to his cheats—he just has almost no presence. People barely perceive or remember him.]
[That's so sad!]
~
It was at this point Endou broke down and clung desperately to Hajime's shoulders. His face was a mixture of desperation and regret.
"I'm begging you, come back to the labyrinth with me! If we don't hurry, everyone will die! We need all the help we can get! Kentarou and Jugo could die any minute now! I'm begging you Nagumo, you've gotta help us!"
Hajime had never seen the normally composed Endou so distraught. Endou's face fell and he sunk to his knees at the mention of Captain Meld. He managed to squeeze out a few words through his despair.
"Oh... so we're at that part of the story now," Gojo muttered, almost to himself.
Endou suddenly erupted with frustration. "Every knight that was protecting me... they're all dead. Even Captain Meld! They sacrificed themselves so I could escape!" His voice was filled with guilt and disbelief, as if he still couldn't comprehend the cost of his survival.
"I see." Hajime replied solemnly.
"So what exactly happened?"
"Well..." Endou numbly began recounting the events that had led to his escape. However, a voice stopped him.
"Shall we continue this conversation inside one of our private rooms? It seems that boy over there has something for me as well." A grizzled old man well into his sixties stepped out of the hallway. There was a large scar running down his left eye.
Judging from the fact that the receptionist was with him, Hajime guessed that he must be this guild's branch chief. He recalled the strained atmosphere that had filled the room when he'd first entered and looked back down at Endou. He was practically sobbing now.
"Yeah, maybe it's best we don't talk about this here. It's a bit weird to see guys cry like that." Gojo glanced around the room.
Endou had probably broken down once here already, and spilled that something bad had happened to the hero party and their escorts. That was probably why everyone was on edge.
The branch chief took Endou by the arm, pulled him to his feet, and marched him back inside the hallway. All the strength had drained out of Endou after that outburst, and he meekly let himself be dragged along. Hajime reluctantly followed along. Whatever story he was about to be told, he had the feeling he really didn't want to hear it.
~~~
"In short. Demons huh?" Hajime.
[With an age of god magic. Most likely.] Gojo added this telepathically as he didn't want to worsen the atmosphere that Endou was currently having.
Across from him sat Horaud's branch chief, Loa Bawavis and Endou. Yue, Shea, and Tio all sat next to him. Myu was resting on his lap. Gojo was forced to sit on the other side with Loa and Endou.
Endou had just finished recounting the story of what had happened in the labyrinth. Both Loa and Endou had dark expressions on their faces, and the air was heavy. No one had imagined the hero party would get done so easily.
"At any rate, Nagumo. Thanks to Ilwa's letter, I understand the gist of your situation. I see you've been busy."
"Yeah, too many things happened." Hajime spoke of his unbelievable feats as if they were no different than going on a walk for him. He shrugged his shoulders, and Loa smiled in amusement.
"According to this letter, Ilwa wants me to endorse your promotion to gold rank, and to assist you in any way I can. I more or less understand what's going on, so that shouldn't be a problem. I've heard that you guys not only single-handedly annihilated an army of sixty thousand monsters, but that you completely destroyed Fuhren's underground crime ring in half a day. Frankly, I find it hard to believe you're actually capable of all of these things, but I can't imagine someone like Ilwa lying. If he told me you were the demon lord himself, I'd still believe him."
Endou froze in shock hearing the feats, while Loa and Hajime continued their conversation.
"In that case, I'd like you to prove your claims by taking on a certain request on behalf of the Horaud adventurer's guild."
"Don't be ridiculous. You want me to go rescue the hero party?"
Endou suddenly snapped back to reality when he heard the word "rescue." He leaned forward and started begging Hajime once more.
"Th-That's right! Nagumo, we need to go save them! If you're really that strong, then you can do it, right!?"
"..." Endou's eyes lit up with hope, but Hajime's reaction was not what he was expecting.
Hajime stared off into the distance, considering his options. Endou had thought Hajime would leap at the chance to save his comrades, so he was confused when Hajime remained silent.
"What's wrong!? They could be dying while we waste time here! What's there to think about!? They're your comrades!"
"My comrades?" Hajime turned his gaze back to Endou, his eyes cold as ice. Endou faltered in the face of his intense glare.
"Y-Yeah. They're your comrades, so we've gotta go save—"
"Don't just go make them my comrades for your own convenience. I'll be clear: I've only ever thought of you guys as classmates. Nothing more. It's not much different from being strangers, really."
Gojo watched at the scene where this is going.
How strange, he thought. I'm certain I caused plenty of butterfly effects, yet this scene seems to have played out the exact same way like it did in the story.
"Endou-kun, it seems you're misunderstanding something," Gojo chimed in. "We're a group, not a charity. If you had presented the benefits clearly, Hajime would have given you an answer right away. Besides Hajime as our party leader is not obligated to help the hero or whatever." Gojo was speaking out of the respect he had for Endou after witnessing what he'd endured in the epilogue of the story, giving enough information for him to understand the line.
"And have you forgotten how Hajime ended up in the shadow realm? A stray fireball, courtesy of those so-called comrades." he added.
Kousuke Endou froze, his mouth agape as the memories resurfaced. He had tried to believe it had been an accident—a misfired fireball. But deep down, he knew better. It was likely intentional.
"It's the abyss." Hajime corrected flatly.
"Potato, potahto—same thing,"
"What!? But… how can you..." Endou stammered, scrambling for words. Yet, nothing came to mind that could convince Hajime, who was clearly the one in control of the situation.
Ignoring Endou, Hajime turned back to considering the pros and cons of rescuing Kouki's party. As he'd said, he saw his classmates as nothing more than acquaintances. He wasn't totally interested in getting revenge on the one who'd cast him into the abyss, but he didn't feel any fondness for his former classmates, either.
However, he also wasn't going to just abandon them outright. Even now, Aiko's words had a profound effect on his way of thinking. If he let them die for no good reason, it would be betraying everything he'd promised his teacher back in Ur. But he wasn't alone—he had a party he trusted to watch his back. He couldn't simply impose his decision on them, even though they would follow him without hesitation.
Plus, there was at least one person who was more than just an acquaintance to Hajime.
"Shirasaki... Is she still alive?" Hajime muttered quietly. Endou, caught off guard, looked up in surprise. He realized he had to say something quickly, or Hajime would refuse to help. As he scrambled for the right words, memories of Shirasaki Kaori flooded his mind.
Endou talked about everything that came to mind, even though all Hajime had asked was if she was alive. After Endou finished sharing all the information he had about her, a brief silence filled the air.
Unexpectedly, Gojo broke the silence, suggesting they save them. After all, he had promised Dark Magician Girl he would help Hajime—especially after letting certain events unfold. Now, she stood in front of him, her face inches from his, staring directly into his eyes with a look that screamed, Where is that promise?
"We should help," Gojo said.
Shea, Yue, and Hajime turned their heads to stare at him in disbelief. Is this really Gojo? They couldn't believe he would suggest such a thing.
"Having the Hero alive will still serve as a distraction, pulling at least some of the pope's and that troublesome god's attention away from us. It won't do much, but it'll buy us the little time we may need."
[And we still need more time to gather the remaining Ages of God Magic.] Gojo added, telepathically communicating through a device he held.
What Gojo said literally makes sense to the team.
[So… the hero party is an invaluable asset,] Gojo continued. [No matter what happens, Kouki is some sort of amusement for that kinky god, watching Kouki tangled in his own sense of justice.]
No, it's better to say that Etho will make a move the moment when the hero dies. Since he was originally one of the bodies he was willing to steal, but now with so many options available, if any one of us dies, he might make a hasty decision, Gojo thought.
And, no matter what, I shouldn't reveal all my abilities or their full extent, Casting a glance at Yue. It's unconfirmed if Etho's can read the memories of the body he stole.
But sure enough, everything begins from here… Gojo glanced at Hajime, waiting for his decision. The moment we get entangled with the hero's party, Etho will have full surveillance on us—and them. And most likely, his attention will shift entirely to Yue.
And as expected Shea and everyone else in the party were prepared to follow Hajime's lead, no matter what decision he made. As they all chipped in their motives to follow Hajime.
***
After that ordeal.
"What's with this harem development..." Endou muttered in disbelief.
"To be honest, I really don't want to deal with God's chosen hero... but there's someone I owe a debt to, so I'm gonna go save her. Though knowing them, they might have fought their way out already."
In all honesty, Hajime couldn't have cared less about Kouki and most of the other students. In fact, he would've preferred not to get close to them, since they were effectively being manipulated by this world's corrupt gods.
Still, he'd always felt bad about not letting Kaori know that he was still alive. He had no doubt the reason she'd pushed herself so far was because of him. She was one person he'd rush to save if she was ever in trouble. She'd been the only one who'd tried to protect him. And though he didn't know it, even now she was soldiering on because she believed he was alive.
Besides, the danger to him would likely be negligible. From Endou's description, he guessed the four-eyed wolves they'd encountered were the same ones Hajime had fought in Ur. And the chimeras and cats seemed no stronger than the monsters he'd fought in the first couple of floors of the labyrinth. He wouldn't even break a sweat.
"U-Umm, does that mean you're going to help?"
"Yeah. Chief Loa. If possible, I'd like you to still make this a formal request from the guild."
"You don't want the guild's managers thinking they can ask you to do things for free?"
"Pretty much. Oh yeah, one more thing. Do you have a room I can leave Myu in?"
"Of course, that won't be any problem at all."
However, Myu disagreed, insisting on tagging along. As before, she was not happy about being left behind. This time, however, everyone managed to convince her to stay, with Tio agreeing to act as her babysitter.
There was a brief argument over who would watch Myu—Dark Magician Girl, Gojo, or Tio. Most of the group voted for Gojo, but he was focused on acquiring the Age of God Magic. Shea also wanted the magic, and since Gojo was stronger than Tio, he was the clear choice.
Realizing that Gojo would easily obtain the Age of God Magic if he went, Tio finally volunteered to stay behind and watch Myu. On top of that… Dark Magician Girl did not trust Gojo much like the rest of the team. So she was going to watch over him.
Finally, they prepared to depart, with Endou leading the way.
***
"Why the hell are we manually going through the dungeon like this?" Gojo's eyes twitched as they followed Endou, who was 'leading the way.'
"Why else? He knows the way. He is the only one that knows the teleportation gate to the lower section of the dungeon that is stationed on the 35th floor. I was planning to drill a hole under the dungeon after we used the gate," Hajime explained, keeping pace with Endou but staying slightly behind.
Endou had been confident in his agility, but his pride had been shattered as Hajime and his friends easily outpaced him. He pushed himself as fast as he could, praying that his friends were still safe.
They reached the 20th floor quickly, but that's when Gojo stopped.
"This place should be good enough, don't you guys think?" Gojo said, halting the party.
"Why did we stop?" Endou asked, turning to Gojo.
"No need for the teleportation gate. This place is safe enough," Gojo replied. "I already ran the simulation in my head."
"You…" Hajime began, his tone suddenly serious. "You're planning to use that Hollow Purple thing, aren't you?"
"I figured it would save us a lot of time, considering the dungeon might collapse, if I had used it at the beginner's area." Gojo said.
Endou's eyes widened in confusion and concern. "Hollow Purple? What's that?"
"It's his cheat," Hajime lazily explained, his gaze never leaving Gojo. "It can erase anything in its path. Are you sure you want to use it here?"
Gojo's smile didn't waver. "It's either that or we can do your method which is a little slower. A little extra firepower wouldn't hurt the entire dungeon."
Hajime glanced around the floor, taking in their surroundings. The 20th floor of the dungeon was relatively quiet, with only the distant echoes of dripping water and the occasional scuttling of creatures breaking the silence.
"Fine," Hajime said after a moment of consideration.
"But make sure you control it. We don't want to collapse the entire labyrinth on top of us."
"Don't worry. I've got it under control."
As Gojo prepared to release his technique, Endou took a step back, his face pale. "Is it really going to be safe?"
"It will be," Hajime assured him. "Just stay out of the way."
Gojo struck a pose and began channeling his curse energy.
Insane… the control of his energy manipulation is perfect… Yue thought, observing Gojo's mastery of curse energy. Although she could barely perceive curse energy, she could see how the energy was optimized. Even though she was one of the most skilled mana manipulation mages in the world, she could never achieve that level of precision of manipulating mana.
Of course, she couldn't know that it was thanks to his Six Eyes and the Limitless Cursed Technique that made such precision possible. They complemented each other perfectly.
"Uwaa, it's that scary purple attack again," Shea muttered, her fluffy ears twitching nervously as she hid behind Hajime.
"Nine Ropes." "Polarized Light." "Crow and Declaration." "Between Front and Back."
As Gojo completed the series of incantations, he formed a precise hand sign by folding his middle finger against his thumb, then flicked his middle finger forward.
"Hollow Purple," Gojo declared, his voice steady.
In an instant, a swirling void of energy materialized before him, radiating an ominous aura. The air crackled with power as the purple lighting sparked around Gojo, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
The immense power of the technique rippled through the dungeon, causing the ground to shudder violently as the attacked carved a path downward.
Endou, falling on his ass with wide eyes, watched in a mix of awe and apprehension as the Hollow Purple attacked created a clear route to the lower levels. His eyes widened as he saw the extent of Gojo's technique unfold.
The Hollow Purple forged a clear route straight to the lower levels straight down to the 99th floor, allowing them to speed through the dungeon with unprecedented efficiency.
Yue's eyes followed Gojo with a mix of respect and curiosity. Though this was her second time witnessing his abilities, she still found it hard to believe. Even though Gojo wasn't a 'mage' in the traditional sense, she sees him as a mage of equal strength to her own.
***
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票