章節 77: Warmth

[Flashback to earlier that day]

Seeing Will abruptly disappear, the crescent-bladed Saighba'an tilted its head to the side before tentatively approaching the equipment he had left behind.

"A teleportation technique that leaves behind articles of clothing and equipment...how curious..." muttered the Saighba'an, using the tip of one of its crescent-shaped blades to inspect Will's discarded clothing and equipment.

"Ah...!" exclaimed the Saighba'an, releasing the blade in its right hand as it came into contact with Leshien's gauntlet. At the same time, it bounded back as quickly as it could, appearing to teleport as it narrowly evaded a series of black, hair-like tendrils that spread across and through its blade to form a pattern of circuits that shot out and attempted to skewer it.

"Accursed one..." hissed the Saighba'an, leaning forward and baring its teeth as if trying to intimidate an unseen foe. What followed was a faint pop and nearly inaudible static, reminiscent of an old-fashioned radio on low volume, as an ethereal voice uttered, "Reina—" before the Saighba'an sent a second blade of energy through where the voice had originated.

Though the static became fainter, it didn't disappear entirely, allowing the faint voice of Leshien to declare, "If you killed that boy...I will avenge him without fail..."

With the fur across its body standing on end, the Saighba'an raised its remaining sword and began drawing energy from its surroundings like a black hole. The structure of the Tomb of the Jackal King began to break apart as the Mana coursing through it was also absorbed, but before the Saighba'an could demonstrate to Leshien that it wasn't afraid of her, the ground beneath its cloven feet abruptly became unstable as its shadow gained properties similar to water.

As its focus was fully on the lingering thread of Leshien's consciousness, the Saighba'an was surprised but reacted quickly, flipping its blade within its hand and stabbing into its shadow. The Aura it released caused every shadow in the immediate area to emit blinding, bluish-white light as Ohta, covered in a layer of frost and with his left arm frozen solid, emerged from the shadow of Will's discarded equipment.

Though it still felt a sense of panic and urgency, the Saighba'an tilted its head at the appearance of Ohta. It was familiar with the method the latter used to move through shadows, but it felt there was something...off about Ohta's existence.

"Another interloper...?" queried the Saighba'an, but there was uncertainty in its tone. Both it and the entity viewing the situation through its eyes felt a sense of contradiction while observing Ohta. It was like the latter's soul was familiar but foreign at the same time...

"You are an amalgamation..." accused the Saighba'an, causing Ohta to grit his teeth and respond, "Piss off, you furry piece of shit...!" while extending his right hand and unleashing a compelling force that caused the former's eyes to widen. Ohta's attack didn't appear to be particularly swift, but it was similar in nature to a Curse. So long as specific conditions were met, a Curse could be applied to a target irrespective of distance. Thus, even if the Saighba'an had dodged or teleported away, Ohta's attack would have hit it regardless.

Raising and crossing its arms in a defensive posture, the Saighba'an did its best to endure as its body felt like it was being deconstructed at the spiritual level. The wall behind it abruptly turned to dust, but it wasn't the only thing within the vicinity that was destroyed. The very particles in the air also began to break down, eventually filling the corridor with a column of pure destruction as Ohta, standing on the opposite end, sprouted a pair of red-black horns that became white-hot at their tips and caused cracks to spread from his scalp in the form of a complex magic formula. Then, as it couldn't endure the surge of Mana and Aura he was exuding, Ohta's left arm broke off and was instantly reduced to dust, causing his fury to erupt and the column of light to turn crimson.

As its body began to flake away and reduce to dust, the Saighba'an or, more accurately, the entity borrowing its body compelled it to narrow its eyes and remark, "I see...you inherited the lega—"

Before the entity could finish speaking, Ohta shouted, "Just fucking die already...!" as he pushed his hand forward, causing the Saighba'an's body to fracture into multiple pieces, accelerating its destruction a hundredfold. In the wake of the destruction, neither hair nor hide remained of the pale creature, only a hole and a void with the Dungeon's wall that seemed like it would swallow up anyone who trespassed too close...

...

In response to Will adopting an especially grim expression and asking, "What happened?" Ohta shrugged, waved his stumpy arm, and assured, "Demons are resilient. So long as our horns aren't removed, wounds like this will recover within a few days, tops..."

Furrowing his brows deeply, Ohta flipped things on Will, asserting, "And before asking me what happened, shouldn't you explain what happened on your end? When I saw your shit lying on the Dungeon floor, I thought you had died..."

Though he was tempted to ask if Ohta had recovered said shit, Will gave a curt nod and explained, "I was teleported to safety by a special talisman I received as a reward a few years back. Unfortunately, it only teleports the person it's applied to, not their clothing or equipment..."

"And what fucking genius came up with that design...?" asked Ohta, not expecting an answer as he reached up to massage his forehead in a mix of exasperation and relief. A part of him wanted to lash out and beat the shit out of Will, as he had staked his life to avenge him, but with his Mana and Aura both running on fumes, the two things Ohta most wanted at that moment were a warm bath and sleep.

"Hey..." muttered Will, causing Ohta, who was slumped over, to raise his head and stare at him with half-lidded eyes and a pouty expression as he asked, "What...?" in an ill-tempered tone.

"Come here..." whispered Will, extending his left hand, causing Ohta to stare at it with a frown for several seconds before meeting his gaze and asking, "Do I look like a dog to you...?"

"You look like you could use a hug," responded Will, causing Ohta's frown to deepen and the faint outline of a vein to appear on the right side of his forehead. He felt that Will was making fun of him, but his anger gradually abated after several seconds of staring at each other.

"You better not try anything..." muttered Ohta, averting his eyes before placing his hand in Will's. He didn't appreciate how the latter pulled him closer and then casually picked him by his sides, but when Will set him down in his lap and wrapped his arms around him, Ohta's cheeks flushed, and not a peep escaped his throat.

"I'm sorry for making you worry..." whispered Will, squeezing Ohta tightly and resting his chin on the latter's head. He thought about kissing it, but since there was a very high probability that Ohta would headbutt him for his efforts, he decided against it.

"If you're really sorry, we would return to the Royal Academy...then you wouldn't do crazy shit like this anymore..." retorted Ohta, his tone lacking its usual bite.

"Would that make you happy?" asked Will, leaving Ohta at a slight loss for words as it gave the impression he was willing to return specifically to put his mind at rest. The sentiment made his heart beat quicker, accompanied by a distinctive tingling, but it also made him feel annoyed as, even if Will never used it as leverage against him, he felt like the latter would secretly blame him for derailing his plans...

"Don't ask me stupid questions..." responded Ohta, lightly bumping Will's chin with the top of his head. Then, as he was starting to feel weird sitting in the latter's lap and being held by him, he crawled forward with the help of his shadowy tendril.

'Aggressive little fucker...' thought Will, rubbing his jaw with his left hand as he watched Ohta crawl away before tumbling off the edge of the bed. Instead of hitting the ground, however, he plummeted into its shadow, his presence vanishing moments later.

'And to think I used to find Tsunderes cute...' sighed Will, shaking his head in mild exasperation. In his previous life, he had been fond of a member of the Fenris tribe, a somewhat simple but loyal girl with burgundy hair and eyes he had named Arusha. She and Ohta had very similar temperaments, but the latter was considerably less honest with himself...

"Haaaa..."

Feeling a little depressed after recalling his previous life, Will exhaled a tired sigh and fell onto his back, arms and legs splayed as he stared at the room's ceiling. One of the few good things about being born impoverished or abandoned at an early age, at least as a reincarnator, was that the only person you were truly accountable to was yourself. In this life, everything he did impacted his family or their reputation, so while he had no intention of returning before he uncovered the Desert Rose, Will's close shave with death made him better aware of how selfish he was being...

Closing his eyes, Will allowed his consciousness to gradually slip away as he imagined how Allyson and the other members of Silver Cat would react when they saw him. With how convoluted things had become, it might be better to avoid and cut ties with them entirely. However, as he had all but promised to accompany Allyson to the Ancient Labyrinth, Arkaidos, he felt reluctant. He was, after all, nothing if not a man of his—

Before Will could complete his thought, he suddenly fell through his bed, briefly passing through a layer of sheer cold before being deposited in a large, marble, in-ground bath.

Waiting until Will rose to a seated position, Ohta, seated nearby atop a bathing stool, pointedly remarked, "Before you hug someone, make sure you don't smell like a rotting animal carcass...I already prepared an extra set of clothes, so wash up and change over..."

Half-turning to meet Will's gaze from the corner of his eye, Ohta added, "Also...I'm tired, and washing myself with one arm isn't easy. Since I lost it trying to avenge your stupid ass, you're going to serve as my replacement left hand..."

"Hmmm..."

Though he would ordinarily refuse such a demand, a glance at Ohta's shadowy stump was enough to compel Will to close his eyes, exhale a faint sigh, and respond, "Very well...but you need to cut it out with the whole sucking me into my shadow and depositing me places. It would piss you off if someone did it to you, so stop thinking you have a license to do it to me..."

Resisting the urge to tell Will to suck it the fuck up and take it like a man, Ohta engaged him in an impromptu staring contest for nearly a full thirty seconds before averting his eyes, puffing his cheeks, and muttering, "You don't need to be a jerk about it..."

Rolling his eyes, Will got up from the bath, stepped out of it, and used Aura to dry himself before peeling away his clothes. Ohta stared at him nearly the entire time, but since he had already resolved to see things through to the end, he ignored the diminutive Demon's gaze and stripped down to his birthday suit. Then, once again thinking back to the days he spent with Arusha, he helped Ohta wash his back, sides, shoulders, and hair while doing his best to avoid grazing any potentially sensitive areas. Despite this, Ohta's body radiated enough heat to rival a furnace by the time he was finished, causing the room to become progressively steamy as the surrounding water evaporated and a tiny horn protruded from the right side of his scalp...

...