A few days later... (Or was it? I dunno, since I am still stuck in the unknown dimension)

At Eris' dimension...

"Okay, so why am I here again?" Karu raised the question as he folded his arms in annoyance.

"We are here to make preparations to rescue Guardian-san." Eris replied patiently as she maintained the smile on her face and sat on the chair.

"So I am here to rescue a member of the Eris Sect. Great." Karu responded as he rolled his eyes.

"First of all, he is not my follower." Eris sighed as she facepalmed herself. "Second, is there anything wrong with my sect? Why did you sound like we did something wrong to you?"

"I am a believer of the Wolbach Sect, you know." Karu answered with a blank expression as he showed her a red pendant.

"Are you interested in joining the Eris Sect-"

"No."

Eris pouted as the rest of the crew appeared at her room a few seconds after.

"Good evening, everyone. I have summoned you here once again... For some of you, to say the least." Eris greeted the rest of the party members as she scratched her right cheek.

"At any rate, I am sure that all of you here know why you are here: to save the Magic Swordmaster, Guardian. As we are not allowed to fail in saving him, we would have to give in our all. So..." Eris took a deep breath after she began to brief the team.

"I will spare this apocal... adventurer for now. I do not know what will I do to you after we broke the Magic Swordmaster out, so it would be the best to prepare yourself after this." Eris continued as she gestured Saki.

I knew it. She was that close in calling Saki an apocalypse.

I mean, this is not going to happen - not for her in such a short time and that easily.

To be honest with you, if she actually manage to change her point of view within this period of time; I am going to take a quick check in her, since it is rather unnatural for her do a heel-face turn when it comes to undead when you take a look at the past incidents of her attempting to murder one, namely Saki.

"It is good to hear that you have put down the grudge against the undead, Eris-sama." Amai bowed as she thanked Eris before she went and talk to Saki.

Like I said, why do you place your trust in her that easily?! Eris is definitely up to something, most likely she have formulated a plan in getting rid of Saki by making use of the third party.

Ah, you were asking me how did I manage to take a look at the surroundings?

It is true I was still stuck at the unknown dimension, yet Volras summoned a few screens and forced me to look at them, saying that even I have the right to watch how my teammates lose against his forces.

I don't know... Judging how strong they are, I believe they are capable of breaking through his defences with little to zero problems. But anyway, I hope they don't worry about me once the things began to go south, remain safe and sound and go on with their lives. I would not want to see anyone sacrificing his/her life for me.

I wish they can forgive me if I apologise... Not that they would just do so that easily...

"Before we go, can you tell me whether or not are you serious in saving Guardian-san? For me, I am serious in doing so. He might get on my nerves on some issues, but I can't just let him go like that, as every person reincarnated into this world is a ray of hope for defeating the Demon King. This is an obligation of mine as well." Eris asked as she turned her attention onto them.

"I am serious as well. I like Onii-chan, he cared about me and always makes up his mind to protect me without hesitation, even facing life danger like the one time he gave me the trenchcoat and tanked the Explosion." Iris said calmly with her eyes closed, befitting her status as the Princess.

"...It is my turn to do the same for him. Not only because is he a resident of the Belzerg Kingdom, or I want to return the favour, but also because he is a person I could not live without." Iris continued as she opened her eyes once again, with the look in her eyes being more resolute than ever.

Thank you, Iris. Thank you.

Then silence filled the entire room.

Oi, come on you lot, I know I was at the wrong back then, but please say something, anyone would do. This is getting more and more awkward here.

"I always go all out when I do tasks or missions." Saki spoke up as she put her hands on her stomach. "This time, I will go all out not because this is a mission; or rather, it is to help someone that is rather close to me."

"No one- No one is against what you said, Saki... san. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here." Eris chimed in as she continued to force herself to keep her cordial tone here.

Watch it Amai. Eris is definitely up to something. You have been warned.

Wait, I forgot my messages cannot be conveyed!

*sigh*

Well... If I really have to describe this like a game, I would say the most of the people present in this dimension are crewmates, whereas there are two imposters - or rather, one semi-imposter and a real imposter among us, to be specific.

For the semi-imposter, I can definitely tell you, it is Eris. She sus. I mean, just listen to what she just said! She barely managed stopped herself from saying some disrespectful terms at Saki.

Mark my words, she is definitely going to celebrate over Saki's death.

For the imposter... Uh... I don't really know. We were extremely close in catching the spy back then, but he got away, unfortunately.

Anyhow, I am sure we can definitely unmask the spy.

As you may have guessed, the room was filled with silence once again.

Seriously, can they stop doing that? I wasn't that bad, was I? I mean, I still did plenty of good things for them, you know.

Loby is still acting like a tsundere, Yunyun was still too busy fidgeting. And Karu... uh, he was still complaining why he has to save me along with his fellow party members.

I am well aware that Karu hates me for absolutely no reason. But still, I still helped Loby and Yunyun, by which I saved the former from a bunch of asskicking moments, and helped the latter make some friends.

Even I should have some moments they would appreciate me for, right?

...

...

Fine, but I am going to give them a piece of my mind, if they can get me out of here that is.

"There are a few people who spoke nothing since the moment everyone was summoned here. Yet, I believe every single person present in the room shared the same thought and goal - to save the Magic Swordmaster." Iris spoke calmly as she put a somewhat peaceful expression on her face.

"Let's give in our all and work together as a team, to defeat the evil forces on this world!" Iris made some sort of declaration as she raised her fist into the air, as if she was a stock shounen protagonist.

Well, I think she looks cool at the moment, so I would say I am fine with her doing that.

"Let's go!"

Meanwhile, in that unknown dimension...

"At last, after all that time... I have created... this." Volras showed his subordinates his masterpiece.

"Congratulations on your success, Volras-sama." The swordmaster responded politely as he applauded at his liege.

The Archwizard on the other hand, cast a magic spell that oddly resembles a firework.

I am absolutely certain some of you are going to ask, how did I manage to narrate everything I see in normal tone, unfitting of a situation I was currently stuck.

I am still under the dogpile of the white-hot rocks, yet Volras altered the connections within my nervous system, and the nerve impulses from the pain receptors cannot be delivered up to my neck and to my brain.

And the thing that makes it even worse is the fact I cannot channel my mana into the Core Outfit, so I am basically wearing an ordinary trenchcoat and a shirt, nothing more, nothing less.

I had a feeling that my wounds were heavy to a certain extent that it would not be possible for me to join in the fight.

"Do you see that, Magic Swordmaster? I-" Volras walked into the room with a triumphant smile on his face.

However, that didn't really last long as sirens blared in the background.

"Volras-sama! We have company." The Archwizard reported anxiously as she opened the door.

"Damn Eris... How many are there?" Volras asked grimly after cursing his fellow deity.

"There are a total of seven of them, sir." The Archwizard answered.

"You go and fend them off." Volras gestured the Swordmaster to hold down the fort (well, literally, not figuratively).

"Call in reinforcements if necessary." Volras continued before the Swordmaster answered affirmatively and left the room.

A few seconds later...

"My sincerest apologies on failing to resist the attackers, Volras-sama." The Swordmaster walked into the room before he reported the current situation on one knee.

"Why is that? What happened? More importantly, how are the soldiers?" Volras asked a volley of questions as he helped the Swordmaster up.

"The seven intruders worked and have a deadly combination. The Thief lowered the accuracy rate for archers by tying them up via the skill Bind. The Stealth Swordswoman created thick mist to hid themselves and the Princess destroyed the troops along with the Wanderer, whereas the two Archwizards guard the rear. The casualties were 30 dead and 50 injured." The Swordmaster continued to report the present situation with a composed tone, as he carried on with a straight face.

"Did I not tell you to call in reinforcements if necessary?" Volras asked the Swordmaster as he was thinking about something.

"The Princess sprayed the iron sand from the Magic Swordmaster and the female Archwizard used Lightning to damage the communication systems. Therefore, I apologise for my miscalculation." The Swordmaster lowered his head in guilt, as if he was stating he could have done a better job.

"If that's the case... Right. I need you two each lead a squad to act as a distraction and hold the intruders off. I will deal with this personally." Volras turned his attention back onto his top subordinates before he turned his back on them and created a magic circle.

Volras' subordinates left the scene as the God of Darkness opened another door before he vanished into it.

"Say, Loby-san, how much further are we from Onii-chan?" Iris asked as she fought against some monsters.

"I don't know, but we were a bit more closer to him!" Loby replied as he whacked an orc with his staff.

"Fireball!" Loby chanted as he pointed his staff at the monsters behind them, by which their clothes were burning, yet it did not inflict any damage unto them.

"Flash Slash!" Karu drew his swords once again as he slashed the monsters multiple times and cut them into pieces.

"Alicia! You are heavily armoured, so go at the front and tank the hits as we go!" Karu yelled as he sheathed his swords and threw his chakram.

"Have you no shame? There is definitely no way am I doing that! I am a lady, albeit the fact I am a Rune Knight!" Alicia refused as she blocked a hit from a minotaur.

Wait, a minotaur? It's starting to get interesting.

But still, I thought there aren't any minotaurs in this world, only orcs. I mean, minotaurs are from the original Greek myths, and the people who are reincarnated into this world are Japanese, and more importantly, they were shut-ins, or so I heard from Aqua. So it would be impossible for them to access these information.

And I am the only person who fits in neither of them, according to Aqua.

...

...

"Your mind has a lot of interesting things, and I have a lot of ideas for monsters and subordinates thanks to you."

Remembering what Volras said back then, my face went pale.

So it's my fault?!

I am sorry. I did not expect that.

But am I really the one at fault here? Since I was not the one who gave them information initiatively.

They forcefully took a look at the things within my mind.

I wonder how many monsters have they created by looking at my mind.

Still, they are from the books I read when I was a kid, so does that count as a multi-verse crossover?

I would say I will clean up the mess by annihilating the Cult, in order to protect this world that is.

Well... I should save up these big words after I broke free and have the strength to do so.

On the other hand...

"Which way should we go?" Iris asked as she looked the crossroads, which its paths are literally identical to one another.

"Blessing!" Saki buffed everyone's luck with all her mana.

"With the increased luck stat, our chances of going the right direction will increase drastically. Your Highness, please make the decision as soon as possible, we will provide you cover while you are contemplating which way should we go." Saki requested in a cordial tone as the six party members surrounded her.

'Uh... Onii-chan usually said: Left side has nothing right, and the right side has nothing left.' Iris thought to herself. 'So the path that has something right left would be...'

"We will advance, by the centre." Iris pointed forward as she followed the conclusion made by her heart and brain.

"I am sorry, but can I ask how did you come to that conclusion?" Karu asked as he cut down a monster with a bladed-bow.

"Because Onii-chan once taught me: 'On the left side, there is nothing right; And the right side, there is nothing left.' So, the centre path is where Onii-chan is located!" Iris smiled warmly as she recalled my joke.

"What the fk girl?! Don't screw with me! There is definitely no way that a corny joke can be true!" Karu delivered a punchline with an exasperated tone and an exaggerated gesture.

"Do you have any better suggestions than Iris-sama here? Even though I agree Guardian's joke was a bit too punny, it might work." Alicia continued as she slammed an orc with the hilt of her sword.

"Uh... Fine! Let's go then!"

30 minutes later...

"Is this it?" Alicia muttered to herself as she opened the door.

And... it turned out they went down the wrong path.

"See? We went the wrong path." Karu said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"No. This calls in for some bold action. I'm the BOLD ACTION MAN!" Loby pointed his staff at the empty room and cast Phoenix-plosion.

The flaming Phoenix crashed through four walls, literally breaking the Fourth Wall.

And sure enough, they saw a teenager with short black hair who was under a pile of rocks. Yes, that was me.

"O... Onii-chan...!" Iris said with a sad but happy tone. Her eyes were welled up with tears as she crossed her fingers.

"Fireball! Fireball!" Loby kept chanting as he blasted the white hot rocks into ashes.

"Explosive Burst!" Loby then blew the ashes on top of me away.

The seven of them ran towards me, who was currently lying face-first on the ground.

Iris turned me over and gave me a lap pillow.

Saki looked at me, probably taking a close look at my injuries.

"Nuh-uh, you are not going to unhand the Magic Swordmaster! Ah wait..." Volras bursted into the room with his as he pointed his sword at us, only to find the eight of us staring at him with a blank expression.

"W... Well... That was awkward..." I uttered these words with all the remaining strength I had.

Saki pressed her palms onto my torso, and a bright light shone around us.

I felt like my body was overflowing with strength.

Who healed me?

I sat up and found a familiar figure who was enduring the immense pain of the Sacred Highness Heal for me once again.

Her pained expression gave it all away, yet she still forced a smile on her face.

"No! What are you doing?!" I asked as I stared at the undead Archpriest with disbelief.

"Fulfilling my duty - to heal my fellow party member." Saki smiled as she gave me that answer.

A few seconds later, the light disappeared as Saki vanished along with the light.

I turned on the Aura Perception System in a desperate attempt to collect Saki's soul before she really made that Heroic Sacrifice.

I am not letting this happen again. Not on my watch...!

I pulled out the red Summoning Scroll and summoned the Soul Jar to store Saki's soul.

However, I was not able to collect her soul completely as a small part of it scattered into the thin air. It is still possible to resuscitate her, but her memories were gone, like forever.

Not to mention, it would be hardly possible for us to restore her memories.

I knelt on the floor as I looked at the Soul Jar that contained Saki's soul.

Tears flowed down my cheeks as my heart felt heavier than usual.

"Well, don't you think it is a good thing? At least we have one less undead to deal with." Chris said that cold-blooded line with a satisfied expression on her face.

"Don't screw with me..." I muttered.

A dark aura flowed out of me as blood began to trickle down my cheeks in place of tears.

"What? Say it if there's anything you want to say." Chris looked at me with an annoyed expression.

"Fk you!" I pulled my sword out and cut her right cheek in a reverse grip position.

Before Chris could react, I did a Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick in her stomach and kicked her away.

"Ho... A Demonic Wound... Interesting..." Volras muttered to himself as he noticed the blackish purple cut on Chris' right cheek.

Chris covered her wound and could not move.

My trenchcoat turned black whereas the shirt turned blood-red, the blade of my sword became crooked, like a flamberge. Just that each wave of the blade has a right angle.

"Now go, my undead warriors!" Volras shouted. "Take down the Magic Swordmaster!"

Before the undead could register that command, I went before Volras and brought my sword onto his head.

However, the sword broke into halves as it made contact with his head.

"Burn, in the flames of hell." Volras chanted with a murderous look in his eyes.

The darkened Light Core Outfit vanished as the Water Core Armour started to materialise.

"Perish. Hellfire Hazard!" Black flames spew out from Volras' hand.

The Water Core Armour was heavily damaged as it did not materialise completely. It managed to protect my body from being burned, yet only a few armour pieces remained on my body.

I drew the Water Core Sword and slashed at Volras, which broke again.

"Do you hate us?" Volras asked with a disdainful tone.

I changed the Water Core Weapons into the Fire Core Weapons.

Then, I swung the Fire Core Katana with all my strength. Lacquer coloured liquid (definitely not ink) wrapped around the blade as I slashed upwards.

"Too naive." Volras spoke as some kind of fabric wrapped around his sword. He then slashed horizontally as a response.

The Water Core Armour disappeared as the darkened Light Core Outfit started to materialise once again.

Our blades clashed and ends up with my katana broke into two.

I drew the pair of slash blades and swung them like crazy.

However, Volras thought it would be interesting to mess around, as he kept dodging my attacks.

"Do you think you can actually hit me? I was just using 10% of my power!" Volras laughed as he dodged attacks left and right.

"Heh." I laughed in a deeper voice.

"To what extent are you using your power?" I asked with the deeper voice.

"11%. You suck, mortal." Volras shot back.

I advanced and attacked with a combo of kicks and slashes, yet Volras dodged every single one of them.

I leapt and attempted to hit Volras' shoulders with both legs, however he evaded smoothly.

"What are you trying to accomplish with that, Magic Swordmaster?"

I did a X-shaped slash with the pair of slash blades.

"Interesting." Volras smiled as a dark purple aura flowed out of the outfit.

My slash blades broke simultaneously into halves.

Then he kicked me in the stomach and sent me flying into Iris, who was fighting the undead adventurers with the other party members.

"Well, enough is enough." Volras snapped his fingers and his soldiers stopped attacking Alicia and the others, then returned in front of him, as if to prevent any sneak attacks from occurring again.

"I will spare your lives today. But I would not say the same for the next time. Until then." Volras waved his hand as the scenery changes.

With the blink of an eye, we have returned to the palace.

Currently right now, we were at Iris' bedroom.

It felt like time has passed slowly, as if the time was altered there.

"I will go ask the date, please stay here to avoid getting killed by the guards." Alicia said gently and left the room after she carried Iris to her bed and me next to her bed.

"What is the date today?" Loby asked Alicia with a tired tone.

"Today is the twenty-first of October. In other words, Saki-san's birthday." Alicia spoke in a rather sad tone.

"No way... You are telling me she died on her birthday...?" Loby asked with disbelief as he looked at Alicia with a wide-eyed expression.

"Is there a way to raise her back?" Yunyun asked with a concerned tone.

"There is. Guardian has her soul in his Soul Jar." Alicia nodded as she replied with a poker face.

"But only a devil knows the details. Both Iris-sama and Guardian were knocked out. So we will go without them. It may be risky, but I am still going. Who is with me?" Alicia asked as she turned her attention onto them.

"I am." Loby raised his hand while Yunyun nodded.

"Well, it isn't like I am occupied, so I am coming with you, in case things go wrong."

"Well thanks a lot." Alicia retorted in a sarcastic tone as she rolled her eyes.

A/N:

That is it for this chapter! Luckily I managed to made it on time.

Yes, if you have read the info. in the Wattpad profile link, Saki's birthday is 21/10, which is today. Which reminds me, does that idea work? Please tell me via PM or reviews if there is a problem accessing their info.

So after Volras uncovered the secret behind the Core Outfits' fabric, the story should be balanced once again, as both sides have similar equipment.

At any rate, I am glad that this chapter turned out well as I planned - Guardian breaking his weapons and Outfits, and that he went berserk after Saki sacrificed herself for his life.

For the next chapter, please read LN Vol. 12 in advance (if you don't want to be spoiled that is) and should be in a few more POVs if things go well.

Anyway, constructive feedback are always appreciated.

Thank you for every one who appreciates my story or giving me tips for improvement, as the former gave me the motivation to work on it, whereas the latter helped me improve my story-writing skills.

Orz

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one.