Lies & Ties

by AsheriteAbyss13

Nagumo Hajime saves Yaegashi Shizuku from certain death in a freak incident that left her stranded. Yaegashi grows feelings for him and returns the favour by plunging herself into the Abyss to save him when he is betrayed. This is a story about love and salvation. About family and struggle. About freedom and loss. About Lies and Ties

7. Chapter 7

Lies and Ties Chapter 7

Cold, soaking and at their physical limits the party made the unanimous decision to make camp for tonight and rest. Conveniently Aletia and Tio had learnt magic that allowed them to quickly dry clothes. After a quick round of magic, the party was at least dry.

Hajime and Shizuku pulled out the camp supplies from their [Treasure Troves]. As the only ones left with any strength left them began to pitch the tents and divvy out the supplies. A roaring campfire was built to provide some warmth and protection from any wild beasts.

As had become their custom, Hajime and Shizuku did not take any of the supplies which the others needed. Instead they pulled out their emergency set of 'monster meat'. They had gutted pterodactyl monsters that crowded the skies above the Great Reisen Gorge and turned them into mince. Shizuku carefully formed pterodactyl patties for the both of them. The sizzling meat gave off a foul odor which only Hajime and Shizuku could withstand.

To the horror of the party, and especially Shirasaki Kaori, they witnessed firsthand how twisted their companion's tastebuds had become. Hajime and Shizuku were observed happily eating the foul monster meat, rating them on a scale of 1-5 based on how it tasted and comparing them fondly to other types of monster meat.

"So how is the pterodactyl minced patties?" Shizuku asked. "It's about a 3, I believe

"It's not bad…. Could do with a bit more flavour. The rancid smell is a bit too strong. Add a bit more salt I reckon." Hajime suggested. "Thanks for the meal, Shizuku."

Hajime smiled at her happily, indicating he was more than satisfied. Shizuku returned his smile, with a bright one of her went without saying that the party nearly retched out what little food they consumed.

When they had finished consuming what little they could keep down, it was time to rest. The boys were split into two tents; [Nagumo & Endou] and [Tamai, Aikawa and Nimura]. The girls were split into three tents; [Shirasaki & Yaegashi], [Yue, Tio & Shea] and [Sonobe, Sugawara and Miyazaki]

Exhausted physically, mentally and psychologically the party quickly fell into a deep sleep. But where physical terrors would not find them the terrors of the night would.

---

In The Dark

[Nagumo Hajime]

A river of blood coursed through the aftermath of a cursed battlefield. The crows circled ahead, squawking. Half-eaten, half-rotten corpses littered the battlefield.

He couldn't remember the reason why he was there. Why was he running away? Why did he have blood on his hands? Why could he taste iron and flesh in his mouth?

There he noticed them. He would never forget their faces. They were all half-rotten, but their expressions were unmistakable. He could never forget those expressions of pure and utter terror. He could never forget the faces of those hundred he buried.

He stumbled back, frightened seeking refuge in anywhere but here. He found none. More corpses. More faces this time. He knew all of them. He knew that it was his fault.

Sonobe! Endou! Shirasaki!

He scrambled away only to trip over the corpse of a bunny girl. His sister: Shea. He tried to weep, but the tears would not flow. His body was broken and bruised he could only crawl like a worm. He cried desperately for it to end.

But there was no end. Yue's corpse was the coldest of all. Utterly devoid of life. Never again would he hear the voice of his sister and her harsh but kind love. He howled then, asking for something to make it stop.

The earth cracked and quaked. He ground fell from underneath him. All the corpses and blood fell with him, engulfing and drowning him. He desperately tried to dig his way out but he was too weak. His arms and legs failed him. He resigned himself to his fate.

Hajime!

A voice cried out and called to him. It was a familiar voice. What a sweet voice it was. He knew that he needed to go to it. His feet and arms pushed through the sea of blood and flesh. He followed that voice. No matter how many corpses he had to push away or cut, he would find her.

There in the distance, he saw her, overlooking the coast. A familiar scent, A familiar voice, A familiar person. He sprinted towards her. He grabbed her back and hugged her.

Shizuku!

He cried out her name many times over. He began to weep.

hAjImE! hAjImE! hAjImE! hAjImE! hAjImE!

The sweet voice distorted to a rough mockery of sound. She grew cold. She? No, It was a corpse. It turned around, no trace of the beautiful features she once had. The bright red eyes were replaced with hollow sockets. Her smooth hair crumbled to dust. Her cheeks once filled with life, withered and cracked.

She was dead. So was everyone else. Everyone but him. He howled and howled but there no end.

---

[Night – Unknown Hour]

"Shizuku!" He screamed.

He awoke in a cold sweat. He looked around and felt his hands and feet. No blood. No corpses. Just a tent and Endou sleeping peacefully.

"They aren't dead. None of them are." He repeated like a mantra. "Shea is still alive. Yue is still alive. Shizuku is still alive."

He repeated that mantra several times. His heart calmed down and his body returned to its regular rhythm. He was now wide awake. There was no hint of drowsiness, but there was a weariness in his spirit. He counted himself lucky. Closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep made him more uncomfortable than he would like to admit. He quietly left his sleeping roll, got changed, and left the tent. He took out his timepiece, it read 01:00 am.

Hajime sighed. It had been a while since he had such a nightmare he could remember so vividly. It was there right in the edge of his mind, clawing at his waking mind. If he let it through, he could remember the field of blood and those haunting empty sockets. He spent his time staring at the bright full moon and the stars which distracted him. He voiced an inaudible plead. To whom even he did not know.

A soft voice called out to him.

"What are you doing awake, Hajime?"

The Moonlight Queen herself appeared as if the moon itself answered his prayers. Yue, still in her sleeping clothes, rubbed her eyes and yawned. Her state of half-slumber quickly disappeared as her face quickly changed into a quizzical look.

"I woke up. I couldn't go back to sleep. I thought to take a walk." Hajime replied curtly.

His elder sister stared at him, drilling into his eyes. She detected a hint of weariness that left his answer unsatisfactory for her. Following her suspicions, Yue asked him again.

"What made you wake up?" She asked. "It wouldn't surprise me if it was indigestion… But you're a little too weary for it to be merely a problem with your stomach. You'd likely be more frantic if that was the case."

Hajime gulped. He underestimated his sister. Months of traveling together gave her a unique insight into his quirks and habits. He briefly considered dismissing her concerns, but she preempted him as if she peered directly into his mind

"And don't bother saying it's 'nothing'. That won't work on me." She warned him.

Sensing the futility of deflection and running out of options, he decided on the only course left to him. The truth.

"I had a bad dream. I was running around in a field of blood, corpses half-eaten and half-rotten all around me. As far as my eyes could see it was just that field. Everyone was dead, all those people I killed, you, Shea, the others, and Shizuku…. All dead."

There was a bitterness to his voice. A hint of sorrow and regret.

"All of it seemed to be my fault….." He concluded.

As Yue observed the distress and growing torment of her brother, she was once again reminded of the stark difference between her young human saviours and her 300 years of ageless existence. She had forgotten that despite their powers, they were still children. As Queen of the Vampires blood and carnage was a regular occurrence, but she never took the time to think what effect it would have on her human siblings.

"Do you regret the path you have taken?" Yue asked softly. "Your path is bloodier than most. I suspect the course we are on will likely cause more conflict and carnage."

Hajime reflected on his path. He had lost part of his humanity that was for sure. His transformation into a Human-Monster hybrid, the ease in which he killed those slavers and even his tendency toward violent means, all point to something that was lost to him.

"Yet you have saved more than others could. You saved Shizuku, you saved me, you saved Shea, and the Haulia and the others would likely not survive had you not forced such harsh training." Yue reminded him.

Yue smiled at him. Her gratefulness towards her saviour shone brightly. Hajime looked at her silently.

"You might have lost something. Take it from someone who was stuck in a dungeon for 300 years. You don't come out of that experience 'well-adjusted'. Yet you're not completely out of your mind." Yue reassured him. "You're not the monster your dreams make you out to be."

"Do you deal with stuff like this too, Yue?" Hajime asked.

"You mean the bad dreams? I lived through 300 years of a waking nightmare." She stated pointedly. "It happens. When I close my eyes, I sometimes find myself back in that wretched place. When loneliness or frustration creeps in, the shadow of that place lurks into corner of mind."

Yue's face contorted into a bitter smile and her eyes became downcast. Hajime mirrored her distraught expression

"Yue…..You never said anything. You know that we….."

"I know. But it's not easy talking about these things." Yue countered. "Would you have said anything to me or Shizuku if I hadn't bought it up?"

Hajime knew that she was right on the money. Whether it was out of pride or some deep instinctual fear, Hajime knew that he wouldn't have been so open about it. Hajime sighed, if they couldn't open up about this to family, who exactly would they be able to open out about this?

"Don't feel so guilty, Hajime. You, Shea, and Shizuku are more of a help to me than you can ever realise." Yue assured, shaking her head. "Every day being here with me, you shine a light to the darkness in my heart. By reaching your hand out to me, smiling at me each and every day. It brings me light and hope every day."

"So please do not worry about losing yourself Hajime. You saved me. So I will never abandon you."

Hajime felt the dark clouds recede. Was it forever dispelled? Even now he doubted it. Yet he had newfound hope. He felt a newfound trust in his family. With them by his side, surely a few bad dreams could be dealt with. He bowed and thanked his eldest sister for opening up to him.

"Thank you, Yue."

"You are welcome Hajime." Yue concluded. "Now your eldest sister has some advice for you. You should tell Shizuku as soon as possible. You might find it difficult but you know you must."

He nodded seeing the overwhelming sense in this.

"Now go back to your tent and try to get some sleep. I will also be heading back myself, lest anyone see us and believes we are having a tryst…"

Yue shuddered at the mere thought of angering Shizuku, her precious little sister. After giving another brief smile, Yue left Hajime and returned to her own tent. Hajime was left alone. A cold wind blew. A good indication that he should head back. Hajime returned to his tent.

Sleep did not come easy for him. He tossed and turned. The terrors of the night seemed real as he closed his eyes, every rustle of the wind and distant noise a terror of his broken mind.

"Dream of me."

A sweet voice spoke to him from the depth of his soul.

"Dream of me."

The gentle melodic repetition of those sweet words finally gave slumber to his eyelids. It repeated in his heart until he could no longer hear what the darkness of his mind conjured up. At last, sleep came to his body and slumber to his eyelids. Protected by those sweet words Hajime's destiny was restful sleep for the rest of the night.

---

Confrontation

Outskirts of The Town of Brooke

Early the next morning the party packed up. A quick ride on Hajime's Hum-vee bought them back within sight of the walls of Brooke Town. There appeared to be a long line in front of the gate. As they approached they heard angry shouts people in the line.

"What's the hold-up?! Let us in!"

Endou Kosuke volunteered to go ahead and check what is going on. He casually walked past everyone in the line. No one noticed him, so he managed to get to the front of the line. He listened to the guards.

"Someone important has arrived, we're under strict orders to limit the number of people entering. I'm sorry but you'll have to be patient!"

The adventurers grumbled and fussed but ultimately couldn't do much about it. A slow trickle of people was let into the town after a thorough check. Security was much tighter than normal. It was likely all entrances were just as heavily guarded. Endou returned to make his report.

"Some important is here. The town has been practically locked down. There aren't too many important people left in Heliegh that can shut down an entire town like this…. Could they be after Ai-chan-sensei and the rest of us?"

Hajime gathered every around and discussed what they should do now.

"We don't have a lot of information but we'll work on the assumption that sensei is in danger. Endou, Shizuku, and I can use [Hide Presence] so we'll sneak into the town." Hajime decided. "We'll prioritize finding Ai-chan-sensei. If need be we'll break her free and flee Brooke town."

"Everyone else, stay here and be prepared to leave at a moment's notice," Shizuku commanded.

They nodded in agreement. Hajime proposed using flares to communicate their situation. A green flare meant that everything was all clear. Red Flare; the situation is very bad, get ready to get out of here!. Black Flare; Leave without us!

Hajime summoned the Humvee. Everyone agreed to have Yue command them should the need arise. The rest of the party rode off in the Humvee. Hajime, Endou and Shizuku breathed deeply and activated [Hide Presence], and disappeared from sight. They slipped past the lines and guards, making it to the walls of the town of Brooke.

The walls of the town were made of stone. There was magic applied to the walls to improve and maintain its durability against physical and magical attacks. Endou had improved his skills to the point where he could use [Hide Presence] and [Shadow Step] in conjunction with each other. With little effort, he ran up the walls of the town, without anyone noticing him. Hajime applied [Transmute] to his gauntlets and boots, creating claws and spikes allowing him to climb the wall. When Hajime successfully scaled the wall, he let down his [Silk Shot] to help Shizuku climb the wall.

Once all three of them had successfully scaled the battlements, they made their way to one of the flanking towers. No one noticed their presence and they managed to get into the town. The town was close to dead. Streets once packed with adventurers and shopkeepers were completely empty. The few that remained walking the streets were the guards of the town patrolling the streets.

They made their way through the empty streets toward the Adventurer's guild of Brooke. Shizuku had left sensei in the protection of the branch head of the Adventurer's guild of Brooke, thinking it was safe. She was immensely worried for her safety and had a guilty frown on her face the whole time.

When they finally reached the Guild branch, they found it completely full of knights and soldiers In times of war the Kingdom of Heliegh would call on its lords and governors for soldiers from their own personal force. However, there remained a portion of the army remained under the direct control of the royal family. In this time of struggle with the demons, the Church also held increasing sway over the army.

The ones in front of them proudly displayed their insignia.

"White lion over a black field." Hajime recited. "That's the emblem of the 1st Knight Corps."

"That's the ones directly under the control of the royal family. Led by Knight Commander Meld." Shizuku recalled. Hajime nodded, a confrontation with Meld was going to be unpleasant to say the least.

"And that other one?"

Endou pointed to another group of knights wearing another emblem. An angel-like being, holding a sword on its left hand and an incense burner in its right, over a red and black field.

"The Knight Order of the Servants of God." Hajime stated. "Directly answerable to Ishtar the current pope of the Ehit religion. But Ishtar gave direct control over them to…"

"The Hero; Amanogawa Kouki." Shizuku finished.

They recalled the elaborate ceremony in which Ishtar declared by the revelation of their 'God' that the Hero Kouki would be granted control over these forces. Amanogawa did not use them during the classes training in the upper labyrinth but it was true that Amanogawa controlled them. Their presence suggested that Amanogawa was involved.

As they hid, they heard the loud grumblings of the knights who were posted outside.

"How long does it take to convince a [Farmer] to come back to the Kingdom?" One complained. "Just force her back on a carriage and we can be out of here!"

The knight from the 1st corps stamped his foot his frustration. It made a loud metallic clang.

"You know why!" His friend reproached him fearfully. "That kid wants to do things the 'right' way. And everyone agrees with him….. So shush it before you get us both killed!"

To prove his point, his friend showed the knights of the Servants of God, glaring at them through their full armor. That immediately shut his friend up and they slinked away from the knights who had a fierce reputation for 'fanaticism'.

That was a good sign for Hajime and the others. The [Farmer] they were referring to was clearly Ai-chan-sensei. If she was resisting the advances of the Amanogawa and the hero party, that meant she was safe. For now at least.

They continued to observe the guild hall. After some time the guild doors opened and out came a visibly agitated Amanogawa Kouki. Following him girl with a black hair, she had a short bob cut and wore round glasses. She wore dark navy blue robes and held a wooden staff with both hands. She looked rather apologetic.

"Nakamura Eri."

Behind them was Meld Loggins the Knight Commander of the 1st knight Corp and the second in command of the Servants of God Knight Order. More familiar faces appeared; Ryuutarou Sakagami and Suzu Taniguchi to name a few. Rounding the pack a face that neither Hajime nor Shizuku would ever forget.

"Hiyama Daisuke…" Shizuku growled.

His long red hair was more unkempt than they recalled, with rough cuts all over the place. He had a frightened nervous look on his face and kept biting his fingers. He constantly fidgeted and reacted badly to any sudden loud noise. He seemed a shadow of his former self.

Amanogawa Kouki cleared his throat and addressed the knights and his fellow classmates.

"Good work everyone. Thank you for standing guard here while I was speaking to my teacher. I know it's been a rough ride for all of you, so I appreciate your efforts." He thanked.

Amanogawa continued with an assessment of the situation.

"Unfortunately, Ai-chan-sensei hasn't agreed to come back with us. She refuses to explain where her bodyguards are and what they are up to." He explained frustrated at his inability. "She's been a good teacher to me and her bodyguards are important classmates so I would prefer if she were back with us willingly."

"That's why I'm going to try persuading her again tomorrow. If she refuses to budge then we'll need to get her back by force. I'm worried that she came under some bad influences so it's imperative that we get her and the others back."

The knights offered no complaints about his actions and willingly followed his lead. Amanogawa led the combined force of heroes and knights away from the guild hall, leaving a small force of about 10 to continue 'guard' the guild hall and its inhabitants for their 'safety'. Endou continued to tail them unnoticed. They headed to the North of the town, commandeering a local barrack close to the battlements and the main gates.

Eventually, Endou returned to Hajime and Shizuku. They hid away from the patrols and switched off their [Hide Presence].

"We need to break Sensei out of here," Hajime stated pointedly. "Endou I think you'll be the one to break her out."

"It'll be difficult if they find out that she's missing." Endou Kosuke assessed. They'll be on high alert and you know that I can't hide sensei with my [Presence Isolation]."

"That will be the least of their problems," Hajime assured him. "Shizuku, how does beating up our classmates sound to you?"

Shizuku instantly caught on to his plan. She frowned sightly as if in thought.

"So you want us to cause a commotion with the hero's party and the knights? Get their focus on us and let Endou slip away with sensei." Shizuku determined. "It might be risky. We don't know how much stronger they have gotten and they have the knights backing them up."

"Isn't it great?!" Hajime asked gleefully.

"Sounds like the kind of risky hare-brained plan that you would come with." Shizuku retorted with a blank expression.

Shizuku briefly put her face in her hand and shook her head. Hajime was about to revise his plan when she suddenly smiled.

"I guess you've warped my thinking as well, beloved." Shizuku smiled. "I was thinking about putting them down a peg or two…. And there's a face alteration that I need to arrange for a certain someone."

Endou flinched as he saw his two companions, smiling and laughing at the impending doom that they were about to unleash. Endou offered a small prayer in hopes that the town wouldn't become absolutely leveled.

---

Night – The Town of Brooke

Endou Kosuke

Sneaking into the guild hall wasn't all that difficult. The guards posted at the Guild Hall were already half asleep, there was no way they would notice Endou Kosuke; the Shadowy Right Hand of the Lighting Disaster and the Snow Queen. There was a faint light glowing from the Branch head's office. He quickly picked the locks to the balcony to the Branch head's office.

He found the middle aged man furiously writing and scribbling. Scrunched up papers were strewn all over the floor.

"Ian Bathory." Endou spoke up. He deactivated his [Presence Isolation]

The Branch head jumped out of his seat and clutched his chest. He breathed heavily.

"Who are you!?" He shouted.

The shadow walked closer to the mana stone emitting light. His features became more clear but his eyes were still not visibly. Ian Bathory cycled through his memories and recognized the shadow that stood before him.

"Wait… you were part of Aiko's party…. You're…"-

"Endou Kosuke." Endou interrupted. "There no need to get into that whole 'I forgot you existed' thing. Things are urgent."

"If you're back then Nagumo and the others must be back! You must flee this town! Haven't you seen the Knights of Heliegh?!" He exclaimed.

Endou nodded.

"We're making preparations to leave. But we're not leaving our teacher in the hands of Heliegh." Endou explained.

The branch hand returned to his desk and pulled out a sealed letter and a key. He handed the letter and key to Endou. On the letter was written;

To Ilwa Chang

Branch Head of the Fuhren Independent Merchant Republic.

"Go to Fuhren. The Heliegh Kingdom won't be able to interfere with the independent Republic. That letter will explain everything to Ilwa. He will be able help you." Ian Bathory explained. "Aiko is being kept safe in one of our rooms. They posted some guards, so you'll need to dispatch them in some way. That's the key to her room."

"What about you? If they find out you helped us…" Endou warned.

"That's why I need you to do me a favor. Trash my office and then knock me out. They'll think some assailant came in and took Aiko. Hopefully they won't suspect my involvement and leave our Town alone."

Endou nodded and proceeded to pull out his blade.

"Anything that you want to keep safe?" Endou asked.

Ian shook his head. Everything of real value had already been stored in a safe place anyway. Endou roughly made cuts on the desk drawers and opened their contents and threw them around the room. He displaced and threw some furniture around, making it seem like a hurricane blew through the office. Once Ian was satisfied with the level of destruction, he sat down on one of the remaining chairs.

"So how are you going to knock me"-

Endou covered Ian's face with a cloth, dipped in chloroform, provided to him by his assassin teacher. Ian instantly slumped to the floor, and passed out. Endou promptly stepped out of the room and proceeded to find Aiko-sensei's room. He offered a quick prayer of good fortune to Ian Bathory.

It was not difficult to find the room with Aiko. All other rooms were empty, so Endou simply had to find the one with guards posted in front. He activated [Hide Presence], which made him practically invisible. There were two guards posted in front of Aiko's room, they did not notice Endou's presence. He walked in front of them, almost face to face. In one swift move, he slammed their heads against each other, his enhanced strength ensured that they were knocked out completely.

"Sensei. It's Endou Kosuke! I'm opening the door."

There was a loud yelp and a quick scramble to get to the door. Endou unlocked the door and Aiko opened the door hesitantly. She looked left and right, as if she wasn't able to see him. Endou deactivated [Hide Presence]. She yelped again as Endou appeared from out of nowhere. She was about to shout when Endou stopped her with a hand to her mouth.

"Be quiet sensei. I'm attempting to break you out. Don't scream."

She quickly nodded her head.

"Why are you here?!" She whispered. "Amanogawa-kun and the others…"

"We're not leaving you behind sensei." Endou stated.

"But the knights and Amanogawa have their eyes all over the town!? How are you going to slip past all of them?"

KABOOM!

From a nearby window, two large explosions could be seen in the distance. Endou noted that it was in the direction of the military barracks. He grinned.

"I don't think you'll need to worry about that sensei."

Ai-chan-sensei looked through the window as a massive explosion engulfed her view. Her eyes were wide in shock as a realization came to her. Her face had a hard time deciding whether she should be horrified or shocked.

KABOOM!

"You might want to pray that Amanogawa and the others survive." He mentioned.

Deciding not consider the implications for the moment, Hatayama Aiko complied with the instructions of her shadowy student. She muttered a brief prayer that her students, more than anyone else would find true peace.

---

Yaegashi Shizuku & Nagumo Hajime

It was nighttime, Shizuku and Hajime was currently on the rooftop overlooking the military barracks. It was rather large, as it normally housed a large contingent of the local feudal Lord's army. It was three stories high and about 300 metres long. They had taken the time to account for all of their former classmates and they were currently all located inside. The warm yellow light of mana lights illuminated the building. Patrols of guards regularly circled around the barracks and guards were regularly rotated.

Hajime and Shizuku finished their preparations for the fight ahead. Hajime handed Shizuku a mask. It was a cute pink rabbit mask, with a glossy sheen. It had long ears with made the entire thing conspicuous.

"What's this?" Shizuku asked perplexed.

"It's a rabbit mask. Take it." Hajime asked.

"I know it's a rabbit mask, Hajime." Shizuku retorted curtly. "What is it for? Why a pink rabbit mask?"

"It's to disguise us. I figured you'd be happy with it since you like rabbits so much." Hajime stated. "So take it."

"Yes, I'll admit that I like rabbits but…." Shizuku began, trailing into a whisper.

"But what?"

"It too embarrassing!" She admitted, a faint blush growing on her cheeks. Hajime grinned at her knowingly which only made her blush grow in intensity. Her weakness to cute things remained as strong as ever despite her growing reputation for ferocity.

"I mean I get disguising ourselves, but why the long bunny ears?! Why the glossy pink sheen!? Why did it seem like you worked so hard on this!?"

"That's because I did." He stated proudly. "I'm not making anything I'm not 100% proud of."

Hajime had a proud expectant look on his face that Shizuku couldn't say no to. She reluctantly put on the mask. Shizuku noticed all the enhancements and effort he put into it. All kinds of skills like [Sense Presence] and [Magic Lens] were imbued into the mask. Shizuku had to admit that it he worked hard on this.

"Let's get going….. Ranger Pink." Hajime ordered. "That's your codename by way."

"Ranger Pink? Sometimes, I wonder why I love this man so much." Shizuku thought, internally cursing.

Purely out of her love for her often frustrating lover, Shizuku submitted to the 'Ranger Pink' codename. Not before swearing to get back at him at an appropriate venue.

He donned his own mask, which was black plain. It matched perfectly well with the rest of his outfit. Shizuku held back the teeth, preventing them from grinding in frustration.

"Alright. Call me Ranger Black." Hajime concluded.

His tone changed from casual to serious in an instant indicating that he had no intention of fooling around anymore. He went over their main objective and strategy.

"Our objective is simple; cause chaos. We want to draw all of their attention on us, so that Endou and sensei can escape. Once Endou shoots the green flare signaling that he's saved sensei and he's with the others, we retreat no matter who we're fighting."

"We'll pay a little visit to our former classmates and tear them a new one. That should be enough to attract everyone's attention." Hajime concluded.

Activating the magic imbued into his mask Hajime did a once over with [Sense Presence]. He quickly counted and processed all of the figures currently in the barracks

"I'm counting at least 50 live bodies. They're spread across all three floors."

He switched to [Magic Lens] and determined the makeup of the magical barrier that surrounded them.

"It's quite strong. Probably made by a barrier artifact of some kind." Hajime observed. In response, he activated his [Treasure Trove] and dug around for a while. He produced a long metallic tube, with a conical warhead attached. He produced several more warheads from his treasure trove. He mounted the launcher on his shoulders and aimed at the military barracks.

"Love, you better close your ears for this one," Hajime mentioned. "I packed a lot of explosives and magic stones with on this one. What better way to test it out than using a potent magic barrier as a trial."

Shizuku shut her ears with her hands as Hajime grinned, sticking his tongue out as he pulled the trigger

[Zauberfaust!]

The warhead rocketed out of the tube, propelled by the jet on the warhead it sped towards the magical barrier. The force of the rocket briefly staggered Hajime but he quickly righted himself. The rocket-propelled grenade traveled in a straight trajectory and slammed straight into the magic barrier.

It exploded, sending a shockwave that shattered the magical barrier and any glass within the barracks and the nearby buildings. A plume of dust and smoke rose from the site of the impact. The whole town awoke to the noise of the explosion, dogs began howling, cats screeching and humans scrambling to make sense of the situation, screaming at the top of their lungs. The guards in the area immediately rushed to the scene and with more on their way headed to the barracks.

Hajime was not distracted by any of this these movements as he attached another warhead to his control unit. He fired another shot aiming directly for the military barracks. As the rocket hurtled towards it target, it was intercepted by a hastily erected magic barrier. It was not as strong as the first but it prevented the military barrack from being blown to smithereens. Only a portion of the left wing of the barracks collapsed.

Hajime clicked his tongue.

"They've got a pretty decent barrier master on their side." He observed with annoyance. "I'm not about to waste more of my warheads trying to collapse the building. Let's go."

Hajime and Shizuku jumped from the rooftop and rushed toward the collapsed wing of the military barracks. Debris was littered everywhere, with some soldiers and knights trapped under the rubble. Those closer to the explosion had very severe burns on their skin and had their armor ripped to shreds.

There was a din from the surrounding neighborhood and the sound of scrambling feet heading in their direction. They were intercepted by a group of knights who were closest to the scene. They lunged at Hajime with surprising speed and force, so Hajime was half a step slower than normal. He backed away [Riftwalk] before repositioning himself. Shizuku had better luck and was able to evade a mighty swing from one of the knights.

The missed blow penetrated the paved concrete below creating a crack that was half a metre long. The knight had some difficulty pulling out his blade, so Shizuku took this opportunity to retaliate with a blow of her own. She blade sped towards the knight's neck, when the knight let go of his blade and stopped the blade with his hands.

The knight did not scream and exhibited a strength that was impossible for a normal human to achieve. Her blow exposed cut through the knight's steel vambraces and exposed the bone. With the momentum of her blow diminishing, this left Shizuku open to attack from the other knight.

"[Blade Aura: Gale Claw]!"

Shizuku moved the Gale Claw aura around her blade like a saw, making mincemeat of the knight's hand and severing his hand in one swift move. Hajime was able to assist her fire several shots into the chest of the knight that was rushing her, staggering him and leaving him open to being sliced vertically by Shizuku. Hajime dispatched the last knight with a railgun-enhanced shot for good measure.

"Something isn't right." Shizuku darkly. "That knight shouldn't have that kind of strength….. He didn't even flinch when he sacrificed his arm. He didn't scream. Did you sense they were using any magic, Ranger Black?"

Hajime shook his head. He signaled for them to get going.

"We can speculate later, Ranger Pink….. Let's focus on taking care of our former classmates first."

More knights and guards appeared from the military barracks. They formed a row five men wide and 3 men deep. Reinforcements from the city also flanked them, leaving them no option but to force a breakthrough. The knights silently surrounded them, closing in on them. The situation was kill or be killed.

"I guess there isn't any place for mercy." Hajime sighed. "Ranger Pink, leave this to me."

Hajime pulled out a black blade, covering it with the blue lighting of [Lightning Field]. Focusing on his mana he extended the Aura effect to the rest of his body. With each deep breath he took, more lightning coursed through his body until each nerve fiber was filled with chaotic explosive energy.

[Riftwalk] x [Lightning Aura] – [Ankunft des Donnergottes]

At a speed comparable to Shizuku's [Instant Flash], Hajime tore through the enemy lines. The sheer force of his attack blew away most of the enemy knights directly in his path. Those in the path of his black blade were nearly incinerated. The entire enemy line was struck by intense crimson lightning causing them to collapse into a burnt mess.

Hajime appeared several metres away, breathing heavily but he was otherwise okay, his monster physiology preventing the worse of the side effects of coursing lightning through his body. Shizuku caught up to him and voiced her approval.

"That was a beautiful technique. When did you learn to do that?" Shizuku asked, as they ran through the corridors of the military barracks.

"I was testing a new technique to beat Tio-san's Black Dragon Scales. I figured that lightning might be worth a shot." Hajime explained. "I can't sustain it for very long, so it's not as flexible as your [Instant Flash] but it's you can see for yourself how destructive it can be."

As they ran through the damaged stone corridors, knights and soldiers scrambled to intercept them. Hajime and Shizuku dispatched them with little effort, usually outpacing them or overpowering them. At last, they made their way past the rooms, and in front of doors; presumably leading to a gathering hall. A group of knights blocked their path, headed by a familiar face.

"Meld Loggins."

The burly middle-aged knight commander stepped forward. His face was pale and haggard, wearing a hollow blank expression. He offered no greeting or acknowledgment but charged like a wild frenzied beast swinging his sword wildly. There was no hint of his knightly training, which he prided himself on. The creature wrapped its mana around its sword and began to swing wildly, tearing into nearby allies and damaging everything apart of its intended target.

This was not Meld Loggins. This was a poor caricature of the man they once knew and respected.

Hajime used [Magic Lens] on Meld. The awful sight caused him to gag by reflex. He had consumed many disgusting things since becoming a human-monster hybrid but this was utterly revolting.

There was no hint of the 'verdant green' mana colour that characterized Meld. In its place was a disgusting, murky, putrid black swamp that attached itself to the body of Meld, like a symbiote clinging to its host.

"He's not alive. I doubt anyone we've fought today is alive." Hajime spat. "A dark magic user reanimated their bodies. They turned them into puppets and set them against us."

Shizuku did not need to hear anymore. She covered her blade with [Gale Claw], extending as far as she was able to control it and sharpening it to its limit. She briefly disappeared out of sight, before reappearing again behind all of her enemies.

[Yaegashi Monster Hybrid Style] – [Enma's Final Judgement]

In a single swing, she decapitated the heads of the walking dead. As their heads flew, their bodies collapsed. If their souls were trapped in their bodies, forced to experience a waking nightmare it was now over. Hajime and Shizuku, quickly gathered their bodies and Hajime lit them on fire. No one could desecrate them any longer.

"Rest in Peace Meld-san. You didn't deserve to die like this." Shizuku prayed, hoping that his soul would find peace.

As the fires burned the body of Meld Loggins, Hajime searched his memory for him. In his mind, he was a fair, disciplined person who cared for the kids under his charge. He was immensely skilled but never used lorded it over anyone. He treated Hajime fairly, which was more than can be said for most people.

Hajime whispered his own words of thanksgiving for the life of Meld Loggins. Then he turned his attention back to the important fight ahead.

"Who could have done this? To reanimate and control all of these knights…" Shizuku began, stirring out of her silence.

Hajime recalled the murky disgusting magic that sensed. It was dark magic of the highest level. Only the Demons with a natural affinity for magic or…

"It could have only been done by a skilled Dark Mage. A Necromancer to be exact….. There's only one Necromancer in our class….." Hajime reminded her, his face contorting into a grimace.

"Nakamura Eri." She concluded.

Shizuku's eyes flashed and burned with rage. Her mana became visible in surges of red lightning that sparked and flashed through her body. She was in a complete rage and nothing would stop her until justice was done. Hajime was not about to get in Shizuku's way.

She kicked down the door with a mana-powered front kick. The doors flew off their hinges and landed several metres away. More familiar faces awaited them. Yet as Hajime and Shizuku looked at their soulless, hollow eyes they knew that there was no helping them.

"Sakagami Ryutarou."

Shizuku knew him as a big burly idiot. He wore his heart on his sleeves, which made him act impulsively but he wasn't a bad person. He always shone with a fiery passion. There was no trace of idiot that Shizuku knew, just a hulking corpse mocking the memory of kid who deserved much better.

"Taniguchi Suzu."

Her dead eyes stood in stark contrast to the memories of her cheerful bright smile. She was friendly to everyone, even to the awkward outcasts of the class. Shizuku was fond of her. Now she would never hear Suzu call her 'Shizu-tan' ever again. Her presence as a reanimated corpse enraged Hajime the most. He knew who Suzu called her best friend. He knew who betrayed that cheerful smile.

Several other former classmates stood before them. Including members of Hiyama's cronies. It was likely that of their former classmates left behind in Heliegh were now lost as puppets of Nakamura's machinations.

Each classmate that stood before them as puppet corpse, stood as a mockery to their memories. Each one of them had its faults but none of them deserved to have their lives stolen and trampled on like this.

There was no sign of Nakamura Eri, Amanogawa Kouki or Hiyama Daisuke.

The corpse of Taniguchi Suzu erected a strong barrier that enclosed Hajime and Shizuku. She was likely the barrier master that prevented Hajime from collapsing the entire building. Shizuku observed the barrier that Taniguchi Suzu made.

"Don't you remember Taniguchi-san's barriers, Hajime?" She asked. "She was so scared to go into the dungeons with us….. She'd always get so frightened that her barriers would collapse. Yet she didn't give up for the sake of her friends and she always try again."

Hajime nodded silently. Shizuku took off her mask, to reveal her face streaked with tears. Shizuku inhaled and exhaled once and slashed at the barrier. It broke into an uncountable number of solid mana shards, before disappearing completely.

Before Taniguchi's corpse could erect another barrier, Shizuku had already appeared behind her and stabbed her through the back. As Shizuku pulled her blade out, the corpse of Taniguchi Suzu slumped onto the floor.

"It was a beautiful barrier Taniguchi-san." Shizuku acknowledged with her tears pooling into a small puddle around her. "Please rest now. We'll take it from here."

With little effort, Hajime dispatched the other classmates that were left standing. He shot them in the heart, which stopped them from moving and left their corpses truly and finally at peace.

Shizuku also dealt with Sakagami Ryutarou, evading and parrying his reckless strikes and kicks, before stabbing him through the heart. His body slumped to its knees, it moved no longer. Intending to deal as little damage as possible to his body, Shizuku carefully pulled out her blade.

As Shizuku finished her fight with Sakagami, Hajime finished his side of this ugly business. He gathered their bodies together before saying several words.

"I can't say I liked any of you." Hajime began, recalling that he had no fond memories of them unlike his beloved. "But none of you deserved your fates. We'll find Nakamura, Amanogawa and Hiyama and make them pay. I swear it."

Shizuku stood in front of the dead bodies of their former classmates. Her tears had stopped, likely because she had no more to give. She whispered and prayed for their souls to find rest. She closed their eyes before saying goodbye one last time.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't save you." Shizuku whispered bitterly. "Goodbye for now. If there is an afterlife, then we will see each other again. Until then rest in peace."

Hajime took the bodies and stored them carefully in his [Treasure Trove]. They would bury them later, they deserved at least that much.

"Let's go princess. We'll search the rest of the building. We'll make sure we're not missing anything."

Shizuku nodded and wiped off the remaining tears from her eyes. They proceeded to pass the doors of the chamber, leading to the sleeping quarters of the military barracks. It was quiet. The reanimated dead did not attack them. As precaution Shizuku activated [Sense Presence], whilst Hajime stayed on lookout

[Sense Presence]

Shizuku closed her eyes to focus on any sounds or rumblings inside the building. She heard a faint sob and the sound of quiet breathing coming from one of the rooms.

"Someone is still alive. I can hear their breathing. They're two rooms down from here."

She pointed to one of the rooms, with a wooden door. They ran over to the room. They grappled with the lock noticing that it was locked.

"Open up! We're alive. We're not part of the re-animated dead!" Hajime shouted.

They heard a loud shriek and the sound of frightful scrambling.

"Shut up! Don't lie to me!" Cried out a male voice. "I recognize that voice! It's the voice of that 'bastard' who stole 'her' from me! Did she find your body and reanimate it too?!

The male voice howled hysterically and started to mumble and mutter incoherently. It was a voice that they would never fail to recognize; Hiyama Daisuke. Shizuku did not bother to ask any more questions and bashed down the door with a single kick. The door and the table and chairs that he stacked to block the door slammed onto the other side of the room, breaking into splinters.

Shizuku rushed into the room and grabbed the hysterical and frightened Hiyama by the collar of his fur armour. He shrieked and howled until Shizuku socked him in the head with a punch, silencing him.

"Surprising restraint... Given you hate him so much," Hajime noted.

Hajime looked at the pathetic stain that was Hiyama Daisuke with disdain. The sight of him threatened the recollection of certain memories. He knew that none of them would be helpful so he quickly dismissed the machinations of his mind.

"Trust me, I would do much worse if he wasn't our only lead. Bringing down Nakamura and her demon allies is the priority." She spat.

To prove her point she deposited his body, letting it crash onto the ground, and kicked him repeatedly in the guts to wake him up. He awoke screaming, he frantically looked around and saw the Monsters from the Abyss staring back at him.

"Heek!"

"You… you….you! Nagumo?! And his b****!"

Hajime shot a rubber bullet round into his abdomen causing him to howl and curl up in pain. Hajime grabbed him by the collar and shoved [Donner] up his nose.

"Unless you want a rubber bullet through your nose, you won't call her that again." Hajime threatened. "Now talk! Where is Nakamura and Amanogawa?!"

"Shut up! You're all dead! You should all be dead!" He screamed even more hysterically. He squirmed and struggled against Hajime's grip to no avail.

"Stop haunting me! It's not my fault! So stop looking at me like that!"

He did not see Hajime or Shizuku, but only the ghostly phantoms that tortured him at every waking moment. He begged for it to stop but there was no escaping his mind.

"Stop haunting me!" He begged. "Please…..please…..just end me…..just end it…"

Hajime dropped him in disgust. He landed with a crash and Hiyama began to sob, a pool of tears growing. He stared at the sniveling wreck, a pathetic shadow of an already pathetic bastard. He didn't feel any rage at him, just pity.

Shizuku felt nothing but contempt for the piece of crap disguised as a human being known as Hiyama Daisuke.

"Whatever he's seeing, he deserves it." She thought.

"Knock him out for me Shizuku." Hajime decided. "We'll take him back to sensei and the others. Shirasaki might be able to heal him and get something worthwhile out of him."

Shizuku complied, knocking him out swiftly before tying him up and gagging him. Hajime picked him up and carried him on his shoulder.

In the distance through the window, Hajime sighted the green flare, their agreed-upon signal with Endou, that he had made a successful escape with sensei. Their main objective was complete, sensei was safe, and that was all that mattered.

"Oh…. You pathetic humans survived that…. I'll admit for a bunch of inferior insects, that was rather impressive."

Mikhail of Garland

Mikhail was a proud Demon of Garland. Like other Demons, he grew up on stories about how they were blessed by God himself, with superior talents above the other races. They were to be the guardians of the world, he was told. He believed the stories that other races grew jealous of the Demon's position as the most favored of the Gods and plotted to overthrow the Demons.

The result he saw was obvious; the Demon race was stripped of their inherent dignity and forced to flee to an inhospitable frozen Wasteland. They became the dirt of nations, to be trampled underfoot. Worse of all, the Demons began to believe it. They internalized it until they were wretches compared to their glorious ancestors

But their God Alva showed them otherwise. They reclaimed their dignity with their God and set in motion a plan to right the wrongs of the past and reclaim their rightful place as masters of Tortus.

It was loyalty to his God, his people and their cause that propelled him to join the army. It was this same loyalty that meant he followed the orders of his superiors unquestioningly. It was the reason he was forced to babysit a bunch of disgusting human brats and prevent them from ruining their plans.

Case in point; the crap ass situation he found himself in now. Their position was suddenly compromised by two unknown assailants. He had to physically prevent the human hero from charging in by himself, potentially getting himself killed and ruining the plans that their god had for him. The human necromancer, complied readily (much to his relief) deducing that anyone brazen enough to attack a military barrack filled with knights was probably strong enough to do so.

So there he was running through the streets of a disgusting human town, dragging a revolting human hero to save that human hero's life alongside his human necromancer who was becoming increasingly hysterical as her puppets were being destroyed one by one.

It was to his relief that he was able to deposit his human charges into the waiting arms of a detachment of men that he ordered to stay outside just in case. He ordered them to retreat back to Heliegh and report on what happened there.

He and a couple of his men decided to stay here and finish the job. Whoever was stupid enough to attack an entire knight order was likely a threat they should end now. And there was still the problem of the teacher of the human brats who escaped their machinations beforehand.

The whole city was awake now, most were too afraid to leave their homes but the brave among them were slowly making their way to the source of the commotion. They needed to end these threats quickly before things got out of hand.

From a distance, he could tell that the military barracks would crumble very soon. Whoever was assaulting the building clearly wasn't trying to be sneaky about it. As they approached, they heard shouts from a room in the third floor.

"If I'm not wrong that's the room of that idiot the 'necromancer' decided to abandon." He assessed. "I guess we'll need to eliminate him too if he's still alive."

As he was discussing with his soldiers how they should go about trapping their human prey. They were interrupted by a sight of a green-coloured explosion from the other side of the city walls. Figuring that they may be accomplices to the lot that attacked the barracks, he sent five of his men to investigate.

That left a further 15 to end the miserable lives of their current prey. They did not need to wait long to meet their prey, as they promptly blew another hole into the barrack walls and dropped from the third floor.

It was a pair of human children, likely no younger that the brats he was forced to look after. Their white hair and red eyes were odd, but he figured that it was nothing special and that given how often human spawned other humans, one or two was bound to appear odd looking.

They were covered in blood, likely from having to dispatch wave after wave of human bodies. Their feat was impressive for a bunch of inferior beings. All the more reason to end their miserable lives here.

"I didn't think that a bunch of humans would make it out alive. You have my praise." He praised in mock surprise.

His own soldiers walked into view, sniggering and mocking their human prey.

"Demons. That much is clear." Hajime stated.

"Smart inference." Mikhail spat. "Good work using your pathetic little brains, humans."

Mikhail removed his helmet. He had dark red skin and long blonde hair. He had a mocking sneer on his face. He was like a child who wanted to play with his food before eating it.

"And yet you're being made to clean up after 'humans'." The boy retorted. "How does that feel, Demon? How does being forced to babysit pathetic humans feel like?"

His sneer changed into an expression of sheer disgust. The last few days being undercover and working under the command of a human worm were some of the worse days of his life. Cattleya owed him a lot for this.

"Disgusting. Like wading through a swamp for three days." He countered back. "I get to murder you lot though. That's some consolation for all of this."

At once Mikhail gave the signal and his troops charged. His demon troops were armed with a small buckler shield for defence and a long shamshir. As one slashed with the shamshir and another one backed him up with a thrust. They supported one another; leaving little room for counter-attacking. Mikhail backed them up with his magic, which enclosed their victims in a vortex of razor-sharp wind.

If the demons were dealing with normal humans, they would have become mincemeat and their job would be complete. But in peering through the vortex of wind, he could see that it was anything but an easy victory.

The human male, seemingly unafraid of the threat his men posed, dropped the idiot that he captured. He easily stopped the blade of one of his men and locked them in place. Any attempts to back their comrade was of no avail, as he easily deflected any further attacks without so much as an injury.

Mikhail scrambled to use his magic to support his comrades but it was too late. In the next moment, the boy pressed a weapon into the chest of his soldier. A bone-chilling [bang] rung out. His soldier slumped to the ground presumably dead.

Mikhail sent bolts of lightning at him and his partner, but it was seemingly to no avail as, his human partner seemingly redirected the bolts with her own sword and used it to power her own attack, slicing the necks of three of his men, in a single blow. The heads of his men flew into the razor vortex, becoming mangled and unrecognizable as they exited the other side.

The formation of his men where utterly broken. Left to fend for themselves they were ruthlessly hunted down by the human boy and his partner. It was no longer apt to call him a mere 'boy' and his 'partner'.

One of his men screamed at them, furiously backing away in an attempt to survive.

"Monster! Stay the hell away fro-"

He wasn't even given a chance to complete his desperate attempt to save his life.

That was likely the most apt description of them. Their red eyes gave off the impression that they were staring down madness and bloodlust incarnate. The monster in human form became flinging his men into the vortex, tearing them to shreds in the razor vortex. The demons left inside screamed for their commander, begging for him to intervene and save them. Battle-hardened or not, no one could remain composed at the sight of death come alive.

As the battlefield was filled with the screams of his men; Mikhail lost any hope of winning. Despite the bloodcurdling screams, Mikhail hardened his heart and poured more of his mana to strengthen the vortex.

"These ****ing humans! They'll become a threat to our plans! I'm certain of it." He assessed. "I need to get back and make a report to Cattleya and Freid-sama. They need to know about this new threat!"

He made the decision to flee. The sacrifice of his men would be for the greater glory of the Demons and their God Alva, he justified. While the razor vortex he created held the monsters at bay, he would retreat and join back up with the others.

He leapt back, using his agility to jump from roof to roof intending to put as much distance as he could before his magic dissipated. He was several blocks away when he felt his magic stop.

"That was too quick! That vortex should have lasted for another 30 minutes with the mana I had poured into it!" He shouted internally.

"Hey there. You didn't think you'd be able to escape did you?"

In a blur, the white-haired human male appeared in front of him and punched him the jaw. He felt his jaw break and dislocate as he was sent flying several metres in the air. He felt some kind of magic being applied to him, sending him hurtling to the ground below.

The impact created a small crater in the middle of the town square that awaited below. Bits of broken rubble pierced him in his back and legs. Every part of his body screamed in pain, as a he felt an invisible crushing weight being applied on him.

"AHHHHH!" He bellowed.

The last thing he remembered seeing was two pairs of red eyes staring at him.

"Cattleya, I'm sorry" He whispered. "I failed you."

---

Unspecified Time Later

Mikhail awoke to freezing cold water being splashed on his face. He was blinded, so he couldn't see where he was. He felt around his jaw, it was gagged but it was otherwise intact. The rest of his body was also fine if not very sore.

"They must have healed me… Human scum healing me? I've fallen low."

His mind raced, trying to figure out a way to escape. He swore that the humans would rue the day they decided to keep him alive. He struggled furiously but it was to no avail. His body felt weaker than normal.

"I'd stop struggling. You've been sapped of all your strength. We've only left enough mana in you to keep you alive."

The female voice that spoke to him was as cold as ice. It was not a familiar voice, so he deduced that it was not one of the humans that captured him. He tried to use his magic and sure enough, he confirmed that he didn't even have enough to conjure a stiff breeze.

The woman released his gag. He took the spit that was collecting in his mouth and spat at her. She did not retaliate with any physical force. He heard a sigh and the sound of cloth being wiped.

"How respectful." She stated coldly. "You do realize the position you're in, right?"

"I have no respect for human scum." He spat back. "You'll save your time by killing me. You're not making me talk."

The woman did not respond to his provocations and simply responded coldly.

"We're not dealing with you just yet. I'm just here to make sure that you stay alive." The woman mentioned. "You'll have your turn later."

He heard the sounds of screaming some distance away. It was likely that pawn that the necromancer abandoned before. He cursed under his breath. The pawn wasn't privy to their biggest secrets but any information going over to the other side could cause trouble. He figured that it wouldn't be long before he broke.

The woman keeping a watch over him doused him with cold water again, sending a strong shock to his system. She quickly gagged him again, to prevent him from trying to bite off his own tongue. She left him alone then, plopping down a few metres away from him.

For some time he went against the command of the woman who was keeping a watch over him, struggling in small ways to find an opening. But it was no use, as the woman kept a close watch over him. He felt his mana slowly returning, but the woman caught on to him.

"You didn't think we'd let you recover your mana that easily?" She mocked.

She bit into his neck. He screamed, but the gag prevented him from making a sound. He felt his blood, strength, and mana all leaving him at once. His consciousness faded in and out. He felt his own blood spat back at him and the voice of the woman

"What a disgusting taste." She spat.

He lost consciousness cursing his fate.

---

Will

The Princess of Nagumo; Yaegashi Shizuku strode into the tent they created to house their prisoner. It lit a single mana light, emitting a pale blue light that illuminated the faces of their prisoner and her adopted elder sister; Yue. Shizuku observed the weary face of her sister and relayed her intentions.

"Yue. You can leave now. We'll take it from here."

"Hiyama?"

Shizuku's eyes flashed, making Yue flinch, sensing Shizuku's utter pure hatred of that name and the stain that it represented.

"Kaori healed and patched him up. When he realized who he healing him, started to boast about everything he did." Shizuku spat disdainfully.

"We had to stop Kaori from bashing his head in. She kept loudly insisting that she'd bash him up and heal him before killing him." Shizuku reported with glee. "I think he's more devasted about his image of Kaori shattering. He deserves everything he gets."

Yue said no more and walked out of the tent. In her place, the Prince of Nagumo arrived. He casually wiped the last of the sweat and blood off his face, before focusing on the Demon Commander that they captured. The commander was currently unconscious, his blonde hair a complete mess.

They waited for the demon commander to wake. They removed the gag from his face and he responded by spitting into the woman's face. She continued untying his bounds with a blank expression before stepping back. She wiped off the sweat with a napkin and stood in front of the demon commander, her hands placed close to her sword in case it was needed.

The white hair male grabbed a chair and plopped himself down in front of the demon commander.

"Sorry for the rough way, we've treated you….uhh.."

"I have no name to give to the likes of you." He spat.

What little strength Mikhail of Garland had was converted to glaring at the human boy with his eyes. In response the boy gave a small warning;

"I know you probably want to throttle me right now but I wouldn't recommend it. My fiancée over there is glaring at you pretty badly." He prompted, bringing attention to the woman's steady glare.

"She's faster than the both of us, so she'll probably end you before you even twitch your pinky finger." He warned. "She can be a bit vicious when it comes to my safety, so please excuse the death glares she's sending you."

Shizuku did not object loudly, only pouting her face and muttering. She never once let her eyes off the demon commander despite her cute reaction. Hajime chuckled at his lover's distress. Mikhail stared at the two in disbelief.

"What sort of game are you playing?! Are you two doing a comedy bit?!" He objected. "What sort of interrogation is this?!"

As the words left his mouth, Mikhail cursed internally. The surprise of their actions caught him off guard. He had not intended to show weakness in front of these humans.

Mikhail had the misfortune of coming into contact with many humans during his time in the army. Most of them were spineless cowards who begged for their lives, often at the cost of their comrades. Others were braver but much more foolhardy and easily killed. These two were clearly none of the above.

"Sorry, interrogation isn't really our strong point." The boy explained. "Before being transported to this world we were students. Shizuku over there was a master swordswoman before coming here but the rest of us were nothing."

The woman that he called 'Shizuku' blushed momentarily before steadying her expression. Mikhail was a trained soldier, so he was able to keep his face blank. Internally he questioned the motives of these humans.

"Why am I the one learning more about these humans? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

He decided that if the humans were so loose-lipped as to reveal information about themselves, he would gratefully accept the blessing of his God. Internally he sorted out the information that he received.

"He talked about 'transported to this world.' That means that they were transported alongside that human hero and his necromancer b***h."

Hajime continued. He decided that introducing Themselves would be a good idea.

"My name is Nagumo Hajime. Call me 'Hajime' if you want. And the princess over there is 'Shizuku.'"

The human girl 'Shizuku' blushed once more. Instead of letting it go away, she hid behind her long ponytails to wait out the surge of emotion. She was clearly a woman that had no trouble showing her emotions and affection. The human boy 'Hajime' was clearly infatuated with his lover and was proud of that fact.

"They're a bit different from Cattelya and I… Wait… Why am I comparing these human scum to Cattelya and I?"

Mikhail remained silent and refused to respond. For all, he knew this whole act was a trick designed to lower his guard. He prayed to his God Alva for redemption, entrusting his situation to his guiding hand.

In response to his reticence, the human male Hajime paused before talking briefly to his lover 'Shizuku'. She left the tent and quickly returned, with a bowl. Steam wafted from the piping hot soup that was bought in. Hajime presenting dragged a table in front of Mikhail and Shizuku set the bowl down in front of him.

The soup had a creamy white texture, with morsels of meat. Taking a sniff of the smell he detected scents of herbs located in this region and the slight gamey scent.

"Just so you know we haven't poisoned it or anything." Hajime prompted. "I'm pretty sure you're intelligent enough to know that we could have killed you a thousand times over with much less effort."

Mikhail acknowledged that this was likely true. They had more than plenty of opportunities to kill him if they wanted to and if they particularly wanted to make his death excruciatingly painful, they did not need to resort to such trickery.

Mikhail looked at the soup in disgust. However, his stomach grumbled evidence of his body's weariness. His mind protested, insisting that the food of human scum was not worthy of partaking however, his stomach continued its persistent and effective pleas.

Hearing the stomach grumbling of the demon, Hajime chucked and a small smile emerged.

"So demons get hungry like us…. Nice to know…. Go on don't be shy." Hajime offered once again.

Against his higher will, Mikhail of Garland succumbed to the desires of his stomach. He quickly grabbed the bowl with both hands and greedily drank the soup. He was done in 2-3 minutes, pausing only once or twice when the heat of the soup became too much to bear. By the time he was done, his lips puffed up because of the heat of the soup.

Once the soup was finished Mikhail resumed his position of non-compliance. He had to admit that the two humans that stood in front of him were of the odd sort, not so easily categorized. Hajime made more attempts at small talk but Mikhail refused to respond.

After some time, when it became clear that there was no breakthrough Hajime and Shizuku prepared to leave. Against his better judgment, Mikhail expressed his doubts in a single question.

"Why go through all this trouble?" Mikhail asked.

"We could torture if you wanted to." Hajime acknowledged with chilling simplicity. "We have the skills necessary to make you talk. I think you know that first hand."

Mikhail recalled the events that led him to this situation. He recalled how his forces were decimated by the two that stood before him. The very cells in his body shuddered at the recollection. He looked at the eyes of the boy. He could not detect the genuine mirth that was in his eyes just a few minutes ago. The very dark red of his eyes stared back at Mikhail and would not leave him no matter where he located his gaze.

"I don't think anyone would object if we used everything in our power to extract every last bit of information from you and then discarded your broken shell." He stated surprising venom.

"But I choose a different way. We choose a different way." Hajime stated. Cryptically he left Mikhail with a question of his own. "What's the point of going home, if you lose sight of it?"

---

Preparation

Aiko-chan-sensei convened a party meeting after they finished breaking their fast. There was a thick atmosphere of worry and distress. Many of them were not made privy to the events several days before. They knew that Endou had successfully rescued their teacher and that Hajime and Shizuku captured Hiyama Daisuke and a demon commander. Upon regrouping they made leaving Brooke town a priority until they found a concealed place to set up camp.

There was some murmur and chatter amongst the party before Hajime cleared his throat, silencing any further talk. He allowed Aiko-sensei to speak first.

"Everyone. I'm glad that you're all safe and sound." She begun.

"I want to thank everyone that risked their lives to rescue me, especially Endou-kun who kept me safe and fended off the demons as we were leaving the town. I also wish to thank Nagumo-kun and Yaegashi-san for giving us the opportunity to escape."

She beamed at her rescuers pausing for a long moment in the spirit of gratitude. Shizuku cleared her throat, urging their sensei to continue.

Aiko took a deep breath to steady herself and began once more. This time in a much more somber tone.

"I will not lie to you. We are in peril. From what Nagumo-kun could tell me before it is clear that we will be caught in a continent-spanning war and there is absolutely no avoiding it." Aiko stated.

The gloomy atmosphere thickened but the silence was kept. The reality of the situation was slowly sinking in. They knew that a fight was coming from the minute they fled the town of Ur. But the understanding of it bought their fears front and centre.

"I understand if you"-

Sonobe Yuka stepped forward and cut her off.

"If there is no avoiding the war, then it seems to me that sticking together is the best option. There probably no safer option."

The others nodded, agreeing with her despite their obvious apprehensions. Aiko worried for them but she too believed that this was the only way to ensure that her students remained alive.

"Thank you, everyone. So it appears we will continue to stick together from now on." Aiko announced. "As for the leadership of the party. Whilst am your teacher it is clear that I'm not suited to lead you during these times. Therefore I propose to make Nagumo-kun the official leader of the party."

Most of the party raised their hands in agreement. Aiko-sensei was a good teacher and a good person but she was not suited to leading a war, that was clear to all. Seeing that Nagumo had successfully led them through the labyrinth he was a natural choice. Hajime accepted with little fuss. It was not a matter of arrogance or glory but the reality of the situation forced his hand.

Hajime stepped forward to continue the meeting.

"Let me explain the situation that we are in."

Based on the information that they managed to extract from Hiyama Daisuke, it was clear that it was Nakamura who assisted him. By his own admission, it was Nakamura who told him about the trap on the 10th floor of the upper labyrinth that would cause the monster flood. Furthermore, it was Nakamura that caused the shield artifact to fail, trapping Shizuku in an attempt to kill her.

"Why did they try to get rid of Yaegashi-san?" Miyazaki asked.

"Apparently she was a threat to Nakamura's plans. Hiyama did not go into much detail but it seems that she was wary about her closeness with Amanogawa-kun." Kaori clarified.

Kaori continued on.

"Nakamura also informed him about the trap on the 20th floor. Hiyama sought to get rid of Hajime-kun because of his closeness to me. Nakamura noticed how close Shizuku-chan had gotten to Hajime-kun and figured that if anything happened to Hajime-kun, Shizuku-chan would follow suit."

"So once Yaegashi-san and Nagumo-kun fell into the Abyss and Endou-kun and Shirasaki-san left to join us, Nakamura finally had free reign to do whatever she wanted," Yuka concluded with a grimace.

They all looked sullen. In some way, they all bore some indirect responsibility for what happened.

"Yes. With the biggest potential threats out of the way. Nakamura was free to use her skills to turn the key members of Heliegh into her puppets." Hajime explained. "It's fair to assume that the royal family as well as those who hold the keys to power in the Kingdom have been made into puppets or replaced by the demons."

There was some shock amongst the party that was on somewhat friendly terms with Nakamura-. Their minds quickly turned to the most obvious question.

"What about the others?" Endou asked. "Are they a part of this too?"

Hajime steeled himself. There was no avoiding this question.

"No. Nakamura killed them all…... She turned them into her undead puppets."

Hajime recounted all of those that they were forced to end. As the list was being read the parties' eyes widened. Practically the entire heroes party had been exterminated. Among those who were not close to their classmates, there was a stern grimace, an acknowledgment of the gravity of the betrayal.

Others who were closer to their dead friends began shouting words of disbelief and anger. Aiko-sensei took this the hardest openly weeping. Shizuku attempted to comfort her but it was of little use, the kind-hearted teacher would always take the deaths of any of her students the hardest.

Hajime let them express their anger and grief for a few minutes. He ook the opportunity to reflect and steel his resolve knowing that this would not the last of the heartbreak. He let the tears flow silently and then wiped them away. The time for tears was over. There was a war to survive.

Eventually, the others began to come around. Many of them had red puffy eyes and were still sniffling but Hajime could tell that they would be able to continue.

"Shizuku and I took care to dispatch them respectfully. We have been able to retrieve their bodies and store them in our [Treasure Troves]. We'll bury them, mark their graves and honor them as quickly as possible."

Hajime encountered no resistance to this plan. There was even some relief and closure on the part of the others. Hajime continued on designating their targets for elimination.

"Nakamura Eri, will be designated as top priority target. Her elimination will be necessary. If we encounter then we must end her if possible." Hajime decided. "Sensei I know that-"

Aiko-sensei cut him off. She was clearly distressed but she did not object to Nakamura's classification.

"I trust your judgment Nagumo-kun. I understand the gravity of the situation. This is not a situation where we can afford to be idealistic."

"I couldn't confirm the status of Amanogawa Kouki. From what we could tell when we observed him from afar, he appeared to be alive."

Aiko-sensei also agreed to corroborate her own encounter with Amanogawa in the guild hall.

"For now, we'll designate Amanogawa Kouki as a person of interest. If we encounter him, if he shows any sign of ignorance on these matters we will do our best to capture him. Otherwise, if it becomes clear he was aware of what Nakamura was doing, then consider him an enemy as well.

Everyone held no objections to Hajime's designation of their targets. They continued on discussing their next move. Endou Kosuke produced the letter he received from Ian Bathory the guild head and recommended that they should proceed as quickly as possible to the Independent Merchant City of Fuhren.

"We will need to get allies. Illwa Chang's connections as the Fuhren branch head will be indispensable." Endou noted. "We will need to be able to convince the remaining nobles of Heliegh and the Holscher Empire to see this threat and work with us. I believe we need to begin here."

Hajime had no objections to this plan. He decided that making it to a safe ally would be their first priority.

"Okay we will proceed at all haste to Fuhren. Once there we will make preparations to go to the Grand Guren Volcano to conquer that dungeon. We will need to obtain more power to have any hope of challenging the might of the demons."

Next was the matter of the prisoners that they captured; Mikhail of Garland and Hiyama Daisuke.

Some especially Yue and Tio were vocal in their support of executing them outright. It was not a position without merits. Dragging two uncooperative and hostile prisoners made the trip to Fuhren more difficult than it needed to be.

The other classmates were reluctant to consider a position that in their minds amounted to cold-blooded murder. They accepted that Endou, Yaegashi, and Nagumo killed others for their own defence and for the defence of others but it was a different situation from killing defenseless prisoners.

Aiko-sensei was also reluctant to commit to an executive position. Whilst she was thoroughly aware that there was true evil in the hearts of her students, she was not willing to condemn him without a thorough examination.

Shea Haulia, stayed largely silent on the matter, vowing to go ahead with whatever would be decided by the Hajime-san and Shizuku-san.

Shizuku made it very clear that the very sight of Hiyama made her want to wretch. She believed that an easy death for Hiyama was too good for him. As for the demon that they had captured she had doubts about their ability to make him talk but acknowledged that he was a potential source of crucial information. She made it clear that despite her personal feelings on the matter, she would defer her judgment to that of Hajime's.

When it was clear that a unanimous decision could not be carried they all decided that Hajime would make the final decision and that everyone would abide by and accept the decision.

"We won't be killing any of them." He decided. "Shizuku and I took them alive for a reason. Hiyama will be made to pay for his crimes. A quick and easy death is not what Shizuku intends for him and neither is it my intention to let him off so easily."

"As for the demon commander. He represents a valuable source of information. He will be kept alive until we reach Fuhren. We'll make a decision regarding him later."

With his decision adjourned, everyone streamed back into their tents to make preparations for their departure. An anxious energy followed the members of the party, as the war loomed ahead of them just out of sight. The gruesome deaths of their fellow classmates were a reminder that their lives hung on a tightrope where they couldn't even see the rope ahead of them.

---

Darkness Moon

The moon had taken its place in the night sky by the time they were done completing the funeral arrangements for their fallen comrades.

10 graves. That was all that would be left to their classmates who passed on before them. Lives filled with promise and hope were snuffed out in a cruel and brutal fashion. There was a surreal chill as their friends were interred to their final rest. Death seemed so distant, yet now closer than ever before. As they felt the cold stiff bodies of those who were once filled with life and warmth, 'wrongness' what was merely a concept became a physical reality. The very spirit that lit their lives with energy and joy, seemed at that moment drained, heavy and weary. There was a nibbling sense of sorrow, a sense that it should be there, yet in its place was an emptiness.

Each of them was interred in personally made coffins, specifically designed by the classmates, based on what they remembered of each of them. Some laughed and more cried at this bitter recollection, acknowledging that this was all that they would remember them by.

Yue, Hajime, and Shizuku who had experience in using the [Gravity Magic] carefully placed the coffins into the marked graves. Headstones were created and written in the Japanese script. No one save for off-worlders would know the purpose of these graves.

Aiko sensei had the most to say, breaking into tears several times recounting and recalling her lost students. She apologized for her failings profusely. The sight of their teacher openly weeping, crying out for forgiveness shattered the dissonance that they felt. All at once all their regrets, sorrows, rage, fear, and despair crashed in a tsunami of emotions. Some expressed this by weeping, others by storming off and others still by letting their rage flow out on inanimate objects.

Aiko sensei had to be led away from the grave site by an equally sorrowful Sonobe Yuka who was barely holding in herself.

The former classmates were able to say their piece. Much of it was short. "He/she was a nice person" was the common starting point, a reflection of how little they knew of each other and a stark reminder that if was too late for them to get to know them better. For those who played a vibrant part in their lives, like Taniguchi Suzu and Sakagami Ryutarou more could be said but it was still no more than a hollow reflection of their lives.

Tio Klarus, as the Princess of the Dragon Tribes formally performed a traditional dance to commend the spirits of the dead to their final rest. It was a solemn dance, performed with a beautiful flow and rhythm. She weaved in and out of half turns, semi-circles, and full turns, to evoke the chaotic raging waters that life often was. Her dance suddenly turned more violent as if she had taken on the rage and regrets of those who went before them. Frenetic movements coloured the dance with a sorrowful rage. The dance released those emotions into the night sky, adjuring the lost to let go of their regrets in peace and reminding the living not to take the burden of the spirits on their living shoulders.

When the beautiful dance ended, the members of the Nagumo Party streamed back to their tents, some in the midst, some still weeping. All who remained were Yue, Hajime, and Shizuku. They remained standing there in silence before Yue decided to break it.

"This will not be the last of the sorrows you will have to experience." She warned. "The number of friends and loved ones that I have had to bury personally….."

Yue did not finish her sentence.

"We won't carry their gravestones with us. It's wrong to burden the dead, clinging to their spirit, using them as anchors weighing us down." Shizuku said. "That means for all of us. No matter the fate that befalls us."

"Yes. We'll continue to fight until our spirits fail and our bodies expire. Until then let the dead watch over us. Until we meet again." Hajime whispered.

---

Chapter 7 done. Wow, we've officially hit the over 100,000 words mark for this fanfiction. Thank you for everyone who continues to read and support this fanfiction up til now. I imagined this undertaking would be a lot quicker but as I've revised and redid the story I realized it's going to take a lot more time and a lot of effort. So thank you to everyone who is enjoying this story.

I really appreciate everyone who has decided to follow and favourite this fic. Special Thanks as well to those who have left comments, even the ones in Spanish which I have to run through Google translate to get a hint of your generous comments.

Thanks, everyone! Please keep commenting. It helps improve my writing and I take it all into consideration.