Hey guys. Sorry it's been a while but I've had a bit of writer's a block. I've only gotten back to writing recently. It didn't help that I've had to practically re-write entire sections and remove parts I wasn't happy with but here we are. I'm happy to continue writing Lies and Ties and I will be focusing on this work for the foreseeable future. I won't promise a regular release schedule (we all know where that landed me) but as I said I will be continuing and hopefully I'll be able to get this completed in the future.
Thank you for anyone who is still keeping up with this series and I do appreciate any criticisms that you have for me and my writing.
Lies and Ties Chapter 6
Council Room – Verbergen
"Well then let's begin negotiations. Do I have the floor?" asked Hajime Nagumo.
The human that stood before them was clearly a 'boy' in human eyes. Yet his ghostly white hair and unfathomable red eyes indicated that he lived through and survived much more than your average beastman. He spoke with a rough tone, unsuited for negotiation, more appropriate for giving commands that could not be countermanded.
Negotiate? What more could they possibly want?!
Hajime sauntered towards the floor of the council, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. Not that anyone would have dared to deny him the floor. The low whimpering of Regin Vanton a haunting reminder to all members involved.
"We apologise Elders of Verbergen. Let me re-iterate that we come in peace. However, let it be known that the party of Nagumo Hajime will protect themselves if attacked. Expect such attacks to end….. Well you can see for yourselves….."
Almost on cue, Regin Vanton simpered and groaned. His twisted arms a reminder of the undeniable power wielded by these intruders.
"And of course this applies to the Haulia-clan who are under our protection. Consider an attack on the Haulia, an attack on us."
"Yes! We'll make a binding law on all Beastmen; Nagumo Hajime and his allies; including the Haulia clan are to be left unmolested under pain of death!" Nervously shouted one of the council members.
The other council members nervously nodded their heads in agreement. Even the faction that supported Regin assented without objection.
"You honour us, Elders of Vebergen." Hajime acknowledged, with a short bow.
"In that case, lets formalise our alliance." Hajime offered with a short sharp clap.
Alliance?! What more does this demon want from us!?
"Yes! We'll support you! Anything you need!" They capitulated.
Hajime shook his head. He appreciated their eagerness to please but he had no intention of staying for too long. Still keeping an eye out of the beast-men wasn't a bad idea….
"Is there is an open seat in the council?" He suggested, briefly glancing at the prone figure of Regin.
"Yes! As it happens, one of the seats became available because a member of the council became indisposed!" Cried out the elders, taking the hint.
"It saddens me that such an unfortunate thing happened to a member of the council….." Hajime replied in mock sadness. "In that case, in order to formalise our friendship why not have Cam be part of your council?"
The council murmured amongst themselves but judging by their nervous expressions it was likely that any real objections they had, melted away in fear. But an objection came from another quarter; Cam himself.
"Boss! We're your army! We don't want to serve anyone apart from you!"
The other Haulia present nodded in agreement.
"We can't take all of you with us Cam." Shizuku reproached him. "Besides, we need someone here we can trust to be our eyes and ears."
The human woman that seemed to be Nagumo Hajime's constant companion, spoke up. In contrast to her lover's rough tone she spoke gently as if a mother gently chiding her child. Yet the Haulia stood at complete attention at her words. If she was a mother, she was not a mother that you willingly went against.
Eyes and ears?!
"Yeah, think of the position as our representative here in Verbergen. You won't serve anyone else. I promise you that." Hajime re-assured him.
Astounded by the level of trust that was placed on him on him and the Haulia, Camelous began to tear up and did obeisance. He got on his knees and bowed down.
"Boss! I was wrong to question you! If that is your will the Haulia and I will be your eyes and ears here. We'll make sure that we convert the beastmen to your cause!"
Convert?!
Cam rose to his feet and glared at the elders of Verbergen. The elders got the message, Camelous Haulia would be an Elder and under the watchful gaze of the Haulia, the beastmen would come to heel.
300 years of independence. Gone! All it took was 3 intruders and 100 rabbitmen…..
Hypist could only internally scream at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Yet the battle-harden, ravenous eyes of the rabbitman formerly known as 'Cam Haulia' forced him to face reality. He called for the paper to seal their fate in writ. The following was written:
On The Day X, of Month X, of Standard Year X
We the Elders of Verbergen, representing dutifully the tribes and peoples under our care do hereby declare:
That we enter into an alliance with Nagumo Hajime and his associates. They shall be free for molestation or injury in Verbergen. All due hospitality be granted to them. The Alliance obligates each party to work the mutual benefit of both parties.
That the Haulia, whom we wrongly expelled from our great confederation of peoples, rightfully take their places as full members of Verbergen and the unity of all Beastmen.
That Regin Vanton who acted without the consent of this council, we do hereby strip of all titles and honours, and his seat in the council.
We declare also that Camaieus Entelion Soraus Haulia, formerly known as 'Cam Haulia' be elevated to the position of Elder of Verbergen and a position of Councillor in the Great Confederation of Tribes.
By the unanimous decision of the Council. Sealed in writ and blood, we declare this to be the law governing the Peoples of Verbergen, Children of the Great Forest, Inheritors of the will of our Ancestors.
Underneath the declaration was the signatures of all members of the council (including Cam), Nagumo Hajime, and Yaegashi Shizuku. Cam had made a bit of a fuss about the document not acknowledging the 'majesty' of his masters but he was quickly shut down, by a displeased Shizuku.
With the treaty finalised, Nagumo Hajime and his companions were treated with the utmost hospitality as they awaited the rest of their victorious army to march onto the gates of Verbergen.
Several hours later, the Beastmen heard the victorious battle cry of the Haulian army. The army could be accurately described as a chaotic mob.
"Open your gates! Open Your Gates!"
"Your army lies defeated! Your commanders captured!"
"Let all who dare oppose the might of our boss and his princess!"
"Sleep in fear! Sleep in fear! Sleep in fear!"
At the head of the Haulian army was Aletia Galdea Vesperitio Avatarl and her sister-friend Shea Haulia, clearly looking distressed and downcast, flutily trying to stop the Haulia from intimidating the Beast-men of Vebergen. As they approached the gates the Cam Haulia arranged for the new law to be proclaimed throughout the Beastmen paradise. The message was clear; there was a new order in the Sea of Forests.
Meeting them at the gates of Verbergen, Hajime and Shizuku greeted their sisters.
"Did everything go well, Yue?" Shizuku asked, trying her best to comfort the horrified Yue.
"If you mean the battle, then everything went well." She stated plainly. "As for everything else….."
She plainly pointed to the wild noise that the Haulia were causing, drunk off their latest victory.
"Poor Shea was having a fit trying to get them to calm down. At this point they'll only listen to you two."
Prompted by her elder sister's concerns and suggestions, Yaegashi Shizuku, strode in front of the raucous crowd. She used a single skill;
[Intimidate]
Immediately, a wave of pure fear crashed on top of the unsuspecting Haulians and anybody nearby who was powerless to resist. Hajime was seemingly unaffected, admiring his fiancée's handiwork. Yue stood firm with some visible discomfort. Shea nearly passed out and was prevented from doing so by firm intervention of Yue.
"Who ordered you lot to make this kind of fuss?!" Shizuku demanded "Have you louts gotten drunk on your own victory? Do you really believe you have the luxury to take it easy?!"
Immediately they reformed their ranks and let go of any pretensions that they were the victorious army.
"No ma'am! We're nothing but trash unfit to serve as your arms and legs!" They all declared in one voice.
"Hmph. It seems you lot understand." Shizuku responded satisfied that the Haulias would no longer play up. Once more she addressed the Haulian army, channeling her memories of her gruff grandfather, calling all of the disciples to attention.
"Hear your orders from now on; You are to continue following Cam's leadership. You will be our eyes and ears in Verbergen. Do not lord over the beast men, parading your victory in front of them. They are allies with us now. Understood!?
"Yes ma'am! We hear and obey the Inheritors of the Crimson Sky!
'Why did they come up with another ridiculous title for us again?!' Thought Hajime and Shizuku together.
It took some days for the Nagumo party to leave Verbergen. Their bloodless victory had produced unexpected problems in the form of the beast-men survivors from the war. Whilst they were alive, many were seriously injured. As a sign of goodwill, the Haulia and the Nagumo party set to work healing their wounded adversaries.
This had the added benefit of calming the citizens of Verbergen, who suddenly found themselves confronting humans for the first time. There were grumblings and mutterings, but the unanimous decision of the council was largely followed.
This was in contrast with the other rabbit-men clans, who approached their kins-men the Haulia with trepidation and awe, a vision of what they could become. Some of the other rabbit tribes had already begun to talk with Cam and the other Haulia, interested in coming into their fold.
The main bulk of the Haulia army was left to monitor the situation in Vebergen while the Nagumo party and a small detachment continued on to the Grand tree, the centre of the Sea of Forests and the location of the labyrinth.
Any normal tree of the Sea of Forests would tower over any human or beast-men. The grand tree made any human or beastmen no more than a speck of dust clinging to the root of the tree. Its tree top was hidden by the clouds, appearing to extend to the heavens and beyond.
At the foot of one of the roots of the tree lay a stone tablet, clearly made for human reading. It was written in an ancestral version of the common language, and other ancient languages of the beastmen.
O Inheritors of the will of liberators.
Prove thyself worthy to challenge the trial that lays before you.
Present proof that you have conquered your limits and have seen the truth.
On the tablet were four indentations, linked together to make some kind of magic circle. No amount of magic poured into the stone tablet would reveal its secrets. Hajime eventually inserted the ring he obtained from the Orcus labyrinth. This caused a indentation to shine with a blue light. However, there was no further change of the stone tablet and no sign of an entrance to the labyrinth.
"It's no use. I don't think we can challenge this labyrinth at this time." Hajime stated. "There's some kind of reaction to the ring Oscar left us, so maybe we need to get more of the relics of the liberators."
"That would mean finding the rest of the Grand Labyrinths and conquering them." Shizuku plainly stated.
Hajime nodded in affirmation.
"Conquering this labyrinth will have to wait it seems," Yue affirmed. "Even the liberators are not above making our lives more difficult than necessary."
A pang of annoyance hit Yue. A delay to her desire for justice was 'undesirable' and it bought back a sense of haunting loneliness. Such feelings did not last long as she looked at her newfound family.
"There is no need for a rush. Hajime and Shizuku are part of my family now."
She saw the rabbit girl, recently dubbed her 'little sister' bounding towards her in tears. She was wailing about not wanting to be left behind.
"I guess she also counts."
Hajime and Shizuku looked at Shea with quizzical looks. This only served to make Shea more nervous.
"You're an asset that we invested in," Hajime explained. "I want to see the performance of that hammer, working with your future sight. Don't think I'm done with you."
"Wahhh! Hajime-san thinks I'm an experiment?!"
In response, Shizuku bonked him in the head with the end of the sheath of her katana.
"Stop being a tsundere, you stupid mecha-otaku." Shizuku reprimanded. She comforted Shea saying 'Ignore what he said. We consider you family. Of course, we won't leave you behind."
"Shizuku-san!" Shea cried out, in tears of joy.
Shizuku suddenly had a glazed look in her eyes. Shea suddenly feared for her life.
"In exchange, please let me rub your ears once in a while," Shizuku asked (demanded).
"Wahh! Save me! Shizuku-san wants to assault me!" Shea cried out.
Immediately Hajime wrenched Shizuku by her coat's collar, preventing her from doing something Shizuku would regret.
"Pot meet kettle, you bunny-obsessed princess." He reproofed with disdain. "Snap out of it Shizuku."
Eventually, Shizuku calmed down enough to apologise to her 'sister.' After Shea's fear subsided, she eventually forgave her.
Cam Haulia and the other Haulia rabbitmen were beside themselves, crying. They had not expected the parting from their beloved boss and his fearsome princess to come so soon. But after a quick word from Hajime, they soon rebounded, exclaiming that 'their boss entrusted an important mission to them and that they had no time for crying.'
"So Hajime-san! Where are we headed next!?" Shea exclaimed excitedly.
Pulling out the map they 'received' from the company of slavers. Dotted on the map were several villages and towns. He pulled out Oscar's diary and began to read.
"Well, we know that there are Labyrinths in the 'Grand Guren Volcano' and the 'Schnee Snowfields'. The 'Schnee Snowfields' is in the demon country, so we'll avoid that for now. 'Grand Guren Volcano' is located in the South West of Tortus. Using the Reisen Gorge, which crosses from East to West seems like a good spot to cross."
"And if you want to hide a grand labyrinth, it seems like hiding in the middle of a monster-infested expansive gorge system seems like a good idea," Hajime suggested. "Let's get to a decent town to prepare thoroughly for our search."
"We'll get closer to the Heliegh Kingdom as a result. With any luck, we might hear more about Ai-chan-sensei as we get closer to Heliegh." Shizuku noticed. Her mind was clearly on her best friend Shirasaki Kaori and her safety.
Scanning the map for a prime location, Yue located the best town to go to. Locating a large border town close to the Gorge located in the Heliegh Kingdom, she pointed to it.
"It's called Brooke town. This seems like the prime location."
And so the Nagumo party + one new member parted ways with the Sea of Forest and the beast men for the moment.
Brooke Town
Brooke town was home to adventurers who dared brave the great Reisen Gorge to find their fortune in fighting and killing the myriad of dangerous beasts that lurked behind every rock and crack. It was a place where all sorts of characters could blend in without much of a fuss. All that was needed to enter the town was a quick check of your status plate.
A tired-looking guard yawned as the cloaked members of the Nagumo Party approached.
"Your purpose for entering Brooke town? *yawn*."
"We've been fighting monsters. We need to sell some materials. And…"
Hajime used his most apologetic look and rubbed his head to indicate that he was a bit overwhelmed.
"We've got a bit of a problem see…"
Hajime showed him his status plate. Clearly emblazoned was his name 'Nagumo Hajime' but where his level and stats would show was a mix of symbols.
"We got into some trouble with some monsters the other day. Thankfully we're fine but… Well, you can see what happened to my plate. My girl, over there's got the same problem."
He pointed to Shizuku, who proceeded to hand over her own status plate. The same problem occurred. The guard sensed something was a bit odd about the situation but he figured it was out of his pay grade.
"Yeah, just go to the adventurers' guild. They might be able to help."
He was about to let them go when he noticed his two other companions.
"What about those two?" The guard questioned. The ethereal beauty of Yue seemed to perk the man's curiosity and the rarity of seeing a silver-haired rabbit tribeswoman seemed to make him question the motives of the party.
Shea visibly flinched in fright. She hadn't expected to be stopped here.
"Oh. I forgot. She is part of my party too." Hajime reassured the guard, pointing to Yue. "She lost her plate in the whole situation. As for the other one…"
Hajime whispered in the guard's ear. A faint blush appeared on the guard's face. He coughed a bit to calm himself, before he let them go.
"You sure got some eccentric tastes mate…..Whatever… That's not really my problem. Get going."
As they walked away from the guard, a curious Shea asked Shizuku what Hajime had said to get them to pass.
"You don't want to know." She stated.
Sensing that very same aura that frightened her before, Shea backed away. Shea prayed that Hajime-san would survive the night.
Side; Endou Kosuke & Shirasaki Kaori
They had finally made it to Brooke town. Their last stop before proceeding into the Holscher Empire's territory. Everyone was tense, they had no way of knowing whether the Heliegh Kingdom had noticed the odd movements of Ai-chan-sensei and had notified Brooke town beforehand.
The knights who remained loyal to Ai-chan were talking to the guards of the town. From the perspective of Endou, it appeared to be a rather terse discussion. It appears to have gone well, as they were finally given the all-clear.
"Everyone! We're making our way to the adventurers guild. It seems the Ur town adventurers guild told the Brooke branch to expect us!" Ai-chan-sensei exclaimed excitedly.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The Ur Town head of the adventurer's guild was an ally who supported them in the raid against the demons. He had understood their need to flee the Heliegh Kingdom.
The Ai-chan-sensei party was guided to the Adventurers Guild through the hustle and bustle of Brooke town. As to be expected of a prime adventurer's location, the shops were filled with wares related to adventuring. From the latest magical weapons and equipment to general supplies and rations, each seller had their goods proudly displayed. Each shop seemed more enticing than the last, a sign of the greenhorn experience of the party when it came to adventuring.
Tio Klarus, the dragon tribeswoman scanned the shops analytically. She was curious to see how human artifact technology had developed over the centuries.
"Most curious… Human ingenuity is praiseworthy yet their efforts do not seem to have produced much advancement."
It had been over 300 years since Tio recalled observing human-made artifacts. To her memories, these new ones remained about the same level as the ones she observed 300 years ago. It seemed highly unlikely that in 300 years there would be no advancement.
"Unless… Someone was intentionally suppressing the development of human technology and culture."
Knowing what she knew about the 'God' of this world, this was likely the handiwork of that God and his slimy human followers. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. Another sin to add to the weight of that God's crimes.
As expected of the Adventurers Guild branch of a famous adventurer's town, the guild building towered over the nearby houses and shops and took up the area of at least four or five smaller buildings.
They were greeted by the friendly receptionist, whose name was Catherine based on the nameplate that stood in front of her.
"Ah, you must be the party of Aiko. The branch head is expecting you but he's currently occupied by a couple of adventurers who had some important business."
She asked them to wait in the guild hall, whilst some refreshments were to be bought for them. They all sat down and relaxed. The food was wonderfully cooked and the drinks were refreshing.
Kaori spent the time thinking about the future. She nowhere near close to finding Shizuku and Hajime. She sighed before looking around and listening to the hubbub of the guild shop.
"Hajime-san!"
A clear shriek rang in the ears of the Aiko party. They immediately stood up and looked at the scene that unfolded before them. A silver-haired bunny girl was crying out for a tall white-haired boy who was in the process of leaving the guild hall. He bore a resemblance to someone that they thought to be lost.
"What are you doing Shea? Pay 's get moving. We need to meet Shizuku and Yue soon."
Kosuke and Kaori wasted no time. They practically tackled the white-haired boy.
"Hajime-san!" "Hajime-kun!"
After what seemed like a thousand years, Endou Kosuke and Shirasaki Kaori had finally reunited with Nagumo Hajime.
Not long after their initial reunion between Nagumo Hajime and the Aiko party, the Crimson Snow princess and the Last Queen of the Vampires entered the adventurers guild. Hajime was currently consoling a crying Kaori and Aiko sensei, assuring them that he was real and not a ghost.
Shizuku cleared her throat loudly. Her red eyes were flooded with tears at being reunited with her best friend. Kaori immediately turned around and proceeded to tackle hug Shizuku. Shizuku returned the favour.
"Shizuku-chan!" "Kaori!-chan"
After getting over the initial emotion of their reunion, they were quickly ushered into the branch head's large office. They continued their introductions inside. The blonde queen introduced herself first.
"My name is Aletia Galdea Vesperitio Avatarl. You may call me Aletia."
She bowed slightly as a sign of respect.
"I am the former Queen of the Vampires. I was trapped in the Orcus Grand Labyrinth before Hajime and Shizuku saved me."
A wave of gasps and disbelief came from the Aiko party. Some looked apprehensively at the blonde girl that stood before them, frightened by their association with Vampire stories from back on Earth. But one from their party greeted the Vampire Queen warmly.
"Well met, Aletia Galdea Vesperitio Avatarl. I, Tio Klarus, Princess of the Dragon Tribes greet the Inheritor of the Progenitor Blood."
"Klarus…. I recall envoys from the dragon tribes when I was queen. Were you amongst them, Tio Klarus?"
"No, but my father and grandfather recounted to me their time acting as envoys of the dragon tribes to the coronation of the new Queen of the Vampires. That was you was it not, Aletia?"
"Indeed, I remember fondly the wisdom of the dragon sage," Aletia recalled. "How fares your grandfather and father?"
Tio's expression darkened. For a moment she seemed to replay the memories in her head. Each terrible memory was more real at that moment than the people in front of her. But the moment died quickly.
"My father died to protect me. We were assailed and nearly decimated by the forces loyal to the 'God' of this world."
For the first time, Tio explained her reason for coming to the human world. Her deep entrenched hatred of the 'God' Ehit and her desire to find a way to defeat him and end his tyranny. She recalled meeting Endou Kosuke and how he risked his life to save her.
"That makes two of us that seeks vengeance against the evil God; Ehit." Yue affirmed. "For reasons unknown to me my uncle Dienleed locked me away in the grand labyrinth. For three hundred years I despaired. Only now do I learn that Ehit wanted me for some purpose and that my uncle locked me away to protect me."
"It seems that we are allies then. What about your companions? Do they share your convictions?" Tio asked.
Hajime stepped forward with conviction. He cleared his throat before making a declaration of his intent.
"I believe I speak for Shizuku and Shea on this matter as well," Hajime affirmed, with Shizuku and Shea giving nods of approval. "Yue is our family. Family by the blood we shed for each other. Family by choice not by destiny. Family in affection not in blood. Whoever harms our family deserves to be put down."
His former classmates and teacher were stunned into silence from the start of his declaration. They had all felt like they were small pieces in the game of something far larger. They had fought desperately to protect what little they had. Yet this classmate, whom they barely acknowledged at the start now stood before them, ready to wage war against a deity.
"Nagumo-kun… I'm sorry that it came to this. I should have done a better job at protecting you all." Aiko apologized. "If I had suspected something, kept a better eye out"-
"Stop right there sensei. The only ones truly responsible are Hiyama and the ones backing him. I bear no ill will to you. And that goes for everyone else here." Hajime continued, "In fact sensei, we should be thanking you."
"Sensei. Thank you for taking care of Endou and Kaori," Shizuku thanked. "If it weren't for you, I would have lost my best friend and steadfast ally. Don't doubt the fact that you are a wonderful teacher."
Aiko suddenly teared up as if she had finally been absolved of sins that she still clung to. That moment renewed her conviction to do everything in her power to fight for the safety of her students.
"Nagumo-kun, Yaegashi-san. I'll keep fighting for you and for the others from now on. I won't shy away from the horrors of this world and face it head-on."
Sonobe Yuka and the other members of the Aiko party felt dread. Pure and simple. They all agreed that they could longer stomach the thought of near-constant fighting and used Aiko sensei as an excuse to leave the fighting to others.
But despite their decision to run away from the war, the war still came to them. Could they run away again? In hushed tones they murmured amongst themselves. None of them wanted this but they resigned themselves to survive and fight. At last Sonobe Yuka stepped forwards to speak for the rest of the party.
"We'll fight as well. We're not sure how much use we'll be in the shadows of dragonmen and vampire queens but we're not about to run away again. We will fight to protect what little we have."
"And what about you two?" Yuka asked, turning to Endou Kosuke and Shirasaki Kaori.
"Hajime-san intends to fight. I intend to fight as well." He decided. Shirasaki Kaori joined in as well, nodding and smiling at Hajime and Shizuku.
The branch head clapped his hands eagerly.
"Now that introductions are out of the way and we're all on the same page, let's discuss our next steps."
Endou began the discussion, recounting the events that led them to join Aiko's party. He described in detail how Shimizu had betrayed humanity, and consorted with the demons to raise a monster army to plunge the Lake Town of Ur into chaos to exterminate Ai-chan-sensei.
"So in short that's why we're here. The Heliegh Kingdom has been compromised by demons. Seeing no other choice we decided to escape as quickly as possible." Endou turned to Hajime and Shizuku. "At this point, we're not strong enough, but with you two, and Tio-san and Aletia-san…."
Tio interjected, shaking her head. "I do not doubt that your classmates are strong Endou. Surviving and conquering a grand labyrinth is proof of that but the apostles of that god are far too strong for us to challenge at the moment. We need to become stronger and soon….."
Shizuku concurred as well. "I have friends amongst the class and I'm worried about Princess Liliana as well. But charging headlong into a suicidal charge is not something I'm keen on."
"Still, I believe we have a way to get stronger. At the end of each grand labyrinth is the lair of the liberators. They all grant the Age of Gods' magic to those who the labyrinth deems worthy. Hajime, Yue, and I received this magic when we conquered Orcus Grand Labyrinth."
"But are we strong enough to conquer a grand labyrinth?" questioned Kaori, referring to their party's current weakness and lack of experience.
Shizuku's small smile widened into a knowing grin and chuckled. Shea visibly flinched and Yue looked away, her face in her palms.
"I wouldn't worry about that…." She responded ominously.
Reisen Gorge
Reisen Gorge. It has been called various names throughout the ages; 'Valley of Death', 'Suicide by Monster', 'Den of Monsters', and most illustratively; 'That ****king hellhole'. In other words, the perfect place to train a bunch of complete greenhorns.
They had ridden into the gorge, by way of Hajime's newest creation; a modified Humvee. When they arrived at the entrance, they were summarily deposited and told; "We need to know how strong you lot are. Survive."
Endou Kosuke, Shirasaki Kaori, Sonobe Yuka, Sugawara Taeko, Miyazaki Nana, Tamai Atsushi, Aikawa Noboru and Nimura Akito were currently fighting for their lives. In reality they were in no such danger, Hajime was prepared to save them from being too badly wounded. But they didn't know that. Screams and groans of pain echoed throughout the valley entrance.
Day turned into night before Hajime decided to end their misery. He and Shizuku expertly cut down the remaining monsters that tormented the greenhorns and saved them. They and their teacher strenuously objected to their treatment.
"Nagumo, why?!" They objected, barely able to form coherent words.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." He replied with utter seriousness. "And besides these guys were small fries compared to the monsters in the true Orcus Grand Labyrinth."
They turned to Yaegashi Shizuku, a classmate whom they all considered a big sisterly figure.
"I don't think Hajime is intending on doing this again. We were just testing your skills." Shizuku affirmed. They all breathed a sigh of relief. "Shizuku-san!" They all thought warmly.
"I'll avoid telling them that tomorrow is training with us….."
Next Day
The next day, they split up the group to be trained by different members of the Nagumo party. Endou Kosuke, as the assassin relying on stealth and speed, was paired up with Shizuku, who inherited the 'ninja-like' skills of the Yaegashi clan and relied on speed herself. Yue was paired up with Shirasaki Kaori to train her magic output. Shea Haulia was asked to train (beat up) the rest. For the sake of efficiency, Hajime, Tio, and Aiko left the main group to search for any signs of the Grand Labyrinth.
Endou Kosuke & Yaegashi Shizuku
Endou's training was simple; land a blow on Shizuku. As a handicap, Shizuku was blindfolded and she couldn't move out of a small circle.
It was currently his 10th attempt at landing a blow on Shizuku. Things got progressively harder after each successive attempt. Shizuku did not merely evade or block blows from Endou, but actively retaliated when given the opportunity. Add that to his decreasing stamina as the day went on and Endou found himself pushed to the limits of [Hide Presence]'s limits.
He hid behind a rock to catch his breath after the last attempt. Shizuku had landed a blow into his sternum, leaving him short of breath and wanting to vomit. This wasn't lost on Shizuku who heard each heavy breath that escaped his bruised body.
"Ready to give up yet?" Shizuku asked, in mock concern. "I'm willing to give you… a 10 minute break if you give up now."
"10 minutes seems like a good deal right now…" Kosuke thought to himself.
"But after that, I'm not going to hold back my blows." She stated. If he didn't know that she was their ally, he could have sworn it came from a demon. Once again he wondered what happened to the kind classmate he once knew.
"I'd die!" He instinctively screamed back, causing him to start coughing.
"You won't. I'll make sure I fling you to Kaori. She can do with practicing healing grievous bodily wounds." Shizuku stated, in a cheerful voice straight out of hell.
"No! I refuse!" He shouted desperately.
"Then hurry up and start attacking." She responded coldly, her patience breaking. "If not I'll change the training regimen. We can play 'hide and seek'. You hide"-
In an instant flash, Shizuku appeared behind him, grabbed him, and landed several more blows to his sternum.
"And I'll seek." She concluded as she lifted her blindfold to look down on a spluttering Endou Kosuke. "Do your best to survive, Endou-kun."
Curled up in a ball, and spitting out phlegm and pieces of breakfast out of his mouth, Endou Kosuke, seriously regretted his life's choices.
Aletia & Shirasaki Kaori
For the second time in her 300 years of existence Yue was asked to train another protégé. This left her uneasy. Still, she was asked to by Shizuku who personally asked (in Shizuku's own words) to 'rake her over the coals.' For what reason her dear sister asked her to do so, Yue had no clue but she couldn't deny her sweet sister's request.
"Aletia-san. I look forward to training under you." Shirasaki Kaori greeted. She bowed slightly in a standard Japanese-style greeting. As she rose, she asked; "So how will you be"-
Yue raised her hands to stop her from speaking.
"I will not be 'training' you per se. I'm not a priest and healing magic is rather pointless for an immortal like me." Yue explained. "No, I'm going to push you to your utter breaking point. …And then some….."
To make her point clear, Yue sent a lightning bolt toward Kaori, who scrambled to set up her barriers in time.
"May God's power"-
The lightning bolt cut her spell casting completely, sending Kaori flying. Stunned and paralysed, Kaori could only watch as the vampire queen gloated over her prone body.
"You'll have to do better than that." Aletia crooned. "Physician heal thyself."
With her body paralysed, Kaori struggled to perform the spell that would heal her paralysis. After several attempts, she finally broke free. Only for Aletia to send another bolt, which she barely evaded.
"Oh ho. Some talent after all" Yue acknowledged, but immediately she frowned. "But that wasn't the point of the exercise." She smiled as she sent another bolt. This time it hit the mark and Kaori went down once more.
"I believe that Hajime set a time limit of five days," Yue recalled. Recounting her previous experience with Shea, caused her to grin widely. "I do hope you prove to be as entertaining as Shea was…"
Shea Haulia & Sonobe Yuka and Company
"Why do I feel a sudden chill?" Shea asked. "Well, no matter!"
Shea was a bit nervous having people train under her for the first time, so (against her better judgment) she asked Hajime for some advice to calm her nerves.
"They're heroes from another world. They can take a hit or two. No need to overthink things. Just spar with them. Stick to what you're good at." The Hajime in her memory told her.
She slapped her cheeks to psych her up before greeting her new training partners.
"Hi everyone! My name's Shea! Oh wait, I guess you already know that… Tee hee."
She bonked her head with her fist in a gesture of clumsiness. This got a few grins and a light chuckle from one of the boys.
"There's no need to worry about my training. I promise to be nice….."
Shea recounted the training that her own people underwent in the hands of the monster couple and shuddered. She made a promise to herself that she would be much nicer.
"I'm not smart like Yue-san, or as cool and confident as Shizuku-san, so I'll stick to what I know."
She lifted her sledgehammer, [Drucken] about her head and after sending her mana to it she slammed it on the ground in front of her training partners, shattering the ground completely. As they were left completely unbalanced, Shea began to attack them one by one, as they desperately flailed about.
Each punch sent them flying, unable to handle the sheer force of Shea's mana-enhanced blows. Shea stood alone confused at the sight of her training partners crumpling and passing out.
"Arere?! Did Hajime-san lie to me?" She wondered innocently, unaware that she too had become a force of nature to be reckoned with.
Nagumo Hajime, Tio Klarus and Aiko Hateyama
Using his enhanced senses, Nagumo Hajime overheard the desperate screams and the incessant groaning coming from the training area. A wide ominous grin appeared on his face before disappearing as his companions approached him.
"Nagumo-kun, are you sure about leaving things to Shizuku-san and the others?" Aiko sensei asked.
"I have complete trust in Shizuku. She's the woman I've chosen to entrust my entire life to after all… Yue and Shea are family, I'd trust them to do a good job." Hajime affirmed. "As for the results, well I imagine that will be up to Endou and others."
Aiko still had her reservations but she hid them as they continue to search the gorge for any signs of the labyrinth. Tio for her part silently and carefully observed Nagumo Hajime.
Tio believed that he and his party could be potential sea changes for the world of Tortus. But she didn't survive for this long, trusting what had been told to her. She dutifully assisted their search for any signs but kept another eye on observing Nagumo Hajime and his mannerisms.
She watched as he expertly dispatched monsters of all kinds with a cold rationality that she had not observed in a human in a long time. She found it unsettling, to say the least.
They had spent an entire morning searching to come up with nothing. Bored and exhausted, Hajime offered a change of pace.
"Why don't we have a spar, Tio-san?"
She hadn't expected him to offer a spar, in the middle of the day. Failing to understand his motives she shook her head.
"Pray tell, why you desire to clash with myself?" She asked.
"You've been taking glances to observe me the whole morning, right? I'd figure I'd let you see a bit more of me to do you a favour." He explained, implicitly telling her that he knew what she was up to.
So he noticed…
He continued further; "I'm curious as to how a dragon woman fights as well. I'd be grateful to have a spar with you."
He neglected to tell her that he was itching to test his newly developed weaponry on a worthy opponent.
But that would ruin the surprise, so I'll shut up about that.
Tio saw no reason to object, so she accepted.
"Very well, I accept your challenge….."
Aiko was quickly shuffled off to a location very far away from their immediate area. Tio had thought this to be odd but set aside her reservations and prepared for the fight. They stood on opposing sides of their demarcated boundaries.
From what I can tell, he uses projectile weaponry. I'll put pressure on him by getting closer.
Hajime started with a volley of gunfire, which the swift Tio managed to barely avoid. She was able to advance but it was a struggle.
I'm one of the fastest dragonmen in this form….. The speed of those shots is nothing to laugh at.
When she got closer, he started throwing explosives in her way to prevent her from advancing. Whilst they were distracting for Tio, her dragonwoman physicality meant that she was only lightly singed at best. Hajime clicked his tongue and prepared another volley.
"My incendiary grenades need some work. They need to at least be able to burn a dragon woman's skin." He noted.
Hajime decided to change things up. He continued to fire volley after volley, making sure to keep a fair distance between himself and Tio.
"He has had to reload that weapon before. I'll keep the pressure up and then wait for that opening to strike!"
Tio quickly sent fire spells of her own to continue to apply more pressure on Hajime and to cut off his escape routes. Volley after volley continued until the shooting stopped and Hajime was seen digging into his treasure trove.
This is my chance!
Tio rushed forwards and used her skill [Partial Dragonification] on her arms, enlarging her arms and drastically increasing her explosive power. In response, Hajime quickly threw a smoke bomb to hinder her sight. The smoke billowed and prevented both of them from seeing each other.
That's no use! Do you think a dragon wouldn't be able to see you in the smoke?
She focused her [dragonification] skill on her eyes this time, quickly allowing her to see the figure of Hajime. But this was part of his plan.
If you think I can't find you in the smoke, you're dead wrong.
Closing his eyes to focus his other senses to the max ,he activated his skill:
[Sense Presence]
He felt the billowing smoke and the rushing wind that came at him. She was coming close, 9 metres, 8 metres, 6 metres, 5 metres. Suddenly he felt the wind change, feeling the smoke suddenly rising.
This must be an attack with her partially dragonified arm! This is my chance.
He leaped back and quickly entered into an Iai stance. In an instant, he pulled out his precious azantium katana. Focusing on his mana in his lower body, he used to explosively propel himself toward his target
In a testament to Hajime's superior mana control, the instant he felt his blade leave his sheath he applied [Gale Claw] to his katana's blade and supercharged it., sharpening it to its absolute limit.
[Yaegashi-style Abyss Version – Iaijutsu- Kamikaze]
Reacting instantly to the sudden show of pure mana, Tio instinctively released her human form and became a full dragon. The divine wind slash managed to slash through Tio's dragon scales, wounding her slightly but not significantly.
Hajime responded with a mere click of his tongue, expressing his annoyance that his plan didn't work. Hajime had clearly put everything into that slash and he was clearly exhausted. But he had no intention of giving up even in a spar.
His red eyes glared at Tio's dragon form, not flinching at all. His dangerous, frightening aura had not dissipated at all. Tio would later recount and describe it as 'controlled madness', the ability to contain the depths of his inner chaos.
"So Shizuku and I will need to practice our [Aura Blade] then. It's still not enough to comfortably slash at dragon scales." He muttered filing this experience in his head. "Now that it's come to this…."
"I'll freaking go all out!" He shouted, commanding that very same inner chaos to roar once more.
"Stop!" Declared a stunned Tio in dragon form. She reverted quickly back into human form and bowed. "That's my loss!"
"Don't spout bulls**t! I'm not even close to being done!"
Hajime had already took out the next set of explosive projectile weaponry that he intended to use. It was a complete missile launcher array. It seemed that he was fuming that he wasn't able to use them.
Once again Tio implored Hajime to stop the fight. "It would be unwise to continue this fight Hajime-dono. You have proven yourself in this fight…" She declared.
"There is no need to waste precious resources for a spar when we do not know what we shall encounter in the grand labyrinths" She counseled.
He carefully considered her words. Slowly he realised that continuing any further would be rash. He quickly stored his weaponry back into his [Treasure Trove].
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I wouldn't hear the end of it if the 'princess' heard that I was wasting ammo like that." He acknowledged, shuddering at the thought of angering his beloved.
"'Princess'? I was not aware there was another 'princess' in your party. Might you be referring to the princess of the Heliegh Kingdom which you were transported to?"
Hajime shook his head.
"No, it's my term of endearment for Shizuku. She likes being called 'Princess'. It is usually the only way to win against her."
At this moment Aiko sensei had kicked up a fuss, screaming and shouting with all of her might. They took that as a good sign as any to end things here.
"It's my pleasure to work with you from now on Tio-san" Hajime acknowledged, all the while his mind was cooking up ideas on how to beat dragon scales. Tio noticed that glint in his eyes and shuddered. When she looked again the glint was gone and instead, a hand was offered in its place.
"Have I signed up with a demon king?"
Gone was the mad glint in his eyes and in its place was a wiry smile. Tio accepted his handshake, resolving to see these events through to completion.
If it means the overthrow of Ehit, the inauguration of a new Demon King of Tortus would be preferable.
End of the Day
The greenhorn trainees were currently being looked after and their wounds healed. This naturally meant that Kaori herself had no rest as she was forced to heal the lot of them. They were all very badly wounded, all on the edge of potentially serious life-threatening injuries. Their injuries last night were nothing in comparison to their wounds today.
At last, Kaori dropped down propping herself up on a rock, utterly spent after completing the healing of Tamai Atsushi. She collapsed onto the ground. But despite the intensity of her harsh training, Kaori did not bemoan her fate. She noticed that she was getting stronger.
Prior to this demonic training, using this amount of mana in battle and then healing this many people would have been impossible for her. Yet she had done it, and all that happened to her was physical exhaustion.
As she found herself unable to move, she did the only thing she could; wait and watch. There a short distance away, was the figure of her best friend Yaegashi Shizuku, who loomed large over her. She was guarding her exhausted comrades, training all the while against an invisible enemy.
Ever since they reunited, Kaori had not taken a careful look at the changes that her best friend had undergone. The physical changes were of course the most striking. Her white almost silverly hair paired up with her deep red crimson eyes made, gave her an ethereal, even ghostly haunting appearance. The Shizuku in her memories was a cute girl. The figure before her was an imposing, awe-inspiring woman.
"If Shizuku-chan had her way, she'd be called 'Nagumo Shizuku' by now."
That thought caused her some pain in her heart. Murky, muddy emotions stained her heart A false memory of what could have been flashed in her mind's eye. She sternly scolded her mind's dalliance into forbidden territory.
"No, that's all in the past. Face the future Kaori."
She decided that it would be better to let her exhaustion take a hold of her, lest her mind continued to wander. But she would not find such rest, as Shizuku noticed that her friend had finished healing the others and approached her exhausted form.
"Good work." Shizuku praised, looking over her best friend with concern. For a minute, the cute girl that Kaori remembered returned as Shizuku fussed over Kaori's condition.
"I know I told Yue to push you hard. But I didn't expect her to go this hard on you. Maybe I shouldn't have used 'rake her over the coals' as an expression." She explained regretfully. "Kaori are you sure you're okay?"
Had she the strength to appropriately respond, Kaori would have shouted;
You're the one that told Aletia-san to go all out?!"
Kaori tried to muster a glare of some sort but her body failed her. But it seems that Shizuku noticed something and apologised.
"I'm really sorry Kaori…. I'm just a bit scared. We are planning on fighting a massive war. Who knows who we'll end up fighting? Humans, Demons, Beastmen, Apostles of God and other deities. All of them are on the table."
"You might think of us as super powerful, but I'm scared it's not enough. Hajime and I need to get stronger. Yue and Shea need to get stronger. You all need to get stronger…. I don't want to lose anyone without fighting tooth and nail to survive." She declared, determined to see this process through.
So she is still looking out for everyone…. I guess no matter how much she resembles a snow princess, it is still that warm Shizuku underneath.
Kaori felt some strength returning and used it to convey her gratitude.
"Thank you… Shizuku-chan…For looking after me…. And the others."
"But maybe you could take it down a notch…." She weakly suggested.
Shizuku instantly shot down that prospect.
"Didn't you hear me? We need you lot to get stronger so you'll survive the Grand Labyrinth. I'm not about to let up on you." Shizuku declared.
"Maybe I'll take care of you tomorrow. It'll be a nice change of pace don't you think?" Shizuku smiled happily but Kaori could feel nothing but terror from her words.
I take it back! She's not a snow princess! She's a Demonic Snow Queen! Someone, please save me!
Endou Kosuke awoke from his slumber with every part of his body screaming. He focused on his breathing which helped a little bit. With his focus on his breathing, he minimised the onrush of piercing pain that would have flooded his brain otherwise.
He recalled today's events and how he was completely brutalised by his classmate turned Demonic Snow Queen; Yaegashi Shizuku. Every failure of his was met with severe punishment from Shizuku. It was likely only due to Shirasaki Kaori's excellent healing abilities that he was still in one piece.
"The 'Princess' got you good didn't she?" A voice called out. In the haze of pain, he didn't immediately recognise the voice.
"It's me by the way." Nagumo Hajime walked up and hovered above Endou's head.
Nagumo Hajime plopped himself next to Endou.
"You call her a 'princess'? You must seriously love her….." He rasped.
"Yeah, I do." He confessed. "Underneath it all, she's still the same Shizuku. Think of her as a sentient cuddly teddy bear with real claws…." He suggested.
"That sounds utterly terrifying." Endou bit back.
"Ha. Now that I think about it you're probably right." Hajime admitted. "I'm gonna stick with it though. She is cute but terrifying as well."
"What are you here for, Hajime-san?" Endou rasped out.
"I'm here to thank you. For surviving." Hajime admitted.
"For surviving Shizuku? Somehow I don't think she'd appreciate that." Endou countered.
"Not for that…" He deadpanned. Thinking about it for a second he retracted his statement. "Well, not just for that."
"Thank you for surviving and keeping Shirasaki safe. I talked to Tio-san and the others. It seems like you really stepped up when no one else would." Hajime thanked. "Shizuku feels the same way."
Hajime lifted up his head as if he was recalling something. He briefly recalled his classmates and the events leading up to his fall. He seemed to growl at the memories that still pained him. He breathed heavily for a second and seemed to calm down.
"You know there isn't any love lost between me and the class. You, Shirasaki, and Shizuku are the only ones I care about. Yet Shizuku still wants to save everyone she can."
"She's really too good for me. She's the only reason why I'm still sane," Hajime admitted. "So if the princess wants me to save everyone I can, I'll save everyone I can. If she wants me to thank you for keeping Shirasaki and the others alive, then I'll thank you for it."
"What about Hiyama?" Endou asked. "Yaegashi-san wanted to murder him when you fell into the Abyss. She frightened everyone half to death with her glare."
Hajime scowled slightly at the mention of his enemy. He recalled a memory when Hajime and Shizuku were passing the time, talking about their classmates.
"Well, I'll leave the other classmates to your judgment, Shizuku." Hajime offered. "I've got little to do with them apart from Endou and Shirasaki. You're the ones that were friendly with them, so I'll defer to your judgment on them."
"Thank you, Hajime."
"What about Hiyama and his collaborators though?" He asked scowling all the way. "I'm not about to let them get away even if you save the others."
Shizuku emitted a dangerous murderous rage at the mention of the name. Even Hajime flinched at the sight of his beloved in an absolute rage. He rubbed his eyes and he could have sworn there was an asura behind her back but it quickly disappeared.
"Death is too good for a bastard like him." She responded curtly. She did not elaborate further.
"Shizuku's not so kind that she'll let them go. She wants him and everybody else that collaborated in my fall to get their just deserts." Hajime explained. "As to what that means, I'll leave that to Shizuku and your imagination."
"Seems fair enough. I'm not about to try and stop her even if I objected….." Endou stated, shuddering at the mere thought of opposing Shizuku and Hajime on their decisions.
They sat in silence for a few more seconds before Hajime lifted himself off the ground.
"Rest up Endou. If you're scared of training with Shizuku, then relax." Hajime stated. "The Princess is looking after Shirasaki tomorrow. They apparently have a lot to catch up on."
Endou hated to admit it but that gave him a lot of relief. He would always associate [Yaegashi Shizuku] with [Scary] from this day on. He quickly prayed for Shirasaki, wishing her good fortune in the hands of the demon.
"Instead you'll get me. So rest up… Tomorrow's gonna be fun…"
Hajime left Endou with that devastating news, causing Endou to tear up and cry out in his mind.
That's only going to be fun for you! Someone! Anyone! Save me from this demon couple!
That was a sentiment shared by everyone in the camp that day.
Four Days Later
During the four further days of training, the greenhorn trainees began to get back at their overlords in the only way they could; by irritating them.
"Hey demon couple." Greeted Sonobe Yuka and her classmates. "What hellish torture have you got for us today?"
Hajime and Shizuku became visibly irritated at this new nickname, but they largely held it in limiting their annoyance to a slight twitch of their eyes every time they were called 'demon couple'. At first, the nickname was dripping with unresolved resentment, however as they all looked at their growth over the last five days, the resentment was dropped but the nickname stuck.
Four days later, they finally survived their training. Their overall stats were as follows;
[Statistics and Skills] of the [Hajime-Aiko Party]
Name: Nagumo Hajime
Class: Syngergist/Arms Master (Self-Created Class)
Titles: Crimson Lighting Disaster, Demonic Overlord of the Demon Party, Monster of the Abyss, Head of the Nagumo Family
Level: ?
Stats
Strength: 12950
Vitality: 13190
Defence: 11670
Agility: 14750
Magic: 15780
Magic Defence: 15180
Skills
[Transmute]
[Language Comprehension]
[Inhuman Will]
[Supreme Sword Mastery]
[Iron Stomach]
[Mana Manipulation]
[Lighting Field]-[Blade Aura: Lightning]
[Air Dance]-[Riftwalk]
[Gale Claw]-[Blade Aura: Gale Slicer]
[Gunnery Master]
[Petrification Resistance]
[Infared Vision]
[Hide Presence]
[Sense Presence]
[Diamond Skin]-[Blade Aura: Diamond is Unbreakable]*
[Intimidate]
[Poison Resistance]
[Limit Break]
[Countless Other Skills]
* Only Hajime calls [Blade Aura: Diamond Blade] as [Blade Aura: Diamond is Unbreakable]. Shizuku refuses to do so.
Magics
[Ancient Magic; Creation]
Name: Yaegashi Shizuku
Class: Swordmaster
Titles: Crimson Snow Princess, Demonic Snow Queen, Mistress of the Abyss, Matriarch of the Nagumo Family
Level: ?
Stats
Strength: 11950
Vitality: 12365
Defence: 10979
Agility: 18869
Magic: 12000
Magic Defence:12000
Skills
[Language Comprehension]
[Supreme Sword Mastery]
[Iron Stomach]
[Mana Manipulation]
[Lighting Field]-[Blade Aura: Lightning]
[Air Dance]-[Riftwalk]-[Instant Flash]
[Gale Claw]-[Blade Aura: Gale Slicer]
[Petrification Resistance]
[Infared Vision]
[Hide Presence]
[Sense Presence]
[Diamond Skin]-[Blade Aura: Diamond Blade]
[Intimidate]
[Poison Resistance]
[Limit Break]
[Countless Other Skills]
Magics
[Ancient Magic; Creation]
Name: Yue Aletia Galdea Vesperitio Avatarl
Class: Divine Priestess
Titles: Last Queen of the Vampires, Inheritor of the Progenitor Blood, Eldest Sister of the Nagumo Family, Sparky-Sparky Boom-Boom Girl (Unofficial)
Level: 92
Stats
Strength: 335
Vitality: 500
Defence: 400
Agility: 1000
Magic: 15000
Magic Defence: 15000
Skills
[Mana Manipulation]
[Automatic Regeneration]
[Magic Mastery]
[Elemental Mastery]
[Spell Mending]
[Blood Conversion]
Magics
[Ancient Magic; Creation]
[All Elemental Magic Spells]
Name: Shea Haulia
Class: Diviner
Titles: Berserk Bunny, Force of Nature, Youngest Sister of the Nagumo Family
Level: 40
Stats (Maxmium Using Body Strengthening x Conversion Efficiency)
Strength: 60 (6060)
Vitality: 80 (6080)
Defence: 60 (6080)
Agility: 85 (6085)
Magic: 2000
Magic Defence: 2500
Skills
[Future Sight]
[Mana Manipulation]
[Body Strengthening I-III]-[Mana Overload]
[Conversion Efficiency Level I-III]
Name: Tio Klarus
Class: Guardian
Titles: Princess of the Dragon Tribes, Wise Dragon Sage
Level: 89
Stats +(Dragon Form Stats)
Strength: 770 +(4620)
Vitality: 1100 + (6600)
Defence: 1100 + (6600)
Agility: 580 + (3480)
Magic: 4590
Magic Defence: 4220
Skills
[Dragonification]
[Mana Manipulation]
[Fire Magic Affinity]
[Wind Magic Affinity]
[Spell Melding]
Magics
[Fire Magic]
[Wind Magic]
Name: Endou Kosuke
Class: Assassin
Titles: The Shadow, Right Hand of the Demon
Level: 60
Stats
Strength:600
Vitality:450
Defence:450
Agility: 800
Magic:1000
Magic Defence:650
Skills
[Assassination Technique]
[Language Comprehension]
[Presence Manipulation]-[Presence Isolation]
[Shadow Dance]
Name: Shirasaki Kaori
Class: Priestess
Titles: Priestess of Light, Walking Field Hospital
Level: 60
Stats
Strength: 200
Vitality: 300
Defence: 400
Agility: 600
Magic: 2000
Magic Defence: 1500
Skills
[Recovery Magic Affinity]
[Light Magic Affinity]
[High-Speed Mana Recovery]
Magics
[Healing Magics]
[Barrier Magics]
[Binding Magics]
Name: Sonobe Yuka
Class: Acrobat
Level: 45
Stats
Strength: 300
Vitality: 500
Defence: 550
Agility: 700
Magic: 200
Magic Defence: 200
Skills
[Dagger Arts]
[Throwing Arts]
[Language Comprehension]
Name: Miyazaki Nana
Class: Hydrosophist (Water Mage)
Level: 45
Stats
Strength: 150
Vitality: 400
Defence: 400
Agility: 200
Magic: 800
Magic Defence: 500
Skills
[Water Magic Affinity]
[Ice Magic Affinity]
[Language Comprehension]
Magics
[Water Magics]
[Ice Magics]
Name: Sugawara Taeko
Class: Whip Master
Level: 45
Stats
Strength: 400
Vitality: 438
Defence: 467
Agility: 600
Magic: 400
Magic Defence: 300
Skills
[Whip Arts]
[Enhanced Whip Affinity]
Name: Tamai Atushi
Class: Cutlassier
Level: 45
Stats
Strength: 600
Vitality: 500
Defence: 600
Agility: 600
Magic: 400
Magic Defence: 300
Skills
[Twin Sword Mastery]
[Illusion Sword] – A flurry of fast strikes and blows. To the untrained eye, it appears as if four or more swords are being used.
[Decapitation Rush] – Deals extra damage to blows aimed at the neck.
[8 points- 8 Strikes] – A skill that uses mana to enhance the speed of the user's strikes and their accuracy. The user attempts to strike at 8 key vital points around their enemy's body
[Basic Yaegashi Twin Sword Style]
[Language Comprehension]
Name: Aikawa Noboru
Class: Spearmaster
Level: 45
Stats
Strength: 650
Vitality: 559
Defence: 690
Agility: 676
Magic: 400
Magic Defence: 300
Skills
[Spear Mastery]
[Phalanx]- Offensive skill, summons several spear constructs, completely in the command of the user.
[Homing Throw]- Imbues thrown spear with mana and allows the user to freely control the spear.
[Breakspear]- The user imbues all their mana into their magical spear as a last resort. Deals explosive damage at the cost of the spear and potential harm to the user.
[Basic Yaegashi Spear Style]
[Language Comprehension]
Name: Nimura Akito
Class: Shield Master
Level: 45
Stats
Strength: 650
Vitality: 559
Defence: 850
Agility: 300
Magic: 400
Magic Defence: 300
Skills
[Shield Mastery]
[Shield Rush -Minotaur's Rage]
[Fortress]- Protects several others in addition to the user
[Absolute Defence III] -Temporarily Increases Defence Stat by 3x
[Explosive Defence II]-If used immediately before impact against the shield, it generates a mana explosion, equivalent to the user's magic stat and a quarter of the user's defence stat.
[Defensive Battle]- Converts a portion of Strength and Vitality Stats to Defence.
[Language Comprehension]
Reisen Grand Labyrinth
In a crevice in the Grand Reisen Gorge, was a small signboard that read:
"Please Come in! Into Miledi Raisen's thrilling Great Dungeon?"
It was of the 5th day when it was Shea's turn to be on search duty when she discovered the crevice and the signboard. It was rather suspicious to Shea, but it was biggest discovery they made in 5 days.
"And !'ll get praised me, right?"
And so guided by thoughts of being praised by her adopted family, Shea Haulia quickly memorised the location of the crevice and sped off to inform her comrades of her discovery.
Hajime, Shizuku, and Yue immediately came to inspect the crevice. They were led by an excitable Shea, who was pointing and shouting the whole way through. When they finally made it to the crevice, the inspection began.
"See, see! It's right there, the suspicious signboard." Shea pointed.
"Miledi…. That's the name of one of the liberators. Oscar mentions her in his diary a lot." Hajime recounted. "Apparently she was of the annoying sort."
Hajime nodded and signaled that it was time to inform the others.
"Yue and I will get the others and drop Aiko back at Brooke Town. We'll treat this as real and take a closer look." Shizuku ordered. "Until then Hajime will stay here with you. Don't touch anything, stay clear of the signboard and wait for us."
Hajime retrieved the Humvee from his Treasure Trove and Shizuku and Yue drove off to get the others. Under Hajime's watchful gaze Shea squirmed a bit. The last time the two of them were left alone was when Hajime saved her from certain death. She owed practically everything to Hajime, yet at times he struck a chilling fear in her heart.
"Good work." Hajime praised tersely, with a stiff smile. "You found the labyrinth we were looking for by yourself."
"Hajime-san is praising me?! With a smile?"
She must have had a perplexed looked on her face because Hajime questioned her reaction;
"What's with that face, saying; 'Hajime-san is praising me?!'? Did you really think I wouldn't?"
He scowled slightly causing Shea to flinch. When he realised what he was doing, he turned his eyes down and apologised.
"I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable, Shea." Hajime apologised. "My face must be a bit scary and I guess I haven't taken the time to speak to you. In short, I understand why you think of me as scary."
On his face was a look, that clearly didn't think well of himself, like a person who made a joke about himself and found that no one was laughing with him.
"So he realises that he scares people? And it bothers him?"
"Does scaring people bother you, Hajime-san?" Shea asked.
"It does when it scares people I care about." He explained, with a complicated look on his face.
He had a pained look and it seemed like his eyes were straining to see something beyond his reach. He wasn't looking at Shea and she couldn't see what Hajime was either seeing or thinking about. Shea blinked and rubbed her eyes and the look vanished and was replaced with a wry smile.
"I think I should make some time to get to know Hajime-san better. He is family after all."
"Anyway. You deserve a reward for finding the labyrinth. What do you want?" Hajime asked.
"A gift? If I use this as an opportunity…"
"Could you re-design my outfit then? Make it something easy to move in and sturdy, I guess?"
A glint appeared in his eyes. It seems his mind was racing already with ideas.
"Do you have design specifications? Things you want or don't want for example?" He asked, recalling the last time he designed outfits for women. "Otherwise you might not like it."
"Maybe I should ask Yue-san and Shizuku-san. You designed their clothes right?" Shea asked, considering how wonderfully made her sister's outfits were.
"Mostly. They had to make some modifications. Worked out for the best really."
Shea nodded, promising to get back to him about some designs that she would like. For the rest of the time they were waiting, Shea began to talk with Hajime about various topics. Hajime at first seemed awkward being under the spotlight but did his best to entertain his little sister.
The Humvee returned, bringing with them the rest of the party. They had left Aiko in Brooke town in the capable hands of the guild head. There was visible tension in the faces of the newly trained greenhorns. They had gotten stronger, their status plates showed them that but they still had apprehensions about making it through. Hajime immediately cut through such worries.
"I won't let you die. Shizuku, Yue, Shea, and I won't let you die." Hajime assured them. "I'll personally tear this entire labyrinth apart before I let any of you die."
Even though none of them wanted to admit it to his face that put their spirits back into their souls. They resolved to conquer the labyrinth for themselves.
"And if you fail, then that means the training wasn't enough…." Shizuku mentioned (Threatened).
The trainees all immediately seized up in fear and scrambled to get to the crevice. They all swore in their minds to conquer the dungeon to save themselves from dying at the hands of the Demonic Couple and their so-called 'training'.
Hajime and Shizuku led the party to the signboard. There was still no sign of any entrance, so Hajime and Shizuku searched the rock wall for any signs, whilst the others stood a few metres away. Hajime searched his eye with his magic eyes, and couldn't find a trace of any magic.
Shizuku began prodding the signboard with her sheath. A loud click sounded, and the party heard the whirring of mechanical gears increasing in volume. The floor began to give way like a flap on a trap door.
Hajime and Shizuku plummeted into the trap door with the others following screaming all the while. The trap door led them down a dark chute. Reacting instinctively to the lack of light, Hajime and Shizuku activated [Night Vision].
In black and white, they could see the winding chute leading them to a sheer drop and below this the start of the labyrinth. But their [Night Vision] did not last as long as it normally would.
"Brace for impact!" Hajime shouted, ordering everyone to remain alert. "The floor is coming!"
Remaining calm, Hajime deactivated [Night Vision] and turned on [Diamond Skin]. Hajime pushed ahead of Shizuku, leading him to barrel towards the ground faster than the rest of the party. Hajime landed on one knee, sprang backward, and then slammed his hands onto the rocky ground. In an instant, his Synergist skills identified the ground, and the image of what wanted to make materialised in his mind. His mana reacted to his will, causing the ground to rumble and shake. The ground lifted up, bent, and smoothed out into a slide.
But to his surprise, the slide quickly began to crumble and fall to pieces. Hajime had to pour more mana into his construct to keep it stable. When the last of the party safely reached the bottom, the structure collapsed, leaving Hajime more exhausted than he expected.
"Something must be affecting magic here. I used too much mana to keep that slide stable."
The labyrinth was lit up with blue light stones, similar to the ones that he had encountered in Oscar's labyrinth but these only lit up the area immediately surrounding them. It was completely pitch black ahead of them.
The others had dusted themselves off and made their way back to him. Shizuku looked at him with a knowing look, he nodded in response acknowledging that something was off. She did a brief check and confirmed that he was fine, much to her relief. She hugged him as if she hadn't seen him for a long time. Hajime responded with a light kiss to her cheek.
"Princess, were you that worried about me?" Hajime asked with a sly grin,
"Of course, I was," Shizuku replied blushing at being in Hajime's embrace. "I'm always worried for you. Especially when you pull dangerous stunts like that without telling me."
They stared into each other's eyes, completely oblivious to the others that were staring at them. They were in their own world now.
"Shizuku…."
"Hajime…."
They showed no signs of stopping their warm embrace, ignoring everything and everyone else around them. The other party member's rubbed their eyes and saw a world of pink.
"Why are these two flirting in the middle of a Grand Labyrinth?!"
Noticing their put-off expressions, Yue shook her head and warned them thoroughly.
"This is par for the course for Hajime and Shizuku. Luckily they don't take it too far….. But it is a pain." Yue explained, her own twisted expression growing. "It was a lot worse when they first got engaged… I had to freeze them into ice blocks a couple of times. If you intend to stay with us, get used to it."
"When they're like this, they need a bit of a shock to get them out of lovey-dovey mode," Yue explained to the horrified onlookers. "What? They can handle it!"
Yue motioned for Shea to come closer. She whispered something in her ear, Shea's expression becoming more horrified by the second. Reluctantly, Shea produced her hammer and prepared to swing at Hajime and Shizuku. She added in a bit of bloodlust as instructed by Yue.
"Who the hell is trying to hurt my!"- They both exclaimed in sync, they glared at Shea who instantly crumpled, begging for forgiveness in tears.
They blinked, looked around, and saw the horrified looks of the party and the displeased face of their elder sister. That explained everything to them.
"Ahem….. Moving on….."
Hajime's higher-than-expected mana use aside he was fine. But it went without saying that they had to prepare for the worse in this place. He began to ask his teammates to try their magic.
First, they determined the exact effects of the dungeon on their mana. Yue, Tio, Shirasaki, and Miyazaki, all tested their external magics, and they were all about half as effective for the mana they would put in. External constructions would last half as long as proven by Hajime. Internal magics like Shea's body strengthening were still effective. Those with fine mana control could prevent the leakage of mana unnecessarily, but this left the majority of their party at a disadvantage, as those without [Mana Manipulation] could not prevent the constant mana leakage.
As they were making their preparations the labyrinth walls shifted, and the blue light stones re-arranged themselves to form words in the common tongue:
Well, lookie here. There are quite a few people challenging my Labyrinth. Hope you liked my little surprise.
"As if any would enjoy falling through a trap door!" Tamai Atushi exclaimed.
How rude! I worked hard to make your welcome as entertaining as possible!
"Entertaining for you I bet." Yuka cursed under her breath.
I heard that! We'll see who's laughing soon!
The sound of gears whirred in the distance and then the sound of something being shot and something whistling through the air. Using [Night Vision] x [Far Sight], Hajime and Shizuku identified the objects flying at them as a large number of arrows.
"Prepare to defend! Hajime and I will stop as many as we can! Focus on defence and evasion!" Shizuku ordered. "Nimura! Defend anyone that doesn't have a high enough defence stat!"
Hajime and Shizuku rushed forwards, side by side, straining their senses to their absolute limit, cutting as many arrows as they could in a flurry of sword work that was barely visible to the untrained eyes of the party. The arrows that made it through had significantly lost their momentum and were easily evaded by those with higher agility like Endou and Yuka. Tio gracefully skirted past the arrows to rejoin Hajime and Shizuku.
Nimura used his skill [Fortress] to protect Yue, Kaori and Miyazaki, and Taeko from harm. Shea seemed to enjoy the challenge and was actively swatting multiple arrows out of mid-flight. Aikawa and Tamai had blocked several much to their relief.
"Let's move! We won't wait for another attack. Follow us carefully, this place might be filled with all sorts of traps!" Hajime shouted. The rest of the party quickly scrambled to re-join him.
As if to invite them to their deaths, the corridor in front of them lit up in blue. Hajime attached his [Demon Lens] and activated [Magic Lens] to detect any magic-based traps.
As Hajime predicted this labyrinth was completely filled with traps.
Saw blades erupted from the walls and chased the party leading to all of them playing a deadly game of limbo. Questionable liquids were sprayed at the party some of which were actually dangerous and needed evading, others were distractions and annoyances designed primarily to sap the morale of the party.
Some of the tiles acted as pressure-sensitive triggers, causing an array of dangerous projectiles to be fired at the person that was just there.
Guillotine blades, as wide as the corridor itself regularly dropped from the ceiling, leading to several close calls and the frequency of the curses increasing against the labyrinth creator. Shea had the misfortune of having the hair on her ears clipped several times.
This was a stroke of good fortune for the party who were constantly harassed by golems. The golems could be divided into three types. "Chompers" – small two-legged golems with an oversized bite. "Grapplers" – midsized humanoid golems, that tried to trap and paralyse the challengers. "Warriors"- Humanoid golems armed with a variety of melee weapons. "Hulkers"- As the name suggests, golems with hulking mass, are slow but extremely durable and strong.
Shea took pleasure in taking out her anger on the golems, pounding them to dust. Hajime found some pleasure in admiring the workmanship of the golems and was visibly distraught when Shea took such glee at smashing them into unrecognisable pieces.
In a trap reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies, they found themselves turning a corner into a slope, only to be chased by a giant rolling boulder that dropped from them overhead. In the end, Shea had to use her hammer to destroy the boulder as some of the members with weaker stamina collapsed.
The structure of the labyrinth itself was downright chaotic. Oscar's labyrinth was simply designed; just survive the many monsters, and harsh environs and make it to the next stairs to proceed. Miledi's was a confusing mix of stairs that led to nowhere, paths that often lead back to where they came from, warp-zones that returned them back to previous floors, actual mazes that could only be traversed by busting holes in certain places that were weaker than the rest.
As they were making their way down a flight of very steep stairs when the steps retracted, leading to a steep fall. An oil-like liquid was poured, down leading to everyone slipping Hajime was able to keep his footing using spikes that he created with [Transmute].
Yue was able to gracefully use her magic [Float] to slow down her descent and was able to cling to Hajime's back. Once she was safely secure, she used [Float] to slow the descent of Kaori and Shea. Using this opportunity Shea used her war hammer's extendable handle as a stake to stop her fall.
Shizuku's natural instincts, allowed her to quickly summon and draw her odachi blade. She slammed the blade behind her, creating a makeshift ledge. In a display of her superior upper body strength and flexibility, she was able to flip herself and balanced herself on top of the odachi's long handle with ease. From her position, she was able to catch the gently floating Kaori.
Hajime used one of the functions of his gauntlets to shoot out [Spider-String] that he created using the silk from a spider monster. It had a high tensile strength and more importantly could easily be manipulated to change forms with the application of mana. He was able to catch the falling Aikawa and Tamai.
Sugawara Taeko, seeing the ledge that Shea had built herself was able to use her whip to latch on to [Drucken]'s handle. She was able to use one of the other whips to grab her falling friend Yuka. Once latched on, Yuka was agile enough due to her class to slowly make her way back
Tio used [Partial Dragonification] on her arms and legs to dig into the slide and to prevent her fall. Using her free arm she caught the free falling Miyazaki Nana.
Nimura Akito, lacking the necessary means to prevent his fall, used all of his skills to brace for his fall. He noticed the grotesque insect-like creatures that awaited him and braced himself.
[Absolute Defence III]
[Defensive Battle]
Using these skills he was able to drastically increase his defence stats and prevent any serious damage to himself. He waited for last minute before he activated his last skill;
[Explosive Defence II]
The resulting mana explosion rocked the labyrinth and obliterated the creatures that awaited Nimura at the bottom of the trap. He was able to shout back that he was okay but it seemed that the impact of the fall and the explosion had left him unable to move.
How rude! You should have some consideration for others before you make explosions like that!
"How about you try some of that 'consideration!?'" They all cursed internally.
Endou seemingly disappeared in the chaos of the fall, only for the party to spot him shouting at them from a nearby tunnel. It seemed that as the steps retracted, he noticed the tunnel and using his skills as an assassin and some effort was able to make his way to the tunnel.
With some effort, they were all able to make their way into the tunnel. Exhausted by the labyrinth's challenges, the party decided to take a rest there to recover their waning strength. They were all ready to recover their strength when a sudden blue light covered the party. It was familiar light to the party who had been warped several times across the labyrinth.
They opened their eyes to the start of the labyrinth and the jeering words of the labyrinth master:
I'm so glad you guys loved my labyrinth so much! Why don't you lot have another go at it?
The consensus of the party was clear. Miledi Reisen was an enemy of humanity. Maniacal laughter and desperated enraged screaming echoed throughout the labyrinth that day.
Two Weeks Later?
When the party had finally regained their spirits they continued to challenge the labyrinth. Miledi did not intend to make it easy for them. Every 2 or 3 days the dungeon completely reset, altering the structure and leaving any attempts to memorise the route useless.
According to Hajime's timepiece, it had already been 2 weeks since they had begun the labyrinth challenge. Their own internal sense of time was completely broken. No doubt Aiko-sensei would have been worried sick about them but such thoughts were quickly set aside.
The party had developed a resilience of sorts in the days that they battled through the dungeon. By this point, they had developed an instinct of sorts, capable of predicting the labyrinth master's designs. No longer did they scream, shout or huff when faced with the myriad of traps, golems, and chaotic floor designs.
They dispassionately located, disabled, and destroyed the traps like clockwork. They had already detected the weakness of the golems days ago. Now every member of the party was an expert in handling them in a single blow.
Of course, none of the party's newfound attitude caused the labyrinth master to cease her jeering taunts or her penchant for setting up nasty surprises for the challengers. This did not seem to faze the challengers who already resolved that conquering the dungeon would come first. Cold, hard vengeance would come later.
The entryway to the next room was different. It was a double door of extremely tough metal. It was tall, imposing, and ornately designed yet familiar to the three that conquered the Oscar Grand Labyrinth. This door was the work of a master craftsman. Given what they knew of the liberators the designer was obvious.
"Oscar Orcus… You had a hand in making this." Hajime muttered.
The door followed the same design pattern as the door leading up to Oscar's final trial. On it was scenes depicting a number of figures all from different races across Tortus. There were scenes of rapturous joy, heart-breaking anguish and all-consuming rage. It was a story of friends who challenged the odds which was lost to time.
Given what they knew of Miledi, the whole door could have been a ruse but something felt different about this door. Tio noted how different this was from other passage ways they had encountered.
"Every other aspect of this labyrinth has been utilitarian, designed primarily to frustrate the challengers and cheapen the resolve of all unfortunate souls who enter here," Tio observed. This was a point that everyone agreed on. "Yet here this door remains, a monument to the legacy of the Liberators. A sad reminder of a story long forgotten. Perhaps it is of some sentimental value."
There was no use dwelling on the complexities of the labyrinth master's psyche any longer. Backing down was not an option, whether or not this door was a ruse. Hajime pushed the double doors open, the party following behind him on high alert.
The room was the largest they had seen in this labyrinth. It was circular in shape and resembled the coliseum of ancient Rome. Dozens of half-circular shaped passages dotted the walls of the chamber. The purpose of the room was clear. This was going to be a fight.
The first wave was the 'chompers' and 'grapplers'. This was a normal tactic, as the chompers would try to distract the party long enough for the grapplers to bring them down. Yet this time they moved with surprising speed. Furthermore, they were able to launch themselves to distances that they never seemed capable of. Grapplers were seen bounding off walls, curling into a ball, and striking the party. These attacks left deep holes in the ground as if the ground was struck by meteors.
The party scrambled to defend against these attacks. The slower-moving members of the party were pushed back and their defences worn down. Shizuku began to attack the golems in order to put pressure off the slower members of the party. Yue advanced by using [Blood Control] to form blades of blood and [Body Strengthening] to charge and mow down the enemy. Tio and Shea defended the weaker members. Where they could Endou, Sonobe, Aikawa and Tamai attacked being supported by Shirasaki, Taeko, Miyazaki, and Nimura.
Hajime activated his [Magic Lens] to check what was going on.
"There's some kind of additional magic being applied to them!" Hajime shouted, as he evaded and slashed at one of the chompers that came at him. "Something must be decreasing and increasing their weight using magic."
In response, Tio and Shea tightened their defences. Tio and Shirasaki poured more mana into their barrier magic and Shea increased her [Body Strengthening] to level III and began to crush any golems that got close.
Focusing on his observation skills Hajime noticed that the magic was periodically being applied and the golems we attacking in a coordinated fashion. These golems did not have the special magic inherent to them. He noticed golems who were actively hiding and avoiding the fight. He focused his [Magic Lens] on these golems and focused on the flow of magic.
"The magic is coming from them. They seem to be coordinating the ones that are attacking!"
He bridged the gap between him and the nearest 'coordinating' golem, with a short burst of [Riftwalk]. His burst in speed left them coordinating golem bewildered and unable to stop his blade from cleanly slicing it in two. A group of enhanced 'Chompers' suddenly slowed down and became a disorganised mess.
"Shizuku! Yue! Find the ones that are fleeing! They're the ones applying the magic to groups of golems! Take them down and they'll become disorganised!" Hajime calmly shouted his findings. He looked around and saw that the next types of golems; the Warriors and the Hulkers were beginning to enter the fray.
Shizuku used [Sense Presence] to locate the fleeing 'Co-ordinators' amongst the Chompers and Grapplers. Using consecutively uses of [Instant Flash], she practically warped to their location and dismantled them in several short slashes and thrusts. Yue used her fine control of the blood in the battlefield to quickly pierce any coordinators nearby.
Hajime had moved ahead to engage the Warriors and Hulkers. He started his assault by introducing a new weapon of his; a Gatling gun that he called [Metlezei]. Due to the mana-draining effect, he couldn't use [Donner and Schlag]'s electromagnetic shots to good use. He figured that quantity over quality would do for now.
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!
With a thunderous roar, the six barrels of his Gatling gun pumped out several thousand rounds per minute. Entire groups of golems were caught unprepared and were turned into utter scrap metal.
"WuhaHahahahahahahahahaha!" Hajime shouted as he continued his barrage on the Warrior and Hulker columns. "[Metezlei]'s maiden test is a complete success! Cower before the might and power of my armaments you scrap metal peons!"
Shizuku who just dispatched another 'Coordinator' golem, briefly glanced in the direction of the maniacal laughter she had heard. She shook her head before moving on.
"Looks like his Chunnibyou's showing again. I might need to remind him about this incident again."
When [Metelzei] began to overheat, Hajime merely clicked his tongue in annoyance. He pulled out a pair of tonfa and used an application of the Yaegashi Close Quarter Style he learned when he trained with Shizuku. He blocked an axe-wielding warrior golem, but the weight of the blow was strengthened by the magic that was being applied. With some effort, he was able to stop the strike. He performed a high kick to its head, crushing its head; the control centre of the golems.
A Hulker golem appeared behind Hajime and swung its fists together downwards. Hajime struck it with an elbow strike, using the long end of the tonfa to increase its destructive power. The golem staggered slightly but it was not deterred. It gave out a metallic roar, declaring its intention to crush its enemy.
Hajime pressed the trigger on the handle. With a thundering boom, a long spike, the length of the long end of the tonfa shot out and penetrated the golem. He pushed another trigger to retract the spike. The golem exploded behind him.
"Yeah! The [Pile Bunker Tonfa] worked perfectly!" He exclaimed, whilst spinning his Tonfa to crush the head of a 'Chomper' that came too close.
"Shizuku did you see that!?"All my new weapons worked!" He exclaimed, waving excitedly like a child showing his parent how he aced the last pop quiz.
"Honey! Stop waving around like a child. Focus!" Shizuku shouted back, exasperated. This came at the right time as a warrior came behind Hajime intending to slash him. Hajime expertly blocked the blow with the long end of the tonfa and then performed a back kick to silence him.
Between Hajime's experimental but effective weaponry, Shizuku's efficient blade work, Yue's mastery over her own blood, Shea's sheer strength and Tio's graceful skill most of the coordinator golems were destroyed. This left the disorganised remnants easy pickings for the rest of the party.
There was no time to rest however as Hajime rallied the rest to continue their advance. There was a steel door protecting one of the passageways. Shea leaped towards it and swung at it, in one swift move. The door blew open allowing the party to quickly make their way to the next room.
The next room was even more expansive than the last. There was a serious question as to how this entire structure could have been supported without collapsing underneath its own weight. The room was vaguely spherical in shape. In its centre was a cylindrical platform. This central platform acted as centre of orbit for several large floating metallic cubes. Beneath the float cubes, was a drop that was at least 20 metres in height.
"This has got to be the last boss zone." Nimura Akito muttered. The others agreed, and nodded their heads. They gripped their weapons tightly, in preparation for the fight ahead.
He was proven correct as a gigantic golem appeared out of the central platform. It towered over the party. It appeared to be designed similarly to the golems they encountered previously, with the exception of a ridiculously drawn smiley face on its face.
"Yahoo! It's me the great ultra-cute super genius Miledi Reisen-chan!"
The golem spoke with a girlish voice, completely unsuited to the golem and the 'last boss' atmosphere of the room. The golem moved around in response.
"Miledi Reisen?" Hajime questioned. "Don't kid around. She should be dead. Oscar and the other liberator's died"-
"You guys were the ones that conquered O-chan's labyrinth?!" The golem claiming to be 'Miledi Reisen' cried out.
"Yes. If you are Miledi Reisen, as you claim, then you should know about the 'Age of Gods magic"- Shizuku began.
The annoying girlish voice coming out of the golem suddenly became cold. The whirling of gears could be heard.
"Why do you seek the 'Age of Gods' magic?" The golem questioned. "Are you the agents of those scumbags?"
The party heard the sound of something rapidly approaching them. Shea confirmed their fears as she used her [Future Sight] and shouted for everyone to fan out. They all jumped away from the platform they were on, spreading out to different platforms. It was not a moment too soon as the platform they were on was struck by a meteor-like object.
"Answer me!" It demanded as it sent more meteor-like objects to strike the party.
"Looks like the friendly chat is over! Everyone! Get to the central platform! Attack that thing with all you've got!" Hajime bellowed. The rest of the party nodded their heads in affirmation. In a single leap, Shizuku struck first, cutting into its leg. This only did surface-level damage and worse of all its was quickly regenerating.
Shea struck next with her hammer, which was blocked by the golem's right arm. It was cracking under the sheer force of Shea's attack, but Shea was unable to finish the job. She flipped back onto a nearby platform.
In the meantime, the golem began trying to pick off the slower and weaker members of the party, by sending meteors at them and collapsing the platforms that were close to them. They scrambled to leap to each platform, barely making it before the cubes rumbled and fell again.
Seeing no choice Tio, expended her energy and used [Total Dragonification] to turn into her full-sized dragon form. She flew underneath the cube platforms and ordered the slower party members to jump aboard.
"Jump now! Grab a hold of my back and stay put! I'll get you all to the central platform!" Roared Tio in her dragon form.
Nimura, Tamai, Aikawa, Miyazaki, Shirasaki, and Taeko all jumped aboard whilst Yuka pushed forwards undeterred. The golem shifted its focus on striking Tio as it flew towards them. Tio was able to dodge the oncoming falling platforms with ease. In the meantime, the golem was shrugging off most of the attacks that the forward party was able to launch at it. The forward party fanned out and regroup.
Hajime had pulled out another weapon of his; [Agni-Orkan] a missile launcher, strapped to his shoulder. 12 missiles shot out and struck the golem at several different points. Three struck its chest, two struck its head, three struck its left arm and two each struck the right arm and two on the left leg. These did some damage but they were slowly regenerating. Endou suddenly appeared and attacked the head of the golem with several of his knives, temporarily disabling its sight.
Shizuku jumped onto its left arm, activated [Blade Aura; Diamond Blade], surged her mana, and struck her katana into the joints of his left arm. Shea struck its left leg, causing the golem to buckle onto its left knee. Yue tried to use her [Blood Control] to sever the connection on its right arm but she was too slow and the damage was great enough. The golem swatted Yue away with her right arm sending her plummeting into the depths.
"Yue!" Hajime shouted.
Yue activated her magic [Float] to temporarily stop her from falling as Hajime used his [Silk Shot] to grab a hold of Yue. The platform which Hajime was on quickly collapsed, so he used a short burst of [Riftwalk] to leap into a distant platform, dragging Yue behind him.
After landing, Hajime caught Yue in his arms and apologised for the rough landing. At the same time, Tio and the other party came barrelling toward the golem. Tio stood upright, with the party clinging onto her back. Tio slashed at the golem's chest with its claws, the golem was quickly healing its wounds as fast as Tio was dealing it. In response, she used [Dragonbreath] in an attempt to melt the golem's armour plate. This did not do much, so Tio released her [Dragonification] and retreated back to a floating platform.
Miyazaki Nana cast her spell [Tidal Wave] to try to sweep the golem off its feet but it remained planted on the platform. Yue used her magic in conjunction with Miyazaki's own spell.
"[Cocytus]!"
The strongest ice magic spell froze the golem to its waist. As it struggled free, Nimura, Tamai, and Aikawa struck it with their most powerful skills. It began to tip over so Hajime was all too willing to send it on its way. Hajime leaped into its chest, unloading several full clips of [Donner and Schlag] into its chest, exposing the magic core embedded in its chest.
Shea and Shizuku struck the golem at both sides, to help the golem tip over the edge of the platform. As the golem plummeted to the ground below, Hajime clung onto its chest, continuing to unload clip after clip from Donner and Schlag. The giant golem crashed onto the ground and Hajime backflipped off the golem, just in time for Shizuku to slam her spear into its chest.
"Arghh!" Shizuku shouted, pouring all of her mana and strength into the spear, to break the core of the golem. The mana was dissipating, but her sheer strength of will would not be deterred. The golem attempted to pick her off using its arm.
"Shizuku-chan! Let me help you!" Kaori Shirasaki screamed, plummeting to the ground with Shea Haulia in tow.
"May the Hosts of Heaven Restrain Him. Foul Spirits of Evil be bound to Eternal Torment."
Chains of light erupted from the end of Kaori's staf,f temporarily restraining the golem and preventing its movement. It was quickly breaking free, so Shizuku surged her mana once more and dug the spear deeper into its chest. Shizuku completed her own backflip.
"[Body Strengthening IV] x [Mana Overload]!"
Shea's stats quadrupled in relation to her mana stat and the rest of her mana surged throughout [Drucken] her War Hammer. Shea used [Future Sight] to perfectly time [Drucken]'s ultimate attack.
"[Drumbeat of the War God]!"
[Drucken] exploded on contact with the spear, pushing the spear into its core and completely breaking it. The golem's arm lost all of its strength and fell to its sides with a loud crash. Hajime and Shizuku walked over to the golem's body.
"Think it's over?" Shizuku asked.
"You defeated me." The golem responded, its girlish voice returning.
Hajime and Shizuku gripped their weapons and pointed them at the golem who remained alive.
"Hold it, hold it! I don't have the strength to fight back. You broke the core powering this golem. Me speaking to you is the last of that core's energy." The golem claiming to be Miledi told them. Hajime used [Magic Lens] and confirmed its words.
"Why do you seek the 'Age of God's magic'?" It asked again.
"We're not servants of that god if you're so worried," Hajime replied. "We got summoned to this world by that asshole of a God. We looking for magic that allows us to send ourselves back home."
"At least that's what Hajime and I decided when we were stuck in Oscar's labyrinth," Shizuku added. "Then we met Yue who became our sister. She seeks answers for what happened to her and her people. Shea became our little sister, tying us further to this place. Tio seeks freedom from Tortus from the reign of that god."
"Are you resolved to fight that god?" Miledi asked. "The things you and your party seek….. That bastard and his servants won't let you obtain these things."
Hajime responded quickly.
"We just want to protect what is precious to each of us. If that means they'll stop us…." Hajime declared. "That means they'll find themselves staring at the end of the barrel of my guns or Shizuku's swords. They just get to choose which way they want to die."
"Ha! That's good! That's great!" Miledi responded. "Choosing your own path. That's the right of all sentient beings. That's what we liberators decided when we decided to fight against them."
"I won't ask you to inherit our wills or anything like that. I'm not cut out for that kind of troublesome stuff. Use the power to cut your own path." Miledi blessed.
A platform came down.
"Just step on that platform. Have everyone come on board and then it'll take you to the treasure room. You've all earnt the age of gods magic that I possess. Use it well."
The light soon faded from the eyes of the golem. Whether or not she was as she claimed was irrelevant. She had spent, likely thousands of years protecting this place against anyone deemed unworthy, protecting what she believed to be precious to her. Hajime shot off a round from his gun as a salute. A sign of respect for a warrior who fought for so long.
"Hey, hey hey! It's your favourite liberator! The ultra-cute super genius Miledi Reisen-chan!"
A short golem appeared in the room of the Liberator's lair. The short golem was about the size of an oversized Chomper. It wore a yellow robe and had a smiley face plastered on it like the giant golem that came before him. The party did not share her sunny disposition.
"Hey what's wrong? Aren't you lot happy to see me?" She asked obliviously.
Shizuku snapped her fingers and set the 'Berserk Bunny' to do her work. After a bit of roughhousing 'Miledi Reisen' gave up her secrets. She activated the magic circle, which shone with a red light and activated granted them use of the Age of Gods' magic that Miledi protected.
"Gravity magic, huh?"
"You don't all have an affinity for it. You two white-haired ones, you have a lot of mana but the magic doesn't suit you. Blondie over there, the blue-haired one in the back, and the dragon lady are probably going to be the best at it." Miledi continued rattling off assessing everyone's affinity for the magic.
Hajime had already retrieved quite the haul from this dungeon. He collected most of the golems, including the giant golem with the azmantium plate, and stored them in his treasure trove. But he wasn't satisfied.
"Oi! You've got to have something else in this dungeon! Materials, artifacts, treasures! Anything!" He demanded, manhandling the golem.
"That's something a grave robber would say!" Miledi objected. Not that Hajime relented in any way. He started to shake the golem more violently with the implicit approval of Shizuku and the others.
"Why are the first guys to conquer my dungeon crazies like this?!" Miledi Reisen thought. "Well, I guess only crazies would dare to conquer all of the great labyrinths."
Miledi handed over the ring signifying that they had conquered the dungeon and produced a few materials and artifacts for use. Hajime scrambled to collect everything and stored in his treasure trove.
"Well, I guess it's time to play one last prank." Miledi decided. "Toodles! You crap-sack bastards!"
Miledi jumped up and pulled on a rope. The room was entirely flooded with water and a trapdoor opened up in the middle of the room, sending the party spiraling into the trapdoor flushing them out of the room and labyrinth altogether.
"Miledi Reisen! Your ****ing bastard!" Their shouts muffled by surging waters that threatened to drown them.
They all emerged into a body of water, the surface of the water was several metres away. The force of the expulsion separated all of them and left all of them floundering to reach the surface of the body of water.
Hajime and Shizuku reached the surface first, breathed a large gulp of air, and dove back into the water to save the others. After some effort they all were left splattered on the banks of the lake, breathing heavily.
Shizuku stood up first, her clothes absolutely soaking, her hair a complete mess. In the soft glow of the moonlight, her white hair and red eyes seemed even more pronounced.
Hajime stared at her, before coming to his senses.
"You're looking pretty there, princess." Hajime flirted. "Haven't seen you soaked since the last time we took a deep dive into a body of water."
She turned around and gave him a wry smile. By this point, Hajime had already gotten to his feet.
"Is that your way of asking whether I'm okay? I'm fine." The wind blew and she felt her hair strewn all over her face and noticed that she lost her hairband. She pouted.
"You're unhappy for someone who conquered another great labyrinth, princess?"
"I lost the hairband you made me. I already lost the first gift you gave me….." She explained, her cheeks puffing up. "I'm tearing down that labyrinth."
"I'll make you another one. Just let me take a photo of you with your cheeks like that, princess." Hajime offered, laughing.
She didn't share his humour. She let go of her displeased expression but continued to stare into the moon reflected on the waters of the lake. Something disturbed the surface of the lake, distorting the image of the moon. That seemed to set her in a sombre mood.
"What are you thinking about, princess? You're not thinking about the hairband anymore are you?"
"That was a close call. We all nearly died several times in that labyrinth." She explained. "I'm just thinking about the end of all of this… We've all gained so much in the last few days. I'm wondering if it's all just an illusion. That it'll all disappear like the image reflected in the water."
"I don't want to dismiss your concerns, princess but"-
"Then don't." She interrupted.
"Bitey….. I guess you're worse off than you look." He observed. She began pouting again, so Hajime explained again.
"Look, I'm not going to minimize your concerns. It could happen." He stated seriously. "You and I have lived through enough to know that anything could happen. We might face an enemy too strong for us. We might lose someone. You might lose me."
"That won't happen!" Shizuku shouted, reacting to the suggestion that Hajime would disappear from her life. "You can't lose….. You're my…"
"It could happen, Shizuku." He stated seriously. Her eyes widened as she faced the reality of what could happen. "There may come a time when I can't save you anymore. There may come a time when you won't be there anymore. I don't want to even think about it."
"So knowing all of that, why do you keep fighting then? Knowing that you could lose everything." Shizuku asked, trembling. "Why don't we run away, hide somewhere and live together for the rest of our lives, unmolested?"
He paused for a moment, to observe his lover. She shook in his arms, the image of strength and composure was gone. All that was left was the same girl he saved in the upper floors of the labyrinth all those months ago.
"I have faith. It's not blind faith, irrespective of reason. We've gotten stronger. We've got two 'Age of Gods' magics. We've gotten more allies and they've gotten stronger. All of this is evidence that we have the strength to challenge what is ahead of us. Now we just need to trust that we can."
"I trust in you, Shizuku. Just like how you trust in me."
He hugged her tightly to reassure her that he was always going to be there. That nothing, not even death would separate them. She smiled back, knowing that Hajime would never let her down. They had no doubts that the trials ahead would force them to their breaking point. But for this moment, they held each other closely and all was well.
Heliegh Kingdom
"Is the takeover moving along?" A hooded figure asked. The figure exuded an aura of strength, that caused his interlocutor to flinch.
"It is. Key members of the government, royal family, and military have already 'converted'." Another replied, their voice modulated so that they would not be known in the off chance someone overheard. "That wench does good work if nothing else."
The second hooded figure spat at the thought of working with a human.
"Have patience, Cattleya. It is all in our Lord's plan." The figure reassured her. "Soon humans, even that wench will soon be a thing of the past."
"Of course, lord Freid." She replied back, displaying her absolute loyalty and trust in the words of her commander.
'Freid' paused for a moment, and then turned back to his subordinate.
"Cattleya. Where are our human pawns? I have not seen them since I came to oversee things."
"They are on the way to the West, lord Freid. They had heard reports that their teacher had fled. The human hero insisted on chasing them. That wench hasn't been able to fully control him yet." Cattleya explained. "Our plans will not be hindered because of it. I have sent Mikhail to keep an eye out on them just in case."
"See to it that it does not become a further problem. The reports concerning our failure in the Northern Mountain Ranges displeased our master. See to it that the threat she poses is eliminated." Freid commanded.
Cattleya bowed, affirming that his orders have been heard.
"I will leave you to handle things here. I will need to oversee operations in another key location. Good work Cattleya."
"Glory to our God!" The female demon saluted.
"Glory to our God!" Freid replied.
To date, this is the longest chapter of Lies and Ties. I was quite eager to push past the crucial parts of volume 2. Hopefully, this fic is still interesting to all of you. I must admit that halfway through writing this, I was scared that I was following too closely the canon story.
I'm grateful for all the support that you've given me and this story. Any and all feedback is welcome. Once again thank you for taking the time to read this chapter from a writer whose writing ability leaves much to be desired.
I'll also be making edits to the previous chapters to clean things up. This should be completed in the next few days. I'd really appreciate any feedback as well