Great Orcus Labyrinth Arc
Arifureta Shokugyō de Sekai Saikyō © Shirakome Ryo and Takayaki
Fukushima Tsubasa, Hasegawa Airi © Me
The reply for your reviews:
- Omni-Creator Kami of Anime: Thank you for your review. If I'm not mistaken, a while ago, someone on my discord server was talking about this issue. I assumed you're him? If that's the case, then my answer remains the same.
- lilbigstoryteller: Thank you for your review and thank you for waiting. "10 years update", WTF, LOL.
- lou2003us: Thank you for your review and thank you for waiting.
- Stone-Man85: Thank you for your review. You'll get your wish fulfilled soon.
- Maelstorm Resurrected: Thank you for your review and for your compliment.
- Supernova star destroyer: Thank you for your review. Okay, so far this review is the most surprising. Can I take this as you want me to review your fanfics? If that's the case...wow, I'm just a nobody and someone here want me to review their fanfics? OF COURSE I WOULD BE SHAKEN UP BY THIS. Ehem, anyway, I've skimmed your fanfics (I'm sorry I just skimmed it since I'm not that familiar with the series you used as crossover with Arifureta), and I think the one you crossover with uh, what its name again, Danganronpa? Yeah, I personally think that one is more interesting. Students from fak-up school, being given second chance to start-over, yet in the end it'll be repeat of their past school life.
- Icecoldshawn01: Thank you for your review and thank you for waiting. NOW the update is coming out, LOL.
Hello, everyone! Yeah, I know I've been absent for so long (Now that I think about it, I've always been like that, huh) and from this chapter onward, I'm not gonna fill this section with the reason why I've been absent. If you want an update news from me, please join my discord server (uhuk advertising my server uhuk).
Thank you to Zetsuryuu Calibur (That my new name now. Greetings milords.) for being my beta reader. You guys make sure to read his story too.
And thank you very much for 287 favorites and 299 followers. Apparently, the oath/challenge milestone from previous chapter hasn't been fulfilled. It's okay, I'll still fulfill it eventually when the milestone has been fulfilled in the future.
That being the case, despite the milestone hasn't been fulfilled, I'll still upload double chapters, albeit for different reasons, that is because I promised in the discord that I was supposed to update this fanfic few weeks ago yet I failed to do so. Hence why, this is my atonement to you guys for breaking my own promise. Well, without further ado, here we go!
"He is…" = Speaking
[He is….] = Thinking
{He is…} = Flashback
("He is…")= Author's quip
(Chidori)= Skill or something like mana
[Donner= Weapons
Chapter 17: Meet the Golden-Haired Vampire Queen – Part 1
After the break and a bit more processing of how their team suddenly has a name, the Abyss Monster Trio kept stepping through the floor until they passed 50 before they knew it. And there's still a maze path going down endlessly. Hajime kept honing his shooting, kicking, and transmutation skills. Airi just did some practice on her sword style while Tsubasa only did meditation.
For the record, their current stats looked like this.
Nagumo Hajime Age: 17 Gender: Male Level: 27
Job: Synergist
Strength: 1405
Vitality: 1465
Defense: 1391
Agility: 1368
Magic: 1413
Magic Defense: 1373
Skills: (Transmute) [ (Ore Appraisal) (Precision Transmutation) (Ore Perception) (Ore Desynthesis) (Ore Synthesis)] — (Mana Manipulation) [ (Body Strengthening)] — (Iron Stomach) — (Lightning Field) [ (Lightning Shot)] — (Spell Infusing) — (Air Walk) [ (Aerodynamic) (Supersonic Step) (Steel Kick)] — (Gale Claw) — (Night Vision) — (Sense Presence) — (Detect Magic) — (Hide Presence) — (Poison Resistance) — (Paralysis Resistance) — (Petrification Resistance) — (Language Comprehension)
Fukushima Tsubasa Age: 17 Gender: Male Level: 33
Job: Monk, Light Warrior
Strength: 1573
Vitality: 1464
Defense: 1463
Agility: 1513
Magic: 1377
Magic Defense: 1349
Skill: (Close Quarters Combat Proficiency) — (Swordsmanship) [ (Improved Slashing Speed)] — (Air Walk) [ (Aerodynamic) (Supersonic Step) (Continual Step) (Steel Kick)] — (Twin Longswords Proficiency) — (Foresight) — (Sense Presence) — (Sense Magic) — (Intimidation) — (Mana Manipulation) [ (Body Strengthening) (Weapon Reinforcing)] — (Iron Stomach) — (Lightning Field) [ (Lightning Shot)] — (Spell Infusing) — (Gale Claw) — (Night Vision) — (Sense Presence) — (Detect Magic) — (Hide Presence) — (Spell Melding) — (Poison Resistance) — (Paralysis Resistance) — (Petrification Resistance) — (Language Comprehension)
Hasegawa Airi Age: 17 Gender: Female Level: 33
Job: Monk, Swordsmaster
Strength: 1423
Vitality: 1388
Defense: 1393
Agility: 1524
Magic: 1574
Magic Defense: 1529
Skill: (Close Quarters Combat Proficiency) — (Swordsmanship) [ (Improved Thrusting Speed)] — (Supersonic Step) [ (Aerodynamic) (Burst Supersonic Step) (Explosive Supersonic Step) (Continual Step) (Steel Kick)] — (Foresight) — (Sense Presence) — (Sense Magic) — (Intimidation) — (Mana Manipulation) [ (Body Strengthening) (Focused Strengthening) (Weapon Reinforcing) (Focused Reinforcing)] — (Iron Stomach) — (Lightning Field) [ (Lightning Shot)] — (Spell Infusing) — (Gale Claw) [ (Gale Stab)] — (Night Vision) — (Sense Presence) — (Detect Magic) — (Hide Presence) — (Spell Compression) — (Spell Melding) — (Poison Resistance) — (Paralysis Resistance) — (Petrification Resistance) — (Petrification Gaze) — (Language Comprehension)
They had already found the stairs leading to the next floor, but there was a location on this floor that seemed very different. An ominous atmosphere seemed to pervade the surrounding space.
At the end of one side aisle was a room containing a set of magnificent double doors, each three meters high. On each side of the door was a statue of a cyclops sunk deep into the recesses of the wall.
When they tried to enter the room, they understandably felt chills lying down their spines, and had retreated hastily, deciding the room was dangerous. Of course, the retreat was only temporary.
They looked and nodded at each other, preparing to get ready again and had no intention of passing through the room. After all, it was the first thing they had experienced something 'different' on these last 50 floors. There's no way they didn't check it out.
Hajime was filled with hope and doubt as he thought of the door. However, as soon as he touched it, he knew some kind of disaster was waiting for him. Still, this was also an opportunity to trigger the winds of change in this unrelenting abyss.
"It's like Pandora's Box... now, I wonder what kind of hope awaits me when I open it?"
He ran through his abilities, weapons, and skills mentally. He checked each one, making sure he was in peak condition. When all the preparations were done, Hajime slowly pulled [Donner] out of the sheath then gently pressed it against his forehead as he closed his eyes (Freaking Airi out in the process before Tsubasa calmed her down by saying Hajime might just wanted to reaffirm his goal).
He had solidified his resolve a long time ago, but it wouldn't hurt to spend a few minutes layering it again. Hajime searched deep within himself, giving voice to his dearest wish once more.
[I want to survive and make it back home with my best friends. Back home...With my best friends...to Japan. Anything that stands in the way of that goal is my enemy. And the enemy must be... killed!]
He opened his eyes, and with a fearless smile that was always present at this time, aimed at the unknown. The Abyss Monsters' Trio kept walking steadily as they tried to enter the room with the double doors and they made it to the door without meeting anyone else.
After taking a closer look, Hajime realized that the workmanship on the door was even more impressive than initially thought. And there was a magic circle carved into a small hole in each one.
"Huh? That's weird. I learned a bit in the castle... but I still don't recognize this inscription." Back when he was still ridiculed as worthless, Hajime had spent all his time compensating for his lack of combat ability whenever he wasn't training with Tsubasa and Airi. Of course, he didn't have enough time to learn everything there was to know about this world, but still he didn't know a single symbol in the circle.
"Does that mean this spell is really old?" Hajime pondered above the magic circle as he investigated the door, but he couldn't find any notes. The conspicuous placement of the circle only shouted "trap" at Hajime, but he didn't have enough knowledge to get any clues from his investigation.
"I guess my only option is to transmute as usual." He had tried to push and pull the door, but it wouldn't budge. So, he turned to the trusty (Transmute) skill. He placed his right hand on the surface of the door and started transmuting.
But the moment he started pouring (Mana) into his hands... zap!
"Uwaah!?" A flash of red lightning flowed at the door, blowing away Hajime's hand. Tendrils of smoke rose from his hand.
"Ha-kun!" Airi cried, concerned at what happened.
Hajime bitten through the emergency Ambrosia supply he prepared again to heal himself before he replied "I'm fine, Airi-san."
"Step aside, White-Haired Chuni Guy." Tsubasa called as he prepared his powered punch.
Hajime stepped aside as he was told before he retorted "Wait, what did you just call me!?"
A moment later, they heard a deep roar. "Uoooooooooooooh!" It echoed throughout the room.
They backed away from the door while preparing themselves for upcoming fights. While waiting he heard the sound of something moving mixed with a roar.
"Wow, what a cliché." Hajime gave a sharp smile when he saw the two cyclops statues suddenly appear and start destroying the walls that were holding them back. Their petrified skin quickly regained its color, turning from gray to dark green.
The Cyclops fits the fantasy description very precisely. Each wielded a nearly four-meter-long sword that they drew from a god somewhere. At this time, they struggled to free their still-buried bottom, determined to get rid of the unwanted intruder. Hajime shot [Donner] went straight to the right cyclops's eyes. With a vicious sound, the electrically accelerated bullet (Made from taur stone) pierced the eye, sent minced meat out of his brain, and hit the wall behind him as it shot out from the back of his head.
Tsubasa just nodded while Airi was visibly annoyed. She wanted to see their revival for heck of it; you know.
The Cyclops on the left stared blankly at his now dead comrade. On the other hand, a creature that had died seconds before collapsing forward, made the entire room tremble as its massive figure smashed into the ground, sprouting huge dust.
"Sorry, but I'm not a good enough person to wait for you to break free." The dead Cyclops didn't see it coming, in more ways than one. For Hajime, who endured through countless life-and-death struggles, it was simply a natural course of action to take. However... he still felt a little sorry for the cyclops.
Perhaps it wasn't just the humble guard who had been sealed and tasked with protecting the door. It must have spent eternity waiting for someone, anyone, to pass by.
Then finally, someone who was quite capable of enduring so long in the abyss and wanted to dig even deeper had appeared before. It's very possible he(?) was already very happy to finally have a goal. But then, before he could start fighting, his opponent shattered his precious eye and killed him instantly. If that isn't sad, then I don't know what it is.
The remaining Cyclops had a bloody expression on his face as he turned to look at Hajime. Even though he didn't speak, his face was clearly screaming, "How dare you, you bastard!"
Hajime stared at the remaining cyclops, completely unmoving when he saw his gaze. He acted cautiously because of the unknown weapon and crouched low to the ground, ready to dodge in any direction, as he glared at him. Ten seconds passed, then twenty… at last, he grew tired of the staring contest and with a deafening roar, the remaining cyclops attacked Hajime.
But before he even took five steps, he collapsed to the ground after its ankle had been cut off by Tsubasa who stood nearby his legs.
"Don't take it personally." Tsubasa stated while putting his sword to its' scabbard.
Confused, the cyclops tried to get back up, but he was able to do little more than flick helplessly on the ground. Realizing that his legs had been cut off, the cyclops then roared. Airi then charged at him while imbuing (Gale Claw) to her rapier. Her rushed steps resounded like a countdown before the death of Cyclops. She then shoots her rapier forward into the cyclops' head.
Trang! The sound of the blade clanging echoed throughout the room.
However, something unexpected happened right then and there. The cyclops' body glowed for a moment as soon as Airi's slash hit its' skin. As a result, it only left a small scratch on the cyclops' head.
"Eh? What's this? Why's the skin so hard now?" Airi complained.
"Hmm?" Hajime guessed it was due to his special magic. From what he could tell, it temporarily gave the cyclops a huge defensive boost. Even though it was still covered in the ground, the cyclops grinned contemptuously at him.
Fearlessly, he jumped and prepared a kick that he would aim at the cyclops' head. Thanks to his (Steel Legs) skill, Hajime's kicks were as powerful as Kickmaster Rabbit. His feet traced a neat arc in the air before slamming him into the cyclops.
"Okay, you withstood my slash and Ha-kun's kick, good for you, but what about this?" Airi challenged the cyclops as she imbued both her free hand and rapier with (Mana). With the rapier still on the cylops, she presses on deeper, which as expected was not strong enough to pierce through, so with the hand she prepared with (Mana), she slammed it into her weapon, bursting it with power.
A crack immediately formed on the cyclops due to Airi's impromptu attack which then started spreading as she pressed forward with both her hands on the sword.
Although unsure, but it seems the cyclops was panicking. Hajime made his presence known as he pressed [Donner] into their eyes.
"Remember it very well to not underestimate us." Hajime coldly mocked as he paid no heed to the cyclops' seemingly panicked expression and pulled the trigger mercilessly. As he expected, the hardening of the body did not extend to his eyes, and the second cyclops of his brain exploded like the first. At the same time, the hardening seems not strong enough to withstand the moderate effort attack from Airi's caliber.
Now with all that has been done, Hajime turned frowningly at his best friend as he complained "Tsubasa, I wanted to do another test of my stun grenades before you cut off their legs, you know."
Tsubasa just rolled his eyes as he replied "That's just you being slow, Mr. Remember-it-very-well-to-not-underestimate-us."
"What did you say?! And also, what did you just call me!?" Hajime retorted loudly.
"Wah, impressive tsukkomi master Ha-kun made a comeback." Airi cheered as she clapped her hand.
"Not you too, Airi-san." Hajime grumbled as he shook his head while hearing his female best friend giggling at him. And he knew damn well Tsubasa was looking at him amusingly despite the poker face he had "Alright, whatever. I think I'll harvest the meat later..." As he glanced at the door, an idea popped into his mind.
He used (Gale Claw) to cut through the cyclops and extract their mana crystals. Ignoring the fact that they were dripping blood (and the fact that his best friends even had the nerve to impersonate his earlier statement), he brought a double-layered patch crystal to the double doors and placed it in the two grooves.
Well matched. After a short delay, they started pouring drops everywhere in the magic circle. Something echoed in the distance and the light began to fade. (Mana) began to spread through the room at the same time, making the surrounding walls glow brightly. The room suddenly filled with a brighter light than Hajime had seen for a long time.
He closed his eyes at the sudden brightness, then opened the door, clearly looking for a trap.
Tsubasa suddenly said "I'm staying here in case monster will try to ambush us from outside. You two go investigate whatever within this room."
Hajime nodded as Airi said "Stay safe, Tsu-kkun."
Tsubasa smiled softly at Airi as he replied "That's my line."
The room on the other side of the door was pitch black, with no light source to be found. However, given both of them possessed (Night Vision) and the light spilling from the room outside was enough for him to dimly see their surroundings.
The inside of the room consisted of the same marble-like substance as the one Hajime had seen in the church cathedral. Two rows of thick pillars, spaced at regular intervals, extended all the way to the end of the room. In the center of the room stood a large boulder. The surface was glossy and shone from the light reflected in from the room behind.
Hajime looked closely at the cube, seeing that something shining was sticking out from the center of its front face. It looks as if it grew out of a rock.
Trying to take a closer look, Hajime and Airi opened the door wide and looked for something to hold it in as they stepped forward into the room. He didn't want to make the mistake of a classic horror movie and entered only to find the door closed behind him.
However, before he could find something, whatever was in the center of the cube was stirred up.
"...Who's there?" Hajime and Airi heard a woman's voice weak and hoarse. Shocked, they turned their heads to the center of the room again. The "something" they saw earlier squirmed slightly. The light pouring in from the other room revealed that there was indeed something.
"A...Person?" Something that grows out of rock is indeed a person.
The girl was buried in rock from the neck down, and her golden blonde hair hung limply in front of her face, looking like a ghost from a certain famous horror movie. Red eyes like blood moons peeked out from between the gaps in her hair. She looked rather young. However, despite her emaciated appearance and her hair covering the better part of her face, it was still clear that she was incredibly beautiful.
Hajime stiffened in surprise; He didn't expect to meet another person in such a deep labyrinth. It seemed like the girl was just as surprised to see him as well, as she stared at him in shock. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath to calm himself, and then said firmly...
"Sorry. I'll go now."
"Wait, Ha-kun?!" Airi was as surprised as the imprisoned girl.
"Sorry, Airi-san, I'm gonna stay out of this but you can stay here and listen to her if you want." Hajime started walking to the exit but before he could, the blonde-haired girl hurriedly called out to him once again. Her voice was hoarse and weak, most likely having not been used in years, but the desperation in it was clear.
"W-Wait...! Please...! Help me..."
"Don't want to." Hajime replied briefly, then returned his attention to the exit. What a heartless answer. "Besides, Airi-san is still there, maybe she can help you."
"Wh-Why... please... I'll do anything, so..." She was truly desperate. Even though she could barely move her neck, she still raised her face to look at Hajime.
"Ha-kun, stay here, please. This girl wants our help, what's so wrong with that? Besides, with all these seals on her, it's very likely that YOU are the only one who can help her, Ha-kun." Airi tried to convince her best friend to stay and help the poor girl.
The imprisoned girl looked at Airi with gratitude and awe...it's just like she was looking at older sibling who defended their younger sibling from bullies. She also didn't expect the girl would be willing to stay here and take her side while trying to convince the boy to not leave. And given what she heard that the boy could potentially break her free of the seal, she was getting more desperate at her only hope to break free.
But at that time, Hajime only gave an irritated answer. "Airi-san, I'm sure you know this, I really doubt it would be a good idea to free someone who is definitely sealed in the deepest abyss. That's just straight-up red flag. As far as I know there's nothing but seals here and even if I break her free, it's unlikely to help our escape at all, so..." That's a fair argument but few people were so devoid of sympathy that they could ignore a girl's request for help so easily. It was clear that the good old Hajime who was willing to help anyone in need has long dead which made Airi looked at him sadly.
Even though he rejected it bluntly, the girl continued to ask for help. "No! Uhuck... I-I'm not a bad person...! Please wait! I..." Hajime just continued walking to the exit indifferently but a moment later he gritted his teeth. If he had been a little quicker, he wouldn't have had to hear those last words of hers.
"I was betrayed!" He heard, through the small crack of the still open door.
The door creaked to a stop. A small sliver of light illuminated the darkness within. Ten seconds passed, then twenty. Finally, the door began to open once again. Standing behind him was Hajime, frowning, sad at the situation.
No matter what she said, he didn't plan to help her. He thought there must be a good reason why someone was sealed here, far away under the light of the sun. And there's no evidence that she's harmless either. In truth, she was most likely just an evil being trying to trick him into letting her go. He should have just left her.
[Holy shit, what am I doing?] Hajime sighed to himself as the thought crossed his mind.
"I was betrayed!" — To think those words would shake his heart, a heart he thought he had buried long ago. He thought he had forgotten about his classmate throwing fireballs at him. He thought he had thrown away trivial feelings like hatred and sympathy. In order to survive in this cruel world, he had to.
But the fact that her words had shaken him so deeply meant that he hadn't truly buried his former self. Long enough, the good Hajime was alive that he could sympathize with this girl's plight, which was very similar to his own.
He scratched his head uncomfortably and walked closer to the girl. Of course, he remained alert.
Meanwhile, Airi was surprised that betrayal was the reason of the poor girl's sealing, but what surprised her even more was Hajime actually stepped forward in response of the sealed girl's desperate admission.
Once again, Airi felt relief as she knew that the old side of her best friend was still there and he still wanted to help people other than her and Tsubasa. For some reason, Airi had some sort of epiphany that maybe...just maybe...that girl could be the one...or at least, one of the people who would finally drag out Hajime's old side from darkness. It's too soon for it to come true, but wishing for it to actually happen can't hurt, right?
"You said you were betrayed? But that still doesn't explain why you were trapped here. If you were truly betrayed, how could they keep you on this rock?" The girl seemed surprised that Hajime had actually returned. She stared at Hajime intently through her dirty golden locks, her red eyes glinting in the darkness. He was starting to get impatient to keep quiet.
"Hey, do you hear me? If you don't want to talk, then I'll actually get out now," Hajime said rudely and turned around. The girl came back to her senses and started talking.
"I was one of the original and atavistic vampires...because of my extraordinary innate power...I worked hard for the sake of my country and people. But then...one day...all my followers...said I was no longer needed...my uncle...said that he would be king in my place... I...was fine with that...but because I had so much power, everyone was afraid of me, they thought I was dangerous...they couldn't kill me...so they decided to seal me here instead...that's why..." She stammered in despair; his dry throat made it difficult to speak.
Hajime sighed when he heard her story. She must have suffered a cruel fate. However, during the story, he heard several things that disturbed him. He felt a complicated feeling that couldn't be explained well inside him, so he and Airi (after she broke out of her sad look she sent to the poor girl) asked some questions as they felt some things didn't add up.
"So, does that mean you're some kind of royalty?" The girl nodded furiously at Hajime's question.
"What do you mean they can't kill you?"
"...I heal automatically. No matter what the wound looks like, it will just heal itself. Even if you cut off my head, I will immediately regenerate."
"I...Immediately regenerate no matter how bad the wound is?" Hajime and Airi were shocked upon hearing the girl's admission that she was practically immortal before Airi asked again "There must be another reason why they decided to seal you, right?"
"Mm...I also can control (Mana)... directly, without a magic circle." Hajime and Airi nodded and answered simply, "I see."
After consuming monster flesh, Hajime, Tsubasa and Airi were able to manipulate (Mana) freely. They didn't need chants or magic circles to enhance their bodies or use any special magic they had acquired. It's also the same with the skills they got by default from their jobs.
However, all three of them had no magic affinity, so even though they could manipulate their (Mana) directly they still needed a large magic circle to actually cast anything, meaning they couldn't use it for much of anything effectively.
But with this girl's magical affinity, she can directly manipulate her mana which turns into a very powerful asset. Because while other people had to waste time setting up circles and casting their spells, she could just throw out magic like it was nobody's business.
Frankly, he felt the difficulty of this labyrinth wasn't as dangerous as he thought; definitely because Tsubasa and Airi were here. And if he decided to bring along someone on this girl's caliber, it could make the difficulty of this labyrinth even less dangerous. And to top it all off, she's immortal. Maybe it wasn't perfect, and most likely there was a way to actually overcome it, but even so, it was a cheat-level skill that far exceeded a hero's skill.
"…Please save me…" She begged softly as she saw Hajime lost in thought.
"Hmm..." He stared expressionlessly at her. Finally, Hajime scratched his head awkwardly and took a deep breath. He then placed his hand on the cube while holding the girl.
"Ah." His eyes widened when he realized what he was doing. Airi then finally walked to the cube that held the girl as she asked "Is there something I can do to help you destroying this seal, Ha-kun?"
"I don't mean to be arrogant here, Airi-san, but let me do this on my own. I'm helping her here because I just couldn't stand the sight of her helplessness on this seal. It's definitely not because of your insistence on me helping her, nor because of her desperate cry earlier." Hajime replied while explaining his reason on helping the poor girl to Airi.
The poor girl couldn't understand it herself, but she felt dejected that the boy was helping her for quite derogatory reason; at least based on his explanation. Meanwhile, Airi just smiled wryly hearing Hajime's reply. She knew that her best friend was in tsun-tsun mode when he made himself clear about his reason for helping the poor sealed girl.
Hajime knew Airi wouldn't buy his excuse, so he ignored Airi's wry smile and started transmuting. His (Mana), which had turned dark red, or more like dark crimson since swallowing the wolf, started flowing down upon his arm. However, the cube he attempted to transmute remained unchanged, as if it was resisting the power of (Mana). Just like the bedrock that stretches between each floor of the labyrinth. However, unlike that, it doesn't mean the magic is completely negated. Little by little, Hajime's power began to seep into the cube.
"Guh, this is hard... but I'm not weak anymore!" He poured more (Mana) into the spell. That amount of (Mana) he poured could only be matched by someone who couldn't manipulate (Mana) freely did six verses of chanting. Finally, he felt the magic take effect. A magnificent volume from which a bright crimson color dazzles, illuminating the entire room with a fiery red color.
But Hajime continued to pour (Mana) into his arm. Now the (Mana) output was on par with seven verses, then eight verses of chanting from someone who couldn't manipulate (Mana). The part of the rock encasing the girl started to shake at that moment.
"I'm not finished yet!" He pushed even harder, pouring his (Mana) (the output now on par with nine verses of chanting from someone who couldn't manipulate (Mana)) into the stone. By then he had burned enough (Mana) to cast some of the most advanced spells in existence and still had some left. The girl stared at him intently as his (Mana) grew brighter and brighter, determined not to miss a single moment.
Cold sweat dripped down his back as he continued to do that. This was the first time Hajime had tried casting such a large-scale spell. If he lost focus for a moment, the massive amount of (Mana) he held would go berserk. But after all that, the cube refused to move. Desperate, he threw everything he had into the spell.
Nearby, Airi could only shield herself from the radiation of the massive (Mana) output Hajime let out to break the poor girl free. Feeling concerned for her best friend's safety, she cried "Ha-kun, you sure you didn't need my help?"
"Yes, I am, Airi-san." Hajime replied without even looking at her; in fear of losing his focus "Just stay there. In case something unwanted happen, I'm leaving the rest to you and Tsubasa to get out of this labyrinth."
"WAIT, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, HA-KUN?" Airi cried as she and even the poor girl was shocked as they couldn't believe that despite the half-baked reason Hajime just gave them for helping the poor girl, he was actually ready to risk his life to save the poor girl.
"You heard me, Airi-san. I don't know why I can't just leave this girl alone. My logical side keeps telling me I should've just leave this girl alone and continue trying to get out of this labyrinth with you and Tsubasa." Hajime replied as he still continued transmuting the seal "Even in this very second, I still can't understand why I'm doing this but since I've decided to save her, NO WAY IN HELL I'M STOPPING UNLESS SHE FINALLY GET OUT, EVEN IF I HAVE TO BURN THIS LIFE!"
Airi and the poor girl could only be stun in silence hearing Hajime's declaration.
He burned so much (Mana) that his entire body glowed crimson. He used every last drop of (Mana) just to free it. With endurance that surprised himself, he continued to transmute with all the spirit he had. Finally, the part of the cube trapping the girl began to melt like hot butter and flow to the ground, slowly releasing her from her stone prison.
As the rock slowly fell, her medium breasts were fully exposed. Next came her waist, then her hands, her thighs, and finally the cube melted completely and she was free. Her completely naked body was obviously emaciated, but still had an alluring appeal. She slumped to the ground in a heap as soon as her body was completely free. It seemed like she wasn't strong enough to stand.
Hajime sat in front of her. He was panting. Using up his entire mana pool had exhausted him greatly.
With trembling hands he tried to take out the bottle of Ambrosia, but not before he let the girl put her hand down and grip it. Her small, slender, and fragile hands trembled as they were intertwined with his own. He glanced at her and realized that he was looking at her correctly. Even though her face was expressionless, many emotions resided within her crimson eyes.
In a small and trembling, but strong voice, the girl conveyed her feelings. "Thank you." Hajime wasn't sure he could express that feeling he felt at those words. He only knew that the heart he thought he had thrown away for other people outside his family and his best friends was starting to shine with a faint but firm light.
To Be Continued
I hope I nailed this chapter. After all, many of you are waiting for so long for this moment.
Next: Meet the Golden-Haired Vampire Queen – Part 2.
Thanks for Reading This.
Review Onegai shimasu (Please) as your reviews is what incite me to update this story even more
Till' We Meet Again, Guys.