The Foundation of A Hero
“Haha, my apologies. The backlash of being serious for too long made my pathos leak out for just a little much.”
“… A little?” X2
The light of regeneration magic that Tio exercised enveloped Suzu and Ryuutaro, illuminating the pa.s.sage. The words that Tio said while smiling during that time were tsukkomi-ed by them with scornful eyes.
The n.o.bility of Tio that was usually unseen, her elegance that was mistaken as royalty, her refinement, the recoil from all those that caused Suzu and also Ryuutaro’s hearts to be palpitating thoroughly made the gazes that were directed at Tio colder than usual. Especially Ryuutaro, it felt like his pure heart was toyed with, even though he understood that it was just an outburst of anger, his mental state couldn’t help but lower the temperature of his gaze.
Drifting inside such a strange atmosphere, after the light of healing that had enveloped the two had vanished, their bodies were in perfect health without even a single injury. It was just a few seconds since Tio exercised her regeneration magic.
“Even though it was amazing… it was amazing but… but Suzu cannot honestly praise it now. But, thank you Tio-san.”
“Me too, I wonder just why this kind of pervert is like this but… thanks anyway.”
“Thou art welcome. Also Ryuutaro. Even if thou insulted me, I won’t feel happy you know? I won’t wag my tail to anybody except master. I’m truly sorry.”
A vein appeared on Ryuutaro’s temple. Inside his heart he cursed “It’s like I’m trying to attract her but getting dumped instead, isn’t it”. He didn’t say anything out loud because there would be no end to it.
Once again, unspeakable rage that shuddered welled up from inside him against Tio who was calmly using two exact opposite aspects, the dignified beauty just now and the perversion that conveniently converted any kind of attack into pleasure. At the same time…
“… Just as I thought, Nagumo is amazing, huh?”
“Suzu doesn’t think that Nagumo-kun needs that kind of praise though.”
Thinking about Hajime went along with Tio’s everything, Ryuutaro saw the depth of Hajime’s magnanimity as a man, no, as a human and raised his praise to him. Surely it was just as Suzu said, if Hajime heard that he would surely have a vein appearing in his forehead saying that it was not the case.
Like that, Suzu and Ryuutaro were fed up by Tio’s perversion that she naturally emitted. During that time, the end of the pa.s.sage became visible ahead. It was the next room.
“Hmm, there art multiple presences on the other side. It seems there are members who have already linked up there.”
“Nagumooo, please be there. I won’t be able to hold back if you don’t take her off our hands soon.”
“Please G.o.d, make it so the owner is there.”
Suzu and Ryuutaro murmured in prayer after hearing Tio’s words. And then Suzu also nonchalantly said something cruel. It seemed that since she pa.s.sed her trial, she had learned to punch straight with her words.
Like that, the ice wall the three approached melted and vanished and what was at the other side of the wall was…
“MuuIIIii, Yue you bhird braiiiinn!!”
“… Shut hup. Closeht phervertt”
“Aah geez. You two, stop it alreadyyy…”
There straddling above the lying down Yue, Kaori was pulling Yue’s cheeks *gyuuuuuuu*, and toward Kaori who was doing that, Yue similarly pinched up Kaori’s cheeks *muniiiiii*, and then, Shia was mediating those two in a dither.
“What’s this…”
“Cat fight?”
“This is their usual quarrel. They really have a good relationship.”
Suzu and Ryuutaro were dumbfounded. Tio’s expression was smiling peacefully. Looking at the figures of the two that were pulling the other’s cheeks with teary eyes while striking each other like pawing cats, surely it couldn’t be helped that their expression turned like that. The two girls were merely running out of magic power due to the huge fight just now and so this quarrel was the most that they could do.
“Eh? Tio-san? Also both of you. So all of you safely overcame the trial then. I’m glad. Come now Yue-san, Kaori-san, Tio-san and others have arrived hereee! Stop fighting alreadyyy! Come on, release your hands from the cheeks, don’t keep hitting at each other! Ah, over there, don’t kick! Please calmly… I said stop it alreadyyy!”
Shia snapped toward Yue and Kaori who wouldn’t stop quarreling childishly. Two reinforced fists were striking down on the heads of the two, a *GOKIN!* sound that shouldn’t have rung out reverberated. Yue and Kaori crouched down while holding their heads. “My headd-, my headd~” They groaned like so.
“Hmm, it seems that the position of Shia and Yue strangely got reversed since we came to this labyrinth… I wonder if Yue also slightly received the influence of the great labyrinth? Well, it’s interesting to look at anyway.”
Tio tilted her head while murmuring her guess that was half correct. Yue was also exhausted because she recalled various memories of the far past. She even let out a weak-hearted remark against her better judgment. Rather, with how large her past trauma it was strange that it ended with just this much.
And then, the unconscious reliance that was created from the weakness of Yue’s heart… that was naturally directed at her lover Hajime, but even Shia who had remarkable growth since she was acknowledged as lover by Hajime was also not just a handful little sister anymore and turned into a reliable partner that Yue was apt to rely on. In other words, in addition of Shia’s growth, her distance with Yue was also shrinking further.
“Fuu, my apologies, we made you wait. The new pa.s.sage is over there, so let’s advance forward.”
“… Thou art really reliable right now.”
Shia urged them ahead while carrying Yue and Kaori at both sides under her arms. Tio nodded at that while looking fondly.
The party advance through the pa.s.sage once more. The people who they hadn’t found were three people, Hajime, Shizuku, and Kouki. They were walking forward while praying so that they could link up at the next room.
Like that now, they suddenly stood still in front of the ice wall that was at the end of the pa.s.sage they had reached. Shia’s rabbit ears were twitching around while she was making a complicated face. Right after that, her eyes widened in shock.
“Eh… tho, those two too?”
The sudden words and att.i.tude of Shia who had sharp senses caused the other members to look at her wondering what was going on. Yue, Kaori, Tio, the three of them immediately concentrated and reached out their senses at the other side of the ice wall. And the result, they understood what made Shia surprised and they looked at each other.
“Nothing will begin even if we just stand here. We can only confirm the situation directly.”
“… Nn. If he is Hajime’s enemy, I will beat him up.”
“Err, Yue? That’s a little… ”
“Anyway, let’s go.”
While her cheek was twitching at Yue who was narrowing her eyes dangerously, Kaori could only pray that she wished it was just a quarrel like her and Yue.
But, that prayer didn’t reach.
Ahead of the ice wall they pa.s.sed, at the next room, storm of killing intent and hatred was blowing violently.
Yes, Hajime and Kouki were currently in mortal combat.
Amanogawa Kouki.
He who was born as the only son of an ordinary household had someone who he respected and idolized from the heart even now. That someone was Kouki’s grandfather.
The name of that grandfather was Amanogawa Kanji, he was a skilled attorney famous in business world. It was established custom for the family to go play at their grandfather’s house when it was a long holiday, but Kanji’s wife?because Kouki’s grandmother had pa.s.sed away early, the grandfather that was living alone was very affectionate toward Kouki.
For his age, Kanji’s back was straight and his muscular body was overflowing with ambition, nevertheless, he wasn’t scary, but a gentle person. Kouki idolized dearly such a grandfather as his, that was to say he was a grandfather’s boy.
What Kouki liked the most from Kanji was Kanji’s story of his experiences. The experiences that Kanji obtained from his work as an attorney were told to Kouki as though he was reading from a picture book so that the small Kouki could easily understand them. Realistically speaking, the stories were also considerably arranged to not breach the duty of confidentiality, but even so, the eloquent stories of his grandfather were full of human drama that caused Kouki’s heart to dance many times.
Helping the weak, crushing the strong, reaching his hand to a troubled person without hesitation, accomplishing the correct thing, always being fair… in the end, Kanji’s stories were a thing that included that kind of teaching. A hero’s tale that personified ideal and justice. A common story for young children.
Because of that, for Kouki, his grandfather Kanji was exactly a hero. Just like how other children of his age idolized a certain masked rider or the s.p.a.ce alien that defeated s.p.a.ce monsters even faster than instant ramen could cook, Kouki idolized Kanji like that. It could be said that because his target to idolize was nearby that Kouki’s idolizing was even stronger than other children. He wished “someday I will be like grandfather”.
But, naturally, the real world couldn’t be like Kanji’s story where truth and justice defeated the evil and unreasonable, and the righteousness of ideals could be realized without end. In the occupation of attorney, even if they held justice and fairness, their foremost mission wasn’t to pursue the truth or impeach the guilty but to protect the interest of their client.
To be called as ‘competent’ attorney, it wasn’t enough with just having excellent skill as an attorney, it was also because Kanji was a human who could realistically think with good and evil at the same time. He thoroughly knew about the dirty part of society and also how it was insufficient to just carry ideal and justice in hand.
But, before he could teach that to Kouki he pa.s.sed on to the next world. It was before Kouki entered elementary school. The cause was an acute heart attack.
Kanji’s death left behind a large influence on Kouki.
The thinking that it was okay for a young child to only think of beautiful things was something really normal, Kanji couldn’t be blamed because of that. Someday, when Kouki grew up, he was planning to also talk to Kouki about bitter experience that included reality when things wouldn’t go as you expected.
The death of the hero he idolized was a shock for Kouki. He thought of his beloved grandfather, the more he soaked in his memory of Kanji the more he beautified his image of Kanji as a hero, putting a deep root of ‘the ideal righteousness’ into the deepest part of young Kouki’s heart.
That righteousness was following the teaching of his grandfather that sounded pleasant to the ears of children, at the same time it was righteousness that didn’t recognize the ‘impure’ part inside the minority or good and evil at all. To further say it, Kouki came to think that what the majority of people thought as right was the absolute right.
Although it wasn’t like that was something peculiar. Children everywhere always watched the hero from television or comics that held the ideal righteousness inside their heart.
And then, those children would pile up days of living, repeating many failures from crashing into the wall of reality. Sometimes, they would experience setback, learn how to give up and compromise. They would naturally study the way to sail the storm of reality skillfully.
They would keep their aspiration as just aspiration, ideal as just ideal, storing all those inside a treasure box that they put at the corner of their heart while looking at reality. That was the natural course of events. Kouki too should be like that. If that happened, then there would be no problem at all.
However, Kouki was too prodigious to ride the natural course of events. His high specs allowed him to overcome the wall of reality while following his ideal. Without any failure or setback, he pushed through every situation with his own strength. His ideal of children completely pa.s.sed through.
As a result, without realizing it, Kouki came to not doubt his own righteousness. He was cautioned many times about the danger of that by several people close to him, especially by his parents and Shizuku, but Kouki only heard that advice with a smile. He didn’t listen seriously or reform himself. In the first place, he had charisma and his principle was solely based on good intention, so not including those several people that cautioned him, everyone else supported Kouki and that was also one factor that caused Kouki to not change.
Of course, there was no way everything went well without anything wrong at all. Several problems cropped up in places that Kouki wasn’t aware of. The envy at Shizuku was also one of those.
But, Kouki who didn’t doubt his own righteousness maintained it by his convenient interpretation. That was also helped along by the people who adored Kouki blindly pushing his back. So as expected, Kouki didn’t notice his convenient interpretations. Even though he received warnings, he also didn’t try to notice.
Such ‘ideal righteousness’ of Kouki had distorted even though it was overflowing with good intention. It began to crumble in this another world. Different from the peaceful j.a.pan, in another world that ran rampant with killing intent and hatred, supernatural and absurdity, his spec and convenient interpretation didn’t work. The prime example was the devil woman he faced in the lower floors of Orcus, and Hajime who went under a change of heart.
For the first time, Kouki saw the wall of reality before his eyes. He experienced painful failure that exposed the ‘child’ inside his heart.
And then…
{She was taken away. Right?}
“No! She is not taken…”
The false image of Kouki with ashen hair clad in black armor was staring with those reddish black eyes while ridiculing Kouki, who was breathing roughly while sweating like a river, immediately objected.
“It’s just as Shizuku said, from the beginning Kaori liked Nagumo… that’s why I…”
{You don’t need to lie to yourself. I am you. I know you better than anyone else. You pretended to accept what Shizuku said, but deep in your heart, you are thinking that she is taken from you. You are still thinking that Kaori should be together with you. You two had been together all this time since elementary school. I don’t know about the meeting at middle school or anything, but even though she has been with me longer, even though I believed that from now on we will always be together too, even though Kaori is the heroin of me the hero…}
“Shut up. I’m not thinking anything like that! Don’t say whatever you want- you labyrinth monster! You won’t lead me astray!”
Kouki glared at the false image with bloodshot eyes and let loose a blade of light with all his strength. Several streaks of slashing light rushed toward the false image.
However, the false image let fly light blades with exactly the same trajectories, neutralizing them all. No, far from that, several of the lights didn’t stop and attacked straight towards Kouki. It was the proof that he lost completely in strength.
{You say that but in contrast you are shaken really bad, huh. Even the holy sword that Nagumo especially upgraded, like this it’s just throwing a pearl before the swine. Or else exactly because it is created by that hateful Nagumo you envied, that you don’t want to use it properly, perhaps?}
“That’s irrelevant! I, don’t hate Nagumo or any…”
{Come on, it’s because you immediately averted your eyes from reality like this… that I’m strengthened again here.}
An extra large ‘Soaring Heaven Sword – Quake’ was unleashed by the false image. Its might was obviously different compared from before. His own signature move that was gouging the ground while approaching him made Kouki shudder and he immediately dodged to the side. His instinct told him that he couldn’t block that.
{Not just Kaori, you also cannot stomach Yue and others adoring Nagumo, right? Girls that are that cute, strong, and charming, aren’t they worthier to be together with a hero like me? You cannot accept they adore someone like Nagumo who can easily cut down a human. right?}
“Cut it out! Those girls seriously love Nagumo… that’s something those girls decided themselves… that’s why-“
{Nagumo’s strength is also irritating. That strength originally should be mine, isn’t it? Rather, Nagumo’s everything is just vexing yeah.}
“Wrong-. Certainly, Nagumo likes to act as he pleases, but he saved us many times… that kind of guy…”
{You said you don’t hate him? You mustn’t lie. Even when you were saved, you felt jealousy instead of grat.i.tude, didn’t you? Even though gallantly rushing to save someone is my role, you envied him like that, didn’t you?}
“There is no way that’s true! Such a thing…”
{Oi, oi, just how much you are going to strengthen me until you are satisfied?}
That wish of his to be a hero, the envy to Hajime that was nearly a hatred, and then his desire to monopolize Kaori along with his desire for other people’s good will… having those shoved to his face, Kouki objected with the large part of himself believing his own words. Like that, because he was unconsciously avoiding recognizing it, the false image was strengthened endlessly.
The false image of Kouki lifted his black holy sword to the sky. Right after that, a dazzling surge of light burst out from there and the light split open near the ceiling, it became several streaks of meteors that began to bomb Kouki.
Kouki avoided those with ‘Shrink Ground’ while looking for the chance to counterattack, but the color pasted on his face was obviously one of fl.u.s.ter. Cold sweat couldn’t stop flowing from the strength of the false image.
The meteors that were attacking from the air were equipped with homing functions to some degree and Hajime’s impact conversion so there was nothing more troublesome than this. Even if he waited until they almost hit before evading instantly, if he was late in the timing even for just a little the storm of shockwaves would swallow him. Having said that, only neutralizing the attack like this without being able to counterattack would only turn this into a war of attrition.
‘Because Hajime put those functions’… for a moment such thinking was whirling inside his chest. Kouki wiped that thought away in a fl.u.s.ter. That was because such thinking wasn’t ‘right’ toward the person who lent his hand to him. That was why right after that he sealed the memory that he even had such a thought in the bottom of his mind.
“Fly and turn, ‘Soaring Heaven Sword – Storm’!!”
Kouki somehow slipped through the explosion and started counterattacking. Kouki’s slash was added with wind blade, the slash of wind that was hard to see even in the best of times slipped into the light and magic power and became even harder to perceive. The visible slashes were ten, but actually slashes in thrice that number were launched in a spread to block any escape.
{That’s pointless. a.s.semble, ‘Heaven Claw Flowing Rain – Quake’.}
In response, the false image was wearing a cool face. The light bullets that became meteors flew wildly and instantly converged on the black holy sword, converted into a streak of bombardment. There was no need to escape or anything, he just needed to smash Kouki’s attack from the front.
That plan came to fruition. And it was extremely easily on top of it. The countless blades Kouki launched were scattered with just a single flash. The bombing of light charged at Kouki without stopping.
“block, ‘Light Armor’!!”
The holy armor that Kouki was wearing shined, countless rings of light extended in front of him and produced a barrier. Immediately after, the light bombing hit and scattered with a severe flash and impact. ‘Heaven Claw Flowing Rain’ originally was a technique that didn’t have that much power, but Hajime’s demonic remodeling and the strengthened power of the false image were combined and sublimed the technique into one with might that wouldn’t be an exaggeration to be called a sure kill technique.
Therefore…
“Guwaa!?”
Kouki’s barrier was smashed and he was grandly blown away. He rolled all over the ground and finally stopped moving when he crashed into the ice wall. Blood was trickling down from his temple.
{You want to overwhelm him, right? That Nagumo. You want to make that guy kneel and beg for forgiveness. After that, you will take back Kaori, Yue and the others will direct their favor to you, save the world, bring everyone back home, showered in admiration…}
“SHUT UPPPPPP!”
While feeling the black emotion that was fished out from the depth of his heart, Kouki drove his flaming hot body forward following his violent fury. Vast amounts of magic power from that body became a bursting out a torrent, it was ‘Limit Break’.
Kouki himself understood that it wasn’t the right time to use it, but he couldn’t listen to the words of the false image more than this. He didn’t want to notice the emotion that shouldn’t be harbored by himself who should be righteous. That was his whole heartedness.
Kouki stepped in with terrific speed that should even be called G.o.d speed. He swung down the holy sword that was shining pure white with brute force. That was easily blocked with a scoff by the false image of Kouki whose body was clad in reddish black magic power before he realized. The false image was also using ‘Limit Break’.
The pure white holy sword and the ominous jet-black holy sword clad in reddish black aura clashed, in that instant violent impact rushed out and a crater was created under the false image.
The moment Kouki understood he was blocked, he twisted his wrist and changed into a sweep of the sword. The wood chopping attack transformed like a lie into a neck mowing attack. However, even that attack which was like a sudden flash was easily blocked by the false image.
{Isn’t murder of humans evil?}
“You are not human!”
The teasing words of the false image made Kouki gritted his teeth while accelerating his sword even more. The sword left behind a trail of light while *zurararara-* creating countless after images. The sword that should be just one piece looked like several swords at the same time with its abnormal speed.
The storm of sharp swordplay that continuously swung in circle motions never stopped, as expected from the person that was supposed to be praised as a hero. That strength could be quickly ranked from above even in this world.
But, the enemy before his eyes perfectly responded with similar swordplay that left behind after images with his composed expression still unbroken. On the contrary, the false image saw an opening and let out a counterattack that created a shallow wound on Kouki who couldn’t dodge.
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”
{What’s the matter? You are smeared in that much killing intent… huh, hero?}
Kouki yelled while exhausting the martial arts that he possessed, but his heart that was totally disarrayed even if he didn’t recognize it made him unable to display his strength except as a paltry shadow of his original strength. Naturally, with that, there was no path to win against the likes of his false image that was gradually turning stronger, his uneasiness was also growing violent when he thought about the time limit of ‘Limit Break’.
There, the false image further talked with words that shook Kouki’s mind. That wasn’t Kouki’s negative part that was brought up from the past, but words that incited his anxiety about the future.
{If you are like this, you might have more things taken away again.}
“What are… ”
{Let’s stop with your pretense of not noticing. After all, something that I noticed is also something that you notice.}
“That’s why-! What are you talking about-“
The false image sent Kouki an exasperated gaze as though he was looking at an idiot. And then, he easily said the thing that Kouki feared the most.
{Just who is Shizuku looking at… that’s what I mean.}
“?!!”
Kouki felt like the blood all over his body was boiling. He screamed soundlessly, and when his mouth couldn’t go further he launched a shockwave from close range that might swallow himself too.
The false image easily withdrew from that using ‘Shrink Ground’ and he continued with mocking words toward Kouki’s desperation.
{So you don’t even want to think about it? After Kaori was taken away, on top of it, even Shizuku will… }
“DIEEEEEEE!!”
{Oi, oi, that’s not a line of a hero, you know? Besides, no matter how much you shout, it’s the truth that Shizuku’s heart is leaning toward Nagumo. It might even be understandable, yeah? She was saved by him several times already, and Shizuku is unexpectedly girly.}
“ZEYAAAAH!!”
Kouki shrieked. The swung holy sword increased in brightness, but the black holy sword was increasing even more than that in the thickness of its ominous magic power. Inside Kouki’s heart, he was trying to deny Shizuku’s feeling and throw away the reality with all his might, which in turn raised the strength of the false image endlessly.
Therefore, the unsightly attack that although was done with all his strength but no different than throwing a tantrum, was easily repelled from the front.
“Gaah!?”
Kouki screamed and he was blown away towards the wall once more. Although the magic power convergence ability of his holy armor lengthened the lasting time of ‘Limit Break’,if he recklessly exhausted himself then even that benefit would be pointless. The time Kouki had left was only a little.
{I see. You even deny Shizuku’s matter.}
The false image was walking to Kouki with clacking footsteps, he was shaking his head while sending a cold gaze at Kouki.
Kouki somehow stood up using his holy sword as a stick while his breathing was blocked from the impact, he returned a bloodshot gaze to the false image.
“Wr, wrong. Toward Nagumo, Shizuku… such a thing… no way it could possibly…”
{Venting her anger, sulking, showing a smile from her heart… you noticed all those, right?}
“Something like that… she did that to every…”
{Even though when she saw Yue and Shia close with Nagumo, she was making a sullen face?}
“… That’s just… because they didn’t know the place… that was displeasing for…”
{And the awkward face she made when looking at Kaori approaching that guy?}
“… Shizuku… she is also not recognizing… Nagumo from her heart.”
{Ku-ku-ku, that’s just extreme even if I say so myself huh. You don’t want to believe it that much?}
In front of Kouki who was on his knee while supporting his body with the holy sword, the false image was chuckling while pointing his holy sword. The false image sneered even further at Kouki who was glaring murderously.
And then for a moment, “Oho?” the false image faced at ice wall where there was nothing with a surprised expression. He sensed the familiar presence approaching from the other side of the ice wall with ‘Presence Detection’. Although it seemed Kouki didn’t even have the composure to notice that.
{This is… what good timing.}
“Don’t act composed!”
Kouki leaped up and slashed up his holy sword at what he saw as an opening. Without even looking at that the false image blocked the sword into sword locking contest while grinning widely, and then he pa.s.sed down words that sounded like a death sentence.
{Now, the reality is coming here, you know?}
“What are you saying-“
Right after that a part of ice wall of the room where the two of them were at melted, a new pa.s.sage appeared. Kouki twitched in surprise and while being cautious of the grinning false image in front of his eyes, he slightly moved his gaze at the direction of the pa.s.sage.
And then, his eyes widened looking at the scene ahead of his gaze.
“Still in the middle of trial huh…”
There was Hajime carrying Shizuku on his back there. Kouki’s gaze was drawn into Shizuku. More accurately, at the sleeping face of Shizuku who looked happy while sweetly entrusting her cheek on Hajime’s shoulder in relief while breathing peacefully.
Something snapped inside Kouki.