Chapter 59 - side story

Side Story Chapter 15: Meanwhile, Heinz and his companions

Gubamon, one of the two remaining Vampires worshipping Hihiryushukaka, the Evil God of Joyful Life, had been defeated.

Unlike Ternecia, his head and Magic Stone weren't taken to the Adventurers' Guild, nor did the Vampires who were his subordinates become disorderly groups that caused incidents in all regions.

However, rumors had slowly spread within criminal organizations that the Vampires of Gubamon's faction had been ruling from the shadows, and among the merchants and noblemen who had been making deals with them.

Rumors that Gubamon had fallen, and that the Vampires who were his subordinates had been defeated by someone as well.

Those with connections to the Vampires were confused, as they no longer had anyone contacting them, nor were they given any orders. Of course, they would be beheaded if it was ever found that they had connections with the Vampires, so they didn't voice this confusion aloud.

However, after several months of unnatural silence, their doubts were confirmed when Vampires from Birkyne's faction appeared instead of their usual contacts, either seizing control over criminal organizations or offering a continuation of business.

Birkyne, the sole survivor, had tried to hide Gubamon's death, but Gubamon had turned the majority of his own subordinates into Undead, so there was a shortage of hands even after gathering the few Vampires who had survived.

Thus, rumors surrounding Gubamon's death slowly spread.

Just who had defeated such a monster who had been living since the age of the gods?

Had he been punished by some unknown hero in secret, or had Birkyne kicked him down in order to take control over the Bahn Gaia continent's underworld for himself?

Or was there a monster that surpassed Pure-breed Vampires, lurking in the darkness?

"I'm sure some strong people like Heinz-oniichan and the rest of you exterminated the bad people," said Selen, the Dhampir girl who had been saved and was now being protected by the Five-colored Blades, led by the S-class adventurer known as Heinz, the Blue-flamed Sword. These were her innocent thoughts.

Selen was a Dhampir born to a Vampire mother and human father. However, for some reason, the hidden house in the mountains that her family was living in was raided by thieves.

Selen didn't know the details, but those thieves were a mercenary band hired by a nobleman with an evil desire for the beautiful, odd-colored eyes of Dhampirs.

It was likely that the Vampires had given information to that nobleman in order to dispose of the Dhampir Selen, her mother who was a traitor, and her father.

Selen's mother had been a Noble-born Vampire, but not long had passed since she had become a Vampire, and she was inexperienced in both magic and martial skills. And Selen's father was a simple hunter.

The mercenary band who attacked them was composed of over ten famous individuals with the skills of C-class adventurers, who would even accept dirty tasks from noblemen and wealthy merchants.

They had attacked the house with anti-Vampire preparations. Selen's mother had fought hard to protect her daughter and husband, but she was defeated, her resistance in vain.

Selen's father was heavily wounded as well, and the mercenaries closed in on Selen to gouge out her eyes.

That was when the Five-colored Blades, led by Heinz, came running.

It was around the time that Heinz, who had converted to Alda's peaceful faction in the Orbaume Kingdom, had lost the Elf Spiritual Mage Martina in the wandering Dungeon, Zakkart's Trials, and departed once more with his new party members, Diana and Jennifer.

They had happened to gain information on a mercenary band hired by a nobleman that was after a Dhampir girl, and they simply eradicated the mercenaries, treating them as simple bandits.

For Selen, they could only be described as heroes.

Unfortunately, her fatally-wounded father couldn't be saved, but Heinz and his party were now continuing to protect her.

"I wonder what kind of people the ones who defeated the evil Vampire are?" she said, looking up at Jennifer with sparkling eyes.

"I wonder, too," Jennifer said with a perplexed look. "As you said, Selen, there's no doubt that they're as strong as us or even stronger."

"Eh? There are people that are stronger than you, Jennifer-oneechan?!" Selen exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course," said Jennifer. "There is the Thunderclap Schneider in the Amid Empire, and I don't know if he's still alive, but there was another S-class adventurer called Randolf the True in this country, and they're both definitely stronger than us. And there are plenty of other strong people."

Jennifer herself was an A-class adventurer and had even acquired a superior skill. She had been given Alda's divine protection, and possessed an Artifact as well. However, her words were not spoken out of modesty.

She was certain that Schneider, whose name had already spread across the continent before she was even born, and Randolf, who was the subject of heroic tales told by minstrels while she was a child, were clearly stronger than her and her companions.

At the same time, Jennifer suspected that the one who had defeated Gubamon might have been one of those two.

The Thunderclap Schneider has defeated Elder Dragons and evil gods before. He would be able to defeat Gubamon, who was just as powerful as Ternecia, whom we couldn't defeat. The same goes for Randolf.

For Schneider, Jennifer couldn't think of a reason why he hadn't come forward if he was the one who had defeated Gubamon. In Randolf's case, he had already taken a step back as an adventurer, so perhaps he simply didn't want to cause a fuss.

However, these were only guesses. Assassins belonging to dark Guilds that accepted assassination requests and the special forces of the Amid Empire and Orbaume Kingdom. The existence of such people was half-superstition, but there were still plenty of powerful individuals that Jennifer and her companions didn't know about.

And there was no guarantee that the one who had defeated Gubamon was on the humans' side.

Something that was so fearsome that Ternecia made the effort of coming back to be killed by us. It might have been that.

What was the unidentified monster that had likely taken the Demon King's horns from Ternecia doing right now?

Thinking about this question, Jennifer felt uneasy.

But she wouldn't express this and make Selen feel anxious.

"But one day, we'll become the strongest," Jennifer said.

"Really? Amazing!" Selen exclaimed.

Jennifer laughed. "Heinz is still the only S-class, but me, Diana and everyone else will all become S-class as well," she declared, puffing out her chest.

Selen's eyes grew brighter.

But Diana, the Elf priestess of Mill, the goddess of Slumber, interrupted. "Jennifer, don't get Selen so excited this late at night. Why would you tell her bedtime stories that would keep her awake? It��s important that Selen sleeps properly at night. To begin with, sleep is -"

"My bad, I'm sorry, so stop the lecturing. You're making me sleepy as well, not just Selen," said Jennifer.

Diana's lecture regarding the goddess of slumber caused Selen to yawn immediately.

A masked man let out a muffled scream as he stumbled in a deserted alleyway at night.

"I thought it was too shallow," sighed Heinz's companion, the scout Edgar, who had thrust his bare fist instead of his trusty dagger into the man's solar plexus.

There were over a dozen other people groaning as they lay on the ground nearby, wearing the same masks.

All of them were wearing lightweight leather armor that was easy to move in; they appeared to be assassins at a glance. However, the people lying on the ground were holding not daggers, but small maces, axes and some even had shields equipped on their arms.

"Both the way you used a fake request to draw us away from Selen, and your attack, were quite sloppy. Your footsteps were so noisy. I thought some kids were having a race in the middle of the night," Edgar said.

"Sh-shut up… you traitor," one of the masked men groaned in a strained voice. He was the leader… or rather, the one who had been put on the ground first, so he had recovered a little more than the others.

However, Edgar's response to his words was scornful laughter. "Shut up, huh? Do you people understand that if you all shut up for all eternity, I wouldn't have anything to complain about?"

Heinz looked down on the man with an angry gaze. He was suppressing his urge to kill them, but it was clear even through the man's mask that he was terrified by the wrath of an S-class adventurer.

"Why… why do you people, who offer prayers to the god of law, go as far as to commit lawless, futile acts to try and lay your hands on Selen?" Heinz asked.

The masked men were not assassins or bandits, but priests who normally offered prayers at the Church and the priest-warriors who protected them.

In the Orbaume Kingdom, where Vida's races that possessed monster ancestry were given human rights if they had favorable relationships with humans, these people were known as 'Alda extremists.'

They were those who advocated that Vida's races that originated from monsters, such as Scylla, Lamia and Centaurs, were not people but monsters that should be exterminated regardless of whether they were dangerous or not.

This opinion was commonplace in the Amid Empire, but it was considered to be a radical idea in the Orbaume Kingdom, and those who followed this idea normally disguised themselves as normal believers.

In order to assassinate the Dhampir girl being protected by Heinz's party, these men had put up a fake request at the Adventurers' Guild under the Church's name, trying to draw Heinz and his companions away from her.

Edgar had seen through this and acted as if he had been fooled, pretending to leave Selen in the care of a trusted acquaintance. He had left the female Dwarf Delizah, as well as Jennifer and Diana, to protect Selen while he and Heinz attacked the extremists who had been lured out.

"You know what will happen if we hand you over to the guards without passing judgment on you here, don't you?" said Heinz.

If extremists acted to carry out their beliefs, even if they were affiliated with the Church, they were punished harshly as criminals. Since they broke the law despite serving Alda, who ruled over law, it was only natural that they were punished more severely.

In cases where they armed themselves and planned to kill people, even if the murder was prevented, violators would not be able to escape becoming criminal slaves under the Orbaume Kingdom's law.

The girl in question was someone under the protection of Heinz, an S-class adventurer, the great hero who slayed a Pure-breed Vampire, star of Alda's peaceful faction, honorary nobleman. Since these men had targeted this girl, it was even possible that they would be executed.

But it seemed that the extremists were prepared for this.

"Do as you wish," the man managed to groan, despite being unable to suppress his fear. "We intended to be caught by the guards even if we succeeded. Since we have disturbed law and order, it is only natural that we receive our punishment in a public place."

"… Why are you so determined to try to kill Selen?" Heinz demanded. "What did she ever do? She's just a child who has lost her real parents!"

"Because it's the right thing to do!" the man shouted, as if his emotions were being squeezed out of him. "Alda said that Vida's races are those who bring disorder to the world! Even if they are harmless now, even if they are friendly towards us, they will cause a great catastrophe one day! What's wrong with obeying the words of our god?!"

The Alda extremists of the Orbaume Kingdom had felt a strong impatience at the fact that Heinz and his party had gathered fame.

He was an S-class adventurer, and even possessed the Guider Job that acted as proof that he was a champion.

And he was protecting a Dhampir girl.

There were already all kinds of movements to turn Selen into a symbol for the peaceful faction, and if Heinz and his party's actions continued at this rate, there might even be a duke trying to make Selen an honorary noblewoman.

If that happened, the movement to acknowledge Vida's races in the Orbaume Kingdom would grow stronger and stronger. It would be too late to change things then.

It was already quite late, but Selen had to be erased as soon as possible.

However, even if they wanted to take action, they couldn't make use of a criminal organization… It wasn't an issue of sentiment; the important figures among the extremists had connections to a certain criminal organization, but because Gubamon had been defeated by someone, that criminal organization had stopped working.

Thus, these masked extremists had no choice but to take the most extreme of approaches.

"The peaceful faction is a weak compromise, nothing more than heretical teachings! You people, those who spread these teachings as truth, are traitors!" the man shouted, forgetting his current situation.

A vein appeared on Edgar's forehead as he moved to silence the man.

However, Heinz stopped him. "Indeed, you're right," he said. "Alda wished for the extermination of Vida's races in the past, just as you say, and I'm sure that's still true now. If that wasn't the case, he wouldn't have fought the goddess who battled the Demon King at his side. If he had changed his mind, he would have sent Divine Messages to the Pope and the clergymen of the Amid Empire, telling them to stop persecuting Vida's races. The fact that this hasn't happened means that what you extremists advocate and Alda's will is one and the same."

Not only Edgar and the masked man, but all of the other extremists stopped in surprise at Heinz's words.

"W-what are you trying to say?" the masked man asked, bewildered at Heinz's denial of the very foundations of the peaceful faction's ideology.

Heinz asked him a question in turn. "I am a member of the peaceful faction and have a Dhampir girl under my protection, and yet Alda has bestowed his divine protection upon me and dispatches his Familiar Spirits to aid me. Why is that?"

If Alda's will would not acknowledge Heinz's actions, if he really was a heretical traitor, why could Heinz summon a Familiar Spirit with the Familiar Spirit Descent skill?

Was it not because Alda had acknowledged Heinz?

Heinz smiled bitterly at the masked man, who was lost for words, his eyes wide open. "With that said, that doesn't mean what I advocate is right. I'm sure that Alda is wavering, too."

"A god, waver? Is such a thing…"

"That's what I want to find out. And if Alda says that the eradication of Vida's races is right… I'll ask him why, and persuade him otherwise," said Heinz.

He would meet a god, hear what he had to say and then persuade him otherwise. Heinz's words could even be considered arrogant. The masked man held his breath… and then exhaled loudly.

"This is our defeat," he said, removing his mask to reveal his now-doubtless expression.

After this incident, the Alda extremists who had planned Selen's assassination turned themselves into the guards' station.

Of course, the death penalty was considered. Although Heinz appealed for their lives to be spared, they became criminal slaves. However, Heinz's party purchased them and guided them on a search for the location of Zakkart's Trials, and an adventure to investigate Alda's true will.

This was the first record of Heinz guiding others as a Holy Guider.

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Side Story Chapter 16: Preliminary encounter (Origin)

The Eighth Guidance's bombing of the Bravers' headquarters.

This bombing incident caused great damage to the Bravers' reputation, which still hadn't recovered from the 'Fallen hero incident,' where the crimes of Kaidou Kanata, one of the Bravers, were revealed.

Up until then, the Bravers had been literal heroes to the people of Origin.

All of the Bravers' members possessed genius-level talent for magic and tremendous physical capabilities, and each of them had non-magic, special superpowers that had only existed in fictional works.

They came running to help when accidents and disasters happened. They had done many deeds that put them at the forefront of the war against terrorism.

There had even been people worshipping the Bravers as angels sent by a god.

However, once the crimes committed by Kaidou Kanata were made public, it revealed that the Bravers were just humans like the rest.

As the Bravers had been trying to restore their fallen image, the bombing incident had occurred.

Among the casualties were two of the Bravers' members, Shimada Izumi and Machida Aran, and several staff were also injured.

The world expressed sympathy for the Bravers and anger towards the Eighth Guidance. However, this was a defeat that was difficult to erase for the Bravers as an anti-terrorist organization.

Most importantly, two of their companions had been killed.

The loss of Shimada Izumi with 'Inspection,' which allowed her to see through all kinds of falsehoods, and Machida Aran with 'Calculation' that made him a living supercomputer, was a hard blow for the organization, and their companions from Earth of which there had only been a hundred were now two fewer. And these two hadn't died because they were paying for their mistakes like Kaidou Kanata, who had been killed by Shihouin Mari because he had been illegally selling her mother's organs.

The Bravers had been able to act the way they did up until now because these two had been working behind the scenes.

"We'll definitely avenge those three!" exclaimed Minami Asagi, who had been a part of sports clubs on Earth.

There were many like him who raised their fists in fierce anger, advocating that they should punish the Eighth Guidance, and the traitors like Murakami Junpei, with their own hands.

All of the Bravers, including Minami Asagi, knew that all of the members of the Eighth Guidance had been victims of death-attribute research and then been handed over to another research institution while under the Bravers' protection.

Indeed, if the Bravers had acted properly back then, it was possible that these victims wouldn't have become terrorists.

However, the murder of the Bravers' companions couldn't be forgiven.

"Shimada and Machida were our companions who saved our lives countless times! And Mari… she killed Kanata, but she was supposed to atone for her crime! There was no reason for her to be killed by terrorists! Isn't that right?!" shouted Asagi, seeking the agreement of his companions in this space that was completely white, from the floor to the ceiling.

Amemiya Hiroto, and Amemiya Narumi, whose surname had changed from Naruse after marriage, were present. There were over a dozen other Bravers gathered here as well.

All of them were armed with military body armor, knives of all kinds, and the latest gloves that had the functions of a staff built-in internally.

"Exactly!"

"We'll make them regret it!"

Over half of the Bravers were in agreement with Asagi. It seemed that the impact of having their companions killed wasn't one that the Bravers could accept calmly.

Though the reincarnated individuals had been trained to fight terrorists and engaged in battle with them many times, they had never been defeated. Due to the talent for magic, fortunes and cheat-like abilities that had been given to them, they had been able to emerge victorious continuously.

Some had suffered serious injuries, and even nearly died. However, these wounds were healed by magic and cheat-like abilities, and they had managed to slip through the battlefield alive.

The exception was Kaidou Kanata, who had been killed by another reincarnated individual.

This was why the reincarnated individuals were not accustomed to the deaths of their companions.

Not good. This is headed in a bad direction.

Hiroto grimaced at Asagi and his companions, who were getting more and more spirited. Being the only one other than the 'Oracle' Endou Kouya who knew that the Undead was actually another reincarnated individual, he wanted to capture the members of the Eighth Guidance as quietly as possible, as they were those who had been saved by his 'companion.'

The Eighth Guidance was committing crimes repeatedly all over the world, in developed nations in particular, so it would be impossible to acquit them. Hiroto had intended to secure them in a facility where their human rights would be respected as much as possible, or if it was possible to convince them, secretly sneak them out into a third-world country.

However, the members of the Eighth Guidance were more stubborn, and more serious, than Hiroto or Kouya had expected.

After killing the logistical support members, Shimada Izumi and Machida Aran, they had gone on to kill the captive Shihouin Mari, the 'Metamorph,' with another bomb in the same way.

It was possible that their actions had become more radical under the influence of Murakami and the others joining them, but it was now a situation where they couldn't be brought in quietly.

"I understand how you feel. But our mission is only to capture the Eighth Guidance. Not erase them. Don't forget that," Hiroto said, trying to calm his companions down.

But Asagi and the others began to object.

"I know. But that doesn't mean we can't fight back if they resist. Right?" Asagi asked.

"That's right," was the only response that Hiroto could give.

He wanted to save the Eighth Guidance. However, he couldn't do that at the cost of Asagi and his other companions.

"Hiroto, I know how you feel. You want to save Pluto and the others because they were victims, right? But this is the result of their choices… it can't be helped," said Narumi.

"Narumi, that's… that's right. For now, let's focus on our mission." Unable to tell his wife the truth, that the Eighth Guidance worshipped the one who had once tried to save her, the one she had later mistaken Hiroto to be, Hiroto could only nod with a bitter feeling in his chest.

And this was a choice that he had made to save the Eighth Guidance.

With the Oracle, Endou Kouya had finally determined the whereabouts of the Eighth Guidance base where Murakami and the others were hiding. In order to save as many of the Eighth Guidance members as possible while minimizing the losses his companions suffered, the Bravers had to attack the base quickly.

Having received this news on a private Bravers line, he had gathered as many members as he could and taken action. The Bravers couldn't act alone, so the special forces of every nation were joining the mission, but this was part of the instructions that Kouya had given as well.

Thus, this situation had been produced by the choice given by the Oracle. There wasn't anything to be anxious about.

Or at least, that should be the case, but… I can believe you, right, Kouya?

Kouya was his close friend, but Hiroto felt some unease at the fact that the Oracle's instructions had been delivered in a written message.

"Amemiya, you have quite the unhappy face," someone called out to him. "If the leader makes a face like that, it'll affect the morale of the whole squad."

The one who was speaking to him was the 'Avalon,' Rikudou Akira. He was an unusual man among the Bravers; he was a finesse-type person with magic that was superior to his special ability.

He was someone who had been a class representative of a different class to Narumi and Asagi's.

"Akira-kun, I'm sorry. But right now -" Narumi began.

"I know how you feel, but it's not just the Eighth Guidance. We'll be fighting Murakami and the others… Chronos, Venus, Marionette, Death Scythe, Odin, Hecatoncheir… Ten traitors who knows our plans, with dangerous abilities. It seems that the blood has risen to Asagi's head, but this fight will be harsher and more dangerous than any mission we've faced before," Rikudou said.

"Sorry, you're absolutely right," Hiroto said.

As Rikudou said, they would be fighting those with abilities on the same level as themselves, including the 'Chronos' Murakami, as enemies. There was no telling how many casualties would be suffered if everyone focused only on the Eighth Guidance.

Rikudou exhaled and loosened the muscles around his mouth, as if he was satisfied with Amemiya's reply. "As long you understand." He turned to Narumi. "Mrs. Amemiya, as a wife, you have the right to say some harsh things to your husband from time to time."

"You're right, I'll take care to do that from now on. But I didn't think that I'd be told that by you. Considering how your wife spoils you," Narumi said.

"That's because I'm perfect as a husband," said Rikudou. ��In terms of experience as a husband, I'm above you, Amemiya-kun."

"Indeed. I can't overcome someone so full of experience who has married three times and divorced twice," said Hiroto.

"Hey, we weren't supposed to talk about that!" Rikudou said, laughing.

With some of his tension relieved, Amemiya said some brief words to Narumi and Rikudou to excuse himself and went to cool off Asagi's heading, thinking that it was his turn to make a speech now.

"… That Asagi, noisy as usual, isn't he?" muttered Mao Smith, who was operating a special stealth craft, clicking her tongue.

On Earth, she had been a ferry crewman by the name of Nagano Mao, and she had been reincarnated in Origin's equivalent of Europe.

She had been going back and forth across the sea in a boat on Earth, but in Origin, she was a fighter pilot.

She had been influenced by the family she had been born into in Origin, a family who had been military officers for generations, and before long, she had started flying.

"Going on and on as he likes inside someone's ability, jeez. It's distracting," Mao muttered, checking a crystal meter to make sure that her anti-magic and anti-radar stealth barrier was online.

Her cheat-like ability was 'Noah.' It was an ability that allowed her to maintain a special subspace and transport living things and items inside it.

It was, so to speak, an ability possessed by the player character of any game. It had a maximum limit, but fit about a tanker ship's worth of objects or even people inside that special space and transport them freely, ignoring their weight.

She had utilized this to transport large quantities of supplies to the sites of disasters and to seize large amounts of evidence from terrorist bases and bring them back swiftly.

This time, she was transporting her allies. Mao could have used a transport helicopter, but flying a fighter on her own while transporting them allowed her to deliver them to the Eighth Guidance's base far more quickly.

"Still, these were strange orders, weren't they?"

Mao was concerned about Endou Kouya's orders. There was one more seat in this stealth fighter, but instead of a co-pilot, there was a small box installed there.

"Do not tell any of the other Bravers about the existence of this box's contents, and then hand its contents to Amemiya Hiroto after you arrive at the destination." Those were her orders.

Why did she have to transport it outside of Noah, and why did she have to keep its existence a secret? It was too mysterious.

"But they're the Oracle's orders, right? Even if I asked Endou directly, he probably wouldn't answer me."

There was no explanation for the results produced by the Oracle. Even Endou Kouya himself, the one who possessed the ability, was unlikely to know why things had to be like this.

But the reality was that the Oracle's strange instructions had saved the lives of the Bravers many times.

"It's a small price to pay if I have to keep the existence of one small box secret to save my allies' lives. Now then, I suppose we're arriving soon."

And then, just as Mao began switching the stealth fighter from flight mode to vertical movement mode -

"It's just as Murakami and Shade said, isn't it?" an unfamiliar, high-pitched voice came from behind her without warning.

"?!"

Before she could react, a knife held by a white hand extending from behind was thrust into her neck.

"With this, she can't recite incantations, can she? Isn't this a great victory for Jack?"

In the corner of her vision, Mao saw the member of the Eighth Guidance who possessed a swollen head that appeared as if he was wearing a pumpkin over his face, Jack o' Lantern.

"Yeah, that's amazing, Jack. With this, everyone can die."

And then a lifeless-looking, ghost-like girl appeared, as if this were a horror movie. It was the 'Gazer,' Minuma Hitomi, who had joined the Eighth Guidance along with Murakami and the others, or rather, kidnapped and taken with them.

These guys, an Eighth Guidance member and Gazer?! Why are they here?! This aircraft hasn't decelerated yet; we're still traveling at the speed of sound!

If they had used space-attribute magic, teleporting would have been possible. However, that would require accurate coordinates of the destination point.

It was absolutely impossible, even for a master of space-attribute magic, to teleport inside the cockpit of an aircraft flying at the speed of sound.

If their timing was even a little off, they would collide with the aircraft or be left falling, thousands of meters above the ground.

How did these guys even know this stealth fighter's flight path in the first place… this is bad, I don't have time to think!

Mao's head was filled with questions, but she had no time to address them. Unfortunately, she had been adjusting the meters and disabled the autopilot, so she couldn't let go of the joystick. She couldn't use her proficient wind-attribute magic inside the tiny cockpit, and she couldn't raise her voice to recite any incantations anyway.

"Does this make Jack the first to arrive, Hitomi-chan?" said Jack.

"Not yet, Jack. You have to thrust that knife in more deeply or pull it strongly. These guys have magic items for life support in times of emergency, so if you don't kill them, they have a chance to survive!"

"I see! Thanks, Hitomi-chan."

Obeying the Gazer's instructions, Jack gripped his knife forcefully to sever Mao's head.

Fortunately for Mao, Jack wasn't accustomed to killing, and he didn't have much physical strength. However, at this rate, she wouldn't last more than ten seconds.

What do I do?! Gazer can just use magic if she wants to, so if I let go of the joystick and resist, in the worst-case scenario, she might just blow us all up, including herself! I can't die yet!

The reason was that her companions were inside Noah. If Mao died, there was no telling what would happen to them.

If Noah's user died, its effects would likely be undone. Amemiya Hiroto and the others who were inside would likely be thrown out.

And this was an aircraft flying above the clouds at the speed of sound. Of course, even if the Bravers were thrown out here, they were all first-rate users of magic, so they might survive.

But what if they crashed into this stealth aircraft that was traveling at the speed of sound the moment they were thrown out? What if they immediately lost consciousness due to the change in atmospheric pressure?

Even with their Magic Items, the situation was not very optimistic. Gazer was overvaluing them; the function of those Magic Items was only to buy a little time before death when their users were fatally wounded.

To think that I was the passionate type who would give her life to save her allies!

"Jack, hurry and kill that woman -!"

"Hitomi-chan, you'll hurt your face."

The moment Gazer and Jack spoke, the cockpit flew open as if exploding. And then the seat that Mao was sitting in was ejected.

Escape successful. It looks like I was able to avenge myself, too.

Mao had activated the aircraft's escape mechanism, launching herself into the sky, and now she began falling. In her field of vision, she could see her aircraft that was more expensive than her entire lifetime's income, becoming rapidly more distant, as well as Jack and Gazer, who were falling towards the ground.

The moment Mao ejected, Jack had protected Gazer. Because of this, there was a large dent in his swollen head. He had likely died instantly.

Gazer was falling, embracing the dead Jack.

She went and found a single man. How can she do such a suicidal thing when she's got someone she loves…

Mao coughed.

Because the knife had come out of her throat, she was bleeding more violently. And because she had forcibly activated the escape mechanism during sonic-speed flight, her bones were broken in several places, too. Her organs seemed to be in bad shape as well.

With this, even her Magic Item wouldn't know which fatal wound to heal.

At this rate, I won't have time to let everyone out of Noah and save them… I'm rapidly accelerating towards the ground, anyway.

Perhaps because of the attack that Gazer performed before dying, Mao's parachute wouldn't open.

And I suppose I'm losing consciousness… now…

If you all survive being thrown out, make my funeral a grand one, Mao thought as she parted with her consciousness.

"I suppose Jack and Gazer should have gone ahead by now," Endou Kouya said as he worked on his PC. "If I do this here, then this… how complicated. This is why I hate machines." He went through numerous complex procedures, putting a program into the computer. "And I'm done. With this, everything has become your crime. I've made the reason for your crime, 'because you heard a demon's voice,' and all of the Oracle's predictions were the predictions of a demon. Not that I know what a demon is, though."

Kouya was in a room alone, talking to himself in the mirror. Of course, the mirror's reflection of him was also alone.

However, his face was unusually stiff. The muscles of his face were spasming, and his mouth and cheeks were crooked.

"Don't be so angry, Oracle Endou Kouya. It's your fault for being so focused on finding Murakami and the rest of us, neglecting your own protection. That's why your body was taken over by an evil spirit… by 'Shade.'"

The one manipulating Endou Kouya's body was one of the Eighth Guidance's members, Shade, who had lost his physical body but gained the ability to possess corpses.

Normally, he could only possess dead bodies, but he could actually possess a living human, just once, taking over their body. Murakami and the others had been used as bait, and then Shade had used this power to take over Endou Kouya's body.

And then he had set a trap for Amemiya Hiroto and the others, saying that these were the instructions of the Oracle. He had ordered for a box containing an almost-dead mouse to be placed in the stealth fighter's cockpit, so that Jack could be sent in, as he was able to teleport near any almost-dead person… or to be more precise, any almost-dead creature.

"It's easy, isn't it? If I just say that it's the result given by the Oracle, everyone moves about in interesting ways. Everyone carries out your orders, no matter how strange they are. Like, 'Pretend to show no hostility towards the Undead.'"

The moment Shade spoke these words, his face's convulsions stopped.

"Surprised? Murakami heard from Gazer, so he knows it. That's why I've decided that I'm definitely going to kill you," Shade said, picking up a hand grenade that he had acquired beforehand by saying that it was needed for the Oracle's orders. "Even if I take your body, it's not like I can use your abilities or magic. So, I'll be using a method that will definitely kill you. Ah, if you don't have a body of your own, killing yourself takes some time, too."

The reason Shade could only take over a living human's body once was because once he did so, he would fuse with that body and never be able to leave it.

In other words, if Endou Kouya died, Shade would die as well.

He could die. He didn't have a physical body, but he could die just like everyone else!

"I could wait three hours for the false information that I created using Endou Kouya's body to spread across the world, but… I don't want to be the only one left alive when everyone else has died."

Shade pulled the pin from the hand grenade, held it in his mouth and closed his eyes.

"Goo' naah…"

"Jack, Gazer, Mao Smith, Endou Kouya and Shade have gone," Enma announced to his companions.

He was a boy whose entire eyes were black, even the parts that were supposed to be white.

The Eighth Guidance's base… or to be more precise, the battlefield that Pluto and the others had prepared for the decisive battle, was a ruin in Northern Europe.

It was a historical ruin in the middle of what had been turned into a barren wasteland filled with rocks by an ultimate weapon that had been used in a previous great war.

The infrastructure and everything else was dead, and staying here for extended periods of time would normally be impossible. Pluto and the others were using the subway system beneath this desert as their base.

The remaining members of the Eighth Guidance, who surrounded a large table that they had found in the ruins, all directed their gazes towards Pluto simultaneously.

"So, have the others died?" Pluto asked, not moving a single eyebrow despite the gazes of her companions.

Enma, who possessed an ability that told him the names and faces of those who had died, closed his eyes in concentration for a few moments before replying. "No, the names of Amemiya Hiroto and the others aren't there. The others aren't there, either, so they're all still alive."

"Maybe they're fatally wounded but just haven't died yet," said Isis, a black woman.

But Enma shook his head. "They possess advanced magic of all attributes, and are the users of more powerful abilities than ours. They have Magic Items, too. If a few of them are unharmed, the rest of them will recover. Only instant death is certain."

"I see, then I suppose they'll be headed this way right about now," said Valkyrie, crossing her arms.

She was a tall, beautiful woman with long, platinum-blonde hair.

The Bravers couldn't turn back just because one of their allies had been killed. The special forces of every nation were already spreading out around this area.

More importantly, they would take action to avenge their companions. The leader, Amemiya Hiroto, seemed to want to save the Eighth Guidance, which made things complicated, but that wouldn't make him change the plan.

Even if Amemiya Hiroto stopped the plan now, the special forces were already moving. If they ran into Murakami and the others, they would be annihilated. That would mean that the Bravers had canceled the plan that they themselves had suggested, leaving the special forces to die.

Of course, even if that didn't happen, Shade's handiwork would cause the Bravers' reputation to plummet regardless.

Causing the Bravers' reputation to plummet was little more than harassment; it meant nothing in particular to Pluto and the others. Either way, they would be dying soon, and they didn't care about what happened after they died.

However, they thought that it would be good if, after they died, the surviving Bravers suffered. But that was all they thought about it.

"Well then, Murakami and the others will be betraying us soon," said Izanami, a barely human-shaped creature whose sex couldn't be determined, with protuberances the size of babies' heads growing all over its body.

But nobody denied those words. They had already established that Murakami and the others, who had betrayed the Bravers, would betray them as well.

"So, what are we going to do, Pluto?" asked the sweet-looking Baba Yaga, who had her hair in braids.

"Let's see. For now, let's finish eating," said Pluto, pointing at the numerous onigiri on the plates lined up on the table.

They were in the middle of a meal.

They were upholding the Eighth Guidance's rule of all sharing a meal together at least once a day.

However, as Shade had no physical body, he had always just passed some food through the stomach of whatever corpse he possessed, and several days ago, he had gone off to act separately from the rest. And because Mao's stealth fighter had departed earlier than expected today, Jack and Gazer had disappeared partway through the meal.

"Good night, Jack, Shade, Gazer. Let us meet on the other side," Pluto said.

"I wonder about that, maybe Shade is sleeping right about now. At night, he always complained that he couldn't sleep because he didn't have a physical body."

"I wonder what Jack and Gazer are doing? Do you think they managed to say hello to the Undead?"

"Hmm, knowing those two, I'm sure they would be too nervous to be able to say anything."

"Well then, Shade won't have any time to sleep, either. He'll have to introduce those two to the Undead."

The members of the Eighth Guidance ate the onigiri that contained various different ingredients as they shared this conversation.

The onigiri made with the rice that the Undead had apparently said that he wanted to eat while he was alive.

And once they finished eating, they stood up and left the table.

"Well then, may we meet again on the other side."

The final meal together had ended. Now, their lives in this world would come to an end.

"…"

Pluto, who was the last to finish eating her onigiri, turned her gaze to the seat in which Hitomi had been sitting. Hitomi's final prediction bothered her.

"Pluto. You will turn a blind eye to two of them," Hitomi had said.

"I'll turn a blind eye to two of them… not spare them, but turn a blind eye to them, which means either the Bravers or the soldiers, right? It's definitely the latter, isn't it?" Pluto murmured.

Pluto would probably turn a blind eye to two soldiers who would say that they had a fiancé in their hometown, or that they had young children and a pregnant wife waiting for them to return, or simply cry pathetically for their mothers.

Pluto having a long-lost sibling among the special forces… such a situation wouldn't happen.

But it would certainly not be the Bravers.

"Because I would never turn a blind eye to those guys," Pluto said.

Bravers: Endou Kouya, Mao Smith, deceased. Two casualties.

Eighth Guidance: Jack o' Lantern, Shade, Minuma Hitomi the Gazer, deceased. Three casualties.

The anti-Bravers led by Murakami: All nine members still alive.

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Side Story Chapter 17: Chain of events (Origin)

The signal from the stealth fighter piloted by 'Noah' of the Bravers vanished. The army that had lent the fighter to the Bravers passed this information onto the special forces members who were on standby, surrounding the Eighth Guidance's base, and it was devastating news for them.

To the ordinary people, the Bravers were heroes, but to soldiers, they were more than just that. To the soldiers, Amemiya Hiroto and the others were cheats… 'unfair' beings.

One hundred geniuses that normally appeared very rarely were all born in the same generation, and most of them had been born on an island nation to the far east. And all of them possessed at least one non-magic 'ability' that worked on unknown principles.

Partially due to these 'abilities,' each of them had the power to shake entire nations.

The 'fallen hero' Kanata had possessed Gungnir, which allowed him to snipe and kill any target through any obstacles.

The 'Metamorph' Shihouin Mari, who had killed Kanata, was a master of disguise beyond what was seen in spy movies. She could change her race and physique instantly, rendering scanners for fingerprints, retinas, and voice signatures useless, and there was a high possibility that she could fool sensors that identified the Mana wavelengths of individuals as well.

The Oracle Endou Kouya, Machida Aran with Calculation, Shimada Izumi with Inspection. All of them broke the rules.

The most fearsome of the Bravers was Amemiya Hiroto. If he had been born before the World War, it would likely have been the eastern island nation, not the American-European alliance, that ruled the world.

"So, did the stealth fighter's signal disappear because of an attack by the Eighth Guidance? Are the Bravers still alive?" asked a commanding officer of the special forces of one of the nations.

"Unknown," his subordinate immediately replied. "However, the vital signals of 'Noah,' Mao Smith, have ceased."

"I see, so that troublesome woman has disappeared."

Mao had been marked among the Bravers as someone who needed to be under significant surveillance. That wasn't because her behavior was often problematic, but because her Noah ability was troublesome.

Things stored inside Noah could never be detected from the outside. Precious metals, firearms, drugs, she could transport them as she liked. Of course, that included people.

What if she were to transport a dangerous biological weapon inside Noah? The thought was enough to terrify the high officials in every nation.

The Bravers had possessed society's trust up until now, but there were Murakami Junpei and the others who were now working with the Eighth Guidance.

No matter how noble they were, there was no saying for sure that they would never stain their hands with crime.

That was why it wasn't bad if the Bravers died. It would be best if they were to work for the nation and find permanent employment, but them dying was far better than them joining other nations or criminal organizations.

"First, we should confirm how many losses the Bravers have sustained, and wait for contact from them to hear whether they're in a state to participate in the operation. In theory, we would take this option. However, it's highly likely that the Eighth Guidance has already detected our operation," the commanding officer said.

If that wasn't the case, there was no way a latest-model stealth fighter would go missing with its young and healthy pilot dead.

How had the Eighth Guidance, who shouldn't have been in possession of any radar equipment, detected the approach of a stealth fighter? It was possible that it was the doing of Murakami Junpei or one of the others with their abilities, but it was a known fact that all of the members of the Eighth Guidance were able to use one death-attribute spell in exchange for not being able to use magic of the normal attributes.

Both possibilities were feasible.

"Commanding officer, there are none among Murakami Junpei and the others who possess a suitable ability for this," said the subordinate. "Is it not the doing of the Eighth Guidance?"

The abilities of Murakami Junpei and his followers were already well-known.

Murakami had Chronos, an ability that delayed the activation of other Bravers' abilities and magic cast by others that were nearby. He also had incredible Mana regeneration that was always active.

His companion Tsuchiya Kanako had Venus, which charmed others. However, this didn't work on other Bravers.

There was Death Scythe that caused instant death by looking at the target's face, Super Sense that strengthened the user's five senses, Silpheed that transformed the user's body into gas, Marionette that allowed the manipulation of others by touching them, Hecatoncheir that was telekinesis… they were users of all kinds of abilities.

Gazer, who could see the future, had been a particularly problematic one, but she had apparently been in a mostly vegetative state when Murakami kidnapped her, so it was unclear whether she could use her ability.

However, the commanding officer did not trust this information. The source of this information was the Bravers, after all. Sometimes the information from his own nation's intelligence service was wrong; he couldn't just blindly accept information from outside sources.

"If the ability-users work together, they may be able to use their abilities in ways that aren't in our intel. And there is no saying that they won't have a trump card hidden up their sleeves. Don't let your guard down," he said. "We have been given top-secret orders. As we have been ordered, we will begin our operation!"

And then, without knowing the fate of the Bravers, and without making any communications to the other squads, the squad began moving.

"We will definitely acquire the members of the Eighth Guidance, whose bodies contain death-attribute Mana, for our nation! It doesn't matter if they're corpses, kill them and take them with us!" the commanding officer shouted.

"Yes, sir!" his men responded.

Knowing how much the military nation had benefited after discovering the death attribute, the high officials of every nation couldn't help but to want that glory for their own nations.

Most importantly, that magic would allow the realization of humanity's dream, immortality, would it not? Considering that, and considering that the other nations would think the same, they couldn't help themselves.

The members of the Eighth Guidance, who could only use one type of death-attribute magic each, wielded this much power. If one nation monopolized the death attribute, how powerful would it become? Thus, it was justice for our nation to 'control' it.

This squad was not the only one to have received special orders from the upper echelons of their nation that had these thoughts.

The soldiers of the special forces possessed carefully-trained bodies and were studied users of advanced magic. In addition, they were outfitted with the latest equipment.

Active camouflage Magic Items that used light-attribute magic, the thermal sensor Magic Items that used fire-attribute magic, and the anti-infrared Magic Items were flawless as well.

And they were equipped with firearms, knives, all kinds of chemicals, state-of-the-art internal 'staff' gloves and communications equipment that could communicate both technologically and magically.

Each individual soldier was a superhuman with more fighting power than a tank. Squads of sizes varying from a dozen to thirty men had been sent by ten different nations.

They had confidence that they would fulfil their mission. They were also conceited in themselves for being highly-trained soldiers.

They certainly wouldn't lose to amateurs who relied on unknown powers… the Bravers who couldn't escape their image of seeming like civilians, and guinea pigs who hadn't undergone any training, as long as the situation was kept under control. They couldn't lose.

That was what they thought.

Amemiya Hiroto had deliberately made the Bravers' abilities open knowledge so that they wouldn't be persecuted by others. However, no matter what he did, he had not been able to reduce the number of people opposing them to zero.

Anti-personnel landmines and booby traps. The work of an amateur, the commanding officer thought.

The soldiers of the special forces proceeded through the subway tunnels that were the Eighth Guidance's base, disarming the traps that had been set one after another. Things might have been different if they were normal police officers or soldiers that were sent on ordinary missions, but for these men, this was no different from going on a stroll.

Is this the Eighth Guidance? They're quite -

As the commanding officer heard consecutive gunshots, his thoughts stopped permanently.

Dozens of gun barrels had appeared out of thin air and opened fire on the special forces.

"An enemy attack?!"

"Let there be a stone wall!" the commanding officer shouted immediately, conjuring a stone wall with earth-attribute magic to hide his body behind.

The commanding officer of this squad thought that this was a surprise attack by the special forces of another nation to dispose of a competitor.

If that wasn't the case, the enemies wouldn't be using the latest active camouflage.

"Eizam, use Napalm! Beck, Tyler, oxygen!" the commanding officer ordered, knowing that the stone wall would be broken through by magic within the next ten seconds and deciding that the all of the special forces members from the other nation should be exterminated.

Under his orders, his subordinates recited incantations for an advanced fire-attribute spell and a wind-attribute spell that produced a membrane of breathable air to protect their allies.

"Delivery!"

With this signal, a hole opened in a part of the stone wall, and the fire-attribute spell was fired through that hole. At the same time, the defensive membrane of air enveloped all of the soldiers.

There was a thunderous roar. It was likely that all of the oxygen on the other side of the wall had been combusted by now, leaving the enemy unable to breathe and suffering in the burning air.

"Life signals?" the commanding officer asked.

"None. Enemy casualties confirmed," said one of his subordinates, confirming the enemies' annihilation with a sensor that contained a life-attribute Magic Item.

Just as the men were checking that everyone was accounted for and began moving to quickly administer first-aid treatment… the stone wall crumbled to pieces.

"Impossible! The enemy should have been dead!"

As a rain of bullets descended upon him and his men once more, the commanding officer figured out who the enemy was.

The enemy were armed Undead soldiers with loose, burnt faces, letting out harsh groans. Lifeless, dead soldiers that didn't need oxygen.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Overwhelming, aren't they, my brave warriors!" Valkyrie, the tall, beautiful woman with waist-long silver-blonde hair, laughed loudly as she watched the special forces soldiers fall one by one to the Undead under her command.

"You're right about that," said the 'Death Scythe,' Konoe Kyuuji, as he looked on. "Aren't Zombies normally small fries?"

"How rude, calling them small fries! My brave warriors are true heroes who fight on without fearing even death!" Valkyrie protested.

"Well, they're already dead, so there's no need for them to be scared of it now."

Undead existed in Origin, but they were just treated as a kind of monster, corpses that moved on their own because of Mana that had remained in the body for whatever reason. In many cases, they simply rampaged like beasts; they did not possess the intelligence or skills that they had in life. The only exception was the 'Undead' who had used magic.

That was why the special forces soldiers would never be defeated no matter how many Zombies tried to swarm them. The most they would be able to do was buy some time.

However, the brave Zombie warriors that Valkyrie commanded could handle firearms as they had done while alive, and they could even cast simple spells.

"Of course, it's thanks to our comrades who gathered all of the corpses for me, and Isis's power. I'm only giving them commands, nothing else," Valkyrie said.

The brave Zombie warriors could exhibit the same abilities that they had possessed while alive due to the power of Isis, the black woman with dreadlocks.

Just like the goddess who once joined together the separated remains of her husband to resurrect him, Isis was able to turn corpses into Undead that possessed the same abilities they had while alive. She needed between an hour to half a day to create a single one, so she couldn't add the currently-dying special forces soldiers to her Undead, however.

And Valkyrie's power was manipulating Undead, who were normally impossible to control. That was all.

"Therefore, my brave warriors and I will not accept criticism! We shall make full use of the equipment that we have been capturing from research facilities and criminal organizations up until now!" Valkyrie declared.

"I don't want to go along with this, but…"

"Konoe, to your right, there are some guys trying to blow up the subway system with high explosive devices. Kill them," ordered a voice coming from Konoe's communications device.

"Yes sir, Murakami-danna." Obeying these orders, Konoe released ultrasonic waves with wind-attribute magic. Sensors picked up the ultrasonic waves and projected the faces of his targets. "Death Scythe."

With just that, the targeted soldiers went into cardiac arrest, convulsing a few times before dying.

"Did you think that you could feel at ease because you're wearing helmets?"

It was true that Death Scythe could only cause instant death… cardiac arrest, in targets that he had seen with his bare eyes. However, he had embedded sensors into his eyeballs and could see the faces of his targets with the echoes of the ultrasonic waves that went through helmets and masks, and he could kill his targets using this method.

It was a method developed after he had accepted Murakami's offer, so the special forces, who had acquired their information from the Bravers, were unaware of this trump card.

"Are you done? If you are, we're marching forward! The appetizer will be devoured by I, Valkyrie, and Izanami and Berserker as well, before the fake heroes arrive!" the beautiful, brave-looking Valkyrie declared to the men.

Konoe made a displeasured expression. "Why are you going out of your way to go on the frontlines? The commander is usually at the back, right?"

"It's because my power is only effective within a one-kilometer radius from me! If the brave warriors march alone, they will stop obeying my orders once they are out of range. You can just hide behind me!"

"Yeah, yeah."

In a place separate from Valkyrie and Konoe, Izanami's fury was being unleashed on the elite soldiers.

"GYAAAAH!"

"A monster! It's a monster! Why doesn't light-attribute magic work?!"

"Silver bullets, holy water, salt, anti-Undead equipment, nothing works! We never heard about this!"

The Eighth Guidance had crushed several top-secret death-attribute research facilities in the nation that had dispatched this squad of special forces, and the nation had been aware that the Eighth Guidance had been taking away the corpses of the guards at these facilities.

Thus, the nation had provided their soldiers with large quantities of anti-Undead equipment, having guessed that the Eighth Guidance might turn these corpses into Undead and use them to guard their base.

However, the one stationed there was not the Undead under Valkyrie's command, but Izanami.

Ferocious roars filled the air.

Yomotsushikome, masses of flesh about the size of medium-sized dogs, each with four short limbs with sharp claws and a mouth filled with fangs that looked as if it had been pasted onto the body. And Yomotsuikusa, which had the appearances of apes that had their muscle fibers exposed.

Izanami's ability created these two types of monsters, whose heads were filled with nothing but a desire to feed.

"Ugufuh! … Go, go and eat, then come back." Izanami used a knife to cut out one of the protuberances that covered his body, right from the base. The tumor made graphic-sounding noises as it transformed into a monster.

At the same time, the wound left behind on Izanami's body closed rapidly.

"Kufuh, now then, kill them. They are not the ones who killed the 'Undead,' the one who gave meaning to this unsightly monster, but they are the allies of those who killed him. Now, dig in," Izanami murmured.

All of the cells in Izanami's body, not just the protuberances but its internal organs as well, had transformed into something resembling cancer cells that repeatedly underwent endless cell division. Thus, it was suspected that Izanami would not die unless over 70% of its brain was destroyed.

However, in the military nation's research facility, Izanami had been nothing more than a useless guinea pig that simply didn't die. But thanks to the death-attribute Mana gained when the Undead rescued it, due to the size of the protuberances, it had become able to create two types of monsters from the tumors cut away from its main body.

Right before Izanami's eyes, these two types of monsters, Yomotsushikome and Yomotsuikusa, were forcing the special forces, who were supposed to be elite soldiers, into a disadvantageous situation.

But the price that Izanami paid was that its tumors expanded rapidly. Its cells were on a rampage to try and recover from the repeated injuries its body had sustained within a short period of time.

"Kukuh, at this rate, the pressure from the tumors will crush my organs… my brain." Now that Izanami had become unable to even walk due to the size and weight of the tumors, it had started to see the finish line, and whispered into its communications device. "I'm going to make my body light now," it said.

"Won't you last any longer?" asked the voice of Berserker, who was waiting for his own turn to step up.

A bitter smile appeared on Izanami's face. "I'll probably last another few minutes, but soon, I won't even be able to speak."

"I see… Then leave the rest to me. Good night, Izanami," said Berserker.

"Let us meet again, comrade!" said Valkyrie's voice.

"I'll go soon as well, so wait for me," said Konoe.

Izanami listened to the farewells from Pluto and the others. "Yeah, I'll be waiting on the other side," it replied, and then took out the switch that it had received from Isis.

Now that Izanami thought about it, Isis hadn't said farewell, but… it was probably because of Murakami and the others, so it was fine.

"This body of mine, devour as many of them as possible." Izanami pressed the switch, and an explosive Magic Item implanted inside its skull was activated. The explosion itself was small, but it was enough to destroy Izanami's brain.

With the paste-like mixture of blood and what was once its brain pouring out of the hole where its face was, Izanami collapsed.

A deep growl filled the air.

Izanami's body stood up with a creaking noise, rising as an enormous Yomotsuikusa.

With its beast-like roar filling the subway tunnels, the enormous Yomotsuikusa charged at the special forces soldiers that were still resisting, desiring more prey.

A beast was roaring in other passageways as well.

"Lee! Get a hold of yourself, Lee!"

But the beast was Sergeant Lee Jian of the special forces squad sent by an Asian nation, who had been fighting against a member of the Eighth Guidance until just a moment ago.

That member of the Eighth Guidance was a large, fat man wearing the fur of a bear, but he was a fearsome fighter who possessed both the agility of a carnivorous, feline beast and the superhuman strength of a bear.

If he was allowed to close the distance, he would take the limbs, head or organs of the enemy with a single blow.

Normally, he would not be allowed to get close, but the special forces soldiers couldn't prevent him from closing in due to the traitor Bravers, the 'Hecatoncheir' Doug Atlas and the 'Aegis' Melissa J. Sautome, who were supporting the enemy from behind.

And so, ten of the thirty soldiers of the special forces squad had fallen and finally defeated the beast, but for some reason, Sergeant Lee, who had dealt the fatal blow, had begun killing his companions as a new beast.

"GUOH!"

"Lee, it's me, it's Chen! GYAH!"

Lee, who had been a specialist in close-quarters combat with his knife, was using that skill to its fullest as a beast. He cut the throat of the comrade who was sorrowfully calling his name.

"That's no longer Sergeant Lee! Exterminate him along with the enemy!"

Though it was already too late, the soldiers saw this, changed their way of thinking and began a full-blown attack on Sergeant Lee.

Bullets and spells cast with their incantations shortened by portable magical mediums flooded in towards Sergeant Lee.

"Don't let up on your attacks! Think of the enemy as a monster that will continue moving until you completely destroy its arms and legs!" a soldier shouted.

But this also meant that the enemy was a monster that could be stopped if its arms and legs were completely destroyed… if its entire body was turned into mincemeat. The surviving special forces soldiers had the skill and equipment to make that happen.

However, this was only true if their attacks landed.

Sergeant Lee roared, and a white, fog-like shield appeared in front of him, deflecting all of the bullets and spells. Seeing this, the soldiers' faces turned pale.

"That damn Aegis! What are Park and Xiaolee doing?!" shouted the man who appeared to be the commanding officer.

The response to this question came from one of the two people behind Sergeant Lee, a man with an afro. "Do you mean these two that I just crushed with my bare hands?" he said, pointing at a corpse that had become compacted and thin with all of its bones crushed, as if it had been gripped by a giant, and another whose head had been pulverized.

Nobody responded to him.

"They won't hear you if you speak with your normal voice, will they, Atlas?"

"Oi, don't call me Atorasu!*"

"Ah, yes, yes. Doug, I just have to call you Doug, right? … Ah, how bothersome."

"Melissa, how can you speak like that when I'm protecting - whoops!"

Behind Melissa, a half-white, half-Asian woman, the harsh sound of bullets being deflected echoed out.

"One more rat!"

The terrible sound of bones being broken and flesh being crushed came from thin air, and then a mass of mincemeat the size of a soldier, covered in an active camouflage robe, appeared there.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Wow, that's such an unsexy way to say thanks."

"I have my hands full with looking after that beast… Berserk."

The woman's name was Melissa J. Sautome. She was a reincarnated individual with the ability to conjure an 'Aegis,' a shield of ultimate defense. Her Aegis was capable of blocking any physical or magical attacks. However, she could only conjure it around herself or somewhere a short distance away from her, not both at once.

When she conjured the Aegis as she had done earlier to protect the beast… Berserk of the Eighth Guidance, she herself became defenseless.

It was the 'Hecatoncheir,' Doug Atlas, that covered her. This was the role of the man who had been named Shirai Atorasu by his parents on Earth, as they had wanted him to become a man who supported the world.

He possessed three abilities - a powerful 'Telekinesis,' 'Omnidirectional Perception' and 'Force Vision,' an ability that allowed him to switch between infrared, ultraviolet and Mana-detecting vision. He had been given the codename 'Hecatoncheir,' named after the giants that possessed a hundred hands and numerous heads.

Now, he was making mincemeat out of the men who were using active camouflage to try and dispose of Melissa before Berserk, one by one.

"Still, that Berserk guy is enjoying himself on his rampage, isn't he? That failure, isn't he getting carried away?" said Doug.

"There's no such thing as getting carried away when you have the intelligence of a beast, is there?" said Melissa.

As the two of them watched from behind while Berserk killed the soldiers one after another, they heard contact from Murakami.

"Izanami is dead. It's about time."

"Okay," Melissa replied briefly, undoing Aegis from Berserk, who had finished killing the last soldier.

"See you, bear," said Doug, unleashing his telekinesis.

But Berserk leapt sideways, avoiding what was supposed to be a surprise attack of betrayal, an invisible telekinetic one at that.

And then it roared as it demonstrated surprising physical capabilities, gaining speed by launching itself off the walls and leaping at Doug and Melissa.

"It's been a while since that's been avoided. But -"

The knife attack, swung with the strength of a beast and the technique of a human, was deflected by Melissa's broad Aegis.

Berserk roared again in anger.

"And Hecatoncheir's codename isn't just for show," Melissa murmured.

Not letting the momentary opening slip past him, Doug gripped and crushed Berserk's entire body with careful use of his telekinesis.

"Alright, we're done… or not? What a tenacious bear," Doug muttered.

The bear fur, which had been torn to pieces, detached itself from the mincemeat that had once been Sergeant Lee's body. And then it began crawling towards a relatively intact corpse.

This bear fur was Berserk's real body.

It was a byproduct of the numerous animal experiments that had been conducted in order to acquire death-attribute magic. It infested corpses and living humans, adding a beast's power to their battle techniques.

The infested human, if still alive, had a part of their brain destroyed instantly, and they turned into a rampaging berserker as their body's nutrients were absorbed by Berserk.

It had been named 'Berserk' after the berserkers of Norse mythology, and research had been conducted to determine whether it could be used as a biological weapon, but it had been branded as a failed product.

It had been produced by accident, so it was impossible to create new Berserks, and because the only Berserk in existence was a parasitic organism living only inside a fur, it was impossible to reconstruct its brain in order to control it.

They could let it go on indiscriminate rampages in urban areas, but it would be weak in the face of squads of trained soldiers. That was what had been thought.

Soldiers possessed firearms, weapons that would destroy the human bodies taken over by Berserk, and more importantly, unlike the soldiers of Earth, they had command over magic.

Even if Berserk switched infestation targets from one human to the next, it would quickly be seen that the fur was the main body, and be burned by fire or light-attribute magic, or frozen and trapped inside ice conjured by water-attribute magic.

It was better to put large budgets, effort and time into other research than try to find an effective use for Berserk. That was the decision that had been made.

The reason Berserk had been able to defeat special forces soldiers, who had received far more advanced training than average soldiers, was because it obediently followed the instructions of other Eighth Guidance members for some reason, and because of the protection of the Aegis.

"But this is the end. I'll take a piece of that fur, though." Doug tore apart Berserk's glossy fur until it stopped moving.

Why were these men, who were equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and first-rate when it came to magic, unarmed fighting and using firearms, being cornered so one-sidedly? They had thoroughly planned their operation to counter the Eighth Guidance's crimes.

So, why?

There were three main reasons. First, the Eighth Guidance had kept Isis and Valkyrie's brave Zombie warriors, Izanami's monsters and Berserk a complete secret up until now. Thus, nobody had information about these, so there had been no way to come up with countermeasures for them.

Next, the objective of the special forces had been to capture the members of the Eighth Guidance, dead or alive, and take them back to their nations.

Since there was no need to make the effort of capturing them alive, every special forces squad had been aiming to kill them and acquire the Eighth Guidance's corpses, but it still meant that they were unable to use attacks that wouldn't leave corpses behind or put the bodies in a state that it would take too long to retrieve them.

And the base that the Eighth Guidance had chosen was a ruined subway system. The special forces were hesitant to use attacks that might cause the narrow passageways to collapse. If they managed to kill the members of the Eighth Guidance but took too long to retrieve the corpses, it was highly likely that the other special forces squads would obstruct them or the Bravers would intervene.

There were some squads that had collapsed the passageways deliberately, having given up on retrieving Valkyrie, Izanami and Berserk and prioritized the capture of Pluto and the others instead, but they were obstructed by the final reason.

It was the fortunes possessed by Murakami and the other former Bravers.

Pluto and her companions didn't know that the Bravers and the Undead had been reincarnated from another world. Murakami and his followers hadn't given them that much information.

However, the Eighth Guidance had noticed while targeting the Bravers that they had unusually good luck.

Bullets missed their vital areas and they gained information on terrorist organizations through coincidence. They survived in incredibly lucky ways, like protagonists of comics and dramas, and were helped by all kinds of coincidences as they achieved their objectives.

Was it really just good luck?

"At first, I thought what Pluto said was impossible, but it seems I was wrong," said Isis, the beautiful black woman with dreadlocks, speaking to the 'Marionette' Inui Hajime, who was standing right in front of her.

"Really? Isn't it just a coincidence?" Hajime asked, speaking in a sticky tone.

"No," said Isis. "The moment we joined forces with you people, everything started to go well. We managed to dispose of the Calculation and Inspection that were getting in the way of our plans, and even the Oracle. We managed to dispose of Noah, delaying the arrival of the other Bravers. Even now, the special forces of every nation are being overwhelmed by Izanami, Valkyrie and Berserk, none of whom have experience in real battles. It's all because of you people."

The Eighth Guidance had welcomed Murakami and the others into their ranks not only to make the Bravers begin killing each other, but also to make use of their fortunes and destinies.

The reincarnated individuals were protected by the fortunes and destinies given to them by Rodcorte. That was why they could 'luckily' survive and act as they had been acting.

However, when the reincarnated individuals fought each other, those fortunes and destinies did not function well. Pluto hadn't known this, but noticing that Kaitou Kanata had been caught in Shihouin Mari's trap, somehow managed to narrowly escape and then died three days later, she had deduced that this might be the case.

And she had been right.

"That's why we're thankful to you people. I got to give Berserk some good exercise in the end, too. And Jack in particular. Thanks to you, he had a reason to go together with Hitomi." Isis cut her words off there.

Hajime gave a broad smirk. "… Aren't you going to ask why? Why we betrayed you?" he asked Isis, who couldn't move a single finger due to Marionette's ability. But although he asked this question, he continued speaking, as if not interested in an answer. "Well, it seems that you'd predicted that we would betray you, right from the beginning. Indeed, from the moment we joined Murakami-sensei and left that group of good kids, the Bravers, we planned to betray you. To be more precise, we'd become reemployed at the intelligence agency of a federal state. Joining you was part of our work for that agency."

Hajime spoke proudly, smiling. He was like the foolish villain in a comic book, but he had only one opponent, Isis. All of the Undead were with Valkyrie, Berserk had been released somewhere else, and Isis was a woman who couldn't use guns or magic of any attribute.

And because Marionette already had control of her body from the neck down, she couldn't move a single finger.

Hajime's Marionette ability allowed him to take over and control the nerves of anyone he touched. However, direct skin-to-skin contact wasn't necessary.

By 'connecting' himself to his target with a weak electrical current produced by wind-attribute magic for just a moment, the requirements were met.

I've been working on this dirty infiltration mission for over a year, so it's alright for me to enjoy some benefits on the side, isn't it?

Tormenting someone who couldn't resist was an irresistible pleasure. Even more so when that person was a good woman.

But even after having control over her body taken from her and hearing Hajime's confession, the calm smile didn't disappear from Isis's face.

"Composed, aren't you? … I'll let you in on something good," Hajime continued. "Murakami-sensei and the others are going to retrieve your corpses. They're not going to capture you alive; other than you, it's difficult to capture you guys alive. What about the ones that have already died? Izanami has probably turned his corpse into a monster, and Shade had no body to begin with. Jack might have helped you guys escape, so it was better to have him die first."

Everything was in the palm of their hands. Hajime seemed elated as he spoke, but there was no change to Isis's smile.

Feeling irritated by that, Hajime began ridiculing her companions in an even louder voice.

"What about Gazer? It's fine, she was never one of our allies anyway. We just kidnapped her under Murakami-sensei's orders so that she could be used on this mission; she was just a disposable tool. But I didn't think that she'd get along so well with you guys. She got so close to that creepy pumpkin-head, she did quite well for herself, didn't she, that slut!" Hajime spat.

Finally, Isis frowned. "Could you keep your voice down a little? Your voice is glossy and unpleasant to listen to."

"I don't care about that, you sheetty woman! Stop pretending to be calm!" Hajime was enraged by the fact that he was getting a completely different reaction from the one he desired. "Do you understand the position you're in?! If I wanted to, I could make you strip and behave like a dog! By being captured alive by me, you've become a guinea pig again! If you don't like that, how about you try crying and sucking up to me?!" he shouted.

Isis's frowned turned back into a smile as she spoke in a tone that sounded as if she was pitying Hajime. "You can't do anything without threatening a woman whose body you've taken control over. Maybe you haven't even held a girl's hand before?"

Hajime could almost hear the blood draining from his face. "Enough, shut up."

Having snapped, he extended Marionette's effects to Isis's brain. With that, she was no different from a wooden puppet, and he couldn't enjoy her reactions, but she was no longer something for him to enjoy.

"Hmph, with the money I get from selling you to the federal state, I'll find a better woman… how can you still be smiling?!"

When Hajime controlled someone's brain, he controlled their expression and even their eyeballs. However, Isis continued smiling, against Hajime's will.

Impossible, Hajime thought in surprise.

Isis's smile grew wider. "Your Marionette is an ability that takes over a person's nerves, isn't it? Then it's simple. Medically speaking, I've undergone brain death. The researchers kept me alive in that state, and then the Undead made me so that I am able to control my body directly with my soul."

It was a miracle performed by the Undead, Vandalieu, for a reason as simple as, "It's troublesome if you don't move on your own."

"Brain death?! Impossible, no human can be alive when their brain isn't functioning…!"

"Before you act surprised, you should think about this first. What is inside my skull instead of a brain that doesn't function? I wonder what it is that Izanami gave me?" Isis said.

"Eh?" Hajime gave a scream and tried to turn his body aside.

Isis gazed at his back and pressed the switch implanted inside her mouth. "I'm truly grateful to you. That's why I'll take you along with me. You're so fortunate that you are able to die with a good woman like me," she said.

A thunderous explosion sent Inui Hajime flying, and he fell onto the railway tracks of the subway system, along with a broken fragment of the operating room's door. He bounced multiple times as he rolled across the tracks.

Hajime gasped in pain. He was barely alive. Perhaps because the bomb implanted inside Isis's skull was weak, or perhaps because he had managed to put a little distance between them, he had just managed to use the door as a shield.

And thanks to the portable staff… the miniature, internalized magical medium that he was equipped with, he had been able to shorten the incantation for a basic defensive spell, managing to cast it in time.

Thanks to all of these, Hajime had managed to 'luckily' survive.

However, at this rate, he would die in less than ten minutes. With the pain he felt all over his body and the blood drenching his clothes, he couldn't help but be aware of that. "Help…?!"

As Hajime tried to crawl in search of help, he saw a woman holding a gun. For a moment, he held his breath, and then he exhaled in relief when he saw that it was an ally.

"Kana… ko… help…"

Tsuchiya Kanako. Unlike Hajime, who could only use wind-attribute magic, she could cast healing spells of the water attribute. If she applied first-aid treatment with that, he'd be saved.

As Hajime looked at Kanako with his eyes shining in hope, she holstered the gun she was holding and held a hand towards him.

"I'll put you to rest now," she said. "Strong Acid Bullets."

She cast a spell that released projectiles of powerful acid that could melt through anything.

"What?! GYAAAAAAH! Why…"

Hajime screamed, but that scream was cut short and he melted away along with the rubble and railway tracks around him.

Kanako watched this happen, erased the irritating odor with a spell and then used her communications device.

"Murakami-sensei, I've disposed of Marionette as we planned. It looks like he failed to capture Isis after all. He was just a creepy guy who was useless right until the very end."

Tsuchiya Kanako had disposed of the 'Marionette' Inui Hajime. Having received this news from Murakami, Konoe Kyuuji, the Death Scythe, smiled.

He might have considered himself to be one of us 'eight' companions, but we planned to dispose of him right from the beginning.

What Inui Hajime had told Isis was largely true. The difference was that Murakami and the others had been ordered by the federal nation to dispose of Marionette during the mission.

When Murakami had first revealed this, Kyuuji had felt quite shaken, but he was convinced by Murakami's persuasion.

Hajime had gone too far.

His ability is too dangerous. Despite that, he showed that power off too much. He got what he deserved for making the important people of the federal nation so scared!

Marionette, the ability to manipulate those the user was in contact with, which had evolved so that momentary contact via a weak electrical current was enough to control the target's body. The important people among Hajime's employers had decided that this ability was too dangerous.

And he had been a dangerous person in terms of personality. He often got carried away, couldn't resist his desires and he was hot-tempered as well. He wasn't trustworthy at all.

And now that they had disposed of Marionette, the rest of them could expect to be treated better for having shown loyalty to their employers.

Now all I have to do is kill the huge woman who's gotten carried away in front of me, and collect her corpse.

Kyuuji looked at the chest of Valkyrie, who had almost completely exterminated the special forces that were the enemy, with a sharp glint in his eye as he activated his ability.

"With this, the enemy are almost exterminated! Though less than a third of my brave warriors remain… What is it, Death Scythe? Do you want a hug to celebrate our victory or…"

Valkyrie's speech was cut short unnaturally. Clutching her abundant chest as if she was trying to tear the flesh off, she bent over.

This is my victory!

Kyuuji's Death Scythe, technically speaking, was not a power that caused instant death in living creatures. It was a power that stopped the target's 'movement.'

However, he needed to concentrate for a long time to stop large movements, and this consumed a large amount of Mana as well. That was why the 'movements' that Kyuuji stopped were limited to heartbeats.

Thus, he could kill his target in an instant as long as his condition of knowing the target's face was fulfilled.

Since I told them that it's a power that causes instant death, I just needed to use magic for rescue work in disasters and accidents, and act as a trump card for finishing off terrorists. And I got to act big in front of my allies. Now, I'll get to act big in front of the federal state!

Now, Kyuuji just needed to ignore the Zombies who had lost their commander, pick up Valkyrie's corpse and bring her back to where Murakami and the others were.

"It was a pity to kill a woman like you, but it's all for the big payout. Don't think badly of me," he murmured.

Valkyrie was on her knees, facing down, and she had stopped moving in this position. Kyuuji leaned over in front of her to pick her up from the shoulders.

At that moment, Valkyrie, who was supposed to be dead, moved her arm.

"Eh… GAH?!"

Kyuuji gave a shout as he was flipped onto his back. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; Valkyrie was getting up, holding a stun gun in her hand.

���You're curious as to why I'm alive, aren't you, Death Scythe? But unfortunately, I don't understand why your Death Scythe doesn't work on me either, so I can't explain it to you. I don't know what principle your ability uses to cause instant death in its targets, you see!" Valkyrie said spiritedly, putting the stun gun into an inside pocket of her coat. "But Hitomi's Gazer apparently saw me 'lying on the ground, being looked down at by you,' so I thought that it probably wouldn't work. I can give a guess as to the reason, too. Isn't it because my heart is already completely non-functional?"

Kyuuji inhaled sharply upon learning that Valkyrie's heart didn't beat, even without him using Death Scythe to stop it.

Valkyrie saw his reaction and nodded in satisfaction. "My heart was surgically removed while I was an experimental subject. A Mana-powered pump implanted into a different part of my body circulates my blood instead. They said something about wanting to prove that the Mana itself hadn't been erased, even if the properties of its attributes were removed. Well, I don't care about those details, though." She stopped her explanation short and took out a small-caliber firearm from another pocket.

Kyuuji let out a muffled scream.

"It's true that we intend to die in the end. And we don't care about what happens after we die. But we don't want to have even our corpses used as guinea pigs. Judging from your look, it doesn't seem like you can use magic, does it? As you know, I can't use magic, either. Sorry, but I'll shoot you with this unreliable small-caliber gun, which might even be able to pierce your skull, until you're dead!" Valkyrie squeezed the trigger numerous times, just as she said she would.

Damn it! How could her heart have been stopped from the beginning; this isn't how it was supposed to be!

Kyuuji desperately unleashed his Death Scythe, trying to stop the pump that was maintaining Valkyrie's life. But since he didn't know where it was, he was completely relying on luck.

Fortunately, it seemed that Valkyrie wasn't skilled at shooting. She was aiming for Kyuuji's head, grazing his scalp, ears and shoulders, but she hadn't landed a direct hit yet.

But at this rate, eventually -

At that moment, something rolled out from between Valkyrie's legs.

In the next, there was a small explosion, and Kyuuji was blinded by a violent light that burned his retinas.

There was a scream. And then, after a few gunshots, there was the sound of something collapsing.

"Don't let your guard down. Your over-reliance on your ability caused more work for me," said Murakami's voice.

Kyuuji let out a triumphant cheer in his mind. I'm saved. As expected of Sensei.

But then, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

Why did he use a flashbang? Firing a gun would have been enough to kill Valkyrie while she was separated from her Zombies, and even if there were Zombies nearby, flashbangs are useless against them… Could it be?!

Kyuuji was startled as he realized this, but his body was still paralyzed by the stun gun, and he was unable to do anything.

"It doesn't look like it's that much effort, though," Murakami sighed as he fired the assault rifle that he had picked up at Kyuuji. A poor former student, he thought. "Disposing of you was part of the plan from the beginning, too. By blinding you with the flashbang I just used, in order to remove the threat of Death Scythe while you were carrying Valkyrie's corpse. It's the same reason as Marionette. There's no way we can let someone with such a dangerous ability as causing instant death by looking at someone's face live, right?"

Throwing aside the empty assault rifle, Murakami Junpei looked not at Konoe Kyuuji, who was now riddled with bullet holes, but at the corpse of Valkyrie, who had blood flowing from her head.

"This is Murakami," he said into his communications device. "The rest of the work is up to us seven. Tsuchiya, secure Isis's fragments. If it's impossible, head around towards the others. I'm going to move Valkyrie's corpse. The other five of you, avoid Baba Yaga and Izanami, who has become a monster, and aim for the others. Don't touch Ereshkigal; Pluto is the top priority."

Outside of a few unexpected events, Murakami's plan was generally going as planned. It seemed that the Eighth Guidance had noticed the betrayal of Murakami and his companions, but in the end, they were just a group of individuals each capable of using only a single death-attribute spell each. It seemed that they weren't worthy of being on guard against.

Amemiya Hiroto was too foolish, having his companions killed by these people.

As Murakami thought this, he heard his companions' voices through his communications device.

"Murakami-sensei, Silpheed's been done in by Baba Yaga! I'm running; send someone to back me up!"

"Sensei, this is Gotouta! There's a member of the Eighth Guidance that we didn't know about! For even my Super Sense to not be able to perceive them, it's like they're a Ghos… HYIH! HEEELP -"

"Huh?! Why are you suddenly dying?!" Murakami demanded.

Despite Silpheed having been ordered, "Don't go near Baba Yaga at any costs; it's too dangerous for you in particular," he had been killed by Baba Yaga, and the 'Super Sense' Gotouta was now unresponsive after the scream on the communications device was cut off unnaturally.

The seven companions had become five the moment their real work was about to begin.

What did this mean? Had their luck suddenly turned on them?

"Sensei, I heard on the enemy's communications devices… It seems that the Bravers have reached the ground now. Ah, it seems impossible to retrieve the fragments of Isis's corpse," Kanako reported.

Hearing this, Murakami understood what was happening.

The arrival of Amemiya Hiroto, who wanted to save the Eighth Guidance, as well as Minami Asagi and the others who wanted to capture Murakami and his companions, had changed the flow of events.

Murakami clicked his tongue. "These 'fortunes' and 'destinies' are really troublesome. Those of you who are safe except for Tsuchiya, regroup with the Aegis! The Bravers have the 'Clairvoyance' Tendou! If you're outside of Aegis's area of effect, they'll know where you are! Tsuchiya, move as we planned!"

Murakami felt his words stabbing back into him like a boomerang as he spoke them, and his face twisted in hatred. Deciding that he didn't have time to recover Valkyrie's corpse, he collected a little of her blood that was flowing out, and then he hastily started running.

"Lead the brave warriors and kill everyone except for my comrades… me," Valkyrie whispered hoarsely. Murakami was unaware that she had begun moving, though her breathing had really stopped this time.

Special forces: Almost annihilated.

Eighth Guidance: Izanami, Berserk, Isis, Valkyrie, deceased.

Murakami's group: The 'Marionette' Inui Hajime, the 'Death Scythe' Konoe Kyuuji, 'Silpheed,' deceased. The 'Super Sense' Gotouta, status unknown. Five surviving members.

Bravers: Have landed on the ground surface.

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