The moment I escaped the AI Hero’s arena, I immediately activated Return and made my way back to the first floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon.
Without wasting a single second, I activated Return again, summoning Mina-chan, Shion-san, Ryunosuke-kun and Satsuki-chan from the upper floors of Guild Headquarters to my side.
“Daishi-san!”
“W-whoa! H-hey, Mina-chan—!”
The instant she emerged from the space-time vortex and spotted me, Mina-chan broke into a sprint. A heartbeat later, she threw herself into my arms.
“I’m so glad you’re safe…! I really am…”
“Did you defeat the Hero?”
With Ryunosuke-kun perched on her shoulder, Shion-san walked over at a measured pace and asked for an explanation.
Right… I should probably explain what happened—
Mina-chan’s hug is a little too enthusiastic.
C-Can’t…
…Breathe…
“S-sorry! I was just so happy to see you that I got carried away…”
Realizing she’d been squeezing me far too hard, she quickly released me.
Unfortunately, she did it by practically shoving me away. That stung a little in its own way.
“Uh… anyway, I haven’t defeated the Hero yet.”
I said after catching my breath.
“What? What do you mean?”
“…The one I fought was a fake.”
“An AI Hero.”
I gave everyone a brief rundown of everything that had happened.
There were still plenty of unanswered questions, strange details, and things that simply didn’t add up. Shion, in particular, bombarded me with questions like a raging storm. Unfortunately, I didn’t have all the answers myself, so I could only dodge the ones I couldn’t explain while filling everyone in on the current situation.
As for Satsuki…
It seemed she still hadn’t recovered her strength. Ever since emerging from the space-time vortex, she remained lying motionless on the ground.
I wanted nothing more than to celebrate our reunion, but I couldn’t bring myself to wake her by force. I’ll talk to her once she regained enough strength to wake up on her own.
Most importantly… everyone is safe. That alone was enough.
| > Man… I’m so relieved. > The whole gang’s back together! > I’m actually tearing up. > I kinda felt bad for the AI Hero. > Fate can be so cruel. > He really did seem to have a mind of his own. > That was a life in its own right. > Hey, quit making me all emotional! > How did they rescue Satsuki, anyway? > Yeah, I want to know too. > Wasn’t that place supposed to be packed with traps? > We need the full story! > Come on, old man! Ask her already! |
“I know, I’ve been wondering the exact same thing.”
Just as I was about to ask Mina-chan and the others what had happened during the operation to rescue Satsuki—
“…Have you all finished talking?”
“Nether King old man!!”
The Nether King suddenly appeared beside us, materializing out of nowhere like an afterimage.
“Our work is not yet finished, young lad.”
“…I know.”
The old man’s expression was grim. It felt as though he was silently telling me that finishing our original mission took priority over hearing the story of Satsuki’s rescue.
“Next, I shall send you to the forty-eighth floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon, where he awaits. I know you’ve only just returned, but make your preparations at once. You must be ready for battle.”
By “he”, the old man obviously meant the Hero. And by “send”, he was probably talking about spatial teleportation.
Unlike Otin, the old man apparently had full administrative control over every floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon. Though, if that was the case… I still couldn’t help thinking, “Then why don’t you just defeat the Hero yourself?”
But apparently, there was some kind of principle—or perhaps a restriction—that prevented him from doing so.
“…Understood.”
I’d come this far. There was no point overthinking everything anymore.
First things first…
I pulled up my status screen.
| Name: Daishi Ajiri Class: Burial Priest Level: 15 HP: 997 / 2249 MP: 0 / 1899 Strength: 1564 Endurance: 1701 Agility: 6999 Intelligence: 1919 Burial Power: 9998 Surplus Burial Points: 0 Skills: 【Burial Healing (Lv3)】 【Burial Fist (MAX)】 【Retribution (MAX)】 【Requiem (MAX)】 【Return (MAX)】 【Cremation (MAX)】 【Clairvoyance (MAX)】 Unique Skill: 【Hell Gate】 【Infinite Itembox】 Title: 【Enlightened One】 |
“…Huh? My level’s gone up by ten?”
Come to think of it… maybe the fake status screen the Hero had forced on me had altered that too. The Return (Disabled) condition was gone as well.
As for my MP being at zero…
That didn’t surprise me anymore. I used Return twice in rapid succession, so it made perfect sense.
“Item Box!”
I’d better restore my HP and MP to full before the fight. The Dungeon Master had stocked the box with plenty of recovery items, so I had to give him credit for that.
Oh, right! The others had to be exhausted too.
“Here, Mina-chan! Shion-san!”
“T-thank you, Daishi-san!”
“My thanks. This will help.”
Shion said with a nod.
As casually as someone grabbing a drink from the refrigerator, I pulled several HP and MP recovery potions from my Item Box and handed them to the two of them. There was no way they’d made it this far without taking damage or spending mana.
I’ll give one to Satsuki once she woke up.
“Alright! Is everyone ready? Then, Gramps… we’re counting on you!”
After making sure everyone had finished their potions, I called out, steeling myself for what was to come.
All right.
Time for the final battle.
“…No.”
The Nether King calmly shook his head.
“The only one I shall send is you, young lad.”
“…Huh?”
…To be honest, I had a feeling that is how it’ll turn out.
I figured it couldn’t hurt to try riding the momentum and see if I could get away with bringing everyone along.
Apparently…No such luck.
“Now, don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I can’t send all of you.”
…Then why does that sound like you’re making excuses?
Was that his way of saying, “I’m actually amazing, you know?”
The old man continued, his tone turning grave.
“Ajiri Daishi. The enemy you’ll face is far more cunning and despicable than we ever imagined. I admit that much. If you hold anything back… you will almost certainly fail to defeat him.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means you must go all out from the very first moment.”
Go all out…?
That means…
“Hell Gate”
I see…
Right. If I unleashed that, it would be a disaster if everyone else was standing nearby.
“So, you’re saying I should use it immediately?”
“You must not give him even a moment to prepare. The instant I send you there… activate it at once!”
Honestly, there were still countless things I wanted to ask the Hero. But it sounded like there wouldn’t be any time for that. Even cornered, he is still the Hero after all.
“Daishi-san…”
Mina-chan looked at me anxiously.
“It’s okay! Don’t worry. I’ll wrap this up in no time. You guys wait here.”
“Don’t take too long, old man.” Ryunosuke-kun called out to me.
“You got it!”
“Have you finished your farewells? Very well… off you go.”
A vortex of distorted space opened before me, revealing the path to the Hero on the forty-eighth floor of the Nether-Class Dungeon.
“…Oh.”
As I slowly stepped toward the swirling portal, something suddenly came back to me. There was one mission I had absolutely promised myself I’d complete once I made it back safely.
“…I still have to give Satsuki her panties back.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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