“Yep. That’s what it looks like when it’s in standby, or in bombardment mode. Now, go on, try pouring some mana into it.”
“Umm, like this? Ah!?”
When she poured her mana into it, the oddly shaped hammer made a bunch of mechanical clinks as the grip extended backward, so it was in the perfect place to hold a hammer.
This was a battle artifact Hajime had created, that he’d named Drucken. He’d added a lot of extra features to it that a normal hammer didn’t have. In its base bombardment mode, the grip was kept close to the end because it was used as a trigger to fire massive shells at enemies. Pouring mana into a certain section of it made it transform into the more familiar hammer shape Shea was used to. Shooting bullets wasn’t the only gimmick this hammer had, either.
This was what Hajime had wanted to stay behind and complete. He’d spent the morning perfecting it while Yue and Shea had gone shopping.
“This is the best I can do for now, but once I polish my skills some more I plan to improve it. There’s no telling what we’ll run into where we’re going. I know Yue trained you, but it was still only for ten days. It’s dangerous for you to come with us, so I made this weapon to bring out the most of your power. Make sure you get used to it, alright? You’re our comrade now. You better not die, or I’ll kill you myself.”
“Hajime-san...Fufu, that doesn’t even make any sense... Well, don’t worry. I’ll get even stronger, so I can follow you no matter where you go!”
Shea happily held Drucken close to her chest. Even when she was happy it was pointlessly over-exaggerated. Yue just shrugged her shoulders helplessly, while Hajime smiled wryly. I know I’m the one who made it, but it’s weird seeing a girl get so happy over receiving a warhammer.
They went to go check out of the inn, with Shea following ecstatically behind them. The innkeeper’s daughter still blushed when she saw Hajime, but he decided to ignore that.
It was high noon when they stepped outside, and the sun’s warm rays blazed down on them. Hajime raised a hand to cover his eyes and took a deep breath. When he turned around, he saw Yue and Shea smiling at him.
He nodded to both of them, then started walking forward. They followed.
And thus, their journey resumed.
Chapter III: The Reisen Labyrinth
Around the time Hajime was turning the peaceful rabbitmen into ruthless killers, Kouki’s party was taking a short break on their journey through the Great Orcus Labyrinth and resting in Horaud.
Their training had taken them all the way to the seventieth floor of the labyrinth, and both the strength and numbers of the monsters they now faced had gone up considerably. In order to regroup, the party had decided to temporarily head back to town and rest up.
They also needed time to mentally prepare themselves, as they’d finally reached a point where Captain Meld and the other knights would no longer be able to follow them. The reason they’d chosen the seventieth floor specifically was because they’d found a magic circle there that could teleport them back to the thirtieth floor. Since they had found a way back, Meld had taken the opportunity to recommend they all head back for a break.
And so, they’d decided to take a few days to relax in Horaud. Everyone was spending their break however they saw fit.
On the outskirts of town was one such student. She was panting heavily from exertion.
“Haaah Haah... Sacred stigmata of light, descend from the heavens and seal mine foes— Binding Blades of Light!” She braced her knees to keep herself from toppling over, then swung down her pure white staff. This girl was the healer of the hero’s party, the Priestess, Kaori Shirasaki.
What sprung forth from the healer’s staff was not restoration magic, but a flurry of crosses that resembled swords composed of light. Such was the nature of her spell, Binding Blades of Light.
A pack of wolf-shaped monsters, Deloses, howled, as the barrage of light crosses bore down on them. But the nimble beasts swiftly dodged out of the way and began rushing at Kaori.
“Divine Shackles!” She instantly let loose a follow-up spell. Normally, a spell cast without an incantation would be quite weak, but Kaori had packed the incantation for Divine Shackles into the chant she’d said for Binding Blades of Light. This was an original multicasting technique that she had developed on her own. Thus, this second spell was just as strong as the first.
Chains of light erupted from the ground, entwining themselves around the legs of the Deloses. The strength of the Deloses’ charge was nowhere near enough to break the fetters, so they got stuck in place rather quickly.
Two of them had just narrowly avoided being bound, however, and they now moved to pincer Kaori. Despite the fact that she should have been a backline fighter, and a healer at that, Kaori didn’t seem fazed at all by them managing to close in.
“Perish!” At her shout, a deluge of light crosses rained from the sky, skewering the two Deloses mid-leap. Binding Blades of Light was fundamentally a restraining skill however, and while the crosses succeeded in pinning the Deloses to the ground, they delivered no fatal wounds. Like their counterparts that had been bound by Divine Shackles, they were pinned in place but otherwise unharmed. After ascertaining the effectiveness of these spells, Kaori moved on to another incantation.
“Holy light of judgment, bring retribution upon the wicked and crush those restrained by justice.” Suddenly, the light spells that should have possessed no destructive power made the Deloses start howling in pain. The Divine Shackles began tightening around their prisoners, while the Binding Blades of Light pushed deeper into the ground.
Though they could not directly pierce skin, Kaori’s spells could still harm her foes indirectly. Though, as this was not the intended usage for the spell, it required an enormous amount of concentration and re-imaging of the spell’s nature, along with a skillfully arranged magic circle.
That was why Kaori had come here. The monsters around the town were far weaker than those they had encountered in the labyrinth, so even someone unsuited for combat like her could stand up to them. She had wanted to practice turning her restraining skills into offensive ones, so weak enemies like them were perfect for it.
She’d been here practicing alone for hours now, and both her body and mind were nearing their limits. Her supply of mana had been nearly exhausted, and her vision was blurry. She couldn’t keep going much longer. And yet, the blazing will shining in Kaori’s eyes had never once faltered. It had been burning ever since the day she’d learned the boy she loved had vanished, the day she’d resolved to find the truth herself. A desire so strong that it had melted the ice around her despairing heart would not burn out so easily. There was no time to waste on rest. Her resolve would not allow it.
And so—
“Press down, O voluminous light, for as long as my resolve stays true— Heaven Crusher!” Even if more enemies showed up, she would never back down. Even if it was reckless, even if it was pure folly, she would never stop. If she even thought of giving up, something deep inside would whisper “Is that all? You’re going to break another promise?” and that stubborn side would force her another step forward.
From the sky came a new wave of monsters. Bahals, raven-shaped creatures with wings as black as the dead of night. They weren’t especially powerful, but most adventurers hated them. Namely because of their feathers, a barrage of which was headed right toward Kaori.
They attacked in flocks, never neared the ground, and assaulted hapless adventurers by raining razor sharp feathers down on them.
Kaori blocked their assault by creating a number of small, palm-sized barriers around her. I need to make the image clearer, and get them out faster. I can’t make huge barriers like Suzu-chan, but I can make up for that with numbers and skill! Pale-faced, Kaori successfully managed to fend off the Bahals’ first wave. Still, despite her accomplishment, she wasn’t satisfied. Next, even though creating barriers was outside of her job’s abilities, she created dozens of shields, angling them to redi
rect blows rather than stop them directly.
Had the class’ Barrier Master, Suzu Taniguchi, seen Kaori’s makeshift shield, she would have been amazed. Even she wouldn’t be able to make such a perfect defense without considerable effort. Though both barriers and healing fell under the domain of light magic, it was nigh impossible for a Priestess, who specialized in healing, to match the defensive powers of a Barrier Master, who specialized in defense.
“Haah, Haaah...” But even after accomplishing such a herculean feat, Kaori didn’t smile. While she had fended off the Bahals’ attack, she’d expended too much of her mana and had to bite her lips hard just to keep herself conscious. She leaned on her artifact to keep herself upright, stubbornly refusing to fall.
As the Bahals used part of their bodies to attack, they couldn’t attack consecutively, as they had to wait for their feathers to regrow. Taking advantage of that, Kaori quickly fired off another Binding Blades of Light up at the flock, then deployed her Heaven Crusher to keep them held down. Like the Deloses, the Bahals were brought to the verge of death with her spells’ crushing power alone. But then, as she was about to start her next incantation—
“Ah...” Her body finally gave out, and she slumped to the ground. Unable to keep her magic up any longer, the Deloses were released from their bindings. Most of them had already lost consciousness, but a few of them had managed to stay awake. They coughed violently as they got up, their scarlet eyes glaring at Kaori.
Her mind was screaming at her to run, but Kaori’s body would no longer listen. The few Deloses that remained charged at her. Drool dripped from their maws as they howled triumphantly. Kaori got to one knee, using her staff for support. Panting, she started the chant for a binding spell, but... there was no way for her to make it in time.
An instant before their monstrous fangs devoured Kaori, someone intervened.
“Kaori!” It was a voice Kaori knew all too well. Within seconds, the Deloses had been chopped to pieces.
“Shizuku-chan?”
“That’s right. It’s me, your best friend. Your best friend who’s currently furious at you. Your best friend who wants to slap you silly for being so stupid.”
“U-Umm... Ahaha... Sorry.”
Kaori let herself slide down to the ground as she apologized, meeting the angry glare of her best friend, Shizuku Yaegashi. She knew if she said anything foolish like “Why are you so angry?” Shizuku really would slap her silly. Besides, she had already guessed why Shizuku was so mad.
“Unbelievable. I won’t tell you not to push yourself too hard. But at the very least, promise you’ll take me with you! Even these weak monsters could kill you if you slip up, you know!? I thought you wanted to find Nagumo-kun!? How are you going to find him if you’re dead!? You’re a moron! A stubborn, stupid moron!”
“I-I’m sorry, Shizuku-chan...”
“Oh no, I’m not forgiving you that easy. I know you’ll just run off again if I take my eyes off you. Quit trying to take Ryutarou’s place, you thick-skulled idiot! I know you’ve been trying out a bunch of things, but you’re still part of the rearguard. You’re at your strongest when you’ve got someone to protect you while you charge your spells. You’ll be able to train more efficiently if I’m around to back you up, and that way you won’t have to worry about getting killed! All you had to do was ask me to come along and I would’ve joined! Why can’t you even trust me with that!? Hey, are you listening to me, Kaori!?”
“I-I’m listening... Really, I’m sorry.”
“Nope, I don’t believe you! Sit up straight! You’re going to listen to me this time whether you like it or not!” Shizuku plopped herself down in front of Kaori. What followed was a long and very spirited lecture by Shizuku.
Umm, Shizuku-chan. I think I’m losing consciousness, so I really can’t tell what you’re saying, sorry. Though the specific words didn’t get through to Kaori, she could tell just how worried Shizuku must have been about her, as well as just how desperately she wanted Kaori to rely on her. And so, despite being inches away from passing out, she dutifully sat there and listened to Shizuku’s lecture.
Halfway through her lecture the other Deloses woke up, and the Bahals came back with a new coat of feathers, but Shizuku annihilated them all without batting an eye and returned to her lecture. Finally, around the time the whites of Kaori’s eyes were beginning to show, Shizuku was interrupted.
“Oh no, it looks like Kaorin’s in really bad shape!”
“Sh-Shizuku... I know you want to lecture her, but don’t you think you should let Kaori-chan recover some of her mana first?”
Suzu and Eri appeared. They had actually been searching for Kaori together, but Shizuku had dashed off when her built-in Kaori sensor had started tingling.
Their arrival finally got Shizuku to stop her lecture. She took a proper look at Kaori, and saw that she was tottering on the edge of unconsciousness. Grumbling to herself, Shizuku took out a mana potion and dumped its contents down Kaori’s half-open mouth.
Kaori gagged in surprise, but Shizuku mercilessly ordered her to gulp it all down. Shizuku gently propped Kaori up as she drank, and when she was finished she wiped away the drops of liquid that had spilled from her lips.
“ShizuShizu, you look just like her mo—”
“Suzu, if you don’t want her to kill you, I think you should just stop.” Eri hurriedly stopped her friend from signing her own death sentence.
Around the time Kaori was regaining the ability to think clearly, the four girls heard someone calling out to them. It appeared Kouki and the others had arrived.
“Kaori, thank goodness you’re safe.”
“Man, it’s not like you to be this crazy. I know we came back here to rest, but you could’ve still asked us to help you out with your training. We won’t get mad, you know?”
Kouki sat down next to Kaori and smiled reassuringly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Ryutarou said his piece and scoffed. In their own way, they’d both been worried about her too.
“I’m sorry for making you all worry about me. I thought I’d be able to handle the monsters around the town on my own at least... but I guess I went on for too long. I’m really sorry.” She bowed her head, feeling guilty about making everyone worry because of her recklessness. Shizuku finally stopped fretting over Kaori like a mother hen, and a pleasant mood settled over the students.
Kouki proposed they all return to town, to which everyone else nodded in agreement. But when Kaori tried to stand up, she stumbled unsteadily. While she was no longer manaless and groggy, her physical exhaustion remained.
Kouki hurriedly extended a hand to support her, but...
“You okay, Kaori?”
“Shizuku-chan... Thanks. Sorry, looks like I can’t walk very well.” Shizuku quickly materialized at Kaori’s side, and Kouki’s helping hand had nowhere to go. His eyebrows drooped sadly, but like a true hero he refused to let that deter him. Undaunted, he tried to offer to carry Kaori, since she couldn’t walk. Naturally, he was going to princess carry her back. However...
“Sheesh, you’re hopeless. Learn from your mistakes and stop running off on your own, okay?”
“W-Wait, Shizuku-chan. This is embarrassing.”
“Fufu, it’s your punishment for leaving me behind.”
A girl strong enough to go toe-to-toe with monsters in the lower floors of the abyss could easily carry a single person on her own. And so, it was Shizuku who took on the duty of carrying Kaori back. Kaori blushed in embarrassment as Shizuku carried her like a princess back to town. Shizuku cut a gallant figure, with her cool demeanor and the imposing sword strapped to her waist. She looked just like a prince from a fairytale, complete with a princess to save.
“Oh my god, ShizuShizu... you’re so cool.”
“Ahaha... it really feels like you two are a couple.”
Suzu was blushing a little, and Eri was smiling awkwardly. Kouki was standing behind them, his hand still outstretched. It was a testament to his fortitude a
s a hero that his smile never crumbled. His best friend gently patted his shoulder in sympathy.
“Even in another world, Kaori’s knight will always be Shizuku... Good luck, Kouki.”
“It’s fine Ryutarou, it doesn’t bother me at all. Nope, not at all. Really, it doesn’t.”
“I see. Let’s just forget about this and get something to eat.”
“...Yeah.”
It was rare for the muscle-brained Ryutarou to show compassion.
Some time later, the group met up with Captain Meld, along with Nagayama’s and Hiyama’s teams, and they set off to explore the uncharted seventieth floor. No one realized that one among them had brought a bomb along with them. Or that a dangerous shadow had begun creeping up on the group. But that was a tale for another time...
Mountains of corpses lay scattered all around. Deep at the bottom of the Reisen Gorge, a hellish spectacle spread out in every direction. Some monsters had their heads caved in, others had their heads blown clean off, and yet others had been charred into shapeless black lumps. They had died in various ways, but they’d all died instantly. There was, of course, only one group that could enter the gorge, the ravine feared by all as a hellish execution ground, and leave such carnage behind.
“There goes another one!” Boom!
“Out of the way.” Fwoosh!
“Fuck off.” Bang! Hajime, Yue, and Shea.
After Hajime and the others had left Brooke, they’d rode Steiff all the way to the entrance of Reisen Gorge. They had then made steady progress after entering the ravine, and were already two days out from the hidden cavern that housed the teleportation circle to Orcus’ house.
The monsters of the gorge seemed incapable of learning from their mistakes, as they once again attacked Hajime’s party in droves.
Each swing of Shea’s war hammer was a literal deathblow, shattering skulls with every strike. None of the monsters could afford to even get close. They were all ground to a pulp.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 2 Page 18