Finally Home

It was a sunny day. Great weather. However, the atmosphere in a royal palace of Argon was heavy and dark.

[Jin, Sharon, Brunheart. Are you really saying the dungeon was cleared when you got there?]

[Yes, your majesty. There were no monsters left by the time we entered.]

[So, you're saying someone, or some group entered and cleared a massive S ranked dungeon by themselves?]

[That seems to be the case, my lord.]

Speaking in front of King of Argon was Sharon, Brunheart, and Jin, all kneeling. None of them would let their usual speaking habits slip out. They are in front of the king, after all. The three are a part of the 6 Great Commanders, a group of powerful individuals who directly serve the King of Argon.

[There are only a handful of people I know that can do such a thing... even you three would have trouble clearing an S ranks that size by yourselves. They're that strong, and I don't know of them? I must find out who did it. I have a new order for you three. Prioritize finding who cleared the dungeon.]

[Yes, your majesty!]

The three lower their heads with their hand, fisted, crossing their chest.

-----------------

Aw, man. What a troublesome job his majesty gave me. Ah, I really don't want to do this!

[Jin, hurry up! I'm going to leave you behind!]

Sharon, Brunheart, and I are currently going back to where the S rank dungeon is. Seeing as how the dungeon didn't close, it was a backdoor type of gate. We're soaring the sky, each of us riding our own wyvern.

[Jin~ come on! We have to hurry up if we want to go home for tonight. I don't know about you, but I want to go straight home and read some Shoujo manga I got from Earth!]

[Earth, huh? I heard that place is the weakest out of all the other countries in Dayura. They don't have any magic or energy at all! They just use science. But Saiba's way above them in that department. It's a surprise the psychic hero Shion came from a place like that. Well, they do have SOME magic now due to migrations across continents, but still! I'd definitely say that Earth is the weakest continent right now.]

[Aw, come on, Jin! Don't be so mean. So what if they're weak? Their world is like heaven! There's so much delicious food and incredible entertainment... I went there with his Majesty for a diplomatic meeting before, and the beds there are so soft! The people there are really creative too. Those people called authors are amazing! They can make up such heart warming romantic stories!]

[You mean those books with cheesy stories of love? With those ugly looking guys?]

[Hmph! They're not ugly! They look a hundred times more handsome than you! Ah, I hope someone like that will appear in my life one day~]

Sharon's holding her hands together in her chest with sparkling eyes, like a young maiden. She's already 22... she's getting too old to wait for stuff like that.

[Give it up, Sharon. Fiction is fiction. But you're right, they do have great entertainment. Their tragedies are just exquisite! The Great Gatsby, Wuthering Hieghts, The Stranger! They're amazing books. Not only that, they have amazing tragedy plays too! I must admit, that world is far above any other world in terms of entertainment.]

[Right?? What do you think, Brunheart?]

[I.... uhm....]

Ah. He's getting red. I bet he got hooked on some porn or something like that. It's quite typical of that musclebrain.

We finally arrived in front of the gate. Hehe, that guy must be dead by now. Ah, I wonder what is last expression was? Emptiness? Despair? I want to see it so bad!! Ah, this won't do. I'm starting to leak my freaky smile again. Calm down, Jin....

[Let's split up and investigate individually. It's going to be faster that way.]

[That's what I was thinking, Jin~]

[Uh, if you two say so.]

I dash into the gate and go straight to the boss room. Time to find out what kind of expression he's maki-

[Huh?]

He's not here. He's not here? This is definitely where he was. Did he escape? How? So he didn't die? How is that possible? He lost so much blood. He was covered in so much blood I couldn't even get a proper look at his face! And I could tell from the way his arms were bent, majority of his bones were broken too. How did someone manage to escape in that condition..? No, did someone come and rescue him? No, they shouldn't half been able to. This area has been restricted by magic. Because S rank dungeons are dangerous, you need permission from the royal family to enter S rank gates. We cast the restrictive barrier when we left this place a few hours ago. He must have left by himself. How is that possible? Could he still be wandering around in this place? I should find him.

I turn around and run out of the boss room.

Splish! Splash!

Huh? There's a puddle here? Why? It can't even rain in her because this dungeon is like a hallway.

I crouch and touch the water. It's cold. Is it melted ice? Why would there even be melted ice here? Something's definitely wrong. That guy I left here earlier, I thought maybe he was just abandoned by his party or something, but it seems there's more to it. In fact, he might even be the one who cleared the dungeon! Oh, I am so going to find him. The only distinguishing feature I saw on that guy was... actually, I'm not even sure. But I'll try to find him

----------------

Hello, I'm Sharon. I'm 22 and I serve his majesty. Right now, I'm investigating an S rank dungeon.... that was mysteriously cleared a few hours after its opening. Whoever cleared it must have left some traces... and it might not be just one person. But still, clearing an S ranks dungeons with a single party? We must at least get the name of that party. For the king!

I walk alongside the hall. Wow, the ceiling really is high... I can't even see it.

I look down. Hm? What is this... some of the defeated knights have traces of burns where they're cut? Whoever killed these must have sliced them using a high heat blade. And then... let's see.... oh! It's faint but... I think I see a footprint? Oh yeah, I should collect some blood samples too, and any hair I find. We can send it over to Saiba and they can analyze it and try to match it with everyone in their database. Saiba's database has everyone in this world registered in it. No way are they going to escape if we find their hair... blood isn't definitive enough, but blood with hair will do the trick. I should look around... nope, no luck yet.

I look ahead to see that there's an intersection. Now, should I go left, right, or ahead?

Hm... I'll go left! I run to the intersection and take a left and... eek!!! Wh-what is that?!! A zombie?!

What I see is a man, drenched in blood, and trudging towards me. I can't see his face because of the blood and I can't tell the color of his hair because there's so much blood. He's wearing a black suit and pants, somehow fine even though he's that injured. Is he.. a monster? A zombie?? I put my hand on my sword handle, just in case. He keeps trudging in my direction.

[Y-you! Stop right there! Don't some a step closer!]

He looks at my through his blood drenched eyes. He's not stopping.

[H-hey! If you don't stop, I'll attack you!]

He's not stopping. He leaves me no choice.

I unsheathe my blade and zip right in front of him, and I swing my blade horizontally.

But.... he collapses right when my blade is about to strike him. He collapses forward on me.

E-ehh?! What's wrong with this guy?! Wait, he's injured. This badly. Of course he would collapse. I kneel on the floor and rest him on the floor.

[Excuse me! Are you okay?! Please answer me!]

The man looks up at me with... what's that expression? His blood is covering his face, but he looks so... calm? No, more like... dead inside? It's like his eyes have no life in them. Is he really a zombie?!

[....I'm okay.]

He spoke! His voice is.... very deep. But he has a wound on his neck... should he be speaking? Am I making his conditions worse? Ah, I should heal him already. I can ask him questions after.

[You don't look okay, uhm... mister zombie. Let me heal you up.]

I summon another emergency first aid kit from the spacial pouch on my waist. I wipe the blood off of his face. I can see him more clearly now... so that's what he looks like. What should I say.... he looks kind of... cold hearted? He looks so emotionless. Like he doesn't give a damn about the world. I wipe down the blood and wrap some bandages around his neck. And then, his chest.

[Uhm... excuse me, can you take your top off?]

[....]

He moves his body, but his movements seem awkward. They're not fluid. It's like his body is being forced to move. He takes off his top. My eyes widened. Oh my gosh!! Those wounds are terrible! There's a fresh cut, keeping his skin split open spanning from his left shoulder to his right thigh. And he has a bunch of holes on his torso... just how is he alive??

I quickly patch up the wounds to the best of my ability. I'm confident in my combat abilities, but I don't know any healing magic. If I knew this would happen, I would have paid attention in the medic class when I was in academy!!

[Uhm... I'm sorry... that's all I can do for now.]

[.... I'm sorry for making you do this.]

[O-oh, no! I'm just doing it on my own accord...]

My face heats up a bit. He's looking straight into my eyes... hm? Thay's weird. I sense a layer of magic around his body. Is it for disguise?

[Uhm... Hello, mister zombie. I'm Sharon. I'm one of the 6 Great Commanders... and I'm here to investigate this S rank dungeon. Can you tell me why you were here?]

Mister zombie's expression doesn't change at all. He just stays silent for a moment.

[.... I was just caught up in the crossfire between a party of adventurers and those knights. I had joined as a temporary member, and when they saw the gate opened, they were greedy for the opportunity and came in. When things got dire, they took off on their own.]

He shows me his adventurer's license. C rank. How could they bring in a C rank to such a dangerous dungeon?

[I see. Don't worry now, I'll take you out of here. What's your name?]

[.... it's Neo.]

[Okay, Neo. Wait, how old are you?]

[.... 18.]

[Then I'm your noona then! Noona will take you out of this dungeon, okay Neo?]

[....]

He's silent... oh well. I guess that's a yes? I stand up and walk back to where the gate is.

[Neo, follow me.]

He follows me obediently. And... quietly. How is he not making a single sound? With all the rubble on the floor. Is he an assassin or a thief class? Well, it's not my business.

[So, Neo, you were just brought here against your will? And they ran away without you?]

[.... yes.]

[Aw... those inhuman...! Tell me their names! I'll see to it personally to punish them.]

[.... it's alright.]

[No, it's not! They threw you away and you almost died!]

[.... I'm used to it. I'm fine.]

Used to it? To being thrown away? Or almost dying? Well, if he insists that much, maybe I shouldn't step in. Getting too involved with a high ranking official like me might not be too convenient for him.

[Do you know who cleared the dungeon? You were in here until now, right?]

[.... I was unconscious until a few hours ago.]

[Oh... I see...]

Ah, that one's a bust, huh? It would be really convenient if I can just find whoever cleared this dungeon...

We reach the gate.

[Here, Neo. You can wait outside. I'll come out after investigating and I'll give you a ride on my wyvern.]

[... it's fine, miss. I know the way home. It's close.]

[Oh... really? Okay then... stay safe, okay? Don't go to close to dangerous places now!]

[.... miss.]

[Yes?]

I turn back around to face him. He's looking at me with those same old lifeless eyes.

[Can you keep it a secret that you met me?]

[What? I can't do that. I have to tell my friends and report it to the ki-]

Slam!

Eh? What is this? A kabedon? He's tall... he's looking down right into my eyes. His face is a bit too close...!! My face flushes slightly. What is he trying to do? This is embarassing...

[Please, miss. Keep it a secret.]

[H-hokay!]

Eep! I said that weird just now... it came out weird because I'm nervous. And I said okay in the heat of the moment...

Neo moves back and gives me some space. He starts walking out the gate.

[... thank you.]

-and he's gone. Seriously, I ended up saying okay even though I shouldn't have... well, it'll be fine, right? It's not like her was the one who cleared the dungeon. He's just an innocent victim who was unconscious when the dungeon got cleared. Mm, mm! It's fine!

I turn back and go back deeper into the dungeon to investigate further. But... that was my first kabedon... I can't get it off my mind!

----------------

I'm lucky that woman was a pushover. I just pleaded her once and she agreed to keep meeting me a secret. She's still a great commander, so she'll probably keep her promise. But I can't trust humans. I should be prepared to deal with anything. She may report me to the king. I heard the 6 commanders directly serve the King, so the order was probably given by the King of Argon. What was his name..? I don't remember. Anyway, thanks to her I got out easily. Good thing I kept a layer of mana around my body as insurance. It's covering up some scars that people wouldn't want to see. If she saw what my body really looked like, she definitely would have taken me to the palace and find out about my past. My scars are quite horrible. It's disgusting. It's unsightly. My face has relatively less scars. My face for some reason heals wounds better than my body. But I still to have a lot of scars on my face too. Even in my eye. I don't think regenerating your eye is a thing for normal humans, but I'm not normal. Anyways, I'll go back home now. I can't use shadow authority yet... I'll need to take the long way. That miss patched me up so I'm in a better condition than earlier. I weave some handsigns.

[Lightning body armament.]

My body gets surrounded by electrical energy made of chakra. I walking home. But in this state, my speed is a lot higher than it already is, so I'm going home really fast right now. Good thing I memorized the route between that gate and home just in case. Well, one looks was all it took though. My body dashes at high speed. I'm not going too fast because my body is still moving awkwardly through my chakra. Right now, I'd say I'm moving at 200km per hour. That's a lot slower than usual, but it's fine. At this face, I'll get home in 30 minutes. I wonder if any of them were worried about me? The Yoos.

... someone worrying about me? Yeah, that's unthinkable. No one would worry about me. That's what I've been hearing since my childhood. The souls of all I've killed lingered around me after their death. They would keep whispering to me. "You will always be alone. Your life has no meaning. You are a demon child." All things I've heard before. But even after death, the souls would keep repeating those words to me. The souls of all the people I've killed. I can't even count how many I've killed. I've wiped worlds at a time, after all. When you keep hearing the same thing from so many voices over a long period of time... you end up believing what they say. You slowly lose the ability to deny what they say. In my case, I just lost my ability to feel hurt from those words. But still, their words I've repeatedly heard since my childhood has left a deep impact on me. Majority of the souls that were around me left once I was sealed, but there are still a few thousand lingering around me. I can hear their voices. I've gotten used to filtering out their voices, but I can also see them. There's always souls around me, so I had to get used to ignoring those souls too. Anyways, I'm sure they weren't too worried for me. But I still want to go back... I wonder why. I still don't know the answer.

It's amazing what time can do to people. Even after all those years of suffering, after spending over 50 billion years alone in the middle of darkness, I've become a lot more emotionless. My rage, my desire to kill all loving beings... it's gotten very weak. I still remember what everyone did to me. I still remember the pain. But, it feels like it was such a long time ago... that it doesn't matter as much. Even if because of them I'm unable to live normally and have multiple problems in my life right now, it's still in the past.

Ah, I can see the city walls. I'm almost home. I dash through the gates so fast the guards couldnt even see me. I find myself way back to the place I call home right now. It's only been a few days since I disappeared. It's not that long a time. Very short, actually.

I open the door.

[... I'm back.]

Oh? It looks like the Yoos were having dinner. They're at the dinner table right now but they turned their faces to me. The parents' eyes widened, and Seol-ah's eyes tear up. Wait, why?

[Neooo!!! You're finally back!!]

Seol-ah immediately runs up to me and tackles me with a hug while crying.

.... what's with this reaction?