Arc 2:7 - The Seven Grand Disciples

IN ANOTHER REALM.

Someone approached Fujimiya.

BOOM

Fujimiya simply glanced at the woman.

"Why aren't you surprised?" she pouted.

"Am I supposed to be shocked by that?"

"Hehehe..."

Fujimiya gently patted her head.

"Stop acting like a child, Yue."

Yue lowered her head, embarrassed.

"Your plan was pretty clever, though."

"Well, at least I'm not as obvious as Pandora."

Yue gave him a thumbs-up.

"But I still don't understand... Why did she accept the orb so easily?"

"Alright, I'll explain my plan to you—briefly."

Fujimiya closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"So, after Pandora failed to give the orb to Allen, she came to me for help. At that time, Allen could still use his magic, but I have a skill called Absolute Negation. This skill disables all forms of power within an unlimited range. Its only drawback is that it targets a single person. In the other world, I gave Kanaya an illusion of endless torment. As a woman, she would do anything to survive—even if it meant becoming the Demon Lord."

Yue clapped her hands.

"Amazing…"

Fujimiya stepped forward and opened a portal.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to see how Kanaya's doing."

"Wait, do you mean you're going to help her?"

Fujimiya paused.

"You're joking, right? You know what happens if we interfere. It's a fate worse than death."

"I know."

"I'm sorry. Maybe I'm being selfish, but…"

The atmosphere fell silent.

Fujimiya looked at the portal, then at Yue.

"Happy birthday… my little sister."

The portal closed completely.

As Fujimiya left, he dropped something.

Yue approached the spot where he had stood.

She picked up the item—it was a letter.

She opened it, and smiled as she read it.

"Stay safe… big brother."

---

BACK TO THE GAME WORLD / ISEKAI.

Allen and Kuroichi were preparing for the tournament. They entered a room filled with other participants who had arrived earlier.

A screen lit up in front of them.

Testing 1 2 3.

"HELLO EVERYONE! MY NAME IS KARGAGAN, ONE OF THE SEVEN GRAND DISCIPLES AND YOUR TOURNAMENT JUDGE!"

The students just stared blankly at his over-the-top behavior.

"What's with this guy?"

"Such a weirdo…"

They whispered among themselves.

Rika pointed at him and looked at Stella.

"His behavior's even worse than Allen's."

"Hey, don't say facts out loud."

Kargagan continued:

"Alright! Let me explain the stages of the tournament!"

"Stage one! You'll climb a 15-floor tower filled with monsters as strong as elite instructors."

"Stage two! A brain-meltingly difficult puzzle!"

"And the final stage! A test designed to make you FAIL! You'll battle against all SEVEN GRAND DISCIPLES… including ME!"

"Are you ready? The tournament begins in..."

1...

2...

3... BEGIN!!!

The doors opened, and the students rushed forward.

Allen and Kuroichi were the first to enter, but Kuroichi was bumped by a large student and nearly trampled.

Thankfully, Allen caught her and leapt up to the rooftops.

"It's chaos down there."

Kuroichi was still panicking from the near-death experience.

"You okay?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Good to hear."

"We should wait up here. It'd be tough to move forward in that mess."

Allen nodded.

Kuroichi's cheeks flushed.

Allen tilted his head. "What's wrong? You sick or something?"

"You're… grabbing my chest."

Allen flinched and adjusted how he was holding her.

He hugged her tighter instead.

Kuroichi stared at Allen. She wanted to yell, but seeing how seriously he was protecting her, she held back.

"Kanaya…" Kuroichi whispered.

Allen glanced at her. "What did you say?"

"N-Nothing."

Kuroichi pointed downward.

"Looks like the crowd's cleared up. Let's—"

Without warning, Allen let go.

Kuroichi screamed as she fell.

Once on the ground, they continued to stage one.

"Hey Kuro, check this out," Allen said, pointing at a board.

Stage 1 Rules:

Form a team of 6 members.

Warning: The monsters can defeat elite instructors—the same ones who trained the Seven Grand Disciples.

"Great, and we're just a team of two."

"Let's just stay confident," Allen said as he casually walked in.

Kuroichi grabbed his collar.

"Don't be stupid!"

Moments later, Rika, Stella, Lina, and Fujimiya arrived.

"What are you guys doing?" Stella asked.

"We're short on members," Kuroichi replied.

Fujimiya read the board.

"Then join us. That way, you can enter the tower."

"Sure!" Kuroichi accepted immediately.

Allen, on the other hand…

"Damn it, why's he here? What's his goal? This sucks!"

Stella glanced at Allen.

"What are you doing? Let's go already."

They entered the dungeon.

As they explored, they solved various puzzles. Each time a puzzle was solved, a door would open, leading to rooms full of monsters.

Allen stepped into one of those rooms.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Get back here!" Stella shouted.

Allen kept walking.

"Relax, I got this."

The monsters glared at Allen, drooling as they charged at him.

Allen pointed forward.

"Time for a power test," he muttered.

"Die."

The monsters instantly disintegrated into dust.

A message popped up in front of them:

"EACH MONSTER KILL ADVANCES YOU BY 3 FLOORS."

They kept moving.

As they strolled casually, something suddenly struck Allen at supersonic speed.

Allen instinctively pulled out his Shinigami of Death sword—but it shattered upon impact.

"Hell nah, dude…"

"Yo NPC, long time no see," said a voice—Grimore.

"Wait, aren't the Seven Grand Disciples forbidden from being here?" Lina asked.

"Do I look like I care?"

Grimore turned into smoke and vanished.

Allen stared at his broken sword, now beyond repair.

"You bastard, Grimore! I'll destroy you from head to toe, I'll humiliate you down to the last pixel of your existence!!" Allen yelled.

Fujimiya patted his shoulder.

"Forget him. Let's keep going."

They advanced to the third floor.

"Another puzzle? I thought stage two was the puzzle part…" Rika complained.

"I thought stage two was a quiz," Stella replied.

"Hehe."

Fujimiya looked around and found a bell.

"What's this thing?"