Chapter 25 - You're Not Alone

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"You couldn't tell... well, it's fine."

Aldias slowly reached out to Hajime. Hajime stared blankly, unable to move.

The moment that hand was about to touch Hajime—

Sacred Severance

A shining barrier unfolded, separating the two.

Aldias shifted his gaze sideways, where a girl—Kaori—was holding her hand out towards him.

"Wh-What, Kaori!?"

"Shirasaki-san!?"

"Kaori!?"

Shizuku, Aiko, and Liliana stared in shock at her reckless action. The other classmates had similar expressions.

"I won't let you hurt Hajime-kun anymore!!"

Aldias stared intently at Kaori, who had declared this, then grasped the "Sacred Severance" and ripped it apart like scrap paper.

"I appreciate your spirit, but you alone can't do anything at this level."

"I'm not alone!!"

"That's right, suu!!"

As if in response to Kaori's voice, a girl descended from above.

"Daaaah!!"

Aldias effortlessly blocked Shia, who swung her Drucken down with the momentum of her fall, by deploying a magic barrier with an outstretched hand.

A roar and flash echoed through the surroundings. The immense impact caused Aldias's feet to crack like a spiderweb, but there was no sign of his defense breaking.

Retreat, Shia!!

The moment a voice echoed from somewhere, Shia grabbed Hajime and retreated instantly.

The next moment, a black flash released from a black dragon that descended from the heavens enveloped Aldias.

"Shia!? And Tio too!? Why are you two here!?"

"There's no way I wouldn't come when Hajime-san is in a pinch!"

Shia's right, 'tis true!

Shia and Tio stood in front of Hajime, protecting him, surprising him that they, who should have been in the royal capital, were on God Mountain.

"Wait, you two!? I'll handle him alone—"

"No way!"

No way, 'tis true!

Hajime was dumbfounded by the two who instantly rejected his opinion.

"Why are you trying to act cool all by yourself!? I'm not a woman who just gets protected by Hajime-san!?"

I'm not just for protecting either! You can even use me as a shield! You can torment me as much as you like!

"Tio-san, please be quiet for a moment!!"

"You two..."

Shia tried to silence Tio, who made an inconsiderate remark.

Ignoring the two, Kaori approached Hajime and healed him.

"I'm still weak, so I can't stand next to Hajime-kun like Shia or Tio, but I can heal you when you're hurt. No matter how many times you get hurt, I'll definitely heal you."

"Kaori..."

"Anyway, I'm Hajime-kun's woman, so I'll always be by your side."

Ah, that's unfair, Kaori! I won't give up being the Master's slave!

"What are you two saying!? I'm Hajime-san's lover!!"

"...You guys."

Hajime's face suddenly showed exasperation as the three, who had been saying such good things, suddenly started fighting over him.

Even so, just hearing their usual exchanges made the tension in his body naturally relax.

He felt like a fool for having been so indecisive until now.

"Besides, a sinking Hajime-san doesn't suit you at all!! Where's your usual demonic cruelty that laughs while trampling on people!?"

"Hey."

I'm fine with any treatment, but my Master definitely has to be a sadist! If my Master becomes a masochist, who will satisfy me!?

"Hey."

"You two are going too far! Hajime-kun is definitely cruel and a sadist, but he used to prostrate himself on the street to save children, you know!?"

" "Seriously!?" "

"..."

Shia and Tio were speechless at Hajime's past, which was unimaginable from his current self.

Hajime's veins throbbed at their words.

"Kukuku, you've built quite an interesting relationship."

Then, a voice came from the point of impact, which had been obscured by the dust cloud from the breath.

Hajime and the others immediately looked back, and with a gust of wind, the dust cloud was blown away, revealing Aldias as if nothing had happened.

Aldias glanced up, seeing Freed and Aletia riding Uranus.

He nodded in response to the two looking at him, then returned his gaze to Hajime and the others.

"So? Are you just going to hide behind women? Didn't you want to look cool in front of the woman you like?"

Hajime bristled at the provocative remark and stood up.

The fear in his eyes was gone.

"Don't underestimate me. Someone like you, we can easily handle... I admit it. You're right, I was scared... of you, of the god behind you..."

That day, the first time he fought Aldias. He was relieved to have survived, but at the same time, he was terrified. If he had continued fighting, he would have undoubtedly been killed along with Shia. He didn't care about dying himself. But the more he wished to protect his loved ones, the more loved ones he gained, the stronger that fear became day by day.

Then, he thought, he should just bear everything alone. That way, if he didn't lose, he wouldn't lose anything.

"But that was a mistake. I was stupid. If two of us couldn't even stand a chance, there's no way I could win alone. Ah, that's right. I'm scared. Of you, who doesn't get a scratch from my attacks. Of Ehit, who still exists with a man like you... I'm terribly scared. I was living a life unrelated to fighting until just recently... Don't ask for the impossible."

Hajime walked forward, in front of Aldias.

Behind him, Kaori... Tio... and Shia, all smiled powerfully.

"I definitely can't win alone. But I can't lose! I decided to protect them!! No matter who the opponent is, I won't lose anymore! Even if it's you!!"

Aldias, who had been quietly listening to Hajime's shout, stared intently into his eyes. This time, Hajime glared back without averting his gaze. And then, Aldias... smiled.

"You barked well. After all, what one person can do is limited. That's why we complement each other's shortcomings and combine our strengths. There is no one who is complete alone. We complete it together."

Even Aldias, who achieved god-slaying, did not accomplish everything alone. He was able to do so because of Aletia, Freed, and Cattleya who supported him. The citizens living in the Demon Country. Many comrades who fell halfway through their aspirations. And his parents who showered him with love.

Their existence spurred Aldias on and pushed him this far. When he fell, they pulled him up.

To think of someone, to fight with someone. That's what humans can do...

Aldias's expression tightened, and an extraordinary amount of magical power overflowed from him.

"Show me your power...!"

"No need to tell us!!"

"First strike is everything!!"

Shia reduced her weight, including Drucken, to less than five kilograms and closed in on Aldias.

Aldias deployed a barrier as before to block Shia, who swung Drucken from above, then pulled out a straight sword from thin air.

"Uwaaahh!? You can use a sword too!?"

"I never said I couldn't. Magic just suits me better."

Saying so, he swung his sword, unilaterally overpowering Shia.

The moment a frustrated Shia, unable to land an attack, made a wide swing to try and land a hit, Aldias deftly dodged the approaching Drucken and flowed behind Shia.

"You have power. But you lack technique. Don't just swing wildly; predict the enemy's movements and react."

"I'm seeing the future, though!?"

"Hmm? I see, you have precognition. Even if you move by predicting my movements, I will change my movements after seeing yours. Think of precognition as merely narrowing your choice of actions."

"That's absurd!!"

He then pushed Shia away, and immediately Hajime's gunfire from Donner & Schlag assaulted Aldias.

Aldias dodged it by lowering his body to just above the ground and, without a moment's pause, charged towards Hajime.

Hajime, realizing there was no time to reload, manipulated his Cross Bit to deploy a barrier... but Aldias easily cut through Hajime's barrier like butter.

"What kind of material is that!?"

"It's my own making. Well, I don't usually use it much. You have many cards, but because of that, there's a slight lag in taking action. Choose your weapons quickly."

"You're too fast!!"

Hajime judged close combat was disadvantageous and backstepped to gain distance.

The moment Aldias was about to pursue, a large shadow enveloped him.

Take this!!

Tio's breath attacked from above.

The attack, released at a speed that even sound couldn't keep up with, melted the surrounding ground with a thunderous roar.

Did we get him?

"No, Tio-san, that's a flag..."

"...Ugh!? Behind you, Tio!!"

!?—What!?

Tio, startled by Hajime's words, frantically turned around and saw Aldias floating in mid-air.

"It's not a good strategy to block your vision against an opponent stronger than yourself. Moreover, your large body causes a slightずれ in coordination with others."

Calamity Sky

Ugh!?

A black shining sphere appeared above Tio's head and crushed her body to the ground.

"Each of your individual abilities is decent, but your coordination is still clumsy. Well, I suppose that's unavoidable as it comes with experience."

"Not just magic, but swords too... he's really a cheat."

"Will you give up?"

"Don't joke around...! I'll definitely land a hit on you!! Let's go, Shia!!"

"Yes, Hajime-san!!"

Hajime and Shia charged at Aldias, but Aldias easily parried their attacks.

"Nagumo-kun..."

Aiko watched their battle with an anxious expression.

(Nagumo-kun, my student, is fighting, and I...!)

She should have known. That they were fighting in places she didn't know about. She had seen them challenge hordes of monsters in Ul. However, those were within Hajime's capabilities, and while she wasn't without worry, deep down she felt that Hajime, who had overwhelmed the black dragon Tio, would be fine.

But the opponent in front of them was different. Hajime, even with his comrades, couldn't land a single blow. She had never seen Hajime with such a desperate expression before.

(But I've never fought before... I only have my Synergist skill... Synergist?)

Aiko, who had been staring at her palms, suddenly seemed to realize something. She looked around and then saw Tio, who was receiving Kaori's magic.

(I don't know if it will work. Still...)

Clenching her fists, Aiko ignored the protests of the surrounding students and ran towards Tio and Kaori.

"What's wrong? Your movements are getting dull, aren't they?"

"Shut up!!"

Hajime retorted with all his might, but he began to grow impatient with the battle situation, where there was no sign of victory. Aldias's defense was too strong; there was no way to break through it.

It wasn't that he had no weapons that could potentially destroy that barrier, but their attack range was too wide, and he might involve the surroundings. Moreover, he didn't think it would hit straightforwardly.

(Damn it, what do I do, at this rate—)

(Master, may I have a moment?)

(...Tio?)

Tio's voice echoed in Hajime's mind as he racked his brain for a way to turn the tide. It seemed she was speaking to him telepathically.

(What's up? If you've recovered, I need your help.)

(Right now, your Sensei is proposing something.)

(...Sensei?)

Hajime glanced over and indeed saw Aiko standing next to Tio and Kaori.

(Why is Sensei there?)

(For now, I'll just tell you what Sensei told me.)

As the contents were conveyed, Hajime's face gradually stiffened, eventually contorting completely.

(Seriously... How did she even come up with that?)

(I don't think it's a bad idea... What will you do, Master?)

Hajime pondered Tio's question for a moment before giving his answer.

(...Alright. We're going to lose anyway if we keep this up. So, let's bet on Sensei's plan. Tio and Sensei, prepare to go anytime.)

(Understood!)

As Tio and Aiko immediately began preparations after Hajime's approval, Kaori, who had finished Tio's healing, left the two and ran to Liliana and the other classmates.

"Lily! Shizuku-chan! Leave here right now!"

"Kaori? What are you suddenly... And Aiko is..."

"If you don't hurry, everyone will be blown away!!"

" " "Blown away!?" " "

"W-w-wait, what do you mean, Kaori!?"

Kaori briefly explained to the confused classmates. They too understood the situation, their faces paling, and began to descend the mountain in a hurry. The mountain path, usually not well-maintained as they moved by lift, would be no problem for them, who boasted higher stats than normal humans.

"I'll stay until the very end."

"Lily..."

While everyone else turned their backs, Liliana showed no sign of moving.

"It's alright. I'll stay a little further away, and if worst comes to worst, I'll put up a barrier... I can't intervene in that battle. Then, as a royal of this country, I have a duty to witness this battle to the end."

"Then I'll stay with Lily too. You never know what might happen."

"Then me too!! I'm good at protecting!!"

"Mmmm, okay, I understand. I'll stay with you two too. But please be careful!"

Kaori's face, which had momentarily looked troubled when Shizuku and Suzu also said they would stay, nodded after Lily, then looked at kouki, who still showed no sign of moving from his spot.

"K-Kaori... I..."

"kouki-kun, stay with everyone else."

"B-but..."

"Everyone's upset about various things. So, I want you to stay with kouki-kun. It's alright, Hajime-kun is here!"

"So, it's alright." Seeing Kaori's face, kouki's eyes widened for a moment, then his expression darkened and he muttered softly.

"!? You're right, I guess everyone feels safer with Nagumo than with me."

"Eh? kouki-kun?"

"Understood, I'll leave the rest to you."

Leaving the confused Kaori, kouki followed after the descending classmates.

"Haah, Ryutaro, please look after kouki."

"...Alright, leave this side to me. You two be careful too."

Shizuku sighed at this sight and asked Ryutaro, who, like her, was worriedly looking at kouki's retreating figure, to look after their childhood friend who seemed on the verge of disappearing, and Ryutaro agreed.

After seeing them off, Shizuku asked Kaori something that had been on her mind.

"Hey, Kaori. That plan, if Nagumo-kun fails, we won't even be able to execute it, right?"

"Eh? Well, yes, but..."

"I know Nagumo-kun is strong. But the enemy is even stronger. It's better to overthink things."

Kaori, whose head was filled with question marks, unable to grasp the meaning of Shizuku's words, widened her eyes in astonishment after hearing the rest.

"I know I can't even be an opponent. But it's not like there's nothing I can do."

"That Dragonkin, and the girl next to him... they're doing something, aren't they?"

"Who knows!!"

Hajime took out Olcan from his treasure trove and fired all rounds at Aldias.

"The same trick again..."

Aldias was about to intercept with "Rain Dragon" but noticed that the missiles' trajectories weren't aimed at him.

The missiles landed in a fan shape, scraping the ground with a roar and engulfing the surroundings in a blaze.

Aldias deployed a barrier with one hand, only defending against the missiles that landed on him.

Aldias furrowed his brows, unable to understand Hajime's intent, but suddenly felt a floating sensation.

"What is this!?"

The ground Aldias was standing on suddenly swelled up and began to ascend at an incredible speed.

A faint trace of magic on the ground. Perhaps the spreading of Olcan's missiles was to delay the detection of the magic flowing through the ground.

More than anything, Aldias was astonished by Hajime's hidden skill, which was revealed here.

"It's not magic!? Could it be, a Synergist!?"

Because Hajime was creating and using Earth weapons as artifacts in this world, everyone except those in the royal capital who had seen his status plate mistakenly identified his job as a special combat class.

Aldias was no exception, assuming it was something combat-related, even if not a hero.

He never dreamed it would be an ordinary, non-combat profession.

"Uryaaaah!!"

At that moment, Aldias heard a girl's war cry from above. He looked up to see Shia, with Drucken raised high, swinging it down with all her might at the ascending Aldias.

He immediately deployed a barrier to defend against Shia's blow.

A roar echoed through the surroundings, and the thrust-up ground, unable to withstand Shia's blow, began to collapse.

However, the attack hadn't reached Aldias, and he casually looked up at Shia from where he stood on the ground.

The moment he was about to blow Shia away, the dust cloud in front of Aldias was blown away, and he saw Hajime, emitting red sparks, rotating a giant stake.

(What is that?)

Before Aldias could react to the unfamiliar weapon, an arm attached to its exterior pierced the barrier, activating the weapon—a pile bunker.

"Pierce!!"

With a roar like a lightning strike, the pile bunker's stake launched by Hajime pierced the barrier.

"Tch!!"

Aldias immediately poured more magic into the barrier to withstand the sudden increase in pressure.

At this moment, Aldias certainly had other options besides just receiving the blow head-on. Fighting head-on wasn't the only way to fight.

He could have cast magic directly at Shia or Hajime. He could have used teleportation to temporarily retreat. The list was endless.

However, Aldias deliberately chose to receive it head-on.

(It's been a long time since anyone hit me head-on like this. I can't retreat here.)

Simply put, he was unusually exhilarated. He knew he had provoked them, but he felt compelled to respond to an opponent who came at him so directly.

The attack, which would normally easily pierce even the strongest defenses, continued to rotate in a spiral with red sparks, trying to break through the barrier, emitting a grating sound. Cracks spread across the barrier, and the tip of the stake entered the barrier.

And then, slowly, the rotation... stopped.

"No way...!"

"Damn it!!"

"The power was considerable... but it was missing one move."

Aldias raised the straight sword he was holding towards Hajime and Shia, who were gritting their teeth.

—One more move, and it would have reached.

At that moment, a girl's voice entered Aldias's ears.

"Shhh!!"

"Tch!?"

From behind, outside of Aldias's awareness and attention, Shizuku's single sword strike attacked.

This assassin had been completely unnoticed. Aldias's awareness had been focused on Hajime and Shia, and because Shizuku was too weak to intervene in this battle, she had unconsciously been excluded from his attention.

That single strike could not wound Aldias. Aldias's unconscious magic barrier, which could be called armor, defended against Shizuku's attack.

However, that was only to prevent a fatal blow from an unexpected attack and could not completely block the impact.

With the attack from his blind spot, Aldias's consciousness momentarily shifted away from Hajime and the others.

Hajime did not miss that moment.

"SHIAAAA—!!"

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!"

At Hajime's roar, Shia twisted her body on the spot and, with that momentum, brought Drucken down onto the pile bunker's stake.

The cracks in the barrier spread with a crunching sound. And then—

"Blow awayyyyyyy!!"

Hajime activated the gimmick on his left arm, then struck Drucken with a fist enhanced by "Strong Arm" and "Impact Conversion" from an immense amount of magical power.

The barrier, subjected to a barrage of attacks from the pile bunker, Drucken, and the artificial arm, resisted for a moment but then shattered into countless pieces with a high-pitched sound, blowing Aldias away.

The momentum was tremendous, and a faint glimpse of him hitting the top of a distant tower was seen.

"Tio!!"

"GOOOGAAAHHHHHHH!!"

At Hajime's command, Tio, who had been waiting in the sky with Aiko on her back, unleashed a breath from her maw that was on a completely different level from before, aiming it at Aldias.

The black, glowing laser shot straight, directly hitting the crumbling remains of the tower where Aldias was likely located, and after a brief flash, a massive explosion reaching to the heavens occurred.

"Alchemy!"

As the blast enveloped the surroundings, Hajime's voice faintly echoed around them.