Arifureta After IV Demon King & Hero Arc Sequel② I’ll Continue to Fight-, Until I Die!
The air was filled with heavy silence.
The goddess who introduced herself as Aularodde Lea Refeat mumbled,
――I, I have worked hard for five thousand years without any rest or sleep but……it’s still not the time to ask for help……ah, I’m sorry. It’s no good if I don’t work hard isn’t it……that’s how is it isn’t it, yes.
Such words came out from her lips.
The goddess’s dignified eyes was turning so lifeless it was stunning. Not only she was told that the reinforcement she was expecting wouldn’t come, she was also given the verdict The appointed day of delivery is absolute! Put in even more work time to finish it! as though she was a corporate slave of a black company.
The divine halo of light behind her was withering like a candle fire in front of a strong gale.
Even this pure white space that was filled with holy atmosphere was losing its color as though to say 「I don’t even have any strength to put up appearance anymore boss……」.
And so, Aularodde-san’s peerless beauty (lol) appeared.
「Uwaa, what’s with those dark circles around her eyes……」「This isn’t at the level of losing weight anymore, she is emaciated……I can see a shadow of death coiling around her.」
Kousuke was creeped out while Hajime’s cheeks were twitching.
The excessive light that was covering up the goddess’s true appearance was gone and exposed a figure that looked like an overworked office lady whose only friend of the heart was cheap low-malt beer.
Her sparkling platinum blonde hair and also her beautiful pure white attire were also all wrinkled-up to a sorrowful degree.
Her skin was lacking any moisture and her back was hunched that they wanted to retort where did her majestic aura just now went to.
Her appearance was truly horrible in various meanings.
In other words, a certain hero had just yelled 「Work harder!」 to this goddess who looked like she was going to get beckoned to heaven anytime now. With how she looked, this goddess looked like she was going to joyfully welcome such beckoning instead.
Hajime and Kousuke’s gazes that seemed like they were looking at a savage lowlife stabbed at Kouki.
Uh, Kouki groaned with a trembling body.
「Ii~~! (Yaa~y yaa~y, you corpse kicker hero! You goddess killeer~!)」
「Ii~~! (You’re ho~peleess ho~peleess♪ You harassment heroo! Do a dogezaaa!)」
「I don’t know what you two are talking about, but I understand that you two are condemning me while half amusing yourself-」
Etemp-san on top of Hajime’s head and Mother Netemp-san who was standing diagonally behind him were excitedly pointing their leg and finger at Kouki extremely mockingly. They were like elementary school students who wanted to tattle to the teacher at the homeroom before school ended.
Although Kouki was annoyed, it was also a fact that he had done something that was like dealing an additional blow on someone who looked like she was already being cornered to the limit.
Kouki ignored the annoying Ii♪Ii♪voice from behind and faced Aularodde.
The goddess was staring fixedly at a single point on the floor. Her atmosphere was scary. And more than that it was dangerous.
「S-say, goddess-sama? I’m sorry, I spoke too much even though I didn’t know anything. If it’s alright can you tell me what is the situ――」
「I’m sorry for being such an incompetent. I’ll work harder.」
「Eh? No, excuse me goddess-sama――」
「I’m sorry for being useless. I will work without complaining.」
「……」
「My inability is because of my lack of effort. My deepest apologies――」
「It’s fine already-!! I’m begging you please take some resttt」
Kouki spontaneously yelled at the goddess who looked like her soul had flown away to somewhere. The goddess was hunching down even deeper, so he hurriedly ran toward her to support her.
He realized when he got near her. Aularodde-san’s breathing sound ‘hyu-hyu-’ was strange.
This goddess, she was so stressed that she was hyperventilating.
「It’s fine, I’m telling you it’s fine-. Come on, take a deep breath! Take two deep breaths and then let it go!」
「Amanogawa, that’s the way of breathing for childbirth.」
「How about you give me some recovery medicine if you have the time to calmly retort like that!?」
I don’t know if this will be effective though! Kouki said while gently patting Aularodde-san’s back. Hajime shrugged at Kouki’s pleading and took out a recovery medicine from his treasure warehouse and tossed it.
Kouki caught the container that was rotating in the air and felt dubious that the medicine wasn’t contained in an ampoule like usual. Or rather it was just a normal aluminium can so he dropped his gaze dubiously to check the can.
And then,
「Isn’t this Monster ○nergyyy!!」
Kouki almost threw it on the ground, but he stopped himself at the last moment.
「That’s just the thing you need when you want to work even harder when you are tired from work. You see, when it became the time for death march at the workplace of my Tou-san and Kaa-san, we would buy that by the box and made all the staffs drank it to overcome the crisis. It won’t even be an exaggeration anymore to call that as the hidden family member of Nagumo family.」
「Ah, so that was why you sent a lot of Monster Energ○ to my house for summer gift.」
Kousuke nodded in understanding. The Nagumo spouses knew that their son had troubled Kousuke-kun a lot with his requests, so they sent Monster Energ○ for one year worth (for each member of Endou family) to him, but Endou family that didn’t have a taste for energy drink was deeply troubled of what to do with all those drinks.
「No, just because of that……」
「Don’t worry. That’s not just a normal Monster Energ○. I added a little bit something to the market goods. If you combined it with Cheatmate DrDrink and inject it using this syringe――」
「Phrasing-!!」
Certainly, no matter how they saw it, it only looked like a scene of a dangerous person injecting dangerous stuff into himself.
「I’m telling you it’s fine. This thing is popular among the staffs at Tou-san’s company and the people at Kaa-san’s office.」
「A-are you for real……」
「Amanogawa, it’ll be fine I think. My family had also tried drinking it once, and there wasn’t really any problem.」
「The part of “really any” doesn’t give me much confidence though!? Is Endou family really alright!?」
It’s fine, there is no problem. There was only this little thing where SousukeKousuke’s big brother got reported to police because he was hitting on girls excessively that he got brought to the custody of police and lectured there. ManamiLittle sister’s rotten book production was also progressing awfully far after drinking it that it even wounded the heart of a certain exorcist young man.
Also, the amount of drinks couldn’t possibly be finished by Endou family alone, so the majority was shared with the work colleagues of Endou spouses at the city hall. It was said that for a period the progress rate of the workplace had reached a new record high.
It seemed that the public also showed a favorably reaction of how they finished their work abnormally fast for government officials. Though it seemed that only the people in charge of the teller windows got slightly bad reputation from looking a bit scary with how their eyes were wide open so energetically.
Getting back to the topic.
Kouki felt a vague anxiety seeing Kousuke averting his gaze away from him with all his strength. However he was worried for the goddess who was getting even more unstable mentally as time passed, so he helplessly gave her the Monster Energ○.
With hollow eyes, the goddess’s gaze unconsciously followed anything that moved. Her eyes followed the Monster Energ○ without any vitality in it and then she accepted it in her hands also unconsciously.
「???」
But, it seemed Aularodde didn’t understand what she was drinking. She must have never seen a canned beverage before. Then there was no doubt that she naturally also didn’t know how to open the pull tab.
Kouki took the can from her hands kindly, opened the pull tab with *pushu* sound, and then she handed it again to the goddess.
「Goddess-sama, this is a drink for becoming energetic.」
Kouki thought of how suspicious his words sounded though he was the one saying it while doing his best to act as kindly as possible because he was the cause the goddess ended up like this.
「Now, please drink.」
「Eh……me drinking?」
Aularodde was making a disbelieving expression. It was an exaggerated reaction as though she had received an unexpected great kindness even though it was just an offering of drink. Not only Kouki, even Hajime and others felt like tears would spill out from their eyes.
Aularodde hesitantly took the can and sent glances at Kouki as though to ask 「Is it really okay that I drink this? You aren’t going to tell me to pay the compensation for it later?」. There was zero godly dignity from her.
「It’s okay I’m telling you. I’m sorry for criticizing you just now even though I don’t even know the situation. Please consider this as an apology from me.」
「Eh, ah, t-that’s……」
The goddess mumbled something within her mouth while still stealing glances at Kouki. She put the Monster Energ○ on her mouth.
Her throat gulped the drink……
Her lifeless eyes snapped wide open. She was holding the can cutely at the tip of her hands while drinking vigorously *Kupi!~ Kupi! Kupipi!*.
It seemed she liked it. She bent backward and lifted up the can like an uncle who was drinking milk coffee after getting out from the bath with one hand placed on his waist. At the same time light was returning into her eyes.
And then,
「Kuhhaa———-!!」
An uncle goddess who was drinking beer after finishing work could be found here. She meaninglessly held up the can above her head and clenched the fist of her other hand. Her eyes looked like they were making the shape of (> <>
「G-goddess-sama?」
「I can do it……I can do it with this! I can fight for three thousand more years!」
「Please rest.」
「She has been completely dyed with the color of corporate slave.」
「Even gods has various types huh.」
「I~~ (Pitiful……hics)」
「I~i (It make me recall the past……hics)」
The goddess-sama regained her radiance a little. As expected from Monster Energ○ – Demon King Special Mix Ver. It was a magical drink that could even make a goddess to be brimming with energy. (※Warning: The Monster Energ○ in this work is a fictional item. The real thing isn’t mixed with any dangerous component at all. It’s an ally of mankind that deliciously clear up our mind)
「Goddess-sama, has you regained your energy a little?」
「Eh, a, ah, thi-, t-t-t-this is, I have shown you something embarrassing……」
She panicked like a girl with communication disorder getting addressed by a normie handsome guy.
Kouki smiled wryly while holding out his hand to take back the can. Aularodde’s gaze moved alternately from Kouki’s hand to the empty can in her hand.
「Say, goddess-sama? Why are you hugging it? I’ll dispose of the trash so――」
「T-this isn’t a trash at all! This is my treasure!」
The goddess hugged the empty can and turned her back on Kouki.
「To have someone be kind to me, it has been five thousand years since the last time……」
It seemed it had been 5000 years for her. Emotion rushed into the eyes of everyone there. Well, no wonder that even just an empty can looked like treasure to her.
「Hah, for you to be this kind to me……could it be that you……like me?」
「No, you’re mistaken.」
Surely it was the sign of the hero’s growth to be able to say that clearly without any room for argument.
And then, the goddess-sama whose thought completely flew to romantic direction just from getting treated with a single can of juice might have gone past being an easy woman and entered the territory of being a type of dangerous person.
Because, it looked like her eardrums were conveniently ignoring Kouki’s denial.
Even now she kept sending glances across her shoulder to Kouki. Her eyes were passionate like she was staring at prey.
Kousuke spoke with an expression like she was going to spit.
「This is why I hate handsome guy. Harem guy should explode.」
「Etemp, you’re recording this right? Kukuh, I wonder what kind of reaction that desert queen will show when she see this. A harem guy should be tormented by carnage.」
「You two are the only one I don’t want to hear that from-!!」
Indeed. What Kouki said was indeed correct.
「Cough-, and so goddess-sama. What could be the reason for you summoning me here?」
Aularodde excitedly put away the empty can into her pocket. Kouki ignored that because the talk wouldn’t progress otherwise while broaching the main topic.
Aularodde cleared her throat and put up a solemn expression even though it was already too late while opening her mouth――
The space was assaulted by a severe quake right at that moment.
「What!?」
「It must be the reason you are called to this world anyway. I don’t know if it’s an attack or a natural disaster though.」
「To begin with where is this place? Even the horizon doesn’t look definite.」
Hajime shrugged while Kousuke was looking around. The two of them were really calm for being someone in the middle of severe quake that attacked intermittently. Kouki turned a little red faced. It seemed he was embarrassed for being the only one panicked.
And so he tried to calm himself to ask Aularodde but,
「T-this is bad! The barrier is breaking-」
Aularodde turned around in panic but then her movement froze in the middle. She turned around and her gaze turned imploring.
But it only lasted for a moment.
「Hero, and everyone else who got dragged here, give me a little time. I’m sorry that I keep acting selfishly but, right now I have to prioritize getting through this danger first.」
She said that and then clapped her hands.
Immediately the pure white space vanished like a mist clearing up. In exchange a gloomy and cramped space leaped into the sight of Hajime and co.
「This place……it’s like a hollow inside a tree.」
「I have expected this. Well, it doesn’t look like there is no harm from being summoned here.」
「……Nagumo? You are making a wicked face for some reason you know? You aren’t thinking anything strange are you?」
Aularodde ignored their conversation and said 「This place is safe. Please wait until I return!」 before she ran toward the tree’s wall.
「Eh, wait! What are we called here for!?」
「I’ll do my best! I can still work harder!」
So it was like that.
「As expected from Monster Energ○. Even a goddess got all fired up from it.」
「Hey, Nagumo. Actually the mayor came asking Tou-san if there is any more of it or who is selling it. The mayor said that he bought the drink at the market but it feels lacking somehow.」
「Endou! Be careful! That guy is starting to get dependent on it! Don’t even mention about giving him more, you should confiscate it from him instead!」
Even while Hajime and co were having such conversation, the goddess rushed toward the wall and when it looked like she was going to crash……
The tree’s wall split to left and right and created an arch shaped corridor like an automatic door for Aularodde to pass through.
Hajime and co looked at each other’s face. Then with a tacit understanding with each other they followed behind Aularodde.
「Say, Nagumo. Is this place just as I thought?」
Hajime nodded at Kouki’s question.
「Yeah, did she call it heaven tree? Well, in other words we are inside this world’s great tree. Aularodde must be the same kind like Lutria.」
Kousuke ran parallel to Hajime while hitting his hand in understanding.
「I see, and Nagumo, you aren’t opening the gate to go back right away huh?」
Hajime was resisting so hard like that before Kouki was summoned. If it was the usual Hajime he wouldn’t stay here quietly to watch the black goddess and this black situation even if he himself knew very well the pain of going through a death march. He would undoubtedly not give a damn and went home. Much less doing something like giving the goddess his specially made Monster Energ○.
「It seems this world isn’t scattering our magic power anyway, that’s why at first I also thought if the magic power here is insufficient but……」
「I see, you are planning to question that goddess whether your hypothesis regarding “the world’s structure” is right or not.」
「Well yeah. I can also go ask Lutria but, if I can obtain information from multiple goddesses, there will be nothing better than that in order to check the consistency.」
Light came into view at the end of the corridor while they were conversing like that.
When they took a step out from that exit, naturally the scenery of this world rushed into their sight but……
「Well now……」
「S-say, Nagumo, Amanogawa. Is it just my misunderstanding? It feels like we’re really high up.」
「No, it’s not just your imagination Endou. This great tree……is at abnormal height.」
They could see some clouds scattered around. Below them that was. It wasn’t like the heavy fog at the sea of trees around the great tree Ua Alto that looked like a sea of cloud. They could definitely see the ground far below them from the gap of the clouds. Measured by eye, they were around 3000 meters high.
Proportionally the thickness of the heaven tree was also terrific. It was really immeasurable. They could only barely imagine the thickness of the tree near the ground. It was so thick that the base of the tree likely could cover the whole royal capital of Heiligh Kingdom.
Certainly it was understandable that this “heaven tree” was called like that because it was literally a “tree that pierced the heaven”.
But, even though the tree was that grand with a gigantic size that made Hajime and co held their breath, the leaves of the tree were sparse and the branches were rotting here and there.
When they dropped their gaze to the ground, there was luxuriant greenery growing beautifully in a circle around the heaven tree until one kilometer away, but outside the circle was a wasteland that looked really similar with the previous SF world.
The sun was shining in the sky, but not enough light reached the ground. Looking closer, the air was clear only around the heaven tree, but the whole atmosphere around looked like it was covered with grey smog.
「It looks like she is speaking the truth that the world is in danger.」
「No no, Nagumo! This isn’t the time to give commentary calmly like that.」
Kouki pointed with his finger.
At the existence that temporarily blew away the smog and sparse clouds that were covering the air.
The severe quake was still going on even now. It made the barrier around the heaven tree to flicker in rainbow color visibly.
The cause of that was floating in the air wreathed in lightning with violent lightning attack surging out madly――it was a beast.
Kousuke spoke with an expression that was between admiration and bewilderment.
「Say, if it’s not my misunderstanding, isn’t that thing something really famous?」
「It’s totally famous. I don’t know what that thing actually is, but its appearance is completely the same. I’m feeling a bit moved.」
That beast had nine tails. It was a huge fox that was around eight or nine meters long.
Yes, the culprit that attacked the heaven tree was the famous representative of great apparition that most people would know about even if they were unfamiliar with subculture or legend or old tale――it was the nine-tailed fox. At the very least in appearance.
It ran freely across the sky and storm of lightning attacks surged out without pause from its nine tails.
*KAANN* High-pitched impact sounds reverberated continuously sounding like the air was being struck. The lightning made their sight covered with flickers of light. Each time that happened the cone shaped barrier that was covering the heaven tree scattered rainbow colored shines.
「No, I understand your feeling but……I also think that it’s amazing, a little. But this isn’t the time to say something like that isn’t it? Look, the goddess is――」
Actually, or rather naturally the goddess Aularodde who went out to deal with the situation was also in the sight of Hajime and others who were watching the nine-tail from a thick branch of the heaven tree.
Her body was wrapped in beautiful light corona while she was also flying around freely in the air. She was fighting back by firing pure white flashes and light balls.
But, she was clearly being pushed back. Aularodde’s attack was easily dodged and she was hit by counterattack of lightning strike when the nine-tail got spare time. She allowed several attacks to pass her by and hit the heaven tree.
「She should have been revived by the Mon-en but……could it be that she isn’t that strong from the start?」 (TN: Mon-en is the abbreviation of the Monster Energ○ drink in Japan)
「Or perhaps it’s the nine-tail that is absurdly strong?」
「Nagumo, Endou. Let me tell you two this first okay? Mon-en isn’t the divine water! There is no way just a single can of it can erase the fatigue from five thousand years! The energy drink is only helping her to trick herself that she is alright!」
For some reason Kousuke’s expression turned subtly happy. Most likely after coming here he was thinking There is a replacement straight man! That’s right! Stamp your feet in frustration too Amanogawa! Both of us are comrades!! or something like that.
「If you are saying that, you should go help her.」
「I’m really sorry that I’m useless in air battle!! Even the holy sword can’t reach that far you knowww!」
As expected the hero was unable to abandon someone troubled in front of him. He stamped his feet in frustration.
While he was saying that,
「Abaa—h!?」
A scream echoed and Aularodde was blown away. She was smoking and her skin was dyed bright red. It seemed she was directly hit by lightning attack.
She was spinning in the air, however she stepped on empty air and barely able to stay in the air.
「Uguguh」
Aularodde glared fiercely at the nine-tails even while groaning. The heaven tree shined faintly and immediately Aularodde who was seriously wounded with large burn returned to her original appearance along with her attire.
「Do your best do your best-, me! You can do it you can do it-, if you give up the world will end!」
Reluctantly, Kouki accepted the risk that he would become a hindrance in the aspect of mobility and created barrier midair as foothold to rush to Aularodde’s help, but then he spontaneously stopped moving.
Countless twisting branches and leaves were created from Aularodde’s body. Then right at the next moment, they all shot out simultaneously.
More than ten branches flew toward the nine-tails. They burst out like balloon at the middle and became hundreds of small flying spears all at once. In addition they corrected their trajectory toward the nine-tails that was moving in high speed. A part of the spears even twisted away to surround the nine-tails and attacked it from all directions.
The nine-tails released sparks from its whole body and formed spheres of lightning to harden its defense.
The majority of the branch spears were annihilated, but several slipped through the lightning defense and pierced the nine-tails’ body.
And then,
――KUAAAAAAAAAAANN!?
The nine-tails screamed for the first time since coming here. Even though it was only stabbed by several branches that were small compared to its huge body, it reacted as though it had been hit by fatal wound.
The nine-tails writhed in midair. The source of its pain immediately came to light. Branches and leaves were rapidly starting to grow from its wounds.
「That’s nasty……it grew into the body right after it stabbed.」
「She doesn’t need any help like this isn’t it?」
「I-I wonder about that……」
It seemed they didn’t need to help.
The nine-tails rained down a storm of lightning attacks in the greatest scale until now. It rained down on Aularodde without giving her any time for dodging.
「aAAAAAAAAAH!!」
She produced a thick branch that coiled around her as a barrier.
But, the nine-tails that was swallowed by growing branches and leaves moment by moment was also launching an attack that was consuming its own life without care. That magic even rivaled the highest class of lightning element magic “Heaven Miracle” of Yue. It struck Aularodde until she crashed on the ground.
There was an impact sound and dust cloud rising to the air. A large crater was created on the ground. Aularodde was maintaining the defense of the tree with a desperate look at the center of that crater. Her eyes were radiating light and she hardened her defense even more using thick tree roots that flew out from the ground but……
The chaotic pounding of ultimate lightning attack that dyed the whole world was burning the tree defense in accelerated speed. The created trees were finally becoming insufficient.
「This is bad. Guess I’ll help with sniping for now.」
Most likely Aularodde’s defense was going to be pierced through faster than the nine-tails getting swallowed by the branches and leaves. Hajime concluded that and moved to take out Schlagen because it would be troubling if his information source died early――
「O-oi, Amanogawa? Are you alright? You are frozen at that posture without moving at all since just now.」
Kousuke’s voice made Hajime realized that Kouki had been silent since the middle and he turned his gaze over there.
Then he saw Kouki over there with his eyes close while maintaining his stance for drawing out his sword.
「――I understand now, holy sword. Thank you.」
Right after he whispered that, he unsheathed his sword. However he didn’t fully unsheathe the sword. He pilled back his right foot and turned half his body behind with the katana mode holy sword held beside his hip. His left hand was placed over the sword’s flat side as though to hide its blade――
「――Shoot through, holy sword!!」
Instantly, a vertical hole was opened through the nine-tails’ head. Not even the sword flash could be seen. It was also unknown whether there was any change to the katana’s length or not.
But, the result spoke clearly for itself. It showed the fact that the holy sword had elongated and bore through the enemy.
Although, this place that was located near the top of the heaven tree and the nine-tails that was outside the barrier near the ground were separated with a distance roughly around 2000 meters.
The lightning attacks stopped and the nine-tails crumbled apart disappointingly easily before it vanished completely. It was really a strange way for a living thing to die……
Kouki bit his lip. He must be assaulted with unbearable anguish of stealing a life without even exchanging words beforehand.
But, such thing didn’t matter at all for Hajime.
「Really, just what is going on with your holy sword? If I remember right fifty meters should be its limit.」
「Eh? No, somehow the holy sword sent me the image that it’s possible……」
「Hey, Amanogawa. How far that thing can stretch out?」
「Err, it feels like it can stretch for 3 kilometers if I do my best?」
Hajime and Kousuke looked at each other. And then they both nodded. This guy, he would absolutely say something like 「13 kilometers yeah」 before long. (TN: Bleach reference)
「Nagumo, be careful to not get poisoned to death. You might die instantly just from getting grazed you know?」
「Yeah. This holy sword looks like it will answer all requests if it’s for Amanogawa’s sake after all.」
「What are you guys talking about!?」
They were talking about the endless devotion and evolution of the laudable holy sword-chan. The demon king-sama who had obtained the limitless magic power in his hand was already going to stand on the heaven soon, so it was even more dangerous at this juncture. (TN: Another Bleach reference about Aizen perhaps?)
Hajime and Kousuke were looking at the holy sword as though they were seeing something terrifying for some reason. Kouki tilted his head in puzzlement while also dropping his gaze.
Aularodde had climbed up without him noticing until around 300 meters below. She was staring at Kouki with moist eyes……no, her eyes were like Kaori-san in another space time’s ordinary day that was giving off a slightly dangerous scent. (TN: Reference to the drawing of Kaori in certain scenes at the Airfureta Nichijou 4-koma. Her eyes were real terrifying there lol)
Kindness to someone who was cornered was like a certain kind of deadly poison……
For some reason those words flashed in Kouki’s head. His cheeks were twitching.
Then right at that moment, *GOU-* the atmosphere roared. Right after that,
「Abya!?」
Aularodde was blown away while letting out a scream that a goddess should never make. She crashed hard on the heaven tree’s trunk and then her body slid down the thick trunk slowly.
The goddess was crouching on all fours.
「Eggu, higguh」
She was enduring her pain with tearful eyes. Her hand was pressing on her nose, but blood was trickling down from the gaps between her fingers. It seemed her face got hit hard. It was a pitifully tragic state that was unbecoming for a goddess.
「Goddess-sama!」
Kouki immediately jumped down to where Aularodde was.
The culprit who punched the face of the goddess without any reservation was a figure that was also familiar.
「Oi oi, it’s a karasu tengucrow-billed goblin this time? What’s going on with this world?」
Over there was the second attacker which had a clichéd appearance that looked exactly like any image that could be searched in earth’s internet.
It moved to attack the goddess further, so Hajime pulled the trigger of Donner this time.
The karasu tengu approached the goddess with super high speed flying that was hard to follow even by sight and dealt a damage to her, but as expected, it was unable to do anything to react against railgun’s surprise attack. Its head was easily blown away and its body crumbled like the nine-tails before while falling to the ground.
Hajime and Kousuke went toward Aularodde along with the strangely quiet Etemp and Netemp behind them.
「Goddess-sama, are you alright?」
「Uu, you are being kind to me again……as I thought, you really like me……」
「No, you are misunderstanding.」
「The goddess know everything. This is what they called hiding your embarrassment――」
「I’m not embarrassed and not hiding anything.」
「Eh? Did you say something?」
「T-this goddess, could it be that she unexpectedly still have some leeway……?」
The nosebleed covered goddess was turning into a deaf type main character.
The heaven tree shined again during that time and Aularodde returned back to her undamaged state.
「Oi, this isn’t the time for that kind of love comedy. A party of tourists are crowding this place.」
「Haha……they are still far away, but there are really a lot of guys with very familiar appearance.」
Kouki and Aularodde gasped in surprise and leaned their body forward from the edge of the branch to look toward the ground.
「So many.」
It was like the ground was squirming. That was just how astonishing the monster parade was. A bunch of fantastic species that numbered in tens of thousands or perhaps even hundreds of thousands were marching toward this heaven tree.
Furthermore from the presence that could be detected, similar groups were approaching from the opposite side of the heaven tree, no, from all directions around the tree.
In addition, when they looked at far away using skill “Far Sight” and sunglass artifact, it was just as Kousuke said, there were really a lot of figures that they had seen from somewhere just like the nine-tails and karasu tengu from before. Yes, so to speak they were groups of “youkaiapparition”. Not only that, there were also fantastic species from western stories like werewolf among them.
「……No way……why at this timing……」
Aularodde was looking dumbfounded, but she immediately hit on the answer.
「……It seems they detected the power that was emitted from the hero summoning. ……No, perhaps they have been waiting all this time for the moment I’m exhausted……」
Aularodde gritted her teeth. But she immediately shook her head and stood up.
「No choice but to do it. Yes, if I have no choice but to do it, then I can only do it.」
Her eyes rotted once more. It was like someone who had just thought 「Now, I’m going to dive on my beloved cutie beeedd!」 right after getting through a death march was suddenly buried under a great amount of more work from out of nowhere……she looked like that.
「G-goddess-sama? Just now, you said that you are exhausted from the summoning……besides, even though you are healed, the damage you got just now was……」
「There is no problem! I’m immortal as long as the heaven tree is safe!」
Her eyes were rapidly turning muddier. Her lips were unnaturally convulsing.
「Even fourth-degree burn all over the body or nosebleed are just minor injury, minor injury! Even if my arms and legs are torn apart, even if my whole body is pulverized, the heaven tree will continue to keep me alive! I won’t even lose my consciousness! I have experienced it for tens of thousands of time during these five thousand years so I’m used to it!」
An unnaturally energetic voice shook the air.
The hearts of Hajime and co were also shaken by it. Especially by the content of goddess work that had gone past being black and gone into darkness territory.
Rather than calling it being kept alive continuously, this was already at the level that should be called “unable to die” wasn’t it?
Should it be called “not even allowed to faint” rather than saying that she wouldn’t even lose consciousness?
Aularodde-san showed a twisted smile of darkness that would shave away the majority of the sanity of the people looking at her while speaking further.
「I’ll work hard! I’ll work harder and harder! I won’t say that I want to rest anymore! I also won’t ask for help! I’ll continue to fight-, until I die!」
「I’m really sorry that I told you to do your besstt!!!!」
The hero did a dogeza to the goddess. Even the former dogeza master Hajime-san couldn’t stop himself from feeling admiration at the sharpness of that dogeza. It was a wonderful dogeza that was done wholeheartedly.
Kouki himself had experienced enough troubles that made him think 「No more!」, so he couldn’t be blamed for spontaneously exploding at Aularodde but……
It seemed he couldn’t help but apologize after witnessing the overwhelming difference in pressure between them.
But there, another severe quake occurred.
Countless flashes and fireballs and many other things were attacking from all directions. They all hit the heaven tree directly.
Right after that,
「Kahah!?」
「GODDESS-SAMAAAAAAAAA!?」
Aularodde coughed out a lot of blood.
「Uu, because of the battle just now I don’t have any power to put up barrier anymore……besides, the damage to the heaven tree will become damage to me……」
It seemed to be a brutish method. The goddess-sama was wheezing ‘zehih zehih’ while rolling around *orororo~* like merlion. However with that she finally regained her sanity slightly.
She escaped from the corporate slave’s madness and finally looked at the reality.
「Hero-sama, I beg you to assist me. If the heaven tree fall, it will be impossible to put this world back on its feet anymore. This world will nly be able to welcome a slow destruction in that case. I beg you-」
At this stage there was nothing that could be done anymore by simply believing that when there was a will there was a way. The destruction before her eye would definitely cover the whole world if she didn’t obtain the assistance from someone else.
It seemed this world was truly, truly at the brink. But even after understanding that, Kouki still showed a little hesitation even then. He still hadn’t heard about the situation. He was unable to so easily accept an act of stealing lives while still not knowing anything.
Even so, the time was pressing. If he had to choose no matter what……
But, seeing Kouki like that, Kousuke smiled bitterly while turning his gaze toward Hajime to give Kouki a helping hand.
「And, what are you going to do, Nagumo?」
「Well, for now it ain’t my intention to let a great tree with precious personification attached to it get taken away.」
Hajime shrugged and summoned a lot of Cross Velt. He deployed it around the heaven tree and put up multi-layered barriers just like what he did with the divine tree.
The second wave attack that attacked in swift timing was completely blocked by the barriers. Seeing that Aularodde’s eyes opened wide in shock. She was so shocked that she was vomiting blood ‘popyuh’ again.
Hajime approached Aularodde who was in such state with a really nice smile.
And then, Aularodde felt the abnormal pressure and backed away even while continuously vomiting blood ‘popyupyuh*, even so without any consideration at all――
「So, goddess. Which are you going to choose, being abandoned in this situation, or paying us the compensation that we ask in order to get saved?」
Hajime brought up such savage proposal to the goddess.
Goddess Aularodde’s answer was naturally,
「Popyuh!」
A blood vomit that flooded out from her mouth.
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