Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 6

by Ryo Shirakome

  Noint twirled around without dropping speed, knocking down the explosive slugs with her wings. She then slammed her first sword into the Cross Bit Hajime was using as a shield. It stuck fast in the metal, so she slammed her second sword down on top of it, splitting it in half.

  Hajime’s eyes went wide with surprise. Noint looked coldly at him. Her chilling gaze made it clear that this would be the end.

  But Hajime hadn’t given up yet. He knew he’d have to make some sacrifices if he wanted to keep Aiko alive as well, so he was prepared to get hurt.

  If I’d known she was this tough, I would have used Limit Break earlier. I thought I could save it until Tio got here... Hajime raised his prosthetic arm, planning on sacrificing it to survive another attack.

  As Noint raised her swords above her, a thunderous roar split the air.

  “Graaaaaaaaah!” A second later, a beam of black light closed in on Noint.

  It was Tio’s dragon breath, the all-encompassing black light which could burn through anything. Noint had no time to dodge. And so, she cut short her attack and wrapped her wings around herself.

  As Tio’s breath hit Noint’s wings, it began to disintegrate. Despite that, it still continued pushing her back. Black and silver mana warred against each other as Tio’s breath pushed Noint all the way back into the cathedral tower. The force of the impact shattered the rest of the tower. Chunks of broken masonry fell to the ground.

  Ishtar’s bishops and templar knights cried out in despair. Seeing their beloved apostle get sent flying must have shaken their confidence.

  Hajime instantly pulled Orkan out of his Treasure Trove and mercilessly fired all twelve rockets at Ishtar and his men.

  This time they screamed for a different reason. Finally, Hajime heard the voice of someone he was actually eager to see.

  “Master! Are you alright?” He didn’t let his guard down, but Hajime smiled in relief.

  At long last, Tio had arrived.

  “Thanks, Tio. You saved my hide back there. Things got pretty dicey at the end.” Tio smiled briefly, but then her expression grew grim again. If Hajime was hard-pressed, then this was an enemy that required her full attention. She flew up to where he was standing and stared at the tower along with Hajime.

  “It is heartening to know I made it on time. As a reward, may I ask for a thorough spanking?”

  “If you can get Sensei to safety, I’ll think about it.”

  “Truly!? I will hold you to that, Master! Come, Sensei-dono. Climb onto my back.”

  Even now she puts her desires first, huh? Well, I guess Yue, Shea, and Kaori are like that too. Hajime sighed and put Aiko onto Tio’s back.

  Aiko was pretty sure she heard some rather immoral things during that conversation, but she obediently let Hajime deposit her on Tio’s back. She didn’t want to be a burden any longer.

  “Umm, Tio-san? I’m in your hands.”

  “Indeed. Fear not. You are someone important to my master. I shall not let any harm come to you.”

  Naturally, Tio meant that she was a teacher Hajime respected a great deal, but Aiko misinterpreted those words, thinking Hajime had a romantic interest in her.

  Aiko looked worriedly over at Hajime. At this point anyone could tell those weren’t the eyes of a teacher worried about her student, but the eyes of a girl worried about the boy she loved.

  Just then, the collapsed tower burst apart. Noint emerged from the rubble, completely unharmed. She flapped her silver wings, soaring once more into the sky. It appeared even Tio’s breath was incapable of piercing Noint’s defenses.

  “Go, Tio.”

  “As you wish. But allow me to assist you once I’ve delivered Sensei-dono to safety. Even if I can’t hurt her, I can definitely do something about those meddlesome priests.” Tio had already guessed that it was they who had weakened Hajime. She glared angrily at the surviving clergy while Hajime stared down Noint. The murderous glint in his eyes was back. Tio wanted to make sure he could focus on his fight without interruption.

  Hajime grinned and nodded to Tio, glad to have such a reliable comrade. This time, he took the fight to Noint.

  “Be careful, Nagumo-kun! I don’t want you to get hurt anymore!”

  “Hm? Ah, I see now. How fascinating...”

  Tio watched as Aiko clasped her hands together and prayed for Hajime’s safety. She could easily tell the teacher was in love with her student. In an amused voice, Tio spoke to her.

  “Sensei-dono, I understand your concern, but we must hurry. Once I have delivered you to the palace, I need to eliminate those pests for Master. I cannot allow them to interfere with his duel.” Tio turned to the ground, but Aiko stopped her. She looked over her shoulder to see Aiko looking resolutely down at her.

  “Tio-san. Won’t it take too long to take me down and then come back? We’re eight thousand meters up. A full trip would waste too much time...”

  “Hm? You do have a point, but... Wait, you couldn’t possibly mean to—”

  “That’s right. If you’re going to help Nagumo-kun fight, then let me fight with you. We have to do something about Ishtar-san quickly, or Nagumo-kun won’t be able to win. You can’t afford to waste time taking me all the way down.” Aiko had a point, but it still didn’t sit well with Tio.

  Hajime’s missiles had injured a good number of the bishops, but they’d already begun to regroup. They’d worked together to erect a barrier and were preparing to resume their hymn. Tio, too, wanted to stop them before they had a chance to start up again. But if she let harm come to Aiko, she would have broken her promise to Hajime.

  “I don’t mean to be rude, but what exactly can you do, Sensei-dono? You have no battle experience, correct? Nor do you have any magic circles on you. How do you propose to fight against those bishops and knights?” Aiko grit her teeth. Tio was right. But then an idea suddenly dawned on her. She closed her eyes, put her finger in her mouth, and bit down hard. She dripped some blood on the back of her other hand and quickly sketched a magic circle.

  “Despite how I look, my magic is as strong as Amanogawa-kun’s. I may not have any combat experience, but... I can at least support you! Honestly... I’m terrified of fighting fellow humans. Still, at this point, there’s no other choice. I understand now that empty idealism will get me nowhere! If I want to get my students safely back to Japan, then I can’t run away. I have to stand before my students and fight for them!” The kingdom had been invaded, and the bishops had all turned into religious fanatics. At this point, relying on Ishtar’s god to get back home was clearly pointless. Aiko and the other students would have to carve their own path in this world.

  In which case, she would no longer hesitate. If there was dirty work that needed to be done, she would do it. She resolved to never again let someone else pull the trigger for her.

  Tio hesitated when she saw the determination in Aiko’s eyes. Eventually, however, she gave in and let Aiko have her way.

  “If you’ve committed to this path, then I suppose I have no choice. I’m sure Master won’t mind if this is truly what you want. Very well. Let us slaughter those fools together!”

  “Thank you!” Aiko was nervous, but her newfound resolve weighed much more heavily. Together with Tio, she headed for the Holy Church’s great cathedral.

  They were up against hundreds of knights and bishops, but that didn’t seem to frighten them in the least. Their odd tag-team combo was about to take on the strongest religious group in the world.

  The first thing Hajime did once his hands were free was pull out Schlagen and let loose on Noint.

  Sparks ran down the barrel’s length as Hajime accelerated the bullet within. It shot out faster than the eye could follow, leaving a red streak in its wake.

  Schlagen possessed enough firepower to pierce through even Tio’s breath. Noint’s wings wouldn’t be able to disintegrate its bullets easily. She seemed to have noticed that as well, and chose to dodge rather than block.

  Flying underneath the bullet, N
oint charged toward Hajime. However, Hajime was ready for her. His Cross Bits intercepted her and fired explosive slugs at near point-blank range.

  “Ah!?” Noint realized she wouldn’t be able to cocoon herself in her wings in time, so she slashed at the bullets with her sword.

  It cut through the slugs like a knife through hot butter, bisecting Hajime’s bullets.

  Though Noint’s sword dissolved some of the mana stored inside Hajime’s bullets, it wasn’t able to negate the shockwaves completely.

  Pulses of mana assailed Noint from all sides, slowing her movements for a split second.

  Hajime took advantage of that opening and rushed in. He leaped off his mid-air platform and transferred all of his momentum into his left arm. At the same time, he activated Steel Arms, along with the oscillating vibrator in his prosthetic limb. He also fired another shotgun blast from his elbow to further accelerate his punch.

  “Haaah!”

  “Ah!?” Noint hurriedly raised her second sword in front of her to block. She barely got it up in time. Hajime’s fist crashed into it a second later.

  There was the deafening clash of metal against metal. Though she blocked the blow itself, the force of Hajime’s punch sent Noint flying.

  Hajime knew he couldn’t give her time to rest. And so, he unholstered Donner and Schlag and fired a follow-up barrage at her.

  There were two loud explosions as two streaks of red shot toward Noint.

  Though Noint saw only two streaks, twelve bullets slammed into the swords she’d held up to guard her vitals.

  “Gaaah!” Hajime had fired so fast and so accurately that each bullet had followed the exact same path at almost the same time, which was why it had appeared at first to only be two shots.

  For the first time, the supposedly invincible angel’s beautiful face twisted in pain. Her twin swords cracked as they took the brunt of the bullets.

  Hajime was amazed they didn’t shatter. Not many things could take a fully-powered punch along with a railgun barrage without shattering.

  Noint sailed through the air and crashed into another one of the Holy Church’s buildings, pulverizing it.

  Refusing to let up, Hajime pulled Orkan out of his Treasure Trove and fired a barrage of missiles at her as well. They trailed a cloud of sparks as they flew through the building, decimating what little remained of its walls.

  The rockets exploded, unleashing their payload of superheated tar. The tar ignited instantly, coating the building in sticky, three-thousand degree flames.

  Hajime watched the flames dye the sky red as he prepared his next attack. He reloaded Orkan with missiles from his Treasure Trove and took aim at the burning rubble of what had once been a church.

  Just before he fired, however, he noticed his quarry was no longer there.

  “Tch, below, huh?” Hajime looked down in time to see the ground below him erupt. Noint appeared from within, flapping her wings to close in on Hajime.

  It appeared she’d escaped his rockets by tunneling into the mountainside. Then, she swept her wings and fired another barrage of silver feathers at Hajime.

  He swayed from side to side, like a leaf blown in the wind, weaving between the storm of feathers. As Noint passed by, she swung down with her twin greatswords. Hajime somersaulted in midair, dodging out of the way. At the same time, he fired Orkan’s missiles at her.

  Noint had tasted their power once already, so she wasn’t very eager to do so again. She flattened her wings and sped forward like a silver meteor, outpacing the missiles chasing after her. Noint continued firing feathers behind her as she retreated, while also bombarding him with magic from the hundreds of magic circles she’d created.

  Magic and missiles clashed, annihilating each other in a magnificent explosion. Hajime dropped Orkan back into his Treasure Trove and drew his twin revolvers. He shot down the remaining spells coming for him, blowing apart the core of each spell.

  For a few seconds, there was silence as Hajime and Noint stared each other down.

  “Hey, you sure you should be wasting your time with me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  There’s no way someone from the Holy Church doesn’t know about the invasion happening in the capital. Until now they’d been fighting nonstop, so Hajime hadn’t had a chance to talk. But since there was finally a pause in the hostilities, he figured he should ask.

  “I’m talking about what’s happening below. If things keep going like this, the kingdom’s gonna fall. And once that happens, you know the Divine Mountain’s going to be next. Shouldn’t you be stopping the demons taking over your city instead of fighting up here?” Hajime had thought it a perfectly logical question, but Noint looked at him as if he’d said something ridiculous.

  “If that does happen, it simply means that is how this age is fated to end.”

  “That’s it, huh? So in the end, Ehit doesn’t see people as anything more than playthings. He just took their side this time, but in the next era maybe he’ll side with someone else? So is the god the demons worship one of Ehit’s lackeys or something too? Or is it just the guy himself in disguise?”

  “And if he is?”

  “I was just wondering whether or not the Liberators had been telling the truth. If you ask me, you’re both shady as hell.”

  Noint’s eyebrows twitched. It seemed being called shady didn’t sit well with her. Still, despite her obvious displeasure, Hajime simply grinned at her and continued.

  “Hey, if you really think I’m a nuisance, just send me back to my own world. If the kingdom falls, the rest of the heroes will just have proven they weren’t very useful pawns, so you may as well send them back too.”

  “I refuse, Irregular.”

  “Mind telling me why?”

  “Because my master wishes for your deaths. Yours especially. You survived hardships that would have broken normal people, obtained unimaginable power, and found trustworthy comrades to aid you in your journey... Now, all that’s left is for you to fall before achieving your goal. For that is the kind of fate my master wishes upon you. So I kindly request that you die in a blaze of agony, suffering, and despair. After all, that is what shall please my master the most. The hero and his friends, on the other hand... appear to be up to something my master finds interesting, so he is content to leave them alone. As long as they continue entertaining him, he shall not remove them from the game board.”

  Hajime had expected that answer, so he wasn’t terribly surprised. He shrugged his shoulders and thought back to what Miledi Reisen had said.

  You’re right, the gods really are conniving little bastards.

  There was one thing that Noint said that stuck out in Hajime’s mind, though.

  “You said the others are up to something?”

  “As you are about to die, there is no need for you to know.” At that, Noint unleashed another barrage of feathers and magic, putting an end to their conversation. Her assault was far more ferocious than before. Her feathers were as fast as Hajime’s bullets, and the spells she was casting were all high-level. A silver aura coated Noint’s body, and she seemed to grow in size. She looked just like Hajime or Kouki when they were using Limit Break.

  “Ah!” Hajime faced down the torrent of magic and feathers, Metzelei in his right hand and Schlagen in his left. He mowed down Noint’s attacks with Metzelei, the machine gun that fired twelve thousand bullets a minute. At the same time, he sniped at Noint with Schlagen.

  She reacted much faster than before, though.

  The instant before Hajime’s bullet hit her, her figure blurred. She vanished, and reappeared a few meters away.

  She then charged at Hajime, right through the hail of bullets. Honestly, she moved so fast that she left afterimages in her wake.

  Hajime tracked her movements with Foresight and tried to intercept her with his Cross Bits. However, his explosive slugs hit only air as they passed through her afterimages.

  A second later, Noint appeared behind him, still trailing
afterimages in her wake. Then, she spun like a top, swinging her twin blades at Hajime.

  “Tch!” Noint had moved so fast that not even Rift Walk had allowed Hajime to keep up with her movements.

  Hajime managed to duck out of the way in time, but her swords passed through Schlagen, cutting it cleanly in half. That made the energy from his Lightning Field discharge, and a huge explosion blossomed between the two of them.

  The explosion made Noint hesitate for a second, allowing Hajime to mount a counterattack.

  Crimson streaks of mana wrapped themselves around his body. He’d activated Limit Break. Then, he rushed forward at the same time Noint did. He was no longer holding Metzelei, but had instead drawn Donner and Schlag.

  The two of them began trading blows at point-blank range.

  “Taaaaaah!”

  “Haaaaaah!”

  Hajime twisted to the side to avoid Noint’s downward swing. Before the first sword had even passed by, her second blade came in from the side. Still, he managed to get Schlag underneath it and fired upward, pushing her sword out of the way. At the same time, he fired Donner directly at her heart.

  Noint circled out of the way, and Hajime’s bullet passed harmlessly through an afterimage. She cut diagonally upward with her first blade as she did so.

  Hajime enhanced Schlag with Diamond Skin and Focused Strengthening. He hardened only the part of the barrel that he used to block Noint’s sword, allowing him to multiply the skill’s effects. Due to that, Noint’s sword knocked Schlag out of the way, but didn’t break it.

  He blocked Noint’s second sword with Donner’s muzzle, and fired just as the sword made contact. The bullet knocked the blade out of the way.

  Hajime and Noint continued dancing around each other, dodging and trading blows. They fought to the utmost limits of their abilities, each trying to land a decisive blow. Their concentration was so absolute that they both forgot to breathe, to blink.