The moment it had rushed forward, all the strength had drained from its limbs, and it careened to the ground. Confused, the cyclops tried to struggle back to its feet, but it was able to do little more than flail helplessly on the ground.
It roared, unable to comprehend what had just happened, while Hajime slowly walked over to it. His echoing footsteps were like a countdown to the cyclops’ demise. He stopped inches from its face, and put his gun to its head. Then, without any hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
Bang! The sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the room for a second time.
However, something unexpected happened just then. The cyclops’ body glowed briefly, after which its skin repelled the bullet that should have killed it.
“Hmm?” Hajime guessed that it was because of its special magic. From what he could tell, it temporarily gave the cyclops a massive defense boost. Though it was still face-down on the ground, the cyclops smirked contemptuously at him.
Unfazed, he retracted his gun and aimed a kick at the cyclops’ head. Thanks to his Steel Legs skill, Hajime’s kicks were as powerful as the Kickmaster Rabbit’s had been. His foot traced a neat arc through the air before slamming into the cyclops and turning it over on its stomach. He then pressed Donner to its eye.
Though he couldn’t be sure, it looked as if the cyclops was panicking. Still, he paid it no mind and mercilessly pulled the trigger. As he expected, the body hardening didn’t extend to its eye, and the second cyclops had its brains blown out just like the first.
“Hmm, it took around twenty seconds this time. That’s slower than usual... Is it because it has a larger body?” Hajime mumbled to himself, analyzing the results of his experiment.
Why had that cyclops suddenly collapsed earlier? That had been thanks to the power of his stun grenade. He had made it using the scales he’d harvested from the Butterfree lookalikes. By utilizing a small, controlled blast, he could spread the scales throughout a room, paralyzing everything in it. The instant the cyclops on the left had been distracted by the death of its companion, Hajime had thrown it into the air.
“Well, whatever. Guess I’ll harvest the meat later...” As he glanced back to the door, an idea sprouted in his mind.
He used Gale Claw to cut open the cyclopes and extracted their mana crystals. Ignoring the fact that they were dripping with blood, he carried the two fist-sized mana crystals over to the double doors and placed them in the two indents.
They fit perfectly. After a brief delay, they began pouring gouts of dark red mana into the magic circles. The sound of something snapping echoed in the distance and the light began to fade. Mana started diffusing through the room at the same time, making the surrounding walls glow with a bright light. The room was suddenly filled with more light than Hajime had seen in ages.
He blinked at the sudden brightness, then pushed open the door, clearly on the lookout for any traps.
The room on the other side of the door was pitch black, with not a single light source to be found. However, a combination of his Night Vision and the light spilling in from the room outside was enough for him to dimly make out his surroundings.
The interior of the room was composed of the same marble-like substance that Hajime had first seen in the church cathedral. Two rows of thick pillars, spaced out at regular intervals, extended all the way to the end of the room. In the very center of the room stood a huge cubical slab of rock. Its surface was glossy, and it shone from the reflected light coming in from the room behind.
Hajime took a closer look at the cube, noticing there was something that glowed faintly jutting out from the center of its front face. It looked almost as if it was sprouting out of the rock.
Intent on getting a closer look, he threw the doors open wide, and looked for something to hold them in place. He didn’t want to make the classic horror movie mistake and enter only to find the door shut behind him.
However, before he could fix them in place, whatever was in the center of the cube stirred.
“...Who goes there?” He heard a faint, hoarse, female voice. Startled, Hajime looked over to the center of the room again. The “something” he had seen earlier was squirming slightly. The light pouring in from the other room revealed that something’s true form.
“A... person?” The something sprouting from the rock was indeed a person.
The girl was buried in the rock from the neck down, and her golden-blonde hair dangled limply in front of her face, much like the ghost from a certain famous horror movie. Eyes as red as the blood moon peeked out from between gaps in her hair. She looked to be rather young. Still, despite her haggard appearance and her hair covering the better part of her face, it was still clear she was quite beautiful.
Hajime stiffened in surprise; he hadn’t expected to see another person so deep in the labyrinth. It seemed the girl was just as surprised to see him too, as she was staring at him in dumbfounded shock. After a moment of silence, he took some deep breaths to steady himself, and then resolutely said...
“Sorry. I’ll just leave now.” He went to go and close the doors again. But before he could, the blonde-haired red-eyed girl hurriedly called out to him once more. Her voice was hoarse and weak, most likely from years of disuse, but the desperation in it was clear.
“W-Wait...! Please...! Help me...”
“Don’t wanna.” Hajime replied curtly, then returned his attention to the doors. A truly heartless reply.
“Wh-Why... Please... I’ll do anything, so...” She really was desperate. Though she could barely move her neck, she still raised her face up to look at Hajime.
But even then, Hajime only gave an irritated reply.
“You know, I really doubt it’d be a good idea to free someone that’s clearly been sealed all the way down here in the deepest pits of hell. That just spells trouble. As far as I can tell there’s nothing but the seal in here... and it doesn’t look like that’ll help my escape at all, so...” It was a fair argument.
However, there were few people so devoid of sympathy that they could so easily ignore a girl’s pleas for help. It was clear that the old, kind Hajime had long since perished.
Though he had refused her so bluntly, the girl continued hopelessly calling out for help.
“No! Cough... I-I’m not anyone bad...! Please wait! I...” He continued pulling the double doors closed, but just before he shut them completely, he ground his teeth. Had he been a bit faster he wouldn’t have had to hear those last words of hers.
“I was betrayed!” He heard, through the tiny crack of the still open door.
The creaking doors ground to a halt. A miniscule sliver of light was all that illuminated the darkness within. Ten seconds passed, then twenty. Finally, the doors began opening once more. Standing behind them was Hajime, scowling unhappily at the situation at hand.
No matter what she had said, he hadn’t planned on helping her. He figured there must have been a very good reason someone was sealed all the way down here, far below the light of the sun. And there was no proof that she wasn’t dangerous, either. In fact, it was likely that she was just some evil creature that was trying to deceive him into releasing her. He should have just left her.
Seriously, what the hell am I doing? Hajime sighed to himself as that thought passed through his mind.
“I was betrayed!” —To think those words would stir his heart, the heart he thought he’d long since buried. He thought he had already forgotten about the classmate who had flung that fireball at him. He thought he had already thrown away paltry feelings like hatred and sympathy. In order to survive in this cruel world, he had to.
But the fact that the girl’s words had shaken him so deeply meant that he hadn’t completely buried his old self. Enough of the old, kind Hajime still lived that he could sympathize with this girl’s circumstances, which were so very similar to his own.
He scratched his head uncomfortably and walked up to the girl. Of course, he still remained vigilant.
“You sa
id you were betrayed? But that still doesn’t explain why you’re trapped here. If you really were betrayed, how come they sealed you in this rock?” The girl seemed shocked that Hajime had actually come back.
She stared fixedly at Hajime through her dirty golden locks, crimson eyes gleaming in the darkness. He began growing impatient at her continued silence.
“Hey, are you listening? If you don’t want to talk, then I’ll just head back now,” he said brusquely and turned on his heel. The girl came back to her senses with a start and quickly began speaking.
“I am one of the original, atavistic vampires... because of the extraordinary power I was gifted with... I worked hard for the sake of my country and my people. But then... one day... my retainers all... said I wasn’t needed anymore... My uncle... said that he would be king in my place... I...was fine with that... but because I had so much power everyone was afraid of me, they thought I was dangerous... They couldn’t kill me... so they decided to seal me here instead... That’s why...”
She spoke haltingly but desperately, her parched throat making speech difficult. Hajime sighed as he heard her tale. She had certainly suffered a cruel fate. However, during the course of her tale he heard some things that nagged at him. He felt an inexplicable, complicated feeling well up within him, so he asked the following:
“So does that mean you were some kind of royalty?” She nodded furiously at his words.
“What do you mean they couldn’t kill you?”
“...I heal automatically. No matter what kind of injury it is, it’ll just heal by itself. Even if you cut my head off I’ll regenerate eventually.”
“Th-That’s quite the ability... So that’s the power everyone was afraid of?”
“That too, but... the main thing was that I could control mana... directly, without a magic circle.”
Hajime nodded and replied with a simple, “I see.”
After consuming monster flesh he had become capable of freely manipulating his mana as well. He needed no chants or magic circles to enhance his body, or use the special magic he had acquired. Same with his transmutation skill.
However, Hajime had zero affinity for magic, so even if he could manipulate his mana directly he still needed a huge magic circle to actually cast anything, meaning he effectively couldn’t use it for much.
But with this girl’s magical affinity, being able to directly manipulate mana turned into an insanely powerful asset. Because while everyone else had to waste time preparing circles and chanting their spells, she could just blast off magic like nobody’s business. Frankly, it wouldn’t be much of a fight if she chose to take someone on. And to top it off, she was immortal. It probably wasn’t perfect, and there was most likely some way to actually overcome it, but even then it was a cheat level skill far surpassing that of any hero’s.
“...Please, save me...” She begged softly as she watched Hajime sink deep into thought.
“Hmm...” He stared unblinkingly at her. She stared right back. They spent what felt like an eternity gazing into each other’s eyes. Finally, Hajime scratched his head awkwardly and breathed a long sigh. He then placed his hand on the cube holding the girl.
“Ah.” Her eyes opened wide as she realized what he was doing. He ignored her and began transmuting.
His mana, which had turned a dark red, or rather more of a deep crimson since ingesting the wolves, began flowing down his arm.
However, the cube he was trying to transmute remained unchanged, as if it was resisting the force of his mana. Just like the bedrock that lay between each floor of the labyrinth. However, unlike those it wasn’t as if his magic was being completely nullified. Little by little, Hajime’s power began seeping into the cube.
“Guh, this thing’s tough... but I’m not so weak anymore!” He poured yet more mana into his spell. It was enough mana that it would have taken six verses to chant out, were he not able to manipulate it freely. Finally, he felt his magic start taking effect. The tremendous volume of mana dazzled bright crimson, illuminating the entire room in a fiery red.
And yet Hajime continued pouring mana into his arm. Seven verses worth, then eight. The part of the rock encasing the girl began to tremble at that point.
“I’m not done yet!” He pushed even harder, pouring a ninth verse’s worth of mana into the stone. At that point he had burned enough mana to cast some of the most advanced spells in existence and still have some left over. The girl stared at him fixedly as his mana grew brighter and brighter, determined not to miss a single moment.
Cold sweat poured down his back as he kept going. This was the first time Hajime had tried to cast such a large-scale spell. If he lost focus for even an instant, the massive amount of mana he was wielding would go berserk. But even after all that, the cube refused to budge. Desperate, he threw all the mana he had into the spell.
Hajime wasn’t sure why he was going so far for a girl he had just met.
But for some reason, he just couldn’t leave her alone. Even though he had sworn to himself to eliminate all obstacles in his path and to live only for the sake of his goal, he still continued transmuting. Seriously, why the hell am I doing this? He mentally admonished his actions, but then he reasoned that everyone makes exceptions sometimes and stubbornly thought, I decided to do this, so there’s no way in hell I’m quitting halfway!
He was burning so much mana that his entire body glowed crimson. He was using up every last drop of mana just to free her. With a doggedness that surprised even himself, he kept resolutely transmuting with every ounce of spirit he had. Finally, the portion of the cube entrapping the girl began to melt like hot butter and dribbled to the ground, slowly releasing her from her stone prison.
As the rock slowly fell away, her modest breasts were fully visible. Next came her waist, then her hands, her thighs, and finally the cube melted away entirely and she was free. Her completely naked body was clearly emaciated, but it still had an alluring charm to it. She slumped to the ground in an exhausted heap as soon as her body was fully free. It seemed she wasn’t strong enough to stand.
Hajime sat down in front of her. He was panting heavily. Using up his entire reservoir of mana had clearly exhausted him greatly.
With a trembling hand he tried to pull out a vial of Ambrosia, but before he could the girl put her hand over his and grabbed it. Her small, slender, and frail hand trembled as it entwined with his own. He gave her a sidelong glance, and realized she was looking right at him. Though her face was expressionless, a wealth of emotions dwelled within her crimson eyes.
In a small and trembling, but powerful voice, the girl conveyed her feelings.
“Thank you.” Hajime wasn’t sure he could ever express the emotion he felt at those words. He just knew that the heart he thought he’d discarded began glowing with a faint, but resolute light.
He sat there quietly, his hand in hers. He wondered how long she must have been trapped there, suffering. As far as Hajime knew, the vampires had gone extinct hundreds of years ago. At the very least, that was what had been written in the history books he had read in the royal library.
Even when she had been talking to him earlier, her face had remained expressionless. Which meant that she had at least spent a long enough time in this solitary dark cell to forget how to speak, and even how to show emotions.
According to her tale, she had been betrayed by someone she trusted too. It was a wonder she hadn’t gone insane. Perhaps that had been due to her healing factor? But if that really were the case, that meant she had been tortured for centuries by her own abilities. Unable to even sink into the release of madness.
Guess drinking the potion can wait, Hajime smiled wryly as he thought to himself, squeezing the girl’s hand back as he did. Startled, she jumped slightly, and then strengthened her own grip.
“...What’s your name?” she whispered to Hajime. His smile grew awkward as he realized they hadn’t told each other their names yet. He replied quickly, without a hint of hesitation in his tone.
“Hajime. Hajime Nagumo. What’s yours?” She muttered “Hajime” to herself over and over, as if carving it into her memories. After she finished repeating it she opened her mouth to answer his question, before hesitating for a moment and thinking better of it.
“...Give me one.”
“Huh? You want me to name you? Don’t tell me you forgot your actual one?”
Considering how long she had been imprisoned here it wasn’t impossible, but the girl shook her head slowly.
“I don’t need a name from the past... I’m fine with whatever name you give me, Hajime.”
“...Haah, It’s not so easy to just think up a name...” The reason she wanted a new name was probably similar to the reason Hajime had reforged his heart. She wanted to throw away her old self and be reborn. Hajime had practically been forced to change by the pain and starvation, but it seemed she wanted to be reborn of her own free will. And the first step toward that transformation was getting a new moniker.
She looked expectantly up at Hajime. Hajime scratched his cheek as he thought, before finally christening the girl with her new name.
“What do you think of Yue? I’m not really good at the whole naming thing, so I can try thinking up a different one if you don’t like it.”
“Yue...? Yue...Yue...”
“Yeah. Where I come from, it means ‘moon.’ When I first came into this room your golden hair and red eyes reminded me of the moon, so I just... Well, what do you think?” She blinked in surprise at his words. It seemed she hadn’t expected him to have a reason behind picking the name. And though her face remained as expressionless as always, her eyes were sparkling with happiness.
“...Hmm. Then from today onwards, I will be Yue. Thank you.”
“Glad you like it. Anyway...”
“Huh?” As the girl, now Yue, expressed her thanks, Hajime untangled his hand from hers and took off his coat. She watched him in mild confusion.
“Here, wear this. Can’t have you running around naked forever.”
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 1 (Premium) Page 17
