Chapter 165v2

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-- Chapter 165
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Hajime's pwnage continues.

borisdrakoni (Spoiler):

New shield - Ideon - Capable of withstanding apostle's disintegration using Reproduction magic.

Cyborg bullets - Living Bullet - Homing bullet capable of hitting wherever Hajime aims at.

Variable Circular Moon - Orestes - Capable of opening gates between each other.


Apostles share consciousness like Index's Misakas.


Finally some Eri backstory. Her childhood was truly hell, and, unsurprisingly, we have Kouki to thank for her finally going over the edge.

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borisdrakoni (Spoiler):

Sanctuary

The world was richly colored.

That was the sight that entered their eyes when they stepped into the Sanctuary.

The end could not be recognized in the space where various colors were jumbled together.  They seem to have strayed into a world contained entirely in a soap bubble.

In that strange space one white passage stretched out ahead.  No, rather than a passage, the top of a dam wall(a huge, straight wall) would be the correct expression.

Hajime and the others, though dumbfounded for a moment, got off on the white passage, storing the sky boards that had been damaged by the apostles in the treasure warehouse.  Even if looking around the sight of the apostles could not be seen.  Apparently the space Hajime had brought them to with the deteriorated Crystal Key was different from the place the apostles and monsters existed.  Because they had been resolved to fight a large number of apostles and monsters immediately after invading, it could be called a stroke of good fortune.

Shia commented on being unable to grasp a sense of distance while looking down from the edge of the passage.  The ground could not be seen when looking below, while the path ahead seemed to stretch out infinitely.

Hajime warned  the others to be careful of falling off, drawing a nod from everyone in response.  Then they began to run down the passage.

Because the compass showed Yue being ahead on the white passage, Hajime ran believing it.  From their perspective it would be difficult to tell they were advancing ahead at all without it.

Without the compass Hajime may have also been misled about the distance to Yue decreasing little by little.

With few words, they advanced for a long time down the passage where the end could not be seen.

Finally, an incident occurred.

Shia warned them of an incoming bombardment at the same time her rabbit ears stood straight up.  Even though they had been on guard, since everyone was completely surprised except Shia it was proof that her Foresight had activated to the danger of them all being annihilated at once.

Immediately afterward they were attacked by a silver flash like a meteor shower leaving no place of refuge.

Hajime shouted for them all to gather.  They went to him reflexively.  At the same time, Hajime took a large shield from the treasure warehouse.  He poured magic into it while stabbing it into the ground.  Then, with a the sound of sliding metal, metallic boards began sliding out of the shield, forming a dome over Hajime and the others in no time.  This was Ideon, a transforming shield with innumerable metallic boards like scales.

The silver flash arrived the moment they were all covered.  There was little impact since it was similar to a laser, but the surface of Ideon turned to dust where it touched due to the apostles' disintegration ability.  However, this was what Hajime had been expecting the moment he saw the silver flash.  He smiled full of confidence.

Ideon was perfectly catching the assault, and reproducing itself where it had been destroyed with Reproduction magic.  Ordinarily, the apostles' disintegration ability that could wipe out a building in an instant would have destroyed it before the magic could take effect, however, Ideon was a compound shield made of Azanthium and restoration stone, and further strengthened by Hajime's Vajra.  Even if the first, second, and third piece were destroyed, the fourth would endure for a moment, giving it time to reproduce itself.  Therefore even the disintegration ability could not exceed it.

Hajime told the others to conserve their strength while he dealt with the apostles.

Shizuku, who had been gripping her black sword in preparation to attack the group of apostles, started to question him reflexively, but stopped her words seeing the look on his face.

The bombardment of the apostles ended at the same moment.

Immediately after Hajime sent Ideon back to the treasure warehouse the apostles showed their faces.  All of them were wearing the silver magic, showing their seriousness, and looked toward Hajime and the others with narrowed glances.

In that moment, their trampling began.

At the same time the usual explosion sounded, the heads of six apostles popped like a joke.

The apostles of god were defeated by a swift attack.

It should have been possible to avoid by an apostle wearing silver light.  Hajime, however, defeated them with pinpoint accuracy, aiming for a momentary flickering in their power.  Around 50 apostles had shown up.  Hajime aimed only at ones that were flickering in an instant.

It was only because Hajime had survived the fight against the apostles on numerous occasions that he could achieve such a pinpoint technique.  The apostles would not be able to understand it.

Therefore, while they were wondering why their brethren were killed, the apostles' bodies hesitated.

With an explosion, four more people had their heads burst and fell to the ground.

One of the apostles who seemed to be a commander ordered three of them to focus an attack while the rest of them charged forward.  The apostles all began to move while obeying the instructions.

The apostle who issued the command, Sechste, rushed toward Hajime and the others while leaving afterimages.  (Note, ゼクスト[Zekusuto].  I'll go ahead and switch to the German naming convention for apostles since it seems like that theory is correct.  Nointo = Neunte(ninth); Ahato = Achte(eighth), Zekusuto = Sechste(sixth))

However, the small mutter Hajime gave asking if she was the unit commander reached her ears.  A large number of apostles were flitting about with innumerable after images, however Hajime caught sight of Sechste accurately.

The multicolored world seemed to fade away as Hajime was wrapped in Sechste's gaze, and slowly in her consideration, she saw his mouth split.

In that moment, Sechste saw the revolving shadow picture lantern seemingly in slow motion even as she saw the bullet heading towards her.  Apostles shared memories.  Sechste saw things she did not even do herself, and wondered if the other apostles who were killed before saw a similar spectacle.

Still, even with her life flashing before her eyes, her body still moved.  However, even if she moved, the bullet would also change direction on its own.  She was convinced that the bullet would hit her no matter what.

That conviction was proven in a moment.  As soon as she turned her neck the bullet bent its orbit slightly, accurately aiming straight at the center of her forehead.

With a final thought of “Ah, really, how irregular”, Sechste's consciousness went dark.  In addition to Sechste, seven other apostles also had their heads blown off simultaneously.

Hajime, using gunspin with Donner and Schlag, was scattering bullets and death in every direction.  Even an apostle that tried to block the bullet with her large sword still had her head blown off.

This was the Living Bullet made from Transformation magic.  Although it could not pursue a target endlessly or turn around once it had passed by, it could alter its trajectory slightly to carry out its instruction of hitting the place where Hajime aimed at.

Hajime, while crushing the defenses and blowing away the apostles around him, lectured them about the proper way to improve themselves and fight.  Telling him to be silent, a silver sun suddenly appeared.  This was the focused attack of the three apostles.  Recognizing it as their last resort, Hajime told them to come at him.  A ten meter beam like a laser was shot at him and the others.

Hajime brought out two disks from his treasure warehouse.  He threw them forward.  One of them started spinning and cracked into several pieces connected by a wire, forming a huge circle in front of Hajime in no time at all.  In an instant, the approaching beam was swallowed up by the circle, and came flying out of the other ring that had similarly enlarged itself a short distance away.

Variable circle Orestes.

In the past the gate could only be made within the inner circle of the ring, but now the improved version Orestes could freely change the size of the gate.  Depending on the circumstances, it could also be used as a guillotine.

The three apostles who were unable to react were swallowed by their own attack and vanished without even leaving dust behind.

Finishing his lecture about the importance of improving oneself, Hajime shot the last apostle in the head just as she was calling him a real monster.  (A slightly interesting note here.  The final apostle stopped referring to Hajime as “Irregular”, correcting herself to call him “you”(anata) instead.  Did Hajime raise another weird flag after killing so many of them....)

After using gunspin to reload, Hajime holstered his guns.  Against fifty apostles, it was an overwhelming, flawless victory.

In fact, Shia, Tio, and Shizuku had rapt expressions for a moment.  Suzu and Ryuutaro laughed drily.

Meteor Impact, Balushyuberion, Living Bullet, Gatling pile bunker.  When Hajime was given time, unexpected arms were invented one after another.

What non-combat job?  What common class?  Certainly, though his body had irregular specs too, the real weapon of Hajime was his development power.  Something new was always developed that could threaten humanity.  It could be said that Hajime had the most frightening talent.

Again at this time Shizuku and the others were made to understand it.

Saying that it will be troublesome if more come and to get a move on, Hajime started running.  Startled, Shizuku and the others started to follow.

Shia sighed, saying she wanted to show the Hajime of just then to Yue.

Tio chuckled, saying she had brought an image recording crystal with her, and that they could all watch it after it was over.

Shia complimented her on a job well done, saying it was as expected of a rare pervert that would leave her name in history.

Tio laughed, saying not to praise her as it would make her feel embarrassed.

While the sanctuary is the stronghold of the enemy, Shia and Tio laughing showed their composure, and their feelings began to relax as they ran.  Finally, they came to a multicolored wall.  It rippled when a hand touched it, and the hand sunk in.  Nodding to each other, they jumped into the ripple in a line.


(Switching perspectives to Eri)


Eri Nakamura.  If asked about her first strongest memory, she would likely answer so:

The scene where Father died.

Eri was five years old.  She went to play in the park with her father.  Over energetic, she carelessly ran out into the road and was thrust out of the way of a car that came with devilish timing, killing her father.

However, it didn't end there.  Her mother, who loved only her husband and was overly dependent on him due to having a weak mind, was not able to deal with his death, and began to abuse Eri, blaming her for his death.  Eri, who also believed that she was responsible, accepted this abuse, hoping that her mother would go back to the way she was someday.  This continued for several years unnoticed by anyone.  Eri's mother made sure not to leave visible bruises on her, while Eri herself never said anything.  Eri endured the abuse and her growing isolation in school due to her gloomy atmosphere until a certain turning point came when she was nine years old.

A man she did not know came to their home and her mother was all over him.  Eri could not believe it.  Hadn't her mother's anger and hatred been thrown at her only because she loved her father with all of her heart?  It wasn't wrong, but her mother was a much weaker person than Eri thought.  She could not live without depending on someone.

That man came to live in Eri's house.  He was a typical piece of trash.  The look he gave Eri was not a good one for a young girl.

The man's behavior began to escalate.  In a small act of self-defense, Eri began speaking in a masculine manner and cut her hair short like a boy's in the hopes of diverting him.  At school, due to the changes in Eri's manner, she was finally fully isolated.

Still, even if she thought her mother betrayed her father, Eri still believed that her mother would return to how she used to be someday.  She was just escaping from reality.

Then, the event that made her look at reality finally occurred.  The man assaulted her while her mother was away at work.

Fortunately, the neighbors who heard her screaming called the police and the man was stopped before she could be violated.  Eri, who had thought such a time might come, had left a window open so that the scream could easily carry.

With this, Eri thought that her mother would finally come to her senses.  Her mother, however, merely blamed her for taking another man away from her, and abused her even more.  With this, Eri finally accepted that her mother did not love her at all, and she broke.

In the early morning after awaking from her faint, Eri left her house with the intention to commit suicide.  The reason she had left the house was because she did not want to die beside her mother.

She found herself at a river near her house where children often played.  Eri looked down at the river below from the iron bridge she stood on.  Though it really was an unsuitable place to kill oneself since the river was not fast moving and never overflowed, and the fall from the bridge would likely not be fatal, Eri still found herself climbing over the railing.

At that time, a boy's voice called out, asking her what she was doing.

Looking back, Eri saw the face of a boy she recognized from school, Kouki.

Guessing that it was an unnatural situation from the dark look on Eri's face, Kouki pulled her off of the rail by force.  Since he persistently asked her about the circumstances, Eri explained with considerable omissions since it seemed like he would not let her go otherwise.

Kouki, with his powerful smile that had charmed many girls, told her that she wasn't alone and that he would protect while holding her face in his hands.

Those words were too strong for the broken girl who had been desiring love for too long.

She gave up on killing herself that day, and after going to school and was surprised with the other girls started talking to her, knowing that it must have been because of Kouki.

Afterward, Child Services came to investigate her mother several times, however, out of fear of being forced to live somewhere else and separated from Kouki, Eri put on an act that they were a loving family.  Eri's mother began to look at her with fear at this act, and later ran away screaming when Eri threatened her.

Eri was convinced that Kouki was her prince, and that she could live in the light beside him.

However, Eri had misunderstood.  For Kouki, Eri was only one person helped by a hero of justice.  Getting their classmates to get along with her was the end of Kouki's help.  People saved by heroes in anime did not appear in the following story.  For Kouki, Eri's story was already over.

Eri noticed it.  That the girls that talked closely with her only did so because Kouki had asked them to do so.  That she wasn't special to Kouki at all.

When she noticed this, Eri went mad.

-I'm not alone, you said, right?

-You would protect me, you said, right?

-I am special to you, right?

-Hey, why do you say those same words to other people?

-Hey, why won't you look just at me?

-Hey, why don't you help me even though I'm in such pain?

-Hey, why do you turn such a face to other girls?

-Hey, why do you look at me the same as “everyone else”?

-Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why............

And thus, Eri reached comprehension.

About the man named Kouki.

And thus, Eri remembered.

As she learned from her mother, a person's feelings and actions could be changed, even a great deal.

Therefore,

“Thus, Kouki-kun was able to be secured.  Well, many irregular things like being summoned to another world and whatnot happened though.”

“Hmm, Eri, what did you say?”

Within the sanctuary at a certain place, Eri muttered looking at the wilderness.  To Kouki who had questioned her while doing practice swings, Eri went over and leaned on him from behind, sticking to him.  Though the act resembled her mother previously, she was not conscious of it.

She told him it was nothing, and that they should hurry up and defeat the Maou, saving his childhood friends.

Kouki agreed, saying he wanted hurry and save Shizuku, Kaori, and Ryuutaro, and end the classmates' brainwashing.  Though Hajime needed to be killed no matter what.

Eri said it would be fine since she was always by his side supporting him and that at any time she was his only ally.

Kouki thanked her, saying that he had become stronger and could fight against Hajime thanks to her.  Eri is....

Eri prompted him to continue, pressing up close to him and whispering into his ear.

Kouki finished speaking with a little color in his face, calling her his special person.  Afterward, he would never leave her no matter what and protect her.

Eri leaked out laughter and with a rapt expression kissed Kouki.  When they separated, leaving a string of saliva between them, Eri looked into Kouki's eyes that looked hollow somehow, said that was good, and they would be together for a long time.

A dry wind blew.  The world for two people did not exist anymore.  Kouki did not hear Eri's last words.  Instead, a sound came from a short distance away, and his expression distorted in ugliness.  A flame of abhorrence entered his eyes at the footsteps of his childhood friends along with his hated enemy.




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