Running through the unbearable heat of Hell itself, the librarian forced his body to move forward, fearing the possibility that the one accompanying him would be the cause of his downfall. Of course, he knew that his death was arriving faster than he would have liked but he wasn't expecting it to suddenly be so close to him.

Demon: What the- Why is there a human here?

Many turned their heads and saw the outsider run closer, carrying a weapon that was much duller compared to their power. Some exchanged silent questions and those ones grinned, a perfect target for them. Feeling their desires, the man was forced to halt and prepared himself for a fight.

...4 demons, 2 will-o-wisp and 3 onis, all getting too interested about the weak target that has decided to show itself. Something about its aura made the monsters wish for it to die, to scream in agony. Just like any previous guests, they were all controlled by that alluring idea and tried to kill him.

???: YYYY/NNNN!

His name could also be heard from behind him, the flow of hatred seeping through everyone's mind like a drug. Completely cornered from all sides, he swung his blade and faked an attack to allow the demon in front of him to raise his guard. Once done, he slipped past them and resumed his sprint. Unlike them, he had little time to do what he needed to do, a silent guillotine placed around his neck with a timer loudly beeping in his mind.

...What for? The day that judgement will be brought upon him for killing the one Hakurei shrine maiden, he knew that something bad was going to happen but he couldn't do anything to stop it.

???: An outsider here of all places?

Many were confused, not used to seeing an outsider casually run around their territory. Not minding the stares, he fled further into the hostile grounds and finally spun around to receive the youkai chasing him. Needless to say that she bolted at him before shooting projectiles, trying to kill him at this point.

Koishi: How lucky of you to be fortunate, you O so wish to be superior yet you remain nothing.

Her emotions manipulated, he was facing yet another ordeal that would be far from simple. Should he kill her or not? If he had no other choice, he knew that he would be forced to do so and that's why he braced himself for that possibility.

Y/N: ...

Blocking the first Danmaku, he advanced forward and received a full hit from one of the attacks created by the girl. With that one hit landing, the others followed and pushed him farther away from his target, not like it mattered since the youkai was going right for him. Inside melee range, she attacked but her efforts were fruitless, meeting the sheath of the blade.

Y/N: I told you many times that you are the fortunate one, yet you seem to never heed my words.

He responded not with violence but with simple kindness, clenching his teeth. That was the truth, she was the one with the most gains while he was scrapping the bottom of the barrel to keep the little amount of happiness that he had to himself. Even willing to go as far as to kill someone, he was more desperate than anyone else.

Y/N: I guess it doesn't really matter.

Swinging his sword in a horizontal motion, the librarian struck the girl's neck with enough strength to cut her breath short. Eyes afflicted with madness lost their bright color and finally closed, passing out from shock. Still standing, the outsider heaved a deep sigh and looked around, witnessing the residents of Hell observing the scene.

???: He took her out like it was nothing, what kind of monster is he?

???: Humans are the biggest monsters to exist apparently, we learn everyday.

Y/N: Hey you.

They jumped when they were called out. Turning around, the man slowly pulled the crimson blade out of the scabbard and aimed it at them.

Y/N: I'm here for the ores I've heard you collected.

...

...

Y/N: And that's why you woke up with a sore throat.

Finally done explaining what happened to the now awake Satori, he dropped the ores needed on the table along with some wood. Luckily for him, he just had to "ask" them where he could find some and they offered them to him.

Koishi: Oooow, why did you have to hit so hard?

Holding her neck, she complained of the pain she was going through with a displeased look on her face. Shrugging back, the cause of said pain ignored the question and was already formulating a plan to get the last thing they needed outside of the library.

Y/N: For the souls, you did say that the Netherworld would be the best place to find them. However, with the threat level constantly rising, I'm afraid that we gonna have to skip that place.

Koishi: Hm? Why?

Y/N: Reasons.

That reason being the impending doom that would soon come for him the moment he decides to take a step to the surface, where that witch could easily find and exterminate him. The good news was that monsters were a common thing here so gathering souls wouldn't need much time, they just needed to actively chase and collect some.

Y/N: I'm gonna have to invite more enemies into the library if I want to collect them effectively with as little risk as possible.

Koishi: I can help!

Y/N: You... uh... I'll deal with it myself.

Koishi: ...

Insisting on the fact that the guest shouldn't assist the librarians in fights concerning the library, Y/N deeply stared back at the small girl. Crossing her arms, she furiously looked away. He understood her anger but it was no excuse.

Y/N: We can only wait and pray that we get some visitors.

Sitting on a nearby chair, the silence loomed above them. No motions were made inside the endless walls of this cursed place, no sounds were coming in from outside and no screams of pain and prayers begging for mercy from their opponents will ever reach the outside.

Y/N: Say, I have a question.

Koishi: I'm not answering.

Y/N: *Sigh* Come on, you know that it's not of your business, I should be the one forced to do this.

Koishi: ...

Y/N: When that snake of a woman trapped you with her gaze, you said something about being jealous of my lack of understanding.

Her shoulders stiffened a little but she pretended that nothing happened and loosened up. Still showing him her back, she faced the door leading outside with melancholy, keeping the words that she wanted to mutter to herself.

Y/N: You did also complain about your mind-reading ability.

Koishi: Heh... crazy talk, I do that often.

She faked a chuckle as well.  The amount of efforts she placed to hide it made it even more pathetic. Dejected, she refused to continue the conversation, wanting to keep her ears closed and never hear those words nor remember the memories.

Y/N: Sensitive spot, got it... I won't pry any further for now. Just remember that concealing your emotions will make them burst. You need to get it off your chest somehow.

Calmly handing her a piece of advice, he searched in his pockets and pulled out a small white box. With meticulous movements, he opened it with a single hand and reached inside. Hearing the small noises, the youkai peeked behind her and saw the man looking back at her in surprise.

Y/N: ...What?

Koishi: What is that?

The librarian was holding something in his mouth and holding a lighter in the other one. Rolling his eyes and took it out of his mouth and gave her the short explanation.

Y/N: Cigarettes, got them from bodies of previous guests.

Koishi: ?

Y/N: Helps me compensate the nightmares and my lack of sleep. Plus, at this rate, I won't live long enough to get lung cancer.

Approaching the meek flame of the lighter closer, he took a deep breath of the poison residing inside and stared into the void, trying to forget the many scenes of betrayal he went through, all of them involving him being the cause of everyone's death.

Koishi: What does it taste like?

Y/N: Like crap, stay away from those things, they'll kill you faster than your boredom here.

Aware of the danger hidden inside, he immediately tried to keep her away from it. If someone had to die from it, then it should be him, the one that deserves the most painful and slowest death.

Koishi: What should we do? Just wait for new guests?

Y/N: I wait for the guests, you don't have to be here. Go enjoy life and visit some friends, I dunno.

To be honest, he simply wanted her as far as possible from this place. The last thing he wanted to see was her stumbling into the witch that mutated into a puppet, she might get caught in the crossfire.

Koishi: I said that we should do this together, I'm staying!

Y/N: *Mumble* Your funeral then.

He didn't really mean those words but it was a habit, used to seeing reckless people dying in front of him. Yet, even the courageous and selfless ones were gobbled up by the world on the other side of the door, literally.

Y/N's mind: The question is when that witch's gonna come back, I need to be ready for her return.

He went through many plans while still finishing the smoke that he had begun. Closing the package, he slid it back inside the coat along with the lighter. Finally done, due to a lack of bin in the library, he was forced to toss it on the ground before stomping on the remains.

...Not like it mattered, this cursed room could go to flames and it would still remain functional.

Koishi: Oh, I know, I'm gonna go get something from my house, stay here!

Curious, he watched her leave the library without batting an eye, tiredness depriving him of many things to actually make him care about details. Half awake, he dropped a yawn and leaned inside the chair, now creating creaking noises.

Y/N: That's not good, maybe I sh-

Snapping in half, the man dropped to the floor. Some groans of pain were heard around him, nothing too surprising after what happened. He stood up and turned his eyes to the now broken chair, giving it a good kick out of frsutration. It leaned to the side and fell down with a loud 'Thud'.

Y/N's mind: Now that I think about it, that's the first time a chair broke in this place, how long has it been here?

Not like it matters how long that thing has been in that library. Like the many booksheves around, they can never be broken permanently, they would simply repair themselves after a while, ready to carry more books on them once it happens. The librarian attached to that place knew that from experience.

Y/N: ...Wait a minute, what is she bringing back here?

Finally realizing that what the girl said was more than ominous, he focused back to the door and felt like his life was in even more danger than before. Now too late to stop her, he could only wait and pray that it was something harmless.

Y/N: *Sigh* How the hell am I supposed to harvest the soul of people without anyone noticing, it's only going to bring even more attention to the library.

So far, he was lucky to find separated groups that didn't matter much apparently since nobody came looking for them but when he inflicted the final hit on the shrine maiden, he knew from instinct that she had a bigger role than a simple resident in the world beyond the entrance. In addition, it made the witch accompanying her turn into... whatever she is now.

Y/N's mind: Maybe I should look into that, there must be some informations about it somewhere here.

All of this was caused by the emotions of grief she went through, it was enough to become a powerful monster bearing her own feelings. But if that was the case for everyone then why didn't it happen to him? Was he that selfish to the point of not caring enough for them? If witnessing the death of a single friend is enough to put her in that state then why didn't he become one a long time ago?

...Did he really not care about them at all? What was he supposed to believe at this point?

Y/N: No... perhaps grief is not appropriate, it must be something else.

He hated himself for not being courageous enough to go to the front, the thing he hated the most was not the people that caused their downfall but the one that fled and covered his eyes, pretend that he couldn't do anything. The pain of seeing one's death was not much compared to the feelings that one have, knowing that they indirectly murdered them.

...So, grief was not the real cause, it was a case of high emotions reaching the line of a mental breakdown. She must have been really good friend with her and he reaped that from her, that was the last straw for her. She lost her belongings and the one she trusted.

*Ting*

Y/N: What was that?

Looking down at his feet, he saw a small box slightly broken near him. For something as small as that, he could feel a grand amount of power inside it. Taking a hold of it, he saw further into the library a broken broom laying on the cold floor. His eyes widened a little, remembering the witch carrying those objects with her.

Y/N's mind: She didn't have them before she transformed, I don't want to imagine what kind of power she would have gotten with that thing.

The "Master Spark" was terrifying enough but if it was boosted beyond its capabilities because of the emotions of pain, it would have obliterated the whole place in an instant. It was a relief that his friends broke it, it saved their lives in the end.

Y/N: Hm, it doesn't look that broken.

With a closer look, he could tell that the damages were only minimum and with enough effort, he could repair it, not at its original power but close to it. The broom, however, was completely useless to him, he didn't have the ability to fly around.

Y/N: *Whistle* Get me the stuff needed.

He called the lifeless library and sat down at a desk. There, tools were magically waiting for him and he grabbed a small pair of antique-looking pliers and a magnifying glass, examining the surface and trying to find a way to open it without breaking the exterior. His friends did a good job at making one assume that this thing was done, to the point of even making him think so.

Y/N: Strange to find this thing in a world full of magic, would expect it in a sci-fi story but not in a magical setting.

In the end, what mattered was that he was now the one holding it, a small device that will me more than useful once it is repaired against the ones outside the door. He needed to be strong and that will surely help him.

And thus, something will be born out of the remnants of the small machine made for raw power. He could sense it deep inside but there was something still attached to it, the violents emotions of hatred and grief that were Marisa's, they were deeply rooted inside it.

Y/N: ...I ended the life of your friends and I'm now stealing for your grave, I'm the worst.

That's why he wanted to make amends, to resurrect those who left this world. If it truly ends then he would not need it anymore, he would be able to give it back to her along with her friend. He wanted to believe that it could work but he knew in the back of his head that he would die before doing so.

Many subtle noises echoed around and the man was deeply concentrated on his work. With slow movements around the wonders of the magical object, it was akin to defusing a bomb, a single fault being fatal. Nothing could interrupt him and finally released his gaze from it after he was done with the repairs that he could do.

Y/N's mind: She's still not back, what the hell is she bringing here?

Maybe her sister asked her for something, he didn't know the answer to his question. Holding the weapon with massive potential in his hands, he took a moment to calm himself. With this, he would have a backup plan if things go south and they eventually will.

...It was still weaker than the original but it was better than nothing. That would be the true reward of the fight he went through many hours ago. Still exhausted from everything he did today, he decided to take it easy until the youkai came back with what she wanted to bring.

[Master Spark]

[Class: Spellcard (Spellcards always start locked at the beginning of fights and will be activated once the character using it survive long enough. Spellcards needs to recharge after each uses)]

[Time required for activation: 6 turns]

[Target: All enemies]

[Effect: Stuns the user next turn. This attacks gains +1 damage for every 5% of total HP lost, the additional damage is added to the initial power of the attack]

[Attack:

1st hit: 45-60 Damage (Effect: All targets damaged by this hit loses 10% Evasion/Defense for the turn)

2nd hit: 25-50 Damage

3rd hit: 10-40 Damage]

Y/N: ...

Looking at its new weapon, he could feel the energy inside much weaker than when he faced the Master Spark that the witch created, which made him even more impressed, knowing that Alice was able to casually block it with a simple spear. She was a beast to be able to block long enough for Maria to cancel the attack.