No one's POV

After Sora left, Shizuku fed Kouki the vial of Ambrosia and he recovered instantly. Once Liliana regained consciousness, she instantly took command and organized the chaos in the castle. Temporary hospitals were set up for the injured, and people were dispatched to find out what had happened.

It was discovered that Eri had turned close to 500 soldiers into her puppets, and, excepting the few hundred Sora had obliterated, they had all vanished without a trace. Liliana surmised that they'd followed Freid in his retreat and were somewhere in demon territory now.

Her scouts had also discovered magic circles made of mana crystals buried in the nearby hills, which explained how Freid had transported such a massive army without being spotted. Chances were that Eri had made her puppet soldiers draw them in secret.

The king and all of the high-ranking ministers had been assassinated by Eri's soldiers days ago as well. At present, Heiligh's throne was empty. Until things settled down, Liliana would have to take charge.

After the storm passed, it was likely that the prince, Lundel, would be crowned king. He'd survived the upheaval in the palace and was next in line for the throne.

The most pressing issue now that the demons had left was that the Holy Church hadn't sent any communications down. No priests or paladins had arrived during the fight, nor had any of them shown themselves in the aftermath of the battle. The people were beginning to grow worried, especially because the pope, Ishtar, hadn't appeared either.

A certain gray-haired boy was morbidly curious to find out how the citizens would react when they discovered the main temple had been destroyed, and all of the highest ranking clergy killed.

Rumors were beginning to spread that Lord Ehit had saved the humans by sending down that huge two pillar the night of the battle, and most of the residents had only grown more devout since. The irony wasn't lost on either Sora nor Hajime.

Sora had, however, come up with a countermeasure for assuaging the people's concerns. Liliana had nearly fainted when he'd sent down the letter detailing his plan. Aiko, too, had buried her head in her hands and groaned when she'd read its contents. They hadn't been able to vent their frustrations at him either, as he hadn't descended from the Divine Mountain.

Naturally, there were a lot of people advocating a search party be sent up the mountain to see what had happened. But everyone in the capital was busy with the reconstruction effort, and no one could be spared to make the eight- thousand meter climb. The lift that went directly to the summit still wasn't working, so that climb would be the only way up the mountain.

Hiyama's remains had been discovered a short distance away from the courtyard. His body had been half-devoured, making it clear that he'd been eaten by monsters after Sora had kicked him out of the courtyard. There were traces of a struggle, so it was likely he'd been eaten alive. His left arm was completely gone. The bloodstains suggested that after he'd lost it he'd tried to crawl to safety, only to be caught and eaten from the feet up. A death so gruesome and painful that no one even wanted to think about it.

The more people searched through the wreckage, the more they came to understand how the demons had taken them so completely by surprise. Five days after the battle, most of the pieces had been put together. Kouki and the others were assisting Liliana in rebuilding the city now that they'd fully recovered from the ordeal. Their thoughts often turned to both Sora and Hajime, who hadn't reappeared since that day.

Most of the students had seen Sora in action, so they'd had an inkling of how strong he was. But even they hadn't expected he could summoned a huge 8 headed water dragon or call down an all-powerful laser from the sky. They were once again vividly reminded of the power gap between them.

His strength was shocking enough to Kouki and the others, but for the students who had chosen not to fight it was a complete eye-opener. The others had told the stay-home group of Sora's strength of course, but now they realized they hadn't truly understood how overwhelming he was. It wasn't surprising that he and his comrades were a hot topic among the students.

Another common topic of gossip was Shizuku. She seemed to be doing fine, and completed every task assigned to her. But she'd often stop in the middle of her work and look off into the distance. Everyone knew she was taking Kaori's death hard, but no one knew what they should do to comfort her.

They had all heard what Sora had said, that he'd bring Kaori back somehow. But none of them really believed he could revive the dead, so it wasn't much comfort to most of them. A few of the students worried he might bring her back as an undead doll, like Eri would have. Doing so would only hurt Shizuku more, which was why some of the students, especially Kouki, mistrusted Sora.

He was also down because not only had he needed to be saved by Sora twice now, he'd watched Meld die before his eyes. Not only that, the difference in strength between them was obvious now. All of that, combined with the fact that he still believed Sora and Hajime had somehow tricked Kaori into leaving him meant he wasn't very fond of either of them right now. That being said, even Kouki realized he was directing his anger to the wrong person. But he still couldn't help but be resentful of Sora and Hajime. Especially Sora.

Naturally, he was too dense to have realized his feelings stemmed from simple jealousy. Even if he had, he would have refused to believe it. It was likely he would have just reinterpreted everything to suit his own perspective... but it was also possible realizing it might have made him grow as a person. Regardless, both Kouki and Shizuku were stuck dealing with their own complicated feelings, and Ryutarou was too much of a musclehead for anyone to consider him reliable.

Normally this would have been where Suzu took charge and kept everyone together, but she was as depressed as Kouki and Shizuku. Everyone could tell her smiles were forced, and that she was still hurting. Eri's betrayal had hurt her more than anyone. After all, Suzu had thought they'd been best friends for years. Hearing that she'd just been used so that Eri could get closer to Kouki had stung.

As all of the people who could have potentially held them together were busy sorting through their own feelings, it wasn't surprising that a pall had fallen over the regular students. Hiyama and Kondou's friends had retreated into themselves, and the other students had started growing suspicious of each other. There was no telling who might be a potential traitor, and many stayed holed up in their rooms to avoid contact with each other.

Eri's betrayal had lasting repercussions beyond just the immediate loss of a friend. Still, none of them gave in completely to despair. Plenty of students threw themselves into the reconstruction effort to avoid thinking too deeply about what had happened, and the efforts of Aiko and Yuka kept them, if not optimistic, at least less depressed.

Aiko was of course as worried about Kaori as anyone else. If she could have, she would have been there with Sora. But she knew what they were trying to do, and she knew with Aishia, Celia, Tio and Yue there, Sora had no need for her.

Which was why she had prioritized taking care of the other students. She was a hard worker by nature, and she had gone to every student, listening to their worries and trying to cheer them up.

And even if they had grown suspicious of each other, the students all trusted Aiko. She was in many ways their salvation. Yuka and the rest of Aiko's guards were also a rock for many of the students, especially those who'd lost the will to fight. They'd been one of them originally, so they knew how the others felt. Without them, it was possible the non-combatants among the students would have been lost.

Of course, both the students and many people within the palace asked Aiko what had happened up above at the Divine Mountain, but she refused to talk about it. She knew many people were wondering what had happened to the church, but she also knew now wasn't the time to talk about it.

If people went up the mountain now it would interfere with Sora's work. Besides, her thoughts grew dark every time she thought about what she'd done. Her spell might have been more effective than she'd expected, but it didn't change the fact that she'd been prepared to kill back there. She decided she'd confess all of her sins when Sora and the others returned.

What she had done was a crime, after all. Though she acted cheerful, Aiko was actually terrified inside. What  her students think of her once they found out she'd helped Tio blow up the main temple and everyone inside it? She was responsible for the deaths of hundreds.

She'd done it because she was tired of these people treating her precious students as pawns, and she certainly didn't regret it, but murder was murder. It was possible they wouldn't see her as their teacher anymore. But she was resolved to accept the outcome, whatever it might be.

At the very least, David and the others had survived. They had used their position as Templar Knights to request an interview with Aiko after she'd first been kidnapped. However, Ishtar had denied their request, so they'd tried looking for her on their own. Tired of the knights snooping around, Ishtar had ordered them back to the capital and placed them on standby. In other words, he'd barred them from the cathedral. Their "standby" orders had actually consisted of being confined to a church prison in the capital, which was why no one had seen them until after the invasion.

No one knew why they hadn't been brainwashed, or turned into Eri's puppets. Aiko suspected that they'd been spared because they were also pawns Noint's god wanted to keep alive to play around with, but there was no way to confirm her hunch anymore.

Like most others, David and his knights were helping with the capital's reconstruction in order to avoid thinking too hard about the future. The only way everyone could keep calm was to ignore their problems by throwing themselves into work. Even the kingdom's remaining knights were currently undergoing a test to see who would serve as each squad's captain.

The new commander of the knights was a woman named Aria Governess. She had originally been part of the Royal Guard, who had become a Gold Rank Adventurer, but now are Liliana's personal bodyguard. Her vice-commander were a women named Cosette and Natalie.

The three of them had organized a test where everyone would fight against Kouki to determine who was fit to serve as the new squad captains. Even though Aria's skill as a swordwoman far surpasses Kouki. As the battles wound down to a close, Kouki wiped a bead of sweat off his brow.

Liliana: Thank you for helping out, Kouki.

Kouki turned to see Liliana smiling at him.

Kouki: It's no big deal, don't worry about it. You've got it way harder than I do. You've barely slept these past few days, Lily. It must be tough.

Kouki smiled tiredly, and Liliana let some of her own exhaustion show through. In truth, neither of them had gotten much sleep recently. Though the reason for their respective insomnia was completely different.

Liliana: There's no time for sleep. We have to toll up the casualties, contact their families, repair all the destroyed buildings and homes, track down any missing people, repair the walls and the barrier, send out messages to the rest of the kingdom, restructure the army... It's not an easy job, but someone has to manage all of it. Complaining about it won't make the work go away. Mother's been helping out as well, so it's not that bad. The people who're really suffering are those who lost their homes and their loved ones in the fighting...

Kouki: But you also...

Liliana's father, the king, had been killed by Eri and transformed into a zombie. But Kouki could tell bringing that up wasn't a good idea, so he trailed off. Lily guessed what he was about to say and smiled sadly at him.

Liliana: Really, I'm fine.

Liliana said, before changing the topic.

Liliana: How's Shizuku doing?

Kouki: Same as before. She's doing her best to act normal, but whenever she's not doing anything she starts staring at the mountain.

Kouki looked over to Shizuku, who was currently discussing something with Aria. The two of them were actually quite close, and appeared to be engrossed in a discussion about how to organize the new knight regiments. Whenever there was a lull in the conversation though, Shizuku's gaze would automatically turn upward, toward the Divine Mountain.

Liliana: She's... waiting for them to come back, isn't she?

Kouki: Yeah. To be honest... I don't really trust Yatagami or Karasuki or whoever his real name is. I'd prefer if Shizuku didn't talk to him again, but...

Surprised, Liliana turned back to Kouki. Kouki's brow was furrowed and it was clear his feelings on the matter were complicated. Jealousy, suspicion, fear, pride, gratitude, hate, and impatience all warred within him, resulting in a very difficult to read expression. Unable to find anything to say to him, Liliana looked up toward the mountain.

The weather was so perfect it was hard to believe the capital had been nearly devastated days before. It almost felt as if the clear sky was mocking them, and Liliana glared angrily at it. Just then, she spotted a few black dots in the sky. She squinted, trying to get a better look. Before long, it became clear that these dots were growing larger. Something was falling right toward them. Panicking, she called out to Kouki.

Liliana: K-Kouki! What's that over there!? It looks like something's falling at us!

Kouki: Hm? What do you... Guys! Be careful! Something's coming from above!

Kouki followed Liliana's worried gaze, and hurriedly called out a warning as he too saw the black dots descending. It was possible this was some kind of enemy attack. Shizuku and the others rushed over to where Kouki was, eager to get out of the center of the courtyard. No sooner had they evacuated that the dots landed. There was a tremendous crash and a huge cloud of dust filled the courtyard. From within it emerged Sora, Aishia, Celia, Hajime, Yue, Shea, and Tio.

Shizuku: Yatagami!

Shizuku rushed over the moment she recognized them. As Sora had asked, she'd waited and put her trust him. After five days, her impatience was understandable. But when she noticed Kaori wasn't among the group, Shizuku's steps ground to a halt. Her face fell, and the worry she'd shut away began nagging at her once more.

Sora: Yo, Yaegashi. Glad to see you're still alive.

Shizuku: Yatagami... where's Kaori? Why isn't she here?

Shizuku couldn't hide the anxiety in her voice. Sora's casual tone had reassured her somewhat, but the fact that she didn't see Kaori anywhere still worried her. What if Hajime hadn't been able to bring Kaori back? Sora and Hajime looked away awkwardly.

Sora: She'll be here soon. Don't worry.

Hajime: Just, uhh... her appearance is a little different from before... It's not my fault though. This totally wasn't my fault, so please don't get mad at me, okay? If you want you can get mad at Sora instead.

Sora: Huh? It was your idea!

Shizuku: Huh? Wait, what do you mean by that? What's not your fault? You're making me really worried now, you know that? What did you do to Kaori? Depending on your answer, I may have to cut you down with the sword you gave me...

Shizuku's expression grew deadly, and she grabbed the hilt of the black katana at her waist. Sora hurriedly tried to placate her, but before he could say anything a scream from above distracted them both.

???: Kyaaaaaaaaah! Hajime! Catch meeeeee!

Shizuku looked up and saw a silver-haired girl falling toward them at high speed. Her outstanding kinetic vision allowed her to get a good look at the girl as she fell. She had beautiful blue eyes to match her silver hair, but her tearful expression ruined the effect of her looks. She flailed around wildly as she fell, as if flapping her arms and legs would somehow slow her descent.

She fell straight toward Hajime, confident that he'd catch her. But of course, Hajime wasn't that nice of a guy. A second before she crashed into him, Hajime jumped out of the way. She looked over in surprise, before slamming into the ground face-first.

Students(mind): Is she dead?

The students thought collectively as they stared at Sora in terror.

Celia: You could've catch her.

Sora: If I did, I wouldn't hear the end of it from Yue and Hajime.

Celia: Ahaha... True.

Lilliana and Aiko were terrified as well, but for a completely different reason. They'd never forget that face for as long as they lived. The blue-eyed silver-hair girl groaned in pain as the dust around her cleared. Liliana and Aiko hurriedly yelled out a warning.

Aiko: Wh-What are you doing here!?

Liliana: Everyone, get out of here! She's the woman who kidnapped Aiko and helped Eri take over the castle!

The students and knights all grabbed the hilts of their respective weapons. Aria and her guard all rushed towards Liliana protecting her. Shizuku, who had reacted faster than anyone, was already in her drawing stance. Hatred glimmered in her eyes; she wouldn't forgive anyone who'd had even the slightest involvement in Kaori's death. The moment this newcomer showed an opening, Shizuku would strike.

The beautiful girl, Noint, got to her feet instantly. The fall hadn't damaged her in the slightest. She shot Hajime a reproachful glare before turning to Shizuku. She spoke to her in a flustered voice, a stark contrast to the emotionless tone she'd possessed when Hajime had fought her.

Noint: Ah, wait, Shizuku! It's me!

Shizuku: Huh?

Shizuku stared at her suspiciously. She definitely didn't recognize this girl.

Hajime: You're not gonna sound very convincing if you say it like that...

Hajime muttered, but then trailed off when she glared venomously at him. The two of them seemed too close to be enemies. And though this girl looked and sounded nothing like Kaori, her mannerisms and the way she addressed Shizuku were exactly the same. Shizuku slowly took her hand off her sword and stared dumbly at Kaori.

Shizuku: Kao...ri? Is that... really you?

Glad that her best friend still recognized her, Kaori's face lit up with a dazzling smile.

Kaori: Yep, it's me, Kaori! Kaori Shirasaki, your best friend. I know I look pretty different now, but... I'm alive!

Shizuku: Kaori... Aaaaaah Kaori!

After a few seconds of silence, the realization that her best friend lived sunk in. Shizuku burst into tears and hugged Kaori. She had no idea what had happened to turn Kaori into this, but it was clear that even if she was in a different body now, she was really, truly alive. Kaori hugged Shizuku back and whispered softly.

Kaori: I'm sorry for making you worry. But everything's okay now.

Shizuku: Sniffle... Sob... Thank goodness you're alive!

The two of them clung to each other, burying their faces in the other's chest. All the others present watched on in silence as the two cried their hearts out under the noonday sun.

(Timeskip)

Shizuku: So what exactly did you do?

Eyes still red from crying and blushing slightly in embarrassment, Shizuku rounded on Sora and demanded an explanation. They had gone from the courtyard to the feasting hall that Kouki and the others usually ate in. All Sora had managed to explain to Shizuku was that Kaori's soul had been transferred to Noint's body before Liliana had suggested they go somewhere more suitable to talk. Only the students, Aiko, Liliana, and Aria were present to hear this conversation.

Hajime: Well... put simply, we used magic to preserve Kaori's soul and transferred it to Noint's healed...remains? Corpse? Whatever it'd be classified as.

ShizukuL I see. That makes absolutely no sense.

Shizuku glared at Hajime. Her gaze seemed to say "Are you really trying to explain this properly?" Before she turned her glare to Sora. Sora sighed, and seeing that Hajime had no intention of expounding, took it upon himself to explain.

Sora: Well, where to start. You know how all the magic you use is a degraded version of the magic they had in the age of the gods, right? The one that Professor Celia taught us.

Shizuku: Yes. Professor taught us and I studied up a little on this world. Ancient magic is the stuff that comes up in all the old histories, right? They were able to control the core elements that govern the laws of this world, while the elements we have are all derivatives... Wait. Is that how you did it? You're capable of using ancient magic that... can control people's souls? And that's how you kept Kaori's soul intact even though she'd died? And then after that you transferred it to a new body?

Kaori: Yep! You're so smart, Shizuku!

Kaori puffed her chest out proudly. Shizuku really was quick on the uptake. Sora had known that too, but it was still impressive to see how quickly she connected the dots.

Shizuku: But then why are you in that body? Was yours damaged beyond repair? I'm sure even regular healing magic should have been able to heal those wounds...

Sora: Oh, actually we managed to preserve Kaori's body, and at first we actually put her soul back into it.

Of the magic they'd obtained so far, Spirit Magic was likely the most broken. With it, one could theoretically attain immortality by transferring their soul every time their body grew old.

Whenever a person died, their soul lingered for a few minutes before dispersing. What Sora had done when he was fighting Lucius was use Binding magic to tether Kaori's soul to this realm and keep it from deteriorating until they'd been able to find a suitable host for it. Had they been any later, Kaori may really have been beyond saving, so it was fortunate that Sora had arrived when he did.

After that, they had used Adhesion magic to tie her soul to her body. Technically, Adhesion magic could tie a soul to anything, whether it be organic or inorganic.

If one tried to attach a soul to an injured or aged body, the subject would just die again, but if the soul was put into a healthy host they would be revived. One could also attach a soul to an inorganic object like Miledi had, and thus avoid the issue of aging entirely.

Naturally, this magic wasn't so easy to use that one could pull off a perfect transfer on their first try. Tio, who was an expert with hundreds of years of practice under her belt, had needed assistance from the magic genius Celia and Yue to even have a chance at making it work. While they also need Aishia's limitless essence.

And though they had ultimately succeeded, it had taken five days of nonstop casting to get it right. Fortunately, Aishia, Yue and Shea had been able to acquire Spirit magic without any difficulties. Neither of them had ever believed in Ehit, so clearing that condition hadn't been an issue. Only Celia that was a bit trouble by it. But she believed Sora's words more than anything. So Sora explained who the God Ehit really is and Celia was in no less shock. Just as shock when she learned that such magic exist.

They hadn't proven that they'd destroyed any servants of the church though, so they'd been forced to go through the actual trial of the labyrinth, which consisted of various attempts to brainwash them into serving Ehit, alter their subconscious, lead them astray with visions, and all manner of misdirection and persuasion. Once they cleared that, they had to fight against illusions of past warriors from the church. Neither of those trials posed much of a problem for Sora or Aishia or Shea or Yue. Only Celia got a bit of difficulties but managed to overcome the challenge.

Shizuku: Then why are you... What happened to your original body? Was there something wrong with it after all?

Kaori: Calm down, Shizuku. I'll explain everything, don't worry.

Kaori pushed Shizuku back into her seat and continued her explanation. At first, Sora and Hajime had fixed Kaori's body with Restoration magic and they had attempted to revive her in her original form. However, it was Kaori herself who had objected to that. With Spirit magic, it was possible to converse with people who were just souls using Soul Link, a magic similar to Telepathy.

Kaori, still in her spirit form, had asked both Sora and Hajime to put her soul into a golem like Miledi had. She was confident he would be able to make one far more powerful than her original body.

Though Kaori had come to terms with her own weakness in the Sunken Ruins of Melusine, that didn't mean she wanted to remain weak. She had no intention of leaving Hajime's side.

But because of how weak she was, she'd been killed trying to fight alongside him. It had been humiliating, frustrating, and pathetic. Which was why she'd wanted strength at any cost, even if it meant throwing away her human body.

And once she made her decision, there was no changing her mind. Hajime knew full well just how stubborn she could be. Sora and the others did try and persuade her not to, but she refused to listen. In the end, Hajime had to give in.

Just as he was about to get to work crafting the strongest golem he could, a flash of inspiration came to him. "Maybe we can use her instead"? By her, Hajime had of course meant Noint. Her body wasn't too different from a regular human's, but her strength and abilities were far superior.

It seemed just as likely to work as putting Kaori's soul in a golem was, and it would save Hajime the time of crafting one from scratch. Hajime had brought Noint's remains back and asked Aishia and Yue to restore them.

They had then attempted to attach Kaori's soul to Noint's inhuman, Apostle, body. Surprisingly enough, the procedure succeeded. Unfortunately, the magic crystal that served as Noint's heart no longer supplied her body with an infinite source of mana. Kaori was still able to use the special magic, Disintegration, that Noint had possessed. On top of that, she could wield Noint's twin great swords and use the power of her wings freely.

At the moment, Kaori couldn't even fly properly in Noint's body, but once she got used to using it she'd be every bit as powerful as the original God's Apostle had been. All the experience and skills Noint had accumulated over the centuries were all stored in her body's muscle memory; Kaori just needed to learn how to tap into it.

She could also control mana directly in her new body, so she was every bit as broken as the rest of Sora's comrades now. Her reaction upon examining her new body had been quite a sight to behold. Not in the least because of how strange it had been to watch Noint's body frolic around joyfully. Having someone who'd tried to kill you a few days before smile and hug you was a surreal experience, even for Hajime. Even if it wasn't actually the same person in Noint's body.

In fact, he'd almost ended up punching Kaori on reflex. It was only because Sora had grabbed his wrists that he hadn't. Yue had then frozen Kaori's original body to preserve it. It was currently resting inside Sora's Time Space Cache.

She looked like Sleeping Beauty, if Sleeping Beauty had been encased in a block of ice. Yue was confident she could restore Kaori's ruptured cells using restoration magic, so if Kaori ever wanted her original body back, Sora was relatively certain it could be managed.

Shizuku: I see. Haaah... You've done a lot of crazy things over your lifetime, Kaori, but this really takes the cake.

Shizuku buried her forehead in her hands as Sora finished his explanation. She could feel a killer headache coming on. This was even worse than when Kaori had run into the 18+ section of the game store to get one of the eroge Hajime said he'd liked. Back then, when the man at the register had told her she had to be at least 18 to purchase the game, she'd blurted out "I'm getting it for my dad!" That episode had become legendary within that store. It had been so embarrassing Shizuku had practically died then and there.

Kaori: Ehehe, I'm sorry I made you worry, Shizuku.

Shizuku: It's fine... All that matters is that you're still alive...

Shizuku smiled at Kaori, who still looked a little apologetic. She then turned to Sora with a serious face and bowed her head.

Shizuku: Yatagami, Nagumo, Yue, Aishia, Shea, Tio, Professor Celia. Thank you so much for saving my best friend's life. You've done so much for me, and I honestly can't think of any way to repay you, but... at least know that I'll never forget this debt. If there's anything, anything at all that I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask. I'll do it in a heartbeat.

Sora: Please, think nothing of it. We just saved our friend.

Shizuku smiled wryly at Sora's casual reply. He had saved not just Kaori's life, but that of all the other students. This made for the second time he'd saved their lives. Shizuku knew that he'd probably only done it because helping them had aligned with his goals at the time, and that he really didn't think anything of it, but his cavalier attitude still irked her. Shizuku pursed her lips and glared at Sora.

Shizuku: So you say, but didn't you also console me and give all of us that rare medicine of yours?

Sora: If something were to happen to you, I wouldn't hear the end of it from Kaori.

Kaori: Th-That's a horrible way of putting it, Sora.

Everyone(mind): Is that really the reason...?

Sora ignore his comrades suspicious stare and met Shizuku's gaze and continued.

Sora: But more importantly... a certain teacher told me that I shouldn't live my life in such a lonely way. I'm not sure I can always follow that advice, but I figure I can at least try...

Aiko: Yatagami...

Aiko had been listening quietly to Sora and Shizuku's conversation thus far, but at that she turned to him, teary-eyed. Celia started pouting ever slightly. Most of the students were impressed that her words had reached even Sora, who seemed like he didn't listen to anyone anymore. They suspected that was what had moved Aiko, but Aishia, Yue, Shea, Tio, Kaori, the members of Aiko's personal guard, and Shizuku could tell that there was a slightly different emotion packed within that gaze.

Unable to believe it, Celia turned to Aishia who nodded sharply, confirming her suspicions. She then looked over to Shizuku, who averted her gaze and looked up at the ceiling. Atsushi ground his teeth while Yuka averted her gaze as well, slightly jealous and refused to meet anyone's gaze. Realizing the atmosphere was starting to grow awkward, Shizuku quickly changed the subject. There was still a mountain of things she wanted to ask, so it wasn't hard to think of a new topic.

Shizuku: By the way, Sensei. What was it you wanted to tell us the day you were kidnapped? Is it related to why Yatagami is going around acquiring ancient magic?

Sora silently turned to Aiko.

"Go on," his gaze seemed to say. Aiko cleared her throat and began explaining how the gods were crazy, why Hajime was traveling the world looking for ancient magic, and the details of her kidnapping and the subsequent destruction of the Holy Church's main temple. The first to speak after she finished her story was Kouki.

Kouki: What the hell? So we've just been dancing to their god's tune this whole time? Why didn't you tell us sooner, then!? You could have said something when you saved us back in Orcus!

Kouki glared at Sora and Hajime, who just silently watched the outburst. Infuriated by their attitude, Kouki leaped out of his chair and stalked over to them.

Kouki: Say something! Why didn't you tell us!?

Shizuku: Calm down, Kouki!

Kouki was too angry to listen to Shizuku. Sora furrowed his brow and heaved a weary sigh. Annoyed, he finally turned to Kouki and said.

Sora: If I'd told you, would you have believed me?

Kouki: What?

Sora: We're talking about you here. The guy who only believes evidence that fits his worldview. If I'd told you the god everyone else believed in was crazy, and that what you were doing was completely pointless, you definitely wouldn't have believed me. Hell, you'd probably get mad at me instead.

Kouki: B-But if you'd explained it enough times, maybe...

Sora: Moron. Why do I have to go out of my way to make you listen? Just because we're classmates it doesn't mean I have to bend over backwards to help you... If you keep spouting crap like that, you'll end up like Hiyama.

The other students averted their gaze, unable to meet Sora's cold eyes. Only Kouki continued glaring at Sora. That explanation wasn't good enough for him. Aishia looked disparagingly down at Kouki, with fed up eyes declaring, "you've been saved twice so why are you still behaving like this?" , but he was too angry to take any notice.

Kouki: But if we're going to be fighting the gods together from here on out, then...

Hajime: Wait, wait, wait. When did we ever say we were going to fight the gods? Don't just jump to conclusions, hero (lol). If they come after us, yeah we'll probably kill them. But we have no intention of going looking for them on our own. Once we've cleared all the labyrinths, we're going home to Japan.

Kouki's jaw dropped open.

Kouki: Wha, you mean you don't care what happens to the people of this world!? If we don't do something, they'll be toyed around with by the gods forever! How can you just abandon them like that!?

Sora: We're not so strong that we can just save everyone by snapping our fingers, dude...

Kouki: Why... Why won't you help!? You're way stronger than I am! You could pull it off somehow, if you really wanted to! If you have power, shouldn't you use it for the sake of justice!?

Kouki screamed. As always, his single- minded adherence to justice reared its head. But when those words were uttered by someone as indecisive as Kouki, they weren't persuasive in the slightest. At least not to Sora or Hajime. Sora gave Kouki a withering look.

Sora: If I have power, I should use it for justice? It's because you think like that that you always end up messing up when it really matters. Personally, I think power should be wielded with a clear intent. You don't do something because you have the power to. It's because you want to do something that you obtain the power necessary to achieve it. If you really think you're obligated to do things just because you have the strength to, then for you, strength is nothing more than a curse. You lack resolve, Amanogawa. Anyway, I'm not going to argue with you about the path me and Hajime have chosen. If you keep pissing us off we'll send you flying out of here like we did with Hiyama.

Once he'd said his piece, Sora lost all interest in Kouki. It was then that Kouki finally realized Sora didn't hate his classmates or this world, he really just didn't have any interest in it whatsoever.

Furthermore, having his biggest weakness thrust before him like that had left him too shaken to argue. He wanted to say that Sora was wrong, that he had more than enough resolve, but for some reason he couldn't get the words out.

The rest of Sora's classmates had more or less realized that it was too much to hope that Sora had come back to help them. Naturally the other frontliners and Aiko's guards already knew that he wasn't going to rejoin their party. In fact, they were a little terrified of Sora since they knew they'd really end up like Hiyama if they crossed him.

After all, he hadn't hesitated to kill Meld, Kondou, and all of the other knights. Sure, they might have already been undead zombies, but normally you'd still have a few reservations about killing people you knew. Moreover, most of the students who'd chosen to stay in the castle after Sora and Hajime's fall had bullied them at one point or another, so they couldn't even meet their gaze. Now that they knew who Sora really is.

Liliana: Is there nothing I can do to convince either of you to stay? If not permanently, at least until the capital's defenses are in working order again?

Liliana asked in a pleading voice. The capital was still reeling from the battle, and though Liliana had made sure all of the teleportation magic circles near the capital had been destroyed, there was no telling when and where the demons would attack from next. Sora and Hajime were the only trump card she might have against them. Their general had only retreated five days ago because of Sora and his comrades' actions. Their mere presence was enough to deter another invasion.

Hajime: Now that we've killed one of God's Apostles, we need to hurry. It took five days just to bring Kaori back. I was planning on leaving tomorrow.

Liliana's shoulders slumped. But she couldn't afford to give up. There was no telling when Freid might next attack. If Sora and Hajime weren't there to help, humanity would almost certainly lose.

Liliana: In that case... that beam of light that destroyed the demon army had come from Nagumo's artifact, right? Could you perhaps leave that behind to protect the capital? In return, I'll do anything in my power as princess to aid you in your journey.

Hajime: Oh, you mean the Hyperion? Sorry, can't do it. Actually, it was just a prototype... and that one shot busted it completely. I'm gonna need to improve its design before I can use it again.

Hajime's newest weapon, Hyperion, was effectively a massive laser that focused sunlight. He'd launched it up into the atmosphere before descending from the Divine Mountain.

There were a series of lenses inside it that focused sunlight and funneled it as heat into a partitioned space in his Treasure Trove. Once it had charged up enough heat, Hyperion enchanted the light with gravity magic and fired it out of a focused lens toward the ground.

Hyperion's greatest strength was that it could be charged even during the night. That was because he'd linked his Treasure Trove to the artificial sun located in Oscar Orcus' hidden chamber. That artificial sun had been created through a combination of spatial magic, restoration magic, and likely some other ancient magic Hajime had yet to acquire. It was the joint work of multiple Liberators, and from what Hajime had seen, was probably their best work yet. With his current skills, Hajime knew there was no way he'd be able to duplicate that. Moreover, Hyperion was still in a prototype state. It hadn't been able to withstand its own heat, and had shattered after one shot.

Hajime had created a few other anti-army weapons, though, so he could have potentially left one of those behind. However, he was reluctant to do so.

Liliana: Th-Then can Yatagami at least show us how to use that technique you used? That Water Dragon or Magic Beam? I'm sure if you teach us how to do that...

Sora: Oh about that, sorry to say but what I used is not Magic. So I can't really teach you. And plus, even if I do teach you, your highness, I don't think you could master it either. Since it took a ridiculous amount of mana. Any normal person would faint. So yeah, I'm very sorry about that.

Liliana: I see...

Liliana's shoulders slumped once more. Celia, Yuka, Kaori, Shizuku, and Aiko all glared at Sora. The five of them knew what he was like. Though he had softened around the edges somewhat, his fundamental stance of not giving a shit about the people of this world hadn't changed. In fact, he'd only helped out as much as he had because he didn't want to make Celia and the others unhappy, even indirectly.

Which was why none of the 5 of them said anything. They didn't have to; their disapproving glares was all they needed. Sora sipped his tea and tried to ignore them, but they didn't give up. Eventually, he grimaced and gave in.

Sora: Fine, we'll repair the capital's barrier before we go.

Liliana: Yatagami! Thank you so much!

Sora nodded at Liliana and turned to Celia and the others.

Sora: This good enough for you?

The five of them beamed at him. Aishia, Yue and Shea were thinking Sora had gotten rather soft, but neither of them found it a bad thing. They gave him a knowing smile.

Hajime: Heh... Well, I guess doing a good deed every once in a while isn't too bad. Even I disagreed, Sora would have still done it, given how Sensei is his fav-

Kaori: And that he is Shi-

Shea: And he's pretty passive around Yu-

Aishia: And he love Ce—

Sora: Ahem!

Hajime, Kaori, Shea, Aishia: Urk!

They all stop immediately when they all saw Sora's intimidating glare.

Shizuku: By the way, where do you plan on going next, Yatagami? If you're going after the ancient magics, then your goal would be conquering the remaining labyrinths, correct? And since you're heading east... I suppose your current destination would be the sea of trees?

Sora: Yeah, that's the plan. I was originally gonna pass through Fuhren on my way there, but now I'd have to go out of my way to get there so I think I'll just skip it.

An idea suddenly came to Liliana.

Liliana: In that case, you would be passing through the empire, would you not?

Sora: Yeah, we are...

Liliana: Would you be willing to take me along, then?

Sora: Hm? If you don't mind me asking? Why would you like to come with us?

Liliana: There are many things I need to inform the emperor of. I have dispatched an official envoy already, but I would like to get this information to him as fast as possible. That mobile artifact of Nagumo's can take me to the empire far faster than anyone traveling on horseback, can it not? I was thinking of going to the empire in person to deliver my report.

Sora was taken aback by her boldness. A princess heading into a foreign country alone was a rather dangerous endeavor.

Sora(mind): Though now that I think about it, she snuck out of the castle with Celia and joined up with a traveling caravan just to find help. I guess I should have seen this coming.

It wouldn't be any extra work for Sora to drop her off either, since the empire's capital lay directly in his path. A simple request like that was one Sora didn't mind granting.

Sora: Sure. I don't mind taking you there.

Just as Sora agree, Hajime made sure to make his intentions clear.

Hajime: But we won't be staying in the capital. Don't expect us to stick around for your talks with the emperor.

Liliana: Fufu, I wouldn't dream of imposing. So long as you can take me there, that's good enough.

Sora: Then welcome aboard Princess. And I take it you'll be joining as well, Miss Aria?

Aria: Yes. I am her guard after all.

Liliana chuckled at Hajime's wary attitude. Celia on the other hand was happy to see her best friend Aria again and the two of them smile. Kouki had remained silent after Sora had raked him over the coals, but now he butt back into the conversation.

Kouki: Then take us too. There's no way we can leave Liliana in the care of a guy who says he doesn't care about this world. We'll be her guards. Also, if you won't do anything to save this world Yatagami, Nagumo, I will! But first, I need strength! I need the same ancient magic you have! If I travel with you, I'll be able to obtain it too, right!?

Sora: Uhh, I'll just tell you where all the labyrinths are, so just go there yourself. The last thing I want is you following me around.

Hajime: Stop making these decisions on your own, seriously.

It was pretty brazen of Kouki to beg Sora and Hajime for help right after complaining about their methods. Aiko timidly spoke up, remembering what Sora had said about the labyrinths earlier.

Aiko: But Yatagami, didn't you say before that if we went into the labyrinths with our current level of skill we'd just be killed?

Sora: You can if you just heighten your resolve. Look, if even an incompetent guys like me and Hajime could do it. It'll be fine, really. You just need determination and grit.

Sora(mind): I can't believe she remembered that.

Sora looked about nervously while saying some rather irresponsible things.

Aiko: We won't be able to do it, will we?

Sora couldn't meet her eyes. As far as he was concerned, offering the rest of his classmates a ride back to Japan once he found a way to transfer between worlds was being helpful enough.

He had absolutely no desire to babysit them as they went around trying to conquer all the labyrinths. It would be nothing more than a waste of time. Shizuku looked up at Sora, regret and frustration written all over her face. It was clear their recent defeats had weighed heavily on her.

Shizuku: Yatagami, please. Just one labyrinth. If we can obtain even a single one of the ancient magics, we'll have a solid chance at tackling the others ourselves. Won't you help us with just one?

Sora: You can't just leech off me in there, like that. You have to prove you contributed enough to clearing the labyrinth or else when the magic circle reads your memories, you'll be denied.

Celia: Even I had a hard time on that Spirit Magic Trial.

Shizuku: I understand. But leaving the talk of fighting the gods aside for now, all of us want to go home too. We're more than determined enough to risk our lives fighting down there if that's what'll really get us home. So... please. I know you've already done so much for us, and I don't want to ask another favor after saying I'd repay my debt to you, but you're the only person we can rely on. Won't you lend us your strength one more time?

Shizuku trusted Sora's assessment. If he thought they didn't stand a chance as they were, she knew they'd need his help to make it. It was clear from her expression how much it pained her to ask for another favor without even repaying him for saving her life twice.

Suzu: Please, I'm begging you to, Yatagami, Nagumo. I want to get stronger, so I can talk to Eri again. Please! I swear we'll pay you back somehow, so take us with you!

Inspired by Shizuku's dedication, Suzu too lowered her head. There were still a lot of things she wanted to say to Eri, and she wouldn't be able to unless she got stronger. Sora could sense her desperation from her voice.

Ryutaro: Come on, Yatagami, Nagumo. Just one. I wanna get strong enough to protect my friends at least. I don't ever wanna be helplessly forced to watch my friends die ever again.

Even Ryutarou prostrated himself before Sora and Hajime. This was the first time either of them had seen Ryutarou bow to anyone.

Sora(mind): He probably blames himself for not being able to do anything in the Great Orcus Labyrinth, or in the recent fight with Nakamura.

Ryutarou clenched his fists so hard his nails drew blood. Hajime deliberated for a few moments. Normally, he'd never agree to something this burdensome. Babysitting Kouki and the others through the Haltina Woods was the last thing he wanted to do. He was on the verge of telling them to try their hand at the Great Orcus Labyrinth or the Reisen Gorge and leave him alone.

But then he thought back to his fight with Noint, and wavered. In the visions they'd seen in the Sunken Ruins of Melusine, there'd been a girl who looked exactly like Noint. She'd taken control of kings and emperors, and done the gods' dirty work behind the scenes.

Could Hajime really be sure Noint was the only one of God's Apostles? That seemed far too naive an assumption. Noint herself had said that Hajime was an anomaly, and that it was her god's wish that he die an agonizing death. It stood to reason that if one Apostle had failed, Ehit would simply send an army of them at Hajime. In which case, wouldn't it be better to help Kouki and the others grow stronger? That way they'd make good fodder for the inevitable clash.
He was seriously considering using other people as meat shields against enemies coming at him. Even for Hajime, that was a new low.

Hajime: I mean, weren't you heroes planning on fighting against the gods anyway? What's the problem here?

Sora(mind): This heartless trash. Even I wouldn't go that low.

And so, for completely selfish reasons, Hajime decided to let Kouki and the others join him in conquering the labyrinth in Haltina Woods. He sent a questioning glance to Yue and the others to make sure they had no objections. As usual, they didn't. Shizuku and the rest breathed a sigh of relief. They thanked Hajime profusely, never realizing that he intended them to be his future meat shields.

Yue: Hajime's a terrifying man.

Tio: That's Master for you.

Aishia: He really is a monster.

It appeared both Aishia, Yue and Tio had already seen through Hajime's plan. They kept their voices low enough that no one else heard.

Celia: What do they mean, Sora...?

Sora: Hajime's planning to use Amanogawa and the others as meat shields.

Celia: Eh...?

Hajime just ignored their muttered comments, while Sora just shook his head and sigh. Sora then started thinking about the future. His journey was drawing to a close. No matter who stood in his way, no matter how dangerous things got, he'd fight his way through it all and go home. Together with everyone he cared about. He once again reaffirmed his resolve, steeling himself for what was to come.