It doesn’t matter how immortal goddesses are if he swallows me whole! Once my body dissolves, I’ll be sent straight back to the spirit world!
“Y-you’re kidding, right?”
But Bunogeos unlocks the cell and barges right in.
“B-Bunogeos, stop!”
Seiya yells out in agony in the cell beside mine. Paying no heed to his cries, the orc grabs me by the arm and forces me to my feet. He then lowers his head below mine, huffing and puffing on my chest in excitement.
“N-no, don’t…! Stop…!”
Bunogeos vulgarly stares at me as I tremble…but out of nowhere, his expression suddenly clouds over.
“Hmm? Hmmmm? Hmmmmmm? This Goddess smells sour…”
“Huh?!”
“Well, this is no goooood. Can’t eat rotten foooood.”
“What the—?! You’re kidding, right?!”
Bunogeos lets go of me, and I crumple to the ground. I can hear Seiya call out to me with a mirthful note.
“Goddess! It’s a good thing you stink, huh?”
The orc speaks up, responding to Seiya.
“I’m a foodie. I don’t wanna waste space in my stomach with something rottennn.”
I’m trembling, but this time not in fear.
“Who are you calling rotten?! I’m a goddess! You take that back, you pig!!”
“The nose doesn’t lie. Weeee-hee-hee.”
“I don’t smell bad! Eat me! At least take a bite!!”
I’m so humiliated that I’d rather be eaten! Ignoring my rage-filled ramblings, Bunogeos walks over to the woman behind me.
“Yep. I’m gonna go with this one.”
“What?! No, you’re gonna eat me first!”
Furious, I stand in between them, but he casually knocks me away and picks up the woman before leaving the cell and locking it. Bunogeos places his fat finger on the woman’s chin and pushes her head up as if he wants Seiya and me to watch.
“Her skin is so milky white and yummy-looking. Don’tcha agreeeee? Would be a waste making her a slaaave.”
He suddenly stops rubbing her chin and stabs her cheek with a black claw coming out of his index finger.
“…!”
The woman faintly screams as red blood trickles down her cheek. Licking the blood off his finger causes the orc’s lips to curl.
“Awww, yeah. That’s the stuff. This is some high-quality meeeat. Wish I could enjoy it for the next couple of hours, but I’d be setting a bad example if any of the other beastkin found meee. Oh well. Guess I’ll just eat her here.”
His insolent behavior sends me into a fit of blind rage, but I simultaneously feel sick at the thought of him eating a human in front of me. Seiya, in the nearby cell, seems to feel the same.
“Bunogeos, stop! Get your hands off her!”
Bunogeos seems amused as he watches Seiya aggressively rattle the iron bars.
“Nooope. I’m gonna eat her, and you two are gonna watch.”
“B-Bunogeos, please stop!”
I assail the bars of my cell as well, but there’s no way I’ll be able to break them if Seiya couldn’t. The orc seems to be enjoying watching us struggle.
“You’re wasting yer time. Even I’d have trouble breaking those baaarsss, so there’s no way you’re gonna be able to do it.”
“Tch…!”
I punch the iron bars.
“Oh?”
Bunogeos turns a curious gaze on me.
“Why? Why did it have to be like this?! If the old Seiya were here—if the cautious Hero were here…then this would have never happened!”
The resentment slips off my tongue.
“…Goddess.”
Though I failed to notice earlier, Seiya is looking at me.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. It’s all my fault. I’m the one who caused your amnesia, which led to this.”
“I get that I have amnesia, but…would I be able to save that woman if I had my memories back?”
Logically, I don’t think a change in personality would help us get out of this tight corner, and yet, I still get this sense of hope. I feel almost as if that overly cautious, cool and collected, clear-sighted Hero would be able to reverse any situation, regardless of how grave it might seem.
“It’s possible. Knowing how you failed last time on Ixphoria would help you become mentally strong to an extent.”
“…I see.”
Thereupon, I hear a violent bang peeling from the cell next door.
“What the…?!”
I turn to find Seiya banging his head against the iron bars!
“S-Seiya?!”
Bunogeos is also taken aback by Seiya’s bizarre action.
“Uhhh… Whatcha doin’ there?”
Blood pours down Seiya’s forehead after repeatedly ramming his head against the bars, but even then, he doesn’t stop.
“I don’t care what happens to me…if it means I can save that woman.”
“B-but what you’re doing is reckless!”
“I’ll be fine. I once fixed a TV back in my world by doing this.”
“…?! Seiya, you’re not a TV!”
He’s out of his mind…but he’s doing his best. I can feel just how desperate he is, and it breaks my heart.
…How many times has he hit his head already? Bunogeos seemed to be enjoying himself at first, but now he’s yawning out of boredom.
“Well, I guess it’s about time I aaate.”
He looks at the slave and licks his lips. In the depth of despair…
“It’s okay.”
I hear a sudden voice.
“Don’t worry about me.”
It’s the voice of the woman Bunogeos is holding.
“I’m afraid to be eaten, but once I move past the pain, I will finally be able to escape this hell…”
“Wh-what are you…?”
Even though she’s about to be eaten, she gives me a gentle smile.
“The end of the world…has already come and gone. That’s why…”
It’s the voice of a woman who has already resigned herself.
Creak! Crack! Snap!
I hear something crumble in the cell next to mine.
“Wh-what was thaaat?”
In tandem with Bunogeos, I look over at Seiya’s cell…and can’t believe what I’m seeing! The hard iron bars have shattered and fallen to the floor! His head slick with blood, Seiya slowly crawls through the opening.
“How many times…am I going to repeat this? I should have figured it out last time… I can’t save the world like this…”
His lower tone makes my heart skip a beat.
W-wait…?! But it has to be! He’s the same person, but the air around him has gotten tense!
Seiya brushes back his blood-soaked hair, then lets out a small breath and walks over to Bunogeos.
“The hell? How did ya break those iron baaars?”
As Seiya stands right in front of Bunogeos, I use Scan and check his status.
<Condition: Normal> |
Yes!! He healed his amnesia! The cautious Hero is back! B-but even if his personality changed, that doesn’t mean his stats improved! There’s no way he can defeat Bunogeos like this! What is he going to do?!
Seiya suddenly places his bloody hand on Bunogeos’s thigh, and the orc’s demeanor immediately changes.
“Ya filthy humaaaaaan! How dare ya touch me with yer shit-stained haaands!”
“I didn’t just touch your leg. I destroyed it.”
“…Huh?”
Ker-splat! Bunogeos’s thigh tears right open, releasing a torrent of jet-black blood. It sounds like an overripe apple falling from a tree.
“Hmm…? Ah… Ahhhhhh!!”
Finally realizing what happened, Bunogeos’s face twists in agony. After he falls to one knee and screams, Seiya talks over him with a cold air.
“First Valkyrja: Shattered Break!”
That’s one of Valkyrie’s techniques of destruction! H-he remembered how to do that?! But…oh! That move ignores defense! That’s why he was able to break such sturdy iron bars and even use it on an enemy on a higher level than he is!
While Bunogeos crouches in pain, Seiya breaks the iron bars to my cell as well. But when I rush out to his side…
“Rista, stay back.”
He signals me with his hand to move back, but I’m secretly overjoyed because he finally called me by my name!
“H-h-h-humaaan!”
Holding his wounded leg, Bunogeos stands up again.
“Impossible! How could such a weak human do this…?!”
Bunogeos shows his true colors. Red-eyed, he bares his fangs and fiercely glares at Seiya. But the Hero doesn’t even blink.
“A ‘weak human’? It would be in your best interest to forget the man you fought earlier.”
Thereupon, flames shoot out of Seiya’s body, surrounding the slave and me to protect us.
“Allow me to show you the ultimate attack I learned from the Goddess of Destruction.”
“Heh. Funny! Just try it, you little shiiiiiit! I’ll crush yer little skuuulll!”
…Panting, Seiya sprints up the stairs holding the woman’s hand, with me following closely behind.
“Once we climb the stairs, it’s a…right, I believe. After that, we’ll be able to escape this dungeon…”
As the woman helps navigate Seiya through the dungeon, I ask:
“W-we’re running? After all that trash talking?”
“Yeah. That move was the only Valkyrja technique I could remember, so our lives were really in danger back there.”
“Oh, no wonder…”
“I bet he wasn’t expecting we’d run. Even if he did and tried to chase us, it would be difficult with only one leg. We should be able to escape with no problem once we get past the other beastkin.”
“Oh! Seiya, listen! We won’t be able to return to the unified spirit world even if we do escape! They have a magic item that’s preventing me from creating a gate!”
“I still have my memories from when I was reckless, so I understand the situation. If we can’t return to the spirit world, then we’ll just have to go to Little Light to prepare.”
“‘P-prepare’? For what?”
“Defeating the enemy, of course.”
H-he plans on defeating Bunogeos without training in the spirit world?! B-but…!
Looking at his sharp, dignified profile, I think to myself:
Wh-what is this sense of security?! This is it! This is how Seiya Ryuuguuin has to be! This is the love of my life!
Almost moved to tears, I try to wrap my arm around his—but he knocks my hand away.
“What do you think you’re doing? Get your hands off me.”
“Huh…?”
Wh-what…? I thought he got his memories back? I-is he embarrassed? Is that it? Y-yeah… That has to be it…