He had a dream.
".....Lion!"
In that dream, the elf pierced through a black nightmare with a brilliant, verdant arrow.
".....Ryu Lion!"
She had not accomplished it alone.
Fwoosh—!!!
The hero's flame, burning more crimson and fierce than anything else.
Ding—!
Ding—!
Ding—!
The noble tolling of a bell, proving that it was a hero's strike, reached her ears.
Shhh—!
'Ah...'
At the same time, a violet flame bloomed coldly yet with absolute certainty in the corner of her vision.
'Akumo...'
The flame kindled by that man did not contain only the sublime light found in the hero's fire.
Slice—!!!!!
That was precisely why it felt even warmer.
It felt like a warm hearth that would always remain by her side.
"Lion!!!"
"!?"
The moment she realized it, she heard the voice of the person she so desperately wished to be with, and finally, she woke.
"Are you awake?"
"Akumo...."
Rustle—!
Akumo looked down at the waking Ryu with a smile. Beside him, familiar faces came into view.
"Anya... Chloe, even Lunoire...?"
'How on earth are they here...'
As the names of her colleagues—beings akin to family—flowed from her lips, Lunoire spoke to Ryu with a voice on the verge of tears.
"Do you have any idea how worried we were...!?"
Drip! Drip!
"Falling all the way to the 37th floor, we really thought...!!"
"I was worried, nya."
Between Lunoire's tearful outburst and Chloe's calm but emotionally charged words, Ryu understood.
"Did you come to save me...?"
'All the way to the Deep Floors...'
"Of course!!"
"The moment we heard you were in danger, we came running, nya!"
"Just what happened to leave you in such a ragged state, nya?"
Lunoire and Anya answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, while Chloe asked Akumo what could have possibly happened to leave Ryu looking so battered after descending to the abyss.
"Just... the usual Dungeon business."
Slide—!
"""!!"""
Only then did they notice Akumo's severed right arm, their expressions freezing in horror.
Pat-pat-pat-pat—!!!!
Lili and the others, who had been checking on Bell's condition until a moment ago, reacted the same way. Seeing the reality of his missing limb, they rushed toward him in shock.
"Your arm....!!"
"Akumo!!!!!"
Grab—!
"Tsubaki... I'm feeling a bit lightheaded..."
"Is that what's important right now!!!?"
Welf and Tsubaki gripped him, their eyes trembling with concern as they assessed his state, but Akumo simply felt a wave of exhaustion at the thought of having to explain himself again.
**
""AKUMO!!!!!!!!!!!""
And his exhaustion did not end there.
"Ah...."
"Do you think I'm joking right now!!!!?"
"I felt like I was going to faint from the shock!!!?"
In a treatment room within Babel, Akumo was receiving intensive care from Amid and Naaza. He had been enduring their scolding for dozens of minutes already.
"It was my mistake...."
Realizing there was no escape from this room regardless of what he said, Akumo simply repeated his apologies.
""Sigh...""
"Please, just let me off this once...."
Creak—!!
".....?"
Akumo looked toward the door as it opened, intending to question the newcomer, but his face instantly stiffened upon seeing who it was.
"R-Riveria....!!"
Thud—!
"H-Hephaestus-sama...!?"
The most beautiful women in the city had come to visit him, yet Akumo turned pale, trembling with a primal fear.
"Heh~ Ye can only see them two, can ye?"
"L-Loki..."
Loki, who had been hiding behind them, had discarded her usual squint. Her red eyes were wide and fierce, radiating pure fury toward him.
"W-Wait a minute...!!"
"""....."""
"I'll explain everything...!!"
"""....."""
"Someone... please..."
He despaired at the realization that the lecture he was about to receive and the explanations he had to give were still far from over. He prayed for someone to save him.
—!!!!!!
"Um..."
Ryu grew tense at the sounds leaking through the crack in the door and tried to say something to Alfia and Tsubaki. However, they simply treated the noise as background music, considering it a natural consequence.
"Hmph, he brought it on himself."
"He did something insane, so he has to pay the price."
"I suppose so...."
Alfia and Tsubaki sipped their tea, wearing unreadable expressions as they turned over the [Chaos Scythe] Akumo had given them.
'The pinnacle, huh....'
"How on earth did he forge a weapon from his own arm?"
"Ahaha... I was incredibly shocked when I first saw it too."
"....."
Rustle—!
"Chaos...."
Pure darkness that can only exist because light exists.
No, it was humanity itself. A sublime malice born from the sublime goodwill inherent in a living being.
Grip—!!
'I can feel it the moment I hold it....'
The object before them was no ordinary weapon. It was a demonic blade that bordered on the demonic itself.
"This is closer to an abomination. Unless the wielder is someone of his caliber, they'll be consumed by it."
"Was it such a dangerous item...!?"
"Well, he's the only one who can use it anyway, so it doesn't matter."
"Ehh....."
Can only a weapon that everyone can use, a weapon that becomes everyone's hope, be called the 'pinnacle'?
Whir—!
If it exists solely for those with the qualification—if one is willing to wield even an abomination and turn it into their own strength to carve out a future...
"Then that, too, is the pinnacle...."
'Truly, it's so tempting I can hardly stand it.'
**
Vring—!!
"There!"
After an eternity of lectures, Akumo finally managed to beg his way into demonstrating. He brought the [Chaos Scythe] to his right shoulder, and the scythe promptly transformed into an arm and began to move.
Clench—!!
"The sensation, the shape, the feeling—it's exactly the same."
'I thought it would work, but it turned out better than expected....'
Akumo clenched and unclenched his fist, confirming that the sensation and form were identical to his previous arm. Even he was surprised by the phenomenon, which was closer to true regeneration than mere replacement.
"Whoa....."
'To handle that abomination so simply...'
Tsubaki was doubly shocked: once by the fact that the hunk of metal, which hadn't budged when she held it, burst into flames the moment it touched Akumo, and again by how it seamlessly became his right arm.
"No matter how many times I see it, I can't believe it."
"It means the thing only wags its tail for its master."
'He really made a weapon that's just like himself...'
To Hephaestus and Loki, the sight resembled a Spirit.
It felt far more negative than a Spirit—filled with greater rage and selfishness—but because of that, it was on an entirely different level from conventional weaponry.
"At least he can hide it from others now."
"I'm so glad, Akumo!"
"I'm glad, Brother!"
Alfia, used to him defying common sense, wasn't particularly surprised, while Ryu and Bell smiled with relief at the return of his arm.
Hummm—!!
"Kazuki...!"
'You feel it too...'
"That weapon is far too dangerous...!"
Seeing his masterpiece, [Kazuki], react, Welf's lips curled into a smile of competitive spirit.
'That's why I want to surpass it!'
With that thought, Welf steeled his resolve to further temper his skills.
Hummm—!!
"This is....?"
It wasn't just the Green Fang... no, [Lævateinn] was reacting as well.
"Come to think of it... what is that bow...?"
"No way...!"
Bell voiced his confusion, while Welf was startled by the incredibly familiar green hue, his mind racing with possibilities.
"It's [Lævateinn]...."
"""!!"""
"[Lævateinn]....!?"
"But it was clearly in the form of a sword!?"
Akumo had known all along that it was the cherished weapon he had forged and used. He smiled at Ryu, who had transformed that weapon into a new form.
Simultaneously, everyone in the room was aghast that a magic sword, once forged, had changed its shape on its own.
"How did you do it?"
"Ah... that's...."
Ryu couldn't easily answer Akumo's question.
"..."
She had recalled his incredibly beautiful appearance, one that resembled an elf. With the singular focus of reaching such a person, and pouring in her desire to live and be with him, she had achieved it.
'There's no way I can give that answer....!'
"Lion?"
"....!!"
When Akumo spoke to the silent Ryu again, she suppressed her embarrassment and asked him a question in return.
"Are you... an Elf? Akumo, are you..."
**
Rustle! Rustle!
"Um....."
About five minutes had passed since that question, and everyone in the room wore expressions of pure shock.
"".....""
"Lion....? Riveria....?"
"Please stay still."
"They're enjoying themselves, so just explain."
Akumo's appearance as he sat in the chair had changed.
"No, his race actually changed...."
"Whoa...."
Just as the stunned Bell and Welf said, Akumo's race had shifted.
Pointed ears being touched by Ryu and Riveria, white hair that seemed to reach his waist, and green eyes that were even clearer than usual.
"He didn't want to be targeted by the Elves, so he just went and became an Elf himself, eh~"
"Can you do Dwarves?"
"As if...."
".....Can you two back off now?"
Loki laughed as if it were a great entertainment, seeing his perfect elven transformation. Hephaestus looked at Tsubaki with exasperation as the latter asked if he could become a Dwarf, while Alfia's voice cut through the room, telling Riveria and Ryu to get away from him regardless of his race.
"What about a Chienanthrope...."
"Naaza, you're being too transparent."
"Ahem...!!"
Seeing Naaza ask out of curiosity, Amid immediately called her out.
"Sigh.... I'm tired, so tired...."
"Should I call you Akumo-sama?"
"Haaa....."
"Don't ye want to try goin' out like that once?"
"You'll be killed by Amid if you do..."
Pinch—!
"Ouch!?"
As time passed, Akumo returned to his original form and stood in the clinic's garden with Bell, looking out at the scenery.
Whistle—
"That's a nice breeze~"
"It is...."
The wind felt refreshing, as if clearing the chaos that had filled the room just moments ago, allowing both Akumo and Bell to wear more relaxed smiles.
"Bell, it's been a bit less than six months since you became an adventurer, right?"
"That's right. Six months have already passed."
At Bell's answer, Akumo almost let out a chuckle.
"'Already'... you brat, it's 'only' been six months."
"Ehh...."
"Where did the little kid from six months ago go? You've become so dependable before I knew it..."
Pat, pat—
Akumo stroked Bell's hair, reminiscing about the time he first brought Alfia and Bell to Orario.
—'Dad!'
It felt like only yesterday when he had been flustered by Bell calling him 'Dad' and corrected him to say 'Brother' for fear of others overhearing.
"It wouldn't have been possible without you, Brother."
"You're the one who followed through."
Now, calling him 'Brother' was second nature. Bell had grown beyond recognition.
Grin—!
It wasn't just Bell who had grown.
"The medical fees...!!"
"Don't worry, Supporter-kun! The Guild has agreed to cover all treatment costs!"
A girl who had been trapped in a nightmare, living each day in despair, had met heroes and found the will to move forward with everyone.
Clang—!!
Clang—!!
"Alright...!"
A blacksmith who had met him had unburdened his heart and grown a step further, tempering himself to reach the domain of his idols.
"Wiene-sama... I hope we can meet again later."
"I am certain you will meet again, Haruhime-dono."
Furthermore, a story that seemed destined for tragedy—the friendship of girls—had found a happy ending through their encounter with Bell.
Hummm—!
"....Akumo."
—'Now, as its master, use it well.'
"Yes....!"
An elf had overcome her own nightmare and finally grasped a hero's bow, acknowledging her desire to remain by the side of the person she loved.
"Still, we can't be satisfied with just this."
"Yeah...!"
The nightmare in the Dungeon had presented them with a desperate situation, but it could not make the conclusion itself desperate.
""We will become even stronger.""
The resolve carved deep into their hearts would undoubtedly carve out their own paths.