Chapter 45

Summary of the previous chapter:

... Decapitation.

27

Watanabe's severed head flew through the air.

His lifeless eyes gazed vacantly at the scene below.

From the headless body, a sticky red liquid spurted out, staining the faces of the soldiers, knights, and students who looked up at the head, turning them red.

I felt as if I heard the sound of something fragile shattering, something wonderful that I had once lost and envied from afar.

It was the sound of the world collapsing.

The moment when the naive beliefs I held were erased like a mirage, a world crumbled with a loud noise.

I had heard that sound before, just over two months ago, when the memory was still fresh.

The colony we built deep in the forest, gathered with other transfer students, collapsed due to the rampant power of cheat abilities.

Of course, such a tragedy did not happen without cause.

We were suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar forest. Not only that, but the forest was filled with monsters that should have been mere products of imagination. The cruel deaths of classmates, which would never happen in peaceful Japan, placed a heavy burden on our minds.

It wasn't just that. Thanks to the benefits of cheats, we managed to hunt monsters and secure enough food to avoid starving within a few days, but it was only the bare minimum. We were hungry, and the living conditions were poor. Moreover, with many people gathered to form a small community, conflicts and friction between factions inevitably arose. We lacked the experience and know-how to manage such a community.

Like an hourglass turned upside down, anxiety grew, and dissatisfaction accumulated. Under the weight of the accumulated sand, the mind groaned. It was also a countdown to collapse.

Finally, the stress that had built up exploded, triggered by the rampage of a part of the exploration team.

The students, driven to the brink, turned into a mob. In the depths of the forest in a different world where there were no laws or law enforcement, there was no power to suppress them.

--- The strong can do as they please.

Kudo's words were, at least, true in the midst of that great chaos.

However, now that we, the transfer students, have reached the Cheria fortress through the forest where there is no law or order, we have stepped into a world where people live.

The hardships are over. We are saved. This time, no tragedy will happen again.

Everyone believed it. ... Rather, no one even doubted it.

If the people who came to this world were mere helpless survivors, there would have been no problem.

But that wasn't the case. We weren't.

We had the immense power of cheat abilities. That had to be taken into account.

Indeed, this world has its own order. Of course, there must be a deterrent force to maintain it. I have only recently come into contact with the human society of this different world, and I have only spent time in a military facility deep in the forest, so I don't know the details, but it's not hard to imagine that the military, knights, or organizations of similar standing play such roles.

However, can they really suppress the overwhelming power of cheat abilities...? The answer is no.

In this world, the power of individuals with cheat abilities is too great.

So, that's it. As Kudo said, "The world hasn't changed at all."

This is still a continuation of the future from the day the colony collapsed. The strong will act as they please, and tragedies will be repeated. The "wonderful things" will be shattered into pieces and can never be restored...

***

The deafening sound of an explosion and the roar of a collapsing building echoed in the distance.

The structure of the fortress, which was supposed to be built for battle, could not withstand the power of the countless fireballs released by Jūmonji of the exploration team. A corner of the inner wall, which was packed with soldiers and knights just thirty seconds ago, collapsed onto the floor below, now a pile of rubble. It was a truly nightmarish scene.

"Ha... ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! Isn't this awesome!"

Standing at the edge of the large hole in the inner wall, a young man laughed as he looked down at the pile of rubble where dust was rising.

The name of the blond youth was Sakagami Gōta. He was one of the transfer students.

While witnessing the gruesome scene, he was laughing uncontrollably. What was so funny, his laughter, unbridled, was filled with the sinister pleasure of someone who had settled a personal grudge.

"Powdered. Completely powdered! Serves you right!"

"...Sakagami?"

Words that dampened Sakagami's joy came from a corner of the rubble he was looking down upon.

Jūmonji, using a simple wind magic to clear the dust around him, appeared.

His footing had collapsed due to the magic he had cast, and he was also caught in the collapse. However, he had not been injured. This was probably within the expected range.

"Hey, Tatsuya! That's pretty harsh, isn't it!"

Sakagami, who had been looking down at the dark, dusty lower floor where the lights had been extinguished during the collapse, spotted Jūmonji and lashed out.

"Because you were a bit late, the monsters on the outer wall were wiped out by Watanabe's magic! Couldn't you have done it before it was activated!?"

"I feel bad for the effort they put in, but it was inevitable. Swallow it."

Contrary to his words, Jūmonji showed no remorse as he brushed off the dust on his uniform.

"Even though Watanabe is a warrior, he has a build that leans towards a mage. If I had attacked at a bad time, he might have resisted. I didn't want to get hurt. To eliminate him safely, I had to wait until he had finished casting his most powerful magic. It would have been better if you and Iwano had headed for the forest, but since that wasn't the case, this was a necessary sacrifice."

"That might be so..."

"However, the control should have been lost halfway, so the power should have been halved. I guess even monsters are just that. Well, never mind. More importantly,"

Jūmonji looked up at Sakagami, who was standing in a higher position.

"I told you not to come out until I said it was okay, Sakagami. Don't do as you please, as you did this morning."

"Ugh... Sorry."

Sakagami showed a cowed expression.

"But, you know, you don't have to be so strict. Look, we've wiped out the main force as planned, so the fortress is finished. The rest, we can kill all the monsters inside the fortress. It's not dangerous for me to come out..."

"It's not over yet."

"Huh?"

"I said, it's not over. Impressive. To survive so stubbornly. Hey, you—"

Turning his gaze from the startled Sakagami, Jūmonji looked at 'this side'.

"Wasn't it, Mashima?"

Jūmonji's sharp face was met with a direct glare from me.

"From what I can see, you control monsters... the same type of ability as Sakagami. I'm surprised. So that's your innate ability. I thought you were different from the others, but you were hiding your ability. And, this Mizuima can use magic, it seems."

I was already in a combat stance. Asarina extended from my left hand, and Ayame was perched on my right shoulder.

Lily was beside me, holding a spear and ready to cast magic, gathering mana to be able to cast at any moment.

We had successfully weathered the fourth-tier magic attack Jūmonji had launched.

Of course, even with the increased durability of my body due to mana, if I had been caught in that explosion, I would not have been unscathed.

The preparation for battle that I had instructed Lily to make before we went up to the roof paid off. When Jūmonji revealed his true nature, Lily was already prepared to cast magic, and she was able to counter Jūmonji's magic.

If Lily didn't have water attribute magic, or if Jūmonji's magic was designed to prioritize range over power to blow away many people, we might not have come out unscathed. It was a close call, but we managed to protect ourselves.

Moreover, Lily's magic also protected others nearby.

Kei, who was beside me, was not seriously injured, and the three companions of Mihara Taichi, with whom I had been talking, were also not injured to the point of losing their lives.

Shiran, the captain, Kanshi, and other allied knights also survived.

I hadn't been able to think about them in the heat of the moment, but I sensed the activation of magic, so they probably managed to counter it with magic, just like we did.

However, almost everyone else was wiped out.

Except for Mihara and the other transfer students who were hit directly by the fireballs, they were literally blown to pieces and burned. Most of the soldiers were also caught unprepared by the magic. There were probably few survivors. Perhaps, if we searched through the pile of rubble, we might find some lucky survivors, but in our current situation, we didn't have the luxury to rescue them.

Even if they had survived that moment, the fact that we were in a dire situation did not change.

"Y-You... I won't forgive you for what you did to our comrades!"

"Was the attack on the fortress your doing!?"

"Uaaaaaah!"

Three of the surviving allied knights, their voices strained, rushed out.

"Wait, you guys! Don't rush out recklessly!"

The captain's warning did not reach their heads, which were clouded with anger and fear. The knights, in a state of near panic, kicked the rubble and approached Jūmonji—then one of them was pierced by a flying fireball.

The knight's body was blown away and rolled on the floor, his deformed armor spewing fire and burning.

"...Too late."

"Ah!?"

When the voice was heard, one of the two remaining knights who had rushed out was already cut in half by Jūmonji.

The last one tried to protect himself with a large shield, but the kick that was slammed into it sent the knight crashing into the rubble. The knight, hit like a cannonball, did not move at all.

"Idiotic... Just in an instant..."

The captain groaned.

I, who had witnessed the entire scene, felt a chill run down my spine at Jūmonji's demonic strength.

To cast magic, one needs to gather mana into a magic circle. The more powerful the magic, the more mana is required. Despite the fact that Jūmonji's fire magic was cast almost instantly, it had the power of a second-tier spell. This was proof of the vast amount of mana he possessed.

Even if he couldn't compare to 'Virtuous One' Iwano, his speed was also monstrous. The sharp sword that cut through the knight's armor like it was nothing was a threat, and even though the knight was in a panic, his close combat skills were formidable, capable of defeating a strong knight with a single touch.

In fact, if there had been even a moment's opening, Lily, who was beside me, would have launched a desperate attack. I had sensed her intent through our connection and was ready to support her.

However, she did not move. ... She could not move. The knights were killed in an instant, and there was no opening to exploit.

What was most terrifying was that Jūmonji did not flinch during the confrontation.

It wasn't a matter of being prepared to fight. His expression was cold. To him, we were nothing more than objects. That's why he could probably blow away hundreds of people with a single magic spell.

Feeling a chill, I opened my stiff mouth.

"...Did you plan to do this from the beginning?"

Thinking about it, it made sense.

Since we arrived at this fortress, Jūmonji had often controlled the other transfer students. So much so that I was impressed.

If all his efforts were for his own benefit, it would make sense to me. He must have been trying to gain the trust of the people in the fortress and the other transfer students for his own purposes.

He had an accomplice in Sakagami.

I don't know when they connected, but this was definitely a planned action. Sakagami's attack on Kei this morning was probably because he knew what would happen to the fortress today, and he wanted to do it before that. And the reason he didn't use his cheat ability to attack me at that time was probably because it would have interfered with the plan.

Jūmonji's appearance at that scene was probably to restrain the impulsive Sakagami. The timing was suspiciously good, but it might have been because Jūmonji was always concerned about his accomplice's short temper.

And the accomplice, Sakagami, had the power to control monsters.

If Jūmonji was trying to gain the trust of the other transfer students, I remembered one incident.

"The attack by the Green Caterpillars just before we reached Cheria Fortress. That was your doing, right?"

That incident undoubtedly planted in the hearts of the other transfer students a sense of admiration for the exploration team, who were revered as heroes in this world, and laid the foundation for their trust. As a result, the transfer students came to trust the exploration team so much that the sarcastic Kanshi called it 'brainwashing'.

However, it was a self-staged performance by Sakagami. He had the students, including himself, attacked by the Green Caterpillars and then had the exploration team defeat them.

"Yeah. That's right. I made Sakagami do it."

"For what purpose? Why did you do all this?"

I asked Jūmonji, who turned to face me again.

"For what purpose? It's obvious. To 'survive'."

Jūmonji's expression did not change.

"Listen. This isn't the world we came from. Everything is different. No one can guarantee our lives tomorrow. We are in such a place. To survive and return to our original world, we have to do anything."

Jūmonji said it as if it were a matter of course.

"..."

I remember that Jūmonji had once said, "This isn't the world we came from," and "Everything is different."

At the time, I thought, "What's different when you have a cheat ability that gives you an unfair advantage?" ... But in fact, Jūmonji was looking at his existence in this world with a sense of crisis, despite the unfair advantage he had gained.

And that is what led to this tragedy.

He was seriously prepared to do anything, no matter how heinous, to survive and return to his original world, just as he had said.

"...To survive and return to your original world, you say?"

At that moment, I realized that Jūmonji had said something I couldn't ignore.

"Can you return? How...?"

"That's obvious. Using cheat abilities."

Jūmonji answered matter-of-factly.

"Haven't you played a game before? An RPG. You fight monsters, level up, and learn skills and magic. Any ordinary one will do. It's the same. You level up and gain the ability to return to your original world."

... Is he serious?

This different world is not a game. It's reality.

It's true that you can gain a small amount of mana by defeating monsters. Jūmonji's 'leveling up' probably refers to this. ... But can you really gain the power to travel between worlds so conveniently?

Can you even gain a new cheat ability? I've never heard of such a thing.

However, there is no reason for Jūmonji to lie in this situation. At the very least, he believes what he is saying.

Does he know something I don't?

... No, there are too many unknowns.

"Hey, Jūmonji-kun."

At that moment, Mihara, who was crouching nearby, spoke. His voice was extremely hollow.

"Is this some kind of mistake? There's no way... Jūmonji-kun, you wouldn't... do something like this..."

He couldn't believe what he had just seen.

Mihara, his face pale and a trickle of blood running down his head, let out