episode_0152

“That power just now… it wasn’t aimed at me…!!”

“If you had blocked it, the plan would have failed… but I expected you’d be distracted by the fire and quickly try to avoid it.”

“Ze… Zeke!!!”

At that moment, Stein was greatly astonished that I had targeted the experimental subject girl’s cage, not him, as planned, and the experimental subject girl ran towards me, tears streaming down her face. Seeing the experimental subject girl’s horrifying appearance up close, I couldn’t bring myself to speak. Still, relieved that the experimental subject girl was safe for now, I stroked her rough hair and said:

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Ugh… Mmm… I didn’t think you’d save me… I thought the Black Saint would save me… But how did you break the cage? Earlier, even with the Black Saint’s power, the cage didn’t budge, did it?”

“…Actually, it was a gamble. I couldn’t be sure… but I had a prediction.”

“…Damn it… This crazy explorer bastard… how many steps ahead were you thinking?!!”

When the experimental subject girl questioned how the cage, which hadn’t budged even with Aria’s power, had been easily destroyed by my magic, I replied that I had anticipated something. Stein, who had been listening to the conversation from afar, touched the burn wounds he had just sustained from my fire, greatly astonished. Turning my head to him, I began to explain my thoughts.

“You were thoroughly beaten by the Saint and priests before, weren’t you? So I thought you’d create a device to counter divine power to prepare for them. Since there’s also the mineral Tiavel here, which can contain energy, if you’ve already encountered the Saint and priests, you would have made something with the residual divine power contained in that mineral. And since you cherished this experimental subject girl quite a bit, you would have made a powerful cage to protect her from them. But what I possess isn’t divine power, it’s magic. Since they are distinctly different powers, it could be easily broken. Am I wrong?”

“….!!! Since when…? Since when did you have such a plan…? No… Since when did you realize this?!!”

“I slowly anticipated it from the moment Aria couldn’t break the cage. I wondered if the cage was also made of a material that could contain something, like Tiavel… And if that’s right, there’s one more thing I can be sure of. The reason you couldn’t emit a flash from that bracelet just now! It’s because that bracelet was also made of the same material, and it had absorbed Aria’s light, which is why it could shoot a flash earlier!!”

“Ha… This is infuriating. You’re not even a researcher from the Revalud facility… What in the world is inside your head to deduce things so well…?”

As Stein gasped, sweating profusely as if all my predictions were correct, I became certain. That there was something in this facility even stronger than Tiavel, capable of containing power. And that Stein had used it to create weapons and cages. And… with that restraint just now, Stein’s bracelet now contained…

“This won’t do. You’re too talented. While your brain seems worth studying… leaving you alone is too dangerous…!!”

“Huh…?! Ze… Zeke! That power coming from the bracelet… that’s…!!”

“Damn it… As expected, it’s because of that contact just now…”

“This magic you just used… you said it was a friend’s power? Good. It seems quite strong, so I’ll use it too.”

As Stein emitted light from his left arm and dark power from his right, I realized that he had absorbed some of my magic through the contact we just had. What kind of substance is it that it absorbs power just by touching it?! No… It can’t be omnipotent. There must be conditions. It’s too early to think it’s omnipotent just from this… There must be a weakness… Convinced that Stein also had a weakness, I slowly held up my Trahan and spoke to the experimental subject girl behind me.

“You, quickly hide somewhere. Leave Stein to me…!!”

“But will you be okay…? Right now, Stein also has a strong body like Omega…”

“It’s fine, just go! You finally got out of that cage, you don’t want to be trapped again, do you?!!”

At my shout to hide quickly, the experimental subject girl hesitated but finally decided to trust me and hastily ran off somewhere. While I confronted Stein, who had absorbed a part of my power, Aria continued to deflect Omega’s punches by swinging her staff. However, moving recklessly could lead to being hit by Omega’s punches, so Aria was struggling as much as I was. But then, the moment Omega was distracted by Aria, Dio V Runner aimed his flamethrower at Omega and said:

“I’ve been waiting for this moment. Black Orb!!!”

“….!! Gwaaaahhh!!!”

Dio V Runner, saying he had been waiting for this moment, unleashed intense black flames from his flamethrower. Omega, who had lost his balance due to his arm being deflected by Aria’s counterattack, couldn’t dodge as before and was engulfed in Dio V Runner’s flames, beginning to shriek. Unlike Aria, who was unharmed, Dio V Runner, feeling as if his ears would tear from Omega’s shriek, flew to Aria’s side and covered his ears with both hands, flustered.

“Ugh…! As expected, because of his large size, his scream is quite loud too…! But with this, that guy too…”

“….!! Earlier, that man named Stein also survived after being hit by Zeke-nim’s flames!! That means…”

“…. No way… My black flames, even more powerful than Zeke’s fire…!!!”

When Aria recalled that Stein had survived her flames just now and considered that the flames might not affect Omega either, Dio V Runner felt a chilling sensation and turned his head towards Omega. Then, seeing Omega shrieking and shaking off the fire with his hands, Dio V Runner hastily loaded a new orb into his flamethrower and said:

“That crazy bastard…!! He took a direct hit from the Black Orb’s flames and he’s fine?! Is that guy the same as *him*?!”

“I don’t know who *he* is, but what’s certain is that most attacks won’t work on him. Phew… In that case… Oh, Omnipotent One in the heavens. Your servant implores you to use your power in this way… Drive out the evil that leads the world to ruin with your strength!!”

“Damn it… If regular flames don’t work… then I’ll drown him in fire bullets…!!! Black Shooting Orb!!”

As Aria began to chant her prayer, several lumps of light began to form around her. Dio V Runner, expecting Aria to launch a powerful attack, matched her offense by firing intense black fireballs from his flamethrower. Aria, too, launched powerful beams from eight lumps of light, attacking Omega. Omega took a direct hit from both their attacks and began to shriek. However, Omega only shrieked, without even a deep wound appearing on him, greatly astonishing Dio V Runner.

“Uwoooohhhh!!!”

‘….!! No way…!! He’s enduring Aria’s attack, which has transformed into the radiance of a Sacred Ring, and even the power of my Black Orb!!! What kind of creature is this!!!’

“We need stronger abilities, Dio V Runner!! We need to push with something more powerful!!”

“I know that well, Aria!! But if even attacks like these don’t work…”

“No!! Look closely, Dio V Runner!! Omega is feeling pain from our attacks right now!!”

“What?…!!”

When Aria said Omega was feeling pain from their attacks, Dio V Runner examined Omega closely as she suggested. Then, as Aria had said, he saw that Omega was merely shrieking, unable to advance, as he blocked their attacks, and Dio V Runner realized that their attacks were indeed having some effect.

“Our attacks definitely seem to be having some effect… But if we use a more powerful technique than this, Zeke and the experimental subject girl might get hurt!! Is that okay, Aria?!”

“…!! Th… That’s…!!”

At Dio V Runner’s words that I might get caught in the crossfire if they used a powerful technique, Aria flinched and became greatly flustered. And at that moment, Aria’s concentration wavered, causing the beam’s power to weaken slightly. Omega didn’t miss the opening and threw a punch towards Aria and Dio V Runner. Dio V Runner hastily pushed Aria away, then increased the flame output from his shoes and moved away from the spot himself. Omega’s punch thus sliced through the air and made a large dent in the management room wall. Dio V Runner, having barely escaped Omega’s punch, caught his breath and said:

“Phew… I almost ended up like that wall… By the way, this place… Was it really built to experiment even on a creature of that size? To be fine after taking a punch from that giant…”

“Is this the time for such exclamations?! If we don’t deal with that thing quickly, Zeke-nim will be in danger!!”

“Damn it… Not only is it huge, it’s sturdy, agile, and possesses immense strength… Plus, we’re currently holding back our power because others might get caught in the crossfire… This is quite a tricky situation…”

Dio V Runner, having assessed Omega’s excellent physical abilities and their current predicament, realized that the situation was very tricky and difficult to overcome, and began to ponder what to do. Just then, Omega suddenly opened its mouth wide in their direction, and when a light appeared inside Omega’s mouth, Dio V Runner flinched and was flustered.

“Hey… hey hey hey… Is this for real…? That giant isn’t just physically strong, is it…?”

“Oh no…!! How dare it, what if Zeke-nim gets caught in this too!!!”

“Kwooooaahhh!!!”

The moment Dio V Runner and Aria, who had noticed something, were greatly astonished, intense flames spewed from Omega’s mouth towards them. Aria hastily spread her arms and deployed a curtain of light in front of her, blocking Omega’s flames. However, Omega didn’t stop and continued to blast flames at Aria, who began to pour all her strength into maintaining the curtain.

“Ugh… Uuugh…!! A-Are you just going to watch, Dio V Runner…!!!”

“Oh, damn it…!! He’s even shooting flames, has he gone mad!!! Flame Orb!!”

When Aria desperately called for his help, Dio V Runner snapped back, loaded an orb into his flamethrower, and flew to Omega’s side. He then unleashed powerful flames towards Omega. As the flames on its side began to burn it, Omega hastily stopped blasting fire at Aria and swung a punch at Dio V Runner. Dio V Runner rapidly descended, dodging Omega’s punch, then switched to a new orb, aimed his flamethrower at Omega, and shouted:

“Damn it!! Can it endure all fire?! And if it has more unknown techniques like that flame blast just now… If this continues, we’ll be pushed back, Aria!!”

“We will absolutely not be pushed back!! How dare such a giant obstruct Zeke-nim’s path!! It’s too insolent!! Oh, Omnipotent One in the heavens!! Grant me the power to judge the sinner!!!”

As Dio V Runner shouted that they might be pushed back if this continued, Aria declared that they would absolutely not be pushed back, held her staff upright towards Omega, and chanted a prayer. Then, a powerful beam spewed from the staff towards Omega, and Omega took a direct hit from Aria’s beam, beginning to shriek.

“Kweoooooohhh!!!”

‘I’ve faced many creatures like this before… but this is indoors…!! If this facility collapses from our attacks, we might all end up buried in the ground…!!’

“Alright…!! How about you fall now!!! That’s enough…!!”

The moment Dio V Runner was worrying that the facility might collapse from their attacks and bury them, Omega shrieked from her attack, and Aria shouted at Omega to fall quickly. Just then, Omega, having endured Aria’s attack to some extent, threw a punch towards Aria. Aria, unable to dodge the punch in time, was hit by Omega’s fist and sent flying straight into the wall.

“Kyaaaaahk!!”

“That crazy bastard…!! No… Calm down. Aria will be fine… Phew… Weakness… There has to be a weakness… No living creature is truly invincible… That giant must have a weakness somewhere…!!”

“Kweooooaahhh!!”

Dio V Runner, who had been greatly flustered seeing Aria fly, soon calmed himself, saying Aria would be fine, and tried to identify Omega’s weakness. However, as Omega was about to throw a punch at him, Dio V Runner realized he had no time to think, ascended to dodge Omega’s punch, and thought, sweating profusely.

“Kweoooooahhh!!!”

‘Damn it…!! What… What should I do…!! What should I do!!’

“Th… This damned creature!!! To humiliate Zeke-nim again in front of him!! I will never forgive this!!! Oh, Omnipotent One in the heavens!! Grant me the power to judge the sinner once more!!”

The moment Omega was flailing its hands to catch the flying Dio V Runner, Aria, who had regained consciousness, began to rage like fire, held her staff upright, and launched a beam towards Omega’s face. Just then, Omega hastily blocked Aria’s beam with its arm. Seeing this, Dio V Runner flinched in surprise and flew to Aria’s side, thinking:

‘Just now… Just now, it definitely… blocked it…! It definitely blocked Aria’s attack! Omega, who until just now had been blocking our attacks with its entire body!!’

“That… That creature really…!! Oh, Omnipotent One in the heavens…”

“Wait, Aria!! Calm down and listen to me!!”

“….?”

The moment Aria, furious after seeing Omega block her attack, was about to chant her prayer again, Dio V Runner hastily flew to her side and stopped her. Aria, bewildered, looked at Dio V Runner and exclaimed:

“Don’t stop me, Dio V Runner!! No creature has humiliated Zeke-nim this much in front of him, other than Eli…”

“That’s not it, Aria! Didn’t you see it just now! Just now, Omega blocked your attack! Omega, who until just now had been taking our attacks directly!”

“What does that matter…!! Wait… then, no way… My attack just now flew towards its weakness, and Omega blocked it…?”

Aria, listening to Dio V Runner’s explanation, realized that her attack had coincidentally flown towards Omega’s weakness and was greatly flustered. Dio V Runner then nodded and explained, pointing a finger at Omega’s face.

“Yes. It seems there’s a weakness somewhere on that face. I don’t know what it is…”

“…!! Runner!! Get out of the way!!!”

“Why suddenly…!!!”

When Aria suddenly told him to get out of the way, Dio V Runner, flustered, looked closely at Omega. Then, as light began to leak from Omega’s mouth again, Dio V Runner belatedly realized that Omega was about to blast fire and was greatly flustered. Seeing the situation where the two were unaware of Omega’s incoming flame blast while searching for its weakness, I was startled and shouted at them:

“Dodge!!! Aria!!! Mr. Runner!!!”

“It seems too late to dodge. The match is already decided, explorer. Those two…?!”

Stein told me Omega had won, believing the two wouldn’t be able to dodge Omega’s flames. Just then, a giant claw suddenly descended rapidly from the ceiling and grabbed Omega by the neck. With its neck suddenly seized, Omega couldn’t fully unleash its flames and began to struggle. What in the world is that claw…?

(Special Chapter) What If -#5

[It’s Chapter 30! So, another special chapter!]

1. What if Zeke appeared when Aria was getting bored because of Tiavel in Chapter 123?

‘Why is he so angry?! I provoked him a lot, but he always retaliated, so why is he suddenly so mad?!’

“Uwaaaaaaah!!”

As the dolls kept approaching relentlessly, Aria began to shriek. At that moment, dolls holding bows drew their bowstrings, aiming arrows at Aria from the second-floor railing. Hearing the sound of bowstrings being drawn towards her, Aria immediately stepped on the roof of a house-shaped model and leaped onto the second-floor railing. Just then…

“It seems like lights have been flashing randomly from this tent for a while now… Aria? Are you in here?”

“…!! Z-Zeke-nim?!”

“Huh…?”

The moment she was sweeping away the dolls on the second-floor railing, Zeke’s voice suddenly came from somewhere. Aria, greatly flustered, turned her head towards the sound. When my eyes fell upon the scene inside the tent, utterly dumbfounded and frozen in place, Aria was greatly astonished that I had actually come here, and stammered out an explanation to me.

“Ah… T-that… Z-Zeke-nim. T-this situation is…”

“T-that man must be your weakness, Saintess?! Dolls, capture that man… Huh?”

The moment a child, who appeared to be a puppeteer, was about to command the dolls to capture me, I summoned Trahan, turned my body, and released magic from my hand to suppress the dolls. When I cut them down with Trahan, the puppeteer was greatly flustered. At that moment, Aria, who was on the second-floor railing, leaped and landed next to me. Understanding what was happening, I smiled, stroked Aria’s head, and said,

“You were trying to handle everything by yourself so I wouldn’t have to struggle, weren’t you?”

“Zeke-nim… I’m sorr—”

“No. It’s enough that you’re safe. So, from now on, let’s solve this together, Aria.”

“…!! Hehehe… Yes, Zeke-nim…!!”

“Uh… Ugh…?”

The puppeteer thought something had gone terribly wrong. Thus, Aria and I joined forces to destroy all the dolls, and afterwards, Aria returned Tiavel to normal.

[If Zeke had come, it would have been even more chaotic.]

2. What if the camera Aria found in Chapter 127 was broken?

“You can see what’s in front through the screen on the back. And… *sigh*… if you press the button…”

“If I press the button…?”

“… Hmm? Can you give it to me for a moment, Aria?”

“Ah, yes.”

Dio V Runner, who was pressing the button on the top of the device, felt something strange and took the camera from Aria. He then pressed the button several times, began examining the camera, and upon discovering something, Dio V Runner sighed heavily and returned the camera to Aria, saying,

“Whew… Just as I thought…”

“Is there a problem?”

“There is a problem. This camera… it’s broken. It seems to have taken a big shock, so the button is completely messed up. In short, it’s unusable.”

“What?!”

When Dio V Runner explained that the camera’s button was broken and it was unusable, Aria was greatly flustered. Then Dio V Runner slowly approached me, placed a hand on my shoulder, and whispered to me.

“It’s a good thing, Zeke. If that thing had worked, you would have been in the most trouble.”

“Huh…? What do you mean by that…? Aria, what are you doing over there?”

“Hmm?… Oh…?!”

When Dio V Runner said it was fortunate that the camera was broken, claiming I would have been in the most trouble if it had worked, I was flustered, unable to understand what he meant. Then, noticing something, I asked Aria what she was doing. Dio V Runner turned his head towards Aria, and when he saw Aria pulling the button as if trying to rip it out with force, Dio V Runner’s face suddenly went pale. And at that moment, as the button slowly came up with her strength, Aria smiled brightly and said to Dio V Runner,

“Doesn’t this mean it’s fixed, Dio V Runner?!”

“… You’re the only one who would pull it out with force… I’m sorry, Zeke…”

And so, miraculously, the camera was fixed by Aria’s strength, and I finally understood why Dio V Runner had said it was fortunate that the camera was broken.

[It was said to be a meaningless struggle.]

3. What if time flowed in reverse in Crentid World and the Levalud facility, unlike normal, in Chapter 132?

“I told you not to come back!!”

Yuria left a crystal mark on the ground, saying she would also repay me, and then quickly flew up into the sky. Aria screamed at Yuria not to come back. Well… I don’t mind having more people, but it would definitely be inconvenient for Aria…

“Tch… that Snow Maiden won’t really come back, will she?”

“No way… *Whew*… Yuria said that time here and time outside flow differently, didn’t she? Then she’ll come back if we wait a little…”

“Hmph! If she doesn’t come back within an hour, I’ll hit her head with this fist! How dare she disturb Zeke-nim’s and my private time… We really should have dealt with that Snow Maiden in Mount Ter…!!”

“Hey, don’t do that…”

Aria, who was thoroughly displeased with Yuria, expressed great regret for not having dealt with Yuria in Mount Ter. I was greatly flustered and tried to stop Aria. *Whew*… Yuria, please come quickly… Otherwise, you’ll be in big trouble… So, I waited there with Aria, hoping Yuria would return soon. But a day passed… then two days… and when Yuria still didn’t return after three days, I broke out in a cold sweat and frantically hid somewhere. And at that moment…

“I’m back! Time passed quickly, so how many—?!”

“Yuria… you didn’t come back even after 80 hours… Are you ready for 80 hits…?”

“Uh… Ughhhhhh?! W-what?! That much time passed here?!”

“Prepare yourself…!!”

“W-wait!! Zekeeee!!!”

Yuria, realizing that Aria and I had waited for her for a long time, frantically looked for me, but I was hiding in the kitchen, terrified after seeing Aria suppressing her rage all that time. I’m sorry… Yuria…

[No one… can stop Aria…]

4. What if Aria broke the cage holding XMC-034 in Chapter 137?

“…!! Q-quickly, step back!!”

“O-okay!!”

If Aria broke the bars, the girl could get caught in it, so I urgently shouted for the girl to step back. The girl then crawled backward and quickly moved away. As soon as she was clear, Aria immediately swung her staff and struck the bars. At Aria’s staff, the bars began to break apart as if they were made of wood. The experimental girl, seeing the cage break, was greatly astonished. She emerged from the cage and stammered, asking,

“H-how… how did you break it…?!”

“Huh? I just… swung it and broke it? By the way, this cage is incredibly weak. To tear apart like paper…! No, that’s not it! It’s because I’m filled with love for Zeke-nim that I was able to tear it!”

“Hahaha… Right… It’s probably easier to think that way, Aria. Come on, let’s go outside quickly. It’s dangerous to stay here.”

“Ah…! Yes! Thank you, Zeke! And Aria!!”

As the experimental girl exited the cage, I left with Aria and the experimental girl. Meanwhile, a researcher who had been observing the entire situation was greatly astonished that Aria had torn the cage like paper, and remained frozen, standing up from his chair.

‘What is this…? Surely, that cage was made of *that* material, so it shouldn’t even budge from such an attack…!! That… that Saintess, what is she?! She’s shown a talent far surpassing all existing knowledge… If so… then my chances of defeating that Saintess are… zero?!’

The researcher, aghast that Aria had effortlessly destroyed the cage contrary to his expectations, seemed to lose all strength in his body, slumping into his chair and going limp.

[Stein thought. Despair, in the form of Aria, was now heading for this place.]

5. What if Renbu’s ability didn’t work on Yuria in Chapter 147?

“Uhuhuhu… Good. It seems my divine power worked well… Now then…”

“…??”

“… Huh?”

Yuria, into whom Renbu’s divine power had flowed through her forehead and into every part of her soul, seemed to lose consciousness, her eyes vacant and her head bowed low. Renbu then annihilated all the chains binding Yuria and discovered Tiavel, who had been hiding behind a box, watching everything. But when Tiavel tilted her head, seeing something, Renbu felt something strange and turned her head towards Yuria. Just then.

“This… it seems your ability doesn’t work on me? It seems your ability didn’t affect me because my heart was frozen before…”

“…?! W-wait?!”

As Renbu’s ability had no effect on her, Yuria, seizing the moment of Renbu’s great astonishment, quickly released cold air from her hand, making the surroundings extremely cold. Renbu began to shiver, seemingly feeling the extreme cold. Recognizing that Renbu’s mind was faltering due to the cold, Yuria immediately snatched Renbu with one hand and froze her wings. Renbu then began to scream, feeling pain from the pressure and extreme cold emanating from Yuria’s hand.

“Kugh… Kwaaaaaah!! J-just kill me… Kill me…!!!”

“… What are you talking about? Would I carelessly kill a life in front of a child? Hmm… I remember Zeke had a hard time persuading me before… Shall we try to solve this with a conversation?”

“W-what…? What do you mean by that…?”

“Hmm… Well, it’s like…”

Afterwards, Yuria continued to persuade Renbu. And finally, Yuria’s persuasion seemed to work, as Renbu changed her mind, and Renbu and Yuria reportedly faced the attacking Saintesses and priests together.

[If Renbu hadn’t used that ability, she would have survived.]