Songs in the Void

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, True Orcus Great Labyrinth, 1st Floor. 

While Tatsuo was chewing the meat of the Lightning Wolf, Sumire quickly went to get a cup of Ambrosia from the basin where it was being collected. Returning quickly, she watched him nervously as he waited for the changes to begin. However, after ten minutes, Tatsuo did not start writhing in pain like she had. 

"Um... Is everything okay?" Sumire asked tentatively. 

"Yeah... I think so?" Tatsuo replied, his answer more of a question than a statement. 

"How do you feel?" Sumire asked nervously. 

"Fine..." Tatsuo replied in an uncertain tone. "But I don't know why." 

"Maybe... You didn't eat enough?" Sumire asked. "I mean, you're a lot bigger than I am." 

"Maybe?" Tatsuo replied. "I guess I'll try eating some more, then." 

With that said, Tatsuo cut into the meat again before eating another forkful. However, after another ten minutes, nothing had happened. So, he just continued to eat until he was full. Still, nothing happened in the end. 

"What's going on?" Sumire asked in a tone mixed with both confusion and concern. 

"No clue." Tatsuo replied as he put down his fork and knife. "But nothing's happening. If I had to guess, maybe because I have the [Universal Energy Veins], I'm not really a human in this world?" 

The further he got into his hypothesis; the more unsure Tatsuo's tone became. In the end, he could only shake his head before standing up with his plate. 

"Anyway, we can think about that later." Tatsuo said while turning to walk towards the bathroom area to wash his plate. "I'll wash this before getting back to working on the magic circle." 

"You don't have to do that." Sumire said as she hurried to stand up, as well. "Leave the dishes to me." 

"Well, I'm actually going to take a shower, too." Tatsuo replied with a grin. "And I just realized that I hadn't set up anywhere to just wash dishes or hands. So, I'll take care of it while I'm in the shower." 

"Oh… Okay." Sumire replied as she stopped in her tracks. 

"Then again, you can join me, if you really wanna do the dishes that badly." Tatsuo said as he turned his head back while winking playfully. 

Once again, Sumire blushed furiously while imagining something not suitable for children. However, because of her imagination, she was unable to respond to Tatsuo. Tatsuo, on the other hand, only shook his head as he turned back and closed the curtains around the bathroom area. 

By the time Sumire snapped back to her senses, Tatsuo was already undressed and in the shower. So, she just gave up. 

'Wait… What am I thinking?' Sumire asked herself. 'What do I mean I'll give up? He's only fifteen, and I'm not a pedo. Calm down, Minami Violet Sumire… Calm down.' 

Like that, time in the labyrinth passed quickly. After Tatsuo's shower, he continued to work on his magic circle. Meanwhile, Sumire sat nearby and enjoyed the time alone with him. 

"Alright, I'm gonna call it for the night." Tatsuo said. "I'll start making our new weapons tomorrow." 

"Okay." Sumire replied with a nod. 

With that, the two went into the bedroom area before climbing into the two beds Tatsuo created. And because of everything that happened during the day, they both fell asleep rather quickly. However, because he fell asleep so quickly, Tatsuo missed a [Notification] from the system. 

{[Notifications] 

Due to the introduction of certain materials to the host's physique, bloodline awakening will begin. 

Please Wait…} 

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Heiligh Kingdom, Horaud. 

While Tatsuo and Sumire spent their time exploring the 1st Floor of the True Orcus Great Labyrinth, Meld and the knights led the rest of the students back towards the surface. And around the time Tatsuo and Sumire stopped what they were doing to eat the meat of the Lightning Wolf, they finally left the labyrinth. 

After registering that there was an accident and they lost three members of their group, Meld led the group back to their hotel, planning to return to the capital first thing in the morning. For now, however, the group would take the night to rest and get their emotions under control. 

Of course, out of all the returnees, James had the least emotional baggage to sort through. So, he decided to take a walk after everyone else retired to their rooms for the night. Then, after getting himself a drink, he leapt onto the roof of the inn and enjoyed the night's breeze. 

"*Sigh* I'm so jealous." James muttered after taking a swig from his bottle of alcohol. "Baby sitting these kids is so annoying. At least I'll still be able to keep in contact with Tatsuo and Sumire, though." 

As James spoke the last part, he pulled his smartphone out of his pants' pocket. Then, after unlocking it, he opened the [Dimensional Chat] app. 

Although they were unable to access the main chat while on a [Mission], Tatsuo, Sumire, and James figured out that they could still start smaller group chats with those in the same world. Then again, it made sense that they would not be able to chat with Alfonzo and Elicia, since their world's time should have been frozen while they were on this [Mission]. 

"Looks like Tatsuo and Sumire went to sleep already." James muttered to himself after reading the chat log from the mission chat, as they called it. "Well, I can't blame them. It's not like there's much to do at night in a world like this one." 

After reading Sumire's message that she and Tatsuo would be going to sleep for the night, James read back through the rest of the chat. Although there was no conversation to speak of, the log was more of a status update for James. He then added that he had made it back to the hotel to the chat before setting his phone next to him. 

At that moment, however, James noticed a figure leaving the hotel. And although he was not exactly close by, he could tell that it was the figure of a female student. 

"Hmm? I wonder who that is." James thought to himself as he picked up his smartphone. "According to what Tatsuo told me, Hayama should have met Nakamura after they finally made it out of the labyrinth tonight. But since Hayama is dead, that event shouldn't be happening." 

Curious to see who was sneaking out of the inn like himself, James silently jumped down from the inn's roof before following secretly. Though, if he had stopped to think about it, this would make him look like quite the pervert. But since he was a half-devil, even if it did, he would not let it bother him, as he was a being of sin in the first place. 

Eventually, James followed the female student to an open area. This area seemed to be a training ground for adventurers. And because of the time of day, there was no one here. 

Still keeping his traces hidden, James circled around the area to finally get a glimpse of the girl's face. When he did, he was unsurprised to find that it was Eri Nakamura. 

"*Sigh* Of course it's this nasty, two-faced bitch." James muttered to himself while watching Eri stomp around the training grounds. "If there was a way to do it without anyone suspecting something, I would have dropped her ass into that abyss, too." 

After muttering his discontent, James focused his senses to see if he could tell why Eri had come out here. And what he heard only made him smile bitterly. 

"Damn that foreign bastard." Eri growled angrily. "How dare he talk back to Kouki-Sama like that. He doesn't know his place. He needs to die. I want to kill him with my own hands. But why does he have to be so strong? He must be cheating! He's definitely cheating! No one should be stronger than Kouki-Sama!" 

Hearing Eri's insane rambling, James could only shake his head. He had heard her backstory from Tatsuo over the two weeks of training, and he could sympathize with er. But her obsession was a bit too much. 

"I'm just glad this crazy bitch isn't clinging onto me like that." James muttered. "If she was, one of my girls would have probably killed her without caring if she deserved it or not. Especially Master." 

James involuntarily shuddered just thinking about what Scáthach would do to Eri to either cure her of her obsession or get rid of her out right. 

Meanwhile, Eri finally calmed down after getting her tantrum out of the way. 

"Either way, this doesn't change anything." Erri said with a manic smile on her face. "it won't be long before Shirasaki starts to distance herself from Kouki-Sama. It's obvious to everyone that she loves Nagumo. Though I couldn't imagine why. But that doesn't matter. As long as she gets away from my Kouki-Sama, I won't have to kill her." 

The malicious smile Eri wore when she mentioned killing Kaori would have made most of her classmates shudder in fear, while the few who did not would be completely bewildered by her change in attitude. 

"And when Shirasaki parts from Kouki-Sama, Yaegashi will probably leave as well. And that will crush him." Eri continued. "then, I'll be there to console him. In the process, I'll be able to distance him from Sakagami, as well. It's just unfortunate that I'll probably have to get rid of Suzu. But she'll definitely be in the way of Kouki-Sama and I's lovey-dovey alone time." 

"Yeah, this bitch is disgusting." James said quietly with a disdainful glint in his eyes. "She talks about killing her best friend so casually that it makes me sick. Maybe I should kill her right now." 

Although he really wanted to follow up on that idea, James eventually shook his head. Unfortunately, Eri was essential for making the plot move in this world. For example, Tatsuo believed that it was because of Eri that the female demon knew where to find the Hero Party on the 91st Floor of the Orcus Great Labyrinth in the canon version of events. 

In the end, James only watched Eri as she chittered to herself excitedly until she finally got all her crazy out of her system for the moment. Then, he followed her back to the inn just as quietly as he followed her out to the training ground before returning to his room, as well. 

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, True Orcus Great Labyrinth, 1st Floor. 

{[Notification] 

Bloodline awakening complete. Physical changes now underway. 

Please check [Status] for details.} 

At that moment, Tatsuo's eyes snapped open. Then, his mouth opened wide in a silent scream of agony. As the notification mentioned, Tatsuo's body was undergoing changes thanks to his secret racial awakening. And everything was changing from the inside out. 

The first thing that happened was Tatsuo's heart stopped pumping human blood. Instead, it pumped a large amount of new blood which quickly mixed with the blood that was already flowing through his veins. And as the new mixture reached every part of his body, it began breaking down and recreating everything it touched…. Muscles, bones, inner organs, skin… everything. 

The pain Tatsuo was experiencing was like nothing he had ever felt before. Then again, that should be expected from having one's body rebuilt from the ground up. However, the pain did not come without benefits, as his muscle strength, bone density, and senses were growing exponentially. 

Unfortunately, these changes also brought with them some glaring changes to his outer appearance. 

The first of these changes being that the tint of purple in his otherwise black hair became more pronounced. As a result, instead of black hair with a tint of purple, Tatsuo's hair turned dark purple. A purple so dark that it seemed black, but a shade of purple none the less. 

Next, Tatsuo's hands, wrists, forearms, feet, ankles, and shins began sprouting purple scales. On top of that, the tips of his fingers and toes also sprouted black claws in place of nails. The same scales also appeared on Tatsuo's forehead and the sides of his face. 

Lastly, Tatsuo's purple irises expanded, replacing the whites of his eyes while his pupils elongated into slits. 

*Roar~~~~~~~~~!* 

Once all these changes were complete, Tatsuo finally found his voice again, as he released a roar that rattled the entire 1st Floor of the labyrinth. Naturally, this roar started and terrified all the magic beasts on the floor, causing them to all lie on the ground with their heads lowered. 

However, the magic beasts were not the only ones alarmed by the roar, as Sumire, who was sleeping in the same space, was jolted awake. On instinct, Sumire then grabbed her shield and spear, which were placed right next to her bed and leapt to her feet. 

"Tatsuo-Kun, what was that?" Sumire asked while she scanned the shelter for any anomalies. 

*Growl!* 

Instead of a response, Sumire only heard the sound of a beasts growl from where Tatsuo's bed was located. And her expression paled immediately. 

Expecting the worst, Sumire quickly turned towards Tatsuo's bed, ready to attack whatever it was that was making those beastly growls. However, when she finally saw Tatsuo's bed, she froze completely, not understanding what she was seeing for a moment. 

Eventually, Sumire recognized Tatsuo's facial features. Though, the purple scales on his face and arms left her completely dumbfounded. 

"Tatsuo-Kun… is that you?" Sumire asked hesitantly. 

However, instead of replying, Tatsuo, with a glint in his eyes that Sumire could not immediately identify, leapt off his bed, looking to pounce on her.