Songs in the Void

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, True Orcus Great Labyrinth, 50th Floor.

"I really don't think we should go in there." Sumire said, acting as if she were wary of the glowing red eyes that cut through the darkness of the previously sealed room. "I mean, this room was sealed for a reason, right?"

'*Sigh* She's really laying it on thick, isn't she?' Tatsuo thought to himself while continuing to make his way into the dark room. 'I just hope those two don't fight when we get going. Then again, Sumire-San might be right. I mean, there would be no way for Ehit to take over her body later on if we left her sealed here.'

Glancing at Sumire once more, Tatsuo eventually shook away his thoughts. Instead, he approached the owner of the glowing red eyes, a girl seeming to have just entered her teenage years with long, messy blonde hair that covered most of her face. However, that was all Tetsuo and Sumire could see of her. And the reason for that was the fact that she was sealed in a stone with only her head and neck sticking out of it.

"Please... Help me..." The girl said in a hoarse, fatigued voice when she realized that Tatsuo and Sumire were not leaving.

"Give us a reason." Tatsuo replied. He then pointed at Sumire as he continued. "Like she said, you had to have been sealed here for a reason. And letting you out really sounds like it could be a bad idea."

Hearing that, Sumire looked up at Tatsuo, a slight frown on her face as she did so.

'What's that look for?' Tatsuo thought to himself after glancing at Sumire. 'She just said the exact same thing. Now she seems upset that I'd say it, too. I swear, I'm really damned if I do and damned if I don't.'

Tatsuo's thoughts were right. Although Sumire did not want another girl that would probably end up attached to Tatsuo, to join their party. At the same time, after seeing the situation the vampire princess was in, she could not help wanting to free her.

Meanwhile, the blonde vampire princess, looked at Tatsuo with confusion in her eyes. She had hypothesized many things that the two in front of her might say. But "give us a reason," was not on her list.

"*Sigh* Tell us how you got here." Tatsuo said, his tone softening after seeing the girl's confusion. "Why were you sealed here? And just to let you know, I'll be able to tell if you lie."

"I was betrayed…" The girl said, hanging her head as she spoke.

Hearing that, although Tatsuo had already explained this girl's circumstances to her, Sumire's frown deepened. Especially since they had been betrayed by a member of their own party... Well, Tatsuo had been betrayed, and she jumped off a bridge to follow him to what should have been his death.

'When I think about it like that, I sound crazy if you don't have the proper context.' Sumire thought to herself.

"And how long have you been here?" Tatsuo asked.

In response, the girl tilted her head in contemplation. That action, coupled with her doll like face that was revealed when her hair fell to one side was considerably cute.

"She's so pretty." Sumire whispered subconsciously.

The girl's eyes flicked in Sumire's direction for a moment after hearing her whispers. However, she did not take the time to acknowledge her words. Instead, she continued to try and figure out how long she had been sealed.

"Three... hundred... years?" The girl replied after nearly a minute of contemplation. "I think..."

"How are you still alive?" Sumire asked, despite already knowing the answer thanks to Tatsuo's retelling the storyline from this world.

"Vampire..." The girl replied as if that explained everything.

And in most cases, it would have. However, without any blood to drink for so long, even a vampire would meet its end. Yet, other than her hair seeming a bit dry and her lips being slightly chapped, this girl seemed fine.

Seeing the expressions of disbelief on Tatsuo's and Sumire's faces, the girl realized that her explanation was not enough. So, she continued, hoping to supplement her previous explanation.

"Mutation, high-speed regeneration..." The girl continued. "Direct mana manipulation... Cannot Die... regenerate even if... decapitated."

"This chick is basically the female, vampire version of Deadpool." Tatsuo muttered.

Sumire quickly nodded in agreement.

"Dead... pool?" The girl asked while tilting her head to the other side.

"Don't worry about it." Tatsuo replied while waving his hand dismissively. "I've got some other questions, but we should probably get you out of that stone block first."

With that, Tatsuo, with Sumire's hand still held in his left hand, stepped forward. Then, when he was within an arm's length from the stone block and the girl, he raised his free right hand and placed it on the stone just above the girl's head.

The girl stared directly into Tatsuo's eyes the whole time. And when he was close enough to the stone, she finally realized how handsome he was. At the same time, he looked down and smiled, causing her to blush slightly. Though, she did not avert her gaze, nor did her expression change in the slightest.

*Zap!*

While maintaining eye contact with the vampire princess, Tatsuo activated his [Alchemy]. Dark purple arcs of lightning spreading over the block of stone imprisoning the girl. As the [Alchemy] did its job to change the composition of the stone, the stone slowly opened around the girl.

Eventually, the girl's emaciated body was revealed with the stone opened up enough. As a result, with the support gone, the girl fell towards the floor. However, before she could fall too far, an arm wrapped around her.

"Even if you've got super-regeneration, I doubt falling to the floor would feel too good, right?" Tatsuo asked as he pulled the girl to his chest.

Yet, the girl did not respond. Instead, she only continued to stare at Tatsuo unblinkingly.

"Um... If you keep staring like that, I'm gonna blush." Tatsuo said, though there was no evidence that he was embarrassed in the slightest.

After Tatsuo's attempt at humor, the room fell into silence with the girl and Tatsuo continuing to stare into each other's eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sumire, who was clearly jealous of the long eye contact, asked as she grasped the girl's hand to shift her attention.

And that did the job, as the girl finally broke eye contact with Tatsuo to turn her emotionless gaze in Sumire's direction. However, despite the fact that her gaze was called emotionless, the emotion in her eyes was easy to read.

Annoyance.

At the same time, Tatsuo wrapped his arm around Sumire's waist, something that the girl noticed, as well. That caused the girl's eyebrows to rise slightly. Even worse was the fact that Sumire smiled smugly, showing an expression of superiority as the two maintained eye contact.

*Boom!*

Before the confrontation could continue, however, Tatsuo leapt away from where he stood with the two girls in his arms. And just as he landed between where he stood and the doors, a large creature fell from above. And this creature would have more than likely crushed all three of them had Tatsuo not been on guard.

In actuality, Sumire was also aware of the monster that fell from above. However, she was too concerned with keeping the new girl from getting ideas about her man. But since things had come to this, she knew that she would have to deal with setting up the pecking order in the future.

"Looks like whoever sealed you here really didn't want you to leave." Tatsuo said as he looked at the monster that fell from the ceiling. "There were already two guardians outside the door. And there's an even stronger one in here with you."

Reaching that point, Tatsuo shifted his gaze to the two ladies in his arms.

"Anyway, you two can get to know each other later." Tatsuo said with a smile. "For now, let's take care of this thing first."

With Tatsuo's words, both Sumire and the girl turned away from each other and looked at the monster that interrupted their staring contest. What they saw was a large, nearly 10' tall, scorpion-monster with a grey, stone-like carapace and two tails. And judging from the liquid they could see leaking from the two tails' tips, it was more than likely highly venomous. 

"Yeah, I guess this is a little more important." Sumire said in an annoyed tone. "But... We'll definitely have to... talk... later."

As she spoke, Sumire separated herself from Tatsuo's embrace. Not before pecking him on the cheek first, though. Meanwhile, the girl's eyebrows twitched when she saw that. Yet, she did not say anything about it.

At the same time, while adjusting the girl in his arm, Tatsuo drew one of his pistols from the holster strapped to his thigh.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

The sound of Tatsuo firing a barrage of railgun shots was the signal for the beginning of the battle. At the same time, Sumire, using [Flicker], appeared in an inverted position about 10' above the top of the scorpion-monster.

*Dong!* *Dong!* *Dong!* *Dong!* *Dong!*

At the same time, the five bullets Tatsuo fired impacted the carapace covering the scorpion monster's head. Unfortunately, just like in the canon version of this event, the bullets did next to no damage to the monster.

However, unlike in the canon, the scorpion-monster was pushed backwards. And that was thanks to the fact that Tatsuo had a lot more [Energy] than Hajime did at the same point. Meaning, he could empower his pistols to a much greater degree.

Of course, the fact that the monster was pushed back affected Sumire's plan of attack, as well. However, it was not necessarily a bad thing.

When Sumire appeared over the monster, she was aiming to strike it in the middle of its back. But because it was forced to take a few steps backwards, Sumire's attack point changed.

As soon as Sumire reappeared over the scorpion-monster, she used [Air Walk] to kick off the air above her. At the same time, she added a spin to her jump. However, that was not the end of her assault, as she cast [Air Claw] on the tip of her spear. Meaning, with the spin she added to her jump, she looked like a drill shooting down at the scorpion-monster's head.

*Screech~~~~~~~!*

Unfortunately, although the [Air Claw] was able to drill into the scorpion's carapace, the Taur Metal spearhead was forced a stop shortly after it reached that same carapace.

"This stuff really is strong." Sumire muttered as she pulled her shield off her back.

*Clang!*

An instant later, Sumire was sent flying when one of the scorpion's tails slammed into her shield.

"I guess Tatsuo-Kun was right." Sumire muttered as she watched the scorpion preparing to chase after her through the hole in the shield that was made when she blocked the tail attack.

However, before the scorpion started moving, Sumire saw Tatsuo appear above it with the girl still cradled in his arm. Then, she saw a large amount of the tar they encountered on the 3rd Floor fall onto the monster before Tatsuo disappeared once again.

A moment later, Tatsuo appeared next to Sumire and snatched her out of the air before [Blinking] away, narrowly avoiding the charging scorpion-monster.

"Okay." Tatsuo muttered. "Now we just need to light that thing up from a distance. The tar should take care of the rest."

"I can... do that..." The girl said quietly. "Use magic."

"Do you have enough energy to do that?" Tatsuo asked curiously.

"No... not now..." The girl replied. "Can get... though."

Hearing that, Sumire frowned, as she knew what was coming next. However, she did not stop the girl. Although she was certain she could make a spark hot enough to ignite the tar, there was no way she would be able to get far enough away from it before the flames blazed up.

Tatsuo, on the other hand, was excited to see the girl use her magic. And the reason for that was simple. Ever since he got the [Ability], [The End], he had not been able to copy anything useful. Though, the increase to his martial arts that watching his mother spar was good. It was not what his otaku heart wanted.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Tatsuo asked while watching the scorpion turn in their direction.

In response, the girl smiled for the first time since they first saw her. Then, she reached up with her weak, thin hands to pull Tatsuo's collar away from his neck before licking his skin.

Feeling the girl's tongue on his neck, Tatsuo, as inexperienced as he was, could not help but shiver from the sensation. Meanwhile, Sumire looked at the girl with irritation. Yet, she did nothing to stop it.

A moment later, the girl opened her mouth wide, revealing a pair of fangs sticking out from her top row of teeth. Then, she bit down on Tatsuo's neck, sinking her fangs into it.

Immediately, the girl's eyes opened wide, before she narrowed them in contentment. And as she swallowed Tatsuo's blood, a muffled, pleasure-filled moan slipped out involuntarily as she started rubbing her thighs together.

Seeing the way the girl reacted to the taste of Tatsuo's blood, Sumire looked at her strangely.

'Is it really that good?' Sumire thought to herself while eyeing the other side of Tatsuo's neck.

A moment later, Sumire shook her head forcefully.

'What am I thinking?' Sumire asked herself. 'I'm not a vampire. *Sigh* Jealousy doesn't look good on me. But still, I won't lose to that girl.'

*Click!* *Click! *Click!*

While the girl drank Tatsuo's blood, the scorpion-monster finished turning around to face Tatsuo and the girls. And judging by the gleam in its eyes and the way it clicked its pincers together, it was clearly angered by not being able to kill its perceived prey.

So, it once again charged forward to stab, trample, or crush the enemies in front of it. However, just like last time, Tatsuo, with the girls in his arms, simply [Blinked] away.

This process repeated itself several times. All the while, the girl continued to suck Tatsuo's blood. And as she did, her frame filled out more and more. At the same time, her hair became more lustrous while her skin, unlike what was expected from a vampire, took on a rosy tint.

"Alright, I think you've had enough." Sumire said as she patted the girl on the shoulder. "We need to deal with this monster. Or did you forget?"

In response, the girl glared at Sumire with annoyance once again. However, her cheeks reddened in embarrassment, as she had completely forgotten about the monster while she was getting drunk from the taste of Tatsuo's blood.

Reluctantly, the girl pulled her fangs from Tatsuo's neck. Then, she carefully licked up any residue before turning her attention to the scorpion once again.

An instant later, the girl was covered in golden light, the color of her mana, as she raised her little hand towards the scorpion-monster.

"[Azure Blaze]." The girl said quietly.

With that, an orb of pale blue and white flames formed over the scorpion-monster. In fact, the orb was so large that were it to fall, it would completely engulf the scorpion. And the heat this orb of flames emitted was so hot that the tar that had been splattered all over the scorpion's back was set ablaze before the two were even close to coming in contact.

*Hiss!*

The high temperatures that suddenly appeared on its carapace caused the scorpion-monster to his in pain. It then tried everything it could to put out the flames. However, nothing it could do could put them out. Meanwhile, the flames the girl created over the scorpion fell towards it, as well.

"Well, if that doesn't kill it outright, it should end up soft enough for us to pierce it with no issue." Tatsuo said while watching the area around the scorpion burn.

"Yeah, but isn't that a bit much?" Sumire asked while fanning herself with her hands. "I mean, it's so hot in here now."

"Really?" Tatsuo asked in a genuinely surprised tone. "It's not hot at all to me. In fact, it feels really good."

"*Sigh* It's probably because of that change you went through." Sumire grumbled. "To think you had dragon blood hidden in your bloodline. I wonder where that came from."

"I'm not sure." Tatsuo replied. "But I'll have to ask my mom when I get back.'

Reaching that point, Tatsuo turned towards Sumire.

"I think you should come to my house some time." Tatsuo said with a smile. "I bet Mom would love to meet you."

Hearing that, Sumire grew visibly nervous. Even so, she nodded shyly.

Meanwhile, the girl watched them with annoyance in her tone. Then, to break up the atmosphere that was turning too pink for an atmosphere that did not involve her, she stroked Tatsuo's face in a way that was way too sensual and sultry for a girl with her appearance. And once Tatsuo's attention was pulled away from Sumire, she pointed at the scorpion, who despite being heavily damaged, was still struggling in the flames.

"Yeah, I guess that is the most important thing for us to worry about right now, isn't it?" Tatsuo said while nodding his head.

Tatsuo then put the girl down, which made her frown, as she only expected Tatsuo to let go of Sumire, then, he [Blinked] above the scorpion's head with both pistols drawn and sparking with dark purple electricity.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

Then, with two shots from each pistol, Tatsuo ended the scorpion's life, causing it to collapse to the ground with the flames still blazing on its corpse. Meanwhile, Tatsuo [Blinked] back to Sumire and the girl.

"Alright, now that the monster is dead, we can talk." Tatsuo said with a smile as he holstered his pistols.