Songs in the Void

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

After the battle with the scorpion-monster, Tatsuo made his way over to the monster's corpse and put a hand on it before stuffing it into his [Inventory]. Meanwhile, the vampire princess looked at that with wonder in her eyes.

"Where?" The vampire princess asked, not understanding how the monster's corpse disappeared like that.

"Oh, Tatsuo-Kun can manipulate space." Sumire explained with a smile. "So, he has a storage space created with is magic."

Hearing that, the vampire princess' eyes lit up. However, it was not because of the [Space Magic] that Sumire mentioned. Instead, it was because she finally heard Tatsuo's, the one who freed her from her prison's, name.

"Tatsuo… Tatsuo… Tatsuo…" The vampire princess muttered repeatedly, as if she was trying to imprint the name in her mind.

"Tch!" Sumire clicked her tongue after hearing the little vampire princess' muttering.

"Sumire-San, come here." Tatsuo said while inspecting the floor of the chamber.

Hearing that, Sumire glanced at the vampire princess with discontent one last time before walking to Tatsuo's side. The vampire princess, on the other hand, although her expression did not change, showed a bit of annoyance in her eyes when Tatsuo did not call for her to come over as well. Even so, she followed Sumire with small steps.

"What's up, Tatsuo-Kun?" Sumire asked while wrapping her arms around Tatsuo's left arm after arriving at his side.

"Give me your shield." Tatsuo said. "I'll put it away in my [Inventory]. With that whole in it, it wouldn't be useful anymore, anyway. Then, when we get back to the base on this floor, I'll make you a new one. And the ore making up that things shell would be the perfect material."

After reaching that point, Tatsuo turned to Sumire with a teasing smile.

Seeing Tatsuo's smile, Sumire pouted a bit. She knew he was teasing her about what she said the last time he offered to make a shield for her. Even so, she simply nodded her head in agreement as she pulled her shield off her back and handed it to Tatsuo.

A moment later, the vampire princess also arrived at Tatsuo's side before grabbing his free hand and looking up at him, her pretty red eyes focusing on his face intensely.

"What's up?" Tatsuo asked, turning his head to the other side when he felt the two small hands wrap around his.

"You… Tatsuo?" the vampire princess asked.

"Ah! That's right." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "I guess we haven't introduced ourselves yet, have we? Yeah, I'm Soramoto Tatsuo. My family name comes first thanks to where I'm from, by the way."

Hearing Tatsuo's introduction, although it was slight, the vampire princess' lips curled up at their ends.

"I'm Minami Violet Sumire. Sumire said while leaning around Tatsuo and breaking the vampire's line of sight. "It's nice to meet you, too. Just call me Sumire, though. Minami is my family name."

The vampire princess' eyes once again were filled with annoyance. Even so, because Sumire was also partially responsible for saving her, she nodded in reply while her eyes screamed: "Okay, I get it! Now, get out of the way!"

Correctly interpreting what the vampire princess was thinking, Sumire smiled victoriously. Then, she opened her mouth to speak once more.

"And Tatsuo-Kun is my boyfriend." Sumire said with her smile widening.

The vampire princess' eyes widened at that revelation. A moment later, however, they narrowed as she gritted her teeth. Still, she did not let go of Tatsuo's hand, gripping it tighter, instead.

Meanwhile, Tatsuo, caught between the two women, only smiled. Though the old him would have thought having two women fighting over him was flattering, he would have found himself annoyed by it rather quickly. And that was thanks to his distorted emotions. But now, he was starting to find it endearing, though he was unsure why.

"So, what's your name?" Tatsuo asked as he wrapped his arm around Sumire's waist and pulled her close to his side.

In response, Sumire, with a slight blush on her cheeks, wrapped her arms around Tatsuo's waist, as well, while throwing a smug grin in the vampire princess' direction.

Naturally, the annoyance in the vampire's eyes intensified when she saw that grin. However, she still replied to Tatsuo's question.

"You give." The vampire princess responded while looking deep into Tatsuo's eyes. "New name."

Having expected something like that due to his knowledge of the canon events in this world, Tatsuo shook his head.

"No." Tatsuo replied sternly. "Although I can understand that you may not like your name because of your experiences, You have a name that your parents gave to you. You should be proud of it."

Saying that, Tatsuo could not help but imagine his doting mother's smiling face, which made him smile lovingly. And when the vampire princess saw that smile, her cheeks reddened slightly as she lowered her head to hide her blush.

Sumire, on the other hand, was dazed by Tatsuo's pure smile, as she simply stared at his face.

"Aletia…" The vampire princess muttered with her head down. "Aletia Galdea Vesperion Avatari."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Aletia." Tatsuo said with a smile as he withdrew his hand from Aletia's grasp. Then, he continued while placing his hand on top of her head. "You don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

As he spoke, Tatsuo started patting Aletia's head while she shook her head in response to his question.

"Good." Tatsuo said while continuing to pat Aletia's head. "Well then, let's go back to the base. We can have something to eat and relax after that fight. Before we leave, though."

Reaching that point, Tatsuo stopped patting Aletia's head before turning away and moving toward the spot where she was sealed in that stone. Then, after putting the stone into his [Inventory], he knelt down and placed his hand on the floor.

While Sumire, who was still wrapped in Tatsuo's arm, followed Tatsuo, Aletia raised her hands to the top of her head and felt the warmth that was left behind by Tatsuo's head patting while following his every move with her eyes. She then approached Tatsuo and Sumire after seeing him kneel.

"Tatsuo… What are… you doing?" Aletia asked curiously after she reached Tatsuo's side.

"I can feel a magical presence under the floor." Tatsuo said as the [Transmutation Circle] on the back of his wrist guard lit up. "So, I'm just gonna bring it with us before we leave."

With that, the floor was transmuted, pushing up a small orb that seemed to be a crystal ball.

"Alright, let's go." Tatsuo said as he picked up the crystal ball. He then inspected the ball as he continued. "I'm getting hungry."

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Orcus Great Labyrinth, 60th Floor.

At the same time, in the Orcus Great Labyrinth that was known to the public, a group of youths was fighting the monsters on the 60th Floor. This group consisted of those who were not too traumatized from losing three of the of the people who came to this world with them.

Naturally, standing at the front of this group was Kouki and his group of five, consisting of Kaori, Shizuku, Ryutaro, Eri, and Suzu. However, Hajime had also been integrated into their formation, as well. And the reason for that was thanks to Kaori's insistence.

For the first few days after returning to the royal capital after their first excursion into the labyrinth, Hajime was completely despondent after losing his only friend in the class. And Kaori could be seen by his side at all times during that time. She even tried to spend nights with him. However, Shizuku put a stop to that.

On a side note, James found Shizuku's blushing, angry, and embarrassed expression after he called her a cock blocker quite cute.

However, when Hajime finally accepted Tatsuo's death, his whole demeanor changed. Though he did not lose his natural kind nature, there was anew ruthlessness present in his gaze. And James, who had seen quite a bit in his time, could tell that if Daisuke were still alive, Hajime would have definitely killed him himself.

But since Hajime had nowhere to vent his negative feelings, James stepped in to stop him from falling to those dark emotions, taking charge of his training, and pushing him to his limits day after day.

On top of that, James also gave Hajime all sorts of ideas to upgrade his weaponry. And at this point, Tatsuo was basically this world's version of Green Arrow from DC Comics. With a variety of crossbow bolts with various effects, agility unthinkable for how hopeless he was four and a half months ago, and an even greater mastery of his class skill, [Transmutation].

In fact, other than Kouki and Shizuku, no one in his class would be able to defeat Hajime after all of his hard work. And because of that, Hajime was accepted into the main party of the Hero Party. Kouki even looked at him differently because he was working so hard to improve. Though, Hajime had no interest in what Kouki thought.

"Everyone, be alert." Meld, who was accompanying the group of students, said. "We don't have this floor completely mapped. So, we don't know what to expect."

"Don't worry, Meld-San." Kouki replied with a confident smile. "We're not the same inexperienced kids anymore. We're strong now."

Meld could not deny that statement. By now, Kouki's stats were much higher than his, as they were all over 500 at this point. Still, to say that they were not inexperienced would be a bit of a stretch. They had not even been fighting for six months yet. Still, he stayed quiet, not wanting to put a damper on their enthusiasm.

"Don't worry, Meld." James, who was not with either of the two distinct groups who came on this excursion, said while patting Meld on his shoulder. "If they get into something they can't handle, I'll bail their asses out of it."

Meld could only nod at that. It was clear to everyone, other than Kouki, that James was head and shoulders above the rest of the students in terms of strength and fighting experience. So, whenever they found themselves outmatched in this time, James would be the one to keep everyone safe.

"Hmph!" Kouki snorted at James words. "You may be trying to atone for your crimes, but I can't trust someone who would kill one of their comrades in cold blood."

Instead of dignifying Kouki's resentment with a response, James ignored him completely, tired of putting the "Hero" in his place after so long.

Eventually, the party reached a bridge crossing an abyss, which brought back bad memories for everyone.

"Nagumo-Kun, are you okay?" Kaori asked as she gripped Hajime's hand, which was clenched so tightly that blood began dripping from between his fingers.

"I'm fine, Shirasaki-San." Hajime replied after taking a deep breath. "I just hope that Soramoto somehow survived the fall… Even though I know that it's probably not possible."

"You can't give up, Nagumo-Kun." Kaori said as she raised Tatsuo's hand and held it to her chest. "Until you see it with your own eyes, you'll never know if he's okay or not."

While she spoke, Kaori looked at Hajime with extremely sincere eyes while pressing his hand into her bosom. Hajime, on the other hand, had his angry, slightly despondent expression break. However, it was not because of the sincerity in Kaori's gaze. Instead, it was because of the soft feeling on his hand and wrist.

"Uh… Shirasaki-San…" Hajime muttered while looking away as his face reddened.

"Huh?" Kaori intoned confusedly.

"No!" Suzu shouted as she dashed forward and put herself between Kari and Hajime. She then pulled Hajime's arm out of Koari's grasp before throwing herself at Koari. "I haven't even touched Kaorin's chest. Koarin, how could you do this to me?"

"Huh?" Kaori exclaimed once again; her confusion even more pronounced than before. She then registered what Suzu said, on top of that, she could feel Suzu's hands moving towards her ample assets. "Suzu-Chan, what are you talking about? And where are you touching? Stop it!"

Suzu's actions caused the tension in the group to die down a bit, making it much more manageable for the inexperienced kids in the party. However, before she could get out of hand, Eri, acting as the reserved girl she has always portrayed herself to be, cut in and put an end to it.

After the short break, the group crossed the bridge. When they arrived at the other side, they found themselves in a large, open room that seemed sort of like any arena.

"It's like a boss room." James muttered as he looked around.

"Boss room?" Shizuku asked curiously.

"Yeah, like in Dark Souls or something." James replied.

"Oh, Nagumo-Kun likes those games." Kaori said excitedly while clapping her hands.

In response, Hajime turned towards Kaori with a questioning gaze.

"How do you know that?" Hajime asked. "I mean, it's true. But still."

"Oh, um… Well…" Kaori stuttered, embarrassed at her outburst.

In fact, Kaori, after seeing Hajime help an old lady and her grandchild back when they were middle school students, found herself interested in Hajime. As a result, she found out as much as she could about him. She even started partaking in some of his hobbies to understand him better. So, that was how she found out about his like for games like Dark Souls.

Unfortunately, before Hajime could get an answer out of Kaori, the middle of the room lit up when a large magic circle appeared. And everyone present was familiar with that magic circle, as they had seen it after being transported into that trap several months ago.

Naturally, Hajime had the biggest reaction when he saw the magic circle, as he gritted his teeth and clenched his hands tightly around his crossbow.

"The… Behemoth…" Hajime spat out through gritted teeth.

Meanwhile, everyone, other than James, took out there weapons and prepared for a tough battle. James, on the other hand, stepped forward, walking casually as he wrapped his fingers around one of the katana strapped to the left side of his waist.

"James, what are you doing?" Meld asked after noticing James' movements.

Hearing Meld's voice, everyone focused on James, who did not stop or even turn around at Meld's question.

"Taking revenge." James replied coldly.

At the same time, the magic circle shined brightly. When it dimmed, the magic circle was no longer on the floor. Instead, a behemoth, which seemed to be slightly bigger than the one they faced back then stood.

*Roar!*

The Behemoth roared loudly, the airwaves making the entire room shake momentarily.

*Shing~~~!*

"Shut up!" James said in a low, yet intense tone as he drew his katana. "I know you're probably not the same one as last time, but that doesn't really matter to me."

["Laying it on a little thick, aren't you, Partner?"] Ddraig asked.

'I just want the act to be believable.' James replied internally. 'Otherwise, people will question why I threw Hayama over the edge.'

["I guess."] Ddraig replied.

James could tell that if Ddraig had a body, he would be shrugging his large, draconic shoulders in a very human way from the sound of his voice.

"[Scatter, Senbonzakura.]" James said while holding his katana towards the Behemoth.

At the same time, a magic circle engraved on the base of the katana's blade lit up. Then, starting from the tip, the katana's blade started to glow in a dusk pink-color before breaking down into cherry blossom-shaped petals.

"What is that?" Shizuku asked in a wonderous tone.

"I don't' know." Kaori replied. "But it's really pretty."

"That must be the Skill I saw when I first examined his Status Plate, [Senbonzakura.]." Meld muttered. "But he never told me what it did. And this is the first time I'm seeing it."

This phenomenon was actually a recreation of the Alaverus Bloodline ability, [Senbonzakura], that James had awakened when he was only eight years old. However, because James is unable to manipulate his demonic power as he wishes in this world, he asked Tatsuo to use his [Magic Circle Creation] Skill to give his katanas the first stage of his ability. 

While that short conversation was happening, the rest of the blade in James' hands broke down. Now, a cloud of what looked like wafting cherry blossom petals, consisting of a thousand cherry blossom shaped blades, floated in front of James. As a result, James only held the hilt of his katana.

James then swung the hilt in his hand towards the Behemoth. This action caused all the cherry blossom shaped petals to shoot forward, flying towards the Behemoth at break neck speed.

*Roar!*

Sensing the danger, the Behemoth roared threateningly before lowering its head as its helmet and horn started glowing red.

However, before it could dash forward, the thousand petal-blades arrived. Then, without any suspense, they pierced through the Behemoth before shooting out from behind it. James then swung his hilt to the side, causing the petal-blades to return, cutting through the Behemoth in slightly different locations before returning to James and reconstituting the blade.

Then, with a flourish, James sheathed his katana once again before turning around and returning to the rest of the party.

"What the…?" Hajime muttered as he held his crossbow to his shoulder, ready to fire.

*Boom!*

A moment later, the Behemoth's large body fell to the floor, causing the floor to tremor upon impact.

At the same time, James raised his head and looked towards the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, Tatsuo." James said as he slowly closed his eyes. "If I were this strong back then, you wouldn't have had to fall from that bridge."

Meanwhile, the rest of the party, seeing the pain on James' face, could not help but feel sorry for him. Even Kouki, who still treated James as a traitor, and was generally bad at reading the atmosphere or other people's emotional state, could not bring himself to find any fault with James at the moment.

The only exception to the feeling of sympathy that was going around the party was Eri. Although she did not know that James' was only acting, that did not matter to her, as while she was pretending to feel bad for James, she was plotting a way to get rid of him for disrespecting Kouki.

Even with those emotions, the awe, respect, and fear for James' power was evident in all their gazes.

"Anyway, let's keep going." James said after lowering his head to look at the rest of his party. "We still gotta finish mapping this floor.

'She's still thinking about how to kill me.' James thought to himself as he let his gaze flick past the rest of his party, his gaze lingering on Eri for a split-second longer than everyone else. 'There's so much wrath hidden behind that seemingly innocent expression. But considering the fact that wrath is the sin that dictates my actions as a Devil, there's no way I wouldn't be able to see through it. Damn shame, too. She's definitely my type.'

["Well, with a fiancée like the Sitri girl, I can understand why."] Ddraig said in an understanding tone. ["But please, I beg you, don't stick your dick in crazy on that level."]

'*Chuckle* Don't worry, Ddraig.' James replied while chuckling good-naturedly. 'Bat-shit insane is a little too much for my tastes.'