Songs in the Void

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

About half an hour after leaving the sealed room, Tatsuo, Sumire, and Aletia arrived at the base that was set up on the 50th Floor. When they did, Aletia could not help but look around curiously. Though, her emotionless expression did not change. 

Meanwhile, Tatsuo made his way over to the cooking area of the shelter. Then, he placed a large tarp made from monster skin down on the floor before he took out one of the cyclopes' corpses and one of the scorpion-monster's pincers. And once they were both set out, he proceeded to start butchering them. 

At the same time, Sumire went into the bathing area to get herself cleaned up. Since she would be the one cooking, it was even more important for her to get herself nice and clean. 

"Aletia-San, do you want to take a shower?" Sumire asked just before closing the curtain in the bathing area. 

Sumire's voice finally pulled Aletia out of her revelry. However, she did not answer Sumire immediately. Instead, she looked at the girl with two-toned hair and tilted her head quizzically. 

"A... shower?" Aletia asked curiously. 

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't know about that." Sumire replied. "Hmm? How do I put it? It's kind of like a bath. But you stand up and the water falls on you from above." 

Hearing the word, "bath," Aletia's eyes lit up excitedly. Yet, she still did not answer Sumire's question. Instead, she turned her attention to Tatsuo. 

Feeling Aletia's gaze on him, Tatsuo looked up from his work. Then, he smiled at her, making Aletia blush slightly. 

"Go on with Sumire-San." Tatsuo said. "I'll take a shower after I'm finished." 

"Shower with... Tatsuo." Aletia muttered in her monotonous voice. 

"Absolutely not!" Sumire cried. "Boys and girls shouldn't do that until they're married." 

Saying that, Sumire's face could not help but redden, as well. Especially since she knew she was being hypocritical. Although she and Tatsuo had not showered together, their intimate acts with their clothes on were worse than just seeing each other nude. Plus, there was an even more important reason for Sumire to object. 

'Tatsuo-Kun is mine.' Sumire thought to herself while clenching her fists around the shower curtain. 'And there's no way I'm going to give him to that vampire.' 

Once again, Aletia tilted her head. However, she did not look in Sumire's direction, making it clear that her opinion did not really matter. Instead, she continued to stare at Tatsuo. 

"She's right, you know." Tatsuo said. "That's something that people in relationships do. But I haven't even done it with Sumire yet. So, it wouldn't be right for me to do that with you." 

'Besides, I doubt I would be able to hold myself back from trying to do more.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'But that feeling I got last time I thought about doing it before I turned sixteen still makes me feel uneasy. 

Hearing Tatsuo's words, Aletia's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Then, she looked at Sumire with her eyes shining with a challenging light. Sumire, on the other hand, returned the gaze with a gaze of her own that said something to the effect of: "Thou shalt not pass." 

Meanwhile, Tatsuo watched the invisible sparks fly between Sumire and Aletia with a smile. 

'Sooner or later, you'll both be part of my hoard.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'For you are treasures that no one other than I can truly appreciate.' 

Reaching that point, Tatsuo's expression changed to one of disbelief. 

'Part of my hoard?' Tatsuo asked himself. 'Do I see them as just items... trophies to obtain? What's happening to me?' 

For the first time since his draconic traits started to awaken, Tatsuo noticed the fact that his mindset was changing. Then, he started to think back to all the things he said or thought over the last few months that felt out of place, yet completely natural. 

'Since when did I look down on people so badly?' Tatsuo continued to think to himself while gripping his head in his blood stained hands. 'I mean, seriously, I considered people on the same level as ants... I really need to talk to mom before I change in a way that I can't accept.' 

Meanwhile, Sumire and Aletia, who had noticed Tatsuo's state, looked at him with worry. Then, after exchanging glances, Sumire gestured for Aletia to come into the bathing area with her. And although she was reluctant, Aletia eventually entered with Sumire. 

"I know you're wondering what's wrong with Tatsuo-Kun." Sumire said after closing the curtain. She then continued while starting to take off her clothes. "Well, since you're going to be traveling with us for the foreseeable future..." 

"Forever." Aletia interrupted while staring at Sumire. "I will be with him forever." 

"... I think you should know." Sumire continued, unbothered by Aletia's interruption. "Tatsuo isn't completely human. In fact, we only found out a few months ago. So, there are things that are changing about him that makes him do that from time to time." 

In response, Aletia's eyes opened wide in surprise. A moment later, however, she put on a thoughtful expression. 

"That's why, huh?" Aletia muttered while cupping her chin with her left hand. 

"Huh? That's why, what?" Sumire asked as she unhooked her bra, freeing her large breasts to the air. 

"His blood... was... so..." Aletia began to explain as she raised her head. 

However, Aletia's words trailed off, stopping before she could finish her explanation as she caught sight of Sumire's breasts. She then furrowed her brows as she looked down at her own, child-like chest. 

"Aletia-San?" Sumire asked, worried because Aletia stopped her explanation in the middle. "Is something wrong?" 

Instead of replying, Aletia continued shifting her gaze between her own flat chest and Sumire's large breasts. After a few moments of silence, she was covered by a thin layer of golden mana that got more intense as time went by. 

"Aletia-San... Are you okay?" Sumire asked once again. 

After Sumire asked her the same question for a second time, Aletia looked up into Sumire's eyes with intensity. 

"You are my worst enemy, you cow woman." Aletia said with a hint of envy in her tone. 

In response, Sumire tilted her head in confusion. However, she quickly understood what Aletia meant. Then, she leaned forward and clasped her hands together in front of her thighs, which squeezed her breasts together and emphasized her cleavage. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll grow some when you grow up, Granny." Sumire said in a teasing tone. 

Having just had the three things she was the most self-conscious about, her child-like appearance, small bust-size, and her age, pointed out at the same time, Aletia's eyebrows began twitching intensely while her mana flared even brighter. 

"Hey, are you two alright?" Tatsuo, having snapped out of his existential crisis thanks to feeling Aletia's surge of mana, asked in a concerned tone. 

The sound of Tatsuo's voice made both Sumire and Aletia freeze. At the same time, Aletia's mana was slowly retracted. Then, the two women exchanged glances again and a consensus was reached in a short time. 

"Yes, we're fine, Tatsuo-Kun." Sumire said in a sweet tone. "I just asked Aletia-San to show me her mana. I mean, it's a really pretty gold color." 

"Mhmm." Aletia replied while nodding her head, despite the fact that Tatsuo would not be able to see it from the other side of the curtain. 

"Oh, okay." Tatsuo said as he got back to butchering the magic beasts. "Well, you should be careful. Although the shelter is hidden from the monsters, if you output too much mana, they'll find us anyway." 

"Sorry, we'll be careful." Sumire replied. 

"Mhmm… Mhmm!" Aletia added, nodding her head more vigorously. 

"We'll leave this for later." Sumire whispered. 

Once again, Aletia nodded her head. 

A moment later, Tatsuo, who was smirking while working with the monster corpses, heard the sound of the magic circle he carved into the ceiling being activated while Sumire explained all the bathing products and how they all worked. 

'Like I don't know what was going on in there.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'But there really is no need for them to fight, There's enough of me for everyone.' 

Forty-five minutes later, Tatsuo was finished butchering the magic beasts. At the same time, the sound of the water falling to the floor stopped, and Sumire could be heard explaining a few more things to Aletia. Then, after another minute, or so, Sumire came out of the curtained off area while drying her hair with a towel. 

"Tatsuo-Kun, do you think you could make some clothes for Aletia-San?" Sumire asked. "The only thing she has to wear is that blanket you wrapped her in before. And those aren't exactly clothes." 

"Sure." Tatsuo replied as he stood up and moved towards an open part of the base. 

A moment later, several pieces of magic beast skin fell to the floor, extracted from Tatsuo's [Inventory]. Then, he placed his hands over top of it while imagining Aletia's petite body. 

*Zap!* 

A moment later, all the magic beast skins were [Transmuted] into a white princess dress, a pair of panties, and a pair of white knee-high socks. Then, Tatsuo pointed to the new clothes, making sure to not pick them up, as his hands were still covered in blood from his butchering job. 

"Thanks, Tatsuo-Kun." Sumire said while smiling sweetly. "I'll be right back to start cooking." 

After saying that, Sumire approached Tatsuo, stood on her tip toes, and planted a kiss on his cheek. She then turned around and picked up the new clothes with a slight blush on her face. 

After picking up the clothing, Sumire raised her head and saw Aletia poking her head out from between the curtains with a disgruntled scowl on her face. In return, Sumire smiled smugly as she walked back to the bathing area with some extra pep in her step. 

Not long later, Sumire came back into the common area of the base with Aletia dressed in the clothes Tatsuo made. And Tatsuo, upon seeing how cute she looked, could not help smiling in Aletia's direction. And just like every time he smiled at her, Aletia could not help blushing slightly. 

"Alright, you should go get cleaned up, too, Tatsuo-Kun." Sumire said as she stepped forward, positioning herself in front of Aletia. "I mean, you're covered in dust and blood from our time exploring and the monsters you butchered." 

As she spoke, Sumire could feeling Aletia's glare burning a hole in her back. Even so, she was completely unbothered by it. Tatsuo, on the other hand, widened his smile when he saw the little rivalry between Sumire and Aletia, thinking it was quite cute. As well as a little weird that they were so into a fifteen year old boy. Though, to Aletia, he would probably be sixteen thanks to the background he inherited when he entered the world. 

"Okay." Tatsuo replied as he stood up from the floor. "I really don't like this feeling, either. I'll see you two in a few minutes." 

With that, Tatsuo walked towards the bathing area, passing Sumire and Aletia along the way. Then, when he closed the curtain, he could not help chuckling at the short conversation he heard. 

"Where are you going?" Sumire asked. 

"To help him wash his back." Aletia replied. 

"He's perfectly capable of washing his back on his own." Sumire said sternly. "Just come over here and help me get dinner ready." 

Reaching that point, Tatsuo heard the sound of someone, most likely Aletia, struggling to free herself while being dragged away by someone with much greater physical strength. 

About half an hour later, Tatsuo came out of the bathing area earing a sleeveless white shirt and a pair of black shorts while drying his hair, drawing both ladies' attention. 

"Ah~~~! Being able to shower daily is much better than those half-assed baths back at the castle." Tatsuo muttered as he walked towards his work area. 

"Castle?" Aletia asked curiously. 

"Oh, that's right, we didn't really tell you about ourselves, did we?" Tatsuo asked as he sat down to work with the ores and minerals he had extracted from the walls of this floor of the labyrinth. 

In response, Aletia sat on the floor next to Tatsuo while shaking her head. Meanwhile, the sound of Sumire clicking her tongue was audible. 

And when Aletia heard Sumire click her tongue, she turned back to look at her, who was still cooking dinner, and radiated smugness through her eyes. 

Tatsuo, on the other hand, with Aletia looking away and his back to Sumire, could not help but smile once again at the rivalry between the two ladies. Still, he started his explanation about where they came from, leaving the part about being multiversal Travelers out for now. 

'I guess I'll wait until we get to the Abode of Liberators before I mention that.' Tatsuo muttered to himself. 'Wouldn't want that fake god, Ehit, to hear anything about other universes, after all. Then again, that's if she's the one we choose to come with us at the end of this [Mission]. But by the end, we'll probably have met both Shea and Tio, too. There's also whose world to send them to, too. *Sigh* So much to think about.' 

When Tatsuo finished his story, Aletia was looking at him with her eyes glowing. On top of that, she was leaning on Tatsuo while holding his arm as he upgraded his ammunition with the ore that made up the scorpion's shell, as well as the block of metal that she was trapped in. 

The ore in question, Shtar Ore, is special in the way that it gains hardness and durability based on how much mana is being flowed through it. So, Tatsuo also decided to make Sumire's new shield out of this ore. Meaning, as long as Sumire can flow enough mana into the new shield, she should be able to block any attack, theoretically. 

'He's like me.' Aletia thought to herself. 'He was betrayed by the people he was trying to protect, too. We're definitely destined to be together.' 

When her thoughts reached that point, she could not help frowning once again. 

'But that girl is definitely going to try and get in my way.' Aletia thought to herself. 'And I can't just get rid of her. Otherwise, Tatsuo will hate me. What should I do.' 

Falling into deep contemplation, Aletia did not react when Sumire called her and Tatsuo for dinner. However, she snapped back to reality when Tatsuo picked her up and carried her towards the dining area. Then, when he tried to sit her in front of her own plate of food, she grabbed onto him and refused to let go. 

"Don't need food." Aletia said in her usual tone. She then pointed at Tatsuo. "Tatsuo delicious." 

Aletia then licked her lips seductively, which was quite the jarring contrast thanks to her teenage appearance that looked even younger than Tatsuo. 

"It would have been nice if you told us that you didn't need food sooner." Sumire said in an annoyed tone. "But Tatsuo-Kun needs to eat, you know." 

"I'll... feed him." Aletia said. 

"Nah, I'm good." Tatsuo replied. "You don't have to do this. It's not like I mind giving up a little blood for you to have your fill." 

"Yeah, you can drink my blood, too." Sumire said. 

In response to Sumire's suggestion that clearly had ulterior motives, Aletia shook her head. 

"First drink... special." Aletia explained. "Better recovery for less blood. Also, doesn't cause pain." 

She then turned towards Sumire. 

"Will hurt a lot for you." Aletia continued. "Efficiency much worse... as well." 

Although Sumire was skeptical of that claim, Tatsuo had told her the same thing during their trip down to the 50th Floor. So, she believed it more readily than she would have. Still, that doesn't mean that she liked it. 

"Anyway, we can talk about that later." Tatsuo said as he pried Aletia off of him and sat her down on the floor next to him. "For now, I'm hungry." 

Not long later, Sumire finished cooking and plating the food. And since Aletia said that she did not need food, Sumire only prepared two plates. However, when she approached Tatsuo and Aletia, she could not help but notice that Tatsuo was fiddling with the orb he took from the secret room while Aletia stared at him while he worked. 

"Tatsuo-Kun, what's that?" Sumire asked as she sat down next to Tatsuo and placed his plate in front of him. 

"From what I can tell, this orb stores something." Tatsuo replied without looking up from the orb. "Like a recording or something. There's probably a message in it for the person that freed Aletia-San." 

Hearing that, Sumire raised an eyebrow. Aletia, on the other hand, furrowed her brows in irritation. 

"It's probably from… my uncle." Aletia said in an aggravated tone. "He's probably asking whoever freed me… to put me back." 

"Maybe." Tatsuo replied as he lit up with a midnight purple glow. "But I guess we'll never know until we listen to it." 

With that, Tatsuo's [Energy] was inserted into the orb, causing it to light up. Then, after a moment, it projected an image of a handsome, middle-aged man with slicked back blond hair, crimson-red eyes, and pale skin, like most vampires. 

{"Greetings, Hero."} The middle-aged man said. {"I am Dienleed Galdea Vesperion Avatari, former Prime Minster of Avatari, as well as the uncle of our former queen, Aletia, who is more than likely with you and freed from the prison I left her in, if you are watching this."} 

After such aa short part of the message, Aletia, after seeing her uncle's face, could not help clenching her fists. At the same time, she wanted nothing more than to destroy the orb with a powerful blast of her magic. Yet, she also had the desire to know why he betrayed her all those years ago, leading to a harsh bit of indecision. 

Tatsuo and Sumire, on the other hand, calmly watched the recording while eating their food. Tatsuo had already explained to Sumire what this message would be about. So, there was no suspense for them. 

{"Although I don't know how long it has been since I had to leave her there on that fateful day, I thank you for rescuing her from that suffering."} Dienleed continued. {"And this may not mean much coming from a traitor, at least as someone who was perceived as one, but please take care of her. She deserves to be happy."} 

Hearing that, Aletia's eyes opened wide in surprise. The only thing that Aletia could remember about her uncle after all these years, or rather chose to remember, was the fact that he betrayed her and killed her parents. So, for him to ask the person that saved her to protect and take care of her was not something she could process immediately. 

{"And Aletia, although I do not regret what I did in the slightest, as it was for your safety, I still have to ask for your forgiveness, as I know my actions must have hurt you deeply."} Dienleed's recording continued. {"It was all to keep you protected from him…" 

Knowing that the next words out of Dienleed's mouth would garner some unwanted attention for them, Tatsuo quickly pressed his hands on the floor of the base while flaring his [Energy]. 

"[Spatial Boundary Field]." Tatsuo said, naming the spell he was casting. 

Although it was not necessary for Tatsuo to speak the names of his spells aloud or chant, as this was the first time he used [Spatial Boundary Field] outside of training, he did so to solidify the image. 

And this spell, [Spatial Boundary Field], was one of the applications of [Spatial Magic] Tatsuo had been studying ever since he unlocked his [Spatial energy]. Its purpose, to mimic the creation of an independent dimension. However, there were no entry or exit parameters. In fact, those inside did not even disappear from the sight of those in the vicinity. 

Instead, the only thing this barrier could do was stop information, of any kind, from exiting the range of the [Boundary] he set. And that doesn't just include sound or anything physical. But even meta-physical things cannot escape the [Boundary]. 

For example, in many stories, if the name of someone strong enough is spoken aloud, that being may be able to hear it no matter where they are. But Tatsuo's [Boundary] would even cut off that flow of information. 

{"… Ehit, the God of this world, who wanted me to bring you to him so that he could possess your body and regain a physical form once again."} Dienleed's recording continued. {"And there were two reasons why I could not let that happen. First, and most important, I refused to allow that… thing… to harm you, Aletia. And second, were he able to do so, I have no doubt that this world as we know it would come to an end. Because I believe that this world, Tortus, is nothing but a plaything to him. Because if it wasn't, there's no way that the humans and the demons, who worship the same god, would be at war for so long."} 

While Aletia was dumbfounded at what she heard, and had no idea how she should react, Tatsuo and Sumire remained calm while continuing to eat dinner and listening to the rest of Dienleed's message.