“Bwaaagh!”
I believe it was about twenty meters; the man shot across that distance before he slammed into the wall. A person-shaped hole was left in his wake, and judging by the sound, he appeared to still be flying and smashing into things along his way. At any rate, it did not seem I would need to worry about what he would do afterward.
“Now then. It is time for me to head to where Master Shinobu’s sister is,” I whispered as I punched another man to my side and headed into the auction display venue.
†
Ayumu Imabayashi
“This is as far as I will accompany you, Imabayashi.”
I heard Tsukuyomi’s words within my pitch-black vision as I felt myself drop a good distance to the ground, a groan escaping from me.
“Well then,” she said with finality. “Good luck.”
Good luck? For what? What’s all this cheering about too?
A bright, loud voice answered my question. “Ladies and gentlemen! It’s time for the main event of the day! I’m your announcer, Hannibal! Nice to meet you!”
Main event? What...? What’s going on here?
“All righty, then, allow me to introduce the man who has just entered the underground slave fighting ring!”
A giant applause responded to his announcement. Underground...slave fighting ring? What? Why...am I here...?
“I’m sure you’ve all heard of the William Dukedom Skewering Incident! The one where the kind duke, who’d boasted low taxes for his people, was skewered to death along with all of his citizens, then becoming an object to decorate the dominion with. I bet that’s a fresh memory for a lot of you, huh?”
I think that happened about ten years ago. I’d punished a man for going against my will.
“Or what about when all those girls went missing in the town of Genus? Every girl between the ages of twelve and nineteen was taken away by sentinels and never came back!”
I remembered that too. That happened twenty years ago, because I’d found a girl I saw in the streets there that I’d liked. I ended up not finding her, no matter how much I searched, so we rounded up all of the girls under twenty to avoid the hassle. Aside from the girl herself, didn’t we turn the rest into zombies for my guild’s necromancers to control?
“Or how about this? The fighters right here in this ring! All of them are well-known adventurers and martial artists, but ah, how cruel! They were taken here by those with overwhelming, violent strength that think of themselves as gods! Now, these people are forced to fight for their lives on the daily!”
I couldn’t see, but I could feel the stares on me, probably from the eyes of the slave fighters burning with rage. I could tell—they couldn’t wait anymore; they were on the verge of exploding.
“And sorry to throw in a personal story, but I, Hannibal, am also one of those who sadly lost his family to this man. All of the tragedies were caused by him! Come! All of you demihumans who have had your families kidnapped and killed, give me the greatest cheers and applause you can!”
I see. They gathered all of the people who hate me in this one place. How...cruel of them... I don’t think this is something a human being should do to another human being at all.
“He’s currently in a wormlike state. He can’t move, nor can he see! This pathetic man once controlled all of Abrasil from the shadows for four hundred years, reaping all of the profits and pushing the limits of violence and inhumanity.”
Hannibal inhaled a deep breath, his voice suddenly changing to that of anger as he shouted out.
“Ayumu Imabayashi! This man right here!”
His words were then drowned out by the raucous cheers, which had intensified almost to the point of insanity. Their voices full of grudges and hatred filled the whole ring. It almost felt like it was about someone who wasn’t me.
“His opponents are the men who were kidnapped and forced to kill one another! The forty-two slave swordsmen will now enter!”
I felt like I was floating, like I was astral projecting, seeing myself from above. My emotions seemed to have ascended to a realm beyond that of fear and despair. I’d heard that this happened to kids who’d undergone abuse for long periods of time. By treating themselves like another person, they were able to escape from the pain, even just a little bit. Or at least, I thought that was how it went. It was a form of psychological escapism to protect oneself. This train of thought in itself was me thinking of the situation from a third-person perspective.
Ha ha... That’s strange. I’m in such a situation, yet I’m perfectly calm.
“Just look at their eyes full of passion! They’re all ready to go! The flames of revenge on Ayumu Imabayashi can be felt from the stands! It’s time for our main event!”
The greatest cheer yet roared up. It was obvious what was about to happen.
“Ayumu Imabayashi versus forty-two slave swordsmen! And though I don’t think I’m qualified, I will also be participating as an observer since I’m an A-rank adventurer! Pay attention, everyone, and feast your eyes upon this spectacle!”
A gong rang out to signal the beginning of the final curtain on my life.
†
Shinobu Iijima
“I...never told you to go that far.”
I left the slave fighting ring behind as soon as the swordsmen lunged toward the worm bastard.
Tsukuyomi really did go all out when she wanted to. For a second there, I considered stopping her, but I changed my mind and let her do as she pleased. Everything Mr. Hannibal had said during his introduction was the plain truth. I couldn’t describe this as anything other than the bastard getting his just deserts. He’d ruthlessly beat up the natives, so it was only natural for him to face the natives’ retribution. It was an issue between him and them—there was no place for me to butt in.
That was the end of that.
I’d been worried about his Agartha expedition team, but Tsukuyomi said those people were more on the sane side, compared to him. We’d bet a lot contacting them, and I’d thought there was a ninety percent chance of us failing. But they’d known that we had Keys to Agartha as well, so it was a smooth process convincing them. I’d dispatched Tsukuyomi there just thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to ask, but they actually did end up agreeing with us.
And so the bastard... Actually, wait. I didn’t need to call him that anymore. It might have just been to end things for good in my mind, but I decided to stop calling him that. The reason I’d done so in the first place was because the name “Imabayashi,” which I associated with the man who’d run my father off the edge and made me and my sister unhappy, was enough to make my hairs stand with how much hatred it fostered in me.
Anyway, in the end, the reason all this happened was because of his nature. All of the guildmasters feared or hated him because of his psychopathy and were collectively wary of him. The same went for the Agartha expedition team. With that in mind, Imabayashi brought this whole situation upon himself.
That aside, all the expedition team did was affirm for us that we could talk to them. They didn’t actually agree to take our side, instead just sitting and watching as we went after Imabayashi. I had no idea how they were going to move after that, so I’d treat it as an unknown factor and wouldn’t let my guard down.
I walked through the castle, lost in thought, and finally arrived at the room I was aiming for.
“How are things going, Gabriel?”
Gabriel was standing up straight at the entrance. “I’ve secured the girl who resembles your sister here.” She bowed her head.
“Thank you. Can I go in?”
“She is not in the middle of changing or anything, so I believe that would be acceptable.”
Even so, I didn’t want to barge into a girl’s room without asking. I knocked on the door.
“...Come in.”
When I entered, it looked like your typical cute girl’s room, like one a princess would live in... I think. Wait, this is a castle, so this may actually be a royal family member’s room.
When I met eyes with the girl, my voice came out before I realized it.
“Megumi?”
There was no mistaking it. This was my younger sister. This was...Megumi. My sister. It couldn’t be anyone else.
“Shinobu?”
“...Huh?”
Though in my mind she was already my sister, I wasn’t expecting that out of her. I’d even checked Megumi’s log-in time yesterday—it wasn’t for another half year.
The girl in front of me was absolutely Megumi, though. How was she here without logging in...? Or maybe she’d reincarnated here while still alive, unlike the rest of us?
My head was swarming with questions, but I put them all aside.
“Megumi? Megumi... Megumi!”
My legs ran to her and my arms were thrown around her before I knew it.
“But...how? Shinobu? It can’t be... How? Why? How?!”
She seemed to be just as confused as me, but I didn’t mind. I finally reunited with my sister, whom I’d been so, so worried about since arriving in this world.
Megumi put her hands on my back and pulled me closer.