Shun fell, mentally exhausted, using the Fairy Heart actively was still draining. He had to be careful with it too, because in the original timeline when the anime ended, there were Zeref and Mavis's alternate versions, since the original Zeref had used the Fairy Heart like an idiot.
Shun collapsed in front of Acnologia's dragon corpse.
"Shun!" The Fairy Tail spectators rushed in once the Fairy Sphere vanished.
"Wendy! Heal him, please."
"Of course!"
Lucy somehow became the leader as she started organizing everyone.
"Shun-san, please don't move!" Wendy was having trouble healing Shun, though he didn't actually need it.
Crawl—!
Shun crawled on all fours, accumulating dirt all over his body, it wasn't a sight befitting the winner.
Despite being exhausted, Shun wouldn't miss this chance. If he fell unconscious now, it would be too late to take Acnologia's powers.
"It's not over yet…"
"Eh?"
Suddenly someone helped carry Shun.
"I don't know what you're doing but… I'll help you." It was Juvia, after beating Meredy up. The problem was she'd also hurt her knee. So the crawling man was carried on crawling Juvia.
Unable to bear this humiliation, Shun used the Float spell and finally arrived before Acnologia.
"…Take a step back, it might get dangerous."
Without missing a moment, Shun took everything related to Dragon Slaying magic from Acnologia.
"…Now I'm a real Dragon Slayer," Shun muttered.
"Now I'll heal you, Shun-san." Wendy came back, but…
"Not yet!"
"Ehh?!"
"Do you know how valuable this guy's body is? I'll store it and make magic items later," Shun said, fixing Acnologia's messy body into its former glory, then froze it with Ice-Make magic and stored it in Erza's spatial inventory.
Ice-Make was a magic that even idiot kids like Gray and Leon could learn.
After making sure everything was fine, Shun finally laid down.
"…I'm not injured. I just need an hour nap."
Shun fell asleep soon after.
—
"…"
Shun woke up without any noise. There was a campfire nearby and he was sleeping on something soft.
The one he was sleeping on covered his eyes.
"Mavis?"
But the figure didn't remove her hands.
"Ultear?"
"…"
"Sorano."
"…"
"Ur, Juvia, Mira, Cana, Levy."
"…It can't be a man, right?"
Slap—!
Apparently Shun's joke went too far. Lucy's slap landed softly on his cheeks.
"…How long was I out?"
"Exactly an hour."
"I see. I'm feeling refreshed now. Thanks."
The others were on the ship preparing to return. They weren't in the mood to celebrate after getting their asses beaten by Acnologia.
"Lucy, get on my back."
"Eh?"
To her surprise, Shun laid on his stomach on the ground.
"…"
Though clueless, she followed his words and sat. Then…
Swooosh—!
Releasing a strong presence, Shun started to transform.
It was a terrifying and unforgettable sight.
"Acnologia?" Lucy realized what she was riding on.
"Lucy, now I have no enemies worth noting left."
"Eh?"
"What do you think I should do with this new power?"
"…"
Lucy was at a loss for words. 'What would I do if I had his strength…?'
Shun flew around the Tenroujima sky.
Lucy, after being silent for a while pondering Shun's question, suddenly hugged Shun. Because he was so big now, she spread her arms wide and hugged as much as she could.
"…"
"…I'll be with you no matter what," Lucy said.
'Is this girl overthinking again…?'
Shun was touched but…
"Lucy…"
"…Un?"
"The thing you're hugging is my butt…"
"!"
"…While I was taking a nap, you've become quite bold."
Since she had no clue about dragon anatomy, she believed him and immediately sat straight, until…
"Pfft—!"
Shun laughed with his dragon voice. Lucy usually loved hearing Shun laugh since it happened rarely, but at this moment it was terrifying.
——
Soon the two finished their flying session.
The Fairy Tail members were apparently in a meeting with the Magic Council members on the ship.
"Hmm, all right. I've decided," Shun said while they were about to leave with the ship.
"Eh?" Mavis asked. They had already reunited and expressed their fear towards Shun's dragon form.
"Let's take our home with us when we return. I'll build a new house on it," Shun said and jumped off the ship.
For a target as big as an entire island, he still had to make physical contact to lift it with Shiki's power.
Under everyone's stunned eyes, Shun lifted the island as it headed toward Magnolia.
If it was the One Piece world, Morgans would be spreading big news about how Acnologia got defeated, but in this world the news would travel slowly, not that Shun wanted any of the fame.
After returning to the guild, everyone seemed reluctant to celebrate. 'Did they get trauma or something? When they celebrated the S-Class exam, Hades appeared; after defeating him and celebrating, Acnologia appeared.'
The group went their own ways for the night… at least the older ones.
Shun quickly lifted his house from Magnolia and moved it to Tenroujima Island, which he'd brought and was now floating above the sky of Magnolia.
Then he created a bunch of materials with Arc of Embodiment and fused his previous house with everything using the Fusion Fruit.
It was very different from what they'd lived in before, with the Tenroujima island atmosphere mixed in, it gave a special feeling to it.
It was a traditional house featuring dark tiled tiered roofs and light-colored walls with wide wooden verandas. It was situated behind a serene, bright blue pond surrounded by decorative rocks, bonsai trees, and stone lanterns. The surrounding landscape included stepping stone pathways and lush greenery under a clear blue sky.
Shun made sure to have a hot spring and great bathrooms. But the thing he spent the most attention on was beast and insect repelling word magic.
Shun's group was amazed by their new house. They appeared here with Shun's help floating them; otherwise, poor Happy, Carla, and Lily would have had to work hard.
Since it was a special occasion even for him, Shun cooked for everyone.
The younger generation of Fairy Tail was almost everyone here, with only Gildarts and Laxus missing.
"Cheers!"
The group talked a lot about almost everything, such as their respective battles on the island, with only Mira refusing to speak about it. Juvia and Ultear's little sister Meredy had fought hard on the island, but now they were already friends.
Drunk Cana suddenly hugged Sorano. "Aren't you a bit too docile lately? Just tell your big sister what's troubling you." Despite not being as big as in the original timeline, Cana liked drinking.
To everyone's surprise, Sorano smiled like an angel as she patted her stomach.
"!"
"Y-You serious?" Cana became sober.
"Yes, we're expecting a child."
"Pfft—!"
"Ah—! I just felt a kick." Sorano smiled, while the group's reactions varied from shock to congratulations, with the awkward Erza even putting her ear to Sorano's stomach.
The one who was shocked the most was Shun. '…How do I tell her that I always… used contraception magic with her…'
—
Next morning, Shun looked to his side. There was Ultear sleeping peacefully due to the promise, and everyone respected her turn because she'd been gone for a long time.
According to her, Ur had been sent on a job by her a month earlier because she assumed Tenroujima would be dangerous.
Reverie was still not soon, because of the time difference.
'I guess I'll go save Rudeus's mom after paying a quick visit to the Demon Slayer and One Piece worlds.'
'I want to try eating that hydra meat… with its regeneration, it might become our permanent food source.'
Thus, Shun went back to the Demon Slayer world.
—
Not much had happened in the Demon Slayer world.
Apparently Hawk was being treated like a king in the Ubuyashiki house. He'd already become like a Hashira among Hashira. They would ask him and Nezuko to do missions from time to time, and Hawk would complete them with a hundred percent success rate.
'Sending Nezuko with him was the correct move. Otherwise, he might get brainwashed like the other Hashira by that Ubuyashiki guy. I guess I'll visit them once in the future…'
Occasionally Hawk would give reports with the diamond key as a communication device.
They'd slain a lot of demons, most of the Lower Moon demons were dead, but not a single Upper Moon demon had been found.
After greeting the Kie family, Shun found out Tanjiro had already gotten the promotion from assistant to a real fishmonger. 'The guy is naturally strong and his senses are sharp too. He'll probably rise to become the king of fishmongers.'
After dinner, Shun knocked Kie out in half an hour and decided to go meet Hinatsuru.
'Lately, that crazy woman named Daki has been walking around on purpose to show herself when I arrive… must be coincidence.'
"Welcome!"
The grandma welcomed Shun with a big smile. She had a bunch of new jewelry around her fingers and neck.
"Give me the usual," Shun said and tried to walk to his room, but…
"Uhm, today there is a special arrangement. Please follow me."
"…"
Shun wasn't alarmed at all that it might be a trap by Daki. He was a man who lived without fear even before he had Acnologia's powers.
Shun followed the grandma. To his surprise, she brought him to a familiar room.
When he turned to ask the grandma, she was already gone.
"…"
Creak—!
When Shun opened the door, he felt like he was having deja vu.
Daki was sitting in the exact same posture as before.
"Hi," Shun waved.
Shun noticed two figures hiding in the shadows but didn't want to ruin her surprise, so he forcibly toned down his senses.
"…Come in," Daki nodded.
'Did the crazy woman tone down her attitude?'
"…Sit."
"Okay."
Shun took a seat and ate the cookie and drank the tea that Daki poured.
"Did you bring me here to ask me to lick your feet again?"
"!"
Shun's innocent question seemed to shock the two figures hiding, and Daki's movement froze.
"…I've heard you've been visiting here almost every day," Ignoring him, Daki spoke.
"…That sounds about right," Shun reminisced about his actions over the month.
'Why didn't you come to see me again…' Daki wanted to ask, but even as a demon she wasn't that shameless.
In her mind, she hadn't done anything wrong the last time she met Shun. She even thought they'd separated harmoniously with a kiss.
After stalking Shun for a while, she found out that Shun loved gambling and women…
She herself had no intention of sharing any of Shun's hobbies with him, so…
So she came up with a plan.
"…From now on, if you come to my room instead of that lowly woman, I can give you double the pleasure," Daki said and pointed towards the curtain where two figures were hiding.
"Huh?"
After Shun turned his head, the curtain magically removed itself.
'This girl… why is she not being subtle about her power?' Shun sighed. He was trying to go through with being a regular person in this world.
"Mmph—!" X2
"…"
When the curtain cleared, there were two girls captured in a pink cloth-like thing.
'Is she offering me sacrifices or something? But they look familiar…'
"Who are they?"
"…They're oirans. You can do whatever you want to them."
"…"
'So this is what she meant by double the pleasure, because there were two women. They were Hinatsuru's fellow two wives. Did they get caught?'
Seeing Shun's surprise, Daki smiled.
'I held back from killing those Demon Slayer spies because Muzan-sama told us Upper Moons to lay low for a while without attracting attention for a decade.'
Unknowingly, Shun's first action against Muzan was showing its butterfly effect.
Muzan planned to wait for the monstrous human who was even more outrageous than Yoriichi Tsugikuni to die of old age.
If Shun knew this, he would praise him as it was the smartest plan his enemies had ever come up with. If only he didn't have the Pure Gold.
'If I can't kill them, might as well have them work for me.' Daki smiled wildly.
Shun closed in on the girls tied tightly with pink obi sashes.
"…You had me worried. I thought you kidnapped some random girls."
"Heh." Daki smiled and watched him.
"If they're just doing their job, then it's fine," Shun spoke out loud on purpose to make the girls hear.
'They were originally here to work as oirans like Hinatsuru.'
Meanwhile, on the captured girls' side.
Makio POV.
Their mouths were covered, so they couldn't speak.
Their names were Makio and Suma. While Suma was timid, Makio was strong-willed.
'…Who is this man? Is he a demon too?' The two were female ninjas infiltrating to find out about the suspiciously disappearing people in this house.
But they'd been unluckily caught by the very demon they were searching for.
'Hinatsuru luckily avoided suspicion because someone was requesting her every day… I don't know if that's considered lucky…'
'She might even be getting asked to marry and leave the house with the guy…'
'Enough about that… just who is this man?' Makio was evaluating Shun ever since he arrived.
'It's warm… He is human.' Makio realized after being touched by Shun's hands wandering around her body.
"Mmph—!"
Suma, who was experiencing the same treatment, was moving her body nervously until…
"He is our VIP customer! Serve him with respect!" Daki's cold voice resounded, freezing the two's bodies.
'So he was just a customer… We were originally intended to work as oirans to gather information.'
'…At least he's handsome.' Makio steeled her resolve as she nodded at Suma. Suma nodded too as she steeled her resolve.
They were going to survive no matter what!
—
'Then you treat me with respect too,' Shun thought but didn't want to argue with a crazy woman.
Shun removed his clothes.
Gulp—! X3
Even Daki felt something seeing Shun's body.
It was as if Shun's muscles were carved from marble. Despite living a lazy lifestyle for the last few years, Shun was once a diligent individual. His body's time had frozen with Pure Gold; otherwise, he might've turned into a chubby guy.
Shun honestly had no plan for Hinatsuru's fellow wives, but they appeared prepared in front of him and they were quite the beauties.
Shun removed the binding obi sashes that covered their mouths, but with Daki there they didn't say anything about Daki's real identity.
Seeing their awkward expression and moves…
"Don't worry. I'll pay ten times the price you usually get," Shun said as he pulled them and hugged them by their waists.
"…"
'No one is worried about the money, you bastard!' The two thought, but with Daki sitting there watching and the obi sashes still around, there was nothing they could do. When they'd first been captured, all their ninja tools had been confiscated too.
Without a choice, they decided to survive as long as they could, even if they had to cheat on their husband.
—
After an hour, Shun and the two female ninjas lay peacefully on the futon bed. Makio and Suma panted heavily, out of breath.
"…You really watched the whole thing, huh? You're surprisingly a pervert," Shun said to Daki, who was shamelessly still watching them.
"!"
The two ninjas, Makio and Suma, who'd gone wild suddenly realized their enemy was still in the room.
Daki didn't answer.
"…Will you give me special treatment too?" Shun asked shamelessly.
"…"
'This crazy bastard has no clue that she's a demon!!' Every word Shun spoke to Daki was damaging Makio and Suma's poor hearts.
Seeing her not replying, Shun patted the spot next to him.
"…"
Step. Step.
To the poor girls' surprise, Daki walked over.
"Ah—!"
Shun pulled her in for a hug fearlessly.
"…"
'Is this bastard insane?' Makio and Suma, still naked, immediately crawled back to get far away from the two.
Daki got out of the hug, only for…
"Mmph—!"
'Again! This bastard kissed me again!' Daki pulled her face away and tried to slap Shun. But Shun swiftly dodged and kissed her again.
"…I'll spare you with this for today," Shun said as he slapped Daki's behind, causing her to fall into the bed panting.
"…"
The two ninja girls were shocked by what they were seeing.
'As long as one lives, there's a lot to see…' Makio thought. Never once in her life had she imagined she would witness a demon being sexually harassed.
'No, she's an oiran. She's just doing her job.' Makio shook her head.
Meanwhile, Shun started dressing up and left the room, leaving the poor ninja girls with a demon.
Creak—!
Once Shun left, the three were left in the most awkward position they'd ever been in. One moment they'd fought against each other with their lives depending on it, the next moment they were treated like oirans, used and left.
Creak—!
While they didn't move a muscle, Shun returned for a moment.
"I'll be back at this time tomorrow."
Creak—!
"…"
After leaving their room, Shun didn't leave instantly. Instead, he asked for Hinatsuru.
When he waited in his usual room, Hinatsuru soon came.
While Hinatsuru prepared the usual sweets and tea, today Shun wasn't planning on the usual games.
"…Hinatsuru."
"Yes?"
"Do you want to get out of here with me?" Shun's question was too sudden.
"!"
"Eh?"
"If you agree, I'll take care of everything."
"…"
Though she didn't know about Shun's life, from his physique and wealth she knew he wasn't an ordinary guy.
She and Shun had become quite close over the month, but she was married, and this was just a mission…
"…Sorry, but I can't."
"…"
Shun wasn't a kid anymore who wanted to marry everyone he became intimate with. He just wanted closure.
"…I see." Shun stood and left without another word.
Creak—!
"…"
Seeing the usually playful guy leave with a serious face was like a blow to Hinatsuru's heart.
—
Shun, though he felt a bit down, wasn't too affected by the rejection. The only one he truly cared about in the Demon Slayer world was Kie.
He checked the One Piece world and made sure everything was fine, then hopped into the Mushoku world.
"Though Daki seemed obedient, any more push and she would've started attacking me seriously. I'm paying them to do their job, yet I get treated like this." Shun sighed as he entered the floating house, now landed in a plain area.
—
After being welcomed by Lilia and Aisha, Shun ate dinner.
"So what happened to you?" Shun asked the guest.
"…Ah, actually…" Rudeus explained that he'd expressed his desire to marry both Eris and Sylphy. His current blackened eyes and beaten-up state were the result.
"I see…"
Currently, Shun's usual housemates and guest Rudeus were gathered around the dinner table.
"Anyways, we're going to the Begaritt Continent. Prepare yourselves."
"!!"
Shun didn't care about their love lives at all. He had no interest in Eris, who was already his daughter, same for Sylphy and Roxy.
"It will probably take nearly a few weeks even with our transportation method," Shun sighed, but Lilia came and hugged him from behind. It wasn't a secret that she was the one urging him to go save Zenith.
"Uhm, about that. I actually might have a way…" the beaten-up Rudeus suggested. His down mood instantly brightened at the mention of going to save his mother. Shun going with them would mean guaranteed success.
"We'll go with that then." Shun wasted no time. He remembered Rudeus had somehow teleported to the Begaritt Continent.
"Eh? Okay! I'll go ask Nanahoshi then." Rudeus ran out in the middle of the night, just showing how excited he was.
Seeing him like this, Lilia smiled, then she asked.
"…Did something bad happen?"
"Ah? Nothing worth mentioning."
Shun wasn't as affected as when he'd been rejected by Hancock.
"What happened?" Lilia was curious about what would even trouble a guy like Shun.
"I just got rejected, that's all."
"!"
Hilda, Aisha, Eris, and Ghislaine, who were secretly paying attention to their conversation, got caught off guard.
"…Master, who dared to reject our master?!" Aisha was angry for reasons unknown.
"You should just act strong and kidnap her!" Eris gave rare advice.
Ghislaine nodded, acknowledging Eris's advice.
"…Why didn't you just blackmail her?" Hilda asked, genuinely surprised.
"…"
'Ah, it was a mistake to tell them.'
—
Next morning, Rudeus skipped school and visited Shun's house.
"So, is your idea going to work?"
"About that…" Rudeus rubbed his head. "I'm sorry, but the girl with the teleportation method is… asking for your help in exchange."
"Huh? What do they want from me?"
"So… there's a girl who isn't from this world like us, and she wants to desperately go back to her world. She seems to have heard that Shun-san is a space magic expert."
"I see…" Shun honestly didn't mind either way. If he could help, then good. If he couldn't, they'd just follow a map and take the longer route.
"Please follow me." Rudeus led the way after getting Shun's nod.
—
"Hi." Shun waved to a girl who looked like a middle schooler.
"Hello." The other party bowed respectfully.
"Can you teleport us to the Begaritt Continent, Rapan City?" Shun went straight to business.
"Not the exact location, but to a close place." Nanahoshi liked his straightforwardness.
"I see. What do you want me to do in exchange?"
"I heard you're a space magic expert… Can you send me back to my home?" Nanahoshi got greedy now that she finally saw a glimmer of hope.
"Hmm, I can teleport you to other worlds…"
"!"
"But only to worlds I've been to. If I teleport without a destination in mind, it leads to a random world."
"…"
Though it was a bit disappointing, Nanahoshi nodded. There wouldn't be an ability that convenient that would send her back to her own world.
"I'll help you guys teleport first. When you come back, help me with my research with your magic."
"Okay."
When two people who didn't like beating around the bush talked, things went smoothly.
—
Shun brought all the people who wanted to come from his group. They were the ones from earlier, just adding one extra princess named Ariel.
On the other hand, Rudeus brought Sylphy, Elinalise, and Cliff.
"Is it really okay for me to come along?" Ariel asked. She knew in fact she was probably the weakest here.
"Don't worry, I'm the strongest." Shun's confidence was going through the roof after taking over Acnologia's powers.
"…"
"Did you prepare the kill list from your kingdom?" Shun asked innocently.
"Not yet… can we go there after this trip and meet them together?" Ariel proposed.
"Sure."
"…"
While the group was going through some ancient tomb-like places to teleport, Ariel and Shun were talking about their crazy plan.
"By the way, my father might already be there."
"!"
Rudeus reminded Shun that when he'd learned about his mother's location, he'd already sent a letter to Paul at that time.
"I see. He sounded like a scum from your stories. Should I take revenge for you?" Shun asked Rudeus with a smile.
"N-No, it's fine."
'You already took the biggest revenge possible.' Rudeus thought as he looked at Lilia and Aisha walking behind him.
When they entered a tomb-like place, they were led to a spot with a word written on the ground in rune language.
"Stepping on it will probably teleport us," Rudeus said.
Shun nodded. "Before stepping on it, take one."
"Eh? What is this?" Rudeus asked curiously but took one of the white diamonds anyway.
"It's a diamond made by my magic. If by some accident we get separated, I'll be able to track you down."
"Oh! That's great!" Everyone who'd felt nervous about teleporting now felt very safe.
'He's very reliable… when he's on our team!' Rudeus prayed to be on the same team until he died of old age.
Thus, everyone began stepping on the teleportation rune one by one.
Fortunately, they all were sent to the same location.
"Ariel, map."
"Yes."
Shun gave her the role of navigator so she wouldn't think anything stupid like being a burden.
"Hmm, Rapan City… this way!" Ariel pointed.
"All right."
Clap—!
Shun clapped and created a ship that resembled a Marine warship. No way they were going to walk in this desert. Shun made the ship float as they started heading toward Rapan City.
"!"
They thought they were immune to Shun's crazy magic, but they were still amazed.
"Can I do this someday too?" Aisha asked with stars in her eyes.
"Maybe. It's just a matter of magic power capacity."
Shun created chairs for everyone, then started taking a nap on Lilia's lap.
"Ah—! I'm a bit tired after using too much magic."
"…" Lilia didn't believe him at all but started feeding him grapes.
It took only an hour to reach Rapan City.
The flying ship alarmed everyone.
"It's such a unique structure…" Shun was impressed by the city.
"It's a giant behemoth's bone that got defeated a long time ago by Kalman the Second," Ariel informed everyone.
"Kalman, huh?" Shun had no idea which Kalman was even his vengeful target, so he decided it would be whichever one was alive now.
"Let's gather some information on wherever this teleportation labyrinth is."
The large group of mostly women drew attention, but their instinct screamed danger that they should never become their enemy.
Creak—!
The group entered a nearby tavern. It was the usual setting for gathering information from a tavern.
"Oh—! What's a group of beauties doing in a place like this?"
"Leave those two boys and play with us."
"Hehehe."
The drunkards laughed crudely as they spoke vile words, only to discover…
"Huh?"
"Where did Galak go?"
"Runk too?!!"
"W-What's happening?"
The drunkards instantly sobered up.
Shun approached them, not willing to waste time.
"Where is the teleportation labyrinth? It should be in this city."
"I-I don't know!"
POP—!
After removing that guy, Shun turned to the next table.
"I don't—!"
POP—!
"I-I…"
POP—!
After a minute of mini teleportation disasters created by Shun, finally someone with knowledge spoke up.
"I-I've heard about it."
"Good."
"It's in the northern part of the city, just outside the city limits."
"Thanks."
Shun said and led the group to the location.
"…"
The group with Shun got a grim reminder of what kind of tyrant they were traveling with. But one pervert got horny seeing Shun's way of dealing with problems, to no one's surprise, it was Ariel.
Just when they were heading toward the location…
"…Rudy?!"
"!"
"Father?" Rudeus was shocked to meet his father, but most importantly, there was a figure with blue hair with them.
"R-Roxy!!"
Rudeus ignored Paul and went for a hug with his teacher.
There was a dwarf and a guy resembling a monkey.
Shun stared at the monkey guy named Geese with interest.
'So there's no plan at all against me?' Shun had imagined that Geese would be plotting around by Hitogami's instructions.
Elinalise walked forward and greeted the dwarf and monkey.
Meanwhile…
"Lilia! Aisha!" Paul's expression brightened at seeing his family, but there wasn't the expected tearful reunion.
Aisha didn't even meet his eyes. 'She seems to hold a bit of a grudge against her family due to being neglected.' Shun remembered Aisha complaining to him a few years prior.
"Lilia. I'm glad you're safe." Paul smiled, though his expression was worn off. They'd been trying to save Zenith for a month.
"Yes… I've decided to marry this man." Suddenly Lilia held Shun's hand and declared.
"…"
'We haven't made any marriage plans, but I guess I'll have to make some. Ultear is pressuring for a wedding as well, and Sorano is having a fake pregnancy.' Shun sighed to himself.
"W-What do you mean by that, Lilia…"
"I see. Are you being threatened?" Paul clenched his fists.
"W-Wait, father!" Rudeus came to his senses and managed to stop him. "Shun-san isn't threatening anyone! He came to help us save Mother."
"…"
"Let go, Rudy. Even if what you said is true, a man must fight for his woman!" Paul said righteously.
"…"
Shun stepped forward; hearing him say Lilia was 'his woman' irritated him.
'How do I deal with this idiot?' Shun sighed. This is why he didn't mess with women with partners.
'Beating him up or getting beaten… neither is a good solution.'
Paul swung a sucker punch at Shun's face, much to Rudeus's headache.
'The last guy who managed to punch him met the worst future. Why do those bastards wanna hit Shun so much?' Rudeus wondered, then realized both Luke and Paul had been NTR-ed.
"…"
Shun dodged to the side smoothly, much to Rudeus's relief.
'If he'd accepted the punch, he'd be planning something bad for the other party.' Rudeus thought so from experience.
But Paul, in rage, pulled out his sword and swung it toward Shun. It did hit Shun, but what his sword hit was his paw.
POP—!
Crashh—!
Due to the recoil of his own attack being repelled, Paul was sent flying until he hit the wall of a nearby building.
"…"
"Father…" Rudeus called out to Paul in worry, but he was more annoyed.
"…It's been six years. Of course you've seduced a man already, huh?" Paul spoke with a laugh full of scorn.
"!"
Lilia's body started trembling as her eyes became tearful.
Shun grabbed her hand, which had an immediate effect in calming her down.
"You were always like that—!"
"SHUT UP!! You don't know what Lilia has been through." Right when Shun was considering whether to kill him, to his surprise Rudeus shouted at him in genuine anger. Rudeus knew Lilia had done everything for his sake.
Paul's words froze as he sat silently in the rubble.
"…Let's go." Shun said, grabbing Lilia and Aisha's hands as they started heading for the teleportation disaster. It was already night, and normally they'd wait for tomorrow morning, but none of them wanted to stay here any longer.
With Shun's original group following Shun, from the other side only Rudeus's teacher joined their group.
"Paul hasn't changed at all… no, he's become worse!" The elf, Elinalise, commented.
"…"
"He's an idiot who says the worst stuff when he's feeling down, but when tomorrow comes he'll be on his knees saying 'I'm sorry, I was wrong.'"
Elinalise shook her head, as she seemed to be familiar with Paul's personality. Though no one replied, Rudeus and Roxy, who were familiar with Paul, agreed.
Once inside the labyrinth, Shun took the lead with his sensory magic, easily finding the boss room. The group walked on a teleportation rune once again and immediately arrived inside the boss room.
When they entered, the first thing they saw was a naked woman inside a magic crystal, frozen in time.
"Mother!" Rudeus shouted, seeing his mother for the first time in six years. She looked the same as when he was a kid.
Though the atmosphere was off due to the earlier incident, now that they were inside the labyrinth they were fired up, planning to aim their frustration at the poor hydra.
"Eris and Ghislaine will take the frontline."
"Yes!" X2
"Elinalise and Nina support both the rear and front from the middle."
"Okay."
"Aisha, Rudeus, Cliff, Sylphiette and…" Shun looked at Roxy.
"I'm Roxy, a mage." Roxy introduced herself.
"And Roxy will support from the back."
"Yes!"
"As for Ariel…"
"Eh?"
'I have a role too?' The princess was surprised.
"You will be in charge of massaging my shoulders," Shun said with a smile to lift the cloudy mood.
"…"
"Pfft—!" Aisha couldn't hold back her laughter.
The cloudy atmosphere seemed to vanish with the group's small laughter.
"You guys train all the time and rarely find a worthy opponent." Shun looked at Eris, Nina, Ghislaine, and Aisha. "Try to beat it on your own. If it gets bad, I'll interfere."
"Okay." Aisha responded while the other two nodded.
"It regenerates, so be careful." Shun waved them goodbye as he, Hilda, Lilia, and Ariel hid in a corner.
"!"
Suddenly Shun's expression changed.
"What's wrong?" The attentive Lilia asked.
"I just remembered we left the dog and cat at home…"
"…"
Meanwhile, the battle raged against the hydra.
The hydra was a massive prehistoric, multiheaded monster. It had nine long serpentine heads, scale armor that would completely absorb magic, four stocky reptilian legs, and regeneration that would regrow its head within seconds. It also had reptilian features, with sharp teeth and glowing eyes.
'It's decently strong, but anyone from the Seven Dwarves can beat it alone.' Shun evaluated the hydra.
Eris and Ghislaine smoothly cut its necks off, but they'd regenerate within seconds.
"Its scales will absorb magic. After cutting its head off, use flame magic and cauterize the wound!" Shun backseated them, but today his advice was serious.
"Yes!" Aisha said and joined Eris and Ghislaine's range to burn off its wounds.
"I-It worked!" Aisha shouted with joy as one of the heads was cut down and the wound was closed off with flame magic.
"Now only eight heads left!" Eris said with a smile.
Eris and Ghislaine were like machines; every time the poor hydra clashed with them, it lost a head.
Before long, only two heads remained.
"All right! Only two heads left—!" Rudeus said mid-fight, distracted by how smoothly it was going.
But suddenly…
"Rudeus!!" Ghislaine pushed his body as the hydra went berserk, attacking everything. One of its remaining two heads attacked Rudeus, but Ghislaine, being the strongest from the attacking group, managed to save him.
Even Ghislaine wouldn't be able to survive a clean attack from the hydra.
"!!"
The hydra's head landed on the position Ghislaine had been in, creating massive dust and craters. Once the dust cleared, what they saw made them sigh in relief.
Shun shielded Ghislaine with his paw, sending the poor hydra flying into the ceiling from its own recoil.
"Rudeus."
"!"
"Yes…" Rudeus looked down in shame.
"Being distracted when the fight isn't over is a horrible mistake."
"…"
"A wounded beast is the most dangerous. Keep that in mind."
"…Yes."
Usually Eris would come to his defense, but today even she agreed he was at fault.
"All right, you guys can take a rest. It was a good fight. I'll take the remaining body and cook it for dinner tonight."
"…"
Roxy couldn't believe what she was hearing, as it was the first time she'd met Shun.
"Uhm… what did you just say?"
POP—!
Without responding to her, Shun disappeared from his position and froze the hydra with Ice-Make magic to keep it fresh. Then he sent it to Ranoa ahead of time.
"…"
"W-Who is that man?" Roxy asked Rudeus. She hadn't asked until now because he seemed to be the leader, but he could also fight?
"Well, he's…" Rudeus explained, shocking Roxy's worldview.
Once Shun secured the food he was curious about, Roxy went and saved Zenith from the magic crystal prison.
Zenith didn't wake up.
"Come closer. I'll teleport us back," Shun said. His job here was done.
"Ah, please wait a moment." Rudeus said and scribbled down a note to tell Paul that Zenith was safe now. Rudeus placed the note on the ground with a small stone on top of it to make sure it stayed in place.
Just when Shun enveloped everyone in a paw bubble and was about to leave…
"Wait!!"
"!"
'Is this Paul?' Rudeus felt troubled but walked forward to tell the news of Zenith, but…
"Who is that?" Rudeus asked out loud. Shun paused his teleportation too but kept the paw bubble on as he alone got outside of it.
Seeing Shun standing protectively while they were inside a paw bubble made everyone feel a variety of emotions, from Roxy's awkwardness at meeting Shun for the first time to Ariel's horniness.
Shun stared at the young man but had no clue who he even was.
The one who'd called out to Shun's team was a young man with spiky black hair in his twenties.
"I am North God Kalman III, Aleksander Ryback. A hero!!"
"…"
"I'm here to slay the heretic Magic God!"
'What is this chuunibyou bastard talking about?' Rudeus was understanding the danger of Hitogami with each passing day.
When the North God finished speaking, five people covering their faces who seemed to be assassins appeared, and a woman who was somewhat familiar to Shun appeared.
"…"
The woman was tied tightly by a rope and her mouth was covered.
While Shun didn't care at all about the newcomers, he felt like his body was out of control.
'Huh?'
To everyone's shock, Shun's paw bubble got canceled as his hair turned black and his height got shorter.
"Shun-san?"
Shun didn't respond to his team. Instead, his eyes never left the middle-aged woman who'd appeared.
She looked to be in her forties. She had Christian nun-like clothes, with blonde hair and sharp eyes that told of her personality.
The so-called hero spoke. "If you don't want her to get hurt, kill yourself with this." The North God threw a knife.
"!"
"W-What are you saying, you bastard!!" Eris stepped up.
"…"
Both the fool and Shun didn't utter a single word. Because no matter how many times they'd seen it, the future wouldn't change…
Today, the Magic God was going to die.