My Lord Rimuru is the pinnacle in a world of flawed mortals pretending to be heroes.
—Tio Klarus
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「 ✦ Shizuku Yaegashi ✦ 」
Two deafening bangs echoed through the chamber, and Cattleya's legs were dismembered in sprays of blood and bone fragments.
"—GraAaaahhh!!"
The demon's agonized scream bounced off the stone walls, but there was no mercy in Nagumo's expression. No hesitation. Just a cold efficiency that made my stomach clench.
Everything was completely one-sided.
The pressure in the air grew more suffocating with each passing second. The stench of blood dominated everything, mixing with the acrid smell of gunpowder and burned flesh. The silence that followed each gunshot was deafening, broken only by Cattleya's labored breathing and the occasional whimper from one of my classmates.
"So, let's start," Nagumo said.
While he began his interrogation of the demon, the rest of us huddled together near where Meld-san lay unconscious. The students were speaking in hushed, panicked whispers, their faces pale with shock and disbelief.
"What the... What the hell is he?!" Kouki's voice cracked as he watched Nagumo with undisguised horror. Though he was the only one who voiced it, I could see the same question written across every face around me.
The person who finally provided answers was Endou, looking like he wished he was anywhere else in the world.
"So Nagumo was alive this whole time?" Kouki asked, his voice laced with disbelief.
Everyone turned to stare at the white-haired figure dismantling our captor. The boy who stood there bore no resemblance whatsoever to the weak, bullied Hajime Nagumo we remembered.
That couldn't possibly be Nagumo, I thought, echoing what I could see written on every face around me. There's just no way.
Endou must have read our expressions, because he sighed heavily before speaking again. "I'm serious. He's totally different now, but it really is him."
Our attention shifted to the blonde girl floating nearby, her golden eyes surveying the chamber while indifferent to the violence.
"She's Yue-san," Endou continued quietly, his cheeks flushing slightly. "Nagumo's... lover."
Several of my classmates' jaws actually dropped. This ethereal, doll-like beauty with Hajime Nagumo? The same boy who'd been at the bottom of our class rankings, who'd been mocked and pushed around by people like Hiyama?
It didn't compute. It couldn't compute.
"Like I said, that's Nagumo," Endou pressed, perhaps sensing our continued disbelief. "Hajime Nagumo. The same Nagumo that fell off the bridge that day. He somehow survived, and crawled his way back out of the labyrinth. He tore through all the monsters on our way here too. It was insane. I can't believe it's really the same guy, but... it is."
Another gunshot interrupted his explanation, followed by Cattleya's renewed screaming.
"You damned thing. Are you even human?" the demon gasped between waves of agony. "No measly human can do those things."
"That's a good question. I myself don't really know. I don't mind either way, though." Nagumo's response was terrifyingly casual. "Now answer me. What's a demon like you doing down here? And where'd you get those monsters?"
"What makes you think I'll tell you? Why would I give information to our enemy? Just kill me and be done with it."
The sharp crack of another gunshot made several students flinch. Cattleya's arm exploded in a shower of gore, her scream echoing off the walls with renewed intensity.
"Agaaaaah!"
I felt Suzu grab my arm, her fingernails digging into my skin through my sleeve. Beside her, Eri had gone completely white, one hand pressed over her mouth like she was fighting not to be sick.
Kouki and the others watched in stunned silence, horror written across their faces at Nagumo's casual cruelty. Even I felt my stomach turn at the way he was dismantling the demon, piece by piece.
"Like I give a damn about the humans," Nagumo continued, completely ignoring our shock. "I'm the one asking."
"Grauuughh...! Hahh... as if this would be enough to make me talk."
Nagumo fell silent for a moment, considering. Then he began speaking again, laying out deductions that made Cattleya's eyes widen with each word. The ease with which he unraveled her plans, the accuracy of his analysis—it was like watching a completely different person wearing Nagumo's face.
When Cattleya finally broke, accepting defeat, she looked at Nagumo with something approaching respect.
"...Are we done here? If so, get it over with already. I hope you're not thinking of taking me prisoner. You'll never take me alive."
Her gaze held the resignation of a warrior accepting death. For a moment, I almost felt sorry for her—despite everything she'd put us through.
Nagumo raised his gun toward her head, finger already moving toward the trigger.
"Wait! Wait, Nagumo!"
Oh no. I turned to see Kouki struggling to his feet, swaying unsteadily.
"She can't fight anymore! There's no need to kill her!"
The silence that followed was deafening. Nagumo turned to look at Kouki with an expression of such complete bewilderment that it might have been funny under different circumstances.
"Let's... Let's just make her our prisoner," Kouki continued, oblivious to the danger he was walking into. "There's no way we can kill someone who can't even resist. Heroes aren't supposed to do things like that. You're one of my comrades too, so shouldn't you be obeying my commands?"
You absolute idiot, I thought, watching Nagumo's expression change from bewilderment to something much colder. This isn't the time for your hero complex.
But Kouki couldn't see it. Even now, bloodied and barely able to stand, he still thought he was the protagonist of this story. Still thought everyone should follow his lead, should accept his moral superiority without question.
The sharp crack of a gun fired cut through his delusions like a blade.
Cattleya's head snapped back, a neat hole appearing in her forehead before she toppled backward. Dead before she hit the ground.
Kouki's jaw hung open, his mind visibly struggling to process what had just happened. Around me, I could hear several students gasp or whimper. The casual ease with which Nagumo had ended a life—someone who couldn't fight back, someone who was already defeated—left them reeling.
But it was Kaori's reaction that worried me most.
She stood frozen, staring at Nagumo with an expression of such profound shock and heartbreak that it made my chest ache. I could practically see her world crumbling as she tried to reconcile the boy she'd once cared for with the cold-blooded killer standing before us.
She knew this day would come, I realized. We all did. But knowing and seeing are two different things.
The Nagumo she remembered had been kind, weak, always trying to help others despite his own limitations. The person standing over Cattleya's corpse bore no resemblance to that boy at all.
I moved closer to Kaori, ready to offer what comfort I could. After all our years of friendship, I knew exactly what was going through her mind. The cognitive dissonance between her memories and reality was tearing her apart.
"Why..." Kouki's voice cracked as he finally found his words. "Why did you kill her? There was no need to."
Nagumo glanced at him briefly, seeming to consider whether a response was even worth the effort. Apparently deciding it wasn't, he simply turned away and walked toward where Meld-san lay unconscious.
An hour later, we were making our way toward the surface. The journey that should have taken hours was compressed into a fraction of that time thanks to Nagumo's brutal efficiency in clearing the path ahead.
Every few minutes, the sound of gunfire would echo from up ahead, followed by the wet thud of something large hitting the ground. He was carving through the labyrinth's remaining monsters like they were made of paper.
Endou had convinced him to let us follow—for our own safety, he'd argued. Nagumo had simply shrugged, apparently indifferent to whether we lived or died as long as we didn't slow him down.
Kaori walked beside me in silence, her eyes fixed on Nagumo's back with an intensity that bordered on obsession. I could see the conflict written across her features—grief, confusion, and something that might have been desperate hope.
She was still trying to find traces of the old Nagumo, I realized. Looking for some sign that the boy she cared about was still in there somewhere.
The attention was clearly bothering him. I caught him glancing back at her with slight irritation, his jaw tight with annoyance.
But it was Kouki's expression that truly worried me.
His eyes had taken on a glassy, unfocused quality that I recognized all too well. It was the look he got when his worldview was challenged, when reality refused to conform to his expectations.
Jealousy, envy, wounded pride—all of it was there, simmering beneath the surface. The hero complex that had always defined him was cracking under the weight of his own inadequacy, and I could see the dangerous thoughts taking root.
This is bad, I thought, watching him struggle with the realization that someone he'd once looked down on had surpassed him so completely. This is really bad.
My mind wandered, unbidden, to Rimuru. To the way he'd left after realizing he'd frightened us. The genuine sadness in his expression, the defeat in his shoulders as he'd stepped through that portal.
At least Rimuru cared about what we thought of him. At least he tried to be better than the monster his power made him appear to be. Nagumo, on the other hand, seemed to have thrown all his fucks out of the window and embraced exactly what he'd become.
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「 ✦ Rimuru Tempest ✦ 」
The serpent made of pure lava lunged at me with jaws that could melt steel. I didn't dodge.
My fist met its face head-on, the impact sending shockwaves through the molten chamber. The construct exploded like a water balloon, spraying liquid fire in every direction. The droplets hissed against my skin but didn't even leave marks.
Another one came from behind. I spun around and grabbed it by the throat, my fingers sinking into the semi-solid magma that made up its neck. With a sharp twist, I ripped its head clean off and threw it at the third serpent emerging from the lava pool.
The headless body thrashed for a few seconds before collapsing back into the molten rock it came from.
I wiped magma off my hands like it was mud. The heat down here was intense enough to turn most people into ash in seconds, but to me, it was nothing I couldn't handle.
The chamber shook as more constructs began forming from the lava flows. Six this time, each one larger than the last. Their eyes glowed like tiny suns, and when they roared, the sound bounced off the volcanic walls like thunder.
Good. I needed something to hit anyway.
The first serpent came at me low, trying to sweep my legs. I jumped over it and brought both fists down on its spine. The thing cracked like an eggshell, its body splattering across the black stone floor.
Two more flanked me from either side. Instead of backing away, I charged straight into the one on my right. My shoulder connected with its center mass, and I kept pushing until I'd driven it into the chamber wall. The impact left a crater in the volcanic rock.
The second one wrapped around my waist from behind, trying to crush me with coils of liquid fire. I reached back, grabbed a section of its body, and started pulling. The construct tried to tighten its grip, but I was stronger. Much stronger.
With a sound like tearing fabric, I ripped the serpent in half.
The remaining three hesitated for a moment, as if they were actually thinking instead of just following their programming. Then they all rushed me at once.
I let them come.
My blade materialized in my right hand. The first serpent's head came off with a single horizontal slash. The second one tried to bite my arm, so I shoved the sword straight down its throat until the point came out the back of its skull.
The third one was smarter. It stayed back and started spitting globs of molten rock at me like artillery shells. Each impact left small craters in the floor, but I walked through the barrage like it was rain.
When I got close enough, I grabbed the serpent by its lower jaw and upper jaw, then pulled in opposite directions. It came apart with a wet tearing sound.
The chamber fell silent except for the bubbling of lava and the rumble of the volcano's core.
I stood there for a moment, breathing harder than I should have been. Not from exertion—these things were barely stronger than the worst I've faced. But something about the way I'd been fighting felt different. More violent and personal or aggressive and whatever.
I shook my head and kept moving deeper into the labyrinth.
The final level was a maze of narrow passages carved directly into the volcanic rock. Lava flows created natural bridges and barriers, forcing challengers to time their movements carefully or get burned to death. The heat here was so intense that the air itself shimmered like water.
I didn't bother with timing or strategy. I just walked straight through the lava flows like they were knee-deep streams.
More constructs emerged from the molten rock as I passed. Some looked like serpents, others like salamanders or lizards made of living fire. I killed them all without slowing down. A punch here, a blade thrust there, occasionally just grabbing one and crushing it in my bare hands.
The violence felt good here. No complicated emotions or misunderstandings. No worried looks or fear in people's eyes. Just me and things that needed to be destroyed.
By the time I reached the center chamber, I'd left a trail of cooling magma behind me. The constructs' remains would eventually merge back into the lava flows, ready to form new guardians for the next challenger. But for now, they were just cooling puddles of rock.
The final chamber was exactly what I'd expected. A massive dome of black volcanic glass rising from the center of a lava lake. The structure looked like an igloo, but one made from obsidian that reflected the orange glow of molten rock in twisted patterns.
I walked across the lava's surface like it was solid ground, leaving small ripples in my wake. The liquid fire was thick here, almost viscous, and hot enough to vaporize most metals instantly.
The dome's entrance was sealed with a barrier. I reached out and touched it with one finger. The barrier dissolved immediately, recognizing me as someone who'd cleared all the previous levels.
Inside, the temperature dropped to something almost comfortable. The walls were smooth black glass, and in the center of the room was a magic circle carved directly into the obsidian floor.
Spatial magic. Finally. That's three ancient magics now.
I stepped into the circle and felt the familiar tingle of magic flowing through me. Knowledge flooded my mind—formulae, techniques, applications.
<
Great Sage's notification was accompanied by a low rumble that seemed to come from the volcano itself. The chamber began to shake, small pieces of obsidian falling from the ceiling.
The labyrinth was resetting itself. In a few minutes, this entire section would collapse and be rebuilt by the volcano's natural processes. New guardians would form from the lava, new traps would be set, and everything would be ready for the next challenger.
I needed to get out of here.
The rumbling grew louder, and cracks began appearing in the dome's walls. Through the gaps, I could see molten rock starting to seep in. The chamber was literally melting around me.
I wrapped myself in a dense layer of Haki, the invisible armor coating me from head to toe. Then I looked up at the ceiling and activated my flight ability through Law Manipulation.
The obsidian dome shattered as I charged through it, sending chunks of volcanic glass spinning into the lava lake below. I kept flying straight up, following the volcano's central shaft toward the surface.
Behind me, the entire lower section of the labyrinth was collapsing. Walls of molten rock crashed together, sealing passages and creating new ones. The sound was like the world's largest construction project, all happening at once.
I flew faster, the walls of the volcanic shaft blurring past me. The temperature was rising even more as the mountain prepared to release the pressure building in its core.
Then I saw daylight above me—a circle of blue sky that grew larger with each second.
I burst out of the volcano's mouth just as it erupted.
The explosion behind me was incredible. A column of lava and superheated gas shot into the sky, carrying rocks the size of houses hundreds of feet into the air. The sound was like thunder and earthquakes combined, loud enough to be heard for miles.
I hovered in the air above it all, watching the spectacle unfold. Lava bombs traced glowing arcs through the sky before falling back to earth. The column of fire and rock rose higher and higher, until it looked like the mountain was trying to punch a hole in the clouds.
It was beautiful.
I stayed there for a long time, just watching the volcano do what it was designed to do. Release pressure. Destroy things. Reset itself for the next cycle. When the eruption finally began to die down, I turned away and started flying toward the horizon.