I dreamt a dream.
In that dream, I pioneered new lands and endured countless trials.
Multitudes followed me, and multitudes were my enemies.
Yet, I would always press forward; I did not care what power resided in my hands.
Whatever that power was, I would simply pioneer the path I had chosen for myself.
No matter the weapon I used, even if it were a power born of darkness.
"...Yes..."
Thump—!
Akumo's heart began to beat. It breathed vitality into a dead body that had ceased to function. Simultaneously, an ominous aura began to envelop his frame, mechanically realigning shattered bones and snapped tendons.
Crack—!
Snap!!
Soon, his hair partially stained a deep black, Akumo slowly rose from the midst of the wreckage.
Rumble—
"...I must go."
With a mind clearer than ever before, his footsteps naturally turned toward the chaos-stricken Orario.
"Finish them! Bring true despair to Orario!!"
"Yes!!"
BOOM—!!!!!!
Orario was descending into total anarchy. The executives of the Evils, who had been lurking in the shadows, surged into the city streets to slaughter civilians. A frantic melee broke out as adventurers moved to intercept them.
"What a magnificent chorus! It's perfect!"
"I've been waiting for this moment forever!!!!"
"The masses, the adventurers, even the Gods! All of you, just die!!!"
The city was caught in a hellish conflagration. Adventurers who had rushed out of buildings stood paralyzed by the sight, only to immediately throw themselves into the fray to stop the Evils from completing their massacre.
"Someone, someone please...!!"
"Waaaaaaah!!!!!!"
Screams echoed from every corner as buildings crumbled into dust.
"...Ah... ah...!!!"
"Don't just stand there! Ardee! Ryu!"
"But... this... this shouldn't be happening!! This is hell...!"
"That's exactly why you need to move now! We have to save as many as we can!!"
"Uaa... Uaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!"
Traumatized by Akumo's perceived death and the sudden manifestation of this living nightmare, Ardee and Ryu had fallen into a state of panic. It was only after Kaguya's harsh rebuke that their bodies moved, fueled by a surge of righteous fury to block the Evils' path.
Watching the chaos from a distance, Zard and Alfia stared coldly at Erebus, who stood before them.
"I thought we were clear... we were the ones meant to deal with Akumo?"
"Whoa, whoa~ Calm down. Even if it wasn't you, he—"
Grip—!!!
"You hid the suicide detonation strategy from us as well...!!"
Zard hoisted Erebus up by his collar, radiating a murderous intent so sharp it could have severed a God's neck then and there.
"The suicide units are merely fireworks. I didn't deploy them for senseless slaughter outside of the key strategic locations."
'Though I did send the remaining forces after that young man... I wonder if he's alright?'
"Shut your filthy mouth."
Despite Alfia's overwhelming pressure bearing down on him, Erebus spoke with calm certainty.
"Shouldn't you two be moving soon? You already know, don't you?"
"That boy isn't the type to fall before the trial I've bestowed."
"Hurry along and go wait for him."
As he spoke, an all-too-familiar pressure radiated from the opposite side of the city.
Shiver—!
""!?""
"This is...!"
It was the nightmare they could never forget. It was a weight akin to facing the aura of the Black Dragon once more, yet strangely, their bodies did not tremble. Zard and Alfia realized the truth in an instant and began to head toward their designated battlefield.
"Alfia."
"I know."
"Die, every last one of you!!!"
Members of the Apathe Familia were ravaging the outskirts of the street, maintaining their relentless assault on Orario.
CRASH—!!!!!!
"Wh-what? We didn't send anyone to that sector... Is it those Gulliver brats?"
GRAB—!!
"Mmph!? Mmpph!!"
A hand shot out from the thick smoke and seized an Apathe Familia member by the face. The panicked adventurer tried to wrench himself free with all his might, but the arm holding him didn't budge an inch.
'How...!? I'm a Level 5 vanguard... just who is this—'
CRUNCH—!!!!
'!!!!!'
"Gwaaaaaaargh!!!!"
The hand simply crushed the man's skull, killing him instantly. Then, a man stepped slowly out of the settling dust.
"Y-you... you're...!"
"Pioneer—"
Squelch—!!!
Baslam watched in shock as his fellow Apathe members were dismantled in an eye-blink. Seeing the flickering dark energy emanating from the man's body, he let out a mocking laugh.
"He... heheh!"
"Kahahaha!!!! Look at you now! [Pioneer]!"
"They can dress it up with words like 'Hero'... but in the end, you've fallen to our level too—"
FREEZE—!!!!!
Baslam suddenly realized. While he was speaking, all the spirit-soldiers he had prepared had already been neutralized. Furthermore, the eyes of the entity standing before him were impossibly clear.
"How... how can this..."
"...Out of my way."
"That energy is clearly a Curse...!!! That power is a hex, I know it!!!"
"Sigh..."
Baslam screamed in a mixture of shock and rage. He couldn't fathom it—Akumo was utilizing a Curse, yet showed no signs of corruption or physical change.
'Why...!! Why!!'
"How the hell can you have an expression like that while using the power of evil?!!!!!!"
"Evil? Hah... you're making me lose my mind."
Akumo slowly approached Baslam with the Green Fang in hand. He left the man with a single question.
"Do you honestly think good and evil exist within a weapon?"
"'Curse' my ass. It's just magic that someone slapped a label on to feel superior, isn't it?"
"Power is merely a means to an end. Idiot."
Slash—!!!
Step, step—
As he stepped past the slain Baslam, the Gulliver Brothers—having finished fighting in a different sector—arrived and spotted him.
"Pioneer... your aura..."
'What is this...!! Is it fear...? No...'
"This is..."
Thud—
Just as an inexplicable sense of reverence began to wash over the Gulliver Brothers at the sight of Akumo's presence, Akumo placed a hand on their shoulders and spoke plainly.
"It's nothing special."
"So don't stand there dazed. We have people to protect."
Hearing his voice, the Gulliver Brothers felt a surge of conviction.
"...Understood."
'We have to... we have to get this guy back to the main force immediately!'
"The evacuation point for the citizens is the city center. Anyone who can read the flow of battle will surely gather there."
"Please, serve as the shield for the weak here."
"In my name, I shall grant you the protection of the stars!"
The oath of Astraea, Goddess of Justice, succeeded in inspiring the adventurers. Their morale surged as they gave their all to protect the citizens from the Evils.
"Our forces are spread too thin, and the enemy is leading us by the nose..."
"There's no way we can block all the traps they've dug throughout the entire city."
Goddess Freya observed the battlefield with clinical detachment, positioning her children in Central Park while looking to link up with the other Familia forces.
"Living, breathing bombs...! This is the bloody worst, aye!"
"I know they don't care how they win, but there's a limit to how low ye can go!"
Loki was incensed. Under Finn's command, she concentrated her members to fortify Central Park, which had become the city's final bastion.
And then.
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!!
"What'n the hell was that!?"
"Is it another suicide blast!?"
Loki and Finn snapped their heads toward the source of the massive explosion, but what they found there was...
"So we were supposed to gather here?"
"Aye, it's a direct order from the Goddess herself. This is the place."
'He wiped out all the Evils stationed across more than a dozen streets in an instant... just how strong is he?'
"A-Akumo!!!"
"Loki, Finn. What's the status of the civilian evacuation?"
"I gave half the units to Gareth and Riveria to hold the South. We've joined with the Freya Familia to defend Central Park here."
"That's good. I've finished clearing the Evils and suicide bombers in the Northwest and the outskirts."
"What!? In such a short time...!"
As if to prove his words, a massive throng of surviving citizens began pouring into Central Park from behind him.
—Thank you!!!
—We're alive because of the Pioneer!!!
"Akumo...! Ye did damn good, aye!!!"
"Save the thanks for later. I'm heading South."
"Right! Go give 'em hell for me!!!"
Loki decided to trust the conviction in his eyes. Finn likewise put his faith in Akumo, choosing to stay and hold Central Park with his subordinates, their spirits bolstered by Akumo's presence.
"Stay sharp and hold the line!!!!"
"Protect the weak!!!!"
—UOOHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Fuelled by Akumo and Finn's declarations, the morale of the adventurers hit its peak as they began to push back the Evils.
Whoosh—!!!!!!!
Akumo moved with incredible speed toward the South, looking like nothing more than a verdant flash of light.
BOOM—!!!!
—Gwaaaargh!!!!!
The further south he went, the louder the roar of battle and the clash of power became. Sensing that monsters among men were clashing ahead, Akumo accelerated until he reached the epicenter.
"Ho, a familiar face finally shows up. Is that cat your junior?"
"Allen, go to where Lady Freya is! Protect her!"
"What!? What the hell are you babbling about, Ottar! I'm going to kill this armored bastard myself!! You're the one in my way—"
"Listen to me!!!!"
"!?"
"If you consider me your Captain at all, go. Endure the humiliation for the sake of our Goddess!!"
Ottar's voice was uncharacteristically severe. Sensing the sheer gravity behind his words, Allen turned and began racing back to his Goddess.
Dash—!!!
"!? You're...!!"
"Allen!! Where is Ottar right now?"
"...Southwest street. He's fighting some armored warrior."
"Damn it!"
'Zard is already on the move! Which means...'
BOOM—!!!!
"!?"
"Allen!"
"I know without you telling me!!"
Allen pushed his speed to its absolute limit, vanishing toward Central Park.
'Dammit! Every single one of them! Someday, I'll surpass you all!!'
After navigating through the ruins for a short while longer, Akumo felt two familiar presences. He leapt high into the air, and from his vantage point, he saw Riveria, Gareth, and Ottar each engaged with their respective opponents.
"It's already begun!?"
"[Gospel]."
THOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!
Alfia's magic slammed into Riveria and Gareth, blowing them back. As she revealed herself fully in the clearing—
Step—
"...Akumo."
"...Alfia."
A single pioneer had appeared on the field.