Chapter 113: Retributive Justice

"Hey... you were planning on catching Ryuga in that blast too, weren't you?"

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

I had only met the man twice. He had challenged me, but for some reason, he’d ended up helping me, only to get caught in an explosion and knocked unconscious. Setting off an explosive in a space this cramped was madness. It wasn't the act of a sane man. He was supposed to be a teammate, a guild member... so why?

My camera had been destroyed in the aftermath. I couldn't wrap my head around the mental state of someone who could direct an explosion that powerful at another person without a shred of hesitation.

"Well, of course," the man replied. "Everyone up to this point has been nothing more than a sacrifice to take you down. Though, I'll admit I didn't expect him to shield you."

"...Aren't you supposed to be comrades?"

"Comrades? My only comrade, now and forever, is Ouma."

He was taking advantage of the broken camera to say whatever he liked. He looked at my reaction, his smirk widening as he began to spill his true feelings.

"The current Illegal is just a collection of placeholders. Stand-ins for the friends I lost back then. They're just trash lured in by the name 'Ouma.' Besides, you're the one who beat them, aren't you? If you'd just played along and let yourself be defeated, none of this would have happened."

"...I see. You're a lost cause."

"Oh? You're one to talk. After unleashing that level of magic on people, you have the nerve to judge me?"

My emotions went cold.

My thoughts froze over, and I found myself gripping my sword instinctively. According to Senka’s information, this guy was the top tier of A-rank. I’d heard he was a powerhouse bordering on S-Rank. I couldn't afford to be careless.

"Fine then. Since the camera is dead... it won't matter how much I break you, will it? Let's get started, Ouma—and we'll make Illegal truly unbreakable!"

"You're right about one thing," a new voice cut in. "Die, Itsuki."

"Huh?"

It happened in a flash.

The moment Itsuki screamed and Ouma’s presence surged, a massive amount of mana erupted. A fist wreathed in lightning punched straight through the man standing before me.

"Heh. You've gotten surprisingly sturdy. Well, you always were a hard worker, weren't you? Honestly, it's my fault for letting you run wild like this."

"Wh—Ouma?! Why... me?!"

"It’s your own fault for running your mouth like a piece of shit when people are listening. The camera’s broken, so I’ll be blunt—you’re annoying. Eat another [Vajra]."

The lightning-charged strike pierced him again, stripping away his consciousness entirely. He was an Adventurer, so his mana would probably keep him alive, but he wouldn't be moving again for a long time.

"Now then, [Valhalla]. Sorry about that."

"What the hell are you thinking?" I asked.

"Just settling a debt. I caused you trouble, and I need to clean up the mess I left sitting for too long. Once this is over, Illegal is finished. But before that... I want to test you."

His gaze was piercingly direct. He looked me in the eye and spoke with a level of sincerity I hadn't expected.

"I want to see the strength Yamato acknowledged for myself. More than anything... I want to fight that idiot I stood alongside in Mythologia one more time."

That was when I truly went on high alert.

I didn't think Yamato would have blabbed, which meant it should have been impossible for him to know who I was. Who is this guy? How does he know about that world?

"I want to know it—the power of the Hero who supposedly saved that world. Ever since I met you, my [Scripture] (Indra) has been throbbing. It’s telling me to test you, to protect you. Shakra—my predecessor—is screaming."

He summoned a single book.

It was a [Scripture], the very same type that existed in Mythologia, containing the power of Indra. I’d tried to tell myself I was imagining things. I knew the owner of that [Scripture], so I’d convinced myself this was just a second copy—a different aspect, the [Scripture] of Taishakuten.

But the moment I heard the name Shakra, that hope died.

The [Scripture] he held belonged to Shakra Deva—a Shogun of the Aldia Kingdom, and the man I had fought beside countless times in Mythologia.

"Fight me! Show me how strong you've become since I fell! Please, comrade!"

Ouma’s eyes turned a blood-red as lightning began to arc around him. The mere aftershocks of his power began to tear the surrounding building apart, exposing the room to the outside air.

I had to take this seriously. I had to fight Ouma with everything I had. Holding back wasn't even an option—I couldn't even let the thought cross my mind. There was no way I could face a man wielding the power of Shakra—the man who fell in the final battle against the Demon King—on my own.

"[Dual Summon]! — [Othinus Ambrosius Merlinus], [Vritra Asura Veda]!"

I left the task of protecting our surroundings to Merli and summoned Vritra as my primary combatant. My mana was only at about fifty percent of its peak. With the added drain of support and the restrictions I’d placed on myself, I was limited, but she was the best hand I could play against him right now.

I forcibly pulled them into this world, paying the price with my own soul’s vitality. Even with multiple layers of restrictions, the weight of summoning these two was immense. But I had to do it.

I had a thousand questions. There were things we needed to talk about. But if that man was telling me to fight... then my only choice was to give him a real answer.

"Reima?! With your current mana, calling me and Vri-chan is—wait, why is Shakra here?!"

"No time to worry about that now," Vritra said, her voice low. "But to think I'd meet the man who went and died on his own in a place like this... Heh. This will be a pleasure to crush."

Since we were being broadcast by a third-person camera, our exchange lasted only a fraction of a second. I immediately sent a telepathic command to Merli and had Vritra revert to her dragon form. Together, we emerged from the wreckage of the building.

"So that's Vritra... my old nemesis."

"I'm not holding back," I said. "But you're going to tell me everything afterward."

"Only if you win. Now come at me, Reima!"