Calm After The Storm.

Sariel: 「I HAVE AWOKEN!!!」

「...」

——— .....Um ..... where am I? ———

I woke up to find myself in a cave.

What happened.

「Answer-」

——— Ah! Sage-san. It's you! ———

「... Yes.」

Ah. As long as you're here, there's no problem.

Linux: 「... Is it a must to say that line whenever you wake up?」

Why is my luck so terrible?

But the angelic voi–

「Notice–」

——— Don't interrupt me, brat! ———

「..... Understood.」

Uh, did I do something I shouldn't have done?

..... Nah.

Sariel: 「A-Ah, Linux-san. It's a pleasure to meet you–」

Linux: 「I said you should call me Linux.」

Damn. She can be sharp when she wants to.

Norana: 「You already forgot about me, huh? How cruel.」

Huh.

Sariel: 「Oh. Norana-chan, I-」

Norana: 「Norana-chan, huh? I see...」

I suddenly felt an intense killing intent. Wait!–

Sariel: 「WAIT! WAIT!! WAAAAAIIIIT!!! I just had a little memory malfunctioning, is all!」

Norana: 「*Sigh*. Whatever. Anyway, how are you feeling?」

Sariel: 「Alright I guess.」

Norana: 「That's good, I guess. Honestly, don't be so reckless! You nearly made Lunax cry, you know?」

Huh. Did she really do that!?

Sariel: 「Wait really!?」

Lunax: 「Gah!—Norana!! I told you not to mention it to him! It's too embarrassing...」

Hehehe. She was worried about me, wasn't she? What a sweetheart.

「....」

Now, I feel as if my very existence is being threatened.

I think I'll just shut up. Yeah, I'm definitely shutting up.

Norana: 「Ah. Sorry, sorry. What I meant is that she did, actually cry.」

Shit! Now I feel like an asshole who just made a girl cry.

Lunax: 「NORANA!!」

Norana: 「Hehe. It's not a good thing to be dishonest, you know?」

Lunax: 「Wh-Whatever!! Hmph!」

Gah! Critical hit.

Norana: 「*Sigh*. Man. Teasing you is the best thing to do in life!

Well, I hope your soul is alright. We'll leave you alone to recover for some time, but we'll be back soon. See you!」

What does she...

——— Sage-san! ———

「Report. Your soul sustained 54.642% damage.」

Damn it. That stupid dragon caused all this.

It's also because of my carelessness.

「Notice. It wasn't your fault. It was an unexpected accident.」

——— Am I not the only one that got hit? ———

「....」

Yeah. Thought so.

Even though I've lived over a millenia, I'm not really a combat oriented person.

I just began as a nobody to reach this stage.

The fact that I haven't pissed myself when faced with everything I've been through is truly remarkable.

Others may straight up commit suicide when plagued with such a fate.

I guess I really have a strong will compared to the norm.

The only reason I'm still sane is because of Sage-san.

She has taken care of me during my time of weakness.

I can't count how many times I would've died if not for her.

Whenever I had trouble dealing with an issue, she would always handle it for me.

I feel like I've been relying on her too much.

「Notice. 『Wise Sage』 exists solely for-」

——— And that's where I have a problem with you. ———

I need to let these words sink in.

——— You are not someone at my disposal. Neither are you someone to be used. You are a person I consider my partner. ———

「I-」

——— I was scared to remain alone in the underworld. ———

「....」

——— I wanted someone who could stay by my side to accompany me during times of desperation. I didn't want to face the lonely death I experienced. ———

——— That felt so horrible. Like I was just going to be trapped in an eternal abyss. ———

——— That feeling gave me a hidden trauma. That's why I never want to be alone again. ———

「....」

——— When I lost Makime, I felt as if I had lost the whole world. That's why... that's why I'm very grateful to have someone like you by my side. ———

「Master...」

——— So anytime you feel like you let me down, just know that I don't give a damn. ———

——— If you somehow feel that you're not enough, know that I'll always be there to support you no matter what. ———

——— Why am I saying this? It's because right now, you are the most important person to me. ———

「!!!」

——— I hope you now understand just how important you are to me. I don't even know what I would do if you were also taken away from me. ———

「Notice. I will never leave your side.」

——— I hope you do that. ———

Living for thousands of years with a human mentality is almost akin to torture.

We humans cherish every day that passes by.

So living for a millenia is mind-breaking.

I only survived because I was a demon and had someone like Sage-san.

I also endured a little because of my countless reincarnations, which strengthened my spiritual body (mind).

I am a really lucky person, even if I usually say otherwise.

The conditions were set for my existence, like fate working its magic.

I hope that everything will eventually go well. That's all I can do.

I think I'll train myself a little. This journey has been "survival of the fittest" through and through.

I may have survived up until now with my mentality, but I need to get stronger.

I can't always leave the dirty work to poor Sage-san. I need to man up! Like a man...

「?」

I'll up my game in both magic and swordsmanship. I'll also learn how to fight without weapon.

——— What was it called again? ———

「Hand-to-hand combat.」

Ah yes. That. I'll also create new arts and magic.

——— I can leave skill-related stuff to you, right? ———

「Yes.」

Good. Speaking of skills, I seem to have lost a few skills after the fight.

It may have been because my soul was not strong enough to shoulder the burden a skill presents.

That might have also happened because of that asshole's attack.

「Notice. You are precisely correct.」

I see. I know Sage-san would be willing to sacrifice herself if my soul was not strong enough to handle her.

「....」

I can absolutely never allow that to happen. That gives me more reasons to change my attitude.

People like Guy and others always strive for power whilst I always laze around.

I'm not going to become a battle maniac—no absolutely not.

I'll only train to get stronger, and when that's done, I'm gonna laze around like a sloth.

Yeah. I will also avoid battles as much as I can. Hm—hm.

——— Back to reality, how many skills do I actually have now? ———

「Answer. You currently possess three unique skills. They are 『Wise Sage』, 『Soul Lord』, and 『Ultimate Authority』.」

[Breaking Some Stupid Wall]

「Note. The『Pride』was integrated into the skill『Replicator』.」

[Fixing The Damn Wall]

Man. I really lost my skills, huh?

「Notice. When I sacrificed the skills, I had already gathered the data needed to recreate them.

Hence, the only things needed to get them back are the essence (magicules) and a stable soul.」

Wait, really!? Then, I only need to worry about my soul.

「Notice. The fact that you are still able to hold three unique skills shows how... abnormal your soul is.

Normally, damaging more than half of your soul would be enough to get you killed.」

Wow. That means I was born with an extremely powerful soul. That's good to hear.

Though it still hurts to hear her call my soul abnormal.

「Notice. Your soul may have also gotten stronger when you kept dying and reincarnating. That might be your special trait.」

——— Huh? What's with the new term I'm hearing? ———

「Answer. Special traits are what set the primordials apart from each other. It is what differentiates them from each other.」

Hm. This is the first time I've heard of something like this.

「Notice. I was the one who came up with this theory.」

Of course she did. What else do I expect from my loveable Sage-san.

Though I am interested in what she theorised.

Something like this from Sage-san must be of utmost importance.

「One example should be how Noir is able to almost instantly reincarnate after dying.」

Yeah. Now that I think about it, it has always been a mystery to us.

No one else but him is capable of doing so.

「Another example would be how Jaune's magicule quantity was always mysteriously higher than the other primordials upon birth.」

I see. I understand what you mean now.

「After proper research, I was able to find out that your special trait lies in the fact that whenever you die, your spiritual body gets stronger. This includes your soul.」

Really now? That's so cool. Then, does that mean that my soul can be recovered if I destroy it?

I'm definitely willing to do such a thing if I need to do so.

「Notice. Your soul was infected with chaotic energy energy of Iverage.

You will need to purify the remnants of chaotic energy in your soul if you want to restore it fully.」

Damn it. It's not gonna happen soon, huh?

「Leave it to me. I will work on creating a skill that could purify souls.」

As expected of my trusty partner. I will do just that.

「Notice. The individual Veldanava expressed his desire to speak to you.」

Wait, he did? I hope it isn't too piss me off.

He owes me one for all that I did for him. I'm currently going through all this because of him.

With that, I have my next mission set. To meet a fuck face.

I am currently flying around in the Jura Forest with nothing to do.

Well, I could just go and meet Velda, but I wanna refresh my mind a little.

「RAAAARGH!!!」

What in the–

Before I got the chance to think, I was smacked down to a tree.

Apparently, one of Twilight's test subjects escaped his lab and began to cause havoc.

Sage-san also told me that another one of these... abominations was creating chaos in the west.

That stupid vampire. I'll make sure he suffers twice—no thrice of what I'm going through.

This one has its pinky sticking out of the fucking nose.

Sariel: 「The hell man.」

I used my physics magic 『Thermal Disintegration』to eliminate the beast. Calling it a monster would be an insult to both parties.

That is the name of my physics magic that follows the principle of endothermic reaction.

By freezing its blood, I also freeze its entire body without it showing any symptoms.

Using my 『Attribute Conversion』, the ice instantly turns into heat, killing the abomination by breaking its inner atomic bonds.

As the atomic bonds are broken, the mana circuits that allow for energy to circulate are destroyed.

I killed the beast cleanly without staining the beautiful forest of its blood.

I will be delivering this... thing back to Twilight.

I think I'll also wreck his base to let him have a taste of his own medicine.

Hehehe~.

I flew towards the west to help in exterminating the other beast.

This one is.... no comment.

I am not going to define the appearance of something I can't explain.

The humans were trying to fight the beast. How cute. They were failing miserably.

If I were to define it in my own opinion, I would say that they were just charging at the beast, only to get killed in order to delay the inevitable.

Heck, I spotted one human jumping straight into its mouth.

Weird.

I decided to spare them the trouble and step in.

The beast charged up what seemed to be a breath blast and attacked the remaining humans.

Among them all, one specifically caught my eye.

A teenage female with an appearance of a 16-17 year old youth.

Clad in a white and blue kimono and wielding a rare grade katana.

Black hair with ocean blue eyes.

Everything about her screamed otherworlder.

She was fairly strong, too. She was the one who held the monste—ehem, beast until I arrived.

With a flap of my wings, I appeared in front of them, spreading my wings wide as if to show that they were under my care.

I proceeded to swoop in just in time and activated my 『Soul Lord』to devour the blast.

A tiny purple sphere appeared in my palm and expanded to absorb the attack, having the form of a hand grabbing the blast.

Like I've said before, 『Life Predation』 is only used to absorb energies.

Hence, by combining this subskill with 『Soul Harvest』 and 『Soul World』, I can devour any target along with its soul, then send it to my sub-dimension for analysis.

I wanted to devour the beast whole, but it was at least smart enough to jump out of the way.

Sariel: 「Hm. It's been a long time since I used spiritrons.」

I decided to use one of my most powerful magic attacks.

Sariel: 「『Holy Magic: Purity Break』」

Gathering a dangerous amount of spiritrons in my palm, I unleash this energy towards the beast in the form of holy light.

The beast was hit with this attack and disintegrated after the flash of light died down.

「N-No way...」

「In one hit?」

「GODDESS!!!」

OOOOOIIII!!! WAIT!! WAIT!! WAIT!! WAAAAAIIIIT!!! It's absolutely not happening!

——— How did it get to this!? ———

「Answer. Your appearance may be the cause.」

Huh. What does she mean.

I used 『Universal Perception』to look at myself, and what I saw was terrifying.

——— I'VE BECOME A ROYAL CHICKEN!!! ———

What in the bullcrap!? How did this happen?

「Answer. During your sleep, Norana decided to play with your body–」

——— She what!!? ———

「She placed a few of her feathers in your palm, making you unconsciously absorb it and-」

——— I get it. I'm just wondering why you didn't tell me anything about it. ———

「.... I tried to notify you but I was called a brat.」

I'll just shut my stupid mouth for now.

Yeah.

Sariel: 「Oi!! I'm a guy, okay!? Geez.」

This androgynous body of mine is really misleading.

「Great one! May you please bless us with your gracious name.」

Ah, great. More fanatics.

*Sigh*

Sariel: 「I am Sariel. The silver primordial demon. I am also the "Universal Guardian" and protector of this world. Do remember it.」

As soon as I said that, they all wore a look of shock.

Many do not know about the existence of primordials, but I guess that will change today.

I look over to the Japanese girl.

After revealing my identity, she had a look of pure horror.

I guess she already knows about we primordials.

When I said that, she began to... run?

Oh, come on. I just wanted to have a little chat. Meh, sucks to be me.

I left the humans to continue their rambling and headed out to meet the perpetrator.

Arriving at his doorstep, I blasted his stupid door and shouted.

Sariel: 「FBI. OPEN UP!!!」

Well, he was being quite the ass, so I thrashed his base.

I kinda destroyed about 40% of his lab, including the experiments.

The expression on his face was priceless.

If he could kill me, I'm sure he would've done it in the most painful way imaginable.

I left him to his devices whilst ignoring the curses he kept spouting.

He was one of Velda's subordinates, which I discovered sometime ago, which is why I haven't killed him yet.

Leaving that matter behind, I decided to do one of my monthly kingdoms check.

This is just a routine I perform to keep the kingdoms in check.

If I don't do it, who's gonna do it? Guy?

Yeah, right. That bastard only acts when they do something that gives him headaches.

There is a kingdom I have in mind, actually. This kingdom has been involved in illegal slavery and it is up to me to stop them.

I really hate people like this. I had to go undercover to find out the source.

A group of merchants were having some sort of cooperation. Knowing that I'll try to stop them, they decided to start up their bases in different kingdoms.

If one base was discovered, the other would know and quickly escape.

They actually had five bases, and I had to find them all at once.

But now that I think of it, their plan has a major flaw.

——— Didn't they think for a second that I had subordinates. Do they underestimate me this much? ———

With that in mind, I sent Reika, Tarou, Ramiel, and Takumi to infiltrate them whilst I dealt with the main headquarters myself.

I'm the boss, after all.

They successfully captured the leaders of those branches, and I went to meet their boss.

I gave them orders to free the captives, and they did so.

It turns out that they also had some humans captured as slaves.

The people they captured were some really important people.

These were noblemen, as well as some Dukes with their families.

It seems that this is a national-level crime.

They planned to use them as ransom to make high demand from the kingdom they belonged to.

This was specifically done to antagonise their kings or queens.

Honestly, humans really disgust me. I may have been a human once, but I'm a demon now.

I've accepted that truth, and now, I will act like one.

I made my way to the building and was met with an annoying pest.

I think he is their leader.

「If it isn't the silver primordial demon. I am honestly honoured that you-」

Sariel: 「『Soul Lord』」

I straight up devoured his soul using 『Soul Harvest』.

I'm not one to act all hero and let the villain escape chuuni style.

Oh, hell no.

I devoured all the souls of the criminals and quickly went to free the prisoners.

Among these prisoners, there were three otherworlders. Not surprising as they are rare to pass by.

They would definitely get their hands on the otherworlders if they could.

I freed all of them by breaking the cages used to capture them.

It was not an exaggeration to say I was worshipped by the captives.

Well, I mostly ignored them.

Now, all I need to do is–

「Stop right there!」

Huh, isn't that the lady I met fighting the beast.

Sariel: 「Oh? It's you.」

She seemed kinda scared. I didn't expect her to take part in this type of activity.

I'm honestly disappointed.

「Notice. I detect a curse spell used on her.」

Wait, that could mean that she might be doing this against her volition.

Can you break the spell?

「Answer. Yes.」

Alright, I'm going to fight her. I at least wanna know more about her before I break the curse.

I don't want to jump to conclusions.

——— Don't do it until I give the command. ———

「Understood.」

「Hahahahaha!! You came to destroy our business, right? Wrong! That won't be happening. I can finally get rid of you.

All you've done is make things difficult for me. Do you know how much I've lost because of you!!?」

Wow. Chill, man. I don't even know who you are.

A guy with brown hair and black eyes appeared out of nowhere.

I think he used teleportation magic to arrive here.

That would mean he is part of the criminals.

But he wasn't in either of the five branches, so he must have a hidden agenda.

Sariel: 「Uuuuum, am I supposed to know you or...」

「You... you don't even remember me.... I'M THE SAME PERSON'S HOUSE YOU DESTROYED WHEN YOU FROZE AN ENTIRE KINGDOM FOR FUCK'S SAKE !!! I WASN'T EVEN PART OF THE STUPID KINGDOM!!

My poor house... I spent a lot building it all for it to get destroyed... by who? YOU!!!」

I don't even know the bastard! I mean, I get he has a right to be mad because I literally destroyed his settlement, but to kill me?

Fucking hell?

I knew I was gonna regret my decision later, but this is not what I expected.

The hell, man? I didn't even kill his girlfriend or anything like that.

*Sigh*

But still, he's part of this slavery. I don't regret destroying his house then.

Sariel: 「Look man, I get that you have every right to be mad at me, so I'm not complaining. But trying to kill me just because of this... ARE YOU BLOOD FUCKING KIDDING ME!! I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT YOU EXISTED!!」

He could've just sued me or something, right?

「Notice. The court system has not yet been invented.」

Oh? I see. But still. I've got to deal with him.

「Notice. He is the one who placed the spell on the otherworlder.

Killing him without breaking the curse would have both of them killed at the same time.」

Great.

「I've had enough of this, Aika, KILL HIM!!」

So her name's Aika. Well I have a new case to deal with.

She dashed at me, aiming to strike me down with her blade.

The sword struck my neck, but that was it.

It couldn't cut me. My body was literally a mythic grade body.

I think I'll make a weaker body for myself. My body was made with hihi'irokane.

I don't want others to see this and challenge me to a fight because of it.

I think I'll stick to a legend grade body.

She kept on attacking me, but I dodged all her attempts.

She was kinda untrained in her swordsmanship.

I mean, she might have been trained to use a sword back on earth, but that is not nearly as much as what the swordsmen in this world learn.

「Notice. This individual possesses two unique skills.」

Really? I guess I have to play it safe.

It seems like she started to use her skills as she started to match my speed.

I wonder what her unique skill does.

「Notice. Analysis completed. She possesses a unique skill that allows her to adapt to any situation during battle along with other unique properties.」

Wait. Isn't that the same skill that Ken-chan has?

Well, Ken-chan didn't show me everything his skill does, so hers might differ slightly.

「Notice. Unlike Kenneth's skill, hers allow her to adapt to the strength of her opponent permanently.」

——— Wait, does that mean that even if we stop fighting now, she will still be able to fight at the same pace as we are doing permanently, even with other opponents? ———

「Correct.」

Now, that is an extremely dangerous skill.

The only downside is that it doesn't mean she can't get exhausted.

If she manages to get rid of that, she can become one of the strongest humans in the world!

After a few exchanges, she kinda got exhausted as she collapsed on her knees, breathing heavily.

「Get up and finish him, you useless scum!!」

Seriously? This guy is such an ass. He reminds me of a certain genius.

I don't like being reminded of that load of crap so I'll just end this whole drama real quick.

Sariel: 「Hey there Aika-san, you mind coming to have a chat with me?」

When I spoke to her, she became horrified.

Am I that scary.

I'm just a loveable demon, right?

「Pfft—*Cough*, *Cough*...」

——— ... ———

I don't even have the strength to bother anymore.

Sariel: 「Don't worry. I understand your situation, so I won't pin the blame on you.

But I need to discuss something important with you.

So, will you allow me to break your curse? I can't talk with you when you are literally being controlled.」

「Y-Yes sir.」

「Hey, she's mine! Taking my house away from me wasn't enough for you!?」

Sariel: 「Dude, just shut up.」

I retorted. He is really annoying.

Manipulating the magicules in the atmosphere, I sent an invisible attack that severed his head.

That ends this whole case. Sage-san was able to break the curse binding the four otherworlders.

*Sigh*

I managed to deal with the nobles and the other captives.

They were released, and the slave traders were imprisoned.

I now have about fifty nobles in my palms.

It's only understandable as I just saved them, along with their families.

I kinda used this opportunity to ask some of the nobles that held the power to represent their nation to form diplomatic ties with Silverion.

Of course, they happily obliged as Silverion never had any bad record such as slavery and any other national threat or vices.

Alya now owes me, too. Damn, I have Velda along with all the primordial angels owing me one.

I also have the kingdoms that these nobles belong to in my favour.

I'm such a good boy. Heh.

After clearing up the case, I went to meet Aika and the three foreigners.

I kinda wanted to know how Japan was doing.

I mean, the current affairs, news, and most importantly, manga...

Sariel: 「Hello guys. I'm sure you already know my name, but I'm Sariel. Nice to meet you.」

「Y-Yes. U-Um, my name is Aika Kanroji. Nice to meet you, too.」

「My name is Akihiko Harami.」

「I'm Akane Masami.」

「I'm Nagisa Tomori 」

I see. They're definitely otherworlders. Still won't hurt to ask.

Sariel: 「By any chance, are you guys otherworlders?」

When I asked them this, they were kinda confused, but it only took a few seconds for them to understand what I meant.

They widened their eyes in shock before answering.

Aika: 「Yes, but how did you know.」

Akane: 「Yeah, I don't think I've met others who knew about it.」

Sariel: 「Oh. Well, would believe me if I told you I'm also one?」

Hearing this, they became stunned again. How many times have I shocked these poor lads.

「Answer. You-」

——— Shut it voice. ———

Akihiko: 「Wait, truly? But why are you a primordial demon if you were a human.」

Sariel: 「Erm, you see, I died on earth and kinda got reincarnated here as a demon.」

I answered them with a confused look.

It seems like there were different methods used to bring them to this world.

Nagisa: 「I was something they called a summon.」

Aika: 「Yeah. The same goes for me.」

Akane: 「I was going to get some groceries when I found myself here.」

Akihiko: 「I was taking a bath when I got summoned, so I was flat naked.

It was really embarrassing as everyone looked at me, singing my favourite anime song whilst bathing naked.」

Aika: 「Pfft–Hahahaha!! That's the worst thing that could ever happen to me. And I thought I had it bad.」

Akihiko: 「Oi! Don't laugh. It hurts...」

Sariel: 「*Sigh*. Ignore her. Anyway, now that I've freed yoy guys, what are you gonna do from now on?」

Aika raised her hand. It seems like she already has a plan in mind.

Sariel: 「Yeah?」

Aika: 「Please allow me to serve you!!」

Sariel: 「Hm? Sure thing..... Wait, what?」

Aika: 「You heard me right. I want to work for you.」

Sariel: 「Wait, why would you want to do that?」

Aika: 「Ah, you see, I don't have anywhere to go to, and I don't think I'll be able to survive on my own.

Meeting that monster you saw me fight earlier opened my eyes to see that this isn't your everyday fantasy world where you're the protagonist and stuff.

It kinda works like "survival of the fittest" and something like "might makes right." So I need to get stronger if I want to live. And I do want to live, so that's that.」

Wow. She really adapted to the way of life easily. Having someone like her is really gonna help in the end.

She also has untapped potential with what I've seen.

It looks like after her speech, the others are now rethinking how to live.

They are new here, so it's kinda understandable.

When Ken-chan arrived, he was able to find a goal, which is to serve Alya and protect his nation.

They don't have a goal in mind right now, and leaving them like this will only make them captives sooner or later.

Sariel: 「I see. I have an offer for you all.」

They all looked at me with curiosity, silently telling me to go on.

Sariel: 「How about you all become my subordinates.

Of course, I will grant you my protection and take care of your basic needs. A mutual alliance.」

Aika: 「Well, I already asked for this, so I happily accept.」

Akihiko: 「As long as you train me to get stronger, I won't mind.」

Sariel: 「Then it's already a done deal. How about you two?」

Nagisa: 「To be honest, I have nothing to achieve. No goal, no plan, not even a home.

I don't think I'll like to be a slave again. Please let me serve you.」

Sariel: 「Hm!」

I looked over to Akane. She seems to be the only one to have a problem with it.

Akane: 「Do you think you could give me some time to think about it?」

Sariel: 「I understand that it's not so easy to give up your freedom. Take all the time you need to think about it. Of course, you can follow us until you have an answer.」

Akane: 「Thank you.」

Well, that is how I got three otherworlders under me.

I didn't think that things would turn out like this.

Well, the more, the better, I guess.

I think I'll have Ken-chan train them to be useful enough in battle.

With that, I headed out to get to my next destination, Silverion.

———————————————————

Word count: 4,833.