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I Became a Sengoku Lord! (戦国王になった!)

Hello. I am Iwasawa Hiroshi, a normal 16-year old teenager who suddenly woke up in this weird world that looks like feudal japan. With no memories save for some things that I feel strangely knowledgable about, I just wanted to live a normal and quiet country-side life as a doctor. Or atleast that was the plan... "Huh?" "All Hail our new Daimyo! Lord Iwasawa Hiroshi!" "Banzai!!!" And so, it has started... I Became a Sengoku Lord!

Ephraim_Chronia · Geschichte
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198 Chs

A Tale of Three

To Sora, the question of his morality is not about what he does, but what comes out of what he does. Even in the old world, the Shogun wasn't very far from what he is now as a person holding high authority and great personal capability.

"B-But doctor, this would practically render all of the severely and terminally infected as outcasts! We shouldn't let them be outed or-"

"Well then, in lieu of Japan's entire population and the sake of their health and safety, make a choice, prime minister…"

"Wha-!?"

"Will you round them up and keep them isolated from the rest of the populace until we find a cure, or will you stand on your tilted sense of so-called "human rights" and let these mangled fleshbags who would one day be a harm for the rest of humanity be?"

"T-That is… Wait! Don't frame it like that is-"

"It's exactly because the two plagues operate like as I have just stated that we need to be more vigilant that ever before. Forget about a sense of humanity or the need to treat them as humans. You saw what they did in Kabuki-cho two weeks ago! No normal human would do those things!"

"Still, they don't deserve to be imprisoned like lab animals! Even the old government of-"

"Are you using that argument again, thinking that I would bend to your will if you mentioned the tragedy of "that place"?"

"Kh-!"

"Don't gamble your political career haphazardly, Prime Minister. While the continuation and legacy of your career depends on pleasing the public and framing everything as beneficial to them, I have no such thing to defend and thus, I can be realistic as much as I want."

"…Then you're saying that…"

"Right. If you're not willing to confront the people's outrage, especially those who have dear loved ones that are terminally diagnosed with either or both of these plagues, I will not stop you and I will not insist upon the government's authority."

"W-Wait a moment, Doctor! Let us-"

"We have nothing more to talk about. Well then, gentlemen… If I may excuse myself so I can speak to the public about your indecision."

Weeks later, the entire cabinet of the indecisive Prime Minister was dissolved due to almost all of them resigning after a public outcry and the National Japanese Diet and Congress passed the equally famous and infamous "Emergency Quarantine Law".

All across the country, people diagnosed with the MB1 and MB2 virus was forcibly taken to quarantine zones in the abandoned districts of Tokyo where they were told to stay put in quarantine and treatment facilities until a cure for their illness was found. None amongst the populace was spared and even those who did all that they can to hide their infected family or friends ended up having to hand them over as their conditions worsened.

For the MB1 virus, things became relatively easy for those who managed to endure the ordeal. After a treatment regimen was made courtesy of Sora's life-saving research, most managed to live for a few more years quite normally but all eventually succumbed to the permanent organ damage brought by the sickness that still lived in their bodies although none of the debilitating symptoms impeded those last few years of living.

Although it wasn't a complete cure, it was still greatly favored both by the infected and their families over seeing the suffering of dying to the illness and never being able to cremate them since the virus-ridden body needed to be sealed shut in a steel coffin because of its ability to enter a dormant form.

However, for those afflicted with the MB2 virus. Things never went well. Not only did their appearance worsen over time, turning them from relatively normal looking people into misshapen humanoid beings that cannot be looked at without evoking a sense of revolting disgust. Additionally, true to its incredibly cruel mortality rate, only a few amongst the terminally infected managed to remain "human" after the illness has fully taken over. Most became rabid and fell fully to the wills of the virus, turning sexually-hyperactive while a select few managed to still be conscious of what they have become.

"Doctor… can there really be no cure for it?"

"I already told you kids. It's a fool's errand. When I insisted to have them contained away from the uninfected, it really wasn't to keep them until we can find a cure. It is to avoid further outbreaks."

"Then that means…"

"Right. The quarantine will be their cure. With no further outbreaks in the future and their bodies' hyperactive sexual functions, the virus will die with the presently infected."

It was a decision that seemed to be made with a heavy heart. But to the man who worked under this doctor, he noticed something strange about his superior that he didn't see in the case of the successful creation of a remedy for those afflicted with the MB1 virus.

"Tell me, doctor… You… you can't possibly have-"

"…"

"You wouldn't have done it, don't you? I mean, we're doctors. Our job is to find a cure for every affliction that mankind has. If so, your pride as a doctor… no, not even that. Your conscience as a human would stop you from doing that, right?"

"Listen here, before you do something stupid."

"-!"

"I cure humans. Not animals."

"D-Doctor… You-"

"If you're really seeing yourself at the shoes of those monsters who cannot control the lust of their flesh, suit yourself. I am not stopping you."

For reasons unknown to anyone save himself, Sora not only feigned the futility of finding a cure for the superbug STD that is the MB2 virus… He also impeded further research into finding a cure by scrambling the records of its DNA structure, calling it as an unsolvable puzzle, as well as deeming the infected to be extremely hostile and thus, unfit to just be put down through humane ways.

It was clear to that young man that his superior was a man of evil… and yet, he eventually understood his point of view when he himself came face to face with a stampede of the infected that managed to escape an isolation zone.

"You were lucky. The infected got pumped with lead before he pumped one into you."

"T-There's none?"

"None. You should thank your lousy fashion sense. If it was cloth pants, you wouldn't have stood a chance, but you wore tough jeans and there's nothing that happened."

"Thank goodness…"

"However, you need to spend a month here with hourly rotational tests. It would be rough, but it's what is needed to ensure that you didn't catch it in other means."

A month of grueling medical tests after, he was discharged from the hospital, and he contacted Doctor Sora. But for some reason, he can no longer be called or sent an email.

"What on earth…?"

It was as if his very life was erased… the old man is nowhere to be found and nowhere to be contacted.

There was but one clue that he was left with in the now abandoned office of the doctor.

"Don't dig up anymore deeper that you already did. Whatever happens to me, you're out of it. It should be better if you'll erase me from your memory too. This is for your sake."

In truth, this wasn't a disappearance out of the blue. Doctor Sora's impeding of finding a treatment for the MB2 virus garnered the attention of a very rich man with a powerful influence behind him.

"I'm sorry, sir. He managed to escape again."

"Luring him with the discharging of his former junior doctor didn't work either. He even got to leave him a message, telling him to cut off any attempt of further communications and that he should assume his position in the hospital."

"Damn slippery snake… that annoying old man is getting on my nerves."

The identity of the man trying to find him is no other than the founder and owner of the growing Miyazono corporation. And as to why…

"If he exposes the truth… not only the outlying subsidiaries… even the core companies would be ruined…"

"Should we buy the major news publications then, sir?"

"Right. Hand their owners an empty check and guarantees of still being its management. We just need to acquire them and block any attempts by him to send out the stolen information."

"Understood, Ryuuichi-sama!"

Trillions of yen of buying shares and acquiring newspaper agencies later, the naivety of his attempt to cover up everything was for naught. But by a stroke of genius gaslighting and demonizing those seeking the truth, the internet forum and independent news websites covering the exposé was buried and the controversy died down.

Still, he was nowhere to be found and eventually, he became less and less of a focus for Ryuuichi after he had a "prophecy" that became his life and later on, rebirth's single-minded work.

This was how Sora became the eyesore of Miyazono Ryuuichi and eventually, his greatest hidden enemy.

From saving some important people that was being targeted by Ryuuichi's hitmen to writing letters to government officials in order to approve the acknowledgement of a certain organization who will later be instrumental to the fall of his enemy's ambitions, Higuchi Sora, as Amanogawa Sora used to be named in the old world, never ceased to be the downfall of Ryuuichi.

And yet, in the old world and even now in the new one, there are those who say that Sora's actions and decisions were unwarranted and far too cruel. That if he truly wishes to do the right thing, as he justifies it, he would choose to do things with the least possible death and suffering.

"Naïve… How naïve of you, then."

However, that is unfortunately, a sentiment or "solution" that can only be thought of and implemented by someone who knows nothing about the real world and the complexity of human nature.

Doing "the right thing"… Pursuing "the best possible solution"… Being a "hero"…

These are things that mean little to nothing to Sora whenever he is handed a level of authority and responsibility.

"At some point, you have to let go of the "ideal" solution that allows you to save face in the presence of everyone, in favor of an "effective" solution that would anger some and yet, serve everyone."

To put it simply, "They may not like the answer, but it answers that difficult conundrum nonetheless."

And with that, most people, even those closest to him, are halved about their opinion about the moral standing of Sora.

Even those serving him do not necessarily approve of his actions and decisions, but they nevertheless admit that those things, if he didn't pursue it, would've ended up causing more pain and loss.

In the end, perhaps what truly separated Sora from his enemies isn't the fact that one was good and the other evil… but that one was right and the other was wrong.

"T-THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL STOP, MEDDLESOME OTHERWORLDER!"

"My, my… I can't believe that we would be meeting each other like this again, Reika."

"CEASE SPEAKING MY NAME WITH YOUR DISGUSTING MOUTH!"

"…I'm glad you're the one sent here. As if fate itself is listening to my plea to settle things with you as well."

At the cavern where he entered the mountain complex and aims to reach and defeat Keiji, he was blocked by a misshapen humanoid body whose voice he recognized to belong to a woman that he had a hostile history with.

"YOU FOOL. YOUR ARROGANT DECISION TO COME HERE ALL ALONE WILL BE YOUR DEATH! WITHOUT YOUR BLIND FOLLOWERS, YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A WEAK MAN INCAPABLE OF PUTTING UP A FIGHT AGAINST ME!"

"Oh? And who decided that to be a fact?"

As he undid the bandages on his arms, the monstrous-looking Reika realized that she made a big mistake of underestimating her opponent.

"WHAT THE-!?"

"The weak man that you speak of is nowhere to be found… after all, this body of mine that could've held the powers that I was destined to have back then is finally here to serve its long overdue purpose."

On both hands, a pulse of energy emanated out and in a speed almost unseeable by the naked eye, Sora dashed forward and before she can even notice it, she was hit by an enormous amount of force.

"BWAHF-!"

"I was already far too long in the teeth when all of the supernatural stuff in the old world happened. Even if it was written down in my fate, the "destiny" rewrote by Ryuuichi's meddling with the Divine Order and the World Seed ended up making me unable to use it to help in the fight against them. But now… now that I have not only the authority but also the ability to use it."

"KAH-! HAH! I… I WILL NOT LET YOU PASS! I WILL-"

"I never made the request!"

"AAAGH-!!!"

"Besides, I don't think you have any say about this anyway."

"KYAK-!"

"I am here to end Keiji and no one else."

In mere moments, the misshapen Reika turned into a beaten mess sprawled on the cave floor. If she was almost unrecognizable before save for the tone of her voice, now none of her pained groans is identifiable to the ear.

"C-COME BACK… YOU- CURSED OTHERWORLDER!"

"…"

"MY FAMILY… MY ENTIRE CLAN EXISTED TO FINISH WHAT OUR PREDECESSORS IN THE OLD WORLD FAILED TO DO BECAUSE OF THAT WRETCH!"

Through her labored breaths, she spoke those words as the mutated flesh that contains a remnant of her soul slowly burned with bluish spirit fire.

"NOT AGAIN… NEVER AGAIN WILL WE LET IT FAIL! MANKIND… MANKIND DESERVES TO THREAD ON THE PATH OF THE DIVINE! MANKIND'S EXISTENCE DESERVES MUCH MORE! MUCH MORE THAN SIMPLY DYING OFF INTO NOTHINGNESS!"

"What comes after death is something that all of us need to one day confront, Reika-kun. It's not something that we must avoid."

Although he has no obligation at all to speak to her, Sora turned around and looked at Reika with an expression of pity. Even after everything that happened, Reika was still a noblewoman and one who almost flawlessly fooled both her allies and her people who wholly trusted her.

But before she can raise her voice and demand to not be pitied on, Sora said something that made her understand the errors of both her life and finally, her oncoming death.

"Human life is beautiful and priceless. Not because of the assurance of eternalness, but the presence of finality. Even I would one day leave this life… and by then, I want to be consoled by my legacy instead of being haunted by its end."

"You…"

"You should rest now, Reika. Even if the world will remember you as a woman chained to her destiny to be the servant of that monster, you can rest assured that someone will remember you as one of the countless victims of that monster's temptations, and in your last breaths, you realized the truth and departed with no more doubts and fears in your heart."

As he turned around and left, the eyes of Reika's mutated body shed tears that evaporated alongside her body.

Alongside his footsteps, Sora heard a gentle voice that was a mix of Reika's voice and someone that he used to know.

"Thank you, Sora… In here… and even back there…"

"…You may rest now, Lia. You are free from the grasp of Chaos."

Feeling relieved that he has freed her soul, Sora continued on.

At another tunnel complex, a lone woman carrying a spear hewn out of a dragon's fang faced off against the person that she has faced countless times in the old world… or at least, a clone of him who was taken to this world before he was actually killed.

"Nyahahaha! This is exhilarating! Who could've guessed that I would be facing off against you of all people!"

"Hirayama Taka… Keiji really knows what he is doing."

Hirayama Taka was amongst the infamous Miyazono Gardeners of the past world. People who led the many companies of the megacorporation as a public cover for their true occupation of being wielders of supernatural powers at the behest of the Miyazono family.

To put it succinctly, Hirayama Taka's history with Azusagawa Maya was one that started shortly after the latter escaped the lustful festival of the former.

With the help of Miyazaki Hiro, she escaped from that place and as a dying wish, he asked her to bury the body of his beloved in a secluded place. For years afterwards, she would hide from place to place as Taka was tasked to find and silence her. But even after he made a misstep against someone who was powerful enough to kill the original him, his clones didn't abate with the manhunt until those clones was eventually wiped out as well.

And because of that, as if fate has allowed her to settle the score, the one blocking her path was no other than Taka who was placed in a mutated body and wielded the same powers as he did in the old world.

"My, my. It seems like many things about you changed since we last met."

"Indeed, it is. Not only have I aged a little, I have even become worthy enough to don this form. I'm not the same scared mouse that you used to call me back then."

"Heh. Try not to float up like a balloon with an ego as inflated as that. I am now wielding my psychic powers from the old world. No matter how much you may have improved, there is no-"

"Oh! Shut up, will you!"

In an instant, a jet of water carrying so much force and weight behind it hit him and tore off the many small limbs that lined the right side of his torso.

"W-What the-!?"

"I told you already, I'm no longer who I used to be in the past world."

"D-Drat! <C-Cryokinesis!>"

"Too slow! Hyah-!"

Maya pointed the end of her spear towards the other side of his torso and like before, it not only blew off but instantly vaporized the limbs and excess flesh that lined his body.

"H-How in the hell!!!"

"What's wrong, Taka!? Not so tough now, are we?!"

"AAAAAHHHH!!! <Cryokinesis!> <Cryokinesis!!> <Cryokinesis!!!>"

Even in the frenzy of desperate attacks of his enemy who has regenerated some of his cut off limbs, Maya remained calm as she dodged all of it flawlessly and closed the distance between them.

"<Kyoga Spell Style><Deep Sea Surge!>

"BWAH-!"

As soon as one of my attacks landed, he forcefully regenerated his wounds back and tries to hit me with one of his attacks. This storm of water blades and jets from me and ice spikes and staves from him continued until I reached a distance where my spear can reach him.

"HRAH-!"

"Crap-"

"Your bloated body is becoming your downfall, Taka!"

"KAHAK-!"

I plunged my spear forward and upon contact, the folds of mutated flesh that lined his body was seared and exploded out violently.

"A-Ah… AAAHHH!!!"

"Huh… For something that I can barely use properly right now, it's already enough to mortally wound you."

"What the hell… WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT THING DOING HERE!?"

"Oh… You're sensing a portion of "that thing", I see."

From within the dragon fang that acts as the blade of her spear, a mellow bluish light emanated that made Taka shudder in utter fear.

"YOU DAMN MORTAL!!! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

He regenerated his blown off arm and attempted to form icicles now that I am in a fixed place.

"WIELDING POWERS BEYOND YOUR PITIFUL EXISTENCE! YOU THINK YOU ARE DESERVING OF IT?!"

"Hell yeah, I am!"

"Wha-!? GYAAA-!!!"

I planted my feet in the ground and with all my strength, raised the spear up that it ended up almost bisecting him laterally.

"In the old world! Even here in the new world!"

"ARGH! STOP!!! ENOUGH!!!"

"I have fought and fought and fought against all of you endlessly!"

I rained down a barrage of attacks towards him which he was powerless to either block or counter against.

"I was powerless back then and I lived in fear ever since I learned of the depths of darkness that you fiends perpetrated! But now! I have proven myself and I…!"

"-!!!"

"I WILL END YOU AND YOUR MASTER, DISGUSTING SLAVES OF CHAOS!!!"

I formed an enormous degree of power into my spear and at point-blank range, let it loose.

"HWAAAA!!! HYAAAAAAA-!!!"

"GO TO HELL, TAKA!!!"

An enormous amount of water that struck him with a speed thrice the speed of sound instantly dislocated every joint in his body and in the next moment stripped all of the flesh from his rigid bones.

Again, and this time for sure. he is dead.

"Haah… Haah…"

After the fight, I took a minute to catch my breath and observed the amount of magic power left in my body after that encounter.

"Eighty percent… that' still good enough."

I used twenty percent of my power, something that I have already expected as soon as I realized that he will be my opponent. Nevertheless, it has served its purpose and now, he is dead.

However, as I walked deeper into the cavern, the remaining essence of him lingered in the place and softly whispered to me like an enticing evil spirit.

["You arrogant and pitiful wench… You know nothing about the true power of Chaos."]

"I was there longer that you did, Taka. I know who I am dealing with."

["You're deluding yourself then, Maya. Chaotic Spirit Babel spoke to us before and gave us our Tainted Spirits. If you think that you can manage to defeat Babel, you are sorely-"]

"That's my line for you, Taka."

I raised my spear slightly and made "the thing" that it contains to glow stronger than it used to before in our prior battle.

"Rai-san defeated and destroyed an enormous portion of Babel already. And even if he can no longer directly meddle with this world for our sakes, he at least left us with objects that can give us not only a fighting chance but an overwhelming power over what is left of it."

"…You will die, if you use it, Maya."

"…"

"As someone who isn't chosen… Someone with no fate to fulfill anymore… you can never be what you are trying to be."

"Heh… I'll die, eh?"

"-!!!"

"Then, so be it."

Leaving the disappearing figments of Taka's soul with those words, instead of headstrong confidence, what he felt was nothing short of utter terror not only for the endless nothingness that he will now be subjected to, but the fact that if Maya truly meant those words…

Then nothing… each and everything that he did before in the name of his master would be for nothing.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Of the three Otherworlders brought to this fateful battle by their intwined destinies, it was the one whom fate itself owed so much that deserved the greatest right to enact his vendetta.

"…"

Unable to live a life that is truly his in the old world, loving a woman that the crooked rewritten destiny of the old world made them unable to be with each other and in the end, dying an unjustified death, Iwasawa Hiroshi had all of these… and yet, he had hope that this time, it will be all right.

"Just a little more…"

Alas, it wasn't. Instead of the fresh new world of opportunity and hope, he learned that this place was just a renewed version of the old world and some of the deplorable monsters back there made their way here to wreak havoc once again.

"…I can sense it."

However, he is no longer powerless now. And in order to protect everyone that he loves and once and for all, give hope for this world, Hiroshi braved through the sense of terror and faced off against his enemies.

"Y-You are…"

One last stumbling block remained between him and his final enemy… and upon seeing him, a mixed sense of melancholy, nostalgia and fear mixed in his chest and froze him on the spot.

"…"

"How… you said it already on those stone pillars… that you can't meddle with this world anymore."

"…"

"Did you lie to me… Lie to all of us…?"

"Hyah-!"

"DAMN IT!!!"

As the familiar looking humanoid body charged at him, Hiroshi drew out his assault rifle and rained bullets onto his enemy that nimbly and skillfully dodged all of his shots.

"Why… WHY!?!?!?!"

"Hya-! RAAHHH-!!!"

Running out of bullets in his rifle magazine, he drew out his handgun and fired again on the humanoid that yet again, eluded all of his attacks with speed and precision.

"Of all the people that I know, why should it be you?!!"

At an arm's length of range, the humanoid drew out its sword and aimed for his neck. It was only by blocking it with his empty handgun magazine that he managed to block it and use the momentum to gain some distance.

"ANSWER ME, EPHRAIM!!!"

Indeed, right in front of him was no other than his greatest friend and the one whom he trusted the most, the young man named Ephraim.

"This is absurd! You… You said that you can't meddle with this world anymore!"

"…"

"Then… why are you here and fighting me!?"

"…"

"You bastard! Open your damn mouth!"

Reloading his weapons, Hiroshi rained bullets again towards the silent man who skillfully deflected all of the shots away from him using nothing but his own blade. With that, Hiroshi knew that this guy is the real deal indeed.

Despair almost ate away on his courage immediately upon seeing that. According to the stories told by the numerous Otherworlders who belonged to the years shortly after his death, Ephraim became an enemy so powerful that the entire Miyazono corporation's fighters was needed to even just match his battle prowess.

However, even if this was a fact, it changes nothing about what he must do.

"Real deal or whatnot, you are standing in my way, and you are now my enemy."

"…"

"I will put you down, Ephraim. For our sake… and yours too."

An uncomfortable stillness enveloped the cavern where they both are and Hiroshi steeled his resolve to not only fight against his opponent that are clearly more powerful but also more adept in combat than him.

One second… two…

The silence dragged on and on as both sides silently watched the other intently, not even caring to blink or heave a breath out.

"Wait…"

This is when Hiroshi noticed something that the real Ephraim would never do.

"You're a fraud… Ephraim would never do that."

"Tch-!"

A simple mistake broke the illusion. One that irritated Babel's many loud and annoying appendages in the center of the cave.

"You idiot!"

"No, you guys are the idiots!"

"We're all the same being, doofuses!"

The mistake? Handedness.

"Ephraim is left-handed. The way you hold the sword gave it away. It was stupid of me to think that it really is him and I have to fight for my life desperately."

"…"

"With that in mind, I am now calm and I have realized that what made you easily dodge and deflect my shots earlier was because I am too nervous… this time, I will not miss."

Hiroshi raised his rifle and sure enough the burst of bullets slowly but surely landed and wounded his enemy as they fought in the cave.

Finally, the fake Ephraim took more than enough shots to impede the movement of his body that is being forcefully manipulated by Babel. Hiroshi approached it and pointed his handgun on it to end its misery.

"This is it, Babel. I am coming for you and Keiji."

He pulled the trigger but instead of a dull noise and a spray of blood, what he heard is a sharp sound of metal banging against metal.

"Y-You...!"

"Hey there, buddy… Been a while, huh?"

"-!!!"

At Babel's side in the center of the cavern, the sudden appearance of its greatest enemy sent it into a nervous frenzy as all kinds of horrifying memories flooded its mind.

"HOW-! HOW ON EARTH!?"

"NOT AGAIN!!! I THOUGHT THAT THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!"

"DAMN YOU! MORTAL SCUM!!!"

Ephraim's mere presence sent it into a crippling sense of existential fear. But for Hiroshi, this was a miracle that he needed now of all times.

"E-Ephraim… is that really you?"

"Y-Yeah… I took over it at the moment that Babel released its hold on it. This is me and none else, buddy."

"R-Rai… No, this isn't the right time. Now that you're here, victory is assured. Lay down here and I'll treat you so you and I can fight-"

"No… I can't do that, Hiro-kun."

Groaning in pain and feeling impending death of the body that he took over, Ephraim stopped Hiroshi from giving him medical attention which made his friend to be confused.

"Technically speaking, my mere direct presence here is already against the rules. It's only because I sensed that your will is wavering that I appeared here, but I still have to make sure that I won't meddle with things."

"Darn it… why now… why did you appear now…?"

"…"

"I… I came here with a heart and mind fully decided on doing this no matter the cost. But with you here, doubts… my mind is full of doubts and "what ifs" again."

"Haah…"

"R-Rai? Abaugh-!"

Tears of frustration filled Hiroshi's eyes which prompted Ephraim, although bleeding profusely and hurt all over, to sit up to his friend's height and plant a solid punch on his face.

"O-Oww! What the hell!?"

"I decked you because you're relapsing back to the "you" that can achieve nothing. No one needs that self-pitying you, Hiro-kun… What the world needs isn't us who already did our part, but instead, you guys who are left here to build and give hope to this new world."

"Rai-kun…"

Ephraim formed a fist and even though this isn't his body, he grimaced with the pain he is going through. But that didn't stop him from leaving some words of encouragement to Hiroshi.

"I'll be going now, buddy. This time, for real… My connection with this world will be severed, and we won't be meeting each other ever again."

"W-Wait! What do you mean "this time"? Why are you saying that we won't be meeting each other again!?"

Ephraim's last words inside of that body was one that Hiroshi kept close in his heart as he continued on.

["We gave you guys a chance. Now, grasp it with your own two hands."]

Words of encouragement, he really does need them…

"…Thank you, Ephraim. I… No… we will never fail you guys and the sacrifices that you made."

As they went deeper into the cave, as if led by fate, all three Otherworlders out to end the horrors of the monster that destroyed their past world and threatens to destroy their new one all arrived in the twisted presence of their enemy.

"DAMN YOU, THREE!!! You should've just accepted your demise!"