Card Games on Motorcycles - A16

***

Those without curse energy or any form of body reinforcement applied to their body will find themselves disintegrated into nothingness by the attack of Hollow Purple.

***

It was nighttime, and it seemed to be a break for these two after a long, intense exercise. Shea and Tio had a habit of peeping, but Gojo didn't care and ignored them, while Dark Magician Girl didn't notice. Eventually, they stopped peeping. But strangely, Gojo could hear them crying from some room apart. But it wasn't his problem.

Anyways both Gojo and Dark Magician Girl luckily missed out on meeting Will and his parents past noon. So, they could spend their leisure time in their room as much as they wanted.

Gojo whispered softly to Dark Magician Girl as she snoozed comfortably on top of him.

"Open up," he murmured.

In response, she spread her legs and began to grind against his crotch.

"No, not that, you horny girl," Gojo exasperatedly sighs. "I meant your mouth." He was just trying to feed her.

A golden portal appeared in his hand, and from it emerged an abundance of mochi ice cream.

Gojo fed her the cold, sweet treat. She opened her mouth, surprised by the coldness.

Opening her eyes, Dark Magician Girl eagerly munched on the mochi ice cream, the sweet treat spreading through her mouth. She savored every bite, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"I love these," she said, her voice muffled by the ice cream. "They're so good!"

Gojo smiled, watching her enjoy the treat. "Yeah, yeah. I knew you'd like them," he replied, gently brushing stray hair from her face.

She leaned in closer, resting her head against his chest. "More." she whispered, her eyes fluttering shut again.

"Here comes the airplane. Whoooosh." Gojo's intrusive thoughts imagined her mouth as the twin towers, creating a 9/11 reenactment in his mind as he took out another mochi ice cream and kamikazed it into her mouth.

Dark Magician Girl giggled, completely oblivious to Gojo's dark humor and intrusive thoughts. She savored the mochi ice cream, her lips curling into a satisfied smile before she drifted back to sleep.

As she enjoyed the ice cream, Gojo found himself lost in thought. He lay there in bed, his eyes closed like Dark Magician Girl, who had already fallen asleep. Gradually, their breathing synchronized, and Gojo finally succumbed to sleep as well.

***

The next morning, they all went downstairs to meet up. Or rather, Dark Magician Girl and Gojo were late and were only met by Tio-san and Yue.

"Where is your boy toy and the bunny girl?" Gojo yawned as he spoke.

"...Hajime is on a date with Shea." Yue replied stoically.

"Ah, right. Shea's reward thing. Yeah, got it. So are we waiting for them to finish or what?" Gojo asked, as Dark Magician Girl poked his face with her finger.

"Shea-dono seemed excited and enthusiastic, though I couldn't exactly say the same about Master. He had this weird expression on his face, like he was saying, 'It can't be helped because Yue-san asked. Yep, it can't be helped,' while smirking as he was going on a date with Shea." Tio covered her face with her kimono while giggling.

"If only Master did the same to me, looking at me and saying that while beating my arse—"

"Yeah, you can shut up now." Gojo coughed.

"I'm surprised you guys aren't stalking him on his date." He tilted his head, thinking. "Normally, it's a good idea to secure the perimeter so they can have a peaceful date without any interruptions, ya get me?"

"..." x3

They kind of understood where this was going, but Yue wanted Hajime to have a peaceful date without them spying on him. Gojo did bring up a good point, though—those lecherous males would be eyeing Shea, and those harlots would also be eyeing her man. But Yue shook her head vehemently. She had absolute faith in Hajime to handle those pests!

"Well, it was worth a shot." Gojo shrugged, continued. "Since we're here, why don't we make the most of it? I got some very fun toys if you guys are interested."

Tio and Yue exchanged glances, considering the suggestion. Tio's eyes sparkled with a hint of interest, while Yue's stoic demeanor softened slightly.

"Alright…" Yue said, finally conceding. "What did you have in mind?"

"Have you heard of card games on motorcycles?" Gojo grinned, his smile turning into a crazed expression.

***

Dark Magician Girl, Yue, and Tio raced through the outskirts of the city, each maneuvering their high-speed vehicles with their driving skill. The roar of engines and the glow of LED lights from the integrated duel disks on their motorcycles lit up the middle of the day.

That's right—the first artifact I wanted to get done was to get motorcycles designed by Hajime, complete with a duel disk system for playing card games. I had used several spare duel disks for this purpose and even gave Hajime one to tinker with. He absolutely loved the Kaiba Corp technologies.

The motorcycles were similar to his Steiff model in terms of specs but featured different themes. One had a dragon aesthetic, others a magician theme, and the last one was futuristic. Each came with various types of boosters, reflecting Hajime's hardcore design approach. From dragon breath boosters to magician circle boosters and laser beam boosters, the bikes were equipped for both speed and style. More importantly these motorcycles can even fly!

These motorcycles or rather duel runners have an advanced auto-drive feature that allows them to maneuver on their own, but you can still manually control them using mana if needed. Even if you're not the most skilled driver—like my wife—you can let the bike drive itself at high speeds without worry.

To top it all off, the motorcycles included incredible weaponry. It was like those GTA bikes where you can fire guns, missiles, and homing missiles while riding vehicles.

Unfortunately, I could only get three motorcycles since I was limited to ten free items and ninety commissions. So, that's three down and seven free items left to go. And holy fuck, Hajime did not disappoint with these artifact of his.

Everyone here was having the time of their lives. I had given each of them a card to summon something for fun, and they were making the most of it. You see, I handed each one of them a blank card and eventually called on the three Egyptian god cards just out of curiosity and to see if they would get divine punishment.

Obelisk for Dark Magician Girl, Slifer for Yue, Ra for Tio.

The problem is… these damn gods actually responded and came out for fun.

"Obelisk, attack! Crush Yue's Slifer the Sky Dragon with your Fist of Fury!"

"Ra! Answer my call! Soar, in your Immortal Phoenix! And eliminate those two before you!"

"Slifer, prepare for defense and strike with your secondary mouth while ascending towards the sky."

Naturally, these godly creatures materialized in their full glory, terrifying the city's inhabitants as dark clouds gathered in the sky amidst thunderous roars. We were fortunate to be far from the city while this chaos unfolded. However, these gods were here purely for their own amusement.

I'm beginning to regret my choices now. The god cards were unleashing divine powers as they fought each other.

When that chaotic scene finally ended, we returned to the city as if nothing had happened. There was no sign of destruction in the scenery; after all, everything had been a high-level projection created by Kaiba Corp.

Of course, this fun lasted a couple hours. Yue was able pick up my unease, knowing that continuing would only draw unwanted attention and trouble.

"Had enough fun?" Gojo asked.

"Yeaaah!" Dark Magician Girl exclaimed, her voice bubbling with enthusiasm as she tapped the magician-themed vehicle. She was clearly smitten with it.

"Fun," Yue replied simply.

"Haahhh... I never imagined card games could be this thrilling!" Tio said, her voice filled with wonder as she relished every moment of the ride and the game. "It felt so real!"

It was real. I hadn't anticipated that the god cards would respond so readily to you girls, apart from my wife!

"I can see why the master enjoyed this card game so much," Tio added, still amazed.

"...even more fun while driving," Yue agreed with a smile.

"Let's head back," Gojo said with a decisive snap of his fingers. In an instant, he teleported the group to an unfamiliar street. Moments later, they found themselves strolling down the sidewalk, having emerged from a narrow alleyway.

At that moment, a wall erupted, shattering into pieces. Two men were hurled out of the hole, screaming as they skidded across the ground. They lay motionless, resembling corpses—because that's what they had become.

Simultaneously, a window in the same building shattered, and a few more men shot out like pinballs, tumbling end over end. The building itself groaned with the sounds of destruction from within. Every few seconds, it shook violently, and new cracks spiderwebbed across its walls.

A couple dozen more men were flung out of the building, their limbs splayed out at unnatural angles as they landed. Some of them were in too hideous a state to accurately describe. Finally, the building could take no more, and it collapsed with a loud boom.

Screaming, the onlookers fled as fast as their feet would take them. Yue and Tio recognized a familiar presence and glanced over at the rubble, their faces first showing surprise, then a momentary sigh.

"Uwaaaaaaa!" The Dark Magician Girl cried out, her voice a blend of surprise and distress. [We just got back, and this is what Hajime and Shea had been doing on their date?]

Gojo nodded, his eyes reflecting approval. This is exactly what a date should be.

"Ah, so it was you two after all..." Yue remarked calmly.

"Huh? You guys? What are you doing here?" Shea asked, taken aback.

"That's my line," Yue replied. "This is a bit much for a date."

"Indeed. So, Master, what kind of trouble did you get yourself wrapped up in this time?" As they had expected, Shea and Hajime emerged from the ruins of what had until recently been a building. The two of them were still dressed the same way they'd been when they'd left for the date, their weapons sitting comfortably in their hands.

"Ahaha, I didn't think our date would go like this either, but... Well, one thing led to another and we ended up destroying an underground slavery ring." Hajime explained.

"Well, I'm glad we ran into you guys. We're short on hands. I'll explain everything on the way, so mind helping out?" Hajime holstered Donner and started flinging the unconscious men on top of the rubble heap. He didn't want them blocking the streets. He didn't even look at them as he threw them, and began explaining what had happened.

For short. They'd gone for lunch after the aquarium. Hajime and Shea decided to stroll through some gardens and check out street performers. Shea was juggling a handful of food from various stalls, savoring a vanilla ice cream bar. They suddenly sensed something unusual coming from the sewer and discovered a merfolk child named Myu. Shea and Hajime rescued her and brought her to the guild's lost and found center. However, Myu was terrified and clung to Hajime, unwilling to be left with the government. Hajime, despite her protests, handed her over to the authorities. But just moments later, the building exploded. Myu is presumed to have been taken by slave traders, and these slave traders move fast, and Myu. The attackers also left a letter demanding Hajime hand over Shea and meet them at a specific location. So, all in all, these two idiots got ops on them, and by that definition we also got ops, that means they all gotta die. With that, we all sprang into action.

"And there you have it," Hajime said, wrapping up his story. "When we arrived at the marked location, all we found were a bunch of thugs. Myu wasn't there. It seemed like their plan was to kill me and kidnap Shea. We managed to take out most of them and interrogated the few who survived, but none of them knew where Myu was being held. We tortured them until they gave us the locations of their other hideouts, and since then, we've been visiting each one, trying to force someone to reveal Myu's whereabouts."

As he finished speaking, we moved toward the center of town, preparing to split up and clear the areas from there.

"It seems they were planning on kidnapping not just me, but you three as well. So in order to set an example, we decided to utterly crush this organization and anyone associated with them..."

Today was supposed to have been just a simple date, but they'd become entangled in the underworld of one of the largest cities on the continent. Yue and Tio marveled at Hajime and Shea's penchant for attracting trouble.

"Say less." Gojo cracked his head. Daring to kidnap my wife as well? That was a serious offense. "So we just need to find out where Myu is, right? I guess she holds a lot of importance to the slave trader if you guys couldn't even find her yet."

"Yeah. From the information we've gotten so far, it's a pretty big organization... They've got a lot of buildings and sub-groups and they are really organized. Could you help us?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it. Should we split up?" Gojo glanced at Dark Magician Girl.

"Mmhmmmm…. Nah!" Dark Magician Girl responded thoughtfully. They both did a high five and moved together. 

"Yeah... leave it to me."

"Of course. I would never dream of refusing a request from my master." Yue and Tio agreed without hesitation. Hajime told them about the location of the hideouts he'd just discovered from his previous raid, and they split up into three groups to take them down.

Hajime went with Yue, Shea with Tio, Anam and Gojo. The reason Hajime and Shea had split up was because they wanted there to be at least one more person in a group that Myu knew there when they found her.

***

From the top of the building, Gojo surveyed the scene below with intense focus. His Six Eyes scanned the area, quickly confirming that no slaves were present. Beside him, Dark Magician Girl cast a curious glance around. With a wave of her hand, she summoned a jujutsu curse technique curtain, shrouding the area in a barrier. This barrier was designed to intimidate and keep onlookers safe from the imminent spectacle Gojo was about to unleash.

"Convergence Divergence. Jujutsu Curse Technique Reverse . Red," Gojo intoned, aiming his finger like a gun. A tiny red dot appeared at the tip of his index finger, and with a swift motion, he fired it into the ground.

As the tiny red dot left Gojo's finger, it streaked through the air with alarming speed. The force of the blast ripped through the structure and the ground beneath it, obliterating everything in its path.

Dark Magician Girl shielded herself from the shockwave with a protective barrier as debris erupted in all directions. The once-bustling building was reduced to a smoldering heap of rubble, smoke billowing into the sky. The occupants inside, caught off guard, were instantly consumed by the fiery blast, their lives snuffed out in an instant.

Gojo's expression remained stoic as he surveyed the destruction. His Six Eyes allowed him to see the full extent of the devastation, ensuring no one had escaped his wrath. The area around them was eerily silent, save for the crackling of flames and the settling of debris.

As they prepared to leave, Gojo turned to Dark Magician Girl. "Let's go. There's nothing more for us here."

Dark Magician Girl looked at him with an unreadable expression. She had witnessed Gojo's power before, but each time it left her in awe of the sheer destruction he could unleash with a single technique.

"Would be a reaaaaaal problem if this was the wrong building we annihilated." Gojo joked as the two moved to the next marked location.

That was the 28th building they had destroyed. Dark Magician Girl couldn't fathom the size and the activities of this organization. How could such evil exist in the world?

***

Tucked away in a corner of the city was a ten-story building. On the surface, it was a place that managed part-timers. However, in reality, it was the headquarters of Freidhof, an organization that managed Fuhren's slave trade.

Normally, it was a quiet place that did its best to look inconspicuous, but today it was bustling with activity. People were running in and out of the entrance with unusual frequency. Most of the people running around were low-ranking thugs that were ferrying messages back and forth. Their expressions were twisted in confusion, impatience, and fear. No one had any idea what the situation was.

Thanks to the chaos, two figures clad in nondescript robes were easily able to slip into Freidhof's headquarters.

They weaved through the crowd of panicking gang members, and made it to the top floor without anyone challenging them. Before them stood an imposing set of double doors. Angry voices spilled out of the room into the hallway the figures were standing in. The two of them raised the hoods of their robes slightly and tiptoed forward.

"Quit fucking with me! I dare you to say that again, you bastard!"

"H-Hii! B-But it's true, Boss. They've already taken out more than fifty of our safe houses. There's three groups of two taking our whole operation out!"

"You're saying that just four fuckheads are destroying everything Freidhof built up? Is that it, huh!?"

"Th-That's righ— Bugwah!?"

There was a loud thud and the room fell silent. Whoever had been giving the report must have been punched by this "Boss." This boss's name is called Hansen for the sake of the viewers.

"Listen good, you lowlifes! I want those fuckers brought to me alive. Cut their legs off, break their arms, I don't care, but I want them alive. At this rate Freidhof's reputation will be ruined. We've gotta torture those fools to make an example out of them, or we'll be the laughingstock of the city. I'll give five million Luta to anyone who captures them! Five million per head! Tell everyone else about the bounty!" A flurry of activity could be heard coming from the room. The man hastened to leave the room as fast as he could.

The two hooded figures nodded to each other. One of them pulled out a massive warhammer strapped to her back and hefted it into the air. Then, just as the man put his hand on the doorknob, she swung the hammer down.

With a massive bang, the door exploded into a thousand splinters. The right side of the man's body was crushed flat, and the people sitting behind him were blasted by a wall of shrapnel. They slammed into the wall behind them, covered in blood.

"There's no need to tell everyone. We're right here."

"Hmph, I shall handle those waiting outside. Finish this up quickly, Shea."

"Thank you, Tio-san." The two figures who had casually walked into the room were none other than Tio and Shea.

Freidhof's boss, Hansen, had watched in shock as his door was blasted open and his subordinates flung across the room like ragdolls. Shea and Tio's conversation brought him back to his senses though, and he quickly pulled out his weapon. But before he could even do anything.

"So you're the ones that have been running around busting up my operation. Wait a sec... Tch, you're the bitches from the wanted posters. Don't honestly think you can walk into Freidhof's headquarters and make it back ali—"

A massive bang, loud enough that it could be physically felt, interrupted Hansen's prattling. Drucken was resting on Shea's shoulder, smoke coming from the retracted handle. She'd transformed it into bombardment mode... and blown Hansen away with a shotgun blast.

From such close range, he hadn't stood a chance. The barrage of iron pellets had ripped his right arm clean off. He tumbled into the wall behind him, a spray of blood trailing in his wake. A few seconds passed before he realized what had happened, and then the screaming started.

"Boss!? What was that sound!?"

"Are you alright!?" The loud sound attracted the thugs on the nearby floors. They started swarming in like flies. However—

"Preying on children is one of the most despicable acts there is... You've roused my anger now. Repent your sins in the afterlife." Tio unleashed a blast of fire magic that eradicated the stairs and anyone standing on it. Those left on the floor below stopped in their tracks, their only way up now a pile of ash.

Still, the dragon wasn't about to let anyone escape. She turned her fangs to the men below and unleashed her dragonbreath. True, her breath wasn't as powerful in human form, but it was still the same breath that had tested the limits of Hajime's defenses. A wooden building had no hope of surviving that.

Everything but the room Hansen was in was bathed in pitch black flames. The building somehow didn't collapse, despite the fact that an entire wall was now missing. From a distance, the burning building looked just like an ant farm, with people scurrying about, trying to escape.

Those who were still alive scrambled out of the building as fast as they could and simply stared dumbfounded at what was happening on the top floor. It was only natural. Their base had been destroyed in the span of a few seconds. Their brains couldn't keep up with the situation at hand.

However, the enraged dragon had no intention of showing them any mercy. Fireballs and wind blades rained down on the survivors with the speed of Hajime's gatling guns. Men fled in every direction, but... only a few made it out of the onslaught alive.

As Tio kept busy raining death onto the people outside, Shea walked up to Hansen. She stopped in front of him, tapping Drucken menacingly against her shoulder. Without a word, she slammed the hammer into the cowering gang leader's stomach. He simply grunted in pain and desperately tried to push the hammer off him, but moving the super heavy hammer with a single hand was all but impossible. The only option left to him was to beg for his life.

As Tio kept busy raining death onto the people outside, Shea walked up to Hansen. She stopped in front of him, tapping Drucken menacingly against her shoulder. Without a word, she slammed the hammer into the cowering gang leader's stomach. He simply grunted in pain and desperately tried to push the hammer off him, but moving the super heavy hammer with a single hand was all but impossible. The only option left to him was to beg for his life.

"I-I'm begging you. Don't kill me! I'll give you as much money as you want! I won't ever go after you guys again! Please— Gwaah!?"

"Quit talking. All I want to hear from you are the answers to my questions. Understood? Every time you don't answer, I'll make this hammer heavier... I recommend you start talking before your organs turn to mush."

That was when a new voice interrupted. Or at least a familiar voice to those in the know.

Gojo chirped happily, "Uwaaa, my OCD would never!" In one swift motion, he ripped Hansen's remaining arm. Hansen's eyes filled with agony as he let out a pained scream.

Now, he truly looked armless.

Shea was taken aback. "Gojo? What are you doing here?"

Gojo flashed a double peace sign and replied, "I got rid of 29 buildings, but this one's still standing. Hajime and Yue are taking care of the other one."

"I still can't believe this," Gojo muttered, frustration evident in his voice. "I thought I'd be able to speedrun through it, but I still can't find Myu. It's just my luck that she's out of my range. What a pain. Aside from this, the only places left are where Hajime and Yue are. There's really no point in interrogating him."

Gojo shrugged, trying to shake off his irritation. Taking a look outside he spotted where Hajime and Yue were. They were underground, just near the tourist quarter. "Bingo. Found them."

Hearing what Gojo said. Shea readied her Drunken.

"N-No, wai—" Hansen pleaded.

Shea crushed Hansen flat. There was a wet squelching noise as blood spurted from underneath Drucken. She shook the blood off and slung her hammer across her back, then turned to face Tio without so much as a backward glance at the pile of flesh that had once been Hansen.

Seeing Gojo and Shea unfazed by the gore and violence around them is unsettling for both Tio and Dark Magician Girl. Despite her fear, as a defender of justice, she knows she cannot let it show. Unlike her own methodical approach—eliminating her enemies cleanly, leaving no trace—these individuals seem to revel in the chaos they create.

"Gather around." Gojo quickly said, while clasping both of his hands.

Dark Magician Girl hugging Gojo from behind. Shea and Tio grabbed onto Gojo by the shoulder and teleported themselves out to where Hajime and Yue were at. He had implanted curse energy on an object that could hold curse energy for Hajime and he carried it with him. Which is why Gojo could teleport to him.

Before they left, Gojo used his curse technique to create a powerful lapse blue on the ground. After their teleportation, he activated it, obliterating the entire building and any remaining survivors within, then dissipating it a moment later.

In a single afternoon Freidhof, Fuhren's largest criminal organization, had been utterly demolished.

Hajime and Yue hurried toward one of the marked locations, now searching underground after coming up empty-handed at their previous eleven finds. Since she was 'a slave' this meant she was going to be auctioned off, Hajime assumed her life wasn't in any danger, but that didn't mean she wasn't suffering. Noticing signs of significant movement underground, Hajime made a quick decision. He and Yue descended below the surface, moving together through the tunnels in hopes of finding her.

"This is the place... Hm, I can sense people below us."

"Okay."

"Really? This is the fucking place? It stinks…" Gojo's voice could be heard.

"You are here. That was quick." Hajime wasn't too surprised by his sudden appearance. He knew Gojo was capable of that much.

"Yeah. We destroyed everything. Had to clear 30 buildings." Clicking his tongue. "Couldn't you guys go even faster?"

"Did you even find anything?" Shea asked, shocked.

"I figured they probably don't know that much. It was more efficient just to kill them all. All I needed was to get Myu or any slaves in my area of sight and then handle the rest. But now, I can see… a bunch of slaves." Gojo glared through his blindfold in a particular direction.

"Master, are you planning to save all the slaves?" Tio asked.

Most of the group sprinted, while a few soared through the air at the same speed.

Hajime momentarily glanced at Tio, his expression resolute. "I don't see why not. We can get the guild in debt by doing this favor for them."

This damn tsundere hero.

The tunnels were dimly lit and reeked of decay, however there were bodyguards guarding the entrance. But that didn't stop Gojo as he took charge and went ahead.

"Dark Magician Girl," Gojo commanded.

In an instant, she used her curse technique to cast a black magic illusion. All sounds in the room fell silent for five seconds.

The two guards, taken by surprise, scrambled to react. Gojo swiftly decapitated them with his bare hands before blitzing through without a sound. The group kept pace, ignoring the headless bodies.

They finally arrived at a vast underground prison. The group continued at full speed until Gojo slowed down and eventually stopped. The lone guard at the entrance was dozing at his post. Gojo quickly silenced him with a quick, decisive move—cracking his neck. With both of his hands he twisted the head of the guard and effectively killed him.

"Sheesh, always wanted to try that. It's harder than it looks on television," Gojo muttered, glancing at the cell. Inside, a group of ten human children huddled together. These were most likely the children up for auction that night.

Hajime, Shea, Tio and Yue walked over there and tore the gate door open and walked inside. Seemingly asking the children questions. They just sat there, their mouths hanging open.

Gojo quickly glanced around, using his eyes to expand his sights. He found Myu, noticing a large tank with a humanoid inside it, far from the room they were in. "Myu is being auctioned right now!"

Fins? No, I don't know about their biology. But I know that it is Myu for sure, based on novels and manga.

Gojo and Dark Magician Girl pointed to a door that seemed to lead to another area—the auction room, as indicated by the sounds coming from that direction.

"Sorry, but can you guys look after these kids for me? It looks like I'm gonna have to go on another rampage."

"Go wild—" Gojo started, but Hajime was already sprinting toward the door where the slave auction was being held.

"At least let me finish," Gojo pouted.

Yue looked off in the distance sympathetically. Her gaze was directed toward the adventurer's guild building.

Some time before they'd started destroying Freidhof, Hajime had grabbed a random adventurer and had him deliver a telepathy stone to Ilwa. Since then, he'd been keeping Ilwa up to date on events.

The stone Hajime had given Ilwa couldn't be activated from his side, so Ilwa had been forced to one-sidedly listen to reports about how Hajime had picked a fight with a massive criminal organization, and how he was leaving the cleanup to them. The people back at the guild had probably been furious.

Gojo approached the little kids, who were huddled together, nervously sucking their thumbs now. He crouched down with both hands on his hips, looking down at them intimidatingly.

"Gojo… What are you doing?" Yue questioned, puzzled by his approach.

Without responding, Gojo tore a hole in the wall, with his lapse blue without uttering a chant, revealing a path to the surface, easily accessible for the children to walk through. Not a single word was utter and he simply stood back up, pointed at himself, and began leading them out. The kids, initially bewildered by the spectacle, were soon filled with awe and followed him eagerly.

Anam, Shea, Yue, and Tio exchanged gentle smiles at Gojo's actions and began guiding the children out of the building. They carefully covered the rear, sides, and corners, ensuring a safe and orderly exit for everyone.

Upon arriving at the surface they were greeted by the guild of safety department and other guild employees and Ilwa. However we were designated as gold rank so there weren't many issues to address and we were given off a 'warning.' Despite wiping out a criminal organization within less than a day.

Adding to the chaos, Hajime had preemptively planted bombs in all the buildings he and Yue had entered, as they searched frantically for any clue to Myu's whereabouts. We had to convince the guild employees and police squad to stand by.

Within minutes, everyone in the city witnessed a spectacle—a symphony of explosions echoing through the city.

Uwahhh. This is a bit overkill. No matter how you look at it, this would look like a barrage of terrorist attacks back in my world.

To make matters worse, Yue, upon receiving a message from Hajime through their telepathy, smirked and cast a spell. This only added to the growing chaos and explosions across the city.

The magic she casted was dragon lighting. They don't dissipate until the caster decides to stop charging it with mana. Only four dragons emerged, each composed of pure lightning from the clouds with a thunderous roar. The four dragons split off from each other, heading to different districts.

They flew majestically through the burning sky, heading for the remaining four major Freidhof bases (Though emptied, the building still remained). Upon reaching their destination, they plummeted to the ground, swallowing the buildings whole. The ground shook as they struck. There were four blinding flashes of light and with another roar, the four bases were wiped out of existence. Plumes of smoke rose from the rubble, the debris and ash choking out the light of the setting sun. From up above, the city of Fuhren looked like it had been hit by a disaster.

Yep. Bombs, explosions, sneak attacks, and massacres. Not bad for a Tuesday, in a fantasy world with modern-like weaponry. In any normal circumstances. We would be wanted by the world and labeled as world danger terrorists. But with this golden rank guild status. We are considered Heroes :^). We even got a good deed under our belt.

That being said, Hajime and Yue had taken great precautions to make sure no innocents were harmed. Hajime had sent his Ornises to scout out all of Freidhof's bases and made doubly sure no one unaffiliated with the group had been present. So despite the destruction, the only casualties had been Freidhof's members.

However, the scale of the destruction was staggering. Nearly half the city had been obliterated.

[Is…is Myu safe?] Shea telephatically asked Hajime with her spirit stone.

Oh, right. We (Gojo and Dark Magician Girl) were also given spirit stones so they could telepathically talk with the group from afar.

[Yeah. Safe and sound. And it looks like we got all of their bases too... Oh, right, let's all meet up at the adventurer's guild. Ilwa's probably tearing his hair out over how much paperwork this is going to mean for him.] Hajime confirmed.

[Oh, thank goodness~ You said we're meeting at the guild? Roger. I'll be right there. I want to hurry up and see Myu-chan.] Shea replied.

[Well, anyone would go bald after seeing the city half of what it used to be, especially if you're in charge of its safety] Gojo concurred.

[Roger. See you guys.] Hajime cut off.

***

We were all seated in the guild leader's office, where the atmosphere was surprisingly calm given the circumstances.

"Fifty buildings were destroyed, all members of Freidhof are confirmed dead, destruction of uncountable properties, usage of lethal magic without consent, usage of unknown artifacts to cause mayhem of destruction, and what do you have to say for yourself?" Ilwa was stating the facts confirmed by his employees and from the data they have collected…SO FAR. His face was giving a nice calm smile. His face wore a calm smile, but there was something unsettling about it.

"I could have personally made it a lot worse if I wasn't being held back by—" Gojo's mouth was once again covered by Dark Magician Girl who kept her head down while tryna strangle Gojo.

"They pissed me off, so I crushed them. I don't regret it, either." Hajime replied.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaah..." They were sitting in the guild's waiting room. Ilwa held a stack of reports in one hand as he glared at Hajime. For his part, Hajime was sharing the snacks they'd been served with Myu, who was sitting on his lap. Seeing how Hajime had no intention of reflecting on his actions, Ilwa let out a tired sigh.

"Please tell me the fishman escaping from the Meerstadt Aquarium by flying out of a hole in the wall had nothing to do with you at least... It didn't, right?"

"What? Did he even do something like that?" Gojo's eyebrow raised.

"Myu, these are pretty good too? Here, try some."

"Damn it... Haaah..." Ilwa cursed.

Hajime feigned ignorance and casually continued feeding Myu, but Shea shifted guiltily in her seat, something that didn't go unnoticed by Ilwa. Ilwa heaved another sigh, deeper this time. He grimaced and rubbed his stomach. Dott, his secretary, gave him a sympathetic look and passed him some stomach medicine.

"Well, while you may have gone too far, you did destroy a massive criminal organization for us. Honestly speaking, we had no way of dealing with them. They never left any trace of their illegal dealings, and on the off chance we managed to catch a few of their underlings in the act, the main organization would just cut them off. We didn't think it was even possible to put a stop to them. Though this also means the balance of Fuhren's underworld has been completely toppled... Haaah, we're going to be rather busy in the coming weeks. Especially since we offered our support to the safety department."

"Well, normally it's the government's job to handle stuff like this anyway. This time was a special case. They tried to hurt one of my comrades, so I gave them a little payback."

"That 'little payback' being destroying Fuhren's largest criminal organization in just half a day? You guys are crazy." Ilwa smiled bitterly.

"Well, I had low expectations for the government from the start. There's no reason to rely on them," Gojo remarked, as Dark Magician Girl widened her fingers to let him breathe. He couldn't help but blurt out some rude comments, prompting her to quickly cover his mouth again.

Ilwa let out a weary sigh, realizing Gojo was right. It was astounding to think their organization had spread so extensively—almost covering the entire city. Truthfully speaking, even they were helpless against them. He looked like he'd aged twenty years in a day. Combining the ten years he'd aged when he first saw everyone's Status Plates, he may as well have turned into an old man by now. Even Hajime felt a little bad for putting him through so much, so he offered a suggestion.

"Part of the reason we were so flashy about it was because we wanted to make an example out of them. You know, to make sure no one else would try the same thing. So why not use our names to your benefit? If you say the gold ranked adventurer that did this is part of your branch... wouldn't that work as a good deterrent?"

[Is that even a good idea? We're going to end up doing odd jobs at one point.] Gojo telepathically asked Hajime.

[Give and take. We're going to use them in the future. We can at least offer that much.]

"Oh my, is that really alright? That would save us a great deal of trouble but... weren't you the kind of person that hated their name being used by others?" Ilwa looked at Hajime in surprise. He sounded hesitant, but his gaze made it clear he was dying to use Hajime's name. Hajime smiled wryly and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, you've been a great help already, so I don't mind if it's just using my name. If you're smart enough to make it all the way to branch chief, I can trust you'll use it wisely. Plus, I do feel a little bad about getting innocent people involved in our personal vendetta."

"I see... Is it just me, or have you changed, Hajime-kun? When I first met you, you struck me as the kind of person that didn't care at all about others. Did something happen at Ur?"

"Well, I guess you could say that."

Ilwa wasn't a branch chief for nothing. He could see through people better than most. That was why he'd been able to pick up on the slight shift in Hajime's mentality. Hajime becoming a kinder person was better for Ilwa too, and he gladly accepted Hajime's offer to use his name.

As Ilwa had expected, days after Freidhof's destruction new criminal groups would spring up, hoping to take advantage of the power vacuum that had been created. However, Ilwa would manage to keep them quiet by skillfully spreading rumors of Hajime's ferocity.

In the days that followed, people began referring to him with nicknames such as "Fuhren's Ultimate Weapon," "White-haired Flame Master," and "Lady Killer." To Hajime, these titles were of little concern, or rather, no concern at all.

Meanwhile, Gojo was accumulating nicknames like "Blindfold Freak," "Crazed Psychopath Maniac," and "The Man Who Loves Tearing People's Limbs Off for Fun." To be honest, Gojo didn't care for any of these labels.

Thanks to Ilwa's frantic efforts, the safety department ruled that Hajime's group had acted in self-defense, thereby making him innocent of all the crime they committed. Normally it wouldn't have gone over so smoothly, but they were pretty mad about Freidhof's bombing of one of their buildings.

In fact, the director of the safety department had given Hajime a not-so subtle thumbs-up for destroying Freidhof. The organization had flaunted the safety department's authority at every turn, expanding their illegal activities into every industry they could get their hands on. The chief, who'd just celebrated his 60th birthday, had been more than happy to acquit Hajime of all charges.

Bombing a city was quite fun.

~

"Also, about Myu-kun..." Ilwa looked down at the tiny girl who was happily gnawing on a cookie. Myu gave a little start. She looked worriedly between Hajime, Yue, and Shea. Myu was introduced to Yue who was Hajime's lover and they hit it off a bit. She didn't want to be separated from them again. The reason she didn't look over at Tio was because, well, everyone was trying to keep her away from Tio's harmful influence.

Gojo, on the other hand, was not fond of the girl. Dark Magician Girl wanted to play with Myu, but she held back, wary of the situation.

"Either we can take care of her and send her back to Erisen through the formal routes, or we can make this an official guild request and ask you to take her back... Those are your two options. Well, which do you prefer?" Hajime tilted his head in confusion. He had assumed the safety department would have requested he return her to their custody.

According to Ilwa's explanation, however, they were willing to let him handle the case if he so desired. Because of his guild ranking, and the fact that he'd destroyed an entire organization to save her, they believed he was trustworthy enough.

Ultimately though, this too was Ilwa's handiwork. It almost seemed as if he was eager to prove how helpful of an ally he could.

"Hajime-san... I promise I'll protect her. So please... let her come with us." Shea bowed to Hajime. She wanted to be there for Myu during her journey home. Yue and Tio remained silent, deciding to leave the decision up to Hajime.

Gojo being the one who likes what he is doing had to be a dick. "I don't want to be rude. But this does not align with—" His words were cut off as someone covered his mouth, effectively silencing him to avoid further disruptions. This time, both Yue and the Dark Magician Girl were responsible. Gojo stood still, rendered speechless.

"Onii-chan... please?" She hit Hajime with her irresistible puppy-dog eyes. Though she hadn't needed to. From the moment he had sworn to get Myu back, Hajime had decided he'd be willing to let her come with them if that was still what she wanted.

"I was planning on taking her with me regardless, so I'm glad you're on board already. Even I couldn't abandon her after all we've been through."

"Hajime-san!"

"Onii-chan!"

Yue and Dark Magician Girl breathed a sigh of relief and Gojo rolled his eyes.

Shea and Myu beamed at him. There was still the little problem of how they were going to clear the Grand Gruen Volcano, which came before Erisen, with Myu in tow, but Hajime figured it would work out somehow. He'd decided to take Myu, and that was that.

"But there's just one thing, Myu. Could you stop calling me onii-chan? Just Hajime is fine. It's kind of embarrassing to be called that..." Hajime scratched his cheek awkwardly as Myu hugged him. He was still an otaku after all. Being called onii-chan... Well, it just didn't sit right with him.

[Your funeral.] Gojo telepathically said.

[?] Hajime was confused.

Myu stared at him. After a while, she came to some sort of understanding and nodded. However, her response was something no one present had expected.

"Then I'll call you daddy." Myu nodded to herself convincingly.

"Wh-What? Sorry, Myu. I didn't quite catch that. Could you say that again?"

"Daddy."

"U-Umm, is this like a dagon word for onii-chan or Hajime or something?" Shea asked, shocked, and trying to make sense of this word.

"Nope. Daddy means daddy." Myu answered.

"Okay, hold on a second." Hajime started massaging his temples, while Shea hesitantly asked Myu why she'd chosen to call him daddy of all things. Apparently—

"I don't have a daddy. He went to heaven before I was born. All of my friends have one, but I don't... That's why you're my daddy now, Onii-chan."

"Pffffft." Gojo could be heard laughing despite his mouth being covered. Which irked Hajime for some reason.

"I kind of get it, but at the same time, I kind of don't. Anyway, Myu. I'm begging you, anything but daddy. I'm still only seventeen, you know?"

"No, I like daddy!"

"Okay, fine. Even onii-chan is okay! I'm not asking for much, so please, just not daddy!"

"Nooo! You're my daddy now!"

Gojo couldn't stop laughing, and eventually Yue gave up and let go of her hand that was stopping Gojo from talking. Dark Magician Girl couldn't help but smile at the scene. 'Hajime regains his humanity, hmm'.

Hajime tried everything he could to get her to stop calling him daddy, but he struck out. She seemed to like it even more than onii-chan, so the name stuck. If there was any silver lining, it was that Myu started calling Gojo "Ojii-san." This, however, only pissed Gojo off and started to scaring the fuck outta her at any given moment.

***