Arifureta [Vol 1] Chapter 14 – More of a Cheater Rather Than a Hero (1/2)

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

As he said it, Hajime tried to quietly close the door. The blonde-haired red-eyed girl tried to detain him in a fl.u.s.ter. However, it feels like she hadn’t spoken once in all these years, her voice was tantamount to that of a mutter; though she still desperately conveyed her message.

“W-Wait! &h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;Please! &h.e.l.lip;Save me&h.e.l.lip;”

“No way.”

Hajime said that and continued to close the door, such a devil.

“W-Why&h.e.l.lip;? I will do anything&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip; so please&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;”

The girl was desperate. She still couldn’t move her body, but despite that, she lifted up her face to beseech Hajime. However, Hajime only responded in a loathful manner.

“Hey, this is the bottom of the abyss. How can I possibly release someone who has obviously been sealed here? It would be disastrous. Looks like there’s nothing here apart from the seal&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip; nothing that looks useful for escaping. Therefore&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;”

His argument was sound. However, generally speaking, a person who would ignore the plea of an imprisoned girl without the slightest hesitation shouldn’t have existed. That originally gentle Hajime was long dead.

Being so coldly refused, the desperate girl raised her voice as she was on the verge of crying.

“No! Cough&h.e.l.lip; I’m, not bad! &h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;Wait! I&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;”

Hajime ignored her plea and kept closing the door. Just before the door was completely shut, Hajime gnashed his teeth. If only he had closed it a bit earlier, he might be able to turn a blind eye to it&h.e.l.lip;

“I was betrayed!”

Just a little bit more and the door will be shut for all eternity. However, due to the girl’s desperate shout, the closing door stopped. Ten seconds, twenty seconds, the time pa.s.sed slowly. Before too long, the door started to open again. The one standing there was Hajime with an extremely sour face, as if he had been bitten by hundred bugs and chewed up one.

He originally had no intention of helping her no matter what. She must have been sealed here due to a relevant reason. That reason might very well be because she was extremely dangerous, and there was no evidence to prove what she said was the truth. As a matter of fact, she might be a wicked being, and the probability of her deceiving Hajime was very high. Abandoning her should be the most appropriate decision.

(Ah&h.e.l.lip; Just what am I doing.)

Hajime sighed inwardly. He was actually swayed when he heard the word, “betrayed”. He should have left his past behind him already. In this place, just trying to fulfill his wish to “live” was extremely difficult. ‘Grudges’ were unnecessary distraction. If her words could affect him this much, there was probably a part of him that had not moved on. Parts of Hajime’s consciences probably still existed if he could sympathize with the girl that had the same circ.u.mstance as him.

Hajime scratched his head while he walked up to the girl. Of course, he didn’t lower his guard.

“You said you were betrayed? Are you saying that, that was the reason you were sealed here? If what you said was true, why did the betrayer seal you in here?”

The girl was stunned when Hajime came back. Through her abundant dirty blond hair, her red eyes were fixed on Hajime. Because of her lack of response, Hajime got irritated and said something like, “Hey. Are you listening? If you are not going to talk, I’m leaving.” as he turned heel. In a fl.u.s.ter, the girl quickly gathered herself and began explaining the reason she was sealed.

“I’m an atavistic vampire&h.e.l.lip; I was granted great power&h.e.l.lip; because of it I worked hard for my country. But&h.e.l.lip; one day&h.e.l.lip; all my retainers&h.e.l.lip; told me I was not needed anymore. Uncle&h.e.l.lip; became the king&h.e.l.lip; I&h.e.l.lip; was fine with that&h.e.l.lip; However, I, with great power, dangerous&h.e.l.lip; cannot be killed&h.e.l.lip; so they sealed me&h.e.l.lip; in here.”

The girl recounted the story intermittently with her dried up throat. Hajime heaved a sigh as he heard the story. This was such a dramatic circ.u.mstance. However, there were a few things that bothered Hajime. He inquired as he suppressed his boiling emotions.

“You, are you a royalty from a certain country?”

“&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip; (Nods! Nods!)”

“What do you mean ‘You cannot be killed’?”

“&h.e.l.lip;Self-regeneration. Injuries heal immediately. Even if decapitated.”

“&h.e.l.lip;T-That is indeed very astonis.h.i.+ng&h.e.l.lip; is that the great power you were talking about?”

“Not just that&h.e.l.lip; Magic, direct manipulation&h.e.l.lip; no need formation.”

Hajime was like “Is that so~” as he came to his own understanding.

Hajime could also use Magic Manipulation after eating the Magic Beast. He don’t need any incantations or magic formations to strengthen his body. It was the same for other skills, he don’t need to chant the incantations to use skills such as 【Trans.m.u.tation】 and the like.

However, in Hajime’s case, since his magic apt.i.tude was zero, he still need a huge magic formation to operate magic spell. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to use magic, that was a fact that will never change.

However, if he was to possess magic apt.i.tude like this girl, rules might as well not exist. While other people are chanting or preparing magic formations like an idiot, the spell from this side would have hit them already. Honestly, it wasn’t even a contest. Also, immortality. Though it was probably not absolute, it was still a cheat far above the heroes’.

“&h.e.l.lip;Help me&h.e.l.lip;”

While Hajime was thinking to himself, the girl pleaded with him.

“&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;”

Hajime was looking at the girl, the girl was also looking at Hajime. Time pa.s.sed by slowly like this&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;

In the end, Hajime scratched his head in a frenzy and heaved a sigh. He put his hand on the cube that sealed the girl.

“Ah!”

Once the girl realized the meaning, she widened her eyes. Hajime ignored her and began trans.m.u.ting.

Dark red, no&h.e.l.lip; more like crimson colored magic power discharged from Hajime like electric sparks. His magic power has changed after he ate the magic beasts. However, the cube that should be deformed resisted Hajime’s trans.m.u.tation and repelled his hand. It was just like the bedrock at the top and bottom of each level, however, it’s not like it was completely ineffective. Little by little, Hajime’s magic started to erode areas around the cube.

“Ku, the resistance is strong! &h.e.l.lip;But, the present me can do it!”

Hajime began to pour even more magic power. The equivalent to a six phrase incantation. Finally, the magic gradually penetrated the cube’s defense. Not only the surroundings, the entire room was bathed in crimson light of Hajime’s magic.

Hajime continued to increase the quant.i.ty of magic power. Seven phrase&h.e.l.lip; Eight phrase&h.e.l.lip; The stones around the seal started to tremble.

“Not enough, still not enough!”

He fired himself up as he poured nine phrase worth of magic power. If it was an attribute magic, it would already be a grand level spell. No, it might be impossible to use that to estimate his magic power anymore. As the crimson light continued to get more intense, the girl widened her eyes and kept staring at Hajime, as if she didn’t want to miss any seconds of this event.

This was the first time Hajime used such a large-scale magic, not only was he sweating profusely, if his control slipped for just a moment then his power would go on a rampage. However, the cube remains unchanged even with all this power. Hajime was desperate and released all his magic power.

Hajime did not understand why he would expend so much effort for a girl he just met. But he just couldn’t ignore her plea so it can’t be helped. Destroy any obstruction, survive only for my goal; he should have already made up his mind a long time ago, but&h.e.l.lip; Hajime asked himself again, “Just what am I doing?” While still shocked by his own action, he thought it through; there should be an exception in everything, I will do what I want to do! And I must do it with all my heart!

His body started to emit a red light. This time for real, he was going all-out to release his magic power. He stubbornly poured all of his magic power into trans.m.u.tation, and it finally succeeded!

The cube around the girl started to melt and little by little, she was getting being released from her shackles. Soon, more and more parts of her got free. Her swelling chest came to bare, then her waist, arms, and thighs&h.e.l.lip; Under those cubes, she was wearing nothing. Even though her body was emaciated, she still had a mystique beauty to her. She dropped onto the ground with a ‘female sitting’ ⌈1⌋ posture as she was set free. Her body seemed to lack the energy to stand up.