Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1

”No htmare, I will always be there to wake you up”

Part 1

Ai Souya

Though I’ve already forgotten horite it, that’s my name

An ordinary japanese high school student…or was one, until a year ago

I don’t knohat caused it but when I was co back home from school, I suddenly ran across these ‘Monsters’ and before I even realized it, I was thrown into a totally outrageous place

An ancient world so far back in history that you’d get dizzy just trying to think about it, the reali>

It seeion, maybe around Mesopotamia or the Middle East

At first I thought it was a dreaame

But reality is heartless

No matter how uide NPC appeared, nor could I log out on my own violation

Being thrown into this strange place, I literally suffered hell and finally arrived at the town of Kagushi+la

Kagushi+la is a city state It’s near the abolished capital of Babylon and outside its city walls lays a vast wasteland filled with ruins

And it seeate=””> lies somewhere in those ruins I heard that rumour somewhere and entrustedin with the ruin-raiders, I headed for the city of rubbles to survey it

I didn’t knohat to do And even now, I don’t

But even so, in this land with the scorching sun andto those ait If you have a wish, then you have to go after it even if you hate it

Even if you are just a norerous place

For example, let’s talk about the situation I’m currently in

Right now, I’ht in theto hide myself

There were s with flat roofs around They expanded in all directions creating a ghost town

It was ht

I was just watching At the job no different froht now, I’m here in the old, abandoned sanctuary as a ation team

However, our party of 14 people suddenly ran into a reed as skin) and were co and hiding like this in the ruins while staying awake

With me is Kenny-san, an Ba’a<outsider> like me and an old man with a serious wound

We want to escape but can’t It’s that ‘desperate situation’ thingy

Thanks to the full ht as noon

“Keep on watch till its daithout getting noticed……”

I half stood up to see if there’s anything strange going on and peeked through the fence

“Nothing out of the ordinary…I guess?”

The plain brick-ether in this old city ruins are le-storey, with a few double and triple storey ones

And there was so to the roads that twisted narrowly through between the intervals of those buildings

The Ni<ht

The rows of houses looked half subed in clouds of soot like Ni<miasma> as only their tops could be seen

The ht was illusionary, alers that loomed there

Being startled by another noise from inside the ruins, I felt remorse for the millionth time

If possible, I’d like to leave this place even a second earlier

But a forced ht would be no better than suicide, ould just fall prey to those GhoulsFlesh Eating Demons immediately

I sighed No, I know It’s just a si one’s just desert’

I had the chance If I had just refused, then I wouldn’t have needed to join the investigation team for this Zarinnu temple ruins in the first place

shi+t I was too indecisive

But hey, nocalled a hierarchy system within teams The one under had no choice but to follow the superior’s orders; seems to be a worldly wisdom

There’s no way a norh school kid would be able to refuse the commands of a warrior

“Good grief, this turned out rather pathetic”

Sitting with ainst the roof fence, I looked up at the n world

Next to the ous tower rose froht with brilliant silver light

Even the lower blocks of the toere so high it looked hazy, and the uneven surface which looked like terraces and spires were decorating the outer wall There was nothing to co haywire; it was definitely much taller than the sky tree

When I think of the tower of Babel, I reend

It was built by a king who tried to resist the Gods and thus buying their wrath and was destroyed Till then the people all talked in the sa the tower’s collapse, they started speaking in different tongues

For soap in couage but the ets translated and I can understand it The locals claiends

Though I thought it was stupid and was rather uncertain, I still haven’t found another explanation

The grand tower that tries to reach the heavens, it’s as if it was the gravestone of the fallen city

Babylon seems to be a metropolis in the old Mesopotamia and the current Middle East

It’s said in the scriptures and re artifacts that it was once the centre of the world and was a decaying land filled with pagans

But actually, before this town suffered the calahost town a decade ago, there was a huge nu here

Now there’s none

The only things that loiter here arehuman

Various dangers are lying in wait in order to kill the greedy, the ones called ‘Ruin-raiders’ who try to wake this city up from its slumber

The evil souls that haunt Babylon, the past citizens ere turned into ghouls after failing to escape, the various sorts of beasts that got caught up in the Ni<miasma>, and the Ni<miasma> itself……

That’s why taking refuge in the rooftops on the ruins after sunset when the Ni<miasma>’s effect turns serious became the principle for the ruin-raiders who couldn’t return to the safety zone in time

Rather than loitering about in the night, even leaving your fate up to luck and staying hidden was a better option

While killing off the unease, they sought after a silhouette with a structure similar to a small hill that lay beyond the rows of houses

Though the tower of Babel was overwhele

We were attacked while conducting an investigation there

A staircase shaped structure which looked like a distant relative of the Pyraloss The locals call it Unil<saint tower=””> The structures are called Jigrads as a whole, which are built by pilling up tens of thousands of bricks

Unil< saint=”” tower=””> is the centre of sacred precincts The dwelling places of the Gods They each have a sacred name For example, that one which is built with those black bricks is called badonigul> Itlike, ‘The wall that crushes all with fear’

It took three hours to get here fro the wounded old man This was our liet here

We’ve escaped far enough That’s what I’d like to say……

By the tiht hand hard, my usual habit

I do this since it’s the only thing that can re

This touch of shi+ning plastic that’s i nowhere to go and reminds me of my priorities

My goal is simple Live and return home

It’s okay if I aim for only that……

“You’re carrying that around as usual Don’t blame me if you drop it~”

I heard a joking voice from the back and turned around

Kenny-san, as also sitting cross-legged and back resting, had a grin on her face

She, who looked like a tough heroine wearing a leather vest from one of those action movies, was also in the same situation as me We are called Ba’a<outsider> ,people who lost their way and drifted here in <kiengi> froe

She had a cheerful onee-san type personality and was in her 20s Even a head taller than the 170cm me and had blonde wolf-hair

She was originally a police officer in New York After I got to know her, she helped ht in this unknown era, a lot In other words, she is so like my savior

“Don’t you also have those pistols strapped with you all the time?”

“Well, yeah”

Kenny-san shrugged her shoulders Just when I thought she was going to rotate her arms toward her back , she drew those automatics and aimed them towards the darkness As expected of a police officer from New York City She’s totally an expert

“Out of bullets though Just a lucky charm now”

This person’s real partner was the crossbow leaned against the fence beside her But she still never let go of either the pistols or the holsters

“If I let go of it, I feel like I ht?”

“…Yeah”

Everything I had equipped was froi>

Fro with the ht now I have a sleeveless leather vest for ventilation and exercise, leather guards on s, and leather boots; I’m in complete search mode

No ht be, even I can’t start froh it’s coot no choice but to put up with the itchy feeling of leather and wool fabrics

The proble

The taste of the food in this foreign land

The mysterious Tower of Babel that lets us understand each other without any problees

The scorching sun that burns the skin, the smell of the dry wind and the desert

The black ic that controls Me<truth> and the phantom beasts that should only exist in fairy tales

The town of Kagushi+la where greed, passion and ambition whirls non-stop, and its people

And finally, the Unil<saint tower=””> that stands still in the middle of all there

Sorown used to the lifestyle here and have accepted that this is ‘real’

I somewhat understand

Just like this, I’ll forget all my incompatibility and there’ll be a time when the only place I can remember my homeland and the faces of my family is in my dreams No, it’s already close to that point

Waking up in themy chest hard because of my narrow mind that can’t look forward, it’s already unbearable

I want to return to japan

“I’ll definitely get back Like hell I’ll die in this country of swords and ic!”

As if cutting off ly vouched,

“Yeah, me too, for the both of us Cause we have luck on our side We cut through that today too didn’t we? So don’t worry”

She said that And I finally realized I shouted out that I had insuch an anxious face? Guess I’m still half a man

“It’s okay The sky’s starting to clear up And I don’t think those dangerous guys will follow us this close to Kagushi+la And in case of eency, we can just run all the way to Anzu First Gate”

Our headquarters, Kagushi+la was surrounded by high walls and was built to be able to perfor as it’s situated at the outskirts of Babylon, firate that faces the ruins isn’t open between sunsets to sunrise unless there’s an unavoidable reason

So even if we forced our way through, ouldn’t be able to enter But nevertheless, the closer we get, the safer it gets

“…So, how’s the Sudandagreat chief doing? Is he alright?”

There was an old ed Kenny-san He earing a fabulous reel vestment with embroidery all over the place and a cluster of decorations

All the while he’s totally blacked out

Laashi+IL ore a priest’s garb was the leader of the investigation teaer move on his own

The upper half of his knitted beard was brownish soil coloured but the flanks were dyed in blood

“Well, he won’t die The bleeding stopped I don’t know about any internal injuries but he didn’t vo Laashi+ back”

Though she spoke rudely, she still looked at him worriedly

The ruin-raiders who search the ruined city of Babylon where danger always looether to form factions These are called Ildam

Though this time a special party was assembled because of the request of the council, the chief Laashi+IL was originally a leader of a group large enough to wrap Kagushi+la around his five fingers

Other than inally part of Laashi+’s group Since the investigation tea of at least bringing Laashi+ back at all costs

It was supposed to be a siation We were hired to confir in the Zarinnu teht that were sometimes seen We were told that

But now even the Mashyureat exorcisrt=””> Laashi+IL had become immobilized

If he’d just die then ouldn’t have to do soh………

A thought like that suddenly crossed my mind

Cold-hearted? Maybe Ah- damn

I clenched ain

I don’t want to die either And I don’t have any relations with Laashi+ other than this

Truthfully speaking that is I didn’t really want to risk my life for someone like that; the motivation just wasn’t there

“It would’ve been better if the cleric got out but…”

“……Those guys can take care of themselves”

Her mouth was bent in a ‘へ’ shape and she slowly closed her eyes as if trying to convince herself Then she suddenly opened them and boldly smiled, “Well, it can’t be helped if we’re uneasy We can just spend the time till sunrise cheerfully and when the Ni<ushi+la What comes after that, we’ll think after that”

Good God, this person really was tough Well, if she wasn’t like this then she couldn’t possibly continue the Ruins-raider business

“Haha, ro—ger~ But you guys are going to negotiate with the council and properly haggle pays right?”

The request for the badonigul> teation this tiushi+la issued it It was a relief that the reas definite but because of the course of events, it would be unbearable if they were to be stingy

“Of course For a dangerous job like this, if we don’t squeeze out as much as we can, then on’t be satisfied In the first place, thata day is…”

Kenny-san agging her tongue constantly in irritation suddenly stopped speaking She suddenly snapped her fingers as if re and fixedly stared at me

Eh? What?

“Oh that’s right, boy!”

She mischievously smiled like a stray cat that found a mouse and said,

“I was thinking about asking you for a while but if it’s okay, won’t you answer this Onee-san’s question?”

Wait Wait Wait

I could only think of one possibility after hearing this person’s sweet talking

It’s no joke I have to warn her here clearly

“Roger”

“Is it true that that cute Goddess of Kagushi+la is your lover?”

“Don’t you have the decency to even think about this kind of stuff for a second before asking?”

Guh She i back But the denored what I said No matter what option I choose, see in a nationwide RPG?

“Is it true?”

“W-W-What are you saying! That’s so stupid She’s a Goddess you know! There’s no way she’s has a relation with me!”

I averted aze filled with curiosity that could even be scripted as rudeness And that easy to see through suspicious behavior was regrettable even for me

“Fu~un? But that’s not what I heard~”

She brought proof!? Who was the one that leaked this info!!!

“I soirl called Raquell really seeht? And she’s not a marionette either The council really does bow their heads to her She’s like a dressed up doll, she’s too cute, even though she looks like us, it’s like she is worlds apart”

“I-Is that so? I really didn’t notice…”

“He~y Souya You’re not really good at feigning ignorance”

It’s none of your business! I’e!

And besides! Calling her divine is too

“Just spit it out Hey, we got enough proof Ho~re”

There was a red-lined scribble on the left hand that Kenny-san reached out

‘Souya is a liar (He’s a liar)’

“Gununu… Curse you Dorothy---“

There were i> who possessed special skills or abilities Kenny-san was also one of theel called Dorothy

Dorothy’s es were bull’s eye most of the tier in badonigul> was thanks to that Of course this time, she also hit the mark

“We have enough ti?”

“Ugh…I guess I don’t have a choice Kenny-san, you see”

“Hohoo~? A ?”

“Certainly Raquell…er…Raquell-saht, I’ll admit that we’re acquainted But that’s all I don’t know that the leader and Gwen-san said but we just chat with each other so more”

It wasme around

But if that got out, then I’ to stand out and pushi+ng aside all the s and troubles will be broken into smithereens

“So can you please keep it a secret?”

“Fu~un I don’t mind but I think it’s useless There were rumours in the bars here and there that the Goddess has taken a liking to the new-comer at Murakami’s place”

“Eh!”

A sudden jolt in my system! Seems like I was the only one not aware

“Hey, was it that shocking? But isn’t it okay either way? Another rumour will just brush it off soon And isn’t the Elsh<rand Godhead and a special kind of God of Ni<fear>?”

“About that, I don’t really know anything at all”

“I heard that she was also the reason other Gods don’t have anything to do with Babylon”

“Yeah, she’s got this at but when she does, it’s like she’s the polar opposite Like, acting on her whioist,but can’t say she’s that different from us”

By the way, this was a rather conserved way of saying it

In my head, the iirl popped up

Really, that girl’s way too free, always dragging me into her plans whenever she’s bored On top of that, she could stick with it if it was a little trouble but was bad at theon her own She’s like a sets angry whenever she wants She also has a large appetite

“Hohou~ In other words, ‘I’ht? Thanks for the feast, thank you very much That’s a really chummy relationshi+p, ”

“…Can I hit you?”

And Kenny-san coughed her throat clear as such strangely

“Well, being so close with a Goddess like that, there’s bound to be soetting it fulfilled Returning to your original world for example?”

Of course, I’ve thought about that I’ve asked her I asked her so persistently that it finally turned into a squabble

“……Seeate=””> wasn’t so that could be opened with just a feers And also, I don’t really feel like turning it into a request…”

“Nn? Why? There’s got to be some benefits!”

An unexpected Kenny-san But she soon nods her head several tiot it

“Haha~n A guy’s vanity? Coe when you’d like to show off your coolness a bit huh?”

“Wha- Kenny-san Right now you’ve definitely ! It’s just since it won’t be a Give And Take, I’ve also put soht into it and—“

“Hey hey hey, don’t be too shy now Well, if it’s like that then that’s also okay If you don’t feel like settling down then it’d better with the least of hindrances And froal either”

An unfahtly different froh status

“Lugal? What’s that?”

“So you don’t know this either huh? From what I heard it’s---“

Part 2

Her explanation stopped midway

She suddenly looked up at the empty space,

And as if confir the noise from far away, she looked at her arm

“This is bad! It’s that guy!”

A traain appeared on her white skin

‘’’’’It’s Co After Us!’’’’’

‘It’?You don’t mean?

Kenny-san grabbed the Crossbow that was left leaning on the fence and put on her shoes She side glanced at the bowstring pulled to its limit and I hastily stuck my head out of the handrail

The darkness of the Ni<ht It wasn’t possible to foretell anything because it’s so dark

“From the Unil<saint tower=””>’s direction! On your left!”

A saze that turned als that stretched from the darkness

It was froonally opposite to ours

The legs that are as thick as logs grabbed the handrails of the roof one after another And the htmare pulled itself up on the roof at last

A scorpion An ie one at that

“As I thought that thing’s way too huge……”

The size of its trunk alone was that of a reat round scissors slowed bluish under the reat axe The poison needle that extended froer than a hook extended from a warehouse pulley

“Looks like it didn’t coot huh? What a persistent bastard”

“……This is bad It’s all set to turn us into sacrifices”

But the strangest thing about it wasn’t its large size

It was the hureat scissors, right about the jaws

“The lord who ruleth over the holy Ni<fear>, rising even deeper from the depths of Abyss, O’ thou who divide dom of the underworld, ‘The black Rampart’ Zarinnu…”

The gru prayers that the darkish man with a shaved head and tattoos all over his body could be imperceptibly heard

My eyes suddenly met with its four white pupils

It was laughing like a child that found a new toy It had long lost its sanity

Giltabrul<scorpion-folk>

A crossbreed Chi a powerful Me<truth>

This guy was the one waiting for us in the treasury of badonigul> after we broke the seal

Nuroup with no qualed into Unil<saint tower=””> They recklessly attacked that thing that looked totally dangerous no s You could even say their greed was admirable in one way or another

But, I can’t say that it was advisable behavior Having the nu Rather, it’s disadvantageous I only counted till five of theot turned into minced meat after about 3 minutes

I didn’t have the ti the wounded Laashi+IL out of there

“The scissors on the left and the right are”

I don’t knohat happened to the others of the investigation tearee of injury to it

There was a crack in the shell of the left scissors and two of the arthropod-legs were torn off in ht ar nimbly

But it wasn't enough Its movement hadn't slowed down at all

In other words, it would be quite difficult to run away now

shi+t, to think it'd chase us this far Wasn't this guy supposed to be the gatekeeper of badonigul>?

How can we get away dammit!?

While ai her crossbow, Kenny-san came near me and whispered,

”Take Laashi+ and run If it's you, then you can do it!”

Yes It's impossible, in two different levels

”There's no point in trying to be a decoy You'll just die a useless death against that guy”

Even if Kenny-san tries, the aht He'll probably catch up before I can even reach a few blocks Then it'll turn into the worst case scenario

Probably the best choice here would be to run towards Kagushi+la at full speed together

There's a risk of getting caught in the Nit out And if we leave the unconscious Laashi+ then it's possible for 2 to escape

But Kenny-san will definitely not do that Tsk, despite having a foul mouth she cares too much about others

She won't leave her comrade Laashi+ behind

”Just shut up I won't be using the usual dog-arrows this tiet me So hurry up and run!”

”You won't be able to shoot again whileif you miss with that crossbow! It's not a Ka you know!”

I slowly step backwards towards the street while keeping my eyes on it

I won't look away even for a second That thing’s the same as a beast Lock eyes with it once and before you know it, it’ll charge straight at you If that happened than our sli will totally become zero

Ah, geez! Even for me, it’s still too reckless

That scorpion-folk isn’t soers, then it would definitely break through the roof

But still, I can’t let this person die Kenny-san has been looking after ushi+la is a city full of ruffians

But even that place has a line one must not cross

-I slowly concentrated my will power

Just like how Kenny-san has her guardian angel, I also have a mean to protect myself

It’s not so I had since birth It was forcefully ei>; I rather hated it

But right now, I only had this to rely on

Mainly froealed

The foreign bodies that harmonised with me and he formless ssences> of life and instinct

It’s one of them that I need

I roughly grasped the trick to awaken these formless ssences>

“Gilim Sua< forest=”” hunter=””>”

As a sighed, I received an ie from that existence

The awakened Gilim Sua< forest=”” hunter=””> touched ht about physical changes

I just can’t get used to this unpleasant feeling

For example, if my consciousness could be co a small animal in my surface of iant ripples

Even after the ripples settle, the s which creates small waves and my mind remains dim

Gilim Sua< forest=”” hunter=””> is a hunter ssence> from the cat family

This fellow’s instincts are too ephemeral It takes quite the effort even if I concentrate while it’s awake

It gets distracted by things in the i is too half-hearted

But a handicap like that is a small price to pay

My perception sharpens drah the body like when nues

And the body jolts 2 to 3 times as if to settle down

Alright It’s done

“It’s i it down All I can do is to create an opening so I’ on you nyaa”

My legs craht what to do nyext One can’t fool oneself even if he tries to brush it off with jokes But if s stop because of hesitation then that’s certainly the end