76 Chapter 76: Takeda Tetsuo

Suzuki froze as the purple legs rushed past him, almost as if enfolding him within a creepy embrace. They extended past his still body and unfurled toward Ooyama Eiji, who was standing behind his boss.

"!!"

Ooyama's eyes widened when he saw the purple legs stretch out toward him. Before he could react, several of the purple legs pierced him and hoisted him high into the air.

"Koff!"

He let out a choked cough as he was lifted off his feet, helplessly dangling in midair. The legs then retracted, dragging him into the chamber from which they came.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Ooyama screamed and thrashed about desperately, but he was unable to free himself from the clutches of those purple legs. He struggled to pull himself out of the chamber by grabbing the doors, but their pull was irresistible.

"Damn it!"

With a roar, Ooyama unleashed his most powerful ability.

"God of Thunder!"

Lightning wreathed his body, covering him in an incredible protective and offensive aura that electrocuted anything that went near him. With a snarl, he attempted to break free of the legs with brute force, perhaps trying to destroy them.

The humanoid God of Thunder aura smashed both hands against both sides of the door, halting his advance. With sheer strength, Ooyama began to drag himself out of the chamber, lightning frying everything in the vicinity.

But to no avail.

Despite its formidable might, even the God of Thunder was no match for the creepy, mysterious purple legs that had ensnared him. They continued to protrude out of Ooyama's chest, as if piercing through his body.

Realizing how totally outmatched he was, Ooyama issued a plea for help.

"Boss…help me!!!"

Light glowed out of his mouth, and then erupted in a blinding explosion that shone out of his throat and began spreading all over his body, as if turning him into a human light bulb. He struggled, only to choke.

"Boss, I can't take him on by myself! Hurry and help me!"

Even as Ooyama pleaded with Suzuki, the spearman just stood there, completely frozen. Most likely frozen in fear, unable to react or respond to his subordinate's cries. His hand was trembling violently as he tried to move, but his body refused to listen.

Just when he finally mustered up the determination, a hand landed on his shoulder firmly.

Yonebashi Kyoko leaned in closer to whisper into his ear.

"Don't go off and do anything stupid," she warned him. Suzuki turned to her, his expression a mask that could barely conceal his terror.

He swallowed, perspiration profusely flowing down his pale face. Yonebashi smiled enigmatically, her eyes guarded behind those ruby lenses.

"It's not just a simple loss if you go in."

"AHHHHH!!"

"Boss!! What are you waiting for?!"

"NOOO!!!!!"

Everyone turned to me when I suddenly yelled. I waved at poor Ooyama frantically.

"Don't you guys see?! Takeda-kun is ripping off Yin zhi Shoumuren! Or The Silver Gravekeeper! Haven't you read the manhua? Poor Ooyama is doomed!"

"Shut up and help me!" Ooyama shouted. I shook my head.

"No can do. I wanna see what Takeda-kun do to you. Will he copy Yin zhi Shoumuren or The Silver Gravekeeper? Or will he be more original?"

"What the fuck are you babbling about?!" Ooyama bellowed. I shrugged, stepped forward and kicked him in the face.

His eyes sparkled for a moment, rolling in their sockets, and with one last yelp, his grasp loosened and he was hauled into the chamber.

Right before Suzuki's frozen figure, the doors slammed shut, and Ooyama disappeared within the chamber forever.

"Do you still wish to challenge the leader?" Nagano asked calmly, but I almost detected a mocking tone in her question.

Suzuki was still standing there, frozen in disbelief and fear.

"Boss, you've given up on Eiji…"

Nishida Kensuke couldn't believe what he had just seen. He was staring at Suzuki, trying to comprehend what had just transpired.

Then he turned to me.

"What the fuck were you doing, Tanaka?!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"Ah…I see you lack the awareness that you're a fictional character."

Nishida gaped at me, but I turned away, not caring. Instead, I glanced at Suzuki Shirou, who was still frozen in fear. Even though I was the one who actually kicked Ooyama into the chamber, I was highly wary of the sort of power Takeda used to ensnare him. That was like no magic I had ever seen.

What kind of monster is behind this door…?

I swallowed as I studied the interior of the chamber before me with Absolute Appraisal, but as with before, I just couldn't make out what was going on entirely. The eight Guardians of the Iron Knights merely stood there calmly, as if this was a completely normal occurrence.

Inside the chamber, Takeda Tetsuo continued to sit calmly in a cross-legged position, the purple legs spreading out from his armored back, which had a cross transfixed onto its silvery surface. Like a silky web, the purple magical strands spread out and ensnared everything.

"Everyone must pay for their own recklessness."

Takeda smirked as he stared forward, narrowing his eyes.

"And you have nothing left…"

"Actually he still has his life left!" I called out from behind the doors. "And stop being so cryptic. Your statement makes no sense whatsoever."

As usual, I was ignored. Fine, go ahead and continue being dramatic. See if I care.

Above, Ooyama was held suspended in the air, helpless as he was pierced by the purple spider legs that stretched out from Takeda's back. I could see the flow of mana – Ooyama's mana was rushing into Takeda at an alarming rate.

The next thing Ooyama knew, he found himself floating in absolute darkness, drifting aimlessly without any sense of direction.

Suspended in nothingness, Ooyama continued to drift endlessly until he was suddenly aware of his predicament.

"Eh?"

He returned to his senses and looked around him. Straightening himself, he stood on what seemed like nothing, but thankfully it didn't seem like he was bound to the laws of gravity either. He gulped as he studied his surroundings, but couldn't make out anything other than inky blackness. It was like he was trapped inside a black hole.

"Where am I?" he asked, trembling.

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"This is your consciousness."

A gigantic visage of Takeda's sneering face appeared in the darkness to loom over the frightened Ooyama.

Feeling cold sweat pour all over him, Ooyama swallowed and stared pitifully at the gigantic visage, almost unable to speak.

"Takeda Tetsuo, why are you appearing in my consciousness?"

"Because of my special ability, Plunder."

"Plunder…?"

A bead of cold perspiration rolled down Ooyama's face as he struggled to understand.

"That's right. I took your abilities."

Ooyama's jaw dropped at the revelation, but Takeda continued speaking mercilessly.

"Your job…your weapon…everything that was once yours in Restia now belongs to me!"

"Huh?!"

"You no longer exist in this world!"

"NO!"

With a scream, Ooyama jolted awake, only to find himself back in his bed.

"This is…"

He looked around, recognizing the familiar interior of his room. His jaw agape, he stared around, absolutely stupefied.

"How…isn't this my…room?"

How did he get back in here? Did he return to Earth from Restia?

But that meant…he had lost everything. All the skills he worked so hard to polish, the legendary equipment, gear and weapons that he had accumulated, the levels he ground toward, the reputation that he built up as a hero…

All of that was gone.

And now he had to live as a normal human again, unable to return to Restia to bask in glory or enjoy untold luxuries.

"NOOOOO!!!!!"

With a howl, Ooyama smashed his bed in despair, bringing his surprised parents up.

Well, that was as far as my first-person protagonist privilege could go, but needless to say, they were pleased to find that their missing son had returned. However, for Ooyama, the loss of everything he obtained in Restia was a crushing psychological blow from which he couldn't recover, and he was never the same again.

Meanwhile, back in the chamber, Takeda continued to sit right in front of his altar, absorbing the last vestiges of power from Ooyama, who had been reduced to a spectral figure. The spectral figure continued to shrink and diminish as Takeda sucked in the final remnants of his mana. He smiled, his eyes hooded.

As Ooyama's power was completely absorbed, the purple legs and web-like strands vanished, seeping back into his armor. Wisps of blue light swirled around the satiated Takeda, who finally rose to his feet to peer past the doors that isolated him from others.

"Let's have a nice chat…"

Takeda smirked.

"Tanaka."

Meanwhile, outside, Suzuki continued to stand in front of the door. He was still gripping his spear tightly in his right hand, but he was unable to move even a single step forward. His head was lowered, his face masked in shadow, but I had no doubt his expression was that of absolute terror right now. Oh, I was so going to mock him.

"I bet you didn't see that coming?" I gloated. Suzuki gave me a deadly stare, but I flapped my arms like a chicken and I mocked him. "You deserve it, idiot!"

"Who are you calling an idiot?"

"You, of course!"

"Do you still wish to challenge our leader?" Nagano repeated with a smile. Fine, ignore me then.

Suzuki glared at her, his expression murderous despite his utter helplessness.

"Tell me…what happened to Eiji?"

"Our leader's special ability is Plunder. He has the power to take away one's special abilities, status, possessions and existence in Restia. Those whose being has been plundered by him will be sent back to Earth as a normal person, never able to return here again."

Holy f…! Wait, so there was a way for us to return home afer all?! Wasn't that great news? I was sure that there would definitely be several of us who would willingly give up our powers and return to Earth, sick of all the slaughter and stuff that was Restia.

Unfortunately, I couldn't return to Earth just yet. I didn't mind returning to Earth sometime in future, but first I had to take my revenge. I needed to kill Kobayashi Kenji, Yamada Yuji and the other bullies. Only then could I consider returning to Earth.

Still, I was surprised that none of the others had asked Takeda to take their powers and send them back to Earth. Then again, a lot of my former classmates were treating this as a game and basking in the glory of being heroes. The special abilities we possessed, the power, the prestige and reputation. That could all make us drunk on glory and riches. We were living arguably much better lives than we ever would in Earth, having even the royalty at our beck and call, receiving riches that would otherwise be beyond imagination, and granted statuses that surpassed even that of nobles. The only exception was me, of course, who had to go through a ton of shitty experiences thanks to Kobayashi and the bullies trying to kill me.

It was because of them I didn't enjoy the same sort of prestige, riches or status, and I had to survive against all odds with them trying to kill me. No, I couldn't simply return home. Not until I had my revenge on these bastards.

I've to be careful.

I had no idea what method Takeda Tetsuo used to plunder someone's existence and abilities, but I couldn't let him use it on me…yet.

Lilith, on the other hand, looked bewildered, mostly because she wasn't from our world and had no idea what we were talking about.

"I should mention this too," Yonebashi quipped. "Even if they try to find a way to get summoned back to this world, they wouldn't be able to get summoned here. In other words, those whose existence was plundered by our leader can never step into this world again."

"That means…"

Suzuki's fingers curled around his spear, while his left hand clenched into a fist.

"That in this world, Eiji has died…"

His expression was nothing short of murderous. Mixed with fear, his mind was currently in a turmoil.

"HOW THE FUCK DID YOU COME TO THAT CONCLUSION?!" I screamed. Everyone stared at me.

…I give up. I was surrounded by idiots.

"This is our ticket back home! Do you guys actually plan on staying in this world forever!? Why hasn't any of you asked Takeda-kun to send you back home!? I want a ticket back home too! Well, not yet. I still have something to do, but once I'm done with my revenge, you can bet I'll be the first one asking Takeda-kun to send me home!"

"…you can go home on your own," Nagano replied.

"Huh?! Don't tell me none of you guys ever intend to go home?! What about your families?! Your friends?!"

"This is our home now," Makoto replied coldly. "We've obtained too much things here to let go of them. There's no way we can just return home to being…ordinary. You've to be insane to want to give up your special abilities and statuses. Here, we're treated as heroes, we have wealth, we have respect, and people actually worship us. What are we going to do once we get home? Live a normal life? There's no way we can do that."

You've got to be kidding me…

Or maybe this is the so-called human greed. Once they've gotten all these wealth, status, fame, admiration and followers, they're highly reluctant to let go of all this.

To be honest, I was a little reluctant to give up all the abilities I worked so hard to gain. I had been through so many life and death experiences, endeavored to get some cool equipment like my Redwood jacket and Library of Eden, could even summon a freaking Titan…yeah, it would be difficult to give all that up and live a normal life once again.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter."

Suzuki glared at the Iron Knights. He was paying no attention to me and my rambling. Instead, he was indulging in his own fury.

"For taking away one of my comrades…you must pay the price!"

"Hey, hey!" Yonebashi scoffed as she waved his accusation away. "You're the one who wanted to challenge our leader, and that was what caused your underling to be returned to Earth. Now you come asking for compensation? Isn't this too much?"

"Wait…"

Nagano stepped forward to mediate. She smiled sweetly at Suzuki.

"I want to know what kind of price the Iron Knights need to pay?"

Suzuki stopped to consider. I could see the thoughts running through his head – as usual, his expression made his thoughts so easy to read. Or perhaps this was an effect of Absolute Appraisal, which allowed me to guess what he was thinking.

Currently, I stand no chance of victory if I want to challenge the Iron Knights. Now I don't even have a chance to fight against Takeda.

His eyes narrowed bitterly.

Damn it…I can't let Eiji's death go to waste.

Uh, what? Death? Ooyama didn't die. Hello? Were you not paying any attention to what Nagano said? Then again, this was pure speculation, and I had no proof that this was actually what he was thinking. I was basing it on the dialogue I read from the manhua Yin zhi Shoumuren or The Silver Gravekeeper.

Suzuki steeled his determination as he straightened himself. I couldn't stop myself from snorting at how dramatic he was making the whole thing out to be.

I need to use his death to make myself stronger.

He finally came to a conclusion. Turning to Nagano, he twisted his expression into a sneer.

"I heard Cross Castle has a rare and strong magical beast."

Why didn't I hear of that?

"It's called Demonic Shadow Dragon. Its strength is comparable to a game boss, and it will appear once every six months."

"That's right…" Nagano nodded to confirm his statement. "If you kill it, it leaves behind one Shadow Dragon Egg. It's a rare object used to enhance one's heroic weapon."

Suzuki raised a finger arrogantly.

"Give me one of those eggs and I will consider things square."

"You really like egging people on, don't you?" I growled. "Better be careful that these guys don't kick you back to square one."

What nonsense was this? He just lost a comrade because of his own stupidity, and then he was exploiting that to ask for compensation without even griefing Ooyama's loss. Then again, it wasn't as if Ooyama really died, so I guess there was no need to grieve over his absence. It might even be a cause for celebration since the dude got to return home.

Man, I really needed to ask Takeda to send me home too. After I got rid of Kobayashi, of course.

"Hey, are you serious?!"

Makoto was outraged by Suzuki's audacity.

"You came here to give us an invitation from Kobayashi. Your underling didn't have to disappear!"

Underling…hey, Ooyama was our former classmate too, you know? You could refer to him by name instead of "Suzuki's underling".

Gendou Issei stepped forward to glare at Suzuki.

"You dare use this to make deals?"

However, Nagano didn't seem to mind. She merely smiled warmly.

"Okay, we can give you the Shadow Dragon Egg."

"Hey! Nagano-san!" Makoto shouted furiously. "Are you serious? Why do we have to give it to him!?"

Nagano ignored him and focused her attention on Suzuki instead. "But…we don't have any Shadow Dragon Eggs left. I am a Sacred Swordsmith…I have used Shadow Dragon Eggs to forge everyone's heroic weapons in the past."

There was such a thing? Really? Using Shadow Dragon Eggs to forge weapons? I mean, I knew she was following the script from The Silver Gravekeeper, but this was bordering on plagiarism.

"The Demonic Shadow Dragon from this half a year is still there," Nagano informed Suzuki calmly as she returned his gaze coolly. "If you want the Shadow Dragon Egg, then you need to kill it yourself. Is that fine?"

"Oh, then thank you very much."

Suzuki Shirou was grinning manically. As for me, I buried my face in my palm. Even a fool would see that this was a trap.

No, actually, it might not be a trap. Nagano simply didn't care if Suzuki obtained it or not. It wasn't as if the Iron Knights would lose anything. As for me, I smiled as an idea clicked in my head. I already had an idea of how to achieve payback on Suzuki for his attitude toward me in class. If the Iron Knights weren't going to lure him into a trap, then I would.

"Aoyama-kun, please escort him to the Demonic Shadow Dragon's Lair."

"..."

Aoyama had remained silent all this while, probably not too eager about this, but he respected Nagano's decision.

"Good. Hehe."

Suzuki chuckled before he retrieved something from his armor.

"Take this."

He tossed the object at Nagano. It looked like an invitation card, but I could sense powerful enchantments on it with Absolute Appraisal. Seemed like it wasn't just a simple invitation card, but it had something more within its contents.

This was the invitation to the discussion of a truce that they were talking about earlier?

Were Kobayashi and Takeda really going to have a truce? I honestly doubted it. Knowing Kobayashi, the fucker would probably stab Takeda's group in the back once they lowered their guard. He was that sort of person, after all.

On the other hand, I didn't know Takeda that well, but I was under the impression that he was a cunning fellow. He wouldn't fall for Kobayashi's trap that easily.

"Hey…!"

Suzuki called out to me.

"Since I have a chance to meet you, I might as well warn you."

"Warn me? About what?"

I was taken aback by Suzuki's statement. Nishida stepped forward.

"Ah…apparently Kobayashi is gunning for your head, Tanaka-kun."

"I don't know why, but he and his little group seem pretty obsessed with trying to kill you." Suzuki shrugged callously. "Well, it's not my problem. Just don't get yourself killed before I get to fight you. Kobayashi's one tough bastard."

"I see. And you…aren't obsessed with killing me?"

Suzuki barked out a laugh. "Kill you? Why would I want to kill you?"

"Uh, you've been attacking me every chance you get."

"Because you're strong!" Suzuki exclaimed. Now that was a change. This was the first time that a former classmate had acknowledged my strength. What the hell, man? I didn't know how to feel about this.

Minamoto, Asakura and all the others were so blinded and obsessed with calling me a weakling and refusing to believe that I could defeat them. To put it simply, they were deluded. On the other hand, while Suzuki was antagonistic and aggressive toward me, it was because he recognized my worth as an opponent and wanted to test his skills against mine.

And just like the Iron Knights, Suzuki didn't seem to have this fanatical obsession with killing me like Kobayashi and his gang did. After experiencing those murderous maniacs hellbent on ending my life multiple times, this felt strange.

"What would I do without you? Go back to ripping demons apart? No, you complete me. There are very few opponents who can stand on equal ground with me, so obviously my goal is to beat you someday."

"Uh, it's not like you lost to me."

"But I haven't won against you either. Both times you successfully fended off my attacks. Makes me curious what the outcome would be if we both go all out."

I honestly would rather avoid fighting if I could, but Suzuki didn't seem like he was going to let me off.

"Well, I'll catch you later. For now, I'm going to hunt…"

Turning away, Suzuki followed Aoyama as he led them away to the Demonic Shadow Dragon's Lair. Nishida hastily followed his leader.

"Tanaka-kun, since Suzuki-kun has left…"

Nagano stepped forward to speak to me.

"You should go see the leader."

As if on cue, the doors before me swung outward, opening to reveal the chamber within. As with before, wisps of purple energy drifted out from inside. I felt a creepy sensation as they brushed past my skin.

"Takeda Tetsuo."

I swallowed nervously as I stood firmly to stare within what seemed like an abyss. As they said, peer into the abyss and it would stare back at you.

"Tomoyuki-kun…I'll go with you!"

Lilith stepped forward to accompany me, but Nagano grabbed her hand to restrain her.

"You can't."

Speaking in a gentle tone, Nagano smiled apologetically.

"This is a private conversation between them, and…"

Nagano's smile turned warm and friendly.

"I have a few things to discuss with you as well."

"Me?!"

Lilith was surprised. As for me, I felt immensely suspicious when I watched Nagano pull Lilith's attention away.

They don't even know who Lilith-san is, so why would they want to discuss anything with her?

"Be careful," I warned her. "But Nagano-san is somewhat right. I'm going to talk to Takeda-kun regarding some personal matters as well."

"Eh?" Lilith looked surprised. "Aren't you going to discuss with him the matter of an alliance with the demons? You haven't forgotten that this is a diplomatic mission for Morten and the whole of the demon race, have you?"

"Yes, I remember. But there are also other things in the discussion that extends further than the alliance with Morten. It pertains our mutual enemy, Kobayashi. We have quite the long history together. I'm sorry, but it might be too confusing for you."

"…" Lilith stared at me, and then nodded. "I'll trust you then."

"Thank you."

I bowed to her gratefully before turning around and walking through the wide open doors. A vast chamber awaited me, illuminated by gentle, purple flames that flickered atop enchanted torches. I guess they were supposed to resemble a dungeon or medieval fantasy castle or something.

Clearly Takeda decided to go all the way with this roleplay of his.

I sighed in exasperation, then shoved all unnecessary thoughts out of my mind as I walked along the cold, dark tiles and toward the leader of Iron Knights. A tall, muscular man in silver armor waited at the end of the room, right in front of the altar. He was facing me, his bare face masked by what seemed like a sinister smile.

"We finally meet face to face…Tanaka Tomoyuki."

"Takeda Tetsuo," I acknowledged with a roll of my eyes. He smiled.

"Knowing you, you probably figured out why I've invited you here for."

"Yeah." I nodded, my expression solemn. I still couldn't help but suppress the desire to bury my face in my palm. Seriously, why so dramatic?

"…?"

I realized that Takeda was staring at me, confused by how I was being so distracted by issues that extended beyond the fourth dimension. Clearing my throat, I spoke to affirm his statement.

"We're here to exchange information, aren't we?"