77 Chapter 77: Information Exchange

As we stood in front of the altar, Takeda smiled at me warmly. Unlike earlier, where he absorbed Ooyama's existence, his expression was bereft of derision.

"Like you, my biggest enemy is Kobayashi and his goons."

I narrowed my eyes and watched him carefully behind my lenses.

Name: Takeda Tetsuo

Species: Human

Job/Rank: Revered Robber/Hero

Special Abilities: Plunder (Click to see list of Plundered abilities)

Plunder, huh? That was quite the scary ability.

However, not caring what I knew about him, Takeda continued.

"Did you find anything about them so far?"

"What would I know about Kobayashi that you wouldn't already know?" I countered. "You guys have been here for six months more than me. I'm just a newcomer."

"That might be true, but you've been through quite a lot, I've heard. What I need to know is a confirmation of who you've killed." Takeda shrugged. "There are a few heroes who have gone missing, and all we have are rumors regarding their whereabouts or reasons. It would be a huge assurance if we know which of them are confirmed dead."

"I see."

Taking a deep breath, I raised my smartphone and beamed the information to him.

"Here are the people who tried to kill me and forced my hand. Tsukishima Tomoyo. Kijima Takeshi. Minamoto Kureha. Asakura Akane. Miyazawa Miyako. Sakaguchi Seiji was killed by my comrade outside, Lilith Scarlet."

"So six down. All of them Kobayashi's goons." Takeda smiled coldly. "I'm really grateful to you for reducing their numbers so drastically. So there should be maybe ten of them left?"

"Ten?"

Six of Kobayashi's goons were dead. Then there was Samejima Hiroki who Kobayashi had sacrificed to win against the previous Demon Lord. That made seven. Exclude me, the nine Iron Knights, and the three delinquents that made up Suzuki's group, that left ten former classmates. Twelve if we included the survivors of Suzuki's group, now that Ooyama Eiji was gone.

"We can count Suzuki's group as separate – right now, they're operating under Kobayashi because he's stronger than them, but Suzuki has no loyalty toward him. Not like the rest. That leaves ten. Kobayashi Kenji himself, and his two right-hand men, Yamada Yuji and Ishida Ryuuji. They're supported by two healers, Yoshida Yume and Midorikawa Midori. The remaining five include Kishimoto Hikaru, a divine lancer who's on par with Suzuki himself, and…"

I decided to move on because I didn't want to reveal the remaining four former classmates this soon. Probably because I still hadn't thought up their names or special abilities yet, and might have alternative plans for them later in the future. Cough…I mean because the readers didn't want an info dump.

Speaking of which, before I had entered the chamber, I had asked Nagano about something.

"Nagano-san, you said you're a Sacred Swordsmith, right?"

"Yeah," she had replied. Since we had traveled together to fight the dragon and rescue Princess Merly, she wasn't surprised that I already knew about that.

"I might need to rely on you later to repair a sword."

I still had Minamoto Kureha's broken sword with me, which needed repair. As a normal swordsmith couldn't repair it, I was advised by Smith to send it to a demonic swordsmith or something. But if it was one of the heroes who specialized in swordsmithing, then I definitely could rely on someone like Nagano to repair it.

However, I didn't want to keep Takeda waiting, so I had proceeded right into the chamber, telling Nagano, "I'll ask you about it later, sorry."

"Yeah, no worries. I'll be waiting."

Right now, that Nagano Nanaka was accompanying Lilith along with another former classmate as they walked down a corridor.

"I'm Nagano Nanaka, and we've already met. I'm the Iron Knights' Sacred Swordsmith. And this is Domon Daisuke."

"Lilith-san, are you a friend of Tanaka-kun?"

Domon smiled at her warmly. The guy had lost some weight ever since he had come here, probably due to the strict training regimen of the heroes as well as combat experience against the demons. I wondered if Kobayashi and his gang had decided to switch targets to bullying Domon again after they tried to kill me.

"Yes, we're comrades." Lilith nodded in confirmation. "We've fought together against an enemy, and he helped save my domain from invasion."

She was tactful enough not to mention that we slew two of the heroes together, and that her domain had been invaded by the humans. Instead, she diverted the topic toward a more harmless direction.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Don't worry, we're already here."

Domon stopped before a door and opened it to reveal a dimly illuminated chamber.

Lilith frowned.

"This place is…?"

"We know you're a vampire," Domon told her. Lilith stiffened for a moment, but Nagano quickly raised her hands in assurance.

"Don't worry. We've no plans of attacking you or something. You're an ally, and we plan to ally with the demons. Of course we're not going to spoil it by attempting to assassinate the queen of vampires and Haemorage."

"But before we can trust you, we need you to play along with us for a bit."

Domon stepped forward and summoned a bunch of carnivorous grass-type monsters that writhed and sprouted aggressively.

Agricultural Assault, no doubt.

"Domon-san…right? Why did you summon these beasts?"

Lilith frowned.

"These are Kiyoubana, a type of plant monster." Domon raised a hand and pointed toward the center of the grass formation, where a golden treasure gleamed. "You see that there's a Golden Blood Medallion in the middle of the chamber?"

The carnivorous plants were guarding the medallion zealously, snapping their jaws and slashing their razor-sharp leaves in the air.

"If you can take it, you pass." he smiled warmly. "I hope you can do it in the shortest time possible."

"What does the medallion do?" Lilith asked coolly, folding her arms. "And why should I play this game with you?"

"The Golden Blood Medallion boosts blood magic," Domon explained. "It's a pity we don't have any vampires or blood magic users among the heroes, so this treasure has been kept here for ages, without being used. We would be happy to give it to you. However, as it is very valuable, we can't simply give it away to just anyone for free."

"Therefore you need me to pass a test, so that you officially have a legitimate reason to give it to me."

Lilith finally understood. Nagano nodded with a smile.

"That's right. And there's another thing. We'll tell you everything about the heroes as well. Or rather, Evelyn's Chosen."

"Hmm, and what can you tell me about Evelyn's Chosen that I don't already know?" Lilith asked with a frown.

"Tanaka-kun probably hasn't told you, has he? That we're all from another world."

"…"

Lilith didn't respond to that. She frowned as she regarded Nagano and Domon. It was true that the names of both me and all the other heroes were highly exotic, not heard of by anyone in Restia, but the demons simply assumed that the heroes all came from an island from the Far East, separated by violent seas and terribe tempests, as well as sea monsters.

That was why only the strongest among humanity could cross such tumultuous seas.

"It's probably not Tanaka-kun's fault either," Nagano continued. "Given how he has only just recently arrived here after being thrown off the summoning spell and into a temporal anamoly, there's a lot of things he doesn't know about being heroes either."

"Tanaka-kun might not even be one of us," Domon mumbled softly. "Not a hero for humans, not chosen by the goddess Evelyn…he really is an anomaly."

Nagano shrugged. "As long as he's on our side, that's all we need."

"I'll tell you a little bit first." Domon raised a hand. "As Nagano-san said, we're all from another world called Earth. We were summoned to Restia by the goddess, Evelyn."

Lilith scowled in disbelief. "I mean, I got that the first time, but why would the goddess summon people from another world? If she really needs heroes, why can't she just bless the current humans of Restia? Is there even a need to summon people from another world? Why go through all that trouble? What's so special about you guys?"

"It's the isekai cliché," Domon explained. "Every isekai story has it. A god or goddess summons a bunch of high school students from another world to be heroes to save the human kingdoms from the demons."

Nagano smacked his head. "Explain properly! That's not a good reason, even if it's always used by every other isekai story out there!"

Domon coughed, and then continued. "Well, as I was saying, for this particular instance, it appears that the humans of Restia cannot handle Evelyn's powers. Only humans from another world will be able to endure the blessings and the transformations or enhancements they place on their bodies. If Evelyn blesses a resident of Restia, their bodies wouldn't be able to withstand the enhancements, rupture from within and lead to their deaths."

Lilith grimaced. "That sounds like quite the gruesome death."

"That's where we come in." Nagano smiled. "And the rest of the information…we'll impart to you after you pass the test."

Back to where I was with Takeda, we were watching the information of my smartphone.

"As Nagano-san probably already told you, shortly after we rescued Princess Merly, Kobayashi made his move and executed a coup d'etat. He killed and usurped King Legis's throne, as well as overthrew all the kings of the human kingdoms and united them under his rule. Right now, he's mobilizing all the human armies under him to crush the demon race in Morten."

"Yes, Nagano-san did tell me some of that, but you provide far more detailed information. It seems that you're the one most familiar with Kobayashi's methods, having been a victim of his abuse for so long."

"…"

I decided not to mention about how Takeda did nothing and merely stood by to watch Kobayashi and his gang abuse me. This was why I couldn't fully trust him. He only reached out to me when he needed my help, but when I wasn't needed, he didn't care if I got beaten up or not. But I wasn't naïve enough to blame others for my own being bullied. I was picked on and beaten up because I wasn't strong enough.

How could I blame others for my own lack of strength? Furthermore, nobody was obligated to help me. Especially since Kobayashi would shift his attention to target them next, as could be seen when I stood up for Domon.

"It appears that Kobayashi has killed every single king and queen, and forcibly married all their daughters in one gigantic princess harem," Takeda remarked as he studied the information in my smartphone. I nodded.

"That's the news I gathered from my guild."

The mercenary guild posted news online, which I could read and access as long as I had my communication device on me. Along with the mobile storage space, this electronic bulletin and online interface were truly convenient.

"Well, that's all the information I can provide you for now. So it's your turn. I'm kind of interested in what sort of special ability Kobayashi himself possesses."

I had to fight him one day, so I needed to prepare myself for that.

"Follow me, I'll show you something."

Takeda turned toward the altar and hit a switch. To my astonishment, something opened up in the altar's surface, revealing an elevator behind those doors.

There were elevators in this fantasy medieval world? Then again, I couldn't call this medieval any longer, given how the demonic domains of Morten were on the brink of industrial revolution. We had tanks, airships, armored personnel carriers, muskets and cannons. Elevators shouldn't be too surprising.

I stepped toward the elevator, following Takeda's lead.

"Where does this elevator go?"

"To the truth."

"…"

Dude, what was with that cryptic sentence? I knew Takeda was trying to sound enigmatic and mysterious, not to mention cool, but honestly, that sounded cheesy and lame.

As the elevator moved upward slowly, the gears and hydraulics hauling us along, Takeda turned to me.

"Tanaka-kun, have you thought about this before?"

I shrugged. "Thought about what?"

"Why is Kobayashi so obsessed with abusing you, to the point that he tried to kill you? And how is he able to get so many of our other classmates to follow him, to listen to him? Surely you must have noticed how unnatural their obsession with killing you is."

"They're brainwashed by Fate," I replied with another shrug. "Or brainwashed by some other god or goddesses who is obsessed with wiping me out from Restia."

"But why are they so determined to remove you from Restia?"

"That's something I don't know," I admitted. "But I suspect it has something to do with some cosmic game that the gods are playing."

Ching!

A sharp slice whistled through the air as Lilith slashed through the carnivorous plants with her blood-red spear.

She watched the remaining writhing plants calmly, her verdant enemies actually shrinking away from her as if they actually felt fear.

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How boring.

Lilith almost felt ridicule for this whole farce. Well, the Blood Medallion would make for a good prize if what they said about it was true.

But she was also curious about what Domon and Nagano had ti say. Somehow these otherworlders had caught her attention. If theyvwere telling the truth, then everything she knew about Restia would be turned on its head.

Did the humans already know that their heroes are from another world?

There was no way they wouldn't know that, right? Then why didn't the demons know? All they knew about the "heroes" were that they were chosen by the goddess of human, Evelyn. Hence the name they gave to that selected group, Evelyn's Chosen.

But what did it mean? Lilith and the demonic intelligence department always knew that there was something strange about Eveyln's Chosen. They were so much stronger than normal humans, even more so than most of the demons. Why didn't Evelyn bless all of her human populace then? Perhaps she had some sort of limit. But why…these otherworlders in particular?

There were so many questions, and Lilith bet that even the Eveyln's Chosen themselves wouldn't know all the answers.

Not that she cared.

Twirling her spear, she obliterated a swathe of greenery flowers who attacked her out of desperation. Spinning her spear, she called forth a barrage of blood spears that pierced through the foliage and tore them apart.

"Not bad," Domon remarked, impressed.

But Lilith wasn't done yet.

"Bloody Barrage."

Directing her blood spears, she had them change direction in midair and pierce through the foliage again, tearing through the hapless carnivorous plants. Heaving her original spear up, Lilith infused it with mana before hurling it into the middle of the plants.

An explosion rocked the chamber before the carnivorous plants were completely wiped out, engulfed by a blood-red explosion that ravenously spread out. Domon casally tilted his head as one of the blood-red trendrils surged in his direction, avoiding the blast.

He smiled, impressed.

Amazing. She destroyed the entire bunch of high-level Kiyoubana in just three moves? Even we heroes would have trouble fighting such monsters.

He studied her triumphant figure, Lilith emerging from the gloom coolly with the shining medallion in her hand.

She might be stronger than even us heroes. She didn't even require one minute…

Lilith glared at him, holding up the golden medallion for emphasis.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Domon-kun," Nagano spoke up. She didn't seem surprised at all, but that was because she was familiar with Lilith's strength. Smiling, she took her leave. "I have other things to prepare for, so I'll return to the forging room first."

Lilith stepped right to the front of Domon.

"Please tell me everything you know about Evelyn's Chosen."

"I will." Domon nodded. "But since this is going to be a long talk, let's first sit down and have some tea."

Back in the elevator, Takeda was staring at me in amusement as he held up the invitation he received from Suzuki. When did Nagano pass that to him? Or did she send it to him via the mobile storage space that I used?

"Have you wondered why Kobayashi is willing to sign a truce with us, yet refuses to get off your back?"

"If I have to guess…" I shrugged. "It's because he hates me."

Takeda burst out laughing.

"You're not mistaken about that," he agreed. "But have you wondered why he hates you so much? To the point that it's unnatural."

"I always believed it's because I defied him," I replied. "I refused to submit to him, and whenever he bullies me, I fight back. I refuse to let him walk over me and beat me. He's pretty angry at that because he's so used to having everything his way. He can't stand anyone saying no or defying him. He wants to break my spirit, break me so that I'll finally submit to him. Maybe he has some kind of king complex where he needs everyone to obey him?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Takeda chuckled as he placed an arm over my shoulders.

"That's a pretty good psychoanalysis of your opponent. I can't find any holes in your logic at all. You might be right."

"Well…"

"But what about the rest? Why are they so easily going along with Kobayashi? Are they merely following along with what he says, or are they also just as obsessed and determined in killing you as he is? Do you remember?"

I frowned as I thought back to what Minamoto, Tsukishima, Kijima, Asakura, Miyazawa and Sakaguchi said when I first met them. They hadn't even reported to Kobayashi or told him anything, yet they were so deathly afraid of me.

Afraid and…filled with so much hatred. They had used the excuse that they were worried about me taking revenge on them, and immediately tried to murder me before I could reason with them, refusing to listen to me. I wondered why.

"You're right. They…were all seemingly obsessed with killing me. It wasn't just Kobayashi. The others too, they tried to kill me for the most ridiculous reasons. They refused to listen to me and just launched their attacks, forcing my hand."

"Yes." Takeda smiled as he leaned closer. "You were asking me what Kobayashi's special ability was. That's one of them."

"…huh?"

"Kingly Disposition."

What the fuck was that!?

Seeing my incredulous expression, Takeda elaborated.

"It's one of Kobayashi's special abilities. It brainwashes all his most fervent followers into believing the same things as him. It's probably the reason why he was so successful in usurping the thrones and uniting all the human kingdoms under him. He must have so many followers among the residents of Restia. Normally such a bold and outrageous move would result in civil war and strife, and open rebellion. But why do you think the majority of the human kingdoms just accepted him as their new emperor?"

"Because…of this ability?"

"That's right. It's a terrifying ability, if you think about it." Takeda turned grim. "It has the power to move the masses, the potential to unite the whole of humanity against a common enemy. Unlike the demon race, who are fractured after the fall of the previous Demon Lord, the humans will be able to overwhelm them through sheer numbers and under the lead of the heroes. They become fanatical zealots devoted to Kobayashi's cause, willing to throw themselves and sacrifice their lives for his selfish, greedy ambition."

"It's like Kobayashi is controlling obedient, mindless hordes of undead," I muttered, thinking about the irony. And I was supposed to be the undead lich.

"That's right. If we don't do something soon, Kobayashi will soon unite all of humanity under his banner, and the demonic territories of Morten will not be able to hold out against the onslaught of mindless slaves enslaved to Kobayashi's will. Pretty soon, there will be nothing standing in Kobayashi's way of becoming the tyrannical dictator of all of Restia."