"Sorry, but we can't accept your invitation. Compared to saving the world, we have something more important to do."
"Of course, after we finish that, we might consider joining you."
Mirei Shinohara didn't make things too absolute—after all, she wasn't sure whether Shiraori, after evolving into a god, could take someone out of this world.
If she could, then all would be perfect.
If not, then for the sake of ensuring Eriri could live a better life in this doomed world, they would certainly put their full strength into saving it.
Hearing Mirei's reply, Ariel's expression didn't change. She had never expected to secure their agreement with just a single sentence.
"I don't know what could be more important to you than the survival of the world, but I still hope you'll seriously consider my invitation. If the world is destroyed, nothing else will matter."
Her tone then shifted.
"Speaking of which, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Ariel, the current Demon Lord~"
Since she hadn't felt the sensation of being appraised, Ariel had no idea that the dragon and spider before her already knew her details inside and out.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Mirei Shinohara, and this one here is Shiraori. We'll think about what you've said, but if there's nothing else, we'll be leaving."
Mirei and Shiraori had no plans to waste more time. The ancient ruins were already very close, and they were eager to reach them.
Though they no longer relied solely on telepathic exchanges, they hadn't lost that ability. During the conversation with Ariel, they'd exchanged short inner messages, with Mirei voicing their final decision aloud.
Once she finished speaking, the two turned and continued toward their destination.
Watching their swiftly retreating figures, Ariel didn't give chase. She knew they would meet again. After all, as long as they lived in this world, they couldn't escape the system's grasp.
...
A few days later, having left the canyon, Shiraori and Mirei stopped in the middle of a vast wilderness.
"The ancient ruins should be somewhere around here."
Seeing the appraisal show a distance of only a few hundred meters, Mirei turned to Shiraori.
Shiraori said nothing, simply nodding with a serious expression.
After more than two months of travel, they had finally reached the site of the ancient ruins. Shiraori couldn't help but feel excited—this was the final step to attaining a complete human form.
"Looks like the ruins are underground. So, should we blast the ground with skills, or slowly dig down?"
Instead of answering, Shiraori pointed toward a small opening in the ground not far away.
"Dig."
With that single word, Shiraori headed straight for the hole, and Mirei quickly followed.
When Shiraori reached the spot, the ground around the hole suddenly collapsed, sending her entire body downward.
She didn't panic—she had planned to dig down through the hole anyway. The unstable ground had simply saved her some effort.
Once Shiraori disappeared below, Mirei dove after her and quickly caught up.
Just as they prepared to keep digging downward, they suddenly sensed multiple presences rapidly approaching them.
Shiraori and Mirei Shinohara remained completely calm. Although there were many approaching presences, they were all extremely weak.
Soon, the owners of those presences came into view—a swarm of giant ants, each about the size of a human.
It was clear that they had stumbled into the nest of these ant-type monsters.
Upon seeing the ones responsible for destroying part of their nest, the ants attacked without hesitation.
But their strength was pitiful, with stats barely around 100. To Shiraori and Mirei, they were no different from ordinary ants—easy to crush in large numbers.
However, the sheer quantity meant that without using large-scale attack skills, it would take a while to clear them out.
To save time, they each used their signature abilities—one with Breath, the other with Evil Eye. Like using anti-aircraft guns on mosquitoes, they annihilated the entire nest in less than thirty seconds, leaving not even a single corpse behind.
Once the ants were gone, they didn't linger. Mirei used her Five Elements Manipulation to control the earth element, while Shiraori used earth magic. Together, they dug straight downward at high speed.
After some time and relentless effort, they finally arrived at their ultimate destination.
Staring at the massive metal gate before them, their eyes widened.
Though they had never entered a human city, they had been near one before, enough to get a general sense of this world's medieval fantasy style. Gates and doors were almost always made of wood.
This world might have the technology to make metal gates, but a gate of this size and grandeur was something impossible to create here.
Such a feat would require at least the high-end technology of modern Earth.
More importantly, this was the gate to the ancient ruins—meaning that in ancient times, this world's technology must have been extraordinary.
What could have caused it to regress to a medieval state?
That question arose in both their minds.
They recalled what Ariel had told them days ago. Could this be related to the world's impending destruction?
Regret flickered through them for not asking Ariel more about the world's history. At over three thousand years old, she would surely have had a comprehensive understanding.
But now was not the time for such thoughts. They were here for the ruins, and everything inside took priority. Matters of the world could wait until after they found Eriri.
...
With a loud creak, Shiraori pushed open the massive metal gate.
The moment it opened, a loud alarm blared from inside the ruins.
Beep—beep—beep—
The sound was all too familiar, confirming for them once again that this world's ancient era had been one of modern civilization.
That meant the "bomb" mentioned in the appraisal was most likely a modern, highly destructive missile.
Of course, that was only speculation—perhaps this world's ancient technology surpassed Earth's, and the bombs they made were even more devastating.
Ignoring the noisy alarms, Shiraori and Mirei cautiously stepped inside.
They found themselves in a pristine, uniform, high-tech corridor—a sight that made them feel, after a year in the labyrinth, as though they had returned to Earth.
Before they had walked far along the corridor, the walls suddenly extended multiple long gun barrels, all instantly aiming at Shiraori and Mirei Shinohara.
Already expecting something like this, the two showed no surprise. Not knowing the power of these weapons, they didn't wait for the guns to fire. In a flash, they used their skills to destroy every single gun barrel along the walls.
With the traps dealt with, they continued down the corridor until they reached its end—only to find a solid wall, with no branching paths.
"Now what? Looks like there's no way forward…"
Shiraori shot Mirei a glance and said only two words.
"Appraisal."
"Ah, right, how could I forget Lord Appraisal~"
Mirei immediately used Appraisal on the wall.
[Ordinary wall enclosing an elevator. Passing through will lead inside the elevator.]
"First a metal gate, then a high-tech corridor and gun traps, and now even an elevator." Mirei couldn't help but remark.
Before she finished speaking, Shiraori, having read the same result, extended her right hand and smashed the wall apart with a single punch, then stepped inside.
"Hey, wait for me!" Mirei hurried after her.
Inside the elevator, they found that apart from a hatch at the top, all three other sides were blocked by walls.
Without hesitation, they used Appraisal again. Following its guidance, Shiraori smashed the wall opposite them.
Beyond it was a door, which Shiraori pried open smoothly with her front claws.
At that moment, the familiar alarm blared once again.
They stepped into another high-tech corridor, identical to the previous one, though this one was noticeably shorter.
It ended at a pristine double sliding door. Just as Shiraori prepared to pry it open, it suddenly slid apart on its own, almost as if welcoming them.
Both froze in surprise—not just at the automatic door, but at the countless mechanical eyes and gun barrels aimed at them beyond it.
"My god… battle robots. And so many of them!" Mirei exclaimed, amazed. Scenes like this she had only ever seen in sci-fi movies back in her previous life.
Shiraori's thoughts also stirred at the sight.
The robot army gave them no time to think—countless bullets shot toward them. These weren't physical rounds but energy projectiles.
That confirmed it—this world's ancient civilization had technology surpassing modern Earth.
Reacting instantly, they raised their defenses. After withstanding a barrage, they concluded the bullets' power was unimpressive—at least to them.
Thanks to Predator and absorbing many powerful creatures, Shiraori's physical durability was second only to Mirei's Diamond Body. Even if they took the shots head-on, they wouldn't be harmed.
Of course, that didn't mean the bullets were weak by normal standards. In the human world, a single shot could punch a large hole in someone without strong defenses.
Abandoning defense, they let the energy rounds strike their bodies without effect. Then they went on the offensive.
They dismantled the robots with ease, none lasting more than a single exchange.
In no time, every attacking robot had been reduced to scrap.
But this was only a small portion of the ruin's mechanical forces.
Ahead lay a space larger than a sports arena—filled wall to wall with neatly arranged robots, forming a massive mechanical army.
—
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