Soon enough, evening fell, and the bright sunlight faded into a soft, pale moonlight that bathed the land in its silvery glow. Renji was soaking alone in the steaming bath, his head tilted back against the smooth stone rim. For the first time in what felt like months, he allowed his body to completely relax. His muscles, always tense since his descent into the abyss, finally began to loosen. The hot water lapped gently at his chest, washing away the physical fatigue and the ghosts that clung to his mind.
"Haaah... Damn, that hits the spot," he murmured to no one in particular, his voice uncharacteristically light. A rare moment of peace. A rare moment where the weight he carried felt distant, muted.
But the calm didn't last.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway, light but deliberate. His eyes snapped open. Shit, he cursed silently. He'd let his guard down.
"I told you I wanted to take my bath alone!" he called out sharply.
There was a splash behind him, sudden and deliberate.
"Mmm... This really is nice," came Yue's soft, familiar voice.
He turned, and sure enough, there she was—completely bare, sliding effortlessly into the water beside him. Her luminous skin shimmered in the moonlight, pale and smooth like porcelain kissed by silver. Her golden hair, tied up for once, revealed the delicate curve of her neck and the gentle slope of her shoulders. The sight hit him like a punch to the gut.
"Yue..." Renji tried to keep his voice steady, tried to look anywhere but at her, even as the blush crawling up his neck betrayed him. "I told you—I wanted to bathe alone. What the hell are you doing here?"
"...But I refuse," she replied without hesitation, giving him a sidelong glance that carried the weight of something deeper—teasing, yes, but also fierce in its resolve.
"Hah!? What the hell kinda answer is that!?" he barked in disbelief.
Yue only smiled, clearly amused by how easily she could fluster him. That look of hers—eyes half-lidded, cheeks dusted pink, lips barely parted—wasn't fair. It stirred something deep in him, something he'd been trying desperately to suppress. And now, that part of him was... very awake.
He cursed under his breath and turned his head, but it was too late. His eyes had already caught the curve of her breast, the way her damp skin gleamed, the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed beside him. Her body was soft and delicate, but beneath that was strength and age that far surpassed his own.
"At least cover yourself. I know this house has towels."
"I want you to see me," she whispered, her voice low, almost vulnerable.
Renji froze, his breath caught in his throat.
"...Yue—"
"Don't you want to look?" she asked, scooting closer, her bare thigh brushing against his under the water. Her eyes were half-lidded with longing, her expression open and sincere. His body tensed, every nerve alight. She was undoing him with just her presence, her gaze, her honesty.
"Y-You're not making this easy," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "I... I don't want to do anything stupid. You mean too much to me to rush into something like this."
Her eyes softened with something tender—love, perhaps—but then she struck again with a coy smile.
"Am I not pretty enough for you?"
His heart stopped.
"What—No! Of course not! Yue, you're—You're beautiful, dammit! I—!" The words spilled out louder than he meant them to, passion and panic laced together.
She smiled wider, that warm, pleased look that said she'd gotten exactly what she wanted.
"...That makes me happy. Because I'm yours, Renji. So look. All you want."
And with that, she stood.
The water cascaded down her body, trailing over every graceful line—over the subtle swell of her breasts, the smooth dip of her waist, the elegant curves of her hips and thighs. Every droplet shimmered as it slid over her flawless skin, rejoining the bath with a quiet ripple. She was blushing faintly, and her arms hung at her sides, offering no attempt to hide herself. There was vulnerability in her stance, but also pride—an offering, pure and breathtaking.
Renji's throat went dry. He couldn't move, couldn't think. She stood framed by the moonlight like a vision from a dream—otherworldly and achingly real.
"Hah!?" he choked again, stunned.
Yue laughed softly, triumphant, and just like that, Renji's spell was broken. His face flushed even deeper as he realized just how honest his body was being.
"Shit—!" He scrambled to rise from the water. "I'm leaving! Before I do something really dumb!"
But Yue was faster. She moved with vampiric grace, lunging at him and wrapping her arms around his back, pressing her whole body against his.
"Gotcha," she whispered in his ear.
"I-I can feel your—"
"I know. I'm doing it on purpose," she said with an almost evil sweetness.
"Where the hell did you learn all these cliches from!? That's it, I'm outta here!"
But he couldn't move. Her warmth was intoxicating. Her skin was silk. Her heartbeat pounded against his chest. Every inch of her pressed against him was making it impossible to think.
"You're not getting away," she said, her grip tightening.
"Yue—Wait—Agh... A-Aaaah!"
She wasn't letting go.
Renji's protests dissolved into the night as he lost himself to her completely. Whatever happened next was inevitable—the result of pent-up emotion, unspoken love, and one determined vampire girl who refused to let go.
The moment Yue's arms wrapped around him, it was over.
Renji's muscles tensed as her bare body pressed firmly against his back, her warmth seeping into his skin like fire on snow. Every instinct screamed at him to move, to run before he lost all control—but her hold was soft yet unyielding, like velvet-wrapped chains.
"Yue... please..." His voice was strained, a last, trembling plea.
"I won't hurt you," she whispered against his ear, her breath hot, her lips brushing the shell gently. "I just want to feel close... that's all."
He didn't answer. He couldn't.
Because deep down, he didn't want to run.
Her hands slid slowly down his chest, her fingers tracing the lines of old scars and hardened muscle, memorizing him in silence. Each touch lingered, delicate yet deliberate, awakening something buried and long-ignored. The water around them rippled quietly as her body pressed more firmly to his, skin meeting skin with no barrier, no hesitation.
He turned to face her—and the look in her eyes undid him completely.
There was no teasing in her gaze now. Only sincerity. Devotion. Love so profound it made his chest ache.
His hand lifted almost without thinking, brushing a stray lock of wet hair from her cheek. She leaned into his palm, closing her eyes.
"You're sure?" he asked hoarsely.
Yue opened her eyes again and nodded. "I've been sure for a long time. I want this. I want you."
His lips found hers before she could say another word.
It was gentle at first—a hesitant meeting of mouths, slow and exploratory. But the dam had already cracked. All the restraint he'd built up, all the hesitation—it all gave way the moment she sighed into him, her hands curling into his hair.
They sank deeper into the water, the steam curling around them like mist as their bodies pressed closer, drawn together by something far stronger than impulse. Yue's fingers traced the contours of his back, pulling him flush against her, her skin smooth and cool against the heat of his own.
Their kisses grew deeper, more urgent. He tasted the sweetness of her lips, the faint taste of the bathwater clinging to her skin, and something distinctly hers—heady and intoxicating.
Yue gasped softly as his hands began to explore—tentatively at first, his fingers mapping the graceful lines of her waist, the curve of her hips. She arched slightly into his touch, her breath catching in her throat. Her responses guided him, told him without words where to linger, where to hold, where to be gentle.
There was nothing hurried about it. They took their time.
Every movement was unspoken dialogue—his thumb brushing her ribs, her fingers curling around his nape, the way her legs slid around his waist beneath the water. The warmth of the bath was nothing compared to the heat blooming between them now.
And when Yue leaned back, guiding him with her hands, her crimson eyes never left his.
"I want to remember every second of this," she whispered.
So he made sure she would.
Their bodies moved together in rhythm—slow at first, uncertain, then gradually deeper, steadier. Yue's quiet moans mingled with the soft lapping of the water, and Renji buried his face into the crook of her neck, breathing her in, grounding himself in the reality of her—of them.
She clung to him as though afraid he would vanish, her fingers digging into his shoulders with every pulse of pleasure that rippled through her. He whispered her name again and again, like a prayer, like an apology, like a promise.
And she responded in kind, her voice breaking in the most tender way as she wrapped herself around him completely.
Time lost meaning. Nothing else existed but this moment—this shared vulnerability, this giving and receiving, this joining of two hearts that had already long since chosen one another.
And when the peak came, it wasn't just physical—it was emotional, raw, a release of everything they had been holding back for so long. Yue trembled in his arms, her breath hitching, her eyes glassy with tears that didn't fall. Renji held her through it, his arms tight around her, as if he could shield her from the world just by being there.
Afterward, they remained wrapped around each other, still half-submerged, the water now cool, but neither of them cared. Yue's head rested on his chest, her fingers lazily tracing small circles just above his heart. Renji kissed her damp forehead, once, then again, his lips lingering.
Neither of them spoke for a long while.
There was no need.
Everything had already been said.
Yue's breath came in slow, uneven waves against his skin, each exhale leaving warmth in its wake. She lay curled into Renji's chest, her slender fingers gliding along the contours of his collarbone like a melody only she could hear.
The room was quiet, the water stilled, but the air between them shimmered with unspoken tension—desire not yet spent, only resting.
Renji tilted her chin up gently, his thumb grazing the line of her jaw. Her golden eyes met his, soft and shining, and something in him crumbled all over again.
"You're incredible," he murmured.
Yue only smiled, her lips curving slowly, teasingly, before she rose slightly—enough for her to straddle him in the bath, her bare skin sliding smoothly against his with the sound of slick heat and shifting water.
His breath caught. She was delicate and daring all at once, every movement deliberate, made to draw his attention. Her damp hair clung to her back and shoulders, the candlelight from the nearby sconces casting golden shadows along the hollows of her collarbones, the curves of her breasts.
"Don't look at me like that," she whispered, almost breathless. "Or I'll melt."
He cupped her cheek, his voice husky. "You've already ruined me."
Then he kissed her again—not with hesitation this time, but hunger. Their mouths collided in a fevered dance, deeper now, mouths parting and tongues sliding together with aching need. Yue's fingers tangled in his damp hair as she shifted her hips, aligning herself to him again, slow and sinuous, like a serpent coiling tighter around its mate.
He groaned low as he felt her slide down, easing him back inside her inch by inch, the heat and slickness of her enveloping him completely. Her thighs trembled around his hips, but her gaze never left his—not for a second.
There was something sacred in the way she looked at him. Something trusting. Vulnerable.
Renji's hands found her waist, steadying her as she began to move—slowly at first, setting a rhythm that was less about urgency and more about feeling. Every motion, every rock of her hips, pulled gasps and sighs from her lips, his name whispered like a spell between kisses and breathless moans.
"Renji..." she said, voice cracking.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close so their chests pressed flush together, her heartbeat thundering against his. "I'm here," he whispered into her hair. "I've got you."
She rolled her hips again, deeper, and he answered with a low growl, gripping her tighter. His lips wandered—down her neck, across her collarbone, finally closing around the soft skin of her shoulder. He kissed, he bit gently, marked her in ways that made her back arch and her nails dig into him.
The pace quickened naturally, growing with their rising need. Her movements became more erratic, needy, as if her body no longer obeyed her mind. The sound of water splashing beneath them was matched only by the ragged music of their breathing and the faint cries that escaped her lips.
She whispered his name again and again, a mantra that only pushed him further. Every time she gasped, every time her voice cracked under the weight of her pleasure, he felt himself falling deeper, surrendering more.
They reached the edge together—trembling, clinging to each other as waves of release crashed over them. Yue cried out against his mouth, her body seizing with bliss, and Renji followed, holding her so tightly it was as if he feared letting go would shatter the fragile magic that bound them in that moment.
Their lips met again—slower this time, sweet, soaked with the afterglow. Yue's body lay draped across his, chest rising and falling in exhausted rhythm. She nestled into the crook of his neck, her voice a whisper against his skin.
"I love you," she said.
His hand caressed her back, lazy and adoring. "I know," he whispered back. "And I'm yours."
They didn't speak after that. There was nothing left to say.
Only warmth. Only the steady thrum of two hearts now beating as one.
Only the silence of a night that changed everything.
Two months had passed since that fateful night in the bathtub.
Renji's body and spirit had been honed through the battles he'd fought, his strength forged by facing the monstrosities that lurked in the deepest pits of hell. But despite how much the abyss had hardened him, it couldn't help him fend off Yue's relentless advances. In the end, he had given up trying to resist.
He'd known for a while that Yue harbored feelings for him. That was actually one of the reasons he'd promised to bring her back home with him. But as time passed, he realized something more—he loved her, too. However, he'd kept putting it off, making excuses like needing to focus on the mission or the goal of getting back home.
But now, they had found a safe haven, a place to call home, and a clue about how to reach his world. With no excuses left, he could no longer keep denying the feelings that had been building for so long. He had accepted that, yes, he wanted her—wanted all of her—and that night in the bathtub had only confirmed it.
In the two months that followed, their life together felt like an endless honeymoon—full of playful teasing and flirtation. Anyone who witnessed their interactions would have felt like pulling their hair out in frustration at how obvious it all was. Meanwhile, Hajime, their ever-present companion, had started to feel like the third wheel in their little bubble of affection.
Hajime's teasing became a constant presence, often joking about how they were "in their own little world." He'd walk in on them mid-conversation and, with a knowing grin, ask if they were planning to get married next. On one occasion, he'd even blurted out, "I think I'm going to need a separate room at this rate, you two are practically inseparable!"
It was all in good fun, but there was a mischievous gleam in Hajime's eyes whenever he made these remarks. He couldn't help but enjoy the small, playful discomfort it caused them. It was as if he had become the reluctant witness to their blossoming relationship, often feeling like the odd one out in the intimacy they shared.
Far away, a girl—someone with a particular interest in one of them—was casting a look so terrifying that it seemed as if a dark presence itself had manifested behind her, like an avatar of rage(A Stand). The ominous glare could only mean one thing: things were about to get complicated.
"...Renji, how does that feel?"
"Mm... that's just right. Thanks, Yue."
"Fufu... Then I'll keep going."
Yue's hands moved gracefully over Renji's back, her touch gentle but firm. It wasn't anything romantic—just a quiet moment of care between comrades, something rare and precious in the dangerous world they lived in.
Nearby, Hajime sat on a rock, idly rotating his left arm. The artificial limb hummed softly as the mana circuits pulsed with faint light, the silver lines running along the black surface glowing with subtle energy.
Renji glanced over his shoulder. "That arm of yours... How's it been holding up?"
Hajime raised the limb and flexed his fingers. "Surprisingly well. I've been making small tweaks over the past few weeks—fine-tuning the nerve feedback channels, reinforcing the joints with stardust steel. It's almost like a real arm now, at least in terms of function."
Yue looked over from Renji's back, her hands still working. "It's more than just functional. That arm is a masterpiece."
"It's not perfect," Hajime said modestly. "But yeah, it's good. The pseudo-nerves let me feel temperature and texture, as long as I'm channeling mana through it. Takes a bit of concentration, but it's manageable."
Renji nodded. "Looks sleek too. Not bulky like most enchanted gear. You kept it clean."
Hajime smirked faintly. "Had to. If I was gonna wear it every day, it had to match my style."
He turned his wrist, revealing a hidden compartment lined with tiny engraved runes. "This one's got integrated tools and a mana converter built in. Some of the core design came from Oscar's workshop, but I've added a few things of my own since then."
Yue finished her work and sat back, wiping her hands with a cloth. "It's not just a weapon. It's a part of you now."
"Yeah," Hajime said quietly, flexing the arm once more. "And I'm learning to trust it like it is."
Renji sat up and rolled his shoulders with a satisfied groan. "Well, if this is the kind of progress we make in just a couple months, I'm excited to see what we can pull off next."
The arm was fitted with all sorts of interesting gimmicks. Some of
them had originally been part of the arm when he'd found it in Oscar's workshop, while others were new additions of Hajime's own design. He had used his creation magic to materialize all kinds of specialized ores and added them to his arm. As it was now, his artificial limb was
an artifact that rivaled the greatest national treasure of any kingdom.
That being said, one needed the ability to directly manipulate their mana to operate the arm at all, so it would be useless for most people. Over the course of the past two months, Yue, Renji and Hajime had improved their strength and equipment far beyond what it had been when they first arrived. These were Renji's and Hajime's current stats, to put into perspective just how much they had grown.
Hajime Nagumo
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Level: ???
Job: Synergist
Stats:
Strength: 10,950
Vitality: 13,190
Defense: 10,670
Agility: 13,450
Magic: 14,780
Magic Defense: 14,780
Skills:
• Transmute
[+Ore Appraisal]
[+Precision Transmutation]
[+Ore Perception]
[+Ore Desynthesis]
[+Ore Synthesis]
[+Duplicate Transmutation]
[+Compression Synthesis]
• Mana Manipulation
[+Mana Discharge]
[+Mana Compression]
[+Remote Manipulation]
• Air Dance
[+Aerodynamic]
[+Supersonic Step]
[+Steel Legs]
[+Riftwalk]
Sense Abilities
• Night Vision
• Far Sight
• Sense Presence [+Precision Sensing]
• Detect Magic [+Precision Sensing]
• Sense Heat [+Precision Sensing]
Stealth and Illusions
• Hide Presence [+Illusion Waltz]
• Combat and Physical Enhancements
• Iron Stomach
• Lightning Field
• Gale Claw
• Diamond Skin
• Steel Arms
• Intimidate
• Foresight
• Resistances
• Poison Resistance
• Paralysis Resistance
• Petrification Resistance
•Fear Resistance
•Elemental Resistance
Other Abilities
• Telepathy
• Tracking
• Increased Mana Recovery
•Mana Conversion [+Stamina] [+Healing]
• Limit Break
• Creation Magic
• Language Comprehension
Renji Aikawa
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Level: ???
Job: Time Reaver
Stats:
Strength: 9,870
Vitality: 10,420
Defense: 9,230
Agility: 15,200
Magic: 16,300
Magic Defense: 14,990
Skills:
• Chrono Mastery
[Temporal Shift]
[Time Slow]
[Time Acceleration]
[Time Stop – Limited]
[Chrono Recall]
[Phase Skip]
[Flash Rewind]
[Afterimage Mirage]
• Mana Manipulation
[+Mana Discharge]
[+Mana Compression]
[+Remote Manipulation]
• Dimensional Arts
[Blink Step]
[Void Step]
[Dimensional Slash]
[Fold Space]
• Combat Arts
[Temporal Blade]
[Echo Fang]
[Reverse Flow Strike]
[Phantom Rhythm]
• Sensory & Detection
• Night Vision
• Far Sight
• Sense Presence [+Precision Sensing]
• Detect Magic [+Precision Sensing]
• Chrono Awareness
• Resistance and Survival
• Poison Resistance
• Paralysis Resistance
• Fear Resistance
• Time Distortion Resistance
Support & Utility
• Telepathy
• Future Sight – Limited
• Chrono Mark
• Increased Mana Recovery
• Mana Conversion [+Stamina] [+Focus]
• Limit Break
• Language Comprehension
Hajime Nagumo and Renji Aikawa were no longer human in the conventional sense.
Their bodies and abilities had transcended every known limitation.
Hajime's stats had grown so absurdly high that his status plate could no longer keep track of his level—it simply marked it as "???". This wasn't just a glitch; it was a reflection of how deeply he had defied logic and natural law. Originally starting with average stats like everyone else, Hajime's transformation through survival, alchemy, and the consumption of powerful monster parts like the Hydra pushed him into the realm of the inhuman. His physical and magical stats were so massive that even Kouki Amanogawa—the so-called "hero" of their class—looked like a child in comparison.
To put things into perspective, Kouki's highest stat capped around 1,500. When activating Limit Break, Kouki could triple his stats temporarily, peaking at around 4,500. Even at that height, he barely scratched one-third of Hajime's base stats, not accounting for his own Limit Break, creation magic, or arsenal of custom-made god-tier artifacts.
While most humans were capped at 100–200, and even those with Jobs sat around 300–400, Hajime had casually obliterated those figures. He had become a walking disaster, a blend of machine and man, predator and warrior—a monster forged by hardship and willpower.
And then there was Renji Aikawa, the Time Reaver, who was perhaps even more terrifying in his own right.
Unlike Hajime who wielded sheer might, Renji bent the laws of causality. With stats that rivaled or even exceeded Hajime's in certain areas—most notably his Agility and Magic—Renji didn't just overpower enemies. He outpaced time itself.
Renji's stats were so exceptional that like Hajime, his status plate refused to assign a level. His Agility alone exceeded 15,000, allowing him to move in flickers and afterimages, striking before a thought could form. His Magic surpassed 16,000, letting him cast temporal arts and spatial distortions that turned battlefields into abstract puzzles only he understood. With abilities like Time Stop, Chrono Recall, and Afterimage Mirage, he didn't just dodge attacks—he retroactively erased them from happening.
If Hajime was a monster built through pain, steel, and tenacity, then Renji was a phantom birthed from the collapse of time itself. The world simply wasn't designed to handle individuals like them.
Where other warriors broke walls, they broke reality.
Renji Aikawa's journey to mastering the Chrono Trigger Pistol Technique was forged through trial, obsession, and a mastery of time itself.
Unlike Hajime Nagumo's break-action revolver, Renji designed his signature weapons based on the iconic Colt 1911—a pair of sleek, matte-black, semi-automatic pistols, upgraded beyond recognition. These weren't simple firearms anymore—they were "Chrono Pistols", personally reforged using temporal alloys and powered by micro-time distortion cores embedded beneath the barrel.
Each slide was reinforced to withstand high mana recoil, and the ejection port was modified to accept cartridges mid-cycle, allowing unconventional reloading patterns. Along the grip ran subtle lines of glowing runes—time-engraved formulas that interfaced with Renji's mana and perception of temporal flow.
But the real revolution was in how he used them.
Like Hajime, Renji had access to a storage artifact—a Temporal Cache Ring, which held rounds not only in space, but at fixed time-stamped intervals. Rather than simply storing bullets, Renji could pull ammunition from a previous moment, effectively summoning them from seconds ago. This meant if he ever preloaded a full magazine into the cache, he could retrieve it exactly as it was mid-battle, without needing to manually insert it.
However, Renji's mastery of time didn't stop with his pistols. At his side hung a blade—a gleaming Chrono Blade, a weapon forged from temporal steel and steeped in mana-enhanced runes. Its edge shimmered with the power to slice through the very fabric of time, bending reality as it cut. Crafted specifically to complement his Chrono Pistols, this sword acted as both an offensive weapon and a focus for his time-based abilities.
The Chrono Blade wasn't just for close combat. It was a manifestation of Renji's control over time itself. With a single slash, he could create time fractures, brief windows into the future or past, allowing him to dodge incoming attacks, land the perfect counterstrike, or predict an enemy's next move. Each swing of the blade left ripples of temporal distortion in the air, freezing enemies or sending them into disorienting time loops.
Inspired by Hajime's month-long regimen to develop his midair reloading, Renji subjected himself to the same brutal pace of training:
Disassembling and reassembling his 1911s blindfolded and under high-gravity magic fields.
Practicing reloads while leaping across cliffs with reversed time-wind active, forcing him to reload backward against his natural perception.
Shooting at high-speed illusion clones while synchronizing reloads to exact time loops.
Engaging in rapid melee combat with the Chrono Blade, timing each strike so perfectly it appeared he had already anticipated his opponent's next move.
Renji refined his mana manipulation the same way Hajime had—through repetition, failure, and endurance. But where Hajime relied on Riftwalk's sensory enhancement, Renji enhanced his Chrono Sight, a skill that allowed him to see into micro-moments of future time—giving him just enough foresight to time his reloads with superhuman precision and swing his blade at the exact moment needed to disrupt an opponent's flow.
Instead of ejecting spent mags and manually inserting new ones, Renji developed a Temporal Reload Drive: with a flick of his thumb and a pulse of mana, the cache would rewind the weapon's magazine state by 1.3 seconds—restoring the last full magazine loaded into that pistol, even in the middle of a dash or dive.
When the situation demanded close-quarters combat, Renji would unleash the Chrono Blade with brutal efficiency, cutting through enemies as if time itself bent to his will. The blade's Chrono Slash not only inflicted deadly wounds but left enemies trapped in a brief time loop, their movements frozen in the past while Renji's next strike fell on them with perfect precision.
Combined with his combat movement skills like Afterimage Mirage and Bullet Time Field, Renji could fire, flick his ring, and fire again—never missing a beat, never stopping for a conventional reload. When opponents tried to close the distance, he'd snap his blade through the air in time-defying arcs, cutting through their defenses before they could react.
Where Hajime had made reloading look like magic, Renji made it look like time itself obeyed his trigger finger.
He didn't just shoot fast. He didn't just reload faster.
He fought in a constant temporal loop of death—fluid, silent, and unstoppable. His pistols and blade creating a seamless, unbreakable rhythm of combat.
While Hajime had made major progress developing his new vehicles—Steiff, the two-wheeled mana-powered bike, and Brise, the four-wheeled all-terrain combat car—he ran into performance issues. Both machines ran on compressed mana cores and used Azantium alloy for durability and mana conductivity. But the energy systems weren't stable at high output. The more Hajime pushed them, the faster they overheated or drained power.
That's when Renji Aikawa stepped in.
Renji wasn't as battle-hardened as Hajime, but he had a sharp mind for system design and optimization. While Hajime focused on raw output and overengineering, Renji focused on efficiency and control. He looked at the mana converters and noticed right away where the problem was.
"You're forcing a constant flow through a system that doesn't adjust in real time," Renji said, inspecting the mana regulator. "That's why you're getting overheating."
Hajime replied without looking up, "I've tried regulating it, but it causes instability under pressure."
Renji nodded. "Then don't regulate it the usual way. I built a timing buffer that lets the system adjust mana flow based on real-time load. It smooths out the spikes without slowing down the response."
He installed a simple delay circuit and load sensor, which stabilized the mana flow by letting the converter adjust based on current demand rather than fixed intervals. Hajime integrated it into Steiff's propulsion unit, and after a few test runs, they saw immediate results—faster acceleration, longer operational time, and no overheating.
They applied the same logic to Brise. Hajime upgraded the heat sinks with materials that dispersed mana heat more evenly, while Renji added an energy recycling system that redirected excess mana back into auxiliary systems.
They didn't stop there. For Hajime's weapons, Renji helped tune the firing sequence on the Schlagen and Metzelei, extending their firing duration and reducing cooldown. The Demon Eye was upgraded with a better filtering enchantment, letting Hajime break down magic patterns faster and identify residual spells.
Using the remaining Divinity Stone fragments, Renji embedded a small reaction-time assist module into the lens. It didn't give foresight, but it made Hajime's tracking and reading of movement a split second faster—enough to matter in close combat.
It wasn't flashy. No wild new inventions or dramatic breakthroughs. Just steady, solid upgrades that pushed Hajime's gear to the next level.
And that's what made the partnership work—Hajime built power, Renji made it last.
Yue could cast incredibly powerful magic—without incantations or magic circles. But her strength came with a weakness: she burned through mana too quickly. After just a few high-output spells, she would collapse, drained and unable to move.
Renji noticed this during their training sessions and quietly began working on a solution. He approached it like he did all his work: efficiently and practically.
"Mana burn. You're outputting more than your body can safely regulate," he explained after seeing Yue stagger from another test.
She nodded, unconcerned. "It's fine. I recover quickly."
Renji frowned. "You shouldn't have to recover at all."
He took one of the few Divinity Stone shards they had left and began crafting. The result was a sleek ring etched with thin, glowing runes. It didn't look extravagant—but the mana-conductive channels embedded in the inner band would passively store her excess mana and release it when she needed it most. A mana battery, simple in concept, but finely tuned to Yue's unique control.
When he offered it to her, she tilted her head.
"...Is this a proposal?"
From behind them, Hajime nearly choked on the water he was drinking. "Wait, what?"
Renji blinked, caught off-guard. "No. It's a stabilizer. For your mana output."
Yue slid the ring onto her finger, letting its gentle glow settle. "I see. So a technical proposal I accept."
"It's not a proposal," Renji mumbled, eyes looking anywhere but at her.
"You even picked a ring," she added, calmly.
"She's not gonna stop," Hajime muttered, already stepping away with a sigh. "She's locked in."
Renji scratched the back of his head, quietly defeated.
Renji shifted awkwardly. "I just thought… it'd help you stay safe."
Yue looked down at the ring again. Her expression softened. "It will. Thank you, Renji... I really love you"
He nodded quickly, still avoiding her gaze. "You're welcome."
There was a brief silence—just long enough for Yue to speak again.
"...You're cute when you get all nervous."
Renji turned completely red.
"I—I'm not—! I mean—You're welcome."
Hajime smirked. "I'll leave you two alone before this turns into a make-out session."
Renji groaned. "Hajime—please go."
Yue smiled faintly, admiring the ring.
Ten days later, they stood once more at the third floor of the labyrinth, ready to return to the surface. Renji was at the center of the magic circle, fingers splayed over its core lines, focusing his mana.
Before activating it, he looked up at Yue and Hajime. His expression was calm—but there was a weight behind his eyes, something deliberate.
"I need to say this," he began, voice steady. "When we go back up, it won't be the same world we left behind."
Yue nodded quietly. Hajime crossed his arms, listening.
"Our powers—our weapons—they don't belong to the world as it is. To the church, to the kingdoms... we'll be heretics. Targets. They'll demand we surrender what we've made, or worse, try to use us for their war."
Hajime's jaw tightened. "Let them try."
Renji shook his head. "It won't stop there. The gods themselves might come after us. We won't just be fighting armies. We'll be standing against an entire system built to break people like us."
Yue met his eyes. "Then we break it back."
Renji looked at them both. Then, without hesitation, he lowered his hand to his chest and spoke with quiet resolve.
"Then I swear this—to both of you. No matter what's waiting above, no matter who tries to control or destroy us... I'll stand with you. I'll protect you both. We'll fight for each other, and for the path we choose."
A brief silence passed. Yue looked away for a second, lips pressed in a rare, quiet expression.
"…You always were the steady one," she said.
Hajime gave a small huff. "Guess we're stuck with each other, then."
Renji allowed himself a faint smile.
"Good. We'll need that."
He turned back to the magic circle and placed his hand on the stone. Light sparked beneath his palm, humming with quiet power.
"Let's go," he said.
And with that, they returned—not as survivors, but as a force the world could no longer ignore.
A Very Prologue-ish Epilogue
A vast ravine cleaved through the land like an old wound. Jagged rock formations jutted out from its edges, and loose stones frequently tumbled down the steep, arid cliffs into the abyss below. The air was dry, thin, and filled with the distant, chilling howls of monsters that made this place their home. Few who fell in ever climbed back out.
Magic barely worked here. Food was nearly non-existent. And even if someone had the will to survive, climbing out meant scaling over a hundred meters of exposed cliff face—every step watched by hungry predators, some visible, others not.
For most, this ravine was a death sentence.
That silence—tense, oppressive—was suddenly broken.
A pair of long, white rabbit ears flicked up from behind a fallen slab of rock. They twitched anxiously, scanning the soundscape for danger. A moment later, a dirt-smudged face peeked out.
She was human—or mostly. A bunny-girl, probably in her mid-teens, peeked around with wide, alert azure eyes. Her light blue hair was tangled, her outfit torn and caked in dust and blood. Yet despite the grime, her features remained striking. There was elegance in her posture, grace in the way she moved. She looked like she belonged somewhere far from this hellhole.
And then—
"Ugh, I hate this place. Monsters here don't even give you a break. I should be at home, snacking under a blanket."
So much for elegance.
Her voice echoed faintly in the canyon, followed by a sigh. She rubbed her face, then gave both cheeks a slap—hard enough to sting. Then she took a breath. Her eyes shifted, clearing of fear, sharpening with focus.
"I don't have the luxury to complain. If I fall here, they'll fall too."
She wasn't just talking about herself. The weight of others was behind her words—family, friends, people who needed her to survive this place.
"I need to reach that future. I need to reach him."
With that, she stood up to her full height, adjusted her torn sleeves, and sprinted deeper into the ravine.
Not two minutes passed before a shrill, desperate scream pierced the stillness.
"HIIIIII! I'M NOT EVEN TASTY, OKAY!? DON'T EAT MEEEEEEE!"
The monsters roared.
And somewhere far above, fate stirred.