"...I agree."
"A wise choice."
Watching that person turn and walk away with a happy smile, Nagumo Hajime muttered, "Damn it…"
That scene was deeply etched in his mind, refusing to fade, and even if he tried to forget or deny it, it would never disappear.
When Hiyama fell into the abyss, Kaori's expression spoke more clearly than any words about her feelings.
And just now, Kaori's rejection of him further showed that Hiyama had firmly occupied her heart.
There was no room for anyone else.
By cooperating with that person, Nagumo Hajime even had a chance to realize a possibility he thought was gone—that is, to reclaim Kaori for himself.
"I won't give up…"
A twisted desire ignited in Nagumo Hajime's heart, and he began to murmur to himself.
P.S.: I couldn't resist and made the original protagonist turn dark.
Chapter 30: Are We Dead?
The warm sunlight shining on his face made Hiyama pause in surprise.
This was an underground Great Labyrinth; there couldn't be a real sun here, and that wasn't a true sun.
Above, a conical object floated high on the ceiling, with a shining sphere suspended beneath it, emitting a warm glow.
"It's an artificial sun," Hiyama couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Whether in the world of science or magic, an artificial sun capable of stable, long-term operation was an incredibly impressive creation.
That's right, this was the "Rebel God's" room.
This room existed as an independent space, isolated from the outside world.
So, even with the Great Labyrinth now largely collapsed, this room remained completely unaffected.
This space was roughly the size of a stadium, and on the inner wall of the space, there was a waterfall.
A large volume of water flowed down from the wall near the ceiling, gathered into a river, and then flowed into a cave further inside.
Beside the waterfall, a cool, ion-rich breeze blew, feeling incredibly pleasant.
Upon closer inspection, there were even fish swimming in the water.
A short distance from the river lay vast farmland, which currently seemed to have no crops planted, but… surrounding it was a wide area of livestock pens.
Although there were no animal scents, as long as there was water, fish, meat, vegetables, and materials, anything could be prepared. Moreover, it was lush with greenery, and various types of trees grew everywhere.
A perfect Small Types ecological space.
"Ugh…" A faint whimper came from his embrace.
The blonde vampire opened her eyes.
"Is this heaven, Master?"
Her ruby-like eyes widened, finding the scene before her incredibly unbelievable.
Then, her mood couldn't help but sink.
"So, does this mean we're really dead?"
Hiyama flicked her forehead, speechless at the silly vampire: "Save your dream talk for your dreams."
"Ow…"
Real pain came from her forehead, and Yue finally understood the current situation. She stared blankly, "We're actually alive! Master! We're alive!"
"Let's investigate this place first."
Hiyama walked in the opposite direction of the river and farmland, towards a white villa.
"Wait for me, Master!"
Yue quickly hurried after him.
The stone building felt like white lime, looking clean and tidy overall, with a pedestal protruding from the ceiling at the entrance.
At its front was a warm glow of light.
Having stayed in dim places for so long, the environment here made Hiyama's eyes somewhat uncomfortable.
This stone villa had three floors. The first floor had sofas like a living room, a kitchen, a toilet, and even a fireplace and rugs.
And it was strangely clean, as if someone was continuously cleaning it.
"There won't be any traps here, will there?" Yue asked cautiously, her face wary, as she carefully followed beside Hiyama.
Places that seemed safe often concealed deadly mechanisms.
"It's fine, it's very safe here." Unlike the cautious Yue, Hiyama explored the house at a leisurely pace, as if he had returned home.
He arrived at the end of the first-floor hallway.
There was a large circular hole there, guarded by statues of lion-like animals with open mouths.
Next to the statues, magic circle were carved, and strong warm water sprayed from the lions' mouths, filling the room with swirling mist.
"This is great, I haven't had a bath in over a month."
As a modern person, Hiyama had always held a considerable obsession with not being able to bathe during this period.
"Master… shouldn't we investigate a bit more, be cautious… Ah!"
The next second, Yue couldn't help but cover her eyes, her face red.
"There's no danger here, trust me."
After a quick rinse, Hiyama immediately immersed himself in the marble-lined bathtub.
"Ah~"
He couldn't help but let out a cry of pure satisfaction. Even in his previous life, he had never enjoyed such a luxurious bath.
"Master, do you need my service?"
At this moment, Yue's shy voice came from above his head.
"Come."
….. (The following is omitted… omitted, I dare not write it.)
——
Two hours later, a refreshed Hiyama and Yue went to the second-floor rooms, where they found a study and a locked room, both sealed with magic and unable to be opened.
The two then went to the third-floor room.
There was only one room on the third floor. Upon opening the door, they saw a delicate magic circle, seven or eight meters in diameter, drawn in the center of the room.
However, what was even more noteworthy was the figure sitting on a luxurious chair opposite the magic circle.
That figure was a skeleton, already reduced to white bones, draped in a magnificent black robe embroidered with gold.
The skeleton's head was bowed, leaning against the chair; it had probably decayed into bones while maintaining that posture.
"…Master, what should we do?"
In a place that was supposed to be safe, the sudden appearance of a skeleton left Yue very confused.
But Hiyama walked towards the magic circle without hesitation.
The moment he stepped into the center of the magic circle, a light like the sun flared, illuminating the room as if it were daytime.
Soon, the magical light emanating from the magic circle faded.
Before their eyes, a young man in black had appeared silently at some unknown point.
As the magic circle emitted a faint glow and the room filled with mysterious light, Yue immediately took a defensive stance.
"Master, be careful!"
"It's fine, Yue," Hiyama said calmly.
The young man before them not only showed no hostility or malice, but he didn't even have a noticeable presence.
"Congratulations on overcoming the trial and reaching here. My name is Oscar Olucus, creator of this Great Labyrinth…"
Like a video playback, he spoke at length without giving anyone time to react,
"I apologize, I cannot answer your questions. However, I wished to leave a message for those who reached this place, to let them know why we, who understand the truth of the world, fought… That is why I chose this method…"
…
Hiyama listened patiently for half an hour, wishing there was a skip button for the plot.
Chapter 31: You Are Ruthless!
Hiyama already had a general idea of the truth about the "Rebel Gods," so he wasn't surprised.
Only Yue was still foolishly staring at the illusion, looking as if she had heard a momentous secret.
"I don't know who you are, or for what purpose you came here."
"I will impart my power to you. How you use it is your freedom, but I only hope you do not use it to satisfy evil desires. That is all I have to say. Thank you for listening, and may the will of freedom be with you henceforth."
After concluding his message, Oscar's recorded image instantly vanished, and simultaneously, something invaded Hiyama's mind.
Although there were bursts of stinging pain, he understood that a certain magic was being infused, so he quietly endured it.
Finally, the pain subsided, and the light from the magic circle also faded. Hiyama slowly exhaled.
[Acquired Divine Era Magic—Creation Magic]
Before Hiyama could even be happy, another voice rang out.
[Ding, please choose]
"1. Take this skeleton to the outside world and spread the truth of the Liberators in the world. Reward ability—Byakugan. (What I see and hear is all truth.)"
"2. Take this skeleton to the outside world and hand it over to the Church. Reward Copy Eye (from the legend of the legendary hero, can copy and use all magic.)"
"3. Inherit the last wishes of the Liberators and swear an oath to slay God. Acquire Direct Death Magic Eye (As long as it's a living thing, even a God, I'll kill it for you!)"
The selection system appeared again.
Both Byakugan and Copy Eye were incredibly powerful ocular techniques, but compared to Direct Death Magic Eye, they were truly insignificant.
"I choose three."
Hiyama's original intention was to acquire all Divine Era Magic and then gain the ability to traverse worlds, for which he had to conquer the seven Great Labyrinths.
In that case, he would sooner or later oppose the God of this world; it was only a matter of time.
[Ding, selection successful, acquired Direct Death Magic Eye!]
A terrifying heat surged through his pupils, as if someone had dripped hot oil into his eyes.
"Ugh!"
Hiyama couldn't help but cover his eyes, crouching on the ground.
"Master! What's wrong with you!" Yue frantically hugged Hiyama.
"I'm fine, Yue."
This pain came and went quickly. After the initial agony, his eyes felt warm and soothing.
It was like the feeling after applying a hot egg compress to the eyes.
He carefully opened his eyes.
"Ah! Master, your eyes!" Yue exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise.
They were a pair of incredibly beautiful blue pupils, divided into three layers: the outer layer was sky blue, the middle layer was encircled by a thin red ring, and the deepest part was deep-sea azure.
At this moment, in Hiyama's eyes, the appearance of this room had completely changed.