| ARC IV | Chapter 7: His Benevolent Excellency!

 Opening his eyes, Den finds himself lying on a bed while being shackled. His vision was blurry, and his body was stiff. Still… he felt some sort of power from within.

 The shackles were made to keep him in place and disrupt his mana, however… despite being newly awake. Den tore them off his wrist as he sat up.

 In turn, he activated the sirens, and the whole room was lit in warm crimson light. '…Shit….' he uttered while grabbing onto his head.

 The noise from the sirens made him dizzy, and he was attacked by a massive headache. The red light burnt his eyes, as it was too much for him. He hadn't adapted to his new body, but…. One thing was clear—his senses were heightened to the degree of a Madbeast.

 And walking into the room was a man he was all too familiar with—he was the one to experiment on him.

 "Irol… seems like you did a great job," Den said as he stood up.

 Irol was a little surprised, but… he creepily smiled. "No, no, no, you praise me too much, good Sir," Irol said. "We've not tested your capabilities yet."

 Den nodded along, but… (Tsk, these creepy fucking scientists…. Well, not that I plan to stick around here any longer.) 

 Grabbing a lab coat nearby, he'd gotten his overheating issues under control. He'd also gotten used to his heightened senses and suppressed them. (I wonder… are there any changes in my talents?) He pondered.

 'Strange….' Den uttered while trying to figure out what was wrong.

 Seeing this, Irol feigned interest in what Den was saying. "Something wrong?" He inquired.

 …Den didn't want to say a word, but it did bother him, so… he had no choice. "I'm unable to access my talents, and it's as if the world has rejected me."

 "Is that so?" Irol said as he smiled. He then shrugged, saying, "Well. It's a common symptom all patients experience. Although you cannot display your talents, we have an ancient artefact that lets you. No issues, right?"

 Den doubtful sent Irol a glance, asking, "Tsk, why didn't you tell me about it?" He snorts.

 Smiling and playing dumb, Irol laughed, "Ah-haha, good Sir, I was too eager to proceed and forgot to tell you!"

 "Tsk… whatever, what's the cause then? Can I still use my divine weapon?"

 "Well, yes, of course," Irol replied with a smug look on his face. "Your talents haven't disappeared. Just your ability to visualise them has. And as for a reason why that is… I do not know."

 Den glared at the mad scientist, asking, "What? You don't know?" in a mocking tone.

 Irol ignored his remarks as usual and said, "Well, we do have a theory, and that is the Blessing of The Deus Ex-Machina disappears once you stop being a mortal."

 Tilting his head in confusion, Den asks Irol to elaborate, "What the hell is this Deus thing? And why don't I know of it?"

 "My my," Irol said. He seemed quite displeased.

 This, of course, enraged Den as Irol was making a fool out of him, but he held on and controlled his boiling anger. "So, what is it?"

 "Well… he goes by many names. But… he's known as Alester by the High Nobels and Royalties. He's the protector of the world, indifferent to Good and Evil. Ahh… our god… that's why… you damned imbecile! How… how dare you…!? Ahh! Mortals nowadays don't know his excellency! They're all fools…!" Irol exclaimed, staring at Den with murderous intentions.

 (.....)

 Taken aback by Irol's sudden outburst, Den quietly watched the madman as he calmed down, apologising for his abrupt eruption.

 "My apologies, Sir. In any case, we're only hypothesising. But… one thousand years back, there was no talent display. And… who else could bring such guidance other than the benevolent Alester? Even granting villains like us a chance to prove ourselves!"

 (…Tch… we're calling ourselves villains now? What the hell are these pathetic fools thinking?)

 And as Irol was praising his 'Oh Benevolent God.' Den had to ask why he hadn't heard of such a God? It's true that Hilos was pretty unknown as a god, but… there are countless ruins that mention him—that is, if one can understand the meaning behind the depictions. But nowhere does it mention some Alester….

 "—so! Do you understand his greatness!?"

 "...Yeah, pretty much," Den replied. He wasn't listening. (This guy's a lunatic.) He thought.

 Not stopping, Irol kept talking about his god, "Oh, the world will know him one day! Once we have them all revived, we can… bring back the fifty thousand-year-old ancient war! Only then will these foolish mortals know how to worship him! The Protector!"

 (…Tsk… what the hell is the guy spewing? Ending the world? That's not even on the list… y'know? Well… at least not mine. Besides… this cult is nearing its downfall anyhow.)

 Den sat down again, 'Well… this is going to take some fucking time….' He mumbled.

 …

  …..

 …

 After Irol's long and tedious speech, Den stood on top of the corpses of beasts that he'd slain.

 "Fuck… they're all weaklings," he scoffs as he looks at the C-3 beasts on his feet.

 And closing in on him was what he'd wanted to challenge. It was a strong elemental beast, the Volcanic Wyvern. A dragon-class beast with four wings. Each claw was melting hot and sharp. Its blue reptilic eyes peered at him.

 Den licked his lips, "...Finally, something worthwhile…!" he cried as he pulled out his divine spear from the beast he'd been standing on.

 The Wyvern steeled its own body with mana and heated it up while creating massive magic circles in the sky. The whole area Den was standing in became unbelievably hot and melted.

 However... His new body was resilient. "That's the best you've got, lizard?" Den said, challenging the elemental beast.

 And understanding that it was being mocked, the Wyvern gathered condensed mana. The sky above them turned red as thunderclouds formed. Crimson flashes of lightning struck the Wyvern, bringing in more energy as the [Dragon Breath] was charging up.

 Standing firm and watching from below, Den smirked, "Come at me, you damned beast!" he cried while tearing up the ground, morphing into pillars of metal.

 Releasing its spell, the Wyvern's breath attack lit the sky crimson, clearing out all the clouds as it scorched the forest.

 Albeit resistant to all kinds of magic, the trees were crispy. But… the Wyvern knew that the man wasn't dead yet. And out of the rubble, Den appeared. His skin was thorn as well as scorched. He'd been roasted but was standing firmly. He was regenerating rapidly as all his flesh wounds healed.

 (So… this is a chimaeras body…) he thought. He shifted his gaze upwards and saw that the Wyvern had exhausted its breath attack. "It's my turn, lizard!" he shouts, firing the pillars one by one.

 …his attack wasn't very effective as the Wyvern skillfully dodged all the incoming pillars. They were far too slow, and even with acceleration magic. They'd still be too heavy and snow.

 "Tsk…" Den clicked his tongue, "Well, it's as expected. I'm not a ranged fighter, to begin with…."

 So… he instead charged his body with electricity, further strengthening it. Summoning his divine weapon, Den flashed up into the sky. Reacting to the incoming attack, the Wyvern steeled its body and directly clashed its tail with Den.

 "...argh…!!" Den groaned in pain as he was sent down toward the ground.

 Using this opportunity, the Wyvern flapped its wings, generating a storm barrier, flying high up into the sky as it then dived head-first toward the ground.

 Realising he was sort of screwed, Den summoned his spear again and spun around, using the momentum to throw himself faster to the ground.

 And as he landed, he dashed as far as he could. After all, looking up at the sky, there was a sight of a meteor.

 The Wyvern had curled itself up in a barrier and accelerated toward the ground with a massive amount of momentum and magical power that vaporised the atmosphere as it tore its way down to the ground.

 Mystic magic: [Dragon Meteorite]

 As the heated ball that is a Wyvern approached, Den had no choice but to stomp the ground, making a hole as deep as possible. Jumping in and coating himself in heat-resistant minerals and metals, he felt a lethal shockwave throughout his body as a large explosion erupted.

 'Cough…' 

 Beginning to cough blood, Den gasps. But… despite all of this, he was smiling. Not once in his life did he expect to fight an Ancient Volcanic Wyvern….

 "...Fuck… this was reckless, but I'm still alive…. Hahaha-ah-hahaha!"

 His heart was throbbing; excitement filled him, and there was nothing more exhilarating than this. And with that… he lost consciousness.

 …

  …..

 …

 "Player 1 took two steps. Player 1 proposes marriage to Player 4. Player 4, yes/no? Yes equals 3x income. No equals loss of income by -20%." the systematic voice said.

 Hearing the voice from the board, everyone glanced at Alum. He'd received a marriage proposal from Chely—in a game that is….

 Currently, they are playing a game of life, and they only win by happiness levels and money…. Alum was doing pretty well, that was until this popped up.

 …It all started when Noel cooked them a meal. It was good, but… Chely, Amethely, Noel and Emely had alcohol to drink as well….

 Luna, Alum and Miu weren't allowed to drink, so….

 But that was beside the point. One of the other guests lent them a "game of life" when they passed by the group, saying they needed to come up with some activity.

 So… here they are, playing the game of life.

 Chely was drunk and started to sob, "Ameeeee~ big sis is soooorry!" she then looked at Alum, "And little Al… please turn me doooown…."

 (I'd be in the lead if I took this offer…) Alum contemplated.

 He wanted to win, but…. Seeing how Amethely was hugging Chely, crying, "Siiiis I… I believed in you!" she then turned to Alum, "Al… I… I won't allow cheating! But… I'm you want to break off our engagement to marry sis… hic… if you'll be happy, then…. Uwaahhh, I don't want thaaaat!"

 Emely just laughed at the chaos, "Hic… ahaha! Hic… Al, whatever makes you happy…." and… she fell asleep on the spot.

 But at the same time… Noel was holding Alum by the collar, "You have Amethely! Why are you taking my Chely, too!? Al! Explain! But… if… if you make her cry, I'll knock you out cold! But hell! I always lose!" Noel shouts. He released Alum and chugged down more alcohol.

 Noel turned to Chely, "Chely… am I not good enough?" he asked as he grabbed her hands.

 In response, Chely teared up and launched herself at him, "No! Don't say that! You're the only one!" she was on top of him and sobbed in his chest, nudging her head and cuddling closer.

 Amethely, who watched the two started to tear up again, "I… I'm happy for you, sis!" she congratulated Chely.

 (…We're… off topic now…and… what is going on?) Alum pondered while watching pure chaos.

 He made eye contact with Luna, asking her, (So… now what?) 

 Luna shook her head. (I…don't…know…) 

 Luna and Miu… well… Luna felt very awkward looking at the couple, and Miu just felt embarrassed seeing her childhood friend like that. And… as it became unbearable, Miu broke.

 "Aah mou ii!" Miu cried as she chugged down a bottle of alcohol.

 "Hey, Miu, that's dangerous!" Alum exclaimed, trying to get her away from the bottle. He glanced to the side—only to see Luna do the same…..

 And it was then Amethely launched herself at him, hugging him and begging him for attention, "Al! Look at me! I… Ehehe~" as she giggled, she turned pink, well… not that she wasn't already…. "I love you!" she happily exclaimed.

 ""...""

 When Luna and Miu heard that, they increased their speed and chugged down even more. Chely had fallen asleep on Noel's chest, and Noel had a dumb grin on his face while soothing her by stroking her hair.

 Emely was wasted on the side, and Luna and Miu began ranting about something as the alcohol kicked in.

 (I could use cleansing magic… but… let's not do that…) 

 "Al! Let's play a game~!" Amethely requested while snuggling closer.

 "...A game?" Alum inquired. "What sort of game?"

 Not answering his question, Amethely moved and sat down on his lap, leaning back on his chest, "I don't know!" Amethely replied while giggling.

 Leaning on her beloved person, she felt a little drowsy. She was bathed in his mana and scent, making her feel relaxed yet… excited at the same time.

 Of course… Alum felt the same and was very comfortable, but… there was another problem…. And with Amethely nudging and rubbing against him… making him feel a certain way….

 He could see that her ears were red, so… he decided to ask. 'Ame… are you… intentionally doing this…?' He softly whispered into her ears.

 "...h-huh!?" Amethely panicked, her heart skipped as she nervously turned to face him. "...What will you say if I am…?" she sheepishly inquired while biting her lip.

 "...naughty," Alum shyly replied. He avoided her gaze and felt very awkward about it.

 "Ehehe~" Amethely giggled. It was an unexpected response. Usually, she'd just blush and retort back.

 But…. 

 "...You're not denying it?"

 Amethely's face closed in, and she whispered, 'You're the one that made me like this… I feel hot and bothered… Al~.'

 Turning beet red, Alum tries to contain himself, "...Are you sure it isn't just the alcohol…?" Alum awkwardly inquired.

 In response, Amethely pouted and puffed her cheeks, "Do I have to say…?"

 "..."

 Alum was unsure how he should respond. So… he just poked her inflated cheeks, pressing the air out of them. He seemed calm on the outside, but… his insides were practically on overdrive trying to maintain his composure.

 "...That makes me happy," Alum replied and hugged her.

 "Ehehe~, then… do I make you hot and bothered as well?" she teasingly inquired.

 "...."

 However… Alum didn't respond and turned his head, facing away. Amethly giggled and poked his cheek, "soft and squishy," she expressed. Before leaning closer to his face, he whispered, 'I already know the answer, though~.'

 "...That… was…. So… what if I am…?"

 "...I'm happy…." Amethely replied. She felt drowsy and… fell asleep in his arms.

 "".....""

 "Uwaaah! Luna-chi! Look at those twooooo! I'm so jealouuuus!" Miu cried.

 She was sobbing and crying. And, of course, the one to comfort her was Luna herself. Saying, "There there," as she gently hugged the crying girl while patting her back.

 She briefly glanced at Alum, who'd fallen asleep embracing Amethely, "...What a heartbreaker indeed…." she uttered under her breath.

 …

  …..

 …

 The next morning was… awkward….

 What Luna and Miu did was illegal. And as a princess, Luna ordered everyone to be silent about it.

 "—It never happened." she coldly stated, crossing her arms and looking at the people lying on the floor—they'd just woken up.

 They all quickly sat up on their knees, saying, "Yes! Ma'am!"

 Luna nodded in satisfaction and turned around. However… as she did, the others could notice her ears turn red as she ducked down, hugging her knees.

 …she, too, felt ashamed and wanted to dig a hole! 

 Staring at her. The others turned to one another and began to laugh. Turning around, Luna also started to laugh along.

 After all… it's all just so silly.