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HALFWAY THROUGH THE JOURNEY

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

In just a single step, Iosef Stalgyn accelerated.

In an instant, he vanished from Rob's field of vision, passing by him, slashing at the defenseless Rob’s neck, wrists, and heart with scalpels. The scalpels, made of a special alloy, pierced through Rob’s combat uniform with ease.

But that was as far as they got.

The moment the scalpels touched Rob's skin, Stalgyn's hand felt a hard sensation, as if he had slashed against metal, and he heard a cheap metallic clank.

***

Stalgyn was a self-financed student at a university that would accept anyone who could pay the tuition.

He hadn't come to the Nichirin Empire as a legitimate operative meant to build connections at a prestigious university and guide the ideologies of future elites; he had come as an illegal operative who had disappeared after entering on a student visa to specialize in various dirty jobs.

In Nichirin, one of the world's leading advanced nations, there were countless self-financed students, and many were such a social problem that their purpose was not study but manual labor. Even if Stalgyn alone went missing, the Nichirin government wouldn't bother searching.

After spending about three years doing things like supporting Nichirin's far-left organizations, things suddenly got busy when the fellow countryman brought by the Interworld Alliance made contact with Saburo Fujita.

Then, orders came from his home country to incite the far-left groups and provoke riots by pitting yakuza factions against each other.

At that time, while supporting the far-left organizations, he thought of deploying "Super Soldiers." These were the product of a top-secret project to create warriors with superhuman strength and ultra-high-speed movement by fusing humans with multiple magic tools.

However, it was a so-called failure; while it achieved superhuman strength and decent speed, the test results showed a significant decline in cognitive ability.

Still, he judged it enough to throw the city into chaos, so he released about ten test subjects into the wild and thought he’d flee the country until the heat died down. Just then, he was discovered by Akao, a man in a Hannya mask who had effortlessly cut down five of his test subjects.

This "man-slayer" Akao was as persistent as a golem with a target hard-coded into it, and even Stalgyn, who had achieved superhuman speed, couldn't escape him.

Because Rob, the Demon King Slayer, had interfered, Stalgyn planned to pretend to fight and use the opportunity to escape.

He said something plausible while gauging the situation, then suddenly accelerated to top speed. If he could kill this "Rob" while passing by, well, that wouldn't be bad either.

Thinking that, he swung his scalpels as he passed, but the feedback was strange.

『Gun-Coat』

It was a "gun in the shape of armor," a "gun that wraps around the entire body" that Rob had created with his extraordinary ability, making it look as if Rob’s face and body were covered in metal. Although it had the disadvantage of severely reducing mobility, its hardness was nearly identical to the gun barrel that had once blocked the extraordinary ability "Hundred Blades" of investigator Neil Flaggs.

Stalgyn, who could not possibly have known about Rob's ability, wondered why his scalpels had been deflected but broke through to the rear while still accelerating. He felt sure he had succeeded in escaping once he turned a corner in the alley.

「――Gah... wh-what...」

His acceleration wore off, and Stalgyn appeared, stumbling, only to collapse violently onto the ground.

Then, red stains began to seep from various places on his lab coat, rapidly growing larger.

Unable to stand due to the agonizing pain throughout his body and the cold that was only getting worse, Stalgyn lost consciousness.

Stalgyn had been struck all over his body by "Mosquito Bullets" and died.

These were special bullets fired from a gun created by Rob, as thin as needles used for acupuncture but heavy and possessed of powerful penetrating force. Stalgyn had been hit by over a hundred of them.

Rob had fired these bullets during the first surprise attack.

Stalgyn had been hit by these bullets right before he slashed at Rob with his scalpels.

Rob had blocked the scalpels with his 『Gun-Coat』, and at the same time as the first surprise attack, he had fired several hundred "Ultra-Low-Speed" Mosquito Bullets in all directions, inviting Stalgyn to self-destruct as he approached at super-high speed.

『Ultra-Low-Speed』.

While traveling forward at a speed that at first glance made them appear to be stopped, they continued to travel forward at that same speed even after hitting the target.

It was a special type of bullet where the actual speed was ultra-low, but the power was equivalent to that of ultra-high speed.

***

Having won against Stalgyn in nearly an instant, Rob found Akao of the Hannya mask diving into his guard right after he had passed Stalgyn. Perhaps Akao could see the Mosquito Bullets traveling at ultra-low speed, as he didn't seem to be hit.

A pleasant metallic ringing sound echoed.

Akao himself didn't have speed equal to Stalgyn's. But Rob didn't even know when Akao had drawn his cane sword.

Rob was struck by a strange impact.

He should have blocked the sword itself with his 『Gun-Coat』, but the blood drained from his face and the strength began to leave his knees.

「Ho, to still be standing after taking the 『Oni-Soul-Slash』—the so-called Demon King Slayer is no mere show, it seems.」

The Nichirin sword Akao held was a magic tool; in addition to its function as a blade, it possessed the power to slash the opponent's spirit. Because of it, Rob was in a state where his spirit had been slashed.

Rob barely managed not to collapse due to his resistance to mental attacks, a secondary effect of his extraordinary ability.

Akao tried to swing his sword again for a second strike, but upon seeing the small gun Rob held in his hand—a palm pistol—he immediately increased the distance between them.

Akao, having watched the fight with Stalgyn, was wary of Rob.

「This is a pain...」

Rob said, irritated, but switched his gun to a hand-gatling gun and scattered bullets.

But Akao easily dodged, parried, and deflected the bullets.

Even though Rob was changing the speed of every bullet from light speed to sonic speed to low speed, Akao responded to them all.

「Is it the same in every world that one's skills and personality don't align?」

「...A bit of a letdown. This is no different from those barbarian mages who can only fire from long range.」

Rob gave a wry smile at Akao's retort.

Considering that he had easily handled Stalgyn's super-high-speed combat, Akao must have possessed a technique or magic that could be called "prediction." Since he also held a one-shot kill move like the Oni-Soul-Slash that ignored armor, this sword master of the magic world might be considered Rob's natural enemy, as Rob excelled in wide-range annihilation and mid-to-long-range combat.

「My apologies for failing to meet your expectations!」

Rob equipped guns all over his body like a hedgehog and fired a simultaneous barrage in all directions.

But Akao dodged effortlessly and closed the distance in a single step.

As the cane sword was about to be drawn in a flowing motion, Rob couldn't even react to it.

But—

The Hannya mask shattered.

The Nichirin sword cut through the air, and Akao fell forward, blood spraying from his whole body.

The last thing Akao heard was a strange metallic sound.

「Good grief, what a monster.」

Rob made the guns vanish and sat down on the spot with a thud.

Ricochet.

By firing new bullets at the ultra-low-speed bullets he had already fired in all directions, he had created a storm of unpredictable ricochets. If it had been just one or two, Akao might have been able to sense them, but with a hundred bullets ricocheting in every direction—up, down, left, right, diagonally—there was no way to dodge them.

It was a near-suicidal attack that Rob surely would have been hit by himself if he hadn't been wearing his 『Gun-Coat』.

「...That used up quite a lot. Is it enough?」

Rob muttered to himself, and Berta appeared.

「The Demon King Slayer isn't just for show, huh?」

「Well, shall we head to the next one...」

Rob lifted his heavy body and resumed hunting the rioters with Berta.

About an hour later, they hunted down the last of the rioters, and Rob and his companions welcomed the dawn.

Morning sunlight poured into the city, which had fallen silent as if the previous night's riot were a lie. The city, illuminated by white sunlight, seemed so fresh, as if it had just been born.

Rob held up a hand against the brightness.

(It disappears surprisingly easily).

In the two years since he defeated the Demon King and through the battles up to this point, he had used up almost all the bullets of the guns he had created until now.

Having used over a thousand in this battle, and with no way to replenish them, that was to be expected.

He still had guns that could only be used in special situations, and he could expect some replenishment by thinking up new guns or observing real guns he hadn't seen before, but he could no longer fight with the sheer firepower he had used until now.

「Well, I guess that's that.」

Rob felt surprisingly refreshed.

He had defeated the Demon King. He hadn't used his powers in a way he would regret. He could say every single bullet had meaning.

He even felt a sense of closure, as if this had brought things to an end.

「There's no good in going back like this, you know? Won't you give all of yourself to me?」

Berta, who was floating fluffily, stood behind him and wrapped her soft arms around Rob’s head.

「Don't try to make me cry. Actually, I might.」

Even as he said that, Rob didn't nod.

To Rob, who remained stubborn to the end, Berta easily pulled away and tucked the dog-type magitech machine into a magic circle.

「I'm sleepy, so I'm going home.」

「Wait? You aren't going to take me back?」

「No way. Why would I have to take back a man who won't become mine? Try walking hard.」

Perhaps in retaliation for being made to work this much for a single favor, Berta showed a lethargic smile and truly vanished.

「Seriously? I have to walk from here...」

***

Rob arrived at the pier—the place where he first landed on the mainland of the Nichirin Empire, the meeting spot he had agreed on with Arcelia—after the morning rush hour had ended.

Saburo, Arcelia, and Edmond were waiting at the pier.

「Everything has been left to the Alliance. You may depart as you are.」

The words came from Saburo's mouth, intending to say that the Nichirin Empire would not hold Rob accountable for his crimes.

It was an extrajudicial measure, but in reality, thanks to Rob’s show of force, the situation on the ground had been quelled. Although his true identity hadn't been exposed, he had been called things like "The Silver-Faced Archer" by some, becoming half-hero, half-urban legend.

There was no way to punish such an existence.

「If... no, that's right. Take care of yourself. Come back anytime.」

Saburo had considered recruiting Rob to the Nichirin Empire, but he stopped.

Rob's words that he didn't desire much. And his nature of not boasting about his achievements even now.

If he stayed in Nichirin, people would inevitably expect things of his extraordinary ability. After Saburo died, he would either be tied down or used and discarded. He would end up in a position that could hardly be called free.

That was why he couldn't ask.

Rob and his companions parted ways with Saburo, set off on a small cruiser, and returned to the Interworld Train.

Just before boarding the Interworld Train, Edmond, the Japan-obsessed investigator who had been silent until now, offered a warning in place of a farewell.

「It is precisely because you were under the Alliance's protection that you can leave this world alive. Do not overestimate that power.」

Rob shrugged playfully.

「Even if I weren't under the Alliance's protection, I would have done the same.」

「The headquarters is not as lenient as this country's government.」

「No matter what happens, things will just end up how they end up, right?」

The door of the Interworld Train closed, and Rob set off on his journey once again.

***

Back in the passenger cabin, Rob didn't get off at any other worlds after that.

There were about four stations left, but they were simply not worlds Rob could adapt to.

In the train, he read newspapers and Alliance PR magazines to kill time, but until he reached the final stop, there were no reports of events in Saburo's world, nor of the events Rob had experienced in each world.

「I guess there really are no journalists who travel across worlds...」

He didn't know if that was good or bad for Rob, but Arcelia, who usually got heated defending the Alliance at times like this, was quiet today.

Ever since they reunited at the pier, Arcelia's expression had been dark.

「...Is it your period?」

It was a serious case if she wouldn't even retort to Rob's words.

And so, they arrived at the final station.

Without time for sightseeing, Rob was led by Arcelia directly from the platform of the final station to the headquarters of the Interworld Alliance's All-World Agency.

And then, he was led into an inorganic room.

「...Due to the formal decision of the Investigation Department, Rob-san, we are placing you under detention.」

The intervention in the riot that occurred in the Nichirin Empire was apparently the final straw.

Arcelia told him this with an expression filled with bitterness.

*****

What is even a gun anyway. freaking Gun-Coat.
Truly Gundramon given human form.

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