That night, immediately after the formal authorization to enter the Underworld was granted—
The members heading to the Underworld gathered in the Hyoudou household basement. The party consisted of the Red Dragon Emperor's Peerage members: myself (Issei), Miwa, Alice, and Ravel. And from the Vali Team, there were Vali and Bikou.
"A battle against a god from another world. I look forward to it."
"Well, I'm technically a member of 'D×D' too, you know? I gotta do some work now and then, or the First Generation will chew me out."
Vali, that guy, looks like he's having the time of his life… Bikou, too, seems secretly eager…
I knew it would turn out this way from the start. They gladly volunteered to join when I asked.
For us, the combat power of these two is incredibly reassuring, so their participation is a blessing.
Actually, there's one more person in the party entering the Underworld.
"Master, do bananas count as a snack?"
"Dilmud-san!? This isn't a school trip!"
Yeah, as that exchange shows, Diarmuid is also participating. Since Miwa was going, he also raised his hand for this mission.
It's true that Diarmuid's spear is a good match against the enemy's magical attacks. After all, it nullifies them. Diarmuid's skill is exceptional, so he's perfectly suited as a fighting force, but…
…Seeing him stuff bananas into his backpack… makes me nervous.
This time, I'm the one leading this group, but… I have a lot of worries. And they have nothing to do with combat.
Alice asks.
"Where is she?"
"She's handling the logistics this time. She'll be entering the Underworld through a different route than us. Azazel-sensei has taken care of the arrangements for that."
We have two main helpers for this situation. Well, actually, I called four people. But the other two are more like support for her.
We're only leaving one helper behind in this town, but that should be more than enough.
I had a brief sparring match after we reunited… and she had grown so strong that I couldn't even stand against her in my bare body. Even with my armor, it was barely… no, she was holding back then, so I might have been defeated if she hadn't.
The women living in the house came to see us off. Perhaps because Vali and his team are also here, Kuroka and Le Fay are present too.
Rias opens her mouth with a apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, Issei. To leave such a dangerous task solely to you all…"
"Don't worry about it. I'm the one who's sorry for not being able to stay. …Like I said earlier, please be extremely careful. I don't think it will escalate into a kill-or-be-killed fight, but that's not an absolute guarantee. They will be fighting desperately."
"Yes, I understand. Issei, you and everyone else mustn't push yourselves too hard, either. I've heard from Azazel, and he said that if worst comes to worst, a mere reconnaissance mission is acceptable. My brother also asked that you absolutely do not be reckless, considering the opponent. Please, I beg you, come back safely."
"Of course."
Having conversations like this makes me scared that a death flag might be raised, but I will absolutely come back.
Just as Rias said, the worst-case goal for entering the Underworld this time is simply to grasp the enemy's situation. As expected, the higher-ups didn't give us an impossible demand like "you must retrieve it." In fact, they told us to come back alive to avoid losing any more military strength in the Underworld.
I was surprised that those shady higher-ups would show such concern. It seems the shock of Hades, the God of the Underworld, getting thoroughly beaten was that impactful.
The magic circle beneath our feet glowed, illuminating the room.
I looked around at the faces of the members who had come to see us off.
"Alright then, we're off!"
The light of transference enveloped us—
▽
It seems there are several routes to get to the Underworld. The route we used this time was to first transfer to the Devil World (冥界), and then jump from there to the Underworld (冥府).
When we transferred to the Devil World, Sirzechs-san and Grayfia-san were there. After briefly discussing the mission, they emphasized a few things and handed us the few Phoenix Tears they had managed to secure. I think they did well to prepare them under the current circumstances of frequent Qlippoth terrorist activities.
And now.
"This is the Underworld… There's nothing here."
Alice murmured, surveying the surroundings.
As far as the eye could see, it was a desolate wasteland. A world of nothing, stretching endlessly, spread out before my vision.
I guess this is what they call the world of the dead. There's nothing, and no one.
Bikou tapped his staff on his shoulder and laughed.
"See? There's literally nothing, right? I hate worlds with no entertainment. I'm not a big fan of the Underworld."
I agree with that sentiment. This place would definitely be boring.
While paying attention to our surroundings, we headed toward our destination. The Underworld is apparently not as vast as the Devil World, but it's still quite large. Our destination—the 'Hades Shrine,' where Asuem is thought to be—is located in the deepest part of the Underworld. We should have been able to see the Ancient Greek-style temple we had heard about—
"Hold on… What is that? Was something like that there before?"
Bikou couldn't help but blurt out. I could see the cold sweat running down his face and his genuine astonishment.
What stood before us, atop a small hill, was—a giant castle. No, a fortress would be more accurate.
A massive castle in the center, surrounded by an equally colossal wall. And even further outside, there was a horde of super-giant humanoid magical beasts, each about a hundred meters tall. They had six eyes on their heads, bare fangs, six arms, and even wings on their backs. There must be at least fifty of them lurking there.
…How thoroughly fortified is this place? It would take more than one or two armies to breach this.
While I and Alice started sweating cold, following Bikou's lead, this other guy—
"Fufufu, ha ha ha! This is quite promising! Is this the power of the god from another world! It seems it far exceeds my imagination! Ah, I wish I could fight it right now!"
Only Vali kept his smile.
A battle maniac is practically sick when they reach this level… Even Bikou was dumbfounded.
Miwa asks.
"What should we do? Go head-on?"
"I'd like to avoid that if possible. Those monsters around there look pretty nasty too. We need to sneak into the castle without being detected by the magical beasts, and then—"
It was just as I was about to finish. A voice echoed from the castle.
"Hello. I knew you would come, Hero-kun. Though, it's a bit earlier than I expected."
Along with the voice, an image was projected into the air. Asuem's face appeared in the sky, just like during the Auros Academy incident.
Asuem focused on us and smiled brightly.
"Yo-ho. Long time no see. How have you been?"
Asuem waved his hand while greeting us.
But behind him—
"Pedro, please lend me your strength! My little sister is lost… She must be crying all alone! I don't know what to do!"
"Huh… Did you call the police or something?"
"Please, Pedro!"
"My phone line is cut right now."
"Please, Pedro!"
"It's always the same with you guys, 'Pedro, Pedro' only when you're in trouble. You're so opportunistic. You egged my house the other day, didn't you? I know everything."
"Shut up, Pedro!"
"Hey! How dare you talk to an adult like that! Hey!"
"TURN OFF THE TV BEFORE YOU TALK!"
My shouted tsukkomi pierced the heavens and echoed through the Underworld!
It's too loud! Why is he casually watching TV in front of the enemy?!
And what the heck is he watching?!
Is he underestimating us?! Is he an idiot?!
"I don't even care about the enemy anymore, can I punch you!? I can punch you, right!? No, please let me punch you, I'll give you three hundred yen!"
"Why three hundred yen?"
"How should I know!"
Perhaps listening to my plea, Asuem pressed a button on the remote, turning off the TV. The loud sound echoing through the image disappeared, and my agitated heart began to calm down.
"He tries to disrupt our pace right from the start. —Is this the power of a god from another world?"
Vali is overthinking it!
I hate to interrupt your deep thought, but there's no such strategy involved! He's just an idiot who wasn't thinking! Judging by the show he was watching, he's just a plain idiot!
A carefree voice drifted down from the sky.
"Oops, sorry, sorry. I didn't think you'd come so soon. …So, you guys are here to retake the Underworld, right?"
"Yeah, something like that. You've really fortified your defenses, haven't you? Is your defense weak even if your offense is strong?"
"Oh, that? That's a test, in a sense. If you can't defeat mere magical beasts like those, then you can't defeat me. It's a hundred times better to watch TV than waste time."
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