The first thing Akira realized was the fragrant scent of sandalwood. Then... came the pain. It wasn't just ordinary pain, but a feeling as if a cargo truck had run him over, then backed up to run him over again just to be sure. Every muscle in his body was screaming, and every bone felt as if it were filled with broken glass. He tried to open his eyes, and a faint blue flash passed before his blurred vision.
[Status Report:] [Physical Damage: 82%] [Cause: Extreme overexertion of the host's soul following the temporary breaking of the seal.] ['Throne of Hollow' has been completely resealed to prevent physical collapse.] [Note: The ability is unavailable until further notice.]
Akira let out a faint groan as he squeezed his eyes shut. — "Shut your mouth, you annoying system..." he muttered in a dry, hoarse voice. He gathered his strength and slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't in a dark dungeon as he had expected, but was lying on a spacious bed draped in incredibly soft silk. The room was wide, illuminated by sunlight filtering through wooden windows designed in an elegant, traditional Japanese style, integrated with strange, modern geometric details. — "Japanese style in this world?" Akira thought as he painfully propped his back against the wall behind the bed, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his chest. "The system said I am in the Rimuru Tempest Empire... but this place feels familiar and strange at the same time." Before he could analyze his surroundings further, the wooden door slid open slowly. No footsteps were heard, but the air in the room suddenly changed. It became heavier, warmer, and governed by a majestic pressure that forced you to involuntarily lower your head. A tall man entered. His hair was crimson like blazing tongues of flame, and his eyes held the confidence of a commander who had fought a thousand wars and lost none. He wore a traditional red Japanese outfit (kimono) with broad shoulders, and at his waist rested a long sword in a gleaming black scabbard. The two small horns adorning his forehead were the only proof that he wasn't human. Behind him, in a corner of the room where the light didn't reach, the shadow who had captured him yesterday stood with his arms crossed, silent as usual, as if he were part of the darkness itself. The crimson-haired man stopped a few steps from the bed and studied Akira with a scrutinizing gaze, before a half-smile appeared on his face. — "I see you are alive," the man spoke. His voice was deep, echoing in the room like the faint beat of a war drum, carrying a mix of underlying warmth and absolute authority. "I thought you'd sleep for a whole week after what you did yesterday, boy." Akira swallowed hard. He didn't know who this man was, but standing before him was enough to tell him everything. This person's aura alone, and the pressure his mere presence imposed, were enough to make Akira feel as if he were suffocating. He wondered internally with dread: Is this the ruler of this place? — "Where... where am I?" Akira asked, trying to keep his voice steady. The man crossed his broad arms. — "You are in the central capital of the Jura Tempest Federation. And as my personal guest. Don't be so terrified; if we wanted to kill you, Souei would have let you rot in the forest. I am Benimaru, the Commander-in-Chief of this nation." Benimaru tilted his head slightly, and his smile vanished, his features turning as sharp as a sword. — "Now, down to business. Souei told me something interesting. He said a human without a speck of magic unleashed a strange black energy, and cut the invincible 'Demonic Steel Threads'. On top of that... the scent of your soul is strange. It doesn't belong to this world." Benimaru took a step closer, his eyes narrowing. — "Who are you? And how did you get here? And most importantly... who taught you to use that kind of energy?" Akira felt the pressure mounting. The blue-haired intelligence officer was watching him from the shadows, and this terrifying commander was right in front of him. One lie and he could be finished. He remembered the system's primary recommendation: Survive. — "I don't even know how I used that energy..." Akira began, his voice trembling slightly with honesty. "All I remember is that I was dying, and something inside me... exploded." Benimaru remained silent, waiting for the rest. Akira took a deep breath and decided to tell the truth that he knew. — "My name is Akira Yuzuki. And I am not from this world... I am from a place called Japan. On planet Earth." The moment he uttered the word "Japan," two things happened simultaneously. First, Souei moved half a step out of the shadows—a very rare reaction from him. Second, Benimaru's red aura flared for a moment around his body with a force that made the room's windows rattle violently, before he quickly suppressed it. Benimaru's eyes widened slightly, and the tone of his voice changed from that of a strict military commander to someone touched by a very old nostalgia. — "Japan..." Benimaru whispered, the name carrying immense weight on his tongue. "You are... from the same homeland as 'Lord Rimuru'?" Akira nodded slowly. — "I was in my room. My mother... had just passed away." Akira's voice choked up slightly as he remembered her, and the genuine pain in his eyes was not something that could be faked. "I was in front of my computer screen, then the air split open before me. A blue light, then an explosion, and I found myself in the forest. That's it. I wasn't summoned, and I didn't ask to come here." Benimaru looked at Souei. The two exchanged a silent language that only they understood. Years of fighting together made them communicate with just a look. Benimaru sighed, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword in a relaxed posture. — "Your story is crazy, Akira. Piercing through dimensions without an official magical summoning is almost impossible. But... the pain in your eyes is real." Benimaru smiled bitterly, looking toward the window as if gazing into a distant past. — "Someone from Japan, suddenly appearing 500 years after my Lord disappeared without a trace. Possessing an energy that resembles 'the Void,' and cutting Souei's threads... I don't believe in coincidences, boy. There is a reason you came here, whether you know it or not." Benimaru turned toward the door to leave, but stopped and looked over his shoulder. — "Rest now and heal your shattered bones. Starting tomorrow, you will go out to see what Tempest has become over these five centuries. And I will put you under surveillance. If I discover that you pose a threat to this nation..." Benimaru's eyes gleamed with a deadly glint, and his voice became like a blade of ice. — "...You won't need your black energy to save you, because I will burn you into nothingness before you can even blink." The door slid shut quietly, leaving Akira alone in the room with the silence, his heart pounding heavily. He had survived the first interrogation. But now he realized a terrifying truth: Living in Tempest without Rimuru... is like living in a cage full of starving lions who have lost their tamer.