"Food's here!"
"Booze! Get the booze!"
"Bring out everything we've got!"
Following Lyd's boisterous command, a multitude of Xenos brought forth wine and dishes, laying out a spread for Bell, Akumo, and their companions. Within the cavern, the atmosphere shifted instantly into that of a rowdy festival.
"To celebrate our new kin and our very first human guests!"
Clink!
"...Is this a dream?"
"Would you like me to pinch your cheek for you?"
The scene was so far removed from reality that Welf stood frozen, holding his cup with a look of utter disbelief. Lilli, equally unconvinced, kept tugging at her own cheek to see if she would wake up.
""...""
Thump.
"Ah...!"
Clatter!
Haruhime and Mikoto were also lost in a daze, clutching their cups with stiff movements. The Xenos, noticing their hesitation, approached them with careful, gentle gestures as if afraid of making them uncomfortable—an irony that only added to the girls' confusion.
"Bell and Akumo saved me back then!"
"Is that so? Bell-sama and Akumo-sama are certainly peculi—I mean, very kind."
"Peculiar..."
"Bell-ty!"
"Bell-ty...?"
Pat.
"I understand the confusion, but isn't it better to just enjoy the moment?"
Crunch.
"Brother..."
Akumo sat beside Bell, chewing on a piece of fruit Lyd had handed him, attempting to ease the boy's tension.
'...'
'The other me...'
Despite his calm exterior, Akumo's mind was preoccupied. He thought of the clone Ray had mentioned.
Its power, its actions, and every word it spoke were indistinguishable from his own. Yet, he had no idea why it had manifested, if it truly shared his soul, or the mechanism of its birth. He was navigating a fog of uncertainty.
'Is it a Spirit? Or perhaps a brother I never knew I had?'
Slide.
"Akumo-san."
"...Ray."
"I know you're worried, but I hope you can enjoy yourself for now."
"..."
"Because of you, we've learned that there are people on the surface who can look at us without prejudice."
Gulp, gulp!
"Fine. For now, we drink."
'No point in agonizing over it if there's no immediate answer!'
"Heehee..."
Sensing no malice or hidden caution from Ray, Akumo concluded that the 'other Akumo' was at least not a threat to the Xenos. He set his worries aside and drained his cup. Ray watched him with a small, soft smile.
As the feast reached its peak.
"Lyd, stop this trivial nonsense."
"Gros!"
"In the end, they are humans. They are not fit to be trusted."
"Gros, are you still harping on that?"
The black wyvern Xenos, Gros, glared at the scene of Bell's party mingling with his kin. He clearly disapproved.
"Since you lot kept complaining, I let him choose the method of the trial—a duel. He won, didn't he?"
"Hmph. As a warrior, that was merely the bare minimum."
"You and the newcomer... always going on about being warriors."
"If you desire something, you must seize it with strength. Strength is merely the means to an end."
Gros looked toward Akumo—the powerhouse who had utterly overwhelmed him—and recited the philosophy on power that Akumo had once given him. He spoke as if to prove he hadn't forgotten the lesson.
"Sorry about him~ We all have our own opinions, you see."
"O-Oh, no!"
"Still, even those guys will realize eventually. That humans like Akumo-san and Bell-ty are... different."
Lyd brushed off Gros's grumbling with ease.
Bell had been tested as Gros wanted, and Bell had passed. Lyd believed that, much like with Akumo, the lingering caution would eventually give way to acceptance.
"Coexistence between humans and monsters? Do you even realize what you're saying!"
"Of course I do."
Meanwhile, having reached Ouranos's chamber via a hidden path under Fels's guidance, Hestia was currently interrogating the God of the Guild with absolute sincerity.
"The fact that humans and monsters cannot coexist is a destiny that has persisted since ancient times! And yet you..."
"The Xenos are not monsters driven by instinct. They think for themselves and possess reason no different from that of a person."
"But still...!"
"They are even attacked by other monsters within the Dungeon."
"!!"
"Have you not already heard from Akumo? They are simply another race."
"..."
Ouranos viewed the current situation through a positive lens.
Between Akumo's testimony and the fact that Bell and the Hestia Familia had protected Viene, they had proven the possibility of coexistence through their own actions.
"They are beings who have no place in the Labyrinth or on the surface."
"The fact that they possess will and can communicate is proof that they are no different from our own children."
"To ignore their lamentations and simply eradicate them... is a feat I find impossible to perform."
Ouranos spoke calmly, his gaze fixed on Hestia. He could see the conflict in her eyes as she struggled to accept his words.
"...Do you truly wish for harmony with monsters?"
"I do. However, if we are to truly seek coexistence, we must redefine what a 'monster' is."
"So, you're saying Bell-kun and Akumo-kun are the bridge? The ones meant to make humanity recognize the value of a monster's existence?"
"I wish to gauge that possibility."
Hestia couldn't simply deny Ouranos's logic.
She thought of their life with Viene, the truths Akumo had shared about the Xenos, and Bell's innate desire to protect them. But...
"I empathize with the sentiment... but if this becomes known, my children will have nowhere left to stand!"
"..."
"By trying to save the Xenos, they could be destroyed alongside them!"
"I can offer nothing but my apologies. This is entirely my own arbitrary decision."
Ouranos and Hestia understood each other's perspectives, yet they found themselves in a position where neither could abandon the values they held dear.
"Sigh... Between Hermes and now you, how many Gods actually know about the Xenos?"
"One more. Ganesha."
"Ganesha!?"
"Monsterphilia was also an event designed to reduce the public's aversion to monsters, all for the sake of the Xenos' eventual integration."
"Eh..."
"He may not look it, but he is a God who can keep a secret."
Hearing this, Hestia realized that the Xenos weren't just a recently discovered race, nor was the burden of their integration being placed solely on Bell's shoulders.
She was surprised to learn that Ouranos had been contemplating this coexistence for far longer than she had imagined.
"But..."
"I know. Even if they are a distinct race, they still bear the forms of monsters."
"...The hatred held by the children will not vanish easily."
"I understand that all too well. The wounds monsters have inflicted upon the surface are scars even the Gods find difficult to measure."
Even if one wanted to accept the Xenos, the moment they saw those monstrous forms, the association with the terrors of the Dungeon would make it impossible to view them with pure eyes.
Monsters were not merely wild beasts; they were the enemies of humanity, the horrors that had birthed countless tragedies.
"Fear, despair, anger. Chaos will sweep across the surface."
"...You said Akumo-kun already knows about the Xenos."
"Even he does not know the final answer."
'Because as much as he understands the Xenos, he understands the position of the children just as well.'
In a situation where even the Gods could not find the correct path, they could only choose to believe.
"This development has certainly exceeded my expectations."
"Fels?"
Behind the group enjoying the feast, a figure completely concealed in black robes approached and spoke.
"Allow me to offer my greetings first."
"Bell Cranel, my name is Fels. I serve as the messenger for Ouranos."
Slide.
"We're already acquainted."
Akumo stepped forward and introduced the robed figure to Bell's party.
Fels stood beside him and, while introducing themselves, pulled a small crystal from their robes to state a simple fact.
"For one week, I have been observing the actions of you and the dragon girl."
"You were...!?"
"Fels has eyes everywhere. It's how we're able to communicate with them as well."
Lyd pulled out a crystal of a different color to prove Fels's point. Bell's party looked at Fels with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
"That aside..."
Step.
"To think that not just Akumo, but all of you would mingle with the Xenos like this."
"...Fels."
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
Fels tucked the crystal away and took a seat next to Akumo. Ray looked as if she wanted to say something, but she soon naturally joined the conversation.
"Is Fels-sama also... a monster?"
"No, Fels is human."
"More accurately, a 'former' human."
Slide!
"W-Wait! Fels!"
"I shall show you."
""""!!!!!!!""""
Before Akumo could stop them, Fels removed their mask. The face revealed beneath was shocking: one half was that of a woman with long black hair, but the other half was a bare, white skull.
"Half of the face is...!"
"A Spartoi!?"
"Fels, that was a bit sudden..."
"I don't particularly mind, Akumo."
"Sigh..."
Akumo pressed a hand to his forehead. He wasn't sure whether to be glad or annoyed that Fels had revealed their face so nonchalantly.
"How did this happen...?"
"Fels is a Sage, you know? A truly incredible mage!"
At Lyd's casual explanation, Lilli's eyes widened. The title sounded familiar, and she immediately rushed toward Fels in excitement.
"A Sage...! You don't mean the legendary Sage from the Great Magic Kingdom? The only one said to have successfully created the Philosopher's Stone and achieved eternal life!?"
"Uh... I suppose that's the one?"
Confronted with a figure from fairy tales, Lilli hovered between Fels and Akumo, her mind racing. Fels opened their mouth to answer her query.
"I am but the wretched remains of the one once called a Sage."
"In my pursuit of infinite knowledge, I became obsessed with eternal life. I succeeded in crafting the secret of immortality and resurrection..."
"But I became a living ghost in the process."
Fels touched the flesh on the restored side of their face.
"Originally, my entire body was nothing but bone. However, thanks to a certain hero, I am in a much better state now."
Glance.
"You didn't need to mention that..."
"I only spoke the truth."
Akumo couldn't find the words to argue. While Fels was satisfied with having even the right side of their body resurrected, Akumo remembered it as a bitter reminder of the limits of his current power.
"Now, I am called 'Fels' the Fool, observing the era from beneath Ouranos's shadow."
"Then, your meeting with the Xenos..."
"It has been over fifteen years. Since we gave them the name 'Xenos,' and since they began to gather as kin to protect one another."
"That's right. Since then, we've been rescuing newly born kin, moving through the Labyrinth to avoid other monsters and living together."
As the conversation continued, Lilli noticed a potential issue and voiced her question.
"Do monsters not spawn in this area?"
"Oh! Sharp as a tack, Lilli-ty!"
"Lilli-ty..."
"This place is a sort of Safety Point. We call it our Hidden Village."
As the party absorbed this new information, Fels began to introduce the key members of the group.
"There are about forty Xenos here. Among them, Lyd, Ray, and Gros are the senior members."
"Hmph!"
"Heehee."
"That's right, that's right!"
Gros turned his head away in annoyance, Ray simply smiled, and Lyd nodded vigorously.
Watching them, Welf recalled the strength Lyd had displayed earlier and asked a question.
"So, are you the boss?"
"I'm also the strongest one here!"
"Ooh..."
"...Is what I'd like to say, but I recently got my tail handed to me by the newcomer and Akumo-san..."
"By Akumo-san!?"
"Gros and I teamed up against him, and we weren't even a match for him!! Damn it!!"
Lyd thrashed his tail in frustration. Welf, sensing a kindred spirit in Lyd's competitive nature, couldn't help but grin. Slowly but surely, the walls of caution between them were beginning to crumble.
"Then, why exactly are Fels-sama and the Xenos cooperating?"
Of course, the fundamental question shared by everyone in Bell's party had yet to be fully answered.
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 129
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T