Chapter 179

○ ???? Golan x 2

“So, what do we do now?”
I didn’t have any ideas.

“In the first place, what do we have to do to get out of here?”
He didn’t know either.

I considered the situation.
This was some unknown space that was covered in white mist.

I didn’t even know how we got here.
And of course, I had no idea how we could get out.

“Why don’t we just try moving?”
“I guess so.”

And so we just started walking.

Walking.

And walking.

“…Hey, you. We’ve walked quite a while now, haven’t we? In fact, how much time do you think passed?”
“I don’t know. I’m not hungry and I don’t feel tired. And how can I tell how much time has passed if I don’t even feel sleepy?”

“Still, it feels like it’s been days, doesn’t it?”
While it was difficult to tell the passage of time, it did feel like we had moved far enough for several days to have passed.

“Yeah. And we’ve run out of things to talk about.”
We had used the time to share information with each other.

However, we were all out of subjects now.
So we just walked silently.

In the first place, our conversation didn’t last very long.
Even though our souls were different, it felt like I was just talking to myself. It started to feel unnecessary.

Perhaps we had started to become similar. It was strange.

“…Hmm?”
“Yeah, I noticed.”

The mist was twisting up ahead.
We had gotten bored of this world, which seemed to have no change.
And so we started running towards it without saying anything.

“Is it…a hole?”
“It’s a hole alright. But what’s that? There is some kind of whirlpool near the bottom.”

“What do you think it is?”
“An exit…no, it can’t be that.”

It looked like some kind of gigantic washing machine.
Only instead of clothes, the white mist was being sucked into it.

The other me suddenly looked like he remembered something.

“This nostalgic feeling. I can feel it. It’s the Demon World.”
“The Demon World? You mean the Demon World that we live in?”

It was a place that was like a post apocalyptic world, where the fighting never ended.
It was not inside of a washing machine.

“I can’t explain it well, but we can reach the Demon World if we go through here. Perhaps it’s something that only I can understand.”
“Hmm…there may be things that only an Ogre’s soul would know. So, this hole is the exit then?”

“An exit, or a passage leading to the Demon World?”
It was just a feeling, and he found it difficult to describe it to me.

“Well, nevermind. So we can jump into it to reach the Demon World, eh? But I don’t really like the idea of jumping inside.”
“I think… Would you trust me?”

Now that was a difficult question.
“If you say that it is, then of course, I’ll trust you.”
“But it’s a whirlpool. Aren’t you scared?”

“I don’t know. I am scared to jump down, but it’s not because I don’t believe you. I just don’t like heights.”

But there was no point in staying here.

“Alright. Then I’ll jump in first. And if it looks dangerous, don’t come in after me. Search for a different way. Also, if that does happen, please take care of our body.”

“Don’t be stupid. We’re going to jump in together. It doesn’t matter if it’s dangerous or not. We’re the same mind and body…no, two minds and one body.”

I wasn’t afraid of dying if we were together.
That’s how much experience we shared.

“I see… Then let’s jump in together, soul brother.”
“Aye. We live and die together, soul brother.”

And so shoulder to shoulder, we jumped into the hole.

The white mist stuck and clung to our bodies like glue.
My feet, torso…head and face.

It covered my eyes, and all I saw was a dream of a faraway past.

“Hahahahaha… You really are the son of that bastard. So reckless.”

The dojo master was standing there. Still so young.
He was thin, and his face and body were almost sickly, but his physique was really the result of intense training.

All day long, the dojo master walked around in his uniform.
Once I started teaching, he became lazy and wore normal clothes, so this was when he was still in his prime.

And then a familiar scene appeared before me.
Street stalls during a night festival. It was somewhere near a shrine.

And on the ground were thugs or yakuza, I wasn’t sure.

Then I remembered the rest of the scene.
Some kid was shouting about how this thug was a villain who stole allowance money from children.

It seemed like anything could happen back then. It didn’t matter how old you were.
One might have ignored the kid, but I suppose the thugs were in a bad mood.

They were running around and chasing the kids, knocking them down with fists.

I had just happened to be nearby, and got caught up in it…and was hit before I could react.

“Yes, yes. I was so angry that I challenged them again…”

At the time, I hadn’t even turned ten years old yet.
I charged into the yakuzas and was beaten up.

They would have continued to beat me even after I had lost consciousness, but that’s when the dojo master found them.
That’s how they ended up on the ground. It was from that point that I really started to respect the dojo master.

Up until then, he was just that dirty-looking guy who happened to be a friend of my mom.
And now I saw him as incredibly strong.

And so I took my lessons seriously after that…

“If you’re really serious, why don’t you become my apprentice? Given your parent, you might just prove to be useful.”

I didn’t know what he meant by that, but I agreed.
Though, there was one condition.

“I’ll be teaching you things that you can’t use during matches. And so you can’t show them to anyone. Only use them if you have to kill.”

It was under those ominous conditions, that I learned many things that were not taught in the dojo.

But I had to wonder.
Where the hell would I ever use any of these techniques?
Why was he teaching me this? I could not help but think about it.

“I didn’t realize it would come in handy here. Life really is unpredictable.”

The dojo master had so many skills and had created many original techniques.
But his true nature was that of a sloth.

Still, thanks to him, I was able to survive in the Demon World.

“He taught me well. Especially with the sword.”
We started with ancient Japanese techniques and then other styles involving great swords that I would surely never have the opportunity to use.
And then, of course, how to stab someone’s vitals in one hit with a short sword.

Everything I learned back then continued to live within me.

“…Hm? I don’t recognize this ceiling.”
It was still a tent, but had a sophisticated beauty.

“Sir Golan. You’re awake.”
I heard a voice near my ear.

“Ah, Rig. You…shrunk.”
He was smaller. Rig was smaller.

“You jest. It’s you who have gotten bigger, Sir Golan.”
“What? Me?”

I sat up. Indeed, my vision seemed to be set higher than usual.
And though I had been sleeping all of this time, my body felt light.

When I stood up, the ceiling felt very low.
The entrance was also small.

“…Did I really? I really got bigger?”
“Yes. You suddenly started growing. And you also got thicker. I was very surprised.”

I could tell by comparing myself to Rig.
I was around 1.5 times taller now.

“I…what’s happening to me?”
“I believe, sir…that you have evolved. However, I don’t know what it is that you evolved into.”

Evolved? Me?

Now that I thought of it, I was told that I would evolve as I continued to defeat high-ranking monsters.
However, an Ogre was supposed to evolve into a High Ogre.

“I’m hungry.”
As soon as I said this, my stomach growled loudly.

“I’ll prepare some food immediately.”
“Thanks. I’m starving. I think I’m going to die.”
“Right away, sir!”

Rig dashed out of the tent.
He really was a capable Adjutant.

As for me…
“What have I evolved into?”

It was just as I thought this, it appeared in my mind.

—Susanoo-no-Mikoto.

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Makai Hongi