TNG Vol. 20 Chapter 3 Part 2
“You may already know this, but I am Shin. I defeated Origin.”
Shin said as he stared at Hades.
He wondered what she thought about this fact. How would she react? He wanted to find out in his own way.
“Hmm, I can feel the remnants of his power and presence from you. I knew that before, but I was convinced after meeting you in person. Ah, you can speak casually. It’s been a long time since I talked to anyone. I don’t like formalities.”
The way Hades nodded her head was very calm.
Shin, who had thought that in the worst case scenario, they could go straight into battle, was also taken aback by the reaction.
“Now, that girl over there, may I ask your name?”
“Ah, I’m Milt.”
Milt also seemed nervous and a bit listless.
“Hmm?…It seems like I’m intimidating you. Wait a minute.”
When Hades said that, the feeling of intimidation that weighed on them disappeared.
“I thought I was holding it back, but it doesn’t seem to be working well. Please forgive me.”
It seemed that the intimidating atmosphere that he clearly felt was a trivial thing that leaked out even after Hades suppressed it.
Shin braced himself, wondering if her strength was on par with Origin.
“Then, the one sticking to Shin’s head is—”
“Yuzuha. That’s my name.”
Interrupting Hades’ words, Yuzuha introduced herself. Hearing this, Hades’ smile deepened a little.
“Hehe, I feel a deep connection with Shin. Did you foresee me calling? But I see. I had heard from Eleven that you were with your master, but I thought it strange that Shin and the others did not know of me. Besides, you seem to be quite weak.”
“That’s because of the miasma.”
“Ah, you were the one who sealed it away.”
There was an ease between Hades and Yuzuha that made it hard to believe that they were meeting for the first time.
“Do you know each other?”
“Synchronization.”
When Shin asked Yuzuha, he got an unexpected answer.
“Synchronization?”
When Shin wondered what a synchronization of monsters was, Hades answered.
“We are the earliest beings to be formed in this world under the influence of your world. We are the originals of the seven races and half of each of them. We are also the strongest monsters in this world, including Yuzuha. Aren’t we just like the students who enrolled at the same time?”
Hades seemed to be in a good mood as she explained. It was hard for Shin to imagine Hades and Yuzuha as students. He somehow understood what she wanted to say, but…
“After listening to what you just said, I have more questions to ask.”
“From your point of view, there are probably many things you don’t understand, including the fact that you’re here.”
The tone of Hades’s voice dropped. She seemed to be serious about talking about this topic.
“I heard from Eleven that you wanted to talk to me. Can I ask you to tell me the important details?”
She seemed to want to talk, but he had no idea what it was about. Was there something she wanted to ask Shin, or was there something she wanted to say? Or was it something else?
Looking back to the game era, Hades was not implemented as a character or NPC. Therefore, Shin did not know what kind of character she was, and it was difficult to predict the content of the story.
“There’s something I think I should tell you. I can’t just tell you this through my subordinate.”
Such information would be important for a being of Hades’ caliber to convey. Thoughts of powerful monsters and beings on the same level as Hades that he had yet to encounter flashed through Shin’s mind.
“You don’t need to be so defensive. It’s not about who will be your enemy. But is it good for you or bad for you? I don’t know.”
“…I honestly thought someone like the Guardian Divine Beast Reforgerer would show up.”
Even with the current Shin, there were still opponents that he could not necessarily defeat.
Thinking about such a direct threat, Shin asked Hades for an answer.
“It’s true that there are beings that the players haven’t seen. However, this is a different issue. The main issue is about you and the girl there.”
“Eh, me too?”
Milt’s eyes widened when the subject was turned to her.
Since they were summoned here together, Shin thought something must have happened, so he wasn’t too surprised.
“So you mean it’s something to do with the players?”
When Shin phrased his prediction as a question, Hades replied calmly.
“No, that’s not true. I’m talking about the fact that you will eventually return to the world where you came from.”
It took Shin and Milt a long of time to understand what she was talking about.
They understood the meaning of the words. But they didn’t understand it right away.
No, it would be more correct to say that they did not want to.
That’s how shocking Hades’ words were to Shin and the others.
“…Please tell me the details.”
“You seem confused. Do you need more time before we continue?”
Hades looked as if she wanted to say, “I knew it would come to this.”
Shin, however, shook his head.
“Are you sure?”
“If I give it some time, I’ll start thinking too much.”
But Shin looked at Milt, who might not be so sure.
The shock she received seemed to be more than Shin’s, and her face turned pale.
Just when he thought it might be better to give her some time, Milt’s body lost its strength and collapsed. Shin immediately caught her body as she was about to fall.
“Ah, sorry…”
“It’s okay. I’m more worried about you.”
She was in great shock herself.
Knowing Milt’s situation, Shin thought the shock she must have received was greater than his own, and used the Item Box to materialize a mattress that resembled a leisure sheet.
He slowly laid Milt down on it.
He looked at Hades for a few seconds and received a small nod.
With a small bow to Hades, who closed her eyes as if asleep, Shin turned to Milt.
“Let’s get some rest.”
“I’m sorry, Shin. For some reason, my body suddenly lost its strength.”
Shin gently held Milt back as she tried to get up.
Her weak tone was reminiscent of the time when Milt was terminally ill, something Milt had once said. She had no strength at all.
“…I guess there was a chance that I could come back.”
“I’m surprised by that too. If it’s just me I can understand it, whether I’m convinced or not𑁋 but Milt is fundamentally different.”
Shin sighed and said to Milt as she lay there.
If Shin suddenly came to this world without dying in the game world, then her story would make sense.
At least she didn’t die like in the game, so it made sense that her spirit would just return to her body.
But Milt was different. No doubt, Shin had dealt her the final blow with his own hands.
Shin could still remember Milt’s words and expressions back then.
“I thought that if I died in the game, I would also die in real life, but actually…?”
“I have a feeling it’s different. Well, the answer is right there.”
Shin slowly helped Milt to her feet. As they talked, she seemed to have recovered a bit, and her complexion looked better.