The Virgin Hero Who Fought in the Dungeon for 20 Years Returned to the Surface Only to Find the Population of the World Has Dropped Drastically, with a Male-to-Female Ratio of 1:1000 - 42

Chapter 42: And So the Story Began

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“Nnghh! Nnggah! Guh-!”

The barrier consisted of a powerful mass of magic. It wasn’t something created by someone on purpose, it was closer to a natural phenomenon, like a typhoon or a tornado. The gate hadn’t been intentionally formed either—it was, so to speak, a supernatural bug. Ryuuto thrust the fingers of his right hand into the invisible barrier and he could feel his flesh burning away. His fingernails peeled off entirely, and searing pain consumed him. Flames caught on his jacket, spreading to his shirt, and up to his long hair, sending embers scattering in the air. The foul stench of burning hair filled his nose. Even so, Ryuuto refused to give up. He was still trying to pry the barrier open. 

I need to do this. If I don’t, Sayaka will be in danger and not just her. By the time the National Defense Force arrives, everyone in the area will have been slaughtered. That’s something I can’t allow to happen. I won’t just stand still and let it happen! 

Who am I? I’m the strongest mage in the world. Sure, I’m a living Urashima Taro now that I’ve returned to the surface, but this is one thing I won’t give up on. The battle instincts I’ve honed over twenty years of hell are screaming at me to push through.

“Don’t… Underestimate meeee!!”

And… It finally opened. With brute force, Ryuuto forced the invisible barrier apart. The ward shattered into pieces and he tumbled down the stairs, rolling as he fell. Then, he could feel it. An overwhelming sensation going through him… The feeling of omnipotence. Magic power surged through his body, filling every fiber of his being. The barrier had been destroyed. Now, he was free to enter and leave the barrier. Which meant… There was no one in this world who could stop him anymore. 

“Heal.”

He immediately activated a healing spell. Compared to offensive magic, healing wasn’t his strong suit, but his healing magic was more than enough for injury of this level. Beyond the station platform where he had tumbled over, thick magic filled the air, but other than that, it was just an ordinary station. Ryuuto shot through the corridor like a bullet and eliminated the remaining goblins at lightning speed. Hundreds of goblins that had been preparing to invade the surface vanished in an instant. Soon enough, he arrived at the underground shopping arcade lined with stores.

He shed his burned jacket and held it in his left hand. Then, he cast a spell. 

“Shadow Bind.”

Countless jet-black shadows stretched out from Ryuuto’s body, reaching the surface in mere seconds and wrapping around a certain person. With a sharp tug of his arm, Ryuuto pulled the figure back to him. The shadows gently lowered Sayaka onto the floor.

“Good, she’s still okay.”

Ryuuto cast healing magic on Sayaka and every wound that had marred her body vanished in an instant. He gently draped his burned jacket over her.

“Just hold on a little longer. As soon as I’m done cleaning up, I’ll get you to the hospital.”

Once again, he extended Shadow Bind toward the surface. The shadows Ryuuto controlled surged upward in an instant, latching onto the countless goblins that had been rampaging above and dragging them back into the station, to his domain. The goblins, screeching in panic, were thrown haphazardly near Ryuuto in the blink of an eye. The black, tape-like magic tendrils engulfed the creatures and the moment Ryuuto clenched his right fist, the black tendrils crushed the goblins confined within them with an ominous, wet, squelching sound. Hundreds of goblins were minced on the spot. Amid the overpowering stench of blood, one particularly massive goblin still refused to give in. It was the Goblin Lord. The Goblin Lord let out a low growl of defiance.

“Oh. Right. You’re still here, huh?”

Ryuuto said in a nonchalant voice. As if its pride was wounded, the Goblin Lord let out a furious roar.

“What? You really think if you can break free from the shadow and fight me hand-to-hand, you will have a chance to win?”

The Goblin Lord bellowed, its grotesque face twisted in rage.

“Fine. Come at me.”

Ryuuto released the Goblin Lord from the confinement of his Shadow Bind. The Goblin Lord immediately tossed away its shield, hoisting a massive battle axe above its head before swinging it down with terrifying force at Ryuuto. However, Ryuuto caught the enormous battle axe with one hand with ease. The Goblin Lord’s face went pale. Intense heat radiated from Ryuuto’s right hand, and in an instant, the steel axe melted like butter.

“Alright, alright. Playtime is over.”

In the next second, Ryuuto stepped behind the Goblin Lord and seized its massive head in his grip. He hardly seemed to exert any force. Yet, in the next instant, the Goblin Lord’s head was twisted off from its neck. A spray of crimson spurted from the severed neck. Ryuuto only gave the severed head a glance before tossing it away disinterestedly. The battle had ended with utter simplicity. No flavor, no scent—nothing. A complete, overwhelming victory in every sense of the world.

“Haaah~ I’m so exhausted.”

Ryuuto slumped onto a station bench, intending to lie down a little, but the bench had armrests dividing the seats, preventing him from stretching his legs out. 

What a stupid bench. Who the hell designed this? Probably some bureaucrat with too much time on their hands. It’d be so satisfying to round them all up in a gymnasium and burn the whole place down…. 

“It’s been a while since I cast a magic like that, so that little feat took a bit out of me.”

But still, he felt so refreshed on the inside.

◇◇◇

“Why did things turn out like this?”

“Is Sayaka doing alright now?”

“That girl is doing fine. I took her to a nearby army hospital, so she’ll be receiving priority treatment there.”

“I see.”

Ryuuto was getting a mild scolding from his older sister, Kazuki, who had rushed to the scene. The monster outbreak this time had been one of the largest in recent years. The death toll from this incident was 67 deaths and the number of injured people exceeded 300. More than 500 monsters had emerged from every underground access point around Shinjuku Station. Of those 500, Ryuuto had taken down over 300 monsters. The remaining goblins had been swiftly subdued by concentrated attacks from the National Defense Forces. Under the protection of SP officers, Ryuuto and Kazuki were standing in a corner of an antique shop, looking out at the cityscape scarred by violence.

“Haaah… Just how unlucky can you get? You just stepped outside for a little bit and misfortune swarmed at you like a pack of ravenous hyenas.”

“Is that so? Well, I’m still breathing so that means I won, right?”

“You idiot. But seriously, your head looks awful. You look like a skit from Drifters.”

“Shut up. Leave me alone.”

Ryuuto’s long hair had been burned in places, leaving it singed and frizzled. It seemed even healing magic couldn’t restore his hair. 

“Good grief… Ah, right. There’s a salon next door. Oji-san, mind if I borrow a chair while we rent a room here? Huh? Okay? Alright. Thanks. Yurina, can you go grab some tools from next door?”

“What? What are you planning to do?”

“Your hair is a disaster, so I’m going to make it look somewhat presentable at least.”

At Kazuki’s urging, Ryuuto sat down in a chair. A bath towel was wrapped around his neck as a makeshift apron. Kazuki picked up a set of haircutting tools borrowed from the half-collapsed salon next door and began to trim Ryuuto’s ruined hair in silence. 

Now that I think about it… Nee-chan used to cut my hair all the time.

“Hey, don’t move. You’re going to make it look uneven.”

“Give me a break…”

His sister, who was six years older than him, had always looked after him. Kazuki was practically the mother figure in his life. He hated having strangers touch his hair, so he used to ask her to cut it for him. Kazuki worked in silence, moving her scissors with practiced ease. Ryuuto suddenly remembered that she had once said she might become a hairdresser before she ended up as an explorer. That was probably her true wish at the time. But now, she was a mother and a politician, while he was nothing more than a half-baked existence who knew nothing but fighting. 

“See? Not bad, right? I haven’t lost my touch just yet.”

Ryuuto checked his reflection in the mirror she handed him. He had thought his long hair was annoying, but now that it was gone, he felt a bit lonely without them. Still, the cut wasn’t bad.

“It’s pretty good.”

“I used to cut my husband’s and son’s hair myself. Back when I had a little more time on my hands.”

“Hey, Nee-chan.”

“What is it, Ryuuto?”

“I’m going to continue being an explorer.”

“I see.”

“It’s not like I have any other skills and besides, if I can… I want to keep protecting the people.”

“Hmm. Sounds good. I approve of your decision as your big sister, but…”

“What?”

“At this rate, you’re going to get arrested.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you don’t have an explorer’s license, right?”

“It’s not a point card that I can give to you willy nilly. By law, you need to graduate from a government-approved school before you can even join the Explorer’s Association and get a license.”

“A school, huh… Sounds like a pain.”

“By the way, all schools for explorers are practically an all-girls school.”

“Why didn’t you say that sooner?! There’s no helping it! I need to enroll at that school now!”

“Haah, you’re going to live a long life, you know that?”

At Ryuuto’s reaction, Kazuki let out a deep sigh, but her eyes were glistening a bit. Her gaze was filled with a gentle light.

◇◇◇

Sayaka was engulfed in a strange silence. Her body felt light and floaty, and somehow, her body felt incredibly pleasant. She had never experienced it before, but maybe this was the kind of pleasure she would experience when she was embraced by a man? 

She should’ve been surrounded by a pure white mist and yet, suddenly, her right calf cramped up. A sharp, electrifying pain shot through her skull, snapping her back to reality. A muscle spasm. Probably.

This is the worst…!

She didn’t know what had happened, but she had a hunch. She must’ve failed. When she cracked one eye open a bit, she could finally make sense of her surroundings. She was in a military hospital. They were all built the same, and Sayaka had been carried into them many times due to the harsh training, so she knew what a military hospital was just by a single glance alone. 

Sustaining injuries severe enough to require hospitalization meant she had failed her mission. 

Where is Ryuuto-sama? Hopefully he’s safe, but… The fact that I’ve lost my consciousness meant that I’ve been deemed as a failure.  Ahhh! Why?! Why couldn’t I have held on just a little longer!?

Her carefully laid-out life plan crumbled with a deafening crash. It had been going so well. So well that even someone as unsociable and uncharming as her had almost been fooled into thinking she could be truly happy. And now, it was all gone. Forever.

Though at the very least, she had been able to feel Ryuuto’s strong, manly presence once. That supreme moment would get replayed to no end in her mind. She would have to live off that memory from now on. If possible, she would’ve liked to kiss Ryuuto and maybe… Beyond that too…

“Oh, you’re awake?”

“Hiugh!?“

Before she could mentally prepare herself, Ryuuto had walked into the hospital room. In an instant, her heart started beating so loudly that she could hear it thumping in her ears. 

Huh? Ah? What? Ryuuto-sama?! Did you cut your hair?! Wa-Wa-Wa-Wait?! You look way too good?! No way, no way, no way!! Ahhh! I love you, Ryuuto-sama! I love you a lot, Ryuuto-samaaaaa!♡

But then, reality hit her just as sudden as Ryuuto’s arrival. She hung her head down at that. 

“Ah, you don’t need to force yourself to get up. The doctor said it’s just exhaustion. You need to get plenty of rest, Sayaka.”

“…So, in other words, I’m being dismissed, aren’t I?”

“Hah?”

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry! Hold your head high until the end. At the very least, I have to part ways with Ryuuto-sama with a smile!

“Are you misunderstanding something? Here, this is for you. A melon. Flowers seemed like too much of a hassle, so I got the nurses to cut it up so you could eat it right away.”

“W-wait, but… I couldn’t protect you, Ryuuto-sama! That’s why, I must be dismiss-“

“What are you talking about? Sayaka, you protected me with your own body, didn’t you? Oh, and I took care of those monsters in a flash afterward.”

Ryuuto flashed a white-toothed grin and gave her a thumbs-up. Sayaka, unable to keep up with this unexpected turn of events, trembled on the spot. 

“B-But! I’m Ryuuto-sama’s personal male protection officer and yet…! I lost consciousness in the middle of my duty! I’m a disgrace! A shameful failure-“

But before she could finish speaking, Ryuuto already pulled her close and sealed her lips with his own.

White stars flickered in her vision. Almost instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and clung to him. Proper etiquette that had been drilled into her mind through years of harsh training disappeared into dust. Taking the plunge, she extended her tongue, and Ryuuto entwined his tongue with hers. A chain reaction of pleasure exploded within her, over and over. It felt like jolts of electricity were crackling intensely from the top of the skull. Their eyes met and Ryuuto scratched his head, looking a bit bashful. 

“…Sorry. This was the best way I could think of to shut you up.”

I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you so much, Ryuutooooo!!!

“…Sorry. But you’re the only one I can entrust my back to, Sayaka. So hurry up and get better, okay? I’ll come to visit you again.”

Leaving just those words behind, Ryuuto hurried out of the room with his face bright red from embarrassment. As for Sayaka, her short-circuited mind was still struggling to process what had just happened. She just kept staring at the door he had vanished through for a good few seconds before… 

“Ahngggggggggg!!”

With a thick, muddled moan, she ascended to heaven. She collapsed onto the bed, her body convulsing for what felt like an eternity, as if she had been struck directly by lightning from her head to the tips of her toes.

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T/N: Sayaka so adorable~ ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡