The capital of the Apomis Kingdom, Karnes, serves as the residence of the King and the headquarters of the Central Church. It is home to the wealthiest and most powerful people, as well as gifted magic users. The city bustles with nobles and deeply religious citizens, all loyal to both the King and their God.
In the main street at the city's center, a large crowd gathers around a big man on horseback, dressed in shiny golden armor. A golden axe rests on his back as he rides through the street, flanked by knight guards. He waves and smiles at the people, who cheer his name.
"Kubo! Kubo! Kubo!"
From the old to the young, the rich to the wealthier, everyone pours into the streets to witness his third public appearance as a hero from the Otherworld Hero Squad.
"Sir Kubo!"
"Sir Kubo!"
The fans are wild, pushing past the guards just to get within a meter of him. The excitement isn't because Kubo is extraordinary, but because he's the only hero from the squad who leaves the castle to meet the people. The others remain inside, practicing their skills.
"Sir Kubo, can I hug you?!"
"Get off him!!"
An overly excited fan pushes the guard so much that he reaches out and touches Kubo's armor. Instantly, the knight guard beside him steps in front of the fan and threatens him.
"Whoa, whoa… easy with my fans, man." Kubo says, urging the guard to be gentle as he grabs the overly excited fan in a black jacket and pushes him away from Kubo as far as possible.
Once Kubo ensures that his fan isn't hurt, he turns back to continue meeting with others. He feels comfortable allowing people to get close enough to touch him because it makes him feel needed and loved, even though he has never done anything for them.
"Huh… this is the life. No school, no teachers, no adults telling me what to do." He thinks as he gazes at the clear blue sky and breathes in deeply, savoring the relaxation.
"Just me, my loyal fans, money, fame, women… everything I've ever wanted. Ahhh… Isekai really is the best!"
...
"Huh?!"
As he continues to enjoy the ride, with people rushing toward him, he turns around to see the crowd he has passed. A small piece of paper stuck between his armor, between his pants and the top of his suit, catches his attention.
"What the hell is this?" He wonders as he pulls out the small white piece of paper, the size of a note.
"Is it his?!"
He immediately thinks it must be the black-jacketed guy from before, the only one who got close enough to touch him. He takes the note and slowly unfolds it on the horse's back.
"REMEMBER ME? BITCH!"
Kubo is stunned by the note's first words. He instantly realizes this is a threat from someone who knows him. But who? Who in this world knows him and hates him? Shock is just the initial reaction; as Kubo reads the next line, fear and chills run down his spine.
"I'm still alive… and free."
It isn't until he reads the second line that he realizes the note is written in Japanese, a language only he and his classmates, or heroes, understand. This means the person who wrote it is someone else who was summoned along with the other heroes.
Now he finally understands who wrote this note to him. This, is someone from his world, the only one among the summoned who was exiled into slavery and had their freedom stripped away, the only one who vowed to kill him in the most painful way possible once he is free.
"Shuku?!"
He instantly raises his head and scouts the area, looking left and right, trying to find the black-jacketed guy from before, the one who handed him the note-
"Shuku..."
And also the person who wrote it. As Kubo gazes toward outside the crowd, he spots the man in the black jacket with a hood, walking along the path parallel to his horse, matching his speed. The man slowly reaches up, pulls down his hood, and reveals who he is.
'No, NO!!'
The man finally removes his cover, confirming Kubo's worst fear, that he, Shuku Ryuu is indeed free. He silently walks behind the crowd alongside Kubo, smiling and waving at him to pisses him off.
"SHUKU!!!!" Kubo rages internally, grinding his teeth as his anger explodes while still smiling and keeping this a secret from the thousands of people around him. "Shuku, you piece of shit! You're such a pain in the ass!"
Shuku continues to wave and smile at him scornfully, as if mocking him, pissing him off more with every second he keeps smiling.
Suddenly, Shuku stops smiling and opens his right hand, pointing at it, signaling Kubo to read the lines below the note.
"Meet me in the desert just outside the walls near this town, if you're not scared. I'll be wearing black. See you soon, Kubo."
As Kubo finishes the final line of the note, his anger flares from the insult.
"Scared?!! Me, scared?!! You've got to be joking! What makes you think I'm scared of you? Knowing that you're free drives me crazy! I don't care how you got out; I'll either enslave you again or kill you. People like you are an eyesore. I swear, you'll never see daylight ever again!"
After making up his mind, he looks up to find Shuku, just to know that he's already long gone, silently disappearing into the alleys as Kubo was reading the note, getting ready at the place he told Kubo to go.
Tearing the note into pieces, Kubo looks ahead with clear determination and commitment.
"I'll come after this parade ends. Make sure you're there. I'll finish this once and for all."
...
...
...
A while later, in the vast desert of shifting sands, strong winds blow the sand into waves that seem intent on burning the eyes of anyone who looks at them.
He sits atop a pile of scorching sand, wearing the black hooded jacket he found in the arena, waiting patiently for his expected opponent to arrive.
Beneath the scorching sunlight and on the blistering sand, he remains calm and composed, as if nothing disturbs him. His head is bowed, eyes fixed on the ground, while thoughts swirl in his mind.
He would continue doing so for a few more minutes if the sound of a galloping horse didn't interrupt him. As the horse's gallop catch his attention, he raises his head to see the man he is supposed to meet.
"Well, well, well. Look who it is, my old friend, Shuku."
Kubo, the summoned "hero" in golden armor, says as he stops the horse in front of Shuku and quickly dismounts. Hearing this, a slight smile appears on Shuku's lips, and he stands up, empty-handed.
"Long time no see, Kubo." Shuku greets him back. "It looks like they've been feeding you well." He comments, noticing Kubo's slightly enlarged belly since their last met.
As he continues to look, he can't help but notice the shine of the golden full-body armor that Kubo is wearing. "And look at that flashy armor. They sure know how to equip you. What's that cord thing on your shoulder?"
Shuku gestures toward the golden ornamental cord hanging from Kubo's right shoulder to his chest. Kubo glances down at it and chuckles.
"Oh, this? It's called an aiguillette. It's a decoration for noble, heroic people, like me."
Shuku smirks at this. "Is that so? It looks like it would make a nice trophy for me..." He pulls out his knife. "After I kill you."
"Whoa, whoa!" Feeling frightened by Shuku's aggressive behavior, Kubo quickly raises both hands toward him, signaling him to calm down as he begins to explain himself.
"Why are you angry with me? Wasn't it the king who enslaved you and sent you away? I'm innocent, right? If you have something to say to him, just tell me, and I'll pass it along."
Upon hearing this, Shuku slightly lowers the knife but doesn't intend to back down. Instead, he stands tall and continues to threaten Kubo.
"What makes you think you can come back?"
"What makes you think you can win?"
"..." Kubo's response leaves Shuku speechless, and he continues to speak.
"I don't know how you escaped that collar, but you don't have any magical powers like the rest of us. How do you plan to defeat me with my—" Kubo stops abruptly, not wanting to reveal the secret, instead allowing Shuku to figure it out for himself.
"I think you know my ability, don't you?"
"... Alchemy, right?"
It takes him a while to remember the day they first arrived, when their magical abilities were being examined. Shuku wasn't focused on the others; he was preoccupied with something more important. Still, he faintly hears the Pope reading the names of each classmate's magical ability, and he realizes that Kubo's magical ability is alchemy.
"That's right. My gift from when we were first teleported here, the power to turn anything I touch into gold. Everything you see? I turned it into gold. From metal to gold, even this axe looks better now that it's golden."
Kubo pulls out the giant golden axe from behind his back, perfectly sized and weighted for his grip and body. It turns out that the full-body armor he wears, the golden saddle on his horse, and the golden axe were all made by him, as he transformed them from ordinary iron into gold.
As he continues to show off his golden axe to Shuku, admiring the shine and beauty of his own creation, Kubo keeps up the trash talk.
"My sister says I'm like King Midas. You hear that? A king from history! I could turn you into a lifeless, golden statue. What magic do you have against me?"
"Seems like you don't know much about the myth of Midas, huh?" Shuku quickly replies.
"What do you mean?"
Shuku pauses for a moment, hesitating about whether to prolong the pointless conversation since it makes him uncomfortable, but he decides to continue anyway.
"King Midas believed his power was a gift, but it was actually a curse. Everything he touched turned into worthless gold, and everyone he loved became lifeless golden statues. In the end, he was left alone, filled with regret, living a miserable life."
"But I can control my power. I can decide what turns to gold and what doesn't. How is that a curse? Oh, by the way, want to hear something interesting?"
"..." Shuku stays silent.
"I know why you didn't get any magical ability when they tested you. Want to know the reason?"
"..." Shuku continues to stare at Kubo in silence.
"The truth is... magicless people are really common in this world. About 70% of the population has no magic. Hundreds of years ago, the Demon Lord wiped out almost all humans with magical powers, hoarding the magical energy for himself and nearly erasing magic from the world.
It was only after the Holy Hero killed the Demon Lord that human magic survived... or so the Pope tells me.
So the reason you don't have magic isn't because you're cursed or anything. You're just unlucky, a normal person among a group of Heroes!
Did you hear that? You were sent away as a slave just because you happened to be like the majority. The King could've kept you as a servant, but he suspected you because of your attitude, and you went through all that for no real reason!"
Kubo laughs and giggles, feeling pity for Shuku. On the other hand, Shuku says nothing as Kubo places the golden axe on his back and begins to walk around him.
"Honestly, I almost feel sorry for you. You suffered for nothing, and now you're going to die for nothing, by my hand. Because unlike you, I'm not cursed at all."
"If there are no curses for you, then I'll be one!"
"Talk all you want, but without magic, don't even dream of landing a punch on me."
"... That's where you're wrong."
"... Huh?" Kubo looks confused.
"Sorry to let you down, Kubo, but luck's not with you this time."
Shuku says, then raises his right arm outward and brings his black knife toward it.
"What are you even talking about? You really think that little knife can beat my axe—"
SHEEK!!
Shuku stabs his arm, dragging the blade down and creating a deep cut from his wrist to his hand. Blood shoots out like water.
"What the fuck?!"
Shuku's self harm action, as he assume, let Kubo completely stunned, his mind racing in shock, confusion, and horror. It's the reaction anyone would have, no one just do something like that to themselves.
But despite the gruesome act, Shuku doesn't even flinch. No scream, no cry of pain. Instead, he clicks his tongue and grits his teeth as he drags the knife through his arm. And what happens next, it's enough to make Kubo piss his pants.
After making a long enough cut for blood to pour out, Shuku puts the knife back in his pocket and swings his arm down. But the blood doesn't splatter or drip. Instead, it flows in a controlled, circular motion around his arm, gathering in the center of his hand.
"What the FUCK?!"
As Shuku's irises shift from brown to a deep blood-red, marked by a black upside-down star symbol, the blood on his hand begins to levitate. It spins around, quickly forming a sword that takes shape from the handle to the razor-sharp tip in just five seconds.
Familiar with the Blood Blade, Shuku can summon it a bit faster than before, but he knows he still needs more practice to summon it as quickly as possible. He then observes the sword's width.
'It's smaller than before, probably because I didn't have enough blood, but it's still enough, for him.'
The Blood Blade in Shuku's hand is noticeably thinner and shorter than when he last used it at the Slave Arena. Back then, he had used someone else's blood to form it. This time, it's his own, making the blade smaller and leaving his body slightly thinner and paler as his blood drains out.
Yet, the blade's reduced size doesn't concern him. After all, the Blood Blade is just one of his many abilities. With Kubo still frozen in shock, Shuku raises the crimson blade and points it directly at him.
"I'm going to pay you back, Kubo. A thousand times worse than anything you've done to me."
"Urgh!" Kubo growls, shaking his head to snap out of his shock. "So damn annoying! I'll kill you and end these pathetic tricks!"
In a flash, he grabs his golden axe and charges at Shuku with full speed. Shuku, unfazed, shifts into a battle-ready stance, prepared for the fight.
"Bring it on!"