Hell Mode: Volume 6, page 32
“All right, then I’ll speak with the Research Group. You can both head to the lab.”
“Thank you, sir,” Ramon answered, bowing her head down low. The siblings then let out a yip of excitement.
“Well then, that’s it for the rewards. Next up, we will be providing a report on the war’s progress in the Mortal Realm!”
Ardoe went on to report on the results of the invasions conducted across three continents that had taken place at the same time as the assault on the Heavenly Realm. Those in attendance were stunned to hear that, despite having sent a force numbering in the tens of millions, they were unable to make any progress.
“Y’know, I may have planned for Helmios, but my plan didn’t stand a chance when that Allen kid appeared.” Kyubel gestured exaggeratedly and spoke with a hint of annoyance.
“And yet it was you who had sent Rehzel to Rohzenheim, Kyubel. A land that the Demon Lord had hoped to see fall to ruin.”
Ardoe believed that the reason behind the failure to destroy Rohzenheim was that Kyubel had sent Rehzel, a dark elf who hated the elves for hunting his people to extinction, to lead the charge. However, Kyubel remained unfazed in spite of Ardoe’s criticism and the angry glares from the audience.
“And yet the Demon Lord was pleased as punch about getting his hands on the divine vessel!” he exclaimed, making theatrical movements.
“This is true. Obtaining the divine vessel was the ultimate goal.”
“Exactly. The research lab is still analyzing the divine vessel, but once they’ve finished, it should provide great benefits to us all. I’m sure my next strategy will be quite interesting indeed!”
At this, a celebratory roar erupted from the crowd. Those who had not participated in the previous plan or received a reward of their own cheered the loudest. They all wanted to take part in the next battle.
“Hey, Kyubel!” A hulking figure adorned with golden ornaments, naked from the waist up and carrying two large swords on his back, called out to the strategist.
“Oh, Bask. You wanna join too?”
“Hell yes. You invited me here promising me an interesting fight, and yet you left me sitting in the rear echelon of the Planetary Annihilation Army. Were you lying when you told me I could raise as much hell as I want?”
Bask, who looked in all manners like a normal human, showed no fear in the face of Kyubel, one of the top-ranking demons, or any of the other countless fearsome monsters surrounding him.
“Well, yes, I suppose I was.”
Kyubel nodded, deep in thought, as the man started climbing the stairs toward them.
“It looks like he’s planning on taking action on his own here,” Ardoe said, glancing over at Kyubel.
“The Demon Lord was the one who assigned me the role of strategist of the Demon Lord Army, correct?” Kyubel, who had turned to look at Ardoe, asked after a short pause. Ardoe stared back into the dark eyes lurking behind his mask but remained silent. “In that case, I’ll create an interesting plan for Bask as well!”
“Gya ha ha! Well doesn’t that sound like fun! Hmm, but what do you mean by ‘as well’? Are other demons going to be joining me?”
“Well, you see, we can’t exactly afford to fail next time around, so I’ll need to send a powerful force along. Of course, you’re going to be directly involved, Bask.”
“Leave it to me to raise some hell. I just hope there are some strong people for me to face.”
With that, Bask—also known to the world as the King of Shura—grinned broadly.
Side Story 4: Meruru’s Home
While Allen and the No-life Gamers were busy farming iron golems, they had received a summons to have an audience with the emperor of Baukis. On their way to the capital, supposedly traveling together on the same magical ship as Helmios, Allen used Bird A’s Special Ability, Homing Instinct, to send them back to the Rank S dungeon. He continued doing so even after their arrival in the capital, with the party pretending to be in their room when they were actually in the dungeon right up until the day they were to meet with the emperor.
One day, Meruru’s parents were invited to the palace. This news had first reached Meruru via Allen while they were in the Rank S dungeon, so she asked him to send her back to the palace as soon as he could. After all, she had not spent much time with her parents since leaving to become an exchange student at the Academy in Ratash, and she had some special news she wanted to share with them.
Allen agreed to her request and quickly teleported her back to their room in the Baukis palace.
“Thanks, Allen. I’ll join up with you guys again after I’m done.” Once her meeting with her parents was finished, she could communicate with Allen via the Spirit A he had left in the room.
“Don’t worry about it. We can always meet up again tomorrow. Besides, it’s not every day you get to see your parents, so you might as well take your time.” With that, Allen teleported back to the dungeon.
Upon leaving their quarters, Meruru was called out to by an attendant standing by in the hallway.
“Are you off somewhere, Miss Meruru?”
“Yep. I heard that my parents have come to the palace, so I was heading to see them.”
“Do you know where they are? The palace is quite large, so perhaps I can lead you there.”
“Um, yeah, that’d be great.”
Judging by the way the attendant spoke and how she had been waiting in the hallway when Meruru arrived, the dwarf girl figured that she had been actually waiting for her the whole time. As such, it only made sense that she let the attendant take her to her parents.
The pair moved through the elegantly carpeted hallways, making their way to another floor full of guest rooms before the attendant led Meruru to a room where several more attendants were waiting. One of them opened the door for her as the attendant who had led Meruru here bowed down low.
“Please sit down and relax in here,” she said. “I’ll bring some tea and sweets shortly.”
“Thank you.”
Before those words had even left her mouth, Meruru noticed that the girl who had led her to the room exchanged a glance with the other attendants. Judging by the way the ones waiting by the door quietly left the hallway, she assumed this was her way of telling the others to go prepare the tea. Perhaps she would just have to get used to treatment like this now that she was one of the few to have cleared the Rank S dungeon.
As soon as Meruru entered the room, she noticed her mother, Kanana, trying on a dress in front of a full-length mirror. Nearby were a maid, a tailor, and a neatly dressed man who seemed to be a jeweler. Next to them was a cart with multiple dresses on hangers and a case filled with rings, necklaces, and earrings sitting on a table.
The tailor looked up at Kanana’s reflection as he adjusted the hem of the dress. “As one would expect of the mother of a hero, you truly look gorgeous no matter what you’re wearing.”
“Y-You think so? But I’m really not so sure about this. I don’t feel right borrowing such a beautiful dress.”
“Of course, madam. Nobles from all across the Empire of Baukis are eager to meet the parents of the great hero Meruru at tonight’s banquet.”
Apparently Meruru’s parents had been summoned to the palace to attend a banquet, and the imperial officials had called in tailors and jewelers to ensure that her parents—mere commoners with little wealth to speak of—were dressed appropriately for it. Of course, Meruru knew nothing of these preparations, or even that she would be attending a banquet with her parents.
“Besides, madam, the empire is gifting this dress and jewelry to you.”
“What? That can’t be. Why would you give this all...” Kanana was beside herself at the mere thought that she would receive such a glamorous dress and jewelry. They could work their whole lives and still never be able to afford such things.
“What are you saying, madam? You’re the mother of a hero, and these clothes suit a person of such status.”
Meruru continued to watch the scene unfold before her, unsure of what to say.
“Oh, there you are, Meruru. So you’re finally back?” It was Meruru’s father, Neneku, who first took notice of her. He was sitting at a table, an unfolded piece of parchment in front of him, and seemed to be having a conversation with a dwarf who appeared to be a palace official.
“Okay.” Just after Meruru entered the room, the tailor working with her mother finished up his work. “I believe I’m about done here. Thank you for your time.” He, the maid, and the jeweler then left the room.
“Right, then. We’ll continue this conversation at a later date.” The official speaking with Neneku stood up and left the room as well.
In their place came a maid holding a silver tray of tea and sweets. She quickly poured the tea into three cups, then silently left the room. Meruru, Neneku, and Kanana, now alone in the silent room, looked at each other, uncertain of what to do.
“I gotta admit, something real special’s goin’ on here. Meruru, Kanana, why don’t you both come over here and sit down.”
At Neneku’s prompting, Meruru and Kanana sat down at the table.
Meruru looked at her parents. “Has it been like this since you got here?”
“Yes, it’s been like this the whole time. Even the day we were brought here, they showed up at our house that morning with this amazing magical carriage.” Kanana gestured exaggeratedly as she explained the carriage that showed up at their house.
“It was pretty impressive back when you’d become an honorary baron, but this has gone far beyond even that. Is the Rank S dungeon really that impressive?”
Meruru’s parents had no Talents of their own and knew nothing about the situation surrounding the Rank S dungeon.
“I guess it kind of is. My friends and I worked really hard to clear it.”
Meruru looked down at the magic disc hanging from her neck. These items, used by Meruru and other golem users to call forth their golems, had indentations that slates necessary for summoning and strengthening their golems could be slotted into. Usually, the indentations were only on one side of the magic disc, but hers had indentations on both. Allen had requested this as his reward for being the first to clear the Rank S dungeon. It was not only indispensable to Meruru as a golem user, but also proof that she had cleared the Rank S dungeon with her companions—a memory near and dear to her heart.
“Hmm? What’s this?” Meruru looked down at the several sheets of parchment lying on the table. They were the documents Neneku and the official had been discussing earlier.
“Oh, right, those. The palace officials have agreed to rebuild our home. Well, rather than rebuild, it’s more like they’re pretty much building us a brand-new one.”
According to Neneku, the palace officials thought it inconceivable to let the hero’s parents live in a dilapidated house in a remote village. They claimed that doing nothing about the situation would affect the prestige of the empire, and were apparently the ones who had first proposed that her parents move to the capital.
“That’s amazing!” Meruru cried, deeply moved by her father’s story. This meant that she would not be the only one to benefit from the hard work she and her friends had put into clearing the Rank S dungeon. Seeing the wonderful and unexpected treatment her parents were receiving from the empire, she felt even better about all she had done to defeat the final floor boss.
What Neneku said next nearly made her bawl.
“Yeah, but y’know, I told them that we had no plans to leave our home. After all, if we left, you’d have no place to call home, Meruru.”
“Oh, father...” Tears formed in the corners of her eyes when her father mentioned a “place to call home.” She wanted nothing more than to go home with her parents right then and there.
“So they agreed to rebuild our home instead. There’s so much going on that I can hardly keep up, so I agreed to hear them out for now.”
Hearing from Neneku about how their new home was planned to be several times larger than their current one, Meruru remembered a conversation she had had with Pepeku.
Pepeku had been one of Admiral Garara’s golem pilots. Shortly after Meruru’s return from the Academy in Ratash, Admiral Garara had assigned Pepeku to teach her how to use a golem. In addition to the training, though, she had also asked Pepeku for advice about how she could convince her parents to let her make her own choices going forward.
“You know, even if you don’t clearly spell it out for them, your parents will still pick up on it,” Pepeku had told her. “What’s most important isn’t whether you tell them what you’re thinking or not, but rather that you stay true to yourself and do what you want.”
Later, Pepeku had taken on the Rank S dungeon with Admiral Garara and lost his life in the battle against the final floor boss. His words were just as valuable to her as the magic disc she now possessed.
“What’s wrong, Meruru?” Kanana called out to her daughter. Meruru turned back to gaze at her mother’s face. She knew then that everything Pepeku had told her was true. “Is there something you want to tell us?”
Meruru finally made her decision and nodded firmly. “Right now, I’m fighting with my friends against a bad guy who hopes to cause great harm to the world. That’s why we cleared the Rank S dungeon.”
“Meruru, what’re you talking about? You can’t be...”
“What’s she saying, dear?” Kanana turned to her husband, Neneku, who seemed to have already grasped what Meruru was talking about.
“I see. They mentioned somethin’ about that evil force back during my time with Admiral Garara at Base Lamchatka!”
Information surrounding the Demon Lord was not as closely guarded in Baukis as it was in Ratash. Furthermore, since Neneku was a soldier, he had heard that there was an evil enemy attacking from the Forgotten Continent who not only posed a threat to the Empire and planned to send the world to ruin, but also was the reason behind the formation of the Five Continent Alliance. And his daughter was going to fight against that enemy.
Neneku looked down at the parchment in front of him and thought things over for a moment. “Meruru, it looks like we let all this go to our heads. If it means you’ll be in danger, then I want none of it!” He held up the pieces of parchment, carefully laid them one atop another, and rolled them up.
Kanana nodded in agreement. “I can’t let you do that! If that’s how it is, I don’t want any of this either!” She took off the necklace filled with glimmering gems and placed it on the table.
Meruru was taken aback by her parents’ reactions. The looks in their eyes were clear: they would not stand by and watch in silence as their daughter faced such danger. But thanks to this, Meruru finally picked up on something. Her parents seemed to believe that the Empire was offering them a new house, beautiful clothes for a banquet, and more as a sort of payment for the danger their daughter would face.
“N-No, it’s not like that! Please, just listen to me! I’m the one who wants to go fight this evil force! Of my own free will!”
Meruru desperately tried to explain the situation to her parents in the hopes of winning them over.
The enemy was an army of mighty demons leading innumerable monsters with the goal of destroying the world—a manner of warfare unlike anything ever seen before. Some countries had actually been attacked by them, nearly to the point of extinction. The Five Continent Alliance was trying to protect the world from this army, but it alone could never hope to win. However, Meruru and her companions were merely fighting to defeat the evil force and stop the destruction of the world. It was the Empire that had taken it upon itself to do all these things for her family.
Though Neneku and Kanana knew that Meruru was trying to convince them, they were left at a loss for words. They swallowed hard at the realization that she was working for their survival too.
Neneku thought back on the coming-of-age ceremony held back in Rodin Village. “Back when we met you and that boy at your coming-of-age ceremony, I couldn’t help but notice just how big you’d gotten.”
“That’s right. You used to be so small, but you’ve grown up so much,” Kanana added, patting her daughter’s head.
“Hey! Stop treating me like a kid!” Meruru shouted, her cheeks puffed out.
“You’re right,” Neneku said with a chuckle. “You’re an adult now, and it’s time for us to let you spread your wings.”
“I agree, even if I don’t want to.” Despite her reservations, Kanana still looked pleased.
“Well, I guess I’ll choose our new house then. After all, this will be the home I’m going to return to. What do you think of this one? It’s nice.” Meruru took the rolled-up papers from Neneku and unrolled them, looking back at her parents’ faces.
“That was the one I was looking at too.”
“What are you talking about? The layout of this one will be much more convenient.”
Upon seeing her parents’ cheerful expressions, Meruru held her magic disc and swore that she would fight against the Demon Lord for the sake of them and her brothers.
Afterword
Thank you for reading all the way through the end of Hell Mode: Volume 6. We’ve finally completed the Rank S dungeon arc that carried over from volume 5. Being able to write about how the parties gathered for the raid to take down the final floor boss was quite a bit of fun.
Though not quite as many as volume 5, I was able to write four side stories this time. In one of them, I was able to write about the reason Zeu wanted to clear the dungeon, which I think captures some of his personality, don’t you?
I also wrote about the Demon Lord’s castle, the base of the Demon Lord Army, for the first time. I know I didn’t write about the Demon Lord in volume 6, but what did you think of the buff supreme commander?
I even got to touch upon the story of Pelomas, who often appears in these side stories. He first appeared as the son of the village chief when he showed up at the Appraisal Ceremony in volume 1, so he’s been with the series for quite some time. I know that Fiona really delivered a crushing blow in this story, but I hope you hang in there and look forward to his future achievements.
“Thank you, sir,” Ramon answered, bowing her head down low. The siblings then let out a yip of excitement.
“Well then, that’s it for the rewards. Next up, we will be providing a report on the war’s progress in the Mortal Realm!”
Ardoe went on to report on the results of the invasions conducted across three continents that had taken place at the same time as the assault on the Heavenly Realm. Those in attendance were stunned to hear that, despite having sent a force numbering in the tens of millions, they were unable to make any progress.
“Y’know, I may have planned for Helmios, but my plan didn’t stand a chance when that Allen kid appeared.” Kyubel gestured exaggeratedly and spoke with a hint of annoyance.
“And yet it was you who had sent Rehzel to Rohzenheim, Kyubel. A land that the Demon Lord had hoped to see fall to ruin.”
Ardoe believed that the reason behind the failure to destroy Rohzenheim was that Kyubel had sent Rehzel, a dark elf who hated the elves for hunting his people to extinction, to lead the charge. However, Kyubel remained unfazed in spite of Ardoe’s criticism and the angry glares from the audience.
“And yet the Demon Lord was pleased as punch about getting his hands on the divine vessel!” he exclaimed, making theatrical movements.
“This is true. Obtaining the divine vessel was the ultimate goal.”
“Exactly. The research lab is still analyzing the divine vessel, but once they’ve finished, it should provide great benefits to us all. I’m sure my next strategy will be quite interesting indeed!”
At this, a celebratory roar erupted from the crowd. Those who had not participated in the previous plan or received a reward of their own cheered the loudest. They all wanted to take part in the next battle.
“Hey, Kyubel!” A hulking figure adorned with golden ornaments, naked from the waist up and carrying two large swords on his back, called out to the strategist.
“Oh, Bask. You wanna join too?”
“Hell yes. You invited me here promising me an interesting fight, and yet you left me sitting in the rear echelon of the Planetary Annihilation Army. Were you lying when you told me I could raise as much hell as I want?”
Bask, who looked in all manners like a normal human, showed no fear in the face of Kyubel, one of the top-ranking demons, or any of the other countless fearsome monsters surrounding him.
“Well, yes, I suppose I was.”
Kyubel nodded, deep in thought, as the man started climbing the stairs toward them.
“It looks like he’s planning on taking action on his own here,” Ardoe said, glancing over at Kyubel.
“The Demon Lord was the one who assigned me the role of strategist of the Demon Lord Army, correct?” Kyubel, who had turned to look at Ardoe, asked after a short pause. Ardoe stared back into the dark eyes lurking behind his mask but remained silent. “In that case, I’ll create an interesting plan for Bask as well!”
“Gya ha ha! Well doesn’t that sound like fun! Hmm, but what do you mean by ‘as well’? Are other demons going to be joining me?”
“Well, you see, we can’t exactly afford to fail next time around, so I’ll need to send a powerful force along. Of course, you’re going to be directly involved, Bask.”
“Leave it to me to raise some hell. I just hope there are some strong people for me to face.”
With that, Bask—also known to the world as the King of Shura—grinned broadly.
Side Story 4: Meruru’s Home
While Allen and the No-life Gamers were busy farming iron golems, they had received a summons to have an audience with the emperor of Baukis. On their way to the capital, supposedly traveling together on the same magical ship as Helmios, Allen used Bird A’s Special Ability, Homing Instinct, to send them back to the Rank S dungeon. He continued doing so even after their arrival in the capital, with the party pretending to be in their room when they were actually in the dungeon right up until the day they were to meet with the emperor.
One day, Meruru’s parents were invited to the palace. This news had first reached Meruru via Allen while they were in the Rank S dungeon, so she asked him to send her back to the palace as soon as he could. After all, she had not spent much time with her parents since leaving to become an exchange student at the Academy in Ratash, and she had some special news she wanted to share with them.
Allen agreed to her request and quickly teleported her back to their room in the Baukis palace.
“Thanks, Allen. I’ll join up with you guys again after I’m done.” Once her meeting with her parents was finished, she could communicate with Allen via the Spirit A he had left in the room.
“Don’t worry about it. We can always meet up again tomorrow. Besides, it’s not every day you get to see your parents, so you might as well take your time.” With that, Allen teleported back to the dungeon.
Upon leaving their quarters, Meruru was called out to by an attendant standing by in the hallway.
“Are you off somewhere, Miss Meruru?”
“Yep. I heard that my parents have come to the palace, so I was heading to see them.”
“Do you know where they are? The palace is quite large, so perhaps I can lead you there.”
“Um, yeah, that’d be great.”
Judging by the way the attendant spoke and how she had been waiting in the hallway when Meruru arrived, the dwarf girl figured that she had been actually waiting for her the whole time. As such, it only made sense that she let the attendant take her to her parents.
The pair moved through the elegantly carpeted hallways, making their way to another floor full of guest rooms before the attendant led Meruru to a room where several more attendants were waiting. One of them opened the door for her as the attendant who had led Meruru here bowed down low.
“Please sit down and relax in here,” she said. “I’ll bring some tea and sweets shortly.”
“Thank you.”
Before those words had even left her mouth, Meruru noticed that the girl who had led her to the room exchanged a glance with the other attendants. Judging by the way the ones waiting by the door quietly left the hallway, she assumed this was her way of telling the others to go prepare the tea. Perhaps she would just have to get used to treatment like this now that she was one of the few to have cleared the Rank S dungeon.
As soon as Meruru entered the room, she noticed her mother, Kanana, trying on a dress in front of a full-length mirror. Nearby were a maid, a tailor, and a neatly dressed man who seemed to be a jeweler. Next to them was a cart with multiple dresses on hangers and a case filled with rings, necklaces, and earrings sitting on a table.
The tailor looked up at Kanana’s reflection as he adjusted the hem of the dress. “As one would expect of the mother of a hero, you truly look gorgeous no matter what you’re wearing.”
“Y-You think so? But I’m really not so sure about this. I don’t feel right borrowing such a beautiful dress.”
“Of course, madam. Nobles from all across the Empire of Baukis are eager to meet the parents of the great hero Meruru at tonight’s banquet.”
Apparently Meruru’s parents had been summoned to the palace to attend a banquet, and the imperial officials had called in tailors and jewelers to ensure that her parents—mere commoners with little wealth to speak of—were dressed appropriately for it. Of course, Meruru knew nothing of these preparations, or even that she would be attending a banquet with her parents.
“Besides, madam, the empire is gifting this dress and jewelry to you.”
“What? That can’t be. Why would you give this all...” Kanana was beside herself at the mere thought that she would receive such a glamorous dress and jewelry. They could work their whole lives and still never be able to afford such things.
“What are you saying, madam? You’re the mother of a hero, and these clothes suit a person of such status.”
Meruru continued to watch the scene unfold before her, unsure of what to say.
“Oh, there you are, Meruru. So you’re finally back?” It was Meruru’s father, Neneku, who first took notice of her. He was sitting at a table, an unfolded piece of parchment in front of him, and seemed to be having a conversation with a dwarf who appeared to be a palace official.
“Okay.” Just after Meruru entered the room, the tailor working with her mother finished up his work. “I believe I’m about done here. Thank you for your time.” He, the maid, and the jeweler then left the room.
“Right, then. We’ll continue this conversation at a later date.” The official speaking with Neneku stood up and left the room as well.
In their place came a maid holding a silver tray of tea and sweets. She quickly poured the tea into three cups, then silently left the room. Meruru, Neneku, and Kanana, now alone in the silent room, looked at each other, uncertain of what to do.
“I gotta admit, something real special’s goin’ on here. Meruru, Kanana, why don’t you both come over here and sit down.”
At Neneku’s prompting, Meruru and Kanana sat down at the table.
Meruru looked at her parents. “Has it been like this since you got here?”
“Yes, it’s been like this the whole time. Even the day we were brought here, they showed up at our house that morning with this amazing magical carriage.” Kanana gestured exaggeratedly as she explained the carriage that showed up at their house.
“It was pretty impressive back when you’d become an honorary baron, but this has gone far beyond even that. Is the Rank S dungeon really that impressive?”
Meruru’s parents had no Talents of their own and knew nothing about the situation surrounding the Rank S dungeon.
“I guess it kind of is. My friends and I worked really hard to clear it.”
Meruru looked down at the magic disc hanging from her neck. These items, used by Meruru and other golem users to call forth their golems, had indentations that slates necessary for summoning and strengthening their golems could be slotted into. Usually, the indentations were only on one side of the magic disc, but hers had indentations on both. Allen had requested this as his reward for being the first to clear the Rank S dungeon. It was not only indispensable to Meruru as a golem user, but also proof that she had cleared the Rank S dungeon with her companions—a memory near and dear to her heart.
“Hmm? What’s this?” Meruru looked down at the several sheets of parchment lying on the table. They were the documents Neneku and the official had been discussing earlier.
“Oh, right, those. The palace officials have agreed to rebuild our home. Well, rather than rebuild, it’s more like they’re pretty much building us a brand-new one.”
According to Neneku, the palace officials thought it inconceivable to let the hero’s parents live in a dilapidated house in a remote village. They claimed that doing nothing about the situation would affect the prestige of the empire, and were apparently the ones who had first proposed that her parents move to the capital.
“That’s amazing!” Meruru cried, deeply moved by her father’s story. This meant that she would not be the only one to benefit from the hard work she and her friends had put into clearing the Rank S dungeon. Seeing the wonderful and unexpected treatment her parents were receiving from the empire, she felt even better about all she had done to defeat the final floor boss.
What Neneku said next nearly made her bawl.
“Yeah, but y’know, I told them that we had no plans to leave our home. After all, if we left, you’d have no place to call home, Meruru.”
“Oh, father...” Tears formed in the corners of her eyes when her father mentioned a “place to call home.” She wanted nothing more than to go home with her parents right then and there.
“So they agreed to rebuild our home instead. There’s so much going on that I can hardly keep up, so I agreed to hear them out for now.”
Hearing from Neneku about how their new home was planned to be several times larger than their current one, Meruru remembered a conversation she had had with Pepeku.
Pepeku had been one of Admiral Garara’s golem pilots. Shortly after Meruru’s return from the Academy in Ratash, Admiral Garara had assigned Pepeku to teach her how to use a golem. In addition to the training, though, she had also asked Pepeku for advice about how she could convince her parents to let her make her own choices going forward.
“You know, even if you don’t clearly spell it out for them, your parents will still pick up on it,” Pepeku had told her. “What’s most important isn’t whether you tell them what you’re thinking or not, but rather that you stay true to yourself and do what you want.”
Later, Pepeku had taken on the Rank S dungeon with Admiral Garara and lost his life in the battle against the final floor boss. His words were just as valuable to her as the magic disc she now possessed.
“What’s wrong, Meruru?” Kanana called out to her daughter. Meruru turned back to gaze at her mother’s face. She knew then that everything Pepeku had told her was true. “Is there something you want to tell us?”
Meruru finally made her decision and nodded firmly. “Right now, I’m fighting with my friends against a bad guy who hopes to cause great harm to the world. That’s why we cleared the Rank S dungeon.”
“Meruru, what’re you talking about? You can’t be...”
“What’s she saying, dear?” Kanana turned to her husband, Neneku, who seemed to have already grasped what Meruru was talking about.
“I see. They mentioned somethin’ about that evil force back during my time with Admiral Garara at Base Lamchatka!”
Information surrounding the Demon Lord was not as closely guarded in Baukis as it was in Ratash. Furthermore, since Neneku was a soldier, he had heard that there was an evil enemy attacking from the Forgotten Continent who not only posed a threat to the Empire and planned to send the world to ruin, but also was the reason behind the formation of the Five Continent Alliance. And his daughter was going to fight against that enemy.
Neneku looked down at the parchment in front of him and thought things over for a moment. “Meruru, it looks like we let all this go to our heads. If it means you’ll be in danger, then I want none of it!” He held up the pieces of parchment, carefully laid them one atop another, and rolled them up.
Kanana nodded in agreement. “I can’t let you do that! If that’s how it is, I don’t want any of this either!” She took off the necklace filled with glimmering gems and placed it on the table.
Meruru was taken aback by her parents’ reactions. The looks in their eyes were clear: they would not stand by and watch in silence as their daughter faced such danger. But thanks to this, Meruru finally picked up on something. Her parents seemed to believe that the Empire was offering them a new house, beautiful clothes for a banquet, and more as a sort of payment for the danger their daughter would face.
“N-No, it’s not like that! Please, just listen to me! I’m the one who wants to go fight this evil force! Of my own free will!”
Meruru desperately tried to explain the situation to her parents in the hopes of winning them over.
The enemy was an army of mighty demons leading innumerable monsters with the goal of destroying the world—a manner of warfare unlike anything ever seen before. Some countries had actually been attacked by them, nearly to the point of extinction. The Five Continent Alliance was trying to protect the world from this army, but it alone could never hope to win. However, Meruru and her companions were merely fighting to defeat the evil force and stop the destruction of the world. It was the Empire that had taken it upon itself to do all these things for her family.
Though Neneku and Kanana knew that Meruru was trying to convince them, they were left at a loss for words. They swallowed hard at the realization that she was working for their survival too.
Neneku thought back on the coming-of-age ceremony held back in Rodin Village. “Back when we met you and that boy at your coming-of-age ceremony, I couldn’t help but notice just how big you’d gotten.”
“That’s right. You used to be so small, but you’ve grown up so much,” Kanana added, patting her daughter’s head.
“Hey! Stop treating me like a kid!” Meruru shouted, her cheeks puffed out.
“You’re right,” Neneku said with a chuckle. “You’re an adult now, and it’s time for us to let you spread your wings.”
“I agree, even if I don’t want to.” Despite her reservations, Kanana still looked pleased.
“Well, I guess I’ll choose our new house then. After all, this will be the home I’m going to return to. What do you think of this one? It’s nice.” Meruru took the rolled-up papers from Neneku and unrolled them, looking back at her parents’ faces.
“That was the one I was looking at too.”
“What are you talking about? The layout of this one will be much more convenient.”
Upon seeing her parents’ cheerful expressions, Meruru held her magic disc and swore that she would fight against the Demon Lord for the sake of them and her brothers.
Afterword
Thank you for reading all the way through the end of Hell Mode: Volume 6. We’ve finally completed the Rank S dungeon arc that carried over from volume 5. Being able to write about how the parties gathered for the raid to take down the final floor boss was quite a bit of fun.
Though not quite as many as volume 5, I was able to write four side stories this time. In one of them, I was able to write about the reason Zeu wanted to clear the dungeon, which I think captures some of his personality, don’t you?
I also wrote about the Demon Lord’s castle, the base of the Demon Lord Army, for the first time. I know I didn’t write about the Demon Lord in volume 6, but what did you think of the buff supreme commander?
I even got to touch upon the story of Pelomas, who often appears in these side stories. He first appeared as the son of the village chief when he showed up at the Appraisal Ceremony in volume 1, so he’s been with the series for quite some time. I know that Fiona really delivered a crushing blow in this story, but I hope you hang in there and look forward to his future achievements.
