Me and Arthur, as the locals called us.

　The two miracle people, and...

　Before [Position (Job)] was known. I was nine years old.
　It was suggested that we go to the temple with the village kids to check out the temple.

　I persuaded Arthur, who objected that it was not a good idea, to join us, and the total of five of us went to the temple.
　But my friend, who was leading the charge that he knew where it was, got lost and we ended up in an unfamiliar place.

　Not a temple, but a cliff.
　The four of us, except for Arthur, forgot for a moment that we were lost and got excited at the open view.

　And then it happened.
　Suddenly, the foothold collapsed.

　Falling, I thought.

　As soon as I could, I pushed the two nearest to me. The two of them pushed me further, and the remaining one fell as well.
　As it turned out, the three of us survived.

　I didn't make it in time.

''Ex........!

　Arthur didn't hesitate to reach for me and I grabbed it as quickly as I could. I grabbed it.
　That caused us both to fall.

　I held Arthur's head to my chest. Maybe I unconsciously thought it would be bad if I hit my head.
　My senses up and down and left and right were erased and there was a series of sounds that made me feel bad just listening to them.

　It would be a miracle that I made it to the bottom without dying.
　Was it a blessing that I hadn't fallen vertically, but had rolled down the slope...? I don't know.

　Both of them managed to breathe in the pitch-black bottom.
　Just so what?
　We're going to die anyway.

　Maybe it was because I covered for him as quickly as possible, but unlike me, Arthur was barely able to move. Even so, he was badly injured, but that guy went off to call for help.

　Now that I think about it, even before we found out about 【Position(Job)】, we were humans who had the background to awaken to 【Brave Man】 and 【Holy Knight】. Because our bodies were sturdier than the others, we probably didn't die immediately.

''Hey, there's that girl who broke up with you just now, right?　What if I said I would only help you or her?

　It didn't occur to me at first that the auditory hallucination was the voice of a spirit.
　But I understood the question, and there was no hesitation in my mind.

"Arthur, help me.

"...Are you sure?　You're going to die alone, at the bottom of this cold, dark valley, with no one to take care of you. You're going to become a bone without even your [job title (job)] being revealed.''

Help me with Arthur.

Why?

My friend, yeah.

'So?　Is that more important than your own life?　Aren't you afraid of dying?

Of course I'm scared.

Then why?

I don't know about that, you idiot.

　It's not an answer that came out of a muddle of thought.
　It's just that there is no hesitation.
　That's all.

'.......... I see.........interesting.... I heard they did the same thing. I have a different witness. Congratulations?　I guess that's okay. You guys, I can help you both.'

　And so, with the blessing of the shadow spirit for me and the light spirit for Arthur, we returned to life.

　If we had abandoned our best friends in the face of each other's value for our lives, we would have died together.
　But that didn't happen.

　And looking back, that was the beginning of the hell.

　--No, what was I thinking?

　It was a miracle. We were lucky.

　We're number one in the world now.

　And now we've surpassed the aerial party and we're number one.

　And it paid off. No one will ever tell me I'm number two again.
　My guys are awesome. Good, I'm glad to see that they got their due.

　It's the best of friends.

　Masamune is strong, but so is my Arthur. And he won't be beaten.

　[Red Lotus Wizard] Michelle is excellent, but our Merlin is able to handle the four attributes perfectly. Merlin's skills as a wizard are probably better than mine.

　Alchemist of the Sword] Luey and 【Gale of Courage】 Ewan are both excellent. Even former member Panakea.
　But our Mordo and Galach are both great adventurers.

　It's good. Really good.
　I'm glad that it didn't happen just because they followed me and I was their leader, that their adventuring life ended up in second place.

　I'm so glad.

　Now we just need to capture the Demon King's Castle and become the best party in both name and reality.
　We can do it.

　You're all such good friends to me.
　Up to the ninth layer, we've been attacking more and more.
　The tenth layer was the final area before we knew it.

　The demons summoned by Remegaton were all defeated, and only he was left.
　As expected of a raid battle that ended in failure.
　My companions were defeated as well.

　But that's okay. I won't let everyone's efforts go to waste.
　I will defeat this guy and we will all take on the tenth layer together.

　Remegaton grew a right horn.
　The magic power stored in the demon's horn is released.

　But the black magic that he is good at doesn't work for me.
　I've been covering my entire body in my own shadow.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about it.

　You can't see, but you can get information through the shadow.
　The shadow armor is a spirit art, a high-density magic power. It also serves as a resistance (resist) effect in itself.

　I'm not an idiot either. If you've seen the attack footage, you'll know that his physical ability is less than that of an ordinary demon.
　It's the Remegaton that can fight without making its weaknesses feel like weaknesses.

　But it's pure one-on-one combat with me, who has armor that doesn't allow black magic to pass through and can withstand attacks by horn compression magic. I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.
　In fact, he was helplessly blown up in front of my fist.

　I hit the throne, cracked it open, and then fell.
　Just in time to sit down.
　I saw that his mask was also cracked.

''We're the Ex-Party, and we're going to take the Demon King's Castle.

　For a moment, my vision wavered.
　Like a wave, gulp.

'This ... was ... just in time, I guess.

　Remeghton's spirits have changed.

　◇

　Quickly checking his condition. From the numbness of my body, I could tell that I had taken considerable damage. I don't have a cane. But his hands and feet are mobile. No fatal damage or magical power leakage.

　But the ring did not seem to work. Rather than being useless, should I take it as having already been summoned out and wiped out? I reserve judgment.

　The only adventurer is Ex-san. Did the other four leave...?　In his world...?　So the ideal scenario is that he himself will defeat the floor boss and advance to the tenth level?
　Or is it something in his mind that the four of us are not here?

　Anyway, my body is ready to fight.
　But the problem is Remegeton's ability to fight.

　There is a difference in the information about Remegeton between the participants and the viewers, including Ex-san.
　For example, I have the ability to use black magic, but Ex-san doesn't know that.

　This world was created by a spirit that looked into Ex-san's memories.
　Until my consciousness entered it, it was arranged by the spirits, but what about Remegaton's strength?

　If it's based on Ex-san's memory standards, then beating the world's second-ranked 【Brave Man】--it's tough.
　But as someone who also entered a dream, if I can interfere according to my heart--.

...

　Mr. Xu kicks the floor and the distance between us closes in an instant.
　His fist, shrouded in shadow, closes in.

　I can't avoid it. Then I have no choice but to catch it.
　I match his fist and put out my right hand.

'....What's that?'

　Ex's voice.
　I didn't leave. I'm not even hurt.

　And now my arms were covered with a black substance, and wings of bone sprouted from its back.
　This is a dream world. No fear of being seen.
　No need to be shy or considerate.

　I poke his torso with my free left arm while spewing out an overwhelming amount of magical power.
　In an instant, his body was blown backwards in a big way.
　He flew to the wall near the entrance of the area and crashed straight into the wall.

''........I didn't know you had this kind of power. With this, I can fight Fenix.''

　Mr. Xu muttered as he landed cleanly.
　I had just finished climbing down the steps provided by the chair.

　As a result, the mask, which had cracks in it, reached its limit and cracked.
　The pieces of the mask fall out.



You're not surprised.

　For my part, I was ready for it. I didn't expect to be able to pull him back as Lemegeton as long as I entered this dream.
　I was going to confront him as Leme.

'Somehow I was aware of that.... Anyway.........what.......what.......?

　Mr. Xu looked confused as he said it to himself.
　Perhaps he hasn't experienced the events in this world that made him feel for my identity.
　Have we not gone on the original dungeon together?

　The discrepancy between reality and dreams must be giving him a headache.
　I know, because I've been there myself.

'More importantly, are you okay with it?'

　Even at a time like this, Ex-san was still worried about people.

''........Is this a live broadcast?''

Oh, no. Sure, no, I'll take care of it. Put your mask on and wait.

No, you don't have to go through with it.

'That's not going to happen. And I'm sure there's a reason why you're hiding it.

I don't think we'll have any problems in that area.

...Leme?

It's just a dream.

I'm not sure...

　He held his forehead.

'....Put your mask on, Leme. As Lemegeton, you will continue to fight.

　First, we must make him aware of it.

'At what point is this an attack?　If I'm there, it's later than the Fenix party. Is it later than the raid fight?　If so, let me ask you--

Leme...!

　I have to force him to be aware of reality, or we won't be able to start a dialogue.

'Why didn't you join the raid fight?'

Spirit..........

　An enormous amount of magical power flows into Mr. Xu.
　Normally, he controls either his own shadow or the shadows of others he has touched.
　The 'Dark Shadow Group', which collects the shadows of multiple people, is originally used after collecting the shadows.

　However, by borrowing the power of the spirits, he can use the shadows collected by the spirits.
　And now, an enormous shadow covered his body, turning him into a giant armored figure.
　'Giant Armor.

'For the last time, Leme. "Last time, Leme, I don't want to expose what you want to hide from the world. But we've decided to take the Demon King's Castle. Hide your face, you don't want the world to know who Remeghton is.

I've been thinking about Ex's problems, and I've been thinking about them.

Huh. Leme, you're crazy. I'm not in trouble.

'Miss Ex is strong. So are all my friends. Still I've never won first place.

　He makes a strained voice, as if he is still damaged by something while wearing a strong armor, but still sounding like he is damaged by something.

''We're number one...!　Beyond the aerials, we're about to step through the Demon King's Castle now!

　--I knew it.
　Xu's dream.......Together with his friends, the world that came first.

........You made it come true here. But why? You're not one to give up.

'I don't know what you're talking about!　In the first place, we're enemies now, aren't we!

You're not a quitter. That's for sure. If you're not a quitter, what are you confused about?

"I'm not lost!　I'm going to take you down!　I'm going to defeat the Demon King!　That's it!

'The direction of the party?　Wrong. Lack of ability?　No. Age?　No. ...then.

"Why are you here!　I thought you were defending the Demon King's Castle!

Is it possible to be number one?

　He staggered widely.

'Huh!　We are...!　Leme!　We're already in first place!

You actually noticed it already, didn't you? You should have noticed it as soon as I changed my move.

'I don't understand what you're saying from earlier!　I'm--

''Obviously, you're moving slower than usual. The [Jet Black Brave] I know is much stronger.

　He became suddenly quiet.
　How long did the silence last?
　His voice came from behind the shadow armor.

''Well why did you come. You have your own wishes.

　It was a voice that was filled with bitterness.
　After sinking into the dream world and accepting it, Ex-san's heart stopped trying to deceive her.

''That's why I came. To bring back the brave man I've always admired.''

It's not worth it.

That's my decision.

　Huh, and a dry laugh.

''Well Reme, is there anything you're more afraid of than dying?''

　He asked me that.