“Yahoo! Did ya miss me, Kai-chan?” (Neptune)

“We haven’t seen each other for more than a few hours. You make it sound like it’s been weeks.” (Kaito)

Neptune waved her hand and strode over to my side.

Having arrived at the rendezvous point, it came time to trade partners. Tanjiro left my side to go with Minato, and in turn it was Neptune who I’m buddied up with now.

“From now on, things are gonna be smooth sailing with me around.” (Neptune)

“I like that confident tone you have. Makes me feel like I can buy your words of being an authentic protagonist.” (Kaito)

“What’s this? Have you been in doubt of my gutsiness? Looks like I’ll have to show you who’s the most reliable person on your side. Cuz it’s Neptune time!” (Neptune)

Unhappy with my lack of confidence in her, Neptune pointed her thumb at herself and declared it was her time to shine.

“I got it. Then, after you.” (Kaito)

Not wasting anymore time standing, we began to walk in a certain direction.

Neptune’s self-assured strides she done while swinging her arms forward in a rhythm impressed me a bit with what our current location was.

“So what have you been doing together with Minato-kun?” (Kaito)

“Eh… nothing really exciting. We were farming free EXP and it got boring really fast. We did pool our heads together to create combination attacks…” (Neptune)

“What, that sounds like fun.” (Kaito)

“It was a disaster.” (Neptune)

Eh? That’s a shock. I’m over here being dumbfounded while Neptune’s face got weary.

“How come?” (Kaito)

I asked but then Neptune got upset for some reason.

“That guy has way too many unique attacks for me to keep track of! It really got me pissy. Me on the other hand? I have like, six special moves and he’s got a gajillion!” (Neptune)

“Is that so… but having limited moves means it’s much easier on your brain compared to worrying over hundreds to choose from.” (Kaito)

“That’s not the worst thing! He was rubbing it in my face by showing off his dozens of spells and awesome sword skills. You couldn’t believe the smirk on his face when I showed my skills. He was making a fool out of me!” (Neptune)

… Ahh, I think I’m starting to see where this is going.

“In other words, you two were comparing each other’s skills. What happened to making combination attacks?” (Kaito)

“Ehehe~, I forgot all about that. We ended up fighting a little to see who was on top.” (Neptune)

Neptune rubbed the back of her head and stuck her tongue out in a sheepish manner.

Yup, that’s a disaster alright. Worthy enough for me to slap my face in exasperation.

“I take it you’ve been unproductive this entire time…” (Kaito)

“Hey, that’s not fair. I was plenty productive during the middle of me trying to bust Minty’s kneecaps. Hundreds of Grimm got trashed unintentionally by yours truly.” (Neptune)

She said with the most smug smile I’ve seen on her.

“While I’m… happy to hear you lower Grimm numbers, the purpose for this trip was to improve your teamwork.” (Kaito)

“No worries, I hadn’t forgotten. You see, when Minty was in deep trouble from a Grimm attack coming at him, I slammed my sword at his side to push him away from it. Aren’t I just the greatest team player?” (Neptune)

I can’t imagine Minato appreciating such a rough manner of rescue.

“And how did Minato-kun react afterwards?” (Kaito)

“He kicked my behind, saying some kind of excuse like helping me avoid an attack to repay the favor! It’s total nonsense, I was not in any danger!” (Neptune)

Neptune threw her arms in the air and expressed her fury animatedly. She had it coming in my opinion. Ignoring all of that, there is one thing I’m curious about.

“With all that said and done, did your little fight end with a conclusive winner?” (Kaito)

Neptune calmed down from her temper and looked pensive about answering me. Guessing from her hesitation, I assume it didn’t end as she intended it to.

“I was actually having the upper hand initially and cornered him, but Minty turned it around by using spells to counter me after he figured out my habits.” (Neptune)

To my disbelief, Minato actually got cornered? It wasn’t possible in my mind when comparing Neptune to him.

“How’d you manage to get through his defenses? And he wouldn’t be fighting alone, he’d have his Personas by his side.” (Kaito)

“Try as he might, he couldn’t stop me from playing Rhythm games no matter what. I got the ‘Null: Omni-Defense’ and ‘Anti-Reflect’ buffs that were really nasty for him.” (Neptune)

… No way, I couldn’t believe it. Neptune actually using her head? If she played Rhythm games, the combos she’d be stacking would be insane depending on her skill. Then, the buffs she’d earn would be ridiculously proportional to what she achieved.

“Victory was mine!...... Until he pulled out his Universe Arcana or whatever and did something I couldn’t understand.” (Neptune)

Neptune seemed to deflate at the memory of her defeat. I rubbed her head to soothe her which did the trick as she mellowed out with a small blush.

“There’s always next time. I understand that Nep-chan is a really strong person, which is why I’m relying on you today.” (Kaito)

“Heh, so you do get it.” (Neptune)

Noticing her mood had improved, I stopped rubbing Neptune’s head while she looked at my retreating hand with reluctance.

“And how’d it go with Tangerine? Must’ve been more exciting considering he was with you.” (Neptune)

“I got to see some breathtaking swordplay he demonstrated. We tested how’d he do using my magic spells and he seems to be finely tuned to it.” (Kaito)

“Neat.” (Neptune)

Neptune suddenly assumed a thinking pose and hummed to herself. I wonder what’s running inside her head for her to be like that.

“Say… don’t you find something strange with the makeup of our group chat?” (Neptune)

“Strange how?” (Kaito)

“The ratio for boys and girls is totally wrong! It’s in reverse!” (Neptune)

What nonsense was she talking about? Counting it up in my head, our group chat had five male members and two female members.

“So there’s more guys in the group. What’s the issue?” (Kaito)

“Plenty! Like, in this kind of format where special people from many backgrounds are gathering using a social media platform, wouldn’t it end up in a harem-like situation where there’s only one guy in a group while the rest are girls? I assumed the harem king for this one was you, but we ended up with more dudes!” (Neptune)

“…… Nep-chan, are you confusing reality with a fictional setting?” (Kaito)

“No! What’s really wrong with reality is how your chick magnet ability has been really modest so far! C’mon, show the world who’s the alpha male! Aren’t you the one running the show?” (Neptune)

She’s serious. She is dead serious about how she is perceiving the world like it revolves around me. I’m too stunned by what I’m hearing.

“Maybe you should take a break from playing too many JRPGs. It’s obviously clouding your common sense.” (Kaito)

“Kai-chan, I’ve been using nothing but very sound logic.” (Neptune)

Neptune sighed while looking at me compassionately like I was the one who had a skewed view of the world. Are you kidding me?

“You… might have a point if this were in Trinia, but it’s not, so it’s baseless for you to think my importance is any greater than anyone else’s.” (Kaito)

“You keep telling yourself that.” (Neptune)

Neptune shook her head in exasperation like I was in denial. Give me a break…

The moment became quiet again as the sound of the forest brushed our ears. Weird, it feels like the space is empty. Almost as if the Grimm were avoiding us.

“We’re walking, but I don’t see any free EXP nearby.” (Neptune)

“I can use my magic to attract them to us.” (Kaito)

“Well what are you waiting for? Proceed!” (Neptune)

On que, I used my Sympathy Magic to force negative emotions to form in the air. The mass and intensity spread across the area uniformly and acted as a beacon to draw in Grimm who were attracted to this kind of thing.

“That should do. The numbers that are swarming towards us are on the small side, though.” (Kaito)

In no time, a mixture of Grimms with the shapes of wolves, bears, boars, scorpions, horses, and snakes were seen from a distance.

“That’s still a lot. Can you handle them all?” (Kaito)

“I’ll be done in a jiffy.” (Neptune)

It was useless to worry.

Neptune’s figure disappeared in a blur and five Grimm got sent flying into the distance. My partner reappeared next to me while shaking her wrist.

“I was hoping for these guys to be more of a challenge, but I’m already farming EXP at this rate.” (Neptune)

“Oh really. There’s twenty coming at our sides.” (Kaito)

Neptune pulled out her wooden sword and vanished from sight again. I saw straight slashes forming across groups of the black monsters, and their bodies were cut apart into pieces.

“Is that really something you can do with a wooden sword…” (Kaito)

My question went unanswered as dozens of Grimm came in droves.

By coursing magic power into her sword, Neptune swung it and a miniature tornado formed at the monsters’ feet, tearing them apart.

When a pack of wolves pounced at her from behind, another slash was delivered as she turned around and lightning bolts shocked them in midair.

“32-bit Mega Blade!” (Neptune)

With a call, digital cubes came forth into reality and streams of data merged them into a certain shape. Like coming from a virtual world, a futuristic sword appeared in the sky and thrusted downwards, piercing one Grimm and then bursting into a pillar of light.

“32-bit Mega Blade Combo!” (Neptune)

Several more of these swords flew towards the enemies like a volley, skewering them and then exploding with a holy light that exorcized them out of existence.

The remaining Grimm felt no distress seeing their numbers dwindling around them. Their ferocity was still the same and that allowed them to rush forward like they didn’t care about death.

Neptune gripped her sword to meet the Grimm in front of her, but she hadn’t noticed some of them went around her and were ready to crush her from behind.

Until I stepped in.

“Stop.” (Kaito)

These feral monsters halted in place from my voice. Frozen as if time had stopped, they who were masterless now seemed to be nothing more than chained animals.

“Huh? What’s with this creepy behavior? They stopped moving.” (Neptune)

I swept my eyes all over the frozen beasts’ bodies. Confirming that my baseless idea was effective, I decided to finish them off.

“All of you, self-destruct.” (Kaito)

My calm voice resounded in the air. The effect was immediate. The Grimm obeyed the unreasonable command from their enemy and took their own lives.

Some swelled internally until they burst apart, spraying their tar-like innards as a result.

The Ursus dug their claws into their necks and twisted their own heads off.

The Taijitsu snakes ate their own bodies beginning from their tails until they suffocated to death.

Boarbatusks had a strange ability to force growth in their tusks, so their curved tusks lengthened back around to their heads and pierced their brains.

…… I was thinking all of them would simply explode, but the scene in front of me was a lot more gruesome than I had planned!?

Neptune watched all of this on the side becoming pale and horrified.

By the end of it all, mangled bodies and headless corpses were all that remained as they gradually vanished into thin air.

“… Gee, thanks for the trauma. Kai-chan is a lot scarier than I gave you credit for.” (Neptune)

“No, see, I had no idea they would pick some really imaginative suicide methods from just a simple order. It was not my intention for them to do that, really!” (Kaito)

I explained myself in a heartbeat, trying not to make myself look scarier which did not convince Neptune at all.

“Now how about telling me what’s the deal with you controlling them. Is this your monster tamer powers speaking?” (Neptune)

“That was a test using my Sympathy Magic together with affinity for darkness magic. Since it’s been proven that my Sympathy Magic can influence them, I tried manipulating their essence. While they resisted by trying to absorb my magic power, there was a limit. A body composition of nothing but darkness becomes easily manipulable if I attune my darkness affinity with it, and the result is what you see now.” (Kaito)

“Wow, so you’re totally invincible against these things. I’m kinda jealous seeing that you don’t need to do much work to get rid of them.” (Neptune)

Neptune nodded happily at my growing usefulness. That changed when her expression grew distressed.

“Ah man, everyone is learning something new, but I haven’t done anything unique. At this rate I’ll become just another muscle on the team.” (Neptune)

I tilted my head wondering where the problem was as Neptune bemoaned. Perhaps she’s worried about her uniqueness fading away while everyone is growing.

“That reminds me, you said you can transform. What happened to that?” (Kaito)

Neptune crouched down in a fetal position and started to write on the ground with a finger. Her mood became even worse!?

“Something is wrong with it… I can’t transform anymore and even checked several times. I was naturally able to do it before coming to this world…” (Neptune)

Ahh, so it’s a matter of being in a different world that’s interfering with her transformation ability.

How do I even cheer up Neptune from this? I don’t even know if I am able to solve the world discrepancy that’s preventing her from transforming.

… Hold on, didn’t Shiro tell me to do something about these Gnosis in relation to Neptune? These things are supposed to hold divine authority or something, and Neptune is also a goddess… if the two were to interact, would a resonance be produced?

“Here, Nep-chan. Maybe you can make use of these elemental Gnosis I’ve got in my inventory. Me and Tanjiro-kun weren’t able to make them work, but maybe it’ll be different with you. Who knows, it doesn’t hurt to try.” (Kaito)

Neptune raised her head to see me holding out a Cryo Gnosis.

“That ‘Heart of God’ piece? You’re just giving it to me?” (Neptune)

“You don’t want it?” (Kaito)

“I’ll take it! Just so you know, you can’t have it back if I make them work.” (Neptune)

Neptune excitedly snatched it from my hand in no time and inspected it starry-eyed.

“So… what do I do?” (Neptune)

“I don’t know. Inject magic power, use your senses, or think of a way that’ll elicit a reaction from it.” (Kaito)

Neptune turned the piece around to take one last look before closing her eyes. She clasped her fingers together with the piece in her hands in a praying form.

Without any warning, an intense aura outflowed from Neptune. The wind picked up to the point it became visible.

“Whoa…” (Kaito)

I’m amazed by the power being amassed around Neptune. It really worked; the Gnosis reacted to her.

“This is bad… this is going to draw in the stronger Grimm!” (Kaito)

The amount of raw power that’s being flared was too eye-catching. Not to mention how the Grimm have a knack for sensing energy like aura, this unprecedented power will alert their vigilance.

I can sense them. Three big ones on the move, fast too. This size… they’re all Goliaths!

Right now, Neptune can’t be interrupted from what she's doing. I’ll have to stay by her side and protect her at this moment.

One Goliath appeared with its head sticking out from the trees.

“I can’t let you do as you please.” (Kaito)

I halted it in place with its trunk in mid-swing towards Neptune. A second one came in fast and almost flattened Neptune beneath its foot before being similarly frozen.

What superb resistance. I can’t order them to self-destruct. This is the difference between the mindless beasts and one with acquired intelligence.

And the third was rushing head-first, intent on smashing us with its charge. I clicked my tongue, aware that even if I stop it its body will still fly forward from the inertia.

“Stop it, Bel—” (Kaito)

I held my tongue when an invisible force smashed against the charging Goliath, pushing it back and forcing it down on its knees.

I turned my head to look at Neptune. There was a floating object in the shape of a power symbol in front of her. It was exuding some kind of divine power.

The Cryo Gnosis in Neptune’s hands hovered over to that power symbol, creating a resonance, and fused into it when it came in contact.

Almost like expressing satisfaction from missing something, the power symbol trembled and shot towards Neptune’s, melting into her chest.

Her body then radiated blinding purple light, except it wasn’t the kind that happened to place a burden on your eyes.

The outpour of light acted like a curtain to prevent mortal eyes from witnessing a god’s miracle.

Once it died down, an unrecognizable figure appeared in place of Neptune, hovering slightly above the ground as if she were a spirit.

It was an adult woman I’ve never met. Her purple hair was tied in twin tails, and when she opened her bright blue eyes, they had white pupils in the shape of power symbols.

As for her attire, it was indeed exotic… it was also on the skimpy side. Her black bodysuit was in the shape of a leotard that exposed her smooth thighs and some of her chest area.

“Transformation Complete!” (Neptune?)

With a heroic and mature voice, the unknown lady shouted out. Her demeanor and divine presence were simply awe-inspiring.

“Who are you?” (Kaito)

The lady placed a hand on her hips and smiled at me, amused by the question aimed at her.

“Why I’m none other than Neptune, silly.” (Neptune)

“…… You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?” (Kaito)

The response given to me were melodic giggles.

“Does my appearance really bring you to doubt me?” (Neptune)

“Well… you did give me ample warnings before that your transformed self would be a super-sized version from your normal self. But this is much more than I expected.” (Kaito)

Calming down from my disbelief, I can’t say she wasn’t Neptune. By all accounts, she is who she says she is. But the transformation was just too dramatic to take at face-value.

“Looks like you’re caught in a tight spot. You don’t need to hold them back, I’ll finish them off in an instant as thanks for protecting me.” (Neptune)

“Are you fine in your current state? Nothing weird going on in your body?” (Kaito)

“Oh, I’ve never felt better.” (Neptune)

Assured by the confidence brimming from Neptune, I released my hold on the Goliaths.

With its newfound freedom, the Goliath went into action without wasting any time. By lifting its front legs, it hoped for the enemy of considerable power to be crushed under its weight.

Neptune calmly watched the hammer coming down on her. She brought forth the wooden sword she had and it transformed from the power of her transformed state. In its place was a futuristic katana of purple and black colors.

She stabbed the end of her katana into the foot that’s about to crush her, stopping it in place and making the Goliath reel back in pain. Faster than it can recover, Neptune sliced some flesh from its leg, summoned wings behind her and rose into the air, creating an updraft.

“Cross Combination!” (Neptune)

At blinding speed, Neptune threw five slashes swiftly and kicked the Goliath into the air, lifting it from the ground. Rising higher into the air above where she sent the monster, she brought a downward swing of her katana and split it in two.

Dropping down to her feet, Neptune carried on and brought out her gun. She aimed for the Goliath down on its knees and fired deafening shots. Littered across its body are huge gaping holes where I can see through to the other side.

Neptune blew the end of her smoking gun and dematerialized it. She narrowed her eyes and smacked her hand against a towering trunk that was about to hit her, throwing it and the Goliath’s body to the side.

“I think I’ll test out this new power.” (Neptune)

Neptune threw her hands downward and assumed a powering up pose. She did a powerful shout, and an all-consuming light covered her.

Once that died down, her body suit changed into a white and crystal blue version of her normal one. And the wings behind her back became giant snowflakes.

She readied her katana at her waist with both hands holding it. The tip of the blade was inches away from the ground. When drawing it forward, Neptune made an upwards slash and what followed was a giant mass of ice rising from the ground, engulfing the Goliath’s entire body.

Neptune turned her back against the monster and swept an arm across her twin tails, making them sway in the air momentarily. In a second, the ice shattered along with the Grimm’s body into thousands of ice particles.

“I didn’t even sweat.” (Neptune)

As the observer for all that just happened, I had nothing but awe for what I witnessed. Neptune turned her head to me and hovered closer.

“How do you like me now?” (Neptune)

“You’re amazing.” (Kaito)

Neptune laughed at my honest words, pleased by the praise she received.

My eyes were drawn to her beautiful face. But then it trailed downwards at her swaying breasts, to which I averted my eyes away.

“Ara? What’s this? Hm?” (Neptune)

Neptune hovered even closer, bending her back which meant her exposed chest was directly in front of my head. It made the heat rise from my cheeks.

Fueled by curiosity over my reaction, Neptune made a surprised face that morphed into a smirk from the corner of my eye.

“Oh ho. Now that’s an interesting reaction. Like what you see? Come here, let me get a closer look.” (Neptune)

Neptune’s teasing voice echoed close to my ear.

Normally I wouldn’t be this flustered in front of a beautiful woman anymore, but what occurred earlier was sticking to the forefront of my mind whenever I looked at Neptune’s current form.

During the process of her transformation, Neptune’s adult body was covered in light to veil others from seeing the state of her body. However, because I have Shiro’s blessing, that veil did not work on me, so my eyes pierced through it.

This ended up with me… well, seeing everything.

“C’mon, let’s move on, Nep-chan! The faster we go the quicker this mission will end.” (Kaito)

I lightly pushed Neptune aside and walked ahead of her, failing to hide the flustered tone in my voice.

“Ufufufu, it’s so cute when you’re not honest with yourself. I’m going to have so much more fun from now on.” (Neptune)

 

 

 

Afterword:

[Child of Prophecy]: Hai hai, hello everyone.

[Strongest Man in the World]: Good day to you too, Naruto!

[Technical Devil]: You’re up early. Did something interesting happen?

[Child of Prophecy]: You didn’t read the notice? We got a special event prepared for us!

[Technical Devil]: What? Give me a moment.

[Technical Devil]: Now that is interesting. Looks like our admin wants to pit us against another group chat in a tournament match.

[Child of Prophecy]: You catch on quick. That’s right, we have the option of intervening on their world mission to act as some extra bosses for them. The event’s name is the Vytal Festival I believe.

[Strongest Man in the World]: A new world! A different group chat! This is beginning to get my heart pumping! I know, for any normal person this is something you can’t help but worry over. But! You have the Strongest Man in the World as your leader! There is nothing I cannot overcome. So long as you follow me, victory is already assured.

[Technical Devil]: Strongest in your world maybe. And even that is doubtful.

[Child of Prophecy]: Now now, go easy on Adlet-kun, Fumi-chan.

[Min-Max DEFENSE]: So soon!? Would I be of any use… the first thing we’re doing as a group is fight our senpai…

[Child of Prophecy]: Don’t be so dismayed, Maple-chan. As long as we can figure out how to bring your game character into reality, you’ll no doubt be an invaluable asset to the team.

[Min-Max DEFENSE]: Ah, yes! Thank you very much, Hokage-sama!

[Child of Prophecy]: I told you, I don’t mind if you used my real name…

[Strongest Man in the World]: That’s right, cheer up, Maple! I promise you as the Strongest Man in the World, we’ll retrieve that special body of yours and put it to good use!

[Technical Devil]: In Modern Japan, those words would be deemed as sexual harassment and will lead to a lawsuit. Oh, and to make things much worse for you, if Maple-chan really can use her virtual body in reality, that means you’ll be demoted as the weakest member in this group chat.

[The Strongest Man in the World]: T-That’s not true! And I wasn’t trying to harass her either!

[Child of Prophecy]: This group is a handful…