Chapter 244, The Last Piece

Almost a year had passed since we arrived in Sodom.

The town’s still THE base of operations of this region – at least that hasn’t changed.

There aren’t any settlements further south, most importantly because the circumstances were never right for the people to build and maintain one.
Since the battle with Bathym, we had been in several battles against the Apostles of Despair. None of them were particularly difficult, however, being something like SS-ranked variants of otherwise normal monsters.

Bathym was just… different. He was resolute. And his punches had weight.

Other than that, our roles here in Sodom have been quite simple.

Pochi, Seki’teigyu, Giorno, and Lylia are taking care of all the fighting…

And as for me…

“I got three dozen more of Pochibitan D here! Masaki, add two dozen to the delivery to Brunnera! Randolph! The remaining dozen goes to Radeata!”

“”Aye!””

“Boss!”

“What’s up, Jumbo?”

“We get a lot of injured people today. They’re at the south gate!”

“Rise! High Cure Adjust: Count 10 & Remote Control! Rise, Ground Spell Delivery! …All right, one more time!”

…I’m busy running logistical support of epic proportions.

My already high level of magical aptitude, Holy Warrior powers, and the boost from leveling past the cap, added up to make my arcane energy pool inexhaustible.

Hell, with the Giving Magic variant that I’ve perfected together with Tūs, my arcane energy wouldn’t decrease in the first place.

That doesn’t mean that I no longer feel mental fatigue, though – and in fact, I can’t quite get rid of that with Pochibitan D.

…Which means I still get tired so quickly. It’s about time I popped another vial.

“…Pah! So good! I’m feeling all better already!”

Damn! Is the guy who invented this thing a genius or what?

Oh, it was me. Yup. I’m a genius! Hell yeah!

Well, I’ve been telling myself that for almost a year now, ever since the second night here in this town.

And that was also the last time I got to use Pochi’s belly pillow, I think?

The first thing I had noticed upon our arrival here in Sodom was the dramatically lower number of warriors and mages compared to the last time I had been here.

By that time, the stores and bars I used to work at no longer existed. Not even peddlers visited the town anymore.

The strongest, most capable ones had been the first to die. We had returned to Sodom while the people were in the midst of despair, and because of that, they had cheered for Giorno and Lylia like no tomorrow.

On the first day, we had visited the Adventurers’ Guild, where the scary receptionist welcomed us with surprise.

“You guys…?!”

“…We’re here to help.”

“And we’re not newbies anymore!!”

“Heh… hahaha! Welcome to hell, you fools! Don’t lose your heads out there, and you’ll still be alive! Haaave fun!”

He’d even said something ‘encouraging’ to us for the first time, and even now, that was quite fresh in my memory.

It really goes to show how exhausted everyone was, so much so that Sodom was once on the verge of total collapse.

To start things off, to help things get going again, I had done the same stuff I had in Faltown… yes, including cooking monster meat and generating water for the people.

With the front-front lines about to be shifted up from the Sodom region to near Brunnera at that time, our group had practically been recognized as Holy Warriors almost immediately, actual qualifications notwithstanding.

But then again, Lylia and Giorno had actually unlocked their Holy Warrior powers shortly after arriving in Sodom, too.

Now this reminds me of the song that Kaoru, the Title-erasing Shamaness, sang to me…

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Holy Warriors shall assemble

Charge beyond the City of Ruin, into the Chestpocket of countless Devils

Holy Warriors shall assemble

One a brave Golden Boy, in his hand the Invincible Blade

Holy Warriors shall assemble

Two a violent Plunger of Armies, friend to the Crimson Ox, of different Birth and Power

Holy Warriors shall assemble

Three a wielder of thousand Tricks, astride the Black Wolf across the Seas of Time

Holy Warriors shall assemble

When Evil encroaches on the World, they shall descend as the Light

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

So that’s it. In the front-front lines, the force of darkness was encroaching more and more… and then we came along.

We were like a light of hope for the people of Sodom. Maybe for the world, even…

…Yeah, that sounds about right. Man, prophecies are scary.

So the “City of Ruin” must refer to Sodom… which means, according to this prophecy, the Devil King will reappear south of here.

“Master, Master! Listen!”

As if to interrupt my thoughts, a certain dog appeared, covered in mud.

“…Wait, you’re Shiro?”

“Have you finally awakened to your Fool powers, sir?”

“No! I just didn’t even know that it was you! You’ve been away for three days, and look – you’re a mess!”

“Well, water is a precious resource around here, sir! And three days… time sure goes by quickly, doesn’t it? -Wait! Are you saying that you’ll forget me if you don’t see me for three days, sir?!”

Of the eight hundred years we were together, we’d never gone more than three days at a time without seeing each other, after all.

Even whenever we got into arguments and fought, she’d still stay close to me… for some reason.

Interesting. I should note that down in the Principles of a Philosopher.

“Anyway, lemme get my memo… So, what’ up? Did something happen?”

“We finally have someone willing to set up a weapon shop here, sir! Someone from Brunnera, no less! And looks like he’s gonna stay here in Sodom!”

“Whoa, that’s great! We’ve been too short on time to Teleport over to Brunnera, so everyone’s equipment is falling apart by now! I can’t handle all the logistics by myself, so this will make all the difference!”

Really, that’s music to my ears!

Considering Sodom’s situation, I never would expect anyone to move over here right now.

Even though Teleportation Spell Circles could be used, the greater the number of guests, the more difficult it would be to evacuate them to safety during conflicts.

And speaking of equipment, I’ve actually been wondering about something concerning that, too…

“Giorno’s on his way to bring him over right now. They’re acquaintances, apparently”

“Huh, that guy sure has a lot of connections-“

<“-Hehehehe! What’s this?! Y’all look fine to me – I was expecting to see your faces half-dead! And what the hell is this magic?! Huh?!”>

A boisterous voice came from outside the house, in the square, as if to interrupt the conversation between me and Pochi.

…Wait, I feel like I’ve heard this voice from somewhere before – whoa?!

“Gyah?!”

Even Pochi, who had a weakened sense of smell, could not help but block her nose.

Because the moment the door opened, what oozed out of it was an abnormally strong odor of alcohol.

And that’s in a town where pretty much everyone drinks heavily! What the hell is with this smell?!

“Hey, you’re that guy from that time! Long time no see, man!”

I turned to where the voice came from and saw a short middle-aged man, with a beard larger than his head, standing there.

He’s not fat at all, but he might look to be so at a glance, probably because of the bulk of his muscles, especially his brawny arms. He’s got a bottle of wine in his right hand, and a few more in a rack on his back… and another one in his left hand. He doesn’t look prepared to be at the front-front lines at all.

BUT I do know this man.

“G-Garm?”

“Hehehehe, you know my name! Looked at my weapons’ engravings, did ya?! Should’ve known that you were a reckless fool, man! Hehehehe!”

Garm Kisaragi…

I THINK he’s supposed to be an ancestor of some of my friends back in the future, Don and Laeus Kisaragi.

The reason I can’t be a hundred percent sure is that commoners’ family names are less likely to stay around after millennia.

But then again, his weapon shop, where I had bought Bright and Ferris’ training rods, did have the same atmosphere as the Drynium Road, Don Kisaragi’s shop back in the future.

…Oh, I see, so that’s where he got that name from?

I knew this was coming, what with it being in the legends, but HAVE been wondering why and how we’re facing equipment issues right before the Devil King’s resurrection.

“Hehehehe, those li’l kids back there will do fine with the gear they got. But y’all over here, on the other hand…!”

…So THAT happened around this time, huh?

“Y’all gonna need to get me some rare ore first, yeah?”

“”Rare ore?””

Both Giorno and Lylia asked back at the same time.

Pochi and I, on the other hand, did not – because we already knew what he was talking about.

“So rare that it’s almost a dream, yeah, but it exists! That’s right, the Dream Ore…”

“”Dream… Ore?””

“Ohhh yeahhh, and guess what? Use it to make an alloy, and you get Drynium Steel! Now THAT’s gonna make for some solid gear! Hehehehe!”

Ah, yes, the legendary steel used by the Holy Warriors – Drynium Steel.