— — — — — —
"Alright, everyone, follow me." Rimuru spread a pair of wings and took to the air, leading the way through the endless expanse of the Sea of Quanta.
The group moved as one, an intimidating crowd heading straight toward the depths.
"Seele, Bronya will bring you home," Bronya muttered under her breath, fists clenched tight.
"Don't worry." Himeko rested a comforting hand on Bronya's shoulder. "We'll bring her back. And after that, we're going to find that idiot Kiana. Then all of us—every single one—are going back to St. Freya together. No one gets left behind."
Her eyes were harder than steel. This was the one thing she wouldn't compromise on.
"Himeko…" Bronya didn't answer with words. She just held Himeko's hand. They didn't need to say more.
The road ahead was anything but quiet. Monsters attacked them in waves, only to be stylishly—and brutally—taken apart by the group.
"Naginata Rasetsu!"
"Storm Break!"
"Fireball!"
"Divine Departure!"
"One Thousand Years of Death!"
"Nihilistic Banish!"
…Wait a second. Something felt off.
Flying above, Rimuru nearly facepalmed. Really? One Thousand Years of Death? This move was bad enough, but did you really have to shout it out loud? Was it to make sure everyone heard how shameless you was?
"Seriously… have a little shame, will you, Veldora?" Rimuru muttered under his breath, glancing ahead.
"But it's a technique straight out of the sacred texts you gave me!" Veldora said with a smug grin.
"Speaking of which, when do I get to watch Naruto in the guild's cinema?"
Rimuru sighed, clearly annoyed. "When someone from that world joins the guild, we'll watch it together."
...
Finally after some time... there it was—the enormous sakura tree was now within reach.
"That's the place?" Bronya asked, voice tight.
"Yeah." Rimuru nodded. "Seele should be there… though there's someone else with her."
"Kevin?" Himeko narrowed her eyes.
"Relax," Rimuru said casually. "He's not a bad guy. He's like you—fighting against the Honkai. Not really our enemy."
"Enough talk. Let's just go. If that guy doesn't wanna listen to reason, I'll beat some into him," Whitebeard said with a grin.
"Works for me." Rimuru nodded. "Let's move."
They advanced toward the tree.
---
Meanwhile, beneath the massive sakura tree—
"On this burnt and ruined earth, I, Kevin Kaslana, swear this to everyone: no matter the cost, Humanity shall defeat the Honkai."
The tall man stood like a statue, his voice solemn, the promise hanging heavy in the still air.
"…Who are you?"
The quiet voice came from behind him—Seele.
"You already know the answer." Kevin turned slightly, his deep voice calm. "My name is Kevin. A warrior, one of the few who survived the previous era."
"The Previous Era…" Seele murmured, her expression dimming. The civilization that fell to the Honkai.
"In the end, we couldn't defeat the final Herrscher," Kevin said evenly, as though stating a trivial fact. "Our glorious civilization collapsed completely. Only a handful of us survived."
"…Hm?" Kevin's brows drew together. Someone was approaching. No—many someones.
"Seele, get away from him!"
Before Kevin could react, Bronya's voice rang out.
Her mech, Project Bunny, transformed into a bike mid-air and landed between Seele and Kevin, shielding the girl behind her.
"Bronya!" Seele cried in joy.
"Seele, I came to take you home." Bronya's voice softened, but her gaze stayed locked on Kevin, guarded and cold.
"You don't need to be afraid." Kevin's tone didn't change. "I am not your enemy."
"That's not for you to decide."
A deafening boom shook the ground as Whitebeard dropped from the sky, landing beside Kevin like a falling mountain. He loomed over the man with an intimidating grin.
"A giant?" Kevin's eyes narrowed slightly. "Body modification?"
"I'm no experiment," Whitebeard said, still smiling.
Kevin instinctively took a few steps back. The sheer presence of this man pressed on him like a tidal wave. He could feel the ocean of power hidden in that massive frame.
"Kevin Kaslana," Rimuru's voice floated down from above. "Strongest hero of Fire Moth, one of the last survivors of the Previous Era, true leader of World Serpent. Did I get anything wrong?"
"You know me well," Kevin said, his face as unreadable as ever.
"Pretty much." Rimuru shrugged, landing gracefully. One by one, the others joined him, forming a small army at Bronya's back.
"You're not from this world, are you?" Kevin asked, his calm gaze sweeping across the group. He didn't seem at all intimidated by being surrounded.
"Oh? And how did you figure that out?" Rimuru asked, genuinely curious.
"None of you carry even a trace of Honkai's influence, so you can't be from this world. And the Sea of Quanta links to more than one world. The most likely answer is that you're from somewhere else entirely."
Clap, clap, clap.
Rimuru gave him an amused little round of applause. "You're right—we're from another world. But not quite the way you think."
"...I see." Kevin's eyes narrowed slightly. Their appearance was strange—too sudden. To enter the Sea of Quanta normally, one must open its gate. Yet he hadn't seen any "Gate" open. It was as if they had just appeared out of thin air.
Rimuru grinned. "So, do you wanna know the truth? If you do, just ask—maybe I'll tell you. What do you think?"
Kevin: "…"
Whitebeard: "…"
Garp: "…"
Even Roger: "..."
.
.
.