A soft beeping noise was the first thing Cyrus heard as he opened his eyes to a white ceiling adorned with bright, glowing green glyphs and sigils, casting a faint green glow across the room.
"Look, I'll drop off what I have after work. Now stop calling me!" grunted a voice, slightly high-pitched with annoyance.
Cyrus turned towards the voice and saw a very short man with fair skin, dark brown hair, and eyes to match. A glimpse of a flame tattoo could be seen peeking from under his nurse's uniform.
"Oh, you're awake so soon? I'll go get the doctor!" exclaimed the short nurse, a look of slight shock on his face.
"No rush, but are you alright? I kind of overheard your phone call, or at least the end part," Cyrus said as he slowly sat up.
"Apologies for that being the first thing you hear upon waking up, but it's just some nonsense I have to handle to help pay the bills. Saving the lives of slayers isn't a well-paying job," the nurse said with a nervous chuckle.
"Well, this slayer would like to return the favor for keeping me going another day," Cyrus said, grinning as he flexed his arms—a move he instantly regretted after a shockwave of pain coursed through him.
"That's very kind of you, Cyrus. Oh, apologies, you don't even know my name, and here I am sharing my troubles," the short nurse chuckled, extending his hand. "Merric Springspark." They exchanged a firm handshake accompanied by warm smiles. "Now, let me begin my duties and fetch the doctor for you."
Cyrus watched Merric exit the room and gently shut the door. His gaze swept the room, coming to rest on the small cluster of get-well cards by the window.
"Damn, I hope I didn't scare Jasmine too much with my self-sacrifice act," Cyrus thought while remembering her crying face "And I bet she already told Nina and Scott which means those cry babies are gonna call off work to take care of me."
The thought of his siblings fussing over him stirred a mix of annoyance and joy within him. Alongside these feelings, there was also a fleeting surge of self-directed anger for his weakness and the worry it caused them.
The minutes of silent self-reflection were interrupted when the door burst open, revealing a towering man clad in a black suit. His rocky gray skin, bright red wild hair that fell to his shoulders, a matching beard, and short horns protruding from his forehead made a striking entrance.
"A tiny nurse and a towering doctor—what an odd hospital," Cyrus mused, fighting back laughter at the thought.
"Glad to see you're awake," he said in a calm, soft tone, extending a large hand. "I'm Oswald Grove from the GSL UK Investigation Branch."
"Cyrus Ashford," he introduced himself, offering a handshake and silently appreciating that the rock-like man refrained from using a firm grip.
"First, let me say that you've been asleep for a week, so please take it easy," Oswald stated as Cyrus's eyes widened in shock. "And before you ask, the survivors of the double door incident have fully recovered, although Henry Greywood has decided to retire due to a severe spinal injury."
"I'm relieved to hear he and everyone else got out safely. I suppose those who didn't make it will receive burials?" Cyrus asked while his gaze drifted to the birds soaring outside the window.
"Yes, we are in the process of covering the costs for those who have fallen in action," Oswald stated, casting a glance at Cyrus, who clenched his fist tightly.
"It's reassuring to hear that, despite only knowing them for a few hours, they're impressive slayers," Cyrus said, his eyes narrowing, a sign of his frustration at not being strong enough to stop those deaths from happening. "I don't mean to be rude, but why would an investigator want to see me?"
"The report was certainly troubling," Oswald said, his expression grave as he produced a tablet that seemed far too small for his large frame. "To put it succinctly, the slayers found you severely injured, with the realm beginning to collapse upon their arrival."
Silence filled the room as they stared at each other.
"Realms with double doors are special cases," Oswald remarked, memories of countless reports he had compiled over the years rushing back to him. "Unpredictable events occur within them, and no one can exit until the realm reaches completion."
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Cyrus recalled that Yasha had let everyone else go because of the deal they had made.
"Would you mind providing an investigator's perspective on double doors?" Cyrus inquired, noting the slight frown that formed on the investigator's face.
"Despite our best efforts over the years, the information remains sparse; and from what isn't classified, it's either a blessing or a curse," Oswald explained calmly, locking eyes. "Some Slayers amass untold riches, catapulting them above the one percent, or they acquire formidable weapons that can challenge legendary beasts of myth. Others emerge as bloodthirsty killers, deranged cowards, or they simply vanish without a trace."
"Well, I don't crave blood, I'm not much of a coward, and I'm still here, so I consider myself lucky," Cyrus chuckled, eliciting a fleeting smile from Oswald.
"Based on the report and statements, you chose to play the role of a sacrificial hero to ensure everyone's escape," Oswald said as he opened the notepad app. "Now, please recount everything that transpired afterward."
Cyrus concluded his explanation, deliberately omitting certain events such as the floating pop-up screens and the boss merging into his chest. Following this, Oswald laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Most encounters at double doors end in a massacre. I'm relieved that such a skilled slayer has lived to see another day," Oswald said gently, as visions of graves and dog tags flashed through his mind.
"Now, for this test," he said, extracting a smooth white crystal attached to a golden chain from a grey covered in sacred paper seals.
"What's that for?" Cyrus asked as he could feel a draining presence coming from the crystal.
"It's a portable mana detector," Oswald explained, presenting it to Cyrus. "Since no magical items were found with you, I suspect the reward you received was an internal one. I just need to confirm this for my report."
Cyrus shrugged his shoulders and put it around his neck.
"Double doors are so lethal that only slayers ranked obsidian or higher are permitted to engage with them. The gem should emit a glow akin to a candle at his current rank, and if he received a boost, it would shine even brighter."
Oswald gazed at the crystal, which failed to emit any light, prompting a slight raise of his eyebrow in response to the unexpected result.
After waiting a couple of seconds Cyrus removed the necklace and gave it back.
"I've completed my investigation," Oswald declared, bowing respectfully before he produced a phone. "I wish you a swift recovery, Mr. Ashford."
"Of course, I'm eager for more work," Cyrus chuckled, watching Oswald exit the room. He let out a sigh as the door closed.
"So, this is your world, boss? It looks interesting," Yasha remarked, leaning against a wall with a broad, toothy grin.
"There must be a reason he didn't see you, right?" Cyrus asked while staring at the ex-realm boss, memories of their battle flickering through his mind.
"I have no clue; this is a first for me," Yasha declared as he leaped into the air, flipped, and landed on a chair with perfect balance. "So, how long are you going to rest before we can go explore?"
"Until I have a better understanding of what the hell happened after our fight, we can start with this thing," Cyrus sighed, glancing at a floating pop-up screen.
The screen displays a detailed list of information similar to a video game character sheet, including all current skills, stats, inventory, health, and a shop that is currently locked.
"Interesting, let's see if this works," Cyrus muttered to himself as he tapped the cartoon image of a water bottle, and to his surprise, a full bottle of water materialized in his hand.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Yasha's eyes sparkled with excitement as Cyrus took a deep gulp of water.
"Yeah, along with the strange," he replied while keeping his eyes on the fatigue stat that had dropped from eighty-nine to eighty after drinking half of the bottle.
After finishing the bottle, his fatigue level is at seventy-six, so he's still feeling tired, though not as much as before.
"Seems we have a lot more training ahead of us once we're out of here," Cyrus remarked, hitting the button again and observing the bottle vanish as though it had never been there.
"Take a break, boss; I've got the watch," Yasha saluted as he gazed at the door, His attention was immediately seized by the sight of a cat with radiant neon green fur in hot pursuit of a bird. This spectacle was soon overshadowed as he found himself surrounded by the dazzle of colorful holographic advertisements.
Cyrus chuckled, amused by Yasha's intense gaze at the film trailers, then yawned and quickly fell back to sleep.
[NEW QUEST!!!]
No rest for the strong! Complete this workout plan and gain a reward. Fail and suffer a dangerous challenge!
Push-ups 0/30
Sit-ups 0/30
Pull-ups 0/30
Squats 0/30
Run for 52 minutes [ ]
Mediate for 1 hour [ ]
Time Limit: 5 hours
Suddenly, a screen flashing black and red appeared before Cyrus with a loud 'ping' that failed to compete with the buzzsaw snoring and the trailer's gatling gun blowing up three gas trucks.
The countdown timer steadily decreased.
----------------------------------------
(Many Hours Later)
Merric sighed in frustration and muttered a swear upon discovering that the reason all the top doctors were extremely busy was due to a couple of golden slayers arriving with very minor injuries, seeking to curry favor with them.
Due to the excessive demands, junior doctors and nurses are overextending themselves to care for all the other patients with serious injuries.
Merric chose to make up for the extra long wait by bringing Cyrus a bottle of juice, four garlic cheese toasties, and an orange jell-o. After a soft knock, he stepped into the room, only to drop everything in sheer shock.
"Cyrus!?" Merric exclaimed, his gaze quickly sweeping over the room multiple times before settling on the unkempt, vacant bed.