~Scroll of the Dead~

Theseus ran as fast as he could.

His plans weren’t going as expected especially since his target had escaped him. He wasn’t worried since taking out the Griffin wasn’t an impossible task, he was more focused on the beast's intentions, however.

‘That freak better not be doing what I think it is’ Theseus cursed under his breath.

“Oi wait up freeloader!”

He was called aback by the panting of Shin who was trying to catch up. Pinching the bridge between his eyebrows and sighing, Theseus slowed down and allowed the boy to catch up.

“What happened to your scooter?” Theseus asked in pity

“Oh, that? I forgot it hehe.” Shin simply laughed it off as he slowly recovered his stamina

“And you knew you were going to travel miles on foot?” Theseus grew more frustrated at the boy’s idiocy

“I thought you were going to give me a piggyback ride?” Shin cocked an eyebrow.

“I don’t even have a damn clue who you are!” Theseus snapped at the boy.

“I’m Shin Matsumoto dumbass!” A smirk formed on Shin’s face

“Who?” Theseus used his pinky to clean his ear before responding. The insult pierced through the boy’s chest like a dagger.

Shin quickly recovered “And I forgot to ask, is that thing-”

“Griffin,” Theseus cut in

Shin continued “Do you think it has anything to do with the destroyed temples lately?”

“Something like that,” Theseus responded blankly “Singularities like that are rare. Especially the ones who go after mediums.”

“Singularity? Mediums?” Shin frowned as he was lost in thought

“I shouldn’t be explaining this to a human but ignorance is bliss” Theseus let out a sigh in disappointment before explaining “Singularities are names given to beings who crossed over from Heaven to your world.”

“Mmm,” Shin mumbled uneasily ‘Not this heavenly crap again.’

Theseus continued “Like the Griffin, I’m also a singularity. It’s a title at the end of the day.”

“So what? You fell from heaven or something?” Shin became serious “I’m not buying it even if it came with a discount.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Theseus continued running, tracing down the Griffin’s path “But whichever god you’re currently having a beef with, please put that aside and act your age.”

Theseus didn’t hear a reply from the boy as they kept on running. ‘Was it something I said?’

The young adult had a habit of letting things slip from his mouth unknowingly, it wasn’t something he couldn’t control but at times he ended up saying harsh things to people around him. It was one of his flaws.

Shin finally asked a question “How do you deal with a loss”

There was no reply from the man. Shin looked down in dismay as he was hoping to finally get some advice on what to do over this whole anniversary fiasco.

“Something wrong?” Theseus looked at the boy who then stared back at him in surprise.

Shin replied in a sad tone “My dad, passed away a year ago”

‘Oh, so that’s why...’ Theseus came to a halt before exhaling “I think I get where you’re coming from, Shin.”

Shin looked back in even more surprise as the young man mentioned his name for the first time.

“Gods aren’t just guys you can try to reason with,” Theseus placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder “The only times they’ll help people is when they feel like it, take it from me.”

“Tch, you sound like you know one.” Shin bit his lip in doubt

“Who knows” Theseus formed a calm smile “Your dad might even be in heaven sharing drinks with a god laughing at you”

“Wait really?” Shin’s eyes brightened up

“I said might” Theseus replied with a smug

“Oh,” Shin quickly became disappointed.

“Doesn’t mean it’s not possible though” The young adult said as he continued the search

“Whatever you say” Shin smiled as he followed pursuit but a wide grin formed on his face this time.

Theseus smiled back before he went into his thoughts ‘Of course I can’t assure him that, but if it gets him to have some faith then I’m down for it’ he looked at the boy who was focused on the track.

“It’s Theseus”

“Huh?” Shin looked up at the man who kept on running

“The name’s Theseus,” he repeated “An adventurer.”

“Wait you go on quests?” Shin looked in confusion “That’s pretty cool!”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Theseus scratched his head at the remark

“What do you mean?” Shin asked in confusion

“Well, it’s…” Theseus cut himself off mid-speech as he was lost in thought before continuing “You’re better off not knowing kid.”

“Eh?” Shin looked at the adventurer “If you say so then.”

They kept on running for a while before they came to their stop. Looking around, Shin recognized the park he was at

Midori Park / 9:40 pm

A beautiful green pasture with pine trees to decorate the place, of course, putting aside the fact it was a bit late at night.

Shin’s eyebrows twitched at the scene he came across. Both his friends Haruto and Junko were holding hands with the girl slightly blushing. The couple didn’t notice Shin letting off a cringed look as he stared at the display.

“What the actual f-”

Haruto began as he tried looking sideways “The scene looks great huh”

“Stop trying to pull off a bad boy look” Junko chuckled

“I thought you fell for bad boys” Haruto formed a devilish grin on his face. He never kept this kind of character whenever he was in public. But for a long time now the two had been secretly going out. The reason for this was so he wouldn’t face mockery from Shin as he would mock him for dating a girl who beat him to a stupor as children.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Meanwhile, Shin and Theseus observed behind the bushes with blank looks on their faces.

“So cringe!” Theseus commented

“Right?” Shin looked up in disbelief before turning back

“They’re your friends?” Theseus asked curiously

“Well yeah,” Shin replied, still focused on the scene “But shouldn’t we get going?”

Theseus shook his head before affirming “I guess you’re right-”

The adventurer interrupted himself as he looked around the surrounding environment. He turned to a frozen stiff Shin who seemed like he was bored of watching his friends make out. He then turned back to see the couple's lips slowly coming into contact.

Theseus then realized his skill was activated.

[Aqua-Chronos]

A skill that slowed down time in the select environment for a few seconds, though it only automatically activated based on the instinct of the user. And of course for it to pop up all of a sudden…

Quickly, Theseus leaped to the bench Shin’s friends sat on. Landing a kick on Haruto’s face which sent him feet away before carrying Junko and jumping away

-BOOM

A minor explosion followed, Shin looked in shock at the events that happened faster than he could trace.

He suddenly heard a loud screech from the sky above as the Griffin flew into view.

“It came back?” Shin gulped in shock as he turned round to observe the once park which had now been reduced to rubble.

‘It should have known better’ Theseus charged towards the beast and swung his sword at it. However, the adventurer came into shock that his blade couldn’t scratch it. ‘It evolved?’

Like all animals, creatures in heaven had developed an instinct to survive. The difference is that they attained new traits when the need arose, depending on their magical ability.

‘But how in a world with almost no mana’ Theseus thought as he blocked the Griffin’s talon with his sword and leaped a few feet back. A thought immediately hit him as he felt a sudden pulse of mana, Theseus took a look at the beast's underbelly and he saw something that shouldn’t belong there, a blue visible vein of mana under its wings.

“Don’t tell me he absorbed the medium’s mana?” Theseus’ eyes widened in shock before he noticed the Griffin charging up another attack but directly at a badly wounded Haruto, whose leg was buried underneath a pile of rocks. He quickly delivered a kick to the beast’s face, redirecting the blast to another area completely.

“Haruto!” Shin called out the name of his friend as he rushed to his aid.

“Shin?” the redhead looked back at him “Why are you here?”

“It’s a long story” Shin responded as he lent out his hand. Haruto blinked twice before grabbing it.

“Haruto!” Another voice called out to the injured boy, he looked up to find Junko running very quickly to assist Shin in helping her boyfriend out.

“Oh and I almost forgot, you didn’t have to hide whatever the two of you are doing” Shin frowned at his two friends

Haruto’s mouth gaped in confusion before catching on. He replied “I’m sorry”

“Don’t just apologize to me,” Shin’s lips twitched “It’s your relationship, not mine.”

Junko looked at Shin in surprise, this wasn’t something he’d naturally say on his own. ‘He’s finally maturing?’ the girl concluded as Shin smirked back at her.

“But you do owe me a plate of Soba though” Shin added proudly making the couple sweat a bit before he continued “Now let’s try and pull” Both Shin and Junko grabbed one arm each and began pulling Haruto out.

Meanwhile, Theseus clashed continuously with the Demon of the Sky, the beast then taking to the skies and firing several beams of mana from its mouth which the adventurer dodged several times before deflecting one with its sword.

‘If this keeps up, the city might be destroyed’ Theseus frowned before running towards the Griffin ‘I need a plan to drag it back to heaven so I can go all out.’

He turned his head back to Shin to find him and Junko trying to pull out their friend ‘Not to mention I got kids at my back.’

All of a sudden he instinctively deflected a mana beam from the beast in the sky. The beam flew a great distance before exploding which startled the trio of friends at the back.

“Who the hell is this guy Shin?” Junko asked worriedly

“A freeloader,” Shin replied as he continued trying to pull Haruto out but to no avail ‘It’s no use’ he hissed as he finally let go before scratching the back of his head.

“Hey, Junko,” Haruto finally spoke up making her look back at him before he continued. “I think you should run away.”

“What?!” Both Shin and Junko looked at him in confusion

Junko wore a worried look on her face “Do you even know what you’re saying? We can’t-”

“You should go and call the police or something, there’s a phone booth around the corner.” Haruto furthered with a serious look

Junko bit her lip “But-”

“No time to waste just go!” Haruto ordered his supposed girlfriend before letting on a warm smile which shocked Shin “I’ll be fine.”

She hesitated for a moment before running away for backup “Please, hold on!”

It was now both childhood friends at the park ground, except for Theseus battling the Griffin.

Haruto spoke up “Won’t you get going, Shin?”

The boy in question looked at his friend with contempt, and it then clicked on him. Haruto’s left foot had been crushed in the rubble. He won’t be able to use his leg ever again.

“What’s your plan smartass?” Shin asked silently

Haruto blinked “My plan huh? I guess I’ll just try and last long enough”

“What the hell does that even mean?” Shin retorted

“I don’t have to be afraid of dying” Haruto let out a forceful smile “The girl I love is finally safe”

Shin looked down at his friend in disgust before walking to where his foot was buried and began digging it out causing Haruto to stare in shock.

“Hey, what the hell are you doing? You should be running away now, don’t you see that thing could fire at us any moment?”

“He’s not wrong you know,” Theseus added as he was battling the beast

“SHUT IT FREELOADER!” Shin snapped at Theseus in fury before continuing his digging.

“Hey, it’s pointless, just give up and let me die.”

-THUD

­Haruto was met by a fist to the skull as his head fell face flat to the ground.

“Not a good way to treat an injured person you know.” Theseus blankly reacted to Shin's actions.

Shin ignored him and went back to his friend “I hate sacrificial lambs, so don’t ever pull that crap on me again!”

Haruto let out a tiny gasp “What? But-”

“I won’t witness another death again you hear me?” Shin declared as he kept on digging his way through “We will move on, and forget about what happened today, so don’t you die on me!”

Theseus froze in his tracks as he heard those words. Throughout his life, he had a low opinion of mortals as they would rather prioritize themselves over others. In other words, they bore a resemblance to gods. ‘This kid should have escaped long ago, what the hell is wrong with him?’

The Griffin quickly landed a kick which sent the adventurer some meters away. Theseus got back up and he quickly cleaned the spit on his lips “What happened to playing nice?”

It let out an ear-piercing screech which made Theseus flinch a bit, although the same couldn’t be said for Shin and his friend as they both covered their ears in agony. Theseus took quick notice of a few extra veins appearing on its body as its fur/feathers began shedding.

“I see” Theseus observed before turning to Shin “Hey kid you done yet?”

“Al…most -GAH” Shin groaned as he finally pulled his friend out of the rubble. He used himself to support Haruto as they both began walking.

“I’m… sorry for what I said earlier” Haruto muttered earnestly making Shin cock his head in confusion before recalling their arcade conversation

~ "This was what Junko was talking about, you need to act your age”~

“Oh” Shin realized “But thanks for that, I needed it anyways”

“Hm?” Haruto stared in surprise, he was expecting even a slight reaction. Just who the hell changed his friend’s mind in a short amount of time?

Shin turned back to Theseus who was preoccupied with the Demon of the Sky “So what now?”

“We need to find the nearest medium to send us both back to heaven so I can finish it off” Theseus replied before blocking another attack from the beast and countering.

“Medium? What’s that?” Shin raised an eyebrow in confusion

“Didn’t I explain it to you already?!” Theseus barked which caused the boy to shake his head

He sighed before explaining “A medium is an intermediary between the heavenly realm and your world, though it’s just a one-way ticket back.”

“Alright, but anything we should be looking out for?” Shin asked

“What do you think genius?” Theseus looked back before dodging a wing of the beast.

“Temples” was the answer the boy gave before he came to a realization. It was trying to cut off the path to heaven ‘But what’s the point if he’s is gonna keep beating the crap out of it again and again’

“Hey I’m sorry to interrupt, but isn’t it Itsuki shrine a few blocks away?” Haruto weakly asked.

Theseus thought for a while. None of these things were adding up. Firstly the beast had snuck past the gate which shouldn’t be possible for even a god without being detected. It then chose to destroy exit-only gates knowing that wouldn’t stop heaven from intervening. If it was trying to evolve then why come back and attack? ‘Was it simply foolishness or pride? No’ Theseus thought

All of a sudden, his eyes were caught by the flashing of a great light not far from the park. Without further guessing, one could tell it was coming from the shrine. Then Theseus realized the motives of the beast…

“You!” but before he could react, a quick talon sent him crashing into a tree.

“Freeloader!” Shin called out before a gust of wind created by the Griffin blew at the park and flew off at a speed faster than a bullet.

“-KOFF KOFF” ­Shin used his hand to fan the dust away.

“Oi brat, drop that boy on the ground” Theseus commanded as he stood up cracking his knuckles. Shin looked at Haruto who nodded saying “I’ll be fine, Junko is around the corner anyway.”

Shin placed his friend on a nearby bench at the park’s entrance before turning to the adventurer. Shin began walking away before Haruto called out “When this is all over, let’s settle our score”

Shin grinned before walking over to Theseus.

“You sure you won’t stay back and help him?”

“I thought this was my mess?” Shin sneered

“Don’t get cheeky with me, brat,” Theseus growled before placing a hand on the boy’s shoulders as he used his skill.

[Bermuda: Warp]

The two disappeared in an instant - leaving the redhead in the park.