Life in Vain: Jobless Reincarnation

197 – Absolute Pin – I

<Zenithia>, the Imperial Palace of Arcadia. There in the courtyard, Rudy and Orsted stood, discussing the upcoming events and how they would handle it.

Rudy smiled and said, "Thank you for coming on such short notice, Orsted."

Orsted nodded. "Of course. Anything to prevent Being W's actions from coming to fruition. However..." He frowned and said, "Are you fine going alone?"

Rudy shook his head. "I won't be going alone. Dad, Pierre, Roland, Ruijerd, Eos, Laws, Rostelina, Cliff... Well, we have a whole party set up. Not to mention the White Knights and paladins from Millishion."

Orsted paused to think and then slowly nodded. "That is wise. But to bring such a force... Ah. It is bait."

"Mmhm." Rudy nodded and said, "He's going to try and do something for sure. I think he planned to wait until the day of my children's birth, but if I'm gone and my wives are left mostly unattended-"

"He will act on impulse." Orsted chuckled. "After all, he hates you a great deal."

"The feeling's mutual."

Orsted smiled. "Then you can entrust your family to me, Rudy. Besides." His grin turned feral and he said, "There have been few opportunities in my life to utilize my full strength. This will be a great learning experience."

Rudy laughed and then tapped Orsted's shoulder. "Have fun, Buddy. I'll be counting on you." After that, he took a step and vanished.

Orsted stared for a moment at where Rudy was and then shifted his gaze towards the palace, where Rudy's family was staying. "Hm... It is unlikely, but in the worst case scenario..." Muttering under his breath, Orsted vanished as well.

-LIV-

A large rescue party had been gathered to rescue the Imperial Princess.

Members of the White Knights, Adventurers, paladins from Millishion, the Survey Corps... they all were gathered at the base of the Black Tower, waiting for their orders.

Rudy stood at the forefront, wearing his imperial garb. Looking out at the crowd, he nodded and said, "I thank you for your service." Resting his hand on his obsidian sword, he said, "The heavens have deemed it a sin to peer into its secrets and punished us by spiriting away our beloved princess. But do we allow it?"

The crowd roared. "NO!"

Rudy nodded. "That's right." He drew his sword and said, "The heavens threw us into hell and we created our own paradise. The divine sought to turn our differences into animosity, but we overcame them as true comrades. Isn't that right?"

The crowd roared again. "YES!"

Rudy nodded and then gestured for silence. After it quieted down, he said, "As always, this is a dangerous journey. We venture again into the unknown, and some of you may fall. But rest assured, you will return. And you will be remembered until the end of time in the Hall of Heroes."

A solemn silence. The crowd- No, the Ena Rescue Party staring up at Rudy.

Rudy stared out at them, and then he glanced at the people following right behind him.

Roland stood behind him on the right wearing full armor. His face was hidden, but the tense way he held his sword betrayed his emotions.

Eos stood behind Rudy on his left. She wore the black tunic and pants uniform of the Survey Corp and looked ready to go. But as she adjusted her glasses, the dark circles under her eyes revealed her fatigue.

Behind them, Paul and Pierre stood, both at the ready. Ruijerd, Laws, and Rostelina stood at the back, all equipped for combat.

And Cliff stood at the rear, wearing a pristine white robe, his dark eyes narrowed in focus.

Rudy turned to the right and swung his sword.

Space tore, forming a gash in the air that revealed a vast desert with scorching winds and shifting sand.

Glancing back at the front one more time, he raised his sword and said, "We march on the Begaritto Continent! Our objective: Secure the Imperial Princess Ena at all costs!"

Light flared as magical artifacts on every person present activated. Magic formations to negate the harsh weather and also serve as communication devices.

Seeing that, Rudy nodded and then walked through the portal.

Space flickered as the Ena Rescue Party departed.

And then there was silence at the base of the tower, as if nothing was there in the first place.

-LIV-

The void between worlds, covered with an endless white mist. There, Hitogami stood staring at the expedition party just arriving in the Begaritto Continent.

As he examined the people in the group, he cackled and clapped his hands together. "Finally! Everything's back on course!"

It took a lot of careful nudging and tweaks. Sending messages to various 'experts' as divine 'inspiration' instead of 'revelations.' Using dreams as a vehicle to create motivations and move people without drawing attention to himself.

Then he had to move enough monsters at the right times and places to create calculated mana resonances and line things up so it was a 'natural' result instead of his 'unnatural' intervention...

Hitogami let out a feral grin. Staring at Rudy forming a base of operations in the desert, Hitogami let out a feral grin and said, "This time you can't escape it, Rudy." He shifted his gaze to Pierre and said, "Your cheating bastard of a friend there can't do anything either since this is how it's 'destined to be.' He. Hehe. Hehehe!"

If the world wouldn't let him do as he wished without backlash, then Hitogami would just make the world do what he wanted. And at the same time, he would help the world do what was natural and correct 'destiny' to the proper flow.

It was a one-two combo that even that ridiculous bastard couldn't overcome.

He stepped back and spread his arms, spinning around with a smile on his face. "Ah, what a wonderful feeling!" He laughed again and then stopped glancing back at the Human Realm below.

Looking at Rudy one more time, Hitogami chuckled and said, "Don't provoke him my ass." He shifted his gaze towards the Teleport Labyrinth where Rudy's beloved daughter was trapped in a magic crystal. And not just trapped, but slowly being corroded from the mana seeping into her body.

He shifted his gaze again to see the 'hero' and his party members heading towards the Magic Continent to end the 'bloodline of the Demon God.'

Hitogami cackled and said, "You're not the only one who can raise an expedition team, Rudy."

It was a win-win situation. An absolute pin.

If Rudy had stayed behind, Ena would have been corrupted and turned into a mindless killing machine.

If Rudy left, as he did, then there wouldn't be enough forces to protect his family back in that Empire of his.

Of course, there was that son of the Dragon God somewhere in the Magic Continent, but as far as he could tell from his future self, that guy couldn't go all out. And since his goal was to 'kill Hitogami,' he wouldn't waste his precious mana on something like protecting Rudy's family.

So, win-win.

Even in the miraculous occasion that Rudy somehow saved his daughter AND defeated the hero team, he wouldn't be able to stop Perugius from attacking later on that year. And if even THAT failed, Hitogami would FINALLY have enough justification to descend upon the Human Realm with his full powers against the world-level threat that Rudy was.

Foolproof.

Absolutely foolproof.

...Even so.

"Why do I feel like I'm still missing something?"

Hitogami muttered and then scanned the Human Realm below.

Everything was exposed to him now. Even that Empire Rudy created.

By removing influence and apostles, as well as by entrusting his own fate to the flow of the world, Hitogami could see everything that happened in the world.

At that point, he truly was All-seeing.

And yet, something felt off.

"Is there still something I can't see?"

No, that couldn't be the case. It would take a being on the level of a god like himself to do so.

And while the mortals called themselves 'gods,' they were far from the level where he stood.

Not only that, Hitogami was certain no other 'gods' existed, as he possessed all the other sparks of divinity from the fallen gods.

The only one he was missing was that of the Dragon God, but that had been splintered and lost to time. It would also take the death of all the current Dragon Kings to gather the pieces.

So it was impossible.

"...It's just the nerves."

That had to be it.

His plan was absolutely foolproof, but he still had nerves because he lacked a safety net.

But this would work.

No matter how much of a genius or prodigy Rudy was. No matter if he teamed up with the True Dragon God's son, Orsted.

At the end of the day, Rudy was still 'human.'

And a 'human' could not defeat a god.

That was an absolute truth in this world.

So...

Hitogami sat back in a misty throne and watched Rudy's actions.

This would be a learning experience.

At best, this would be the end. At worst, Hitogami would learn more of Rudy and his allies' capabilities for the final clash.

But either way...

"This will be over soon, Rudy."

Hitogami grinned.

-A.S-

The small house that Akito temporarily lived in. Specifically, the workshop he had created inside.

There, Akito fiddled with his watch, reading the recent messages from Shizuka. After that, he glanced at [REDACTED] standing next to him.

"Are you sure that this is fine?"

[REDACTED]

Akito frowned. "Lara said that everything depends on what we do here. And Shizuka's waiting for us to tie up loose ends here before she does her part."

[REDACTED]

Akito sighed. "...I still think we should just take that guy out now since you have the key."

[REDACTED]

"I know, I know." Akito ran his hand through his hair. "There's a sequence of events we have to follow to make sure that guy's gone for good." He sighed and inputted a few commands on his watch. After that, he looked up and said, "Should I get going then? You'll handle the rest here, right?"

[REDACTED]

"Got it." Akito nodded and then pressed a button on his watch. A blue light began to pulse, spreading throughout the room. As that happened, he looked over at [REDACTED] and said, "Thanks for helping out. And say thank you to Rudy for me."

[REDACTED]

A brilliant flash of azure light surged. And when it faded, both the room and the house was empty.

Nothing remained.