A Journey Through the Anime Multiverse Begins in DanMachi

Thankfully, Ryu had gotten away. Otherwise—The moment the thought crossed his mind, an ominous feeling suddenly welled up inside Noah.

The next second—

"BANG!!"

An explosion even more terrifying than the one caused by the rampaging magic swords sent a figure hurtling into the sky before she came crashing down in a sorry heap.

It was Ryu, who should have left dozens of seconds ago. Flames clung to her cloak, and even her golden hair was singed in places.

Worse still, she had landed right inside the purple-red magic circle!

"Noah! They have more ambushes in the forest! Lots of suicide bombers!"

Before Ryu had finished shouting, Noah dispelled the arcs of lightning coiling around him and rushed toward her.

This enhancement spell was tremendously powerful for a vanguard who needed to charge into enemy lines, but its arcs of lightning would destroy everything around him, friend or foe alike.

But someone else was quicker than he was: Valetta, issuing a shrill command.

"Noah! Watch me play with you before I kill you! You lot, get your weapons out!!"

In an instant, several times more members of the Dark Faction than before emerged from all directions.

At the same time, the magic circle beneath Noah's feet blazed to life, its purple-red radiance turning into countless invisible threads that bound him and Ryu.

Ignoring the strange sensation in his body, Noah scooped Ryu up and tried to charge out. Three or four members of the Dark Faction blocked his way, and then—

"BOOM!!"

A towering blaze and explosive shock wave shook the earth, forcibly driving Noah back into the magical barrier.

"Damn, that's ruthless!"

Seeing even more members of the Dark Faction closing in around him, Noah had no choice but to keep retreating.

Even if he could withstand an explosion like that, the elf in his arms couldn't!

The problem was that, surrounded as he was, Noah had less and less room to maneuver.

The Dark Faction members moved incredibly fast when using their bodies as bombs to stop him, and their resolve was so absolute that even Noah couldn't help but marvel.

It was as if they'd blow themselves up without hesitation the moment they saw which way he was facing. By the time Noah charged over, it was already too late.

To protect the elf in his arms and the three children, he could only retreat again.

At this rate, the members of the Dark Faction would all die without Noah even having to draw his sword.

But Noah could feel that Valetta's magic was about to drain his status completely, reducing him to nearly the level he'd had before receiving his Falna.

The elf in his arms was in even worse shape. She was practically an ordinary elf now.

Before, Noah had only needed to lead her along. Now, he had to carry her in his arms.

He couldn't hesitate any longer!

No matter what, he could fight his way out—but he might not be able to protect these little ones in his arms!

"Elf! Use that move from earlier!"

That move from earlier? Which one?

Ryu looked up, utterly bewildered. Only when she saw Noah's expression did she understand.

Huh? But could she really do that?

Ignoring the fear in Ryu's eyes, Noah roared, grabbed the elf by the scruff of her neck, and hurled her into the air!

"Go! I choose you!"

Noah Cipher! I hate you!!

She normally wouldn't have given this height a second thought, but with her status gone and having been thrown into the air against her will, Ryu felt a little terrified.

But when she saw Valetta staring up at her in shock, Ryu shut her eyes as if she'd decided to go down swinging, then screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Wind of Light!!"

Feeling the ripples of magic spreading through the air, Valetta's expression changed drastically.

What was going on?

Didn't this elf's wide-area bombardment spell require an incredibly long chant?

Why was it instant now?!

But the situation didn't allow Valetta much time to think.

She'd seen the Gale's bombardment spell before and didn't believe she could withstand it!

Dodge!

As she jumped backward without hesitation, Valetta spotted three more little things in the sky—the children!

Did that mean—

In Valetta's constricted pupils, countless bolts of lightning were reflected.

"Let's see if you survive this!!"

A slash—no, it was more like a gigantic shock wave unleashed by releasing all her magic power.

She'd sacrificed efficiency and precision in exchange for overwhelming range and devastating power!

It was all over. Still suspended in midair, she had no chance of dodging the attack!

Realizing this, Valetta's face twisted. She hurled the last half of the cursed sword in her hand toward Ryu in midair!

Even if I die, I won't let you get away unscathed!

As the thought surfaced in her mind, Valetta was swallowed by a downpour of lightning and electric plasma.

At the same time, the cursed sword tore through Ryu's battle clothes and plunged deep into her abdomen.

Rivira

In the Eighteenth Floor of the Dungeon, where there was no distinction between fine weather and rain, nor any change of season, a thunderous roar suddenly rang out.

It was as if a supercell thunderstorm, the kind that only appeared during a midsummer storm, had suddenly descended. Uncontrollable lightning and electric arcs swept outward in every direction.

Rocks, giant trees, and crystals were all annihilated in an instant. Countless monsters were turned to dust before they could flee.

The searing gale of the shock wave swept through the area, and its light bleached everything in sight.

The entire floor shuddered violently, as if it had been struck by a super-wide-area annihilation spell, like a ship caught in raging waves.

The world-shaking disaster lasted for more than twenty seconds. Then the thunderstorm and gale vanished completely.

The Eighteenth Floor was unusually silent in the aftermath, as though even the monsters were holding their breath in fear.

Only a vast, charred clearing that had appeared abruptly in the forest remained, along with fires still burning in the woods at its edges.

"I should've killed them, right?"

Enduring the stinging, swollen sensation that covered his body after the magical outburst, Noah looked at the charred figures before him, whose human shapes were barely recognizable.

They were the first enemies he'd faced since coming to this world. They'd been vicious, sinister, shameless, and clever. Noah couldn't help feeling a little regret that they'd died so soon.

But an enemy was still an enemy. Noah only indulged himself when it didn't put anyone else in danger.

Now, someone had clearly been injured, and he needed to turn his attention back to them.

"Hey, elf? What's wrong? Are you dead?"

Before the thunderstorm swept through, Noah had quickly unfurled the cloak around his waist and used it to shield Ryu and the three girls beneath him.

Apparently reinforced by the power of a spirit and made with rare materials, the protective cloak hadn't been able to withstand his power. It was now in tatters.

The girls still hadn't woken up. Noah didn't know whether the sedative had been too strong or they'd woken up only to be knocked out again, but at least they seemed unharmed.

The important thing was Ryu—

"Mm... I-I'm not called 'elf'! Call me Ryu!"

Ryu, focused on the strangest thing, leaned limply against Noah and weakly pressed a hand to her abdomen. Her waist-length golden hair was stained with blood.

Fragments of the black blade had pierced her battle clothes and stabbed into her fair skin. Blood was gushing out.

Perhaps it was the weakness that followed the magical outburst, but when Noah saw the blood, his throat felt dry and itchy—

No! Now wasn't the time for that!

"Okay, elf. No problem, elf. How's your wound? Want me to pull it out for you?"

Ryu had been looking a little listless, but that snapped her back to attention. She glared at Noah resentfully.

"I'm not going to die!"

Before Noah could move, Ryu gripped the broken sword herself and pulled it out with a squelch of flesh.

At that moment, Ryu showed the grit of an adventurer. Her wound was deep, but aside from her face growing paler and sweat running down her forehead, she remained composed and didn't waver in the slightest.

"Song of the distant forest, melody of life from days past, grant your mercy of healing to the one who beseeches you—Noah Heal!"

Healing magic sure was great. I wish I had some too... Then I could heal my opponents a little before fighting them again, instead of having to put them out of their misery once I'd beaten them half to death.

Noah, who kept advancing along the path of destruction, sighed wistfully.

Oh, unless the special bloodline inside him—which seemed to let him obtain magic power through women's bodily fluids—counted.

Although it hadn't shown any obvious traits yet, Noah could tell that his bloodline had probably awakened by now.

The problem was that, aside from making him better at seducing women, he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

But even after a flash of emerald light, the wound in Ryu's abdomen showed no sign of healing, much to Noah's envy.

"How could this be?!"

While Ryu was astonished, Noah rested his fingers on his chin and wore an almost scholarly expression.

"It must be the Incurable Curse. Amazing. Even healing magic can't do anything. I'd love to ask the people who developed this curse how it works."

Ryu had seen that expression too many times when her teammate Laila researched all kinds of strange new weapons and items. It was like a child pulling, twisting, and stomping on a toy to see what would happen. Sometimes Ryu would stand nearby and watch.

But when she became the subject of someone else's observations, Ryu was absolutely not interested!

"Hey! Why are you acting like this has nothing to do with you?!"

Noah tilted his head, looking confused.

"Of course it has nothing to do with me. The sword's stuck in your stomach, not mine. Why should I be worried?"

His words were so matter-of-fact and cold that Ryu's eyes widened. She was nearly infuriated to death.

But before she could get angry, Noah slipped one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders, picked her up, and leapt into the air.

As for the three little ones? He simply swung the cloak around and bundled them up. The holes in the tattered fabric gave them plenty of air.

Was this a bridal carry?

The wind whistled past her ears. Ryu instinctively wrapped her arms around Noah's neck and looked up at the boy's face.

For a nimble swordswoman like Ryu, jumping to this height was easy. But being held in someone's arms was an entirely different feeling.

The beat of the opposite sex's heart reached her ears through his armor. Even with blood still pouring from her wound, Ryu felt her face burn, her head spin, and her heart race...

Wait, could this be a false sensation caused by blood loss?

In the western part of the Eighteenth Floor's great lake stood an island, connected to the mainland by a bridge made of enormous logs.

At the island's eastern end, atop a cliff at least two hundred meters high, stood a town.

It was called a town, but its walls were built only from the surrounding rocks and crystals, and all its buildings were stacked atop the cliff like building blocks.

A wooden archway decorated with pillars and flags bore the words "Rivira Town."

The Guild had originally established the town as a large relay station to explore unknown floors more efficiently. But after monsters invaded and the cost of its defenses grew too high, the Guild was eventually forced to abandon it.

Later, however, a group of greedy, profit-seeking adventurers took it over and turned it into a black market beyond the Guild's control.

They sold everything from magic grimoires and treasures of equal value to forbidden potions like the Unlock Potion. Made with divine blood, it could forcibly undo the seal a god had placed on someone's status.

At that moment, a commotion had broken out in Rivira. Adventurers carrying enormous packs scattered in every direction like ants in a hot pan.

When they saw Noah leap across the lake and run straight up the cliff from below, they all raised their weapons.

"Who's there?!"