Songs in the Void

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Reisen Gorge.

While the rabbit girl sprinted towards Tatsuo, who was still standing in the Hummer's flat bed, Sumire and Aletia watched from the inside of the cab. And when they saw the sparkle in the girl's eyes, they both sighed in unison.

"*Sigh* And that makes three." Aletia muttered in an irritated tone.

"It's probably not just three, though." Sumire replied. "I still remember the way that Princess Liliana used to look at him back at the castle. Then, there are any number of girls in his world. *Sigh* I knew having him all to myself was a pipe dream, but I never thought it would spiral out of control this quickly."

After hearing what Sumire had to say, Aletia's head popped up vigorously as she stared into Sumire's eyes. Apparently, she had not considered the competition from Tatsuo's own world.

"I'm going back with him." Aletia said in a tone filled with conviction.

"*Sigh* I knew you were going to say that." Sumire replied as she raised her hand to rub the bridge of her nose. "We'll talk about this later. She's almost here."

And just as Sumire said, the rabbit girl was finally next to the Hummer. Then, without hesitation, she sprung herself off the ground and dove into Tatsuo's arms.

In response, Tatsuo adjusted his footing and caught the girl. Then, spinning around with his arms wrapped around the girl to kill the momentum. Then, once he stopped spinning, he held her to his chest while smiling charmingly as he patted the back of her head and back to calm her down.

"Calm down." Tatsuo said soothingly, his high [Charm Stat] on full display. "Let's get inside, then you can tell us what's going on and what you need our help with, alright?"

"*Sniff* Okay." The rabbit girl replied while using Tatsuo's shirt to wipe her snot and tears.

It took all Tatsuo had to not slap the girl away in disgust. That said, he did quickly grab her by the back of her tattered clothing and pull her away from himself. Then, he channeled [Lightning Clad] to his free hand and evaporated all the snot and tears.

"*Sniff* I'm sorry." The rabbit girl said after noticing that Tatsuo seemed to be disgusted by her actions.

"*Sigh* It's fine." Tatsuo replied. "Anyway, let's get inside. Then we can take care of the introductions and see if we can help you with your problem."

"*Sniff* Okay..." The rabbit girl said with a nod.

The two then jumped down from the Hummer's flatbed before Tatsuo opened the back door for the rabbit girl. After she climbed inside and he closed the door behind her, Tatsuo climbed back into the driver's seat and continued driving to the east.

"So, who are you?" Aletia asked, glaring at the rabbitman girl from the front seat.

"Um... My name is Shea Haulia." the rabbitman girl, Shea, said while fidgeting under Aletia's glare. "I'm the... Um... daughter of the chief of the Haulia Tribe of rabbit beastmen."

"It's nice to meet you, Shea-San." Sumire said with a smile. "I'm Minami Violet Sumire." Just call me Sumire, Minami is my surname."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Sumire." Shea replied in a much more cheerful tone.

Shea then turned her attention to Tatsuo and Aletia, hoping to get their names, too. Though, it was clear she was more interested in knowing Tatsuo's name.

"Soramoto Tatsuo." Tatsuo said after seeing Shea's glances through the rear view mirror. "Like Sumire-San, just call me Tatsuo. Soramoto is my surname."

"Does that mean you two are from the same place?" Shea asked, tilting her head cutely, her ears flopping to one side with the tilt of her head.

'Damn... that's cute.' Tatsuo and Sumire thought simultaneously.

"Something like that." Tatsuo replied.

"We were summoned when the Heiligh Kingdom performed the Hero Summoning Ritual]." Sumire added, complementing Tatsuo's lack-luster explanation.

Hearing that, Shea tilted her head to the other side, clearly uninformed of the happenings in the Heiligh Kingdom.

"It doesn't surprise me that she doesn't know." Tatsuo said as he flipped a switch on the dashboard to operate a weapon that shot down a flying magic beast. "I mean, it's not like humans and beastmen get along in this world."

"Oh... I forgot." Sumire replied with a nod. "This is the first time I've seen a beastman, after all."

"Anyway, what do you want us to help with?" Aletia asked, getting the conversation back on topic.

"Oh, that's right!" Shea replied, her long rabbit ears standing straight up as her expression turned panicked.

*Thump!*

Before the conversation could go on any further, Sumire flicked Aletia's forehead, causing her to raise her hands to cover the spot where she was struck while her eyes spat fire at the beauty with two-toned hair.

"What was that for?" Aletia asked in an aggravated tone.

"Introduce yourself." Sumire said sternly. "Don't be rude."

Immediately, Aletia turned away.

"Aletia..." Aletia said quietly without looking back at Shea. "The rest of my name doesn't matter."

"It's nice to meet you." Shea said energetically.

"Alright, why don't you tell us what you need, exactly." Tatsuo said once the introductions were out of the way.

Once again, Shea's expression turned panicked. However, before she could start freaking out, Tatsuo took a hand off the wheel, reached back, and started patting Shea's head between her long ears.

"Take a deep breath." Tatsuo said. "Panicking isn't going to get the information to us any faster."

Following Tatsuo's instructions, Shea took a deep breath. At the same time, no one missed the blush that colored her cheeks when Tatsuo patted her head. Then, when she was calm once again, she started telling her story.

The Haulia Tribe of rabbitmen was one of the many beast man tribes living in the Haultina Sea of Trees. And they were one of the more peaceful tribes of the myriad tribes in the forest. Unfortunately, that led to stronger tribes bullying them. Even so, they lived peacefully.

However, when Shea was born, things changed.

Shea was born with an atavistic mutation that allowed her to control magic power, something that all other beastmen were unable to do. Because of that, Shea's father, Cam Haulia, the chief of the tribe, decided that in order to keep both Shea and the rest of the tribe safe, the fact that Shea was different would be hidden.

Unfortunately, the truth was eventually revealed. When it was, most of the beastmen in the Sea of Trees did not take the revelation too well, treating Shea like a monster, who were supposedly the only known beings who could control mana.

As a result, the other tribes called for Shea's execution. However, the Haulia tribe had no intention of killing one of their own. So, as a whole, they decided to leave the Sea of Trees and move to the mountains where they would be able to make al;iving for themselves.

However, that decision led to yet another unfortunate situation for the Haulia Tribe. Soon after leaving the Sea of Trees, they ran into a group of slavers from the Holscher Empire, the human country most known for enslaving beastmen, though beastmen were not treated particularly well anywhere on the continent, outside of the Haultina Sea of Trees, as both humans and demons do not treat them like people because of their inability to wield mana.

"When the humans showed up, those who could escape ran towards the Reisen Gorge." Shea continued, tears dripping down her face as she told her story. "But the ones who escaped into the gorge are currently under attack from a group of monsters."

"*Sigh* That's terrible." Sumire said while looking at Shea sympathetically. "If they stay in the gorge, they'll be eaten by the monsters. But if thay run, they'll be captured by the slavers."

"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" Tatsuo said as he put more [Energy] into the Hummer. "I'd rather not see such a pretty girl cry any more than she already has."

Shea's face reddened thanks to Tatsuo's compliment. Meanwhile, Sumire and Aletia sighed in annoyance.

"He's getting worse." Aletia said sharply.

"There's probably nothing he can do about it." Sumire replied while shaking her head.

"I know." Aletia said as she sharply turned her head away and looked out the window. "That doesn't mean I have to like it, though."

"*Sigh* I know what you mean." Sumire said while shaking her head. She then looked back to Shea, who was shyly stealing glances at Tatsuo through the rear view mirror,and continued. "Don't worry, Shea-San. We'll do everything we can to save your tribesman."

"Oh... Uh... Thank you." Shea said as she jumped in surprise. "Really, thank you."

"Why does it looks like she cares more about staring at Tatsuo than saving her people." Aletia asked while continuing to look out the window.

"That's not true!" Shea shouted, her face reddening even further. "They're about equal..."

In response to Shea's admittance, Aletia snorted while Sumire sighed once again. Tatsuo, on the other hand, laughed uproariously.

It did not take much longer for a group of monsters attacking a group of people with rabbit ears came into sight.

"Tch! I won't be able to use the gatling gun for this." Tatsuo muttered while lowering his window. "Don't wanna tear apart any of the people we're trying to protect by accident."

Once the window was lowered, Tatsuo drew one of his pistols and stuck his arm out the window before aiming at a flying monster that looked like a Pteranodon before it could sweep up a rabbit-eared boy that looked no older than thirteen.

*Zap!* *Bang!*

In the next instant, the Pteranodon-like monster's head exploded, drenching the rabbitman boy in blood, bone fragments, and grey matter. A moment later, a thunderous sound of explosion momentarily dazed all the beastmen and monsters alike when the sound barrier was broken five times over.

"Whoa!" Shea exclaimed as her ears stood up straight.

A moment later, Tatsuo burst into the crowd of monsters, running many of them over before skidding to a stop, causing another Diheadoar to stumbled when the side of the Hummer slammed into its legs.

"Let's go." Tatsuo ordered as he pushed his door open and hopped out of the Hummer.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

As soon as he was on the ground, Tatsuo fired his pistols repeatedly. Every shot dropped one of the smaller monsters. He then [Blinked into the air, reappearing behind the Diheadoar with his midnight purple mana coating his weapons and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

However, before he could unleash the [Spatial Rend] intended to decapitate the Diheadoar, another Pteranodon-like monster swept in from the side, causing Tatsuo to use one of his bladed pistols to deflect its talon, severing it in the process thanks to a [Spatial Slash].

Tatsuo then swung his other pistol at the Diheadoar. However, because of the reduced power thanks to only using one [Spatial Rend], he was only able to take off one of its heads.

*Roar!*

In response, the Diheadoar roared in both pain and fury before bending down to eat the severed head.

*Thunk!*

Before it could take its first bite, however, the Diheadoar froze, a spear shaft sticking out of its head from between its eyes.

As it turned out, Sumire also leapt out of the Hummer shortly after Tatsuo, pulling her shield and spear out of her [Spatial Ring] as she did so. Then, she swatted away a wolf-type monster with her shield, skewered it through the neck while it was still airborne, and kicked the Hummer's door shut behind her.

After that, Sumire noticed that Tatsuo's attack would not be enough to cut off both the Diheadoar's heads. So, she reeled her spear back. Then, as it started lowering its body, she threw her spear, piercing its remaining head between the eyes.

*Swoosh!*

*Clang!*

*Crack!*

Then, spinning with the momentum from throwing her spear, Sumire let go of her shield, sending it flying towards a monster that looked like a sabretooth tiger that was about to claw swipe a rabbitman woman who was too slow to evade, sending it flying away with the force as the shield impacted its rib cage.

*Bang!*

A shot from Tatsuo, who was falling to the ground, ended the tiger's life. Meanwhile, Sumire, while running towards another monster, recalled her shield and spear. Then, when they were in her hands, she leapt into the air and thrust her spear down into the head of the monster she targeted before leaping to avoid a dive from the Pteranodon Tatsuo injured previously.

Sumire then brought down the edge of her shield on the Pteranodon's neck, breaking it and causing it to fall to the ground. Though the monster was still alive, surviving its broken neck and the high speed fall, it lost its life shortly afterwards when Sumire fell from above and impaled it through the back, piercing its heart.

With Tatsuo and Sumire continuing to tear through the monsters, the managed to take them all down in a little more than seven minutes. Meanwhile, Shea, when she deemed it safe enough, jumped out of the Hummer and ran towards one of the older rabbitmen, a middle-aged man with short dark blue hair and rabbit ears and a goatee of the same color, catching him before he could fall to the ground.

"Shea, you're back." The middle-aged rabbitman said, his tone a mixture of surprise and relief.

"Yea, I'm back, father." Shea replied, sounding a bit guilty. A moment later, however, her mood improved and she continued while pointing a finger at Tatsuo, Sumire, and Aletia, who also got out of the Hummer. "And I brought help."

Looking in the direction of Shea's finger, her father, Cam Haulia, saw the two that saved them from the monsters and a small girl gathering together. However, what surprised him the most was the fact that all the monster corpses were vanishing whenever one of the three got close to them.

"What is that?" Cam asked in a dumbfounded tone. "Where did the go?"

Shea was just as confused. So, the only thing she could do was shake her head at what she was seeing.

Meanwhile, all the surviving rabbitmen, relieved to see that Shea was okay, gathered around Shea and Cam.

"Did we actually get saved by humans?"

"I bet they'll try to enslave us, too."

"Yeah, they're probably with the Empire's men."

"Even if they aren't humans can't be trusted."

While Shea and Cam were still watching the monster corpses disappear in amazement, the other members of the Haulia Tribe watched them with skepticism while commenting amongst themselves. Those comments snapped Shea and Cam out of their stupors.

"No, they aren't with the Holscher Empire!" Shea exclaimed after hearing her tribesman. "I saw them in a vision. That's why I ran off as soon as the monsters attacked us. I knew we would be able to count on them to help us."

Hearing about Shea's so-called vision, the Haulia tribesmen calmed down immediately. Then, all the wary gazes pointed at the trio of Tatsuo, Sumire, and Aletia turned warm and gentle in an instant.

"You saw us in a vision?" Tatsuo asked curiously as he and the girl's made their way over to the group of rabbitmen after collecting all the monster corpses. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"Huh?" Shea exclaimed in confusion while tilting her head at Tatsuo's question. A moment later, she slapped the side of her right fist into her upturned left palm, realizing she forgot to mention her visions during her introductions of herself and the situation her tribe was in. "Oh, that's right. I forgot to tell you. I have the ability to see the future based on my decisions and actions. It activates automatically when I'm in danger. But if I choose to activate it myself, it costs three times as much mana to use."

"And let me guess, that higher mana cost is all the mana you have, right?" Sumire asked, already knowing the answer to her question.

In response, Shea nodded her head bashfully.

"So, you must have used it before you and your tribe ran into the guys from Holscher, right?" Tatsuo asked with a smile.

"Yes." Shea replied with a nod while her chin was all but buried between her breasts. "My friend wanted to know how her love life would go, so I..."

While one of the rabbitmen girls around Shea's age started blushing fiercely, the rest of the tribe smiled at the two warmly, seeming to not care that because of this little interaction, many of their fellow tribes man were either captured or killed.

"Useless rabbit." Aletia said coldly while glaring at Shea… or rather at her large breasts that were almost on full display thanks to her tattered clothing.

Seeing Aletia's glare, although he was quite enjoying the view, Tatsuo shook his head. Then, he took a long jacket with a hood, an article that Sumire and Aletia made for him during the month and a half they spent in the Abode of Traitors, out of his [Inventory], and tossed it at Shea.

With her head down due to embarrassment, She did not see the jacket coming. So, it hit her in the head and draped over her body.

Shocked, Shea quickly took hold of the jacket and looked it over. And when she realized it was something for her to cover up with and that it must have come from Tatsuo, one of the taller people gathered, she smiled sweetly with her ears twitching from side to side.

"Anyway, we can talk more about you guy's current situation later." Tatsuo said, his smile turning serious as he spoke. "Shea-San asked us to help your people. So, let's get moving. We don't want those guys from Holscher getting too far while we just stand here, do we?"