"Takeru, Emilia, Ram, Rem, Esdeath, and everyone, long time no see!" Soon, from around a bend in the passage, Yui's voice quickly came through.
"It's Yui-san, Mio-san, Glass-san, and the others!" Hearing Yui's voice, then seeing Mio, L'arc, and the others walk out, Mirellia showed a surprised expression.
"We're really lucky. Coming to this world, we meet everyone again!" Looking at Takeru and the others, Kizuna showed a delighted expression.
Mio, on the other hand, looked a bit embarrassed. Although Takeru had already told them Kyo was a Vanguard of the Waves, they had lost track of him twice, allowing him to come to this world.
And this time, it had taken them several days to re-cross into this world, which means that Kyo had already been in this world for three or four days.
"Let's go together to the person behind this." Looking at them, Takeru invited them.
"Yes, yes. By the way, sorry. It's all because we were too lax, letting Kyo come to this world twice and cause so much trouble." Soon, L'arc realized and apologized to Takeru.
"This isn't your fault, so no need to apologize. The goal now is to kill Kyo and learn from this lesson. In the future, there will be more [Vanguard of the Waves] stirring up bloody storms. So, once you've identified a target, it's best to use swift, decisive action to kill them."
"This is very important, both for the world and for humanity." Hearing his words, Takeru shook his head. Rather than regretting the past, it was better to learn from it and improve.
"Yes!" Hearing Takeru's words, L'arc and the others nodded emphatically.
Compared to Motoyasu and the others, they had a much greater sense of responsibility.
"Let's go. After we finish this, we'll truly say goodbye." Looking at them, Takeru sighed softly.
"Sigh, I hate goodbyes." Hearing Takeru's words, Kizuna held her head and said gloomily.
"By the way, Takeru, who is she?" Then, Mio looked curiously at Ost Horai. She was the only one they hadn't seen before.
"Sorry, let me introduce myself first. I am Ost Horai. My true identity is the Spirit Tortoise's humanoid familiar." Hearing Mio's words, Ost spoke directly, without any concealment.
"The Spirit Tortoise's humanoid familiar!" Hearing Ost's words, Glass and the others were stunned.
Her identity was very sensitive at this time. But seeing Takeru and the others present, they didn't say much.
Because they all trusted Takeru and believed he had his reasons for bringing her along.
Then, L'arc and the others didn't ask further. They briefly introduced themselves and followed Takeru quickly into the Spirit Tortoise's body. As they got closer to the core, Ost remembered more and more memories.
Takeru didn't pay much attention to this. With his wide-range Observation Haki, he couldn't possibly get lost.
Walking along, Yui and the others chatted continuously with Emilia and the others. After walking for about half an hour, with Takeru intentionally speeding up, everyone finally saw a blue hourglass.
"This is... a Dragon Hourglass?" Looking at the special hourglass inside the Spirit Tortoise, Naofumi was stunned.
"So blue!" Seeing this, Filo exclaimed.
"The sand has all fallen to the bottom. Does this relate to the waves?" Rifana frowned slightly, looking puzzled.
"Compared to that, what does that icon mean?" Naofumi looked at the hourglass. On the status screen, checking it would show a small hourglass icon and the number 7.
Even Takeru had forgotten what this meant.
"It represents the number of souls the Spirit Tortoise has taken. When the hourglass is full, it should generate a barrier to protect the world from the waves." At this moment, Ost spoke slowly. Having come here, many of her memories were now clear.
"This isn't the Spirit Tortoise's heart, is it?" Then, Yui asked directly.
"Correct. It shows the number of souls, representing the total power the Spirit Tortoise has gained from souls. I clearly remember now." Hearing Yui's question, Ost explained seriously.
"Alright, let's continue." After pausing briefly here, Takeru led everyone onward.
"Ah, how disgusting. What is this!" Soon, as they walked further, the surroundings looked increasingly eerie. Filo couldn't help but exclaim.
As they walked, Ost began to question her own actions. But because she hadn't shared difficult battles with them, her feelings weren't very deep.
However, her resolve to kill the Spirit Tortoise hadn't changed.
Noticing Ost's distress, Mirellia reached out and held her hand, indicating that no matter what, she would help her.
"Eh, there's light ahead. Is that the exit?" Soon, L'arc noticed the light ahead and asked curiously.
"No, this is where the head was severed, right?" Hearing L'arc's words, Therese shook her head.
"Next, go this way." Looking at everyone, Takeru shook his head gently. He easily broke through the flesh wall beside him, revealing a hidden passage.
Arriving at the end, a special red giant heart appeared before everyone. Because of the light the heart emitted, everything inside was very clear.
"This is... the Spirit Tortoise's heart!" Looking at the large heart before him, Naofumi showed a surprised expression.
"Hahaha... I didn't expect you to actually make it here. Well, it's not impossible. You really worked hard. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kyo Ethnina. Holder of the Book Vassal Weapon!" Looking at the unfamiliar Takeru and the others, Kyo let out a wild laugh.
"Kyo!" Seeing Kyo walk out on his own, L'arc showed an angry expression.
"Whirlwind Slash!" Then, L'arc directly swung his sword at Kyo. A powerful air current quickly formed a special cyclone flying towards Kyo. But without any visible movement from Kyo, the cyclone passed directly through his body.
"Starting a fight before the greetings are even over. How annoying." Looking at L'arc's attack, Kyo showed a disgusted expression, a hint of mockery in his demeanor.
"Not a physical body?" Naofumi watched this scene calmly, realizing what had happened when he saw the cyclone pass through Kyo.
"Hmph, are you the Sword Hero? Bringing such a large crowd. What, is it a 'many stars around the moon' game?" Then, Kyo directly began provoking Takeru.
"What, are you trying to provoke me, Kyo?" Looking at Kyo, who had a superior air, a dangerous look appeared in Takeru's eyes.
Esdeath and the others behind him also glared fiercely at him. If anyone wanted to provoke Takeru, they would be ready to tear them apart.
"Hmph, what if I am?" Hearing Takeru's words, Kyo said nonchalantly.
"In your past life, you were a fat otaku, spending your days immersed in the world of games, believing that was your reality. In the end, you didn't even have the courage to continue living and chose to jump to your death. By accident, you were chosen by the Deity to come to this world."
"After coming to this world, you firmly believed this was your ideal second life, that you wouldn't be foolishly manipulated, right? In the end, you're just a loser. And today, you, the loser, will be completely buried in this world." Looking at Kyo, Takeru mocked him calmly.
"Shut up! Shut up! What do you know? The me in this world is the real me!" Hearing Takeru's words, Kyo became a bit frenzied. At the same time, he was filled with shock that Takeru knew his background.
"What, can't handle it? You fancy yourself the world's darling, but in reality, you're just someone's discarded pawn. Even as a pawn, you're the weakest. How pathetic." Seeing Kyo's angry, frenzied demeanor, Takeru continued to mock.
Takeru truly disliked this kind of person. After failing in their past life, upon gaining power and opportunity, their personality drastically changes, and their actions have no lower limit...
"You... hehe, say whatever you want. That is, if you can actually kill the Spirit Tortoise." After his anger subsided, Kyo calmed down and took a deep breath, forcing himself not to continue the verbal battle with Takeru.
"Is that so? How do you think I cut off the Spirit Tortoise's head? Sun Breathing: First Form, Dance!" Hearing his words, Takeru smiled calmly.
Then, his right hand moved quickly. Before everyone could react, a fiery red sword energy passed through Kyo and rushed towards the Spirit Tortoise's heart.
The terrifying attack instantly destroyed the heart completely.
Even after passing through the heart, the sword energy still caused horrific damage to the flesh wall behind it. If Takeru hadn't been worried about causing too much damage to the Spirit Tortoise's spiritual body, that single blow could have easily carved a huge passage through the tortoise's interior.