Songs in the Void: A Multiversal Score

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Heiligh Kingdom, Ur Village. 

Not long after James left to chase Yukitoshi and the Demon, Reiss, Tatsuo, Sumire, Aletia, and Shea finished setting up the camp around the collapsable house. After that, there was not much for the quartet to do. So, they continued to experiment with the [Gravity Magic] the recently learned. 

Even so, there was only so long any one person could stay focused on a particular task. So, Aletia found herself sitting outside of the collapsable house and staring at the black dragon who was fast asleep and snoring slightly. 

"I can't believe I'm actually seeing a member of the Dragonman race." Aletia muttered to herself while watching the black dragon sleep. 

"Why's that?" Tatsuo, who just came out of the house with a smile on his face after making a few more gravity grenades, asked in a curious tone. 

Hearing the voice coming from behind her, Aletia quickly turned her head to look back. And when she did, a small smile appeared on her face. And when you consider how little her expression usually changed, such a small smile might as well have been a wide, beaming one to onlookers. 

"Sit with me." Aletia said as she patted the ground next to her. 

Shrugging his shoulders, Tatsuo made his way over to Aletia and lazily sat down next to her. 

"You know, a nap doesn't sound half bad right now." Tatsuo murmured while looking at the sleeping black dragon. 

However, before Tatsuo could think any further on the subject, Aletia climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. 

"I'm hungry." Aletia said while licking her lips and staring at Tatsuo's neck. 

"Go ahead." Atsuo replied while reaching up to move his collar away from his neck. 

"Itadakimas." Aletia said, copying the word she often heard Tatsuo and Sumire say before meals. 

A moment later, Aletia plunged her fangs into Tatsuo's neck. And as she drank his blood, her eyelashes fluttered in pure bliss. 

Tatsuo, on the other hand, after having the idea of taking a nap, wrapped an arm around Aletia's waist. Then, he slowly laid back on the ground and supported the back of his head with his other hand. Not long later, he slowly closed his eyes, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. 

Naturally, Aletia did not notice that Tatsuo had fallen asleep right away. IN fact, she did not notice until she was done drinking his blood, removed her fangs from his neck, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She then looked down and noticed Tatsuo's even breathing and closed eyes. 

Unable to help herself, Aletia stroked Tatsuo's cheek with her delicate hand while smiling gently. Then, she decided she would join him in the land of dreams as she shifted her position and laid her head on his chest before falling asleep herself. 

With the two falling asleep, time passed quickly. And in what felt like the blink of an eye, the sun was starting to set over the western horizon. Around that time, Sumire, who had been training in the collapsable house before starting to work on dinner, noticed that only Shea had returned, her internal clock letting her know it was almost time to eat. 

However, when Sumire saw the pout on Shea's face, she was curious to know what made the rabbit girl unhappy. 

"Welcome back, Shea-San." Sumire said with a smile. "Is something wrong? And do you know where Tatsuo-Kun and Aletia-San are?" 

At the mention of Tatsuo and Aletia, Shea's pout got even more pronounced. 

"They're sleeping outside." Shea said, sounding like a child whose toy was taken away. "It's not fair. I wanna snuggle with Tatsuo, too." 

Sumire's eyebrows raised when she heard that. Then, she put the knife she was using to cut vegetables down and decided she would see for herself. So, after wiping her hands on the apron Tatsuo made for her that would clean itself and keep away harmful bacteria, she turned around and went to look outside. 

And when Sumire got outside, she could not help but smile. The sight of Tatsuo sleeping on the ground with Aletia sleeping on his chest was just so cute. Especially when you consider that Aletia looked like a twelve year old. They almost looked like siblings enjoying a nap under the sun together. 

"Hey, I'm back!" James voice rang out, breaking the serene atmosphere as he approached at high-speed. 

Sumire could only sigh at that. Because, before she could take out her smartphone and snap a picture of the cute scene, Tatsuo's eyelashes started to flutter after hearing James' voice. 

"*Yawn* Mmm… What time is it?" Tatsuo asked as he tried to sit up, but a pleasant weight atop his chest made him stop. 

"Doesn't matter." Aletia replied, nuzzling her face into Tatsuo's chest as she did so. "Sleep." 

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" James, with the paralyzed Yukitoshi slung over his shoulder, asked as he stopped next to Sumire. 

"*Sigh* Not really." Sumire replied while shaking her head. "It would have been nice if you had showed up a minute or so later, though. I would have been able to take all the pictures I wanted if you had." 

"Huh?" James asked, a bit confused at Sumire's reply. However, when he looked at Tatsuo and Aletia, his confused expression disappeared before it was replaced by a wide, teasing smile. "Oh, I see. Minami-Sensei, I didn't know you were like that. To think you were into taking pictures of your sleeping students. Ooh! How scandalous." 

"Be quiet, Alaverus-Kun." Sumire shot back, more than just a hint of annoyance seeping into her tone. "Or there will be no dinner for you tonight." 

Immediately, with mirth in his eyes, James mimed zipping his mouth shut. Though, it was clear to anyone who was looking that he was enjoying Sumire's reaction. 

"Oh, James, you're back." Tatsuo muttered while wiping the sleep from his eyes. "It looks like you brought back Shimizu, too. Find anything interesting while you were out there." 

"Not really." James replied with a shrug as he dropped Yukitoshi to the ground. "You know, just the usual. This guy ran into a demon who promised him the world if he betrayed humanity and killed Aiko and destroyed Ur. No biggie." 

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tatsuo replied with a nod as he sat up and sat Aletia down on the ground next to him. "That's like every other Tuesday, right?" 

"Exactly." James replied with a nod. 

"You know, I'm pretty sure the two of you are joking." Sumire said in an exasperated tone. "But if you're not, I'm not sure I wanna look into what kind of lives you've led until now." 

Tatsuo and James started laughing when they heard Sumire's response. And before long, Sumire started laughing along with them. Meanwhile, Aletia was glaring at James for interrupting her nap time with Tatsuo. While Yukitoshi was frustrated because he could hear everything that was being said but was completely unable to respond and express the rage he was feeling. 

AT the same time, back in the collapsable house, Shea, who had sat down at the dinner table tiredly when she came back from her training, was wondering just what was going on, as she could hear the laughter from outside. At the same time, she was feeling kind of left out because she was not a part of it. 

Shortly afterwards, the group returned inside the collapsable house to have dinner. Before that, they dropped Yukitoshi off in a room after sealing his magic. Tatsuo also sprinkled him with a healthy amount of the paralyzing spores he collected from the moths in the Orcus Great Labyrinth to keep him in one place. Then, the group ate dinner and chatted together and finally going to sleep without incident. 

The next morning, the group decided to not do anything and simply wait for the black dragon to wake up. And exactly twenty four hours after she fell asleep, she did just that. 

"*Yawn~~~~~~* I feel so refreshed." The black dragon said after letting out a big enough yawn to shake the nearby trees and make the collapsable house shake. "Now, where are those people I said I would talk to yesterday?" 

With that, the black dragon looked around. However, it did not take long for her to find the group of people, Tatsuo, Sumire, James, Aletia, and Shea, as they were sitting outside, around a table and under an umbrella, waiting for her to wake up. 

In fact, they were even kind enough to leave a seat at the table for her to join them. 

Deciding to take the group of youngsters up on their implied offer, the black dragon was covered in a coat of black mana that was even darker than her scales. Then, the silhouette of the dragon under the cloak began shrinking rapidly. By the time it was finished, it was the size of a taller than average woman. Then, it simply dispersed into the air. 

Now, instead of a seven meter long dragon, a tall, beautiful, voluptuous woman appearing to be in her early to mid-twenties standing at about 5'7" with long, jet-black hair and golden pupils wearing a set of traditional dragon man robes that resembled a black kimono with red lining, a unique floral pattern sewn into the bottom, and a yellow and pink obi wrapped around her waist. She also wore the robe loosely in a way that revealed her shoulders and a large amount of cleavage. 

"*Whistle* She wears that kimono the same way Kuroka wears hers." James said while appreciating the dragonman woman's beauty. 

"Salutations." The dragonman woman said as she took elegant steps towards the table. "Please, allow me to thank you for guarding me while I slept. Though, it was all but useless in the end. There is nothing in these mountains that could have harmed me." 

"Well, even if we assume that's the truth." Tatsuo said casually. "Though they would not have been able to hurt you, there was at least one person running around the mountains that would have been able to disadvantage you by quite a bit." 

"What, pre tell, do you mean?" The dragon man woman asked as she reached into her robe's sleeve and pulled out a hand fan. She then flipped it open and used it to cover her mouth as she continued. "I'm curious to know how someone might have 'disadvantaged' me, as you so eloquently put it.' 

'Oh, I completely forgot about this side of her.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'She, as the strongest of all the dragonmen, had pride as high as any real dragon. And you know what… I don't like that for some reason.' 

"Well, my friend here." Tatsuo replied with his eyes taking on a slightly dissatisfied glint, gestured to James. "Caught a black mage that had been putting many different magical beasts under his control." 

Hearing what Tatsuo said, the dragonman raised an eyebrow imperiously. She looked as though she were offended that the notion that she could be controlled by a mere Black Mage was an insult to her power. 

"Although I'm sure you are more than powerful enough to handle a mage at his level without issue." Tatsuo continued as if he did not notice the dragonman woman's discontent. "But you're too proud of your power. Hell, you didn't even put up any defenses while you were asleep. And you slept for a whole day. So, I wonder what someone like that black mage would have been able to do if he had the time to continuously cast his magic on you while you had no way to resist." 

"Although I suppose I can see your point." The dragonman woman replied, her tone a bit sharper now. "But it would take a mage of considerable power and skill to even attempt to do what you've suggested. And from what I've witness in my travels, the humans have no one like that among their ranks." 

"And had you been talking about the humans a little more than half a year ago, you would be correct." Tatsuo shot back. "However, the heroes summoned by the Heiligh Kingdom have had time to grow. And I know for a fact that none of them are weak by the standards of this world." 

At first, the dragonman woman wanted to continue protesting. However, when Tatsuo mentioned the Summoned Heroes, her expression changed, as checking their strength, and telling them the truth about the god who summoned them should she deem them worthy, was her reason for leaving the Dragon Kingdom. However, when she heard Tatsuo refer to Tortus as, "this world," she realized that he must be one of the Summoned Heroes she was sent to observe. 

"I see." The dragonman woman said, the sharp tone now gone. "Then, am I right to assume that you are one of these heroes you spoke of?" 

"I am." Tatsuo replied. "Though, I wouldn't' call myself a hero. Kidnappee is more appropriate." 

Hearing that, the dragonman woman smiled behind her fan. Then, she snapped her fan shut and revealed the smile she had been hiding. 

"Then, I believe introductions are in order." The dragonman woman said as she stood from her seat. She then curtsied politely as she continued. "I am Tio Klarus, princess of the Dragonman Tribe. And I have come to seek your aid, should you prove yourself worthy." 

"Wow… That's a hell of a way to ask for someone's help." James said sarcastically. "Really makes a guy feel wanted/needed." 

"Please, do not misunderstand." The dragonman woman, Tio, replied, having picked up on James' sarcasm. "Though we need help to complete our task, we do not need aid from the weak. So, if you cannot prove your strength, then we, the dragonmen, would rather find another source of assistance." 

"And how exactly to you intend to test our strength?" Sumire asked curiously. 

"That is simple." Tio replied as she stepped away from the table, did a little spin, and struck a pose with her left hand once again covering the lower half of her face with the hand fan while her right was pointed at the group of five sitting at the table with mana circulating around it. "Through combat, of course." 

Instead of immediately standing up to take Tio's challenge, the five jus exchanged glances. Then, they all stared at Tio blankly. 

Meanwhile, Tio stood there in her fighting pose. However, when she saw the youngsters in front of her staring at her like that, she felt rather awkward. Yet, she still maintained her fighting stance. However, as time went by, the feeling of awkwardness only grew. 

"Um… Is something wrong?" Tio asked while doing her best not to fidget. 

"*Sigh* She's a battle junkie, isn't she?" Sumire asked. 

"Probably." James replied. "I mean, there's no way she can't feel our mana reserves. So, she just wants to fight because she can feel how strong we are." 

"I was thinking the same." Tatsuo added. "But still, she probably really does want to test our strength to see if we can help her, though." 

With that, Tatsuo looked at Sumire, James, Aletia, and Shea. Meanwhile, Tio blushed behind her fan at being seen through so easily. 

"So, who wants to fight her?" Tatsuo asked. 

Instead of responding to Tatsuo's question, everyone just looked at him. And when Tatsuo noticed what the stares meant, he started to panic. 

"Seriously, you all want me to fight her?" Tatsuo asked. "But you all know what that means, right?" 

"Yeah, but you're the leader." James said cheekily. "And it would only make sense for our leader to handle this, right?" 

"Yeah, but you're the strongest among us." Tatsuo shot back. "So, you go handle it. This is an order from your leader."" 

"Nah, she's too weak." James replied. "And in case you didn't know, I'm a battle junkie, too. So, that would just be disappointing for me." 

Meanwhile, Tio, still in her fighting stance, could only watch the group of five pass around the responsibility to fight her like it was a hot potato. All the while, she did not know what to think. On one hand, she felt insulted that they were just leaving her hanging like that. Yet, on the other, she felt a strange feeling welling up inside of her due to the neglect. One that she could not readily identify.