In the heart of the central castle of Tempest's capital, inside the grand hall made of black marble, the air was heavy and suffocating.
Here, no one was allowed to enter except the absolute elite of the Empire. Around a giant round table gathered the commanders whose mere names made entire continents tremble.
Benimaru presided over the table, his features serious and his arms crossed over his chest.
To his right, Souei stood in a dark corner, with nothing visible but the gleam of his cold eyes. On the opposite side sat a massive being, resembling a mountain of muscle clad in heavy black armor. This was Geld, the Orc King and Commander of the Engineering and Military Defense Corps.
"Breaching the capital's defenses with a spatial tear..." Geld spoke in his deep, raspy voice that sounded like grinding rocks. "This is a failure of my defensive shield. I have ordered the engineers to double the mana density in the upper layer. It will not happen again, Commander Benimaru."
"The problem isn't the shield, Geld," Benimaru replied calmly. "The angels sacrificed an entire army to breach a single point for one second. The more important question is: why?"
"Gwahahaha!" A loud, theatrical voice erupted from the other side of the table.
Gabil, Commander of the Hiryuu (Dragonewt) Corps, stood resting his legendary spear on his shoulder, thumping his chest with pride. "The matter is clear, gentlemen! This human boy must be hiding a great treasure! Perhaps legendary food from Japan? Or maybe the gods have chosen him to be... my new disciple?! Gwahahaha!"
"Silence, Gabil," Shion interrupted sharply, slamming her fist on the table so hard she nearly split it in half. "I saw that assassin's eyes. He wasn't looking for treasure. He looked at the boy like a disease that had to be eradicated."
From the shadows behind Benimaru's chair, a black liquid rose, taking the shape of Diablo. The Primordial Demon smiled his usual, terrifying smile.
"Kufufufu... The First Secretary is right. Angels are beings that adore 'Order.' They hate chaos, and they loathe the void."
Diablo elegantly placed a hand on his chin, continuing in a soft voice dripping with venom and danger:
"That boy's soul... Akira. It is unlike human souls. It contains no mana, no magicules, and no aura. It feels like absolute 'nothingness.' A void that swallows light. The angels are terrified of him because the scent of his soul reminds them of the day my lord, Rimuru-sama, disappeared."
A deadly silence fell over the hall at the mention of their missing ruler's name.
A massive old man with a green beard, dressed in luxurious formal attire, let out a sigh. This was Rigurd, the Prime Minister of Tempest.
"Benimaru-sama... If this boy is the reason the angels are targeting us, how shall we deal with him? Does keeping him here put the citizens in danger?"
Benimaru closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the genuine pain he had seen in Akira's eyes when he spoke of his mother's death.
The Commander-in-Chief opened his eyes; they were burning with unquestionable resolve.
"Lord Rimuru founded this nation on one principle: Tempest is a haven for those with no haven. The boy didn't ask to come here, but he is now our guest. Handing him over or casting him out means betraying my Lord's principles."
Benimaru looked around the table, catching the eyes of the commanders, who all nodded in agreement—even Diablo, whose smile only widened.
"Furthermore," Benimaru added, "this boy might be the only thread tying us to how my Lord disappeared. The Heavenly Empire fears him? Excellent. We will make him their worst nightmare. But before that... he needs to not die from a gust of wind."
Benimaru turned toward Diablo and Souei.
"Souei, monitor the Heavenly Empire's movements. Diablo, search the ancient demonic records for any mention of 'Void Energy.' As for the boy, Akira... Hakuro will take care of preparing him."
Gabil laughed nervously and gulped. "Hakuro-dono? Well then, the boy might die before the angels even get to him!"
Meanwhile, at sunset, in Hakuro's training ground...
The sky was painted in shades of orange and red, and the cool evening breeze blew through the bamboo forest, carrying the scent of dust and sweat.
In the center of the sandy arena, Akira lay flat on his back, spread out like a lifeless corpse.
His combat clothes were torn, and his chest rose and fell with extreme difficulty. But the worst part wasn't the exhaustion... it was his face.
His left eye was swollen completely shut, his right cheek was puffed up like a giant tomato, and his lower lip was split, bleeding slowly. He looked as if a herd of wild bulls had trampled across his face.
"Day two..." Akira muttered, his voice distorted and comical due to his swollen lips. "I survived... day two..."
[Activation: Pain Memory.] [Muscular Durability +4. Pain Tolerance +5.] [Speed +2. Visual Perception +3.]
Akira raised a trembling hand to his swollen face and let out a pained groan.
That morning, he had awakened his new skill, Void Perception Eye. The skill was incredible; it allowed him to see the "path" of Hakuro's sword strikes before they were executed, like glowing lines of light in the air. He saw the attacks. He read the old man's intent.
But the tragedy was... his human body was too slow to respond to what his mind was seeing.
He would see the wooden sword hurtling toward his face, fully aware that he was about to get hit, but unable to move fast enough to dodge it. As a result, he took the strikes right between the eyes.
"Seeing... isn't enough..." Akira whispered, his good eye staring at the broken wooden sword beside him. "I have to make my body... keep up with my eyes..."
From the porch of the wooden dojo, Hakuro was sitting in the seiza position, drinking a cup of hot green tea in absolute serenity.
The old man looked at the boy with the swollen face in the arena, hiding a subtle smile beneath his white beard.
He managed to read three attack paths today, even if his body failed him, Hakuro thought to himself, taking a sip of his tea. His growth is unnatural. Tomorrow... I'll have to use 10% of my true speed.
Akira's body, sprawled on the ground, suddenly shivered, as if his internal system had instinctively picked up on Hakuro's terrifying intent for tomorrow.
He closed his good eye and surrendered to sleep on the cold dirt, realizing that the true hell... hadn't even begun yet.