Heroine-Saving System: Reborn In A Third-Rate Manga As The Protagonist-Chapter 84: Uzumaki Chains [I]

"So... Master, why are we here?" Akemi asked while clinging to his side, her smaller frame pressed close.

Yuna turned her face away, clearly embarrassed by the fact that Akemi was being so physically close to their Master while she didn’t have the confidence to do the same.

"I don’t know." Koya shrugged as they descended the stairs and now stood in front of a heavy metal door. "Victoria... why are we here?"

"To train, of course." Victoria said with absolute seriousness. "Just because we’re no longer in the Outer Zone fighting for survival... that doesn’t mean we should be resting that much. Anything can happen again and we need to be prepared for it."

’That’s... literally my line,’ Koya thought, somewhat amused. What he personally wanted to upgrade right now was Sensory... it was becoming increasingly important as threats escalated.

The metal door opened automatically as they arrived, revealing a massive room that stretched out like an open field with a sophisticated control panel mounted on the side wall.

"Hakai taught me how to operate this training system," Victoria explained while walking toward the panel. "So I’ll set some opponents and Hubby will watch us while commenting on our battle styles and techniques. The fighters created by this aren’t real humans... they’re advanced combat androids but they can hit you with completely normal force and damage you just the same."

She pressed several buttons on the control interface.

"If you’re critically wounded, they stop automatically. Or you can manually stop them by saying ’Stop’ clearly. Is that understood?"

Both Yuna and Akemi nodded seriously while Koya was left genuinely speechless by Victoria’s sudden change in demeanor.

She was really taking training seriously...

"Good. Hubby, please watch me carefully..." She looked at him with determination burning in her red eyes. "I’ll show you that I can protect you properly when it matters. Now girls, you see those circular spots on the ground? Stand in each one."

Koya gave a small nod of approval. Akemi reluctantly let go of him and she along with Yuna walked to separate circular platforms embedded in the floor.

Victoria pressed another key sequence and the massive door sealed shut behind them with a heavy CLANG.

She glanced over at Koya one more time, then walked confidently to the last remaining platform.

Immediately before Koya’s eyes, slots in the ground on the opposite side of the field opened with mechanical sounds and three humanoid figures rose from beneath the floor.

One of them was clearly modeled after Hakai... it had the same height and the same build as well while the other two were different body types he didn’t immediately recognize.

"This is the advanced training room," Victoria explained while the androids fully materialized. "You can input anybody’s combat data into the system and it will automatically materialize a perfect replica. They’re machines, but they’re extremely hard to kill depending on the programmed skill level and combat capabilities."

A whole shelf of weapons suddenly pushed up from the ground, appearing in front of the three girls.

There were various blades, spears, axes, shields and staffs in a complete arsenal.

They had to choose their weapons.

"If you’re able to destroy your assigned machine, then Hubby will give you a reward," Victoria announced.

She honestly doubted these two younger girls would be able to accomplish this... the difficulty was set quite high though it was within their power.

Besides, she wanted to be the main highlight right now so she needed Koya’s eyes focused entirely on her performance.

"Begin!" Victoria commanded.

She didn’t pick up any weapon from the shelf, she intended to fight bare-handed. The weapon shelf immediately dropped back into the floor and everyone sprinted at each other simultaneously.

’This looks exactly like a shonen anime battle scene,’ Koya thought as he blinked and switched his vision to Sensory mode. He had to train the skill constantly, after all.

Victoria dramatically increased her speed with her vampire enhancement kicking in while the Hakai android did the same... matching her acceleration perfectly.

They collided fists at the center of the field.

BOOOOM!

The sheer explosive force of impact generated a massive shockwave that radiated outward in all directions.

The other four combatants were literally blown away from the pressure, sent tumbling through the air.

Even Koya’s hair whipped violently in the wind, though he maintained his footing through sheer physical strength.

’Strong,’ he mentally commented while observing Victoria carefully through Sensory. ’She’s grown significantly stronger since we last saw her fight seriously.’

Her motivation was protecting him... That drive made her far more powerful than simple training ever could. It made her quite cute too.

The Hakai android suddenly pushed Victoria backward with overwhelming force.

She moved with the momentum, spinning gracefully out of the direct collision, letting Hakai’s follow-up fist fly harmlessly past her face.

Victoria countered immediately with a perfectly executed spinning heel kick aimed directly at the android’s head.

CRACK!

The impact sent Hakai’s head snapping backward violently and the android staggered several steps.

’Damn... I haven’t actually seen her doing martial arts before,’ Koya thought with genuine interest. ’She’s been training seriously with Hakai all morning.’

He shifted his Sensory focus to the other girls’ battles. Yuna had been sent flying through the air from the shockwave generated by Victoria and Hakai’s initial collision.

She tumbled mid-flight, desperately trying to reorient herself. One of the combat androids was already pursuing her aggressively... it was quite short, it was more of Akemi’s size than Yuna’s.

The android wielded a spear and was stabbing forward. Yuna managed to lift her sword up defensively just in time.

CLANG!

She deflected the spear thrust, but the tremendous force behind it sent her crashing backward into the reinforced wall.

WHAM!

The impact knocked all the breath from her lungs and she gasped however the android didn’t give her time to recover and stabbed again immediately.

Yuna tilted her face desperately to the right.

The spear tip pierced into the wall exactly where her head had been a millisecond before, carving through reinforced metal like butter and she ducked her head down.

The android carved through the wall horizontally where her skull would have been, leaving a perfect cut.

Yuna saw an opening and kicked the android hard in the stomach with both feet. It went skidding backward across the floor and forced to release its embedded spear.

"Hah, you’ve lost your weapon!" Yuna said while quickly getting to her feet and holding her sword in proper defensive stance.

It would be significantly easier to defeat it now without—

The android simply raised its hand upward and the spear flew from the wall directly back into its grip like it was magnetically attracted.

"Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me..." Yuna groaned in frustration. She began chanting rapidly under her breath, gathering ambient mana and reached Mana Mode within seconds then she charged directly at the android with enhanced speed.

Their blades clashed with tremendous force and one of them went skidding backward from the impact...

Akemi skidded backward across the floor, her boots leaving marks on the ground as she struggled to maintain balance.

She looked down at her hands... There were minor cuts and blisters forming where she’d blocked strikes and blood seeped from small wounds.

She looked up at her assigned opponent.

The android towering over her was massive... easily seven feet tall and heavily built. It was nothing like the boar monster she’d fought in the Outer Zone, which she could straddle and control.

This opponent was fundamentally different.

It moved slowly but it replaced speed with absolutely devastating force behind every single strike. She glanced sideways at Koya, seeking reassurance.

Her Master was watching intently and he gave her an encouraging nod. Akemi felt immediately rejuvenated by that simple gesture and focused completely.

She could hear Yuna’s battle grunts in the background... The sounds of Victoria and Hakai attempting to literally destroy each other, sending continuous shockwaves across the entire training room that made the ground tremble and then the massive android was upon her.

It swung its longsword in a clean horizontal arc aimed at bisecting her completely.

Akemi dove to the side desperately.

BOOM!

The blade collided with the ground where she’d been standing, creating a small crater and sending a shockwave rippling outward.

She used the momentum to dash at an angle and hacked at the android’s exposed leg, aiming to sever the joint.

Her blade connected... but didn’t penetrate.

The android had a mana shield actively protecting it and her sword bounced off the energy barrier. The massive longsword came swinging from her side, determined to cut her completely in half.

She barely managed to raise her own sword defensively.

CLANG!

The impact was brutal. Her hands blistered instantly from the vibration and she went skidding backward uncontrollably from the sheer overwhelming force... and collided directly with Yuna, who had also been sent skidding back at the exact same moment.

Both girls crashed into each other and nearly fell.

"Hey," Yuna greeted dryly, breathing heavily.

There was an ugly piercing wound on her side with blood seeping through her training clothes.

Meanwhile, Akemi was relatively unharmed except for the small blisters on her palms and minor cuts on her arms.

"Um... how’s your robot going?" Akemi asked while glancing at Yuna’s opponent.

It was a smaller android... she wignificantly shorter than Yuna, but incredibly quick and agile.

Yuna looked at the massive tall android that was slowly advancing toward Akemi.

It was a huge mechanical monster which was not fast or slick at all, but absolutely overwhelming in raw power and built like a tank.

Their eyes met with sudden understanding. The small android suited Akemi’s fighting style... she could use her agility and straddling techniques.

The large android suited Yuna’s approach... she had the raw strength to parry heavy blows and the reach advantage.

"Should we switch opponents?" both of them asked simultaneously. They nodded at each other in perfect agreement, then spun in place and charged at the opposite androids with renewed determination.

Akemi held her sword angled to the side as the small android’s spear came stabbing forward and she parried the strike immediately with full force.

Yuna typically went for soft parries with gentle redirections that conserved energy. There was nothing wrong with that tactical approach.

However, Akemi believed in strong, aggressive parries that would keep opponents constantly off-balance and stumbling... That was her style.

She put all her physical force into the parry and sent the android’s spear reeling backward violently, the weapon nearly torn from its grip.

She finished her final mana-gathering chant and reached Mana Mode... her entire body glowing with concentrated energy and stabbed forward immediately while the android was still recovering.

The android tried desperately to dodge but Akemi had gained tremendous speed from Mana Mode enhancement.

She pierced through completely, blade penetrating deep into the chest cavity.

CRASH!

The two of them tumbled to the ground together from momentum. Akemi instinctively got into her signature combat position... straddling the fallen android with her knees pinning its arms.

She withdrew her sword with a wet schlick sound and the android’s spear came flying through the air, recalled to its hand.

Akemi strong-parried it again with pure aggressive force, sending it spinning away then she stabbed the android directly through the head... withdrew the blade... then stabbed again... and again... and again.

She did it repeatedly, mechanically, until all that remained were oil, sparking circuits, and synthetic brain matter splattered everywhere.

She didn’t care that it looked disturbingly human... Master was watching and she needed to prove herself.

...

Yuna dashed across the ground at enhanced speed, having reached Mana Mode moments earlier. The massive android stabbed forward with its longsword... a thrust that could pierce through reinforced steel.

Yuna parried the strike, using precise technique to redirect the tremendous force rather than absorbing it directly.

The power behind the blow was absolutely incredible, but with her Three-liner strength combined with Mana Mode enhancement, she successfully deflected the blade.

The android got thrown off-balance from its own redirected momentum.

Yuna reared herself forward and focused intensely, pouring concentrated mana into her hand and channeling it directly into her sword blade.

She slashed horizontally with everything she had, aiming to bisect the android at the waist and the mana shield erected instantly to block her strike but she pushed more mana into the tip of her blade... condensing it, compressing it, and sharpening it beyond normal limits.

The shield began cracking under the concentrated assault. She gritted her teeth and sucked more ambient mana from the surrounding air on pure instinct, flooding her weapon with exponentially more energy.

The blade began glowing brilliant white.

SHATTER!

The mana shield exploded into fragments. Her sword carved through the android completely, cutting it cleanly in half at the torso.

CRASH!

The upper and lower halves fell separately to the ground, sparking and twitching and Yuna landed gracefully, looking down at her sword that was still practically glowing with residual mana.

"Cool," she said with a genuine smile of accomplishment before dismissing the mana completely. Another massive SHATTER sound echoed across the training room.

Both girls immediately looked toward Victoria’s battle. The Hakai android had been cut completely in half... bisected at the waist out of what looked like pure spite.

There were countless destructive marks across its robotic body with severed synthetic breasts, destroyed optical sensors, and the facial plating completely shattered.

Even one of Victoria’s own severed limbs was lying on the ground nearby but the vampire princess was absolutely full of joy.

"Finally!" Victoria shouted triumphantly while lifting her severed arm. "Though you’re not as strong as the real Hakai, I’ve gotten my revenge for this morning’s humiliation!"

She pressed the severed limb against the bloody stump at her shoulder. There was a sudden burst of blood.

The limb reattached completely with the flesh knitting together seamlessly like it had never been separated.

Koya’s eye twitched violently at the display.

’Isn’t she supposed to remain lowkey about her supernatural abilities?’ he thought with concern. But then again, she’d been training with Hakai all morning.

He wouldn’t be even slightly surprised if Hakai had already figured out Victoria wasn’t remotely normal...

Koya sighed as Victoria waved enthusiastically at him.

"Hubby, how did I do?" She asked with a hand proudly on her hip, making absolutely certain his eyes were completely focused on her performance.

"You all did extremely well," he said honestly.

Victoria’s eyes widened in shock as she quickly checked on the two other girls. They were both fine... standing victoriously over their destroyed opponents.

Victoria’s face immediately turned into an adorable pout, but she ran over to Koya anyway and hugged him tightly.

"Hubby~ This is completely unfair..." Victoria whined against his chest. "I wanted your eyes to be only on me during the entire fight."

Koya’s eye twitched again.

’By forcing the girls into near-death situations just so I’d focus on you? Yeah, right.’

But he hugged her back anyway while smiling warmly at the other two girls as well. They’d genuinely performed impressively.

"Didn’t that limb reattachment waste a lot of blood? Do you need to feed?" Koya asked while taking a few steps backward.

His back pressed against the sealed door.

"Yes, Hubby, you’re absolutely right! I need bl—"

Her fangs almost started enlarging automatically with her instinct taking over but she stopped herself with visible effort.

"No... I’m not that desperately hungry anymore," Victoria said, forcing control. "I’ll take your blood later tonight instead."

Koya’s face showed slight worry.

"Don’t worry, Hubby. You’ll like iiiii—"

The door suddenly opened behind them without warning and they went falling backward together.

Koya looked up from his position on the ground, completely ignoring the fact that Victoria’s breasts were pressed heavily against his lower face.

Bobby was standing there, looking down at him expressionlessly and then he brought out a folded piece of paper and held it up for Koya to read.

[New Mission Assignment]

’Well... fuck,’ Koya thought with resignation. He really couldn’t catch a break in this life.

...

"I can’t believe I’m stuck guarding this boring post today..." A brown-haired man wearing an all-white suit complained to himself.

This location was one of the hidden underground spots in Keropolis City... specifically, the concealed entrance to the White Hall, which was secretly owned by Council Member Kubo Oroschi.

They were the criminal organization that had kidnapped that noble’s son months ago and forced him to attempt assassinating Saeko.

Though Saeko had ultimately been killed by a Red Hall member instead, Kubo still hadn’t given them any exciting new missions lately.

"While that Red Hall murderer gets cool assassination missions..." The guard grumbled bitterly. "I’m stuck down here guarding an underground access tunnel like some common grunt."

He looked upward. This was the underground chamber of a covered-up well... essentially a deep vertical shaft.

In the middle of the well floor was another concealed tunnel entrance that led to an extensive underground network where the main base of operations and Kubo’s personal treasury were hidden.

Suddenly, he could see bright moonlight beaming down from above which made him instinctively raise his hand to cover his face and squint.

You could normally only see faint glimpses of sky from this depth, so the fact that it was shining this brightly and clearly meant the heavy cover had been open—

Before he could even complete that thought... A dark figure came dropping down from above like a silent predator.

SLASH!

He was sliced completely in half in a clean bisection with the top and bottom halves separating.

Koya landed smoothly on the ground directly in front of the corpse with not even a drop of blood on his boots.

"These Order-issued blades are really exceptionally crafted..." Koya commented while examining the katana in his hand. "Sleek design and perfectly balanced weight distribution."

He was wearing a full Order uniform... a black combat gear with armored plating. His personalized white mask resembled a hawk’s fierce visage.

He’d been sent to completely clear out this location and retrieve a specific artifact: a set of mystical chains called the Uzumaki Chains, which Council Member Kubo had won from an illegal black-market auction several months ago.

It was an incredibly rare item gotten from the corpse of a Gold class monter.

Hakai wanted both chains for the Order’s use, but she’d promised Koya he could keep one for himself... which was absolutely one of his primary motivations for accepting this dangerous mission.

The other motivation was...

"Ohhh... that assassination was SO cool Mateo!" HeroGod’s voice came through the FaceTime connection, her face visible in a small System window in his vision.

Her eyes were literally sparkling with stars. "You killed him so smoothly and efficiently! That’s exactly how professional assassins operate in movies!"

She’d specifically requested to watch one of his actual assassination missions live via FaceTime. It was part of their trade agreement... In exchange for letting her spectate, she’d send him a complete set of valuable items that the System Store wouldn’t flag as suspicious.

"Thanks for the compliment," Koya said while looking down at the heavy steel covering that sealed the tunnel entrance leading deeper underground.

Fighting Spirit energy covered his hand, crackling with power.

"Oh? You can use aura manifestation too?" HeroGod commented with genuine impressed interest. "Koya, that’s really impressive for your current age and rank..."

Koya ripped the entire steel covering off with enhanced strength.

SCREECH!

The metal tore and the massive plate went flying.

’She calls it aura, huh?’ Koya thought while examining the now-exposed tunnel shaft leading downward into darkness. ’Interesting terminology difference.’

He jumped down into the tunnel without hesitation, descending into the depths.