Songs in the Void: A Multiversal Score

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Heiligh Kingdom/Fuhren Border. 

*Vroom~~~~!* 

"That looks like so much fun." Shea, riding in the backseat of the Hummer said while watching James, who was riding the CBR 1000RR replica Tatsuo created back in Oscar Orcus' Abode after clearing the Orcus Great labyrinth, popping a wheely on the bike. "The wind blowing past my ears probably feels great." 

"Yeah, I actually forgot I had that thing until James asked about it." Tatsuo replied. "I mean, I haven't driven it at all, other than when I tested it back then." 

"Good." Sumire said in a somewhat reprimanding tone. "Motorcycles are dangerous." 

"Whatever." Tatsuo replied while rolling his eyes. "I bet I'm strong enough that even if it was moving at its maximum speed, I probably wouldn't get hurt if I crashed." 

"*Sigh* I wanna deny that, but I can't." Sumire said in an exasperated tone. 

"These vehicles are quite interesting." Tio said, amazed by the ingenuity that went into the Hummer and the CBR. "And these are the kind of vehicles that can be found in your worlds? I find that quite intriguing. I would love to take a trip to such worlds someday." 

"Well, they aren't exactly the same." Tatsuo replied. "Our worlds… Well, my world, at least, doesn't have metals or minerals as sturdy as the ones you can find in this world. Sumire-San's might, though." 

"Yeah, but I'm sure mine wasn't so different from Tatsuo-Kun's before the Two Moon Incident." Sumire added. "We didn't even have access to mana before that day." 

"And I find that even more intriguing." Tio replied, turning from looking out of the back window to making eye contact with Tatsuo through the rear view mirror. "To think neither of you had access to mana before then. It amazes me that you could become so strong so fast." 

As the current conversation would suggest, Tatsuo, Sumire, and James had decided to let Tio in on the fact that they were not from the same universe that housed Tortus or the Earth where the rest of the Hero Party was from while they traveled to Fuhren. And the reason was simple, she found it difficult to understand the conversations between the three otherworlders. So, she asked what they were talking about, and they told her with little resistance. 

As a result, like Aletia and Shea, Tio also wanted to leave the world with them when their [Mission] was over. However, that was wear a new issue came into play. The [Mission] only required them to add one individual to the [Dimensional Chat]. Yet, there were three people who wanted to join. 

There was always a chance that the random invite could choose one of them to join, as well. But that would still leave one of the three out. Because of that, Tatsuo, Sumire, and James were at a loss. 

*Knock!* *Knock!* 

However, before the conversation could continue any further, James, who had been riding along in front of the Hummer, slowed down to ride parallel to the truck. Then, he knocked on the driver's window. Once he got Tatsuo's attention, he pointed into the distance, at a wagon that was also heading to Fuhren. 

Following the direction James pointed; the others could see a covered wagon at the back of a caravan. However, that was not what drew anyone's attention. Instead, it was the number of cages that could be seen while the cover flapped in the wind. More than that, the cages were filled with children, both human and demi-human. 

Immediately, the atmosphere in the Hummer's cab chilled, all its inhabitants showing frosty glares. 

"I know I don't' even need to ask." Tatsuo said, clearly the most enraged of the group. "But is anyone against stepping in to show them what we think of slavery?" 

Only silence answered Tatsuo's question. But that was more than enough of an answer. So, Tatsuo nodded his head. Then, he gestured to James before stepping on the accelerator and rushing forward to overtake the caravan. 

As the two modern vehicles passed the caravan, Aletia reached her hand towards the carriages and wagons. She then cast [Gravity Magic] on all of them, making sure to only affect the carriages and wagons, and raised their weights to the point that the horses were no longer capable of pulling them. After that, both Tatsuo and James stopped in front of the clearly enraged slavers. 

A moment later, Tatsuo, Sumire, Aletia, Shea, and Tio climbed out of the Hummer before joining up with James, who had climbed off the CBR. Then, they all walked towards the caravan while listening to the drivers and passengers, who were clearly not normal civilians, complain about what caused the stoppage, and starting to blame each other when they could not figure anything out. 

However, before they got too close, one of the carriage drivers at the front noticed the group of six approaching. 

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" The male driver asked in a threatening tone. 

"I bet they're the ones that did this to our carriages." Another driver shouted while glaring at the group in a clear attempt to blame someone for what was happening. However, when he saw Sumire, Aletia, Shea, and Tio, his angry glare turned into one filled with lust. "Oh! Now what do we have here? I bet these pretty little things will sell nicely." 

Immediately, Sumire, Aletia, Shea, and Tio adopted disgusted expressions. 

"Well, they done fucked up now." James said with an amused grin on his face. 

"Yeah, this isn't gonna end well for them." Tatsuo replied while nodding in agreement. 

"Say, Tatsuo-Kun." Sumire said, her tone as sweet as sugar. "Would you mind letting us deal with this?" 

"Even if I say no, you're going to rampage anyway." Tatsuo replied while rolling his eyes. 

"You know me so well." Sumire said in that same sugary sweet tone before pecking Tatsuo on the cheek. 

"Just don't go too overboard." Tatsuo reminded. "There are kids in those cages. And their probably already scarred enough for the rest of their lives after being turned into commodities." 

"Understood." Sumire replied as she took her shield and spear out of her spatial ring. 

Following Sumire, Shea also took her hammer out of her own spatial ring. Then, the two melee fighters dashed forward to teach the men in that group why it was better to think with the heads on their shoulders rather than the ones between their legs. 

At the same time, both Aletia and Tio started casting their magic to first release the horses tied to the carriages and wagons, leaving the slavers no way to escape. Then, they both began casting the [Wind Magic] spell, [Updraft] to fling the carriage and wagon drivers off the coachman's seat and into the air. 

All the while, more and more men climbed out of the carriages ready to join the fight. However, they were quickly intercepted by Sumire and Shea, who were incapacitating them left and right without killing anyone. 

"It doesn't look like we're going to have much to do here, huh?" James asked while watching the ladies punish the slavers. "But damn… Look at them go." 

"Yeah, this is the second time I've seen Sumire-San and Aletia get like this." Tatsuo replied. "Last time it was because of guys from the Hoelscher Empire." 

"I can believe that." James replied. "If they're anything like their emperor, then it's no wonder--- Ooh! Shit… Sumire didn't have to do him like that, did she?" 

As he asked his last question, James subconsciously covered his crotch while wincing in phantom pain after seeing Sumire raise the butt end of her spear and strike a man between his legs with enough force to lift him off the ground. 

"By the way, I'm kinda surprised that you're not in there busting heads, too." James said after shaking off the phantom pain and turning to look at Tatsuo. "I mean, I can tell you're angrier than any of them." 

"It's because I'm so angry. Tatsuo replied. Though, his tone did not show even a hint of the anger he was feeling. "Because if I had gone to attack, I wouldn't have been able to hold back. There isn't much more in this multiverse that I hate more than child kidnappers, after all." 

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." James replied with an understanding nod. "Especially after what you've been through."

"But if there were no children nearby, by the time I was done, they would be little more than a pile of assorted body parts." Tatsuo continued in a frigid tone. 

"I get that, too." James said, nodding in understanding once again. 

About ten minutes later, the ladies were done subduing the slavers and kidnappers. And they had done it all without killing a single one of them. Though, there were more than a few crippling injuries among the men. But that was something to be expected. 

"Just who the hell are you crazy bitches?" One of the few conscious slavers asked in a fearful tone. "Don't you know what you've done? Freidhof will never let you go. You'll never have another peaceful day in Fuhren!" 

*Bang!* 

As soon as the man finished speaking, Shea, angered by being called a bitch, kicked him in the face, breaking his nose and a few teeth while knocking him out at the same time. 

"Hmph!" Shea snorted after turning away from the unconscious man. "You should really learn how to talk to a lady." 

After that, Shea forced out a few tears and rushed over to Tatsuo. 

"Tatsuo, that mean man called me a bad name." Shea said in a tearful tone. "Please help me feel better." 

Despite himself, when Shea threw her arms around him, Tatsuo could not help but smile. Then, he started patting her on the head while rubbing the bases of her ears, causing Shea to all but melt into a rabbit-eared puddle. 

"Tatsuo-Kun, what should we do with these guys?" Sumire asked while she, James, and Tio tied up all the slavers. 

"For now, let's take them with us." Tatsuo said coldly. "Load them up in their carriages. Then, we'll connect them all to the hitch on the back of the Hummer. After that, when we get to the city, we'll leave them outside. And one of us will have to watch over them. Meanwhile, the rest of us will go into the town and route out the entire organization." 

Hearing that, the rest of the group nodded, agreeing with Tatsuo's course of action. However, when they finished tying up the slavers, just before throwing them into the carriages, Tatsuo stopped them as he had an idea. 

"Hold on, let's go see the kids in those cages before we get moving first." Tatsuo said, remembering what happened in Fuhren during the canon version of events. 

Tatsuo then led the rest to the wagons where the children were being held. And just as they saw while driving, there were children of all races except for demons in the cages. 

However, the one that drew the most attention was a little girl who could not have been more than four years old with pretty facial features that made her look like the most exquisite doll, long, wavy emerald-green hair, sky blue eyes, fan-shaped fin-like ears, and webbed hands and feet. Sitting in her cage with her legs drawn up to her chest and her head buried in her knees. 

"To think, they even kidnapped a Dagon." Tio said in a solemn tone. "And they are supposed to be the only ones among the beastmen who are not persecuted by the humans due to the fact that Dagons provide most of the seafood you can find around the human controlled region of Tortus." 

"Dagon? You mean the Merfolk, right?" Shea asked. "They're the ones who live in and near the sea to the west of the continent, right?" 

"Yeah, that's right. They're an aquatic species of beastmen" Tatsuo muttered a reply to Shea's questions. He then pointed at the little girl as he continued in a tone filled with subdued anger. "But these bastards clearly didn't care about that. Her skin is so dry. They must have brought her from across the Gruen Dessert without keeping her properly hydrated. It's a miracle she's even alive." 

'This was the whole reason I wanted to push forward as fast as we did.' Tatsuo thought to himself while looking at the little Dagon girl in the cage. 'I had every intension of stopping the caravan that transported her to the city. And it looks like it worked.' 

With that said, Tatsuo approached the cage, causing the little Dagon girl to raise her head, a fearful glint swirling in the depths of her eyes. Tatsuo then summoned a bladed knuckle duster into his right hand, which caused the little girl to cower in fear. 

*Clang!* 

Then, in one swift motion, Tatsuo used the blade to cut the lock off the cage before returning the weapon to his [Inventory]. After that, Tatsuo opened the cage and gently extended his hand towards the little girl. 

"Don't' worry, you're safe now." Tatsuo said in the gentlest toen anyone had heard since he came to this world. "WE beat up all the bad guys and we'll make sure that you and the other kids get back to where you belong." 

Hearing Tatsuo's gentle tone, the little Dagon girl, who was trying to get as far away from him as she could after he opened the cage so violently, froze in place. Then, she looked into Tatsuo's eyes as if she were trying to see through any falsehood by doing so. 

A moment later, after not sensing any danger, the little girl slowly crawled forward before extending a hand and placing it in Tatsuo's outstretched hand. Then, she let herself be pulled forward into a gentle embrace. 

"Hi, I'm Tatsuo." Tatsuo said in that same gentle tone while gently patting the back of the little girl's head and hair. "What's your name?" 

However, instead of answering immediately, the little girl clung to Tatsuo with all the strength her little body could muster before she started crying at the top of her lungs. 

"It's okay… Go ahead, let it out." Tatsuo said in the most soothing tone he could muster despite the crazy amount of anger that was boiling under the surface. "Everything's going to be okay." 

'Hmm… I guess we're a lot more alike than I thought." James said to himself while watching Tatsuo soothe the little girl. 'To think he can stay so calm while there's so much anger inside of him. It kinda reminds me of how I felt when Sirzechs pulled that fuck shit during my award ceremony for bringing in Euclid and defending Sona's school from the evil dragons.' 

While James was thinking that, the little girl's cries started a chain reaction which made the other children in the cages begin to cry, as well. And that snapped everyone back to reality, as they decided that before going to Fuhren to deal with the slave organization, they would make sure that all the children were unharmed, fed, and clothed first. 

So, with the little girl in his arms, Tatsuo led the others in freeing all the children from the cages, setting up the collapsable house, making a meal large enough to feed all the children and their group, and bathing the children. 

Then, after all that was done, they put all the children down for the first good sleep any of them had received since they were either kidnapped or bought. However, the little Dagon girl, who introduced herself as Myu, clung to Tatsuo the entire time. So, even when Tatsuo and the others started discussing their plans to deal with the slave organization, she was still clinging to him while sleeping in his arms.