Versatile: Alternate World



I couldn't believe what I heard from him. He is denying my efforts to rescue him as he wanted to repay Nobuhiko.

"You made a hasty decision of curing your sister in exchange for slavery? That's a bit of unfair trade, Janus. I thought you are smarter than that. You should even know that I can cure your sister if you have just said so. Have you forgotten that I have cured Sora's blind eye without the need of undergoing an operation? Surely you have forgotten that as you have hastily decided to accept the offer without even any discussion with us. If you have asked me, you wouldn't be doing this kind of stuff in the first place!"

Janus sighed.

"Even so, I needed to repay the favor from him. He healed my sister, so in turn, I will do everything to ensure that I can repay it back to him. Anything."

I clench my fist and although I feel angry right now, I don't think lashing it out on him would change anything.

"I see. Since you decided to ally with him, then you will be our enemy. The next time you will see us, Janus, we will be enemies on the battlefield."

"What? What do you mean by the enemy? What is going on?!"

Before I can explain, someone entered and started clapping. I immediately went into offensive mode as I turned around to see Nobuhiko clapping.

"Manato, Manato, it seems I was wrong about you. I thought that you would readily agree with me about my plans. But I guess all of them were just flushed on the drain. Hearing your words, it seems you are already aware of my plans?"

"Always have been. Ever since you decided to delete my memories before I can do my decision. I respected you before but the moment you pulled something like that to me, my respect melted and disappeared. And based on what I heard about the Tree of Life, it seems you have a sinister plan while using the power of the Tree of Life."

Nobuhiko frowned when he realized my words.

"Your memory has not been erased?"

"Hmph, fortunately, I didn't have my memories erased. If they were, I would be blindly believing all your lies. I wouldn't bother even trying to convince me as I am already dead set on dealing with this matter."

Nobuhiko chuckled. "I see, if your memory is not erased, then you are in luck because I will fully erase them right now."

He snap his fingers and we waited on what will happen next...

...

...

But nothing happened.

"Guess it was a big failure after all," I grinned and conjured lightning spells.

"What is going on? How come you are not affected at all?"

"And why do I have to tell you that?" I fired off the lightning spell and Nobuhiko immediately controlled one AI companion and jumped on the way, blocking the attack that was intended for Nobuhiko.

I turned to look at Janus.

"So, are you convinced about what he was doing now?"

"What are you saying Manato?! You just attacked him! Of course, he will defend himself!"

I clench my fist and was ready to punch Janus but then, I think I immediately realized why Janus seems more adamant than usual even though he is easily persuaded by anything.

"Tch, guess I arrived too late."

My realization was too late and persuading Janus is futile. I sighed and entered Stealth Mode once more.

"Don't worry, Janus. Once everything is over, we will rescue you. And this time, we will succeed."

And with that, I released a fire blast on the floor, releasing a large blast that covers the entire area with smoke. Using the confusion, I took advantage of it and left the place. As to why I am leaving Janus behind? Janus is no longer in his right mind. The moment he entered Nexus Company, or perhaps during the time Nobuhiko cured his sister, Janus is already under the mind control powers of Nobuhiko. He is no longer working as a normal person. He is now under the hive mind of control that cannot disobey or act negatively on Nobuhiko. A complete submission.

"DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE THE FACILITY! INITIATE TOTAL LOCKDOWN!"

The facility started to close down and every door started to lock. Seeing this, I have no other choice but to conjure more flames and started blasting on the lock doors with it, melting them in the process. If it wouldn't work, I overload the gates with electricity, forcing them to open up. It's mana taxing sure, but it forces the doors open without causing too much ruckus and damage.

But not only the locking doors are my problems, the AI companions are also swarming as well. This place being the factory of the AI companions doesn't help in my case either.

I could have blown this place apart but I am refraining from doing so as this might cause a collapse of the building and that might also kill anyone inside, alongside Janus who is still under Nobuhiko's control. If Janus isn't here, I would be going wild with the chaos here, and tomorrow, the headlines would be the destruction of the main headquarters of the Nexus Company. Sadly, I needed some restraint.

Blasting and electrocuting the enemies that come to block my way, I soon arrived at the elevator. While waiting for the elevator to come down, I started to make a stand and fight off the incoming AI companions. They are considerably weak compared to the AI companions I fought back home but even then, they are still weak. The only thing that makes them hard is their overwhelming numbers and my limited amount of mana to supply my firepower to deal with them.

But I think I underestimated the number of AI companions in the area. The moment the elevator opened, a lot of them were waiting to ambush me inside.

"Gah, f*ck!" they grabbed me in my hands and legs, stopping me from moving. But I am not going to just let myself be captured by these f*ckers.

"GRAAAAHHHHHH!"

Using the remaining mana in my body, I unloaded all of my remaining mana reserves as a discharge of electricity, overloading every single piece of machinery in the area.

And because I discharge my mana reserves, I only have a small amount left, enough to keep me moving, yet leaving me with pain in my head. The headache is a total problem, especially with the amount of mana I just used up, the headache is also intense as hell.

But thanks to the discharge, all of the AI companions trying to pin me down are deep fried and disappeared, allowing me to escape. But I also realized I malfunctioned the elevator as well. When I overloaded every single piece of electric device in the vicinity, it includes the elevator as well, leaving me with no choice.

"Damn it, guess I have no choice..."

As I was channeling my power to activate the tattoo to transfer myself to the Alternate World, Nobuhiko and Janus caught up to me alongside countless AI companions behind them.

"Stop right there and surrender! You have nowhere to run," Nobuhiko grinned while slowly approaching.

"Oh yeah? Then perhaps you should have this instead," then I flashed him my middle finger."

"Ha, you think you can catch me? Perhaps never!"

My whole body flashed and compared to the Nexus Version, it seems my body is currently undergoing the teleportation process. My whole body slowly disappears and before I knew it, my whole surroundings have changed.

I blink a few times and soon, I saw myself in a familiar setting. Something that I thought I have forgotten. But the moment I saw it again, I realized that this was the place where the girl and the big tree is located.

"This place..."

The voice of the girl resounded all over the place.

"It seems you have finally broken through the restraints that are currently stopping you. You are now free from everything that is currently stopping you from what you wanted to do."

"What is going on? Why am I here?"

"No need to be worried. I just called you here to congratulate you on freeing yourself. Now, you can do whatever you wanted to do."

"I needed to find the Tree of Life first before Nobuhiko does find it. I can't afford to have him take it and exploit the usage of it!"

"But do you really need to do so? Shouldn't you prefer to live a life away from trouble instead of diving straight to it?" she asked, confused.

"If I could have done that, then perhaps, I might have already achieved peace of my mind. But no. If no one will do it, then I will do it. I am not trying to save the world but harming the world that I am living in and harming the people that I care about, then that's a different subject. And if doing this is the right thing, then I will have to do it."

The voice chuckled.

"I see. Then, perhaps we will meet again next time. Until then, good luck with your endeavors. I will be giving you a gift alongside everyone to aid you. That way, you all can begin a new life. Farewell."

Before I can ask a question, my surroundings turned white and I soon got engulfed by a blinding light. I kept my eyes closed until...

"Hey, it seems he is now here..."

Someone started patting my shoulder.

"Hey, wake up."

As I opened my eyes, I saw everyone standing before me, wearing their standard clothes. Renatta and Labo and Alena are also there grinning.

"I told you right? There's nothing to worry about!" Renatta gives me a thumbs up.

I clenched my fists. I am officially now in Alternate World and starting today, my new life begins.