"The main memories of Mitagi Hansen have ended."

Spouting this bluntly, the Recordkeeper closed the book gently as he peered at the wavering pupils of the young man and sighed.

"Those were pretty much only the main ones due to your request of keeping it short…..hey, if you wanna cry, you can do it now."

"I-I'm not gonna cry, damn it!" Liohime Kitagami declared, although his tone of voice was unconvincing.

"Fine. Anyway, despite what you might have initially thought about your parents, it is clear that they did in fact care about you. I would argue that what they decided to do was very risky in order to secure a good future for the family, but in the end, it's none of my business," he continued. "I just tell the stories here. Oh, and of course, I will not go into detail about your traumatic past."

Liohime nodded with appreciation, but the man tilted his head as he pondered on something before voicing his concern.

"How the fuck did you manage to coincidentally gain Kanshido from the Magical Beast Cornerstone Corporation several years later? I'm impressed, honestly. Also, why is it partially human now?"

"Huh? Oh, Shihon. It's just like you said, a coincidence, and as for the latter question, I have no fucking clue. I'm grateful for having her, though."

"Ugh. Well, I'd advise you to return her to her rightful place in the Heart, but I don't think you'd do that now, so let's just move onto the final question that you might have for me about the third layer before I let you go."

With that proposal in mind, Liohime began to think, placing his right hand under his chin as he gazed upwards aimlessly.

There were currently two questions that needed to be answered.

--What is the specific path to get to Jolene Aurora's current location?

--What are the specific directions needed to get to the Heart?

And, he only had one slot remaining to gain the Recordkeeper's answer.

Both were extremely important. Although he remembered Yariko's statement about having to leave some members behind in order to remain focused on his goal, he feared that she was currently in the worst section of the third layer, and although he did not know it yet, his hunch was right. On hearing more information about his parents' death in the third layer, he did not want to make the mistake of leaving her alone while he secured the reward by himself, possibly causing something that could kill her in the process.

At the same time, the main goal of securing the Magical Beast egg was still in effect, and he was so close to retrieving it once and for all. Maybe it was alright to ask for the specific directions for the egg itself and secure it first before looking for Jolene, after all.

Unable to pick between the two, Liohime tried something else.

"I need specific directions to Jolene's current location and the location of Kinen's egg.

".....That's not a question, Mitagi."

"Can I gain the specific directions to Jolene's and Kinen's current location?"

"Who the fuck starts off with 'Can I'? Isn't it 'May I'? Also, where's the magic word?"

"May I please-oh, for fuck sake, I'm not doing that…..you know what I wanna ask. I don't have much time here, you know."

Almost losing his composure, Liohime snapped, and the Recordkeeper breathed a sigh once again before responding.

"You requested two things in a question, you sly ass."

"It's still a singular question, dumbfuck!"

"Tch, I haven't encountered someone so stubborn like this in a while," the older man muttered under his breath."

"I can hear you."

"-hk, okay, okay! I'll grant the honest answer to your questions."

Liohime's eyes lit up, and he exhaled deeply, listening in.

With that, the Recordkeeper had decided to give Liohime Kitagami the last pieces of the puzzle needed to conclude the Paradisus Legion Retrieval mission.

***

The beads of sweat trickled down Liohime's temple as he rushed through the dark terrain in the third layer.

Dancing through the sudden drops and sharp edges of rock that existed here, he kept his eyes focused on the massive cave-like structure in the distance, with its entrance being so visibly clear from several feet away.

--The Dungeon District.

It was a land that led towards the Heart, the deepest and furthermost point of the entire Paradisus Legion. He was unsure if there were other entrances from other parts of the third layer that also led to the Heart, but he knew that the Dungeon District was by far the most dangerous route.

However, he had to go there without hesitation, because he had just learned that Jolene Aurora was currently there.

Shit, he thought. She's currently at the same damn place where…

Where his parents had perished.

With his legs continuing to power his body forward, he was overcome with anxiety. This was most likely the last and most dangerous obstacle that he might face yet, but he had to go through with it, in order to assist his co-worker.

As he entered the cave that featured a descending slope, he never stopped moving. His heart raced as he entered the black fog with force, holding his breath as his mind began to spiral.

I can't die here.

I can't let Jolene die here.

I can't let Shihon die here.

I can't let anyone else die here.

Then, he could feel reality distorting around him, before-

***

"You think you can defeat me!? I'll destroy you!!! Don't ever try to think that you have the power to restrain me ever again-"

CRACK!

Jolene paused and turned her head, and the other Jolene stopped glitching as she also turned to glance at the sudden noise.

The reality that they were looking at currently, cracked, and then shattered completely, sucking in a new individual before it returned to its normal state.

A young man with yellow gradient hair and a stern expression had arrived, and with deep breaths, his eyes widened as he noticed the identical twins before he whipped out his handgun, aimed between the two, and spoke.

"So….who's the real Jolene?"

--With that, Liohime Kitagami…no, rather, Mitagi Hansen had announced his presence.

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