Chapter 21 Owner's privileges

Jaune gritted his teeth and did as he was told to.

He stabbed the knife into his leg. It was so painful that he wanted to cry. He didn’t have any experience with being stabbed, but he knew that it shouldn’t be that painful.

He was about to pull out the knife, but something miraculous happened.

The knife had melted and come inside his leg. His injury was gone.

“W-What happened, Ciel?!”

[Don’t worry, host. You just absorb the curse of death. You can now use its power as your own! There’s no rule that says the host can’t absorb it. Now it belongs to the host forever!]

Jaune heard that and felt ecstatic. He just got something permanent from gold rank by just paying with silver coins.

“That’s great! Can you tell me if there is anything else like this?”

[Ciel can tell the host, but Ciel thinks that the host should finish it first. Otherwise, we won’t be able to talk more comfortably.]

Jaune nodded. He looked at Ifrit, who realized that there was something wrong with him. He didn’t come and attack him mindlessly like before.

“It looks like you have noticed, but it’s already too late. Heh.”

Jaune shot toward Ifrit and attacked him with a water breathing spear style. Ifrit tried to dodge this time because he felt that the attack was dangerous to his life.

And it was as he had thought. The spear pierced through his arm. He felt so much pain and jumped back. There was so much blood coming out of his arm.

The blood was like lava, it melted everything that touched it.

“You are a hot blood spirit, right? Hehe, I don’t want to pun, though.”

Roar!!!

Ifrit knew that he was looking down on him. He was really angry, but he knew that if he were to confront him head on the one who would be killed was him.

Ifrit is a king of fire, and even if he is killed, He will respawn again, but it took so much time.

Jaune watched Ifrit with caution. Even though he tried to act like he didn’t take him seriously, he knew the moment he was careless. He could be killed instantly.

Those fires were hotter than before. He wasn’t sure if his water breathing spear would be enough to cancel the fire.

Ifirt was ready to attack him again, but this time he used much more power than before. The surrounding area was starting to get hotter and hotter.

[Oh no. Host, please run away as fast as you can. He was going to use the limit breaks!]

“Limit breaks? Seriously! I don’t know what that is, but the name already tells it all!”

Jaune, with his thunder breathing technique, moved away from there as fast as possible.

Ifrit was not ignited into flame. He looked where Jaune had gone before rushing at him with high speed. The floor where he stepped burst into flame, leaving a trail of fire behind.

“So fast!”

[Host! Ifrit had used all of his mana in order to kill the host. He used hellfire! The fire that can burn everything to ashes!]

“What should I do?! If I were to be hit by him. I will become ashes!”

Jaune didn’t think that Ifrit would have something akin to the ultimate move.

[Host... before anything, Ciel has to say sorry first, but please understand and don't be panicked after this, okay.]

Jaune didn't know what Ciel was going to do, but he knew that she didn’t mean any harm to him. Then Jaune felt something inside him break out.

He vomited a large amount of water before the water began to take the shape of a beautiful woman.

The woman who came out of his mouth looked at Ifrit in contempt. She then flipped her hand and froze everything in her path. Ifrit, who was confident that he could kill Jaune, was frozen along with his flame.

“Humph, Just a lesser spirit dares to show off your little power in front of my master!”

The woman then snapped her finger before the frozen Ifrit was destroyed and became just ice dust particles.

Jaune looked at the woman who had come out of him. He felt so much pain, but he didn’t pass out.

The woman who saw Jaune felt so much pain that she panicked. She then grabbed his head before kissing him on the lips. She began to change into water and went inside his mouth.

Jaune felt better after she went inside him.

“W-What happened, A-And is that you, Ciel!”

Ciel didn’t reply, Jaune was feeling dreadful and was about to ask again, but he heard Ciel speak first. This time, her voice was so robotic.

<Due to the emergency situation, The owner of the multiverse shop had to use one of the protection privileges. The goddess [Ciel] had deployed. The cost is 100 mgc per minute.>

<As this is the first time the owner of the multiverse shop had used the protection privileges, the cost has been nullified.>

...

Zack, who was now heading to the base, felt that his connection with Ifrit had been cut off. He was very shocked that Jaune would be able to defeat Ifrit by himself.

Zack wondered how strong Jaune really was. He couldn't help but feel a mixture of admiration and concern for Jaune's abilities.

Zack knew he would have to be more cautious and prepared if he ever had to face Jaune in a battle again. And it would be very soon.

"I need to reach the base faster."

Zack used speed materia to make him move faster. He didn't use it earlier because he had already used so much mana on summoning Ifrit. Who would have thought that Jaune would defeat Ifrit so quickly?

Zack reached the base and was shocked at the destruction Jaune's companion had caused, but luckily no one died.

Zack quickly assessed the situation and realized that Jaune's companion must possess formidable powers as well.

He knew he would need to come up with a strategic plan to counter their combined strength.

And as he thought about how to deal with them, He heard the sound of metal bending. He then looked at the satellite tower that was located at the center of the base.

"Oh shit"

The satellite tower was bent and destroyed. What materia did they use so they could bend metals like that!

Zack's heart jumped as he witnessed the destruction caused by their mysterious power. It was clear that their abilities went beyond anything he had encountered before.

He realized that defeating them would require not only a strategic plan, but also a deeper understanding of the source and nature of their formidable powers.

Ifalna, after she was sure that everything had gone according to the plan she made, then contacted Godo to let him know that they had already brought the place down.

She told him that he should send his people to come and take over this place.

Ifalna also mentioned to Godo that they needed someone skilled in piloting an airplane to safely transport them to Midgard. Which he could help her find the pilot pretty easily.

"The matter about the pilot, I already helped you with that. I have sent him there with my best men."

Godo expressed his gratitude towards Ifalna for successfully executing the plan. If they could take over the airport, then they wouldn't have to worry about not having enough food anymore as they could trade with their ally outside.

Godo also mentioned that taking over the airport would provide them with a strategic advantage in defending their territory against Shinra.

After she finished the talk, Ifalna cut off communication. As she was about to tell everyone about the incoming reinforcement. She heard Ruby speak to everyone.

She dashed here with all her might. And she was having a hard time breathing.

"H-Hey! E-Everyone, The boss is coming! He is super strong. We need to make a plan to beat him!"

Ruby spoke to everyone. They were just finishing fighting with the soldiers from third class and even second class.

Now that the first class was going to come here, They thought that the fight would be very dangerous.

"And what about Jaune? Where is he?"

Pyrrah asked Ruby worriedly. She didn't see him come with Ruby, which means he might still fight with the boss that Ruby mentioned.

And she told them that the boss was coming. Didn't that mean Jaune had lost to him?

Ruby paused for a moment, concern evident in her eyes.

"I'm not sure how Jaune is right now."

She admitted. Her voice was tinged with worry.

"But we can't assume the worst just yet. Jaune is really strong. But the boss is really tricky. He might be able to slip from Jaune's grasp and come here."

"And if that happens, we need to be prepared to defend ourselves."

Ruby added. Then she started to tell them about the fight between her and Zack.

They heard how he fought and knew that he was strong and had much experience under his belt.

"We need to get ready. The other party shouldn't be as powerful as Jaune, based on what we heard from Ruby. He has more experience. He must have gotten away from Jaune's grasp."

Aware of Jaune's inexperience, Yang spoke to everyone.

She believed in Jaune because he was strong. But when it comes to an enemy full of experience, He might not be able to keep up with the cunning of his enemies.

And while everyone was talking, they heard the sound of the engine running. They looked in the direction of the sound. And found that many robots were staring at them.

These robots operate through assistance systems and are not directly controlled by anyone.
They stared at Ruby and everyone and were ready to destroy any intruders.

“He really seems like a very experienced person. He knows there's no way he can beat us, so he has to use robots to fight."

Ruby and Yang, along with the others, prepared to fight. If it were just these robots, then they might be able to win them easily... probably.

...

Jaune after surviving Ifrit. He immediately headed to Shinra's base at the airport.

With his speed, he could get there in no time.

When he arrived, there was a battle between everyone and many robots. Everyone tried to fight them as best they could. But their numbers didn't seem to decrease at all.

The robots seemed to be multiplying, overwhelming the group's efforts. Despite their best attempts, it became clear that they needed a heavy hitter who could AOE them.

Jaune, when he saw that his women were surrounded and having a hard time fighting the robots.

With his dragon bloodline, He felt anger in every drop of his blood.

Jaune tapped into his dragon bloodline, unleashing a powerful wave of profound energy that engulfed the robots, reducing their numbers significantly.

The group finally had a chance to regroup and push back against the remaining machines.

He, after releasing his profound energy, combined Water Breathing with Thunder Breathing together. It might be impossible for normal humans to use two breathing techniques at the same time, but Jaune wasn't one of them.

"Mizu Kaminari No Kokyu: Ichi No Kata—Kaminari to Arashi!" (Water Thunder Breathing: First Form—Thunder and Storm)

The combination of Water Breathing and Thunder Breathing allowed Jaune to unleash powerful attacks that were effective against the robots.

With each strike of his spear, he managed to destroy several of them, giving breathing room to the others fighting alongside him.

Ruby, Yang, Pyrrah, and Blake look at Jaune, who showed up to save everyone from a risky situation, with stars in their eyes.

He was so dashing when he used his spear in order to annihilate the enemies.

His movements were swift and precise, as if he had been training for years. The team couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration and gratitude towards Jaune for his heroic actions.

Ruby was overjoyed. She thought that these robots would hurt her badly. But Jaune had come to a rescue first. She felt like she was a damsel in distress.

"Jaune! I know that you will definitely show up very quickly.”

Ruby grinned excitedly as she hugged Jaune. Jaune hugged her back and checked if she had gotten hurt anywhere or not. Then he asked about Zack.

He didn't see Zack anywhere. He couldn't smell him either.

“So where did that guy go? Why are there only robots here?”

After hearing his question.

It was Pyrrha who answered Jaune's questions. She already knew what Zack's goal was.

“He didn't want to take the base back. He just came to bring his people out.”

Pyrrha explained that Zack had no intention of reclaiming the base, but rather, his objective was to rescue his fellow soldiers.

She added that Zack believed in prioritizing the safety and well-being of his comrades over any territorial gains.

Jaune heard that, and he looked around. He found that the soldiers who should have been defeated had disappeared.

He let out a sigh of relief. He didn't want to fight Zack again. I don't know what else he will come up with. Just fighting Ifrit was already making him very tired.

"That's really good news. I don't want to fight someone like him again."

Jaune said with a grateful smile.

"I hope we can find a way to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence. It's exhausting to fight a fight that we didn't want to."

Jaune's words resonated with his companions, who were witnessing war for the first time.

They nodded in agreement, understanding that there must be a better way than the meaningless war.