The white void shattered, revealing the final arena: a vast, circular expanse made of impossible, swirling colors—a digital canvas reflecting the combined dimensions of the Nexus Six. The air was a cacophony of competing energies: high-grade Mana, erratic spiritual noise, and the faint, sticky scent of Giant Toad residue.
"This is it," Jin-Woo stated, his body tense. "This arena combines all the variables. High-Mana suppression, spiritual chaos, and low-concept physics."
In the center of the arena, the Arbiter's Avatar materialized. It was not a monster or a machine, but a shimmering, vaguely humanoid figure composed entirely of swirling, fractal geometry and lines of rapidly cycling code. It radiated an energy that was simultaneously godlike and deeply, specifically annoying.
"I am the Apex Anomaly," the voice boomed, now possessing a chilling blend of all the prior personalities—the chilling cold of the Shadow Raid, the mocking cheer of the Low-Magic Gauntlet, and the playful threat of the Occult Sprint. "You have learned to adapt, but adaptation only delays the inevitable. Here, all your weaknesses are amplified."
The Anomaly attacked instantly.
The Drain: Jin-Woo and Gojo immediately felt their power reserves plummeting. It was faster than the Mana suppression, actively pulling the energy out of their cores.
The Speed/Chaos: The fractal figure zipped across the arena with the chaotic speed of the Turbo-Granny, leaving trails of razor-sharp conceptual threads in its wake.
The Annoyance: Kazuma, despite trying to hide, was immediately the target of a localized "Bad Luck Curse." He tripped, his stolen loot scattered, and a giant, slimy Giant Toad Tongue landed squarely on his face.
"I'm blind! I'm slimed! This is awful!" Kazuma shrieked, swatting the tongue away.
"The Anomaly is targeting our energy and our focus!" Gojo yelled, struggling to maintain his barrier. "I can't hold the defense for long! Jin-Woo, we need the ultimate plan! You're the tactician!"
Jin-Woo, fighting the catastrophic Mana drain, pushed his own shadows to their absolute limit. "We have to force a low-concept weakness on a high-concept target! Okarun, Tanjiro! Focus! Find the seam!"
"I can sense the core of the code!" Okarun cried out, his eyes wide with possessed focus. "It's not a physical weak spot! It's a Conceptual Seam! A flaw in the logic of the Arbiter's design, somewhere on its back!"
"I see the scent of the flaw!" Tanjiro confirmed, using his enhanced senses to track the single line of pure, clean air among the spiritual static. "It's a single, constant line of vulnerability! We must cut that line!"
The Anomaly, realizing it was being analyzed, stopped its frenetic movement and launched its ultimate attack: it manifested three swirling Conceptual Razor Threads—one targeting Gojo's head, one targeting Jin-Woo's heart, and one targeting Saitama's perfectly intact, replacement yellow cape.
"The weak link is the only target that holds value!" the Anomaly shrieked.
"It's attacking the Cape! You brought this on yourself, Baldy!" Gojo yelled.
Jin-Woo knew a direct, powerful attack would only cause the Anomaly to restructure. They had to use precision and low-grade stealing power.
"FINAL SEQUENCE: MAXIMUM COORDINATION! WE RISK EVERYTHING!" Jin-Woo roared, pushing the last of his Mana into his army. "Igris, Beru! Full Aggression! Buy us five seconds!"
The two Shadow Generals, now merely flickering outlines, charged the Anomaly, serving as conceptual bait to stall the threads.
"Gojo! Use the last of your energy to reverse the drain! Pull the Anomaly toward us, just one inch!"
Gojo groaned, focusing his depleted power. He initiated a tiny, localized "Blue" attraction field. The Anomaly, now fighting against the force trying to stabilize its position, lurched forward slightly.
"Okarun! Tanjiro! Now is the only chance! Guide Kazuma to the Conceptual Seam!"
Tanjiro and Okarun formed a blur of motion, shielding Kazuma between them. Tanjiro used his blade to deflect the incoming Razor Threads aimed at his body, while Okarun used his speed to calculate the perfect trajectory.
"Go, Kazuma-san! Aim for the light!" Tanjiro yelled.
Kazuma, with the Giant Toad Tongue still in his hand, was thrown toward the Anomaly's back. For once, his supreme Luck worked. He hit the exact spot Okarun had aimed for.
"STEAL!" Kazuma screamed, closing his eyes and using his most reliable, low-concept skill.
He didn't steal a physical item. He stole the Core Concept of the Anomaly—the single line of code that held its chaotic form together.
The Anomaly's body immediately froze, suspended in a state of pure, illogical conceptual despair. It had been robbed of its function.
"Saitama! Disconnect the concept!" Jin-Woo yelled, struggling to stand.
Saitama, who had watched the entire ballet of complex powers and strategic sacrifice unfold, stepped forward. He walked up to the frozen, conceptually robbed Anomaly. He looked at the single, exposed line of pure digital code shimmering in the air where its spine should be.
He didn't punch it. He didn't flick it.
Saitama gently poked the line of code with his finger.
The Anomaly immediately let out a soundless scream of finality and dissolved into a shower of white static. The entire arena, the swirling colors, and the aggressive draining vanished.
The six heroes stood in the familiar, silent white void.
"GAME OVER: CRITICAL SUCCESS. ALL THREATS NEUTRALIZED."
The Arbiter's voice, now sounding like a tired, relieved system administrator, returned.
"The Reset Game is complete. The Nexus Core is secured. The Arbiters acknowledge your combined strength and are releasing your dimensions from our jurisdiction."
"As promised, Anomalies, you have earned your reward. Twenty-four hours of total, uninterrupted rest and provisioning in a dimension of mutual stability. Enjoy your vacation. You have certainly earned it."
The white space faded, replaced by sun-drenched, rolling hills and the sounds of bustling fantasy music.
Chapter 13: A Well-Earned, Absurd VacationThe six heroes materialized on a cobblestone road leading into a massive, brightly colored, medieval-style town. The air was clean, warm, and smelled faintly of fresh bread and low-grade, benign magic. A massive sign above the gate read: "Welcome to AQUARIUS: The Guild City!"
"Oh, thank the Goddess Aqua! We're in an actual, generic, loot-filled Isekai!" Kazuma exclaimed, immediately running to the nearest lamp post to check for a "Wanted" poster. "This is exactly where I belong! Where's the nearest newbie quest?"
Gojo, having recovered his energy instantly in the stable environment, pulled his blindfold down, revealing his striking Six Eyes. He looked around at the bustling crowd of adventurers, mostly young, brightly dressed women who were instantly, and inexplicably, staring at him.
"Ah, this energy density is much better," Gojo purred, a massive, satisfied grin spreading across his face. He noticed the attention immediately. "Looks like the local talent has an eye for the best. Good taste, this dimension has."
Jin-Woo, having fully recovered his Mana, looked dangerous and aloof in his black coat. He stood silently, analyzing the crowd. The women weren't just staring at Gojo; a significant portion of them were looking at him—not with flirtation, but with a gaze that said, "That is the man who can single-handedly clear the Demon King's castle, and I need him to teach me his ways."
"They're looking at us with… intent," Jin-Woo noted dryly.
Tanjiro, meanwhile, was surrounded within seconds. A cluster of young Priestesses and Mages, all blushing fiercely, were nervously approaching him.
"Excuse me, sir! Your aura is so incredibly kind and warm! Are you... are you an Angel? Your eyes are so beautiful!" one girl stammered, holding a freshly baked loaf of bread out to him.
"Oh! No, I just practice my Water Breathing," Tanjiro said, blushing deeply and bowing respectfully. "Thank you, that is very kind. Your bread smells wonderful!" His gentle, sincere manners instantly elevated him from "hot adventurer" to "husband material" in the eyes of the local populace.
Okarun and Saitama, however, were completely ignored.
"See? Nobody cares about the pathetic me!" Kazuma sighed happily, settling into his role. "It's just you, Saitama-san. The bald, boring guy."
Saitama looked utterly relaxed. "Great. No drama. I'm going to find a discount supermarket."
That night, in the noisy, packed Adventurer's Guild, the situation reached its peak absurdity.
Gojo was drowning in adoration. Girls were fighting to pay for his drinks, offering him rare magical artifacts, and openly arguing over who got to sit next to the "Immeasurably Handsome and Mysterious Sorcerer."
Jin-Woo was across the room, sitting alone. He was approached only by highly ranked, powerful women who were looking for a strategic partner for an S-Class Dungeon raid. "Sir, your presence suggests unparalleled power. My team offers a 60/40 split for your service in the Northern Abyss."
Tanjiro, mortified by the attention, was attempting to teach a group of girls the fundamentals of Total Concentration Breathing in the corner, inadvertently making them fall further in love with his disciplined kindness.
Kazuma was trying to pickpocket the girls fighting over Gojo, but his terrible luck meant he kept only finding loose buttons and lint.
Okarun, however, was undergoing a bizarre transformation. Tired of being ignored, he allowed the Turbo-Granny possession to fully manifest. His body went rigid, his eyes became distant, and he started to speak in a low, gravelly voice.
"The existential void is not the opposite of life, man. It's just a radical shift in perspective," Okarun (now the Granny) drawled, taking a massive gulp of Ale. "You gotta let the flow happen, little dude."
Surprisingly, this worked. The sheer, otherworldly confidence and stoner wisdom of the possessed Okarun made him the "Deeply Philosophical and Cool Spirit Talker." A group of rogue mages immediately began hanging on his every word, treating him like a guru.
The next day, the group accepted a low-level, high-reward escort quest—mostly to get the aggressive local population off their backs.
They quickly cleared the target dungeon, which consisted mostly of low-level Goblins and slimes that Saitama was forced to merely stare at until they dissolved from intimidation.
During the dungeon run, they found specialized loot tailored to their powers:
For Gojo: A pair of Legendary Blinding Glasses that could instantly transform into a black cloth Eye Bandage with a mental command.
"Finally. Versatility in my visual concealment," Gojo remarked, adjusting the new gear.
For Jin-Woo: A Monarch's Cloak of Silent Steps. This cloak allowed him to move with absolute silence and masked his terrifying Killing Intent, making his presence manageable for normal people.
"Efficiency is appreciated," Jin-Woo said, the black cloak settling perfectly over his shoulders.
For Tanjiro: A Hinokami Breathing Focus Stone. A beautiful, small red crystal that vibrated gently, helping him maintain Total Concentration, Constant during high-stress situations.
"This will help me be kinder and faster," Tanjiro said, tucking it carefully into his sash.
For Kazuma: A Pervert's Portable Pocket Dimension. A small ring that linked to an empty dimension where he could instantly stash any item he Stole without the hassle of a heavy inventory.
"I'm going to be rich! I can steal all the buttons!" Kazuma cheered, holding the ring.
As they left the dungeon, Saitama, who had done all the heavy lifting, was still ignored. He was just about to find a quiet place to eat a pre-packaged convenience store meal when a massive, armored, high-level Hero approached him.
"Bald One!" the Hero bellowed, holding a gargantuan, rune-encrusted war hammer. "Your raw physical dominance in the Goblin Raid was noted! Your simple movements defy all known magical laws! Are you a Saint of Pure Muscle? I challenge you! Show me your technique!"
Saitama sighed. "I just walked quickly."
But the hero refused to accept it, dragging Saitama back toward the Guild for a "friendly sparring match." The town, having witnessed Saitama's effortless neutralization of all threats, realized they had made a terrible mistake by ignoring him. Saitama was no longer "boring." He was the "Unfathomable God of Raw Strength"—a completely separate, less domestic, but equally obsessive fanbase.
The Nexus Six had found temporary stability, but their vacation had already become as chaotic and high-stakes as their trials.
The brief rest is secured, and everyone (even Saitama, in his own way) is getting the attention they deserve!