Rinaru Munakata

The living and dining rooms on the first floor were an open space with an open ceiling. The dining room was based on a clean white color palette, and the open kitchen, with its sophisticatedly designed kitchenware and spices, looked like the backdrop for a cooking video. A pure white dining table would be perfect even for a Western-style brunch. A state-of-the-art coffee maker, like the ones you see in a corporate project.

Everything was illuminated by a soft, almost innocuous, glowing light.

Fushimi wanted to find a dark, narrow space.

"Wow, how elegant!"

Hidaka was the one who expressed his thoughts directly. Kamo said, "Oh.", and seemed immediately interested in the kitchen.

Glancing at the living room, he discovered it was inspired by blue. Navy velvet couch were arranged around a low, glass-topped table. Beyond the window that took up almost the entire wall, there was a wooden deck overlooking the sea. A fabric hammock could also be seen facing the sea.

"Is everyone here?"

The thing wrapped in the hammock, like a caterpillar, spoke. Needless to say, the deep voice could be heard through the glass window. The hammock swung like a pendulum, and Munakata landed on the wooden platform. He was wearing teardrop-shaped sunglasses and an open-necked shirt with a strange pattern. He took off his sunglasses and stuffed them into his shirt pocket as he entered.

"Your rooms are on the second floor. The rooms are laid out the same way as the Seiun dormitory."

"Phew! So the captain will also be living with us?"

"Domyoji-san!"

Domyoji's sincere reply was hidden by a panicked Enomoto.

"I also reside in the Seiun dormitory. I need temporary accommodation."

Just yesterday, the Seiun dormitory became unusable. A breakdown in the drainage system caused a sewage backup, resulting in a major disaster. The water flooded the floors. The first floor, where the dining hall is located, was closed. There was no direct damage to the rooms on the second floor or above, but the bathrooms and toilets are unusable, and the living room has a foul odor.

The Seiun Dormitory's facilities were old, and residents had been complaining about them for some time. It was decided to take the opportunity to do a complete renovation while the dormitory was being repaired.

Fushimi had insisted that Munakata at least renew the plumbing and install the air conditioning, but it had taken years of hard work. Maybe five years?

The time had finally come to realize his long-held dream.

The renovation work is scheduled to last about three months. During that time, the dormitory residents had to move into temporary housing, and "Scepter 4" rented several buildings. In the end, each person arrived at the dormitory assigned to the special forces with only a suitcase.

"It's more like a shared house than a dormitory, right?"

Benzai's words made Fushimi think about the term. He thought it was a concept he'd never have to deal with, but now that he mentioned it, it was true.

"Why is temporary accommodation a shared house?"

"We had to quickly arrange accommodation for everyone, and this was one of the ones we were able to rent."

Munakata answered Akiyama's obvious question seriously. With a bright, innocent light in his clear eyes, he said,

"I'm really looking forward to living in a shared house with the special forces."

Where did he hear that? A shared house is a pain.

"Oh, I remember. Last month, I was watching a video about living in a shared house, and the captain was standing behind me and asked me what it was like."

He heard Fuse whisper to Goto, who was standing next to him.

"It's because of Fuse. It can't be helped.", Goto said calmly.

"It can't be helped.", Fushimi said, staring at them and gritting his teeth.

Although he had strong values, this man was strangely open-minded and curious about new things he saw and heard. In the past, team members would often fall for his words: "Oh, what's that?! That's interesting."

"Shall I make something tonight? I'm curious to know what the stove feels like. It's my first time using this kind of stove."

"No, no. It's not my job, and I don't mean to bother you, Kamo-kun. To celebrate the first day living in the share house, let's have a barbecue tonight. The wooden deck is equipped with every amenity."

"Barbecue party!" Of all the words in the world, "barbecue party" is one Fushimi hates like a caterpillar.

If it's with Munakata, it's a hundred times worse.

"I'm not participating. I'll stay in my room. If they force me to participate, I'll stay at a business hotel."

"Hey, Fushimi-san."

Ignoring the cold voice, he shouldered his luggage and headed for the stairs.

"Anyway, they'll eat all the meat, so there'll only be vegetables left. Hyenas!"

When he spoke out against the "Domyoji Squad", Domyoji pouted and fell silent, and the others seemed to give up and no longer bothered him.

The fragrant smell of roasting meat, along with the smoke rising from the outside wall, drifted in through the cracks in the window, and he stubbornly remained in his room, irritated.

After the bustle outside finally subsided, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Fushimi-san.", came Akiyama's voice. "Are you hungry? I left you some things to eat, why don't you come down?"

He was hungry, and it was too much to resist. He went down to the first floor as Akiyama urged.

Kamo, who was in the open kitchen, brought out a plate and said, "Oh, Fushimi-san. Here you go."

There was only meat, sausage, and corn. He accepted the plate without thanks, uncomfortable knowing that "Fushimi-san would eat something", even though she hadn't explicitly told him so.

These days, he can even eat green peppers. He muttered to himself.

The others were gathered around a low table in the living room. Benzai sat on the floor, clutching the table, while Domyoji, Enomoto, Fuse, Goto, and Hidaka hugged the couch cushions and yelled at him.

Fushimi was fed up and narrowed his eyes, wondering if they would continue playing together without returning to the room.

"Ah, Benzai, no, no, if you take that out, it's dangerous! Here, here. It's safer here."

"Shut up, Domyoji. Let me go at my own pace."

Opposite Benzai, Munakata sat upright. His back and legs formed a perfect right angle. On the low table between them was a wooden tower-shaped toy.

The name of the party game, in which you stack finger-sized blocks and remove them one by one without letting them fall, is...

"Jenga, huh?"

"Fuse brought it over, and everyone was more engrossed than I expected."

Akiyama nodded with a wry smile.

"Have you ever played it, Fushimi-san?"

"Yes."

When he was in Homura, Totsuka brought it over, and everyone was excited.

"I'm a bit clumsy and unprepared for this. Benzai is the best of us. Well, his head is much better than mine."

"That's true."

There's no way Munakata isn't good at it. It's the kind of game that makes the most of his abilities.

In the first round, everyone participated, and Hidaka, who usually makes grand gestures, was the first to collapse and received the penalty of "cleaning the shared house garden".

In the second round, Domyoji, who hadn't focused, also collapsed and received the penalty of "bringing something appropriate for the shared house".

Kamo, who is good at making elaborate decorative cuts in the kitchen, and Akiyama, who is versatile at work, are clumsy with games, and collapsed in the third and fourth rounds, one after the other.

Fuse, who knows the tricks as an owner, was eliminated in the fifth round; Goto mysteriously performed well in the sixth; and Enomoto, who is good at games in general, showed his determination and made it to the seventh round... and so on. As a result, one by one they "lost", and the battle came down to a one-on-one duel between Benzai and Munakata, who remained until the end.

The tower was already quite chipped, and it wouldn't be surprising if it collapsed at any moment.

Benzai, who usually has a cold expression, looked unusually tense, and his silky hair was tied back in a bun like Kamo's, showing his seriousness.

"What's wrong, Benzai-kun? You're taking too long."

Munakata, on the other hand, urged Benzai calmly. Benzai timidly reached for the tower. Just after he pulled out one of the blocks, the tower collapsed and a loud bang hit the table.

"Ahhh."

Domyoji and the others, who were leaning forward on the couch, looked up at the sky and put their hands to their heads. Benzai collapsed and banged his head on the table in frustration.

"The special forces have been wiped out? That's a bit pathetic."

Only Munakata stood up and clapped with a smile.

"No, Fushimi is still here!"

"Fushimi-san! Defeat the captain!"

Fushimi, who was trying to eat meat in the dining room without getting involved, was chosen.

"No way. Why should I join the party-goers' fun club?"

Fushimi immediately refused.

"Oh, Fushimi-kun, aren't you any good at it?"

"Huh? I'm actually pretty good at it."

When Munakata said that, he responded reflexively.

He knew 100% that he was provoking him. It's his usual tactic. He knew 100%.

"Damn it."

He bit into a piece of meat, abruptly put down his plate, and left the dining room.

"Get out of the way."

He pushed Benzai aside and sat cross-legged across from Munakata.

"I'm counting on you, Fushimi-san!"

"Only Fushimi-san can beat the captain!"

Domyoji and the others cheered irresponsibly around him.

"Hmph. I'll play against you."

When he played with "Homura", the players were basically all rude and careless, so the game didn't last long and wasn't fun. He remembers the looks on the faces of particularly rude guys who knocked down the tower in an instant and got angry.

Munakata didn't mind that.

Benzai rearranged the tower. They faced each other on top of the tower.

"You go first."

Munakata relaxed and conceded the first move. A sudden sense of déjà vu crossed his mind.

"Oh, weren't you good at it?"

Munakata had taunted him with the same words, and had sat across from him like that, remembering the day he had his first serious conversation with him. He was still a boy, about 16 years old.

It was so quiet that even the ticking of the wall clock could be heard.

Fushimi held his breath, pushing a block on the center rung of the tower with his fingertips and experimenting with slight movements.

There are only two blocks left on that level. There's only one block left on each level.

Ok. He could do it. Holding both ends of the block with his thumb and middle finger, he suppressed the trembling in his fingers and gently pulled it out parallel to each other.

The tower showed no signs of collapsing.

The people around him, who had been holding their breath, relaxed with relief.

"It's incredible... I mean, the captain, but also Fushimi-san."

Enomoto muttered in a hoarse voice, as if he were the one who was nervous and tired.

Neither side gave in easily, and the battle continued for a long time. Only one or two pieces remained on each level, and the tower remained in a state of absolute balance. The blocks that had been removed piled up on top of the tower, making it taller and thinner, creating a shape that evoked a strong sense of unease.

Fushimi placed the block he had just removed on the top layer. Carefully, so his fingers wouldn't tremble.

As soon as he let go, the tower shook. "Waah!" exclaimed those around him, and they all raised their palms to support the tower as if sending their thoughts.

After a few seconds, the shaking stopped and the tower regained its stability.

Everyone let out a deep breath, but even their breath shook the tower, so they held it quickly.

"Very well. Now it's my turn."

Munakata alone didn't seem to have weakened his nerves even a millimeter.

What the tower's current structure was like (in 360 degrees and its internal structure) and which blocks could be safely removed) it was as if he understood everything perfectly, and without the slightest tremor in his fingers, he extracted one with an easy movement and, just as easily, placed it next to the block Fushimi had stacked on the top row.

The whole time, the tower remained motionless, as if glued.

"You used your power to fix it, didn't you? It's impossible!"

Even though it was so sparsely populated. Even when Fushimi prevented him, Munakata didn't seem bothered and simply said, "No way.", He shrugged playfully.

"Even if I tried, would I have the power to do it?"

Behind his glasses, his eyes narrowed, and a self-loathing expression appeared. A faint wrinkle rarely seen on the thick skin of his mask.

"Huh...?"

A murmur spread through the group.

Since the Dresden Slate was destroyed, the power of their supernatural powers has been gradually weakening.

Munakata's power as King, who even controlled the "Green Lightning" capable of destroying Mihashira Tower, has weakened so much that he can't even hold up a toy tower with a mass only one hundred thousandth of that gigantic tower's.

"Well, I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know. Now it's Fushimi-kun's turn."

In the quiet atmosphere, Munakata calmly urged him.

"Uh, ah... yes."

Munakata said something strange, and his concentration was broken. He returned his focus to the tower in front of him. He reached out to reach the block he had his eye on, but his fingers trembled, and he couldn't touch it.

"Fufu. If you're getting nervous over a stressful battle like this, Fushimi-kun still has to put in the effort."

"Huh? Did you say that to shake me off?"

As he raised his head, the tip of his fingernail touched the block.

"Ah!"

At that moment,

Ring.

A call rang out from everyone's chest and waist. It was an emergency call.

The shrill screams drowned out the sound of the tower collapsing. No one paid attention to the blocks scattered on the table as everyone took out their own PDA.

"There's been a chain reaction and a fire on the Shuto Expressway. The Strain is out of control."

Akiyama read the report.

"The Strain is still out of control on the Shuto Expressway. It can't seem to control its own speed."

"It's calmed down lately, geez."

"Come on."

"After all, it's work."

Everyone spoke in their own way, and the conversation continued.

Fushimi also reviewed the report that had arrived on his PDA. He concentrated on working at full speed.

"Is Lieutenant Awashima in the girls' dormitory? I'll have her take command at the barracks and go straight to the scene. We'll set up the capture formation while we're in the car. Consult the details with the lieutenant and coordinate."

He jumped to his feet and gave orders without even looking at the toy.

"Captain."

He turned to Munakata.

"Yes."

Munakata stood up and pushed up the bridge of his glasses with his middle finger. His voice was as clear and firm as ever.

"Everyone, put on your uniforms and get ready to go."

"Yes!"

++++++++++

In the end, a week later, Fushimi "returned" to the shared house. It's unknown if it was a coincidence, but there had been a series of out-of-control incidents involving Strain, and special forces had to be sent in to deal with them. There had been a lull lately, and it seemed like it would continue to subside, but it didn't look like that was going to happen.

At the Seiun dormitory, even when they were occupied, they could still shower and take a nap, but the shared house was on the Boso coast, so it was too far to go to the Boumon barracks.

It was easier to stay in the barracks.

"Oh, Fushimi-san. Good work."

"We'll go out again."

Akiyama and Benzai took their places at the entrance.

"I made some snacks for you, so feel free to eat them."

Kamo followed, taking off his apron and putting on his uniform.

"Oh... thanks for your effort."

Fushimi walked past Kamo and into the dining room.

On the counter in the open kitchen, thick rolls covered with plastic wrap were stacked in a neat bundle. Pork soup was also being prepared in a pot.

"Thank you for your effort.", he murmured, once again, with complete sincerity.

A week has passed since the first day of work at the share house.

The atmosphere has changed completely from the first day. Members return one after another and then leave in a hurry.

The hammock on the balcony has been converted into a clothesline, and the dirty clothes they brought are piled on the living room couch.

Maps, documents, and confiscated artifacts from the metropolitan area are scattered all over the low table.

Although "Scepter 4" is moving toward a paperless system, the share house doesn't have the same atmosphere as the barracks, so he is often forced to use paper. Incidentally, the coffee maker seems to be the only thing that works properly.

The sushi roll's ingredients were long-lasting, such as egg, dried pumpkin, and sakura denbu.

If mass food poisoning were to occur from raw food left out during this busy time, it would be no laughing matter.

Fushimi was grateful that all the ingredients were edible, so he bit into the whole sushi roll.

Hidaka was snoring, buried under the dirty linen on the couch. He was still holding the sushi roll he'd been eating.

Footsteps sounded from the top of the stairs, and Enomoto came down with a towel covering his washed hair. Goto also appeared behind him.

"Fushimi-san, are you taking a break too? Hidaka, Goto, and I will be back in about two hours."

"Enomoto, can't we have the same internet environment here as we did back at the barracks? It's a waste of time having to go to the barracks every time to operate it."

"I think it would be difficult to build the same level of security as the barracks. It would make sense if we used it long-term, but it's only for a short time."

"That's true."

He sighed. After the "Jungle" attack, the security level of "Scepter 4" was raised, and access to information from the outside was significantly restricted.

Unless a hacker of Hisui Nagare's caliber reappears, this may be an unfounded concern, and it's likely that such a person will never appear again... probably.

"Where's the captain? In the barracks?"

"Yes. I think he probably hasn't been back even once. He must be disappointed because he was looking forward to living in a share house."

A box of a party game other than Jenga lay unopened in a corner of the living room.

It was Twister (He knew this because Totsuka had brought it earlier). According to Enomoto, it was something Domyoji had bought as a punishment game and that "it would be ideal for a share house".

Then, for some reason, there was a huge stone the size of a man's arms.

"Why a stone...?", Fushimi asked, his face twisted as he looked at him suspiciously.

"Hmm. I bought that. I'm going to bring it back as a souvenir from Chiba."

Goto replied.

"Is that stone a souvenir from Chiba...?"

"It's a Chiba-style stratum. It's just a replica of an ornament. Look, there are little crab and shell fossils buried in the stratum, and they're really pretty."

He ignored him mid-conversation.

"It was a nice share house, but it was a waste for us. I'm starting to miss the Seiun dormitory. I hope the renovations are finished soon."

"The Seiun mentality is ingrained in everyone. What's so great about that dormitory?"

"But isn't the same true for Fushimi-san?"

"The internet environment is a hundred times more comfortable."

"You're not being truthful."

Enomoto chuckled, so he clicked his tongue louder, and he shrugged and said, "Sorry..."

++++++++++

A week later, they returned to the Seiun Dormitory.

After all, many members and staff were eagerly awaiting the prompt reopening of the Seiun Dormitory.

Unable to wait for the planned three-month renovation, they decided to restore only the sewage system and reuse the Seiun Dormitory.

Thus, the Special Forces' "new share house life" ended in just two weeks.

"I feel like I've come home!"

"It would be fine if it weren't for the sewage smell. I usually only go home to sleep."

Domyoji and Hidaka excitedly entered the house.

The first floor, which had flooded above ground level, has been cleaned (though no cleaner than before), and the smell of excrement that filled the building is no longer a problem.

Fushimi asked from behind him, observing the team members at the entrance.

"Are you disappointed?"

He heard a man's voice standing behind him.

"The truth is; I wasn't entirely sure about the renovation at first. I was thinking of simply demolishing the Seiun dormitory... If the Strain group continues to decline, the day will come when we disband "Scepter 4". Before that, I thought it would be refreshing to try living with all of you. I think it's time to start preparing for the end."

Fushimi looked at Munakata for the first time.

"Disbandment?"

"The decline of the remnants of the Dresden Slate's power, the decline of the citizen Strain group, and the decline of my power are all related."

"I bet it's true you can't even hold up a Jenga tower."

"Well. What do you think?"

"What do you mean by that?"

He was about to ask him, annoyed by his vague answer, when Akiyama and Benzai came running down the stairs. They'd left their things in the room and changed into their uniforms.

"Captain, Fushimi-san."

"I have something to attend to, so I'm going to the barracks."

The two hurriedly passed each other and left. Munakata tilted his head in some exasperation and dismissed them.

"Oh, my! I've heard that working hard is no longer considered a virtue these days."

"We take pride in our work, we have a sense of mission, and we do our best. I think that because there are people like that, some can survive without being hard workers. That doesn't mean our boys are envious of those who aren't."

"Oh. I never thought Fushimi-kun would say something I would say."

Munakata gave a mocking or pleased chuckle that could be interpreted either way.

"So, Fushimi-kun, whose side are you on?"

(Don't ask unnecessary questions. Since you're here, you should know.)

"Please offer more benefits."

When he was looking at the two of them, as they entered the store and had a soft conversation,

"Kuoraaaaaa!"

Overwhelmed by the angry voice, he heard the scraping sound of the asphalt behind him. The moment he turned around, the proudly painted mark of "Homura" blocked the sky and flew over his head.

As if to push Fushimi who stepped back into the alley, Yata dove down with his favorite skateboard and landed.

"I've been looking for you, idiot! What the hell is going on? When I got back to the room, all your luggage was empty and you weren't answering your PDA, so I was worried!"

As soon as he jumped off the skateboard, he got angry and came over like a raging fire. Fushimi responded with a contrastingly cold look.

"Ah, I didn't answer because I broke my PDA. I'll move later. I'll move to the dormitory of "Scepter 4". That's all I came to say."

"Hey, what are you saying all of a sudden, to move out? Oh, was it because I told you to do it on your own? Look, I just got mad, oh, sorry. But even you are evil, huh?! What the hell is going on?!"

Yata's anger changed completely and he began to mutter in dismay. Fushimi let out a sigh that he's a busy guy and repeated it in a way that Yata could understand.

"Didn't you hear me? I said the "Scepter 4" bedroom." I'm going to go into "Scepter 4''."

With his mouth open, Yata was speechless. After a breathless emptiness, a look of disbelief spread across his face.

“Ah... Wait a second, why "Scepter 4"? Wait, I don't know what that means. "Scepter 4" are the ones in the blue suits, right? That's the clan of the King with glasses, right? Does that mean you will be under a king other than Mikoto? Do you understand?"

"Of course I understand."

"Well then, why?"

"Why? Don't ask me dumb questions... well, you're dumb. Even though you have special powers, you're just playing bully. "Homura" has gotten really stupid to me."

"You...!"

He grabbed his neck and shook his head.

"Are you going to abandon "Homura"?! Don't forget the kindness you received from Mikoto-san!"

Yata pinched Fushimi's lapels together and raised his fist. However, he gritted his teeth and released it as if he had changed his mind. He raised his fist and applied it to Fushimi's left chest.

"This is it, this mark that Mikoto-san gave us is our pride, right? Even if you have this engraved on your chest, why...?"

His voice cracking, he stuck his fist in to confirm the weight of the things engraved there. He didn't think he would feel anything, whether Yata was furious or surprised. He was so tired of that misunderstanding that he had no choice but to give up.

However, when he looked into Yata's reddish eyes, for a moment, really just for a moment, something, a tightness welled up in his throat. Idiot, he was the one who wanted to cry.

"Together we will fly far away. If I'm with you, I feel like I can rule even the world."

Where the hell did that vaguely satisfying time, in which they bumped their fists and nodded with foolish confidence, collapsed?

Where he placed his fist at that moment was not him, it was the mark.

If something had irrevocably changed because of that... fuck that mark.

He pushed Yata's shoulder away. He held his right hand in front of Yata, who was taken by surprise and staggered, and made his fingertips glow like a magic trick. Yata made a scared face and said, "What's wrong?"

He turned his hand towards himself and raised all four of his nails to hook his left clavicle.

There was the sound and smell of burning skin everywhere.

"What...?! Saruhiko...?!"

"Ku..."

He clenched his claws and scraped the hooked fingers down to the base of his clavicle. Sweat broke out from the intense pain, but he didn't stop. He did it until the mark was burned into his clavicle. He for a moment wobbled slightly, but he held on.

When he released his strength and lowered his hands, the flames on his fingertips died.

"Ah... your pride has been crushed, Misaki."

Along with the voice telling him to let the air out from the bottom of his lungs, the flames that had accumulated in his body seemed to pass through his throat and be quickly cooled by the outside air. It was kind of refreshing.

"What do you want to say...?"

Yata's shocked face gradually turned to anger.

"No matter what, I can't forgive you for that... just for desecrating it..."

Oh, Fushimi felt a strange sense of satisfaction, thinking that he was making a funny face. He was even disappointed that there was such a simple method.

After entering "Homura", he felt that the world had become a beautiful circle of friends, he was completely dissatisfied, and nothing was interesting.

That was like an anthill.

"You traitor... I will kill you..."

Yata's entire body was filled with bloodlust and flames ignited in his eyes.

(You said it yourself, so don't forget it, okay? Seriously, come here with the intention of killing me.), Fushimi thought.

Looking back now, he thought that he was unfortunate not to have had that opportunity until now, but if he and Yata were to fight as enemies, his powers would be at odds. If you let go, even for a moment, you will die.

In Yata's eyes, where the flames flickered, someone's figure was reflected.

Thank you very much for your continued support.

This article is to inform you that there will be some changes regarding the future K 10th ANNIVERSARY PROJECT update.

First of all, regarding "Ground Zero: Fragments", I will finish this month's 08th episode, "Withdrawal Symptoms". As previously announced, I would like to say that from now on we will release "SIDE: GOLD" by Yashichiro Takahashi, also known as GoRA Black.

I am sorry! Due to various circumstances, "SIDE: GOLD" will be released from December.

Therefore, there will be no update on November 10.

Although it is not intended to make up for that, the work scheduled to be added to KFC/KFCN Salvage from November, "Before Zero" and "SIDE: PURPLE" until episode 9, will also be added to K 10th ANNIVERSARY PROJECT magazine at the same time. We will take measures for that.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our readers. Regarding "SIDE: GOLD", we have received a report from Black that the total volume will be about one paperback, so please bear with us...!

Also, regarding the KFC/KFCN bailout, the entire bailout will be completed by the end of December, so we plan to finish the magazine in December.

Those who have already purchased the existing magazine can continue to view the contents even after the end.

That is all.

"Huh? How did you get to be "King"?"

After finishing cleaning up after lunch, vacuuming the area around the dining table, collecting and folding dry clothes from high above the ground, he finally had some precious down time, as he was definitely a sun fanatic. Iwafune Tenkei, who was enjoying daytime drama reruns with his beloved canned beer in hand, turned away from the television and frowned.

The one who asked the question was Sukuna Gojo. He was lying on his stomach and operating a handheld game machine, but he mumbled, "It's clear now. Override game.".

Then he suddenly sat up and turned to Iwafune.

"Speaking of which, Iwa-san, how did you become the "Grey King"?"

He asks abruptly.

There is no doubt that it was a random question that had no context. However, it seemed like it was a topic that piqued Sukuna's interest. He gave Iwafune a curious look as Iwafune frowned as he interrupted his break.

It's more,

"Oh, come to think of it, I don't know. The reason why Iwa-san became "King". Even though he is by my side."

Even Mishakuji Yukari, who was doing his daily yoga routine, came up with the subject of Sukuna. He released his pose, let out a small sigh, and looked at Iwafune, a vainly sexy look. Iwafune peeked out from the top of his head and said, "Excuse me.".

"It's a tacit understanding that "Jungle" doesn't pry into the past."

"It's a player's saga to exploit loopholes in the rules."

"My life is not a game."

"It's boring, Iwa-san. We're friends."

"Even I don't know anything about your past."

After answering bluntly, Iwafune drank a can of beer. His gestures and expressions clearly seemed troublesome, but Sukuna and Yukari didn't give up. Even the Kotosaka parrot was flapping its wings at him.

"Right now, you're working with Nagare to play a supporting role, right? Iwa-san is also a genuine "King", right?"

"Chosen by the Slate, one of the seven great kings. Normally, you shouldn't be in a position to go underground and focus on household chores, right?"

"It's too much."

"First of all, didn't you have a different name in the past? What is it? Birds aren't chickens, they're even cooler."

"Parrot! Parrot!"

"No, parrots aren't particularly cool, are they?"

"Gah! Sukuna is terrible!"

"Writing it in kanji is cool, isn't it? Parrot."

"Yukari! Great! Sukuna, nonsense!"

"Okay. Kotosaka, shut up."

Sukuna frowned at the noisy Kotosaka, and Yukari responded as he laughed.

"Huh, "Grey King" Otori Seigo."

"That's right! Like a phoenix! Also, in terms of how long you've been a "King", it should be the second longest after the "Golden King", shouldn't it?"

"That's right. In the past, the two people who were involved in the Kagutsu Incident, the predecessor ''Blue King'' Habari Jin and the previous ''Red King'' Kagutsu Genji had an existence and eyes that were side by side. The mysterious ''Grey King'' who left his name in a turbulent era... If I were to compare him, I would be like Nobunaga, Hideyoshi or Ieyasu..."

"Hmm, well, if you go that far, something will be different. Even if you say so, he's an old drunk."

"Yes."

"You guys..."

Seeing his young allies teasing him, Iwafune became upset and bitter. Then, remembering the two "Kings" in his memory, he finally grabbed the top of his head.

"I just wouldn't go with those monsters. It's because they stopped being human, especially Kagutsu."

"To put it bluntly, Nagare and Iwa-san aren't "Kings" either."

 "The "King" is a human. Tentatively."

"But it's refreshing to be able to comment on Kagutsu Genji like this. I'm embarrassed to say that I'm one of those people who lived in that time, right? It's hard to express, but... "Kagutsu Genji" is "Kagutsu Genji" not no matter how far you go. It's more like a pronoun than a person's name or nickname..."

"Is that correct?"

"Eh?"

"Didn't I tell you? He stopped being human... Really."

Speaking in an unusually low voice, Iwafune tilted a can of beer.

Even after more than ten years, it was still a difficult question to handle. God or devil. Paranormal phenomenon. "Something" demanded by the times or by "the world". Something that transcends the individual will.

Such an indescribable existence turned out to be in the form of a human being, or perhaps it was two people who were incarnated in this world. They moved with something different from reason in the human world. At that moment, he honestly whispered to himself that even the thought of Kagutsu's existence would destroy one's life.

If that was the original "King", then it would definitely be an imitation.

When,

"Sukuna, Yukari. Please leave it at that."

The "King", who was looking at the screen while he was sitting in his wheelchair as usual, spoke.

The "Green King" Nagare Hisui.

"Iwa-san's past belongs to Iwa-san."

His gaze was still fixed on the screen, but his voice seemed to be a little louder than usual.

After being reprimanded by Nagare, the two closed their mouths somewhat awkwardly, like children being scolded by their parents. Yukari, in particular, seemed to have honestly acknowledged his own innocence and silently expressed his gratitude towards Iwafune with an elegant gesture.

However, Sukuna did not seem convinced.

While he acknowledged everyone's stance not to go beyond what was necessary, he still couldn't hide the fact that he wanted to know more and to be taught in particular. It could be seen that "smells like water" was written on the face of the boy, who was still very young.

Cursing, Iwafune suppressed a wry smile.

Honestly, it was a hassle. However, there was also a part of him that didn't want to take the boy's attitude lightly.

In the end, Iwafune shrugged and said:

"Sorry, but I don't have the kind of dramatic "trigger" you guys were hoping for. I don't know why, but my consciousness faded and before I knew it, I became a "King". I don't even know how that happened."

"Huh? So pitiful..."

"Don't be rude. Even if you say something like a king, there are many things to do."

Some of them must have become "Kings" after living such a dramatic experience. For example, Nagare Hisui who was in front of them. In terms of drama, he is probably one of the most prominent awakenings among the successive "Kings".

Unfortunately, he was not like that.

"Actually, why did they pick me? Slate may be unexpectedly suitable for the job."

Iwafune let out an innocent self-deprecation and bowed his head.

But,

"Negative."

Nagare responded immediately.

"Considering Iwa-san's achievements, the Slate certainly chose the "King"."

"Stop. If someone had been elected around the same time and in a similar position, I'm sure he would have done much better than me at the time. In fact, I was left with nothing."

"Negative. The chance of someone other than Iwa-san achieving what Iwa-san did at that time is so small that it can be objectively ignored."

Looking at the screen, Nagare said that nonchalantly, but with a firm tone. After snorting, Iwafune replied, "Thank you.".

"After all, I don't know very well."

Sukuna grunted in boredom. "I'm sorry." Iwafune said, going back to his usual pace and tipping a can of beer.

Suddenly though,

"Ah. That's right..."

And unconsciously he was unearthing memories that he had long forgotten.

"Huh, "generate" is ambiguous, but... how should I put it... there was a bit of "foreshadowing"."

At the monologue he let out while he blinked, not mentioning Sukuna and Yukari, even Nagare was surprised and looked away from the screen.

"This is the first time I've heard of it. An omen, huh? What would you become a "King" of?"

"Ah, no, I don't know, it was the day before Slate called me, but was there a "strange thing"?"

"Strange thing?"

Nagare repeated on the urge to lean forward. Whatever will happen, the person most interested in Iwafune's past was none other than the "Green King". Kotosaka yelled "Nagare! Watch out!", but neither Nagare nor Sukuna nor Yukari listened.

Iwafune stroked his beard.

"Hmm... Still, I'm pretty sure I was drunk at the time, so I'm not sure how accurate my memory is..."

"Huh? Iwa-san, have you been drinking for a long time?"

"Don't be stupid. At that time, I was suffering from the harshness of the real world."

"Okay. What was that "strange thing"?"

While Sukuna was shocked, Yukari leaned forward and asked. Although Nagare did not urge Iwafune, his eyes shone with curiosity and anticipation.

Though Iwafune was a little taken aback, he shifted his position, sat cross-legged, and stared into space for memories.

"That's right. That was before he made me "like a king", so that was when I was still in charge of welfare at the city hall."

"Huh?! Welfare?! I mean, Iwa-san, were you an official?!"

"Ah, but somehow, I get it."

"Yeah. I've heard of that work history."

"Isn't that a lie? Did a drunk like you comb hair? Did you shave every day and wear a tie?"

"What's up, Sukuna? Not bad at all, right? A public servant is important. For the good of the world, he works diligently day and night."

"No, stop it! I can't imagine it. Heh, it's too funny if I imagine it!"

Sukuna laughed as if something had happened. Iwafune felt his cheeks burn and pursed his lips dejectedly.

"Anyway! I was a social worker at the town hall and, partly because of my job, regularly ran a soup kitchen for the homeless. Well, to be more precise, I was helping out at a certain church where I cooked."

Yes, as soon as he said that bluntly, memories welled up in a way that even he didn't expect.

For various reasons, there are people who cannot save themselves. People who can't be called excellent, or rather have only glaring flaws, but are still "good" people.

He wanted to help people like that, he wanted to be strong to protect them.

At that time, he was seriously thinking about those things from the bottom of his heart.

That's why helping the church cook was more like a volunteer than an extension of his work. In fact, Iwafune was unnecessarily obsessed with it and looked bitterly at his colleagues in the government office. However, Iwafune's enthusiasm did not cool down even though he was a bit reluctant. He found joy in serving the helpless.

However, the church that Iwafune attended had a certain problem. The church, located in the center of the old town, was an obstacle to a large-scale redevelopment plan that came about by chance.

Looking at the big picture, the remodel must have been the "right" thing to do. It was clear that the project would generate enormous wealth, and that wealth would have enriched the lives of many people.

However, the priest in charge of the church was on the side of those who were not included in the "many".

Rather than a cleric, he was a large, muscular man who looked more like a professional wrestler. At the time, Iwafune was in love with him and at one point even considered him his life mentor. And he stubbornly refused to agree to eviction from the church and often clashed with the redevelopment faction.

Iwafune did everything in his power to help him, but he was unable to resolve the situation. On the contrary, he received strict orders from his boss to convince the priest. Needless to say, the city was also involved in the redevelopment plan. Iwafune, who was caught in a dilemma, was worried and gradually increased the amount of alcohol he drank.

That was when the priest was attacked by an assailant.

"Hmm? Wait, Iwa-san. Who was the assailant?"

"Huh? Don't you know? That's why you're a boy."

"Normally, you didn't know, in those days. Well, it's the people who were working to evict the people who lived there to buy the land."

Sukuna still bowed his head at Yukari's explanation.

"Did they want to take it with all their might? Wasn't it smarter to buy it? Ah, buy it as cheaply as possible?"

"I would have said so, but in any case, it's not a matter of money. It's for neighbors who don't understand money, no matter how expensive it is, to leave their land. Even Sukuna-chan wouldn't be willing to sell this hideout, no matter how much money has accumulated, right?"

"Oh, it is true..."

"I can understand why the priest refused to sell it if there were a lot of people who had nowhere to go if they lost that place."

"I see. Well, we are the same, we have nowhere to go."

"Actually, thinking about it like that, I don't think much has changed since the old days. Even now, I still "cook" for those pitiful people every day."

Yukari responded with a wry smile at Iwafune's words, while Sukuna asked, "Who's pitiful?".

In the midst of that, Nagare, who was fully aware of the fact that she was being served food, calmly said:

"Didn't you say the priest was attacked? Was your life in danger?"

"I didn't get that far. Well, I hurt my leg a bit, but I recovered quickly. On the contrary, I was on fire with fighting spirit."

Iwafune spoke lightly, but at the moment he was extremely serious. What appalling violence. Of course, the police also acted, but unfortunately they could not arrest the culprit, and in the end it turned out to be the crime of a bystander. That was it, the attackers were meticulously prepared.

Concerned about the priest, Iwafune convinced him to compromise, but he refused. And again, the owner's move ended with a dark raid.

Interfering with church business and intimidating surrounding residents. The assault on vagrants lining up at the soup kitchen and the intimidation of food providers. Various tangible and intangible harassment heated up over time. Iwafune desperately tried to defuse the situation, but all to no avail.

And finally...

They told him not to come back.

Yes, that's what the priest told him. Iwafune still vividly remembered his expression at that time.

He knew that he gave him that advice because he was worried about Iwafune. For Iwafune, however, the priest's words were a sword pointed at his helplessness. Although Iwafune relented, the priest's attitude did not waver. What was frustrating being that somehow Iwafune himself understood that the priest's judgment was correct.

The priest was trying to protect the clumsy young man, but "well" he had no power to save himself.

After Iwafune left the church, he drank a lot of sake and then...

"He was shrouded in mist."

"Mist?"

In response to Nagare's question, Iwafune commented, "Of course, it wasn't my fault, was it?"

"It's a story from before I became a 'King'. Actually, the place where the church originally stood was a land where fog and mist often appeared. Also, since the harassment of landlords had increased, a lot was done denser and denser. Thanks to that, I was saved more than once or twice."

Even among the things that the landlord set up, the most vicious cases: attempted arson and attempted robbery. Others tried to fake accidents and ram them with trucks, but the dense fog that had formed nearby physically prevented all of them from being carried out. At that moment, the blood rushed to his head and he didn't have time to notice it, but when he thought about it later, it was a very unnatural phenomenon.

"Kamisama! Miracle!"

Kotosaka spread his wings and said that, without joking, he thought it was God's blessing.

However, that "god" was nothing like a "god", at least in terms of appearance.

He, at least back then, was a small existence, wounded, lost and wandering aimlessly.

++++++++++

No matter how much alcohol he drank, the feeling of helplessness coursing through his body didn't seem to go away, and it only got worse. And then Seigo Otori thought the result was good.

He didn't want to be saved. He was drinking because he wanted to blame himself.

"Don't come again.". The words commanded by the priest echoed in his heart. He didn't know how many times he vomited and didn't remember how much he drank. His brain and his nerves were undermined by the alcohol, and his five senses were confused and twisted. In the blink of an eye, thunder roared 100 times in his mind, and on the other hand, a great discomfort like tar stagnated at the back of his stomach, endlessly piling up and hardening like the lead.

Anger, sadness, regret, depression. Even so, he still clung to himself. A myriad of emotions fused in alcohol, swollen and throbbing. What did he have to do? What should he have done? Were his wishes wrong? It wasn't bad, but wouldn't it come true?

He didn't know anything about the past or the future. Unknowingly, Otori moved away from the present and continued to move aimlessly.

That's right, Otori didn't remember when he got lost there. Time and place. He wasn't even sure if he was dead or alive then.

The first thing he noticed was the sound.

A soft but artificially produced tone with a somber tone.

The sound produced by an instrument.

His intoxicated awareness surfaced, and Otori realized that he was surrounded by a thick fog that prevented him from seeing even a few meters ahead. He stopped involuntarily and looked around in amazement.

Where was he? When he thought that, he saw a dim light beyond the thick fog. From there he could also hear the sounds of musical instruments. As a guest, Otori staggered in the direction of the lights and sounds.

And...

"What is this?"

When he barely noticed his surroundings due to the alcohol inhibiting his awareness, Otori was in the middle of a crowd of people coming and going.

No, he didn't know exactly if there was a person there. The fog had not cleared. However, beyond the thin veil formed by the mist, there were many writhing figures. Also, the street was lined with stalls with lights hanging on both sides. It looked like a festival scene. However, the signs and atmosphere conveyed were clearly different from the festival. There was a more miscellaneous "vulgar" atmosphere, more vulgar than familiar. The place reminded him of the post-war "black market" he had heard of.

Of course, there was no such place in that area.

No, there shouldn't be.

"This is... what the hell..."

It was like a drunk's dream. Reason decided so, but for some reason Otori knew otherwise. He smacked his cheek to bring his sanity back, if only a little. However, the suspicious scenery in front of him did not change at all.

Then, it was time to put the bottle of sake from his hand to his mouth.

―― The world cannot be measured by black or white ――

Otori heard a voice and shivered.

He turned his head to find the direction of the voice, but he couldn't tell where it came from. He could feel his heart beating rapidly, regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed. There was a taboo feeling, like touching something out of this world.

And...

―― If you still want to go through the cracks, at least you'll be fine ――

It was a low and sad voice... yet it was a voice that made him feel a deep experience. No, or was it not a voice but a thought?

Otori's consciousness became intoxicated again. The thoughts sank gently into the bog of alcohol.

A narrow road that was neither black nor white.

Young Otori did not know what that meant.

As it left a strange and vivid impression, Otori's vision and thoughts were blocked by a dense fog.

The next day...

Otori woke up in the church, and after being cursed by the priest that he seemed to have swallowed a bitter bug...

"Aid."

They told him.

It was a funeral. One of the homeless regulars at the soup kitchen was found dead in the corner of the church grounds. It seemed to be a simple natural death, regardless of the owner. It was certain that the dead man was an old man, but it was difficult to guess how old he was. After all, the homeless man had old, severe burns all over his body, which he had covered with bandages. Despite the great physique of him, he was gaunt and thin.

There was no one among the wanderers who was close to the old man, and they had no idea what kind of person he was.

However, the old man, who was sound asleep, was holding a crude accordion in his arms.

He still didn't know if the sound he heard in the mist was the sound of an accordion.

In the afternoon of that day, the frustrated owners attacked the church that had finished the funeral of the old man.

There was no fog.

It was during the melee that Otori was chosen by the Slate.

++++++++++

"Huh?! What is that? Is that the end? No explanation?"

"I told you. I don't remember well and my memory is vague."

"You became "King" the day after you got drunk, right?"

"That's it, I had a terrible hangover."

"Did you become "King" with a hangover?!"

Iwafune laughed lightly at Sukuna, who spat in disbelief.

Yukari, on the other hand, looked amused and smiled, "Fog, huh...".

As Nagare silently looked at Iwafune,

"Iwa-san. Otori Seigo. What happened to the person named Otori Seigo?"

"Oh, I know. Because I did a lot of research. Or rather, I'm surprised you knew."

"It's just a name. Or rather, I'm not even sure if that name is correct."

"I am the same. That is why, whether that was or not... is forever in the mist."

While exchanging glances, the two "Kings" confirmed each other with a few words. Yukari watched the situation with interest.

"Hey, I really don't understand."

"Anyway, after quickly defeating the attackers, I decided to quit my job and start working as a cleric under the guidance of a priest. That's how I came up with forming my clan."

"Huh, "Cathedral". It was a gigantic clan that embodied a kind of beautiful thing called "Relief for the Weak" as the real thing."

Following Iwafune's lines, Nagare spoke solemnly. However, Iwafune couldn't help but snort ironically at Nagare's words.

Just as Nagare said, "Cathedral" led by Iwafune was a powerful clan that wielded power second only to the golden "Tokijikuin" clan during their heyday. Indeed, it may even have been a kind of "independent state".

Kagutsu, of course, is a clan ruled by a "King" who was much more "King" than Habari. Territory of many weaklings and patrons. The garden of salvation of good people.

At the time, there were irrelevant rumors that he boarded to prevent "destruction". The reality was the opposite. A desperate escape after being trampled. A powerful and absolute impotence that could not be compared to the time when he was a civil servant.

"In the end..."

At that moment, Yukari said in a whisper with a disgustingly seductive and slightly provocative voice.

"For Iwa-san, what is really "important" is not the "chance" or "foreshadowing" of becoming "King", but the chance to 'descend' from the "King", is it not?"

Iwafune reflexively cast a sidelong glance.

That, though he wasn't aware of it, was such a sharp look that Yukari immediately changed his demeanor and slightly raised his hands as if he was apologizing for his mischief.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Iwafune replied haughtily to Sukuna, who was dumbstruck. As Nagare made a complicated smile, he returned his posture to the screen without saying anything.

Iwafune took a sip of the beer, noticing that it was already empty, he crushed the can with one hand.

He gave in to the intense emotions that instantly coursed through his body… and then slowly relaxed.

Apparently, it wasn't a thing of the past, even for him. Such a foolish discovery made Iwafune realize how inexperienced he was.

"Sukuna. Fill it up. Take it."

"Uh, no. Take it yourself."

"I told you about the old days."

"It's disappointing. If you want, tell me a more interesting story."

"Yes, yes. Then I'll respectfully pour it into a glass. Even with this, I'm confident in my drinking."

"Keh. Then serve it quickly."

Even as he cursed, Iwafune's memories kept going back to "that day...". Amidst his heart's denial, the memories he normally blocked out came back whether he liked it or not.

Scorching heat and icy despair.

Iwafune took a deep breath with his whole body.

"What is Kagutsu thinking about?"

Soma, who usually did nothing but smoke when asked by a person, paused for a moment... but immediately after that, as usual, an unreadable smile appeared on his face.

"That's the "Children's Telephone Counseling Room"."

"I'm going to ask a serious question."

Choya said without moving his eyebrows. Originally, he had a poor facial expression, but in this case it was a sign of dissatisfaction.

"No, I'm going to answer seriously."

In fact, with a less playful attitude than usual, Soma responded.

Choya "suspected" that Soma was "hiding" something. The conversation between the two of them tended to be a form of belly rub, but a bad deception could lead to useless information. Therefore, he "gave information that could be given, and was hesitant to pry any further". That was Soma's grace to Choya.

"I asked Tendo-san, "What are you thinking? " Adults should ask. "Why did you want to come up from the east?" And, "Are you angry on a sunny day?", for example."

"Don't guess the "Red King" with a superficial understanding..."

"It's not easy. Yes, it is."

"Eh…?"

"Children grasp the world as it is. "The sun laughs" and "a huge mass of hydrogen fuses" are expressions of the same thing. To put it the hard way."

"Ah."

"In that sense, the answer to the previous question is… "Something that he can see, we can see as strange. In his mouth, he has a great feeling. One day he might make a big move.", I think so."

"Is that a "kid’s explanation"?"

It was a terribly stupid exchange. If the question was stupid, the answer was stupid too. He didn't expect Choya to say such a stupid thing, so Soma, who was surprised, gave a stupid answer.

However, it was probably part of Choya's speculation, including that. He was trying to survive by assimilating the situation as much as possible with limited knowledge and recognition. He believed it didn't make sense, but he didn't deny it. In the first place, there was no meaning in front of the "Red King".

Soma understood and thought of Choya's actions that way.

― What did he say next at that time?

"Well, there is no mistake in saying "don't guess", but there is also a saying: "What if you look into the abyss?", uh."

"Of course, it's a word from Nietzsche. It's not a saying."

"Anyway, if you think about him too much... you'll burn out your brain."

"What's that?"

"It's literally the meaning. If you're a chive with garlic, you'll be crushed. It's the same thing."

"Is that a warning?"

"That's why I say, it's a story that literally says "the brain is dangerous" when you threaten it."

Soma's missing little finger pointed to Choya's missing left eye.

"When you entered "Purgatory", you did that, right?"

The extraordinary power hit by the "Red King" roars inside the body, concentrating on a point on the body and a point that corresponds to the person's mental trauma, and explodes. Those who survive the injury are recognized as members of the clan, that is the "Purgatory" facility.

The same type of phenomenon was now occurring in his brain. No one "endures" and survives a brain defect.

At that time, some of the deaths that occurred around the "Red King" Kagutsu Genji were unidentified sudden deaths. There was also surrounding testimony that the person's head at the time was "exploding" and "boiling".

"Anyone who has reached a certain understanding of Kagutsu's existence will burn out their brains and die."

It is unknown if it was some kind of "attack" from Kagutsu, or if it was some kind of runaway phenomenon of different abilities.

In any case, it is one of the reasons why it is difficult to go back in time because there is a lack of information about Kagutsu Genji, even in the confusion before and after the Kagutsu incident.

And again, in any case, Soma himself was no longer distracted by the matter.

++++++++++

At that time, Soma was looking at the collapsed "Sword of Damocles".

The collapsed body lying on the ground was looking towards the "red sword" that collapsed in the heavens.

He was seeing the vision of the image created by the great existence, the great energy, and the great destiny.

"Haha... special seats."

As he told people "don't think" and "don't get close", Soma paid more attention to Kagutsu than anyone else and was thinking about it. Soma's own indivisible darkness may have been drawn to Kagutsu's heat, which burned away all complexity.

As if Icarus in Greek mythology approached the sun and shattered, no, the expression would be too fixed. For those who care about themselves, "summer insects that fly into the fire" are enough. Yes, that would be the true proverb...

Heat was taking over his thoughts.

"Not good... I'm finally here."

His brain burned.

He felt that Kagutsu's existence in his brain was accessing a great deal of heat.

He thought it would come one day, and on that day, at that moment, it finally caught up with him.

At that moment rang the cell phone in his pocket.

There should be a large-scale radio interference going on, no, the cell phone was silent. It was an illusion. Consciousness was beginning to blur.

"Hello, Soma-kun. It's me."

The mobile phone talked by itself without any operation. Of course, that was also a hallucination.

"Congratulations, you're finally here. I think I can tell you the answer... not the riddle..."

"..."Explanation for children"?"

Soma responded without doing anything to the other party.

"The answer you wanted."

"I don't need it. The "answer" I made to be happy."

"Everybody is happy."

"I am a twister."

"I'm serious, you..."

"Anyway..."

"In any case, you played the expected role. Thank you Soma-kun. And goodbye."

Leaving a farewell greeting lawfully, the "hallucination" disappeared.

"Expectations...?"

Of course, it was a relationship that was linked to interests. He had no complaints about being "used".

However, what did he get after all and who was he waiting for?

"In the end... I couldn't understand anything about him..."

A part of his brain was beginning to make noise.

Like an egg thrown into a microwave oven, it was bound to explode with his skull in a few seconds.

"Oh...?"

An unknown vision began to unfold in Soma's mind. It was a continuous stream of information that was beyond all of Soma's knowledge and memory.

"Haha... Oh, that's right. Is that so..."

It may have been a hallucination created by Soma's dying brain. But the truth that can only be understood by the burning brain, if it exists, Soma certainly had a glimpse of it.

"I see... I see, I see...!"

It is said that Icarus died when he got close to the sun due to his arrogance.

However, in exchange for the melted wings, he certainly saw the sun.

++++++++++

A group of black suits walked among the burned ruins. It was hard to see due to the storm of hot air accompanied by heat, but the decaying red sword floating above them was undeniable.

The "Red King" Kagutsu Genji and the Clansmen of "Purgatory".

Although the first strikes with different abilities and conventional weapons were considered, the "Blue King" Habari Jin rejected them.

"First of all, I want to see his face."

That said, together with the elite from "Scepter 4", they formed a formation in Kagutsu's direction of travel.

The distance to "Purgatory" had already been reduced to about 100 meters.

Kagutsu's W deviation had reached its maximum and a fiery shrine was developing. It seemed like those powers increased with every step they took.

It was as if it was a burning inferno in motion. The demons of hell burn as they walk. He was laughing as he burned. Looking up at the sky, shaking shoulders, burning to the point of laughter, leaving only a laugh, burning one by one.

The only one in the center of the herd, like the same haze of heat, was Kagutsu Genji, who did not tremble, did not stand up and did not laugh.

Kagutsu had stopped. Line of sight was established at only one point, Habari. The clansmen also stopped and...

As Kagutsu smiled on one cheek, a shock wave was emitted accompanied by an extraordinary ripple in all directions.

The members of "Scepter 4" reflexively developed different abilities and strengthened their defenses. A huge red wave swallowed the formation and pierced through, and several people with delayed defense and weak power retreated with full body damage.

Some of the black clothes from "Purgatory" also collapsed. The number of people and individual damage was great because they were so close to Kagutsu. Some people vomited blood on the spot and fell down, while others breathed fire all over their bodies and fell down.

"It's an unprecedented ending, Kagutsu."

The "Blue King" Habari Jin pierced the tip of the saber sheath into the ground and called Kagutsu into a standing stance. His long hair and the hem of his jacket fanned in the hot air, but as he accepted the influence of Kagutsu's existence with his entire body, his limbs did not move.

"You must not be on this earth. Today I can assure you that I was born to kill you."

Habari's right hand left the stem and pointed up.

"In other words, this is the fate of the "Red King" Kagutsu Genji."

A blue "Sword of Damocles" appeared above Habari.

"Red" and "Blue", two "Kings", the two swords clashed with each other in the smoldering ruins.

Among the "Scepter 4" members, the first to notice the small incident was Shiotsu, an aide who was packing the command vehicle behind.

The black robes around Kagutsu were slightly changing his standing positions. From a bird's eye view, it might have looked like some kind of mandala. The black robes arrived in an oddly ordered radial arrangement centered on Kagutsu.

― Procession, no, formation...? What is "Purgatory" doing?

"Be careful, Habari. There's something wrong with that."

"I know."

Habari responded to Shiotsu's communication with a fearless smile.

As Habari lowered his center of gravity slightly and took a stance, Zenjo and others from the Chainsaw Squat "Sawing Unit" naturally changed his stance and standing position. They weren't even aware of it. Their bodies naturally moved like a living creature with Habari as a brain.

"Purgatory" like a herd of beasts formed a camp, "Scepter 4", who had discipline, aimed at intuitive battle. They were in a situation where they were fearless and fell.

And Habari said happily as he took a forward leaning stance.

"Use the sword to take to the skies, there is no yoke in our justice. "Chainsaw Squad", mission execution!"

Together with the commando, Habari and the five "chainsaws" unleashed their abilities. Each of them carried a blue light and a violent screaming sound throughout their body.

The normal formation of "Scepter 4" was, so to speak, a single sheet of steel. The closely aligned general members produced a heavy and sharp impact force, like a strong metal crystal. The "Chainsaw Squad", on the other hand, was equivalent to a high-energy ionized plasma, especially when "Blue King" Habari led them himself. It was a quick and deadly beam of light and heat. The glowing plasma blade should have been able to easily cut through any formation, just as an arc cutting machine would cut through thick sheets of steel effortlessly.

But...

The only and last "form" of "Purgatory" was Soma's memory and the last trick.

It was not a defensive posture. Its structure and principle resembled an implosion lens that detonates a nuclear warhead, so to speak.

"Haha!"

Kagutsu laughed. For the first time that day, he laughed out loud.

It was a dead laugh. Dozens of black clothes surrounding Kagutsu exploded all at once in response to the explosive vibrations from different abilities.

And the next moment, contrary to the previous moment, the pressure from the explosion of the different skill was received from all the surroundings, and Kagutsu's surroundings were placed in an abnormal state of ultra-high pressure.

Usually some kind of pressure vessel is used to artificially cause a sudden "explosion" rather than an open "burn". A closed high pressure environment creates the conditions for a more destructive reaction.

Normally, neither material barriers nor energetic pressure could contain the tyrant of extraordinary power. The only exception was the Explosion Mandala, which was created by the red genie that originated from the god of gods.

Being trapped in the center of the Mandala and exposed to extremely high pressure and heat, the "Red King's" abilities were about to start a new chain reaction.

"Hahaha...!"

The red "Sword" shattered on top of Kagutsu.

It broke, but didn't fall off. It hung in the air like shards and they were turning into something other than a sword.

"Hey, what's that?!"

One of the general members waiting behind Habari screamed as he looked at Kagutsu, and in the next moment, his head exploded and he collapsed.

"Shiotsu, disconnect communication!", Habari yelled.

"Defense of all members! Close your eyes! Don't look at that! Don't listen! Don't think!"

Shiotsu reflexively cut off the communication. The members also closed their eyes and strengthened their extraordinary defenses, as if they had been hit by Habari's orders.

"So what is that?"

Beside Habari, Zenjo asked.

Zenjo was not thinking of Kagutsu. He didn't believe. However, he asked Habari.

"I don't get it! I don't know, but..."

"That" could be the phenomenon of hatching. Or maybe it's an emergency.

He didn't know if it was being born in the flames of the "King". He didn't even know who he was.

It could be a superhuman. Could be a demigod. The unknown giant reaction of physics W would not explain anything.

But, Habari was confident. There was still a fearless smile on his profile as he gazed at "it".

"That's also... No, that's Kagutsu Genji. My enemy."

"Well, let's cut it down."

Zenjo ran off. It was at the same time as Habari.

Then, the members of "Chainsaw Squat" continued without a break. No one was lost.

The "Blue King" Habari and the five "Chainsaws" turned into plasma blades with a single blow and slid towards Kagutsu's throat as they pierced through the explosive pressure of an extraordinary ability.

With a broken sword above his head, laughing, angry and exploding like a thermonuclear reaction, there was no telling what Kagutsu was about to do. He couldn't even guess.

That's why, before becoming someone, lower your head.

++++++++++

"I don't care about branches and leaves, whether it's W physics or an overflow of different skills."

The absent "Green King" said that and laughed absently.

A year has passed since then.

Kusanagi thought that there were several reasons why he decided to quit smoking.

Smokers always feel the narrowness of his shoulders. Articles and news about health risks. The price is very small, but it increases year after year. It is common for bars to have heavy smokers.

"A little while ago a boy was born."

 And,

"Kamisan is noisy."

He felt a bit lonely when he saw them coming out of the smoking category one after another. These factors overlapped in various ways.

He was clearly aware that he would quit when he went to the commercial district for business on a cold winter morning. He obtained the necessary documents to operate the bar safely and was hungry, so he came to a corner where the restaurants were lined up to grab a bite to eat.

When he first saw the procession,

"Is it a delicious ramen shop?"

So he thought, he glanced at first with interest.

And he was shocked there.

It was a public space for smokers. Several men were huddled in a glass-enclosed space, smoking.

Despite the centrally installed smoke exhaust device, the interior looked slightly cloudy with purple smoke.

The people queuing outside patiently waited for their turn while shrinking their backs as if they were cold.

(I wonder if smoking is that bad!)

Kusanagi agrees with the recent trend of smoke separation. Smoking should be done with good manners so as not to disturb others.

Nevertheless.

(I don't think it's wrong that there is a place where you can smoke a little.)

It was the real intention as a cigarette only.

And when he was looking at the procession as something mysterious, Kusanagi himself also wanted to take a break.

Although he thought it was stupid, he lined up at the end of the line. He had a hard time getting into the smoking booth as the Kogarashi was blowing, and when he tried to take out the cigarette, he bit his fingertips and dropped it on the floor twice.

Then when he finally lit the fire with trembling hands and inhaled the smoke.

(Not good. Consider quitting for a moment.)

He suddenly thought that.

++++++++++

It was the first time in a long time that the main members met at the HOMRA bar.

Izumo Kusanagi, the master of the bar, Anna Kushina, the resident of that building, as well as Shohei Akagi, Saburota Bando, Yo Chitose, Masaomi Dewa, Eric Surt, Kosuke Fujishima, brought sake and snacks and gathered in groups of three and five.

The purpose was to hear the story of a trip from Eric, who had been away from Shizume for a while.

Eric has recently become addicted to wandering hitchhiking. Like Tatara Totsuka did for a while, he traveled around Japan with his camera in one hand, and when he found something that caught his eye, he would turn the camera lens and take a picture.

From time to time, he would take pictures that were as beautiful as a professional, but at the time it was still a hobby.

And Fujishima, who he often sends the photos to from his travel destination, is now a disciple of a senior builder in Shizume, and was on his way as a carpenter.

Originally, Fujishima, who liked crafts and was skilled, seemed to continue his training quietly.

And Chitose, who wanted Fujishima to "build his house one day", finally met a woman he could seriously face, and has an innocent relationship with her as a teenager.

On the other hand, Chitose's comrade Dewa is preparing to enter university saying, "I can seriously study something.". Chitose bought him a beer saying, "If you're smart, it's an easy win.".

By the way, Rikio Kamamoto and Misaki Yata had told Kusanagi that they would be a little late.

Kamamoto has taken over the liquor store in earnest, and Yata has been busy with skateboard shop work and started being an instructor.

There were no particular toasts, and each of them divided into small groups and drank alcohol. As he looked around at those friends,

"They've all changed a lot. I wonder if they've grown up?"

Akagi muttered with deep emotion. He himself has recently become addicted to tropical fish and is increasing the number of aquariums through various trials and errors, but there is no particular change in the environment.

Hearing that word,

"Is that so? Everyone still seems noisy as usual."

Kusanagi laughed. Then he narrowed his eyes.

"Well, there are some guys who have changed to strange winds."

Saying that, from a distance, he pointed at Bando, who was warming up to his heroic story, at the reluctant Fujishima.

He has been active in online gaming competitions lately and has been winning decent prizes. So to speak, he is in a semi-professional state of the game and is in an easy to understand way.

The name when entering the game is "Sanchan".

His sunglasses as a brand also became eye-catching.

"However, when it comes to big competitions, it seems like the pressure has crushed you and you haven't been able to produce much results, and the essence hasn't changed at all, San-chan."

Akagi responded with a bitter smile. Later,

"What about Kusanagi-san?"

Changing the subject, they pointed at Kusanagi.

"Huh, me? I'm not that different either."

The person himself was bowing his neck a lot, but Anna, who was quietly drinking orange juice next to him, opened her mouth.

"Izumo. He started to quit smoking."

It was like saying that a great change began.

It was noted that Kusanagi himself took a big step.

"Yes. No smoking! I haven't for about three days."

"Eh?"

Akagi looked away. And the "Homura" members, who had been chatting with each other until now, stopped talking at once and looked over there.

Kusanagi was confused by the reaction.

"What's going on?"

The next moment, everyone started laughing as if they were going to explode.

"No, that is impossible!"

"Kusanagi-san is quitting smoking? That's really weird and hard to believe, right?"

"It hasn't even been a week, right?"

Kusanagi was surprised at first, but little by little,

"Oh, you..."

He seemed to be angry.

Originally, quitting smoking did not start with such a heavy feeling. If he could continue, he would continue, and he began with a light stance.

But...

Kusanagi had no choice but to be hungry if he was covered in moss like this.

"Ok! If you believe that, you will quit smoking decisively!"

And he firmly promised everyone that if he broke the ban, he would serve the best liquor.

They all cheered.

It was strange and not too painful for a few days when he refused to smoke without any particular concern. In addition, the psychological margin of being able to return to smoking at any time alleviated the obsession with cigarettes.

However, from the day after everyone had a big problem, Kusanagi gradually died from smoking. The more he realized that he shouldn't smoke, the more he reached for the cigarette box and was surprised.

He tried chewing gum as a substitute or applying a commercially available nicotine patch, but it had almost no effect.

(It looks like the withdrawal symptoms will go away in about a month.)

Until then, it would be a long way to go.

Overall, Kusanagi's job was not a very good factor to quit smoking. Although times have changed, there are still many places where smoking is allowed, not only in HOMRA but also in bars that serve alcohol.

Ironically, the HOMRA Bar, since then, had been properly licensed, and had turned it into a commercial form that allowed cigarettes to be offered and sold in the store.

Kusanagi quit smoking as an individual, but he couldn't remove all the cigarettes from around him.

It was painful to see customers smoking deliciously.

Also, recently, the anko monster that he had stopped ordering anko, appeared frequently and drank anko cocktails that looked really delicious. He was jealous that she enjoyed luxury items to her heart's content.

This was how various tensions were accumulated. Kusanagi had a dream.

Suoh and Totsuka were at the HOMRA bar when they were young and relaxing.

As the soft sunlight shone down, Totsuka was still playing the guitar he had learned with clumsy hands, and Suoh was looking vaguely at the ceiling as he smoked a cigarette.

"Hey, King."

Totsuka put down the guitar and asked.

"Can I have a little cigarette?"

"Ah?"

Suoh looked at Totsuka.

"You tried it the other day, didn't you?"

"I want to try again."

Suoh laughed.

"Do it yourself."

Totsuka, who got permission, took out the cigarette and lit it on fire. He inhales the smoke. And the next moment...

"Geh gaaak! Not good."

"Hehe."

Suoh shrugged.

"Don't say that."

It was a soft teasing voice that was unusual for Suoh. Totsuka had teary eyes.

"Well, I also want to be a man who looks good with cigarettes like King and Kusanagi-san."

"Stop this."

The nostalgic and tearful exchange between those two people. Kusanagi woke up there.

By the time he realized it, tears were actually floating around the corners of his eyes. Kusanagi climbed onto the bed and laughed helplessly.

Although it was in a dream, was he happy to meet his friends for the first time in a long time, or was it regrettable that he wanted a cigarette even in his subconscious mind?

The next day, before the bar opened, Kusanagi was thinking about it with a brand of cigarette that he had smoked since he was a teenager.

Strangely, soft light was shining in the store as he saw it in his dream.

Totsuka and Suoh weren't there, but Anna was sitting by the window, slowly turning the pages of a hardcover literary book.

Anna suddenly said without warning.

"I liked the look of Mikoto smoking a cigarette."

Kusanagi looked at Anna.

"I also like to see Izumo smoking, but if you're worried about too many things, stop. I think Izumo does what he wants."

Anna said that and fell silent again. A soft smile floated slightly on his mouth.

By the way, Anna hadn't expressed any particular opinion about Kusanagi quitting smoking. She didn't describe it as a good or bad thing.

"......"

Kusanagi silently lowered his eyes to the cigarettes again.

That brand had memories. Originally, Mikoto Suoh did not have a smoking habit until he met Kusanagi. As they were about to hit it off, he saw Kusanagi casually take out a cigarette when the two of them were alone.

"Is it good, is it a cigarette?"

He heard that, so he told him.

"Would you like to smoke?"

He gave him one and lit it up when it was in Suoh's mouth, it was an act that he couldn't believe it was the first time he did it.

"Delicious."

So he looked up at the ceiling and muttered a word.

Kusanagi's face was broken. At the time, he was convinced that he was a fun guy.

In fact, after exchanging cigarettes at the time, Kusanagi and Suoh quickly deepened their relationship. He didn't think it was a bond created by cigarettes, but it was also true that there were cigarettes at the end of the memories of him with Suoh.

At that time, he put a lot of effort into the hand that was holding the box.

"Anna. Oh, colored glasses."

The door was flung open and Neko of the Silver clan staggered into the room.

Kusanagi and then Anna looked at her with round eyes.

It was covered in muddy mud.

"Well what did you do?"

Anna ran over and got a towel from the bathroom. She was ready to get dirty with mud and cleaned Neko's face.

Neko seemed to be apologetic seeing the mud splattered on Anna's clothes and the mud pooled under her feet.

"I'm sorry."

Unusually, she was very apologetic. Looking at her, she was quite fashionable.

She was dirty with mud.

"The store is not a good place for that."

Kusanagi said it once and for all.

"Isn't this a good place for this?"

"Yes."

Neko started talking about the situation with tears.

He heard that she had come to Shizume with her friends to go shopping. When she saw a grandmother who was the victim of a robbery and tracked down the criminal, it seems that the robber had the power of a Strain and he was hit back.

"A Strain that manipulates mud?"

Kusanagi frowned. Then his eyes shone behind his sunglasses like a swordsman.

"Don't be playing in our garden."

He clicked his tongue.

Neko often comes to see Anna over the last year or so. The clans they belong to are different, and although they have different personalities, they are oddly matched horses.

Her friend, a girl, was muddy, so Anna was angry, although the others had a hard time understanding it.

She told him quietly.

"I'll do the cleaning. I'll take Neko to the bathroom, so go get him."

It was a strict decree of the "King".

"I'll teach him discipline."

Kusanagi nodded loudly.

Kusanagi ran through the streets of Shizume.

He knew any secondary road in that city. When he crossed paths with an acquaintance at a key point, he obtained information from witnesses and gradually tracked down the criminal.

Kusanagi was thinking as he tracked down the Strain.

Although the power of the Slate was lost, the number of Strains that had explosively increased once did not decrease that much, and some of them committed crimes that way.

For now, he wanted to discuss the problem with Shiro, the "Silver King".

Kusanagi moved deftly and finally cornered the Strain in a corner of the alley.

He was a small middle-aged man.

"You can't escape anymore!"

When Kusanagi yelled, he turned around and glared at him. The man was even wearing waterproof clothing with a hood, rubber boots and rubber gloves.

(Why do not you come?)

Kusanagi was so skeptical for a moment.

"Take this!"

He was convinced as he avoided the fist-sized lump of mud that the other party suddenly expelled from his palm as he bent his upper body.

(I see. Because he handles mud, he doesn't want to wear such heavy equipment.)

The man floated a ball of mud on his left and right palms and fired them one after another.

Kusanagi gradually closed in on the opponent as he avoided the attack with plenty of space.

"I see, that's the idea."

At that moment, the man finally laughed and stepped on. At the same time, an unprecedented amount of mud spilled around the man.

"......!"

Kusanagi took off his glasses.

When he thought it was bad, he was swallowed by the mudflow in no time. Tons of mud covered the top of Kusanagi and filled the back alleys. It was also a disaster that the left and right sides were sandwiched between walls.

The seemingly modest power of manipulating mud becomes a deadly attack when it comes to the amount of scale of the disaster.

Kusanagi was suffocating in the torrent of mud.

(This is not good.)

He couldn't die for something like that.

He held a box of cigarettes and a lighter that he had unknowingly slipped into his pocket.

Mikoto Suoh.

(It does not seem.)

He felt that he was laughing.

At that moment, something exploded in Kusanagi.

The Strain that used the power of mud, was the first to evacuate to a telephone pole.

Looking towards the alley buried in the mud with a look full of superiority. He was nothing to a man to the point of a handsome boy dying.

After checking that there were no signs of pursuit, he tried to leave the scene.

He had to escape before "Scepter 4" came, which cracks down on different abilities.

And at that moment, the surface of the mud trembled once.

The man looked at him suspiciously.

The mud began to boil in front of him. The next moment...

"Gyaaaah!"

A column of flames erupted in front of the man, causing a huge explosion. Hot mud sprayed in all directions.

"Uh-huh!"

The man fell off the telephone pole as he clumsily yelled. It had been blown up, but there was still mud in the back alleys, the size of a muddy paddy field. The man's half body was buried in it.

"Wow, oh!"

The mud was also fiercely hot. The man rolled over and managed to lift his upper body.

There was a shadow slowly approaching there.

He was messy.

It was Izumo Kusanagi who stomped through the mud and came closer.

The usual fashion clothes were full of mud. The hair that was carefully combed was also covered in mud. A small amount of mud also adhered to the sunglasses.

However, Kusanagi had tremendous sex appeal and power. He smoked a cigarette and looked up at the sky.

Then, when Kusanagi saw him flinch, he stared at the trembling man and gently twirled the end of the cigarette he was smoking.

At that moment, several fireballs rushed out from there and exploded with a conspicuous sound in front of the man.

The man got scared.

"Ugugugu."

He blew bubbles, lay on his back, collapsed and passed out.

The case was too different.

Kusanagi lit the cigarette again.

"After all this is my style."

He laughed and lied about it.

In the end, Kusanagi was forced to buy high-quality sake for all the people in "Homura", but he was still in a good mood.

The first time they went out in a high school uniform was not at the entrance ceremony but at their parents' funeral.

Siblings Minato Hayato and Akito attended the funeral ceremony held at the "Scepter 4" camp in the second half of March when the cherry blossoms were about to begin to crumble.

"Draw your swords. Ready, Battou!"

It was Gen Shiotsu, a person familiar to Hayato and Akito, who issued such an order. While listening to the voice of Shiotsu as the deputy boss of "Scepter 4", who was the uncle of a serious and caring relative, with a mysterious feeling, the two of them looked at the coffin in the grieving family's seat prepared in the front.

The faces of Hayato and Akito's parents, Minato Hayato and Akio's bodies were beautiful, but their bodies were covered with white cloth and could not be seen. They knew that they were wounded from the battle with "Purgatory", and wanted to see how their parents fought and died, just looking at the footprints, but Shiotsu's face, begging for "Don't look", looked pained, so the two walked away in silence.

During the ceremony, neither Hayato nor Akito shed tears. It wasn't a good idea to stubbornly cry after that, so they put their shoulders together and bid their parents farewell in silence while sharing a light body temperature.

When it was over, Hayato and Akito asked Shiotsu for an audience with the "Blue King" Habari Jin. The two decided it before attending the event.

Shiotsu had a complicated look on his face, but he didn't refuse the request of the two. Shiotsu knew that they longed for Habari, so he may have wanted to repay the poor children who lost their parents, or perhaps he thought that if there was any grudge against Habari who had carried out an operation that would kill their parents, they should tell him. Shiotsu was one of those people.

Guided by Shiotsu, they entered the main building of the tunsho. The members who crossed stopped when they saw the brothers and gave them their condolences.

When they entered the command office, they saw Habari Jin standing by the window and looking outside.

"Habari. Akio and Minato's children."

Shiotsu called, Habari looked directly at Hayato and Akito as he walked away from the window.

Habari's eyes, which had no sadness, no anger, no regret, and only saw the essence of what was in front of him from the front, made them somewhat flirtatious. When they got there, his eyes were clearly different from the eyes of the members who were directed at them, and the eyes were like a clear sky that was not suitable for children whose parents were killed.

However, Hayato and Akito thought that these were the eyes of the person whose parents believed and entrusted their lives.

"Make us members of the Blue clan."

They didn't plan it, but Hayato's and Akito's voices overlapped beautifully.

Habari looked at them with a faint smile, but Shiotsu, who brought them, averted his eyes.

"What are they saying?!"

"In the test, we were also diagnosed as having different aptitudes. We have qualifications and aptitudes."

"I think I have enough motivation to become a member. I will fight with the will of my parents. I will defeat the enemy that killed my parents."

"You're still kid!"

"I am not a child."

The voices of the two overlapped again.

Shiotsu seemed to have been swallowed for a moment, but he immediately made his facial expression pronounced and he glared at them stubbornly.

"No. I have a duty to protect them, Akio's forgotten memory, and a responsibility as the underboss. As their guardian, I can't let them go to their deaths, and as the underboss of "Scepter 4", I can't let some children get away with it, joining the team."

Shiotsu stood up and said that in front of Hayato and Akito. The two defended themselves strongly, but there was no sign that Shiotsu was going to change his mind.

Habari silently looked at the children and the deputy chief who stood in front of him and began to argue with his pale eyes.

++++++++++

The matter of becoming members of the Blue clan flowed due to Shiotsu's fierce opposition, but the Minato brothers' whereabouts were moved to the member's dormitory in the "Scepter 4" tunsho.

Because Akio and Hayatoshi's parents died early, Shirahane's arrow stayed in Shiotsu as a relative to take care of the Minato brothers. Although, Shiotsu is a distant relative. However, Akio grew up in the neighborhood as brother and sister, and Minato and his wife also worked together, so the relationship ran deeper than blood connection. Shiotsu was also willing to do his best as the twins' guardian.

But, the story is different when it comes to acting as a parent.

Shiotsu is a single man, a lieutenant in a life-threatening organization. The battle with "Purgatory" was intensifying and it was difficult for the twins to leave the government building and live together.

Shiotsu, who was thinking about what to do, even thought about getting married for a moment, but...

"It's rude to get married to take care of ourselves, Gen-san."

"Even if we don't do that, we can still do our thing, Gen-san."

He got the very correct opinion from the twins and immediately returned calmly.

"If you find it difficult to live outside, why don't you let your children live here?"

It was a good idea to say it.

"In the dorm, if you go to the cafeteria, you'll get proper food. It's hard to live."

Zenjo was a man like a great wild child suddenly picked up by Habari. For Zenjo, the "Scepter 4" camp can be a place where a civilized life is guaranteed.

"It would be bad for emotional education."

Zenjo made a neat face at Shiotsu's words as he rubbed his eyebrows. He maybe he didn't understand what was wrong with emotional education there, or maybe he didn't understand what emotional education was like in the first place.

"But isn't there a reason for what you say, Zenjo? The dorm has everything you need for your life, and Akio's children will take care of it. It's good to have a lot of eyes to watch. I think it is. Even if the deputy director doesn't just carry them on his back, all the members can take care of them."

It was Azuma Sohei from the Chainsaw Squat Sawing Unit who said that.

Chainsaw Squad, a special unit formed by Habari to kill Kagutsu Genji, the "Red King". Although all members of the unit are projectiles with non-standard power and individuality, each one engages like a gear through thoughtful cooperation, becoming a huge, vicious chainsaw and mowing down the enemy. This Azuma, Zenjo and the now deceased Akio, mother of twins, were also members of the chainsaw team.

Azuma also had something to think about Akio's death. Even in an environment where you are inevitably used to the death of your partner, the pain does not go away. In particular, it is humanity that made him feel that he couldn't leave him alone when he heard that they had left behind two growing children. It seemed that Azuma, let alone Zenjo, did not question whether this place was a suitable environment to raise children in good health.

However, Shiotsu couldn't think of any further measures, and when he asked people about his intentions, both Hayato and Akito wanted to live in the "Scepter 4" camp without hesitation, so a dorm room was reassigned to the two of them.

"If you have any problems, tell me right away. It doesn't matter if it's about life, school, or anything trivial."

The two of them honestly nodded to Shiotsu's words, but Shiotsu never consulted them.

Hayato and Akito woke up in the dorm, ate in the dining room, and went to the tunsho high school.

The children were between Akio, a famous member who was a small but ridiculous teacher as a child, and Hayato, who was a person with common sense and was soft on everyone. The twins were loved and well-liked by many members.

The twins also seemed to like the other members more than Shiotsu, who had known them since childhood. They wanted to hear about their work from the off-duty members, and said they wanted to learn swordsmanship, so they brandished a bamboo sword at the tunsho dojo and had a caring member train them.

When they saw the members returning covered in blood after being dispatched, they were not scared and worked handing out water and medicine and helping with first aid. Although Shiotsu told them, "You don't have to do that.", they said, "We want to." and "I owe you.".

If he witnessed such a healthy and honest appearance of a 12-year-old boy, it would make sense to be tied down. Among them, Azuma was particularly careful in caring for the twins, perhaps because they felt a sense of responsibility for the twins who lived in the tunsho.

"Oraora! Hayato, the driving is shallow! Akito, the armpits are open!"

The care was mainly in the dojo. Shiotsu often watched Azuma "play" sword training to Hayato and Akito.

Azuma, a user of twin swords. The bamboo swords he held in both hands wielded Hayato and Akito desperately at the same time. He thought he was dealing with Hayato with his right hand and Akito with his left hand, so he swung his sword to guide the two people's movements and allowed them to switch their standing positions, this time with Akito with his right hand and Hayato with his left hand, taking the other part. They both have habits that usually appear when attacking from the right and when attacking from the left, so the bad habits are corrected by hitting them with words and a bamboo sword.

Azuma passively spun for a moment and continued to catch Hayato and Akito's bamboo swords, but when the two were out of breath, they spun to counter and strike. He made a nice noise and hit two hands in a row.

Hayato and Akito groaned slightly and dropped the bamboo sword.

Unlike the members, the twins, who couldn't protect themselves due to their incompetence, wore kendo armor, but they still seemed to feel severe numbness and pain from their beaten hands and couldn't pick up the bamboo sword right away.

"Enough rest!"

"Yes!"

Although their faces were distorted with pain, the twins responded cheerfully.

Shiotsu, who stopped at the entrance of the dojo and was observing the situation, noticed that Hayato had noticed his presence.

"Vice-Commander."

Shiotsu wiggled his eyebrows to the point that the voice he called didn't notice.

Recently, the twins no longer called Shiotsu "Gen-san" like they used to. They call him "Vice-Commander" because of the title in "Scepter 4". It seemed to be proof that they hadn't given up on being members of "Scepter 4", and Shiotsu felt awkward every time he was called that.

"Azuma. Don't hurt them."

Shiotsu frowned and the twins yelled before Azuma answered.

"We ask for strict training."

"He wanted to be stronger, so I told him not to adjust."

"Even if you say that, of course I'm adjusting it."

Azuma said that with a straight face, Hayato and Akito puffed out their cheeks and fell silent.

"Hayaaki, please rehydrate."

Azuma called them and gave instructions by the nickname of the two. The twins left the dojo saying "Yes." with puffy cheeks.

"It's okay to get along and take care of them, but don't forget that Hayato and Akito are still twelve years old."

Azuma listened to Shiotsu's words, murmuring with a sigh, as he twirled the bamboo swords he held in both hands around his hands.

"Is age that important?"

"It's important. Even if they look a bit older, they are immature in mind and body."

"But Hayaaki is smart and they have enough sword qualities. If they want to be a member of the clan, they should."

Shiotsu got a headache when he told him that he should let them do what he didn't want them to do.

"Enough. I'll say it again, they're still kids."

"Skill as a clan member has nothing to do with age. Hayaaki also had great aptitude for different skills, even if they weren’t as good as Akio-san, right?"

"It's not a matter of ability. I'm saying we can't allow children with poor judgment of themselves to enter the world of life and death."

"I wonder if you can say that."

The tone was benign, just asking a pure question, but Shiotsu was speechless for a moment.

"Other than that, I don't want to see them on the front lines right away because they've been made a member of the clan. Right now I'm practicing with Hayaaki, but teaching a child a sword is completely different from teaching a child with different abilities a sword. If you put them in the commander's facility, they will definitely be stronger. They may not be as outstanding as Akio-san, but they are warlike and have high concentration, and they also have Hayatoshi-san qualities, so they are smart. You should teach them and train them to handle their different abilities and give them a job when they grow up with a good feeling. You're in trouble because you don't have enough, right?"

In the fierce battle with "Purgatory", the number of members of "Scepter 4" decreases every day. As Azuma said, "Scepter 4" was suffering from a shortage of members. If he does a small number of missions, the death rate of members will naturally increase. Currently, the defense forces and the police are recruiting a large number of personnel with different skills and are struggling to make up for the shortage.

When he saw Shiotsu silently with a bitter face, Azuma thought that he had said too much, and changed the tone of his voice with a laugh.

"Well, Hayaaki's guardian is Vice Commander Shiotsu, so I'm not going to say anything."

He saw Hayato and Akito return to the dojo.

Azuma raised his hand slightly and welcomed them, saying to Shiotsu in a low voice.

"Once I asked them if they wouldn't join the kendo club at school and they said, "The swords you learn at school can't cut people"."

Shiotsu was amazed, but there was no time to return his words, and Azuma called out to Hayato and Akito, who came running in and said, "Okay, then break is over!".

As he watched the two holding the bamboo sword again, Shiotsu remembered the conversation with Hayatoshi when he talked about the twins' birthday presents.

Shortly before Mr. and Mrs. Minato were killed. he hears the twins said, "I want a sword for my birthday.". Shiotsu said that he couldn't give them a saber, but he could send them a small knife as a souvenir, but Hayatoshi shook his head gently. He refused to give the children a knife and said that the pen would be mightier than the sword and would send a fountain pen.

"I hope they are prepared to harm others a bit later."

Remembering Hayatoshi's calm but determined voice, Shiotsu looked down in suffocating humor.

++++++++++

Hayato and Akito went to school earnestly for the day, and when class was over, they flew back and went on to live a life wielding a bamboo sword in the dojo. When the members were training at the dojo, they would join the corner and when no one was there, they would practice together. In many cases, Azuma and other members of the group came to teach the sword.

Since the beginning of high school, they did not feel like making friends at school, engaging in club activities, playing games after school, etc. His parents were killed by a human like beast. The life that a normal child had disappeared from Hayato and Akito's eyes.

They just studied hard during class, and the grades always stayed up. It was also because Shiotsu didn't seem to neglect their studies when holding a sword. The two of them never gave up on being members of "Scepter 4".

It was raining a lot that night.

Hayato and Akito wore raincoats and smoothly escaped from the room at midnight and left the dorm. The light footsteps were drowned out by the pouring rain.

The main building was packed with night shift members and several windows were lit, but the west building they were aiming at was dark. Hayato and Akito entered the building, took off their raincoats and rolled them up so as not to wet the floor.

Shining a flashlight on their feet, they aimed at the room at the end of the first floor.

The purpose of the two was the material of the case where their parents died.

The case materials were classified and could not be shown even to the grieving family of the line-of-duty deaths. But Hayato and Akito wanted to know the details of how their parents died and what kind of person killed them.

After living in the "Scepter 4" tunsho for about two months, they have been able to understand what is in the place and when there are people. The two of them went down the corridor of the barracks at midnight to see the materials.

They opened the door where the handwritten "Materials Room" sign was. The key was stolen from the general affairs section during the day.

They didn't turn on the light in the room, they shined a flashlight on the file shelf. It wasn't hard to find what they were looking for in the chronologically arranged files.

A tape with the words "March 1999 Kaume Detention Center Suppression Operation" was taped to the back cover of the plastic file that was removed from the shelf. Hayato and Akito sat down near the ground and opened the file. In the dark, they looked at the letters that emerged with the flashlight.

― For the purpose of subduing the "Red King" Kagutsu Genji, they hurriedly entered the ruins of the Kagutsu detention branch in the Fengze district, which belongs to the "Purgatory". Zenjo Goki, Akio Minato, Sohei Azuma, Bado Ryoichiro, Chidjiiwa Gaku, Daiba Sadamitsu are the leaders of the "Chainsaw Squat Sawing Unit", and the first, second and third platoon of the Mobility Division were introduced.

From what they read in the report, it seemed that the operation went smoothly in the early stages. The situation changed when they reached the depths of the detention center and entered a large-scale battle in a hall-like place made by taking out walls from several rooms centered on a common room. Akio Minato died after being attacked by "Purgatory" that was waiting for them.

― The cause of death was the penetration of the chest by the fist that housed the Red Clansman's flame. Instant death.

― Akio Minato's death interrupted the cooperation of the six chainsaws, and the formation of "Scepter 4" collapsed. The waiting "Blue King", Habari Jin and Minato Hayatoshi rushed inside. Although the war situation was restored, Hayato Minato was also pierced in the chest and died by the same clansman who killed Akio Minato.

"Dad and mom were killed by the same guy."

Hayato's murmuring voice fell into the darkness of the sound of rain.

Following the report, there was also a corpse examination plan for deceased parents. There, Hayato and Akito learned about the state of their parents' bodies, which Shiotsu did not show at the funeral.

When they slowly turned the paper over, the materials of the "Purgatory" members who participated in the battle continued. Noto Kongo, died. Katsunori Tada, died. Keiji Fujitani, died. Fumiaki Honjo, died. Shogoro Yamazaki, died. Kaga Kotetsu, died.

The endless materials of the dead continued to be delivered. Those whose identities were known were given their names, photos of their lives, and backgrounds. For those whose identities could not be identified, a photo of the body was attached to the material with only "Unknown" in the name column. Some of them were so damaged that it seemed impossible to identify them.

Neither Hayato nor Akito were afraid of the horrible pictures of the bodies. They looked and stopped at a page.

Makoto Magara, assassin of Minato Akio and Minato Hayatoshi, escaped.

He was in the materials of the "Purgatory" members who survived and escaped. He was a very young man compared to the other members. He even looked like a child.

"The guy who killed mom and dad is still alive.", Akito said. He was a dry voice without emotions.

The two then silently stared at the material for a long time.

Finally, they closed the file on both sides and returned it to the shelf. They quietly left the library and walked down the dark corridor.

It was still raining heavily. However, Hayato and Akito forgot to put on their rolled-up raincoats and walked out as they were. A large drop of cold rain hit their bodies, but they felt nothing.

The heavy rain made them soak in a few seconds. When they returned to the dorm room, they took off their wet clothes on the floor, roughly wiped their bodies, and put on their home clothes.

There was a bunk bed in the bedroom, and Hayato usually used the top bed and Akito used the bottom bed, but they snuck into the bottom bed together without saying anything.

The two lay in silence, their backs pressed together to protect each other's helpless backs. The rain-beaten body was cold, and the limbs remained cold, but the backs that touched each other were feverish and felt burning. They thought it was the temperature of anger.

They even had a strange feeling that the amount of heat from anger would change so much just by knowing the face of the human who killed them.

Until recently, the death of their parents was beyond the mist.

The sadness of loss was bitten many times, thinking that they could no longer hear the voice of their father who sweetly and intelligently advised them, and that they could no longer see the back of their mother, who was bold, and never made a mistake on the important point. However, the feeling of death itself was ambiguous. That's why they wanted to be members of the Blue clan, they could choose a beautiful word to inherit their parents' will instead of revenge.

It is also because it was adorned with the sound of martial arts, which seemed to produce proud, and they were sent only looking at the beautifully groomed face without seeing how their parents' bodies were destroyed.

However, it was not the vague concept of "enemy" that brought death to his parents, but a living human being with a name. His hands pierced the bodies of their parents, crushed their organs and made a wind cave in his chest.

Hayato and Akito didn't express their feelings about it, but shared their anger at not being able to handle it with their backs touching each other.

It was less than a few weeks after that that they were motivated to believe in the word destiny.

Hayato and Akito witnessed the appearance of a true childhood pattern.

++++++++++

After the hideout received the avalanche from "Scepter 4", the people of "Purgatory" were chased and scattered.

Takao Yamiyama survived the battle with "Scepter 4" in the Kaume Detention Branch, and later returned to the house where his wife and children were.

Takao Yamiyama was married. He entered the registry long before Yamiyama entered "Purgatory". The other woman was a cabaret girl with a deeply carved face and a dull atmosphere, and she said that she had a son, so he asked, "Would you like to get married?". It was not a statement of sense of responsibility, but rather a favor to a woman who declared that she had a child. Yamiyama didn't take marriage very seriously, so either one was fine. Even after registering, his life did not change, and the woman gave birth to a child and raised him alone. While doing anti-social work in an anti-social organization, Yamiyama would occasionally go see the faces of women and children.

Finally, Kagutsu Genji appeared, "Purgatory" was born, and Yamiyama's organization was also incorporated into "Purgatory". At that time, many of his friends died, but Yamiyama survived and obtained a life flame in exchange for his right ear.

He felt that the screw in his son's head was flying, but as he grew older, he felt that he was weak, but the decisive factor was when he was expelled from "jail" and returned to the house of the woman who was his wife. He seemed like he saw it somewhere and had great admiration for Kagutsu.

"Father, are you that person's subordinate? I also want to be a subordinate."

The boy told him that, Yamiyama laughed, but was strangely devoured. Even if he threatened that he would be killed, even if he told him that he needed to be prepared to burn a part of his body to become a subordinate, the glow in his eyes kept increasing.

Upon receiving the installation from Kagutsu, a part of the body is destroyed by the captured flame. The one who dies will die, and only the one who survives will become a member of the clan. In Yamiyama's case, the place where the flame went out and burned was his right ear.

The boy stared at Yamiyama's burned and nonexistent right ear with eyes close to envy, saying, "Oh. I'll dedicate every part of my body to him.".

It was clear from the fact that his eyes were uncomfortable that it wasn't a joke. It was a human eye that he would see daily if he lived in "Purgatory", and he could throw away anything by the time he burned the life out of him.

He was somehow sick of his son not being old enough to have those eyes.

"It's not crazy.", he said.

"Yamiyama, what are you doing?"

The voice was released and Yamiyama raised his face. He looked like he was lost in thought of him with a pile of gold in his hand.

Yamiyama was counting money with two men in a room where the concrete wall was black from being burned.

"Oh, yeah."

The man who spoke to Yamiyama bowed slightly and counted the money in his hand.

Yamiyama returned home after being chased by "Purgatory", but after a while he left the house and entered the office of the organization he belonged to before becoming a member of "Purgatory". The reason why he returned to the building where he couldn't smell the scorching odor due to the donpachi when he was taken to "Purgatory" and joined his friends was to resume Shinogi, who earned the top pay. "Purgatory" is different from ordinary gangster society, but Hitoshi Soma, who is number 2, has a solid cash flow and has a mechanism to raise money from the bottom. He didn't know if the maximum payout had been properly raised to Kagutsu or if it had been absorbed into Soma's pocket.

It was Hiura who asked to restart Shinogi, and he was Yamiyama's older brother in the previous organization. However, it is the same in "Purgatory", and, in the first place, "Purgatory" has no other hierarchical relationship other than the force of power. He didn't have to drag the hierarchy from his previous story, but he didn't have the bad feelings of rubbing against it (rubbing usually means killing each other in "Purgatory"), so Hiura was still his older brother.

"Joe Norkin, this is good!"

Another man put a part of the counted gold in an envelope and made a cheerful voice.

Ed, whose real name is Edward, is a brilliant man and has a unique record of illegally entering Japan from Mexico and arriving in "Purgatory".

The envelope that Ed had put aside was placed on the edge of the table and the remaining money was distributed by three people.

"Tonight is a party! Eat good meat and good sake!"

Ed laughed and fanned out his own layout.

At the back of Yamiyama's right ear, there was a sudden buzzing of flames. Yamiyama's right ear was burned to the eardrum, but on the right side he could hear the sound of flames instead of the normal sound. The flame was sensitive to signals from others, and Yamiyama survived for a long time thanks to the ability to hear the signals he had obtained in exchange for losing his right outer ear and eardrum.

"He is a guest."

A few seconds after Yamiyama said that, he started hearing footsteps that could be picked up by his left ear and spoke.

When Hiura answered, the door opened and two young men dressed in black appeared. It is a boy-like duo that doesn't look good in the black suit that is synonymous with "Purgatory". Kyoji and Taku. Soma loved them quite a bit and they were often assigned to work as cabin messengers.

"This is Soma-san's errand."

Kyoji raised a hand and said that with a careless gesture.

Especially when he looked at Kyoji with a baby face, Yamiyama sometimes remembered his son. He told him that the "Red King" would not have a child as a subordinate, but when he saw Kyoji, he felt that this was not the case. Either way, there was no point in trying to guess Kagutsu's heart.

"What is there to give Soma-san?"

Kyoji said with a meek mouth, moving his palm to urge him on. Hiura's temple, who doesn't like the attitude of young boys, jerked back, but Ed issued a bright voice at the right time.

"Oh! Sure! Yeah, wait a minute."

Ed handed Kyoji an envelope containing the gold he had just set aside. Kyoji greeted him casually, "Yes, surely."

During that time, Yamiyama's right ear caught the sound of a small flame still buzzing. The flame in the right ear, reacting to the signal, emitted a flickering sound that was particularly sensitive to hostility.

"You guys got it with someone."

"Eh?"

Kyoji frowned.

"He's small, but I heard the hostility was directed at me. Out of the office. Maybe it's two."

At Yamiyama's words, Hiura distorted his face and looked at Kyoji and his friends.

"What are these guys doing?!"

"What?!"

Hiura yelled at him, and Kyoji's head filled with blood as well. However, Taku held Kyoji's shoulder from the side and stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to get rid of him soon, so you have no complaints, right?"

Taku tried to leave the room with Kyoji, but before he did, the sound picked up by Yamiyama's right ear was far away.

"No, the sign is going to go away. Maybe I'll call my friends."

"Can you chase them?"

"I can't keep up, but it's a nuisance. That little sign isn't blue clothes. Maybe something from the mob. It's easier to wait for your friends to come back and then finish them off."

Kyoji and Taku looked at each other as if to consult, but Yamiyama waved them away.

"I'll get rid of him here, so you should go home and give Soma-san the money. I'll kill you if you're a cat."

"I'm sorry!"

Beside Kyoji who barked, Taku gave Soma a warning as he made a slightly involuntary face.

Currently, "Purgatory" who has lost his home base is scattered and hiding on his own. Soma used youngsters like Kyoji and Taku who could become couriers and fundraisers.

To summarize the notification elements, it was said that the time of the war with "Scepter 4" would be indicated there, so they would avoid any flashy action as much as possible, but if they did, it would be an outburst in "Purgatory". Such release was transmitted through Taku's mouth.

"Yamiyama. Why did you go home? It's his fault, so I wish they'd tighten up."

After repelling Kyoji and Taku, Hiura said that in an unpleasant voice. The main reason was that it was troublesome for Hiura, who hated cheeky youths, and Kyoji and Taku would be an unnecessary quarrel, but Yamiyama scoffed as he lit a cigarette.

"I've been lacking in exercise lately, so I only wanted to do it if there were clients who might diverge."

Hiura snorted and Ed laughed, "Takao, I'm fine!"

When Takao Yamiyama's right ear heard the sound of hostility again, he was skeptical about the smallness of the signal, which was exactly the same as before.

Didn't you call your friends? Are you going to keep monitoring? He was wondering, "I'm going to take a look outside.", he said.

As he walked down the stairs of the building, the sound of hostility grew louder. However, it was strangely unstable. It was murderous, but it made a terribly immature sound. Anxiety, fear, and conflict mixed and wavered. The one of those who are not used to murderous intentions.

The immature killing intent was heard from the side of the building's entrance. It was not visible from the stairs of a narrow, dark multi-tenant building.

When he deliberately left the building unprotected, a large leaf came out of the blind spot.

Yamiyama flipped the sword over with his arm engulfed in flames. It was an unusually thick and heavy blade, but the silhouette of the human with it was small.

"Huh?"

It was a boy who had a large sword that was as tall as his own.

A boy the same age as his own son. He forgets if he was eleven, twelve or thirteen, but he was a kid that age anyway.

The boy was attacked by Yamiyama and staggered from the weight of the sword. However, he did not let go of his hands that were holding the handle of the sword.

When Yamiyama stopped moving towards an unexpected opponent for a moment, his right ear heard another murderous sound.

An attack that pushed straight into the heart from behind him. Without turning around, he felt it alone at the sound and turned around.

The silver blade passed through the side. He put a roundhouse kick to his back holding him up. He was unable to light the flame because he was unconscious.

"Wow!"

The person who attacked from behind was also small. He groaned and rolled to the side with the greatsword, but soon got up and repositioned the sword. The sword was familiar to "Purgatory". It's a formal saber from "Scepter 4" that should normally emit blue light.

The faces of two children, each holding a standard saber and a huge saber that seemed to be a custom-made item, were eerily similar. The children, who had thin eyes and thin lips and seemed to copy and paste, looked at Yamiyama with a look like that.

"Where's the baby-faced guy?"

Said the boy with the big sword.

At that moment, some scenes flashed in his head and Yamiyama grasped the rough situation.

A sword of the blue clothes, possessed by a boy who has no signs of special powers. A familiar formal saber and a rare but familiar great sword.

Immature killing intent and Kyoji's name.

Battle in the "Prison". A scene of killing each other with the blue clothes in the corridor.

The great Venus that Kyoji defeated.

"Are you guys relatives of Akio Minato?"

Akio Minato: Although she was a small woman, she looked like a fierce man who wielded a great sword that matched the good devil. He hears that it was Akio Minato who killed Hiiragi who was number 3 in "Purgatory".

"Do you know my mother?"

The boy with the formal saber said that.

He wondered if there were two children as big in front of that woman as a boy. He thought she was her little brother or something.

Probably, after finding Kyoji and following him, they thought that this was his hiding place. Is it because they went looking for the saber?

It was shallow and meaningless to run to death.

In Yamiyama's mind, the face of another boy who was in a hurry to die came to mind.

"Ahahahaha!"

High-pitched laughter erupted on the stairs.

When he turned his face, he could see Hiura happily distorting his face and shaking his shoulders and laughing at him.

"If you think about what kind of customers will come, will it be Minato Akio's son?"

Hiura slowly walked down the stairs and stood in front of the children.

"No, the best! Two of them!"

Hiura's eyes shone brightly. Hiura hated cheeky youths and he hated cheeky children more, but as soon as he became the target of harm, awkwardness turned to joy. In response to Hiura's sadistic killing intent, a flame sounded in his right ear.

Yamiyama took a step back in a mood that couldn't kill him beautifully.

"Let's kill an animal here for the first time, and feed the other alive with blue clothes! If the child in the family becomes a hostage, can there be blue clothes that will be killed quietly?"

The children held the sword with a tense look. From that position, he knew they had some sword knowledge, but it means nothing to a combat-ready "Purgatory" opponent, other than just stabbing a shielded opponent in the back.

Flame violently erupted from Hiura's chest. He burned the front of his black suit and ignited the burn marks on his chest. He spread his arms wide and lunged at one of the boys to hug him. It was a hug from hell that burned alive with flames and wouldn't let go until you died.

There was a murderous sound in Yamiyama's right ear.

It was not the sound of Hiura's killing intent. It was not the sound of children.

It was the sound of his own killing intent coming out of Yamiyama's body.

Well, he calmly acknowledged that he wanted to kill Hiura and decided that if he wanted to kill him, he couldn't help it. The humans in "Purgatory" do not control his murderous intent.

Yamiyama circulated the flame from the back of his right ear to his entire body. He took a deep step and swung his right arm. Yamiyama's fist hit Hiura's defenseless back.

Yamiyama's flame struck from his fist to Hiura's body. Hiura, who had concentrated his abilities at the front of his body, boiled his blood and internal organs with a blow from behind and spit out boiled blood.

"Ku, Ya...Yamiyama..."

Hiura called out to Yamiyama spitefully, turning only his face and moving his mouth wet with thick blood.

"I didn't mean to hate you enough to kill us, but I wanted to kill you. It's bad."

Hiura collapsed forward as he looked at Yamiyama. The flames on his chest that had been emitted completely burned the asphalt. On the back, the part hit by Yamiyama's fist had the clothes and flesh burned, and the blood bubbled up for a short while, but it soon subsided.

When he raised his face, the children looked at the dark mountain with astonished faces.

He thinks it's ironic.

On the battlefield of that "prison", Yamiyama watched Akio Minato die. The woman, who had been slashing the necks, arms, and torsos of the people from "Purgatory" without hesitation, like a reflex monster, stopped moving for a moment when she saw Kyoji's face.

The reason was that she was able to understand the dark mountain that she was looking at the end, but at the same time it was also mysterious. Akio Minato no doubt hesitated to cut when she saw Kyoji who was a boy. However, it often happens that the ace class in blue clothes, which is a different vector from "Purgatory" and mercilessly cuts the enemy so that there is no human heart, stops and makes a gap just because the opponent is a child.

However, as a person who had just inadvertently killed a friend with murderous intent, he had a feeling that humans are unexpectedly like that.

"It's not crazy."

To the children who stood up, Yamiyama vomited in a childish tone.

"Did you guys really believe that you could take revenge, even if you didn't have the power? Is the child's brain made of cotton candy?"

He looked at the children with a confused expression and bit his tongue.

"Go home, shit and go to bed. Or do you want to kill me with your mother's sword?"

The children bit their lips hard and slowly backed away from Yamiyama and Hiura's corpses. Yamiyama watched the cautious stance of not turning his back until he was out of range, taking out a cigarette. He chewed the filter, he turned it on and took a break.

After enough distance, the children ran off. After disappearing, Yamiyama called out to the stairs of the building.

"Are you going to go up like a traitor? Or are they killing each other here?"

"Hahahaha! Well done, Takao!"

Ed came downstairs and laughed happily as usual.

"I'm fighting because I didn't want to do something with my friends. Do you understand?"

"Well, that's right. It's a daily fact that in the fights of "Purgatory" we kill each other, but now it can be said that it is a betrayal to kill a friend to help the relatives of a blue clothes."

"No, no!"

Ed shook his head in excess of action.

"I'm here to burn my heart! By killing a child who isn't a person with powers, my heart won't burn. I'm fighting too."

Ed said, "That's more than that.". He took out a bunch of gold from his chest and shook it.

"I'm planning on eating good meat and good sake tonight! Let's go early, Friend."

"That's right. Because I let the child escape, this place will be invaded by the blue clothes, and I'll move if I eat a meal?"

"Let's split the money that was for Hiura-san."

"I am not crazy."

Yamiyama changed his mind and decided to think about the meat and sake he was going to eat, getting rid of his old friends and the troublesome boy who had tried to kill him.

++++++++++

A reckless barbarity that can only be said to be a miracle to be alive, such as seeing a human in "Purgatory" and leaving without reporting, pulling out a relic saber, and even trying to avenge his parents. Hayato and Akito were rebuked by Shiotsu like a burning fire.

Habari suddenly visited them when they told him to be reluctant, except when they were at school and they had written an overwhelming number of sentences of remorse in their room.

"Wow, Commander Habari."

"Oh, why are you here?"

The members of "Scepter 4" were also excited, the two children who were not very active, were amazed by Habari came to their territory without warning.

"I wonder what the kids are doing that made Shiotsu angry and depressed."

Habari said happily.

"Gen-san, is he depressed?"

Akito asked intimidatingly. He didn't like that he was angry, but he didn't know that he was depressed. Habari laughed.

"Oh. He's depressed because he thinks he couldn't stop them from acting recklessly."

"That is..."

When Hayato rebutted, Habari easily nodded.

"He's a creature that thinks too much. That's also an advantage. I'm still thinking about it. What would be best for you and what should I do now?"

Incidentally, Habari turned to his brother.

"Do you still want to be my clansmen?"

++++++++++

"Oh! Not a good feeling, Hayaaki!"

Azuma made a funny voice and was attacked by Hayato and Akito with the bamboo swords in both hands.

The two of them used light blue light on their bamboo bodies and swords, and breathed together to challenge Azuma. Originally, the twins were so close to each other that they could communicate with each other without words, but ever since the swordsman Azuma started training them together, the precision of the cooperation improved dramatically. Who was laughing at the twins who had been trained by Azuma, saying that they could become twin swordsmen whose bodies split in two?

"It's a face that doesn't float, Shiotsu."

Habari told him that from the side, Shiotsu deepened the wrinkles that had drawn between his eyebrows.

Currently, he was in the middle of randori training at the dojo. In other words, instead of Azuma playing with children in his spare time, Hayato and Akito also participate in training as members. They also trained to control the different abilities of blue and protect their body, so they didn't wear kendo armor like they used to.

The twins received the Habari installation and became members of the Blue clan.

"Perhaps because you make them clan members without warning."

"Haha, sorry, but it is up to the "King" to decide who will be the clan member, because there is no provision for the installation of a minor to have a guardian seal."

When he looked at Habari, who said that lightly, he gave him a cold look back.

"And you're too worried these days. It's to your advantage to worry and think more than others, but you should be free enough to stop worrying about unanswered things, right?"

The air in "Scepter 4" and "Purgatory" was getting worse every day. Today he was able to spend his time training that way, but there were so many emergency dispatches every day that he didn't know when he would be able to do it again. As the Vice-Commander of "Scepter 4", he couldn't afford to spend all his thoughts on his family.

Even so...

"Do you think the facility will reach a scene where those who have become clan members will be useful?"

"They can't be put on the battle board yet, but I'm sure they have the qualities. If they continue to train for different abilities, they can awaken as a Strain. Facilities currently mean collars and seeding for them."

"Sowing?"

Habari suddenly smiled at him.

"It's a situation where it doesn't matter when, who or what happens. It's a good idea to sow seeds for the future and bet on what grows."

"Don't play with those kids."

Habari laughed lightly and looked at Shiotsu with clear eyes.

"They will grow well, Shiotsu."

A year has passed since then.

Reisi Munakata disappeared from "Scepter 4" and almost two months have passed.

For the members, except for a few executives, it was a completely overwhelming event, like a mist in the blue sky.

One morning, in front of the members who were summoned, Munakata said in the same simple tone as always.

"I'll be out of here for a while. After that, Awashima-kun will take over as acting director. Fushimi-kun will be deputy general manager. I hope you continue to serve in their roles."

The content was so sudden that the place fell silent.

Awashima and Fushimi standing to Munakata's left and right had worried faces and sulky expressions. Finally, Akira Hidaka, a person with common sense, raised his hand and asked.

"Does that mean you're taking a vacation?"

At that question, Munakata just smiled.

"Yes. In a sense, that is correct."

The members looked at each other.

Although the director is strong as steel, he has consumed some paid vacations for reasons such as his niece's birthday party and the university synchronization party.

What was the point of declaring a break now?

"So how long will you rest, Captain?"

This time, Daiki Fuse asked with a relatively calm demeanor. Munakata kept his mouth open.

"That's right. At least a month or more. Half a year or maybe a year."

Shock ran through all the members. There was a crack.

Munakata stood silently.

"Reason!"

It was Andy Domyoji who made a strong voice. He raises his hand to the front.

"What's the reason?! It doesn't matter how long it is!"

Everyone thought it was a break of about 10 days, from a week to a long time. Currently, "Scepter 4" is in charge of their duties by appointing a few former Strain to increase their strength.

Although the Slate has disappeared, their responsibilities have not diminished at all. Under such circumstances, it could no longer be an ordinary situation for the head of the organization to be absent for such a long period of time.

Munakata replied in a low voice.

"Framework."

"Eh?"

Munakata responded to Domyoji.

"I'm thinking of removing the frame."

Domyoji opened his mouth and everyone else looked confused.

They just didn't understand the meaning.

What was the Captain saying?

Wrapped in such a sign, Awashima's embarrassed expression and Fushimi's grumpy face grew stronger and stronger.

At that point, Himori Akiyama and Yujiro Benzai looked at each other slightly. Like Awashima and Fushimi, the two of them had been talking to Munakata about this matter for quite some time.

Akiyama confirmed on behalf of the two.

"Captain."

"What's going on?"

"You can come back one day, right?"

"……"

There was a gap for a moment. Eventually…

"That's how it is."

Munakata closed his eyes and answered.

"I want to do that."

Everyone in attendance felt that there was no clear conviction in Munakata's words, and the place calmed down as if he had touched water.

That was what happened two months ago.

Then one day, Munakata disappeared. They didn't know where he went or what he was doing.

However, due to careful transfer of work and division of labor by business class, the "Scepter 4" role continued to operate without being significantly affected.

Fushimi, on the other hand...

"Is it a journey to find yourself?"

Although he was ironic with his boss, he took the initiative to make up for Munakata's absence.

However, the agitation at work was minimal, but the feeling of each member was not.

Some felt uncomfortable and others were angry.

Awashima was trying to answer questions from various members, such as:

"Why did the Captain disappear?" or, "What the hell is he doing now?"

Of course, Awashima was properly convinced and supported Munakata. She believed that he understood Munakata's intent and purpose.

However, she did not know how to convey it to others.

In short, Munakata's reason for leaving was no doubt "a journey to find himself", as Fushimi mentioned.

However, the fate and future of this country may depend on the "journey to find oneself". Fushimi knew this too, so he followed Munakata's decision, even though he complained.

Awashima, on the other hand...

"The director has a deep thought. We will continue to protect the cause as "Scepter 4" so that he can return at any time."

That's what she said to inspire everyone and fulfilled her duties as interim director.

Actually, there was a mountain of things to do. Though the Slate's influence has waned, Strain's crimes have not gone away.

Negotiations with the public authority and supervision of the members. She went places she hadn't been before. She realized the greatness of the man named Reisi Munakata once again. Still, there were talented men like Fushimi, Akiyama, and Benzai as Awashima's assistants.

It was not painful to do the hard work every day due to the skill of the staff.

Just one point.

It was a small event, but there was an event that made Awashima very upset.

Namely...

She gained weight.

++++++++++

There was no doubt that Awashima got on a scale every morning to manage her physical condition. There were fluctuations in the numbers that had not changed in the last three years.

The rate of increase was a few percent, but it was a terrible situation.

At first she thought it was temporary, but there was no sign of the increased numbers slowing down at all.

What was the reason?

Was it due to changes in functions or increased stress?

It was not unthinkable, but Awashima herself immediately denied that possibility. She said it herself, but it wasn't that smooth. There was nothing wrong with that amount of work.

Awashima thought about the athletic club, so she decided to tighten her body right away.

She went to the "Scepter 4" dojo, she took a bamboo sword and sweated with the members during training. Since she meant it, Zenjo was there as a teacher.

"That's a good lunge. You've put your weight back on your foot."

She was praised, but...

(What's wrong with this person? Rubbing? Or rather, did I get fat enough to understand Zenjo-san?)

In Awashima's mind, such an idea seemed paranoid. She did the best she could for about two weeks, but the results were not very good. She had gained a bit of weight.

At that stage, Awashima was beginning to feel a bit impatient.

She reviewed her life in various ways. She especially examines her eating habits.

Awashima has been a frequent drive-thru since she was a student. She adhered to her parents' teaching that diet is important for physical and mental health, and she tried to get a good balance of nutrients like protein, fat, vitamins, and carbohydrates.

One night, Awashima remembered her day. First, she got up at 6 o'clock. After light exercise, she ate brown rice, vegetable soup, pickled bran with bacon, and egg in the dining room attached to "Scepter 4's" bedroom.

After that, she went to work and bought Cobb salad and tomato juice at a convenience store around 1:00 p.m.

She returned to the bedroom at 7:00 p.m. and ate corn and brown rice stew. A small amount of meaty potatoes and Chinese-style noodles. She roughly calculated the calories in her head, but she didn't think there was a fat factor.

Awashima took a shower, put on a bathrobe, and returned to the living room with a towel around her head, then pondered various things.

She didn't feel like there was a catch somewhere.

"Hmm."

It was the only time in a day that she could feel relieved.

She got a good bean paste, so she enjoys freezing it a bit to make anko ice cream with a crunchy texture.

Awashima thought as she poked the huge bean paste ice cream into the bowl with a spoon.

Where is the calorie well?

Although she was restraining herself every day.

And at that moment, Awashima's brain finally reached the answer. Her face was tight.

"Maybe..."

She brings a spoon full of red bean paste in front of her and looks at it.

"Is this the cause?"

It was a cruel truth.

Anko has calories.

That's pretty good too.

Awashima completely forgot about the fact that even elementary school students can understand it.

For Awashima, red bean paste was air and water. It was a necessary item to be ingested as a matter of course, and she was unaware that it contained such impurities as calories.

When she was still little, she ate an anko rice cake made at her parents' Japanese sweet shop and opened her eyes to the delight. Since then, she had been flattening a large amount of red bean paste. The Anko was always with her when something was difficult and when she was happy. The Anko was a friend, a healing and a life.

Namely...

That had calories!

What an unreasonable act!

Awashima suffered for almost a day, and her feelings for a diet exceeded her desire for red bean paste, and she decided to give up red bean paste for a while.

The daughter of a long-established Japanese sweet shop, she boiled red bean paste and brought it to school with her lunch when she was a student. Currently, she continues to consume more than 100 kg of red bean paste each year. One day, her mother said with a sigh.

"In your body, surely bean paste flows instead of blood."

Awashima, an elite of that genuine bean paste, rejected the bean paste, so the reaction was intense.

Her head and shoulders weighed more than they were, she didn't feel well, and the whole world looked confused.

Fortunately, the situation still hadn't hampered her work, but she was afraid of making some serious mistakes.

Anko?

Was it because of her weight?

One night, when Awashima, who was suffering from withdrawal, finished her work, she headed to the HOMRA Bar. When she noticed, she rang the doorbell and entered the store, but she was probably subconsciously trying to quench her thirst for red bean paste with alcohol.

"Oh, Seri-chan. It's been a long time."

Kusanagi, who was cleaning a glass on the counter, recognized Awashima and smiled.

Recently, they hadn't seen each other much because she had been busy with work, but sometimes as a place to gather information, sometimes completely private, Awashima visited this bar regularly.

After the final battle with the Green clan, the Red clan and the Blue clan did not have any particular conflict on the front or the back.

There's also a part where the clan members were able to talk to each other due to the experience of establishing a joint front, and probably the important thing is that Reisi Munakata and Anna Kushina aren't in a relationship where they bump into each other in the first place.

Both sides now have a sense of polite distance that draws a line. Between them, Kusanagi and Awashima continued in contact in a slightly special standing position.

Kusanagi is serious and sometimes asks Awashima out on a date with a tone that she doesn't know if it's serious or joking. Awashima also handled it well, and in some cases offered serious consultation.

They were the number two of each clan, they were the owner and guest of the bar, and they still had a relationship that they couldn't express themselves.

So, Awashima knew immediately.

"Kusanagi-kun. Are you a bit tired?"

She asked as she sat down on the stool in front of the counter.

"Yes."

Kusanagi smiled bitterly.

"Do you have a perspective, Seri-chan?"

"What happened?"

Awashima asked carefully. Kusanagi hesitated for a moment. So he looked a bit shy.

"No, it's not a big deal. I'm trying to quit smoking."

Awashima was slightly surprised.

It was a strange situation.

It didn't seem possible that Kusanagi wanted to leave something like "his favorite thing".

"It's funny. A good-aged adult acting like this... You may think it's just a cigarette, but after you quit, you get a weird feeling."

"No."

Awashima responded with a voice that killed her emotions.

"Yes, I understand."

Actually, she wanted to tell Kusanagi everything. That she was having bean paste withdrawal for a reason. However, that mysterious relationship with Kusanagi prevented her from saying so. Awashima clenched her fist tightly.

Kusanagi felt strange for a moment seeing Awashima's situation, but immediately asked cheerfully.

"Then what are you going to want? Somehow, Seri-chan, I felt that you would come today, so I bought anko right now."

Awashima bit her lips hard.

What a cruel temptation!

She really wanted to scream.

"Anything! Anything with red bean paste!"

However, Awashima, a strong-willed adult woman, replied:

"I'm not feeling like that today, so can I have a regular martini?"

Was it just a little?

It was completely self-controlled, except the ending wobbled just a bit.

Kusanagi had round eyes.

"Yes."

What's the matter? Is it bad for your body?

He believed that she wanted to hear that. However, Kusanagi immediately swallowed the word.

"I understand."

He smiled kindly.

Maybe he guessed the reason why Awashima didn't order red bean paste momentarily.

And not at all, pretending not to know or notice, he silently began to make the cocktail.

Kusanagi's side was a bit hateful and a relief.

Before long, Awashima drank the translucent liquid in the cocktail glass placed in front of her in almost a breath.

After all, that day, there were no customers at the bar, and Awashima spent time with Kusanagi one on one. It was a gloomy and strange space where the master and the client had few words and alternately sighed.

It was the moment when Awashima paid the bill and tried to leave the store at the right time.

Anna Kushina, the "Red King", walked up to Awashima and looked into her face.

"Ah, "Red King"."

Awashima nodded, but Anna was looking at Awashima with a frown that she was worried about.

By the way, she was behaving strangely earlier. The footsteps gently descended from the second floor, but as soon as she saw Awashima, she turned around, turned right, and went back.

She was wondering if she avoided her because of the heavy atmosphere with Kusanagi.

"What's going on?"

Awashima got suspicious and asked:

"Seri."

Anna said in a slightly scared voice.

"Did you go to a strange place recently?"

"Eh?"

Anna said like a tongue twister.

"You'd better go to the shrine. As soon as possible."

She could leave it as it was. No, she was running away.

Awashima opened her mouth and stiffened her back.

Kusanagi, who couldn't hear the exchange between the two, was sighing again at the counter.

Awashima knows that Anna Kushina has a special power.

What did that mean?

If she were to take the words at face value, Awashima would now be in a state where purification is necessary, meaning "something is possessed".

Could it be true?

Anna shook her head with a frightening face, no, to be exact, she was looking at the back of her face.

Actually, she didn't even remember.

In the last two months she visited an abandoned house where about three people died and a forest famous as a psychic place, depending on the circumstances of her performance.

It is true that after she went there, they took her away in the middle of the night.

She felt a strange signal when she was taking a shower.

Above all, her weight began to increase.

Fear in various ways began to dominate Awashima's head. But where should she go, what would the purification look like?

It was when she was thinking about it in the "Scepter 4" break room with so much trouble.

"Oh, Lieutenant, can we come in?"

A member called out with a loud voice. Looking at them, Goto and Hidaka stood up.

"What happened?"

There was still time on her original shift. Was it also a query?

"What happened?"

The worrying thing was that Goto was holding something like a strange machine.

The basic shape was a cylinder, but many colorful wire-like lines were twisted on the metallic surface. Should she call it a cutting edge object?

Also, a meter-like thing was embedded in the center, and it rotated all the time.

"What's that?"

Awashima frowned and asked.

"Oh."

Hidaka made a voice that seemed to be in trouble. Goto answered categorically.

"It's a ghost detector."

"Eh?"

Awashima made a harsh voice. Hidaka inserted the explanation as if he was in a hurry.

"No, sorry. Actually, Gotti... I was in Goto's room with two people, but all of a sudden this started working without permission."

Goto explained at his own pace.

"This is a device that detects and tracks spirits. I bought it at an antique shop in Shizume."

"So, if you follow the direction this machine is pointing..."

Hidaka looked at them with a complicated line of sight. Awashima was convinced.

"I was there."

The two replied with the same voice, "Yes." Awashima thought. She knew well that Goto was collecting mystery show goods and hidden goods.

It was suspicious no matter how she looked at it, and it smelled like dust.

Nevertheless...

(Maybe it really has some power?)

She casually touched the protruding wire-like tip.

At that moment...

A shock that made static electricity hundreds of times stronger with a ridiculous noise that could not be described as bachin, tomo, or zuban pierced through Awashima's body.

"Lieutenant?!"

"Now I'm acting as director!"

Hidaka and Goto hurriedly approached Awashima. At the end of the reflection on the retina, Awashima's consciousness cut off.

Since the conclusion, Awashima had been crushed for about 10 seconds. Awashima got up after checking on Hidaka and Goto, who were worried and apologized.

From that moment on, she felt as refreshed and lightened as she had never felt before.

After that, she asked her GP to see her just in case, but there was no problem.

Awashima had a premonition.

After work, she came home and got on the scale. And the feeling of relief, joy and omnipotence when she reviewed the result was indescribable.

Her weight was completely restored.

Awashima dropped to the ground, hopped on her toes, and did a pirouette. She then went straight to the fridge, took out the red bean paste that had been sitting in for a long time and enjoyed it to the fullest.

It was so delicious that tears came to her eyes.

Honestly, she wasn't sure what happened. Awashima was obsessed with something, and she weighed more by that. And, as a result, she was exorcised by touching Goto's spirit detector.

She could imagine that, but the facts were not very important to Awashima.

The important thing is that her body had been restored to eat red bean paste again.

By the way, it seems that the ghost detector on Goto was destroyed by that impact.

Awashima generously offered compensation, and instead she made Goto afraid.

And one night when she was visiting the HOMRA bar, as soon as she sat down at the counter,

"Kusanagi-kun. A Martini with Anko. Anko. Twice as usual!"

She declares that. Kusanagi was still trying to quit smoking, with a face that didn't have much courage.

"Haha, Seri-chan. I think you're fine today."

Hearing that, Awashima clearly laughed.

"Yes. I am very happy to eat what I love to my heart's content."

Kusanagi smiled a bitter smile and closed his eyes.

The largest "King" and "Gold King" on the ground, Daikaku Kokujoji, stood beside a wide-open window.

Near afternoon, the summer sun is already golden and slanting, but the setting sun in the aerial garden is late.

"A dream?"

When he muttered that, about 30 minutes had passed since the hearing began.

Nanakamado, on the rooftop of the Mihashira Tower, is Kokujoji's private residence. A private space, normally accessible only to a very limited number of people who care about their surroundings, now welcomes guests.

There were two customers. He didn't have an appointment, but when he visited the Mihashira Tower, he was greeted by the messenger from "Tokijikuin" before greeting and going to the rooftop.

Of course, it is usually unthinkable. Everything in the politics and economy of a country revolves according to its intentions: the ruthless giant Kokujoji Daikaku, of whom it is said that "if he stumbles, the country will collapse", it is not common sense to meet unexpected visitors or spend minutes.

In other words, the client was an unconventional person.

"Colorless King" Ichigen Miwa. He sat quietly and watched Kokujoji's back as if he were enjoying the atmosphere of a giant rock in a garden.

And another boy in casual clothes that he brought with him. His slim and well-organized appearance appears to be that of a girl, but his agilely trained body and central posture make it clear that he is not just a student.

His name is Yukari Mishakuji. Kokujoji also knows that he became a member of the "Colorless King" clan a few months ago.

When the helpers who had guided the two were evacuated, Kokujoji ordered Miwa to speak directly.

"Say the matter, Miwa."

A direct tone that admits neither opportunism nor dignity. In a word, he easily dismisses the pressure with which a normal person could faint on their own.

""I'm not in a good mood, Your Excellency. I had a bad dream this morning, so I'm a little worried."

"A dream...?"

Kokujoji fell silent.

The vision of the future is a unique ability of Miwa. It may fall into his mind in the form of a mysterious poem, or it may arise in the form of a non-verbal vision. Such visions often come during special wakefulness before and after sleep. In other words, a dream. It is a dream of precognition.

"Ichigen Miwa visited the "Golden King" with an unwanted vision of precognition."

In response to this fact, the tyrannical monarch, Kokujoji Daikaku, who made a quick decision, turned to the recipient. Things were serious and there was very little information.

In the background, there was a situation of immediate readiness.

The existence of a man who is losing control with enormous power.

Kokujoji waited for the next word, but since Miwa didn't say anything, Kokujoji asked about the situation.

In that way, thirty minutes passed.

++++++++++

The Silent Thirty Minutes of Kokujoji Daikaku.

It was a time when the taiga water was blocked by the dam and the volume increased moment by moment. Kokujoji's vassals, who were below, probably felt chills.

Not to mention the inside. Yukari Mishakuji tried to pretend to be calm, but the overwhelming "water pressure" seemed to crush his entire body. Miwa Ichigen said, "You just have to sit quietly.", but that was just a life-threatening event.

It was Kokujoji who broke the silence.

"A dream?"

"Yes."

In a word, Kokujoji's wrinkled face looked slightly skyward.

"I've already encountered that."

This is a confirmation, not a question.

The giant airship "Himmelreich" constantly orbiting over Tokyo. Adolf K. Weissman, the lonely inhabitant of the celestial world, who lives on the airship and has not set foot on land for more than half a century.

Miwa Ichigen, who had the vision of the ruin in a dream this morning, first visited the Himmelreich before the Mihashira Tower. Just a few hours ago.

This was to gain Weissman's knowledge of the unprecedented "giant extraordinary disaster".

The power of royalty, far beyond the limits of the different abilities of an individual. The possibility of the force losing control and going out of control was predicted from the beginning of "V" physics research, which began in Germany during World War II, with the danger that the trigger was left to the will of the individual.

In terms of simple calories, the energy release far exceeds strategic nuclear weapons, the explosion of royalty (Damocles down).

After the war, Kokujoji, who took control of the national affairs of his native country, turned the metropolitan area centered on the Mihashira Tower into an experimental site where the "Seven Kings" were concentrated, that was to study and control the state of that power.

The "kings" with seven attributes and seven destinies pursue life, society and power, and die. In the end, he was able to catch some truth... it was supposed to be like this.

However, there was a blind spot in the Kokujoji concept, no, a gross miscalculation.

The "Red King" Kagutsu Genji.

The man had a will for violence that could be said to be out of the standard, he was extremely radical compared to the "Red King" that existed in the past.

He had no stop. He ran full speed for the shortest distance that led to a fugitive and sought more destruction.

The means to stop the self-seeking "King" are very limited.

Normally, only another "King" can control the "King", but trying to stop the runaway "King" makes it easy for the stopping "King" to escape. In other words, it is the blowout of a chain of blowups that goes far beyond a simple royal outburst and brings about global ruin.

The suburbs of Tokyo, where the "Seven Kings" are concentrated at close range, have been turned into huge bombs with the "Red King" as the detonator.

Adolf K. Weissman, the proponent of "Theory V", was very concerned about the possibility of ruin. However, if he stepped in as the First King and one of the Great Kings, that power could immediately trigger an outburst from Kagutsu. He was afraid of interfering with the ground.

A few hours ago, Weissman told Miwa.

"I'm willing to provide information, but I can't help directly. I'm just a helpless observer. If I try to do things, I'll be the source of chaos."

And now, Kokujoji, who heard the summary of the press conference, silently nodded.

His position was similar. If the "Earth's Greatest King", together with Weissman, came into contact with the fugitive "Red King", it would cause an outburst of both, and even super-physical mutual interference involving all the other kings.

"Silver" and "Gold", the two giants are tied to their respective positions due to their enormous size.

The acknowledgment was in line with Miwa Ichigen's understanding. In a word, he doesn't have a means of observation like Weissman or an information network like Kokujoji, but he has come to the same point of view just by his five senses and inspiration. He was another "King" with the same sense of crisis at this stage, and the only "King" with freedom of action.

"Tell me what you need."

Once again, Kokujoji spoke. It was a tone that neatly stopped the flow of the conversation.

The exchanges thus far may have been a necessary process for Kokujoji to gather his thoughts and intentions, including the time of silence.

A man who was blown away by the wind and casually visited him was blocking the river so the giant could breathe.

The man, "Colorless King", Miwa Ichigen, touched the tatami.

"Can you let me take a walk around your knees?"

"Permitted."

Kokujoji responded immediately.

"If necessary, we will talk amongst ourselves."

"I think I'll ask you when necessary."

"Well, do you need an escort?"

"Clansman, Yukari Mishakuji. That is enough."

"That's it."

Kokujoji looked at Yukari's figure. Yukari held his breath and just endured the "pressure".

The steep line of sight turned out the window again.

"Go, "Colorless King". Look down into the eyes of the heavenly whale, the power of the pillars, walk all the way to your heart's content, and find a way to avoid ruin."

"Yes."

"...Miwa."

As he looked at the garden, Kokujoji spoke. It was a huge back like a rock. Immovable, solid as a rock, but therefore...

"It takes time and effort."

Heavenly giant whale, earthly giant tree. The two giant Kings in heaven and earth are motionless due to the size of their existence. The reason is that the giant tree that supports a country entrusts things to the fluff that rides on the wind.

"Come on."

Miwa stood up as he urged Yukari on.

"Fortunately, I have nothing to carry on my back. The lightness of my waist is the key."

++++++++++

The hearing ended in less than an hour.

After leaving the tower, the city on the ground had already fallen into darkness. Looking up, the setting sun was shining on the upper floors of some skyscrapers. Depending on the height of the viewpoint, the view that is seen will change.

But other than that,

"I wonder if you are responsible for my identity."

Kokujoji's parting word mentioned above. There was a complaint from an unexpected place.

"Yes? Oh, of course I feel responsible, Yukari."

Miwa answered easily.

"But I haven't brought him into your life, because you have your own path."

Yukari still had a dissatisfied face. He didn't seem convinced. He didn't mind following Miwa.

"I've been a bit away due to my fitness and changes in my position, but I'm chasing 'a stick, cut and stretched'. It's okay to have a life like that. You can have a life like that. I'm sure it will be fun."

He imagines a "path" that he couldn't choose, Miwa's tone seemed to be very funny. But,

"Hah."

He couldn't keep up with Miwa. Far from being fun, if life will continue like this in the future...

A world that can be said to be the secret behind the world, woven by kings and talented people. The sensitivity of Yukari, who has just set foot there, is still close to that of ordinary people.

If he organizes the situation in his mind to deal with an unusual situation...

The fugitive "Red King" and other "Kings" trying to stop him.

The Lord who plays a role in the "Seven Kings", the "Colorless King" Miwa Ichigen visited the "Silver King" and the "Golden King" to understand the situation and guidelines for action.

In order to maintain the balance of power between the kings as mediators and avoid ruin, it is necessary to visit the remaining four "kings".

In what order should he visit each one, and how should he work? It's a dangerous puzzle that can even ruin the world if he made a mistake in one step.

First of all, the next move, except for the "Green King", which is completely hidden, the choice is one of the remaining three "King".

Namely,

"Red King" Kagutsu Genji.

"Blue King" Habari Jin.

"Grey King" Otori Seigo.

Of these, "Red King" Kagutsu and "Blue King" Habari are based in central Tokyo, which is Kokujoji's knee, and engage in small-scale battles on a daily basis. The assault of the red clan "Purgatory" is being addressed by the security organization of the Blue clan "Scepter 4".

The remaining "Grey King" phoenix has a huge autonomous territory "Cathedral" in the southern part of Kanagawa Prefecture, and maintains a calm demeanor.

Regardless of the power he came into contact with, "Red", "Blue", or "Grey", there was a risk that the dangerous balance would be thrown off balance and the "Red King" would go out of control.

In particular, Yukari Mishakuji killed a member of the "Purgatory" clan in the "Yodomiya Incident" six months ago. Members' lives are light for "Purgatory", but it's not hard to imagine expecting retaliation from Yukari due to the organization's physical condition.

Also, before "Blue King" Habari who visited the place after the incident, he refused to join "Scepter 4" after being recommended.

"I tried to kill him..."

When talking about it for the first time, Miwa said in a cheerful tone.

"You only thought about it for a moment."

Yukari denied it. It was surprising to think that he was a dangerous person, and even more so that amused to him.

"At that time, it was an instant. But did you think about it every time you remembered? "How could he be cut, can I cut him today?"."

"Perhaps it is so."

"Of course, Habari Jin is not a person who has such a root, but it can't be helped if he is judged as a dangerous person. If you leave him alone, you don't know which "King" to cut down next."

"That is..."

"Haha... Just kidding, Yukari. Ordinary humans can't kill the "King" in front of them, even if they have extraordinary powers. Even if you can think about it, you're..."

At that moment...

The sudden sound of a bell interrupted Yukari's memory. It was a telephone ringtone.

Miwa took out a clamshell mobile phone from his chest. The screen did not announce the sender.

"Hello?"

"Hello, "Colorless King" Miwa Ichigen."

An electronically discordant voice. The owner of the phone was using a voice changer.

"You got your approval and secured the position of mediator."

"Who are you?"

The owner of the phone kept talking without answering Miwa's question.

"Your partner is Yukari Mishakuji from "Niibangai, in Yodomiya"."

At that moment, with a single look from Miwa, Yukari noticed that he was talking about him, and his slender body tensed.

"Even if it's a chicken, "Regicide". You can take it anywhere in the name of mediation."

"It's out of my mind for him to be called that."

"I'm not blaming you. I'm impressed that it's an interesting move. Miwa Ichigen, you're a good move."

"Thank you. I will accept it obediently."

Miwa replied.

"If you are going to praise me, can you tell me something instead of a reward?"

"Fine, but there may be a penalty for a boring question."

Ignoring the words that could be taken as a threat, Miwa asked.

"What is your motive, "Green King"?"

The owner of the phone did not deny the sudden name, and...

"......"

After a few seconds of silence, a word was murmured.

"...Dream."

"Dream?"

"Yes, it's a dream. Is there something else that moves people?"

Mockery, ridicule, or a bit of urgency. Suddenly, the phone was hung up faster than Miwa could measure the true meaning of the word.

"Ichigen-sama, that phone call was from..."

"The messenger of the "Green King"... no, perhaps himself."

Miwa seemed hollow, as if he imagined the appearance of a mysterious person.

"He called me a "move". In other words, he viewed this one-touch situation as Go or Shogi...and he designated us as a pair."

"Does that mean an unidentified "King" has declared us hostile again...?"

"Hostile... How about that? In any case, it seems that he invited me to play."

Suddenly, Miwa stopped.

The "words" had gone down.

Ichimoku,

He plays with me,

Play of war.

"Yes."

Miwa smiled back as if he wanted to release Yukari's tension.

"Let's enjoy this situation too. Well, we should move on to the next one."

Miwa started walking again, followed by Yukari.

The smell of summer nights was beginning to waft through the urban streets looking up at the high-rise buildings like giants.

If he made a mistake, this mega-city would turn into a smoky plain overnight.

Miwa Ichigen knew his responsibility, but he did not allow himself to be overwhelmed by the weight of it.

That day, at that time, Izumo Kusanagi was having tea with his sister at their home in Kyoto. Kusanagi was thirteen years old.

"Izumo, make tea."

His sister was a third-year high school student, but she was relaxed without being desperate even in the summer called Tennozan. Like all of Kusanagi's siblings, she was smart and credited with being able to achieve results without despair.

However, because she was an examined, she behaved as if her younger brother should take care of her, preferring to treat Kusanagi to tea and dinner.

Kusanagi was the younger boy who was loved and good at it, so even at that time, he obediently brewed black tea with the tea leaves according to his sister's order. Due to the quality of the bean and the brewing, he learned the technique of brewing a delicious black tea that was unlikely to come from a high school boy.

"What about sugar and milk?"

"Leave it. When I use my head I don't want sugar."

"Don't study for a long time."

As he said that, he took out the box of cookies and served it with the tea. He sat at the dining room table across from his sister, drinking tea and biscuits while having a friendly conversation. He didn't turn on the television. So at that time, Kusanagi, who was having a quiet time in the Kusanagi family's living room, did not know what had happened to the world.

The house phone rang. Her sister looked at Kusanagi. Feeling the pressure to "get out" of that line of sight, Kusanagi silently stood up.

"Yes, I am Kusanagi."

When he answered on the other end of the receiver, the impatient voice of his older brother, who should be away from the sea, hit his ear.

"Izumo?! Is Japan alright?!"

"Eh?"

His older brother, ten years older than Kusanagi, was studying abroad in the United States. Kusanagi had rarely seen his older brother, who was smart and unfriendly, he was confused by the voice that seemed to be impatient as if it was a joke.

"What are you talking about? It's midnight. Are you drunk?"

"Nothing happened in Kyoto? There was news that a huge explosion occurred in the Tokyo metropolitan area, but no detailed information came through."

"Hey, sister, turn on the TV."

Kusanagi told his sister as he held the phone to his ear. Although his sister looked suspicious, she immediately grabbed the TV remote no matter if she sensed anything unusual about Kusanagi's appearance.

The channel that was supposed to be doing another show at the time was broadcasting urgent news. As the older brother said, there was a large still screen of "a large-scale explosion in the southern Kanto region".

It seems that the news landscape was also confused, behind the scenes, there was a voice reporting something as if the staff were yelling at each other, and the commentators seemed to be upset and talked while rubbing the paper on their hands. They called for people not to approach the scene, they were urging the neighbors to quickly evacuate and to remain calm and save their lives, as they would be informed of the detailed situation as soon as information was available.

"What...?"

His sister muttered in a confused voice.

Kusanagi was confused, but he wondered if a large factory had blown up.

It was a video of the disaster site. As far as he could see, debris rising in the dust was spreading, and it was hard to believe that this was a modern view of the country. It seemed that a war had occurred.

It wasn't a mistake in the sense that a war had occurred, but Kusanagi at the time naturally didn't know that.

"The scale of the explosion appears to extend throughout Kanagawa Prefecture, and strong seawater inflow appears to be occurring in coastal areas."

As Kusanagi was watching television in a daze, his sister approached him and leaned in. Kusanagi seemed to have dropped the receiver before he knew it, and his sister picked up the receiver that was dangling from the cord and told her older brother that he was worried.

Nothing bad had happened in Kyoto so far, it seemed that the southern region of Kanto was swallowed by the explosion centered on Kanagawa, but the Japanese news had not given details yet, and the safety of the second brother in Tokyo had to be confirmed urgently. She hit the hook switch with her finger and immediately called back.

The second brother of the Kusanagi family was attending university in Tokyo. There was no denying the possibility that he was involved in the huge explosion in South Kanto.

It seemed that his second brother's cell phone was not connected. His sister bit her tongue and hung up the phone.

"This is not good. The phone line is out of service."

His sister couldn't seem to sit still, so she took the key to her bike.

"I'll run to see how the main family is doing. I'll get your phone, Izumo."

"Yes, I understand."

Kusanagi stared at the TV screen, holding his heart that was making a pounding noise.

He had no idea what happened. It could be an incident, an accident or a natural disaster.

Kusanagi wondered if there was a "criminal" who caused this ridiculous situation.

If there was "someone" who caused that, what kind of person was he and what was he thinking?

As he was thinking about it, the phone rang.

Kusanagi jumped a bit and immediately picked up the phone.

"Hello?!"

"That voice is Izumo's. I'm Mizuomi."

The person that called was Kusanagi Mizuomi, Kusanagi's uncle who had a bar in Tokyo. Although he was an odd uncle among his relatives, Kusanagi loved him ever since he was a child.

"Uncle, are you alright!? Just watch the news..."

"Oh, Tokyo is in a panic. But your brother is safe."

He heard that his second brother was at the bar "HOMRA" run by Mizuomi. When he was outside, an explosion happened in the southern area of ​​Kanto and he tried to send a safe report to his family who might be worried, but he couldn't use his cell phone, so he went to borrow a phone from the Mizuomi store that was relatively close.

The phone was taken by his second brother, and he heard that there was no direct damage in Tokyo and that he was safe, and if the Shinkansen worked, he would return to Kyoto.

The phone was returned to Mizuomi, and Kusanagi spilled his thoughts of him from his mouth, nodding vaguely asking him to say hello to everyone.

"Man, I wonder if someone caused this explosion?"

"I dont know."

Mizuomi replied as if he couldn't say anything else.

"Recently, I've heard some horrible incidents from time to time. I had a feeling that a tumultuous time had come, but... I didn't think this would happen..."

Kusanagi looked vaguely at the calendar hanging on the wall. July 11, 1999. He thought it would be an unforgettable day for many people.

++++++++++

That day, at that time, Kuroh Yatogami was playing in his garden in Saitama. Kuro was five years old.

"Kuro, look!"

Kuro caught the ball thrown by his brother. This time he threw the ball at his sister. The ball flew straight and landed in his sister's hand.

"Kuro, you are better than the boys in your class."

His sister in the second grade of elementary school laughed. His third grade brother also proudly said, "Kuro has fine motor skills.".

It seems that the reason why he is called Kuro by his family is that when he was born, his younger brother and sister couldn't call him "Kuroh" but instead said "Kuro, Kuro".

The mother was sitting on the porch looking at the fan while she watched the three brothers play in the garden. The suspended wind chimes made a chilling sound every time the wind blew.

Because it was a house where the air conditioner could not be turned on unless it was a very hot day, the sweeping window was open, and the sound of the television in the house could be heard as far as the garden.

"Oh, this is good. Would you like to take your children with you when you go into summer vacation?"

His father, who seemed to be watching a travel show on TV with his grandfather, said that.

His grandfather murmured.

"It's nice to play in the mountain stream, but it seems to be a place famous for autumn leaves."

"Hmm, it's hard to pull off the fall leaf hunt."

It was a quiet vacation.

The ball thrown by his brother flew towards Kuro again, and Kuro reached out to catch it.

At that moment, there was a low noise and the ground shook. Kuro lost his balance and threw the ball with his hand to get a mochi.

"An earthquake?"

His mother raised her hips and said that, but unlike a normal earthquake, the tremor was just a big tremor that seemed to push upwards at first.

Kuro stood up, picked up the ball and said, "Keep throwing the ball."

Kuro and his brothers started playing with the ball again, but his mother was uneasy, probably because the earthquake was suspicious.

"Oh."

His father who was watching TV made a weird voice.

"Earthquake bulletin?"

The mother on the porch leaned into the room.

"No, I switched to the news channel, but it's a bit hectic. Why isn't the news on right now?"

"Isn't it strange? It's really confusing..."

Even if the adults started running, the children continued to play without worrying about it. It was common for adults to make serious voices while watching the news, and that was usually followed by stories that children didn't really understand.

When he got tired of throwing the ball and his sister taught him to play with the ball under her feet while she sang a song, his mother made a little screaming voice.

Amazed, the children watched television and saw their parents and grandfather with astonished expressions. In particular, his mother seemed to be in severe shock, covering her mouth with both hands and trembling a little.

"Mom?"

When Kuro got worried and came closer, his mother jumped back onto the porch and hugged Kuro tightly.

"You guys go into the house too."

His father also came out on the porch and called Kuro's brother and sister. The two of them were confused and entered the living room through the sweeping window, and the father hugged his shoulders with both arms. Even though he wasn't old enough to be hugged, his mother picked him up and brought him home. Her feet were walking around with her shoes on.

"Was it an attack by a new weapon from a foreign country...?"

"Suddenly..."

"But if not, why would this happen?"

Grandfather and father were talking tensely. Kuro squirmed in his mother's arms and looked at the television.

A super large explosion in the southern Kanto region. It seemed that there were many dead and missing. They were asked to please be calm and save their life.

The discomfort in the room that could be heard was transmitted to the young Kuro.

The mother held his head and pressed his face against her shoulder to take his gaze away from the television screen.

"Okay. I will definitely protect you. I will be with you forever."

Kuro didn't really understand what was going on.

However, he wanted to cheer up his mother who was still trembling a bit, so he patted her mother's shoulder with his small hand.

++++++++++

At that time that day, Seri Awashima was eating a rice cake in the back of a Japanese sweet shop run by her parents in Tokyo. Awashima was eight years old.

The store where she was was "Sweet maker Awashima", it was a long established Japanese confectionery that existed since the Edo period. In particular, the bean paste was reputed to be exquisite, and the simple botamochi remained the most popular product.

Awashima loved red bean paste for as long as she could remember, and would go after any sweet that had it, she also liked to eat anko just with a big spoon.

For such Awashima, the botamochi of her parents' house was the starting point and the pinnacle.

"How is it?"

The older brother presented the black letter rice cake and she put it in her mouth. After carefully chewing and swallowing, Awashima smiled.

"Delicious."

"Yes!"

"But the bean paste is a bit tough and astringent. I think it was a bit early to throw out the broth."

"Uh..."

The mother who was listening to the exchanges of the brothers laughed.

"Perhaps the tongue for bean paste is more than my father."

That day, she was tasting a rice cake made by her older brother, a high school student. Her father's policy was that "the sooner you start training, the better", and her brother was forced to make sweets on his days off. He may have wanted to play, but it seemed that he already intended to take over the store as his eldest son, and he was seriously working on making sweets.

Although it didn't work out, the impression that it was delicious was no lie, and Awashima loved any bean paste. She brought the rest of the rice cake to her mouth. "Damn. Even though it looks delicious."

"There is no such thing as anko that is not delicious."

"Damn."

"Fufu, even if you make a mistake, it's fine because she will eat everything."

When her mother told that mocking her, the earth suddenly trembled.

Awashima was surprised and swallowed the last bite of Ohagi without chewing. "What? An earthquake?"

Her mother frowned and walked out of the tatami room in the back towards the store. She was talking to a customer who was choosing candy at the store and was saying, "Are you okay? It surprised me."

"Isn't that strange for an earthquake?"

It was a creepy and big tremor. Her brother nodded, "Oh..." to Awashima who was confused.

Awashima also went out to the store and noticed that the main street was noisy. She thought was suspicious and went outside. Looking in the direction the people on the street were looking, Awashima saw something like a red pillar of fire standing in the southern sky across the heavens and the earth.

"What's that?"

Awashima muttered in astonishment.

Her chest made noise. She was sure something unusual was going on.

Awashima continued to stare at the southern sky with a strong expression until the ominous red light disappeared.

From there, spent some time before the situation was understood.

When it was reported on television that a huge explosion had occurred in the southern Kanto region and the city around the site turned into a heap of rubble, a woman who worked in the shop suddenly screamed.

"Are you okay?!"

The mother quickly knelt down, sat on the floor and held the shoulders of the crying employee.

"Wow, I... my parents' house..."

She squeezed her voice out from under her painfully tear-wet breath.

It seems that her parents' house was in the south direction of Kanto. Farther south than the debris-laden area in the news, a location that seemed closer to the center of the blast.

Cold, heavy, muddy air fell into the tent.

No one had a word for the crying employee. Her mother was still rubbing her back in silence.

Her brother bit his lip and quietly headed to the store to close up shop. Awashima also silently follows him and turned the sign around "open" with his brother who lowered the curtain.

Awashima, while listening to the clerk's crying voice, looked at the "Sweet maker Awashima" curtain, looked at the older brother who lowered it, and looked at her parents in the store.

If that store, her home or her family were lost.

Imagination made Awashima shiver, and then anger began to rise.

It was stronger than the feeling of pity for the clerk's crying, instead of the fear, the irrational childish anger aroused why she had to cry like that.

++++++++++

That day, at that time, Misaki Yata (who didn't have that last name yet because his mother wasn't married yet) was playing with his friend Rikio Kamamoto in the Shizume shopping district in Tokyo. Yata was five years old.

Since it was Sunday, the nursery was closed, but his mother was not working.

Yata was five years old, but because his mother was busy as a single mother, he went out to play alone before breakfast. That day too, he headed to the nearby Shizume shopping district with a familiar step.

There was a friend of Yata's at "Kamamoto liquor store" in the Shizume shopping district.

He attended the same kindergarten, graduated slightly earlier than Yata and went to elementary school, but he was weaker and less trustworthy than Yata. Yata, who was small, but was stronger than anyone in a fight, took control and turned him into a boy.

"Kamamoto. Ah, come here!"

When Yata yelled at the Kamamoto liquor store window, Kamamoto's mother laughed, "Oh!".

"Rikio! Misaki-chan came to see you."

"Don't call me by my first name!"

Yata insisted that he was tired of that name. It looked like a woman's name. After being teased, Yata hated his name. When they called him by his name, he felt like a fool. That's why he told Kamamoto to call him by his last name.

However, Kamamoto's mom smiled, "Because Misaki-chan is Misaki-chan.". He wasn't satisfied with the fact that he looked like a woman when he was called that.

Kamamoto came out of the shelter at the back of the store, shaking his round body and laughing happily when he saw Yata. He was a cute boy who would become attached to Yata without any selection, even when he became an elementary student.

"What are you going to play today?"

When asked by Kamamoto, Yata took out a white stone from his pocket. It was a stone that he had picked up on the path that he traveled before arriving there.

Yata and Kamamoto crouched down on the street surface and wrote graffiti and collected stones on the asphalt surface. People in the shopping district were quiet, and although Yata and his friends were doodling in the street, they laughed and looked at them.

He got tired of drawing from the beginning, and when he was playing with many circles on the street surface, suddenly there was a terrible noise and the ground shook.

It was more like a big monster jumping and landing, rather than an earthquake.

Kamamoto, who had been making a sickle with one foot, suddenly screamed and rolled on the ground like a ball, and Yata also jumped a bit and looked around hurriedly.

"Oh!"

In the distant sky, he saw a red light that connected the sky and the ground like a great pillar. The sky there was dyed red like burning.

"What's that?! It's great!"

Involuntarily, Yata said so and pointed at the red light.

He didn't know what it was at all, but the pillar of light like a bright red fire felt flashy and powerful and looked cool.

Of course, Yata didn't know what was going on under that, and what he imagine was an alien invasion, the gate to the demon world opening, the superhuman hero's super special move, etc.

Let's go under that red light! Yata tried to say that. Running home and picking up his bike... and so on, all around Yata's head.

At that moment, Kamamoto screamed. Yata looked at Kamamoto in a hurry. Kamamoto, who was still in a fallen position, burst into tears.

"What's wrong? Did you scrape your knees?"

"I'm scared..."

Kamamoto said in a thin voice.

Yata didn't say he was a queer.

When he was facing Kamamoto, who was crying because he was scared, he somehow got irritated and hurriedly hardened his expression and extended his hand towards Kamamoto.

"Okay! I'm here!"

Kamamoto looked at Yata with teary eyes. He takes Yata's hand, intimidatingly. Yata made a great effort to help Kamamoto, keeping his hands on his chest.

"Kamamoto, when you're in trouble, I'll always help you! So it's alright! I'll help if something happens!"

Kamamoto looked at Yata and obediently nodded, "Yes.", he pressed his hand back tightly.

Yata, that time, saw a pillar of red light in the distant sky with a somewhat mysterious feeling.

Still, the red light reflected in Yata's eyes in a cold way.

++++++++++

That day, at that time, Fushimi Saruhiko was walking alone through the gate of camellias in Tokyo. Fushimi was five years old.

As usual, his parents were not at home. He wasn't happy with them at all, so he was quite happy that they were absent, but it was annoying having a housekeeper.

Being a housekeeper and not a babysitter, if Fushimi had an attitude that she would ignore, she wouldn't have to take care of him more than necessary, but she said it would be bad if something happened to her employer's son when she was there. That's why she told Fushimi to tell her when he wanted to go out and play.

But of course he didn't want to hang out and go out with a housekeeper.

Fortunately, the Fushimi family was uselessly large, so it wasn't easy for the housekeeper to leave the house while she cleaned another room.

Fushimi walked out of the red brick Western-style house and headed for the camellia door. "Tsubakimon" was the name of that place, but it was also a common name for a building with a magnificent gate.

During the past few days, a large number of armored vehicles came out of "Tsubakimon" and passed in front of Fushimi's house, and people in blue uniforms like "Tsubakimon" staff were running. Fushimi was curious about what was happening and turned his foot towards "Tsubakimon".

"Tsubakimon" seemed calm. The door was closed and the building over there was also thin.

Fushimi grabbed the grille on the door, stretched, and looked inside.

It seems there were no cars parked at the time. Maybe they hadn't been back since they were dispatched.

When he thought that, there was a shock and tremor that pushed up from the bottom of the earth.

Fushimi was a child with little emotional fluctuation, but he was really upset and clung to the door grate he was holding.

However, the shaking did not continue and ended with a big pitch.

Fushimi looked up and saw a red pillar of fire in the southern sky.

"That's..."

Unintentionally, his voice leaked out.

Fushimi looked at the southern sky as if he was going to bite into it. He didn't know if the red pillar of fire originated from the sky and burned the ground, or if it originated from the ground and went up into the sky, but the unrealistic sight caught Fushimi's attention.

"Like the destruction of the world."

When he tried to express his impressions of it, his heart fluttered a little.

There was a change in the building that was quiet up to that point. The door was flung open and several people in blue uniforms jumped out from inside as if rolling.

They directed their eyes straight to the southern sky, and when they looked at the pillar of fire, their expressions were tinted with despair. It seemed like they were talking about something, but he couldn't hear the story because there was a big front yard between the gate and the building.

One of the blue uniforms suddenly knelt on the spot and groaned.

The roar, which was a mixture of pain and anger, reached the place where Fushimi was.

Fushimi was shocked at the appearance of a large man screaming and thought that the world would really be destroyed.

There was no particular fear in Fushimi. There was no one Fushimi wanted not to die, and he had no child-specific attachment to his own life.

Rather, he even felt that the event of the world's destruction was better than his daily life.

However, he got tired of seeing adults moaning from the start, and Fushimi turned his back on "Tsubakimon" as he walked out the door.

Fushimi went home alone, imagining what it would be like to destroy the world.

++++++++++

That day, at that time, Miyabi Ameno came to a picnic with her parents in a park near her home in Kanagawa. Miyabi was two years old.

The picnic was fun both to go and to prepare.

While her mother was preparing a side dish for lunch, her father was preparing rice balls. Miyabi's parents were a close couple who hung out in the kitchen during the holidays.

"Miyabi, it's a fish!"

Miyabi insisted on that, standing next to her father, who was lining up rice balls on the table.

"Yes. There are salmon and tuna mayonnaise as fish ingredients."

Her father held out a small ball of rice so that it would be easy for even Miyabi to eat.

He found it amusing to make a round shape out of rice, and on the way, Miyabi insisted that she do it, and even let her squeeze the paper-wrapped rice with her small hand.

They left home with a full lunch box. With Miyabi in the middle, the three of them walked hand in hand. It was a nice sunny day.

Miyabi sang a song in a good mood. A song about a lost kitten and a guard dog.

"Miyabi is good at singing."

Her mother praised Miyabi's singing.

"Miyabi may become a singer in the future."

Her father also said that with a happy voice.

Miyabi continued to sing proudly. Both of her hands were firmly connected to her parents. Unlike Koneko-chan, Miyabi wouldn't get lost.

The destination park had a promenade where you could enjoy seasonal flowers and a large grassy square, and it was a place where many families gathered during the holidays. As soon as Miyabi arrived, she rolled around on the grass and played, and when she was a little tired, her lunch box was open.

Her father grabbed the salmon rice ball, chewed on the sweet omelette her mother made, and Miyabi said that the distorted rice ball was delicious and ate it.

The lunch box was empty, when Miyabi was filled, she lay on her back on the grass.

"There, shine!"

Miyabi pointed to the distant sky and said that.

It shone in the distance and was as small as a bean, but the shape of the sword was clearly visible in Miyabi's eyes. However, Miyabi didn't know the word sword, so she used the word shine.

Her parents always praised her when Miyabi pointed to the sky and she said "Ohoshi-sama" or "Otsuki-sama", so she hoped they would praise her again this time.

However, unlike the stars and the moon, it was an object that her parents didn't even know about.

"Hmm? What is that...?"

"No, an unidentified flying object?"

Her parents looked at each other and fell silent.

At the point where Miyabi was looking, the red glow fell.

The red glow fell to the ground.

As soon as it hit the ground, there was a roar that seemed to tear at the back of her ears, and there was a shock as Miyabi's body who was lying down rose up a bit.

Her father raised Miyabi's body like a reflex.

Miyabi saw a column of red light rise up into the sky from where the red glow fell on her father's shoulder, and a tsunami of light rush from there.

Her mother got up like a fight, pushed her father's back and they started running together.

The people around her were running to escape the tsunami of light.

Miyabi opened her eyes and looked at the light that was chasing them.

The light swallowed the city.

A person running behind her hit her father's back hard. Her father, who had Miyabi, lost his balance and fell, but he protected her so she wouldn't be crushed.

The mother who was running with them also stopped and knelt beside her father.

The great wave of light was right behind.

The mother, realizing that she couldn't escape, covered Miyabi with her father, using him as shield.

For Miyabi, who was only two years old, the world was full of surprises every day, so the light that she swallowed them was taken as a surprise.

However, she thought that the light was the most dazzling and beautiful she had ever seen.

++++++++++

That day, that hour, everywhere, every person acknowledged the incident with every emotion.

The children who would eventually carry the same sword above their heads received the incident where a huge sword floating in the heavens fell and scattered the ruins, with their own emotions.

Or they just looked at the light of destruction as they were without having a specific feeling.

Or, thinking of who he must be to prevent such ruin.

Or, as he was impaled on debris, he swallowed the fact and thought about the future.