The story we started

Tobe Sho felt that what Ebina Hime said in the video was like a sharp arrow piercing his chest. He was in so much pain that he couldn't breathe for a moment. Hayama Hayato beside him patted his shoulder with a look of pity.

Although as a bystander he had long seen that Ebina Hime didn't like Tobe Sho at all, he could probably understand the blow that Tobe Sho, as a person involved in the situation, would feel when he heard this answer from "the person himself".

He could only be thankful that his friend hadn't confessed yet, otherwise the blow he would have suffered would probably be more than just this.

[“——Also, this plan actually has something to do with you, Kousaka-kun.”]

【“With me?”】

[Kousaka Kyosuke frowned even deeper. How did this have anything to do with him again? ]

[“Well~ You’ll know when the time comes. After all, I might have to rely on your performance at that time—By the way! Remember to keep what I told you today a secret. After all, I don’t want to be fired yet.”]

[Hina Ebina playfully blinked her left eyelid, and under the gaze of the confused Kousaka Kyosuke, she smiled and greeted Zaimokuza who was walking out of the laboratory door. ]

43. Shaped like a flame

【Tokyo City, Shinagawa District. www.ykrsoft.com】

【03:45 a.m】

【boom--】

[A deafening sound rang out from the densely packed warehouse area. The sound that spread throughout the warehouse area lit up a light in a small house. Soon after, an old man wearing a coat over his pajamas opened the door of the house with a dark face and walked out.]

[“Really? Where on earth is this sound coming from!?”]

[A warehouse manager in his 50s or 60s walked between warehouses, cursing and holding an open flashlight. He walked towards the direction where the noise came from and soon arrived there.]

【“!?”】

[Looking at the iron chain that looked like it had been sawed off and thrown on the ground, and the small door on the side of the warehouse that had been violently torn open, the warehouse manager was immediately shocked. This looked like a thief had robbed him! ]

[He immediately turned off the flashlight, glanced around, and when he saw a pile of steel pipes covered with a long cloth next to him, his eyes lit up. He quickly went up to lift the cloth and picked up the longest steel pipe, then carefully walked around the small door that was opened and thrown on the ground and walked in.]

[“What’s going on here?”]

[When the warehouse manager first walked into the warehouse, he suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart, and an inexplicable sense of oppression descended on his heart. The feeling was the same as when he accidentally strayed into the territory of a black bear when he went hunting in the mountains when he was young. If he had not run fast that time, he would have been buried in the bear's belly. ]

[This warehouse gave me the same feeling as I did back then, or even more so. My instinct as a hunter when I was young was constantly warning me to escape quickly.]

[But the old man had no choice. If he ran away like this, he would lose his hard-earned job as a warehouse manager.]

[In Japan, it is not easy to find a job with a decent salary, various allowances, and not too much work, especially at this age. If he didn't rely on connections, he wouldn't be able to get this job from so many jealous people.]

[So even though he felt fearful, the importance of the job overwhelmed his desire to retreat, and he decided in his heart that once he confirmed that there was indeed a thief in the warehouse, he would immediately flee quietly and call the police.]

[He walked into the warehouse carefully step by step, approaching the location of the light in the warehouse without making any sound. When he reached a corner, he cautiously turned his head and looked around.]

[The warehouse manager's eyes widened at the number of people he saw. There were more thieves than he expected! ]

[There were about a dozen people sitting or standing in the warehouse, all dressed very avant-garde. In this cold season, the men were either wearing short sleeves or shorts, with strange oil paint and lip gloss painted all over their faces. There was only one woman, wearing a high-end black tight gauze dress and white lace gloves that she would wear to a social dance. She sat on the only chair in the warehouse, shaking the glass of red wine in her hand, and looked at the others doing their own things with indifferent eyes.]

【"snort!"】

[A man in a short coat holds a dagger and stabs a puppet with its limbs removed and tied to a chair with wires with a ferocious smile on his face. The puppet is covered with various scars, and it is obviously not the first time it has been used like this.]

[“Eh!!!”]

[The warehouse manager mistook the puppet for a real person because of the distance, and couldn't help but scream in fear. He subconsciously let go of the steel pipe in his hand and threw it away. It fell to the ground with a heavy sound, attracting the attention of everyone else in the warehouse.]

【Everyone immediately turned their attention to him. One of the men, who was wearing a black windbreaker and a hat and had a pale face, walked over to him with a grim smile on his face after seeing the warehouse manager sitting back on the ground. His figure changed with his footsteps.】

[“You’re unlucky!”]

[“Hmm——”]

[The pitch-black claws grabbed the warehouse manager's neck and lifted him up under his uncomfortable whimpering and swinging legs. Gooma, who had turned back into a monster, looked at the prey that had come to him with a strange laugh, his voice full of desire for killing, opened his mouth full of sharp teeth, and bit his neck fiercely under the other party's horrified eyes! ]

[“Uooa ...

[An extremely shrill scream rang out from this warehouse, spreading throughout the entire empty warehouse area, and it lasted for a long time.]

……

【The next day.】

【07:58 a.m】

[Me-giiga-gi, wearing a silver sportswear and white sneakers, with his face painted and a funny road sign on his head, walked towards the warehouse yesterday with an expressionless face, leaving a watery footprint on the ground with every step.]

[He walked in through the small door that was torn open at the side of the warehouse, but stopped right after he entered.]

[“…What’s going on?”]

[It frowned as it looked at the male corpse on the ground in front of it, whose face still showed fear and whose skin was shriveled and collapsed. It looked up at the group of Gurongi in front of it and said, with a hint of dissatisfaction in its voice.]

[“Hehehe——”]

[Baruba, who was sitting in the middle of all the Gurongis, just looked up and glanced at it without saying anything, holding a brand new black bracelet in his hand. Instead, Gooma, who was sitting next to him, walked up to Giiga with a wicked smile and started talking, his voice full of suppressed desire and joy.]

[“I did this! This is my first game goal. You came late, so this game belongs to me!”]

【“…”】

[After listening to Gooma, Giiga just tilted his head, looked at it expressionlessly as it ran to Baruba with a happy face, took the bracelet, and followed it.]

[“Give it to me! Give it to me!”]

[Gooma, feeling uneasy, snatched the bracelet from Baruba's hand almost like snatching it. What surprised it was that this time Baruba didn't slap it like usual. Instead, it took the bracelet away silently and expressionlessly, as if it had acquiesced that this game belonged to it.]

[“It’s finally my turn! I’m going to kill the enemy in this game—Hmm!?”]

[As Gooma was talking in ecstasy, he was about to put the bracelet on his left hand, but a hand with red nails suddenly grabbed the hand holding the bracelet. Before he could react, another hand grabbed his neck and lifted him up. Gooma was lifted up with almost no resistance, and looked at Giiga in shock and anger, who looked up at him with an indifferent expression.]

[“So it was you, a piece of trash, who did this.”]

【"Well……"】

[Giga looked at Gooma, whose expression was twisted. In contrast to his calm voice, he was holding Gooma's neck with his hands, which were increasing in strength. Gooma felt as if all the air was squeezed out of his throat. He kicked and struggled frantically, and his leather-shoeed feet repeatedly kicked at Giiga's chest, leaving dark footprints on his sportswear.]

[However, Giiga still stood there expressionlessly, ignoring its resistance and speaking.]

[“When will it be your turn as a jerk of “zu” to arrange my game…Are you the referee of “ra”? Or the player of “go”?”]

[“Moreover, you actually dared to kill someone, and you actually dared to kill someone when my me-giiga-gi game was about to start?”]

[“——Do you really want to die? Trash.”]

【“!???”】

[After saying the last sentence, its voice suddenly turned cold, and Gooma widened its eyes at the same time. It felt the hand that was pinching its neck suddenly become hot, and before it could say a word of begging for mercy, the next moment the burning flames engulfed everything in front of Gooma! ]

【Bear--】

[“Aa ...

[Gooma, whose entire body was directly entangled and devoured by the flames released from the hand that was grabbing his neck, screamed in a way that was no less painful than the warehouse manager's scream when he was drained of blood last night. The hand holding the bracelet immediately released the bracelet and grabbed Giiga's outstretched arm. His frantically struggling body had unknowingly turned into a monster. The bat Gurongi with flames all over his body looked like a famous dark delicacy.]

[“Yes! I’m sorry! Please forgive me!!! I won’t dare to do it again!!!”]

[The struggling gooma screamed in despair. The pain from the burning fire made it unable to think at all. It could only follow its instinct to survive and beg for mercy.]

【"……snort!"】

[But Giiga remained unmoved by its plea for mercy and continued to roast Gooma with flames, showing no intention of stopping.]

[It was not until the gooma's screams gradually subsided that he snorted and threw it out. The roasted black gooma rolled on the ground for a few rounds and turned back into its original gloomy human form, but it was extremely miserable at this time. Not only did its black clothes become tattered, but white smoke kept coming out of its body, and a faint aroma similar to burnt meat could be smelled.]

[“Remember your identity and learn what the rules are.”]

[“Gu…”]

[Giiga bent down to pick up the bracelet that fell beside him and put it on his left hand. He looked at Gooma, who was half naked and curled up in pain, without any pity. After saying this coldly, he walked towards Baruba, who was sitting on the side and watching this scene calmly.]

[“What is your gaming goal?”]

[Baruba glanced indifferently at Gooma who was lying on the ground and unable to get up, then turned to look at Giiga in front of her and said that it was because she knew the character of the player this time that she did not teach Gooma a lesson for offending her, simply because she did not want to waste her energy.]

【"Ah."】

[In response to her words, giiga's expressionless face smiled for the first time, and his smile was extremely cold and cruel.]

[He extended his left hand to Baruba, bent all the fingers except the middle and large fingers, and made a gesture that made the squid tattoo on the back of his left hand particularly conspicuous.]

[“One hundred and sixty-two people, the second rule, and——”]

[Having said this, it closes its bent fingers and slowly clenches them into a fist.]

[“——I will make Kuuga the last target of the game!”]

[After saying this, Giiga looked at Baruba's dark eyes and a ray of red light flashed, like the first torch lit in the dark night of ancient times.]

44. A tragic start: three in one eight K

【Wakaba Kindergarten, Toshima-ku, Tokyo. mijiashe.com】

【11:35 a.m】

[“Godzilla is coming! Gah~”]

[Zaimokuza wore a rabbit ear decoration on his head, and roared fiercely, and ran towards the children in front of him with his legs wide open, hopping like a frog.]

[“Wow! A big monster is coming!”]

[The children were not frightened at all when they saw the rabbit version of Godzilla running over. They all ran away with a smile, and a group of little ones scattered around Zaimokuza.]

[“Don’t run! Gah! I’m going to catch you and eat you for dinner! Gah!”]

[Zaimokuza said in a very playful voice, chasing after one of the fastest little kids. The kid screamed in fear because he was being chased by the monster, and the female teachers nearby couldn't help but cover their mouths to hold back their laughter. Some teachers even laughed heartily because they saw the little kid who used to give them a headache being chased around everywhere.]

[“Big monster, look at me! Oxygen Destroyer Missile Attack!”]

[Just as Zaimokuza was jumping after one of the girls, a chubby little boy sneaked up behind him and picked up the inflatable toy gun that he had "accidentally" left on the ground. He picked up the inflatable toy gun with a clumsy gun-handling technique that was ridiculed by American elementary school students, and charged at Zaimokuza who was looking back with the gun in a childish voice, pulling the trigger with his finger to shoot out the fabric missile from the muzzle of the gun.]

[“Wow!!!”]

[The fabric missile hit Zaimokuza's right shoulder head-on. Zaimokuza, who was hit, let out a shrill scream and fell backwards on his back. His tall body splashed the dust on the ground.]

[“The big monster Godzilla has fallen! Everyone charge! Defeat him in one go!”]

【"""oh!!!"""】

[“I… I lost… um…”]

[The boy holding the missile gun responded immediately, and all the remaining children immediately laughed and rushed to the fallen Zaimokuza, one after another pressing on him, and soon a small mountain of Zaimokuza was piled up on him. He was pressed down by a group of children and screamed "weak breath". He stretched out one hand and slapped the ground like a wrestler slapping the ring to show his surrender.]

[“We defeated the big monster! Yeah!”]

【“““Yeah~!””】

[All the children smiled and raised their hands in the sun, celebrating that they had finally defeated the rabbit-like monster Godzilla. At the same time, without knowing it, they had also defeated the unconfirmed life form No. 4.]

……

[“Wow~ Kids nowadays are really energetic.”]

[Ten minutes later, when all the children were going to class, the "big monster Godzilla" who had been knocked to the ground and had been lying dead jumped up, smiled helplessly, patted the dust off his body, took off the rabbit ear headdress on his head with one hand and handed it to the person who walked forward.]

[“Mo~ You are so old but you can still play with the children so happily. I almost thought you were a kindergarten student.”]

[The female teacher with pink hair tied in a swirl at the back of her head smiled and took the rabbit ear headdress from Zaimokuza's hand. ]

[“Would you like to consider returning to kindergarten? I can slash your tuition by half, Zai·Mu·Za-san?”]

[“Don’t make fun of me, Mr. Yuigahama. Where in the world is there a kindergarten repeater as old as me?”]

【Zaimokuza smiled and scratched his head. The female teacher called Yuigahama also showed a gentle smile on her face. She put the back of her right hand against her lips and smiled very ladylike.】

[There was a nameplate on her apron with her name on it.]

[Wakaba Kindergarten·Sakura Class Teacher: Yuigahama Yui]

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, Service Club.

"Hey! It's me! I'm here~!"

Yuigahama Yui looked at "herself" appearing on the screen of her mobile phone and immediately danced with joy. Before, she could only watch the video and saw only two members of the Service Club, Yukinoshita Yukino and Zaimokuza Yoshiki. She had always been looking forward to seeing herself appear, and now her wish finally came true.

"I didn't expect that you would become a kindergarten teacher in the future, Yui, and you are so beautiful!"

Yumiko Miura watched the video with some amazement. Her figure and face were very different from now. Not only was she mature, but she also had the gentle and soft temperament of a wife. Yui Yuigahama, who had a terrifying killing power over married women and older men, could not help but be envious.

At the same time, she secretly turned her head to look at Hayato Hayama next to her, and couldn't help feeling a little expectant.