The story we started

When he saw those black eyes, Zaimokuza's brain seemed to be hit by a sledgehammer, and it went blank in an instant, and his consciousness quickly faded away.

pat!

The mobile phone held in his left hand fell from between his five loosened fingers, hit the ground and created several clear cracks on the screen. Those cracks divided the blue compound eyes of Kuuga in the form of a blue dragon in the video into five boundaries, and each boundary was extremely ominous and pitch black.

The next moment, Zaimokuza's fat body fell to the side with a loud bang, attracting the attention of everyone in the service club.

"Zaimokuza!?"

"Zaimokuza-san!"

"Hey! Are you okay?"

The screams of a man and a woman rang in his ears, and before his consciousness completely sank into confusion, Zaimokuza saw Hikigaya Hachiman kneeling in front of him. His solemn face was swallowed up by the darkness that spread from all sides of his vision. The darkness continued to gather around the pair of anxious eyes in the center of his field of vision, trying to bury him completely.

"Hachi...hata?"

Zaimokuza tried his best to open his eyes and see Hikigaya Hachiman's face clearly, but in the end he couldn't resist and fell into a coma.

I don’t know if it was an illusion, but the last time Zaimokuza saw Hikigaya Hachiman’s eyes, they were replaced by a pair of black eyes that were similar to his, but full of coldness and indifference.

Those eyes just looked at him falling down, as if they were looking at a stranger who had nothing to do with them, without a trace of emotion in the depths of their eyes.

"Hurry! Take him to the infirmary!"

While everyone in the Service Club opened the door, and Hayama Hayato and Hikigaya Hachiman each worked together to support one side of the unconscious Zaimokuza's body, squeezed through all the onlookers and ran to the infirmary, Zaimokuza's cell phone that was left there was still playing the video, even though no one was watching it.

[“Taku!”]

[Zaimokuza leaped down from above, and with a roar of anger, he swung the Blue Dragon Staff towards Giiga's head, but Giiga quickly reached out and grabbed it.]

【"snort!"】

[Giga held the Qinglong stick in one hand and put the other hand to cover his mouth. Seeing this action, Zaimokuza immediately turned his head to the left.]

[The next moment, a black ball spurted out from Giiga's mouth as he withdrew his hand, brushed Zaimokuza's left cheek and shot toward his back, directly hitting a mud mixer in the distance. The mixer shattered in the explosion, and each exploded part burned with red flames.]

【“!”】

[Zaimokuza dodged the close-range attack and raised his right foot to kick Giiga in the abdomen. When Giiga loosened his grip on the Blue Dragon Staff and quickly retreated, he threw away the Blue Dragon Staff and also retreated.]

[Zaimokuza took a few steps back and immediately stopped, then stepped forward and charged forward, then jumped with both feet and did a somersault in mid-air! ]

【Buzz.】

[With a buzzing sound from his waist, Zaimokuza's figure flipped back from the blue Azure Dragon form to the red All-Powerful form. His right foot kicked at the Giiga that was raising its head below, and there was a red flame flashing under his foot! ]

[“Hey!”]

[“Hmm!”]

【Zaimokuza roared loudly, and this specially trained all-around flying kick directly hit Giiga's chest. A transparent white shock wave spread out from the part where the right foot kicked, and the burst of power directly kicked Giiga away with a muffled groan. The flying figure broke a pillar with the remaining power. The simple delivery shed collapsed directly after losing one of the pillars, completely burying the silver-white figure below.】

[“Hoo…Hoo…Hoo…”]

[Amid the sound of the building collapsing and the flying dust, Zaimokuza landed on one foot and stretched out his right hand to maintain balance, panting heavily, and white smoke rose from the sole of his right foot.]

[As his breathing rhythm slowed down, Zaimokuza felt that the anger that seemed to burn his heart out was finally extinguished, and his rationality began to return. ]

[He stood up silently, looking at the collapsed building in front of him, and his clenched fists slowly loosened.]

[Zaimokuza knows very well how powerful his specially trained all-around kick is. At least none of the Gurongi who were hit by this kick before could survive. Unless they activate elemental awakening, this move can definitely be said to be his strongest ultimate move. ]

【But for the sake of caution, Zaimokuza still stared at the ruins in front of him, not daring to relax even a little bit, and his limbs cycled back and forth between tensing and relaxing, keeping his body in a state of combat at all times.】

【“…”】

[But after about three minutes, there was still no movement in the collapsed ruins, which made Zaimokuza feel a little suspicious. Obviously, the unconfirmed life forms that were hit by his special move before should have died in the explosion, but what is going on now? ]

[Having never seen such a situation before, he subconsciously raised his alertness and walked forward step by step. There was still no movement when he reached the collapsed delivery shed. This situation made Zaimokuza feel even more strange. This unexpected situation also made his body, which was in a fighting state, relax.]

【And at this moment, the situation suddenly changed! 】

【"Well--!!!?"】

[A huge sense of crisis suddenly rose from his heart, and Zaimokuza immediately wanted to do a backflip to get away from here, but he was still a step too slow.]

【boom!!!】

[“Puff!”]

[A dark ball suddenly shot out from under the collapsed ruins. Because the distance was too close, Zaimokuza, who had no time to dodge, was hit on the shoulder by the ball. In the explosion caused by the hit, Zaimokuza screamed and flew backwards, falling heavily on the ground in the distance.]

[“Gu…!”]

[Zaimokuza, who had fallen to the ground, raised his upper body with difficulty, and turned his head in unbearable pain to look at his right shoulder that had just been hit. He saw a deep dent on the red reinforced muscle of his right shoulder, and white smoke rose from the dent. At the same time, a pain of burning fire continued to be transmitted to his brain.]

[“You’re careless, Kuuga.”]

[“Hmm!?”]

[Zaimokuza, holding his right shoulder, looked towards the collapsed shed. The silver-white figure of Giiga pushed away the pillars and tiles that were pressing on him and slowly stood up. On his sturdy chest, a red "flame" totem flashed. This totem released a powerful force, burning his body.]

[Zi——]

[But the scarlet totem mark gently brushed past its silver-white palm, and then turned into red light particles and dissipated from its chest, leaving behind a slight sound like a bonfire being extinguished by water.]

[“What a familiar feeling, but the sealing energy carried by your attack is much weaker than your predecessor, and it also feels different to me~”]

[Giiga put down his right hand that was brushing across his chest, and looked at Zaimokuza with interest with his scarlet eyes. His teasing tone suddenly changed and became extremely cold.]

[“Well, this time, it’s your turn as the junior to experience the pain that your predecessor gave me. I will take back the humiliation that “He” gave me from you bit by bit!”]

【"snort!"】

【With Giiga's cold snort, Zaimokuza saw a familiar "flame" totem appear on the opponent's chest. The opponent's silver-white body turned dark red as if it was roasted. The dark silver belt around his waist was wrapped with red stripes, and his scarlet eyes turned orange.】

[The moment it became like this, it seemed as if a scorching wave of air burst out from its entire body, suppressing the flames of the nearby police car for a moment, then rising again and burning more vigorously than before.]

[me-giiga-gi·Enhanced body·Fighting body. 】

【"The power of red...?"】

[Zaimokuza looked at the transformed Giiga in front of him, staring at the posture and totem mark that gave him a sense of déjà vu, and at the same time remembered the promise he had made to Kousaka Kyousuke before...]

[Looking at the unidentified life form No. 21 in front of him, he felt the violent energy in his body, which was like an awakened volcano, far exceeding the No. 6 and No. 14 he had dealt with before, even if he hadn't used it. If his face could make a "smile" expression now, Zaimokuza really wanted to laugh. ]

[——It was just a bitter smile, because Zaimokuza felt his mouth was extremely bitter and dry. This time, the terror of his opponent was beyond his expectation.]

[Now, let alone fulfilling the promise I made to Kousaka Kyousuke to help him after I defeat his opponent, I'm afraid this time it's really bad news. 】

[“I’m sorry, Mr. Kosaka…”]

[With a silent sigh, Zaimokuza looked at the enemy's new appearance who was slowly approaching, and clenched the five fingers of his right hand one by one. ]

[“I’m afraid I’ll break my promise this time.”]

48. Fear of Battle/Prayer of the Dead -in-

【Tokyo, Shinagawa, Warehouse District. 180txt.com】

[“You’re sure this is the place, right?”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke and a group of armed police officers crouched in the woods, using binoculars to peer into the warehouse with its side door torn open.]

[“Ah, according to the person who reported the case, he called the boss here but no one answered. He felt uneasy and drove here to check. While looking for someone, he heard strangers talking outside the warehouse in a language he had never heard before. Finally, he was scared away by the screams of what seemed to be a fight between unidentified life forms, so he immediately called the police.”]

[Officer Sugita, who was squatting next to him, was also looking through binoculars at the warehouse. He could only see many feet in shoes moving around through the torn open side door. In addition, there was a sturdy figure covered in blood lying on the ground, and it was unknown whether he was dead or alive.]

[After checking without success, he put down the telescope and said solemnly.]

[“…I have to admit that the reporter’s approach was very wise. The warehouse owner’s body was just found in a small forest not far from here. Apparently, the other party handled it very perfunctorily, not even wanting to bury it, and just left it under a tree.”]

[“And judging from the appearance of the remains, the victim’s body was extremely shriveled, with two bite marks on the neck similar to those of a wild animal, and the blood in the body was almost completely sucked out.”]

[“It was done by No. 3. This victim died in exactly the same way as the first victims in Nagano Prefecture. They all died of blood loss after their blood was sucked dry.”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke immediately identified the true identity of the murderer. He put down the telescope and narrowed his eyes. The cold light in his eyes was like that of an experienced hunter watching the prey that came into the shooting range.]

[“You are right. So the order from above is to attack directly without any investigation. If you can capture them, try your best. If not, drive them away with all your strength, even if it means razing the entire warehouse area.”]

[“…Officer Sugita, which one do you want? To be arrested or to be killed?”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke had a calm expression. He reached out from his bosom and took out a small box, which was filled with rows of brand new bullets. These bullets were the stink bombs produced by the police's scientific research institute that were used against No. 20 last time. They were special ammunition developed based on the characteristics of unconfirmed life forms that hate harmful gases.]

[Kousaka Kyosuke opened the box and loaded the ammunition into the chamber of his sniper rifle one by one while speaking without raising his head.]

【"Ah……"】

[Seeing his performance, Sugita smiled. This police officer, who usually gave people a sense of calmness and reliability, smiled very freely at this moment, just like a young boy sitting in his favorite will-o'-the-wisp and about to drive on a wilderness road where life and death intertwine.]

[“Generally, orders from above are of primary importance, but in special circumstances, that’s another matter. What’s the saying? It seems to be from one of the chapters in The Art of War.”]

[“When a general is on the battlefield, he may not obey military orders.”]

【“Yes! That’s it.”】

[Officer Sugita smiled as he pulled out his pistol and began to load it with ammunition. The sound of bullets entering the chamber was crisp and pleasant.]

[“Except for the third one, we don’t know how many enemies there are. In this case, it is a little difficult to capture them, so let’s choose a more relaxed approach. This way, our work won’t be too tiring. Why work so hard~”]

[“Can I understand this as encouraging me to be lazy? I will report your lax work attitude to my superiors, Officer Sugita.”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke also smiled, pulled the bolt of the sniper rifle that was loaded with bullets, and stood up from the bushes where he was hiding. Not only him, but all the police officers who were crouching nearby began to approach the warehouse cautiously with guns in hand.]

[“Please spare me. I just want to get through retirement. Life is not easy for everyone these days. Please don’t make me lose my job.”]

[Officer Sugita smiled bitterly as he looked at the tall back of Kyosuke Kosaka standing beside him. He scratched his scalp, which had few hairs left, and stood up with his gun in both hands.]

[“Although I said that just now, I think we’ll have to write a lot of pages of review reports after we go back this time. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. I hope everyone won’t go too far, especially you, Kosaka. Don’t blow this place up like you did last time when you blew up the factory.”]

[“Don’t worry. If you really do that, I will finish half of the review report for you.”]

[“This way of comforting me makes me even more worried. Are you really planning to blow up this entire warehouse area? I was just joking!”]

[“Who knows?”]

[“…Why do I feel like you’ve changed a lot recently, Kosaka? You’ve even started teasing others. Did you get a girlfriend?”]

[“…Officer Sugita, do I look like I have a girlfriend?”]

[“Oh~ That’s hard to say. As far as I know, you are very popular among the female colleagues in the Metropolitan Police Department. Who knows when you got a girlfriend while no one was paying attention? If that’s true, then five—ahem! Those who like you will be sad.”]

[“Why do I feel like Officer Sugita has something left to say?”]

[“Who knows?”]

【“…”】

[Although the two were joking with each other, as they got closer to the warehouse, their expressions became more and more serious, and finally all the smiles disappeared, leaving only solemnity.]

[The words just now were just used to ease the tense atmosphere. Although they said it lightly, in fact, both of them knew very well that if the worst-case scenario really happened in this mission, then the next meeting would probably not be in the Metropolitan Police Department, but at their respective funerals, or at the funerals of both of them being attended by others.]

[A policeman at the front of the warehouse turned around and gestured to everyone behind him, indicating that they could attack. Everyone held their weapons tightly in silence, and some people couldn't help swallowing because they were too nervous.]

[At the last second before launching the attack, Kousaka Kyosuke aimed his gun through the scope at the warehouse exit, but his mind wandered for a moment, remembering the white-haired young man who had gone alone to fight against the newly appeared unconfirmed life form No. 21 after parting with him.]

[Zaimokuza...how are you doing now? ]

……

【Tokyo, downstream of the Sumida River, quarry. 】

【boom--】

[A huge mushroom cloud rose up with the sound of an explosion, and a tall red figure flew out of the rising cloud of smoke, wrapped in flames and dust. It rolled and rubbed on the gravel-covered ground of the quarry while screaming in pain, and only stopped when it came not far from the fallen Triangle Tracker 2000.]

[“Aa ...

[Zaimokuza fell to the ground and kept rolling around, wailing in pain. A burning white mist rose from his body. The strong muscles in his hands and the armor turned black, and there was even a faint smell of burnt meat.]

[One strike, just one strike, and Zaimokuza was beaten into this state. ]

[After seeing Giiga transform into a strengthened form, Zaimokuza, who had learned from the previous two times, immediately rushed forward to attack it as soon as it had just completed the transformation, but the opponent, who saw through his intention, simply sneered a few times and raised his hand again to spray a ball from his mouth to attack like before.]

[This time, the ball that spewed out of its mouth was no longer pitch black like before, but instead turned into a strange color covered with dark red stripes, and the surface became smoother and rounder.]

[Just when Zaimokuza wanted to dodge by turning his head like before, the ball that was about to pass by his face suddenly flashed red light on the dark red stripes on its surface. Zaimokuza, who noticed something was wrong, immediately stretched out his hands to block his face.]

[The next moment, the light that illuminated his eyes hidden behind his arms bloomed from the sphere, and the huge shock wave that followed almost shook Zaimokuza's soul out of his body, blowing him away directly. The high temperature and flames burned his whole body, causing him unbearable pain.]

[“Hey, hey, hey, is this the limit of your skills? This is so disappointing!”]

[Giga looked at Zaimokuza, who was struggling in pain on the ground, and shook his head with disdain, and his dark red palm continued to stroke his mouth. 】

【Bear--】