The story we started

[“At that time, I will be at Sobu High School, in the Service Club, waiting for you to become a hero and come before me. I will truly give you the honor you deserve, just like the Pope puts a crown of honor on a warrior who has accomplished great deeds under the witness of the throne of God.”]

[——What Zaimokuza didn't know at the time was that this embarrassing line of Chuunibyou was actually copied by Shizuka Hiratsuka from Shonen Jump, with the main characters simply changed to her, Sobu High School, and the Service Club.]

[“Making a promise like this, following the oath, growing from a mortal to protecting everyone’s smile, don’t you think it’s romantic? I’ve always wanted to try to say this~”]

【"so……"】

[Speaking of this, Hiratsuka Shizuka could no longer hold back and lowered her head. Tears as glittering as pearls dripped from her face onto the portrait of the smiling and crying head in the album, blurring the smiling face.]

【“Smile! Smile! Don’t cry anymore.”】

[“Laugh out loud, at everyone and the world—woo.”]

[She bit her lips tightly, choking and unable to speak.]

[…It turns out there are really such fools in the world, who kept a joke-like promise in mind for so long, and even worked hard to fulfill it.]

[And that boy spent so many years waiting and growing up, just to come here again, hoping to get the affirmation from the teacher who had already given up to the world and was no longer worthy of giving him that honor.]

【What a complete...】

【Fool. 】

【"teacher……"】

[Yukinoshita Yukino stood on the podium, looking at the crying Hiratsuka Shizuka in silence. ]

[Hiratsuka Shizuka raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, blurring her figure into another figure.]

[Looking at that figure, she smiled gently, a smile that was both sad and relieved.]

[In the endless rainstorm, the white-haired boy wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeves, sniffed back his snot, and nodded solemnly at Hiratsuka Shizuka.]

[“Sigh… Yeah! I will definitely become that kind of hero, Hiratsuka-sensei.”]

[He burst into laughter and gave Hiratsuka Shizuka a thumbs up. The smile on his face was like the clear sky after the rain.]

[“So, please wait for me——”]

【"teacher!"】

……

[The flames floated and danced with the strong wind blowing in the wilderness.]

[The fierce and blazing flames were so "quiet" at this moment, completely subverting people's usual impression of flames as fierce, blazing, and dangerous.]

[The almighty form after elemental awakening is different from other forms, and the changes are not that great. 】

[The entire body covered in crimson armor has a layer of quietly burning flames, and around the neck is a ball of flames, from which extends a crimson scarf that looks like it was woven from flames, and it can even flutter in the wind.]

[Apart from this, there are no other changes.]

【“…”】

[Zaimokuza raised his head, his eyes filled with blazing flames staring at the enemy's figure, the fire burned quietly, and the flaming scarf wrapped around his neck fluttered behind him.]

[The flame is so quiet, warm, and blazing, but it does not hurt anyone, just like the warm sun in summer. You can feel the warmth, but you know it will not hurt you.]

[That flame illuminates all the coldness and pain in the world, evaporates the tears left by people, and restores the lost smile.]

[Just like what we promised many years ago——]

[The boy who once cried because of sadness has long since become the "hero" who protects everyone's smiles. 】

78. Final Blow! Two-in-One

[Kuga·Almighty Form·Elemental Awakening (Flame). liangxyz.com]

Although from the perspective of human aesthetic standards, Zaimokuza Hikaru at this moment is no different from the unidentified life form No. 22 standing opposite him, both are alien objects independent of humans.

But all those who have watched the confession and memories of Shizuka Hiratsuka from a God's perspective in this video far away at Sobu High School in Chiba Prefecture, now have a different feeling when they look at Zaimokuza's face and compound eyes that are different from those of humans after his transformation.

Through those burning eyes with insect-like features, everyone seemed to see a kind-hearted boy working hard to keep his promise to his mentor, constantly changing himself, and waiting for years with great anticipation, just for the promised day to arrive.

Under the shining sun near dusk, the warrior with flames burning all over his body stood in the wilderness, like a pillar of fire supporting the sky and the earth. His back made everyone who saw him feel a dazzling and fiery soul, emitting a light that was more brilliant than the sun hanging high in the sky and far more dazzling and noble than the hideous alien appearance.

The soul hidden beneath his inhuman appearance is as pure as the boundless blue sky, vast and without a trace of impurities, like the world-famous sky of Nepal, where the sky and the earth are connected as one, and the inside and outside are the same as Yoshiki Mokuza himself.

Tokyo City, Shuchiin Academy, Discipline Committee.

"That's amazing!!! Mr. Zaimokuza!"

Iino Miko looked at the small TV hanging in the room with sparkling eyes, and shouted excitedly with her little hands clasped to her chest.

"This is the goal that our students at Shuchiin should learn from! It's decided! From now on, we will inform the whole school to learn from Mr. Zaimokuza, and have the students come to the Discipline Committee Office to make a promise with us! Wait for ten or eight years and then come back. Then I will give them a thumbs up and a smile as a reward, just like Mr. Hiratsuka. It's so romantic!"

"...Then I think that by then no student will come back, because it is too harsh. Not to mention that you are not a beautiful lady with a nice figure like Mr. Hiratsuka, and not everyone is Mr. Zaimokuza."

"Instead of spending time and energy on something that is doomed to fail, Yako, you might as well think about how to make Ishigami's records of absences and violations of school rules look better, so that he won't be called in by the teacher to be punished, and then take out his anger by making fun of you every time you see him."

Dafo Xiaobo, who was sitting next to him, heard his friend's passionate proposal, pushed his black-framed round glasses on his nose expressionlessly, and complained calmly.

"Uh--"

The petite back of Iino Miko, surrounded by flames, suddenly became petrified, and the atmosphere seemed to have dropped from the heat of Hawaii to the cold of Antarctica.

After being stiff for a moment, she immediately clenched her fists, turned around and glared at the big Buddha and small bowl angrily, her cheeks puffed up red like a hamster stuffed with countless nuts.

"Hate, hate, hate! Why did you mention that man at a time like this, Kobato! The handsome smile of approval and the thumbs-up of approval from Mr. Zaimokuza in my mind have all turned into that nasty expression of Ishigami looking at people with a broom while picking his nose!"

"Why should I care about him? Isn't it enough to let that bad-tempered, irritable, vulgar, gloomy and disgusting 2D otaku die? It would be better if he was caught by the teacher and sent to northern Myanmar to do hard labor! Humph!"

"... Let's not talk about whether Shi Shang's nostrils are really so big that they need to be dug with a broom. Don't you hate him too much? You actually want him to be captured and sent to northern Myanmar to do hard labor... Aren't you afraid that he will be beaten to a pulp?"

Daibutsu Koba was shocked when he heard Iino Miko's resentful speech, and his glasses tilted, revealing the back half of his face, which was as beautiful as any beauty in the academy.

"Who asked that guy to cause me so much trouble! I've already shown mercy by not executing him in public myself. If he's caught, then he's caught. Anyway, the country will use a bomber to rescue him before Ishigami Yaozi gets killed. This can be considered as a lesson for him. Let's see if he dares to waste his campus life like this after escaping death!"

After hearing what his friend said, Dafo Xiaobo's long eyelashes twitched at the corners of his eyes. He silently adjusted his crooked glasses, covered his face again, and then spoke.

"…But if Ishigami really died in northern Myanmar at the hands of Gayaozi, then you, Yako, who said this, might also be responsible. With your personality, you might cry and repent in front of Ishigami's tombstone."

"Huh? Who would cry for a man like that? If there ever comes a day when I cry in front of his grave, I'll just take his last name!"

Big Buddha Small Bowl: "..."

"A-choo! ~ Weird, is someone scolding me?"

At the Ishigami family, Ishigami Yu, who skipped classes to play games at home and was forced to watch the drama, suddenly felt an itch in his nose while watching the video seriously. He sneezed involuntarily and then rubbed his nose and complained.

"It's probably that Iino guy again! Tsk, that bitch..."

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, health room.

"After watching this video for so long, I feel for the first time that... the future Zaimokuza-san has really become a remarkable person."

Yukinoshita Yukino sat quietly in a chair watching the video on her mobile phone. The future story played on the screen made her feel mixed emotions.

My future self eventually gave up that originally illusory dream in front of the high wall of reality and became a person that my present self felt strange about.

But the other person he was familiar with actually fulfilled the promise that seemed like a joke, followed the oath with the teacher, and really became the hero who protected everyone's smile in the future.

As the department head, I lost to my own department members.

For the first time, Yukinoshita Yukino, who had always been unwilling to admit defeat, truly had the thought "I lost" in her heart.

"Hmph~ Not bad, Zaimokuza, you didn't embarrass me, your teacher. Very good!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka rubbed her slightly red eyes, wiped away some of the liquid that had overflowed from them, and then pretended to be generous and patted Zaimokuza's shoulder with such force that it hurt him.

For the first time, she felt that the path she had chosen was not wrong. Even though the road was full of thorns and twists and turns, it was not meaningless after all.

Among my students, there are some who really follow my teachings, move towards the future, and let my words take root in their hearts and grow into towering trees.

In the future, Shizuka Hiratsuka has trained a "hero" who will protect everyone's smiles, a person with a heart as pure as the sky.

Just for this reason, she felt that her efforts and persistence were worth it.

"My future self... is really powerful."

Zaimokuza rubbed his painful shoulder, and stared in amazement at the video on his cell phone showing "himself" awakening a new element.

Because his cell phone was still in the Service Club's room, he was now using the cell phone of the unconscious Hayato Hayama.

Zaimokuza looked at "himself" in the video, stretched out his hand awkwardly, and imitated Zaimokuza Yoshiki in the video, giving his signature thumbs up in front of him.

Really, it’s far away…

Looking at the thumb with clearly visible fingerprints, Zaimokuza recalled what his future "self" had done after his appearance in the video, and felt deeply the gap between himself and him.

He was completely left behind in all aspects, especially in terms of the mind and spiritual realm. If the future Zaimokuza Yoshiki was the "ultimate form" and reached the pinnacle of evolution, then the current Zaimokuza was just in the growth stage and had not even reached the maturity stage. He had just started on this path of growth in life.

"..."

Hikigaya Hachiman, who was standing by the window, also turned his head slightly to look at Zaimokuza after seeing this. His black eyes reflected his silhouette with his back to him.

A complex wave of emotions flashed through that eye for an instant, and then returned to its original calm, making it impossible to see what he was thinking.

No matter what people outside the video think, the content of the video will continue to develop as usual.

At this moment, we are about to reach the end of the prologue of this story.

[“Ku…uga!?”]

[Looking at the Zaimokuza in front of him, whose entire body was burning with flames and whose neck was wrapped with a scarf woven with flames, Zain murmured, his tone full of disbelief.]

[How is this possible!? What on earth is this? Why have I never seen it before? ]

[Furthermore, this feeling of oppression——]

【“……!”】

[In Zain's dark purple eyes, Zaimokuza's figure suddenly overlapped with another figure for a moment.]

[That figure is also Kuuga, and he looks just like an ordinary omnipotent form, but there is an extremely terrifying sense of oppression lingering all over his body, like a towering mountain that is about to collapse. When it collapses, the sky will collapse and the earth will crack, and everything will be silent.]

[This figure once brought unforgettable terror and hatred to Zain and even the entire Gurongi clan.]

[Looking at the figure overlapping with Zaimokuza, it took a step back uncontrollably, its entire body trembling.]

[At this moment, Zain once again recalled the horror of being dominated by the name of Kuuga in the ancient times, and the humiliation of being defeated without any resistance and sealed for tens of millions of years.]

[Crunch, crunch, crunch——]

[Its fists clenched tightly, making crisp bone-crackling sounds.]

[“That Linduo should be dead... “He” has been dead for a long time!”]

【Realizing that he was retreating in the illusion he had just seen due to Zaimokuza's aura, Zain, feeling humiliated, raised his head and stared at Zaimokuza intently, roaring angrily, and the roar spread throughout the wilderness under his loud voice.】

[“You are not “Him”! You can never become “Him”! Don’t even think about letting me escape!”]

[“I am the glorious “zu” leader, not a coward and loser like Gooma! Don’t underestimate me!!!”]

[Zain roared and raged, his tall figure rushed towards Zaimokuza who was standing there with a speed that was inconsistent with his size. Every step he took on the ground made an earth-shaking sound, and the ground seemed to be shaking and wailing under his footsteps!]

[It roared while running, and it was clearly an excuse to prove that it was not a coward, but Zain's voice was filled with fear that even Zaimokuza and Kousaka Kyosuke, who could not understand the Gurongi language, could hear.]

[“Go to hell! Kuuga!!!”]

[Zain lowered his head and pointed the long horns on his head at Zaimokuza's chest, speeding up his running. The sharp horns pierced through the air, making a sharp whistle.]

【boom--! ! ! 】

[Finally, as Zain gathered all his strength and stomped heavily on the ground, he used the reaction force of the earth to burst out at a terrifying sprinting speed. The tip of the long horn on his head even burst out a circle of transparent cone-shaped shock waves, which turned into a protective shield covering his sprinting body, and the yellow sand under his feet was directly exploded and splashed! ]

[That was a sonic boom that was created by exceeding the speed limit of sound! It was proof that the attack had surpassed the speed of sound and reached the supersonic realm!]

[——We must fight quickly and decisively! ]

[Faced with the enemy charging at him, feeling the rapid loss of strength in his body after transforming into the elemental awakening form for the third time today, Zaimokuza squatted down without hesitation and took a horse stance. His eyes, which were surrounded by flames, reflected the opponent's figure that was within a few seconds, and he opened his palms in front of him.]

[He actually wanted to take on this supersonic attack! ]

[“Aa ...

【"--drink!"】

[Amid the roars of both sides, Zaimokuza's hands, at lightning speed, grabbed the two horns that protruded from Zain's temples in his enhanced form.]

【--boom!!!!!!】

[The transparent shock wave spread out, forming a circular shape that scraped off a layer of the yellow sand beneath the feet of the two men, and the transparent shock wave spread out in all directions.]

[Immediately afterwards, Zaimokuza was pushed back by the huge force transmitted from his hands. In the spreading shock wave, Zain rushed forward with Zaimokuza. Their feet left two long tracks in the yellow sand in the wilderness. The thickest and longest horn stopped less than three centimeters away from Zaimokuza's chest and could no longer move forward!]