My youth story cannot be a knight war

[Click——]

[Kousaka Kyosuke reached out and pressed the button on the side of the helmet neck. The metal plate on the back of his head rolled up with the sound of the mechanism, revealing his short hair which was a little too long.]

【"--call."】

[After taking off his helmet, Kousaka Kyosuke felt the cold wind and the temperature of the flames blowing in from the outside world without any shelter, exhaled a deep breath of burning white air, and placed the helmet on the hilt of the upright greatsword.]

【boom--】

[The roar of a motorcycle engine came from far away, and Kousaka Kyousuke looked up at the motorcycle with its headlights on coming from the road in the distance, and rolled his eyes speechlessly.]

[“…You’re so slow, that idiot.”]

3. The Past Surges in (Two-in-One)

Tokyo City, Shuchiin Academy, Student Council Room.

"No matter how many times I watch it, it still feels outrageous... Is this really a power that humans can possess?"

Looking at "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" who got off the car with a wry smile and apologized for being late, and "Kousaka Kyosuke" who complained to him with a sullen expression on the screen, Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but speak.

"Kousaka Kyosuke"'s performance this time is still as shocking as last time, especially after wearing this α armor strengthened by GO. As long as the opponent does not have the ability to transform into a strengthened body, even the Gurongi of the "ME" Group is no match for him, and can be said to be vulnerable.

They all saw the battle between "Kousaka Kyosuke" and the unconfirmed life form No. 25. It can be said that it was not a battle of the same order of magnitude at all, but more like a one-sided devastation, comparable to the White Elephant's War of Resistance against the Rabbit. The two sides were completely incapable of competing on the same stage.

Because the battle was so one-sided, people couldn't tell who the real monster was for a moment. The power of the α armor was so strong that even if people knew that he was actually a warrior on their side, they still couldn't help but feel genuine fear from the bottom of their hearts.

“But to be honest, it does make people feel very reassured to know that such a being belongs to the human side.”

"Indeed, Shigong, you are right, but..."

Shirogane Miyuki agreed with Kaguya Shinomiya's words, but his words became a little hesitant at the end, which also caught her attention.

"What's wrong, President? Do you have any other questions about what I just said?"

"No, there is nothing wrong with your opinion, Shigong. What I am really worried about is something else."

Baiyin Yuxing shook his head and spoke in a low voice.

"Although Mr. Zaimokuza is no longer alone in the battle against these unidentified life forms after Mr. Kousaka joined, and the combined combat power of the two is already able to ensure victory in most battles against Gurongi, I still have a bad feeling in my heart."

"Shinomiya, Fujiwara, do you remember what that woman from the RA group said when Zaimokuza-san and his men defeated No. 24?"

"Eh? Number 24... I remember she seemed to say -"

Fujiwara Chika, who had fully recovered, held her plump and firm breasts with one hand and her chin with the other, her pink eyes thinking with a look of reminiscence.

"Yes."

With his rough hands covered with calluses from long-term part-time work clenched together, Shirogane Miyuki responded with a serious look as he listened to what Fujiwara Chika was about to say next.

"She said back then—'While the combination of Kuuga and Go is undoubtedly an unmatched formidable opponent for 'ME,' if their strength is limited to the level they've demonstrated so far, then it's merely adequate for 'GO' players... no, perhaps the difficulty is still too low.' ...I remember it clearly. That Rose Lady said exactly that."

"This... could it be that the other party is just exaggerating? After all, right now, Future Kousaka-san alone has the power to defeat all Gurongi except for the enhanced ones. With his fighting skills, he can be guaranteed to have the upper hand even in a battle with the enhanced ones, not to mention Zaimokuza-san."

"Such a powerful combination is already invincible against the unidentified life forms that have just appeared. Even if that mysterious 'GO' group that the Gurongi mentioned is so powerful, the combined power of the two of them wouldn't be enough to even match it...right?"

The more she spoke, the more inexplicably unsure Shinomiya Kaguya felt. Even her voice gradually became smaller, and her tone changed from her original firm belief to one of doubt and uneasiness.

"I hope so... But was that referee really just exaggerating? I don't think so, and there's no need for her to talk to herself like that. If it weren't for this God's Perspective, we wouldn't even know the existence of the GO Group."

"Shigong, I wonder if you have noticed another thing?"

"Ok?"

"Among the Gurongi that have appeared now, even the enhanced ones are different."

Shinomiya Kaguya was stunned by the topic raised by Shirogane Miyuki. This was indeed something she had not thought about.

"It seems that you really haven't thought about this aspect. That's right, this is indeed easy to be overlooked. Then I will use the example of No. 6 who first demonstrated this ability as an example."

"Unconfirmed Lifeform No. 6 is the first powerful enemy that Zaimokuza-san has encountered. In the battle, it has shown abilities similar to those of Kamen Rider Kuuga, the enemy. It can change its form and turn various objects into its own exclusive weapons through contact."

"But that was all. Although No. 6's strength was greatly enhanced after changing his form, he was eventually defeated by Mr. Zaimokuza, who realized the true meaning of the blue form during the battle and activated the elemental awakening mode for the first time."

"But... what comes next is the key point."

knock --

When Shirogane Miyuki said this, his expression gradually became gloomy. He stretched out his fingers and tapped the table, and the crisp sound echoed in the silent student union room.

"Unlike No. 6 and No. 22, whose physical strength was only enhanced and weapons were acquired after their transformation, No. 14, No. 21, and No. 23 also have enhanced bodies. In addition to enhanced strength, they also have special abilities that the first two Gurongi do not have."

“—You mean!?”

Having said that, Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly reacted, opened her wine-red eyes wide and looked at Shirogane Miyuki in surprise as he nodded.

“That’s right. After they became enhanced bodies, they possessed the same abilities as Mr. Zaimokuza after he activated the elemental awakening—that is, they could freely manipulate the corresponding forms of elements, and could control water, wind, and fire. The application and expression of their abilities were no different from Kuuga’s.”

"Before this, we always thought that the elemental mode was an ability unique to Kuuga, but the appearance of these Gurongi who also possess elemental powers shows a fact, that is, this is definitely not a coincidence or an ability exclusive to an individual, but rather a power that has long been popularized."

"Also, these elemental Gurongis share a common characteristic: they are all Gurongis belonging to the ME collective. Number 6 and Number 22, who are unable to harness elemental power, are both Gurongis of the ZU group."

"As for the relationship between ME and ZU, we've already deduced it. It's a progressive, progressive relationship. A fully-fledged Gurongi can upgrade from ME to ZU."

"But President, what does this mean?"

"Yeah! I'm curious too!"

Shinomiya Kaguya, who had been listening intently, noticed that he suddenly stopped talking and immediately asked subconsciously, while Fujiwara Chika next to her nodded her head in agreement.

"this means……"

Baiyin Yuxing's eyes were dark and uncertain. After taking a deep breath, he slowly spoke out the guess in his heart that made him feel a little cold.

"The abilities of these augments evolve as the Grungies who wield them advance. However, if the ME Group's augments alone possess the power to manipulate elements, then let's assume the GO Group's Grungies also possess such augments. In that case—"

He looked up at the two girls with frozen expressions and said the last sentence in a serious tone.

"Just what kind of terrifying abilities do these Grongis of the GO Group possess? Or rather... if their power to manipulate the elements is already as powerful as that of a god, what other supernatural power could surpass that?"

As soon as the words fell, the entire student union room became dead silent, and you could hear a pin drop.

The two girls' expressions froze. What Shirogane Yuxing said made them realize that they had indeed overlooked this fatal blind spot.

If the power to manipulate elements evolves again... what kind of ability will it become? After all, even now this power has long transcended common sense, transcending the material scope and involving abstract definitions such as philosophical concepts.

And what could be a power more powerful than the elemental force that could distort "concepts"?

Baiyin Yuxing didn't know the answer to this question, and neither did they, but they all couldn't help but shiver subconsciously.

Because if possible, no one wants to know the answer... If you think about it carefully, it is really horrifying.

【Zaimokuza had a dream, a very long dream.】

[He dreamed of his grandmother who had passed away many years ago, dreamed of the promise he had never been able to fulfill, and dreamed of the first year he spent in Sobu High School in a daze.]

[Finally, he dreamed, dreamed...]

[In the hazy dream, a vague figure turned his back to him and looked over. ]

[In the chaos, everything about the figure was blurry, but only the pair of dead fish eyes filled with helplessness were so clear.]

[“What are you still standing there for, Zaimokuza? Hiratsuka-sensei and Yukinoshita are waiting for us. If we don’t leave now, Yuigahama will complain again.”]

【“——Wake up, it’s time to go.”】

[After saying this, he turned around and walked forward without hesitation. The darkness around him surged and gradually engulfed the thin figure.]

【——“Wake up… wake up… store…”】

[A huge sense of shock and sadness surged from his heart. Zaimokuza looked at that figure and suddenly couldn't control himself and shouted loudly.]

[“Wait!? Eight——!”]

[The moment that person's name was about to come out of his mouth, the surrounding darkness suddenly swallowed up everything in front of him, and the remaining sound that had not been spoken also disappeared into the boundless world.]

[——"Hurry up, Zaimokuza...senpai...Saori...Manager..."]

[At the last moment when his consciousness faded, Zaimokuza clearly saw that the figure seemed to have heard his own shout and stopped.]

【Then he slowly turned around and looked in his own direction.】

【“——”】

[But the familiar and friendly dead fish eyes have long disappeared... replaced by another pair of eyes. ]

[There is not a single trait in these eyes that can be called "human", and anyone who sees them will understand an extremely clear fact the moment they see them - humans absolutely cannot have such eyes.]

[Only a completely alien creature, a monster in human skin, could have such a nihilistic look in his eyes. Zaimokuza could read very few emotions from these eyes, but none of them could be related to the definition of "beautiful".]

[Cold, dark, dead, empty, and——]

【Despair as boundless as the ocean tide.】

[Looking at those eyes, Zaimokuza, whose consciousness was on the verge of collapse, stretched out his right hand as far as he could, clenching his palm as if he wanted to catch that figure.]

【etc--】

[Looking through the gaps between his fingers at the gradually blurry figure in his vision, Zaimokuza's consciousness finally became completely silent in his unwillingness.]

[His palms fell limply, swallowed by the engulfing darkness——unable to hold onto anything.]

[——No, leave. ]

-

[“Please wake up quickly, Zaimokuza-senpai, or Manager Saori will be angry again!”]

【“!”】

[Zaimokuza, who was lying on his side on the table, suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes and looked at the hand that was reaching back from his shoulder in panic.]

[“Zaimokuza-senpai, you finally woke up! Eh!? Why are you sweating so much? Are you feeling unwell?”]

[The girl with long chestnut hair smiled happily on her chubby face when she saw Zaimokuza wake up, but after noticing his sweaty head and blank eyes, her eyes, the same color as her hair, turned into a worried look.]

[The sun shines in from the skylight, shining on her body in a slim maid outfit. Every strand of fabric in the outfit tightly wraps around her curvy figure. Her long chestnut hair, which appears transparent under the light, falls on her shoulders as she tilts her head, exuding a youthful and subtle beauty.]

[The girl, who was also wearing a maid's headband, looked at Zaimokuza with a dazed expression, and after hesitating for a few seconds, she stretched out her fair palm and placed it on his forehead, and then covered her forehead with one hand and placed it on her own forehead for comparison.]

[“Strange, the temperature didn’t rise or fall?”]

[She muttered something and pulled her hand away from Zaimokuza's forehead.]

[Just as the girl straightened her slender waist that had just been bent forward, the nameplate on her chest flashed in the sunlight as she moved, and the beautiful handwriting on it was illuminated for a moment in Zaimokuza's eyes.]

【——Asahina Mikuru.】

["...Asahina?"]

[After blinking a few times, Zaimokuza finally came to his senses after recognizing the girl in front of him as a new employee of the store, and called out her name in a daze.]

[“Mo? Senior, you finally woke up. I couldn’t wake you up no matter how hard I pushed you before. I thought something happened to you.”]

【Asahina looked at Zaimokuza who raised his head from the table, and couldn't help but sighed with relief, and complained in a soft voice.】

【Seeing that he was still staring at her with dull eyes, Asahina blushed shyly and spoke softly.】

[“Senior, now that you’re awake, go wash your face. The store manager has been waiting for you downstairs for a long time.”]

[“Also, Senior, the butler uniform you’re wearing has been ironed by me. I’ll put your breakfast on the other side of the table for you. You can eat it after you brush your teeth and wash your face—Ah, hey, hey? Senior, why are you crying!?”]

[While talking, Asahina suddenly yelled in panic and looked at Zaimokuza in front of her at a loss.]

[Zaimokuza still looked at her with the same stunned expression as before, but a clear tear flowed from the corner of his right eye, then slid down his face with deep features, gathered at his chin and fell gently.]

【Tick.】

[The tears fell on the faded jeans he was wearing, spreading dark circles on the fabric.]

[“Senior, what’s wrong with you!?”]

[“I’m fine… I, I’m just so touched!”]

[Zaimokuza raised his fingers with trembling hands, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and looked at Asahina, whose expression was stunned by his words, with the piety of a believer visiting Jerusalem, and spoke with a moving voice.]

[“I never thought that I could feel the warmth of humanity in this cafe. I thought I would have to live a miserable life under the oppression of Miss Saki for the rest of my life. I never thought that there would be someone who would care about me - I am so touched!!!”]

【"well--!?"】

[He sucked the snot back into his nose, and as Asahina panicked, he suddenly opened his hands, like a lamb offering everything to the pillar of heaven.]