My youth story cannot be a knight war

【“…Tell me about it.”】

[The corners of his mouth slightly raised, and then Kousaka Kyosuke said this. 】

……

【Tokyo, underground drainage pipes. 】

[Baruba stood at the edge of the ground, quietly looking down at the edge of the huge pipeline in front of him that was so deep that it seemed to go straight to the center of the earth. His eyes were as cold as a stone standing on the edge of a cliff.]

[The wind from nowhere blew the hem of her ankle-length skirt. Her figure was like a white rose, growing under this abyss that almost no one would reach, and no one could peek at her beauty. She was isolated from the world, lonely and self-admiring.]

[Similarly, no one can understand her heart. ]

[“I have already notified you.”]

[A voice came from the darkness behind her, and Dorudo, wrapped in a white cloth, walked out of the darkness and calmly looked at Baruba's slender figure.]

[“NU is ready and can be repaired at any time. All we need to do next is to let Gooma run errands and collect them.”]

[“…Is that so? Since it’s working so hard, why not let it do one more thing?”]

[Baruba said without turning her head, her voice as lonely and cold as her back.]

[“Let it go to Nagano Prefecture first and inform the players of GO to gather in Tokyo immediately.”]

【“…”】

[Hearing this, Dorudo's pair of calm brown eyes behind his scarf showed a "shock" emotion for the first time.]

[As a player of RA, it certainly knows what this command means. ]

[“Is this… too fast?”]

[Dorudo's words were somewhat hesitant, and he asked hesitantly.]

[“Including the leader, ME still has several games to start. According to the time sequence, the next one should be——”]

[“That’s not necessary.”]

[Baruba turned around and looked at it, and with just one glance, he suppressed all of Dorudo's questions. ]

[“Except for the leader, all the “ZU” and “ME”, their existence is meaningful in the beginning - in fact, it is a touchstone for honing KUUGA.”]

[“And Ginoga has already completed this task for them. Now that KUUGA has awakened all five powers required to become the “Ultimate” and has the initial ability to compete with “GO”, they are no longer of any value.”]

[“Why waste time maintaining a tool that has no potential and value?”]

[“…What are you going to do?”]

[Dorudo was silent for a long time, then spoke in a low voice.]

[“Immediately arrange Me-Garima-Ba, the leader, to play in the next round, and then disqualify all other “MEs” from playing, and move the game to the next stage.”]

[Baruba casually issued this instruction that would make all other "ME" group players desperately look for her, and then said calmly. ]

[“It’s been a long time since we last met. It’s time for the players of “GO” to enter the arena and start the semi-finals of “Kikiru”.”]

[“Let’s begin – “Dark Game”.”]

【Wow——】

[Boundless cold wind swept in from the darkness, and the howling in my ears sounded like the loud laughter of demons released from their cages.]

35. Birthday Party (5K)

Chiba Prefecture, Chiba Benbun High School, health room.

"This 'Kikilu' has actually made it to the semi-finals? So fast?"

When Kyosuke Kousaka heard this word from Baruba's mouth in the light curtain, he perked up and immediately stared at the other's expressionless face, muttering with a serious look.

"They are finally coming..."

GO Group.

Unlike when they first appeared in Gurongi's mouth, people knew nothing about them. After such a long period of intelligence bombardment through videos and light screens, although people have not actually seen these players who only exist in other Gurongi's mouths, they already have a general impression of their image in their minds.

Powerful, terrifying, mysterious, and invincible.

This is the image that Gurongi of the GO Group now has in the minds of all those who are watching the light screen.

They are undoubtedly the most senior group among the Gurongi clan. This can be seen from the fact that once they started their own game, they directly pushed this so-called "Kikiru" to the stage known as the semi-finals. This is enough to prove that the strength of the players in this group is definitely far beyond all the previous members of the same clan.

"Since the semi-finals are about to begin, does that mean... this story is about to come to an end?"

Kyosuke Kousaka only then realized this, and couldn't help but feel a little dazed. It turned out that the story had already entered its end without him noticing?

The shock and disbelief I felt when I first saw my future self appear in the video was as if it had just happened.

And if this story is coming to an end, it also means...

"...!"

When the light curtain just appeared, the scene of his future self standing alone by the river appeared in his mind, and Kyosuke Kousaka subconsciously clutched the quilt under him.

Even if he just recalled it, the sadness and pain carried in that back of his own were like a huge rock, pressing down on Kyosuke Kousaka's chest so heavily that he almost couldn't breathe.

Their future... At the end of it all, what happened? Why did my back look so bitter and helpless?

What kind of ending will this story of ours have in the end?

【Nagano Prefecture, near the ruins of Kurodake. 】

【10:54 PM】

[It was night, the crescent moon was dim and mottled, casting a pale silver moonlight on the endless forest below, covering the top of the treetops with a hazy veil.]

[In the woods, dozens of police cars formed a line and drove through the narrow mountain road. Due to the extremely low visibility at night, the speed of the police cars had to be reduced to a level almost the same as walking to avoid accidents caused by excessive speed.]

[“Are you sure this is the area the citizen mentioned in his statement?”]

[“Yes, we have checked again and again, it is right around here… Also, this is the third time you have asked this question.”]

[“It’s never wrong to be cautious. This is what a senior whom I admire the most told me. Besides, the opponent we are facing this time is not a human, so it’s never too cautious.”]

[In the frontmost police car, two policemen sitting in the front row looked around at the dark woods ahead, their eyes and words unable to conceal their nervousness.]

[“Is he really here? That guy…”]

[Inspector Guishan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, stared at the terrifying darkness ahead that seemed to have no end in sight. He inexplicably felt uneasy that he and his companions were driving into the mouth of a monster whose name he could not name.]

[He took out a photo from his pocket with a worried look, and fell into deep thought while looking at the scene captured in the photo.]

[In the gaps between the trees near dusk, a blurry figure that looked like a large bird spread its wings and flew over, flying straight into the mountains.]

[At dusk, when the devil meets the devil, the Turtle Mountain Patrol suddenly thought of this sentence, which is very suitable to describe the figure captured in this photo. ]

[At the time, the climber thought he might have accidentally photographed a new species that had never been discovered before, so he excitedly took the developed photo and ran to the police station, but as expected, the police on duty did not take it seriously.]

[As luck would have it, Guishan had just finished his patrol and was returning to the police station. When he passed by the door, he happened to see the witness arguing with his colleague. The photo he was waving in his hand instantly attracted everyone's attention.]

[Other police officers might have thought the figure in this photo was a bird or a branch that was taken after the camera malfunctioned, but he was different. Although the pixels were indeed a little blurry, Guishan still recognized the true identity of the figure at a glance.]

[Because he and his most admired senior had an unforgettable bloody encounter with each other, the figure flapping its wings and flying into the darkness in the night has been Guishan's nightmare for a long time.]

[Unconfirmed life form, number three.]

[This caused a big mess. With Kameyama's repeated assurances, even at the cost of his own career, the entire Nagano Prefectural Police Department was in chaos.]

[Although the unconfirmed life forms are mainly rampant in the Tokyo area, Nagano Prefecture, where these monsters first appeared, has never lost its attention to them, because the Gurongi were resurrected in the ruins of Jiulangyue found here. To some extent, Nagano Prefecture can be said to be their "hometown." ]

[Many people have been worried that they might return here one day, and this nightmare has finally become a reality today. The number three who committed numerous bloody crimes here has returned here.]

[And if we were to say what the most likely reason was for them to come back, it would probably be just one, and that was the ruins of Mount Jiulang where they were resurrected.]

[Although it has been almost half a year since the initial incident, everything about the ruins is still shrouded in mystery. As time goes by, more and more incomprehensible things are discovered there.]

[This may be the only reason why those monsters could come back here, because no one knows what kind of horrible things are hidden there that have not been discovered by humans - such as the remaining Gurongi who have not awakened from the seal. ]

[This undoubtedly worst-case scenario made all those who knew about it feel terrified. After learning about this, the superiors did not hesitate to increase the protection of the ruins again, and at the same time sent a large number of police officers to conduct a carpet search in the area where the third figure was photographed, trying to find out why he returned here.]

["Why did you come back here? Number 3——!?"]

[Just as Guishan was looking at this photo and talking to himself, a sudden movement in front of him made him subconsciously raise his head.]

[Suddenly, a cold wind blew in the darkness, and then the body of the police car shook violently, almost causing the two policemen to crash into the car window. Fortunately, they were both wearing seat belts.]

[A figure slowly stood up from the hood of the car, with a pair of wings opened, and a bright red liquid dripped from its big mouth full of fangs, and a red flower bloomed at the other person's feet.]

[Looking at this familiar figure that appeared before his eyes, Kameyama's eyes widened instantly, and he shouted out the other person's name in surprise:]

【“Number 3!?”】

【Bang--!!!】

[While exclaiming, Kameyama also pulled out the pistol from his gun bag and fired without hesitation. His decisive action was somewhat similar to that of Kousaka Kyousuke.]

[The sound of gunfire also caused all the police officers in the police cars behind to step on the brakes, then quickly open the doors and run forward with guns drawn.]

【"hateful!"】

[Guishan ran out of the police car, put down his gun, which was still smoking, and watched Gooma spread its wings and fly towards the waning moon hanging high in the sky.]

[“The direction it flew to is—Tokyo!”]

[A calm face appeared in his mind, and Guishan's fingers tightly grasped the handle of the pistol, and he spoke with an uneasy expression.]

["Mr. Kosaka..."]

……

【Tokyo, Adachi-ku, National Highway. 】

【 08:48 PM 】

[“Yes, yes, yes… Don’t worry, I will arrive before the party starts. I will definitely not be late!”]

[“Stop it! I’ve been deprived of dinner for three days. I’ll die if I don’t have dinner anymore! You can’t be so cruel to your poor employee who just got out of the hospital. This will only damage your virtue! Ms. Saki!”]

[“Hello, hello? Miss Saki!”]

【Di-】

[Listening to the hang-up sound coming from the other end of the phone, Zaimokuza, who was driving one-handedly on the national highway, knew that he would probably be deducted dinner by the capitalist boss again, and he felt like crying but had no tears. ]

[“What? That heartless and tearless female Grandet, you said something like ‘I’m too busy at work and don’t have time to make cakes’. I see you’ve been quite free recently! You’ve either been shopping or lying on the sofa eating senbei and watching TV, pushing all the work to me and Asahina.”]

[“Even if you want to buy cakes, don’t go two blocks away. There are cake shops in Bunkyo Ward. Why do you say Jinghua likes to eat cakes from this shop? I think you like it! Alas…”]

[He glanced back at the beautifully wrapped cake box tied with a red rope on the back seat of the motorcycle and sighed in frustration.]

[Today is the seventh day after the Unidentified Lifeform No. 25 incident, and the third day since Zaimokuza was discharged from the hospital.]

[It is also the birthday of Kawasaki Kyoka, the manager of the restaurant where he is currently staying and Saki Kawasaki's sister.]

[In Zaimokuza's eyes, Saki Kawasaki may be the reincarnation of a cold-blooded Jewish capitalist, but it is undeniable that she is indeed full of love for her younger brothers and sisters, especially for the youngest sister, to the extent that Zaimokuza suspected several times that she was not Miss Saki's sister, but her daughter. ]

[She loved her sister so much that she almost doted on her, so naturally she couldn't have nothing to say about Xiao Jinghua's birthday. She spent a lot of money to hold a birthday party for her sister. For this, not only did she close the entire store today to serve as the venue, but she also invited a bunch of her elementary school classmates to come to the store to eat and drink for free, and ordered an expensive birthday cake. ]

【Zaimokuza was delighted to see this, and even prepared the food, so he decided to take this opportunity to have a meal, and he could also play with the cute kids, so why not?】

[But he forgot one thing, that is, capitalists are creatures that will never let cattle and horses stop producing until they have squeezed the last drop of blood dry.]

[Under Zaimokuza's stiff smile and dull expression, what he received was not the plump and greasy thigh of the turkey cut by Miss Saki with a Western knife, but a light cake order number. ]

[“The postage is too expensive, so I’ll ask you to bring the cake back~ Oh, by the way.”]

[“——If your lateness causes Jinghua to embarrass herself and cry in front of her classmates, you should be prepared to go without food for a week, Zai·Mu·Za·kun~”]

[At that time, the slender capitalist lady was lying behind him in an intimate posture. Amid the exclamations of the children covering their mouths and the blushing gaze of the maid Asahina, she said these words sweetly in his ear. The fragrance of the beautiful woman's lips and teeth was memorable.]

[But Zaimokuza didn't want to reminisce at all. He just felt a genuine chill in his heart, as if he was standing naked in the snow, with a sad thick barrier between him and those cheering children who didn't understand the evil of human nature.]

[——Where are the laws? Where are the labor laws? Where are the human rights of workers!? ]

[But in the end, he succumbed to the other party's dinner threat, put on his helmet listlessly, got on his beloved car, and drove to two city districts outside to pick up the cake while his boss waved goodbye with a smile.]

[After reminiscing, Zaimokuza, with a pair of dead fish eyes like his best friend, drove on the national highway and headed towards Bunkyo-ku. ]

【Di-】

[“Hey, Zaimokuza.”]

[Just as he was concentrating on driving, the communication device of the Triangle Tracker 2000 suddenly turned on, and then the voice of Kyosuke Kosaka came out. ]