My youth story cannot be a knight war

"Kousaka-kun, I'm afraid his body can no longer... huh?"

While Ye Shan was still thinking with his chin hanging down, the scene switching on the light screen in front of him interrupted his train of thought.

"This person... No, I know him. He's appeared before!"

Looking at the new figure that appeared on the screen, Ye Shan said with a surprised and doubtful expression.

"I remember it belonged to the 'ME' Group..."

[“Huff, huff, huff…!”]

[A rapid gasp echoed in his throat, like a broken bellows trying in vain to produce its music, the music permeated with the musician's panic and fear.]

Me-Garume-Re reached out and parted the trees blocking his path. Without hesitation, he ran into the dense, dark forest ahead. The moonlight filtering through the lush trees overhead illuminated his expression for a moment.

Its face was filled with fear and panic, like a house dog that had found itself abandoned by its owner, trying in vain to find its way back. It had completely lost its former complacency.

After entering the dark forest, Garume nimbly dodged all the trees on his way, weaving through the complex mountain path without pausing for a moment, running forward non-stop.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Garume finally felt the sense of danger that had been following him disappear. He leaned against the trunk of a large tree, panting heavily and glancing around cautiously from time to time.

[“Damn it! Did we get rid of him?! Where is that guy…”]

Garume spoke nervously, his fingers tightly gripping the tree trunk behind him. His fingers even penetrated the bark and sank into the trunk. One could imagine how much strength he exerted and how nervous he was.

[But instead of feeling nervous, the emotion that filled Garume's heart was absurdity.]

[It doesn't understand? Why did things turn out like this?]

After awakening from its seal, it eagerly awaited its own game. After a long wait, it finally got what it wanted, even becoming the first player in its original group to complete the game and be promoted to the "ME" group.

Garume was filled with immense surprise and pride. He had become the first player since the game's inception to achieve a promotion after completing it. This was partly due to his overly conservative gameplay. In a country with the highest suicide rate in the world, his methods resembled normal suicides. Consequently, the police remained unaware of Garume's existence until after the game was completed.

But success was success, and the honor of being the first to successfully complete the game filled Garume with immense satisfaction. He even began to grow arrogant and conceited, beginning to look down on his former group mates, even the former group leader whom he once held in awe.

Garume, however, wasn't satisfied with this. He waited, waiting for the ZU Group's game to end so the ME Group could begin. Once it began, he patiently waited for his own stage to arrive. As his companions fell one by one at the hands of the Lindo warriors and their nemesis, and as the leader stage neared, he leaped with joy, practically wanting to shout out loud.

[Because according to the rules of "Kikiru", the group leader's game is always scheduled last, and by that time, there are only a few players left in the group... According to the order of the game table, it will be my turn soon.]

[But in the end, Garume didn't wait for his own game stage, but instead received a bolt from the blue. ]

[——Except for Me-Garima-Ba, the leader of the group, all other players in the 『ME』 group have their games canceled.]

[When Garume heard this news from the gloating bat, he was stunned and then became extremely furious.]

[In a rage, it slammed Gooma, who was blocking its way, into the trash can, then immediately went to find Baruba, the referee, and demanded an explanation from her.]

[But Baruba said nothing, only glanced at Garume coldly, then turned and left, without any intention of explaining.]

Garume, already on the verge of a breakdown in rationality, could no longer control himself under this stimulation. Unable to bear it any longer, he transformed and attacked Baruba's retreating figure...

Garume didn't want to recall what happened next. For the first time, he realized how terrifying this usually low-key woman really was.

[In short, when the wounded Garume regained consciousness on the ground covered in its own blood, it finally understood the reality - it had been abandoned, abandoned like garbage.]

[The moment it realized this, boundless fear completely enveloped its heart.]

[What happens to losers who can't participate in the game? Garume knows this all too well. The Gurongi clan never shows mercy or makes exceptions in this regard, even for their own kind.]

So Garume chose to run away. He had been running non-stop for several months, and he had been running until now, just to stay alive.

It didn't know where it was, but it remembered running through mountains, through dense forests, along long roads, and along beaches, without stopping for a moment until it arrived here.

Garume had naively and happily thought that he might be pardoned from the reckoning, but it turned out to be wrong.

【Today, the god of death finally found it. 】

[This "Kikiru" itself is a ritual performed with blood. Once you step onto the altar of this game, you will either become the one being sacrificed, or the one being sacrificed.]

[And the option to exit never existed from the beginning.]

【“——”】

[Suddenly, Garume, who was panting, felt the atmosphere around him suddenly change.]

The faint chirping of insects among the trees vanished without my noticing. A strange white mist, seemingly from nowhere, lingered in the dense forest. The air seemed to become static, making even breathing difficult.

[This place seemed to have transformed into a foreign dimension, isolated from the rest of the world. All living things were fleeing from here, leaving only Garume.]

A huge fear surged in his heart, and Garume, trembling all over, felt his sanity completely collapse at this moment.

Distorted ripples disrupted the drifting white mist, and a chameleon-like Gurongi replaced its original human form. Garume ran to the center of the dense forest, shouting at the top of his lungs, his voice filled with despair and fear.

It knew it could no longer escape. The deadly demon had already locked onto it, and even if it fled to the ends of the earth, it could not escape its doom.

[Since that's the case, why not choose to fight, and finally be a "Kikiru" player.]

"It's you! It's you! You're here! You're here!"

Garume's frantic roar echoed in the silent woods, like a cornered beast.

"Come out! You want to kill me? Come out!"

"Daguba!!!"

The enemy's name floated into the night sky, but all around remained silent, as if everything was dead.

Garume clenched his fists. He decided that no matter what the outcome, he would not die in such a cowardly way. This was the only pride he had left in his heart.

"Come out! I'm right here—"

[Boundless coldness came from behind, and Garume turned around to look behind him in horror.]

[A huge black shadow emerged from the white mist, instantly covering its body—]

……

[In the woods at night, a huge pillar of fire suddenly burst out from the depths of the forest, like a volcano erupting on the ground, and the flames shot straight into the sky.]

The pillar of fire pierced the sky, and the clouds on the horizon were drawn to it, forming a vortex swirling around the pillar of fire. The red light of the flames illuminated the dark forest, as if it were covered with a fiery red curtain.

After nearly half a minute, the pillar of fire gradually disintegrated from its tail end upwards and gradually dissipated, transforming into red sparks that drifted downwards. The forest at night finally dimmed.

The area below where the pillar of fire erupted had already become a sea of ​​ash. Everything, whether trees or weeds, had been burned to a whitish ash. Within the ash, faint red glowing lines could be seen, representing the residual heat.

[Patter. 】

A charred corpse, barely recognizable as a human figure, was thrown among the fallen leaves. The leaves immediately ignited from the intense heat, and a white, hot mist swirled around the corpse.

【“…”】

The burning fallen leaves were crushed by black feet. A tall, disheveled black figure gazed at the corpse beneath his feet, looking at it silently.

[The shadowy figure stretched out its foot and kicked the corpse.]

The next moment, the kicked corpse suddenly crumbled into ash, drifting into the sky with the wind. Nothing remained except a grayish-white human-shaped imprint left on the fallen leaves.

[The black shadow raised its head upon seeing this, stepped over the humanoid mark, and walked forward.]

[It still has the next target to solve, and this target took something it shouldn't have.]

[The white mist surged in, swallowing the black shadow. After it dissipated, no trace of the figure remained.]

[Only this piece of land burned by the raging fire is left to record everything that happened here.]

23. Restart the game (5K)

"Number. Zero!"

Staring at the tall black figure on the light screen that disappeared into the darkness and white mist without blinking, Togashi Yuuta spoke out word by word the name that everyone inside and outside the light screen had given to this figure.

Unidentified life form, number zero.

"This guy finally showed up again!"

His heart beat faster due to the intense emotional ups and downs, his hands clenched into fists, and Togashi Yuta's words were filled with unconcealable hatred and deep-hidden fear.

If we carefully examine the reasons behind everything that is happening in the light curtain now, then No. 0 definitely plays a major role, even though the real culprit has basically never appeared.

But no one will ever forget that it was it that awakened from the ruins of Mount Kuro, massacred the entire investigation team, and then awakened all the other sleeping Gurongi with its own hands. This is why so many brutal murders and massacres occurred, countless innocent people died, and the future Tokyo became a Shura field paved with blood and war.

Many families were broken because of this, and the tears and sorrow of the survivors made the sky seem to be covered with a gray curtain. Every time Togashi Yuuta watched from outside the light curtain, he unconsciously clenched his fists, feeling sincere anger and disgust for the evil deeds of these monsters.

Especially after witnessing with his own eyes the actions of the Unidentified Lifeform No. 33 and the suffering suffered by the Light Music Club members due to its demonic behavior, his negative emotions towards the Gurongi race reached an all-time peak.

These beasts all deserve to go to hell! The devil's cauldron filled with boiling oil is their final destination!

If it weren't for what No. 0 did, these monsters would never have revived from the seal, and so many people would not have died tragically because of this so-called "Kikiru". It can be said that No. 0 is the culprit of all disasters so far. All the blood and tears in this story were caused by it. It is the source of all suffering and the root of all evil.

But this guy is also extremely mysterious. Since he appeared at the very beginning of the story, he has been "low-key" and silent for a long time. All people's impressions of Zero come from his first appearance and the side descriptions of other Gurongi, and all of these prove that he is not simple.

Mysterious, powerful, and terrifying, this is people's impression of No. 0.

And now, the source of evil that caused all the tragedies has finally appeared again after a long time.

It is still as powerful as when it first appeared. The "ME" Group's Gurongi, which once made "Kousaka Kyosuke" and "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" suffer, is so powerless in front of Zero. From the fear of Zero expressed in Garume's words and actions, it must be clear that the other party's strength is definitely far superior to its own.

That final battle was not so much a resistance as it was a desperate struggle knowing that one would die.

Although no detailed battle scenes were shown, Togashi Yuuta had only seen a similar performance in one person so far, that pillar of fire that seemed to reach the sky and completely illuminate the night.

That was the red sublimated form of "Zaimokuza Yoshiki". Whenever Togashi Yuuta thought of the strange phenomenon caused by his previous attack that could be clearly seen even by satellites outside the earth, he felt a palpitation in his heart.

Judging from this performance alone, Zero at least possesses combat power comparable to Kuuga's sublimated form, but whether this is its full strength remains to be seen.

No matter what, the reappearance of this guy who has been silent for a long time must mean something serious.

"Daguba..."

Repeating the name that Garume said before his death was probably the only thing everyone knew about the mysterious No. 0.

"Is this the name of Number Zero?"

[More than a week has passed since the incident with the Unidentified Lifeform No. 33, and Kousaka Kyousuke has also experienced what is, in some ways, the longest week since his father's death.]

The surviving students were dealt with afterward. All third-year students were massacred, and there were no survivors from the second year except for the light music section and two remaining girls. Although no first-year students died, two-thirds of the entire student body was slaughtered in a single blow. This huge student shortage made it impossible to maintain the school's operations.

After much debate, the private Sakuragaoka Girls' High School, where the girls had originally attended, made a difficult decision: to evacuate and transfer all existing students to other schools, and to close the school for a year to prepare for the next year before reopening for enrollment.

[This decision cannot be said to be good, but it may be the only way under the current circumstances.]

[Kousaka Kyosuke didn't know where the other students were evacuated to, but after learning about this, Kotobuki Tsumugi approached him privately, hoping that he could help her and her friends be assigned to the same school, as she didn't want to be separated from them.]

[At that time, facing the girl's tearful plea, Kousaka Kyosuke, who already felt guilty, had no intention of refusing and chose to use his authority for the first time to make this small concession.]

[Now, as the undisputed head of the Unidentified Lifeform Countermeasures Headquarters, Kousaka Kyousuke already possesses a fair amount of authority. The Light Music Club and the others are under his responsibility, especially as they are responsible for the survivors of the Unidentified Lifeform incident, which falls well within his purview.]

So it wasn't difficult for him to manipulate them into transferring to the same school as his friends. Even if his colleagues knew about it, they wouldn't have any opinions towards Kousaka Kyousuke for such a small matter.

[Finally, with the covert manipulation of Kousaka Kyousuke, the light music club and her friends transferred to a high school in Kyoto called Kitauji High School. It was a school famous for its music and theater performances, having won gold medals in national competitions several times and was quite well-known in the industry.]

Kyoto Prefecture, Kitauji High School.

When the students of this school saw their school appear on the light screen for the first time, they were stunned, and then they couldn't help but get excited, even though it was only in name.

In today's world, it can be said that there is no way to attract people's attention and earn traffic better than appearing on the screen. As long as you seize the opportunity, even an unknown little person can directly become a world-known star.

Take the protagonist of the story, Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, for example. It can be said that no one in the world today is unfamiliar with him. You may not know who the President of the United States is, but there is definitely no one who does not know who Zaimokuza Yoshiteru is. Following closely behind is Kousaka Kyosuke.

To some extent, Sobu High School can be said to be the biggest beneficiary. Whether it is the protagonist Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, or one of the important characters Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuigahama Yui, as well as Hikigaya Hachiman and Hiratsuka Shizuka who only appeared once but played an important role in the story of Zaimokuza and appeared as a life mentor. They are all students and teachers of Sobu High School. This made this school, which was originally only famous in Chiba Prefecture, suddenly attract everyone's attention.

The number of visits to major websites around the world regarding the name Sobu High School was unprecedented. Everyone was curious about this school that could produce a hero like Zaimokuza Yoshiki. When the principal of Sobu High School learned about this, he laughed so hard that his dentures almost fell out. Other schools expressed their envy.

The saying "When one person attains enlightenment, the whole family will prosper" is nothing more than this.

"Huh? It's our school!"

Kumiko Huangmae was also surprised, and Reina Kousaka, who had returned at some point, was also a little surprised. She then held her forehead helplessly and sighed.

She knew that this would be good for the school, but it would probably cause some trouble later because of some people's star-chasing mentality, and this might interfere with their preparations for the national music competition.

"Future cousin Kyousuke...you really know how to cause trouble for our school."

After resolving this matter, Kousaka Kyosuke made one last visit to the private Sakuragaoka Girls' High School before leaving Shiga Prefecture.

Looking at the desolate campus after the school gates closed, which was completely incomparable to the lively atmosphere of the school festival the two of them had attended a week ago, Kousaka Kyousuke felt as if he were in another world.

[It turns out that happiness in this world is so short-lived. It disappears from people's lives in the blink of an eye, leaving only the silent remains to testify to the beauty of the past.]

With no more regrets, Kousaka Kyosuke returned to Tokyo, wrote a 3,000-word report on the incident and handed it to his superiors, then went about his own business.

[And this is the most difficult thing. What happened after informing Sugita Morimichi's family of his death is something that Kousaka Kyosuke is completely unwilling to recall.]