My youth story cannot be a knight war

A visible cross appeared on Dila's forehead. Its fat body, like a ball, suddenly jumped up and hit Dalu Bingzang's chin with a headbutt, causing him to fall backwards.

"And I'm the most noble of birds. In my country, I'm revered as the national patron saint! I possess all the abilities that birds possess, and those they don't. Don't treat me like an ordinary bird!"

"Isn't that still a bird..."

"Anyway!"

Giving a fierce glare to Dairobizo who was muttering with his hand on his chin, Dila angrily stretched out his wings and pointed at Gooma in the light curtain, saying:

"What I'm saying is, this disgusting vampire bat won't live much longer!"

"Is that right?"

"Ah, I can tell at a glance that this guy is definitely dead."

Dila had a stinky face, but still explained to Dalu Bingzang.

"The aura of death lingering around it is almost becoming tangible. It's like a white ghost is entwining its body... Tsk! Just like—"

Dila spoke the last sentence in a very low voice, so low that even Dalu Bingzang, who was standing nearby, couldn't hear it.

"--Just like that cold-faced policeman, both have the look of someone who hasn't been happy for long."

[On the street, a motorcycle sped past, the roar of its engine echoing throughout the street.]

"Mr. Kosaka, I'm almost in Shinjuku!"

Zaimokuza, piloting the Jumper 2000, spoke with a solemn expression beneath his helmet. He was still wearing a waiter's uniform, clearly having received the news while on duty and immediately dispatched without even having time to change.

"Please, I'll be there right away."

[Kousaka Kyousuke's deep voice came from the locomotive's communication station, and he gave instructions.]

"Remember, this time, the appearance of No. 3 and No. 34 together has never happened before. This matter is probably not simple. You must proceed with caution and buy time for my support. If things become impossible, retreat immediately!"

"Please prioritize your own safety, Zaimokuza!"

【"clear!"】

Zaimokuza suddenly turned the handlebars of his motorcycle, and blue flames erupted from the motorcycle's exhaust pipe. The motorcycle, carrying him, transformed into a phantom and sped towards the direction where the faint roar came from...

……

[“Woooooo!”]

The black figure waved its arms feebly in mid-air, its back colliding with a supporting column, half of its body embedded in it.

[“Damn it, you——!?”]

Before Gooma could finish his curse, a strong sense of danger surged up his spine and into his brain. Without hesitation, he rolled sideways.

A sharp claw stabbed towards where its head had been. The claw blade penetrated the stone pillar as easily as a hot knife cutting through butter, piercing through the pillar directly.

Then, a huge cavity spread out from the claw towards the column, with white smoke rising from the edge of the cavity, carrying an intense heat.

【"snort!"】

Zazaru slowly retracted his claws from the center of the corroded column. He looked at Gooma, who had stood up again, and walked towards him with a sneer.

Watching the extremely corrosive claw slowly approaching him, Gooma felt his scalp tingle, and he subconsciously took a few steps back, trying to get away from the terrifying claw.

Even though Gooma has gained power beyond his previous self, his heart has not changed. He is still the coward who fears death and danger. This is the real reason why he has always been despised by all other Gurongi, but he still does not realize this until now.

[In this respect, Gooma is not like Gurongi at all, but rather very similar to the humans it considers its prey.]

Zazaru, seeing its inner fear, felt even more contempt and disdain. This guy is simply a disgrace to the Gurongi!

"What's wrong? Is this what you mean by 'I'm no longer the same as before'?"

【“……!”】

Gooma felt a sudden surge of heat in his brain upon hearing Zazaru's taunting. Just as he was about to rush forward in anger, the sound of strong water rushing interrupted his thoughts.

The two confronting each other looked upwards at the same time. A figure wrapped in a transparent cloak leaped down, holding a long staff. Water flowed on the end of the staff, forming a sharp, rotating spearhead. A roar broke the situation.

[“——What the hell!!!”]

25. The Mist Thickens (2K)

When Kousaka Kyosuke arrived at the scene riding his machine charger, he was speechless at what he saw.

Zaimokuza, his face covered in a Band-Aid, sat on the floor of the Action Chaser 2000, grimacing. Behind him was a completely collapsed bar. Amidst the rubble, only the two tattered iron doors stood tall, giving it a strangely artistic feel.

"Ah, Mr. Kousaka! Hiss~"

Zaimokuza smiled when he saw him coming, but the smile caused the bruise on his right cheek to twitch.

【"What happened here?"】

Kosaka Kyosuke walked up to him, looked at the dilapidated bar, then looked down at Zaimokuza, whose face was bruised and swollen, and frowned.

"Well, just like what you saw, Mr. Kosaka, I failed this time."

Zaimokuza scratched his head awkwardly, while Kousaka Kyousuke rolled his eyes upon hearing this.

"I knew that when I saw you like this. I'm asking you how it got to this point."

[Hearing this, Zaimokuza's smile gradually faded. He grasped his bandaged right arm and spoke in a serious voice.]

"It was Number 34. That guy transformed into a giant scorpion. He swung his tail, and a large amount of liquid was ejected from the hook on his tail. The liquid melted the bar's supporting walls and foundation. Without the supporting walls, the bar collapsed, becoming what you see now, Mr. Kousaka."

"Liquid? Toxin?"

Kousaka Kyosuke looked up at the ruins behind Zaimokuza. His sharp eyes saw that many of the building fragments were still slowly corroding. A thick green liquid adhered to the debris, as if a group of termites were eating away at them at a speed visible to the naked eye. He frowned deeply.

"Is it the same type as No. 25? That's troublesome..."

Thinking of the Mushroom-shaped Gurongi that once posed an endless threat to the entire Tokyo, Kousaka Kyosuke felt a headache.

Of all the Gurongi that have appeared so far, No. 25 is definitely not the strongest, but its danger and destructiveness are definitely at the top of the list. Even thinking about it still makes the entire Unidentified Lifeform Countermeasures Headquarters feel apprehensive, because its greatest strength lies not in its own combat power, but in the toxins it produces.

The destructive power of that toxin on living things is simply indescribable. Even after dilution, it has left countless people in Shinjuku unconscious and hospitalized. If it were to fully erupt, coupled with a strong wind, it would be enough to turn all of Tokyo into a dead city.

The toxic gas released by Aum Shinrikyo leader Asahara Shoko, the mastermind behind the subway gas attack that rocked Japan, pales in comparison to No. 25's. There's simply no comparison. And now, another individual with abilities similar to No. 25 has emerged. Anyone who experienced that annihilation battle a few months ago wouldn't want to relive that nightmare again.

But no matter how much he refused to face it, reality was staring him in the face. Kousaka Kyosuke could only sigh and rub his aching temple, thinking that he would probably have to formulate a new battle plan specifically targeting No. 34.

"By the way, where's number three?"

【Thinking of another Gurongi who appeared at the scene, Kousaka Kyosuke frowned and asked.】

"You fought it this time, didn't you? Did you keep it? Or did you let it get away?"

Upon hearing this, the smile on Zaimokuza's face finally vanished completely, his expression becoming extremely heavy, as if a huge rock was pressing down on his back.

"That guy, after number 34 destroyed the bar's foundation, was buried with me under the rubble. When I pulled myself out, he was gone. I guess he left like number 34 did."

[“And… it’s changed quite a bit.”]

[“What do you mean?”]

Seeing Zaimokuza's expression, Kousaka Kyosuke knew that this change wasn't just a slight one, but a huge one, and he immediately perked up and listened.

"That guy has become incredibly strong. He's a world of a difference compared to before."

Zaimokuza rubbed the bump on his face, recalling the pain of being knocked back by a punch, his expression as gloomy as water.

"When I first charged into the battle, I wanted to take down one of them first in order to gain the upper hand, so I chose the weakest, number three. To ensure a one-hit kill, I activated my blue elemental awakening mode and used my ultimate to catch it off guard. But..."

【Thinking back to that scene, Zaimokuza still wonders if he is dreaming.】

[“My attack… had no effect on it.”]

[“Dodged?”]

"No, it was blocked. That's not quite accurate. It was probably absorbed directly."

【Zaimokuza shook his head, denying Kousaka Kyousuke's guess.】

"My attack penetrated Number Three's body, but... all my energy was absorbed by it. It felt like—"

[At this point, Zaimokuza's tone became extremely serious as he spoke.]

"My feeling is correct. It possesses the same fifth elemental power as mine!"

"The power of the fifth element!? Are you sure?"

[When Kousaka Kyosuke heard this, his face turned pale and he lost his voice.]

Although Gurongi and Zaimokuza's transformed Kuuga share many similarities in their abilities, including the power of the four elements, this fifth elemental power, which symbolizes the "soul" in the inscription on Gurindo, is something Kousaka Kyousuke has never seen in any Gurongi, and has always believed that this ability is unique to Zaimokuza.

The sheer magnitude of this power left a deep impression on Kousaka Kyosuke, who had witnessed it several times. It was overwhelmingly stronger than the other four elements, the difference as great as that between a grenade and an RPG.

Fortunately, Zaimokuza possesses this kind of power. Otherwise, Kousaka Kyosuke couldn't imagine how much more costly it would be for humanity to deal with the already extremely difficult Gurongi if they possessed this kind of power.

[But now, this once worst worry seems to have become a reality.]

"I'm sure I can still feel this power from my wound, albeit very faintly."

【Zaimokuza pointed to the lump on his face, and Kousaka Kyosuke realized that something was wrong.】

The bruises and swelling on his face due to congestion would take several days for an average person to heal, but for Zaimokuza, it would heal completely in about five minutes. However, at least thirty minutes had passed since the previous battle, and Zaimokuza's facial wounds still showed no signs of improvement.

"I don't know how or why Number Three did it, but it possesses the power of the fifth element."

Zaimokuza said this with a grin, covering the bump on his face from Gooma's punch.

"But it doesn't seem to be very proficient in using this power. I know how powerful the fifth element is. If it really used this power to its full potential, I would be lying on the ground now, not standing."

"Number 34 wields a deadly poison, and now Number 3 can harness the power of the fifth element... These are truly turbulent times, with one troublesome issue after another popping up."

After hearing this, Kousaka Kyosuke clenched his fists and sighed deeply.

He felt more and more as if everything was shrouded in a fog. Although he couldn't see anything clearly, he intuitively felt that there was something terrifying behind the fog, and it was gradually awakening.

"Furthermore, the conflict between Number 3 and Number 34 this time is very different. It's fundamentally different from the previous conflict between Number 22 and Number 23. If the previous conflict was just a game of hindering each other, this time, based on your statement and the eyewitness testimony, it seems more like a direct fight for life and death... And all of this is connected to a single incident."

"Sure enough, this massacre of their own kind by Zero must have caused significant internal problems, rapidly exacerbating their existing conflicts. This is why this happened."

【“And number zero…”】

【Having said this, Kousaka Kyosuke silently lowered his head and looked towards Zaimokuza.】

[Thinking of what Yukinoshita Yukino had messaged him not long ago, an indelible haze enveloped Kousaka Kyosuke's heart. ]

[“…Zaimokuza, there are some things you must know.”]

【"?"】

26. The enemy and I share the same origin (3K)

A few hours ago.

【Nagano Prefecture, Police Headquarters. 】

Yukinoshita Yukino stood in a dimly lit room filled with black and gray stone tablets of varying sizes. Against the backdrop of the dim atmosphere, they resembled rows of tombstones, giving people a dull and uncomfortable feeling.

[All of the inscriptions placed here are from the first batch of tablets transported from the Jiulangyue ruins. After Zero broke the seal and killed all the members of the investigation team, these tablets were taken back by the Metropolitan Police Department as evidence.]

Yukinoshita stood before a monument, stroking the characters with her gloved hands, and spoke out the meaning of the words word by word.

[“When the sacred spring dries up, a gruesome warrior will appear like lightning.”]

"The sun...will be buried by darkness."

The movement of her fingers suddenly stopped. Yukinoshita looked at the symbol on her finger, her expression changing from gloomy to bright.

The symbol she was referring to was the symbol representing the word "warrior" in the ancient inscriptions, and it was also the symbolic totem of Kuuga, the form Zaimokuza transformed into.

[However, from today's perspective, whether this totem is simply referring to Kuuga is probably a big question mark.]

Yukinoshita looked down at the photo in her other hand. The scene in the photo was exactly what she had found in the warehouse last time, the totem left behind by Number Zero. Every stroke of the four-cornered totem, composed of blood, was so hideous. The same font conveyed completely opposite feelings.

[One is dignified and solemn, while the other is ferocious and evil like a ghost.]

[Touching the totem on the inscription, Yukinoshita's gaze focused on the small black mark above the totem.]