My youth story cannot be a knight war

“That voice…!”

Zaimokuza, who was outside the light curtain, was suddenly stunned when he heard this voice.

He had heard this voice before. In the images played on the light screen many times before, this voice had appeared beside his future self many times.

And it was with the guidance and help of this voice that his future self was able to be saved from the erosion of the No. 25 poison and obtain the fifth element that could rival those of the "Go" Group Gurongi.

But now, this voice unexpectedly appeared again at this critical moment, and in... the "Alpha Obelisk"?

"And judging by the way this person appeared and the peculiarities she displayed that only Zaimokuza could see, even if she is truly human, she must have survived to this day... in a different way than we know."

At this moment, what Hikigaya Hachiman once said resurfaced in his mind, and Zaimokuza's eyes gradually widened.

Could it be that the other party is really a super ancient human, and has always been——!?

"Everyone, look! This is—"

Hayato Hayama's voice rang out, and he looked at the scene happening on the light screen in disbelief. The golden totem was reflected deep in his eyes, like a golden galaxy flowing in a black valley.

"This is, a seal???"

Hikigaya finished what he was about to say, his expression filled with uncertainty.

The totem ring swirling around the Alpha Obelisk suddenly expanded, then quickly contracted back towards the obelisk the next second.

The moment the rune touched the obelisk again, a powerful golden light shot up into the sky. This golden beam of light faced the red beam of light rising from the distant mountaintop, emitting a completely different aura.

The red beam of light rising from the black fog was sinister and mysterious, like a blood-red moon rising from the abyss; while the golden beam of light was warm, soft, and not blazing, like the morning light rising near dawn.

"What is that!???"

[Gooma, who was performing a ritual in Waichang Village, saw the rising golden pillar of light. His hoarse laughter was instantly choked in his throat, and his roar of disbelief spread throughout the village engulfed in flames, demonstrating his true shock.]

"That light is—damn!"

[Gooma's tone changed again, and his roar of shock and anger resounded over the sky above Waichang Village.]

【"stop!!!"】

The golden beam of light that had pierced the sky suddenly split apart, releasing another beam of light, which shot straight towards the red beam on the opposite side. When the distance between them was only a hundred meters, it split in all directions again.

This golden light continuously split along the mountain where the red light column rose. From a distance, it looked like a painter using a brush dipped in gold paint to draw golden lines along the perimeter of the mountain. Countless golden lines formed around the mountain.

Finally, these golden lines formed a pyramid shape, and when it was formed, the edges of all the lines spread out into a golden curtain.

These golden curtains merged into a completely enclosed pyramid, completely enveloping the mountain. The red light column was blocked by the golden curtains, as was the black mist that continued to spread from the cracks in the mountain.

After losing its source, the spreading black mist spread in vain for several dozen meters before gradually dissipating into the air. The black mist and red light filled the interior of the pyramid, constantly flowing but unable to cross the golden curtain even a millimeter, completely trapped within it.

A terrifying roar could be heard faintly from within the pyramid. The black mist and red light trembled violently in the roar, and along with the golden curtain that enveloped them, a strong ripple appeared at the edges.

[But these visions eventually faded away unwillingly. The pyramid's shape became completely stable, and the red clouds covering the sky gradually began to dissipate. The familiar evening scene reappeared before the eyes of the world.]

【"This is……"】

Having already mentally prepared herself for death, Yukinoshita Yukino stared blankly at the pyramid in the distance, towering far taller than the mountain. The black fog that had been threatening her like the deathly god had vanished without a trace, and for a moment she felt as if she were descending into a cloud of mist.

【But this was not a dream, but a reality happening before their eyes. They were indeed saved.】

Although no one knew what was happening, the moment they realized this, a violent uproar erupted. Everyone who had thought they were doomed started to scream, and some were so excited that they even fainted.

【“——Please rest assured, you are all fine now.”】

【“!?”】

Just as Yukinoshita, holding the little girl, was feeling lost, a faint voice suddenly reached her ears. She was startled and looked around, only to see a crowd of people cheering and weeping.

"You won't be able to see me, but please rest assured, I have no ill will towards you, Ms. Yukinoshita."

【"……Who are you?"】

After her initial panic, Yukinoshita's strong mental state allowed her to calm down immediately. She hugged the girl, who was buried in her arms, and asked in a low voice.

[“I am just a... dead soul who passed away long ago.”]

"A long-dead soul? Wait... could it be that you are——!!!"

The moment she guessed the other person's identity based on what he said, Yukinoshita felt as if an electric current flowed through her cervical spine, paralyzing most of her body.

"Gamio's recovery has been halted. We'll leave the rest to those who arrive."

"Ms. Yukinoshita, please take the people around you and leave immediately. I no longer have the strength to protect you..."

"Please wait! You..."

Before Yukinoshita could say anything to persuade her to stay, the voice had already completely faded from her ears.

[And beside the ruins of Mount Jiulang, the Alpha Obelisk, which had previously shone with golden light, became silent at this moment, and countless tiny cracks appeared on the crystal monument.]

【“…”】

A high-heeled foot stomped on the ground in front of the obelisk, making a crisp sound. Baruba, now dressed in a red dress, looked at the dim monument before her, a silent expression on her cold and beautiful face.

[“Long time no see… I can’t believe you’ve stayed here all this time and haven’t left.”]

After standing still for a long moment, she spoke softly.

"Do you really want to stay with Him? But He is dead now."

“…Mio.”

56. Fire Falls from the Sky

Osaka, Shiga Prefecture, Akiyama family.

“…Mio.”

"Ugh?"

When Akiyama Mio heard the name spoken by Baruba in the light curtain as she faced the Alpha Obelisk, whose exterior was on the verge of collapse, she froze in shock. The little girl's large, round eyes widened in disbelief.

"Mio, was that bad woman calling your name just now?"

Tian Zhongli, who was sitting next to her, also widened his eyes and turned to look at his friend in surprise.

"No, although it looks very similar, but...that sister, she shouldn't be calling by my name."

Akiyama Mio hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, buried her little face in her black hair and whispered.

After removing the surname, the pronunciation of the name Mio (mio) is indeed very similar to Miou (mio). Even Akiyama Mio herself felt for a moment that Bardonguba was calling her, and was greatly surprised.

But after calming down and thinking about it, Akiyama Mio knew that the other party could not be calling her. After all, she was an out-and-out modern man, while the other party was a Gurongi who had been sleeping in a super ancient period long before the current civilization and had only awakened until now. The age difference between the two was at least five digits, and the first digit was probably not "1".

Therefore, it is impossible for Baruba to know Mio Akiyama, and it is even more impossible for her to call out her name. This can only be said to be a coincidence. The name of the person she called just happened to be pronounced the same as Mio Akiyama.

But... could there have been someone in that ancient time so long ago whose name sounded so similar to mine? Akiyama Mio couldn't suppress her curiosity about this matter.

"Mio! Why are you still calling this bad woman sister!"

Ritsu Tainaka didn't care much about this matter. Instead, he was a little dissatisfied with Akiyama Mio's address to Baruba, and said with a puffed face.

"This evil woman is the leader of those monsters who killed so many people! And she beat Mr. Kosaka so badly before, how can you still call her sister?!"

"Wow...but Xiaolu, I really can't call people that like you. Besides, if Mom knew I called someone that, she would definitely be very angry and might even spank me."

Mio Akiyama spoke weakly with her hands around her knees. Her whole body trembled when she said the last sentence. She covered her small buttocks wrapped in her skirt and couldn't help moving a little further into the sofa.

"Then you don't have to be so polite! Have you forgotten what these monsters did to our future selves and our future friends?"

The indignant Ritsu Tainaka waved his two short arms like spinning windmills, and his childish voice, which had not yet developed, sounded a little harsh due to his inner anger, making Akiyama Mio unable to help but curl up her body a little more to avoid being accidentally hit by the other party's fierce punch.

"These monsters are all so evil. I think it's best if they are all defeated by Mr. Kosaka and his team. Otherwise, they will definitely continue to hurt everyone and cause trouble for others!"

"……Is it really?"

Akiyama Mio, who was curled up in the corner of the sofa, was silent for a moment after hearing her friend's words, and then muttered softly.

"Hmm? Mio, do you have anything to say?"

"ah!"

After hearing her whisper, Tianzhong Ritsu stopped waving his fists, put his face in front of Akiyama Mio from below and looked at her curiously. The face that appeared from below scared Akiyama Mio at once, and she subconsciously screamed and slapped the other person's face.

"It hurts..."

"Xiaolu!"

With a puffed-up face, she waved her little fist to hit her childhood sweetheart who was grinning at her. Then, Mio Akiyama turned to look at the light curtain with a puzzled look. Baruba, dressed in a red dress, stood quietly in front of the huge stone tablet, as if she was paying tribute to her deceased friend.

The bright red skirt fluttered in the wind. For some reason, when Akiyama Mio looked at the back of Baruba, who had always given people a mysterious, aloof and indifferent impression, she actually felt a bit of loneliness and sadness from the current Baruba.

At this moment, she seemed not to be the powerful person in the Gurongi clan who controlled all the players' games, nor the organizer of a bloody ceremony like "Kikiru", but an ordinary woman mourning her deceased loved ones, showing "humanity" similar to that of humans.

Gazing at the back, Akiyama Mio inexplicably felt as if something was blocking her heart. She had a strange feeling of depression and sourness, and her already thin voice became even weaker.

"I don't feel the same fear from her as from her companions. I just feel... so sad."

"She seems to be in pain all the time."

"Huh? A bad woman? She feels pain?"

Pointing at Baruba's beautiful back on the screen, Tianzhong Ritsu's eyes widened, and he even doubted for a moment whether he had heard it wrong.

"No, Mio, what are you talking about? How could a guy like that be—Yoshiki-nii!?"

Tian Zhongli just turned his head to look at the light screen and wanted to complain about his friend's words, but the image on the light screen suddenly switched at this moment.

A familiar figure appeared in the image. Looking at this figure, Tianzhong Ritsu subconsciously exclaimed the same nickname as his future self.

"!"

When Akiyama Mio heard the name, she raised her head and clasped her hands together nervously.

[“Damn it!!! Damn it!!!”]

[Looking at the golden tower formed by light that completely enveloped the entire mountain, Gooma trembled violently, and his hoarse roar echoed in the outfield village filled with raging fire and corpses.]

The fury within it now raged, and even human words couldn't express even a fraction of its true feelings. Facing failure just before achieving its goal, this drastic blow easily destroyed Gooma's fragile rationality, which had been forcibly restrained by reason, sending it into a frenzy and rage.

[Gooma doesn't understand why it turned out like this? It was only one step away!]

[If he could awaken the original 'N' here and kill the enemy that arrived later, he would be able to directly bring about the 'Ultimate Darkness', the greatest wish of the entire clan from ancient times to the present!]

But now everything was ruined. This near-failure, just one step away from success, had completely devastated Gooma. Strange patterns appeared on his face, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes.

It suddenly turned its head and stared intently at the mountain temple on the other side of the woods at the entrance of the mountain, which had not yet been spread by the raging fire.

If he doesn't vent his anger now, Gooma feels he'll go crazy. And for Gurongi, is there a better way to vent than by killing people?

[No! So you're out of luck!] Furious, Gooma took the first step toward the temple, filled with murderous intent.

The next moment, a murderous intent as blazing as fire descended from the sky, and shouts filled with rage no less intense than Gooma's echoed throughout the air.

[“Oh my god!!!”]

57. The flame is rekindled

In contrast to the furious roar, a chilling murderous intent as cold as the tundra poured down from the sky. Gooma suddenly looked up, a red light illuminating his hideous face. His irisless, crimson eyes narrowed in the firelight.

A meteor wrapped in flames plummeted from the sky towards them. A golden sword, swirling with flames, swung down from the flames towards Gooma's face, who had raised his head. The force of the sword was undoubtedly intended to cut him in two from head to toe.

The sword's attack was imminent, and Gooma only had time to raise his right hand to block it. Violent sparks and a roar echoed from his raised right wing. The immense impact sent his entire body flying, and a meteor immediately fell to the ground.

【boom!!!!!!】

Like a massive missile landing, a massive mushroom cloud rose from the center of Waichang Village. The explosion, accompanied by a circular shockwave, spread outward, burying Gooma's fallen body. The raging torrent also suppressed the flames burning in the center of Waichang Village, significantly reducing the dancing flames.

[“Hmm…”]

The black wings flapped, fanning away the flames burning on its skin. Gooma looked ahead at the deep pit where white mist and raging fire were rising. A red figure appeared in the flames.

[Looking at that figure, Gooma couldn't help but smack his lips, his tone full of annoyance.]

"I didn't invite you to this battle..."

[“KUUGA!”]

【“——”】