My youth story cannot be a knight war

A violent explosion occurred, and both Kousaka Kyosuke and Zaimokuza were blown away. Kousaka Kyosuke tumbled down a hillside, while Zaimokuza crashed into a large tree and fell to the ground. The armor on his back was charred and emitted a high-temperature mist.

【"KUUGA——!!!"】

A violent roar accompanied the dust on the mountaintop as it blew away. A huge black shadow flapped its wings and rushed out, heading straight towards Zaimokuza.

[That was Gooma. Blood still flowed from its right eye. Its remaining intact eye was bright red, yet it revealed a human-like hatred and resentment.]

[“Puff!”]

Before the hurricane of his movement could even register, Gooma had already arrived in front of Zaimokuza, one foot firmly stamping on his body as he tried to stand. Its sharp claws gripped his body like a hydraulic clamp and pressed down, completely suppressing Zaimokuza's movements.

Then, Gooma flapped its wings again, blocking Zaimokuza's movements just like it had done to Kousaka Kyousuke, and soared into the sky with him. Only Zaimokuza's muffled groans echoed through the trees.

【"Caimu Seat!!!"】

[Kousaka Kyosuke, who had just propped himself up, watched this scene, his heart plummeting like a roller coaster reaching the top of its track. He ignored his injuries and immediately stood up to rescue Zaimokuza.]

[Zizzizi——]

【"Well!???"】

A familiar voice struck him from a corner of his mind. Kousaka Kyosuke, who had just stood up, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right arm, and he fell to his knees.

His left hand tightly grasped his right wrist, red lightning flickered and pulsed across his entire right arm. Kousaka Kyousuke's heart sank completely. And it had to happen at such a critical moment!?

The pain this time was far greater than any other time before. The red electric current pulsating across his right arm was as dense as the threads of a garment. Kousaka Kyousuke could barely utter a sound in the excruciating pain.

[Damn it, stop now——]

The crisp sound of armor shattering made Kousaka Kyosuke almost unable to believe it. He stared closely at the cracked armor on his right arm, his narrow, long compound eyes reflecting an extremely horrifying scene.

[A crimson light overflowed from the gaps in the armor, and the red current finally subsided at this moment. However, this did not mean that the abnormality had ended. On the contrary, it was a precursor to a drastic change.]

The next moment, the armor on his right arm completely shattered, and countless fragments flashed across Kousaka Kyosuke's eyes. Then, the arm he was familiar with appeared before his eyes.

But then, beneath this arm, a thin, long line like a blood vessel began to flicker with a strange red light, and this arm underwent a startling transformation under the light.

The human right arm twisted in the light, its fair skin replaced by pitch black. Its five fingers trembled violently in pain. As Kousaka Kyousuke watched in disbelief, sharp bony claws pierced through the skin and extended, blood dripping from the claws.

A pitch-black arm replaced Kousaka Kyosuke's original right hand. Unlike the mechanical beauty of the G1 armor, and unlike the well-trained muscles in any other state, every curve that made up this arm was filled with a wild and ferocious aura.

[There's no doubt that this isn't a limb that humans can have; it's one that only monsters can possess.]

【belong--】

【Grongi's Arm! 】

60. Village of Lost Stars (5K)

"That is……!!!"

Looking at the completely alienated arm of "Kousaka Kyosuke" on the screen, Kousaka Kyosuke himself was so shocked that he even stood up directly from the hospital bed, and the quilt slid onto the floor of the health room with a creaking sound on the bed.

But Kyosuke Kousaka no longer cared whether he would be scolded by the health teacher for this. His pupils trembled violently, and countless pieces of information that he had previously known through the light curtain surged into his mind like a fountain.

Makishima said that my future self was corroded by using G1, so the characteristics of my body are now very similar to those of Zaimokuza who used the Yamadam Reishi. And the information previously speculated by Ms. Yukinoshita is that Kuuga himself is a warrior created by Gurindo in imitation of Gurongi, and they are essentially the same.

Kuuga and Gurongi are actually the same species, and the G1 is a weapon created by Miss Ebina based on the current Zaimokuza. The raw materials used are the mysterious stones collected by my future self that were left after the death of Gurongi from the "GO" group... Stones?

What materials did the ancient Lindos use to make that Yamadamu belt? Suddenly realizing what was happening, Kousaka Kyosuke covered his mouth with his hands, his face instantly turning as pale as paper.

Shouldn't I have thought of that earlier? The reason Kuuga's abilities are so similar to those of the Gurongis must be because the material that makes up the Yamadam Belt is the same as the Gurongis, and the material used in G1 is the material left behind after the Gurongis died, so of course it is so similar to Kuuga's.

Enough! Everything is connected! Kousaka Kyosuke suddenly grabbed his hair on both sides with both hands, trying to pull it out with force, the force comparable to his clenched teeth.

Just like Zaimokuza, my future self also had similar enhanced nerves spread throughout my body after using G1. However, unlike Zaimokuza's Yamadam, G1 was a prototype created by chance, which caused the spread and transformation of the enhanced nerves to be extremely disordered and chaotic compared to the orderly and slow Yamadam spirit stone, and the speed of erosion also far exceeded the other.

And when those enhanced nerves are fully distributed throughout my body, what will I look like in the future?

...Isn't this obvious? Why am I only realizing this now? Kousaka Kyousuke hugged his head tightly with both hands, his bangs wet from the sweat pouring down his forehead and sticking together, covering his eyes at the moment.

No, actually I had guessed it a long time ago, but I just didn’t want to admit it, right?

“This is too much… This is truly too cruel…!”

Kyosuke Kousaka murmured, and at this moment he felt his nose sore and had an urge to cry.

Why? My future self clearly chose to fight for this world, for all of humanity, even sacrificing myself as a price...but why is the world still so cruel to him?

He sacrificed his life for the greater good of humanity, but in the end, he couldn't even do such a trivial thing as to rest in peace as a "human"?

Koukou Ikusei High School, Student Council Room.

"Sure enough, this is the real side effect of G1."

Horikita Manabu watched all this silently and sighed silently.

As an all-round genius, not only is his talent in all aspects not inferior to that of the artificial genius Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, but his thinking ability is also comparable to the latter. Whatever Ayanokouji can infer, Horikita Manabu can naturally infer as well.

"Gaku-kun, Officer Kosaka, what on earth is going on..."

Akane Tachibana covered her lips in horror, while Manabu Horikita just shook his head without saying anything.

But Horikita didn't say anything, another voice answered for him.

"Yeah, yeah~ Isn't this obvious, Tachibana-senpai?"

"!"

A deliberately drawn-out voice sounded at the door of the student council room. After hearing this voice, Horikita Gaku reflexively frowned and looked towards the door.

"Nagumo?"

"Good morning~ or good afternoon? It doesn't matter. Anyway, I came here to say hello, President Horikita."

"Nanyun-san...what did you mean just now?"

Nan Yunya, followed by a group of students, walked into the student council room with a seemingly gentle smile on her face and waved goodbye. When Tachibana Akane saw her, she could not hide the hostility on her face and subconsciously moved behind Horikita Manabu who stood up.

"That's what I meant literally, Secretary Tachibana."

Nan Yunya didn't care about the other party's almost undisguised disgust and said with a smile.

"This scene is actually obvious even if I don't say it, right? Even if President Horikita doesn't say it, I think even Secretary Tachibana can see that Kousaka Kyousuke is suffering the true backlash of the G1 system."

"You've probably heard this story before? A brave man sought powerful weapons to defeat a dragon. He used the dragon's shed scales to craft armor that couldn't be burned by the dragon's breath, and used the dragon's shed claws to craft a sword that could damage the dragon's body. The brave man successfully slew the dragon with these weapons, bathing in the dragon's blood and becoming incredibly strong."

"But the armor bathed in dragon blood could no longer be removed from the hero's body. As time passed, it gradually merged with the hero's body, and the hero took on more and more of the dragon's characteristics, until he finally became a new dragon. This is what is called the dragon slayer becoming the dragon."

"And that's exactly what happened with Kousaka Kyosuke. The Gurongi race itself possesses many secrets that modern humans cannot comprehend. Furthermore, the G1 system, constructed from the materials left behind after their deaths in battle, has inherently contained enormous risks. He's well aware of this."

Nan Yunya suddenly said with a sigh.

"What a shame! Kousaka Kyosuke is indeed a talent suitable for recruitment, but he's just too stubborn. He's gotten himself into this state just for the sake of ordinary people you see everywhere on the street. Now, this result is his own fault."

"They are just ordinary people who are unable to demonstrate their own value. Why would he, who possesses such talent, risk his life to protect them? Although he is a person with extraordinary abilities, his thinking is so dull that I cannot understand."

"you!"

Hearing Nan Yunya's cold words, even the cautious and timid Tachibana Akane couldn't contain the anger that surged in her heart at this moment. But just as she was about to refute the other party with her eyes blazing, she was suddenly stopped by Horihoku Manabu who had been silent all this time.

"First things first, Nanyun-san."

He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, his tone calm, but the smile on Nan Yunya's face began to fade.

"This is the student council room of Advanced Development High School, not the club room of an ordinary high school. Everyone here is requested to observe the minimum etiquette, and this applies to everyone... So, please knock before entering."

"Hey, hey, hey~ President Horikita, are you so serious all of a sudden?"

Nan Yunya spread his hands and said, his tone still cynical, revealing his playboy nature.

"Although the Student Union does pay attention to etiquette, that's mostly just for meetings. It shouldn't be so serious during normal times, right? This will disrupt the peaceful atmosphere the Student Union has always had. And as the Vice President of the Student Union, it's only natural for me to be here—"

"But now, you are only the vice president."

Horikita Manabu's direct words froze the smile on Nanyun Ya's face, and without waiting for him to speak, the former continued his story.

"And I am the current president. I have the final say on the rules, regulations, and ethos of the student union."

"That's the second thing. You have a profound lack of etiquette. You addressed your seniors by their titles, not by their proper honorifics. In terms of your position, you disregarded the Student Union's most basic etiquette standards. You showed no remorse for your superiors' accountability, and even attempted to quibble... These two points are sufficient for me to file a petition for your impeachment with the faculty and initiate a character investigation to determine whether you are still qualified to continue serving as Vice President of the Student Union."

"But you're right. For the sake of the Student Union's operations and atmosphere, I can treat your gaffe this time as a common mistake at work and forgive you for what happened. However, you must handwrite a ten-thousand-word self-reflection and submit it to me for review... This is my punishment for your mistake, Junior Nanyun. Do you have any objections?"

After Hori Kitaxa finished his last sentence, the smile that Nan Yunya always had on his face had completely disappeared. He looked at the former expressionlessly, as if there was frost condensed in the depths of his eyes, while Hori Kitaxa looked at him as usual, without any strange expression on his face.

The atmosphere in the student council room was suddenly so quiet that it was almost stagnant. An invisible but sinister atmosphere lingered between the two most influential people in the academy. The others were also very discerning, and no one dared to speak out.

Hori Kitaxa's true meaning has been clearly expressed through these formulaic words: You are too disrespectful, I'm going to teach you a lesson so you can understand who is the real boss here.

And precisely because his way of speaking was too fair and impartial, and his words were well-documented, Nan Yunya couldn't find any fault with him. If he didn't want to be accused of being "disrespectful to his teachers", he could only hold his nose and swallow this loss.

In this country where interpersonal etiquette is almost abnormally valued, if you are labeled with such a label in high school, it may really have a significant impact on your future development.

"...It seems that Horikita-senpai is much more serious today than usual~"

Nan Yunya suddenly laughed, his tone friendly, and he also used honorifics to address Horihoku Manabu, which meant that he had given in.

"Since you seem to have some personal matters to attend to, I won't bother you any more. I hope we can have a conversation in a more relaxed setting next time."

"Well, I'll be leaving first~"

After he finished speaking, he turned around with a smile, and the students who were originally standing behind Nan Yunya all moved away, and no one dared to block the other's way forward.

"—The third thing."

Just as Nan Yunya was about to step out of the student council room, Hori Kita Manabu's voice sounded faintly from behind him again, causing him to suddenly stop.

"Nanyun-san, I don't want to hear you address Mr. Kosaka by his first name anymore. He's a hero who protects humanity. Even if he can't command universal support, he definitely deserves the minimum respect from everyone."

"And you don't have the qualifications to judge his actions or even to slander him—do you understand what I mean?"

"Vice President Nanyun."

Faced with Horihoku Manabu's words, which were as sharp as a sheathed blade, Nan Yunga did not respond this time.

He just stood there for a while, then walked out of the student union room without stopping. His steps were as calm as flowing water, forming a sharp contrast with the chaotic footsteps of his followers behind him.

[“Damn it—change back!”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke trembled as he raised his now completely alienated arm, unable to hold back his roar any longer.]

He certainly wasn't afraid of death, but death had never been the scariest thing in the world. Although he had anticipated this outcome, when it finally became a reality, Kousaka Kyosuke found himself unprepared.

"Kousaka-kun, I'm not going to lie to you. Besides the enormous toll the G1 will take on your lifespan, it also has another side effect: the enhanced nerves that have begun to spread throughout your body."

“Although it’s not clear yet, your symptoms are completely different from Yoshiki’s. The growth of the enhanced nerves is completely disordered and chaotic. The worst-case scenario is that if this situation continues to develop…”

[——"Please speak frankly, Ms. Ebina."]

[——"...In the worst case, your body might be completely eroded by these enhanced nerves first, mutating into..."]

[——“Gurongi.”]

The conversation he had with Ebina Hime flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. Kousaka Kyosuke clenched his teeth tightly, and the strong taste of blood filled his mouth.

[This shouldn't be like this! This shouldn't be like this! I should still have time!]

I don't ask for anything else! But at least before the last moment, let me say goodbye to the people I cherish as a human being - please!!!

Perhaps the heavens heard Kousaka Kyosuke's prayers, as the newly transformed arm underwent another transformation. Its hideous form suddenly twisted unsteadily, and then the arm's appearance switched between human and alien.

Finally, a red light flashed across the belt's display screen, and black armor spread from the shoulder like branches to cover the arm again, halting the abnormal transformation.

Looking at his arm that had returned to its original shape, Kousaka Kyosuke gasped violently. This sudden change had once again consumed his remaining strength, but his heart was filled with gratitude for having survived.

"Finally—Zaimokuza!?"

Kousaka Kyosuke suddenly realized that now was not the time to be thankful, and immediately looked in the direction where Zaimokuza had been abducted. The scene he saw almost froze his heart.

[“Hmm——”]

Zaimokuza was held in Gooma's claws and launched into the sky without resistance. The air whistled in his ears at the extreme speed. The rapid increase in altitude made oxygen scarce, and the air temperature dropped rapidly.

Gooma's ascent speed was definitely comparable to that of a supersonic fighter jet. After a short while, both of them crashed directly into the white clouds and disappeared from Kousaka Kyosuke's sight.

Ten seconds later, Gooma flapped its wings again, creating a hurricane force wind that dispersed the surrounding clouds. This time, its massive body gained speed again, and a cone-shaped sonic boom cloud exploded in front of its head. As it rose sharply in altitude again, the scene above the clouds was now fully exposed to Zaimokuza's eyes.

All I could see were white clouds, and the moonlight poured down unimpeded. The clouds, enveloped in the moonlight, moved in the wind, reflecting light like a river of mercury, a breathtaking beauty.

Sadly, Zaimokuza didn't get to enjoy this magnificent view for long. Gooma hadn't taken him above the clouds just to see the scenery.

[With Gooma's standard Kvochu, the two changed their upward trajectory due to the violent turbulence, plunged back into the clouds, and fell straight down.]