My youth story cannot be a knight war

"Helicopter! Use a helicopter to airlift him over! Send him to Kanto Medical University Hospital immediately. Be extremely careful!"

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, Service Club.

"Damn it... What on earth does that monster want?"

Shizuka Hiratsuka sat down exhausted on the chair, raising her hands to cover the upper half of her face, hiding the deep despair in her eyes.

She should be despairing, because everyone who saw this was despairing about this absurd situation. The expressions on the faces of the entire service department also fully demonstrated what despair meant.

"What the hell is this Rhinoceros Beetle?! It's so buggy! What kind of match would have a buggy unit like this in the semifinals?! This is like sending Goku straight out of the mountains to challenge Frieza! Did those Gurongi referees eat too much oden and let the sweetness marinate their brains?!"

The next moment, Shizuka Hiratsuka started cursing loudly, and used all her skills to break through the defense.

"Where's Zero? Doesn't that bastard have high hopes for Zaimokuza? Isn't that the current king of the Gurongi clan? Can't they just do some behind-the-scenes manipulation and let them fight it out first? How despicable! They actually left this monster to Zaimokuza and his men to deal with, while they just sat back and reaped the benefits!"

"...I think this is probably the most accurate description of the derogatory term 'backroom manipulation'. And Mr. Hiratsuka, as a teacher, please don't take the lead in breaking the rules and playing games. This will make people question the quality of our teachers at Sobu High School."

Yukinoshita Yukino complained silently.

"Hikigaya-san, can you think of anything now?"

Hayato Hayama ignored the noise behind him. He looked at the figure on the screen who was tied to a stretcher and was airlifted away by a helicopter. He couldn't help but clench his hands. He turned to ask Hachiman Hikigaya who was silent beside him.

"I understand the logic... but why are you asking me, a 'dead man' like me? Do you expect me to rise from my grave in the future and wield the Holy Sword of Physics to fight those monsters on Zaimokuza's behalf? Well, I can only say that you have quite a sense of humor, Hayama-san... Have you ever considered pursuing a career as a comedian in Hollywood?"

"Hey! How dare you talk like that, Bipenguin! Hayato—"

"That's the future, but you're still alive now, aren't you?"

Waving his hand to stop Miura's dissatisfied words, and ignoring Bikigaya's self-deprecation and sarcasm, Hayama stared into his eyes and spoke sincerely.

"Although I don't want to admit it, I know very well that you always have your own unique insights on how to solve problems. Even Y—I have to admit this."

"I'm at my wit's end, but if it's you, Hikigaya-kun, whose thinking is so different from that of ordinary people, perhaps you can come up with a way to save this dire situation."

"I never thought I would hear such words from you, Ye Shan. For a moment, I couldn't tell whether you were praising me or belittling me."

Looking at Hayama, who rarely lowered himself to seek advice from him, with some surprise, Hikigaya glanced at Zaimokuza, who was silent but secretly looking at him, and sighed helplessly.

"Honestly, the situation is indeed dire. Zaimokuza, who used his last trump card, suffered such a crushing defeat. The power of No. 36 has already created an unbridgeable gap between him and the other Gurongis before him. Even No. 3, who was transformed using the fragments of No. 0's belt, can't be compared to him."

"With the current human race, the chances of defeating No. 36 are approaching zero."

Ye Shan was not affected by Hikigaya's previous depressing words. Instead, his eyes lit up when he heard what he said, and he spoke immediately afterwards.

"But it's not Zero—in other words, Hikigaya-san, have you figured out a solution?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned their gazes towards him, and Zaimokuza asked impatiently.

"Really?! Hachiman!"

"Hikigaya-san, could you please tell me about your countermeasures?"

"..."

Looking at the people gathering around him, Hikigaya fell into silence and shook his head gently.

"Don't even mention whether my speculation is correct. Even if I did, it wouldn't make any difference. After all, that's happening in the future, and we're in the past. There's a length of time measured in years between us, and it won't change anything."

"unless……"

Having said that, Hikigaya pursed his lips and clenched his hands tightly around the knees of his pants.

"Hey! Hikigaya, stop keeping me in suspense! Can't you just tell me what you want to do first?"

Shizuka Hiratsuka shook Hikigaya's shoulders vigorously. He looked straight at the female teacher's face and suddenly asked an irrelevant question.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, although I think this might be unnecessary, I still want to ask...does your family buy you life insurance?"

"Huh? Why are you asking that?"

This incoherent question surprised Shizuka Hiratsuka, and she complained.

"No need for my family to buy it. I'm a regular teacher at Sobu High School, and this thing is already included in the teacher contract."

"That's good, because this insurance might come in handy soon."

It took Shizuka Hiratsuka three seconds to understand what Hikigaya said, and the expression on her face changed as quickly as the cloth in a dyeing workshop, from pale confusion to engorged anger.

"—You little bastard! How dare you curse me into trouble? Don't think you're amazing just because you'll be a top student at MIT in the future! You're still my student now, and you want your credits for this school year to be zero, right?!"

"Yuigahama, don't stop me! I'm going to use my fists to straighten this kid's head and teach him what it means to respect teachers!"

"Hiratsuka-sensei! Please calm down! Xiaoqi might just be joking!"

"...While Mr. Hiratsuka's ethics may be questionable, your joke, Hikigaya-san, was a bit too much."

Shizuka Hiratsuka, who was so angry that her nose was spitting, was hugged tightly by Yuigahama Yui, while Yukinoshita folded her arms, glanced at Hikigaya, and said with a frown.

"And why did you suddenly bring up this topic, Hikigaya-san? If you're trying to change the subject, that's pretty lowbrow. You're practically talking nonsense."

"Hachiman, this is a bit too much..."

Zaimokuza said this awkwardly, while Hikigaya remained silent, muttering only what Yukinoshita had just said.

"Nonsense... Heh~"

Thinking of the previous speculations and the strange vision that happened not long ago, Hikigaya's eyes were filled with thick gloom and flashes of uneasiness, which finally turned into deep worry.

"It's so nice to have insurance. My parents only bought life insurance for Komachi and the cat, but not for me."

"I deeply sympathize with your ecological position within your family, but does this have anything to do with what you just said, Hikigaya-san?"

"...That's precisely why I say this, Yukinoshita, because I don't have insurance."

Hikigaya raised his face, forced an ugly smile, and the corners of his eyes twitched violently.

"And because I don't have insurance, I hope more than anyone that I was just talking nonsense."

27. The Visitor (4K)

【Kantō Medical University Hospital, Tokyo.】

【00:25 PM】

"...What do you mean by that, Ms. Makishima?"

Staring at the gloomy Makishima Saori in front of her, Yukinoshita Yukino asked calmly, but her right hand, hanging by her side, was tightly gripping her skirt. The slender knuckles were so tense that the outlines of blood vessels and bones were clearly visible on the pale skin.

[“Sorry, I didn’t seem to hear you clearly just now, could you repeat it again——”]

[“——Even if I repeat it a few more times, the result will be the same. Yukinoshita, you heard it right.”]

Makishima, dressed in a pristine white surgical gown, removed her sterile gloves. She was a little hesitant to look directly into Yukinoshita's eyes, feeling as if she were touching ice at close range with her eyeballs.

"So, what I'm saying is, Ms. Makishima, could you please consider the logic behind your words before you speak? I have no idea what you're really saying."

Yukinoshita spoke word by word, as if she had returned to the self she once was at Sobu High School, known as the "Flower of the High Mountains." Not only her eyes and tone, but every pore in her body was permeated with an icy chill. The surrounding temperature plummeted, becoming bone-chillingly heavy.

"What do you mean by 'I have no idea how to save him'? I really don't understand why a doctor like you would make such a vague statement and issue a critical illness notice without even giving a specific reason."

"I understand your anger at questioning my professionalism, Yukinoshita, but this is the only answer I can give you."

Makishima raised his gaze, his tired eyes meeting Yukinoshita's, and he didn't choose to avoid it anymore.

"I've been dealing with Zaimokuza for almost a year now, and the data I've collected on his body over that time is so extensive that I could compile it into a textbook titled 'Zaimokuza Yoshiki's Physical Studies'. So, I can assure you, if I'm second to none in the medical field worldwide regarding how to treat him, no one would dare claim to be first."

"But even though I've treated him countless times before, this time, I have no idea how to save him."

[…Give me a plausible reason.]

Restraining the surging emotions within her, Yukinoshita spoke again calmly, a slight tremor in her voice.

She restrained herself, but Makishima, standing before her, could not. Instead, these words ignited anger and despair within him, and his voice suddenly rose, attracting the attention of everyone present.

[“Reasons??? He’s full of reasons now!”]

Makishima suddenly reached out and grabbed Yukinoshita's shoulder, catching her off guard and pulling her closer. Then, he pushed open the operating room door. The commotion made all the medical staff surrounding the bed turn their heads and look. The sight of everyone standing in a circle, dressed in scrubs and sterile masks, standing silently in silence caught Yukinoshita's eye, and she felt as if she were witnessing illustrations in history books depicting the doctors who dealt with the Black Death in medieval Europe.

Wearing black hats and air-filtering, bird-beak-shaped masks, their eyes shielded by clear glass, they gathered silently around the operating table, clutching white wooden canes. The silence was chilling, like a flock of crows awaiting death, or like the messenger of death awaiting the moment to receive the decree to take the life of the person before them.

Makishima completely ignored the hospital's policy of not allowing family members and friends to enter during surgery. She pulled Yukinoshita past the medical staff and came to the bedside, pointing at the figure lying there.

"Is this the reason you wanted, Yukinoshita? Tell me! What can I do now?!"

【“…”】

Yukinoshita didn't respond to Makishima's question, which was tinged with tears. She looked at Zaimokuza lying on the hospital bed, the edges of her dark blue eyes trembling slightly.

[Zaimokuza, now lying on the operating table, had his shirt removed, revealing his muscular upper body, but his chest remained perfectly still.]

Simultaneously, countless faintly glowing white cracks spread from the two indentations in the center of his chest to his entire body. These cracks covered his entire body, even his open, hollow eyes were covered with lines, slicing his pupils apart... In any case, Zaimokuza's current form was completely devoid of any resemblance to a "human" being. He looked more like a delicate wax model that had dried and cracked.

Especially the electrocardiogram connected to the wires attached to his chest. The line showing his heart rate had turned into a flat red line. The rapid sound continued to ring, making Yukinoshita feel as if someone was scratching a blackboard in his ears.

Looking at Zaimokuza's lifeless eyes, Yukinoshita's pupils shrank sharply for a moment, and the memory that had been hidden deep in her heart for years, which she had not wanted to recall, suddenly surfaced vividly in her mind. Zaimokuza's figure was replaced by another pale black figure. The other person lay in a coffin covered with white roses, his hands folded, his face as peaceful as if he were taking a nap.

[But he will never wake up again. All the memories of their past together were buried along with the soil that splashed onto the coffin. From then on, only sadness and nostalgia remained.]

[But these two emotions absolutely cannot appear at the same time. Just as Yukinoshita didn't want to recall the past, the dusty memories impacted her brain nerves, causing her to forcefully shake off Makishima's grasping hand, turn her back to Zaimokuza, and lower her head.]

"Now, apart from the presence of brainwave activity, there are no signs of life left in Mr. Zaimokuza's body."

Makishima didn't care about Yukinoshita's overreaction. She withdrew her hand, waved away the other people who were not involved, and said to Zaimokuza, who lay on the hospital bed in front of her, with a gloomy expression.

"And now, even these brain waves are gradually weakening over time. I estimate that in about four hours... they will stop completely."

"That means he only has four hours left to live."

This number was like an icy blade, peeling away the skin of Yukishita's heart, which had been sealed by indifference and alienation. The intense pain and spasm made her body twitch.

[“…Is there no other solution?”]

A dry, hoarse voice uttered from her throat. Yukinoshita never thought that this was her own voice.

【"No."】

【Makishima whispered.】

"Zaimokuza's extraordinary vitality stems from the reinforced nerves radiating from the belt within his body. These reinforced nerves have a repairing power that surpasses current medical knowledge. Even a punctured heart or severed head would allow him to maintain his life. To some extent, these reinforced nerves are the organs that truly function within him."

"Even when he was poisoned by the unprecedentedly virulent poison No. 25, these enhanced nerves only experienced temporary 'withering' symptoms, not complete loss of vitality. That's why Zaimokuza was able to survive even when over 95% of his bodily functions ceased."

"...But now, even these reinforced nerves that sustained his last breath, like the rest of his organs, were completely shattered by Number 36's attack. Not even a single intact nerve remains; they've all been blended with flesh, blood, and bone fragments."

Makishima walked over to Yukinoshita, turned his head to look at her face, half hidden by her long hair, and her tightly pursed lips, which were barely visible through her hair. He shook his head and spoke.

"Now it's more than that. His body cells are constantly losing activity and developing symptoms of weathering. This is completely abnormal. No matter how we examine him, we can't find the source of the abnormality."

"So I can only conclude that the attack by Unit 36 ​​was not simple. It was filled with an energy that was undetectable by any instrument, and this energy was incredibly strong."

In the upper left corner of Yukinoshita's field of vision, Makishima's hand held out a bar-shaped electricity meter. The area of ​​the screen used to display the numbers had now exploded, and a burning smell was emanating.

"Just now, after trying every possible method to find out the truth, I suddenly had an idea and grabbed the power meter in the corner of this room... The moment it touched Mr. Zaimokuza's body, the entire meter changed into this shape."

"You can understand this as over 3000V of high voltage flowing through his body, but when we touched him, there was no sign of anything unusual. Even professional instruments couldn't detect it, but this old direct-contact power display was able to show it."

"This energy has already surpassed the understanding of current medicine and science. Even now, it is constantly destroying Zaimokuza's body from the inside... But let alone stopping it, we can't even understand the true nature of this energy flow. We have no idea where to start."

After throwing the burnt display into the trash can near the door, Makishima reached out and held Yukinoshita's shoulders, feeling her slight tremors. He sighed and spoke:

"I'm sorry, I've tried my best, but this time I'm truly powerless... And Zaimokuza-sama is also my friend."

"If possible, could you please inform Zaimokuza's family? You've known him for so many years, Yukinoshita, you should know about his family—"

"He has no family anymore."

【"……well?"】

Under Makishima's stunned gaze, several transparent drops of water slid down Yukinoshita's face, which was hidden by her hair, and fell one by one to the ground.

"Many years ago, his parents died in a car accident...so now he has no relatives in this world."

"That, that means..."

[When Makishima heard about Zaimokuza's life story for the first time, she couldn't help but be shocked. This completely shattered her previous impression of Zaimokuza.]

"That's why I didn't want him to fight... because I had anticipated this happening."

Yukinoshita slowly raised her head. She appeared to be smiling, but two transparent tear marks had already flowed down her face, and clear tears flowed from her broken navy blue eyes.

"That idiot, all he needs to do is travel and have adventures without any worries... but he won't listen. He never follows my instructions. He always only cares about others and not himself."