My youth story cannot be a knight war

Recalling the information Baruba had told him at the school festival, his eyes became as sharp as the reflection of a brass bullet, without any hesitation or dullness.

Takasaka slowly stood up and walked towards the police car with the door opened in steady steps. His back was as straight as a wise man who was about to be martyred, with only the determination to move forward.

salsa——

As he walked along the path, fine gray sand scattered on the ground, and then was blown away by the night wind, leaving no trace.

"..."

Silently watching the dust scattered on the ground in front of him and then blown away, and then watching the police car restart and disappear at the end of the road, someone let out a heavy sigh in the darkness, and the sigh was full of sadness and loneliness.

"Idiot son."

……

Day .

Tokyo, Jonan University, teaching building area.

"Hey..."

Yukinoshita Yukino moved the box that was squeezed under a pile of archaeological documents to the table. Just this one thing made her, who had always had poor physical strength, start to breathe heavily.

She was sorting through the items piled up in the office, many of which were left behind by people who had worked there before, and filling up all the empty space.

However, after many people died in the previous Gurongi "No. 0 Incident" and "No. 3 Incident", these things became ownerless. It's okay to keep them for a while, but if they are piled up for a long time without being used, it will inevitably affect future work.

So Yukinoshita decided to clean up all these things, which could be considered as some exercise for the body after a long time, so as to avoid various problems caused by sitting for a long time.

At this time, she was sorting out her own belongings. After moving the things here on the first day, Yukinoshita took out all the necessary items and put the rest of the less frequently used items aside. Over time, even she forgot that there were such things here until today when she was dealing with the pile of things.

"I didn't expect I'd bought something like this before...huh?"

She took out a cat-head hand puppet from the opened cardboard box, put her gloves on it, and then closed her palms and looked at the moving cat's mouth. Yukinoshita couldn't help laughing for a moment.

Just as she took off the puppet, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a stack of drafts pressed at the bottom of the cardboard box. A Q-version smiley face was drawn on the yellowed edge of the manuscript paper.

This smiling face was so symbolic that Yukinoshita immediately recognized what it was and became speechless.

"...Why do I have a copy of Zaimokuza-san's manuscript here? And I'm actually carrying this thing around with me?"

Speechlessly, she glanced at the stack of documents in the cabinet next to her that still emitted a black aura, and the evil stone mask below that had cracked on its surface after being suppressed for a year. She rubbed her temples with a headache.

"Forget it, the sooner we discover it, the sooner we can deal with it, so that some ignorant person won't be harmed by it when they're cleaning it up later."

She pulled out the manuscript paper, looked at the title written on the first page, and read aloud word by word:

"Smiley face guard るヒーロー...huh?"

Yukinoshita was suddenly stunned. She looked at the stack of manuscript paper, and long-forgotten memories swept up from the depths of her mind.

"These manuscripts, I remember that time..."

Her eyes became filled with nostalgia. Holding the pile of manuscript paper, she truly felt what the ancients said, "The passage of time."

Yukinoshita remembered very clearly that after she got the stack of manuscript paper, she only read a part of it at the beginning, but did not finish reading the rest due to various things, and then she simply forgot about it. This was a strange thing for her who had always had an excellent memory.

She also remembered that the stack of manuscript paper was very thick, with dozens of pages, but now there were only a little over ten pages in her hand... Ten slender fingers suddenly increased the strength of pinching the edge of the manuscript paper, and a complex light danced in the depths of Yukinoshita's eyes.

"Oh, this is only the first half. The second half... seems to have been taken away by Hikigaya-san, because he had already finished reading the first half."

"And then we never gave it back to Zaimokuza-san... Seriously, everyone forgot."

"It's been a long time...really."

Memories of the past washed over her soul. Yukinoshita held the stack of manuscript paper in her arms, slowly exhaled, her expression slightly dazed.

This time of sorting was really a pleasant surprise. I found a memory left over from my most ignorant age. After the passage of time, everything at that time now seems as dazzling as gold shining in the fields.

Whether it is friendship, family, or love... traces of them can be found in that memory. Those people once spent every day so carefree, so beautiful and simple.

By the way, what did Zaimokuza-san write back then?

Yukinoshita tried hard to recall the contents of the stack of manuscript paper, but found that no matter how hard she tried, she could not remember it. The only impression she had was that the viewing experience at the time was unexpectedly interesting, and even made Hikigaya cry.

"Well~ Anyway, we still have time now, so let's just decompress."

Picking up the stack of manuscript paper, Yukinoshita brushed off the remaining dust and reached out to open the first page.

crackling-

A loud crash was heard behind him. Some boxes stacked against the wall lost their support and fell from the top to the bottom. The impact caused many cartons to crack, and the trivial objects inside fell to the ground and slid past his feet under the snow like water.

"Oh... never mind, let's talk about it later."

With a helpless sigh, Yukinoshita folded the manuscript papers, then opened the collection cabinet next to her and put them in.

With the sound of the glass cover closing, the story that had not yet been watched was blocked.

51. The Messenger of the End (7k)

Beautiful pictures.jpg

“That light…!”

Looking at the golden pillar rising into the sky in the light curtain and covering the entire sky above Shibuya District, an electric premonition burst out from deep in his spinal cord and spread throughout his body. Zaimokuza clenched his fists and his eyes instantly became solemn.

There was no need for reasoning or guessing. The moment he saw the light, an indescribable inspiration told him the answer. Some unknowable connection connected the light and Zaimokuza.

Zaimokuza didn't know what this feeling was at first, but after watching it till now, he already knew what the name of this premonition was.

——『Destiny』.

This was the connection that existed between him and that light. In the world today, only one being possessed the aura that could touch Zaimokuza's soul in this way.

"Number Zero...it's finally this guy's turn to act."

Hikigaya was also staring intently at the beam of light that was far more intense than the light curtain itself. His face, illuminated with a golden glow, was shrouded in an indelible haze.

"When Zaimokuza killed No. 1, the 'Dark Game' stage was officially declared over, and 'Kikiru' entered what B called the 'White and Dark Game' semi-finals... and in this stage, it was a four-to-two match."

"Number Zero, He already knows about this... and now, it's finally His turn to make His appearance."

"In other words, Zaimokuza and Kousaka-san will have to deal with Zero and the First King who is still sealed in Nagano Prefecture."

Yukinoshita Yukino continued Hikigaya's words, and now her usually cold face finally showed some traces of unconcealable anxiety and tension, and her hands clasped at her sides clenched her sleeves.

"Hikigaya-san... do you think Future Zaimokuza-san and the others can win this battle?"

"...To be honest, I can no longer predict what will happen, because anything can happen next."

Hikigaya was silent for a while in response to Yukinoshita's question, then shook his head and said.

"Zero's true strength remains a mystery. If we follow what Miou said, the completed Him is far superior to the incomplete Him. This is what Miou calls the 'ultimate'. The First King also belongs to this level."

"We've never actually seen this level of power. We lack too much information and references to accurately define it... But I think it would be difficult for Zaimokuza to win with his current power. Furthermore, Kousaka, his most powerful ally, is probably already..."

At this point he closed his mouth and spoke in a dull voice.

"Anyway, let's wait for Hiratsuka-sensei to come back before discussing the rest of the topic."

"Xiaoqi, why do you insist on asking Mr. Hiratsuka to prepare the car?"

Yuigahama, who had been silent all this time, finally couldn't help but ask at this moment, with an indelible look of doubt on her chubby cheeks. In fact, Yuigahama was not the only one who had doubts about this matter.

"Hikigaya-san, could you please give me an explanation? I really don't understand why you are so determined about this matter."

Hayato Hayama also interrupted the topic at the right time. He frowned and looked at Hikigaya. Hayama, who had just witnessed the whole process, was deeply impressed by Hiratsuka Shizuka's rage. However, Hikigaya, who had always chosen to slide on his knees without hesitation when facing the teacher's iron fist, was unexpectedly tough this time.

The serious look in his eyes, which was in stare contrast to his usual expression, carried an unspoken conviction. After the two looked at each other for nearly a minute, Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had always been tougher than men, actually backed off. She could only curse and ask Hikigaya to give her an explanation later, then she chose to pick up her car keys and walked out the door.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that there was definitely something wrong with Hikigaya's performance, but they were forced to put it behind them because of the sudden change in the timeline. But now that the time had come, Ye Shan chose to bring up the topic.

"Sorry, I can't tell."

Hikigaya shook his head and said, and this inexplicable answer not only deepened Hayama's frown, but also naturally caused dissatisfaction among others.

"Hey! Hikigaya, what the hell are you doing? You act like something big is going to happen, but when I ask you what's going on—"

Just as Tobe Sho expressed his doubts, a hand reached out from the side to block him, and also stopped him from saying anything.

"Wait a moment, Xiang."

"Hina...tsk."

Looking at the girl who was walking towards him and whom he once liked but now gave up pursuing after seeing the reality, Tobe Sho opened his mouth, but finally turned around with a pout, and handed the right of conversation to Ebina Hime.

"Hikigaya-kun, is there something you can't say because you have some unspeakable secret?"

Ebina pushed the frame of his glasses on his nose, and a pair of clear amber eyes behind the lenses stared at Hikigaya, asking tentatively in a low voice.

"This is a difficult secret. Can you please tell me?"

"No, I just can't say it right now."

Hikigaya gave the same answer again, but this time he stared intently into Ebina's eyes and spoke word by word.

"I can't say... like this now. Do you understand?"

"Penguin! You—"

This answer, which was full of superstitious air, unsurprisingly caused other people's emotions to fluctuate again. Yumiko Miura immediately frowned and felt as if she had been fooled.

"I see."

"Hina?!"

However, just as she was about to explode, Ebina stretched out his hand to dissuade her. Under Miura's surprised gaze, Ebina glanced thoughtfully out the window of the service club.

The sky outside the window had turned pitch black at some point, with thick black clouds covering the sky. It should have been around noon, but the sky was as bleak as dusk. The thunder rumbling in the dark clouds added a sense of impending wind and rain.

"Looks like it's going to rain soon~ Hikigaya-san, do you think this rain will last long or short?"

Looking at the thick black clouds, Ebina narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked.

"I don't know, but it will definitely rain this time... because there's no way this sign won't rain."

Hikigaya also answered Ebina's question, and at the same time withdrew his gaze from the window and spoke calmly.

"And maybe the rain has already fallen somewhere else, but it just hasn't fallen here yet."

"...Really? Then it's really necessary to go home and clean up the things on the balcony, otherwise the clothes hung out to dry will get wet."

Ebina nodded without comment, while the others who had been watching the two interacting were completely confused. Every word they said was clearly in Japanese, but why did it feel so weird when put together?

"Hina, what's going on between you and Hikigaya-san—"

"Hey~ Let's end this topic here, Yumiko~"

Miura hesitated and was about to ask, but Ebina suddenly turned around with that familiar smile on his face, and opened his hands in front of him, waving them slightly. The reflection in the lenses showed Miura's stunned expression.

"Now, we should focus on other things. For example, look!"

Ebina pointed to the light curtain floating next to him. Everyone's eyes followed the thin white finger, and the scene they saw immediately attracted their attention.

"The most critical link has arrived~"

The golden beam of light on the light curtain slowly dimmed along with the picture, and then four pale characters appeared in the dark scene.

Those four characters were like the colors left behind after weathered bones, which was extremely uncomfortable.

【Seven days later.】

【Tokyo, Shinagawa Ward. 】

【 05:45 PM 】

[The heavy rain fell from the gloomy evening sky, and the raindrops formed a waterfall. The sound when they hit the ground should not be called "falling to the ground", but "rushing".]

Such heavy rain is rare this season, and even the weather forecast didn't predict it. As a result, many people, without umbrellas, had to scramble to find shelter in nearby buildings.

The honking of cars echoed far into the distance amidst the torrential rain. The bright red neon lights flickered dimly in the rainstorm, and Akiyama Mio's eyes were inevitably a little dazed as she watched the cascading rain before her.

She stood under the eaves of a shopping mall, wearing a white down jacket and carrying only a small bag. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and the stone magatama bracelet on her right wrist gleamed with a black sheen in the night.

Although Akiyama Mio's life has been incredibly fantastical over the past year, she now feels as though that word can no longer be used to describe it; it should be described as fantasy.

[A demon attacks, a mysterious power within the body, incredible memories... and a girl who looks exactly like him.]

Whenever she thinks of these things, even though a week has passed, Akiyama Mio still finds it hard to come back to her senses. It's as if the world has completely changed before her eyes.

"What's wrong, Mio?"

[“…Aaaaaa!”]