"Hey, this can't be true."
As Yuusuke breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the battle, a man in a room with air conditioning muttered. He inadvertently kicked the desk and almost spilled the coffee he had been drinking.
Suddenly, his vision went dark.
The Shikigami he had sent out to gather information had been destroyed.
No matter how much he thought back on what had happened, he couldn't make sense of it. Just as things were coming to an end, as he was about to change his location, someone had taken him down. But who?
His Shikigami's stealth had been perfect. Neither Koresawa Rendai nor Isumi Tsukiko, nor even the oni, the master of that space, had noticed it.
That was expected, given that he had used Shikigami for that purpose.
How many people in Japan could notice the stealth of his Shikigami?
The man who had been secretly observing Tsukiko and the others' battle from a distant location tried to regain his composure as he sipped his coffee.
He had no idea who had done it.
Certainly, someone had taken advantage of his momentary distraction and destroyed his Shikigami with a single strike that left no trace.
"..."
He couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.
Who could be this skilled? None of the Anti-Demon members present at the scene could have done it. That left the possibility of a third party. Could it be that "he" had also been watching independently?
Or...
"Is it you?"
A young man had suddenly interrupted the oni's battle. He had glimpsed his face briefly in the reports. An unlucky university student who had been unwittingly involved in the God-Demon War.
One look at his movements revealed that it wasn't just a coincidence. He pulled the name from the depths of his memory.
"Yamamoto Yuusuke, was it?"
Here was another person he needed to investigate.
Was he an enemy or an ally? If he possessed the kind of power that attracted "his" attention, it might be wise to establish contact sooner rather than later.
Finding that organization and unsealing "that" had been a significant effort, but the results had been more than worth it. It had originally been about investigating Isumi Tsukiko's abilities. Now, with Yamamoto Yuusuke as an unknown factor, things had become even more interesting.
"Well, will you all be swallowed up by this turmoil, or will you be the ones to change its course? I'm looking forward to it."
This was a room within the Anti-Demon Special Forces Headquarters. He lifted the empty coffee cup, wearing his usual enigmatic smile.
First Rank, Tsuchimikado Seirin.
No one noticed that the strongest man was there.
* * *
After receiving proper medical attention from Tsukiko and changing into clean clothes, I was on a train headed back to Tokyo. The sun had already set, and the scenery outside the window was dark. Inside the train, it was filled with a tired silence. No one dared to make a sound, as if doing so was a sin. The only sound was the rumbling of the train.
Although Tsukiko and her superior, Koresawa-san, had both insisted that I should rest for the day and return tomorrow, being away from Tsukiko right now was painful. More than anything, I wanted to see Lisha and Kanami, who had kindly seen me off.
As I sat alone, memories flooded back to me, especially the last words Tsukiko had said to me. She didn't want me to get hurt. If my assumptions were correct, it meant that she wanted to protect me by separating from me. After all, she was an Anti-Demon member.
As a possibility, if Eris shared the same thought... If she pushed me away because she didn't want me to fight anymore. It would fit with the discomfort I had been feeling.
I didn't know if it was true. It was more likely that I was just imagining things.
But I couldn't help but wonder.
"...They're all so selfish."
—―This world is on the brink of crisis. Please, as a Hero, won't you fight against the Demon Lord?
—―I want you to inherit our feelings.
―—I entrust our lives and our aspirations to you.
――What, he's like a monster.
――His power is overwhelming. With the Demon Lord gone, how should we steer the ship?
――I don't intend to complain. But let me avenge my son.
――Don't kill him.
――Kill him.
――Die. Die. Die.
――I don't want you to get hurt anymore.
――Fight, fight, fight.
――You're a nuisance.
Voices continued to echo in my ears, sticking to my consciousness. Within those voices, was there room for my own will, my own voice? Now, I even doubted whether it had truly been me beneath that armor.
An oath was a curse.
It blocked the escape route, bound one's actions, and united one's will, creating a strong and beautiful curse. If that was the case, then what had moved that armor was the curse of a Hero, not a human named Yamamoto Yuusuke.
No, let's stop this.
There were many other things to consider. Why did Takaomi know the name of my Hero? What kind of magician would I be facing next?
I retreated into the darkness of my thoughts.
That's why I didn't notice. My phone had been receiving messages from Kagami-san all along.
* * *
As soon as I arrived at the station, I was apprehended by Anti-Demon members who were waiting for me and taken to a certain location. They thought it would be faster to understand the situation if I saw it for myself.
In the car they put me in, the evenly spaced lights of the city passed by as if in a dream.
The place we arrived at was somewhere underground, apparently a facility used by the Anti-Demon Special Forces, like a hospital. People in white coats were bustling about. No one, not a single person, made eye contact with me. They seemed hesitant to say anything, wearing ambiguous expressions as if they were afraid to speak.
A bad feeling gripped my heart like the Grim Reaper's hand.
The moment I saw that room, I grabbed the shoulder of the Anti-Demon Official walking in front of me. "Move aside, please," I pleaded, trying to push past him.
Pushing aside the Anti-Demon Official, I saw her on the other side of the dimly lit corridor, bathed in light. Her purplish hair spread out on the pure white bed like blood, and her pale skin was unnaturally thin. The usual elegance and resolute demeanor were gone, replaced only by fragility, as if she might disappear at any moment.
It didn't feel real, and I used my hand to support my body, which felt like it might collapse at any moment.
We had just talked this morning.
Kanami, who had always smiled gracefully and told me not to worry about what would happen next, was now unrecognizable.
Who did this?
Who could do something like this?
Inside my eyes, emerald lights flickered, and a sword tried to materialize in my clenched hand. I could feel the atmosphere of the Anti-Demon Official nearby change.
"‥‥‼"
I clenched my teeth and suppressed my magic power, which was trying to burst out with all its might.
Fool, don't make the same mistake again.
I held back the urge to scream and asked the person who had come closer from behind,
"‥‥What happened?"
After a moment of silence, Kagami-san, who was behind me, answered with a strained voice.
"Honestly, we don't know all the details either. It seems like they were attacked by demons in the evening, and by the time we arrived, it was all over. Kanami-san has both arms severely broken and some of her internal organs are at risk. We did everything we could here, but to be honest, it could go either way."
"Either way――"
My voice was about to break in response to Kagami-san's matter-of-fact words. I didn't need to ask such a thing. Live or die. Kanami was now teetering on the edge.
I endured the emotions that made me want to shout, my fists clenched.
Kagami-san continued, her voice still strained. She told me about what happened to her, the person who wasn't here.
"And Lisha-san is missing. Right now, Shirogane-san is chasing after the demon."
"I see..."
That was probably a lie Kanami had told for my sake. After all, White Silver was supposed to be by Lisha's side. I didn't think for a moment that she had left her side to go to Tsukiko and the others.
"Are you okay, Yuusuke-kun?"
Kagami-san's voice sounded distant.
Kanami has suffered severe injuries, and Lisha has been captured. The situation is dire.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. Panicking wouldn't help, and doing nothing wouldn't solve anything.
I turned around to look at Kagami-san. She had a worn-out expression and was gazing at me.
"I'll be fine. I'd like to talk to Kanami for a bit. Can I go in?"
"She's not in any condition to talk."
"It's okay. Please, let me in."
I prepared myself to enter the room, following Kagami-san. Inside, the room was filled with a quiet, deathly atmosphere, and the harsh reality I wanted to avoid was right there.
I composed my breathing and moved closer to Kanami's face.
"Ah..."
Right then, to my surprise, Kanami's eyelids faintly opened. Even though it should be difficult for her to maintain consciousness, her lips moved slightly under the oxygen mask.
――I see...
I gently stroked Kanami's head. Doing this, I realized that she was a much younger girl than me. From her silky hair, I discreetly retrieved a small magic item that Kagami-san wouldn't see.
I thought Kanami must have left some kind of clue for me. This was something she had risked her life to connect me with.
I had made the wrong choice.
Because of my selfishness, I had put both of them in danger.
I touched Kanami's fingertips, which were peeking out from the bandages, lightly. Fragile yet incredibly skilled hands, shaped by immense training.
I touched my pinky to her pinky. Whether it was an oath or a curse didn't matter. Let's make a promise.
"You can leave the rest to me and rest peacefully."
Kanami looked into my eyes, then closed her eyes quietly.
She wasn't killed, and she left a magic item. Also, Lisha's whereabouts were unknown.
She probably wasn't killed but was captured for some reason.
Wait for me, Lisha. I'll rescue you no matter what.
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