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 Table of Contents

1. Prologue
2. Return/Attack

1. Part 1
2. Part 2

3. Black Dog/Birth

1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4

4. Companion/Fourth Person

1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3

5. Silver Haired/Youth

1. Part 1
2. Part 2

6. Reunion/Utsusemi

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 1. Part 1
2. Part 2

7. Ice Princess/Four Fiends

1. Part 1
2. Part 2

8. God <<Slaying>> Incarnation of Destruction/Dog God of the Black

BladeCanis Lykaon

1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 1
4. Part 2

9. Five Principal Clans/Himejima

10. Four Divine Beasts/Himejima Suzaku
11. Convictor/Budding Sword Enthusiast
12. Afterword
13. Translator's Notes and References

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He didn’t know whether it was a dream or a vision. But, it was a memory he
firmly clung to.

It was during his childhood——at the age of seven, he had traveled to some
ruins in the neighboring town to play as he pretended to have adventures.
Under the winter sky of January, when the snow had scarcely started to
accumulate, that person appeared in front of his eyes. ——It was a black
angel.

The man had black wings growing on his back. The black winged angel
appeared to be about his father’s age, or perhaps slightly older.

The angel man stooped down so that they were both at eye level and said.

“…..Well then, is it possible you haven’t realized it?”

Patting his head, the man put on a smile.

“If so, if it dwells within you, then your world will completely change sooner
or later. But, now, now, you shouldn’t despair? After all, you—”

Placing a finger on his chest, he said:

“From among the thirteen types, yours alone is crowned ‘God’. Although, it
is a false ‘God’—”

He often could not understand what the man was talking about. He couldn’t
understand—but the memory remained vivid. At that moment he responded to
the voice of the friend he’d come exploring with who had been calling out to
him, and when faced the man’s direction again—it was too late as the black

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angel was no longer there. He didn’t know whether it was a dream or a
vision.

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 Prologue

Early May—

During high school——no, right before the one and only, once in a lifetime
school trip of high school, Ikuse Tobio was necessarily absent.

Yesterday, his physical condition had been poor. He had a fever that would
not go down and his body was devoid of strength. His head was in a daze,
and he was also unsteady on his feet.

Although it was the beginning of Golden Week, this was no reason to be

careless….he was still afflicted with the sudden illness. The doctor had also
prescribed that he rest.

“So then, since I’ll be buying souvenirs, you’re going to obediently lie
down?”

Saying so while standing smiling at the front door was a semi-longhaired girl.
She’s a classmate of Tobio in the second year of the same high school. She’s
also his childhood friend, Toujou Sae. Her smile was mischievous.

“…Aah.”

Tobio responded while pouting through the mask.

She had come to check on Tobio’s condition prior to departing. From Tobio’s
perspective, he couldn't help but to be disagreeable.

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The itinerary of the trip was a period of ten days on luxury liner cruise
touring the Hawaiian Islands.

For Tobio, it was supposed to be his first trip overseas. As a student at the
time, there was no way he wouldn’t have enjoyed it. With how very heavy
his body felt, he was quite bitter.

Sae poked Tobio’s forehead which had displayed a sullen look.

“I can go anytime once we become adults. Then we’ll go together, so please

try to endure this time.”

“……How stupid. I want to go today. And anyways, you say you’ll

accompany me, but you’re just going to have me treat you, right?”

“You got me.”

Sae laughed and chuckled. Tobio exhaled, rubbing his poked forehead.

After she finished teasing Tobio, Sae picked up her bag.

“Well it’s about time, I’m sorry to say.”

“Ah, wait a minute.”

Tobio calls Sae back as he reached into his pants pocket, and took out a what
seemed to be a string of prayer beads.

He placed it on Sae’s left wrist.

“My late Baa-chan[1], she’d always make sure I’d wear this when I travelled.
Since I’m unable to go, I’d like you to take it and be protected on the trip.”

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Sae looked at the prayer beads, and appreciatively rubbed them with her
hand.

“Thank you.”

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“Um….that’s, how I should put it, I want you to take care of yourself.”

Saying so, Tobio’s face, already red with fever, got even redder.

“What?”

“Uh…….you know diseases and such, viruses and such.”

“That’s probably what you have.”

Receiving such a sarcastic reply, Tobio’s mouth bent into the shape of “へ”.

As she opened the front door, Sae took one final look back to say.

“I’ll be going now.”

She gave a slightly lonely smile, and departed.

Four days after his fellow students had left——.

They had travelled by airplane from Narita to Honolulu. From there, they
boarded the “Heavenly of Aloha” at the harbor, and by now it should be the
arriving at the Hawaiian Island of Kauai.

To imagine his fellow students smacking their lips after partaking of the
luxury liner’s cuisine, touring each and every island, and thoroughly enjoying
the cultural exchange, the very thought was likely to make him feel bitter.

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With his physical condition having recovered little by little by late morning,
and after picking up the newspaper from the mail slot, Tobio was preparing
for brunch.

There wasn't anyone in Tobio's house other than himself. This was because
he had already parted ways with his blood relatives. It was therefore a relief
for him that Sae would come over to make dinner.

Though even without going as far to have someone prepare meals and the
like that morning, Tobio did make fried eggs, which he began to eat along
with some bread.

His fellow students would probably have already finished eating an elegant
meal. Thinking like that, he became quite depressed.

He moved to the TV, and while gazing at it in a daze, he nibbled at his bread.

[The current status of any survivors is still unknown——]

Tobio gnawed silently at the bread while watching the TV without any
particular interest.

[Students and teacher of Ryoukuu High School while on a school trip had
safely boarded——]

What……?

Tobio heard the name of a familiar high school, suddenly gluing his attention
to the TV.

The TV was showing a maritime video that was taken from the air. As if out
of a movie, there was the majority of a luxury liner’s hull sinking into the sea

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while giving off smoke.

He wondered if he could not have misheard something. This should be

impossible! Extraordinary things such as this, they’re not supposed to happen
to you!

Tobio’s heart was repeatedly attacked as the brutally ruthless TV’s subtitles
displayed “Mysterious shipwreck of the Heavenly of Aloha”.

With the name of passenger ship confirmed, Tobio opened his eyes wide in
shock. A chill travelled down his spine. He began breathing violently and his
heart rate accelerated, and he noticed his heart pounding.

Tobio picked up the newspaper that he had retrieved earlier that was now
lying neglected on the table.

He checked the news written in one article. Its contents made Tobio’s body
quiver.

‘Luxury Liner, Maritime Accident!’

‘Nightmare on the School Trip!’

‘Status of the 233 high school students on board unknown——‘

‘No hope for the survivors——‘

The name of the high school, Ryoukuu High School——.

And Tobio, thought of his childhood friend Sae who he’d gone through high
school with.

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—— I’ll be going now.

Within Tobio, the last words said by his childhood friend reemerges. Sae,
who had given him that slightly lonely looking look while smiling. ……
There was something about that combination that signified how hopeless
things were.

“……Sae.”

Completely drained, Tobio sat down right where he was.

That day, Ikuse Tobio lost 233 of his fellow students, including his childhood
friend Toujou Sae——.

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 Return/Attack

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 Part 1

July. The time when the heat was becoming increasingly earnest——.

Ikuse Tobio and a friend were on the train returning from school——they
were paging through magazines near the door.

“As I thought, the suspension of this one might be better.”

“If that’s the case, then wouldn’t it have been quicker to have gathered stuff
at the junkyard near the riverbank?”

To Tobio’s opinion, his friend sighed with half-open eyes.

“Foolish. Such things, someone who doesn’t understand things like picking
your own motorcycle parts shouldn’t be out riding one. If they’re shitty, then
wouldn’t there be an unknown possibility of suffering severe punishment in a
car accident? As ‘spected, no doubt 'bout it, by having saved purchasing
money to insert brand new parts, that makes it all more romantic, doesn't it?!”

His friend spoke passionately, his eyes glisteningly sparkling.

Recently, he seemed crazy about motorcycles, and in order to complete it he

was gleefully working part time despite the school prohibition.

Incidentally, obtaining a general motorcycle license at his and Tobio’s school

is also a school rule violation. If one is found out, getting suspended
immediately was unavoidable.

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However, it’s the second year of high school. It’s said that boys that age by
nature have an interest in bikes and cars.

“Tobio’s should also get his license. The two of us could go touring! It would
absolutely be fun!”

Recently, he had been frequently inviting Tobio to do so.

Tobio was not at all without interest. But……

“Ooh, that doesn’t sound bad…….But I’m not really in the mood.”

Tobio replied, smiling wryly.

“I see, it’s not easy to forget……”

His friend abruptly looked down at the floor of the car.

‘Still unexplained! Sinking accident of the Heavenly of Aloha issue. The case
that casts a shadow on the United States’

Even as Tobio looks at it, a small shadow appears on his face.

Two months ago, Tobio was in the midst of that incident.

The sinking of the luxury liner that carried 233 of his fellow students. As a
survivor of the incident, Tobio was chased everyday by the media.

Such is to be expected. If a ship carrying Japanese high school students

caught fire in a maritime accident, it’s a big news story. It was top news at
any station on a daily basis, with the media showing no regard while
interviewing the survivors of the incident, as well as officials.

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A joint funeral for the deceased classmates was carried out amid such an
uproar. Tobio, who was attending as one of the surviving, was quite the
newsflash during the funeral.

Several students other than Tobio who also survived were in no state to
attend school for a while.

They were subjected to curious and also accusatory gazes but, even more so,
there was a serious problem.

There would suddenly be no classmates who, until recently, had all been so
lively. As many teachers were also lost in the accident, there weren’t many
people at school who could offer consolation. That incident, given how
public it was, meant time was needed to organize and accept such thoughts in
one’s mind. The students who were left behind, being hunted by the press,
had little choice but to stay home until the excitement over the incident died
down.

“From that incident, isn’t it strange that they never found people who lived
through it?”

To his friend’s question, Tobio lowered his gaze.

“Aah, only those who did not participate in the school trip survived. ……
Among us, there is less than ten altogether, myself included.”

Those who had survived from the same school year as Tobio, they were all
limited to students who had not been able to attend the school trip as well.
Among both the students who attended as well as the teachers, there were no
survivors.

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When the ship broke in half, one side had sunk to the sea floor, while the
other half continued to be searched. From here, the bodies of a few of the
teachers were recovered, the only bodies that were found from those aboard.
From that search, the corpses of students were not once found to be intact.
The search proceeded to try and salvage the remains that had sunk to the
ocean floor, but the sunken ship had ended up in an unexpectedly tight
crevice, from which raising it was extremely difficult. As of now, there was
no set prospect of recovering them.

Those on TV proposed a variety of theories for the sinking accident, while

suspicious gossip was circulated about what the true inside story was. Every
day there’s a shady commentator saying, ‘The cause is a secret weapon of a
neighboring country!’ or ‘Supernatural phenomenon!’, ‘It’s the work of
UFO!’ and the like, but all that talk just seems foolish.

——It’s because the cause of the sinking accident is still unknown.

Dubious theories are just a means of going with the flow while not facing
reality.

However, the Japanese easily grew tired of the subject. Without any progress
in the case, by the time a month had passed coverage of political corruption
became the main issue, while news of the sinking accident gradually was
treated as less newsworthy.

Maybe the bereaved families of the students not making any fuss is to blame.
Although initially voices were raised saying “take a risk!” and such, as
though they had given up, little by little it became an issue they didn’t want
to face.

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After one month, those that had survived along with Tobio had each decided
which school that had accepted them they would be attending. Among them,
not one chose to continue attending Ryoukuu High School after all that
they’d been through. Every one of his fellow student was no longer attending
school there.

Thus the surviving students all scattered, fleeing from the media reporters as
well as their previous neighbors from when they attended that first school,
who had also watched them with unrestrained curiosity.

“That time crazy things were happening. Because of the mass media cameras
every day was crowded in front of the main gate.”

As his friend recalled the scene, Tobio wore a bitter expression.

As his friend has said, he’d been asked to comment every day in school but
none of them were used.

Initially treating him like he was hurt, but also giving him troublesome looks,
he barely spoke to the students he encountered, and finally was granted some
peace.

Early summer——as it entered July, the time of the incident was no longer
talked about, his unease turned to composure, and he was able to calm down
in his own way. And so for the first time he was able to deeply feel the loss of
his classmates.

“Well, these thoughts must be painful, so isn’t better that that you devote
yourself to adapting to this new life? Thinking about such unpleasant things,
that certainly harmful to your mind and body.”

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Hitting him on the back, his friend gives him words of encouragement. Tobio
was thankful and obediently followed these words.

In the meantime, the train had arrived at the station where his friend gets off.

“Ah, well I’m getting off here. One more thing. Don’t worry and cheer up.”

He gets off the train and shows a guts pose to Tobio with a smile. Tobio gives
a short reply of, “Ah, see you,” and shook his hand.

“……….”

Tobio remained alone in the car and exhaled.

Sorry——.

Tobio in his heart, apologized to his friend.

Between the new friends, a deep gap still exists. A gap that still did not feel
filled.

While being jolted in the train, Tobio was gazing at the sky.

When he is alone, he has more time stare at something in a daze like this.

Suddenly taking out his cell phone, Tobio lowers his gaze to the mail screen.
The majority of his inbox was used for preservation, to keep the past from
disappearing.

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The address, that of the friends who died in the accident. The mail was sent
from them up until the day of the accident. While riding alone on the train,
checking the mail has become a daily routine. Every time he sees the e-mail,
the face of a classmate floated in his mind, causing him loneliness while
providing a feeling of nostalgia. It is not possible to send replies to this mail,
it’s simply accumulated. But even if they can’t send mail, it’s Tobio’s only
point of contact with them.

And so he will continue to check them, as his finger stops on one of the e-
mails. The sender, Sae——Toujou Sae. The girl who was Tobio’s childhood
friend.

‘Boarding the airplane now. Looking forward to some comfortable air travel.
See you later. And make sure you’re properly resting!’

E-mail that would have been sent from the airport. This was it, the last
contact from her.

His new life had begun, the life he had become accustomed to, where Tobio,
when he was alone, would often cry in his room. Because he would suddenly
be attacked by a great sense of loss.

Even if he sent them emails, even if he were to call them by phone, Sae and
his friends wouldn't come back. They would never come back, those ordinary
days.

Laughing together during breaks, laughing at their classmates who were

prodded by the teacher after dozing off during class. Lunch break, the
upsurge of stupid topics on the roof, spending time with noisy friends at
karaoke and game centers after leaving school, the day-to-day memories.

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Sae who had gone to the same school as him up through high school——.
Since they lived nearby it was a common occurrence. She would always
show him her unforgettable smile.

——Those ordinary days wouldn't come back.

On the day she left for the school trip, Sae’s appeared to have such a lonely
look as she left ——.

He’ll never again be able to hear the reason for such a face.

Something important had been lost forever. Something that Tobio cannot
recover.

Tobio, rather than getting off at the station he would usually, got off two
stations early.

He could stop by the bookstore, kill some time in the game center. He
couldn't go home yet. Since his parents were both overseas, even if he
returned to his own home there'd be nobody there. For Tobio who had no
siblings, even after returning his home would be a lonely place.

He was only able to live due to the money sent to him by his parents. He also
did the housework himself. He also was learning to cook, to the extent that he
could prepare his own bento. There was nothing about his lifestyle to be
concerned about.

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By not returning to his house straightaway, he wouldn't be lonely by himself.
If he were alone he'd be assailed by the agony.

Alone, returning to that large apartment, he would just think about his
classmates more than during the day. Once such thoughts started in his head,
they would persistently fill his mind until he left home the next day.

The sense of loss would violently corrode his mind. Rather than that, he had
even thought of running away to his relatives overseas, but he had already
made new friends, and it would have been agonizing to part with them as
well.

In the event he had gone overseas, he wouldn't had reunited with them
anyways. Besides, even if he had gone it was unlikely he'd just forget about
his classmates.

With those various thoughts, in the end Tobio finally decided to return later.
As much as possible, he’d browse the bookstore, enjoy games at the game
center. Only by doing so would the pain be alleviated.

6 p.m. passed, 7 o’clock arrived. The sun remained out for a long time in the
summer, and so was still out even though it was as late as 7 o’clock.

Tobio, having lost the fighting game he was playing after reaching the final
boss battle, while letting out a sigh decided to return home. At this time, the
city was sparsely populated with people such as office workers that just
finished work. Tobio was walking with hollow eyes.

It was when he got to the crosswalk. Suddenly looking at the sidewalk across
the street, Tobio’s vacant eyes spotted something. Instantly, his eyes opened
as wide as they could.

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——Sae!?

What he was currently seeing, it was a figure that was supposed to be

impossible——. Seeing such a thing, Tobio's heart started beating violently.

They had a relationship where each had watched the other’s growth from an
early age. There’s no way he could be mistaken!

Before he could try to reach out, the pedestrian signal turned red. As one
might expect, those people leaving work became like a wall, with no way to
proceed.

Quickly change to blue! Sae is……,Sae is right there!

As Tobio watched, several men and women gather around Sae. Watching,
Tobio was further startled.

Among the faces, one was a good friend from his class; that was the figure of
Sasaki Kouta.

Sasaki was talking at length with Sae. And then, the group that includes
Sasaki and Sae walked off to someplace.

I have to jump out! But, the signal still hasn’t changed.

He realizes Sae’s group will cross with the alternating signal. When the
signal changed, the group that was walking was just barely still in sight.
Wading through the crowd, Tobio started running.

She was alive——.

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He did not yet know that the person was indeed her. It might be an illusion
formed by his own desires.

But, her dead body had not been recovered from the sea. Corpses had not
been found.

They might not necessarily be dead. There were 200 or more of them, so it
shouldn’t be strange even if a few people drifted and ended up somewhere on
the island! His lack of composure, his mind spinning due to the illusion
caused him to think so.

Tobio crazily chased after the group.

As the sun went down, the color of dusk deepened.

Tobio was breathing heavily, as he chased the group. However, being caught
by a signal again a few minutes ago, he had lost sight of where the group had
gone.

Little by little, he proceeded to walk towards unpopulated streets.

As he advanced down the dimly lit road, the street became very quiet. At that
moment, he spotted a figure enter a construction site area at the extremes of
his vision.

He gave chase, reaching the front of the building under construction. It was a
scene for the construction of a condominium. The entrance to the
construction site was strangely open, making it easy to gain entrance.

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Tobio, confirming that no one was looking, stepped into the site. He
proceeded to enter the site filled with steel and wood.

Since the light from the electric lamps wasn’t meant to reach here, and
because of the it was starting to get dark, visibility was very poor inside.
Tobio turned on the mobile phone's backlight, and continued walking while
on its light.

It was when he was coming around the corner. Someone was standing there
——.

Tobio was familiar with that rear profile. Although wearing a white shirt
instead of the school uniform, it was one of the group that he’d been
following, doubtlessly the back of the friend who had attended the same
school as him until the spring of this year.

“……Sasaki?”

Gingerly, Tobio called out.

Despite being called, Sasaki continued defiantly walking towards the back.
…….He began to feel worried about what was up ahead. ……He began to
wonder if the individual was conscious, or even human.

“Sasaki……what’re you doing?”

Again, Tobio called out. Then the boy turned to face him. As his body turned
back, the backlight that had been shining on his back now lit up his eyes.

“——!”

Tobio let out an inarticulate sound and shrank back.

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From behind him……something huge was chewing on something. The
something noticed him, and began coming towards him. ……It was a
creature resembling a giant lizard. The mouth of the creature was painted
with blood. The tongue emerged with a slurping sound as it stared at him
curiously. The boy standing nearby was certainly Sasaki. It must be Sasaki.
Tobio was convinced.

At that moment, something rolled over. Shining his light at it, there was the
amputated head of a dog lying there.

There were deep scars on the head. The skin around the eyeball on one side
had been scraped away.

“Hii!”

Tobio released a small scream, wincing at the sight.

The lizard begins munching on the dog. ……The sound of the chewing he
heard earlier must have been……the sound chewing on the rest of the dog!

In front of him Sasaki remained expressionless, staring at Tobio, his neck

slightly inclined. The chest of his white shirt has been stained red by the
spray of the dog’s blood.

Sasaki——. He was Sasaki. It was the same classmate, the one he’d always
go to karaoke and arcades with. But while he had always been wearing a
prankster’s smile, he was just staring at Tobio emotionlessly. “Sasaki,” he
wanted to call out again but his voice wasn’t working. It’s probably because
his body and mind have been paralyzed with fear.

“You……what are you doing?”

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Tobio, who was somehow able to squeeze out those words, was questioning
the feeling of whether he was caught up in a friend's practical joke.

“……oun……d”

Sasaki let out a sound. It was at a volume that you couldn’t hear unless you
were focusing.

The next moment, right before his eyes the boy put on an otherworldly smile.
His thin mouth open, eyes narrowed, gazing at Tobio with an eerie smile.

The lizard, which had eaten the dog, halted its meal and approached. It is
impossible to feel any emotion from those eyes, whose appearance was that
of an animal which has cornered its prey.

As Tobio’s whole felt numb and cold, that thing, which looked like Sasaki,
slowly opened its mouth.

“Do it”

He heard what sounded like a ripping whoosh of air, followed by a dull

snapping sound from behind him. Turning to face there, he found that the
wood that had been propped against the wall had been cut in half. Tobio
heard an additional wind noise, and turned back.

Tobio looked back to the front, where from the lizard’s mouth a long
slovenly tongue had extended wriggling sinuously like a tentacle. Something
like saliva dripped along the tongue onto the ground.

At the tip of the strange tentacle, there was a hard object similar to a claw or
fang.

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Tobio noticed that his cheek has been cut. As he stroked his cheek with his
hand, it became covered with blood. It had got him near the ear.

……Lizard……monster?

It was a creature that exceeded the common sense of at least Tobio. It was
about 3 meters in size. At a length like that, it was reminiscent of the komodo
dragon, though not even he could recall it as having such a strange tentacle
instead of a tongue.

“……Found you……”

The thing with the appearance of Sasaki approached, smiling eerily, while
saying so. The lizard monster in front of Sasaki responded.

Tobio instinctively grabbed the steel rod placed at his feet. Holding the steel
in his trebling hands, he faced towards the monster.

“I-if this is joke stop it, Sasaki.”

Although he tried to smile by forcing the ends of his mouth to rise, the
muscles in his cheeks had completely tensed up in fear.

While Tobio held up the steel rod, the lizard monster approached with no
intervention. Tobio responded by stepping back little by little.

He could not look away from the monster’s eerily wriggling tongue.
Intuitively, he knew that he’d be dead the moment he looked away from the
tongue-like tentacle.

He didn’t know how far the tongue can stretch, but thought it wise to take
this opportunity to open up some distance. This was the verdict Tobio

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reached.

He gradually edged back little by little to gain distance.

(It’s absolutely not a good idea to look away form that tentacle)

Tobio put a hand in his pants pocket.

He felt something hard with his hand. It’s the extra coins you exchange for at
the game center.

Tobio picked up the coins in his pocket, and tossed them at the lizard
monster. The coins one could easily pay for caused the lizard monster’s
tongue to drop, resulting in a gap that felt he could escape during.

He changed his posture for escape and he immediately started running, but
the tentacle which had stretched entered his sights. Tobio reflexively braced
to defend himself with the cylindrical steel bar against the extending tentacle.
But the tentacle coils around the bar.

“Ku……”

He tries to shake of the tentacles wrapped around the bar, but an incredible
force is applied on it.

His resistance was in vain, as the steel in Tobio’s was removed by the
tentacle. At Sasaki’s instruction, the monster lizard threw the seized round
bar far away. A dry, metallic sound was heard.

Returning to Tobio, its original prey, the monster lizard drew steadily closer
step by step.

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Tobio shrank back, enveloped in terror. He tries to escape again, but his leg
was immediately caught by the tentacle, causing him to immediately trip and
fall. As he tried to stand up, he watched as the lizard monster drew closer.

Watching this scene, the person with the appearance of Sasaki sneered. The
lizard monster’s tongue made sinuous movements, aiming the fang-like tip at
Tobio.

I’m done for!

Having concluded so, something came between Tobio and the monster at
breakneck speed.

……When nothing happened even after waiting a few seconds, Tobio

curiously glanced towards the monster. ——Then, the elongated tentacle was
bisected, and the lizard monster raised a wordless shriek.

“I won’t let you do it so easily.”

Suddenly, he heard the voice of a young woman from behind. The owner of
the voice, along with the sound of footsteps, appeared alongside Tobio. The
girl was clothed in the school uniform from somewhere. Her age was about
the same. Her hair was tied up in the back.

For Tobio it seemed like he had seen this female student before somewhere,
but……probably because of the confusing situation, he could not properly
remember.

As Tobio glanced at the girl, she took one step forward.

“I’ll be your opponent.”

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So she said to the lizard, holding her hand out front. Responding to the girl’s
provocation, Sasaki instructs the lizard monster with his hand. The lizard
tried to attack her with its long tongue. ——In an instant, there was
something that continued to pass between Tobio and the girl at tremendous
speed. It disappeared into the darkness while grazing the monster’s side at
recklessly high speeds.

An instant later, the monster’s tongue quietly dropped. There were cuts in its
neck, going from its head down to the ground. Its body lost all strength, and it
collapsed onto the ground.

As though he had lost consciousness at the same time, the person who looked
like Sasaki also dropped on the spot.

Still encompassed with fear, Tobio was in too much of a confused state to
understand what had happened. The lizard monster——it died. An organism
like the one with the severed neck, it should not exist. Even if it did, at the
very least it would defy common sense——.

From the darkness ahead, flapping was heard, like that of large birds of prey
——a bird that looked like a hawk came flying in their direction. The bird,
having perched on the girl’s arm, played with the girl. The girl also stroked
the bird’s head saying, “There, there”. Earlier, what passed Tobio was
apparently the bird now perched on the girl’s arm. If that’s what happened,
then was it this bird that defeated the monster?

He was still doubtful, but Tobio now was relieved to that he had survived. He
sighed quietly.

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——But, his relief was fleeting, as Sasaki who was lying on the ground
became enveloped by a mysterious luminous phenomenon. It also enveloped
the now deceased lizard monster. It was a blue light, which was being emitted
from something circular on the ground, which was carved with unfamiliar
characters. ……As if, it seemed to be something like a “magic circle” often
seen in games and manga. The thing similar to a magic circle gave off a more
dazzling brilliance that would make one want to cover their eyes. ……After
the flash ceased, he looked at the location, where the lizard monster and
Sasaki were no longer to be found.

……After a phenomenon akin to being pinched by a fox[2], what had

unfolded before Tobio’s eyes left him so taken aback that words failed him
completely.

“Ikuse……kun, right?”

Not at all surprised by this phenomenon, the girl asks as she looks at Tobio’s
face.

“T-that’s me……And you are……?

Tobio replies so. She seemed somewhat familiar. But he cannot remember
clearly. It was certain he’d seen her somewhere……

“I’m Minagawa Natsume. You really……do not know…… We’ve never

spoken directly, so even your name and face didn’t match up. If I hadn’t seen
your photo”

The girl, who called herself Natsume, took out her cell phone from the pocket
of her skirt, and showed him the screen. Evidently, there seems to be a

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picture of Tobio as a cell phone image. This was what Natsume had wanted
to convey by showing him her cell phone screen.

At the bottom, along with a familiar landscape, he had been photographed

talking with old friends.

Seeing it, Tobio understood intuitively.

“You, you mean——“

When Tobio was about to say it aloud in surprise, Natsume continued his
words while wearing a complacent smile.

“Uh huh, I’m a Ryoukuu High School second year survivor just like you.

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 Part 2

“For me, I’ll have one rich vanilla cream with syrup and something from the
drink bar. Errr, what do you want to order Ikuse-kun?”

“No thanks, I’m good.”

Tobio shook his head.

“Well then, if you'll excuse me.”

Responding to Natsume’s order, the waitress goes towards the kitchen.

After the encounter with the person who looked like Sasaki and the attack of
the lizard monster, the two of them visited a family restaurant. Natsume had
said, “Since it’s a long story, let’s go somewhere else where it’s calm,” and
brought Tobio here.

After she had returned to her seat having selected her drink from the drink
bar, Tobio opened the conversation.

“What did you mean?”

“What?”

To Tobio’s question, Natsume responded with a light tone. With a slightly

annoyed attitude, Tobio furrowed his brow and asked again.

“What was all of that? What’s the story behind this?”

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‘That’ obviously referred to the earlier encounter with Tobio’s friend——the
incident with Sasaki and the lizard monster. What was that monster? That
was what Tobio was asking. Natsume, who was sitting across from him, at
least knows something about that monster.

“As you saw, it was a monster and its master.”

Natsume answered without hesitation. Before Tobio can ask another question
she continues.

“The being that looked like our classmate created that monster, which is
called an ‘Utsusemi’. See, they’re a type of prototype independent-avatars
——or so it would seem. Them and their monsters, collectively they are
called ‘Utsusemi’.

As she says so, she wets her finger on the glass of iced coffee that had come
and writes the katakana characters for ‘Utsusemi’ on the table with the water.

“Utsusemi?”

Not familiar with the word, Tobio put on a confused look.

“Uh huh, Utsusemi. Well that’s the official name or so I've heard……But
well, they——and that girl as well, the Utsusemi all have the appearance of
the Ryoukuu High School sophomores that went missing the day of the
accident.

“Wha……”

Tobio was speechless. Natsume retains a serious look as she continues the
story.

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“While I don’t know the exact details, our 233 fellow students that were in
the maritime disaster, currently, each and every one of them is paired up with
a monster like the one we met a short while ago.”

She just kept saying one incredible thing after another.

Since the joint funeral, he had encountered other survivors of the accident.
But he’d never met her before at Ryoukuu High School.

Having met someone with similar circumstances, this was beyond Tobio’s
ability to comprehend.

Seeing the perplexed look on Tobio’s face, Natsume sighed and put a hand in
her bag.

“I know it seems strange to suddenly be saying such strange things. Anyway,

since you’ll be hearing it all again at a later date, for now——“

She took a white round object out of her bag. It was about the size of a
softball.

“My role is to make sure to give this to Ikuse-kun.”

Natsume put the white round object on the table. Tobio gingerly picked it up.

It seemed to be quite an ordinary round object. But, at that moment, the round
object began to pulsate in time with his own heartbeat.

“Uwah”

Letting out a pathetic cry, Tobio dropped the round object on the table.

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“You have to be careful with it. You don’t want it to die.”

While scooping her spoon into the rich vanilla cream the waitress had
brought, Natsume unhesitatingly said something ominous.

She happily scooped the vanilla cream into her mouth.

“Die, what do you mean?”

The worried Tobio protested Natsume’s ominous choice of words.

“The Utsusemi, it would seem, were intended for us students who survived
the trip by not participating. In fact, weren’t you also just targeted? I have
been targeted recently as well.”

“Such a ridiculous story, how could I possibly believe that?”

“It’s selfish not to believe Ikuse-kun, particularly considering you were

attacked. If I hadn’t come along when I did, it would have killed you.”

He recalled how Sasaki and the monster unexpectedly disappeared while

wrapped in the light from the magic circle looking thing.

“……That light take took them”

“Un. Somehow, upon defeating the monster, it causes the owner to fall
unconscious ——when that happens, they both disappear along with that
luminous phenomenon. It’s like fantasy.”

She chuckled and laughed. Tobio felt a sudden sense of understanding.

Natsume pointed her spoon at him.

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“So, that ‘egg’ is important. Shouldn’t it be a valuable weapon for powerless
normal high school students like us?”

Natsume looked out the window. Following her gaze Tobio also looked
outside the store. In the branches of the trees by the sidewalk where people
came and went, the bird from earlier was perched. The bird looked around
while seeming jittery. From the sharp glint in its eyes could it felt as though
the sun hadn't gone down.

“Well, since we can’t stay inside forever and my hawk-chan doesn’t see
anyone sneaking around outside, should we leave soon?”

Natsume, having finished her rich vanilla cream, stood up.

“Hey, wait!”

Natsume drew Tobio who still had questions for her, and stood facing him.
As Tobio was embarrassed by her sudden actions, she drew her mouth close
to his ear while smiling complacently. Entering Tobio’s nasal cavity, there
was a sweet scent coming from Natsume’s hair.

“Later, I’ll visit you at home.”

She whispered something profound in his ear and then left.

The completely stunned Tobio slapped his reddened face. He shook his head
to clear his thoughts.

“……Hold it, she knows where my house is?”

Voicing such a question, he gazed at the round object she had brought.

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‘Egg’——.

Would something be born from it?

Earlier, the pulsation he felt with his hand, it had been quite vivid.

With that eerie thought, Tobio put the alleged ‘egg’ into his bag.

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 Black Dog/Birth

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 Part 1

As soon as he got home to his apartment, Tobio sat down on the living room
sofa. He let out a deep sigh.

He suddenly looked up at the ceiling.

——Was Sasaki manipulating that monster lizard really not a dream?

He asked himself this, but the vivid memory was a clear rejection of that
possibility.

There was something else with the appearance of Sasaki……

Are lizard monsters with tentacle-like things extending from their mouths
things that actually exist in this world? Monsters like those that appear in the
world of comics and games, can those exist in reality!? There’s no way!
What reason could there be for such a monster to exist——.

…….

In silence Tobio buried his face in his hands.

……Was that a dream? Or a vision?

Could it be because of the immense sense of loss from the death of his
classmates weighing on his mind and body that caused such a vision?

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Wrong. The monster of Sasaki had commanded. That monster. It had injured
him.

He looked over towards his bag that was laying sideways.

From the slightly open mouth of the bag, he caught a glimpse of a round
object.

Along the way returning home, there were many times he considered
throwing it away, however, since he would have been in danger of dying if
not for Minagawa Natsume being there, he couldn’t just part with it without
hesitation.

It’s a ridiculous story. Their corpses having never been recovered, his
missing fellow students then brought monsters and attacked him. Why would
he have been targeted? No matter how he thought about it, there was no
reason for him to be killed. What Minagawa Natsume had said, when you
thought about it calmly it sounded like a strange joke.

However, Tobio saw the lizard-shaped monster. That monster’s head was
instantly sent flying by Minagawa Natsume’s hawk. These events are facts. If
he were to try to pretend that it’s a dream, those distinct images will emerge
from his mind.

……If that’s the case that would mean that, not only Sasaki, but that the rest
of his classmates whose condition had been unknown would be alive as
well……? Likewise, that time that he saw Sae was also genuine? And that
Sae, like Sasaki, carries a monster with her……?

No, it’s too early for conclusions like that to be drawn Tobio thought.
Although such things happening was incomprehensible, he didn’t want to

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imagine that Sae would be alive trying to kill him with such a monster.

Sitting on the living room sofa, Tobio let out another deep sigh.

——He was worn out.

Tobio’s entire body was afflicted with fatigue. Even if he had the energy to
make dinner, he had no appetite.

Tobio stood up and again looked at the bag. ……While gazing at the alleged
‘egg’, he at once began remembering the various things that had happened
that day. Tobio picked up the bag that was still holding the ‘egg’, and placed
it in the bathroom tub.

This should be good. He wanted to forget about this until tomorrow morning
at least.

Tobio closed the door to the bathroom, returned to his room and lay down in
bed. Attacked by drowsiness as soon as he lay down, Tobio immediately fell
asleep.

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 Part 2

“Bauh!”

“Uwah!”

A large dog barked and Tobio let out a pathetic cry. His back was even bent
over.

“Hey, since we're about to become high school students you shouldn't get so
surprised from a dog barking.”

While rubbing the dog’s head, Sae gave him a wry smile.

Sae’s house. In the garden, there’s a Golden Retriever that was entrusted to
them from her relatives. It would appear that her family is looking after her
while their relatives go on a trip.

It was at the time they were in junior high school, he had been home alone on
a holiday, when Sae called and asked him to come over to her house.

He was following through with helping out with the dog as he had been
requested, but for Tobio himself, as someone who was weak when it came to
animals, covering for Sae was out of the question.

Being friendly, but with the attitude of a mischievous spoiled child, the
Golden Retriever, merely from realizing that he wasn't Sae, would use all the
strength in its large body for the purpose of fawning upon Tobio. For people

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who like dogs, they would find such conduct enjoyable, but for someone
who’s weak with animals it would be seen as nothing but menacing.

While rapidly wagging its tail, the dog chased Tobio who fled from the
garden. To chase a fleeing opponent, that is a dog’s instinct. By appropriately
motivating the dog, Tobio had become the ideal playmate for handling the
dog. Although, this was no different than having a wild animal chase Tobio.

“Hey! Come on!”

Even if he got angry, once the Golden Retriever’s playfulness was this fired
up, there was nothing that could be done to end it quietly.

“Ahahaha! Do your best, Tobio”

Speaking of Sae, she was sitting on the porch watching the frantic Tobio.

“Idiot! Help!”

Such an appeal was in vain, as Tobio was then defeated by the dog leaping on
him from behind, falling face down in the garden.

The dog then mercilessly climbed onto his back and began sloppily licking
around his head.

“Uwah! Jus-, stop, hey! Uowaaaaah!”

Tobio was on the garden lawn, half teary-eyed as twisted and struggled, but
the dog’s assault did not stop.

“Kinjirou! Stop!”

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With that command of Sae’s, the dog named Kinjirou stopped teasing Tobio.
It quickly distanced itself from Tobio and exhibited proper sitting pose
behavior.

The dog’s onslaught having ceased, Tobio took the opportunity to slowly
stand up. His appearance was completely haggard.

Becoming truly worried, Sae timidly peered at Tobio’s face.

“A-are you okay?”

“……I, I’m okay”

Somehow, he was barely able to reply so. Still, regarding the presence of the
large dog, Tobio had yet to grow accustomed to it.

Sae gently stroked Tobio’s head.

“I’m sorry, Tobio”

With Sae publicly behaving as one would comforting children, Tobio was
unable to get angry at her.

It was because of how pleasant it was. Because of the gentleness transmitted

from her hand, it was exceedingly comfortable.

If his friends had been watching him, it would have been an embarrassing
scene. Exempting the dog, him presently being cuddled was something he
would never show anyone.

However, Sae’s warmth would sometimes cause his mood to be at ease.

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“Good grief, Tobio is completely useless against Sae-chan.”

Just like that she wore a small amused smile. Looking behind, the beloved
grandmother had been there.

Tobio hurriedly moved away from Sae uttering excuses.

“This, This is……so, just a little…!”

Watching Tobio’s reaction, grandmother and Sae as well had nothing but
pleasant smiles. It would not be so embarrassing for Tobio if the situation
was reversed.

Tobio let out a deep breath despite the grandmother, stroking the Golden
Retriever’s head. Suddenly the grandmother muttered.

“……It's no use hating the dog, Tobio. One day, the child that has chosen
you will……no, perhaps the child that has chosen you has appeared already.”

Those words that the grandmother had spoken, Tobio was unable to
understand……yet as she watched the dog with a gentle gaze, despite how
transient it was, those words were impossible to forget——.

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 Part 3

“Sae……Baa-chan……”

When he woke up, it was his own room he saw. The room was dark.

——He’d been having a dream.

Of time spent with the two beloved people no longer present——.

Tobio wiped the tears he had unknowingly shed. Only shifting his gaze, he
looked at the clock display in the room. It was already around midnight. ……
He was still tired. Let him continue sleeping like this until morning. There’s
school tomorrow, so it’d be good to have a bath in the morning.

Bath——.

That’s right, there’s an ‘egg’ in the bathroom. At that moment Tobio

remembered the ‘egg’, as well as the incident with the monster, and also
recalled the matter of Natsume.

——Go to bed.

In that way, Tobio made his choice. Being alone, he just wanted to sleep until
morning without consideration for anything else.

He closed his eyes, shut down his consciousness.

…………

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……And yet, how he wondered. His mind was abuzz. His consciousness
would not completely shut down. There was some kind of sensation
enveloping his body. Tobio slowly opened his eyes. The room was dark. The
only sound was that of the alarm clock needle ticking in the silence.

His mind was restless. Now why would that be?

Suddenly he looked towards the closed curtain. He reached towards it with

his hand. By pulling a little bit, he looked out.

“——!”

At that moment, Tobio’s body stiffened.

——From the gap in the curtain, there was someone peering in.

He closed the curtains in a panic. ……No, there’s no way! This was the fifth
floor of the apartment complex. Moreover, the window next to the bed
doesn’t have a balcony. On the other side of the window there’s nothing.
Tobio got himself out of bed, and gingerly reached out to the curtain again.
Vigorously, he pulled the curtain to see out the window. ——But no one was
there.

As expected, did he imagine it? Having seen those kind of things earlier that
evening, was he now having strange hallucinations?

Tobio opened the window, stuck only his head out, and restlessly looked
around. Still, there was no change. There was no one there. Tobio let out a
deep breath in relief. At that moment——.

Splat…….

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Something fell onto Tobio’s head. He touched it with his hand. ……It was
some kind of sticky liquid. ……The liquid had fallen from above?

“……ound……”

Noticing a voice, at that moment Tobio abruptly looked up.

“Found you.”

He looked up into a face smiling thinly. A gloomy boy of about the same age
——something like a large spider with multiple legs was clinging to the wall
of the condominium in an inverted posture.

“——!”

The surprised Tobio, immediately drawing his head back into the room,
intended to shut the window. ——But the spider monster was preventing the
window from closing with its legs. Feeling fearful of the powerful strength
that was being transmitted through the window, Tobio hurriedly took a step
back from the spot.

The boy, meanwhile, entered slowly through the window accompanied by the
spider monster. When he stood in the center of the room, he stared at Tobio
while showing a thin smile.

“Found you. Imposter.”

With broken language, the boy said that. The accompanying spider monster
turned towards him with a strange glint in its eyes.

——Utsusemi.

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Right, the being in front of him was the same as Sasaki’s from that evening.
Someone with the guise of a fellow student had brought a monster. ……
Could this one also have been a student of Ryoukuu High School? He was
not an acquaintance. But, it was probably a fellow student. That is if
Natsume’s words were to be believed.

After lizard is spider, huh…… Tobio felt it was apparently ironic that neither
of them were good creatures to encounter.

……Either way, he’d be killed at this rate. In front of the boy’s eyes, the
spider monster gave off an indescribable force that was the real deal. With all
that killing intent directed at him, Tobio was instantly able to appreciate that.

With his body dominated by fear, Tobio began to run towards the door of the
room. Something like spider’s silk came flying at his feet, but with difficulty
he was somehow able to open the door while avoiding it. Having done so, he
began passing through the living room at a run towards the entrance.
Immediately, he tried to escape. This was best choice with the highest
survival rate.

Tobio arrived at the entrance, removed the chain, and opened the door——.
On the other side of the door, a lone girl was standing there. Beside her, what
seemed like a giant frog monster sprang from the corner.

“Found you.”

Speaking such words, the girl’s hand reached forward. In response to that, the
frog that had sprung from the corner opened its massive mouth. Just like the
lizard monster he saw in the evening, its reaching tongue had something like

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a claw resembling a sharp fang. In accordance with the girl’s instruction, the
frog’s tongue came jumping out at Tobio!

“Dammit!”

While cursing, Tobio immediately stooped his body. He felt the air shift as
the grotesque tongue cut through the air above him as it went passed. He had
just barely managed to avoid it. Having just barely escaped that attack, he had
no intention of taking any more.

Utsusemi, this girl as well!

Tobio somehow righted his posture, but there were footsteps approaching
from behinds. Looking behind him, the boy and thing with the guise of a
giant spider had reached the living room door. The girl and the frog monster
were also invading from the entrance.

——He was caught between them.

The girl Utsusemi from the front, the boy Utsusemi from behind. The two of
them gradually drew closer. In the middle of the hallway from the entrance to
the living room, Tobio was in the abyss of despair.

——He’d be killed at this rate.

Mercilessly the two people who were Utsusemi have been inching closer.
They had the appearance of classmates he did not know. Could he have been
acquainted with them while they were alive? Aside from being killed by a
classmate, getting killed by a classmate who doesn’t know him is highly
unpleasant. In this predicament, Tobio had such thoughts circulating.

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——But, the door to the changing room suddenly jumped into Tobio’s eyes.
In that instant he was suddenly reminded.

In the bathrooms tub——was the ‘egg’! That right, he’d put the ‘egg’ over
there.

——You don’t want it to die.

Natsume’s words were repeated in his mind. Remaining vigilant, Tobio

steadily decreased his distance to the bathroom little by little.

As he was extending his hand towards the bathroom door, both of the
Utsusemi reached out with their hands to direct their monsters. At the
moment the monsters directed their killing intent at him, Tobio who was
between them hurriedly moved to open the bathroom door. Taking the key in
with him, he opened the door to the bathroom.

A moment later, he heard a loud noise from behind. Looking over his
shoulder, he saw what looked the Utsusemi’s tentacle had pierced through the
bathroom door. As expected, if something of flesh and blood was struck by
that it wouldn’t just leave a hole for air to pass through.

Hurriedly, Tobio opened the bag he’s placed in the bathroom.

“……This is”

Tobio saw the contents of the bag, at a loss for words. The ‘egg’, which was
the size of a softball——had been cracked.

Cracked? Since when? There weren’t supposed to be cracks here!

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That what Tobio wondered, but it was certain that the ‘egg’ was broken……
only the hard shell remained, though he could not confirm if this was
evidence that something had been hatched.

(……There’s, there’s no way! Minagawa Natsume certainly said this was

important! Without this, I’ll be killed!)

Tobio quickly searched the interior of the bathroom, but the contents of the
‘egg’ were nowhere in sight. While it sounded ridiculous, it was Tobio’s
intuition that Minagawa Natsume’s hawk had come from such an ‘egg’——
or otherwise he imagined that there would be some other organism inside.
And thus, he had thought that when it emerged he’s be able to compete with
the attacking Utsusemi. But instead it’s……empty?

No way, was what Minagawa Natsume said a lie? Or perhaps, could he have
been given an empty ‘egg’ by mistake?

For Tobio who had thought of the ‘egg’ as his last hope, he began to
gradually be overcome with despair. Mercilessly from behind, the sound of
the progressive destruction of the door was heard.

……There was no way to escape. All that was left to do was wait to be
killed.

Collapsing right there, Tobio trembled as time counted down to his death.
——Now, it was that time.

——Dokun.

With his heart pounding from fear and tension——a very different pulsation
and palpitation occurred in his body. Within his body——he attained a sense

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similar to something being produced from its depths, which until now hadn’t
been there.

Dokun-dokun.

Little by little, though, from Tobio’s heart certainly——his entire body began
to visibly pulsate, and a warm sensation was felt.

Indeed, there was ‘something’ unseen in his heart——. What the identity of
this ‘something’ was, he knew not, only a sense of “soon it’ll be here”, was
all he could understand. The pulsations did not stop. It was rapidly
increasing. Simultaneously as the feeling of “the something will be here
momentarily” that was approaching, there was also a feeling that it may be an
illusion——no, it was certain that there was something emerging from
Tobio’s body.

In the meantime, a loud sound was heard from behind. It would have to be
the door being completely destroyed. From there, through the hole in the
door, the boy Utsusemi’s face appeared. He had been caught.

“Found you.”

After saying as much, the face was withdrawn, and the monster’s tongue
stretched through the hole in the door and began trying to open the lock.

But, as if in response his heart had strengthened in the meantime, becoming

increasingly faster.

Tobio put his hand of the bathroom shower. He turned on the water heater
and put his hand on the faucet.

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The boy Utsusemi accompanied by the spider entered through the now open
bathroom door. As soon as it noticed his presence, its eyes narrowed as
though with pleasure. The huge spider wriggled as it took aim at him.

Tobio faced the spider, and sprayed it with hot shower water that had been
heated to the maximum temperature.

Hit in the front with the hot shower water, the spider that was completely
covered suffered violently on the spot.

The counterattack had achieved payback——. That was such a fleeting

thought, as from the boy Utsusemi’s side, the girl Utsusemi showed up with
the frog monster.

As soon as the girl saw the shower Tobio was holding and the state of the
spider, she hid half her body behind the bathroom entrance. The frog’s
tongue with the tusk on the tip changed into a whip, which was swung
straight at him.

Tobio instinctively dodged to the side, but as a result the frog’s tongue
severed the shower he was holding. With the shower having lost its tip, the
hose meanwhile sprayed hot water vigorously.

Unable to handle being bathed in hot water, Tobio was forced to stop the
water immediately.

As Tobio tried to avoid the hot water on the bathroom floor the frog tongue
attacked. The surprised Tobio put his foot in the boiling water on the floor,
and immediately felt the heat as his foot slipped. Fortunately by slipping he
avoided a direct hit from the tongue……but he lost his balance and fell back
towards the bathtub.

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In pain from hitting his waist on the bottom of the tub, Tobio shut his eyes.
When he opened his eyes, the frog was looking down at him from in front.
From behind, the spider monster was crawling along the bathroom walls
while being wary.

Murderous intent——. There is no doubt that was being emitted from both of
the monsters was pure blood lust. This was what Tobio felt with his whole
body.

To be killed——.

……I don’t want that.

……This, an ending I don’t even know the reason for……I don’t want that at
all……!

I don’t want to die——.

I don’t want to die I don’t want to die.

I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I
don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I don’t want to die!

……Someone, help me.

It was when he became filled with that thought. Tobio was attacked by a bout
of intense heartbeats.

……Dokun. DOKUN!

His heart was beating so hard he thought others would surely hear it as well.

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——bio. ——kay.

——Tobio. It’s okay.

At this moment, in this situation, it can be said that what unexpectedly

reemerged in Tobio’s mind——was the voice of the old grandmother. With a
wet wrinkled face, his grandmother was saying.

——Tobio. You are a blessed child. A child loved more than any other.

——However, Obaa-chan wants you to be even a little bit happy, Tobio.

——So therefore, Obaa-chan, for just a brief moment, put a seal on the
blessed Tobio.

——But you know, I’m sure that one day you are going to see much more
painful things than right now.

——Just remember this, Tobio. The other you that is within you will save
you when no one else can.

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When he was younger, his grandmother held him close, and muttered in this
way. The words, despite being words he still cannot understand, are carved
upon the very depths of Tobio’s soul.

——You are unique with this world, because “ ” has chosen you.

——Even if it’s just the imitation of the shell of “ ”.

Inaudible——the word he was unable to remember, yet even so, despite

circumstances, the voice of his grandmother gave Tobio an ephemeral sense
of nostalgia.

DOKUN——.

He was struck with a conspicuously large pulsation. For a moment, he lost

sensation in his body and his consciousness blurred……but immediately he
recovered back to his original state. But, the next moment, something flew at
high speeds and passed the cheek of Tobio’ who had landed in the bathtub!

Before his eyes, the face of the frog monster with its tongue hanging out——
was pierced by what appeared to be a blade. A blade had stretched to the
ceiling while piercing through the frog. The frog monster was swiftly
slammed into the bathroom ceiling. Seeing that, perceiving that there was
danger, the spider monster vanished from Tobio’s sight.

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He himself collapsed into the bath tub. There behind him——was the bottom
of the tub. What was it that had jump out from back there?

After regaining his posture, Tobio looked where the blade had come from.

——From the his own shadow, a single sharp blade had emerged.

As Tobio watched with bated breath, the shadow he was projecting wriggled
as though possessing a purpose. The shadow gradually took shape——and
it's appearance was astonishing.

What had emerged from the shadow was a single puppy with black fur.

The puppy’s forehead had a sharp protuberance——the blade had sprout

from there. The puppy jumped out of the tub, pulling the blade out from the
frog it had pierced to the ceiling. The frog monster fell to the floor, still alive
despite the large amount of blood flowing from its face.

The frog monster, still possessing a hole drilled in its face, again attacked
with its tongue’s sharp tusk that it has used on Tobio——only it fired it at the
puppy.

Zashu~, such a cutting sound resounded in the bathroom.

——Flesh was scattered. The monster’s tongue, and even its whole body,
was sliced to pieces, its flesh scattered all over the bathroom. The puppy had
jumped out instantly and chopped the frog with the blade on its
forehead……!!

Systematically, the jet black puppy jumped from wall to wall of the
bathroom, instantly carving up the frog monster, and now went after the

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initial spider monster.

With the loss of the frog monster, the girl Utsusemi lost consciousness and
collapsed on the spot.

As for the spider monster that accompanied the boy, having judged the
situation to be hazardous, it began to withdraw. The puppy did not permit
this, and it grew blades from its back like wings to close the distance.

Tobio was astonished by this series of events.

……From his own shadow, a puppy……was born? Instead of the ‘egg’, it

emerged from the shadows? This dog that can grows blades. That blade, it
instantly turned the frog monster into chunks of meat.

Although phenomenon that exceed the imagination kept occurring one after
another, the black puppy before his eyes gave him a powerful feeling of
‘something’. Just like earlier, that pulsating feeling——was no different from
than that from this puppy. This small black dog that he’d called on his own.
No, did he call this dog……?

As the boy Utsusemi was retreating, the black puppy, not failing to realize,
closed the distance in an instant. The black puppy, like a black bullet, shot
right passed the side of the spider monster. When all had subsided, the spider
monster that had been following the boy lost its strength. A beat later, and the
spider’s body split in half. Having lost the spider, the boy dramatically
dropped in place just as the girl had before.

In less than one minute’s worth of time, the puppy had dispatched the bodies
of the two monsters.

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And suddenly it was silent. The Utsusemi weren’t moving. After a while,
what looked like a magic square emerged again under the Utsusemi and
monsters, which then vanished in a flash of light.

……Only Tobio and the puppy were left behind in the bathroom. The puppy
twitched its ears, and began to utilize its nose. Probably noticing something,
the puppy vigorously leapt out of the bathroom. As it left the bathroom Tobio
followed it.

He caught up to the puppy in the living room. Looking down at the scene,
Tobio was at a loss for words.

Because a huge feathered organism had been waiting in the center of the
room. The living room window had been broken. The creature had feathers,
like an insect its head, chest, and abdomen were divided into three, it also had
six legs, but the head, rather than looking like that of an insect, looked more
like a reptile’s. The strange creature looked a moth’s body with a lizard’s
head stuck on. Of course, the main point was the boy beside it that had
invaded the room.

But, even in front of such a monster, the black puppy that had grown a blade
was poised without any cowardice whatsoever. The puppy rushed into
without hesitation. To avert its aim, the monster rose slightly——but the
puppy instantly reacted by kicking off the wall to continue its pursuit.
Continuing the hectic chase, in a flash two of the monsters legs had been cut
off.

Because of its bulk, the winged monster’s maneuverability was limited in the
room. Correspondingly, the black dog’s small body was highly preferable for

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maneuverability. The way it was, the puppy’s method would end it through
tactics.

In this way while Tobio was grasping the situation, the monster’s principle
boy was visibly instructing the monster with wide, mowing hand motions.
The feathered monster gave off a dull glint in its eyes, and as the puppy
launched its second attack——it deliberately let itself get struck head on!
This meant that the puppy’s blade would easily pierce deeply into the
monster’s chest, but it also allowed the monster to tightly grab the puppy
with its remaining four legs. With things as they were, it flapped its wing and
rushed out from inside of the room.

——The puppy was taken outside!

This was bad. This place was an upstairs apartment. Supposing that his
expectation was correct, the monster’s aim was——seemingly for it to fall
from a great height. The monster intended to drop the puppy from high in the
sky. Even if it was an alien dog that sprouts blades, if it was dropped from
such a height……!!

Tobio, worried about the dog, decided to target the boy employing the
feathered monster. After somehow or another gaining some distance, he
quickly threw a nearby pot will all his strength at the boy’s back, hitting his
body. After letting out a choking voice, the boy fell dramatically where he
was.

Having confirmed this, Tobio ran immediately to the balcony. The thought of
the puppy’s being taken into the sky was disturbing.

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Having come to the balcony Tobio saw something in the moonlight——it
was the monster flying in the air in front of the apartment while holding the
puppy. If it wasn’t for the four legs holding the puppy that pierced its chest, it
would have fallen at that very moment just then——. *Bashu-*, resounding
in the night sky, a dull smashing sound was heard.

The image in Tobio’s eye then, was a gigantic sword that had appeared in the
moonlight. Tobio had clearly witnessed the moment of its appearance. In that
way, just before the monster was about to drop it, the puppy’s body emitted a
frail light. The next moment, the puppy had undergone a transformation into
a single giant blade, which pierced the body of the winged monster and
scattered it.

The huge blade fell on the roof in front of the apartment.

……Tobio took a breath. In the moonlight in front of him, there was an

irregular sword stuck in the roof of an apartment building.

Tobio’s mind remembered from that.

—— It's no use hating the dog, Tobio. One day, the child that has chosen you
will……no, perhaps the child that has chosen has appeared already.

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Ahh, Baa-chan. This is what you were talking about? But, was it——.

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——that “dog”?

Tobio pressed a hand against his vigorously pulsating chest. The reason it
was like that, was it fear. Or was it, perhaps, that he never expected himself
to attain such power——.

“……Yours is amazing.”

From behind he was heard a third party let out a strangled voice.

He was surprised to see the appearance of Minagawa Natsume enter his sight
on the roof of the apartment. She had come to visit just as she had promised.

“Are you okay? I was a little slow.”

She looked at him while worried. Tobio sat on the spot, his mind inattentive,
and replied, “Somehow.”

When the light faded, as he checked to make sure of the winged monster’s
master, he swallowed the words, “I wish you’d come a bit sooner.”——

After the series of attacks had ended, as he emerged from the corridor, he
looked toward the living room where the falcon was perched upon the sofa.

“I was also surprised. Having communicated with you at the family

restaurant this evening, I was going to come over and talk things over with

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you, but you were under attack when I got here. By three of them no less.
That must have been tough for your second battle.”

Natsume casually said that. Coming under attack by three people, and from
this girl’s perspective the only word to describe it is “tough”.

Natsume let out a voice saying, “How cute!” She was currently holding the
puppy. When it turned into a blade, the black puppy ended up stuck on the
roof of the apartment, so Natsume’s hawk carried it back up to here. As the
hawk was flying to the roof, the puppy resumed its original appearance.

——Blades appear from of its body!

But, despite Tobio’s worrying Natsume held the puppy whose body was now
free of blades. Wagging its tail like a normal puppy, it was being fawned on
by Natsume.

That puupy’s small body of jet-black fur contained the strength that
slaughtered those monsters. Extending blades from its whole body, it had
demonstrated such an incredible power.

“Well, let’s get out of here.”

Natsume made such a proposal.

“To think I had hoped to remain here for a while, but it can’t be helped.
Please go pack some luggage, but only the basic necessities. Our opponent
knows about your house. Besides, even if you defeated them once, after one
hour, no perhaps after thirty minutes they will attack again, right?”

Tobio agreed that the danger had only passed temporarily.

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“……With a commotion such as this, I wonder if someone reported it.”

Tobio suddenly spoke aloud such a thought.

Right, the window was broken, and the bathroom had been destroyed up to
the door. With such disruptive sounds, it would not be surprising if the
nearby residents started an uproar. However, Minagawa Natsume shook her
head.

“……They finish preparations before an attack, so such a commotion does

not occur. Everyone would have remained asleep.”

……He could not understand the significance of what she had so calmly
mentioned. It was beyond Tobio’s ability to comprehend. However, this
couldn’t be said to be a joke, since it felt like this sense of abnormality was
just the current state of affairs.

Natsume turns with a smile and says.

“Since I know of a good place to hide from them, let’s go there.”

“A place to hide?”

“Yup, it’s where I live now. It’s a place one can safely spend time while
feeling safe from the Utsusemi. Therefore, because I’ll tell you many things
you need to know, you should quickly get ready to go!”

Pushing on Tobio’s back, Natsume hurriedly urged him on.

“Is there truly such a good place? I mean, we could clean up here——“

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“Dah! Listen here, go get your luggage ready!! It’s not safe here! If you try
and complain, Onee-san will drag you there by your underpants.”

As one might expect, thinking Natsume’s explosive word were indeed

troubling, Tobio stopped raising objections and decided to return to his room
to pick up his luggage.

Tobio and Natsume continued down the road late at night.

Tobio was carrying two large bags, one on his shoulder and the other in his
hand. These large bags, which back at the house had been filled with only the
minimum necessary things, were being carried as he followed Natsume, who
was walking through the streets at night.

“At any rate, it’s safer to leave populated areas.”

As Tobio carried the heavy luggage, he did his best to keep up with
Natsuem’s quick pace. ——To Tobio’s rear, the puppy came following after
him while trotting.

Suddenly Natsume's expression completely changed. She directed her sharp

gaze in Tobio’s direction. Her gaze was focused on what was behind Tobio.

As Tobio look looked back, he saw the black puppy that had been following
him was directing its attention at the darkness just shy of the lamp’s light, and
was baring its fangs menacingly.

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As it stared at the dark road with narrowed eyes, a gradually approaching
figure appeared.

“No way……”

Tobio uttered anxiously while gulping.

“Yeah, visitors.”

Utsusemi——.

A boy steadily approached, looking eerily emotionless, giving rise to a

feeling that he lacked a spirit. By his side, there was a snake monster that had
appeared from around the corner.

Tobio and Natsume each exchanged a glance with the other. This was
determine their next action. To flee, or to fight.

But before they could do so, suddenly a flame-like phenomenon wound

around the snake’s body! The serpent was blazing fiercely on the dark road,
and with its body writhing, it was turned into charcoal——.

While Tobio was at a loss of words at this occurrence, Natsume, upon seeing
the phenomenon, let out a sigh of relief.

With the serpent’s death, the accompanying classmate——the Utsusemi was

also transferred away by the magic square. With that phenomenon having
been verified, the sound of steady footsteps was heard.

Appearing out of the darkness, a strange looking blonde girl stepped into the
light. Also, the reason she was strange looking, she was dressed in a cloak
and a pointed hat. Though she looked foreign, she was dressed as though it

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was a witch cosplay. He found himself surprisingly fascinated by her graceful
appearance. Although it hard to judge with foreigners, could she possibly
be……about the same age as him.

The girl dressed as a witch, fixing her blue eyes upon Tobio and Natsume,
spoke.

“You were slow, Natsume. You accidentally brought them with you to meet
me?”

Natsume took an apologetic pose saying, “Sorry, sorry,” to the girl. She was
fluent in Japanese. Apparently she was acquainted with Minagawa
Natsume… Starting with the combustion phenomenon, with all the
successively occurring incidents, Tobio’s comprehension couldn’t keep up
with it all.

Natsume approached the bewildered Tobio, taking one of the bags from his
hands.

“Let’s go. They will attack in this deserted area. Since we can’t go to any
populated areas, we have to leave this area quickly.”

In response to Natsume’s serious tone, Tobio nodded, and they hastened

away.

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 Part 4

“Come now, enter enter.”

Late at night, Tobio had finally arrived the safe place Natsumi had spoken of
——a certain apartment building. Allegedly a hideout in the forest, what he’d
imagined was a place separated from urban areas, turned out to actually be
place about ten minutes from the neighboring station. The appearance was
also that of a very common apartment building, but……

While Tobio was still feeling a touch of uncertainty about whether they
would really be safe from attack in a place like this, he was invited into a
particular apartment. A sofa and TV, a DVD player, just a modest room of
shelves.

Pointing a finger at the blond girl, Natsume spoke again.

“This girl is Lavinia. As a resident who lives in this hideout, she is our ally
for the time being.”

The blonde girl——Lavinia bowed simple and said, “Please take care of me.”

After she finished this light greeting, with a rustling sound, Natsume began
searching the shelves that furnished the room.

“Well then, so——first of all, you seek confirmation.”

Natsume, having spoken thus, then removed a specific DVD and inserted it
into the player.

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“Is that what you’ve been looking for since we arrived?”

Tobio inquired of Natsume.

“……It’s for reaffirming the circumstances of yourself and Natsume.”

The answer was surprisingly given by the blonde girl Lavinia.

Tobio began intently watching the video image that had appeared on the TV
screen. It was news program covering a certain ship’s major maritime
accident. It wasn’t something he didn’t know. For the last two months, that
incident had been the greatest upheaval of his life.

The Heavenly of Aloha incident——.

The luxury liner that he and Natsume were supposed to have boarded. It had
sunk along with their classmates, this ship with a ‘divine’ name. Although the
video had no sound, Natsume also showed a complicated look. Not just
Tobio, she should also have been suffering these two months, carrying a
mental wound from the loss of her classmates.

The video changed. What the screen now showed, it was somewhere in a city
environment. In the video, similar to those taken with a home video camera, a
group of young men and women were shown.

Tobio continued to watch with furrowed eyebrows.

“Is that……Yada……? Kojima……?”

Tobio was at a loss for words. Groups of young people were shown
successively. There were many faces he recognized. Images of groups of

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young people were shown successively without pause. It was not fifty or a
hundred.

The video was showing people that Tobio, until a moment ago, had believed
their whereabouts to be unknown. However, the time stamp on the video, was
a digital number indicating a period in June just half a month ago——.

The two-hundred thirty-three Ryoukuu high school sophomores still said to

be missing. In reality, the chances of survival was practically nonexistent.
But, on the video in front of him, everyone whose whereabouts was unknown
was alive and active.

……While he didn’t understand why they were leading monsters, or what

their reason was for targeting them, they……all of them were still alive?

Then, not only the classmates, but Sae as well——.

Tobio realized that from deep within himself, he could feel a glimmer of
hope. His broken heart felt like it was healing little by little. But, that brittle
feeling vanished with the next video.

One of the male classmates was shown on the screen. There was a monster
like a crocodile at his side. From the monster’s mouth, a tongue languidly
extended. ……No, it was a tentacle.

Other classmates were shown on the screen leading a variety of different

monsters. Like the frog, spider, snake, and lizard he had just met…… Some
looked like huge insects such as moths and mantises. There were ominous
monsters who size was impossible to determine, and also those with distorted
appearances. They were monsters almost like those out of movies and games.

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They were stretching their tentacle-like tongues, seizing a live pig. While the
video had no sound, the appearance alone was tragic, as the monsters tore up
the live pige, and devoured it. Blood was dripping from the edge of the
monsters’ mouths.

Tobio clutched at his mouth, while desperately bearing the feeling of

vomiting that entered his throat, as he squinted at the video.

Natsume, who had seen the video once before, was also unable to look
directly at the scene.

After that, Natsume’s explanation continued to mix with the video. The
content was the ecology of the monsters and how to deal with them.

Although his head felt strange, Tobio somehow kept his presence of mind,
and with a meek expression proceeded to fill his head with the information.

This is what Tobio understood——.

These creatures, they were monsters with frightening special abilities and
high physical capabilities. For a petty attack, it would not be possible to cut
the flesh beneath the skin. Even if it was cut, their uncommon resilience
would allow them to seal the wound immediately.

For defeat, the nucleus or the head must be destroyed. It seems the nucleus is
in the position which for a human would be called the heart. Their
weaknesses were fundamentally no different than other living things.
However, they were much sturdier than ordinary creatures.

She kept describing them as “monsters” as she spoke.

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“This video, photographically documenting the truth of these peculiar roots,
has been kept hidden by people like us. By no means is this CG, nor is it
acting. They are the Ryoukuu high school sophomores who went missing in
the maritime disaster. Our classmates. And now, they are controlling genuine
monsters. Paired with their monster, they apparently are named——
Utsusemi.”

Natsume said so indifferently.

Lavinia continued.

“By Utsusemi, we mean things like imitations created by a certain

organization existing in this country, people with artificial supernatural
abilities——they would be categorized as something like Inou Tsukai[3].
They are being manipulated by the organization.”

……. In the present situation there wasn’t really anything to say.

……Tobio thought it was a ridiculous story.

Supernatural power to control monsters? Created by an organization

somewhere in Japan? Moreover, manipulating classmates into attacking
them? It’s like a story from a manga or fictional movie. If he hadn’t actually
experienced it, he absolutely wouldn’t have believed it. He would have
judged it to be some human’s crazy delusion.

But——there was no choice but to believe it. In was true they were pursued
and attacked by a monster. And that which opposed it——the black puppy
that grew a blade from its forehead.

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Looking at the puppy snuggled up beside him, the circumstances ensured that
Tobio was unable to agree that these were crazy reckless statements.

Natsume continued.

“The Utsusemi, the operators that control the monsters——their bodies are
only able to function as a set. And those bodies, our classmates who
participated in the trip, there are 233 of them.”

To Tobio who was at a loss for words, Natsume asserted thus.

“And, they returned to Japan for the sake of killing the surviving students
——me and you.”

“This is no joke!”

Tobio’s few words of reproach.

It was natural of course. It’s because he was being targeted by classmates

who’ve become monsters.

It really is not a joke. However, what came to mind was the monsters that had
attacked earlier——the Utsusemi. The hostility they harbored, that bloodlust
was genuine. The evidence was that they’d certainly come to kill him
personally.

Natsume spoke.

“There’s no doubt we will continue to be targeted in the future. They have

been directed to target us who survived by not participating in the trip. It's
because the organization that's manipulating them from the shadows desires
to obtain us by any means.”

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“Just a moment……. Why are they targeting us?”

The question Tobio wanted answered most. What the heck was the main
reason they were targeting him and Minagawa Natsume——having thought it
over, that was all Tobio could come to. Gingerly Tobio looked at the puppy
sitting beside him.

Also turning to her hawk, Natsume spoke.

“It seems to be that kind of thing. My Griffon, that puppy of Ikuse-kun’s,

things that are similar to yet completely different to the monsters
accompanying them.”

“——Sacred treasures. They are called Sacred Gears. So to speak, they are
unusual powers called that. However, these are natural——you were born
with this power. It’s also not such a rare thing. Many of those whose names
have been recorded in history as well modern-day successful athletes have
unknowingly possessed such power. However, in order for its distinct form to
be realized, it is a necessary condition that one possess a certain amount of
ability.”

Lavinia spoke indifferently. She seemed to be suffering from judgement from

elsewhere.

“To say it in even more complete detail, the creatures you and Natsume were
born with are classified as “Independent Avatar Type” Sacred Gears. And,
the Utsusemi are artificial imitations of “Independent Avatar Type” Sacred
Gears.”

…………Unintelligible words being heard one after the other, Tobio’s brain
was on the verge of a blowout.

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……Sacred treasure? Sacred……Gear……? That’s what his own puppy and
Minagawa Natsume’s hawk were, and the monsters accompanying the
students that were attacking them……those were fake copies of them?

Natsume proceeded with the story without regard.

“The organization that uses the Utsusemi desired to obtain something like us
by any means. Our abilities which could not be taken at the destination are
absolutely necessary to them. To that end, they exerted influence over that
trip to make use of the students of Ryoukuu High school. Causing their
whereabouts to become unknown, they seem to have believed that such a
change in circumstances would be good for them. By using our classmates, I
wonder if they’re thinking they could entice us into being careless. And now,
those that are being manipulated, that last one tried to attack us by himself
——that seems to be the case."

“What do you mean by “seems to” and “something like” that you’ve been
saying for a while? Who taught Minagawa-san these things?”

Tobio asked this of Natsume, as she removed the DVD from the player. With
the DVD in one hand she spoke.

“I was taught from the person who gave me this. That supposed ‘Governor
General’ of theirs. When I received this video footage, which I just showed
Ikuse-kun, I received this explanation.”

For Natsume and now Tobio as well, neither could hide their agitation. Even
Natsume had suffered such unacceptable things, such as not being prepared
for successive attacks by the Utsusemi.

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“Additionally, I received three ‘eggs’ from that ‘Governor General’. I am the
“official” in charge of distributing the eggs. To be given such odd jobs, I
wonder. Ugh.”

“What kind of person is he? This ‘Governor General’.”

Natsume also shakes her head at Tobio’s question.

“Hmm, not even I know. It appears that Lavinia and the other residents living
here are aware of him, but as far as discussing the ‘Governor General’s’ true
identity, it’s being kept a secret. But, I was told Ikuse-kun and I would be
able to sort of meet him once I handed over the last egg.”

“……That’s right, I’ve been wondering. What exactly was that ‘egg’?”

Natsume followed up a beat later.

“It’s a Sacred Gear manifestation ‘egg’. Even my Griffon-chan was born

from the ‘egg’. It’s should be something that’s for the sake of drawing out my
inherent ability. He said something about it being like an ability triggering
device. The ‘Governer General’ does that sort of research. I mean, wasn’t
your puppy also born from there? It was a surprise, right! That dogs and birds
would be born from within!”

——She answered merrily.

At Natsume’s answer, Tobio stared at the black puppy that was wagging its
tail nearby.

……No, this puppy was not hatched from the ‘egg’. This dog had emerged
from his own shadow. ……Could that possess some sort of significance…….

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However, the ‘egg’ was empty. Perhaps it was hatched then, so it might be a
thing that was manifested.

Natsume was gently stroking the head of Griffon who was perched on the
back of a chair.

“My Griffon——this hawk has helped me many times. Besides, that

‘Governer General’ said, ‘It’s the only thing that can support us. They will
dispose of any danger that befalls us. It’s the fate of those who have a Sacred
Gear.’”

……Really, it’s an unreasonable story.

Tobio’s bewildered heart was filled with anger that had no place to go.

What this meant for Tobio and Minagawa Natsume, was that they possessed
supernatural powers. A certain organization in this country, desiring their
powers, attacked that luxury liner. However, since they were not on board the
ship, the damage received was that it was their classmates whose lives were
disrupted, as were those of the sailors who were unrelated. ……Was it
because of them, no, because of him that so much sacrifice was brought into
this world?

Was it his fault that Sasaki……his classmates, and now Sae were their
captives, and were being manipulated……?

……Then again, on the flip side, could they even still be considered
alive……?

Sae——are you alive?

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“……There’s just one thing, I’d like to ask, everyone……are our fellow
classmates still alive?”

He could not consent. To this non-anticipatable, unilateral theft of his

classmates. They’d been converted in Utsusemi or something in order to
commad the monsters. It was——their fault.

Sae was snatched away by those unknown people, her existence has been
transformed to accompany a monster……

Natsumi was smiling broadly.

“Yeah, they’re alive. Indeed, even my best friend, although now an Utsusemi,
is most definitely alive.

“——!!!”

Hearing those words, Tobio became extremely excited in his heart.

……They’re alive. ……Sae was also alive……!! No matter what condition

she was in……Sae was not dead!! She was alive!

Welling up from within Tobio there was now a feeling of tremendous vitality
and energy.

Until some time ago, do to a series of unreasonable incidents, fear of

monsters dominating his spirit, but now he was able to understand that he
couldn’t not believe if he was going to gather his strength.

——For Sae and his classmates who were being controlled, was there really
no way to reverse the process?

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At which point, Natsume continued to speak while peering at Tobio’s face,
which was alight with passion.

“So, let's change topics here. ……Won't you team up with me?”

Smiling Natsume made that proposal.

“You should team up with me. And teamed up, together we will defeat the
organization behind the Utsusemi. After all, isn’t it anxious being alone?
Against some 200 or more people? There’s not even ten of us students who
survived the trip by not participating. It’s a simple calculation, that’s a quota
of more than 20 for each individual. If we act poorly, it’s unknown if there
may be more.”

“’If we act 'poorly’, what?”

“Isn’t it unknown how many people may be captured from among us

remaining survivors?”

Abruptly, Natsume said something frightening while being almost

expressionless.

“Normally, I wouldn’t fight a classmate. Because I’m close with that girl,
because that girl seems so likable. Whatever happens, I’ll hesitate if she
appears before me.”

He could sense a strong determination from Natsume’s tone.

“Of the two that were attacking me, the one in glasses was my close friend.
Since the beginning of high school, I’ve been together with that friend
forever. She aimed to kill me without any hesitation…… Again and again I

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cried out to stop but, that girl was just filled to the brim with murderous
impulse. Afterwards, when I was informed by the ‘Governor General’ about
the series of circumstances, it was clear that something was born inside me
——that girl is alive. If they’re alive, then I can save them! Now Ikuse-kun’s
thoughts must have reached the same conclusion.”

Natsume declared her decision to resolve herself to occasionally fight those

classmates.

Tobio observed Natsume’s eyes. Different from her when she used a joking
manner, she was expressing a countenance of resilience and seriousness.
Strength was transmitting from her pupils.

It’s a courtesy. The greatest proposal from her. Given the current situation,
two people felt more reassuring than one person. When fighting the monsters,
such as when they assailed his home, it was a good approach to have
achieved a small component of victory.

Suddenly, he directs his gaze towards the black puppy sitting before his eyes.
Able to grow a blade on its head, and even transform its body into a huge
blade-like object. It was clearly a kind of monster. But——. Unlike the
monster that attacked him, he couldn’t feel any hostility or malice. Simply for
those pupils to express such gentle radiance.

……To consider her to be an ally. To believe that a ray of hope can be

obtained even in these strange circumstance.

Even if that’s just a substitute that has overcome reality, if it has the
“strength” to change the current circumstances——he will cling to it.

“——I’ll save them, all of them.”

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And then, Sae will——.

Tobio’s declaration was strong. Resolution and determination were born in

his mind, his objective was decided.

For example, even if a classmate would be attacking, he would not hesitate to

defeat them. He believed that to be the only way to save them——. That
would probably happen on the road ahead, the existence that had warped their
destiny. Of those people, he was going to save everyone. At that time,
everything that has been stolen will be returned.

“Yeah!”

Natsume had a genuinely surprised look. Perhaps, it was due to the

unexpected reply.

Readily approaching, she drew near to visibly confirm Tobio’s face.

“Thank you! Really really!”

Before she'd finished speaking, she had seized his hand and was shaking it up
and down.

“A,aah……. If it wasn't for your help, I think I wouldn't have been able to
deal with all this.”

Simply by hearing Tobio’s words, her whole face broke into a smile as she
made a guts pose.

“Alright, with this we have our fourth comrade!”

“Fourth?”

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With a puzzled thought, Tobio asked in response. Natsume pointed her finger
at the blonde girl.

“Right, Lavinia is also an ally. Then there's an essential support personnel

from the ‘Governor General’. That is to say, although the residents of this
apartment building all have special circumstances, they're not all bad people.
I’ll introduce you you later. He's just a cheeky brat though. And then, there’s
one person left, the young man I needed to pass the last ‘egg’ onto. He’s also
from the group of Ryoukuu High School survivors.”

Expressionlessly, Lavinia raised her hand.

“My best regards. Roughly speaking, I’m a magical girl.”

……Ma, magical girl……? From Lavinia’s statement, the image of the

combustion phenomenon that happened before on the road passed through his
mind.

In spite of Tobio having no choice but to incline his head, the delightful
Natsume declared:

“Then, our next action is settled!”

“Next action?”

“Eeh, we now have to join up with the young man I delivered one of the
‘eggs’ to. That young man is also moving to this hideout temporarily, he just
went traveling outside for some reason. Though, since the classmates who are
Utsusemi also survived, it feels strange for us to be considered survivors.”

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To the grumbling Natsume who was muttering something, Tobio asked
again.

“About that, who is it?”

“It’s Samejima Kouki. Anyway, let’s move into this apartment building as a
headquarters.”

Samejima Kouki——Tobio was startled to hear that name.

It wasn’t a name he hadn’t heard before. At the original Ryoukuu High

School, he was known as one of the delinquents——.

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 Companion/Fourth Person

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 Part 1

Tobio welcomed the morning in one room of the ‘hideout’. It was a modest
room with only one bed and a desk. Seeing the black puppy curled up asleep
at the foot of the bed, he recognized anew the truthfulness of yesterday’s
events. While lying in bed, Tobio exhaled.

……He had also found a ray of hope amid the despair. No matter how, in
spite of having been attacked by a reality that was hard to accept, he still
wanted to save everyone……to save Sae.

Tobio again hardened the resolve in his heart. Having obtained a strong
determination, Tobio went over in his mind what today’s goals were.

——Go to meet one of the delinquent students of Ryoukuu High School

named Samejima Kouki.

Still in bed, Tobio recalled what he knew about Samejima Kouki. The last
time he’d seen him, it was at the joint funeral for their classmates. That would
have been a few weeks after the “Heavenly of Aloha issue” maritime accident
——.

It was sunny that day Tobio remembered. During a cloudless blue sky the
joint funeral service was solemnly performed. It had become unknown
whether the 233 students of Ryoukuu High School were alive or dead,
however their survival became seemingly hopeless.

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The remains of the teachers, as well as the crew of the “Heavenly of Aloha”,
were found, and were included in the joint funeral.

Outside of the funeral home, the area was overflowing with the media who’d
returned, having sniffed out the information, which was also reported on TV.

The funeral ceremony was held on behalf of all the bereaved parents. The
funeral was still held under circumstances where it remained unconfirmed if
they were alive or dead. The bereaved families were grieving, but Tobio had
been curious as to the skill that allowed the funeral service to proceed so
smoothly .

The seats for students who like Tobio had survived without having
participated in the school trip numbered less than ten seats. There were some
vacancies. There was a colleague standing in front of the microphone, saying
words of farewell. Listening to them, sobbing leaked out from the bereaved
families. But, it was strange. Absolutely, there was this feeling as though the
funeral was just being acted out. From the bereaved families, especially those
who were parents of students, their sadness gave off a feeling that this was
similar to a staged performance. The bereaved families of the students,
excluding their crying, didn’t appear like those who were genuinely sad, and
despite the situation did not have the appearance of haggardness. At that
place, he visibly felt as though it was only the appearance of emotions of
sorrow covering up indifference.

At least at the time of his grandmother’s funeral, there wasn’t such a strange
feeling of discomfort. It harbored only the sadness that comes from parting
with a loved one.

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Despite Tobio’s doubts, the funeral had progressed. Thinking back on it now,
that “discomfort” that had been there at that stage was seemingly tied to the
present incident.

The funeral had progressed and already the time for it to conclude was
approaching. Then the door was vigorously thrown open by someone
entering. About the same age as Tobio, he was a boy whose hair had been
dyed a light brown. Everyone in attendance had focused on his appearance.
Clasped in the boy’s hand was a bouquet of flowers.

A delinquent had briskly intruded with extreme rudeness. With an expression

of surliness in the presence of the deceased, he stood and looked upon a
certain memorial portrait. The figure in this portrait, that person was a fierce
looking boy with hair dyed brown.

Then, he softly placed the bouquet he had brought upon the altar.

“You idiot……”

Without even joining his hands, he said as much, and then immediately
turned on his heal to leave. Having appeared like the wind, the delinquent
went and left like the wind.

For Tobio, what left the greatest impression on him from the joint funeral,
was this very scene.

It was Samejima Kouki. The most feared delinquent of Ryoukuu High

School.

Looking up at the ceiling, *fuu*……letting out a deep sigh, Tobio again sank
his head into the pillow.

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“……Ryoukuu’s number one delinquent……Samejima.”

——Even if he had no prior memory of Minagawa Natsume, he could still

distinctly remember Samejima Kouki.

With such self-derision, he covered his eyes with his arm. In the case of that
young man in high school, since he carried such a title of delinquency it was
only that he remembered him, or so he thought. It was the one type of person
that one must avoid during everyday school life.

“Shark isn’t a bad person.”

Such a voice was heard from nearby. It was a girl’s voice. Tobio leapt to his
awake and began examining the bed. He pulled back the comforter and there
was——

“Good morning.”

Wearing a single white button down shirt was the figure of a blonde haired
girl——it was Lavinia.

“Wha……Whaa……!”

Tobio was unable to enunciate when faced with such an excessive

occurrence. During his life, something like being in the same bed as someone
of the opposite sex had never happened (to be precise that had happened
when he had taken a nap together with Sae when they were young, but
because they were young children it doesn’t count) so this was especially a
great surprise.

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What had now burst into his vision——was the visibly snow white skin of
her thighs and her voluptuous breasts. Since it was just a single dress shirt,
Lavinia’s legs were almost completely exposed. A scene that is poisonous to
a healthy high school boy, yet also medicinal. With the sunlight flowing in
from the window, the white dress shirt appeared to be transparent……

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With his cheeks dyed red, Tobio turned away while asking her.

“W-why are you here……!”

He noticed that his own voice sounded nervous, and furthermore he felt very
much ashamed.

Without bearing any mind, Lavinia spoke while rubbing her eyes while half
asleep.

“……Last night I got up to go to the toilet. The next thing I noticed I was in
this bed.”

The next thing I noticed I was in this bed——. There was no way Tobio
could believe something so excessively ambiguous, nor was there any way to
know how long her body had been here.

“Is something the matter?”

As Lavinia conversely inclined her head and enquired, Tobio retorted,

“You’re asking me that!” and the two began to bicker.

Tobio, having concluded the current mood was too maddening, changed the
subject.

“……So Shark, that’s Samejima?”

Earlier, Lavinia had said ‘Shark’. At that time he had muttered the name of
Samejima. ‘Same (鮫) = Shark’, it’s simple but that’s how it seems to be[4].

Lavinia answered right after one yawn.

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“That’s right. Shark is Shark. Because his mood is really shark-like I thought
it was perfect.”

Samejima has a shark-like mood…… Is it because he’s a delinquent and is

thought of as aggressive? Still, when Samejima was at Ryoukuu, despite
being a delinquent, he was the type whose popularity with girls was
considerably good. It was the so-called good-looking bad boy type. Still,
flirtatious speech was never once to be heard from him, only talk of his
heroic face entered one’s ear.

Lavinia continued speaking.

“Shark it seems did not return to this apartment building last night. In all
likelihood, I think he was outside exterminating Utsusemi using his Sacred
Gear.”

……Outside exterminating Utsusemi, huh. To call that extremely daring, that

exceeds reckless behavior. He probably also possesses an animal sacred
treasure, something like an independent avatar type, just like Minagawa
Natsume’s. So it should be possible with Utsusemi for opponents, but what’s
most surprising is the mental fortitude. ……Something like fighting those
monsters all day long, is he able to manage that? For himself at least, it was
unlikely Tobio would be able to use calm judgement. Just considering the
degree of mental and physical fatigue, such an approach seemed to be very
haphazard.

……It took strong determination to be able to go out like that, but would
Samejima’s possession of such an unshakable purpose would be enough? For
him to be facing the likes of such battles alone with only the unusual
temperament of a simple delinquent, that was difficult to imagine.

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Moreover, there was one troublesome special characteristic of the
“Utsusemi”. Tobio was remembering the information on the “Utsusemi” he’d
received last night.

Utsusemi——the monsters they are utilizing, once they’ve memorized the

smell of their opponent from the blood of their prey, they can transmit
knowledge of that scent to their fellow Utsusemi. For Tobio, this happened
when the Utsusemi employed by his friend Sasaki cut his cheek. Apparently
it seemed to have memorized the smell from his own blood that was spilt at
that time. The Utsusemi would then pursue their targets by tracing the scent
of the opponent that had been memorized on that one occasion. And thus, the
Utsusemi had invaded Tobio’s home.

Was there anywhere could he have found relief where he might not be
discovered.

Since they broke into his home he hadn’t thought to return——yet. But,
contrary to his desire, it was extremely easy to attack that place. The shock
was immeasurable.

As he had heard it, Natsume was also already attacked at her home, and told
him that she had ended up here. She currently lives in another room in the
same condominium.

The condominium this “Governor General” had prepared, it was located on

the outskirts of the city. It seems it was composed of some special structure,
which made it a place the Utsusemi couldn’t find easily.

……Since earlier at his house, he had since gained an understanding of the

other party. Tobio and company had already obtained amounts of information

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on the existence of something like an organization that was manipulating the
Utsusemi. ……Though he hadn’t understood why those people couldn’t seize
this condominium. It seems he had no choice though, that in order to those
who had made to become Utsusemi, they would have to find the other party’s
stronghold before such a result was achieved.

……There’s not much time, he thought. Within this limited time, how he
should live, how strong must he become, that, Tobio was able to understand,
was the current dilemma.

Abruptly, Lavinia inquired while looking at the black dog.

“……Toby, there’s one thing I want to ask.”

“Wh-what’s the problem?”

While gazing at the black dog with her blue eyes, Lavinia stated her question.

“——This Doggy-san, did it hatch from the ‘egg’? That is, originally, it did
emerged from breaking out from inside that ‘egg’ by shattering it, right? I’m
concerned about whether or not it was born that way.”

……

……Tobio could find no words to reply with. The egg——it had been
broken, but it was empty. The dog——it had emerged from his own shadow.
The scene she had described, in which it emerged from breaking out from
inside by shattering it, he’d never seen it.

“……How did you hear about that?”

Gulping, Tobio answered as such.

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Lavinia–—stared intently at the puppy. The blue eyes of the young girl and
the red eyes of the puppy.

“……This Doggy-san, it evidently has a different ambiance than what

Natsume and Shark possess.”

……Minagawa Natsume’s Griphon had a different ambiance……. Tobio had

not given voice to such feelings at the time, but the only thing that he
intuitively understood was that there was something suspicious about the
puppy’s existence.

“Toby, if this Doggy-san is also a Sacred Gear, there’s a simple rule relating
what form it takes, its ability, and how it manifests its power.”

Lavinia said it straight while placing a hand on his chest.

“——The power of desire. The sacred treasure——Sacred Gears become

strong from strong desires, responding to the possessor. It is almost certain
that that Doggy responded to Toby’s strong desire.”

……The power of ‘desire’. That is to say that the black puppy would become
powerful in response to his desires……?

Tobio was also staring at the puppy, the person in question wearing nothing
but a blank look.

——Then, as Tobio and Lavinia were staring fixedly at the puppy, there was
a knock on the door that had been left open.

“Good mornin—. The door is open—?”

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Natsume appeared in the room saying as much. Having been certain he’d
securely locked the door the when he entered last night, the surprised Tobio
immediately arrived at the thought, “Incidentally did Lavinia unlock it when
she came here?”

“It’s morning already. Get up quick-like, everything’s rea—dy! Waaoh!

What are guys doing?”

Natsume was horrified by the situation she saw here. That is to be expected.
It had become the same as a room where a man has taken a woman to bed.

“N-no, this is……!”

This was Tobio standing up offering an unsatisfactory excuse.

“How disgraceful? Such things are said in Japanese Manga at times like this.”

Such indifferent words issued from the mouth of the expressionless Lavinia.
One would be tempted in their heart to insert a Tsukkomi[5] of, “What kind of
manga is that!?”

“Hey, oy oy oy oy oy! I didn’t do anything!?”

While pointing her finger at Tobio, who could do nothing but frantically try
to explain, Natsume called him out.

“Ikuse-kun! Although it is wonderful to deepen one’s relations with a new

comrade, wouldn’t this be deepening them too much!?”

“T-that’s, this is……!”

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Natsume issued her objection as she approached until their faces were in
close proximity——she was smiling broadly.

“Ju-ust kidding. I got you. Anyway, Lavinia wandered in here in the middle
of night while half asleep, am I right? She’s always entering my bed in the
same way. Besides, in my judgement, Ikuse-kun is very sincere when it
comes to girls.”

…….

……Looking over at Lavinia, there was a blonde maiden saying, “That is so”
in agreement. ……The misunderstanding was likely cleared up, but this in no
way caused Tobio’s mind to be fully satisfied.

In the room where they’d watched the video the previous night, the trio of
Tobio, Natsume, and Lavinia had a late breakfast.

——Regarding said breakfast, what had been laid out before Tobio’s eyes
was a kettle and cup ramen. Natsume and Lavinia began to prepare, hastily
pouring the hot water.

Seeing that there was only one thing Tobio could say.

“……Cup ramen in the morning, huh.”

Tobio would never have subsisted on ready-made food and junk food if given
a choice. Since his grandmother had died, the daily three meals she had once
so accurately prepared with excellent balance had become something he

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could no longer experience. Yet for there to be a case the likes of him not
being able to prepare proper food, discounting when he was out associating
with friends or running an important errand, such a thing had never
happened. However, when he was cooking alone after his grandmother died,
before he began receiving food prepared by his childhood friend Sae, he had
become much too familiar with such poor prepackaged meals.

As the two girls, showing no particular mind, began pouring the hot water,
Tobio addressed the two of them while standing.

“Incidentally, I had brought some canned goods and some spices when I was
leaving my house. I’m also capable of cooking them. So, errr, what
ingredients do you two have that I’m lacking?”

Hearing Tobio’s——no, a young man’s declaration about unexpected food,

Natsume was flabbergasted——

“Y-yeah, in the supply room there’s some bread and some milk, and there
should be some eggs.”

——She answered so.

“The supply room is jointly available to all the residents living here. There
should be some ingredients you can use in the refrigerator that’s in there.”

From Lavinia who’d raised her hand, he had received excellent information.

“I understand. Then would you just wait 20 minutes? I’ll just prepare
breakfast.”

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Telling the two of them that with a smile, Tobio went to collect the
ingredients.

——20 minutes later.

Lined up on the table, the menu consisted of a plastic cup filled with
vegetables sticks dipped in mayonnaise, tuna sandwiches, and French toast
garnished with jam for desert.

Seeing this, the openly fascinated Natsume clamored, “Amazing, amazing!”

Lavinia’s facial expression appeared to remain unchanged, but her eyes were
glued to the French toast.

Tobio spoke while folding the apron.

“My apologies, both the tuna sandwiches and the French toast overlap in their
use of bread, although for the time being, I was able to prepare this meal that
has an impression of being makeshift.”

Given the state of affairs, in order to get the girls to eat it, Tobio had prepared
something that was only a bit tastier, supplying a menu that was simple and
could be eaten quickly.

But, Natsume, one of the girls in question, seized Tobio’s and hand and
rapidly shook it up and down in extreme delight.

“It’s amazing, Ikuse-kun! F-For certain, I had no idea you were the kind of
young man who can cook! Iya—, I may have come across a good find.”

……Find, huh. Tobio was a little troubled by that response, but, since things
seemed to have ended pleasantly, he thought that there must have been a

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good meaning behind it.

Lavinia, who had started eating, let out “Ottimo” from her mouth as she
chewed.

Ottimo——it’s the Italian word for “delicious”. Based upon that, would that
mean Lavinia is from Italy? Speaking of which, Tobio recalled there being a
famous Italian painter with the same name as Lavinia.

“Since the cup noodles have already had the lid removed, I’ll take it up to
Vaa-kun afterwards.”

Lavinia says so while looking at the container of cup noodles.

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“Vaa-kun?”

Tobio posed a question having heard an unfamiliar name. Natsume let out a
sigh.

“……He’s the cheeky brat who lives in this apartment building I mentioned
last night. The reason we have been eating only cup noodles, that child is the
one who gave us those cup noodles. He’s going through a much too
unhealthy growth period. But now we are being treated entirely to Ikuse-
kun’s cuisine!”

……One can’t help but wonder, what kind of people reside in this apartment
complex? This better than expected response had Tobio feeling just a bit
nervous.

Natsume began eating from the meal Tobio had finished preparing.

“Well then, in regards to today’s plans, we are going to meet up with

Samejima-kun as I explained last night.”

“That’s fine, but do we know where he is? Or else, perhaps, have you
contacted him and he’s coming back here?”

In response to Tobio’s question, Natsume took out her phone.

“Contacting him……is no good. Just in case, I did make certain to force

Samejima-kun to input his number, but I can never get through because he
never seems to turn it on. I can’t help but wonder if he didn’t just provide me
with a fake number.”

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Or perhaps he’s ignoring all phone calls. In other words, there’s no way to
contact him from here. The result, he apparently does whatever he wants
without anyone else knowing about it.

Then, that would mean Samejima Kouki’s whereabouts were completely

unknown. Does that mean that the Utsusemi already……. Even though the
worst assumptions suppositions were emerging within Tobio, Lavinia said.

“It’s okay. Since I placed my magical equation marking on Shark, his

position can be specified.”

Natsume’s voice cried out, “As one would expect from a magical girl.” Until
recently, Tobio would have furrowed his eyebrows at anyone professing to be
a “magical girl”.

Lavinia produced a small wooden stick from her breast pocket, which began
to emit a blue light from its tip.

Words failed Tobio with this phenomenon. As much as he would like to

believe that the light on the end of the stick was some kind of trick, bearing in
mind the circumstances around him it didn’t necessarily seem that this so-
called magical girl was a practical joke.

Lavinia immediately stood up, and rotated around once. Thereupon, the stick
was observed to emit much more light when pointed in a specific direction.

While pointing in that direction, Lavinia spoke.

“Shark is over there in this direction. However, it was a somewhat bad

reaction. Probably, it’s a place that’s difficult for my magic to reach……

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perhaps the enemy has set up a force field that I don’t know how to
penetrate.”

Hearing that Natsume inquired.

“In other words, Samejima-kun charged into someplace alone against swarms
of enemies?”

Lavinia nods in silence. Natsume wore an abject look on her face.

“……That Yankee, becoming so engrossed with defeating the enemy, he

probably just went straight into the opposing encampment without invitation,
didn’t he……!”

Natsume, while grinding her teeth, had trembling fists. While wearing a half
smile, her eyes had changed to a look of rage. She headed towards the
entryway while making especially noisy footsteps.

“I’ll get that Samejima Kouki! In spite of our combat readiness, that’s no
reason to leave him out there alone!”

Linking up with Samejima——. It meant the resumption of battle against the

Utsusemi——our classmates.

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 Part 2

Having left the apartment building hideout, when they had arrived
downtown, Minagawa Natsume handed Tobio a single micro SD card.

“That contains certain data that was prepared by the ‘Governor General’. The
app can be freely installed by inserting the card into a mobile phone. Quickly
now.”

While being rushed by her, Tobio took out his own mobile phone. It was still
powered off from the previous night. Having received Natsume’s explanation
about not contacting the police, and there being no benefit to involving
anyone else, he had voluntarily turned his mobile off.

……Had he left it on, and he were to receive a call from a friend, he wouldn’t
be able to say anything with his current mental state. From this day and for
the foreseeable future, he was unable to attend school. He had no
expectations of attending. This was in order to not involve any of the current
students, since it seems like there was a high probability of them being
caught up with the enemy if he were to go to school. Until this incident was
resolved, he could not return to his usual routine.

The moment he inserted the card he’d received from Natsume into his mobile
phone, it began installing automatically, and the app booted up.

Photos of young people appeared on the screen. It was a photo roster of the
two hundred thirty-three students who had become Utsusemi.

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“For the sake of future countermeasures, there’s nothing to lose by
memorizing the faces of our opponents.”

Natsume said so.

People he knew, people he didn’t know, they were all displayed successively
on the screen.

——There were also many unfamiliar fellow students.

Among the two hundred thirty-three Ryoukou High School second year
students who had become Utsusemi, there were classmates of his he was
familiar with, and there were those from other classes that he knew by
appearance alone. But the majority were people who he could not match a
name to their faces.

That was how it was. Since he wasn’t a teacher, such a thing as matching all
the names and faces of his fellow students was something he was unable to
do.

However, he was thankful for this app. When the time came, it would serve
as a reference. When it came to those who appeared to be strange suspicious
people, if they can be permitted to approach them, they could then be able to
make a good assessment.

Lavinia was making the tip of the stick glow. If one were to see such a
spectacle downtown, with her wearing a pointed hat, they would think it was
a blonde girl cosplaying with a glowing toy stick and donning a cloak. In
order to avoid additional unwanted attention, they found a taxi on the way
with Lavinia’s guidance, hastening to their destination.

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Would the black puppy be able to ride in the car, he had worried, but the
puppy that had been with him just a moment earlier had disappeared without
him being aware. Noticing its disappearance Natsume said.

“That seems to be how our partners are. Incidentally, taking Griffon-chan for
instance, I expect he’s flying up in the sky by now.”

She cheerfully replied in such a way. According to her, fundamentally the

Sacred Gear hatched from the egg——the puppy and Natsume’s Griffon
differ from the Utsusemi of their fellow students in that people who are
unrelated, from their perspective, remain unaware of their existence. They
will also become visible to other people if the possessor wishes for them to
perceive them. So long as he doesn’t desire for them to see the puppy, they
won’t be able to see it unless Tobio authorizes them to do so, Natsume
explained.

The puppy had been trotting after him since he left his house. Having
escorted him up until the moment the taxi left, the puppy had obstinately
refused to be separated from Tobio.

That was the sort of existence they were, these so called independent-avatar
type Sacred Gears. For those who are unrelated, their existence is
unrecognizable——. However, when the possessor is in a pinch they will
without fail come running when called upon.

Natsume unexpectedly spoke.

“It might be good if you were to give it a name. For when you wish to call it,
since I think it’d be inconvenient if there’s no name.”

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……A name, huh. Due to all that had occurred since the previous night, he
hadn’t considered such a thing until now. ……This black puppy, in spite of
being a supernatural power of his, it has its own will, so a name may very
well be necessary.

Riding in the taxi, Tobio watched the scenery outside as he gave thought to
the various issues on the matter of the dog, a matter that’d be ongoing from
this point forward.

Riding in the cab, while being concerned of being targeted by the Utsusemi,
they made good progress during the day, with the taxi having passed through
two towns peacefully. After they arrived at the entrance to a public park, they
began the search for Samejima Kouki with Lavinia’s guidance. On the way,
they were vigilant of every resident they happened to meet though none of
them seemed to be Utsusemi, since in general none of them appeared to be
close to student age. Naturally though, it’s not possible to be certain. Now
though, students should be in the middle of classes at this time. If a student
were to be seen by themselves in a residential area at this time of day it seems
they’d be quite conspicuous.

Continuing to progress, the three of them arrived——at an out of business

department store at the edge of the residential area. The story of how this
department store had gone out of business had reached even Tobio’s ear.
Having been beaten out by an aggressive shopping mall in the next town, the
neighborhood was considering having it demolished. It had been decided that
a comprehensive sports gym equipped with an indoor pool would be built on
the site.

Tobio and Natsume prepared themselves in front of the deserted department

store. Presently, it was nothing other than a dangerous place, in spite where it

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was established. At any rate, with the interior of the building being devoid of
any signs of life, the conditions were just about the worst for being attacked
by the Utsusemi.

Nevertheless, even an amateur could see that the light from Lavinia’s stick
was glaringly shining in the direction of the department store’s interior. ……
It would seem Samejima Kouki is inside.

Having determined what this meant, Natsume spoke.

“I wouldn’t be strange at all if this place has become a den of Utsusemi.”

The black puppy that had been gone had also imperceptibly reappeared at his
feet. ……In other words, that would seem to be the situation. Since there was
a high likelihood of the master’s body being at risk——. To an extent, it
exists within said body and was called upon by current situation. Considering
the scale of the department store, it was impossible to know if perhaps the
number of Utsusemi who had broken in isn’t just one or two people.

“Let us enter.”

Without showing particular hesitation, Lavinia did so while facing behind at

them invitingly. It was not possible to enter through the front gate due to the
shutter having been lowered. Since Samejima was currently inside, one
would wonder from where he gained entry. Tobio pondered whether the staff
use entrance might be open.

The three of them sought out the staff entrance.

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“In any event, it sure is gloomy……”

Natsume’s murmuring in a low whisper resounded lightly through the store's

interior.

After that, they had discovered the entrance by going around back. As
expected, the staff-use gate had been forcibly wrenched open by someone,
making it easy to trespass.

Within the department store, it was naturally unilluminated, since after all the
shutters had been closed, so the store’s interior was nearly pitch dark.
Natsume produced two pencil lights from inside her bag, and passed one in
his direction. Since the tip of Lavinia’s stick was shining, she didn’t seem to
need a light.

The trio advanced through the first floor while keeping a set distance from
each other. Natsume spoke in a whispering voice such that Lavinia could hear
but which the enemy would probably not be able to detect.

(……That Yankee, which floor is he on?)

(I do not know. Due to the force field making it difficult to utilize my magic
here, there’s somewhat of a restraint on the marking I placed on Shark.
However, I’m positive he’s in here.)

As she declared that, the light from the tip of her stick repeatedly flickered
irregularly. It seemed there was something inside this department store which
was having an adverse effect on Lavinia’s supposed ability to use magic.

Natsume quietly whispered a suggestion.

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(Let’s search floor by floor. It would be troublesome if we rushed up to the
top and happened upon a large crowd of people. Lavinia, can you use some
kind of communication magic?)

Lavinia nodded to Natsume’s query, and drew something in midair with her
stick. Together with the movement of the stick a circle was emitted from the
light at the tip. Moreover, strange characters were inscribed in the circle’s
design, forming a small magic square that had appeared before their eyes.

……It seemed similar to the kind of magic circle that appeared whenever the
Utsusemi vanished……no, there seemed to be a difference in the design.
When the small magic square vanished, there were glowing crystals about the
size of a grain of rice floating in the air. The glowing crystals started moving
on their own, entering the ears of Lavinia, Natsume, and himself. Tobio was
scared by the abrupt occurrence involving his body……especially since it
had gone into his ear.

While accidentally letting out a small chuckle at Tobio’s reaction, Natsume

whispered while holding her ear with her hand.

‘(Can you hear me?)’

——!! At the same time as Natsume’s voice was heard from in front of him,
Tobio was shocked to also hear it directly from inside his ear.

(By holding your ear your voice will be transmitted to us. This is one of
Lavinia’s magical spells.)

…….Such an impossible remark. The slightly proud Lavinia was next to her
making a peace sign, but magic——supernatural phenomenon truly does
exist…… Was that combustion phenomenon also real magic then? ……

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However, one must wonder whether he should be so surprised at this late
hour. After all, he had been continuously confronted with such phenomenon
since last night——.

……If that’s the case, then is there also a magician involved with the magic
circle that shows up when the Utsusemi vanished? Just like how Lavinia was
assisting them, by any chance, could that the cause of it? Although such
varied guesses circulated Tobio’s thoughts, for now the search for Samejima
was most urgent, so he left behind such references to Lavinia until after this
was resolved. ……It would be good to ask after they have once again
returned alive from this place.

Natsume utters a confirmation.

(We’ll temporarily split up to search. We go one floor at a time. We’ll each

attempt to contact the others when we reach the second floor, and we’ll
decide from there. Should you find Samejima-kun, contact the rest of us in
due course afterwards.

Nodding their accent, the trio temporarily distanced themselves to begin the
search.

Walking through the interior of the closed department store that was
completely devoid of people, Tobio’s heart was beating ominously. From the
interior of each shop every piece of merchandise had been removed, leaving
only plastic sheets and ladders inside for demolition use, with not a single

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forgotten shelf of merchandise to be found. This was a blessing in the sense
that there were only a limited number of places to hide.

……With classes having ended, that those who had left school weren’t
present brought such eeriness, as did the lack of anything befitting a
department store that people would want. Furthermore, within this building,
there were fellow classmates accompanied by monsters like those that had
been attacking them last night. This was something that Tobio found hard to
endure considering that he’d been an ordinary high school student until
yesterday.

Nevertheless he was somehow able to temporarily maintain a strong will,

with the mighty existence of the black puppy trotting along earlier helping
him to not lose his mind in this situation. A sharp protuberance was coming
from the dog’s head——a blade like object was growing there, it having
already had done something similar to making good preparations for battle.

……What had enabled him to gain this strong will, when he had previously
been so terrified, was nothing other than believing in the rescue of his fellow
classmates——and reuniting with Sae.

If it’s the case that Sae would be there from now on——.

Tobio found strength in that thought alone, resisting his fear as he advanced
forward.

(Anything over there?)

The voice of Natsume was heard directly in his ear. Tobio also whispered
while holding his ear.

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(Nothing in particular. What about on your end?)

(Still nothing. Although Griffon went ahead earlier, nothing in particular has
shown up.)

……So when it comes to the first floor, there is nothing of particular interest?

Where Tobio had now arrived, there was an escalator that was stopped.
Should he ascend from here? Or perhaps it would be better to take the stairs.
The decision was that they would all link up——this was the main thing to
consider.

The puppy sensed something and started staring at a specific point. Tobio
gulped as he aimed the penlight in that direction. What the puppy was staring
at, was a pillar. ……Was there something hiding behind it? Even with the
light he couldn’t make out anything, so perhaps it was prudent to gather the
others at least temporarily.

From behind the pillar, a single white cat appears. The cat had a pure white
coat. Its long tail was swaying from side to side.

……A stray cat that had entered the department store? ——However, he
immediately revised that thought. The Utsusemi those guys possess, those are
monsters that imitate the form of animals. If one accepts that, then this cat as
well is……?

As Tobio was tensing up, there was the shape of another silhouette that then
appeared from behind the pillar. Exposed by the penlight, there was a tall
youth with dyed brown hair.

——It was Samejima Kouki.

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The youth——Samejima lowered his gaze while using his hand to protect his
eyes from the light shining from the penlight. He seemed to be looking at a
mobile phone. The puppy was also staring at the cat accompanying him while
not moving an inch. Just a little, Samejima sighed.

“……It would seem that this guy doesn’t resemble those on the list. So, is he
from the group of survivors? Geez, that such a kid would come to place like
this.”

Samejima gave such a complaint while grabbing the back of his head with his
large hand.

With them mutually no longer posing a threat to each other, Samejima spoke.

“You there, did you come here together with Natsume and that witch girl?”

“……Yeah, they're also searching the first floor.”

“……The one who grasped my movements—, would that be that witch girl,
or was it that conceited silver haired son of bitch who determined where I
was? ……Geez, even though they said I could do as I pleased for the time
being. I finally seized upon a clue to the mastermind behind everything—and
now this.”

Samejima cursed as he spoke.

——Then, Samejima directed his gaze towards the escalator ahead as though
noticing something. Similarly, the white cat and black puppy stared in the
same direction. Tobio was also prompted to gaze in that direction……he
wasn’t able to make out anything in the darkness, but the feeling that
something was there persisted.

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“……As I suspected, there does seem to be something here.”

Samejima was glaring at the escalator in front of them.

“Identifying such a presence, it would be good of you to memorize how to do

it. By sharpening your senses with the sacred treasure, even an amateur at
fighting should be able to memorize it instantly.”

Samejima spoke as such as he moved to Tobio’s side, facing towards the

escalator. Having found Samejima, he had thought of to report to Natsume
and company while going up to the second floor——but at that moment he
heard the girls’ voices in his ear. Simultaneously a large sound echoed
through the first floor.

‘Ikuse-kun! Sorry! We’ve been attacked! Lavinia and I are supporting each
other right now! And on your end!?’

Attacked!? The opponents had suddenly appeared on the first floor! They
must have come down the stairs from up top.

Holding his ear, Tobio spoke to Natsume and company.

“I found Samejima Kouki over here! Is there anything we can do!? Should I
bring Samejima and head over to you !?”

At this suggestion Tobio had made, Samejima only chuckled.

“So it seems the witch girl is there? If that’s the case, shouldn’t there be little
reason to worry about that birdbrain? It’s too bad, but they’ll have to wait for
me to finish my business upstairs.”

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Saying that, Samejima picked up the white cat, placed it on his shoulder, and
proceeded to ascend the escalator.

“Oy!”

As Tobio tried to call him back, Natsume’s voice was transmitted.

‘Ikuse-kun! That voice just now, was that Samejima-kun? In any case, please
go after him for me!’

“But! Are you truly alright over there?”

‘Don’t be putting down my Griffon-chan. Besides these run of the mill

Utsusemi opponents can’t resist the magical girl over here.’

At that moment, there was a crashing sound heard from the interior
accompanied by a flash of red light gleaming in the darkness.

As Natsume had said, Lavinia had instantly defeated the monster with the
Ustusemi last night with that combustion phenomenon. Even the pair of
Natsume and Samejima shouldn’t be a cause for such concern, he thought,
because that’s just how powerful they are.

“……My bad! I will follow Samejima! You absolutely cannot die on me,
Minagawa-san! Lavinia-san!”

‘Understood!’

‘It is understood.’

The spirited reply of the two girls reaches his ears. Though there was a desire
to go to where the girls were……Tobio shook it off and proceeded up the

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escalator in pursuit of Samejima.

Ascending to the second floor, they immediately discovered the lights were
on. The sudden brightness dazzled Tobio and Samejima. But thanks to the
light, the entire floor was visible to them.

And then, waiting for them on the second floor——were gigantic monsters.
A mantis, a stag beetle, a crab, a turtle, a herd of monster with appearances
similar to such things——. There were also varieties of the frog and spider
he’d fought last night. Beside them were boys and girls. It was the Utsusemi
who were their fellow classmates. From a glance there were roughly no more
than ten people spread out before them.

……In this single case on his second day of being involved in such
experiences, he really shouldn’t have to face so many opponents.

For Tobio, this first taste of this amount of violence sent chills down his
spine.

——However, that guy went “Kukuku” in amusement, wearing a fearless

smile.

Samejima, without hesitation, advanced step by step towards the enemy line.

“Byakusa, let’s go.”

This he said to the cat sitting on his shoulder. Thereupon, the cat’s long tail
stood up straight like a pin——and then split in two. The two split ends of

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the tail steadily extended, one of them wrapping around Samejima’s left arm.
The white tail that was wrapping itself around its master’s arm began to
steadily change its shape——it transformed into an enormous cone shaped
lance.

“——My cat’s lance can pierce anything. Come now, come and be pierced
by this guy.”

With the lance that had grown on his left arm, Samejima issued a declaration
of war to the Utsusemi.

Right after that starting signal for the outbreak of war, the spider monster
charges from the front. By lowering his posture, he pierced the spider
monster with his left arm’s lance by bringing the upper point to an extremely
low altitude!

Samejima lifted the spider he had pierced and held it above his head in the
air, and then swung his lance down tossing towards the enemy as though
discarding it! At that moment the annihilated spider was released from the
lance and was sent flying forwards! The monsters dispersed from the spot.
Samejima turned to the crab that was attacking from his right, and with his
right hand signals directions to the cat.

“Aim at the gaps in the hard shell!”

One of the white cat’s two tails windingly stirred, and shot out at high speed!
The crab monster was unable to avoid as a part of its shell completely gave
way to the blow from the tail! The white tail was like a thin sharp rapier,
having pierced the body of the crab, and was preventing it from moving. The
tail was moving freely, having previously pierced its body, and Tobio

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understood that it was destroying the nucleus. Samejima’s lance, with the
cat’s manipulation of the sharp thin tail, bore into it. Samejima and the cat
had matched their breathing in order to unleash two attacks.

——And, at this time, a monster was coming to attack Tobio. Just like last
night, the frog monster, its tongue dripping, was leaping at him. Tobio
pointed his right hand in the frog’s direction, and sent an order to the black
dog. The puppy rushed out at a speed the eye couldn’t catch, charging
through the frog with the blade on its forehead bisecting it.

Seeing this scene Samejima *Huuu* let out a complimentary whistle.

Subsequently, Samejima evaded the mantis’s twin arm blades while piercing
its abdomen with the lance, then jumped to evade the charge of the stag
beetle that was flying low to the ground.

“——Nja, here!”

He aimed the lance downwards using the energy of his jump, and thrust into
the stag beetle from above. He then extracted the lance, which had pierced
through the floor of the second story, and respectively mowed down the
beetle horizontally. The stag beetle monster whose appearance had
completely changed from the force was left discarded upon the floor.

Off to the side, Tobio was also cleaning up a monster’s body. In this
situation, Tobio truly felt the power.

——Fight! Win!

Even though this was still only his second day since plunging into this
strange world, the puppy’s power was the real thing. And then, the power of

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Samejima beside him was overwhelming the other Utsusemi.

……This is, could this be the difference between genuine Sacred Gears and
artificial ones? Thinking in such a manner, Tobio and Samejima, naturally,
effortlessly avoided taking even a single blow. The Sacred Gears themselves,
it seemed, exhibited greater power than user would have assumed.

And yet, there was an opponent Samejima’s attack couldn’t penetrate. It was
a turtle monster. Its hard shell repelled his lance. The turtle monster was
focusing on defense by hiding its head and limbs inside its shell. Samejima
was clicking his tongue. ——But, the puppy jumped in unconcerned.

How incredibly sharp would the dog’s blade have to be cause harm to that
shell——.

But the dog’s behavior exceeded Tobio’s expectations. It used the blade that
had grown to assault the spot where the head had previously retracted.

Approaching the spot where the head had previously retracted——it pushed
the extending blade from its forehead forward. Although the turtle had hidden
within its shell, the part where the head had been retracted was not covered
by the hard shell. Making use of its small body and the blade, the dog aimed
there. The sharp blade extended, skewering the turtle monster that had
withdrawn into its shell. From the pointed end of the turtle’s head that was
hidden in the shell, it pierced straight through to its tail. The turtle’s life had
been ended.

“If attacking the shell is no good, attack where there is no shell. Didn’t I do
something similar with Byakusa?”

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Samejima commented as such. Indeed, when the white cat defeated the crab,
it did so by targeting the gap in its hard shell. ……Having seen that, did the
black puppy immediately learn such a thing? Assuming that’s the case, it can
be determined that the puppy’s intelligence is higher than he had thought.

Two people had come up to the second floor, and had completed their first
battle in just a few minutes——.

Ten Utsusemi had been completely annihilated. The fellow classmates whose
monsters were defeated collapsed on the spot after losing consciousness.
While ensuring that all the fellow classmates were vanishing through the
magic circle, Samejima enquired of Tobio.

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

Tobio nodded in silence.

“When you came here did you suppress your desire to flee? What for? For
what incomprehensible reason, born from some absolutely ridiculous silly
ideal that fills your mind, did you chose to act? What is your motivation for
fighting? That dog, what is it that you see when you fight with it?”

In front of Samejima’s gaze, the black puppy’s eyes were emitting a fiery red
glow. Something so powerful that it would likely stimulate one’s courage.

Being questioned by Samejima, Tobio looked at the ceiling.

“……I’m also scared. But——“

Looking ahead Tobio spoke to Samejima.

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“There are people I wish to save no matter the cost. Friends I want to help no
matter the cost. ……Even if I’m the only one with the power to fight, then I
will die standing up.”

Hearing that, Samejima for the first time softened his normally aggressive
expression and showed his emotions.

“……Heh. Seems you’re not just some ordinary indecisive person.”

Samejima turned his feet towards the escalator and began ascending to the
third floor. Tobio also followed in due course.

As the two of them were climbing the escalator, Samejima inquired without
looking back.

“……A woman is it?”

That single word came as a complete surprise. Even though Tobio had only
spoken of “people I wish to save”, Samejima had apparently seen through
that.

As a result of it being comprehended, Tobio became flustered while his face

turned red.

“Eh! N-no, that’s……”

Samejima laughed as Tobio spoke while stuttering.

“Haha, a woman, huh. Isn’t that great. Putting on such strange airs of justice,
that’s quite good.”

Looking back, Samejima extended his hand.

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“I’m Samejima Kouki.”

Tobio, in spite of his surprise, immediately reached out and accepted the
handshake.

“Ikuse Tobio, I'll be in your care.”

This was Ryoukou High School’s former number one delinquent——

Samejima Kouki. But, it seemed that he was a much more decent guy than
rumored.

Ascending through the third floor, and again through the fourth, they then
finally reached the fifth floor.

Whereupon, waiting for them——was a swarm of Utsusemi, surely no fewer

than thirty of them. There were all sort of varieties of grotesque monsters, all
glaring at them with an ominous glint in their eyes. Being watched by no
fewer than thirty monsters like that was quite simply an astounding spectacle.
It was his first time seeing something with a body that seemed similar to a
gigantic plant.

Samejima’s sight was focused on a single point. Tobio followed his gaze, and
there was the figure of a man who was obviously out-of-place.

It was a man in the latter half of his twenties wearing a business suit.

While showing a fearless smile, the man approached. He spoke while

wearing a sarcastic smile.

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“Yah, this is all there is. Only two people. Or else, is there some third person
down below as well?”

Samejima asks in a threatening tone.

“……The mastermind?”

“——You could say that I am one of them. My name is Doumon Kazuhisa. I

am someone who is participating in the current ‘Four Fiends Project’. Since it
seemed fun, I came to inspect this scene.”

“……Four Fiends? The hell's that?”

Samejima asks again regarding the phrase that Tobio as well had never heard
before. ……‘Four Fiends Project’?

Seeing that reaction, the man then put on a puzzled expression.

“Hou, did that one from the ‘Grigori[6]’ not yet mention that? Well
whatever.”

The man beckoned with his finger. ——At that moment, the monsters that
had been on standby behind him simultaneously began to move.

The man who had called himself Doumon spread his hands, as he spoke to
Tobio and company.

“In any case, I will be taking you guys back with me. Since we are in need of
the cat and dog you guys carry. The ‘Utsusemi’ and such, that was no more
than a minor experiment for the sake of this.”

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Despite hearing that, Samejima, without backing away at all from the
situation, boldly spoke up.

“The genuine sacred treasures——the Sacred something or other was it? You
involved them in this for such an incomprehensible reason. Since this is a
good chance, why don’t you release my pal?”

“For sure, your friend was the Maeda Nobushige I believe. Yeah, he has been
changed into an Utsusemi.”

With those few words, Samejima’s expression became one of rage. Tobio
was struck a feeling of unusually intense fighting spirit from beside him.

Tobio had a memory of that name. Maeda should have been one of the few
comrades of Samejima. Often, he would catch sight of the two of them
hanging out at Ryoukou High School.

“In that case, let me reply like this. I’m going pummel you, you damn
bastard!”

Again the lance forms on Samejima’s left arm. He was at full combat
readiness.

“Truly, how vulgar.”

The man immediately spat such words from his mouth.

Taking a stance, Samejima inquires of Tobio.

“……Have birdbrain and the witch girl not come up yet? This guy will likely
be difficult despite all the trouble spent trying to capture the mastermind.”

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With a nod Tobio held his ear and began to question those two.

“Minagawa-san, Lavinia-san, how are things over there? We’re battling with
a large crowd upstairs here.”

Such was his report, but what was heard was Natsume’s frantic voice.

‘Here as well, we’re caught up in the middle of hostilities with Utsusemi

invading from outside and can’t get away! In spite of Lavinia both burning
and paralyzing them there’s no end to it. I’d say, perhaps, about forty of them
are approaching.’

——Forty! That’s not much different than here, not at all!

It seemed there was a fierce battle on the first floor as well.

‘If it has become like this, I will just “freeze” them then.’

‘P-Please save that as a last resort! This whole place might become frozen
over! You hear me! Demise Girl[7]!’

Something that appeared to be a trump card……though it seemed that

nothing had changed as reinforcements would not be arriving at their
location.

“……Understood, we will persevere at least so that we will not die here.”

‘Eeh, us as well, we will survive!’

Having been listening to this communication going on beside him, Samejima

sighed.

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“……Well, that’s just like birdbrain, so unreasonable. Goodness, we just
need to do what must be done to attain victory.”

Samejima spoke to Tobio.

“That bastard called Doumon or whatnot must not be allowed to get away,
since I have various questions about this case for him.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The two of them having confirmed to that extent with each other, each of
them took a step forward with their partner——the puppy and the cat.
Additionally the large crowd of Utsusemi began to move in response. The
forms of the monsters began making agile movements. Assaulting the figures
from the front, the black puppy and Samejima’s lance cut down the gigantic
centipede and grasshopper monsters, piercing them to death. This was easily
accomplished with those that merely charge at the opposing party. ——
However, for the type that extends things like ivy or tentacles to engage from
a distance such an approach was not very effective. Ultimately, this meant
that Tobio and Samejima were not able to deal with opponents that were
anything other than short to mid-range.

In order to advance the two had no choice but to cut through the tentacles of
the reptile types and the ivy of the plant types. This promised to be a hard
fight since it seemed to be inevitable that an arm or a leg would get entangled
even once. As they scrupulously took care to clear the way, Tobio’s puppy
and Samejima wielding the lance severed each of them one by one.

The duo were feeling puzzled. Why didn’t they gather all of that large
number of people together and attack all at once? Only a group of about four

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from the numerous monsters would attack at any one time…….Samejima
aside, for Tobio who had possessed his awakened powers only for yesterday
and today, it would probably be possible to subdue him if about ten people
attacked him at once, yet those guys made no attempt to do so whatsoever.

The reason——was apparently due to that man named Doumon. The man,
his hand on his chin, was directing his gaze towards them seeming very
interested. Without any exaggeration he would issue instructions to the
Utsusemi, simply directing them with just a few tiny moves with his index
finger. Seeing that Tobio arrived at a single conclusion.

Most likely, Doumon is observing the battle. Purposefully, he was only using
a set number of Utsusemi at a time, all so that he can experience watching the
development.

Like Tobio, Samejima it seemed was also suspecting the same, as he clicked
his tongue.

“……Being a spectator is he? That’s a good social status. ——A total

waste!”

Doumon’s behavior it seemed had had dangerously affected Samjima’s

mood.

It was just as Tobio and Samejima had defeated a wasp and dragonfly
monsters that had come flying in. While nodding his head at that moment,
Doumon inserted his hand into his breast pocket.

“Yes yes, it’s become clear. As before, the genuine ones are different. I have
become aware of the fact that continuing to display the difference with the
artificial ones is seemingly unnecessary. Particularly, the condition with

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which Samejima Kouki handles his sacred treasure is top notch. As one
would expect of the one who carries one part of the ‘Four Fiends’. ——That
is to say, shall we switch things up next?”

What the man took out——were several scraps of paper similar to talismans.
These objects, which had magical characters written on them, were
something for which Tobio knew nothing of their significance. With the
talismans in his hand, Doumon began muttering something like a spell in an
undertone.

“……That which is born out of earth, whose spirit was cast out of iron, by
means of water purified, hasten forth before me.”

The man released the talismans——and the talismans drifted through the air
as though possessing a will, taking the form of a pentagram. After all the
talismans gave off an ominous radiance, a large shadow was born on the
floor. The shadow bulged forth, taking on a visage.

……What had appeared before Tobio and Samejima, was a seemingly three
meter tall human-like mass of clay. It was so tall that it head was close to
hitting the ceiling. Like a faceless ghost it had neither eyes, nose, mouth, nor
ears, and simply the sight of the arms that were nearly as thick as telephone
poles filled one with a chilling sensation.

Doumon laughed.

“This, though, is my family’s prized lineage. Come now, my clay doll will
capture you.”

Responding to the man who then snapped his fingers, the clay doll slowly
came to life.

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While taking a stance with the lance, Samejima spat out in response.

“……It’s good enough for that witch girl’s magic, it’s good enough for the
monsters summoned by a little shit like you, so it should do for absolutely
anything.”

“Nevertheless, if they were to be compared, that which you guys possess

might as well miniscule. Truly, such an unpleasant state of affairs.”

The clay doll sent out a large punch. The force of it caused the air to vibrate.
A direct hit——no, even being just grazed by such an attack would cause
massive damage. Samejima jumps back to take some distance, and then
immediately thrusts with the lance. ——However, only a dry note
reverberated off the floor, the lance having been completely repelled by the
clay doll’s body! It seemed to be the case that the hardness of the clay doll
exceeded the offensive ability of the lance Samejima possessed. At this point
the black puppy slashed at it with a pair of blades it had grown from its back
like wings——but only that same dry note was produced as it seemed have
not inflicted any damage on the clay doll.

Seeing that result Doumon sneered.

“As it would seem, presently my doll is surpassing you. ——Well then, shall
we finish this.”

The man, once again, uttered a spell while producing talismans. The
talismans flew through the air, spreading out behind Tobio and Samejima to
summon a second clay doll. Reinforcements had appeared at their back. From
the front the clay doll from before was also approaching.

“……Asshole!”

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“……Kuu.”

Before long, Tobio and Samejima were being completely subdued by the clay
doll——.

“Well then, how should we do this?”

Due to Doumon’s clay doll, Tobio and Samejima had been subdued on the
floor. The clay doll was pinning Tobio with its right arm and Samejima with
its left arm respectively. Tobio could feel the atrocious power being given off
by the arm of the clay doll that was pinning him. He was able to understand
from this that he couldn’t slip out using only his own strength. The puppy and
the cat were now being held in the hands of the other clay doll, snatching
away any chance of freedom.

Doumon again stroked his jaw with his hand, calmly pondering something as
he looked at a handheld mobile device. The hand operating the mobile device
stopped moving. Sending a repulsed look at Tobio, he said this.

“Right, it would seem you were leading that person to the vicinity of this
place.”

The man told the Utsusemi on standby behind him.

“Get going before that person following from behind gets here.”

Thereupon, from those at the front of the group behind him came several
people who could not be identified.

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——!!

A friend of Tobio was among them.

“……Sasaki?”

Indeed, it was the friend that he had reunited with yesterday. On that
occasion, when the lizard monster he had been leading was slain, the magic
square transported him away……. Sasaki was once again leading the lizard
monster at this place as part of the group.

Doumon spoke.

“Yesterday, this child was defeated by you, right. However, with the
technology here, we are able to resurrect them with even a single body part. It
would be impossible if it had been the child as well that was slain, but it was
his good fortune that his case was the type where resurrection was possible.
Therefore, he is once again able to lead his partner.”

……Rather than the description of Doumon, Tobio was experiencing a

confused mental state due to once again encountering the figure of his friend.

“Stop it Sasaki! It’s me, it’s Ikuse!”

That time he wasn’t able to——. Tobio desperately appealed to him.

However, Sasaki didn’t reply at all. He merely stood there expressionlessly.

Samejima frustratingly narrowed his eyes and said.

“……It’s useless. As long as you don’t take down the company manipulating
these guys, they won’t fucking stop attacking.”

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While Doumon was enjoying this reaction, he made Sasaki stand in front of
the clay doll that was holding the puppy and cat. Doumon, his grip on
Sasaki’s neck, made him draw even closer ahead. Just ahead——the puppy
still had a sharp blade showing on its forehead.

“Still, I suppose you wouldn’t slay a human would you? What would
happened if the ‘Four Fiends’ that serve as your sacred treasures were to
memorize human blood, how could I not look forward to something so truly
interesting?”

Speaking cheerfully the man’s eyes——were dyed with insanity.

……He was going to murder Sasaki with the puppy’s own body……!!

Tobio was left speechless by such startling conduct, yet he continued to

struggle to slip free of the clay doll’s hand. ——However, against such
robust brute strength, Tobio couldn’t even budge.

“…………Tch!!! You bastard, such a cowardly act……!!”

Samejima cried as he struggled the same way, but the man just let out a sigh.

“What are you saying? Speaking of the origin of all this, it’s you guys who
are at fault for not boarding that luxury liner. Well, I believe that it was that
the Sacred Gears you possess sensed the peril and induced your fever.
Moreover, as a result of the involvement of that annoying group of those who
fell from heaven, we weren’t even able to realize your abstentions
beforehand. Thanks to that we weren’t able to make drastic alterations to the
plan. How dare they forestall us by manipulating information like that, those
black winged people!”

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The man completely switched to a bitter smile.

“Well, due to such reasons, it seems they are called the Grigori[8]. Fumu
fumu, the Sacred Gear is a gift from God after all.”

Sasaki was——looking his way, his mouth was shifting.

“Traitor.”

“Sasaki……”

Heartrending emotions overwhelmed Tobio.

——Traitor.

That’s right, if that was the case, then it seems he was a traitor. By not
participating in that trip, he had gotten them involved. Having been thrown
into this abnormal situation merely due to something so absurd, he had
started fighting with his fellow students who were leaders of monsters.

Was this some kind of exception to treachery……!?

Suddenly Tobio’s mind recalled a conversation scene he had with Sasaki

before the trip.

After school, while returning home Sasaki spoke with an embarrassed mood.

‘Say, Ikuse. I’ve been thinking, about conveying my feelings to Morose from
class C on the upcoming school trip……’

Sasaki would often speak of the issue with Morose. Although Tobio was
ignorant when it came to romance, he was at the very least aware that Sasaki

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yearned for her. Sasaki thumped Tobio of the back.

‘Supposing I get completely rejected, you’ll definitely be there to console

me! Please I beg you!’

An ordinary student. Sasaki was just an ordinary senior high school student.

He would study, he would exercise, he laughed, he got angry, he cried, he

loved. Yet all of this was typical for a young senior high school student.

As Doumon was bringing Sasaki close to the puppy’s blade, Sasaki let out a
muffled voice.

“…………I……kuse……”

——! ……That was, his name…..?

While still expressionless, Sasaki was shedding tears.

“……He……elp……”

He shouldn’t have been conscious. His fellow students——his classmates

had all been remade into beings that simply commanded monsters. Even just
earlier, they had come at him trying to kill him. Because right now, his
consciousness was stolen, and was functioning under the control of Doumon
and his group.

And yet, Sasaki had……called out his name. He’d asked for help.

Due to this occurrence, Tobio——had tears pouring down his cheek.

Seeing this series of events, Doumon began trembling.

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“This is……magnificent! So he was still partially conscious to this extent!
This is quite interesting! Seize them, this absolutely must be immediately
reported to the staff! Since the data on artificial Sacred Gears thus far is
insufficient, obtaining something like this is valuable!”

……To the end, as this man regards them, Sasaki, the students of Ryoukou,
they were nothing but objects to him……? How can it be that he should be
capable of such cruelty? How could such an inhuman individual possibly
exist?

“…….Don’t fu…..!!”

Tobio——could not hold back his rage.

“Don’t fuck with me……!! Why, why don’t you bastards stop having Sasaki
and the others assist with your research if they aren’t any good……!?”

Doumon sneered.

“It’s you guys who are at fault for not having participated. No, it would be
that group of those who fell from heaven who concealed you. Due to that,
since we couldn’t contain ourselves, do you think we had any choice other
than to resort to plan B? For said plan, naturally it was necessary to have an
abundance of young people serve as experimental bodies for the ‘Four Fiends
Plan’. Their cooperation was entirely necessary.”

I don’t care. The way that things should be, they shouldn’t be involved!
Because of them——they were unable to live ordinary lives! Even if they
could receive that kind of power, not one of them would have asked for
something like this! They should just be living life as always!

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Recalling something, Doumon spoke with amusement.

“Ikuse…..huh. Aah, speaking of which, I’m sure there was data saying that
you were intimate with Toujou Sae. That seems good, you should meet her.
She’s become an excellent Utsusemi. I remember her!”

——Sae.

Having seen Tobio make react strongly when he heard that name, Doumon
sneered even more offensively.

“She cried out so many times in the middle of the experiment. ‘Tobio,
Tobio’——she said. Indeed, she was calling out to you. Surely you get it.”

………….

…………………….

Tobio, lacking any words to say——violently ground his molars,

overflowing with frustration and anger, as tears endlessly poured down. His
eyes glared at Doumon full of murderous intent.

……Aah, it’s like that huh.

……These guys……are 'evil'……!!

……These guys, there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for their greed,
whether it’s to me, to Sasaki, to Sae, my desires——they’ll do anything to
satisfy their evil intentions.

——I won’t allow it.

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I won’t allow them to do as they please……!!

These shitty guys, I won’t just let something like this be overlooked……!! To
rescue Sasaki, his friends, Sae! These people, he would absolutely rescue the
people important to him from their demonic hands.

It was at that moment. His mind recalled the words of Lavinia.

——The power of desire. The sacred treasure——Sacred Gears become

strong from strong desires, responding to the possessor.

—— It is almost certain that that Doggy responded to Toby’s strong desire.

He looked over at the black puppy that was being restrained.

Hey, you were born from my shadow. Can I lend you my feelings, my
desires? For my sake can you become that 〈Blade〉?

While the puppy was being restrained by the monsters, its red eyes began to
shine red.

DOKUN…….

From within him something gently pulsed. There was a sense that he and the
dog were connected, even stronger than it was last night.

In that case, for my sake, become that 〈Blade〉——.

Kill those guys by becoming that 〈Blade〉!

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Something inside of Tobio vigorously burst open——.

——Kill. Kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill!!

Completely annihilate those guys!!! Slaughter them!!!

“I’ll lend you my desiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeee!!! You will be

my 〈Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddddddddddeeeeeeeeee〉!!”

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddddddddeeeeeeeeeee……….

The puppy responded to Tobio’s scream, which spread and resounded

throughout the floor.

In an instant——something dark was produced from the puppy’s body,

which then spread. It also came out of Tobio’s body finally enveloping the
clay doll. Tobio slowly began to get up. Regarding the powerful strength of
the arm of the clay doll that was restraining him, it was dissolved little by
little, until at last he was released upon the gigantic arm’s destruction. This
unbelievable power of his had originated from within his own body.
Gradually swelling up within him, there was a feeling that it was completely
consuming him. The number of pulsations kept increasing. Acting in concert
the black puppy had grown countless blades from its body which had
destroyed the arm of the clay doll.

Together Tobio and the puppy had been freed from their restraints, while
Doumon who was ahead stood completely erect. Enveloping the bodies of
Tobio and the dog, there was something like a black aura.

Tobio wasn’t affected by this ‘power’ from within himself——he was simply
able to recognize how to use the ‘Blade’.

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Extending his hand in front of him, Tobio muttered a few words.

“——Pierce, everything.”

Much more intensely than before the black aura enveloped the puppy’s body.
An instant later, the Utsusemi on standby behind the man——countless
blades appeared from the shadows beneath the feet of the monsters
accompanying them, successfully skewering them!

Looking over, by means of gigantic blades that were born from the shadows
beneath their feet, the two clay dolls restraining Samejima and the white cat
were vertically bisected.

Indeed, this was one ability of the puppy. The ability to deliver attacks from
shadows. So long as it was within Tobio’s field of vision, the puppy’s blades
could be grown from any shadow. This way of using the ability had just now
appeared within Tobio’s head.

“……Wh-what, what is this!? Blades from shadows!? Countless numbers of

swords!? How can this be!?”

With such an intense scene Doumon was extremely confused, and as he

gazed both forward and behind, what he saw was abject chaos.

Tobio spoke while the puppy stood ready at his side.

“……It suddenly struck me, what your name should be.”

Natsume had said it. It was necessary for their partners to have names. Tobio,
at this moment, was certain as to which name to choose.

“——〈Jin[9]〉. You’re Jin. My blade for the sake of killing everything.”

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And so, this was the name he had generated for his other self——.

Tobio commanded the puppy——Jin.

“Jin, slash.”

The puppy’s blade rushed forward at what could be said to be god speed. The
speed was so excessive that the monsters of the Utsusemi were being cut
down without being able to respond at all. It closed the distance once again
getting underfoot of the monsters——or else countless blades would rise up
from the shadows, and, utilizing penetration techniques, they were subjected
to being minced. The floor of the fifth floor was being turned into a strange
space in which countless distorted blades had sprouted.

Flustered by the dramatic sudden reversal, Doumon’s face was twitching as

he shook his head from side to side.

“Ridiculous! Cleaning up scores of them in an instant!? What! What's, that

sacred treasure!? It isn’t one of the Four Fiends, is it!? Blades that appear
from the shadows!? Such an ability was completely unknown!!”

Tobio approached the man. He had no plan on forgiving him. Since this
assuredly was one of the ringleaders——.

Doumon produced fresh talismans from his breast pocket, and tossed them at
Tobio after reciting a spell. ——But, as a result of Jin emerging from out of
the shadow at Doumon’s feet, they were completely turned into trash. He had
been transferred through the shadow. He had already learned how to use that
transfer ability from before. So long as it was within his field of vision, he
was able to freely transfer Jin from within shadows. Jin thrust his forehead’s

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specialized weapon at Doumon. His partner Jin did not provide Doumon even
a single break.

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“You’re all that’s left.”

What was seen before Tobio’s eyes, regarding the man who had fallen on the
spot on his rear, he was creeping to try to get away. The composure from a
little while ago was not present in the slightest.

“Hii. Stay away! Stay away from me!”

The man’s eyes were corpse-like in appearance.

As Tobio was raising his hand, a dazzling brilliance was appeared

horizontally on the floor. As he watched, a magic circle-like thing appeared,
from which the figure of a person emerged.

A man who was about forty appeared from the center of the magic circle and
approached the shrieking Doumon.

“Kazuhisa!! Retreat from here!”

Doumon recognized him.

“Section Chief Himejima!”

——Himejima. Himejima was it?

Tobio had a reaction to that name.

……No, by no means, such a thing couldn't be.

At that instant, Doumon took advantage of the chance from his spirit being
shaken to retrieve a cylinder-like object from his pocket, and fired it his way.
Instantly, a flash spread through the floor, depriving Tobio and company of

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their sight. With their vision dazzled, only the voice of the man who had
appeared from the magic circle could be heard.

“——Interesting. To have met you. 〈Dog〉.”

By the time their eyes had recovered, it was too late as the men were
vanishing from the floor. Similarly, the Utsusemi had also completely gone.
By means of that magic circle, they had seemingly fled from this place.

“……Heh, they got away huh.”

Samejima sighed as such while short of breath.

The black aura around Tobio disappeared and he suddenly seemed tired,
immediately sitting down. Due to the effort of having been exploding with
anger, it seems that he burned through his stamina all at once.

From a short distance away, two sets of footsteps were ascending the
escalator.

“Ikuse-kun, Samjima-kun! Are you safe!?”

It was Minagawa Natsume and Lavinia. Given the uncleanliness of their

clothes, it could be inferred that there was a fierce battle down below.

“You're late, birdbrain.”

In response to Samejima’s shocking statement, Natsume angrily scolded him.

“Who are you calling birdbrain!? You’re the cause of this due to having
plunged in here as you pleased, right?”

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As those two started an argument somewhere else, Lavinia spoke while
approaching Tobio.

“……Toby, you desire reached that child, right.”

The puppy——Jin was wagging his tail beside him. Seeing that Tobio
smiled.

“Aah, thanks to you.”

Indeed, thanks to Lavinia’s advice, Tobio had expressed strong thoughts,

strong desires. Through that, Jin had gained power.

Smiling, Lavinia simply said, “That’s excellent.”

Natsume, who had finished arguing, let out a deep breath behind him saying

"Well now, since all the members have now been gathered, it’s time to once
again meet with the ‘Governor General’. Last time he did not explain things
in detail.”

Samejima’s stern eyes offered no objection. He as well had things about the
current situation he wished to hear about from this supposed ‘Governor
General’.

After a short break, the foursome slipped out of the department store, and
advanced towards the location of the ‘Governor General’.

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 Part 3

The afternoon of that day, having disembarked at the designated station,

Tobio and company, following Natsume’s guidance, were walking hastily.

From the station it was about a fifteen minute walk to the multi-tenant
building that was their destination. This was the location designated by the
‘Governor General’ where Natsume could establish contact.

The presence of the man could not be felt from outside. In order to check the
interior, Tobio had entered the multi-story building. The room of concern was
on the fourth floor. The elevator was broken though, and was therefore
unusable. Thus they all ascended the stairwell, with the fourth floor as their
destination.

Having ascended, there was a dim light coming from a certain door. They
turned the doorknob, and while making a *kii* sound, they opened the door.
The room was arranged like that of a cram school classroom, with who knew
how many long white desks and chairs lined up. They were able to confirm a
something like an enormous screen.

Even though it was daytime, there was a black curtain hanging over the
window. If it were not for the light on the ceiling it was likely the room
would be pitch black.

At a short distance, the room was installed with a speaker that began to make
noise.

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<<……Hello, ladies and gentlemen, those who formerly were second year
students at Ryoukuu High School.>>

Abruptly, there was a male voice heard through the speaker. Tobio and
Samejima responded to the spoken words ‘Ryoukuu High School’. As for
Natsume, being the only one who was acquainted with this voice, she
remained composed.

<<It would appear, Minagawa Natsume, that you have diligently

accomplished your goal.>>

“It would seem so. So, as promised the three of us have gathered, so aren’t
there various things we should be informed of?”

<<So it would seem.>>

At Tobio’s feet, Jin was seated. Griphon was near Natsume. The white cat
was on alert on chair immediately next to Samejima.

<<First let me introduce myself. I am the leader of an organization that

studies supernatural abilities like those of the Sacred Gears. The name of this
organization is ‘Grigori’. Beyond the study of Sacred Gears, we also do
things like safeguarding the owners. That condominium where you all have
been hiding, that is one such hiding place for people with such powers.>>

……‘Grigori’. Speaking of which, the name the man has spoked was also
named by Doumon. In that case Tobio’s memory was certain of one thing,
that that name should be something that appeared in the records of the Bible.

Tobio turned to face in the direction of the speaker.

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“There are numerous questions, and I would like to hear the answers to
them.”

<<Aah, even if I’m in a position of superiority, though I can get in contact at

a moment’s notice, I am not in a position to discuss confidential
information……but, it’s good that you all seem to have decided to take the
next step any time now.>>

“We understand that we carry these things called Sacred Gears. This power
which by common sense is unimaginable. Those guys, who are colleagues as
part of a certain agency in this country, attacked the ship, and it was our
power that was the goal of that mayhem——.”

<<That’s about it, Ikuse Tobio. Before we speak about that agency, I want
you guys to hear about those guys’ plot. From the underside of this country,
since ancient times, there has been numerous groups of people who had been
waging war against evil spirits. That was the power of the man you all
encountered. Onmyoudo[10], or possibly magic, such a method is used to call
supernatural power to appear in one’s hand——. It is exceedingly similar to
the witchcraft practiced by Lavinia, but also extremely different.>>

……So supernatural powers wasn’t limited to just witchcraft, but even

extended to include Onmyoudou as well. The heck, how did we get ourselves
mixed up in these things? The minds of Tobio and company were unsettled.

The ‘Governor General’ continued.

<<From among these Inou Tsukai[11] there are five families that possess
especially potent power, who are known by those in this country as “The Five
Principal Clans”.>>

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“The Five Principle Clans?”

To Natsume’s words, the ‘Governor General’ explained further.

<<Doumon, Kushihashi, Shinra, Himejima, and lastly Nakiri. These are the
“Five Principal Clans”. Those descended from these were evil spirit
eradication specialists who have protected this country from the shadows,
possibly even giving their lives in the intimate fulfillment of their duties.
——Nevertheless, people on the fringes of each of these clans have been
rampaging. This is the group is presently attacking you, and they are the
masterminds behind this affair.>>

Samejima, while sitting in a pose of poor manners with his feet propped up
on top of the desk, spoke.

“Now that you mention it, when Ikuse and I were attacked by that guy this
morning didn’t he call himself Doumon?”

Right, the man who had displayed that offensive smile had named himself as
‘Doumon’. And then, the man who came as his relief who appeared through
the magic circle, he had called him ‘Himejima’.

<<They discovered the owners of the sacred treasures in which the evil spirits
known as the “Four Fiends” have been sealed. Those ones possess top class
abilities among the independent-avatar types. Minagawa Natsume, Samejima
Kouki, there seems to be no mistake that you possess “Four Fiends”.>>

Natsume and Samejima looked at the falcon and cat respectively. Tobio
turned towards Jin.

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……This is one of ‘The Four Fiends’? To begin with, we haven’t even been
informed about these ‘Four Fiends’. I understand that, for some reason or
another, they are called evil spirits. These animals, there exists plenty enough
for one to perceive that they aren’t exactly ordinary animals.

……But, that this would be related to the ‘Four Fiends Project’ Doumon had
previously spoken of.

<<The Four Fiends, consisting of Konton, Toukotsu, Toutetsu, and Kyuuki,

they are legendary monsters that appear as bringers of ill fortune. They were
exterminated in ancient times, and were turned into Sacred Gears. Those have
been passed down until today, and have now become your power.>>[12]

……One could sense something eerie from those names.

Samjima was taking out his mobile phone, and was searching for information
on the ‘Four Fiends’.

“……And like poof after lazily searching for these incomprehensible things,
I’ve learned that those aforementioned names seem to be associated with
something called The Four Divine Beasts or such. Something Genbu[13] and
Suzaku[14] or whatnot. Is there some relation to these ‘Four Fiends’?”

<<——There is. Each family from the Five Principal Clans respectively
governs one of the Four Divine Beasts and the Ouryuu[15]. When a person is
born within the family possessing this almighty power there’s a rule they be
bestowed with the name of the ability such as Suzaku or Genbu. The ones
involved this affair at this time are the reverse, they are all from among those
who did not inherit the name of their household.>>

“……Somehow, it’s become strongly reminiscent of fantasy. It was all one

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could handle with magical girls and Sacred Gears, but even so from the
underside of this country there’s things like exorcists and people with
supernatural abilities and whatnot……”

Natsume was pondering while holding her hand to her forehead. As one
would expect of Natsume she was struggling to understand the situation.
Tobio was the same way. What with monsters, Sacred Gears, witchcraft, and
now the Four Divine Beasts, considering they had all been ordinary high
school students until quite recently, such things greatly exceeded their degree
of comprehension.

Tobio asked.

“……Those guys who are attacking us, by saying they desire the Four
Fiends, that is to say it's our sacred treasures they're after?”

<<Ahh, that is so. Those guys acting from the underside this time——those
who are affiliated with the ‘Utsusemi Agency’, from the start, they were
forcibly expelled from their households as a nuisance so they are nothing
more than outcasts. Those people have gathered together, and they bear a
severe grudge against those heads of households that completely cut ties with
them. They are in need of power to triumph over them. Accordingly, they
mobilized to obtain the power of the ‘Four Fiends’.>>

“——So that’s the reason behind the attack on the luxury liner. They seek to
utilize the Four Fiends in opposition to the Four Divine Beasts and such.”

To Samejima’s statement, the ‘Governor General’ affirmed with ‘That is so’.

<<Those guys attacked during school trip merely to retrieve all of the
students. It was beneficial for those guys, the fact that half the ship sank deep

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underwater the way it did. Beneficial since it seemed to save them time
arranging for the several missing human corpses. After that all that remained
was dealing with the bereaved families. At any rate, for that they used
hypnotism so that the relatives would mourn for the children whose survival
was unknown. It should be that those of you who were in attendance at the
funeral service had a feeling of discomfort. To some extent, that funeral
service would have appeared to be an act. Those guys smothered any hope
for their children that existed in the minds of the parents. All for the sake of
achieving their ambitions——>>

……In that way, the ‘Governor General’ had explained the origin of the
uncomfortable feeling from the joint funeral service. Those people who were
now targeting them, they had been controlling the minds of the students’
relatives……!!

……From the story he had acquired a fury towards their extreme selfishness.
The people of that agency, the ones who’d been exiled from the Five
Principal Clans, all for the sake of triumphing over the ones who’d expelled
them, had attacked the students of Ryoukuu High School. It wasn’t that the
power he, Minagawa Natsume and the rest possessed was the cause, but
rather wasn’t it the case that such situation, namely one where they had not
been targeted to begin with, would never have transpired in the first place?

For him and Sae to have peacefully and ordinarily spent everyday together,
would appear to have been a highly unlikely situation——.

Natsume inquired.

“So then, what is the reason you are cooperating with us ‘Governor General’?
Even though I realize that you have arranged things like following up with

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strangers like us at this place, how do I know if you’re not a good person?”

That is what Tobio was also feeling. There doesn’t seem to be a reason to
give them so much care, is there? Naturally, he was entrusting the fighting to
them, but with the exception of his face, he was supplying them with this
much information at this time.

<<Regarding the Utsusemi, the technique that was being used to develop
them is from within my organization——they are a result of a leak of
information relating to artificial Sacred Gears. Information regarding you all
and the matter of the Four Fiends was also leaked to that agency by an
informer within the organization. From the beginning our organization
effectively caused this calamity. In this case, essentially, it can surely be said
that we should be the ones who set out to stop it……but there are
complicated circumstances related to this world, so we cannot readily
interfere. Even though we’d be supporting you, from a different perspective
there’d be no choice but to view it as a scandal. Our organization wishes to
obstruct the current experiment on artificial Sacred Gears, and also to seize
the one who has become a traitor.>>

——!

……They completely lost it at his words. Only Lavinia, who had been aware
of the circumstances, acted composed, but Tobio and company couldn’t hide
their shock.

As his expression changed to one of anger, Samejima violently struck the

desk.

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“Njya, so we had to go through such things because of your incompetence!?
The hell's up with that!”

Samejima was unable to conceal his rage, and Tobio as well was only
managing to not succumb to his fury, it was just so completely outrageous.
Lavinia raised her hand.

“Shark, please don’t just blame the Governor General. To be honest, on this
occasion, given that my organization——the magician’s association has also
been pursuing a group that’s participating with those people, it is therefore
not just a deficiency on the part of the Governor-General’s organization.
While there are some bad factors, we are all tied to the current scandal.
Despite this, the ‘Grigori’ and I are cooperating, and have planned to pursue
those people, and so here we are. Until now I haven’t discussed this with
Shark and the rest and I believe that is my responsibility. If you’re angry,
then I ask you to be angry at me. But, I simply wanted you to be aware of
this. Had we had this extraordinary discussion all at once, surely Natsume,
Toby, and Shark would have all felt as though their heads were going to
burst, so as to have you all come to grips with the hard facts little by little, we
choose to explain things gradually.”

Lavinia rapidly bowed her head in apology. Her tone of voice had seemingly
dropped to some extent.

……So it wasn’t just the traitor in the ‘Governor General’s’ organization,

there were also some suspicious people that the magician’s association was
pursuing, and both were collaborating with the ‘Utsusemi Agency’, and were
taking part in both the Utsusemi——the artificial Sacred Gear experiment as
well as the ‘Four Fiends Project’……?

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Samejima put on a complex expression in response to Lavinia’s apology, as
he scratched his head and, with no place to go, “Ah, damn it!” he cursed.

Forcibly suppressing his rage, Samejima cut off the conversation in order to
inquire of the ‘Governor General’.

“At this late hour, it's fine even if the incomprehensible keep on increasing.
It’s good enough that we’ve come to annihilate all of those bastards. Other
than that I have just one more thing to ask of you.”

Samejima turned and glared at the speaker.

<<What is it?>>

“Those that were changed into Utsusemi by those bastards, can they be
returned to how they once were again?”

That question, it was also one harbored by Tobio and Natsume.

<<——They can be restored. I personally guarantee it.>>

Hearing that Samejima struck the palm of right palm with his left fist. His
expression was full of energy.

<<Maeda Nobushige——. He was your friend. If he can be safely brought

back, I promise to restore him to his original state. The same for the friends
of Minagawa Natsume and Ikuse Tobio.>>

Hearing that Tobio and Natsume’s expressions brightened.

“Seeing as you’re someone I know nothing about, as of yet I can’t believe

what you say, don’t you agree? I cannot consent to how you guys brought

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about this current affair……but for restoring my buddy to how he was, in
that case I’m willing to give you a shot, so this is your chance to repay your
debt. Because after what that agency did I didn’t feel alive at all. For the sake
of annihilating them you have my support.”

<<What I did was unforgivable. I would like to apologize for not showing my
face at this time. But, I promise that we will without fail meet face to face
someday.>>

The voice of the ‘Governor General’, until the end he responded with
complete sincerity.

Natsume whispered to Tobio, “That attitude of Samejima-kun, that’s what

you would call a tsundere,” and gave a chuckle.

The present matter, it would be some time until they got to the bottom of it.
There were secret maneuvers that likely exceeded their imaginations. But,
there was at least one piece of excellent news. Hope——could now be clearly
seen!

——He would take Sae back.

As of yet he had not been able to meet his childhood friend. But, now he had
comrades with whom he would be taking her back.

He would save her without fail. Without fail——he would reclaim those
ordinary days.

Natsume asked about a different matter.

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“Say, ‘Governor General’. The other children——the rest of those who
survived, what has become of them?”

Indeed, it’s as Natsume said. In addition to themselves there were others who
had not participated in the trip. Themselves included, there were nine
altogether——. That they would be caught up in the present scandal, due to
obtaining the same abilities as them, that shouldn’t be the case, right?

The 'Governor General' spoke.

<<While there were nine people who didn’t participate in the trip, there is no
mistake that there are only four people that are ‘Four Fiends’. However, for
the others, there are those who are normal humans, and also those who
possess other Sacred Gears. It is presently known that seven of the nine have
Sacred Gears——they’re people with special abilities. Among them, four of
them are ‘Four Fiends.>>

“So the remaining two are ordinary humans?”

To Natsume’s query the ‘Governor General’ answered, “Uhuh.”

<<For those who were ordinary people, they have been removed from this
affair, and are living ordinary lives that are unchanged. But, as for the Four
Fiends and the three others with special abilities, they are being pursued by
those guys. Regarding the Four Fiends who are not among you guys, they
have refused to cooperate with us and are rampaging on their own. Regarding
the three remaining, our side is already concealing their location.>>

It’s possible to say that such inquiries for information of the other survivors
are quite precious. If possible I would like for everyone to fight together……
but since among those who survived were students who had an ominous

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ambience, I'm hesitant to contact them. ……I pray that, for those student who
don’t possess abilities, they may continue to live ordinary lives, Tobio
thought strongly.

<<Regarding the “Four Fiends”, naturally it is often the case that the four of
them are all drawn to the same place. Since ancient times, whenever they
awaken, this has been the unique invariable principle of the “Four Fiends”.
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, that is the reason you have all assembled in
one building. Sooner or later, you are bound to come across the remaining
two people.>>

……Two people? The threesome of Tobio, Natsume, and Samejima all felt
puzzled. Regarding the Four Fiends——wasn’t there only one left? Speaking
of which, when the ‘Governor General’ made his assertions some time ago he
did not include Tobio among them. The ones he designated as such——were
only Natsume and Samejima.

The ‘Governor General’ spoke to Tobio.

<<——Boy of the black dog, Ikuse was it. That dog of yours I would guess
did not hatch from the ‘egg’, right? It appeared next to you by itself——.
Isn’t that the case?>>

——!

……Right, Jin was not hatched from that egg. He arose by himself from the
shadows.

……Having been guessed correctly, Tobio gulped.

“……How, regarding that……?”

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He timidly asked in return.

<<Well I dare say, you are an existence that exceeded the present scheme of
those guys. You an irregular one, much in the same way as Lavinia I would
guess. Those guys introduced a foreign element into process of stealing the
‘Four Fiends’. Ikuse Tobio, that dog you possess——seems to be an
existence from an entirely different dimension.>>

Looking over at Lavinia, she was narrowing her eyes curiously.

“Probably, Toby is a foreign element that was beyond all expectations of

theirs.”

……That black aura-like thing, that wasn’t the power of the Four Fiends? If
so, regarding its true strength……Jin’s true identity, what was it? Just a short
while ago, he had said that the three who had special abilities who were not
among the ‘Four Fiends’ were being concealed……that is to say, he was one
of those that comprised those he’d spoken of.

It would appear that Lavinia and the ‘Governor General’ had somehow or
another discerned the truth behind Tobio’s power…….

<<Ikuse Tobio, is your grandmother still around?>>

“Not anymore. She passed away around the time I was in middle school.”

Why bring that up? ——Though feeling puzzled Tobio spoke with no lies.

<<Is that so, I wonder if you wouldn’t inform me of your grandmother’s

former surname.>>

“……It was Himejima.”

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……When Doumon had named the man who appeared at that time as
Himejima, Tobio had been momentarily surprised. It wasn’t by chance, since
it was the same name as his grandmother’s former surname.

Hearing that the ‘Governor General’——began laughing.

<<…………Kukukukuku>>

“……Governor General? Did something happen?”

Natsume spoke while having a question mark floating over her head.

<<……No, not really. It’s just that that punch of sarcasm was so effective
that for the first time in a while I have nothing to say. ……No matter how
much you try to purify the darkness in that family, it seems that there’s
nothing that can be done about this generation, Chief-dono. Kukuku, so the
“dog” is only a “dog”[16]. You who hated the feathered lightning, will now go
as far as to purify the “dog”?>>

Amused the ‘Governor General’ chuckled himself like that. No one could
fathom his true meaning.

“……By some chance, what you were saying earlier about the ‘Five
Principal Clans’, is there some connection between his Obaa-chan and that
guy?”

Apparently Samejima was thinking of the same thing as Tobio, as he was

voicing such an inquiry.

But the ‘Governor General purposefully said nothing about it.

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<<No, don’t mind that now. If it’s true that everything has already been
determined, then I guess everyone is related to it. But, youth of the black dog.
You have other things to occupy your mind outside of the matter of
“Himejima”. Regarding that name, it is part of a very weighty affair
involving things with the underside of this country.>>

As of yet Tobio did not understand.

They had a rendezvous with the ‘Five Principal Clans’, where they would be
defying their destiny——.

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 Silver Haired/Youth

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 Part 1

When Tobio left the multi-tenant building, as Samejima was mounting his
motorcycle, Natsume had detained him and had begun quarreling.

“Just a minute, where are you going!?”

“I’m just going back alright. I’m about to collapse from exhaustion after all
that’s happened today.”

“I wonder, are you truly going back? So you’re not going to do something
like stopping on the way and start fighting again on your own and such, if
you’ll pardon my asking?”

“Ah, yeah yeah. Although, if the affair’s mastermind should become known
to me, I will be drawn in by that.”

“Do you think taking such dangerous actions single handedly is reliable?
Were you not listening to what the ‘Governor General’ said? And yet, you’re
going to attack such awful people? It’s no good unless the three of us
cooperate!”

Samejima placed the white cat that had been sitting on the fuel tank into the
bosom of his shirt.

“This guy will succeed somehow or other.”

The white cat, only the head of which could be seen from within the shirt,
purred “Nyah.”

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Having gone beyond rage directed at the self-assured Samejima, Natsume
was now wearing a disgusted expression.

“……Strictly speaking, I wonder if your extremely proactive behavior is due

to something other than you just acting as you see fit……”

Having been aware of the condition of his buddy Maeda, it seems that
Samejima had been operating independently for the sake of pursuing those
who were the masterminds behind this affair. For the sake of that, he had
been causing havoc on his own, thus gaining the notice of the ‘Utsusemi
Agency’, all for the goal of successfully luring out one of their agents. As is
befitting such selfish behavior, while investigating the present condition of
his buddy, in his rage against those people he had deceived the rest of them.
In relation to such behavior, Tobio was not unable to understand what
emotions he was harboring. Having acquired such great power himself, in
spite of only vaguely understanding the complete circumstances of the
enemy, in order to quickly acertain Sae’s present condition, he was uncertain
whether or not he might have also acted alone. For Tobio, it did not seem
likely that Samejima’s behavior was due to indifference.

Natsume turned to Tobio.

“Ikuse-kun, help me stop this Yankee.”

Raising a protest of “I’m supposed to stop him!?” in his mind, he spoke in

such a way so as not to damage the mood of the juvenile delinquent in front
of them.

Tobio thought back calmly, recalling that as they were leaving the room in
the multi-tenant building Natsume had been discussing that with him while

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whispering.

“By stopping him, you mean that Minagawa-san’s has something to convey
don’t you?”

Indeed, Natsume had said that she had received information from the
‘Governor General’.

“Oh right”, Natsume recalled as she began searching through her bag.

Natsume took a several printed pages out from a clear file that was holding it,
she called Tobio over to Samejima's bike so she could show it to both Tobio
and Samejima.

The printed pages she produced had row by row listings of full names and
addresses of people. Looking carefully, the names and addresses listed were
familiar.

“This is a listing of the students who were declared to have been killed in the
accident.”

“This is also from the ‘Governor General’?”

To Tobio’s question, Natsume answered “Yeah.” Flipping through the pages,

Natsume showed a particular page.

“So, this is the problem. Look here. The members of the bereaved families,
they changed residences. Moreover, they all did so at almost the same time.
Can you believe that? The bereaved families of the 233 students, all of them
moved elsewhere around the exact same time.”

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For certain, that was far too unnatural. Something like over 200 families
changing residences altogether was abnormal.

……Right, Sae’s parents had moved without contacting him. Sae’s parents
been looking after Tobio since he was young. In the case they were to move,
they should have at least said something.

At the aforementioned joint funeral service, regarding Sae’s parents and the
other bereaved families likewise, they had all been placed under hypnosis
creating an uncomfortable feeling that resulted from them only pretending to
look grief-stricken.

It seems these changes in the bereaved families were linked. ——That is to

say,

“……It was influenced by the ‘Utsusemi Agency’?”

Natsume nodded at Tobio’s words.

“Yeah, there’s no doubt. Moreover, it’s suspicious how the destination for all
of the moves is unknown. Although they’ve gone to such trouble for this
information, the destinations of the bereaved families cannot be determined.
Such a thing as over 200 families disappearing altogether, it’s an excessively
impossible story. Generally if that’s the case, it would soon become a
controversial scandal. No, it should already be a scandal. And yet, it isn’t.”

“……The influence of the group called Five Principle Clans from underside
of this country is vast. That the Utsusemi Agency could gather up all those
people involved……. If those people are involved in this…….”

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The power to be able to transfer all of the bereaved families to some place. It
was certain that this was the great power of the underside that was at work.

“If we pursue this, it’s possible we might come to understand some of the
unknowns regarding the matter of the ‘Utsusemi Agency’ and the Five
Principal Clans.”

Natsume declared in a strong tone. Her expression was serious.

“It’s not just Samejima-kun, but I as well, I acted on my own because I

couldn’t forgive those who had screwed with the lives of our fellow students.
……We are in possession of independent avatar type Sacred Gears such as
the ‘Four Fiends’……assuming that, isn't it the case that from the very start
that was the reason they've been pursuing us, all for the sake of triumphing
over those Family guys? ……There are people who've died. Although it’s
unforgivable how they’ve abused our kidnapped classmates, there were
unrelated people who embarked on that ship who have died. …… Something
as us being the cause of it ……that's not at all the case. ……Whether our
classmates, or the numerous sailors, I don’t feel guilty…...rather, I only
desire to get revenge for their sake.”

……Natsume’s tone was full of bitterness, her eyes were strongly dyed with
grief.

He understood Natsume’s declaration. The sinking incident of the luxury

liner, from the beginning the cause was the actions of the ‘Utsusemi Agency
who were targeting the ‘Four Fiends’ that dwell within Natsume and
Samejima. Whether their fellow students, the ship’s crew, it was all surely
due to the ideology of the ‘Utsusemi Agency’.

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Natsume suddenly spoke apologetically to Tobio.

“……Sorry, Ikuse-kun. Ikuse-kun’s childhood friend Toujou-san is a victim

because of us. Even though a Sacred Gear also dwells within Ikuse-kun, it’s
apparently different from the ‘Four Fiends’……”

……That’s right, there was that way of thinking of it Tobio realized. Since
becoming involved in this incident, having become involved just yesterday,
or even since he had been informed of the complete truth just a short while
ago, upon hearing Natsume’s apology, for the first time Tobio realized that
truthfully both he and Sae were part of the victims.

——The Sacred Gear he possessed was something entirely different from the
‘Four Fiends’.

Since he doesn’t have the power those guys are seeking, he’s unrelated? ……
No, saying that is too much. There’s no way, seeing as Tobio’s roots——his
grandmother belonging to the ‘Himejima’, it’s similar to him being involved.
Since that’s how it was, this wasn’t just someone else’s problem.

Tobio shook his head in dismissal of Natsume’s remark.

“……It’s highly unlikely that I’m truly unrelated to this……moreover I was

once rescued by Minagawa-san.”

Right, yesterday, when Sasaki had suddenly attacked Natsume had saved
Tobio. From that Tobio had perceived that she has good intentions. In that
case, it was better that he thank her.

“Thank you very much for what you did at that dangerous place yesterday. I
want to once again express my gratitude. Moreover I have an important duty

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to rescue Sae as well. Isn’t it more effective if we act as a united front?”

It was the opposite of what Tobio had just heard.

“E-eeh, naturally.”

Tobio made an announcement before she who had responded as such.

“Well then, let’s fight together until the end. Although it’s unknown how
long it will take, I suppose it should be at least until we rescue our
classmates. All of those who attended Ryoukuu likewise.”

Tobio was expressing his honest feelings.

They had faced many perils. It was only natural. Should a single mistake
have been made, there was no doubt——death would have followed. That
monster’s tentacle would have sliced his throat and he would have died.

Since up till now they required the ‘Four Fiends’, it seemed things wouldn’t
go as far as them being killed. But, those guys were aware that he was not
one of the ‘Four Fiends’. ……From here on out the risk of death would
swell. Anyhow, considering it was those guys it would be the same for him
even if he wasn’t part of the group. Apart from his connection to the
‘Himejima’, wouldn’t Natsume and Samejima be of greater worth than
himself? ……The answer was ‘I don’t know’. While it appeared that his own
power was irregular, as for whether they would consider it valuable or not,
that was not presently clear. It seems it would be batter to consider that it was
still a highly risky situation.

However, for the sake rescuing Sae there was another person fighting who
needed to be taken into account outside of Natsume and Samejima; it was

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wise judgement to have built a united front with Lavinia for the fight ahead.
More than anything else about their fellowship from the past two days, it
seemed likely that neither Natsume nor Samejima has any obvious hidden
motives outside of rescuing their comrades. And while he had not yet grasped
all the various facets of Lavinia and couldn’t read her emotions from her
expressions, her actions towards them did not seem to harbor and ill will.
Indeed, it was unbelievable.

……There were many things to consider. They had gotten involved in

something big, understanding that they stood in a dangerous position. But,
they were all prepared to rescue the students of Ryoukuu, their classmates.
That being the case, wasn't that sufficient motive for them to fight together?
Indeed, Tobio believed this to be the case.

Regarding the Natsume in question, upon hearing Tobio’s brief comment, her
eyes were moistening.

“……Ikuse-kun, you’re a kindhearted person.”

He was a kindhearted person? That was something that wasn’t too clear to
him. However, she was a nice person. In light of Sae being kidnapped, all
those unrelated people being killed, all the evil intent scattered by those
people’s selfishness, this was what Tobio felt.

“Toby is a nice person.”

It was Lavinia’s voice. Looking over his shoulder, there was the figure of the
blond haired magical girl emerging from the multi-tenant building. She alone
had remained behind in the room of the multi-tenant building in discussion
with the ‘Governor General’.

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Lavinia gathered the black puppy at Tobio’s feet, Jin, into her arms. Since Jin
peacefully entrusted his body to her, it could likewise be said that Lavinia
appeared to not possess so much as one iota of evil intention.

“……Hahahahah!”

Samejima was raising such laughter in amusement.

“Oi.”

Samejima called out. Looking at him, he was showing a pleasant smile.

Groping through his pocket, he took out his mobile phone. He turned the
screen towards Tobio.

“——It’s my number. Register it speedily.”

At the abrupt proposal, Tobio, just as he took out his own mobile phone, was
flabbergasted.

“Aah!”

Tobio quickly operated the buttons to register Samejima’s number.

Thereupon, Saemjima’s mobile rang.

“There, that’s my number.”

Tobio announced as much and Samejima acknowledged. Tobio abruptly

inquired.

“But, why’re giving me your number all of a sudden?”

To Tobio’s query, Samejima kept on showing that smile as he said.

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“Just a likable fool. Ikuse, you are the biggest fool. ——Well then, I’m going
back now. Once there, if anything should come up I’ll contact you.”

Samejima, with the white cat placed in his bosom, donned his full-face
helmet.

“Ah! In spite of this we haven’t yet discussed this matter.”

From elsewhere Natsume raised a critical voice, as Samejima revved the

accelerator. There was a fierce exhaust sound.

“I'll hear you out after I’ve had a rest at the condominium. Well till then,
Ikuse.”

Samejima thrust his index finger at Tobio.

“——Three days. For starters, spend three days of intensive training with that
mutt. Seeing as the mastermind has been revealed, it seems those guys’ll be
putting in some strenuous effort. In that case, it seems that making use of
your mutt’s shadow sword that I saw will be indispensable. In three day, I
intend to have it face Byakusa. Oi, Birdbrain.”

“What!”

Being displeased with the nickname Birdbrain, Natsume didn’t care about
what Samejima had to say.

“Introduce Ikuse to Vali. He might be a shitty cheeky brat, but when it comes
to Sacred Gears, well, it seems that he passes.”

Saying that much, Samejima opened the accelerator to full and speedily
departed.

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“Ouu! From top to bottom he’s always just doing things his way!”

Natsume stomped her feet, too late as the delinquent was already out of sight
and could not hear her complaint.

……Intensive training, huh. While looking at Jin who was being held by
Lavinia, Tobio felt that it would be indispensable.

——I’m unable to make use of Jin’s ability unless it’s a life threatening
situation.

……Very soon they would be resuming the search for Sae’s location, but as
Samejima had said henceforth the peril would not be equivalent to yesterday
and today but rather they could expect it to be to an even greater degree.

Tobio resolved himself, that in three days he would face him with Jin.

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 Part 2

The morning of the next day——.

Tobio was on the rooftop of the condominium. Jin was beside him. Empty
steel cans were placed on top of a beer bottle case.

He noticed that someone had abruptly come up to the rooftop. ——It was
Natsume.

“You were also here. Good morning!! ——Uh, what are you doing?”

After a casual morning greeting, Natsume inquired about the empty cans
Tobio had set up.

“Good morning. This? I was trying a little something just now.”

“?”

Giving a sidelong glance at Natsume who displayed a questioning expression,

Tobio spoke to Jin who was beside him.

“Jin, go!”

Hearing Tobio’s command, a katana-like protuberance appeared on Jin’s

forehead. Next Tobio pointed at on the empty cans.

“Slash.”

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Together with that cry, the black puppy transformed in a flash and rushed
forwards. And then, the empty steel can was cut diagonally in two. The
empty can that was diagonally cut in half dropped down with a particularly
dry sound.

“Ooh, amazing.”

Natsume was applauding with clapping her hands.

“There's more. Next.”

Tobio issued his next instruction for Jin to return stand by his feet. Tobio then
threw several empty cans high into the air.

“Juump!”

Receiving that command, a pair of double-edged swords, whose appearance

was like those carried by western knights, appeared from Jin’s back like
wings.

“Slash!”

In accordance with Tobio’s instruction, Jin began leaping with tremendous

vigor. One by one he was chopping up the empty steel can spinning through
the air.

While also using the single-edged sword that had appeared on Jin's forehead,
the last of the empty cans was pierced by the blade.

Tobio exhaled with a seemingly satisfied expression, and said to Jin, “That’s
fine now.” Hearing that, Jin turned his body back from being a sword.

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“Ooh!!”

To his coordination with Jin Natsume applauded even more so. She then
asked with apparent great interest.

“Somehow, since I saw it yesterday, has Jin-chan’s sword gotten sharper?”

“Uhuh. As a matter of fact, I’ve been training him since coming back
yesterday. From the DVDs that are stored in the condominium’s communal
room, I selected period dramas and movies about knights and such to show to
Jin.”

Yesterday, after the fierce battle at the department store and receiving the
explanation from the ‘Governor General’ in the multi-building, having
returned to the condominium, Tobio had watched DVDs that were stored in
the condominium’s communal room. In there, all sorts of movie varieties
were provided, from various cultures and genres.

From there he had chosen period dramas and movies set in medieval Europe
and watched them together with Jin. It had been his intuition, that by
watching videos featuring swordsmen and samurai would improve the
sharpness of the protrusions that grow from Jin, but he hadn’t expected it to
produce this much of a difference.

The actors in the TV programs, they would engage in casual swordfights. He

had been watching the screen intently along with the important Jin. While it
was unclear whether or not he understood it, he fixed his gaze upon the
period dramas without once looking away.

As far as the dog's imagination was concerned, Tobio wasn’t particularly

concerned with the sudden acts of violence. Still, this black puppy was

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obedient. It was as though he completely understood his true motives.
Without voraciously devouring the bait, he still ate it entirely. Speaking of
not taking too much effort, this dog was called a Sacred Gear that embodies
supernatural power. It wasn’t a real dog.

‘Divine punishment!’

During the program, they would rush into the climactic sword fighting scene
just like that. It was the best part of the drama.

KIN! KIN! it went, as sword clashed with sword a metallic sound was heard.
While watching the stylish sword fighting scene, Tobio would whisper and
mutter.

“……You can grow such a sword, which can also be stylish.”

He had said that in a somewhat jocular manner, yet in the next moment——
from the puppy’s forehead a blade-like protuberance appeared in the likeness
of the sword’s appearance. At this moment what had grown was inorganic.
The previous protuberance had been organic like the thorn of a rose.

Tobio’s heart skipped a beat at this sudden occurrence, as the puppy had
grown a sword from its forehead with an appearance similar to that the actor
had been wielding in the TV program. Thus, the protuberance now resembled
a Japanese sword——.

It was not strange therefore that the blade was extremely sharp, as it now
resembled a sword.

——Did it respond to what I said?

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Nothing else seemed likely given the circumstances.

For the sake of confirming this, Tobio spoke while facing the black puppy.

“A little bit sharper Jin……”

In response to those words, the sword extending from the puppy’s forehead
became slightly thinner, increasing in sharpness.

With a sudden inspiration, Tobio ordered the puppy, “Watch the swords in
the TV program, thereby making your sword even more accurate.”
Thereupon, as the black puppy intently watched the TV program, the sword
on its forehead was repeatedly amended.

The forehead sword became thin, long, freely adjusting its shape while
wriggling. Soon after observing this bizarre phenomenon, Tobio understood.

This puppy, having understood what he had said, has altered its blade——.

During this time, Tobio intently observed at the puppy’s transformations.

And then, after having watched however many movies, the condition of Jin,
when compared to the earlier protuberance that was merely feasible——what
he had now grown had the appearance of a double-edged sword.

In a period time of only four hours, the black puppy had successfully evolved
——.

For the sake of testing out this peculiar blade of Jin’s,Tobio had spent the
entire time since the evening practicing with the new sword. After explaining
all of this to Natsume, Tobio continued.

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“After that although I tried out several different ways of cutting, thinking it
over I never actually settled upon specific instructions.”

Hearing Tobio's statement, Natsume surveyed the surrounding rooftop. After

that, she had nothing to say.

On the rooftop, there were numerous empty cans and wooden planks
scattered about. Of those, nearly all of them had been chopped up by Jin.

While placing all the chopped up planks and empty cans into a garbage bag
Tobio spoke.

“I gathered all of this stuff from the trash collection area near this
condominium and made use of it.”

“……All of last night, you were practicing continuously?”

Natsume inquired while swallowing saliva.

“Yeah, since yesterday its attacks were ineffective against those mud
humanoids that man called Doumon used, even if it’s only a little I especially
would like come up with some kind of countermeasure.”

Tobio believed however that it was still lacking with only this amount.
Presently, the strength of the sword as well as its hardness had not changed. It
had managed to manifest something similar to a western style double-edged
sword, which when compared with the popular single-edged katana was more
resilient but in terms of cutting power was weaker. Accordingly, the
opportunity to make use of the double edged sword was in combination with
a charge, when it would have the power to be drive through the target all at
once.

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For displaying a variety of swords, there were still several varieties available.
However, for what is possible in just one night it was considerable. It was
possible due to Jin’s unusual gift of learning.

“Good grief, apart from prior to my acquiring the Sacred Gear I hadn’t been
defeated.”

Exhaling with disgust Natsume smiled bitterly.

Tobio believing that it would advantageous to strengthen his coordination

with Natsume’s Griffon,

“That’s right, hey Minagawa-san. For coordinating with Griffon——“

In that way he took the opportunity to make a suggestion.

“——What’s this, that I’d come to hear such speech, is that the way things
are?”

Suddenly the voice of a third person resounded on the rooftop.

Looking around for the source of the voice, he only saw silhouette of a
person’s back standing in the open door to the rooftop nearby.

——In an instant, with good looking features like those of a young girl, he
saw that it was a young silver haired boy.

Even though it was summer there was a scarf wrapped around his neck, yet
nevertheless was wearing shorts down below, being dressed is a manner that
was completely mismatched. On his right shoulder, there was a lovely white
dragon (?) plush toy placed there. In contrast to his mature way of speaking,

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he was short, his voice was also sweet, and he seemingly appeared to be
nothing more than someone in the later years of elementary school…….

This boy was strange. However, he was a child wrapped in a mysterious

atmosphere. Perhaps, it would seem he was one of the residents of this
condominium.

Tobio asked while feeling puzzled.

“……You are?”

However, as he watched Natsume’s figure was vigorously and briskly was

approaching the boy.

“Just a minute! Aren’t you always being told that you shouldn’t say such
things out of the blue? You give off such a bad impression upon first meeting
someone, VALI!”

Natsume drew closer to the boy who only made a ‘humph’ sound with his
nose.

“Humph, I don’t remember such a thing. When it comes to making first

impression the other party’s aura is essential. Him over there and you as well
Minagawa Natsume are below average at best.”

The boy made such an appraisal with half-closed eyes. ……Perhaps, the so
called cheeky brat Natsume and Samejima had spoken of was…….

As Tobio thought that, Natsume introduced the boy.

“This child is Vali. See, he’s the cheeky brat in this condominium just like I
was saying, don’t you agree? That’s this child.”

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Aah, as expected, this was that child, wasn’t it? It was for certain, whether it
was his cynicism or his rebelliousness, Tobio thought this child aroused the
image of what one would call a rather cheeky brat.

The silver haired youth——Vali, boldly enquired while looking up at Tobio.

“〈Dog〉-owner-kun, will you not fight with me?”

From the sweet voice came such an unimaginably belligerent tone, one could
sense fighting spirit. In spite of having such a small body something
incomparably ominous was being potently spread from his body.

Natsume flicked Vali’s forehead with her finger.

“That’s enough, Vali! Since after this you’ll be members fighting together to
defeat that group manipulating the Utsusemi, wouldn’t you agree that you
should stop such quarrelsome things? This isn’t like that time you had the big
fight with Samejima-kun!”

While holding his hand to his flicked forehead, Vali gave a fearless smile.

“I'm saying something here. Am I not speaking? In the case that we are going
to join hands together, being aware of that person’s true power is a natural
right. At any rate, for someone to be a weak impediment has proven to be
intolerable. Well, Samejima Kouki had managed to more or less gain a
passing mark.”

……Samejima, together with this boy, had already battled? Understanding

this much, he suddenly became interested.

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—— Introduce Ikuse to Vali. He might be a shitty cheeky brat, but when it
comes to Sacred Gears, well, it seems that he passes.

The words Samejima had spoken yesterday crossed his mind.

Jin also turned his gaze upon Vali, motionlessly staring at him. His eyes
gleamed red as he sought to discern the entirety of the boy’s power.

“……Understood. While I don’t understand in what way this is satisfying to

you……it’s a good time to test out mine and my partner’s fighting style.”

Tobio had accepted Vali’s challenge.

It was unknown what kind of power this boy called Vali possessed, but Tobio
had spent the entire night without once reaching his goal of achieving that
one thing.

That was——the aforementioned ‘blade from the shadows’.

During that fight in the department store, Tobio’s desire had reached a peak
and Jin had manifested that blade from the shadows, yet in spite of the
voluntary training since last evening there was no indication of it appearing.
Tobio had issued the order to Jin, focusing on that in his mind yet the puppy
didn’t respond to it. Tobio had focused the entirety of his thought upon it, so
it should have been transmitted to Jin.

Put simply, it was that Jin was not able to fulfil the conditions necessary to
use that by himself, such was what Tobio in his bewilderment somehow or
another sensed in his mind.

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By fighting with this silver haired youth, perhaps he would be fortunate
enough to catch some clue as to what the conditions were. Tobio purposefully
accepted Vali’s hostility for the sake of acquiring the blade from the
shadows.

From here on they would be competing with the organization known as the
‘Utsusemi Agency’, so that power would be absolutely necessary. It’ll be no
different when it comes to rescuing Sae.

Within the next three days, his desire was to by all means become at least
partially proficient in that power——.

Regarding the conditions for invoking that power, whether it was violent
rage, or else perhaps terror, or…….

The boy, Vali, stood before Tobio and Jin. Watching them Vali raised some
pleasant gossip.

“Isn’t it nice? It’s clad in such a nice aura. Although it seems you still can’t
see it, there’s a pleasant hue of fighting spirit coming from its body.”

……Although he said that, Tobio didn’t see anything of the sort. That ability,
was it that he was able to see things that couldn’t be seen? Extremely
incomprehensible, from such a small build he couldn’t sense the slightest
opening.

From the side Natsume spoke.

“……Be careful. Samejima-kun was thoroughly injured by this child. After

all, according to what Lavinia said, he’s that ‘Governor General’s’ golden
child. ——He’s strong.”

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……Samejima couldn’t do a thing then? It had become clear during the battle
at the department store, his handling of his Sacred Gear——the white cat,
was to the point of completely disregarding the average Utsusemi. At the
very least, the he was seemingly more skilled than Natsume at present. This
caused a gap to appear in his confidence.

Yet that Samejima hadn’t won. Was he in the same class as Doumon? Or
perhaps even higher……. Shuddering due to the younger companion, Tobio
commanded Jin without a second thought.

“Attention! Jin!”

The black puppy, having received the order, grew a blade-like protuberance
from its forehead, and rushed straight ahead at high speed. Before Jin who
had turned into a black bullet, the boy——didn’t so much as budge. He
didn’t show any behavior of trying to avoid it.

Even if he was that strong, one would think that, considering the sharpness of
the grown katana, Jin’s attack from the front would result in receiving fatal
injuries. Whether he ought to stop or whether he ought to continue, Tobio
was racking his brains, but before he could make a decision Jin leapt at Vali!

It was a hit! No, just on the verge of being hit, using only the slightest
movements——Vali avoided Jin’s attack by just twisting his body to the
side! There was no wasted movement! Yet Jin, who had just been avoided,
immediately corrected his trajectory and gave pursuit! However, Vali was
evading with ease!

Jin moved rapidly through Vali’s surrounding, and after making numerous
faints, pressed forward all at once, diagonally slashing with the katana on his

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forehead! This was something out of the special training from the previous
evening! Jin had been chiefly trained to commence attacking in a
straightforward manner! ——But, nevertheless Vali avoided it by jumping to
the side.

However, Jin didn’t fail to notice. Understanding that he was avoiding

entirely by moving sideways, at this point he immediately turned towards
Vali’s landing spot, instantly giving chase! Even though Tobio was amazed
by that reaction speed, the attack which landed a precise hit on that location
ended in futility.

——In front of Vali, Jin’s attack had been stopped due to him being held by
the scruff of his neck.

Only just short of being struck, a direct hit had been avoided. Jin had been
completely suppressed by being having the back of his neck grabbed.

Vali, while holding Jin’s neck, suddenly leaked out

“……With this, it has become clear.”

Muttering no more than that, he released Jin who lightly jumped back. The
youth then motioned with his finger as though provoking him. Receiving that,
Jin rushed forward——.

“——!”

Before Tobio’s eyes, something unexpected occurred. The youth, all of a

sudden, vanished. Although he’d been following him with his eyes up until
just now, in the instant that he had blinked the silver haired youth had
disappeared! Astonished Tobio looked around…….

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“——!?”

……Tobio noticed a presence behind him. Timidly looking back, the youth
was standing there pointing his palm at him. In his hand——a suspicious
silver radiance was formed. ……From that radiance potent danger could be
felt. Transmitted through the air, his body felt and an aggressive tingling
sensation.

As his hand was glowing, Vali spoke.

“Regarding independent avatar type Sacred Gears, they are beasts that serve
as alter egos that are caused to act in accordance with the intentions of the
possessor. The greatest merit is that you can establish distance from your
companion that is dealing out attacks, wouldn’t you agree? By issuing
instructions from a safe location without taking unnecessary damage you can
defeat your opponent. But, the demerit——no, the weakness is easy to
understand.”

In an instant, his body receives a strong impact as he was attacked by a sense

of being blown away. With a pain in his abdomen, he was sent off with a
floating sensation…….

“GUWA!”

Having been launched backwards, crashing to the floor of the rooftop, Tobio
raised a scream. He then rolled along for some time, finally ending up at the
corner of the rooftop.

……What was fired from the silver haired youth’s palm……had that been a
Sacred Gear ability? Or else was it something that seems similar to Lavinia’s

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magic? In any case, it was certain that, with the impact created from his hand,
taking that head on had completely blown him away.

Vali slowly approached while speaking.

“In the case where the main body of the independent avatar type is weak they
can be frequently overwhelmed. You just have to close the distance.”

For the sake of protecting his master, Jin leapt at Vali’s flank……the youth
again evaded without a care. No matter how many times he bravely leapt at
him, not one of them ever struck Vali.

Vali came right up in front of Tobio, crouched down and spoke with a
fearless smile.

“The same thing happened when Samejima Kouki had attempted to do the
same against me. As a result, he established his style of fighting together with
his other self.”

……Is that so, so Samejima’s placing the cat on his shoulder, changing it into
a lance that winds around his arm, that’s was what he referring to?

By using a weapons for the sake of protecting himself, his style is one that
can make use of the cat for both attack and defense simultaneously——.
Indeed, Samejima had learned from his battle with this youth. Regarding
Samejima, what he had said about having a bad experience with this youth, in
this case it was now possible to properly understand what he meant.

——That is to say, bearing in mind the merits and demerits of independent

avatar types, he did as much.

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……Even understanding this point, there was no indication that he’d to able
to counterattack this youth.

It appears that, regarding this small build young boy, that he was a
companion of much higher rank than himself. There was absolutely nothing
he could do. That was definitely for sure even given Samejima’s present
condition.

Natsume as well had covered her face with an “Achah”[17]. Her reaction was
as if to say, “As before, it’s become like this huh.”

——But, his present feelings were the opposite of the youth’s, who was
directing his gaze to the side with a pleasant expression on his face.

“……Indeed, but, it seems that’s enough messing around.”

Tobio followed his gaze——there, generating something black from his

whole body, was Jin. His red eyes were displaying a highly dangerous gleam,
letting out a low growl that could be seen as a threat against Vali. It was
obvious, Jin was full of fury.

DOKUN.

……Suddenly there was a pulsing throb. Tobio noticed that his own body
was exuding something black as well. ……This was the same phenomenon
that happened during the battle in the department store. Looking around, the
distorted blades had sprung up covering the entire rooftop. ——It was the
blade from the shadows.

What was the switch that invoked it? Jin’s fury? His master himself being in
danger? Or perhaps both? Tobio was as yet unable to guess however, bathed

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in the indescribable pressure springing forth from Jin, Vali merely floated a
delighted smile.

“Excellent. This is a fragment of its true nature, huh. Things like the forehead
blade are more like a bonus wouldn’t you agree? Come, strike!”

Spreading both hands, Vali took on a posture to meet his opponent! From the
shadow at his feet, a huge blade was thrust up! Vali immediately jumped
back avoiding a direct hit! However, blades repeatedly sprang forth from the
shadows formed wherever he landed! Vali evaded even so while enraptured
using Taisaba[18]!

With the exception of the directed attacks against Vali the rooftop was
completely covered by blades that were continuously sprouting. In such a
situation, the entirety of the rooftop had been completely filled with sharp
protruding objects. While the silver haired youth was contented with the
developing scene of the blades attacking from the shadows, Tobio decided to
shout out while the situation had yet to develop beyond recovery.

“JIN! STOP!”

Hearing his master’s order, Jin, who had been on the verge of springing upon
Vali, immediately halted his movements.

Jin restored the forehead sword, still simmering as he met his master halfway.
Seeing that, Vali pouted at that moment, sighing with boredom.

……It was clear that it had been a great battle.

To start with, it was necessary to have a technique to protect himself who was
the master. In order to declare this fact, the youth himself had directly

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approached his adversary to end it. Ikuse Tobio, who had been an ordinary
high school student, did not possess outstanding physical abilities.

……The ability released that time in the department store gave rise to
temporarily improved physical abilities, but presently they were not present.
Even though the blade from the shadows had become usable, that did not
necessarily mean he himself would obtain limitless strength.

Thus, the blade from the shadows——. In regard to that, it’s possible that
that ability becomes expressible when the consciousness of both himself the
master and Jin were simultaneously stimulated. For example, when Tobio
was attacked by Vali——the master being at risk, with the master having
received an attack——together with Jin’s fury, when these two things
coincided not too long ago, was that was lead to witnessing the invocation?

While rising on the spot, Tobio held Jin in his arms. Within his arms the
black puppy was wagging its tail. ……As of yet the complete nature of that
ability had yet to be seen, a disappointment for himself who was the master,
having exposed both himself and Jin to danger.

……Furthermore, it was absolutely necessary to comprehend that ability.

Regarding the battle with Vali, there were numerous things to learn.

Having recovered his mood, Vali inquired.

“You, your name is?”

“It’s Ikuse Tobio.”

With Tobio having stated his name, Vali extended his hand while brimming
with self-confidence and stated.

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“Fuu, I’m Vali. While I’m of the bloodline of the Maou[19] Lucifer I’m also a
legendary dragon——the one who bears the one and only Vanishing
Dragon[20].”

………….

…………………….

……M-Maou? Lucifer? D-dragon? The one……and only?

Tobio inclined his neck. Without warning, he was saying things like “Maou”.
Moreover, something about a “Dragon”. ……To be repeatedly listing such
supernatural phenomenon as part of his personal history, as one would expect
with such beyond extraordinary terms like “Maou” and “Dragon”, he
couldn’t help but to stymied.

Tobio, in some way or another,

“……A-aah, is that so?”

All he could do was respond as such and smile.

The aforementioned Vali was putting on airs with a posed expression while
nodding in accent.

“Fuu, for someone like you who was an ordinary person until just the other
day it’s still too early for such talk.”

……And with that that being said, Tobio was simply left in suspense.

Regarding this……wouldn’t it be good to check with the youth’s knowledge?

Natsume suddenly approached and whispered in his ear.

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(He’s afflicted with the so called “2nd year of junior high school sickness”
that’s typical of his age. In any case though, he is serving as our companion.)

Ah, indeed, Tobio thought as he struck his palm in comprehension.

Given that, when he had been a junior high school student himself, he
recalled suffering from a similar condition, it was easy to understand the
youth’s speech and behavior.

It seemed certain that he was perhaps in possession of a Sacred Gear or could

use magical power. Furthermore he was from the bloodline of the Maou, and
also was called a legendary dragon.

Possessing such supernatural power at his age, Tobio understood that such
symptoms couldn’t be helped.

——And, while looking over at them, Vali began muttering aloud to himself.

“……Right, I understand. This is all for this time. Anything more would
amount to nothing.”

With that highly interested observation, noticing their gaze, he spoke with
pretension.

“Fuh, the dragon within me and your ‘dog’ are responding to each other.”

“……’The dragon that is within me’……?”

In response to Tobio’s inquiry Vali spoke while pointing his thumb at his
chest.

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“Didn’t I say it? I carry a legendary dragon within my body. After all I did
talk about that guy already.”

……Indeed, he had talked about that huh. That……can’t be helped. It seems

that at his age, Tobio had to force himself to comprehend such things.

Natsume spoke while poking him.

(That kind of setting, it’s probable. Completely!)[21]

“……Y-yeah, now, it would be good if we could speak with this dragon.”

While forcing his face into a smile, Tobio replied as such.

“Fufu, isn’t that inexcusably superficial? I am a dragon, right.”

He shouldn’t demolish the youth’s dream settings. Such things are transient.
It was acceptable to just observe until he recovered, not because forcibly
repudiating it with reality was unreasonable, but rather because it would have
a completely negative influence on the youth’s mental growth.

——Then, Lavinia appeared on the rooftop before anyone could realize it.
Acquainted with Vali, she stroked his head.

“Good boy good boy, Va-kun.”

Vali shook of her hand.

“D-don’t stroke me! I’m not a child!”

Ooh, now this way of getting mad was appropriate for his age. His tone was
more natural. Likewise, his “2nd year of junior high sickness”-like behavior

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until now seems to have just been him just putting on airs.

In this short time, it seems that he had come to understand a few things about
this boy named Vali.

Lavinia spoke.

“It is time for breakfast. Let us all eat. Shark has just woken up.”

——Well, that said it was he himself who would be making breakfast, the
implication being that he had consented to repeatedly be in charge of
preparing food going forward.

Vali spoke while stroking his chin.

“Oi, Ikuse Tobio. It’ll be rewarding if you accompany me. ——I can give
you days-worth of the phosphorus food ‘Welsh Onion Miso Ramen’. It’s
special.”

…………How condescending of this young boy to treat someone to cup

ramen. Though it was not at all possible to say that, and since it seemed that
he had good intentions, he had no intention of denying him.

“A-ah, let’s eat.”

Furthermore it seems that he ought to prepare home cooking for five

people…….

“Geez, can you not resist something as great as cup noodles?”

While Natsume was sighing while speaking to Vali, the person himself——

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“Whatever enters the stomach is the same. Pouring boiling water into cup
noodles only takes three minutes. In regards to situations where one seeks to
immediately satisfy their hunger, there is nothing else better suited.”

Merely replied as such. The youth had an apparently quite peculiar life
theory. However, as Natsume said cup noodles at his age were unhealthy. It
was good that preparing breakfast was his duty Tobio thought to himself.

Natsume, letting out another big sigh, left her shoulders droop.

“In any case, let’s tidy up. Even though there are no residents in this
condominium other than us, I feel the condition of this place is much too
poor.”

Tobio was especially embarrassed by the disastrous scene of the rooftop. The
rooftop had been filled with distorted blades. Well, what would they do about
this…….

Sleepily, Jin who was beside him yawned.

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 Reunion/Utsusemi

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 Part 1

For those dwelling in the condominium, it had been three days since they met
their new companion (?), the silver haired youth Vali——.

“Jin? Jin, where are you?”

Early in the morning, right after Tobio woke up, he noticed that something
had changed.

——Jin wasn’t beside him.

Since manifesting before his eyes, the puppy had never gone far from his
side. Feeling a bad premonition, Tobio investigated under the bed to as far
away as the verandah……. ‘By some chance, is he just hiding himself’ he
thought, raising his voice, while also praying silently in his mind, but either
way he had left and not come back.

……The possibility that he had vanished, Tobio realized this wasn't the case,
as he could sense that they weren't far apart. When speaking of presence, this
was something that could only be sensed outside of the five senses. Day by
day this sense had grown stronger.

He kept in mind that, whenever he had called him in the past three days, Jin’s
figure had immediately appeared. However, since this did not match up with
the events of this morning......in what kind of situation would Jin not come
when called in spite being close by? Despite having no idea what was going
on, Tobio left the room to search for Jin.

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The door to the room was not locked. No, he was sure he had locked it before
going to bed. However, since the door was not locked as he was presently
leaving the room, the thought occurred to him that perhaps Jin had unlocked
it. It would be amazing if an ordinary dog could accomplish such a feat, but
for Jin the protuberance from his forehead was at least capable of releasing
the lock.

Somehow sensing that Jin was neither on the communal floor nor in the
kitchenette, he hastily walked towards Natsume’s room. He went to ring the
buzzer……but the door was partly open. Feeling puzzled, Tobio timidly
rang the buzzer. However, there was no reply. ——But, from within he could
just make out the sound of someone talking.

“————“

“————!!”

It was the voices of two girls. ……Since one was likely Natsume given as it
was her room, wouldn't that make the one with her Lavinia? For some reason
their voices weren't all that loud. Just as Tobio was thinking about that, the
door to the room was suddenly thrown open with a BAM.

Rushing through the partly opened door——was Jin! His whole body was
soaking wet. Upon seeing his master Tobio, he turned back and vigorously
began shaking his whole body. Tobio was blinded by a spray of water.

“Jin, I was looking for you. ……Were you taking a bath?”

While he himself had been sleeping he had slipped out of the room and
proceeded to Natsume’s was what Tobio understood about the situation. As it
was, it seemed he had been given a bath. Come to think of it, he never given

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him a bath since they first met. He wasn't an ordinary dog, yet nevertheless
Tobio felt this was a regrettable point.

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“……Ikuse-kun?”

Suddenly Natsume’s voice was heard. Tobio, turning towards the voice——
through the door that had previously been thrown completely open, saw a
completely nude young lady standing in the hallway.

……With a slender body, such a figure was standing there. And yet, there
was a mass there that he had not previously noticed when clothed. At the
unexpected event, both Tobio and Natsume’s entire bodies became
completely stiff……furthermore, as if to deliver a final blow, one more
young lady came into sight.

“What is it Toby? We were just welcoming Jin-chan.”

From the bathroom appeared a naked blond girl——Lavinia! This one’s body
stressed feminine curves beyond those of Natsume. That which hadn’t
become clear that time she appeared in his bed, it was now clearly visible.

“…………NA, NANANANANANANA”

Steadily getting red in the face from the current situation, Natsume finally
sprung back into the bathroom. Lowering his head and saying “Sorry!” in
apology was something Tobio didn't get a chance to do. By no means, when
he had been on the other side of the partly opened door, could he have
predicted such a situation occurring.

Natsume screamed from the bathroom.

“……When I wake up in the morning, Lavinia is always openly sleeping in

my room! But, this time she was sleeping while holding Jin-chan! Such being
the case……everyone was taking a shower together……aah geez!”

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Natsume was trembling as she gave an explanation. This was only natural. To
be seen naked by a member of the opposite sex who’s the same age, any girl
would be trembling. It was the same for Tobio.

However, there was just one person present whose mood could not be read.
Lavinia, while nude, exited through the door and took Tobio’s hand.

“Come take a shower too Toby.”

Instead of concealing her naked body she made such a proposal. Unable to
resist, Tobio faced Natsume and shrieked.

“Minagawa-san! You've got to stop Lavinia immediately!!”

For a healthy young man in this apartment, some might see this as a blessing,
while others might see it as a trial.

That morning, they all gathered in the usual video viewing room——Tobio,
Natsume, Samjima, Lavinia, and Vali.

“……Geez, for you to be showing such a face here, what exactly

happened…….”

Samejima was grumbling like that with half closed eyes. There was a sense
of Tobio and Natsume being strangely distant. This change in the pair’s
attitudes wasn’t at all peculiar. After all, Jin had slipped out of the room in
the middle of the night, been caught by the half-asleep Lavinia who had
exited her own room, and had entered Natsume’s abode. Surprised by this

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chronology, his curiosity over Jin’s behavior was inexhaustible. ……Did he
just go for a midnight stroll?

Even after such things had happened that morning, Tobio still finished the
preparations for breakfast.

Dish after dish had been set up on the table. On today’s program, sunny-side
up eggs with sautéed sausage and spinach garnish, grilled salmon fillet, a
tossed salad, and delectably commonplace miso soup were all on the menu.
On top of that, the stock used for the miso soup, as well as the sunny-side up
eggs, the sausage, and the salmon fillet, all were perfect without being even
the slightest bit burnt. The white rice too, having been boiled in a dedicated
pressure cooker, the outcome was not the least overcooked, with every single
grain of rice having risen magnificently. Incidentally, the salad had been
topped with Tobio’s handmade dressing.

“Is it okay that I wasn’t able to prepare anything other than this?”

Tobio timidly uttered such words. Speaking honestly, having previously not
eaten anything not personally made by his deceased grandmother or
childhood friend Sae, he lacked confidence when it came to preparing an
entire meal.

However, with it being identified as something resembling a decent meal,

Natsume was filled with delight.

“WOAH! As expected, it was the right decision putting Ikuse-kun on cooking

duty!”

Before everyone could say ‘itadakimasu’ Samejima was slurping the miso
soup. At that moment he put on a broad smile.

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“In any case, this is scrumptious.”

This was muttered with poor speech. Much like Samejima, Lavinia could do
nothing but gape.

“Tobi’s cooking is the greatest.”

After saying “Itadakimasu”, Natsume quickly reached out with her

chopsticks.

“Uum, delicious!”

Natsume’s assessment was that today’s was the best yet. With the result that
no one could stop their chopsticks, it seemed this morning’s menu was a big
success; Tobio sighed in relief at this. Since being appointed to food duty,
Tobio had been endeavoring to produce a menu that wasn’t harmful to
everyone’s health. For the members who were present these excellent
circumstances would be left behind in the near future. So he had made up his
mind that he should prepare something like a decent meal for them.

——Then, watching Vali’s figure as he moved his chopsticks in silence,

Natsume wore a mischievous expression.

“What’s this, Va-kun, aren’t you surprisingly engrossed with eating? Weren’t
cup noodles all that was necessary for a meal?”

“……You misunderstand. I was only interested in obtaining nourishment

from this meal.”

“It comes back to nourishment huh. Good grief, you’re not honest at all.”

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Natsume started cackling. Vali, without putting down his chopsticks, had
voiced his objection. Indeed, for a boy his age it was unhealthy to only eat
cup noodles from morning till evening. If such a mundane meal was good,
Tobio felt it would be beneficial for this child to eat this way every day.

Seeing this exchange with Natsume, Samejima let out a laugh with a
“Kukuku.”

“Lucidra-sensei's at the height of his cheekiness.”

“Muh, Samejima Kouki. What’s with this Lucidra? It that supposed to be

me?”

Vali raised his eyebrows inquiringly at Samejima.

“Yeah, aren’t you Lucifer and a dragon? In that case, Lucidra is good for
short ain’t it?”

Hurt by the humor in Samejima’s words, the corners of Vali’s mouth lowered
into a frown.

“Mumuh, change it. I am of the bloodline of the Maou Lucifer, and also carry
the legendary dragon known as the “Vanishing Dragon[22]” within my body
——.”

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Page|217 Goldenagato| https://mp4directs.com
“Ah, yes of course. Lucidra Lucidra.”

In response to Samejima making light of Vali’s “settings”[23] the boy finally

cried out.

“Muu, Minagawa Natsume. It is unacceptable that this insubordinate comrade

not be more strongly warned about my valuable nature.”

At the childish exchange between Samejima and Vali Natsume could only
sigh.

“Geez, no fighting during a meal.”

Natsume tossed one of the sausages to Griffon, which the bird skillfully
caught and gulped down.The independent avatar types consisting of Jin,
Griffon, and Byakusa also partook of meals, just like ordinary animals——
though there is no need to worry about things like hawk, cat, or dog food, as
they eat everything given to them from meat to fruit. Since they hadn’t
observed any abnormalities up till now, it was likely there weren’t any
restrictions like there would be on a real animal.

In the first place, whether it was even necessary for Jin and the others to eat,
of this Tobio was not sure. For now, until they could discuss it with the
‘Governor General’, they were just going to ask around.

“Va-kun, good boy good boy.”

Lavinia was patting the pouting Vali’s head.

“Like I said, don’t pat my head! I am not a child!”

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This normally cool-headed boy, after only a little teasing, was displaying a
face appropriate for his age.

Unexpectedly, as far as Tobio was concerned this mealtime scenery was quite
relaxing.

After each of them had finished their meal, the meeting commenced.

——After three whole days had passed, it was finally time to decide upon
their next course of action.

“And so, what're we gonna do? We gonna do something today?”

Gulping down his after meal coffee all at once, Samejima inquired of Tobio
and co.

Natsume nodded, and spread the aforementioned file from the ‘Governor
General’ out on top of the table. There were notes written around a certain
region on the map.

Natsume spoke regarding the map.

“Yes, we're taking action. First of all, as we previously discussed, we’ll be

investigating the whereabouts of the bereaved families of our fellow
students.”

Indeed, three days earlier Natsume had pointed out that, regarding the
bereaved families of the fellow students that had been turned into Utsusemi,

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they had mysteriously changed residences. It had not been determined where
the families had gone.

“Since the time of the great accident, this ridiculous story of mass
disappearance has not been noticed by the media.”

This was roughly what Natsume had said before. This was only a domestic
disturbance. Since all of the bereaved families had gone, one would expect
the media to have noticed it. However, it wasn’t being reported on. It was to
the unnatural extent that there wasn’t even any gossip about it.

“……The Agency, that is those that were previously from the Five Principal
Clans are controlling the information or something?”

Tobio asked like this. This was the group with supernatural powers that had
been part of the underside of this country since antiquity. Tobio felt that with
that unusual power something of that extent was not impossible.

To this Natsume nodded her head in confirmation.

“……So for example if some journalist were to even become suspicious, it

seems that they'd be erased.”

“I am all but certain that they would be erased.”

Lavinia calmly spoke such frightening words.

Vali spoke while folding his arms.

“For those who were deemed deficient from among the members of that
foundation——those of the lineage of the Five Principal Clans, it is an
absolute commandment redress such deficiencies. The exiles belonging to the

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‘Utsusemi Agency’, it would seem they are composed of people who were
purged by the present Five Principal Clans. Simultaneously, the people from
the Clans have started to erase that agency of deficient individuals. That is to
say, their stance is to not exempt even those who merely have come into
contact with the Five Principal Clans.”

……Those who become involved, they would be completely erased then? In

that case, those that were in the agency, they included those who had become
involved in the ‘Four Fiends Project’ for the sake of triumphing over the
Clans……? In that case, then they themselves as well——.

“…………”

“…………”

Arriving at the same thought as himself, Natsume and Samejima’s

expressions became subdued. Not just themselves, it seemed they were also
concerned about their close friends who had been unexpectedly drawn in.

Concerning the family members of Natsume and Samejima, not much was
said. Regarding the circumstances of where those two were born and raised,
it was a topic they didn’t want to discuss. However, the organization of that
‘Governor General’ has been placing the people close to the survivors, like
the ‘Four Fiends’, under their protection, so the present situation was that
they should be able to immediately know if the ‘Utsusemi Agency’ were to
try to lay a hand on them.

It was simply the ‘present situation’. Hereafter, with circumstances

continually changing, without warning something may happen that it’s

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impossible to protect them from. It wasn’t unlikely that they might abduct
their families and make use of them for the sake of luring them out.

It would appear to be fortune born from within misfortune that Tobio no

longer had anyone he could call a blood relative. At the time when his
grandmother had died, Tobio had lost anything he could call family. But,
regarding himself……he was connected to ‘Himejima’. Whoever those guys
were, there was a likelihood he would be seeing them. ……Hereafter, it
would not be strange if they targeted him for that reason.

After shaking her head, Natsume continued speaking.

“Either way we mustn’t simply act aimlessly or we will fail to overturn the
present situation. ——Let us take action.”

Tobio agreed with that opinion. If they didn’t act, he could never meet up
with Sae. If he were to simply curl up in fright in this situation, he would
never be able to reunite with her.

Natsume continued the conversation.

“I think we should visit the homes of our fellow students that have been
vacated. We might be able to find some clues. ……That everything would
have vanished is surely impossible. Besides——“

Natsume directed her gaze towards Lavinia. Lavinia nodded once.

“Indeed, by going to those homes, I can make use of investigative magic.

Surely, I believe I can find something.”

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She could use magic to investigate, huh. However, Lavinia’s goals still had
many mysteries. Those people her organization was supposedly pursuing,
they were cooperating with the ‘Utsusemi Agency’……. Those exiles from
the Five Principal Clans, just how far did their influence extend……?

A group with supernatural abilities, magicians……. An unknown world,

strange events……. How comforting it would be if it all turned out to be a
dream.

Samejima asked Natsume.

“Within the same grade as us, there are over two hundred others. Which place
d'you believe we should choose? Just choose one at random?”

“That is——“

As Natsume was hesitating to speak, she looked over at Tobio.

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 Part 2

Having traveled by train and by bus, they had arrived in the vicinity of their
destination from which they began walking towards a residential area. A
short distance up the main street was the house of Toujou Sae. The house was
a monotonous two-story building.

Indeed, Tobio and company had agreed to go to Sae’s house. This was based
on Natsume’s intuition.

Natsume had said at the condominium.

“Those guys mentioned the names of Samejima-kun’s companion and Ikuse-

kun’s childhood friend. From among our fellow students they at least
recognized that they were people especially close to us. That is to say——“

Tobio continued her words.

“They probably expect that we are likely to show up at a place we have a

connection to.”

Natsume nodded her head.

So while they were proceeding to their destination, there was also a

significant chance of an extreme emergency due to them having laid a trap.
They had already lured out two of their leaders and seen their faces, and since
then had become to some extent aware of the details of their plan.

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In comparison, those guys were growing in power day by day. While
remaining cautious of those guys, it wouldn’t be at all amusing if they were
watching this place they had a connection to in order to spring a trap on them.

Up till now they had had the cooperation the ‘Governor General’s’
organization——the Grigori who were also observing those guys. The
inexplicable action of all the bereaved families of their fellow students
moving away simultaneously, this seems to have been within their
expectations.

Natsume spoke.

“Apart from that though, since they would understand that we would try to
rescue our friends and acquaintances, they know that we won’t just remain in
hiding.”

Samejima shrugged.

“Since we've been furnished with power, it’s possible those guys would use
places we’re clearly connected to as bait for a trap.”

While nodding towards Tobio, Natusme clearly declared.

“Even greater than this power we have been furnished with is the irregular
that is Ikuse-kun who has become involved in this situation……given that
this is the case, wouldn’t laying a trap be the minimum we could expect them
to attempt? Even if it is quite frightening, we must proceed if there is a
chance of finding clues in the homes of our fellow classmates. Either way, I
believe that probability of finding something connected to them is high.”

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As for the meaning of going to a classmate's home, ……Putting aside the
last of what Natsume said, the former part about how “that being the least
they would attempt” was indeed a frightening prediction.

However, if you think about it from that side’s perspective, all of their traps
so far have been ineffective so it seems there next move would be different.
This would seem to imply that this time the attack would exceed the previous
ones.

……With the power they had been furnished with, it would become a fierce
battle……. He had made excellent accomplishments during his special
training for the past three days……you could say that his blade had been
tempered. He was getting closer to Sae one step at a time, but on the other
hand his anxiety had grown.

And now, as a result of the discussion at the condominium, they were now
traveling to Sae’s house on foot. The reason, while it was certainly to uncover
clues relating to the relocations, above all else for Tobio——it was to search
for something that was connected to his grandmother.

“……Baa-chan had been intimate with Sae’s parents, as when she was alive
they would often be heard speaking about various things relating to after her
death.”

Indeed, after his grandmother’s funeral, he had been summoned by Sae’s

parents, and was informed of what had been requested of them. From
practical life needs to financial needs, it was wide-ranging.

Within that was also contained an entreaty that she wished for her grandchild
to be shown something when he grew up, which she had informed them of in

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advance.

Sae’s parents had not been in touch with him as a result of the relocations, so
their current location was unclear. Now that he thought about it, Sae’s
prosperous Oji-chan and Oba-chan[24] had also gone on a journey without so
much as a farewell greeting, so it was impossible for there to not be some
reference to heirlooms his grandmother had left behind. After the shock of
losing Sae, when Oji-chan and Oba-chan to arbitrarily distance themselves
from him it had filled his kind-spirited mind with fury.

Tobio had believed that these heirlooms had become lost. It now appeared
that these items were still at Sae’s house. Even though they had already
moved away there did not appear to be anyone living in that house…….
However, if the search for confirming their destination was successful the
chances of finding them would be even higher.

These items left behind by his grandmother might be somehow related to the
‘Himejima’, or else perhaps connected to his supernatural power. In the case
of the former, some dangerous information regarding their opponents and his
ancestry would become known. In the case of the latter the nature of Jin’s
ability would become clear.

Presently, for Tobio and company it’s just as important to learn about his
own ability as it is to find information relating to their opponents. Taking that
into account, all members had agreed to go to Sae’s house.

However, only Vali,

“Sorry, I have a personal request from the ‘Governor General’ which I am in

position not to listen to. Today, I am not able to act together with you guys.”

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Leaving behind such words, he had left the condominium before them.

As a result, only the foursome of Tobio, Natsume, Samjima, and Lavinia

were en route to Sae’s house. For Samejima who was used to traveling by
motorcycle, when they traveled by train,

“……In no way can I become used to taking the train.”

So he grumbled.

And so, the foursome had up till now been traveling and had now arrived in
front of Sae’s house…….

Even just observing from a short distance away, there was no sense at all that
anyone lived in this house. The windows were all shut and the name plate on
the door had vanished. The grass on the lawn had grown unkempt.

He remembered how Oba-chan would water flowers in the garden. Oji-chan

would sit on a chair in the garden on holidays reading a book.

In this garden, this was where he had had that hard fight against the golden
retriever……Tobio missed such things.

While recalling that incident, he remembered Sae’s smiling face. Looking at

this house of hers was bringing his memories of her to the surface, his chest
tightened, and for a moment he stopped investigating the house. Changing his
mood, he resumed his survey of the house.

As far as he could sense, there wasn’t any human presence in the vicinity of
the house. Presently they were the only ones present, which felt extremely
lonesome. Even though it was daytime, it had a dark atmosphere. Previously

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this had not been the case. However, the present surroundings did not
transmit a feeling that people lived here.

The foursome, opening the gate, proceeded until they had set foot jump in
front of the front door. They then confirmed whether the lock was secured.
The front door opened easily. With Tobio and Natsume understanding what it
meant for the lock to not be secured, the group exchanged glances.

Samejima spoke while looking up at the house.

“……If there was nobody already living here, one would think the locks
would be shut. Unless, that is, if the landlord of this location is incompetent.”

While speaking such sarcasm he placed the white cat on his shoulder. It was
good to emphasize caution when you don’t know when something might
happen.

Like that, they checked to see whether or not there were traps.

Lavinia spoke.

“Rather than that, this whole area has been covered by a magical technique to
drive people away with this house at the epicenter. It has been made so that
exempting people with special powers like us it is impossible to perceive, the
significance of this this being that they have absolute and complete control.
Houjutsu (Japanese magical arts), Shintoism, and Onmyoudou are systems
that excel in ‘exorcism’ powers such ‘concealment’ and ‘repulsion’.”

……That is to say, it’s been made so that ordinary people are unable to
perceive this house, huh? That we are capable of perceiving this house, this is
because we possess Sacred Gears and magic? However, in that case it

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wouldn’t just be this house, but it is also predictable that the houses of the
other fellow students had become subject to the same conditions.

The Sacred Gears——Jin and Griffon were in position nearby. It being

unknown what would be here, they had temporarily traveled while avoiding
the public eye, this being Utsusemi domain. It wouldn’t be strange for them
to be attacked at any moment. Even though they had done so, it was possible
that the Utsusemi were approaching them from behind.

Timidly opening door, they trespassed upon the entryway. In the entryway,
Tobio looked at the various accessories and framed pictures. They brought
back how this scenery had looked in the past.

……Although it was said they moved away, none of their belonging were
moved with them? This action conducted by the ‘Utsusemi Agency’, it
doesn’t seem at all like a simple relocation.

As a result of being completely closed off, the house’s interior was dim
despite it being daytime. The foursome voluntarily entered this interior. They
did not remove their shoes at the entrance. There was no telling when they’d
have to make a run for it.

Natsume turned on a flashlight, illuminating the dark interior.

To start with, she began with the closest room. Calmly turning the doorknob,
she opened the door slightly and shined the light over the interior. ——There
appeared to be nothing.

Inside was a table and a sofa. Nothing had been relocated from within. What
had been moved was——the people. Only Sae’s parents. In all likelihood,
this was the case at the rest of their fellow students’ houses.

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“Split up, let’s investigate. If you find anything, contact us through Lavinia’s
magic as usual.”

Tobio and company nodded in response to Natsume’s comment, the glowing

crystals produced by Lavinia’s magic were inserted into their ears, and
splitting into two groups to search the interior they advanced on foot.

The team of Tobio and Lavinia opened the door to the living room. A TV, a
table, and a withered decorative plant were visible. The leaves had fallen
from the decorative plant, and were scattered all over the floor.

In the kitchen, the electronic appliances such as the refrigerator and

microwave had all been left behind. The electricity having been cut, the
resulting condition inside the refrigerator was one of rotten food that was
releasing an offensive smell. Turning the water faucet, as one would expect
no water came out.

“…………”

Sometimes, Lavinia would stop and draw a circle on the floor with her wand
and say something that appeared similar to a spell. As light emerged from the
circle that had been traced on the floor, shortly after the momentary brilliance
would be emitted it would go out.

……Magic, or so it would seem. When he had asked earlier about what she
was doing, it seemed she was investigating the movements of the inhabitants.

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Hearing footsteps, they became vigilant, but it was only Natsume and
Samejima who appeared. Confirming with them, they shook their heads.
They hadn’t discovered anything that way.

Setting out from the central living room, the foursome again began surveying
the vicinity.

“This place, was it like this previously?”

Tobio nodded in response to Natsume’s query.

“Yeah, it’s as it was. Nothing has been moved. The only things that aren’t
here——are Oji-san and Oba-san.”

That was Tobio’s reply. The things had been left behind, and only the
residents were not currently present. That is to say, that which the ‘Utsusemi
Agency’ desired was only the blood relatives of the second year Ryoukuu
High School students——. What the significance of that was, Tobio and
company had no idea, but they couldn’t help but feel a bad premonition about
it.

Tobio pointed his index finger up.

“I’m going to investigate the second floor.”

In response to Tobio’s suggestion, Natsume replied, “Well then, we’ll

continue investigating the situation of the first floor for a little longer,” and
the four people once again separated.

Tobio and Lavinia, returning momentarily to the entrance hall, began

ascending the stairs. He spotted something possessing a human-like

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appearance on the second floor. Glancing over at Lavinia, she had seen the
same thing, her gaze directed upwards. She seized her ear and said.

“……Natsume, Shark, I want you to be cautious.”

This was an announcement of preparation for battle. In an instant a tense

atmosphere dominated the house.

“……Jin.”

Tobio, calmly summoning his partner, gave such an order. As he swallowed

his saliva, the puppy ascended the stairs from behind him.

With all the effort in his small body Jin ascended one step at a time. Reaching
the second floor first, his nose sniffing began sniffing around. Discovering it
was nothing, he turned towards them with his tail wagging. A little relieved,
Tobio ascended the stairs.

Jin was clearly a great asset. For such a small body, he provided much
reassurance. If it had just been him by himself, he would have been
overwhelmed with fear at the sight of that human silhouette, and likely would
have started to panic.

In the midst of his nervousness, his mind was stirred with the aid of Jin and
his colleagues.

Having ascended to the second floor, Tobio turned his feet towards Sae’s
room. Progressing conspicuously through the dusty corridor, he slowly turned
the doorknob to Sae’s room.

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This room, he’d been in here so many times. It was clearly nothing more than
a typical girl’s room, the interior of which had been kept tidy and was clean.

The bed and the desk were as they had been. On top of the desk, nothing had
been placed. Tobio, who was familiar with this desk, opened the drawer. It
held some study materials and notebooks.

Searching through Sae’s desk almost made him lose his nerve, but even so he
opened the drawer, and Tobio recognized a certain notebook. What he took
out was Sae’s diary.

Holding it in his hand, he began flipping through the pages. It was a silly
diary. Reading the numerous descriptions relating to himself made him feel
embarrassed from the bottom of his heart, so he couldn’t look at them
directly. However, each and every detail that had been written was amusingly
funny.

He stopped at the entry from the day before the trip.

‘May: Tomorrow is finally the formal day of the trip to Hawaii, however
Tobio’s condition hasn’t fully recovered. I had wanted for us to go together,
but it can’t be helped. Tomorrow, after only seeing Tobio’s face in the
morning, I expect I’ll head to the airport. Tomorrow will be here soon. If I
don’t go sleep early’

Right after that day’s description, the diary was interrupted. It was natural.
Since the owner was presently absent——.

After Lavinia finished engraving her magic into the floor, they left Sae’s
room, and Tobio and company began heading towards Oji-chan and Oba-
chan’s room.

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Inside the second floor room belonging to Sae’s parents——. ……Since the
family had disappeared, and since this included Sae’s parents, in regards to
the item Tobio’s grandmother had entrusted to Sae’s parents, this was only
remaining place in the house where it could likely be.

Having entered Sae’s parents’ room, Tobio began searching the drawers and
shelves while feeling apologetic. However, it seemed that it absolutely could
not be found. ——Then, he discovered a safe inside of the closet. Perhaps
here……Tobio had such thoughts.

At that moment, the door to the room opened with a *kii* sound. Tobio and
Lavinia looked over that way, where there was a single young girl standing
on the other side of the door. That figure was recognizable. It was obvious.

“Sae!”

Appearing right in front of his eyes, this person was his childhood friend Sae.
She was *jii* staring in his direction.

……At last, we’ve met up!

His eyes moistening, driven by a sudden desire to immediately rush over to

her, he frantically resisted.

“Sae, it’s me. Can you understand me?”

However, despite Tobio’s cry, the figure he had perceived over there, Sae,
showed no change. Before his eyes Sae was merely wearing a thin ominous
smile. Tobio’s gaze perceived something.

The prayer beads on her left hand——.

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That, it was something recognizable. It was the precious prayer beads he’d
inherited from his grandmother. It was something he’d passed to Sae before
the trip.

Tobio could do nothing but show a sorrowful expression.

Keeping the chronology up until now in mind, she should have become an
Utsusemi. If that was the case, there was no point in rescuing her during the
present situation.

But, he could not issue simple instructions to Jin. That Sae would be killed,
this was not something he could permit.

Sympathizing with the present situation, Lavinia was carefully observing.

“As expected, slaying her is impossible huh.”

The voice of a third party was heard from the corridor. Entering the room
——was a middle aged man wearing a three piece suit. He was recognizable.
Indeed, from that time when they’d battled at the department store. The
mysterious man who appeared to assist the guy called Doumon……. That
guy had appeared before their eyes.

……This guy, Doumon had called him ‘Himejima’.

The tough looking man spoke slowly.

“I am the one called Himejima Hanezu. As you might already be aware, I

have undertaken the role of leader of the organization called the ‘Utsusemi
Agency’.”

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Indeed, this guy was the head of the organization that began this series of
events——.

……Without warning, the opponents’ boss has made an appearance. By no

means would he have thought for an instant that this man would appear
accompanied by Sae.

“……The Five Principal Clans”

Tobio murmured in that way.

Hearing that the man——Himejima Hanezu, put his hand on his chin with
great interest.

“Hrm, it seems you’ve received information from that black winged gang. If
that’s true then it makes things simple. ——Those of you who possess the
‘Four Fiends’ will be retrieved.”

“…………”

He himself was not one of the ‘Four Fiends’. In regards to the plan, he was an
irregular existence.

However, the man laughed.

“Of course, you are also something we consider necessary. Ikuse Tobio. ——
No, I guess I should call you Himejima Tobio?”

……They’ve already investigated my circumstances.

The man——Himejima Hanezu continued speaking.

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"It may seem strange to you, but your grandmother——Ageha was a member
of the ‘Himejima’ Clan. Unfortunately the Himejima are not overflowing
with desire for this power that issued from their family but……”

“……I am Ikuse. Himejima was nothing more than my grandmother’s

maiden name.”

“Although you may think so, as far as those in the underside of this country
are concerned the Himejima bloodline takes precedence. However, it’s ironic.
For the ‘Dog’ to be of the genealogy of one who was expelled from the
Clan……”

Himejima Hanezu, looking downwards, gazed at Jin. His pupils were dark,
containing absolutely no emotion. Although he had smiled before it gave off
the sense that it had been manufactured.

“……Speaking honestly, I believe my only desire has been partly fulfilled.

——Ikuse Tobio, was how you introduced yourself huh. A ‘demon’ beyond
the daughter of ‘lightning’ has been born from that Himejima. Moreover, it is
an authentic creation compared to the aforementioned ‘lightning’. The degree
of comedy is boundless. Rather than the ‘red’ of the ‘Suzaku[25]’ of
Shintoism that the Himejima rule over, they’ve given birth to ‘jet black’.
Having acknowledged you since your face reminds me of the previous
‘Himejima’ clan chief, I guess I am sufficiently satisfied.”

The man shook his head.

“However, the minds of my own brethren don’t think that way. ……I must
conform to the ‘Project’ until the end as the one whose responsibility is to
govern that organization.”

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………….

……What this man is saying is incomprehensible. For Tobio, the things

Himejima Hanezu was saying, he couldn’t understand them at all. But, he
sensed that everything he said was mixed with deep-seated enmity.

The man continued without caring.

“Ikuse Tobio, why not lend us your power? No, for argument’s sake, apart
from cutting us down, for the present——instead of us, why not overthrow
those monsters from the Five Principal Clans?”

“……You’re just saying what’s convenient for you. Moreover I don’t

understand the significance of that……!!”

Tobio expressed his displeasure at his unilateral way of speaking. To think

that it had reached the point of him speaking of him lending his power this
late in the game……!! More than anything else, to proclaim such ridiculous
words while Sae was beside him, rather than assuaging his feelings, it was
intolerable.

Seeing that, the first emotion that man showed was to put on that pleasant
smile.

“……Draw that ominous blade of yours, and you shall be made aware of my
responsibility.”

The man gestured with his finger. At that instant——Sae, who had been
standing beside Himejima Hanezu, took one step forward, her left hand
slashing horizontally. Thereupon, the shadow at her feet began to wriggle as
though it possessed intention, spreading throughout the room. The darkness

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in the room was being controlled. The shadow that had spread out bulged,
forming a figure.

“——That’s”

Tobio could do no more that to widen his eyes in shock at what appeared
before him——filling almost the entire room was a single enormous wild
beast. Jet black fur——it was the mane of a lion. Its body appeared to be
larger than the Barbary Lion which is the largest lion. Its flashing golden eyes
were filled with bloodlust. Baring its bare sharp fangs, it raised a low growl.

Through the pores all over his body, a chilling sensation was transmitted
——. Since the pressure was seemingly piercing through his skin, Tobio was
forced to realize it. ……This lion, it was different from all the Utsusemi he
had fought up until now. From the basic ‘structure’, it was a monster on a
whole other level——.

With Tobio’s whole body trembling with fear, only Jin boldly faced the lion,
completely without fear, and not relaxing his menacing posture. Without
understanding the difference of his opponent’s power he did not pointlessly
raise a growl.

——For the sake of protecting the master, he confronted it while frantically

pumping up his small body.

Regarding Jin’s state of excessively brave loyalty, Tobio was deeply moved
by this behavior to the point that he was no longer shaking in fear in the least.
In such a situation, he would not betray Jin’s courage. He absolutely would
not. It was his duty as this puppy’s master.

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Himejima Hanezu spoke from beside the lion that had appeared from Sae’s
shadow.

“……This was developed by a group of magicians who are cooperating with

us. ——It’s called ‘ The Cowardly Leo[26]’. This one experiment is the bearer
of the nucleus of our ‘Four Fiends Project’. Toujou Sae alone was the only
test subject who could adapt to it.”

……Sae is commanding this lion? The atmosphere that lion is releasing, the
killing intent enveloping its body is keenly distinguishable.

Lavinia scowled at the lion with a rare face of annoyance and spoke to the
man.

“……Lion……one of the three has already finished being manifested? This

is the reality behind ‘their[27]’ experiment?”

“……The young lady of Grau Zauberer[28]. What I report to you at this time,
it would be good if you could convey it to Lord Pheles. ——They are
serious.”

Hearing that Lavinia let out a voice of complete displeasure.

“…………How utterly unpleasant.”

As Lavinia pointed her wand at the man, Tobio heard Natsume’s voice
through the magical communicator in his ear.

‘Ikuse-kun! The house, it’s been surrounded!’

——!!

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Hearing that Tobio turned around. Turning towards the room’s verandah, he
caught sight of a monster——an Utsusemi accompanied by the figure one of
his fellow students there. Its hostile gaze was releasing a thirst for blood.
Arriving on the verandah of the second floor, in the house’s surroundings, as
well as in the garden, it seemed there was no mistaking that there was a
swarm of Utsusemi.

He gave Himejima Hanezu a fleeting glance. The man shrugged his

shoulders.

“You want to quarrel with me here? It doesn’t particularly matter to me. ——

But, one suggestion.”

The man raised one finger as he continued to talk.

“If it’s okay with all of you, we could show you around our research facility.
All of your fellow students you’re looking for are on standby there, along
with their relatives who are in good health. Consider first, with this lion, and
the house being surrounded by an abundance of Utsusemi, I’m sorry to say
there’s no safe way out. Given that this is the case, can we ask that you come
along as peacefully as possible?”

Meaning that they were being personally invited to their hideout. But then,
there was no doubt they would be taken as unconditional captives…….
However, they were wholeheartedly pursuing the truth behind that location.

——Was this a chance, or was this a desperate situation?

Either way, cutting their way out of here would come with a sacrifice.
Regarding victory……in all honesty, such an outcome was unreasonable.
Notwithstanding the restricted conditions of the ‘Blade from the Shadows’,

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even though he’d been learning over the past three days, with this lion and
Himejima Hanezu in front of them, he was certainly lacking decisive power.

Even in the case that man called Doumon, he possessed more power than a
multitude of Utsusemi. As the man who commanded those of such
supernatural power, the possibility that he was weaker than Doumon was
nonexistent.

More than anything else, in the confined space of this room, the ‘Blade from
the Shadows’ would appear to be an ordinary attack, due to the restriction on
mobility. Even though Jin possessed a small body it would seem that his
movements would be slightly affected……the chance of injuring Sae as well
was far too high.

……Then, should we escape? No, even supposing we escaped, someone

would invariably be seriously injured.

………….

……In no way losing interest in the current circumstances, Himejima Hanezu

took something out of his breast pocket.

——It was a square wooden box.

There were talisman with magical characters affixed to the box. Seeing that,
Tobio instantly reached a thought.

That, it must be what his grandmother passed to Sae’s parents which is

connected to his roots——.

Himejima Hanezu spoke.

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“There is something contained within this strongbox. I have been borrowing
it for some time. What it is, I haven’t checked at this point. Is it the same for
you, Ikuse Tobio-kun? In terms of the contents——“

The man pointed his finger at Sae.

“Which one you desire more I wonder?”

The man’s calm way of speaking was affecting his nerves. ……Directing his
sights towards Sae, her eyes didn’t contain any emotion towards Tobio.

Lavinia spoke to Tobio.

“……I entrust this decision to Toby. Surely, Natsume and Shark will also
understand. If I can also speak honestly, I am frightfully curious about their
institution.”

As though sensing Tobio’s inner thoughts Lavinia had spoken thus.

After several second Tobio bowed his head, his face showing an expression
that was full of bitterness, and grasped his ear to instruct Natsume and
Samejima.

“……Minagawa-san, Samejima. ——Withdraw from here! Leave without

minding us! We’ll meet up afterwards without fail!”

What Tobio chose——was for Natusme and Samejima to get away. They
couldn’t have all of their members go. He thought it would be a better if they
had multiple options. He and Lavinia would remain for the sake of Natsume
and Samejima escaping. The final goal of those guys was the ‘Four Fiends’.

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In that case, the two who are included in that ought to be the ones to get
away.

‘——!! Ju-just a minute, Ikuse-kun!? What you said——‘

‘Ikuse! What happened up there!?’

In contrast to the surprised Natsume, Samejima seemed to somehow or

another suspect Tobio’s true intentions.

‘Let’s go, Birdbrain! It seems that magical girl together with the
distinguished Ikuse have gotten themselves into a situation! In that case,
since those guys outside were drawn to gather here for us, it seems we ought
to beat them all down in one go.’

‘B-but! Aah geez! Ikuse-kun, Lavinia, I forbid you to die okay! We will
absolutely welcome you back!’

Listening to the voice of his comrades as they departed while repulsing the
Utsusemi, Tobio glared at the man.

The man exhaled.

“Indeed, since it’s only us who remain, the ‘Four Fiends’ will get away huh.
Whether for all member to fight, or for all members to escape, both are far
from prudent decisions.”

Himejima Hanezu, saying this, tied some kind of token to his hand and the
space inside the room warped. From the warped space a fusuma[29] appeared.
A scarlet divine bird had been elegantly painted on it. The fusuma opened,
and before them they perceived a single room in an unfamiliar building. It

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seemed to be something like a ‘gate’ for crossing between locations by
linking one point to another.

Himejima Hanezu made an inviting gesture while speaking to Tobio and

Lavinia.

“Well now, after you.”

Holding Jin in his arms Tobio addressed him in his thoughts.

——Jin, please accompany me to the bitter end. I, by defeating these guys

from within the whale’s belly, will save Sae and everyone.

In spite of the fear that was clinging to his body, Tobio’s fighting spirit did
not waver.

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 Ice Princess/Four Fiends

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 Part 1

Having passed through the unusual fusumu that had appeared at Toujou Sae’s
house, Tobio and Lavinia had been invited to the building serving as
headquarters for the Utsusemi Agency.

Awaiting them as soon as they set foot there——a crowd of fellow

classmates who had been turned into Utsusemi were surrounding them. ……
Visually confirming their numbers, it could be estimated that there were
scores of them at least. With amount that Tobio and company had defeated so
far, and guessing at the number that had previously surrounded Sae’s house,
in all likelihood, it was possible to assume that all of the remaining people
who had been made into Utsusemi were here. Of course, since it was possible
to revive the monsters like was done with Sasaki previously there was
seemingly no end to them…….

The figures of adults wearing business suits were frequently seen. ……The
mood in the eyes and enveloping the bodies of the agency members was
visible to them. They were doing things like binding tokens to their hands, or
otherwise carrying something like talismans. ……It seems like there were a
variety of means for releasing supernatural power.

The blood lust of the multitudes of Utsusemi and agency members turned
towards them.

In this situation, Himejima Hanezu, who was beside Sae, wore a disgusting
smirk on his face and stated the following.

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“——Welcome to the Utsusemi Agency headquarters, no, hidden base.”

With nothing more than this, they were driven to rage by such an invitation.

Regarding Tobio and Lavinia, their hands were then placed into handcuffs
and restrained. That which is typically called handcuffs, they are equivalent
to blocks of iron with holes in them. These handcuffs though had magical
sequences written on them. ……Likely because of that, as soon as his hands
were cuffed, irresistible chills ran down his entire body. Simultaneously, the
throbbing sense from Jin he’d been feeling since before——the spiritual link
seemingly weakened.

……As for the aforementioned Jin, he was then placed into a cage behind
Tobio and company. That cage was placed on top of a luggage carrier that
was being pushed by a male agency member. The cage had the same pattern
written on it as the handcuffs. Just as Tobio was abiding by his current
handcuffed state, Jin was also not resisting, and was just calmly sitting inside
the cage. However, those deep crimson eyes displayed a brilliance containing
dangerous raw hostility. It was apparent through this aspect that he would
flare up at merely a single word from Tobio.

Passing through multiple gates requiring authorization, the place the two
people and one animal were lead——was a vast chamber.

It was a strange scene with countless of what appeared to cultivation tanks

lined up——. The cultivation tanks were connected to capsules laid out

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horizontally. Throughout this room there were cultivation tanks and capsules
visible everywhere.

Himejima Hanezu spoke as they progressed down a prepared path between

the cultivation tanks.

“Take a proper look at this.”

Urging him like this, he directed Tobio’s gaze towards a cultivation tank.
Thereupon, within the green liquid——he noticed a human being in there. It
appeared to be the same for the other tanks, with middle-aged men and
women, or otherwise young ones had been placed within them side by side.

“This is……!!”

Himejima Hanezu added one more thing for Tobio, for whom words had
failed.

“Those in here, they are the relatives of the boys and girls who were turned
into Utsusemi.”

“——!!”

Tobio became speechless at this shocking truth. So these were the parents and
siblings of his classmates who disappeared under the pretense of moving? In
reality, they’d been brought here and placed inside these things…….

Himejima Hanezu spoke to Tobio.

“You were already aware with how the experimental bodies’——the

Ryoukuu High School students’ families all changed residence I believe?
They are all currently here."

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……As expected, all of his classmates’ relatives were here. In that case,
Sae’s parents should be here——. As Tobio was looking around Himejima
Hanezu continued explaining.

“Anyway, for the sake of the ongoing examination into the utilization of
Utsusemi, manifesting the artificial Sacred Gear can cause irregularities in
the experimental body’s mind and body. In order to compensate for that,
someone of close genetic relation——blood relatives were necessary. For
those that become exhausted by utilizing the Utsusemi the bodies of the
parents, or possibly the siblings, are used to supplement the recovery.
Periodically the experimental body will have to spend a day in these capsules
in order to preserve their ability. ……It seems the technique is not yet
perfected.”

For their classmates, the act of manipulating those artificial independent

avatar type Sacred Gears——those monsters, produced such a demerit? And
the relatives were assembled to compensate for that…….

They carried this secretive large scale experiment, all for the sake of the Four
Fiends Project——to steal the abilities of Natsume and Samejima and make
use of them to triumph over those people from the Clans…….

'……So it would appear that this is the purpose of the Utsusemi Agency.
However, regarding those who are cooperating with them, is the true purpose
of the traitor in the Governor General’s organization and one Lavinia is
pursuing something else?'——Tobio thought. That black lion he had seen at
Sae’s house, it was clear that though it resembled the Utsusemi, it was a
different kind of existence.

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In other words, the experiment that was being performed here, it appeared
that it was the result of each of the three groups' goals intersecting. ……This
was the origin of the dreadful research for the Four Fiends project that was
being carried out here. The Governor General and Lavinia were trying to
prevent this. Speaking of which, Lavinia was looking around the chamber in
annoyance. Everything displayed here appeared unpleasant.

Tobio and Lavinia were then urged on, and they entered an elevator. The
elevator descended. As they steadily descended, “Where in the world are we
descending to?” Tobio was compelled to ask as the elevator came to a stop.

They advanced together with the agency members who were leading them,
and came to wait in front of a pair of large double doors. There was a solemn
sound as the chief opened it.

The interior——was a huge empty room. The chamber——one could call it a

vast room. There was nothing except lighting, and no more than white walls
and floor throughout.

The agency members positioned Tobio and Lavinia in the center of the room
and placed the cage containing Jin beside them.

The other agency members remained on standby along the walls, as

Himejima Hanezu spoke while confronting the two people and one animal.

“This room is one hundred meters below ground. It’s solid enough to serve as
a nuclear bomb shelter. There’s not even the smallest chance of collapse due
to impact.”

He then took something like a flat remote control from his breast pocket, and
pushed a single button. Thereupon, Jin’s cage was released. The black puppy

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leapt from inside. The instant Jin was released he ceased his quiet
surveillance, and raising a low growl, threatened Himejima Hanezu.

He continued while smiling with his lips.

“That is to say, even if there were some kind of disturbance in here, it

wouldn’t particularly affect the research facility up above.”

Himejima Hanezu produced an iron rod from his sleeve. Swinging it

horizontally, the part that was stored away extended revealing a shakujou[30].

“Now then, Ikuse Tobio. For just a bit, why don’t you amuse me in here?”

Himejima Hanezu said this while pointing the tip of the shakujou at Tobio.

“——Do set that ‘Dog’ on me.”

Simultaneously the handcuffs restraining his hands released and dropped to

the floor. At that moment, overwhelming power spread from Tobio’s body
——. Releasing Tobio’s supernatural ability and Jin’s power, he realized
their awareness had synchronized.

Just in case, for the sake of confirmation, Tobio glanced around the room.
……There was no cover, so as far as causing the ‘Blade from the Shadows’
to spring forth, the conditions of this place were poor. As far as that was
concerned, it should be sufficient for them to appear from the shadow at his
opponent’s feet……it seemed he had predicted such a move. However, with
the exception of that deadly offensive technique there was nothing else he
could do as of the present.

Lavinia drew close, speaking in a whisper.

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“……Since it’s come to this, I will assist you somehow or another. However,
I am guessing from the behavior of the opponent that he desires to investigate
Toby’s true abilities. But if I were to lend Toby a hand here——”

While speaking, Lavinia glanced over at Sae.

“……Since that might instigate her to become serious, for now I will merely
watch attentively.”

Driven by doubt over how she would remove the handcuffs, if it was a
magician, he realized that the solution must be that she would use Buddhist
magic against the Buddhist magic that was presently been binding her, or so
he arbitrarily interpreted it. Rather than this, he was gladdened by her concern
for Sae.

Based on what Lavinia said, it appeared an all-out battle against them here
would see them fighting against Sae. Considering that the other party’s
methods were beyond incomprehensible, reckless aggression would lead to a
dreadful reality beyond expectations.

Since the handcuffs binding Lavinia had yet to release and drop off, Tobio
called out to his partner.

“……Jin.”

Simultaneously with his name being called, from the puppy’s forehead a
katana——a protuberance exactly like a Japanese sword sprouted. During his
three days of intensive training, Tobio had named the protuberance that
appears from Jin’s body ‘Blade[31]’.

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Facing Jin from whose head that blade had grown, Tobio issued his
command.

“CHARGE!”

Together with this cry Jin transformed into a high speed bullet and advanced
towards Himejima Hanezu. As for the opponent, the shakujou he was holding
in his hand gave off a pale light, repelling Jin’s attack. That shakujou he was
holding took the lethal attack from Jin’s blade, did so without breaking, and
wasn’t jostled either so it clearly was something whose strength had been
supernaturally enhanced.

With his body having been freed Jin was able to engage in high speed
combat, but the opponent was no ordinary fighter. Regardless of Jin’s
movement, whether the blows from the forehead blade, launching pursuit
with the blades from the back, or even stabbing from a blind spot using a
blade from the tail, all of them were parried by the shakujou.

……As expected, ordinary attacks are of no concern to him. In that case——.

“——HAKEN!”

Hearing Tobio’s command Jin’s red eyes shone ominously. At that instant,
out of the shadows at Himejima Hanezu’s feet, a distorted gigantic Blade
appeared. ——It was the ‘Blade from the Shadows’. From his special
training over the past three days, although there was a limit on frequency of
usage and a restriction on the point of appearance, it became possible to use
this technique to some extent.

He had given it a name for the time being. ——Night Haken[32].

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Regarding this name, Vali who had been observing his special training from
nearby,

“It’s a valuable skill. Enough that it deserves a name does it not? In that
case……a blade that springs from the shadows, the form of a distorted
hook……”

For a short while, he pondered it until speaking——.

“——The hook of dark night, Night Haken is what it should be called, you
agree?”

And thus it was named. Making an embarrassed face, the troublesome and
hard to please youth made this personal suggestion, and it had been accepted.
From the beginning, occasionally issuing instructions to Jin verbally was
advantageous in some situations, so having something like a name was
essential.

He attacked Himejima Hanezu from underfoot with Night Haken, but as

though he had completely predicted it he leapt high into the air, and evaded
the extending Blade. While evading, he swung the shakujou horizontally and
shattered the blade that had grown from the shadow!

……With the power residing in that shakujou, even smashing Night Haken is
easy? For Tobio, this information, as far as his combination with Jin was
concerned, was quite severe. That is to say, unless he can reliably stab that
guy’s body, there’s no way to bring him down.

……However, Tobio did not yet possess the complete resolve to kill
someone. He had slaughtered Utsusemi monsters. But, even if they possessed
supernatural power, he was not prepared to murder an actual person.

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Even so Tobio was commanding Jin. For the sake of bringing a swift end to
absurd affair. For the sake of rescuing Sae——.

“Jin! Again!”

Once again a blade was born from beneath Himejima Hanezu’s feet, but he
jumped back and released single strike with the shakujou, easily breaking it.
Without giving up he fired off Night Haken over and over, but those were
also dodged, all broken without landing a direct hit.

Suddenly, Himejima Hanezu tied a token to one hand, and the shakujou
began glowing much brighter.

“HA!”

With that condition, together with his yell he swung the shakujou
horizontally. Thereupon, from the shakujou a pale bullet of light flew straight
at Tobio. The instant it was about to score a direct hit, from the shadow at
Tobio’s feet a blade sprung up, and taking the shape of a shield was struck by
the bullet of light. This was a defensive technique he’d acquired during his
three days of intensive training. The danger with Sacred Gears such as Jin,
this was a plan to overcome the case where Tobio who is the master was
attacked personally——as a defensive technique, a broad blade would be
projected from the shadow at Tobio’s feet to serve as a shield.

——But, together with a sharp cracking sound the Night Haken that was a
shield was smashed by the bullet of light. The power of the bullet of light, it
smashed through the blade without stopping, and Tobio’s body was blown
away by the resulting shock.

“GAHA!”

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His entire body having been equally struck by the force of the blow, Tobio
was thrown onto his back on the floor. Due to the aftershock of the light
bullet, as well as the damage from being thrown to the floor——pain spread
throughout his entire body.

Writhing in pain to the point of being short of breath……he aimlessly rolled

along the floor, before he was struck by the follow up attack that was
pursuing him. Tobio earnestly tried to resist losing consciousness, and started
to rise to his feet.

……Due to the pain from the impact, his entire body wasn’t obeying him.
His hands had been shaking since before, the trembling in his legs hasn’t
stopped, however, nevertheless, he directed his gaze at his opponent as he
faced Himejima Hanezu.

Regarding his opponent——right as he perceived his glaring eyes, he

abruptly smiled.

“……As expected, it’s like this huh? This ‘Dog’, as of yet is hasn’t tasted the
blood of man has it?”

He continued while pointing the tip of the shakujou at Jin.

“Ikuse Tobio, regarding the sharpness of your——that ‘Dog’s attack, it is

precisely that you lack the resolution. In other words, that attack was docile.”

As though seeing through Tobio’s emotions, Himejima Hanezu stated this.

“……You who is the master presently carry hesitation towards murdering a

human being, correct? That lack of preparedness is transmitting caution to the

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black ‘Dog’ that is your Sacred Gear seemingly causing its attack to become
blunt.”

………….

He had gained an understanding of their behavior. Indeed, it was as he had

said, Tobio——was hesitating with his attacks so as not to kill his human
opponent. Regarding this, with the connection of mind and body between
them strengthening day by day it was impossible for this to have not been
transmitted to Jin.

Presently, it seemed that Himejima Hanezu’s skill as a supernatural power

user was superior to his own. However, the case of Jin releasing murderous
intent towards him from his blade……until now such simple motivation had
been lacking. At least in regards to that shakujou, it should normally be
capable of slicing it cleanly in two.

With each of them growing stronger day by day, Tobio thought to himself in
relief, he had been uneasy. Supposing, if he were unable to control Jin’s
attack, it would reach a situation where his opponent——a human being
would be killed……. It was okay it an Utsusemi monster was his opponent, it
was fine if it that clay doll was his opponent, but——. To be able to pull that
off against a person, against a being with human form, could he, could Jin,
kill them? Would killing them be okay?

——Regarding himself, he merely wanted to rescue Sae and his classmates.

This alone was his determination to fight. For that he seemed ready for any
number of Utsusemi opponents. It was the same for his comrades. For this Jin

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had also steadily attained power. However, if the opponent was a
person…….

If he were to become a murderer in the future, Tobio having arrived at this

thought——.

‘Is it okay if I make Jin a murderer?’

It was at this point——.

Having arrived at this final moment, Ikuse Tobio——ceased to be gentle.

Tobio bit his lip, shedding tears of regret. ……Having arrived at this point,
having penetrated his enemy’s secret base, even with Sae right before his
eyes……until ‘that’ final moment he had been lacking in resolution.

To the side Lavinia, perceiving Tobio’s true intentions, bowed her head.

With a look of pity Himejima Hanezu spoke to Tobio.

“……Now, we must first give you a taste of human blood, or ought it be the
ominous Jin instead?”

Letting such words slip from his mouth, Himejima Hanezu approached
Tobio. ——It was at that moment.

Immediately following a solemn sound, the door to this space opened a

second time.

Passing through it, there was an elderly foreign woman wearing a violet robe.
Her appearance suggested that she was in the latter half of her sixties, while
the sharp glint in her eye and her upright posture seemed youthful. The figure

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of an elderly woman——her appearance was like that of a magician as
though out of a fantasy tale.

Arriving from behind her was a foreign girl in gothic style attire who seemed
to be her attendant. Unlike the elderly woman, she was smiling broadly and
her behavior gave off a light atmosphere. However, her clothes were also
purple.

The elderly woman spoke.

“Chief engineer-dono, wouldn’t you say that you’ve had enough fun
already?”

Himejima Hanezu, lowering the shakujou, spoke while letting out a sigh.

“This witch-dono. For her to arrive here”

The elderly woman, with a smooth stride, quickly strode towards Tobio.

“Since I also wanted to see this. ——The alleged ‘Dog’.”

——she said, turning towards Jin, greatly interested.

…………!!!

……Tobio, from the side, abruptly sensed an instant increase in pressure. It

was natural. Having attentively watched the fight between himself and
Himejima Hanezu——Lavinia was directing previously unseen hostility at
the elderly woman who had been called ‘witch’.

……Indeed, ‘witch’. With the appearance of an elderly woman……. In all

likelihood, this woman was the one Lavinia was pursuing.

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Noticing Lavinia’s stinging look, the elderly woman gazed at her and
laughed.

“——Oh my, certainly, this child is the assassin from ‘Grau Zauberer’.”

The elderly woman stood before Lavinia’s eyes, her eyes narrowed, and
spoke with a pleased expression.

“It’s been awhile, ‘Ice Princess’ Lavinia.”

Lavinia spoke in annoyance.

“……’Purple Flame’ Augusta, you were the collaborator? I see, it is only

natural I would be the one sent after such a ‘Great Magician’ such as you.”

“There are also such remarks that has been made of you. It’s just like that
stylish Mephisto. Sending the ‘Ice’ to pursue the ‘Flame’……”

The pair each glared at each other. It could clearly be said that in the
atmosphere between the two of them, a pale light was being issued the
seemed to cover their entire bodies. Lavinia’s blue light and elderly woman’s
violet light wound around their respective bodies.

The agency members present——even Himejima Hanezu merely furrowed

their eyebrows at their confrontation.

However, the one who destroyed this atmosphere was that person. While
slowly revolving on the spot, the one who interrupted the elderly woman and
Lavinia was the girl wearing gothic style clothing. The one who had
accompanied the elderly woman. That girl, alternatively comparing Lavinia
and the elderly woman in amusement, inquired of the elderly woman.

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“Oshi-sama, Oshi-sama[33], who is that child? She’s completely adorable
*kyun kyun*♪”.

The woman let out a sigh of amazement at the girl’s speech and conduct.

“……Good grief, you don’t read the atmosphere child. This young miss,
she’s with the aforementioned fair-haired chairman Pheles.”

Hearing that, the girl clapped her hands together with delight.

“Wow♪ That’s amazing. That there was such a bishoujou-san[34]♪”

The elderly woman announced while turning towards the girl.

“This girl is my disciple. Her name is Walburga.”

“Nice to meet you♪”

The girl who had been introduced as Walburga innocently waved at Lavinia.

Among everyone present there with a troubled response, Lavinia merely hid
her face, such was the impact of the tone in which she had spoken.

“……If confirmation with you is possible, then this is already enough.”

Steadily, steadily, a cold wave spread throughout the room. Beginning as

only a slight chill, the temperature in the room was clearly declining little by
little. There was even white breath being exhaled. Everyone was closely
observing the source of this drop in atmospheric temperature.

Indeed, from Lavinia’s body, a penetratingly cold chill was being released
——.

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Tobio abruptly recalled that time in the department store. Natsume and
Lavinia, over the previous communication had definitely conversed about
this.

——If it has become like this, I will just “freeze” them then.

——P-Please save that as a last resort! This whole place might become
frozen over! You hear me! Demise Girl[35]!

……Was this what they were talking about?

Cheerfully watching as Lavinia released cold air, the elderly woman——

Augusta enquired of Himejima Hanezu.

“……Chief engineer-dono, I have just one question for you……how many

binding techniques did you use on that girl?”

“……We applied spell equations that have been passed down by each of the
Five Principal Clans respectively……”

Saying only that much, Himejima Hanezu understandingly groaned.

“……Indeed, was that not enough?”

“Yeah, it was insufficient. Unless it was ten times that amount, it wouldn’t
bind this young miss.”

A dry metallic sound echoed throughout the vast space——. The handcuffs
restraining Lavinia’s hands had developed a crack. More cracks appeared
after the first, and were spreading——.

“——That is roughly it.”

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It shattered with fragments scattered all over the floor. Lavinia’s blue eyes
——were dark, the color having become like that of the ocean depths.

With her wrists now having been freed, Lavinia let out a white breath. And
then, from those tiny lips, a curse that did not appear to be of the living world
was leaked out.

<<——From eternal sleep, awaken. And thus, the fool will be made to sleep
for eternity——>>

The cold air——congregated. Alongside Lavinia, a vortex of frozen air was

being gathered. There, similar to ice, something was taking form. The ice
appeared to be made up of hands, feet, a torso, and a head placed on top.

“——This is my puppet.”

What was born beside Lavinia, it was a princess made of ice——. About
three meters tall, it had the form of a woman wearing a dress. However, those
looks were not those of a human. With neither mouth nor nose, the left half
had six eyes, while protruding from the right half something similar to a wild
rose was growing. It had four arms, all of which were thin. However, in
contrast with those thin arms the hands were large.

This is……a Sacred Gear, isn’t it? Tobio was unable to judge, but he could at
least say that rather than magic, it seemed likely that this was the embodiment
of Lavinia’s will.

Seeing that strange princess of ice figure, the elderly woman Augusta let of a
sigh of admiration.

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“……One of the thirteen, Absolute Demise[36]. No way, that someone like
this girl would be endowed with the incarnation said to overthrow even
God……”

Augusta’s gaze turned to Tobio.

“……Could it be said that they attracted each other?”

“It certainly might be possible.”

To Lavinia’s remark, Augusta let out a laugh while mumbling.

“Interesting. Truly interesting. Azazel and Mephisto already have a hand in

this as well.”

From behind the old woman who was laughing there abruptly appeared a
winding pillar of violet flames. The firepower and heat steadily rising, it
became something that rivaled the cold that had been enveloping the room.

<<——The anointed one was fastened to the cursed cross. By the high priest
of the purple flames, the sacrifice is rebuked.>>

The old woman, just like Lavinia, released her power by reciting a curse.

The purple flames changed in the same way as Lavinia’s ice phenomenon. A
huge crucifix formed for just a moment behind her, and a giant of fresh
flames was produced beside the old woman. In the blazing giant's heroic hand
was raised a cross made of the same flames. It had a splendid figure, its size
seemingly reaching four meters in height.

Lavinia and Augusta were each standing beside what could be called their
respective alter egos which were squaring off against each other.

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……A princess of ice, a blazing giant shouldering a crucifix, could these be
independent avatar types? If they are, not just compared to the Utsusemi that
have been attacking until now, their nature is also completely difference to
the Sacred Gears of him and the others. They also seem different compared to
the black lion Sae was employing. While those all resembled living creatures,
this colossal energy, it seems to be something similar to energy that had been
fashioned into human form.

Tobio, gulping, could only attentively watch the humanoids of ice and fire
that were before him.

Augusta showed a daring smile.

“My giant made of purple flames or your Ice Princess, to melt, or perhaps to
freeze, which shall be the outcome of this match?”

The elderly woman signaled to Himejima Hanezu.

“Chief engineer-dono, don’t you think it would be a good idea if you left this
place? As it would seem, this young miss’s objective is me. I cannot bring
myself to involve your side with our side’s affairs.”

Augusta pointed upwards with her finger.

“——Isn’t there something up above that you need to take care of?”

Hearing this one line, Himejima Hanezu looked over at the agency members.
Considering their feelings he quickly unsealed the doorway, and let them out
of the room.

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Himejima Hanezu, who was also accompanied by Sae, said one thing to the
elderly woman.

“……I will moderately rely on you.”

Doing as he was told, he left that place.

——He was taking Sae.

Tobio, his body heavily damaged, in spite of his shaking knees, somehow
was able to stand up. Linking up with Jin, he once again observed Lavinia
and Augusta.

Lavinia and Augusta, each accompanied by the princess of ice and the giant
of flames respectively, were drawing trails of light in the air that repeatedly
formed magic squares, from which supernatural fireballs were being released
alongside lighting strikes! It would seem that this was what was known as
‘Magic’.

During his three days of intensive training, Tobio had been informed about
magic from Lavinia; magic had been achieved by great technique users from
ancient times; whether miracles brought forth by ‘Gods’, demonic power of
‘Devils, or else original theories on supernatural phenomenon, they were all
things that could be reproduced through formulas. All phenomenon have
fixed laws, which can be measured, calculated, and their manifestation
derived through ‘magic’. That magic square, it was something that could
solve the calculations for the sake of releasing unusual power. They were
each using their own formulas to reproduce supernatural phenomenon.

Fire, wind, water, ice, lightning……with every type of phenomenon being

fired from the magic circles of those two, one person, a young girl was

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cheerfully watching——Walburga.

“Wow♪ Oshi-sama, you’re in high spirits! Well then, should I observe this as
well?”

She then took a broom out of a magic square, floated in the air at a low
elevation, and lounged there.

The princess of ice, swinging her arms horizontally, caused pillars of ice to
successively appear from the floor. The blazing giant, heartily swinging the
crucifix in a seeping motion, completely mowed down those pillars of ice.

While their magician companions were having a magical battle on the side,
the ice princess and the blazing giant were engaged in a severe fight.

With the supernatural phenomenon being performed by the pair of magicians

having already surpassed Tobio’s imagination, in regard to what manner he
ought to attack, he had completely tired of such thoughts. Speaking honestly,
it was clear that charging in carelessly would have him either turned into an
ice sculpture, or reduced to cinders.

Lavinia said as much to Tobio.

“Toby, leave this place to me and go help that girl. From the start, finding
and destroying those witches was my duty. After finding them here, I must
return to my original task.”

“B-but!”

Lavinia smiled sweetly.

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“I feel like doing a favor in consideration for the kind-hearted Toby who
would not raise a hand against a human being. However, a day will certainly
come when, to protect someone important to you, you will be confronted
with a scene where you cannot help but to wound someone else. ……When it
comes to rescuing her, surely it is that sort of situation, right?”

Lavinia pointed towards the gate.

“Hurry up, you need to go.”

Remaining in this place under Lavinia’s protection……this was clearly not

the most effective choice. Since that witch Augusta could also use magic, and
since it would mean being near that blazing giant, it was just too powerful, to
the point that the situation exceeded reality. For the current Tobio and Jin
they cannot possibly face this opponent. To face that old woman as an
opponent, it would appear to take something on the level of Lavinia. That
was how it was——.

Tobio made a bitter decision. Together with Jin he dashed for the door.

“……Sorry, Lavinia-san!”

While leaving a deep felt apology, Tobio decided to pursue Himejima

Hanezu and Sae. This was the one thing that he himself was presently able to
do. This was the most important reason he had come here.

Smiling sweetly, Lavinia resumed the fight. Neither Augusta nor the girl
called Walburga chased after Tobio. Since she was gazing at Lavinia in a
daze he was lucky that she likely didn’t notice him.

His destination——this facilities upper levels.

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——From here, I will absolutely rescue Sae.

Possessing unshakable will, Tobio advanced together with Jin.

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 Part 2

Natsume and Samejima, having escaped from Toujou Sae’s house, and after
defeating several Utsusemi, managed to escape from the residential area and
arrived at the site of a discontinued factory.

Having hidden themselves under the cover of the factory’s interior, Natsume,
for the sake of confirmation, tried calling Tobio by telephone. However, what
entered her ear was only a message saying, “Out of signal area~”. The
communication use magic that had been placed in their ears had died out
before anyone had noticed. Either the distance between them and Lavinia was
too great, or else——.

By Natsume's estimation, in all likelihood those two had been taken

somewhere using some kind of transference technique of the enemy. In the
case of Tobio, whose power had been growing up until now, and Lavinia, in
the case that she released her full power without considering the
circumstances of her surroundings, even including the multitude of Utsusemi
swarming over the place, they should be able to cause serious injury even to
the enemy leaders. When Natsume and Samejima met Lavinia they
immediately witnessed her power——‘Ice Princess’, which could be called
nothing other than a masterpiece.

However, that power was so far beyond excessive, forget indoors, to make
use of it downtown wouldn’t be simple. This is because it would be almost
certain to involve numerous other people.

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Be that as it may, as for whether or not that power was manifested at Sae’s
house……it would not have been utilized. Because they had been Tobio’s
neighbors. Without a doubt, using that power there, not just the opponent,
Tobio and Toujou Sae would have been dragged in as well.

Being unable to get in contact with those two, Natsume immediately shook
her head. Seeing that Samejima struck the earth with his fist in vexation.

“……Not only was it a trap, but for some of us to break through it while the
rest are caught, what kind of mess is this? My own naivety makes me want to
puke.”

Samejima, who had been raising his own power in order to overcome the
defeat he suffered at the department store, had headed to Toujou Sae’s house
this time filled with confidence. But now, with the members separated after
the enemy tripped them up so easily——.

However, the same was true of Natsume. Tobio, Samejima who had grown,
Lavinia, and Vali were all companions, people who had been providing her
with unshakable confidence. In this last investigation, it had been
her expectation to have obtained some useful information regarding the
enemy attack.

That——had been shattered.

……Nevertheless, Samejima was the kind of person capable of self-reflection

and was able to see the bright side of the situation. Returning to his wild
appearance, in fact, Samejima was reflecting upon himself. He had also been
able to get along with the younger Vali without incident. Bearing this in

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mind, Samejima’s generosity was vast when compared to other delinquents
his age.

“……Either way, once again, we have to decide, whether to go back to that

house or to return to the condominium……”

Natsume was thinking over their next course of action.

Sounds were heard from outside the factory. The pair’s nerves were set on
edge, devoting themselves to concealing their presence as much as possible.

For a brief moment, they patiently observed……then a single small figure

appeared in the entrance to the factory. It was a young girl of about nine or
ten with her hair in braids. Having no memory of her Natsume peered at her
suspiciously. This factory……that a girl would come to such a place during
the day?

In the midst of this suspicious atmosphere, Samejima alone showed an

expression of surprise. Samejima stood up, and slowly approached the girl.

“……It can’t be.”

Standing before the girl Samejima dropped his vigilance and asked.

“You, why are you here?”

Was she an acquaintance? As Natsume reluctantly revealed herself, she

formally inquired of Samejima.

“……Who?”

“It’s Nobu——Maeda’s little sister[37].”

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Maeda Nobushige——Samejima’s close friend. He was the important friend
that he desired to rescue. His little sister……she was the girl standing there?

“But, why would you——“

Then, as Samejima was asking that——a blade was thrust into his abdomen!
With a particularly think sound, the blade passed all the way through his
back. …………From the girl’s hand, there was a distorted blade. Just like,
those tentacles carried by the Utsusemi——.

“…………!!!”

From the mouth of Samejima who’d been pierced through the abdomen, a
large amount blood was vomited out with a gurgling sound.

“SAMEJIMA-KUN!”

Rushing over, Natsume looked at Samejima’s affliction——she perceived

that the heart was intact despite the wound. It was a situation where it could
not be said that the wound would certainly prove fatal.

Furthermore the figure of someone appeared within the factory——. It was a

single young man. Seeing him, Samejima’s eyes widened.

“……Nobu……”

While losing blood, Samejima called out the name of his friend. Indeed, that
young man——was Maeda Nobushige. His eyes were hollow, indicating that
he was as yet under the influence of brainwashing.

“Kukuku……”

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The laugh of a third party echoed through the factory. The new appearance
——was a man in the latter half of his twenties wearing a business suit. The
man spoke while wearing a gaudy smile.

“Yo, it’s been a couple of days. Samejima Kouki of the ‘Four Fiends’. It’s
nice to meet you as well, Minagawa Natsume.”

Natsume had no memory of him, but upon seeing him, despite the fatal
wound, Samejima’s face instantly distorted with fury.

“……Doumon.”

This man was Doumon Kazuhisa of the ‘Utsusemi Agency’…….

Seeing Samejima’s present condition, Doumon’s smiled all the more broadly.
He spoke cheerfully.

“Why? For what reason? To be making that kind of face. Why, that Maeda
Nobushige should be together with a monster imitating his sister? The reason
is simple. ——That girl, she’s an Utsusemi that’s taken on the form of Maeda
Nobushige’s younger sister.”

Positioned beside Maeda Nobushige, there was the girl who appeared to be
his younger sister. She was……an Utsusemi!?

“An Utsusemi……with the form of Maeda-kun’s imouto-san[38]? Such a

thing is possible!?”

Natsume raised an astonished voice. It was a natural response. Up until now,

they had only ever been attacked by variations of existing plants and animals.
What had been brought here, unexpectedly, was an Utsusemi that reached the

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point of possessing a form identical to that of a person, something that was
beyond their imaginations.

Seeing Natsume and Samejima’s reactions, Doumon laughed with delight.

“Fufufu, did you believe that such a technique for making monsters that
imitate living things was nonexistent? Such ideas would be conceived by
ants. ——This is my hobby.”

“……Fiend”

Feeling displeasure from the depths of her heart, Natsume spat out as much.
That which Doumon had undertaken, it was an abhorrent idea. Something
like creating Utsusemi imitations of the relatives of their classmates, that was
a far too excessive deviation from ethical behavior. No, for such a thing,
there was no point at this late hour of doubting whether the people
responsible for this event were capable of it.

Doumon snorted through his nose with a *fun*.

“Well, I won’t deny that. ——Now, with that wound it won’t be long for
Samejima Kouki. The remains, that corpse cannot be left alone. The demon
kept within that Sacred Gear, if the owner dies, it will disappear
automatically until it is reborn inside of a new host. That’s what our comrade
the ‘Black Angel’ who grappled with the creator of that system was saying.
So, if at all possible we must forcibly drag out the Sacred Gear dwelling
within his body.”

……In actuality, their vulgarity knew no bounds. They were nothing more
than accessories to the Sacred Gears to them. To the end they were not
interested in anything aside from the power possessed by Natsume and

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Samejima. If it was for the sake of acquiring that, whatever the sacrifice,
whatever the means, they would do it without batting an eyelid. For them
who desired revenge upon the Clans, their eyes and spirit being clouded by it,
they had crossed over the final line for which they could still be considered
human.

“……I won’t let you.”

Natsume stood in the way becoming a shield for Samejima who was lying on
the ground.

……Looking over, Samejima’s cat——Byakusa, was extending its tail to

touch its master’s abdomen. Touched by the tail, it proceeded to cover the
affected area that had been damaged. ……This, while it was uncertain if it
medical treatment or such, it was certain that the independent avatar type was
operating in some manner or other on its master. It was unknown what kind
of outcome would be produced, but even if it was an unskilled operation,
being bound to him it was entirely incapable of fleeing, so the white cat had
no choice but to cling to him. In that case, what Natsume was currently
capable of——was to avert Doumon’s attention until Byakusa’s action could
be completed.

Seeing Natsume’s action, Doumon sighed.

“Either you are ignorant, or you’re just reckless……. I don’t hate things like
that though.”

From his pocket, Doumon produced several talismans, which he released into
the air as he spoke words of power. Thereupon, the talismans moved

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autonomously and formed the shape of a pentagram. Swelling from the
earth’s surface, a shape was formed.

Before Natsume’s eyes five clay dolls appeared. Doumon was standing
beside the clay dolls, smiling fearlessly.

“……Given that I have a fondness for completely demolishing such brave

dispositions.”

Doumon swung his hand horizontally, and with that the two front most clay
dolls rushed forwards.

“Do it, GRIFFON!”

Receiving Natsume’s instruction, the falcon flying about the factory’s ceiling
at high speed, flew at one of the clay dolls.

However, with that attack, the best it was able to do was to shave a small
portion off the tenacious clay doll, failing to destroy its gigantic body.

Doumon sneered upon seeing that outcome.

“Weak! Something of that degree, my doll won’t crumble from that!”

Nevertheless Natsume sent instructions to Griffon with her hand. Without

saying a word, Natsume had mastered the ability to issue orders to her partner
with hand gestures. This wordless approach, it was for the sake of her tactics
not being read. Otherwise, it also has the guarantee of working in situations
where one cannot speak.

After the falcon displayed numerous feinting maneuvers in the air, it

swooped down all at once. After putting on speed, and changing the

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sturdiness of both wings, it managed to cut through the shoulder of the
opponent’s arm.

A direct hit——just as that happened, the clay doll let loose with the arm
other than the one that had been targeted and severed! From the all too
sudden blow, Griffon was sent flying off to the side after taking the blow
from the arm! Griffon, having been blown off into the factory’s interior,
plunged into a pile of abandoned scrap material.

“GRIFFON!”

Natsume raised a shriek! The clay doll picked up the falcon from the pile of
scrap material. Griffon——had become completely limp, causing her to
realize how powerful that surprise hit had been.

Seeing the falcon caught in the hand of the clay doll, Doumon raised a loud
guffaw.

“Lookie, it was caught. In that condition——“

The guy gestured with his finger. Acting in concert the clay doll put force
into its hand; the hand holding the falcon…….

Gushari*

Together with Doumon’s words, from the factory interior the echo of a thick
sound was heard. From the clay doll’s hand, a large quantity of red blood was
gushing out and dripping onto the floor.

Seeing that spectacle, Natsume’s whole body trembled.

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“GRIFOoooooOON!!!”

At Natsume’s screaming voice Doumon, whose facial expression was like of

someone who’d reached the peak of excitement, laughed.

“FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Both the Sacred Gear you rely upon and

the boy who is your partner are in tatters. Come come, what are you going to
do next, huh!? Are you going to fight me with your own body!? Whether it’s
you or him over there! Isn’t it the case that without the Sacred Gears you’re
just ordinary humans?!”

The clay dolls were steadily closing the distance. Having lost the falcon that
was her partner, for Natsume frustration, sorrow, fury, all mixed together
inside her while her tears flowed, as she continued to stand there guarding her
companion Samejima.

“……Es……cape……”

Samejima was letting out such a fleeting voice, but she could not proceed as
advised. Natsume had decided. To achieve victory for them all——. For all
of them, in order to continue living, her mind chose to demolish the present
state of affairs. Therefore, Samejima cannot be abandoned. Nor Tobio, nor
Lavinia, not even Griffon……not one of them could be abandoned! For
everyone who had survived, to aid all of their classmates, to achieve a
resolution where they could all be smiling, these were her truest feelings, and
this was also what she alone had decided.

……To succumb to this. Or to be killed by this……!!

Even if she was the alone, this was not her destiny……!! Her own close
friend, as well as her classmates, she would finish rescuing all of them from

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this absurd situation!

“……I shall not be defeated by the likes of you guys!! Since we, without a
single one of us perishing, will safely recover all of our fellow classmates!!
I'll defeat you no matter what incomprehensible reason you guys have for
forming such a group————!!”

Her tears still falling, Natsume let out a scream from the heart. At that
moment, from within herself, a single loud “dokun” sound was produced
——.

The pleasantly smiling Doumon——his expression completely changed.

Looking over behind Natsume, his eyes widened in astonishment.

Prompted by that gaze, Natsume gave a fleeting glance behind her.

Thereupon——there, an electrical phenomenon being released from its whole
body——there was the white cat releasing sparks. While releasing a
*BACHI*, *BACHI*, sound, electricity was running throughout the body of
Byakusa. Moreover, as though acting in concert, the chest of Samejima who
was laying down was throbbing grandly enough that that a *dokun* *dokun*
sound could be heard.

“……Byakusa-chan?”

Natsume was showing a quizzical look, but yet another mysterious

phenomenon occurred. A strong wind began rolling throughout the inside of
the factory. This gradually strengthened, forming a whirlwind enveloping the
body of one of the clay dolls. Indeed, surrounding the clay doll that had
crushed Griffon, a powerful wind was born.

“……Griffon?”

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In front of Natsume who had asked this question, something happened!

From Byakusa and from Griffon, who was in the hand of the clay doll, an
intense brilliance was released, immediately bursting! Natsume had covered
her eyes from the excessively intense light, and after the light ceased the
appearance of the things that she saw left her at a loss for words.

Standing in front of Samejima, there was a huge white beast——. By the clay
doll, half of which’s body had been blown away, a four-legged monster was
floating in the air——.

Regarding the white beast, in spite having the form of a cat the size it was at
least three meters in size, possessing protruding tusks like those of a sabre
tooth tiger. Moreover, it had numerous long tails growing from it, all of
which included a sharp tip in the shape of a round cone. The whole body was
emitting sparks.

As for the huge four-legged beast floating in the air, its size exceeded two
meters. There were two pairs of wings on its back, and its head that
resembled that of a falcon had horns on it. However, the form of a beast had
been matched up with that of a bird, just like the griffon that appears in
fantasy productions——the upper half of the body was that of a falcon, and
the lower half of the body was that of a monstrous lion. Its whole body was
clad in wind.

Byakusa and Griffon transformed into these……? Other than this, no other
phenomenon was likely.

Seeing this condition, Doumon became extremely flustered.

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“……What, this is……!! These are……the ‘Four Fiends’!? Their original
forms!?”

A wind cut through and a *HYU* sound was heard. Passing by Natsume and
Samejima, something small moved about at high speeds. Looking about, it
was the numerous tails of the white beast, which were continuously moving
about the factory’s interior freely, finally swooping down upon a clay doll!
The clay doll took a guard stance by crossing both arms, which was easily
broken through, as throughout the whole body the white tails——the lances
pierced through it! Instantly, releasing a seemingly huge electrical
phenomenon, the clay doll was fried from the inside! Its entire body smoking,
the clay doll collapsed worn out and powerless.

Seeing that sequence of moves, Doumon shrieked.

“——Toukotsu! Truly, this is Samejima Kouki’s……!!”

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden gust enveloped the inside of the
factory! The large winged animal, was flapping its two pairs of wings on the
spot! The pile of scrap material was lifted up, and even the factory roof was
blown off by its vigor. Other than Natsume anything that was not tied
down was also launched up into the sky. As for Samejima, one of the white
beast’s tails was wrapped around him fastening him down.

The instant Natsume confirmed Samejima’s safety, a countless number of

sharp wave-like things attacked a clay doll. In no more than a second, the
clay doll’s entire body was covered with multiple scars as though it had been
slashed. Shortly thereafter, the clay doll crumbled into fragments all over the
floor.

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“This is Kyuuki!!? How unpleasant! That it would even be both at the same
time——“

Seeing the body of the transformed Griffon, Doumon was uttering as much,
only to then raise a shriek as he became aware of the change in himself.

“GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! M-my arm is

AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Indeed, from below the elbow, his left arm was gone. Regarding that arm, it
had fallen to the ground nearby. In all likelihood, it had been hit by the wind
blades Griffon had just released. Because of that, the arm had been cut off.

Doumon crouched down on the spot, writhing in shock due to the pain of
losing his arm.

“……These are Griffon and Byakusa-chan’s true forms……?”

Natsume was nothing but astonished at the transformations of her own falcon
and Byakusa. Truly, that this falcon and cat, that they would become such
large animals……. To borrow Doumon’s words, it was possible that these
were the original forms of the ‘Four Fiends’. Simultaneous with them
desiring this, they had sensed that as well. They were in a completely
different dimension compared to the Utsusemi. Considering that even those
clay dolls produced by Doumon——a special ability user, were massacred so
easily, that demonstrated how powerful they were.

The transformed Griffon descended downwards towards Natsume’s position.

Griffon, who since before had behaved like a spoiled child drew close to
Natsume. Seeing that, “Ahh, this child truly is Griffon,” Natsume said with

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relief. Even if the form had changed, the mind was the same. Naturally, she
was able to turn and accept this new appearance.

Surely, Byakusa and Griffon, due to the predicament of their masters, or

possibly due to resonating with their complex feeling, had seemingly
increased their power in an instant.

“What’s this, you’re still alive? It would have been settled without Azazel
getting mad at me.”

Suddenly the voice of a familiar young boy reverberated within the factory.
Looking in that direction——a silver haired youth was standing there.

“VALI!?”

Natsume spoke the youth’s name. The silver haired youth in a muffler and
short pants. He, after arriving, waved and spoke to Natsume.

“Yo, Minagawa Natsume. I was late. Given that there were tasks to finish.
I’ve come to meet up with you.”

In spite of seeing the circumstances within the factory he was relatively cool,
as though he had previous experience with carnage of this level. To have had
such experience at his age had an eerie significance……she was grateful for
his help as of present. Whether with regards to the wounded Samejima who
could not be roused, or because they ought to look into the well-being of
Tobio and Lavinia.

——Vali then looked over at Doumon. Doumon was picking up his fallen
arm, and then began running towards the entrance. He was planning to
escape. Sensing that, Vali stood in his way.

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“MOVE! YOU DAMN BRAT!”

Doumon verbally abused the youth. Vali twitched an eyebrow.

“……Move? About that——“

The next moment——glowing wings sprouted from Vali’s back. They were
wings of splendid light——. From those light wings, there was an unknown
pressure that was seemingly being released, overwhelming every being
present. Even for Natsume and the transformed Griffon and Byakusa, it was
certain that they as of the present would fall before this. This small built
youth, apparently he was an enormous monster.

Even Doumon’s whole body was shaking when confronted by the excessive
pressure the youth was releasing, to the point he dropped the amputated arm
he was carrying.

“Are you talking to me? A lowly human special ability user like you.”

While smiling fearlessly, Vali held out a hand——it was at that moment.

“……Wait”

It was Samejima’s voice. Turning towards it, his affliction wrapped in

Byakusa’s tail as an emergency treatment, Samejima had stood up. Due to the
amount of blood he had lost, he shouldn’t be moving. However, eagerly
standing despite the intense trembling in his knees, the delinquent took first
one step, then another, as he slowly approached Doumon one step at a time.

“……That guy, he’s mine to beat up.”

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Samejima, looking over at Maeda Nobushige who had lost consciousness
during the recent battle, clenched his fist after letting out a single breath.

The aforementioned Doumon who was trembling all over from Vali’s
pressure, had dropped to the floor unable to move from the spot. Samejima
seized Doumon by the nape of his neck and forced him to his feet.

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“Hiiiiiiii!! Forgive me pleeeeAaaase!!”

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Doumon gave an unsightly scream. Samjima, his face distorted with rage,
without stopping——punched him with his clenched fist! Doumon was
knocked back hard by that, falling prostrate upon the ground. After releasing
that single blow, looking over towards Maeda, Samejima let out a few words.

“…………Nobu, for the moment, I’ll let him off with this one blow.”

Saying no more than that, Samejima lost consciousness and collapsed. Vali
caught him skillfully.

Held within the small built youth’s arms Samejima was smiling contently
despite suffering from a mortal wound. Seeing Samejima like that Vali
laughed pleasantly.

“Heh, he revived to such an extent. How amusing.”

“Vali. Samejima-kun is……?”

Natsume enquired of Samejima’s condition. Vali examined Samejima’s

wound, and said.

“The independent avatar type Sacred Gear, it seems it applied lifesaving

treatment for the sake of protecting its master. The bleeding has stopped.
Well, that’s not to say the lost blood won’t need to be replenished……”

“…………The bleeding has stopped? Even though there’s an open wound in

his chest?”

“Yeah, look at his back. The white cat’s tail has plugged it. The ‘Four Fiend’
is mending the body of its master.”

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Just as Vali had said, the fatal wound that reached from his front to his back
had been plugged by Byakusa’s tail. Indeed, the tail had dissolved and been
assimilated into Samejima.

Vali continued speaking.

“Originally, the Sacred Gear was something generated by the body. Thus it’s
not surprising that the body of the independent avatar type is compatible with
the master.

……The abilities of these children, they were capable of such things……?

Regarding the ability she herself had acquired——Natsume was once again
amazed at the yet unknown variations of it.

While supporting Samejima, Vali generated a magic square at his feet. This
skillful silver-haired youth had even learned to use magic.

“I am now opening a transference magic square, which will transfer

Samejima to the Grigori research institute. If it’s there, I expect he can be
saved from this wound.”

Vali was promptly dealing with the aftermath. Indeed, this child was
unexpectedly kind.

Samejima and Byakusa who’d transformed into a large beast, followed by the
captured Doumon Kazuhisa, were transferred to the institute of the ‘Governor
General’s’ organization by Vali. Presumably, the latest classmate transformed

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into an Utsusemi——Maeda Nobushige, by means of the magic square, had
vanished without a trace.

However, the young girl-type Utsusemi he had been employing, after

seemingly losing its power it dissolved into syrup. For the sake of
investigating this mass of syrup, Vali had filled a small vial with it and
transferred it through the magic square.

——Then, Vali spoke to Natsume about the present state of affairs. Upon
hearing that Natsume was very much astonished.

“……The Five Principal Clans are moving!?”

Vali nodded to Natsume’s words.

“Yeah, everything regarding the location chosen for the Utsusemi Agency’s
hidden facility was leaked to their side. It seems a large number purge agents
will be heading there sooner or later.”

“Then, Vali the task you received from the ‘Governor General’, was that to
inform the Five Principal Clans of the believed location of their hideout?”

The youth nodded in response to Natsume’s inquiry.

“……Azazel is always like that. He uses me for nothing more than an errand
brat. Really, doesn’t he consider how valuable an existence I am……”

Vali slouched while grumbling.

……In that case, while they had been heading to Toujou Sae’s house, Vali
had gone and forfeited information about the location that was the foundation
of the main culprits.

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When that happens, wouldn’t even the Utsusemi Agency become peacefully
apologetic? Such might be expected, but with the Five Principal Clans who
had been cleaning up after the Utsusemi Agency up until now being aware of
the location of their hidden facility, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if they
entered and attacked them immediately.

……However, what was incomprehensible, why was this information from

the Governor General not passed on to them themselves instead?
Additionally, why leak this information to the Five Principal Families at this
time? ……With so many incomprehensible aspects, perhaps, the Governor
General was testing them? Perhaps thinking it would serve to break the
present deadlock, could he have daringly appraised Natsume and company
——the power of the Four Fiends and Ikuse Tobio? Or else could he have
mobilized them so that the Utsusemi Agency and the turncoat in his
organization would be moved to observe them……? Or perhaps it was all of
that——?

Vali enquired of Natsume who was thinking.

“Now, I intend to head out at this point; how about you, Minagawa
Natsume?”

“……Where to?”

To Natsume’s inquiry the silver-haired youth spoke with complete joy.

“——That ‘Dog’s’ location. It appears that they were taken to the hideout of
the Utsusemi Agency. We will retrieve them before the agents from the Five
Principal Families had a chance to reach their stronghold. That’s my new
mission. ——Are you coming?”

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It was the best invitation one could ask for.

——I will proceed to Ikuse-kun and Lavinia’s location! And then, I will put
an end to the Utsusemi Agency!

Natsume, nodding her head, accompanied Vali together with the transformed
Griffon.

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 God <<Slaying>> Incarnation of Destruction/
Canis Lykaon

Dog God of the Black Blade

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 Part 1

Having slipped out of the underground hall, Tobio dashed directly to the
elevator together with Jin. Waiting for him there were his fellow
classmates who’d been turned into Utsusemi. It was as if they were stationed
there awaiting anyone who fled from the hall. Two men in business suits
could be seen commanding them from the rear. They each had tied tokens to
their hands. Agency members.

“MOVE IT——!”

Tobio charged while screaming. Jin was rapidly bisecting the Utsusemi
monsters that his fellow students were employing with Night Haken. An
enormous plant Utsusemi with the appearance of a rose, an insectoid
Utsusemi resembling a stag beetle, in an instant they’d been cleared away by
thorny blades appearing from the shadows at their feet——by Haken.

Suddenly, he saw that Haken had also pierced a wall. Looking over, there
was a Utsusemi with a form resembling a chameleon that was mimicking a
wall. It had clung to the wall, seemingly to conceal its figure, but its abdomen
had been pierced by Haken. It was already dead, falling as it was to the floor
of the corridor. ……It seemed Jin had immediately perceived something that
Tobio himself was not able to see and followed up with an attack . Such
bestial senses to detect presences, this was something Tobio did not possess.

……No, it’s not just that. It’s evident that Jin’s ambiance had completely
changed since coming here. Jin’s small body was generating shadows that

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were spreading, completely dying a portion of the corridor black. The floor,
the walls, the ceiling, they were all swallowed by shadows incomparable to
that of the puppy’s physique. From that black shadow, countless blades had
sprouted. With every step that Jin took, the shadow advanced as it spread
along the corridor.

Seeing this the agency members’ eyes widened, and their entire bodies were
trembling. They dropped the magical talismans in their hands due to the
extent of fear they felt towards the tiny dog.

“KU!”

Shaking off his fear, one of the agency members once again produced
talismans from his breast pocket. However, a single Haken sword appeared
from the shadows on the walls, precisely piercing through the talisman he had
produced.

Since the talismans were now useless, with the bound token still being okay
the agency member switched to the hand form——but a Haken appeared
from his feet and instantly reached his throat.

At this moment of aggression Tobio was at a loss for words. Jin……had

already understood it. The talismans they possess, the hand tokens, he was
already aware that these were articles used to bring about supernatural
phenomenon. As a result, he utilized a technique to destroy them first. The
talismans, the hand tokens, his opponent’s fighting spirit——.

He hadn’t taken lives the way an Utsusemi monster would, since it was
apparent that Tobio his master was against murder. Having guessed as much
about his master’s true feelings this puppy had been influenced by him.

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It was not only Tobio, the agency member duo understood as well, having
lowered their hostility, and dropped what they were wielding.

While looking over at Jin, the agency members whispered to each other.

“……It seems its power was raised through instinctual resonance. Seeing that
battle between ice and flame……”

“……Within the thirteen varieties, several of them have been gathered here.
Merely one variety can be said to distort events, but with this many……”

Tobio, without giving any thought to their murmuring, spoke vigorously as

he took one step towards them.

“That elevator was a type requiring authorization. ——Would you be so kind

as to escort me up.”

For them whose fighting spirit had been diminished, they no longer had the
power deny Tobio’s request.

From the elevator, waiting for Tobio and Jin who had ridden it up——was a
multitude of his fellow classmates. Utsusemi monsters were deployed nearby,
which rushed at Tobio and Jin as soon as they passed through the door.

“SLAAASH!”

Receiving his master’s order, Jin turned into a black bullet and plunged into
the group of Utsusemi. Simultaneously distorted blades sprouted up

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throughout the passageway. The points of those blades accurately struck the
cores of the Utsusemi monsters, and from that single blow, they all collapsed.

Seemingly overwhelming, with just that amount of violence, in a flash Jin

closed in on the monsters without interference, and blew straight through
them.

“JIN!”

Tobio, who was trying to shake off the outstretched hands of his fellow
classmates, had been caught and was thrust away from Jin who up ahead.
Unable to follow him, this puppy’s master could do nothing but call his
name. For Tobio himself as well, the passage being blocked by his
classmates, it had developed into scuffling and grappling. However, as Jin
struck down the Utsusemi monsters, they would lose consciousness and fall
to the ground, so it didn’t become a serious situation.

In this manner, there was no need to worry about them suffering fatal
injuries, since in this approach they wouldn’t even receive injuries. Using the
minimum amount of self-defense to escape danger, Tobio’s body suffered
bruising all over. In spite of getting hit and kicked, he limited the amount of
times he retaliated against his fellow students. Because of the brawl, the
uniform he was wearing was in tatters, and he was gasping for breath.

Yet nevertheless, he faced each of his classmates who had been turned into
Utsusemi. As for Tobio, he was depending on Jin’s nose. Regarding Jin, he
had started to follow Sae’s scent that lingered in the corridor. Tobio, in
pursuit of his figure, gave chase immediately.

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Within the passage ahead of them, all lighting was suddenly plunged into
darkness. The moment he thought it might be an enemy trap, the emergency
lights immediately came on. And then, a flurried alert sound reverberated
throughout the entirety of the building’s interior.

‘Emergency alert announcement. Emergency alert announcement. From

outside, a hostile organization is approaching. They appear to be agents from
the Five Principal Clans. Repeat. From outside, a hostile organization is
approaching. They appear to be agents from the Five Principal Clans. All
members, evacuate your post, and following the emergency manual——‘

The red lights installed throughout the hallway were fervently flashing.

……Emergency alert announcement? The Five Principal Clans were

approaching from the outside? This location, it must have been leaked to the
Five Principal Clans. For all the Clans who seek to keep the ‘Four Fiends
Project’ under wraps, with members of the Five Principal Clans going as far
as to ensure that the media would not be alerted to the ‘Utsusemi Agency’,
it’s certainly possible to say they would attack this base once they discovered
it.

……Assuming that’s the case, there’s no time. Sae hasn’t been rescued
yet……. However, Tobio was struck by such anxious thoughts.

No, wait……. The Five Principal Clans, in regards to his fellow students and
their families who’d been confirmed to be in this base, what exactly was it
they were planning to do with them? Would they be safely sent home? Such a
thing was not within expectations. He had heard that they correct deficiencies
in their families. In that case, his classmates and their relatives——.

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Suddenly Tobio looked back. Behind him, his fellow students who had come
rushing at him were collapsed throughout the passageway. Having lost their
Utsusemi monsters, they had lost consciousness and immediately collapsed.
There was no transference by means of a magic square occurring. That may
be natural. Since they had been previously transported here, there was no
need to move them this time.

Seeing his fellow students collapsed on the floor, Tobio wore a bitter
expression.

……As far as rescuing those who are here, will I not have a second chance to
save them? Perhaps, regarding those guys from the agency, if they were to be
defeated by this raid against them, it seems they would abandon this base in
order to escape in one piece. In that case they…….

There wasn’t enough time for Tobio alone to carry all these people out. It was
also necessary to disconnect all of their relatives from that equipment. In that
case, what about Lavinia? If it was her magic——. No good. She was taking
part in a life or death struggle with a powerful witch down below. Even if for
arguments sake he had succeeded in rescuing them right now there was no
way for Tobio, who was lacking in comprehension of supernatural powers, to
move them all.

Well then, as the only one who could save them, who could he save……?
Could he only save Sae and her relatives……?

Having thought of this Tobio banged his head against the wall.

——That’s the worst idea.

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……Regarding myself, I had already made up my mind. Not just Sae, I
would save everyone. Sasaki, Minagawa Natsume’s friend, Samejima
Kouki’s friend, everyone——.

……I won’t give up……!! That I could just yield to such absurdity and leave
them like this, of course I can’t do that……!! I’ll save everyone! I will save
everyone!

……Well then, how do I……?

Not coming to an answer was torturous for Tobio. Certainly while debating
this Sae was steadily getting further away. There wasn’t time to think about
this. He couldn’t spare the time to come up with an answer.

Wearing an expression of anguish, Tobio raised his voice.

“——These ‘human beings’ are beyond comprehension. To think they can

use a human being in an experiment as though they were the same as trash,
and that it would appear to be an act of divine mercy to try and save them all.
Undeniably, they are beings beyond salvation.”

Together with such a lamentation, a man with long wavy black hair appeared.
He was a foreigner wearing something similar to a robe. After glancing at
Tobio and——Jin, the man spoke.

“……I’m someone from the ‘Governor General’s’ Organization. Thanks to

you guys causing a disturbance inside, invading was unexpectedly easy.”

……The ‘Governor General’s’ Organization. If that’s the case, he’s a Grigori

official? Unsure if what he said was accurate, Jin was increasingly vigilant
given the apparent pressure that the man was giving off.

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The man spoke while flipping his robe. He pointed down the passageway
with his index finger.

“’Dog’, up ahead, the man who is seeking his own death, he is waiting for
you. Go. You can entrust the matter of transporting of all the people here to
me. Since that is the task I have been entrusted with. Originally, it was just to
confirm the presence of the aforementioned witch but……”

The man dropped his gaze. It was as though he was aware of the battle
involving his magician comrade that was happening down in the basement.
The man let out a sigh and spoke again.

“Look, it’s as I said. Go quickly now.”

The man turned his finger towards the collapsed fellow students. Thereupon,
a magic square expanded underneath them, and following the glow their
figures vanished. It appeared they had been transported.

Tobio timidly enquired.

“……What’s your name?”

The man replied while seemingly uninterested.

“……Cadre of the Grigori, Kokabiel.”

Confirming that, Tobio bowed saying, “I’m relying on you,” and left
immediately. Already, he apparently could do nothing under the present
circumstances other than rely upon this suspicious man.

As he ran Tobio heard,

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“……I should have said already that I have no interest in Sacred Gears,
Azazel”

The man——Kokabiel’s voice could be heard letting out such words.

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 Part 2

Again advancing through the passageway the place Tobio and Jin arrived at
——was an upstairs room with a wide view. Most of the walls were made of
glass, providing an unhindered look at the outside. Looking around, a green
landscape could be seen below——. All kinds of trees could be seen filling
the entire area. It was clear that this place was somewhere in the mountains.

“Isn’t the scenery great? It’s the only place in this base I find to be pleasing.”

A sudden voice. Looking over in that direction, there was the figure of
Himejima Hanezu. Next to him, Sae was stationed there accompanied by an
enormous black lion.

Himejima Hanezu spoke while gazing outside.

“We spent many years establishing this hidden base within this remote
mountain. Here is the only place. This outlook room was made using one part
of the mountain. Since it’s surrounded by a barrier, it’s not visible from the
outside. Therefore, without being seen by anyone, you can have an unbroken
view of the landscape. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Himejima Hanezu wore a smile on his lips as he uttered this. As expected,

this place——their base had been built inside of a mountain. It was clear
from just a sweep over the exterior that, in regards to the mountain’s vicinity,
it could be reliably determined that it was a long distance between them and
the nearest town.

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He let out a single sigh, and after shaking his head, continued the
conversation.

“——Utsusemi, the reason we refer to your fellow classmates as such, you

understand it, correct?”

Even without Tobio’s answer, Himejima Hanezu immediately continued

talking as he stepped forward.

“Clearly it can be understood to be related to the name of our

organization……. Utsusemi[39], it’s the same name. ——It means ‘humans’.
Thus, the cast off skin of a cicada. Something which is hollow. ……Though
born into a family with a righteous lineage of supernatural powers, yet not
possessing the power passed on by that family, those were the people that we
have recruited to our objective. As far as the people from the Clans are
concerned, those people who didn’t possess the power the family desired,
they weren’t ‘human[40]’. They were merely ‘incompetent[41]’.”

His eyes——were gloomy with self-mockery, without any radiance within

them.

“We who were rejected by that value system were hollow existences——
Utsusemi.”

“……Then, the reason to call everyone[42] as such……?”

At Tobio’s inquiry Himejima Hanezu shrugged his shoulders.

“——Even when provided with power, they were still only human. ……
Remember this well, Ikuse Tobio. On our side, the definition of what is

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called ‘human’ is as varied as the number of people. Sooner or later, this is
something you’ll likely have to confront.”

……The definition of ‘human’. In regard to that Tobio did not presently have
a clear answer, something which Himejima Hanezu was sufficiently aware of.

He then, from his breast pocket——produced a tokko[43]. It was a ritual

implement with sharp pestle-type implements at both ends. Upon Himejima
Hanezu’s recitation of a whispered spell, the tokko automatically began
floating in the air. It then revolving around him. Thereupon, before anyone
noticed, there were two tokko. He supposed he could have misjudged, but the
number of tokko continued to increase, three, four, five……the number had
exceeded ten, all flying around the surroundings.

Himejima Hanezu spoke under these circumstances.

“……I, from the time I was a child, have excelled at handling ritual
implements such as this. Purely in regards to this, even among the Himejima,
I was number one in prominence.”

Once again he produced the shakujou within his hands. Step by step he began
to approach Tobio. Even while doing that though he continued speaking.

“My own house of Himejima, it’s a Shinto clan. Including the ancient Hi no
Kagutsuchi[44], we have faith in the gods of that religious system. Naturally
many were born possessing the supernatural ability to manipulate flames.
……As for myself, I was not blessed with such power. Despite believing in
the Hi no Kagutsuchi, as well as all the gods of that system I was unable to
receive any of that divine protection. As a result, here I am now. ——For
those who were unable to conform to the circumstances of the clans, even

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though we originated from the clans, we have been relegated to this. This is
the justice they have strictly observed since ancient times.”

That is to say, for him who didn’t possess the power of the Himejima——the
power of fire, there was no place for him outside of the ‘Utsusemi Agency’?

What Tobio had heard was worrisome.

“……Let me ask you one thing. Are the ‘Four Fiends’ and my ability also
things originating from the gods of Japanese mythology?”

Himejima Hanezu shook his head.

“……No, the sacred treasures——those supernatural powers which are

called Sacred Gears, they were not created by a system of gods belonging to
Japan. Regarding that, it’s a creation of Christianity——the God of the Bible.
Consequently they were originally an existence that is incompatible with us.
It is heathenism, the very thing itself being a heresy.”

……There was no relation between Jin and the Hi no Kagutsuchi? It was

something involving the God of Christianity…….

Tobio was perplexed at this unforeseen truth, the reality he had been
convinced of was again floating before his eyes.

The black angel he had encountered when he was a child——. The

organization that was protecting Tobio and the other survivors——the
Grigori. From the conversation with Himejima Hanezu, Tobio was beginning
to understand little by little. It was seemingly absurd talk, and yet the
summary of all that was said fits together consistently.

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The aforementioned tokko that Himejima Hanezu was manipulating, they had
completely captured Tobio and Jin.

“It would seem that the subordinates of the Five Principal Clans will arrive
here very soon. Indeed, from the time I had encountered you and that young
girl it was already my loss.”

He then, “Kukuku,” let out a suppressed laugh.

“‘Governor General’ Azazel, you had made certain of this from the
beginning. ……Well this seems okay. Regarding this alliance of like minded
people, those ‘witches’ that joined up with us have likely already fled. The
techniques we have cultivated here, it seems they will continue to develop it
accordingly. The ‘Four Fiends Project’ will be continued, and it will grant the
deep-seated wish those witches are seeking. It would be nice if we
respectively were able to accomplish our revenge against the Clans. ——But,
I shall not achieve that.”

Himejima Hanezu stood before Tobio. In spite of his self-derision, he said

this.

“——Himejima Tobio. Grant my desire. Make it come true. Remake the

ominous blade of the black dog born to the Himejima. And then, kill me with
that ominous blade. I won’t die by the hands of those guys. If I am to die,
allow me to perish by your black blade. ——Can you understand this?”

Tobio was exacerbated by Himejima Hanezu who was repeatedly saying

things that were impossible to understand.

“DON’T SCREW WITH ME! Doing something like that! That only results in
sorrow! Just to die in the end!? Moreover, you even want to be killed by me!?

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Don’t screw with me! DON’T YOU SCREW WITH ME! Besides! I……I’M
NOT A HIMEJIMA! I’m Ikuse! IKUSE TOBIO!”

Tobio was yelling those angry words, and yet Himejima Hanezu was still
wearing that thin smile.

“No, you are a Himejima. If you were not, we would not be here. That’s what
drew you into all of this, the blood of the Five Principal Clans. Particularly
because the power you wield is black more than anything else. It’s pitch
black. As the one harboring that darkness, it dishonors you to speak such
ignorant lip service. Don’t you think that even among your companions you
stand out the most?”

“YOU’RE CRAZY!”

Responding to Tobio’s scream Jin leapt forward! Moreover all of the

numerous tokko floating in the air around Himejima Hanezu faced towards
Jin. Jin, a single-edged blade growing from his forehead, knocked down one
of the tokko. ——But, with the exception of that tokko the rest changed their
trajectory in mid air, the pointed ends thrusting towards Jin’s flank! Jin
moved to avoid them entirely, the tokko also moved after him, and at last,
they captured the puppy and pierced his abdomen! Jin let out a shriek
“KYAN!” as he was knocked to the floor by that single hit from the tokko!

Jin, his whole body trembling, stood up. The tokko’s attack having been quite
severe, Jin “KAHA!” coughed up a clot of blood. Just the amount of damage
that Jin had suffered from that one blow…….The power of the man’s magic
——the power of Buddhism that was infused into the tokko was quite strong.

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However, nevertheless Jin hadn’t given up, his pupils shining red. From the
shadow at Himejima Hanezu’s feet, a Haken appeared! However, he had
already seen through the attack. Anticipating it he evaded easily, destroying it
with a sweeping blow from the shakujou.

As this was happening, several of the tokko flying through the air, setting
their sights on Tobio this time, attacked. Just before taking a direct hit, a
Haken formed from the shadows at Tobio’s feet in the form of a shield, but
just before hitting the tokko changed their trajectory in mid air following an
arc, sidestepping the Haken, and went flying at Tobio! At wits end, Tobio’s
whole body was struck by several tokko!

“……GUWA!”

His shoulder, back, arm, waist, leg, all of these places were struck by the
tokko, producing a thick sound. Just as he was assaulted by the pain, fell to
his knees on the spot. It was fortunate that his head hadn’t been struck……
they had purposefully not been aimed to strike there. It would have reached
an immediate conclusion had he aimed at his head. That wasn’t what he
desired.

……Together with the pain in his left arm and right leg it was as if they
weren’t functioning either. His arm and leg were limp. ……It seemed the
bones were fractured. The arm aside, having lost the leg was fatal. ……
Already, Tobio was no longer able to move around.

His master being on the verge of a crisis, a blackness sprung forth from Jin’s
whole body, enhancing his power all the more, but the puppy itself had
already suffered serious damage. Again and again he vomited blood from his
mouth. His internal organs had been injured. In this situation, JIn——.

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At this the black lion also joined in the offensive. Shaking its large body,
“Gurururu” it let out a low growl. Jin was also undoubtedly menacing
but……. The black lion in addition to Himejima Hanezu. It was a desperate
battle.

Jin caused a Haken to shoot out of the shadow at the lion’s feet, but the lion
leapt to the side to evade it. The lion took a deep breath, expanding its
abdomen. The next moment, the lion spat out enormous flames from its
mouth targeting Jin!

While expelling blood from his mouth Jin evaded these flames. Without
waiting a moment, the lion expanded the shadow at its feet. In an instant its
large body sank into the shadows. Only its shadow was left, and that shadow
scattered in all directions and ran across the entirety of the outlook room.

The shadows produced by the lion each possessed individual will. Each of the
shadows that had scattered relentlessly pursued Jin. One of the divided
shadows captured Jin as he was running around. The rest of the shattered
shadows converged there, again forming a large shadow. From this the lion
emerged. Having been captured by the shadows, Jin sprouted blades from his
body to cut away the shadows——but at the same moment he was struck by
a blow from the lion’s downward swinging forefoot.

“KYAN!”, a thin scream echoed throughout the outlook room. Having

bounced across the floor several times, Jin was laying there exhausted, unable
to stand up.

“JIN——!”

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His partner, the appearance of the puppy that was his other self, Tobio
screamed as he dragged himself towards the body.

Neither Himejima Hanezu nor the black lion gave pursuit towards Tobio’s
crawling form. It was already clear that the battle situation would not be
overturned. The opponent was far superior to them. Even if they were to all
take him on at once, defeat was inevitable.

While shedding tears, Tobio crawled along the floor barely managing to
reach Jin. The pain he was feeling, it was immaterial so long as he could get
to Jin. For himself who had no power, his small partner had been desperately
fighting. Jin, though still breathing, Tobio understood that his life was on the
brink of being snuffed out.

“…………Thank you……sorry, so sorry……I……because I’m so weak……

I got you involved in this……I’m so sorry.”

Tobio held Jin in an embrace, speaking his absolute thanks and apology.

Himejima Hanezu spoke while shaking his head.

“……You said that I was crazy. That was deserved. Since taking my place
here, a normal mind hasn’t existed for me. But, Ikuse Tobio. You haven’t
changed your ominous blade here, even omitting this state of affairs it’s not
as bright as before. Since the time you were born inheriting the blood of the
Himejima, it was impossible for you to be able to live a life the same as a
normal human being.”

In contrast with Himejima Hanezu’s sighing, Tobio complained while letting

out sobs.

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“……I……merely wanted normalcy. And, merely for recovering that
life……. Just to keep living with Sae and everyone, the students of that high
school……!! Why would you people ruin that……? For what……myself,
Sae, and even Jin here……!!”

Indeed, Ikuse Tobio——merely sought to reclaim that life he had lost. To

spend time with Sae, with his fellow classmates at that high school, to simply
live his life like that. The desire to be an ordinary high school student, it was
simply an ordinarily commonplace desire.

As for possessing supernatural power, since he was to be nothing more than a

seventeen year old high school student——.

Someone brushed the cheek of Tobio who was shedding tears. Tobio, as well
as Himejima Hanezu, were astounded by what they saw.

“……Coming to this place, all to take me back?”

Himejima Hanezu’s eyes widened in astonishment at the actions of that

person.

Sae, as tears poured down her cheeks, was standing before Tobio. Sae stroked
Jin’s head as Tobio held him in his arms. From that head, a blade was still
sprouting.

She, while wearing a pleasant expression announced to Tobio.

“……I’m truly……sorry. Was it……harsh?”

Sae——embraced Jin. The blade growing from his head, it pierced Sae’s
chest——. Obvious to everyone who saw it——the action left a fatal wound.

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Still embracing Jin, Sae lost all strength and laid down on the spot. Tobio
embraced the collapsed Sae. While smiling, Sae gently brushed the cheek of
the dumbfounded Tobio.

“……Don’t cry……Tobio……”

Tobio took her hand and tried to call out her name, but at that moment his
voice wouldn’t come out.

“……I……was happy……to meet you again……”

Still smiling, her hand slipped from Tobio’s hand——.

“……………”

Tobio was at a loss for words. He kept shaking his head from side to side,
unable to accept this reality.

Tobio——had come to rescue her.

This girl named Toujou Sae——.

For him who had lost his entire family, she was the only person important to
him. The one he most wished to save. While embracing her who was lying
there, Tobio overcame his muteness.

“……Aa……A, UAaaaaa……aaaaa……!!!”

……However, that life he had merely wanted to continue living.

……However, to merely pass the time uneventfully, tranquilly.

……However…….

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……However……to merely have continued living an ordinary everyday life
with Sae…….

“AaaaAAAAAAAAAaaaaa…………aaAAAAAA!!!”

Everything he had wished for having been severed, Tobio, tormented by

despair, wailed.

As Himejima Hanezu was watching this, a mysterious luminescent

phenomenon was emitted from his breast pocket. Sensing this, he retrieved a
wooden box from his breast pocket. That was what Himejima Hanezu had
previously withheld from Tobio at Toujou Sae’s house. That was what
Tobio’s grandmother Ageha had bequeathed to him——.

When Himejima Hanezu opened the wooden box, what was there was a tiny
crystal. The crystal was giving off a bluish-white glow.

Suddenly a voice was emitted from the crystal.

‘The fact that this seal has been undone is unfortunate, but it is apparent that
someone is abusing Tobio’s power, or else it seems that supernatural
malicious intent has been inflicted upon that child.’

Tobio remembered the owner of that voice. It was the voice of the dearly
beloved relative that was his grandmother.

“……The crystal is a recording of Ikuse Tobio’s grandmother, Ageha-dono’s

voice?”

This was what Himejima Hanezu determined.

The voice of his grandmother continued to be emitted from the crystal.

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‘Speaking to those who came into contact with Tobio while possessing evil
intent. I who have great compassion for that child have raised him to be a
gentle child. At any rate, that child……from the time of his birth he has
possessed the ‘merely-an-imitation-god’s’ forbidden technique.’

Hearing that, Himejima Hanezu’s facial expression——completely changed.

Those eyes that had been watching with a fickle expression this entire time,
were full of astonishment.

“…………!!! The Balance……Breaker[45]……!? That’s ridiculous……!!!”

The words of his grandmother’s voice from the crystal were truly terrifying.

‘I am informing those who have approached that child possessing malicious

intent. Having done this, since you have inflicted that child with malicious
intentions, it might be nice if you were to thoroughly taste the god-slaying
blade with your own body. ——Even your souls will be completely hewn
apart.’

The voice of the crystal continued speaking even more. This time it made a
simple appeal to Tobio.

'—Tobio, I’m sorry. It must be harsh. It must be frightening. I ask that you
please forgive me for not previously conveying the truth to you.'

It was the usual strict yet kind voice of his grandmother. For the present
Tobio, it was unmistakable. It penetrated his mind and body more than
anything else. While experiencing an optical illusion similar to his
grandmother kindly brushing his head, he listened carefully to the voice from
the crystal.

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'Nevertheless, Tobio. By now, it’s okay right? By now, there’s no need to be
afraid anymore. There’s no need to cry anymore. ——Sing. Even if you had
forgotten, by now you should have recalled it. Therefore, sing. ——The
forbidden song of the god[46]’

Hearing his grandmother’s voice, a memory rose to the surface of Tobio’s

mind. A memory that had been sealed within the depths of his memory——.

A day, when he was very young, Tobio had been escorted to a certain shrine,
and was instructed to do something within the inner sanctuary.

——Are you okay, Tobio?

His grandmother was tracing some kind of character on the forehead of the
young Tobio with her finger.

——Supposing, if there is ever a time you are truly lost, I’ll teach you an
‘incantation’ that will save you.

Beside Tobio——a large black dog was sitting there before he had noticed.

——However, can you keep this in reserve until the very last moment?

The dog’s red eyes captured Tobio. At that moment he realized his heart was
pounding.

——Since this ‘incantation’, it will take everything from Tobio.

As his grandmother embraced Tobio, she taught him the ‘incantation’,

speaking in his ear.

——You have not yet finished becoming a man.

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Thereupon, the black dog——while narrowing its red eyes its figure was
erased.

That sequence of memories was what Tobio had recalled at that moment.
Simultaneously, the ‘incantation’ he grandmother had taught was refreshed
within his mind.

Tobio, while embracing Sae and Jin, suddenly laughed.

It’s okay, Baa-chan.

I……am already finishing to become a man……!

Those who stole the tranquility of mine and……Sae……I won’t forgive

them.

Therefore, Baa-chan.

I——will sing[47].

If they are going to unreasonably assault me, us, then I, we, will be
unreasonable in return……!

At last Tobio began to speak——.

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<<——Behowlest the slaying of one thousand mortals>>

Tobio and Jin were each enveloped by a black haze. This gradually spread,
filling up the outlook room.

<<——Besingest the slaying of ten thousand goblins>>

The black haze was applied to his arm and leg that had been broken, and the
pain subsided in an instant.

<<——Mine name, immersed in deepest darkness, tis the Imitation God

traversing the Polar Night>>

Tobio immediately stood up. Jin who had been completely exhausted——a
black shadow spread from his feet, no, he was submerged within the
darkness.

<<——O ye, perishest by mine own black blade>>

Tobio’s whole body was covered by the black haze, which was clinging to
his body, and was being absorbed. His form transforming little by little, no
longer the form of a human, he had become something that differed from a
human being.

More and more darkness was expelled outwards from Tobio in massive
quantities, forming his new appearance. Having forelegs, hindlegs, and
possessing a tail, it opened its mouth that had become massive.

As for what appeared alongside of that, there was also something like an
enormous dog that possessed jet black fur——no, it was a <<Hound>>[48].

<<——Fools ye art, oh deformed Creator Gods>>

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As Tobio spoke this final stanza, the jet black <<Hound>> let loose a
penetrating howl.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

What had appeared before the eyes of Himejima Hanezu and the black lion,
standing alongside the brutal humanoid beast clothed in darkness, there was
an enormous <<Hound>> breathing out darkness——.

Himejima Hanezu, seeing the bodies of the two jet black beasts, was in a
trance.

“……Magnificent”

Towards him who had spoken as much, the two beasts glared with their red
eyes.

Ikuse Tobio who had been enveloped by clothes of darkness——the beast

growled offering a glimpse of its bared sharp fangs.

——For the sake of slaying this guy, it’s okay for me to be a ‘monster[49]’.

\\\

Minagawa Natsume, together with Vali, had arrived at the ‘Utsusemi

Agency’s’ base and some time had passed since they had entered and begun
progressing through the facility. An alarm was sounding throughout the

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facility’s interior. Since the Five Principle Clans, having received Vali’s leak,
had released their agents, they were sending those with whom Natsume was
acquainted, the relatives of the fellow classmates who had been retrieved
from the cultivation tanks, one by one through the magic square of
transportation.

Immediately upon invading this base, they had tied up one of the agency
members and he had spilled the beans about this location. Having arrived,
they had already shut down the equipment in this room, so all that was left
was to retrieve them. Natsume had Griffon release a sudden gust, swiftly
destroying all of the cultivation tanks.

Seeing this scene, Vali,

“It was a good arrangement.”

Said only that much with a fearless smile. With the destruction of the
equipment in this room, it was likely that someone was already aware of this.

Natsume then began to pick up and move her fellow classmates who had
collapsed in the passageway into the center of the magic circle Vali had had
drawn for their relatives, which would send them to the Grigori Institute.

There were still some Utsusemi monsters squirming within the facility, but
with the gigantic beast that was the transformed Griffon as an opponent, the
‘Four Fiend’ that had transformed from a falcon, by means of a sudden gust,
minced them all.

As for the relatives of her fellow classmates that had been put in the
cultivation tanks, they had finished transporting all of them to the Grigori

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Institute. The fellow classmates who had lost their Utsusemi were also made
to jump through the magic square.

“Vali! Are you able to search for presences or something? Are there
classmates here and there that you haven’t sent already?”

Natsume asked. Vali was closing his eyes, sharpening his senses to detect any
sign.

“……There aren't.”

At that report Natsume decided to resign herself. It was okay to take their
time. It was okay if they came across the Five Principal Clan’s agents. They
had saved everyone! They had rescued all of the fellow classmates!

Thinking about that while wearing a seemingly surprised expression, he

abruptly put on a frightening smile.

“……I guess this is also fine.”

Vali, having become excited, controlled his breathing before speaking to

Natsume.

“All that’s left is to pick up him. Head for the surface Minagawa Natsume.
The ‘Hound’——Ikuse Tobio is there.”

“B-but!”

I also want to rescue everyone! Anticipating this feeling, Vali shook his head.

“Rather than the Utsusemi pupils, if you cannot suppress the ‘Hound’ up
above, you realize that you may not have a second chance to return, don't

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you?”

So said Vali. Simultaneously, Natsume was left at a loss for words by the
phenomenon that was occurring within the room.

——From every location, warped blades began sprouting up.

This was familiar. It was only natural. Since they resembled the warped
blades that the puppy Ikuse Tobio possessed——Jin had released. It should
be that those would sprout from an object’s shadow. However, this was
different. An inexhaustible supply was sprouting from all over. From the
ceiling, the floor, the walls, the various types of equipment——. It didn’t
seem like it was limited to this room either. In all likelihood, the entire based
had sprouted warped blades.

Seeing this phenomenon, Natsume instinctively understood the true meaning

of Vali’s words.

“I understand. I’ll go to the place where Ikuse-kun is first.”

Announcing this, Natsume ran off entrusting this place behind her to Vali.

Running through the passageway, she proceeded to take the emergency

stairwell straight up. From every spot in the stairwell, blades were appearing
one after another. She steadily ran upwards, climbing up the first stairway in
one go and exiting into a passageway. Up ahead she confirmed a large double
door.

Having run until she was before this door, the instant Natsume touched the
door she experienced a feeling as though the pores all over her body had
opened. For an instant, her entire body had trembled. Whatever was inside

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was causing her to feel uneasy. Even though she had erased her presence and
was accompanied by the large build of Griffon, it was causing her whole
body to tremble.

Gulping down her saliva Natsume entered and looked around——.

It was an abnormal world of blades. From throughout the entire room’s

interior, every object had countless blades sprouting from it. There were
some which were straight, some which were curves, even some that were
zigzagged in shape. Floating in this immense darkness there was a bright
light. There was a figure who was illuminated by this bright light, that of a
middle aged man wielding a shakujou with a gigantic lion beside him. And
then, giving off an ominous jet black aura, were a pair of beasts.

One was a large black dog. Although there weren’t any blades growing from
his body, the face was that of Jin. Were that puppy to have grown up well, its
appearance would likely be something like this.

Now the other one——while possessing a dog’s form it was a humanoid

monster. It had a protruding mouth like that of a dog, and its ears stood up
like pins. From its mouth its bared sharp fangs could be seen. The arm
resembled that of a human, but it had sprouted razor sharp claws. Its legs
were identical to those of a dog, only it was standing on two legs. From its
back grew six tails——.

Seemingly sensing Natsume’s arrival, the man spoke while looking over in
her direction.

“……Minagawa Natsume is it? Fufufu, how good of you to have come. Nice
to meet you, I am Himejima Hanezu. I presume you’ve probably heard this

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name before, right?”

Himejima Hanezu——. The one from the ‘Utussemi Agency’. Natsume

understood that this was the person that had appeared before Ikuse Tobio and
Samejima Kouki.

Himejima Hanezu again set his sights upon the pair of black beasts.

“……You should understand somewhat, right?”

Regarding Himejima Hanezu who had asked this, floating in his surroundings
were several ritual implements——tokko which were facing towards the
black beasts. These ritual implements possessing supernatural power, they
moved freely through the air as they attacked the black beasts!

<<Kill kill kill KILL KILL KILL kill kill kill kill KILL KILL KILL kill kill
kill kill KILL KILL KILL kill kill kill kill KILL KILL KILL kill kill kill kill
KILL KILL KILL killlllllllllllllllLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!>>[50]

From the mouth of the humanoid black beast something like a curse was
being spat out. Hearing it made one’s mind feel odd, such was the power
possessed by the resentment in this voice.

The tokko Himejima Hanezu has fired, they all failed to score a direct hit.
From the ceiling, floor, and walls the numerous blades extended, resulting in
all of the tokko being chopped apart.

At this result Himejima Hanezu was anything but astonished, he was in

ecstasy.

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“……Already my tokko have been seen through huh. Observe, Minagawa
Natsume.”

He pointed in the direction of a windowed wall. In all likelihood, this was an

outlook room, which had been made for the purpose of observing the scenery
outside. That scenery——had been repainted in black. The entire visible
scenery had become a world of mountains engulfed by blackness——. Even
the scenery of the sky had been dyed black, wrapping the entire region in jet
blackness.

……When Natsume had arrived at this base the sun had still been up. It
should still be too early for the sun to have set already!

As she watched, from here and there throughout the mountain forests gigantic
distorted blades were springing up successively. The entirety of the
surrounding was being buried by the force of these bizarre blade-like objects.

……Natsume once again looked in the direction of the black beast. Already,
Natsume had understood. That humanoid black beast must be Tobio. In the
corner of the room she was able to confirm the figure of a young girl lying on
the floor.

……Seeing that, Natusme reached a rough estimation. After experiencing

extreme sadness, he had——.

——changed into a beast.

Tobio was standing right before her, in the form of a black beast.

After releasing a brave roar, the black lion sank into the shadows that had
extended beneath its feet. Once the lion was within its shadow, the shadow

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scattered and began shooting around the room. As each of them crawled
along seemingly with independent will, Tobio merely watched patiently.
Thereupon, raising both arms up high, he immediately swung them down.
Instantly, within the room countless huge blades sprung from the floor,
piercing through to the ceiling! Some of the blades had captured the black
shadow, and the captured shadow was once again forming the form of a lion.

The lion——had been skewered by the blades, but by violently shaking its
huge body it forcibly destroyed he blades. With the lion having been
released, it raced across the floor at high speed closing the distance to Tobio,
but Tobio also vanished in an instant, and without a sound the battle
commenced.

Tobio and the lion were moving at a speed beyond Natsume’s perception as
they battled. As the two black beasts were battling, there was also a black
<<Hound>> left behind——Jin who was steadily walking around the room,
his red eyes shining mysteriously.

With a *ZUN!* a single large thick blade appeared from behind Jin. The
black lion was pierced by this. Jin, having sensed the lion’s movements, had
followed up for Tobio. Tobio revealed his form as he approached the lion
head on.

While in that pierced condition the lion breathed out flames at the
approaching Tobio but——. Without any hesitation at all, and without
evading, facing straight forward, stabbed into the blaze with both of his sharp
hands! He kept stabbing with both hands until they reached the source of the
flames it was breathing out of its mouth!

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<<KILL kill kill KILL KILL KILL kill KILL kill kill KILL KILL KILL kill
KILL kill kill KILL KILL KILL killlllllLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!>>[51]

Releasing a shriek of deeply held resentment, Tobio slipped his hands into its
mouth and in one forcibly spread them apart!

The lion, its body ripped right in half, tumbled to the floor. With the apparent
death to its body, the lion melted away into the darkness——.

Natsume was unable to watch such an otherworldly spectacle without

shuddering. If she were move——perhaps she herself would be seen as an
opponent as well. Such was the degree of the fearsomely ominous aura Tobio
and Jin were releasing.

Tobio and Jin had destroyed the lion. As for the next objective, it appeared to
be Himejima Hanezu.

However, there was a third party that appeared at that moment. It was a silver
haired youth——Vali. Upon seeing this scenery, Vali whole body began
trembling as he smiled with ecstasy.

“……In spite of visually confirming Minagawa Natsume he’s hasn’t returned

to normal. ……Azazel……!! Isn’t this different than what you said……!!
What was that about a ‘cute dog comparable to a heavenly dragon’……!!
This is……that monster is……!!”

Putting aside the youth’s trembling voice, another familiar voice was heard
reverberating throughout the room.

‘Repainting the surrounding landscape on top of changing into a black beast

huh. Geez, that I would happen to meet a Longinus[52] with such a shady

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history.’

The plush dragon on Vali’s shoulder——its mouth was moving on its own,
and the voice of the ‘Governor General’ was coming from it.

The ‘Governor General’ addressed Himejima Hanezu.

‘Yo, chief engineer-dono’

“——!! ……Grigori huh.”

Himejima Hanezu immediately guessed as to the identity of the voice he was

hearing.

‘How about it? His power is quite irregular?’

The tone of the ‘Governor General’s’ voice was cynical.

“……This is that ‘Dog’ isn’t it? The one incarnation that overthrows
gods……it must be the dog of the black blade.”

‘Ahh, that’s it. That’s the correct understanding. His black blade is the one
said to cut even god. However, in any case, I hear that boy was born naturally
being able to express the Sacred Gear.’

“Isn’t that something particularly rare? The case of one being naturally born
with that——“

The ‘Governor General’ continued Himejima Hanezu’s words.

‘Ahh, that’s right. ——Ikuse Tobio was one who was naturally born that
way.’

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“…………That such a thing was possible……”

Contrary to Himejima Hanezu who was smiling fearlessly, Vali narrowed his
eyes saying, “It’s not such an irregular thing.”

The ‘Governor General’ continued.

‘Ikuse Tobio’s grandmother placed a seal on her grandchild who was

naturally born possessing power to break the balance of the world. You guys
came casually into contact with that in such a reckless and rude manner——.
You wanted to see it didn’t you? Abandoning everything for the sake of
seeing this form right? That comes at a price. It’s nice to have a chance to
enjoy being able to freely watch you getting sliced apart.’

Hearing that, Himejima Hanezu sneered.

“……Kukuku, it's fine whether it's the case of the ‘lightning’ or if it's this
case, the bloodline of the Himejima is being cursed, Oji-ue[53]……!!”

That sneer, it was a level of ugliness that he hadn’t shown until now,
however, he put on a satisfied smile.

Himejima Hanezu took one step forward. His expression was one of
satisfaction.

“——It should be possible for you with one of those ominous blades.”

He took one step towards Tobio, then one more. Again he launched the
tokko, and again they were completely shot down. He also attacked with the
shakujou in his hands, but a blade was produced from the shadow beneath

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Jin’s feet, cutting off both of his arms. Despite losing his arms Himejima
Hanezu again drew closer.

——Tobio calmly swiped horizontally with his arm.

Approaching until he was right before his eyes, Himejima Hanezu spoke.

“The Five Principal Clans, the Himejima, destroy them.”

Announcing that, Himejima Hanezu’s head went flying in an arc after being
severed from his body by a blade protruding from the floor——.

The black lion, Himejima Hanezu, both had been defeated by Tobio and Jin
——.

Natsume and Vali had been watching this happen…….

“——Well, how about it? Has it been boring for you having yet to encounter
the ‘Red One’, Vali?”

While saying that, the figure of a man was revealed at that point, a beard
growing from his chin. The suit he was wearing was very disorderly, giving
him a very tough impression.

“……It’s just your imagination, ‘Governor General’. ——No, Azazel. I

mean, for you to have come here expressly, particularly since you can simply
transmit your voice through this dragon.”

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Grinning, the man called ‘Governor General’ gently brushed Vali’s head.

Looking over at Natsume, the man gave a self-introduction.

“Nice to meet you, Minagawa Natsume. I am Azazel the ‘Governor

General’.”

This man was the ‘Governor General’——. Despite finally meeting the one
who she had only known by voice, this wasn’t a situation where Natsume
would become especially emotional.

For starters, they have yet to come up with some means or another to stop
Ikuse Tobio who was before their eyes. Appearing immediately as Natsume
was thinking of such things, there was Lavinia looking completely worn out.

“I am just a little bit late, Natsume.”

“Lavinia!”

The two of them having exchanged a brief reunion greeting, Lavinia spoke to
the ‘Governor General’——the one called Azazel.

“That you would show your honorable face is quite a big deal Governor
General Azazel.”

While saying this, she looked over at the completely transformed Tobio.

“……I see, this is what the big deal is.”

Having merely just seen it Lavinia seemed to understand what had happened.

Azazel then asked.

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“Lavinia. ……Did those guys escape?”

Lavinia sighed.

“I feel very regretful.”

“No, from the beginning I had understood that they would extremely
troublesome.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Azazel set his sights on Tobio.

“Now then, Lavinia, Vali. ——Let’s stop that. Lend me your power.”

Azazel took one step forward and Vali began following right behind him.

“Good grief, I’m always being asked to clean up afterwards. ——How long
do I have to put up with this cruelty?”

Lavinia also took off her worn out hat, and began advancing towards Tobio.

“Toby, please come and return to us. Haven’t we not yet conversed enough?”

The three of them selected a fixed distance.

Glowing wings grew from Vali’s back, a magic circle filled with powerful
magic formed beneath Lavinia’s feet, and simultaneously she summoned the
ice princess to appear beside her.

As cold air began to circulate within the room, Azazel who was leading——
had 12 black wings appear from his back with a *kasakasa* sound!

Lavinia spread her arms, and the princess simultaneously did the same. The
room was instantly frozen. Even the countless blades that were sprouting up

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had been frozen over, Lavinia’s world of ice. Tobio and Jin had also been
encased in ice. However, the ice engulfing them immediately began to crack.

“Ikuse’s Baa-chan! You had used Buddhist magic in order to manage it!”

From his breast pocket, Azazel produced something similar to a sutra[54].

While tying a token to his hand, he opened the sutra. The sutra started
glowing, with multiple characters floating up into the air. These floating
characters, they surrounded Tobio and Jin while laced with power. The
characters became a single, long chain that bound Tobio and Jin.

The encasement in ice together with the characters from the sutra were
restraining Tobio and Jin——.

“Vali! Steal his power now!”

Hearing Azazel’s order, Vali quickly flapped his light wings and closed in on
Tobio and Jin, touching each of them once.

The silver haired youth snapped his fingers while floating in the air.

“——Halve.”

‘Divide!!’

A powerful voice reverberated within the room, and even Natsume noticed
that the power surrounding Tobio had immediately been reduced.
Furthermore when the voice said ‘Divide!!’ , there was a light released from
Vali’s light wings in concert with it.

Gradually Tobio and Jin were losing power. As they watched, the darkness
outside was steadily clearing, and the gigantic blades were beginning to

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crack. After a short while, Tobio dropped to his knees on the spot. And
simultaneously with the cleansing of the dark regions, the countless blades
crumbled and dissolved. The dark clothes that had been covering Tobio had
come off, and his true appearance began to become visible. Jin was also
losing strength, having bent down on the spot——.

Due to the teamwork of Azazel, Vali, and Lavinia, Tobio was beginning to
wake with the total conclusion of the supernatural phenomenon, and the
room’s interior was also returning to how it was originally. Visible through
the glass wall was the splendid mountain forest scenery that was spread out
before them.

Confirming all of this, Azazel sighed.

“——Phew, with this one task has been completed huh. The Himejima
follow Shintoism, yet she was familiar with this sort of sealing technique. For
that she was banished, Ikuse’s grandmother.”

Leaving behind Azazel who was muttering such words, Natsume rushed
towards Tobio who had returned to normal.

“Ikuse-kun!”

Natsume confirmed that the fallen Tobio was breathing. He……was still
breathing.

He was alive! He was still alive……!! She was able to confirm that Jin who
had transformed into a large dog was also breathing while lying down.

Lavinia placed a hand on Natsume’s shoulder.

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“Everyone, they are all safe. Now, let us return, Natsume.”

Natsume, wiping her overflowing tears away with her arm, nodded——.

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 Part 1

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When Tobio opened his eyes——he was in an unknown sickroom. He
himself was lying on the bed. There was an IV drip injected into his arm.
Having regained consciousness, Tobio raised his upper body.

……His memory was vague, but he was able to recall to some extent what
had happened in the outlook room. Someone addressed him as he was
bowing his head.

“So you have awakened, Ikuse Tobio.”

Looking over, there was a man squatting on a stool a short way away. The
man spoke while closing the book he had been reading.

“I will once again introduce myself. I am Azazel. I am the leader of those

who watch over the children of God——the organization called ‘Grigori’.”

……This man was the ‘Governor General. Azazel. Leader of the

Grigori…….

Azazel continued speaking.

“Regarding my organization……well, we study a variety of supernatural

phenomenon, measuring them, and one of those is the study of Sacred Gears.
What we handle is extensive, from the abilities to the users.”

The man’s gaze was directed towards the far side of Tobio’s bed. Tobio
followed his gaze as well——on the far side of the bed there was a large
black dog that was curled up asleep. Tobio was instantly able to understand
that this was Jin.

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Azazel made an announcement while gazing at Jin.

"Your other self——the true nature of <Jin>, it is one of the Sacred Gears we
call Longinus[55]. Its official name is Canis Lycaon[56].”

“Longinus……”

“There are only thirteen varieties, those for which it has been determined to
have the ability capable of slaying God. That is what you possess, something
that is theoretically capable of slaughtering even God.”

Slaughtering even God……? Tobio truly felt that this was beyond
extraordinary.

“Natsume’s and Samejima’s Sacred Gears……are different?”

“Aah, they may look similar but they are different. However, one of the
abilities of ‘Canis Lycaon’ is that it calls together Sacred Gears of the same
wavelength.”

“……Then, the abilities of those two, Jin……no, I had unknowingly caused

those abilities to be expressed?”

……Minagawa Natsume, Semjima Kouki, the other ‘Four Fiends’ who had
not yet appeared, and even my fellow classmates. Everyone who had gotten
caught up in these events, it was originally all the result of my ability
summoning the ‘Four Fiends’……?

Azazel informed Tobio who was being tormented by his awareness of this
sin.

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“It does seem that they were summoned by your ability. ——However, those
who abused that, that was the group from the ‘Utsusemi Agency’.”

“……Since I possessed the blood of the Himejima from the beginning

though……”

To Tobio who speaking as such with his head bowed, Azazel sighed while
merely scratching the back of his head.

“Your ability, it’s one of the powers capable of breaking the balance of the
world. Naturally, you were a subject strict monitoring. In such cases, in order
to seal you and your ability, it would be a must to eliminate you. That’s the
extent of your ability. Moreover, since you had been born that way, that
ability to break the balance of the world was strengthening. It would have
been a natural result if you had been erased in infancy.”

Azazel spoke while looking at the scenery visible through the window.

“……However, both of your parents and your grandmother, they chose to let
you live. An act of this extent can be said to be quite immense. ——
However, at that time, I happened to come to lay eyes upon you when you
were very young. ……Ikuse Ageha it seems had, out of love for you, placed
a seal upon the dog’s power. I must say it was nothing if not magnificent.”

……Baa-chan.

The memory of that strict yet simple grandmother was resurrected in Tobio’s
mind. The grandmother, who until she died had respectfully raised him. His
grandmother’s good intentions had taken root in the depths of his heart even
now.

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Ant thus, from what this man had said, he now had gained an understanding
of the truth behind that experience he recalled from childhood.

“……As expected, you are……from that time?”

Before the eyes of Tobio who had inquired thus, the man grew twelve black
wings from his back.

Indeed, this was the black angel he had encountered by chance.

The black angel——Azazel brushed Tobio’s head with smiling bitterly.

“——Yeah, in actuality, it was a major thing, boy of the dog. As for myself, I
am what is called a fallen angel. A being that was exiled from heaven for
embracing wickedness. ……It seems you’re not gushing with emotion after
hearing about angels.”

Tobio shook his head from side to side.

“No, having seen Utsusemi, demons, and magicians, it wasn’t surprising that
there’d be angels……. It would be stranger if there weren’t.”

“There are numerous miraculous things in this world beyond your belief.”

Azazel spoke completely straightforwardly.

“Our organization, we study Sacred Gears and also observe their owners. If
we discover someone in possession of a powerful Sacred Gear, they become
a target of observation. The reason we met when you were a young child, that
was because there was a possibility that you were a Longinus possessor.
Supposing, if one was the kind of person to abuse the Sacred Gear, even
considering a case of just ability without your special characteristic, they

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would often times be eliminated. All for the sake of preserving the balance of
the world. ——Since for things such as wars, I must apologize twice.”

Tobio as well enquired of his upfront honesty.

“——It would appear that I must have been a target for extermination,
right?”

Azazel abruptly laughed.

“Originally that was the case. However, for two main reasons, that decision
faltered.”

He raised two fingers.

“One was your individual ability. The case of one being naturally born with
the prohibited condition to break the balance, to my knowledge, there are
only a small number of such examples over the past thousand years. All of
them with the exception of you had perished before we had become aware of
them……. You had been raised in tranquility for all these years in spite of
such an ability. Though that does seem to be due to the protection of your
relatives……it certainly was very interesting.”

Azazel now held up one finger having already explained one of the reasons.
While smiling bitterly——.

“As for the other reason……well, Longinus possessors other than you
entreated to us their desire to cease such methods of management. One of
them was a student of mine. The other one was a magical girl sent by an old
acquaintance of mine. To refuse those guys’ request would have been
something I’d regret for the rest of my life.”

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Azazel spoke while letting out a sigh.

“At the moment, we are observing the situation of all of the ‘Four Fiends’.
Well, currently, it’s a good way for my underling to become accustomed to
his power. To start with, we must assemble the remainder of the ‘Four
Fiends’.”

Somehow or another, it seemed things weren’t yet settled. The ones who had
earnestly requested this……apparently it was the silver haired youth and the
blond young lady.

He himself was still alive. However——.

At that moment Tobio began to overflow with tears.

“……I……Sae……!! I wasn’t able to rescue her……!!”

Of the events that had transpired in that outlook room, he recalled what had
happened right before he chanted that spell. It had been seared into the back
of his eyelids. Sae had embraced Jin who had a blade growing from his head.
That blade of Jin’s had pierced through her chest.

Tobio had been unable to rescue that cherished individual——.

With Tobio shedding nothing but tears, Azazel continued while scratching his
cheek.

“——Well, we gradually came to this conversation. Well, this is good

enough.”

Prompted by that voice, the door to the sickroom opened. Appearing from
there——was the figure of Sae sitting in a wheelchair.

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Being at a loss for words at this incredible spectacle, Tobio was only able to
mumble a single word.

“…………Sae?”

Hearing Tobio’s voice, Sae held her hands to her mouth.

“Tobio……”

Azazel informed Tobio who thought he must still be dreaming.

“……You remember those prayer beads your grandmother had left behind?”

Before the start of the school trip, Tobio had handed a string of prayer beads
to Sae as a charm——.

“About that. It had a protective spell of your grandmother’s placed upon it.
What happened at that time was it had used its one time effect of substituting
itself to protect the owner’s body. Even though she was pierced by that dog’s
blade, there was no visible damage received by her body when it was
removed. The prayer beads then shattered and dispersed.”

——She was protected by Baa-chan’s prayer beads.

…………Baa-chan. ……Baa-chan is, even after dying, still protecting me,

both me and Sae…….

With his grandmother’s love, as well as Sae’s safety, Tobio could do nothing
but endlessly shed tears.

Azazel spoke up.

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“……Regarding the care for the students of Ryoukou High School, they are
presently undergoing treatment. After the Utsusemi have been removed, they
are scheduled to be released along with their relatives. However, their
memories of this current affair have been fabricated to a certain extent.
Memories regarding them, regarding us……and regarding those fellows, it’s
all been taken care of. We will be strictly monitoring everyone from the
agency, to the point that they would feel it would be better to just die.”

Indeed, the relatives of their fellow classmates had been rescued from that
hideout. Their fellow classmates……they were being hidden by the Grigori.
It was good that they would lose their memories. With all the misfortune
involved in these unfathomable events, it was better for ordinary people not
to be aware of it. With only a little monitoring, they could continue
living……that was always a good thing.

Azazel again added one more thing.

“……However, this child’s memory was left as is. Since this child personally
refused.”

——!

……Tobio was speechless. Sae’s memory of all that had happened in this
incident, about Tobio being a supernatural power user, about she herself
being utilized by the ‘Utsusemi Agency’, they had been left behind without
being erased.

“Well then, see you later.”

Leaving such parting words, Azazel left the sickroom.

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Tobio and Sae were left behind. Making use of the wheelchair, Sae moved to
Tobio’s side.

Sae took Tobio’s hand as she shed tears.

“……Tobio……I’m sorry. ……Was it harsh……? ……I, and everyone

else……all because we were unable to fight back against them……I’m sorry,
I’m truly sorry……”

“It’s okay. So long as you’re safe.”

Tobio embraced Sae raising her from the wheelchair, and said just one thing.

“——Welcome home, Sae.”

“……Tobio, I’m home.”

Finally——.

Finally, she had come home from her long trip——.

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 Part 2

“You were safe huh, Ikuse!!”

Tobio was teasingly poked with a crutch by Samejima. Samejima had not yet
fully recovered from his injuries, and was relying on crutches for his daily
life. In a short while, it was said he would return to his regular life.

It had been ten days since that battle, and they had again gathered at the usual
condominium. Tobio, Natsume, Samejima, Lavinia, Vali and now——
Toujou Sae had joined their membership. Sae had not yet retired from using
the wheelchair, and Samejima likewise still required a cane in his present
condition.

Natsume spoke to Sae.

“That you wouldn’t choose to leave behind those memories……even though

it generally would be the more pleasant choice. Isn’t it harsh?”

Such as in the case of Natsume’s friend, it had also been Natsume’s desire
that the memories of those series of events be sealed. The matter of the trip as
well had been covered with a skillfully fabricated memory. Regarding this,
Samejima’s buddy——Maeda was also the same.

Of the former second year students of Ryoukou High School, with the
exception of those who possess Sacred Gears, Sae was the only one who was
aware of the truth of the entire affair.

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“Uh-uh. After all, Jin-chan is so cute.”

Sae replied as such as Jin, who had transformed into a large dog, was licking
her cheeks. For Jin who had undergone such major changes, it wasn’t that he
had become more emotionally attached to Sae instead of Tobio, that was just
an illusion caused by him getting spoiled by her.

Contrary to the transformed Jin, the Sacred Gears of Natsume and Samejima
——Griffon and Byakusa, they had returned to the appearance of a falcon
and cat respectively. Probably, they took on their previous forms for the
purpose of convenience during everyday life, or so the 'Governor-
General'——Azazel had informed them.

Looking at Natsume's appearance, Samejima was making a bitter smile.

"However, it's not possible for you to say that with that appearance, ain't that
right?"

In regard to what Natsume was wearing, it was a uniform supplied by

Azazel's organization——the Grigori.

Using blue as it's basic tone, the design took some small departures when
compared to the typical high school uniform.

Rather than a school uniform……it had the appearance of an agency

uniform, much like that often seen in anime and manga for middle and high
school students belonging to special countermeasure-type organizations. At a
glance, it looked like nothing other than cosplay.

"It can't be helped, can it. Since I'm going to the school prepared by the
Governor-General, I was told to wear this."

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While looking at her own appearance, Natsume said this.

Hearing that, Samjima's facial expression changed to one of complete

boredom.

"……Seriously, this is the uniform of that aforementioned mock school?"

For Tobio and the others who had experienced the fantastic world that was
the other side of this world——specifically the supernatural side, it was
absurd that they would return to their previous lives. Relying on Azazel's
organization that was presently aiding them——the 'Grigori', it was decided
that Tobio and the others would change the school that they were attending.

It was decided that Tobio and the others would be moving into an institution
under the control of the Grigori——referred to as 'Nephilim[57]' where there
were other boys and girls who possessed Sacred Gears. The 'mock school'
Samejima had just mentioned, that was the place.

In truth, in regards to this apartment building itself, it was also the student
dorms for students of this 'Nephilim'…….

As discussed, the class Tobio and the others would be transferring into was
referred to as 'Barakiel Class'.

Even while having a premonition of their new lives, they had all met up in
the room where they had watched the video of the Utsusemi at the beginning.
Squatting in the middle, Lavinia again recounted the reason why they had
been asked to gather together here.

“There is no other purpose for having us gather together. It was so I can once
again explain why I cooperated with everyone.”

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That is, what the reason was for Lavinia to participate with them against the
‘Four Fiends Project’ implemented by the ‘Utsusemi Agency’.

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Her pursuit of that magician, the one who had been cooperating with the
‘Utsusemi Agency’, how that had started in the first place. Those magicians,
they had disappeared to someplace without inviting the survivors of the
agency.

Lavinia explained.

“This is something from long ago. I belong to a magician association, one

that was completely split in two due to a certain event. One half, remaining
on Earth, has not had a change in management to this day. I am also a
member of this organization which is called ‘Grau Zauberer’. However, as
for the other group, utilizing original barrier magic, constructed an original
territory in the ‘Dimensional Gap’ which straddles the boundaries between
the worlds.”

Lavinia took out a single book. This was——a picture book. In all likelihood,
it was a book that she wanted to show to everyone——.

“This book is?”

Lavinia continued speaking while taking the picture book in her hand.

“Appearing within this picture book is the proof behind the reality of this
world that they created. The author became aware of this worlds by chance,
and it is certainly the territory they had created in the ‘Dimensional Gap’.”

Lavinia then clearly stated.

“These wizards——they are the ‘Wizards of Oz’.”

——!

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……As one would expect, all of the members found this information to be
astounding. Only Vali accepted everything without being perturbed.

——As far as the old woman and young girl magicians they had encountered
in the vast underground chamber were concerned……they were called ‘The
Wizards of Oz’?

Lavinia continued.

“I——Grau Zauberer along with the Gigori have been pursuing magicians
who had infiltrated from the magical domain known as ‘Oz’——they were
collaborating with a traitor within the Grigori, leader class fallen angel
‘Satanael’.”

Oz——,

Moreover a traitor within the Grigori——‘Satanael’.

While also being concerned about the movements of the remaining fellow
students who were among the ‘Four Fiends’, also approaching Tobio and
company was an otherworldly visitor they had not been expecting.

Thus, in the midst of the three way conflict between the ‘Grigori[58]’ who
pursue Sacred Gears, the ‘Five Principal Clans’ who govern the Four Spirits
and the Ouryuu[59], and the ‘Wizards of Oz’ who had won over leader-class
fallen angel Satanael, becoming the blade of the gang of the black wings, the
story of the ‘Dog’ that slays an endless variety of supernatural powers begins.

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This was the person, the one who would later become known as
‘Slashdog’——.

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 Five Principal Clans/Himejima

At a certain place——the main shrine of the Himejima Clan, members of the

family were meeting in the outer sanctum. With equally stern expressions, all
members present at this time were aware of the truth behind the events that
had occurred. The base of the ‘Utsusemi Agency’ was more or less under
control. ……Although a number of fugitives had escaped, the remains of one
of the masterminds——those of Himejima Hanezu had been recovered.
Because of that, for now at least everything had been resolved.

In the complete and utter silence, an aging man with a grim face who was
squatting before the inner sanctum let out a whisper.

“——It would be nice if our ties to the fate of Grigori were brought to an
end.”

With that one sentence the outer sanctum erupted with noise. The members of
the Clan all began speaking their views simultaneously.

“Suzerain[60], is that okay? We have seen that one case——the negotiations

over Akeno already reach a conclusion but”

The aging man——the Himejima family Suzerain, let out a single sigh as
though uninterested.

“That was resolved through a secret agreement with the duke family of the
seventy-two pillars. ——However, that black winged gang, with them
consistently setting foot in the territory of the Himejima, even we cannot just

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sit back and watch. Protecting this country since antiquity, one of the five
families, that is our own Himejima.”

These were not at all hesitant words. Strong unshakable will permeated
throughout the minds and bodies of everyone present——.

The members of the Clan were successively stating their opinions on the
information.

“We should utilize this opportunity to shorten the gap with the other families.
Their side also has unexpected supernatural power users——and after all the
sacred treasure possessor was taken away by the Grigori.”

“The Shinra side as well, I hear that they have a daughter who possessed
a mirror sacred treasure that had the power to contact with devils. It is clear
that it is in no way a coincidence that such calamities have befallen the Five
Principal Families at once.”

“The magician association——‘Grau Zauberer’, have we been sounded out

by them out to form a cooperative relationship in regards to this matter?”

Hearing these few words, the suzerain took out a single piece of paper. ——It
was a document written with magical characters. That appeared to be an
appeal for cooperation the magician association known as ‘Grau Zauberer’.

Remaining expressionless, the suzerain formed a fire phenomenon in his

hand, and in an instant turned the paper the appeal had been written on into
ashes.

“——It is not necessary to collude with foreign practitioners. We must

display a separation between us and Mephisto Pheles who leads ‘Grau

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Zauberer’. The same for that Azazel, since he is no more than a swindler.”

Indeed, that was all there was to say.

For the people of the Clan, it was unanimous after all.

"As far as that black winged gang is concerned……the Vatican might also
move."

"It's alright if it's mutual nonintervention. If it comes to conflict, it's enough if

we censure them at that time."

The suzerain gave a strict reply.

As for the clan members, their mouths continued speaking.

“However, there is the matter of ‘Oz’……the world like that from the picture
book.”

“……Grigori, Oz, and those who rebelled against the Five Principal Clans
keep popping up one after another……”

The members of the clan who couldn’t hide their unrest was not negligible. It
was only natural. While they were already aware of the group of fallen angels
and the magicians association, to say nothing of the treason of the ‘Utsusemi
Agency’, it was truly unexpected that it would turn out that ‘Oz’ was
involved in these events. Until now, among those who were part of the Five
Principal Clans, none of them had believed such a place had existed. Even
among those that had gathered here, there were those that were still in doubt
about it.

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Even within this the Himejima suzerain——Himejima Suou came to a clear
decision.

“No matter what, if such a demonic Rasetsu[61] were to set foot in

Hinomoto[62] bringing disaster, it is our assigned role to completely eradicate
it.”

Everyone quietly nodded their head in accent at this.

——But, letting out a sigh, Himejima Suou said this.

“Truly, the ‘dog’ produced from the genealogy of my elder sister who was
exiled from the family……. The matter of the ‘lighting’ was enough, what
kind of strange thing had possessed this family?”

It had been some decades earlier that the sister of Suou——Ageha had been
exiled from the Clan. Since then, as far as contact with each one went, they
had not encountered one another. However, he could not have guessed that
from her lineage such an aberration would be born. Was it something that had
been brought into the Himejima bloodline? Or else, could it not be the result
of a wish to a heathen god of mischief?

“However, it can’t be helped that something like that was produced from the
Himejima bloodline. ——Suzaku.”

At the suzerain’s call, the form of a single individual appeared.

“Yes.”

It was a young girl with beautiful long black hair. Her black hair had a
glossiness as though it were wet. She possessed a frigid atmosphere, one that

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was orderly without a hint of hesitation.

Regarding the age of the young girl——Himejima Suzaku, she was

seventeen as of this year. Her appearance was fitting given that she was one
of the granddaughters of Himejima Suou’s other older sister. As of this year,
she had been the one talented woman from all of their relatives who had
inherited the sacred beast ‘Suzaku’ that was governed by the Himejima. No,
in recent years, the one’s who had inherited the sacred beasts of each of the
respective Five Principal Clans had been remarkably young. Based on this,
the efforts the families had undertaken to bring in good blood, they appeared
to have borne fruit.

However, apart from that there was something else that Suou who was the
suzerain harbored towards this daughter. That was, she strongly resembled
the first one he had raised——Shuri, who had since left them. The mother of
Suzaku, she had been Shuri’s biological older sister. That Shuri had also been
ensnared by that black winged gang, and had lost her life as a result.

The suzerain——Suou had unintentionally thought back upon that. After

closing his eyes, he spoke to her——Suzaku.

“I request of you the herald who will become the next head of the Himejima.
——As the representative of the family members who names begin with
‘Red’, can you display the fire dance for us?”[63]

She——Suzaku, gave a deep bow.

I would be honored to, Ooji-sama[64].”

Hearing that one line from Suzaku, Suou calmly nodded. ——But, Suou,
narrowing his eyes, lowered his gaze to the floor.

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“However. ……Towards the daughter of ‘lightning’ that is aligned with the
devils. Towards the ‘dog’ of darkness that is aligned with the black
angels……”

He, speaking in a whisper.

“For the time being, we should designate him as ‘The Fallen Dog God’."

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 Four Divine Beasts/Himejima Suzaku

Having been honored by the order from the suzerain at the main shrine,
Himejima Suzaku was walking through the grounds.

“Yo.”

Raising a cry, there was a boy in spectacles who appeared to be about the
same age as her. Possessing long slender limbs, he was a handsome boy. The
strange aura surrounding his body was equivalent to that of Suzaku’s, or
perhaps even…….

“What’s your business here, Seiryuu-chan of the Kushihashi family?”

Suzaku inquired as such. The boy——Kushihashi Seiryuu shrugged.

“Inquiring if it will become a three way fight with the gang of fallen angels
and the magicians from the picture book.”

Suzaku resumed walking as she spoke.

“Well, I guess it gets busy around here. It’s not as though you won’t be
working hard as well.”

While following behind her, Seiryuu replied.

“Since that would also be the decision of the family as well, though we will
have no other than to comply as well. ……Other than that I had to come
flying over when I heard that the Himejima had produced the ‘Dog God’.
Amazing isn’t it, that it would be one of the Longinus?”

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Suzaku stopped walking and spoke without turning around.

“Isn’t it ironic? That such a dark blade would be born from the Himejima
who govern Shintoism?”

Sensing Suzaku’s atmosphere, Seiryuu put on a bitter smile.

“Scary scary.”

Seiryuu changed the topic as he continued.

“Are you aware of even that, Suzaku? That its mere presence would gather
the Four Fiends?”

“——The matter of the ‘Four Fiends’ and the ‘Dog God’. For the old man-
sama of the Himejima however, he has more than had his fury aroused.”

“The Himejima are interesting huh. Coming from here, there’s a high
frequency of irregularities. From the misconduct involving the fallen angel,
up to giving birth to the Dog God. And only you are its salvation huh?”

“No, even I was originally from the dark side. It’s merely that I could only be
pardoned for those days. ——Seiryuu, although it’s a sin, I would like you to
prepare a meeting place for the other members from the Four Divine Beasts
and the Ouryou-dono.”

At these words of Suzaku, Seiryuu smiled cheerfully.

“——That’s your move huh? This ought to be fun. However, aside from
Genbu-chan and that rambunctious Byakko, are you really going to go as far
as to summon Ouryuu? That person is far harder to please than you can
guess.”

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Suzaku gathered together all of her long hair in the back——forming it into a
ponytail.

“To make sure, I have to see this personally. Not only the ‘Four Fiends',
Ikuse Tobio——. For myself, eventually, even that child Tobio, even that
matter of the ‘lightning, I will have them recognized as part of this family.
——I will accept even the family’s darkness.”

The <<Dog>> and the ‘Four Fiends’, as well as the ‘Four Divine Beasts’ and
the ‘Yellow Dragon’, they were each about to meet the other——.

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 Convictor/Budding Sword Enthusiast

A certain place in Italy——

There was a rural town's high school in an outlying province. At that old
school building, an exorcist was taking decisive action.

Using that high school's old school building as a stronghold, a devil and its
household would gather night after night. They would invite the surrounding
residents with sweet words, grant their desires, and would then acquire
compensation.

Having detected the aforementioned things of that sort in proximity to

Christianity——the Vatican that was Catholic headquarters, it wasn't
something that the followers who had been cutting down devils and fallen
angels for years could just overlook.

The vatican had immediately sent in an agent——a warrior, who then

performed an exorcism ceremony on the devils.

The ceremony——in other words, to destroy the devil.

The interior of the old school building that had become the devil's stronghold,
its entirety was soaking with blood. Whether it was the corridor, the walls,
the chairs, the desk, just about everything was covered with blood.

As for the cause, a sword releasing holy waves, held in the hand of a male
catholic priest, had accomplished the salvation of the devils.

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The ancient longsword that was releasing strong holy aura from the blade,
without difficulty it had cleared away the household of the devil that had
made the old school building its stronghold, and had annihilated them.

As for the devils that were slain by the specialized weapon that converted
holiness into divine protection, since it was not any sort of high ranked being,
it had been reduced to rubbish before vanishing. Especially for the legendary
armaments known as 'Holy Swords', the powerful aura was capable of
vanquishing even such high ranked beings.

The sword wielded by the male Catholic priest also belonged among those
legendary 'Holy Swords'.

For that reason, even though the devil that was in this old school building was
High Class, they couldn't avoid a fatal wound once struck.

The male Catholic priest was a mid-thirty-year-old of Italian lineage. While

stroking the stubble on his left hand, he had cornered the chief of the devils
inside of a room on the second floor of the old school building.

The devil who had been employing household——was a female devil. By

appearance she appeared to be about a girl of about eighteen years of age, but
since devils could change even their appearance, you couldn't acertain their
age from a glance.

The Catholic priest spoke.

"It's regrettable, but your entire household has been destroyed. What's
left……is only you huh."

The the girl that was a devil glared at the Catholic priest and shrieked.

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"How dare you murder my household, you annoying divine messenger!!"

The eyes of the girl devil released a perilous brilliance, and a blue colored
aura gathered around her hand. Aiming her hand towards him, she fired the
the power of the devils——demonic power. If it was to score a direct hit,
even the Catholic priest wouldn't come away from it safely.

……But, the Catholic priest easily evaded it, and quickly sneaking into the
girl devil's bosom, performed a sweeping swing with the holy sword.

An instant later, the girl devil raised a cry of deadly agony. With smoke
rising from her whole body, her figure crumbled little by little, until finally it
vanished.

Having completely slaughtered the devils of the old school building, the male
Catholic priest gave the holy sword a single swing before he returned it to its
scabbard.

Having completed the devil salvation, the Catholic priest exited the old
school building.

Waiting for him in front of the gate was the one serving as his assistant, a
white haired boy who was also his disciple. The boy of thirteen was making a
mischievous face. As for his garb, it was a priest's clothing for boys.

The boy, before the figure of his teacher who had finished his work
essentially uninjured, was in high spirits.

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"Hey there, if it isn't Teach David! Even with fiendish heinous devils as
opponents you altogether beautifully invincibly smashed them completely! I
also placed a barrier around the old school building just as instructed."

Before his merry pupil. the male Catholic priest——David Serro, rapidly
confirmed the contents of the next job from a note in his pocket. His orders
had been written on it.

……On that note, there was information on suspicious activity in Japan

involving fallen angels and a group of magicians, and the order to head there
had been written on it.

The young boy who was his disciple inquired as he peered at the note.

Teach David, Teach David! As 'spected, it turns out we're going there right?"

David confirmed the orders and placed the note in his pocket.

The male Catholic priest David Serro was a vatican agent——a church
warrior. Thus far, not only fiendish devils and fallen angels, he had also
completely slaughtered evil monsters. The 'Holy Sword' that he possessed,
that power that he wielded, that was his only strength.

"Yeah, on top of that we're to investigate the location of a conflict between

the Grigori and the witches of Oz. ——Let us prepare. For the moment, we'll
head back to the subdivision, and then immediately leave this country."

At David's statement the boy raised a clamor.

"Hyahahaah! A foreign country! Let's go beat down the heretics of a foreign

country! I should give praise to the archangel Gabriel-sama's breasts for once

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again slowly raising my faith!"

"——See here, Freed. Our goal is only to investigate the fallen angels and
witches hanging out in Japan, and exterminate them depending on the
situation. Based on intelligence, those guys appear to be carrying out a
dangerous plot doing as they please in that country."

"I undastand I undastand, well then, that is to say that depending on the
circumstances we should execute judgement with that 'Galatine' of yours huh
Teach."

The boy——Freed Sellzen, directed his gaze at what was hanging from his
teacher's waist——the 'Holy Sword Galatine'.

"You should also remember that judgement is done under the justification of
compassion, Freed."

At his teacher's words Freed made a salute pose.

"Yessir, Teach. We shall beat them down with restraint☆"

From a place that was unknown to Ikuse Tobio and the others, every major
power was starting to move——.

Whether it's 'nice to meet you', 'long time no see', or else 'extremely long time
no see' since I have to greet a variety of people, I am the author Ishibumi
Ichiei. For those of you who have picked this up, thank you very much.

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Regarding this work, it possesses the same worldview as 'High School DxD'
series published by Fantasia Bunko, and depicts a story from four years
before. Consequently it is titled based on this shared world as 'High School
DxD Universe'.

This work itself is a consolidation of a web novel serialized on Fantasia

Beyond and Kakuyomi, which has been corrected and amended. For those of
you who waited for the paperback publication and those who are now holding
this book for the first time, it is towards all of you that I say 'long time no see'
and 'nice to meet you'.

Now then, as for the one remaining aspect, this work is inspired by the work
'SLASH\DOG' from 11 years ago, which likewise was sold by Fujimi
Fantasia Bunko. The present version is a reboot that has been linked into the
world of High School DxD. To those of you who were fans from before, I say
to all of you 'extremely long time no see'.

Having now given my position, I will now discuss the contents of this work.

Regarding this work, it's a modern day dark fantasy built primarily on
modern day supernatural battles……like this you should have an idea. Be
that as it may, since writing too eerily would make it only dark, instead of
talking about the theme, I'll bring up some of this work's distinctive points.

1. I want to make the protagonist Ikuse Tobio attractive.

He's calm when displaying his cooking skills, Tobio-kun aka Toby is decisive
when it comes time to make a decision. As is, you can think of him as the
dark hero type that says cool decisive lines.

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Although he'll wield weapons himself starting from the next volume, he
rushes into to supernatural fights together with Jin. Even the form of powerup
that was revealed shall be made clear from volume 2 onwards.

2. The heroines are cute, and occasionally erotic.

For the heroines, Natsume, Lavinia, and Sae have been introduced. I wanted
to make them cute while also mixing in some sex appeal. Naturally, the
heroines will also steadily increase going forward.

Lavinia is an onee-san type towards Vali aka Va-kun. The two of them are
like an older sister and younger brother who argue back and forth and also
share happy moments together.

Incidentally their breast sizes have been discussed and decided upon by the
relevant people. Likewise, for those fans who are coming here from 'High
School DxD', there will be women appearing with chests that are larger than
the norm. With that said, please look forward to that as well from here on.

3. For High School DxD fan service, I want to introduce to the readers who
have been brought in by this work.

Keeping in mind that this is titles 'High School DxD Universe', it must be
enjoyable for DxD fans as it links up with their worldview, but naturally I am
writing this work so that it can be enjoyed on its own. Moreover, for those
who are interested in the world of 'DxD', if they were to also pick up 'High
School DxD', I feel it would be more than this author deserves.

Of course, there'll be those who say 'This work is my favorite!', and for an
author that is more than enough honor.

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4. My strange obsession.

In truth, to the best of my ability I've avoided using the word 'Oppai' in this
book, and when it comes to touching a woman's chest I use the word 'chibusa'
or 'mune' and such. If I had to say why, the word 'oppai' was written countless
times in 'High School DxD', and since 'oppai' isn't an essential part of the
setting this time, I have purposefully (at least for the moment) left 'oppai'
only in 'DxD'.

In all likelihood, for this first volume, I think that the word 'oppai' doesn't
appear at all outside of the afterword, but just in case that's not true please try
looking for it.

Still, since I've broken my non-use of it, it's possible I might easily use it in
the next volume. From volume 2 onwards, if you see the word 'oppai' please
welcome it kindly while saying, "Aah, it's the usual Ishibumi."

Now for thanks.

For all of the assistance, Kikurage-sama, Miyama Zero-sama for the original
character designs, and the editor-in-chief T-sama. Everyone one of you has
been a tremendous help, and thanks to you I was finally able to bring this
book forward. I truly can't thank you enough. From now on, please continue
to be such a great help.

Now then, in regards to the length of this series, I think it'll be 5-6 volumes.

Page|374 Goldenagato| https://mp4directs.com

If possible I'd like to say that "If it's a big hit then 10 volumes!" but to start
with I intend for the story to reveal the truth behind a series of incidents.
Rather, if it ends up ending earlier than planned due to lack of sales, I ask that
you please excuse me. That being the case, anything you can do to help, I
kindly ask that you please do so.

"SLASH/DOG" has been rebooted, but from now on, if there's enough
popularity, there are plans for various succeeding "High School DxD
Universe" novels.

With that said, next time, it's "The Fallen Dog God—SLASHDØG—"
volume number 2, which is planned to go on sale around next spring.

Tobio and the others will be moving into the 'Nephilim' institution attended
by Sacred Gear owners under the management of the Grigori. I think that this
volume 2 will go on sale concurrently with High School DxD 25.

Next time it's Lavinia's turn! They'll be additional sexy scenes once again!
Then, please continue to follow "The Fallen Dog God—SLASHDØG—"!

Page|375 Goldenagato| https://mp4directs.com

Afterword
Whether it’s ‘nice to meet you’, ‘long time no see’, or else ‘extremely long
time no see’ since I have to greet a variety of people, I am the author
Ishibumi Ichiei. For those of you who have picked this up, thank you very
much.

Regarding this work, it possesses the same worldview as ‘High School DxD’
series published by Fantasia Bunko, and depicts a story from four years
before. Consequently it is titled based on this shared world as ‘High School
DxD Universe’.

This work itself is a consolidation of a web novel serialized on Fantasia

Beyond and Kakuyomi, which has been corrected and amended. For those of
you who waited for the paperback publication and those who are now holding
this book for the first time, it is towards all of you that I say ‘long time no
see’ and ‘nice to meet you’.

Now then, as for the one remaining aspect, this work is inspired by the work
‘SLASH\DOG’ from 11 years ago, which likewise was sold by Fujimi
Fantasia Bunko. The present version is a reboot that has been linked into the
world of High School DxD. To those of you who were fans from before, I say
to all of you ‘extremely long time no see’.

Having now given my position, I will now discuss the contents of this work.

Regarding this work, it’s a modern day dark fantasy built primarily on
modern day supernatural battles……like this you should have an idea. Be
that as it may, since writing too eerily would make it only dark, instead of
talking about the theme, I’ll bring up some of this work’s distinctive points.

1. I want to make the protagonist Ikuse Tobio attractive.

He’s calm when displaying his cooking skills, Tobio-kun aka Toby is
decisive when it comes time to make a decision. As is, you can think of him
as the dark hero type that says cool decisive lines.

Page|376 Goldenagato| https://mp4directs.com

Although he’ll wield weapons himself starting from the next volume, he
rushes into to supernatural fights together with Jin. Even the form of powerup
that was revealed shall be made clear from volume 2 onwards.

2. The heroines are cute, and occasionally erotic.

For the heroines, Natsume, Lavinia, and Sae have been introduced. I wanted
to make them cute while also mixing in some sex appeal. Naturally, the
heroines will also steadily increase going forward.

Lavinia is an onee-san type towards Vali aka Va-kun. The two of them are
like an older sister and younger brother who argue back and forth and also
share happy moments together.

Incidentally their breast sizes have been discussed and decided upon by the
relevant people. Likewise, for those fans who are coming here from ‘High
School DxD’, there will be women appearing with chests that are larger than
the norm. With that said, please look forward to that as well from here on.

3. For High School DxD fan service, I want to introduce to the readers
who have been brought in by this work.

Keeping in mind that this is titles ‘High School DxD Universe’, it must be
enjoyable for DxD fans as it links up with their worldview, but naturally I am
writing this work so that it can be enjoyed on its own. Moreover, for those
who are interested in the world of ‘DxD’, if they were to also pick up ‘High
School DxD’, I feel it would be more than this author deserves.

Of course, there’ll be those who say ‘This work is my favorite!’, and for an
author that is more than enough honor.

4. My strange obsession.

In truth, to the best of my ability I’ve avoided using the word ‘Oppai’ in this
book, and when it comes to touching a woman’s chest I use the word
‘chibusa’ or ‘mune’ and such. If I had to say why, the word ‘oppai’ was
written countless times in ‘High School DxD’, and since ‘oppai’ isn’t an
essential part of the setting this time, I have purposefully (at least for the

Page|377 Goldenagato| https://mp4directs.com

moment) left ‘oppai’ only in ‘DxD’.

In all likelihood, for this first volume, I think that the word ‘oppai’ doesn’t
appear at all outside of the afterword, but just in case that’s not true please try
looking for it.

Still, since I’ve broken my non-use of it, it’s possible I might easily use it in
the next volume. From volume 2 onwards, if you see the word ‘oppai’ please
welcome it kindly while saying, “Aah, it’s the usual Ishibumi.”

Now for thanks.

For all of the assistance, Kikurage-sama, Miyama Zero-sama for the original
character designs, and the editor-in-chief T-sama. Everyone one of you has
been a tremendous help, and thanks to you I was finally able to bring this
book forward. I truly can’t thank you enough. From now on, please continue
to be such a great help.

Now then, in regards to the length of this series, I think it’ll be 5-6 volumes.

If possible I’d like to say that “If it’s a big hit then 10 volumes!” but to start
with I intend for the story to reveal the truth behind a series of incidents.
Rather, if it ends up ending earlier than planned due to lack of sales, I ask that
you please excuse me. That being the case, anything you can do to help, I
kindly ask that you please do so.

“SLASH/DOG” has been rebooted, but from now on, if there’s enough
popularity, there are plans for various succeeding “High School DxD
Universe” novels.

With that said, next time, it’s “The Fallen Dog God—SLASHDØG—”
volume number 2, which is planned to go on sale around next spring.

Tobio and the others will be moving into the ‘Nephilim’ institution attended
by Sacred Gear owners under the management of the Grigori. I think that this

Page|378 Goldenagato| https://mp4directs.com

volume 2 will go on sale concurrently with High School DxD 25.

Next time it’s Lavinia’s turn! They’ll be additional sexy scenes once again!
Then, please continue to follow “The Fallen Dog God—SLASHDØG—”!

Page|379 Goldenagato| https://mp4directs.com

 Translator's Notes and References

1. ↑ grandmother
2. ↑ being at a loss of what to do
3. ↑ Special ability users
4. ↑ The first character of Samejima (鮫島) means shark. Lavinia uses the
English word
5. ↑ Roughly speaking, this is retort, usually comedic in nature
6. ↑ Kanji reads: Gang of Fallen Angels
7. ↑ Kanji reads:Indiscriminate Ice Princess
8. ↑ Kanji reads:those who watch over the children of God
9. ↑ alternative way of pronouncing the Kanji for blade
10. ↑ Think of this a Japanese magic
11. ↑ special ability users
12. ↑ The names of the four fiends approximately translate as follows:
Konton=Gluttony, Toukotsu=Ignorance, Toutetsu=Chaos, and
Kyuuki=Deviousness
13. ↑ Black Tortoise
14. ↑ Vermilion Bird
15. ↑ Yellow Dragon
16. ↑ ‘Dog’ can be derogatory so I think that’s what’s being said
17. ↑ Expression of annoyed surprise or shock
18. ↑ Martial arts term referring to defensive maneuvers
19. ↑ Devil King
20. ↑ Kanji: White Dragon
21. ↑ I think she’s saying how it seems likely that Vali has “2nd year of
junior high school sickness”

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22. ↑ White Dragon
23. ↑ i.e. personal history
24. ↑ Literally uncle and aunt but here is used by Tobio to refer to Sae’s
parents
25. ↑ Vermillion Bird
26. ↑ Kanji: The Lion That Lost its Courage
27. ↑ the ‘their’ used here is feminine
28. ↑ Kanji: Grey Magician; Grau Zauberer is German for Grey Magician
29. ↑ Japanese sliding screen
30. ↑ Also known as a Khakkhara, a staff used in Buddhism. Also called a
bishop’s staff, it has rings on the end
31. ↑ This is the English word
32. ↑ Kanji: Night Hook; apparently Haken is German for hook
33. ↑ Shi or Oshi is a way of addressing one’s teacher or mentor
34. ↑ Beautiful girl
35. ↑ Kanji: Indiscriminate Ice Princess
36. ↑ Kanji: Eternal Ice Princess
37. ↑ Just to clarify, Nobu is Maeda’s nickname, not his sister’s name.
38. ↑ Imouto=younger sister
39. ↑ The word means cast-off cicada shell. To be clear, Utsusemi when
referring to the student is written in katakana. The agency name is written
with Kanji and translates to “cast-off cicada shell.
40. ↑ Kanji: supernatural power users
41. ↑ Kanji: human
42. ↑ Kanji: my fellow classmates
43. ↑ Another religious use tool, apparently similar to a single-pronged Vajra
44. ↑ Literally: Fire of Kagutsuchi, a fire deity
45. ↑ Kanji: forbidden move

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46. ↑ Kanji:blade dog
47. ↑ Kanji: chant
48. ↑ The Japanese uses two different Kanji for dog in this sentence. I did my
best to capture this
49. ↑ Kanji:human being
50. ↑ He’s saying “kiru=kill” over and over using different kanji, hiragana,
and katakana. He's using the English pronunciation.
51. ↑ Essentially, he’s saying “korosu (kill)” over and over but with different
kanji and/or using hiragana and katakana. This time he's using the
Japanese word.
52. ↑ Godslaying Tool
53. ↑ Uncle
54. ↑ Religious text
55. ↑ Kanji: God-Slaying tools
56. ↑ Dog God of the Black Blade
57. ↑ Kanji: Those who have have fallen; this is also the literal translation of
Nephilim, which is Hebrew term from Genesis
58. ↑ Kanji: Those Who Watch Over the Children of God
59. ↑ Yellow Dragon
60. ↑ A title derived from medieval French Souserain, means feudal overlord
61. ↑ a Rakshasha, the cannibalistic giants of Hindu Mythology
62. ↑ An alternate, or rather, classical kun'yomi reading of Japan's kanji form
(as written in classical literature and mentioned in the anime Kabaneri of
the Iron Fortress) instead of the more ubiquitious Nihon/Nippon, which
is the Chinese/on'yomi form of reading
63. ↑ Many of the Himejima’s first names start with the character for red.
This includes Suzaku herself as well as Suou, Ageha, Shuri, Akeno, and
even Kurenai. It seems Hanezu was rejected.

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64. ↑ granduncle

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