4 - The Legendary Hero Appears!

Between Korone, the attacker, and Hiroshi, Akuto was barely able to sleep. He tended to worry too much, so he was lying alone in his bed, half lost in thought. If Korone was there, she would have made fun of him no matter what was going on. Only now did he realize how much that had helped him, and how serious her disappearance was.

Eventually he got tired and passed out, only to be woken up early the next morning by Junko.

“You idiot! What did you do? Look in front of the dorm! The villagers are demanding to see you!”

Akuto leapt up from the bed.

Junko must have just woken up too, because she was dead pale and wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants. Something must have been causing a stir.

After a moment, Akuto remembered what had happened yesterday. The villagers were probably angry about Yukiko.

“Well, this isn’t good... But yeah, I think I am to blame.”

“Idiot! What did you do?!”

“It’s not my fault... but I think they misunderstood me.”

He looked at the clock. It was 5:00 AM. When he went out into the hallway, Miss Mitsuko and Hiroshi were there.

“Looks like they’re having some kind of riot! Big trouble on this little island, huh? Lots of fun! Or maybe not.”

Miss Mitsuko must have just gotten up too, because she was very excited. Hiroshi, however, was frowning and trying his best not to look at Akuto.

—Oh jeez...

Akuto was feeling depressed, but he also had a strong sense of responsibility and justice. He decided that he was at fault after all, and that he had to apologize.

“I’ll explain things to the villagers. I’m sure they’ll understand. We don’t want there to be any kind of fuss.”

“There’s already a big fuss,” Miss Mitsuko laughed.

Hiroshi looked even gloomier, but he spoke up when Akuto walked by.

“I’m sorry, boss. The people from my home are...”

“Don’t worry about it. I did something that caused a misunderstanding. I’m sure if we can talk things out, they’ll understand.”

Akuto started to walk towards the front door. But when he got to the point where he could see out the window, he realized that something strange was going on.

A few dozen men standing outside, surrounding the front door. The youngest was middle-aged, and many of them were elderly. They were all carrying shotguns, machetes, and other weapons. He could see from their bloodshot eyes that something was very wrong, but their expressions spoke of terror, not anger.

—They’re afraid of me, huh? But that’s why I need to calm them down.

Akuto gulped.

He had to be ready for this. There was no telling what these people might do when they were afraid. On his own, he might be fine, but he didn’t want to cause any problems for the people around him. And ironically, while physical damage didn’t mean much to him, mental damage hurt him really hard.

He took a deep breath and opened the door. The villagers all murmured as they looked towards him.

All of them took a step back.

“I’m Akuto Sai, a freshman at Constant Magical Academy. You’re here about what happened last night, yes?” Akuto said.

A middle-aged man who seemed to be their leader took a step forward. He had a shotgun slung from his shoulder. He was heavily-built and tough, but Akuto could see that his legs were shaking.

“Were you the one who attacked one of the village children?”

“If you’re talking about the girl named Yukiko, then yes. But I didn’t mean to. I mistook her for someone else, and scared her a little.”

“You mistook her for someone else? Ridiculous. She was crying, and she said you were the Demon King.”

“She’s just a child. You shouldn’t listen to her,” Akuto said. The villagers started to glance at one another and whisper, and Akuto quickly realized that he’d said the wrong thing.

“No, I just mean that the Demon King doesn’t exist. It’s just a childish fantasy.”

Akuto raised his voice. It was just the first excuse that came to his mind, but his clear voice and show-off personality made him sound bolder than he really was.

But the heavyset man didn’t falter.

“W-Wait... That doesn’t make sense. The prophecy said you were going to be the Demon King, right? And it’s never been wrong... That’s no fantasy, is it?”

“The prophecy is a fantasy. You’re all just being deceived. I’ve heard about the prophecy of this island. That’s what scares you all, right? But as you can see, I’m just a student. I don’t have that kind of power.”

The men all fell silent. Akuto sounded so confident that none of them dared to contradict him. And it was true, from the outside he just looked like a normal, if somewhat bold, young man. Akuto felt relieved.

“Of course, I apologize. It’s true that I made Yukiko cry. I’m sorry,” Akuto said, and bowed deeply.

The villagers seemed to calm down. The heavyset man must have realized that Akuto was someone he could reason with, because his expression softened as he asked his next question.

“No, I hate to say it, but we’ve had all kinds of problems with the students at the seaside school. So we were just a little tense, is all. Especially since people were saying that you were the Demon King. But you seem to be a normal, reasonable boy, so you can’t be the Demon King. Everyone is on edge, though. The demon beast in the prophecy is starting to feel real, and everyone is getting nervous.”

“If you have some evidence to think that, I can see why you’d get worried. What happened?” Akuto asked.

“Yesterday someone heard a roar from the lake where the demon beast is supposed to live, and the ground there shook like an earthquake. There’s also stories of a suspicious man who’s been sighted around here. But I guess it wasn’t you. Supposedly when you get near this person, you hear strange sounds and get a headache.”

Akuto thought he might know what the man was talking about. If he was honest with him, he decided, it might make it easier to fix this misunderstanding.

“I’m sure if you think about this rationally, you’ll find lots of potential causes of the strange events. And I think I may have seen this suspicious man, as well. There was someone who was following me last night. I was trying to find him when I ran into Yukiko.”

“So that’s what happened...” the man said.

“I’m curious about him too. I’ll help you,” said Akuto, and he smiled at the heavyset man, who smiled back.

“You students are supposed to be great with magic. I’m sure you’ll be big help. Thank you very mu...”

Just as the man reached out his hand, a high-pitched voice rang out from behind the crowd.

“He’s lying! That’s a lie! If the Demon King doesn’t exist, then what happens to the hero?!”

It was Yukiko. She ran in front of the crowd and glared at Akuto.

“Huh?”

Akuto wasn’t sure what to do, but the villagers laughed.

“Hahaha! Oh, that’s right. If there’s a Demon King, that means there has to be a hero! So if there’s no Demon King, that means no hero.”

The heavyset man laughed and patted Yukiko on the head. She looked angry, like she might burst into tears at any moment.

The villagers explained what was going on to the confused Akuto.

“Her family thinks that her older brother is the hero.”

“But we never believed that. I hate to say it, but he doesn’t look the type.”

“He’s a bit too much of a wimp.”

“He certainly doesn’t feel like a hero. He’s always been a big scaredy-cat since he was little.”

“He wasn’t that smart, either.”

The villagers laughed, and Yukiko started to cry.

“You’re all so mean! My brother made it into the Academy, that’s how amazing he is! And you all want him to help you when he grows up and becomes really important...”

Her voice was so soft that the villagers didn’t seem to hear her. But Akuto did. Maybe his ears were getting sharper.

Akuto understood what was going on now.

“You shouldn’t laugh at her,” he said. He thought his voice was soft, but all the villagers turned towards him.

“Huh? Uh... did that upset you?”

“Yes, I suppose it did. You’re laughing at one of your own people, who went out into the world and is working very hard,” Akuto said, his voice loud and deep now.

The villagers started to step back. It wasn’t that they were afraid — they were feeling an almost physical pressure emanating from him. Shining mana exploded at his feet, spreading out quickly in a circle around him. He’d gotten so upset that he’d lost control, and his power was starting to leak out.

“W-We were just kidding. Everybody talks behind people’s backs, right? We’re all actually fond of him...”

The villagers were starting to stammer and shake.

“That’s not what’s upset me. You’re calling him weak, but you’re weaker than anyone. You believe in the legend. But you don’t believe in the hero who’s supposed to come from your village, just the Demon King that you fear. If that’s not weakness, then what is?! You want the government to pay for everything you need. You only do things in groups. You hurt people who are weaker than you, and suck up to people who are more powerful. If you want to know what’s upsetting me, it’s your hypocrisy!”

Akuto found himself yelling. When he got like this, there was no stopping him.

“Your village is doomed, even if nobody does a damn thing! Look at you people, bringing guns to confront a single student! Don’t you realize how ridiculous you are?”

Akuto grabbed the barrel of the nearest shotgun and tried to knock it away. But the frightened villager pulled the trigger out of sheer reflex.

There was a loud bang. The gun was pointed right at Akuto’s chest. At that range, it would be enough to blow a huge hole in a human body. But Akuto wasn’t a normal human. His body was shaking, but he was fine. Beneath his tattered shirt, the tiny pieces of lead clattered to the ground.

“H-He’s a monster!”

The villagers started to scream. And then, at the worst possible time, he heard the roar of a beast in the distance. It sounded like the demon beast the villagers had been talking about. Akuto didn’t know if that’s what it was, but he heard it along with everyone else.

—Damn it. Talk about bad timing... Now they really are going to think I’m the Demon King!

Only then did Akuto’s rage subside. The villagers were still surrounding him, but every one of them was frozen. They were all too afraid now to fight him, but the machetes and shotguns were still pointed at him. That was a bad sign. If they all jumped on him at once, he was sure he could neutralize them, but if they all ran there was no way he’d be able to clean up this mess.

—Why does this always happen to me? What am I doing wrong? If only Korone was here, she might be able to do something...

And then help came from a surprising place.

“H-Hey, everyone... Please don’t try to fight him.”

The voice came from behind him. It was Hiroshi.

—I’m saved. If Hiroshi comes off as strong, and I back down, this will all work out.

Akuto felt relieved.

Yukiko ran up to Hiroshi.

“Brother! Brother, help me! You’re strong, right? You’re not actually his friend, right? You were just pretending to be friends with the Demon King so you could defeat him, right?” Yukiko sobbed as she yelled.

The villagers murmured “No way...” “No, could it be true...?” as they stared at him.

Hiroshi clearly didn’t know what to do. He had so little self-confidence that the hope in the villagers’ eyes was probably scaring him. Because of that, he couldn’t say yes or no to Yukiko’s question. All he had to do to make her feel better was answer one way or the other, but he couldn’t.

—That’s the problem with you...!

Akuto should’ve known better, but he was upset by Hiroshi’s attitude. His power began to leak out again, forming a violent spiral around his body. Akuto was someone who could fight a 15-meter long dragon with his fists. Only someone with a heart made of steel could get close to him when he was angry.

Of course, Hiroshi was scared too. And that only made Akuto angrier.

Akuto took a step forward. He was going to tell Hiroshi exactly what was on his mind. But from the outside, that didn’t look like what he was planning. He seemed to be intending to burn Hiroshi and Yukiko to ash.

“U-Uwaah!”

Hiroshi panicked and grabbed Yukiko with his left hand as he pushed forward with his right. His right hand collided with Akuto’s chest.

Thud.

There was a small, unimpressive noise. The sound brought Akuto back to his senses.

—Oh, um... I did it again... What do I do now...? Oh, I know! I can just make it look like he beat me!

This seemed to Akuto like a great idea.

“H-He beat me!”

Akuto staggered back and collapsed. He closed his eyes and lay on the ground.

—It worked...

But Akuto was the only person there who took the sudden silence as a sign of success. But at least it had accomplished something, as it had calmed things down.

“Wh-What...?”

“What a freak...”

The villagers started to back away from him.

“I know! Miwa’s kid must’ve paid him off to make it look like he lost.”

“Then his little sister never got attacked, either?”

“I bet the whole thing’s a hoax...”

—Huh? Wait... No, this isn’t good. Did I just do something really mean to Hiroshi?

Akuto opened his eyes.

Yukiko was sobbing as she ran away, and Hiroshi was looking down at him. Akuto saw straight into his tear-filled eyes. His expression was indescribable — it was like nothing Akuto had ever seen before. He wanted to forget about it as soon as he could, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to. Every time he thought about it, he’d be filled with regret.

But Akuto’s gaze locked with Hiroshi’s for only a second before Hiroshi ran off crying after Yukiko, ignoring the people around him.

—Ah crap...

Akuto regretted a lot of things that he’d done since coming to this island, but this was the one that he regretted the most.

○

“You idiot! Do you have any idea what you just did?”

Junko slapped him across the face. He’d been kicked and punched, but never slapped like this before.

“I... regret it.”

Akuto bowed his head. Junko was standing in front of him with one hand on her hip, glowering at him.

“If you regret it now, then why did you lose control back there? They may have misunderstood, but the villagers didn’t do anything wrong. They were right to come complain after one of their children was hurt. The problem here is that you were so focused on acting righteous that you couldn’t forgive them for being weak!”

“I know... No, actually I just realized that. I didn’t know before. I can’t really explain it, but...”

Akuto looked down at his feet as he spoke.

The villagers had all left. They’d decided that this was too stupid to waste their time with. Keena had run after Hiroshi. She’d probably be able to bring him back just fine. And now Akuto was in one of the dorm rooms being lectured by Junko.

“You mean you don’t understand how it feels to be weak, right? I’m sure you don’t!”

“No... I understand... or at least, I thought I did. I was a poor orphan, and I’ve been through a lot.”

Akuto looked so depressed that Junko found it hard to pressure him any further. She put a hand to her head and looked away as she started to speak.

“My father once told me that when people are training themselves to be more powerful, they become unable to forgive the weak. You don’t have a very forgiving personality to begin with, anyway.”

“I don’t?” Akuto said. He seemed genuinely surprised.

Junko chuckled.

“How can you be forgiving when you’re always obsessed with doing the right thing?”

“I see... You’re right.”

Akuto put a hand on his chin as if he was just realizing this for the first time. Junko started to laugh.

“Come on, why are you taking this so seriously? This isn’t like you.”

“Don’t laugh. You and I both have this in common.”

Junko’s face turned red as she froze. She mumbled to herself quietly.

“Stop it. This is why I can’t just leave you alone.”

But Akuto heard her, and nodded.

“I always appreciate it.”

Junko stopped moving and stared at him.

“I-I’m scolding you, you know.”

“I know. I’m listening, and I’m grateful.”

“You don’t sound like somebody who’s being scolded. You should be crying or something.”

Junko’s voice started to rise in pitch.

“I’m listening to you. I think that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”

“No, I’m starting to think that’s wrong. You should be resisting so that I can punch you.”

“It doesn’t count as resisting if you tell me to do it.”

“That’s right... I guess we’re done then. You should be more forgiving. And you need to go apologize to Hiroshi.” Junko coughed and changed the subject. “By the way, where was Korone? If she was there, things would’ve gone better.”

Akuto’s expression turned serious, and he explained what had happened to Junko.

“Seduction? Fired? I see... I did think she was acting strange.” Junko remembered her last interactions with Korone, and blushed. “A-Anyway, I can’t believe they’d do something so cowardly. You should file a complaint and get her back.”

Akuto nodded. However...

“But the seduction aspect aside, if the government decided to fire her, we have to obey that. What’s the right thing to do?” he said.

Junko sighed.

“You’re the one who said you’d make sure everything worked out, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right. That was what I decided. But it feels like they want me to rebel against the government... Is there any way out of that?”

“Strength comes with responsibility,” Junko said cheerfully. “If you don’t want to be the Demon King, then study hard and get an important position in the government. Now, you’re going to apologize to Hiroshi, right?”

With that, Junko shooed him out of the room.

○

Meanwhile, Keena had caught up with Hiroshi. He didn’t want to go to the village or back to the dorm, so he was just wandering aimlessly through the forest. It was inevitable that she’d find him quickly.

“Listen, Ackie didn’t mean anything bad by it.”

Keena was walking a few paces behind him.

“I know that. That’s what makes it hard.” Hiroshi sat down, too tired to walk anymore. “I know it’s my fault for being weak. So what he’s saying is right. And I can understand why everybody’s laughing.”

“But you’re better at magic than I am, and you have more friends, right?” Keena crouched down in front of him.

“That’s not what I mean. Maybe I just don’t like it when everybody has these expectations of me. I’m not as strong as they expect me to be.”

“They expect you to be?”

“Part of it is the fact that they expect so much from me, but part of it is... This is a weird thing to say, but I hate the idea of ‘justice.’”

Hiroshi raised his head as he spoke.

“Justice?” Keena repeated, confused.

“I guess I mean, I hate people who force their idea of justice on you. Most of the village is like that... It’s a tiny village, so we have all these weird rules to protect it. And that’s what everyone calls ‘justice.’ But even in our small community, that can cause conflict...”

“Oh, I kind of know what you mean.”

“So once I get strong, I realized, I’ll probably end up on the side of the people who make the rules. No, I guess I’m never going to be strong, so there’s no sense in thinking about that.”

Hiroshi laughed weakly.

“Nah. You really are strong, Hiroshi. But you’re kind, so you don’t want to get strong and hurt somebody, right?”

Keena smiled, and Hiroshi blushed and turned away.

“S-Stop it. That’s not true.”

“But you’re strong and kind, and that’s why you fought to help Ackie, right? You even got hurt once.”

“I got hurt because I’m weak.”

“That’s not true. You were trying not to hurt the person you were fighting, right?”

“You’re giving me too much credit...”

“Huh? But you’re the hero, right?”

“You know I’m not the hero. I hated that so much, that’s why I...”

Hiroshi stood up, as if he’d just realized something.

“Alright, I’ll prove that the legend is just a bunch of crap. Come with me. I’ll take you to where it’s supposed to be.”

Hiroshi started walking.

○

Meanwhile, at the Academy...

Fujiko was woken up by a message from Junko. It was still 7:00 AM.

《There’s something I want you to check for me...》

Junko had asked her to look into Korone’s removal. Not only was she in a bad mood after being woken up, but Fujiko had had very little contact with Korone. There was no reason for her to accept.

“Out of the question. Why would I do anything for that meddling Liradan...”

Suddenly the person on the other end of the line changed. Junko knew that this would convince her.

《It would mean a lot to me if you’d help...》

“Akuto!” Fujiko gasped, and her attitude immediately changed.

“Yes, of course! I’ll find out all the answers you need!”

And then Fujiko headed for the underground labyrinth.

“...And so that’s how it is.”

Fujiko told Peterhausen what Akuto had told her. Even with her network, she couldn’t peer into the inner workings of the government. It would be faster to ask Peterhausen, who had the same capabilities as a god. Peterhausen knew a lot about this world, but the level of information was so great that he would only reveal what you asked him about directly. Fujiko didn’t know if that was just how his powers worked, or just who he was, but at least she had figured this out.

“I can’t access the core government logs.”

“Logs” in this case referred to the records of human actions that were recorded by mana in the brain and transmitted to the gods. This was what the gods used to judge humanity. And Peterhausen was the god of the black mages, who were opposed to this. He was supposed to have the capacity to record the logs of every human being.

“Don’t you have everyone’s logs?”

“If that were possible right now, the government would have been overthrown a long time ago. You need to register with a god, in a process called baptism. There’s no need for baptism to offer your logs to me, but you need to be aware of me and want me to have them.”

“I should’ve guessed...”

“But rumors are starting to spread, and I’m starting to receive logs. But still, I have no information from anyone related to Korone. Though even if I did know it, I couldn’t say.”

“Why is that?”

Peterhausen grinned.

“I have the same duties as a god. I’m forbidden to share the logs to protect the rights of those who give them to me.”

“That’s surprising.”

“Black mages are all about equality. They don’t peek at the logs or take advantage of them, like the government does. You’re a black mage, aren’t you?”

“I like to take advantage of things like loopholes and extenuating circumstances.”

“You’re a very naughty girl... By the way, was that your only question?”

“That’s right. If you can’t help me with Korone, I’ll investigate on my own. As for me personally, I’m a little curious about Akuto. I think by now he should be ruling that whole village.”

“That matter is a bit problematic for me.”

“Huh?” Fujiko said, confused. “Does someone like you even have problems?”

Peterhausen nodded.

“The reason I decide on a master is to give him the ability to control me. I don’t normally act on my own at all. But my master lacks the will to completely control me, and so I am incomplete.”

—That means...

That explained a lot to Fujiko.

“When Akuto becomes the Demon King... Or rather, when he decides of his own will to become the Demon King...”

Peterhausen nodded.

“That will be when he decides to destroy the present order, and create a new one. That is the moment I desire.”

—That will be the moment the Demon King is born...!

Fujiko shivered with excitement. Akuto wasn’t the Demon King yet, but the key was in his hands.

“That explains why they’d resort to seduction.” Fujiko licked her lips. “I still want a revolution. This just means I’ll have to work even harder at seducing him myself...”

“I’m glad to hear that. It’s something I want to see too. But right now, there’s a problem...”

“A problem?”

“You see...”

○

“So this is the lake?”

Keena let out a cry of joy as she looked at the beautiful lake. It was pure blue, and surrounded by white sand. It was small enough that if you stood in front of it and turned your head to the left or right, you could see the whole thing. It was a beautiful ring of blue and white surrounded by the green of the mountains.

“That’s right. This is the lake in the legend.”

“It’s so pretty. I can see why there’d be a strange legend about it!” Keena said excitedly.

But Hiroshi shook his head.

“No. Don’t you think it’s weird that there’s white sand and water that’s this blue, even though we’re in the middle of the island?”

“Really? I don’t know.”

“I’ll tell you why then. This is actually part of the ocean. There’s an underground cavern that connects this to the sea.”

“I see!”

Just as Keena spoke, they both heard the loud “ROAR!” from the mountains near the lake again.

“Kyah!”

Keena put her hands over her ears and dropped to her knees. But Hiroshi calmly explained.

“There’s a part of the cavern that’s above the water, and it’s connected to the mountain. The hole is filled with air, and once a year, the tides make a loud noise that echoes through it. This year, it’s especially loud. That’s why everyone believes in the Demon Beast, you see.”

“Huh? Is that why?” Keena looked up at him in surprise.

“Yeah. I’m not good at swimming... I guess you knew that. So I came to this lake, which everyone avoids because of the legend, and practiced here. When I did, I ended up almost drowning... and then I found the part of the cavern with air in it, which was the only reason I survived. That’s when I discovered the secret of where the sound was coming from. When I was in there, it was really loud.” Hiroshi laughed. “And like I said before, this island’s only been around about a century. He’s dead now, but my grandpa was one of the first inhabitants. So only I know about this secret.”

“Secret?” Keena repeated, and Hiroshi pointed to the narrow road that ran around the lake.

“That road leads to the cave I was talking about. And there’s a shrine in the cave that has the Sign of the Hero.”

“Huh? Sign of the Hero?”

“Stupid, isn’t it? My grandpa made the shrine. His name’s on it. And the Sign of the Hero is this tiny sword stuck in a stone. Supposedly only the hero can take it out. I tried to take it out as a joke, and I couldn’t. When I told my dad about that, he got mad at me in a weird way. He was like, ‘You need to study more.’ That’s why I ended up going to the Academy. But now I think you understand that it’s all a big joke. I mean, my family basically invented the legend, right? It’s all so stupid...”

Hiroshi was laughing, but the tears were gradually building up in his eyes.

“So I... It hurts when they tell me I’m the hero. It’s just something my family made up. And when I did my own occupation exam on the first day of school, I arrived after everybody else, and got mine done late. Do you know what it said?”

“Was it something bad, Hiroshi? No, I don’t know.”

“It said I was going to be a hero. But the teachers kept it a secret. That’s because... unlike the Demon King, I don’t think they believed it. Funny, huh?”

Hiroshi’s voice fell.

But Keena looked straight at him.

“No, I don’t think it’s funny.”

“Huh...?”

“You believed that Ackie was the Demon King, right? That’s because you want to believe you’re the hero, right?”

Hiroshi wasn’t sure how to answer.

“N-No, because then...”

Hiroshi tried to deny it, but he couldn’t come up with a reason. He’d always admired strength. He didn’t care if it was good or evil, he just wanted to be strong. That’s why he’d admired Akuto’s bold attitude. He’d felt like if he was with Akuto, he could become strong. But whenever he was confronted with his own weakness, he’d always run away.

When he realized this, Hiroshi couldn’t speak. But Keena just smiled at him.

“Hey, let’s go see this shrine.”

“Huh? But it’s...”

“Don’t worry about it. Come on, okay?”

He hesitated, but Keena grabbed him by the hand. She ran down the road that Hiroshi had pointed out.

After following the empty road for a while, they came to an open space, where there was an entrance to a cave.

But Hiroshi and Keena saw someone standing there, and stopped.

“Huh?”

Both of them were confused. But the man looked so suspicious that they dropped their voices low.

The man was staring at the lake. His back was turned, but even from behind they could see how unusual he was. He was wearing a long white coat, even though it was summer. And they could see how muscled he was even through the coat.

“Wh-Who is that?!”

“I don’t know, but he looks pretty weird,” Keena said.

“There’s nobody like that in the village.”

“I bet not...”

Keena and Hiroshi hid themselves in the bushes by the side of the road.

Suddenly the man opened his coat.

“Hey, is that...”

“He looks like a flasher...”

And then the man began to scream.

“Lake! Answer my cry!” he yelled.

He wasn’t just shouting — it was a scream, a meaningless, primal scream. He took deep, belly-filling breaths. It was very loud, and very annoying.

“NISHUGYUUUOOUUUWAAHHAGYOOIIIMOOODOIIMAOOUKOKOROBO OOJIBOTSUGAMOMORUEOTOTSURIROOFUEEMADOIIMODOOOMEDOO!”

Since he was far away from the village, there was no need to worry about bothering the villagers. Maybe that’s why he was so loud.

When he finally finished, Hiroshi and Keena looked at one another.

“Wh-What the heck was that?”

“H-He’s really craz...”

And then the man spoke.

“My voice is in great shape today. I guess that’s enough warming up, though.” He started to shake his open coat.

And then the coat began to make noise. It must’ve had speakers embedded inside, and very powerful ones at that.

Hiroshi and Keena put their hands over their ears. The noise was louder and more unpleasant than the man’s voice.

It was a loud mix of clanging metal, explosions, electronic beeps, radio static, and more.

And on top of it, the man started to scream again.

“Muhaoouuwakoootoooojyoboosareetafooonnaawoooo!”

And as he screamed, he fell to the ground and began to writhe. He seemed to be undergoing an electric shock. That, or he was dying.

Both Hiroshi and Keena were silent with shock.

But then something even stranger happened.

The man stopped screaming, then stood up, panting as if he’d exhausted all his energy.

“Now it’s time to get serious.”

That was enough to make both of them shiver, but his next words astonished them even more.

“I have the Demon King’s noise pattern. Now heed my cry, pitiful demon beast!”

○

“The problem is that he’s using me while he’s still unawakened,” Peterhausen said.

“What do you mean?” Fujiko asked.

“I was created to give magic to all people. But this affects not only humanity, but other life forms as well. This gives them what you could call a serious bug.”

Fujiko began to realize what he was trying to say.

“You don’t mean...” She gulped. Peterhausen nodded.

“The mana inside them goes out of control, and changes them. That’s what creates a demon beast. An awakened Demon King could control me, but an unawakened one will cause demon beasts to appear everywhere. Or perhaps those demon beasts which were sealed in the past will revive,” Peterhausen continued. “The demon beasts grow active in response to the aura generated by the mana inside the Demon King’s body. That’s what gives him the ability to control them. I’m sure that’s the same for my present master, as well.”

“That’s right. I remember hearing Akuto say that he removed the mana from a demon beast. That’s supposed to be impossible.”

“He can command them during combat, but as long as he’s unawakened, he’ll only create more of the poor creatures.”

○

“Hooowwl!” The roar echoed across the lake. It was clearly the roar of a living thing.

“This... isn’t how it usually sounds.” Hiroshi began to panic.

“It’s not?” Keena said. Hiroshi was pale.

“This isn’t the sound I know. This might be a real—”

BOOM!

There was an explosion at the center of the lake, and a pillar of water shot up over a dozen meters in the air. The roar was coming from the center of the pillar, causing the water to splash everywhere.

A spray of water droplets fell on Keena and Hiroshi like a downpour of rain.

“Hyahahaha! It’s revived!” the strange man screamed. He was getting soaked too, but he just stretched out his arms and laughed.

The man was staring at the center of the lake, where the demon beast had revealed itself.

It looked like a huge cylindrical tower. It was so thick that three men couldn’t wrap their arms around it, and as tall as a five-story building. There was an opening at the top, from which beard-like tentacles were stretching out. The whole body was dark brown, with leopard-like spots.

“A sea cucumber...” Keena whispered.

“One of the sea cucumbers turned into a demon beast...? W-We have to get out of here and tell Akuto...” Hiroshi said to Keena, and turned to run.

“Kyaaah!”

Suddenly he heard a loud scream. It was a voice he instantly recognized.

“Yukiko...”

Hiroshi turned around and saw Yukiko screaming in shock as she stared at the monster. He wanted to take her with him and run, but her scream had attracted the man’s attention.

The strange man turned around, and Hiroshi saw that he had tanned skin and close-cut hair, and he was wearing sunglasses. That wasn’t too unusual on its own, but what was unusual was his expression. Even with his sunglasses on, his smile made him look possessed.

“You saw me, didn’t you?”

The strange man began to slowly stride towards Yukiko.

“N-No...”

Yukiko was frozen and unable to move. The man kept coming towards her, his arm stretched out.

“W-Wait!” Hiroshi yelled.

The man spun his head around, craning his neck in a bizarre angle. He looked at Hiroshi and then back at Yukiko, and then back at Hiroshi again.

“I see two people with the same face,” he said, “a big one and a little one! The big one isn’t that big, though.”

Then he rushed at Yukiko with surprising speed.

“Stop it!” Hiroshi yelled.

“Brother!” Yukiko’s scream echoed across the lake.

The strange man grabbed her and lifted her off the ground.

“I’m taking the little one as a hostage. Big one, don’t you run away... But this makes me seem like such a cliché villain... How boring. I guess it can’t be helped. I need a totally original plan, or it’s not art. Don’t you agree?” the strange man said to Hiroshi in a friendly tone.

—Damn it. Who is this guy?

Hiroshi was shaking with anger and fear. But he had to protect Yukiko, no matter what.

“Let my sister go.”

“Sorry, no. This isn’t art, and so it’s boring. But now that she’s seen me I need to get rid of her. Of course, that goes for you too.”

The strange man said. A bolt of fear ran through Hiroshi’s body.

—Where’s Keena...?

He turned around and saw Keena’s clothes lying on the ground. She must be using her invisibility magic. Maybe she’d be able to save Yukiko.

—If that weirdo isn’t that good at magic, then maybe I can...

Hiroshi held out his arms in a fighting stance and started to advance. The strange man laughed.

“You’re a student of the Academy, huh? So you’re a magic-user then.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Because what you’re doing is reckless and stupid. But still, I need you to try your hardest. Art lies in being reckless and throwing caution to the wind. So I’ll let you have a chance at doing something brave,” the strange man spoke of his strange theory.

“Shut... up!”

Hiroshi put his hands behind his back and tried to form a mana ball. He hoped that if he could get his attack ready when the man couldn’t see it, he could catch him by surprise.

But...

—What...?

Hiroshi didn’t understand what was going on. He couldn’t create the mana ball.

“This is impossible...”

It wasn’t that he was too nervous to perform magic. The mana was just refusing to gather.

“Hahahaha!” The strange man suddenly began to laugh.

He pointed past Hiroshi, towards the lake.

The demon beast was still in the center, looking like a giant tower in the middle of the water. Its body was squirming in the air, as if it was drawing something into its mouth.

“...Oh!”

Hiroshi realized what was going on. There was a light gathering at the center of its mouth.

“Is it... absorbing the mana?”

“That’s right! It’s a mana-absorbing demon beast! In this world, you need mana to do almost everything. And so when he appears...” The strange man laughed happily.

“What are you going to do with it?” Hiroshi asked, but the man just laughed louder.

“There’s no need for me to tell you that. But personally, I think as long as there’s destruction and disorder, that’s good enough for me. That is anarchy! That is art!”

“You’re crazy...” Hiroshi whispered, and the man began to scream uncontrollably.

“Crazy! That’s the problem with you plebeians! You don’t understand what noise really is! Destruction doesn’t just mean smashing things! If a boring man tries to destroy something, he can only do it in a boring way! Disorder is what makes people show who they really are!”

And then suddenly his expression became peaceful, as if the last few minutes had never happened.

“Well, you can’t expect the ordinary man to understand art. You need to experience it first-hand before you can truly understand. Anyway, that’s enough talking.”

The strange man started to stride towards Hiroshi now. Hiroshi’s blood ran cold as he realized what this meant.

—He’s really going to kill everyone who saw him...

Yukiko was still in the man’s arms. Without magic, there was no way he could save her. But Hiroshi wasn’t such a coward that he could run away.

—Even without magic, I can at least give Yukiko time to escape...

Hiroshi steeled himself. But before he could act, things got worse. Hiroshi saw something the color of skin pass through the corner of his vision.

!!!

Keena, now stark naked, was trying to sneak up on the man from behind. She probably hadn’t heard their conversation, and still thought she was invisible. When she got close, she reached out her hand to grab Yukiko.

If she had been invisible, she would’ve been able to grab Yukiko and get away. But now, with her mana gone, she was completely exposed.

—Oh no...

Keena saw the worry on his face. She stuck her thumb up as if to say “It’s okay.” Then she slowly moved around from the man’s back to his front, to make it easier to grab Yukiko.

“Hey,” the man said. Only then did she realize she was visible.

“Huh? How?!”

The man used his other hand to quickly grab Keena by the neck.

“I don’t know how you got here, but why are you naked?”

“Nooo!”

Keena tried to resist, but the man was too strong. He excitedly began to explain another pet theory.

“Attacking someone from behind while stark naked! I like it! That’s art! I’ll add you to the long list of naked artists! They’ve brought peace and tranquility, but more than anything confusion, to the cities over the years!”

He laughed as he swung Yukiko and Keena around in both hands.

“Kyaah!”

“Nooo!”

Yukiko and Keena sobbed.

“Yukiko!” Hiroshi screamed.

“Brother! Help me!”

“Hahaha! That would be reckless! But that’s why he should do it!” The strange man turned towards Hiroshi.

Hiroshi knew he couldn’t win. He didn’t have his magic, and his opponent was far bigger than he was. And the man knew he couldn’t use magic, too. He was probably ready to fight Hiroshi without it.

—Damn it...

Hiroshi was overcome with despair. More than anything, he was in despair at his own weakness. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the courage to face him. Even if his opponent was clearly insane, he had the courage to fight. But until now, he’d always avoided being in any situation where his own strength would prove the deciding factor. And because of that, he’d missed all his chances to become strong.

“My brother’s the hero! He’ll beat you up!” Yukiko was screaming.

—That’s not true.

Hiroshi thought to himself. He wasn’t strong. He preferred it when somebody strong made a decision, and he obeyed it. In a situation like that he’d happily give up his own life. But he’d rather die than end up with someone else’s life in his hands.

—I’m not a hero.

Hiroshi stood there, motionless. The strange man got closer and closer. Both of his hands were full. But Hiroshi couldn’t move.

The strange man’s leg swung out in a long arc. His kick struck Hiroshi in the head.

Hiroshi’s world turned upside-down. Everything shook for a moment with the impact, and then he found himself looking at the sloping ground.

“Brother!” He heard Yukiko’s voice.

“So he’s the hero, huh?” the strange man said.

“I’m here to stop the hero from being born. I’m supposed to mess up the plan for his birth. That’s part of my job.”

—What? What is he talking about? The plan? Wait, he seemed to know about the demon beast...

Hiroshi’s mind was oddly calm. Maybe he just didn’t care anymore. He stood up without even realizing that he’d done so.

“You stood up! I like that! That’s the recklessness I want to see!”

The strange man kicked him again.

“But the situation hasn’t changed! Because you’re weak! Because you’re tied down by what the rest of the world thinks! Because you don’t understand art!”

The man kept screaming, but what really hurt Hiroshi was his next kick, and his next words.

The man stood on one leg like a ballerina, and kicked the other out at Hiroshi. It landed directly on Hiroshi’s solar plexus. His whole body buckled forward.

And then the man raised his leg up high, taking Hiroshi upwards with it.

The man’s balance and strength were exquisite. He was carrying a girl in each hand, and lifting a boy up with one leg.

“And you’re not revealing who you really are. You’re willing to throw away your life instead. And I’m afraid that someone like that can’t complain, no matter what they have to suffer. You don’t even have the right to hate me.”

And then the man swept his leg up higher.

Hiroshi flew through the sky and landed in the lake.

“Brother!”

“Hiroshi!”

He heard what sounded like a scream from Yukiko and Keena. His body sank into the water. And even when the ripples disappeared, he didn’t come up.

The strange man nodded, satisfied.

“Now, I suppose it’s your turn.”

Neither Keena nor Yukiko had the strength left to scream. He grinned and looked at each of them in turn.

“Who should go first?” he said happily, but then he looked off into the distance as if he sensed something.

“Tch... The Demon King’s on the move faster than I expected. I guess he was following them... If I’m going to kill them anyway, it would be much more artistic to do it in front of him.”

He took the limply struggling Keena, and the now unmoving Yukiko, and started to walk.

○

The demon beast left the lake and started moving towards the village. It seemed to be seeking out sources of mana. It was so tall that it could be seen even from far away.

Akuto and Junko, who’d gone to look for Hiroshi, were struck dumb for a moment when they saw it.

Akuto felt something stirring in his chest when he looked at it.

—That monster... It’s like it’s calling to me.

“Wh-What is that? Do you know it?” Junko asked.

“No, I don’t,” Akuto said as he looked at Junko. She seemed very scared. After all, it was a huge sea cucumber. The incident earlier today had evidently traumatized her.

“If you’re scared, you can go home. I’m going to check that thing out,” Akuto said.

Junko’s expression stiffened but she immediately shook her head.

“I’m going too. I won’t slow you down, but... if I can...”

She started off strong, but her words gradually became weaker. Akuto couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself.”

“Th-That’s not what’s going on here!” Junko said loudly, but then she started to whisper again. “If you... If you’re with me, I think it will be okay.”

Akuto smiled.

“Then let’s go. I’m getting a weird feeling from that monster,” he said, and then he started to walk.

By the time they found the demon beast, they were already a long way away from the dorm. It felt to him like it was faster to go straight towards it than head back and find out what was going on.

But before long, Akuto had to stop. There was a tall man standing on the path through the forest. His skin was tanned and he wore sunglasses and a long white coat.

“Who are you?” Akuto asked cautiously. The man was very clearly suspicious.

“I shall give you the name I gave myself! I am Mister X!” the man said.

Akuto wasn’t sure how to react to the man’s strange attitude. And he certainly wasn’t sure how to react to the man’s stupid name.

“...That’s the name you gave yourself?” Junko asked.

“Be careful. He’s probably a pervert.”

“Shut up! None of you people understand art!” Mister X screamed.

“Art?”

“That’s right. I thought that the Demon King, of all people, would understand art,” Mister X said, and then took a step to the side, exposing the two hostages behind him.

“Ackie!” Keena, who was naked, screamed. Yukiko was next to her. They were wearing collars around their necks, and Mister X was holding the chains attached to them.

“I guess there was no need to ask who you were.”

Akuto’s voice was low. His gaze was piercing straight through Mister X. There was enough heat in his gaze to burn anyone, mage or not. But Mister X just grinned.

“You’re mad, huh? I like it when people expose their emotions.”

“You bastard! What did you do to Keena?” Junko screamed.

“Nothing. Yet, that is. But I’m about to murder her, and I wanted you, the Demon King, to see me. The kid I got rid of just before I came here was no fun at all.”

Junko’s face went pale. Keena had been following Hiroshi, and more than anything, if his little sister Yukiko was here, that meant...

“No...”

But the rage was completely gone from Akuto’s face now. His voice was calm and quiet as he spoke.

“Did you kill that kid?”

“That’s right. I kicked him again and again, and then flung him into the lake. If he could swim he might survive, but I think I kicked him hard enough that he didn’t have the strength left to do it.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Huh?”

“You’re about to have the same thing happen to you. But since there’s no water around here for you to drown in, we’ll have to use stomach acid instead.”

“What are you—”

Mister X couldn’t finish his sentence. His body was doubled over, and Akuto’s foot was embedded in his solar plexus.

“Gruggh... Gwahh...” Akuto removed his leg, and Mister X began to vomit up the contents of his stomach.

“Now shove your face in it!”

Akuto raised his leg to kick Mister X in the back of the head.

But even as he vomited, Mister X leapt backwards.

—!

Akuto was surprised at how fast he was. And it seemed that Mister X was surprised as well. Once he finished throwing up, he started to laugh with glee.

“Hahahahaha! This is great! You’re so much faster than the data said, and so much more short-tempered! That’s what I wanted to see! It’s not art otherwise! I take back what I said before. You do understand art!”

Mister X pulled on the chains that were holding Keena and Yukiko.

“But I’m starting to realize that I can’t get rid of them until I do something about you. I don’t really like taking hostages, but you two are going to have to—”

Yet again, Mister X didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Akuto moved even faster than before, punching him hard and sending him flying several meters.

“Gwahah!” Mister X slammed into the ground.

“I’d rather not get into the habit of fighting all the time, but if you’re telling me you killed one of my friends, then I can’t just shrug that off,” Akuto said, and then he snapped the chains he’d grabbed from Mister X.

“Ackie!” Keena cried as she grabbed on to him. He lightly patted her on the head as he shattered her collar and Yukiko’s with his fingers.

“Hang on. He and I are going to have a talk,” Akuto said. But Keena looked at him worriedly.

“Ackie?”

“Hmm? Don’t worry. There’s no way I’ll lose to...”

“That’s not it.”

“Hmm?”

“You can’t kill him.”

Her words brought him back to his senses.

—Oh jeez. I didn’t realize until she told me. I guess I was thinking it’s natural for me to kill him.

“Alright.”

He smiled and nodded at Keena. And then he took off his shirt and handed it to her, and motioned to Junko, who nodded and took Keena and Yukiko a distance away.

Then Akuto looked back at Mister X.

“What do you want? What the hell are you trying to do here?”

Mister X had only just managed to stand up. He was still laughing. He seemed to be truly enjoying himself.

“You’re amazing! I’ll never be able to defeat you the normal way!”

“What’s so funny?”

“When I experience art, I always go crazy! Don’t you want to laugh at those times, too?”

“I don’t care. I’m asking what you’re trying to do.”

“Haha! You’re pretty dense, huh? But that’s art, too! Well, I guess answering your question is easy enough.”

Mister X pointed behind him. Akuto could see the demon beast advancing as it howled.

“You’re going to just stay here and watch as that thing levels the village. All I have to do is keep you here.”

“What? What’s the point of doing that?”

“The point? Even if there was a point, I wouldn’t be allowed to tell you,” Mister X said as he laughed. “What I’m trying to say is that I can’t let you through.”

“You’ve got a big mouth for somebody who just got his ass kicked. I won’t kill you, but you’re never going to laugh again.”

Akuto took a step forward. If he didn’t stop it, the demon beast was going to attack the village. He needed to get past this guy before that happened.

And then...

Junko heard a noise from above and looked up, then shouted.

“Oh! Look...!”

Akuto looked up too. He could see his classmates flying through the blue sky. There were five of them in formation, some of the best in the class, all of whom had mastered flight magic. They’d probably seen the demon beast from the dorm and had permission from the teacher to attack it.

“You’re going to have that monster destroy the village, you said? If that was your goal then you’re wasting your time. It looks like the rest of the class are going to take care of it for me.”

But when he looked back at Mr. X, he saw that he seemed completely unconcerned. Akuto didn’t understand why he wasn’t more worried.

“Do you have someone else working with you?” he asked.

“Nope. I just know exactly how this is going to go.”

Mister X pointed his thumb at the demon beast without turning around.

“Oh!” Junko gasped.

The students in the air seemed to gradually lose power, and one by one they fell to the ground.

“Did they get shot down...? No, their mana...” Akuto immediately realized that the demon beast was absorbing mana. “That demon beast absorbs the mana around it?”

“That’s right. No mage can beat it. When the sea cucumbers on this island become demon beasts, they gain that ability. Wonderful, isn’t it? It’s a natural danger! Art!”

“You really want to destroy the village that badly? No...”

Akuto thought for a moment.

—What’s the point of destroying the village? He doesn’t just want to level the place. There’s nothing of value on this island. Or is his goal to use the demon beast? But if it absorbs mana, then he can’t control it either. But he doesn’t want me getting close to it, that means...

Akuto suddenly realized what was going on.

“So I have the power to stand up to that thing, don’t I?”

It was only when he said that that he realized the meaning of the strange sensation he’d been feeling.

—I feel some kind of sympathy towards that monster. I don’t want to think about why, but it’s got something to do with me...!

“There’s some kind of relationship between it and me. In other words, you want to make it seem like I’m the one who destroyed the village!” Akuto yelled.

“That’s right.”

Mister X clapped his hands together.

“But if you know that much, then just stand there and watch. Things will go the way you want them to, basically. You really are the Demon King. You have to accept that,” Mister X said, grinning.

“Shut up! I’m not the Demon King!” Akuto yelled, but Mister X wasn’t listening.

“You haven’t been hiding who you really are, you just refuse to accept it. At the bottom of your heart lies the truth. And I’m just helping to bring it out. You need to be honest with yourself.”

“Don’t act like you know how I feel,” Akuto spat, but the words gave him an awful sensation. It was like he’d realized something that he’d been trying to ignore.

—The person behind all this wants to make me become the Demon King. And it would have been impossible to execute this plan unless they knew what was going to happen. Can they see the future, or something?

“Who’s the one behind all this? Who told Korone she’d be fired? Who did all this? It has to be the Imperial Government. And the system that said I was the Demon King... All of this fits together, right?”

“You know I’m not going to answer that. You’re sharp, though. You’ll be a good Demon King.”

“Shut up! I’ll just beat the answer out of you. And then I’ll stop that monster, too. Kicking your ass will be easy.”

With that, Akuto charged forward.

“Nope!”

Mister X flung open the front of his white coat.

“What?”

“I-Is he a pervert?”

Akuto was surprised, and Junko blushed, at the sudden sight.

But the real shock came a moment later. He was wearing normal clothing beneath his white coat, but the inside of the coat was lined with speakers, all of which were howling with noise.

Clanging metal, electric beeps, badly sampled moans, all of it overlaid together to make a cacophony that filled the air around them.

“Noise...?”

“Hahaha! That’s right! This is noise music! The ultimate art!” Mister X said, filled with confidence and shaking his body like he was spasming.

“It’s obnoxious, you pervert!”

Akuto jumped towards Mister X, the man dodged him easily.

“What?!”

Akuto almost lost his balance.

“Hahaha! Do you think I’d fight the Demon King without a plan?”

“What do you mean...”

Akuto tried to turn around, but Mister X was faster. His kick landed in Akuto’s stomach.

“Gwah...!”

Akuto’s body was wracked with pain. He couldn’t breathe, but he could feel his muscles twitch.

—No way... I can’t focus my mana...

Akuto’s body was always enhanced with mana. So normally, no matter how hard he was hit, it wouldn’t affect him.

“This is the power of noise. I’m an anti-mage combat expert, you see.”

“Noise...?” Akuto looked up.

“That’s right. Unpredictable sounds disturb the heart. In other words, as long as you’re hearing my noise, you can’t use your magic! You won’t be able to concentrate enough to use even the simplest spell!”

Mister X pressed the attack with another kick. Akuto crossed his arms to keep the kick from hitting him in the stomach again, but it quickly turned into a blow to the head. Akuto was knocked away and landed on his back.

“And I love my noise! It’s the ultimate music! In other words, I can use magic to enhance my body!”

Akuto was just barely able to stand up in time to be hit with a roundhouse kick. He jumped back to dodge it, but Mister X just spun and kicked again from the opposite direction. This one landed hard on Akuto’s stomach.

“And lastly, I’ve trained my body to be able to fight without magic! When I fight with my art, even the Demon King falls before me!”

Mister X struck Akuto with one final kick, and Akuto landed headfirst onto the ground.

“Ackie!”

“Akuto!”

Keena and Junko screamed.

Mister X laughed.

“Don’t worry! He’s the one man I won’t kill! I need to wipe out the village and blame it on him! But I do need to kill the witnesses!”

Mister X turned his gaze towards the girls. Junko tensed.

“Junko...” Keena sounded worried.

“I normally rely on magic, but I know more marital arts than most people. I can do this,” Junko said, but she couldn’t hide her shaking legs.

Mister X started to move forward.

“I hate to say it, but it’s clear you can’t beat me just by looking at you. Now, there’s nothing artistic about a brutal murder, but I guess that’s what I’ll have to do.”

○

When Hiroshi sank into the lake, he was still conscious.

—It sucks to admit it, but it’s true that I wanted to hide my weakness...

Despite what was happening, he only felt frustrated with himself.

He hadn’t been able to become strong. No, he didn’t want the responsibility that came with that power. In the end, he’d used everything he could think of to run away from that.

—Yukiko...

His little sister’s face and words flashed through his mind

“You’re the hero, right Brother?”

He’d said no because he didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of everyone. He didn’t want to bear the burden of that responsibility, or of their hopes. But that had disappointed his sister. Whether he believed in the legend or not, he’d still let Yukiko down.

—Boss...

He imagined Akuto’s face.

All the hopes he’d had for Akuto were for his own benefit. If he was with Akuto, he wouldn’t need to get strong. Whether he believed in the legend or not, he’d still forced Akuto to bear the burden of those hopes.

He’d thought that by pretending to be even weaker than he really was, it would be okay if he was weak. That was how he’d spent his whole life.

And this was the result.

He opened his eyes. The blue lake came into his sight. The inside of the lake was quiet.

—Are you sure you want to drown here? If you swim you can still survive!

Hiroshi struggled.

—I need to swim! I was an idiot to think I didn’t have to learn!

He struggled and flailed for a moment before realizing he was near a place he knew. It was the cave that led to the shrine. There was a hole in the water that led there.

—I should have faced my fears and learned to swim, instead of avoiding it my whole life. But if I try now, I can still do it! If I try now, I can still change!

With new resolve, Hiroshi paddled through the water as hard as he could. He’d almost passed out, but the water currents helped him. They carried him into the hole without any work on his part.

He came to a spot in the cave with oxygen and took a deep breath.

He was still alive.

The cave was dark and just wide enough for a single person to pass through. Here he steeled his resolve.

—I’ll be reborn. I’ll be strong.

Hiroshi started to walk. He felt like he had just remembered something from a long time ago. As he went further, he saw light. It was proof that the caves connected to the outside.

And there was a shrine in the middle of the path. In the center was the stone with the hero’s sword.

He stood in front of the shrine. It was shorter than he was. The hero’s “sword” was too small to really be a sword, and the stone was too small to really be a proper stone. It was a knife in a rock, that was all.

Hiroshi put his hand up to it. He pulled. It didn’t come out. It looked like a small rock, but it was embedded deep in the ground.

—What if I can’t be the hero after all?

He pulled as hard as he could, but it didn’t matter.

—Is my resolve to become strong just not enough?

Just as he was about to give up, though, a new thought came to him, almost naturally.

—No, that’s not right. I’m already the hero. That’s how I need to think.

He pulled hard at the sword once more.

—I am the hero. Pulling this out doesn’t make me the hero.

He felt the sword begin to slide.

—I’m already the hero. But I just don’t have the hero’s power yet.

“And I’m about to get it,” he whispered.

And then he heard a voice answer.

“Authorization complete. Welcome, Hero.”

—Wha...?

The voice was clearly coming from the sword, which was so small that it was more like a knife.

“What... the...?”

Hiroshi didn’t know what was going on, but the knife changed shape inside his hand. The blade split open like a beetle spreading its wings, and a mechanical device appeared inside. The device wrapped itself around his wrist as he stood there in shock.

“Wah!”

The device transformed quickly, becoming a bracelet that wrapped around his arm.

“I am anti-magical combat unit D-13. Please give me a start-up command. The default is ‘hero.’ If you wish to leave this unchanged, please say ‘hero.’”

“Hero?”

“Command recognized. Please perform the start-up test. The command is once again ‘hero.’”

Hiroshi was shocked to find the voice coming from within his own head. But it was slightly different than the usual telepathic calls. There was no mana in this space to begin with, or at least, there wasn’t supposed to be. He couldn’t feel the mana within himself.

—Is this the power of the hero? An anti-magical combat unit?

Hiroshi said the word again: “Hero.”

“Unit engaged. Generating dimensional fault. Removing all objects within five centimeters of the user.”

There was a loud bang, and Hiroshi’s body was wrapped in light.

“Uwah!”

“Transferring unit. Transfer will require one second. Transfer complete.”

Hiroshi didn’t know what had happened. But when the light faded away, he realized that his field of vision was covered by something translucent.

—I’m wearing a visor or something. It looks like it put some kind of helmet on me.

Particles of light began to gather on the visor, forming words. A translucent display was floating in front of him.

“Electronics functioning normally. Life-support systems green. Please select internal or external air circulation. Use thought input to activate nuclear fusion engine.”

The words in his head were the same as the words on the screen.

—So basically, it’s put some kind of suit on me?

He walked outside and looked at himself in the surface of the lake.

He was wearing a helmet that came down to his nose. From a distance away, you wouldn’t know it was him. He was wearing a tight-fitting suit, but he couldn’t be sure what it was made out of. There was some kind of device on his wrist with several holes in it.

—Is this a weapon?

He raised it up to his face. It looked dangerous, like there were weapons inside. He craned his head around and saw that there was something on his back that looked like a weapon too.

—What is this?

And then he heard the voice again.

“Displaying manual. For help, perform thought input to select the dolphin in the lower right corner.”

The letters appeared before him. There was even a cute dolphin character in the bottom right. Hiroshi felt annoyed at the sight, and with that thought, the dolphin disappeared.

“Weapon usage requires the startup of the nuclear fusion engine. Perform thought input to activate the engine.”

—I see... So thought input means I think and it does what I want. And a nuclear fusion engine... That means...

“This unit can function in areas without mana. It can also absorb and destroy mana. It is guaranteed to be effective in battles against mages.”

—An independent combat unit that doesn’t rely on mana!

Hiroshi was elated.

—I can fight that pervert guy, and the demon beast too!

○

“...Now, there’s nothing artistic about a brutal murder, but I guess that’s what I’ll have to do,” Mr. X said as he advanced on the girls. He opened the front of his coat.

Junko tensed up, her cheeks flush with sweat.

“Junko...” Keena sounded worried. It was obvious that she couldn’t win. But Junko didn’t let it show.

“Shut up! I don’t care where I die, unless it’s in front of him! That goes for you and me both!”

Keena knew that she was talking about Akuto. She nodded strongly. Akuto must have heard her, because he stood up behind Mr. X.

“...You don’t get to touch them while I’m still alive,” Akuto said. Mister X turned to him happily.

“Oh, now this is unexpected! And anything unexpected is great art!”

“If you love the unexpected, then don’t set up everything so it goes the way you planned. I don’t know what it is you’re trying to set up with this prophecy thing, but tell your boss I said that,” Akuto said, and he readied himself to fight.

“I don’t like the prophecy either. But I have to do it anyway. But unexpected things can happen, and they bring with them chaos. And I love that more than anything!” Mister X was grinning.

“Now, you’ve managed to stand up, but how will you fight back? You need to entertain me. I’m not allowed to kill you, after all.”

Akuto put his hands over both ears.

“Haha! That’s a good idea! If you can’t hear the noise, you can win, huh?”

Mister X charged and kicked. Akuto couldn’t defend himself. He went flying.

“Gwah!”

“It’s not enough not to hear it! My noise is also a vibration that you can feel with your whole body! That’s what makes it true noise! I can make noise without sound! You felt it, didn’t you? When I took the resonant frequency of the mana in your body that night?”

Mister X shook his legs and began to dance in a weird, spasm-like way. He twisted his body and began to scream and spin.

—I see. So that headache I felt on that night was...

Akuto remembered the night when he’d first met Yukiko. That was Mister X’s doing. But knowing that now didn’t help him at all.

—Damn it... Is there nothing I can do?

Akuto looked up at the sky as he lay on the ground. He could see the demon beast rampaging in the distance, and hear screams mixed in with the sound of the noise. The monster was probably crushing the village. He could see flames rising up near its lower half. Some of the villagers were strong, perhaps, but without magic they were helpless. His classmates had probably fled too, since they were helpless as well. The demon beast was destroying everything around it, like a scene out of hell. And it was partially his fault.

—No, I need to do something while I can still move...

He was able to move his fingers when he tried, so he thought he might be able to stand up, but he didn’t seem to have the strength left.

—But even if I could stand up, there’s nothing I can do...

He tried to think of what he should do next, but he couldn’t concentrate because of the noise. His irritation just kept growing stronger and stronger. The destruction around him, and the frustration at being helpless against it, made him want to scream.

Mister X seemed to have turned his attention back to Keena and Junko. He could see him slowly pacing towards them.

—No matter what happens to anyone else, I have to protect them. Keena treats me normally even though everyone says I’m the Demon King, and Junko understands me like no one else. I can’t afford to lose them.

Even though they were about to be killed, both of them were looking at Akuto, worried about him.

When he saw them, he suddenly got an idea.

—I know!

“Wait.”

Akuto stood up, and Mister X turned around in surprise.

“You’re still standing up? But now it’s starting to annoy me. The same repeating refrain isn’t noise! And thus, it isn’t art!”

“Fwahaha... fwahahaha... fwahahahaha... fwahahaha!” Akuto began to shake with laughter.

“Huh?” Mister X seemed confused.

But Akuto only laughed harder.

“Wahahahahaha!”

“Wh-What’s so funny?!” Worry started to appear on Mister X’s face.

When he was done laughing, Akuto smiled an invincible smile.

“I finally understand what this noise you’re talking about is. It’s your music. It’s the cry of your soul.”

“Th-That’s right. But what does knowing that help you?”

“It means that if my soul screams louder, you can’t hurt me at all.”

But then the fear disappeared from Mister X’s face. He smiled in relief.

“If it was that easy to get rid of the noise, everybody would do it! Many have said that, and fallen before me! The noise cannot be predicted!”

“If it’s unpredictable, then I can just stop caring! No matter what, my voice will drown it out! I don’t know if I’m the Demon King, but I’m definitely me. And that’s one thing that will never change. If I don’t like somebody, I kick their ass. And of course, I don’t like you.”

Akuto began to move forward.

“It’s useless! Sink into a sea of noise!”

Mister X kicked Akuto once again. His kick landed. No, Akuto didn’t even bother dodging.

“I’m going to destroy you and bury your body in the ground! Whether you cry or beg, that won’t change! That’s my decision!” Akuto screamed.

Mister X turned pale. The sensation under his foot was clearly different than before. Akuto’s body felt like steel.

“You’re controlling your mana?”

“That’s right! I need to thank you. You taught me about what a scream from the heart really is. That doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass, though.” Akuto’s voice vibrated his whole body, canceling out the noise.

“Chiiih!” Mister X amped up the volume. But Akuto’s scream only got louder.

“You’re going down! For every kick you gave me, you get a punch!”

Akuto’s fist exploded on Mister X’s face. Mister X spun backwards through the air, and he landed face-up on the ground.

“Gwaah!”

Mister X took a moment before he could breathe again, but when he could he looked up at the stars and started to laugh.

“Hahahaha! I’m happy you understand my art. But no matter what you say, I’m working towards a greater goal. The greatest art. You’ll love it, too! I know you will! War, and war, and war! The last expression of art. All truly moving art was created during war. And whether you’re the Demon King or not, that’s the type of person you are. You can try to run from the fate that someone else laid out for you, but you can’t change the way you live. Most of the old dictators were geniuses, incredibly attractive, and all of them understood art. And you’ll rank up there with any of them! You’ll sacrifice those around you, without ever knowing that you’re doing it! Like right now, those two girls are going to die because of you! Hahaha!”

Mister X probably only meant this as one final line before his defeat. But it stunned Akuto.

“Shut up!” he screamed, but the edge was gone from his voice. Mister X was still lying on the ground, but he could feel the change in Akuto.

“I see. So that’s your weak spot, huh? I’m not just better at making noise, I’m better at using my brain, too.” Mister X raised his head.

His words reminded Akuto of Korone.

—Someone who’s sacrificed because of me...

Akuto stopped moving as the noise began to affect him once more. Akuto’s last hit had hurt Mister X hard, so he wasn’t as powerful as before. But still, his attacks were too much for Akuto to keep standing.

“Stop this! I will fight you!” Junko shouted, but her legs were shaking.

Mister X shrugged, as if he couldn’t be bothered to deal with her.

“I’m getting really sick of this, so I’m just going to end this now. Even if it’s not art.”

Mister X pulled an Incantation Gun out of the pocket of his white coat. Without her magic, a shot from it could kill Junko.

Junko stood between him and Keena, and Keena wrapped herself around Yukiko.

Akuto looked up, saw what they were doing, and screamed.

“Stop it!”

“Noise doesn’t stop when you tell it to. That’s what makes it great.”

Mister X pulled the trigger.

There was a loud bang as the bullet shot towards Junko. The shell, embedded with explosion magic, burst open right in front of her, covering all of them with fire.

Akuto screamed a wordless scream.

But...

“Pathetic. Can you really do nothing without me?”

He heard a calm voice from somewhere.

“Wha... Who’s there?” Mister X said.

Of course, Akuto recognized the voice.

“K-Korone... You came back?”

“Yes, I came back.”

Korone appeared from within the flames. She waved the cap-like piece of cloth in her hand and the flames and smoke started to disappear. Behind her, the other girls were safe.

“A fire blanket is always good to have.” She raised it high.

“Korone!”

“Korone...”

Junko and Keena yelled. Korone wordlessly gave them a victory sign with her hand.

“The details are rather complex, but I’ve made a plea bargain which allowed me to return.” And then she pointed to Mister X.

“CIM8, Code Name Mister X. Your present actions have been deemed outside the scope of your duties as an intelligence officer. Thus, as Akuto Sai’s observer, I will neutralize you in order to protect him.”

“A bullet from that gun should be enough to fry a Liradan’s brain! How did you survive it?” Mister X yelled in surprise.

“I am special,” she said as she began to walk towards Mister X. He opened his coat and showered her with noise.

“You’re wasting your time. It won’t affect me.” Korone was right on top of Mr. X.

“Tch!” Mister X tried to hit Korone with one of his kicks.

“Your attempts are futile.” She grabbed his foot with one hand.

“I’m willing to deal with this myself, but I’ll leave it to Akuto instead.”

Korone took a new tool out of her bag. It was shaped like a long rod, and she held it high.

“This is the magical bat! It may look like just a normal metal bat, and actually, it is just a normal metal bat!”

“What...?” Akuto sighed, but his face had begun to relax.

“I don’t need a weapon. I’ve got a hold of myself now that you’re back.”

“We can talk more later. For now, just know one thing. I’ve never felt that I’ve suffered for you, and I doubt I ever will.”

“If I can hear you say that, the rest will work itself out.” Akuto motioned for Korone to step back and stood in front of Mister X.

“Let’s keep going. I can’t let a girl handle this for me.” Akuto grinned.

Mister X must have decided it was time to end things, because he let loose another strange howl into the heavens and turned his noise to maximum.

Akuto and Mister X struck and kicked each other violently.

But now that Akuto had begun to concentrate enough to ignore the noise, Mister X was no match for him.

Eventually, his noise was overwhelmed.

Akuto’s next strike hit him in the stomach. His screaming stopped, and the noise from the speakers came to an end.

“I’ve lost... That was splendid art. But my plan is as good as successful. The villagers will spread fear of the Demon King, and eventually you’ll be driven from the school. When that happens, you’ll either have to die or rebel against the empire,” Mister X said in a raspy voice.

“It’ll be fine. It looks like I’m not alone after all,” Akuto said as he looked towards Korone and the other girls.

“Tch... You manslut...” These were Mister X’s last words before he fell to the ground.

“It’s over, isn’t it?” Korone came over and looked up at him.

When he looked into her eyes, he finally relaxed. And then suddenly he felt very embarrassed.

“I’m glad you’re back.”

“You are.” She nodded. There was something like joy on her expression.

“U-Umm...” Akuto wasn’t sure what to say, but Korone nodded as if she understood.

“But before our happy reunion, you need to finish things.” She pointed towards the direction of the demon beast.

—That’s right. That thing is still there.

Akuto saw the demon beast destroying the village. Its long cylindrical body was spitting up something long and white. It was probably its organs. Even at this size, it was a still a sea cucumber. But unlike a normal sea cucumber’s insides, any buildings they touched would start to melt. And its organs were regenerating at incredible speed. No sooner did one set land than another was spat out.

“Th-That’s...” Junko’s voice was shaking with fear.

Yukiko was sobbing, and Keena was trying to make her feel better.

“Let’s go.” Korone said.

Akuto nodded, but then there was a flash of light in the sky in the direction of the demon beast, even though it was the middle of the day.

—What is that?

It was coming from the sky and heading straight towards the demon beast.

○

“Please check the output gauge in the upper left. When energy transfer is insufficient, a reboot will be required. The main battery contains enough energy to power five minutes of flight.”

As he listened to the system, Hiroshi realized that what he was wearing was not a product of magical civilization. Unlike mana, there was no sensation of power welling up in his body. And unlike the sensation of riding on the wind you felt when controlling the mana in the atmosphere to fly, there was a feeling of floating, like being released from gravity. From the style, and the fact that it was made for humans to use, it was clearly not a product of a different civilization. It felt like something that was made before civilization began to rely on the use of mana.

—How much power does it have?

Hiroshi wondered. Since he couldn’t sense the power in himself, he couldn’t see how strong he was. But he could see the demon beast below him, and how it was destroying the village, and he knew that he had to do something.

—Can I do it? I guess I have to.

He thought he had to chase the strange man, too, but right now his house was about to be crushed by a demon beast. He couldn’t ignore that. His parents were standing a short distance from their home, firing hunting rifles at the demon beast. Of course, it didn’t seem to be doing a thing.

Hiroshi accelerated towards them. The suit did exactly what he told it to. It headed straight towards the Demon Beast, as if gravity didn’t exist.

—It’s so fast!

But his body felt almost no load at all. He could do this, he thought to himself.

“Do I have any weapons?” Hiroshi asked.

“There is a high frequency blade for your right hand. By controlling the vibrations, you can use it as a blunt weapon against other humans. This is recommended when you wish to capture or disable someone without endangering their life. The left hand contains an atomic cutter. It can be used to cut through non-living things. It will kill any living creature it’s used on, so caution is required. In addition, this weapon requires transfer from the trans-dimensional main unit.

“There are six laser cannons on your back. Each can be fired individually. Energy transfer is required after six shots. One minute will be required for reloading. These are the primary weapons. Please check the links for details on more options.”

“I’ve got the basic idea.”

Hiroshi flew through the air in front of the demon beast’s eyes. He needed to draw its attention. Of course, he didn’t know where its eyes were, so he just headed in front of the direction it was traveling.

The demon beast seemed to notice him. It tilted its head towards Hiroshi.

—Okay, this way!

He was satisfied that he’d been able to lead it away. He took a glance down at his parents. His mother looked surprised, but his father didn’t. He seemed calm somehow as he looked at Hiroshi.

—Does he know something about this, then?

Hiroshi thought, but there wasn’t time to ponder it. The demon beast had spat up its long white organs at him.

Hiroshi dodged them. He was amazed how easy it was. All he had to do was think about the movement, and it would respond.

—I’m getting used to this!

The long thin threads each moved on their own like living creatures, chasing him in ways that were almost impossible to predict. But the image on his visor showed him what was going on behind him. When he realized that he was looking into a rear-view mirror, suddenly he was able to visualize the entire world 360 degrees around him. He was able to see how the organs were moving and dodge them.

And there seemed to be a function that would automatically let him dodge anything that approached at his speed. Sometimes an organ would approach and he wouldn’t notice, and he’d dodge it without even realizing. From below, he must’ve looked like a ray of light weaving through the tentacle-like organs.

—Laser.

Hiroshi thought, and a shining laser fired from his back, rising up and backwards like a snake ready to strike before it headed straight for the demon beast.

The demon beast howled. Burn marks appeared on its spotted body, and steam from the dissolved liquid began to rise up. The laser swept across it, slicing it open. Any of its organs that were caught in the blast were sliced open and fell to the ground.

—Wow!

Hiroshi was excited. But he forced himself to calm down a moment later.

—No, I can’t get cocky. If I mess this up, it’ll put the others in danger.

The demon beast was writhing in pain. Hiroshi’s home ended up being caught in its spasms, and the organs that fell out began to melt the surrounding buildings.

—I need to put a stop to this now...

“Do I have any weapons for destroying large objects?”

“You have two options for anti-material weaponry. One is a nuclear fusion bomb. It can be transferred and equipped. It will turn a three-kilometer area into ash. Please get at least three kilometers away after dropping it within five seconds. It is recommended that you fire it from three kilometers in the air. Any living beings within a five-kilometer radius without radiation shielding will be in mortal danger.”

“...And the other?”

“A high-temperature plasma ball. A magnetically compressed plasma ball is created within the suit, and when the target is touched, the magnetic field is released, destroying the target. This cannot be used with the suit’s battery. Reloading will require five minutes.”

“I’ll go for that one.”

“Deploying heat-resistant cloak.”

A moment later, what looked like a fabric cape appeared around his suit.

“Transferring plasma.”

A ball of light appeared within the cape. It looked like he just had to touch the demon beast with this.

—So I’m supposed to just charge at it, huh?

Hiroshi looked at the demon beast that was writhing below him. If he could somehow pass through its body, he would be able to destroy it with the heat, perhaps.

—I guess I’ll try it.

Hiroshi flew higher for a moment, and then turned and accelerated towards the demon beast.

The cape spread out and the plasma ball began to spin. Soon Hiroshi was a ball of violently spinning energy.

“Plasma stabilization field functioning normally. Setting time between contact and release to one nanosecond. Adjusting visor spectrum translucency from 23% to below 1%. Deploying dimensional fault field. Contact with target in five seconds.”

He was rapidly approaching the demon beast, but strangely he felt no fear.

—So this is what it means to have power?

Hiroshi thought.

Now a ball of energy, he flew into the thing’s mouth, and just a few seconds later was back up in the sky. He looked down to see that the demon beast had exploded from within, and turned into a steaming brown mass before it could even scream.

—With this, it would be easy to kill anyone!

Hiroshi suddenly felt afraid. This was too much for him.

But...

—It would be easy to protect someone, too!

He looked down to see that the villagers were exhausted, but looking at him with a mix of relief and shock. From the looks on their faces, none of them realized that it was Hiroshi who was the mysterious flying hero.

Everyone was grateful to be saved, but he could see that they were uncertain who this hero was, and a little concerned. He felt like he had to say something.

“Voice output can be changed to protect the wearer of the suit.”

He heard the voice of the support system. It must have read his thoughts.

Hiroshi thought for a moment, and then waved his hand.

“My name is Brave, the legendary hero.”

○

Though he was still a good distance away, Akuto saw what was going on. Someone who was able to fly, even without mana, had defeated the demon beast.

“What is that?” Akuto said to no one in particular, and of course, no one answered.

Both Junko and Keena, and even Korone were looking on in shock.

“Is that the legendary hero...?” Junko whispered.

Akuto couldn’t tell her she was wrong.

“But how could the prophecy be true...?”

But then something even more shocking happened in the next instant. The hero flew through the sky towards him.

He flew as if gravity didn’t exist, and landed in front of them.

It was a man in a full body suit and helmet. He was short, but Akuto had just seen his power for himself. His body stiffened with tension.

“Who are you...?” Akuto said, but the hero didn’t answer.

The hero glanced at the fallen Mister X for a moment, and then disappeared.

“Huh?”

Akuto looked around, but by the time he found the hero it was too late. The hero had kicked Mister X’s body high into the sky. Mister X was breathing, but still helpless. He flew high up into the air.

—Oh no!

Akuto tried to stop him, but it all happened too fast. In the next instant the hero had disappeared again. He reappeared in the sky next to Mister X, and then he kicked him to the side. Mister X ‘s body flew far into the distance.

He heard the sound of water splashing far away. Mister X had fallen into the sea.

—Did he kill him?

Akuto thought that he must have.

“What are you doing?!”

Anger started to well up inside of Akuto. He didn’t like killing, no matter what the reason was.

The hero came back down to Earth, and walked towards Akuto with broad strides.

The two glared at each other.

Junko watched them, but the air between the two was like nothing she’d ever felt before. So far all the fights she’d seen Akuto in had been brawls, where the air was heated as the combatants hit each other with everything they had. But now the tension between these two felt like if they started fighting, something terrible would happen.

“Why did you attack him?” Akuto asked.

“I earned this power because I wanted to protect everyone. If I don’t get rid of him, I can’t protect this island,” the hero said. Akuto didn’t like those words.

“That’s wrong. There are better ways to do it.”

The two of them faced each other wordlessly.

“Oh!”

And then suddenly Yukiko, who’d been silent and dazed, spoke up. From the way he acted and what he’d done, she’d realized who the hero was. But her interjection caused the tension between them to burst.

Akuto’s right fist crossed with the hero’s.

Clang!

There was a metallic sound.

Akuto held the hero’s left fist in his hand.

The hero held Akuto’s right fist in his hand.

The two of them stepped away from each other.

The hero floated wordlessly into the sky. And as Akuto watched, he flew above the clouds and vanished.

—Is it... over? Akuto looked around at everyone else. Junko and Keena both looked relieved. And Korone was beside him too. All that was missing now was Hiroshi.

—I can’t believe he’d die in a place like this...

But just as he thought this, he heard a voice he’d never expected to hear from beyond the path.

“Boss! Yukiko!”

Akuto gasped and turned around.

Hiroshi waved his hand and ran towards them.

“Brother!” Yukiko was grinning. She ran towards Hiroshi.

“You’re alive... I’m so glad...”

Akuto saw them embrace each other and collapsed in relief.

And then Korone stood in front of Akuto. She lifted him to his feet, and then wrapped her arm around his waist and held him tight.

“It was pretty hard until I got back, you know?” Korone said looking up at him. There was a note of mockery in her tone, but it seemed to Akuto that she was blushing.

“I know what you’re doing. You’re fishing for compliments, right?” Akuto put his hand on Korone’s head.