2 - Too Many Masterminds

—Do I really have to fight?

Junko had thought she was resolved, but now she was feeling uncertain.

This was a battlefield, yes, but right now the only enemy was Akuto in the skies above. And Akuto was mostly just trying to keep the soldiers away from the school building. After 2V’s words, most of the soldiers who didn’t want to fight were trying to stay as still as possible. The demon beasts around the school weren’t moving either, so the situation didn’t feel as tense as a battle should have. That is, until Eiko’s order came.

—You can’t back down now!

Junko ordered herself, but she couldn’t help but think.

—I have to obey orders, but it’s Eiko who’s giving them. It would be stupid of me to simply follow her orders to the letter. But it’s also for the sake of my family. No, but Grandmother told me to do what I think is best. But... what do I think is best? What do I want to do?

Junko wasn’t sure, but the soldiers around her were furious at Akuto. The minute Eiko had given her order, the Hattori ninjas had been the first to fly up into the sky.

“We’ll avenge you, mistress!” they all screamed.

They were master soldiers, skilled in all types of combat magic. Five them surrounded Akuto as he circled in the sky on Peterhausen, all of them moving like one organic creature as they attacked.

“Iga Ninja Technique: Five Pointed Magic Circle!”

They rapidly moved in a circle, each of them following up the other’s attacks. They used swords, shurikens, scythes... It was a powerful combination attack that had probably been developed to defeat huge magical beasts.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve fought, and it seems human fighting styles have evolved!” Peterhausen shouted with joy. The old dragon, the Demon Lord’s servant, seemed excited for his first battle in a long time.

But his master, Akuto, didn’t seem to be enjoying the battle.

“It’s an unnecessary evolution, and it’s not that effective, either.”

Akuto stood up on Peterhausen’s back and grabbed the leg of an attacking ninja. He spun the ninja around and used them to deflect the others’ attacks.

“They seem to have prepared for a situation where one of them is taken hostage, but they aren’t able to deal with unexpected situations well,” Akuto said. He flung the ninja he was holding at the others, sending them all to the ground below.

For an instant, blood ran to Junko’s head when she saw how casually her men had been defeated.

“You bastard! What are you doing?”

Junko leapt into the air. She put her hand on the larger of the two katanas at her waist. But then she remembered that it was her clan’s treasure sword, the Sohaya no Tsurugi. If you weren’t chosen by the sword — if you weren’t chosen by the god Suhara — you couldn’t draw it.

—Can I draw it? No, if I can’t...

“Tch!”

Junko grabbed the smaller sword instead. She drew it and held it with a backhand grip as she slashed at Akuto.

Akuto blocked her simple attack with his bare hand. He’d grabbed onto the blade itself.

“Guh!” Junko grimaced. She couldn’t move the sword, no matter how hard she pulled or pushed on it. And there was no blood coming from Akuto’s hand, either.

Akuto was staring at her wordlessly. The lack of evil in his eyes made her flinch.

“Wh...Why are you making that face?”

Junko used the katana as support as she spun her leg around to kick at his face. He dodged the blow by slightly moving his head, and at the same time let go of the sword. The momentum of her own attack carried her away from him.

“Tch... Wh-Why?!”

She didn’t cry, but she bit down on her lip. It was frustrating that he didn’t even think of her as an opponent. She hated her own weakness.

—It’s like he doesn’t even care about me! And he doesn’t seem upset at all, even though I’m his enemy! Am I too weak for him to think of me as a threat? Or do I just not matter to him at all? Gah...! Why am I even thinking about this?

She put the smaller katana away. And then, she put her hand on the Sohaya no Tsurugi.

—If I had the power to at least wound him once...! Then he would give me his attention!

“Why don’t you care about me?!” she yelled.

And then she realized that she’d shared her deepest thoughts without realizing it.

—No... That’s not what I meant! I mean, it is, but... No!

Junko charged forward, her hand still on the Sohaya no Tsurugi, but she couldn’t draw it.

Her face took on a look of shock as she realized she didn’t have a weapon, but once she’d started moving, she couldn’t stop. She approached Akuto fast, her hand still on the hilt. And ridiculously enough, she slammed right into him.

“Aah!”

She realized that Akuto had wrapped his arms around her, and squirmed. But Akuto didn’t let her go.

“S-Stop it! What are you doing?”

“I didn’t realize you felt that way.” Akuto said. Junko froze.

“Huh?”

“You’re so much more important than me. Even now, you have so many people serving you. So I had no idea you wanted me to care about you,” he whispered into her ear, his voice completely serious.

“A-Are you stupid? Don’t you realize what’s happening now?” she said, but he just nodded and continued.

“My battle is something that only I can fight, so I became obsessed with it. Once it’s over, I promise to treasure you.”

“T-Treasure me?” Junko felt her face getting so red she thought it might explode, as all the tension drained from her body.

“Be careful,” Akuto said as he gently set her down. Her flight magic was still in effect, so her body slowly floated towards the ground.

—Y-You dummy... If you say that, then I won’t know what to do...

○

Junko was still in control as she fell towards the ground, but the Iga Ninjas were too far away to realize this.

“Th-The mistress was defeated!”

“Curse you, Demon King! Did you use magic on her at a range too close to dodge?”

“Let’s go! Attack again!”

“Eight-Pointed Magic Circle of Rage!”

This time, eight of them attacked Akuto at once.

Peterhausen sighed when he saw them.

“I guess I take back what I said. They’ve evolved, but only enough to learn one attack...”

The dragon knocked the Iga Ninjas away with a wave.

“They’re just angry. You shouldn’t be insulting. Though what they’re angry about, I don’t know...” Akuto said.

“...More importantly, my master, what do we do now? If there’s no one here who can threaten you, there’s no need to be up in the sky. We should go achieve our goal.”

“There’s someone we need to stay up here for. We can’t leave just yet.”

Akuto was looking down at Yuko. Junko’s little sister, the popular idol. After her near-fatal encounter with demon beasts, she now had demon beast mana in her body. And Akuto’s appearance appeared to have affected her mind. She had almost lost control when she saw Junko fall, and now she was rising up towards Akuto.

“That girl? You can ignore her. If you want to save lives...”

Akuto cut him off and pointed behind her.

“I’m talking about that.”

“Behind her?” Peterhausen spun his head around again to see a shadow rising like a bullet behind her.

“Him?!” Peterhausen cried. “Uwooaah!”

Brave was slicing through the atmosphere as he rose up towards them. Brave, wearing his trademark special suit, was known as the hero who appeared out of nowhere to defeat demon beasts. The light surrounding him wasn’t the same usually emitted by mana use — it appeared that his suit didn’t use any kind of mana.

“I don’t sense any mana!” Peterhausen shouted in surprise.

“Be careful, he can probably use a mana canceler.”

Just as Akuto finished his words, he and Peterhausen collided with Brave.

There was a sound of clashing metal that could be heard even by the soldiers below. Then the two of them backed off from one another and faced off.

Brave was holding the high-frequency blade claw with a look of confidence, but Peterhausen’s body was shaking with excitement.

“Oh, this is a surprise! In my century of life, no one has ever hurt me before!” The dragon shook his wings to level himself out, as if trying to maintain his sanity.

“Hurt you? Are you okay?” Akuto asked, but Peterhausen just smiled cruelly.

“Okay? If anything, I don’t know what to do with all this power. This is why I was born! The claw on his hand is as hard as my own claws! He is a worthy foe! Foes like him are the only ones that can make me realize why I exist! You understand? You should understand, right master?”

“I do. Those who were born strong always end up alone. Especially those like you, who don’t grow weaker with time. But this time, we may need to be prepared to lose. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his claws’ power, and he has other weapons as well,” Akuto said.

In the video he’d seen before, Brave had caused the claw to vibrate at a high frequency. And he hadn’t yet used the wires that had ripped the demon beasts around him apart instantly, either.

“Prepared to lose? Heh. I’m prepared to die, but I’ll never be prepared to lose.” Peterhausen laughed.

“Glad to hear it,” Akuto said, though he sounded a little sad.

Brave was hovering in front of Yuko, who’d caught up to him from below, as if to protect her. He was whispering something in her ear. She must’ve agreed with whatever he said, because she headed back down.

“It seems he has a soft spot for women, as well.”

“As well?” Akuto ignored Peterhausen’s comments as he pointed to Brave. “Anyway, we won’t be able to leave unless we can deal with him somehow.”

“Ahh yes, so it seems. He’s a worthy opponent for us. Now, let’s go.” Peterhausen accelerated towards Brave.

○

Yuko went back down to the ground.

“Mistress, that was crazy!”

“Let us handle this!”

The ninjas worriedly gathered around her, but she shook her head. She didn’t try to tell them she was okay. Instead, she pointed upwards with a brilliant smile.

“Don’t worry. Brave will kill him for us. Let’s kill the other demon beasts,” Yuko said with an idol’s grin.

There were live broadcasting cameras on the battlefield. And there was a cameraman who covered Yuko, the idol, specifically. Her idol face was probably for that reason, but there was a madness in her that made it plain there was something more going on.

“Everyone! Forget the orders! Brave will handle them! So let’s get inside the school!” Yuko waved her hand for everyone to follow her, and then started to run.

The ninjas around her weren’t sure what to do. They’d just been told to disobey orders, and their commander wasn’t Yuko, it was Junko.

Junko had backed away from the fight, and was telling the ninjas that she was okay. When she heard what Yuko was doing, she approached her to scold her.

“Yuko, this is a battlefield, you can’t just...”

But her lecture was quickly cut off. A cameraman and a reporter had gotten between them.

“After being protected by the heroic Brave, Yuri Hoshino is about to head into battle! Yuri! Yuri!” The reporter knocked Junko out of the way, calling her stage name. “Yuri! Don’t you think it’s dangerous?”

“I’ll be fine! Brave is going to defeat the evil Demon King! So it’s my job to beat up the demon beasts!” Yuko said to the cameras.

It was like a scene from a movie, where a courageous idol overcomes her fear and heads into battle. She was clearly acting, but the battlefield was for real. It must have been tremendously exciting for the viewers.

There was no denying that this was the real thing.

Junko got a message from Eiko, her commander.

“Yuko can take command of the Hattori ninjas.” “Does that mean you’re changing your orders?” Junko asked.

“Yup. Her little stunt’s getting a good reaction. You’re pretty popular yourself, too. Maybe you could be an idol if you wanted to,” Eiko said sarcastically.

Eiko had allowed the broadcast only because she wanted the people on her side. She seemed to be receiving reports about viewer reaction, too.

“...Roger.” Junko said, frustrated. She followed after Yuko, motioning for the others to go as well.

The Hattori ninjas charged towards the school with Yuko in the lead. The units on standby near the building had already begun their assault.

○

“Heheheh... It’s always a pleasure to see an enemy fall into your trap.” Fujiko grinned as she watched the battle unfold on her mana screen.

“You sound kind of like a bad guy...” Keena said as she watched Fujiko.

“I am the bad guy,” Fujiko said matter-of-factly.

The Student Council President had already left, and except for the Cerberus, only Fujiko and Keena were in the small, screen-filled room.

Fujiko was looking from one screen to another, giving orders to her demon beasts. The screens were displaying the school’s security cameras, showing all the important spots for Fujiko’s strategy. In other words, the spots where the enemy was trying to break in.

“Just as I planned. The standard strategy in this situation is to lay siege to the enemy, but she can’t do that with the cameras rolling. She’s too scared of casualties to have everyone charge the school at once. In the end, her only choice is to attack the three entrances, the front entrance, the rear, and the connecting corridor, at the same time. It’s like she’s walking right into my trap! Hahaha!” Fujiko laughed as she waited for the right moment.

The right moment would be when the enemy just entered the school. The enemy had built barricades near the school, and had split into two groups: some firing assault rifles at the school, while others readied their katanas. The question was, when the enemy was going to move?

Fujiko had the demon beasts with hard shells, like crabs and turtles, stationed at the outer walls of the school. The Incantation bullets from a rifle wouldn’t be able to hurt them, but she had still ordered them to slowly retreat. She was luring the enemy in.

And then at Eiko’s order, the charge came. It was right after the Hattori had been given permission to attack, and just what Fujiko had hoped for.

The platoon commanders gave the assault order. The rifle fire intensified, as Incantation bullets loaded with explosive magic rained down on the entrances. In the next instant, the soldiers came in through the smoke, covering each other’s flanks.

But Fujiko’s orders came just an instant quicker.

“Begin the attack on the barricades! Aim from above!”

The demon beasts began to charge, all at once. The demon beasts that used echo-location to see were able to attack the enemy without being interrupted by the smoke, and the flying types were able to go over the smoke and explosions to swarm the barricades.

Each platoon had a few fliers, which were all carrying large steel greatshields to use as mobile barricades to defend from air attacks. But there were just too many demon beasts. Until then, demon beasts had never used any kind of tactics. Furthermore, very few members of the military had ever actually fought them, so they were quickly pushed back on the defensive.

The same thing happened to the soldiers who were trying to get inside. They hadn’t expected the demon beasts to attack, and the flying ones were now behind them, so they couldn’t return to the barricades.

“Split up and fight!” one of the platoon commanders shouted hopelessly.

The individual soldiers knew little magic, and had no way of winning in a one-on-one fight against a demon beast, so “fighting” was out of the question. They were quickly knocked back by the demon beasts and removed from the fight.

The few who could use magic protected their comrades, and tried to maintain order by falling back from the barricades, but the whole assault force was in chaos.

Fujiko saw the same thing happening on all three screens, and laughed loudly.

“Ahahaha! A great victory! I guess that’s just proof that I’m the better commander!”

But Keena sounded worried.

“Are all those soldiers okay, you think?”

“In the military, if you’re hurt, you drop back and leave the fight. Things are different than they were hundreds of years ago. They have medics, and not even a few percent will die instantly. And anyway, if we worry about that, we can’t win!” Fujiko answered excitedly, but she didn’t order her demon beasts to pursue. She was satisfied with routing the four platoons, so she drew her forces back. “Next, it’s time for the Hattori to arrive. These guys are tough. Even alone, they can fight demon beasts. I’ll have to change my strategy...”

Fujiko turned her attention to the Hattori Ninjas charging the front gates. She could see Junko and Yuko walking at their head.

“Oh, it’s Junko!” Keena exclaimed worriedly. But Fujiko grinned.

“That’s perfect. This is my chance to bury my rival!”

“Huh? You can’t do that,” Keena said, but Fujiko ignored her.

“Hohoho. Even if she gets hurt, it’s her fault. Even if Akuto forgives her for opposing him, I won’t!”

“Hey, you can’t do that! Right, Kelpie?” Keena said as she rubbed the throats of all three of the Cerberus’s heads.

“Would you not give my monsters weird names? Kelpie’s the name of an entirely different type of demon beast! And I thought you hated dogs!”

“Dogs are scary. But if he’s got three heads, he’s not a dog, right?”

“I don’t really understand how that works...”

“It doesn’t matter! If you fight too much, you’ll go ‘bon!’”

“‘Bon’? What are you talking about?” Fujiko asked, confused.

But there wasn’t time to worry about it. Fujiko had to deal with the ninjas.

“They’re here! Now let’s go, my demon beasts!”

○

Eiko had given the okay for the Hattori to attack, but she’d been astonished at what had happened in the battle just after that.

“N-No... Damn it! Don’t run just because the enemy showed up! I need units who can fight the demon beasts... I know. Hattori’s troops just went up there. I’ll have them do it and pull the others back... No, that won’t work. That’ll just make them more popular!”

She was only leading this command to gain popularity for herself. It would be no good if the Hattori saved the day.

“But the battle at the front entrance is too important to just shut the cameras off. Should I send the Teruya units in? No. It’s not a good idea to do that unless we’re winning. Maybe bring down some aircraft from the carrier? Or maybe use the carrier itself?”

“I can help, if you’re having trouble,” 2V said from behind her.

“Do you have some ideas?” There was nobody from the media in the command tent, so Eiko could rely on 2V without worrying that someone might see.

“There’s one more person from C-MID8 who’s here now. I can have them do some work for us.” 2V spoke as if he was having fun. His mind seemed to be concentrated here now, rather than in the Liradan he was controlling.

“Work? Who is it?”

“A specialist at infiltration and information gathering. They’re a bit of an odd one, though. Their code name is Lovers.”

“Lovers? That is weird. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. What do I do?”

“I’ll have them delay the Hattori. Then you can send the Teruya in.”

“It’s just that simple?” Eiko asked, and 2V nodded.

“It is. We, too, need a victory here. There’s no reason for you to doubt us,” 2V said casually. And then he pointed up to the sky.

“You need to hurry. That will cause the battlefield to get out of control.”

Eiko knew instantly what he meant by “that.” A huge explosion had just occurred, and she was blinded by an incredible light. It was followed by a huge shock wave that threatened to blow away the tent, and even her communicatory. Only after that did she hear the sound of the explosion.

Eiko couldn’t understand what had happened, until she took another look at the sky. A huge fireball had appeared — proof that Akuto and Brave were fighting.

“Wh-What the hell is that? No human could do that!” she shouted.

“Agreed. But it seems that that’s our opponent.” 2V laughed happily.

○

—He can block my plasma ball?

Hiroshi couldn’t believe it. He’d used the plasma ball as a means of defense, if anything. The enemy knew it would explode if it was touched. But Akuto, or rather, Peterhausen, had charged into it without hesitation. And they’d survived, only to attack him.

“You should use your body to fight, young man!” Peterhausen roared as he attacked.

Hiroshi crossed his arms to block the dragon’s claws.

—Use my body? I have to plan out how I use my weapons...

Hiroshi sighed to himself.

The Brave suit’s energy and weapons came from another dimension. It took time for the heavier weapons to recharge.

“Four minutes and 20 seconds until the high-temperature plasma ball is ready for use...”

The suit’s voice echoed in his head as the screen on his visor counted down. He could use the energy powering the suit to attack, but doing so would immobilize him for several seconds.

“I’m not here to listen to lectures!” Hiroshi switched his claw blade into high-frequency mode and attacked. The two claws collided, sending violent sparks flying everywhere.

“Wire!”

Hiroshi moved his left hand to deploy the molecular cutter. Even Peterhausen didn’t want to touch that. This time he dropped back, and Hiroshi charged forward.

“Tch!”

“Uwooaah!”

The two of them flew through the sky towards one another. As they flew, a huge explosive wind formed, which became a whirlwind that knocked back everything around them.

Most of the soldiers they’d flown over were knocked back, and the ones in their path screamed and fled.

In the center of the storm, Hiroshi screamed to Akuto,

“Why don’t you fight, for all your lectures?”

It was Peterhausen, not Akuto, who answered.

“It’s not my master who fights, but me! I’m the one who wants to fight!”

“Not him! You! Why are you fighting?” Hiroshi kept shouting to Akuto.

“I want to kill the gods. That’s all.” Akuto’s voice was surprisingly soft.

“What’s the point? You’re threatening people’s way of life, using these demon beasts as servants, and bringing destruction! With your power, couldn’t you guide people in a better direction?” Hiroshi yelled.

“I would, if it were possible,” Akuto answered. “Have you ever considered that there’s a reason I can’t?”

“Of course it’s better if anything that threatens our way of life or brings destruction is removed! Thanks to the gods, there’s less crime. The only criminals left are the insane!”

“Do I look like I’ve gone mad to you?”

“You don’t. But whether you’re mad or not, what you’re doing is insane!”

“Then kill me. But if I seem insane to you, I hope you would realize it’s because I’m right.”

“Then explain how you’re right!”

“Mankind has given a name to something that’s only a system, and at some point they started thinking this delusion is real. That’s what really needs to be gotten rid of.”

“That’s so abstract, it isn’t even an answer!”

“I can’t get to the root of things by being simple. What I’m saying is that humanity is too reliant on a story. Gods are just names we’ve given things. We’re not looking at the truth, or even the connections we have with other people. We’re trying to fit other people into a story we dreamed up. People seek their happiness in the story we have now, where the gods rule. We kill and make war based on that story. If that’s how things are, then I...”

Akuto stopped.

“Then what?” Hiroshi slashed at him.

Peterhausen didn’t block this time. Instead, Akuto grabbed the high-frequency blade himself.

The mana light rippled out as the blade vibrated.

Akuto raised his hand, pulling up the blade and Hiroshi’s arm. And then he spoke.

“I’ll tell you all that the story itself has been defeated.”

Hiroshi howled when he heard those words.

“But then you really will be the Demon King!”

He tried to wrap the wires on his left hand around Akuto’s body, but Akuto didn’t let them touch him. He used mana to freeze them in the air.

“Then the story has its hold over you!” Akuto shouted back, then knocked Hiroshi away.

Hiroshi stabilized himself in mid-air as he fired lasers from his back. The lasers changed course as they shot through the air, like shining spider legs were growing from his back.

“Even if I am, there are people suffering because of you! There’s a girl who can’t live without the gods!” As Hiroshi shouted, the lasers attacked Akuto one after another.

“There are people who use the story to trick people and fulfill their own desires! She’s one of their victims!” Akuto said as he deflected the lasers with his aura alone. The lasers shot into the ground, sending the troops around them scattering.

“Don’t be so selfish! How are you going to take responsibility for this?”

The high-temperature plasma ball had reloaded, so Hiroshi summoned it again.

“I’ll take all responsibility in the end, once I’ve ended the story of gods and religion!”

Akuto ordered Peterhausen to fire his iron spikes. The spikes flew at Hiroshi like a missile.

“That’s not what I meant! You should be able to save her now! Why don’t you remove the demon beast mana from her body? You took the mana out of that dog when it was infected. So why can’t you do it now?”

Hiroshi was forced to use the plasma to block the spikes. There was a series of incredible explosions, sending shockwaves into the surroundings.

Peterhausen and Akuto flew through the explosions towards Hiroshi. Hiroshi didn’t have time to recover, so he was forced to block Peterhausen’s fangs from the front.

“You know me, don’t you?” Akuto asked. It was clear from his voice that he wasn’t expecting an answer.

—Oh no.

Hiroshi had blurted something out that he shouldn’t have. He was angry with himself, but he didn’t answer. At this point, it didn’t matter if Akuto knew who he was.

The jaws in front of him were the greater danger, now. He was using his arms to keep them from closing down on him, but if one metal spike reached him, he was done for.

—Is there any way to deal with this? He thought, and the computer voice in the visor answered.

“Will you switch to Anti-Demon King mode?”

—Is it dangerous?

“There is no danger. There is no doubt you will be able to defeat the Demon King.”

—No doubt...

Hiroshi felt something cold in those words. A part of him had always trusted Akuto. But when he heard those words, he felt an uncertainty rising up within him.

When he saw the metal spike being formed in Peterhausen’s throat, he was forced to make a decision immediately.

“Damn it! Switch to Anti-Demon King Mode!”

When Hiroshi said those words, a light like none he’d ever seen before enveloped the Brave suit.

○

During the battle between Brave and the Demon King, there was no small amount of chaos among the soldiers on the ground below. Yet the Hattori Ninja forces were perfectly calm.

So, however, were the demon beasts. As a result, the only spot on the battlefield where a real battle was taking place was the front entrance.

The demon beasts were using a tactic where they attacked in groups of three, but they were still less organized than the Hattori. They were unable to keep up with the impressive way the ninjas covered each other, and were quickly cut down one after another.

The viewers watching at home must have seen Yuko among them, fighting more bravely than anyone else. The demon beasts that charged her were cut down by her ninja blade, and she seemed to be giving the ninjas around her orders.

However, the truth was that the cameraman and reporter were so close to Yuko that she couldn’t be exposed to attack. The Hattoris had surrounded her carefully. Any demon beasts that got close were either wounded or isolated from the rest of the group, and thus easily slain.

“Do you see this, dear viewers? Do you see Yuri Hoshino? An idol, bravely fighting the demon beasts! This is the new face of a modern woman, strong and beautiful. This is the goddess that everyone has dreamed of!”

Even so, the reporter’s excitement was palpable as he shared her exploits with the viewers. The broadcast that Eiko had hoped would bring her fame was instead only bringing support to Yuko.

—It’s not really good that she’s getting popular for this...

As she slew the demon beasts approaching Yuko, Junko kept glancing over toward the reporter.

—She’s the type of girl who cares about her comrades, but she’s not the type who gets excited about slaying Demon beasts. It must be bad influence from the mana...

There was too much that Junko had to think about.

And then...

“You’re Yuri Hoshino’s sister, right?” The reporter turned the microphone towards Junko.

When Junko didn’t answer, he gave her a disapproving look.

—He’s not happy because I’m not giving him the story he wants, huh?

Junko wasn’t happy about this at all.

But just then, a demon beast came down from the sky behind the reporter. It had already seemingly lost the ability to fight, but Junko took this opportunity to stab it with her katana.

The silver blade went right past the reporter’s face.

“Aaah!” the reporter screamed. Just behind his head, the blade had stabbed into the demon beast, and warm blood was spurting out.

“I am her sister, yes,” Junko said, ducking out of the way to avoid the blood. The demon beast collapsed in the direction of the reporter, who fled.

—Hmph. Well, that’s one less thing to worry about.

So Junko thought; but this had been broadcast too, and her own popularity had gone way up. And while she had no way of knowing this, that fact was about to have an influence on Eiko’s strategy.

○

“What’s going on?! What is this ‘Lovers’ doing?!” Eiko was panicking. She screamed at 2V while she watched the reaction to the footage on her mana screen.

In the skies above, Akuto and Hiroshi were having a battle beyond what any human was capable of. Because of that the army wasn’t fighting, and so there were no casualties, but that meant they weren’t making any headway, either. The only forces fighting — the Hattori — were getting all the screen time, so the viewers were unaware that the rest of the forces below were scattered about. But the price was that Junko’s popularity was rising, and Eiko couldn’t handle that.

“There’s not a single way that girl is better than me! Damn it! Stupid men only like you if you’re a virgin!” Eiko shouted, and then yelled at 2V again. “So what exactly is ‘Lovers’ planning to do?!”

“It’s fine. He’ll take care of this immediately,” 2V said, annoyed, just as an eerie shadow flitted across the battlefield on the screen for an instant. 2V whistled. “He’s here.”

○

Junko saw that things were going fine, and wondered if she needed to ask Eiko for any more orders. At this rate, she’d be able to secure an entrance into the school. But there was no need to just walk right into the enemy’s trap.

And...

—If I keep going, I’ll have no choice but to fight against Akuto and Fujiko.

Junko still wasn’t sure what to do. She was angry at herself for her lack of decisiveness. No, maybe she really had made her decision. But because of her family and her social position, she couldn’t take action.

—In the end, maybe I’m just a coward.

She couldn’t imagine changing that would fix anything, though, which only made her more frustrated.

—I want the power to change things.

This was the first time she’d started to feel that way about political power, not just physical power. She’d spent a lot of her life helping others, and since she was the type who didn’t mind training or studying, she’d never understood how it felt to use power for her own sake. But now, she was starting to understand.

When the waves of demon beast attacks subsided, she put her hand on the hilt of the Sohaya no Tsurugi again. She’d pulled hard, but couldn’t draw it out.

—You have to be chosen by our god to draw it... But Grandmother said that I just need to do what god wants... But what does Suhara want now?

As Junko thought about it, she saw a demon beast in the corner of her vision.

—I guess they won’t give me time to think things through...

She drew her smaller katana again and advanced. It was a demon beast that looked like a human, but with long limbs and that walked on all fours.

—No... This is...!

Junko got a bad feeling, and stopped. Unlike the other demon beasts, it wasn’t using any teamwork. And it didn’t look like any of the others.

Her bad feeling was right. It was flinging its arms around like whips. The arms stretched out far longer than seemed possible, slicing through the air where Junko had been just a moment ago.

“A demon beast... or maybe not,” Junko whispered.

Its skin was slick and shiny like rubber. There was no hair on its head, either. It looked like a human in full-body rubber, or some new type of creature, but its arms were far too long to be human and its joints bent the opposite way a human’s did. But it lacked the awful presence that a demon beast had.

—So why is It attacking me, then?

Junko didn’t know, but she didn’t have time to think. It must have recognized her as a strong opponent, because it leapt behind her and began to attack the Hattori ninjas.

“Watch out!” she screamed. The ninjas heard her and saw the enemy coming, but several of them were instantly knocked away.

—Impossible!

Junko was stunned. She saw exactly what had blown them back. All of the ninjas had tried to block the thing’s attack with their blades, but the rubberlike arms were both supple and strong. It was hard to believe, but their swords couldn’t cut into it. The arms were a paradox, like a soft metal pole. The parts of the arms that touched the swords bent, but only enough so that when they snapped back they blew away the ninjas holding them.

“Avoid the arms!” the ninjas shouted. They responded immediately, attacking the mysterious creature. Several of them were caught off guard by its seemingly random attacks, but five of them managed to get under it. They all stabbed it at once.

But all of them opened their eyes wide in shock. The katanas went right through the body, or so it seemed. It was like trying to poke through rubber with a stick. Its body stretched out softly, and the swords went through it without breaking the skin.

“Gwah!”

“What?”

The Hattoris shouted in surprise. The body snapped back just like rubber, sending the swords high into the air and the ones holding them blasting backwards.

“Get back! I’ll try heat!” one of them yelled, deciding to try magic. He created a fireball and flung it at the rubber monster. But before it could hit, the monster opened its mouth and spat out flame of its own, absorbing the fireball.

This was one of the reasons that combat mages were usually forced to rely on physical combat. Any form of mana damage could be canceled out by using mana in the same way. But of course, only humans, not demon beasts, could do this.

—It’s strong... But if that thing is human, why is it attacking us?

Junko ordered the Hattori to retreat. But just as the Hattori clan fell back, armored warriors marched forward to take their place. They were the warriors of the Teruya clan.

“Idiots! Get back! He’s dangerous! Get back!” Junko screamed.

The armored warriors ignored her. They marched forward in perfect lines.

“Wait...!” she screamed again, but just then, amazingly, the rubber monster vanished into the school building. The Hattori had cleared out the demon beasts in front of the school, so the entrance was wide open, but nobody had thought that that thing would be the first to pass through.

“Even the powerful demon beast fled in the face of the Teruya clan!” the reporter who’d been covering Yuko shouted. That was probably how it looked to anyone who hadn’t fought the thing.

—But from what I saw of the way it fought, it wasn’t going to back down no matter what came... which means that it’s... No, that’s impossible...

Junko wasn’t sure what to think.

○

“So I heard you wrong, and it was ‘Rubbers,’ not ‘Lovers?’ Wow!”

Eiko was grinning as she looked at the screen. Thanks to Rubbers, it looked like the Hattori had been stopped from taking all the glory.

“It would make me happy if we could end this with me defeating that thing,” Eiko said jokingly, but 2V’s answer was serious.

“Hmm... I think that would be fine. They’re quite masochistic, so they’d enjoy being punched.”

“Are they human?”

“They were so masochistic they began to experiment on their own body. Now they no longer even seem human. However, they’re quite strong in a magical fight. Now, as planned...” he started to say, but then something happened that even he couldn’t predict.

The Teruya’s armored warriors were about to head into the school when they suddenly stopped. In the next moment, one of their leading lines was immediately blown backwards, like bowling pins struck by a ball.”

“What happened?” Eiko was surprised by this too. She looked at the mana screen.

In the space where the armored warriors had been blown back, she saw Lily Shiraishi, the student council president.

“Don’t try to come in here without the student council’s permission.” Lily spun her right wrist in a circle, her knuckle cracking.

Eiko felt rage surge up inside her.

“Damn it! Just kill her!” She ordered her men to attack, but before she could, Lily’s long arm had reached out and blown several of them backwards. Her strikes weren’t as powerful as Rubbers’, but they were still very powerful.

“Pathetic! I’ll use the other units...!” she spat, but then she finally checked how the rest of the battle was going.

She was astonished at what she saw. Since she’d assumed getting inside the school meant victory, she’d barely given any orders to the rest of the units. Her ground-based forces were mostly unharmed, but they’d scattered to avoid the fight between Akuto and Hiroshi, and were now non-functional. There were almost a thousand infantry out there, but instead of forming up and waiting for orders, they didn’t even know where the rest of their unit was.

And what was worse, the battle between Akuto and Hiroshi was continuing. The sheer scale and intensity of their fight was lowering the infantry’s morale. A battle beyond what humans were capable of was taking place right above them. Only the highly-trained Hattori and Teruya forces were capable of fighting the demon beasts under such circumstances.

And while the Hattori had caused the demon beasts to fall back, the beasts were now regrouping near the front entrance. And the ones at the other entrances were mostly unharmed.

“A... Are we going to lose?” Eiko’s face went pale with terror as she realized the possibility.

If she lost here, the whole empire would know she was incompetent. And not only that, they’d probably find out that she was the one who killed her father. If that happened, she was finished.

“I-I guess I could order the whole army to attack...” she whispered.

“No, there’s still things we can do,” 2V said hurriedly.

Eiko still had most of her forces in reserve. They were in chaos, but with the proper orders, they could regroup and attack. And the carrier and its ace air units were still completely unaffected. She had simply given into fear and lost the ability to make good decisions.

—If she’s this incompetent, it’s actually hard to use her. I guess I’ll have both sides be destroyed, then.

2V came up with a new plan inside his head.

“Let’s have the ground troops fall back and attack with the carrier. I told you to avoid damage to the surroundings if at all possible, but at this point, no one will complain if the school building is destroyed. It’ll look like the Demon King’s forces destroyed it.”

Eiko seemed impressed by 2V’s words.

“Y-You’re right... You’re right!” And then she ordered the carrier to advance.

—Sheesh...

2V smiled to himself. And then he concentrated his mind.

When he did, the trap he’d laid earlier began to activate. Soldiers in each unit, indistinguishable from the ones around them, began to move in accordance with his will. They were Liradans disguised as humans that he’d placed there in advance. They weren’t autonomous; without 2V’s magic, they were just dolls with no will. There were around 50 of them in all. And of course, 2V’s Liradans were aboard the carrier bridge, as well.

“Advance. Approach the school building and wipe out the demon beasts on the wall.”

The captain nodded at Eiko’s order, as one of 2V’s dolls listened intently from the pilot seat.

—Now, let’s see if this works...

○

“This is a big problem,” Fujiko said as she stood in thought before the altar.

“What’s wrong?” Keena asked.

“The carrier Genkaku is on the move.” She pulled up several mana screens displaying the Genkaku from a variety of angles. The carrier was a distance away from the schoolyard, slowly approaching it.

“Is it bad if it comes here? You had a plan for it, right?” Keena asked. The innocent way she asked the question only annoyed Fujiko more.

“I did have a plan! But it was a last resort... blowing up the school building.”

“Blow up the school?”

“If I destroy the upper floors of the basement with the demon beasts, the school building will sink, right? Then the carrier can’t attack. But I’m only going to do that if we lose. That’s how I was planning to make our escape.”

“Then we were going to lose the minute the carrier moved?”

“God, would you stop asking questions?! That’s right. But the plan was for the carrier to go after Akuto. I didn’t expect that stupid Brave to show up and interrupt him.” Fujiko sighed. And then she turned towards a different mana screen. “And I’m not happy about losing sight of that rubber thing once it got inside the school, either.”

“Yeah? Why did you lose it?”

“If I knew that I wouldn’t have a problem, would I? Who knows where it went... I have my sharp-nosed demon beasts looking for it, but I hope it doesn’t turn into a fatal problem for us... Oh, jeez! If only Akuto would just take down Brave already!” Fujiko yelled as she tore at her hair.

“I told you, don’t fight. It’ll go bon... bon...”

Suddenly Keena fell silent.

“What’s wrong?” Fujiko looked back towards her. Keena didn’t seem to have changed that much, but she seemed like she was dreaming, somehow.

“It’s nothing. Hey, what do you think about the way the world is?”

“Huh?” Fujiko turned around in surprise.

“People who want a world without conflict are fighting each other. Don’t you think that’s sad?” Keena asked.

Fujiko thought there was something strange about the way Keena looked, but since there didn’t seem to be any danger, and it would feel strange to ignore her, she answered as she continued to work.

“In this case, fighting is good. If we have to choose between slaughter and war, we have to welcome war. A world without war is a world where anybody can slaughter anyone,” Fujiko said, but there was no answer to her words.

“But then you’ll go ‘bon.’” Keena said. She was back to the usual Keena.

“...Is that some new word you learned or something?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Keena tilted her head to the side.

○

—Is this Anti-Demon King Mode?

Hiroshi was confused by the fact that nothing seemed to be happening. His power output, weapons, energy transfer speed — none of it had changed. But now his hands were blocking Peterhausen’s claws much more easily, and he realized his own attacks were stronger.

—What’s going on here?

Hiroshi was surprised to see the effects his attacks were having. Each attack was growing stronger, until finally he was able to knock back the dragon.

“Our mana is being canceled,” Akuto said to Peterhausen.

“Oh, so that’s what this is? The mana in my body isn’t being affected much, but I’m losing the ability to transfer power outside my body.” Peterhausen sighed.

“Let’s fall back,” Akuto suggested, but Peterhausen shook his head.

“No. He’s faster than we are. We can’t turn our backs to him.”

“...Let’s try to think of a plan, then,” Akuto said. And then he saw the carrier slowly float into view. “That’s not good. It’s started to move.”

“And it’s heading for the school, too. We don’t have any time to waste.” Peterhausen saw it too.

The soldiers below must have been relieved by the sight of the carrier, because they were beginning to form up into ranks once more. Akuto had no way of knowing this, but 2V’s dolls had played a part in the recovery of their morale.

“Do we have to fight two enemies at once?” Akuto whispered. Peterhausen grinned.

“That’s right. But it’s not all bad.”

“You’re happy to fight strong enemies?”

“No, that’s not all. From my experience, large weapons like that have mana generators inside. They use mana to power their weapons, after all.”

“I see. It’s dangerous, but we should get close to it to fight, then.” Akuto sent Peterhausen flying towards the carrier.

Inside the Genkaku’s huge bulk was a unit of flying soldiers. The soldiers were all equipped with special flight uniforms that would allow them to do everything from bombing to mid-air combat. Their equipment made it look like they were carrying airplanes strapped to their backs, and they were feared in the countries outside the Empire. The carrier carried its own mana and power source, and could fly to areas without mana. It had defeated enemies from the old era that had used internal combustion engines.

All of the flying soldiers could, if needed, function as cannons. They would stand on the carrier’s decks with ultra-long range cannons and, with their judgment and magical talent, accurately perform long-range bombardment.

Right now, they were arranged on the deck with cannons on their backs. When they saw Akuto, they prepared to fire.

“Our target is the Demon King and the demon beasts. You may pick your own targets until given further orders. Keep the damage to Constant Magical Academy and the surrounding areas to a reasonable level. Do not target the one named Brave, but do not worry about accidentally hitting him.”

These were essentially the orders the commander had given. The soldiers readied their cannons and awaited further orders, without seeming particularly afraid.

“Begin the attack.”

The soldiers began to fire their weapons all at once, but Peterhausen dodged expertly through the hail of cannon fire as he approached the carrier.

Hiroshi followed them, dodging the attacks as well, but then he realized that the particles of light surrounding him were vanishing, and stopped dodging any but those that would definitely hit him.

“Our power has returned, but we’re still at a disadvantage.” Peterhausen laughed.

“You hadn’t thought about what happens now?” Akuto sighed.

“Is that a problem?” Peterhausen said calmly.

“I get it. It’s not. We’ll just have to come up with something here.” Akuto answered.

Several of the soldiers leapt off the carrier. They were carrying weapons shaped like spears; probably the perfect weapons for fighting a black dragon.

“There’s no need to think now.”

“Don’t sound so happy,” Akuto said.

“Joy is a thing that should be expressed plainly!”

Peterhausen let out a roar of pleasure as he flew between five of the soldiers. They were forced to use all their power to keep up, but he toyed with them like he was playing with puppies, spinning around, charging in fast, then stopping suddenly and unleashing a furious attack.

Akuto himself knocked away the spears that were aimed for him, or grabbed them with his hands and bent them, or flung back fireballs.

“Seems like these guys are good!” Peterhausen was as happy as a child in a playground.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” Akuto shrugged.

But then Peterhausen’s fun battle came to an end. Someone else had joined the fray. It was, of course, Hiroshi.

“You’re in the way!” Hiroshi struck at one of the soldiers circling Akuto. It wasn’t an attack, just a push, but the man lost power and fell to the ground.

Hiroshi was only looking at Akuto.

“I guess this is our only real enemy, huh?” Peterhausen grunted.

“Looks like we’ll have to finish this,” Akuto said, his voice filled with resolution.

The carrier bridge was in an uproar.

“Our troops don’t stand a chance! What’s going on out there?!” the captain shouted, his voice filled with more fear than uncertainty.

There were several points of light on the screen that displayed the battle layout. These points corresponded to his soldiers’ IFF transponders, and they were all quickly showing that their owners had been knocked out of the fight. Even on the screen showing a feed of the actual battle, the soldiers’ disadvantage was clear.

“We’re the only people in this operation with combat experience! How can we let this happen?”

The captain was continuing to shout, but no one answered. He was the commander of the ship, and he wasn’t just lashing out. Tactically, they’d done nothing wrong; their enemy was just too strong. Each of them was going to have to do their best to accomplish anything at all.

The biggest problem of all was Hiroshi. He wasn’t trying to attack the army, but anybody who got close to him was drained of their mana and instantly knocked out of the fight. Proper combat was impossible.

Of course, Akuto was a terrible foe as well. Peterhausen thought nothing of using the flying soldiers as shields. Akuto himself wasn’t participating much in the battle, but he was stealing weapons from the soldiers and guiding Peterhausen behind the decks of the carrier to use it as a shield.

“Don’t let them get away with this! We’ll lose the trust of the people!” the captain howled, but there was still only silence. No — one person answered.

“Shall I handle this for you, captain?” a voice said casually. The captain went pale when he heard it.

“Who said that?!”

The ship’s helmsman casually raised his hand.

“Me. The helmsman. I’d like a free hand to deal with this situation.”

Everyone was astonished at his tone, which didn’t sound like that of a soldier at all. The entire bridge stared at him. And then they realized that they were seeing something impossible: they had no idea who he was. How had they not noticed?

“Who the hell are you?”

“I told you. The helmsman. For the moment, anyway,” 2V said.

“You bastard! Did you use some kind of mind-control magic to get aboard?” the captain screamed.

He gestured for the second helmsman to attack. The second helmsman nodded and blasted the stranger with explosion magic. It struck him right in the head. The flames spiraled up for a single moment, and a small shockwave shook the bridge. It was a perfectly controlled explosion, designed to kill the target without damaging the bridge.

The helmsman’s head was totally gone. The second helmsman put his hand on the console to take control. But he found that he couldn’t.

“What?!” When he looked back at the first helmsman, he saw an eerie sight. The headless helmsman was still at the controls.

“A-A doll?!” He realized he wasn’t seeing any blood.

“That’s right. And by the time you noticed, it was too late,” the headless helmsman said, the voice coming from somewhere unknown.

The other crew members jumped out from their chairs to stop him, but in that moment, the carrier shook. It was then that the captain and the rest of the bridge realized what 2V was trying to do. The carrier was gigantic, but its high-powered engine was enough to let it turn in mid-air like a small plane. It could use its mana to control the air around it, reducing the air resistance.

The carrier flew in a way that wasn’t at all safe for the crew aboard. The huge airship, more than 350 meters in length, did what would have been an Immelmann turn if it was an airplane. It did a rapid climb followed by a spin, and then a rapid descent.

The crew inside who weren’t belted down, and the soldiers on the decks who hadn’t seen it coming, slammed into the ship’s bulk.

But the Genkaku didn’t slow down. And soon, its target became clear.

○

—Why is this happening?

Hiroshi was growing frustrated. It felt like his whole battle with Akuto had only happened because he wasn’t sure what to do about his frustration.

In the end, he knew that he was frustrated because he’d believed in Akuto. And that’s why Akuto’s actions had made him so angry.

“Uwooaah!” Hiroshi slashed at Akuto again. He’d noticed that the carrier was replenishing Akuto’s mana, but he was still able to make this an even fight. And when the carrier was far away, he was at a huge advantage. His last strike had sent a huge shockwave through Peterhausen’s body, and the dragon had been blasted back a long way.

—I just need to neutralize him! If I can just defeat the black dragon, at least!

Hiroshi flew forward, realizing that now was his chance. He dodged through the soldiers falling from above as he charged. He was getting closer to Akuto, close enough that he could see the expression on his face.

But he was concentrating so much on Akuto that he wasn’t noticing what was going on around him. Why had the carrier suddenly disappeared? And why were soldiers falling down from the sky? He hadn’t even thought about it.

“Haaah!”

He deployed his high-temperature plasma ball as he charged, but he didn’t know what to think when he saw Akuto’s expression in that moment.

Akuto was looking in a different direction than Hiroshi at first, and when he turned to look back at him, there was a gentle look on his face.

—Why... why is he making that face?

Akuto threw a spear he’d stolen from one of the soldiers at Hiroshi, or more precisely, at the high-temperature plasma ball.

“Gah!”

Hiroshi could’ve dodged an attack aimed at himself, but it wasn’t as easy to dodge an attack on the ball. The plasma was unleashed and exploded, enveloping the spear. The mana canceler was useless against this. Hiroshi was blasted backwards.

—That look on his face was a feint! But I’m not done yet! I’ll just get back in the fight right away!

Hiroshi spun in mid-air, keeping his eyes on Akuto, only to realize that his field of vision had suddenly turned grey.

—What?!

In that instant, Hiroshi finally realized what was happening. The “grey” was the hull of the Genkaku; the prow of the huge ship had just passed in front of him.

It was moving at an impossible speed. The carrier had passed by moving at the same speed he’d been going.

But Hiroshi had seen it: Akuto and Peterhausen had slammed into the prow.

—Impossible... That’s impossible...

Hiroshi ordered the suit’s computer to display the video on his visor. It played back the footage from just a few seconds ago.

The sphere-shaped prow had slammed into Akuto and Peterhausen from the sky. It had landed a direct hit and then continued onwards to the ground.

“Aah! Boss!” Hiroshi let out a cry mixed with surprise and regret.

The Genkaku continued to fall without lowering its speed, and then just before it hit the ground, it leveled out... before slamming into the school building.

A huge shockwave shook the whole area. The prow of the ship had embedded itself in the school. There were corpses of demon beasts scattered around the smoking rubble. And it was likely that many of the troops hadn’t gotten out of the way in time.

—He was crushed...?

Hiroshi shot down towards the school. He passed through the smoke and traveled down the deck towards the prow, where he saw a huge hole opened in the school’s wall. Pieces of the wall were scattered across the deck, but when he went inside, things only got worse. The spherical prow was almost entirely buried in rubble, and there was no telling what was under it.

“D-Don’t tell me...” he gasped as he dropped down into the building.

As the smoke began to clear, he sensed someone there and began to tense up. Between the floor and the collapsed walls, at the edge of the hallway, a tall man had appeared.

—Who’s there?

Hiroshi was taken aback by the man’s strange aura.

“Well, isn’t this lucky... Perhaps the first good luck of my unlucky life.” The man — Boichiro — laughed. Beneath him was the principal, who was covered in rubble. He was still breathing, but he was badly hurt.

“Y-You bastard!” Hiroshi’s voice was shaking.

Boichiro put his sword away, however, and held up his hand for Hiroshi to stop.

“Wait a moment, hero. If you have that suit, you must be one of the Miwas.”

“Th-Then you’re...” Hiroshi gasped. “You’re the one who gave us this suit?” He was shocked to see that the man matched the description of the one his father had told him about.

“A pleasure to meet you, I suppose. I am Boichiro Yamato,” Boichiro said in a satisfied voice.