4 - The Last Demon King

“You saw a Liradan in VPS whose job it was to seal Zero?” Yuko asked.

Junko and Yuko had left the abandoned amusement park, and were discussing where to go next. Asakusa was close enough to the palace that they could get there on foot if they wanted. But Junko was insistent that they should find Keisu first.

“That’s right. She was a short girl with a long blade on her back, dressed in a kimono like a believer of Suhara, and with her hair tied back behind her head,” Junko explained.

Yuko looked suspicious. “...Zero knows what she looked like and what her powers were, right? Why hasn’t she been caught yet? The Liradans have eyes everywhere, right?”

“That’s right. And they’ve got the past records to go over too, so they know exactly where she was before,” Junko said. She had no proof of this, but it was a pretty safe bet.

“Then wouldn’t they have captured her already...?”

“Well, we know that she was originally at the Megis temple. But there’s been no reports from there, right?”

“That’s true...”

“Which means Keisu can’t have gone too far. If she can seal Zero, then isn’t it possible that she can hide herself from Zero too?”

“So if that’s true, then what does that mean?” Yuko seemed confused, but Junko’s mind had stumbled across a certain possibility.

“The Megis temple was shut down immediately after Zero took over. No human ever went inside...”

“So she’s still inside!” Yuko yelled.

Magic was off limits, and public services were offline. Junko and Yuko had no choice but to head to the center of the capital on foot. The cars weren’t working either, so there were many people walking on the roads. There was no security anywhere because the knights had already gone to the palace, but nobody was rioting or stealing anything.

Strangers were muttering to each other about how they had heard that people were gathering at the palace. There was no news coming from their terminals, so everyone was heading for the city center, just like they were. The roads became more crowded the closer they got to downtown, and when they finally made it to the Megis temple, the area in front of it was as crowded as a flying train platform during rush hour.

But even with all these people around, none of them were going into the temple. The front of the temple was a wide, stone-lined hall, and at its end was a locked glass door.

“What do we do?” Yuko asked. Junko suggested that they go around to the back.

“We should go around the back... Last time I was here, there was a door with a lock that looked easy to bust open,” Junko said.

It turned out that she was half right. There was a door around the back, but it didn’t look particularly vulnerable.

“It doesn’t look that easy to break to me...” Yuko said, just as Junko kicked it hard.

There was a loud bang as the door’s support pillar bent, and the whole lock fell off it.

“These temples are built cheaper than they look,” Junko said.

“That doesn’t mean you need to break it, though...”

Yuko pushed the door open, and it made a loud creaking sound. An empty building has its own unique atmosphere; their footsteps echoed in the cold air. The Megis temple even had its own little shopping mall, so now that it was empty, it felt lonelier than ever.

“It’s going to be hard to find a single person in a building this size.”

“Hm.. you’re right.”

Junko thought for a moment. It would take a lot of time if they just searched every nook and cranny. Which meant they needed to think of a place where their target was likely to be...

“She didn’t seem very smart. Let’s search the upper floors,” Junko said.

“The upper floors?”

“When we were in VPS, she came down from a mountain to see us. I can’t imagine she was always there. Maybe she’s just the type of person who always heads upwards? Like that saying about idiots and smoke.”

“...That’s a mean thing to say about someone you barely know.”

“Hmm... You’re right. She didn’t seem like somebody you should take seriously, I guess.” Junko crossed her arms.

They pushed the top floor button on the elevator. According to the plaque on the elevator wall, there was a cafeteria there.

“If she really is stupid, she’ll definitely be here,” Yuko said as she pointed at the cafeteria’s location on the sign.

“Probably, yeah...” Junko agreed.

They got out on the top floor into a spacious, comfortable lobby, then headed past it into the cafeteria. They could hear the sound of plates clinking together coming from inside.

“Don’t tell me...”

They wouldn’t be able to handle anybody dangerous, so the two of them held their breaths as they approached cautiously. At the end of one of the long rows of tables, they could see someone having a meal. The person was so tiny they weren’t sitting down to eat. Instead, they were standing and bending over the table. On their back was a katana that was far too large for them.

“...Don’t worry. That’s her,” Junko said.

She walked into the cafeteria. Keisu turned towards the sound and looked suspicious for a moment, but then clapped her hands when she realized who it was.

“Oh! You’re that little girl from before!” Keisu didn’t seem to think she was in any danger at all. There was a pile of fried food on the table; she’d clearly been emptying out the cafeteria’s fridge and reheating it by frying it.

“...Why are you eating at a time like this?”

“I love croquettes... Anyway, the world’s changed a lot since my day. I never expected to find the temple completely empty. It’s kind of depressing.”

“Are you an idiot? Zero came back. He imprisoned some priests and sent the others home. There were Liradans that came here, right?” Junko said.

Keisu’s eyes narrowed aggressively. “I thought I told you I don’t like being called stupid.”

“We don’t have time to talk about this. I apologize for saying that. But Zero’s back. How do we seal him?” Junko said quickly, but Keisu just seemed confused.

“By ‘Zero,’ you mean the Demon King, right? That’s impossible. I may not be very bright, but if the Demon King was back, I wouldn’t be here eating.”

“So you know you’re not very bright... No, forget that. Zero is back.”

“I don’t understand. I have a mana-connection to the Demon King, the being you call ‘Zero.’ If he was back, I would know,” Keisu said.

“Then how were all the Liradans put under control? That’s Zero’s power, right?”

“Oh, that’s Zero’s normal power. He hasn’t been revived yet.”

“What?”

“If he’d been revived, he would put all of humanity under his control. Every human is given a ‘baptism’ where mana is implanted into their brain, right? He would try to use that mana to control humans like Liradans.”

“Is that possible...?”

Keisu didn’t seem to think it was a big deal, but Junko was terrified of what she’d just heard. Keisu nodded like she didn’t notice, though.

“Of course, he can’t control their minds themselves, but he can sap their will to do anything, or force them to do things they don’t want. Zero thinks that all of humanity needs its protection. It wants to make a society where humans don’t do anything at all. Zero’s goal is, or should be, the complete cessation of all human activity.” The words came out clearly and quickly, like this information had been implanted in Keisu’s brain.

“Then why is he only controlling the Liradans now?”

“I don’t know. There’s probably someone who’s controlling Zero, who’s stopping him from doing that.”

“Which means if we defeat 2V...” Junko felt a cold sweat run down her back. “Come with me, now! We need to seal Zero again!”

○

“I’ll never forgive you for this,” Fujiko said with rage in her eyes.

For once, Issei didn’t smile. “Humans need to believe something. Even the black mages were never able to escape that need,” he said flatly.

“And black magic isn’t just a tool to create a free society, it’s a faith?”

“The Demon King’s the one who’s supposed to save us and bring freedom. The system that made people believe in the gods was a brilliant one, if you ask me. Humans need a story, even if it’s a bad one. And the truth is always a terrible story. A truly ‘equal’ society is one where everybody has the power of the Demon King. And if that ever happened, the only ending for that story would be a bad one: a mass slaughter.”

Issei looked at everyone who was there. Keena was holding Akuto’s body, and Fujiko and Yoshie were standing there in silence. Kazuko had already teleported away somewhere.

“So Akuto never had any kind of great destiny. He was just a boy unlucky enough to be born with incredible power?”

“He probably just figured that out a few moments ago, which means that what he just did was, in a sense, heroic. Now go, acquire the power. But how much better would it have been if that power could only be used to destroy the world? Then he’d just have to not do that. But it’s actually a safety valve that somebody has to hold, a safety valve that grants someone incredible power.”

“Why did you never make this public?” Fujiko asked.

Issei snorted. “Hah! It would just make the war come sooner. A little bit of storytelling kept that away. We just tell people that the Demon King is evil, and everyone believes it.”

“But...!” Fujiko almost screamed, but Yoshie put a hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s go. We can argue once Akuto wakes up. No, it will be his decision to make then. You know, all I ever did was watch, but I love him. I don’t want him to stay dead.”

Fujiko took a deep breath, composed herself, and turned towards Keena. “Keena, let’s go. Take us there.”

“I don’t expect this to make up for anything,” Issei said, “but I’ll teleport you there.”

“...We’re not going to thank you.”

“That’s fine. Where do you want to go?” Issei asked Keena.

“All I know is that it’s in Roppongi, its latitude and longitude, and how many meters underground it is... There’s an underground facility there that was made a long time ago. Is that enough for you to teleport us there?”

“It is.” Issei nodded as he began to cast the spell.

“Ooh, send me near the palace instead!” Yoshie cut him off.

“Are we splitting up?” Fujiko asked. Yoshie nodded.

“I need to find Keisu. My guess is that if we haven’t found her yet, she might be in the Megis temple. I don’t think they’ll arrest me if I go now. Oh, and since I don’t think anybody will be looking for me now, I’ll stream what my goggles see on the internet. Your terminals will be able to watch.”

“Alright. Thanks.” Fujiko nodded.

Issei summoned the teleportation circle.

○

Hiroshi was standing by high in the air, but he didn’t have any time to rest. A flying combat unit was climbing towards him.

“We’re in the middle of a city...!” Hiroshi looked around him. He was above the park surrounding the palace, and there were people all around him on the ground below. He would have to make sure the enemy landed inside the palace.

—There are 20 of them.

He checked his energy levels and the number of enemies. He wasn’t inside the field, so the energy charge was at 100%. But he’d have to avoid using his high-energy weapons that required a cool down before he could use them again.

“High-frequency blade.”

The special alloy claws came out of his hand. They used high-frequency vibrations to enhance their cutting power, and required very little energy to work.

“Hah!” He sliced through the nearest enemy. The suit was faster than his enemy could evade, and he easily sliced them in half.

“It’s a pain to figure out where the enemy’s going to fall,” he muttered to himself as he watched the falling remains of his foe.

But then, the enemy came in formation to try and catch him off guard. Several of them flew at him at once, tracing mysterious orbits in the air.

“But they’re probably just programs...” Hiroshi used the eye-tracking on his visor’s multi-display to predict the enemy’s movements. He spoke to the suit to tell it to hurry up. “Give me a targeting priority list. No laser usage.”

“Command received. Enemy flight pattern recognized. If orders are given within .5 seconds, escape is possible. If orders are given with 1 second, destruction of the enemy is possible. Recommended course of action: destruction.”

“I’ll take the latter. Give me the orders!”

“Attack the target designated by the pointer. Designating first target...”

Hiroshi followed the suit’s orders, dancing in between the enemies. His foes were using a pattern that involved three enemies attacking at once, which was effective against a slow enemy, or one that tried to run. But if you could attack them faster than they could hit you, they were helpless.

The combat unit’s bullets and laser beams failed to even target Hiroshi, so they didn’t fire a single shot. They didn’t have time to come up with a new formation to deal with him. It was a battle between computers, and his was better.

“I can win this...! How many flying units are there? Are their reinforcements?”

He looked around after he’d shot down a good number of them. The battle was easy enough that he was able to hear the words coming up from below.

“That’s him!”

“That’s our Brave!”

“That’s our Hero!”

He realized he’d never fought in front of this many people before. Just like Lily had said, he could feel the weight of that responsibility on his shoulders.

—What I do as a Hero...

The responsibility was heavy, but more than that, the fact that so many people were cheering him on gave him courage. It was reassuring to know so many people were on his side, and more than anything, that all these people shared one will. They had to be on the side of justice.

—I’m fighting for the sake of the people... I’m carrying the will of the people, and fighting for it!

Hiroshi felt like he’d just understood something important.

He sliced through the last enemy and checked his energy levels. It would take 20 seconds to recharge to full power, so he’d be fine.

He looked down. The huge polygon, Zero, was below him.

—I don’t know how to beat it, but I can buy time...

The inside of the polygon was a virtual phase space, where Zero’s program was being run. In other words, he had no physical body. But if Hiroshi could destroy the majority of the data that kept his program running, it would lose the majority of its functions. That was how Akuto had destroyed the god Suhara.

“Let’s do this fast. I’ll use the plasma ball,” Hiroshi said.

The plasma ball was the most powerful weapon the suit had.

Junko and Yuko were looking up from the ground below, watching Hiroshi. They couldn’t move a muscle. Both they and Keisu were buried in a sea of people.

“Oh no... We can’t move.”

“But what are we going to do at the palace?” Yuko asked.

She was right. All they could do was watch. At least, that was all she and Junko could do.

“Can we send Keisu alone...?”

“No, I can’t move either,” Keisu said. She was stuck in the crowd of people as well. She was so small that she had to keep hanging on to Junko’s sleeve to keep from being knocked away.

“We can’t fly because we can’t use magic... Can you fly?”

“I wouldn’t carry such inelegant equipment.”

“You can’t fly?”

“I don’t like it when people make fun of me.”

“Fine. Let’s get a little bit away, and then come up with a way to get into the palace.”

They started to back towards the Megis temple.

“Hey, how do you seal Zero, anyway?” Yuko asked Keisu.

Keisu seemed to think for a moment before she spoke. “I don’t remember.”

Meanwhile, Fujiko, Keena, and Akuto’s body were all inside a vast space somewhere. They weren’t sure exactly where “somewhere” was. They knew the latitude, the longitude, and how many meters underground they were. But they weren’t sure what this place was supposed to be.

There were countless numbers of huge pillars, several meters in diameter, holding up a ceiling so high above that they couldn’t see it. The room was completely empty, except for a single coffin next to the three of them.

“I bet nobody’s been in here for hundreds of years...” Fujiko said as she looked around.

The only light in the room was coming from around the coffin. There wasn’t even dust on the floor, which was proof that no human had ever been here before. If there were no fibers to fly up into the air, there wouldn’t be any dust. It was clear that the only point of this place was to hold this coffin. Without knowing its precise location, there was probably no way to get there.

It felt like the place hadn’t been made to hold the coffin originally, but had been abandoned at some point. It was safe to assume that there was no exit and no entrance.

“This is the coffin, isn’t it?” Fujiko said.

Keena was the only who had heard Peterhausen’s voice. It was probably only the data left behind between the gods, and not some kind of spirit, but it still felt like fate that it had talked to Keena.

“Don’t worry. This is it,” Keena said.

She tried to lift Akuto’s body up to move it into the coffin, but it was too heavy for her.

“Let me take the head,” Fujiko sighed, “and you take the legs.”

“Thank you. Umphh....”

Keena and Fujiko laid him down in the coffin, and the coffin reacted. A mana screen appeared a little bit away, displaying what work it was doing and why the coffin had activated.

“Do we just have to wait?”

“I guess so.” Keena nodded.

Fujiko let her body slump down to the floor.

“Are you okay?” Keena asked. Fujiko answered with a nod and looked up at the ceiling.

“I just started wondering what happens if Akuto never comes back,” she said, almost as if speaking to herself, “When he died, I got emotional, but strangely I managed to keep control...”

Keena smiled a little. “I was the same way.”

“I want him back. I really do. But...”

“But?”

“Is that really what should happen? When he comes back, will he still be himself? And won’t he just suffer if he does...?” Fujiko wasn’t sounding like her usual self.

Keena walked over to her, and put both arms on her shoulders from behind. “Ackie is Ackie. He’s not anybody else. I’m sure it’s the same for everybody else in the world. Maybe Ackie can only be revived because he was created by someone instead of being born, but everybody is who they are. Don’t worry.”

Fujiko knew Keena didn’t have any evidence for what she was saying, and her words only served to remind her that Akuto could be revived because he was closer to a Liradan than human. But she still felt a bit better.

“Yeah. I hope he’s okay. And knowing him, no matter how many times he comes back, he’ll still make the same choice.”

“He’ll think way too hard about what’s best for society, like he always has.” Keena laughed.

The coffin continued its work, but it didn’t say when it would finish. Every second seemed to last an eternity.

“Is he okay, you think?” Fujiko asked.

“Don’t worry... It’ll be fine. Um... If you’re really worried, you can pray.”

“Pray?” Fujiko asked, surprised at the seemingly idiotic suggestion.

“Yes. Pray. It’s all we can do, right?” Keena said innocently.

But Fujiko shook her head. “Yes, but to God? There’s no such thing...”

“I think there is. If there’s not, Ackie’s just going to have to suffer forever, right?”

Fujiko gasped. “You’re right,” she said after a moment. “Maybe faith is something that humans need after all.”

The gods were real beings, at the core of the evolution of those humans that believe in them, or perhaps the core of their souls. If you didn’t believe that, then the lives of men called Demon Kings had no point at all.

Keena kneeled before the coffin and folded her hands.

Fujiko closed her eyes and prayed to... “something.”

The coffin silently continued its work. But nobody knew what would happen next.

Yoshie sighed when she realized that she hadn’t been teleported inside the palace. “Well, so much for that. I guess the palace is probably guarded. Wait, is this place...”

She looked around and realized she recognized where she was. It was the lobby of the Megis temple. “Well, that’s something at least,” she said, as she walked over to the window to see what was going on outside. The crowd had swelled to an almost unbelievable size.

“Those people aren’t just there to gawk, are they? Man, people are scary when they get mad.” Yoshie fiddled with her goggles. The video of what she was seeing began to be broadcast on the net.

“I suppose this is actually the perfect place to look for Keisu though... Oh?” Just before she turned around, she saw a few people moving against the crowd. When someone does that in a group of people, they stand out a lot. “Woah! Lucky me. I guess I’ve got good karma?”

It was Junko, Yuko, and Keisu; three people that Yoshie knew (she recognized Yuko from watching her on TV). Yoshie went to the entrance to the table and waved to them. “Hey, over here! Wow, I’m so glad I found you!”

But all of them seemed confused.

“Who are you?”

“Are you with the temple?”

“It feels like I know you, but I’ve never seen you before...”

Suddenly Yoshie realized that she’d only ever met them inside phase space. “Well, it’s a long story, so I’ll cut it short. I’m Yoshihiko,” she said.

None of them seemed to understand what she was saying. Perhaps the idea of using a different identify in VPS than in the real world was something hard to understand for a girl who was used to being honest in everything, because Junko seemed to understand it less than Fujiko.

“I’ll explain everything later, but for now, just know that I’m on Akuto’s side. And yes, I am with the Megis temple. I helped the priests. Oh right, there’s a levitation boat we use for emergencies. It can take us to the palace. I’ll explain on the way.”

The three of them still didn’t seem to understand, but at least they knew she wasn’t an enemy. So Yoshie took them to the lever that released the boat. There was an emergency escape door halfway up the building, and next to it was a levitating boat with room for six. It used mana to keep itself afloat. Releasing the lever would unmoor the boat.

“If you’re doing this for us, you probably really aren’t our enemy, but...” Junko said as she yanked the release lever.

“Believe me. I feel bad for tricking you, but I really am Yoshihiko,” Yoshie said again, but Junko only seemed more suspicious. “L-Let’s just get on the boat...”

Just as Yoshie spoke, there was a flash of light above. The battle between Hiroshi and the Zero polygon had begun.

“It’s dangerous to get too close, but... we have to hurry. Oh, I guess I should take some kind of weapon, too.” Yoshie threw an emergency escape chainsaw into the boat. Then she jumped in herself and grabbed the oars, which were coated with a special film that allowed them to travel through mana. The other three followed, and Yoshie started to row.

“That’s the guy who defeated the Demon King...” Yoshie said as she looked up at Brave.

Yuko nodded, deciding to keep the fact that it was Hiroshi to herself. “That’s right. And he’ll do it again too, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, if he can defeat Zero, that would be great. We’d be just fine then. Yeah, he looks really strong,” Yoshie said hopefully, “so maybe he can.”

“Transferring Anti-Heat Cape. Transferring Plasma Ball.” Hiroshi’s suit covered itself in the cape, and then balls of light appeared around it. Each of them was an incredibly intense sphere of heat that would burn anything it came into contact with.

Hiroshi ordered the suit to make a hard dive. He had to make it through the field that blocked his suit from transferring energy and instantly destroy the polygon behind it. This attack would take all the energy he had, and then he’d need five minutes to get his weapons back. He needed to finish things in a single strike.

His cape flapped in the wind as the balls began to spin around him. It was like a high speed drill slamming down on his foe from above.

“Plasma field stabilization complete. Setting time from contact to release to one nanosecond. Adjusting visor translucency from 23% to below 18%. Deploying dimensional fault field. Contact with the target in three seconds,” the suit reported calmly.

Ahead of him, Hiroshi could see the shining polygon. It was giving off an eerie red light as it reflected the plasma balls, and it was getting closer and closer.

“Go!” When the whole of his field of vision was almost filled with the reflected light of the polygon, Hiroshi was sure he’d won. But then his body was hit by a powerful impact. He didn’t know what had happened, but the crowds below saw it all.

Just before Hiroshi had hit it, the polygon had moved, almost as if it were a living creature. It had seemed to be fixed in space before, but now its body twisted slightly before bounding at Hiroshi like a bouncing ball.

And above the polygon’s mirrored surfaces, there seemed to be some kind of field. Hiroshi only realized after he’d regained his balance that the field had survived his plasma balls.

“The plasma balls dissipated after release. The field appears to be a dimensional fault.”

“A dimensional fault field...” It was the same futuristic technology that the suit used. It was only that field which enabled him to survive the plasma explosion at close range.

—Why...? No, instead of thinking about the reason, I need to get ready for the next attack... Don’t tell me it’s going to be what I think it is!

Hiroshi tried hard to calm himself down so he could think. He got some distance and climbed into the air, but he didn’t turn his back on his foe.

What Hiroshi was expecting was a dimensional severing; the future technology that Boichiro Yamato had used. It probably worked on the same principle.

Unfortunately for him, he was right. One of the triangles that formed the polygon opened towards the outside. From within it came a shining rainbow ray of light that shot towards Hiroshi.

“Tch...!” Hiroshi dodged. The space around him seemed to shift slightly, like the sky had been sliced open with a knife.

“How much energy do I have left...?” Hiroshi checked the gauge in the corner of his eye. He couldn’t use his weapons, but if Zero was attacking him, the polygon would be unable to use its defensive field.

“A little over four minutes...” He whispered to himself.

But when Zero saw that he’d dodged the attack, it changed tactics. All the triangles on the polygon opened at once. It began to shift form with shocking speed, like folding origami. The polygon became a pair of plates stuck together, and began to spin like a saucer. It charged at Hiroshi in that new form.

“Analyze pattern.”

“The enemy’s mobility rivals ours. It is recommended to transfer control to the suit. Verbal commands will lack sufficient speed.”

“Give control to the suit,” Hiroshi said, trying hard to keep his wits about him.

The suit took over, forcing him to move in unpredictable patterns. But the Zero saucer was every bit as fast, and firing off dimensional severings too. The two of them flew through the sky at speeds far too fast for the eye to follow, leaving an eerie trail of severed space behind them.

—I can dodge, but without control I can’t attack even after four minutes pass...!

Fear seized Hiroshi. Not only could he not attack, but moving this fast was draining his energy faster than it could recharge.

—Do I run?

A moment of weakness passed through his heart. But then he heard a voice from below. Many voices, in fact. A sound like an earthquake was rising up towards him. It was the voices of the people below, cheering him on.

“Brave! Brave!” They were calling his name.

—This is...!

He felt heat well up in his chest.

—I’m not done yet! I still have more time! I’ll keep fighting until there’s nothing in me left...!

“Brave! Brave!” There must have been tens of thousands of people around the palace. All of them were looking up and cheering for their hero. Their voices were so loud that they were shaking the boat that carried Junko and the others as it floated above the crowd.

But Junko was ignoring them, and looking at Yoshie with shocked eyes. After hearing her explanation several times, Junko had finally realized the truth.

“You’re... Yoshihiko...”

“I’m sorry. I mean it. That’s why I didn’t worry about taking off your clothes and stuff,” Yoshie said as she looked up at Brave. Yuko was staring intently at the battle too, but Junko alone was looking downwards.

—Th-Then...

When Akuto had told her to spend time with Yoshihiko once they got back to reality, he was talking about Yoshie. And thinking back, that was right after they’d talked about how it was possible to look different in virtual reality.

—I was upset over something so small...?

Junko suddenly found the whole thing ridiculous, and started to laugh.

“H-Hey, are you okay?” Yoshie asked, but she held up a hand to say she was fine.

“I’m fine... And you know, I think we’ll get along just great. You’re a very different person there than you are in reality, though.”

“Oh, that was my attempt to seem like a man. Girls seem to really like it for some reason. Anyway, forget that. Let’s talk about Akuto.” Then Yoshie told Junko about everything that had happened on their journey.

Junko’s expression took on a serious tone. “Then... can Akuto come back to life?”

“We don’t know. We’ll just have to wait.” Yoshie shook her head, but Yuko must have been listening, because she pointed upwards to the sky.

“If we just wait, we’ll be just fine. And Brave will put an end to all this anyway before he gets here.”

Maybe she was right. To Junko, Akuto was the one who always saved the day. But for Yuko, that person was Hiroshi. And now, almost everyone in the capital was screaming Hiroshi’s name.

“He’s a hero, huh?” Junko whispered. In this moment, he truly was a hero.

And then, the decisive moment came. A light shot up from below — a mana ball. It flew upwards towards Zero before exploding on the saucer’s side. Someone who could still use magic was helping Brave.

“Someone can still use magic...?”

“Who is it?”

Yoshie and Junko said, but Brave wasn’t going to let his chance go to waste.

—An attack from below?

For a moment there was doubt in Hiroshi’s mind, but it didn’t matter who it was. Zero was distracted.

—How much energy do I have left? ...Enough to use the molecular wire.

“Pass control back to me! Wire!” Hiroshi yelled. And then he raced past Zero’s side as fast as he could. The wire in his hand seemed to simply drift in the air, but a moment after he passed by it, Zero’s saucer was sliced open from the center.

“Did I... win?” Hiroshi turned back. His weapons were totally drained of energy; he couldn’t even dodge at top speed anymore. But it didn’t matter. The saucer was trying to reform and failing, as its triangle parts began to separate and fall to the ground.

“It’s over...! I won...!” He felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. He heard the sound of Zero’s remains crashing into the palace, but then he heard something even louder than that. It was the crowd yelling his name.

“He did it!” Yuko cheered and clapped.

“Whew... Is it over, then?” Junko let out a sigh of a relief.

“Well, I guess this works as an ending too,” Yoshie said as she stopped rowing the boat. They’d gotten as far as the outer walls of the palace. The crowd had crossed over the walls and made it into the front courtyard, but only they were high up enough to see what was happening inside.

Then Keisu looked up at the sky, before craning her head around as if watching for something.

“What’s wrong?” Yoshie asked.

Keisu held up a hand to cut her off and spoke sharply. “He’s not dead.”

“Huh?”

“Zero’s not dead,” Keisu said. There was no hesitation in her words. She could probably tell by instinct.

“But we know it’s impossible to totally shut him down. That’s not what you meant, right?” Yoshie asked, but Keisu didn’t seem to understand the question. But before she could even attempt to answer, something made them freeze.

“Zero’s control... his ambitions have reached their end.”

Suddenly, a voice echoed. It was audible even among the cheers of the crowd, so of course, it wasn’t a normal voice. It was magically amplified, and coming from the palace.

Someone who appeared to be Kazuko was standing on the palace terrace. The shouts from the crowd got even louder. She made a larger version of herself appear above, so that even the people in the back could see her.

“I don’t know who you are, brave one... but you have given courage to us all. You moved me to action. That’s why I attacked Zero,” Kazuko, who was actually 2V, said.

“No...” Yoshie gasped.

“Th-That was part of her plan...?!” Junko exclaimed. They both knew that she was the one who was talking. Junko went on, asking “Where’s the real Kazuko?”

Yoshie shook her head. “We don’t know. She’s trying to escape right now. Korone was controlled by Zero and chasing her.”

“If Kazuko dies, 2V is empress...? Is that what her plan was?”

“But Kazuko was really strong. I don’t think Korone can kill her. Is 2V just trying to lie to stay alive...?”

Junko and Yoshie were both doubtful. But nobody in the crowd knew about 2V.

“But the magic that you all use will not come back. The gods probably died with Zero. I swear to you all that I will take power and rule the Empire again. Until magic is restored, and the gods in the temples return, I will rule this country as its empress! Until that day comes, I ask you for your help!” 2V said loudly.

“That’s crazy... The Imperial Constitution forbids it...” Yoshie whispered, but the cheers of the crowd drowned her out.

“Glory to Empress Kazuko! Glory to Empress Kazuko!” The voices overlapped and spread out around the palace. Even if they didn’t know the truth about 2V, the people were still supporting an imperial dictatorship. And they were excited to do it, too.

“Wh-What are they thinking? I thought the people believed in the gods, and used them to guide their lives...” Junko said in shock.

“No, it’s probably the gods who are at fault here. They probably realize how weak the system that depends on the gods is. If nothing else, they all know that Zero was the first Demon King... So basically, they’re done with the priests,” Yoshie said.

“It was the priests who saved the day though, right? Without their help, Brave never would have fought Zero...”

“That’s probably just how the masses think. We’re no different. We’ve been unable to speak up a lot of times. And we’ve believed in stupid things, too.” Yoshie shook her head.

“But if they know the truth... it’ll be okay, right?” Junko said with a pale face, but nobody answered her.

The only sound was the crowd, cheering for Kazuko. As she stood on the balcony, 2V’s whole body was shaking with joy.

“What do you think, Zero? These are the people of the empire! I’ve proved that they’re insane! They rose up to free themselves from oppression, and now they’re begging me to oppress them again!” she said in a loud whisper to Zero.

“It won’t last, though. They’ll come to kill you. And then, they’ll seek a new ruler. That’s why I decided humanity was mad,” Zero said coldly.

“My opinion is the same. I understand. But I wanted to spend my life proving it for myself. I wanted to laugh at every citizen of the Empire.”

“Because it was the people who ruined your life?”

“You can think of it that way if you want. But no matter what the reason was, nobody does what I just did and survives. I’ve got plans to keep myself alive a while longer, though. I’m going to end this world while I’m still feeling this joy. Now, Zero, I’m going to unleash your power.”

“That’s why I became your servant. I’ve been waiting for this moment...”

“It’s coming...!” Keisu’s hair and ears twitched like an animal’s as she spoke.

“Coming?”

“Zero. I can sense that Zero is about to awaken...” She looked around, but of course, Zero was nowhere close by.

“2V is using magic. She must be helping him wake up,” Yoshie said as she looked at 2V through her goggles. She could see the flow of mana.

“Then if we defeat 2V...!” Junko looked up in the sky. Hiroshi was there.

“Please...!” Yuko put her hands together and prayed as she looked up. But Hiroshi’s body was slowly falling.

—I’m out of energy... And the field blocking the energy transfer is still active... I fell into a trap...

Hiroshi grit his teeth. He knew about 2V, of course. And he knew that he had to defeat her. But...

—Even if I did have the energy left, could I kill 2V...?

It was frustrating, but also fortunate. He probably couldn’t have done a thing. The people were still applauding him, and he’d be forced to kill the Empress in front of their eyes. There was no way he could do that. It would mean killing “Kazuko,” who was beloved by the citizens and had massive support.

It wasn’t that he was scared to do it. It was that he was scared of living the rest of his life as a hated, infamous murderer. Even if he knew he had to do it, he still would’ve hesitated.

—But then, Zero is still alive... What happens now?!

“No... It looks like he’s out of energy,” Yuko said as she looked up at the sky.

“What did you say happens if Zero awakens?” Junko asked again.

“Anyone who was baptized will have their minds taken over by the system,” Keisu answered.

“Then it’s all over!” Junko yelled.

The people were applauding her with no idea what was about to happen. Even after Zero awoke, that probably wouldn’t change. Zero and 2V would probably shut down their minds and force them to worship him.

“Keisu... do something!” Yoshie said, but Keisu still seemed like she couldn’t remember something. She just shook her head.

“Now our empire will be eternal...!” 2V yelled. She must have said it for the people to hear, because the answer came back as a frenzied cheer.

“Glory to our kingdom, which will last for a thousand years!” 2V cried.

And then suddenly, an ominous dark cloud appeared.

“A cloud...?”

A shadow fell on the assembled cloud. They looked up to see that it was gathering over the palace, even as the rest of the sky was clear.

“That’s impossible... Clouds don’t work like that...”

“What’s going on?”

A ripple of fear went through the crowd. And then there was a roll of thunder, loud enough to drown out the voices of the crowd. The people began to scream in fear. There was no rain; there was simply crash after crash of terrible lightning, and thunder following quickly after.

“What...?” 2V looked up.

Kazuko was still out there somewhere, but there were no signs that she’d made it into the palace. The priests were inside, they were struggling against 2V’s killer combat machines without their magic. That left one person.

“The Demon King.”

He was floating in the air. Each strike of light illuminated him briefly. The screams of the crowd fell silent.

In the air, they could see a man in shining black. If the light around him was white, and his face had been filled with kindness, anyone would’ve thought he was a saint.

But the man in the air was the exact opposite of that. Behind him were wings of black light. His body was covered in bulky, twisted muscles. His mouth was formed into a cruel, fanged smile. His eyes were flashing with a red light.

“I have a message for those foolish enough to obey the Empress. If obedience will bring back your lost freedom, then you are free to make that choice. But if you want freedom, if you want power, I will give it to you,” the Demon King said. He spread his arms wide, and the people below him began to murmur to themselves.

“My magic...”

“It’s back...”

“He’s returned!” Junko yelled as she looked up at the sky.

“I can use mana. It’s back.” Yoshie tried covering a fingertip in mana. It began to shine with a faint, but unwavering, light.

“I wasn’t talking about mana,” Junko said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“I know. He’s back, isn’t he? But look at your face,” Yoshie chuckled.

Yuko was looking at Akuto in fear, but Junko put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. Who he is inside hasn’t changed. I can tell from the way he talks. He’s decided to accept everything.”

“Accept it...?”

“That’s right. He’s going to put an end to all this.”

It happened just as she spoke. The lightning fell on the terrace where 2V was standing. There was a terrible crackling sound as half of the balcony was blasted away.

As the crowd watched, the lump of hardened ash that used to be 2V’s body fell dozens of feet to the ground below.

After a few moments of silence, the crowd realized what had happened. The whole courtyard filled with screams and angry roars. But the Demon King answered with a laugh.

“Zero was my messenger, and now he is gone. But thanks to him, the gods are dead. Why? To bring magic to all of you equally. Why did I kill the Empress? To destroy the ruling order of this world. Now, who will you obey? Or will you live for yourself? Choose. The time has come to decide the fate of this world. This is the last war. And I am this world’s last Demon King.”