I Like… Penguins – Part 04

The first floor of the observation deck. Second floor. There was no one who looked like him. Maybe my hunch was wrong.

Then I spotted a silver-haired girl in the special observation area. There was no one else around. A lone, small-framed girl was staring out the window. Surrounded by glass angled to prevent reflections, she stood frozen by the lighted floor. It was Eu.

“I’m glad you came,” a voice said from behind. Instantly, I drew the chainsaw from my Boston bag.

“I didn’t think you’d actually be here,” I said, gripping the chainsaw tightly as I glared at him.

“Take a gander. What I’ve wanted to do is finally starting.”

“You’re planning to use a weapon?”

“No, the weapons have already been retrieved. That right there is the last one.”

He pointed, but all I could see below were buildings.

“What is it exactly you want to do?”

Boom. An explosion sounded, and I looked out the window.

A weapon? No. It was small, but there were definitely flames rising. The city of Tokyo was on fire.

“That was faster than I expected. Magiclad Girls are so eager for battle as ever.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“A fight has started. Megalo, Magiclad Girls, and the guardians of this world. Each has great power. Imagine three gunslingers pointing their guns at each other. What happens if one of them fires?”

This was the result.

“By the way, it was Eucliwood who called the Megalo. I made her do it.”

“Why would you do this?”

“Just look.”

Like a gentleman, the King of the Night extended his hands gently toward Eu.

Eu was crying. My chest ached, maxxing out my discomfort meter.

“That’s the face. That sorrowful expression is what I wanted to see. Lovely, isn’t it?”

Eu’s fear. Eu’s sadness. To the King of the Night, they were the most beautiful things in the world. His face was full of pure delight. I could see him break into a dance at any moment.

“This world is beautiful. So beautiful that even a billion words aren’t enough to describe it. That’s what Eucliwood always said.” He spread his arms ecstatically. “And now it’s burning! Because of the thing you hate most—conflict! Come on, Eucliwood! Kill me! It hurts, doesn’t it? It’s sad, isn’t it? You hate me, don’t you?”

Eu just stared blankly at the city, smoke rising all around.

“Not yet? Well, that’s fine. Soon this city will collapse. You will want to kill me then.”

“What… What the fuck are you blabbering about?! You did all this just to have Eu kill you?”

“The day will come when you’ll understand, too. Dying is painful. But it’s still better than living.”

The King of the Night cupped Eu’s porcelain chin in his hand, wearing a heartbroken expression. Eu stared back with those large, emotionless blue eyes.

“When I gained immortality, I rejoiced, thinking, Now I can do anything. But not long after, the world I saw lost its color. I found out how miserable it is to be able to do anything.”

And that’s why he wanted Eu to kill him? Because she was the only one who could kill a zombie.

“I can’t do it.”

“You still don’t hate me? Take a look.”

The King of the Night pointed outside the window. Another fire broke out somewhere. No, fires were breaking out everywhere.

“My Megalo are still out there,” he went on. “They can burn this city some more.”

“I hate you. Enough to want to kill you.”

“That’s it! That’s right!” the King of the Night shouted in delight.

“But… I don’t want to kill a friend anymore.”

“I… see. You never change. You can hurt someone with your scythe, but you never go as far as to kill. Always stopping at the surface. In that case, I’ll enjoy your beautiful face until you finally feel like it.”

The King of the Night turned his gaze to me.

“You did all this for such a stupid fucking reason?” I snarled.

“One day, you’ll understand the sorrow of living forever. When that happens, you’ll come to hate Eucliwood.”

Not a chance. There’s a decisive difference between you and me.

Not a difference in power. It was the difference in how we felt about Eu.

She looked adorable when scared. She looked beautiful when sad. That much, I agreed with.

But I would never wish for any of that.

“Have you never seen Eu’s smile, her most adorable face?!”

I raised my chainsaw. Time to show the results of my training with Big Teach.

The King of the Night would definitely be ready for an overhead strike. So instead, I threw the chainsaw.

I rushed ahead, clenching my right hand. Blind him for a second, then land a solid hit.

Two hundred percent… three hundred percent… Take this! Cry and scream!

My fist locked onto the King of the Night’s grinning face. He wasn’t even trying to dodge.

Even as I charged in, he didn’t move a muscle. Just as I expected. Now to land this hit.

“Gah!” I spat as my body shot straight up into the air.

Right in front of me was the King of the Night, his fist fully extended. He’d landed an uppercut effortlessly. He was way faster than I’d assumed.

A shadow fell across my face. A fist-shaped shadow. Before I could react, it slammed clean into my forehead.

Spinning like a badminton shuttlecock, I flew through the air and, unable to break my fall, scraped the back of my head against the floor.

Yeah… I couldn’t do a damn thing. Less than a second from my swing to getting dropped. Power-wise, about a hundred percent of mine.

“I saw Eucliwood react just now.” The King of the Night smiled with satisfaction. “That look just now was wonderful. So, if I hurt you, Eucliwood will feel sad.”

“I’m gonna smash your face in.”

414… 506… I’ll show you my limit.

I jumped to my feet and closed the distance again.

“Your words are sounding weaker by the minute,” he said.

Still smiling, he threw another punch. A cross-counter? He even slowed it enough so I could read it. Bold move.

Six hundred percent!

My fist grazed his cheek, and his fist dug into mine.

I was blown back again. Some instinct warned me my neck might snap, and I found myself holding it.

“I’m getting into the rhythm now. All right, let’s go with 800 next.”

I got it now. He’d been a zombie a lot longer than me, so his limit break ceiling was higher. Great. That last hit was my full strength, and it only brushed his cheek. That left me with just one option—the power of a Magiclad Girl.

I charged again and went for a flying kick. The King of the Night slid to the side to dodge.

A sharp pop rang out as his fist pierced my gut. The impact tore through me, slamming me into the window and cracking it in a spiderweb pattern. Looking down outside the glass, I felt weightless, like I could fall any second.

Dragging a trail of blood, I collapsed to the floor, coughing up a thick mouthful of it as I reached for my fallen chainsaw.

“Htaed fo regnibrah a tub gnimrahc dna ylevol!”

My clothes burst apart, replaced by the familiar costume. But my wounds didn’t heal; my abdomen instantly turned red.

All right, this time for sure! I kept pressing the attack. Even if my hits missed or got dodged, I didn’t let up. If he struck, I countered. I’d drilled that with Big Teach over and over.

Yes! The King of the Night swung his fist. In the space between attacks…

“Gah!”

Another uppercut?!

He glanced at Eu. Her expression didn’t change, but her eyes held a hint of pain.

Even knowing I was outmatched, I didn’t stop. No matter how many times I got knocked back, no matter how many times my jaw got snapped upward, I kept swinging.

I felt like some guy who’d never been in a fight getting pummeled by a pro out-boxer.

“A Magiclad Girl’s power is impressive,” he said. “Right now, I’m hitting you with 300% of my strength, you know?”

I didn’t need that commentary. At that moment, I spotted his right straight punch.

My heartbeat thudded once, hard. What was this feeling? The whole world slowed down.

Gritting my teeth, I deliberately smashed my cheek into his fist. Even as it tore into my face, I grabbed his arm.

Got you.

“Take this!”

I swung my right hand up, but the King of the Night summoned mist around it. My arm slipped right into the fog and vanished. Teleportation? That’s way too overpowered!

He flashed that infuriating grin I’d seen over and over.

Thud.

Blood dripped down from my forehead. But he bled too.