Chapter 4
The Children’s Resolve Will Sometimes Exceed the Adults’ Expectations

Nodoka was trembling under her blanket, while gripping her Slimphone and sitting on top of her bed that was in a corner of her room.

She could hear the intermittent sounds of clashing coming from outside, but she was so scared that she was not even able to get out of her bed, let alone go outside to check.

“Mom, hurry up…!!”

Nodoka whispered in a teary voice while gripping her inoperative Slimphone.

However, the only reply she got was a powerful impact that rocked the whole house.

“Kyaa!?”

A person was slammed into the veranda outside Nodoka’s room, and the railings were greatly deformed.

The person slammed into the veranda was Diana, who bore wounds all over her body, and the impact was so powerful that it wouldn’t have been surprising if it had torn off the veranda completely and punched a hole in the wall.

“Uuh… I w-wont let you lay a finger of Nodoka…!”

An impact like that would normally shatter all the bones in a person’s body and definitely kill them, but Diana still stood up.

“D-Diana-san…!”

Nodoka timidly called out in the direction of the window that was already broken.

“I’m sorry… It’s quite tough, looks like it will take awhile to deal with it…”

Even so, Diana smiled at Nodoka to reassure her, while her face was covered in blood.

“I definitely won’t let them lay a finger on you, Nodoka! Haaaaah!”

After psyching herself up, Diana once again jumped out of the broken window that she had come flying through.

“Hah!”

At the thunderous sound caused by Diana’s superhuman leap, Nodoka once again crouched down.

“Just… Just what is going on!”

Nodoka had not directly seen the battle between Diana and the Shii the day before yesterday, but according to what she had heard from her brother, Diana didn’t seem to have too much trouble against the Shii. However, this time, Diana was being overwhelmed by numbers.
She had been a little on edge while she was at school, but in the end, nothing had happened and the school day ended as usual. She had occasionally wondered if Diana had come to check up on her, but she didn’t see her anywhere, and when she called her house phone, Diana picked up while sounding a little tired and she could hear the sound of the television in the background.

Later, she had sent a message to her mother informing her that there were no problems, and ordered pizza after getting her mother’s permission. She then spent a slightly awkward evening with Diana who definitely looked listless compared to how she was in the morning.

She watched shows on TV that she would not usually watch, and explained what was going on to Diana even though she had not really asked for an explanation, and somehow managed to pass the time until nine o’clock.

“Well, I’ll go up to my room now. You know how to use the bath, right?”

“Yes, Madoka showed me how to use it last night. Good night.”

Nodoka went upstairs to her room as she had to prepare for tomorrow and take care of some other personal things. Just as she closed her room door and let out a sigh, Diana came running up the stairs at a tremendous speed.

“Contact Madoka!”

Diana rushed into her room with almost enough force to destroy the door, yelled that at Nodoka, and pushed her onto the bed.

Nodoka was surprised by Diana’s sudden violent behaviour, but the next instant…

“Woah!”

Her window glass shattered violently, and at the same time, the spot where Nodoka had just been standing blew up forcefully with a roar.

“Guh!”

Diana protected her head from the flying glass and wood splinters, but her arms were mercilessly injured by the shrapnel.

“Diana-san!?”

Nodoka let out a scream, but in the next second, Diana was holding Castor and Pollux in her hands, and a blade of light appeared from each.

“Stay away from the window! Put your blanket over your head for protection! Contact Madoka!”

After shouting that, Diana took a huge leap and flew out of the window.
After that, Diana fought for a long time against enemies that Nodoka couldn’t even see, for what felt like one or two hours. However, Diana just got more injured as time went on, and it didn’t look like the fight was going to end anytime soon.

“Oh come on, why won’t it work…!”

Nodoka’s Slimphone was heartlessly showing a ‘No Signal’ message, and even ROPE, which was supposed to work over the internet, just kept trying to connect and it didn’t look like it was going to work. Nodoka was curled up in fear, and she didn’t think of trying to use her house phone.

Even if she had thought of it, she would have to go past the window in her room to go downstairs, and the thought of another explosion kept her from moving. At that moment…

“Wha-!”

Amidst the encompassing darkness, light brighter than anything she had ever seen flashed outside, and seared Nodoka’s vision.

“L-Lightning…?”

It looked like a flash of lightning that occurs just before a peal of thunder.

She wasn’t particularly afraid of lightning as a weather phenomenon, but the light outside was was so intense that it threw everything in her room into stark relief, and it was certainly not natural.

“W-What was that… !!”

She saw the flash of light another three times through her window, and suddenly, the sounds of Diana fighting outside abruptly stopped.

“……No way.”

Nodoka didn’t even have the time to regain her wits.

A black, humanoid figure that looked like an incarnation of darkness descended upon the veranda.

In its ‘hands’, it held Diana, who was not moving, still holding her weapons with limp fingers.

Diana had lost.

However, before Nodoka could register this fact, her eyes were drawn to the face of the otherworld monster, the Shii. It’s head looked like an even blacker darkness was etched into an already dark surface, but it certainly had human features. It was a man who was about the same age as her father. He did not look like a Japanese person.

So this is what a Shii, a human who turned into a monster, looked like.

The places where the eyes should be, and the place where the mouth should be, were ominous, and different from the surrounding darkness. Was this light? Or was it flame?

The figure looked at Nodoka with anger and scorn, as flames flickered within its eyes and mouth. A voice issued from its mouth. Or was even that a hallucination caused by fear?

“N-Nodoka… run away…”

Nodoka was frozen in place, unable to move so much as a finger, just like a prey animal that is being glared at by a predator.
So this is what true fear was.

A primal fear that is built into all organisms.

A fear that threatens to wipe out all thought.

The aspect of death.

That instant in which you know you’re going to die for certain.

The interior of the house that was bound by darkness… no, from Nodoka’s perspective, she could only think that all the lights had been extinguished, was suddenly illuminated by a different light, and a red light completely different from the light emanating from the Shii’s eyes appeared behind it.

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on my daughteeeeeer!!”

Tears flowed out from Nodoka’s eyes after hearing that familiar voice.

The flames disappeared from the Shii’s face as though it was surprised, and the instant it turned around, it was enveloped in flames as bright as the sun that looked like it would reduce anything to char.

“Nodoka! Are you okay!?”

“Mom!!”

Her mother’s form slowly came into view from behind the pillar of flame that was encompassing the Shii. In her hand, she held Diana who was still lying limp after her ordeal with the Shii.

“Diana-san! Is she okay!?”

“Her wounds aren’t as bad as they appear… if anything, I’m worried about the state of her mind. Yasuo!”

Nodoka finally noticed the presence of her brother, who had entered her room normally through the door.

“Take care of Diana-chan.”

“Woah! Understood… but you really shouldn’t be throwing people. Ouch.”

Her brother looked just like he always did after coming back from school, except for the dust that covered him from head to toe.

Yasuo managed to catch Diana while making complaints to his mother, but because he was not in the right position to catch her, the unexpected weight of a person threatened to make him fall over.

“Hey, don’t drop her.”

While Madoka was rebuking Yasuo, the pillar of flame that surrounded the Shii was blown away in an instant. Madoka put herself between the Shii and the others, and glared bitterly at the Shii that had blasted away her flames.

“I guess he’s made of stronger stuff than the one that attacked earlier. A flame of just this level isn’t enough to even put a scratch on him.”

The Shii that looked like a human male stood there, looking like it had not taken any damage from the flames at all.

“…Hideo… Hideo…”

“This is… the voice of the Shii.”

The voice that seemed like it originated from the depths of Hell felt like it ran through their very bones and scraped against their nerves. Along with fear, Nodoka felt like she was about to throw up, but after hearing that voice, Diana, who was being supported by Yasuo, opened her eyes a little.

“…Madoka… That Shii is…”

“I know. You did well to protect Nodoka and hold out for so long.”

“…I’m sorry… I’m sorry…!”

Diana was crying. Was this because she felt powerless at being unable to protect Nodoka?

No, that wasn’t the case.

“It’s okay. You weren’t able to tell us because you were worried about how Hideo and I would react, right? There’s no way I could ever mistake this person for someone else, though, no matter how much time passes. Seeing him again like this was a shock, it’s bad for my heart.”

Madoka glared at the Shii that was once again surrounded by dark flames, while grinding her teeth.

“Seriously, what do you think you’re doing? Hideo and I… and even Erize would never forgive you for making your cute daughter cry like this.”

However, the words that were uttered by Madoka were tinged with an undeniable sense of grief.

“Alex… To think that someone as powerful as you would end up in such a state…”

Madoka Sugiura, the woman who was hailed as the “Rainbow Sage” after the end of their journey fighting against Demon King Kaul, said that while looking at the Shii who had once been a man known as the “Swordmaster”, Alexei Krone, and the husband of her dear friend Erijina.

※

There were no two people within the Resteria Kingdom’s Knights who were on as bad terms as Alexei Krone and Erijina Radagast.

Alexei led the sword and spear units within the Knights, while Erijina led the magicians. The two of them were always at odds, using various strategies to improve the position of their own units even by a little.

Such politics were common in all countries at the time, but having to face the armies of Demon King Kaul without resolving their internal disputes caused Resteria to face repeated failure. Even then, the chasm between the soldiers and the magicians was so deep that neither side showed any intention of burying the hatchet.

It was the arrival of the hero, Hideo, and the magician, Madoka, that caused a change in the situation.

The two of them always fought to protect the most number of people that they could, instead of trying to win glory in battle. That was obvious, since neither of them had any sort of political standing in the country called Resteria, but after watching them fight, both Alexei and Erijina were forced to acknowledge just how foolishly they had been fighting until then.

In the end, both Erijina and Alexei joined Hideo’s party as guides and guards, but their bickering never ceased. However, even then, Madoka could tell that the two of them were irresistibly drawn to each other in spite of their constant fighting.

The two of them never stopped their bickering, even during their travels, but their relationship was one of friendly rivalry; Alexei combined magic with his swordsmanship and created the military art of magical swordsmanship, and Erijina gained the knowledge of weapons that would later become the basis for the creation of Techno Weapons.

After the final battle had ended, in front of Hideo and Madoka who were preparing to return to Japan, Alexei, squirming self-consciously with his burly body and blushing to the tips of his fingers, finally asked Erijina to marry him. Hideo, who was a thick-headed youth, had been greatly surprised.

Madoka was convinced that the two of them would definitely make a great couple, and in fact, when their daughter came looking for Hideo after thirty years, Madoka had to restrain herself from flying back to that strange land immediately and giving her congratulations to her dear friends.

※

“And yet, why did you turn into something like that, leaving Erize and Diana-chan behind!?”

“…Hideo…”

“There’s no way that someone as strong as you would lose to a mere monster. Just what happened!?”

However, the Shii that bore Alexei’s features did not answer her questions.

“…Hideo…”

“Hideo is not here! The only people here are my children, and your daughter!”

“…Hideo.”

“Alexei Krone!”

Madoka’s fierce, yet sad shout caused the air to tremble.

“I cannot allow an existence that bears your features to sin any further… If you refuse to leave, then I, Sugiura Madoka, will be your opponent!”

“…Mado…ka?”

“Yes! I’ve been called by all kinds of embarrassing names since back in the day, but I’m still the ‘Rainbow Sage’! Do you still remember, even after turning into a Shii!? In that case…”

Madoka formed seals with her hands in front of her chest at a high speed.

“I’ll make you remember the power of my fire magic!”

The Rainbow Sage, Madoka, raised her hands that were surrounded by flames above her head while anger and sadness were reflected in her eyes. In that instant, particles of light began to gather around her body.

“…My name is Madoka! The person who will shine light down on the darkness of the land!”

The structure of the chant that Madoka shouted was the same as that of the chant that their father had uttered on that fateful day in the living room, when he summoned the Holy Sword Liutberga.

“Inferno, rush forth! Dawnlight, illuminate! Gather the scorching fire that breaks apart the icy souls! Holy staff of fire, Marlowe!! Answer my call and take form!!”

Along with her dignified chant, Madoka’s appearance made the dark atmosphere waver. And in the next moment…

““……””

“Ah… this is the true appearance of the Rainbow Sage…”

The siblings, Yasuo and Nodoka could only stand there agape at this unexpected situation, and Diana, who was still being held by Yasuo, let out some words while sounding like she was ecstatic.

That couldn’t be helped.

Along with a flash of light, their mother had transformed into a Magical Lady.

It would be unreasonable to ask the siblings to say something in this situation.

After their father had shown them his Holy Sword that he had used in his youth, and their mother had told them that she had once fought beside him, they should have expected this.

However, even after all the knowledge they had gained about the other world, and steeling their resolve, the visual impact of the scene before them far exceeded the level of their father’s Holy Sword and Diana’s Magitech weaponry.

Their mother held a staff that gave off a mysterious light… they could still accept this because they knew that she had been a powerful magician in the other world.

However, she was one year younger than Hideo. A forty seven year old woman, no matter how much of a living legend she was, it was unforgivable for her to wear a dress that exposed her shoulders and part of her bare legs under a miniskirt.

Specifically, her upper arms and the area around her collarbone were quite difficult to look at. Also, her bare legs.

““……””

The son who was in high school, and the daughter who was in middle school, somehow restrained themselves, but even so, the Magical Lady looked at them and,

“The two of you are not getting your allowance this month!”

She made such a ruthless statement.

““But we didn’t even say anything!””

It was a parent-child discussion that was odd on several levels, but basically, it showed that Madoka didn’t care much for her own appearance, and she was also perfectly aware of how she must appear to her son and daughter.

“In any case! Alex! You’re going to to take responsibility for matters having come to such a state!”

Their mother desperately waved her staff, and a small flame issued from the tip.

It was a tiny flame that looked almost like a snowflake, and it gave off such a delicate, beautiful light that Yasuo, Nodoka, and the Shii didn’t even feel threatened by it. However…

“Please close your eyes!!”

Yasuo and Nodoka instinctively shielded their eyes at Diana’s shout.

“Woah!?”

“Kyaa!?”

Yasuo and Nodoka let out an unintentional shout as their bodies were assaulted by a shock wave and heat from a rapidly expanding explosion, and even Diana had to struggle to withstand the explosion while hanging on to Yasuo.

After the flash of the explosion, they confirmed that the surroundings had once again returned to darkness and raised their heads, only to find that that the Shii was nowhere to be seen.

“Alex! Prepare yourself!”

Instead, they saw their mother, who looked like a flaming comet, fly off into the sky that had lost all color.

“I-Incredible.”

“Y-Yeah.”

In the middle of this indescribable situation, the brother and sister were truly on the same wavelength.

“T-That’s right! Diana-san, are you okay!?”

Nodoka regained her wits and rushed to Diana who was being held by her brother. Yasuo set Diana down on the floor while still looking at the figure of his mother who was flying in the sky like a strange comet.

Diana’s Magitech equipment was broken in places, and parts of her body that were visible were burned so badly that it was hard to look at. Yasuo couldn’t tell the difference between Castor and Pollux, but even he could tell that one of them was obviously broken and could no longer be used as a weapon.

These were the signs of a frighteningly fierce battle.

“Diana, are you okay?”

“…Please forgive me. My strength…was not enough…”

“That’s not true. Nodoka looks like she doesn’t have a single scratch on her. Thank you for protecting her so desperately.”

“…Was I…really desperate?”

A single teardrop fell from Diana’s eyes.

“My blade became dull. I was not able to fire my magic. That’s because… I mean…”

Yasuo, who was no longer in the confused state that he was in until yesterday, immediately understood what she was trying to say.

“Your dad is really strong, isn’t he?”

Alexei Krone. The name that his mother had shouted out was the name of Diana’s father, and also the name of his mother and father’s dear friend.

“I wasn’t able to fight…. My father… I wasn’t able to seriously attack the Shii that has my father’s appearance. Due to that… Hideo’s house is… and I put Nodoka in danger… I’m so sorry.”

“Your father’s appearance? Diana-san, do you mean…”

“That’s right, Nodoka. The Shii that Madoka is currently fighting against in order to protect us is…”

Diana’s voice dissolved into weeping.

It happened a year after the first sighting of a Shii was reported.

Resteria, who viewed this escalating issue as a serious threat, reached out to the neighboring small kingdoms and put together a large force for the purpose of investigating the former Grand Duchy of Torjesso. The force was led by Diana’s father, General Alexei Krone. This was also Diana’s first field assignment.

Magitech Knights from noble families were usually assigned officer posts near the headquarters where they were in relatively little danger, so that they could work with veterans and slowly build up their experience. As General Alexei’s only daughter, Diana too was given a role as a surveying officer assigned to the base camp, and was not included in the combat division.

However, Resteria’s Magitech Knights didn’t know anything about what kind of creatures the Shii were, so they structured their forces in the same way that they had during the fight with Demon King Kaul. They used the same strategies, such as sending out scouts to discover the locations of groups of monsters, and protected their camp against a surprise attack from the monsters.

If they were fighting demons, or even other humans, that would have been more than enough.

However, just like the Demon King’s stronghold in the previous war, the Shii just appeared from beneath the ground one day. They popped up in various locations inside the base camp itself, like the shoots of some demonic plant breaking through the soil.

Faced with the darkness that rose up from the very ground and took human form, even the world’s strongest Magitech Knights from Resteria who had displayed unrivalled strength during the fight against Demon King Kaul’s forces, collapsed.

Against the investigation force that numbered three thousand people, it was said that there were only three hundred Shii. In spite of having overwhelming odds in terms of numbers, the investigation force from Resteria lost nearly one-third of their numbers.

However, the biggest blow to Resteria, the world, and especially Diana and Erijina, was the news that the person who was once the Hero’s companion, the ‘Swordmaster’ Alexei Krone, was killed in battle. Despite the fact that he was fighting against unknown opponents, nobody expected that General Alexei, who had survived the fierce battle against Demon King Kaul along with the Hero, would come to a humiliating end like having his heart ripped out of his body.

Amidst the confusion of having their base camp assaulted from within, Diana followed the orders of her captain and did her best to perform her role in battle, but it was taking everything they had just to carry out an orderly retreat and so Diana didn’t feel like she contributed anything at all. Even worse, while she stood amidst confusion in the bloodstained battlefield, the last thing she had expected was that the person she respected more than anyone in the world, her father, would be taken in battle.

“We took my father’s body back to our country where we had a grand state funeral and he was praised as one of the saviors of the world. A special exception was made for him and he was interred in the burial vault that only royalty is allowed to enter. In spite of that…. In spite of that, that Shii is-!!”

It was a tragedy, but Alexei was still put to rest by following the formal procedures of interring the dead. In spite of that, the Shii that appeared before Yasuo and the others had the appearance of Alexei Krone.

At that moment, Yasuo realized something that caused him to widen his eyes in surprise.

“I’m a full-fledged Magitech Knight! So there’s… nothing to be worried about!”

At that time when the front door of the Kenzaki house had been demolished, Yasuo still held a great deal of mistrust towards Diana. In spite of that, why had she said that there was nothing to worry about because she was full-fledged? Perhaps those words had not been directed at Yasuo, but at her father instead?

“Eh!?”

At that time, outside the window, a large fireball flashed in the sky.

Now was not the time to be thinking of old memories. Their mother was still fighting against that Shii.

Yasuo looked at Diana’s side and left shoulder that had been burned by the Shii.

“Was it your father’s weapon that did it?”

“It was the ‘Regulus’ of lightning. Unlike Castor and Pollux that are mass-produced models, it’s a special model that was made by my mother. When he received the Techno Weapon that my mother had hand-crafted for him, he was as excited as a child and studied desperately to master the lightning and wind magic… no, sorcery, that Hideo specialized in… That’s right, Madoka probably doesn’t know that my father is using a Techno Weapon!”

The instant Diana said that, a large number of lightning flashes and explosions went off in the sky outside the window, and the sky was full of light, as if they were at a fireworks show.

“It looks like she’s working hard.”

In spite of the situation, Yasuo gave a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry to say this when you’re injured both mentally and physically, but we don’t have time to sit here chatting. Can you stand?”

“…Yasuo, you’re not a kind person, are you?”

Diana pouted a little.

“I’m sorry. The only things I can do are running to a certain Magitech Knight when I’m in danger, and when the situation calls for it, I carry the luggage.”

“If the situation calls for it, I will decline. It appears that I was too heavy for you to carry, Yasuo.”

“Well, I’m sorry for being so weak.”

“Fufu…”

Diana smiled and wiped away the tears that were at the corner of her eyes.

“Are you ready to go?”

Diana nodded slightly to Yasuo’s question and stood up more steadily than expected.

“Let’s get out of here. It looks like Diana’s father is not the only enemy.”

“Eh!? What do you mean!?”

As Nodoka once again wailed in fear, Yasuo explained that a large area around the house had been enclosed in a black, cubic barrier.

“A black, cubic barrier?”

“Yeah. Is there any magic in Ante Lande that can cause such an effect?”

“The most likely cause would be some kind of barrier technique, but the only thing I sensed was the approach of my father… the signal emitted by my father’s Techno Weapon. I didn’t sense any magic or sorcery of such a large scale…”

If even Diana didn’t know what caused it, then it was pointless for Yasuo to think about it, but,

“After breaking through it forcefully, Mom said that it felt different from a usual barrier as well.”

Yasuo didn’t know how to react when his mother described this situation that was the latest in a chain of such bizarre occurrences, in a tone that one would normally use to say that they didn’t like the stock used to prepare the miso soup. However, the fact was that even his mother had never experienced anything like this before.

“The interior of the barrier is… how can I put this? It looks like it’s dead. It’s like a monotone, or as if the color has vanished. What’s more, there are no people around and no sounds to be heard. In spite of that, only the area immediately around our house is this lively, so we can conclude that it was definitely done by someone aiming for us… or rather, aiming for the Hero, Hideo.”

“…I’ve never heard of a technique like that.”

After hearing Yasuo’s explanation, Diana shook her head and said that in a fearful tone.

“A barrier is just a physical wall that is created using magic. A barrier can prevent people from moving from one side of it to the other, but a technique that can alter the space or twist the existence of objects inside it is…”

“Ah, so that’s why my mother was on guard. Was it the Shii that held this kind of power, or perhaps…”

“There’s someone else?”

Yasuo nodded at Diana’s answer.

“However, that person is not trying to get to me or any of us as of now. Depending on how you look at it, they’re also not causing any trouble for the neighbors. So right now, we should just think about how to escape from this person’s field.”

“Y-Yes. I understand.”

Diana nodded at Yasuo’s concise explanation.

“Well then, let’s go. I entered through the main entrance when I came here, and it looks like there’s nothing dangerous on the ground floor. Well, if a Shii does show up, the two of us can’t do anything about it, so Diana, I’m sorry, but please lead the way.”

“H-Hey, Onii-chan, what are you saying? Diana-san is injured, you know!?”

Nodoka was against the idea of sending an injured person into battle, but,

“Well, what other choice do we have? Even if both her arms and legs were broken, Diana would probably still be stronger than me.”

Yasuo rejected Nodoka’s complaint.

“Besides, frankly speaking, this incident occurred because the Resteria Kingdom or whatever failed to appreciate the scope of the situation properly. If the situation is resolved safely, I’m going to have Diana go back and give her report, along with a formal complaint from us.”

“…Yasuo?”

“You can go back and tell them that, if they’re expecting my father to save your world, they need to assign an appropriate budget towards protecting the peace in Japan as well. For the time being, they need to increase the number of Magitech Knights sent here for our protection. It’s a matter of life and death for the entire human race, so you should at least be able to do this much, right?”

“……”

It looked like Diana was being pushed back by Yasuo’s irrational argument, but she immediately recovered and blurted out,

“Yasuo, you’re really not a kind person, are you?”

“After all the trouble you’ve caused for us, asking for this much is normal.”

Yasuo broadly grinned while saying that.

“However, you don’t need to worry. Once this situation is safely resolved and Dad comes back, I’ll present a solution to our problem that Diana, Nodoka, Mom, Dad, I, and everyone else will be able to accept, and make you regret your previous statement.”

“…Onii-chan, what happened to you?”

Nodoka was not able to hide her surprise at how much her brother had changed since yesterday, no, in just half a day.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m more aware of it than anyone else.”

He had refused to believe. He avoided eye contact. He had run away.

Just what was he running away from?

“Yasuo.”

Diana, the wounded Magitech Knight, smiled as if she was overjoyed.

“You called me by my name for the first time. That alone is enough to make me very happy.”

When it was time to do something, he would do it to his best ability.

Doing one’s best was just a matter of being in the correct state of mind. Even if you didn’t have the strength to fight, or magical abilities, it was one of the several things that you could still do.

“It’s also the first time I’ve called a girl by her first name.”

Even so, he was unable to look at Diana directly because of her beauty, and he couldn’t do anything about the fact that he was too bashful to look her in the eye.

“……”

However, he immediately noticed Nodoka’s glare that seemed to say “Now’s not the time to be flirting, think about what kind of situation we’re in”, so he hurriedly cleared his throat.

“Ah, actually, Mom and I were attacked by a Shii on the way here. Mom said that she killed it, but I didn’t actually see her do it. Just how do you defeat a Shii?”

The very instant Yasuo said that, a pillar of black flame suddenly rose up behind Nodoka.

At a speed that even Yasuo, who saw it first, couldn’t hope to match, the wounded Diana aimed her remaining Techno Weapon and pulled the trigger.

“Gogaaaaaa!”

Along with the scream of the Shii, a large hole appeared in the wall of Nodoka’s room, and they could also hear the sounds of all sorts of things breaking in Yasuo’s room on the other side.

After once again witnessing the power of Techno Weapons, Yasuo and Nodoka stood dumbfounded, while Diana’s face had an expression like she was thinking, “Now, I’ve done it.”

“…In this way, Shii can be defeated using Techno Weapons or the power of sorcery.”

From the way in which she was immediately able to say that in the next moment, perhaps she just had a stubborn personality.

From Yasuo’s point of view, he expected that a shockwave of that magnitude coming from that direction would cause several things in his room to be destroyed beyond repair, and was nearly overcome by an urge to go check the condition of his room.

“However, the real trouble starts now. This is still just a theory, but if you leave an incapacitated Shii alone, it will eventually disappear as if it is being sucked into the ground. However, there have been a few reports in the past that Shii that were thought to have been defeated, had been seen again.”

“S-So they were resurrected?”

“We were unable to discount the possibility. And then, when the number of such accounts started to increase, we decided to take appropriate measures against Shii that were defeated… Ahem.”

After explaining the horrifying nature of the monsters, Diana gave a small cough, took a small breath, and,

“Oh, wide sky, please welcome him.”

She began to sing in a thin voice.

“A song…?”

“This song… is it the one from that time?”

“Oh, wide ocean, please welcome him. Oh, wide land, please welcome him.”

Even though he had only heard the melody once before, Yasuo still remembered it perfectly.

“Oh, loved people, please welcome him. May the one who has gone return again someday. May he return, so he may start his journey anew.”

A song he had never heard before, sung in a language he didn’t understand.

As the words fell from Diana’s lips, there was a change in the body of the Shii that was lying prone on the ground.

The black flames that surrounded its body even after it had fallen seemed to vanish all at once, and the body slowly began to crumble.

“Oh, wide universe, please welcome him. Oh, wide universe, please welcome him.”

Each time the simple melody and phrase were repeated, the black shadow lost some of its structure, and then,

“Oh, loved one, may you never lose your way on your journey into the universe.”

As soon as the song ended, the black monster from another world turned into particles that couldn’t be described as ash or soot, and disappeared into thin air without a sound.

“You said that this song was a requiem, right?”

When Yasuo asked her that, Diana gave a small nod.

“So if the Shii are dead creatures, you just need to give them a proper send-off? It seems like a simple idea, but it kind of makes sense.”

Diana had said that most of the Magitech Knights sang this requiem as a prayer.

Perhaps they had several reasons for doing that, such as increasing the power of the prayer, using it as a ward against misfortune, or grieving for those poor souls who had turned into Shii.

“Right now, this sad prayer is being sung throughout Resteria. Just how many times do we have to repeat something so sad…”

While grieving for the Shii whose name she didn’t even know, Diana was surely thinking about her father who turned into a Shii and was fighting outside, and must have been fighting down an urge to scream. However, neither Yasuo nor Nodoka had the courage to try guess how she felt, and they were unable to even touch her trembling fist.

“Well, then…”

However, the sounds of fierce impacts and the bursts of fire magic were still continuing outside.

“For starters, let’s get out of here. We need to at least get out of this strange space.”

“Yes… you’re right.”

“……”

Diana and Nodoka both gave small nods.

The three of them glanced at the spot where the Shii had lain until just a few moments ago, and then made their way across the room that had been turned into a horrible state.

They could still hear the sounds of Madoka fighting against Alexei=Shii high in the sky above them, but Yasuo was in a hurry to get as far away from the house as possible.

In spite of the loud noise, not a single person was on the street to check the cause, no vehicles went by, and the false night sky above them was dyed in a uniform black colour. It would take a mere fifteen minutes to walk to the boundary of the “barrier-like” space that his mother had broken into, but they were assaulted three times on the way by the Shii.

Each time a Shii appeared, it was subdued by Diana and then put to rest with her requiem, but Yasuo and Nodoka were already feeling a sense of mental fatigue from the large changes that had occurred to the neighborhood that they were familiar with.

“O-Onii-chan, are we really going the right way?”

“Yeah, it should be this way.”

Yasuo replied to Nodoka who was almost in tears, but he couldn’t believe that the scenery he was so familiar with could change so much with just a change in color. He was also worried that he might have taken a wrong turn somewhere, and lost his way.

“I’m sure this is the correct direction.”

However, Diana said that confidently.

“So many Shii are appearing from the direction in which we are heading. I’ve rarely had to deal with so many Shii in a row, and I’m not sure what the principle behind this strange space is, but…”

“They’re trying to stop us from escaping?”

“Yes, I think so. I don’t have any proof, but… in some way, it puts me at ease.”

The attacks by the Shii notwithstanding, they hadn’t seen a single person apart from themselves. That meant that there was no need to worry about the people in Tokorozawa getting assaulted by the Shii that were appearing within this black barrier.

“B-But what if we leave the barrier?”

“…I don’t know what will happen. However, staying here in the middle of the enemy’s technique is not a good idea either. I don’t think that the fight between Madoka and my father will end anytime soon, and in my injured state I cannot hold out for long if the enemy attacks in large numbers. Leaving this barrier now is the most practical solution available to us at the moment.”

After saying that, Diana looked back in the direction of the sound of battle that had become slightly distant.

“Besides, it is possible that the person behind this incident is my father, who is the strongest Shii here. If there was someone else who was controlling the Shii from behind the scenes, I don’t think they’d let us escape so easily now that we’ve come this far away from Madoka, who is our strongest fighting strength. So if we move farther away from my father…”

“So this place is safe, at least for now?”

“I think so.”

It was all just conjecture, an optimistic guess.

However, the only person that Yasuo and Nodoka could depend on was the professional soldier Diana, even if she had a somewhat unreliable side. Yasuo looked at the injured back of Diana, who was walking quickly in front of him while carefully monitoring the surroundings.

The broken Castor that was meant to be used in the right hand was hanging from her belt, and in her left hand, she held the blood-stained Pollux.

If they managed to leave this barrier, should he ignore the consequences and take her straight to a doctor?

While Yasuo was thinking of such things, they arrived at a place that he definitely recognized.

“Over there! That intersection! That’s where the “border” was!”

It was a small intersection within the residential area, and it had a signal with a single lamp. Around this time, it would usually be a blinking yellow light with hardly any people around, but the surroundings were still dyed in a monotone colour.

“There is definitely some kind of barrier here.”

When Diana stretched out her hand while standing at the center of the intersection, she could feel something invisible pressing against her fingertips.

“I guess it was too much to hope for that the broken portion would remain open. If that was the case, there would be no point in constructing this barrier, as it would allow a large number of outsiders to enter the space inside. Considering the fact that we’ve seen only Shii inside, we can say that this barrier is a sort of ‘cloak of invisibility’, created expressly to get at Hideo or the rest of….”

The voice that they heard sounded like the voice of a demon king, come from the pits of Hell.

“That analysis is correct. As expected from a child of Radagast and Krone.”

They were unable to identify the direction from which the sound came. It was a voice dripping with malice, and it seemed to come from every direction as though they were trapped in a soundproof room, and it seemed to make the dark space around them even blacker.

“W-Who’s there!?”

It was a markedly different presence from all the Shii they had faced before. It did not have a strange darkness surrounding it, and the voice was that of a male. What’s more, it was speaking in Japanese.

However, even Diana, the sole combatant in that location, trembled at the irrepressible malice that leaked out from that otherwise flat voice.

An incredible enemy was approaching.

The enemy was intelligent, and was giving off a clear sense of hostility.

It was the first enemy that Diana faced who was intelligent, as she had not experienced battles against Demon King Kaul’s forces, nor had she participated in battles against other kingdoms. She had only completed her training as a Magitech Knight, and fought against the Shii which were apparently mindless.

“Leave now, young Magitech Knight of Resteria. An excellent resource such as yourself should stay in your country and gather merit in an ordinary fashion, and work diligently for the sake of your country. There is no need for your to risk your life here.”

A black substance, that looked like the soot from a fireplace, began to consolidate in front of them.

Diana, Yasuo, and Nodoka had their voices frozen due to fear, and were unable to make a sound.

The black and red flames that flickered within the soot-like substance was definitely the same as that of a Shii.

The menace of Demon King Kaul, who had once caused the distant world of Ante Lande to descend into chaos, had reappeared. That’s what Diana had told the Hero who had once saved that world.

However, Diana did not truly know Demon King Kaul.

Diana had only experienced the battle with Demon King Kaul through her history textbooks, and she had no first hand experience.

“Demon King… Kaul?”

The figure that stood before here while spreading an overwhelming sense of pressure, fear and darkness was so different from the ‘Demon King Kaul’ that she had imagined, that she just had to ask and make sure.

It looked just like a human.

Very few people had seen Demon King Kaul with their own eyes. Hideo, Madoka, Erijina, and Alexei had encountered him directly, but unlike the portraits of Hideo, all the paintings of Kaul had been done based on hearsay augmented by the artist’s imagination. In any case, the figure that stood before Diana did not match the appearance of any representation of Kaul that she had seen before.

He was about one and a half heads taller than Yasuo. He wore a soot-stained shirt that must have originally been white in colour. His khaki-coloured trousers were held up by suspenders, and he wore leather boots. Overall, he looked like a man with a well-built physique.

In one hand, he held what appeared to be a lantern, but the light emitted by it was not the ominous red colour that they had seen so far, it looked like the light from a regular flame. The other hand was on the edge of the newsboy cap that he wore on his head. Rather than a demon king or a monster, he looked like a twentieth century chimney sweep from England.

Was this the man who had used some means unknown to Diana to purposefully separate Yasuo and his family from the other people, and trap them in this space?

Was this person the true enemy behind the attacks on the Kenzaki family house, and the person who had even managed to enslave the Shii of Alexei Krone, who was once a comrade of the Hero who had saved the world?

Was this person the root cause behind the new disaster that had befallen Ante Lande?

“Demon King Kaul. Demon King. Demon King, eh? He certainly called himself by an arrogant title.”

The moment his face came into view, the unspeakable terror they had had felt until just earlier vanished, and was replaced by a sense of strangeness that was hard to describe. When he spoke, the voice of a man reached their ears.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not Kaul. I’m not a weakling like Kaul was, and I don’t think I’m as foolish as Kaul was either.”

“W-Weakling!?”

They were talking about a demon who had nearly destroyed an entire planet. What did he mean by calling such a monster a ‘weakling’?

The man chuckled as if enjoying Diana’s reaction. He then took off his newsboy cap and gave an elegant bow.

“Children of the Hero, Hideo. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is William Bareig.”

“Hii…”

After seeing his face, Nodoka let out a small scream. The man who called himself William appeared to just be a foreigner, but his left eye was definitely not that of a human.

The evil light of the Shii burned within that eye. It made one think that he wore the newsboy cap low over his eyes to hide that, and it burned strongly with a dark red light that was incomparably brighter compared to the light given off by Alexei or the other Shii that they had encountered. His right eye was a clear blue in colour, and it only emphasized the ominous impression given off by his left eye.

“Sorry for scaring you. No matter how much I disguise my outward appearance, I can’t do anything about this eye.”

Even a smile, if tinged with evil, will cause people to feel fear

Nodoka’s knees grew weak the instant she saw William’s smile, and she sank to the ground as if she no longer had the strength to remain standing. Yasuo barely managed to remain standing, but it could be seen that he was at his limit, and any small impetus would cause him to break down.

This person was on a far different level from a Shii.

The sense of abnormality, creepiness, and fear that he inspired were fundamentally different from a Shii.

“Ku-!!”

Only the soldier, Diana, was able to summon the energy required and pull the trigger of Pollux to initiate an attack. At this point, the identity of the stranger no longer mattered.

She had no proof, but she could only think of this person called William as a living, human enemy.

“Hmm.”

However, William’s easy smile didn’t falter for a second, and he took the magic bullet from Pollux head-on.

A hole big enough to see through was opened up in William’s body at the point where the magic bullet passed through him. However, there was no blood, and William did not stagger. Instead, as though a ball had been thrown through smoke, the hole soon sealed up and vanished, and he returned to his previous appearance.

“Too bad.”

William looked like he really meant that. He said that in a tone as if he was trying to console Diana, who was standing while looking dumbfounded, and he calmly took a step forward towards the three of them.

“Ugh…”

At that moment, Yasuo also collapsed. He had tried to take a step backwards, but his legs weren’t working properly. While sitting pathetically on the ground, he was still not able to take his eyes off William.

“Y-Yasuo, take Nodoka and go somewhere else. I-I’ll take care of things here…!”

Diana got between William and the other two as if to intercept that gaze, but her voice was also trembling with fear. William stopped walking and gave Diana a pitying look.

“Stop this. You cannot defeat me with your twin swords. I do not wish to injure a beautiful young lady. Please step away.”

“I-I can’t do that!”

Diana shouted that, but it looked like it was directed at herself, rather than William.

“I am a Magitech Knight of Resteria! By the name of my father and mother, I cannot abandon the Kenzaki family, no matter what!”

“You say you cannot abandon them, but what you are attempting is impossible. I would serve as your opponent if you had even the faintest chance of victory, but what you are attempting is similar to a baby challenging a warrior to a brawl. You cannot win, even by a miracle.”

“S-Shut up! Haaaaaah!!”

Diana seriously lost her calm at William who was approaching her without even trying to protect himself. Even Yasuo, who was in the place closest to Diana, could not tell when she had moved.

The flashing blade definitely landed upon William’s shoulder.

However,

“That’s why I told you, it is impossible.”

Just like the magic bullet earlier, Pollux’s blade just passed through William’s body with no lasting effect. Let alone his body, even his clothes were completely unharmed, and of course, WIlliam was still standing there as though nothing had happened.

“I-Impossible…”

Diana was taken aback by the lack of resistance to her attack, and stopped moving even though she was right in front of her enemy.

It was like when she swung her sword in practice, or attempted to cut the air, there was no resistance at all. Was William’s ghostly body even here, in the first place?

“Be at ease. For a human, you are definitely strong. Had you not been crippled by emotion, you might have even defeated your father’s shadow. However, you will sometimes run into opponents that you can do nothing against, and incidentally, I am such a one. That’s all there is to it.”

William placed a hand on Diana’s shoulder, and spoke in the tone of a teacher speaking to a student.

For some reason, the sword had passed cleanly through his body as though he was insubstantial, but he was able to push Diana.

He did not hit her, nor did he blast her out of his path. However, Diana was unable to resist William’s small action that was meant to move her out of his path. Her body moved several steps to one side, and William easily walked past her.

By the time she realized what had happened and turned around, William was already standing in front of Yasuo and Nodoka, while exposing his back unguardedly to Diana.

“I have prepared a fitting opponent for you to battle. Please play over there for a while. Three of them at once should prove to be good training for you.”

“!!”

Three new Shii appeared from the ground behind Diana, who had been looking at William. They had an appearance that even Yasuo was familiar with now. The three Shii raised their shadowy weapons and approached Diana from behind.

While he was frozen in place with fear, Yasuo for some reason thought that one of the Shii held weapons that resembled the Castor and Pollux that Diana wielded.

“Don’t touch Yasuo and Nodokaaaaaaaa!!!!”

“Diana!!”

Yasuo’s cry did not reach Diana, and Diana’s attack did not reach William. However…

“Aaaaaah!!”

The attacks of the three Shii reached Diana’s back. After missing her strike at William, Diana’s back was pierced by a black bullet, a black spear and a black arrow. Diana was sent flying by the impact and passed right through William’s body, falling to the ground.

There was no doubt about it. One of the Shii was wielding Castor and Pollux.

One of the attacks that had hit Diana was a magic bullet that had been fired from a grip.

Diana had said that it was a mass-produced model. The other two were a spear and a bow. There was no way to tell if those were regular weapons or Techno Weapons, but Diana had said that soldiers of Resteria’s army were also able to use swords, spears, and bows.

And now, the man who had once led Resteria’s Knights was fighting in the sky.

The three creatures, no, the three people were once Magitech Knights of Resteria, just like Diana.

“Diana-san!!”

Diana still tried to rise after hearing Nodoka’s scream, but her body had already been injured in her battle with Alexei’s Shii. After taking an assassin’s blade and bullet to her back, she was no longer able to summon the necessary energy in her hands and legs.

William looked at the form of the young Magitech Knight who was pathetically sprawled on the ground, and lowered his shoulders.

“You should have just stayed back and accepted the training. You could have won against them easily, you know?”

“H-How dare you…”

If Yasuo had the strength, he might have struck out at the man for this insensitive and unworthy comment. However, Yasuo had no power at all.

As far as he could remember, he had never physically fought anyone. Faced with a killing intent and a true monster for the first time in his life, Yasuo’s words were laughably weak.

“I told her that she was no match for me, and that she would be able to have a good fight against the Shii, you know? I’m incomparably stronger than her, so it’s not like I put her off guard and struck her from behind while was distracted. Why do you still accuse me, I wonder?”

William was calmly analyzing Diana’s actions, as though criticizing the performance of players in yesterday’s soccer game.

It was merely an analysis, and his words didn’t carry even a hint of scorn.

“Besides, she said “Don’t touch them”. She attacked me while assuming that I intended to do you harm. Gross defamation, I tell you. I haven’t said a word about why I’m here, or what I want to do.”

After saying that, William took a step towards Yasuo and Nodoka without sparing another glance at Diana, or the Shii that had stopped moving after defeating her.

“No! Noooo!!”

Nodoka was overcome by fear and screamed. Seeing his little sister in a panic, the flames of self-abandonment rose up within Yasuo, and,

“Nodoka! Run!! Run awaaaaay!!”

Yasuo turned on William who had only taken one step towards them, and threw a desperate punch at him.

“Eh…”

Yasuo had forgotten to breathe due to his fright, his center of gravity was raised, and he had not even formed a proper fist. William looked truly irritated, and avoided Yasuo’s strike by just moving a little to the side.

“You should do things like that when you’re at least on the level of that Magitech Knight.”

William extended his leg and lightly kicked at the leg of Yasuo who was off balance. Yasuo was completely unable to resist it, and his vision suddenly spun around, and he landed pathetically upon the ground.

“There are a lot of comments I want to make, like you shouldn’t be attacking people older than you, or that this is not time to try to act cool. But really, you’re pathetic. You would have been better served by dragging your sister by the hand and running away.”

Those humiliating words were directed at Yasuo’s back, who was still lying on the ground.

“I understand that humans are afraid of this eye of mine, and that can’t be helped. However, I intend to treat you, who are the children of the hero, Hideo, in a courteous and hospitable manner. Well, I suppose your living conditions would change drastically, but I would like the two of you to lend your strength to protect humanity from the tragedy that will befall not just Ante Lande, but this world as well, in the near future.”

What the hell was this man talking about?

“Besides, I have taken my previous mistake into account, and even cut away this space so that your neighbors are not disturbed. If anything, you should be thanking me for my consideration.”

“S-Stop joking! You sent a Shii to attack our car! If not for my mother’s quick thinking, it could have caused a major accident!”

Yasuo couldn’t understand what William was talking about, but the incident this time had already caused a disturbance to other people.

When Yasuo shouted that in a trembling voice, William looked truly surprised and widened his eyes.

“Eh? Car? Accident?”

His red eye that was widened in surprise caused Yasuo to start trembling while still lying on the ground.

“Ah, so that’s what happened. This is troubling. Well, there’s no point making excuses here. I’ll let that accusation stand for now.”

William muttered to himself and nodded as if he understood something. And then, as if trying to approach the conversation from a different angle, he looked at Nodoka who was still collapsed on the ground and unable to even run away.

“But if that’s the case, I’ll have to hurry a bit. Now, come with me. I have just the task for the two of you who are children of the Hero.”

Nodoka, and Yasuo who was still on the ground, saw it.

Like the tongue of a serpent extending towards its prey, the ominous red light from William’s left eye was slowly stretching out towards Nodoka.

Yasuo suddenly realized it.

This was the secret behind how the Shii extracted the hearts from people. This was the mechanism by which the Shii stole the hearts of people, which the Magitech Knights had been unable to discover, despite their experience in battle. William, and the Shii led by him, were attempting to steal their hearts in this black space where they would not be seen by anyone, using that strange light.

“Stop! Nodoka! Run away!!”

“Ah, no… No! Diana-san! Save me!!”

Nodoka crawled on all fours towards Diana, but her fear was so great that she wasn’t even able to stand.

“The fear will only last a moment, so please don’t struggle. If you’re afraid, would you like me to bring that Magitech Knight with us as well? Would you be at ease if you had more people around that you know? That young lady is the daughter of Alexei Krone and Erijina Radagast. She is led by her honor as a soldier, and she has a strong will to cover for her inexperience through training. You won’t be worried anymore if that girl is by your side, right? Come, now.”

“Stop… Stop!!”

Yasuo grabbed the leg of William that was right next to him, but that wasn’t enough to stop him.

“N-Nodoka, Yasuo!!”

“Nooooooo!!”

The pitiful screams of the two girls echoed in Yasuo’s ears.

Diana and Nodoka were about to be killed without ever knowing what was going on, and without knowing who their enemy really was. He was not even able to feel anger at himself for not being able to do anything, and not having any power.

In spite of the situation, he suddenly recalled the conversation that he had with his mother in the car that morning.

“If both I and the woman you love were about to fall off a cliff, which one of us would you save?”

How meaningless that question was.

That thought exercise only made sense if he had the strength to save at least one person.

Right now, he could offer no resistance as people important to him were about to be taken away.

He had not believed Diana. He had not believed his father’s words. He had not listened to his mother’s words.

In the end, he had not found his resolve. Why had he chosen the path that required the most power, when he had no power at all?

If only he had been able to decide earlier, this would not have happened. If this was the result of the three days that he had wasted, he would never be able to forgive himself.

“Still… I gave all my effort to understand what was going on, in my own way…!!”

“Doing your best is different from giving all your effort.”

“It was only three days… It’s impossible to overturn eighteen years of common sense in just three days!”

“I’m sure you’re still giving all your effort right now.”

“All these people, they think that because they understand it themselves, they can expect me to understand too? Screw that!”

“I can tell that you’re trying your best to overcome something difficult right now.”

So what if his father was a hero?

He was just an ordinary person.

He was a powerless child, underage, a student, and a civilian.

That is why, as he still lay on the ground, he grabbed the thing that had fallen within his reach.

“Stoooooop!!”

The only thing he could do was to throw it at William.

“Ouch.”

However,

“…Eh?”

It hit William’s head. It definitely made contact.

Diana’s magic bullet and Pollux’s blade had no effect on William’s body, but Yasuo had snatched up the broken Castor that Diana had dropped and thrown it at William, and it had hit him.

“Hmm?”

William turned around and looked suspiciously at Yasuo.

Yasuo didn’t know what just happened. However, that was enough for him.

“Diana! I’m borrowing this!!”

While standing up unsteadily, Yasuo almost snatched Pollux from the fallen Diana’s fingers.

“You bastard! Don’t mess around with us!!”

Without even bothering to take careful aim, Yasuo squeezed the trigger of the Techno Weapon that he held for the first time.

“Mu!?”

They were bullets of light that were far smaller than the ones fired by Diana.

However, William avoided them. He actually dodged them.

“Get away from Nodoka!!”

The next bullet he fired grazed William’s waist and ripped his clothes.

“Hey! Onii-chan, you’re going to hit me!”

That bullet broke apart after hitting the ground near Nodoka’s feet, and his sister raised her voice reminding him to be careful.

However, Yasuo didn’t even hear that.

The attacks were landing. For some reason, the bullets he fired were capable of hitting William.

“Diana! Please get Nodoka out of here! I’ll hold him off…!”

“…Seriously… Yasuo, you’re really not kind at all…!”

Diana ran towards Nodoka at a superhuman speed, while leaving a trail of blood behind her. She carried Nodoka and moved away from William, although she looked unsteady.

“…A word of warning. You’d better not be thinking that you can defeat me. Just because a child can fire a gun, that doesn’t mean he can defeat a trained soldier.”

William spoke in a threatening manner, but Yasuo shouted back at him, partly from anger and partly from excitement.

“S-Shut the hell up! I already know that. But what other choice do I have? Stop your yammering and come at me! Could it be that you’re scared of me? You’re scared of a child with a gun!? You’re confident against a scared little girl, but you can’t do anything against a boy with a weapon?”

“…That’s a really cheap provocation.”

There was no need to even say it, it was definitely a cheap provocation. There was no way that a voice that shrill could be intimidating. He just looked like a sheltered boy who was panicking because he was pushed beyond tolerance. However,

“I will protect Nodoka and Diana. If I’m the only one who can hit you, I have no choice but to do just that!!”

There was no need to say so much to an “enemy”. However, if he didn’t force himself to shout like that, he felt like he would collapse again due to fear.

“Ahhhhhh!!”

Yasuo, whose tension had reached the maximum level, pulled the trigger once again.

“Aah, so troublesome… It hurts to get hit by that, you know?”

A child fighting against a soldier. Just like that example, the magic bullets weren’t hitting William anymore.

Still, William was still dodging Yasuo’s attacks. If he got hit, he would receive damage. Diana thought that she should take this opportunity to get Nodoka out of this black space, or failing that, return to where Madoka was. However,

“Uhh…”

“Look, it’s just like I said.”

The situation did not allow Diana to make either choice. Yasuo, who was continuously firing Pollux recklessly, suddenly collapsed.

That outcome was predictable.

The mechanism of the Techno Weapons worked by using the wielder’s magical energy to fire the magical bullets. Yasuo had been able to fire it until now because some of Diana’s energy had still remained within the weapon. However, once that was exhausted, it would begin drawing the energy from Yasuo, who had not undergone any training as a Magitech Knight. As a result, Yasuo’s body immediately ran out of energy.

William also gave an irritated look at Yasuo, who had collapsed to the ground.

“Stalling for time is a lot harder than it looks. Especially when your ally is wounded, you need to buy a lot more time for them to get away. That means you’re not allowed to exhaust yourself in the meantime. You should have at least paid more attention to your aim.”

“Ugh… Ahh…”

“Well, I should commend you for standing up to me so much in spite of your inexperience. Even most Magitech Knights are incapable of doing that.”

William kicked Pollux and sent it flying far away from Yasuo.

“In that case, taking your reckless bravery into account, I’ll start with you. It’s okay, just like I said earlier, I won’t treat you poorly. It’ll only hurt for a moment.”

Yasuo sensed William’s hand approaching him from above, and his Shii eye looking at him, but he was unable to even raise his head. All the strength had left his body, and as if he was paralyzed, even moving a single finger was difficult.

He had not even fired ten shots.

Was this all he was capable of? Diana had continued to fight even after being injured. His mother had shown how strong she was. In spite of that, was he going to die here, without taking a single wound, and without understanding what was going on?

“The Hero… Hideo.”

“Hmm?”

Yasuo muttered those words while still lying on the ground, and William furrowed his eyebrows suspiciously.

“The Hero, Hideo… is the person who will obtain victory for new frontiers.”

If only he had that power as well.

“Wings, go forth… Flower petals, take flight.”

Diana had said it as well. That Yasuo was the son of Hideo.

“…Gather the shining azure sunlight.”

Wasn’t that obvious?

That was how it went in all the stories. The protagonist’s son would always have the talent and power to continue where his father left off. However, why didn’t he have that?

“Avatar of the wind, Holy Sword Liutberga… Answer my call and take form.”

No matter what he muttered, it was of no use. He didn’t have anything.

A weak person who had never achieved anything could not do anything except looking to a Hero for salvation.

If there is really such a thing as a Hero… Please save me…

“You… Don’t tell me-!”

For the first time, William lost his relaxed expression. A single pillar of light appeared in that area enclosed by darkness. Was that holy light rising from the body of the collapsed Yasuo? No, the light had appeared just next to Yasuo.

The light continued to rise up from beside Yasuo, and it was illuminating William, who looked like he was unable to move.

“…T-That is…!”

Nodoka had been released from her fear of William, and she was no longer looking at him. Diana didn’t know what had happened to Yasuo, and she waited with bated breath to see what would happen next.

Was it a new enemy? Or was something happening to Yasuo that Diana didn’t know about?

Faced with an enemy she could not hope to beat, Diana had lost her ability to think calmly and was unable to pay attention to Yasuo who was still collapsed on the ground.

That’s why, she didn’t hear it. The son of the Hero, Yasuo, had remembered the incantation to summon the Holy Sword Liutberga, even though he had only heard it once before, and he had recited it in a low voice.

“Your memory is exceptional, Yasuo.”

The voice appeared from within the light.

“I had just crossed Shin-Yokohama station, and I was worried because it would still take me a lot of time to get to Tokorozawa… I never imagined that I would be able to come back in such a manner.”

That was the same voice that had once sown the seeds of courage within the hearts of Diana’s father, mother, and the other people in her country.

“…I thought you were supposed to be in Osaka……”

Hideo haughtily replied to William, who was frowning.

“Ah. I hurried back because I heard that something blasted my front door to pieces while I was away. Even so, my wife will probably say I was still too late in returning. But if I knew that we could do something like this, I needn’t have wasted my money by hurriedly buying a return ticket on the bullet train. Only Green Car¹ tickets were available, so all my allowance is gone.”

He had neatly barbered hair. A well-used down jacket. A gray suit. A pink, paisley-patterned necktie. Black leather shoes that had become soft with age.

“I don’t know who you are, but it looks like my family and children have been under your care.”

And lastly, he was holding the Holy Sword Liutberga, which was enveloped in a wind that threatened to disperse the darkness.

“The Hero… Hideo Kenzaki.”

William said that name in a voice that was a mixture of hatred and awe.

The central pillar of the Kenzaki Family who would be turning forty-eight this year. It was Kenzaki Hideo, the father of Yasuo and Nodoka.

※

“That light is-!!”

Madoka, who had been clashing against Alexei in mid-air, stopped moving when she noticed the pillar of light that cut through the darkness. Even Alexei’s Shii had a similar reaction, and its attention was directed towards that light which was like a sun inside this closed world.

“…Hideo”

“Hideo… Hideo…!”

Madoka recalled the times when she used to see that light often, and unintentionally murmured the name of her husband. Now that Alexei had turned into a Shii, what kind of feelings did he have as he called out the name of his old comrade-in-arms?

““Liutberga.””

The voices of the human and the Shii overlapped with each other.

That was the light of hope which had saved a world that was in a place very far away from Japan.

“I need to get a move on as well. It will be very difficult to tell Erize about this encounter with you. I initially thought that your current appearance might have been something created by Kaul or some other evil creature, but that sword technique and that power… It’s really you, isn’t it?”

Madoka muttered that sadly, and then let out large sigh.

“I don’t know how Hideo got here, but now’s not the time to worry about that.”

Madoka looked at her own house, which was a long way below her.

She didn’t sense the presence of Diana and the others there, so she assumed they had got away safely. However, she didn’t notice the other strange presence that had popped up in the vicinity because she was so focused on the battle with Alexei. That showed just how strong Alexei’s Shii was, and how much Madoka’s own powers had declined.

“If Hideo is here, then Yasuo and the others will be safe no matter what happens. In that case, I must take the responsibility and make sure to stop you once and for all. Alex…”

Madoka turned a sinister gaze upon Alexei, and the flames on her fists that had blocked Alexei’s sword strikes until now grew even stronger.

“I can’t let you trouble the children any longer! I must make sure to…”

However, her eyes were filled with tears that were caused by an undeniable sense of sadness.

“I have to kill you. Please forgive me.”

She held up the Holy Staff Marlowe, and began to chant.

“They were unexpectedly weak.”

Even considering that they were taken off guard, the three Shii that appeared to be former Magitech Knights and which had wounded Diana fell to the ground with a mere three strokes of the Holy Sword.

The person who did that was Hideo, Yasuo’s and Nodoka’s father. What’s more, it looked like he hadn’t even moved from his initial location, and his shoes were still as spotless as they had been before.

“I knew they would be no match for you, but to think you’d be this strong…”

William was taken aback by Hideo’s strength, but he suddenly looked up at the sky as if he noticed something. The next instant, the colourless sky wavered greatly, and a black mass fell to the ground.

The black mass struck the road with enough force to make a small crater, but the black space was unaffected by it. However, the remnants of the magical flame, the air, and the dust particles were violently agitated.

“…What is going on? Alex… Just what exactly are the Shii?”

It appeared that Hideo understood the situation immediately after seeing the face of the humanoid monster that had come crashing down. To Hideo, Alexei was a dear friend, as well as being the only person who surpassed him in skill with a sword.

Hideo’s expression was tense as he looked upon this ominous phenomenon that even Alexei could not escape from.

“Diana-chan…”

“…I’m really sorry. I wasn’t able to bring myself to tell you.”

Diana hung her head in shame at Hideo’s unasked question.

On the day Diana had appeared in Japan, she had given a brief summary of the state of affairs to Hideo, Madoka, and Nodoka before Yasuo came home. However, she had not been able to tell them about this.

“Such a mess. I specifically chose this time to act because your absence was a stroke of fortune for me, but I didn’t expect that you would be able to return from such a distance using an unexpected trick like that. My name is William Bareig. Hideo, the Hero, it’s a pleasure to meet you. You unexpectedly look less like a Hero than I expected. You just look like an ordinary middle-aged man.”

At that one word in William’s introduction, Hideo made an unhappy face.

“I was just an ordinary high schooler when I became a Hero, so what’s wrong with me turning into an ordinary middle-aged man after so many years have passed?”

“I see, that makes sense.”

“A Hero just has to save people by defeating the bad guys, but no one taught me how to make a living while leading a normal life. This is actually far more difficult, you know?”

William smiled happily at this statement.

“Even so, you are still the Hero of the Holy Sword, and your wife is a great magician. Judging from how she attacked her close friend with no hesitation, she still hasn’t lost her spirit as a warrior.”

“…Alex is already dead.”

At that moment, Madoka, who had blasted Alexei out of the sky and was also known as the Rainbow Sage, Madoka Sugiura, landed lightly next to the Hero, Hideo. In her hand, she held the Holy Staff that was wrapped in flames, and which was almost as long as she was tall.

“Ah, if I remember correctly, the clothes are actually the main component of the Holy Staff?”

“If you say anything more, you’re not getting any birthday presents for the next ten years…. So that guy is the leader behind the current incident?”

“Probably.”

Madoka and Hideo glared at William while tensing their bodies.

“I didn’t expect that we would team up again at this age and do something like this, but it feels a little nostalgic.”

“There are limits to everything.”

At that instant, Kenzaki Hideo and Kenzaki Madoka were once again transformed into the Hero, Kenzaki Hideo, and the Magician, Sugiura Madoka.

Yasuo and Nodoka lost their words and were even filled with awe when they looked at the gaze and appearance of these real warriors who had gone through real battles with their lives on the line.

“I thought I could somehow manage against Madoka Sugiura alone, but the odds are definitely against me if I have to fight both of you at once.”

On the other hand, WIlliam raised both hands and spoke as if he was ready to surrender.

“I’m not as proficient at fighting directly as the two of you. I’ll retreat for-”

However, William was not able to complete his sentence. At a speed faster than Yasuo and the others could perceive, the Holy Sword Liutberga slashed William diagonally into two pieces.

“Ah…”

“I can’t see any advantage in letting you get away.”

Hideo and Madoka didn’t even let their enemy finish talking. No matter how much Diana had attacked him, it had been like trying to hammer a nail into fog. However, a gruesome red light that looked like blood flowed out of his body now, and his body split into two pieces.

Before William could even make a sound after this attack that exceeded his expectations, a pillar of fire that looked like the exhaust of a rocket engine surrounded his body.

“Hearing what you have to say doesn’t seem like a good idea either.”

Madoka, who had stuck the Holy Staff Marlowe vertically into the ground, spoke coldly.

“Ah… Ahhhh…”

A low male voice could be heard within the roaring flames, perhaps it was William’s death throes.

“A-Amazing… I wasn’t able to do anything against him, but he was defeated in a second…”

Diana alone had been able to follow the movements of those two warriors, but even though she had been able to see them, she didn’t believe for a second that she would be able to do the same thing. Despite their appearance, they showed off their battle techniques which made one wonder if the two of them were actually close to fifty years old. Diana once again confirmed to herself that the power of these two people would be required to save Ante Lande during this crisis.

However…

“…So it’s here… this… is the entrance…”

Hideo and Madoka raised their eyebrows as if they were surprised.

William had been split in two by the Holy Sword Liutberga and thoroughly roasted by the flames from the Holy Staff Marlowe, but his voice could still be heard from within the flames that were giving off great heat and light.

The sound was just like what Yasuo and the others had heard earlier, it seemed to come from all directions at once.

“As expected… The Hero… Hideo… Demon King Kaul… Comparing them was a waste of time…”

“What? You bastard, what are you saying- ”

“…The Hero, Hideo. The Magician, Madoka…. Your power is indeed the real thing. Your blood must have some incredible power hidden within…”

At that moment, the ones who saw “that” inside the flame were not Hideo, Madoka, or Diana.

“Ugh…!?”

“Noooooooo!!”

Yasuo suddenly felt nauseous, and Nodoka let out a frightened scream. Inside the blinding glare of the fire, only Yasuo and Nodoka had seen it.

A small, black mass the size of a fist.

And the giant eye that appeared to be devouring it.

“Yasuo!?”

“Nodoka!?”

The father and mother realized the change in their son and daughter, and hurried to block William’s flames from their sight. However, even with the world’s strongest father and mother protecting them, the eye continued to stare at Yasuo and Nodoka.

“Return, and tell Ante Lande’s Magitech Knights… Tell Erijina Radagast that we have set our sights upon the Hero, Hideo’s power, and the power that rests in his blood.”

“Eh?”

Diana didn’t even have the time to react to this sudden declaration.

“There’s something there!!”

Along with Madoka’s cry, something unidentifiable rapidly swelled up inside the flames and exploded.

“Yasuo! Get down!”

“Nodoka! Diana-chan! Over here!”

Hideo protected Yasuo, and Madoka protected Nodoka and Diana, The two of them stood in stood in front of the children while turning their backs to the explosion.

After giving off a scorching heat and explosion, the substance broke out of Madoka’s flames and immediately dissolved into the darkness and became invisible.

“…Soot?”

Diana used her finger to rub off a bit of the dirt that was giving off a burnt smell from her cheek, and murmured that.

This phenomenon looked similar to throwing water into a burning fireplace, soot and ash would fly out and dirty the surroundings. Just as the three warriors judged that the large explosion had ended…

“Ah… It’s the sound of a car…”

Yasuo, who was being hugged by Hideo, noticed the familiar sound that was resounding from far away. At some point, the surroundings had changed from that claustrophobic darkness to the usual scenery of the street at night.

Apart from the bodies of the Shii that were lying on the ground near the five people.

“…Father…”

“Alex…”

Diana and Hideo stood beside Alexei’s Shii, which had not moved after it had fallen out of the sky.

“Is it… over…?”

Yasuo slowly stood up as if unwilling to believe that it was true.

“Nodoka…”

“Uuu… *sob*… Mom…”

Madoka hugged Nodoka who was unable to calm down.

“It looks like something unimaginable is happening.”

“Yes…”

“…Hide…o…. The Hero… Hide…”

“Isn’t there anything we can do for him?”

“…No.”

He felt like he could hear Diana grinding her teeth.

“There’s no time. Will you finish it?”

The Hero of Salvation asked the young Magitech Knight.

“Will you curse me, or instead take up the burden of this sin that you will never be able to forget?”

“I will take this sin upon myself.”

Diana replied without hesitating.

“I wasn’t able to protect Yasuo and Nodoka. I wasn’t able to carry out my duty. Even so…. I still said it. That I was full-fledged.”

“…I see.”

“Maybe I don’t understand it yet because I’m still young. But Hideo, Madoka…”

Diana spoke while activating her Techno Weapon.

“My relation with Alexei Krone is far deeper and stronger than yours. That’s why… I need to do this.”

“I see.”

“Yes.”

The Hero, Hideo, and The Magician, Madoka, simply nodded.

“Diana…”

Yasuo realized what Diana intended to do and called out to her before he could stop himself. Diana turned around slightly, and smiled while her eyes were filled with tears.

“It’s okay. I’m Alexei Krone’s daughter. I’m a Magitech Knight of Resteria, after all.”

Compared to her resolve, what could Yasuo, who had been unable to hold his resolve to the end, say in return?

“…Goodbye… Father…!”

Diana’s buried the blade of Pollux into the chest of the Shii.

The flaming red eyes that were the signature of the Shii were now mere flickers, and as they watched, they faded away into the shadow.

Diana stood in front of her father’s Shii that had lost its ominous air, took a deep breath, and tried to sing the requiem. However…

“Oh… wide sky… please–”

She was not able to sing it.

Diana’s heart was not strong enough to sing the requiem for her father, who had just died for a second time.

Her lips trembled, tears flowed from her eyes without stopping, and her sobbing made her unable to keep singing.

At this rate, the Shii would get sucked into the ground, and might appear again someday as a champion of the dead to torment the living.

However, Hideo and Madoka only looked on, and didn’t try to do anything else.

“Oh, wide sky, please welcome him.”

That’s why; Yasuo began to sing that song in a low voice.

Diana suddenly raised her head, Hideo glanced at Yasuo, Madoka looked surprised at hearing the words of the song, and Nodoka remembered where she had heard that song before and looked at the Shii.

“Yasuo…”

“That song… it’s in the language of Resteria…?”

“Oh, wide ocean, please welcome him. Oh, wide land, please welcome him.”

It was a repetition of simple lyrics and a simple melody.

“Oh, loved people, please welcome him. May the one who has gone return again someday. May he return, so he may start his journey anew.”

He had heard that song several times.

After hearing it so many times, he could not call himself the President of the Choral Club if he could not at least replicate the melody and imitate the sound of the lyrics.

“Oh, wide universe, please welcome him. Oh, wide universe, please welcome him.”

As he was singing this song for the first time, it really couldn’t be said that he had sung it well.

However, he sang it in a trembling voice which still showed traces of fear, while relying desperately on his memory and putting his feelings into the song. Perhaps that’s what caused the song to have an effect.

The black bodies of Alexei and the Magitech Knights who had become Shii began to crumble rapidly, turned into fine soot, and vanished as if evaporating into thin air.

“Ahh…”

Diana looked up as if saying farewell to the soot that had disappeared, while having a expression that was filled with mourning, peace, sadness, and happiness. And then she noticed…

“…The sky.”

At some point, the black space that had robbed the surroundings of color had completely vanished, and the usual night sky was once again visible with a few stars showing brightly.

※

“W-What was that?”

Shouko had stood motionless for some time, staring at the sky.

A bright pillar of light had shot up into the sky in the direction of Yasuo’s home that she was trying to get to, and Shouko wondered for a second if there was a pachinko shop in that area. The route to the Kenzaki family house had seemed simple in her head, but it was actually more complicated, and there was a complex network of streets and intersections that all looked the same.

In spite of her efforts, she felt like she had entered a forest that confused her sense of direction, and she was soon completely lost even though she hadn’t walked all that far. It took her twenty minutes after the appearance of the mysterious “spotlight” until she found the house with the “Kenzaki” nameplate outside.

“…Is this the place?”

Shouko had walked so much that she was sweating lightly in spite of the cold weather. As shown on the news, the front door of the house appeared to have been mercilessly destroyed, and a blue vinyl tarp had been hung over the entrance in an attempt to keep some privacy.

There was no car in the parking space, but the lights were switched on on both the ground and first floors, showing that the residents were at home.

All of a sudden, Shouko began to worry if she was being too nosy on top of having crossed a line earlier.

She thought that she had seen Yasuo sitting in the car that had raced out of the parking garage, but she might have been mistaken. After seeing the location of the accident, she had thought it would be easy to make up an excuse for visiting so late, but if Yasuo had really not been involved in the accident, what kind of excuse could she give?

It would be good if Yasuo came outside the house, but what should she do if some other members of his family or that foreigner girl came out and saw her?

Shouko felt like she was doing something incredibly stupid, and she was unable to move her hand to push the intercom button that she had been intending to push just a few seconds ago.

Shouko looked at her mobile phone, and saw that the time was already 10:45 PM. It was quite a problem for a student to be visiting someone else’s house at this time.

“W-What should I do… Really, what should I do…”

It happened at that moment, when Shouko was about to about to lose her calm entirely.

“I wonder what this means. Is it back to normal?”

Along with the sound of a window opening, she heard Yasuo’s voice coming from the veranda on the second floor.

“You’re not going to tell me that I imagined it, right?”

“Of course not… but it looks perfectly fine now, so isn’t that good enough? Come on, Onii-chan, get out of my room already! Mom is downstairs with Diana-san, and…”

“Ah, I understand. You’re right. For now, I should…”

She heard the sound of a window closing, and the sound of Yasuo’s voice and the voice of the girl who seemed to be his little sister were cut off.

“…………”

Shouko had unintentionally held her breath when she heard Yasuo’s voice, and now she felt like all the energy was leaving her body through her legs.

“…What the heck.”

Yasuo had returned to his house.

The girl who seemed to be his sister had said something about ‘Mom’ and ‘Diana-san’, so obviously his mother was at home as well. ‘Diana’ might be the name of the mysterious foreigner girl she had seen the other day.

“…What the heck.”

All the energy and willpower left her body.

Thinking of just how stupidly she had been behaving over the past one hour, she began to cry.

Now that she had calmed down, her body temperature began to fall rapidly, and she started to feel cold because of the sweat.

“…Getting all worked up by myself, I feel like such an idiot.”

It had just been a case of her jumping to conclusions based on mistaken information. For some reason, Yasuo had hurried home after finishing his lessons. There was no car in the house, but that might have been because his father was using it, or they might have sent it out for repairs.

In the first place, if the car she had seen coming out of the parking garage did not belong to the Kenzaki family, then Yasuo was completely unrelated to that accident. True, there was someone out there who had caused that accident, but Shouko had absolutely no reason to track them down.

“…I’m such an idiot.”

Shouko slowly began to walk down the street, leaving the Kenzaki family house behind her.

“I said all those things so arrogantly, but in the end I was just spinning my wheels in the same place… It feels like I haven’t changed at all since middle-school.”

Suddenly feeling even colder, Shouko gathered the material of her jumper closer around herself, and increased her pace of walking. She hurried away as if she was trying to escape from something that was in between the Kenzaki house and her. She turned at an intersection where a yellow traffic light was blinking, and continued to walk without looking back.

A while after Shouko had passed, some black particles that looked like soot could be seen, blown about by the wind and landing at that intersection.

The soot left black, shadow-like marks carved into the center of the intersection.

After a while, the soot started to move in the same direction that Shouko had gone, and disappeared as if it was following her.

※

The window glass, the floor of the room, and even the wall in between the rooms had mysteriously reverted back to the state before the fight with the Shii. After confirming this fact, Yasuo and Nodoka came back downstairs to see…

“What should we do… The car… What should we do…”

They had no idea what to say to their mother who was sitting on the sofa while holding her head.

She had dispelled her Magical Lady uniform, but she had forgotten to change out of her burnt clothes, so it appeared that she was pretty agitated.

At her side, their father’s hand was emitting a faint light and he was holding it above Diana’s injuries. It was probably some spell of healing or some similar sorcery, but it felt extremely strange to see a middle-aged man in a suit cast a spell of healing on the female Magitech Knight.

“Would it be useless to file a report with the police that the car was stolen earlier?”

“The parking garage opposite Yasuo’s prep school has surveillance cameras. I didn’t come out even once after I parked the car there, and I’m sure they’ve also recorded Yasuo coming back inside after his lessons were done.”

The wife instantly destroyed her husband’s naive question.

“On top of that, now that I think about it about it, I sped out of there without paying the parking fee…”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Yasuo remembered that the rear wheels of the car had made an incredibly loud noise and jumped upwards when they left the garage. That had probably been caused by the car hitting and destroying the barrier meant to stop the car from moving.

“Ah, but I made sure to vaporize the number plates of the car right after I defeated the Shii.”

““……””

Yasuo and Nodoka didn’t know how to respond to this statement that would even surprise a band of thieves.

True, it would probably be a simple matter for their mother to vaporize the number plates of a car using the power of her magical flames, but to think she would actually use that otherworldly power to conceal the evidence of her crime…

After that, their father began to speak.

“Just getting rid of the license plates isn’t good enough. The body of the car and the other components each have their own serial numbers, and they can easily be used to identify the owner. Really, we seem to be in a fix.”

He made a grave face.

Both Yasuo and Nodoka felt like their parents were going about it the wrong way, but it was not like they had any better ideas, so they refrained from commenting on this issue.

“…The top floor looks fine, nothing seems to be broken.”

The two of them just reported in this way, and upon hearing that,

“…Thank goodness.”

Yasuo heard Diana whisper that to herself.

“Yeah, that’s good, but I wish that weird man had done the same during the incident with the front door too.”

Perhaps because their father still felt guilty at not being reachable during the first attack by the Shii, he immediately added his own comment after Yasuo.

“At any rate, if the police get involved again, it might become a problem for me at work. Diana-chan, do you mind if my wife takes over the healing? I’m going out for a bit, I’ll be back soon.”

“Eh? Ahh, sure.”

Diana had received some serious wounds, but the bleeding had stopped now. After confirming that, their father put his down jacket back on and prepared to go out again.

“Ah, Dad, where are you going?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just going over there for a bit.”

“…Dad.”

Even Nodoka didn’t know what to say to her father in such a situation.

Their father probably intended to use his Hero’s power to completely destroy all evidence of the accident that their mother had left behind.

Are there two really saviours of Ante Lande? Yasuo felt like he could not understand the thought process of his parents at all.

After his father left the house, his mother gave a small sigh, stood up, and continued healing Diana. Diana bowed her head slightly to Yasuo and spoke.

“Yasuo… Thank you so much. You sent my father off in my stead.”

“…Ah, that.”

Yasuo looked away uneasily, and sat down on the sofa.

“But was that really because of my power? It was just rote memorization. I didn’t really pay attention to the pronunciation, and my voice was trembling like mad…”

“No, that doesn’t matter.”

Diana gently shook her head.

“I don’t know if you have any power of sorcery, Yasuo. But… you grieved for my father…. a monster from a different world, even after he caused so much trouble for you. That alone makes me very happy.”

Grieving for the Shii. Did he really have such a lofty emotion in mind when he had done that?

Yasuo had still not completely shaken off his fear of that man called William, and he honestly didn’t think that he had sung while having such a pure emotion.

He had just not been able to stand there and watch without doing anything.

Diana had suffered so much, and yet she had tried her hardest to use her own blade to send her father off, who was facing death for a second time. When Yasuo saw that, he wanted to do the only thing he was capable of doing, and that was singing the requiem song of their world.

He had not sung for Alexei. He had sung it for Diana’s sake.

He had sung it for his own sake, as he could do nothing else.

However, explaining this to Diana now would be pointless. He had no reason to refuse Diana’s gratitude either.

Perhaps Diana had sensed something of Yasuo’s thoughts, she was hanging her head and had stopped talking.

“In any case, Dad might actually have to quit his job in order to protect our neighborhood, even without considering the situation on Ante Lande. We’ve found out that Mom and Diana-san can’t handle the situation by themselves, after all.”

Nodoka said that in an intentionally dry tone, maybe because she couldn’t handle the uneasy atmosphere anymore.

“Diana-san’s Techno Weapon didn’t work against that William at all, so even if other Magitech Knights are sent here, we won’t be able to feel at ease.”

“Uu… T-That’s…”

“That’s true.”

Neither Diana nor her mother rejected Nodoka’s words. Although Diana was able to fight against the Shii, she had been completely helpless against William. If some powerful Shii on Alexei’s level appeared again, or William came back, there was no way to assure Yasuo and Nodoka’s safety if Hideo wasn’t present and their mother was fighting.

This time, they had been able to use Yasuo’s “space-time-transcending complaint to the parents” chant to call Hideo here as reinforcements, but they didn’t know if Nodoka would be able to call for help in the same way. In the worst case, their mother might be forced to make a decision to protect one child while giving up on the other.

As a result of that decision, Yasuo might be the one to die. Or it could be Nodoka. Or it could be Diana.

Most importantly, people who had nothing to do with this situation might also die.

“That would be bad.”

Why did this have to happen right after he decided to live his life earnestly as Kenzaki Yasuo, a student who was preparing for exams?

“No matter what the circumstances are, I probably won’t be able to make that choice. In order to do my best, there is no other choice.”

“Eh?”

“Onii-chan?”

“Ahh… I’m back. It was easier than I expected it to be…. What’s wrong?”

His mother, Nodoka, and his father, who came back looking like he had accomplished something, all looked at Yasuo who was talking to himself.

“Dad, Mom… and Diana as well.”

Yasuo held his breath for a second and went over his idea once again.

There was nothing that he could do. This was such a pain. The future that he had envisioned for himself would be destroyed beyond repair. Don’t do it. Nothing good will happen even if a social outcast like himself takes action.

“I…”

Know your place. Doing something so troublesome will only result in getting hurt, physically as well as mentally. Such things should be left to the professionals. You don’t even have any experience, what can you do? You couldn’t even protect the place where you live, all you did was to complain about others while letting your opportunities slip out of your fingers.

“I…”

If you try to act cool, you’ll regret it later on. Have you even achieved a single thing worthy of note until now? Hard work means nothing, only people with talent who have lived in a blessed environment can do something like this. Do you think you’re special in some way? Are you actually an idiot?

“I know it’s too late… and nothing can be done…”

“Thank you so much, for believing me!”

“I don’t know anything about you right now, Yasu-kun, but I’m sure you’re still giving it your all.”

He was just someone who would complain about things while looking at the setting sun. Compared to the girl from another world who held such strong conviction, he was worth nothing. That’s why…

“I… want to protect Diana.”

“Yasuo!?”

At his sudden proclamation, Diana shouted out in surprise while blushing furiously.

“I want to protect Nodoka, and if possible, I want to protect this place that I was born in as well… But as I am now, I can’t do anything. That’s why, I feel sorry for Diana, but I don’t want you to go to Ante Lande yet, Dad. Right now, I still need to be protected by you, Mom, and Diana. That’s why…”

“Y-Yasuo, you don’t mean…”

“Onii-chan, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Unlike his mother and sister who spoke up because they sensed something strange about Yasuo, his father stayed silent.

“Can you, Diana, and Ante Lande… Can you all just wait for another year? I know I’ll probably cause a lot of trouble for everyone, but in that time, I will grow stronger. I’ll grow strong enough to protect everyone, like Dad did in the past.”

Yasuo looked straight at his father, the Hero who had once saved a world.

The Hero looked back at him with regret, and just a hint of happiness mixed into his expression.

Just how did his father live and fight in the past, and how did he manage to come back?

How was he working now, how was he earning money, and how was he able to provide for his family?

Right now, Yasuo was not able to find the answers to these questions.

However, if he intended to listen to his father’s true feelings some day, he must now take a step forward.

Encouraged by the look in his father’s eyes, Kenzaki Yasuo felt that the old version of him who had turned his back on the brass band and the invitation from his friend to join the Theatre Club and walked into the sunset had faded, and he could once again look forward to his school which was supposed to be filled with hopes and dreams.

“Once I get into college, I’m thinking about becoming a hero in another world.”

Born as the son of a Hero, but raised without knowing anything. For the first time in his life, this young man picked the path that he would follow in life, of his own volition.