ICHIBAN USHIRO NO DAIMAOU - Volume 5, 2 — So Many People Plotting Behind the Scenes

Volume 5, Chapter 2: So Many People Plotting Behind the Scenes

 

—Do I have no choice but to do it?

Junko realized she was hesitating over what she had supposedly already made up her mind over.

She stood on a battlefield, but the only enemy nearby was Akuto up in the air. Akuto was primarily taking action to hold back the soldiers approaching the school building. It may have partially been due to 2V’s advice, but the unmotivated soldiers were moving as little as possible. The demonic beasts surrounding the school building remained in place, so Junko had not been faced with too much conflict. However, Eiko’s new order had changed that.

—Come on. Do not hesitate.

Even as she gave that order to herself, many different thoughts raced through her mind.

—I know I have no choice but to obey my orders, but it was Eiko who gave the order. Simply doing what she says would be foolish. But this is for the sake of my family. No, but grandmother told me to follow my own will. But what does my will say? What do I want to do?

Junko’s thoughts circled around and around like that, but the other Iga ninja still held a great grudge against Akuto. As soon as Junko had replied to Eiko’s order, the members closest to the Hattori family of that 600-member ninja force had rushed to be the first to fly up into the air.

“We will take care of your grudge, young lady!” they all shouted.

They were the elite members, so almost all of them could use combat magic on their own. Five of them surrounded Akuto as he circled through the sky atop Peterhausen. They attacked Akuto with actions so coordinated they looked like a single being.

“Iga Ninja Art – Five Direction Magic Circle!”

The five ninja quickly changed their positions and followed through on each other’s actions in an ideal formation. They attacked with swords, shuriken, and kusarigama. This powerful cooperative attack had likely been developed as a means of defeating giant demonic beasts.

“It has been a while since I fought, but I am glad to see human fighting methods have evolved!”

That cry of joy came from Peterhausen. That old dragon who was a relative of the Gods seemed to be excited about fighting for the first time in 100 years.

But his master, Akuto, did not seem to be enjoying the fight.

“It is an unnecessary evolution. Plus, it isn’t all that effective,” he said disinterestedly.

He stood up atop Peterhausen’s back, grabbed the leg of one of the attacking ninja, and swung him around to deflect the attacks from the other ninja.

“It seems they have planned what to do if a comrade is taken hostage, but they have difficulty handling unexpected events.”

As Akuto spoke, he threw the ninja in his hands such that he knocked the evading ninja out of the air as well.

Seeing her men easily knocked back, Junko’s blood rushed to her head in an instant.

“What do you think you are doing!?”

Junko jumped up. She reached for the sword at her waist. She placed a hand on one of the two hilts there, but quickly recalled it was the treasured sword of her family, the Sword of Sohaya. Only one chosen by the sword and by the God Suhara could draw that sword.

—Can I draw it? No, if I can’t…

“Tch!”

Junko’s grip switched over to the hilt of the short sword. She drew it, reversed her grip, and attacked Akuto with it.

This completely straightforward attack was stopped by Akuto barehanded. He tightly grabbed the blade.

“Kh…”

Junko grimaced. She pushed and pulled, but the short sword would not budge. And not even a drop of blood had flowed from Akuto’s hand.

Akuto turned wordlessly toward Junko. The lack of malice in his eyes caused her to flinch back.

“Wha…? Why are you looking at me like that!?”

Junko used the unmoving short sword as a pivot point and swung her leg around to kick at Akuto’s face. Akuto easily avoided the kick by moving his head to the side. At the same moment, he let go of the short sword. Junko was sent spinning away from the momentum of her own kick.

“Kh…Wh-why…!?”

She did not shed tears, but she bit her lip. She could not stand that he was not even attempting to fight her. Her own powerlessness frustrated her to no end.

—It is like he does not even consider this a problem! I am his enemy yet he is not shaken in the slightest! Is that because I am too weak to be a threat? Or is it because he does not care about me at all? …Ahh! Why am I thinking about that!?

Junko sheathed her short sword. She then placed a hand on the Sword of Sohaya’s hilt.

—If I only had the power to at least cut him once! If I did that, he would have to take me seriously!

“Why are you not worrying about me!?” shouted Junko.

As soon as she did, she realized she had unwittingly revealed her true thoughts.

—No…! Well, it is true…but it is not what I meant to say!

Junko charged forward with her hand still on the Sword of Sohaya, but she still could not draw it.

These two inconveniences put a look of shock on her face, but she could not end the momentum she had built up. She quickly approached Akuto with her hand still on the sword’s hilt. She foolishly crashed straight into him.

“Ee!”

When Junko realized Akuto had caught her in his arms, she began to squirm. However, Akuto refused to let go.

“Stop! What are you doing!?”

“I did not know you felt that way,” said Akuto.

Junko stopped moving.

“Eh?”

“You are a more splendid person than me and you already have plenty of people following you. That is why I never considered that you might want me to worry about you.”

Akuto made this comment by whispering in Junko’s ear in a sincere voice.

“You idiot… Have you forgotten the current situation?” rebuked Junko, but Akuto only shook his head and continued speaking.

“My fight is something only I can do, so I grew too focused on it. Once this is over, I will give you the attention you deserve.”

“Th-the attention I deserve…?”

Junko’s face explosively reddened and she sank down as all strength left her body.

“Take care.”

Akuto gently held Junko’s limp body in his arms and lowered her down. Her flight magic was still in effect, so she slowly floated down from the sky.

—You idiot… If you say that, I will never be able to decide what to do…

Junko had descended mostly of her own will, but the Iga ninja watching from a distance did not see it that way.

“The young lady was defeated!”

“Ah! damn that demon king! He fired magic at her from too close a range for her to escape!”

“Let’s go! Once more!”

“Pour your anger into an Eight Direction Magic Circle Formation!”

The Iga ninja increased their numbers to eight for another attack against Akuto.

Peterhausen let out a sigh of exasperation when he saw it.

“I take back what I said. Even when they evolve, it just gives them more repetitive attacks…”

The black dragon swung a wing to blow the Iga ninja out of the air.

“They are only angry. Don’t think too badly of them. I’m not sure why they’re so angry though,” said Akuto.

“More importantly, master, what should we do now? If there are no worthwhile opponents, there is no need to remain here. We should continue on to our objective.”

“We can’t do that. There is an opponent here we have to do something about.”

Akuto was looking down toward Yuuko. She was Junko’s younger sister and a famous idol. Her life had been put in danger when demonic beast mana had been put in her body, and Akuto’s presence had affected her mind. She was half in a frenzy over her mistaken interpretation of Junko’s fall, so she was flying up toward Akuto.

“That girl? You can ignore her. If you wish to save her life…”

Akuto cut off Peterhausen by pointing behind the girl.

“I am talking about him.”

“You mean behind her?”

Peterhausen twisted his head around again and spotted another figure shooting up like a bullet behind Yuuko.

“Him!” shouted Peterhausen.

“Ohhhh!”

The figure slicing through the air in his ascent was Brave. He wore a special suit and was known as a hero who would appear anywhere to hunt down demonic beasts. His suit’s output did not rely on mana, so the light enveloping him was not a mana light emission.

“I cannot detect any mana!” cried Peterhausen in surprise.

“Be careful. He can probably use a mana canceller.”

Just as Akuto finished his warning, Peterhausen and Brave crossed paths.

The sound of metal striking metal was so loud that the soldiers on the ground could hear it.

After passing by, they put some distance between each other and faced each other.

Brave held up the high frequency blade claws coming from the back of his hand. He looked perfectly composed while Peterhausen’s giant form lurched to the side.

“Oh! Now this is a surprise! In the more than one hundred years since my creation, I have never before been injured!”

As if working to remain conscious, Peterhausen flapped his wings to stabilize himself.

“You’re injured? Are you okay?” asked Akuto worriedly, but Peterhausen’s lips lifted in a cruel smile.

“Am I okay? I am more worried about this strength welling up within me being too powerful. It is precisely this type of joy I have lived for! The claws growing from his hand are as hard as my own! This is an even opponent! Only this opponent has ever led me to realize the purpose of my existence! Do you understand? As my master, you must!”

“I understand. Those born with power will always end up isolated. And that is doubly true for the ones like you who do not weaken with time. But we need to be prepared to lose this time. Those claws have not yet shown the true power I saw before and he has other weapons as well,” said Akuto.

In the video Akuto had seen, Brave’s claws had vibrated at a high frequency. And he had yet to use the invisible wire that had instantly sliced through the demonic beasts surrounding him.

“Prepared to lose? Hah. I am always prepared to die, but I will never be prepared to lose,” laughed Peterhausen.

“That’s fine then,” said Akuto sadly.

Brave stood in front of Yuuko who had caught up from below and whispered something to her. Yuuko must have agreed because she descended once more.

“It seems he is kind to women as well.”

“As well?”

Ignoring Peterhausen’s comment, Akuto pointed toward Brave.

“At any rate, if we do not do something about him, we cannot leave here.”

“I see. You are right about that. He is a worthy opponent for us. Now, let us fight.”

Peterhausen accelerated toward Brave.

Yuuko descended.

“Young lady, please do not be so reckless.”

“Please leave this to us.”

The ninja gathered worriedly around her, but she shook her head. She was not telling them she was fine. She pointed up into the air with a huge smile on her face.

“Don’t worry. Brave has come to kill him. You all focus on killing the other demonic beasts,” said Yuuko with the attitude of an idol.

A camera transmitting a live broadcast was on the battlefield and one cameraman was sticking especially close to Yuuko. That was likely keeping her acting more like an idol, but there was a madness in Yuuko that could not be fully explained by the camera.

“Everyone! Our orders don’t matter! Brave will handle him, so we need to focus on raiding the school!”

Yuuko waved her hand to tell the others to come with her before she suddenly ran off.

The surrounding ninja were unsure what to do. Yuuko had blatantly announced she was disobeying her orders. And on top of that, Junko was the Iga commander.

When Junko had descended before Yuuko, she had said she was fine to the ninja gathering to protect her. However, she had to come forward and say something about Yuuko’s actions.

“Yuuko! This is a battlefield! You cannot…”

But her lecture was cut off midsentence. A cameraman and reporter had cut in.

“After being protected by the heroic Brave, Hoshino Yuri-chan is finally headed into battle! Yuri-chan! Yuri-chan!” The reporter pushed past Junko while calling out Yuuko’s stage name. “Yuri-chan! Isn’t this dangerous?”

“I’ll be fine! Brave will punish the demon king for destroying our peace. That is why I need to hunt down the demonic beasts!”

Yuuko spoke plainly into the camera. It looked like a scene from a movie where a lovely idol was heading into battle after overcoming her fear. It was obvious she was acting, but the fact that this was a real battlefield would likely provide incredible excitement for the viewers.

And that was quickly proven to be the case. The voice of Eiko, their commander, came to Junko.

“Are you changing your orders?” asked Junko.

joked Eiko.

Eiko had allowed the broadcast in order to gain popularity, and it seemed she was receiving reports on the reactions from the viewers.

“…Understood,” replied Junko with a feeling of disgust.

She belatedly continued after Yuuko and instructed the others to follow her.

The Hattori ninja forces advanced toward the school building with Yuuko in the lead. The unit that had been waiting near the school building had already begun battling the demonic beasts.

“Heh heh heh heh… The moment in which an enemy falls into your trap is wonderful every single time.”

Fujiko grinned while watching the battle on several mana screens.

“You sound like a bad guy, senpai.”

Keena gave her honest impressions as she watched Fujiko.

“I am a bad person,” said Fujiko as if that was normal.

Once the student council president had left, Fujiko and Keena were alone in the small room, if the Cerberus was not counted. However, the room felt cramped due to the screens filling it.

While rushing between the screens, Fujiko gave orders to the different demonic beasts. The footage on the screens came from the academy’s surveillance cameras and Fujiko was using the cameras set up in locations crucial to her strategy. Simply put, they showed the locations the enemy was trying to enter through.

“This is progressing perfectly. The normal strategy at times like this is to besiege your enemy and wait for them to exhaust their supplies, but they cannot do that while broadcasting the battle. They could always attack the entire school building at once, but they are too afraid of the sacrifices that could cause. They can only attack simultaneously from the three optimal points of the main entrance, the back entrance, and the connecting passageway. You would almost think they want to fall into my trap! Ho ho ho ho ho.”

Fujiko judged the timing while laughing.

The timing was the instant their enemy would enter. Some soldiers had constructed barricades near the school building. They had divided into a group hiding behind the barrier and firing their rifles and a group wielding swords preparing to charge in. The question was when those charging soldiers would take action.

Fujiko chose the demonic beasts with hard outer shells like crabs and turtles and had them stand outside. Rifle incantation bullets could not harm them. However, she had instructed the demonic beasts to fall back bit by bit. She was luring the enemy into a charge.

And then the soldiers received the order to charge from Eiko. It happened just after the Hattori ninja force was given permission to join the attack and it happened at the exact timing Fujiko had predicted.

The platoon leaders gave the signal to charge. The covering fire from the rifles grew thicker and incantation bullets filled with explosion magic caused intense explosions around each entrance to the school building. In the next instant, soldiers hidden by the smoke began their charge while covering for each other.

However, Fujiko’s instructions to the demonic beasts came an instant sooner.

“Begin attacking each barrier! Target them from above!”

The demonic beasts began their attack simultaneously. The demonic beasts that could monitor their surroundings with sound waves accurately attacked the soldiers despite the smoke robbing them of their vision. The demonic beasts that could fly bypassed the smoke and explosions altogether and rushed toward the barricades.

The barricades had been constructed with attacks from the sky in mind. Not many of the soldiers could fly, but the platoon had a few that could. Those soldiers held large metal shields that functioned as mobile barricades, but there were simply too many demonic beasts. Helped by the fact that there was no official strategy for handling demonic beasts and the military’s lack of experience in fighting them, the attack from above put them on the defensive.

The same was true for the infantry who had tried to charge the building. They must not have expected an attack from the demonic beasts because they were almost completely unable to respond. The flying demonic beasts had circled around behind them, so they were unable to even return to the barriers.

“All men fight back!” shouted a platoon leader as if to say there was nothing left for them to do.

Most of the individual soldiers could not use magic, so they had no chance against a demonic beast in a one-on-one battle. The platoon leader’s command was a hopeless one. The soldiers were blown away by the demonic beasts one after another and they were quickly rendered unable to fight.

Even so, the few soldiers who could use magic protected their fellow soldiers and abandoned the barricades to begin a retreat. This helped calm the chaos a bit, but the unit that had begun their charge was still caught in the middle of the chaos.

After seeing that the same scene was playing out at each of the three entrances, Fujiko laughed loudly.

“Oh ho ho ho ho ho! Such a wonderful victory! The difference in commanders could not be more obvious!”

As she watched on, Keena worriedly said, “I hope the soldiers are okay.”

“Soldiers always fall back and leave the fight after they are injured. I cannot speak for 100 years ago, but they have a full medical unit now. And only a tiny percentage will be killed instantly. Also, you cannot win if you worry about that!”

Fujiko may have replied excitedly, but she did not order the demonic beasts to pursue the soldiers. Satisfied with routing all four platoons, Fujiko had the demonic beasts return to the school building.

“The Hattori ninja forces will arrive next. They are a powerful opponent where each individual can fight a demonic beast. I will need to change my strategy.”

Fujiko turned her focus toward the Hattori ninja forces advancing toward the main entrance. The screen showed Yuuko and Junko walking in the lead.

“Ah, it’s Junko-chan!” cried Keena worriedly.

Meanwhile, Fujiko grinned.

“This is perfect. I might never get a better chance to rid myself of a rival!”

“Ehh? You can’t do that!” said Keena while pouting her lips, but Fujiko ignored her.

“Ho ho ho. It is Hattori-san’s fault if she gets injured. Akuto-sama may forgive her for opposing him, but I will not!”

“Mh, you can’t do that. Right, Cerpie?” said Keena as she began stroking the Cerberus’s three heads.

“Please do not give it an odd nickname. And if you call it Cerpie, people might confuse it for the Kelpie, another type of demonic beast! …Plus, I thought you did not like dogs.”

“Dogs are scary. But he has three heads, so he isn’t a dog.”

“What kind of criteria is that…?”

“That doesn’t matter. If you keep doing this war thing, you’ll have to answer to me.”

“Answer to you?” What are you even talking about?”

Fujiko looked puzzled at Keena’s odd comment.

But the situation outside was not going to wait around. Fujiko had to immediately respond to the threat of the Hattori ninja forces.

“Here they come! Okay, let’s go, demonic beasts!”

Eiko had changed her orders to the Hattori family, but the results of the battle had left her confused afterwards.

“No… Ahh! Don’t fall apart just because the enemy came out! I need to send in a unit that can fight demonic beasts… Oh, right! I sent the Hattori family in. I can have the other units fall back and leave this to them. No, wait. That would give them all the popularity!”

The reason she had taken command in the first place was for her own popularity. If the Hattori family resolved everything, she would not achieve that goal.

“But the battle at the main entrance is a great visual that I hate to give up. Should I send in some Teruya troops? No, having them arrive when the battle is already won would be bad. Maybe I can bring down some of the airborne troops from the aircraft carrier… Or should I send in the aircraft carrier itself?”

As Eiko worried over what to do, 2V spoke up from behind her.

“If you are troubled, we could lend a hand.”

“Do you have an idea?”

The media was not currently in the command tent. Eiko could rely on 2V without worrying about shame or honor.

“One other member of the intelligence and magic office is here other than myself. I can have him handle this,” said 2V in an amused tone.

He currently had his entire focus here rather than on controlling the L’Isle-Adam.

“What kind of person is he?”

“He is an infiltration and information gathering specialist. He is a bit of a strange person, though. His codename is…”

Eiko did not quite catch the name.

—Did he say Lovers? No, the name doesn’t matter.

“What can he do?” she asked.

“I will have him hinder the Hattori family’s advance. You can then send in a Teruya family unit.”

“Is it really that simple?”

Eiko was skeptical, but 2V nodded.

“It is. I want you to win as much as you do. You have no reason to doubt me,” he said lightly. He then pointed upwards. “If you do not hurry, that will make the situation more troublesome.”

It soon became clear what 2V meant by “that”.

An intense explosion occurred. Eiko’s vision was filled with brilliant light and a shockwave arrived soon thereafter. The tent and the telepathic communicator were almost blown away. The sound of the explosion arrived last.

Eiko looked over and finally understood what had happened. A gigantic sphere of fire had appeared in midair. It was part of the clash between Akuto and Brave.

“Wh-what was that!? How can a human being do that!?” cried out Eiko.

“I feel the same. However, it seems that is the foe we must battle,” said 2V with an amused smile.

—He can defend against the plasma ball!?

Brave Hiroshi was shocked. He had expanded a sphere of plasma around him more as a means of defense than anything. Akuto had to have known that touching it would cause it to explode. Nevertheless, Akuto – or maybe Peterhausen – had not hesitated to charge directly into it. He had managed to withstand the great force of the plasma and attacked Hiroshi.

“If you are going to fight, make use of your body, youth!”

Peterhausen’s roar and attack came at the same moment. Hiroshi crossed his arms in an X to block the dragon’s claws before falling back.

—Make use of my body? But I have to calculate how to use my weapons…

Hiroshi complained in his head.

The Brave suit seemed to transfer its weapons and energy in from a different dimension. The heavier weaponry took some time before it could be reequipped.

Whether he could use his weapons or not was displayed on his visor and the countdown reverberated in his head. He could reroute the power used to move the suit into an attack, but that would leave him unable to move for several seconds.

“I’m not going to listen to your lecture!”

Hiroshi had his claw blades vibrate at a high frequency as he sliced them toward Peterhausen. Claw clashed with claw and intense sparks flew through the air.

“Wire!”

Hiroshi slid his left hand along and let loose the monomolecular wire. Peterhausen refused to touch it. The dragon moved down and Hiroshi shot forward.

“Tch!”

“Ohhhh!”

Peterhausen and Hiroshi soared through the sky as if intertwining. They produced a violent wind. That wind grew into a tornado which blew away everything nearby.

The soldiers positioned along their path were mostly blown away and the ones ahead of their path ran away screaming.

In the center of that tornado, Hiroshi shouted at Akuto.

“Speaking of that lecture, why aren’t you fighting!?”

Peterhausen replied for Akuto.

“I am the one fighting, not my master! I wish to fight!”

“I’m not asking you! You! Why are you fighting!?”

Hiroshi was speaking only to Akuto.

“Because I want to kill the Gods. That is all.”

Akuto’s voice was unexpectedly calm.

“What will that accomplish!? You will only jeopardize people’s way of life, make demonic beasts run rampant, and spread destruction! With your power, you should be able to guide people in a better direction,” roared Hiroshi.

Akuto replied, “If I could do that, I would. Did you never think that there is a reason I can’t do that?”

“Eliminating that which threatens people’s livelihoods or spreads destruction can only be a good thing! The number of criminals has dropped thanks to the Gods. All that remain are the truly crazy ones!”

“Do I look crazy to you?”

“No, you don’t. But whether you are truly crazy or not, your actions are still insane!”

“In that case, attack me. But if I do not look crazy to you, then I hope you will realize that there is legitimacy in my actions.”

“Then what is that legitimacy!?”

“Mankind has given names to what is nothing more than a system and they think those names have physical form. That is what needs to be eliminated.”

“That abstract nonsense is not a real answer!”

“Do you really think I can get to the heart of the issue by keeping this simple? I am saying mankind is relying too much on a story. The Gods are only Gods because we named them as such. People are not looking at the truth or the connections between each other. They are only forcing others into the story they have dreamed up for themselves. People seek good fortune in this story where the Gods stand at the top, but they also use those standards to kill and to wage war. And so I will…”

Akuto trailed off there.

“You will what!?”

Hiroshi shot toward Akuto.

Peterhausen was unable to avoid this strike, but Akuto caught the high frequency blade in one hand.

The high frequency vibration caused mana light to spread in ripples.

As if pushing those ripples aside, Akuto twisted the high frequency blade and Hiroshi’s arm along with it.

“I will inform mankind that their story has lost,” he said.

“But that makes you a true demon king!” shouted back Hiroshi.

Hiroshi tried to wrap Akuto up in the wire coming from his left hand. Akuto stopped the wire in midair by using mana rather than touching it directly.

“That is a corruption caused by the story!”

Akuto sent Hiroshi flying back.

Hiroshi fired lasers from his back while righting himself in midair. As those lasers changed trajectory in midair, they looked like glowing spider legs growing from his back.

“But there are people who are suffering from nothing more than your presence! And there is a girl who cannot survive without relying on the current Gods!”

As Hiroshi shouted out, the lasers shot toward Akuto one after another with slight time delays between them.

“There are people using the story to fool everyone for their own purposes! The people you mention are a victim of that!”

Akuto blew away the laser blasts with his aura alone. The deflected lasers stabbed into the surface, causing the soldiers to run around in panic.

“Don’t be selfish! How do you plan to take responsibility!?”

Hiroshi called in the high temperature plasma ball that was finished reequipping.

“I will take care of everything afterwards! But only once the story of the Gods and religion has been ended!”

Akuto ordered Peterhausen to fire a metal stake. The spiral-carved stake shot toward Hiroshi like a missile.

“No! You can save people right now! Why won’t you remove the demonic beast mana from her body!? You absorbed the mana from a dog demonic beast once. Why can’t you do it now!?”

Hiroshi was forced to defend against the metal stake by sending the high temperature plasma at it. Repeated overwhelming explosions occurred and the shockwaves violently shook the surrounding area.

Peterhausen and Akuto slipped through the gaps in the explosions to charge toward Hiroshi.

Before Hiroshi could right himself in midair, he was forced to defend against Peterhausen’s fangs.

“You know me, don’t you?” asked Akuto in a tone that said he was not expecting an answer.

—Whoops. I got too worked up.

Hiroshi regretted saying that, but he did not respond. After coming this far, he found he did not particularly care if his identity was revealed.

The more pressing issue was the dragon’s maw before his eyes. He was just barely holding the upper and lower fangs open with his hands, but he would be helpless if the dragon fired a metal stake now.

—Is there any way of handling this?

The computer voice installed in Hiroshi’s visor answered his thoughts.

—Is it dangerous?

—Absolute certainty…

Those words gave Hiroshi a chill. He felt as if he had been fighting based on a certain trust in Akuto so far. However, doubts welled up within his chest when it came to killing him with “absolute certainty”.

But when Hiroshi saw a metal stake being produced within Peterhausen’s throat, he had to make a decision.

“Dammit! Switch to anti-demon king combat mode!”

With that announcement, the Brave suit emitted a light that Hiroshi had never seen from it before.

The demon king and Brave’s battle left the soldiers below in chaos, but the Hattori ninja forces remained perfectly composed.

However, the demonic beasts had not fallen into chaos either. As a result, the only proper battle was being fought in front of the main entrance.

The demonic beasts were employing a strategy of attacking in groups of three, but their organizational ability was still inferior to that of the Hattori ninja forces. They were unable to keep up with the splendid movements of the ninja who were providing cover for each other. The demonic beasts were cut down one after another.

The live broadcast focused on Yuuko, so her actions had to have stood out the most to the viewers. The viewers saw her cut down a demonic beast with her ninja sword and give orders to the ninja around her.

But in reality, the Hattori ninja forces were spread out around Yuuko because they could not allow any attacks to reach the cameraman and reporter who were near her. The only demonic beasts that reached her were either injured or were isolated from their fellow demonic beasts. This made it much easier for Yuuko to defeat them.

“Can you see Hoshino Yuri-chan!? Can you see her powerfully fighting these demonic beasts despite being an idol!? This is the new feminine form for our modern age. Strong yet beautiful. This is the Goddess we have all dreamed of seeing!”

Despite what was actually happening, the reporter was enthusiastically and excitedly raising his voice as he described Yuuko’s actions. The broadcast Eiko was counting on for herself was being overwhelmingly filled with support for Yuuko.

—But I am not sure this is a good thing to gain popularity for.

As Junko glanced over at the situation around Yuuko, she cut down an approaching demonic beast.

—She has always cared about her comrades, but she was not the type to hunt demonic beasts so gleefully. Is the mana having some sort of negative effect on her?

There was too much Junko had to think about.

And then…

“You are Hoshino Yuri-chan’s older sister, right?”

The reporter was holding the microphone toward Junko.

Junko did not reply and the reporter gave her a reproachful look.

—Is he dissatisfied that the situation is not progressing according to the story he had imagined?

Junko was displeased, but fortunately a demonic beast fell from the sky behind the reporter. It appeared to have already lost the ability to fight, but Junko took the opportunity to stab at it with her short sword.

The silver blade shot by next to the reporter’s face.

“Ee!” shrieked the reporter.

The short sword stabbed into the demonic beast behind the reporter and warm blood spurted out.

“I am indeed her sister,” said Junko as she twisted her body to avoid the blood.

The demonic beast collapsed toward the reporter and he ran away.

—Hm. That is one less annoyance I have to deal with.

However, that instant had been shown in the broadcast, so her popularity had suddenly jumped up. And unbeknownst to Junko, this had an effect on Eiko’s command.

“You have to be kidding me! What is this Lovers guy doing!?’

Eiko was panicking. After she saw the reaction to the broadcast, she shouted at 2V.

Akuto and Hiroshi were continuing their superhuman battle in the air. This prevented the army from taking part in the battle and they had nearly been routed despite almost no casualties. In order to hide this disadvantage from the public, the broadcast was focusing on the Hattori ninja forces who were actually putting up a fight. However, Eiko could not stand that this was increasing even Junko’s popularity.

“There is no way I am inferior to her! God dammit. Why do those stupid men always praise the virgins!?”

As Eiko began complaining about unrelated issues, she further pressed 2V.

“Where is this Lovers or whatever his name is?”

“Do not worry. He will handle this.”

As soon as 2V gave that annoyed response, an eerie shadow cut across the battlefield displayed on a mana screen. 2V let out a whistle.

“There he is.”

After seeing how well the situation was progressing, Junko debated whether she should continue following Eiko’s instructions. If they continued on, they could clearly secure the main entrance as an entry point. However, that might be playing into their enemy’s hands.

Also…

—If I continue on, I will be Sai and senpai’s enemy.

Junko was still unsure what to do. She hated her own lack of decisiveness. No, she may have already made up her mind deep down. It was just that honor and family were keeping her from acting.

—In the end, it comes down to my cowardice.

Junko knew it was unlikely she could do anything even if she could change that, but she still regretted it.

—I wish I had the power to change it.

This was the first time she had ever hoped for political power rather than military power. She had always helped others almost too much and her personality ensured she was never bothered by training or her studies. For that reason, she had never understood why anyone would use their power for their own desires. However, she now understood, even if only slightly.

As the waves of demonic beast attacks settled down, she placed a hand on the Sword of Sohaya’s hilt once more. She pulled, but it still refused to come out.

—I cannot draw it unless I am chosen by God… But grandmother said it only had to be something convenient for the God. So what does the God want in this situation?

As Junko thought on that, a demonic beast moved in her peripheral vision.

—They are not going to let me rest, are they?

Junko drew her short sword once more and moved forward. The demonic beast resembled a human, but it moved on four long legs.

—No… This is…!

A bad feeling caused Junko to stop in her tracks. Unlike the other demonic beasts, this one was not attacking in a group. And it did not resemble any of the others.

Her bad feeling turned out to be dead on. This creature swung its arm like a whip. And that arm stretched out and swept through the space Junko had been before she quickly jumped back.

“This does not look like a demonic beast,” muttered Junko.

Its skin shined like rubber. Its head had no hair and glistened. It looked like a human covered entirely in tights or like some new type of creature, but its arms were too long to be human and some of its joints seemed to bend in the opposite direction of a human’s. However, its aura was not that of a demonic beast.

—In that case, why is it attacking us?

Junko was confused, but she had no time to investigate. It must have deemed Junko a formidable opponent because it jumped past her and began attacking the rest of the Hattori ninja forces.

“Watch out!” cried Junko.

The ninja heard Junko’s warning and saw the enemy arrive, but several of them were still blown away in an instant.

—It can’t be!

Junko was shocked. She had clearly seen what had blown them away. Every single one of the attacked ninja had tried to defend against the strike with their swords. However, that rubber-like arm seemed to have both flexibility and durability. Unbelievably, the swords were unable to slice through the arm. It looked like a contradictory existence such as a soft metal rod. The areas struck by the swords bent, but the tension snapped back and blew away the ones holding the swords.

“Avoid that arm!”

The Hattori ninja forces reacted immediately. While all shouting that warning, they attacked the mysterious creature. Several were beaten down by irregular movements, but five of them made it right up to the creature. They stabbed their swords into it simultaneously.

However, their eyes all opened wide in surprise. The swords had definitely pierced its body…or so it seemed at first. In reality, it was similar to stabbing a rubber sheet with a stick. The creature’s body stretched and the swords stabbed through to the other side of its body, but the skin was never broken.

“Gh!”

“How can this be!?”

The Hattori ninja forces let out cries of surprise. Like rubber snapping back into place, the creature’s body returned to normal. The elasticity caused the swords to fly up into the sky and blew away the ones holding tightly onto those swords.

“Stand back. If I use heat…!”

With that comment, one of the Hattori ninja forces decided to use magic. He produced a ball of fire which flew toward the rubber creature. However, that ball of fire was annihilated by flames fired from the rubber monster’s mouth.

This was one of the reasons battles between those skilled in magical combat ultimately came down to hand-to-hand combat. If one used magic to cause damage, mana could be used to negate the effects. However, only humans could do that. Demonic beasts could not.

—It is powerful… But why is a human attacking us?

As Junko’s confusion grew, she ordered the Hattori ninja forces to fall back.

And with perfect timing, armored warriors advanced into the area the Hattori family had held before. They belonged to the Teruya family’s forces.

“You fools! Stay back! That thing is dangerous! Stay away!” shouted Junko.

But those armored warriors completely ignored her. They created an orderly line and advanced.

“Wait!” she shouted again, but the rubber monster surprisingly disappeared into the school building.

Thanks to the Hattori ninja forces defeating the demonic beasts, the main entrance had been freed, but no one had thought someone like that would be the first to pass through the gate.

“The most powerful demonic beast has fled from the Teruya family’s army!” shouted the reporter following Yuuko around.

It may indeed have looked that way to those who had not directly fought that rubber monster.

—But from how that thing fought, I doubt it would fall back no matter what enemy arrived. That must mean… but it can’t be…

Junko grew suspicious.

“So that is who you were talking about. You could have told me you said Rubbers and not Lovers!”

Eiko grinned as she watched the battle on a mana screen. It seemed Rubbers’s appearance had prevented the Hattori family from taking too much of the credit.

“I just wish I could have been out there to put on a show,” said Eiko jokingly.

2V, on the other hand, gave a serious response.

“Hm… That probably would have worked. He is a masochist, so he would have gladly let you hit him.”

“Is that thing human?”

“He is such a masochist that he experimented with magically altering his own body. Thanks to that, he no longer looks human. However, he is a powerful force in magical combat. Now, as planned…”

Just as 2V said that, something even he had not predicted occurred.

The Teruya family’s armored warriors had immediately tried to enter the school building, but their advance suddenly came to a halt. A moment later, one of the armored warriors in the lead was sent flying backwards. As he flew back, he knocked back the others behind them as if they were bowling pins.

“What?”

Eiko peered into the mana screen in surprise.

With relaxed movements, a figure stepped out into the space in which the Teruya family armored warriors had been. Of all people, it was the student council president, Lily Shiraishi.

“Do not enter the school without the student council’s permission.”

Lily rotated her right wrist as it made crackling noises.

This angered Eiko.

“Dammit! To hell with her! Just take her out!”

Eiko gave orders to her family’s men, but Lily knocked several of them away with her extending arms before those orders could reach them. The attack was not as powerful as Rubbers’s, but it was still plenty strong.

“You worthless men! I’ll send in another unit to…”

In her irritation, Eiko finally checked the state of the overall battle.

And she was shocked at what she found. Due to victory being almost assured once they made their way into the school building, she had given almost no orders to the other units. The ground forces were almost entirely unscathed, but they had fallen into chaos as they tried to avoid the effects of the battle between Akuto and Hiroshi. Not only did she not have almost a thousand soldiers divided into platoons and awaiting orders, but the soldiers did not even know where any of their fellow soldiers were.

And the midair battle between Akuto and Hiroshi was still ongoing. Its fierceness had caused the soldiers’ morale to drop like a rock. A clearly superhuman battle was unfolding overhead and the elites of the Hattori and Teruya families were battling the demonic beasts ahead.

Those demonic beasts had been driven back all at once by the Hattori family’s attack, but they had begun to gather at the main entrance once more. And at every other point around the school building, the demonic beasts were almost entirely unscathed.

“Am I…losing?”

As that possibility finally occurred to Eiko, her face paled in fear.

If she lost, her incompetence would be revealed to the entire empire. And on top of that, her patricide would likely come to light as well. If that happened, she would be completely ruined.

“Sh-should I order the entire army to attack…?” muttered Eiko.

“No, you still have other options left,” said 2V frantically.

Eiko still had most of her military force. They had only been thrown into chaos. If she gave appropriate orders, they could reorganize and recover. Also, the aircraft carrier and the elite airborne troops waiting onboard were not affected by the chaos. Eiko had merely given into fear and could not think rationally.

—Using her is not easy when she is this incompetent. It looks like being a bit reckless and aiming for mutual destruction is my only chance.

2V changed his mental strategy.

“Have the ground troops fall back and send in the aircraft carrier. I said to avoid damaging the surrounding area, but in the current situation, no one will blame you for destroying the school building. It will look like the demon king and his side are the ones destroying everything, after all.”

2V’s words must have sounded promising to Eiko.

“I-I see… You’re right!”

And Eiko gave the order to send in the aircraft carrier.

—Sigh. What a pain.

2V secretly grinned. He then focused his mind.

A trap he had set up ahead of time activated. Completely ordinary soldiers assigned to each unit began moving according to 2V’s will. They were L’Isle-Adams disguised as humans. They were not the standard autonomous variety. These dolls would have no will of their own without the intervention of 2V’s magic. About 50 of them had been slipped into the army in all.

One of 2V’s L’Isle-Adams had of course been sent to the bridge of the aircraft carrier.

“Begin the advance. Approach the school building and mop up the demonic beasts along the walls.”

After having Eiko’s orders relayed by the captain, 2V’s doll nodded with an innocent expression as it held the aircraft carrier’s helm.

—Now then. Let’s make sure this works.

“This is quite bad.”

Fujiko thought as she stood before the underground altar.

“What is it?” asked Keena.

“The aircraft carrier Genkaku has begun to move.”

Fujiko manipulated several mana screens to display Genkaku from various angles. The giant ship had been stopped a short distance from the schoolyard, but it had begun to slowly move toward them.

“Is it really that bad for it to come here? You have an idea, right?” asked Keena.

Her innocence irritated Fujiko.

“Of course I have an idea! But it is a last resort. I will destroy the school building.”

“The school building will go boom?”

“If I have the demonic beasts destroy it just barely underground, it will all sink down, right? There is nothing more I can do about the aircraft carrier’s attack. But doing that signifies our loss. We need to flee when that happens.”

“Then wouldn’t we have lost right away if they had sent in the aircraft carrier at the beginning?”

“Stop pointing out the flaws in my plan! Yes, we would have. But I thought the aircraft carrier would pursue Akuto-sama. I never expected he would be held in place by that thug named Brave.” Fujiko was regretful and she looked over to another mana screen. “Also, it hurts that I lost track of that rubber man even though he has to be in the building somewhere.”

“Really? How did you lose track of him?”

“If I knew that, I would not be having so much trouble! Where did he get off to…? I have some demonic beasts with good noses searching for him, but I can only hope his presence does not become a fatal factor for us. Honestly, if Akuto-sama could only take care of Brave!”

Fujiko wailed as she scratched at her hair.

“I told you not to fight, remember?”

Keena had been talking normally, but she suddenly fell silent.

“What is it?”

Fujiko glanced back toward Keena. Keena did not appear much different from normal, but she looked like she was dreaming.

“Nothing, senpai. Hey, what do you think of this world’s situation?”

“What?”

Fujiko turned around in surprise.

“I am asking you about the sorrow of people fighting each other despite all wanting a world without fighting,” said Keena.

Fujiko found Keena’s behavior odd, but it did not seem dangerous. She felt wrong not giving an answer, so she replied while continuing her work.

“Just because they are fighting does not mean it is a sorrowful situation. If the options are a massacre or a war, you can only welcome war. A world without war would be a world where everyone can carry out a massacre,” said Fujiko, but she received no answer.

“Then you’ll have to answer to me,” said Keena.

The usual Keena was back.

“…Is that a phrase you learned recently?”

“Eh? What?”

Keena looked confused.

—This is anti-demon king combat mode?

Hiroshi was confused by the lack of change. His output, his weapons, and his energy transfer speed had not improved.

However, he soon realized that there was less of a burden on him when he blocked Peterhausen’s claws and that his attacks had more force behind them.

—What is going on?

Hiroshi was amazed at the effect of his first attack. The force of his attacks gradually grew and they soon reached a level that threatened to blow Peterhausen out of the sky.

“The mana is being negated,” Akuto told Peterhausen.

“So that is what this is. My internal mana is not being affected much, but I cannot transfer it outside of my body very well,” groaned Peterhausen.

“We need to put some distance between us.”

Peterhausen shook his head at that suggestion.

“No. He is faster. We must not turn our backs to him.”

“Then let’s come up with some means of handling this,” said Akuto. The aircraft carrier then slowly moved into view. “Not good. That thing’s started to move.”

“And it seems to be targeting the school building. They must no longer care about appearances.”

Peterhausen saw it too.

The infantry down below must have been relieved by Genkaku’s presence because they began reorganizing and falling back into formation. Unbeknownst to Akuto and Peterhausen, this morale recovery was thanks to the work of the dolls 2V had slipped into the army’s ranks.

“Do we have to deal with two enemies now?” muttered Akuto.

Peterhausen grinned.

“Exactly. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.”

“Are you rejoicing over another powerful enemy?”

“No, it is more than that. From my past experiences, I know that large weapons like that have mana producers inside. They need it to power their weaponry.”

“I see. It’s dangerous, but I guess we should approach it as we fight.”

Akuto sent Peterhausen toward the aircraft carrier.

Genkaku was known as an aircraft carrier, but it contained an airborne unit rather than actual aircrafts. However, the airborne troops’ equipment was not specialized for being dropped to the ground. They wore reinforced outfits that allowed them to fly and fight in midair and even perform bombings. They looked like they were carrying airplanes on their backs and they were especially feared by the countries outside the empire. The aircraft carrier powered itself and produced mana, so it could be sent into areas in which mana was not disseminated. It had been designed to defeat enemies who used the internal-combustion engines of an older age.

Depending on the situation, each individual airborne soldier could function as a gun battery. If they carried long-range cannons, they could line up on the deck and use their judgment and magic ability to fire accurately even at long-range.

Airborne soldiers who had those long-range cannons on their backs and were ready to fire were currently lining up on the deck. When they saw Akuto, they began preparing to fire.

“Our target is the demon king and the demonic beasts. Unless otherwise ordered, you may choose whatever target you wish. Finish them off while keeping the damage to the Constant Magic Academy school building and the surrounding area within reasonable limits. The one known as Brave is not a target. However, do not worry about accidentally hitting him.”

Those were the instructions from their commander. The airborne soldiers did not look nervous as they prepared their long-range cannons and awaited orders.

“Begin the attack.”

Arrows of light fired from all of the soldiers lined up on the aircraft carrier deck.

Peterhausen flew toward the aircraft carrier in a splendid trajectory that avoided what looked like torrential rain falling sideways.

Hiroshi followed and avoided the initial attack, but he must have realized that what looked like particles of light were being annihilated around him because he stopped avoiding all but the attacks heading straight toward him.

“Our power is back, but we are still at a disadvantage,” laughed Peterhausen.

“You didn’t think about what to do after this?” asked Akuto in shock.

“Is that a problem?” replied Peterhausen calmly.

“No, I suppose not. At any rate, it’s time to think,” answered Akuto.

A few airborne soldiers jumped from the aircraft carrier. They held spear-like weapons. They looked well suited for use against a black dragon.

“It looks like we do not have to think after all.”

“Don’t sound so happy about that,” complained Akuto.

“Joy should be honestly expressed!”

As Peterhausen let out a roar of delight, he flew in between five of the airborne soldiers. The soldiers were likely doing their very best, but Peterhausen flew circles around them like he was playing with some puppies. He then rushed forward, stopped, and let loose an intense attack.

Akuto was being directly targeted as well, so he swept aside the spears with his hands, grabbed and bent them, and threw back balls of fire.

“These seem to be the elites!” rejoiced Peterhausen like a child.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” said Akuto with a shrug.

However, the battle quickly ceased to be pleasant for Peterhausen. A figure appeared in front of them. Needless to say, it was Hiroshi.

“Out of the way!”

Akuto struck one of the airborne soldiers following him around. It was not really an attack. He only shoved the soldier, but that sent the man tumbling through the air. He stalled and he began falling in a tailspin.

Hiroshi was looking only at Akuto.

“He really is our only true enemy,” complained Peterhausen.

“It looks like we have to settle this,” said Akuto with resolve in his voice.

Panic had fallen over the aircraft carrier bridge.

“How are we being toyed with this much?”

The captain’s voice was filled with more fear than confusion. The screen that displayed information on the state of the battle was currently showing several points of light. Those lights were indicated as allies, but their statuses were changing to “incapacitated” one after another. The screen displaying actual video footage also made it clear that the airborne troops were at a disadvantage.

“We are the ones here with combat experience! What are you people doing!?”

The captain raised his voice, but no one replied. He was not simply shouting out in anger. He had done nothing wrong strategically. They were simply up against too dangerous an opponent. It was completely true that each individual soldier had to give this their all.

The most dangerous individual was Hiroshi. He was not actively attacking the military, but the airborne troops who approached him would lose their mana which would incapacitate them. They were rendered unable to fight properly.

Akuto was of course their worst enemy. Peterhausen calmly used the airborne troops as shields. Akuto was more reserved, but he still stole the airborne soldiers’ weapons and would lead Peterhausen to use the aircraft carrier’s armor as a wall to avoid attacks.

“Do not let them do as they wish! Do not let the country’s dignity waver in the eyes of the people!” roared the captain, but the silence remained.

No. A single voice spoke up in response.

“How about I handle this, captain?”

The man spoke in a disrespectful tone and the look on the captain’s face changed.

“Who said that!?”

The soldier holding the helm raised his hand.

“It was me, the helmsman. I’m asking for freedom to do what I want.”

Everyone on the bridge was shocked to hear that un-military-like tone. Everyone turned toward the helmsman. And they all realized something impossible. They did not recognize him. They wondered how they had not noticed it before.

“Who are you!?”

“Like I said: the helmsman. For the moment, at least,” said 2V.

“Like hell you are! Did you sneak in here using hypnotism magic!?” shouted the captain.

At the same moment, he motioned with his hand for the secondary helmsman to take out the helmsman.

The secondary helmsman nodded and immediately fired a magical explosion at the helmsman. The explosion hit the helmsman’s head dead on. Flames burst out for an instant and then smoke wafted up. He had perfectly controlled his explosion so as to kill his target while not harming the bridge.

The helmsman’s head was gone. The secondary helmsman brought his hand to the console to take control of the ship, but the main control refused to transfer over.

“Wha!?”

He looked back over at the helmsman and saw an uncanny sight. The headless helmsman still held the helm as before.

“A doll!”

The lack of blood told the secondary helmsman what was happening.

“That’s right. But it’s already too late.”

A voice came from somewhere on the headless helmsman. The bridge crew shot to their feet and tried to stop him, but the aircraft carrier shook greatly.

That was when the captain and everyone else on the bridge realized what 2V was trying to do. The aircraft carrier was gigantic, but its high output engine was enough to provide the same mobility as a light aircraft. The problematic air resistance could be reduced by controlling the air itself with mana.

The aircraft carrier took an action that showed no concern for those aboard. That giant ship was over 350 meters long and yet it performed the maneuver known as the Immelmann turn. The ship rapidly ascended before rotating sideways. After that turn, it began to descend.

Those inside who were not strapped down and the airborne troops on the deck who had not expected it were all tossed around and slammed into the ship.

However, Genkaku did not lower its speed. And its target soon became clear.

—Why is this happening!?

Hiroshi was irritated. He felt as if his irritation over not knowing how to handle his fight with Akuto was exploding out.

In the end, he knew that his irritation came from his trust of Akuto. That was why he could not stand what Akuto was doing.

“Ohhh!”

Hiroshi charged in once more. He had realized the aircraft carrier was producing mana, but he could still fight evenly. And when separated from the ship, he had an overwhelming advantage. His current attack sent a fierce impact into Peterhausen. It had obviously sent the dragon flying farther than before.

—I just have to neutralize him! If I can only defeat the black dragon!

Hiroshi quickly accelerated to take advantage of this opportunity. He advanced while avoiding the airborne troops raining down from above. He approached Akuto. He could clearly see Akuto’s expression.

However, he had been so focused on Akuto that he had not paid enough attention to the situation as a whole. Why had they moved away from the aircraft carrier? And why where the airborne soldiers suddenly raining down from above? Those facts had not properly registered with him.

“Haaahhhh!”

Hiroshi charged in while expanding a high-temperature plasma ball, but Akuto’s expression confused him.

Akuto was clearly looking somewhere other than Hiroshi. When he did look over at Hiroshi, a kind expression appeared on his face.

—Wh-why is he giving me that look?

Hiro