CH 4.3

Eisuke and Marielle escaped to the castle city of the imperial capital. Eisuke hid behind a house to avoid being discovered by the citizens and catch his breath. Beside him, Marielle held her knees and looked dejected. She looked down with empty eyes, as if she no longer had her soul, and Eisuke spoke to her with bated breath.

“…Pull yourself together, Marielle. Now that this has happened, we have no choice but to look for a way to restore their memories. There must be some clue. We must look for…”

“……What if there isn’t?”

“…What?”

Eisuke lowered his eyebrows at Marielle’s laughing words. Laughing at herself.

“I give him that power… Do you think it would conveniently have a weakness…?”

“Even if it’s not like that, we can’t do nothing! I can’t… fight Yui and Serika…!”

Eisuke looked away and gritted his teeth. The brainwashing before and this time was different. The girls had had their memories rewritten and recognized Eisuke as an enemy. In contrast, his perception of them had not changed at all. They were still, and always would be, his precious friends.

“It’s also memory that makes you have that look on your face, isn’t it?” Marielle said. She gave a fleeting smile and weakened.

“…Maybe what that jerk says is true. We all have some painful or sad memories. …No, even memories that are pleasant in the moment can become painful to recall later.”

…Like right now.

Marielle’s mind ran through the memories of the past like flashing lights. The time she bathed with Yui and Serika. The time she got caught up in Serika’s evil plan. The time she and Rukino fled the Imperial Capital. The day she met her. The time when she smiled and greeted the people of this country. All of them were now unraveling with a cracking sound and losing their shape inside her. Marielle gave a forced, fake smile.

“If you can forget every one of those memories and go on living… I suppose what you’re doing can be called… “salvation”, after all…”

“…Don’t be stupid. You think you’ll be happy if you forget everything? That can’t be true.”

“Of course it can’t!” Marielle shouted loudly. “But…! All the people who forgot about me were living normal lives! Lady Yui, Lady Serika… even Rukino…! Even though they forgot me, they didn’t change at all! On the contrary, they were fighting more openly than you, who was fighting to protect me!”

Eisuke was speechless. He could not retort anything. He had been more concerned about Yui and Serika’s safety, and they were fighting with all their might against him, who was forced to defend himself to prevent Marielle from being hurt. It was a fact that could not be disguised.

“Can you tell me from the bottom of your heart that my presence is not a burden to you? Can you say that you need all the memories you have?”

There was no need to lie. Marielle’s watery eyes were clinging, but they were attractive. …Eisuke kept silent. He stared into her eyes and said nothing.

“…I…”

Dan, dan!

A thunderous gunshot. Eisuke, with his mouth open, swung his arms quickly. …A bullet rolled out of his hand. The bullet was aimed at the back of his head, and he quickly caught it.

“I found you…”

When they traced the source of the bullet… they found Yui staring at them both with a cold stare. Behind her, the Imperial Knights were lined up.

“Tsk…?!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Eisuke held Marielle in his arms and ran out of the alley.

“We won’t let you escape. Please go after them…”

Yui announced in a low voice and fired her guns at Eisuke. He ran out to the main street to continue the fight.

“It’s the rebels! Chase them!”

The voices of the imperial knights and townspeople could be heard here and there. Eisuke peered into the streets as he passed, but all the houses and stores had their window panes removed without exception, and were closed with plywood and blackout curtains so that the interior could not be seen. It was as if they refused to let them both in.

“Damn it…! Is everyone in this town against us? What are we going to do?!”

“Mister Eisuke! Please, put me down!”

“Waah!?”

Marielle, who was being held by Eisuke in what would be called princess-like carrying, was flailing in his arms. Her eyelids were red and tears were gathering every time she opened her mouth.

“I don’t want anyone else to suffer! I’d rather that than be a burden to you…! If my existence is a cause of hatred and suffering, then I don’t want anyone to remember me ever again! kyaah!?”

The army of imperial knights attacked. Eisuke reached for the weapons where the grip faltered, and intercepted them with his legs alone. Shaken by his movements, Marielle shouted.

“I won’t let you escape!”

Serika appeared to block the path in front of Eisuke and Marielle. Eisuke clicked his tongue and fled back into the shadows of the building to get out of sight. A bullet hit him in the shoulder. Eisuke screamed in anguish as the bullet managed to lodge in the crevice of one his muscles.

“Uh, gah…!”

“Ah…! Please put me down now! I don’t want anyone else to suffer, and I don’t want to suffer anymore! You lent me your power because you wanted to fight strong people, didn’t you! You don’t need to feel sorry for me! I’ll be fine, so…”

“Marielle…!” Eisuke, with sweat on his forehead, uttered in a low voice without looking at her. “Wait, shut up for a second…!” The angry tone of his voice forced Marielle to shut up. Eisuke shouted just for the two of them to hear. “It’s true! If it wasn’t for you, I could fight more freely! If I hadn’t met Yui and Serika, I would have defeated the Hero along with them and it would have been over! To be frank, to me, anyone weaker than me is a burden!”

“Then why…?”

“But also! That burden is what really matters! There’s no point in fighting only against strong people! Only when you fight with a lot of things on your shoulders can you really feel happy after winning! You’re the one who taught me that! Don’t deny your past too!”

“…!”

…In the past battles, Marielle and the others were not the only ones saved by Eisuke. Before he himself realized it, Marielle and the others had also become his strength.

He had spent all his time fighting for his own thrill and pleasure. He thought that, if he could fight the strongest, if he could fight with all his might, he would be satisfied. That was true.

But fighting Heroes… was not the only thing that gave Eisuke a sense of satisfaction.

Marielle. Rukino. Yui. Serika. The people of the cities. They were counting on his monstrous power. They looked more pleased with his victory than he did. This began to give him a pleasant satisfaction before he knew it.

…His own desire was also the greatest desire of others. So he exerted his strength. This was the reason why Eisuke now really threw himself into the fight. This was the reason he didn’t want to give up Yui and Serika. And… the irreplaceable reason why he wanted to save Marielle.

“These are my memories, memories about the time I spent with you! I won’t get rid of them! No matter how heavy it is, no matter how painful it is, I’ll carry them with all my might! I want that for myself! So shut up and put your hands around my neck, Marielle! I’m going to…!”

“I said I’ll lend you my strength until you get your country back!”

Marielle’s chest felt full. At that moment, she remembered.

…She remembered the moment when Eisuke had refused her request and instead reached out to her.

The warmth she felt then flooded her eyes with tears. Marielle bit her lip and held them back. Then, she resolved herself and put her hand tightly around Eisuke’s arm.

“…I’m sorry, Mister Eisuke…! I’m going to…!”

“That’s going to have to wait a bit! For now, hold on tight!”

Eisuke walked out into the main square of the Imperial Capital. The fountain in the center was dry and there wasn’t a drop of water left. They went out there…

“Isn’t it about time we stopped playing tag?”

“…Please surrender…”

Yui and Serika and the Imperial Knights led by them surrounded them.

“F̲u̲c̲k̲… they were leading us, weren’t they?”

“Haha, how could you get through the city?”

The Imperial Knight Army split in half to make way for Hero Kaito who calmly appeared. Rukino was standing next to him.

“It’s over. Hand over the rebel girl quietly.”

Eisuke stared at him. Finally, he exhaled and slowly lowered Marielle to the ground. Marielle looked at him anxiously.

“Mister Eisuke….”

Eisuke clicked his tongue, then snorted and played hard. He turned his gaze back to Yui and Serika and shrugged with a light tone.

“Hey, hey, Yui, Serika? Don’t make such scary faces. We’ve been fighting together for the past few days, haven’t we?”

“Say what again? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m not a liar. I’ll prove it to you.”

“……What are you saying?”

They looked at each other with a frown. Eisuke took a small breath and…

“Yui, your underwear is black and a bit erotic too! And Serika, your bra is a rather plain light blue!”

He pointed at them and announced loudly.

“………………Um, Mister Eisuke?”

A hellish silence permeated the area, and the temperature dropped to sub-zero levels. The Hero, the Imperial Knights and even Marielle stood stunned and rigid, mouths agape.

“………huh?”

“What… what are you…?”

…The two of them, Yui and Serika, were the exception. Yui’s face was still impassive, only blushing, and Serika’s was as red as a tomato.

“H-How do you know?!”

“What kind of skill is that?”

“I didn’t just awaken the skill to know the color of underwear! I know a lot of other things too! Yui! You’ve been in love with a guy who calls himself the “Yankee Hunter” ever since he saved you!”

“How!?”

“Serika! You like nice things despite your looks and character! And I don’t know why you’re hiding it!”

“As I said, how do you know all that?!”

“I know you better than you know each other now! You are my best friends, born with the same circumstances as me! Even if you lose your memories or forget everything, that fact will never change in my mind! I won’t let you say we’re not friends!”

Eisuke’s strong words shook the atmosphere. Yui and Serika felt overwhelmed and started to get confused, unable to answer anything.

“Did we lose our memories…?”

“Stop it, don’t listen to him! It’s just a desperate attempt!”

Kaito’s wide smile disappeared and he shouted at them. Eisuke shouted even louder.

“Rukino! I know who you are, too! I know more about you than that f̲u̲c̲k̲ing Hero over there who says you’ve served him all your life!”

“What are you…?”

“It’s all lies! Don’t be fooled!”

“Ha, then answer me! Tell me if the food Rukino makes is good or awful!”

“T-That’s…!?”

“What about her sewing skills!? Can you answer that too!?”

“W-What do you think imperial knights are! They’re not housekeepers!”

“To us, you’re a housekeeper and a doting idiot to Marielle!”

Marielle shot a glance at Rukino. Her face contorted slightly as their eyes met. Obviously, her reaction had changed compared to when her memory was altered. The girls had been confused precisely by Eisuke’s words.

“Rukino, remember…! We may have had some difficult times, but…! I love you because you have overcome those difficulties together with me all these years! Please come back, Rukino!”

Marielle pleaded with a saddened face. Rukino was intensely disturbed.

“But, but I…!”

“Shut up, you damned rebels!” Kaito interrupted Marielle’s plea with strong words. “They don’t have those memories at all! The memories that only exist in your minds are nothing but dreams and delusions! If what you say is true, prove it!”

“Damn it…!”

Seeing Yui and Serika looking disturbed with worried faces, Eisuke gritted his teeth in frustration. It was impossible to test a memory that didn’t exist. Knowing this, Kaito was provoking them. After all, unless they recovered their memories, this hopeless situation could not be reversed.

S̲h̲i̲t̲, it’s going to be impossible…! Is there really no way to restore their memories…!?

Eisuke was drenched in sweat, desperately trying to find a way to get their memories back. Everyone’s memories of Marielle in this city had been altered by Kaito. Yui, Serika and the Imperial Knights, including Rukino, had no doubt that Kaito, not Marielle, was the king. There was not even a contradiction left in their memories.

The knights gradually tightened their grip on Eisuke and Marielle and cornered them.

“Mister Eisuke…! What should we do…!?”

Together with Marielle, who was clinging to him, he was forced to retreat, step by step. He hit the edge of the fountain with a thud. Eisuke looked back at the fountain for a moment. The desolate, dry remains of the fountain, not even filled with water to reflect Eisuke’s pained face…

…Wait!

Time stopped for Eisuke. The whole landscape turned gray and the flow of time became stagnant. His thoughts were dominated by the conversation from earlier.

Isn’t everything too well planned out…!

If so, would it have even made the girls forget things that had nothing to do with Marielle?

Eisuke surveyed the scene around him as if driven to do so. Then, he confirmed that his guess was probably correct.

Certain things weren’t here from the beginning in the city. Perhaps they were eliminated by Kaito. Maybe that was the key to bringing back the memories.

But if that’s the case, after all, there’s no way to restore their memories at this very moment, is there?

The path that seemed so clear was closed again. If that “it” had been removed from this city for good, it was impossible to obtain it at this very moment. Even if he knew his seed, Kaito would still be one step ahead of him.

What should I do… think…! I was summoned by Marielle, I know I am her last hope…! I came from another world and I have abilities superior to the average human…!

Then a revelation pierced his cerebral medulla.

…There was.

If you were someone from another world, you probably had “it”!

“…Haa.” Eisuke exhaled and snapped back to reality.

…As always, holding back a frivolous and reckless laugh.

“…Marielle, stand up for a moment.”

“Huh?”

“…I’m going to bring them back right now.”

As soon as Eisuke said that…

The earth was crushed.

The ridiculous power of Eisuke’s legs produced an earthquake that shook the ground violently. It shook all the people in the place, making them lose their balance. The paved road cracked like lightning, and the rumbling was deafening.

Meanwhile, Eisuke approached Yui and Serika.

“Damn it, you’re stubborn…! What a waste of time…”

Kaito blinked a little and was about to look at Eisuke… when….

…Sparks flew and a whirlwind blew.

The Imperial Knights, who had formed an encirclement, flew backwards.

“What…?”

Marielle looked closely. Standing in front of her… were three figures.

“…Hey, you guys, you’re nothing but trouble. This time I was in a hurry.”

“It’s a mistake I’ll carry for the rest of my life. I can’t believe I forgot about Eisuke, even for a moment.”

“Hey, how many times am I going to be manipulated? I don’t want to feel like a backstabbing character. You don’t think I’m becoming less nice, are you?”

Marielle’s ears rang with the usual carefree, lighthearted banter. Her vision of her back slowly blurred.

“…La-Lady Yui…! Lady Serika…!”

They turned around and smiled confidently at her. It showed in their soft, favorable smiles. …The girls had recovered their memories of Marielle.

“Why, it can’t be…! How did you get their memories back?!”

“You were careless, weren’t you? …No, you were quite careful this time, and that was your undoing.” Eisuke put his hands in his pockets and stuck his chin out pompously.

“W-What are you talking about…?”

“You didn’t just erase Marielle from their memory, you erased everything that could pose a risk to get them back to normal as well, didn’t you? I’m just saying that your precautions gave me a clue.”

“A clue…? How is that even…?”

“It was at that moment when I shouted at them in irritation, when you altered their memories. I told them, “You should look in a mirror right now!”. They responded to me with an amusing reaction.”

“Mirror? I don’t know what that means.”

“Don’t go around saying things I don’t understand.”

“…Yes, the girls didn’t understand what I meant. The meaning of my words. …Specifically they didn’t know what I meant because the word “mirror” didn’t exist in their memory.”

“…!”

Kaito reflexively fell silent. Eisuke faced him with the truth while he kept silent.

“…By looking at their own faces in the mirror. That’s the way to restore altered memories, so you erased the entire existence of the “mirrors” from their memory! Isn’t that right, Hero Kaito?”

Kaito was immensely surprised by Eisuke’s intelligence. Marielle was amazed by Eisuke’s reasoning.

“Mister Eisuke, how could you notice such a thing…!?”

“Because there were other things that didn’t feel right. …Marielle, do you remember when we escaped from the palace and all the windows had been removed?”

“Huh…?”

“There are no glass windows in this city at all. The windows of the private houses were unglazed and closed with brass or wood, and the rooms of the royal palace were also unglazed and as if they were atriums. …This city is completely devoid of glass. The glass reflects your face, that’s why.”

The truth unfolded before Marielle’s eyes. Looking around agitated, she saw that Eisuke was right: there was not a single pane of glass in the windows of the buildings. …Then, Marielle quickly looked back at the fountain behind her.

“Wait, it can’t be, this fountain too…?!”

“Of course. This fountain isn’t filled with water on purpose either. So that it doesn’t reflect people’s faces. The fact that the people in this town are not so well dressed is probably due to the loss of the mirrors.”

Kaito recoiled at Eisuke’s reasoning.

“B-But how could you bring back the memories of those two… There’s no way to see your face in this city anymore! What did you do!?”

“Of course, at that instant, there was no mirror, no glass, not even a bathtub full of water. There is nothing to reflect your face. But I have something that helped me. After all, I’m also an ordinary high school student living in the modern era.” With that, Eisuke twisted the edges of his mouth… and held “it” next to his own face.

“T-That’s…!?” Kaito exclaimed again. It was such a familiar tool, but… absolutely unnecessary in this other world. “A smartphone…!?”

…Eisuke showed him the phone he had been carrying all along.

Eisuke proudly tapped his temple with his phone.

“I made them see their faces on the phone’s black screen. That’s it.”

Eisuke walked over to them in an instant, created when he stomped on the ground, and put them in front of their face. …A smartphone with a black screen on which their faces were reflected. The corners of Eisuke’s mouth twitched into a smile as he pocketed the phone.

“The moment you recognize yourself other in reality, your memory comes back… Ironic, isn’t it? I knew it, after all, your power isn’t salvation by a long shot.”

“What… do you say…!?”

Kaito was indignant at Eisuke’s mocking tone. He clenched his fist and said to him.

“No matter how trivial the memory is, no matter how painful and unpleasant it is…! There is no memory that you can forget and pretend it never happened! If a happy memory can become a painful memory, the opposite is also true! We must try to move forward to change those sad memories into something positive! …Unlike you, Marielle knows how to do it!”

“…!?” Marielle choked at Eisuke’s sudden statement.

“Marielle didn’t lock herself away after being betrayed by you, she summoned us to fight with her for this country! Between you, who made them turn away from reality and forced them into a false peace, and Marielle who faced reality and brought us here with her! If I had to choose a ruler, I would definitely respect Marielle more.”

“Mister… Eisuke…!”

Tears naturally welled up in Marielle’s eyes. Eisuke didn’t think any of his memories with Marielle were useless. In fact, he told her out loud that all those memories were proof that Marielle was a person worthy of trust and respect. For Marielle, that was “salvation”.

“Good and bad memories can be transformed into the power to create the person you are going to be! You have only deprived others of the opportunity to move forward and become stronger! If you want to stay stagnant and settle for what you are now, do it on your own! Don’t drag the people of this city and my precious friends into this, you son of a b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲…!”

Everyone listened with bated breath to Eisuke’s roar. The knights didn’t even flinch, but turned their attention to Kaito. He, who had been devastated, was caught in their gaze and gnashed his teeth.

“F̲u̲c̲k̲… f̲u̲c̲k̲! F̲u̲c̲k̲, f̲u̲c̲k̲, f̲u̲c̲k̲, f̲u̲c̲k̲, fuuuuuck!”

Kaito began to ruffle his hair. …And then, an idea occurred to him.

A familiar magic circle appeared under his own feet.

“What the…?!”

“The magic circle of memory forgery…!?”

Eisuke and the others were amazed. …Kaito had begun to alter his own memories.

“W-What’s wrong? Is he self-destructing?”

“Hey, you moron, what are you…?”

“I’m getting new powers.”

“What…!?”

Kaito, in despair, grinned at Eisuke’s exclamation.

“The “Seed of Imagination” is the embodiment of imagination. So, if I erase the memories of the imagination I’ve cultivated so far, I should be able to create a power based on my new imagination…!”

“How is that possible?”

“Do you think we should overcome our painful memories…? I’ve had enough of your pretty words…! Then you overcome it…! I’ll take the form that torments all humans with memories of despair…! A-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Kaito roared. At that moment, his entire body began to be enveloped in a terrifying aura. Soon, he was swallowed by a terrifying jet blackness, a suffocating dark wind that slowed everything down, blew hard against Eisuke and the others.

“Kyah!”

“Gooh…!?”

Eisuke and the others quickly covered their faces with their arms. Before they could open their eyes…

‘Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!’

An almost agonizing scream shook their eardrums as if piercing them. The jet blackness faded, revealing Kaito’s figure.

…Twisted horns. Wings torn and rotting. Beast-like skin that covered his entire body in black. And a terrifying form that struck fear into the hearts of all who saw it. It seemed to cover his outline and envelop his figure. And then that ghost, which had borrowed his body, manifested itself.

“It can’t be…!? How is it possible…!?”

Marielle almost stopped breathing. His figure was one that should never have appeared in this place. Eisuke broke out in a cold sweat at the terrifying apparition and shivered with the trembling of a warrior.

“What the hell is this!?”

“No matter how you look at it, it looks like a Demon King…!”

Kaito’s newly acquired power through the modification of the “Seed of Imagination”.

It was… “changing into a Demon King”.

Kaito, transformed into a Demon King, floated in the air with his black wings. He pointed with his fingertips, which were as thin as tree branches, and at that moment….

A red light shot out from his finger. It drew a line of light through the streets of the capital.

Booooooooooom!

It exploded, violently. …About a quarter of the city was reduced to ashes in an instant.

‘Wahahahahahahahaha!’

It was a loud, booming laugh that sounded like an echo. It was the echo of Kaito, who had become a demon king. He no longer retained his sanity and only destroyed by instinct.

Kaito now fired a volley of energy balls from his black hand. They landed here and there on the city buildings, blowing everything to pieces. One of them landed on Marielle’s head.

“Don’t even think about it!”

Eisuke kicked that energy bullet and bounced it away. The energy bullet changed its trajectory to the opposite direction and landed on the Demon King. When Marielle turned around in surprise… Eisuke was deeply dejected.

“………appeared.”

“Huh?”

“The Demon King has appeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaared……….!”

Then he shouted in high spirits and knelt on the spot, celebrating with his fist. …It was a kind of déjà vu for Marielle.

“………Eh?”

“Look, Marielle, it’s the Demon King! That’s the Demon King those stupid Heroes defeated, isn’t it! I’d given up, but I never thought I’d find him at a time like this! This is what a different world should be like!”

Marielle was completely dumbfounded. This battle junkie boy, facing an entity that was synonymous with despair, was patting Marielle on the shoulder and snorting with excitement.

“I can’t take him anymore, this guy is a new kind of pervert…”

“I like this kind of childish excitement from Eisuke.”

“This isn’t the time for that! Why are you so calm even facing the Demon King!”

At the moment when Marielle was complaining unable to bear the situation, the Demon King’s crimson beam attacked them.

“Kah, don’t interrupt, you moron!”

Eisuke punched the beam away, deflecting its trajectory. Then he turned to Marielle, who was behind him, and showed her his fist.

“We’re going to do it the same way we always do!”

“What?”

“What’s the matter, can’t you believe it? I can beat him just like I’ve beaten the Heroes so far!”

“……!”

Marielle remembered. When he was smiling fiercely and heading towards his foes… there wasn’t a single obstacle in his way. He had always used his ridiculous strength to create impossible spectacles and achieve victories that defied common sense. No matter what the enemy, the outcome was never altered. …He was going to win. Every time. Every one of them. Forever and ever. And so, this time, too. Even if it was the Demon King, in his hands…!

Marielle clasped her hands together as if in prayer and spoke to him. As a goddess would:

“Mister Eisuke…! …Win! As always…!

Eisuke answered her prayer with a smile. With the face of a hero who left no one behind.

“Ha! I would do it even if you didn’t tell me!”

Eisuke took a big leap from the spot. Like a missile, no, faster than a missile, he cut through the wind and launched himself at the demon king in a straight line.

“Eat this!”

Eisuke put all his thrust into his arm and threw a hard right. It created a gust of wind and the sound of an explosion. A circular shockwave appeared around Eisuke’s arm.

…But his fist was caught by the Demon King’s fist.

“What the…!?”

Eisuke, unable to process what had happened, unleashed a series of fists and knees. It was a torrent of quick actions. But even so, the Demon King responded to all of Eisuke’s attacks with the same move. It was like a fierce contest. A wild exchange of blows, with each blow accompanied by an explosion. Their strength seemed to be evenly matched… but it only seemed so.

Booooom!

“Go… ha…!?”

Kaito, turned Demon King, hit Eisuke in the side of the head. That stopped all of Eisuke’s momentum. Not only that, but he kicked him as well, which inflicted painful damage on Eisuke’s steel body, which had repelled even attacks that looked just as bad or worse.

Is this guy… stronger than me…!?

Eisuke vomited blood from the blow, which was more threatening than his own, scattering a shockwave. The Demon King stretched out his hands to knock him down.

Dododododododododoooo!!

A large number of energy bullets were launched at Eisuke at close range. It went up in smoke and crashed into a nearby building. The building began to collapse with a roar.

“Mister Eisuke!

Marielle shouted. But only seconds later, the building collapsed completely.

Debris from the collapsed building flew out and smashed into the Demon King’s face.

‘Gu, ga… ah!’

“Now you’ve really made me angry, you cretin…!”

Eisuke jumped like a comet, roaring ferociously. He had been caught in the collapsing structure, but was unharmed. The Demon King fired a heat ray again. Eisuke crossed his arms in a cross and brought them down in a single motion, wiping out the attack. He continued to approach the Demon King.

“How about this!!”

While feinting with his right arm, he threw a spinning kick with his left leg. The Demon King was thrown off by the spinning kick with all his might and crashed to the ground with a clatter. Demon King Kaito howled.

‘Damn… it! I see you’re smaaaaaart!’

A red bolt of lightning shot out of the furious Demon King’s horns. Snaky lightning flashed around it, striking Eisuke from all directions. Eisuke, who was in mid-air, couldn’t avoid the electric impact that was coming at him at the speed of light.

“Gaaaaahhhh!?” Eisuke groaned, his whole body numb from the lightning impact. He, momentarily stunned by the shock, was thrown into the air.

He crashed to the ground. A cloud of dust rose up. Kaito followed.

“And now, eat thiiiiis!”

Eisuke was lying on his back with a crater in the ground, and a myriad of white and silver swords appeared in the air surrounding him. The numerous swords hovered eerily, their glowing tips all pointed at him.

¡¡Zuzazazazazazazazazaza!!

Like a rain, the swords fell all at once. …Eisuke’s entire body was staked by the swords stabbing into the ground.

“Damn… it…”

Eisuke was unable to move as the swords stabbed into his body here and there.

Shudoooooon!

…A heat ray, powerful enough to destroy a city, struck the area.