Magika no Kenshi to Shoukan Maou-Volume 11 Chapter 4 — Mythology Abasement

Part 1

Wind was blowing from the broken dome, passing through between Kazuki and Clark.

Due to the damaged dome, whether it was the projected fake sky or the real sky that could be peeked from the hole in the dome, both were changing color into the dark blue of the evening sky. For a while nobody was saying anything.

After a silence, Ginny and Mary’s bodies were blown away. Arthur and Beatrix quickly rushed to Kazuki holding their respective weapons.

Ginny and Mary were blown away several meters away without any resistance like dolls that didn’t have any strength in its limbs, they collapsed and didn’t move anymore. They were silent without any sign of will.

Arthur looked at Kazuki from the corner of his eyes and asked “What is it they did to you?”

“My power is sealed.”

“Only from one attack just now? Don’t tell me…” Arthur lost his words.

To think that the power of Basileus was sealed just with one attack, certainly it was unbelievable. One attack that took away the country’s greatest battle strength. A single attack that overthrown a country. There was no doubt that it was an Original One that made the possessor of the attribute and the Diva shoulder a really great risk.

Risk ― in actuality, that kind of bullet wouldn’t hit Kazuki without some kind of really ingenious plan.

And then almost all of the magic power wavelength of Jeremy who had finished firing the bullet was completely disappearing.

Surely that girl was betting her everything inside that single attack.

“Jeremy, fall back, you can never fight again right?”

Clark cared for Jeremy like that. Hearing the word never, that word reverberated inside their ears.

Kazuki opened a distance and directed his gaze at the collapsed Ginny and Mary.

“What did you do to those two?” A slight fury colored his tone.

“So you don’t think that they just normally betrayed you huh. …But that’s correct. Both of them are controlled by drug and electrode. After all I thought that they might betray me.”

Machining human body. America had that kind of technology. Even the wavelength of their magic power felt different.

“They might become cripple from the after-effect. But it can’t be helped, they are sacrifices.”

A tone so cold like steel in midwinter made fun of Kazuki.

Fury welled up even more inside his chest. This woman wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice anything.

“Lotte, Miyabi-senpai, please look at these two. Help them somehow.”

Miyabi-senpai and Lotte who excelled in mind magic rushed to Mary and Ginny in panic.

But apart from his rage, his head was calm. Kazuki asked with a calm tone.

“You shouldn’t understand how the Indians would move. Thinking about that, isn’t this method leaving too much to luck?”

She made him misrecognized the number of the Chiefs. She brainwashed the two people that earned Kazuki’s trust, changed their body, and made them pretend as the Chiefs. But to have all those tricks go so well on the battlefield, most of them was only thanks to luck and ad-lib performance. He couldn’t think of the plan as skillful. No, it couldn’t even be called a plan. This was―

“Of course it was a gamble. The battle of the weakling is always a match of betting all your human resource to come out on top. I came this far from winning all those bets. From now on too I have to win them all… to protect America’s dignity.”

That resolve cornered Kazuki until this far. *Step*…Clark walked closer to Kazuki.

Kazuki quietly stared at Clark. Arthur and Beatrix readied their weapon.

“Right now the battle should be continuing at Colorado river, but you are planning to fight us here?”

“We are also in an overwhelming advantage at the fight of Colorado river. The report came from the radio just now. My bad, but I don’t have any more use of you. Medicine Wheel… will be defeated by me.”

Clark was talking with a smooth tone that everything was going exactly as she planned.

“Well, that’s fine. This situation is also desirable for me.”

Kazuki withdrew a beam of light from his waist, Ame no Murakumo was once again pulled out from its sheath. Looking at that, Clark’s eyebrow shook. It was only a little movement from her expression, but it was a sign of shock he never saw until now.

“That’s the Sacred Treasure a Basileus have…? Even though your Basileus power is sealed… you can use it?”

The Excalibur that Arthur possessed, couldn’t be used by anybody other than Arthur.

The Sacred Treasure that a Basileus possessed, was a symbolic item of such.

Even for Kazuki, he was recognized as the Basileus of the Japanese Mythology by obtaining the three Sacred Treasures.

But there was no such symbolic weapon in the Solomon Mythology because they were only a pure sorcery Mythology.

Clark was making a mistake.

“What you sealed ― is only the power of Solomon Mythology’s Basileus!”

Clark didn’t know at all, that Kazuki was a Basileus of two Mythologies. Kazuki stepped solidly on the asphalt surface. “What!?” Clark spouted out her agitation.

Kazuki directed the tip of Ame no Murakumo at Clark and thrust while pouring magic power.

Right now Kazuki couldn’t use Amaterasu’s magic. He lost the circuit of positivity level with Kamimura-san and became unable to obtain her contracted Diva.

But the Japanese Mythology had already subordinated themselves to Kazuki. The Sacred Treasures had also recognized him as their user. Ame no Murakumo remembered ― the fight between Kazuki and Susanoo.

Ame no Murakumo emitted heat inside Kazuki’s palm, it beat with pulsation.

At this time Kazuki felt for the first time affection that he had never felt before towards Ame no Murakumo. Perhaps it could be even compared with the feeling that he held for his lost <Doufuu> that he held somewhere in his heart until now.

Clark’s left arm shined. Magic power burst out from there, materializing a pentagon steel.

“O the protection that supported my justice, take form right here. Vibra Pentagon(National Defense Shield)!”

A star was drawn at the center, around it was a two layer frame of red and white enclosing it, it was a shield with a design like the US flag. The solid shield that emitted cold tried to block Kazuki’s straightforward thrust.

“Distort, Ame no Murakumo! Battou Kaikon ― Kushihebi no Tachi!!” (Note: Long sword of skewered snake)

As if to answer Kazuki’s affection, Ame no Murakumo vibrated. It insisted to use the power, use it, use it. The sword blade where Kazuki poured his magic power was *guneri!* stretching out and twisting in long range, it circumvented the shield.

Kushihebi no Tachi ― Ame no Murakumo was a sword that appeared from the inside of the severed tail of Yamata no Orochi. Therefore there was also a legend that it was a sword that carried the power of snake. Ame no Murakumo that circumvented the shield stabbed at Clark right from her side.

Clark staggered while scattering the blue light of smashed magic. She directed an expression like steel at Kazuki.

“You cheated me a lot huh, brat!”

“It’s your own misunderstanding right? Be aware that you are walking on top of thin ice, Clark! It’s the end if your reading is mistaken!!”

Most likely Kazuki had been read by Clark for about 90%. But what gave birth to Clark’s miscalculation was the result of her judgment using theory if Kazuki couldn’t rely on the power of King Solomon.

{Kazuki…!} An urgent voice reverberated inside Kazuki’s brain.

{Use the Power of Harmony at Itsuki-chan…!! Quick!!”

It was Amaterasu’s voice. Kazuki turned back at Kamimura-san wondering what made her so impatient.

“Sayonara~. sayonara~, fuo~eba~”

Kamimura-san’s figure looked faintly transparent, she was waving both her hands with a tranquil expression.

Kazuki lost his composure ten times greater than when he lost the power of Basileus.

“Wa, wait wait wait a second!! What are you doing trying to enter heaven like that!?”

{Kazuki, pull her through with the Power of Harmony-!!} Amaterasu’s yelling voice was conveyed to him.

Is that so… Kamimura-san was supplied with magic power from the circuit of King Solomon’s positivity level, with that her flesh was preserved. But right now that circuit was cut off completely, making Kamimura-san’s power supply of life just Amaterasu. It was insufficient with only that.

Kazuki followed Amaterasu’s advice and used the [Power of Harmony]. Kamimura-san’s drying up flesh sucked up magic power like a dry land given water.

Kamimura-san barely recovered her body, but her feeling of substance was shaky.

If she got hit by attack magic and her magic power was shaved down, she might rise to heaven.

“Kamimura-san fall back until a safe place!!”

When Kazuki seriously yelled that in worry, Kamimura-san withdrew while saying “A, aii―”.

And then there was no enemy that would purposefully wait for such a conversation to take place peacefully.

“O light that break evil, dwell in my hand and become a flash!”

Magic power was approaching from behind ― she was coming to strike him. Even without looking Kazuki could feel that.

“Justice Knuckle(Fist of Judgement)!!”

Kazuki blocked that strike while turning back.

Clark’s appearance was changing into her Magic Dress.

That steel-like expressionless face was covered by a streamlined helmet. It was shaped with a design of America’s symbolic bird, the eagle. On her back was a flapping mantel, with distinctive color as a Magic Dress, her whole body was covered by a metallic suit. Holding <Vibra Pentagon> at her left arm, she struck at him with her right arm. That appearance was exactly a hero that embodied American Justice.

Clark’s contracted Diva, <Super One>!

At the same time the Numbers were also descending down in attack, they were met by Kazuki’s comrades.

“Unfortunately my reading missed! …You can only face me from the front!”

Fist and blade clashed, a resolute voice came from behind the approaching helmet.

“What the hell the person who just now aimed for the back is saying right now!”

“…Kuku-“ A slight chuckle could be heard from the inside of the helmet, Kazuki doubted his ears.

Was she laughing, this woman? Even in front of a pure head-on fight…?

“You guys! I’ll beat this guy(the Basileus)! Hold out until I finish!!”

“Everyone! I’ll beat this guy(the King)! I’ll wait until you all take care of those guys!!”

Saying those words for the first time, Kazuki felt a special meaning from that.

This was… his first [battle against a Basileus]. It was different with the time when he wagered the seat of Basileus with Ikousai. They were carrying the Mythology on their backs. They were carrying their own ideals on their backs. This was not a simple contest of strength or killing each other.

What came from the weight of what they shouldered was not nervousness, it was exaltation. Kazuki felt he understood the meaning of Clark’s laugh. Even this Clark could feel like that in this situation.

“Kushihebi no Tachi!”

Ame no Murakumo flexibly transformed while blocking the fist. The edge of the rippling blade was circling while attacking Clark. Clark agilely reacted and grabbed at the blade with her right hand.

The eye-visor of Clark’s helmet shined glaringly at that instant.

Clark was striking at him with the Vibra Shield at her left arm. Kazuki separated his right hand from Ame no Murakumo that he held with two hand and blocked that shield with his hand. Just like that their strength was balanced.

“O light of freedom, illuminate the darkness, show the justice! Justice Blast(Beam of Judgement)!!”

Clark’s eye-visor at her helmet let out strong red-hot light.

From there a straight beam was shot with a *ZAP!*

Although Kazuki had Foresighted it, he couldn’t evade with his posture still in a lock with Clark. Kazuki immediately released his left hand that was holding Ame no Murakumo and averted his body using his right hand that was grasping at the shield as fulcrum.

“You let go of your weapon!?”

No ― Ame no Murakumo undulated like a snake and automatically twined around Kazuki’s hand.

However the aim was to break Kazuki’s posture, Clark’s right hand ― the <Justice Knuckle> was held aloft. <Yasakani no Magatama> at Kazuki’s left hand pulsated ― [Use me, use my power] it was as if it was saying that.

…Because the power of King Solomon was sealed, the three Sacred Treasures were self-asserting themselves in a way they had never done before.

By any chance these guys, they might be actually feeling really jealous.

“Shut and seal, <Yasakani no Magatama>! Kaicho Kaikon ― Hachimon Shibari!!”

With a snap the string of magatama enlarged and enfolded out From Kazuki’s left wrist, tightening at Clark’s body in many layers.

But just before Clark’s whole body was tied, she shifted her own body and made only her lower body escape from the binding. She stepped strongly on the ground with her free right foot, and swung her left foot powerfully…!

“O Stars and Stripes, please inspire the hero’s dancing movement… Dynamite Kick(Glory’s Explosive Foot)!!”

ZUBAAAAAAAAAN!* Kazuki received a terrific impact at his flank.

He bled off its power by jumping back behind just before it hit, but even so… it was heavy.

It was a power that made him question if his defensive magic power might explode if he ate that kick fully.

“Being a hero the instant you put on your helmet, are you really that kind of character huh, Clark Moore!”

“I am America’s justice! There is not a single speck of shadow in my pride!!”

“Throwing away your human heart, using inhuman methods, you can still say that that’s justice!?”

Kazuki attacked verbally what he wanted to say all this time but couldn’t say because of his cooperative position with America.

“I can say it! This country knows… that power is justice! In the first place this America never cares of its method!!”

Once, in the old era, America as the strongest country in the world was a country that acted as the agent of order and justice. If such a country was overturned and lost its power… perhaps it was only something natural for the people of the country that had thinking like Clark to appear. When they were once a strong country, they implicitly said to the weak [if you have any complaint then try to be like this], and so maybe now that they were weaklings themselves they didn’t make a single complaint, they didn’t even beg for help, only dignifiedly trying to do something about it themselves.

Power was exactly justice ― both when they were strong and also when they were weak, America continued to consistently persist in that proudly.

Clark was going to pursue Kazuki who was blown away by the kick. With her upper body still tied by the magatama, Clark emitted light from her helmet once more.

“Justice Blast!”

Kazuki performed ukemi on the ground while ― with his body moving half by itself, he held up Yata no Kagami at the light. It could be said that the mirror was moving Kazuki’s body as it pleased itself.

“Become the light that doesn’t recognize that, <Yata no Kagami>! Fuukyou Kaikon ― Tsukuyomi no Kagami!” (Note: Seal Mirror Soul Release ― Tsukuyomi’s Mirror)

The moon read the direction of the light, and then it freely controlled that. It was the power of <Tsukuyomi>. Yata no Kagami was a worshiped object of Amaterasu, but each of the three Sacred Treasures was conceiving the power of each of the three honored gods.

Yata no Kagami disassembled the vector of the powerful heat beam and reflected the energy as it was to Clark. “Fuh!” However Clark powerfully opened both her arms and tore off the binding of the magatama, and then she scattered the light using Vibra Pentagon on her left arm.

The magatama shrank back to its previous form because the magic power that Kazuki poured into it had been destroyed, before it twined itself around Kazuki’s left wrist once more. Both of them glared at each other while fixing back their stance.

Strong. Of course his power of Solomon was also sealed but… however she unexpectedly didn’t have any bad habit with fortitude and vigorous strength, her way of fighting that picked at the opponent’s weak point with numerous magic worked really well. And most important of all, compared to all the enemies he had faced until now… her mind was strong.

Even without any of her scheming, Clark’s most special characteristic was surely her [unshakeableness].

“I am justice.” With her silver suit and her flapping mantel, she said that once again.

Aah, perhaps you didn’t need to be ashamed for anything. However…

“That justice of yours, I’ll deny it with my justice!!”

Kazuki didn’t retreat for even a single step and talked back strongly.

―The Basileus of Japanese Mythology must constantly possess a wide field of vision no matter what.

In order to use the Power of Harmony to the whole battlefield.

In a slight distance away from the one-on-one fight between Kazuki and Clark, the remaining five Numbers and Kazuki’s comrades were also confronting each other. There was a large difference between their numbers, but the other side was almost completely uninjured, even though all of Kazuki’s comrades were burdened with quite an exhaustion.

Using the Power of Harmony, Kazuki distributed magic power to six people of Kanae, Beatrix, Mio, Koyuki, Kaguya-senpai, and Hikaru-senpai. With this, those six people’s magic power were completely recovered and even boosted past that.

They couldn’t use the telepathic communication, but Mio intuitively understood Kazuki’s feeling.

“Right now, let’s fight with the people that were distributed with magic power by Kazuki!”

Six people ― if the number of people was too much then each one’s magic power would become smaller, increasing the danger of being hit by a powerful attack in the worst chance. But it was also important to win in the number of moves against an opponent with a large number of people.

Japan VS America ― even while Kazuki was concentrating at Clark, he determined the starting members with the Power of Harmony.

…Kazuki himself, still had yet to use the Power of Harmony on himself.

Part 2

“King said to hold out, but she won’t mind even if we defeat them all right?”

“Calm down, Thomas. There is the Basileus of Britain at the other side see. Never forget the self-awareness that we are a young Mythology.”

“But Adylle. Isn’t that Britain Basileus drawing back to the rear? …Also it seems like for some reason the Japanese are also giving us just six opponents. I wonder if they are underestimating us?”

“That’s why calm down, Thomas. I felt their magic powers are moving largely. Their magic power is concentrated on those six with some kind of method. I’m not feeling it at all that Japan is cutting corners here.”

The five Numbers had already transformed into their Magic Dresses. Those were strange dresses from looking at them. Before the battle, those five were unanimously introducing themselves saying “It’s a rare chance that we are normally facing each other like this.”

“My name is Thomas Hanks. The third Numbers that is contracted with the embodiment of [Hollywood movies], <Enjoy & Exciting(Wild Enthusiasm)>. I’m going to crush all you Japanese except Mister Kurosawa.”

She was a gorgeous woman with sunglasses and a fur coat put on her shoulder. Her attire looked like a simple celebrity clothing at a glance, but golden lights were emitted from here and there on her outfit.

“My name is Adylle Anderson. Symbolizing [contract] and [lawsuit]… I am contracted with <Black & White(Justice Scales)>. The Number 4. I’ll judge your right and wrong.”

She was a small statured girl with bob hair and a monocle. Putting on a mantel with extreme border design of white and black, her lower body was like underwear figure and on her back was an avatar of scale floating.

“I am Madonna Vicmanish! The magician of Diva <Queen Bee(Queen of Light)> of [cheer spirit]! My number is 7! I’m rooting at everyone and make them shine!” 𝙛r𝚎𝐞𝑤𝚎𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝚕.𝒄𝐨𝓂

The woman with amazingly sensual lips and body figure was shaking her butt in her cheerleader-style Magic Dress while talking. Her butt was a splendid butt that would make one go ‘ooo-’ even if it was the same sex that was seeing it.

“This one is Domingo Clemens. Numbers 8 that art contracted with the Diva that symbolized [baseball], <Make Drama(Dramatic Victory)>. This one art thinking to work hard at this Japan-America baseball.”

Regardless that she was a woman, her hair was shaved in crew cut, showing her solid head. She was wearing a Magic Dress that had no way to be described other than a baseball uniform as it was.

“…Ridley Spillback. Diva of [space development] <NASA(Visitor)>… the last number 9.”

Was it the influence of Ridley’s Magic Dress, but her skin had a blue discoloration, her look that was wearing a silver suit was the typical alien of the fiction world.

Number 1 Red, Number 2 Jeremy, Number 5 Mary, Number 6 Ginny, those four were missing, but their majestic appearance… no, their eccentric appearance made Mio shudder.

“So this is American Justice’s Numbers! How should I say it… it feels like the large gathering of variety shows isn’t it? As expected from the country of freedom… it’s just too free. Moreover, somehow, many of you are not moe…”

American Justice Mythology was not a mythology that had been talked in a long history. The symbolic spirituality of the modern American culture was made into Divas as a mass of magic power.

However it seemed that there was almost no personality in the Divas.

“Kana-chan and Beatrix are the vanguards, me and Hikaru are the mid-range. Mio-chan and Koyuki-chan will support from the rearguard. I think Otouto-kun chose us with that kind of intention.”

Kaguya-senpai quickly gave instructions.

“…Kaguya-senpai, I think if it’s the current me then I can chant the level 10.”

Koyuki pulled at Kaguya-senpai’s Magic Dress and said that.

Mio who was standing right beside her went “Eeehh-!?” and directed eyes filled with shock and doubt at Koyuki. Kaguya-senpai also opened her eyes wide and made a face that searched for Koyuki’s true feeling staringly, but she immediately *pon* clapped her hand in understanding.

“Is that so, in the first place Koyuki-chan is an elf that has a lot of magic power after all…! Perhaps the Power of Harmony also influences the original size of the vessel.”

“Perhaps Kazuki also planned for that, that he poured a lot of magic power into me.”

Mio kicked and struggled saying “Favoritism is unfair~ unfair~”, but Koyuki decided to ignore her.

“We should end this in a brief battle with a single powerful strike without getting damage as much as possible. If we can win with spare strength left, Kazuki can use that for himself with the Power of Harmony. Our magic power is already not just ours anymore.”

Mio who was protesting unreasonably pondered with a serious face then she soon nodded from hearing Koyuki.

Japanese Mythology too was by no means a strong Mythology. The way of fighting of Japanese Mythology was exactly to economize their use of power.

“In other words it’s all fine if I disturb those bunch without getting damage. That’s exactly my specialty.”

A muddy black magic power was coiling about at the katana <Michikage> in Kanae’s hand. What possessed the black blade turning it into a Sacred Treasure was ― the Demon King of rage, <Beleth>.

“Applaud my secret sword, Kuroneko Michikage! Battou Kaikon ― <Kokui Musou>!!” (Note: Peerless Black Cloth)

Beleth and Kanae’s souls hailed each other, the black magic power emitted from Michikage became a <Sacred Treasure Dress> that resembled a Magic Dress. That Dress would burst up Kanae’s power the more her movements reached closer to her quintessence.

“I don’t get the difficult things but… anyway it’s fine if I just rampage! Those bunch’s appearance are completely unclear but, I’m looking forward to what kind of attack they are going to use!!”

Beatrix was happily preparing her two-handed sword.

“Looks like your discussion is over already! Let’s go!!”

Thomas proclaimed that and began her spell chanting ― “Slow-!!”

The moment she reached the end of her incantation, the black cat was already in front of her eyes.

“…Eh?” Thomas who looked at that unknown speed had a diagonal line of light running through her body.

Hayashizaki-style Dream Sword the second ― <Shin’iki>. The slash that was launched with a perfect movement shook the magic power of the person chanting a spell. It granted impact at the most vital pillar that configured the magic phenomenon, destroying it completely.

Beleth gave his blessing to that perfect technique, boosting its destructive power.

While Thomas was blown away, the sensation of her spell dispersed into nothing made her raise a scream.

“The, the spell is… broken!”

“Fa, fast-…!?” Toward Adylle that opened wide her eyes at the side,

“Nyaaaaaaa!” Kanae immediately slashed with her returning blade. The second attack was a little rough and it didn’t reach Shin’iki, but “Guh-!” it was enough to scare Adylle.

“I see… with the magic power allocated from Nii-sama, my body is lighter than usual. My Enchant Aura is becoming sharper. It has benefits even for swordsman like me.”

With the speed and power that were more than usual, Kanae felt just a little heartrending numbness. Kanae felt numb from this easy power-up precisely because of her habitual severe training that she kept repeating, yet she was also feeling moved.

“You art fast, but it’s a speed that this one can hit!”

The baseball uniform woman, Domingo approached Kanae while her hand grasped a golden light.

“The one hit of victory for the sake of the sick little girl right here… Golden Bat(The Promised Home Run Until Outside the Stadium)!!”

A sharp horizontal swing attacked Kanae. Kanae had already Foresighted it and took a back-step.

But it didn’t end with that. The bat that was hitting empty air deviated from its original trajectory, ignoring physical phenomenon like the law of inertia the bat pursued Kanae. That action rather than saying it was Domingo that was swinging the bat, it was more like the bat was turned into a tracking missile that pulled Domingo along. “Uwaa-, don’t come here with gross movements like thatt-!!” Kanae screamed from the repulsiveness.

“If it’s something like that then try to compare your strength with me!! I’m going to take your attack without running away!!”

In front of Domingo that was chasing Kanae, Beatrix quickly cut in with her large sword.

KAKIIIIN!* Weapon and magic power aura collided.

“O divine protection of warrior, double the megin whirling in my body! The will of god spurring me to unlimited fights, in this body! …Meginjord!”

Beatrix obtained the divine protection of strengthening from Norse Mythology’s Diva Thor and pushed back.

“If thou think that this one art skillful in only hitting then it’s a major mistake… O protein residing in this body, combine with my magic power and form a body of steel Clemens… Destroy Steroid(Explosive Flesh Tempering Muscle Art)!!”

As if a balloon had air blown as hard as one could into it, Domingo’s body swelled out several times larger. Her Magic Dress was not torn up though it strained tightly on her. Of course that growth was not from air but it was all muscle. “I want that magic!” Beatrix’s eyes opened wide.

“How does the Diva of baseball do something like that!?” Kanae retorted with a startled face.

“NGOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The enlarged Domingo was pushing at Beatrix.

“Fu-fu-fu… but you cannot win against my beloved muscle that received magic power from Kazuki! Muscle is not about volume, it’s about quality!! FUNNUOOOOOO!!”

“Im, impossible… NGOOOOOOOO-!!”

The muscle daruma was overturned after being out-pushed by Beatrix. (Note: Daruma=Tumbling doll)

“Fuh-…it’s interesting doing contest of strength, but being toyed around by Kazuki’s technique is more enjoyable. Kazuki who no matter how I chase and chase yet he keeps getting away… is exciting.” (Note: I don’t know if Beatrix here is saying ‘exciting’, or it’s her saliva spilling out.)

“…Nii-sama being popular didn’t start since just now, but this girl is really a bad news…”

Kanae was looking at Beatrix with completely cold eyes.

“Thy is sinful! My scale changes that sin into heavy mud!”

At that time, Adylle was sending magic power at Kanae and Beatrix.

“Guilty Conscious(Black Mud Imprisonment)!”

The magic power that was emitted from that fingertips coiled around the bodies of the two and produced something that looked like black mud.

“Mu!?” It was heavily punishing the two.

When Beatrix slashed further at Domingo, the weight increased with each of her strikes.

“Sin she said… so this is a magic that imposes weight in response to damage that we inflicted on then. Fufufu, interesting! Show me how heavy you can be!! Show me if you can make me submit with that weight!!”

“Eh… this person, she is a masochist? Sca…scary…” Adylle was trembling.

“Eeei, it’s hard to move with this heaviness!”

Kanae was making a bitter face with her greatest weapon stolen, yet she kept chasing around Thomas with <Kuroneko Michikage> in hand. “Let me use magic too! Don’t chase just me with that spell-obstructing sword!” Thomas ran while crying.

In order to give backup to those people, Kaguya-senpai and Hikaru-senpai and Mio, then Madonna and Ridley, they were firing attack magic and support magic at each other from long range.

“Koyuki! Come on, finish your chanting quickly!!”

When Mio turned to Koyuki saying that, Koyuki replied “Understood” while dribbling with cold sweat from the difficult spell chanting.

Part 3

Unnoticed, the evening sun was going down. The curtain of night was falling down both on Las Vegas dome’s outside and inside. The moon that was reflected on the dome and the true moon that was at the other side of the damaged dome were rising up to the sky.

The towering skyscrapers were clad in light of electricity. There was shadows dancing in that light.

“Comprise all possibility, o spider string, cut the wind and fly! The single fleeting string is harder than steel, pulling closer even destiny…! Spiders Drive(Flying Dash Net)!!”

Pure white strings flew from the right wrist of Clark. While the string was like a steel it was thin, its tip was possessing a terrific adhesive power. Clark let flew the spider string to the skyscraper and moved three-dimentionally in the night sky. Just when Kazuki thought that she was dancing in the night sky like Tarzan, she kicked the building and accelerated even more, flying around freely. Even if he could Foresight her movement, it was hard to follow along with that movement.

Kazuki released pure white light from Ame no Murakumo and unleashed its power.

“Become the Yahiroshiro Chidori and soar, <Ame no Murakumo>! Battou Kaikon ― Shiratori no Misasagi!!” (Note: Yahiroshiro Chidori=Eight fathom white wisdom bird, might be a name from myth. Shiratori no Misasagi=White Bird’s Imperial Mauseloum.)

Just like Yamato Takeru that turned into a white bird and soared to the sky, Kazuki received white wings with soft plumage at his back and pursued Clark in the air. *BANG ! BANG! BANG!* Clark kicked the buildings one after another and flew around in sharp angles relying on the spider strings.

Suddenly, Clark grasped with her right hand tightly.

“…Tangle Calamity(Twining Spider String)!!”

Kazuki who was pursuing Clark was lured into a trap before he noticed it. At the zone where Kazuki flapped his wing and entered, there were countless spider threads laid out. Those strings were all connected to the five fingers of Clark’s right hand ― the instant she made a fist tightly, all of the strings fell all at once onto Kazuki.

The strings that were approaching in super high speed were tough even while being thin ― it was the same like a slash that had incomparable sharpness. “You really gave me a lot of trouble, but there is no place to escape for you!” Clark yelled.

ZING!* All those were approaching from every single direction.

It couldn’t be cut? Was it really couldn’t be cut ― he could cut it!

“Show me your power not as a Sacred Treasure but as a single katana, Ame no Murakumo! I am a sword user that won’t shame you!!”

Determining a single string from the countless strings that came flying at him drawing complicated trajectories, Kazuki swung down Ame no Murakumo. If his slash slanted for even a little, then the sword edge would only slide from the string. The swung down flash from moving the muscles of his whole body went through at the right angle with not even a bit of deviation ― *PAAN!* The strained string was bisected.

“No way!?” Clark yelled while gliding in the air.

Kazuki who opened a way to escape from the slashes that were besieging him by bisecting one of the strings, slipped through the zone of death. He flapped the wings of a white bird and read which building Clark would fly to next.

Circling ahead to that destination, he finally overtook her.

Tangle Calamity ― it was the same name as the technique that man used.

“You really liked Red Metallica didn’t you, Clark!”

Now that they were settling their disputes, he didn’t need to hide that anymore.

“Damn straight! You killing him… made me really furious, Hayashizaki Kazuki!!”

He couldn’t see her expression from her helmet but ― Clark spouted out human-like words that were far removed from her impression until now. He thought it was far likable compared to the Clark until now.

“That guy’s fate was to be defeated by someone someday!”

He didn’t have any plan to be a na?ve person whose blade would dull from guilt at this late hour now that the situation had reached this point.

“What do you bastard know about Red!”

Facing Kazuki who arrived before her at the building ahead, Clark threw the Vibra Pentagon at her left arm.

Against the flying shield, Kazuki held Ame no Murakumo aloft vertically. The blade ran along the side of the flying shield and with a delicate control the shield tilted diagonally. There was not even a little impact on Ame no Murakumo, the trajectory of the approaching Vibra Pentagon changed and flew past Kazuki in paper-thin difference, breaking the building in its path.

“Acting skillful just with a single sword!”

The eye-visor of Clark’s helmet shone, *ZAP! ZAP!* and beams were fired consecutively. Kazuki flew, slipping through the several streaks of beams and slashed at Clark right from the front.

Clark tried to grab at Kazuki’s sword,

“Kushihebi no Tachi!”

Ame no Murakumo that Kazuki swung undulated, it slipped through and cut apart diagonally.

“I know about you and Red, I caught a glimpse of yours and his past!”

Clark’s expression distorted in surprise for an instant. Even while her body was shaking from the impact of the smashed magic, Clark landed on the side surface of the building, “Where did you see things like people’s past! That’s really a shameful act!”

Clark once again kicked at the building and flew at him in a bounce.

“I’ll stop the way you all do thing! I won’t let you sacrifice anyone anymore!!”

Once again both of them clashed. Kazuki swung down Kushihebi no Tachi once again. The instant the sword’s line twisted like a snake, Clark’s eye-visor shined with light.

…He was seen through! The instant Kazuki had that hunch, Clark’s left hand grabbed Kazuki’s Ame no Murakumo.

“I’ll say it to you simply! You think I pay sacrifices because I like it huh!!”

With a terrific herculean strength, Kazuki was swung around together with his sword by Clark’s left hand. *BOOOM!* He was let go with great momentum and crashed into the building. Splinters were fluttering down in pieces.

…That’s right. Now that he fought her he understood, she was doing what she did not because she liked it from the bottom of her heart. Right now, Clark was enjoying fighting a Basileus right from the front.

But she couldn’t keep continuing her way.

“You cannot use anything except the power of Sacred Treasures.”

Clark stood on top of the destroyed building and talked to Kazuki who was caved in at the wall of the building right ahead.

“I’m observing the situation because I don’t know what kind of King’s Authority you have but… most likely you don’t have any power that you haven’t used yet, right now you cannot use anything right?”

Kazuki was startled inside his heart. However he exerted himself to not show that agitation on the surface.

Kazuki was not using the Power of Harmony at himself.

“From your reaction just now, I hit the bull’s eye huh.” Regardless of Kazuki’s expressionless face, Clark drew that conclusion. “Your shoulder is tense you know? That’s a reaction of stress.”

Of course Kazuki also noticed ― Clark too wasn’t using King’s Authority.

If she used the <Power of Wealth> ahead of him…

“Your fingertips are full of tension there. Even if you endure your stress, it will come out somewhere in your body. You are going to be troubled if I use mine first right?”

“…I wonder if it’s fine for you to use yours first?” Kazuki bluffed like that even while he thought that it might be useless.

“I thought exactly like that. I was observing the situation thinking if you have ability like null effect, seal, or deprivation. …But it’s fine to discard that worry. Most important of all those Numbers can’t hold out. In other words it’s like that. You are waiting for the battle at the other side to end.”

The gaze behind Clark’s visor felt like she was flipping over the card open that he importantly faced down. It was useless no matter what he said.

Clark spread both her arms and chanted loudly like singing.

“…The highly proud hero, is standing here carrying the heroically flapping Stars and Stripes on his shoulder.

Passing the darkness of suffering of a number of nights, until the arrival of the faint light of the dawn.

The Stars and Stripes fluttered throughout the night, until it’s wrapped in the joy of victory.”

The spread arms were pulsating. From inside Clark, magic power wavelength that was different with Clark herself was welling up like a vortex. It looked similar to someone who was being encroached by a Diva.

“The long darkness of night dwells in my body.

The land that should be saved in the sky, pray to be blessed with victory and peace.

Storing the night of suffering, the power to protect the country to the end is shouldered here.

O riches of sacrifice, o wealth, become spilled black blood and flow in my body.”

He had the feeling that the lights of the buildings of Las Vegas were becoming darker. Not only Las Vegas, all of America’s civilization and riches were turned into magic power and flowed into Clark.

Cracks were running on her silver suit and helmet.

“I am a proud hero, everything other than Stars and Stripes are going to be dyed black.

O god, o justice, see this jet black clearly.”

The silver suit and helmet cracked. Dazzling blonde hair and black magic power brilliantly overflowed out from the broken silver cracks. The Diva’s original Magic Dress was overwritten by Clark’s own personal pitch black. The raised King’s Authority was painted pure black by the jet black methods of the owner.

“Super One(My America)”

The ominous black magic power that overflowed out distorted the Magic Dress irregularly with its left and right looking asymmetric, making it lose its original motif(heroic). What was standing there was a figure that couldn’t be called as anything other than a demon. Her helmet was completely broken ― exposing bare the unpainted face of Clark who believed herself as justice.

The personification of the black justice was standing in Kazuki’s way with her back facing the two moons.

…Judging from the thickness of her Enchant Aura, she was different. It was so different that it made his skin felt frizzy from being opposite of her. Kazuki unintentionally became concerned of his comrades’ battle situation.

“…Just now, you were concerned about the other side huh.” It was her usual cold tone that was like steel.

Kazuki kicked the building where he was caved in right away and flapped the wings of the white bird. Without even hiding his intention to buy time, Kazuki attempted to gain distance from Clark.

“…O black will that is residing in the earth, resonate, paint over everything. Gravity Bind(Hand of Creeping Up Power).”

It was as if the flying away Kazuki was pulled by an unseen hand, he was drawn to the ground. He somehow adjusted his stance and landed down. Kazuki sent his gaze at Clark who was jumping down to the ground in pursuit of him. Clark’s silver suit was cracked, from the black protuberance that was growing out all over it, some kind of magic power was emitted. …Even by reading the flow of magic power, Kazuki couldn’t grasp the magic phenomenon’s true character. …Was it gravity?

…Wrong. It was not merely making the body heavier. Blood drew back from inside his head and his consciousness felt like it was getting far away. It was similar like being in anemia, this was…

“It’s magnetism. My black magic power is exerting its influence at the iron inside your blood.”

―The blood that was flowing through his whole body was heading down to the ground, with that his whole body became heavier.

“Your sword skill is the result of your delicate technique right? I wonder how much you can endure with your body sense going mad.”

Clark’s eyes shined, *ZAP!* firing a beam at him. It was not a surprise attack, he could Foresight it. He bent his body back evading that, but his body staggered feebly.

His blood interfered with him… it harmed his body sense to a fatal degree.

“I wonder how much you can hold out with my current magic power!”

With a powerful body with black magic power covering it like an armor, Clark kicked the ground.

“Shut and seal, <Yasakani no Magatama>! Kaicho Kaikon ― Hachimon Shibari!!”

Kazuki immediately let loose Yasakani no Magatama. The string of magatama that spread out widely while flying entangled itself at the coming Clark.

“You think the same way will work, against this me!”

The instant the string of magatama tried to restrain Clark, Clark’s body distorted due to the black magic power.

The location of her joints, the shape of her muscles, her original form and nature as a human experienced a sudden change. Like a ninja that escaped a rope binding, no just like an amoeba that naturally could get away from a rope! Clark slipped away from the string of magatama.

“The current me is closer to a Demon Beast than a human!”

Kazuki was shaken. Clark had quit being a human while still retaining her self!

Flesh was nothing more than a container of the soul. But just because of that regulating the absurd transformation on one’s own body because of magic power was impossible to do without extraordinary willpower.

If it was normally, just like when the Takasugi brothers turned into Yamata no Orochi, or like when the Chiefs turned into the chimera, their mind would be completely crumbled.

Clark threw away everything except her pride and victory, she even threw away her existence as a human and turned into a monster before assaulting Kazuki.

Clark’s right arm swelled out explosively while swinging down at Kazuki. Furthermore the blood in Kazuki’s whole body was controlled through magnetism, it was as if he was going to leap at that destructive attack by himself.

“UOOOOOOOOOOOO-!”

Kazuki forcefully controlled his body while yelling. He blocked the enlarged fist of Clark with Ame no Murakumo, without trying to go against that tremendous impact, he warded off the attack with his body handling.

“You really did it huh!” Clark raised an admiring voice.

<Instant Positioning>. The fist that Clark swung with all her power was warded off to the wrong direction and her body posture broke.

No, her posture didn’t break ― the joints of Clark’s body twisted. Distorted. Kazuki immediately noticed.

Even in a posture that was impossible to launch an attack if it was with a human shape ― if it was the current Clark then it wouldn’t become a problem.

The current her was able to seamlessly unleash an attack with her whole strength no matter what kind of posture she was in!

She completely ignored the concept of form and combination in martial arts!

Clark’s right arm shriveled, this time it was her left arm that expanded imbalancedly. That left arm flew at him turning and twisting like a jelly from an impossible direction.

His blade wouldn’t make it in time, Kazuki blocked that fist with Ame no Murakumo’s pommel.

By no means he opposed the pressure of the fist ― he shifted the vector slightly.

“With your current out of order sense, you think you can do that technique with your sword handle huh!”

“Kuh-!” However against the difference of pressure that was too much, it was Kazuki whose posture was broken.

Right after that, Clark’s kick came flying from a direction that should be impossible for a body to bend.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THATTTTT!!” Kazuki reflexively raised a yell of desperation.

Clark’s fierce attack was a [violence] that overturned Kazuki’s identity as a martial artist from its roots. It was as if that body was completely sneering at the martial arts that was trained from human limbs―!

No, it was the end if his mind yielded. …Who would lose here!

Kazuki brought his courage and blocked that kick right from the front.

At the moment of the clash he bent his upper body as much as he could while taking a back step. He rotated his body vertically ― like a feather dancing in the wind, he made the impact of the kick vanish like mist.

Kazuki rolled backwards on the asphalt using the momentum.

“Even martial arts looks like acrobatics when it reaches the extreme huh! But you cannot run anymore from there!!”

Clark’s right hand enlarged to crush Kazuki while swinging down.

The ground was at his back ― there was nothing he could do anymore. Kazuki was crushed by the palm of a giant and caved into the asphalt. His defensive magic power ruptured and completely gone. If he was caved into the ground then martial arts wouldn’t do a damn at all. Clark raised her right hand and then like a child throwing a tantrum she kept hitting over and over.

Still not yet!? Kazuki yelled inside his heart. Was his intention not conveyed to Koyuki…!?

At that time, from a separate distance that was in the middle of battle, a large magic power was swelling, a cold that was felt even until this side was generated. He knew this magic power.

―Diamond Dust?Absolute Zero!

“…So the Numbers got done in!”

Clark clicked her tongue, while even now she was going to persistently swing down her palm to Kazuki.

‘It’s fine already, borrowing everyone’s power…!

―That instant, with the Power of Harmony, Kazuki concentrated all the magic power everyone had to himself.

Vitality overflowed through his whole body, powerfully accelerating him. This was everyone’s… Power of Harmony!

Like a squashed spring springing up from the recoil, Kazuki shook himself free from the asphalt and stood up. He held up Ame no Murakumo at the swung down giant palm.

It was not parrying the attack, he opposed it right from the front!

Vast magic power and magic power clashed and shockwaves exploded. Stepping firmly on the rising ground, Kazuki’s two legs broke the asphalt further while the asphalt got buried to the ground, Clark’s body floated.

With that Kazuki finally leaped back and he was able to recover some distance.

“Kazu-nii!” “Kazuki!” “Otouto-kun!” “Nii-sama!”

While several of his comrades called at him, they rushed to his side.

“Burn to ash all that you touch… the flame embrace without any place to go! Self Burning?Embrace!!”

With Mio transformed into Chouki Magician her magic was reinforced, with that Kazuki was wrapped in armor of flame that was like the wings of the undying bird enclosing him in an embrace.

“Lightning placed on yearning granting the lightning thought and god speed… wake up the sleeping lion! Connect Ligthning(True Spirit Thunder God)!!”

With Hikaru-senpai transformed into Chouki Magician, her reinforcement magic could be targeted to someone else other than her which she used at Kazuki, it accelerated his body.

“Sink even the splendor, lock in the eternal freeze o stream of black freeze… my betrayer is also there! Judeca Cocytus(River of Unceasing Freezing Grief)!”

“O tear of mermaid, reveal the grief of your heart to the world. That neighboring chair with no person, the blank space of album, wake them up in the freezing world… Solitary?White Album(Lonesome Ice White)!”

Kaguya-senpai and Koyuki, with their transformation to Chouki Magician they released ice magic that had its power reinforced to Kazuki’s direction. The black and white freezing air whirled like a spiral towards him.

“Carry the mystery in your blade crest, <Ame no Murakumo>! Battou Kaikon ― Tsumugari no Taichi!!”

In one swing Kazuki tore apart the two color of freezing air with Ame no Murakumo. With the Sacred Treasure’s power that controlled every natural phenomenon, the freezing air was thoroughly compressed inside the sword blade.

…He felt as if he had obtained a combat ability that could oppose his opponent.

Clark took a glance at Kazuki’s comrades that came running.

“…So the Numbers, lost to the Japanese that wasn’t helped by Britain’s Basileus.”

“Don’t think that I’m defiling this one-on-one fight okay.”

Kazuki said that from his awkwardness of relying on his comrades.

“I’m not looking for anything like a one-on-one fight.”

“You liar, you enjoyed it right?”

Clark’s expression shook hearing what Kazuki pointed out.

“I enjoyed it you know. Though in the latter half it’s already the best I can do to just endure.”

Clark chuckled ‘kuku’. “You are a charming man huh.”

Looking at that smiling face… Kazuki rethought back Clark as a human. Thinking about it, even while he was thinking of her as a monster, he was also feeling her human aspect all along while fighting her.

“…The one who take out the power of America’s civilization and wealth first is me. Then this is not anything like a one-on-one fight, it’s a fight to compare the things we shouldered.”

“That’s right huh, I too have things that I shouldered…!”

Kazuki prepared his freezing blade. With that as the signal, Clark who was honestly waiting for Kazuki to take his stance leaped at Kazuki.

Sword and fist clashed. Kazuki tilted his blade and parried the fist. Clark distorted her whole body again and let loose a barrage of full swings from an impossible posture.

But compared to before, she was an instant slower. …Clark’s fist that was blocked by his blade froze from the chill and by approaching Kazuki closer her body was burned by flames. The impact of her smashed magic constantly paralyzed Clark’s body a little.

Kazuki whose flesh and mind were accelerated overtook that barrage this time. Like a willow swayed by the wind, he cancelled all of their momentum. His combat strength was completely overtaking it.

“Are you matching the current me equally… this me that is shouldering this many things…!?”

At the other side of the heat of the flame, a slight fury was appearing at her human look.

Her smiling face just now, and this fury too, was cues of emotions that wouldn’t exist in a person that had thrown away her humanity.

“The thing that I shouldered is also not light.”

“Bonds you mean… that’s the power of greed.”

“You cast away too much of everything.”

“This means that this is a battle between me that threw away all that I have, and you who fights in order to protect…!”

That moment, as if a steel mask was broken, emotions overflowed at Clark’s face.

A fist of fury came striking at Kazuki. Kazuki followed that speed and blocked with his blade that was carrying chill. It became a strained blade locking contest, the face of the two drew near at each other’s.

Clark bared her fang at Kazuki with a ghastly expression.

“In other words this is a chicken race of whose desires goes farther! Those Indians throw away everything and didn’t desire anything! That kind of thing is just running away…! I throw away everything except the barest pride as bet! That is… the way I do things as a weakling that was born in the street!!”

“I desire everything! All of my comrades, I won’t throw any single one of them!”

“You na?ve brat! If you have the confidence to not lose anyone to do that then just try it! …I won’t lose to someone like you!! Lose to me in this place… and lose everything!!”

From Clark… he could feel an excessive emotional strain.

Kazuki parried a fist fueled by anger by turning around his body. Clark’s posture was destroyed, however from there she modified her body and incessantly tried to repeat her attack ― her jet black body stiffened with its shape still human. At that time, Clark failed her modification.

Right now in this moment, Clark was completely returning to human.

Her mind was wavered from the clash of her will against Kazuki’s will.

The moment human expression came to her surface, she became unable to wield that power perfectly.

“What happened…!?” Clark raised an agitated yell. The act of distorting your own flesh body was impossible when the mind couldn’t cast away your own humanity. Clark was completely unaware of it herself.

“Otouto-kun, don’t lose!” A cheer came from Kaguya-senpai.

He thought that he didn’t want to show her his disgraceful appearance.

Kazuki’s power of bond exhibited its power exactly because it was exerted by human emotion.

“There is no way I’ll lose to you, Clark Moore!!”

Kazuki’s second slash, overflowing with emotion, captured Clark’s stiffened body.

Super high speed sword and fist crossed each other on countless occasions ― which one hit the opponent, which one hit empty air, people other than the two were absolutely unable to perceive what was happening.

But during the several times, several tens of times, during the exchange of slash and fist, in a little bit of time the magic power of one side was obviously shaved. The impact of the smashed magic from each time of that pushed the stance of defense and offense into disadvantage, Clark who wasn’t in her demon form anymore couldn’t rally herself using the flesh modification.

The magic power and concentration of the both of them were all poured into this intensifying offense and defense, there was no gap to exchange chant.

Several hundred. This wouldn’t be decided in one go by a grand magic, only paper-thin slashes tilting the trend to one side bit by bit, these offense and defense sliced to pieces even the mind of the inferior side.

Clark opened wide her eyes that were dyed deep red in rage. At that moment a critical hit ran diagonally through Clark’s shoulder until her hips. Finally, Clark’s body was sinking behind while she was looking up to the sky.

“You don’t lose anything.”

Kazuki accosted the collapsed Clark like that.

“I’ll also protect America to stay America. I won’t change anything.”

Against those words of Kazuki ― there were two people among Kazuki’s comrades that were rushing to him, that showed symmetrical reaction. Arthur whose objective was to spread to the world the faith of the chief god that he was contracted with, and Shouko who was the leader of Ryouzanpaku that opposed the ideology of invasion of Chukadou. Arthur’s expression was a little bitter, he had hesitation, while Shouko’s expression had a faint smile.

Clark made a single sigh as if exhaling out her soul from the bottom of her stomach, and accepted those words.

Part 4

“King! …King!!”

A messenger rushed into Las Vegas’ dome and froze in place from the shock of witnessing that scene. Looking at his master Clark fall down, was an unthinkable sight for him.

“What?” Although most of her magic power was used up, Clark still retained her Magic Dress. That fact made the messenger even more bewildered, but Clark ordered “Don’t worry about it, just report.”

“Those Indians’ holy land is…! Wakan Tanka is!!”

Clark’s complexion changed.

America still hadn’t arrived at their goal.

“Wakan Tanka is closing in! It moved while swallowing the soldiers…!”

Something dreadful was happening exactly in the battlefield of Colorado River.

Kazuki and co. and Clark exited the dome in panic, they cut across the downtown. When they left the metropolitan area, at the far away distance was Colorado River. Even further, at its other side, the Grand Canyon was the expected sight of the wasteland spreading out. Until now with how often the Indians attacked and the North American Knight Order meeting them there, the land was turned into wasteland.

Right now the all-out war of South-North America was performed on that battlefield. Great numbers of soldiers were collapsing in magic intoxication.

But the battle itself was already ending. Most of the collapsed soldiers were the Indians.

What was terrifying was not that.

From the other side of Colorado River ― a green tsunami was advancing.

The jungle that looked as if it was burning blanketed the horizon and approached towards this direction.

Trees that grew densely. When he reinforced his eyesight ― the innumerable numbers of trees were wriggling their roots like tentacles to wander through the ground. There were also the appearance of animals and bugs among the trees, all of those were all heading to the direction of here ― towards Las Vegas in a dash, it was possible they might even be flying.

Mother Nature in unison.

“UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

North America’s mechanized soldiers and Magika Stigmas were running about to escape while raising their screams.

The advancing Mother Nature was trampling the people left behind on the battlefield. The collapsed soldiers that couldn’t escape were crushed underfoot by the advancing trees, pierced by root, from there they withered after being sucked dry from nutrition, made into smooth and dry soil. It didn’t care whether it was done to the soldiers of North America or to the Indians.

Artificial objects that were just rubble were also smashed by the roots, that thing was advancing closer to Las Vegas.

That was… Wakan Tanka!? Then, in its center was…

“Clark! …As expected, isn’t Medicine Wheel moving like this!?”

“Yes… there was no positive proof that it was just as you said. But if I was going to defeat both you and also Medicine Wheel using this chance, then there was nothing that I could do but betting that she couldn’t move. However… I was mistaken. There was no figure of Medicine Wheel among the elite units that launched the surprise attack and among the main force that came after them, so I concluded that she couldn’t move just as I thought.”

Because Medicine Wheel didn’t move together with one of the two, both the elite units led by the Chiefs and also the Indian main force at Colorado river were annihilated. Certainly even Kazuki couldn’t imagine that all of those might possibly just be a decoy.

{Clark…} From the advancing jungle, a voice came through magic power.

There was no mistake that it was Medicine Wheel’s voice.

{The gamble is my win. I had imagined already that if I came with delayed timing, you were going to have a falling out with Japan’s Basileus on your own accord. After all, I know very well about your methods.}

“Because of that all of your comrades experienced a crushing defeat!” Kazuki cut in between the two.

{Indian is…}

When Medicine Wheel noticed the figures of Kazuki and his group, she stopped her predation and emitted her voice.

{Not fearing death.}

…She had no problem at all with what had happened to her comrades. As far as Indian Mythology was concerned, such thing didn’t need any second thought.

Clark chuckled.

“She got me… this is the first time Eimi served me a total defeat like this. I never even imagined that you could possibly hatch this kind of scheme.”

{I had decided, that I will deceive Nee-san for just only once. There is no way I can win against the serious Nee-san after all. I had decided, that I will kill Nee-san with my first and only single lie since I was born… since several years ago.}

“After walking on top of thin ice all this time… finally a day where I missed my reading twice in a day has come, I really got burned today.”

While taking a breath that felt frail somehow, Clark walked towards Wakan Tanka.

Her gait was like a ghost. “Kill me.” Clark said with a small yet firm voice.

Magic power swelled up from Wakan Tanka.

“Clark!!”

Kazuki immediately stretched his hand to try pulling Clark back ― his hand was swept off by Clark.

The next moment, along with a sound *whoosh* of cutting wind from Wakan Tanka that was still separated several kilometers from them, a long tentacle of ivy soared and entangled Clark. The tentacle of ivy raised up Clark lightly and pulled her towards Wakan Tanka.

“…I had decided that I will be the one to defeat Medicine Wheel. I was resolved that the time my reading missed is the time where I die. And then… it’s my wish that if I’m to be killed then it’s by Eimi’s hands.”

“Clark!?”

Kazuki called out, but Clark was pulled right towards death.

Even more countless tentacles of ivy were extending out, aiming at Clark’s heart―

“…Giant Killing!”

―At that time a small bullet was flying at Wakan Tanka, stopping Wakan Tanka’s ivies’ movement completely. Kazuki turned back towards that magic power source.

It was a really small magic power. Nevertheless that single shot was heavy.

The one who fired the heavy bullet carrying the jet black, was Jeremy Barret.

Wakan Tanka’s movement was stopping. The power of Basileus was sealed. Clark was released from the binding of the ivy, she was falling towards the ground.

“Jeremy!?” Even Clark turned back with her face changing color.

At the previous battle, the girl had sealed Kazuki’s Basileus’ power with a bullet where she had put all of her magic power into it, she should have already left the battlefield. Right now, what did this girl put into the bullet?

“A bet of loose change, can only seal her just for a little time…”

Blood burst out from Jeremy’s mouth, she sent her gaze towards Kazuki.

“Take care of King…”

Leaving just those words, Jeremy fell down on the wasteland.

The girl had truly abandoned her everything. What she put into her bullet was ― no other than her life.

Kazuki became aware of the sealed authority of King Solomon being liberated inside him.

With force as if her previous ghost-like gait was just a lie, Clark rushed over to Jeremy.

“…You idiot. You are not my puppet or anything…”

Clark whispered while holding Jeremy’s upper body in her arms.

“Even though I planned for just you to live safely…!”

“Don’t you dare to throw away your life so easily, Clark!”

Kazuki also rushed over. Jeremy’s devotion that abandoned her life for Clark’s sake, and Clark’s despair that let herself get dragged totteringly into death, even though it looked similar but the weights of the two were completely different.

For Jeremy’s sake too, Kazuki had to rebuke Clark.

“I noticed when I was agitated while fighting you. I’m… tired already of all this. Both Red and also Jeremy are gone already. This country is just a hell.”

The woman who was defeated by Kazuki and lost her justice, talked with a voice so crestfallen that he doubted that it really came out from her mouth.

What was left for this woman was only her bloodstained hands.

“Even so, live. Exhaust yourself for this country until your very limit. Probably that’s your pride. However, so that you can live without needing to dirty your hands more further… I’ll protect you for sure.”

Kazuki stood up protecting Clark, he turned his gaze to Wakan Tanka.

“…You are not a sweet guy at all huh.” Clark murmured.

Wakan Tanka was pulsating a little. The seal at its power was already in the process of unraveling.

“What do we do? We can also run away you know?”

From the group of Kazuki’s comrades, Shouko was making a pouting face.

“From the feel that I got watching it just now, when that Wakan Tanka was moving while taking in things into itself, its advance was slow. If we circled to Las Vegas’s rear, then we should be able to rest and recover some magic power while Wakan Tanka is trampling all over Las Vegas and advancing at us.”

It was a calm analysis that was worth hearing once, but Kazuki shook his head without giving it any consideration.

“Don’t say something stupid. I’m going to protect Las Vegas. I’m not going to make this country into hell anymore.”

At that time, Mary and Ginny that were nursed by Lotte and Miyabi-senpai had already woke up, they were focusing their gazes straight at Kazuki. “America’s… hero…” Ginny murmured.

Shouko stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Kazuki and faced Wakan Tanka.

“…Seeing it I changed my thinking a little. Something like realism without ideal is quite brittle. Well, right now I’m going to fight together with you.”

“Wasn’t it that your magic power got emptied if you used Taikyokuzu?”

“It’s obvious that something like that is just an excuse to play hooky. …I’m going to do a valid work, so just circulate the magic power rapidly with your Power of Harmony.”

Kazuki felt Shouko becoming a target of the Power of Harmony, the bond with her was created.

Roshouko ― 38. Finally she gave him her recognition, was she?

“I guess it’s inexcusable for me to keep always making only you the one who fights alone. I too will get serious a little.”

Arthur leisurely walked out from the group of his comrades.

Kazuki opened his eyes wide hearing Arthur saying he was going to get serious.

“I am the second coming of Arthur Pendragon. The protection promised to us right here.”

Arthur’s British suit that was also his symbol was disintegrated into light, his body changed from that shining Magic Dress.

The armor that protected that body as knight was not a sturdy steel, it was made from shining yellow and blue jewels that were overflowing with elegance. The head was decorated with a crown, a mantel that was overflowing with majesty fluttered at that back.

And then all of those things had high exposure rate ― exposing white and smooth skin.

Reflexively Kazuki’s gaze was first absorbed at the two swelling globes that were drooping heavily, his reaction really couldn’t be helped.

“…What are you looking at?”

Arthur hid her breasts while glaring at Kazuki. No, by no means he was looking at that with suspicious eyes!

“As I thought you are really a girl aren’t you?”

“I’m not a girl, a woman. I’m the older one here. Please stop that way of calling as if you are looking at a cute person.” Arthur put her hand on her hips and sneered arrogantly.

“I wasn’t particularly hiding it, but… this is because I’m the reincarnation of Arthur Pendragon, the past and future king who is resurrected from Avalon in order to save Britain when the country falls into a predicament.”

Reincarnation ― so the contract in Britain was perceived like that.

Therefore, that was why Arthur introduced herself with the identical name of the Diva King Arthur she was contracted with.

Wakan Tanka squirmed once more.

The trees that were forming that jungle, and also the swarm of living things inside it were beginning to move, they resumed their advance.

There were countless plants and animals in that holy land but ― based on the Chiefs’ words [everything in one], he guessed that everything of that jungle were moving in accordance with Medicine Wheel’s will.

And then perhaps as the main body, or perhaps as the controller, there was no doubt that Medicine Wheel was located in the center of that dense jungle.

“Let’s charge straight in one go until the center.”

Kazuki allocated back magic power to his comrades and called out so.

The remaining amount of magic power was not much, but number was necessary in order to cut across to the center of the jungle. It was not difficult to imagine that the instant they stepped their foot into that Wakan Tanka, every plant and animal inside it would obstruct them.

“Seems a little troublesome. I’ll open the path right away. Exactly because there is a Sacred Treasure that is the most suitable for this kind of situation that I offered to cooperate seriously.”

Arthur smoothly came out in front of everyone.

“O white spear, carry that glimmer of star in that tip, carry the light of sun in that tip, make run and run that flash and rout the million army! Rhongomynyad(White Spear of Running Through Flash)!!”

A terrific white light was created in Arthur’s hand, the light was compressed long and narrow becoming a tall spear that might have reached 5 meters. With pure whiteness as if its handle and also its spear tip itself were emitting light, the spear tip was becoming bizarrely wide like the head of a hammerhead shark.

Rhongomynyad ― if one was talking about King Arthur’s weapons, then after Excalibur it was none other than this spear. In fact, at times when King Arthur was without his Excalibur, the weapon he held in his hands was this white spear at the decisive battle. 𝑓𝔯𝑒e𝘸e𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵe𝚕.c૦𝙢

“Follow me!”

Arthur flapped her mantel, she held her spear horizontally and dashed to Wakan Tanka. Kazuki and the others were also following behind her just like they were told. Wakan Tanka assaulted them openly, countless tentacles of vine lengthened out just like before. At that moment Arthur’s dash didn’t slow down for even a little, riding her speed she thrust forward her spear with the sound of cleaved wind. That thrust summoned a terrific wind, the shining light of the white spear rode that wind and burst out while spreading in a radial shape.

Rather than calling that a spear thrust, it was a phenomenon that should be called a beam firing. With that one swing, the white spear wrapped in light liberated all of the magic power hidden inside it and annihilated everything in front of it.

King Arthur’s [war results] that was talked in legends was always about him alone scattering apart a large army. That peerless act was impossible to be settled in the framework of human’s martial arts.

The beam that was like a weapon of mass destruction blew away all the vine tentacles while hitting Wakan Tanka directly. The thick beam pierced a spot of the jungle that grew densely in a dome shape. The trees at that beam’s direct path, the plants and animals, all were extinguished in an instant.

A straight hole was opened in the jungle that didn’t have a single gap before. A path was created.

“Let’s go!” Arthur took the lead and leaped into the path that she had wrenched open herself. Kazuki and others followed behind her even while being shocked by the tremendousness of the beam.

Inside Wakan Tanka was much darker even compared to night. The several layers of overlapping leafs and branches obstructed all light, there was only the aroma of dense greenery filling the space to the brim without leaking outside. It reminded Kazuki of Fuji’s sea of trees. Kazuki and others ran while their eyes shone with magic power reinforcement. The trees were stretching out vines, the thick trunks and branches twisted, attacking Kazuki and his group. Birds and butterflies and mosquitoes were also flying at them. There were also monkeys jumping from branch to branch at them. Mother Nature was closing in from every direction.

“These guys are something like puppets manipulated by magic power! Then… that is the rod of god shooting out the soul! Summon the wave that disturbs the origin god right here! Dashinben!!”

While running, Shouko created in her grasp a plain wood rod that was the symbolic Sacred Treasure of her contracted Diva Taikoubou. With the space where she swung it as the center, undulating magic power reverberated. It was a roar inaudible to the ears that attacked the mind. Originally it was a power that disrupted all spell chanting without questioning ally or enemy, it granted a severe bug to the animals and plants that moved using magic power. The command that was moving to them was disturbed, making their movements turn completely crazy.

“That attack is magnificently effective!” Arthur praised Shouko’s quick-wittedness.

Kazuki and his group swept off the animals and plants that were in a state of confusion with weapons and magic while they kept advancing forward.

Light was visible from the other side of the darkness. When they ran toward the light while driving off the hindrances, they came out at an open space that looked like a plaza. Only that place looked bright like it was afternoon because of the person sitting at the center emitting light like a sun.

Over there was a giant baobab tree so large that it made one want to call it the world tree.

At the height where they needed to looked up just a little, there was a large disk like a wheel on the tree trunk. A girl was fixed in that disk with both her hands spread out in a crucifix shape.

“So you all came this far.”

The ephemeral girl leaked out such voice. There was no doubt this was Medicine Wheel.

“I won’t let you destroy America any further than this.”

“I am not destroying. I am turning everything into one to create the new world order. Everything exists in Wakan Tanka(here)…”

The wheel behind Medicine Wheel rotated for a fourth of its sizes.

Ivies and branches were stretching out rustlingly from the surrounding trees. The figures of insects and birds, and monkeys appeared.

“We are going to hold back the hindrances, so Otouto-kun and Arthur take care of Medicine Wheel!”

With Kaguya-senpai as the first, his comrades spread out to deal with the attacking plants and animals encircling them at the surrounding. Around Medicine Wheel and Arthur and Kazuki who were facing her, sparks of magic powers were scattered forming a circle, beginning the battle.

“Wakan Tanka(Here) contains all phenomenon…”

The wheel behind Medicine Wheel turned for a fourth of its size.

Around it several balls of fire were floating.

“Arthur, most likely the opponent is using magic of nature phenomenon. I will use defensive magic, so Arthur, you attack.”

Kazuki whispered at Arthur. Arthur nodded with an agreeing noise.

“You can use defensive magic of all elements… with your rarely found Foresight technique and sword skill to ward off attacks, thinking about it there is no Magika Stigma as excellent as you in protection. Surely, you will form a matchless pair with Regina’s Resist technique. And then, certainly, attacking is my forte. We form a good combination don’t we.”

The fire balls coiled itself and rained down on the pair. “O the calling voice of the ruler of flame, release the rage of the bottom of the earth! Create my rampart right here… tower the sky and the earth, partition the impurity! Fire Wall!!” Kazuki erected a fire wall and blocked the fire balls.

“Gold snake blow fire, lit the light of torch of thousand… the blade that is damp from that brightness, bisect all creation! Excalibur(The Glorious Sword of King)!!”

Arthur slashed at the tree where Medicine Wheel was fixed with a shining sword. That blade made a definite wound at the surface of the barrier that was laid out by the tree.

Next sparks of electrical discharge danced around Medicine Wheel, making lightning ran through Kazuki and Arthur. “O rejection of absolute zero, become the armor of isolation that protects my body! Freeze Barrier!” Kazuki gathered cold that was generated from magic and water vapor in the air at the front, creating a wall of water. The lighting energy was flowed into the ground from the high conductivity of water, scattering the lightning. And then Arthur swung Excalibur earnestly without paying any mind to her defense.

“That’s awful.” Medicine Wheel leaked out an ephemeral voice timidly.

“For two Basileus to gang up and bully me…”

“For a Basileus of all people, saying something so childish!” Arthur didn’t relent and continued swinging her treasured sword.

“It’s scary you know… But you can only say such a thing because you don’t know true fear.”

“What?” Arthur stopped her sword and made her awareness to take vigilance.

The wheel behind Medicine Wheel further rotated for a fourth of its size.

“…I’ll teach you. All the cycle of death and rebirth is flowing through Wakan Tanka(here)…”

Instantly, sparks scattered inside Kazuki’s head.

The next moment, a blade was stabbed through Kazuki’s stomach. His defensive magic power was gone. The feeling of the blade moving felt like an extremly slow motion. The sharp edge pressed inside the soft skin, tearing the skin nicely. From there the blade didn’t meet any resistance and pushed aside fat and muscle while roughly scraping the bone, tearing down the intestines like tofu, the blade’s tips kept sinking deeper, thrusting out from his back. Air flowed into his insides cooly. The blade was sweeping to the side. While Kazuki’s exhausted body fell sideways, the blade was drawing a hot line in cutting apart Kazuki. His stomach was bisected from the middle, then the blade flew out from his body. Kazuki was watching that while his body was declining down to the side. A beat after that, bright red blood and split intestines flowed out from the wound. ―He couldn’t keep calm. Kazuki writhed around from pain that seemed like burning his stomach from the inside. It didn’t cause instant death, yet precisely because of that the shocking image of his own pink colored intestines was burned clearly into his mind. Kazuki writhed around for about five minutes from that pain, until before long his consciousness was clouded from his declining blood pressure and he died from shock.

The next moment, the crown of Kazuki’s head was split into two by a sword. He felt as if the whole world was smashed up from the terrific impact of his skull being struck really hard. His skull was splendidly broken open, making the outline of his head distorted like a rubber ball. The sword passed through his flabby head vertically… through… His consciousness lapsed into pieces. It was because his nerve network was destroyed earlier than the death coming for him. He understood that. Actually, he also saw his own brain splattered all over outside. His consciousness shouldn’t still work from that. The blade passed through the bridge of his nose and tore his neck too, finally it stopped around his chest, there Kazuki collapsed from his knee, his limbs that were unconsciously twitching sloppily scratched off his own blood and brain matter while he fell down. For a while his thought couldn’t form anything and only the consciousness of the electric signal of his brain flickering on and off dimly was left to him, but soon even that was closed inside the darkness.

The next moment, a rope was fastened around Kazuki’s neck. At the same time the wooden plank under his feet disappeared. The rope was just once stretching loosely before soon it strained tightly, making all his weight focus on his neck vertebrae. Kazuki’s body moved around in the air for a while as if he was being toyed around by a sea wave. His white neck was blotted with red. His face swelled up into a purple color, and his eyeballs and tongue jumped out. Even girls that loved Kazuki would surely avert their eyes looking at his gruesome face right now. Feces spilled out endlessly from his lower body and both his legs tensed tightly like a bow. But Kazuki still lived. While being aware of his eyeballs jumping out, his neckbones were little by little creak… creak… making such a creaking sound, he still lived. His body couldn’t even twitch, while he was embracing the sensation of his body dangling in the air with both his legs pulled by gravity, his consciousness was still there. The battle between gravity and his neck vertebrae continued for ten minutes, and little by little, his thought was being closed into the darkness.

[Death] was repeated many times over. Kazuki immediately understood that it was only illusions, but that understanding didn’t help him at all, he was continuously repeating [death] as if he was being toyed with by raging waves in the middle of a storm.

Before he knew Kazuki fell down with his face up looking at his own corpse. Inside Kazuki’s corpse, there was still around one kilogram germ still living. The germ began dismantling the protein. First the binding between the skin and meat was dismantled. The skin was slackening down laxly. The color of his skin changed into reddish brown, it began to turn transparent, where he could faintly see through at his internal organs. These changes spread with the many germs spreading from his abdomen to his whole body. Before long the color was changing into green, due to his decomposing blood oozing out from his blood vessels, webbed pattern was rising to the surface. That rotting figure was still reminisced of Kazuki’s vestiges when he was alive. However the surface of the skin gradually began to foam unevenly, swelling all over. Due to the germs dismantling the protein, it produced gas that expanded Kazuki’s body until three times the original size. The body’s limbs wriggled from the gas expansion. His eyeballs popped out from the gas pressure and spilled over.

The bluish black skin finally raised sound before it was torn off. From the disintegrating internal organs, decayed blood and pus were overflowing out and spread around the body. It was not a person anymore but merely a rotten flesh balloon. And then it returned back into the earth.

Kazuki was having a bird-eye view of the thing called death. He was deliberately made to take a straight look at hidden things like blood, internal organs, and brain. Usually someone had surely once or twice imagined how much graphic of what existed under their skin. If humans didn’t forget that, they wouldn’t be able to retain their sanity to spend their ordinary days. But even girls like Mio or Kaguya-senpai, under their white porcelain skin was also fully packed with grotesque things. And then someday they would die, and rot ― the inescapable dreadful demise that was impossible to escape for any kind of living thing, death!

Kazuki was made to affirm that moment where every meaning came to an end! Forcefully!

Someone with some kind of right stole that from himself! Stop it!!

Kazuki was made to personally experience every form of death. He hallucinated death many times over. It was many times, but every single death was eternally infinite. That darkness was similar when he fell asleep, but a normal sleep had the blessing of waking up before one noticed where there was no death awaiting him anymore. His consciousness was vanishing, he couldn’t think of anything, it continued for eternity. Kazuki was continuously made to perceive that infinity in any kind of pattern in concurrent parallel. Death was continuing inside the infinite parallel universe.

He was having a bird-eye view of all those from somewhere. Kazuki trembled violently from terror. He imagined himself becoming unable to even fear anymore and he trembled violently. The destruction of [his familiar self]. The decay of blood and internal organs, and then eternal unfeeling, unthinking…

{To escape from this terror, there is only one way.}

There was a girl’s voice. It was like a single ray of hope that was presented to him. In fact, at that time, the infinite parallel images of death had stopped.

{Loss is scary because yourself is self-aware. If you throw away the individual that is you… if you become a part of Wakan Tanka… there is nothing that is scary.}

Kazuki was not calm anymore. He was listening to that voice as if clinging to the voice of god.

{What kind of meaning is there to keep living as it is? The time where you fear death, will continue until you die. And then the nothingness of eternity that is absolutely hard to accept will arrive. What is called living, is nothing more than a process of changing from fear to nothingness. Then it’s better to not fear nothingness right from the start. If you throw away your self right from the start, nothingness becomes not scary. That is not nothingness but everything. If you merge into all and become an existence that’s only happy, do you know how comfortable it will be…}

―That’s so. Is that so? His thinking that was paralyzed by fear, strongly pushed him to entrust everything to that whisper. But somewhere inside his heart, the small thought that was still remaining even while his everything was crushed by the infinite parallel death was throwing doubt [Is that so?] at him.

From the surrounding darkness, green ivies were gushing forth rustlingly and entangled Kazuki’s hands and feet. Keeping like that the ivies were going to carry Kazuki away somewhere.

Is it really fine with something like this―?

{That’s wrong! That’s wrong you know, paapa!!}

From inside the darkness of everything, a beautiful voice that shined brilliantly reverberated.

{You must not get over the fear of death with this kind of way!}

Inside the darkness, a faint white light was floating.

{That time when I died, I was thankful to paapa and maama, so I won’t approve that paapa to do something like this.}

The white light turned into a shape of a girl, that small hand grasped Kazuki’s hand.

“Stella…?”

{Medicine Wheel is making paapa look directly at only death. She is trying to mislead paapa that everything is meaningless by showing demise. It’s a view point that is so unfair like that you know! It’s a swindle! It’s something on the same level as wild delusions that flash inside the head when you sleep alone at night. Just because you are scared of parting, does the encounter become meaningless? What about my encounter with paapa?}

There was no way it was meaningless. Kazuki embraced tight the shining figure of the girl. All the binding ivies were torn off, the girl’s warmth was spreading all over his body.

“Stella! I’m glad I can meet you one more time…!”

The instant he heard Stella’s voice, the instant he hugged her tightly, just what in the world was this happiness that welled up inside his chest. Certainly he would lose this eventually. However thinking about only the losing, getting scared, completely forgetting this happiness, there was no way that was okay.

For him to experience this happiness more than others, this was what it meant to be a human!

To lose your individuality and become one with something unknown… he thought of such thing sweetly until just now, but now he thought of it as repulsive. He was made to realize that it was no different at all with death.

{Paapa, you cannot stay in this kind of place. Let’s return quickly. To the place where everyone is…}

At that time the illusion of [eternal nothingness] that was created by someone, was torn apart. {It’s this way!} Stella pulled Kazuki’s hand. Suddenly inside Kazuki’s head, his mother’s words flashed.

{…Kazuki, thank you for being born.}

That’s right ― that was absolutely, not something mistaken.

When he came to himself, Kazuki had returned to the world of reality.

Was Arthur still fighting the same illusion that was shown to Kazuki, she was lying on the ground. Around him Kazuki's comrades that believed in him were continuing to fight the animals and plants. How much time had passed?

Something like the fear of death, was nothing more than the other side of the joy of living.

“It cut loose one’s faith towards the Mythology, inviting one into the world of death… a magic that cares not of the strength of magic power or King’s Authority. That’s why even Arthur is still not waking up. Despite so, how…”

Medicine Wheel was staring at the waking up Kazuki with eyes that couldn’t believe of what it was seeing.

And then besides Kazuki, was Stella smiling at him.

Born as a slave, killed at the Indian’s hands, and made into a part of the Great Spirit, but even so she went against that fate, the girl that won a brief freedom to meet Kazuki.

It was the girl who adored Kazuki and Kaguya-senpai as father and mother.

“Stella…”

When Kazuki reflexively reached out his hand to that figure, his hand slipped through her. It was an avatar.

“You are the hindrance…?” Medicine Wheel moved her eyes to Stella. “For a betrayer to exist inside Great Spirit(me)…”

Is that so… just now, he was locked inside the mind of Great Spirit. But inside that Great Spirit, there was Stella who rejected unification with Great Spirit even though she had been already absorbed.

{Paapa had already beat this Great Spirit or whatever since a long time ago you know. That time, paapa saved the heart of me who was fated to be absorbed into Great Spirit. For me, rather than something like the power of Mother Nature, paapa and maama are far more reassuring!}

“Exactly like that girl said!” A voice came from behind.

When he turned back there was Clark, coming from the path that was gouged open by Rhongomynyad which Kazuki and the others had travelled. “Nee-san…” Medicine Wheel whispered.

“It’s exactly like that girl said! Mother Nature is great! But, that’s all there is to it! Stop putting mystique hoax on it to make that as the escape of your weak heart! Red had said it, the Indian Mythology right now is distorted, that the original soul of Indian is not there!”

“…Even so, I cannot stop denying Nee-san’s way of thinking. Nee-san who didn’t care of what kind of sacrifice you made just so I can rise in the world, I’m always scared of that Nee-san since a long time ago. Nee-san is worshiping the strong from your position as the weak.”

Clark was made silent from the blaming of a genuine weak person.

“If it keeps like this, America will be destroyed by other Magic Advanced Countries… It’s scary. Everything has to be painted out by Mother Nature, everything has to become one under this power. If not then we cannot escape from fear. As long as everything doesn’t become one, the dual nature of the weak and the strong will be created, those who are oppressed will appear…”

“That’s wrong, power is not something that exists to oppress! People obtained the power to change their willpower into strength, is for the sake of protecting people other than themselves!”

“Right now, a fight due to us denying each other’s country is going to occur.”

“I’ll prove to you the strength of the power to protect with that fight! I will protect you too! In order to do that… right now, I’m going to defeat you!”

“I… will kill the strong you and absorb you…!”

The wheel behind Medicine Wheel rotated through the final fourth of its size.

“Heaven and earth produce together with me, all creation become one with me… O the pulsation of everything in one, wash away all the world’s error and correct it…”

Medicine Wheel and the giant tree she was unified with sucked magic power from the earth, they were shining with green light. Medicine Wheel was going to become one with the magic power of this star itself!

“As much as possible become like this…!”

The two hands of Medicine Wheel that was fixed into the wheel were released, then she pushed out those hands towards Kazuki. Enormous magic power was concentrating in those two hands, it was going to gush out from there.

“Release everything right here… Mitakuye Oyasin(The Proper Self)!”

{Paapa, feel me! Because I too am a part of Wakan Tanka!!}

Just before it happened, Stella shouted that to him. Kazuki turned his consciousness to his bond with Stella.

Stella―200

Stella who was already dead yet still showed herself in front of Kazuki, had became an existence that had everything of her chipped off except that positivity level. That number of positivity level was that he could use all the Summoning Magic of Stella’s contracted Diva. At the same time Stella was already the Great Spirit.

“Heaven and earth produce together with me, all creation become one with me… O the pulsation of everything in one, wash away all the world’s error and correct it… release everything right here!”

Kazuki also chanted. From both his feet that stepped on the earth, he could feel enormous magic power pumped up into his body. Right now, both he and Medicine Wheel were dipping into exactly the same power source.

“The one who is mistaken is your side!”

Kazuki also pointed his hands at Medicine Wheel and thrust his hands out.

“Mitakuye Oyasin!”

Kazuki also invoked exactly the same magic.

“…Why!?” Medicine Wheel yelled.

{I am also Great Spirit after all.}

Stella’s avatar quietly said that.

{Everything in one. The other side of death is life. I who am trying to defeat you am you. You lose to your own power… This was already the decided outcome since the bond between paapa and me was created!!}

The Great Spirit’s existence had been denied from its root when a traitor appeared inside it.

Pure green magic power was gushing out from the hand of Medicine Wheel. It was pure magic power before it was used to cause some kind of phenomenon. The instant that magic power collided with something, that something would be distorted following the will of Medicine Wheel, it was the surge of possibility itself. But the exact same surge was fired from Kazuki’s both hands, colliding with hers. Both Medicine Wheel and also Kazuki were pumping out magic power as much as possible from Great Spirit and continued to fire.

The colliding magic powers quietly dispersed and blended into the air, returning to Astrum.

There was nothing happening in that place ― no, if the phenomenon that was happening right now was analyzed, what was happening was that the enormous magic power body called Great Spirit was self-destructing on its own accord through the confrontation between Kazuki and Medicine Wheel.

“This… something like this is a severe bug…”

Medicine Wheel was whispering in stupor.

“Thi, this is…?” Arthur who was continuing to fight the illusionary death woke up. Kazuki guessed that she would also wake up by her own strength if some time passed. However the battle was almost over already.

The comrades at the surrounding who continued to fight believing in Kazuki, turned back to Kazuki’s direction all at once. The attacking plants and animals suddenly stopped moving like a machine that had its electricity cut off.

The surrounding trees turned into green light and began to disintegrate. Losing their magic power supply source(Great Spirit), Wakan Tanka began to vanish.

Kazuki held Ame no Murakumo aloft and dashed forward. With a single diagonal flash, the great tree was sliced slantingly.

The large wheel that was connected with the giant tree vanished. “This is… this is!” Eimi Moore that was fused with the wheel fell down while raising a scared voice.

Kazuki caught that small body with both his arms.

“…There is nothing that you need to fear anymore.”

When he looked back, Stella nodded a little before turning into grains of glittering white magic power, vanishing from that place.