◇Kai’s Perspective

 

Nagisa: “No, Kai-san! Run away! You mustn’t do this!”

Kai: “It’s okay, Nagisa. I’m pretty strong now. Just wait a bit.”

 

Saying this, I leave Nagisa where she is and grip my sword. The artifact from Saya normally exerts its effect. This means Saya must still be alive, which gives me a bit of relief.

 

Kai: “Phew… There are even Emperor Species, and definitely more than 100. This would have been tough for the old me, but now… Finest Knight.”

 

The white transparent armor envelops me, enhancing all my abilities. I activate my skill, ignoring Nagisa’s protests. She only knows the weaker version of me, so she must think I can’t beat an Imperial Species.

 

Kai: “─True Mirage. I will protect Nagisa.”

 

My duplicate appears, standing to guard Nagisa.

 

Nagisa: “Wait, Kai! You mustn’t fight!!”

Kai: “Just watch…”

 

*Crack, crack, crack!!*

 

Kai: “─True Lightning.”

 

I become a lightning bolt, instantly striking down more than 10 magic beasts.

 

Kai: “Phew, yeah. Seems manageable… ──!!??”

 

I thought I could easily defeat them. Actually, I did.

 

Kai: “Why…?”

 

The magic beasts I had sliced, their wounds healed, and they stood up again as if nothing had happened. It was a creepy way of revival.

 

Nagisa: “… Kai. Those aren’t ordinary magic beasts. They’re undead beasts that never die, and once they engage in combat, they’ll follow you anywhere. We call them ‘Immortals’.”

Kai: “That’s ridiculous…”

Nagisa: “That’s why I didn’t want you to fight. But now that it’s come to this… No, even now, there’s nowhere to run…”

 

Nagisa looks on despairingly. Yeah, sorry, my fault for not listening to her advice. I mean, I thought I could just defeat them normally. What’s this about undead?

 

Kai: “Oh, I see…”

Nagisa: “Eh?”

 

With the Eye of God, I can see through any ability.

 

My eyes shine golden, revealing the hidden truth.

 

I check the status of one of the magic beasts surrounding us, and it indeed seems to be under the influence of a skill.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

Type: Status

Name: Marionette.

Effect: Continues to move until the magician’s or relay point’s magic power is exhausted. The relay point must be a living being

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

 

Kai: “Marionette, huh?”

 

Looking closely, all the magic beasts have a thin, transparent string attached to them. Now that I’ve cut it, my sword is also entangled with this thin magic string.

 

And that string leads to…

 

Kai: “… The sky.”

 

The strings are extending towards the sky. So, I activate True Lightning and repeatedly teleport towards it.

 

And there…

 

Kai: “Gaaah!!”

 

A dragon species is flying in the sky. Over 100,000 magic power, an S-Rank magic beast. From its massive body, as big as a jumbo jet, countless strings stretch to the ground. Probably, this is the relay point. Its status is Marionette (Relay Point).

Seeing me, the dragon screams and opens its mouth. I easily dodge with teleportation, getting behind it, and then swiftly behead it with a single strike.

Red blood pours down like rain, and the dragon falls to the ground.

At the same time, I descend to the ground.

 

Kai: “Good. So, they weren’t really alive. If the relay point dies, they all run out of magic power and return to corpses.”

 

With the dragon’s death, all the strings connected to it disappear, and the magic beasts surrounding us fall down like puppets with their strings cut. Probably, the Marionette ability keeps supplying them with magic power, making them fight like lifeless puppets. It’s simple once you know the type, but without these eyes, it would be hopeless. A horde of undying S-Rank magic beasts is too cruel. Conversely, if you kill the relay point, they all die at once, so it might be surprisingly easy once you know.

 

Kai: “It’s okay now. So don’t talk about dying, okay?”

Nagisa: “Why… How did you…? For five years, they’ve tormented us, and you just… Kai, who are you exactly…?”

 

Seeing this, Nagisa looks at me in disbelief.

 

Kai: “Looks like someone is controlling these dragons from a relay point. I could have tracked the caster if the dragon was connected to them, but… well, for now, we’re safe.”

 

I explain to Nagisa-chan how the Immortals, as they are called, work.

It’s simple once you understand the mechanism, but it might have been impossible without these eyes. A swarm of undying S-Rank magic beasts is indeed too harsh. On the other hand, if you can find the relay point and kill it, it might be quite easy.

I reach out my hand to Nagisa-chan.

 

Kai: “So, we’re safe now. Don’t talk about dying.”

 

Nagisa looks at my hand with tears in her eyes.

 

Kai: “I will save everyone.”

 

She tightly grips my hand, then suddenly jumps into my chest. She must have been scared, suffered a lot. Like that time, I stroke her head to calm her down.

 

…

 

Nagisa: “Kai-san! I want more petting, but now’s not the time! We have to hurry to Shibuya!”

Kai: “Shibuya? Right, you mentioned that earlier, but what exactly is happening…?”

 

Calming down a bit, Nagisa-chan lifts her face as if she remembered something. She had already told me earlier to head to Shibuya Scramble Crossing.

 

Nagisa: “Right now, the entire force of the Human Liberation Army is launching an attack on Shibuya! Probably… the operation has already started!”

Kai: “Eh?”

 

She glances at the clock. Why Shibuya? What’s happening? Things are moving too fast for me to keep up.

 

Nagisa: “As I said before, no one knew where you would appear today. So, the place where you most likely would appear, Shibuya, where you once conquered the Golden Cube, was where our entire force headed! Because the enemy’s headquarters are also in old Shibuya.”

Kai: “… The enemy… the Round Table?”

Nagisa: “… Yes. One of the knights of the Round Table who now dominates Japan is our enemy. His name is Mordred. He is effectively the ruler of Japan now. And the person fighting him right now is the commander-in-chief of the Human Liberation Army, the greatest contributor to humanity’s survival.”

 

Kai: “A transcendent… Reina?”

Nagisa: “No, not her. The one fighting there is not her.”

 

Nagisa shakes her head. In my memory, the only transcendent woman in the world is Reina Ginno. But Nagisa tells me a different name.

 

Nagisa: “Right now, fighting in Shibuya, risking her life for you, is the commander-in-chief of the Human Liberation Army, one of the strongest humans alongside ‘Tyrant’ Arnold, ‘Great Hero’ Wei Wang, and ‘Valkyrie’ Reina.”

 

The name I’ve longed to hear.

 

Nagisa: “─The transcendent ‘Divine Armor’ Aya Ryuenji.”

 

My lover.