108 – 108. A wavering heart.
Making it so there are no mistakes or defeats in life even once is a miraculous feat.
In other words, it’s almost impossible.
Generally, people grow through hundreds or thousands of failures, big and small.
There will be those who enjoy the process and those who kneel in frustration.
Those with strong wills will continue to move forward, even if it’s difficult.
Ichinose Hotaru, who had been shouting that she would learn territory unfolding, began to quietly practice her blessings, realizing her fate.
At least in the field of purification and blessings, she was the best.
There were unjust aspects, but she could only do her best on the path given to her.
“…Sigh.”
Similarly, the boy who had suffered defeat was also seeking his given path.
The only difference was that he seemed to have lost his way.
Returning home, Kitagawa Kenichi lay on his bed staring blankly at the familiar ceiling.
His orange hair was a mess, and his school uniform was torn in places, but there was no part more disheveled than his mind.
“…I lost.”
Defeat is unsettling.
No matter how foolish Kenichi may seem, he had known this fact from the beginning.
Losing to Ichimaru Shiki was somewhat frustrating, but being outnumbered three to one against a peer was a whole different level of anger.
I’ve lost it all in this world.
Lying quietly on the bed, recalling that memory, it felt like dreaming.
If you had to pinpoint it, a nightmare.
Losing to a friend I thought was somewhat on par with me made my head spin.
“He was damn strong.”
Quite precarious, I’d say.
If there hadn’t been someone to watch my back, it might have been better, but I was just completely exposed.
Overwhelmed.
─ Development.
The moment Kenichi was dragged from the secret room to a strange place, he felt the disparity.
They weren’t out to kill each other, nor did they clash with a do-or-die determination, but in his current state, he didn’t believe he could win even if they fought a hundred times.
With a large horn sprouting from his head, Sento felt like a monster on par with Ichimaru Shiki.
…How could this happen?
Even if his magical abilities had gotten stronger, his physical movements were swifter than his own.
No, did he take some kind of drug?
Now, Kenichi seemed to understand the mindset of athletes doping at this point.
It felt unfair when someone with similar records suddenly came out swinging.
That was Kenichi’s case now.
How could a sorcerer using magic-like spells be faster than a skilled swordsman?
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In the close combat against the sorcerer, Kitagawa, Kenichi was in the most unfair state in the present world.
“…Darn it.”
Getting emotional didn’t make you stronger, nor did it guarantee gaining anything.
Still, there was no way to calm down the anger.
With a dull ache in his chest, how could he contain the spark burning within?
It just hurt.
While Sawamura Sento grew stronger, all the hero did was sneak a peek at a comic book magazine and mess around with stage props with a hammer.
“Now that I think about it, how foolish.”
Kenichi suddenly felt the urge to wield his sword.
He had just been thoroughly defeated with his sword, but he still wanted to move his body.
It seemed like it would alleviate some of the anger inside.
That’s why, resolved, Kenichi sprang up from the bed, when suddenly, a knock came from the window.
“…Hm?”
Kenichi blinked his eyes.
A sinister-looking man with slit eyes was tapping the window with a sly smile.
Wait, our house… my room is on the 2nd floor.
Although he felt momentarily bewildered, Kenichi quickly regained his composure, knowing that the monster would knock on the window the same way regardless if his house was on the 163rd floor.
As soon as Kenichi opened the window, the sinister man floating in mid-air drifted into his room with an air of nonchalance.
He had also reached a superhuman level, but Kenichi couldn’t fathom how he did it.
In any case, after a whole month, the nonchalant Ichimaru Shiki, who Kenichi faced, spoke.
“hehehehe, Kenichi. Long time no see?”
“…Ah, yes. Long time.”
“Oh, come on. What’s with that lukewarm response! You should be more sincerely glad to see me!”
Even after all this time, he was the same old guy.
Kenichi, feeling a bit uneasy, scratched the back of his head as he faced him.
“Well, nice to see you. But… what have you been up to all this time?”
“Hmm, I guess you could say I’ve been on a nationwide tour. I flew around diligently. It was fun at first, but it got boring later on, you know?”
“Mm.”
Honestly, Kenichi didn’t quite understand what he was talking about.
Warrior Kitagawa Kenichi gave up on trying to understand the guy in front of him.
Just one of those guys.
As he reflected on it after a long time, his heart felt at ease.
‘Is it madness that makes one so strong?’
If that’s the case, then it’s only natural that his normal self with rational thoughts couldn’t become strong.
Similarly, as Kenichi thought of the irritating Sen to, he nodded his head.
He truly believed in himself being normal and didn’t doubt it.
“So, what brings you here? Not showing your face for a month. Have you seen Sawamura already?”
“No, I plan to see Sen to separately later on. I thought it was more important to first talk with the defeated Kenichi.”
“…I see.”
“Well, since you’ve been absent for so long, we should do AS once in a while, shouldn’t we?”
Shiki Ichimaru smiled and reached out his hand.
“Kenichi, how about training together after a long time?”
“Ah.”
Kitagawa Kenichi and Shiki thought as they looked at the hand Shiki was offering.
It was obvious that they would be in for a beating if they followed, but was it because of their willingness that they were perverts?
Or was it because they knew that by being beaten like a novice, they would become stronger?
Whichever it was, the damn teacher seemed to have unknowingly changed their physical constitution.
“Just as I hoped.”
With a smile on his face, Kenichi grabbed Shiki Ichimaru’s hand.
***
“It seems His Majesty’s health has improved.”
The divine great commander, who was strolling through the palace as usual, stopped abruptly upon hearing the news coming from the annex.
More than anyone, he prioritized the security of the palace and the protection of the nobles.
He couldn’t help but be sensitive to the stories about the king he served.
He slowly continued walking, listening to the young voices of the palace maids.
─ He hasn’t been going out for walks like he used to, and he hasn’t called for the doctors either.
─ About half a year ago? Remember when the generals rushed over in a panic once?
─ …I was really surprised back then.
─ It seems the seizures have decreased, so if things go well, maybe we’ll see His Majesty’s eyes on the day of the promotion ceremony?
─ Yeah, that would be nice if it happens.
The distant voices seemed to lack sincerity, fortunately. They were young palace maidens who had never seen the healthy face of the king. Merely led by the emperor’s summons into the palace, these maidens, expecting grace, did not harbor any resentment towards the ignorant.
…The ignorant ones.
Sensing a momentary wavering in his heart, the divine general closed his eyes for a while before resolutely heading towards the palace.
It was the dwelling of the great emperor.
A place where anyone residing in the palace wished to enter even once, but lately, he felt his sincerity wavering.
“Great king, have you called upon this humble one?”
Covered in dark veins and flesh pulsating on the trembling ground, the divine general knelt and spoke softly.
He dared not meet the gaze.
It was not proper to look into the eyes of a god, but aside from such rules, he did not have the courage to face the emperor.
Was his weakness revealed?
“Lift your head.”
The king commanded shortly.
And the divine general had no choice but to obey.
Maintaining utmost calmness and a casual expression, the divine general lifted his head.
It was his best effort.
“Your efforts are well known to me.”
There existed the emperor, twisted by a dark energy, sitting on the throne with arms protruding from his chest and three legs. The faces of the other attendants, also called the dragon’s face, were long tainted black.
“…Efforts, I am sorry.”
Emperor, the heavenly emperor.
Once a legendary sorcerer, swordsman, and sage, now tainted.
Addicted to something more terrible than magic or supernatural powers.
A horrific sight to behold, yet the man endured somehow.
He was still a king.
Despite occasionally issuing incomprehensible orders and causing dozens of soldiers to die from seizures, he was still a king.
He must be supported with sincerity.
Just as the divine general regained his shaken heart, the emperor’s voice reached him.
“Divine General.”
“Yes, have you called?”
“The Ascension Festival is coming soon. The great heavenly gods will surely bestow grace upon pitiful me.”
“…With the merits accumulated over time piercing the heavens, the heavenly gods will surely bless you.”
“I believe so too.”
The king’s voice was heavy.
But from the position of a humble servant, he could not pity him.
He could only wish for the recovery of the king under the divine grace.
The divine general deeply bowed his head.
And then the emperor’s heavy voice reached his ears once again.
“…However, is there such a thing as ‘if’?”
“You will surely be delighted.”
“No, it might be the unknown. Until then, my breath might run out.”
“…I will protect you if rebels attack. If you are short of breath, I will bring the elixir of the heavens.”
“I am well aware of your efforts.”
Under the repeated command of the king, the chief general bowed his head even deeper, but the voice of the emperor immediately followed in front of him.
“However, one can never truly know about people.”
In the eyes of the startled servant who raised his head, the emperor with six pupils in jet-black skin…the face of a monster appeared.
The chief general’s lips trembled.
The monster, with the emperor’s skin turned inside out, smiled with its eyes as it tore at his throat with its hands.
“Ah, tainted heart and fresh blood.”
The eyes attached to the torn head soon turned hollow, and the red blood flowed into the monster’s mouth.