80 – 80. Avengers.
Meanwhile, at the live cafe in Shibuya – underground.
“…hahahaha, what’s going on here.”
Suddenly, the band, the audience, everything disappeared, the whole world turned white, and even Kenichi, who excused himself to the restroom, was nowhere to be found.
In various ways, the unjust maiden, Ichinose Hotaru, was in a state of confusion.
If only she fully understood the current situation.
She was more accustomed to ceremonies at the shrine than dealing with sudden situations or monster extermination.
Kwoong─Kwoong─
The footsteps coming from above felt extremely dangerous.
Kraaack─! It seemed like a voice of tremendous presence was also audible, hiding her body.
If this were an earthquake, she would have immediately run outside to avoid being buried. However, it seemed like this was a special situation right now.
“…Seems like there’s a lot above?”
Although she wasn’t particularly sensitive, there was a vague sense of yōki (妖氣) above her head.
The amount was so vast, probably filling the streets of Shibuya.
A disaster with a different meaning from an earthquake.
There had been occurrences of this magnitude before, but those were at night.
Moreover, in Shibuya Ward, right next to Mount Reizan─the Shrine of Fire, facing such a catastrophe…
It was comforting to know that there seemed to be someone on the surface rapidly purifying it, who was incredibly strong.
“…Should I wait for rescue?”
Or should she join forces with others outside now and attempt to escape?
Hōtaru continued to ponder, pressing her furrowed brow involuntarily.
“…It’s somewhat fortunate that civilians seem unharmed.”
Although the situation above was still unknown, all the people inside the theater had disappeared.
There were no screams or signs of significant chaos from above, indicating a similar situation.
In that case, her childhood friend and incompetent Kita and Kenichi should be fine.
“…Bringing them to see the performance and then subjecting them to such a dreadful event would be too cruel.”
Hōtaru sighed and muttered with a forced smile.
“Thank goodness.”
As expected, Kenichi would probably be stuck in the restroom, unaware of what was happening.
If this were back in elementary school, he would have rushed out to help, but at seventeen, he should have enough sense to make rational decisions.
It would be better if at least one more person could survive.
Especially in such dire circumstances where the chances of survival were slim.
───────────!!!!
Under the sudden pressure dominating the space, the shrine maiden─Ichinose Hōtaru glanced up at the ceiling with a flash.
At this moment, she excluded the option of waiting for rescue.
The energy just now was too strong and violent to hope for someone else’s survival and assistance.
“…If I don’t leave now.”
They would all be trampled to death.
***
An alien hole suddenly appeared in the white ceiling.
The first thing that emerged from it was a foot.
As the energy of a yōkai grew, so did their stature.
Anticipating the substantial energy sensed through detection, she expected the enemy’s scale to be quite large.
It was a different level of energy compared to the wolf spirit encountered during the previous bakki night.
She thought that firepower would be quite necessary and rearranged her tactics accordingly.
However, she was only thinking within the bounds of common sense.
“Ah.”
Even though she was looking up at the sky, all she could see in her field of vision was a massive foot.
The overwhelming volume momentarily disoriented Sawa Sen to the point of feeling the ground beneath her feet.
With a wavering gaze, she tried to discern the identity of that monster.
As the feet kept falling onto the ground, she sensed the body of the creature and made a decision.
…No, this won’t do.
With a determined expression, she immediately disrupted the array of various spells that were suspended in the air.
She rearranged each element.
What she needed now was not an interception. It was a defensive spell, a means to withstand the aftermath.
“─Iron Wall, Formation spell.”
By the time she completed the spell, the giant’s foot connected with the ground.
It was only natural that all structures in between were crushed.
As the iron wall gradually closed in to protect its master, amidst the rubble of buildings, the figure of the giant stepping forward became visible.
Sento’s eyes widened.
“…The one that just collapsed, the Shibuya Sky….”
A landmark in the city, a high-rise building, an observation deck, a structure about 230 meters tall.
Surprisingly, that giant was even bigger than the building.
A rough estimate confirmed that.
If that colossal creature were to fall from the high sky to the ground, how massive would the impact be?
—Thud!
The ground rumbled.
***
“Ah, seems like I might survive.”
Having overcome the toughest challenge in his seventeen years of life, Kitagawa Kenichi had nothing else to fear in the world.
Having just resolved a major crisis, he felt content.
‘Is this what life is about?’
Kenichi decided to live gratefully for these small joys and set off to Seibu Department Store in high spirits.
“Now, let’s go back agai-“
As Kenichi prepared himself, he caught a glimpse of something falling in his line of sight.
Shibuya Sky and Seibu Department Store were quite close, about a 5-minute walk away.
Even with the bustling streets making it seem farther, the actual distance was even closer.
Especially if something enormous were to fall from the sky, it would have been unmistakable.
‘Hmm?’
Although his sensing ability was weak, Kenichi, who had good visual acuity, widened his eyes.
Turning his gaze to the right, he saw a giant falling in real-time.
…With his field of vision filled by that side, he couldn’t miss it even if he tried.
In a moment without time to blink, a terrified Kenichi raised his sword in defense.
—Swish.
As the giant touched the ground, Kenshi suddenly heard such a sound.
He knew it was an illusion.
It was natural that the giant’s body would produce sounds much louder than that, and indeed, when the fellow touched the ground, no small collision noises were heard.
───────▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩!!!
It was a wind that dared not be defined by sound.
An explosion of pressure, accompanied by a violent tremor, first engulfed Kenshi.
The warrior wielding the demon sword swung his underwater sword, cutting down everything that came at him.
…It was definitely his intention to do so, but,
“Ah.”
For some reason, his body was pushed back.
It felt like being pushed against an insurmountable wall.
The warrior, Kentaro Kitagawa, realized his fate as he sensed being engulfed by the explosion.
“Am I going to die?”
There are still plenty of manga, anime, and movies to see.
I haven’t even had a girlfriend. Not just dates, I haven’t even held hands or XX…
I’m not interested in traveling abroad, but still, whether it’s nearby Korea, far-off England, or even America…
If I knew I would die like this, tonight would be chicken, the day after tomorrow would be tonkatsu, the next meal would be gyudon… and then yakinku again…
“…Come to think of it, I haven’t deleted my collection on the hard drive yet…”
As Kenshi continued to regret, he realized an important fact.
If his collection were to be revealed after his death, what kind of judgment would he receive?
“Kentaro, you’re disgusting.”
The first thing that came to mind was the disdainful face of his childhood friend, Hotaru.
“Hmm, Kentaro. Was this your taste?”
Next was the image of Ichimaru Shiki, sneering at his empty coffin.
Surely he wouldn’t do that to the deceased, but just the thought of it was dreadful.
“I have to survive.”
That became the reason why the warrior, Kentaro Kitagawa, didn’t give up on life.
The warrior tightly gripped his underwater sword.
With eyes wide open, he swung it towards the air pressure that was blowing him away.
“Uryaaa!!!”
He had a reason to survive.
***
“…Ugh.”
“hahahaha, are you coming to your senses?”
The unjust priestess, Ichinose Hotaru, opened her eyes, grasping her fading consciousness at the strangely familiar voice of a man that suddenly came through.
In her line of sight was the smiling face of Ichimaru Shiki, as usual.
The priestess blinked blankly.
“…Sir Ichimaru?”
“Yes, yes, Miss Hotaru. Weren’t you just caught in an explosion and almost in danger?”
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“…An explosion?”
“Yes, it’s like an explosion, a bit of a dangerous fellow has fallen. It seems the gods were in a bad mood, as it came in a much larger version than usual, don’t you think?”
“…What is that supposed to mean-”
“Don’t worry too much. If it gets tough, I’ll come to help.”
With those words, Ichimaru Shiki, still smiling brightly, stood up from his seat.
At the same time, the subtle protective spells that had been quietly spread around also dissipated.
Hotaru, on the debris of the building, blankly raised his gaze to see that ominous face.
“Well, it’s already the second time, though.”
The man with the silver eyes said in a casual tone to Ichinose Hotaru, who was looking only at him.
“You can handle it well this time, right?”
“…What?”
When the priestess blinked and asked, Ichimaru Shiki grinned and pointed to the sky.
“I have someone to deal with separately.”
At that moment, through the hole in the ceiling, a dragon appeared above the giant’s head.
“I’ll catch it soon.”