AUTHOR'S NOTES:

At this point, chapters should be out more frequently since I basically have no schoolwork to worry about until Fall. Apologies for the long wait.

REVIEWER RESPONSE:

whwsms: Indeed, things are going to be vastly different than last arc. Glad to see you hyped!

Brosephg: Thanks as usual for the support and insight. I do tend to draw inspiration from the narratives of "A New ROAD of Misfortune" and "Twist of Fate". Is that a bad thing? I hope not.

321jaz: Hope to see you stick around!

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Hopes and Hype [10] TALE AND TIME ARC

"Robert Swallow? Who the hell thought that name would be good for their son?" Kirito laughed as Osamu entered the temporary HQ of NEGATIVE.

"You're telling me. I thought I've seen it all in this city but a name like that's priceless!" Naki responded in kind.

"Uh hello?" Osamu greeted awkwardly.

"Ah Osamu! You're finally here, come take a seat!" Naki pointed to a rusty old chair that was found in the desolate factory that they were currently residing in.

"So before we talk about this mission, I have to confirm a couple of things." Naki announced.

Poo Moo stopped browsing porn on his phone, Asuna gave Naki a bored look, Zack sighed irritably and Kirito's cheerful disposition instantly turned stern.

"First off, I sent the letter to Judgment talking about the intentions of the rogues and how we weren't working with them."

"Boss, do you really think that will help anything? We're wanted aren't we? I doubt that will help clear our names." Asuna noted.

"Yes good point Rose." Naki agreed. Osamu became confused at how Naki referred to Asuna but Kirito caught his expression and silently gestured that he would explain later.

"However, what matters is that we put in the effort to clear our names. If they truly care about apprehending those responsible, then they should at least take our statement in consideration." Naki added.

"I guess you have a point." Asuna reluctantly approved.

"Secondly, I want to verify something with Osamu." Naki announced once more.

Osamu suddenly felt anxious as all eyes went on him.

"Just to confirm Osamu, you and that Judgment group did manage to deactivate the power generator on our side right?"

"Yeah." Osamu nodded. "Shouldn't that be obvious though? The Level Downer stopped working once the one on our side was dealt with."

"Yeah you're right but we were just worried at the time. We faced little opposition on our end but you guys apparently fought the leader. The Level Downers we collected from of those fallen rogues have no effect." Naki said and stood up from his seat.

"Speaking of the leader, I have reason to believe that our new target is someone related to the leader of the rogues." Naki said, causing a slight stir in the room.

"What evidence do you have to back this up?" Zack asked fiercely.

"Simple." Naki took out a piece of ripped up paper from a nearby cabinet. "I had Asuna infiltrate the 177th Judgment Branch."

"You what?!" Kirito slammed his fists on the table. "Why would you make her do something that dangerous?!"

"Don't yell at me. Asuna is the one who suggested it." Naki retorted. Kirito stared at Asuna in alarm. "I wasn't against it either since I personally wanted info on what the rogues' objective was."

"And that paper was all you found?" Zack questioned.

"Yeah." Asuna answered. "They have almost no good security so sneaking in was straightforward. It is rather unfortunate that that paper is the only piece of evidence I was able to find though."

"Let me see here." Kirito got up and walked towards the paper. "All I can make out is 'Robert' and 'Love, Cynthia Swallow'".

"The name Robert doesn't tell us anything!" Zack argued. "Robert is a very common name!"

"While that is true, don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?" Naki responded.

"Huh?" Zack blurted out.

"There's been an identified intruder from our informants and the guy's name is Robert? Even though it could very well be a coincidence, I think the person in the letter and the intruder are the same person. It's too close to the aftermath of the rogues incident to disregard that possibility." Naki explained.

Zack reluctantly backed off.

"What do you want us to do exactly?" Osamu asked the question everybody had on their mind.

"Nothing. All we have is a name. No face, abilities or anything. We'll have to wait for our informants to give us more info. I just wanted to make you all more aware of the situation is all."

"Wait, NEGATIVE has informants?!" Osamu voiced in surprise.

"Yup." Poo Moo spoke up. "We have Level 0's who contribute to our cause by donating money and worthy information."

"Huh." Osamu acknowledged. "You know, I wanted to ask you Naki, what exactly is our goal is NEGATIVE?"

"Heh, didn't I tell already tell you? We're fighting for the acceptance of Level 0's. Nothing more and nothing less. We send calling cards with our identities as Level 0's at the scenes of our missions to tell the world that even those of lower levels can still fight." Naki explained seriously, his fists clenching.

"I see…" Osamu accepted.

"And Osamu, I think you're going to be a great fit here. That power you demonstrated was incredible. If you can come to wield it then you'll definitely be a worthy trump card for us."

The others members sent questioning glares but Naki ignored them.

"Meeting dismissed!"

Everyone began to go their own separate ways.

"Hey Osamu. You wanna get some ramen?" Kirito called out.

"Uh okay I guess." Osamu stuttered at the abruptness of Kirito's actions.

"How are you finding NEGATIVE so far?" Kirito asked.

"I can't really say. I did just join after all."

"Yeah true, but don't worry. Even though everyone's kind of a hardass, they're all pretty okay."

"I agree for now, no one seems that bad." Osamu agreed.

Kirito didn't say anything to that and the conversation went quiet until they reached the ram shop that Kirito was yearning for.

When they entered, Osamu was immediately hit by the smell of salt.

"This place has some pretty damn good ramen. The only problem is that they use so much salt that if you try to eat two bowls, you'll probably die."

Osamu shivered in fright at that news as he took a seat.

Kirito ordered two bowls of the regular and sat across from Osamu.

"So what's with the sudden invitation?" Osamu inquired.

"I just like getting close to my teammates is all. But the main reason I brought you here is to tell you about Naki, Asuna and I. Since we're all teammates, I figure it's fair to talk about our past right? Especially since we all know about yours."

"Wait, you guys know about my past?" Osamu asked in an aggravated tone.

"Yeah, sorry we looked at your file. That's why I want to tell you about us since we grew up together."

"Alright fair enough." Osamu accepted.

The waiter came with the two bowls of ramen.

"It all started 10 years ago." Kirito started. "Asuna, Naki and I are Child Errors. We all have no one to call family and no one to call our own." Kirito waited for his ramen to cool down.

"Academy City put us in this orphanage type facility that was a guise for something more sinister."

"Sinister? What, were they experimenting on you guys or something?" Osamu asked jokingly.

"Wow, you're not too far off mark actually." Kirito confirmed much to Osamu's horror. "Every 5 days all of us in the 'orphanage' were injected with… something that was supposed to enhance our growth as Espers."

"That's just…" Osamu muttered.

"That's not what's important though. Stuff like that is pretty common in this city. What really tore us apart was the fire that tore apart out orphanage. No one knew who started it or how it started. A flame erupted in the middle of the air and just like that, the building was caught up in a blaze. As stupid as it sounds, it almost seemed like magic." Kirito explained. "Asuna, Naki and I were the only survivors. We barely managed to escape the burning building and we lived on our own ever since. Naki left us a year later and it was just Asuna and I. We were homeless for years until Naki came back with boatloads of cash. That was when the idea of forming NEGATIVE came into play."

"…" Osamu was silent.

"So yeah, that's our story. I don't know much about Poo Moo or Zack. They mostly keep to themselves."

"…Do you guys really think that you're making a difference with NEGATIVE?" Osamu asked skeptically.

"Sometimes, I have that same exact thought." Kirito despondently agreed as the ramen became soggy.

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A Touma Kamijou walked through the ally that housed the members of GROUP.

"Stop right there you fucker!" Accelerator warned as he and the others prepared for combat.

"Wait, I'm not here to fight!" A Touma exclaimed.

"Do you really expect us to just stop and listen?!" Tsuchimikado scoffed. "We've already had dozens of dimension jumpers kill some of our own!"

"Someone like me can't kill…" A Touma said quietly, causing the others to lower their guard.

"I'm just here to ask you guys something." A Touma walked closer with his hands up in the air.

"And what is it? It must be pretty important if you jumped across dimensions to get here." Tsuchimikado asked wearily.

"Take me to your dimension's Touma Kamijou." A Touma immediately requested.

"…" GROUP was silent. Awaki was frozen stiff. This Touma looked identical to the one she knew.

"I need to see if his Imagine Breaker reacts to mine."

"Reacts? What are you talking about?" Tsuchimikado asked curiously, legitimately lost.

"It's a request from our Aleister. He wants more data on the Imagine Breaker and he's resorted to using me for those ends. No matter what dimension, Touma Kamijou always wields the Imagine Breaker and he's desperately searching for the reason why. Furthermore, the Touma Kamijou of this dimension pulls up some… odd readings. Readings unprecedented when compared to every other Touma Kamijou."

"Data huh? Sorry but we can't let you anywhere near our Kami-yan. Too much trouble and too many risks." Tsuchimikado raised a hand, signaling Etzali to ready his pistol.

"W-wait! You know that your Aleister is going to probably do the same thing right?! Not just him but every Aleister across the dimensions is sending over their Touma Kamijous for this very purpose!"

"That makes no sense. Aleister would never waste a valuable resource such as yourself." Tsuchimikado countered. "My bet is that… he doesn't need you anymore since he has enough data. Hell, maybe he even managed to recreate the Imagine Breaker. But that doesn't matter to me or any of us here. Shoot Etzali."

"Wa-" A Touma fell to the ground after Etzali fired a simple gunshot.

"Clean up the mess Accelerator and be quick about it. If dimension jumpers were caught by the outside, it would be problematic to say the least." Tsuchimikado advised before his phone rang.

"Ah, speak of the devil. Kami-yan's calling me. I'll be stepping out now guys, be careful." Tsuchimikado bid farewell as he walked off, leaving the other members of GROUP with varying expressions.

"What… what just happened?" Awaki muttered to no one in particular after witnessing the obscene turn of events.

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"So Kami-yan, why did you tell me to come over here in person?" Tsuchimikado asked.

He and Touma were standing right outside of their dorms.

"So due to recent circumstances… I need a harem Tsuchimikado." Touma asked outright, causing Tsuchimikado to almost gag in disbelief.

"W….what? What did you just say Kami-yan?"

"I just told you! Well more specifically, I need 6 more girls to play the part."

"S-sorry Kami-yan. I just need some time to process this." Tsuchimikado admitted as he tiredly entered his dorm.

"Huh. What's with him?" Touma asked himself.

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Osamu was back at his shitty apartment and he was interrupted from his attempt to bring his job back to life by his phone ringing.

"Hello?" Osamu answered.

"Osamu, it's good to talk to you!" Makoto's narcissistic voice echoed from the phone.

"*Sigh* What do you want?"

"I want you to come to A Certain High School tomorrow so you can see me beat the crap out of your friend Touma Kamijou."

"Oh don't worry, I was planning on going anyway."

"Really? I have a hard time believing it."

"…I've changed Makoto. It might be hard to believe but I'm tired of running from your and Adagaki's bullshit." Osamu abruptly hung up, feeling a swell of courage that was absent for far too long. "I wonder… will Touma be able to handle him?"

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"What's wrong Touma?" Index asked. Itsuwa, her and Othnius were up to their usual antics of watching T.V. and doing nothing else.

"Nothing, just had a long day is all." Touma sighed and heated up the food that Itsuwa cooked.

"Oh by the way K-Kamijou-kun…" Itsuwa started while blushing intensely.

"Hm? What's up Itsuwa?"

"I-I got a phone call today from Necessarius earlier today and Tatemiya told me to relay this information to you." Itsuwa went silent again, wishing that she never brought this up.

"Which is…?" Index asked. She and Othinus didn't overhear this phone conversation at all.

"Agnese likes you!" Itsuwa shouted thunderously enough for the entire apartment complex to hear.

"…." Touma was quiet while Index and Othinus's faces opened wide with awe and shock.

"….Agnese huh?" Touma mumbled.

Othinus, Itsuwa and Index looked at Touma with great trepidation. Was he going to accept her 'confession'?

"That's it! She could be one of the concubines on the play!" Touma realized as he smiled giddily.

"….What?" The three girls said emotionlessly.

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After a bunch of random events that consisted of Touma's inward preparations for the fight with Makoto and Awaki's internal dilemma on what the hell happened with the dimension jumping, a day went by.

It was the day of the duel between Touma and Makoto.

"We're coming to cheer you on Touma!" Index exclaimed joyously.

"Just be careful. I've heard that this guy is pretty powerful. He might accidentally fire off the battlefield." Touma warned.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Itsuwa insisted.

Touma was still weary but he tried to disregard his worry as he made his way to school. He would have to sit through his first period class but after that, classes would be put on hold so that his match could hold spectators. Individuals that didn't even belong to the school were allowed to view the match as well.

"Hey Kami-yan! I heard about the match today!" Aogami came up behind Touma, greatly surprising him.

"Aogami! What the hell happened to you?!" Touma asked, baffled.

"Didn't Tsuchimikado tell the class? I was on my own personal journey. I discovered many things about myself that I never even though about." Aogami vaguely explained, further fueling Touma's curiosity.

"Well… good for you I guess."

"But I've heard that you're dueling Makoto Haru today?"

"Yeah."

"Be careful man. I've heard some pretty unsavory rumors about that guy. Heard that he's a big scumbag."

"I'll be fine." Touma said reassuringly.

"Yeah I guess you will. I of all people should know that." Aogami laughed for a reason beyond Touma's understandings.

Shortly after, Touma and Aogami entered the school's main buildings and Touma was offered words of encouragement and praise from most of the female populace. When they reached their class, Touma was immediately questioned by Tsuchimikado.

"Hey Kami-yan, would Awaki work for the harem?"

To clarify, Touma expanded upon the play to Tsuchimikado the prior day.

"I never thought of her but yeah, she should work for the play." Touma agreed.

"Wait what?" Awaki questioned though no one answered her.

The courtyard of A Certain High School was bustling with activity. No one gave a shit about their first period class.

"So Kamijou," Fukiyose started. "what's your plan for the duel?"

"Plan? Eh, I'll just punch him. That's what I usually do."

"Why did I even ask…?" Fukiyose lamented.

"But you know, I'm pretty surprised at how many spectators are coming to watch this fight. Because really, why would anyone care?" Awaki mentioned.

"My guess is that the girls from Tokiwadai heard and came running over. After all, Kami-yan's recently become rather popular over there." Aogami concluded.

"Well, here's hoping you don't lose Kami-yan! This is a gamble. If you lose, girls are gonna shit talk you and if you win, you'll remain in their good favor." Tsuchimikado reminded him.

"Listen Tsuchimikado, I only need 4 more girls for the play. I really don't care about what the majority think." Touma countered before Awaki interrupted.

"What are you guys talking about? What play?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys." Touma realized before turning to face Fukiyose, Awaki and Aogami. "When Tokiwadai called me yesterday, they revealed that they need me for a play during their Ball. It's called 'Prince Snow White and the Seven Concubines.' I was hoping that you would join in Awaki. It's gonna be difficult finding more girls that would willing to join in this garbage."

Some girls in the class lamented at Touma's words but Awaki disregarded them.

"Well… I guess I could join." Awaki accepted under a guise of reluctance.

"Oh thanks Awaki!" Touma said happily earning a gaze of ferocity from Fukiyose that only Tsuchimikado managed to notice.

"Hey Kami-yan," Tsuchimikado tried his best to hold back his laughter. "what about having Fukiyose join the play?"

"What?!" Touma shouted. "Are you crazy?! Fukiyose wouldn't be caught dead in something like this!"

Fukiyose, who was secretly hoping for Touma to agree with Tsuchimikado's proposal lightly groaned and sat back down in disappointment.

"Oh Kami-yan, you naïve boy. That's rather upsetting but I understand. We'll try to recruit 4 more girls." Tsuchimikado resolved.

"You already have 2 other girls?" Awaki asked for further clarification as Touma earned some stares of fury from the rest of the class.

"Yeah, it kind of came out of nowhere honestly. Though one of them is only in it because Tokiwadai is paying her for it." Touma answered.

"I seriously doubt that Kami-yan is going to have trouble getting girls to join the play considering the amount of girls that are here to watch the duel." Aogami advised.

"Speaking of the duel," Awaki changed the subject. "I learned about this Makoto guy's power."

"Impressive Musujime." Tsuchimikado complimented. "Did you do that to earn Kami-yan's favor?"

"Don't be stupid." Awaki sighed. "I just happened to overhear it as I was passing by some high school. Apparently, Makoto's power consists of wind manipulation. He can harden the properties of wind to create numerous blades and the like that he can control at will."

"Wow, that's actually pretty cool." Touma said in amazement.

"Cool? You have to fight this guy you know. Admiring his strength is the last thing you should be doing." Awaki warned.

"Oh don't worry. I'm prepared to fight him. I just believe that respecting someone's power is necessary if you want to properly fight him." Touma said sagely.

"Damn Kami-yan, those are some pretty wise words." Tsuchimikado complimented.

At the other end of the room, Himegami was crossing her fingers, silently hoping that someone in the room would consider her for the play.

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First period ended and hype was building up outside in the courtyard of A Certain High School.

Two acquaintances that became strangers ran into each other.

"Why are you here?" Seria asked Misaki. "You know that it's impossible for him to remember you so why bother?"

"You know why." Misaki answered vaguely.

"You should really know when to give up." Seria sighed pitifully.

Girls that should've been in class or work arrived at the scene.

"Are you sure that you two should be here?" Saten asked Mikoto and Kuroko.

"Eh, it's not like it matters. No one bothered going to class anyway. Ever since that idiot saved Kongou and the others, he became the talk of the school for some reason." Mikoto said.

"That… doesn't surprise me." Konori reluctantly accepted.

"Unfortunately…." Kuroko sighed despondently. "I don't see the appeal of this."

"Why did you come then?" Uiharu inquired.

"What else am I supposed to do when no one is around?" Kuroko whined.

"But isn't this crowd a bit too big?" Saten observed.

"Knowing that that idiot is involved, I'm not surprised." Mikoto sighed.

Three love struck females stood, waiting in anticipation.

"Is Touma really going to be okay?" Index asked worriedly.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Itsuwa said resolutely. Itsuwa didn't come to class since she wanted to make sure that Index brought Othinus along and got to the school without getting lost.

"Indeed. It's him after all." Othinus chimed in.

A certain group laid back at the sidelines, waiting for the duel to begin.

"Hey boss, the guy with the spiky hair is the one that Osamu was talking about right? The really overpowered one that helped disable that generator?" Kirito asked for clarification.

"Yeah I think so." Naki responded vaguely.

"This crowd is much larger than it really should be." Zack said offhandedly with slight annoyance.

"Did someone spread info about this fight?" Poo Moo wondered aloud.

"Who cares?" Asuna said tiredly. "Hey… isn't Osamu supposed to be here with us?"

"He is. I don't know where he is though. He isn't answering any of my calls and he did seem a little off when we had our last meeting. But then again, I barely know him so what do I know?" Naki said as he secretly worried for what Osamu was doing.

Another group with ties to the dark side of Academy City stood near the sidelines as well; taking note of the many familiar faces that passed by.

"Hey Mugino, the Railgun is over there!" Kinuhata remarked. "Why are they all here to watch this stupid duel?"

"I'm asking myself the same question." Mugino spat out irritably. "You can blame Hamazura."

"What?! How is this my fault?! I wanted to come watch; you guys didn't have to come along!" Hamazura insisted.

"We needed some good entertainment Hamazura. Jobs like the last one take a lot out of us you know." Mugino said sourly. "But I didn't want to be in this huge goddamn crowd!"

Hamazura tried their best to ignore the rest of ITEM's complaining as he looked at the center of the courtyard, eagerly awaiting the start of the duel.

"How exactly do you know this Kamijou guy Hamazura?" Takitsubo inquired, asking a question that the other members of ITEM had. Fremea didn't really care and was eating some baked bread that the Tokiwadai maids were selling.

"It's a long story…"

1 Level 5 came out of sheer curiosity.

"The Hero's taking part in a duel huh?" Accelerator smirked. "I can't wait to see how this shit plays out."

1 other Level 5 came out of sheer hype.

"Kamijou is fighting huh? I wish I was the one fighting him but this works out too!" Gunha yelled out, causing others to distance themselves from him.

2 unknown antagonists were preparing to scrutinize the fight from an isolated corner of the courtyard.

"Elizabeth, calm yourself." Robert advised.

"I-I'm fine brother. I'm just a bit nervous is all." Elizabeth replied while twiddling her thumbs.

"No need to fret, we're just here to gather info on the capabilities of Touma Kamijou. He's been making quite a ruckus in this city as of late and it's worth seeing if he really will be a thorn in our side." Robert explained.

Elizabeth was about to respond but a distraught male accidentally shoved her as he walked past the antagonistic duo.

Elizabeth wasn't disheveled and Robert didn't seem to mind.

"That guy looked kind of sad." Elizabeth remarked.

"Indeed he did. But that's no surprise. All this city truly exudes is heartache." Robert agreed as he grimaced.

Lastly, one former enemy stood on the sidelines, patiently waiting for the duel to begin.

"The Imagine Breaker huh?" Kamisato said quietly to himself. "I'm looking forward to see what you got yourself into this time."

Touma was getting mentally prepared as Tsuchimikado and Aogami tried to hype him up.

"Come on Kami-yan! You can do this!" Aogami encouraged.

"Yeah Kami-yan! You ready!? You ready?! You ready?!" Tsuchimikado intensely shouted.

"Oh my god, shut up!" Touma retorted.

"Kami-yan…" Aogami whispered, disregarding Touma's annoyed outburst. "Just think of all the girls you can get when you win this fight! Think of how much the harem will expand!"

"Yeah, just think about it Kami-yan! Isn't this what you wanted?! Didn't you want a harem?!" Tsuchimikado added.

Before Touma could lose his mind, Osamu moved towards Touma with a distraught expression.

"Oh Osamu." Touma acknowledged. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Yeah, well I wasn't either." Osamu agreed. "I just want to see you kick Makoto' ass. He's had it for a long time coming."

"Man don't worry." Tsuchimikado said reassuringly. "It's Kami-yan. Scum like that Makoto guy usually don't have the bite to back their bark."

"Yeah Osamn69. Kami-yan will be able to handle it." Aogami said.

"But you know…this place is a bit too packed." Osamu noted.

"Yeah, it's making me kind of nervous honestly." Touma admitted.

"Oh! There he comes!" Tsuchimikado alerted Touma and co. For some reason, Tsuchimikado and Aogami ran near the school the second they saw Makoto near them.

Makoto was walking towards the center of the courtyard enthusiastically with Adagaki at his side.

Adagaki had a snarky smile and was attracting stares from many of the male populace.

Yomikawa went to center and the enormous crowd started to gradually quiet down.

"The two Espers must now enter the arena!" Yomikawa announced via a megaphone.

"Good luck Touma." Osamu said.

Touma nodded and walked towards the center.

Adagaki exited the center and walked towards the area that Osamu was standing at.

"Hey, are you wondering why there are so many people here?" Makoto asked Touma. His tone was much more serious than his usual narcissistic one.

"…" Touma didn't answer.

"It's because I personally spread word about this duel. Using my connections, I tried my best to make everyone in Academy City become aware of this event. And it looks like it paid off." Makoto grinned. "You know, I was thinking…you want to make a bet?"

"W-what?" Touma stuttered.

"A bet. Think about it. If you could somehow make me lose which is obviously impossible due to your Level, then you can make me regret it. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Some of the crowd caught wind of this declaration and it spread around like wildfire. Many were cheering for a bet to be made while the ones that knew Touma frowned in worry.

"…." Touma was thinking.

"So? Yes or no?" Makoto aggressively asked.

"…Fine but do you mind if I propose it?" Touma said, sparking some serious interest in everyone present.

"Oh? Sure. Anything. Anything at all." Makoto accepted.

"I realized that there's only one way for your ego to truly break." Touma brought up scornfully causing Makoto to furrow his eyebrows in slight concern. "If I win, then you have to not be in a relationship with a girl for 4 years. And if you win, then I have to drop out of high school and never go back. " Touma proposed. "I think it's kind of fair. You're basically ruining my future if you win and I'm ruining your ego if I win. Fair enough right? I mean I would've made the no relationship bet on myself too but no girls have an interest in me in the first place so that wouldn't be fair."

The crowd immediately had several outbursts.

And in the midst of this, Makoto laughed. He laughed so hard that he had to stop to prevent himself from collapsing.

"Sure Touma Kamijou sure. Get ready to lose your future." Makoto backed up and prepared to have the wind do his bidding along with making sure that his insurance was still intact.

"And for you to lose your ego." Touma tightened his fists.

"Are you all ready?!" Tsuchimikado blared into a microphone.

"I am Aogami and this is my co-commentator Tsuchimikado." Aogami introduced themselves. "Now… who will lose part of themselves?! Will Touma Kamijou lose his future or will Makoto Haru lose his ego?!"

"Begin!" Yomikawa announced, signaling the start of a duel that would unknowingly give birth to a topic of epic proportions.

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Natsu Swallow sat in the Swallow Estate with a blank expression. For some reason, he could foresee Robert and Elizabeth failing him.

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