The night continued to drag on as vehicles belonging to three companies returned to those companies. With their jobs of escorting some Border members for a leg of the journey done, they no longer had a reason to stay there.

Someone watched those vehicles pass by with a content sigh as he felt the cold ground on his feet. His shoes remained in his hand while his phone was held out in front of him.

"Apparently something fun had been going on. That large light looked like it was an attack from a Neighbor, but it was so far into the city. There no way it could have been a Neighbor without Border telling us about it."

Toby Awdry laughed to himself as he made his way to the Forbidden Zone.

He had never understood why his former captain liked walking around without shoes so much. When asked about it, he had gotten a vague response of: "Huh? Oh... I guess I just like the way everything feels on my feet. Heh heh. People call you a dog, but they also call me a fox. So I guess you can say it's my 'animalistic instincts' that make it feel nice."

The boy always knew how to twist words however he wanted.

But I think I understand a bit more now...

His spar and subsequent race with Noah and some C-Rank agents had all been done without any shoes or protection for his feet. Each time he took a step forward, he could feel everything he was stepping on from the duckboards and the empty pool to the festival stands that were no longer around.

During that time he had not been able to appreciate the feeling because he had been so enthralled with the festival of runners.

But now...

"The ground is cold, but refreshing. The small rocks hurt when I step too hard on them, but they don't feel too bad if I keep my steps light."

He tilted his head.

"Light steps. Heh. I don't think I've ever thought of taking light steps. All my steps have been pretty heavy, now that I think about it."

All his engery had always been used to reach his target while smashing through everything. That included the ground.

He steps taken against others had always held power in them as a way to push off the ground. Each step was more like a hammer hitting the ground so that it could launch him forward.

"..."

As he lightly spun on one leg, he extended out his other leg.

The spinning foot lightly pushed off the ground instead of smashing into it. When it went into the air alongside the rest of his body it did not create a strong wind but a nice breeze.

Once his frontal foot began to touch the ground, he held back the urge to smash into it again.

Instead of landing starting with his toes and finish with his heel, he started with his heel and began to push forward. His body started a new motion that brought his body forward while his foot finished with his toes touching the ground.

In a sudden burst, he went forward fast enough to make him have to steady himself by smashing his foot that was behind his body on the ground.

A resounding vibration ran through his body.

He crouched down and held his leg as the pain continued to run through his body from his foot and leg.

"Ow, ow, ow! Ouch! That really hurt! How do Yuki and the others make it look so easy!?"

"Well what's this? A stray dog hurt itself."

There was an insane reaction.

"Hey, I'm not a dog!"

It was after looking up at the person who spoke to him did he realize exactly who was there.

A man with some hair on his chin and a grid-like pattern on his eyes stared down at him with a grin on his face.

"Kei!"

"Hey there, little doggy. You look like you're having some fun by yourself."

"Really? I was just trying something and messed up a bit. My foot still kind of hurts now..."

"Oh? What were you trying out exactly? Is it related to that race you had last night that you didn't invite me too?"

Toby scratched the back of his head while diverting his attention away from the top ranked Attacker. It would have been a lie for him to say that he was not that interested in what someone like that had to say about him.

Deciding that he could hold off the conversation by putting his hand up, he reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone.

It seemed to work well since Tachikawa gave a laugh.

He found it hard not to smile with the man. The smile only grew once he saw the new chat name displayed in his screen.

Lobo: "Uh, hey, Kōhei? Yuu?"

Kuni: "I'm too tired for this right now. Izumi, you take care of this."

Bullet Idiot: "What's up, Awdry? Or would Lobo be fine?"

Lobo: "Lobo's fine. It's not like you guys will stop even if I said otherwise..."

Bullet Idiot: "Welcome to Border!"

Me: "Does that mean the rest of us can call you that?"

Toby gave a blank expression as he answered back.

"Oh, you're talking to Yuiga, aren't you? Yeah, that expression fits it."

Lobo: "No. I prefer if you didn't even address me, thank you very much. Now please leave so I can continue my conversation with Kōhei."

Me: "I'm your upperclassman! At least show me some respect!"

Lobo: "From what Osamu told me yesterday, and what I know about you, I have no reason to think that. The most respect I'll give you is not training using you as a dummy."

Me: "Someone help me! This beast is going to attack meeeeeee!"

There was no helping the growl that came out.

Taking in a deep breath, Toby calmed his nerves enough to look back down at the chat.

Bullet Idiot: "Hey, leave Lobo alone. He can kick your ass a hundred times by the time you get a shot on him."

Me: "I'm being picked on here!"

Lobo: "Anyways... Kōhei, I just wanted to know how to deal with Kei. I'm with him right now, but I'm never sure around him. Especially since he has those grid-eyes."

Bullet Idiot: "Grid-eyes! Hahaha! This is why I like you, Awdry!"

"Oh, you look pretty proud of yourself there," Tachikawa said. He had decided to check his own phone while waiting for Toby.

Bullet Idiot: "But I would say to just ignore his stupidity and ignore his seriousness. ...So just ignore him. You're kind of too good of a match for him, so make sure not to get trapped by him. If you really need any help, call Jin-san or your Operator. Both should be able to deal with him, no problem."

Lobo: "Got it! Thank you!"

Toby closed his phone with a snap.

"Oh? Are you done? What did you need to do?"

"..."

"Hm?"

Without any warning, Toby twisted his body around and began a full sprint away from Tachikawa.

"Hey!"

The chase was on.

.

Tachikawa had been surprised when the boy in front of him made a mad dash away from him. But it was not because he was running away. It was because of the speed he was using to run away.

That's it. That's what I wanted to see.

It's not as fast as Yuki, but there's so much there that I can't let him escape now.

Even if his legs were longer and his strides took less out of him, Tachikawa was well aware that he would not be able to keep up here.

The best option for catching up would be to use his Trigger. Even thought that was the best option, he knew that it would give reason for Toby to bring his own out. That situation would mean a complete escape for the boy.

The way he moved seemed to be a mix of two types of steps.

The first type of step was a hard smashing one that looked like it sent feedback vibrations to the boy. The sound it made against the ground made it seem as if it was his way of fighting while running. It likely told him the results of his run and was used to stop himself from going too far ahead or losing his balance.

The second type of step was a light one, as if he was leaping through the air. Each time his heel to touched the ground, his body would already be in its next movement. But by the time his toes reached the ground, his entire body had already moved ahead and his heel was in the air again. It was likely due to these light steps that the heavy steps were needed.

It was because of this combination of steps that Tachikawa found a strange running style with the boy.

He can't seem to decide how he wants to run. From what I heard from others, he seems to have regained something during his race. But at the same time, it looks like that is mixing just a bit with how he did things before.

It was the same difference between the boy using his mind to fight and using his body to fight.

The nature of Toby's Side Effect prevented him from forcing his body to move a different way when his reflexes took action, Tachikawa knew that. This was a similar situation where it looked like the boy wanted to use the light steps but his body wanted to smash the ground.

It continued to grow apparent the more the two of them ran through the city.

With neither one using a Trigger, they could both see just what they were capable of without any sort of enhancement.

Even with that being the cases, there had been something that Tachikawa wanted to say.

That just means I need to come out and say it before he can't hear me.

His own strides took less out of him and he could see Toby's back maintaining the same distance no matter how many steps he took.

Due to the time of night, there were not too many people around. That left Toby in a relatively clear view of Tachikawa as they ran.

He put his plan to action as soon as he closed the distance by an extra step.

"Hey Toby! ...No, I should call you by that appropriate name now. Lobo!"

Another step disappeared between the two of them.

"I want to ask you something!"

A third step disappeared, but not because of Tachikawa increasing his speed. It had been because Toby decreased his speed.

"I want to know if you want to join Tachikawa Squad!"

The amount of steps had been reduced to zero in a single instant.

Tachikawa found that he could not stop in time to not crash.

Crap!

As he register his current situation, something dawned on him.

...Eh?

He was now in a different location than he had previously been in.

The night sky quickly became visible above him as he felt the wind move through his body.

He now laid on the ground.

How did that happen?

.

Toby noticed the confusion on Tachikawa's face and felt his own confusion flare up at seeing the older man on his back.

"Eh...? Kei? Why are you on your back?"

"That's what I want to know!"

If neither one if them understood this then what point would there be in continuing the conversation?

I don't know what happened, but maybe I did that?

Taking a look at the people around, he noticed that there were whispers going around.

Something else that was worth note was that he was now looking up at the Border base inside of directly toward it. His body also felt a bit lower to the ground than he remembered.

"Why did you just toss me like that!?"

Toss him? Me?

There had indeed been a moment of weight on him and he did remember seeing his vision turn to at least five different places before coming to the one he had now.

"Sorry about that. I guess I..."

I what? Tossed him without meaning to do so? That wouldn't hold up at all!

He helped Tachikawa up as he spoke.

The older man dusted himself off before running his back.

There did not seem to be any serious injury, but it was clear that Tachikawa would be feeling sore after this.

"It's fine. I should have been more careful, especially knowing your Side Effect. I'll say that one was on me."

Was that it? It would make sense.

"But I was serious about my question. I guess I should have waited until I slowed down myself first."

That's right, he had asked something while chasing Toby through the street.

It had been due to that question that Toby had come to a sudden stop. It was a question that he had not ever expected to hear, but one he knew e had an answer to right away.

But it was best to confirm his hearing was correct before answering to a possibly unasked question.

"Uh, about that... What did you ask me?"

"If you wanted to join Tachikawa Squad."

"Oh. Then my answer is a rejection."

"You can boss around Yuiga."

"Tempting, but I'm good. I can just throw some Scorpions at him."

"You'll be on the best squad in Border. And get some extra perks because of it."

"My squad is great already, but I'll just pretend I heard some selfishness and not an insult. And I'm fine with the blades I have now."

"Then how about... You get some personal training from me!"

"Hello, Yūichi? There's a conceited ace here and Kōhei said to call you if he got too full of himself. ...Hm? Mei would be better for this? Okay, I'll give her a call then."

"Wait, wait, wait! Let's not make this into a bloodbath so quickly!"

It was amazing how quickly the best Attacker in Border fell to his knees at the mention of the Operator.

Feeling bad for the guy, Toby lowered his phone with a sigh.

Everything Tachikawa had been saying sounded great on paper, but Toby knew that it meant nothing to him. It was all some glamour and shine that he could put on by joining that squad, nothing he would have actually worked for or earned.

Kotowari Squad had more than enough for him.

Take can be annoying at times, but he's getting better. Besides, he's still the only person around who holds nothing back when talking to me or training with me.

Suzume's crazy, but I can usually keep up with that crazy. Besides, her dances are actually fun to watch and be a part of. It really gets me excited when she started laughing, increasing the pace, and tells me how good I'm doing.

Hoshi's new to the squad, but I'm really glad she joined. She's always nice to me at school and now she can support the rest of us. No way in hell am I going back on something like that.

There was simply no reason to accept such a thing.

"Okay, then about we bet for you? You like having solo matches and so do I. Let's have some matches and, if you can win a single one, I'll take your rejection."

This was an obvious act of selfish desperation.

No matter how much people treated him like a dog, look down on him for his ways of doing things, it was a proven fact that Toby was not an idiot.

He was a genius.

Seeing through an obvious trick was easy, thinking through this obvious bait was easy, and coming up with a counter to it was the easiest thing of all.

After all...

I can't win.

.

Tachikawa grinned as he watched Toby shifted his feat from side to side. His weight seemed to be teetering with his eyes that looked toward the night sky for an answer.

If anyone said that this boy did not look like a dog then Tachikawa was sure that there would be a riot.

That had been why he proposed this idea. He was aware that Toby got easily excited and would give a positive response.

When the dog boy opened his mouth to speak, Tachikawa was sure that he had won this round. A victory for him that could not be taken. After all...

"Sure. I'm fine with that. I just have to win a single match out of a thousand matches, right?"

How could he lose?

"Su-... Wait, what!? That isn't what I said!"

He had almost fallen for the counter.

"Huh? But you didn't say how many matches there were. Besides, we both like having solo matches. And I'm sure you of all people would enjoy showing off so much. Besides, beating me a thousand times should be easy for you, right?"

"Eh? Uh, oh... I wouldn't want to put you through that kind of thing."

"It's fine. It'll also help me prepare for the next few matches we have. Yeah, a thousand matches sounds nice. Besides, even if we don't do all those matches at once, I'll get to have some fun during the BRW and then end up on Border's top squad! What could be even better than that!?"

"No, no, no! That's-"

He's playing dirty!

Tachikawa knew that the crowd of people around them had left soon after he had gotten up, but some people who stuck around seemed to be a part of Border. Their gaze seemed fixed on the conversation going on.

If I deny this, those guys will know I backed out when I had been the one to suggest this! If I do go through with this, word will spread to the more dangerous members! And the worst part is that I would get nothing out of this!

It was a guarantee that Tachikawa would win the first few fights. It had been the reason he suggested such a thing in the first place.

The ones that came after those first few were not something he could see though.

Toby would not be staying at the same level during the whole times. He was the type to easily advance and climb up in a short amount of time. It would not mean he would win, but it would be impossible for him to lose a thousand times. Even to Tachikawa.

It was a well crafted trap.

My best option would be to reject that and take back my words. It's less work for me and I would end up with the same result as if I did fight him a thousand times. I can take a small hit to my reputation since I would still be Border's best Attacker.

All that could be done was grit his teeth at his loss.

It's a pity that he won't join, but I won't be stopping here. I'm fine with being a dog catcher for as long as I need.

These sort of thought would not have came to him when Yuki was still around as the boy's captain. The changes of harm to him were higher due to Toby's obsession with his captain.

After Yuki had stepped down from being captain, the dog boy's attitude had taken a nasty dive. It had been like watching a rabid beast fighting.

Even after Kotowari Squad has seemed to mend itself again, there had been no reason to go for the boy. He seemed unsure about something while holding himself back from the fights.

Everything had been set after the previous night.

The training he had done the Shor Squad captain had managed to help him overcome what he had been lacking and there would no longer be someone like Yuki for him to be overly attached to and stop him from making a move.

But that seemed to have been a failure.

The boy's attachment and loyalty to his current squad had kept him from accepting.

It was actually very admirable, but...

This is the same case as with Nasu and Kō. Great agents sticking with people who can't keep up with them. Leaving them would be best, but they're choosing to stick around.

He had experience with these people already. To see Toby in the same situation was enough for him to pull his hand back a bit.

There was no reason to fully pull back his offer, but there was also no reason to extend his whole hand to someone who could not see how far ahead they were.

"Fine. I get it. But at least let me help you out a bit. You use Scorpion, but I can still teach you some stuff after fighting Jin so many times."

"I'm fine. Mino's my mentor and I can follow his kind of movements better than I could follow you or Yūichi."

"You really want to just reject everything I say, don't you? Is that what Izumi told you before?"

"Haha. Sorry about that."

Tachikawa felt himself start to laugh along with the boy.

It was his loss again.

"In that case-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a sound came rushing toward them.

They both turned once they realized that the sound had been someone running in their directions. As for who it was...

.

"P-please! Please, Border agents! Help!"

The first thing Toby noticed about the girl who had ran up to him and Tachikawa was the double-crest emblem on her clothes.

What are those shitty parents trying to do now?

Once she caught her breath, the girl looked up. Her eyes widened at the sight of Toby and he felt nothing more than the want to back away.

His parents had been harsh to him and tried to extend that to their workers. Each employee he had met had either chosen to ignore him or look down on him. There had been a few exceptions, but for the most part they had been just as rude.

That was why when she moved forward toward him, the want to leave grew.

"Y-you're... You are Toby, right? Madam's son! Please, she is in trouble right now and needs help! I can't find any other Border agents, but finding her son is the best outcome!"

Conflicting feels began forming as he thought about what this meant.

His largest would never look for his help. They had chosen to ignore his existence for the most part, so helping his mother felt wrong.

But if she's looking for Border agents then it means that it involves a Neighbor. We haven't heard anything from the base though. And there's no real reason for that woman to go near the Forbidden Zone.

"Please follow me!"

Toby felt his body react on its own as the girl's hand reached out to his own.

He was unsure how his body would react so he tried to force it to do something else.

Due to the nature of his Side Effect, his body quickly stalled due to two different forces trying to move it.

This had given the girl enough time to reach his hand.

"Whoa there. I can't just have someone go taking our Lobo here. Mei and Yuki would kill me if he was kidnapped."

"But Madam!"

It was a rare time where he had been glad to have Tachikawa around.

"It looks like something's going on. Fine. You can take me there. I'm sure the first ranked Attacker of Border won't have any issues with a Neighbor."

It was true.

During the recent invasion, Toby had heard how Tachikawa had managed to take out an Illgar as well as manage to finish off some Rabbits that Murakami had been fighting.

Any normal Neighbor would be no match for him.

But that did not seek to be the case.

"No, you have it wrong! Madam is being attacked by someone using a Trigger!"

...Not good.

Molly thought in that instant.

She had been wandering through Mikado City with her aide as a way to familiarize herself with it.

It had been during that time that someone had rushed at them.

If it had been a regular theif then he would have posed no threat. The real issue came when his body seemed to be swapped out for a new one.

He had used a Trigger.

How was she supposed to get out of this one? She had an idea, but...

"I guess that won't work."

No matter what she did, returning alive was not going to be easy. But she had never had too much of an attachment to life, so...

...I guess this is fine.

She also decided to get a good view of the scenery in her final moments.

She was currently far from the Forbidden Zone and a park could be seen nearby.

There was a garden, fields beyond that, and a path through the field.

She stood on the path, but where was she to go now?

...What's placed beyond here?

This is complete escapism, she thought with a bitter smile.

She turned toward the rows of fields and cast her gaze beyond them.

"—"

She saw someone there.

They were smaller than she was and they moved toward her with their front to her.

...Is that...?

Just as she thought that, she felt her vision grow dark.

She feared her life had truly ended, but it soon cleared up.

There was a straw hat on her head. And...

"They are gone."

The person she had seen had disappeared.

After confirming they were nowhere to be seen, she took a breath.

"Where can I meet you?"

And...

"It isn't over until I do."

.

Molly opened her eyes.

From the ground of Mikado City, her high-speed thoughts were still functioning.

She had little strength left in her legs while exposed to the night air. But...

"Ahh, you can cover up with this..."

"Madam! I brought some real Border agents!"

She stopped worrying about appearances.

She actually let the man nearby place his jacket over her shoulders.

.

On the road away from the Forbidden Zone, someone had fallen to their knees.

This figure who still appeared large even on their knees was Seikai.

Trion gas surrounded his arms as he pressed his hands against the ground and shook his head.

Someone was walking to his left and he looked up at them.

"The Awdry son..."

But he did not get the full name out.

That was because a crack started to form on his body starting from his mouth and the gas continued to escape.

He had suffered a blow worthy of being called fatal.

He had engaged Toby in combat and this was the result of the very first attack.

"Kiyoshi, right."

Toby looked ahead to the structure and light of Border's base as he spoke.

He viewed a former failure, something he had never been able to beat: his former self.

"I don't know why you're doing any of this... I don't like that woman, but you are insulting Border and I'm not fine with that. At the very least, I'll take you to the police."

But Seikai did not nod. The voice of a strong woman rang in his head as if in a response.

"Seikai! ...Do you really fucking think you're important enough to bring me trouble!?"

"No...!"

Seikai produced a gassious voice and stood up, albeit unsteadily.

And he took a deep breath.

If he did not at least cover his wounds then he would continue leaking trion.

He could move as much as the false body of someone who has taken damage allowed. So after gathering his strength like that...

"—!"

Seikai launched an attack on Toby's back.

.

Seikai realized he was no match for him.

...When did he reach this level...!?

He was nothing like the other day.

Even during the battle in that waterway, he would have been no match for him in a proper duel. But the battlefield was a factor and any person would use that in every way possible. They had not been dueling in a ring.

So he had thought this would be the same.

He thought back to when he had approached him just now.

...I was...

Careless.

.

Earlier, Seikai had charged at Molly. His target had changed once he noticed Toby rushing in his direction.

They were far from the Forbidden Zone and there were wheel tracks in the road, so he had rushed straight in and fired his Asteroid shots. And he used the 3-way version.

He had not wanted to hold back and had gone all out from the very beginning. Or he had meant to.

If his preemptive strike had been successful, someone else could have taken care of the rest. He had hoped an unworthy man like him could at least support his boss.

That was why he had gone straight in.

If his opponent had dodged, he could have circled around him with even greater movements.

There was a trick to that: the wheel tracks in the road.

The slopes created by wheels made for good footholds when moving left or right.

That was all it was, but knowing how to move around the battlefield meant a lot. Especially when his opponent had not been prepared for this kind of thing. He had already checked over the possible battlefields the day before, so he was more familiar with it. However...

"—"

Toby had dodged his Asteroid to the right.

It had looked like he only lightly swayed his body, but that was inaccurate.

Toby had slipped through the gaps between the rapid-fire trion bullets.

Impossible, Seikai had thought.

But he had gotten through the bullets as if simply walking.

Meanwhile, he had moved too far to his right. So he had swung his right hand while jumping. He had made a leap to circle around to Toby's left.

"Seikai!"

That was when he had heard the voice of his boss.

He had wondered what that was about and that was precisely when the attack had come from dead ahead.

It had been Scorpion.

...How!?

Toby had been passing him by, so why had the attack come from in front of him?

Only then had he noticed he had let go of the Scorpion.

And he created one that was more of a polearm before having placed the butt end against one of the wheel track slopes at an angle that would pierce his gut.

His gaze had followed Toby, so he had not seen the Scorpion stab into him like a pike.

No, it was not that he had not seen it. He could not see it because it was hidden behind his right arm's Asteroid shots.

...This is...

It had been almost the opposite of what he had done in the waterway the other day.

Then, he had made a feint shot hidden behind an arm.

This time, he had done it.

His leaping motion had shifted him from the Scorpion, but...

"—"

He had not lasted. He had tried to keep his legs firm, but the Scorpion had escaped his movement and spun through the air.

"So you have returned."

He had seen it fall right into Toby's hand while he kept his back turned.

...Oh.

What have I done? he had thought.

I have undoubtedly helped this beast grow.

.

"...!"

Seikai used trion bullets on both his arms.

If he could not reach him and he would dodge, he would have to drag him into it.

He took the remaining trion left in that false body, solidified it in his hands as cubes, and ran.

He jumped from the wheel track slopes to accelerate as if running up the road.

...Here I go!

There was Toby's back away from the Border base. His hair was blowing in the battlefield wind.

...How fucking poetic!

With that thought, he moved his arms as if to embrace him from behind and clasp his hands together.

If he had the trion bullets collide, they would burst and trigger an explosion. Even with his acceleration Trigger, he could not see how Toby could escape the blast.

For an instant, Seikai thought of his companion's faces.

...Everyone...!

But no matter how much he tried to remember, nothing appeared in his mind's eye.

He was focused on the moment right now. He had no time for his companions. And he wondered if they had accepted him specifically because he was so heartless.

A moment later, he did not so much stop as he did throw himself forward to embrace him. And...

"Kiyoshi."

He realized the scent of a beast had reached his chest.

It was Toby.

He took a light step into his closing arms.

.

...What!?

Seikai came to a stop without thinking.

He realized an impact had hit both his arms.

It was not that the trion bullets had come together and exploded. A horizontal rod had entered between the inside of his elbows.

It was a Scorpion.

The blade end pierced the inside of his left elbow and the butt end shattered the inside of his right elbow.

His first attack had also harnessed his initial strength so he would self-destruct.

"Kh," he groaned while Toby's voice reached him.

"Lesser Kiyoshi, how about we put it like this?"

This being...

"Your mistake was not being more thorough in your initial attacks."

In an instant, Toby grabbed the Scorpion from between his arms.

...Oh.

The beast scent was on the move.

It was the scent of his hair.

He opened the Scorpion, slammed the blade against the trion bullets in his hands, and trapped them.

"Here I come."

He had turned around in his arms.

That put him at extreme close range, so he responded.

...Ohh!

His elbow was shattered even with a false body, his trion bullets had been taken, and he had received a fatal blow to the core of his body.

What more could he take from him?

...If a Wilde animal would steal anything, would it tear out your heart? Or...

Seikai sent his entire body forward. He swung his arms, head, and everything else down to strike Toby.

"—!?"

He saw a light below him.

It was a blade. Toby's Scorpiom was standing up from the ground with the blade open.

...When did he do that!?

He knew. He had done it in the timing you could call the instant of attack.

He could slip an attack into the gap between attack and defense.

He is dangerous, thought Seikai. But he also realized the meaning of the light being fired from below.

He had poured all of his remaining trion into those trion bullets and they were now being fired as a cannon. And it would not hit his jaw or face.

It would hit his entire head.

"...!"

A powerful impact blasted his head.

The trion light scattered, the impact destroyed his head, and his body was quickly swapped back out for his real one.

Seikai found his vision wavering. The blow to his his head, while not effecting his real body, had shaken his brain.

His vision was going dark as he lost consciousness.

But he understood one thing: he had tried to take a wild beast and instead had his freedom taken.

...Guys, I'm sorry.

He thought while falling to his knees and collapsing.

I lost to Border people again.

.

Toby took a breath after Seikai collapsed and shut his eyes.

He decided against having any thoughts about this enemy.

Seikai had made his decision when he came here.

"Honestly..."

Only now did he come to understand many things.

He muttered to himself while thinking back to his defeat and the path he had walked afterwards.

"If I had understood this earlier, this would have been a very different story."

He did not feel apologetic. What he had done had been the best option for who they had been back then.

That would never happen again.

And from here on, he could only count on the future.

So he turned to face his mother.

"Awdry boss."

"Giving me the 'status' treatment, are we?"

"Because you are still going to sponsor Border."

However...

"I will never see you as anything more than a terrible woman."

"And why is that?"

"Because you and that terrible manga be a hallow threat."

Hearing that, Molly's expression changed while backlit by the city.

"Heh...!"

He laughed. One of the two Awdry bosses covered her mouth while giving a bitter laugh.

"What exactly do you mean? You who is nothing more than a failed child who has become a beast."

"Right."

Toby nodded and stepped forward.

He was a challenger, so he continued forward.

"I know just how you two work. You said this and that about Border because I was a part of it, but you did not take your money back because you see the value of Border. The disappointment you feel for me is separate from your feelings of Border. No matter what I say or do to you two, you will not stop your sponsorship of Border."

"Very good. I suppose failure children do have their own days. With that being the case..."

She stood up while ignoring the tears in her clothes.

"Know that everything we do against you is only against you. You are the failure son we wish to forget and so we will deal with you like the parents who wish to forget." She turned around to begin a walk back into the main part of the city. "Border is not an organization we can turn our backs on. If something happens to our money, it will be Border who suffers from it."

"Madam..."

"Good job finding someone, Emily. Just next time...do not find a beast who can't control himself."

Toby watched as the two woman left.

There had been no need to worry about them since he was aware of the fighting capabilities needed to be a part of that company.

Feeling a hand on his back, he looked up to see Tachikawa looking down to him.

"You can leave carrying this guy to me. You did a good job there, Lobo. I'll tell Yuki all about it."