"––––––!"
Suddenly Kamijou Touma awoke.
"Uuh…"
He felt terrible pain all over. His head shook uncontrollably, and pain rang through his innards as he felt a slime of bile stuck in his lungs and throat as if it were fissured.
'Stop... That's enough...swallow it, because if you can't, then… just die'
Following the abrupt thrash of his hand to his mouth, the feeling as if he was being choked suddenly vanished, and so too did the pain that had just recently tormented his body.
"Keep your eyes open," Kamijou says shamelessly.
That pain and discomfort served as proof that he was still alive.
That Kamijou certainty felt was the one and only true constant.
"Where is...this...?" Back to reality, his breath recovered and heart beat back to the mundane, he puzzledly asked.
There were several sources of light penetrating the cold and deserted darkness.
The moon's luminesce flooded through the clerestory windows and lit up bleachers on the north and south walls, making it possible to ascertain his exact location.
Just judging by the silhouettes alone he already knew what all signs pointed to.
He was indeed in a school gymnasium; and most importantly, it seemed he had been sleeping on the freshly waxed basketball court.
That was what registered first to his sloth pace consciousness. Followed by the sudden drop in air temperature and then the absolute silence.
It was not a hyperbole to say the scene was burning away his inner self.
"...Ha..."
Kamijou's expression was dyed in dreadful fatigue, and the cold sweat and pale face were symptoms of such.
"...Ha...aa...a!"
His rapidly pulsating heartbeat picked up at roughly the same as his right hand moved to grab his chest.
"Haaaaaaaaaa!"
Everything in this place caused his breath to quicken. His fist too tightens with power. And his heartbeat too increased violently, aiding to slash through his fighting spirit.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaa!"
However-
For him to see his opponent in pain, he sees no reason for letting himself go from this pain. Neither side can be convinced aside from violence. So how can he go around persuading himself by passively feigning ignorance? Is this decision pointless in the grand scheme of things? Should he just tear these shackles off and set off on a mechanical rampage with all his might like some kind of machine?
Kamijou struggled with the non-existence that is currently his life.
Save People, there are so many people who are suitable for doing this. But unfortunately, the amount of seats there are, could only be filled by one. And there is no room for anyone else to sit. His strength was not suitable for saving lives. In this messed up world his power was only good for nothing but killing.
He is not that God who could end and create a world at the snap of her fingers.
But a simple teenage boy one could find anywhere.
In his mind, in a short moment, someone's face appeared.
"Am I even a good person?"
The answer has long since been forgotten.
Savior or False messiah. Having to personally end the lives of your close ones firsthand and not being able to do anything about it; made manner fest even worse when you realize you're not changing anything but just making it worse, blurs the fine line between those two concepts.
One side must whisper mockingly against the other.
But.
Even so.
Kamijou was the wielder of Imagine Breaker. And that alone was the only weapon that stood a slither of a chance against the wicked Norse Goddess, Othinus.
So, he calmly stood up.
There was no need for him to turn on the LED lamps that hung from the ceiling. Or even less look around the faintly lit deserted darkness.
It was less than a fraction of a second, turning to the side-south west-Kamijou bolted through the exit leading into the main building.
The corridor felt very spacious despite there being no natural moonlight or artificial lighting shining through. Even accounting, that Kamijou's vision had already recovered and he could distinctly make out almost all the multiple silhouettes in the elongated passageway.
Kamijou continued to run, making sharp turns around any corners and climbing up several steers with quick but mild caution.
He had no exact location in mind but to run until he stumbled into his enemy.
And there they were in sight once he banked a left corner.
"...!"
Kamijou had no time to scream.
That he didn't pace himself whilst running around worked against him.
Dull white-blue shining light filled his blurry vision.
Both in sync a jolt of excruciating hot pain took seizure of his entire body and the smell of burnt flesh permeated the air.
Kamijou knew this feeling very well.
"Elec...tric...ity!"
His whole body stopped.
He felt light all around, both in mind, body and soul.
But that nor the fact he was caught off guard was not the only cause why he fell to the ground.
'This is a dream, right?'
Kamijou fought to keep his eye's open.
Lying on the floor with him as well, the moon's natural brilliance shining through the hallway windows upon her fragile figure, was-
"Himegami!"
She was a girl with long, straight, black hair often seen wearing a miko outfit.
But she no longer wore the cross necklace given to her by Necessarius after the the Deep Blood incident so vampires would not be attracted to her blood.
"What...?"
Kamijou assumed the sudden announcement of her name by some stranger must have thrown her off guard, as for a split moment, she gazed at him dazed and confused.
And that gave him an opening. Not to attack but to escape.
As such, what he had to do was obvious.
Kamijou ran. He ran and ran and ran.
"Why was she making such a face?"
This was probably a weakness inside of him.
Himegami Aisa's expression was not just a look showing a mixed tinge of surprise and interest. For some reason, she looked hard at him with a sad-looking face as if asking aimlessly for help.
Even for just a second,
Even for just an instant,
Kamijou needed silence.
So he blindly fold and buried his body into a nearby classroom, tightly gritting his teeth, as he felt himself on the precipice of suddenly being sucked into the depths of darkness.
He already knew. He should have known. This was a field of combat where humans killed humans. The enemy had already prepared combatants for Kamijou to fight. And whether he liked it or not there was only one condition to win.
One side must kill the other.
Kamijou felt dread.
He was now up against someone who though lived in a world filled with sickly sticky darkness, deserved more than anything else to live in a world that was soft, warm, and peaceful.
He had no choice but to simply wait for his nerves to calm themselves before leaving the classroom in search of his enemy.
Himegami Aisa.
But said the enemy was not alone in the desolate school building.
"Well that sucks miku girl"
At the moment, the girl named Himegami Aisa was in a third-year classroom talking to a lanky but finely built blonde-haired boy.
He was a teenager who, though they were inside and it was nighttime, insistently wore sunglasses and a stereotypical Hawaiian get-up. A gold chain hung around his neck, which when added to his full outfit, executuated his appearance of that of a delinquent.
"..."
"Live a little..." According to himself, he was known as Tsuchimikado Motoharu. "No, that's...sorry, sometimes I just can't help myself. Sometimes you just have to make a few jokes, even when knowing one or the two of us has to die to get what we want."
Tsuchimikado sighed.
Theirs was the only classroom with lights on among the third-year block of the school. But even so, Tsuchimikado's expression didn't show the slightest sign of worry.
He just sat there, behind the teacher's desk, not even moving after being informed she ran into the enemy.
Their enemy.
He was laxed. Too laxed; and that sent a chill up Himegami's spine.
Purple hue eyes reflected off from the dark shades.
Emotionless and nonchalant.
That's how she would describe those eyes.
For the sake of getting her wish, Himegami did not raise any visual action.
She would not do anything that could jeopardize her wish.
Her wish— to start over without the curse known as Deep Blood.
"So, what are we going to do now? He could be anywhere in this school, or worse bailed out and ran off." She asked him with a still and deadpan expression.
"Let's see, what to do..."
Tsuchimikado mused, his cheek resting on his right palm.
"Well,"
Everything about this man made her feel uneasy.
This place was no different from his world school.
The LED light bulbs that shined an overly bright white. The folded-up bleaches on the north and south walls of the gymnasium. The hospital chemistry lab tables, shelves, and cupboards stocked full of chemicals.
Everything in this place was the same.
And that made Kamijou uneasy. To him, it felt like he could lose himself at any sudden instant. But oddly enough it also acted as something of an emotional support.
Kamijou did not even try to solve the mystery of why that was so.
All that mattered was that he was here. And gradually, his mind became clear.
Fifteen minutes have passed since the encounter with Himegami Aisa.
Where he was running to was obvious to the third-person observer.
And...
By the time he reached the specific hallway―
"…"
―His chest brimmed with a sense of anxiety.
Was there anywhere else better to run into Himegami than the same location he encountered her?
"...Hime―"
He unconsciously let out those words.
"Shii――!"
A single yell and a strike.
Immediately after Kamijou came into her sights, Himegami's figure moved and the tip of her stun baton smacked down at his head like it was a hammer.
In response, Kamijou took a step forward and readied a high guard.
Even considering it was a single blow from Himegami, it still had a shocking amount of damage.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■――!"
A high-pitched cry out for pain escaped his throat at the blunt force trauma that assailed his left arm.
However, the length of her electric baton was about halfway past his arm.
Meaning the prongs didn't make contact.
'There's no reason to worry.'
He breathed in, then out.
Kamijou's right fist moved.
Having decided on victory, it goes without saying that Kamijou went on the offensive. Even if he could feel no animosity from that girl's eyes.
Kamijou quelled his heart so as not to waver and strengthened his fist for a punch at Himegami's solar plexus.
However
At the same time,
"――――Don't get hasty, you."
...along with those words,
[—KAPT—!]
The screeching sound of a gunshot echoed, leaving behind a bright trail of red.
"Ku-, you fuc-!""
The leg strength that had been strengthened to its limit made Kamijou fast enough that the bullet only passed clean through his left shoulder.
But Kamijou had lost his balance, and he fell back first to the floor.
The situation was filled with unknowns. There was no rule or regulation saying he couldn't go up against more than one opponent.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
So, immediately reacting, Kamijou grabbed the fire extinguisher above him and sprayed the entire hallway a cloudy snow white, just as Tsuchimikado moved his hand to aim the second shot.
He ducked.
"huh?"
And, with the cover of the thick floating solid CO2 cloud, and the fire extinguisher in hand, he disappeared into the library several paces behind him.
It was atrium built and only had three floors which comprised of the ground floor. Several small home ladders and stools leaned up against the many bookcases and shelves in the classically designed multi-floor library.
Needless to say, Kamijou ran up a flight of those stairs and sprinted passed several columns of bookshelves in order to hide.
He was beside a rather packed bookcase.
'What rotten luck!' Kamijou spat to himself.
Things just went from bad to worse.
Tsuchimikado was not someone Kamijou could be able to beat. That was no exaggeration. There was no worse matchup. In a fight to the death, there was no one more feared than Tsuchimikado.
In a frenzy, Kamijou's mind cowered and resounded with loud voices of doubt.
His face turned pale, and a chill of sweat flowed down his spine.
Fortunately, though, that helped him in an unforeseen way; as clenching his fist, Kamijou felt his right hand in contact with something warm.
He turned to face it.
"――gic."
That though made his heart feel heavy as Himegami's wrist was held in that same hand.
'Did I grab her by reflex?!'
Kamijou panicked.
"…"
But even through that deadpan expression, Kamijou could tell she was more puzzled than anything else.
"…Aren't you scared?" He asked.
"Scared of what?"
"…...what?"
And for some reason her reply made Kamijou feel discouraged and demoralized.
"Uhm…Himegami," There Himegami knelt, as calm as ever. "I want to confirm something." While Kamijou was here struggling to wrap his mind around everything.
"I'd like to confirm something first." Without even waiting for him to finish, however, Himegami interjected.
"Eh? Wh-what is it?"
"Well, more like I want the answer to a burning question. How do you know me? I'm certain we never met. And though that Goddess isn't righteous or trustworthy in the slightest, I still find it hard that she would reveal information about me to you. So, again, how do you know me?"
"…That's …a bit complicated. But, we're acquainted in my version of the world. I know this sounds crazy but in my world, there exists a version of you who is happy. Someone who is kind and considerate but blunt and generally soft-spoken and sometimes shy. She transferred over from Misawa Cram School to my school. The same one we are in right now. The same with Tschimikado as well. We're all friends in my world. Always laughing, smiling, fighting, and arguing as part of our daily lives. The version of you I know wou-"
"That's enough…I'm sorry. That story sounds super outlandish. Still, though, it's a little scary how plausible all that sounds?"
"Really?!" Kamijou sighed with great relief. "I am glad to hear that nevertheless."
"Ah, only a little. Honestly only a part of me believe your story."
"Yeah, I get that. It's absurd to even grasp the weight of all this."
"… I'm beginning to doubt your common sense. Is it really true?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"It is true."
"Really hone――"
"Yes! Yes! I've said it many times!"
"――Ha."
The conversation stopped before it became a truth battle.
"I won't even lie, you had me their hedgehog dude." Suddenly, Kamijou's consciousness whipped lashed to the immediate danger.
"I applaud that spirit of exercising any means to survive. But then again that's something I should expect from someone who that woman needed both of us to kill."
"…"
"…"
"…"
The silence strained thin.
"Ah, If that's the case, suck on your thumbs while peeking from the sideline. I had intended to finish things swiftly but there's no need to worry about that since we were cursed with the same win condition."
"Now then," Tsuchimikado muttered as he stopped checking the surroundings. "which would turn out to be the problem?"
"Hmm...Whatever. It's ok. Later for now hedgehog guy."
3 minutes had already passed since Tsuchimikado said that.
"All clear." Kamijou came out from behind the cover of the bookcase.
His vision spun wildly around as he peeked over the wooden railing.
Seven more minutes went by and still, there was no attack.
"Hm."
It appears Kamijou has really left the confines of the library.
That came as a surprise to him. However, Inside his head, his thoughts emotionlessly understood the truth.
There was no way they could leave and run like this, try as they might.
"Let's go," Kamijou said, while he turned his gaze from the corner to Himegami.
"..."
"…It's okay, I understand…"
He had to say that.
But still, Himegami did not respond.
It was clear that something was going on with her, but she didn't seem to want to get him involved.
And she wasn't really inclined to.
She had only just recently met Kamijou.
This wasn't really any of his concerns.
What led to her going done this road, he'd simply been curious about the situation, but he understood completely why Himegami regarded him with some suspicion.
And that was just fine by him.
Thinking about how things got to this point would become a bother.
Kamijou sighed in his mind in resignation, and with nobody else but him and her around, he sat down and considered what he'd do from here on.
That was when his entire vision suddenly fluttered black.
He couldn't even gather a little bit of information on why.
All he knew was that he held his breath for a bit and the visuals of his surroundings slowly faded from his vision.
Himegami Aisa knew what she had to do.
It was rather embarrassing to admit it but she still hadn't caught up with the reality of it all.
Even so
"It's alright, another time."
Her legs which still felt a little heavy, moved.
She carried the spiky-haired boy along by dragging him from the underarms.
Why even bother speaking about the ramifications?
She was sure that this was the right choice.
"If you don't take it, your heart will be filled with nothing but regret."
So why pursue the matter any further?
Himegami entered the Art room.
"Let's see here. . .Ahh."
Taking a quick survey of her surroundings she found stashing him under the teacher's desk was the best hiding place.
She wanted nothing more than to get this all done and over with. Her desired future was just in sight.
To return back to that one brightly lit classroom might as well be a death sentence.
"Ohhhh? Miko girl."
So why did she feel this was the best and safest approach?
"...So you were just chilling back here the entire time," Himegami spoke.
"Thou art welcome to come at me whenever if thou desire thine head," Tsuchimikado replied, lying back in the teacher's chair nonchalantly.
He was carefree. Just as always.
"Whatever," Himegami said with a sigh.
She took a step forward.
[Ba-dum]
"I managed to catch him off guard, but―"
[—KAPT—!]
A dreadful roar burst out.
There was no need to even wonder what that was.
"...Haa,"
Himegami felt a searing hot pain swelling from her stomach.
"Let me guess, you hid him right."
From the sound of Tsuchimikado's firm voice, Himegami could tell he was making his way beside her.
"Not like I don't understand why." She could not confirm if that was the truth. "This entire situation is bizarre as is."
As she lay face down in a rising pool of her own blood.
"That woman isn't some saint. So I doubt things are so simple. There exists some underlying scheme with her actions. I know that for certain. Could be only 1 wish can be granted. You know, like, first come first serve. Or maybe only the last fighter can be qualified for a wish. Truth is, none of us knows. And that's why we are never trustful of each other or that woman. However, we're all desperate. And the fact still remains, she can indeed grant our deepest desire."
"So then. . . why? To. . . be doing this―"
"It's a gamble I'm willing to take."
Her question was cut short.
Himegami was still ignorant about this world's common sense
"You might have had some elaborate plan or maybe not. The thing is though, I'm not willing to find that out. And besides, this was always going to be the end result."
She could imagine that the road that led to this kind of resolve wasn't easy.
"I was already placed at a disadvantage with your watchful eyes and the stupid fact Aleister decided to not place cameras in this place."
If viewed from that perspective, those two would be considered completely sane.
Theirs was the manifestation of their ego which demanded that everyone validate their human thought patterns
"A shame. A great shame indeed. But I'm afraid your adventure ends here. Sucks that things had to end this way. Miku girl."
'. . .Mom. . .'
The illusionary static resounding in her head disappeared.
Unlike the tears that left her blank eyes.
"!?"
Before he could say anything, Kamijou's head collided with a hard surface overhead.
"Ahh!"
The back of his neck hurt like hell. Even more so than his forehead which just made contact with something solid.
When he touched it smidge of dried blood stained his fingers.
"The hell?"
Then his hands began to tremble.
WHY AND WHAT FOR WERE OBVIOUS.
He spent about 3 seconds underneath that desk, before immediately leaving for the library with a force beyond the norm.
There was only a .1% chance she was still there.
But Kamijou didn't care.
An immense tempest of regret and self-condemnation blew through his hollow chest.
He should have treated his situation with a bit more caution.
As in fact
"Black of the Five Elements,
When he entered through the Library door――
"remove the barrier like the surging of the water dragon."
He was attacked――
The words of magic invoked overwrite the very logic of the world.
It came first in the form of a dragon origami flying towards him.
"Fu—!"
Then almost immediately morphed into a giant water gun blast that grew several sizes of a wrecking ball.
Where the spell originated from did not matter.
The effective range was the entire lower floor surroundings.
'Should I negate this?'
For a moment, Kamijou's mind was thrown into disarray.
He could feel this was not all there was to this attack.
And so.
"Ohhhhh!"
Kamijou let out a cry as he raised his right arm whilst he swiftly made a big jump out of the way.
In a fraction of a second, a high-pitched sound like glass breaking resounded through the room.
[—KAPT—!]
"Hrrr-agh—?!"
Followed immediately by the destructive sound of a gunshot.
But, even after he did so, the bullet burrowed about halfway through his right calf.
"…Well, I suppose this...should have been expected."
He was thankful for the many bookshelves underneath the second floor for cover.
Honestly, if it was not for how he positioned himself before he negated the attack, Kamijou would not have made it to cover the second floor provided as a canopy.
"Hhh—rrr...ahhh?!"
The flowing blood dyed his white and orange shoe red.
"If you weren't abnormal in some way this would just wouldn't make sense."
He struggled to get back to his feet.
"Where is Himegami?!"
Kamijou had an unpleasant foreboding feeling about this.
Why had he asked that question?
He knew asking that would solve nothing, yet he said it anyway.
"…"
He gulped down his saliva, waiting for Tsuchimikado to speak.
His heart ran ramped with chaotic emotional turmoil. Some were of suspicion. Some were of unease. Some were of dread.
And, Some were of an ominous certainty.
"…"
Kamijou had already concluded the answer after thinking about it for a while.
"…"
Glaring haughtily over the great hall immersed in a low level of water, Kamijou expressed what could be considered emotions of intent to kill for the first time.
"YOU FUCKER!"
He had apparently started hyperventilating.
He was soaked with sweat despite the chilly air and his shoulder and leg wounds were burning as if they were in molten lava.
The world was wobbling around him.
And If he lost any focus, he would pass out almost immediately.
But that wasn't about to extinguish Kamijou's rage.
Going a head-to-head battle against Tsuchimikado would be a certain death sentence.
In contrast to Tsuchimikado who has a Glock pistol and multiple magical spells, Kamijou is only armed with just his fists, the right of which holds Imagine breaker. From an outsider's point of view, it would be a sight that was the epitome of recklessness if he charged straight towards him.
Which is why he flipped on the brightly gleaming lights of the library.
"You—son of a—!"
That simple act gave Kamijou the window he needed to escape this deadlock.
The consequential effect lasted only several of a second.
Tsuchimikado had laid there in wait for him. His eyes have already acclimated to the dark as opposed to Kamijou.
So what better strategy was there to use than this?
That was all it was to it.
"Kh!"
Kamijou clenched his teeth.
Sharp pain reverberated from the leg wound.
His brows furrowed. His socks were soaked with a mix of sweat and blood.
Even so, Kamijou had put every bit of strength he could muster into his leg.
He needed to disappear from here.
So.
Kamijou sprinted as best he could away from the library.
It had appeared that Tsuchimikado didn't want to waste any of his bullets as there was no roaring sound of gunfire.
That was a great help to Kamijou, since he didn't want to sustain any more injuries before he could level the playing field for a head-to-head fight with Tsuchimikado.
However― Cutting off his thoughts there, Kamijou turned his head to look down the hallway.
Which was where the black tint of Tsuchimikado sunglasses met Kamijou's irises.
There was no time for a single passing thought.
"Ohhhhh!"
Ignoring the burning pain, Kamijou violently kicked off of the adjacent wall in the hallway so as to smash through one of the giant windows.
CRACK!
His wounds wouldn't heal until everything was over.
His situation was only getting worse.
But the thought of imminent victory pumped adrenaline into his blood and overwrote that part of his brain.
"――gic."
Fortunately the school resided in a mountainous and forested area.
That of course meant there were many trees around to break his fall.
"Gahhhhhh!"
Kamijou didn't even have time to gasp.
His consciousness was rattled all over by several blows, some to his side, leg, arms, back, and head.
However, in reality, he had only hit the ground 5 seconds after that fact.
To that extent, he'd simply been knocked on his side. His mouth opened but the groans that came out along with his exhalation of breath meant nothing to anyone.
Only one thing was sure—while he couldn't even see up to the moon or view the window he broke out of, Tsuchimikado couldn't see him nor the condition he was in.
So in other words, the trees provided cover that did not bode well for Tsuchimikado.
'I don't have time to wallow in pain!'
The weight of the stinging pain faded Kamijou's field of concussions.
He breathed out a puff of white mist from the cold.
—It was terribly dry and raspy.
Nevertheless, he quickly swung his body to the side and stood up.
At that moment, his vision instantly expanded.
It did not matter that he was leaning unsteadily to his side, wavering like a ghost.
The distance between him and Tsuchimikado was more than enough.
So, Kamijou ran.
He ran and ran and ran and ran until the setup for his plan required he had to find back Tsuchimikado.
"It's time you to take this seriously."
Tsuchimikado's mocking voice called out to him from behind cover.
A bead of sweat ran along Kamijou's cheeks.
The difficulty breathing and the dizziness were worse than the pain. But, in front of this enemy, Kamijou was more than willing to power through it all.
The venue was right back at the thickets below the broken window.
Tsuchimikado had himself hidden. And so Kamijou did as well too.
"No more running away!" If Kamijou had sawn Tsuchimikado's expression, he knew it would have shown obvious signs of dissatisfaction. "After all, you and I have the same Win conditions."
But what does he care?
"Don't give me that shit!"
Kamijou's profile became rock-hard and callous.
Everything lost its value if one were to adopt that kind of mindset.
It truly was a barbaric comeback, but also a simple yet fair method of judgment.
Attaining victory by any means necessary. There is no need to test it; the personalities of Kamijou Touma and Tsuchimikado Motoharu were definitely different.
"…Geez, I understand, please don't force yourself too much, Mr fake Brave 'Hero'."
A fact that perpetuated this clash.
"Seem's if someone dies by anyone's hands but your own that somehow makes the killing twisted. That's convenient, fucking hypocrite."
"What!?"
Kamijou expression had a look of someone who'd heard something unbelievable.
"Oh, is something the matter? Don't act dumb now, you piece of shit. Any random person off the street with a bit of grit can do what we do. Look at us, impulsive, aggressive, and not exactly beacons of morality. It takes just a special kind of push to motivate us to do what we do. So keep your head down! You don't need to be twisted to be a villain. You just need to stop caring!"
Sound disappeared from the world around Kamijou.
There was no doubt that what Tsuchimikado had said was the truth.
A fact that brought about a mix chill of rage, fear, and dread to run down his spine.
"…What…does that mean?"
Maybe that was why Kamijou answered so shakingly.
He was not even concerned that the wounds that he had treated began to reopen due to his whole body trembling.
And...
As if understanding Kamijou's stupor, Tsuchimikado spat more in indulgence.
"Do I have to fill out everything? Screw you, that's what! She and I both consented to this shit; knowing and accepting that we may very well die in this endeavor to achieve our wish. All that anger of yours is doing is stroking that self-righteous narcissistic ego, nothing more. You don't feel pain or agony so much as simple emptiness. You could camouflage those eyes, facial expressions, and countenance all you want. That still clamors the issue at hand. You can't condemn me for ending her when I'm sure you have ended many other lives in order to achieve your own selfish wish. You are a hypocrite who just wants to feel better about themselves. A coward hiding behind a vinier of bravery and morality. So you idiotically delude that sense of righteousness as superior. 'good' and 'kind' are two very different things, and nobody can be 100% certain what road they should take to secure their end goal. Stop caring about rules and morality, good and evil. These questions are meaningless to brutes like us. It no longer applies because the world is a cruel and unjust place. The only thing we are allowed to do is to believe that we won't regret the choices we've made. Once you hesitate, you will lose in life."
An immense tempest of regret and self-condemnation blew through Kamijou's hollow chest, concentrating into a brief and single moment.
'Am...am I an evil swindler?'
He had to ask himself that question seriously.
Because if that's the truth, then he was, as Tsuchimikado put it, a morally void man.
Ambition to save both worlds and their people led him to go down this route.
He didn't do it to be selfish nor did he do it to be altruistic.
He just wants to save everyone―Those from his world and those from the other world.
As if he was suicidal, as if he had some sort of sickness driving him... the principle behind his actions was clearly self-destruction.
And yet, there was still a wish he wanted to protect.
There was no disputing that Kamijou's actions were inherently being driven by emotions.
That is to say, at this moment, he obtained his 'answer.'
"Tell me, what happened to Maika?"
Kamijou's actions contained a high level of risk.
How does a person keep fighting when all seems lost? How does a person keep smiling when there's no reason to? How does a person keep living when everyone around them is gone? How does the pain ever go away...when does it ever go away, does it ever?
Kamijou did not know whether he was standing on the 'good' side or the 'kind' side.
All he knew was that to those who he fought, there would be someone who would intend to snatch or steal away their wish.
"Ha ha ha――"
Just like that,
[—KAPT—!]
"――nuu"
Tsuchimado fired off on him without a single bit of reservation.
[—KAPT—!] [—KAPT—!] [—KAPT—!]
The cloud of gunfire riddled several holes in the trees situated in front of him.
[—KAPT—!] [—KAPT—!] [—KAPT—!] [—KAPT—!] [—KAPT—!]
Kamijou would be fine with anything.
He only needed to lure Tsuchimikado into a position where he couldn't avoid but fight with his.
That was all he needed to win.
But...
"Hey, wooden sticks. Be useful for once and be a shield! (Use the talisman of the blue wood and protect my body!)"
Too much modesty was not good.
[—KAPT—!] [—KAPT—!] [—KAPT—!]
"—Using this boundary to replace the scarecrow (A seal will be formed on the pistol!)"
The voice seemed to come from far beyond the gigantic body of trees.
"—Using thy God to replace the nail (A Shikigami will be cast on the bullet!)
"YOU'RE KIDDING ME!?"
Kamijou's body went cold.
Tsuchimikado's composure and coolness never failed to carry through, no matter the situation he was in.
"—Using thy fist to replace the hammer (Your hand will pull the trigger!)"
Kamijou knew that destructive spell far too well.
Right after the chant—A loud boom sounded like a beast's roar as it ripped through the night sky to fall directly on him.
Kamijou had no choice but to go on the defensive.
And to do that…
He dropped deeper into his standing stance and reached out his right palm, making sure his feet were planted firmly and that his left hand had a tight grasp on his right arm.
To draw his fist was to kill. This is the way of things.
If he failed to kill he would be one step behind his wish.
Kill or be killed was the law here.
"UUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!"
––––––––Just like that, the spell made impact with his right palm.
But, when that happened, the undefeated Phoenix-like blast split into eight equal parts and fell to the ground.
"Fggyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—!"
In one breath, dirt, stones, and tree fragments in all kinds of manner and sizes pelted Kamijou's body like Gatling gunshots.
The strength to steadfast his left shoulder and right leg was hijacked by immeasurable hot scorching pain.
Kamijou knee's lost balance.
He tried to put strength into his legs so as to not drop on the spot, hence why he tensed up his entire body, but still his hand touched the ground.
'MOVE!'
Kamijou grunted and spun backward into a barrel roll.
But that was not the issue here.
In the pathway, there was a single person running faster than his brain could register what was happening.
In other words, Tsuchimikado was charging towards him.
And in that same instant later Kamijou's expression did a complete turnaround to one of regret.
"―― !"
…
CLICK
However, there was no sound of gunfire but instead the sound of the slide locking to the rear.
Apparently, Tsuchimikado was going to force them into a melee battle rather than trying to attack from a distance.
Maneuverability, fighting prowess, reading your opponent's movements in advance. These were all things Tsuchimikado excelled in a whole lot more than Kamijou.
There was barely any distance between them now.
"Kh—!"
Kamijou threw a fist.
"Imbecile."
There was no greater reason than just acting on pure instinct.
Of course—
"Nnnngh!"
—Tsuchimikado stopped his hand, and after several crunching pistol whips to his arms, stomach, ribs, and head, Tsuchimikado leveraged Kamijou's hand to force him to his knees before he loaded back his pistol and fired.
[—KAPT—!]
But, at that moment, Kamijou dodged it frantically and swept Tsuchimikado's legs from underneath him.
The possibility of dying was not loss to him.
And so, Kamijou hastily jumped unto Tsuchimikado,
…Fake Brave Hero…
Those words were like a rusted blade carving out his heart, but Kamijou did not have time to be in shock.
'I really am pathetic.'
It couldn't be helped if he continued to be called that.
Logic and morality need not be mutually exclusive. They just seem that way because far too often human beings twist both to their own benefit, which inherently corrupts their purpose and breaks their relationship.
'This person before me is my enemy! They are blocking the path to achieving my goal, so to hell with it! If I have to be a Villain, then a Villain I will be!'
Kamijou Touma made the first move.
Even with Tsuchimikado acting 00.38 seconds behind.
Everything he required to defeat Tsuchimikado could be found on him.
So before Tsuchimikado could fully take aim with the gun, Kamijou reached into his left side pants pocket to pull out a make-shift taser he created from a disposable camera and a battery pack with two max amps batteries.
He only had a few milli-seconds to act.
But just that was more than enough.
The taser electrodes struck their target.
—Tsuchimikado's gun hand.
And...
—"AARRRGGGGaaaaaahhhhhhh!?"
In a flash, the electricity savagely burned through both the skin and flesh of the fingers.
The gun was dropped, and with voltage modified to twofold, the burnt-out spent cartridges were ejected out after the single use.
But Tsuchimikado had already finished his next action. Which Kamijou failed to react to.
Thus why Kamijou spun through the air as he was tossed over Tsuchimikado's head from a judo throwing technique.
"—Hey, you pieces of shit."
"GHHAGHK― !?"
And amidst it all, had his right eyeball scooped out from its socket.
"—It's time for a sickening job. (I humbly ask your assistance like the iron and the nail.)"
"This is like an assembly line. Drive the bullet straight into that bastard's heart! (I have a sign to the hated enemy in my hand. Follow this flesh and blood to bind a curse to the owner!)"
""—Seissh!" Kamijou shrieked at the possibility of another new spell.
He rolled off his back and broke into a run without hesitation.
But!
Despite that, not a single change to the world laws occurred. It did however stalled charging Kamijou's mind long enough for Tsuchimikado to retrieve the Glock pistol.
Even so, Kamijou did not retreat.
The problem of Tsuchimikado using any possible weapons needed to be promptly stopped.
And so he pressed on running to close the gap.
less than 3 feet separated them.
Evasive maneuvers would have wasted valuable time before Tsuchimikado could turn around to aim and shoot. Hence why they were tossed aside for a straight beeline course; where the next moment Kamijou kicked the gun out of Tsuchimikado's hand the instant he caught a glimpse of it.
"Shhh!" Kamijou moaned in pain from the pounding ache that rose up from the depths of his right calf.
His balance shifted to the left.
His breathing had turned to gasping.
Kamijou still wanted to continue his counterattack.
"―――――― !? "
Yet he was the one who was instead caught off guard.
A strong feeling of fear welled up from within his stomach.
Before his brain could process it, Tsuchimikado had trapped his leg and swung his body around from it.
Kamijou had wanted to grab Tsuchimikado's head and knee him in the face. He had wanted to let off a destructive punch or elbow strike in order to escape the grasp.
But he could not do any of that. He wasn't even sure that he could make it in time.
"――hk"
Kamijou bit his own tongue as he was slammed face-first into the ground.
He used all of his strength in order to keep a grasp on his consciousness and get up to his knees.
But his body wouldn't move. He couldn't move. It wasn't as if he didn't have any kind of range of motion but if he had done so the lock Tsuchimikado had his leg in would have dislocated his leg.
Kamijou couldn't spend more than a picosecond thinking.
He couldn't stand much less runaway. So his only action henceforth was quite simple.
Immediately reacting due to the possibility of having his leg dislocated, Kamijou swiftly retrieved the self-made impact smoke bomb stuffed with NaOH powder from his jacket pocket and threw it.
"Just how many weapons do you have hidden on you!?"
It had expertly hit its target—Kamijou's restrained leg—and exploded.
"—Fuck!." "Gh…!"
Both Kamijou and Tsuchimikado were caught up in the bomb strike.
This is what made the difference in their battle experience apparent.
In a daze—They both cried, cursed, and screamed.
All they knew was pounding, aching torment.
The corrosive compound fumigating effervescence became stronger. The sizzling scratchy twinge became hotter and hotter, all accumulating together and making it difficult for air to enter inside the lungs.
But only one let the pain and agony cloud them.
And that created the moment Kamijou needed to end this all.
Kamijou spun himself around, closed in on Tsuchimikado, then plunged both his thumb fingers into the blonde boy's eye sockets, breaking them straight through those dark-tinted sunglasses.
"YOU FUCKER!"
A scream of unbridled fury echoed far and wide from out Tsuchimikado's mouth.
But In a mere 0.2 seconds, Tsuchimikado retaliated.
He didn't try to brush away Kamijou's hands nor even attempt to scratch at his face. Instead, Tsuchimikado reached out both open hands and squeezed Kamijou's neck.
More than that it was a blood choke that focused pressure on the carotid artery.
Kamijou was completely aware that was exactly the case.
However, that was all within calculations.
So...
Nevertheless—
Squash!
—Kamijou sanked his jars deeply into Tsuchimikado's exposed jugular.
As if he were a rabid dog, his teeth ravaged whatever stood within its path.
Squish, squish!
The wet dripping sticky sound continued to echo louder and became ever so louder.
Squish, squish, Squash!
The interval between spurts of blood grew short!
It seemed Tsuchimikado was becoming obviously shaken from the fact, as the realization due to it came through in his grip strength.
"GYAAAAAAAH!"
Kamijou moaned in pain as Tsuchimikado's twisted pincered death grip made his neck feel so fragile as if it would easily break.
Be that as it may, Kamijous teeth still hungered for flesh.
—squish, squash, squish, squish.
It didn't really matter if he could lose consciousness within 8-13 secs. Both sides were playing the last-man-standing game
—Even as his vision was steadfastly becoming obfuscated Kamijou still chewed, pulled, twisted and churned with zero hesitation.
—Squish, squash, squish, squish, squi, squi, squi-squi-SQUI-SQUI!
From the beginning, theirs was not a fight where skill was the only factor.
To put it in simple terms. Though Tsuchimikado did have far more battle experience, which had overwhelmed Kamijou in all their encounters, Kamijou was the one who could still be able to fight all out even with multiple wounds and impairments.
This was a field Kamijou excelled in.
The overwhelming taste of iron had no control over him.
The nauseating sensation of blood flowing threw his lips and passing upon his tongue had no dominion over his mind.
Kamijou looked at him. He looked at Kamijou.
The possibility of turning into a monster was becoming ever-so-present
The possibility of getting labeled 'Fake Hero' was no longer unknown.
It truly couldn't be helped if I was to be called a fake Brave Hero.
This was already another world. Made up of a different set of people. All with their own set of circumstances and individuality.
Even if no one knew about the endless tragedies that are repeated over and over. Even if no one knew that their world ended and another was just as easily created. Even if no one notices and everything were to return back to normal.
He would not forget.
That is a fact that would never change.
「…Eh?」
There was no doubt that Kamijou was slipping in and out of consciousness. However...
The next thing he knew, he would witness a scene he couldn't and wouldn't be able to forget for the rest of his life.
"Ha, haha…"
He heard dry joyous laughter come out from Tsuchimikado's mouth.
Directed to whom was not clear.
But that was the last vestiges of life that existed within Tsuchimikado.
Finally, Kamijou had won. And in an instant the world was entirely covered in a bright light.