Hagure Yuusha no Kichiku Bigaku

A soothing melody flowed.

It was in a place fit to enjoy the evening, a bar lounge in a major hotel in the center of the commercial district. It was famous for its exquisite view of the night sky through the window that always drew in a large group of clientele.

-- But the situation today was very different.

Currently, there was only one female customer sitting at the bar. The rest of the huge lounge was devoid of guests.

From the looks of it, it would seem as though it was reserved. However, there was no such sign at the entrance stating so.

Only the usual "OPEN" signboard.

Still, no other customers came at all -- no, its not exactly that no one came. They came up to the front, however for some reason every customer turned back at the entrance of the place. The bar was open during its normal hours of business with plenty of open seats, but they still chose to leave.

The reason for this was the sole female customer.

"Barkeep, your pretty good --......"

The woman finished her c.o.c.ktail in one sip then let out a beautiful smile.

The Bartender lowered his head slightly and said, "You"re too kind......" as he started mixing another c.o.c.ktail.

But, the woman didn"t order another drink. She simply would of liked another drink -- no, strictly speaking she just "thought" she was now in the mood for one. However, that much alone was enough to inform the bartender she desired another c.o.c.ktail. On the basis of having merely a thought in mind was capable of making the bartender make the drink she wanted.

It was the same reason why no other customers were around.

Just because she was thinking "I want to quietly drink alone" the other customers would all naturally turned around in front of the entrance to the bar lounge.

That was the kind of unfathomable power the mysterious female customer had.

Everything about the woman was beautiful.

Her face, all of the curves and lines of her body -- even the atmosphere around her.

However while having a such beauty to pride over, there were few people who know her name and ident.i.ty. The leader of the world"s most powerful terrorist group "Crimson Twilight."

Cecil End-heart -- was her name.

Her subordinates within the group Motoharu Kaidou and Tiana Randohauze had been sent to infiltrate JPN-Babel that same evening to take possession of the . Cecil was alone at the bar enjoying her drink.

-- Hikami Kyouya"s not hesitating to betray COc.o.o.n to enact some sort of scheme up till then had been grasped.

If it was an average person Cecil would"ve been able to see through his plans to a certain extent. But --

...... I"m unable to read the situation this time.

Cecil"s smile became even more brilliant.

The inability to predict the situation, while dangerous harbored a great deal of fun.

As one of the world"s most powerful terrorists, most of Cecil"s daily life could be said to be tame with everything planed out, almost never would anything unexpected occur.

However this time the situation was uncommon, and she was unable to make out Kyouya"s genuine aim.

Cecil understood that it was a dangerous omen. Not being able to perceive anything -- most likely meant things were moving in a dangerous direction. So, initially she thought to also intervene in this situation, because in the worst case Kaidou and Tiana wouldn"t be able to handle the situation.

But -- Cecil in this matter decided to remain a observer.

It was because a few days before she happened to encounter a young man, for Cecil it brought "unexpected" variables.

His strength still had room to grow, and his future development was limitless.

"Fufu......"

Remembering that time Cecil happily laughed.

Back then when he touched her chest her heart started racing, almost like a girl in love. Even when she faced her predecessor, a man with far more power than herself, or when she was around other suitable people and companions she had never felt that way. That was why she dared to remain in the special autonomous region, to observe nearby how he would move under these circ.u.mstances -- In order to confirm it.

Soon after......

"-- Was that."

The moment after Cecil inventively called out she smiled sweetly.

As if it was a gust of wind, the unique sound of a vehicle had swept past the outside of the hotel.

Fast.

The road in front of the hotel was an ordinary street, and despite that the speed was much faster than the time she road tandem on the highway the other day.

"That wind was really hurried......"

Apparently something must had occurred -- that left Ousawa Akatsuki no option but to actively intervene.

"However...... it"s just a little too early."

Cecil lowered her head in thought.

At the present time there hadn"t been any contact from Tiana. Most likely it would mean the had yet to be seized. Cecil didn"t care about Akatsuki"s involvement, but she didn"t want his actions to obstruct Kaidou and Tiana.

So......

"I"m sorry Akatsuki......"

Cecil softly called out the name of the young man that made her heart flutter.

And with a happy smile on her face,

"Your going to have to take part in a little sideshow -- so that I may understand you better."

Akatsuki and Listy were racing through the dark streets of the special autonomous region on Sleipnir.

They were ignoring all the traffic lights, even the pedestrian signals. Akatsuki as of now was impossible to stop.

So much that along the way the traffic security started to pursue them vigorously, and was ultimately shaken off.

And after a while of this intense driving......

"-- Sshaa, we finally arrived!"

Their destination came into view at the end of the road ahead.

The main gate to JPN-Babel.

"Akatsuki, what is your plan going forward?"

Listy seated behind him had asked about his battle plan.

"Heh...... it goes without saying, no?"

The corners of Akatsuki"s mouth turned into a smirk, and he turned back to look at Listy,

"Moving ahead in a roundabout manner is not my style. I"m going to attack head on -- and kick around any opponent."

However,

"-- What is it?"

Suddenly Akatsuki noticed the strange situation. Despite their vehicle approaching with no signs of slowing down the security guards made no attempt to stop them. Or more precisely there were no guards.

-- Just recently there was the incident where Phil Barnett invaded JPN-Babel.

Therefore, in order to prevent a similar situation from happening again the main gate must have at a minimum of six security guards standing in front of the gate around the clock, and from there another ten guards on standby in the outpost next to it. But at the moment, there wasn"t a single one.

...... Old man Kubota did say there was comprehensive system update, is this because of that?

It was said that there would be a limited amount personnel allowed on the premises tonight for it. However then that would unavoidably make the campus more vulnerable to a foreign invasion.

Therefore the security level around the school should be tighter than usual.

...... If that then even the [Guardian Beast system] should be activated.

From what he heard from Haruka he was able to grasp to some extent current situation inside JPN-Babel. That being said, not having people stationed at the main gate was really too unwary.

...... Or is it a trap?

Perhaps, already at an earlier time it was antic.i.p.ated that Akatsuki would be coming, and this was a tacit formulated back then for him. In that case, barging straight through the main entrance would be a very risky move.

So ......

"Akatsuki......"

Listy softly called out to him.

"-- Are you scared?"

"Of course not......"

And Listy tightened the grip she had around Akatsuki"s waist,

"We got to keep going...... and kick around anyone in the way."

"Aah -- Leave it to me."

Akatsuki responded to Listy with a nod.

As it was, they directly broke through the main gate, invading the premises without slowing down at all.

It was at that time Akatsuki saw a myriad of black shadows lying on the asphalt road.

The campus under the night sky was shrouded in darkness. In addition, the high speed of which Sleipnir was moving made it extremely difficult to ident.i.ty what the shadows were,

"Akatsuki, that is --"

Listy turned, and stared behind them. Akatsuki"s eyes also were looking in the same direction,

"They"re most likely Babel"s security guards......"

If that was the case, then who in the world did that? Was this also part of the trap?

But -- Akatsuki wasn"t able to draw any conclusions to the questions that floated in his mind.

Because the two were abruptly struck by an intense shock.

The high speed of which Sleipnir was moving had instantly been stopped, as if it were caught on something invisible. Akatsuki and Listy both were flung over the front of the motorcycle.

"d.a.m.n......!"

Even though it happened all of sudden Akatsuki still had the time to react. Listy was thrown in the air the same as himself, so he first pulled her over into his arms. Then he kicked out his legs in an attempt to land upright,

"-- Leave it to me!"

The same time Listy shouted she expanded a magic formation.

Invoking flight magic using the wind they landed on the ground light as a feather.

"Sure enough it was a trap. I wonder if it was that man...... Hikami Kyouya"s doing?"

"I don"t think so."

Akatsuki denied the possibility that Listy had said.

When he though about it to himself, if it was Kyouya"s handiwork then there would of been no reason to knock out the guards.

And.......

That thing they couldn"t see which stopped Sleipnir, Akatsuki had an idea as to its real nature. Then from out of no where,

"...... Ara, you easily dealt with my surprise just now. Your reactions were very good, no?"

The carefree voice was vastly out of place with the tense atmosphere at the scene. It wasn"t a voice that Akatsuki and Listy were unfamiliar with, in fact the new it very well.

"That voice...... could it be......!"

Listy shot a hurried look at Akatsuki.

"...... As I thought."

Akatsuki couldn"t hep but laugh to himself having his speculation not being wrong.

And then he turned to look back. His eyes were fix ahead -- at a dark spot on the side of road where the light didn"t reach. It was at that time, a youth slowly appeared from out of the darkness.

Akatsuki then floated a fearless smile,

"You took that prank a little to bit far...... eh, Kaidou?"

"Oh~, I was also wondering so......"

And despite Kaidou Motoharu just laughing it off being confronted,

"To tell the truth, I"m in the middle of carrying out something important at the moment. I hate to tell you this -- but, I can"t let you go in any farther, Ackkee."

In the depths of his eyes was an ice-cold stare.

"......!"

Listy couldn"t refrain from gasping from the overpowering pressure. Akatsuki gently put his hand on her shoulder, hinting there was no need for her to be afraid,

"...... What an amazing coincidence. In fact, I also have a urgent matter to take care of."

And slowly, he began to walk towards Kaidou,

"So -- I"m going to have to get past you by all means."

"Seriously? This is going to be troublesome... ... What can be done?"

And Kaidou deliberately put on an air of anxiousness,

"It can"t be Ackkee, that you intend to resorting to brute force to get through, right?"

"Idiot. You"re my best friend, how could I possibility be so heartless?"

And Akatsuki cracked a smile,

One breath.

"Ram him -- Sleipnir."

Instantaneously the command was pa.s.sed through the AD.

The large ma.s.s of steel immediately broke the sound barrier barreling towards Kaidou with an astonishing amount of momentum.

The sonic wave that was generated whirled up a cloud of dust.

Listy was engulfed by the strong gust that was created right next to her,

"Is, is it necessary to be that rough?... ... Are you not worried of what might happened to him, Akatsuki?"

In the shock Listy had had involuntarily raised her voice, however Akatsuki was rather composed and,

"Ah. This should be the quickest way. I don"t have time to waste on this fellow here."

The synchronization with his AD and also Sleipnir that Kubota did was being put to use so soon. Akatsuki lightly chuckled at that as he looked up at the sky. When he was about to look back at Listy there was suddenly a high-pitched noise.

And at the same time,

"Wh-what is this......?"

Listy raised her voice, confused as to what happened right before her.

A transparent wall had suddenly been placed between Akatsuki and herself.

"...... A barrier?"

Akatsuki muttered to himself, and behind within the cloud of dust,

"-- Didn"t I say, I can"t let you get pa.s.sed me?"

The sudden voice sounded like it was said with a smile. Therefore, Akatsuki focused his mind on his AD again.

"--------"

However, this wasn"t another command to Sleipnir, rather it was to transform his uniform into combat attire. And when he turned to look at Kaidou, he was also wearing combat clothes standing there in front of him.

"I will also make it clear. Kaidou -- there is nothing you can do to stop me."

As soon as he calmly said so, Ousawa Akatsuki bent both his knees, and launched himself towards Kaidou.

Ready to prove the words he just said a moment ago.

Izumi Chikage and Doumoto Kuzuha after being contacted by Akatsuki were on their way to JPN-Babel to meet up. And the two of them happened by chance to have entered the campus at the same time.

Their first sight on the scene was a number security guards lying unconscious on the ground.

"This is......"

Fortunately, all of the guards were only knocked out, and still alive. But to take out such a large number of guards at the same time within a short period of time the person responsible"s strength had to be considerable. At the moment, they thought it must have been Akatsuki who arrived earlier to take back Miu, but was stopped by security kind of thing. However,

"...... It"s strange."

"Nn...... It"s too clean to be Ousawa-kun"s style."

Chikage and Kuzuha glanced at each other, while they shared their inner doubts.

Akatsuki wouldn"t have gone so easy on an enemy standing in his way, not to mention in a situation where they had taken Miu. Since time was so precious, the moment he was confronted he would of swiftly and violently blown them off to the side without any explanation. However, on the fallen guards there were no conspicuous external injuries, even their clothing was completely intact. It was as if they were suddenly attacked from behind. There was no doubt -- this was done by somebody other than Akatsuki.

-- But then, what happened became completely strange.

In that case then was it an intended trap by Hikami Kyouya for Akatsuki when he came to rescue Miu, to portray him as a threat to JPN-Babel. The supposed arrangement of the scene was in line with Akatsuki"s style.

However, that really wasn"t the case,

"No way..... is there another intruder?"

"But also to pick such a crucial time......"

Once Chikage heard what Kuzuha said, she could help but hardened her expression.

That unidentified master depending on whether he was an ally or foe was going to greatly influence their situation. Nevertheless -- the two abruptly got a clue to lead them to the answer.

A series of loud bangs were heard from a place not far away.

"-!?"

It was almost as if s.p.a.ce itself had exploded, the heavy low pitched sound shook their bodies to the core.

Izumi Chikage and Doumoto Kuzuha had a very clear sense of what that sound stood for.

Those were cause by a battle breaking out.

"--------"

Therefore, the two didn"t need any words to confirm what the other intended.

Kuzuha placed her hand on the ground unfolding a magic formation, creating a stone golem in the shape of a lion.

Chikage immediately jumped up on the lions back sitting behind Kuzuha. Every motion was fluid and in sync with each other, as if the two had planned it out ahead of time.

-- Then the Lion started to run charging off towards the sound.

The low stance as it kicked off the ground with all its strength brought the carnivorous beast to top speed in an instant. The lion cut through the air as it carried Kuzuha and Chikage. The roaring sound didn"t stop as they moved toward the battlefield.

Listy Sherfied"s body was enduring enormous vibrations.

The low heavy ba.s.s that shook the atmosphere.

It was the aftereffects caused by huge impacts -- from the battle that had unfolded before her eyes.

"......!"

Both of Listy"s feet were firmly planted the ground as she stared at the s.p.a.ce 100 meters away.

The two people fighting were Akatsuki and Kaidou.

The battle had already been going on for several minutes. The offense and defense of theirs had continued without any breaks.

"Evenly matched......"

Listy had muttered unable to conceal her surprise to that fact.

-- Akatsuki was currently fighting bare handed without materializing his black magic sword.

However, he was employing Renkan Keikikou therefore the presence or absence of a weapon was not a big problem.

Akatsuki"s own body in itself was the greatest weapon, the sword attack was but one aspect -- so to speak, it was an extension of his physical attacks.

...... And in terms of movement empty handed was much faster......

Still, Kaidou was able to completely match his movements.

And from what Listy could tell she didn"t think Akatsuki was holding back.

Every one of Akatsuki"s punches or kicks had enough force to const.i.tute a fatal blow. If Listy wasn"t protected by a barrier her consciousness would of certainly went flying after a single attack.

...... But......

Against such attacks Kaidou continued to take them head on. He was using arms and legs to protect himself, while evading certain blows to allow himself a chance to strike back.

...... Who could have thought Kaidou was that strong......

What Listy understood about Kaidou Motoharu was only about as much as the young man"s name.

She did know that the person in question would half jokingly call himself Akatsuki"s best friend, but Listy personally never had a conversation with him.

-- And of course that Kaidou was considerably powerful.

When he visited Alayzard together with Akatsuki, from the initial peace negotiations to until the end of the war, Kaidou had taken on many important roles from the shadows.

At the time when Akatsuki was away from Forestnium partaking in the peace negotiations Kaidou repulsed the almost invulnerable dead soldiers Leon had created, minimizing the damage to the village. Moreover, at the decisive battle in Gorudono Grand Canyon Kaidou had defeated the general of Kingdom of Sherfied Zechs.

...... Then there was that pressure she had felt at that time......

Listy Sherfied was reminded of the scene.

Upon Akatsuki receiving a fatal wound during the battle Kaidou had released a frightening amount murderous intent over herself and the others at the scene.

"--------"

There was no way she could be mistaken. That was clearly more overwhelming than the aura Phil Barnett released with the evil dragon Zahhak harboring inside his body at the time he left to apprehend Miu -- it might of even been more powerful than the one Akatsuki had shown on the battlefield.

"Kaidou Motoharu......"

While watching Akatsuki and Kaidou attack each other on numerous occasions Listy had come to a deeper understanding.

The Kaidou standing in Akatsuki and her own way right now was a formidable enemy, and equally matched with Akatsuki. Then,

"-- Listy!"

Soon after her name was call out, two girls had arrived to the scene. Across the back of the sprinting lion golem was Doumoto Kuzuha and Izumi Chikage.

"Ho, you guys......!"

The arrival of two reliable friends seemed to have lift Listy"s spirit, her face revealed an overjoyed look.

"Why are you just quietly watching? We need to hurry --"

Chikage"s voice held some reproach as she jumped off the lion"s back to look up to see Akatsuki and Kaidou. For Chikage it was a natural question to ask.

-- It was already decided that everyone will live with and walk down the same path together with Akatsuki.

Therefore even if she didn"t know the reason why Akatsuki was fighting Kaidou, exactly what to do next was clear.

Kaidou had fought side by side with everyone, but if he intended to stand in their way while they"re trying to save Miu -- Kaidou was an enemy to be taken down.

And so......

"I"m sorry, Akatsuki. I know you don"t like others to infer with your fight, but --"

As soon as she say so, Chikage materialized a long bow from her AD.

She had completely drawn back the bowstring, and after had created a magic arrow.

However,

"-- Wait Chikage!"

Listy had called out to stop her.

"Did Ousawa-kun ask you not to infer?"

"No, it"s not like that."

Faced with Kuzuha"s question Listy shook her head. She felt the same way as Chikage and Kuzuha. She didn"t care if Akatsuki would have been displeased if she intervened in his one on one fight, and in her heart she was anxious to lend a helping hand. And rescuing Miu as soon as possible was the top priority.

So, it was not a good idea to waste anymore time dealing with Kaidou here.

But......

"...... Watch carefully."

Listy stretched out her right hand, and at the same time unfolded a magic formation releasing a fireball. It flew towards Akatsuki and Kaidou -- but about 10 meters away it suddenly disappeared.

"How...... how is that possible?"

Chikage clearly saw the ma.s.s of fire seemly vanish before it crashed into anything.

"A protective wall -- No, a barrier......?"

Stunned she had spoke out, while she lowered her bow that had been poised. It seemed that the power of the fireball Listy released was equivalent the magic arrow Chikage was about to shoot. After what she witnessed, Kuzuha abruptly narrowed her eyes,

"More than that, the way the fireball was repelled...... was close to an absolute barriers of a higher life form."

"That was his doing."

Listy turned her eyes towards Kaidou.

"He and Akatsuki are fighting on the other side of this barrier. I tried to activate magic directly behind the barrier, also to no avail... ... Perhaps he set up that barrier to block any magic from the outside."

"Have you tried physical attacks?"

"Of course, but the result was still the same... ... This barrier is stronger than we can imagine."

Listy had reported with a bitter tone. She already tried to support him many times. But still, with all her efforts she was unable to get past the barrier that Kaidou created.

In addition,

"That"s not all. That barrier besides being around those two stretches out ahead."

Listy looked in the direction of the tower of Babel.

Following her eyes Chikage sighed,

"In other words, we are completely stuck here."

"Yeah. Unless he is defeated, we simply can"t advance......"

So, Listy turned her eyes straight ahead, and with confidence in her gaze she said,

"It is now up to Akatsuki...... and only he can do it."

Then the fight unfolding before Listy and the others eyes had suddenly changed.

"That......"

Chikage briefly leaked her surprise which was clearly heard by Listy.

Akatsuki and Kaidou"s speed was elevated to another dimension.

Akatsuki kicked off the ground.

His Ki had been gathered into his legs using renkan keikikou, and instantaneously his initial velocity increased. The more he kept his feet moving the greater his speed raised.

He was able firmly plant his feet on the synthetic grounds of the number one athletic field.

The high-speed movement transformed himself into into a gust of wind headed to the enemy in front of his eyes.

As it was, the distance between each other shortened at once, followed by a left and right punch.

Aiming for face that would leave him completely thrashed.

However......

"-- Oh wow, very scary."

Along with the wind the voice -- had wrapped around from behind.

"s.h.i.t -!"

Akatsuki had sent a right backhand behind him, but his arm was stopped. Still Akatsuki had already predicted that would happen. As it was he twisted his body to the lower right to unleash a backwards left kick down. However, the kick only ended up hitting thin air.

When he looked Kaidou had already retreated several meters back. Although the attacks had been right after each other Kaidou was still able to step back in that gap.

"Stop running away!"

Akatsuki once again dashed forward chasing after his enemy -- Kaidou Motoharu.

There was another onrush of punches and kicks from Akatsuki that even his own eyes could hardly follow, but still Kaidou was able to cope with one after another. He fended them off with a mix of body, and hand movements to parry the attacks. Akatsuki couldn"t even touch his clothes.

...... What"s with this, how is he still keeping this up......?

Renkan keikikou that Akatsuki uses was a technique to manipulate Ki precisely as its name suggests.

It wasn"t limited to using the Ki in his own body, but was possible to manipulate someone else"s just by touch. As such, now that some time had elapsed in the fight Akatsuki had already made contact with Kaidou many times.

However, Kaidou"s speed wasn"t dropping. On the contrary, it had risen to match Akatsuki"s movements.

...... He must be using some form of "Kuzushi."

In order to manipulate the Ki in someone else"s body it becomes necessary to match that person"s breathing, heart rate and as well as the flow of their Ki to find the appropriate places in their body to infuse Ki to alter the flow. However, Kaidou through changing his footwork and contorting his body size was altering his own body rhythms disrupting Akatsuki"s ability to judge.

"No wonder you"re so self-confident... ... As expected, you were concealing your power."

Akatsuki had never genuinely fought against Kaidou up to now. They met for the first time on the roof of a 3rd story building within JPN-Babel, and lightly exchanged punches without showing each other their real strength. Kaidou had used the word "handshake" to call it at that time. None the less, he was active behind the scenes in the ranking tournament, and from what he showed at the battle in Alayzard Akatsuki had highly evaluated Kaidou"s strength.

Every time Akatsuki provoked him, Kaidou would perfunctory evade the question with "I don"t like to take on challenges where I can predict the result." But make no mistake, Akatsuki broadly smiled while he exposed a mocking expression on his face,

"What the h.e.l.l...... Kaidou, I never thought that you"d be this strong!"

As he spoke Akatsuki"s right fist was easily blocked upward.

However, before he was able to gather his fist, Kaidou had grabbed his wrist and,

"Brace yourself Ackkee!"

Unable to quickly shake Kaidou off, Akatsuki was cast aside with a sudden force.

However -- Akatsuki wasn"t slammed into the ground. His body was literally thrown high into the air with tremendous force. Without being able to grab a foothold in the sky he could only watch as he was awkwardly falling into the forest near the sports fields.

It was the same forest that had become the stage for ranking tournament.

"Ah, ahhhhhhhhhh!"

The force of the fall cause him to break through the heavy thicket, bending and breaking several branches along the way.

"Gah... ... d.a.m.n!"

He manged to somehow settle himself in the air. Taking hold of branch with his right hand Akatsuki, using it as a fulcrum to spin around in a half circle, counteracting the force he was thrown by Kaidou, and firmly landing on the branch.

"Pursuit? --...... No probably not."

Akatsuki muttered. Kaidou"s goal was to buy some time. As such, he was trying to his best to detain Akatsuki as long as he could making a follow up attack unnecessary.

...... Well, at least it seems he isn"t in league with Hikami Kyouya.

However, he couldn"t afford to remain here forever.

He must rescue Miu as soon as possible.

...... But then again.

Akatsuki thought at least Miu"s safety was guaranteed. According to Haruka, Kyouya had some sort of plan he needed her for.

At that time, Kyouya seemed to have mentioned something about making a "Utopia."

Although several possibilities were conceivable, the mental state of Miu evidently had become important.

So, he was unlikely to cause Miu any harm...... at most would be limiting her freedom.

-- That said however, it couldn"t be taken lightly.

The longer this drags on the more time Kyouya will have to fully prepare.

And more importantly......

...... That guy needs to be rescued right now.

Ousawa Akatsuki had no other choice. He must get going, before Miu started to cry.

So Akatsuki tightly clenched right fist. Kaidou was indeed a powerful enemy, maybe even stronger than himself. And before he would of absolutely been no match for him.

However -- it was vastly different now.

...... Thank you old man Kubota.

After the baptism he went through during the training program earlier in the day, Akatsuki had learned how to fight an enemy stronger than himself. The key to victory lied in the means, rather than the superiority in strength one side had.

And if Kaidou"s aim was as he said to stall for time, there was a somewhat greater chance of success.

So......

"Bring it......!"

Ousawa Akatsuki fearlessly laughed as he began to run forward again.

Faster than the wind he had made it out of the forest.

"AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh!"

As he roared a torrent of Ki had been gathered in the palms of his hands.

Two ma.s.sive b.a.l.l.s of Ki were released from his left and right hand, curving respectively as they headed toward Kaidou.

"Hey Ackkee, you can"t really think such an attack would hit me!"

Kaidou easily sidestepped the attacks which soared straight past him.

After missing the target the b.a.l.l.s of Ki crashed into the ground, and with a loud bang billows of earth and sand had been kicked up. It brought forth enough dust to obscure Kaidou"s vision.

"The goal was such a thing--"

"Yeah, such a thing."

With his view blocked, Kaidou had quietly leaked his a.s.sessment. Akatsuki had answered while he went around his back from the right hand side.

-- Attacks were sent in from all sides leaving only one way to escape, up or backwards.

But, once he takes to the air at that time he would temporarily be powerless. As Kaidou was just wanted to stall for time he was unlikely to go on the attack, and therefore his means of escape were narrowed down to one.

Faced with Akatsuki onrush however Kaidou was still able to turn and face all the attacks in time.

No matter, Ousawa Akatsuki wasn"t going to let up at this point.

As it was now, he took a step forward towards Kaidou releasing a right fist. The punch maintained shoulder level as it went the fastest straight out. Seeing that Kaidou also responded with a fist of his own.

""--------!""

The two fists brushed past each other in the air, invariably making both Akatsuki and Kaidou dodged sideways.

However, Akatsuki took a step forward.

And,

"Oraaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

His right arm twisted, altering its path mid-air striking Kaidou on the back knocking him to the ground.

"Gaha-!"

The impact caused the air in Kaidou"s lungs to be expelled. At that moment, Akatsuki further twisted his body to the left.

"-- Eat this!"

Without changing, he aimed his left elbow down at Kaidou"s face.

"OOOOOHHHHHH?"

Kaidou quickly rolled to the side. Akatsuki"s elbow had smashed into the ground.

Along with that loud boom that shook the earth a large crater was formed in the sports field.

"Tch... ...Missed."

Even while rolling on the ground several times Kaidou could hear Akatsuki grumble.

And using the force he rolled to the side he got back up and,

"That was a little too much Ackkee, right? If I really "ate that" my precious face would of been completely blown off!"

Akatsuki just shrugged nonchalantly to that and,

"Relax ~, it wouldn"t have been so bad. Come on -- at most, your face would of just been in pieces."

"Whoa, that"s very cruel! Isn"t there at least a bit of love for a fellow student!?"

"You"re too loud --"

As Kaidou protested in full force Akatsuki suddenly disappeared.

"Uh-oh!"

Kaidou quickly struck with nukite (spear hand) to his right side.

Under the Moonlight he could clearly see a shadow moving towards himself.

However, Akatsuki used his left hand to neutralize Kaidou"s technique, throwing his own right fist diagonally instead.

"Ne, dangerous!"

Alarmed, Kaidou jump back in a hurry -- however, he still received a blow to his body.

"Gahh -- Ah!"

While flying backwards Kaidou could hardly believe what he seen his own eyes.

Akatsuki"s fist was definitely too far to make contact with him.

However, the fact was he was knocked back after suffering a heavy shock.

...... Was that toate? (striking at a distance)

To strike by ramming your fist through the air was a supreme feat. And apart from the attack itself, it also expanded the range Akatsuki could threaten him.

"d.a.m.n......!"

And after regaining his posture in the air Kaidou landed on his feet,

"Sorry -- That was only a one time gimme. I"m not that easy-going."

After closing the distance Akatsuki freely launched a stream of punches and kicks. As Kaidou defended himself,

"Gua......--!?"

He avoided the first wave of attacks, nevertheless Kaidou was still struck.

The reason was simple -- Akatsuki"s attacks had become incomparably faster than they were a little while ago.

...... This......!

Kaidou couldn"t hide his surprise. Akatsuki current attacks were entirely on a different level then from the beginning. All the pointless power, unnecessary movements, and useless thoughts from Akatsuki had vanished. His attacks now followed the shortest distance with maximum speed, eliminating all the waste. Every motion had been sharpened to the utmost limit leaving Kaidou struggling to cope with the barrage of blows.

"Tch......!"

When Kaidou found it unbearable he took a big leap backwards.

"-- I"m not letting you escape!"

At almost the same time Akatsuki kicked off the ground after him.

At once he caught up with Kaidou releasing a jump kick with his left foot.

Aimed at the side of his head, Kaidou reflexively raised his right arm,

"-!"

He just barely protected himself in time, however the strong force that was hammered down on him from the attack left his entire right arm numb. Still, Kaidou was able to grab Akatsuki"s foot with the other hand in an attempt to slam him into the ground.

"-- Too slow."

Akatsuki had acted a beat faster, raising his right leg overhead, and come down with his heel. And with no more free hands, it was impossible for Kaidou to stop.

So he choose to dodge it.

He strongly pulled on Akatsuki"s left foot, he still had a grip on, towards himself, while lowering his upper body forward.

Allowing him to dive towards the ground underneath Akatsuki.

Then there was a thunderous roar that came from the ground back behind him, caused by having evaded Akatsuki"s axe kick.

...... Hey now.

Most likely he had made a new crater in the ground.

All of those attacks came at his face, so much that it seemed Akatsuki really wanted to crush his face.

That being the case, then it was his turn to start fighting back. So Kaidou rotated on the heel of his left foot, spinning in place in a 180 degrees, allowing him to drive an elbow at Akatsuki"s face.

Gakyi!

Kaidou clearly felt an impact hitting through flesh to the bone.

But -- his elbow wasn"t in Akatsuki"s face.

Rather Akatsuki had countered it with his own elbow.

...... Seriously?

It had to have been sent at the same time his heel hit the ground.

"Since your fighting so pa.s.sively to buy time, I can read your next two or three moves."

As Akatsuki boldly declared with a fearless smile, Kaidou could not help but think --

...... What am I do now?

Kaidou"s task in obtaining the was to divert the enemy"s attention from Tiana.

After getting a mail from Cecil earlier his workload had increased.

He was to delay Akatsuki as long as possible.

In order to prevent him from b.u.mping heads with Tiana currently infiltrating the lowest levels of JPN-Babel. On the surface it probably was to rule out a potential barrier for Tiana, but --

...... Leader is pretty fiend-ish, and seems to quite admire Ackkee.

So, she might be taking advantage of this opportunity to test his strength.

However, it was already exhausting serving as diversion, and now I"m responsible for dealing with Akatsuki.

What a horrible bargain that was. I want to go home, this is too troublesome.

And as he thought of such, Kaidou was subtly beginning to lose motivation but still,

"...... Since it has come to this, I advise you to give up this meaningless perseverance."

There was a strained laugh contained in his voice as Kaidou"s consciousness came back the real world.

"-? Me give up? What the h.e.l.l."

Some unsuspecting words came out of Kaidous"s mouth to which Akatsuki broadly smirked.

And -- which he was going to definitively make eat,

"It seems its decided? Of course it would be pointless to persevere against -- "Crimson Twilight."

Even across the barrier Akatsuki"s words were clearly heard by Izumi Chikage"s ears.

"Is that so... ... It was like that."

Chikage"s expression had turned very serious.

...... No wonder.

She understood with that why Kaidou"s ability to fight was so high.

"Crimson Twilight is not......"

Listy had just come to this world, and only roughly knew about its circ.u.mstances. While Kuzuha next to her nodded,

"Nn... ... They are the world"s strongest terrorist group that is said to have equal fighting strength with the administrators of the world COc.o.o.n."

With Crimson Twilight openly opposing COc.o.o.n it went without saying what his motivation and intention was in attending JPN-Babel.

If what Akatsuki spoke of was true, the thing that should be paid attention to wasn"t the past, but the present.

And that was the current situation with Kaidou blocking their way.

So......

"-- If Kaidou is a member of "Crimson Twilight.""

The tone in Izumi Chikage"s voice was a little rigid. And as she stared ahead,

"Then Perhaps -- the real battle is yet to begin."

"Oh boy......"

After what Akatsuki said Kaido Motoharu couldn"t help sighing.

At that time in Alayzard, Kaidou had a tongue in cheek manner evaded the that topic after being accused by Akatsuki.

Akatsuki however was clever, and to some extant should of already been aware of his true ident.i.ty.

-- Still until now, the two had an unwritten understanding not to look under that card.

Kaidou didn"t have a clue as to what Akatsuki was thinking, however at least by him doing so he was able to maintain his position as a friend. It was even so now. Despite being instructed to temporarily delay him by Cecil, Kaidou was not here as a member of "Crimson Twilight," but as his friend stopping him from entering into their domain.

However,

...... Good grief, it has come to this.

Kaidou slightly looked down, with a self mocking smile.

Admittedly there was a little bit of regret, but he also had no choice but to accept the fact.

"I only wanted to stall you little to complete my mission......"

Kaidou muttered, then soon after slowly raised his face.

A cruel smile was met there. Crimson Twilight"s true nature was revealed.

Your the one who stepped into our territory -- Ousawa Akatsuki.

So, I won"t be able to guarantee it any longer -- your safety, your life, or anything relating to you.

"...... This is what you asked for, Ackkee."

And Kaido Motoharu unleashed the power he was holding back.

"Oho......"

In a s.p.a.ce protected by a concept barrier, Kyouya had been watching the course of events, and was more than a little surprised. He never imagined Kaidou would bring out his ability here.

He originally thought Kaidou would play the fool to the end but,

"Ousawa-kun...... you seem to be born with a natural ability to make others want to curry favor with you."

Kyouya also spoke with a very please smile,

"However, it seems you really did get yourself into a troubling spot here......"

Besides, Akatsuki also had something he must do.

...... That"s right...... a very important task.

Kyouya looked behind him at the alter where Miu was still fast asleep.

Then coldly laughed,

"Hurry up, its almost time to start -- that is the execution of my plan."

The murderous intent emanating from Kaidou rapidly swelled.

Akatsuki started to feel pin p.r.i.c.ks on his skin, because the atmosphere was so strained.

...... Heh, this fellow......!

While subjected to such pressure that would likely crush him if made slightest mistake Ousawa Akatsuki laughed in his mind. It was good like this, because he wouldn"t have been able to make any headway with him continually dodging. He needed to move forward -- to the place ahead he was aiming at.

Akatsuki"s goal was to take on the head of COc.o.o.n his older brother, and also the founder of Crimson Twilight his father.

If he couldn"t surpa.s.s Hikami Kyouya or Kaidou Motoharu here then -- Ousawa Akatsuki would never be able to reach the place he set his goal on.

And how would he do it? Such a thing was very obvious.

"-- Bring it!"

Akatsuki kicked off his legs, quickly rushing forward.

He knew Kaidou"s true weapon was a chain, and was most likely invisible to the naked eye. In the ranking tournament Kaidou"s chain stopped Phil"s movements while he was transformed into Zahhak, and in Alayzard he overwhelmed Zechs Doltrake. Even if he wasn"t clear on the attack range of the chain, Akatsuki knew being too far apart was quite the negative on his part.

So he had to go.

"-!"

While rushing at Kaidou, Akatsuki concentrated his mind on the AD on his right wrist.

A black magic sword had materialized -- Lævateinn. It had automatically a.s.sumed the optimal shape to handle Kaidou Motoharu, the enemy before him. It was the second form he used when he defeated Phil / Zahhak and Leon Esuperio.

It was like his AD was telling him -- the immediate opponent was strong, and he must go all out from the start.

...... You don"t need to tell me that, I already know!

Akatsuki all along wasn"t going to go easy on him.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooh!"

He let out his fighting spirit with a roar, while he slashed his sword down from overhead.

It was a deadly strike enough to beat even the toughest of enemies, and it was aimed straight down on Kaidou"s head.

Giiiiiiiiiin!

Together with a metallic clank the blow was stopped.

"--------"

Kaidou had stuck out both of his fists above his head.

In the s.p.a.ce slightly wider than shoulder width apart, emerged a single long straight object with a bright metallic l.u.s.ter.

It was the true color of his -- chain.

"...... You finally revealed it."

And after witnessing Kaidou"s true weapon Akatsuki had grinned,

"But are you sure you want to do that? Like when you defeated Zechs -- wouldn"t it have been better to keep them invisible?"

Then......

"Maybe, but...... at the same time, would it make difference?"

Kaidou also a.s.serted with a mocking smile,

"-- Especially against an opponent of Ackkee"s caliber."

"This will be interesting then......-- Oraaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

Akatsuki said that much before he slashed out with a series of attacks.

It was carried out with the second form of his sword with random strikes to decapitate.

The orbit of the magic sword follow an a.s.sortment of circular tracks, with increasing speed and power after each strike.

However......

"Oh wow... ... that was splendid, Ackkee."

Kaidou had blocked all that one after another.

Compared to Akatsuki needing to use both hands to grip the sword, Kaidou only needed one. He rapidly waved his right hand down to his elbow causing the chain to dance in the air furthermore controlled by the snapping of his wrist repelling the strikes.

"Your attacks compared to that redheaded general with a sword in Alayzard are heavier, and may even be faster."

"Tsk-!"

After finding out he wasn"t able to overcome his resistance, Akatsuki immediately determined he needed to change his strategy.

He quickly jumped back,

"-- If that"s the case!"

Then he released a series of four slashes in the air.

The blades of air that were created flew towards Kaidou -- and also landed at the same moment.

"Your also trying this trickkkkk!"

Akatsuki had also quickly reversed the way he held Lævateinn, to from below to create another slash as he raised the sword. It allowed for him to make two attacks from one slashing motion.

The powerful waves from the sword had kicked up the heavy sediment along the way.

And with the approaching air blade, a torrential rush of sand had swallowed everything.

"-- Otto!"

Kaidou quickly moved his hand causing the chain to kick back upon itself in the form of a hexagram notation in mid-air.

Thereupon, a transparent wall suddenly emerged in front of him -- repulsing all the incoming attacks.

...... That was the same trick you used in the ranking tournament!

Akatsuki could not help but be reminded of that time when he was facing the members of the Student Council. The shock wave he sent out with his slashing attack was stopped by that wall. However, the strength from that attack to this one couldn"t even be mentioned in the same sentence.

"It"s the same even if it"s not invisible, huh? -- Very good, I also like it like this!"

Akatsuki was holding Lævateinn around his waist facing behind, as he round it up from the bottom.

Everything before him was severed vertically, parting to the left and right of Akatsuki as it pa.s.sed through.

After he caught his breath, the sound of an explosions came from the back. Probably was the wave colliding with Kaidou"s barrier.

...... Well, it continues now!

From the moment just before the ranking tournament was cancelled where Kaidou and himself were about to fight.

Then,

"Well then, I guess its my turn to do something now."

As soon as he heard Kaidou"s voice,

"-?"

Akatsuki had suddenly leaped back.

-- The ground where he was standing was blown away from a powerful shock wave.

In addition, the chain acted like a whip, free transforming as it chased after Akatsuki.

The offensive and defensive positions had interchanged.

...... This chain......!

It was more troublesome than he imagined. Each one of those attacks were extremely heavy, and furthermore were fast. They were equal to, or even greater than Akatsuki"s slashes. Moreover, the chain could potentially coil around his sword if he was to received an attack unskillfully. At a minimum he would lose his weapon, and at worst his movements could be sealed. Since blocking wasn"t going to cut it, he had no choice but to dodge everything.

So,

"-- OOOOhhhhhhhhhh!"

Akatsuki dramatically increased the Ki inside his body with renkan keikikou at that moment, to pour into Lævateinn. And again, Kaidou"s chain came at him from all directions. He countered by releasing an attack of his own from his sword.

Instead of a blade being created from the air, a wholly different blade of Ki was generated.

The approaching chain was knocked back.

After Kaidou saw that,

"Oh wow......!"

He couldn"t help but admire out loud. Akatsuki spoke back to him as if it was only naturally going to happen,

"It would of been too much of a pain if I was entangled with that."

And then Kaidou saw the second blow knocked back, followed by the third. The room for Akatsuki to counterattack was growing after each block. Gradually he was overcoming his weakness, and conversely starting to push back.

So......

...... It"s now!

He once again went to cut the distance, to a range where he could mount an effective strike of his own. When he raised his sword at an angle to defect the chain it jumped,

"What--?"

Akatsuki was taken aback. The Ki blade he brought with it had failed to hit the chain.

...... Could it be that......!

In that instant, Akatsuki understood how that phenomenon had occurred. The last moment before they were to make contact -- the chain had been pulled back. Probably by snapping his wrist at an incredible high speed. And the chain then wrapped around the Ki blade itself in the air, dispersing it at once when it tightened.

In addition, now the chain was coming straight at Akatsuki,

"...... s.h.i.t!"

As Akatsuki was in the middle of running at him, and with the forward movement of his body there was no way to he could dodge. Still, he twisted in an attempt to avoid the chain.

"It"s too late, Ackkee!"

Kaidou along with a smile, manipulated the trajectory of the chain to match that movement. As if it had a mind of its own, the chain coiled around Akatsuki"s body.

The wrapping then immediately tightened.

"Ga.....H, AH.....!"

At once he tried to burst out of the chains with all of his power, however the coiling chain had no change in the slightest.

"Ah, its useless to struggle... ... That"s not an ordinary chain."

And Kaidou told him with a laugh,

"That chain isn"t a weapon in response to AD"s telepathic induction stone. It was specially-made with my very own ability."

"...... Your ability?"

After Akatsuki asked, Kaidou laughed with an "Oh, I see" and,

"You didn"t know Ackkee!? Like us, those guys at COc.o.o.n individually have their own original element or physical-based magic. While we each have our own original conceptual ability."

Kaidou slowly walked towards Akatsuki.

"My conceptual ability is called "freedom binding chain." There isn"t a thing in the world I can"t tie down."

"Chains that binds freedom......"

Even though he wasn"t able to budge, Akatsuki maintained his usual calmness as he continued to speak,

"Considering you always act freer than anyone...... it is incredibly unexpected that you would use ability to violate someone"s freedom."

"No, it"s nothing like that."

Kaidou shrugged and,

"It"s so I"m not bound by anything -- expect myself, everyone is tied together to something."

And with that, he flung his right arm in the air.

The next moment -- the chain that was binding Akatsuki flew in the sky.

With his body being freed a voice cut through the atmosphere,

"-- This time I"ll let you have a chance to take up a defensive stance."

It was simultaneous with Kaidou"s mutter being carried across the gap with the wind.

Akatsuki had been slammed to the ground with a loud bang.

"-- Gah...... ahhh....... ah!"

Intense pain ran throughout his body.

Even though he concentrated his Ki into his back to improve his defense in the moments before the impact there was damage to his internal organs.

...... This fellow......!

The damage was unimaginable. Even someone clad in armor couldn"t hold out for multiple attacks.

Should I use iron body(hard qigong)? No, that technique would only be some what effective against the strike and shock, nevertheless it was originally meant to stop a slashing attack. And in this case, hardening the body was likely to cause greater damage received from the shock.

Thereupon Akatsuki loaded his whole body with power.

"d.a.m.n...... that seriously is unbreakable......!"

"I"ve already told it isn"t a chain."

And Kaidou while wryly smiling,

"It"s the same as the surrounding barrier. I used my conceptual ability to bound the s.p.a.ce around here. The level of Izumi and the others magic attacks or yours Ackkee will have no effect."

After sayings so, he kicked Akatsuki while he was laying on the ground.

It was a simple kick with nothing special, but the power was enormous.

"Gaaa ah ah ah ah!"

It resembled a soccer power shot on net, as Akatsuki blown off the sports field into the forest.

"Oh, no rotation."

Kaidou"s half jokingly voice swiftly became distant. The force when he was thrown earlier couldn"t compare to now. Without being able to take up a defensive posture from the residual force, Akatsuki mowed down numerous trees one after another was he went away,

"-- Gah......!"

After his back crashed into a huge rock he finally stopped.

None the less, Kaidou then coiled the chain back around him.

Akatsuki"s vision started to become distorted from the severe pain,

...... This is far from good......!

Akatsuki suddenly felt a shiver as he was still able to identify where he ended up.

A myriad of trees and rocks covered the whole area. All of which, was seen as a lethal weapon to him.

On the level sports field with no obstacles was already dangerous enough.

Being tossed around in a place such as this, the consequence will be unimaginable.

Then from somewhere,

"Come on Ackkee -- it"s time for the roller coaster."

He heard Kaidou"s voice but still could tell from where and,

"You......!"

"Oioi, isn"t a roller coaster a fun attraction -- at least smile a little."

As soon as he was ruthless told so -- Akatsuki"s whole body began to bear enormous damage from the forest itself.

While Akatsuki was in the middle of being swung about, after being seized with freedom binding chain, Kaidou Motoharu couldn"t help think.

There was quite a beautiful sound, as if the forest was performing a symphony.

He also thought without a good instrument it was hard to stimulate his poetic inspiration.

"We almost reached the crescendo. Let"s properly enjoy it--"

Feeling like a maestro, Kaidou was making the chain constantly dance as if waving a baton on stage.

With Akatsuki firmly secured at the other end of the chain he increased the tempo to that of an allegro.

The feeling of many types of trees being mowed down and rocks broken into pieces was incessantly returned to his hand,

...... This is the conclusion.

From what he felt on the end of the chain Kaidou determined it was the right time to end it all. Akatsuki should be in a rag-like state at this point. And if he continued his performance there wouldn"t be anything left of the forest.

After all, it wasn"t good to encourage the destruction of nature.

So......

"Let"s finish this with a drop on the freefall."

He took a breath,

"Oh but -- there are no brakes."

So Kaidou raised his right hand over his head -- but, he felt an inexplicable abnormality through the chain.

The chain wrapped around Akatsuki"s body was stretched open from the inside.

It was like Akatsuki"s body had instantly swelled two times its size.

And the next moment,

"-- Oh?"

The weight that he felt from the front of the chain had suddenly disappear. That sense of weight conveyed Akatsuki"s presence.

...... Oi, this can"t be happening.

The concept around Kaidou"s ability freedom binding chain was once that it binds something without a leaving gap it strips it of all freedom.

Therefore, a situation where it could be expanded and opened from the inside could never occur. If that were ever to happen that would mean their was a gap to get out. And for that, the person inside must have a considerably greater difference in power than Kaidou, otherwise escape was impossible.

"No way --"

Heart full of doubt Kaido blurted out the words when,

"-- You don"t look very happy."

The voice going behind him -- and Akatsuki was almost simultaneous.

"-!"

Before Kaidou could even turn around there was an upward impact to his body.

"Gaa, wa......!"

As the sound itself came out he was under attack from the front.

While Kaidou was flying through the air, inside he was contemplating that improbable occurrence.

In theory, it wasn"t entirely inexplicable. That was the moment before he went around Kaidou"s back he had spoke to him from somewhere in the forest, then in the time when he started turning around he was. .h.i.t in the air, and before he could speak Akatsuki ran around him to the front to attack.

And, it didn"t end with that. Invisible impulsion hit Kaidou from every direction.

The notion of defense and or avoidance against speed and power of the extent had become meaninglessness. During the time it took him to breath in and out, he was unable to count the number of attacks he suffered. The heavy damage he gave Akatsuki while swing him around in the forest -- was supposed to have had him winning. But now after a series of counterattacks, Kaidou was gradually losing that superiority.

"Ku-!"

Even though he couldn"t see Akatsuki with his eyes, Kaidou still subconsciously moved the chain to protect himself.

He surrounded himself with a barrier to ward off all the attacks. After successive hits from Akatsuki the pure white barrier was turning ash-colored. The impacts were piling up from all sides.

"Seriously......"

Kaidou almost could not believe his eyes. The impacts were like a heavy rain that momentary obscures the view.

At least with this, he could temporarily catch his breath -- however, that was only wishful thinking on his part.

"-- Its not over yet."

The voice came from directly above. And then,

"-! OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The barrier around Kaidou had shattered, and he was abruptly knocked to the ground.

The sound of a large crater blooming echoed in the forest.

Nevertheless......

"...... Geez, give me a break."

Kaidou had narrowly escaped receiving any damage from the fall somehow. As he stared ahead he discovered a s.p.a.ce distorting similar to hot air rising with a shimmering effect. And after a few seconds -- Akatsuki revealed himself.

"---------"

The expression in his eyes were hollow as if he was watching something from another world, Kaidou then,

"I see, so that was the trick......"

Kaidou suddenly came to an understanding. It was not surprising why there such a radical change in his movements.

Kaido Motoharu thought to reach that state, even among "Crimson Twilight" there were only an extremely select people who could, Akatsuki -- really couldn"t be made light of.

So he exposed a helpless smile,

"I"ll tell you this much...... you really have stepped into our domain."

"...... Phew!"

Akatsuki lifted the extreme state his mind was under, by halting the use of renkan keikikou on his brain. In that state not only was his physical ability, but also his reaction speed w