On the other side, with Asuka Tokunaga.
After leaving school, she walked home while thinking about Akuto.
At some point, an indescribable stench of rot spread without warning.
Asuka abruptly stopped in her tracks and stared in terror at the dark corner not far away.
A figure slowly stepped out from the shadows.
It was a "person," or rather, something that had once been human.
She wore battered knight's armor of an ancient style. The armor was stained with dark brown filth, like dried blood. Her skin was the bluish gray of a corpse, utterly devoid of life. In her sunken eye sockets, there were no eyeballs, only two faint green flames that seemed to have come straight from hell.
In her hands, she held a rusted two-handed greatsword. The tip dragged along the ground, producing an ear-piercing scrape.
Judging by the curse power and decaying aura clinging to the corpse, the one who had appeared was none other than one of Marquis Voban's Dead Servants.
Asuka knew nothing about Campiones or Dead Servants, but any normal high school girl would be terrified of a zombie-like thing like this.
Fear wrapped around Asuka's heart like an icy venomous snake, tightening in an instant until she could barely breathe.
Her first instinct was to run, but she discovered that her legs felt as if they had been filled with lead. No matter what she did, she could not move.
The next second, the female knight's corpse moved.
She stiffly raised the rusted greatsword, her movements carrying a suffocating pressure. The two ghostly green flames locked onto the trembling girl at the mouth of the alley.
The breath of death rushed toward her.
"N-No... please..."
Asuka backed away in despair, only for her foot to catch on a stone. She fell heavily to the ground. Her elbows and knees burned with pain, but she had no attention to spare for that. Cold despair swallowed her whole. She was finished. She was going to die here.
In the revolving lantern of memories before death, the image of a certain boy appeared in Asuka's mind.
Akuto, her childhood friend.
She still had not given Akuto her answer. Was she really going to meet her end because of an attack from some unknown monster?
Faced with death, Asuka no longer felt any hesitation. Only one thought remained in her mind: she wanted to see Akuto.
She wanted to see Akuto and tell him, in person, the decision she had failed to tell him before.
Akuto-kun... I'm sorry. I couldn't keep our childhood promise. I can't become your bride anymore.
Bzzzz!
As if answering her call, an invisible force abruptly descended.
And along with that power came an incredibly violent gale.
The wind arrived without warning, like the breath of a god. Carrying enough force to tear everything apart, it struck the Death Knight who was bringing down her sword with flawless precision.
Bang!
A dull impact rang out. The heavy knight's corpse, radiating the stench of death, was sent flying by the sudden gale as if it had been hit head-on by a high-speed train. It had no power to resist at all.
The next moment, the Dead Servant crashed into the wall on the other side of the alley. The hard bricks cracked and caved in instantly, releasing a brittle sound that set the teeth on edge.
The knight's corpse slid to the ground like a rag doll. The two ghostly green flames flickered violently several times, as if it had suffered a severe blow, and even the deathly aura clinging to its body weakened considerably.
The roaring wind swept through the alley, dispersing the nauseating stench of rot and stirring Asuka's disheveled long hair. She sat collapsed on the ground, still shaken as she stared blankly at the unbelievable scene before her. Her mind had gone completely white.
A figure appeared in front of her like a phantom, without the slightest warning. His back was to her, blocking the terrifying corpse that was struggling to rise.
It was Akuto.
He was still wearing his school uniform, but his back looked unusually straight. In the dim alley, he seemed like a towering mountain, radiating a presence that made her feel safe.
The next second, Akuto casually raised one hand and gently clenched it in the direction of the Dead Servant ahead.
"Crack... crack, crack, crack..."
As Akuto's hand closed, the knight's corpse, which had just struggled halfway upright, seemed to be seized by an invisible giant hand. Its armor groaned under the unbearable pressure, twisting and deforming in an instant.
"Boom!"
Finally, when the compression upon both its physical body and soul reached its limit, the Dead Servant's rotting flesh and ghostly green soul fire burst apart, scattering into specks of phosphorescent light that vanished into the air.
Soon, the alley returned to deathly silence. Only the wind continued to howl, lifting the edge of the girl's skirt.
...
Akuto slowly turned around and looked down at Asuka, who was sitting limply on the ground, her face as pale as paper.
His eyes were still deep, but their cold, awe-inspiring edge had faded. In its place was a complicated emotion that was hard to describe. There was a trace of helplessness, a trace of understanding, and a trace of pity that perhaps even he himself had not noticed.
"Asuka, it's over." He held out his hand, his voice low and gentle.
Looking at that well-defined hand reaching toward her, looking at Akuto's face, still so handsome it made her heart tremble even in the dim light, and looking at the unreadable complexity in his eyes, the taut string in Asuka's heart finally snapped.
All of her grievances, all of her fear, and all the chaotic emotions she had felt earlier after learning that Akuto intended to build a harem surged out like a broken dam.
Tears instantly blurred Asuka's vision. She could no longer hold herself back. She threw herself into Akuto's arms and clutched the front of his shirt with both hands, as if she had seized the only lifeline left to her.
"Uu... Akuto-kun... I thought I'd never see you again."
Asuka burst into tears like a frightened child, burying her face deep in his warm chest. Her body trembled constantly from her violent sobs.
Akuto gently extended his arms and steadily wrapped them around Asuka's shaking shoulders, protecting her entire body in his embrace.
Asuka felt that Akuto's arms were solid and warm, carrying a reassuring strength that drove away the alley's cold and the shadow of death.
Like that, Akuto said nothing. He simply held her in silence, letting her tears soak into his shirt while his hand patted her back lightly, his comfort clumsy but gentle.
Only after quite a while did Asuka's sobs gradually quiet down, turning into intermittent sniffles.
However, she still clutched Akuto's clothes tightly and refused to let go, as if the terrifying scene from before and this warm embrace would disappear the moment she released him.
"It's all right. It's over."
Akuto's voice sounded above her head, carrying a nearly imperceptible sigh.
"I'm sorry, Asuka. This is what I was hiding from you. Because of me, you were attacked." Akuto's gaze darkened as he looked into the distance, as if he could see Marquis Voban far away.
He had not expected Marquis Voban to play such a pointless word game with him.
That was right. Marquis Voban indeed had not made a move against Liliana or Mariya Yuri, but he had made a move against Asuka.
Akuto knew Marquis Voban merely wanted to see whether Asuka was actually on the scene.
However, what Akuto hated most was Marquis Voban's self-important habit of stirring up trouble for no reason.
Although, in terms of the capture result, Marquis Voban had undoubtedly helped Akuto. But that did not prevent Akuto from sending him to the underworld.
...
In Akuto's arms, Asuka raised her head and looked at the boy before her through tear-filled eyes.
The last traces of sunset fell across his face, outlining his perfect profile.
Relief at surviving, her attachment to Akuto, and the questions she had forcibly suppressed earlier surged back into Asuka's heart.
"Akuto-kun... what was that just now? And you... how could you do all of that? And... and the things you said earlier..."
After coming back to herself, Asuka urgently wanted an answer. She wanted to understand the source of all this chaos.
Akuto looked at Asuka's tear-streaked face and those eyes that wanted to understand him. He fell silent for a moment.
A few seconds later, Akuto raised his hand and gently wiped away the tear tracks on her cheek with the pad of his finger. The motion carried a tenderness he himself had not noticed.
"Asuka, it's a long story."
"But right now, I'm afraid there isn't time to explain in detail."
"All you need to know is that I obtained tremendous power and a supreme status. But I also gained a heavy responsibility."
As he spoke, Akuto's gaze passed over Asuka's head and turned toward the center of Tokyo.
In the direction of Tokyo Tower, the once-clear night sky had, at some point, become shrouded in rolling black clouds as thick as ink.
"Rumble! Rumble, rumble!"
At the same moment Akuto looked over, pale, blinding bolts of lightning flashed through the clouds like frenzied silver serpents, weaving and exploding wildly. Deep thunder rolled across the distance. Even from far away, one could feel the terrifying pressure, as if it could destroy heaven and earth.
...
Asuka followed Akuto's gaze, and her pupils abruptly contracted.
"That's..." Asuka's voice trembled with fear. Because of what Akuto had just said, there was no way she could connect the current thunderstorm to a natural phenomenon.
Without question, this thunderstorm had not formed naturally.
"Marquis Voban."
Akuto's voice turned colder.
"It seems he's tired of living."
Shaking his head, Akuto lowered his gaze to the girl in his arms, who was still badly shaken.
"Hold on to me."
"Wh... what?" Asuka had not yet reacted.
Akuto did not explain further. He merely tightened his arms and protected her more closely against himself.
Phoenix!
As the Phoenix incarnation took effect, Asuka felt her vision blur. The scenery around them stretched into streaks of light and rapidly receded.
The wind howled in her ears, and a sudden sensation of weightlessness struck her. She screamed in fright and instinctively hugged Akuto's waist as tightly as she could, burying her face against his chest.
It was only an instant of dizziness.
When Asuka could see her surroundings again, she discovered that she was no longer in that dark alley.
Beneath her feet was a stretch of green lawn. Around her, violent winds howled, and thunder roared loud enough to shake the sky.
Terrified, she lifted her head and was shocked to realize that she was standing directly beneath Tokyo Tower.
Overhead were terrifying dark clouds churning with thunderbolts of destruction.
(End of Chapter)
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