Not only the sword, or rather, the blade, but the sword, the sword, the sword's sword, and the sword's hilt, all burst into countless bubbles.

　The iron-colored bubbles did not scatter on the ground, but each one moved as if it had a mind of its own and adhered to Goz's body.

　It took very little time for the bubbles to cover every inch of Goz's body, from head to toe.



　Originally, Goz's height was cloud-bound, and the robustness of his limbs reminded him of a bear.

　The bubbles that enveloped its massive physique were quickly increasing in volume, expanding Goz's body by one or two sizes.

　The bubble, which had finished its expansion, then began to contract.

　It doesn't just get smaller. The bubble begins to take shape with a clear intention.

　It was a whole body wrapped in the Eastern armor.



　It is not just an armor. There should be no gap between the joints of the armor.

　Even the most elaborate armor would need a certain amount of space for the neck, limbs and other joints to move. If the sleeves were attached to the crowbar, it would be difficult to bend the arms, and if the shin guards were attached to the leggings, it would be difficult to walk.

　However, Goz's armor had no such gaps. Every part of the armor was so tightly connected to each other that there was no gap between the needles, but it still had no obstacle to movement.

　The current Goz, with his entire body wrapped in shining black armor and his face covered by a bull's head-shaped helmet, can protect himself from all kinds of attacks.

　Of course, it's not only for protection. The huge blue dragon sword that Goz holds in his right hand is armed with the seven stars inlaid on it.

　Its appearance was not a warrior in armor, but rather a cow king who had descended to this world.




"--Sora-dono.


　Goz's voice emanated from the cow face. With that alone, an overwhelming fighting spirit blew in, and Sora had to bite down on his back teeth to withstand the pressure.

　Now Goz's eyes, nose, mouth, and even ears were covered by the helmet. Still, it didn't seem to have any effect on his five senses, and Sora could certainly sense Goz's gaze.


'This is my form that has come to the sky. This is my image that came to the sky, and this is my anima, Kazushumaru, also known as the Great Sage of the Heiten. He was one of the seven heavens that pitted the heavens against each other, that he was. Afterwards, he was defeated, converted to the heavenly realm, and after casting a noose for himself, he challenged the Lord of Hosts, defeated him, and came to serve the swordsmiths.


　As he said that, Goz pointed the blue dragon sword he was holding upside down and stabbed it into the ground.

　It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to be able to use your own weapon.

　There was no need to use the weapon, Goz seemed to be saying. And this guess hit the nail on the head.


"I'll get you out of this one. I hope you don't think I'm slacking off. If the purpose of this is to correct Sora-dono, then I have chosen the best way to achieve my goal.

You're on your own.

Ha. The other thing is that Sora-dono's mind suit is already in a state of unrestricted power, that it is. Feel free to use it.

...what?

The power of the binding chain that Suzumaru possesses was originally intended to contain his own overpowering power. It is no more than a mere afterthought to suppress the mindset of others. To draw out all the power, you must break the chains, and if you break the chains, you will not be able to suppress the minds of others. That is the way it is, that it is.


　Hearing this, Sora raised his eyebrows and thought about the meaning of the words.

　Goz's mind-dressing ability was self-binding, and his ability to counteract the mind-dressing abilities of others was a byproduct of that.

　It was difficult to understand the meaning of using the power of the anima to bind the anima, but it made sense to me if I thought of it as being like the berserkers of the world. Even if it would weaken him, he would otherwise be unable to control his power.

　The episode of disobeying the heavens also gives us a sense of evil spirits.

　If that was the case, Sora guessed that it wouldn't be long before Goz was able to wield his full strength.

　That's what a mad warrior (berserker) is like in all times and places--


　And as if he had read such an empty thought, the bull-headed helmet bobbed up and down.


'I see you've noticed. It's just that the time to deploy this kind of equipment is limited, that it is. Fighting for time is one way to do it.


　'Most definitely,' continued Goz, 'such as it is.


'If only it could be done, that is.


　As if to say the story is over, Goz sits down and takes a stance.

　In response, Sora faced Goz with his Soul Eater (Soul Eater) at the ready.


◆ ◆ ◆


　The current Goz, who had been transformed into a bull-headed armor by the sky, was now over two meters tall, and his arms and legs were as thick as logs, making him a literal giant.

　When that giant body disappeared from view, Sora immediately tried to retreat.

　But by that time, Goz's fist wrapped in black armor was already embedded in his abdomen.

　Without a moment's thought, Sora's body was blown backwards and slammed into the stone pavement as it was.


''Gu--kuh!


　Sora forcibly swallows down the screams and gastric juices that are about to overflow, and immediately tries to stand up.

　However, to his left, Goz is beside him. Anticipating a kick coming, Sora reflexively shields his side with his left elbow.

　Goz kicked up his opponent's body with his elbow as it was.

　This is a good thing. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're ready to buy. That leg strength was not that of a human.

　Next, Goz kicked up the cobblestones and jumped up. In an instant, he reached the sky in the air and, with his hands together, created an improvised weapon...


Nuh-uh!


　He raised it high and slammed it into the empty body without hesitation.

　I didn't even have time to scream. In the blink of an eye, the stone pavement exploded underneath Sora, who was knocked to the ground, and a strong vibration shook the ground. I'm not going to be able to get up, but I'm going to cower there, my face twisted in anguish.

　Goz landed on the ground without a sound and silently looked down at Sora's suffering form.

　Even though Sora was suffering, he still hadn't let go of his mind suit. While admiring it inwardly as brilliant, Goz opened his mouth to speak.


If you don't think you can fight anymore, let go of your heart gear. With that, I consider this a surrender.


　The figure of the man who said it with ease was full of unshakable confidence.

　He would not say it in words. But his attitude spoke eloquently.

　Even with the power of his heart-dressing, and even if there were a limit to the amount of time he could spend fighting, there was no way Miken Sora could defeat Goz Sima.

　When he and Sora faced each other, the strongest was always himself and the weakest was Sora - as if this was the truth of the world, Goz believed he was standing above the sky.

　And that confidence was based on accurate facts. If he was made to crawl on the ground in an instant, he had to admit, no matter how competitive he was.

　Sora admitted it, too.

　Gulp, red stomach juices spilled out of his mouth.

　Coughing violently, he managed to struggle to stand up. As he did so, he stared up at Goz and met his eyes with Goz, who was looking down at the sky. Far from being hostile, his eyes were filled with pity.


　--It was terribly annoying.


　The days at Onigashima came back to Sora's mind.

　The days when you were judged for every single thing that you were weak.

　It's okay to be maliciously abused. It's okay to be maliciously criticized, but it gives you the food for thought that one day you will have to turn the tables on them.

　But how can one wipe away the misery in one's heart when one is maligned with good intentions?



　The first person to take pity on him was the man in front of him.

　The first to turn his attention to this man, the Fu Yaku in front of him. Unable to even rebel, the fetters are imprinted on his mind and body, making him feel like a weakling.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get a good deal more than you think.


　--The fact that this was terribly annoying.


　Then what should I do?

　There was no way to win by fighting. I'm not sure that Goz is even half as good as he is, or even a tenth of his strength. This is a difficult opponent for him. If Goz were to try to take out the sparrow now, there was no way to stop him.

　He cannot fight, nor can he protect.

　What can a person like that do?


　--It's obvious. You can eat it.


　You can do that to the Mikenkuu. No, no. That's the only thing Mikenku could do.

　Wasn't that the only valuable truth I've learned in the past five years?


''..............................Ah, yes. That's right.

...Sora-dono?

"Well there was no way I was going to fight you three, or protect the sparrows and everyone else, and it was never going to work. All I had to do was think about ... eating.

N...?


　Goz looks dubiously at Sora, or rather at the mind outfit Sora is holding.

　The user, Sora, is out of breath. It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to find the right one.

　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get a good deal more than you think.

　--It's not just a good idea to be able to have a good time. It's not the kind of magic that comes from within a person, and it's not the same as the magic that the world produces. It is a denser, more primordial power, a power on the level of the divine or elemental (ether).

　It makes a roaring sound and covers the mind gear. That's not all. The torrent of power flows into the sky as well........


　In the next moment, Goz quickly jumped from the spot. Immediately after, a single flash of light caressed the space where Goz had been standing.

　As he fell, Sora wielded his mind suit. It was a sharp flash that could hardly be thought of as a slash unleashed by the person who had just been taunting him.

　And in Goz's vision, the sky slowly rose up.

　Already there is no anguish on its face. After wiping away the stomach juices sticking to his mouth with his sleeve, Sora opened his mouth in amusement as he looked at Goz.


'Goz. I'm going to eat you.


　Neeee,

　The sky hung at the edge of his lips.

　A chill ran through Goz's entire body as he witnessed that expression. Even though he had excited his empty armor and gained ironclad protection, he trembled with fear at the eyes of Sora looking at him.

　Quickly, he reached for the blue dragon sword he had stabbed into the ground. His instincts told him that it was dangerous to be unarmed against Sora right now.


◆ ◆ ◆


　The sky leaps to Goz with a burst of momentum. You can't feel the slightest effect of the injury, on the contrary, it's as fast as the Goz of the previous day.

　The healing of the wound is undoubtedly due to the power of the heart suit. Then, is this movement also due to the help of the heart suit? Or was it because he had mastered an advanced gait in a short period of time after watching Goz's movements just a few minutes ago?

　Either way, it was dangerous to equate the current sky with the sky from the previous day.

　He had intended to draw the opponent's surrender, but Goz decided that was a poor plan here.

　No matter how many times you conquer the sky, it is useless if your mind gear recovers each time you do so. There may be a limit to the number of times or conditions for that recovery technique, but we don't have the time to find out. This should be settled in a breath.


　Even as we do so, the sky is closing in on us. The soul eater (soul eater) in its hand is furiously furious as if to relieve the resentment of the previous day, giving Sora's not-so-large frame the power of a giant elephant.

　It's a good idea to have a good time with your friends.


''Illusionary Itto-ryu Chuden--Senyo!


　It's a slash of light that combines the power technique and sword technique. With this inner technique, unleashed with a blank blade, he knocked the mind gear off the empty hand. That was Goz's aim.

　In contrast, the slash fired by Sora does not have the strangeness of the Illusory Itto Ryu. It's just a strike that brings down the heart-suit to the limit of its power.

　The two blades collided.

　The next moment, Goz's blue dragon sword, which was tinged with light, shone extraordinarily brightly - it was cut off soundly.


''Nah!''


　A voice of astonishment spilled out from behind the bull's face helmet.

　It was a sword that was unleashed with confidence. It was a slash that had been unleashed with all the strength he had put into it. It was cut off in a literal sense by Sora, causing Goz to let go for half a second.

　In the meantime, Sora's slash did not stop.

　With the same momentum as he struck and slashed the blue dragon sword, he attacked the armor protecting Goz.

　And Sora's longest sword brilliantly broke through the stronghold of Sora's armor. The soul eater (Soul Eater) smashed through the armor on his left shoulder, shattering his collarbone in one fell swoop and reaching his chest.

　After a beat, blood poured out of Goz's shoulder as if it had cut a dam.