The land-based battleships of the second year and four groups finally rode up to the ruins of the royal capital. They didn't know that Suou, Koganei and the others were in this ancient castle. As long as they kept quiet with each other, they wouldn't clash with each other. If possible, Suou would have preferred to keep it that way.
　As far as the reports from the pawns who had gone to scout, the guys were not likely to disperse even after the death of their friends. They must have a leader who is very good at organizing them. It's the dragonoid that Koganei told me about.

　The orders from the king are absolute. We must continue to do our best to get them on board.

　Originally, we would have wanted to stress them out by putting them in a critical situation and shake them out of their ragged foundation of cooperation, but we are in a situation where that is not possible.
　Or better yet, should we bow our heads and show our sincerity? Apologize for killing the griffon, explain the situation and ask him to join us. Well, that's impossible. Even if you have a solid cause, what we make them do is to help them invade another world. There's no reason to comply.
　How about a glimpse of a way back to their world? This isn't very promising either. It was Akeno, who developed each of the technologies, including the Transference Denaturation Gate, who had a direct hand in the Gryphon. It's hard to wipe away the distrust of her.

'Suou.

　Koganei comes into the Great Hall.

'What's wrong?　I thought we were going to do Iron Fist together today.
Sorry, I'm just running an errand.
'Ah, another battle. It's tough on Suou too. Can I help?
No....

　Glancing out the window, Suou looked out the window.
　This royal capital had been left to ravage since it was destroyed hundreds of years ago, and there were trees everywhere, like a forest. Behind the tall trees and decaying structures, there should be that land battleship.

'Every time I think about it, this place looks like Angkor Wat,'

　Koganei said with a grin. It was a world heritage site in Thailand, wasn't it? There was such a thing.
　In the end, Suou is unable to tell Koganei about that matter. And also about the griffon. But even if you don't tell him, he'll find out one day.

　In the end, Suou is not dexterous enough to fulfill his mission as a blood relative while respecting Koganei's feelings.

''Koganei, they're actually here.

　Hearing that, Koganei and the others roll their eyes.

''The Utsurogis?''
But they're with the queen now, and they won't listen to us.
'Beni?　After all, Beni is betraying Suou and the others, right?
'Yes. So we'll spread out their classes and Koganei will go and convince them on one side and I'll go and convince them on the other. We'll use a few rough measures, but you'll have to forgive me for that.

　At Suou's words, Koganei pondered with a difficult face.
　He didn't tell Koganei the whole truth. If anything, he was just telling him an emotional story about how people from the former world should join forces with each other.
　So, if Koganei was able to calmly assess the situation, it's not surprising that he would begin to question Suou and the others' actions.

　In such a case, Suou and his friends can give him blood and force him to do what they say.
　This is the way to force them to obey by giving them "blood" and making them their own family members. Honestly, I don't want to use that too much.

''All right. Let me help you.

　Koganei finally nodded, no doubt about it.

'What about Akeno-san?'
That guy in Aquino had a headache. He's resting.

　This is not a lie. After the readjustment is done, she'll be in bed for a few days. It's about time she woke up, though.

'For now, I'll send out Hydra to lure out their main force. Koganei, take charge of that one.
'Alright. If you're the main force, I think it's easier to talk to you with Ryuzaki, Utsurugi and the others.
...and maybe they'll try to shake things up to bring Koganei back.

　It was quite distressing to speak of this stint.

'Shaking things up?'
The Queen told me that I might tell you some lies that would upset you.
''I wonder if it's worth it to bring him back. Me.

　Koganei gave a self-deprecating smile.
　The value of Koganei's strength, having awakened him to Phase 2, was quite impressive. But that's not what he meant by that. He's probably saying that he can't think of any reason to bring himself back with such an elaborate imitation of himself, who was outrageous and disliked in the class.

'Well, if they lie to you, just think it's worth it.

　"As long as they can't recognize the decisive fact of the Gryphon's death, it's impossible to convince Koganei to convince them. Suou doesn't expect them to be there from the start. It was Koganei's role to keep the main force he had lured out nailed down and fixed.
　After luring out the main fighting force, Suou goes to 'rough means'. It's the destruction of the enemy's means of transportation, the land-based battleships. He also takes the chimera developed by Akeno with him. If they can take some of them back there, even better.

　The Queen would remain at the mobile base, given its nature. She can't avoid engaging Suou, but as long as she is afraid of being distracted by the king, she can't fight with all her might.
　From Koganei's information, we know that the Queen has a good friend in the girls. I can't imagine that cold-hearted queen allowing anyone other than the king to be distracted, but if it's true, it's good enough to use. If we can successfully deal with that student, we should be able to block the queen's movements.

　Once this battle was over, it would be difficult for Suou to continue his existing friendship with Koganei. Koganei would find out about Gryphon's death in the process of trying to convince the main force, and he would try to question Suou about it.
　When that happens, that's the end of it. The only thing we can do is to discard the unnecessary sentimentality and make Koganei a household member.

''In the end, I'm a man who can't talk about others...''
What did you say?　Suou.
That's nothing. Let's do Tekken afterwards.
Yeah. I hope we can get together with the Ursulines, too.

　Well, that future, probably isn't going to come.

　I instruct the remaining pawns to get Hydra and Chimera out. If possible, I want to get things done before Akeno wakes up. Because Suou himself has no idea what kind of personality she'll have when she wakes up after she's readjusted.
　Suou and Koganei left the old castle a dozen minutes later, ready and ready to go.




　The heavy duty branch school passed through a ravine and came out into a rather large forest. The surrounding area was covered with a wall-like structure, and ruins that seemed to be man-made structures could be seen here and there, but perhaps it hadn't been touched by human hands for a long time, and trees were growing here and there.
　These are the remains of a kingdom that once existed in this vicinity and was destroyed hundreds of years ago. We stop here and head east. If we do so, we should eventually reach the sea.

　However, the Hydra that attacked the branch school the other day has appeared here, and a countermeasure party has been formed immediately.
　It's an elite unit with excellent combatants, starting with Ryuzaki and Goubayashi, without sparing a second thought. Nekomiya was selected as the recovery team, and surprisingly, even Benii and Harao (Pharaoh) came forward. When these two men appeared on the deck, Ryuzaki's eyes were black and white, but

'I can't give it my all because of the circumstances, though. I'll be sincere.
"You must give Haruo's curse to the one who disturbs the sleep of my friends.

　It was a good thing.

　The five elite troops had left the heavy duty branch school another hour ago. In the meantime, the protection of the heavy cruisers would be led by the goblin squadron led by Goshukawara and Sakuma and the others. The Thunderbird's Kannari and the Unicorn's Hakuba were on standby as liaison personnel in case of an enemy attack.
　Kyousuke was also patrolling the deck as the remaining combat personnel in the branch school. As he walked, Rin's body, which was stuck to his entire body, fell to the floor with a plop.

''Himemizu, isn't it hard...?''
"Fufuuuhu..... Eh, eh?　What?

　I can see that Rin is desperately trying to maintain her human form while stepping on it.

　Now that Kyousuke's Phase 2 ability, Characteristic Amplification, has not been activated, Rin is unable to take human form with Kyousuke's body as a prop. His current state is like trying desperately to stand tall or sitting on an air chair, which is inherently impossible due to his biological structure.
　Kyousuke and Rin have not been able to merge. Their current appearance is a sham merging. Rin's body, which is falling sluggishly from her entire body, proves it.

　It's not worth it for me to force her to this point.
　I don't know why she would go to such lengths, I don't know.

　The real Kyousuke Soraki is completely empty. It's been that way since that day. I thought that I had to become an honorable person who would be appreciated by others, and I've been working hard to achieve that. Hypocrisy piled up on the surface and never accompanied the substance. When I look back on it, all I have become is an ugly, sludgey, deadbeat boy.
　No matter what he tries to do, he is a flimsy man who is lacking in some way. That is Kuki Kyousuke. You should have noticed it all along, but you've been turning away from it for a long time, not even looking at it. I felt like I couldn't keep myself together if I didn't at least pretend to live as a human being.

'You're thinking too much...'

　At Rin's words, Kyousuke freaks out and trembles.

''Hi, Himemizu........ Now, my heart.........''
'Huh-ha. I just figured since you're kind of in a daze and silent, you must have been thinking about something difficult again anyway.

　In a surprisingly cheerful voice, Rin said, "I'm not as good as you, but I'm starting to understand a lot of things.

I'm not as good as you, Hino, but that means I'm getting to know a lot more about you. About Utsurogi-kun.

　I wonder why he would care about me if he knew that much.

'I don't like myself...'

　Kyousuke mumbled. He put his hand on the deck railing and looked at the city of the old royal capital, which had been covered by the forest.
　He hadn't been clearly aware of it until now, but he finally understands. Kyousuke doesn't like his inner self. He hates his empty self, his flimsy self, his ugly, half-hearted self that can't become a respectable person after all.

'I see.'

　Rin said.

'I like it, though.'
.........
It's not just me. I think everyone likes Utsurogi-kun, not just me.

　I know. There are good guys who like me, who like me like this.
　And yet, Kyousuke just can't get himself to like them.

　Every time someone says something kind to him, Kyousuke gets depressed.

''What are you two doing there?''
'Gee!　The publican!

　Rin screamed as hard as she could at the voice that was unexpectedly called to her.

''?''

　She turned her gaze to see the headless customs officer, Megumi Kenzaki, standing just as she had said she would, with her head held at her own side, tilted at a perfect angle. Rin nearly slipped off Kyousuke's body in shock, but she managed to hold on desperately, holding on.

''And I'm not doing anything in particular!　I haven't done anything to offend the Commissioner of Public Safety!
Really?　Then it's fine. More importantly, is Utsurogi all right now?

　Kenzaki asks, and Kyousuke is at a loss for an answer. It's never okay. But is it really right to answer like that?

'If it's still going to take a while, that's fine. Well, Sakuma and Hino were worried about you, too. You didn't even show up at Washio's funeral.
.........

　Kyousuke falls silent. Kyousuke hadn't shown up at Washio's funeral, and he hadn't even offered incense to the Buddhist altar yet.
　When Washio died and when Koganei was kidnapped, Kyousuke couldn't do anything about it in the end. The feeling of tormenting himself becomes even stronger.

''Well I'm sorry if I said anything unnecessary.
No.

　Would it have been an attitude? Seeing Kenzaki apologize politely, he felt even more uncomfortable.

　When Kyousuke was about to shift his gaze to the cityscape of the ruins of the old royal capital, the sound of a siren unexpectedly echoed through the heavy duty branch school. Kenzaki turned around with a huff. He turned his head, which he held while looking back, so he was completely used to the gesture as a Dullahan.
　The words of Goshukawara from the ship's announcement echoed across the deck.

"Enemy approaching from the starboard side!　Get on deck if you can fight!　Kannari and the others, go call for Ryuzaki and the others!''

　Kenzaki's face tightened and he ran to the right side of the ship. The other students could be seen coming out of the cabin, one by one.
　Kyousuke tried to make a move, but stopped. What can I do? Isn't he just going to drag his feet?

'Let's go, Utsurogi-kun.

　Rin said clearly.

''........Okay.''

　Kyousuke nodded. Just as they were about to start moving, the impact of a slam from the right side of the branch school shook the hull of the ship wide open.




　Sakuma Shoko put down the papers she had been looking over and ran out of her room. As she jumped out onto the deck, the heavy branch's hull shook with a roar. He put his hands on the wall, adjusted his stance, and stepped toward the right side of the ship.
　The hull is scraped away as the hull is gouged wide open. The students, including Kenzaki and Kagoi, had already gathered there. A boy is standing at the place where they all look at, probably the place where the impact explosion occurred. The man, with his hands in his pockets, circled around in a threatening manner, and looked not much older than we were. And by the looks of it, he's Japanese.

　But that fact did not relieve the tension in Sakuma and the others, in fact, it made it even stronger.

　A black school uniform with a black stuffed collar. The black hair stroked into an all-back and blood-red twin eyes. Without a doubt, a vampire. A member of the bloodline with Benii Asuka as queen.
　Sakuma clenched her fists tightly. She had heard some information about her bloodline from Benii and Inugami. In this world, the blood clans that do not wear black armor (promotional armor) are "named" pawns, so to speak, called knights and bishops. They are not pawns.

"Ooh-oh.

　The boy hung up the edge of his mouth with his hands in his pockets. As it is, he squinted his eyes and looked around once again now.

'A generous welcome, eh? I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one. Unexpected.
What are you doing here?

　Kenzaki readied his sword and asked in a sharp voice.

''Don't be so angry. You're not a member of the public morals committee.''
I'm a publican.
'Oh, yeah.... Then you're not my favorite type.

　The boy doesn't seem to flinch at all at the point of cutting and hostility, and he takes his hand out of his pocket and straightens the collar of his school run.

"I'm Suou. I'm Suou of the Night.

　Sakuma remembered the material that Benii had prepared for him.
　Knight's Suou. He was a high school student at an industrial high school in Kanazawa, as I recall. Since there was very little contact with Benii, there was little mention of his personality, but it was said that he was a Knight and had a forceful fighting style that relied on his physical abilities.
　The members here were students who couldn't even get a hold of a pawn. Can they beat this boy with the title of knight when such people are in a bunch? Tension sets in.

'Hey, hey, don't be so hard. I didn't come here to fight with you.
Even if you don't have a reason to be here, we do. We've had a classmate killed.
Well, I guess so.

　Finally cracking a smile, the Knight Suo said.
　You shouldn't be overly provocative. But it is true that you can't just follow their words.

''No,'' said Suou. If the queen isn't around, we can just get on with the job and...

Hmm....!

　Running straight across the deck, a wolf with silvery white fur leapt at Suou the Knight.

''Inugami-san!''

　Sakuma lets out a scream. Suou bends his body slightly to avoid Inugami's body as he rushes in like a bullet.

''Oh, I see. Was there a survivor of those inu-gods...?''

　After clucking his tongue in a troublesome manner, Suou glared at the Inugami. Inugami bared his fangs and threatened Suou.

''Inugami-san, don't be reckless on your own!

　At Sakuma's words, Inugami clicked his tongue slightly and ran towards Sakuma as he flew away.

''Well, that's wise. You can't win alone.''

　Saying that, Suou starts to move. He doesn't take any notice of the cutting edge aimed at Kenzaki.

"I don't think we can win with all of us.
d*mn it...!

　Kenzaki swung his sword with a sharp step. But faster than the blade could touch her body, Suou's arm moved. The clenched fist hits the armor, lightly blowing her body away with the impact. As if it was a ball in a ball game or something, Kenzaki's body was thrown into the air and rolled directly onto the deck.

Geez..........!
Kenzaki-san!

　Suou now turns his gaze towards Sakuma, who has just let out a scream.

'A succubus, eh? You're a friend of the Queen, dude.
....!

　The implied mannerisms. Incomprehensibly, Sakuma is not foolish. He flinched slightly and took two or three steps back. Inugami's snarl intensified as he stood in front of Sakuma.
　Kenzaki tries to stand up, using her sword as a staff as Suou slowly approaches. She shouted out as if to confirm what everyone in the place had dimly guessed.

''He's after Sakuma!　Protect Sakuma!
I got it.

　First of all, Kagoi and Okumura, who were proud of their strength, and then Zekou jumped on Suou at once. Slightly later, Uozumi followed suit.

''Ooooh, you guys are so close!

　Suou intercepted Kagoi's tackle with his left arm as he was the first to try to hold him down, and then intercepted him with a back fist to Okumura's face. It only looked like a light fist bump, but Okumura's massive body sagged wide and slammed into the deck.
　As the other students gasp for air, Zekou swings his fist at Suou and charges at him. However, Suou throws Kagoi's body towards Zekou's body. Kagoi and Zekou roll across the floor in a tangle, and Suou hits a yakuza kick on Uozumi, who comes in late. Uozumi let out a small scream and slammed his body into the cabin wall. The proximity boast of the class was kicked away at once, and the path from Suou to Sakuma was secured at once.

''Sakuma, stay back!''

　Inugami, with his fangs bared, shouts.

'You think you can have a proper go at me when there's not even a full moon?　The "doggie
Goooooooo!

　He bellowed in reply to the provocation, and the Inugami leapt at Suou again. Tentahara extended her tentacles and teasingly caught both of Suou's arms. The mermaid, Sister Fishermen, chants a water attack magic and projects it as a spear. It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on it.
　At the same time, the jaws of the Inugami, who had leapt at Suou, bit into her throat. Fangs dug into his neck and throat flute, and red blood seeped out. Sakuma also tries to cover up with a magic attack, but because Suou and Inugami are wrestling with each other, his aim is not well defined.

　Even after being bitten by the neck, Suou didn't move and didn't try to stop walking. Sakuma stared back at Suou as he jitterily approached. Soon, Kannari and the others would return with Beni. They can't just run away here.

　Even Kyousuke and the others are on this ship.

　Sakuma won't be able to unravel his mind as well as Rin. It's frustrating that I'm not able to help either Kyousuke or Benii at this last minute. Still, I don't want to at least imitate turning my back on the person in front of me.

''Sasekaaa!

　A hushed voice sounded, and Harui (Harpy) swooped down from above. At the same time, a snake mound (Lamia), which slithered out to crawl on the deck, entwined itself with Suou's body.

''We're Asuka's friends too, even if you try to ignore us, that's not going to happen!
Jesus Christ, do I have to do everything myself?

　Even though Inugami bit into the throat whistle, Harui attacked it from above with his foot key claws, and Snake Mound wrapped around its body, claws and fangs, Suou still didn't move slightly. He just depressingly ripped off Inugami's jaw and slammed his body into the deck as hard as he could and stomped on its throat.

''Geez...!
I ain't gonna kill you. I have a feeling it's going to get a lot more complicated than this, but just in case!

　He grabbed Harui's leg after repeated dive attacks and smashed it as he swung it towards the snake mound.

''Ugh!''
"Yikes!

　The moment the two of them separated from Suou's body, Sakuma released the Evil Flame's Evil Claw (Evil Flare). However, Suou lightly flicked that flame with his right arm as if it was nothing. Suou leaned even closer to Sakuma. I saw his fist clenched tightly. It doesn't seem like he's going to go easy on me.
　If he gets caught here, it will be a problem for everyone and Benii. I don't intend to be taken advantage of.

''Ooohhhhh!''

　As the other classmates collapsed on the deck, there was a shadow from Suou's side, striking at him with a shout. Suou stopped dead in his tracks and caught the fist in his palm without even looking in its direction.

'What, Utsurugi. Me?''

　Suou says, as if to spit it out.

'I'm here too!

　Instead of Kyousuke, who doesn't answer, Rin screams out.

　Yes, it's Kyousuke Soraki there. Sakuma's eyes widened. He had heard that he was holed up in his room. He's not the only one, Rin is also with him. The so-called combined state, what Ei calls "stream crossing". When Sakuma was first attacked by Kenzaki and the King of the Dead, this figure was also the first to leap at him.
　However, he didn't feel any of the joy, elation, or dependability of that time, that he had come to help. Kyousuke's appearance was clearly different from that time.

　A too precarious coalescence that seemed to separate them as soon as they were poked at. It might actually be more serious, since even Sakuma could tell that it was so from his point of view. Rin's body was flowing sloppily from her entire body as if it were melting down, and even the blows she had just delivered didn't seem to have that much power put into them.

''Utsurogi-kun........''

　Sakuma calls out fearfully.

''.........''

　Kyousuke glanced at Sakuma, then returned his gaze to the front. His mind hadn't yet recovered. Sakuma wondered what he could do to help, but still, he couldn't think of anything. The person closest to him right now is not himself.

'Himemizu-san, take care of Utsurogi-kun for me, please.
Yeah, I'm on it.

　Rin nodded clearly at Sakuma's words. Kyousuke took a weak stance as he stared at Suou.
　In the meantime, the other students who had fallen also slowly got up. The damage is still there, but Uozumi's sister treats it with the Healing Rainbow Wind (Vento Arcobaleno). They all still have the energy to fight.

　Suou checked the situation and sighed heavily.

''Can't help it. Shall we use it?''

　The meaning of those words was incomprehensible to all of them. But just as Suou raised his hand, a large shadow fell onto the deck, as if to block the slight sunlight peeking through the clouds.

''Come, Chimera.''

　With those words, the five-meter-long behemoth dropped to the deck with its weight and shook the hull once again.