The black sky had turned a faint blue. Morning was about to arrive in the mountain town.

　Here, there are three brave men who carry the name of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance (Dial Knights).

　They are the "Silver Wolf Dragon", the "One O'Clock", a thoughtful dragon who has been with the emperor since the founding of the empire and has always wished for the prosperity of the country.
　This is the Melodious Killer, the "Silver Wolf Dragon" of the Second O'clock Seat (Two O'Clock).
　In the age of Mythical Warfare, it is said that the spear of the gods that killed many demonic beasts is carried in the right arm of a chivalrous warrior, or the Seventh O'clock, "God's Spear" Lee Shenfu.

　The fact that three of them were present at the scene, all of whom could upset the balance of the battlefield even if only one of them went to the battlefield, seemed to indicate the importance of the situation.
　Roughly speaking, the Imperial Clockwork Alliance is said that nothing is impossible when all three of them are together, but the faces of the three men who gathered here were uniformly heavy.

　Without exaggeration of any kind, they were carrying a bomb that could explode at any moment. And if the bomb exploded, the city would be swallowed by heat and shock and disappear without a trace. Not a single trace of the people living there would be left behind.
　It is said that nothing is impossible when all three of them are together in the Imperial Clockwork Alliance. It could be said that they were here to "not let it happen."
　The meltdown that Ei Hino could cause. The best thing to do is to prevent it from happening, but if that fails, what is the next best thing to do?

"Don't put yourself through the wringer, Mister 2:00.

　Anslok told him in a gentle tone, as if speaking to his granddaughter.

'That means it's good,'

　Melodious replied somewhat coyly.

''With us, the Imperial Clockwork Alliance, there will be a meltdown or two.

　Li Shenfu, who had his back to the wall, murmured quietly as he crossed his arms.

　The point is, when the meltdown occurs, one of us should be close to Ei Hino. That one person would be the one who would draw the poorest of the poor, but the maximum amount of damage that could be expected could be contained.
　Of course, it would be best if such a situation did not occur. We need to get ahead of the game. We need to get in touch with them as soon as possible. Today, Ansloch would go directly to them in person as an emissary.

　We were all standing quietly at the dawn of the day in a small guardroom in the city, when we heard a strange sound in their ears.

　An unfamiliar singing voice came ringing in their ears.

''Mu...?

　The first one to look up was Anthrox. At the same time, Melodious, Lee Shenfu, also looked out the window.

　The singing voice was that of a woman. But it was not a mere vibration of the air that produced a melody. It's a demonic song that is somehow sad and stimulates even the nerve centers deep in the earlobe. It resonates with a magical power, overlapping with the parts of the body that are beyond the audible range of humans.
　At the same time, I could feel the wind flowing into the room. The presence of fine particles flowing in and out of the air. They immediately realized that it was also a chemical that acted on the nervous system of the person they had inhaled to slow down their thinking.

''Two o'clock seat-dono, seven o'clock seat-dono!

　Anslok yells.

'Are you in your right mind?
Uncle Jeezy, huh?
A few chemicals and a hypnotic sonic boom will put you out of your mind, but not us.

　There was no time for relief at the obvious reply.

''(There's no way she's trying to manipulate us with this level of hypnotic sound waves. In that case, the purpose is........!

　With a bang, the door at the back of the choke point opens. There stood the knights of Verneus with a downcast look in their eyes, not even wearing proper equipment.

''You guys...!

　Not even listening to Anslok's words, the knights in half-nightclothes slowly headed out of the choke point like puppets.

''Nuh, this is...!

　Anselok fumbled to open the door and jumped out, blowing off the wall. He inspects what he has seen and seen, and growls low.

　Every human being in this city, young and old, men and women, walked out of the city with a downcast look in their eyes. They were headed to one place. That is, the exit of the city. It's not just people. The same goes for livestock and pets. The chemical and hypnotic sonic wave attacks that were too vulnerable to brainwash the Imperial Clockwork Alliance were too much to manipulate many humans and animals.

'You've got a head start,'

　Li Shenfu murmured in an intonation-free voice.

''I didn't know you were even capable of such a dexterous trick...!　It was unconscionable!

　The residents of this city are meant to be hostages to "them". It was our belief that if we used their lives as a shield, they would never approach Akira Hino, who was in danger of a meltdown.
　We had decided that if they were going to force us to do something without considering the survival of the residents, we would have no choice but to take a hard-line approach.

''This, even more so, we can't let them meet Hino!

　Anslok exclaimed.

　"They" are not, by any means, disrespecting the lives of the city's residents. They know that we will be noticed, and they are doing this to keep the people out of harm's way as much as possible.
　This is unrealistic. Even if a meltdown were to occur, how could it be possible to evacuate the entire population completely from the damage zone? All they are doing is adding to the damage needlessly.

I'll be on guard duty in Hino.

　Li Shenfu murmured quietly.

''Yes, sir. I'm counting on you, Lord Seven O'Clock Seat.
"Mm.

　The next moment after he replied, Li Shenfu's figure disappeared. Leaving only the wind behind, he instantly headed to the filling station that housed Hino Ei.

''Jiji-sama, where are we?''
We don't have time to insane each and every one of these people. I'll see if I can find the source of the chemicals and the hypnotic sound waves, and you, Mr. Two O'clock, will find them, which I'm sure will infiltrate the city.
Riley!




　Motomune Gourin, Futa Saruwatari, Akemitsu Okumura, Zeku, Mushigasa Shigeru, Chihaya Kabeano, Gozashiki Do-suke, Hibiki Hibiki Inugami, Aya Sugiura, Hana Hanazono, Salmonichiro Uozumi, Masuyo Uozumi, and Rin Himemizu.
　And Kyosuke Soraki.

　The total strength here is 14 men.
　All of them are powerful enough to overwhelm each and every human soldier, but it's a different story when they're up against the Dial Knights. While all of their classmates were able to compete on an even playing field, their opponents were three, or four if you counted Ei Hino, and that was not a good situation.
　On top of that, their garrison was not a small town. If a battle occurred here, and the biggest accident of concern for Ei - a core meltdown - there would be extensive damage. It was necessary to fight in a way that caused as little damage as possible.

　Tomorrow morning, "Operation Hameln" was launched by Masuyo Uozumi, Shimeji Mushikasa and Futa Saruwatari.

　The target city was a hot spring resort surrounded by mountains on all sides. The three men wait on the slope of the mountain to windward and concentrate on their mission to get the residents out of the city.
　They needed the singing voice of the mermaids to confuse the people and even control the direction of the rudder, the spores of the matango that acted on the people's nervous system and controlled their actions, and Hanuman's ability to manipulate the vibrations of the air and the flow of the wind in order to disperse them efficiently. However, even with the full use of these abilities, people would not immediately disappear from the city. The scale of the meltdown is unknown, but it should take quite some time to get everyone out of that damage zone.
　Outside of the city, Hanazono and his brother Uozumi are waiting with their means of transportation. The fishermen who have been transformed into demon fish will carry the residents down the river, or Hanazono's Ultimate Roger 3 will move with the residents. This would further reduce the forces available to them, but they would have to do at least that if they really wanted to lose people.

　Whether the Imperial Clockwork Alliance respects humanity or is simply a group of outsiders. We don't know that part. Because we don't know, we had to do everything we could to rescue them.

　Many students entered the city's front door in order to set things up with the Imperial Clockwork Alliance. This city was surrounded by a three-meter-long barrier, perhaps to prevent the progress of demonic beasts, but it was easy to enter in this situation where the gatekeepers were feckless. Goubayashi is at the center of it all, arms folded on the central street, watching the residents sleepwalk out of the city.

　In order to make contact with Ei, Kyousuke and Rin have infiltrated the city by a different route than the rest of the students. The water is liquefied in the Extreme Cross and travels through an underground water vein to enter the city's water supply. Naturally, the water veins in this vicinity were turned into hot springs by geothermal heat, so Kyousuke and Rin now formed a body that was very effective against stiff shoulders and rheumatism.

　The first to detect the movement of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance was the three of them, who were deploying Operation Hameln on the slopes of the mountain.
　As they manipulated the wind and air vibrations, Saruwatari looked down on the entire area of the city. He had already spotted some of the buildings where the Imperial Clockboard Alliance might be waiting, based on the blueprint. In one of them, there was movement. Since his human days, his eyesight was 2.0 on both sides, and even more so, Sarutou Futa's vision, which boasted of his ball selection from his superhuman kinetic vision, had improved even more dramatically now that he had become a monster.

''Mmph!　There's a passionate movement in the Imperial Clockwork Alliance!
Hey Saruwatari, can you get rid of the unnecessary adjectives?

　Mushikasa, who has been hated like a fungus by the flower garden ever since it was covered in mushrooms, said this while relaxing in a work environment that hadn't had a flower garden in a while.

'Movement?　Have they found out about this one?

　Masuyo Uozumi, who had been singing pleasantly, interrupts the song and asks sullenly, "Shouldn't the air and wind currents be difficult to understand the source?

'I'm sure the air and wind currents weave in and out of all sorts of variables to make it hard to understand the source!　Hmmm, I might as well move the place once, just in case!
Okay. Let's just set up the mushrooms right here.

　When the mushroom hawk held his hands on the ground and exerted himself, a bobbing sound could be heard from the ground, and a large child body rose up from the ground.

''These mushrooms should secrete the same chemicals as I do. I'm upwind over here, so, well, I think it will flow.
'But we'll make a passionate retreat!　You're both racing to that sunrise with me!　Youth is a getaway!
I don't have legs. I don't have any legs. I'd like you to carry it with you but...



　One by one, the residents of the city, turned into sleepwalkers by Operation Hameln, walked out through the gates. Even though the sun would soon be up, it was still dangerous to let them walk around unconscious in the mountains, for there were wolves and behemoths in the mountains. There are wolves in the mountains and even behemoths.
　Therefore, it was necessary for Uozumi and Hanazono to move them to safety. The extent of the damage caused by Ei's meltdown was unknown, but they would have to climb at least a mountain or two to feel safe.

''Utterly, this is just a mass abduction.......!

　Goubayashi crossed his arms and muttered self-deprecatingly.

　All the figures walking by are unresisting. With a glazed look in their eyes, most of them were in their sleepwear, slowly walking down the main street. As the name of Operation Hameln suggests, what they're doing is Hameln's whistle-blowing man. He manipulates innocent civilians for good and takes them to a land that he doesn't want them to be in.
　Even though it's a measure to keep Ei out of the meltdown, it's definitely an act that is also taken by humanity. In the first place, Goubayash knew that it was selfish of our side to attempt to contact Ei at the risk of a meltdown. As a result, this is the kind of situation where their selfishness might turn this city, their hometown, into scorched earth.

''There's no point in worrying about it too much,''

　With his hands in his pockets, Inugami Hibiki murmured in a disinterested voice.

It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're talking about. There's no point in worrying about it,
Well, maybe...

　Still, Gowbayashi's voice was bitter.

'All right, then, we're down the river first!

　A large raft full of residents and a demon-fished Uozumi Salmonichiro shouted as he carried the residents on his large raft. The fishermen began to swim downstream at once in the river that flowed near the city. Naturally, he was pulling a raft.
　Hanazono also drove the residents on Ultimate Roger III and behemoths with tomatoes, and drove the city streets at once. Even so, they still couldn't carry them all out.

　The next group would be transported by Okumura. If their numbers were gradually whittled down, that alone would put them at a disadvantage in the fight against the Imperial Clockwork Alliance, but since they had come this far, they had no choice but to finish the job. As Goubayashi crossed his arms and looked at the central street of the city, he suddenly noticed a shadow looming towards us from behind it.

　Most of the residents are already outside the city. There were sparse figures walking down the central street, and in the midst of all this, the one running straight towards us was a girl of fragile height and arm circumference, Aiya, the dwarf body of a young girl.

''Underworld hero...!

　

"The miasma boost!

　Melodious Killer, the "Dark Beast Brave", the second seat (Two O'clock) of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance (Dial Knights).
　As soon as she saw the Goubayashis, a smile appeared on her face and she shouted "Melodious Killer! The mere fact that the miasma is a mere mortal disease is not enough. The mere fact that the mere miasma is a mere mortal disease is not enough.

The miasma calibur!
Mwah!

　Goubayashi spewed golden fighting air from his entire body and intercepted the girl's sword from the front. There was a fierce sound as if the metal collided with each other and the fighting air burst the slash.

'I knew it was you guys!　What are you going to do, kidnap the city's residents!
We're just trying to get our classmates back.

　In contrast to Goubayasi, who is in a cold sweat, the underworld hero is in a relaxed mood. Her sword and the blackness of the underworld miasma, the blackness of the underworld miasma, oozing out, gradually eroded the golden fighting qi.
　Even so, Goubayasi didn't try to break his calm tone.

I'm not going to be able to get rid of it," he said, "but I'm going to ask the residents to take shelter for a bit, considering the inconvenience that will be caused. That's all.
I see!

　Melodious nods and smashes his free left arm into the gourd's chest plate as hard as he can. A momentum displacement, which is impossible under the laws of physics, occurs, and the giant frame of the oga is blown away lightly.

''Goubayasi!''
Leave it. Go!　Okumura!

　Okumura, who had already finished accommodating the residents in a few carriages, shouted in a panicked voice, but Goubayashi shouted back briefly. Okumura showed the slightest hesitation, but he immediately tied the carriage's rope to his own body and left the street.

''Hoooooooo!

　Nearly four carriages. Dragging five or sixty people in number all at once, Okumura began to drive down the street.

　But still not all of the residents. There were still about fifty residents around, standing around with downcast eyes. If they continued to fight the underworld heroes in front of them, they might be harmed as well. Goubayashi glanced at Melodious again.
　Aside from Goubayashi, the only ones left here were Inugami Hibiki, Gozashiki Do-suke, Kano Chihaya, Sugiura Aya, and Zeku. The enemy is still too powerful for only six people to take on.

''Well I didn't expect it to come out like this,''

　The moxie of the moxie is the moxie of the moxie. The miasma of the miasma is the miasma of the miasma and the mere fact that it is a miasma of the miasma is not enough.

The moxie of the miasma is a very important part of the miasma. How far do you guys take the inhabitants here?
.........

　There was no sign of a chase. But there, Goubayash was unsure if he had answered honestly or not.
　He glanced at his friends around him. Is there any advantage to lying here?

　No, there is. By explaining the exact location, it means that the location of the students who have already taken the residents will be identified by the girl in front of me.

''To ... a safe place.''

　Sugiura murmured quietly. That's right. Now, I have no choice but to answer that.

''I see.

　As it is, Melodious looks around.

　It's an easygoing attitude, but it's also a natural attitude. She is the dominant force in this place. I'm sure you'll be able to find an opening in that margin to strike a blow to Merodias, though.
　The little underworld hero made a languid face that was clearly inappropriate for her outward age, and continued with a hand on her chin, asking: ''Where is that skeleton child?

''Where is that skeleton child?　Kyoske, did I say?
"...what do you want to hear about it?
I'm going to decide whether or not I'm going to let you go.

　As he said that, Melodious's gaze was turned to the residents of the city that was tucked away around him.

''I'll say it again, I didn't expect you to come out with such a move! I was going to stop them if they stopped me... but if Kyoske is already in the city with the intention of contacting Ackie, then...''

　So she broke off the words once by pointing her thumb toward her back, that is, into the city.

'So I'm thinking it might be safer to let the people go once.

　At least she's in front of me, and she doesn't think it's a good idea to let the people lose their lives unnecessarily. It means she knows what a human being's conscience is. I think they are aware of the possibility and danger of a meltdown. If they could keep the whole thing under control, they would have done so, but depending on the situation, they would have preferred to evacuate the people and let us go.
　After a few moments of silence, Goubayashi replied.

'Utsurogi has already infiltrated the city. Our objective is to make contact with Hino.''
"Mmm-hmm.

　Melodious nodded. She nods her head in earnest, though she looks like an innocent, innocent little girl herself.

'Well, whatever happens, it's the best thing for Ackie, isn't it?

　And the words that came out sounded like they were filled with emotions that were extremely different from anything I've ever known her to do.

'All right, for the moment. There are only about 50 people left. I'd like to see them carried away. There must be about 400 people in total in the city, but they were gone in the blink of an eye.
The fishermen and Hanazono carried it all at once.

　Merodias says that they will miss us. If we can carry the remaining fifty people in a few carriages, the residents and ourselves will be able to leave the place safely.
　But is that really what we want?

So what are you going to do when you've missed us?

　Inugami glares at Melodious from the front with his sharp three white eyes. He's like a mature delinquent threatening a small child.

'That's, well, I'll do what I have to do. You don't need to tell me, do you?

　Naturally, Melodious replied, unmoved at all.
　What we should do. What we need to do as the Imperial Clockwork Alliance. To carry out our mission. After securing the safety of the residents, we will do our best to prevent Ei's meltdown and to secure our remaining classmates. In doing so, the first to be targeted should be Kyousuke and Rin.

　Melodious isn't the only one in this town. Although we have yet to see them, the "Silver Wolf Dragon" Anthroku and the "God's Spear Giver" Lee Shenfu are somewhere in there. It's hard to believe that Kyousuke and Rin will be able to achieve their original goal if they are speared by them.

''Zekou.''

　Goubayash said a few words to Owga, who couldn't speak.

'As originally planned, you will carry the rest of the inhabitants. Good.
.........

　Even without turning around, I could see Zekou nod quietly.
　At the same time, the other students, Sugiura, Inugami, and Ozashiki sighed as well. ''Well, it can't be helped. ''It's just the way it is. Merodias, perhaps seeing our resolve, narrowed his eyes and then nodded.

'Yes, that's true. Well, it's going to happen.''

　Zekou packs the residents into a carriage, just like Okumura did earlier, and drags it a few at a time. That's all the residents. Once Zekou is completely out of sight, Merodias acts to fulfill his original purpose.
　The role of Goubayashi and the others is to stop them from doing so. They will stop the Underworld Beast Brave in its tracks.

''Just like in the Gladiatorial Principality, you always play the role of a loser, don't you?
What? I'm used to it. And not once did I feel disgraced or ashamed of it or think it was a 'loss'.

　Goubayashi slowly took a stance. A golden fighting spirit began to ooze from his entire body.

''I'm thinking my role is a huge loss right now, but...''

　Sugiura blurted out. It's only natural, since they are not combatants by nature. She's not the only one. Inugami, Mizashiki and Kabe no doubt feel the same way.
　Well, you made them run out of money. But it was fortunate that they hadn't lost the will to fight. In the face of the overwhelming power standing in front of them, Sugiura and the others are still willing to stand up to them. This was for the sake of Kyousuke and Ei, who would have never even exchanged a decent word when they were human.

'If I kill you guys here, the meltdown will be bad!

　Merodias shouted and created the miasma caliber sword on his right arm again. The miasma (miasma) is a miasma that covers the entire body of the girl, and the miasma is hardening into a crystalline form that is like armor and emits a devastating light.
　The mexico-legal miasma is the only way to get the miasma to work.

It's not that I'm going to kill you, but I'm going to make you suffer!



　Surrounded by a volcanic belt, Verneus is rich in hot springs, and this now uninhabited city also pulls hot springs that spring from underground into each home. Originally, it was an inn town set up on the road leading from the royal capital to the rest of the country, but it was currently sealed off by the Imperial Clockwork Alliance and used as their garrison.
　A part of the hot spring inn set up in the city. A single figure rises from inside the hot tub. Whether or not it can be described as a person's shadow, which has no color at all, and appears to be barely colored due to its shade and luster, I don't know.

'Here ... is it good?'

　The human shadow, namely Soraki Kyousuke, spoke up.

''That's fine.　Maybe I'm not really sure, but...

　It's Rin Himemizu who responds.
　Having infiltrated the interior of the city through the underground water vein, Kyousuke and Rin had some idea of the location of the buildings that were probably hiding Ei, based on the city's floor plan and the mushroom haze mycelium network. Almost every building in this town is equipped with hot springs, so as long as they can be traced to a building, they can sneak into the building through the hot springs without anyone finding out. That's the plan.
　There are no windows in the bathroom, so whether this is the right building or not is not clear to Kyousuke. Kyousuke got out of the bathtub while sucking up a lot of hot water from the hot spring with Rin's ability.

　It's a spacious bathroom. The furniture is lined up with furniture cut out of marble, indicating that the house has money in its own right.

'Is it the mayor's house?　Was it the Knights' choke point where Hino-kun is?''
Yeah. Those knights should have been taken out by Sarutoyo and the others, but....

　I put my hand on the bathroom door, and it opened quickly. As it was, I went through the changing room and out into the hallway. Swords, spears, and discarded armor were scattered in a disorderly manner in the hallway.

''Hey, it looks like a bite.''
"So, does that mean you're in this building, Hino-kun?

　So, Kyousuke separated once from Rin. He re-carries the dimension case on his shoulder and proceeds carefully down the hallway.

　Ei is there. In this building.
　It had been some time since I had been away from him. I have grown through some experience. This is not an ego thing, I think.
　On top of that, she thinks about her relationship with Ei.

　The person who drove Ei to this point was herself. It was her own naivete in not trying to face up to his innermost thoughts. The price for turning a blind eye has swelled, and now he's on the verge of exploding. What if Ei's emotions were to spiral out of control and blow everything up?

'Rin,'

　Kyousuke said as he slowly made his way down the hallway.

''What?''
'You don't know what will happen if you get caught up in Ei's meltdown. Even if you're hiding in the basement...
I'm going to be mad.
....

　Kyousuke scratched his head as the reply came back as expected.

''If you don't want me to die, then you should make a desperate effort to prevent that from happening, right, Kyousuke?
....

　Kyousuke doesn't have the confidence to withstand the amount of heat released when Ei has a meltdown at close range. Naturally, neither does Rin. She knows this too, which is why she has no intention of leaving Kyousuke's side.
　It's not an auspicious determination to be united in death. Rin understands very well that if she doesn't want Kyousuke to die, it's best to keep the person Kyousuke least wants to die next to her. I can't get my head around it.

'For now, so that Ei doesn't blow up, huh? What did they do with Godzilla to keep him from having a meltdown...?

　As I walked down the corridor while blurting out, I suddenly felt a soft heat drift over to our side.

''Ugh, hot........''

　Rin mumbles as she flinches.

　Yes. Hot. Not hot, but hot. The atmosphere exuded scorching heat, distorting his vision. The heat is enough to intuitively determine that Ei is close.
　A large door was set up in a particularly hot section of the building.

''I'm going to vaporize...''
Don't say that for the sake of luck.
Your body is 99% water.

　Kyousuke puts his hand on the doorknob. There wasn't enough space between the two to feel hot, but there was a gulping sound and the bones burned.

''.........!

　At will, I opened the door. At the same time, an incomparable heat surged over here, incomparable to the previous ones.

''Whoa........!

　He winced. In the midst of the nigh-distorted vision, Kyousuke's eyeless eye socket caught sight of the black armor that collapsed behind it.
　The chest armor's chest armor melted, and from within it, a shimmering, burning fireball was peeking out of the face.

''Ei...!

　When he shouted the name, the fireball responded with a twitch.

'Kyousuke...'
It's me, Ei. I'm here to rescue you.
It's too late for that...

　A slight biting sound seeped into Ei's fuzzy words. At the same time, he could see the flames blazing vigorously. Kyousuke jolted.

''Doh, doh, doh. 'Calm down, Ei.'
You can't expect me to come back to you after all this time.
'Don't make assumptions like that.... No, stubbornness is one of the best things about you, but...

　Kyousuke glanced at Rin. Rin made a thumbs-up sign with her whole body, as if to say 'good luck'.

'You can go home. It's okay. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. So, you know....
.........

　Kyousuke took a step toward Ei, who fell silent. I felt the heat burning my bones.

''So, um...''

　Now that I confronted him like this, I don't know what to say. However, Ei's condition is more stable than I thought. He seemed to be listening to what I had to say.

"I've put you guys through a lot. I don't expect you to go back now.
'It!　That's it!　That's not a good thing about you!

　There was no point in trying to mend things after coming this far. Kyousuke decided to say it clearly.

'I understand that you try to solve problems on your own like that and end up in a cul-de-sac, and that's how you end up getting out of control. I know that's what happened to me. But you don't have to be stubborn like that. If you've caused trouble, you can apologize and go back.
Make any kind of face and apologize.
'What kind of........face would that be? I haven't thought about facial expressions for about six months now....

　Where would I step on a mine, or where would I make Ei explode? I don't know, so I'm in a cold sweat on the inside.
　I knew that I had to collide with Ei at some point and find out what he really thought, but letting him explode in this state was indeed a bad idea. He needed to let his mind cool down, at least until the temperature in this room was brought back to normal.

'Kyousuke, you're an idiot.
I do, too.

　Taking Ei's words head on, Kyousuke nodded.

''I agree. But, Ei, you're quite good, too.

　After a short exchange of words, there was a moment of silence. The agitation of Ei's fire subsided, just a little by little.

''........Even if I take you at your word here, I might do the same thing again.''
'So that we don't have to. I think we have more to say to each other like this. Well, I feel like we should leave it at that for now.
Yeah.

　Gradually, the temperature in the room dropped. Behind me, I could see Rin's small relief. As a slime, high fever is the most natural enemy of her, so well, it's a natural reaction.
　Does this mean that we have escaped a disaster? I would like to take Ei and leave with her as it is. It's rather eerie that we haven't encountered any of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance (Dial Knights) at this stage. If possible, it would be ideal to leave before we run into each other.

''I'm glad it's going to be less complicated than I thought.

　Rin murmured in a relieved voice. Kyousuke too, though he didn't sigh, but gave a sigh of relief. And that's when it was about to propagate to Ei as well, that's when.

''But we can't let it go away quietly.''

　A man's voice could be clearly heard over the roar. Walls burst open and debris rained down in a pile of gravel. A direct hit from one of them caused the skeleton's body to roll to the floor.

''Kyousuke!
Kyousuke-kun!

　Kyousuke looks up as he hears a voice calling out to him. A man was standing in the dust that was already rising. His face, with its wrinkles carved into the rings of age, is that of a man who is about to reach the age of maturity. It is not the Caucasian (Caucasoid) type of face in Kyousuke's world, but more of an Asian or Mongoloid type of face.
　The man wore no armor at all, only simple clothing, but at the same time, his eyes were drawn to the pocket watch hanging around his neck. The gold-colored watch had stopped its hands at seven o'clock.

　It was the Imperial Clockwork Alliance (Dial Knights). The seventh o'clock seat, or "Divine Spear Gift" Li Shenfu. It had to be said that it was bad luck to suddenly run into him just when he didn't want to run into him, but there was something else that bothered Kyousuke even more.

　Did this man say that he didn't want to be left in peace?

　So you're saying that Kyousuke wanted Ei to run amok and cause a meltdown?　People from the Empire?

　Faster than Kyousuke could ask for it, Li Shenfu leapt at Kyousuke and dexterously assembled his bone-only body.

''Gah........!
'What do you think you're doing, Li Shenfu!

　Inside the melted armor, Ei screams out. At the same time, the air surrounding this room became fierce and heated once again. Li Shenfu doesn't try to answer. He couldn't even hear the expression on his face from the squashed down Kyousuke.
　He didn't know what he was thinking or what he was aiming for. But at the moment, there was one thing that was clear to Kyousuke. The reason why this man was attacking Kyousuke was in order to break down Ei's nearly stable spirit again. And now, following that plan correctly, Ei's abilities are once again entering the uncontrollable zone.

''Ei, restrain it!''
Hino-kun, don't go out of control!

　Kyousuke and Rin shout out to each other, but the room temperature does not stop rising. Eventually, the window panes of the room melt and the window frame catches fire.

''We're just about there,''

　Li Shenfu's cold voice reached Kyousuke's ears. At the same time, on his back side, he could understand that he was shaking his fist. With that alone, the heated atmosphere swirled, and a torrent of power converged on Lee's right arm. That's exactly how the "Spear of God," from which the two names are derived, was activated. The raised spear is shot out with great force, aiming at Kyousuke's skull.

"Stop!

　A tremendous amount of light and heat swallowed up all of it, ending with that cry from Ei.

　Out of the corner of his vision, Kyousuke barely caught Li Shenfu's face. The man had a smile on his mouth, a smile on his face.