I guess we're finally catching our breath this time, huh?

　After finishing instructing the instructors, Makina-san approached me.
　Shana is also next to her.

''You have once again done a brilliant job of saving your loved ones. Huh, I can only say that it was brilliant!
I'm a little tired, though, as you can imagine.

　Smiling gently at me as I smiled bitterly, Makina-san made a face as if she was thinking of something far away.

''But starting with the reading out of the forbidden spellbook, the mutation of the Holy Ruins, the appearance of the giants, the attack of the Four Deadly Plagues, the causal drama prepared by the Noise Dies... in the end, you've managed to survive all of them.
You must be very proud of your headmaster.
Yeah, sure.

　Shanna-san shakes her head.

"Good job, Kurohiko.
To say that Shana was a disaster would be an understatement.
Hm?　Only the Four Deadly Disasters?
No, I wasn't trying to be nice.

　I put my hands on my hips and Shana switched the subject.

'And that left eye prosthesis thing, when I get a chance.

　Shana had told me before that if I walked up to the Louverargan, they would provide me with a prosthetic eye.

'Thank you. If you get a chance, please do.

　Mmmmmm, Shana nodded with satisfaction as she shook her twin-tails.

''If you want me to, I'll give you some echos, too.
"...Shana.

　Makina-san's low-toned voice that seemed to echo from the depths of the earth.

''Don't look so scared!　It's not like I'm trying to take the Blackhawk away from you!　I just wondered if, um... if you were to carry a forbidden spell user's offspring, what effect would it have on your unborn child?
That was too much!
Well, I'm the one who's going to bring it into being.

　Ummmmm.
　In Shana-san's case, first of all, outwardly... well, if she gets to the stage of having or not having a child, I feel like she's out for some reason.
　How old is Shana-san in the first place?
　Like Makina, I can't guess her age.

'Yo, Kurohiko. Do you have a moment?

　It was Rokia with her companions who spoke to me.

'I have to thank you again, Rokia. Thank you for helping Currier-san in the fight against the noise.
How many times do I have to say it's not worth it?　After all, I saved that guy to get him to tell you.

　Naturally, I kind of giggle.

I'm not sure why you are always like that. Is it possible that you are hiding your embarrassment?
Kuku, maybe?　You should remember that. Hiding is an important thing. What is hidden is what we call mystique. The important thing is to always leave room for the imagination.
'Rokia is so difficult to talk about sometimes that I don't really get it.
That's a hell of a lot better than pretending to understand something you don't understand.
That's what's so twisted, isn't it?
Of course. You don't get to live in the apocalypse unless you're a cynic. Well....

　Lokia looked around once.

I think it's time for me to move out of here.

　Rokia was now putting on the jacket he had received from his companions.
　From the pocket of that jacket he took out a black and white pattern.
　His beloved swords that he regained from Noyes, Rafaith and Falveti.

I'm not going to have any more business in this country if I get these guys back from Noise.
You're welcome to join me then.
Kuk, that's nice, but what about that guy?

　From earlier, Currier-san had been staring at Rokia and keeping a close eye on her.

'I am grateful to you for helping me in my fight against the Four Deadly Plagues and Noise. But to tell you the truth, I don't want to let Kurohiko get too close to you.
Well, this is Currier. I don't like the idea of setting foot in the capital so easily. And...

　Rokia looks in the direction of the center of the city.

"We're in danger of running into him if we're in the capital. I'm sure you've seen that guy in the projection of the noise from earlier.......well, he's from the Holy Tree Order, right?

　I wonder if that guy is Mr. Diaz, who seems to have some kind of history with him.

I'm not sure why he's so obsessed with me, though.　I don't know what it is that bothers me so much.

　Saying that to himself, Rokia snapped his neck bone.

I'm sure the Holy Tree Order will be here sooner or later. So that's why I'm going to be the first to leave. So I'll be the first to disappear. Oh, and also the school principal.
"Me?

　Makina-san's eyebrows go up after she's been standing still.

'What is it?'
"I appreciate you overlooking our behavior on campus. You're pretty much on the do-gooder, as far as I'm concerned. Your ability to make rational decisions, your flexibility, your decisiveness and your ability to keep up with the status and the power and the restraints, that's a rare thing. You know, you're one of a different breed, but you're more my kind of guy. I'm not sure if the current crop of people you're working with are the same ones you're working with now.
Thank you for the compliment. You did a nice job of ferreting out the noise, too.
In the end, though, it was Kurohiko's plan that finally got me hooked. Well, I'll remember your consideration in this case as a debt of gratitude.
''I feel like your work in saving the currier has been written off, but... well, it might not be a bad idea to owe the heads of the three major organizations in the apocalypse township a debt of gratitude.

　Rokia turned to me.

"Kurohiko.

　With his hands in his trouser pockets, Rokia continued.

'If you ever come to the apocalypse, you're welcome to it. Oh, don't get me wrong?　It's not like I'm trying to get into the Kingdom of the Fool. It's just that if you come to the apocalypse, you should first visit me. I'll provide you with a guide and a place to stay at least.
All right. Good luck with that.
Hey, Rokia--
You'll come with me then, won't you, Currier?
''M.......Yeah, of course. When it comes to the geography of the apocalypse, I know a bit about it.

　Currier-san, who almost poked at Rokia, pulled back with it.

　Thus, the fools led by the Demon King disappeared from the remains of the stage in a moment's notice.

　After seeing Rokia and the others off, I turned to the front and looked up.

"So what are you going to do--Hibigami?

　
　Cecily-san, who is performing a healing technique, swallowed her spit anxiously.
　Behind the man standing in front of us - Currier-san, with the Revelgate in his hand.

''Don't worry, Currier. I ain't trying to set it up here.''

　I stand up, feeling the weight on my body.

"...I'm indebted to you too, Hibigami.

　Hibigami snorted as he kicked off.

'I told you not to buy it, Sagara. If Noyes hadn't run out of that potion, he would have given it to himself and offered to make a deal right here and now, wouldn't he?
Maybe you'll get it.
I might even have used the people I care about as an excuse to fire me up. You missed out on the most delicious opponents of the Four Deadly Sins, and you couldn't even deal with Noyes, who had traded his life for power and Sagara had to show you a fight like that. And those seven sins. The fact that we ate all of them up halfway through the fight is our revenge.

　Hibigami smiles comically.

The fire in my body hasn't slowed down.

　I put my left arm down.

"So you want me to do it right here, right now, with you?

　However, not a trace of fighting spirit was released from Hibigami.

I'm not going to be able to get rid of it," he said, "but if you look at my current condition, I can tell at a glance that I can't fight properly. You can't blame them if you force them to fight in that condition. I'm sure that even though Lerface and Falveti have returned, Lokiia is still very tired. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to create a good motive for fighting me. Even Currier's fingers were hurting from the fight against the noise. Above all, both of us were too worn out from fighting the Four Deadly Disasters.

　If I'd had that potion of noise left over, maybe the story would have been a little different, Hibigami added.
　Cecily made a protective gesture for me.

'If you had tried to get Kurohiko to take that potion, I probably would have done everything in my power to prevent it. Every step of the way.

　Hibigami takes Cecily's words in a taunting manner.

You should think carefully about what you say, Cecily Arkwright. I did promise that I wouldn't do anything to hurt myself or Currier, but I'm not so gentle as to just sit back and let the sparks fall on me. If you make a move on me, I'll show no mercy. I'm not a fan of that, but I'm hoping that you'll be able to come up with a plan of attack from me or Currier. I'm sure you're not going to be able to get away with it.
Don't you worry about it, my dear.

　I understood what Hibigami was trying to say.

"You mean, you want to impress upon me once again that you're the enemy?
"Kaka you're a very perceptive man. You're right. So you're the complete opposite of Loki. You see, I'm the enemy, and I need you to see me as one. You can't make me a part of a friendship game just because I've cooperated with you a little bit.
'Don't worry about that. If I don't take you down, Currier-san and Cecily-san's lives are in danger. So--

　He glares at Hibigami.

'You'll be beaten by me, I promise.'

　Hibigami, who has received my declaration and positive feedback, lets out a low, muffled laugh.

''As an 'enemy' once again, I wanted to confirm that to myself. Kaka, I can feel it - a pleasant, killing intent.

　Hibigami smiled happily and walked past me.

'As for the firelight, let's just put up with it somehow. Well if you f*ck with the hidden strongmen from the information I got from the noise, that should quell some of it. Also, I'll continue to try to collect the forbidden spellbook. But unfortunately, the first spell is not something I can handle.

　He took a few steps forward, and then the sound of Hibigami's footsteps stopped.

"I am growing faster than I ever expected.

　Finally, over his back, he said, "I'm looking forward to your further development, Sagara Kurohiko.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you grow even more, Sagara Kurohiko.

　............
　With the sound of his footsteps, I could see that Hibigami's presence was moving away from me.
　No one stopped Hibigami's steps.
　His strength was known directly or indirectly by everyone here.
　Hibigami is, to a certain extent, an exile in this royal city.

　But there was no way anyone could stand in front of him right now.

　　　　　　　　　　*

　Rokia left, and then Hibigami disappeared from the stage as well.

　Once Hibigami was out of sight, I took one breath and touched my left arm with my right hand.

　Since the fifth inhibitor was only used for the degree of defense of the noise multistage variant jutsu formula and a short accelerated movement, it didn't take much load to release it.
　That's why the fifth forbidden curse was lifted before the healing jutsu was applied.
　And as expected, it didn't take much of a load on its own to make him faint.
　But the Eighth Forbidden Curse had used its power many times in the battle against the Noise.
　Considering the feedback after the Four Deadly Disasters, that load was inferred.
　Hence, it couldn't be lifted when Rokia and Hibigami were there.
　Those two aren't someone I can completely forgive yet.

　But now that the two of them have left, I can finally break the eighth ban.

　I told Curie-san, Cecily-san and Makina-san that I would be breaking the eighth forbidden curse, and that I might lose consciousness.
　And dying...well, not likely.
　At least it would be less of a load than when he fought a series of battles with Beshgam and Masso.

　The effects of the drug seem to be wearing off, too.
　As my body became less free, the intensity and frequency of the pain running through my head decreased, as did the amount of blood dripping from my nose.

　Looking up, the inappropriate brightness of the sky was fading.
　It seems that the effects of Noise's intrinsic technique are wearing off.
　I held my left arm and said, "I'm afraid I might lose consciousness then.

''Then I might lose consciousness, but I'm sorry to say then, please take care of the rest.

　In any case, once the effects of the potion wear off, my body probably won't be able to move.
　So even if I don't lose consciousness with the lifting of the ban, it will still be a hassle for everyone in any case.

'It's okay, Kurohiko. You don't have to worry about anything else and let us take care of the rest.

Get some rest now, Kurohiko.

Thank you for your help, Kurohiko.

　Each one of them had a word of concern for me.

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

　Just hearing those words was worth the desperate effort.
　I flew my gaze to Makina-san, Cecily-san, and Currier-san.
　When I nodded one, they too nodded with a softened expression.

　Then ... let's break the forbidden curse.


"The eighth forbidden curse, closed area.


　Immediately after I broke the eighth curse, an intense load hit my entire body.


　My consciousness was cut off there.