Vol-05 Ch 6 – Awakening

Part 1

"───Sigh!"

After the Evil power had resided in my body, I began the training to master it, as Ouma-san and Master Usagi had suggested. Of course, I couldn't neglect the other training I had been doing up until now, so I had to do them simultaneously. But that didn't help me improve much. Rather, there was not even a sign that this would even work.

"Puhaah! I can't use it at all… I can't get any stronger like this…"

When I muttered that to myself, the Evil inside me called out to me in a mocking tone.

"Hee. It's just impossible for you, you know?"

"Why? If it's because of you, then I'll tell Ouma-san…"

"Do not bring the legendary dragon into this right away! If you're going to play the legendary dragon, you should do so more sparingly!"

"Even if you say so…"

"And it's not my fault that you can't use this power; it's because your soul is too pure."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"That reaction is exactly what I mean."

Hmm, I don't understand.

For the time being, the training to master the Evil ended, and the next part was training with Yuti. After a short break, I called out to Yuti.

"I'm ready now."

"Roger. Just come at me whenever you want."

The training with Yuti was to fight while maintaining my [Magic Attire].

And──

"Then… I'm coming!"

I sprinted ahead from the spot while equipping my [Absolute Spear] and thrusted it out.

"Naive."

Yuti lightly dodged the attack and proceeded to shoot a tremendous amount of arrows.

"Are you serious…!"

I desperately dealt with it with my [Absolute Spear], but each blow was heavy considering the arrows were made of wood, and I couldn't move forward from there.

"How about this…!"

"Mmm."

I rotated the [Absolute Spear] with one hand above my head to prevent the arrows from raining down and pointed my other hand at the ground. And immediately, while imagining the eye of a typhoon in my mind, I activated the magic. Just as I had imagined, the magic was activated as a violent wind blew around me.

Thanks to that, the arrows were deflected, and I took this opportunity to close in on Yuti at once and threw the [Absolute Spear] at her.

"Haaahh!"

"Fuuhh!"

However, Yuti skillfully caught the attack with an arrow in her hand, deflecting the impact and parrying the attack. But, the purpose of my attack was not to inflict damage using the [Absolute Spear], but to create a momentary opening.

"Haaahh!"

[Omni-Sword] appeared in my hand and I slashed at Yuti, who had shown an opening.

"Useless. You can't reach me with that."

"Wha-!?"

And then, Yuti sped up her actions further and escaped from my attack without difficulty. When it comes to evasion, Yuti, the disciple of the "Bow Saint," was unrivaled, and I could not even get close to her. Although in the end neither of us fell, no matter how I looked at it, I probably lost. I was overwhelmed the whole time.

As I sat down to took a break from the training, Yuti approached me.

"Yuuya."

"Hmm?"

"Not good. Yuuya, you're not serious."

"Eeehh? I think I was serious enough…"

"Affirmative. That you are. But, Yuuya, you haven't used your Evil power yet."

"Ah, yeah… but I can't use it yet, so…"

"Final goal. Combine the Evil power with the power of the [Magic Attire] that you have been using in the earlier battle. With that reason, you can use the power of Evil."

"Hmm… I know that, but…"

I laid down on the ground and called out to the Evil residing inside me.

"I really don't know why I can't use your power."

"Hmm? Do you really want to use my power that badly?"

"Well, you know. There are more powerful existences than I had expected in this world, and the more ways I have to protect myself from them, the better. And since you're inside me now, why don't we fight together?"

"Haha. You know what? Your soul is the opposite of mine. I'm not sure I can fight with someone like that. We're not compatible to begin with."

"Hmm… is that so? I'm really enjoying talking to you like this, and I don't think we're incompatible."

"…Hmph."

Hearing my words, the Evil was silent for a moment and then opened its mouth again.

"…I don't know, but I think it's not that bad to live with you either."

After I obtained the Evil power, I began to train to use it, and I spent some time with Evil for a while… I noticed that it did not try to take over my soul whenever it had a chance, as it did in the beginning. On the contrary, it was interested in everything I did and even enjoyed the unknown world of Earth with curiosity.

"And it's not just you; it's this other world called Earth that I enjoy. I think that's also the reason the legendary dragon is attached to you because he can see your world that we don't know of living in this world. It seems like the battle between "Holy" and "Evil" is just a small conflict."

"I wish your main body felt the same way…"

"No, that's impossible. My main body is the accumulation of negative emotions from the world itself. Compared to that, I'm just a speck of dust, so it's relatively easy for me."

It's not easy for me, though!

I couldn't help but wish that the main body of the Evil could be as reasonable as this one.

"Well, whatever. I'll leave it at that for now and go back. I've finished all my daily training…"

"Affirmative. Rest is important."

I was about to head back home with Yuti, as well as Night and Akatsuki who had been playing in the corner of the garden while we were training when… it happened.

"Huh!?"

"Grrrr…"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Suddenly, Night and Yuti stopped and looked sharply at the entrance of the garden.

Then──.

"What?"

A tremendous roar rang out near the house.

"What happened?"

"Unknown. But that was definitely the sound of battle."

"Battle?"

I've never heard such a roar before, even though this was one of the most dangerous places in the world.

"W-what in the world is fighting…?"

"Unknown. But if it continues like this, this place is in danger."

"Yuti?"

As soon as she said that, Yuti, who didn't know about the protection around Sage-san's house, suddenly ran towards the sound.

"W-we're coming too!"

"Woof!"

"Buhi?"

In addition to Night, who was already prepared, I took Akatsuki, who had been lazily rolling around, into my arms and followed after Yuti.

It's probably better for Akatsuki to stay at home since he's not a good fighter, but if this sound was from another Evil opponent, we could do nothing about it without Akatsuki.

As I began to chase after Yuti with that on my mind, I realized that I had left Ouma-san behind at home.

"Oh, no… I should have asked Ouma-san to follow us too…"

I was about to say that, but then I changed my mind. I don't think that Ouma-san would come. It is likely that he is currently sleeping inside the house on Earth, and because he is a dragon that could sleep for thousands of years, once he is asleep, he does not wake up easily.

And even if he's awake, he wouldn't be interested in a conflict by humans or the battles between the "Holy" and "Evil" in the first place.

I deployed my [Magic Attire] at once, and caught up with Yuti at top speed.

"You came."

"Yes, I came, but… don't go too far ahead. You'll make me worry."

"…I'm sorry."

In my words, Yuti's eyes widened slightly, and then she muttered softly as she looked away.

As we ran through the Great Devil's Nest in silence, I suddenly noticed an oddity.

There are no monsters…?

I usually ran at my top speed like this, and monsters would attack me regardless. But for some reason, we hadn't encountered any monsters since a while ago. It seemed that Yuti had also noticed this point and she had a similarly suspicious expression on her face.

As I continued with my inexplicable anxiety, we finally reached the source of the sound.

And──.

"Oh? Who are you?"

(Yu… Yuu, Ya…?)

"Master Usagi…?"

There was a man with dreadlocks who had the dark aura of Evil emanating from his body. He was grabbing the battered Master Usagi by the neck. The situation was so unrealistic that not only me but Yuti and the others also froze.

Then, the man threw the Master Usagi away from his grasp carelessly.

"Hah! I see, so this is your favorite disciple, huh?"

(You should not touch… Yuuya…!)

"What? You shouldn't have the right to order me around when you're weaker than me."

The man stomped on Master Usagi.

"You…!"

(Don't… come…!)

"Why?"

When I tried to run to him immediately, Master Usagi shouted with all his voice.

(Get out of here, right now…!)

"Get out from here, you say…? I-I can't do that! Yuti, I'm going to attack him, so you have to support me!"

"…You can't."

"Huh?"

I couldn't believe the words that came out of Yuti's mouth, and I looked at her. She was looking at the man, shaking and wobbling. Not only Yuti, but even Akatsuki and Night looked frightened of the man.

"What's going on, guys?"

"Yuuya, can't you see? He's dangerous. It's nothing compared to Master, the Kicking Saint, or any of the others. He's a monster."

"M-monster, you said?"

When I was utterly confused by Yuti's words, the man snorted, looking down at me.

"Hah… Usagi. I wouldn't have thought that your disciples would be someone who couldn't even tell the difference in strength between us. Huh?"

(Guh!?)

"You…!"

The moment I couldn't stand it any longer and was about to charge at the man who was stomping on the Master Usagi as if to torture him, the man gave me a very stern look.

"Annoying."

"───"

The killing intent from that one word made me fully aware of the situation—and the difference in power between us. I was unable to move because I couldn't stop my body from trembling from that killing intent.

"Aaah… a dangerous guy has come. That guy is one of the most intractable troublemakers among the Evil, you know. Well, you're out of luck."

"Huh? What do you mean…?"

"He's a very different kind of user of the Evil than Yuti. He's kind of a monster."

Even the words of the Evil inside me sounded terribly distant to me.

The man seemed to have lost interest and looked down at the Master Usagi as my body remained motionless with fear.

"Oh, you're so pathetic. I will kill you in front of the disciples that you are teaching with your all."

(Kuh…)

"Nevertheless, I was expecting to have more fun with this. This was a huge disappointment. Hey!"

(Gaahh…!)

The man pulled away the foot that he had been stomping Master Usagi with, and kicked him straight in the face.

"What do you think of my kicking from the eyes of the famous "Kicking Saint"? It's okay, right? Ah?"

He grabbed the ear of the rolling Master Usagi and forced him to stand up while smiling disgustingly. …Stop it…

"Well, don't worry. After killing you, I'll quickly dispose of the other people here as well. Hey, I'm kind, aren't I? I think it's better to get rid of the trash without leaving behind a speck of dust. Right? So, at least as an effective use of garbage, after I've played around with you, I will cleanly erase you."

(Stop… it…)

"As I said… a small fry has no choice!"

The man stomped on Master Rabbit over and over again. Stop it…

Why can't I get my body to move…

"Oh yeah, I've got an idea. How about I kick you to death, Usagi? That way, I'll be the one to take the title of the "Kicking Saint." Woohoo! I'm a genius, aren't I? Right?"

(Ugh…)

"Hey, hey, what's your answer, hey!"

The man relentlessly kicked Master Usagi over and over again. It must be very humiliating for Master Usagi, who bore the title of the "Kicking Saint."

"It's boring if you don't respond. Okay, I'll kill you now."

The man simply declared and fixed his gaze to us again.

"Hey, take a good look, okay? This is the moment when the "Kicking Saint" is kicked to death by me, and the moment that the new "Kicking Saint" is born!"

The man raised his foot vigorously and swung it down without hesitation. For that brief moment, the world in front of me slowed, like a revolving lantern.

Stop, stop it; please stop it.

Move, please move. Why can't I move? Why can't I move while Master Usagi is being attacked? What's with this man in front of me in the first place? He's the one who beat Master Usagi up like that.

──I will never, never forgive him.

＊＊＊

While Usagi was about to be kicked to death by the "Fist Saint," the Evil power inside Yuuya was relaxing.

"No, it's really bad luck. Yuuya is different from that little girl called Yuti; that girl is completely compatible with the power of Evil… Besides, she has the ability to be a Holy too, which is another good thing."

The Evil power inside Yuuya is laying around, muttering boringly.

"Ah, I've been having fun lately, but my life here is coming to an end. If Yuuya is killed, I'll have to find another host. What a pain in the ass."

The Evil power muttered and sat down powerlessly.

"…No. As expected… it's boring."

The Evil power inside Yuuya said so.

Although Yuuya and the Evil power were supposed to be incompatible to begin with, a bond was undoubtedly created.

That's why it felt pleasant to try the new emotions that sprouted in it, who had only experienced being a part of the Evil until now.

"It's a bit sad, isn't it… that we have to part ways here. With him as your opponent…"

At that moment when the piece of Evil muttered emphatically, the inside of Yuuya, which was supposed to be a pure white space, was suddenly dyed black at a tremendous speed.

"W-what is it!?"

The darkness swallowed even the Evil power that had been relaxing.

"Uoohh!? W-what's going on?"

The Evil power was perplexed by the situation that it had never experienced before, but it understood the feelings that Yuuya currently has.

"Hey, hey… I've never seen anything like this in my life, not even in Yuti. What's with this pitch-black soul…?"

On top of that, the Evil power smirked at the darkness of Yuuya, as it was trying to sink itself even deeper into the depths.

"Well, that's fine, Yuuya. Normally, I would have taken over you at this point, but this time I'll lend you my power and you can use it to your advantage. In return───."

And the red eyes of the Evil power glowed suspiciously.

"I won't forgive you if you lose."

Part 2

"Farewell, Usagiiiiiiiiii!"

The Fist Saint's kick was swung down with great force. Although he was not an expert at kicking, the Fist Saint's kick was still filled with terrifying power.

Not only Yuti, but Night and Akatsuki were also unable to move due to the killing intent and intimidation from the Fist Saint. Everyone expected this to be the end of Usagi's life just like that.

But…

"Ah?"

"….."

"Huh!? Yu-Yuuya!?"

"Ah…?"

Outside of everyone's expectations, Yuuya intervened by stepping in between Usagi and the Fist Saint, and stopped the kick with his bare hands. Moreover, the aura of Evil was overflowing from Yuuya's body much like the Fist Saint.

While Yuti and the others were surprised by this sudden turn of events, the Fist Saint became grumpy at once.

"Hey, you bastard… know your place, small fry. Who permitted you to touch me? Ooh!?"

And then he kicked out with his other foot, trying to knock away Yuuya who was holding onto his foot. However, Yuuya dodged the attack while releasing the leg of the Fist Saint.

"What?"

"….."

Yuuya turned his back on the Fist Saint and hugged Master Usagi, as though the Fist Saint did not exist.

"O-oy… you bastard… what are you doing…?"

"….."

"I said, what are you doing? I'm asking youuuuuuu…!"

Being ignored was something that hurt his pride, and the Fist Saint raised his fist while shouting. That fist instantly exceeded the speed of sound, and the shockwave surrounding it blew away the surrounding trees and ground as it approached Yuuya.

But…

"W-what?"

Yuuya stared emotionlessly at the attack and dodged it without difficulty.

"What… What's going on here? You bastard, did you hide your abilities until now? Ah!?"

"It's… amazing… I'm filled with power… I feel like I can destroy everything in this world."

Ignoring the existence of the Fist Saint, Yuuya was immersed in his own world. The Fist Saint could not hide his anger, but the anger quickly turned into a ferocious smile.

"Hahaha! It's good; it's excellent! I think I can have a lot more fun with you than with that rabbit!"

"….."

"…I don't know how long you can keep up with that attitude, but don't let me down!"

The Fist Saint made his hands mimic the claws of a beast and moved them up and down as if clamping them together with great force.

"Eat him up, [Jaw]!"

And then the air fangs attacked Yuuya as if they were going to devour him.

"Yuuya!"

Even in the face of such an attack, Yuuya didn't show any sign of evading, and Yuti shouted at him unconsciously.

"──Like this?"

"What?"

Yuuya recreated the exact same movement as the Fist Saint immediately. And then, from both of his hands, the air fangs were created, and they collided with the Fist Saint's attack.

However, Yuuya's fangs were overwhelmingly larger, and the attack of the Fist Saint was easily swallowed up. Then it directly attacked the Fist Saint.

"N-no way!?"

When he avoided the attack, the ground and the trees disappeared as if the space had been hollowed out in the area where he had been standing.

"D-don't kid around… then, how about this?"

The Fist Saint stopped retreating, and closed in to a distance that was his forte, and went on the offensive immediately.

"[Tearing Sky Pierce] Haaaaaaa!"

It was a skill that could be called the special move of the Fist Saint, as it boasted the greatest destructive power with the least amount of movement, aimed at Yuuya from a very close distance.

Moreover, normally, such a super-advanced skill should only be able to deliver a single attack, but the Fist Saint was different and could strike a series of these deadly blows.

If one were to receive this skill, the body would be destroyed, not only the outside but also the inside, and the surrounding area would be littered with the resulting fragments.

But…

"Like this?"

"Ah?"

Yuuya was unamused and easily replicated the secret technique of the Fist Saint, and released all of them following the fist of the Fist Saint.

And the result is…

"Gyaaaaaaaaaa!? M-my arm!"

The Fist Saint was easily defeated in a battle of fists that should have been the sole domain of the Fist Saint. And the arm of the Fist Saint was shattered without a trace remaining.

"M-my arm! My arm! Why, how?"

"Stop barking."

"Hyiie!?"

This was the first time the Fist Saint realized that he was going to die.

A black aura was oozing out of Yuuya's body as he shook it suspiciously for the first time, and his eyes were glowing red.

Yuuya stared blankly at the Fist Saint, who had lost both of his arms which were his pride and greatest weapons, and fell down in a miserable state.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to fight?"

"N-No…"

"No? That's not acceptable."

Yuuya immediately took out the [Complete Recovery Herb Juice] from the item box and sprinkled it carelessly on the Fist Saint. Then, the Fist Saint's arm, which should have been lost, miraculously grew back.

"What? Oh, my arm!"

"What are you doing?"

"Aah? Gyooee?"

With his arms healed, the Fist Saint started to regian his composure, but Yuuya kicked him in the face without mercy.

"G-ggaaahh… Y-you bastard…!"

"….."

"W-what's with those eyes? Those… eyes, do not look down on meeeeeee!"

The Fist Saint used a number of techniques on Yuuya. Still, all of them were instantly imitated by Yuuya and returned with more than twice the power.

And, at last, the Fist Saint realized. His arm being healed was just the beginning of this hell. No matter how much effort he put in, he was no match for Yuuya.

On the contrary, he was rolling around in a mess. Even when his arms were blown off, his legs were torn off, or he had a hole in his stomach, Yuuya continued to use items to heal him and forced him to fight.

Yuuya kept on inflicting pain on the "Fist Saint."

What the hell is this? What in the world is this…!? Said the Fist Saint in fear.

"I don't want it… Stop…!"

"You don't want it? Stop? You wanted this, didn't you? You wanted to fight with the strong, right?"

The Fist Saint indeed wanted to fight the strong, which was why he acquired the power of Evil and began the hunt for the Holy. However, what was happening to him here was not a fight with a strong person.

It was a one-sided beatdown.

As Yuuya was still trying to attack, Yuti, who had finally recovered from the Fist Saint's intimidation and the shock by seeing Yuuya's change, rushed over to stop him.

"You can't. Yuuya."

"Get out of my way."

"No, I can't. If you keep this up, you won't be able to come back."

"Can't come back, you said? That's a funny thing to say. I'm just giving him what he wants."

"Denial. Go back to your normal self, Yuuya. Akatsuki!"

"Buhi!"

Akatsuki was waiting for Yuti's call and immediately activated his [Sanctuary] skill. Then, Yuuya frowned for a moment.

"Ugh! This is…"

"Calm down. You're back to the gentle Yuuya."

"…Gentle?

With that one word, Yuuya's face became expressionless again.

"What's the use of being gentle? It does nothing. It can't save anything. There's no need for it."

"Denial. You're the one who is not needed. Give Yuuya back."

"This is me."

"No."

"…I see. If you're going to get in my way, I'll get rid of you too. If the need to protect something makes us weak, then it is better not to have it."

"Huh!?"

Yuti involuntarily shrunk away from Yuuya's hand, which was slowly extended to her…

"?"

"Ah…"

Suddenly, Yuya's movements stopped.

"What is it?"

The faint instinct that remained in Yuuya was preventing him from crossing the last line. He looked ruthlessly at himself and spat out.

"You said you wanted this to happen, but… you deny it?"

"──It's going to be a lot of trouble, I guess."

"O-Ouma-san!"

Then, in such a state, Ouma, who was supposed to be sleeping at home, slowly came flying in while yawning absentmindedly.

Yuti then rushed over to Ouma.

"Begging. Please, help me. Yuuya's not coming back."

"It can't be helped."

At Yuti's request, Ouma said in exasperation and turned his gaze to Yuuya.

"If that were the case, There's no need for me to go through all of this."

"Ouma…?"

"…Good grief. You are such a pain in the butt. You should be able to use the power of Evil as quickly as possible."

While saying that, Ouma could not suppress his bitter smile.

"Well… this is just like Yuuya. It's also annoying to be too kind. Hey, Akatsuki!"

"Buhi…?"

Ouma threw something to Akatsuki, who was depressed that his powers could not save Yuuya. When Akatsuki caught it in his mouth, he swallowed it without thinking.

"Bu-buhiii!?"

"Don't worry. It's the same pill I took."

"The same as Ouma?"

"What, don't you remember? It was the [Pill of Size Change], wasn't it?"

"W-why did you give him that?"

Ouma grinned in response to Yuti's reasonable question.

"It's definitely for getting bigger."

"Eh?"

"Here, Akatsuki! You have to turn bigger and use your skill!"

"Fu-fugo?"

Not knowing what to do, Akatsuki started to get bigger, as Ouma directed. Then, as Akatsuki's body swelled up more and more, the surrounding trees and the others were buried in Akatsuki's hair.

"This is…"

As for Yuuya, he was buried in the encroaching hair.

───Akatsuki became super huge, just like Ouma when they first met. At that moment, Akatsuki activated his [Sanctuary] skill.

"Fugoooooooo!"

Akatsuki's [Sanctuary] spread throughout the entire [Great Devil's Nest], and a gentle light enveloped the surroundings.

And then───.

"I-it's so fluffy."

──The black aura had disappeared, and the usual Yuuya was smiling happily while being wrapped in Akatsuki's fur.

Looking at the current Yuuya, the unapproachable atmosphere just a few moments ago disappeared. Even the [Sanctuary]'s skill was no longer effective on Yuuya back then. Yuti was surprised by the fact that Yuuya returned in an instant.

"Astonished. Why?"

"It's simple. As Akatsuki's body grew, so did the effectiveness of his skills."

Ouma laughed, clearing his throat, and called out to the enlarged Akatsuki.

"Hey, Akatsuki. That's enough. Go back."

"Fugo? Buhi!"

Akatsuki became smaller and smaller as his response was prolonged due to his larger size. Yuuya was gazing a little regretfully at the shrinking Akatsuki, but then he suddenly realized his surroundings and looked around.

"H-huh? What's wrong with me…? And how did Akatsuki get so big…?"

"Yuuya, thank goodness."

"Eh?"

Yuuya looked at Yuti with a dumb expression as Yuti approached him with a smile on her face. He then remembered something and looked around again in a panic.

"T-that's right, what about Master Usagi?"

(──I'm fine.)

"Master Usagi…!"

In response to Yuuya's call, Master Usagi who was supposed to be in shambles from the earlier fight, was standing and looked to be completely healed.

"Hey, Master Usagi. What happened to your wounds?"

"That's because being so close to such a big pig; it's only natural that I would also receive the benefits of his skills."

"I-I'm glad to hear that… No, I have no idea what's going on…"

(I'll explain it to you later. More importantly… what's that dragon…? He wasn't there before, was he?)

"Eh? Ouma-san? …Come to think of it, this is the first time for Master Usagi and Ouma-san to meet, isn't it?"

When he mentioned once again that Ouma-san had been tamed by Yuuya, Master Usagi held his head.

(What, you tamed a legendary dragon? Rather than that, is he really a being that can be tamed in the first place? He's literally the pinnacle of this world, living before we were created…)

"I-I don't know… even if you're telling me that…"

(…Hmph, You're a lot different than you were before.)

"Eh?"

(You've caused trouble for Yuti and Akatsuki. Make sure you apologize.)

"Y-yes…"

Yuuya, who has no memory of the time when the power of Evil swallowed him, can only reply for the moment without understanding.

(Now, More importantly… Where did the Fist Saint go?)

"Eh… ah, that's right! That guy…!"

Yuuya remembered the existence of the Fist Saint, who the source of this event, and hurriedly looked around, but the Fist Saint was no longer around.

(…It seems that Akatsuki's skills from earlier have also healed his wounds.)

"Buhi…"

According to Master Usagi's words, Akatsuki was unusually dejected when he realized that it was his own fault that the Fist Saint escaped.

The Fist Saint was such a vicious being that even the slow-paced Akatsuki felt that he should not be allowed to run wild.

Usagi put his hand on Akatsuki's head as if to comfort him.

(Don't be so depressed. There's nothing we can do about this. I'm not sure if I could have survived without your skill.)

"Buhi…"

Usagi's words were met with a small nod from Akatsuki. However, it was a fact that the Fist Saint had fled from the scene, and the atmosphere of Yuuya and the others darkened.

"…Hmm? Huh? Where's Ouma-san?"

"Eh?"

Yuuya suddenly noticed that he could not hear Ouma's voice and looked around, but before he knew it, Ouma's figure had disappeared.

"Prediction. He probably went home. I think he's sleeping."

"Yeah, he's sleeping…"

"Agreement. He's probably not interested."

(Not interested, huh… We are fighting like hell…)

"I'm sorry about Ouma-san…"

Yuuya was uncomfortable and apologized as they all headed home.

"Hah! Hah! Hah!

While Yuuya and the others were returning home, the Fist Saint, whose wounds had been healed by Akatsuki by accident, was desperately running through the Great Devil's Nest.

"Damn it… damn it… damn it… damn it!

What's currently on the mind of the Fist Saint was the figure of Yuuya, who messed up the Fist Saint with overwhelming power.

The Fist Saint had never known defeat, and he was a talented genius capable of absorbing all kinds of techniques. That's why he took this title from the previous Fist Saint within a year of becoming his apprentice. From then on, he became even more greedy for power.

And his strength led to arrogance, and before long, he found himself not only seeking power but also looking for an opponent to put his acquired skills to use.

However, for the overwhelmingly powerful Fist Saint, not many people could receive his techniques. Most were easily broken if the Fist Saint showed a fraction of his true colors.

That's why, for the Fist Saint, other existences were insignificant.

──And now, that Fist Saint had been defeated without being able to put up any resistance.

Even when he made full use of all the techniques he had acquired with his talent, and along with the power of Evil, he still could not reach Yuuya.

On the contrary, just as the former Fist Saint stole others' techniques and used them in a more perfected form to break their hearts, Yuuya did the same thing to him.

It's also as if this result was natural.

For the Fist Saint, the people around him were just toys for him to use to test his skills. However, for Yuuya, the Fist Saint was just… an object of observation.

There are no emotions at all, just indifference. With his gaze, the pride of the Fist Saint was already in tatters.

When he retreated to a place where he could no longer be caught by Yuuya and the others, he took a deep breath to fix his ragged breathing.

"I will never forgive them… for making a fool out of me like this… I will give them all a hell that they have never tasted…!"

The Fist Saint, who vowed to take revenge on Yuuya and Usagi and everyone else, tried to leave the scene with staggering steps.

"Next… The next one is…!"

"───Next one? Don't say anything crazy."

"What, who is it?"

Suddenly, the response to his words put the Fist Saint in a fighting posture hurriedly.

In the past, the Fist Saint would have been astonished by the fact if there were people who could move without his awareness, but now the Fist Saints had no time to mind about that.

The owner of the voice appeared in response to the exhausted Fist Saint.

"What did you say before…"

The one who appeared before the Fist Saint was Ouma, who was thought to have gone home to sleep. In front of Ouma, an unfamiliar anxiety struck him, and he asked in an impatient tone.

"What did you say before, you bastard!"

Ouma didn't seem to care as he approached the Fist Saint with his small body and grinned at him.

"You were saying something strange earlier."

"What? What do you mean by strange?"

"Ah yeah. It's about the next one──."

"Huh! What's so strange about it? Next, next time! This time I didn't lose! I'm just retreating! Next time, I'll win for sure. The next time, I'm definitely going to win, and I'm going to give them all hell!"

"I see, I see…"

Ouma laughed in amusement at the words of the Fist Saint──.

"That's a very clever mindset you've got there. Do you think you'll be able to get home safely after fighting with my friends?"

"What? Your friends? I'm not sure what you're talking about when you're just a little dragon…"

The next moment, Ouma's body returned to its original size.

"Eh, ah, what?"

In front of the huge dragon that suddenly appeared, the Fist Saint sat down on the ground, losing his composure.

"Just a little dragon, huh? I'm a dragon that has lived since the beginning of time, you know?"

"N-no way! Since the beginning of time, you say? Are you saying that you are the legendary dragon? That should be just a fairytale!"

Ouma opened his mouth wide as he brought his face closer to the Fist Saint, who looked up at him dumbly.

"There is no next time for you. This is where it ends."

"Oh, Aaah───."

His words did not last. Ouma chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth.

Then he frowned.

"It's not good. After eating Yuuya's food, my palate has become much more discerning. I have become a so-called connoisseur."

While muttering that, Ouma returned to his petite size and started to head back to Yuuya and the others as if nothing had happened.

"Well, I've worked hard today, and I'm going to ask Yuuya to make something delicious for me. I think… hamburgers sound like a good idea."

As Ouma left, an air of peace was once again felt in the "Great Devil's Nest."

＊＊＊

"──What?"

At the World Disposal Ground, one of the three "Evil" who had gathered there muttered in dismay.

"No way… How come, the presence of the Fist Saint… the presence of the Evil that I gave to the Fist Saint… is gone?"

The one who let out a voice of impatience there was the Evil who gave power to the Fist Saint.

"It's also strange for me. The power that I gave to the disciples of the Bow Saint has been cut off too."

In response to the impatient Evil, another Evil with a calm voice replied curiously.

"It's strange… It's not surprising if the disciple of the Bow Saint had died somewhere, but it's strange if the signs of the Evil power disappear altogether. Above all, it is impossible for the presence of the Fist Saint, one of the few people who fit the criteria, to just disappear."

"That is true. The shadow alone is no longer enough to deal with the Fist Saint. For this reason, I was thinking of going there to drop a hand on it myself…"

In response to the Evil's calm analysis, the first Evil who opened his mouth answered so.

"But then, it's okay, isn't it? It means that there are no more troubles, right?"

"Well, from a simple perspective, yes. But my opinion is not as positive."

"Eeh, why?"

"Because it means that there are people who can compete with our power. It's too dangerous to let it go unchecked."

"Isn't that the Holy?"

"It's unlikely. Most of the Holy have either fallen to us or have been killed by the hands of the Fist Saint. There are very few Holy left who can resist us. In addition to that, the only Holy that can compete in terms of power and compatibility with the Fist Saint is probably the Sword Saint, who is the strongest of all the Holy. Still, it is unlikely that the Sword Saint will be able to come out unscathed."

The Evil that said that continues to be abhorrent.

"That's why I can't let the person who killed the Fist Saint go free. Even if it's the Sword Saint, he is still a threat to us."

"What would you do? Are you going to kill him?"

"Of course, we need to do that. But…"

"Ah, I see."

In contrast to the polite tone of the Evil, the dignified Evil nodded once.

"Let's start a war against the rest of the Holy."

"Eh, really? It's not a lie, is it? Yeaayyy!"

The Evil who laughs innocently couldn't control his enjoyment and asked excitedly.

"When? When are we going to kill them!? How many of them will we kill? Is it all of them?"

"Calm down. Of course, we will kill as many as we can, but not all. If you want to come with us, you will need to accept that."

"Eeh? Why?"

"Of course, it's to enslave them."

"Slave?"

"Yes. Our goal is to take control of the world, as we are the negative side of the world… In order to do that, we need to control the threats that can exist."

"Hmm… Something like that?"

"That's how it works."

The innocent Evil seemed to be somewhat depressed, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Well then, when will we begin the attack? Can I be the first?"

"Yeah, okay. Those who are not here will not complain."

"Yay!"

"…If we're going to wage war against the Holy, we can't just let the entity that killed the Fist Saint go free, can we?"

"I think so. Well… there are many Holy that have fallen to us as well. The number has already exceeded the Holy that remains hostile to us. I don't think we can lose."

While saying that, the Evil stared at the sky, imagining the yet unknown one that defeated the Fist Saint.

"I don't know who you are, but… you will not be able to stop us."

And then the three of them disappeared from the place.