Wasn’t he supposed to be your enemy? Didn’t you say you wanted to kill him? Your negotiations broke down, so why am I the one you shot? Masato looked down at Neuro and spoke with cold indifference. “There isn’t a person alive I disagree with or want to kill more than this guy. My bloodlust is genuine. That’s why I don’t want our showdown to be a sideshow for something else.” “…?!” “Sorry, but your fate was sealed the moment Shinobu got to me. As soon as she did, you stopped being a useful way for us to reach our goal. The only reason I stuck with you after that was so I could take my enemy—my one true archenemy—and risk my life to make sure he had the guts to fight me to the death once we get back. Now that I’ve done that, I’m through with you.” “You little piece of SHIIIIT!!” Blood sprayed from Neuro’s mouth as he screamed furiously and forced his dying body to perform magic. He dug his nails into the ground, and his shadow reacted by extending like a snake and joining itself to Masato’s. Masato’s shadow frothed, and a black dog leaped from within to tear the prodigy businessman’s throat. However, its fangs never reached him. A series of kunai sped through the air, striking the dog in its side and hurling it to the ground. After a short death throe, it turned into mist and dispersed. Masato didn’t so much as flinch at this development… “I guess you used magic or something to see if I was lying, but the moment you thought a petty trick would turn me into your pawn was the moment your luck ran out. There’s plenty of ways you can lead someone by the nose with nothing but the truth. I’m not some cheap con man, y’know. I’m a prodigy businessman.” …and as he spoke, he gave the order to retaliate. The mercenaries had finished ejecting their spent casings. When their rifles flashed in unison again, Neuro breathed his last. Masato turned his gaze from where Neuro was lying facedown in a pool of blood over to the Qinglong Gang mercenary who’d thrown the kunai. “I figured you’d sneaked in there somewhere, Shinobu.” The mercenary he spoke to stripped her viridian battle uniform to reveal a sailor uniform and scarf. It was the prodigy journalist who’d gone missing in Drachen, Shinobu Sarutobi. “You’ve got a lotta nerve, bub,” she said with a look of resentment on her adorable face. “As I recall, you’re the one who shot this frail li’l maiden and locked her up in a cell.” “Yeah, ’cause I knew that whatever we did, you’d figure out a way to escape. Besides, I didn’t expect you to pass out after I intentionally aimed for your bulletproof stuff. At first, I thought you were just playing along, but when I realized that you’d actually lost consciousness, I freaked out. You sure you aren’t losin’ your touch?” “I got my ribs smashed up before I even got to you! Of course I passed out after you shot me!” “…Look, I had my own plans I was working through. Plus, I couldn’t just bail and leave Roo behind, so I figured shoving you in a cell was the safest option for a bunch of reasons. Sorry about that.” “I mean, I get it. That’s why I saved you.” Masato had a point. Roo had been away when Shinobu came to Drachen, making her plan of extracting them both a bust. At the time, Shinobu had been too weak to do more. She knew that she’d come up short and kept her complaints and anger to a minimum. As soon as she calmed down, a different set of furious bellows began. They came from Neuro’s army, which had just lost its leader to a supposed ally, Masato. “G-Grandmaster Neuro!” “Those Lakan savages! They won’t get away with this!” They charged on horseback for Masato, the Yamato soldiers, and the Qinglong Gang. Masato, Shinobu, and Tsukasa exchanged a look… “We’ve got some catching up to do, but that can come later. Let’s deal with the pests first.” “Agreed.” “Sha-sha.” …and with the overwhelming power of the Yamato army combined with an additional three thousand modernized troops, they delivered a fitting end to the fools who’d mistaken recklessness for valor. It was nearly winter, and by the time all the fighting was done, the sun had begun its swift descent, filling the sky with the indigo hue of night. “Masatooooo!!” “Heya, Prince! Howya been? I bet you were all lonely without me around to—” “HRAHHHHH!!!!” “Gwuh?!” After routing the enemy and making the Tomino Basin safe to cross, Akatsuki ran over to Masato, then sank a full-body dropkick into his abdomen. Petite as Akatsuki was, the sheer momentum behind his strike was enough to send Masato flying. “Ghck! Kaff?! Wh-what’s the big idea?” “That’s what I wanna know! One minute you’re showing up out of nowhere, the next you’re pointing a gun at Tsukasa! Then you start spouting off some complicated stuff and making it sound like you joined Neuro’s side! What the heck were you thinking?!” Akatsuki had been off in the distance, so he hadn’t fully grasped the situation, and now he was furious. To that… “You did great back there, Akatsuki. You really took a load off my shoulders.” …Tsukasa chose to compliment his actions rather than explain the situation. Then he turned and glared at Masato. “Merchant, when you told us you were leaving Elm, you gave me a signal by tapping your spoon against your teacup. I knew that crass action was out of character for you. You were trying to remind me about how Neuro showed us that image of Tokyo in his teacup. You wanted me to remember that a man with such power might well have been watching us that very moment through another ‘window’ he opened.” Masato nodded. “Yup. I figured you’d pick up on that. If Neuro was peeping on our meeting, then turning against him as a full group would’ve been the dumbest thing we could do. It might’ve lost us our only way home. Hedging against risk is just as important in business as it is in politics.” “True enough. Once I saw that Tokyo skyline, I worried that Neuro might be able to observe whatever part of this world he pleased, too. When it comes to dealing with magic, there’s no such thing as too cautious. With how little we know about magic, that’s the only way to keep ourselves safe from it. That’s why I didn’t stop you from leaving and operating independently.” Their separation hadn’t been caused by a difference of opinion at all. Between needing to be careful about the unknown capabilities of spells and the then-uncertainty about Neuro’s trustworthiness, Tsukasa and Masato had devised a situation where they could come out on top no matter the result. They’d set up their combo play without exchanging a single word or message aside from simply tapping the rim of a cup. Given that Neuro had, in fact, been watching their discussion play out through Nio’s eyes, their precautions ended up being completely justified. That much was all well and good. However… “Still, I can’t believe you used that to force me into that discussion. I can’t let my guard down around you for a second, can I?” “You make it sound so sinister. Just think of me as shrewd. I’m the kind of guy who gets restless if I don’t take full advantage of every opportunity that comes my way. Woulda been smooth sailing for me back on Earth if you’d yielded here, but I guess that was too much to hope for.” “Of course it was. Issues like this are for the people to decide, not for you and me to determine on our own.” For all of Tsukasa’s scolding, Masato didn’t look the slightest bit contrite. Tsukasa sighed. Masato was so shamelessly shrewd that Tsukasa had gone right past being angry with him and all the way to feeling begrudgingly reassured. Once people had their fill of piling on Masato… “At any rate, this should put a stop to this war.” …Keine clapped her hands together and changed the subject back to the present situation. Tsukasa nodded. “That’s right. I’ve already sent word, and the enemy Dragon Knights are probably doing the same. Things at the Byakkokan Checkpoint should settle down before long.” Neuro had been the only person who actually stood to gain anything from the war. The empire didn’t even want to hold Yamato, so it was unlikely to shed further blood pursuing this conflict. Now it was up to the Prodigies to make the armistice official. “Where’s Roo at, Merchant?” “Running an errand for me in Lakan. There’s this one particular slave couple I sent her to buy from a powerful Lakan clan.” “How much did you give her?” “Enough for one adult woman.” “…That’s one nasty mentor Roo’s got.” “Hey, it’s how I show my love.” “Oh, I know,” Tsukasa replied with a thin smile… “We should collect Neuro’s body and head back to the Byakkokan Checkpoint. The rest of the evil dragon’s homunculi, the other members of the Four Imperial Grandmasters, are still alive and well. We need to get organized so we’re ready to fight them by the time they get back from the—” …and got to work setting up for the unavoidable fight that was just around the corner. More accurately, he tried to get to work. But that was when it happened. “Heh… Heh-heh-heh… Ha-ha-ha-ha…” That was when they heard laughter echoing in their heads like it had come straight from their brains. “““?!””” The Prodigies all heard the voice, of course, but so did the Lakan and Yamato armies around them. An uproar spread through the Tomino Basin. This was no normal laughter… “I-isn’t that Neuro’s voice?!” …it belonged to a man who had already breathed his last. “No way… Get on that!” “W-we definitely got him, sir!” On Masato’s orders, the Qinglong Gang mercenaries promptly double-checked the body. Sure enough, Neuro was dead. That was an indisputable fact. Yet somehow, the laughter continued. “Oh, you definitely got me good. Losing my body to a bunch of apes… Forget Father, I’m not even going to be able to look my horrid siblings in the eye after this.” A projection of Neuro’s body appeared before their eyes. The translucent, wavering image hung directly over his corpse like a mirage. Upon seeing this… “I-is he a ghost?!” …some people, like Akatsuki, went pale with fright. Others, like Ringo, were struck speechless at the fantastical development. More, like Aoi, recognized the emergency and braced themselves for battle. Neuro laughed mockingly at the shock coloring everyone’s expressions. “Why so surprised? You met Yggdra, didn’t you? She’s a homunculus just like me, so it should have been obvious that I can maintain myself after being reduced to this spectral form.” Grief showed on his face. “That said, having my soul stick around isn’t going to do me much good. Even if I reincarnate as a human again, I doubt Father will restore my true magnificence, considering how I failed so spectacularly acting on my own.” Neuro hung his head and let out a profoundly despondent sigh. Then… “That would be too much to bear.” …he looked back up and glared at the people who’d reduced him to this—the Prodigies. He spoke with fury and determination. “If the alternative is going back to being an ape, then I’d rather spend my soul reclaiming my honor.” A sinister red light exploded from the Neuro mirage. The glow swelled in size and intensity, then emitted so much wind that it was impossible for people to keep their eyes fully open. The power spewed out in all directions like lightning. The soldiers struck by the bolts went flying as though kicked by horses. “Wh-what’s the hell’s going on?! What’s happening?!” “Settle down! If he comes back to life, all we have to do is kill him again! Fire! Fire!” The Qinglong Gang mercenaries immediately staged a counteroffensive. They shot blind, without bothering to get into formation. However, it had no effect. The red light with Neuro at its center continued to grow, staining the night crimson and emitting a gale so intense it was impossible to stand upright. Eventually, it erupted toward the sky and formed a massive, heaven-piercing pillar. “Hey, Tsukasa, what do we do?!” “Fall back! Everyone, get away from that thing!!” The spectacle was akin to the end of the world. Naturally, the first thing the Prodigies were worried about was war magic. Neuro had expended the people he implanted with Philosopher’s Stones to cast Rage Soleil. If he was using his own life to do the same thing… …there was no telling what might happen. Tsukasa and Masato ordered their respective armies to flee. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them while issuing their orders. Midway through their panicked flight… “I beseech you, Father, please forgive this incompetent son of yours. I love…you…” …Tsukasa heard something. He heard Neuro’s words of repentance, all but drowned out by the raging gale. But there was something else. Something besides the wind—a rumbling in the ground. The hill was shaking. Was it an earthquake? No. Those are the sounds…of hoofbeats! Tsukasa had to strain his ears to make out the noise buried under the wind’s discord, and the tremors came from a massive group of horses that emerged…from within the pillar of light that stretched to the heavens. “On your guard!” Tsukasa shouted. “Something’s coming!” Then they arrived. “““HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!””” With a great war cry, a group of cavalry soldiers wearing fire-red cloaks charged from within the pillar of light. There were far more of them than should have been able to fit in the pillar. They spread across the Tomino Basin and flooded the hill, spilling forth like wine. Only when the heaven-piercing light subsided did the full situation become clear. The forces that had appeared atop the hill were imperial troops; that much was clear from their equipment. At a glance, there looked to be over a thousand of them. When Tsukasa saw the results of the grandmaster’s efforts, his expression tensed. “Neuro must have teleported them in!” Yggdra had summoned him and the other Prodigies from Earth, so it was no surprise that Neuro could achieve a similar feat. Tsukasa surmised that Neuro must have burned through the last of his life and power in an attempt to exact revenge, and he was right.
Chapter 134
13 min read