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Meanwhile, after landing in the jungle, Hiroshi got a good distance away from the airship before deactivating his suit.
“Tch... What do I do now? This thing is useless...” he said to no one in particular. But someone did answer.
“I’m sorry about that. But there is another way.”
“Huh?”
For a moment he thought it was the suit’s activation bracelet that was talking to him, but when he turned in the direction of the voice, he froze.
“I realize that I’ve been asking a lot of you.”
It was Kento, AKA USD, the man behind this whole thing.
“You!”
Hiroshi went to summon a mana ball to fire at him, but realized there was no mana around him. He was surprised, and afraid, to see it, but when he realized that Kento was far calmer than he expected, he managed to control his fear.
“I don’t understand... Are you my enemy? Or ally?”
“You want me to make that clear? But I’m afraid I don’t know myself.”
Hiroshi realized his usual arrogance was no longer present.
“What’s happened to you? You disabled my suit when I tried to fight that Demon King. But you let me fight him above the ocean. And now you’re here in front of me. What the hell are you trying to do?” Hiroshi shouted. But Kento just adjusted his glasses and calmly began to speak.
“The ship above is one I made. But now The One is aboard it.”
“Who cares? I already heard that you were betrayed. I refused to help you, too. If there’s something you want to tell me, then come out and say it! And if there really is some way to shoot down that stupid talking dog thing, then tell me!” Hiroshi said, overwhelmed with emotion. But Kento cut him off.
“The One is trying to give the Jeweled Branch to the King of the Republic.”
“...Who gives a shit?”
“If he uses its power, even I don’t know what will happen. But I do have an idea of what it is.”
“What is it?”
“The Faceless Power seals away the minds of all the people in another dimension. And he’s trying to release it.”
Hiroshi froze for a moment and tried to think.
“...I have no idea why I should care, and I don’t think that’s because I’m stupid.”
“And that difficulty is exactly what The One took advantage of. According to him, this will lead to liberation, and further advancement of magical civilization.”
“Again, I have no idea what the hell you’re trying to say. I’m sure there’s a lot of complicated theoretical bullshit involved here. Just tell me what I need to know.”
“I want to stop the Republic King from using the Jeweled Branch.”
Hiroshi snorted.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that. He’s not the kind of guy who would. If you want to stop that from happening, just bring down the ship. You made the thing, I’m sure you put in a shutdown, just like you did with this suit.”
“Of course, I made it so I can shut down the ship. But I can’t do that.”
“Why the hell not?”
“They’ve taken a hostage. That’s the kind of person... or dog... that The One is.”
Kento’s frustration was clear on his face.
“I had no idea you had a soft spot like that. So you want me to save this person? You’re right, The One can’t see us here. He won’t know that you’re asking me to do it. So, who’s the hostage?”
Hiroshi wasn’t even trying to hide his annoyance. He could see a moment’s hesitation on Kento’s face.
“What’s going on? Is that hostage why you’re acting weird?”
Again, Kento cut him off.
“It’s Kei. Kei is the hostage.”
“...Huh? You mean the guy who turned into the Demon King?” Hiroshi asked in surprise.
Kento nodded.
“That’s right. After he became a Demon King, I examined that device. It contains a system that allows The One to destroy Kei if he turns into a Demon King.”
“Why would he do that to one of his own people!?” Hiroshi shouted, without really thinking about who he was talking to. Kento sadly shook his head.
“We’re not all on the same side, in the end.”
“You don’t seem like somebody who really cares about his friends, either. ...Wait a second. If you were never really on the same side, how was he able to use him as a hostage? You knew from the start this was a dangerous business. You should’ve been ready for him to die from the start...!”
Hiroshi then suddenly realized. The look on Kento’s face, his attitude, everything indicated that he felt genuinely concerned. It felt like the same way he looked when he was worried about Yuko.
“Wait... Don’t tell me you’re...”
Hiroshi shook his head. Kei was a man, yes, but he certainly had a seductive air about him. Kento slowly nodded.
“I’m concerned about Kei,” Kento said. That explained everything, but it still wasn’t something he could accept.
“So that’s your weak point, huh? But so what? But you saw what he did to the people from the Republic! That’s why you didn’t disable my suit then!”
Then suddenly, Kento bowed to him.
“Please...”
“Huh?” Hiroshi froze.
“Please... Will you stop him? Even if he dies, I want to kill him for the choices he’s made. I don’t want him to die because The One used him as a hostage.”
Hiroshi didn’t know what to say.
“But... you can’t...! He was so cruel... He must’ve decided to be Demon King of his own will! To do that... He... he...”
But when he thought about it, he realized that what Kento wanted him to do was what he wanted to do, too. And more than anything, Kento was opening up and begging him.
Hiroshi’s thoughts were in chaos, but he already knew what he would do. And he knew it was an answer that Akuto would never give. Many times he’d wanted to be like Akuto, and this was the first time he’d felt like he’d found his own path.
“I’m going to kill him... If I have to,” Hiroshi said, and then gulped.
“That’s fine. I’m sure he’d be happy to die after losing in battle. That’s who he is, you know.”
“But I may not be able to defeat him with this suit. At least, if The One’s told him how to counter it...”
“Don’t worry. I told you, I have a way. I’ll unlock more of its power. That should give you what you need to do this. Just do what the suit’s voice system tells you to.”
As the talk turned to specific tactics, Hiroshi’s mind began to calm down. But he realized that his resolve was still just as strong.
“So, where is Kei?” Hiroshi asked. Kento’s eyes narrowed.
“Facing off with the Republic army. He’s being used as a threat to get the King to do what they want. The King saw Kei’s massacre. If The One tells him that Kei’s going to attack the Republic, that’s an extremely effective threat.”
“You said that’s the kind of dog he is...”
Hiroshi activated his Brave Suit, and waited for Kento to do whatever it was he had to do. Kento attached a cord from a small terminal to the back of the suit, and began to fiddle with it.
“But if you can power me up, why am I going to Kei instead of the ship?”
“I’m not sure if you can defeat that ship. And if The One wants to use Kei to start a war, stopping Kei can stop the war, too.”
“Understood. But will I make it in time?”
“I’ll add a teleport spell. Use it once you get close enough to mainland that you have enough mana and energy.”
“Got it.”
Kento finished whatever he was doing with the suit, then nodded to Hiroshi.
“I’m counting on you,” he said.
“Yeah... Of course, I still don’t like you.”
Hiroshi flew off. Behind him, The One’s airship had finished its battle, and Marine was gone. He hadn’t been shot down. Either he was captured, or entered after negotiations with The One.