“So, this is the true face of Kudou Mirei’s power, the hoard of the raging despot, Tyrant’s El Dorado...”
“Your pride has betrayed you, progenitor. In your arrogance, you have fallen victim to Kudou Mirei’s Eater Eater.”
...and apparently, Kiryuu and Genre had both independently given said power their own names.
Well, this is getting confusing. I think I’ll stick to Andou’s Grateful Robber, personally.
“It baffles me as to why this girl was given such an unusual and unorthodox power...but I saw no reason not to make full use of it. Now that I have done so, and now that your power has been stripped from you, you are nothing more than a man like any other,” said Genre. A slight sense of superiority had slipped into her words, accompanied by an equally faint touch of pity.
Kiryuu, now powerless, staggered to his feet in a daze. Lucifer’s Strike, the power that had made him the most dangerous Player in the War, and Lucifer’s Execution, the power he’d kept hidden away in his back pocket, waiting for just the right moment to use it, had both been taken from him by way of avarice incarnate.
“This was our plan, Hajime. This whole time, our goal was to have Kudou Mirei steal all your powers away from you in one fell swoop,” said Saitou. “Not even Aki’s power could predict what exactly would happen if Kudou stole them from you. We decided that if we wanted to be as careful as we possibly could, we’d need to have her steal your power after you’d tried to bring out your hidden ability. I’m just relieved to see that it worked out.”
The pieces of Saitou Hitomi’s plan had finally fallen into place. While a three-way power struggle had played out on the surface, behind the scenes, she had directed every single actor in the scenario to take action against Kiryuu Hajime, leaving him entirely isolated. She’d even pulled me into her scheme, using my status as a reader to leak false information to her foe, all for the sake of engineering the single moment of weakness she’d needed to rally her troops and crush Kiryuu in an all-out offensive. Then, when his back was up against the wall and he’d had no choice but to use the secret power he’d been eagerly waiting to debut for so very long, she’d stolen it from him before he could even show it off.
As far as plans went, it was stunningly nasty...and stunningly effective. She’d brought together so much force to use against Kiryuu it was downright excessive, she’d ironed out her plan so thoroughly that there wasn’t the slightest crease to be seen in it, and she’d ultimately defeated him so soundly that it was safe to call her victory absolute. She’d so mercilessly used strength in numbers to crush a single foe, it’d make even a Super Sentai hero wince.
“So, Hajime? What do you think?” asked Saitou. “We are Fallen Black. We’re the team you brought together, the team that fought by your side, and the team that you just couldn’t manage to lead.”
The twelve wings of sable darkness: Fallen Black.
Its first wing: Eternal Wink, aka Saitou Hitomi.
Its second wing: Dead Space, aka Akutagawa Yanagi.
Its third wing: Head Hunting, aka Natsu Aki.
Its fourth wing: Zigzag Jigsaw, aka Toki Shuugo.
Its fifth wing: Sex Eclipse, aka Yusano Genre.
And, although they weren’t present at the moment...
Its sixth wing: White Rulebook, aka Tanaka Umeko.
Its seventh wing: Lost Regalia, aka Hinoemata Tamaki.
And finally...
Its thirteenth wing: Innocent Onlooker, aka Sagami Shizumu.
Those were the names of the twelve wings—or really, the eight warriors—whom Kiryuu Hajime had gathered to serve him. A team in name only, each and every one of its members lacking all but the flimsiest sense of solidarity. To make matters worse, their boss had no charisma or leadership ability to speak of. All in all, they were a ragtag gathering of mismatched powerhouses to the bitter end, each far too strong in personality to ever truly blend in with the rest of the group.
And yet, now...each and every one of them had fallen under the command of a single woman. She’d directed them with precision, and not one of them had fallen out of line. The group that Kiryuu Hajime had so miserably failed to manage ran like a well-oiled machine under Saitou Hitomi’s leadership.
“I don’t think I’m particularly amazing at this or anything like that,” said Saitou. “I’m not very charismatic, and I’m not much of a leader either. I’m as ordinary as it gets. But the thing is, Hajime...I was able to pull it off because of you. You made yourself into such a clear and obvious enemy, it was easy for the rest of us to come together to face you.”
“Dammit, Hitomi,” Kiryuu growled, gritting his teeth with frustration.
“Heh heh!” Saitou chuckled as she watched him. It was like she couldn’t hold back her mirth. “Well, this is nice. At long, long last...you’re finally looking at me.”
Saitou’s smile didn’t last long. It vanished away before I knew it, replaced with a dangerously pointed glare. She faced Kiryuu down with the bitter dignity of a true commander.
“It’s over, Hajime,” Saitou declared. “I still have no idea what you were trying to accomplish...and I guess now I never will. There’s one thing I can say for sure, though: We’re through with playing along with your games. We’ll defeat you. We’ll bring an end to your story.”
As she spoke those final words, Saitou’s allies—the teammates who had gathered up behind her—sprang into motion. Toki Shuugo, Akutagawa Yanagi, Yusano Fantasia, and Genre in the guise of Kudou Mirei went on the attack. Every one of them excelled in personal combat in one way or another, and all of them attacked in unison, dead set on ending their battle once and for all.
Kiryuu Hajime didn’t move. Most likely, he couldn’t move. Robbed of his power, he didn’t have any means by which to counter their all-out attack.
It was over. There was just nothing Kiryuu could do to pull off a dramatic reversal anymore. No convenient plot twist could make the impossible possible.
“Yeah...I get it. I was wrong.”
Suddenly, Kiryuu spoke. His voice sounded weak and somehow resigned.
“In the end, I never managed to make all of you see me as your boss...but, of course I couldn’t. I never told you the first thing about my goals or my true intentions, and I never put much faith in you either. A guy like me could never cut it as your boss. Ha... The twelve wings of Fallen Black? What a crock of bullshit,” he spat with a sardonic sneer. “I was wrong... I really was.”
Kiryuu repeated himself, over and over...and as he did, his smile changed. What was once a sneer spread wider, splitting open into a crazed, ghastly grin.
“I was wrong to think that I, Kiryuu Heldkaiser Luci-First...could ever let a team, of all things, hold me back.”
With a booming thud, the earth sank into itself. It sank deeply, a broad swath of the land pushed flat. The four members of Fallen Black who’d gone on the attack and those of us who’d stayed behind were all caught in the impact, driven to the ground by a powerful force. There was only one exception who remained standing: Kiryuu Hajime himself.
“Bwa ha ha, bwaaa ha ha ha ha ha... Yes, that’s right. I was wrong from the very start. Playing this friendship game and trying to fight as a fun little team was all a mistake.”
He laughed. He cachinnated. He let out a sneering, scornful, mocking cackle, his black and red eyes shining all the while.