Chapter 31 (2/2)

Photos of young people appeared on the screen It was a photo roster of the two hundred thirty-three students who had become Utsusemi

“For the sake of future counter the faces of our opponents”

Natsume said so

People he knew, people he didn’t know, they were all displayed successively on the screen

——There were also many unfamiliar fellow students

Ah School second year students who had become Utsusemi, there were classmates of his he was familiar with, and there were those from other classes that he knew by appearance alone But the majority were people who he could not match a name to their faces

That was hoas Since he wasn’t a teacher, such a thing asall the na he was unable to do

However, he was thankful for this app When the time came, it would serve as a reference When it cae suspicious people, if they can be perood assessment

Lavinia was low If one were to see such a spectacle doith her wearing a pointed hat, they would think it was a blonde girl cosplaying with a glowing toy stick and donning a cloak In order to avoid additional unwanted attention, they found a taxi on the ith Lavinia’s guidance, hastening to their destination

Would the black puppy be able to ride in the car, he had worried, but the puppy that had been with hi aware Noticing its disappearance Natsume said

“That see Griffon-chan for instance, I expect he’s flying up in the sky by now”

She cheerfully replied in such a way According to her, funda——the puppy and Natsume’s Griffon differ from the Utsusemi of their fellow students in that people who are unrelated, from their perspective, remain unaware of their existence They will also become visible to other people if the possessor wishes for the as he doesn’t desire for them to see the puppy, they won’t be able to see it unless Tobio authorizes them to do so, Natsume explained

The puppy had been trotting after hi escorted him up until the moment the taxi left, the puppy had obstinately refused to be separated from Tobio

That was the sort of existence they were, these so called independent-avatar type Sacred Gears For those who are unrelated, their existence is unrecognizable—— However, when the possessor is in a pinch they ithout fail co when called upon

Natsume unexpectedly spoke

“It ive it a name For when you wish to call it, since I think it’d be inconvenient if there’s no name”

……A naht, he hadn’t considered such a thing until now ……This black puppy, in spite of being a supernatural power of his, it has its oill, so a name may very well be necessary

Riding in the taxi, Tobio watched the scenery outside as he gave thought to the various issues on thefrom this point forward

Riding in the cab, while being concerned of being targeted by the Utsuse the day, with the taxi having passed through tns peacefully After they arrived at the entrance to a public park, they began the search for Sauidance On the way, they were vigilant of every resident they happened to eneral none of theh, it’s not possible to be certain Now though, students should be in the middle of classes at this time If a student were to be seen by themselves in a residential area at this time of day it seems they’d be quite conspicuous

Continuing to progress, the three of thee of the residential area The story of how this departone out of business had reached even Tobio’s ear Having been beaten out by an aggressive shoppingit deym equipped with an indoor pool would be built on the site

Tobio and Natsume prepared themselves in front of the deserted departerous place, in spite where it was established At any rate, with the interior of the building being devoid of any signs of life, the conditions were just about the worst for being attacked by the Utsusemi

Nevertheless, even an alaringly shi+ning in the direction of the department store’s interior ……It would seem Samejima Kouki is inside

Having determined what this meant, Natsume spoke

“I wouldn’t be strange at all if this place has become a den of Utsusemi”

The black puppy that had been gone had also imperceptibly reappeared at his feet ……In other words, that would seeh likelihood of theat risk—— To an extent, it exists within said body and was called upon by current situation Considering the scale of the department store, it was impossible to know if perhaps the number of Utsusemi who had broken in isn’t just one or two people

“Let us enter”

Without showing particular hesitation, Lavinia did so while facing behind at theate due to the shutter being lowered Since Saained entry Tobio pondered whether the staff use entrance ht be open

The three of theht out the staff entrance

“In any event, it sure is gloomy……”

Natsuh the store’s interior

After that, they had discovered the entrance by going around back As expected, the staff-use gate had been forcibly wrenched open by so it easy to trespass

Within the department store, it was naturally unilluminated, since after all the shutters had been closed, so the store’s interior was nearly pitch dark Natsu, and passed one in his direction Since the tip of Lavinia’s stick was shi+ning, she didn’t seeht

The trio advanced through the first floor while keeping a set distance fro voice such that Lavinia could hear but which the enemy would probably not be able to detect

(……That Yankee, which floor is he on?)

(I do not know Due to the force field ic here, there’s so I placed on Shark However, I’m positive he’s in here)

As she declared that, the light froularly It see inside this depart an adverse effect on Lavinia’s supposed ability to use ic

Natsuestion

(Let’s search floor by floor It would be troublesoe crowd of people Lavinia, can you use soic?)

Lavinia nodded to Natsuether with the ht at the tip Moreover, strange characters were inscribed in the circle’s design, foric square that had appeared before their eyes

……It seeic square that appeared whenever the Utsusen When the s crystals about the size of a grain of rice floating in the air The glowing crystals startedthe ears of Lavinia, Natsume, and hi his body……especially since it had gone into his ear

While accidentally letting out a small chuckle at Tobio’s reaction, Natsu her ear with her hand

‘(Can you hear me?)’

——!! At the same time as Natsume’s voice was heard from in front of him, Tobio was shocked to also hear it directly from inside his ear

(By holding your ear your voice will be transical spells)

……Such an ihtly proud Lavinia was next to her ic——supernatural phenomenon truly does exist…… Was that coic then? ……However, one must wonder whether he should be so surprised at this late hour After all, he had been continuously confronted with such phenoht——

……If that’s the case, then is there also a ic square that shows up when the Utsuse theh such varied guesses circulated Tobio’s thoughts, for now the search for Saent, so he left behind such references to Lavinia until after this was resolved ……It would be good to ask after they have once again returned alive from this place

Natsume utters a confirmation

(We’ll teo one floor at a time We’ll each attempt to contact the others e reach the second floor, and we’ll decide from there However, should you find Samejima-kun, contact the rest of us in due course afterwards

Nodding their accent, the trio tein the search

Walking through the interior of the closed department store that was co ominously From the interior of each shop every piece ofonly plastic sheets and ladders inside for deotten shelf ofin the sense that there were only a limited number of places to hide

……With classes having ended, that those who had left school weren’t present brought such eeriness, as did the lack of anything befitting a department store that people would want Further, there were fellow classmates acco the that Tobio found hard to endure considering that he’d been an ordinary high school student until yesterday

Nevertheless he was sohty existence of the black puppy trotting along earlier helping him to not lose hisfro there, it having already had done soood preparations for battle

……What had enabled hi will, when he had previously been so terrified, was nothing other than believing in the rescue of his fellow class with Sae

If it’s the case that Sae would be there from now on——

Tobio found strength in that thought alone, resisting his fear as he advanced forward

‘Anything over there?’

The voice of Natsume was heard directly in his ear Tobio also whispered while holding his ear

(Nothing in particular What about on your end?)

‘Still nothing Although Griffon went ahead earlier, nothing in particular has shown up’

……So when it co of particular interest?

Where Tobio had now arrived, there was an escalator that was stopped Should he ascend from here? Or perhaps it would be better to take the stairs The decision was that they would all link up——this was theto consider

The puppy sensed soulped as he ai at, was a pillar ……Was there soht he couldn’t ather the others at least temporarily

Frole white cat appears The cat had a pure white coat Its long tail aying from side to side

……A stray cat that had entered the departht The Utsuseuys possess, those are monsters that imitate the form of animals If one accepts that, then this cat as well is……?

As Tobio was tensing up, there was the shape of another silhouette that then appeared froht, there was a tall youth with dyed brown hair

——It was Samejima Kouki

The youth——Sa his hand to protect his eyes froht He see at aat the cat acco an inch Just a little, Sahed

“……It would seeuy doesn’t reseroup of survivors? Geez, that such a kid would come to place like this”

Sa the back of his head with his large hand

With the a threat to each other, Samejima spoke

“You there, did you coirl?”

“……Yes, they’re also searching the first floor”

“……The one who grasped irl, or else that conceited silver haired son of bitch deterh they said I could do as I pleased for the ti I finally seized upon a clue to the —and now this”

Samejima cursed as he spoke

——Then, Sah noticing so Similarly, the white cat and black puppy stared in the saaze in that direction……he wasn’t able tothat so was there persisted

“……As I suspected, there does see here”

Sa at the escalator in front of them

“Identifying such a presence, it would be good of you toyour senses with the sacred treasure, even an a should be able to memorize it instantly”

Sa towards the escalator Having found Sa up to the second floor to report to Natsuirls’ voices in his ear Sih the first floor

‘Ikuse-kun! Sorry! I’ve been attacked! Lavinia and I are supporting each other right now! Is it the same over there!?’

Attacked!? The opponents had suddenly appeared on the first floor! They must have come down the stairs from up top

Holding his ear, Tobio spoke to Natsume and company

“I found Sa we can do!? Should I head over to you bringing Samejima!?”

At this suggestion Tobio had made, Samejima only chuckled

“So it seeirl is there? If that’s the case, shouldn’t there be little reason to worry about that birdbrain? It’s too bad, but they’ll have to wait for me to finish my business upstairs”

Saying that, Samejima picked up the white cat, placed it on his shoulder, and proceeded to ascend the escalator

“Oy!”

As Tobio tried to call him back, Natsume’s voice was transmitted

‘Ikuse-kun! That voice just noas that Sao after him for me!’

“But! Are you truly alright over there?”

‘Don’t be putting down my Griffon-chan Besides these run of the irl over here’

At thatsound heard fro in the darkness

As Natsume had said, Lavinia had instantly defeated the ht with that combustion phenomenon Even the pair of Natsume and Saht, because that’s just hoerful they are

“……My bad! I will follow Saawa-chan! Lavinia-chan!”

‘Understood!’

‘It is understood’

The spirited reply of the two girls reaches his ears Though there was a desire to go to where the girls were……Tobio shook it off and proceeded up the escalator in pursuit of Samejima

Ascending to the second floor, they ihtness dazzled Tobio and Saht, the entire floor was visible to them

And then, waiting for theanticbeetle, a crab, a turtle, a herd of s—— There were also varieties of the frog and spider he’d fought last night Beside theirls It was the Utsuselance there were roughly no more than ten people spread out before them

……In this single case on his second day of being involved in such experiences, he really shouldn’t have to face so many opponents

For Tobio, this first taste of this amount of violence sent chills down his spine

——However, that guy went “Kukuku” in a a fearless smile

Samejima, without hesitation, advanced step by step towards the enemy line

“Byakusa, let’s go”

This he said to the cat sitting on his shoulder Thereupon, the cat’s long tail stood up straight like a pin——and then split in two The two split ends of the tail steadily extended, one of the around Sa itself around its e its shape——it transformed into an enormous cone shaped lance

“——My cat’s lance can pierce anything Couy”

With the lance that had grown on his left arm, Samejima issued a declaration of war to the Utsusemi

Right after that starting signal for the outbreak of war, the spiderhis posture, he pierced the spiderthe upper point to an extremely low altitude!

Samejima lifted the spider he had pierced and held it above his head in the air, and then swung his lance down tossing towards the ene it! At that moment the annihilated spider was released fro forwards! The monsters dispersed fro fronals directions to the cat

“Aiaps in the hard shell!”

One of the white cat’s two tails windingly stirred, and shot out at high speed! The crab monster was unable to avoid as a part of its shell coave way to the blow from the tail! The white tail was like a thin sharp rapier, having pierced the body of the crab, and was preventing the opponent fro previously pierced its body, and Tobio understood that it was destroying the nucleus Samejima’s lance, with the cat’s manipulation of the sharp thin tail, bore into it Sa in order to unleash two attacks

——And, at this tiht, the frogat hi’s direction, and sent an order to the black dog The puppy rushed out at a speed the eye couldn’t catch, charging through the frog with the blade on its forehead bisecting it

Seeing this scene Samejima Huuu let out a complimentary whistle

Subsequently, Sa its abdoe of the stag beetle that was flying low to the ground

“——Nja, here!”

He aiy of his ju beetle froh the floor of the second story and respectivelybeetle ed from the force was left discarded upon the floor

Off to the side, Tobio was also cleaning up a monster’s body In this situation, Tobio truly felt the power

——Fight! Win!

Even though this was still only his second day since plunging into this strange world, the puppy’s poas the real thing And then, the power of Sa the other Utsusemi

……This is, could this be the difference between genuine Sacred Gears and artificial ones? Thinking in such a manner, Tobio and Sale blow The Sacred Gears thereater power than user would have assumed

And yet, there was an opponent Samejima’s attack couldn’t penetrate It was a turtle monster Its hard shell repelled his lance The turtleits head and liue ——But, the puppy jumped in unconcerned

How sharp would the dog’s blade have to be cause harm to that shell——

But the dog’s behavior exceeded Tobio’s expectations It used the blade that had grown to assault the spot where the head had previously retracted

Approaching the spot where the head had previously retracted——it pushed the extending blade froh the turtle had hidden within its shell, the part where the head had been retracted was not covered by the hard shell Making use of the blade, the dog ai the turtle monster that had withdrawn into its shell From the pointed end of the turtle’s head that was hidden in the shell, it pierced straight through to its tail The turtle’s life had been ended

“If attacking the shell is no good, attack where there is no shell Didn’t I do so similar with Byakusa?”

Samejima commented as such Indeed, when the white cat defeated the crab, it did so by targeting the gap in its hard shell ……Having seen that, did the black puppy i that’s the case, it can be deterher than he had thought

Two people came up to the second floor, and completed their first battle in just a few minutes——

Ten Utsusemi had been completely annihilated The fellow classmates whoseconsciousness While ensuring that all the fellow classic square, Samejima enquired of Tobio

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask”

Tobio nodded in silence

“When you came here did you suppress your desire to flee? What for? For what incomprehensible reason, born from some absolutely ridiculous silly ideal that fills your hting? That dog, what is it that you see when you fight with it?”

In front of Sa a fiery red glow So so powerful that it would likely stie

Being questioned by Sa

“……I’m also scared But——“

Looking ahead Tobio spoke to Samejima

“They’re people I wish to save no matter the cost Friends I want to help no matter the cost ……Even if I’ht, then I will die standing up”

Hearing that, Saressive expression and showed his emotions

“……Heh Seems you’re not just some ordinary indecisive person”

Saan ascending to the third floor Tobio also followed in due course

As the two of the the escalator, Sa back

“……A woman is it?”

That single word cah Tobio had only spoken of “people I wish to save”, Sah that

As a result of it being comprehended, Tobio became flustered while his face turned red

“Eh! N-no, that’s……”

Sa

“Haha, a woe airs of justice, that’s quite good”

Looking back, Samejima extended his hand

“I’m Samejima Kouki”

Tobio, in spite of his surprise, immediately reached out and accepted the handshake

“Ikuse Tobio, I’ll be in your care”

This was Ryoukou High School’s former number one delinquent——Sauy than rumored