Chapter 25: An Old Case
Soon after Miura left, Ena finally arrived, tardily.
"Why did you take so long?" Hikigaya Hachiman shifted his butt to the side, making room for Ena.
"So as not to disturb you. If I were here, Miura-san would feel uncomfortable."
"It's not that serious," Hikigaya said with a smile.
If he hadn't noticed much before, this time he felt it—Miura, that girl, seemed to have a good impression of him!
Sure enough, when your mindset is poor, you don't even realize a girl likes you.
No wonder Hayama and the others in school always brought up Miura's topic with him; turns out, the feelings started back then.
Miura, you are truly naughty.
I must punish you by making you draw a nightingale for me later!
"Is Hachiman trying to say he genuinely didn't notice?" Ena reached out and straightened Hikigaya's collar. "You actually noticed a long time ago, didn't you? Because the Hachiman of today has changed back."
"Oh?"
"The previous Hachiman was like a wild horse that had broken loose from its reins, but now, you've returned to being a majestic horse king. I'm quite curious, what brought Hachiman back to peace?"
So that's it. It seems this girl has been paying attention to his state all along.
"It's nothing major. After a trip back to Egypt, I felt I was being overly sentimental," Hikigaya said, enjoying the softness of Ena's touch, while asking curiously, "Was I that bad before?"
"Wasn't it? The previous Hachiman was very dangerous. Wasn't that the case with the mountain incident? Inviting other Kings, which is why so many Heretic Gods appeared."
"Does that mean it also has something to do with the number of Campiones?"
"I can't be sure about that aspect, but the mutual attraction between Heretic Gods and Campiones is generally accepted. Whenever either side clusters together, it will lead to trouble."
Hearing this, Hikigaya nodded; he had a similar guess.
If a single Heretic God and a single Campione might miss each other, they become too conspicuous when they gather in a cluster.
Then he recalled the name the Black Prince had mentioned there.
"Then, does the name 'The Last King' ring any bells?"
"Where did Hachiman hear that name?" Ena's movements stopped, and her expression became serious. "That is a name buried by history. It's extremely dangerous."
"A fellow member in Britain told me about it. He seems to be investigating it."
"From current research, we can only confirm it's related to Campiones, seeming to be a formidable opponent that surpasses all rivals."
"Ena…"
"Yes?"
"Why do you think the divine beings tolerate Campiones being able to usurp their power through the power of myth? Don't you think that's highly unreasonable? Humans are unwilling to have their lovers and possessions taken away, and power is far more important to divine beings than emotions and material things are to humans, because power is their everything."
"That sounds truly pathetic, but Hachiman, did you just say 'they'?"
"Indeed. I don't feel the need to refer to them with honorifics anymore. The witch's Secret Ceremony can no longer influence me. My relationship with them is very pure now."
"Lifted?" This news greatly shocked Ena because, having been able to hold the divine katana of Susanoo for a long time, she knew many things. "Then, Hachiman, are you still a Campione?"
"Campiones were not created by witches, you know. Ena, what you want to ask is whether I can still obtain power from the gods, right?"
Seeing Ena nod seriously, Hikigaya smiled.
"No problem. Even relying only on myself, I can still acquire their power. I call this Authority 'Sunset.'"
"You named your own Authority." Ena also smiled. "Hachiman, you are definitely the strangest Campione. Were you inspired by Yomi?"
"The so-called eternal sunset is a meaningless delusion," Hikigaya shook his head. "I have never been interested in Yomi's plan. If it's about protecting martial arts, they have already done very well; they don't need to do more. Any more would be too much."
"That is truly reassuring," Ena raised her delicate eyebrows. "Hmph, when we first met, Hachiman, you clearly couldn't beat me."
"That's not necessarily true. I didn't use my Authority at night, you know, but did you ever win?"
Hikigaya chuckled mischievously.
He was increasingly enjoying sparring with his girls, verbally, anyway. Since they always ended up sparring in bed, why not indulge?
However, absorbed in their verbal sparring, he was unaware that the investigation he had entrusted to Liliana was progressing much slower than he had imagined.
Moreover, there was someone else doing the same thing.
Mihai Stiilbe, a member of the Eight Brilliant Blades of Divine Retribution.
His motto is "Martial Arts Spirit is annoying."
He kills without hesitation, even those who are utterly defenseless. Wielding a scythe as his weapon, his title is the Martial King Who Dances with the God of Death.
He is currently in Japan investigating an old case.
Specifically, it was about a pair of old adversaries from when he first joined Yomi. Being quite vindictive, he always remembers those who offended him, so he came for something that clearly didn't require the Eight Brilliant Blades of Divine Retribution.
Killing that couple has always been his wish.
One Shadow, Nine Fists? How boring. Just because they are the founders of the organization, they act all high and mighty, but weren't most of them, like him, later newcomers?
Martial Arts Spirit? Anyone still talking about the Martial Arts Spirit these days is sick! Don't they have any self-awareness about what they do?
As for the possibility of it being related to the Campione served by the Hand-to-hand Group, Mihai thought—I am one of the Eight Brilliant Blades of Divine Retribution. Do you people in the Hand-to-hand Group dare to touch me?
Besides, at a Campione's level, what are family ties and affection? Especially the disciple of Susanoo?! Only the weak care about such meaningless things.
The people who come out of the Hand-to-hand Group are idiots. He will just pretend to be a martial artist, and everything will be resolved. After so many years, does he still not know how to deal with those idiots in the Hand-to-hand Group?
The night was deep, the kind of environment Mihai liked.
As the God of Death, he should naturally enjoy killing in such scenery.
That couple couldn't possibly defeat him in a one-on-one fight. They only won before because it was many against few, but after more than ten years, he was no longer the newcomer he once was. With the organization's resources, he was now the Martial King Who Dances with the God of Death, not the mere trash-level master he used to be.
"Hehehe…" Mihai let out a chilling laugh in Yomi, having completely disregarded his instructions.
Investigate first and then decide? Nonsense! He was here to kill! He absolutely must vent this long-held resentment!
After all these years, he finally found that couple!
Hikigaya! How could he have forgotten that surname! Isn't that the surname of the traitor from back then?!
Ha! Is that person named Urashima commemorating that traitor? Very well, the crime is compounded. Even One Shadow, Nine Fists will have nothing to say.
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