Rikuya
It was
honestly a rather boring day. I heard Mamoriko told Hayanobu her life's
story—he cried. I wonder what it was about. Aiji was on his bed, hair
unbrushed, in his pajamas, looking like a damn bum. But that's beside the
point. I felt like causing some mischief—starting a fight.
"Hey,
Aiji!" I yelled.
"Yes?" he
said, looking up.
"Who do
you think would win—Lucy-Chan or Greg?" I asked.
He thought
for a second. "I'd say Greg. He seems horrifying. Lucy said he was probably on
Shuten-Dōji's level, but I disagree. I think he's much stronger. Plus, Lucy's
never been the best at reading power unless it's obvious."
"Daikenji-Sama
vs. Greg?" I asked immediately after.
Aiji
stroked his chin. "Good question."
"Wanna
find out?" I asked.
"You know
what? Sure!" he said, excited.
After a
while, we reached out to Tokihana, and she brought Greg to us.
They both
stepped out of the portal.
"Thanks,
Tokihana-Chan," we said in unison.
"No
problem," she replied, disappearing back through the portal.
Greg
looked at us. His gaze drilled in, and for a second, I felt like I was
unraveling from the inside out.
Aiji
started laughing.
Greg
raised an eyebrow. "What is so funny, Aiji?"
"Oh,
nothing at all," he said, still snickering.
Greg
looked puzzled but shifted topics. "Tell me… what do you two want from me?"
"Well…" I
paused. "We'd like you to answer a question, then fight Daikenji-Sama."
His eyes
widened. "Is that so…? Well, ask away."
"Who do
you think would win—you or Lucy-Chan?" Aiji asked.
He thought
for a long while. "If we fought when she threatened us, I probably could've
beaten her—though it would've been tough. Now… I'm not so sure."
"Has she
really gotten that much stronger?" asked Aiji.
"Indeed. I
can sense her training inside that massive bird. I'm not sure of her exact
improvements, but her power is robust," Greg admitted.
"I'm
impressed," said a commanding voice behind us. "Lucy-Chan has grown strong.
She'll overwhelm Charity when the time comes."
We turned
to see Daikenji-Sama.
"Greg,
nice to see you again. These two wish for us to battle. I'm not opposed—it'll
be fun. Are you in?" His usual calm had a hint of excitement.
Greg
simply nodded.
"For a
battle like this, I think it's best if I put everyone in my shadow dimension,"
I said.
"How big
can you make it?" asked Daikenji.
I thought
for a second. "The biggest I've ever made it was about the size of the Milky
Way."
Daikenji
pondered.
"How about
infinite?" Greg asked.
"Well… I
could try," I said timidly.
"Very
well," said Daikenji.
We
traveled to a field. I needed space to open the dimension and enclose who I
wanted to trap. I didn't want to destroy the house. Here we were.
"Ready up,
everyone!" I yelled.
Everyone
nodded. I opened the portal, and a massive black mass of darkness covered the
field, reaching Greg's knees. It engulfed us as we stepped inside. Complete
darkness—but we could still see ourselves. I was sweating bullets, huffing and
puffing.
"I'm
impressed, Rikuya," said Daikenji.
"Yeah,
good job, man," Aiji added.
Daikenji
drew his blade, pointing it at Greg. Greg did the same.
Then
suddenly… something was wrong. My dimension—it was unstable. Time itself seemed
to bend. I couldn't move. Aiji couldn't move. Daikenji and Greg… they moved,
yet even they seemed strained.
I heard a
mutter under Daikenji's breath: "Patience… long time no see."
Fuck…