My youth story cannot be a knight war

If you look closely, you'll notice a layer of white light shimmering around this young man. This light is so faint that it's easy to miss if you don't pay close attention. But if you pay attention, you'll notice that the young man, enveloped in this light, is filled with an indescribable sense of alienation.

This feeling was completely out of place with the overall theme of the world, like a rock pillar suddenly emerging from a vast bamboo forest, reaching towards the sky. It was as if a whole new world had formed outside of this one, centered around him.

[They both exist in this world, yet they repel each other. This double contradiction creates an overwhelming sense of disharmony, yet it seems so natural within the boy's temperament. Zaimokuza has never seen anyone with such a strange temperament as this boy in his entire life.]

Although in a sense this was their first meeting, Zaimokuza instantly recognized him. This was not only due to the stories he had heard from Himena Ebina and Kyosuke Kousaka, but also due to the memories he had inherited from that ancient girl.

In the girl named Miou's memories of the ancient past, two figures occupied at least 90% of them. The feelings they evoked were also diametrically opposed. The memory of one figure shone softly, not intensely, like gold, bringing her inner joy and warmth.

[The figure's name is Riku, the previous Kuuga before Zaimokuza, and the strongest warrior of the ancient Rindo clan.]

[And the other figure is the young man standing before him now.]

A stark contrast to Rick's radiance, this young man left Miou with only a deep, bone-deep darkness in her memory. Even the ever-present radiance from him couldn't offset the fear and hatred that emanated from the depths of her soul. Because he had once personally taught Miou what true terror was, that smiling face would forever be associated with a bloody storm that seemed to cover the entire world.

[That handsome face and smile were merely a disguise. His true nature was a demon, a pure demon ignorant of the concepts of good and evil, a bizarre combination of evil and innocence.]

[His identity is Gurongi, and he is the second Gurongi clan member to reach the "ultimate" state since the original one. He is the second member of the strongest group standing above all Gurongi combat members, "N".]

[At the same time, the opponent is also the second king who defeated the previous king and took the throne of Gurongi, the strongest Gurongi in history. ]

“…Daguba.”

A whisper as light as a feather echoed from the side. Akiyama Mio, holding Zaimokuza's shoulders tightly, stared blankly at the smiling boy. She also recognized his identity, aided by the memory she had inherited from Miou.

"...Hey, are you kidding me?"

This change was so abrupt that not only the two parties inside the light curtain, but even the audience outside the light curtain were unable to react for a while.

The atmosphere was originally filled with a sweet fragrance, just like the most beautiful budding love in the ignorant and confused youth. All the onlookers were watching the moment when the feelings seemed to be budding... and in the next moment, this beautiful atmosphere changed completely.

It became heavy and depressing, and one could faintly smell a surging iron smell, which was the impending murderous intent and war.

The contrast of this transition was too great and it was impossible to transition naturally. Many people's brains simply crashed, and only a few people reacted.

"This guy—Number Zero!?"

Kyosuke Kousaka suddenly sat up straight from his original sitting position watching the show. He stared at the young man in white clothes who was smiling in the heavy rain. In his eyes, the handsome face looked as terrifying as a demon crawling out of a dry well.

"Why is this guy here! Could it be——!!!"

Thinking of the information he had learned through the light curtain before, his whole body suddenly stiffened and his pupils contracted violently.

"Is now... the time for the 'Game of White and Darkness' phase to begin?"

It turns out that what is shown in TV dramas and movies is always deceptive. The real decisive battle will never wait for you to be prepared before it comes. It will often come suddenly one day when you are going through your daily routine.

With nightmares, with scarlet and killing.

For a moment, her eyes could only see the boy who looked almost identical to her. He also noticed Akiyama Mio's gaze and shifted his gaze from Zaimokuza to her.

【“~?”】

Then Daguba looked at Akiyama Mio and suddenly smiled, his smile as gentle and warm as a sunflower facing the sun.

【“——!!!”】

An uncontrollable feeling of terror shot up from the soles of her feet and instantly flooded into her mind, causing Akiyama Mio's entire body to tremble slightly.

This fear didn't belong to her, but to the memory of Miou in her mind. But at this moment, the fear hidden in the memory was completely awakened by this smile, and it was as vivid as the internal organs that were still wriggling after being taken out of the body.

The vibrant red color, only blood could produce, spread from the edges of her vision toward the center, enveloping the young man smiling at her, twisting that smile into a bloody mess. It wasn't a smile at all, but the bared fangs and breath of the most terrifying monster in the world.

This memory instantly made Akiyama Mio see through Daguba's true nature. Her lips and pupils subconsciously widened, and she was about to scream.

["Cai, Mr. Caimuzhao——"]

[“Run away.”]

A raised arm blocked Akiyama Mio's vision, bringing her back from her shock. She turned to look at Zaimokuza in panic, but before she could finish her words, they were cut off.

Zaimokuza stared intently at Daguba, who stood smiling in the wind and rain. Beads of sweat, nearly freezing cold, streamed down his face. He didn't dare to let his attention wander even for a moment.

A golden light flickered in the depths of his eyes. From the perspective of the elements, Zaimokuza could see all the truths in the world—but he could not see through any of the truth of the being in front of him with a human appearance.

The other party's surroundings were like a black cave in the four-color world. All elemental colors disappeared after flowing past Daguba, swallowed and assimilated by the bottomless darkness.

"What does this mean? Zaimokuza doesn't want to know, and he doesn't have the energy to think about it."

"Run away quickly! The farther the better. I won't be able to take care of you any longer."

【"But……"】

“Run away!!!”

The sudden roar not only frightened Akiyama Mio, but also caused the crowd ahead, who were surprised by the strange phenomenon in the sky, to turn their heads. They saw Zaimokuza's frozen face, and beside him, Akiyama Mio, whose expression was stunned.

Before anyone could whisper about what looked like a quarrel between siblings or a couple, the scene that unfolded before their eyes completely silenced everyone. The entire crowd gaped in astonishment, their faces illuminated by the red light.

【Om—】

In the crimson glow, Zaimokuza wordlessly stretched out his hands to push aside the two men blocking his way. A flame-flaming Yamadamu belt appeared around his waist. He stepped forward with his booted right foot, and the pool of rainwater on the ground reflected the crimson muscle armor covering his figure.

A right foot covered in black keratinized skin touched the ground, creating ripples in the water. The intense heat caused the water droplets to evaporate into steam as soon as they splashed. The red warrior stood before the silent crowd behind him, his red scarf fluttering in the sudden wind, his crimson compound eyes reflecting the white figure in front of him.

【Kuga·True·Almighty Form】

"Leave here now..."

Zaimokuza silently clenched his right fist, his deep voice echoing beneath the eaves of the shopping mall, awakening everyone behind him from the shocking events and drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

"Number Four! That man is Number Four! He's Number Four's human form!"

“It really is it! Why would Number Four be—wait, Number Four’s appearance here means…”

「No way…!?」

The chatter of people exploded like the chirping of cicadas, whispering among themselves in astonishment as they watched Zaimokuza's transformed back. However, this atmosphere of discussion did not last long, as some people soon recalled the significance of this figure's repeated appearances before the public, and the voices gradually died down.

Everyone's gaze followed Zaimokuza forward, and soon they caught sight of the frail figure standing alone in the wind and rain. The young man continued smiling, his expression unblinking as so many eyes focused on him.

With focused attention, people quickly noticed the strange vision and aura lingering around Daguba. Suddenly, a stiller silence enveloped the area. For a moment, only the roar of torrential rain could be heard between heaven and earth, and thunder and lightning seemed to roar within everyone's heart.

[Three seconds later, a scream of fear from the crowd broke the silence:]

"That person is an unidentified life form!!!"

Pandora's box suddenly opened, and everyone fell into chaos and fear. With the red warrior in front of them "guaranteeing" this fact, no one doubted it at this moment.

“Run away!!!”

Someone's roar overwhelmed the thunder that exploded in the sky, and everyone in the area immediately began to scatter, running in all directions without a clear path, no longer caring whether the heavy rain would soak their clothes. After all, no matter how expensive clothes were, they were not as valuable as their lives.

"Little sister! Run! That's an unidentified life form!"

A housewife, probably in her early fifties, was about to flee when she spotted Akiyama Mio, still standing still amid the fleeing crowd. She glanced between her and Zaimokuza, who was standing not far ahead. Finally, suppressing her fear, she ran forward, grabbed Mio's wrist, and dragged her in one direction.

"Stop daydreaming! Run!"

"Wait, wait! Auntie..."

Akiyama Mio stumbled in a daze. She was about to tell him to stop, but her eyes met Zaimokuza's silent back and she closed her lips.

[And so, Akiyama Mio was dragged away from the area by the housewife. In the end, she even reached out to support the exhausted woman. The two of them supported each other and trotted away together, never looking back.]

She didn't say anything else, but just pursed her lips, choosing to leave rather than stay here and become a burden to Zaimokuza.

Feeling the familiar aura behind him rapidly recede, Zaimokuza finally let go of his worries and took a fighting stance against the most terrifying enemy he had ever faced.

"Do you want to protect them? KUUGA~"

Daguba, however, remained oblivious to all of this. He simply tilted his head and watched Zaimokuza's actions, his eyes flickering with intense curiosity about the reasons behind his actions.

Those eyes were as pure and innocent as a child who had just come into contact with the world. They were filled with pure curiosity and thirst for knowledge, without a trace of malice.

[But sometimes, pure children are the most terrifying existence in the world, especially for creatures other than humans.]

Even the purest child can tear a dragonfly's wings apart out of curiosity, without any intention or self-interest, simply because they want to know how the dragonfly will react and whether it can survive after its wings are torn apart.

To the world, Daguba is just such a child, but the world is not an equal that can stop him—it is the dragonfly held in the child's hand.

Zaimokuza's choice was correct. In order to protect others from being affected by the upcoming battle, he chose to transform in public, revealing his true identity. He used the "credibility" of his other identity to convince everyone of his own, and then made them flee without any explanation.

[In that short period of time, his response and choices were impeccable... but from another perspective, this approach was completely wrong.]

【Because of Zaimokuza's actions, the "child"'s" curiosity was aroused and the other party's interest was attracted.】

Under Zaimokuza's wary gaze, Daguba's eyes rolled back in their sockets, his finger pressed to his lips, and he spoke in a voice overflowing with innocence:

"If it's to protect them, will you become stronger?"

【“——!”】

A deadly chill suddenly surged up his spine, and Zaimokuza, no longer caring about anything else, immediately rushed towards Daguba.

The tens of meters of physical distance between the two sides was reduced to zero within half a second. A crimson light, like a swirling flame, briefly erupted on the ground. The high-speed shockwave and whistling sound severed the falling rain, and the water on the ground rolled up into a wall at least three meters high along both sides of a straight line.

His right hand, entwined in flames, carried a force so immense that even ten thousand kilograms could not describe it, and Zaimokuza swung it forcefully towards the handsome face before him, filled with curiosity.

【——】

[The howling wind suddenly died down, and the shockwave vanished into thin air, as if nothing had ever happened.]

The flames wrapped around his right fist quickly died out. The raindrops, upon contact with the gauntlet, were quickly evaporated by the remaining heat. Gazing at that face through the rising white mist, Zaimokuza was so shocked that he was speechless.

Before his fist, which was powerful enough to crush a steel building, a slender finger touched the striker.

[A single finger wiped out all the force and inertia, blocking Zaimokuza's unreserved punch. Even the elemental power boiling above his fist became "decadent" at this moment, slipping out of Zaimokuza's control.]

[At that moment, Zaimokuza's control over the elements was completely taken away by the other party. Now that he has fully understood the true meaning of the elements.]

[How is it possible…]

[And Daguba still kept that smile on his face, as if this amazing thing was not his own doing, and he even maintained his human form.]

But the curve at the corner of his mouth quickly disappeared, and he looked at Zaimokuza, who was still punching, and complained a little dissatisfiedly.

"That won't do. You're too weak. I've worked really hard to meet you and even eaten a lot."

"You must become stronger, stronger~ Only then can I truly fight you with all my strength this time~"

"KUUGA~!"

【“…”】

Zaimokuza remained silent, as he was completely stunned by the scene before him. The boy's tone was like he was pouring out his heart and complaining to an old friend he hadn't seen in years, but an immense sense of oppression had already erupted from his body.

Under this oppressive feeling, every pore in Zaimokuza's body instantly closed. This extreme oppression far surpassed any Gurongi in the past, even the 37th who had forced him into a desperate situation many days ago could not compare to it.

[The moment he felt this aura, Zaimokuza realized just how vast the gap between him and his opponent was... It was a gap that couldn't even be described with the phrase "worlds apart."]

[Because he seemed not to be facing an individual life, but the entire world.]

At this moment, Zaimokuza finally understood why Miou was so afraid of Daguba. There is no such thing as fear without reason in the world.

[This is... the strongest Gurongi in history? ]

[How did the previous Kuuga defeat and seal this monster? ]

[“That’s right~!”]

[Tilting his head, Daguba looked at Zaimokuza, who remained silent. His eyes suddenly lit up, gleaming like a girl seeing a diamond ring.]

He pulled back the finger that was pressing against Zaimokuza's fist, spread his fingers and wrapped them around his fist, speaking in a cheerful tone.

"You seem to really want to protect those Lindos, right?"

[“——If I attack them, will you become stronger than you are now?”]

Those words were like a bucket of cold water poured down on Zaimokuza's head. Even though he was already being drenched by a torrential downpour, he still felt an extreme chill coursing through his body, and an extreme sense of foreboding welled up within him.

【"……you!"】

Just as Zaimokuza was about to pull his fist away and retreat, Daguba's other hand had already reached in front of his face, with three fingers retracted, leaving only his index finger and thumb hooked in a circle.

[The next second, the index finger popped out, and the fingertip touched Zaimokuza's forehead.]

A violent explosion blew away all the falling raindrops. The air was compressed to the extreme before Daguba's finger, condensing into a soft, translucent, fluid-like ball of wind visible to the naked eye, which then struck Zaimokuza's face.

【boom--!!!!!!】

Zaimokuza was sent flying without resistance. He felt as if a cannonball without gunpowder had struck him straight in the face. Even his transformed body, which had become stronger than anything else in the world, went blank at that moment.

He leaped dozens of meters into the air, his back slamming into the outer wall of the shopping mall where he had been standing. The immense force of the impact instantly collapsed the entire wall, and the falling debris buried his figure.

However, this level of attack was nothing to Zaimokuza at the moment. He immediately reached out from under the rubble, peeled off the broken wall, and stood up, staring intently at Daguba, who smiled and withdrew his fingers.

Zaimokuza immediately tried to rush out again, but he stopped abruptly as Daguba extended his hand to his side, his palm facing all the buildings along the way.