"—?!"
"Huh?"
Takeru, who had been walking ahead, suddenly turned around and rushed toward Chika as if attacking her.
At the same moment, he grabbed the knife with his hand, and an immense wave of magical power erupted from him.
"Ah..."
I’m going to be killed.
It was the second time that day she had thought that.
But this time, the force before her was far more overwhelming than the Cyclops, and her instincts screamed that her life was in danger.
"I’m borrowing this!"
"Huh?"
Before Chika could even respond, Takeru grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her behind him.
"Kyaa!"
Caught off guard, she lost her balance and fell on her backside.
At the same time, a massive flash of light approached from a distance.
It looked like something out of an anime—a laser beam from an artificial satellite or something like that...
—This time, I’m really dead.
The attack was so far beyond her comprehension that it defied all logic.
In the slow-motion moments of her life flashing before her eyes, Chika gave up hope.
But in the midst of it all, she saw Takeru channeling magic into the knife he had taken from her.
And then, with a single slash.
The knife, which should have been an ordinary weapon, sliced through the massive laser, cutting through whatever lay beyond.
The slash didn’t stop there. It extended forward, beyond the laser—
"Wh-what? W-wait—!"
The little girl, shocked by the impossible situation, tried to react, but her four-legged ogre companion stepped in front of her to shield her.
She thought that the strongest of ogre monsters would be able to block any attack, but Takeru’s strike cleaved through it—
"No way?! Kyaaa!"
The slash nearly engulfed the girl but barely missed her at the last second.
The slash continued, cutting through the sky before finally dissipating.
The upper body of the ogre that had protected the girl was completely blown away.
"Phew, that was close..."
The girl, sitting on the ground from the impact of the slash, looked at her pet in astonishment.
The strongest of ogre monsters, it had been blown away in a single strike.
"...Aha."
The moment she realized what had happened, the girl began to laugh.
Her small fangs made her look cute, but the magic power emanating from her was nothing short of terrifying.
She stood up and raised one arm into the sky.
A massive red magic circle appeared in the air, crackling with red lightning that distorted the very space around it.
"Bachi, bachi, bachi, bachi, bachi!"
The girl hummed a tune as the red lightning grew stronger, running around the perimeter of the magic circle.
As soon as the spell was complete—
"Alright! Now it’s my turn… Huh?"
When the girl looked back at where the forest had been, Takeru and Chika were already gone.
Looking around for them, she spotted them near the gate, with the woman already stepping inside.
"Huh? Could it be...?"
Just as she realized they were escaping, the woman had almost fully entered the gate.
Moments later, she vanished from sight.
"Nooo! We were just getting to the fun part, whyyy?!"
The boy also tossed something small and round outside the gate before stepping in himself.
As he was about to enter, he made eye contact with the girl.
Despite recognizing her, he still fled, which was something the girl could not tolerate.
"No, no! You can’t run away! I won’t let you! Here comes... KOOOONG!"
The moment the girl swung her arm down, a massive red lightning bolt shot out from the magic circle, tearing through the vast forest.
But by that time, Takeru had already entered the gate, and no one was left behind.
"They got away... I wanted to play more..."
The girl let out her disappointment with a childish pout, slumping her shoulders in frustration.
"Wha-wha-wha…"
The trees around the forest had been blown away by a single strike, leaving a vast empty space.
Chika sat on the ground in shock, unable to say anything as she processed what had just happened.
"I missed…"
Takeru had felt the sensation of slicing through a monster, but the other strong presence had managed to avoid his attack.
If that entity went on a rampage, the entire area would be blown apart.
While Takeru might survive, Chika could be caught in the destruction and killed.
"Let's go!"
"W-wait… kyaaa!"
Takeru acted quickly.
He scooped Chika up in a princess carry and dashed toward the gate at full speed.
Along the way, the knife in his hand, unable to withstand the immense force, shattered into pieces.
"Ah…"
"Hiiii!"
As he ran, Takeru looked at Chika with an awkward expression.
"Sorry, I broke your knife."
"T-that's not important right now!"
At this moment, Chika didn’t care about her weapon.
What terrified her far more was the sight of the massive red magic circle in the distance and the insane speed at which they were moving.
"By the way, do you have anything to conceal yourself when we exit the gate?"
"Do you really need to ask that right now?!"
"It’s important."
Takeru’s serious expression prompted Chika, despite her panic, to hurriedly pull out a smoke bomb from her pouch and hand it to him.
"H-here… it's a smoke bomb."
Seeing the smoke bomb, Takeru smiled in satisfaction.
"Thank you."
By the time the massive red magic circle was fully formed, they had reached the gate.
"Go ahead."
"Uh… well… um…"
"When we get outside, please keep quiet about me."
"O-okay…"
After watching Chika enter the gate, Takeru lit the smoke bomb and tossed it inside.
Then, he took a brief moment to glance up at the girl still conjuring a massive magic circle on the cliff.
Their eyes met, and Takeru quickly looked away before entering the gate.
Moments later, the vast forest was obliterated by a single blast.
Outside the gate, there was a commotion.
Gato's injuries were severe, and while Amamiya’s healing magic was helping, it was going to take a while for him to fully recover.
Although they needed to take Gato to a specialized healer, he refused to leave.
In fact, Gato kept trying to enter the gate, insisting he had recovered enough, leading to an ongoing struggle as the others tried to hold him back.
Suddenly, the gate began to activate.
"What?! A gate break?!"
"No, there should still be time…"
As everyone focused on the gate, a small round object rolled out.
"What is this?"
The moment someone said that, the smoke bomb detonated, filling the area with smoke.
In the brief chaos that followed, Takeru dashed out of the gate at incredible speed, slipping away before anyone noticed him.
"Did something just pass by?"
"Huh? I didn’t see anything…"
As the onlookers and nearby police officers looked around in confusion, Gato stopped struggling and simply stood there in shock.
"W-what was that…?"
"Sorry…"
"Huh?"
As the smoke cleared, a woman emerged from the gate.
Seeing the real, unharmed Chika, Gato’s large frame shook, and tears welled up in his eyes.
It was the sight Gato had been hoping for more than anything.
Takeru watched the scene unfold from behind a nearby tree.
He chuckled as he saw Gato, crying out "Chika!" and trying to hug her, while Chika desperately tried to fend him off.
"Well, I guess this worked out."
With that, Takeru quietly slipped away before anyone could notice him.
"So, Chika! What happened inside the gate?!"
"Well…"
—Don’t tell anyone about me.
That’s what Takeru had said as he tossed the smoke bomb Chika gave him into the gate.
His movements were like those of a mischievous child, yet his expression remained serious.
Takeru, who was far beyond Chika’s understanding of normal, didn’t want to reveal his power, and she somehow understood that.
That’s why Chika didn’t feel the need to tell anyone about his true identity.
"A hero of justice saved me."
No one around her could understand what she meant, and everyone tilted their heads in confusion.
