lcionline Chapter 170, The Final Chapter: "Shido! Awakening!"
Chapter 170, The Final Chapter: "Shido! Awakening!"
Snowflakes fell as Shido and Tohka stood together, swords raised, atop what was now only half of Mount Fuji, with black mud and lava slowly flowing downwards below.
"Hoo hoo... Tohka, we..."
"We did it! Shido!"
The two of them held the weapon that had been used to fight slowly disintegrated into particles, followed by a deep embrace filled with Tohka's excitement and joy.
Shido smiled as he looked at Tohka's excited expression and felt the warmth of her body beneath her tattered armor.
"Yes, we did it."
Just as the two embraced, a spherical reconnaissance aircraft belonging to Ratatosk slowly drifted over, projecting images of Kannazuki.
"Shido, Tohka, good news! News of victory has also come from the battlefield where the Commander and the other Spirits are located. Our operation has been a great success!"
Kannazuki's face was beaming with joy.
Shido and Tohka awkwardly separated and hugged, and Shido smiled with relief as he looked at the image of Kannazuki.
"That's great, everyone is safe and sound."
"Yes, the Beast's spiritual energy reaction has also disappeared. Now I've reconnected the communication with the elves in the remaining regions for you, so you can share in the joy."
Soon, the figures of the other elves appeared on the screen. All of them had some injuries, big and small, which made Shido quite distressed.
"Shido! Wait, what are you doing here? And with Tohka..."
"I'm sorry, Kotori, I can't make you do what I can for me, and yet I'm turning a blind eye to it."
Looking at Shido outside the screen, Kotori just grunted and nodded.
"Well, that's just like you, my silly older brother. But how could I, as your younger sister, deny your efforts? Thank you for solving the Beast problem, brother." Kotori smiled knowingly after exchanging glances with Shido.
"And there's Yoshina too~ Little Shido-kun~"
"And... there's Yoshino too."
"Me too, Shido. You haven't forgotten the bond you share with us, the children of the hurricane, have you?"
"I agree. Shido, we're here too."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Yoshino, Yoshina, and everyone..."
Just as everyone was immersed in the joy of victory, suddenly, the expressions of Kannazuki and the rest of the crew became serious.
"Wait... Commander, something's not right!"
"Huh?! What's going on? Kannazuki, answer me quickly!"
"The Beast's spiritual energy fluctuations have reappeared!"
"Ha! What are you talking about? That can't be right! Wait... beep beep beep."
Like a broken television, although there was nothing wrong with the screen and display device, no sound could come out of the drone.
Shido's expression suddenly changed, and he looked around in alarm.
But right in Shido's blind spot, a scarlet spear flew towards his back at a speed completely invisible to the naked eye.
"Ah ah ah..."
By the time Shido reacted, the scarlet spear was already impossible to dodge, leaving him only about a body length away.
At the critical moment, Tohka lunged forward and shielded Shido with her own body.
"Shido!"
This scene was just like that evening when we were waiting for the sunset. It was the same sneak attack, but the difference was that the person who was originally being protected was now the one being protected.
With a "thud," the spear pierced through Tohka's body, and blood instantly splattered onto her deep purple armor.
Shido's eyes widened, and fear and grief overwhelmed him instantly.
"Tohka!"
He screamed, holding the swaying Tohka tightly in his arms.
"Shido..."
But Tohka's blood began to flow from her heart, and Tohka's eyes dimmed as she looked toward the source of the sound.
"Sorry to interrupt your heartwarming moment, but I can't pretend I didn't see you exchanging happy thoughts with your backs to the enemy."
Then, Shido looked in surprise in the direction of the sound, and saw an ugly figure radiating golden light slowly walking out from a transparent space.
Seeing this, Shido's eyes widened, and his expression instantly changed from surprise to confusion.
"Beast...how could this be? Didn't we already destroy you?"
"Indeed, that terrifying attack did hit me, what a pity..."
When Ming stepped out completely, a slight vertical crack appeared on the front of his golden body, like a piece of ceramic that had been cut off.
"Didn't expect that, did you? It's a pity that your strength and killing intent are still a bit lacking. If they were a little higher and stronger... then they should be able to do it. But think about it this way: my power was indeed greatly weakened after that."
Beast spoke in a rational yet slightly sarcastic tone, looking at Shido who was kneeling on the ground holding Tohka. He saw eyes filled with terror and despair.
"You have failed, hero."
Shido looked at Tohka lying in a pool of blood, and anger and grief surged into his heart instantly.
"Ahhh...Tohka!"
He gripped the dagger tightly in his hand, no longer caring about any thoughts he had before arriving, and charged towards the Beast without any regard for anything else.
Shido was moving at top speed, the wind whistling in his ears.
Beast paused for a moment, then shouted wildly:
"I've been waiting for this moment for so long, Itsuka Shido!"
With just a slight lift of his hand, the moment the black feathers fell, a massive gust of wind surged forward, sending Shido flying backward.
"what..."
It slammed heavily onto the rocks containing black mud, and its head was scraped raw as a result.
Suddenly, Shido spat out a stream of scarlet blood, like a red plum blossom blooming on the snow, a shocking sight.
The blood splattered in the air, mingling with the falling snow, creating a poignant yet heartbreaking scene.
Heavy snow fell thick and fast, blanketing the world in a vast expanse of white. The cold air seemed to tremble with sorrow for Shido's grief.
What followed was the boy being humbly pressed to the ground by the wind pressure, which drew ever closer, accompanied by a sharp laugh, mocking the boy's long-standing protection.
"It's disappointing. Have heroes become so humble that they can't even stand up?"
"Tohka..."
"Was it because things reacted too quickly, and there wasn't even time to say goodbye? Yes, but I find it rather ridiculous."
He bent down, grabbed Shido's hair, pulled him in front of him to meet Shido's eyes, which were filled with despair due to immense sorrow, and his expression became increasingly displeased.
"Do you even deserve to call yourself their hero? If you're so disheartened just because you lost someone to protect, then I really feel sorry for them!"
Grabbing his neck, Shido was violently thrown to the other side of the snow. He rolled heavily, but this time, unexpectedly, the flames were activated again, and within two breaths, Shido's wounds were healed.
"Oh, is it the thing inside your belly that's draining my power? It must be Asmodeus. Well then, let me give you a proper judgment."
Snow fell on the mountain. Shido's head was grabbed and slammed to the ground. A spear and a knife slashed his arteries and crushed the boy's ribs. His screams were deafening.
For Ming, who possesses immortality, he has more say than anyone else in where a fatal blow can be delivered and where pain can be avoided. He is not concerned about the pain itself, but rather it helps Shido awaken.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!"
Under this almost torturous pain, the boy's spirit was repeatedly tormented.
— 32 times, this is the number of times he experienced death that a normal person would experience.
"Ahhh!"
Shido's body was kicked to the edge of the cliff by Mei's foot. Under this pain that was almost like repeated death, the boy's eyes began to become lifeless.
"It's not enough...it's not enough...it's simply not enough..."
Ming, in his tyrannical manner, kept muttering to himself.
Each time the boy regenerated intensely, he could take away a small portion of his strength, but only a small portion. So, during this time, Ming could only torture the boy with trashy words as if he were in hell.
"Shido! Wait for me!!"
The sprites watching all this on the screen are moving at high speed toward Japan, but it's still too slow.
To get to this point, how many lives did Ming trample on, all to fulfill his own wish? You may have already seen it all.
As Shido stared at Beast, who was torturing him repeatedly but not killing him, feeling the pain of his bones being crushed, he was about to be overwhelmed by endless agony.
Like a butcher, he approached him again as he was pulled from the ground, his heart filled with complex emotions.
He suddenly heard a faint but familiar voice.
"Shido...don't give up..."
Tohka's figure flickered before her eyes. Recalling the initial rescue of her and the question Ming asked her back then, she seemed to remember something.
The repeated deaths and insults, the Beasts' constant self-proclaimed heroism coupled with their inability to protect anything—the boy recalls that this was their original intention:
—Would she agree to Kotori's request to use her power to save the spirits?
Was it just because she found it amusing and felt proud? No! Not at all! It was out of sympathy for herself; Tohka at that time was just as helpless as she was as a child.
I am not a saint, or rather, I am just a child who is no different from her.
So as soon as school was over, the students scattered and ran away. Those who were picked up by their parents would lower their heads and hide in their arms, but I grew up in an orphanage...
The rain lashed down on him, and he could only walk alone with his umbrella towards his new home.
He also longed for family affection, and even after being adopted, he still felt the same way. He didn't hate the mother who abandoned him; all he wanted was family affection.
I don't deny that I got it later, but I was hesitant and timid in order to protect this family bond.
Even when taken to the supermarket with his current "parents," he won't say anything if he sees something he likes. He'll only talk about things he needs for school. This is his tragedy, and also the real reason why he sympathizes with Tohka.
Therefore, he will try his best to accept other people's requests and cater to their preferences.
Whether it's Tohka, Kotori, or the other spirits, their initial intention was simply to help them out of their predicament, purely out of sympathy.
"I'm not a hero... I just don't want to lose anything anymore... Anything! Ah! Everyone! We can't fall... If we fall, they'll be the ones who get hurt. Tohka won't be the last, she'll just be the beginning... We have to stand up, we absolutely have to stand up!"
"The 33th time..."
Just as Ming was speaking wearily, he raised the Spear of Longinus in his hand and aimed it at Shido, who was lying on the ground.
What he saw was Shido suddenly raising his head, his eyes regaining their determination. He was there, enduring the excruciating pain, spreading the wings of [Hurricane Knight] to withstand the wind pressure surrounding Ming.
Ming paused slightly as he thrust his spear down, and Shido seized the opportunity to grab the tip of the spear, propping himself up to stand, a bitter smile on his face as if his plan had succeeded.
Before Ming could react, Shido threw the black dagger in his other hand at Ming's head, but Ming easily dodged it by tilting his head.
"Is that all...?"
Even the battle-hardened Ming didn't expect that the throw in the previous episode was just a trick to distract him; the real killer move was yet to come.
Shido exerted force with his toes, and what responded to his firm will was the sword in his hand, which was already radiating purple light and ready to be unleashed—the Fiery Slayer!
Shido, wielding the sword of the slayer, charged toward Ming with unwavering resolve.
The purple sword light flashed continuously, and Ming's right cheek was being struck hard by the giant sword, with the force even increasing.
"I'm sorry, though I never intended to take your life, nor could I bring myself to kill anyone! But this time you must remember this, Beast! This sword of mine is not meant to kill you, but to be swung for those I protect!!"