At the same time, they all slammed on the brakes.
Child Emperor: "Genius."
Tet: "Pro gamer."
Shiro: "Respect."
Aizen: "Truly unbeatable."
Ichigo Kurosaki: "What kind of adaptability does Kazuma Satou even have?"
Kisuke Urahara: "He was beyond evaluation."
Rin Tohsaka: "Mahiro was seriously godlike. I'd never seen anything like this."
Astolfo: "Don't you think she's adorable?"
Aqua: "Exactly."
Mebd: "Agreed."
Archer: "Don't make me laugh."
Shendu: "Not a single one of them was human."
"Damn, that hurt!"
Kazuma Satou stared ahead and stomped down again and again.
"Damn it, Kazuma, you did that on purpose, didn't you?!"
Mahiro Oyama flared up a little, but she still cooperated, working the accelerator and brakes for him.
"Ow! Ow, ow! You stepped on me again!"
"How else was I supposed to drive if I didn't step on you?"
Kazuma Satou's voice was calm, as though nothing had happened, as he stomped down once more.
"Ah! Damn it! You... you're getting revenge for me stepping on you in the school building back then, aren't you?!"
"No."
Kazuma Satou answered instantly, enunciating each word.
"I never hold grudges."
"You're talking like that and still claiming you don't hold grudges?!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The people behind them couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing at the exchange.
Kazuma Satou wore a constipated grin, but in the end, he couldn't hold it in either and laughed.
Mahiro Oyama struggled to poke her head out and shouted loudly.
"Damn it! You're all bullying me!"
"Isn't this what you deserved?!"
The other six roared at her in unison.
Mahiro Oyama hurriedly pulled her head back beneath Kazuma Satou's crotch.
"Waaah... I'm sorry. I was wrong."
Before long,
the van arrived in front of the church.
But it didn't slow down. Instead, it accelerated straight into the Holy Church.
The iron gates were sent flying into a pillar before finally coming to a stop.
Everyone inside was jolted into a complete mess.
Kazuma Satou opened the door. Mahiro Oyama finally crawled out from underneath, rolled twice across the ground, then lay there without moving.
"No, why didn't you brake at the very end just now?!"
Hearing that question, Mahiro Oyama convulsed violently on the ground in fury.
"Ahhh! Do you know how much that hurt?! That last stomp nearly crushed me to death!
I was practically stomped into the car! I couldn't even move, so how was I supposed to hit the brakes?!"
"..."
Kazuma Satou turned his head away. There really was nothing he could say to that.
Mahiro Oyama sat up and patted her blackened shoulder, but no matter how she wiped, it wouldn't come clean.
"Dog Kazuma! Come here! I'll bite you to death!"
"Stop messing around. Hurry up and help them out of the car. We're the only two who are conscious."
Kurisu Makise barely regained consciousness and climbed out of the vehicle.
"I'll help too."
The group carried a van full of crippled aliens out.
They pushed open the church doors and walked inside.
It was still completely empty.
At the very front of the church stood a massive, pure-white statue of the Virgin Mary, gazing kindly at the infant in her arms.
"Sit down."
Kazuma Satou helped everyone take their seats before finally sitting down himself.
You have reached the standard extraction point. The countdown has begun. 30...
He glanced at the large clock hanging inside the church.
It read exactly "11:59:30."
It should be fine, right?
He felt a little uneasy. If they missed it by even a few milliseconds and failed to get out, they were done for.
"Hey, Kazuma... can I ask you something?"
Mahiro Oyama, seated in front of him, suddenly spoke.
"What?"
"Didn't you say you couldn't drive...? How did you manage to drive all the way here so well?"
The others also perked up their ears at the question.
Kazuma Satou thought for a moment, then asked in return.
"Did none of you go to arcades when you were kids?"
"Hm?"
"You know, those racing games."
"Is that really a skill you can learn from playing games?"
"Why not? Gamers can change the world! Passion makes anything possible!"
"And look, the group owner must be a hardcore gamer too. Otherwise, he couldn't have made such a fun game without ever showing himself."
Kazuma Satou suddenly tilted his head back and spoke his honest thoughts.
"Heh, seriously, I kind of want to invite him to play games with us!"
"Hahahaha."
"Kazuma, you're talking nonsense again!"
"How could someone that important play games with us?!"
Hachiman Hikigaya lay on a church pew and closed his eyes. Hearing Kazuma Satou's answer, he smiled in relief.
A faint white glow emanated from his body.
His countdown ended, and he vanished.
The others gradually disappeared from their seats as well.
2...
The final two seconds.
Inside the church,
only Kazuma Satou remained.
Suddenly,
he heard footsteps outside.
He turned around and looked.
1
A blond young man in a black jacket arrived at the doorway.
The instant the other man stepped inside, the countdown reached zero.
0...
The two did not interact.
Kazuma Satou vanished straight from the church pew.
Only the silent blond pick remained, walking over to Kazuma Satou's seat and staring silently.
Then,
an eye opened in the sky, and the entire "world" came to a complete standstill.
The enormous eye examined every particle here and the traces of the past. After gathering its data samples,
it closed.
Everything restarted.
Livestream Room,
Mery: "?"
Wise King Flash: "?"
Dr. Roman: "?"
Rin Tohsaka: "What was that just now? (Terrified)"
Archer: "...I think it'd be better not to ask."
Gilgamesh: "Most agreeable episode yet."
Aizen: "Hahaha, what are you talking about? I was just blasted away by Getsuga Tensho, so I didn't see anything."
Ichigo Kurosaki: "?"
Dr. Roman: "Oh, right, I went to make coffee just now. I really didn't see anything. (Playing dumb)"
Mery: "The scenery in Avalon is so beautiful. Mm-hm, not bad at all. (Monotone)"
Tet: "Let's discuss the game instead."
Shiro: "Agreed. Shall we do a review?"
Kurapika: "They already achieved the best possible result—a miraculous outcome that could not be replicated even if they tried again."
Aizen: "That was my conclusion as well."
Shiro: "There should be a chance to replicate Medea and Souichirou Kuzuki's strategy. But Red Archer afterward simply wasn't a Boss players at this stage could defeat."
Before you continue