Who Isn't a Herrscher?

Having noticed something, "Luo Mio" turned and looked in the other direction.

Sensing that she was nearing the place where the mana lock was about to shatter, Saikyo Neine said anxiously, "Nothing better have happened to you, Little Mio!"

Before long, another surge of mana entered Saikyo Neine's senses.

"Kuro!"

"Neine!"

Shinguji Kuroko, who had also rushed over from Hagun Academy, sensed Saikyo Neine as well.

"Now isn't the time to talk. We need to get to Miohua!"

"Right!"

Not long after, the two sensed an aura from deep within the forest ahead.

"Little Mio!"

Saikyo Neine's expression darkened as she sensed that aura.

"That's right! This aura is extremely similar to that person's aura from eleven years ago!"

"Could it be?!"

Having thought of something, Saikyo Neine instantly pushed her ability to its limit and sped over.

In a clearing not far away, the ground had been overturned, branches severed, and two blurry figures stood within the wreckage.

As Saikyo Neine drew close and saw one of the familiar figures, she said, "Li...ttle Mio..."

Halfway through her words, the anxious expression on Saikyo Neine's face turned ugly and incredulous when she saw Luo Mio.

Shinguji Kuroko, who arrived shortly afterward, also wore an exceptionally grim expression upon seeing Luo Mio.

Luo Mio stood where he was, his eyes one blue and one gold. Not far away, Little Mio was suspended in midair by some unknown transparent energy. His pupils had completely turned white, and he appeared utterly unconscious. Saliva and blood mingled together flowed from his half-open mouth onto his clothes. The faint groans escaping his throat proved that he was still alive.

As "Luo Mio" looked at the two women, he was just about to speak when a strange abnormality ran through his body, making him stop. He raised his other hand and looked at his palm.

Then he lifted his head and looked at them.

Golden energy twisted in front of him, gradually forming words.

"From the two of you, I can sense the aura of 'Void.' You were the ones who stopped Void from manifesting eleven years ago, weren't you?"

The golden words continued to writhe.

"But what puzzles me is that neither of you carries Void's core aura."

"Luo Mio" stared directly at Saikyo Neine and Shinguji Kuroko.

"I see. You truly know nothing."

Luo Mio withdrew his gaze, then turned it back toward the seaside.

It was at that moment—

"Crimson Wind!"

Saikyo Neine charged at Luo Mio, iron fan in hand.

"Neine!"

Shinguji Kuroko watched Saikyo Neine rush forward, unable to stop her.

"Propater, Ennoia!"

She held the black-and-white twin guns in her hands and aimed them at Luo Mio.

Luo Mio looked at the charging Saikyo Neine.

Golden energy transformed into a mana barrier, blocking Saikyo Neine's attack and the gravity she unleashed!

Watching Saikyo Neine prepare to attack again, as well as Shinguji Kuroko in the distance with her black-and-white twin guns raised and ready to fire at any moment, he sighed.

The golden energy once more formed words.

"Stand down. I have no desire to fight the three of you."

Saikyo Neine and Shinguji Kuroko stared at the golden words in surprise.

Three people?!

"Oh my, I didn't expect you to notice this old man." An elderly man emerged from the shadows of the forest on the other side.

This man was none other than Nangou Torajiro, the teacher of Saikyo Neine and Toudo Touka!

"Old man!"

"Teacher Nango?!"

Nangou greeted the two women with a kindly smile before looking at Luo Mio. Though his face still bore a gentle smile, the sweat on his forehead and his tightly clenched, withered hands revealed the tension in his heart.

Luo Mio looked at his palm.

And besides...

A faint phantom of crimson phosphorescence appeared over Luo Mio's hand.

"Shi... Teacher..."

Then Luo Mio raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through the forest toward some point in the ocean.

"Stop."

"It is not yet time for 'me' to manifest."

In the depths of the Pacific Ocean!

Within the pitch-black, endless oceanic abyss, like the depths of hell itself, only a few creatures survived in this deep place.

Even powerful Blazers from the Three Great Powers would not dare enter this silent abyss alone.

And in an even deeper part of this tranquil abyss!

A Golden Crystal missing half of itself stood quietly in the depths of the oceanic abyss.

Yet the turbulent energy around it, spreading upward over time, proclaimed the crystal's activity.

At that moment, the Golden Crystal sensed something. The energy it had been spreading actually began to gradually recede into the depths of the abyss.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, the constantly erupting Energy Fluctuations announced the battle taking place here.

The white giant dragon beat its wings through the ocean as though it were In the Sky.

"Roar!!!"

Accompanied by the dragon's roar, sonic waves surged toward the three figures elsewhere.

The powerful incoming sound waves and the spreading seawater brought terrifying pressure, causing the three figures to instantly assume defensive stances.

If any Blazer had witnessed this scene, they would have been utterly shocked.

The three figures before it were two of the rebel army's Twelve Apostles, along with their allied "Superman"!

Just as they remained on guard against the dragon's next move—

The dragon raised its head and looked toward the surface.

Then it turned and roared once at the three figures.

As if telling them that they had just escaped with their lives.

Then it turned around and swam toward the oceanic abyss.

The research teams within the base facilities also sensed the movements of the crystal and the giant dragon.

"Report! The energy the crystal was spreading upward is gradually decreasing. It has now dropped to a depth of 10,000 meters!"

"Report! At the same time, Numbered Organism No. 2 has retreated into the oceanic abyss!"

The old team leader looked at the reports and data on the screen, muttering, "What exactly happened?"

After conveying his will, Luo Mio looked at Saikyo Neine and Shinguji Kuroko.

Golden words appeared.

"Then now, I shall return 'him' to you. After all, it is not yet time for me to manifest."

"Of course, I respect 'his' will. He will embrace death."

Then "Luo Mio" looked at Wallenstein, who was being held in place, his mind already scattered and his body trembling incessantly.

With a low murmur, Wallenstein's trembling stopped. His entire body slumped limply like cotton, and then his energy dispersed. Wallenstein fell from midair and crashed onto the ground, his halted breathing declaring his death!

Shinguji Kuroko looked at the dead Wallenstein, then turned her gaze back to Luo Mio.

"Luo Mio" looked at Saikyo Neine, Shinguji Kuroko, and Nangou Torajiro before him.

He blinked.

From the moment he had manifested until his imminent departure, it was the only gentle smile he had shown.

When he opened his eyes again, the imposing gold and void-like pupils had vanished, replaced by vacant, unconscious Azure Blue eyes.

"Little Mio!"

Saikyo Neine hurried forward and caught Luo Mio before he could fall to the ground.

She checked his body.

At the side, Nangou Torajiro unclenched his tightly gripped hands, let out a breath, and slowly walked over.

Shinguji Kuroko put away her black-and-white twin guns and looked at the two beside Luo Mio.

Then her gaze shifted to Wallenstein's corpse.

"A long-planned scheme..."

Thus, Sir Wallenstein, the One-armed Swordsman—one of the Twelve Apostles who had orchestrated nationwide terrorist attacks and unleashed a tsunami—died!

Chapter 18: Conversation

Within the boundless darkness, silence and gloom seemed eternal.

And in the dim, silent darkness, Luo Mio walked through this space with vacant eyes.

"Luo Mio!"

A clear voice rang out.

Luo Mio raised his hollow eyes.

"Tea...cher..."

Crimson phosphorescence illuminated the entire space, and the endless darkness was shattered by the red light. Red-and-white feathers drifted down like rain.

Luo Mio stared blankly at the scene before him.

An arm rested on his shoulder.

Luo Mio looked back.

An ageless face, vermilion eyes that seemed to have endured a thousand years of changing seas, waist-length white hair adorned with hints of bright red, and a red-and-gold hair ornament worn above one ear. Her hair, like Luo Mio's, was tied into a braid. Her slender, straight, fair legs made her seem like a fairy descended into the world.

Except for that somewhat disappointing bust.

Smack!

A red afterimage flashed past.

Luo Mio's head was struck heavily.

With that blow, it was as though Luo Mio's consciousness had been knocked back into place.

Luo Mio shook his head, scattering the heavy drowsiness from his mind. His Azure Blue eyes regained their usual color.

Luo Mio looked around at his surroundings.

"This is..."

"Inside your Consciousness Space." A clear, pleasant voice spoke from beside Luo Mio.