Meanwhile, atop the towering walls of the royal capital, Alubarna-
The wind swept up dry grit and battered the ancient stone bricks with faint, scattered sounds.
The setting sun stretched the wall's shadow long, casting Kirishima's solitary silhouette onto its weathered surface.
He had come as agreed, waiting for the golden airship that should have appeared.
The seconds and minutes ticked away. The sunset's afterglow faded from dazzling gold to dull orange-red, finally sinking below the horizon and leaving only a bleak streak of purplish gray at its edge.
Night slowly draped itself over the desert like an enormous sheet of black velvet.
The Royal Army soldiers guarding the walls changed shifts again and again. Their gazes toward the white-haired figure were filled with awe and fear, and none dared approach to ask him anything.
As the air grew colder, Kirishima remained leaning against the icy battlements, his fingers unconsciously tapping Yamato's sheath.
He waited from dusk until late into the night, but the Ark Maxim never appeared on the horizon.
"Heh..." An exceedingly soft, cold scoff escaped Kirishima's lips.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking toward the pitch-black southeastern sky, where only stars glimmered. An inscrutable cold gleam flashed deep within his eyes.
"Ran away?"
He dismissed the thought as soon as it arose. After Enel had read the newspaper and confirmed his identity as the "world's strongest"...
That feverish gaze and his self-hypnosis about being "second strongest in the world" had not seemed feigned.
More importantly, the guy seemed to have been beaten stupid by him. Surely running away wouldn't even occur to him?
That idiot... did he actually forget? Or... did something hold him up?
He waited nearly another hour, until even the last trace of starlight disappeared behind thick clouds.
The desert's night wind carried a