Chapter 148: Real Man (4)

Chapter 148: Real Man (4)

"..."

Bowed down on the ground, Koshiro wasn't able to raise his head as his body shook.

'They're... indiscriminately massacring people?'

Even while hearing the shocking news that made the insides of his head burn white, he didn't think of rebelling against Sosuke. The moment he let his body be controlled by his emotions, he would lose someone precious to him forever.

"Koshiro..."

Flinch—

Koshiro's shoulders flinched.

Sakaki's blunt voice sliced away at his chest like a sharp knife.

* * *

* * *

'Oyabun.'

Memories started to resurface.

They were the memories of when he'd first met Sakaki.

Even though he hadn't been selected by a celestial yet, he'd voluntarily applied to become a member of the vigilante group in order to protect his little sister.

He was denied countless times for being unawakened, but he didn't back down.

Around the time he had waited on his knees in front of the vigilante group's base for days—

-Why are you trying so hard to become a vigilante?

—a man appeared in front of him when he was exhausted and on the verge of collapsing.

The man had a buzz cut and firm muscles that looked like they would crush bones with just a graze.

—Sakaki Ryo.

The leader and the one responsible for the vigilante group had personally come out to meet him.

-I want... to protect my family.

Straining his lips that wouldn't open properly, he answered.

Sakaki stood there for a while in silence, and soon laughed out loud and hit his shoulder.

-Kuhaha! Yeah! A righteous man must protect his people! His family! And his country!

After helping Koshiro get up, Sakaki smiled brightly.

-Very well! I shall turn you into a real man!!

Just like that, Koshiro was the first unawakened to join the vigilante group.

He was in charge of minor chores and errands at first, but was able to awaken the stigma of Scutum not too long after and assisted Sakaki in the front lines.

"..."

Nauseating combat persisted through every single day, but every day Koshiro spent with Sakaki was delightful.

Koshiro observed the way Sakaki swept away the monsters like a mad taurus and wanted to become like him one day.

At the end of his desperate efforts, he accumulated eight flicks on his chest like Sakaki.

He was finally able to stand beside him with confidence.

He thought that he would be able to become a cool man like he was.

'But this is what I turned out to be in the end.'

With his forehead stuck to the ground, laughter mixed with self-deprecation left Koshiro's mouth. It seemed that he ran dry of tears, as they wouldn't even come out anymore.

It was pathetic.

The fact that he wanted to become a cool man like Sakaki despite not being able to protect a single member of his family made him retch due to the disillusion he felt.

'I... couldn't become someone like Sakaki in the first place.'

"Get up, Koshiro."

"...Oyabun."

"You said you want to protect your little sister, didn't you?"

Sakaki got into a stance with his fists clenched.

"Then get up and fight like a man."

"I... am nothing like a man."

Koshiro's voice trembled.

"I'm not like you, Oyabun... I'm a dumbass who can't even protect his only little sister."

His shoulders shook with his forehead placed on the ground.

"...Please kill me, Oyabun."

Would he find peace with death?

Would he escape the nauseating feeling of misery?

He didn't know, but he believed that it would still be much better than living.

"Get up."

Sakaki's cold eyes stared at Sakaki.

—A suffocating sensation.

Koshiro felt like he was going to involuntary cry because of how coldly Sakaki's voice rang out.

"Oyabun."

Stagger—

Koshiro raised his body up.

His arms grasped the ground, and his legs stood firmly.

"I'm starting, Koshiro."

Sakaki raised his fist.

"If you want to save your little sister... block me."

Boom!—

The ground shook.

Pebbles shot out in every direction, and the ground caved in as if there was an explosion.

"Kugh!"

A blue shield was created in front of Koshiro once he urgently crossed his arms.

'It's not enough!'

He couldn't block Sakaki's monstrous power with that alone.

"Hmpf!"

A three-layered blue shield was created, and Sakaki's fist collided with the top of it.

Baaaaaaang!!—

An ear-splitting noise rang out.

Koshiro felt the impact of a sledgehammer on his crossed forearms while his body floated up.

"Are you unable to endure a single mere blow?!!"

Sakaki shouted out and pulled his elbow back.

He lowered his back, slightly bent his knees, and sprung up to uppercut Koshiro in the air after gathering all of his strength.

Baaaang!—

Koshiro quickly made a shield in midair and blocked Sakaki's fist, but an intense pain as if his bones were broken lingered in his arms.

Koshiro flew back while drawing an arc in the air and narrowly used a technique to land safely on the ground.

"Why..."

Koshiro opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

"Why aren't you getting mad at me?"

Even if he was threatened, he'd betrayed the clan and tried to stab Sakaki in the back.

He'd repaid the grace he'd received with betrayal.

'But why... just why?'

"Why...! Why aren't you saying anything!!"

If he had gotten angry...

If he had rather criticized and reprimanded him...

Wouldn't he have been able to feel less misery?

"You talk too much."

Sakaki swung his fist.

Intangible shockwaves crashed down on Koshiro like water.

"Shield!!"

Koshiro's stigma emitted light.

Six shields spread out like petals and obstructed the path in front of him. It was manageable if it wasn't a fist condensed with mana, but the shockwaves created by them.

"Send them back!"

Boom!—

The shockwaves that were reflected by the shields hit Sakaki, and a dull sound like a hammer striking down on a stiff metal sheet rang out.

"Kuuh!"

Sakaki furrowed his brow.

The shields created by an Awakener of Scutum had the power to amplify the force of the attacks that were reflected by the shield by adding mana.

Sakaki's body shuddered as it was struck by the amplified shockwaves and he felt like he was getting a concussion.

"Kuhaha! I wonder whose attack could contain this much force!"

Sakaki laughed gallantly and wiped off the blood that was flowing down his mouth.

"You've grown quite a lot during the time I haven't seen you, Koshiro!"

He smirked and clenched his fist.

"However!"

Rumbleeee!!—

The stigma of Taurus released intense light as the ground started to tremor like an earthquake was occuring.

"It isn't enough to block me!!"

Like a charging mad taurus, Sakaki lowered his back and sprinted in Koshiro's direction.

Powerful shockwaves damaged the area and gathered up in Sakaki's body.

"Oyabun..."

Koshiro chewed his lips and crossed his arms into the shape of an X. The six shields that spread out like petals surrounded him.

"Haa."

He exhaled a low breath and gathered up all of the mana inside his body.

The six shields that covered his body multiplied to twelve...

Twelve shields multiplied to twenty-four...

Twenty-four shields multiplied to forty-eight...

"The shield that protects the stars encompasses all directions, thus shan't there be a single opening in the eight trigrams."

With his low chant, the forty-eight shields interlocked like gears and turned into a singular shield.

No, it couldn't be called a 'shield' any longer; it was closer to a fortress.

"Koshiroooooooooooo!!!"

A taurus charged towards the impregnable fortress.

Every time it took a step, a distinct crater that shook the earth was left behind.

Condensed shockwaves swept the area like a storm.

Twenty meters, ten meters, five meters...

The distance between Koshiro and Sakaki quickly narrowed.

——————————————————!

The impact even engulfed sound as the ground in a radius of dozens of meters split apart with the two people at the center. Rocks that were several meters long soared up and the ground caved in like there was a sinkhole.

It was nearly impossible to imagine that the destruction was caused by the collision of two human beings.

Cloudy dust spread out like fog.

"Kuh, cough!"

The first thing that could be heard inside the thick cloud of dust was the sound of Sakaki coughing.

His two fists were miserably crushed like a child's clay toy, and the blood that emerged mixed with his cough and drenched his entire chest.

"..."

Sakaki turned his head around with a stiff face.

The forty-eight shields were utterly destroyed.

He could see Koshiro, barely able to stand and catching his breath.

"Oya...bun."

Stagger, stagger—

Koshiro's body wavered like he was going to collapse at any moment.

He laid his back against the stone that'd risen up when the ground was twisted.

"Ha... haha."

The sound of his laugh echoed out.

"I'm really... an idiot, aren't I?"

His vision started to fade.

The tears that ran down his face gathered up at the end of his chin.

"I wanted to become a cool man like Oyabun..."

At first, he thought Sakaki was just a really childish person. He'd mocked him for talking about being a man in that time and age.

However...

-Kuhaha! Did you see, Koshiro! This is what a man is!

When the city was covered by monsters rushing like a tsunami... he recalled the way he'd laughed broadly when everyone else was busy running away in fear.

Sakaki was childish, reckless, and an idiot, but his back looked cooler than anything else in the world when he ran at the monsters.

Koshiro wanted to be like him.

He wanted to be a man who could protect the people precious to him.

"But..."

Strength started to leave his waist.

"Forget about the country... I couldn't even protect my people, nor my family."

In the end, he couldn't become like Sakaki.

The time he spent striving to become like him was nothing but a meaningless struggle.

"I'm sorry... Oyabun."

His consciousness started to fade.

Strength left his waist and his back folded forward.

His body fell forward.

Tak—

Sakaki caught Koshiro's body that was falling down and grabbed his collar to push him against the rock.

"..."

Was he planning to end things? Koshiro slowly closed his eyes.

He didn't think that he would be able to live after betraying the clan.

'I'm sorry.'

Koshiro recalled the face of his little sister that'd been poisoned and would be anxiously waiting for his arrival in an unknown place.

How scared would she be?

How frightened would she be?

The guilt of not being able to protect her in the end cut away at his chest.

'I'm sorry... for being a bad big brother.'

'For not being able to protect you...'

'For not being able to save you...'

'I'm—'

"How many times do I have to say this for you to understand, Koshiro?"

Sakaki placed his hand on top of Koshiro's head.

"A man... shouldn't carelessly bow his back."

Sakaki positioned Koshiro to lean his back on the stone and walked past him.

—To where Ohjin was fighting alone against Sosuke.