Sendai Yuusha wa Inkyou Shitai

Within the Flames

「Let’s first forget about Yuu. After all, he’ll be coming here. More importantly, what takes priority right now is……the extermination of the rat that slipped in from somewhere, don’t you think so?」

Suddenly, flames materialized in Zephyr’s left hand and Zephyr tossed those flames behind him as if he were just brushing it off.

*Don!!* (Bam!!)

When it made a thunderous roar that sounded like a truck had made a collision, a burst of flames spread out inside of the warehouse.

Although it wasn’t as bad as the time he attacked Bernadette, Zephyr had aria-lessly fired an explosion that was enough to kill a person.

「Wha, what the hell are ya doin’, bastard! Our goods that we went through so much trouble to get is!!」

「Did you really think I would make such an elementary mistake? Shut up and watch.」

The surrounding men were flustered by the sudden use of magic. The great number of piled up wooden boxes all had sizes where several people could fit in them. In fact, children that had their mouths and both hands and feet tied and unable to move were packed into those large boxes.

The burst of flames that they thought had burned those wooden boxes disseminated its heat and immediately went out.

「Kukaka, so you were able to avoid that just now. ……An acrobat that can cut off their presence, in short, you’re a type of Assassin, aren’t you?」

What came in response to that question, was something that came in flying.

*Toto ttsutototo!!* (Sound of multiple objects hitting one after another)

「Hou, so they’re daggers?」

Six bladed tools that were fired in one go. If it were Yuu, he would have probably concluded that those were kunai in an instant.

When Zephyr defended against the kunai that were flying in with his staff, the kunai wedged into the staff together with the sound.

「……ッ!」

And then, using the moment that he was preoccupied with the kunai, Kuon made an assault from just above Zephyr.

Kuon, who held a straight temper lined sword in an underhand grip, dropped down while holding a talisman in his hand, aimed at the back of Zephyr’s neck, and swung his short sword.

But,

「……Kaha!?」

Zephyr bent his body, avoided that sword stroke, accurately aimed at his solar plexus, and kicked him away.

「Kukaka! Did I say that I was bad at close quarters combat? Don’t go misreading me just because I’m a Magician!」

Even while crouching down from the shock and pain of being kicked in the solar plexus and sent flying, Kuon didn’t avert his eyes from Zephyr.

The Zephyr in question that was being glared at by those sharp eyes harbored an interest in Kuon, who had maintained consciousness despite being powerfully kicked in the solar plexus which was one of the body’s weak points and yet glared at him.

「I see, I see……so, it’s that Vodan’s son.」

Slowly getting closer, Zephyr pulled down Kuon’s mouth mask and made an amazed sounding sigh.

「Guh……」

「What? ……Oi oi, it really is that Heleott brat!」

The ones that responded to Zephyr’s words were the kidnappers that were in the perimeter.

「Ahh, there’s no mistaking it! This cheeky-looking eyes are that of Vodan’s son, Kuon Heleott!」

「To think that he would come on his own to become a hostage!」

Apart from the surrounding laughing in delight men, Zephyr looked down on Kuon as if his interest had cooled down.

「You’re the typical kind of guy that overestimates his own ability and then fails. ……And here I thought I might enjoy this. ……Boil him or burn him, do what you want. My interest in him has vanished.」

Having concluded that he overestimated Kuon who had gotten in here all alone, Zephyr informed the surrounding men and then sat down in a nearby chair while taking out the kunai that were stuck onto his staff.

「No need to tell us twice! Oi, tie him up.」

「Right!」

The men tied rope around Kuon’s hands and feet, as he was enduring the pain with all his might and couldn’t even put up any decent resistance.

「……I absolutely won’t forgive any of you bastards. After I make all of you eat the damn disgusting food of the isolation cells, I’ll sink you all into the Io Bay!!」

Even as Kuon, who was tied up and became unable to move about, shouted while being held face down to the ground, the men were all chuckling.

「Heh! The one that’s gonna be like that from now on is you, Heleott brat!」

「After the destruction of the Heleott Group, you’re gonna be a slave!」

「There are guys that would want a brat like you after all. Well, for those kinds of guys, they’re all owners of nasty inclinations though.」

The men laughed. Eventually, a kunai silently pierced into one of the men’s arm.

「Gyaaaaahh!!?」

In the middle of the man’s resounding shout, Kuon’s right hand that threw the kunai was stepped on by the man that was the leading figure.

「You shitty brat! Oi, hold him down!」

「っ……And here I thought I could get another one in.」

Kuon was boldly smiling while being held down by several men, but

「Oi, you go both ways, right? Rape this guy.」

his facial expression stiffened from the words the leading man had thrown out.

「Eh? Eh, is that alright?」

Among the men that was holding Kuon down, one with a big body build let out a voice that sounded somewhat happy.

「Yeah. There are some guys that also want to break in rebellious guys, but I want to shut him up right now.」

From the words that the leading man said as if he were spitting them out, the big body build man stretched his hand out to Kuon’s clothes.

「D, don’t touch me!! Don’t you dare touch me~!! Sto, ……Stoppppppp!!」

Even though he desperately tried to resist, with both his hands and feet held down, he was unable to move as he liked.

Before long, the man grabbed the clothes and then, *biribiri*, the sound of cloth tearing and Kuon’s scream resounded within the warehouse.

「Hehe, you’ve got beautiful skin. It’d be a waste not to rape……Hn? This guy……」

The man that tore the clothes showed a smile and at the time he noticed something and reached his hand out toward the now half-naked Kuon, that echoed.

*DOoON*……*DOoON*

All of the kidnappers were surprised by the sound that suddenly resounded.

That was the sound of the warehouse’s sliding-type door being knocked on as if it were being struck.

「O, oi……Why was this place……」

「Wasn’t this place hidden using magic?」

All of the flustered men turned their eyes towards Zephyr.

In response, Zephyr raised the corners of his mouth.

「Silent and Presence Concealment Barriers were certainly put up in the surrounding area……Going beyond that, that guy probably sniffed us out.」

Slowly standing up, Zephyr peeked over at Bernadette.

「Did you lose any underwear over these past few days?」

「……Eh?」

When Bernadette spaced out from not understanding the meaning of the words that were suddenly turned towards her, the sound of the door being knocked on was once again made.

「Literally, he sniffed us out. ……Most likely, with your underwear.」

Zephyr, who cheerfully laughed with a *Kukuku*, walked up until he was in front of the door.

*DOoON*…*DOoON*.

The warehouse door was made of a firm, thick steel sheet that guarded against huge waves.

As a counter-measure for rust, it was smeared with a broth of a medicinal plant called Hakuna Grass and it boasted a thickness greater than that of a person’s arm.

「’ello~, this is the Mikawa store~.」

They heard a voice that didn’t have any energy in it from the other side of the thick, steel sheet door. There was no mistaking it, it was Yashiro Yuu’s voice.

「Explosion」

That thick, steel door was, blown off in an instant.

The heat burned Bernadette’s cheek.

The steel that melted due to the high temperature and turned into a liquid dripped onto the ground.

Looking at it, the steel door was mercilessly destroyed, and outside of the warehouse, it had already transformed into a hell of purgatory.

「Yashiro……san?」

The brightly burning flames thunderously roared and thoroughly burned every living thing.

Naturally, the person whose name she muttered, was not there.

Maybe because he was burned up by the flames, or maybe because he was scattered by the aftermath of the blast, there wasn’t even a trace of Yuu’s figure and there was only the flames thunderously burning.

「……No…way……no way……It can’t be……!」

Tears rising to her eyes, they ceaselessly overflowed.

「Yashiro-san! Yashiro-saaaaaan!!」

Bernadette’s scream vanished within the thunderously burning flames.

As if acting on concert to that voice, within the burning flames, a dazzling light peeked through.

「『Soul Desire』」

That was the appearance of peoples’ desires taking form.

Cutting down despair, becoming a sword that severs the darkness.

「Zeeeephyyyyyyyyyrrrr!!」

Together with a howl that shook the atmosphere, that appeared from within the flames.

「That was some greeting, wasn’t it……You went and made me die once!!」

Appearing with an aurora sword in one hand, and girl’s underwear and a fundoshi in the other hand, there was a single man clad in light.

「I’m sinking you in the Io Bay!!」

Yashiro Yuu. The Preceding, Hero.