Chapter 68: This is the end!
Kazuma had been on the verge of being caught in Shiori’s self-destruction, but he was saved by a hair’s breadth.
Having narrowly escaped death and emerged completely unscathed, Kazuma stared at the dumbfounded Souji and the others.
“What’s wrong? Did you think I’d die, caught in that self-destruction just now?”
“Well, yeah…”
“I see. That’s a shame for you.”
As if to say it was truly a shame things hadn’t gone their way, Kazuma gave a sarcastic shrug.
“…Raika! We’re doing that!”
“Understood!”
Hayate picked Raika up in his arms and ascended towards the sky.
They rapidly gained altitude, reaching a height that even Kazuma, with his Body Enhancement five times amplified by his Powered Suit, couldn’t reach with a full-power jump.
Kazuma, looking up at the sky, instantly understood what the two were trying to do.
“I see. That would be the most logical approach.”
Kazuma’s voice no longer reached them.
The two, floating high in the sky, looked down at Kazuma directly below them.
“Raika. It won’t hit me, so don’t hold back. Go all out.”
“Yes. I understand, Nii-san. I’ll give it my all.”
Saying that, Raika aimed both hands at Kazuma.
Then, she unleashed Elec attacks from the sky towards Kazuma like rain.
It was a one-sided trampling.
With Hayate’s cooperation, they had escaped to the sky where Kazuma couldn’t reach, attacking with Elec from a safe zone.
It was no longer a contest.
It was simply a cruel act of unilaterally tormenting their opponent.
However, the two were convinced they had no other way to win.
That’s why they resorted to it, even if they were to be called cowards.
Though, Kazuma didn’t think it was cowardly at all.
Rather, he strongly felt that the two were indeed heroes.
He even admired their merciless attack against an enemy.
“Hahahahahaha! A one-sided Elec barrage from a safe zone! Truly logical and effective! Most enemies would be utterly helpless and trampled. But, however! I’ll teach you that there are exceptions!”
Kazuma nimbly dodged the downpour of countless thunderbolts.
While he was dodging the Elec, Souji launched an attack, but Kazuma elegantly evaded that as well.
The two watching the situation on the ground from above were no longer just surprised, but rather dumbfounded.
“He dodges this too…?!”
“I’ll keep going until he dies… but it’s probably impossible, isn’t it?”
“My wind, Raika’s Elec, Souji’s support. To think none of it can reach him even with all of that.”
“What should we do, Nii-san?”
“Keep at it. No matter how amazing he is, he’s still human. He should reach his limit at some point… probably.”
“Probably…? Well, I guess we have no choice but to keep trying.”
While dumbfounded by Kazuma’s outrageous movements on the ground, the two also admired him.
In the era when they were alive, no human surpassed Kazuma.
Therefore, the two unreservedly praised Kazuma’s abilities.
That said, they were also inwardly furious, thinking there should be a limit.
“Now then, shall I go on the offensive?”
“How are you going to attack us from down there?! Even bows and arrows would be useless at this distance, blocked by Hayate’s wind!”
Souji, his voice tinged with anger, questioned Kazuma, who was dodging lightning while also evading Souji’s own attacks.
“It’s simple. I’ll fly too.”
“H-How?!”
“Like this!”
Kazuma threw a stone he was holding into the sky and used Transposition to swap it with a tree.
Moreover, he threw multiple stones, and trees were placed in mid-air as if forming a staircase.
Kazuma leaped towards the trees, which began to fall naturally due to Gravity, and ascended through the sky with movements that defied the laws of physics.
“No way…”
It was a scene like something out of a joke, but right before their eyes, Kazuma was running up, using the trees floating in mid-air as footholds.
The laws of physics exist, and this was a feat normally impossible, yet Kazuma was making it happen.
“W-What in the world are you?!”
“Hahahahahaha! This is the Satsuki-ryu Secret Technique! Kuugenpo (Sky Prance Steps)!”
Unable to think of a cool-sounding name, Kazuma had just given it a plausible-sounding one. He kicked off the trees and pushed forward through the myriad thunderbolts.
Hayate and Raika wanted to scream and cry at Kazuma’s outrageous movements that defied even the laws of physics, but they endured out of sheer willpower and tried to shoot him down many times.
However, just when they thought an Elec attack had hit, Kazuma would vanish like a heat haze and leap to another tree, none of their attacks connecting.
Still not giving up, the two launched attacks at Kazuma repeatedly, but all of them were dodged.
“Nii-san!”
“I know!”
To create distance from Kazuma, who was gradually closing in, Hayate ascended further.
Raika, held by Hayate, also fired Elec at Kazuma to prevent him from closing the distance, but it didn’t hit.
However, since Kazuma had to take evasive action, his movements slowed slightly, allowing them to gain a tiny bit of distance.
“If we get this far!”
“You should watch your back, you know?”
Numerous trees appeared behind Hayate and Raika, who had been focusing solely on Kazuma, blocking their escape route.
Hayate, clad in his armor of wind, didn’t take damage, but the trees obstructed him, delaying his escape.
The demonic hand drew near.
Seizing the slightest opening, Kazuma closed the distance in an instant and grabbed Raika’s neck.
“Gah!?”
“Shatter!”
Kazuma gripped Raika’s slender neck as if with a vise and snapped it with surprising ease.
“How dare you do that to Raika!!! I won’t forgive you!!!”
Seeing Raika disappear into particles of light, Hayate became enraged and rushed towards Kazuma, but the moment he got close, he was entangled and immobilized.
“Wha-!?”
“You’re getting too flustered over something like this, Onii-chan.”
Hayate, caught like a butterfly, was put into a submission hold by Kazuma in mid-air and, just like Raika, disappeared into particles of light.
Now, only Kazuma and Souji remained.
The ace of the former student council team and the ace of the new student council.
The battle royale between the old and new student councils was reaching its final showdown.
“So it comes down to this after all!”
Souji cursed while watching Kazuma, who had flown high into the sky and now looked like a tiny speck.
Hayate and Raika had fought well.
However, their opponent was just too much.
Against their tactics, most ordinary Gifted would have been helpless and defeated.
An area-of-effect attack using Elec from high altitude.
Normally, one would be unilaterally trampled and sadistically killed.
And yet, Kazuma had dodged the Elec pouring down like rain and magnificently defeated the two of them.
It was almost at the level of an art form.
“It’s all or nothing… Guess I’ll struggle ’til the very end!”
But that didn’t mean he could give up, nor could he throw the match.
He had his pride as a senpai, and he was the ace of the former student council.
Therefore, he couldn’t give up until the very, very end.
“No intention of retreating. Looks like he’s fully prepared to meet me head-on.”
Kazuma, having defeated Hayate and Raika, surrendered himself to Gravity and fell towards the ground.
His falling speed rapidly increased, and Kazuma turned into a fireball, like a meteor.
“Protect myself with a Protective Barrier while intercepting with Telekinesis… Probably impossible, huh~!”
With the Gift Souji was currently Copying, he couldn’t escape from Kazuma, who was falling from the sky like a meteor.
On the other hand, if he tried to intercept, he lacked the firepower, and with Souji’s current abilities, he probably couldn’t beat Kazuma.
“Still, I have no choice but to do it~”
Souji put up a Protective Barrier and prepared for the collision with Kazuma.
Seeing Souji not running away but instead putting up a Protective Barrier and waiting, Kazuma smiled fearlessly.
“Try and take this! Satsuki-ryu Secret Technique! Tentsuikyaku (Heavenly Fall Kick)!”
Twisting his body in mid-air, Kazuma unleashed a flying kick towards Souji.
Kazuma’s flying kick, descending like a meteor, collided with Souji’s Protective Barrier, creating a deafening roar.
Normally, Kazuma’s body would have bent into a ‘く’ shape and disintegrated, unable to maintain its form, but with his usual defiance of common sense, he shattered Souji’s Protective Barrier.
“Geez… Give me a break.”
“Good work! Souji-senpai!”
With a brilliant smile, Kazuma, who had pierced through Souji’s body with a flying kick, made a splendid landing.
If this were a tokusatsu hero drama, it would have been a finish where Souji’s body exploded, with a fiery explosion rising behind Kazuma.
Souji became unable to fight, and after a short while, the victory of the new student council team was announced, bringing the curtain down on the battle royale between the old and new student councils.