25 Twenty-five

Saruhiko Fushimi did not know what Reisi Munakata and Akira Somiya had discussed, but the result was self-evident.

Above the night sky, space warped in an instant. Dazzling, iridescent light bloomed in the pitch-black firmament, like colors refracted through a colorless crystal. The intertwined and constantly dividing rainbow light was extraordinarily striking beneath the night sky. Beneath the dazzling, fragile luminescence, tiny ribbons of light churned like snakes or some viscous, cold, and malevolent entity.

The moment that mass of light contracted to form a solid shape, an ominous black hue suddenly emerged. It wrapped tightly around the iridescent colors, embedding itself deep within until they merged into one.

The rainbow light burst forth, revealing the Sword of Damocles within. The giant sword, refracting rainbow light like a crystal, hummed in the sky, resonating with the blue Sword of Damocles. A powerful, chilling force rippled rapidly from the center of the King's blade. The dense white fog, which had been thickening, was weakened once again, and the "Dragon" churning within the mist let out a threatening hiss.

"A new King."

Every organization observing the battlefield witnessed this scene.

Chuya Nakahara stood by, hand on his hat, waiting in the aircraft cabin. The rear hatch was already open; gale-force winds mixed with freezing air swept through the cabin. At this altitude, beyond the reach of the fog, it was a safe position from which he could support the battlefield at any time.

His unique vantage point allowed Chuya to take in the entire battlefield: the two Swords of Damocles, which were by no means creations of human power, and the singularity that humanity had yet to be able to approach.

The gems representing their respective attributes shimmered in correspondence upon the King's blades. With the appearance of that iridescent Sword of Damocles, the pale blue barrier that had shrouded the earth was replaced by a barrier refracting brilliant colors.

The situation, which had previously fallen into a slump, reversed in an instant.

No longer needing to divide his power to protect Yokohama, the Blue King launched his counterattack. As the Dragon’s concentrated breath of power swept toward him, his previously dim King's blade shone once again.

The King's blade, gathering its strength, defiantly met the terrifying pillar of energy. Seeing this from the aircraft, Chuya could not help but take a step forward.

"Hum—" A massive humming and crashing sound erupted. Everyone watching the battle held their breath.

Reisi Munakata’s expression was solemn; blue power swept across the earth like a tsunami.

The moment the energy pillar made contact with the King's barrier, the power capable of tearing the earth apart was instantly cooled and transformed into pale blue crystals. The blue gem at the hilt bloomed with light, and the crystallization spread rapidly along the energy beam like frost.

In a split second, the terrifying beam of light was crystallized; the pale blue crystals even followed the breath to encase a portion of the Dragon's maw.

"Crack—crunch—"

The crystals shattered, and fragments of light like snowflakes drifted to the earth. The part of the Dragon's maw encased in crystals shattered and vanished. The "Dragon" let out a painful hiss and crashed heavily onto the ground.

Following a brief, deathly silence came cheers of relief. The members of the Special Ability Department screamed in their office; this was the sense of security provided by the Blue King's immense power.

Although he had the Gravity User as a contingency, Taneda Santoka did not want to expose Chuya Nakahara’s abnormality unless absolutely necessary.

"Truly an awe-inspiring power." The scene in the sky was breathtaking. Mori Ogai’s dark red pupils contracted slightly, and an irrepressible, excited smile appeared on his face.

However, his attention soon shifted to the newly born King's blade. Compared to the well-known Blue King, this new King intrigued Mori more.

His gaze darkened, his crimson eyes locked onto the snake-like black chains on the King's blade. "Lord Silver Wolf, a new King has been born."

This pitch-black color was too abrupt against the original tone of the King's blade, as if it were a power forced into it.

The President held his sword, looking at the Sword of Damocles in the sky with a serious expression. He, too, had noticed the black chains.

Reisi Munakata looked up at the two resonating King's blades in the sky with a faint smile, easily repelling the endless stream of ability-entities rushing toward him.

"The Colorless King..." Pushing up his glasses, Munakata recalled the previous Colorless King—a figure who had caused them quite a lot of trouble.

Unlike other Kings, the power of the Colorless King was unfixed; it was a wild card. Therefore, even Munakata did not know what this King's power was.

The iridescent King's blade hummed, and a wave of energy expanded from it, sweeping across the earth.

Munakata scanned his surroundings, but nothing happened. His eyes flickered. Was this Colorless King also a user of single-attribute powers, like the ones before...?

Ichigen Miwa’s "prophecy" and the fox spirit’s "interference" were both extremely powerful single-attribute abilities. There was no need to speak of foresight, but "interference" could even affect Kings; the fall of the previous Red King was related to it. It could be said to be a very strange and dangerous attribute.

However, single-attribute abilities were generally inferior when it came to managing one's own organization.

"Multiple abnormal energy sources detected!" The Special Ability Department’s computers issued continuous alerts, and red dot after red dot appeared rapidly on the surveillance screens.

The officer in charge of monitoring the battlefield reported loudly. Immediately afterward, the entire department was plunged into darkness. Everyone was so startled by the sudden turn of events that they dared not make a sound.

An eerie, bone-chilling cold occupied the space silently. Those who took out their phones for light discovered that a layer of frost had somehow coated the corners of the walls and floor.

Someone, frightened by the sight, could not help but gasp. Several Scepter 4 members stationed there also drew their long swords, observing their surroundings in guard.

A humanoid entity emitting a faint white light, like a ghost, appeared. It trailed a long afterimage, and where its face should have been was a blur of mist. It appeared only for an instant before passing through the walls of the Special Ability Department and vanishing.

Before anyone could catch their breath, several more ghostly shadows darted through and disappeared.

"W-what is that? A... a ghost?" a junior officer stammered. No one answered his question, but everyone instinctively began to huddle together.

Even in a world with special abilities and the concept of souls, the appearance of such suspected ghosts was too much for people's nerves.

The lights flickered a few times before finally returning to normal. The light brought them a measure of comfort, though the computers continued to beep with alarms.

In the outside world, ghostly shadows trailing afterimages and lacking clear features gathered together. Some looked at their palms, while others observed their companions.

Their every movement was like that of a real person.

The gems on the iridescent giant sword flickered, and the gathered ghosts, as if receiving an order, headed in a single direction.

Hanging up the phone, Akira Somiya pushed up his glasses. Having completely finished his resonance with the Slate, he had obtained all the information through it and had used his power at the very first opportunity.

Saruhiko Fushimi naturally felt that energy fluctuation. Scanning the area and finding nothing unusual, he looked at Somiya with suspicion.

Just as he was debating whether to ask directly, countless ghost shadows emerged from the ground. They engaged in a scuffle with the ability-entities.

The sudden turn of events startled the members of Scepter 4, and even the usually lazy Fushimi drew his sword.

It would be more accurate to call it a one-sided beating by the ghosts than a scuffle. Although the ghosts seemed to have no special abilities and relied only on punches and such, the ability-entities could not hit them at all.

Any punches thrown passed right through them, and special abilities were ineffective, yet the ghosts were able to make contact and deliver a one-sided thrashing.

Some ghosts remained here, while others headed toward Reisi Munakata’s location.

"Now the only remaining problem is how to deal with the 'Dragon'." Somiya stood with one hand in his pocket, looking at the "Dragon" in the sky, which was recovering from the previous attack and beginning to roar again.

Fushimi returned his sword to its scabbard, his eyes filled with excitement and curiosity. "If I may ask, what is your attribute?"

Somiya withdrew his gaze from the Dragon and looked at Fushimi. That was a good question.

After a moment of thought, Somiya extended his hand, and a mass of cold white flame appeared in his palm. "Materialization of the soul. I awakened the spirits of this space and granted them the power to cross the afterlife. The number of ability-users who died at the hands of Tatsuhiko Shibusawa is truly staggering." Cold, icy rage flickered in his emerald eyes.

When he awakened the spirits, Somiya heard the wailing and lamentations of those who had died miserably. Some were indeed guilty, but many more were simply pulled into the Dragon's Room by Shibusawa indiscriminately because they were ability-users, only to become fodder.

Fushimi’s pupils dilated slightly, and an excited smile appeared on his face. "Wow."

That was a truly remarkable power.

It seemed that the "wild card" of the Colorless King had produced a powerful character this time.