I am the protagonist

Shiyu Cangyan Liu - Attack Type - First Type - Axle Rain!

A thrusting sword imbued with intense deathly flames.

"Oh!"

Gokudera fired six shots from behind, blocking Kikyo's escape route and forcing her to take the hit.

"Ha-huh~"

The vines on the ground rapidly multiplied and transformed into a steel pillar, forcefully blocking the thrusting sword and changing its direction.

The roots in his hand multiplied considerably, carrying even more deathly flames and gaining greater ability to pierce.

With a flick of Kikyo's hand, a large number of roots struck Yamamoto.

Yamamoto, however, was completely unprepared for these attacks and instead assumed an offensive stance.

A ring made of black bone material stood in front of Yamamoto, easily blocking all the attacks.

"...Is this the Storm Guardian's weapon?"

[A defensive weapon... but that layer of deathly flame actually blocked my attack.]

The vines at the base of the bellflower grew wildly.

Shigure Souen-ryu - Special Type - Tenth Form - Swallow Special Attack!

A large amount of deathly flames, accompanied by sword energy, rushed towards Kikyo.

The vines beneath her feet quickly lifted Kikyo's body higher.

However, the wildly growing vines withered completely under Yamamoto's blade, which even severed the death flames within them.

The flames of death are as sharp as a sword.

[As expected of the Vongola's Great Swordsman, this strength has already surpassed that of Squalo, who is known as the Sword Emperor.]

At this moment, Kikyo, who was facing two people at the same time, also felt tired.

Two guardians capable of coordinated attacks are much more difficult to deal with than one guardian.

One uses swordsmanship for close combat, the other uses spears for ranged combat.

The proximity and distance prevented him from gaining any immediate advantage.

Chapter 123 The Battle of Choice Ends

[It's started.]

Chrome, who had concealed himself and appeared around the battlefield, watched the battle below.

Both Gokudera and Yamamoto have hidden the Vongola Boxes.

The opposing Cloud Guardian is also concealing his true strength.

Having understood the intentions of both sides, Chrome simply planned to observe casually from the sidelines and had no intention of getting involved.

Looked at the time.

Thirty minutes have passed; they must be having trouble breathing by now.

In the mobile base, Irie took off her headphones and lay on the ground, quietly panting.

[A lot of time has passed, and since I haven't done much exercise, I should be able to hold on for a while longer.]

After adjusting my condition slightly, my previously difficult breathing became much easier.

However, the large amount of life force consumed directly affected his concentration, mental state, and physical strength.

Irie is now showing signs of weakness on her face, and her eye sockets are starting to sunken in.

This phenomenon is caused by the excessive consumption of the Death Flame, which symbolizes the flame of life.

[Gokudera and Yamamoto don't need my help in their battle.]

The Phantom Knight has now been defeated.

Wolfsbane has been controlled by Chrome's illusion.

[The target hasn't made any move yet, and there's only Kikyo, the Cloud Guardian, outside... but she's already being watched by Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Hibari. What I need to do now isn't worry, but wait.]

Irie knows that she is now a burden.

He couldn't help because his abilities were too limited to provide positive assistance to others, but this also meant he couldn't interfere with their battles.

In a three-on-one situation, we have the upper hand, but winning this game isn't the key.

Conversely, preserving one's strength is the most important thing in this game.

This battle will not result in any casualties on either side.

Although Irie didn't quite believe Byakuran's words, he did believe Sawada's.

Aside from optical Nica's technology, the mobile base has almost completely ceased all activities, which is also a final measure to avoid being found.

Irie did this after noticing that the Phantom Knight had been killed and that Wolf Poison's reaction had disappeared.

In the face of a final three-on-one situation, he doesn't need to provide any assistance.

All he needs to do is trust in the abilities of others and conserve his own energy as much as possible.

"They're definitely not easy to deal with."

Once Kikyo became alert, she realized that the Rain Guardian and Storm Guardian on the other side were constantly watching the ground. Now, any movement she made would be noticed by them, making it difficult to launch a sneak attack.

[The Storm Guardian's bullets are becoming increasingly powerful.]

The edge of Rain Guardian's sword also began to grow sharper.

[I've grown little by little through battle.]

Kikyo glanced at Hibari Kyoya, who was already tied up on the ground.

[It seems that growing stronger through battle isn't unique to him; the Rain Guardian and Storm Guardian's growth potential is comparable to his.]

If we let them continue to grow stronger, it will become very difficult for me to deal with them.

The key issue is that Kikyo can't easily reveal her true intentions right now.

They're all waiting for him to reveal his hand, but it's not that easy.

"almost."

Chrome glanced at the time.

[The Boss predicted Irie's lifespan to be forty minutes. Subtracting the three minutes for preparation, Irie has now reached her critical health threshold.]

It's time to take action.

After glancing in the direction of the target, the fluctuations left behind by Chrome also took effect.

The camera in the audience area switched to the daisies.

"puff!"

"Hey?"

Daisy, sitting on the stone seat, froze for a moment, then collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely.

In just a moment, the deathly flames in his heart suddenly went out.

"I've had enough of these timed illusions."

Byakuran felt that he had to be careful when he came into contact with Chrome, otherwise he might be the one to fall victim next.

"The Battle of Choice has ended, and the Vongola Family emerged victorious."

Even though Irie Shoichi was already out of breath, he still had a breath left, and the death flame in his heart was still burning.

But the deathly flame in Daisy's heart had been extinguished in that instant.

Just based on this point alone, Cerbero knew who had won.

"Wow~ I didn't expect Xiao Zheng to actually survive. He's really lucky."

"...Don't talk like you want Irie dead with that gleeful look on your face."

Just because others don't dare to criticize Byakuran doesn't mean Tsunayoshi does.

"Kikyo deliberately stalled for time with Gokudera and the others because she knew you didn't really want to kill Irie."

"Otherwise, even if Kikyo can't defeat Gokudera and Yamamoto, she can still find Irie and kill him in their combined attack."

"..."

Bai Lan's smile froze slightly.

"Tsunayoshi, do you know that sometimes you shouldn't say anything even if you see through something?"

"You... are just being arrogant."

He clearly didn't want Irie to die, but he always said that. Now that he sees that Irie is actually alive, he's actually happy.

However, Tsuna felt that this kind of attribute was cuter on a girl.

When applied to a man, especially in this context, it gives him a gay vibe.

Tsuna stood up from his seat.

"A week later, the final game will take place in the forest behind the forest."

"Remember to get your body in good shape first, so that the final game doesn't lose its luster."

"Oh dear~ In that case, I'll definitely make all the necessary preparations."

Bai Lan also felt that today was more interesting than any other day.

Whether it's things about the Avengers or things related to myself.

Compared to the past when my fate was controlled by others, the feeling of deciding my own fate is so much better.

You should also prepare yourself properly.

"Things must be complicated with that child."

"...This is no ordinary trouble. It will probably take a week to complete all the procedures. At least, the process of sending us back to ten years ago will require a lot of effort."

"The key is to save that child's life... isn't it?"

Well... I guess that's how it is.

Bai Lan glanced back at Yuni.

Our fates are intertwined because of one bastard.

After learning about their shared fate, Byakuran began to feel a certain degree of empathy for Yuni.

Perhaps Tsuna isn't the only one in this world who shares my fate; there's you too, Yuni.

Chapter 124 The Distortion That Changed the World

"Well……"

When Irie opened her eyes, she saw that familiar ceiling.

"...Am I still alive?"

The memories before I fainted gradually returned.

"Really? So I'm still alive."

"Ah, you were lucky this time. Bai Lan never really wanted to kill you until the very end."

"……Yeah?"

This is the answer that Irie is least willing to face right now.

Betraying Mr. Byakuran led to the changes he has undergone. Perhaps all of this in the parallel world is actually the result of his unauthorized decisions.

"You don't need to worry too much about these issues. Now is not the time for you to think about those things."

Lalmilch no longer needs to worry about Sawada and his group's lack of strength. The strength they've shown today already demonstrates that Sawada is capable enough to say he can kill Byakuran Geso.

She glanced at Irie Shoichi and knew very well that neither side was having an easy time.

Moreover, Bai Lan's drastic changes were all caused by this man.

[...But even knowing this, I can't bring myself to hate him.]