My youth story cannot be a knight war

In the end, he could only drag his exhausted body and flee the house filled with the wailing of children like a deserter. Dejected, he returned to the Metropolitan Police Department to continue working.

It wasn't that he didn't want to rest, it was more like he really wanted to just sleep it off and treat all this as a nightmare - but he couldn't.

[Because there are more important things waiting for him to deal with. ]

【Tokyo, Metropolitan Police Department, conference room.】

[“Yamagata Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture…”]

[Art said a word, and Gokou Ruri used her marker to tick the corresponding place name on the Japanese map on the notice board, her expression becoming increasingly gloomy.]

She then put down her pen, turned to the police officers sitting at the conference table behind her, and said.

"The above are all the areas we've discovered related to the Zero Massacre. According to the autopsy results, the earliest body's death can be traced back to nearly a month ago, and the number of unconfirmed deaths is..."

After hesitating for a moment, Gokuri Ruri finally spoke out these numbers that shocked her.

[…A total of one hundred and sixty-one.]

After hearing this number, the participants, who had originally had varying expressions, fell silent, and the collective atmosphere turned into one of solemnity.

"161... in just one month?"

[A police officer said this in disbelief, and another person nearby echoed the same sentiment.]

"Since the first confirmed lifeforms appeared, we've spent nearly a year, with the help of Mr. Zaimokuza and the leadership of Mr. Kousaka, to eliminate only 33 of them. But Zero has killed about five times as many in just one month. This..."

As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced towards the front. Kousaka Kyousuke, one of the characters he was talking about, was sitting there, smoking with an expressionless face. The ashtray on the table in front of him was already filled with cigarette butts.

【Ever since the closed meeting after returning from the academy festival, Zaimokuza's identity is no longer a secret within the Countermeasures Headquarters, so Kousaka Kyousuke didn't react to it.】

He didn't express any shock at the terrifying strength revealed in this data. He simply put out the cigarette in the ashtray and spoke in a deep voice.

"The key to the problem isn't this. The key is why, after being silent for so long, Zero would reappear? And why would it slaughter its own kind with its own hands? This is what we really need to understand."

"This is undoubtedly extremely abnormal. This phenomenon has never occurred in the past series of events. What is the purpose of No. 0 doing this? We don't know, but we must find out."

[“And now we only have one clue to the truth…Five more.”]

The policewoman nodded in agreement and posted a photo on the notice board. The photo showed a woman with a cold and beautiful face and temperament. She was wearing a long white dress and walked through the tunnel, like a flower blooming beside the forest path.

"B1, based on the intelligence we have, she's played a crucial role in this series of Gurongi incidents. If those guys treat all of this as a game, then she's probably acting like a referee."

Everyone frowned at Kousaka Kyosuke's words. Although this had been a long-held suspicion, it still made people feel genuinely disgusted every time they heard it.

[Kousaka Kyousuke's eyes were fixed on Baruba in the photo, but there was not the slightest bit of the amazement that a man should have when appreciating a beautiful woman. It was as if frost was condensing in his eyes, and even his voice was cold.]

[Ever since returning from Shiga Prefecture a week ago, he no longer had any mercy for these monsters. All he had was a bone-chilling murderous intent, even though they looked no different from humans before their transformations.]

"So she should know something about this series of abnormal phenomena. Next, we must find a way to find B1, capture her, and ask her about the—"

[Bang! The loud sound of a door opening interrupted his words. Everyone turned to look at the door of the conference room. A policeman was standing there, panting.]

“Oh no!”

His first words gave everyone a foreboding premonition, and his next words immediately confirmed it.

"Unidentified Lifeform No. 3 and the new No. 34 appeared together in Shinjuku!"

[Ka-la!] A more violent sound echoed in the conference room. Kousaka Kyosuke suddenly stood up from his chair and stared intently at the police officer who had delivered the message.

"Two, two!?"

【Not long ago, Shinjuku district.】

Go-Zazaru-Ba, dressed like a fashionable girl, waved a small folding umbrella in her hand and walked along a small path with an impatient look on her face.

Now it's its turn to play, so Zazaru is out looking for prey. However, since he just found a place that meets the requirements, he can't find any other targets that meet the requirements no matter how hard he looks. That's why he looks so impatient.

The rules of the Zazaru game are to paint different nail polishes on the ten fingers of both hands, then find boxes of corresponding colors from left to right to kill people, and repeat this cycle until the required number of people is reached.

The last time it was white, and the next time it was green, it was looking for a green box with people in it.

[But this is very troublesome, because Zazaru still can't find a green box. Almost nothing he sees is green, even the cars on the street.]

"...Baruba, where is it?"

【"Um?"】

A hoarse voice suddenly came from the right. Zazaru turned around in surprise. He saw a strange man, even in broad daylight, holding a black umbrella. Standing at the exit of an alley, a pair of gloomy eyes peered out from under the black umbrella, staring intently at him.

"So it's you? You're not dead yet?"

Zazaru recognized the true identity of this strange man and immediately laughed at him.

"What? You're finally giving up hiding after all this time? You 'ZU' piece of shit."

【“——”】

The black umbrella trembled visibly at Zazaru's sarcastic taunt, and the sound that followed became even more sinister, like a hyena grinding its teeth.

"I say, where is Baruba?"

"Who knows? If you want to see her, go find her yourself. I'm going to continue my game. Don't get in my way."

Zazaru made no attempt to answer the other party's question. He calmly folded his folding fan and walked under the open black umbrella.

Just as it was about to pass by the other party, a muscular arm suddenly stretched out from under the black umbrella and grabbed Zazaru's collar tightly.

Before Zazaru could react, the arm erupted with immense force, hurling it directly against the alley wall. The impact from behind caused the folding fan in his hand to fall to the ground.

[The black umbrella was casually thrown into the sky, revealing the figure underneath.]

【"tell me--"】

[Gone from his former coldness and paleness, Gooma, now muscular and bulging, exposed himself to the sunlight he had previously avoided, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt. He glared at Zazaru, who met his cold gaze, with a ferocious expression, and roared.]

[“——Baruba, where the hell is it!?”]

Its eyes widened, a faint golden light flickering in them, emitting an ominous glow.

24. Break into the battle! (4K)

"Whatever you do is meaningless."

Zazaru showed no sign of being moved by this sudden attack. His face, heavily smeared with dark makeup, stared at the ferocious Gooma in front of him with impatience, his eyes filled with nothing but boredom and annoyance.

"Did you use that thing when you're like this? It's boring. At this point, no matter how much you struggle, it's still the same. Just wake up and die quickly. Don't come here and interfere with my game. You're really in the way."

[“ZU’s trash.”]

This last sentence was filled with contempt and ridicule, causing Gooma's already ferocious features to become even more distorted, with fierce wrinkles covering his entire face like the grain of a tree.

The immense humiliation crawled through its brain like a venomous snake, and the series of memories from the past screamed like a night owl in its dark heart, even the cry was filled with mockery.

Zazaru's sarcasm turned into a sharp knife, piercing Gooma's heart and stirring its soul.

Over the past few years, Gooma has been bullied, despised, and trampled upon countless times by his own people. These painful memories sting Gooma's already fragile and sensitive self-esteem, and his shattered pride bursts forth into boundless rage and hatred.

The golden light in those eyes seemed to be stained with blood at this moment. The blood-gold light reflected like the sharp teeth of an evil spirit, making one's hair stand on end.

A violent roar rang out from his throat, his clenched teeth transformed into sharp, interlocking canines, and twisted features replaced the furious face. Sharp claws tore open Zazaru's collar, leaving deep bloody marks on the white skin of his neck.

[“——Don’t look down on me! I’m a different person now!”]

Gooma grabbed Zazaru's neck and, with a muffled groan, pushed his body against the wall behind him, then pinned him to the ground and quickly ran towards the alleyway ahead.

Zazaru's body was dragged across the ground at high speed. The clothing on his back, rubbing against the rough ground, was quickly torn apart by the brutality, revealing his fair back. His skin was also cut open by the friction with the ground, leaving bloody gaps. Blood covered the entire path of his dragging.

After dragging him about ten meters, Gooma's hand, which had been gripping Zazaru's neck, suddenly shifted to gripping his face. He lifted him up and, roaring, flung him forward. His terrifying wrist strength transformed Zazaru's body into a cannonball, sending it hurtling towards a closed-off bar behind him.

【boom! 】

Amidst a resounding explosion, Zazaru easily slammed the chained door open. With the snapping of chains, his body smashed through both doors, sending him hurtling into the bar. The clatter of tables, chairs, and cups echoed like a rapid musical melody. The sheer expense of such artistic creation must have been enough to move the bar owner to tears.

Gooma reached out to grab the bar's broken iron door, ignoring the faint sound of sirens in the distance and forcefully ripped it open. The iron door was easily torn into pieces in its hands like a piece of paper.

The broken beer glass fragments were crushed even more by the soles of his feet. Gooma walked through the messy corridor and stopped at a booth to look down.

Zazaru, his back a bloody mess, lay sprawled in the ballroom beneath the booth, motionless, seemingly unconscious. Seeing his miserable state, Gooma felt a slight relief from the pent-up anger within him.

[That's it! This is what I wanted to see, the power I've always dreamed of! Power enough to make those bastards who looked down on me shut up completely!]

Feeling the unprecedented powerful force flowing through his body, Gooma nodded with satisfaction, his heart becoming even more sinister.

[All of its fellows who bullied it in the past, don't even think about escaping!]

Gooma grabbed the railing and leaped high from the booth, landing next to the prone Zazaru. He reached out and grabbed Zazaru by the hair, pulling him up. His fanged mouth opened and closed, emitting a foul, fishy odor.

"Tell me, where is Baruba—"

A hand gripped Gooma's palm, blue veins pulsing on the back of the hand, and a huge force gripped its wrist like an iron clamp.

[Zazaru, pulled up by his hair, slowly raised his head and looked at Gooma. There was no trace of impatience on his face anymore. Blood flowed from the gash on his forehead, and his expressionless face looked like a statue carved from ice.]

Zazaru narrowed his eyes, a needle-sharp, cold light flickering deep within them, and spoke in a stern voice.

[“——Don’t be so arrogant, you bat bastard!”]

Before the other party could react, it suddenly leaped up from its kneeling position, its long, slender right leg sweeping in a perfect circle and slashing at Gooma's neck, sending it flying. Its body broke a supporting column before rolling a long way across the dusty and stone-covered floor.

【"snort!"】

Zazaru grabbed the fabric at her shoulders and tore off the tattered shirt, throwing it away. His curvaceous upper body was exposed, and the wounds on his back and other parts of his body from the dragging began to heal at a visible speed.

Gurongi lacked a human sense of shame, and this act of generous favors didn't strike Zazaru as odd. He fiercely stared at Gooma, who had risen from the ground not far away. His body shifted in a flurry of ripples, his face now covered by a venomous scorpion's.

[Zazaru, transformed into a Gurongi, reached out and plucked one of the ornaments wrapped around his shoulders like a shawl. The jewels inlaid on his wrist flashed red, and the crescent-shaped ornament transformed into a stone claw in his palm.]

Zazaru unhesitatingly clasped the claw against the back of his hand. The claw's sharp backstab pierced his palm, and purple-black blood flowed down the claw's blood groove.

[Zizzizi——]

As the blood dripped down the claws onto the ground, a terrifying scene suddenly appeared. The marble floor tiles were easily corroded, leaving holes one after another, like a tree trunk eaten away by termites.

"Don't underestimate me! I'm Go-Zazaru-Ba, melting my prey with my deadly poison!"

[Raising this terrifying claw, Zazaru's tone was as cold as a snake, but it concealed a surging rage.]

"If you underestimate me, I'll let you experience what it's like to have your insides melt!"

"What a terrifying toxin! Can it actually melt marble?"

Dalu Bingzang felt his scalp tingling as he watched the marble tiles being melted on the screen. The power of this toxin was even more terrifying than aqua regia, and it could even dissolve the tiles.

But what surprised him even more was not this, but that the long-silent No. 3 had appeared again, and this time he went straight to Gurongi who was playing the game. It was obvious that his purpose was not simple.

"Number three, this guy actually appeared again? No, this guy is actually still alive today?"

Looking at Gooma who was dodging Zazaru's attack on the light screen, Ooji Bingzang's tone became a little strange.

It's really no wonder that he has such thoughts, because if you think about it carefully, you will know that the fact that Gurongi No. 3, who had already appeared in the video before the light screen appeared, can survive to this time period can be said to be a miracle of some magnitude.

You should know that the other Gurongi of the "ZU" Group that belonged to the same time period as it withdrew early at the beginning, and even the game stage of the "ME" Group that was in the previous stage has come to an end. It is really a wonder that it, which belongs to the "ZU" Group, can still appear in the current game stage belonging to the "GO" Group players.

For example, it's like when in the third season's ranked battle, a bronze label ID from the first season suddenly appeared among the king label IDs all over the map. The sense of incongruity this gave people was beyond description with the word "surprise". If I had to say it, it was a unique one.

And if Dairo Bikuzo remembered correctly, this guy didn't even have an enhanced form, he was just an ordinary Gurongi. But now that even enhanced forms have become the tears of the version, he actually appeared and went straight to cause trouble for the players of the "GO" group, each of whom has an original form that is a level higher than the enhanced form.

Is this bat so brave?

"It's just a last-ditch effort~ha."

The fat exotic bird, 'Dira', lying in the arms of Dairo Bingzang, covered his mouth with his wings and yawned, then opened his dead eyes and made a similar comment to Zazaru in the light curtain.

"Hmm? Dila, do you know why No. 3 did this?"

Upon hearing this, Dalu Bingzang looked down at the fat bird in his arms curiously and asked.

"Hey, young man, do you know?"

Dila did not answer his question, but instead said something that seemed to be true but was not.

"Compared to you humans, we animals are very sensitive to the phenomenon of 'death'. For example, dogs will leave their owners' homes in the last period of their lives because they keenly sense that their lives are about to end."

"Some birds also have similar abilities. Many elderly people will have many birds circling around their homes for a period of time before they die. This is because those birds also sense the approach of death."

"Well, I've heard that before, but why are you suddenly telling me this? Do you also have this ability? But aren't you a poultry?"

Ooji Bingzang scratched his hair and said in confusion.

"—Bird! Even though I look like this now, I am a truly noble bird, okay?! I'm not a chicken or a duck!"