Chapter 99

In middle school, I had decent social skills and a fair number of friends, but among them, there was only one person I could call a best friend.

“Akira Sujiyama…”

We had been friends since elementary school, both of us were into anime and manga, and we just clicked when we talked.

We never explicitly confirmed that we were best friends, but I was confident that he felt the same way about me.

“What a nostalgic feeling…”

Even though we were in different classes after becoming middle school students, we still hung out a lot.

However, around the time we entered our second year of middle school, when Sujiyama started hanging out with a group of delinquents, a distance began to grow between us.

“If only I had listened to him back then…”

The group he was hanging out with didn’t seem like a good fit for him, so I was worried and approached him multiple times, but he kept insisting that everything was fine, so I didn’t press him for details.

Then, one day in our third year of middle school, Sujiyama stopped coming to school.

“If I had noticed his changes earlier, maybe things would have turned out differently…”

I visited his house multiple times but never managed to see him. After a while, Sujiyama transferred to another school without telling anyone.

Back then, we didn’t have smartphones, and I didn’t know the phone number of his new address, so I couldn’t get in touch with Sujiyama, who had transferred without a word.

It was then that I suddenly thought of coming to this secret base.

“Back then, there was a letter like this one here too.”

When I entered the secret base, there was a white envelope on the rickety table, just like before.

The letter revealed that since the second year, Sujiyama had been targeted by a group of delinquents and had suffered severe bullying, including physical assaults and extortion.

During this time, his parents had to go on a business trip, and it was decided that he would transfer schools.

The letter also contained an apology for not consulting anyone and transferring without a word.

“After reading that, I got angry and confronted the bullies, and ended up getting beaten up…”

…which led to the scene in the classroom earlier.

After that, I almost became the target of bullying, but as the high school entrance exams approached, the atmosphere gradually changed, and no one talked about Sujiyama anymore.

Or rather, the incident with Sujiyama was treated like a sore spot, and there was a sense that everyone was trying to forget about it.

“While I had a desire to go to a high school in the city, this incident also pushed me to go to a high school in Sapporo…”

I had always wanted to go to a high school in the city, but I couldn’t understand why my friends were trying to forget about Sujiyama, and the distance between us grew. This was one of the reasons I decided to go to a high school in Sapporo.

Incidentally, when my parents saw me come home covered in injuries, they consulted the school, gathered information, and spoke to the parents of the bullies, who received appropriate punishment.

The parents of the bullies put up a strong resistance, but they were no match for my parents, who had the negotiation skills and passion to stop tribal conflicts and negotiate with foreign mountaineering teams.

“…Was my resistance lowered because of the seal, making the impact on my heart stronger?”

Muttering to myself, I placed Sujiyama’s letter back on the table and released a massive amount of spiritual energy.

It seems that the anger I felt earlier allowed me to resist the sealing ability.

“What a bad move, Millennium Chess…”

They probably thought that bringing up my trauma would buy them time, but it only accelerated the unsealing of the seal.

“I should get out of here quickly.”

The sound of cracks, like those in glass, could be heard everywhere, likely due to the abnormality in the barrier caused by the massive amount of spiritual energy.

“First, I need to defeat the demons inside the barrier… ‘Scatter Flame Bullet.’”

I fired a full-power Scatter Flame Bullet, which could never be activated in reality, in the direction where the demons were likely to be.

◇

The rock demon was pinning down the golden giant, while the spider demon was entangling Nia and Ur, who were on the golden giant’s head, with its threads. The ogre demon was also launching a physical attack at the same time.

“I was confident in my thread manipulation, but your main technique is impressive.”

“Gyaah! Barrier, barrier, barrier, barrier, barrier, barrier!”

In this situation, Nia was deflecting the spider’s threads with spiritual energy threads, and Ur was preventing the ogre’s physical attacks with barriers.

However, the spider demon’s thread manipulation was more precise, and the barriers were being destroyed one after another by the ogre’s strength, putting Nia and Ur at a disadvantage.

“We’re being pushed back. How about it, Ur?”

“The preparations are… complete! I’m ready whenever you are!”

“Then let’s start. We can’t hold out any longer with just the golden giant and us.”

“Okay! ‘Steelworks’!”

Responding to Nia’s words, Ur, who had been solidifying the image of the technique while continuously casting barriers, activated the Steelworks.

The collected sand iron transformed into two golems: an eagle type, a tiger type, and two earth dragon types.

“And now, combine!!”

At Ur’s command, the golden giant leaped into the air. The two earth dragon type golems attached to its legs, the disassembled eagle type golem to its back and arms, and the transformed tiger type golem to its shoulders and chest. Finally, the remaining parts formed a helmet-like structure on its head.

“‘Boarding!’”

The cockpit, filled with various levers and switches, opened, and Nia and Ur boarded.

Incidentally, all the levers and switches were just for show.

“It’s complete!”

“Super combination! Genesis Gorgan!!”

With the earth dragon type golems on its legs, the golden giant reached the height of the rock demon, and its imposing presence was enhanced by the various weapons equipped on its body. It glared at the enemy with a sharp gaze.

This ‘Genesis Gorgan’ was a finishing move that Nia and Ur had conceived after many sleepless nights, practiced repeatedly, and completed through blood, sweat, and tears.

There was no need for transformation, and in fact, if they were attacked during the transformation, the combination would fail, but this was a minor issue in the face of the romantic vision they pursued.

“Kisha…”

“Goh…”

“Gura…”

The demons, who were far beyond Nia and Ur’s expectations, became more cautious and waited to see what would happen until the transformation was complete, allowing Genesis Gorgan to be successfully born.

“Let’s go!”

In the midst of the enemy’s confusion, the battle resumed with Ur’s voice.

“Eagle Wing! Deploy!”

Responding to Ur’s voice, the wings on Genesis Gorgan’s back opened wide.

While the control of Genesis Gorgan was in Nia’s hands, she was operating it in sync with Ur’s voice, but Ur was so into it that she didn’t mind.

“Kisha!”

Seeing this, the spider demon released a giant web into the air to prevent Genesis Gorgan from flying.

However, Genesis Gorgan, which seemed to be flying, suddenly lowered its body and delivered a sharp kick, sweeping the rock demon’s legs.

“Goh!?”

The rock demon, whose attention was drawn upward, was completely caught off guard, lost its balance, and fell over.

Genesis Gorgan then easily avoided the falling web.

“Genesis Gorgan doesn’t have a flight function.”

Indeed, Genesis Gorgan had no flight function; the wings on its back were just for show.

Moreover, the eagle type golem before the combination also had no flight function.

The temporary flight during the combination was achieved by Nia forcibly lifting the golem with spiritual energy threads at the moment it jumped.

“Gau!”

“It’s coming! Drill Arm! Deploy!”

The ogre demon, approaching to protect the fallen rock demon, was met by Genesis Gorgan, whose right arm had transformed into a drill.

“Here I come! Gigadrill Punch!”

The drill, which was not rotating, met the ogre’s fist.

Due to the romantic structure of the transformation and combination, Genesis Gorgan lacked the complex mechanism for rotation.

Nevertheless, the iron drill was hard and sharp. The Gigadrill Punch, which was just hard and sharp, easily shattered the ogre’s fist and crushed its right arm along with it.

“Kisha!”

“Too easy! Tiger Head!”

As the ogre demon was defeated, the spider demon shot a hard, sharp, spear-like mass of threads.

However, the tiger head on Genesis Gorgan’s chest caught the incoming spear with its mouth and crushed it.

This was actually a divine feat achieved by Nia’s extraordinary control skills, but the spider demon, who didn’t expect it to be blocked, was momentarily shaken and exposed a gap.

“Now! Knee Drill Deploy! Gigadrill Kick!”

A drill appeared from Genesis Gorgan’s knee, and the non-rotating knee drill delivered a kick that eliminated the spider demon.

Incidentally, the kick was delivered with the most powerful part of the foot, so the knee drill was not used at all.

“This is the finishing blow! Separate!”

The combined parts separated and reformed into the eagle, tiger, and earth dragon type golems, connected by Nia’s spiritual energy threads.

The golden giant joined them, and the five golems launched a group attack, crushing the rock demon.

“Justice prevails!”

Ur, who had done nothing after the golems were formed, concluded the battle, and the fight between the three demons and Nia and Ur came to an end.

The topic of bullying is sensitive, but I wanted to include it in the story of a high school student protagonist.

I plan to continue addressing this topic, but I want to ensure that the endings are uplifting, so I hope you will continue to follow the story.

And, I wonder if the Genesis Gorgan will be included in the book or if it will be drawn by Mr. Koushima when the manga catches up… Stay tuned!

For now, here’s the URL for the manga of “Hakaiou Gaoiger”:

https://hobbyjapan.co.jp/ggg/comic.php