Chapter 110 - The Two Heroes
The bus begins to move.
As for Kana's stream, it was finally reaching its peak of excitement.
It's not just because it's a young girl's video... her unreserved talk might also be the secret to her popularity.
Kana repeatedly says things like, "TV celebrities are obsolete, this is the era of streamers."
It's behavior that makes you anxious just watching, but judging from the comments, almost all the viewers agree (with the exception of a certain Ayaya).
Actually, isn't Kana's thing, badmouthing other famous people like that, going to get her targeted by some weird handles?
I remember a few days ago, Ayako-chan, with her eyes glinting in the corner of the room, quietly radiating fighting spirit, said, "There's a streamer who's badmouthing Nakamoto-san. She's around my age, too."
...Her love is heavy.
In any case, Kana's probably holding a grudge about the whole split-up incident and cursing me out about this and that, but it's just the howling of a defeated dog, so it'd be fine to just let her say what she wants.
From Ayako-chan's perspective, it's probably an unforgivable act, though. She said it was her daily routine to crush the anti-threads about me that pop up regularly.
Surely she doesn't intend to fight every single anti-Keisuke Nakamoto that exists on the internet?
It's scary because it seems possible.
What's truly terrifying might not be dragons, but humans...
While I was thinking deep thoughts from such a shallow trigger, the bus arrived at the stop in front of the station.
Following the sound of air being released, the door opens, and passengers begin to move one after another.
That mother with the baby also went down the steps with a light, rhythmic step.
After seeing her off, I also rose from my seat.
Glancing at Kana's stream, it showed a scene where she was being restrained by several police officers and lectured that it was off-limits.
That's only natural.
A high school girl suddenly trying to approach the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which is occupied by a dragon, warrants a natural response.
But, there she is, the wild horse Kana Saeki. After raising a huge fuss about molestation and sexual harassment, she finally shoved one of the officers aside and forcibly created an entry path.
Since she's doing this while holding a camera in one hand, the footage is terribly shaky. It's the kind of video that would make you feel sick if you watched it for too long.
I take my eyes off my smartphone for a moment and pay the fare.
After confirming the coins are sucked into the fare box, I got off the bus.
Now I just have to transfer trains and head to Shinjuku Station.
I decided to kill the waiting time until then by watching Kana's stream.
I walk to the platform and sit down on a bench.
It's about ten minutes until the next train. With that much time, maybe Kana will have defeated the dragon or something, I thought with a half-smile as I peered at the screen, and there was Kana, right in the middle of being gobbled up by the dragon.
"...You're kidding."
The camera lying on the ground seems to be pointing straight up, and it continues to dispassionately film its owner being preyed upon in the sky above.
Even if she's a good-for-nothing brat on the inside, I should probably go help her.
Should I not use the train and just run to rescue her right now?
Just as I was lifting my butt off the seat, countless lines of light began to extend from around the dragon's mouth.
A flash! of light is released, and the sound of an explosion echoes.
Immediately after, Kana landed with a thud.
'Ouch...'
She seems to be bleeding here and there, but seeing her moving around energetically, her life isn't in danger.
She placed her palm on a wound and began an incantation, so she's probably casting Recovery Magic.
I'd like to say I'm relieved, but the enraged dragon's rampage is already in an uncontrollable state. At this rate, it might indiscriminately unleash its breath.
You could say the situation has worsened compared to before.
"She really does nothing but unnecessary things."
I cast Concealment Magic and jumped down from the platform.
I start sprinting at full speed along the railway tracks.
"—Huff."
A few seconds after accelerating, I felt the sensation of hitting a wall of air.
I had surpassed the speed of sound.
I rhythmically lift my thighs and continue running with the form of a track athlete.
The surrounding scenery flows by at the speed of the wind, switching dizzyingly.
My own legs, faster than any vehicle.
It's exactly like a superhuman from a manga, so much so that it makes me want to laugh.
Faced with physical abilities beyond human understanding, I even feel a sense of emptiness, thinking, ah, I'm really not human anymore, am I...
How good would it have been if I had a personality like Kana's, the type that comfortably indulges in power?
If I were that kind of person, I might have stirred up the world as I pleased and become the ruler of Earth or something.
But I don't have even a shred of that kind of desire.
I would have been happy just to become a man who could walk alongside Elsa and help soothe a baby.
An ordinary, stay-at-home dad.
A man who pushes a stroller and goes for walks on his days off.
That would have been enough, yet here I am now, transformed into a monster that moves faster than a fighter jet.
I really don't get it, I think with self-derision as I slow down.
Shinjuku Station had come into view.
If I walk a little from here, I'll run into that married couple who, despite being dragons, succeeded in building a home and a family.
I'm heading out now to smash the dream I was never able to fulfill.
Even if they are monsters that will start eating people if left alone, I can't tell which of us is the villain.
"...Guess I'll find a weapon."
I jumped up onto the platform and began walking, blending into the crowd.
While steadying my breath, I peer into my smartphone.
Looking at it, the shocking footage shows the male dragon unleashing its breath at Kana, and her narrowly dodging it for dear life.
The comment section is filled with "Run" and "Isn't this bad," and even Ayaya is silent.
Kana's guts, not stopping the recording even in this state, might be pretty incredible.
"Hmm."
An evacuation advisory has been issued for the area around the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, so there shouldn't be anyone there except for the police officers and Self-Defense Force personnel keeping watch in the distance.
You could say it's almost uninhabited.
So, while the buildings and cars destroyed every time Kana dodges the breath are causing damage, there are probably no casualties.
A massive amount of giant scrap, increasing by the minute.
What do you know, Kana is a little useful after all.
That's a blessing. Because I can just hurl one of these at the dragon.
I didn't destroy them, so it eases my conscience.
Kana is hiding behind what looks like a piece of a collapsed building, a roughly three-meter chunk of concrete, breathing heavily with her shoulders.
"This is good."
It's just the right size.
If I reinforce this chunk of concrete and throw it, the dragon will be finished in one blow.
Now, if only Kana doesn't die before I arrive on the scene...
...And if only she could keep the damage to the city to a minimum, that would be good.
Not expecting much of the latter, I started running again.