Black Iron Magician

「――■, that level ■ madness ■ not enough. Anger, hatred, those born ■ momentary emotion ■ just imitations, and ■ will never win against ■ real madness that has ■ for many years. Touko, I learned ■ from you at that time. I paid for ■ with my own ■.」

「Hah? I felt like my name was called, but I have no idea what you’re talking about, Kira-san.」

The one who suddenly appeared and restrained Ernest was the 『Headless』 Kira. Moreover, he was not uttering incomprehensible shouts, but understandable human words. Although there were some inaudible noises, the atmosphere surrounding him seemed completely different from before. Or rather, he could only be seen as a certain person that the three of them knew. They can’t tell by his face because he doesn’t have a head, but now that he could talk, his voice sounds exactly like their former classmate’s.

「This voice is Toue-kun’s, isn’t it? Does that mean Kira-san is Toue-kun?」

「…… Hmm, didn’t Toue-kun leave Adelheit with his friends? Did I remember it wrong?」

「No, I thought so too. D-Don’t tell me, did he evolve, even though he was a human, and became like this…!?」

「Considering this world, I can’t say that it’s impossible. But if that were the case, it makes sense that his name was changed to Kira. Since he lost his head, the 『A』 from the head of the name Akira was removed, and his name was changed to Kira…!」

「I see, that sounds convincing!」

Regardless of how he became the 『Headless』, Chinatsu perfectly guessed why Vakala named him so. Vakala, who was watching through the screen, was surprised.

「…… Come to think of it, I didn’t tell you guys. After Akira and the others left Adelheit, he killed Murakoshi, Enari, and everyone else who went with him.」

「H-Haa!? Hey, that’s new to me!」

「I didn’t tell you after all. After that, he attacked unrelated ordinary people, so I and Lily-shishō went to Akira’s place to deal with him.」

「Toue-kun couldn’t rehabilitate, huh….. Ah, could it be at that time when Touko-chan was taken away by Lily-senpai and was away for a while?」

「Yeah, that time. Then, Lily-shishō presented Akira’s corpse to the 『Old Skull』, saying that he would be pleased. Now that I think about it, that 『Old Skull』 was old man Vakala, huh? Now it makes sense.」

「Hey, you realized it too late…. Anyway, Vakala-san used Toue-kun’s corpse to revive him by some means. Is that right, Toue-kun?

After forcibly organizing the information in their heads, Haruna and the others once again turned to face Kira―― Toue Akira.

「■, that’s right. When I ■ my life at that ■, I was revived ■ Vakala-sama. So, I guess ■ done talking? Well, if ■ still can’t understand, ■ can wait, you know? I’ve ■ waiting until now, so I think ■ can wait a little ■. Yeah, I ■ wait…!」

「「「………」」」

Akira’s tone sounds the same as when he was normal, before he went mad. The fact that he is responding to the questions suggests that he is also rational to some extent. But at the same time, he seems to be very unstable. It’s as if he would explode at any time.

「But in ■ meantime, I will do my ■. Hey, you. You’re now the ■ of this country, ■?」

「Nnn……!」

Akira suddenly asked Ernest, who’s being caught by him. His mouth was covered when he tried to speak, so he had no choice but to groan in response.

「But that ■ is too much for you. That’s nothing but a ■. Because of ■, your head is ■ targeted by ■ girls. That’s why, give ■ position to me. I will ■ at the top of ■ country in your stead. …… If you ■, I will ■ him, you know?」

「N-Nnnn!?」

Akira’s words are still filled with noise. But even so, everyone was able to understand his words. Instead of Ernest, he himself will become the ruler of Elderado and take over the duties. If Ernest refuses, he would kill the real Titos. Akira certainly said so.

「W-Wait, Toue-kun!? What are you talking about!?」

「It ■ as I said. If this guy can become the ■ just by changing his name and ■ the formalities, then I also could ■ the rightful successor, right?」

「We aren’t asking about that! Why the hell are you going to be the emperor!? Even though you’re just a burden, you’re still Carmine’s representative!」

「…… Is that a part of Vakala-san’s trial? Maybe that was the plan from the beginning?」

When Haruna muttered so, the room fell silent for a moment.

「…… Hee, I didn’t expect much ■ Touko, but I was surprised that the one who ■ it right was Katsuragi, not the smart Rokusai. Is ■ what you call wild intuition?」

「Rather than intuition, it was because I wasn’t convinced. I mean, this is Vakala-san’s trial, right? It’s too easy if we just need to kill the real or fake emperor. I thought White Wolf-san we met on the way was the real trial, but it didn’t seem to be the case either…. Ah, talking about intuition, I think that White Wolf-san was unexpected even for Vakala-san. I somehow have that feeling.」

「…… Sigh, to think that you ■ everything right. I really ■ you, Katsuragi. That’s ■, I’m the last boss of ■ trial. Also, that crazy wolf ■ unexpected even for us. That’s why I purposely did ■ to make her mad and became your scapegoat. You should thank me for ■.」

「I see. Thank you for your help! Also, thank you for being the last boss! Thanks to that, I was able to do my best more!」

「……!」

Haruna bowed her head. However, her eyes were already in combat mode, and she was clearly looking at Akira as her prey.

「Aah, those eyes. Those eyes ■ irritating. …… Katsuragi, how about ■ me one-on-one? To take the head of the ■ of Elderado, to settle the hero selection ■, or to ■ the swap battle of the Sixty Six Demon ■ that you wanted―― I don’t care the reason. I just want to ■ you so badly. So please, let me ■ that feeling.」