Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 15 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Thin Thread to Victory

His entire body had been blown to bits. The strike had been intense enough for that delusion to take root. When he came to, Kaneki Mikihiko found himself lying face up on the hard stone floor. He’d apparently lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he saw his best friend looking down at him.

“I’m...alive?”

“Not much point asking me. You should know better than anyone.”

“That’s true...”

He laughed a little. It turned out he hadn’t met an explosive end. That said, it felt like “not dead” was a better descriptor than “alive.” In terms of condition, a worn-out rag seemed an appropriate analogy. His utter defeat was almost refreshing.

“Aah...dammit.”

Correction. It felt great.

“How pathetic. I couldn’t do a thing.”

“That’s not true.”

Majima Takahiro shook his head. There was no deception in his tone. As proof of his claim, his left arm was dangling in its socket. This was the arm he’d used in the collision against Aerial Knights. Even now, blood dribbled down his fingers.

“Did you think you were no match at all?” Takahiro asked.

“Uhhh...”

“Just so you know, I didn’t hold anything back. I’d be dead if I did.”

There was a large laceration on the cheek of his dead-serious face. There were wounds all over his body too. Above all else, his voice clearly indicated that he wasn’t just trying to comfort his friend.

“You’re strong, Mikihiko. That’s why I gave it everything I had.”

He believed. Just maybe, he believed more than Kaneki Mikihiko himself. He knew there was no way his best friend would die from an attack of this level.

During the battle, Kaneki Mikihiko had also sensed that Majima Takahiro believed in him to such an extent. That was why, in that last instant, the thought, “I can’t die here,” came to mind. By colliding with Aerial Knights, the Devil Arm had slowed down the tiniest bit, which had allowed him to twist to the side with a reserve of strength he didn’t even know he had.

Perhaps the belief his best friend had in him was what had allowed him to narrowly avoid death. Surely, this had been the one and only path to prevent the doom he’d already steeled himself for.

“I see...”

Kaneki Mikihiko sighed deeply. It was as if he was catching his first breath after walking down a long, long road. However, that was when a boorish presence approached.

“Defeated, huh?”

Someone had jumped down from the corridor surrounding the upper level of this room. It was one of the knights who’d been keeping an eye on Kaneki Mikihiko. He was a particularly skilled one too. As was to be expected, he’d infiltrated the area during the battle. He wasn’t likely to be the only one either. The others simply hadn’t shown themselves yet. They were the assault force meant to deliver the final blow after their sacrificial pawn finished his job.

“Kaneki Mikihiko, if you can still move, bind Majima Takahiro so he can’t move.”

He was probably the leader of the assault force. His orders were dispassionate.

“That’s unreasonable...”

Kaneki Mikihiko flashed a wry smile. His body was so wounded he didn’t even know what state it was in anymore. At the very least, all his limbs were broken. Also, while the weapons he’d used for Aerial Knights were scattered all over, his ability had naturally been cut off, and none were so much as budging. Either way, the knight probably expected this answer.

“I see. How unfortunate,” he said in a businesslike manner.

He raised his hand. He was about to give the signal for his men to attack. Seeing how they were waiting for the perfect opportunity to show themselves, they’d likely brought some kind of rare magic tools or the like with them. They’d confirmed that their target, Majima Takahiro, had suffered considerable wounds. They likely didn’t care about their sacrificial pawn getting caught in the cross fire either.

Kaneki Mikihiko had predicted this development. However, now that it had come to this, he couldn’t do anything about it. That was why he’d done everything he could to prepare. He’d played every card he could think of. On top of all that, he believed. There was a limit to what people could accomplish alone. That was exactly why people trusted others. It was precisely because he’d devoted himself to human relations that this trust bore fruit.

“Wh-Who the hell are you?!”

A voice suddenly reached his ears. This was the thin thread leading to victory. This was the hope the boy who’d endured for so long was finally able to grasp.

◆ ◆ ◆

The voice was coming from the magic communication device that’d been lent to Kaneki Mikihiko.

“How?! Why the hell are you here?!”

He could tell how much of a panic the man who’d been giving him orders was in. However, that only lasted for a moment.

“Gah?!”

The man shrieked in agony. It was clearly an abnormal situation.

“Wh-What’s happening...?”

The knight who was about to give the order to attack looked startled. Sounds of destruction resonated over the communication device followed by a flurry of activity. Around ten seconds later, an unexpected voice played over it.

“Mister Kaneki! Can you hear me?!”

“Huh...?” Majima Takahiro was the one to react to the woman’s call. “Shiran?”

He wouldn’t mistake that voice for anyone else’s. It was the voice of the knight who’d offered him her sword. However, she was supposed to be in this fabricated world too. Why was she on the other end of the communication device, with the man who was monitoring the commander in the capital? That was only the beginning of the shocking news too.

“Shiran! The west side is secured! Miss Mitarai is asking what to do next!”

“Even Kei...?”

Next, they could hear Kei, who’d been left behind in the capital. For some reason, even the Stalwart Snow White Mitarai Aoi’s name came up. The situation was becoming more and more incomprehensible.

“Understood. Kei, please wait a moment. I’m trying to get in touch with Mister Kaneki... Huh, Marcus?!”

“Mikihiko! Can you hear me?! We did it!” an emotional man yelled over the device.

“H-Hey! Give that back!” Shiran shouted in a fluster. “At any rate, just as we planned, we’ve secured the commander’s safety!”

“What?!”

The leader of the assault force raised his voice in shock. Unable to keep up with the situation, his mouth flapped open and shut. However, Kaneki Mikihiko’s focus didn’t catch the man’s reactions. The only thing he wanted was to hear a single voice.

“Mikihiko. You fool.”

In that instant, the boy was rewarded for all the suffering he’d gone through. Truly and thoroughly, it was all worth it now. It was like a miracle.

“Commander, are you all right?”

Mustering what little mana he had, Kaneki Mikihiko’s voice reached her across the magic tool.

“Yes. Of course. How could I not be? Who do you think has been protecting me?”

She sounded angry. That made him happy.

“I have something to tell you,” she said. “It’ll take a while, so... Mikihiko, make sure to come back alive. You hear me? That’s a promise.”

“Understood.”

After they exchanged that nail-biting promise, Shiran spoke again.

“All the captured members of the Alliance Knights have also been freed. I’ll be taking them now to break out of here.”

They were in the middle of an operation. That was when the communication cut off.

“Wh-Wh-Wha...”

Attacking was long out of the assault force leader’s mind. He was clearly in dismay, glaring down at Kaneki Mikihiko.

“Wh-What the hell have you done?!”

“Well, you know, rescue the commander. Weren’t you listening?”

“You can’t possibly have...!”

“I can. I mean, now’s the only time to do it,” the boy said, grinning. “The majority of the knights Harrison can move behind closed doors have been mobilized for this assassination. When else could it be done?”

“Wha...?!”

Yes. This exact instant was what he’d been aiming for all along.

“With an operation this big, you need a whole lotta hands on deck. However, even though Harrison’s at the top of the Holy Order, there aren’t that many people who can be put into action for an assassination. And if he bumps into trouble, he’s gotta make use of the personnel he has on standby in the capital. It was clear to see.”

The Holy Order was made up entirely of knights. They were respectable people who safeguarded the world, protecting the people from the constant threat of monsters. Much like Gordon, the majority of the knights hadn’t been informed of the operation, restricting what Harrison was capable of. This was an opening Kaneki Mikihiko had taken advantage of.

“That’s why I constantly got in the way of the plan. To protect Takahiro and to rescue the commander.”

“B-But y-you’re...”

“You figured my willpower was already broken, yeah? I did go as far as having a serious fight to the death against Takahiro. In such circumstances, there was no point in keeping a strict watch on the commander, especially when you were already short on hands... I made sure you came to that conclusion.”

There were those who always kept an eye on Kaneki Mikihiko, but it would’ve been tremendously difficult for them to see through the layers of subterfuge. After all, the fight to the death with his best friend had been the real thing.

Kaneki Mikihiko had faced this battle ready to die. His grim determination had made it impossible for his observers to anticipate his intentions.

“Several of the Alliance Knights didn’t get caught in Serrata. I’ve been secretly in contact with them, putting together a rescue operation. Still, we were lacking in terms of combat strength. That’s why I asked for some help.”

“I see. That’s where Shiran comes in...”

Majima Takahiro nodded in understanding. He knew his best friend’s disposition well. He’d inferred that Kaneki Mikihiko had steeled himself for death, and had also figured there was more to this whole thing than that. That was why he’d played along with this plan. Still, he obviously didn’t know all the details, so he paid careful attention to what his friend was saying.

“I explained everything to Shiran and had her go back to the capital using a teleportation runestone. The Alliance Knights who’d evaded capture were fully prepared on-site, and once she linked up with them, she took part in the rescue operation.”

Shiran was also one of the Alliance Knights who’d evaded capture in Serrata. There was no way she’d object to rescuing the commander, who was so respected and revered among the company. This was especially the case if, by doing so, Kaneki Mikihiko would be freed from having to join the enemy, reducing the threat to the savior she’d sworn her sword to.

“Y-You bastard!” With everything revealed to him, the leader of the assault force roared. “Th-There’s no way you could’ve done such a thing! You’ve been under surveillance!”

“Yeah. You lot were watching me, but I pulled it off anyway. That’s the truth.”

“G-Guh...!” It meant he’d been tricked this whole time. The knight’s rage flowed outward. “Die!”

He raised his hand once more in anger, signaling his comrades to launch the attack. Majima Takahiro had been dealt major damage. They could just crush him here. However, in that instant, a shadowy blade jutted out of the knight’s stomach.

“Wh...at?”

“Unfortunately, your friends have already been exterminated,” Dora said.

She hadn’t shown herself this entire time. She’d been pretending to wait for Edgar to show an opening while instead dealing with the enemies who’d infiltrated the room.

“N-No...way...”

The last member of the assault force collapsed. At that moment, Kaneki Mikihiko’s lonely battle finally came to an end.