"Haah!"
Daikaku Kokujoji did not panic. Instead, his aura erupted outward, vast and oppressive, as if the turning of stars themselves gathered behind him. Lightning, fire, and azure energy clashed together in a sudden blast that tore through the battlefield like a shockwave.
Everything within several kilometers of the city, with him at the epicenter, was annihilated in an instant. Buildings crumbled to dust, the ground quaked and split, and the ruins stretched far into the distance. Even the clansmen who had retreated tens of kilometers away could still feel the suffocating terror of his power.
Suoh Mikoto and the others blocked the destructive impact with their own powers, but Munakata Reisi's brows furrowed deeply.
Five Kings united in battle—yet even with Suoh, whose power had grown stronger than ever before, they could not so much as wound Kokujoji Daikaku. His strength was absolute, an overwhelming force of dominance.
The reason for this clash was simple: the Second King, the Golden King himself, had suddenly declared openly that he would kill every other King. If they refused to appear, he would slaughter all humanity instead.
Thus, the Kings had been forced to gather here and fight.
"Hahaha! My power is the strongest!"
Daikaku's laughter boomed across the ruins, frenzied and wild, his voice brimming with ecstasy at the might coursing through him.
"Lieutenant…"
Weismann's eyes were filled with sorrow as he gazed upon his old comrade.
Far from the battlefield, others looked on with grim faces.
"Shouldn't we go help Mikoto?" Yata Misaki, clad in street gear and holding his skateboard, clenched his fists tight, itching to rush into the fight.
Fushimi Saruhiko, the Scepter4 newcomer who had once betrayed HOMRA, smirked.
"Misaki, you don't seriously think this is a fight we can interfere in, do you?"
"You bastard!"
Misaki bristled with fury at the taunt, the sting all the sharper because it came from his former friend.
"Misaki, calm down. He's right. This battle is far beyond our reach," Kusanagi Izumo said gravely as he watched the clash of titans.
"Indeed. That is…the battle of six Kings," added Awashima Seri, the proud and elegant vice-commander of Scepter4. Yet her eyes betrayed deep unease. Unlike the others, she knew full well the identity of that elderly man. The Golden King…
At that moment, a new prompt resounded through the Doomsday Chat.
[Ding! Detected that Suoh Mikoto has touched an abnormal apocalypse factor. Initiating Apocalypse Journey!]
[Apocalypse Journey: Quartet]
[Duration: 1 hour]
[Companions: Tatsuki, Suoh Mikoto, Xiaomei, Kiana]
[Mission: Eliminate the aberrant Colorless King.]
And another—
[Apocalypse Journey: End of Days]
[Duration: Unlimited]
[Companions: Unlimited]
[Mission: Purge a fragment of the Light of Ruin.]
Inside the classroom, Tatsuki immediately sensed the new mission. His eyes narrowed as he checked the prompt.
Tatsuki: "Mikoto, what's your situation?"
But no reply came.
Kiana: "What's Apocalypse Journey?"
March 7th: "It's basically world-hopping."
Kiana: "Huh?!"
Xiaomei: "But I don't really have any powers. Won't I drag everyone down?"
Ainz: "Relax. With a boss around, you'll be fine."
Ainz: "Tatsuki, what's your take?"
Tatsuki: "I can already see Mikoto hasn't replied—things are urgent. We're going."
Xiaomei: "Alright."
Kiana: "Wait—are we really going to another world?"
Tendou Kisara: "Less talk, more jump. And don't forget to open a stream!"
…
The moment Tatsuki crossed over, he stood amidst shattered streets.
The city was a wasteland, buildings reduced to rubble, smoke and fire still rising from the ruins. A quick glance was all it took: six Kings were here. Five against one. And their opponent was… Kokujoji Daikaku?
"What the hell—wasn't the target supposed to be the Colorless King?"
"Um, excuse me, Administrator-san?"
A gentle, clear voice spoke at his side. Turning, Tatsuki saw a girl with short pink hair and soft blue eyes. She was lovely, delicate, yet carried a faintly charming air. She wore a light pink short jacket, matching stockings, and shorts with a large golden snowflake emblem at the waist. Her boots were white, and beneath her midriff was a sheer black fabric that lent a subtle allure.
"Hello. Xiaomei, right? No need for the formalities—just call me Tatsuki."
"O-oh, okay." She nodded obediently.
"So we really traveled worlds?!" Kiana appeared on his other side, wide-eyed. "Tatsuki, are we here to fight?"
Tatsuki arched a brow. "Aren't you a little too casual about this?"
Kiana blinked innocently, her big eyes shining. "Didn't you say to just call you Tatsuki?"
"…Fair enough." He chuckled. He didn't dislike her straightforward nature—even if she was a bit airheaded.
"As for fighting…" He gestured toward the battlefield where powers clashed in explosive brilliance. "Want to give it a try?"
"..." Kiana looked down at her plain old baseball bat, puffed her cheeks, and whistled. "Yeah, I'll pass. You handle it. I can't beat that."
"At least you're honest." Tatsuki laughed.
But just then, his gaze caught movement at the corner of the street. A small white cat with wild eyes peeked nervously from behind the rubble.
"…A cat?"
He recognized it. A feral-eyed white cat, trying desperately to avoid the carnage.
"Are those three ghosts?" the little cat thought, blinking at the newcomers. Terrified, it turned to flee—
Only to blink and suddenly find itself dangling helplessly in Tatsuki's hand, held by the scruff.
"Eh? Where'd you get the cat?!" Kiana gawked.
"I didn't even see you pick it up," Xiaomei said curiously.
"Found a stray. Figured I'd grab it before the fight wipes it out," Tatsuki replied casually, scratching the cat under the chin.
The feline squirmed and clawed, struggling to escape, then tried unleashing a strange psychic pulse to cloud his mind—but the effect was nullified mid-air, vanishing before it could touch him.
"Hypnosis? Memory manipulation?" Tatsuki's interest was piqued. "So, you're a power-bearer…"
Not a King. Not a clansman. A Rightless One—a being born with unique powers outside of the Seven Kings. They couldn't form clans, couldn't become Kings, but their abilities varied wildly. Many lost themselves to their powers, turning to crime.
This cat was one of them. Or rather, she wasn't truly a cat at all—her real form was human, merely transformed by her ability.
"For now, you'll stay safe with me. If you wander near that fight, you'll die for sure," Tatsuki murmured, holding her against his chest.
To his surprise, the cat stopped resisting. Instead, she gazed up at him with round eyes, as if sensing…a strange security.
Meanwhile, knowing she couldn't possibly intervene, Xiaomei quietly opened a livestream.
[Ding! Xiaomei has opened a live stream!]
[Exusiai has joined the stream!]
…
Exusiai: "Whoa, I just joined and it's already this intense!"
Emilia: "The city's been leveled. This must've been going on for ages."
Ainz: "Those giant swords in the sky—what are they?"
Reinhard: "Suoh Mikoto told me—they're called Damocles Swords. Symbols of each King's power."
Reinhard: "It seems there are seven Kings in total. Mikoto is the Third, the Red King."
Bronya: "Red King… crimson flames. Quite fitting."
Esdeath: "A fascinating ability."
Tendou Kisara: "So the colors represent different powers? Each sword, a different domain?"
Reinhard: "Correct. Some are stronger, some weaker."
Nami: "That old man is insane! Five of them against him, and only Mikoto seems to be holding his ground. The others look like they're barely hanging on."
March 7th: "Wait—don't tell me that old grandpa is the Colorless King we're supposed to fight? But he's all gold and shiny!"
Tatsuki: "He's the Golden King."
Tatsuki: "But also…the Colorless King."
The truth was clear to his Starlit Eyes.
Daikaku's body still lived, but his mind and soul had been hijacked. The true culprit was the Colorless King, a being with the power to invade bodies and merge with their personalities. Normally, the Colorless King could never have possessed someone of Daikaku's might.
But this one was different—an aberrant, an apocalypse-mutated Colorless King.
Tatsuki had already glimpsed the memory. The Colorless King had been bathed in a strange radiance—a shard of the Light of Ruin. Empowered and corrupted, his will had twisted toward chaos and destruction.
...
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