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Back at the bustling station's ticket hall, the group of girls stood frozen, utterly stunned by the two boys who had barely exchanged three sentences before violently blasting off into a full-blown fight.

Only after Bokue and Takashi vanished completely from view did they finally snap back to reality.

"They just ran off fighting like it was nothing," Zest murmured blankly.

Turning slowly, she stared incredulously at the massive hole ripped cleanly through the station's towering, ten-meter-high panoramic windows. Pointing uncertainly toward the destruction, she hesitated briefly.

"Should we... maybe follow them?"

"Of course we should," Mio replied quickly—though her eyes remained locked warily onto the Nonaka sisters from the Hero Village. Her next words were deliberately sharp, heavy with suspicion.

"What about you two? Any thoughts?"

The bustling ticket hall, meanwhile, quickly regained its usual chaos. Despite the shocking interruption, regular broadcast announcements continued smoothly, calling out departing trains. The curious crowds that had gathered briefly to stare quickly dispersed. After all, as entertaining as the sudden spectacle had been, everyone here still had trains to catch and appointments to keep.

From the shattered entrance nearby, station staff hurriedly shouted repair orders into walkie-talkies, frantically trying to contain the disruption.

Yuki Nonaka's expression remained cool and calm. Blinking mildly, she tilted her head toward Mio.

"You don't need to be so wary. Kurumi and I have no intention of fighting. And as for Bokue and Takashi—there's no need to worry. This is just... their special way of reconnecting."

"Reconnecting?"

Mio's lips twitched incredulously.

She had never once heard of friends reconnecting this way. Who starts a life-and-death duel right after a casual reunion?

Were these guys descendants of some Spartan family? Best friends stabbing each other affectionately upon reunion or something?

"Well, Takashi himself might deny it, but in the past, he and Bokue were actually quite good friends," Yuki explained simply.

"'In the past?'" Mio immediately caught the odd wording, a curious question mark rising inside her. She honestly knew very little about Bokue's past—mainly because he rarely mentioned it, and she'd never thought to ask.

But since it had now come up...

Yet before she could voice her confusion aloud, Yuki had already continued.

"Bokue's mother was originally from our Hero Village. Because of that connection, there was a time during our childhood when we played together frequently. Takashi, Kurumi, and I first met Bokue during that period. And since Takashi could never beat Bokue in a fight, he constantly challenged him—after every defeat, Bokue would force Takashi to cook barbecue for everyone."

"B-barbecue?"

The red-haired girl stared blankly, utterly baffled by the sudden shift in the conversation.

How exactly did a brutal fistfight suddenly jump straight to barbecues?

"Takashi was actually an amazing cook," Yuki calmly clarified. "So Bokue would always bet that whoever lost had to treat everyone to barbecue—and then mercilessly beat Takashi into submission."

"..."

So, not only did he ruthlessly beat the poor guy up, but he also forced him to feed everyone barbecue afterward?

Could this really be considered a "good relationship," rather than some twisted childhood bullying? Sounded more like outright exploitation!

"Oh, right. But you just said 'they used to be good friends,' didn't you?" Mio pressed further. "And judging from how the spear guy—er, Takashi—reacted just now, it sounds like something serious happened between them years ago. He even mentioned something about 'betraying the village'?"

"That's..." Yuki instinctively started to explain.

But before she could continue, her sister Kurumi sharply tugged at her sleeve, firmly shaking her head.

Momentarily startled by her younger sister's unexpected reaction, Yuki hesitated before nodding slightly in understanding.

"We can talk about that later. For now, we should hurry and catch up. They'll probably be done soon."

❁❁❁❁

And sure enough, as Yuki predicted, by the time they arrived at the scene, the fight was already over.

The plaza outside a nearby office building looked as though it had been bombarded. Under the scorching noon sun, two teenage boys lay sprawled—one standing casually upright, the other flat and defeated.

Takashi, who should have held an advantage thanks to his long spear, was lying motionless in a crater shaped exactly like his body, battered and unable to move.

Meanwhile, Bokue stood before him, utterly unarmed yet untouched, casually adopting a stance suspiciously similar to the iconic "Kamehameha" from Dragon Ball. Even from twenty or thirty meters away, the girls could clearly hear Bokue's mocking words like, "If you're this weak, then just train harder."

"Y-you... bastard..." Takashi groaned weakly.

Just minutes earlier, he'd been furiously raging—yet now he lay utterly defeated. His Byakko still gleamed brightly, but its master no longer had the strength to even grip the weapon, only glaring bitterly at Bokue as he gasped heavily.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Just finish it already...! Cough... You're already associating openly with the Demon Lord's daughter—surely killing me would be nothing to you...! Cough, cough, cough!"

His angry shout aggravated his wounds, triggering a violent coughing fit as blood seeped from his mouth.

Yet Bokue merely looked faintly exasperated.

"What kind of outdated mentality are you even stuck in? Seriously, wake up already. Humans opened trade channels with the Demon World more than forty years ago. Ever heard of Itogami Island—the official Demon Special Zone?"

"That—that's a disgrace to humanity! A traitorous stain upon mankind!" Takashi spat back.

"Wow, well said! So... when exactly do you plan to destroy Itogami Island, then?"

Bokue chuckled lightly, effortlessly steering the conversation forward with amused sarcasm.

"Oh, but wait—maybe you should start with the First Primogenitor instead? He's the one who originally proposed the Sanctuary Treaty, after all. A vampire staking out human territory, trying to brainwash humanity into embracing demons? Clearly, he has hidden ambitions—right, Takashi?"

Bokue shrugged, openly mocking him now.

"Come on, since you're clearly so passionate about this, when do you plan to finally take down the First Primogenitor?"

"..."

Takashi fell utterly silent.

Take down the First Primogenitor? Was this guy insane?

The First Primogenitor was literally the oldest vampire ancestor in recorded history, boasting enough raw power to carve out entire empires on his own, commanding legions of terrifying, nation-destroying Familiars. There was simply no way a mere human warrior like himself could possibly hope to defeat him.

"See? Like I said, you're just stuck in some outdated, stubborn mindset," Bokue sighed casually.

"Oh, and by the way—though I don't know exactly how that village of yours brainwashed you, I'd like to clarify something important. I never killed anyone from your village in that incident ten years ago."

"Then what about Mr. Shiba!?"

"Oh, you mean that fox-eyed guy? Nah, him I killed today. He's still fresh."

The conversation took increasingly surreal turns—from blood feuds and accusations to remarks as casual as discussing breakfast sandwiches.

Watching from behind a flowerbed at the plaza's edge, Maria nudged Yuki lightly in the ribs with her elbow.

"Hey... So, what exactly happened ten years ago? Come on, spill the beans already."

"Ten years ago..."

Ignoring Kurumi's pleading gaze, Yuki drew a slow, deep breath. For once, her typically expressionless face showed a rare hint of genuine sorrowful reminiscence.

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