When Tobio opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar hospital room. He was lying in a bed with an IV drip injected into his arm. Having regained consciousness, Tobio sat up.
His memory was vague, but he could recall, to some extent, what had happened in the viewing room.
"So, you're awake, Tobio."
When the boy looked up, he saw a young man who resembled him leaning against a wall. It was easy for the young man to recognize who stood before him, despite the time that had passed since they last saw each other.
"Brother…" Tobio murmured, his eyes welling up as he saw his older brother after so long.
Alex smiled as he approached his little brother.
"It's been a while, Tobio," Alex said with a smile.
"You're here… But how? Why?"
"Why am I here? What a silly question. What kind of older brother would I be if I didn't come to help my little brother when he needed me?" Alex smiled calmly.
Tobio's face broke into a smile upon hearing Alex's words.
Though they had been separated at birth, Alex and Tobio had grown very close. Alex always visited Tobio when he could and spent a lot of time talking with him, even from a distance.
"What a touching reunion."
Looking to the side, Tobio saw a man crouched on a stool nearby. The man spoke as he closed the book he was reading.
"I'm Azazel, the leader of those who watch over the children of God—the organization called 'Grigori.'"
As Azazel spoke, Alex signaled for Tobio to listen carefully.
Azazel continued speaking.
"With regard to my organization… well, we study a variety of supernatural phenomena, measuring them, and one of those is the study of Sacred Gears. What we deal with is extensive, from the abilities to the users."
The man's gaze shifted to the other side of Tobio's bed. Tobio followed his gaze as well—on the other side of the bed was a large black dog curled up, sleeping. Tobio immediately understood that this was Jin.
Azazel made an announcement while looking at Jin.
"Your other self, the true nature of Jin, is one of the Sacred Gears we call Longinus. Its official name is [Canis Lykaon], the Black Blade Dog God."
"Longinus…"
"There are only thirteen varieties, those determined to have the ability to kill God. That's what you possess, something theoretically capable of slaughtering even God."
Azazel's eyes briefly shifted to Alex as he spoke.
The Hakuryuukou remained silent, allowing his brother to think calmly.
"Natsume and Samejima's Sacred Gears… are they different?"
"Ah, they may seem similar, but they're different. However, one of the abilities of [Canis Lykaon] is that it summons Sacred Gears of the same wavelength."
"…So, the abilities of those two, Jin… no, I unconsciously caused those abilities to be expressed? Minagawa Natsume, Samejima Kouki, the other 'Four Fiends' who haven't yet appeared, and even my classmates. Everyone caught up in these events, was it originally all a result of my ability to summon the 'Four Fiends'…?"
Azazel informed Tobio, who was tormented by guilt over this realization.
"It seems they were summoned by your ability. However, those who abused it were the 'Utsusemi Agency.'"
"…Since I possess Himejima blood from the start…"
To Tobio, who spoke with his head lowered, Azazel sighed while scratching the back of his neck.
"Your ability is one of the powers capable of breaking the world's balance. Naturally, you were a subject of strict oversight. In such cases, to seal you and your ability, it would be necessary to eliminate you. That's the extent of your ability. Moreover, since you were born this way, that balance-breaking ability grew stronger. It would have been a natural outcome if you had been erased in childhood."
Azazel spoke while looking at the two brothers.
"…However, your parents and grandmother chose to let you live. One could say that act was quite immense. It seems Ikuse Ageha, out of love for you, placed a seal on your power. I must say, it was nothing short of magnificent."
Before Tobio's eyes, the man sprouted twelve black wings from his back.
"I am what's called a Fallen Angel, a being exiled from Heaven for embracing evil. …It seems you're not thrilled after hearing about angels."
Tobio shook his head from side to side.
"No, having seen Utsusemi, demons, and magic, it's not surprising that there'd be angels… It'd be stranger if they didn't exist."
"There are countless miraculous things in this world beyond your belief."
Azazel spoke straightforwardly.
"Our organization studies Sacred Gears and observes their owners. If we discover someone who possesses a powerful Sacred Gear, they become a target of observation. The reason we met when you were a child is because there was a possibility you were a Longinus possessor. Assuming someone is the type to abuse their Sacred Gear, even considering a case of fair ability without its special characteristic, they would often be eliminated. All to preserve the world's balance. From things like wars, I must apologize twice."
Tobio also asked about his initial bluntness.
"Then I must have been a target for extermination, right?"
Azazel laughed abruptly.
"Originally, that was the case. However, for two main reasons, that decision wavered."
He raised two fingers.
"One was your individual ability. The case of someone born naturally with the forbidden condition of breaking the balance, as far as I know, there are only a small number of such examples in the last thousand years. All of them, except for you, died before we became aware of them… You were raised in tranquility for all those years, despite such an ability. Though that seems to be due to your relatives' protection… it was certainly very interesting."
Azazel now raised one finger, having explained one of the reasons, while looking at Alex, who remained silent.
"And the other was that other Longinus possessors are in your favor, one of them being the daughter of a friend of mine, and the other standing by your side."
Tobio's eyes widened and shifted to Alex, who sighed.
"I think that's enough, Azazel. I want to talk to Tobio. You can leave," Alex said seriously.
"You know this place belongs to me?"
"Don't care if it belongs to you. I'm telling you to leave."
Azazel merely raised his hands in surrender.
"Alright, alright. Man, regardless of the era, you Heavenly Dragon possessors are complicated people."
With that said, Azazel left, leaving Alex and Tobio behind.
The Hakuryuukou pulled a chair and placed it near his brother's bed.
"Alex…"
"I'll explain everything soon, but first, it's best if everyone comes in."
As if hearing the Hakuryuukou's words, Lavinia, Natsume, Samejima, and Tobio entered the room with sheepish expressions; Cao Cao followed closely and stood beside Alex.
"Sorry about that, Tobi," Lavinia apologized as she sat down.
The boy didn't mind as he watched everyone take their seats and Alex sigh.
"Now that everyone's here, I owe an explanation of everything, especially to you, Tobio," Alex said with a sigh.
Everyone agreed, especially Lavinia, Natsume, and Samejima, who were still adjusting to the presence of Tobio's older brother and the boy accompanying him.
After bringing Tobio back to normal, Alexandre came with him to this hospital along with Cao Cao. The Hakuryuukou spent the entire time Tobio was unconscious in the room without even sleeping, keeping watch. Even with Azazel's insistence, Alexandre didn't leave Tobio's side.
Cao Cao stayed with him most of the time or ventured into the hospital to buy something for them to eat. It was clear to everyone the concern Alex had for Tobio and Cao Cao's concern for both.
"Brother, who is he?" Tobio asked, looking at Cao Cao beside Alex.
The Supreme Longinus wielder smiled. "My name is Cao Cao. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tobio Ikuse."
Tobio nodded to the boy before turning back to Alex.
"Well, as you must have noticed, I was also born with Sacred Gears," Alex said as his [Divine Dividing] appeared on his back.
Everyone looked surprised at the blue light wings emerging.
"This is…?" Natsume murmured, recalling having seen those wings.
"This is the [Divine Dividing], the Light Wings of the White Dragon Emperor, where the soul of the Dragon Albion resides. It allows me to divide my enemy's power in half every ten seconds and add it to my own," Alex explained to Tobio while making his Sacred Gear disappear.
"Sacred Gears…" Lavinia pondered, drawing everyone's attention. "That form you mentioned…"
"That's correct," Alex chuckled lightly. "Tobio is a rare case of someone born with a Sacred Gear and the ability to express it to its fullest potential. I, too, was born capable of achieving the Balance Breaker. The fact is, I was born with three Sacred Gears in total."
Everyone except Cao Cao looked shocked. From what they knew, it was extremely rare for a person to be born with one Sacred Gear, let alone three.
"Along with the [Divine Dividing], the [Dimension Lost], the Fog of Extinction, and [Regulus Nemea], the Battle Axe of the Lion King," Alex explained.
"Those three are Longinus," Lavinia said, surprised. "And [Dimension Lost]… That's one of the top-tier Longinus with the power to destroy the world."
Alex just laughed at everyone's shock. "Don't worry, [Dimension Lost] isn't great for combat. Besides, I'm nowhere near that level yet."
The Hakuryuukou explained, though Alex was confident he could envelop an entire country with [Dimension Lost] and send it to the Dimensional Rift, he still had significant limitations. A country like Japan might be possible, but a larger territory exceeded his limit, even with the Balance Breaker.
Of course, he was the only [Dimension Lost] possessor to reach this level. Others were generally only capable of transferring something the size of a city or a small region.
"Since I was born with three Sacred Gears, our grandmother thought it too dangerous to keep us together, so I went to live in another country," Alex explained to Tobio. "But one day, I ended up awakening my powers when I was located by supernatural beings. Since then, I've traveled the world to learn to control my power."
"So… when we met…"
"Yes, I knew about the supernatural back then, but I didn't want to involve you, even though I knew it was inevitable. That's why I placed a magical seal on your body to know when you awakened your Sacred Gear," Alex explained to his little brother.
"On one of those trips, I met Cao Cao in China. He was being pursued by demons because of his Sacred Gear, and I saved him. Since then, Cao Cao has been with me," Alex explained.
"Sacred Gear…?" Samejima murmured, looking at the kid in Chinese clothing.
Cao Cao glanced at Alex, who nodded.
"Exactly. I possess the [True Longinus]," Cao Cao explained.
The only one who reacted to the name was Lavinia, whose eyes widened, while the others were puzzled.
"Longinus?" Tobio asked, given that his own Sacred Gear bore the name of a god-killing weapon.
"The first and strongest of all Sacred Gears," Alex said, drawing everyone's attention. "Among the Longinus, it is the first and ultimate, the Spear that the Centurion Longinus used to stab Jesus Christ, with the blood blessing the Spear as a Holy Weapon, the Ultimate Spear that pierces even God."
Everyone's eyes were shocked as they looked at Cao Cao, an expected reaction imagining that this child possessed the ultimate weapon to kill a god.
"Cao Cao and I traveled a lot around the world, and I noticed that my magical seal on you was broken, so I came here," Alex explained to Tobio.
"You must be very skilled with magic…" Lavinia commented, looking at Alex.
"Well, I'm not one to brag, but I'm pretty good with magic," Alex said, winking at Lavinia. "I am, after all, a descendant of Merlin Ambrosius."
To everyone, the name didn't have the impact it had on Lavinia, who stood up abruptly.
"Impossible…" Lavinia murmured, shocked by what she heard.
"Lavinia?" Natsume murmured, surprised. "Who's that?"
Lavinia recovered from her shock and looked at Alex.
"Merlin Ambrosius is the creator of the Magician Faction and the one who created the magic humans use."
Though humans could use magic in the past, it came from contracts with supernatural beings.
It was Merlin Ambrosius who changed that, taking knowledge of demonic magic and transforming it into a form usable by humans.
The legendary magician who laid the foundation for human magic—never before had a descendant of the legendary magician appeared.
While seeing Lavinia's shock, Alex smiled as he made the [Astil Manuscript] appear around his neck, the legendary grimoire of Merlin, proof that his claim was true.
"But if that's true, why didn't you ever show yourself?" Lavinia asked.
If he were a descendant of the legendary magician, he would be accepted by all Magician Factions worldwide. To human magic users, Merlin was the creator of everything, almost like a god.
Alex, as a descendant of the magician, was almost a divine figure to human magicians.
"I never really had an interest in following those steps. I prefer to do what I want," Alex said, shrugging. "Besides, I misspoke. Descendant is wrong; it's more like a reincarnation, so Tobio has no connection to him."
Tobio nodded at this.
"But what do you plan to do, brother?" Tobio asked, turning to Alex.
"Well, I have some things to settle. But for now, being by your side is more important. So I'll stick around for a while," Alex explained.
Tobio nodded, but his eyes soon widened as he remembered something very important.
At that moment, Tobio began to cry profusely.
"…I… Sae…!! I couldn't save her…!!"
From the events in that room, he recalled what had happened before chanting the spell. It had been burned into the back of his eyelids. Sae had hugged Jin, who had a blade growing from his head. Jin's blade pierced her chest.
Tobio hadn't been able to save that dear person…
With Tobio shedding nothing but tears, Alex began to speak.
"Well, we've gradually reached this conversation. That's good enough."
Prompted by that voice, the infirmary door opened. Emerging from it was the figure of Sae, sitting in a wheelchair.
Speechless at this incredible sight, Tobio could only stammer one word.
"…Sae?"
Hearing Tobio's voice, Sae brought her hands to her mouth.
"Tobio…"
Alex informed Tobio, who thought he must still be dreaming.
"…Do you remember those prayer beads our grandmother left behind?"
Before the school trip began, Tobio had given Sae a necklace of prayer beads as an amulet.
"About that. It had a protective spell from our grandmother placed on it. What happened then was that it used its unique effect to substitute itself to protect the owner's body. Even though she was pierced by that dog's blade, there was no visible damage to her body when it was removed. The prayer beads then shattered and dispersed."
The presence of his brother, his grandmother, and Sae's safety—Tobio could do nothing but shed endless tears.
Alex spoke.
"…Regarding the care of the Ryoukuu High School students, they're currently under treatment. After the Utsusemi were removed, they should be released along with their relatives. However, their memories of this current case have been fabricated to some extent. Memories about them, about us… and about those comrades, it's all settled. At least, that's what I heard from Azazel," Alex explained.
Using the wheelchair, Sae moved to Tobio's side.
Sae took Tobio's hand while shedding tears.
"…Tobio… I'm sorry… It was tough, wasn't it…? Me and everyone else… all because we couldn't fight them… I'm sorry, I'm really sorry…"
"It's okay. As long as you're safe."
Tobio hugged Sae, lifting her from the wheelchair, and said only one thing.
"Welcome home, Sae."
"…Tobio, I'm home."
As everyone watched the two reunite, they could only smile.
"I'm glad you're okay, Sae Toujou," Alex said to the girl before giving a mischievous smile and looking at Tobio.
"But… to leave her in a wheelchair the first time… As expected of my little brother," Alex said slyly.
Cao Cao immediately sighed at Alex's words while Tobio looked confused, but soon, seeing Alex's mischievous smile and playful glance between Sae and Tobio, they understood what the White Dragon meant.
"N-no, it's not…" Tobio stammered, completely red, while Sae also turned bright red at Alex's words.
As everyone laughed at the scene, Cao Cao sighed at Alex's antics but stopped when he saw Alex stand up.
"Brother…?" Tobio called.
"I'm a bit thirsty. I'll grab something to drink. You guys can keep talking."
With that, Alex left the room, leaving everyone puzzled by his sudden change.
.
.
.
Alex left the room and walked a bit through the hallways before stopping.
"So, what did you think of what you found out?" he asked, turning around.
There, leaning against a wall, was the Governor of Grigori—Azazel.
The Fallen Angel let out a laugh.
"Something pretty scary. Heir to the legendary magician and bearer of three Longinus, born with the ability for Balance Breaker. Your existence is almost like a joke, something utterly ridiculous like a miracle. It's to the point I'd say you'd be loved by God to have been born with such conditions."
Alex let out a laugh. "Well, if He were a woman, I wouldn't mind, but since God's probably a man, I'll pass."
Azazel laughed before getting serious. "So, what are you going to do now?"
"As you must have heard, I'll stick around for a while to take care of Tobio."
"If you want, we have a place in Grigori for someone as talented as you," Azazel said, smiling.
"And become an enemy to everyone who hates you? No, thanks. I'd rather not make the world my enemy," Alex scoffed.
"That comment hurt. I'm not *that* hated."
Alex raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'Seriously?'
"Okay, a little, but not that much," Azazel grumbled. "But even so, you'll have to ally with someone at some point."
"And why do you think that?"
"You're a possessor of three Longinus. Just one would put a target on your back. But three, along with your lineage and the kid with the Holy Spear by your side, basically makes everyone in the supernatural world after you. The gods won't like so many Longinus together, the demons will hunt you to force you to become their servant, and even Heaven won't like seeing the Holy Spear separated from them. They've always had an obsession with Holy Relics."
Azazel explained calmly to Alex, who huffed.
"And you? Want me for experiments?"
"Of course not. I'd only want to see your Longinus used for a good cause and help you reach your potential," Azazel explained.
Alex just laughed. "Even so, I refuse, Azazel. Besides, don't forget your plan ended up getting my brother hurt, and he was one of your extermination targets."
"I understand. I'm sorry about that," Azazel apologized with a smile.
"Don't forget, Azazel. I'm not on your side. I'm on my brother's side, and if anything happens to him because of you, I'll end you," Alex said, his golden eyes narrowing.
Azazel merely raised his hands.
"Don't worry, I have no malicious intent toward your brother," Azazel said with a smile.
Alex just sighed. He knew, in the end, Azazel was a good person, just sometimes used the wrong methods. Alex doubted even threatening Azazel would lead to anything.
"You look tired," Azazel commented, catching Alex's attention. "You haven't slept in days. Is there anything I can do for you? Since you're here for a while, I've got to be a good host."
Alex pondered while looking up.
"Do you have a brothel or something around here?"
Azazel's eyes turned deadly serious at what he heard.
"Do you know who you're talking to, kid?" Azazel asked seriously.
"It's exactly because I know that I'm saying this," Alex said with a fearless smile.
Azazel broke into a huge grin as he placed a hand on Alex's shoulder.
"Well done, kid! To the promised land!"
Alex found himself being dragged by Azazel. He knew his brother was fine, so he could have a little fun.
With a smile, Alex let himself be pulled toward paradise.