Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 18 The Pain of Regret

Since escaping the rooftop, Ming, whose face was covered by a goat mask and whose body was burning, has been flying through the streets of the commercial district, carrying Sa and the only remaining body.

For some unknown reason, the usually bustling commercial street was unusually quiet at this time of day, even eerily so.

A few seconds later, a deafening alarm suddenly went off.

"Woo! Woo woo ...

"What...is this? It's so...noisy..."

Upon hearing the alarm, which he had never heard before, Ming, who was holding Sawa, instinctively stopped and spoke in a way that sounded unusually old and unclear, unlike that of a boy.

"Bang! Bang! Bang—"

Several gunshots rang out from above "Ming", followed by a barrage of high-speed rifle bullets falling like raindrops.

Seeing this, Ming reacted instantly and gently laid down Shahe's body. Except for the goat mask on her face, her entire body was covered in black flames. In this way, the bullet turned into gas and disappeared into this world before it even touched Ming's skin.

"Report to the captain, we have also discovered another source of spiritual energy here, but it seems to be different from the one you found, except that it is the same as those mindless 'monsters' we have observed before."

A rather innocent voice came from the air. Upon hearing the voice, "Ming" subconsciously looked up and saw six or seven armored girls circling in the air above.

Upon seeing the person approaching from above, Ming, whose entire body was ablaze, paused in his movements and then muttered to himself:

"Who... are these people? Wait, I think I'm seeing... a magician... who doesn't seem very strong. Oh well, I don't want to worry about that. I just need to make sure he doesn't end up in Mio's hands. I don't want to concern myself with these internal human issues."

Then the flames surrounding "Ming" subsided, and the right eye under the goat mask returned to the normal human eye color.

"Captain! It seems the report is incorrect. This [Elf] has also turned into a normal human, and it looks... very likely to be male!"

As Jianming's flames subsided, the AST, which was leading the way in the sky, awkwardly reported back to the person on the other end of the walkie-talkie.

"Everything has turned into human form! Quickly, capture it! My over there suddenly escaped and we're in pursuit. Use the weapons you just got from DEM to capture it!"

"Roger that!" responded the excited person on the other end of the walkie-talkie, who then immediately gave orders to the team members behind him:

"You guys use the new type of fully automatic firearms to attack from the air. I'll use [Freedom Domain] to confront him head-on. Try not to aim for vital areas. The orders are to capture him alive!"

After saying that, the AST team leader took out his lightsaber and swooped down at high speed towards Ming, who was still standing still.

As the flames gradually subsided, Ming, whose consciousness had returned, felt extremely confused. He thought to himself:

'What's going on? This is... a shopping district? I remember I was just fighting Mio... and my body was clearly pierced through, sigh! Is that person from AST? Why is she charging at me?!'

Ming stared at the AST team members who were rapidly diving towards him with lightsabers in hand. Although a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes, Ming's body still instinctively leaned back slightly.

As the lightsaber of the leading AST member missed slightly, Ming seized the opportunity to firmly grasp her wrist, stomped heavily on the ground, and subconsciously unleashed a punch with his black flame fist.

The AST team members did not expect Ming to have the ability to fight back, and were sent flying backward by the punch.

"Team leader!"

The AST members with machine guns mounted behind them shouted, but before they could react, they were covered by a large number of black magic circles, and chains emerged from the magic circles to wrap them up in the air.

"【Black Flame Demon - Spell】!" Accompanied by the sound of the cane gently tapping the ground, the chain ball in the sky grew larger and larger.

Ming simply scratched his head, feeling no guilt whatsoever. He turned around, still somewhat bewildered, and saw the gauze and the body lying on the ground. Ming froze instantly, his body trembling uncontrollably, his eyes filled with endless sorrow.

Ming suddenly felt a splitting headache, as if a thousand needles were piercing his brain at the same time. His heart was also overwhelmed by endless sorrow, an indescribable pain that made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Ming gradually recalled that not long ago on the rooftop, he had fainted after being gently flicked by Mio's fingers, and when he woke up, he found himself standing here inexplicably. Thinking of this, Ming's gaze towards Sawa became somewhat guilty.

"Sawa...uh...I'm sorry, I was defeated before I could avenge you..."

Ming clenched his fist tightly, and the mask cracked slightly as his expression fell.

Just as Ming was still immersed in grief, another voice came from the sky.

"So there really are [Elves]! Damn it, they dared to attack my team members. I just let one go, now you'll be my hero!"

Upon hearing the sound, Ming did not turn around. He simply crouched down slightly, cradled the girl's body in his arms, and walked forward step by step.

"Damn it, are you looking down on us?! Charge, guys..."

The newly arrived AST captain shouted, and upon hearing this, Ming turned slightly and looked at them with her left eye, which had a red pupil belonging to a sheep. The powerful sense of oppression forced her not to move forward even an inch.

"roll!"

Ming's tone was icy cold, like a demon from the depths of hell, sending chills down one's spine. His eyes stared at them indifferently, as if they were lifeless corpses.

Faced with such gazes, the AST members couldn't help but feel fear. After all, the AST members in front of them weren't the elite group that Origami would become in the future; they were just a group of ordinary soldiers who had been transferred from the military by their superiors and who had a reasonably good compatibility with mind magic.

Judging from Ming's gaze just now, they were well aware of the gap in strength between themselves and Ming, and understood that fighting to the death with such a person would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

So, the AST team members began to back down, no longer daring to look in Ming's direction, secretly relieved that they hadn't clashed with him...

Half an hour after Ming left, AST reported everything that had happened to Ming to their superiors.

Later, in the intelligence room of the AST headquarters' senior management office, a cold and beautiful woman with long green hair was sitting silently at the table, flipping through the information that had just been reported. The woman held a document in her hand, which was densely filled with records, and smiled slightly.

"Oh dear, those AST guys are really useless. They had the high-level equipment that DEM just sent over not long ago, and they were defeated without a fight by a single [Elf]. They're utterly useless, don't you think? High-ranking officials~"

The green-haired adult woman licked her lips and looked at the high-ranking official of the AST city branch kneeling at her feet, asking him a teasing question with an undisguised smile on her face.

"Ah...you're right, Investigator Möbius, you're right! Our current technology is limited, and we are temporarily unable to fight against the [Elves]. We hope that your company, DEM, will continue to cooperate with us."

The branch executive echoed him, his expression revealing an undisguised fawning.

"Okay, I understand. I'll talk to my superiors about it. You can go now, I have some things to do."

"It's Möbius," the woman said, waving her hand. Seeing her wave, the AST executive immediately and cautiously walked out.

After the higher-ups left, Möbius picked up Ming's file again, looking at it with a somewhat exaggerated expression, and then said:

"I hope you won't disappoint me, [Flame Beast]!"

While Möbius was still admiring Ming, unaware that he was the one being targeted, he was still wandering aimlessly through the night, holding her body in his arms.

As the space earthquake alarm ended, the people who had been evacuated beforehand were released one by one. In order to avoid being noticed, Ming walked on a small path where even the streetlights were not turned on.

"Saya, come with us..."

Ming spoke sadly to the silent girl in his arms, tears streaming from his mask onto Shahe's pale face. Ming walked aimlessly, carrying her in his arms.

Soon after, Ming carefully carried her body and slowly walked into the abandoned building.

Ming stood quietly in front of Shahe, tormented by guilt, inferiority, and a variety of indescribable emotions, and the boy's head throbbed with increasing pain.

Then, Ming conjured the [Black Flame Demon] from his hand and the consciousness within his mind, pointing it at himself, and thought:

"If that's the case..." he murmured to himself, a resolute and determined look flashing in his eyes.

"Now that I possess spiritual power, if this is the case, then if I die now and go to the neighboring world, I might be able to see her again. At that time, I should be able to find a way to save Sawa!"

"Sawa, wait for me!"

Thinking about this, a strong impulse surged within him, and Ming immediately tucked his cane into his chest.

"what!"

When the pain spread throughout his body, Ming pulled out his cane, but then black flames erupted from his body, burning his chest and then healing him completely. After realizing this, Ming repeatedly stabbed his body, but it was always repaired in a short time.

"Phew... Is it not working... Will my body heal itself?" Ming said dejectedly, looking down.

"Is this the price I pay for failing to protect her? Do I not even have the right to see her again...?"