My magic power was nearing its limit. Due to Luxon’s magic power requirement being high I could only use it a couple more times… In comparison the Black Knight wasn’t probably even going all out.

Even though Leo had warned me, I still couldn’t escape it.

‘I only wish that I’m somehow able to at least protect the children…’

Thinking that, the Black Knight unexpectedly lowered his sword, turned around and began walking.

“Eh?”

As if suddenly losing his will to fight, he disappeared into the darkness that he had come from.

“Why…”

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

“Freya are you okay!?”

After hearing that Freya had been attacked by the Black Knight I immediately headed to England. Luckily I was able to hop onto one of the Switzerland’s Government’s jet planes which had allowed me to get here quite quickly…

“I’m fine. Didn’t I tell you already, he’s long done.” said Freya. We were currently using the free rooms within the Special Care School.

“In the worst case scenario I was planning on contacting Gojo and asking him to come here, thank god I didn’t have to do it.“

“We shouldn’t bother him with stuff such as this.” answered Freya.

I had come here alongside Elias and Luke. Carlo and Anna were also within England, however due to the Black Knight appearing here, we couldn’t possibly have them be separated from the children.

“So how was it?” I asked.

“He looked just like the rumors. After fighting him I got the impression that he’s really strong, probably even stronger than you Leo.”

“I see… Was there anything specific about his fighting style?”

“I’m convinced that he used Protection and Magic Sword. He’s the type that relies on his sword, his fighting style kind of resembles that of yours Leo.”

Up until now there hadn’t been anyone that had lived after encountering the Black Knight. Freya’s information was truly valuable.

“Still why exactly did the Black Knight just get up and leave?” asked Elias out of nowhere.

It was the same question that had been bothering me as well. This was the first time where he had just left without killing his target.

“I don’t know… He clearly had the advantage. It seemed like he just lost interest and left, it’s just that…”

“Just that?”

“I might just be imagining things but it felt like he was looking for someone.”

“Looking for someone?”

What did that mean? Could it mean that he wasn’t just randomly killing ability users, but was rather specifically looking for someone?

“Why do you think that?”

“The Black Knight lost interest in me right after I used my strongest attack. He left after judging that I didn’t have any other trump cards he just left, which leads me to think that my power didn’t match up to his standards.”

Hearing Freya say that, the three of us became lost in thought. The reason for which was because we still couldn’t find the exact reason for the Black Knight’s actions. The one who first broke the silence was Luke.

“If he’s searching for strong ability users couldn’t he perhaps be searching for Gojo? There’s no one stronger than him after all.”

“That can’t be. If it had happened before then maybe it could have been possible, but currently Gojo’s name and face are all over the news. He wouldn’t even need to bother to search.” I said, denying Luke’s suggestion. After all, I really did think it was impossible.

“And what if he’s not of the people ?”

Elias’s words left me shocked.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s only a hypothesis, however what if there’s an existence similar to us humans, and that they’re the ones that are sending over the monsters to this world. And because their monsters were defeated one after the other they decided to send someone to investigate. 　Which is why they cannot access our world’s information. Our letters and words are probably completely different as well.”

It was certainly possible… Alexander had also said something about this being under the control of someone.

“Does that mean that the Black Knight was sent to defeat Gojo?” asked Freya

“I don’t know. In the end it’s only a hypothesis.” said Elias, answering Freya’s question somewhat vaguely.

“It does make sense. However, it also brings up another question.” I said.

“What is it? Is something bothering you Leo?”

“If that hypothesis really is true, that would mean that they know of Gojo’s true strength. Having their powerful monsters defeated one after the other, wouldn’t they want to take the utmost measures in assassinating him? And here they only sent one person.”

Hearing my words everyone became lost in thought.

“Freya you fought him so you would know, do you think that he can beat Gojo?”

“That’s not possible. The Black Knight may be strong, but Gojo’s strength is in a whole other league.” said Freya answering Elias’ question.

‘Freya’s right, I don’t think there are a lot of people that can stand toe to toe with Gojo. Still…’

“Something’s definitely off. I get the feeling that we shouldn’t let them meet no matter what…”

“In that case we just shouldn’t let Gojo fight the Black Knight 1 on 1. It’d be fine if all of us just support him.”

“Luke’s right. We’re ability users as well after all.” said Luke and Elias dispelling my anxiety.

‘They’re right, if we fight side by side Gojo, we won’t fall behind that much.’

“I guess you’re right. Sorry for saying those unnecessary things… Freya there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“What is it so suddenly?”

“I want you to come back. I don’t mind if it’s only until we get this thing sorted out, but please!” I said looking at Freya with a serious expression.

I couldn’t deny that our battle prowess fell after Alexander’s death. That’s precisely why I wanted Freya back, but still…

“Okay. After all I need to make sure the kids are able to live peacefully. I’ll cooperate until we take down this Black Knight.”

At Freya’s cheerful response, a smile appeared on mine and Elias’ face.

“So what should we do now? Should we stay close to Gojo and just wait for the Black Knight to show up?” asked Freya

“No, if Gojo really is his target, then I have an idea as to where the Black Knight will appear next.” I said while Elias and Luke appeared to have understood the meaning of my words.

“So where is it?” asked Freya.

“Bangkok. Gojo was called in by the United Nations for a Public Hearing. And what do you think would happen if The Sanctuary Knights as well as Suzaku show up there?”

“Most of the strong ability users will be gathered there?”

“Correct. The Public Hearing will be broadcasted around the world as well. Even if the Black Knight cannot use our information networks, he’ll probably still feel that something’s definitely off.”

“It’s not certain but the possibility is really high huh… That means that Bangkok will turn out to be…”

“Our deciding battlefield.”

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

I was currently in the Self-Defense Force’s airport situated at the Gifu Airbase, and about to fly off for Bangkok. Sakamoto and Shimizu wouldn’t be coming with me however I would still be accompanied by some younger members of the Self-Defense Force.

“Gojo I don’t think that you should worry about the Public Hearing itself, rather there will be a number of people associated with the media there, so be careful of that.” said Shimizu while sending me off.

Even though he was able to regain a high rank within the Self-Defense Force and was probably really busy, he still found the time to come and see me off.

“Got it. I’ll be going now.”

saying that, the doors to the airplane closed and we prepared to fly off. The plane that we were currently boarding was apparently a multi use support aircraft, by the name of U-4. I felt kind of bad that the Government was using the country’s money in order to let me fly it.

I haven’t been to Bangkok however I could still easily go there with teleportation and flying.

‘Still I guess that if I said that, I’d get scolded by Sakuragi for not having any common sense…’

While thinking that, one of the Self-Defense Force members that was accompanying me spoke to me.

“Mr. Gojo, my name’s Toudou. I’m a Major at the Gifu Airbase Self-Defense Force branch. Due to not being able to meet you at the base I wasn’t able to tell you this but I’d like to use this opportunity to share it.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“I was situated at the forefront when the monsters first attacked. If you hadn’t helped us Mr. Gojo I’d probably be dead by now. I’d like to express my gratitude.”

“Don’t worry about it…”

“Furthermore, there’s one more thing that I want you to know, Mr. Gojo.” said the guy that had addressed himself as Toudou, while looking at me with serious eyes.

“Mr. Gojo there isn’t a single person amongst us that thinks you’re a bad person. Everyone amongst us is grateful to you, and I’m sure that stands true for the rest of the world as well.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that but…”

“It’s true that there’s a number of people that are trying to criticize you, however the only thing those people only have going for them are their loud voices, the people opposed to them are overwhelmingly more numerous.” said Toudou emphasizing those points.

“Mr. Gojo, you are someone that I, and every other Japanese person, can feel proud about. Please never forget that… That is all I wanted to say.”

“Thank you… I won’t forget it.”

Having that said right to my face made me blush a bit. The plane slowly began moving, after which it flew off and headed towards Bangkok.