With a body that was back to its top shape, and an aura that almost reached an angel's one, Tatsuya stood up with a confident smile on his face.

None understood what happened except the group of girls who were aware of the crystal's effects, together with the overwhelming power held in his golden sword.

“His body absorbed it!” Akemi said out loud after analyzing the power within the life crystal, that somehow it was being contained without being sensed this whole time.

[ That might explain how he’s withholding the absorption of the sword….. ] She concluded to herself.

“Hatsuko!! Be careful!” Ichika loudly said after seeing the insane amount of power up that Tatsuya revealed.

[ What is happening to Tatsuya?! ] Hanna thought to herself while looking at Tatsuya with an alarmed expression.

She was sure that he was injured just some moments ago, and now…. He seems totally fine? Not to mention the effects that the holy sword held. Even if he wasn’t showing any side effects, she was very worried while calling out to him.

“Time for round two.”

Tatsuya gave a look of confidence before jumping towards Hatsuko and kicking him with his left leg that was aimed at his head.

“What do you think of~ THIS?!” Tatuya inquired as he managed to kick away Hatsuko and crush his body on the barrier. “You didn't see that coming, did you?”

Tatsuya was moving much faster than before and his body felt a lot lighter than usual, causing him to experience a feeling of pride while finally managing to land a hit on Hatsuko.

After Hatsuko managed to get up from being kicked like that, Tatsuya continued throwing continuous slashes and kicks that were disorienting Hatsuko from keeping a steady stand on his feet.

“Tatsuya!!!” 

“Tatsuya! Please stop!!!”

But somehow, Hanna, together with many of his comrades continued calling out to him in worry or alarm. They were much more scared than before as they were pleading with Tatsuya to stop this nonsense.

[ I’ll show them my true power!! ] Tatsuya smirked, cutting off Hatsuko’s arm and breaking his bones with one powerful move that even cracked the whole arena.

“What's wrong?! Didn't you expect your arm to fly that way?” He smiled in a hideous way as he was showing Hatsko how his arm was gone.

“Tatsuya!!!!! Stop it!!!”

The strongest human threw the broken limp arm and smirked down at his foe before giving him a powerful punch on his face.

“You can’t compare to me!!!” Tatsuya stated as he continued punching Hatsuko’s face at a point where he was making his skin swollen. “Never!!”

But somehow, even after receiving this many hits and punches, Hatsuko still wasn't giving any sort of reaction from the punches he was receiving.

“You’re a trash mixer!! And always will be!!!!” He continued making fun of him as he continued doing whatever he wanted. “Just because you got a little stronger, doesn’t change the fact that you’re still trash!!!”

“Stop it already!!!!!” Hanna begged with all of her might while watching Tatsuya in that kind of state.

But Tatsuya still did not stop despite many calls from his teammates.

After a moment of silence, Tatsuya stared down at Hatsuko with a wide smirk on his face.

“Hey. Doesn't this feel similar to you?.... Just like in the old days.” Tatsuya said to Hatsuko’s beaten face who wasn't resisting anymore from the injuries. 

“You kept getting fucked around just because you were the weakest, with the slightest hopes that someday you would get stronger. 

But guess what? You’re still the same weak piece of shit!!! Even after this long! Nothing has changed! You’re still the weakest!”

Many of the Sakuru members stood still with perplexed expressions at what Tatsuya was talking about. 

It didn't feel right…. Their calm Tatsuya wouldn't speak like that… He wouldn't act like this….

“You thought that you were unfortunate?! 

But guess what? You are! Because I was behind from the beginning!” Tatsuya stated with a smile on his face. “I was the one who spread the rumor! I was the one who told Lauren to fuck you up!! And I was the one who stole your precious childhood friend away!!”

Hanna stood in horror as she watched Tatsuya blur out all of those awful things.

What was he talking about!? Why was he saying all of those things about him? Tatsuya would never do any of those awful things to her childhood friend… would he?

“It was me all along!! And you can’t do anything about it!!”

While some of the Sakuru members didn't care about the mixer, they were very shocked to see the manipulative nature that Tatsuya had. He had the length to even go so far as to destroy someone's life like that.

With a broken heart, Hanna gasped for air while looking at what Tatsuya was blurring out.

[ No, this isn't like him!! Why would Tatsuya say those things!? We love each other. ] Hanna thought to herself.

[ I win! I'M THE STRONGEST!!! ] Tatsuya thought to himself after managing to beat Hatsuko to the pulp.
He raised his sword in the air, ready to land a fatal slash on his heart so he could end this mixer once and for all.

“It's all over!”

However, his smile was blanched by a shocked glare once he noticed that Hatsuko disappeared from below him to the point he thought that he wasn't there to begin with.

“Huh?” Tatsuya reacted in confusion. [ Did he run away? ]

And after looking around, Tatsuya found Hatsuko standing some meters away from him, unharmed without a scratch.

[ He was injured… so how? ] Tatsuya asked himself before getting up to see what was going on.

“You! What did you do?!” Tatsuya glared in hatred to see how all of his hard work wasn’t permanent.

“Seems like you finally snapped out of it.” Akemi informed from afar, getting Tatsuya’s attention.

“What!?”

“You’ve been punching and kicking thin air the whole time you dumb human!” Akemi smirked at the way Tatsuya was humiliated. “You screwed yourself.”

Unable to accept the fact that he has been fighting an imaginary opponent, Tatsuya looked down and saw the fist prints of his own punches and his sword thrust into the ground.

It was true… it was as if he was fighting by himself this whole time!
“No…. NO!! This can’t be real!!!” Tatsuya cursed under his breath as he refused to accept the truth. And as a way to confirm whether this was true, he looked at his own team.

They all were staring with either worried or pitiful looks at him as he revealed the stuff he had done to Hatsuko in the past.

Even though he never planned on revealing them, his mind went completely blank at the kind of situation he put himself in.

Hanna was looking completely broken at Tatsuya, almost refusing to believe everything he just said.

[ No! That has to be a lie! He wouldn't do that! He would never do that kind of thing to me!!! ] That's what she kept repeating to herself.

“That doesn't change a thing!!” Tatsuya said before launching himself towards Hatsuko without holding back. He already had the power of more than 10 angels. He was confident that the punny illusion was just another trick of his.

However, what happened next in the following 0,0000000000001 milliseconds…. Froze his body in fear.

“G-ghk!! W-what?!”

And in the next moment, waves of unimaginable pain shot down his arm, causing his muscles to burn.

“W-what.. Happened?” He wondered before looking to his side and noticing how his arm was perfectly cut and fallen into the ground.

“Y-you bastard!!!” Tatsuya cursed, only to lose balance the next moment and fall to the ground, confused about what happened.

“Tatsuya!!!! NOOO!!!” Hanna cried with all of her might after watching Tatsuya in that kind of condition.

Confused about why he lost balance, Tatsuya looked down and saw one of his legs that were over his head, completely separated from where they were supposed to be. 

[ M-my leg? ]

Watching this kind of brutal sight, some of the Sakuru members puked out of the brutality that was shown in front of them.

And Hanna? She could only watch in horror at the horrible sight of her boyfriend was in.

Seeing how his body wasn't listening anymore, Tatsuya looked up and saw the frightening eyes of Hatsuko who showed no remorse if he died.

[ No! I’m supposed to be the strongest!! ] He thought to himself as he felt his body beginning to tremble in fear. 

[ Am I going to die? NO! I can’t die! I’m the strongest human alive! No one can outmatch me!! No one!!! I'm the strongest!!!! I'm the strongest!!!! I'm the strongest!!!! I'm the strongest!!!! I'm the strongest!!!! I'm the strongest!!!! I'm the strongest!!!! I'm the strongest!!!! I'm the strongest!!!! I'm the strongest!!!!  ]

But regardless of what he told himself, he sensed Hatsuko's intense killing intent as he walked slowly in his direction, fully knowing that he was going to die.

[ I’m going to… die? ] Tatsuya wondered as his eye pupils shrank to dots.

“N-no! S-stay away from me!!! NO!!! STOP!!” 

Tatsuya was beginning to freak out which scared many of the Sakuru members. Their voice was simply taken away, by the proud and scary leader was acting right now.

Their leader was acting as if he was powerless and weak.

“NO!!! Hatsuko! Stop it!!!!!” Hanna cried with all of her might as she was banging the barrier with all of her might.

But no matter what was said, Hatsuko moved near Tatsuya as he created a green glowing sword in his hand.—

“No! WAIT!!! PLEASE!!! DON’T DO IT!!!!” Hanna begged.

—And in the next moment, Hatsuko slid his sword underneath where Tatsuya was, causing the whole ground to shake continuously. Even the barrier that Akemi had created with the twin sister was shattered to pieces as smoke continued to build up.

Everyone, including the group of girls, was looking with widened eyes after Hatsuko had managed to do it without any sweat.

A power that not only surpassed the strongest human alive but also surpassed many angels that were feared by many beings.

And this wasn't done by god or powerful angels and demons… it was done by a simple man. That's what scared everyone the most.

But once the smoke cleared up, it was revealed that the sword was thrust in the ground, and right above the passed out Tatsuya, was Hanna who was using her body as a shield against Hatsuko.

She was glaring with tears in her eyes at the same person she used to consider a childhood friend.

Hatsuko, seeing the kind of behavior, only looked away, uninterested in her or her boyfriend.

“I hate you!!!” Hanna spilled out in anger. “If you were never here, Tatsuya would’ve never said those awful things!!”

Those were the only words that she said after reuniting with her childhood friend.

While Hanna and the rest of the Sakuru members were trying to get Tatsuya patched up, the group of girls rushed toward Hatsuko in order to see whether he was injured.

“I never thought that you’d get this strong.” Akemi tried teasing. “You might as well be considered as the strongest between all dragons and other realms as well.”

“He’s my brother after all! That's to be expected from him.”

“Master strong! Master strong!” Shiro jumped in excitement while clingling herself to his arm.

“Now I see why you don’t need us anymore…” Chloe said tiredly.

“You got so strong now that you don’t even consider us a help anymore…” Hina finished the sentence.

Seeing the sort of mixed reactions from the girls, Hatsuko warmly smiled, removing any sort of ill vibes from his cold murderous aura from before.

[ No matter where I am, I will always need you. That's why cheer up. ] Hatsuko calmly said to everyone.

“W-what?!” Ichika and the rest of the girls blushed in embarrassment at the statement.

“That's something that I didn't expect you to say….” Chloe softly said.

“Smooth with words, aren't you?” Akemi smirked.

“Master needs Shiro!!” The white cat continued pressing her breasts against her master's arm.

“I don’t deserve such attention..” Hina said, a bit happy to hear that.

“Of Course, you’re going to need me. I'm your sister after all.”

But once they were all done talking with Hatsuko, it was finally time for them to head back home. That's why Hatsuko created a green portal that would lead them back to their own planet.

All of the Sakuru members entered the portal, no question asked. And that included Hanna who was watching over her own boyfriend.

She never spoke any word to Hatsuko, and she never even looked at him anymore.

The situation was pretty clear to everyone.

And lastly, it was Raiden’s turn to finally enter the portal. But before he could cross the portal, he glanced at Hatsuko.

*gulp*

His cold green eyes were staring right back at him which made his body slightly tremble.
He knew that it was going to be a bad thing if Hatsuko decided to have his revenge on him. But luckily, Raiden passed through the gate safely, only left with a trembling body that didn't seem to calm down.

“I'm glad that they're finally gone!” Lily said after seeing the annoying group gone.

“I know! They were really pissing me off! Especially what he said about Hatsuko!” Chloe added.

“That's right! He deserved it! No, he should have had to go through much worse than that!! That was just a punny punishment in the dragon realm.”

As the group of girls was discussing how they could have their own revenge against the Sakuru team for what they had done to Hatsuko, a group of two people could be seen slighting further from them. 

It was Hatsuko and Rei who were standing in front of each other.

“You must be thinking I’m a dirty woman… after what happened to me?” Rei asked, uncertain whether she should even be allowed to be near Hatsuko.

"....." 

"I tried to help you…. But it was all for nothing… I wasn't strong enough. It was my fault that I put myself in that kind of mess…."

"....."

"And it was all my fault! Because of me, you ended up getting bullied!" Rei cried as her heart ached at her own words. "Because of me…."

As she was clenching her own skirt, Rei felt a warm sensation around her body which put her to comfort.

When she looked up, she found how Hatsuko was gently hugging her.

"Why? *sniff*" She kept asking as her body melted at the warmth of Hatsuko’s body.

She couldn't understand why but felt really happy while being like that. She thought that she didn't deserve to be treated like that.

…

Once the whole group was finally ready, all of the girls gave their final goodbyes to Hatsuko.

"This time, once you finish up what you had to do. Make sure to come right back!" Akemi glared while looking at the tall boy in front of her. 

After getting a nod of confirmation, Akemi smiled and went through the portal together with the twin sisters

Next up was Hina.

"I hope that you'll finish your goals safely so you can come back to everyone else at least. I know that I don't deserve such treatment, but please do it for everyone's sake." She said before also turning around with a pained smile about the stuff she said to herself.

[ I care about you as well. So don't think so little of yourself. ] 

A voice was telepathically heard on Hina’s mind, slightly startling her. Even though she was looking the other way, her ears were slightly red in embarrassment.

Nex was Chloe.

"Ever since meeting you, I've been having this tingling feeling in my stomach. And it's very annoying to me. So help me figure out what's going on once you return." She said with a bashful expression on her embarrassed face.

Next was Ichika.

"I'm still your fiance… so please don't forget about me as well." Ichika said with a smile on her face before also entering the portal.

Seeing how Shiro couldn't be found, Lily lifted Hatsuko’s cloak and found a certain cat girl hiding with a cat grin on her face.

"Noooo! Shiro has been found!!" Shiro mewed with a smile on her face at her poorly attempted hiding.

And seeing how it would be difficult to take Shiro back home, Lily pulled out a device that seemed really attractive to Shiro.

"Brother…." Lily called out after making sure Shiro was playing with the toy. 

"....."

"Will you be alright?" Lily asked with a slightly worried tone.

Hatsuko nodded.

"I see…. If you ever need my help. Then please don't hesitate to come back." She said before grabbing Shiro’s toy and entering the portal with her.

There wasn't anything else for her to say. She was well aware of her brother's abilities, and she believed that he would return back to her.

And in the end…. Was Rei.

She seemed to be struggling to say something as her cheeks were flustered.

Hatsuko was a bit confused. But in the next moment, he felt the warm lips against his own. 

Rei had managed to wrap her hands around his shoulders to the point of not being able to touch the ground.

"...."

"....."

Both looked at one another with embarrassed expressions before Rei let go and turned her back. Her face was completely beet red, that's why she was trying to hide it.

"....I'll be waiting for you…." She said with an embarrassed tone in her voice. "That's why…. This time, make sure to find me."

And as she said that, Rei entered the portal, leaving a smiling Hatsuko behind.

.

.

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