Chapter Fifteen: Overdrawing Life

Tetsuya furrowed his brows, hesitated only for a moment, and then steeled his resolve. Nexter's figure soared like a swift diving into the waves, driven by a fierce, fearless will, slicing through the air and flying ahead of the energy sphere's trajectory. With arms outstretched, he used his own body to shield the torrent of energy.

“Ah…”

A burst of yellow fire erupted in midair, and Nexter's form was struck and sent tumbling down, blown away by the impact.

Tetsuya felt a searing pain in his chest, as if it were about to split open, and tugged helplessly at the corner of his mouth. This damned sense of justice...

“Bang!”

The massive figure crashed to the ground, causing a slight tremor throughout Shinjuku. People hurriedly grasped whatever they could nearby, barely managing to keep their balance and avoid falling.

Nexter’s enormous body landed right beside the female reporter. After the dust and wind from the fall subsided, the camera’s lens once again focused on Nexter.

“It’s the giant… he just protected us with his own body!”

The reporter nearly screamed as she shouted:

“Stand up, giant! Don’t give up!”

Her cry sounded like a trumpet’s call, spreading to countless people through the camera’s broadcast. Instantly, spontaneously, voices erupted as people shouted their hopes aloud.

“Go, giant! You are our hope!”

“Don’t fall! Keep fighting!”

The tide of voices surged, and countless people poured onto the streets, gazing upon some part of the giant’s body, expressing their hopes.

Meanwhile, in the hospital room, Maki finally received good news about his son. Kimura had only fainted from exhaustion, not from a relapse of his congenital blood disease. Both he and his wife wept tears of joy; for them, it was the best possible news.

Kimura’s face was pale, but his spirit seemed good. He looked at the news on the television and said, “Dad, the giant… the giant is protecting us!”

Maki smiled, gently stroking his son’s hair, his eyes full of affection. He softly replied, “Yes, even demons will be vanquished. You’ll be alright too.”

At that moment, his phone rang, and the urgent voice of Kashima burst forth:

“Maki, hurry back! We need you! I need you! Fight with me!”

The voice was loud, almost a shout, echoing throughout the hospital room.

Maki felt the gaze of his wife and son, paused, smiled, unsure what to say.

“Dad! Go!” Kimura’s eyes were filled with admiration.

His wife stepped forward, straightened Maki’s clothes, and said gently, “I know you can’t give up your fighter jet… Go, for our son, for me, for humanity, show the world the strength of mankind.”

Maki was stunned. Because of his profession, he rarely had time for his wife and child, and there were always tensions between them. He had never before heard such words from her.

“Go, don’t let the giant fight alone!”

Maki nodded firmly, then pushed open the door. At that moment, Kashima’s voice rang out, spirited:

“Hurry, the helicopter’s already on its way to pick you up! Return to base at once, and join me on the battlefield within ten minutes!”

“Host, spiritual energy from the hopes of humanity has been received. Do you wish to activate it?”

Tetsuya, nearly unconscious, seemed to hear the system’s voice. He was utterly exhausted, though the power of light was more attuned to him now and had pushed Nexter’s evolution forward, his opponent remained far stronger. Earlier, he’d relied on Nexter’s speed and his own instincts as a pilot to tangle with the demon in the air for so long. But a single energy sphere had returned him to his original state.

“Tetsuya… stand up!”

Somewhere deep within, Sara Mizuhara’s voice echoed in Tetsuya’s mind, her pleading hope gradually awakening him.

“Activate!”

A surge of powerful energy gathered at Nexter’s chest, spreading outward. Instantly, Tetsuya felt the energy of light tremble within him, and the exhaustion in every cell vanished; he felt an even greater strength. The light in his unfocused eyes coalesced once more, his gaze sharp and fierce, impossible to meet directly, and his whole being seemed to radiate the brilliance of justice.

Nexter rose slowly but resolutely. Tetsuya saw nearby the woman in black tactical armor, her face streaming with tears as she looked at him.

“Let me fight for you… defeat this demon!”

Nexter’s streamlined body vaulted into the air, intercepting several energy spheres. The energy of spiritual hope seemed to grant Nexter even stronger defensive power. Though the pain remained, it was no longer unbearable.

After enduring four or five energy blasts, the demon finally descended from the heights, and Takafumi Yudo’s eerie, wicked voice rang out.

“Is that your limit?”

Tetsuya was startled; sure enough, the red energy indicator sounded, its deep crimson rippling like water.

“Roar!”

At that moment, an even larger sphere of blue energy crashed into Nexter’s chest.

“Ah…”

A wave of weakness swept over him like a tide; every cell in Tetsuya’s body felt electrified with pain. His mind began to blur, everything before his eyes grew indistinct and wavered, and his vision was filled with overlapping images.

“The power isn’t enough again…”

“Why…”

“Because you haven’t fully assimilated. You could, you know, just like I did—possess all of a person’s strength, including their spiritual power, including their life force. Idiot!” The demon’s voice rang out again, full of cruel laughter and smugness.

Amidst the explosive flames and the urgent flashing of the energy indicator, Tetsuya’s consciousness seemed to fall into an endless torrent of light. There, he saw a vast silver space, Nexter’s luminous form towering and standing within it.

“If you keep fighting, your body won’t be able to withstand it!” The system’s voice sounded urgently.

“If I die… what will happen?” Tetsuya was not the least bit panicked; he murmured as if in a dream.

“You will leave this world, and darkness will swallow it. In the end, Zaki will be reborn here.”

“No…”

Tetsuya’s gaze regained some clarity, his tone unwavering.

“I absolutely cannot fall here! I have promises I must keep, promises to protect!”

“To defeat this enemy—this is… my final mission!” In the endless darkness, he seemed to see the demon’s wings slowly unfold, ravaging the world, darkness covering the earth, countless people perishing at its hands. The only light between heaven and earth was the wicked glow in the beastly eyes atop the demon’s three hideous heads.

“Tell me… what must I do?”

The system was silent for a moment, then responded:

“Thirty million years ago, the Milky Way was the center of the universe, but was devastated by a great war and became known as the ‘Abandoned Galaxy’. Humanity, living on Earth in the Abandoned Galaxy, possesses immense energy that cannot be self-developed.” The system recited a piece of history gradually forgotten, its voice devoid of emotion.

“This energy consists of spiritual power and life force… The spiritual power you have received is not strong enough, and can only evolve Nexter to B+ level…”

Tetsuya’s gaze sharpened, his voice slow: “So… do I need to burn my life force?”

He had witnessed the power of spirit—human hope had enabled him to block the demon’s blue energy sphere. But the nature of life force was less clear to him, though he had heard of one phenomenon: when a human life is near death, there is a brief moment of resurgence, perhaps only a minute or two, like a candle flickering brightly just before it goes out.

The system gave no precise answer to Tetsuya’s question.

But Tetsuya already knew. He calmed himself, his eyes resolute, and asked, “If… I burn my life force, what will happen?”

“Your body will turn to light and vanish…”

“Will there be enough time for me to say my last words?”

“…There will be enough.”

Tetsuya smiled, spreading his hands and shrugging as he always did, casually saying,

“Then what’s there to hesitate about?”

Within the realm of thought, Tetsuya gradually became one with Nexter, leaping forth, arms outstretched, flying into the endless radiance.

“Bang!”

Hundreds of meters closed in an instant. Nexter struck out midair, landing a heavy blow on the demon’s head.

A flurry of fists and kicks followed, battering the monster like a storm, leaving it unable to lift its head.

“Swish~”

The demon’s tail snaked behind Nexter, wrapping tightly around his body. The demon flapped its wings, lifting Nexter into the air, until they hovered high above.

The tail pulled Nexter close, the demon’s claws gripped his shoulders, and its gaping maw bit fiercely into Nexter’s shoulder. The power Tetsuya gained by burning his life force was slowly devoured by the demon!