Chapter 450. A Heartless Man Driven Mad by Feeling
A sudden silence swept across the Earth.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's quirk was simply beyond evaluation—how was this any different from being cuckolded? Any man shouldn't be able to do something like this, right?
But he would; Ayanokouji Kiyotaka did.
From the perspective of common sense, Ayanokouji should have been the one suffering a great loss. But hearing Setsuna's confessions one after another—her confessions to Hachiman: "I love you, Lord Hachiman," "Setsuna likes Lord Hachiman the most," "I love, love, love Lord Hachiman so much"...
Crusch's heart nearly stopped right then and there.
Yukinoshita's expression had turned a shade of livid that couldn't possibly get any worse.
Rem and Emilia both covered their ears; the former revealed a blatant killing intent, contemplating whether she should take preemptive action.
Anastasia's fingers turned pale. She maintained a smile, but that smile was so stiff that even a blind person could see through it; the Dona-fox, serving as her scarf, was being squeezed so hard it was nearly suffocating.
...What exactly was the situation now?
—They were being "cuckolded," their man was being snatched away, and he was being snatched away by another man!
Even if this wasn't being "snatched" in the conventional sense, Ayanokouji's wicked deeds had caused those sounds from Setsuna to linger in everyone's ears and pierce their hearts; they couldn't shake them off.
It was a literal, terrifying nightmare!
This was a hundred times more egregious than Yukinoshita's "sneaking ahead" behavior before the world fusion... Compared to hearing Setsuna confess to Hachiman, Crusch would rather Anastasia gain the memories of the IF line she shared with Sir Hachiman!
"...Is there really a need to be this twisted, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
With a face full of sour discomfort, Hikigaya Hachiman started to speak but stopped, eventually just shaking his head repeatedly with a bitter smile, finding it impossible to comment.
To Ayanokouji, this was indeed a manifestation of his love for Hikigaya Hachiman, but to Hikigaya Hachiman himself, this was an indescribably vile and cruel torture.
Never mind Anastasia and the others—hearing Setsuna's confessions made his own scalp tingle; he felt like he was going to explode.
Originally, Hikigaya Hachiman thought that unless it was someone irredeemable like the Archbishops of Sin or an unrepentant Roswaal, it was best not to judge someone now based on their future actions.
...But at this moment, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had "courted death" to such an extent that even Hachiman couldn't protect him anymore.
The fact that Crusch and the others hadn't immediately drawn their swords and rushed to Advanced Nurturing High School to slay Ayanokouji was already a sign of restraint for Hachiman's sake.
However, as for Priscilla's "Great Fortune"... Ayanokouji would have to fend for himself.
With arms crossed and eyes coldly shut, the arrogant Princess Priscilla, who disdained to even glance at Ayanokouji, sat motionless in her chair. No one thought she was indifferent to Setsuna's cries.
Priscilla's act of ignoring him only meant one thing.
She couldn't be bothered to get angry at a dead man.
"—Rumble!! Boom boom boom boom!"
Several vehicles in the Advanced Nurturing High School parking lot suddenly lost control, flooring the accelerators and crashing toward the sports field in a chaotic heap.
From afar, these movements caused Ryuen Kakeru and the others' expressions to change drastically.
Every man for himself—everyone held the single thought of staying as far away from Ayanokouji as possible to avoid being collateral damage.
These occurrences were clearly the result of Priscilla's wrath triggered by Ayanokouji's twisted love for Hikigaya Hachiman.
"That arrogant princess's possessiveness over Hikigaya Hachiman is obvious to all... Ayanokouji really asked for it this time. No matter how promising his future is, he's probably done for now!"
Regarding the students' view, Horikita Manabu pushed up his glasses and said calmly, "Not necessarily."
True, if Priscilla's Great Fortune were at its peak, Ayanokouji would undoubtedly die no matter what.
But after the fusion of the two worlds, while Divine Protections like Otto's communication with insects were unaffected, those related to the world itself were temporarily weakened. They wouldn't return to full power until the Earth and Emilia's world were completely solidified and inseparable.
And that was still three or four days away.
With a heart prepared for defense, Ayanokouji might just survive a "crippled" version of Great Fortune whose effects were mostly stripped away.
"..."
The indifferent Ayanokouji felt no emotional vibration from being targeted by misfortune. He simply used his own strength to dodge the objects crashing toward him.
Priscilla's Great Fortune was whatever it was; he didn't care. However, if Great Fortune were Hikigaya Hachiman's Divine Protection—if Hikigaya Hachiman were the one targeting him—then perhaps, in an instant, he would be excited enough to "raise his flag."
"Ugh..."
Unaware of Ayanokouji's current plight, many people were fearful, intimidated by Ayanokouji. Who could stand this kind of twisted love and fanatical obsession?
"Hikigaya-kun really has a hard time," Kousaka Kyousuke shuddered.
Encountering Archbishops in the other world and Ayanokouji on Earth—his path was truly bumpy, always meeting these bizarre perverts.
Even though Hikigaya Hachiman not only had high IQ and EQ but now also possessed many Authorities, and certainly didn't fear Ayanokouji—and Ayanokouji might not even successfully unify the other world and cross back—how should one put it...
This kind of chill wasn't a matter of whether it could be solved; his very existence was eerie enough.
Based on current impressions, many people's view of Ayanokouji was "indescribable."
It was clear he was quite smart and powerful, but he never treated others with sincerity and was full of calculations, which was entirely unlikable. Yet, you couldn't say people hated him either, because he hadn't done anything truly "evil"; instead, he was working to overthrow a dark kingdom, which was a good deed.
His actions were steady and rational, yet to call this person "rational"... look at what he did regarding Hikigaya Hachiman.
Can that be called rational?
After thinking it over, Oreki Houtarou could only provide one word:
"Insane."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka as a whole was a rational "interests-above-all" individual who used any means to achieve his goals. If it ended there, he would be evaluated as a terrifying, unpredictable schemer.
Unfortunately, he was a twisted Hachiman fan. This trait was so prominent and so "insane" that it actually managed to overshadow his emotionless, interest-driven rationality.
"But then again, both Hikigaya Hachiman and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka obviously have very high IQs—is it possible that these days, if your IQ isn't high enough, you're not even qualified to cross over?"
Fukube Satoshi chimed in, and he wasn't complaining on behalf of ordinary people; on the contrary, he was feeling relieved.
Think about Hikigaya Hachiman dying so many times, or Ayanokouji Kiyotaka being drugged and toyed with by men—it's terrifying just thinking about it.
What ordinary person could endure that?
Luckily, ordinary people wouldn't be chosen.
Truly lucky!
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