While walking casually after the battle against Scorpio, Arou glanced at Hikari.
"Hey, Hikari," he said.
Hikari looked at him, slightly nervous.
"What is it, Dad… Eh, I mean, Arou?"
Arou frowned.
"Eh? Did you just call me Dad?"
Hikari lowered his head, his cheeks turning red.
"Eh, that… I said it by accident. Anyway, why did you call me?"
Arou smiled a little.
"I just wanted to ask you something."
Hikari looked at him curiously.
"Ask about what?"
Arou raised an eyebrow.
"Is it true that you can see people's identities?"
Hikari nodded slowly.
"Yeah… maybe all living beings. Why?"
Arou took a deep breath.
"Then check my identity. What Tier am I?"
Hikari stared at Arou for a moment before closing his eyes. A glowing data screen appeared in his vision.
Arou's Identity:
••Name: Arou Sikita
••Power: Frontliner / Tactician
••Title: Fighter
••Tier: B
Hikari opened his eyes and immediately told him.
"Your Tier… is B."
Airi, Lumina, Tomo, and Haru overheard the conversation and looked serious.
Arou was surprised, but he still acted confident.
"Eeh… really? My Tier is B? Well… maybe my Tier is still higher than Airi's, hahaha." He laughed proudly.
Hikari looked at him seriously.
"No… Mom's… Eh… I mean, Airi's Tier is SS."
Everyone froze in shock.
Airi, Lumina, Arou, Tomo, and Haru stared at Hikari in disbelief.
Airi swallowed nervously.
"Eh… what? I'm Tier SS?"
Arou frowned.
"You've got to be kidding me… why is someone as strong as me only Tier B while Airi is somehow Tier SS?"
Lumina smacked his shoulder.
"Hey, Arou… that's rude. Don't call Airi like that."
Arou quickly lowered his head.
"Eh… yeah, sorry, Airi."
Airi smiled warmly.
"It's okay."
Hikari smiled happily, feeling the closeness between his family and friends.
Suddenly, Hikari turned toward a giant tree, his eyes widening.
"Eh… h-he's… the one who killed my mother," Hikari muttered in panic, nearly crying.
Everyone immediately looked in the same direction.
There stood a tall, faceless figure with terrifying moving tentacles—Slenderman.
Hikari tried to analyze the creature. A glowing data screen appeared again.
Slenderman's Data:
••Name: Slenderman
••Power: Ignores the laws of physics, abstract existence (stalker, eraser, mental pressure), difficult to attack or destroy conventionally
••Title: The Faceless Eraser
••Tier: SSS
Hikari lowered his head, trembling.
"N-no… I don't want to lose my mother again…"
Airi quickly approached him in concern.
"Hikari, what happened?"
Hikari stared at Slenderman with tearful eyes.
"He… he's the one who killed my mother…"
His voice shook.
Airi, Arou, Lumina, Haru, and Tomo were all shocked and frightened.
Airi looked at Hikari seriously.
"Really? What kind of powers does he have? And what Tier is he?"
Hikari took a shaky breath, trying to calm himself.
"His powers… ignore the laws of physics. His existence is abstract. He's difficult to attack or destroy normally. And… he's Tier SSS."
Arou swallowed hard, his face turning pale.
"You're lying… right? He's really Tier SSS?"
Haru narrowed his eyes.
"This fast…?"
The ground around them began to shake as Slenderman moved his tentacles and attacked them one by one.
Everyone panicked.
Hikari looked at Airi with determination burning in his eyes.
"No… I won't let him take you away from me again, Mom!"
Hikari stared at Slenderman, his hands trembling.
He raised his spear.
"I… I don't want to lose all of you," he whispered.
Arou, Airi, Lumina, Haru, and Tomo could only watch from a distance, worried and terrified.
Hikari turned toward them.
"Don't worry… I'll handle this myself. I'm afraid of losing you."
Hikari charged forward.
Dark Dragon sliced through one of Slenderman's tentacles—but it regenerated instantly.
Airi gasped from afar.
"Eh… the tentacle grew back?"
Arou stared seriously.
"And it regenerated incredibly fast!"
Lumina shouted at him.
"Hikari, don't be reckless!"
Hikari lowered his head, tears filling his eyes.
"I don't want to lose the people I care about."
Tomo and Haru shouted as well.
"Hikari, you're pushing yourself too far!"
"Hikari, control yourself!"
Hikari took a deep breath and continued fighting fiercely against Slenderman.
Then Slenderman unleashed a technique:
"Exe… MYTH."
A gigantic red eye appeared in the sky.
The heavens turned crimson, and violent winds began blowing everywhere.
Hikari looked back at his friends in the distance.
"Run away… I'll hold him off!"
Airi hesitated.
"But…"
Hikari glared at her.
"NOW!!!"
Inside his heart, Hikari whispered:
"Sorry, Mom… for yelling at you."
Airi, Arou, Lumina, Haru, and Tomo finally ran to a safe distance while watching the battle from afar.
The fight lasted a long time.
Slenderman was overwhelmingly powerful.
Hikari was eventually blasted away and slammed into the ground.
Everyone froze in fear.
"HIKARI!!" they screamed from afar while crying, believing he had lost.
But slowly…
Hikari stood back up.
Slenderman stared at him.
"Wow… you're still alive."
Hikari glared sharply.
"If I lose… then who will protect them?"
Hikari's body suddenly began to shine.
His normal clothes transformed into purple dragon-scale armor, making him appear far stronger.
Slenderman laughed mockingly.
"Hmm… you only changed your outfit. Don't act like you suddenly became strong."
Hikari smiled coldly.
"Hmm… you're weird. You don't even have a mouth, yet you can talk."
Slenderman replied calmly.
"I speak through my soul."
In an instant, Hikari disappeared and teleported behind Slenderman.
His friends stared in shock from afar.
The Dark Dragon spear completely transformed.
What had once been a simple white-purple spear became a massive weapon wrapped with a dragon around its handle, releasing a terrifying aura.
With one ultimate strike, Hikari smashed Slenderman with overwhelming force.
The impact cracked the ground around them.
Slenderman collapsed.
Defeated.
Hikari returned to his normal form and raised his spear as a sign of victory.
Then his body gave out, and he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
Airi, Arou, Tomo, Haru, and Lumina ran toward him.
Airi hugged Hikari tightly.
"Hikari, are you okay?"
Hikari smiled weakly.
"Yeah… I'm okay. Just a little tired."
—
Hikari slowly opened his eyes inside his house.
Airi looked at him with worry.
"Eh… you're awake?"
Hikari looked surprised.
"Yeah, Mom… Eh… how did you know where my house is?"
Airi explained softly.
"I carried you here, but on the way I got lost because I didn't know where your house was. Then suddenly, while sleep-talking, you started giving me directions."
Hikari stared at her in disbelief.
"Hah… is that even possible?"
Hikari slowly sat up on the bed.
"Eh… Mom, what time is it now?" he asked.
Airi checked the clock on her phone.
"It's 10:19 PM. Why?"
Hikari looked at her quietly.
"Why haven't you gone home yet?"
Airi smiled gently.
"If I go home, then who will take care of you?"
Hikari smiled awkwardly.
"Eh… that…"
Airi looked at him softly.
"Am I bothering you by staying here?"
Hikari quickly shook his head, tears forming in his eyes.
"Eh… not at all. I'm actually happy you're here with me… Mom… Eh… I mean Airi, sorry."
Airi smiled warmly.
"You can call me Mom if you want."
Tears rolled down Hikari's cheeks as he smiled softly.
"Eh… th-thank you… Mom."
—
The next morning, Airi woke up early and started cooking breakfast at Hikari's house.
Hikari ate, took a shower, and put on his school uniform.
While getting ready, he asked:
"Eh… are you going to school too, Mom?"
Airi smiled.
"Of course. After this, I'll go home for a bit to get ready, then I'll head to school."
After everything was prepared, Hikari and Airi left the house together and headed toward Airi's home.
When they arrived, Airi opened the door.
Inside, Chika was sitting on the sofa.
Chika looked at Airi.
"Where have you been?"
Airi smiled awkwardly.
"Eeh… well… I stayed over at my friend's house."
Chika glanced at Hikari.
"Eeh… friend?"
Airi invited Hikari inside.
"You can come in and wait while I get ready."
Hikari sat down on the sofa and looked around the room.
Chika stared at his face curiously.
"So you're Airi's friend?"
Hikari nodded.
Chika looked more carefully.
"You really resemble Airi. What's your name?"
Hikari smiled shyly.
"Hikari Mikami."
Chika's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh… Hikari… eh? Wait, your last name is the same as ours?"
Hikari laughed awkwardly.
"Eeh… really?"
Chika stared at him more seriously.
"If you don't mind me asking… what are your parents' names?"
Hikari hesitated and lowered his head.
"Eeh… umm…"
Suddenly, Airi came out, already prepared for school.
She gently held Hikari's hand, smiled warmly, and together they walked out of the house toward school.