[‘This is getting a bit creepy. Is it hinting that Emi is going to cause trouble?’]
[‘Cause what? Emi started GSAC herself, didn’t she?’]
[‘Isn’t it common knowledge that the organizer of every King of Fighters tournament is the final boss?’]
[‘Wow, I can screenshot this frame to use as a wallpaper.’]
‘Tsk, is it really necessary for Chongzhong to include these cringey moments of mine?’
The halftime transition passed, continuing the story arc of the protagonists.
It was late at night on the playground.
Because she couldn’t sleep, Kaori Onishi had come out for an “adventure,” only to run into Cuiyue, who was currently venting her emotions.
[‘Sui is a size larger than Emi. When Sui hunched her shoulders and bowed in front of Emi before, I thought they were the same height.’]
[‘Now that there’s a comparison with Kaori, it’s true… she seems a size larger.’]
[‘They’re the same size, though.’]
[‘I’m not talking about their chests; I’m talking about their builds!’]
[‘Yuki Asahi has been training with Cuiyue for so long without any sparks flying. It’s obvious he likes them small.’]
[‘Then Kaori has no chance in this life.’]
Soon after, the silver-haired Shadow Girl made her appearance.
[‘Chinese characters again? Why does Chinese keep appearing in a Japanese anime?’]
[‘So? What, are you unhappy about it? It’s normal for people from Tokyo University to speak Chinese.’]
[‘But Cuiyue isn’t normal. Isn’t she Japanese?’]
[‘Just because she awakened in Japan doesn’t mean she’s Japanese.’]
The bullet comments started arguing again. Jiang Jian Yue had already grown used to it.
Next came a brief skirmish.
The animation quality for this segment clearly skyrocketed. Whether it was the gray-ash fire effects from Cuiyue or the liquid metal flowing like mercury from Shadow Girl, every frame screamed high production value.
The brief exchange between the two was portrayed with immense tension. The way these two experts tested each other and held back just enough left the audience in the comments section raving.
[‘That metal is as smooth as Dove chocolate.’]
[‘Cuiyue isn’t bad either, being able to go fifty-fifty with a monster like that.’]
[‘The way Kaori is watching the show from the side is literally me.’]
[‘This Shadow Girl is so cute too.’]
[‘Kaori is blushing. She looks like a red apple.’]
[‘That looks delicious.’]
However, what truly made the comments explode was what happened after the two left.
Kaori Onishi remained on the playground alone.
She looked at a crow perched on the perimeter wall and murmured to herself. Her originally clear, emerald eyes suddenly became deep and dark.
The camera gave a close-up—the moisture within the crow’s body was instantly siphoned away. The once-vibrant lifeform turned into a shriveled corpse in the blink of an eye.
Kaori Onishi looked at the corpse, a delighted smile appearing on her face. “Wow, it really worked?”
[‘??????’]
[‘Holy crap! This ability is that sinister?’]
[‘Animal cruelty! I’ll fight you for this!’]
[‘She completely drained the moisture.’]
[‘This is the true way to use water manipulation.’]
[‘If this were used on a person… would they become a mummy?’]
[‘Who said our Kaori was a dead weight? Isn’t this an invincible skill?’]
[‘@Saori Saiyonji, come out and take your beating.’]
Watching this scene, Jiang Jian Yue also frowned slightly.
Kaori Onishi’s finishing move was a bit terrifying… She just wondered if her own Rapid Recovery could restore moisture.
‘It probably can…’
‘Wait, why do I keep thinking about fighting Kaori Onishi?’
After a transition, the grand opening ceremony unfolded—at the New National Stadium, with cheers from 60,000 people and brilliant superpower fireworks.
Jiang Jian Yue’s incredibly chuunibyou speech was aired in its entirety. Combined with the trembling expressions of the VIPs below, she truly looked like a “ruler.”
[‘Everyone, stand up!’]
[‘This entrance is way too flashy.’]
[‘Emi is totally showing off in this episode.’]
[‘Am I the only one who noticed the pink heavy machine gun in the background? Dying laughing.’]
……
Jiang Jian Yue had only been talking nonsense, but she hadn’t expected them to actually do it.
In the future, she would have to reduce the number of times she joked with her subordinates; otherwise, it would be troublesome if they took her seriously.
Immediately following that was the highlight of the episode—the Southern Cross performance.
The lights focused, and the music started.
In the center of the stage, “Kazuki Hanatsubame” was dancing to the music.
But this time, the animation team used an extremely special method of expression.
Through the choreography and the blocking shots from other members, they cut to… Jiang Jian Yue wearing an idol outfit with a sweet smile on her face.
Kazuki Hanatsubame made a finger heart, and after a camera cut, it became Jiang Jian Yue making a finger heart.
Kazuki Hanatsubame did a “cat-paw” punch, and after the side view was momentarily blocked by Mizuki Hoshi’s leg, it became Jiang Jian Yue again.
Jiang Jian Yue slammed her fist onto the table, causing the wooden surface to crack instantly. Her eyes were red as she stared at the screen in front of her.
The audience could obviously tell that this was a cinematic technique found in anime and some special-setting movies.
Jiang Jian Yue wasn’t actually on the stage; it was a clear sign that Kazuki Hanatsubame was being controlled by her.
[‘Hahahaha!’]
[‘???’]
[‘Cute.’]
[‘Am I really watching the main episode? This isn’t some funny fan edit?’]
[‘Emi acted so mysterious at the beginning, but it turns out she was planning to be a stand-in performer. I thought she was going to turn the Center Sister into a killing machine.’]
[‘A literal “Stand User.”‘]
[‘Emi: I have endured too much for the sake of making a living.’]
Jiang Jian Yue covered her face and let out a groan of pain—the screen full of “hahaha” wasn’t just on the display; it felt like it was being slapped onto her face.
She never expected that her “perfect disguise” would be presented as a public execution to an audience with a God’s perspective.
‘No, was it really necessary to keep this part in the episode?’
‘And was it necessary to use that kind of editing?!’
“Meiguan…”
“I’m here, Missy. That cat-paw punch just now was really cute~”
“I’m begging you, tell me. What exactly is Chongzhong?” Jiang Jian Yue’s entire body trembled. “I will definitely… tear them into pieces.”
Amidst the screen full of “hahahahaha” and “I’m dying from cuteness,” the ending theme began to play.
When paired with the melancholy and hesitant Jiang Jian Yue in the ED, the previous segment seemed even more humorous.
After the ED ended, the screen turned dark and somber.
Jiang Jian Yue pulled herself together, knowing that this was the real “main” part.
After all, the post-ED segments usually served as a preview for what was to come—though Pluto, who had been teased in the previous episode, didn’t appear in this one.
Originally, Jiang Jian Yue thought she would get more information about Pluto, but she found that the person in the post-ED scene wasn’t him.
It was… Nikolai.
The Emergent Body who had escaped from Lake Toya Prison.
He was in the restroom of a bar, with the explosive DJ dance music from the other side of the wall as background noise.
After a shudder, Nikolai zipped up his pants, wiped his hands on his clothes, and left the men’s room.
[‘Gross, he didn’t wash his hands.’]
[‘Disgusting.’]
[‘Wait, that’s literally me.’]
Nikolai walked out of the restroom and saw a group of troublemakers harrassing a female high school student with dark green hair in the corridor.
Jiang Jian Yue sat up straight immediately. She knew this high school student—it was Sato Aoi!
The daughter of the supervisor who had taken in Cuiyue.
With reports from the Dark Crow Unit’s surveillance, she naturally recognized Sato Aoi.
The audience didn’t know Sato Aoi yet because when Cuiyue left the Sato residence, it was on the night the Special Response HQ raided the Chiba Factory.
At that time, the anime’s perspective was focused entirely on the Special Response HQ and the DRG, providing no explanation for her.
Ah.
Nikolai stepped in and drove away the group of punks—the guy turned out to be quite decent.
Afterward, he shamelessly invited Sato Aoi for a few drinks.
Sato Aoi blushed and agreed. Then the scene shifted. Nikolai was sitting on the edge of a bed smoking, with several empty beer bottles by his feet.
The curtains of the room were drawn, but the early morning sunlight leaked through.
On the bed behind him, the girl with dark green hair was sleeping with her back bare, facing the wall.
Gulp!
The cola in Jiang Jian Yue’s mouth nearly sprayed out. She quickly covered her mouth and grabbed the tissue box with her other hand to wipe herself.
After Cuiyue left the Sato residence, the Dark Crow Unit had stopped monitoring them.
‘This… what is going on?’
[‘Damn, that’s a crime.’]
[‘What does this mean?’]
[‘Wait, this looks like Cuiyue’s room?’]
[‘Holy crap, it really is.’]
Nikolai suddenly noticed something. He crushed his cigarette butt on the floor, stood up, and went to the wall.
He pinched a long, thin, gray-ash hair between his fingers.
A moment later, he put the hair into his mouth and chewed it, as if tasting some rare treasure.
[‘This guy is so gross.’]
[‘That’s Cuiyue’s hair, right?’]
Nikolai’s pale blue eyes flickered with light. Jiang Jian Yue speculated that consuming hair was a prerequisite for activating some kind of ability.
“Ha… I’ve found a treasure.”
Nikolai muttered to himself, and the episode ended with a close-up of his large, yellow teeth.
Thinking carefully, the story of Episode 14 was still at the opening ceremony. The reason the end of the preliminary rounds hadn’t been updated yet was likely because of this post-ED segment.
The time in the final scene of the episode was during the day. This matched the update time, as this episode had been updated after Jiang Jian Yue left the shared apartment that morning.
So, if Nikolai’s ability was something that could target Cuiyue, he might not have started yet.
Nikolai hadn’t participated in the Team Free-for-All, but he had entered the individual tournament. His file was in the DRG servers.
Jiang Jian Yue had paid special attention to this man, as he was the only known Emergent Body at the moment.
His registered ability wasn’t eating hair… could he be a Dual-core Cicada Shell Host?
No, information on Emergent Bodies was still scarce. He might have more than one ability…
Jiang Jian Yue thought for a long time but couldn’t analyze any useful information from the post-ED scene.
As for the possibility of him making a move on Cuiyue… the Dark Crow Unit would alert her if anything happened.
The next day, at the GSAC Top Thirty-two draw ceremony.
The massive banquet hall was packed with media and contestants from all over the world.
Although Jiang Jian Yue did not attend in person, the DRG had still sent a high-level delegation.
On the giant electronic screen, the names of the teams were scrolling.
“Next, we will draw the opponent for Group A’s first seed, Special Response HQ Unit 1…”
The news anchor’s voice spread across the globe via live broadcast.
The scrolling names slowly came to a halt.
A line of text appeared boldly on the screen:
[Special Response HQ Unit 1 VS The Invincible Tokun High School Supernatural Unit]
Sitting in the lounge watching the live broadcast, Kaori Onishi dropped her potato chips on the floor with a soft thud.
“Eh…?”
She blinked her innocent eyes, staring at the familiar black team logo on the screen.
“We have to fight… Yuki?!”
Next to her, Saori Saiyonji covered her face in agony. “It’s over. We’re really going to be a one-and-done team.”
Meanwhile, in the Special Response HQ Unit 1 locker room.
Cuiyue looked at the matchup list, a playful smile curling her lips as she glanced toward Yuki Asahi, who was sitting in the corner.
“Captain, it looks like you’ll have to beat up your little friends.”
“…”
Yuki Asahi’s hand paused for a moment. He didn’t speak, but his eyes became somewhat complicated.
He didn’t want to face his friends from the Supernatural Club either.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.
Who didn’t see that coming