“Afrodite, what is your innermost desire?”
In the dimly lit room filled with a rich fragrance, Saori Saiyonji buried his head deeply, the shadow of his hood like ink, concealing his silent face.
“Afrodite, what is your innermost desire?”
The candle flickered, and the shadow on the wall twisted and danced along with it.
The female voice questioned again, her tone gaining a solemn edge.
“I…”
A trace of hesitation flashed across pale blue eyes.
Saori Saiyonji finally spoke in a low voice.
“I want… to become someone strong.”
“Louder.”
“I! Want to become a powerful person!”
Saori Saiyonji shouted.
Suddenly, the scent entering his nose felt strange.
“Cleanse the filth, and He will show you the way… Remember His true form.”
The woman’s voice suddenly became ethereal, as if sinking into deep water, or like a dream.
Saori Saiyonji jerked his head up.
The vast, endless sea of sand replaced the chamber, and the sky was a strange pale green.
Huff…
He forced himself to calm down, thinking: This is just a superpower.
Bending down, he scooped up some sand, feeling its roughness as the grains slipped through his fingers, the breeze brushing his face gently—though he said that, it was all too real.
Yet the lingering scent at his nose kept warning Saori Saiyonji that this was nothing but a trick.
His knuckles tightened around the sand, then he let it scatter in the wind, straightening up to look around.
What did that guy called “Eight-Wax God” want him to see?
In the wind, a faint, almost undetectable strange sound drifted in.
Saori Saiyonji spun around.
A bug—no, a Bugman.
The judgment flashed instantly.
The monster before him was a matte black, its torso split like a canyon, several pairs of slender thoracic legs writhing.
Blood-red patterns almost covered its entire upper body, surging rapidly with the heartbeat.
Even stranger, above the Bugman’s shoulders was a visual blind spot.
Saori Saiyonji could sense a head existed there, but he couldn’t see its appearance at all, as if his consciousness had been forcibly blinded.
“You can’t scare me.”
Saori Saiyonji’s voice trembled slightly.
In the depths of his pupils, pale blue light suddenly flared—good, he could use his abilities here too.
With a crackle, a burst of flame shot up from his palm.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, the fireball streaked through the air, aimed straight at the Bugman’s chest.
Whoosh!
Scales on the Bugman’s arm snapped open, and a slender, bone-like blade shot out.
The fireball was sliced apart with ease, leaving only a faint white trail.
“Hehe…”
A strange, genderless sound rumbled from the Bugman’s throat, sending goosebumps down Saori Saiyonji’s spine.
Disgusting creature!
Saori Saiyonji’s heart sank.
An orange circle of light floated around him.
The next moment, sparks erupted, igniting the circle, and the sand on the ground around him crackled and crystallized rapidly.
The flames roared, transforming into a giant wave that crashed toward the Bugman.
“Oh?”
There was a hint of surprise in the Bugman’s voice, but it didn’t try to dodge at all, advancing steadily into the wall of fire.
The blood-red patterns on its body surged wildly.
Just as the flames were about to strike, blood suddenly sprayed from the patterns, forming an invisible shockwave.
Boom!
The giant wave was torn apart with ease, the raging flames dissipating instantly.
The blood didn’t fall to the ground, but instead seemed pulled by gravity, rapidly flowing back toward the Bugman.
It clung to the surface of its shell, flowing and hardening with a harsh sizzle and a sound like grinding teeth.
A suit of black and red armor, covered in sharp spikes, formed seamlessly over every inch of the Bugman’s body.
Saori Saiyonji couldn’t breathe.
The visual blind spot was gone, but now the head wore a helmet—he had never hated face-covering types so much.
From several jet vents on the Bugman’s back, dazzling rainbow lights shot out, making it look from afar like a butterfly bursting from its chrysalis and spreading brilliant wings.
Now, it was clad in Obsidian-Blood Armor, with divine Light Wings on its back—a terrifying pressure swept over him.
“Ah!”
Saori Saiyonji’s vision went black, and he jolted awake from the carpet, gasping for air.
“Afrodite, what did you see?”
A cup of water was pressed into Saori Saiyonji’s hand.
He tried to drink in his panic, but stopped when the cup touched his lips.
“I saw…”
Saori Saiyonji struggled inwardly, but couldn’t help complaining.
“I saw a monster that could transform into a tokusatsu suit actor attacking me.”
“?”
The woman, still choosing her words, parted her lips slightly.
Even with most of her face hidden by her hood, her surprise was obvious.
“It looked pretty cool, like a BOSS-level Form that only appears in the last few episodes.”
He placed the cup on the floor beside him, trying to sound casual to hide his tension.
“I want to plagiarize this design and send it to Toei.”
“Different people see different versions of Him, but this is the first time I’ve heard of something like yours.”
The woman ignored the second half of his sentence.
“This kind of rare dream entry means the Divinity wasn’t dismissive—He’s hinting at your future.”
Future?
Saori Saiyonji felt a little shocked.
Did this mean he would encounter such a thing in the future?
Something he couldn’t possibly defeat.
“Dream entries always have a prophetic quality. If that thing really exists, then it truly is an enemy you’ll face one day.”
“I understand. Thank you, Divinity.”
Saori Saiyonji forced out his thanks, preparing to gather his things and leave.
“There’s still the Psychological Healing Course to come. It’s very helpful for stabilizing your Heart Worm.”
“Ah, I have something to do today, so I’ll head back first.”
Saori Saiyonji took off the robe, revealing his student uniform underneath.
Even though it’s winter, wearing so much in a stuffy, airtight chamber makes it hard to breathe!
The woman didn’t stop Saori Saiyonji, only nodding slightly.
A few minutes later, Saori Saiyonji left the Apartment Building.
He quickly slipped into a nearby alley and began rummaging through his bag.
He took out his phone, moving closer to the light to check the buttons carefully.
Sure enough, faint fingerprints were visible.
Heh… so it was checked again.
Saori Saiyonji was clever enough to know that his status as an undercover agent could never be exposed.
So, this phone was meant to deceive those people—since they wanted to inspect it, let it prove his “innocence.”
He pulled a Notebook from his pocket, entered the password, then retrieved a small-screen phone from the hollowed-out pages, checking for any messages received during his dream.
Quickly skipping past the nonsense chat between Kaori Onishi and Yamanoi Yayoi, Saori Saiyonji saw a query sent by Jiang Jian Yue.
This girl had barely spoken since forming the group—he’d nearly forgotten about her.
“Of course, I destroyed everything. Why do you ask?”
Close enough, an applause for Emi
Roach Emperor