Episode 6 Vice Penalty
Why, Demon King?
Did you not once loathe mankind so?
Humans are indeed foolish and absurd.
However...
What was even more absurd was I, myself!
I'd hoped to live up to mankind's foolish expectations.
I desired to save them, to live alongside them.
Do you still think such ideals are still possible?
Demons like us have constantly been persecuted by humans!
I don't know, either!
But is there truly no way for mankind and demons to coexist?
Demon King...
I am not your Demon King.
I am Jurai the Hero!
It would appear that
the Demon King's long slumber has left his memories in disarray.
We will have to force him to open his eyes!
Right.
That's the kind of man you were.
That's why I decided to follow you.
Tomoyo has been defeated.
I already knew...
That the real Demon King was kinder than anyone.
Hatoko has been defeated.
I'll always be with you, Demon King.
Chifuyu has been defeated.
It seems I am no match for our Demon King, after all.
Why?
Why didn't you face me seriously?
If you had used your Route of Origin...
I wanted to pin my hopes on you, as well.
Just as humans entrusted their world to the reborn Hero,
I also wanted to try entrusting our world to you.
All of you...
Worry not.
I swear I will live up to your hopes,
so lend me your powers!
Demon King!
Puzzle & Tales of Dragon Fantasy
A-Awesome!
What is this godly game?
When did you make a game like this?
It's too soon to be surprised.
There's still more?
Just watch it until the end.
S-Sure.
The End!!
Happy Birthday!
How do you like your surprise present from all of us in the literature club?
Surpri— Th-Then, this game...
All that talk about the culture festival was a lie.
We all did our best in hopes that you'd enjoy it, Ju-kun!
I worked hard, too.
You guys...
Huh? Hey, why are you crying, Andou?
I'm not crying!
Ju-kun, you don't need to be shy.
Tomoyo-san's Closed Clock,
Hatoko-san's Over Element,
Chifuyu-san's World Create,
my Route of Origin,
and Andou-kun's dark flame.
I think I should use my Route of Origin
Ten Months Ago
to eliminate all of our powers.
After thinking it over on my own, that's the conclusion I've reached.
We should erase everything and return to being normal high schoolers.
I think that's our best option.
You all agree with that, right?
Please wait.
I'm against it.
Our powers shouldn't be erased.
Why not?
Because...
Now that we have these awesome powers, wouldn't it be a waste to erase them?
Sayumi-san's stuck in bed with a cold?
I think the fatigue of working on the game finally caught up to her.
In the end, she had to handle most of the important parts alone.
True...
That wasn't something high schoolers could make
if Sayumi-san hadn't given it her all.
Sayumi worked hard.
I was thinking we should pay her a visit,
but if we all show up together, it might just be a nuisance.
So we thought we'd have one person go, representing all of us, but...
Well, she did push herself for my sake,
so I'll admit it makes sense for me to go, but...
Takanashi
Nobody told me Sayumi-san's house was a mansion like this.
Yes, I'm coming.
H-Hello.
You look surprisingly well.
Are you already over your cold?
Yes.
It wasn't that bad to begin with.
I only stayed home to be on the safe side.
I'm sorry you went through that for me.
You don't need to apologize.
It was something I chose to do.
Also,
could you please not stare?
S-Sorry!
This is just sort of new for me...
So this is what you look like at home.
Your pajamas are cute, too.
Th-They're not!
Mine got all sweaty, so they're in the wash.
So I had no choice but to borrow my little sister's.
It's my first time seeing them, but Sayumi-san,
you look good in glasses.
I don't need your flattery.
I'm home!
Huh?
Sayu-nee, I bought you some Pocari! Huh?
Sayu-nee brought a man home!
Maiya! What are you saying?
Oh, did I intrude, by chance?
Maiya!
I'm sorry, Andou-kun.
My family was so rude to you.
Uh, is this your...
My foolish little sister, Maiya.
Hey!
Aren't you supposed to say "prized"?
Nice to meet you. I'm Takanashi Maiya.
This young man is Andou Jurai-kun.
He's an underclassman in the literature club.
Oh!
Glad to meet you, Andou-san.
Y-Yeah, nice to meet you.
Oh, yeah! Hold on a second!
Ta-da!
Sayu-nee's middle school graduation album!
When you go to your girlfriend's house, you have to see her graduation album!
Maiya!
Please don't dig out other people's belongings!
Also, Andou-kun and I are not going out!
You mean not yet?
Never, ever.
Okay, okay.
Then this nuisance will disappear.
Later, Andou-san.
Enjoy yourself!
She's nothing like you at all.
I hear that a lot.
She's a bit wild and ill-mannered...
If our grandmother were still alive, who knows what she would think?
Your grandmother?
She was a strict, fastidious woman.
She often chastised me over things.
You were chastised?
I can't quite imagine it.
"Become a proper woman."
My grandmother often said that to me.
A proper woman?
Ever since I was a child,
I've always kept those words in mind.
I'm sure your grandmother must be pleased, then.
You grew up just the way she taught you.
I hope so.
Sayumi-san, you haven't changed at all.
You think so?
You seemed mature even in middle school.
Oh, Sayumi-san, you were student council president in middle school?
Takanashi Sayumi (Student Council President)
Yes.
You do seem cut out for being a student council president.
Why didn't you join the student council in high school?
U-Um, Sayumi-san?
I'm sorry,
but could I ask you to leave now?
Huh?
Perhaps it's the medicine I took earlier,
but I'm feeling a bit drowsy.
I'd like to lie down.
I-I see.
All right.
Excuse me, then.
Sorry for staying so long.
I'm sorry I didn't offer you anything.
Um, take care.
If you're going to apologize, now is your chance, Andou-kun.
That's my line, Sayumi-san.
Let's go over the rules.
No time limit, weaponry is forbidden,
and our field is this area behind the gym.
The first to make their opponent say "uncle" wins.
Also, powers may be used freely.
The other three may be different,
but I don't see how banning your power
would change anything, Andou-kun.
It would.
Normal battles and superpowered battles are different genres!
Tomoyo-san, give the signal.
Then let's begin.
Andou, remember to give up before you get hurt.
Start!
I am the Conqueror of Chaos.
Purgatorial hellfire dancing in the abyss—
Are you an idiot?
C-Crap!
If this were a match, that would be a winning point.
Ow! Ow!
Do you understand now, Andou-kun?
Against me, you cannot—
Ah, I scraped my elbow...
It's bleeding! It's bleeding!
You fell for it!
How arrogant of you to heal your enemy in battle!
That is the cause of your undoing!
Let's stop this, Andou-kun.
N-No! I still have an ace up my sleeve!
Since I'm a woman, you can't hit me, can you?
I don't dislike that feminist side of you, Andou-kun.
However, if you can't even attack me,
you'll never attain victory.
Just admit defeat quietly.
I am the Conqueror of Chaos...
Sender: Takanashi Sayumi Subject: Contact Due to personal business, I'll be missing club today.
What?
Sayumi isn't coming again?
But she was in school today.
Hey, Andou...
How was Sayumi-san yesterday?
She seemed well.
We chatted normally and everything... But...
But?
Oh, it's nothing.
Oh, hello, Andou-san?
It's me, it's me.
Maiya-chan?
Yes, yes, it's been a day!
So, Andou-san,
you dropped your student handbook at our front door yesterday, didn't you?
Huh? Ah!
What should I do?
Want me to give it to Onee-chan?
Oh, yeah.
If you could do that, I'd appreciate it.
Got it.
Hey, Maiya-chan...
What is it?
After I left, how was Sayumi-san?
How was she?
Huh?
Andou-san, did something happen between you and Sayu-nee?
Well,
it seems like I might have done something to upset her.
Hmm... What happened?
Well, I was looking at her middle school album,
and we got to talking about how she was student council president.
Then it was like her attitude suddenly changed.
Student council president...
Does it ring any bells?
Actually,
when Sayu-nee was in middle school...
Well, she was the perfect student council president, apparently.
I can imagine that.
But due to that, she got into a few arguments with the other council members.
Huh?
Sayu-nee sought the same perfection from the other student council members,
so the ones who couldn't keep up steadily drifted away.
Oh...
So, since it didn't work out in middle school,
she decided to create a proper student council in high school...
Hold on.
Sayumi-san said she wanted to join the student council in high school, too?
Yes, that's what she said before entering high school.
That she'd aim to be student council president.
Student Council Room
Why didn't Takanashi-san become student council president?
Andou, are you making some sort of dig at me?
Huh? No, I didn't mean it that way at all!
I'm kidding.
Huh?
I've actually wondered that myself for a long time.
But lately, I feel like I might have some idea.
You mean...
It's probably due to her powers.
I think Takanashi-san decided to prioritize her bond
with you literature club members over becoming student council president.
Kudou-san, when was the student council election?
You had to apply by the end of September,
campaign until mid-October,
and then, after debates, there was voting.
But what about it?
Why didn't you join the student council in high school?
Damn it!
Huh?
It's all my fault!
Andou?
That's enough, isn't it, Andou-kun?
Stop this already, Andou!
That's right, Ju-kun!
Chifuyu-chan!
We can't interfere.
But Andou's...
Andou hasn't lost yet!
Why do you keep getting up?
I'll rise as many times as it takes.
Are you trying to win by perseverance?
Sayumi-san, would you please stop attacking during my chant?
Are you that frightened by my full power?
Very well. Use your power.
I won't attack during your chant again.
Please do whatever it is you hope to do.
Are you sure?
Don't come running to me later.
Hurry up.
I am the Conqueror of Chaos.
Purgatorial hellfire dancing in the abyss,
distorting black flame in turbid crimson darkness,
the light that leads to madness, screams, and destruction,
admonishing sin with sin:
gouge your dark fragment in my body,
and bare your fangs against arrogant providence!
Behold!
This is my true form!
Ugly and heartless...
How sinful...
That reminds me,
did you decide on a name for your power?
I just decided.
I shall name my flames "Dark and Dark"!
Now, you have no more regrets, right?
Huh?
"Dark and Dark," is it?
I feel bad for you,
but this is where you'll have to bid farewell to your power.
I'll use Route of Origin to erase it.
You've had enough fun, haven't you?
Please wait!
I haven't admitted defeat yet!
It was you who said we're free to use our powers.
Return to the form in which you belong!
Takanashi
All right!
Did you need something from me?
S-Sayumi-san!
I'm very sorry!
For what, Andou-kun?
Did you do something bad again?
Even though I didn't know better, I said something so insensitive.
And it's all my fault, too, isn't it?
If I hadn't been persistent about not erasing our powers,
you could've become student council president.
Huh?
So that's what this is about.
I see Maiya and Kudou-san both talk too easily.
First of all, let me undo one misunderstanding.
Andou-kun...
Yes?
I'm not angry.
Huh?
But when I started talking about that, you suddenly got upset...
I didn't.
I think it was the medicine, but I suddenly felt sleepy. That's all.
That wasn't just something you said to make me leave?
It was not.
I really was drowsy.
I went to lie down as soon as you left.
Then, the reason you didn't come to club today...
I was at the ophthalmologist near the station
to buy new contacts.
No, it's all right.
You don't need to cover it up.
If you don't want to see me anymore, you can just say so.
Here's the receipt.
So, this was all my misunderstanding?
Yes, it was.
Aw, man... I was worried over nothing.
But, Sayumi-san...
It's true that you didn't become student council president because of me, isn't it?
That may be so...
However, I don't resent you at all for that.
Huh?
Actually, I'm grateful for it.
Huh?
Because... How could I resent you?
After that kind scheme of yours...
It won't disappear?
Why?
Andou-kun, don't tell me...
You knew?
You knew that I couldn't erase your power?
That I couldn't recognize your powerlessness as your natural state?
I wasn't completely certain.
However, I thought there was a chance...
No, I thought that chance was high.
Sayumi-san, you said we were not meant to have our powers, but...
That would also mean you saw yourself using your power
as being an unnatural state for you.
After you awakened to your own power,
could you really accept, with all your heart,
that you weren't really meant to have it?
I always questioned that.
You're not the type to leave vague questions like that unanswered, are you?
I thought if such a person were to try and use their power to erase a power,
it would create a paradox.
In that case, why not just tell me that?
If you'd told me, we wouldn't have needed to go out of our way to fight.
I wanted to leave hope.
Hope?
If we used Route of Origin, we could erase our powers at any time...
I wanted to keep that possibility alive.
That way,
everyone could feel a little better about it.
I'm scared.
I'm scared of my own power.
Scared of all of our powers.
I can't trust myself or anyone else.
If anyone among us were to use our powers for evil,
what are we supposed to do?
What am I supposed to do if my power goes out of control?
I don't know how I'm supposed to act.
I don't know what's the right thing to do.
What am I...
What are we...
supposed to do?
Why don't we play?
Let's use our powers to do something fun.
I have plenty of things I want to do.
I'll teach you, Sayumi-san.
Powers are nothing to be afraid of.
No.
Naturally, I'm sure there will be things to think about,
Andou-kun knows better than anyone how frightening our powers are.
but we can think about those together.
If by chance anyone goes out of control...
He knows, and still he...
I'll stop them.
What can you even do, with your power?
If it comes down to it, I'll awaken it.
Like something that convenient would ever happen!
Are you sure?
I get the feeling that, for the sake of everyone here, I could awaken it anytime.
I give up...
In middle school,
I was isolated because I sought perfection.
I thought I was right,
and I was irritated by my friends.
But I was the one who was wrong.
I valued efficiency and results so much,
I forgot to look at my friends.
Completely different from a certain someone.
Huh?
The reason I wanted to become student council president in high school
was partially to clear away my trauma from middle school.
In the end,
I was trying to be student council president for my own self-satisfaction.
Someone like that isn't fit to be the student council president.
It's a ridiculous story.
I wonder how that makes me proper...
"Become a proper woman."
That's what your grandmother told you, right?
You remembered?
Who cares if you're not proper?
There's no such thing as a perfect person.
I think you're charming enough as you are.
There's actually more to her words.
More?
"Become a proper woman...
Then, you'll surely find someone who tells you it's okay not to be proper."
I never thought it would be you who said that to me, Andou-kun.
This world is filled with kind and compassionate words.
"You don't have to work hard. Be the only one, not number one."
However, I believe my grandmother was trying to tell me that
such words are meant for praise or gratitude,
not for compromise or surrender.
Just as you say, Andou-kun,
there is no perfect person.
But I'd still like to try to be one.
Even if I cannot be a proper woman,
I don't think the desire to try to be one is wasted effort.
If I were a girl,
I might have just fallen for you, Sayumi-san.
Andou-kun, you occasionally say things with an extreme lack of delicacy,
so be careful.
Huh?
Did I just say something weird?
My goodness...
You've me taught me many things, Andou-kun,
but it seems there are still many I need to teach you.
Wh-What do you mean?
For example...
The heart of a woman...
Perhaps?
Sometimes there are moments
when you suddenly realize your mistake, aren't there?
Ah! Like when you wake up on Sunday,
and realize you set your alarm?
I'm not sure about that example...
Next time, on When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace:
Juggernaut On
Juggernaut On.