Chapter 79: (Future Timeline) Shouting "Dad" Just to Survive?
Kerberos stated matter-of-factly:
"Who else? I can't even produce a fireball with my current magic power. If I don't rely on you, who should I rely on?"
Bocchi-chan shook her head, trembling.
"I won't go... I'm scared... waaah..."
Just as one person and one beast were arguing over who should go first...
A black silhouette slowly walked out from the smoke and dust.
"Eh... it's not actually a xenomorph..."
Bocchi-chan breathed a slight sigh of relief, but immediately tensed up again.
"But that person... who is that? They look... kind of familiar?"
Borrowing the moonlight, Bocchi-chan made out that person's face.
Black hair, black eyes, an expression carrying a bit of laziness and cynicism.
That was...
Bocchi-chan's pupils contracted in shock.
"D-Dad?!"
Bocchi-chan instinctively shouted.
Although the person looked much younger than in the photographs she remembered and appeared somewhat disheveled, those features, that demeanor—Bocchi-chan absolutely wouldn't mistake them.
"Idiot! Don't believe it! Absolutely don't believe it!"
Kerberos beside her suddenly bristled.
It flew in front of Bocchi-chan, frantically waving those short, chubby little hands.
"Use your brain and think! Your old man is 35 now! And how could that old fox possibly get himself into such a mess? This magical reaction is wrong too... it's too violent, nothing like what a human should have!"
"This is definitely a trap! Most likely an illusion created by Kazama Cards like Simulate, Memory, or Real/Fake!"
Kerberos looked absolutely certain, its eyes sharp as knives.
"Eh? Is... is it fake?"
Bocchi-chan froze, looking at that man stretching in the crater bottom, then at the serious-faced Kerberos.
For someone with social anxiety, judging this kind of complex situation was harder than climbing to heaven.
Kerberos made a decisive conclusion and didn't forget to pump Bocchi-chan up.
"Don't you remember? There were precedents before of cards transforming into your dad's appearance to make you lower your guard before launching sneak attacks!"
"Then... then what should I do..."
Bocchi-chan was about to cry.
She looked at that teenager at the crater's bottom who had a face identical to old photographs. Although fear filled her heart...
She also felt that face was far too deceptive.
She really didn't dare attack.
Kerberos pointed at Kazama, looking righteously indignant.
"What else can you do? Attack directly!"
"Think about it—if we let this imposter swagger around wearing your dad's face, maybe harassing high school girls or robbing convenience stores... your dad's lifelong reputation would be completely ruined!"
"As the Kazama family's eldest daughter, protecting the family's (mainly your dad's) honor is your responsibility!"
"Rep... reputation..."
Those two words seemed to possess some kind of magic power, instantly striking Bocchi-chan's weak point.
Although she was normally just a shadow-dweller who only wanted to hide in closets, she still held an almost blind worship for that legendary father who'd saved the world (though most of what she'd heard was her mother bragging).
If she let this fake ruin Dad's reputation...
No.
Absolutely not!!
To protect the Kazama family's honor! To prevent Dad from socially dying!
Bocchi-chan's eyes changed. Although her hands still shook, her movements became sharp.
This was the Bocchi-chan Limited Edition determination that only exploded when pushed to the brink.
"I absolutely won't allow you... to use Dad's face to do bad things!!"
Then the girl's aura transformed. In one breath, she pulled three cards from her pocket and activated them all at once with the Star Wand.
Her movements were so fast even Kerberos couldn't see clearly.
Fire! Tree! Wind!
Seals released!!
With the release of magic power...
The crater's bottom instantly became hell.
Countless thick vines like massive green pythons grew and coiled madly. In the blink of an eye, they'd woven into an enormous cage, trapping that teenager who'd just walked out firmly in the center.
Then crimson flames surged skyward along the vines. That temperature capable of instantly melting steel exploded, transforming the entire crater into a massive incinerator.
Finally, a blue-green storm rolled into the sea of fire. The already out-of-control flames, enhanced by the gale, instantly transformed into a fire tornado shooting straight into the clouds.
This combo flowed like water without a single wasted movement.
First control, then ignite, finally fan the flames.
This was the legendary "cremation one-stop service."
That figure at the bottom didn't even release a scream before being instantly swallowed by this world-destroying inferno.
The heat waves forced even Kerberos at the cliff's edge to retreat several steps.
It stared dumbfounded at that currently blazing hell below, its jaw nearly hitting the ground.
"Wait! I told you to subdue it, not cremate it!"
"That's way too ruthless, isn't it?... Even if a real Demon King showed up, it'd lose a layer of skin!"
"Eh?"
Bocchi-chan snapped back to reality. Looking at that hellish sea of fire, that inexplicable courage from moments ago instantly dissipated.
Social anxiety instincts reclaimed the high ground.
She transformed back into that trembling socially anxious girl, shrinking her neck and speaking weakly:
"You... you told me not to hold back..."
"And... and when I get nervous I can't control my strength..."
Kerberos was rendered speechless.
"That doesn't mean directly burning them to ash! If this was real, there probably wouldn't even be remains left by now!"
Just as one person and one beast stared at the sea of fire, unsure how to write the apology report afterward...
A crisp sound of applause suddenly came from the heights behind them.
"Impressive. Truly impressive."
That voice carried undisguised appreciation.
"Fire borrows wind's momentum, wood feeds fire's might. Heh, quite the technique."
Bocchi-chan and Kerberos simultaneously turned their heads.
On the higher cliff, a completely unharmed teenager stood applauding.
And in the sea of fire below, that humanoid figure burned to charcoal shattered with a sound like breaking glass, transforming into a card that obediently flew back into the hands of the person on the cliff.
"Is that The Mirror card???"
Kerberos was somewhat confused.
Isn't this the old version Clow Card?
What era is this—someone's still using these? How outdated.
Then Kerberos reacted.
Wait! If the opponent is a Kazama Card, why would they use Clow Cards? And this magical fluctuation is kind of familiar...
Kerberos stared hard at Kazama. The pupils in those beady eyes violently contracted.
As the Guardian Beast that had followed Kazama Chiba for a long time, it was far too familiar with this magic power.
It hadn't recognized him clearly earlier due to distance. Now that they were close, that familiarity carved into its soul instantly washed over it.
Could the opponent not be a fake?
After this thought flashed through Kerberos's mind, it asked tentatively:
"Kaz... Kazama? Is that you?"
"Who else?"
The real Kazama Chiba stood up, looking down at these two who'd nearly sent him off.
He'd sensed these two presences the moment he landed. But following his old paranoid instincts, he'd casually used The Mirror card to create a decoy for reconnaissance while hiding in the shadows to observe.
Who would've thought?
This probe actually revealed a devastating combo.
This Bocchi-chan looked timid as hell, but when she actually fought she was even more vicious than Golza.
What surprised Kazama Chiba wasn't just Bocchi-chan's combat ability, but also his complete confusion about this bizarre Bocchi-chan + Kerberos combination.
From their dialogue and that thing called "Kazama Cards"...
Kazama Chiba deduced he must have ended up in some parallel world.
Because during the traversal process, Tiga's light had guided him to this world, so Kazama Chiba came to take a look.
He'd just landed and run into them. And from Kerberos's words, Kazama Chiba had heard some rather weighty news.
This Bocchi in front of him seemed to be some parallel world future daughter of his?
Heh. His parallel world self had eaten pretty well, apparently.
Of course, Kazama Chiba didn't believe she was his future daughter.
Setting aside whether he'd ever considered having children...
Just the brain-dead operation of turning Clow Cards into Kazama Cards was something he'd absolutely never do.
Because Kazama Chiba himself walked the path of "all methods return to one"—meaning concentrating all power within himself.
This Kazama Card form of dispersing power obviously didn't align with his interests.
This time when returning, Kazama had even planned to fuse the Rat Talisman's power into himself. He hadn't expected to run into this mess.
Meanwhile, Bocchi-chan had completely frozen up.
She looked at the still-burning fire pit below, then at that living, breathing teenager above.
After her brain went through one second of crashing and rebooting, she finally reached a conclusion that made her want to find a hole to crawl into immediately.
That person she'd treated as an imposter and nearly burned to ash was actually her real father...
"D... Dad?"
"Heh."
Hearing this form of address, Kazama Chiba looked at this girl who'd nearly cremated him with a combo and couldn't help but chuckle.
"You're even calling me 'Dad' just to survive?"