Blood fell along the shaft of the Tonbokiri. A spear wound appeared in Futayo Honda's heart. Her heart, too, was bleeding.
"Uuuu! It hurts so much!" The young Futayo cried loudly, her HP bar constantly decreasing. The adult Futayo's HP bar was also dropping.
"My heart hurts!" the little girl sobbed, clutching the Tonbokiri with both hands.
Little Futayo... you stabbed my heart with the Tonbokiri. My heart really hurts.
"Don't fall!" The sword and ring slipped from the young girl's hands. Crying, the little Futayo loosened her grip on the Tonbokiri, trying to grab the sword and ring—but she couldn't reach them. Both her and Futayo's HP bars dropped into the red at the same time.
"Futayo-senpai! Master!" All the members of the Crystal Guild shouted in shock. Both Futayo's HP bars were now critically low and falling rapidly toward zero.
"Wielding the spear with both hands is my own choice." Her clear eyes showed not the slightest tremor. Little Futayo showed no fear of death. Even as her HP hit zero, she did not waver.
And so, both Futayo's HP bars truly reached zero.
Do you all think that's a trick?
Clang... The young Futayo's body shattered into fragments and merged into the adult Futayo's body. Futayo's empty HP bar began to rise rapidly, finally restoring itself to orange.
"Your own choice, is it? Futayo, it seems your heart hides even deeper memories. This time, I'll see everything clearly."
Fragments of light gathered before Futayo, forming the boss—Loli Dream Demon. At this point, the Dream Demon's HP bar had already been reduced by one full segment.
"You do not fear death. Yet since you appear here, there must be something you fear even more."
The Dream Demon's body shattered once more, transforming into a massive door. This time, Futayo's dream self didn't need to push it open—the door opened on its own.
The world around them shifted again, returning to the world of Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere. Once again, Futayo's surroundings changed. Her memories resurfaced.
Time flew by. The young Futayo had grown from a child into a little girl, now attending Ariadust Academy among countless students.
In that large classroom collective, her classmates often called out to her, and teachers frequently mentioned her name. For the first time, Little Futayo began to take an interest in her own name.
"So my name is Futayo Honda? Does it have any special meaning? What does 'Futayo' truly represent?"
Confusion filled her young heart. One day, after finishing her spear training, Little Futayo turned to her father, Tadakatsu Honda, and asked the question that had been haunting her.
"Father, is Futayo Honda my name?" she asked curiously. At that age, she hadn't yet learned to keep her face expressionless, so her soft features looked like those of a well-behaved little girl.
"Have you ever heard of such an ugly name?" Tadakatsu Honda's words struck her like a bolt of lightning. Her pupils shrank instantly.
"I've always called you 'Honda the Second.' It means you are the second person to inherit the Honda family name. It's merely a title. You have no name." Tadakatsu's stern words shattered the little girl's heart into pieces.
Why... why would you tell me such a thing?
"Father, why don't I have a name?" she asked directly.
"Not only you. Before I inherited the name Tadakatsu Honda, I too had no name." Tadakatsu's reply left her speechless.
By the pond, a cool wind blew as Tadakatsu continued speaking: "Do you know what 'Tadakatsu Honda' means? He was the strongest man of the Warring States era. I am the successor of that name. And when I die, you will inherit it after me. That is why I call you Honda the Second."
"Father! Why must we inherit the name?" Little Futayo asked in confusion.
"Because the Divine State needs Tadakatsu Honda. History needs Tadakatsu Honda." Tadakatsu's voice suddenly became heavy with age, carrying with it countless sorrows. For a long moment, Little Futayo remained silent.
"All that you've experienced, I have as well. I sent you to the academy to gain knowledge. Do not grow too close to your classmates. You've already lost the right to chase dreams or seek affection. Only by holding the spear with both hands can you become the strongest." Tadakatsu Honda gazed quietly at the young Futayo, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.
"Father! Why?" Though his piercing gaze frightened her, the little Futayo still asked the question. Why must I become the strongest?
"Why? You'll know the answer soon enough. For now, simply do as I say. You have no name. Do not waste your energy on untouchable dreams. Training will double starting tomorrow." What she saw was not compassion but the upright, unyielding back of her father—a figure of steel.
"Hey, Honda..." At the academy, her classmates continued to greet her warmly. Yet every time she heard them call her "Honda," her heart throbbed painfully.
The curiosity and small joy she once felt turned into quiet sorrow. Slowly, the little Futayo became expressionless. To outsiders, it looked like composure.
"Honda the Second" was merely a title. That wasn't her name. She had no name of her own. She lived only for another's name.
I... no! I have no right to call myself 'I.' I am merely one who serves.
"Hey, Honda, a new dessert shop opened nearby! Wanna come?"
"No. This one must return home for training," Futayo declined.
"Huh? Why is Honda suddenly referring to herself as 'this one'?"
"I don't know. She's always been so proper."
"Hey, don't you think a serious, self-effacing Honda is actually kind of cute?"
"'Cute'? That's the farthest word in the world from one such as I," Futayo replied, her gray eyes darkening. The cheerful laughter of her classmates felt like it came from a world apart. The solemn little Futayo went straight home after school.
Swish! By the pond in the backyard, she practiced spear techniques under Tadakatsu Honda's instruction. Their training was combat itself. Whoosh! The spear tip stopped right at her throat. Little Futayo froze, staring at her disarmed spear lying on the ground.
"What's wrong? You're distracted today." Tadakatsu lowered his weapon, standing tall.
"My deepest apologies, Father. I shall not make such a mistake again." The young Futayo knelt on one knee, just like a warrior of the Warring States.
"You may hate me. That is the one emotion I allow you to have. You may rest for today." He reached out and gently patted her head before turning away, leaving only those words behind.
Her knees gave out, and she sank to the ground, holding her head in both hands. A faint, foolish smile of happiness appeared on her delicate face.
She thought the peaceful days would last forever. But no one foresaw the sudden outbreak of war.
A chaotic battle erupted between Mikawa and their longtime ally, P.A. Oda. The war came so suddenly that no one had time to react. It was because history had once again reached the era of the Warring States.
The greatest sorrow of the world of Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere was this—the repetition of history. Everyone was bound to move according to its course. Those who defied it would die. Thus, history had to be reenacted.
No one, including P.A. Oda, wanted war. The continent had already fallen into ruin—barely one in ten thousand of all races had survived. And yet, the few who remained were forced into battle.
This was the saddest war of all, for both sides fought unwillingly. Yet to fulfill the cycle of history, they had no choice. History had returned to the Warring States era—and the leader of P.A. Oda was the successor to the name Oda Nobunaga.
Oda Nobunaga—the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven—was the instigator of that ancient war, the man who nearly united the entire land. Thus, bound by the cycle of history, P.A. Oda declared war upon Mikawa.
The sky was filled with firelight. Thick smoke rose into the air. Magic and Divine Performance clashed violently. Lightning from Great Spirits illuminated the battlefield. Heavy Divine Weapons thundered. In the Far East, the most brutal battle in history erupted—the infamous Riot of Mikawa.
On that day, countless lives perished in the flames of war. On that day, countless children became orphans, wandering homeless. And in Futayo's memory, one figure stood out most clearly—Oda Nobunaga.
Oda Nobunaga—a man of noble bearing despite his bloodstained form. His long hair fluttered behind him, draped over his crimson cloak. He held a spear in his left hand, a sword in his right. His body was drenched in blood.
Though terrifying to behold, his once-elegant face was now twisted with agony and despair.
Little Futayo remembered it vividly—the image of that blood-soaked Demon King carrying a coffin upon his back amid the chaos of battle.
Then, someone fell—at Nobunaga's feet lay the body of a woman. Kurumi knew her too. It was the automaton "Shika," the attendant who had always served Tadakatsu Honda.
"Mother!" With a cry, Futayo's world went black. She fainted.
When she awoke, she was still on that smoke-filled battlefield. But the fighting had ended. Tadakatsu Honda sat atop a small hill, silently watching his men carry away bodies.
"Father! How fares the war?" Futayo asked upon waking. She didn't ask about her mother first. Instead, she asked about the battle's outcome.
"It's been temporarily halted. The demigod Azuma sacrificed all his divine power to seal this portion of history. It won't loop back to the Warring States era for a while." Blood mist hung thick over the hill. Tadakatsu's voice was calm as ever, utterly steady. His posture was straight—rigid as a spear planted upright, unmoving and righteous.
"Father... where is Mother?" Futayo's voice trembled, her eyes filling with tears.
Tadakatsu remained silent, his gaze shifting to his side. Following it, Futayo's pupils shrank in horror. There, beside him, lay a coffin. She remembered it clearly—it was the very coffin Nobunaga had carried.
The tears in her eyes gathered, shimmering. Her body trembled as she asked, "Father... may I cry? Just once... please, just once!"