BXBX NOVEL Volume 12 Intermission — ReincarnationWar God Reincarnation
Volume 12 Intermission - ReincarnationWar God Reincarnation
Part 1
Ikousai was lurking alone in the rainbow forest.
No, in the flesh she was alone, but she wasn’t alone. Hel and Susanoo were possessing her body.
{Sorry……Ikousai. I cannot see anything……I cannot read the presence of even a single dead person……although there is no one there is none at all……}
Susanoo was intently taciturn, but Hel was communicating telepathically with Ikousai.
“……Is that so. It can’t be helped, this is because we didn’t expect this magic power cloud.”
……But now that [Helheim Invite] couldn’t be used, what were they going to do?
Ikousai had bet everything on that. The last Helheim Invite that would use up all of Hel’s little remaining magic power. With that she would warp with the soul of a dead person as the intermediary and suddenly appear, she would then use that surprise attack to defeat a King. ……She was betting everything on that move.
If that person fought, a casualty would surely appear at the ideal time. Exactly because she understood that, she bet on this method.
But for the searching of the dead to fail because of the interference of the magic power cloud……
{Wait! I see it! Something is suddenly……inside me something is……}
Suddenly Hel spoke.
“……Something inside you is, what? What is……?”
The thing that Hel felt could also be seen by Ikousai who was sharing her senses with Hel.
That was the scenery of the battlefield.
A small girl was resolutely challenging a King wearing the Magic Dress of a dragon――Fu Xi. And who was this small girl she wondered. She had seen her before but, Ikousai didn’t remember her.
That moment when Fu Xi swung down her treasured sword at the small girl, Hel yelled the girl’s name in conviction.
{……Karin!!}
No, it wasn’t Hel, it was the yell of someone inside Hel.
That yell produced something. She didn’t really understand what that something was.
However, the mysterious backlash force that was created at that time protected Karin from the flame the treasured sword spouted out.
“What is this scene? Just who is, this person called Karin? What is, that power just now.”
The countless deceased that were swallowed inside Hel……a part of that reacted to the danger of that girl called Karin, was that what happened? The phenomenon just now could only be explained like that.
But what was important wasn’t that. Right now Ikousai and Hel were able to sense the battlefield!
“You can sense if it’s the surroundings of that girl called Karin right!? Take care of that sense! Keep holding on to it and don’t you let go!! And then concentrate on Fu Xi!! The time is coming!!”
Part 2
“You are sending your underlings while preparing to flee!? You trash!”
Hrotsvit yelled. She wouldn’t tolerate cowardice――even if it was coming from the enemy she was facing.
But it wasn’t a yell of fury. She was constantly calm in her mind and continued to grasp the situation.
It was a stupid battlefield. Regina wasn’t standing in the lead to fight Regina. Even though Hrotsvit right now was on the verge of death and would be defeated just by a single attack.
Regina was hiding in the shadows of her subordinates and continued to send her fifty subordinates at Hrotsvit. The assaulting small fries became a smoke screen that hid and erased Regina’s magic power.
Loki’s Einherjar didn’t even participate in the fight, they had scattered in escape like baby spiders.
Even though they numbered 150 people, they were just rabble in the first place……!
The attack of Italia’s knights who were assaulting in rapid succession was foreseen, evaded, erased by runes, and as though dancing Hrotsvit was killing every last one of the enemies in turn by swinging her spear.
It was a flow of movement that had been completely calculated in every factor. A master art that had no faltering at all.
The lunatic king that would be defeated if only one attack hit her――but that one attack was endlessly far off.
Even when surrounded by dozens of people her foreseeing wasn’t clouded, the spear didn’t let the heart get away.
Blowing through the tornado of death――three people……five……eight……ten people died raising a blood pillar.
“Hih!” One of Italia’s knights cowered in fear while still holding her Sacred Treasure. It was a shameful sight that mustn’t be shown as a warrior or as a believer. Among the enemy even this kind of fellow was also mixed inside. The overwhelming menace to the degree of invoking this existed inside the [Lunatic King] in front of them.
There was not even worth in killing her. No, the fear created a route.
Hrotsvit passed through besides the cowering knight.
She didn’t kill the enemy but passed through her. That improbable act created even more openings. The knight that confronted Hrotsvit after her passing through felt Hrotsvit suddenly appear before her eyes and this act again made this knight’s body freeze. Dread infected the knights who were ruled by fear and a path was created in the dense formation.
The attacks that were exerted in desperation were erased by the rune as a matter of course, Hrotsvit passed through the side of those. Without even wasting effort to kill she cut across the crowd of several dozen knights――,
The Lunatic King suddenly sprang out before Regina’s eyes.
“What are you doing!?” Regina scolded.
“You yourself what are you doing hiding? Die, cowardly king.” Hrotsvit abused.
――But at that time Hrotsvit felt the [presence of a new player].
If she continued attacking Regina like this……Regina was in a stance of defense. In Hrotsvit’s calculation――as expected she couldn’t finish this easily with a single thrust. She would need to mix several feints before she could kill her.
During that time the approaching new presence would make it in time to launch their attack.
If there wasn’t at least a moment for her to be aware of the enemy then she wouldn’t be able to foresee perfectly.
The current Hrotsvit mustn’t receive even a single attack. Hrotsvit put a sudden break and stepped sharply and urgently withdrew from Regina’s range.
And then she confirmed the magic power wave to look at the new player that was approaching.
“Regina-sama!”
Vera Garibaldi standing at the lead of the remaining 50 Italian knight order was rushing to here.
Vera’s body was shining with magic power light, she activated magic in a hurry for situation confirmation.
“Wait, don’t come! That’s careless you know Vera!!” Regina who could be thought of as to have escaped narrowly from death yelled.
“O lunatic wave surging at wave wind, please carry my body even faster than the wind! Gale Surging SeaWave Slider!!”
Sea water spurted out from below Vera’s feet, floating her body in the air. The spurting out sea water lurched towards Regina and Hrotsvit and became a tsunami that traveled in a straight line. Vera rode above the white-crested wave like a surfer and approached with the force of a surging wave.
Fast――but, for the current Hrotsvit speed wouldn’t be a problem.
“Cut apart, Billowing BladeSolid Blue!!”
Vera was riding the tsunami while manipulating freely the spraying water splash. The white-crested waves became a pure white blade that flew to Hrotsvit.
“Orto Rune.” It was pointless.
The rune letters floating around Hrotsvit were dyed red and then with their high temperature the water blade was evaporated in the blink of an eye.
At the same time Vera who was riding the tsunami prepared a ramming attack. The petite Vera was going to ram the opponent with the force that was like a gigantic whale. However, Hrotsvit who foresaw everything easily evaded even the second stage attack. The tip of the magic spear leaped when they passed each other, drawing an orbit of death. Indeed the girl was careless. That was if losing control of yourself for the sake of the one whom you loved above all else was called careless.
“You stupid……why did you come here?”
……Regina moaned.
Vera didn’t reply. Even though she was a girl who absolutely wouldn’t do something like ignore Regina.
“You really are stupid aren’t you……even though if you wracked your brain you are more likely than Regina to deal an attack that can hit me.”
The magic spear deeply pierced Vera’s heart. Hrotsvit turned her spear and with respect that she usually didn’t have for her opponent she laid down that body on the wave. The wave that was called by magic slowly seeped into the ground and vanished.
“Stupid……Vera, if you are gone, who will, to me……”
Vera instantly died while she still hadn’t said even a word to Regina that she was reunited with.
But even though she didn’t say anything, until now Vera had continued to say countless words to Regina.
It was Regina herself who kept ignoring her all this time and acted as she pleased. Inside Regina’s head, the admonitions of the subordinate that she ought to cherish were rushing about again and again.
Because she ignored those, she committed many mistakes and almost died. She regretted that, and she changed her way of thinking.
That was why she didn’t need to say anything anymore.
Regina was only sadly thinking, that she wouldn’t be able to hear Vera’s voice that calmed her heart anymore.
When she kept back her rage that was like a raging fire, only cold sadness remained inside her heart.
Similar with how Regina felt earnest hatred, this was the first time she felt earnest sadness.
‘……I am not the Regina Olympia Fornar who moved due to violent emotion like before.’
She couldn’t be like that anymore.
“……Are you crying?”
Hrotsvit called out to her in astonishment.
“Hrotsvit. You betrayed me, insulted me, and then now you killed Vera, I will make you atone for it by your death!!”
Regina replied like that as though she was driven by fury.
“Hmph.” Hrotsvit scoffed uninterestedly.
She was looking down at Regina’s fury.
However in opposite from her voice, inside Regina’s heart wasn’t dyed with anything like fury, her heart was coldly sharpened.
‘Just look, Vera. I will choose any kind of method, with composure that is not driven by rage, I will definitely, show you how I killed this woman with hatred and sadness.
Look――and then admire me with your usual warm voice.’
“Everyone, step back.”
Italia’s knight order that was divided into two groups had finished regrouping here. They gathered around Regina in great panic trying to protect her, but Regina stopped the knights who were doing that.
Both of them faced each other.
“The preparation is finished. There is no need for anymore pointless sacrifice.”
“Preparation? Your appearance has become a really ugly state like that though……”
Hrotsvit sent Regina a cold gaze while talking in spite.
“Is that appearance and Keraunos the preparation you said for the sake of killing me? Compared to the beauty of Vera’s loyalty, your appearance has become really ugly.”
Regina presented her subordinates to Hrotsvit while she was doing something with the surge of magic power from the fight as her camouflage……
Regina repeatedly overlapped partial transformation magic and changed her body parts into different animals, her appearance became like a chimera.
Head of a lion, arms of a bear, tail of a snake, legs of a horse and so on, her appearance had become a hodgepodge of chaos. On top of that Regina’s upper body was unnaturally thick.
In a certain meaning her appearance had a mythological impressiveness. But Hrotsvit thought that it was too ugly.
Was Regina saying that this was her strongest mode?
Furthermore her hand was grasping a condensed earth-shattering lightning.
It was [Keraunos].
……Hrotsvit was disappointed. Hrotsvit understood that even Keraunos would be completely erased by the defensive rune of her current self. But it seemed that Regina who was driven by her fury didn’t want to recognize that. If she was in her strongest form launching her strongest magic then any kind of protection would be blown away, such thought of hers was simply foolish.
Stupid. Truly completely stupid. Her appearance was truly without any scheme or wisdom.
After all Regina would be Regina. A person who could do nothing but wield her anger.
“You are right, stop creating pointless sacrifice. Let’s finish killing you.”
“You are the one that is going to die!!”
Regina raised a yell with a look that was exactly rage itself, and kicked the ground.
Driving her gigantic body forward, she approached like a heavy tank.
Regina was holding thunder in her hand while Hrotsvit was holding the magic spear.
……She didn’t even need the defensive rune. There was a difference in martial arts and weapon skills between them that couldn’t be closed. If they moved at the same time in this close range, the magic spear would be faster in gouging the heart than Regina firing the thunder――,
The instant Hrotsvit was convinced, Regina’s large body suddenly halted.
She couldn’t foresee that halting at all.
It was as though an outside factor forcefully halted Regina’s rush.
Because it was a movement that wasn’t due to Regina’s will, Hrotsvit was unable to foresee it.
…………What happened? The blind Hrotsvit sharpened her awareness.
She soon ascertained the truth――the snake tail stretching from Regina’s waist was moving independently from Regina’s will, it became one with the ground and changed into a chain.
Absurd. Even though it was transformed into an animal but it was still a part of Regina’s body.
It wasn’t supposed to move unrelated to Regina’s will.
Then that snake wasn’t a part of Regina’s body.
Odin knew that snake.
“Midgardsormr!”
This girl……she was slipping in a Diva of Chaos in her transformed chimera body.
The magic spear that wouldn’t display its strength at all other than at a vital spot had its aim shifted due to Regina’s unexpected sudden break and was repelled by Regina’s thick defensive magic power.
At that time the expression of Regina that was colored by fury changed like a mask that was torn down. The rage was just an act. Underneath the mask was a cold bare face that was dyed by hatred.
It was the face of a different person than the Regina that Hrotsvit knew.
“I decided that I will kill you no matter what method I have to use. You will be killed by my hand……I don’t mind even if that is not the case. As long as you just die in the end, I don’t care whose hand is doing it.”
That Regina, was saying that she was borrowing other people’s hand.
Furthermore that hand she borrowed was the power of chaos that she ought to hate the most! She even buried it into her own flesh!!
She misread――the change that was brought to this girl by her betrayal at Dover Strait, was growth!
The possibilities humans had――the explosive power that was impossible to predict bursting out from a chaotic mind!
The next moment, Regina’s torso split into two. It looked just like a ball splitting up.
From that split, a gigantic wolf leaped out.
……Fenrir!!
The evil beast Diva that possessed enough killing and wounding ability even without kneading magic power! Fenrir slipped into Regina’s flesh while killing all his magic power presence to the last drop, so that he could leap out in a surprise attack!!
Fenrir’s large jaw that was told in legend that it would bite apart the whole world was approaching to swallow Hrotsvit. This guy was trying to kill Odin in accordance with the myth!
Hrotsvit’s whole body trembled in happiness. Her warrior blood was boiling from this offense and defense that couldn’t be predicted. In this moment where she was driven to a corner, the Hrotsvitberserker felt exaltation from the bottom of her heart.
There was no magic power remaining in Hrotsvit’s body. She dragged out a small handful of magic power from Astrum. Even though it felt like her consciousness was going to become distant she endured while making her limbs explode with that magic power――move! Move!!
Hrotsvit shouted while shifting her body from Fenrir’s large jaw with desperate martial arts. Only Fenrir’s large jaw, that was the only thing she mustn’t be done in with.
She mustn’t let Odin taste that kind of humiliation for a second time no matter what.
The moment she thought that she had dodged Fenrir’s large jaw by a hairbreadth.
Hrotsvit saw a sight that she ought to be even happier with.
“Yoo”
Inside Fenrir’s mouth, a face she was familiar with was lurking.
This guy……when she was thinking that he wasn’t showing his appearance even though he should be here, yet in that kind of place he……!
“I was like a middle school student worrying what kind of present I gotta give to the girl that I like……I was cooking up this surprise desperately yeah, the kind of surprise that can make Odin the happiest.”
“……Loki!!”
Hrotsvit laughed delightedly. This was completely――surpassing her expectations.
“Hahahahahahahahaha-!! Inside the wolf’s mouth!? Are you red riding hood-chan you bastard!!”
It surpassed her expectations. Both Regina and this arch-enemy too!
Just who could possibly foresee this development!
“I’m carrying out my longstanding desire yeah, Odin. Weapon Invite――Laevateinn!”
With the magic sword that was even said to have ruined the world, Loki cut down Hrotsvit who wasn’t even clad in magic power already. The lunatic King was laughing madly while blood was spurting out, and she fell down spread-eagled.
Part 3
“Ni, Nii-sama’s lips is approaching! It’s coming!! Nii-sama, NII-SAMAaAAAAAA!!”
‘――Even though it’s only for hiding her shyness but what she was doing was awful in this kind of situation.’
The lips of Kanae who was yelling stupid things were blocked by Kazuki with a kiss.
His strong connection with Kanae became a circuit of magic power, the ultimate magic of the black cat demon king <Beleth> who transformed into Kanae’s Sacred Treasure was flowing into his head. Kazuki chanted that spell following the aria floating in his mind.
“……O jet black demon king of aloofness, o supporter of martial and love that knows no compromise”
The figure of a huge bodied cat demon king wearing black mantel was materialized from the overflowing magic power.
“Reside in the darkness of mind that is cleared from all mundane thoughts! Stupor Path WindSoujin Doufuu!!”
The materialized Beleth, however when his ultimate magic was invoked he immediately vanished as though being dismissed. The black cat demon king made his black glossy magic power that was like fur to be worn over Kazuki as though dressing Cinderella with a dress.
――That was really similar with <Kuroneko Michikage>, the Sacred Treasure that Beleth bestowed to Kanae.
The black magic power wrapped Kazuki’s whole body and became armor.
That armor possessed the power to tremendously expand magic power in concert with Kazuki’s power of Foresight. All blows and movement of the opponent was foresighted. All vital spots were sighted, locked on to, and he was entrusted with destructive power that would bring about certain death in all cases.
The enemy attack that had been Foresighted would be repelled back by the black armor that increased in hardness.
As long as the opponent’s movement was under Kazuki’s perception, he would obtain tremendous divine protection of attack power-defense power.
Such jet black aura was wrapping around Kazuki’s whole body.
“Right now, the warrior that really resembled you, and can compare favorably with you on this Atlantis……the warrior that ought to be respected had passed away. The special characteristic that person possessed……it gave influence to my ultimate magic.”
Beleth left those words behind and vanished.
Warrior……immediately the existence of Beatrix floated in Kazuki’s head. But if talking about someone that really resembled him then, if that person’s special characteristic was related to this effect then……
Hrotsvit…… Hrotsvit was supposed to take on Italia and Loki’s Einherjar by her lonesome. Looking at how Vera’s facial expression changed, then surely she was displaying a fight that was like a monster. That Hrotsvit was defeated.
Even this battle of Atlantis finally entered the climax. He couldn’t help but feel that for real.
And then even here right now……
In front of Kazuki’s eyes, Fu Xi looked small exactly like her age.
Ilyailiya who was aiming at Fu Xi from the sky drew back towards Russia’s main force as though to say that they should conclude this by the two of them. At that direction, the fierce battle between Russia against Britain-Germany should be in progress too.
“A King is……kissing with his subordinate……and obtained power……?”
Fu Xi trembled from the happening in front of her eyes, and then her voice was colored by rage.
“Are you joking around……”
Certainly, something like harem king was a joke, that was what he thought at first.
But it wasn’t a joke. This power was a power that he could believe as precious from the bottom of his heart.
“Bond is exactly the most primordial strength of humans. You abandoned that.”
To rule at the seat of the supreme ruler, was nothing else but abandoning what it is to be human. The likes of a King that couldn’t even have a companion whom he could kiss, connect his heart to, was something that Kazuki absolutely didn’t want to be.
“Right now, I’ll correct your mistake.”
“I won’t accept this!!”
For existences at the opposite extreme of each other, this development was only natural. If two Kings whose path was different from each other to the extreme were in confrontation, there wouldn’t be understanding between the two until a conclusion was decided.
Fu Xi raised up Kyuuryuu Shinkatou and rushed at Kazuki.
Cutting wind of flame――something like that wouldn’t be able to hit the enemy in front of her anymore. Fu Xi overflowed all her remaining magic power and explosively accelerated both her arms, she was going to swing around Kyuuryuu Shinkatou to hack her opponent to pieces.
Vertical, horizontal, diagonal――she swung around without exhaustion and scattered a storm of flames everywhere. She created a thick condensed wall of flame without even any gap to evade while rushing at Kazuki.
Kyuryuu Shinkatou was a Sacred Treasure that was sucking Fu Xi’s magic power and spewed out flames. The efficiency of the conversion from magic power to destructive power was terrific, producing an abnormal destructive power.
However, if she was randomly slashing like this――even if it hit Kazuki wouldn’t she be the one with a greater expenditure of magic power? The barrage of the flame slashes were to the degree that made one think that.
Kazuki naturally faced Fu Xi.
Kazuki transferred his body weight on his right leg. Fu Xi reacted to that and sent the net of flame slashes to the right. Kazuki feinted with that and instantly jumped to the left.
“!?” Fu Xi reacted in panic――and her body pitched forward. She currently had lost her sense of touch.
Because she was manipulated by a simple feint her posture crumbled. The curtain of flames at the left side thinned down. Kazuki sheathed Joyeux and readied Ame no Murakumo at his side before plunging into the flame starting from his shoulder.
That skillful movement of Kazuki was blessed by Beleth’s [Soujin Doufuu]. The jet black armor amplified in magic power and protected Kazuki’s body from the flame.
Even so……his magic power was shaved down. He felt himself receiving damage. Fu Xi’s flame had that much might. He could only say that she was an opponent that ought to be feared.
“Don’t come!” Fu Xi raised a panicked yell.
Kazuki felt his whole body filled to the brim with magic power. Through the Power of Harmony, magic power of Karin, Shouko, and Silirat were flowing in. Kazuki wasn’t the one doing that. The feeling of the three was naturally flowing into Kazuki. Right here he would sever the destiny of those three.
A beheading light flashed diagonally from a lower stance.
The technique of certain death magnified the jet black impact, severing Fu Xi’s defensive magic power into two.
Fu Xi who boasted that much magic power, after getting through the first half of the battle of Atlantis that was excessively harsh for her, only had this much magic power now.
“U, oo……”
Fu Xi stepped back staggeringly. She swung Kyuuryuu Shinkatou powerlessly as a vain struggle, but there was not even heat that spewed out from the sword.
Kazuki’s second move. He reversed his raised up blade, and swung down from above following his first slash’s trajectory in reverse.
Fu Xi’s small body was blown away and crashed onto the Nopperabou who were continuously exchanging magic attacks.
“Fu……fuhahahahaha!”
While falling on her bottom, Fu Xi suddenly laughed. “……We are isolated you say? So what then we say! It’s only a natural truth that there is no existence that stands equal to a King!”
“That ain’t a speech you say while you got cornered.” Shouko said in spite.
“We are cornered you say……foolish. What you all defeated is nothing more than one of ourselves. How about you try to think. We are a colony you know?”
They felt relieved from being convinced of victory, but they froze from those disturbing words――colony.
Colony――that was to say everything was Fu Xi.
Fu Xi sprang up from her falling posture and thrust Kyuuryuu Shinkatou to the heart of the Nopperabou that she collided with just now. The blade deeply pierced without any resistance of defensive magic power.
The girl basked in the blood spurting out from there as though it was a blessing.
From the sword wound, magic power light shined out intensely.
“These guys, all of them are a part of us! Every single one is like the spare of us! The lives of these guys, all of them can be supplied to us!! Despair……! Whether it is the emotion of you all that is trying to oppose us, or the likes of bond that doesn’t exist in us……everything will be gnawed to pieces by this Dragon of Heaven’s Decree!!”
“……You really are, a stupid girl aren’t you?” The wound told Fu Xi.
From the Nooperabou’s fatal wound that Kyuuryuu Shinkatou pierced open, there was a voice.
It was as though death was giving its opinion to Fu Xi.
“……What?” Fu Xi asked back dumbfoundedly.
“The King that is trying to aim at godhood while being in human body, is denying the heart of humans……that’s foolish!!”
The wound where the voice came was torn up with *biki biki biki!* sound.
The wound wasn’t torn open physically, the dimension was pulled apart altogether with the Red Nopperabou’s flesh.
That was a phenomenon Kazuki remembered seeing before.
It was like a malignant abnormality……
Loki……no, it wasn’t him. This phenomenon was cutting apart dimension with death as the starting point……!
This was……! Furthermore this voice was……!
Kazuki’s body was numbed by an impulse that made him want to yell out, his eyes snapped wide open.
The voice echoed from the other side of the rip into this world!
“Your power is wasted on you……hand it over!!”
That was just like the moment when a butterfly broke free from its chrysalis. That dramatic moment made him feel like he was watching in slow motion, like a sequence of photographs in a picture book. The wound of the corpse that was colored by bright red blood was spreading wide with a ripping sound, from there a woman wearing glamorous Japanese clothes with a drawn sword in one hand slipped out.
Kazuki knew this woman’s figure!
In front of the eyes of Fu Xi who was trying to restore her magic power from death, that woman revealed her figure from death.
“O noble youth of storm, release everything of that fury right here!!”
After coming out from the corpse that was like a doll costume, she yelled that.
“Recapitulate the tragedy of Taka-Amahara residing in my body……!”
That was the strongest reinforcement magic in Japanese Mythology.
“Bougyaku Fujin!!”
The sword was swung down powerfully simultaneously with the activation. There was no way Fu Xi could react at all.
How could this kind of thing happen.
“……I, impossible……why”
“I think an opponent that is beaten up just enough so they don’t die is better. What I received is not your life.”
That woman landed with the fringe of her Japanese clothes fluttering noisily before turning to face Kazuki. As though passing one another, Fu Xi who lost all her magic power, lost her consciousness and collapsed on the ground.
“I’ll take over your role. You were really anticipated as the strongest King weren’t you?”
‘Don’t tell me’……the moment he thought ‘don’t tell me’ a situation that made him think even more ‘don’t tell me’ happened.
Kazuki who was watching over that scene in astonishment was,
Finally, he yelled her name by squeezing out his voice.
“Aisu Ikousai!”
The power this girl had, if he remembered correctly, don’t tell me……!
“A, hahahahaha!”
Ikousai laughed out loud. The semi-chief god of Japanese Mythology she was contracted with <Susanoo> possessed a single Authority as a temporary King that contested the seat of the true King.
[Power of Usurpation]――it was an authority that if she defeated a King, the authority of that King could be made into hers.
“Dragon of Heaven’s Decree is residing in this me now, Hayashizaki Kazuki! Now, how about we compete for the seat of the strongest!!”