The son of the perpetrator was actually a victim. Typhon was all too familiar with this kind of story. Experiments related to the Third Stellar Particle hadn't just occurred in the modern era; they had happened once in ancient times as well.
The very avatar he controlled was a product of human experimentation, its circumstances remarkably similar to Saigō Izayoi's.
In other words, he had just attacked a fellow victim?
"If that's the case, why didn't you tell me sooner..."
His fists trembled as an expression of regret crossed Typhon's face.
Although he didn't understand why Izayoi, a victim, would defend the privileges of the Holy Cross Church, the perpetrators, since the boy wasn't a beneficiary of the system, he should have at least given him a chance to speak.
Just as he was regretting his own recklessness, Izayoi's voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
"To have a fair and square fight with you, of course."
The blond-haired boy, soaking wet, climbed out of the sea, a thin glove on his hand.
"This Great Me has no habit of showing weakness to my enemies!"
His injuries were clearly far from healed. A healing-type BDA had restored some of his mobility, but it hadn't completely mended the severe damage he had just sustained.
But now, the confidence on Izayoi's face was even more resolute than when he had been at his peak.
"Izayoi... he got it?"
Kudō Asuka immediately realized what was happening.
Looking up, she saw Kasukabe Yō descending from the sky and landing beside Percher.
Just moments ago, she had used her incredible speed to return to the Holy Cross Group's headquarters and had successfully delivered the BDA device, newly developed by Saigō Homura, to Izayoi.
"Don't worry, it's all good."
Hearing Kudō Asuka's question, Kasukabe Yō gave her a thumbs-up to reassure her.
"I just don't know how effective little Homura's device will be."
With that, everyone turned their eyes to the battlefield.
"A fair and square fight?"
Looking at Izayoi's obviously unrecovered body, Typhon was stunned for a moment before shaking his head.
"Let's not. With your current strength, you can't possibly defeat me. Even with just the power of this avatar, I'm not someone a mere test subject can—"
Understanding Izayoi's identity, he refused to fight.
However—
"Enough talk!"
Izayoi ignored the other's long-winded speech and, following Saigō Homura's instructions, activated the glove-type BDA.
"They said it has some side effects, but now's not the time to worry about details. It's a one-time-use prototype, which means I have to finish you right here, right now!"
"This is the device my little brother made! Grit your teeth and watch closely!"
The moment his words fell, Izayoi became a streak of light.
With a godlike speed surpassing the fifth cosmic velocity, he charged toward Typhon's avatar as an unstoppable torrent of energy.
In that instant, the sky shook, the earth quaked, the seas churned, and the entire planet trembled.
Amidst an impact that could shake the entire world, with an energy level far more terrifying than a nuclear bomb, Izayoi slammed directly into the body of Typhon's avatar.
Whether it was a body that had absorbed the mass of the entire continent of Atlantis or a defense on the level of a neutron star, both were instantly pulverized before Izayoi and his activated BDA.
Because the prototype was uncalibrated, Izayoi's speed was far from its maximum potential.
Yet even so, a sub-light speed impact was more than Typhon's avatar could bear.
"This power is..."
Under the bombardment of the torrent of light, Typhon felt his armor shattering piece by piece. The sense of impending doom made his entire body tense up.
The avatar of this Full-Authority Domain-class god stared wide-eyed at Saigō Izayoi, never imagining that a human could defeat his Four-Digit Irregular-class avatar.
Against an attack of this magnitude, defense was impossible. The only way to survive was to attack.
Did he have the power to instantly destroy his opponent?
Subconsciously, Typhon thought of his one and only ultimate move.
"Transcendent Final Flash—"
A pillar of pure white light unconsciously gathered in his palm.
Compared to his neutron-star-level shell or his island-mass body, this was his true strength, the very reason he was ranked as a Four-Digit Irregular.
If he used this move, his opponent would surely die.
The moment he realized this, he actively dispersed the pillar of white light.
Watching Saigō Izayoi's youthful face draw near, Typhon closed his eyes.
"O, young hero. If you can truly understand the plight of a victim, if you can grasp the weight of this sin, then you will one day face the same circumstances as I. When that time comes, you too will become my avatar!"
"Then, we shall slaughter the gods together and completely purge humanity of its sins."
"Victims should not kill one another. I will await our reunion in hell."
The instant after he gave up his counterattack, his consciousness sank deep into darkness.
A monstrous wave erupted over Tokyo Bay. A massive explosion, no less powerful than a nuclear blast, swept across the entire bay. A crimson mushroom cloud faintly rose from the fog-shrouded area.
The beach that served as the battlefield was instantly fused into a vast sheet of glass by the intense heat, and immense vibrations plunged deep into the Earth's crust.
The wreckage of the battlefield was cordoned off. The world refused to believe Japan's official explanation of a "gas leak," suspecting instead that their next-door neighbor had nuked them and they were just too scared to admit it.
Meanwhile, inside the Holy Cross Group, the center of this media storm, no one had time to care about the outside world's reaction.
"After Typhon was defeated, he was sent to the medical center. Without the BDA active, his physical condition is surprisingly poor. They're trying to save him now!"
Saigō Homura reported from the intensive care unit.
Hearing the report, the others weren't particularly surprised.
They now knew that Typhon's avatar was originally a Third Stellar Particle test subject from several thousand years ago, one of the progenitor versions of the human experiments.
In ancient times, the professionalism of such experiments would have been low. Even in the modern era, no one would have cared about the human rights of such a test subject. As long as it was a living specimen, no one cared about any other aspect of its well-being.
Furthermore, since he had apparently refused to cooperate with the experiments, it was only natural that he would have been tortured and abused by the research facility.
However, Izayoi had an objection.
It wasn't that he found the condition of Typhon's avatar strange, but rather he was dissatisfied with Saigō Homura's choice of words.
"It's too early to call it a defeat. I definitely crushed that guy, but I feel like he was holding back against me. I don't know if it was because he was wary of my identity."
Izayoi said sullenly, lying in a hospital bed covered in bandages.
"Damn it! A win like this isn't satisfying at all. Did he realize that and try to get me to hold back, too?"
Hearing his complaint, Kudō Asuka, who was visiting, couldn't help but sigh.
"You have severe injuries all over your body and dozens of comminuted fractures, yet you still have the energy to argue about winning or losing. Honestly, I'm starting to admire you. Do idiots not feel pain?"
"Hahaha, it's not too late to start admiring me now."
Izayoi laughed.
"I wasn't complimenting you," Kudō Asuka said, exasperated.
Izayoi's all-out attack had indeed been powerful, directly overwhelming Typhon's avatar. But the side effects of using the BDA for the first time were also severe.
So much so that after it was over, his injuries were even worse than before. He had to be kept in the ICU to recuperate.
This battle was a pyrrhic victory for Izayoi. Fortunately, his constitution was excellent, and with the help of a medical-type BDA, he would make a full recovery after a period of rest.
At that moment, hearing their conversation, Kasukabe Yō's eyes widened slightly.
"...Izayoi, you said Typhon's avatar held back... Are you serious?"
The power their opponent had displayed was already terrifying enough. After activating the BDA, Izayoi was capable of shattering stars with ease.
Kasukabe Yō thought to herself that she definitely couldn't have stopped Izayoi's attack. But from what Izayoi himself was saying, Typhon's avatar had a hidden move that could have turned the tables?
"I'm not certain, but it's probably true."
Izayoi nodded.
"The look in his eyes during his initial reaction... it was the look of someone confident they could kill me. He just chose not to in the end."
"Does that mean he's finally calmed down? Do we have a chance to make him our ally?" Kudō Asuka, realizing the reason for his change in attitude, asked immediately.
Although he had nearly been beaten to a pulp, the situation had been unique, a misunderstanding born from the matter with Saigō Tōya.
Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, they should be able to talk things out, right?
"I don't know if he'll become an ally, but we should be able to have a normal conversation," Izayoi concluded, then looked at Saigō Homura.
"Homura, what do you think?"
However, it also meant that recruiting him would be a massive boost to their combat strength.
Facing everyone's questions, Saigō Homura shook his head, his expression pessimistic.
"It most likely won't go as you wish."
"What? He still doesn't trust us?" Izayoi asked, surprised.
"No, he hasn't woken up yet, so we don't know what he wants," Saigō Homura shook his head and explained.
"I'm pessimistic because of his physical condition... Take a closer look. To say it's 'surprisingly poor' is an understatement."
"Without the support of the Third Stellar Particle, his natural lifespan wouldn't exceed three days. Even with the Third Stellar Particle and a medical BDA device, it's unlikely he'll last more than a week."
At this, Saigō Homura's expression was incredibly grave.
"The unrestrained human experimentation completely destroyed his bodily functions... Looking at the data, he should have lost consciousness long ago. Even now, it wouldn't be a surprise if he died at any moment."
"That's why I said you shouldn't think about recruiting him as an ally. Not only is he unfit for combat, but even breathing is a huge risk for him right now."
Hearing this, the entire hospital room fell silent.