"Yuuya-kun, are you interested in tennis?"
A few days after the terrorist incident.
Although the incident itself had been handled safely, the school where I was supposed to study while abroad was still in a state of confusion, thus we were still unable to attend.
While we had a lot of free time, Kaya-san suddenly asked me this.
"Tennis, you say?"
"Yes. I've been playing a lot of tennis lately as a hobby. I thought it would be a good idea to make use of the free time available."
"If that's the case, then by all means…"
When I answered a such, Kaya-san smiled.
"Really? Then let's invite everyone and play tennis together!"
…And so, thanks to Kaya-san's words, we decided to play tennis.
＊＊＊
As you would expect from a super luxury apartment, the apartment where Kaya-san and Kasumi live has a beautiful tennis court, and we decided to play a game there.
Then Kaori and Kasumi arrived, having changed into more comfortable clothes.
"I'm looking forward to playing tennis with Yuuya-niichan!"
"It's been a while since the ball game tournament, but this time I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
Kasumi smiled happily, but Kaori had a very serious expression on her face.
T-That's right, Kaori isn't very good at sports… I'd completely forgotten.
While I was thinking about it, Kaori looked a little pouty as if she'd noticed my expression.
"It's true! I've been practicing a bit since then!"
"I-I see."
When Kaori said that, it meant that the disaster that happened back then might not happen again.
"Well, since there are four of us, let's form teams."
As Kaya-san said, we formed teams.
The result was…
"Ara, Yuuya-kun. We're going to work together, right?"
"Y-yes, I look forward to it."
I ended up being paired with Kaya-san.
"Let's do our best, Nee-chan!
"Yes!"
Kasumi and Kaori looked like they were bursting with enthusiasm and nodded at each other.
With the pairings now set, the match began immediately.
The match started with a serve from Kaya-san.
…If I thought about it, Kaori was not good at sports… could it be that Kaya-san too…?
This thought popped into my head, and I was just about to watch out for the ball coming from behind me…
"Hah!"
Kaya-san served the ball, and it went right into Kasumi and Kaori's court!
Kasumi reacted immediately and returned the ball.
"Hyah!"
The ball was quite powerful and accurate.
And as soon as Kasumi received the ball, she came forward.
It seemed that Kasumi was playing at the front of the court, and Kaori was playing at the back.
I also returned the ball and moved forward.
At that moment…
"Yah!"
"Whoa!?"
Suddenly, Kasumi let out a loud scream and jumped away from the spot.
That's because Kaori hit the ball that I had returned.
However, the ball completely ignored our court and flew past Kasumi with great force, shaking the net behind me.
"Huh? That's weird…"
Kaori tilted her head as if to say that this wasn't supposed to happen.
Then Kasumi turned her eyes to Kaori.
"Hey, Nee-chan?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sure it'll be better next time!"
Kaori said to Kasumi, who was breaking out in a cold sweat.
W-well, it's only just started.
I guess we'll see the results of Kaori's training.
While I was thinking about this, Kaya-san's serve was released again.
This time, Kaori would be on the receiving end.
But…
"Ei!"
"Eekk!"
The ball that Kaori sent flying came towards me at a tremendous speed, with no sign of even coming close to the court.
I instinctively checked the direction of the ball and saw that it had embedded itself in the fence surrounding the court, spinning at an incredible speed.
If that had hit me in the face…
This time, as I broke out in a cold sweat, Kaori tilted her head again.
"This is strange… I thought I was successful this time…"
Could it be that the success or failure of the shot depends on whether it hits someone…?
While I was thinking about this, Kasumi asked Kaori with an indescribable expression on her face.
"Um… Nee-chan? Could it be that you're not good at sports…?"
"Eh? I-is that so? I was never good at sports to begin with, but…"
When you put it like that, it seemed that Kasumi didn't know that Kaori was bad at sports because she's been attending this school separately from Kaori since she was little.
And it seems that Kaya-san is the same way…
"Ara ara… What a problem! I never thought Kaori would be so bad at sports…"
"Mother!?"
Kaori seemed shocked to be told this so clearly.
"Ugh… I practiced so much…"
"Y-You know, some people are just not good at it…"
When I said this, Kaori looked up.
"T-That's right, isn't it? And if you practice, you'll get better, right?"
"Ah… M-maybe?"
What should I do? I couldn't say that she would get better!
However, even with my indecisive attitude, Kaori's face lit up as if to say that she was pleased.
"That's right! Then let's continue the match!"
"Huh? Could it be that I'll be paired with Nee-chan for the whole game?"
"Kasumi, do your best!"
"N-no way!"
Kasumi realized her situation when she noticed Kaori's athletic ineptitude and lamented.
…And after that, there was no sign of Kaori's improvement, and Kasumi was so busy dodging the tennis balls that Kaori, who was supposed to be her partner, flew at her with tremendous speed that she couldn't even think about the game.
＊＊＊
While Yuuya was having an audience with the king.
"Finally… I finally managed to revive it…!"
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a huge life form had appeared.
It was gray and had two huge tusks.
The most prominent feature was its long nose.
At first glance, it looked like an elephant, but its size was on a completely different level.
The creature, whose body was as big as a huge island, raised its trunk high into the air.
"Puooooooon!"
It let out a single cry.
At that moment, the divine beast unleashed its divine power.
The aftermath was terrible, and it spread out into the surrounding sea as a huge wave.
All the small uninhabited islands in the vicinity were shattered in an instant.
This divine beast was the ultimate weapon of the gods──the Behemoth.
Despite showing such power, the gods' expressions were bitter.
"Kuh… As I thought, it has shrunk…"
"And considering its former dignity, it's become quite shabby…"
It was true; the gods had resurrected Behemoth to fight Saara, but its condition wasn't perfect.
It was still incomplete, and its size was much smaller than it had been when it had once been half the size of the Moatra Continent.
Moreover, the divine beast that was once in its prime had a very strong carnivorous side.
However, when the gods decided that they could not completely revive it, they rebuilt the divine beast into a more robust body.
As a result, the divine beast that was created became like an elephant, and it gained a strong outer skin and a powerful body.
"But we can't develop it any further."
"Yes. For some reason, it's regaining its strength. Then we should get rid of her while we still can."
"Fortunately, this one has received our divine power, and we can manipulate it at will. And with the current Saara, I think this will be enough to deal with her."
"And after we get rid of Saara… we can finally take over this planet!"
The gods looked at each other.
"Now it's time for the gods to return──!"
──And so the march of the gods finally began.