Instant Death

Thanks to the effects of the drug that he had taken earlier, Miyanaga Ryōsuke was able to keep his composure .

He felt like he wanted to cry, but he knew that if he gave into his despair now, everything would be over .

Calm yourself . He should be able to kill me whenever he feels like it, but it doesn’t seem like he’s going to… So, I probably won’t be killed right away .

He had a feeling death was looming over him, but it wasn’t because of Yogiri . Ryōsuke began to check his surroundings .

He was in the middle of the street .

There was a large fissure, stretching across the cobbled road, a result caused by the recent collision it had with Ryōsuke’s skull .

A store a short distance away had taken serious damage .

Yogiri and those accompanying him were the only ones left in the area . Just a few days ago, there had been an incident that caused a seriously extensive amount of damage to the town . The memory of that event was probably fresh in the minds of the citizens, which only hastened their evacuation .

There appeared to be a commotion in the distance, probably over where Ryōsuke’s airplane had crashed .

There were two people right in front of him .

He had seen one of them too many times to mistake them for someone else: Takatō Yogiri .

He was donned in a white shirt and a pair of slacks, an outfit that came across as a school uniform . For the time being, his attention seemed to be focused elsewhere, as he was immersed in a conversation on his smartphone .

The other person was the young girl who had been travelling together with him .

When he had last seen her, she was dressed like a typical young girl, but at some point, she had changed into a black suit that enveloped her entire body . It appeared to be some kind of battle suit . He supposed that this young girl had been the one who grabbed hold of him mid-air and smashed him into the earth’s surface .

There were no longer any problems with his injury . There had only been pain for a moment, and he had almost recovered completely . His body had many ways to recover automatically, so the amount of damage he had taken was no big deal .

The duo were accompanied by something else . Floating in the air beside them was an existence one would hesitate to call a person .

It seemed to be some kind of guardian spirit, a chubby woman who was wearing a white traditional j.a.panese garb that was similar to a kariginu . Ryōsuke’s eyes had the ability to reproduce objects from his original world, which allowed him to see spiritual existences .

“Why are you just casually talking on your phone!?” (Tomochika)

The young girl spoke, having noticed Yogiri absorbed in his phone .

“Well, it’s so we can coordinate with Ninomiysan . ” (Yogiri)

“Eh? Your phone is actually usable here?” (Tomochika)

『I’m relaying the signals, kind-of like a virtual base station I guess? I’m receiving the phone’s signals, a.n.a.lyzing them, and then sending them back out!』 (Mokomoko)

Ryōsuke was shocked at the spirit’s words .

He had been under the impression that he was the only one who could operate electronics in this world .

“Mokomoko-san… The electromagnetic waves have finally gotten to you, haven’t they…?” (Tomochika)

The young girl stared at the spirit, who was apparently named Mokomoko, with eyes full of pity .

『Simpleton! Sending and receiving the signals is as rudimentary as it gets! How dare you stand there and suggest that I’m crazy!』 (Mokomoko)

“Well . It’s troublesome, so let’s talk about this further once you get here . Maybe it’s because of that recent incident, but it seems that everyone’s run away already . ” (Yogiri)

Having finished his phone call, Yogiri looked at Ryōsuke .

“You’re the one who’s been watching me this whole time, aren’t you?” (Yogiri)

“W-what are you talking about? What’s with you guys! I was attacked without warning as I was flying in my plane . That was you guys wasn’t it!?” (Ryōsuke)

Ryōsuke decided to dodge the question . Responding to it would’ve effectively been a confession, which would’ve led to nothing but trouble .

He had no choice but to push forward with his own circ.u.mstances, no matter how incomprehensible they seemed . If Yogiri wasn’t interested in killing him immediately, there was a possibility that he could be overlooked by insisting they had the wrong person .

『Hmm . It’s true that we can’t say you’re guilty just because you were in a plane, even if the timing of your flight was extremely suspicious . 』 (Mokomoko)

“Then what’s the problem? I don’t know how it works for you when you meet someone for the first time, but…” (Ryōsuke)

Yogiri’s expression became a simple, slight frown . It seemed that he hadn’t come with any clear, conclusive evidence .

In which case, Ryōsuke felt like he still had a chance . As long as he didn’t interfere with Yogiri any further, he wouldn’t be killed .

Thus, it should also be possible for him to make an escape .

He just needed to get away from them the moment before they make the decision to kill him .

That’s right, I can still use the power of the Spirit Princess .

With the power of the Spirit Princess, getting away should be feasible . That said, she would only get conceited were he to rely on her, so he really preferred to avoid asking her for help . However, sacrifices have to be made in order to solve a problem .

As Ryōsuke thought about it, he suddenly came to a realization . The fact that she hadn’t appeared yet, despite everything that had happened, was really unusual .

The Spirit Princess doted on him quite a lot . There was no way she would overlook a situation where Ryōsuke had been injured .

『Is this what you’re looking for?』 (Mokomoko)

Saying that, Mokomoko held up a woman by the neck with her right hand .

The Spirit Princess, Elysion . Her beautiful appearance had become an atrocity instead . Her head had been twisted at a ridiculous angle, weakly hanging in the air .

Spirits had spiritual bodies that couldn’t really be compared with a human’s, yet it was clear to Ryōsuke that Elysion’s had been incapacitated .

“What is that?” (Tomochika)

The young girl raised her voice in surprise . She could apparently see the Spirit Princess as well .

『Since this suspicious spirit was about to attack you, I took care of it . 』 (Mokomoko)

“Huh . Well, at least you’ve finally done something befitting of an actual guardian spirit . ” (Tomochika)

The young girl’s unconcerned att.i.tude returned immediately after hearing Mokomoko’s explanation .

“…W-why…? The Spirit Princess is an existence that rules over all other spirits… An existence that stands at the peak of the spiritual world…” (Ryōsuke)

Ryōsuke muttered, shocked at what he was seeing .

『Hah! There’s n.o.body in the world who can beat me in a spiritual duel! The Dannōra pursue true combat even after death! As if someone like this would be worthy enough to face me!』 (Mokomoko)

“Ugh… You’ve got such a smug look on your face, Mokomoko-san . Just because you were able to play an active role for once…” (Tomochika)

『Though, if this thing is the Spirit Princess, does that mean this one is the Spirit King?』 (Mokomoko)

Mokomoko held up a man by the neck with her left hand .

He was a delicate-looking man who radiated with divine energy, but Mokomoko had strangled him to the point where he was completely motionless .

“Mokomoko-san, don’t go picking up strange stuff like that…” (Tomochika)

『This guy came flying at us after I beat the princess, so I went and turned the tables on him! He was just a bit stronger, but it was nowhere near enough to triumph over the Dannōra!』 (Mokomoko)

“Aah… You’ve gotten completely full of yourself at this point…” (Tomochika)

Mokomoko put strength into her grip on the spirit’s necks .

Their ethereal bodies dissipated into the air as they were crushed . Ryōsuke didn’t know whether or not they had died, but he was certain he wouldn’t be getting any help from the Spirit Princess moving forward .

Yogiri turned his attention to Mokomoko . If Ryōsuke was going to do something, this was probably his only chance to do it .

Ryōsuke scoured his memory for something to replicate and ultimately ended up creating a smoke grenade . Given how small it was, the replication was instantaneous .

He pulled the pin right away and threw it forward . It was quite effective as the street was immediately filled with a layer of smoke .

Medication . Magical enchantments . Mechanical enhancements . He utilized every method he had available to build up his strength .

He put all of it into his legs, and just as he was about to jump away in a single bound, he heard a familiar voice .

“Run away and I’ll kill you . ” (Yogiri)

Ryōsuke was bound by those words .

The correct choice was to try and escape anyway, even if he had to force himself . If Yogiri truly wasn’t interested in killing Ryōsuke, it was possible that Yogiri would’ve turned a blind eye to him altogether .

Now, however, he couldn’t get himself to move . He just stood still, wasting valuable time until the smokescreen faded away .

“The fact that you didn’t run means that you know about my powers, don’t you?” (Yogiri)

Ryōsuke’s hesitation had made it perfectly clear . It would probably be useless no matter how much he attempted to gloss things over .

“Fenrir!” (Ryōsuke)

Desperation set in .

Ryōsuke called on a four-legged beast that he had named after the mythological G.o.d-slaying wolf . It was an incarnation of tyranny that he had somehow successfully managed to tame by providing it with food .

Fenrir’s huge body soundlessly materialized before suddenly toppling over .

“If you’re going to do this sort of thing, do it quickly alright? Spare me from the long explanations and backstories as well . ” (Yogiri)

Yogiri spoke flatly .

“Queen of the city of darkness, Maya! Come to my aid! I’m having a crisis no matter how you look at it!” (Ryōsuke)

“It stands to reason that as long as you do not call for me, I will not come to your aid . Being treated like a nuisance after suddenly showing up out of nowhere would hurt even my feelings . ” (Maya)

A beautiful white hand gently came down on Ryōsuke’s shoulder .

When he looked over his shoulder, he saw a woman of matchless beauty adorned in a black dress .

Ryōsuke had met her after getting lost within an underground city back when he traveled the world . For some reason she had taken a liking to him, trying various things to get him to devote himself to her, but Ryōsuke had always handled it delicately .

“Help me! I beg of you!” (Ryōsuke)

“Do you mean to tell me you’re finally willing to become my spouse?” (Maya)

Ryōsuke kept silent . If they were to wed, he would become trapped in her underground city, never again free to see the outside world . He was trying to survive here, so there was no way he’d take her up on that offer .

Furthermore, he still didn’t know if Yogiri was going to kill him .

“…Well, it is fine I guess . Doing something akin to forcing you into the bonds of marriage by acting as your shield is far too boorish and unromantic . ” (Maya)

Ryōsuke was relieved . He wouldn’t have to sign the rest of his life away, even if Maya managed to take care of Yogiri .

With that being the case, he had actually considered asking her to dispose of Yogiri a long time ago . Though, back then, he had only entertained the idea out of mere curiosity . He hadn’t really thought that Maya had any real chance of killing him .

However, Ryōsuke now felt like Maya might just be able to do it .

She was the immortal queen who ruled over life and death .

She wasn’t someone the term ‘death’ could even apply to, and because of that, there was no need for her to fear Yogiri’s ability . Ultimately, Yogiri was nothing more than an ordinary human being . Killing him should be simple for someone like her .

“Ahahaha! This is the end! The concept of death doesn’t even apply to Maya! There’s no way you’ll be able to kill-” (Ryōsuke)

“Die . ” (Yogiri)

Maya crumbled on the spot .

Her body collapsed into a black lump before slowly disappearing altogether, leaving nothing behind .

“Even though I’ve come across tons of people who claim that they’ll absolutely never die, or that they’re already dead, or that the concept of death doesn’t apply to them, they all end up dead in the end . ” (Yogiri)

“No, um, Takatō-kun . They all came from complex backgrounds, and all seemed to be pretty ridiculous people, so shouldn’t you be a little more aware of the people around you…?” (Tomochika)

The young girl’s voice was completely devoid of surprise . She seemed awfully fed up with dealing with him .

“Whatever, who they were has absolutely nothing to do with me . ” (Yogiri)

Yogiri was directing a thoroughly hostile aura at Ryōsuke at this point . If Maya wasn’t able to deal with him, Ryōsuke didn’t think that anything else in the world could .

A transmission from his mechanical doll echoed through his mind, informing him that she was en route to his location .

It’s useless at this point!

He didn’t think a machine that was only somewhat stronger than the average human being had any chance at all .

However, he didn’t have the heart to stop her anymore .

Before long, the doll arrived . With how she was dressed in her red dress and gloves, she was the splitting image of a real human .

“Separate yourself from my master!” (Doll)

The doll threw a knife she had in hand at Yogiri .

Ryōsuke harbored serious doubts about whether her attack would work, but something didn’t feel right about the scene that unfolded in front of him .

He had thought that throwing a knife at Yogiri would’ve been a grave mistake .

After all, based on everything he had learned so far, one would die immediately the moment they tried to throw it .

And yet, Takatō Yogiri just stood still and stared at the doll . He didn’t do a thing as the knife flew at him . The young girl that had been standing next to him s.n.a.t.c.hed the knife out of the air in a panic .

“Takatō-kun!?!” (Tomochika)

The young girl shouted out in confusion . Ryōsuke was completely stunned by the impossible scene that had played out before him .

He was speechless . He had entirely expected Yogiri to react to her killing intent before her attack ever happened .

“Ah sorry . I was just a little surprised . Sophora, switch to root user command mode . ” (Yogiri)

Yogiri approached the doll as he spoke .

Sophora was the original code-name for this doll .

And somehow, Yogiri knew about it, along with the existence of her administrative commands . Ryōsuke also knew about these commands, but they should’ve only been usable by those who had been granted administrative rights .

“Power Down . ” (Yogiri)

At Yogiri’s command, the doll lost all power and toppled to the floor . He grabbed onto her gently and laid her on the ground .

“Takatō-kun, uh… What happened?” (Tomochika)

“It’s complicated so we’ll talk about it later . ” (Yogiri)

Yogiri fixated his eyes on Ryōsuke .

“Well, I just wanted to talk you know, but then you went and wasted a lot of time . So, how about we have a little chat?” (Yogiri)

Ryōsuke didn’t have a single fragment of willpower left in his heart to go against him anymore .

Ootori Haruto was currently in the second-floor flower shop headquarters of the a.s.sa.s.sination guild, Dark Garden .

He was there to validate some information regarding Yogiri .

Part of the request that had been made to the a.s.sa.s.sination guild asked them to draw up reports about the information they found . After a short search, Haruto easily located the reports .

Even though the power of 『Consultant』 could allow him to understand this information without expressly having to come out so far to find it, the downside of his ability was that he only had access to historical data, not the most recent information .

Haruto lightly skimmed through the reports .

As expected, Yogiri was able to detect any kind of attack and respond to it immediately . At a glance, the reports seemed to indicate that he was invincible .

“But… How invincible is he really?” (Haruto)

The first point to consider was that Takatō Yogiri had been successfully summoned to this world .

If he truly possessed the ability to retaliate against any attack, then the fact that he was in another world in the first place was strange . He had gotten caught up in a summoning into another world, and yet he didn’t kill any of the people who tried to summon him .

In other words, as long as you don’t intend to kill him, it may be possible to move him somewhere else by force .

The second point to consider was related to his abilities .

The ability to kill whatever he wants, and the ability to sense all traces of killing intent . With these two abilities combined, Yogiri was effectively invincible . So far, there had yet to be an opponent he couldn’t kill . He had managed to avoid the risk of death entirely .

“Then, what would happen if he turned his ability onto himself?” (Haruto)

If he used his own instant death ability on himself, what would happen then? Would he just die?

“In that case, what would need to happen for him to mistake his target? What would need to happen to prompt him to kill himself?” (Haruto)

Taking a hostage and threatening him or something would be an act of sheer stupidity . He would be able to kill any obstacle as long as he used his instant death ability .

So, if he were to commit suicide, he would need to do it of his own volition .

“He seems like an aloof character, someone who goes about things without showing much emotion… But is that really the case?” (Haruto)

Yogiri wasn’t a robot . While he may not express his emotions very much, they shouldn’t be too different from the typical high school boy .

“Hmm . Let’s continue with this line of thinking for a bit . ” (Haruto)

He had discovered a lot from this experiment . There was a low probability of getting any new results from changing the scale or type of attacks moving forward .

In which case, all Haruto felt that he had to do now was try to look at the problem from another angle .