Chapter 140: Living is More Important Than Anything Else
“Why is the situation like this?!”
The moment the boy in front of them changed his expression, Kazumi also reacted. She let Shinichi Sato hold her and roll to the side, her eyes fixed on the tall figure emerging from the dust.
The deep green combat suit was stained with an unsettling, eerie dark red. The originally intact mask was tattered, clearly revealing the unnaturally pale skin beneath. The damaged combat suit seemed to indicate he had experienced a significant battle, but his relaxed demeanor suggested he was the victor.
With a wave of his right hand, countless thorny vines grew from Kimori Kage’s back, crushing the falling tree trunks into pieces.
An eerie aura emanated from his body, a cruel smile playing on his lips as he looked at the boy protecting the girl behind him.
“It seems there are still two little mice that slipped through the net…”
A hoarse, sharp voice came from the ‘Kimori Kage’ before them. His blood-red eyes were like a hunter’s, filled with a perverse desire for flesh and blood.
“You… who exactly are you!! This is Shikoku, and the Heroes Association heroes and police are already on their way. Mr. Nozawa and the others have arrived at the training ground. If there’s a fight, they’ll sense it immediately!!”
Shinichi Sato stood in front of Kazumi, firmly shielding the injured girl behind him. Even though his legs were trembling with fear, he stood firm, making a final threat to ‘Kimori Kage’.
Because he was the only one who could protect Kazumi now. Even if he was facing a terrifying entity that had massacred all the students in the exam, he had a reason to stand in front of the girl.
The boy’s harmless, even childish threat, seemed like a hilarious joke to the man opposite him. He grinned at a strange angle, looking at the two of them with interest, and said.
“Shota Nozawa? Are you talking about this?”
His movements stopped. He twirled his left hand in mid-air, as if searching for something, then he yanked hard.
The flat ground in front of the two stirred, as if something had split open. Then, a black shadow was pulled out of the ground by a thick branch.
The black object rolled on the ground with inertia for a couple of circles, finally stopping at the edge of Shinichi Sato’s shoe.
When the two looked closer, they realized that this black, spherical object was actually the head of a middle-aged man, dead in a tragic manner. The terrifying expression on his face and the penetrating wound testified to the abuse the deceased had suffered in life.
“M-Mr. Nozawa?!!”
Upon seeing the head exuding a bloody scent beside him, the usually brave boy’s face instantly turned pale. He couldn’t believe the reality, his mouth agape, frozen in place.
“By your standards, he was a pretty good hero, reaching the point where he could cause me a little trouble. But, I’m very sorry to say that I killed him?”
“Do you know? He could have held on longer, but it was too funny how he was stabbed to death by both of us while trying to protect a student. Is this the belief of a hero? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
On the contrary, ‘Kimori Kage’ seemed to have opened his floodgates, stopping his actions and enthusiastically evaluating the opponent who had died by his hand.
Two gray-white vines sprang from the ground, picking up the head that had rolled to Shinichi Sato’s side. He played with the head in his hand as if it were a toy.
Finally, with a surge of strength from both hands, he crushed the head in his hand like bursting a balloon. Various colored liquids splattered on the ground, and he laughed manically, like a psychopath.
“But you should be thankful for your Mr. Nozawa’s sacrifice. Because he died so quickly, I can play with you both nicely before those troublesome guys arrive!”
“Being able to play a little game with me for ten more minutes sounds like an incredibly wonderful enjoyment!”
“Swish——”
‘Kimori Kage’, who had been talking to himself, suddenly waved his hand forward. Two thorns instantly broke through the ground and shot towards Shinichi Sato’s back, directly piercing the girl’s right hand, which had subtly reached out.
“Ah——”
The sudden pain caused Kazumi to cry out involuntarily. The thorns that extended into her flesh from the spikes made the girl lose control of her right hand. After the initial numbness, waves of piercing pain spread from her arm.
“Kazumi!!”
“Tsk tsk tsk, little mice who make small movements will only die faster!”
Waving his index finger as if lamenting something, ‘Kimori Kage’ pushed away Shinichi Sato, who rushed forward trying to save Kazumi, and walked leisurely to the pale-faced girl, whose body was firmly impaled by the wooden spikes, holding her in place.
His pale arm grasped the girl’s arm. After a surge of dark energy fluctuation, the girl’s sleeve, starting from his palm, exploded, revealing her fair, jade-like arm.
“Tch, nothing?”
Carefully examining the girl’s arm, ‘Kimori Kage’ was somewhat surprised not to find any subtle movements Kazumi had mentioned. Losing interest, he dropped the girl’s arm and casually kicked Shinichi Sato, who had rushed at him with red eyes, away.
Tormenting others with their own methods was just a small personal hobby, but if nothing was found, he had to proceed according to the plan. After all, he was only here to help that guy, and for the generous reward, she was willing to suppress her inner desires.
With a slight punishment, she controlled the thorns to lengthen a bit more, slowly piercing into the girl’s arm, causing Kazumi, who had been struggling, to cry out in pain again.
She dodged the boy’s persistent attacks with a sidestep and slammed her knee hard into Shinichi Sato’s stomach, causing him to curve like a shrimp and fall down, groaning in pain on the ground.
Looking at the scene that had finally calmed down, the cruel smile on ‘Kimori Kage’s’ face never disappeared. He looked up at the night sky, then moved his gaze back down.
As if an opening remark, he bowed, but the two who had clearly lost their ability to react couldn’t applaud him. So, he completed his opening ceremony with indifference and then looked at the boy and girl with excited eyes.
“Hehehehe! Two students, you are fortunate to have received the precious reward of having the chance to escape from me this time!”
“Oh, sorry, it should be that every student had such a chance, but they were all so unlucky that they died~”
Making some inexplicable, surprised onomatopoeia, ‘Kimori Kage’ walked to Kazumi’s side with strange steps, but then seemed to remember something and turned in a dramatic circle, returning to Shinichi Sato’s side.
“Tsk tsk tsk, you’re so scared, but you still want to stand up?”
He kindly stomped down on Shinichi Sato, who was struggling on the ground, while twisting his foot back and forth on the boy’s head.
Looking at the disgusting mixture of blood and mud on the boy’s face, ‘Kimori Kage’ nodded with satisfaction. After rummaging in his pocket for a while, he finally pulled out a jet-black dagger emitting an eerie aura and threw it in front of the downed Shinichi Sato.
The sharp sound of gold colliding with the ground made Shinichi Sato’s somewhat dazed consciousness regain a little. He instinctively pushed himself up with the ground, and the disgusting, sharp voice continued to come from in front of him.
“Originally, both of you had a choice, but because cheating children must be punished, I took away her opportunity.”
“Doesn’t that sound like a very fair thing, hahahahahahaha!”
There seemed to be a frantic madman hidden beneath ‘Kimori Kage’s’ appearance. He squatted beside Shinichi Sato, constantly saying disorderly but eerie words, further confusing the boy’s already jumbled mind from the heavy blows.
It was as if he were groping in the endless deep sea, with unnameable eerie whispers and temptations that led to downfall everywhere.
The boy struggled, trying to swim towards the bright sea surface, but could only watch as he was gradually swallowed by darkness.
The disgusting whispers in the boy’s ears grew clearer and clearer, finally seeming to burrow directly into his mind, his heart constantly repeating the words he heard.
“Buzz——”
A strange sound issued from the depths of his heart. Like someone waking from a nightmare, Shinichi Sato, lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes, his face filled with lingering fear as he gasped for breath, as if everything that had just happened was a dream.
The dagger, entwined with black malice, was handed to the boy, but he didn’t even realize that his hand had already firmly grasped the end of the dagger.
The continuous, incessant whispers still echoed in his mind, and in the end, he could no longer distinguish where the sound was coming from.
“If you want to live, as long as you stab her with this dagger once, I’ll give you one minute to escape.”
“What could be more important than living?”
“Do you want to try it?”
(ps: Whether it’s Kimori Kage or Mokuonshin, I’m a bit mixed up myself, QAQ.)
