Chapter 260: Delayed Conquest
The doll on the table wasn’t very big. In terms of size, it was a bit similar to the small figures Kazumi had bought in her past life, but whether it was appearance or quality, it was far superior to those plastic-feeling figures.
The lifelike skin gleamed faintly under the light. Upon closer inspection, one could even see a fine layer of fuzz on the skin. The proportions of the head to body, as well as the poses of the limbs, were incredibly perfect, so much so that… the doll in the bizarre pose before her looked like a real person.
The part where the doll’s head should have been was unnaturally reversed, as if some external force had twisted the hyper-realistic human head off. The entire face had shattered, revealing a simple wooden structure inside, haphazardly arranged. Only the light golden hair on the top of the head hung down on both sides due to gravity, and the lifeless, dull blue eyes stared blankly towards the other side of the body.
Although this was a doll made of unknown material without any sign of life, in Kazumi’s eyes, this doll inexplicably gave her a unique sense of decay that only living beings produced when they died.
“This is?”
This doll gave Kazumi a very strange feeling, even a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen it somewhere before. Her slender eyebrows twitched unconsciously as Kazumi voiced the question in her heart.
” ‘Doll’ is a way I use my ability. I can create a replica that perfectly matches the target, inheriting their memories and actions for a short period.”
Blood vessels surged on his hand as Kurokawa Iori reached for the doll’s head, attempting to restore the forcefully twisted head while answering.
“Regarding the method used in that attack, you must have sensed something. The role of [Darkness] is to catalyze the darkness in people’s hearts, thereby awakening their abilities. What we need to do is awaken the most genuine despairing emotions in people’s hearts.”
“Betrayal by loved ones, betrayal by friends, plus a bit of subtle emotional enhancement and guidance, my ability and [Cloud Mist]’s ability can easily achieve this level.”
Tiny tentacles slowly repaired the cracks caused by the head’s rough twisting, and the wooden head, which had been like a shattered watermelon, was also restoring itself at an eerie speed.
As the last wooden piece was repaired, the doll’s shattered face completely returned to its original state. Although the wooden face gave a very blank impression, the remarkably similar features of the doll and the familiar feeling emanating from its body made the young girl’s usually placid eyes, like a well with no ripples, surge with madness for the first time.
“Fortunately, you are receiving the highest level of awakening treatment.”
Kurokawa Iori gently placed the repaired doll in his hand in front of the young girl, a sinister smile appearing on his face. Perhaps this answer was too dark for the girl before him, but this was something she had to go through to truly enter this realm.
“…”
Kazumi was a bit stunned at the moment, perhaps due to the impact of her lingering questions being answered in an instant, or perhaps due to the unique aura of the doll that was identical to the boy in her memories. But more than anything, it was the emotion called [Anger] that had welled up from the bottom of her heart at some point.
In fact, Kazumi had somewhat speculated about such an answer before. After all, when she recalled it while lying in the hospital later, that “Sato Shinichi” had some significant flaws. It was just that under the urgent circumstances at the time, she hadn’t noticed those small details that could prove his identity.
Of course, a larger part of it was the girl’s irresistible attraction to the boy’s aura and her overwrought romantic feelings at the time, though the tsundere cold girl absolutely refused to admit it in her heart.
“Then my ability…”
Forcing down the rare emotion in her heart, Kazumi’s expression remained unchanged. She organized her words and spoke.
After all, when one’s abilities haven’t reached a certain level, carelessly expressing one’s emotions is a foolish act. Compared to sentimental people, superiors clearly only prefer a dog that follows orders.
Of course, Kazumi was the same.
“Are you talking about the influence of that accident on the awakening of your ability?”
Picking up the girl’s words, Kurokawa Iori looked at Kazumi, who had instantly adjusted her emotions, with great admiration and responded to himself.
Kurokawa Iori wasn’t averse to the slight emotion that flowed from the girl; indeed, that slight emotion was precisely what he pursued.
He wanted to be the person by the girl’s side, to enjoy her recognition, to enjoy the smile and affection that only one person could give, to possess everything that this fellow creature had.
Kurokawa Iori didn’t believe he would lose to anyone, in any sense. With his rich experience and background, he had never regarded a brat from a high school as a rival.
However, if the worst outcome occurred, becoming that person wasn’t something he couldn’t accept. Playing another person was also something Kurokawa Iori had been doing all these years.
Monsters should stay with monsters!
“The control method of [Doll] is through mental suggestion and guidance, and the dominant consciousness of the replica is the shallow consciousness of the person being copied. The subsequent loss of control can only be considered an accident.”
“But judging by your current ability growth, it hasn’t had too much of an impact. Your current ability level is very stable, so don’t worry about whether past events will affect your ability’s growth.”
A flash of crimson light flickered in his light brown eyes, and Kurokawa Iori pushed his glasses forward, continuing to explain to the girl before him.
“So, Lord Kurokawa, do you mean… that person back then also possessed the original’s consciousness?”
Seemingly catching a key point in the other person’s words, a glimmer of hope flashed in the girl’s eyes. As if she had thought of something, even her lips began to tremble as she asked.
“Yes, theoretically, [Doll] can completely copy a person’s shallow memory, meaning that the actions and choices made at that time would be exactly what the person herself would do.”
Looking at the girl before him, who was even starting to tremble as she spoke, with a hint of heartache, it seemed as if she was in pain from recalling some unpleasant memories.
The [Doll] at that time had been disconnected from his control for some reason, and for Kurokawa Iori, who had witnessed the ugliness of human nature in the face of life and death, this unexpected emotional outburst couldn’t change any outcome.
The survival instinct ingrained in the genes of lower humans would drive them to do anything to stay alive, regardless of emotion or reason, simply for the sake of survival.
Although he had later chosen to directly erase the doll’s shallow consciousness to prevent further complications, the thick, unresolvable darkness in the girl’s heart was enough to prove that the doll carrying the boy’s consciousness had done such ugly and dirty things to survive during their last moments together.
“The same choice…”
Looking at Kurokawa Iori, who had misinterpreted her words and provided a lot of new information, Kazumi had no intention of exposing him. She simply repeated the last sentence he had spoken lightly.
The memories, which the girl could suppress with her ability, surged like a tide in her mind. The scenes that were about to be forgotten flashed repeatedly in her mind, crashing time and again into the girl’s still, water-like heart, creating ripples of pink.
Yes, it tasted sweet.
(ps: Will be a day off on 3.27 to take an exam)
