Chapter 608: Recruitment from [Takeru Kamikami]
“Is it over?” Sato Zhenyi
crawled out with difficulty from the mountain of bone fragments, cadaverous pain
resurfacing with every move.
His arms were a bloody mess, the white
bone at his joints clearly visible, blood
constantly dripping from his fingertips. His blond
hair, matted by blood and dirt, clung in streaks
to his sweat-soaked forehead.
The scene before him stunned him—
squads of ghouls were systematically carrying
away the wreckage from the battlefield, their movements
unified and precise, like well-trained worker ants.
Some collected bone fragments, others carried the corpses
of companions who had lost their Death Energy. He could even see
humanoid ice elementals on the distant city wall,
cooperating with the ghouls by carrying stones
to mend the damaged fortifications.
The young man looked around desperately,
only to find that the giant [White Bone]
had vanished. All that remained on the ravaged battlefield
was the massive pile of bone
fragments beneath him, and a colossal dragon-like monster
being hauled towards the city by countless ghouls working together.
“It’s over.” As this was said, the [Ghost Gate],
glowing with a green light and emitting a spectral
green Death Energy, opened beside Sato Zhenyi.
Kazumi, cloaked in black, emerged from the [Ghost Gate],
her voice still cold and hoarse, devoid of emotion as she answered.
“That’s good!”
Seeing who had arrived, Sato Zhenyi’s
vigilance eased. After receiving her affirmative
reply, the taut breath the young man had been holding finally escaped him.
Ignoring the sharp, fragmented bone fragments digging into his back, he collapsed
onto the ground without restraint.
“Hey, [Coffin], do you have anything to eat?”
After resting for a moment to regain some strength, the young man pushed himself up again.
Looking at his wounds, which were no longer healing on their own, and his empty stomach, Sato Zhenyi
looked up at [Coffin], who was still standing not far away, observing his surroundings, and couldn’t help but ask.
“[Takeru Kamikami]’s shameless request left Kazumi speechless for a few seconds.
Seeing his battered and disheveled state, she finally uttered, opening the [Ghost Gate],
and a few small packaged rice balls were tossed out from some part of space.
“Eh…”
Picking up the food that had been roughly thrown to the ground, Sato Zhenyi didn’t
mind and eagerly began to wolf it down.
When the young man saw the packaging and the flavor, he was first surprised,
but quickly came to terms with it.
These industrial rice balls from convenience stores
were sold everywhere. His favorite eel flavor was just a coincidence,
as there were only three flavors in total for rice balls.
Tearing open the packaging of the rice balls in his hands all at once, his broad hands
grabbed them and shoved them into his mouth, leaving him little time to chew.
Several eel rice balls, each about the size of a civilian’s palm, were
quickly swallowed by Sato Zhenyi.
Feeling the food rapidly digest and convert into energy that flowed throughout his body,
Sato Zhenyi’s sense of growing fatigue lessened. Sitting on the ground, the young man looked at the black-robed man
not far away, who seemed completely unfazed, and continued to ask.
“This guy won’t revive again, right? How did you defeat him?”
“Sonic waves. Extremely powerful sonic waves, transmitted through propagation, could affect every single one of his bones.
This ensured that all his bones would be affected to the same degree instantaneously.
This was my last resort.” Kazumi looked at the carefully frozen box of bone dust created
by the demon tamer Governor with energy nearby and shook her head, continuing.
“He probably won’t revive again. Otherwise, I have no other methods.”
Sato Zhenyi nodded thoughtfully, picking up a piece of bone fragment and playing with it in his hand.
The fragment spun between his fingers, reflecting a cold sheen.
“Then did you ever consider what would happen if you failed? Do you trust me that much?”
[Coffin]’s answer dispelled Sato Zhenyi’s last trace of worry. He loosely rested his hands behind his head,
feeling a sense of relief. The recent battle had been sustained by the joint efforts of them, two adversaries.
Especially at the end, both Sato Zhenyi and [Coffin] had trusted each other completely.
The satisfaction of achieving victory through cooperation, and the peculiar feeling towards this member of the [Dark]
organization, made the young man genuinely want to chat with him a bit longer.
“Yes.”
“I can open the [Ghost Gate] and let you take [White Bone] out of this space.”
“Hmm? And then?”
[Coffin]’s affirmative answer stirred a slight contempt in Sato Zhenyi’s heart.
As expected of an opponent whose combat capabilities he had recognized, even in such a dire situation, he still had a backup plan.
“Then I’ll be safe.”
“……”
[Coffin]’s next sentence caught Sato Zhenyi completely off guard, leaving him almost speechless.
The words of praise he had been about to utter were choked back in his throat. Sato Zhenyi’s eyes widened,
staring in disbelief at the “comrade” he had been fighting shoulder to shoulder with just a moment ago.
However, beneath the dark cloak, even without seeing the other’s face, the young man could sense a hint of a smile on the other’s lips.
“Alright, that’s enough idle chat. I have a lot of matters to attend to on my end. My companion has already gone to try and open a passage to the sealed territory. You should rest for a while, and you’ll be able to leave here when the time comes.”
After a moment of silence, her mood lightened with a hint of joy and a touch of playfulness. Looking at the ghouls still busy working around them, Kazumi spoke to [Takeru Kamikami], who was still sitting on the ground.
In truth, the girl had planned to attempt to kill [Takeru Kamikami] when he was at his most vulnerable.
After all, once their common enemy, [White Bone], was dead, Kazumi would have no further need to cooperate with [Takeru Kamikami].
Furthermore, her considerable capabilities, including the existence of her territory, had already been exposed to the opponent.
Killing him to prevent the leakage of such information would be the best course of action.
This was also why Kazumi had immediately come to [Takeru Kamikami]’s side—to assess his current combat strength.
However, the conversation between the two made Kazumi abandon this selfish thought from the bottom of her heart.
Perhaps it was because of the “comradeship” accumulated from their previous battle, or perhaps it was the unexplainable trust the other party maintained towards her even after the fight. But more than anything, it was the fleeting glimpse of a figure overlapping with his own just a moment ago.
Shaking her head with a sense of helplessness, although somewhat unwilling, she decided to let this indulgence of her good mood pass.
After all, in the truest sense, killing [White Bone] was the greatest gain for Kazumi.
“[Coffin]!”
Just as Kazumi’s figure was about to disappear into the re-emerging [Ghost Gate], a hearty shout rang out from behind the girl.
Kazumi turned her head with a slight hint of confusion. Her opponent, however, was [Takeru Kamikami], scratching the back of his head with a somewhat shy expression.
“Um…
have you ever considered joining the Heroes Association?”
