– I am Shido from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigation Department. Toyama Kinji. As of 19:00, you are under arrest on suspicion of murder.
To those words.
I am at a loss for words as the black handcuffs are put onto my wrists.
(If I am under arrest, than…?)
In developed countries right now, the conviction rate for an arrest and prosecution is 60%-70%.
Thus, a mere 1 in 3 cases are typically acquitted at trial.
However, in Japan, the conviction rate is 99.9%. (TL Note: This is true in Japan. Typically the prosecution will NOT pursue a case unless they have absolutely damning evidence.)
In some years, the rate of prosecution can even surpass that of China or North Korea.
In other words, if you go on trial here in Japan, you are going to be found guilty, it is a guarantee.
It is no exaggeration to say that in Japan the prosecution is responsible for both the investigation as well as the judiciary process, similar to how it was done during the medieval ages.
– The leader of this group who issued this arrest warrant for me, Shido, said he is from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Department.
The Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is an elite group that is capable of making even politicians and major corporations tremble with their mere presence. They are a terrifying force.
The prosecutors of this organization are given all the powers necessary to investigate, arrest, and prosecute, and each each of them is an “ally of justice” who are allowed to subdue evil independently from each other of the organization as a whole.
But…
(Shido, Nada, Daimonbou, Kamui… And Bewitching Blade Harada Seiji…)
– Looking around at the group around me, I cannot help but feel worried.
I have met public prosecutors several times, including my own fathers colleagues back when he was still alive.
However, Shido and the others with him are far from that image of a prosecutor.
This is only an initial impression, but the prosecutors I had met before looked much more… stylish? Refined maybe?
They were all well-dressed from their hairstyle down to their socks and shoes, with a high awareness and recognition that they were men of justice who sought out, caught, and even brought down evil. They were able to even venture forth into parliament and political party headquarters, always wearing a pure white shirt and a navy blue suit. Their bodies were perfectly rigid, their spine sharp, and they excluded a seriousness from every pore of their body showing no shame but only respect for the prosecutor’s badge pinned to their chest.
However, Shido and the others were nothing like that.
There is no uniformity in their clothes or hairstyle, and their characteristics and abilities are undeterminable. In other words, this is a heterogeneous group. Even more unlike what I have seen before, a Prosecutors Badge is also missing from Shido’s dark gray suit with its open desert-colored coat.
I… I refuse to believe that these guys are actually from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. They are just too different, they are nothing like those heroes of justice that I have seen before.
But…
They are strong. Too strong. Just being near them I can understand that much to be true beyond doubt. This fact is clear to me, even though I am not in hysteria mode.
Putting aside Shiranui, who shortly before had handcuffed me, all five of those standing before me are definitely strong.
This… Is an army of superhumans that an ordinary criminal would stand no chance against.
Even among this group of superhumans, Shido, the leader who is standing in the middle of these five, is out of place.
When my father was still alive, he naturally had an overwhelming presence much like the other armed prosecutors he worked with.
And… While it is hard to be sure of it from his rough gestures and curly bangs… But…
At least from him, I can feel that peculiar presence of an armed prosecutor and overwhelming pressure.
Even the handcuffs on my wrist are from the Public Prosecutors Office.
(– Police.)
That keyword… This suddenly makes sense.
Within the police is an organization that bands superhumans together into groups.
That group is…
“… Public Safety Section 0, right? Why are you lying about your affiliation?”
I am not confident that I am right, but… I need to find answers to my questions right now, even if that means I have to throw out a weak argument.
Shido, on the other hand…
Using his long gnarled index finger and thumb he picks up a cigarette, and fuu… exhaling purple smoke,
“At least learn to read a newspaper, boy.”
He just gives me a sarcastic answer, his dominating presence never diminishing the entire time.
I… Have no idea what he is talking about, I mean I don’t really have a habit of reading newspapers to be sure…
“There is no such as Public Safety Section 0. That was a popular story when it broke, did you really not hear about that?”
Shiranui is the one who addresses my confusion from beside me.
They… Don’t exist anymore…?
“Look, it is even on the TV. Rather than “no more” or “dissolved” though, I think the term “shuffling” would be better. Government Revitalization Unit. The Public Safety Section 0 of the Public Safety Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was dismantled there… Its members were transferred to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. Thus, I guess Toyama-kun… You were half right when you said that they are from Public Safety Section 0.” (TL Note: The Government Revitalization Unit is a real thing in Japan. It is a council meeting to follow up on proposed policy’s, administrative programs, etc.)
I want to strangle the smug smiling Shiranui as he educates the ignorant me on the way of the world, but… I can’t, since I have handcuffs on.
However, I can at least understand two things from his lecture just now.
The Democratic Socialist United Nations Government, a coalition government based around the DPP, was inaugurated in last summers lower house general election, is scrapping or reviewing various national projects to cope with financial woes. Public Security Section 0 was among one of those projects. (TL Note: From what I can find, this is a make believe party made up of various real parties.)
This isn’t surprising…
Public Safety Section 0 was despised, mainly by leftists, as a waste of tax payers money. In the past Public Safety Section 0 was very active in the intelligence community, such as activities in the communist bloc, counterintelligence throughout the country, and containing extremist organizations within Japan. However these concepts of the Cold War and potential armed revolution are a relic of the past, much like Section 0 is now as well.
In addition to not being viewed as a necessity anymore, Section 0 had a good relationship with the previous government, the Liberal Democratic Party, which had maintained their power for a long time after the war with some newspapers ridiculing Section 0 as “the prime minister’s private army”. Their existence must have been a hinderance and obstacle to the then opposition party now ruling party. It makes sense then for Section 0 to be their first target once the government changed hands.
Shido and the other members here before me are various remnants of that.
(And so, that leaves one more…)
Turning my head to the side, I glare at Shiranui with a sidelong glance.
Shiranui is cooperating with Shido. In other words, he too must be a member of the Public Prosecutors.
Even if you are a Butei, should you break the law the police will come for you. You are not above the low. Thus it makes sense for someone related to the Public Prosecutors to be lurking at Butei High, much like Butei typically lurk in regular schools.
Thinking back I used to find it strange that Shiranui was so used to a place like Butei High during his first year… It was nothing new to him.
But… Earlier Shiranui had said “they are from”.
Taking that sentence at its face value, that means that Shiranui himself was not a part of Section 0.
I have no clue what their relationship is, however… I do know that they cooperated together to take me into custody.
On the plus side though, at least they did not immediately kill me.
(From here on, I guess I just have to leave everything to Section 0 for what happens to me…)
I slowly return my gaze to Shido and the others around him, unable to even wipe the sweat forming on my forehead.
Even though now they are under the districts Public Prosecutor’s office, this Public Safety group that Shido and the others once belonged to…
Its predecessor was the Special Higher Police. This notorious “higher level” police was a force that used brutal violence and torture on ordinary civilians to suppress those who disobeyed military law and rebelled against their interests. While this police force was ultimately abolished by the GHQ after the war, in reality it merely changed its name to Public Safety. (TL Note: Special High Police was a real thing, basically Japanese secret police.)
That ruthlessness and brutality naturally carried over into Section 0, which has managed to survive until now. (TL Note: it is around here that I got confused on the different groups. Skip this if you are not confused: Police here as we know it are normal. However there is a group that deals with tougher criminals, Public Prosecutors. Section 0 when it was formed existed under Public Safety. However, Section 0 doesn’t exist anymore and its members were absorbed into Public Prosecutors.)
In any case, it is natural for someone fulfilling Public Safety duties to be attacked during their operations, so naturally their combat capabilities are high even among the general police. Section 0, made up of its fiercest fighters, was a fighting group that was highly praised as the countries mightiest warriors. It was based on the Secret Intelligence Services Number 00 agents of the British Intelligence Agency that Scion 007 is a part of.
Much like the British 00 series, there were 10 members in Section 0, odds are Shido being one of them with the rest being his subordinates. Members of Section 0 were allowed to do any illegal act necessary for their duty to protect Japan…. Even if they were to kill a villain without a trial, there would be no punishment.
Members of Section 0 shared that same freedom as an Armed Prosecutor, however, it is rumored that Section 0’s overall kill count is much higher than that of the Armed Prosecutors… Conversely due to that, the death rate is much higher for a Armed Prosecutor.
This difference was a result of the Armed Prosecutors seeking to be heroes of justice, aiming to arrest and prosecute evil with killing evil as a last resort. Section 0 was often given the goal of exterminating evil from the beginning, in other words, to kill and not arrest. Due to its predecessor’s background, the Special Higher Police, Section 0 is rooted in an anti-hero mindset, willing to get its hands dirty for the sake of justice at all costs.
As a result, Armed Prosecutors and Public Safety Section 0 have been at odds with each other. This has always been true. It is well known that members of either group refuse to cooperate with each other due to decentralization at best and feuding administration at worst.
In other words, for members of Section 0… Being under the control of the Public Prosecutor’s office is like a company being bought out by its rival.
It is no wonder that Shido and the others around him look so stressed out.
(I… I don’t know if someone who was once a part of Section 0 are still allowed to do illegal acts in the name of justice…)
Politics is like water. If the Liberal government were to return in a few years, odds are Section 0 will be revived. Politics is ever flowing and changing.
Considering that fact, it would be a bad idea to be hostile and rude to the members of the former Section 0 standing before me.
However, a charge is a charge. It is not a good idea to go along meekly with this.
If I fight or if I surrender… Both of these options are just a path to hell.
If that is so, then I just need to run away.
Yes, that’s it.
However, as I am right now that is impossible. My only option to run away is relying on Hysteria Mode.
And while I have devised a method to secrete beta-endorphins on my own…
I need time to do it. I cannot do it right away.
Before I even realize it Shiranui had left, leaving just the members of Section 0 behind.
Sections 0’s leader, Shido… He is definitely not the kind of man to turn down a conversation. Alright Kinji, now I just need to talk to him.
“… You said that I am under arrest for suspicion of convicting murder. So, who did I kill?”
In Japan, a first instance conviction rate is 99.5%, even if the suspect states “I did not do it”.
I am well aware of this fact, stating that I did not do the crime is useless. However, by denying the charges or at least questioning them, I can at least buy myself some time.
Shido however just laughs at me, his big mouth with a little beard stubble wide open. And,
“I don’t know.”
… His message is clear.
Shido is using a technique called “Anonymous Death”.
Anonymous Death is the most intense method used by police when arresting Butei.
In exchange for the rights to be armed and conduct arrests and searches, Butei must bear equal if not higher levels of responsibility. When a Butei is undergoing criminal punishment, the so-called Butei Triple Penalty is imposed, and a much heaver punishment than usual is imposed upon said Butei.
This holds true even if a Butei has killed someone. They cannot escape the death penalty, no matter the reason. Even if the Butei is a juvenile.
(I had heard rumors about this Anonymous Death, but I never thought that I would be the one who would get hit with it…)
Typically when an arrest is being done with two charges, the suspect is caught with the minor charge while the main charge, the focus of the investigation, is being examined closely.
However, in the case of “Anonymous Death”, the trump card of “murder” is played first, forcing the Butei’s hand.
Once that card is played, the Butei is at the mercy of the police. They have no choice but to accept any deal, regardless of what it is, regardless of what their actual charge might be.
Originally, the FBI in the United States were quite good at this. They would create a fake murder of an unidentified person, arrest their target for murder, and drop the murder charge should the suspect plead guilty to their main crime. However… In recent years, the Japanese police have begun to imitate this, behind the scenes of course.
Of course this is all illegal, but Section 0 to begin with was a group of dark heroes who conducted illegal activities with the governments complete approval.
I do not know if Shido actually still has that power, but if he does, resisting it is useless.
But if that is his method, why? What does he want from me…!
“… I know you are not all grown men, but… Are you sure that it is a good idea for full grown men to greet me, a high school student, and handcuff me? On top of that, you then use Anonymous Death? Aren’t you embarrassed and ashamed for yourself?”
As I wait for the hysterical blood flow to start, I decide to create a bit of a petty mood with my words. My goal is simple, to bring them into a long and drawn out verbal quarrel by insulting and questioning them.
I still can’t feel the beta-endorphins in my blood. Talk, Kinji. I need to keep them talking.
“What did you call yourself before? An adult? Are you really a man though? If you are a man, prove it. Fight me one on one, if you aren’t a coward that is.”
I am almost there. Surely, in just a short while… That blood flow will start to pulse within me.
Go ahead, talk back to me Shido.
“Toyama. Do you watch sports? An athlete can only be praised for their fairness and sportsmanship until they get to the big leagues, then that only becomes stupidity. But you are still in highschool, aren’t you? I am sorry if that metaphor went over your head.”
Shido, who so far has had a sloppy and simple way of speaking, replied to me albeit with hostility.
Okay, this is good.
I was finally able to buy some time from this seemingly formidable enemy.
Even a few seconds is worth gold bars to me right now.
The blood flow… It is starting.
But, it is still weak. I need more time.
“I am going to teach you something, so pay attention and remember this. Adult’s don’t play games. That is not allowed to us. Our only goal, is to win. Win, win, and if you keep winning… You, and those you care about, can keep living.”
Shido put the arrest warrant back into his inner coat pocket, and glances to his sides at his comrades…
“Organizational power is also a power. As you are right now, you have no power. That is all this is, Toyama, that is how you lost. Or is it something else, perhaps? For instance, is it strange for a Butei, walking around in a deserted place such as like an idiot with his guard down low, to get caught off guard by a surprise attack?”
… He has a point. Despite the way he is speaking, it is clear to me that his will is to admonish a boy with his adult wit, it even has a certain kind of warmth to it. Although he is talking harshly, his words seem to have a seriousness to it as if he is treating me as a fellow man.
What he is saying is a pure fact that I cannot refute: For a Butei, the world is a permanent battlefield.
We are not in a class training session right now where “I was outnumbered and beaten” is acceptable, nor are we in an arcade where “I was careless and made a misplay” is a reason to lose. If you get killed, there is no “I will just do this instead next time” or “I will just do better next time”.
… If you don’t grow up, you won’t survive. That is what it means to be a Butei.
It is true that I find it troublesome to be around other people, so I often travel alone. On top of that, I had let down my guard because I was only thinking about the Aria-Riko double-booked problem I made for myself… Indeed, I was the one who was stupid.
“… I understand what you are saying, Shido. There is nothing strange about what is happening here.”
I have to admit it to myself. I am already in my third year of highschool, so I have to start to become an adult as well. Even me.
So, as a thank you for giving me an opportunity to learn under you…
I’m going to show you and your companions my debut as an adult.
With the remnants of Section 0 in front of me, I have no shortage of enemies.
Okay… Okay… Here it comes, that blood flow.
(Maybe, somehow… I am getting used to this. Hysteria Mode…!)
This is my first time I am actually using this in actual combat, but if I try, I know I can do it. This much now is nothing.
Ever since last winter when I was scolded by my grandfather in Sugamo, who said “A true Toyama is one who can freely “reciprocate””, I have been secretly devising this technique.
I named this new technique Hysteria Reverie – a day dreaming Hysteria mode.
Using my experience of going into Hysteria Mode while sleeping in the past as evidence, I know it to be possible for a person to enter Hysteria Mode on their own.
Grandfather had named his technique “Spring Water Wheel” and used photographs, but Reverie instead uses my own memory. Photos and videos are too graphic for me anyway, and since I have been avoiding the opposite sex for so many years… I am honestly afraid of trying that method.
Of course even memories of my own actual experiences is scary to me, but while practicing Reverie in the middle of the night, I learned that I could control my own imagination, and could modify it to my advantage and needs, thus alleviating my fears. In my mind I could easily create an Aria that is not scary or a modest Shirayuki, as long as I could imagine it.
This, is how I daydream…
(A Hysteria Mode of dreams, literally…)
… At first I thought that this would be an extremely useful ability, but it has many flaws.
First, I need a lot of time to activate it. A normal Hysteria mode draws blood to the center of the body all at once, but Reverie can only stimulate the blood flow, and gradually at that. Also, it is not nearly as effective as normal Hysteria Mode.
It’s biggest flaw however is its short duration. A normal activation can last for about 30 minutes, or an hour at the longest. Reverie mode however can only last a few minutes at max.
(…?)
Also, for some reason, this time the back of my head hurts.
This had never happened when I was practicing using this mode… I am beginning to feel a bit uneasy about this.
Because this happened a few years ago I nearly forgot about it… My older brother and I were once told by Grandpa, “If you have pain appear in the back of your head during Hysteria Mode, it is a sign of something going wrong… So be prepared”. In other words, what is happening right now is in response to Hysteria Mode Reverie.
I recently learned as well, this was an indirect cause of my father’s death.
According to Grandpa, my dad had developed this headache himself… Knowing that something was going wrong with him though, that he had this illness, he was prepared to die and kept fighting to uphold justice.
Because of this condition, this illness, he died a martyr in battle with an enemy.
My headache… I had a headache like this when I fought the GIII League, but I had assumed that it was an effect peculiar to Hysteria Regal. I still remember that pain now, it hurt across every single nerve in my body instead of just my head… But since then, I haven’t had a recurrence of that pain nor headache.
But this time, the pain is clear. It only hurts the back of my head… This is horrifying.
But… But.
The pain at least is not incapacitating.
And an… Existence… That could lead me directly to my death is in front of me.
Concentrate on that right now, Kinji. Nothing else matters, don’t overthink this.
And when I look around at the five people in front of me from Section 0…
“Finally.”
Shido raises his left leg a little, and extinguished his cigarette butt with the corner of his leather shoe.
… Was he waiting for me?
He waited for me, waited for me to be ready to fight back.
“I had thought that I was the one who made you talk back, but this whole time you knew what I was doing. You are indeed an adult, a man. I thank you, Shido.”
Thanks to being in Hysteria Mode, albeit a weakened one…
I am not positive, but, I can guess as to what they want.
“You guys came here for my little tricks. The only reason you used “Anonymous Death” on me… It was to make me take this seriously. This is nothing more than a little “ability gallery”, huh?”
Billiard, invisible shot, cannon, slash, tornado-ouka, clear fall water, zetsurou…
I have been quite flashy with these moves, too.
I also have to partly blame my idiot brother for this, GIII League → US military satellite KH-14 → US Department of Defense/Pentagon → underground operations in various countries. Thinking on it, I am positive that Shido has already seen most if not all of my moves.
“I see. Well, apparently you are the real deal… That analysis is not far off the mark.”
Shido did not say it clearly, but…
He seems to have realized that I am not the same person as I was shortly before, due to me correctly assessing what is going on.
“Kamui. Toyama is the same as you, someone who can raise or lower their own combat capabilities. Hey Nada, I think Toyama is actually closer to you right now, 19th on the SDA rank.”
Shido… He immediately saw through the fact that I managed to enter Hysteria Mode and improved myself.
I am not surprised that members of the old Section 0 are capable of seeing through even that, but…
This is all too soon. I should have been able to anticipate this.
“Huh? This kid?”
Nada, a slender man wearing a striped suit with bad posture and bad eyesight let out a sharp stupefied voice.
“Normally he wouldn’t even be ranked. So I guess that means on average he is ranked 71’st.”
As Nada listened to what Shido is saying, Nada who was once reluctant to even be here…
For just a moment, the atmosphere was… Well, motivational. Even the beautiful boy in the white uniform, Kamui, seemed intrigued.
This Shido… He is controlling his subordinates well. I am not sure what to expect anymore from this extremely competent man.
This is a different kind of leadership than what is typically written in the Assault Department’s textbook, but this is itself a way to control ones subordinates.
(And… Bewitching Blade…)
One thing that stood out to me from Shido’s statement earlier, Harada Seiji, who is still sitting on the stairs with one knee up, had not told Shido or the others about my Hysteria Mode.
Or perhaps Bewitching Blade and Demon Sword do not know about that condition. Truthfully speaking, I thought that that information had been shared throughout his companions during the Far Eastern Warfare earlier.
If he isn’t planning on telling that information with Shido, perhaps it means that he is not cooperating in earnest with him.
All right, these five guys…
– If I want to beat them, I need to start with the monster before me.
It seems unlikely that those that visit the Toyama Department Store of Techniques will want to go back home empty handed. So, let’s do this. Maybe it is because I am in Reverie mode, or maybe because I used Aria to activate it, but I am feeling a bit ferocious right now.
This department store has short business hours though. I have already been in Reverie Mode for 30 seconds… And it feels like I can last maybe 5 more minutes at max.
– I need to set this up properly first before they do.
In a battle involving guns, knifes, and swords, surprisingly it is difficult to attack a single person with a large group.
Even if they simultaneously attack from the front, back, left, and right, their own bodies will simply get in the way and they will not be able to coordinate an attack properly. However, they can turn this into an advantage to them, in other words if they attack from a distance using guns.
When I see someone begin to pull out a gun, I need to close the distance immediately.
At that point the others wont be able to use their own guns, since they will risk hitting each other by accident.
So, my choice is clear. First, let’s deal with whoever decides to be the first person to pull out a gun.
… I guess it’s natural to expect a group from Section 0 to be able to read my thoughts or at least predict them.
No one pulls out a gun.
Well, that’s fine.
I just wont do an ouka-dash, and instead just approach them normally.
As I move forward…
At the exact same time, they all move ever so slightly.
Nada and Kamui. Seiji and Daimonbou. They move subtly, becoming pairs of two. Except Shido.
2-2-1, forming a △ shape. Is this that formation that they called Delta Formation?
As I walk towards them, I,
“Hey, you over there. Are you the one called Kamui? You look like a girl, hah. How old are you anyway? Are all school girls wearing white uniforms these days?”
While making it seem like I am aiming for the youngest person here, I am actually aiming for Seiji. Granted though I am still handcuffed, so I don’t expect my provocation will go well, but it is what it is.
As I get closer though… I can see now that Kamui actually has a feminine face. Even though they have a beautiful feminine face, due to the short hair and white school male uniform I couldn’t be certain just by looking at them from the neck up. However, they have snow white, perfect skin.
Since I have dealt with Watson before, I take a good look at their body lines and… Ya, that’s a man.
… But this man is terrifying as well. I don’t mean to fight him right now, but this guy is also strong too.
Despite being half a head shorter than me, but he exudes superhuman strength.
“I know that all you are trying to do is piss me off and anger me. But isn’t what you just said misogynistic? Oh, and I am 15 by the way.”
Fif-, fifteen?
You are two years younger than me and yet.. You are giving off a superhuman aura of that degree? I admit, I am embarrassed to say that I am afraid of this child.
(… tch.)
That is when my legs stop moving.
The reason I stop is simple. Kamui’s presence simply exploded all at once.
Shido’s words just a little earlier, “Toyama is the same as you, someone who can raise or lower their own combat capabilities”…
Certainly, while this atmosphere from Kamui is not Hysteria Mode, it is absolutely familiar.
As I moved closer, it is as if he shifted into high gear.
Kamui, whose expression became annoyed after the earlier provocation,
“– Do not use anymore, Kamui.”
With a voice like that of a lions roar, Shido raises his voice, and in response Kamui’s atmosphere suddenly weakens.
Is it even possible for me to “increase” or “lower” my Hysteria Mode capabilities at will? This handsome boy is more skillful with his abilities than I am of my own Hysteria Mode.
But, if I ever plan on making a move against Seiji…
Now is the time since everyone is watching what will happen between me and Kamui…!
And just as I was about to turn towards Seiji.
“—“
Again, I have no choice but to stop mid movement.
Because from the onlookers, one takes a step in my direction.
It was neither Kamui nor Seiji.
Shaking his ocher colored coat, unexpectedly, it is the leader, Shido, who takes a step forward on his own.
“… You guys would just kill Toyama in a heartbeat. If that is the case…”
Shit, shit, shi–
His pressure, like that of a several tone dinosaur, is approaching me.
Even with Hysteria Mode, it is like an illusion of a huge wall approaching that I could never hope to push back.
“If this goes on any further, I will just end up getting in trouble with Konza.”
–? What was that just now? Shido just said Konza… That is my fathers name.
The way he spoke… It almost sounds like my father is still alive.
What is going on… Are you just trying to confuse me with meaningless remarks and false hope?
No, Shido does not look like or act like the type to use such a childish and underhanded trick.
“……”
At that moment, I lose all my concentration—
Looking around at the group around me, I immediately become wary of any guns that might have been drawn during that gap.
However, no one has drawn a gun. Instead, they all just slightly changed their standing position.
I thought that they changed formation since they voluntarily broke the formation that Shido had told them to enter earlier, but that is not it.
They all… backed down.
Because the lion had appeared.
Does that mean that they no longer see a need to even be here?
Or maybe it is all just to avoid receiving collateral damage from Shido’s attack.
“So, I would like to ask you to accompany me to the police station for just a moment. If you would be so inclined.”
Shido, who jokingly said something from a cheesy detective drama and gestures to me with a “come here, boy” with his long-fingered hand like a person would to a dog…
Huge.
He is about 185cm tall, but when he stands in front of me, he seems even bigger than that.
With him standing in front of me, I can’t help but feel as if he is literally, and figuratively, looking down on me.
With his deeply chiseled face, he would be a good looking man if he put some effort into appearance.
However, there is a ferocity and brutality that cannot be hidden within that face.
And…
Like the others… Shido did not pull out a weapon either.
From what I can see, he seems to have a gun belt with a holster on his hip, but he does not seem to have decided that he needs a weapon to deal with me.
… Underestimating me was your first mistake.
Did you really think I was just going to say “oh no!” when you put these handcuffs on my wrist and do whatever you ask me to do? “Wan, wan“, I am not your dog, Shido.
“Shido, do you happen to have a car?”
“Eh? I do.”
“Good. You won’t be able to walk from now on. You will need it.”
“Haha, you are starting to make me laugh.”
“Can you drive? You, the henchmen over there.”
“Ya, all of them know how to.”
“Good. You won’t be able to drive either, soon.”
As soon as I said that, I–
–Ba! Quickly jump back and do a backflip in the air.
I kick up with my left leg with the intention of kicking Shido’s outstretched right arm and breaking it, but Shido had read that and had already withdrawn his hand.
But, that doesn’t matter to me.
That move, is nothing more than a feint.
The purpose of that kick now was not to kick Shido.
The cemented carbide handcuffs on my hand.
Shido entered this fight with the premise that I will fight with these on.
Let’s reverse that, shall we?
I don’t like to do this since it hurts a lot and if I mess up the restoration I am in an even worse spot than before, but the Toyama family has a peculiar way of dealing with handcuffs.
I pull my knees back mid air, and as I flip, goki! I kick the bones of my left wrist with my left knee.
Then, as I pull my now dislocated left wrist and hand out of the handcuffs, I immediately kick my wrist again with my right knee to reinsert and set the bones.
“–!”
As I landed I swing my right hand sideways, a hand that I made sure that Shido did not think I would be able to use.
The distance between me and Shido is 10cm outside of my reach.
However, if we add the length of the handcuffs on my right hand, Shido is within reach.
My target, is Shido’s face. Despite his face being so chiseled, the supraorbital rim above the eyelids is an easy target./
Should someone’s supraorbital artery there get cut by a blow, the blood coming out of it will block the vision in one eye, giving the other person an immediate advantage in a fight.
But,
“Oh?”
Shido slightly swayed, and dodged the handcuffs that I had swung at him.
This isn’t surprising, he does not seem like the kind of guy who could get hit by such an easily done surprise attack.
But, is that really the end of my attack–
Even if my attack misses, it has the effect of setting me up for another attack. The important thing here is to attack in rapid succession.
Putting my weight on my right leg, connecting my hips, shoulders, arms, and fists before a slight spin… I wont show you ouka, but…
“!”
–Zudon!
My right uppercut hammers right into Shido’s thick and muscular body.
A giant person is nothing more than a giant target. Thus I am in a good place right now. I used the weight of the handcuffs in my hand when I punched him in the stomach, a trick I learned from Watson’s own fighting techniques. It is like getting hit in the solar plexus with a steel ball. How do you like that one, Shido? It feels so good, I bet you want to throw up, huh? This is that Hysteria Blow that you wanted to see so badly.
“Oh…”
Shido releases a low groan, and staggers slightly to his right.
At the sight of Shido groaning and staggering, the Public Safety team, who had trusted Shido 100%… Look unsure for the first time.
It is actually fortunate that it was Shido who stepped forward. If I take down the boss, his subordinates will waver. When a person is afraid or unsure, they are not capable of revealing their peak capabilities. Defeating Shido means defeating everyone else.
I tilt my upper body, turn my ankles and hip back, and stretching out my leg, bachi!
A kick from my left foot into his midsection, as if to knockout the now staggered Shido.
This kick that landed in Shido’s abdomen has a second purpose though. It causes him to slightly bend down.
While Reverie mode might have its flaws, at the end of the day it is still a Hysteria Mode.
All of this hits so far, are nothing more than stepping stones to the next hit. Everything is leading up to my ultimate goal.
Since large enemies are resilient to blows, the iron clad rule is to attack the extremities and vital points.
After all, even a giant cannot simply make their fingers, eyeballs, or brain invincible or toughened up than a normal persons.
My ultimate target is Shido’s head, his brain. The rest of his body is too… tough. I cannot feel protective gear under his coat, but every impact leaves some kind of uncomfortable feeling. It is suspicious.
“Don’t fall down yet, I am not nearly done yet.”
And, after slamming both my hands onto Shido’s shoulders, I use his shoulders as a launching point to throw myself up into the air.
I land myself on his shoulder, as if he is carrying me on his shoulders, face to face.
And in that position… Gasugasugasu! Aiming at the top of his head, I slam my fist with the handcuffs and my other fist into his head, still in Hysteria Mode.
(And with this, now you will faint…!)
This adult was always looking down on me, purely because in his eyes I am a child.
Well then, if he is an adult and I am a child, while I might be sitting on the wrong side, surely he sees nothing wrong with carrying me on his shoulders?
“– I don’t understand.”
– Watching this one-sided battle from afar, Kamui’s dismayed voice…
“N.”
Next, came Shido’s muffled voice from between my legs. And,
… Washii… I could feel pressure attacking my ankle.
(……!)
Shido has grabbed of of my ankles with his hands
This grip… It is like a vice. It reminds me of that demon, Yen. No, it is even stronger… It is about to crush my ankle.
Trying to get his hand off of my ankle, I unlock my other leg around his head and beginning kicking his hand.
However, Shido shifts his weight to match my movements.
And so because of that, I lose nearly all of my balance that I was using to keep myself on top of Shido.
(–Kuzushi…!)
Shit. Shido knows Judo!
I was in a position where I was being half carried around by Shido. I was wary of that Judo technique and try to get off of Shido’s shoulders, but shortly before I can, I feel a thud…
Shido had flipped me off his coat by grabbing my torso with one arm.
Grabbing me, he puts his right arm across my chest as if he was doing a lariat, and grabs my armpit with his other hand.
For just a moment I am puzzled by his form here, which is neither Judo despite the earlier kuzushi nor wrestling from the lariat.
Suddenly, Shido rotates his whole body, as if he is swinging me around, and just like that–
“– Sorayo!”
Baoooooooooooooooooooooo!! And, just like that, Shido threw me to the side. With one arm.
This is unbelievable–
“!?”
As for where I am being sent, judging by my sense of direction I am being sent straight behind. The momentum is so strong that flesh is torn from my body, and my eyeballs feel as if they are about to pop out of my skull.
Shido from my point of view seemingly is flying away from me, as if I was put on an invisible roller coaster.
I have never seen nor experienced such a spectacle in the midst of any kind of fighting of any level. What is even going on anymore!?
It does not matter who or how someone has sent me flying before. Even when Yen hit me with her metal rod, my body drew a parabola in the air and I fell shortly after being hit. But this time… It feels as if I might never touch the ground again. The moment where I begin to fall seemingly is not coming.
I am just flying parallel to the ground… All from just being thrown.
This is absurd. How is it even possible for someone to throw a 60kg human body to their side to such a degree? I cannot even imagine myself doing such a thing, even in Hysteria Mode.
Impossible. Just impossible–
–Dogaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!… And…
My body is sent through a commercial building that was closed for renovations…
Breaking through a shutter full of graffiti, destroying multiple layers of shelves inside, and eventually I crash into a partition wall at the end.
The steel cables within the wall snap, and the steel frame bent as if it was made of nothing more than paper.
And finally, I…
… I stop. Right there.
(… Wha… What was… That… Now, this… What…)
It felt as if I was diving off of a moving bullet train.
I managed to survive because of the shutters, shelves, and thin walls that formed multiple layers of weak barriers, but if this had been a concrete wall instead I would have been flattened like a noshi squid sheet. I.
My entire body has been battered and beaten, the damage… Heavy. Serious.
Faced with such a situation and such damage, Kikka would have been useless here. The damage and momentum is simply that extreme.
The color of the darkening sky is… Unusually red and dark. It seems that I am bleeding out of my eye socket, odds are from the throw itself earlier. However, I can still see some flickering, so at least my eyes are still in their sockets and didn’t pop out.
(Da-, Damn that bastard…)
I rattle through the debris, eventually falling down and collapsing to the ground,
“Ah… Did I kill him…? Damnit, I thought I held back and threw him lightly…”
I can faintly hear Shido’s voice from afar, sounding as if he is a little worried he might have overdone it, or making excuses to his subordinates in case I died.
Did you kill me…? No you didn’t, you damn monster.
I am somehow still conscious, albeit it wobbling.
In my mouth is enough blood to easily gargle and spit out.
That said, Hysteria Mode is still active. I still have a chance.
(Techniques, huh…)
This isn’t the time to be stingy now.
Okay, fine. I will show you.
if I challenge him to a normal martial arts fight and manage to get hit with that throw technique again… The next time for sure I will be flattened like a roadkill frog.
However, I need time to recover from this damage before I can return back into combat. Just a little bit of time is enough.
If I can just get back some of my stamina, I can still use this body to fight back.
However, if I just pretend to be dead here, I risk the other 4 subordinates convening here as well.
Despite staggering I get back to my feet. And,
“… Okay, I get it… I won’t fight back anymore…”
Raising both hands and trembling while in pain, I declare defeat and raise a figurate white flag. Naturally, I am lying.
While I might have called you a coward earlier, well… This is how a Butei operates.
I step over the shattered and broken shutters of the the shopping building that looks like it had just been hit by a cannonball…
And walk towards Shido in a daze.
“Ah, you survived.”
Seeing me in my current state, Kamui stood there in his white school uniform, dumbfounded.
Shido also raises one eyebrow and opens his double lidded eyes.
The guys from Public Safety seems genuinely surprised that I did not die. Except for Seiji.
“… Not only alive, but conscious too? I have never seen someone quite like you before. You really are Konza’s son.”
Shido, who just said my fathers name again, is laughing as he is rubbing his nose where I hit him earlier.
Even after being hit by me in Hysteria Mode, to him it is nothing more than a slight itch. He is unbelievable tough.
But that fearless grin of yours is about to end here.
(– I’ll use it.)
As I stumbled forward, my breathing and heart rate, which was disturbed and unsettled by the throw earlier, began to settle.
… My time left in Reverie mode is short. Dangerously short. Not to mention, ever since I entered it, I have had a pounding headache.
I have to settle this with my next move.
I have to hit him with an ouka, a popular item from the Toyama Department Store of Techniques.
And to end it, well luckily my opponent is a guy. My ouka? A kick, straight to the testicles.
While such a cowardly move might be considered a… Foul in sports, the testicles are basically an exposed internal organ. Internal organs are usually protected by strong ribs and muscles. However, for the sake of cooling, the male body decided through evolution to leave this internal organ unprotected outside the body. It a mans testicles are destroyed… Even the giant Shido would collapse in severe pain.
And so, thinking of that target just below Shido’s belly, I stand in front of him…
“… I surrender. Take me wherever you want. I am not brave nor stupid enough to fight this many inhuman opponents in a state where I have already been beaten to this point…”
Weakly, I stretch out my right arm, handcuffs hanging down, towards Shido.
“There is no more meaning to these handcuffs now. Can you remove them? Do you still have the key? I already pulled out my left hand, but my right hand is still stuck in them and I get get it out…”
This is of course a lie. Kakkou, the Toyama family art of self-dislocation, can be done with any joint or extremity.
“…”
Shido looks down at me, with a slightly pitiful expression on his face…
He seems to be thinking whether it would be a good idea or not to remove my handcuffs before detaining me.
“I… Have had some bad experiences with handcuffs. Honestly, it is a phobia at this point.”
This, however, is true.
There are multiple instances of these bad experiences, be it Kaname’s immoral game packaging art for “little sister games”, or Katze’s handcuffs back on the snowy mountains…
“– Well, that should be fine. Hey, Shiranui.”
Shido spoke to Shiranui in an appropriate boss tone. Okay good, I have caught you off guard so far.
But not yet. I need to wait, for a moment where I can guarantee a decisive victory.
Shiranui threw the key to Shido with an under hand throw, and Shido grabbed it snap.
“Give me your hand.
“Thank you. Actually, back in London I once had to fight someone strong like you while being handcuffed to him–“
And, I raise my right hand…
Shido looks at the keyhole of the handcuffs.
“–And back then, it went like this–“
Okay, now is the time!
100km/h for toes, 200km/h for heels, 300km/h for knees, 400km/ for hips–
(–Ouka!)
High kick–
My leg.
Ton, it was pushed.
(….!?)
Without even looking at my feet, Shido pushes my leg.
It wasn’t a hard push, it didn’t hurt at all.
All Shido did was push my thigh with his gnarled, rough hand.
However, my foot lost its balance and because of that I couldn’t put any strength into my toes, which was my starting point.
The order of acceleration points that pass on speed at a precise timing was also messed up and unusable. At this rate, the vectors would dissipate completely, and let alone an ouka I wouldn’t be able to do even a normal kick.
And so, in the end, I just lightly lift my right leg.
And that leg, I just lightly put it back down as if nothing happened at all.
“… tch…”
This surprise attack… It was never going to happen. Even against Scion at Abbey Road I was able to launch this attack.
I made sure to guide his gaze, distract him with conversation… All the preparations I could do I did.
“Did you kick him like this back then as well? You really are a sweet-heart, huh?.”
Shido smiles wryly before removing my handcuffs.
He had seen through my Hysteria Mode act.
But, how did he know?
To the me who is surprised, Shido just grins.
“You’ve had your eyes set on escape this entire time, and I have had my eyes on you.”
Shido begins to laugh.
–My ouka was thourghly destroyed.
In a mind numbingly simple way, he managed to compeltely crush the activation.
But…!
“… Don’t look at me right now, alright?”
I awkwardly laugh and use my hands to cover my shocked, pale face, as if I am just a sore loser.
And then, I begin the setup.
I pull my left leg and right fist back, and slightly drop my hips. I place my head, which is acting as a balancer, on the midline.
I had hoped to avoid using it, but I have no choice but to use ouka in an opened-ended hand-to-hand fight. I will show you something very different from everything I have shown you so far…!
Shido, on the other hand, assumes no stance. But, hit hand is open.
As expected, Judo. Its techniques are based on throwing and grappling.
“If you came here for my techniques, let me show you what you want.”
If will make it so your body is never able to fight again, and that is a free bonus!
(Ouka–!)
And, I hit him with all my might–
I hit his shoulder with a light don.
However, I am the one who is sent back, with a slight bounce.
“Hm.”
And Shido just… Snorts. Like last time, Shido prevents the attack, this time with a light push.
He didn’t use any mysterious stupid power or anything just now.
Much like Judo and Aikido masters, he just read the “starting” of my attack.
(Shit…! What should I do now…!)
Even if I were to use zetsurou and return the push… Shido is just pushing me, there is no point.
I had expected his focus to wane or to overlook my prep work, and so I thought that just using ouka in rapid succession would eventually lead to one hitting…
Don, don, don,… Be it a push, a lick kick to my leather shoes, no matter what my ouka will just be canceled before it can even begin to activate.
However, ever so slowly, I am forced back. And each time, Shido closes the distance.
I… I am being pushed.
Despite being in Hysteria Mode, I am just being pushed around by such a crude method… This has been unimaginable to me until now.
Being able to beat me so soundly now, and yet I managed to hit and kick him not too long ago…
Was that nothing more to him than an adult humoring a kid in a play fight?
(If I can just land one ouka… If I can just hit him with one…! Surely there is no one who can withstand being hit by such an extreme attack…!)
As I begin to grind my teeth–
It seems that he has had enough of this, pashi.
Shido grabs my right fist with his huge left hand, stopping the me from doing another ouka.
However, I am tired of this as well…
I know that even if I were to prepare another ouka with my left hand, he will just stop it anyway, and so I stand there stuck in that position, of my right hand in his left.
“Have… Have you seen this technique before?”
“I don’t know anything about that technique. But I do know a guy who can do that “transformation” of yours… Mainly because he showed us all hell…. Trauma, as you say.”
Shido speaks to me with his husky voice. Transformation… Hysteria Mode, huh? No wonder, it felt like you were able to accurately predict and guess my Hysteria Mode earlier.
I am not the only one who can enter Hysteria Mode.
Brother, GIII, Kaname, Vlad, Sherlock… According to what Scion had once told me in London, apparently there are even some users of it in Cuba. (TL Note: I have zero recollection of this but it is accurate.)
“Who was it.”
But, Shido’s answer was neither of them.
“Konza Toyama.”
–? My fathers name again–
My dad died over 10 years ago.
I cannot accurately read Shido’s age due to his physical features, but he must be in his early twenties.
For him to have fought and been beaten by my dad… He would have to have been in his early teens. That is not possible.
“Regardless, what I came here today to see… It is not that technique. It is your eyes. A man can usually tell what kind of man someone is by looking at their eyes when they are fighting.”
Shido speaks to me while still holding my fist.
“Your eyes… They’re fine. Different from Konza’s though.”
This… These are not the words someone heard from within Public Security. What Shido just said… That is something that only someone who has seen my father could say.
“Have you met my father? Do you know him? What are you talking about? Tell me.”
I don’t want to believe it.
I don’t want to believe it, but.
–Dad, are you alive?
Konza Toyama… My father.
To borrow my old mans words… Death and resurrection are just a daily occurrence for those of the Toyama family.
Maybe, just maybe.
And if it is possible judging from Shido’s age, my father…
Years after his supposed death, he was stil very much alive.
If that is true… This headache in the back of my brain, he had somehow overcome this condition.
“I can understand your concern, I do. But I am sorry, I do not have the authority to tell you anything. After all, the Armed Prosecutor’s are now our superior.”
Shido keeps using phrases and words that only further confuse and interest me, however he keeps all the important parts hidden.
Damn it… you Keep me dancing in the palm of your hand. Why are adults so damn good at this.
Even without that earlier Anonymous Death… I have a good reason to get involved with these guys.
No, calm down Kinji. Shido does not look like nor does he seem like the kind of person to lie, but… There is no evidence for me to fully believe his story.
I can’t let them just take me along like this. If I don’t change my ways of thinking here, I really am just a child.
“– Also, your eyes… It was obvious that you were thinking “as long as I can use my technique and hit him with it I can still win”. You have had those eyes for quite a while now.”
Shido abruptly stops talking about my father, and instead starts talking about our earlier “fight”.
“…”
That is right, Shido. Ouka is a subsonic blow that can and has defeated both demons and those in HSS as well.
As long as I can land one on you… Even you wouldn’t be able to simply just stand back up.
I did not respond with words, but instead with my eyes.
As if to laugh at my inner thoughts,
“The fact that you would even think that proves that up until now you have only fought sweet-hearted enemies who would let you use your “ultimate technique”. I am going to teach you something, so once again, pay attention. We won’t let you do that. It is common sense to finish off your foe before letting them use their trump card. This isn’t professional wrestling.”
Shido had something to me earlier.
–“Since we are on Butei Island right now… I will educate you a little tonight.”–
Just as he had declared, Shido…
Everything he has said and done has just broken my confidence at its foundation. Non-stop.
“Shido-san, you love professional wrestling, don’t you?”
Kamui suddenly broke into the conversation with a nonchalant tension breaker line…
“Don’t change the topic. Ah… But yeah. Unlike you guys, it isn’t lacking in excitement. All right, then.”
And Shido…
He pokes my fist, which was clenched in his left hand, with the index finger of his right.
“Guess what? “Ultimate technique”. Just for today, I will be a sweet-heart for you.”
… Ultimate technique…
… What…?
This guy…! Just because he is an adult and I am a kid, he is just playing around with me…!
Hysteria Reverie is on the verge of ending, but it should still be enough to last long enough to let me use one more attack.
His stance and distance.
Me and him are in close contact now. Our current contact is my fist and his hand.
A combination of Clear Fall Water and an 8 ouka… 8-fold ouka. All conditions for it to work are here.
I don’t move my fist from where it is, but just in case,
“Is it okay if we stay where we are?”
I just need his confirmation.
“… Ya.”
He nods, but… I can’t help but hesitate.
I have become rather accustomed to being around stealths, those with physic powers, and while I don’t know how this can be… I don’t feel anything psychic about him. He is really just a normal person.
If I hit you with this 8-fold ouka… You really will die.
“Shido. I want you to tell me everything you know about my father. While you cannot tell me anything right now, once you get permission to, I want to hear everything. But this attack… If I use it and kill you, you won’t be able to speak anymore.”
As I preface that, Shido bursts out into laughter.
With his right hand, Shido raises his bangs, puts his hand to his forehead and laughs.
“Hahahahahaha… Don’t worry. Okay, come on, do it already.”
… Seriously, this guy. He is insane.
Alright… Fine then, let me get as insane as you.
– This is quite literally the strongest move I have. 8-fold ouka.
But, I still need to decide on the punches angle. Only Shido’s left arm and shoulder need to get hit, resulting in the impact penetrating and going behind.
An 8-fold ouka requires me to use both hands, legs, and entire torso, each limb and join generating an ouka inside of my body, connecting them, and combining them with a Clear Fall Water.
This is a technique that Shido wouldn’t be able to steal, and even if he somehow did the sheer force of this would simply result in him losing his arms.
Okay I will do it. No more hesitations, I am really going to. After doing it I will have to call Butei hospital, though luckily it isn’t far.
But… Is Shido really just going to take the attack.
And to me, who is hesitating until the very end–
“–Hey. You’re a man.”
Shido begin’s to put strength into the hand that is holding my fist.
His grip strength… As expected… It is abnormal…!
Aria also posses an inhuman grip strength, but Shido is immensely more powerful. As to be expected of the person who threw me horizontally that far, his power is stupid. At this rate, my fist will be squished until it becomes a liquid.
Hysteria Reverie is about to be no more… Maybe 10 seconds left.
I’ll do it… I’ll do it!
“… Shido. As you said earlier, this is an academy island. Well, it is time for your first lesson here…!”
Mach 2 at the toes, heels, knees, and pelvis, mach 4 with four lumbar vertebrae and 12 thoracic vertebrae–
During that time, in the world of a now super slow Hysteria Mode, uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, a siren like sound pierces through my entire body.
In addition, mach 2 with my left and right shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers. This is all transmitted to flow from my left arm to the right arm, merging with the velocity coming up through my spine. In total, mach 8…! (TL Note: for context: Mach 8 is 9,878 km/h. A SR71 BlackBird caps out at about Mach 3.1 or so which is about 3827km/h.)
Take this. A single blow, full power with nothing held back–
(–An 8-fold ouka!)
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKYUDONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN–!
An impact sounds similar to that of a tank’s high explosive shell detonating resounds throughout the entire 13 districts of Academy Island.
The surrounding atmosphere trembles violently, and at myself and Shido’s point of contact–
With my fist and his hand as the hypocenter, the impacts radiates and spreads out instantly.
Basabasabasa! Shido’s coat violently flutters, as if it is caught up in a tornado.
The windows of the unoccupied building behind me shatter from the bottom floor all the way to the top floor.
The four members of the former Section 0, as well as Shiranui, who are all watching from afar, had their clothes and hair ruffled and shaken due to the air quake of the impact.
… But…
… But.
“…..!”
Shido. His left hand.
It is fine.
I had hit his left hand with the intent of completely blowing off his left shoulder as well.
–But nevermind that, he did not suffer a single wound.
“Ooooh. Seems like you put a lot of effort into that.”
Now he is… Laughing. Hehehe.
I… Am a fool.
I was completely serious with that attack. The movement, technique, prep work, everything was done and it was done perfectly.
But even now, no since the beginning, Shido wasn’t serious. He is treating this punch right now like a dad who is playing catch with their son who just threw a fast ball.
Shido and I are exactly what he said… A child and an adult…
An indescribable feeling of despair covers my consciousness, like a black cloud.
Professional wrestlers are said to intentionally receive their opponents moves. This is partly for commercial reasons, as they are wrestling in front of an audience, but there is a deeper meaning to it as well.
It is to make their enemy despair by showing a calm appearance even after being hit.
And right now, I feel that despair.
Everything I can possibly do is useless against Shido. If this were a real battle I wouldn’t be able to use any of my techniques, and even if I somehow could he would just accept it face on. I cannot beat this guy. It is impossible.
To further my despair… I can feel it, Hysteria Mode ended.
I am screwed. I am going to get caught. Like this. Having done nothing. What is… going to happen to me?
“Shido, are you… a stealth?”
“Nope. That area is outside of my profession. I am a, uh… “multiplyer”. Do you know what I mean?”
….!
(A multipotent…!) (TL Note: Multiplyer or multipotent work here, however I will use multipotent from here on primarily to prevent confusion.)
A multipotent is a superhuman who was born into this world as a result of a mistake from God.
They are ones whose organs, for whatever reason, are endowed with abilities and capabilities many times greater than those of ordinary people.
Actually, this technically applies to me too.
Those in Hysteria Mode manipulate their neurotransmitters at least 30x more than normal people. Although the medical name is different, this can just be expressed in the easy to understand term “Conditional Multipotent, level 30”, albeit unless the person reading this is a Butei they might need elaboration on the term multipotent.
“Yours seems like its a multiplied nervous system. Mine is for muscle fibers. Congenital musculature… Or was it myopathies? Normally, myofilaments have an output of 2 when they are folded, but should said muscle be folded 8 times, the output is 512. In other words, my muscles have a strength that is 256 times that of a normal person. At least, that is what the doctors say.”
Shido looks down at me, while removing his palm away from my fist.
“Surely you have read about that condition in your textbook, right? The statue of Agyo and Ungyo at Todaiji Temple. It seems that the model for that statue is one of my ancestors who had the same constitution. At least, that is what the scholars say.”
–Shido is–
Defenders of the temples and defenders of the Gods, Kongo Rikishi… a descendant of the Nio. (TL Note: this line and the one two before were hard for me to make sense of but I think I got it.)
I have had some experiences already with the cosmic creatures and yokai that call themselves a God or Buddha, but Shido isn’t an ancient being as say the Scarlet Goddess or Kou. He is the child of a god reincarnated in the modern age.
Moreover, the strength between us can quite literally be compared numerically.
While I am level 30, this guy… is level 256.
In RPG video game terms, not only are we different species, but we are different levels.
No wonder this has merely turned into a fight between adult and children.
As everything finally starts to make sense, and I come to terms with this situation, the last remnants of Reverie mode disappear…
“Now then, it is getting late… Class is over. Come one, join us. You can get stronger, and a monthly salary. If you refuse, well, we will just stick Anonymous Death on you.”
As he spoke the words Anonymous Death, Shido dragged his thumb across his neck, signifying what would happen should I be found guilty.
“… Monthly salary?”
“There is an agreement between the Armed Prosecutors Office and the Butei Agency that if a student from Butei High completes their second year of high school, they can be recruited for a position.” (TL Note: Seem familiar? This was discussed in the last volume.)
Wait, Shido–
Did you… Come here with the intention of hiring me?
He wasn’t here for my techniques… He was here for the whole store. This is getting weird.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Did you really think I would join you guys if you came at me with such violent behavior?”
“Eh, you could say that we are in the business of making people end up working for us. Besides, you kicked us out when we used peaceful recruiters, remember?”
That… Is true. Just the other day, Takamagahara-sensei had informed me, Itsuki, and Saeki-san, that the Public Prosecutors Office was interested in hiring us.
In other words… Yesterday they tried the normal route, today the back road.
“The former Section 0 right now is full of missing numbers. I came here to get to you before you young and sprightly young Butei get taken away the Butei Agency. In company terms I guess… Ya, this is my first interview.”
An interview… This is quite a rough interview than.
I am grateful to finally get the offer to have a job, but I must say I feel quite sorry for the rest of Section 0’s underlings. Not to mention, I don’t want to work for Section 0.
This is just the same story as I was told by Takamagahara-sensei earlier: They came to pick up young promising Butei to send to the front lines to fulfill the role of suicidal targets or scapegoats.
While I am still worried about my father, I doubt that Shido, who doesn’t have the authority to do so, will tell me anything anyway. From the beginning that info was just bait to get me to walk with him on this hellish road.
And so, I take a step back from Shido.
Before I knew it, the sun had completely set, and a long, dark shadow stretches under my feet.
Even though I thought it a waste of time, I pretend to be in Hysteria Mode–
“Sorry, but I am a Butei. I have zero interest in being involved with either the Public Prosecutors or Public Safety.”
“Well then, let me give you the name of someone you might want to get involved with. One of the jobs we are doing is… Not necessarily unrelated to you. That is actually why we are here right now.”
“…?”
“Makiri Ito. Lately, he has been on the move again.”
…!
–Makiri Ito–!
“…..! You, you can lie to me all you want. Say whatever you want, I wont…”
While rejecting Shido’s offer–
I cannot hide my intense inner turmoil from hearing that name.
(… Makiri Ito…!)
No. That isn’t possible.
I cannot keep dancing around in Shido’s palm like this.
But, from the back of my throat, the words “I will do anything, just please tell me what you know” are starting to come out.
AS well, right now, I cannot run away even if I wanted to.
Much like normal Hysteria Mode, Reverie cannot simply be continuously used.
“Even if I mention that name, are you really still about to turn around and show me your back? Well, then I will just have to grab you by the neck and drag you along with me. You should be grateful, you know. For us, using force is a… Gentle way of completing our tasks.”
Shido begins to crack his fists as he starts to openly threaten me.
Even if I use all my strength… I cannot win. He is the man who took an 8-fold ouka and did not even flinch.
A Level 30 cannot compete with a Level 256 no matter what they have at their disposal.
“…”
The four people who should have been on the other side of Shido–
Before I knew it, it was only Seiji and Daimonbou.
When I turn to look behind me, there is Kamui and Nada, yawning behind me.
They are blocking any escape route.
My Reverie is done… Partly because of the inhumane fight just now, my breathing is still disturbed and a cold sweat is dripping down my spine. The headache has largely subsided once Hysteria Mode ended but no matter what I need them to think that I can still fight back.
As I back away from Shido I make sure to still be within pistol range of him–
Behind me are Nada and Kamui. While they may not be as strong as Shido, together they odds are can still finish me off. Even if I was still in Hysteria Mode.
–And then.
“?”
Daimonbou… A monk like man standing to the left rear of Shido, who was not wearing an apron-like robe but instead a robe and thick belt, turns his narrow-eyed gaze slightly downward…
He isn’t looking at his feet… What is he looking at than?
Shido, Kamui, and Nada are all still just looking at me. But then, Seiji too lowers his gaze, which at some point began to glow a silver vermillion. Following their gaze they… Are both looking at my long shadow, in the setting sun.
And then, just a few moments later.
The streetlights on the roadway that had just turned on…
…Fu…Fu,fu…
They suddenly turn off.
But it does not end there. The fluorescent lights of the vending machine and the crosswalk start to turn off as well.
“Huh? A power outage?”
Nada mutters to himself, looking around in the dark making his already bad eyes look even worse.
Looking off into the distance I can still see power. The distant Snipe department building and the aircraft runway lights in the distance are still on.
Only… The immediate area here is in the dark.
–This… Seems oddly familiar.
Right after I thought that, my long shadow…
It… Starts to move. Even though I was still standing still.
“?”
Shido and Kamui also notice this bizarre event.
The shadows, as I watch, begin to draw the shape of a realistic human head… This shadow head however is ignoring the shape of my own body.
Then, out of nowhere, shadows of bats fly across the ground. In the blood-colored sky of the sunset, as if summoned by someone– Crows begin to gather. A brown rat scampers by at my feet. Following that rat dozens begin to appear, scattering everywhere. They run around in a panic, before jumping into the gutter and running away as if in a state of panic.
“…Huh…?”
Shido frowns a little at this sight.
It is obvious to me, this expression from him means he, too, has no idea what is going on right now.
And then,
“Even the little rats have run and hid… Should you have realized that I am here, you too would have hid like the rats. Humans truly are dumber creatures.”
Suddenly, I can hear an elegant woman’s voice, that doesn’t fit this rough location full of men.
Right in front of me, at my feet, from the center of the skull-shaped shadow…
With a twirl, a black ruffled parasol emerges. It was as if this place was no longer solid ground beneath my feet, but instead the surface of a lake.
Emerging still, vertical blond twin tails. An eerie but decadent Gothic Lolita dress colored pitch black like the night sky. A mini skirt with a pannier. Spider web skin tight tights. Black enamel stiletto heels with a glossy sheen…
And perhaps to cover up the smell of blood… The faint smell of a sweet perfume…
–Hilda Dracula, emerges from the shadow.
(Hilda…!)
This woman is…
She is the daughter of Vlad, and had tormented us in Yokohama atop the Sky Tree as a representative of Grenada.
“Wow, a vampire? This is honestly the first time I have ever seen one.”
“Did Toyama call her? This really is just troublesome, and now it is just getting unpleasant. As I said before, this would have been a lot quicker if we just kidnapped the Hotogi daughter.”
Amidst the sounds of Kamui’s amazement as if his curiosity had been piqued, and Nada’s complaint while he still keeps an eye on me… Shido takes a step back.
–Thank you.
Shido himself had said it earlier… This side of “reality” is not his specialty.
I pull out my Beretta and talk to Hilda, who it seems that for the time being has come to my rescue.
“… So how are you doing, Hilda?”
“What a nasty face to see once again. But, hohoho. It is a fun face to look at right now, Tooyama. How does it feel to be on the side getting beaten up by oh so many people at once for a change?” (TL Note: Like Watson Hilda speaks “Toyama” in Katakana, an alphabet for foreign words.)
The back of her hand, manicured with crimson nail polish, is resting on her rose-colored lips of her mouth…
Hilda, smiling pleasantly with her pure white face covered in makeup, lets out a slight laugh.
She tilts her parasol to look up at the sky, and after confirming that the sun she hates has set over the city, closes her parasol.
… Thinking on it, it is kind of ironic that myself, Aria, and Riko had once grouped on on Hilda, much like how now I am the one being grouped up against. Why does this always happen when you are around?
“If you were there this whole time, you should have come out from the beginning. You kept yourself hidden on purpose, didn’t you?”
This Hilda escort… I am certain that it was Riko who set this up.
Back when I had met Riko at Odaiba, Riko had told me to be prepared to escape. Riko must have somehow known about this danger approaching me and so had told Hilda to hide within my shadow.
However I could not say this information out lout… The reason being that these remnants of Section 0 are a dangerous opponent who I do not want to give any information to that is not necessary. I do now know how they might react.
“I am a lady, Tooyama, I don’t work late into the afternoon. In fact, you should kneel and kiss these noble feet of mine for coming out to help you so early into the evening after the sun has set. The world revolves around and lives at night, Tooyama.”
… You are the only person who considers the night to be your world you know. And even if I did lick your shoes, you would just complain and be disgusted.
Hilda, who is still speaking in her eccentric ways… Tosses her now closed parasol into the shadows beneath her feet.
The shadows swallow her parasol up like a swamp, and this time coming out of it…
Hilda pulls out a whip covered in black mesh metal, and with her pure white hand snaps it to the side.
Bachi! As the whip is snapped, a pale blue light is emitted all along it. Hilda, who has the nickname of “Lightning Witch”, is pouring the electricity she stole from the 13th ward of Academy Island into the whip.
Basa! At that moment, Hildo, who has spread her bat-like wings on her back out as if threatening all those around her, steps up to Shido with a cruel and sadistic smile on her face.
Douuuu–! Bachuuuu–!
Hilda’s right hand, which had held the whip up till now, scatters.
(…!)
The whip losses its light as it rolls around on the ground, the electricity jumping like a rampaging snake, and my eyes widen at the scattered fresh blood on the ground around her.
That sound, was a gunshot. Hilda was shot.
The shot…. came from the Demon Blade, Harada Seiji.
Seiji had pulled out his gun and shot so fast, it was as if I was watching a scene of a gunman in a western movie.
His gun of choice is a Taurus Raging Bull. It fires a .454 Cassull bullet, and judging by the unbearable sight of Hilda’s right hand… dum-dum bullets. That shot was just a greeting for him. (TL Note: Dum-dum bullets is a colloquial term for a bullet that expands on impact, preventing overpenetration and dealing catastrophic damage. They are used by police and hunters but funnily enough are generally prohibited in war as they are deemed too “inhumane”.)
“…”
Hilda, who is holding her devastated right hand with her left, stops walking–
Mascara applied all around her crimson red eyes,
“Shido. I hope you haven’t forgotten what you said earlier.”
… Hilda spoke to Shido. Not Seiji.
Despite being shot… Hilda spoke normally. Shido’s eyes, “?” could only furrow in confusion–
“Organizational power is also power. Despite that, this being a battle between men, many against one is nothing more than a barbaric act that goes against the spirit of chivalry. I, the Princess of Dracula, will join the side of Tooyama.”
“… Ho. This is a surprising turn of events. This is becoming interesting. As expected, he really is Konza’s son. You are one in the same in how you both love to shake things up…”
Laughing wryly, Shido still does not seem like he wants to fight Hilda. He has not attacked her yet at all.
It seems he has judged her as a target that he can attack, but in doing so risks getting hurt.
“Do you think a mere human can beat me?”
In contrast to Shido’s reluctance, Hilda opens her left hand while laughing at him…
Her right hand is completely healed, as if she had just done a magic trick and it was never shot to begin with.
I mean… I guess in Hilda’s mind, she never lost to us at the Sky Tree.
“–Harada-san. What is this?”
Pointing at Hilda, Kamui questions Harada on what just happened–
“Change your guns and bullets. That is the real deal. I had heard about her from Ruki Honey-Liz. Odds are she is a Romanian vampire. I will deal with her, so you guys just take a step back.” (TL Note: The name Ruki Honey-Liz is subject to change.)
While speaking to everyone around him… Seiji pulls out a M1887 shotgun from under his black coat.
While the M1887 is a gun that must be converted into a pump action under the new and revised Firearms Law, the one that Seiji has is still a lever action allowing him to quickly feed a live round one after the other. In other words, this weapon is contraband. The trigger guard has also been cut off, allowing for a more practical usage.
(Shotgun…)
Hilda and all other vampires have four small organs in their bodies called “demon entrails” that humans do not have. With them, their body can recover from any injury immediately, no matter how devastating the injury is. It is that ability that allowed her to recover from her earlier gunshot wound.
To even one up that ability, demon entrails can also restore each other, so in order to kill a vampire, all 4 must be taken out at once. Even Hilda herself does not know where her four demon entrails are located on her body, and the white eyeball pattern that is just barely visible on her porcelain white skin is just a trick.
Because of that, when myself, Riko, and Aria did manage to beat her… We had to use a shotgun to shoot her entire body at once.
“It seems you have heard how my friends managed to take care of me Far East Warfare. But to think that yesterdays friends are todays enemies…”
Hilda’s anger is clear in her voice when she saw Seiji pull out the shotgun, but…
In his hand are Winchester red cartridges 20 gauge buck shot, clack clack clack, which Hilda is also watching… In short, these are rounds meant for a human sized enemy. It is a cartridge with the idea that a large spread of pellet rounds will guarantee that at least one hit. Odds are the pellets are made out of silver since he only pulled the shotgun and cartridges out after seeing Hilda, but in his hand is about 10 cartridges. The odds of him hitting all of her demon entrails is low.
Hilda, recognizing this, remains confident,
“If I am a noble and proud snow leopard, you are nothing more than a hyena shameless enough to flock to a rotting rabbit carcass. I will not be giving you a coffin for your corpse.”
What she is saying is just a regular metaphor, but…
Does that mean that I am the dead rabbit? I mean, I guess I have already died a few times…
“Do not fret, however. That is why I called forth the crows and rats, to devour your skewered corpses that will soon litter the ground.”
Hilda once again steps onto the shadows with her heels, and kicks something up out of the shadows…
This time, a trident appears.
Buuun, the tip of the trident divides into three pieces, resembling the kanji “山”, and bluish-white flashes of electricity arc between the three tips. It is a spear that not only impales its targets, but also electrocutes them from the inside.
The sound of high-voltage electricity crackling as the arc jumps from one tip to the other evokes a certain type of primordial fear…
However, two people step forward without any fear from the defunct Section 0…
One is Harada Seiji.
The other is the giant monk whose entire body is covered in layers of muscle and wearing a black robe… Daimonbou.
Shido, however, takes a step back. I see, are these two in charge of dealing with stealths?
“Harada-dono. Let me fight with you.”
The monk speaks in a bold voice to Seiji, but… There is no opening.
He is not wearing a white goujou-kesa nor is his head wrapped, but despite that… He is a warrior monk.
“Sure. Just don’t kill me whenever you join, Daimonbou.”
“From the beginning, killing was immoral.”
Seiji, who is hiding the lower half of his face with his coat’s neckpiece like a ninja, and Daimonbou, who is looking calm even at a time like this…
Without a single sound, like a grim reaper approaching their prey, they begin to move silently towards Hilda, despite Daminbou wearing iron clogs.
A reaper and a monk. Well, that is a satisfying and yet contradictory combination.
Despite not being in Hysteria Mode I need to help Hilda– So I ready my Beretta.
I mean, anyway… Nada and Kamui are behind me, so I cannot really just retreat.
To Daimonbou, who confronts Hilda with his right on his open left hand in front of his taut pectoral muscles, Hilda…
“Are you a priest or a pastor in this country?”
Instead of thrusting at him with her trident suddenly, or using her electricity, she merely asks him a question.
“Indeed. It is my sworn duty as a monk to dispel evil spirits, and so I have come.”
To Daimonbou who answers her seriously, “hmmm”, Hilda looks at him and,
“The blood of the clergy is poison to my body. You are not worthy of being on the table of a vampire, you meat sack of muddy water. But…”
Next, she turns her glorious ruby jewel eyes towards Seiji, who is still carrying his shotgun.
“Seiji boy… Indeed, you are a half demon. My father used to tell me that the most delicious of blood is demon cannibalism. Hold your head out slowly… Yes, slowly… Slowly…”
This slow way of talking, Mesmerism. It is an ancient way of hypnosis, a technique that Hilda had once used on me and Riko.
But, Seiji,
“That trick is useless on me.”
Speaking as if he was in a game, Seiji takes a half step back and spreads open his coat. Then, using his right hand he grabs the hilt of the Japanese Katana on his left hip and readies his shotgun in his left hand. It seems that Seiji did not immediately shoot Hilda with the shotgun as he intends to first cripple her with his sword and then shoot her with a barrage of shotgun pellets without giving her time to heal.
Chaki, As seiji pulls the sword from its sheath, a sound can be heard. Yuraaa… A black smoke begins to pour out of his coat. His right eye intensifies its red glow. Baki, bakibaki… The sound of his muscle fibers compressing and tightening can be heard rippling from his entire body.
Basa, in response Hilda spreads out her wings and holds out her spear charged with purple electricity at the ready to keep Seiji’s movements in check.
Next to Seiji, Daimonbou takes off his black beads that he had hung around his neck like a pendant to form a seal. He is also beginning to mutter a sutra. This match… It is starting now.
What I should do now to help Hilda is wait for a chance to prevent the movement of either Seiji or Daimonbou.
The first one to move… Is Seiji, who has the expression of that of a demonic beast–
He puts all of his strength into his legs to pounce on Hilda.
At that time.
“–Alright, that will be all.”
A new person suddenly appeared–
This time, a man appeared, unnoticed by either Daimonbou or Seiji.
To my rear left, quite far away… Standing next to Shiranui.
When Shido saw the man in the suit,
“……!”
He grits his teeth in frustration and, pachinpachin, snaps his fingers twice.
With that as his signal, Seiji releases his stance…
Daimonbou with a troubled look on his face breaks his line of sight with Hilda… And instead turns to look at the man.
“…”
“…?”
Hilda and I were prepared for a superhuman battle to begin, like in Tokyo Last War. (TL Note: Tokyo Last War is a dark fantasy fiction film based on the Teito Monogatari novel by Hiroshi Aramata.)
However, having to not fight is infinitely better and this is potentially my chance to avoid having to fight entirely.
The one who suddenly appears before us enters this destroyed arena of inhumane monster with a nonchalant gait, as if he were instead walking into a spring field full of flowers…
The man has the same physique as Shido, but instead has good posture and a pair of smart looking glasses.
Wearing a navy blue suit and a plain necktie, he looks more like an ordinary office worker than anything else.
However, on his collar… the Badge of the Rising Sun and Autumn Frost… A Prosecutor.
But within my body, my most basic of instincts are telling me… This is no ordinary prosecutor. Behind his average and basic face, a tremendously sharp mood is lurking. With a mere gesture and a few words he has calmed down this place and placed everyone here under his control… It seems obvious, than, that with a few words and gestures he can quickly and easily do the opposite.
This man…
(– an Armed Prosecutor…!)
Seeing my astonishment, Hilda…
To avoid the risk of potentially attacking and making an enemy of an unknown person, Hilda drains the power out of her spear.
To the man, who was looking at and treating Hilda’s hellish trident as if it were nothing more than a simple flashlight,
“… Just when things were starting to get interesting.”
Shido whispers while shaking his curly-haired head.
“Mr.Shido, please think about the trouble you guys make for me, the manager of the now former Section 0. Certainly, Mr.Toyama is on the list of potential personnel, but it is still much to early for him.”
Pon, the Armed Prosecutor places his hand on my shoulder as he speaks to Shido.
Since I was acting hostile to Shido and his companions, it stands to reason that this Armed Prosecutor who is their companion should be seen as my enemy, but… It is as if he couldn’t care less about me, nevermind the gun I am holding.
“Still too early, huh? It is internal rule now that a Butei can join the Public Prosecutors after completing their second year of high school. Hell, even the Personnel Department the other day–“
“No, it is still a year early. It was only recently decided upon at Butei High, so the personnel affairs were in a bit of a rush to update us, so it is not unreasonable that you, Shido, and the others, who already lack any kind of research ability, do not know about this.”
As the Armed Prosecutor spoke…
He said the most astonishing thing that I have heard yet today.
“Toyama-kun will be in his second year of high school starting tomorrow. This child… Well, he has to repeat a year.” (TL Note: Well I was not expecting this.)
In response to him,
“–WHAT!?“
I manage to raise my voice at him before anyone else.
Re, re, re, repeat a year!?
“Eh?”
Even Shiranui’s eyes widened at this sudden revelation.
Then, as silence awkwardly envelopes the surrounding area…
Shiranui with unprecedented speed whips out his cellphone and loads up a site that appears to be accessible on the Butei High School campus network.
And… Shiranui…
Looking up from his cellphone, his face is pale.
And to Shido, whose double lidded eyes are still wide open, kokuri. Kokuri. Shiranui nods.
And then with a face full of pity, Shiranui looks to me as if I was a poor person begging on the side of the street.
Wait, seriously? Shiranui… Senpai?
“…”
No, wait, I still have hope. That man is an apostle of justice and peace, an Armed Prosecutor.
Shiranui as well here is surely part of a moderate faction.
Thi-, this is all just a lie to calm down everyone, right? Lying is still peacefull and justice… Isn’t it? Please?
Yes. That must be it. No way, I refuse to believe that I am repeating a year. This is all just a lie, right?
“Even though it is just an internal rule, even you have to follow them, Mr. Shido. Right now, you are not the loosely controlled Section 0. Deviant behaviour will be cracked down upon under the law.”
The Armed Prosecutor, who is pushing up the front of his glasses while speaking, gives off the attitude of a teacher scolding a delinquent… Shido was completely stunned. It seems that he has nothing that he could say in return.
“I had heard that Toyama was not the most studious of students, but to think that he managed to score below even my expectations…”
“Hey Shido! Isn’t this supposed to be considered overtime pay?”
“Ahahahaha. Shido, you got scolded again.”
“Ah… Even I was not aware of this. Uh, um… Young Toyama. Uh, good luck with your studies.”
“…”
Shido gritted his teeth, Nada started getting angry, Kamui began to laugh at Shido with a big grin, Daimonbou seemed to be embarrassed, and Seiji was wearing a cool expression but it was obvious to everyone that even he was dumbfounded… Each member of Section 0 has their own reaction to this unbelievable situation.
“The report, Shidou-kun.”
“Kuh. I will erase it once I get back to Public Safety.”
Shido, who was scolded again, attempts to maintain his bravado in front of his subordinates.
But before leaving, this unnamed Armed Prosecutor turns his back to Shido and faces me.
“… Oi. Say something, sullen face. If you want, I can fight you here right now you know.”
Shido still refuses to let this go.
“The people are taxed quite enough as it is… Do you think I intend to waste their tax dollars to shoot every stray barking dog?”
He replies without turning around, and just a moment later.
–Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—
A bloodlust unleashes from the Armed Prosecutor, freezing the nerves of everyone present.
Just from his blood lust alone, everyone here lost their voice as well, as if they were frozen in place.
If we were in an actual battle and he had released that blood lust… It would alone definitely be enough to kill me, Hilda, and all of Shido’s subordinates.
Shido is the only one who is not completely frozen in place, and has a bare amount of consciousness left to allow him to fight back–
I do not know which of the two is stronger.
It is said that Armed Prosecutors generally posses great pride, perhaps that is why he had reacted to Shido’s shallow insults. However, now that the Armed Prosecutor is Shido’s superior, perhaps that is why he is avoiding taking Shido head-on.
“So you are Toyama-kun? Hmmm…”
The Armed Prosecutor, who once again fixes his glasses by pushing them up from the side with the palm of his hand this time, looks at me…
He seems to have something he wants to say, but doesn’t.
“I heard that you declined to take the Armed Prosecutor Exam. Well, that is fine, it was optional so that is perfectly fine. To begin with the Public Prosecutors office was highly overthinking the capabilities of Butei High Schools… I am not here for you or anything like that. I am here to complain to Butei High about the boy they sent to take the exam because he was so poorly prepared. Again, my apologies for my subordinates behavior.”
The boy who had taken the exam…
“Itsuki…?”
Masato Itsuki is a S-rank Butei who is enrolled in the special class “Class X” in his second year at Butei High.
Rated by the SDA as well, his ranking is higher than mine. Currently, he is the pride of the male second year students.
That… Itsuki, the exam was too much for him?
“During the primary exam, he fell unconscious and was in a critical condition. He was sent to a Medical Research Institute Hospital, but I wonder, is he still alive? This year we had more deaths than usual, so it has been quite difficult for us to deal with the aftermath. That is why I am here, to talk to various institutions and teach them how to train young people more severely to make sure that they don’t die from such a trivial exam.”
The Armed Prosecutor, who is talking about a life or death exam with the ease that one might have when talking about the weather, smiles at Hilda and the looks at me again,
“I have heard before that a Butei with good companions is themselves a good Butei. Well, I will leave you two to it.”
Leaving those words behind, he turns around on her heels.
I can’t let him leave. I was caught so off guard by his bluff about my failing a year and the Itsuki situation with the exam that I nearly forgot to address the most important question I have right now.
–My father.
Armed Prosecutors are constantly busy with the task of protecting the entire country. The chance of a Armed Prosecutor meeting a normal high school student like me… Is extremely rare. I do not know when will meet again. Odds are I we never will.
“–Wait, just one question. You are an Armed Prosecutor, aren’t you? Shido and the others… They kept mentioning my dad. Is my dad still alive!?”
I ask my question to the back of the main in the suit.
But, his answer…
“Kinji Toyama. You do not have the authority to know that answer. If you want to know the answer to the question– Get stronger. Aim to become an Armed Prosecutor yourself. On the day that you become an Armed Prosecutor, you will know the truth that day Kinji Toyama.”
–He neither confirmed nor denied.
“……”
“Only an Armed Prosecutor has the right to know about another Armed Prosecutor.”
With that as his parting words, the man in the suit leaves the area.
I… Was left alone. The former members of Section 0, with whom I now have a less than friendly relationship with, are merely standing around.
… Pa… Pa, pa…
Whether Hilda has stopped stealing the power from the area or the power has simply just been restored to the lights and vending machines again, the lights turn back on one by one…
“…”
Shido, with his hatred on clear display as he watches the back of the leaving Armed Prosecutor, snorts a “hmph” before straightening his coat.
Looking at Nada complaining, Kamui laughing, and Daimonbou smiling, all gathered Shido… The unity of the group that Shido has built is strong. I do not know about Seiji though, who is a little further away than the rest.
From that circle of superhumans–
“Oi, Toyama.”
Shido calls out to me with a clearly displeased voice.
Alongside Hilda, who is still keeping her spear in her shadows, I am a little wary of Section 0, but…
I can no longer sense any killing intent from Shido. I exit my battle stance.
“–Study! You absolute idiot! Sigh, for now we will not prosecute you. It was quite troubling to make that Anonymous Death you know. Regardless we are still quite short on manpower. Let me show how serious I am… for now.”
Right in front of me, Shido tears up the arrest warrant for me…
It seems he has still not given up on the idea of making me his subordinate. He seems to like me quite a bit…
Flipping his desert-colored coat, Shido yells “dismissed!”. His subordinates who do not disband at all, “Buy us a treat”, “Yay! I want yakiniku!”, “No, Kamui-dono. I, a monk, am forbidden from eating meat…” began pestering him on and on…
“Ahh, that’s right, Toyama. If something happens to you, regarding Makiri Ito, contact me. Oi, Harada. You are to be Toyama’s point of contact.”
With the old Section 0 withdrawing…
Harada Seiji, the Demon Blade, gives me a sideways glance,
“… Well, I suppose you wouldn’t like it if I were to follow you.”
Seiji starts talking to me in a muffled voice as the lower half of his face is still covered by his jet-black coat.
“Of course? I barely know who you are to begin with, and would you trust someone who just shot one of your friends in the hand and then pulled out a shotgun on them? Rather, you should be preparing yourself for the next time that we meet.”
I thought that it would be easier for me to fight him later if I continued the lie that the person he met in Belgium was a body double, so I continue to pretend that this is the first time meeting him.
I couldn’t tell whether he still believed that though as to begin with he doesn’t seem to talk much, but–
“If you have any problems or something pops up, call me.”
He hands me a small piece of paper that he took out of his coat pocket.
On the paper… Is a phone number, starting with 090…
Regardless of what trouble manages to find me, I have no intention of relying on Seiji, but regardless an enemies phone number is a nice gift. I am rather annoyed that out of this entire mess I got absolutely nothing other than a jump scare that I failed a grade so… I will accept this.
After giving me his phone number, it seemed that Seiji was hungry too, since he went off to catch up to Shido and the others…
The only people left now are me, Hilda, and Shiranui, who approaches me with a smile.
“… You got me involved in quite a stupid ruckus you know. Whatever, my summer vacation was already a joke anyway.”
I still have a slight headache, not to mention I don’t want to get involved with Shiranui anymore, so… Let’s just wrap this up already.
“You are too kind, Toyama. But… I like that side of you.”
“I don’t want you to like me”
“That’s disappointing.”
Shiranui did not say any kind of apology for getting me involved in this, and so I, rather irritated now, respond coldly to him.
Hilda is blushing a little bit now, and keeps looking from me to Shiranui and back with embarrassment. Why is she doing that..?
“Tonight, you showed me something amazing. Ya… That favor you owed me from the soccer match has been fulfilled.”
And then, doing a practice imitation… Shiranui mimics my 8-fold ouka. But…
Thinking on it, it might have been Shiranui who gave my name to Public Security or the Public Prosecutor’s office.
But, well, it is my fault that I did not notice that nor think of that possibility.
Should our positions have been swapped and I took on the same job as him, I might have very well done the same thing to Shiranui. I do have some questions for him though,
“That Armed Prosecutor that showed up at the very end must have been sent by you. You can even control people that high up?”
My request to him to share information on my dad was completely denied, but…
I’m rather persistent, and I will stick to that Armed Prosecutor who could be a source of information if possible. But,
“No. I do not know who that is, nor was I aware that he would show up. Anything else though? You have any more questions for me?”
Shiranui responds back with a smile and disappointing information. Although,
“You wouldn’t answer me even if I asked you anything else. But… Your earlier acting did help quite a bit. Thanks for that.
Thinking back on it, the only reason this place didn’t turn into a bloodbath was because of the theatrics of the Armed Prosecutor and Shiranui.
So, for that, I will give you some credit.
“…”
But… Shiranui is silent.
Wait, huh? Why did you just look away from me suddenly.
“Seriously, that performance that I failed a grade seriously helped me a lot there.”
Thinking maybe he forgot about it I just reiterate my thanks and remind me of the whole “Toyama you failed a grade” thing, but Shiranui is just smiling wryly…
The shutters full of graffiti that I broke, or rather I broke when Shido launched me through them, has a vending machine next to it, so I go over to it to buy some Straight Tea, 3 bottles to be exact.
After getting them I come back with them and give Shiranui and Hilda one each.
“…?”
I might be a coffee person, but I open it up with a paki.
Hilda wraps her hands around the bottle and begins to sip from it as well. Kiba, she seems to enjoy it.
Why is Shiranui so mellow though?
“… Even students need a break in their life, Toyama.”
Shiranui calmly sips his tea after spouting something strange.
However, there is some sweat on his forehead, as if he was scared or upset about something.
“Because of that, let’s take a year off to get that break.”
“…?”
Shiranui took his phone out of his jacket with the hand not holding his can, and showed me the screen of that Butei High website that he had used earlier.
“Class Placement Announcement. I think it just happened.”
The screen that Shiranui is showing me… 2nd Year Class C which starts tomorrow…?
In that row of student names…
[Second-year Class C seat order undecided: Kinji Toyama. ※Repeat students who are in their third year or above are displayed only when accessing this page from third year or above.]
No, way.
“I, I mean… You are joking still, right? This is obviously a fake site that you set up for this… As expected of a A-rank Butei, Shiranui you are…”
The blood in my face is draining… More than when I fought the Scarlet Goddess or even the fight with Shido just now…
I don’t have to look in a mirror to know that, right now, my face very much resembles the pale white face of Hilda beside me.
Ah… I almost just fainted.
“We-, well, this is quite impressive Toyama and as expected of you. It does not seem like you did it on purpose, but this… This is certainly one way to repel the old Section 0. This is… Certainly an unprecedented method at that. Honestly it is amazing.”
In a twisted case of fate, Shiranui begins to praise me for repeating a year.
“…”
“…”
Me at a loss for words, and Shiranui also at a loss for words albeit still with a smile on his face…
Amidst that silence, I am kicked.
“Ow”
“Come on, Tooyama.”
Hilda, having kicked my shin from the side with her stiletto toe finished off her drink.
“You promised to meet up with Riko at 19:00. You are already late for that.”
Hilda throws her empty can into her shadow pit, and shows me a gold watch that she pulled out from who knows where…
“Shut up about that. I don’t care about that right now.”
Trying to get away from the situation of double-booking Aria and Riko, not to mention now being late to both, I turn to dash towards the Masters building in a panic. However, the neck of my bulletproof uniform is holding me back. Hilda had grabbed it.
And from the fingertips of her bright red manicure hand, biri! Damn that hurts!
“Wait, stop, it feels like a stun gun!”
“Come on, hurry it up.”
“Ah, well, seems I am not needed here anymore… See you later, Toyama. Give my regards to Mine-san.”
Shiranui disappears, as if leaving me to my fate with Hilda…
“I, I have to go to Masters right now, Hilda…!”
To me, who is still trying to shake Hilda off,
“while I do not know the details of how, they have already decided to fail you this year. There is no point wasting your time by arguing with your teachers. If you wanted to do something about it, you should have worked harder this year so you didn’t fail.”
Despite literally being a demon, as well as the daughter of Vlad Dracula, Hilda is speaking the blunt and literal truth right now.
… Thinking on it, certainly, the probability of any of Butei High’s lazy teachers working overtime in Masters right now is quite low.
Even if I did go there, the person on duty will just be sleeping, and if I were to wake them up I would just be facing corporal punishment.
I have no choice but to check my phone with trembling hands to see what is happening…
My name does not appear on the school’s online roster for the 2nd year Class C… However, the words “※Repeating students are only displayed when accessing this from 3rd year or above”… when checking the third year roster, my name does not appear either.
Suddenly, from my cellphone, jajajan. Hey! The melody of Ryotari Sugi’s “Sukimakaze” is playing, which is set to only play when I get a call or an e-mail from a “dangerous” person. Really, it is alarm for me.
It is an email from Masters, with the subject line…
“You are being called to guidance as a repeating student on April 1st.”
…Ah…
… I’m finished…
… This is the end of Kinji Toyama. I failed my second year.
“Hey. Start walking, you packhorse. Riko’s house is this way.”
Kick, kick.
And, despite letting go of my shirt collar, Hilda began to kick my shins and butt with her hard enamel stiletto…
Just like an old packhorse, I start to toddle my way forward…
I walk forward, the mood around me so intense that you can just barely heard Donna Donna by Taro as my BGM. (TL Note: this is a real song, search up “ドナドナ” on youtube (cow image one) and listen to it while you visualize this XD)
If this email is to be believed as true, than most definitely there is nothing I can do right now. All I can do now is wait until tomorrow and report to Masters for guidance on repeating students.
Also, while I am completely out of motivation, I am still double booked for Aria and Riko.
My destination I guess is Riko’s.
When I first arrived at this plaza, I was initially just going to choose Aria for my own safety, but now I owe Riko a debt. If Riko hadn’t been so wary of Public Safety and attached Hilda onto me, I don’t know what Shido and the others would have done to me once I ran out of Hysteria Mode.
Zubuzubu, as I slowly walk through the shadows, accompanied by Hilda was sinking into her own shadows….
“… Oh yea, just to let you know. The actions of a demonic being can trigger an imbalance of luck.”
A surreal sight to be sure, Hilda, with only her umbrella now seemingly floating and moving above ground, began speaking stealth words and concepts from underfoot.
“I don’t understand what you are talking about.”
“You are really stupid, huh. In other words, you got lucky right now. When I, an old enemy of yours, helped you in battle, that was good luck. Now, bad luck will be on its way to you.”
“I’m used to bad luck, and I don’t see how any amount of bad luck can top the bad luck of today. But just in case tell me, what is coming?”
“I don’t know, the details of what constitute that “bad luck” are beyond my control or knowledge.”
“Oi, that’s a rather sloppy answer. Rather, are the things that you are possessing, like Riko, okay?”
“That child has a lot of luck, so I think she will be fine.”
A lot of luck… Is that even a thing?
“Well, I guess having luck is in itself lucky… What about me? How much luck do I have?”
Her umbrella has now sunk into the shadows, so now I am nothing but a edgy chuuni talking to the shadows. This is way too embarrassing.
“I don’t want to lie to you, and if I were to tell you the truth you would hate me, so I won’t tell you.”
“Just tell me, I’m curious.”
“Your luck is in the worst category. Misfortune will continue to appear for you.”
“… I should have never asked…”
“this is why I didn’t want to tell you, you fool.”
“But the last part of what you said isn’t that bad.”
“?”
–Misfortune will continue.
If misfortune will continue, well, that means I won’t be dying anytime soon I guess.
Well, to be fair, I guess there is the saying “living in hell”.
Or rather, I feel like I am living it every day.
Silvered Tongue Reborn 
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