Chapter 11: Gin Passes the Test and Only Wants to Beat Someone to a Pulp
In Hikigaya Hachiman's room in the North Wing of Hinata House, there sat a wooden basin.
Here, water defied the shackles of gravity, converging in the air to form a water mirror that reflected the figures of Gin and Vodka. The tools were a bit "low-budget," but given that the people in the room were those who had moved beyond low-level tastes and adhered to the principle of "if it works, it works" in daily life, no one complained.
They were concerned with the people in the reflection. Or rather, the audience members held differing opinions...
Though, the "audience" really only consisted of two people, plus a doll that was purely there to take up space and maintain a presence.
Kishinoue Ena, as a Hime-miko (Princess Shrine Maiden) and a well-endowed girl born and raised in the circles of the magic society, found it quite incomprehensible that her boyfriend was going to such great lengths for an ordinary human. To use a gaming metaphor, Gin was slashing his way through levels, his resolve completely unshaken.
"Hachiman, is there any meaning in doing this?" Ena watched the reflection, where Gin had long since lost the cool composure he had at the start and was now being chased everywhere by a fat cat. She could finally no longer contain herself and asked, "Aren't you supposed to be letting him learn martial arts?"
"Yeah," Hikigaya replied casually, sprawled ungracefully on the sofa while eating fruit. "That's why I have to watch."
"What are you trying to see in him?"
"Seeing his reaction to unfamiliar things, I guess."
While that was his verbal response, Hikigaya was internally quite surprised by Gin's reactions. Whether in his previous life or this one, most people he had met were "pretentious hypocrites"—those who said no with their mouths but were very honest with their bodies.
Well, that's a metaphor. What he meant was: many people claim there are no ghosts in this world, but in their hearts, they are terrified of them. After all, in human history, the culture of ghosts and gods has a long and storied past, always accompanying the steps of human progress. Belief or disbelief exists only in the heart; most people only realize whether they truly believe or not when they are actually faced with specific events.
Only a very tiny minority are like Gin, where what they say, what they think, and how they act are in absolute alignment.
Gin clearly didn't believe in things like monsters and ghosts at all. Anything that defied the common logic of ordinary people was, in his eyes, a human setup or a "trick." His belief seemed to be that there was no trick that couldn't be solved by a bullet to the head. From the
very first female ghost, he met everything with a bullet followed by a "get lost" whirlwind kick as his opening skills...
It had to be said that regardless of whether Gin believed in ghosts or whether he could actually win, this method of handling things was absolutely correct.
In this world, the relationship between humans and monsters had changed decisively after human armies completed their firearms modernization. Monsters no longer dared to appear before humans in large groups. During the World War era, even the monsters near the battlefields began to wish they had been born with two extra legs to run faster. Entering the modern age, the vast majority of monsters had it so rough they had to pick their targets and locations carefully even for a one-on-one fight, because they were even afraid of police officers with firepower.
At the end of the day, the life force of most monsters isn't much stronger than that of humans; some ghosts and spirits are even weaker. Whatever effect modern firearms have on humans, they have the same effect on monsters.
Nevertheless, Gin's reaction still amazed Hikigaya. It's true that modern human civilization can crush monsters, but that is based on the premise of mobilizing a certain scale of armed force. For most ordinary people, this has nothing to do with their lives; if they actually encounter a monster, they are still going to be afraid. To have the ghost right in front of you and yet remain completely unmoved in your heart is an exceptionally good quality.
It wasn't that disbelieving in gods and ghosts was inherently amazing, but rather that through this point, Hikigaya saw that Gin possessed the aptitude to be a martial artist of Yomi. Yomi, which reaches into every corner of this world, naturally presents a complex environment for its martial artists; those with a steady mindset have more opportunities.
Thus, Hikigaya felt it was time to wrap things up. He once again injected his power into the barrier.
At this moment, within the barrier, Gin and Vodka looked a bit disheveled.
Gin was mostly alright. Although his hat was gone, there was a claw mark on his face, and his clothes were somewhat torn, he had only lost his trench coat. His overall image was mostly maintained; if you added the intensity in his eyes, he actually looked a bit cool right now.
Vodka was the one who was truly miserable. He was down to nothing but his boxer briefs.
The test props Hikigaya had arranged were somewhat inspired by a game he couldn't beat, following the principle that the next stage must be harder than the last. Aside from a few ghosts at the very beginning to be polite, everything afterward was strictly animal spirits—and in the world of exorcism, it is common knowledge that animal spirits are not to be trifled with.
These kinds of monsters possess not only powerful spiritual energy but also robust physical bodies reinforced by that energy. If a ghost has the sneakiness and fragility of a rogue without
the rogue's critical hits, then an animal spirit is a Berserker plus a Mage, with a Priest talent thrown in if they're in a good mood.
And Hikigaya was lazy. His monsters were all caught at random... well, he just ran to a nearby shrine and grabbed them. Many of those animal spirits were "monster gods" who lived off offerings; these monsters belonged to the middle class of the monster world, having already succeeded in life. Their ability to deal with humans was extremely skilled; any one of them pulled out at random could beat Gin until he called them "Daddy."
It was only because they were scared to death of Hikigaya that they didn't dare to go for real. Otherwise, even if Gin and Vodka were wearing EOD suits, they would have been shredded into a plate of steamed meat.
Now, it was finally over.
Having just rolled across the floor to dodge a swipe from a cat claw larger than himself, Gin had just reloaded and scrambled up to perform a "Big Brother-style" rapid-fire, only to find the fat cat in front of him suddenly showing a humanized expression of relief. Its massive body dissolved into green smoke and vanished.
Revealed was Vodka, lying spread-eagled on the ground in nothing but his boxers—he had just been knocked unconscious by the fat cat sitting on him.
However, Gin pointed his gun at Vodka.
Gin had seen things disguised as his acquaintances try to ambush him before. But as long as he pointed his gun, those idiots would reveal their true forms. This also solidified Gin's belief that everything here was man-made. If these were truly the residents of the "Darkness" world from the old legends, how could they be so stupid? If monsters that play with the human heart really existed, they would at least have to have a normal level of IQ, right?
Did they think that just because he pointed a gun, he wouldn't shoot!?
Well... actually, he did intend to shoot. After all, they were all guys he felt the organization could save money on if they were dead... but! Why would a monster be afraid of a gun!? Can't they just endure it and pretend to be a corpse first!?
After a while, Vodka on the ground showed no reaction. Gin frowned, put away his weapon, walked over, and gave him a kick. It was a familiar feel and a familiar reaction.
"Ah! Big Brother?" The nudged Vodka first cried out in pain, then discovered with surprise that the danger seemed to have vanished, and his reliable Big Brother was looking at him with a gaze affectionately titled "Get up, you hunk of pork."
Happiness was just that simple.
With a kip-up, Vodka bounced off the ground, immediately grimacing in pain. His "miss" skill was nowhere near Gin's level.
"Big Brother... those things just now, were they that kind of thing?"
"Shut up, fool! How could those things be afraid of guns!"
"Oh, right... as expected of Big Brother! You figured it out instantly!"
After a bit of meaningless, routine banter, the two looked at the long corridor which had become empty again. Both of their faces twitched simultaneously, and then they continued forward.
The reason they persisted was simple. That new BOSS! He actually made them suffer so much! Today they were going to find him and beat the crap out of him no matter what!
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