Chapter 79: The Black Card
Ryuji Akiyama had heavy, dark circles under his eyes. For the past two days, paranoid about being hunted, he hadn't dared to go out and relieve his stress. He hadn't slept, either.
Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps from the hallway jolted him awake. He shot up, went to his living room, and stared at his security monitors. The neighbors in the hallway all seemed to be in a panic, rushing for the exits. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew that staying in his apartment while everyone else evacuated would make him stand out. The chaotic crowd in the hall also made it impossible to tell who might be an enemy. But the sunlight outside was intense. The weakness of his demon lineage was now on full display. Even if he wore heavy protection, stepping outside risked being attacked and killed in an instant by the sun.
"Damn it! If I just had more time, I could have cashed in that formula and paid the Goddess to optimize this weakness!"
His heart began to pound violently. He was certain. That guy was here.
Mercenary Tao had actually found him!
A terrifying chill shot up from the base of his spine and spread throughout his body. He was freezing, his powerful Constitution doing nothing to warm him. This was followed by an even deeper resentment. He knew it. Elizabeth had to have been the one who betrayed him. She must have given the rum bottle to Tao.
Ryuji didn't reflect on the flaws in his own actions, nor did he consider the danger he had put Elizabeth in by acting alone. In that moment, all he had for her was pure hatred.
"Damn it... I should have killed that bitch when I had the chance..."
His fear was making his thoughts spiral out of control. But then, a single set of footsteps stopped, and his heart itself seemed to quiet, afraid of being heard. The footsteps were walking up the stairs. The person was tapping the wall rhythmically, announcing their arrival.
They stopped on the seventh floor. Are they coming for me...?
In that moment, Ryuji could barely breathe. His hands, gripping his shotgun, were slick with sweat. Brown tattoos began to spread from his neck across his body. He began to swell, his strength, speed, and regenerative power all increasing as he transformed into his demon form, his feet bursting through his shoes.
Clack.
The footsteps stopped right in front of his apartment. Damn it! Is it because I'm the only one with blackout curtains?! Ryuji wasn't stupid. He had built his entire life on being clever—leaving the big city, returning to his hometown to use his parents' connections to get a cushy job, always knowing how to charm his colleagues and superiors to get what he wanted. He was smart.
The only time he'd ever gotten greedy was the moment he clicked [Yes]. In that instant, he had craved a power that would let him transcend his mundane, everyday life. And intercepting Tao's deal with Muzan… Ryuji didn't feel he'd done anything wrong. That was just how Reincarnators operated. Winner take all…
Tap. Tap. Tap…
The footsteps were right at his door. Ryuji's mouth was now full of fangs.
Knock. Knock.
The instant the knock came, Ryuji's pupils contracted. He raised his blue-quality shotgun, [The Terminator's Grip], and pulled the trigger. In that instant, he stopped thinking about the future. He just wanted to live.
BOOM!
The moment the door exploded inward, Ryuji's eyes widened in horror. The man in the baseball cap was leaning against the far wall of the hallway, having perfectly avoided the blast.
Damn it, he predicted it!
Kaito had been fully prepared when he knocked. And with his current senses, his sensitivity to another's breathing was far beyond Ryuji's comprehension. Human breathing has its own rhythm, its own frequency, its own tell. Just before a person attacks, they will always instinctively take a deep breath. And in the instant they attack—especially an action as high-stress as firing a gun—they will hold that breath.
Kaito twisted, watching the shattered door panel fly down the hallway. Vincent racked the shotgun, turned, and lowered the barrel to fire at him again.
CRACKLE!
[Thunder Breathing - First Form: Thunderclap and Flash]!
Like a dull thunderclap exploding. Vincent's vision went blank. The next moment, a hand had seized him from behind. Kaito's breathing pattern shifted violently, a sharp pain lancing through his lungs, but he didn't pause for a second. He slammed Vincent's face into the doorframe.
CRASH!
The force was so great that the wall shook and blood splattered everywhere.
Without expression, Kaito gripped Ryuji's head and began to run, dragging his face along the entire length of the concrete hallway.
SCRRRRRAAAAAAPE…
Flesh, cement, and plaster were ground together in a horrific slurry.
"AAAAAAGH!"
Ryuji let out a shriek that barely sounded human. The sound was suddenly high-pitched and sharp.
SHREEEEE!
A violent ringing assaulted Kaito's ears. He felt the entire space around him vibrate, and blood began to pour from his ears. Ryuji slammed a fist into the wall, shattering it, and used the recoil to break free. His face, which had been ground down to the bone, was already regenerating.
Click-clack! He racked the shotgun again. He was going to kill this monster.
Click. Click!
He pulled the trigger twice, but nothing happened. He looked down and saw that a hand had already jammed the firing mechanism. Kaito was leaning backward, his ears bleeding from the sonic-based Blood Demon Art—an attack that had actually taken him by surprise.
A light flashed in Ryuji's hands. The shotgun vanished, replaced by the high-speed machine gun. Even as a white-quality weapon, at this range, it was more than enough to kill an unarmored Reincarnator. He pulled the bolt back, but then heard a massive BOOM! That monster was terrifyingly strong. He had stomped his foot, and the entire hallway floor was cracking.
Crack… CRACK!
The floor began to give way. Ryuji's pupils contracted, his heart sinking. If he fell from here, the sunlight below would kill him. He looked at the madman, his ears streaming blood, a sadistic grin on his face. Ryuji turned and dove back into his own apartment. But Kaito was faster. The instant the floor collapsed, he leaped, light as a crane, his form graceful, and landed inside the apartment a full second before Ryuji.
Ryuji scrambled back inside, heard a sound, and tried to raise his gun. A fierce wind was already upon him.
SPLAT!
Like a watermelon bursting. Kaito punched his head clean off his shoulders. Ryuji's body staggered and fell, his muscles twitching as his head slowly began to regenerate.
Kaito hadn't used Hamon to kill him. Ryuji had many bad habits, but his habit of stuffing his inventory full of rum bottles had, in a twisted way, given him this one chance. Kaito was unwilling to risk his Crimson Drop Card loot pool being polluted with a dozen bottles of cheap rum. He had given Ryuji plenty of chances to fight back.
Kaito's breathing shifted, and golden ripples of Hamon now appeared. He crouched down and, with a few light strokes of his hand-blades, as if dissecting a lab rat, he severed Ryuji's regenerating limbs and sliced open his torso.
"Now," Kaito said. "I'll talk, you listen. Understand?"
Ryuji's head had just finished reforming. The moment the Hamon-laced voice hit him, he began to scream from the searing pain. He tried to return to the Nexus, but the notification was cold and merciless.
[You are currently in a combat state. Please exit combat before returning.]
Thwack!
Kaito's fingers blurred, and he plucked one of Ryuji's eyes from its socket. Through his howls of agony, Ryuji finally nodded.
"Don't kill me… please, Tao… don't kill me…"
"Do you want to live, Ryuji?"
Within Ryuji's open chest cavity, his heart was pounding violently. Being forced to watch his own heart beat, Ryuji's pupils trembled, his face spasming. This was the human body, under extreme stimulus, beginning to lose control. Although Ryuji was, strictly speaking, no longer human, he still retained a human's reactions. Faced with the beast that had just turned him into a limbless torso, he nodded instinctively, feeling his brain matter slosh inside his not-yet-fully-healed skull.
Kaito seemed satisfied. He nodded, his signature smile returning. "Good. It seems we have a basis for a friendly conversation." He held up one finger.
"I fought a desperate battle with the Upper Ranks, and you stole the final prize. That's not right. You have to give me that medicine formula."
Ryuji barely even heard what Kaito was saying through the fog of terror. He just wanted to live. He saw the ribs and muscles in his chest begin to knit back together, only to be sliced open again by that rippling hand-blade. Damn it, this guy is the perfect counter to demons! He nodded instinctively.
"If I had killed you, I would have conservatively received 1 attribute point—I am a special Reincarnator, you know. So, you have to compensate me for that loss."
Ryuji's mind began to clear. He stared at "Mercenary Tao" standing over him. If... if I can just touch his body... I can use Doppelgänger…
Ryuji suddenly realized Kaito had stopped talking. He looked up and met his cold, pitiless gaze. The fake smile was gone. All that was left were two eyes, completely devoid of warmth. Kaito couldn't read minds. But for a man whose chest was filleted open, the flicker of his eyes, the change in his breathing, the new rhythm of his heart—it was all a dead giveaway that his prey had started thinking again.
And he didn't like it when his prey thought.
Kaito slowly raised his right foot. Ryuji suddenly felt a tearing pain in his scalp—a premonition of danger so intense it pierced his very nerves.
The next second, Kaito's breathing pattern changed. The explosive power of [Flame Breathing], combined with the overwhelming downward force of [Niko Style - Fire Kata - Raging Fire].
"Don't—"
SPLAT!
Kaito felt as if he had just stomped on a rotten melon. Its insides and foul juices sprayed everywhere. Blood instantly painted the entire room red.
Ryuji's consciousness spun. His head, which had been shot across the room like the rubber knot of a popped balloon, rolled to a stop. He watched as his own blood and viscera covered everything. The immense pain and terror finally consumed him. He didn't understand. They had been negotiating. Why…
His vision suddenly shifted. He was picked up from a corner. He looked at the Reincarnator known as "Mercenary Tao," who, despite being covered in his flesh and blood, remained completely expressionless. This guy is insane! Ryuji was now absolutely certain. Even among the abnormal standards of Reincarnators, this man was the ultimate anomaly.
"Let's continue," Kaito said. "In addition to the attribute point, I would have also gotten your proficiencies, abilities, or items. You'll be covering that loss as well. Any objections?"
Ryuji wanted to nod, but as just a head, all he could do was wobble in the man's grip. He was truly terrified. He now profoundly realized that he and this man were not the same "species." Why… why did I ever try to steal from this thing?
"No… no objections… as long as I can live, I'll give you everything…"
Kaito nodded, not responding. He simply let Ryuji's neck and chest regenerate. The moment his hands grew back, Kaito held out his own, signaling for him to hand over the items. Ryuji, looking at this monster, dared not have any other thoughts. A light flashed in his new hand, and the purple-glowing formula appeared.
[YU15169987 (Vincent) wishes to form a Nexus Covenant with you: He will give you all of his items and 80% of his Dimensional Points and Singularities. In exchange, you will be unable to perform any hostile actions against him. Accept? (Contract fee paid by the other party)]
Kaito saw the notification and frowned. Ripples of Hamon began to glow on his hand. Ryuji immediately panicked.
"A Nexus Covenant has the highest binding power! It's the only way I can be sure! Otherwise, I'd rather die!" He wasn't stupid. If he just handed everything over, he would lose all value and be killed on the spot.
Kaito still shook his head. Ryuji's heart went cold. Without a contract, he would never accept this certain-death transaction. He would have to fight…
"Amend the contract," Kaito said, as if after some consideration. "I will be unable to perform any hostile actions against you... for seven days."
Ryuji froze. The courage to fight for his life instantly vanished. After a moment's thought, he understood his opponent's logic. He's worried that the contract will prevent him from attacking me if we meet in a future mission… This consideration was perfectly rational. More importantly, it meant that Kaito was actually willing to let him go.
His heart began to beat again. He immediately amended the contract.
[YU15169987 (Vincent) wishes to form a Nexus Covenant: He will give you all of his items and 80% of his Dimensional Points and Singularities. In exchange, you will be unable to perform any hostile actions against him for the next seven days. Accept? (Contract fee paid by the other party)]
"Accept."
Ryuji watched Kaito accept the covenant and finally, truly relaxed.
[You have obtained Item: Unidentified Ancient Formula (Purple)]
[You have obtained Item: The Terminator's Shotgun (Blue)]
[You have obtained Item: The Lone Wolf's M134 (White)]
[You have obtained Item: Mediocre Rum (White) x12]
…
[You have obtained 1 C-rank Singularity.]
[You have obtained 4800 Dimensional Points.]
Ryuji lay on the floor, his mind already spinning. He had to figure out how to explain the gunshot. Maybe he could stage a gas explosion? The police would never find any firearms on him. In that case…
Suddenly, Ryuji felt a gaze on him. He looked up, his limbs still regenerating slowly. He had taken too much damage today, and his recovery speed had slowed. He saw "Mercenary Tao," who had completed the contract, still standing there, looking at him with an unreadable smile.
A sense of panic suddenly seized him. "What are you doing… We have a Covenant! You can't, in any form…"
Kaito, looking at the haul that had more than compensated for his losses, smiled in satisfaction. He generously finished his sentence for him.
"—attack you. I know."
"I have no intention of attacking you. I'm just going to… do a little remodeling. Heh."
The next moment, a fierce wind erupted in the room. Ryuji's heart, which had just started to relax, instantly stopped. A massive, new wave of terror washed over him.
Kaito turned, stepped once, and appeared on the balcony. He punched.
BOOM!
The balcony windows exploded. The thick blackout curtains were blasted out into the street. Ryuji saw the dazzling sunlight pour in and tried to scramble back. But Kaito took another step, and his body swelled into his combat form.
CRASH!
The brick and mortar wall of the apartment shattered, and the window was instantly expanded to the size of a garage door.
The sun was blinding. There was no shadow left to hide in. Kaito proceeded to kick all the remaining furniture out of the apartment. He checked his watch. 10:15 AM. Perfect sunlight. The building's lighting was, just as the ad had said, excellent.
He stepped to the side, letting the sun flood the apartment, and gave a little wave to Ryuji, who was already beginning to burn.
"I won't break our covenant. You should know, I am a man who respects the rules."
"AAAAAAAGH!"
Ryuji dissolved into ash under the pure, unfiltered sunlight.
Kaito saw no kill notification, nor did a Crimson Drop Card appear. Because this, of course, was not his kill. The target had been killed by the sun.
Kaito looked down at the bloodstains on his clothes, frowning. He walked to the bathroom, whose outer wall he had also demolished, turned on the shower, and rinsed himself off. After washing away the filth, he took a clean, lightweight t-shirt and shorts from his inventory, put them on, and then placed a single black card in the center of the pile of ash.
He then deleted the building's security footage from his laptop, turned, and leaped from the seventh-floor balcony, disappearing into the woods below.
An hour later, Kaito Shirogane, his clothes soaked in what looked like sweat, finished the Hakone National Marathon in the top 100. After eating his fill at a seafood buffet, he boarded the high-speed train back home.
He had no idea that back in Umikaze, in the middle of a city-wide manhunt, Inspector Sato had just received an urgent message from the Hakone special department.
"A black card has been found at a gruesome combat site in the Hakone Industrial Park. The scene is horrific. Suspected Reincarnator involvement."
The news spread. All the Reincarnators who had gathered in Umikaze stopped what they were doing. The tense, ready-to-explode atmosphere in the city instantly dissipated.
Another [Card] had appeared? Or... had [Phantom Sword] faked his death, luring them all to Umikaze while he went to Hakone? A flood of conflicting information had, for a moment, resolved the Umikaze crisis. That same day, all three high-risk observation targets left for Hakone, allowing Sato to finally breathe a sigh of relief. That suspected Great Sin Reincarnator, in particular, had made him extremely uneasy.
Kaito returned to Binhai University that night, dutifully reporting his trip to both his counselor and to Mizuki. Neither of them found anything unusual. A black sedan, which had been watching the university, also drove away.
Kaito returned to his dorm, locked the door, closed the windows, and immediately entered the Nexus. He was preparing to get the formula appraised when he suddenly received a special offer on a pending trade.
[OFFER: Be careful of Moon Fiend. He knows your approximate identity info. - From: PR334587XX (The Professor)]
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Guys We cross the 400 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 500 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
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