Chapter 101: Return
[Reincarnator Ex051 has regained consciousness.]
[Main Quest complete. You have overstayed your time in this mission world. Deducting 1 E-rank Singularity and 3350 Dimensional Points.]
[Please return immediately.]
Kaito Shirogane looked at Geto Suguru and Shoko Ieiri, who were standing over him, and he finally understood his situation. He was currently in a bathtub, his body swollen to the point of bursting. He tried to move, but a sharp, intense pain shot through his bones and muscles.
"You're alive, but I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you."
Shoko Ieiri had already quit smoking and was now sucking on a lollipop. Her gaze was cold, as if she were looking at a corpse that would sooner or later be back on her operating table. Following her gaze, Kaito looked down at his own body. His frame, swollen to over two meters, was now covered in black, serpentine markings, as if countless spirits were crawling just beneath his skin.
Tsk. Even with Kaito's iron-clad will, seeing his own body in this state made him scowl. That Lord Taizan Fukun really did turn my body into a containment unit.
"I've cross-referenced your condition with every book in Kyoto," Shoko continued. "There's no record of anything like this. I only found one similar description, in an ancient text that came from the birthplace of Onmyōdō."
"A body irrigated by the Underworld, home to ten thousand spirits. A vessel the mortal world cannot contain."
"You're a real quack, you know that?" Kaito mocked her. "Giving your patient a death sentence just like that."
He ignored her and opened his personal status panel. For a Reincarnator, nothing was more trustworthy than the Nexus's own judgment. It was the only accurate measure of his own condition.
[Karma Reincarnator - EX051]
[Codename: Mercenary Tao (Changeable)]
[Equipped Milestone: Genocider]
[Lineage: Human (Mythical, Myriad) - Body of Ten Thousand Spirits from the Underworld] (Special constitution, can be anchored at the Goddess's Sanctum)
[Talent: Primal Gene Lock - Stage Two (Extreme) (Similarity 73%) (A+);
Absolute Territory - Ultimate Power (Similarity 70%) (A)]
[Proficiencies: Martial Arts Aptitude Lv4 (3+1); Street Fighting Lv3, Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv5, Footwork Lv5 (Crane)]
[Foundational Attributes] Strength: 17 (15+2) Agility: 17 (15+2) Constitution: 13 (15+2-4) (Underworld Erosion Status) Spirit: 11 (14+1-4) (Spirit Curse Status) Energy: ? (Special constitution, cannot be anchored)
[Assets]
Singularities: 1 A-rank; 1 B-rank; 1 C-rank
Dimensional Points: 11,300
Items: Secret Trove: Cursed Blood Origin (Purple-Extreme); Misfortune's Knock (Blue); The Terminator's Grip (Blue); Precious Gemstone (Special); Emblem of Shinto (Blue); Weapon ARM: Psychic Rings x2…]
[Rank: Mortal-tier, Low (Anomalous)] (Reincarnator detected to have solo-killed a [Strong]-tier target. Anomaly qualification granted. Please see the Rank Management Office for details.)
This… Kaito saw that not only had his lineage been altered, but he had also gained a "special constitution." He had only ever heard of such things in passing at the bazaar, but he had filed the information away. In the high-tier regions of the Nexus, where worlds with immense power levels existed, some special, powerful individuals possessed unique constitutions due to their bloodlines. Things like the "Sacred Bodies," "Divine Physiques," and "Dao Bodies" from novels... they all theoretically existed and could be obtained. He had never thought he would be judged as having one.
Looking at his stats, his Constitution and Spirit were both suffering from a severe debuff, each lowered by 4 points—a massive penalty. But in exchange, his Energy attribute had become an unquantifiable question mark. This likely meant his new body, and the Underworld spirits he had absorbed, would now be expressed in the form of Energy.
At that moment, the Reincarnator mark on his right hand began to burn. Kaito knew it was the penalty. If a Reincarnator deliberately overstayed in a mission world, the Nexus would begin to deduct resources to pay for it. If the Reincarnator ran out of resources to pay the fee, they would be unceremoniously annihilated.
"By the way, Geto," Kaito said, "did you find that boy I told you about?" He didn't forget to poke at the thousand-year-old sorcerer. He was certain there was a high-level hidden quest connected to Yuji Itadori. It was just a shame that he had been knocked unconscious by the Taizan Fukun Ritual, wasting all his mission time.
Geto shook his head. "I sent people to the district you mentioned. It seems it was also attacked. We found traces of Onmyōdō. The boy and the thousand-year-old sorcerer you spoke of are both gone."
Kaito nodded, inwardly annoyed. The trail of the Onmyōji hadn't gone completely cold. He might have been able to find more of the materials for his [Cursed Blood Origin] formula.
"Well, whatever. Mr. Geto, would you mind giving me some space to change?"
Shoko left first. Geto looked at Kaito for a long moment, then turned and left the room.
Kaito's original plan, after hijacking the ritual, had been to "clean up" everyone—Geto included—to maximize his chances of getting more Crimson Drop Cards. But now, he had no such thoughts. It wasn't just because he was severely injured. He couldn't understand why Geto hadn't killed him while he was unconscious. In the ritual, they had been direct competitors.
Perhaps, Kaito mused, Geto's obsession with power isn't strong enough. Is this the reason his 'purity' is insufficient?
A number of new theories surfaced, and these theories stayed his killing intent.
"Return."
Kaito's body dissolved into a stream of silver data, vanishing from the sealed-off hospital room.
Outside the Star Religious Group headquarters, Geto looked at Shoko.
"Heh. Even the beast has lost interest in preying on me," he said, a self-deprecating smile on his face. "I really am a weakling."
He looked up at the sky. A squadron of helicopters, all bearing the Stars and Stripes, was descending over Kyoto. He was now being propped up as the "Savior" by the new government, forced to keep living. The real powerhouses had already, in their own ways, completed their missions.
["The one who can protect the weak, that is what makes them strong."]
Geto Suguru raised one hand to the sky and one to the earth, mimicking the pose from a distant memory. He suddenly laughed at himself.
"We... are the strongest… Heh."