Chapter 78: CH 77

Chapter 77 – Open Door

I see. So that was why I didn’t see any zombies. If one showed up, there was no way that we would have left it alone when they were capable of sharing vision with him.

He was a very cautious and prepared guy. For as long as I had known him, he had always been smart.

“But what I’m curious about is how you teamed up with that owl. How did that happen? That strength… isn’t that a monster? Why would a monster be working with you…!? Ah right, is it because of that woman?” (Ryudou)

His excellent powers of deduction led him to the truth so quickly that it was astonishing.

“Who the hell is that woman? I’ve investigated her many times, but I’ve never been able to figure anything out about her background.” (Ryudou)

Ryudou’s smile faded as he stared at Sol, his brows furrowed in displeasure.

For this guy, everything had to be planned and sitting in the palm of his hand. He always controlled his opponents and secured absolute victory over them. And that was because he had all the information in advance and was ready to deal with whatever happened.

So this guy knew before fighting whether or not he’d win. No, it was more like if he couldn’t win, then he wouldn’t fight. From our first meeting onwards, I had never won against this guy when it came to strategy.

If it was a simple brawl without any strategy, I would be the stronger one. But ever since we were kids and even after we grew up, he had never randomly picked a fight with me.

Thinking back on it, the only time I’d ever beaten this guy outright was in our rivalry in pursuing Tomoe. For Ryudou, who always had a deliberately laid out plan, the only element in all of this that was causing him anxiety was Komon and her familiars.

This was the reason why I didn’t bring Komon into this until the very last minute. After hearing rumors about Komon and seeing whether or not I could rely on her, I did a lot of investigation into her on my own. I didn’t tell my boys, and I also didn’t mention it to Chake either.

Without telling anyone until the very last minute, I then set out to invite her just as the time limit was approaching. We were lucky to have gotten a hold of Torimoto, but thanks to him, the negotiations went smoothly.

This made it so that Ryudou had as little time to investigate Komon as possible.

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“So that woman can command monsters? That woman… don’t tell me she’s a skill user?” (Ryudou)

Ryudou took his gaze off of Sol and turned to look at me. When I responded with, ‘who knows?’, his face was colored with disappointment.

“Tch… well, whatever. That owl is one thing, but a slightly stronger-than-normal human won’t be able to beat Kuroki. And from the looks of it, it seems that this owl won’t come at me directly. With how strong that owl is… If it wanted to kill me, it would have done so a lot earlier.” (Ryudou)

This guy saw through everything. He was exactly right, so I couldn’t argue with him.

“You’re so fucking naïve. You probably told that woman that it was your own duty to kill me, so don’t interfere with him or something like that, didn’t you?” (Ryudou)

“…So what if I did?” (Kuzuhara)

“Nah, I’m just confirming the present situation… It’s just relieving to see that you’re just as sickeningly straight-laced of a bastard as always.” (Ryudou)

“……” (Kuzuhara)

“Anyways, that word ‘evil’ on your back. The hell is that? You tryna pose as the protagonist of a tragic drama or somethin’?” (Ryudou)

“…It’s my resolve.” (Kuzuhara)

“Kuhahah! Resolve? Resolve, you said?! Kuahahahah! Don’t make me fucking laugh, Kuzuhara! There’s no way a guy like you can bear the weight of evil.” (Ryudou)

Ryudou continued to laugh in a mocking tone.

“You can’t even protect what you want, and you make a group of wishy-washy idiots who act like they’re playing house and don’t even do anything. How can that be considered evil?! You don’t even know what real evil is! ” (Ryudou)

“…It sounds like you’re trying to say that you’re the one who’s evil.” (Kuzuhara)

This guy, who seemed to be the very essence of evil, was chosen by the times in some sense.

“…What you’re saying might be right. But you know…” (Kuzuhara)

“What?” (Ryudou)

“…Today, I’m here to settle things.” (Kuzuhara)

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“Haah? Settle things?” (Ryudou)

“It’s my fault that you became like this. You… How many people have you killed so far?” (Kuzuhara)

“Dunno… I’ve never counted.” (Ryudou)

When I was trying to settle things with this guy in the past, I had naturally looked into him in detail. I found that he had connections to the yakuza and mafia, and many people had been sent to their deaths because of him.

Some of them were even innocent children. He raped women, treated them like slaves, and lived an unfettered life in a world filled with money and violence. He used to be a pure, innocent child who would always cling to me and Tomoe back in the day, but…

He must have lost faith in everything. The only people he had trusted were me and Tomoe. But Tomoe died because of me, and in the end, I couldn’t keep my promise to Ryudou.

He must have been cast into total despair and wanted to make his memories of our times together disappear by throwing himself into the world of darkness. It was no one other than me who had made Ryudou degenerate into a hopeless piece of trash.

It felt as if all the people who had died because of him were indirectly killed by me. Therefore, if he was evil, then I was also evil. That was why I engraved this word onto my back.

“….I said it before, and I’ll say it again. Today, I will kill you. I’ll really kill you, Ryudou.” (Kuzuhara)

Of course, that was the giant ogres. If we didn’t deal with them first, we couldn’t destroy the Core.

But at that moment, the red giant ogre that Sol was fighting crumpled down on one knee and supported itself with its hand on the ground. Sol looked exhausted, but the red giant ogre had wounds all over its body.

Sol really is incredible!

Although they were both B-Rank monsters, Sol was just a cut above the rest. It wouldn’t be long before Sol finished off the red giant ogre. After that, it would be more manageable if everyone were to concentrate their attacks on the blue giant ogre.

At the moment that Sol was about to plunge towards the red giant ogre for the last blow… Suddenly, the humongous door in the back of the room began to open.

For a moment, we all stared in shock, not knowing what was happening. Even Ryudou was staring at the door with a puzzled expression on his face, unable to understand the meaning of this.

We hadn’t yet defeated the giant ogres that were the gatekeepers. In situations like this, I had assumed that the key was to defeat them in order to open the door.

We watched with bated breath as the door slowly swung open with a low, rumbling ‘gugugugu’ sound.

The double door opened completely. In the room, we saw a glittering pedestal. And on top of that solemn, majestic pedestal, there was a bright red crystal shaped like an egg, placed there on display like a work of art.

“Is that… the Core?” I muttered to myself. At that moment, a fiendish smile spread across Ryudou’s face, and he started running towards the Core.

“Shit! I can’t let him have it!” (Kuzuhara)

But in the next moment, the Core suddenly floated up and flew towards us.

Ryudou and I both stopped in our tracks, bewildered by the unexpected situation. The Core floated up high into the air. With a dull glitter, something that looked like tentacles sprouted out of it.

It wasn’t aimed at us, but the two giant ogres. The giant ogres didn’t show any signs of evading, and they were entangled by the tentacles, lifted up, and pulled towards the Core.

As soon as the giant ogres both touched the Core, a radiant light burst out, forcing us to avert our eyes.

In that dazzling light, the Core gradually transformed. Once the light converged to a point, we were met with an astonishing sight.

―Dogyaaaahh!

It landed on the ground, creating an impact that felt as if a meteor had fallen right next to us.

The creature’s entire body was dyed jet black, and its eyes were crimson, dotted with azure pupils. Its body, covered in an intimidating steel-like luster, loomed at about 10 meters in height. There was a single horn protruding from its head, which was bigger than any I had ever seen. Its massive, Yakushima cedar-like arms were each wielding a red and blue metal club respectively.

(TL: Yakushima cedar – a species of tree that grows on Yakushima Island, most of which are over 1,000 years old. Some older trees have lived for over 2,000 years, naturally giving them a reputation for their thickness.)

We stood frozen and speechless at the sudden appearance of the new monster. We were so mesmerized by its intimidating presence that we could only stare at it like a deer in headlights.

And then…

“A black…ogre? …! Get away from there, Kuzuhara-san!”

Sol was the first to speak out.

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