Volume Five: Returned from Beyond the Shore - Someone's Bargaining Chip

"Wait a minute, there's more than that, there's also the Truth Incantation!"

"Don't mention that little slut to me!"

I was suddenly yelled at.

"... ah?"

"Ah! I'm so sorry, my Husband! I was just a little excited!"

You don't seem to have any intention of apologizing at all; instead, you look like you want to eat someone alive.

"Honestly, just hearing her name is like smelling her stinky rotten fish! What a hypocrite, she's nothing but a cheap little bitch!"

This child has no manners at all; he swears constantly.

"She's the ill-mannered one! What 'symbol of holiness and order'? Bah! She's clearly full of bad intentions but pretends to be high and mighty. What's with all the pretense? With her skinny noodle figure and flat chest and butt that could be used as a washboard, she still flaunts herself in front of me! All she spouts is that empty, pretentious nonsense! What holiness, what order, what about suppressing human desires according to heavenly principles, and that the ultimate pleasure of following one's instincts is the only way! The only truth! That bitch even told me—uh..."

"... What did I say to you?"

"She even hypocritically said, 'Luo-chan, let's stop fighting and be friends' -- what kind of nonsense is that! Who would be friends with her! There's a limit to how much you can be two-faced!"

Why do I feel like they're being sincere...?

"She even said something like, 'Although we won't be a whole anymore, let's still cling to each other and continue to exist,' ugh, ugh, ugh, disgusting! Clinging to each other = two people sticking together = sex, she actually thinks she can [beep--] me while existing forever, she's so arrogant! Who does she think she is!"

Why do I think "snuggling" here means supporting each other...

"Even when the 'door' completely split apart, it was still yelling, 'I'm afraid we have to separate, please, Luo-chan, at least remember my existence' -- What the hell is that! It finally got rid of me, but it still wants to occupy my memories? It's absolutely insane!"

You're the only one who has no right to call others heartless and insane.

"And what's more, fifteen hundred years ago, when the Divine Law Cult and the Rakshasa Divine Sect were at odds, that guy seemed to be constantly trying to find out where I was! Couldn't she be at ease until she witnessed my destruction? How despicable!"

Enough, stop talking. I'm genuinely feeling sorrow for the Truth Incantation right now. What a pitiful child.

No, I can't keep arguing with her. I squinted at the wilderness in front of me. I could clearly see the mountains in the distance, and I had a feeling I was about to get lost.

Etc.

Have they gotten lost?

I really regretted not bringing sunglasses, essential for long drives. My eyes had been exposed to the sun for too long and were starting to hurt. A strange unease began to creep in. I slowed down and looked down again at the map I'd almost memorized—an old map from over two hundred years ago. According to the markings, Dunwich Village wasn't far, but I couldn't find it...

Did the Papacy not only massacre the villagers, but also raz the entire village to the ground? That's possible. If they really did that, two hundred years have passed, and there would definitely be nothing left.

"... Um?"

Just a few dozen meters in front of me, a horse-drawn carriage appeared.

Pulled by snow-white horses, the white carriage was adorned with gold ornaments and had beautiful curtains embroidered with golden crosses hanging on the sides.

It appears to be a carriage transporting a very important dignitary.

When did it appear? How did it appear? We have no idea.

Before I knew it, the carriage had already passed by my vehicle.

I couldn't help but turn my head, ignoring the question in my ear, "Husband, what are you looking at?", and followed the carriage forward—in that instant, time seemed to slow down.

The wind lifted the curtains of the carriage, and like a slow-motion video, the profile of a young girl appeared beneath the swaying curtains.

A face so familiar, so terrifyingly familiar.

I felt terrified; my heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode, but I couldn't control myself and could only fix my gaze on the girl's face.

The girl seemed to sense something, slowly turning her head to meet my gaze—just before that,

Time resumed its flow.

The carriage disappeared.

Outside the car window, there was only wasteland and sandstorms.

The horse, the carriage, the curtains, the girl—none of them ever existed in the first place.

"... Husband, Husband? What's wrong?"

Luo-chan blinked her bright red eyes, looking on with curiosity.

Didn't she see anything?

--Or is this an image passed down through blood that only I can see?

"... It's nothing, but I think I know the way. This way."

I slightly turned the steering wheel and sped off in the direction the carriage had come from.

This is an old, concrete room.

The old, mottled cement floor, the scratched wooden cabinets, the books piled in the corner, the creaking ceiling fan, the dark fluorescent light tubes at both ends, and the white paint peeling off the walls, most of which are covered by yellowed old newspapers. To the left is a half-open old glass window, letting in an exaggerated glow of the setting sun; to the right is an old-fashioned screen door covered in rust, through which you can see the dimly lit hallway outside, with small advertisements stuffed into the gaps in the screen.

It's like a corner of an old residential building from thirty years ago, or a temporary stop for migrant workers in the city.

At this moment, the owner of this house is sitting on a rusty iron-framed bed, his head resting on worn-out bedding, staring at a point in the void.

He was a man who looked to be about twenty-five years old—or rather, a young man. He had a head of messy white hair that gave the impression of old age and weakness. His originally handsome face was mostly ruined by his sallow skin. Underneath his old brown T-shirt was a thin body suffering from malnutrition. His right eye was a cloudy dark gray, and his left eye had no pupil; it was an empty black hole.

"A new anomaly has emerged, seemingly even more pure than that of Jili and Ye..."

Yusuo Zai himself. After a while, his eyes seemed tired, so he rubbed them. Strangely, even though he didn't have a left eye, he still scratched the empty eye socket twice with his hand.

Within the dark eye sockets, something invisible seemed to be wriggling.

Ta-da--

Footsteps echoed from the stairwell outside. The sound was like leather boots, and the echoes, amplified and stretched, reverberated in the empty stairwell, which was honestly a little creepy.

The footsteps stopped outside the house, and then a clattering sound came from the doorway, like someone was kneading plastic.

Yusuo Zai scratched his head and called out, "The doorbell broke again a couple of days ago. Next time, just knock."

As he spoke, he stood up to open the door, his overly thin legs beneath his old jeans looking as if they might break at any moment.

With a click, the door opened. Yusuo Zai didn't react in any special way to the sudden visitor; he simply stepped aside to let him into the room.

Yusuo Zai's reaction was extremely slow, but such calmness was abnormal in the face of such a guest.

The newcomer was a tall man. Yusuo Zai himself was over 1.8 meters tall, yet he was still half a head shorter than the newcomer. The man was dressed in an impeccably tailored black suit and white shirt, and wore a top hat commonly worn by European men in the 1930s and 40s. His long bangs completely covered his eyes, and the raised collar covered the lower half of his face, together completely isolating him from the outside world.

But what really caught people's attention wasn't his attire, but what he was carrying on his back.

Sniper rifle.

To be precise, it was an FR-F1 sniper rifle, developed in the 1960s, but still widely used today; it is a very classic sniper rifle.

"You seem to really enjoy coming here lately, 'the Demon with a sniper rifle'."

"I apologize for your rudeness, great, sublime, invincible 'White-haired one-eyed demon' sir."

"It's neither great nor invincible, and that title is outdated. Please have a seat. I'm sorry, we only have tap water here; there's no tea or coffee. Would you like something to drink?"

"No need... What are you looking at?"

"Something interesting has been discovered. A woman named Nirilis has been identified as a remarkable anomalous factor; although still an infant, her potential is limitless."

"You have very high standards when it comes to 'chips' (equity/capital)."

"It's better to take this kind of thing seriously."

"Are you going to meet her?"

"Let's wait a bit. After all, we already have Jili and Ye on our side, so it's best not to worry about too many people... By the way, what brings you here? I forgot to ask."

"It's Ye."

The cold, flat voice made Yusuo Zai raise his eyebrows slightly.

"... What's wrong with her? Never mind, I'll just go see her."

He squinted, and when he opened his eyes again, those dark gray eyes looked even more lifeless, as if he were looking at something else.

"Ah... I see. Has she gotten this close? Is the legacy of Dunwich Village, the adventures of Al Warrensding, about to be repeated? What an incredible journey of tracing one's roots..."

Yusuo Zai pondered for a moment, then made a decision.

"Although I trust her, I really don't want anything to happen to her... It's about time."

The Demon with a sniper rifle was taken Yusuo Zai standing up.

"Are you going to contact her directly?"

"We've met in dreams, so formal contact is inevitable; it's just a matter of time. I hope she can listen carefully to my explanation. The matter of Jili, his true purpose, the affairs of the other fragments of the human realm, the borderlands... and of course," Yusuo Zai looked at the Demon with a sniper rifle, "And the matter of 'you' demons."

"It's a matter for 'us' demons."

"I've long since broken the ironclad rule of equivalent exchange; I'm no longer a demon, as you know."

Well then, goodbye—just before he waved goodbye.

"Wait, sir, the main point I have to make today is something else entirely, not Ye."

"...?"

"A few days ago, a new demon was born, a demon transformed from a human, filling the previous vacancy. Thanks to her, we have returned to being 665 individuals, excluding the one position you occupied."

"Stop being mysterious, you're here to tell me who that person is, right?"

"It seems to be an old acquaintance of yours."

"..."

For the first time, Yusuo Zai showed a troubled expression.

"After being separated for so long, she actually came to be a demon, or is 'becoming a new demon' her own wish... Honestly, it doesn't seem right to just leave it alone, but there's nothing else I can do. Oh well, let's just pretend this never happened."

The words had barely left his mouth when, in the instant the Demon with a sniper rifle shifted his gaze away from him—

Just like deleting a layer directly in image editing software, Yusuo Zai has vanished without a trace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What? You're asking me who Nirilis is? I'm not going to tell you she's the main character in the new book.

I have a strong urge to start a new project, but reason tells me not to risk ruining the old one since it's not finished. So I've held back, only occasionally writing a few hundred words in private.