Pure Malice

"Wait!"

Bai Yuze suddenly called out, stopping Yukino in her tracks.

"What is it?"

Yukino looked puzzled. They weren't in a hurry to move on, so did he want to take a "sulfuric acid bath"?

"Some wild little brats have spawned."

From Bai Yuze's perspective, a wooden bucket filled with liquid was floating directly ahead of them. Two childlike figures, almost transparent, were carrying it.

Bai Yuze knew that the bucket contained a corrosive liquid, and there was enough of it to dissolve a person completely—not even leaving bone fragments behind.

"I hate little brats the most."

As he spoke, Bai Yuze raised his flashlight and shone it at them.

The instant the beam fell on the two children, they dissolved into specks of light and vanished.

Clang!

With nothing supporting it, the bucket fell straight to the ground. The liquid spilled out, mixing with the water on the floor and sizzling.

"What pure malice!"

Yukino exclaimed. They looked like toddlers who had only just learned to walk, yet their malice toward others surpassed that of the adult ghosts.

"Children's evil is the purest. It has nothing to do with conflicting interests—just simple emotional hatred. They won't feel the slightest remorse, even after taking someone's life. They cry because they know they're about to get beaten."

"You know a lot about this. So, do you like children?"

"I don't know. But I do know I hate little brats. I can't put up with them for even a second. When I see one, I want to strangle it. Throw it into a cesspit to use as fuel."

He remembered an unpleasant experience. To sum it up, some relatives had come over, he'd gone out to take care of something, and a little brat had gone into his room... Something like that.

Those few words captured Bai Yuze's lifelong pain.

"Mm. You're pretty genuine, at least. You're not good at pretending."

Yukino smiled slightly. She thought little brats were uncivilized monkeys, and their parents—who could produce and raise such incredible creatures—were no less than useless.

"No, I still feel like those brats aren't willing to let this go. We should stay on our guard. Take the flashlight and try to shine it over every bit of space ahead of us."

You couldn't afford to let your guard down around little brats, and ghostly brats deserved even more attention. He didn't want to die at the hands of a bunch of children.

"Okay, understood."

Yukino took the flashlight and continued walking. Bai Yuze followed behind, still dragging the corpse, and picked up the wooden bucket as well.

Nothing strange happened along the way, but Bai Yuze knew this was only the calm before the storm.

"We're here. That's the Green Gate."

Yukino pointed to a Green Gate beside the corridor. Bai Yuze frowned. The Green Gate... looked a little faded?!

Yukino had just started to approach when Bai Yuze grabbed her and pulled her back.

"What's wrong? Is something happening?"

Yukino immediately went on high alert. She'd spent enough time with Bai Yuze to know he wasn't one to joke around.

"Take a few steps back."

Bai Yuze picked up the bucket and scooped up a little water from the floor. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

He lifted the bucket and splashed the water onto the door. It sizzled, and then the green faded away, leaving only a deep crimson surface.

"This is... the Red Gate?!"

Yukino froze. A Green Gate that large had turned into a Red Gate just like that. And both she and Bai Yuze had been able to see it. It would've made sense if she alone had been mistaken, but there was no way they could both have imagined it.

Bai Yuze thought for a moment. Then, as if struck by an idea, he took the flashlight from Yukino.

He immediately turned it around and set it to maximum brightness, shining it at his own face.

A scream came from above him. When he turned around, he saw a baby crawling on the floor.

This time, it wasn't so lucky. Bai Yuze pinned it to the ground with a flying knife.

The baby let out an unbearable shriek. Bai Yuze stepped forward and crushed its head beneath his foot.

The world fell silent.

"What are you doing? Why did you suddenly throw a knife at the floor?"

Yukino's voice rang out. Bai Yuze was about to answer when he saw a baby riding on Yukino's shoulders, its hands covering her eyes.

"I see. No wonder we got lost. So this was your doing!"

Bai Yuze switched on the flashlight and gave Yukino a dose of the light too. The baby fell to the ground as soon as it touched the beam, and Bai Yuze dispatched it without hesitation.

"When did they latch on to us?"

Yukino shuddered with fear. She couldn't help touching her neck, worried that something might still be riding on her.

"They were probably there while we were talking. They even arranged a whole scheme to protect the two ghost babies riding on our shoulders."

Bai Yuze had seen through the babies' intentions and tactics. First, they'd blocked Bai Yuze's vision to carry out their plan. Then they'd arranged for the ghost babies carrying the bucket to appear, and at that moment, the ghost baby on Bai Yuze's shoulders had let go of his eyes so he'd believe there was nothing wrong with his vision.

After Bai Yuze took care of the two ghost babies carrying the bucket, the ghost baby on his shoulders had covered his eyes again. This made it easier for the ghost baby that came afterward to cover Yukino's eyes.

That had made their plan all the more flawless. After all, who would suspect their own eyes? Especially enhanced eyes.

Bai Yuze couldn't help marveling at the ghost babies' intelligence. They'd realized his eyes could see them because he'd once suddenly switched on his flashlight and attacked while they were in their own visionless perspective. And the later scene of Bai Yuze fighting the Male Corpse in the dark had confirmed that his eyes were extraordinary.

So they'd come up with this plan to kill Yukino and Bai Yuze.

But Bai Yuze had stayed on guard, and he'd also occasionally listened to ghost stories to fall asleep in his previous life. Those two things had made him wonder whether something nasty was covering his eyes as it rode on his shoulders.

Fortunately, Bai Yuze had kept his wits about him. Otherwise, he and Yukino would've been done for.

"You damn little shits! If I don't get revenge, I'll go leave a five-star review for Three Kingdoms Kill!"

Bai Yuze laughed in fury. Yukino didn't understand the second half of what he'd said, but she could tell he was angry.

Just then... the Red Gate opened slowly by itself, without anyone pushing it...