Dating Caster

Wang Xiaoming stood to the side, watching Ryunosuke Uryu with cold eyes. He didn't doubt for a second that Ryunosuke would turn the knife on himself next, but...

Wang Xiaoming glanced at Ryunosuke and quietly fished a roll of film out of his coat pocket. He swapped out the film in his camera that recorded Ryunosuke's crimes and tucked it into the inner lining of his coat.

"The film in a field reporter's hands is as essential as the bullets in a soldier's."

Wang Xiaoming recalled the advice given to him by that friend whose name we still don't know.

Looks like we won't be meeting up after all~ He even said we'd grab a drink together once he got back...

Wang Xiaoming sighed, hoping the Fuyuki police were actually competent. With this roll of film as evidence, it would be nice if they could at least award him a commendation for honorary citizenship after he kicked the bucket.

"Right!"

Ryunosuke slapped his forehead suddenly, then looked at Wang Xiaoming and said, "Wang-san, please rest assured, I won't lay a hand on you."

After saying this, Ryunosuke Uryu opened the door to another room and walked inside, leaving Wang Xiaoming alone in the living room, completely bewildered.

You're leaving me here alone—aren't you afraid I'll run away?

Should I run?

Should I actually run?

Just as Wang Xiaoming was still agonizing over whether to flee, Ryunosuke emerged from the room, dragging a boy of about eight or nine years old by his right hand, muttering to himself:

"I originally intended to use you as a [welcome gift] for the Demon, but I suddenly ran out of paint. What a pity."

Ryunosuke Uryu's words sent a chill through Wang Xiaoming's entire body. Was this man planning to kill this child, too?!

Looking at the terror in the boy's eyes, Wang Xiaoming couldn't even imagine it—if this child were to die right in front of him... To witness a child being brutally murdered while standing by and doing nothing, such a thing... such a thing...

[What kind of joke is this!]

Wang Xiaoming felt the blood rush to his head. Overcome with emotion, he blurted out: "Stop!"

"Hm? What's wrong?"

Ryunosuke, who had been holding the boy down and finding the right spot to strike, froze the moment he heard Wang Xiaoming's voice. He looked up and stared at Wang Xiaoming, his bloodthirsty gaze making Wang Xiaoming shiver uncontrollably.

"..."

Wang Xiaoming opened his mouth, but the words died on his tongue.

What was he supposed to say? Put the child down? Don't be ridiculous! This madman didn't seem like the type to take suggestions from anyone.

"Wang-san?" Seeing Wang Xiaoming racking his brain to come up with a reason to save the boy, Ryunosuke muttered with some disappointment: "I thought Wang-san might have some interesting suggestions..."

Give me a break, I'm not a serial killer, how the hell would I have any suggestions!

"I've got it!"

Ryunosuke suddenly grew excited. He tossed the child aside, ignoring him, and walked toward Wang Xiaoming with the knife in his hand.

Holy crap, you bastard, you said you weren't going to kill me!

Watching Ryunosuke approach with the blade, Wang Xiaoming felt a surge of panic. No one could stay calm when facing death.

But Wang Xiaoming never expected that Ryunosuke would actually hand the knife to him. Gripping the heavy blade, the words that reached Wang Xiaoming's ears were:

"Wang-san, why don't you do it for me!"

Chapter 06. For Justice

"Wang-san, why don't you do it for me!"

Looking at the eager expression on Ryunosuke Uryu's face, Wang Xiaoming was completely stunned. How could such a thing even happen?

Wang Xiaoming felt that he would never be able to understand the thought process of this lunatic in this lifetime.

Watching these children walk toward the end of their lives in terror—the feeling is just wonderful! Although I'm a bit reluctant, in order to let Wang-san truly understand my art, I'll leave this opportunity to you!

Ryunosuke was quite smug about his own brainstorm: "Yes, that's it!"

Give me a break, if you hand me the knife, the first thing I'm going to do is kill you, obviously! Wang Xiaoming thought to himself, glancing at the standard kitchen meat cleaver in his hand.

Wait!

Wang Xiaoming looked down at the cleaver in his hand once more. The silver blade was stained with dried blood, which seemed to cry out like the accusations of vengeful spirits, listing every one of Ryunosuke Uryu's crimes.

In that moment, Wang Xiaoming knew he wasn't alone! Behind him stood the souls of countless victims brutally murdered by Ryunosuke Uryu!

Wang Xiaoming raised the knife and launched a righteous charge at Ryunosuke Uryu!

For justice!

"Ugh!"

Doubled over on the ground, trying to curl his body up against the pain in his abdomen, Wang Xiaoming felt like he was about to vomit his dinner from the night before.

Ryunosuke Uryu looked at Wang Xiaoming with a disappointed expression, then shook his head and said, "Wang-san, you've disappointed me." He then bent down to pick up the knife Wang Xiaoming had dropped, walked unsteadily over to him, and said, "Wang-san, you are still too weak for me."

In reality, the scene that just occurred went like this:

Wang Xiaoming had charged at Ryunosuke with the knife; the distance was covered in the blink of an eye.

He was close! If he just put some force into his right hand and thrust the blade forward! This nightmare could finally end!

Even Wang-san was surprised; he felt that the development of this situation seemed... a bit too smooth? It was only then that he noticed the corners of Ryunosuke Uryu's mouth tilting upward, revealing what looked like a mocking smile.

The smile, set against the gloomy surroundings, made Wang-san feel as if the blood in his entire body had frozen.

Ryunosuke Uryu transformed his palm into a hand-blade and struck the wrist joint of Wang-san's right hand. The knife in Wang-san's hand fell instantly, and then, crouching slightly, Ryunosuke used his other hand—which hadn't been idle—to clench into a fist and hammer it fiercely into Wang-san's abdomen!

With just that one blow, Wang-san was K.O.'d by Ryunosuke.

Too weak, too weak, too weak.

Ryunosuke Uryu's words lingered in Wang-san's ears like the whispers of a Demon. It left a bitter taste in his heart; he figured he was going to meet his end here today.

Clang!

Ryunosuke threw the knife in front of Wang-san once again, his voice sounding somewhat impatient as it reached his ears: "Wang-san, I'll give you one more chance. You must seize it; please go and kill that child! And also..."

Ryunosuke approached Wang-san again, crouched down, and reached into the inner lining of his clothes to rummage around, before waving the results in front of Wang-san as if showing off.

"Wang-san, don't try to be clever anymore."

In Ryunosuke's hand was, quite clearly, the roll of film that Wang-san had secretly hidden earlier!

"..."

Struggling to climb up from the ground and picking up the knife, Wang-san walked toward the child with a hunched back.

Watching this man with a knife walk toward him, one step, two steps... the boy's eyes welled up with tears due to terror.

Wang-san finally reached the front of the boy. Regardless of his posture, he sat down on the ground and pulled the iron bucket used for collecting blood to his side. Then, he reached out and patted the boy's head.

But from the perspective of Ryunosuke, who was standing behind Wang-san, it looked like: Wang-san was reaching out to find a spot to plunge the knife!

"Haha, that's right! Wang-san, just like that, aim for the artery and stab it in! Then you'll be able to see the beautiful sight of blood spraying everywhere! If you pierce a vein, that's fine too~ Appreciating the way blood gurgles out of a wound is also a kind of enjoyment~"

Ryunosuke narrowed his eyes in a state of intoxication, his mind already simulating the boy's gaze as the blood drained away, shifting from terror to listlessness and finally to emptiness...

Compared to those adults who showed all sorts of ugly expressions before death, children are definitely the best!!!

Seeing Wang-san reach out his "claws" toward him, the boy closed his eyes in despair. However, he felt a large, cold hand cover his hair.

"Don't be afraid."

The cold touch made the boy shiver. It also quietly sparked a glimmer of hope in the boy's heart.

Puchi--

The sound of the knife piercing flesh made the boy's heart tighten, but he didn't feel any pain. When the boy opened his eyes, he saw a scene that shocked him:

The target of Wang-san's strike was not the boy, but himself! The knife was plunged deep into Wang-san's own thigh.

"Rest assured, I won't let him hurt you."

Amidst the boy's complex gaze, mixed with confusion, gratitude, and surprise, the pale-faced Wang-san looked up at the boy and managed a forced smile. At the same time, he recited in his heart:

[At least until I die.]

The boy did not know that the man before him was already on the verge of a mental breakdown.

In this man's eyes, there was not a single shred of hope for life left; the original desire to just survive had been completely extinguished by Ryunosuke's earlier display. Driven by the last bottom line of being human, the man was even less willing to follow Ryunosuke's instructions to kill a child.

At this moment, a cowardly thought suddenly emerged from the depths of the man's heart:

[If I die first...]

Yes, if he were to die first, he wouldn't have to watch this child be cruelly murdered by Ryunosuke. A cowardly yet honest thought:

[As long as this child doesn't die before me, I can keep my conscience clear. As for after I die... let the world burn.]

It was just like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, desperately trying to escape reality.

"Eh eh eh?! Wang-san, why are you..." Seeing Wang-san's actions, Ryunosuke shrieked; he indicated that he completely failed to understand this development of the plot.

"Ryunosuke..."

Wang-san pulled the knife out of his wound, let out a muffled groan, and placed the iron bucket under his leg to catch the blood flowing from the wound. After completing this series of actions, Wang-san lifted his pale face and stared at Ryunosuke Uryu: "If there isn't enough blood, you can take it from me, but I don't want you to lay a hand on this child again."

Otherwise, even if I die, I will bite a piece of flesh off you!

Eek--

Ryunosuke Uryu, who had killed so many people, had admired all sorts of expressions from the dying: terror, anger, weeping, and even being scared to the point of incontinence—he had seen it all.

Whether it was the aura brought by a transmigrator or something else, Wang-san's gaze gave Ryunosuke a feeling of dread for the first time.

Anyway, I'm only doing this for the materials; it doesn't matter who it comes from. As for that child...

He was just a sacrifice for the Demon anyway.

"Fine."

Ryunosuke Uryu nodded and agreed, a rare occurrence. This was also the first time Ryunosuke Uryu had ever agreed to a request from his [material].

[That's good. Just keep it like this until I die...]

Wang-san, who had let out a sigh of relief, only then felt the consequences of excessive blood loss--

The world spun.

Chapter 07. The Summoning Ritual

"Finally~~ it's finished!!!"

Looking at the intricate summoning circle before him, Ryunosuke Uryu dropped his brush, raised his arms, and cheered loudly.

After so many attempts, this was the first time Ryunosuke had drawn a summoning circle perfectly.

In the past, he had always been too immersed in the joy of slaughter. By the time he came to his senses and looked at the dried blood, Ryunosuke would always be deeply distressed.

Resting his chin on his right hand, he narcissistically admired this "work of art" he had drawn with his own hands. Ryunosuke turned his gaze to the other side of the room, toward two figures huddled together, and muttered to himself with some annoyance:

"Hmm... it's a pity that Wang-san has to be [wasted]..."

Forget it! Compared to Wang-san, I'm looking forward to the Demon teaching me something even cooler!

Alright, let the summoning ritual begin!

(Flips through book)

"Hmm, fill, fill, fill..."

As for Wang Xiaoming--

Wang Xiaoming's current situation was not looking good. Having lost too much blood, he was leaning against the corner of the wall to support his body. His entire face had completely lost all color. Wang Xiaoming could even feel a part of his body being gradually drained away...

"Uncle..."

The boy whom Wang Xiaoming had saved leaned against him, his eyes filled with worry. Although he was still young, the boy understood that his parents had been murdered and that it was the man beside him who had saved his life.

Even though he had not yet emerged from the shadow of losing his parents, the boy understood that the man in front of him was his only reliance in this world.

"You brat, don't call me uncle. I'm still so young and don't even have a girlfriend yet; you should call me big brother." Although weak, Wang Xiaoming, whose consciousness was still intact, scolded him with a smile.