"Ha ha."
Seeing how frightened Noritoshi Kamo looked, Maki relaxed and laughed.
After Mai's death, she had lost much of her capacity for emotion. She had fought and killed endlessly to save her sister, hoping to meet the requirements for her resurrection as soon as possible.
It felt good to relieve some of that crushing psychological pressure.
But a moment later, she sensed something and turned, raising her gaze slightly toward the roof of a small orange building nearby.
Dressed in a fitted black combat suit, Naoya Zenin stood with one foot on the eaves, looking down at Maki and Noritoshi.
His expression was outrageously arrogant, his eyes naturally slanting upward at the corners.
Combined with his exaggerated grin, it made anyone want to punch him.
Naoya Zenin, whose face practically came with a built-in taunt, felt fantastic.
Maki should be looking up at him, just like this.
"I beat you half to death last time. Didn't expect you to recover so quickly."
"Your will to live really is stronger than a cockroach's, Naoya."
Naoya Zenin had barely enjoyed two seconds of smug satisfaction before that obnoxious brat opened her mouth to mock him.
"Maki, I'm not the man I was before."
"Little Mai must be lonely down there all by herself. I'll send you to keep her company."
Unable to gain any ground in their exchange, Naoya Zenin immediately lunged at them.
A hurricane swept past with a howl, turning even the gentle air razor-sharp.
The houses and shops on either side, already ravaged by the battles raging throughout the Culling Game, were battered once more.
Torn stuffed toys flew up, split wooden doors hurtled backward, and fallen gray leaves spun through the air.
Naoya Zenin was blindingly fast. By the time Noritoshi Kamo reacted, Maki had already been