"Humans are nothing but food."
Black Shadow spoke again. "They're as fragile as fruit barely past flowering. One pinch, and they're gone. Is it worth holding back for their sake? Even if ten of them died, or a hundred, or a thousand, they still couldn't compare to the Hammer Pillar, could they? They're not worth a single hair on your head. So why not treat them as enemies you can kill? Kill them all, then kill me. Wouldn't that save even more of these ridiculous humans?"
Black Shadow even began offering Tetsu no Sosuke advice with apparent enthusiasm. "Or you could make up a reason—an excuse. Say I've already taken control of them, that they can never return to normal. Say they have no future, and being alive is no different from being dead. Then you can kill them with a clear conscience and accomplish your goal of killing me... Why not try it? If I really die, no one will be able to contradict your story. Without evidence, they'll have no choice but to believe you."
Tetsu no Sosuke's face remained impassive. Then he asked, "Why haven't they attacked me?"
"..."
Tetsu no Sosuke had noticed something strange. From the start, the villagers had looked vicious, as though they wanted to pin him to the ground and devour him alive.
But in truth, all they had done was glare at him.
A deeply unsettling thought took shape in his mind.
Why hadn't they attacked?
What would happen if they did?
He didn't want to hurt these villagers, but if they attacked him, how could he not fight back?
He wouldn't kill them, but a struggle would be inevitable... Was that what Black Shadow was so desperate to avoid?
Was that why Black Shadow kept trying to provoke him—hoping he