NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 68
As soon as I stepped out into the whirling storm, I thought maybe I should’ve just worn a swimsuit.
Even though I was in shorts, getting wet made the fabric cling uncomfortably to my skin. Yuuki, wearing slightly shorter pants than me, had it a bit better, I guess.
Despite the typhoon raging, there were still quite a few people on the streets. Not that it meant they were wandering about like in a typical tourist spot, though.
But that didn’t really matter.
Yōkai mostly move around their ‘nests’. And the moment a person enters that nest, they can no longer properly perceive what’s inside from the outside.
What people see is usually those who’ve come out for some reason or another. Or perhaps they were created in this world rather than from that world in the first place.
The former refers to the Nue Yuuki called out from the school playground, while the latter pertains to the solitude I faced at Yamashita’s place.
In the case of Raiju, it moved around the ‘nest’.
However, unlike other yōkai, it just landed here in search of prey.
So all we had to do was find and deal with Raiju. I didn’t mind being discovered by anyone in the process.
Although, there was one problem.
“Achoo!”
Cold!
It was supposed to be a scorching hot summer, but I was freezing!
Well, it was unavoidable. It wasn’t my body heat being sucked out by the cold, but by the water drenching my body.
I once heard in vocational training that some people died of frostbite when hiking in the summer during rainy weather. Even if the Arctic wasn’t filled with floating icebergs, if a person stays in water for too long, their body temperature drops. The same goes for getting caught in the rain.
“Are you okay?”
Yuuki asked.
To be honest, I wasn’t really okay.
The cold was bearable. After all, it was summer, and the temperature wasn’t falling below twenty degrees, was it?
But the real problem was that my skin felt itchy, and that prickling sensation had dulled.
It’s called intuition, but in reality, it’s not that different from the five senses in general. If my body is exposed to conditions where that prickling sensation is covered up, it’s natural that I would forget my sensations.
“Hey!”
On top of that, there were patrolling police on the streets.
A police car passed by us, stopped, and the officers inside called us over.
“Are you guys okay?!”
“We’re fine!”
Yuuki replied.
Honestly, Yuuki, too, didn’t look fine at all. He wrapped his arms around himself, so he was doing better than me, but still.
If I had known it would turn out like this, I should’ve brought a raincoat.
In the original story, there was only a scene where skin was visible through thin clothes soaked from the rain, so I just went with it, but reality was harsher than that.
Thinking back, I remember how my fingertips got cold when I held an umbrella during the summer rainy season.
“We’re heading back now!”
“Is that so? We’ll take you—”
Boom!
Suddenly, a section of my vision turned white.
It seemed both Yuuki and the officers in the car noticed it too. The officers’ gazes shifted toward the source of the light.
Crash!
A delayed thunderclap rang out.
In the distance, a utility pole exploded with a bang, sending sparks flying everywhere.
“…Get back! We have somewhere to be!”
The police said that and quickly turned the car around.
I looked at Yuuki. He nodded in return, sharing my resolve.
We ran in that direction.
Of course, trailing behind a police car would get us stopped, so we intentionally slipped into a side alley to chase that lightning.
Thunder echoed continuously from the sky. In the distance, lightning struck repeatedly.
Raiju is a yōkai that carries lightning.
But conversely, it comes down following the current.
In Tokyo Slayers, Raiju utilizes lightning. It doesn’t just use it to attack enemies; it also uses it to gain energy for itself.
That’s why it moves the clouds to ‘create’ lightning. It’s somewhat similar to searching for prey. It wouldn’t make sense to consume energy that comes from its own body, so it moves the external conditions to find food.
But does that mean it could be considered ‘brain fluid’? Should it be called cloud fluid instead?
…I suppose it doesn’t matter right now.
Despite being called Tokyo Slayers, this place isn’t Tokyo.
“Over there!”
Yuuki pointed to something in the distance.
Crash!
Thunder boomed. Beyond the repeated lightning, I spotted a long shadow descending from above. Something was visible only when lightning struck in the empty air.
More flashes of lightning lit the sky, and sparks erupted high above.
It looked just like an explosion from a special effects film. Especially that utility pole exploding—that looked just like a firework bursting.
Ishiki wasn’t a place densely packed with buildings; it was more of a sprawling suburban area that felt relaxed. A town being called a tourist spot, but not the bustling huge downtown vibe.
The farther you moved away from the coast, the closer you got to the hills, but even those hills weren’t very high.
Why on earth did Raiju come to such a neighborhood? There are plenty of power plants in Japan overflowing with electricity, after all.
In my mind, it might be because it simply ‘couldn’t resist’.
It came flying across a gap that’s neither the world of yōkai nor the living world. Like migratory birds do, it descended momentarily to rest its wings and quench its thirst.
If it were a natural situation, it would have to be content with generating lightning from above, but electricity was flowing right below.
This was indeed bad luck for this neighborhood.
“Ha… ha…”
Only when we were nearly out of breath did we finally arrive at our target location.
Using the heat rising from within to combat the body heat slipping away through my skin didn’t seem like such a bad idea. I wasn’t sure whether I was sweating or not because it was pouring like a hole had opened in the sky.
Flash!
The sight of lightning striking was chilling. The lightning itself made no sound. Only the delayed thunder proved that something was happening up on high.
“This is it.”
Yuuki said.
But there was nothing visible to the eye.
The Akuma had revealed itself to lure people, but Raiju had no need for that. It didn’t need to eat humans for any reason.
But—
“…I think it might be dangerous to go ahead.”
As Yuuki said.
There were wires sprawled across the ground. Some broken utility poles were even sparkling with electricity.
A few people were peeking their heads out. Naturally, they would, since the wires leading to their homes were cut off.
It wasn’t just one utility pole that fell; it looked like whatever moved through the area did it purposely as it crashed down the line.
“Alright.”
I exhaled.
“Then, I’ll pull out my sword.”
“Wait!”
As I said that and pulled out a cutter knife from my pocket, Yuuki seized my wrist in alarm. My hand, which had been reaching for my pocket, was stopped by Yuuki’s grip.
“…Why?”
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“I can always pull out a sword.”
“…”
That seemed a bit strange.
Yuuki’s eyes trembled. His lips were the same. He looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t muster the words.
“There’s no need to worry.”
I said calmly.
“…I won’t do anything that puts my life in danger.”
“…Still.”
“There’s no other way.”
In the end, the only method is to spill blood. Whether it’s mine, or Sasaki’s.
Yuuki bit his lip, but eventually let go of my hand.
I held the cutter knife.
Just in case, I glanced around but saw no one. Looking outside, it seemed the people nearby were too absorbed in the fallen utility pole to notice us.
Alright. Let’s finish this quickly.
“Do you know how to enter the nest?”
“…Yeah.”
Yuuki nodded at my question.
Good, that’s a relief.
To be honest, I didn’t really know. It had been described in the novel, but it was just a matter of drawing a line in mid-air.
…It’s funny that I still didn’t know that, but anyway.
I pressed the knife against my wrist and pressed down hard.
Then I dragged it sideways.
“Seems like you get along with your sister just fine.”
The first thing that reached my ears was that.
“Is that really the first thing you say upon seeing me?”
“I can’t express how joyous it is to lead a young lamb.”
“…”
Taken aback by Jjapgurasu’s words, I quickly regained my composure and asked again.
“…What’s its true identity?”
“You see it as you will.”
No, responding like that doesn’t make sense.
“True identity? You already know, don’t you?”
Jjapgurasu chuckled.
“Koko, what a cute name.”
“Isn’t it the name I gave?”
“But since it was a name given to a being without one, isn’t she ultimately ‘Koko’?”
No, but that’s not the reason I asked.
“Is she your daughter?”
“It depends on how you define the concept of a daughter. Even if she has a child, that child would differ from any lifeform on Earth.”
“…”
I decided to give up on asking more.
“So, can I assume that’s all you want? I thought there was another reason for calling her.”
“…I need a knife.”
I said.
“Two of them. Is that possible?”
“Given the amount of blood you typically spill, it might not be impossible.”
Jjapgurasu said, sounding amused.
“And?”
“And?”
“…I just want to try utilizing my blood in a different way.”
“Best to give an example.”
“…Is it possible to transform differently like Koko? Not just into a solid object.”
“Are you curious if you want to break free from the form of a human?”
“No.”
I cut him off sharply.
“Just… I was wondering if there’s a way it could be useful in a fight.”
“…”
Jjapgurasu fell silent for a moment.
But from the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like he was lost for words, worried about me, or felt any emotional disturbance.
Rather, it felt more like he was thinking, ‘this is truly entertaining’.
“That’s good. It shouldn’t be impossible.”
Jjapgurasu said with a tone mixed with laughter.
“However, I hope you don’t overuse it. She wouldn’t want you to die.”
That makes sense.
This sort of toy breaking would be troublesome.
Jjapgurasu wouldn’t want me to simply suffer. He probably wanted something much more… complex.
“What do you desire?”
He answered my question.
“Always, it’s the other’s breath. And, I hope you continue to show me such enjoyable scenes. I believe more amusing things await in the future.”
“…”
“Well then, see you again.”
Jjapgurasu said that.
And—
“…”
I heard Yuuki taking a deep breath.
My left hand seemed to be supporting something, and it created two swords out of thin air. It still looked like something 3D-printed from blood.
But the sound that followed when the two objects hit the ground was that of metal clanging.
Yuuki stood dumbfounded for a moment at the spot where the metal had fallen, but quickly regained his composure.
Instead of picking up the sword, he looked at me.
“First, stop the bleeding—”
“No.”
I shook my head in anticipation of Yuuki’s response.
“This is necessary.”
“…”
Yuuki looked as if he wanted to ask what it was necessary for, but he managed to suppress the question this time.
Blood dripped from my wrist. Bright red droplets fell into the flowing water downhill, creating a grotesque sight.
Yuuki bent down and grabbed one of the swords.
Then he handed one to me.
“Let’s end this quickly.”
Yuuki said, and—
He swung the sword into the air.
Shwoosh!
The sound of air escaping was accompanied by a split in the air.
…So this is how it works.
That…
It was much simpler than I expected.
Though I still didn’t understand it well. Perhaps later, I would need to ask him for the exact method again.
Yuuki quickly dove toward the opening. I followed behind, rushing to enter through the gap.
Once inside, a chill came rushing over me.
Inside the nest, it wasn’t raining. However, that didn’t mean the ground wasn’t wet.
Creeak, creak.
I could hear the sound of something crunching, something metallic being scratched against something solid.
Zap!
Blue sparks erupted from the floor. Electricity.
Those things were popping up all over the wet ground.
“Be careful.”
I nodded at Yuuki’s warning.
Generally speaking, yōkai create nests and hardly step outside. To them, this world is a ‘different realm’.
Many yōkai from the story were like that too.
They could come out of the nest, but they couldn’t really endure for long. Just like how a person’s body suffers upon entering water, yōkai also face numerous limitations outside their nests.
That’s why if any yōkai is considered too powerful in the narrative, the approach was to draw it outside instead.
If Nue were in its nest, it would surely be much stronger.
“…Kurosawa, do you think it’s possible?”
Yuuki’s words snapped me out of my reverie.
His gaze was directed at the sparks shooting up from the ground.
The question was whether I could dodge them.
Yuuki and Hagiwara solved it in the novel by happily hopping around.
At this point, Sasaki could only offer Yuuki a very weak form of assistance. Initially, just coating the knife, later luring the yōkai with blood to keep Yuuki safe from danger.
Unlike Yuuki, I couldn’t make those cartoon-like movements.
But…
I raised my hand once more.
And—
Like a snake, ‘Chi’ slithered out of my wrist.
But this time, it didn’t just drop to the ground. Instead, it slipped through my open wrist and dangled, wrapping around my arm snugly.
Before long, those things multiplied rapidly, wrapping around my entire left arm so quickly it became impossible to count.
At this point, it was hard to gauge how many were appearing properly, but since Jjapgurasu wouldn’t stop the blood from my wrist, it was reasonable to think it kept increasing.
“…Let’s go.”
Alright.
Let’s see how these things will move.
Yuuki nodded with a complicated expression.
Splosh!
As I stepped in the puddle, Raiju’s head jerked up from where it had been consuming something.
The way it slowly turned to look at us…
It resembled a distorted ferret quite a bit.
A very angry ferret.
Blue sparks continuously shot out from its eyes, and its fur stood on end as if an electric charge had built up.
Honestly, it was a bit funny to look at.
“Kyao!”
As Raiju let out a sharp cry that suited its appearance, sparks exploded from the surrounding liquids.
The surroundings reminiscent of our world erupted chaotically.
Fortunately, since we were stepping in water, we weren’t being blown away.
“…That electric current is from where the fallen utility pole used to be.”
Yuuki said, and I nodded in agreement.
That made sense. It had been the case in the original too.
Well, that doesn’t matter now. To our eyes, we could only see the sparks. We couldn’t possibly remember the exact shape of the fallen pole, so from now on, we’d have to dodge based on what we saw.
In other words, our task was to avoid the layers.
I hoped my left hand would be of help.
Raiju was the first to make a move.
Letting out a kyao that sounded similar to a ferret scream, Raiju rushed toward us, surrounding itself with visible current.
It resembled sparks speeding around a Tesla coil.
Yuuki tried to pull me back, but—
I extended my left hand out.
…Surely, it wouldn’t give me abilities capable of electrocution in such a place.
As I stretched my left hand forward, the red tentacles wrapping around my arm extended outward.
It was as if they formed a densely packed umbrella with too many ribs—no, like an umbrella with numerous thin sheets tightly packed. The red, slime-like beings spread out in every direction centered around my hand.
Some wrapped around my own hand.
And then,
Swish!
As something brushed past a human, an ominous sound rippled out, causing sparks to whirl around. The puddle around us exploded, but we were unharmed.
Boom, boom!
Some of the gelatinous creatures covering my hand couldn’t absorb the shock and burst. Raiju, drenched in the blood it despised, hastily retreated, screaming.
“…”
Yuuki pressed his lips tightly together as he watched the scene unfold.
“…Let’s go!”
I said, and Yuuki promptly released my arm.
He dashed forward.
The sparks directly in front of us vanished in an instant after the earlier explosion. While it would likely reappear in a moment, now was the perfect opportunity against the yōkai caught off guard.
I too leapt forward.
“Kyao!”
Raiju screamed. The crackling from its electronically charged body produced a sound, and small sparks erupted all around.
Without needing to say a word, Yuuki knew it was a warning signal and dove to the ground.
He rolled several times sideways, avoiding the erupting sparks like an expert.
The long tail of Raiju swung toward me.
I didn’t jump at all; my jumping power was no different than that of an average person.
Instead, I used parts I could employ that ordinary people couldn’t.
As I stretched my left arm forward, the tentacles linked to my arm shot forward and touched the ground.
And, rather than acting like a spring, it forcibly propelled me upward.
Zap!
As the tail of Raiju flicked outwards, the area surrounding me exploded, but I had already flown well over Raiju’s head.
I was unfamiliar with this field, but I did know that metal conducts electricity. I wasn’t certain whether the sword I held was ‘metal,’ but risking my life to find out didn’t seem wise.
I hurled my sword at Raiju.
Clang!
The clash of metals rang out. Was there no impact? I thought it had failed because I heard that sound when it struck its fur, but it actually stuck and blood trickled out.
Thud!
I landed on the ground. My ankle hurt a little; it seemed I hadn’t landed perfectly.
I dove for the sword now lying on the floor.
Smacking against the concrete hurt quite a bit, but I could still move.
“Kyao!”
Appears Raiju’s priority shifted toward me, and it moved toward my grotesquely distorted ferret face.
Yuuki didn’t miss that chance.
He dashed forward and plunged a sword into Raiju’s neck, but sparks erupted again.
“Ugh…!”
Yuuki quickly withdrew. It appeared he hadn’t been injured.
However, he certainly couldn’t strike at such an easily defensible position.
I grabbed the sword with my left hand.
Specifically, I handed it to the tentacles wrapping around my hand.
Then, rather than doing the opposite, this time, I directed the tentacles to stretch out toward the hand.
I wasn’t sure how this would pan out. The sensation was completely different from just moving fingers. After all, it didn’t even feel like it belonged to me.
With the sword held at the end of the tentacles stretching from my hand, I moved forcefully toward Raiju.
“Kyao!”
Raiju swiftly retreated. Anticipating I would stab, I swung my arm forward. My arm felt heavy. Moreover, in this way, was the ‘living blood’ even able to be considered blood? It felt like it was continuously draining my stamina.
Yuuki seizing the opportunity during Raiju’s retreat threw the sword in my stead, just as Sasaki once did, tossing a blood-stained blade.
But this time, it wasn’t ‘a little’ stained with blood.
Thud!
After briefly hovering in the air, Raiju landed and it wasn’t able to pivot before being struck by that sword.
Whether it was just unlucky or Yuuki was that skilled, it grazed Raiju’s left eye.
“…!”
Raiju couldn’t even let out a cry as it instinctively covered its eye with its foreleg.
Boom!
Not wasting the opportunity, I swung my arm down.
While Raiju moved early on but not quite perfectly, I managed to inflict a wound on one of its forelegs.
But even that was enough to infuriate Raiju from head to tail.
“Kyao!!”
Raiju screamed again and leapt high into the sky.
I hurried to Yuuki’s side and created that umbrella.
But Raiju wasn’t jumping toward us.
Was it about three seconds? Seeing that nothing was hitting us, I lowered my arm for a moment—
Crack!
I was blown back by the shockwave.
My vision turned red in an instant.
“Kyaah!?”
I heard Yuuki’s scream.
Wiping the blood splattered on my face, I surveyed the situation where red tentacles were drooping lifelessly from my left wrist.
…It had exploded all at once.
I looked up at the sky.
A massive ferret was soaring in the sky.
It was a bizarre sight, but as its body elongated gracefully like some kind of swimming creature, it managed to look elegant.
However, that attack that followed was anything but.
“Kurosawa, move!”
Yuuki, who had gauged the situation before me, ducked himself to push me away.
Lightning fell right where we had been standing.
Ah, so that meant it had used the lightning coming down from the sky directly to incapacitate my means of defense in one blow.
Plus, it had soared into the air.
Yuuki’s sword was lying quite far away now.
“Yuuki.”
I passed the sword to him.
“You—”
“I’ll lure it away.”
I said that and stood up.
We each had to do what we were good at.
“Just kill it for me.”
“That’s too dangerous.”
“Even if it’s dangerous, it has to be done. If we leave it be, it’ll become much more dangerous.”
Yuuki fell silent at my words.
There wasn’t even time to think or respond.
I pushed Yuuki away. He didn’t stumble, but he staggered back a few steps.
As I launched myself forward, a bolt of lightning struck again.
It was terrifying. The area where it struck wasn’t that large, but if we had been there, we would have both died.
If we huddle together, we die simultaneously.
“…”
I tightly clenched my left fist.
Slowly, the tentacles that had been drooping began to regain strength and started writhing.
More tentacles slipped out.
Certainly, the more that emerged, the emptier I felt inside. But honestly, whether I died this way or that way…
No, I certainly wouldn’t die. Jjapgurasu was watching, after all.
So now what do I do?
If that thing in the sky strikes down the lightning—
“…”
I see.
I twisted one of the tentacles and detached it.
The tentacle moved as I intended. When I twisted and pulled it away with my hand, it let go without solidifying.
Then, I shaped that tentacle like a drip falling off a stalactite. How? I just thought it would work, and it did.
How much longer could I hold out? I wasn’t sure.
Well, I’ll give it a shot.
I lifted that ‘lightning rod’ above my head.
“Chasing easy opponents first would be more efficient, right?”
Then, I taunted Raiju slightly.
Its eyes turned to meet mine.
Yeah. Look at me. Don’t pay attention to anything else.
I began to run.