Chapter 3
Part 1
ー[Kouen, City of Brilliant Flames], North Side’s Workroom District.
The scene where the “Kamikakushi” occurred was swarming with people.
Located at a certain guest room of a certain Inn along the Workroom District it was in a building that loaned workrooms to outsiders[36].
The military police squads have locked down the brick-paved streets while Mandra, advisor of [Salamandra], stood at the front shouting commands.
And he gave both a frown and a sigh, upon catching sight of Izayoi’s figure making his way through the crowd.
“……What are you here for? There’s nothing here to give you the entertainment you seek.”
“That’s not true. I definitely see entertainment here. Didn’t a “Kamikakushi” just occur?”
Izayoi laughed heartily while crossing over the railing that was used to block off the area.
The expressions of the military police squad had already been set in a grimace in annoyance but none of them went to stop him.
They had already had a taste of Izayoi’s strength for the past few days and it had long past the point of annoyance and a sickening repetition to them. Even if they seized him now, the retaliation would be far worse.
“Well then, have you guys found clues on the criminal?”
“No. It has been carried out in the same method but there is still no headway on the criminal’s identity.”
“……same method? You mean to say that this “Kamikakushi” has been a serial crime?”
“Oh right. I can bring you along if you want to see the scene of the crime, but just make sure not to mess up anything.”
Mandra, who had slowly learnt the approach to deal with Izayoi, opened the door to the Inn for the both of them.
Although it was the scene of the crime, the interior of the Inn looked perfectly fine and not a trace of struggle could be seen, retaining the look of a normal Inn[37] on a normal day.
Upon reaching the third story of the Inn, Mandra stopped in his tracks before a room,
“And this room is the scene of the ‘Kamikakushi’”, opening the door to enter with Izayoi trailing after him.
Sure enough, the interior of the room was just as orderly as the rest of the items in the building, having left no traces of struggle, but a trace of life could still be felt lingering in the room marking the recent presence of its original owner.
The overly calm atmosphere of the place made it difficult to believe that this was the scene of a kidnap.
“……”
With exception for the characters of “混”[38] and a message on an arrow.
“ ‘游手好闲’[39]…… and the character of “混”. Those are Chinese characters right?”
“Ah yes, or it might also be the name of the technique or some sort of message. But whatever it might be for, similar characters had also been found at the scenes of the other two previous cases. Hence we think that it might be the doings of the same spell master.”
“Oh? And what were the others?”
Izayoi’s eyes started to light up with curiosity.
According to Mandra, the series of ‘Kamikakushi’ had three lines of written characters that looked like Chinese characters.
游手好闲
虚度光阴
一事无成 [40]
And those were the three lines left at the scenes.
Izayoi slowly chewed on those lines in his mind while frowning.
“……are those the only clues?”
“This is the third person to be kidnapped."
“Oh…… Then is there a similarity in the victims?”
“Well, nothing much is special about them……No, wait, there’s one. The victims to disappear are all young children.”
Hearing Mandra’s casual way of saying it, Izayoi clicked his tongue in irritation.
“……that really is an annoying criminal.”
“Oh? That touched your heartstrings?”
“Yes, it did. Actually, it’s not just a touch but the feeling is more of bringing a saw to the strings itself.”
Though it was said in a joking manner, but the tone of his words had carried an obvious pulse of anger.
Initially just taking interest in the business of ‘Kamikakushi’, Izayoi was now filled with hostility towards the criminal.
Taken aback by the sudden change in demeanor, Mandra asked casually:
“Though it might be a little presumptuous of me, but I never expected you to be the kind to be interested with this sort of things.”
“You are right about that. It’s not my style to impose my feelings of sympathy or judge them to be good or badーBut, even if it’s me, I also have a line that cannot be crossed as well. And this fellow has just broken my first rule. Do you expect me to just stand-by and watch now?”
Izayoi’s words had made clear his stand on the matterーno matter what price it took, Izayoi would want to use his own two hands to bring judgment upon the criminal.
And that made Mandra’s surprise grow even more.
“……the rule that you talk about… Does it refer to the targeting of children?”
“Nope. I’ve always lived with this one rule; A strong power should only be used against a strong opponent.”
A sharp gaze made his eyes glint dangerously as he said his own unwritten rule that was strongly rooted in his heart.
Be it their physical bodies or their mentality, children were unquestionably the weaker group in society.
And it was precisely so that Izayoi could not forgive those people who are stronger for lifting a hand against children.
For Izayoi who was born with an absolute power from the very first day, this was one iron-clad rule to him. And his gaze was one that dared anyone around him to oppose.
“About the case of the ‘Kamikakushi’, I’ve more or less gotten a grasp on the situation. If I meet someone that looks like a suspect, I will use appropriate measures to catch the person. So you guys can continue with the securing of the region for the Convention preparation phrase for now.”
“……Hmph. Then, remember to use my name when you do the reporting and handing over of the suspect. The military police squads should understand then.”
Izayoi raised a hand as he left to signal his understanding. Somehow feeling that taking the stairs would be too troublesome, Izayoi stretched his leg to step on the window frame.
Just then, something on the roof of the next workroom building caught his attention.
No matter how you look at it, the colorful fumes that were puffing out of that workroom’s chimney seemed to be a suspicious ritual being held. The yellowish green fumes were spreading across the clear skies that had nary a cloud for miles around.
But that wasn’t the point.
The one that Izayoi stared at intently wasーa stranger dressed up in a hooded robe that had the character of “混”sewn on it,
“……Oi, Mandra."
“Why? Could it be that now you want our help after saying all that?”
“Well, yeah, sorry about earlier but that seems to be the caseーPlease surround the area below. The ‘Kamikakushi’ has appeared.”
Saying that, Izayoi leapt out of the window like a bullet shot from its barrel.
Traveling at a speed that left his afterimages behind, Izayoi instantaneously closed the distance between himself and that robed guy with the “混”character. However, just like he were waiting for Izayoi to come close, the “混” character flew into the air at the last moment.
The mysterious figure twisted its body and dodged the sudden attack from Izayoi.
Seeing how his opponent had executed such a fine dodge that seemed like a swallow’s flight in the skies[41], it caused Izayoi to immediately heighten his awareness.
(This guy…… he’s not an ordinary ‘Kamikakushi’?)
Izayoi took on a battle stance on the brick roof.
At the same time, Mandra leaned out from the window frame to shout at him: “Oi, where’s he? Where’s the main suspect for the ‘Kamikakushi’?”
“Hah? What are you saying? The fellow with that“混”character on his robes is standing right in front of meー“
Saying up till that point, he closed his mouth. For he must have noticed the weird look on Mandra’s face as Mandra kept scanning the grounds in search for the person and had not noticed the guy with the “混”character standing before Izayoi.
Seeing that sort of unnatural behavior, Izayoi clicked in tongue in annoyance.
“Could it be that ……he can’t see this guy?”
“Oh, you have quite a good intuition huh? You must be the new guy that everyone’s talking about on the streets?”
The figure of the ‘Kamikakushi’ suddenly spoke up and gave a laugh from under that burlap hood. It would seem that this fellow was a type of Obake(化生)[42] that possessed intellect.
Izayoi was a little anxious as he turned back to look at his opponent and he caught on soon enough.
Although he did not know what kind of Gift it was, but this criminal with the “混”character seemed to be capable of hiding his presence from others. And if there wasn’t a way to counter that, it would be very difficult for others to find the criminal.
Izayoi gave a fearless laugh as he used his forefinger to provoke his opponent with a taunt.
“Well, I know not of what street or alley you are talking about, but if you really care about those kind of rumors, you are more than welcomed to test it for yourself.ー Bring it on, you ‘Kamikakushi’. And watch how I tear apart your lousy and despicable tricks.”
“Heheh, your words are quite big! I must say that I do admire that cockiness, but newbie, I'd be taking you up on the offer then!”
Retrieving a type of scroll from the burlap robe with the“混”character, the person released its string seal to display the characters of “虚度光阴”.
Is that the truth behind the ‘Kamikakushi’? With just the unrolling of the scroll, the colorful [Kouen City] was gradually turned into a shade of black, white and grey and the colors of the surroundings were just stolen with that move.
The sudden change caused Izayoi to be placed in his highest alert.
(This is……Wiping out the colors from the City?!)
If one were to forcefully give a description of that scene, it would be similar to the spray of ink into the air.
However, the strange sight did not seem to end there. What was taken away from [Kouen City] was more than the loss of the brilliance and colors for even the movements of the residents had also been frozen.
“Heaheheheh! What’s the matter now, newbie?! Don’t just stand there in a daze! I had been a little cautious about you after hearing that you managed to impress that Saurian Demon King but it seems like you are just another small fry! No, actually it’s really lucky for me to find such a nice duck!!”[43]
The “混”character guy held his sides as he laughed loudly. Judging from his words and actions, it would seem that his technique was supposed to freeze Izayoi’s movements. And Izayoi had only played along by holding still to try figure out the technique activation.
(I see. This black and white world is the result of “虚度光阴”……?)
“虚度光阴”is a Chinese idiom that has the meaning of ‘spending time by idling and achieving nothing in the end’. In terms of the meaning, it was much lazier than the Japanese proverb of ‘Time flies like an arrow’.[44] And in Chinese, the “混”character also has a similar meaning.
The “混”character in Japanese is usually used to in conjunction with another character 混合 and it means to mix and combine. But in Chinese, such a phrase can also be used to mean ‘not doing anything and passing days just as it is’.”
Collating all these information, Izayoi deciphered the phenomenon of the black and white landscape before him.
(Considering that he stripped away the colorsーthe phenomenon of taking away part of the light spectrum, we can safely assume that he used some sort of technique to cause time to stop. But from how this scene is playing out, the metaphorical appearance should also be taken into consideration as well.)
Standing quietly while using the time to consider the situation from all perspectives. What’s fortunate was that the enemy was still laughing heartily.
(The proverb of ‘Time flies like an arrow’ is used to express the feeling of time flowing pass them. If ‘stripping away the colors’ were to be the appearance of ‘passing days without doing anything’ー then “虚度光阴” will be the Gift that stops the feeling of time in his enemies? Ha, sounds like a suitable Gift for a ‘Kamikakushi’.)
And since this Gift was that strong, it should come with some additional conditions for it to be usable. If only the condition were to be fulfilled by the kidnapping of children, it would explain the serial ‘Kamikakushi’ incidents.
But, such a strong Gift being used only on small children? That was a conclusion that made Izayoi seethed in anger.
He coldly swept back his hair.
“ーHa. As a ‘Kamikakushi’, I guess you can be said to have quite a good technique……But if I were to describe it, it would surely be the worst type of skill.”
“……Heah….Hah?”
The despicable laugh suddenly stopped in mid-laugh.
The fellow with the “混”character had finally realized that his technique had not worked on Izayoi and his laughter immediately became an exclamation in surprise as he backed away three steps while roaring:
“Wait, give me a moment! Why are you still able to move?! You are able to see me right?! If that’s the case, why didn’t my technique work?!”
“Oh?” Izayoi responded to that unexpected revelation.
Following that, a ferocious smile floated to Izayoi’s face as his eyes started to glint dangerously.
“You have just said some interesting words too.”
“……Uu……!!!”
“Seems to me that the Gift is related to ‘seeing you’ and it then leads to ‘whether your technique becomes effective’…… Hmph. I’ve already guessed your real identity, you third rate Demon Lord!”
“What…… You, you?!”
“Well then, what’s left would be to assess your spiritual power. From the powers of a ‘Kamikakushi’, to be an ape god would be quite good. But oh well, what a waste, calling you that would really be rude to the Gods for no matter how you look at it, you are at most an ape spirit only. If there’s something wrong with my conjectures, I’m all ears, you know? [Demon King of Confusion]-sama.”
In contrast with his arrogant words, Izayoi’s tone had been one filled with his sense of boredom. However, for the figure in long robesーthe one who was called [Demon King of Confusion], that sort of information was equivalent to a fatal blow to him.
“You… You smelly brat……!! Your brains sure work very fast eh?!”
Demon King of Confusion started to retreat stealthily as he was starting to get spooked.
He mustn’t have expected anyone to be able to guess his identity with just those words that he had uttered.
(Psh……seems like the rumors of him being on par with Saurian Demon King are true after all. And it’s better for me to hide now that my trump card technique has been seen through.)
Putting his strength into his leg to step up onto the ledge of the brick room, Demon King of Confusion was prepared to leap off when Izayoi declared with a ferocious glint in his eyes:
“Prepare yourself. For I will get rid of you before the real ‘Kamikakushi’ startsー!!”
The starting sprint that seemed like an explosion caused the footing below his feet to crack with the force as Izayoi charged forth.
Faced with such an overwhelming chase from behind that shortened the distance between them rapidly, Demon King of Confusion could only dodge in desperation. Although he was one of the fallen, but he was still a Demon Lord and his movements were quite skillful and dexterous.
It was not known whether it was Izayoi’s continuous pressing of the attacks that caused the technique of “虚度光阴”to be released, for the colors had suddenly been restored to [Kouen City].
“You….You must be joking! What are you?! Aren’t you just a human little brat?!”
“That’s rude! I’m a pure bred, 100% original human you know?!”
“Don’t take me as a fool! How can there be such a human like you?!”
*Yeah. That’s true.* Somehow, Izayoi felt that many people were agreeing with that question and their agreements were making their way into his ears.
Demon King of Confusion who was now solely concentrating on escaping his pursuer was swiftly bounding along the rooftops while making his way towards the city centre.
Deliberately fleeing to a place with lots of people, he might be searching for the next prey. If that were to be so, he would have to be caught as soon as possible.
A slight smile lifted the sides of Izayoi’s lips.
(This is interesting. A game of tag with the ‘Kamikakushi’? Looks like I have to stay sharp…!)
Izayoi continued to chase after Demon King of Confusion with amusement.
And upon the release of the “虚度光阴”technique, Mandra who had returned to his senses, could only see them off with a stumped look on his face.
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