Chapter 31 — We Just Have to Kill Them Before They Can Use It
On the first floor of the ruins, Yuuki was walking towards the exit when he became aware of Riza’s death.
“Is something wrong, Master?”
Stephanie and Euphemia from his Bodyguard Unit saw something change in his expression as they walked beside him.
Yuuki looked through Riza’s action log. Somehow, her magic had failed, and then she had died. Not long after, Chelsey’s dolls had been neutralized, and she’d completely lost the will to fight. Chelsey hadn’t been killed, but had instead given up all information that was asked of her.
“Well, I guess I never told her not to say anything.”
Yuuki’s control over the minds of the Bodyguard Unit was quite limited. He wasn’t interested in drones that only did what he told them to. And even if the details of his abilities as a Dominator were revealed, it wasn’t really cause for concern. With no clear weaknesses, the more they knew about his power, the more they would despair at it.
But still, the situation was becoming unpleasant. He had thought that getting his hands on Tomochika would be a simple enough task, but it seemed he would have to really invest himself to get the job done.
He ordered the insects and other small animals within the hotel to search for the duo. It didn’t take long to find them heading down the emergency stairs. Now that he was seeing them in real time, it didn’t matter where they ran — he had countless eyes watching their every move.
“He said he can kill people just by willing it, but what do you think?” he asked Euphemia after explaining the situation. Yuuki personally had very little knowledge of this world, and he didn’t especially care to learn about it himself. All he had to do was ask his subordinates when he needed something.
“While it is extremely hard to believe...there are a variety of possibilities. One is an intervention by someone higher in the Gift’s hierarchy.”
In this world, the system known as the Gift was acquired by inheriting it from someone else. To compare it to a computer, it was like a program that had to be installed. Since there was no way of knowing what power would develop when the Gift was inherited, those who gave it to others also added restrictions on the people they gave it to.
“In my case, it’s the same as my power being limited by the Sages, right?”
“Correct. Normally, when the Gift is given, a restraint that prevents the inheritor from disobeying the giver is added. The exact nature of that restraint differs, but things such as nullifying their skills entirely or reducing their resistance to Instant Death to zero are both possible. However, it is difficult to believe those two are in a superior position with the Gift compared to Riza and Chelsey.”
“That’s what I thought. Even if they weren’t actually powerless, the two of them should still be part of the Sage’s lineage. But is there a way they could change their Gift?”
“While it is possible to change the Gift or to possess multiple powers, it is still very unlikely that they could be in a higher position.”
“And the second possibility?”
“There could be a tremendous difference in their levels. In that case, nullifying Riza’s magic or attacking with such power as to seem like Instant Death could both be possible. The issue is that both Riza and Chelsey have received power from you. Riza’s level was seventy, and Chelsey’s was fifty-six, so the possibility that those two have surpassed them is slim.”
“Right. If they don’t have a strategy like mine, leveling up so fast should be impossible.”
A being’s level was a numerical representation of the amount of energy contained within them. The Gift required this energy to work, so by killing others with the Gift, that power could be absorbed. Therefore, to increase one’s level efficiently, one needed to kill stronger enemies in large numbers. Given that, the chances that Yogiri and Tomochika had surpassed Riza in the few days they had been in this world was just impossible. Under normal circumstances, the best they could realistically manage would be to move up a few levels.
“The third possibility is that some sort of unknown power is at work. If I were to give my honest opinion, that seems the most likely option.”
“But it doesn’t really answer the question at all.”
“As you say. However, it is hardly reason enough to give up on Miss Dannoura, is it? There is no need to confront such a hard-to-understand, unknown ability yourself. With your power, avoiding a direct encounter with them should be quite simple.”
“That’s unacceptable. Why should I have to run around like a coward in the dark?” Although he said it as a joke, he was truthfully a little irritated. That wasn’t how a Dominator should act. “Well, it doesn’t matter how powerful their ability is. All we have to do is kill them before they use it. Do you have any ideas?”
“Yes, one could say that Riza and Chelsey were poorly matched with their opponent. Since they relied on the use of magic and puppets, their own bodies were barely different from those of ordinary humans. I believe someone with a class suited to close-quarters combat would be more effective. If their level is around fifty, an ordinary human shouldn’t be able to follow their movements.”
“That doesn’t sound like something we can get ready immediately, though.” Most of Yuuki’s combat power was out hunting. As the highest priority right now was gathering resources, that was their best course of action. After all, a need to fight within the city itself had been wholly unexpected. “For now, let’s get anyone who could be useful back to town. But rather than using someone who excels at something boring like hand-to-hand combat, wouldn’t it be better to use someone with magic powerful enough to just blow them away from a distance?”
“Within the Sages’ barrier, using magic to inflict damage on a wide area will be difficult. If we can lure them out of the city, it should be possible, but even then, injuring Miss Dannoura becomes difficult to avoid.”
“That would be a problem, wouldn’t it? All right, let’s get them on the run then. They’ll have to give up eventually.” After all, Yuuki had an effectively unlimited supply of slaves. No matter how many died, there would always be replacements waiting. Even if Yogiri could kill people just by thinking it, it was doubtful he could keep it up forever. If Yuuki overwhelmed him with sheer force of numbers, he was sure to find an opening at some point.
“Kill Yogiri Takatou,” he ordered all of his slaves on standby, ready to put an end to his former classmate.
Yuuki had never before failed at anything significant enough to cause him regret. No matter what twists and turns his path took, he ultimately always ended up with exactly what he wanted. So he naturally assumed that things would always go according to plan, and was always certain that he would win in the end. It was one of the driving forces behind his otherwise baseless self-confidence.
That was why he had never considered there to be any direct threat from Yogiri’s power. Even if he failed with any given strategy, as long as he was in an absolutely safe place, he could try again as many times as he needed to.
As always, he gave his orders without much thought — but that would end up being a fatal error. His intention of killing now had a concrete action attached to it. As such, that line of killing intent now connected him to Yogiri.
But Yuuki himself had no idea he had made such a mistake. In the end, he never once ended up feeling that regret.
Stephanie was the more simple-minded of his two escorts. Reacting to the scene in front of her, she immediately began to wail in grief, but the deeper implications were yet beyond her. Euphemia was the only one who truly understood, and she was trembling in fear.
A being terrifying beyond belief now walked this world.
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