Chapter 1 — Is Wiping Out Humanity Just a Hobby to You?
The Instant Death ability itself wasn’t much of a problem, Haruto Ootori thought. It was no different than Yogiri simply being strong enough to kill him easily. There were plenty of people in this world who could kill Haruto without breaking a sweat. So while such a power was certainly a threat, it wasn’t his main concern.
The bigger issue was Yogiri’s ability to detect killing intent. That was the true obstacle, and absolutely had to be dealt with if they were going to take him out. But the term “killing intent” was too vague on its own. If they tried to challenge him without having a clear idea of how his power worked, they’d only get themselves killed. First, they needed to know precisely what he perceived as “killing intent.” Without that, they couldn’t even begin to formulate a plan.
In light of the circumstances, most people would be forced to give up, but as a Consultant, Haruto possessed the Problem Resolution skill. It was an ability that allowed him to uncover the information needed to solve any issues he was facing.
Late one night, Haruto was in the forest a short distance away from the city. Now that he was outside the area where the king’s skill-dampening ability applied, he could use his powers to the greatest possible effect. Dressed in a business suit, the clothes that best enhanced the features of his class, he held one of the torches that he and the others had been using in the Underworld. These torches, which absorbed mana from the environment to power their own light, were fairly common in the capital.
Finding a suitable clearing, he stuck the torch on a nearby tree.
“Umm, do you really think it’s a good idea for us to come all the way out here? We were told to stay with our teams.”
Beside Haruto was Yui Ootani, wearing her cheerleading outfit. As the groups were divided by gender, there was no way Haruto and Yui could be assigned to the same team.
“It’s not like we aren’t allowed to spend time with each other, right? So if you don’t mind, it’s fine.”
“I guess...” she answered, her face turning red.
Haruto was well aware of how popular he was with the girls in the class, so he had become quite adept at putting that to good use. He was really only interested in the skills offered by her class, but if she wanted something more after that, he didn’t mind obliging her.
“Then can I ask for your support?”
“Okay, I’ll do what I can.”
Yui began to dance. Although it was somewhat odd to see a lone cheerleader dancing in the middle of the forest at night, it improved the effects of her skills, so it was necessary. Even alone, without any music, she was able to dance without a trace of embarrassment.
When her routine finally came to an end, she wiped the sweat from her face. Haruto applauded, genuinely impressed by the performance.
“Thank you. I’ve always thought it, but you’re pretty good,” he praised her.
“Oh...really? You think so?”
“All right, wait there a moment, please.”
Unlike Yui’s skill, Haruto’s Problem Resolution didn’t require any flashy movements. All he had to do was push his glasses up slightly with his finger. As ridiculous as it was, following the actions required of the skill improved its effects, so there was no room to be self-conscious about it.
Haruto’s vision suddenly turned white. Through the underlying system that powered the Gift, he was able to access an archive of information recorded about the world they were in. The amount of detail held there was immeasurable. With such a vast pool of knowledge available, trying to find something particular was next to impossible. But that was where his Problem Resolution skill shined, as it allowed him to filter the data before him.
What he needed was a history of Yogiri Takatou’s actions. What had he done since arriving in this world? Even with that filter, the amount of information was too much to pull out all at once, so he would need to narrow his search a bit further. He looked for situations where it seemed like Yogiri had used his ability to detect killing intent. Then he set about decompressing the extracted information, transforming it into a form that was actually intelligible. As he did, the many times when Yogiri had used his ability played like moving images in front of him.
First, with Hanakawa: Yogiri had noticed the attempt to use a spell attack despite the spell having no incantation. Hanakawa had collected mana in his right hand, waiting for an opening to fire. It was a fairly weak spell, but for those like Yogiri and Tomochika, who were not reinforced by the Gift, it would have proven fatal.
Next, the Dominator, Yuuki Tachibana: the moment he had ordered his slaves to harm Yogiri, he’d died. It seemed even asking someone else to harm him counted as direct killing intent, but if that were the case, one would have expected Sion to die the moment she asked the same of Haruto. Or would she and Haruto simply die together the moment he actually made the decision to harm Yogiri? He certainly couldn’t rule out that possibility, but he felt like the chances of it being the case were rather low.
The Dominator class had special mechanics associated with it. There was a connection between the Dominator and his slaves for the passing of mana, and the slaves were absolutely obedient. As such, they could be thought of as extensions of the Dominator himself. At the moment Yuuki had died, there had been a large number of enslaved insects gathered around Yogiri, ready to attack. It was basically the same as Yuuki himself making the move. In that scenario, merely killing the bugs wouldn’t have solved the problem. By taking out the Dominator, Yogiri was eliminating the source of the killing intent.
The case of the Dark God in the tower was similar. The miasma of evil that had saturated the area was potentially harmful to Yogiri. That miasma was something the Dark God naturally gave off, so the only way of stopping it at its source was to kill the creature itself.
There were also cases where he had killed bandits and brigands without even seeing them, but that was likely because they’d been aiming bows and magic at him. Judging from those examples, thinking about killing him wasn’t enough to amount to “killing intent.” There needed to be some sort of concrete action associated with it. Yogiri seemed to perceive any action or phenomenon that could potentially kill him, and simply eliminated whatever he needed to in order to remove the threat.
As he reached that conclusion, Haruto hit the limit of his power, and his consciousness was drawn back to reality.
“Haruto, are you okay?” Yui asked, her expression concerned. He had stayed connected to the archive for as long as he could manage, so it must have looked like he was suffering quite a bit, especially since at some point he had dropped to the ground.
“Yeah, I overdid it a little, but I’m fine,” he replied, rising to his feet. “It seems we’ll need to experiment.”
If he wasn’t careful, he could be killed while they were still in the testing phase. But with the information he currently had, he couldn’t get a handle on the whole picture. He needed to determine exactly what the rules of Yogiri’s ability to perceive killing intent were.
Hanakawa was in shock. The Dark God who was supposed to be sealed away on the bottom level of the Underworld was now in front of him, smiling happily right near the entrance.
“Uhh...would you perhaps permit my lowly self to ask a question?”
“Go ahead,” Mana replied. Her straightforward, honest demeanor showed nothing of the intimidating aura one would expect of a “Dark God.” While she certainly had a beauty that one could call divine, if one put that aside, she seemed like a normal, albeit more mature, teenage girl.
“Umm, you were locked up, were you not?”
“That’s right. My brother sealed me down here. I don’t really know why, which has been somewhat painful, but it’s my brother we’re talking about. If he did this to me, it must have been because I did something wrong.”
“And yet you are able to come so close to the surface?”
“Well, my brother is very kind, so he would never restrain me as tightly as that. His binding was quite loose, so it wasn’t hard to slip out from under it.”
“Is that true?” Hanakawa whispered to Lute.
“No. My master definitely put his full strength into locking her deep underground,” Lute responded with a grimace.
Perhaps she was dazzled by the memory of her brother, as Mana didn’t seem to hear what they were saying.
“Well then, does that mean you can leave whenever you like? Aren’t you going to escape and destroy humanity or something?” It was something he probably shouldn’t have asked, but of course, Hanakawa did so anyway.
“I can’t leave without my brother’s permission, and I shouldn’t interfere with his hobbies anyway, you know?” Mana said as if it were obvious.
Hanakawa retreated a few steps, followed by Lute. “So, wiping out humanity is just a ‘hobby,’ huh?” he whispered. “Uhh, I have to say...I feel like this is definitely someone we shouldn’t set free...”
“That’s exactly why we’re setting her free.”
“What sort of relationship do you have with Lady Mana?”
“We don’t really have a direct relationship to speak of. She doesn’t see me as anything other than one of my master’s underlings. While she wouldn’t be especially rude to me, she’s not particularly interested in me either.”
“If you are willing to come here with such a flimsy connection to her, you must be pretty bold yourself.”
“By the way,” Mana interjected, making the two of them jump.
“Y-Yes, what is it?” Hanakawa stammered.
“I can smell my brother on you. Would you happen to have something of his with you?”
“Yes, I’ve brought the key to the seal.” Pulling a key from his pocket, Lute respectfully offered it to her.
“Oh! My, my, my! How wonderful! Oh, I’m sorry, I got a bit ahead of myself. I’m sure you’ve been instructed by my brother to do something with that key, or perhaps you’ve made the decision on your own. Very well, then. Let us go!”
As she said that, she placed a hand on the wall of the cavern. In an instant, the stone warped and twisted, opening up into a new pathway.
“What is this?” Hanakawa asked.
“I’ve made a path to the lowest level.”
“Well, that wasn’t so difficult.”
“The door to be unlocked is on the lowest level, so please go ahead and do as you will.”
“Is there really any point now? Anyway, isn’t ignoring the seal and leaving the lowest level going against your brother’s wishes in the first place?”
“What are you, stupid?!” Lute snapped. “Why do you have to ask such idiotic questions?!”
“If we try to understand my brother’s thinking, it seems perfectly natural that he intended for me to be able to wander at will,” Mana replied. “Otherwise, what point was there in creating this entire world? He must have done so because he felt bad for keeping me confined to such a small space. He’s very kind, you know.”
Despite Lute’s concerns, Mana didn’t seem particularly bothered by the question. Having given her answer, she stepped into the new corridor she had created.
“I guess this is my chance to run away...” Hanakawa muttered.
“I’m sure that’s all you’ve been thinking this whole time, but give it up.” Steeling himself, Lute followed Mana inside, his companion trailing reluctantly behind him.
They suddenly found themselves under a bright light, causing Hanakawa to instinctively close his eyes. As his vision adjusted, he slowly opened them again.
Arrayed before them was an assortment of colorful trees and giant mushrooms, scattered around numerous buildings. It was like a small city. Flowers bloomed along the sides of the roads, filling the air with a pleasant fragrance. People with strangely-colored clothes walked the streets, and shopkeepers called out to attract customers to their stalls. Looking up, they could see that an actual sun was shining down on them.
“This looks like Wonderland. Who are these people?”
“They’re all Lady Mana’s spawn,” Lute answered.
“They’re all my brother’s and my adorable children,” Mana added from beside them.
“Oh? Children with your brother, huh? Sounds pretty immoral. Master Lute’s master seems like quite the guy. Though perhaps among gods such intrafamily relationships aren’t so strange. There are stories like that even in Japanese mythology, after all.”
“That’s not true, by the way,” Lute whispered in a bitter voice. “There’s no way my master would lay his hands on his sister. She gave birth to them on her own.”
“This woman really is insane, isn’t she?!” Hanakawa replied, somewhat taken aback.
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