The air around us was slightly awkward.
I rubbed my still-flushed cheeks and muttered, "Now what do we do…"
I currently have 78 points.
"I want to add a rule that lets us leave the barriers," I said slowly. "But… if we do that, strong players like Kashimo might start causing chaos in other colonies."
Yuji and Choso frowned slightly. They saw the name Kashimo in the list and knew that he was the one who added the rule that allowed players to gain access to information on other players.
"I can get the two points back from you two," I continued. "That would bring me back to eighty. But I still need twenty more."
I started pacing back and forth.
"How do I even get twenty points…"
Yuji watched me silently for a moment before asking, "What are you thinking about so seriously?"
I muttered to myself.
"If we beat Reggie and Hazenoki half to death… and then kill them without cursed energy… maybe they'd turn into vengeful cursed spirits… and then we kill them again for double points…"
Yuji stared at me.
Choso stared at me.
Yuji slowly said, "That… sounds very cruel."
Choso nodded.
I stopped pacing.
"…Yeah, you're right. That probably wouldn't work anyway."
I crossed my arms and kept thinking.
The three of us stood there quietly for a moment.
Apparently, I zoned out completely because Yuji started calling my name.
"Kita-san… Kita… Kita…"
I didn't react.
"Kita!"
He grabbed my shoulder and shook me.
"AH—!"
I snapped out of it.
"Oh. Yuji."
I blinked.
"Sorry. I was thinking."
Choso sighed softly.
"About killing people for points again?"
"…Maybe."
I quickly explained the situation to them again—about the points, the rule we needed, and why we had to act fast before the game escalated further.
Yuji scratched the back of his head.
"So basically… we just need twenty more points."
"Yup."
Choso nodded.
"In that case," he said calmly, "we should eliminate Reggie and Hazenoki."
I immediately agreed.
"Well then," Choso said, stretching his shoulders, "let's go find them."
I stood up.
"Right."
Then I suddenly paused.
"…Wait."
Yuji looked at me.
"What is it?"
"I feel like I forgot something."
I frowned deeply.
Something important.
Something very important.
Something extremely important.
"…Nah," Yuji said casually. "If you forgot it, it probably wasn't important."
I thought about it.
"…Yeah. You're right."
Meanwhile.
Remi slowly woke up.
Her eyes opened.
She tried to move.
She couldn't.
Her eyes widened.
She was tied to a bed with thick industrial ropes. The rope was thicker than her wrist and tightly wrapped around her arms and legs.
She immediately tried to break free using cursed energy.
Nothing happened.
The ropes didn't even budge.
They were rated to hold ten tons.
She struggled harder.
The bed flipped over.
She hit the floor.
Still tied.
"AAAAAH!"
She started crying.
"Little sister, I'm sorry!"
She kicked helplessly.
"PLEASE COME BACK!"
But unfortunately for her—
I had completely forgotten she existed.
Back with us.
I looked at Yuji and Choso.
"Alright," I said.
"Let's go kill them."
Yuji nodded seriously.
Choso nodded calmly.
"We need twenty points," I continued. "If we eliminate them, that's ten. Then we just need two more players or maybe two cursed spirits."
"And after that," Yuji added, "we add the rule to leave the barriers and go reinforce the Tengen. So we can catch Kenjaku off guard."
"Exactly."
"Wait, we are technically talking about murdering your parent." I said as I looked at both of them.
Both just shrugged, Choso even looked happy when he thought about taking revenge for his brothers.
I ignored these two.
Then three of us set off together.
We walked through the ruined streets of the colony.
Cars were abandoned.
Buildings were cracked.
"I doubt they went back to their old base," I said. "They might know that we are hunting them."
Yuji nodded.
"So we have no idea where they are."
We walked for another few minutes.
Then suddenly—
"I GOT AN IDEA."
Yuji and Choso both looked at me.
"What kind of idea?" Yuji asked carefully.
"My brilliant idea…"
I grinned.
"…is theft."
Ten minutes later.
We broke into a police station.
The alarm immediately went off.
Red lights flashed everywhere.
Yuji rubbed his head awkwardly.
"This feels wrong…"
Choso calmly ripped open a metal locker.
"We require communication equipment."
Five minutes later, we had stolen a military-grade walkie-talkie set.
Then came the hard part.
Figuring out how it worked.
Three idiots spent an entire hour pressing buttons.
"Did you try this one?" Yuji asked.
"I already tried that!"
"Maybe this switch?"
"That's... I don't know..."
Choso stared at the device.
"…Perhaps the antenna must extend first."
Click.
Static.
Finally.
Yuji put the walkie very close to his face as he spoke
"—Hello?"
All three of us froze.
"IT WORKS!" Yuji shouted.
We then tested it further after making sure it worked, and we split up.
Each of us went in a different direction to search.
Four hours passed.
Then—
BEEP.
My walkie-talkie crackled.
"Kita! I found them!" Yuji's voice came through.
I instantly jumped onto a rooftop.
"Location?"
He quickly explained.
"I'm coming," I said.
I launched myself forward with flames under my feet.
I flew like a rocket across the colony.
It was still hard to balance, but I had gotten a lot better.
Five minutes later, I arrived.
And the moment I landed—
I saw Yuji fighting both Reggie and Hazenoki.
Yuji was breathing heavily.
His jacket was torn.
Blood ran down his arm.
Reggie kept throwing objects using his cursed technique.
Knives.
Tables.
Furniture.
Even cat toys.
"Why does he even have that?!" Yuji shouted while dodging.
Hazenoki spat another exploding tooth.
BOOM.
Yuji blocked with his arms and slid backwards. Yuji's arms were shaky.
Meanwhile, Reggie threw another barrage of knives.
Yuji desperately tried to close the distance.
But they kept zoning him out.
I crouched on a rooftop, watching carefully.
Then I noticed something.
Someone else.
A man creeping behind Yuji with a dagger.
I narrowed my eyes.
"…Who the hell is that?"
That character wasn't in the original story.
Then it clicked.
Reggie probably had more allies.
The man rushed forward.
Yuji turned too late.
At that exact moment, Reggie threw a knife.
The blade stabbed deep into Yuji's leg.
Yuji lost balance.
The dagger aimed straight for his face.
Yuji closed his eyes but instead of pain there was a scream.
Yuji opened his eyes.
I was standing there.
The man's arm was lying on the ground.
I had cut it off.
He screamed in terror.
I didn't give him time to finish. I stabbed my flame sword straight through his skull.
He dropped dead instantly.
Kogane appeared.
"You have earned 5 points."
Yuji exhaled in relief.
"Kita… thanks."
Reggie and Hazenoki stared at me with pure hatred.
From their perspective, I had:
Killed their ally multiple times.
Destroyed their base.
Taken their points after threatening them.
And hunted them across the colony.
They absolutely despised me.
Reggie prepared to move.
But then a calm voice spoke behind him.
"Piercing Blood."
A red beam shot forward.
Reggie's skull were pierced instantly.
He collapsed without even understanding what happened.
Choso landed behind him calmly.
His Kogane appeared.
"You have earned 5 points."
I clapped my hands once.
"Perfect."
Hazenoki jumped backwards in horror.
Now he was facing all three of us.
Yuji cracked his knuckles.
Choso stepped forward slowly.
Hazenoki immediately spat another explosive tooth.
I dodged sideways.
BOOM.
Yuji rushed forward.
Hazenoki tried to escape.
But Choso blocked his path.
Hazenoki jumped the other way—
Right into a flame chain I had already placed.
The chain wrapped around his torso.
He tore through it with brute force.
But that single second was enough.
Yuji appeared beside him.
Yuji's punch smashed into Hazenoki's jaw.
Blood flew.
Hazenoki staggered.
Then—
"Piercing Blood."
Choso's attack pierced straight through his chest.
Hazenoki collapsed to his knees.
I stepped forward.
Flames gathered in my palm.
"Sorry."
I burned straight through his torso.
He was still not down as he was using reverse cursed technique.
Yuji punched him once again. I watched as Hazenoki staggered towards me. I punched him back towards Choso.
Choso also punched him. Then we begin to beat him.
He fell.
Silence.
I stabbed my sword into his head to finish it.
Kogane appeared.
"You have earned 5 points."
I exhaled slowly.
"Five points left…"
We left the battlefield soon after.
Eventually, we found a huge luxury house.
Broken gate but the interior was pristine.
I jumped onto the massive bed.
The mattress sank under me.
I started laughing.
"This bed is huge!"
It was easily bigger than two king-size beds combined.
I kicked my feet happily.
Yuji sat on the edge of the bed.
Choso stood nearby watching us like an older brother.
Yuji smiled a little.
"Kita-san…"
"Yeah?"
He scratched his cheek.
"Ever since I met you… I've been doing all sorts of things."
I tilted my head.
"Like what?"
Yuji began counting on his fingers.
"Stealing."
"Kidnapping."
"Murder."
"Threatening people."
"Breaking into houses—"
"OKAY OKAY STOP!"
I threw a pillow at him.
"Don't list them like that!"
Yuji laughed awkwardly.
Choso nodded thoughtfully.
"She does encourage that"
"HEYYY!!!."
Yuji leaned back onto the bed.
"But honestly…"
He looked up at the ceiling.
"…it's been kinda fun."
I blinked.
Then laughed again.
"Yeah. Let's just rest here for today."
Yuji looked around the giant bedroom.
"Yeah… honestly… this place is too nice to pass up."
Choso finally sat down as well.
Once they left to explore the rest of the house, I stayed on the bed.
Staring at the ceiling quietly.
Then I muttered to myself.
"…Am I really that bad of a person?"
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End of Chapter