Chapter 112

The replaced Dazai

To watch over the world? That's a truly arrogant statement.

The man ignored Fuyuki's silence, his gaze remaining fixed on her.

"It's a very simple matter, but for you, it might be unnecessary trouble." Then, he completely wiped away that smile that seemed to have never existed, and his expression became cold, just like at the beginning.

Fuyuki pursed her lips, her heart pounding in her chest. She called out to him, "Dazai."

Without hesitation: "What else do you know? How many more versions of yourself will you see?"

"And where are they now? Where is Dazai Osamu, who just traveled with me?"

She has many problems.

"Have you communicated with them, or is it only a very few people who know about the existence of the isotopes?"

【Aaaaaaahhhhhh—why does he have books?! This guy!】

[Little Winter Tree! Hold on, I'll get you back in a minute. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid.]

The sound of the stray dog ​​kept echoing in her mind, overflowing with information, which really shocked her brain.

There was no change on the surface of the winter tree. After a quick analysis, the newly obtained information was obtained, and the conversation continued without interruption.

“And,” she took a deep breath and uttered the unfamiliar name, “that piece of paper…is it a ‘book’?”

The man nodded expressionlessly: "To be precise, it's the remains of a 'book'."

This is not something he should possess, even if it is just wreckage.

Countless worlds... the only one who could truly come into contact with "books" was Dazai Osamu, who became the leader.

This is a common law in all parallel worlds.

If the similarity is too high, the parallel worlds will be merged to ensure that the parallel worlds are absolutely different.

"Wreckage?" Fuyuki suddenly reached out and grabbed Tsurumaru Kuninaga. "Tsurumaru, calm down."

"Hmm, I'm very calm. This really scared me." Tsurumaru Kuninaga closed his eyes, suppressing all the thoughts stirring in his mind.

Fuyuki looked at him with confusion and worry, but continued to say to the person opposite her, "Why do you have it? This thing shouldn't be here with this kind of mentality. This place doesn't even count as any world."

The man tilted his head slightly, but the movement was not human; it was more like a machine mimicking human behavior, yet only achieving a superficial resemblance.

"Is that so? The abandoned and broken world is not within your protection scope. In that case, there's no need to ask any more questions."

"Broken? What do you mean?" Fuyuki was somewhat incredulous. Even if it was a parallel world, it was still part of the Little Wild Dog. Being broken was no small matter.

This indicates that the balance of the world had already been disrupted, but it was only now that she, having come here, suddenly discovered it.

She remained vigilant and slowly moved behind the tsukumogami.

“Literal meaning.” The man walked forward. “Those who do not abide by the rules but resist fusion will be shattered by the laws of nature, while here, they survive by bearing the last bit of fate.”

"This is me."

"Are you surprised?" He tried to add a hint of doubt to his tone. "You were also a victim of a broken world, weren't you? I saw that chaotic world, with only a few remnants of its former self. That pitiful world... you didn't protect it."

Fuyuki's brain was working frantically, trying to understand these crazy words.

"That's not my task, is it?"

Her body stiffened, her teeth clenched, but the image of the world breached by the Time Travel Army and herself, pierced by a blade, involuntarily surfaced in her mind...

"Stop."

"Yes, you're right." The man's steps were stopped by the tip of Tsurumaru Kuninaga's sword.

He looked down at the sharp object that had been embedded in his flesh.

“You are not wrong; the only mistake is your weakness. Neither ‘Dazai Osamu’ nor ‘Fuyuki’ is wrong.” He stated these words calmly. “You don’t need to feel sad about it either. At the beginning of every disaster, there will inevitably be victims who cannot be saved.”

He seemed to be comforting her.

Dongshu blinked: "Okay."

Decisive yet calm.

The man was taken aback: "You trust me a lot."

"certainly."

【Little Winter Tree—We're here!!!】

Fuyuki narrowed his eyes: "And that's when we'll never see this imposter again."

As soon as the words were spoken, the space behind them was torn apart, and a corner of a familiar sand-colored trench coat floated out from the crack.

"Little Fuyuki, things seem to be getting even more interesting now."

It's Osamu Dazai.

He wore a relaxed smile, with the familiar Dazai Ming by his side.

"I told you so, I had a way. Spacetime chaos is easy to find anywhere!"

Fuyuki could see it clearly; blue data flowed through Dazai Mei's eyes.

He looked smug and reached out to grab Dazai Osamu's sleeve, but missed. His expression froze, and he casually withdrew his hand.

"Dazai." Fuyuki secretly rubbed the head of the invisible paper doll with his fingers.

【well done. 】

【Hehe...I found it, don't be afraid!】The little stray dog ​​was very proud. It nudged her fingertip with its soft, flat little head to show its excitement.

In his own world, He is the sole ruler.

This rift between parallel worlds naturally falls under His jurisdiction, but He hasn't discovered the huge trouble hidden there.

Little Wild Dog: qwq

That was terrible; it almost turned into a disaster.

What I hate is that technology creates things that are always going around in its own world, and there are so many holes to patch up. It's such a hassle.

“Interesting.” The man’s white hair suddenly floated up, and then his whole body became light and airy.

He tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, but strangely lingered on Dazai Ming for a moment.

Ah, a fellow human being... one that seems utterly foolish, making no progress whatsoever, and completely guarded against.

sad.

"Little Winter Tree, you were willing to talk to me so much, just to buy time?" He pretended not to see any tears in his eyes, but there was no trace of tears. "It really hurts me to see you approach me with such ulterior motives."

Fuyuki protested, "Who's coming near you?"

Fueled by the Saniwa's rage, Hasebe instantly drew his main body and charged forward.

The blade decisively sliced ​​through the legs, but was cleanly cut off like wood, then fell hard to the ground.

The man did not scream or bleed; it was as if nothing had happened, and he remained suspended in mid-air.

He's definitely not human.

Hasebe stared intently at him, but since he couldn't fly, he couldn't reach him as the altitude increased.

"Tsk."

"Hasebe, it's alright."

“Yes, it will die on its own.” Dazai Osamu stood next to Fuyuki, taking the place of Hasebe.

Ignoring the death stare from the spirit, he smiled kindly: "Little Fuyuki, don't separate so easily next time. You really disappear in the blink of an eye, and then we meet again in such a strange place."

Dazai Ming quickly chimed in, "Right, right, your family wouldn't be in a place like this, really. If I hadn't acted quickly, you would have—"

The blade grazed his face, and Dazai Ming bent down slightly to dodge it.

Randomly, he lost his footing and took two steps back.

"You!" he glared angrily.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga smiled nonchalantly and sheathed his katana: "Oh dear, I was suddenly startled by something strange, and my hand moved on its own."

Dazai Ming wanted to refute, but when he looked at the people present, he was met with indifferent gazes.

He was taken aback.

Why? Why look at him like that? Didn't he do something great?

He guiltily looked away, unable to utter a word of rebuttal.

...It's impossible for it to be discovered.

He had the system do all of that; he didn't do it himself. It's not his fault that things suddenly went out of control...

He pursed his lips and fell silent instantly.

Upon seeing this, the man suddenly sneered and said sarcastically, "How pathetic."

The yellowed pages in his hand suddenly turned into shredded paper and floated down from the air. White light emanated from his empty lower legs, and the severed part grew back, just like a tree regenerating, without any difficulty.

Exactly the same as before.

The "Dazai Osamu" who was completely possessed by the system was now just a shell; all the wisdom and soul within him had vanished with the shattering of the world.

"You guys seem very smart."

"Little Winter Tree, what I said before..." He tilted his head, "Do you still believe it?"

This child, targeted by her own kind and recognized by the city, is someone every city in the world hopes will come into her true self.

However, it is extremely difficult for girls who are dominated by this world to fulfill such wishes.

Fuyuki warned: "I will see for myself, investigate for myself, and think for myself. I don't need the enemy to tell me these things."

"Hmm, good girl." The man praised her. "You're very smart. I really like you too. So... why wasn't I the one you were looking after back then?"

His voice suddenly turned gloomy, and his expression became ferocious. His usual calmness and imitation were gone, and this was entirely an extreme emotion that came from the amplified state of this body.

"If you had come to me instead of that damned original world, you could have survived, and everyone would still exist." The last bit of obsession in the body was amplified infinitely by the data stream, and the shell kept uttering distorted words.

Why did his world disappear? Why are other versions of Dazai Osamu still alive?

They could live to be 16, 18... or even die of old age—such a vicious curse.

But he died forever in the past.

The world and fate are so unfair.

Even the guy named "Nakajima Atsushi" who would take his place in bearing the future's fortune, he had never met before.

"It's all because of you—"

Before the words were even finished, and the atmosphere remained tense, the little stray dog ​​suddenly leaned close to Fuyuki's ear.

【Look, he's getting anxious.】The little paper figure looks obedient and cute, but its tone is like stirring up trouble.

Fuyuki: "?"

The man in front of her visibly turned red.

She suddenly realized.

...This guy seems to be able to hear.

[Author's Note]

I did it... right? [dove emoji]