Chapter 69
Master Takano did not take Dazai Osamu's act of reaching out to grasp the staff to heart.
Amidst past doubts, there have been many who even tried to disassemble the staff to see if there were any mechanisms inside. His action was already considered mild, similar to the group of spectators who stared closely at the magician's hand, trying to find flaws in close-up magic.
So what if he gets to hold it? Master Takano scoffed inwardly at these ignorant masses without any special abilities.
Let him look around as he pleases. Eventually, he will be incredulous at what he sees, which will ultimately become a stepping stone to help his reputation move closer to deification.
And aren't more than half of the believers who are now bowing down at his feet once fools who didn't believe in him?
Of course, he wouldn't publicize these things in a big way, since the government still explicitly prohibits any organization or group from using the label of "superpowered person" without official permission—but that's okay, his followers will do their best to promote him through their respective networks of relationships.
Even when facing other superhumans like himself, he has ways to come up with various excuses to make them his subordinates, collaborators, or blasphemous corpses.
Soon, these people will also become one of them.
Master Takano's expression still revealed a kind and compassionate look, as if he cared for all living beings, but the dark side of his heart had already been thoroughly seen through by Osamu Dazai, and a hint of disdain and composure appeared in his cold, indifferent eyes, like embers of fireworks.
"Can you hurry up?"
Dazai Osamu leisurely covered his mouth and yawned, looking extremely sleepy. "I already want to go back to sleep. Please just end this farce already."
The white flames that Master Kono had just dispersed have not yet reignited.
This gave him the illusion that his fire ability could still be activated, just like countless times before, as if it were his own arm, and he could do whatever he wanted.
However, the reality is that Dazai Osamu's superpower [No Longer Human] has the highest priority against any superpower—it nullifies any superpower that the body touches.
In other words, any object capable of activating superpowers will render those powers ineffective upon his touch.
The top of this staff is a double lotus pedestal cast in gold and silver. Originally, it should have supported a delicate wisdom jewel symbolizing the Great Perfection, but Master Kono replaced it with a suspended white flame, which could lead believers into a more devout brainwashing, making them regard him as a reincarnated venerable one who walks on earth in place of gods and Buddhas.
At this moment, the lotus platform atop the staff is completely empty.
That once invincible cluster of white flames seemed to have lost its response, like a lighthouse whose signal had been cut off.
Master Takano managed to maintain a calm expression, immediately guessing that this arrogant brat had secretly pulled some tricks.
"Hey—is it ready yet?"
The excessively long silence not only confused the believer, but even the other party began to urge him impatiently, causing Master Takano to curse inwardly.
Did he not know that it was this brat who did the trick? There's definitely something wrong with the way he deliberately held the staff!
Master Kono made a quick decision and immediately released the tin staff.
Dazai Osamu lost his balance due to the sudden increase in weight, causing the staff to tip towards him. The quick-thinking clown magician caught it and turned it into another "magic staff" for him.
"It's a bit heavy, but it doesn't seem too difficult to swing."
Gogol chuckled and used the tin staff as a walking stick, deftly twirling it with a few flourishes that nearly enraged the believers.
If its weight and length weren't a constraint, the clown magician might actually have tossed it up and caught it, just like playing with an ordinary cane, without showing the slightest respect.
"I don't know how you did it, but this method is very interesting."
Master Kono's hands were empty, but he was not nervous. He raised his right hand, and as he spread his fingers, a powerful white flame rose from his palm once again.
As long as his superpower remains, what just happened doesn't even qualify as an accident.
"Master Kono is using his own body to ignite the fire of purification!"
“These blasphemous sinners will be burned at the stake immediately.”
"Only a pure soul that has redeemed its sins can touch it, just like the Master..."
The believers immediately stirred into a quiet commotion and murmur.
"I should say your method is very interesting, uncle."
Hearing these sounds, Dazai Osamu laughed as if he couldn't understand Takano's words. He stepped forward and grabbed the other's wrist, as if he wanted to pull the flame closer to his eyes for a closer look.
Knowing that he couldn't let the other party pull any more tricks this time, Master Takano immediately tried to step aside.
However, the condition for activating Dazai Osamu's supernatural ability is simply physical contact; there is no requirement to touch any specific part of the body.
Therefore, his fingertips suddenly twisted and struck the arm of the master, Kono—the white flames that had been ignited suddenly dissipated, shattering into countless fleeting sparks in full view of everyone.
When Master Takano tried to activate his ability again but received no response, he truly panicked.
"What…!"
Could this kid be one of those special anti-superpower users who can eliminate superpowers?
Master Takano, who immediately made his guess, didn't have time to show his astonishment. He had to avoid contact with the other party—this brat's two deliberate attempts to reach out were definitely suspicious!
But it was all too late.
When the height difference between the two caused Dazai Osamu to look up again and give him a mocking smile, the pistol in his other hand was already pressed against his master's forehead.
Powerful offensive ability users share a common characteristic: they rely too much on their abilities and therefore do not carry extra weapons.
Moreover, this is a revered master who needs to act like a god. He is always good at using fire to create miracles and bring down divine punishment. How could he rely on worldly guns and swords? That would not fit his charlatan persona.
But he didn't expect that Dazai Osamu's superpower was too special, special and extremely rare. Not only did he not realize it, but he also did not expect that the other party's superpower ineffectiveness was only an auxiliary means. He himself would not be restricted in his choice of means because of his status as a superpower user.
So much so that even with fire powers rendered ineffective, a mere pistol could easily deter the high and mighty Master from resisting.
"Wait—I advise you not to rush up right now,"
Dazai Osamu smiled at the believers who were glaring at him angrily, his expression smug and arrogant, perfectly embodying the demeanor of a villain.
"Judging from your nonchalant expressions, do you really think this esteemed master won't be hurt by bullets?"
Before the group could pounce, Dazai Osamu swiftly lowered his gun and, without blinking, shot the hostage in the thigh.
Bang!
The genuine gunshots echoed through the quiet mountain forest, followed by a scream from Master Takano, whose blood splattered on the paving stones, leaving all the believers stunned and bewildered.
Only Gogol let his staff rest on his shoulder, freeing his hands to applaud and cheer for Dazai Osamu, exclaiming, "Bravo!"—he even whistled.
This is also the praise he hears most often during his magic tours.
But this cheer from just one person was so inappropriate at the time that many fanatics turned into menacing expressions as if they wanted to devour him.
If it hadn't been discovered that Master Takano had been shot, many people might have rushed forward just now.
"[That damned brat, how dare he be so disrespectful to me]—that's probably the curse that you and your followers are constantly repeating in your heads, isn't it?"
Dazai Osamu pressed the gun back against Takano's forehead, casually shrugged, and innocently addressed the hostage who was about to collapse.
"It's their fault for not believing me. Sorry, I'll let you bleed a little to cool you off."
Master Takano was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
"What exactly do you want to do?!"
"What for... well, I'm here to expose your magic tricks, of course."
Dazai Osamu's lips curled up in a pleased yet sly smile as he turned to Gogol and gestured, "It's time for the magician to make his appearance."
"Phew, is it finally my turn? Yes, yes, next up is my grand entrance, Gogol—"
Holding his tin staff, Gogol strode up the steps and stood beside the still-burning bonfire, professionally removing his hat and bowing to the crowd.
The massive flames cast a bright, warm light upon his handsome and distinctive face, and also outlined a hazy, spreading halo around the genius magician.
"Huh, is that the famous magician? It's actually him in person?"
"I just noticed that she looks exactly like the person on the TV show."
"Could he be here to uncover the secrets of the [Pure Fire Miracle]?"
Once Gogol revealed his identity and became the focus of everyone's attention, it was difficult for anyone to take their eyes off him.
Especially his identity—a magician, a performer who uses props, techniques, and scientific principles to visually present all sorts of incredible sights.
When this identity is associated with Master Takano, it inevitably leads people to associate it with "miracles" and "magic".
"This audience member guessed correctly; Gogol is not performing magic today,"
When it comes to magic, Gogol, with his strong desire to perform, is quite adept at it, "but rather, he does magic reveal performances—bang bang bang bang!"
He even added a short opening sound effect to his speech.
Amidst the uproar and shock of all the believers, only the abducted Master Takano was filled with a mixture of pain and bewilderment.
Magic trick revealed? What's there to reveal? He did all this with superpowers, not magic. Doesn't this kid know that perfectly well? Otherwise, how could he have made the flames disappear?
Faced with the atmosphere that was about to reach its climax, Gogol did not waste time or try to fool people with some magic tricks—he actually raised the tin staff, just like Master Takano had done.
In the next moment, white flames ignited from the center of the lotus platform at the top of the staff, also in a suspended state.
"!!!"
All the believers, including Master Takano, stared wide-eyed.
It's actually possible!?
"It's just a very simple illusion, with a little bit of scientific principle added."
Despite the countless shocked stares that seemed to pop out of their sockets, Gogol's smile was exceptionally cheerful, as if he had gained a great sense of accomplishment from being able to fool so many people.
He casually waved the tin staff, not treating it as a sacred object for communicating with gods and Buddhas at all. The cluster of white flames also drew arcs of light, like a puppy chasing its own tail in circles.
Even the most solemn and mysterious religious treasures shattered their sacred aura when treated with such disrespect.
Master Takano gritted his teeth inwardly.
Forget all the trickery and scientific principles, this is real fire! Really!!
But he dared not utter a word of his profanity, for a real gun barrel was pointed at his head, threatening him to keep quiet.
The kid with bandages around his eyes still had his forearm pinned down, completely silencing his once invincible superpower, rendering it useless.
"Next, please welcome my assistant—"
After waving his staff, Gogol pointed the tip at Ivan, naturally drawing everyone's attention back to the silver-haired youth. "Mr. Ivan, who is about to perform a walk in fire! Please give him a round of applause!"
Another violent and unbelievable commotion erupted in the crowd.
But unlike the previous silent witnessing, there were actually some scattered applause this time, as if waiting for the actors in the play to take the stage.
Ivan, with a stern, expressionless face: "..."
When they arrived, Dazai's script wasn't arranged like this at all; it was Gogol who improvised and created this unconventional scene.
...Is he really going to work with this kind of person in the future? It's unbelievable.
Even so, Ivan still walked to the campfire amidst the shocked and expectant gazes of countless people, and continued walking inside without any hesitation.
The firewood crackled and popped, sending sparks flying through the air. This dangerous fire, capable of easily incinerating a human body, now seemed to gently surround Ivan's body, without even a trace of curl in his hair.
He stood inside for a while, then calmly walked around once, and stepped out of the bonfire unharmed, just as miraculously and unbelievably as Master Kono had demonstrated in the past.
An uproar arose one after another. The believers never expected that what Master Takano could do, an ordinary magician could also do!
So these are not miracles at all! They are just hoaxes!
Gogol was quite pleased with the scene he had created, a mixture of anger, panic, and shock. He held his staff across his chest and gave a graceful bow as if to leave.
"This concludes tonight's magic show. Thank you for watching."
"…………"
Master Takano knew he was completely finished. Even if he won against these people and used his fire powers to fake miracles, no one would believe him. Everyone would be convinced that it was just a magic trick.
Flames rising out of thin air? That's fake. They must have used some kind of mechanism or technique that they can't see.
Can you stand unharmed in a campfire? No way. Even if the campfire is really burning, how can you prove that you haven't tampered with yourself to prevent it from burning you?
Master Takano will fall into a self-proof trap that he cannot clear up unless he reveals that he is a superhuman.
At this moment, he couldn't even put up a fight, unless he risked being shot to death to order his organization members to show up and annihilate them in retaliation.
"Who are you? I've never heard of you before."
Master Takano never expected that all his hard work would be destroyed in the blink of an eye, and even the path to continue recruiting believers would be completely blocked. If he wanted to continue in the future, he could only transform into a pure violence-based mafia organization, and could no longer use religion to quickly make money.
"Why not cooperate with the Holy Staff instead of destroying it directly? I believe we can reach a good agreement on the distribution of profits."
"We are the rats in the dead house,"
Before Dazai Osamu could answer, Gogol made a declaration to him, standing upright and his words suddenly becoming formal and serious, as if he were announcing in a low voice the harbinger of the end of hell.
"It is the moment when you will become a nightmare, when divine punishment will descend and sins and pleas for mercy will never be forgiven."
This declaration did not reach the ears of the believers who were already in a state of confusion; only Master Takano heard it clearly.
"【The House of the Dead】...I know you. Your leader is that legendary 【Demon】, isn't he?"
He looked bewildered, thinking he had been double-crossed again.
"So that's how it is. Even rats have ambitions to devour elephants."
"You can resist if you want,"
After listening to this conversation, Dazai Osamu finally spoke with a slight smile, "However, the scene you're hoping for [your subordinates rushing to your rescue] might not come to pass."
Master Takano asked in astonishment, "...What?"
"If you ask why..."
Dazai Osamu finally released his grip, took out a walkie-talkie from his pocket, waved it in front of him, and pressed the voice transmission activation button. "The plan here is proceeding smoothly, officer."
"Received. The second team will reach the target location in five minutes."
After a slight crackling sound of electricity, the voice of the military police captain clearly came through.
That's it.
At this moment, Dazai Osamu's smile appeared to Takano Sosuke as no different from a demon in disguise—even more intelligent and cunning than an ordinary demon.
"The believers here have also done many evil deeds with you, haven't they? Not a single one of them will be spared." He winked at Master Takano, his tone light and playful.
"We look forward to seeing how you behave in prison in the future."
“…………” Master Takano was stunned for a long time before finally muttering.
"To be able to mobilize the authorities for cooperation, that [demon], could he actually be the [Grey Cardinal]...?"
"The Grey Cardinal" is a Christian sectarian title, usually referring to a behind-the-scenes manipulator who does not have an overt political or economic position but actually wields enormous influence over the situation.
As the leader of the "Holy Heaven Staff" organization, Master Takano naturally used religious symbolism to describe the other party.
Even though he hadn't yet met the leader of the "Rats in the House of the Dead," his heart was already filled with fear and despair.
This terrifying figure knew that simply defeating him wouldn't be enough to completely erode the followers of the Holy Staff. So he resorted to a cunning scheme that controlled everyone's minds, completely wiping out the organization's foundation and leaving him no chance to rise again.
And he only met three members of the other party's organization from beginning to end...!
Master Takano was so devastated that he lost all hope.
After the officials arrived and took over the situation, Dazai Osamu and the others left.
Next, the investigators from the Special Abilities Division led a team of military and police officers to oversee the operation and detain the criminals; this had nothing to do with them.
The following day, the senator who cooperated with them will publicize the matter in great detail, which will not only win him votes but also allow him to secretly take over the unclaimed property left behind by the Holy Heavenly Staff.
Yokohama has once again lost a cult organization that posed a significant threat to the public.
A win-win-win situation.
While the authorities were busy arresting these cult members, Dazai Osamu and his group had already arrived in the depths of the woods, which was more secluded than the observation deck.
There, Ye Yihe and Zhong Ye were secretly crouching behind a dense bush.
"It should have succeeded, right? I just saw the flames disappear into thin air."
"With Dazai here, there will definitely be no problem."
On the ground in front of them was a transparent beaker containing a small amount of ignited liquid, with white flames flickering in the night breeze on its surface.
Nitromethane plus methanol can produce a white flame when burned.
Perhaps Master Takano's white flames were a supernatural ability, but Gogol's white flames were solid science.
The only difference was that Gogol precisely teleported the flame in the beaker, letting it pass through his cloak and then transferring a portion of it to his staff.
The secret to Ivan's ability to walk into the flames without getting burned is even simpler—stone is non-flammable, and granite has a melting point of 950 degrees Celsius or higher.
No matter how hard the fire made of burning wood tried, it was impossible to ignite a stone doll.
It's difficult to melt the outer shell, since the flames from burning wood are usually below 800 degrees Celsius.
Seeing Dazai and the others arrive, Ye Yihe dusted off his clothes and stood up, no longer paying attention to the flames in the beaker. "Well done!"
He happily gave them a thumbs-up.
Before Dazai Osamu and the others even arrived, Ye Yihe had already heard the good news broadcast by the system.
[Congratulations, host, for resolving the incident. Resurrection Points +20.]
Even if the reward isn't as much as the reward for eliminating the Port Mafia, it's still a clearly priced resurrection point!
Killing 10 enemies earns you 200, killing 20 earns you 400. You'll accumulate enough as you keep grinding.
A win-win-win situation!
If Fyodor hadn't had that psychology PhD activate his special ability on them, they definitely wouldn't be able to so easily accumulate resurrection points by fighting the underworld. They would have to wait for the system to awaken him and then assign events to solve one by one.
Hmm... thinking about it this way, Fyodor did him a big favor.
Before leaving after accumulating enough revival points, I must thank him properly.
[You are pleased.]
Back in the small building, Ye Yihe heard Fyodor's voice echo in his mind, the voice enunciated with strict formality, unhurried and with its usual low chuckle: "[Did Gogol help you?]"
"Of course, it was a great help."
Even in the late hours of the night when drowsiness set in, Ye Yihe remained in a good mood.
Dazai said his original plan was to be more direct and brutal, and that it was only after Gogol joined that this method of eradicating the problem could be used.
[That would be perfect!]
A seductive chuckle followed, and Ye Yihe felt the sensation of a feather gently brushing against his palm reappear clearly; even if he wanted to question the other party's ill intentions, it was transformed into a subtle heart palpitation that brought a great contrast, against the backdrop of the other party's humility and elegance.
[In that case, would it be considered that I have helped you?]
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