Chapter 215 Original Story Side Story (5): If Daigo raised a little wolfhound, Ichima, in the prison gates...
Gojo Satoru's resentful scratching of his phone, filled with discontent and grievance, was completely beyond the comprehension of Hatake Kazuma.
However, he also vaguely sensed that Mr. Gojo seemed to be in a rather low mood in the past few days, and even the frequency of touching his head had decreased.
However, the other party repeatedly emphasized to him through a draft paper that he was not allowed to play any games that tested his courage, and that he should never go near any abandoned places.
[Since this is Mr. Gojo's request.]
Kazuma Hatori readily agreed without asking any further questions.
He had a rough idea that... those supernatural rumors that he had initially thought were sensational might not all be entirely fabricated.
After all, Mr. Gojo's existence has already proven this to him.
However, Kazuma Hatori would never reveal the existence of Mr. Gojo to anyone.
He didn't want to share Mr. Gojo with anyone, and only wanted Mr. Gojo to accompany him alone—such thoughts had already taken deep root in his heart and were slowly sprouting branches.
Therefore, Kazuma Hatori continued to go to and from school as usual, without showing any abnormality.
On the contrary, the person sitting next to him who had asked him for the scratch paper before—I remember his name was Kota Hisato—has recently become a bit nervous. He often suddenly drifts off in class or falls asleep, only to wake up in a panic to the teacher's scolding.
After all, Kota Kudo had a good relationship with Takamura and Katayama, who had already moved, and they always hung out together. Some people were already whispering that he would definitely be the next one to "move."
I heard that recently, some unknown suspicious people have been loitering around their school, but they leave in a hurry.
Kazuma Hatori ignored all these rumors and didn't bother to inquire about them, otherwise he risked being caught red-handed and giving himself away.
It was already the end of January, and it was Kazuma Hatake and Kota Hisato's turn to clean the classroom after school and take the trash to the designated place to dispose of it.
The classroom was completely empty. Kazuma Hatori was slowly sweeping along the aisle when he looked up and noticed that Kota Hisato was still standing there, his broom tightly clenched in his hand.
Kazuma Hatake: "..."
I've done chores with him before, and I've never seen him slack off like this.
“Han…Hanatori,” Kota Kudo called out suddenly, his voice trembling, “Have you…have you heard about Takamura and Katayama?”
In the depths of winter, darkness falls exceptionally early, and even in the afternoon, the sky always seems gloomy, making the light illuminating the classroom appear weak and listless.
Kazuma Hatori nodded silently to him, indicating that he had heard the rumors before.
"I...I'm telling you, the moving is definitely a lie, something really happened to their family..."
Kota Hisato immediately took a few steps closer to him, as if he were really afraid of something, and even his speech became very fast.
"The teacher said that Katayama had moved, but I didn't believe it, so I later climbed over the wall to go to his house to check the situation. I found that the large bloodstains in the entrance hall hadn't been wiped clean yet...!"
“…”
"He was definitely killed by a demon, I'm not lying to you! It was the demon that was haunting Takamura from the beginning!"
Seeing that Kazuma Hatori still hadn't responded, Kota Kudo started to get anxious.
"It will definitely reappear. There were six people who played the test of courage, and it will kill them one by one!"
The classroom remained silent for a long time before a cold, emotionless voice finally rang out.
“That sounds like,” Kazuma Hatake said, “has nothing to do with me.”
Kudo Kouta: “…………”
What a cold thing to say! How could this guy say something that's even more chilling than the cold air outside the window?
"No, no, aren't you afraid of being implicated...?"
Kota Hisato gripped the broom tighter, racking his brains to figure out how to make his words more convincing.
"Furthermore, I don't know if you've encountered this, but strange things have been happening around me lately. Some things I keep nearby suddenly disappear, only to reappear nearby a little while later; sometimes I feel like a hand is tugging at my clothes, but when I turn around, I can't see anyone; and if I accidentally fall asleep, I can vaguely hear muttering in my ear..."
After listening to such a long string of words, Kazuma Hatori still just looked at Kota Hisato coldly, without any emotional fluctuation on his face.
He neither answered whether he believed it nor disbelieved it, as if these things were nothing to Kazuma Hatori, like a breeze passing by his ear, completely unimportant.
“…”
Kota Hisato stared intently at Kazuma Hato for a moment, and realizing that he really didn't intend to say anything in response, he had no choice but to shut up and start cleaning.
As the light gradually dimmed, and they finished collecting their trash and carried two black plastic bags toward the back of the school building, Kota Hisato couldn't help but follow Kazuma Hatori, who was half a head taller than him, and spoke in a low voice again.
"Don't you feel like something is following us?"
Kazuma Hatake: "..."
Why is this guy muttering to himself? He wants to go home as soon as he finishes throwing out the trash; Mr. Gojo must be getting impatient.
Even though Mr. Gojo never said it, Kazuma Hato knew that he didn't like being alone in an empty room, because it would be very lonely.
But when he turned around, what came into view was not only his neighbor at the next table, Kota Hisato.
There was also a strangely shaped, twisted monster, seemingly pieced together from countless fragments of limbs, slowly writhing.
One of its hands was already reaching towards Kota Kudo's head, while the other hand was also reaching out towards him—Kazuma Hatori could even smell the foul stench emanating from the sharp and filthy fingernails, like some kind of spoiled meat.
The scene was so impactful that Kazuma Hatori stared in astonishment, his dark eyes widening, and he stood frozen in place.
Kota Hisato also stopped: "Hatori...?"
“…Run.” Kazuma Hatake said.
"?"
Kouta Kudo was still confused when Kazuma Hatori turned and rushed out.
Fortunately, the person sitting next to Kazuma Hatori wasn't too stupid. Seeing that he had run fifty meters away in the blink of an eye, he naturally took off to catch up.
As he passed the garbage dump, Kazuma Hatake tossed the garbage bag in and continued forward without stopping, trying to distance himself from the terrifying monster.
"Wait...wait for me, Hatori...why did you suddenly run away?!"
Kota Hisato, who was running behind him, was panting heavily. The monster behind them, which had been moving slowly, gradually picked up speed and began to catch up with them.
"Can't you see behind you?"
When Kazuma Hatori asked him, he was met with a blank look.
...What's going on? Is he the only one who can see that thing? Is he hallucinating?
Or perhaps... Kazuma Hatori was thinking of Mr. Gojo in his bedroom.
Was it influenced by him?
It's unclear, but Kazuma Hatori knows that this thing is most likely related to Takamura and Katayama's "relocation".
Now, it has targeted Kota Hisato, dragging him into its attack range as well.
Kazuma Hatori casually broke off a tree branch and threw it at the monster behind him, a monster whose behavior was beyond human comprehension—and watched as it crashed into the moving mass of flesh, bounced off to the side, and landed on the ground.
This thing really exists.
Unlike the unobservable, gentle, and adorable Mr. Gojo, this terrifying monster is real and can inflict fatal attacks on people.
However, Kazuma Hatori had no weapons besides his schoolbag, and Kota Kudo, who was hanging behind him panting heavily, didn't even have his schoolbag with him.
Even Kazuma Hatori wasn't sure if ordinary weapons could successfully repel it.
"Hatori..."
He only slowed down slightly and called out his name before the monster caught up with him. With a sweep of its hand, the monster sent him flying, crashing heavily into the wall before screaming and slipping to the ground.
Kazuma Hatori was a beat slower than expected, and judging by his appearance, Kota Hisato must have broken two or three ribs.
The next moment, that hand suddenly grew incredible joints and twisted as it reached out to grab him—but Kazuma Hatori, who could see it, reacted quickly and slid in to dodge it, successfully rushing into the school building.
At this moment, there are still a few students walking around the teaching building, mostly staying for student council or club activities.
Kazuma Hatori, without looking to the side, rushed straight toward the kendo club's activity room.
At least the kendo club has unsharpened samurai swords that can be used as melee weapons, and the force of a heavy swing is enough to cut a watermelon in half!
Once again dodging the attack, Kazuma Hatori kicked open the half-closed door—luckily, no one was in the room, but a knife was lying on the table in the corner.
The hand rushed towards him again, and Kazuma Hatori reached out and grabbed the samurai sword. In the instant he turned around, he drew his sword and severed the wrist!
The monster let out a wail, but the severed hand quickly returned to its original state, seemingly having no effect on it.
……really.
Kazuma Hatake's intuition was correct, and he was already standing in this not-so-spacious activity room. Even if he wanted to hide, there was nowhere to go, as the only way out was blocked by this monster.
We need to find a way to kill it.
Kazuma Hatori's gaze was indifferent as he stood holding a sword in one hand.
His motor reflexes are excellent, allowing him to dodge attacks from slow-moving monsters and cut through protruding chunks of flesh.
But apart from that, he couldn't do any more damage to it.
Even if more limbs were cut off from that mountain of flesh, the opponent's recovery speed was still not slow at all, as if he had been completely immune to physical attacks; while his physical strength was gradually exhausted, and the hunger from his stomach even became burning.
"Impossible," Hagoromo thought to himself.
Since highly aggressive monsters like the Mountain of Flesh haven't spread to the point of killing people everywhere, it means that there must always be a force capable of dealing with these kinds of supernatural beings.
...He needs that power.
He needs this power.
He wanted to burn this mountain of flesh in front of him until not even ashes remained.
This firm and persistent thought suddenly popped into Kazuma Hatori's mind, as if it were innate, without any hesitation or delay.
Immediately afterwards, pale flames suddenly ignited on the flesh mountain monster's body—starting from a small point and spreading rapidly throughout its entire body in just a few breaths, causing it to emit incoherent screams that gradually weakened and eventually disappeared.
When the last wisp of white flame dissipated, the walls and ground that were not blackened by the fire remained clean as before, with no trace of remains to be found.
Kazuma Hatake still gripped the katana: "..."
What is this, his ability?
Before he could think it through, laughter and chatter could be heard coming from outside the activity room.
"Let's buy some crepes on the way back, the super popular flavor... wait, why is the door open?"
Kazuma Hatori hurriedly sheathed his sword, while the two girls stepped through the door, surprised by his presence.
"Wait...is that Hatori-kun?"
One of them even knew him.
Without showing the slightest sign of panic, Kazuma Hatori simply nodded slightly, "Sorry, I just thought this sword was beautiful and I came in without thinking."
"Oh my, you think it's beautiful too, right? It's a famous sword that Yamazawa-senpai commissioned a master craftsman to make, and he brought it here to broaden our horizons."
It was a rare opportunity to chat with the notoriously aloof Kazuma Hatori, and the girl's tone unconsciously became excited.
"I remember that Hatori-kun didn't sign up for any clubs. How about joining the kendo club?"
"...No need, I'll just take a look."
Kazuma Hatori put the knife back on the table, not intending to reveal what had just happened.
"Thanks."
The sword... thankfully he didn't break it. I can't afford to pay for it.
As he walked past the two girls and into the hallway from the doorway, he could still hear them whispering, and they sounded very happy.
Kazuma Hatori took a detour first, and after confirming that Kota Hisato was still unconscious and not in any immediate danger, he went straight home.
Since he didn't have a cell phone, he couldn't call an ambulance for the other person.
More concerned about the flames that had just been lit than about Kota Hisato's safety, Kazuma Hatori was more worried about the fire.
Even now, he still believes he can burn anything—if he wants to.
And a name was vaguely forming in his mind.
[Ten thousand laws and one truth].
Compared to this power, Kazuma Hatori cared more about one thing.
If Mr. Gojo knew about his strength, would he still be willing to continue to stay with him?
Upon opening the bedroom door, Kazuma Hatake indeed received an extremely enthusiastic caress, from his head down to his chest and then to his hands, and even his face was vigorously rubbed a few times, forcing him to look blank.
It felt as if a cat had pounced on him and stepped on his chest, demanding, "Why did you take so long to come back!"
Sorry, I was on duty today and it took me a little longer.
Driven by some inexplicable emotion, Kazuma Hatori subconsciously concealed what had happened after school that day, convincing himself that he wanted to avoid worrying Mr. Gojo and try to figure it out himself first.
Mr. Gojo didn't blame him. A gentle breeze brushed his cheek, twirled lightly on his head, and gently rubbed his hair as a comforting gesture before finally letting go of him completely.
But Yuichiro knew it clearly.
That deep-seated, base desire had also ignited into flames—but it failed to illuminate the desolate night, only scorching the heart that was gradually becoming more greedy.
He didn't want to lose Mr. Gojo, so he had to first gain power.
He wants to become stronger.
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The consequences of not having enough money to spend on in-game purchases are gradually becoming apparent (it's sad, but not that sad).
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