Instant Death

Chapter 18 - Fat ‘humans’ can live for quite a while, can’t they?

Ayaka Shinozaki, who was wandering the town at night aimlessly, was regretting a little that her behavior—which was like that of a declaration of war—might have been bad.

They were famous, so if she got information somewhere properly, she’d confirm the shops they hung around and things like that easily.

Ushio and others were found doing so, but since she killed the first person, it’d reach the point that her classmates would hold back in going out.

The town was excessively spacious. If it became like that, they couldn’t be found so easily.

『The extent of their strength is known. Their headquarters is known, so should we attack?』

Those referred to as sage candidates came and were capturing hell as a trial, and they were treated as guests in the royal castle.

She knew that much by the town’s rumors.

“Won’t that spoil my plan to make them fear death by visiting eventually?” (Ayaka)

『No. It isn’t the case that their full particulars are clear. I think you should continue with caution still.』

『By aiming for and killing one person, isn’t a mysterious cutthroat method better? If they know they are targets, they won’t take a stroll like an idiot.』

『Even now, I propose you should stop actions like these.』

“Is that right.” (Ayaka)

『Ooh! Will you accept the proposal?』

“I wonder if I should go to their headquarters after all. And how about killing just one person and returning?” (Ayaka)

『Even if that passes, isn’t it only to the first person? If they know their headquarters is exposed, they’ll run away and change their base.』

『It’s fine to take revenge, but what if you kill everyone else? You’ll have to take their time until then?』

『It’d be nice if there was some way to know their whereabouts easily.』

『Can’t they be tracked by their smell or something like that?』

『The accuracy of recognition increases if the limiter of the sense of smell is removed, but the number of receptors for the sense of smell itself doesn’t change. There’s probably not that much of a point in doing so.』

『And something magical?』

『That’s right. Individual identification with the soul would be possible, but it’s necessary to meet them once and memorize the soul for that.』

『Then, we should go to their headquarters after all. For now, we should go around looking for classmates like usual. If we do that then it’s possible to catch them anywhere.』

‘I may be going crazy after all.’ Ayaka suddenly considered such a thing.

The distinction between herself and each unit was unclear, and there were times she didn’t really know who was talking.

Perhaps, the things like units might be delusions. She considered it as far as such a thing.

But, such faint thoughts were erased by the strong stimulus that jolted her brain.

『What was that just now!』

『An impact on the head. It didn’t penetrate the dragon scales, but it couldn’t be absorbed completely.』

『A slight cerebral concussion is occurring.』

Her line of sight was drawn to something rolling on the ground. A rock about the size of a clenched fist. That had directly hit Ayaka’s head.

『Are you an idiot! Release the human body simulation and things like that!』

“As I thought, I’m not human, huh.” (Ayaka)

‘My dizziness was reduced rapidly’, Ayaka thought so again. The current situation wasn’t a delusion or something after all.

『It’s a sniping!』

『Where from!』

『North east, 30 degrees! It’s coming again!』

She looked in the direction the unit designated.

Three stones similar to the one from not long ago were flying towards her.

Ayaka dodged one. It directly hit someone behind her, and they were showily blown off while spraying blood.

Whether or not the aim of the two after arched, it resulted in the head of a passerby in front of her exploding showily.

『The sniping point was specified.』

“Okay. Then, let’s go, I guess. Dragon Wings” (Ayaka)

She emitted the dragon language, and manifested the general idea of floating called Dragon Wings.

Ayaka’s body floated lightly, and arrived at the target instantly.

It was a rooftop of a high-rise building. A girl wearing a white dougi was standing there.

Riona Shirayama. One of Ayaka’s classmates, and one of the targets she should kill.

Riona was taken aback. She probably had never thought that she’d come to her side instantly like this. At her feet, a massive quantity of stones for sniping were scattered.

“Even if I say it, I wonder, is it fine to drag unrelated people into it?” (Ayaka)

“Ha~. I couldn’t sleep in peace if I left you alone, I guess. If unrelated people will get involved, it’s fine to kill you.” (Riona)

“I see. It looks like your extremely self-centered. It’s a thing like that, so even if you run away while using a classmate as a decoy, you can make a composed face, am I right?” (Ayaka)

She didn’t intend to forgive her or something like that from the start, but as expected, she didn’t even have a particle of room for sympathy.

“Well, I don’t have the nature of doing it compactly from such a long distance originally. I’ll attack with kicks after all!” (Riona)

Saying so, Riona took a stance. Ayaka remembered that she was doing karate. The appearance of a black belt in a white dougi was something of karate.

『A kind that advocates karate combat, eh? A thing like this is nothing but a sham kickboxing.』

“Oh my, battle unit-san is surprisingly bitter.” (Ayaka)

“Oraa!” (Riona)

Riona struck her.

Ayaka didn’t avoid it.

Upper, middle, lower. Her fists, a foot knife, and elbows were striking her in a flash, but Ayaka kept receiving them without moving.

She had been unprepared some time ago, but it was like this as long as she was prepared.

“Dammiiiiit!” (Riona)

Whether or not she thought ‘I’m making no progress’, Riona took distance temporarily.

“How high is your strength among the class?” (Ayaka)

“If it’s a hand-to-hand battle, then I’m the strongesttt!” (Riona)

While Riona shouted, a light covered her entire body as if she was burning.

“That is?” (Ayaka)

『A system related ability? It feels like she’s powered up, I think.』

“Not too useful information, huh. Dragon Claw” (Ayaka)

It was troublesome to just wait for the opponent’s power up, so Ayaka swung her hand as if she was brushing away a fly or something. It was an attack which conceptualized the claws of a dragon that tore up everything.

The invisible impact that flew from Ayaka’s five fingers severed space.

“Ah?” (Riona)

Maybe she felt the impact which ran through her side, Riona emitted a stupid voice.

A little later, the rooftop shifted.

The rooftop shifted and fell diagonally from right by Riona, and crashed into the ground while making a loud sound.

And, Riona’s arm *plop* fell.

She screamed, and Ayaka approached the crouching Riona’s side.

“Of course, I was able to directly hit you, but I’ve decided to not kill you immediately. Please be afraid as much as possible.” (Ayaka)

Ayaka kicked Riona’s abdomen. It was being strengthened with dragon scales, but there wasn’t all that much power packed in it.

“Dammiiiiit!” (Riona)

Even while crouching, Riona sent out her fist. Whether or not she finished powering up, it was a blow clad in a red-hot aura, but even that didn’t pass on Ayaka. Riona’s fist couldn’t go through the dragon scales.

“If you’re the ‘strongest hand-to-hand fighter’ with this, the other people don’t seem to be a big deal.” (Ayaka)

Ayaka stepped on Riona’s left arm, and waved her right hand.

“Now. How about you beg for your life or something like that, I guess? Perhaps, I might change my mind?” (Ayaka)

Of course, she didn’t feel like asking for her to beg for her life or something like that. She was just anticipating to what extent she’d unsightly paw at the ground.

“Fu, if only, if only I wasn’t sealed, then it’d be you! If only I could use rank four, then there’s no way I’d lose!” (Riona)

“Seal?” (Ayaka)

She thought she might be making excuses, but Riona seemed to be thinking that seriously.

『There are ranks on the skills used in the system, but the seal of this place seems to be something that lowers the ranks. Although, there’s no effect on us who are based on dragon language magic.』

“On that subject, I wonder if it’s your ability. Is something different if your rank is higher?” (Ayaka)

“……” (Riona)

“Dragon Fang” (Ayaka)

“Guuu!” (Riona)

Ayaka invoked dragon fang on her foot. The invisible jaw bit at Riona’s left arm.

She slowly put strength into it, but didn’t go as far as biting it off. She was threatening her at most.

“If you say your prided rank four is so strong, then you can inform me about it, right?” (Ayaka)

“All-ability doubling……tenfold at rank one, a hundredfold at rank two……if it’s rank four, then it’s ten thousandfold……it is rank two right now……” (Riona)

“I see. Certainly, ten thousandfold and a hundredfold are completely different. I wonder, is there a way to solve that ‘seal’?” (Ayaka)

『According to the information obtained from the dragon people, it is due to the skill the royal family uses. So, you should deal with the user, I guess.』

Ayaka lowered her brandished hand, and separated from Riona.

“Your making excuses wasn’t useless. Then, without the seal, may we contest once again?” (Ayaka)

“What, are you saying……” (Riona)

Riona was taken aback. She probably couldn’t immediately believe that she was saved.

『Is it okay?』

“Yeah. If I meet her once, I can grasp her location with the “seal”, can’t I?” (Ayaka)

If that was the case, it was possible to kill her whenever. Ayaka used dragon wings, and floated into the air.

She looked around.

Her the place of destination—royal castle—was found immediately. It was because it was the biggest building, in the center of the royal capital.

Ayaka took off towards the royal castle.

**

Hanakawa and Lute purchased tickets at a bar, and headed towards an entrance of hell.

The entrance was close to the selling place which sold them, so they arrived quickly without anything like losing their way in particular.

The entrance was a cabin made of stone. Though small, it was a building high-class, ornamented building.

Handing over their tickets to the receptionist, they entered inside.

In there was a spiral staircase leading to hell.

“However, is it true that the inside is one hundred forty kilometers in diameter? In that case, it’ll jut out of the town, right? I have a feeling like I heard ‘this town is here to suppress hell’.” (Hanakawa)

Hanakawa asked while going down the stairs.

The royal capital was also an enormous town, but still, if it was ‘diameter’, it was probably about ten kilometers. It was a scale that simply couldn’t cover all of hell.

“It isn’t underground in this underground. It’s hell, so it’s probably natural. If it’s just underground, then it’s just an underground maze.” (Lute)

“You’re quite right. Certainly, it is like that.” (Hanakawa)

In other words, ‘hell’ was the underworld, and hell could only be reached through this city.

After descending the staircase for a little while, it became a cave where a rocky surface was exposed.

It was a cave, but the surroundings were sufficiently bright. It was because there were shining rods dotting the top part of the cave.

“This place is the ‘first layer’, huh. It’s also my first time coming here, but, well, what should we do? Younger sister god is at the lowest level.” (Lute)

“Ummm, the first layer’s width is ten kilometers, so it’s about seventy meters to the middle part, right? And, the height of each layer is one kilometer. Assuming the high of the first layer is something like a measurement error, the depth of the seventh layer is about six meters……I don’t think there’s any way we can struggle our way to such a thing!” (Hanakawa)

Furthermore, the inside was like a maze. They would have to travel a distance more than they thought in a straight line distance.

“I was thinking ‘if we come, we’ll manage somehow’. But well, we have no choice but to go.” (Lute)

“Eh, no, wait a second! There’s no way you’re going to walk normally, are you!” (Hanakawa)

“I’ve decided to go. If you don’t like it, then leave?” (Lute)

Lute started walking briskly.

“No, in the first place, I think I was taken around forcibly……” (Hanakawa)

‘Perhaps if I ran away from here, he may not purposefully pursue me as far as outside hell.’

He thought so, but when he thought ‘it may become something troublesome in the distant future’, he thought twice about it. In the end, Hanakawa decided to follow behind Lute.

“Uuu……there are things like monsters here, right? Won’t we be attacked or something……” (Hanakawa)

“They’re cheap tickets, so there aren’t too many in this area?” (Lute)

No matter how many monsters appeared, there was a deviation in the distribution. The areas which had many monsters were popular, so to adjust it, the tickets were set at a high price.

“The ‘monsters’, they’re the kin of Devil-sama here, right? Isn’t there opposition to them being treated like resources?” (Hanakawa)

“Not in particular? There things which can kill humans, so they’re dregs, or perhaps I should say, they’re like fallen hair. Whatever happens to them doesn’t matter.” (Lute)

“My hair falling or something in itself is……” (Hanakawa)

“What a conversation!” (Lute)

“But, Devil-sama in this place is a woman, right!” (Hanakawa)

“What is it, was my way of speaking poor? Can I say things like dust and dandruff?” (Lute)

“Fufufu~! Lute-dono doesn’t seem to understand that the fetishism to excrete things is a major category!” (Hanakawa)

“You are really disgusting……” (Lute)

Lute seemed to be quite shocked.

“By the way, do you know the way?” (Hanakawa)

“I’m just advancing vaguely?” (Lute)

“Hey! If you were advancing randomly like this, then we won’t reach it no matter how much time passes! Moreover, we didn’t even make decent preparations!” (Hanakawa)

In this condition, assuming there were no disturbances of monsters, it would take many days to arrive at the central part. Hanakawa, who felt they’d just peek inside for a bit, didn’t have something decent.

“Hmm, well, fat ‘humans’ can live for quite a while, can’t they?” (Lute)

“Agghh! It’s a premise of ‘there’s no food’!?” (Hanakawa)

While moving forward while chattering about such things, they saw something coming from the other side.

It was the figure of a person. At least, it wasn’t an amorphous monster.

“Is it an explorer?” (Hanakawa)

“It’s human-ish, so it seems to b——” (Lute)

But, Lute stopped mid sentence and froze.

“Eh? What’s the matter?” (Hanakawa)

The figure of the person approached.

It was a woman. The figure of a woman who didn’t have horns nor wings growing.

What was impressive was her long, black hair. That long, glossy hair was reaching as far as her feet.

Her appearance of just a thin cloth wrapped around her voluptuous body seemed to be lascivious, but if expressed in words, it would be more appropriate than divine.

“Mana-sama……why are you here……” (Lute)

Lute produced a voice as though he was being wrung out.

“You smelled of Ani-sama, so without being able to contain myself, I came here!” (Mana)

“I had expected a ‘cool-type’ feeling, but it’s nicely light!” (Hanakawa)

“D-, don’t be stupid! Pay attention to your words!” (Lute)

Lute, who had frozen, regained himself.

“Only Lute-chan? Well, I thought it would be like this, though.” (Mana)

The woman called Mana said while looking around.

“Lute-dono. Um, by chance, this person is……” (Hanakawa)

“That’s right. She’s the younger sister god we came to meet.” (Lute)

“Ha? No no no, you said ‘she’s sealed at the lowest level’, didn’t you?” (Hanakawa)

“I also thought it was like that, but……” (Lute)

Lute looked like he couldn’t believe it either.

“I can go anywhere if it’s inside this even with the seal, and I can go outside whenever if I think ‘let’s leave’, though?” (Mana)

“Yes?” (Lute)

The Devil mana readily said something that overthrew everything assumed.