390 Death Mage V13 Side Chapter 50

Side Chapter 50
Clash between reincarnators


Banda, who had obtained information from Johnny Yamaoka's brain, crushed his head that was convulsing with his eyes rolling back. As a precaution, he pierced Johnny’s heart with his claws before tossing him aside. Then, using the debris of the rubble that was the Amemiya's residence entrance and the wreckage of the golems, Banda quickly buried the body.

Afterwards, Banda checked the surrounding area for any corpses lying around, and used ‘Deodorization’ magic to erase the smell of blood and gunpowder before opening his pouch.

"Puhah! That was surprising… Uwaaa, the house is a mess!"

"Ha... ha... I hate it. I don't want to go out..."

Hiroshi, who was the first to come out, screamed at the sight of his devastated home. Ulrika was crying inconsolably while clinging to Banda's torso. It seemed that the intense gunfire had triggered her trauma.

"There, there, it's okay. Don't worry."

And with that, Mei was soothing Ulrika.

"I'm sorry for putting you through this. Thank you, Ulrika. Hiroshi, your room should be safe, so if there's anything you want to take, let's take it with us."

Banda said as he repeatedly removed the claws from his left hand and threw them somewhere with his right hand.

"Eh, is that okay? In situations like this, don't you usually leave things you don't need?"

"I won't say that. Whether it's a game, a plastic model, a stuffed animal, or your favorite clothes, let's take everything with us."

"Got it! I'll bring them right away... By the way, what have you been doing since earlier? There are no more enemies, right?"

"Yes, they're gone."

After confirming that the life signs of the sniper aiming at them and the enemies who had been kidnapping and imprisoning the neighbors had disappeared, Banda nodded in response to Hiroshi's question.

While Hiroshi packed his belongings, Banda told Ulrika about the information he obtained from Johnny and made plans for the future.

"First of all, it's no longer possible to hide."

Ulrika, who had regained her composure, said so while looking at the screen of her mobile device. There, a video of Banda gruesomely slaughtering Johnny Yamaoka was posted on a video-sharing site. It seemed to have been captured by a passerby who heard the commotion or a neighbor who wasn't restrained by Johnny's subordinates.

Come to think of it, the sound of sirens seemed to be approaching from a distance.

"Even if Banda disappears, we would still be detained by the police under the guise of 'protection’. The government of this country probably has Rokudou's collaborators as well. I would be separated from Mei and Hiroshi, and in the meantime, they will try to kidnap the two of them. Rokudou must be feeling the pressure after attempting such a flashy move. He won't take his time."

"Besides, other reincarnators are also in danger. If we just wait for Meh-kun’s Papa to defeat Rokudou, there will be more casualties."

The information obtained from Johnny Yamaoka didn't contain any crucial details for Banda, such as the details of Rokudou's research on death-attribute magic. However, it revealed that at the same time as the operation at the Amemiya’s residence, Banda learned that there were plans to eliminate people who were deemed inconvenient for Rikudou, such as Amemiya Hiroto, Joseph, and other members of the ‘Bravers’.

"That's why I was thinking about helping them... But Mari and Joseph should be fine."

"What about Amemiya...?"

"He won't die anyway, there’s no need to help him."

Banda knew that ‘Pluto’, who was currently in charge of the personalities of the Gods of Origin, would grant Amemiya Hiroto divine protection to stop Rokudou Hijiri. So he should be able to handle any traps. Besides, the reincarnators with Amemiya were different from Joseph and Ulrika. They were just people who happened to be in the same class and school on Earth. There was no reason to actively help them, nor did he have a desire to go and help them.

(Note: ‘Pluto’ here refers to the God of Origin Pluto.)

What worried him, though, was the possibility that the reincarnators might clash with Mari and harm her... But he trusted that they would handle it well.

"Then, are you going to help Joseph and the others?"

"No, Joseph and the others will be fine. The one in the most danger is Meh-kun's mama, so let's go there."

"To Mama's place, let's go!"

"Understood! But how... getting from here to Africa by commercial plane would take too long. Even with a fighter jet, we wouldn't make it in time..."

"Ulrika, humans have two legs. And there's a black car that Johnny and his subordinates drove in. And as for me... I have wings."

Banda's black fur mantle... his epidermis expanded and transformed into large wings. At that moment, Ulrika, who actually had a fear of heights, became teary-eyed, and Mei let out cheerful cries with the anticipation of her first flight in air. Hiroshi, who had hastily packed Mei and his parents' clothes in a travel bag, widened his eyes in surprise.

And there, the onlookers who had continued filming them while hiding in the surroundings all this time believed that Banda was some kind of demon from hell.

When the police arrived at the Amemiya residence, Banda and the others, as well as the car, had disappeared.





The leader of the Bravers, Amemiya Hiroto, and his companions headed to a town in the Middle East that had become ruins due to conflict.

Their initial objective was to capture a hidden terrorist group, but while moving, they discovered that the terrorists had attacked a school and kidnapped more than a dozen students.

They swiftly changed the mission's focus to the rescue of the kidnapped students.

The terrorist group consisted of disposable mercenaries comprising half of their forces. The other half consisted of highly trained elites and test subjects who possessed the same limited death-attribute magic as ‘The 8th Guidance’, born during their research. Among the real students who had been taken hostage was Shihouin Mari, also known as ‘Metamorph’, who had been assigned a new codename as ‘Black Maria’.

In addition, there were infiltrators, who were reincarnators that sided with Rokudou, planted among Amemiya’s group.

It was a formidable lineup. No matter how strong Amemiya Hiroto was as the strongest member of ‘Bravers’, he would not be able to survive. Even if a miracle were to happen, he would not come out unscathed.

Joseph Smith of ‘Druid’, who seemed to have come into contact with something unknown lurking in the Amemiya residence, was heading to South America by plane to escort executives of a criminal organization. Several members of the ‘Bravers’, who were believed to have also come into contact with it, were accompanying him.

It was planned to have the plane they were in explode in an “accident.” This would be achieved by firing a missile at the plane from a fighter jet piloted by a reincarnator on Rokudou's side.

Amemiya Narumi of ‘Angel’, was now engaging in a rescue operation for an earthquake that had occurred in Africa. Although this earthquake was a natural disaster unrelated to Rokudou's machinations, he was able to make good use of it. Other rescue teams and local government military escorts had been infiltrated by Rokudou’s subordinates disguised as mercenaries. Their plan was to attack Narumi and her companions at the opportune moment and eliminate them with the experimental subjects and reincarnators on Rokudou’s side.

"It’s perfect. Rokudou-san’s years of long-standing trust and achievements have now borne fruit," said Moriya of ‘Shaman’ delightedly at the headquarters of Rokudou's base.

Rokudou, who managed to recruit influential figures from various countries' political and business circles as well as big names of criminal organizations as his collaborators, operated under the assumption that "even if it is discovered later, it wouldn’t matter." With them, there was nothing that he couldn’t do.

Manipulating information to stage a terrorist group's attack on a school and the kidnapping of students, or flying a fighter jet and launching missiles at an escort plane, or carrying out sabotage in various locations was relatively easy for him.

Even after seeing the madness displayed by ‘Metamorph’ who was disguised as Rokudou last year, Amemiya and the others would not actively suspect Rokudou, as he explained to them that he had reduced his workload and recovered. The ‘Bravers’ and the intelligence agencies of various countries were not solely under Rokudou’s control.

It's just that Rokudou and his collaborators held significant influence.

The elimination of reincarnators skilled in information warfare, such as Endou Kouya of ‘Oracle’, Machida Aran of ‘Calculation’, Shimada Izumi of ‘Inspector’, Kei Mackenzie of ‘Urðr​’, and Tsuchiya Kanako of ‘Venus’ had played a big part in Rokudou’s plans. Moriya believed that this too was due to Rokudou's foresight.

Of course, if this information were to be discovered later, neither Rokudou nor his collaborators would escape unscathed. They would undoubtedly be arrested on charges of treason and other serious crimes.

...If the world could maintain the same order as before.

"The world will be reborn. Rokudou-san, who will attain eternal life and become a god, at the apex, we, who will become newly evolved humans, will rule over the old humanity of this world!" Moriya exclaimed, intoxicated with the joy of it.

Rokudou would acquire death-attribute magic, obtain eternal life, and become a god. And those who have promised their cooperation with him will evolve into a new race of humans.

In his research, death-attribute magic had been applied not only to the breeding of livestock and crops, but also to humans to create invincible soldiers. The research was conducted at a research institute that housed ‘Undead’, though desired results had yet to be achieved.

However, Rokudou was expected to succeed where others have failed. After all, he possessed a high level of power, beyond those who were unable to even create the same limited death-attribute mages as the ‘The 8th Guidance’.

However, an operator's report dampened Moriya's delight.

"One of the golems has ceased functioning!"

"What? Which unit does the golem belong to?"

The state-of-the-art military golems, which appeared almost indistinguishable from robots, were being utilized in various operations. In addition to the unit assigned to eliminate the aforementioned three individuals, Moriya was also monitoring the units meant to suppress the movements of other ‘Bravers’ members who were not on Rokudou's side.

At the current stage, they were not aiming to kill the reincarnators who were not their allies, were not in a leading position within the ‘Bravers’, and whose abilities were not considered to be a significant threat. Instead, they only planned to prevent them from contacting their main targets until their operations had been completed.

This approach served two purposes. There was a possibility that after eliminating Amemiya and the others, they may be able to persuade the surviving reincarnators to join their cause. But the main reason was that they simply do not have the resources to deal with all the reincarnators individually. Their forces were stretched thin, and it would be impractical to eliminate every single one of them.

Rokudou had obtained crucial information about ‘The 8th Guidance’ through Murakami Junpei of ‘Chronos’, who had betrayed the Bravers. It was revealed that they, as reincarnators, were protected by fortune granted by God and would not die easily by conventional means. However, when there were reincarnators on both sides trying to kill each other, their fortunes would cancel each other out and they would die surprisingly easily.

As a result, the units assigned to dispose of Amemiya and the others included reincarnators under Rokudou's command. However, the same applied to the reincarnators under Rokudou's command; their fortunes would be nullified as well. Therefore, sufficient personnel and backup were provided to ensure the success of the operation.

Thus, it was not realistic even for Rokudou to eliminate every single reincarnator. Therefore, they limited their actions to only dispatching them to remote areas and disrupting their means of movement and communication.

Moriya thought that the golems in one of those units had been destroyed, and remained calm.

"The golem that was destroyed belonged to the ‘Balor’ unit that was headed to the Amemiya residence to kidnap Amemiya Mei."

"What!?"

However, Moriya felt anxious as his expectations were proven wrong. That’s because the unit led by Johnny Yamaoka of ‘Balor’, was assigned to kidnap Amemiya Mei, not to kill reincarnators.

To secure the subject, Amemiya Mei, necessary in completing Rokudou's research, a sufficient amount of fighting power was allocated. Despite being located in an upscale residential area with heightened police presence, they deployed military-grade golems and heavily armed mercenaries.

The appointed commander, Johnny Yamaoka of ‘Balor’, specialized in combat among the reincarnators. While his abilities were rather versatile, he was born into a military family and having desired a career as a soldier from an early age, he received extensive training.

Unlike other members of the Bravers who had received training for less than a year, his proficiency in handling heavy firearms and unarmed fighting techniques was exceptional. Under the condition that cheat abilities were not involved, he was one of the strongest members of the Bravers.

It was said that terrorists that stood before him were drained of their will and surrendered, as if they had seen the evil eye of the legendary Balor himself.

(Note: The Balor above refers to the mystical being in Irish mythology.)

"Any contact from Yamaoka?"

"No, there is none. It seems that the golem that malfunctioned failed to snipe ‘Echo’."

“‘Echo’, huh... to notice the sniper, impressive. Or perhaps it's its doing?"

Moriya was referring to the unknown entity lurking in the Amemiya residence as ‘it’. Rokudou was cautious of ‘it’ even more than the guard ‘Echo’.

However, based on their analysis, Rokudou and the others concluded that it was not an enemy for ‘Balor’.

Through the analysis of the truck seized by the police and the bodies of the perpetrators during the Amemiya Mei kidnapping operation, which was thought to be obstructed by ‘it’, it was revealed that they were killed and destroyed by powerful physical force rather than magic.

Therefore, Rokudou speculated that 'it' could conceal its presence like Ghost of ‘The 8th Guidance’, and strengthen its physical abilities, using some kind of magic item or had undergone body enhancements through surgical modifications.

To that extent, since its existence was known and analyzed in advance, then it wouldn’t be Johnny’s enemy.

As for ‘Echo’, she had dramatically recovered in the past year, but it has been years since she was involved in missions where combat could occur. Furthermore, she would be caught off guard, expecting the arrival of a replacement companion, and would be sniped and assassinated without being able to reflect the attack using her ability. However…

"If it helped ‘Echo’, then it seems that the relationship between 'it' and Joseph and the others is stronger than I expected. I thought it was just a relationship of mutual benefits, like when Murakami teamed up with us."

Moriya and even Rokudou couldn't have imagined it. 'it'... Banda, treating Joseph and the others whom he should have had a grudge against, was not for the purpose of using them, but simply an act of kindness resulting from a chance encounter. As a result, they were able to open up with one another and build a relationship of trust as companions, something Rokudou and the others could never dream of.

Hence, Moriya would be astonished by the operator's next report.

"Huh!? All of the golems in the ‘Balor’ squad have stopped functioning! The life signs of the mercenaries have all disappeared!"

"What!? That's impossible!"

"The footage from the body camera is coming out!"

The screen at the command center displayed the footage from the body camera of ‘Balor’. What was reflected there was... the figure of 'it', the one Moriya had been wary of.

"Wha… What is this hideous monster!? Where did ‘Echo’ and Amemiya Mei go? Could it be that they’re inside that monster!?"

Seeing Banda for the first time, not only Moriya but also the operators let out voices of shock. And then, the monster approached ‘Balor’ with terrifying speed, effortlessly severing his arm even though it had been physically strengthened with magic, and launching a relentless assault onto him.

Then, with fangs protruding from its mouth, the body camera shattered, and the footage abruptly cut off.

“It... What the hell is 'it'?! That’s not a remnant of 'The 8th Guidance’. That’s… Contact Rokudou-san! This is an emergency!"

Though initially dumbfounded, Moriya regained composure and urgently instructed the operator who was equally stunned to report the situation to Rokudou, who was making preparations in the research building.





When Rokudou saw the recorded footage reported by Moriya, he exclaimed, "That’s impossible!" and echoed the same sentiment.

"Assault rifles, golems fitted with heavy machine guns, even flames and electric shocks couldn't harm ‘it’, let alone the humans hiding inside... It's impossible, no matter what kind of alloy it is! And there's no trace of ‘it’ casting any magic. Moreover, ‘it’s too fast! With ‘Balor’ defeated so one-sidedly, there is no one who can defeat this monster in a one-on-one battle!"

With a pale face, Rokudou exclaimed what Rodcorte and the others already knew.

"That's why I told you not to get involved, even though I’ve sent you oracles many times."

Rodcorte held his head in frustration. Uncharacteristically, he had persistently issued warnings to Rokudou and his subordinates. He had even advised ‘Balor’ to stop five seconds before he opened fire on the Amemiya residence.

In the first place, Rodcorte wanted to stop the research on death-attribute magic. At first, he ignored it, thinking it would likely fail, but when he noticed that Rokudou was achieving some research results, he hurriedly tried to stop it.

However, Rodcorte's oracles never reached them. That's because Rokudou and his subordinates had absolutely no reverence or faith in Rodcorte. ‘Balor’ and his men, in particular, directed their loyalty towards Rokudou, believing him to be the man who would become a god. Rokudou also genuinely believed that he himself was truly worthy of becoming a god.

As a result, Rodcorte's oracles never reached them.

The voice of God reaches faithful and devout believers. Conversely, it will not reach those who are not, those who lack faith, and those who have sinned.

Even if Machida Aran, Shimada Izumi, and Endou Kouya, who became familiar spirits, had given them warnings, it would have been the same. Rokudou and the others’ emotions directed toward their former comrades, whom they indirectly led to their deaths, would not have yielded any meaningful results.

"Could it be the remnants of 'The 8th Guidance' after all?"

"It can't be. If there was such a monster of this magnitude, there would be no point in hiding it until the final battle, even if they concealed it from Murakami and the others. With this monster, even Amemiya Hiroto could have been killed. Even if that weren’t the case, it could have easily killed a larger number of Bravers."

"Then, was this monster created by someone after that? But who on Origin could create such a monster...?"

"Rokudou-san, and all of you, now is not the time to investigate the true identity of this monster! We must decide what to do about this monster, whether to give up on acquiring Amemiya Mei, or come up with a new plan, or else it will be too late!"

Moriya urged Rokudou, who was in a state of confusion after seeing the footage, to make a decision. Up until now, Rokudou believed that he had everything in the palm of his hand, but it seemed that his train of thought was halted by the unexpected turn of events.

"That's right! You all should stop intervening right now! That way, there will be no risk of your souls being devoured!"

Thinking about the danger of Banda being able to shatter or devour souls, Rodcorte shouted. However, his voice certainly didn't reach anyone.

"No, he doesn't need to shatter the souls of anyone other than Rokudou, right?"

As Aran said so, his gaze fell upon Johnny, who had just arrived after getting killed by Banda.

"No, I don't want it anymore… I don't want to be reincarnated in the place where ‘it’s main body is. I don't need memories or anything. Just erase me, erase me..."

What was seen there was not the confident figure of a battle-hardened professional, but a man trembling in fear, holding his head and shaking like a frightened child.

Banda, who invaded Johnny's brain through his ear canal with his tongue, had hacked into his brain by extending nerve cells from his tongue. While extracting information, he had been constantly eroding and corrupting Johnny's mind.

He had done the opposite of what he did when treating Joseph and Ulrika. His intention was likely to show the horrifying nature of himself to the reincarnators who were killed as a result of the clash between Amemiya and Rokudou.

Seeing Johnny in this state, it was clear that those who could be influenced by Rodcorte's words, like Murakami, were...

"No, we don't know how Rokudou will react."

"That’s true... I thought of him as a rational and intelligent person, but it seems I was mistaken."

Truly intelligent humans do not engage in grandiose acts that would go down in history. It's not that they are incapable to do so, but rather that they choose not to. That's because intelligent humans understand the difficulties and dangers involved in such endeavors. They also know that even if they achieve them, they might not obtain something worth the struggles in the end.

Military commanders who tried to conquer the world without knowing if they would succeed, revolutionaries who preached a revolution with uncertain outcomes, captains who set sail for a new continent without any solid evidence of its existence.

Rokudou Hijiri will likely be recorded in history among those humans. Assuming that history itself continues.

“‘Metamorph’... We lost control of 'Black Maria'! She’s out of control! The same goes for ‘Yuki Joro’, ‘Bokor’, and 'Gabriel'!"

"What?! What about 'Artemis' and 'Sahadeva' on-site?"

"We’ve lost contact with them!"

"Damn it! Not bad, Amemiya. What about ‘Ares’, who was placed near him? Was he defeated too?"

"No, that is... 'Ares's response is still more than several tens of kilometers away from where 'Artemis' and the others lost contact. Amemiya and the others haven't arrived yet!"

"Wh-what?! Then, who could it be... The general of the local government's army is one of my pawns. Other countries' armed forces wouldn't act independently as well. Could it be that there are other friends of that monster!?"

Seeing Rokudou panicking in dismay, Endou Kouya thought that things might unexpectedly resolve themselves quite easily.

Behind him, 'Artemis' and 'Sahadeva', who had become souls, appeared. He forcibly detached their consciousness, which had been focused on the footage, to explain various things to the two of them.





By the time Amemiya Hiroto, along with several members of the Bravers including Sugiura Nanaya of ‘Ares’, arrived at the ruins where the terrorists were said to be hiding, everything had already ended.

"Long time no see."

Welcoming them with those words was their supposedly deceased comrade... Shihouin Mari of 'Metamorph’. She had her arms crossed behind her waist and was accompanied by three unfamiliar men and women.

"The real, Mari? This can't be, you were supposed to be dead!"

"Iwao, I’ve always thought so too... but her body was never found. Since the person in front of us is not an illusion, she must be the real deal. It's indescribable, but I can sense it. We're of the same kind."

Reassuring the astonished Iwao of ‘Titan', Amemiya looked at Mari.

His mention of "sensing" referred to the fortune that all reincarnators possess, except for Vandalieu, that was granted by Rodcorte. When facing each other, he intuitively sensed the canceling effect of the fortune on each other.

"Yes, it would be helpful if you could believe me. By the way, when I said long time no see, I was actually referring to when I met everyone last year. You know, for Mama's celebration."

(Note: The Mama Mari is referring to is Amemiya Mei, not her real mother, who she addresses as Kaa-san.)

She smiled in relief and continued, wearing a dirty military uniform with worn-out guns and knives hanging from it. However, Amemiya and the others couldn't immediately grasp the meaning behind her words.

Shihouin Mari, who was given the codename ‘Black Maria’ as an experimental subject of Rokudou, had three boys and girls with her. Sugiura Nanaya of ‘Ares’, who knew that they were supposed to be failures placed there to kill Amemiya and the others, maintained a calm facade on the surface, but was internally greatly confused.

(Why are they out in the open, and not only that, standing so boldly! They were supposed to be mixed in among the hostage kids, and take advantage of an opening to kill Amemiya and the rest! What happened to Da, who was watching over them, and our trump card, Catherine? Has the operation been changed!?)

Da Long was a reincarnator with the cheat ability of ‘Sahadeva’, named after the one who watches over people's entire lives and reports their merits and demerits to the Great King Yama. As his codename suggests, he can embed a surveillance familiar into a subject’s body, allowing him to monitor what the subject sees and hears, as well as the condition of their mental and physical state.

(Note: Yama is the Hindu God of Death and Justice.)

And although he didn't mention it to Rokudou and the others, he was also able to communicate telepathically with subjects that have the familiar embedded in, and could even control their body if they are close enough.

Detecting the presence of the familiar is impossible for any mage, and it is also impossible to separate it from the subject. The only options are to kill the main body, Da, or take away his consciousness.

Catherine Miller of ‘Artemis’ is the strongest sniper in this world who possesses the cheat ability of ‘Inevitable Target’. Anything she throws or shoots will hit the intended target without fail. It doesn't matter if there is no clear line of sight or if the target is in the opposite direction of the shot; it will hit regardless.

However, it only guarantees a hit, so it doesn't necessarily mean that the hit will always cause damage, unlike Amemiya’s ‘Ignore Defense’ that can penetrate through anything. The speed, sharpness, or weight of the object thrown or shot does not change even with the ability.

Nonetheless, if she aims for the head with a sniper rifle, she should be able to kill without fail, even if the said person was Amemiya.

(Da should be in charge of monitoring and controlling Mari and the others, while Catherine should be the trump card for killing Amemiya. But those two are nowhere to be seen... no, it's fine if they are not physically present for the sake of the operation, but what does it mean when Mari and the others, and not the mercenaries acting as terrorists, appear and approach us, not to mention in a friendly manner? Has the plan been changed? Then why is there no contact at all?)

While Sugiura Nanaya was in such a state of confusion, Amemiya and the others were also perplexed.

"About your mama's celebration... your mother was gone long ago..."

"Yes, that's right. My mother, because of that scumbag bastard... I’m not talking about Mother, but Mama. Well, I guess you didn't recognize me back then since I was in the form of Rokudou at that time."

"What?! Rokudou's…!?"

"Yes, Rokudou. The explosion accident you all thought I died in? Murder? Well, I don't know the details, but after that, I was forced to be Rokudou's shadow. He did it by administering drugs and mind control onto me. I was strange back then, wasn’t I? It was because I was starting to regain my sanity thanks to Mama and Banda."

"What are you talking about... Banda, are you referring to that sama Banda? He was supposed to be an imaginary friend that only Mei could see."

"Yes, that's right. It’s thanks to Mama and Banda's help that I’m able to talk like this. They taught me how to think with just my soul and use magic. With that, I was able to disable the control device embedded in my body with death-attribute magic. Same goes for ‘Sahadeva's familiar. I was able to eliminate the familiar by setting up a barrier inside my body that absorbs mana. Then, I killed ‘Sahadeva’ and, using brute force, killed ‘Artemis’. How many bullet holes do you think that woman put in my head? Thirteen. It's like that feeling of “What should you do when you are about to die?”, right?”

"Eh? Wh-Why are you mentioning Da and Catherine?"

"Well, that’s because both of them were Rokudou's accomplices, and the plan was to kill all of you except for ‘Ares’. So, Rokudou was researching death-attribute magic in South America..."

"‘Flame Cannonball’!"

At that moment, before Mari could finish her sentence, Sugiura of ‘Ares’ unleashed an offensive magic spell, easily hitting her head and shattering it into pieces.

"Sugiura!?"

"W-What are you doing!?"

Amemiya and the others, who were greatly confused by Mari's explanation that was unclear whether she intended for them to understand, were unable to react quickly and couldn't stop Sugiura's reckless action. Even now, while still surrounding Sugiura, they couldn't ignore the three unidentified individuals that Mari brought with her and were hesitating.

"Damn it!"

On the other hand, Sugiura was also in a state of extreme confusion. He understood that what he had just done was a bad move, but he also knew it would be devastating if Amemiya and the others were to know about the information that Mari was sharing. Thus, he couldn't help but stop Mari before she fully revealed all the information.

And the realization of having made a bad move further cornered him to despair, driving him to desperation.

"If... If it's come to this, then I have no choice but to do it!"

Rather than being overwhelmed by Amemiya, Mari and the others teaming up, it would be better to kill as many of them as possible before they could recover from the confusion. His cheat ability, ‘Double Power’, is a powerful ability that doubles the power of his attacks, including magic and firearms that he uses. Though it doesn't apply to weapons that involve complex machinery and cannot directly operate, such as missiles launched from fighter jets or helicopters, but that doesn't matter at the moment.

With the assault rifle and grenades he’s equipped with, and highly potent fire-attribute offensive magic he’s learnt, he believed he could manage somehow.

However, the impulsive calculation that his mind came up with quickly fell apart.

"Now you believe that he's a traitor, right?"

It was because a voice came from Mari's body, whose head should’ve been blown up. She placed a spare head she had been holding on her hand behind her back on top of her severed neck, and attached them together.

"Tha… That’s impossible!"

"While using ‘Death Delay’ magic, I altered a part of my body using ‘Metamorph’ and created a replacement head. I used the same method just like when I killed ‘Artemis’. So I'm not immortal, nor am I an undead. I'm just a regular human with special abilities, just like you."

With those words, Mari explained to the speechless and astonished Sugiura and the bewildered Amemiya, who was frozen in shock once again.

"You... You bastard!"

Finally, Sugiura, overcome by desperation, fully activated ‘Ares’ and tried to unleash a barrage of shots from his assault rifle as well as attack magic.

Amemiya and the others immediately tried to react, but before they could, the three individuals Mari had brought with her took action.

"I won't tolerate that heat."

A young girl with white hair and skin, ‘Yuki Joro’ used her limited death-attribute magic to nullify the heat generated from the gunpowder explosions and fire-attribute magic.

As a result, a dreadful cold robbed Sugiura of his body temperature.

"I announce conception."

An androgynous person whose appearance couldn't be determined as either a boy or a girl, ‘Gabriel’ made the announcement to Sugiura, who had dropped his assault rifle.

(Note: androgynous - partly male and partly female in appearance; of indeterminate sex.)

"I bless the life that will grow within you."

And then, a late-teenage boy with Latin features, ‘Bokor’ performed the blessing. For Amemiya and the others, what he did was perplexing, but for Sugiura, it was a death sentence.

"N-No... s-stop... I haven't done anything to you guys... igigigigagagagagagyubyubeh!?"

(Note: Yes, it’s not an error. The above sentence was written as いぎぎぎがががががぎゃびゅべぇ.)

Suddenly, Sugiura began to convulse in pain, as mysterious insects and slime-like organisms emerged from within his body.

"This is, the death-attribute magic of 'Undead'!?"

"That's right. I, ‘Gabriel’, use my limited death-attribute magic to induce abnormal evolution in microorganisms within the target's body..."

"And I, ‘Bokor’, create the substances that accelerate that process within the target's body. The results are as you can see. He's still alive though."

Gabriel and Bokor explained their limited death-attribute magic to the astonished Amemiya.

Ignoring Sugiura, who was being devoured alive by abnormally evolved E. coli etc, Mari spoke again.

"So, is there anything else you would like to ask me? Perhaps it would be better for me to explain it all again?"

"Sorry, but please do. It would be helpful if you could explain it as clearly as possible from the time you were made to look like you died, in other words, from the beginning."

Mari frowned upon hearing Amemiya’s request.

"That seems more difficult than killing Catherine and Da, but I'll do my best. Banda said that hard work is important, and I want Mama to praise me."