15 [Murderer]

(Sona)

A minute passed in relaxed silence after Naoki left the room, most members of her peerage simply getting back to work.

That silence was broken by the scraping of the chair her Pawn was sitting in as he sprang up from his seat. For a moment everyone simply looked at him as he stood there loudly breathing, seemingly trying to calm himself down.

Then, he looked her in the eye before huffing and storming out of the room, barely muttering a sentence to explain.

"I'm gonna go train."

She sighed as he almost slammed the door behind him. There was no point trying to calm him down when he got like that, even if it didn't happen often.

She figured it had something to do with his Sacred Gear affecting him. After all, a dragon's pride was almost as infamous as their power.

Normally, he wouldn't get so angry by someone saying they could beat him. He knew his limits, and he strived to surpass them. But the naturally dismissive nature Naoki had most likely riled him up.

And the fact that he was a human.

While she wasn't sure Naoki could beat him, it was a fact that he wasn't a devil. To say that he could beat most of her peerage in a fair fight even without the power granted from the evil pieces must've felt like a hit right to his pride.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't mess anything up," her other pawn offered, following after Saji.

Figuring now was as good a time as any to get this out of the way, she decided to speak.

"Do the rest of you have anything to say about Naoki?"

She didn't think his presence would be that big of a problem, but she should've known that some of her Peerage would be a bit sensitive about being told they could be beaten by a human that didn't know of the supernatural days before.

"He is... amusing." Her queen offered. The rest of her peerage either nodded to agree or just ignored the conversation entirely, not thinking much of Naoki.

Still, "Amusing? In what regard?"

"He both took you seriously and didn't take you seriously at all. It was perplexing what his mental state was, but it was amusing nonetheless," She admitted.

"What makes you think he didn't take me seriously?" She asked, confused. He seemed pretty serious to her. Sona was fairly certain he was ready to attack all of them if they so much as shifted in the wrong way.

She giggled mischievously, "Well, he did cheat in your game of chess. Even if he did lose anyway."

"I guess that makes sens- wait. What do you mean he cheated?!"

[}-{]

(Katsuo)

The rest of the day was pretty lax. I 'paid attention' to the rest of my classes and talked to Kiryuu at lunch. She gave me her number and now I feel like I need to buy a new phone.

Sadly, It's 2008. The newest iPhone really isn't much better than this generic flip phone.

Actually, I wonder if this world is different from Earth. I mean, I know it has the supernatural and all that, but the fact that they exist means things have to be drastically different, right?

Or maybe the Earth I was from also had supernatural beings and I just didn't know about it, like everyone else.

Nah, that doesn't make sense.

Though if nothing is different, then either some time fuckery is going on or the author of whatever anime I'm in really didn't think things through. There are too many mythologies and pantheons for Earth to stay the exact same. The butterfly effect is a thing for a reason.

Just my existence has probably changed the narrative of the anime, much less an entire hidden part of life on Earth.

I'm... not gonna think about it. It's hurting my head.

Shrugging that thought off, I realize I'm already home. Thinking about dumb shit really does pass the time.

Quickly making sure there are no dickheads in my house like last time, I slump onto the living room couch. As I relax, my Shroud deactivates without my constant input.

It is both easier and harder to keep that active at all times than I expected. When I'm too distracted, it deactivates. When I'm so bored I want to sleep, it deactivates. And I've got no idea how I'm even supposed to train myself to keep it active while I'm asleep.

Man, I really have my work cut out for me. And I don't even mean just that.

For one, I need to study more Chemistry to get better at transmutation magic. And I need to practice the magic itself to get better.

My physique isn't where it needs to be, and my Sacred Gear drains way too fast since I'm not used to it.

I want to eventually use my Invention skill in tandem with my magic. Plus, I want to study those light weapons I stole from the exorcist.

With so much shit to do, maybe there's a reason my battle rating is so low. Honestly, now that I've had a glimpse of both the weak and the relatively strong of the supernatural, I've gotten pretty far in the short time I've been alive.

At least, for a human. I'm sure a creature like a dragon would just be born with an A rating or something with raw power alone.

There's so much to do that I'm actually getting tired just thinking about it.

A yawn escaped my lips for the first time in a while. That... wasn't right. I don't get sleepy anymore. Something is wrong.

Oh goddammit, why can't I just have one normal-

I passed out.

Gray.

I woke up to a world of gray. Much like the void when I was dead and the void when I meditated, this world was an endless gray.

Why is it that I keep getting tossed into random voids nowadays? Or, maybe this is something different?

It could be an illusion skill or something, similar to Itachi's Tsukuyomi. I don't know how powerful the illusion magic in this world is, after all.

Maybe I can break out of it with Burst.

…

Nothing happened. Huh?

I try and activate Burst again, but nothing happens. Shroud, nothing happens.

...Alright, I'm in a place where Touki doesn't work. Which doesn't really make sense since I can feel my Ki flaring and such, but there's no boost. There's no feeling of power.

I crouch and touch the gray void that is the ground and activate Download. That... doesn't make sense. It activates, but there's no magic circle.

On top of that, the substance that I'm getting isn't the one I'm looking at. Six carbon, ten hydrogens, and five oxygen put into a chemical compound that spans about 90% of the object I'm touching.

Besides that, the shape is all off. It feels like what I'd expect a cold void floor to feel like, but my Download is telling me it's a couch.

Did... did I shrink so small that the couch is akin to a whole world?

No, that's stupid. My couch is black, not gray.

I'm in a void where I can't use skills, nor can I try and break out with my Deconstruction. My Ki is working but isn't doing anything, and I'm apparently standing on a couch.

What the fuck.

Heavy steps echoed behind me, but they were slow and purposeful. As if the person wanted to let me know they were there but didn't want to surprise me.

Turning around and standing up, I came face to face with a man I'd never seen before. His tanned skin contrasted with his long black hair that reached past his shoulders and his large beard. His shoulders were broad and powerful, and he was a bit taller than me. A mountain of a man, if I'd ever seen one.

Without a shirt, it was obvious that he didn't slack in his workout as he had rippling muscles all throughout his body. Though, the only reason I even took notice of his stature was the interesting tattoo that spanned his entire body, swirling and writhing over him as if it were alive.

In his hand was a short sword with a skull on the edge, but he didn't look like he wanted to fight. I don't doubt he'd fight me in only what looked like a skirt and fur boots, he looked like a barbarian after all, but there was no hostility in his stance.

But the thing that put me on high alert, was his unmistakable scarlet eyes. Just like mine.

<C?i! – Ba#t!e R?t??g: ???>

Oh fuck, did he just block my Appraise skill?

"...Cain?" I unintentionally whispered.

"Greetings. I don't know what you just did, but nothing works in here if you didn't notice already." His voice boomed throughout the room. I can tell he isn't yelling, but his normal speech is way too powerful.

It feels like he's trying to suppress me with just his voice alone.

Though, he didn't seem to do that on his own. Good. If he had the power to block a Unique level skill combined with that voice, I probably would've started panicking.

Though, the fact that I'm even looking at him can only mean one thing.

"When Sona said you were sealed into the Sacred Gear, she meant Jinchūriki style, didn't she," I said, not really asking but more stating.

He just stared at me, most likely waiting for me to figure out what the hell was going on.

If this seal truly is like Naruto, it means I haven't actually gone anywhere. I'm probably within the seal or something similar, while my body is just asleep. To the outside world, I'm just asleep.

"That's why when I download the ground, I'm getting back a couch. It's because my real body is asleep, and my hands must be on the couch." I explained.

"And?" he questioned, an eyebrow raised.

'And I really don't wanna do this right now.' is what I want to say. I've been dealing with supernatural bullshit since I got here.

"And... you should let me out. If this really is a Naruto situation, then you can communicate with me while I'm awake. Someone could kill me while I'm asleep, after all."

He snorted, "Weak argument. You slept yesterday even after an enemy walked in. Plus I'm the same guy who tried to lie about a murder to God himself; I can tell when you're lying."

...Dammit.

"Ugh, fine. I just really don't wanna deal with whatever this is right now. Can we do this later?" I honestly asked. Sure, it seemed like I was being whiny but... no I was just being whiny. I just wanna take a short break playing an old game or something.

"Too bad. You're dying, that's why we're here." He replied flippantly.

Instead of freaking out, my entire body froze. My mind went into overdrive trying to figure out why I would be dying and if I could stop it.

There were a few things I could think of. My Ki was leaking faster than a normal person's, but it was also generating faster so that shouldn't be it.

The devils? Maybe those black-winged people? What are those guys, anyway? Fallen angels? The priest? I don't know if they used any subtle spells or something on me.

My panicked mind was interrupted by the bellowing laughter of the first murderer.

...He just tricked me, didn't he. In hindsight, maybe trusting this guy of all people to be truthful was a bad idea.

"-HA! Whew, that was a good one. C'mon kid, you fell for the oldest trick in the book? No shit you're dying, every mortal is." He continued chuckling.

"...Can I just wake up already?" I deadpanned.

His laughter finally dying down, he responded. "Heh. No can do, kid. I refuse to have a wielder whose this bad at fighting."

"What? I'm not that bad." I argued.

Wow, I think that's the most unimpressed look I've ever seen on a person. Ironically, I'm impressed.

"Okay, fine. Maybe I can't fight but so what? I was gonna make a pact with Rias to take advantage of her so-called 'finest trainers'." I offered.

His look changed into a pained frown, "Yeah... no. This might sound hypocritical from the 'Father of Murder' or whatever people call me, but don't put one ounce of trust into those Devils."

"Why's that?"

"If there was something you could do for them, I wouldn't be saying this. But you can't. They are creatures of sin. No matter how much they seem like good people, every action is influenced by their primary sin. They can never be truly virtuous."

He almost sounded regretful. The first murderer sad that someone isn't able to be good? Odd.

Though he is right about one thing.

"That does seem hypocritical coming from you, but I get it. Though, I don't see why I shouldn't trust them if that's the case. They can recognize sin, and choose not to do it despite that. Isn't that better than humans who see both sides yet still choose evil?"

After a moment of silence, he continued. "...Have you ever seen a stray devil?"

...Nope.

"A stray? No, what is that?"

"They're what happens if a reincarnated devil decides to leave their masters without guidance. That is the true nature of devils, whether they like to recognize it or not."

Alright, we're getting nowhere. I don't know enough and he seems pretty biased.

"Okay, whatever. I don't really trust you either, Mr. father of murder, but I'll keep it in mind. What happens now?" I hesitantly asked

"Now? Now the fun begins." His smile was a bit too wide, as he readied his short sword and rushed at me.

He was fast, way too fast for a normal person. He did a wide swing when he got close enough, one that was so telegraphed even I could dodge. Though I still hesitated and my head almost was cut off.

"I just wanna relax for one day!" I yelled, frantically trying to dodge.

"Technically, you are relaxed. Your body is sleep, after all. I'm gonna teach you how to fight." He spoke normally as if he hadn't just tried to kill me.

Lifting his sword up, it started to shine with a red light before he slammed it downwards. An arc of some red energy with black in the middle flickered past me as I barely dodged to the right.

"Through exposure therapy."

Yep, he's gonna kill me.

"But what if you accidentally-" I jumped to the side in desperation, "-hit me?!"

Suddenly, weapons of all shapes and sizes appeared on the ground a few feet away from me as he snapped his finger.

His eyes were glowing intensely, boring into me.

"This place isn't real. Any death here will just be a dream, so don't worry about it. And don't be a fool, pick up a weapon, and DODGE!"

-----

A/N: Okay, so apparently Webnovel's auto schedule system works on UTC+8 timezone. Which would've been nice to know before I missed yesterday's post. Either way, I decided to make a schedule since ppl were confused b4. 2 Chaps On Thursday, 1 on Sunday.

For those who were waiting for my Pokemon fic, it's up! It's called Pokemon: Immaterial.

Random Question: If you had to pair Katsuo with anyone based on his current personality, who would it be?