novelzi Chapter 68: 66: Halloween (6)
Chapter 68: 66: Halloween (6)
I demanded Azaki Kiryuuin stab himself.
It was only right to test the authenticity of someone who claimed to be a saviour of the world, right?
"5...!"
He widened his eyes as his gaze flickered between the knife in his hand, me, and the detonator I held.
I had confidence that he would listen to such an unreasonable command.
For such a justice-ridden and steadfast individual, something on that level is nothing if it means he can prevent me from pressing the detonator.
Whether or not the detonator is fake, he will only be able to find out once I press it.
He cannot take that risk.
Should the detonator turn out to not be a bluff, he would be shrouded in regret for the rest of his life.
Sure, there might be no casualties, but for someone like him, the destruction of a school and the consequential ruination of hundreds of innocent adolescents' lives would infest his mind.
He has the option to prevent that possibility now, even if it's nothing more than that.
If he didn't take it, and that was what resulted because of his action, it would be his fault.
The overbearing guilt he would feel would be deterrent enough, but this guy was something else entirely; he would never forgive himself if he left even the slightest shred of a chance for his actions to bring damage to an innocent.
That was exactly why I had no qualms about giving my opponent a free weapon.
"4...!"
Before I counted down any further, he moved.
Stab-!
"Gah...!"
Blood splattered as he powerfully stabbed the palm of his left hand without hesitation.
...Are you stupid? Why the hell would you stab there...?
"Mmng...!"
Azaki Kiryuuin gritted his teeth, enduring the pain and grunting while trying to not scream.
This guy is an idiot for real, but he's sure as hell dedicated to his cause.
He could have simply paused time and gone to look for bombs, but being under the pressure of my five-second time limit must have limited such thoughts.
...No, he could have just paused time to buy more time, to begin with.
Did he not do it because he thought it was the only way for me to not press the detonator?
「Yes」
Ah.
Desperation, then.
Well, I suppose even if he had the idea of
"Homebrew."
"Antidote?"
"Didn't make one."
Her expression crunched and distorted at my answer. Her furrowed brows having bent angrily and her mouth deeply frowning in a single line, the sharpness of her eyes seemed to pierce me through.
Before she struck me down in a fit of rage, I laughed.
"Haha, I'm just kidding. I would never make a poison without also making an antidote for it in case I accidentally poisoned myself, of course. Isn't it common sense?"
Although she didn't appreciate my jokes, she seemed more relieved by the fact there was actually an antidote as was proven by how she lowered her sword.
"Where is it?"
I pointed at my mouth, to which her expression froze in confusion.
"Ampoule in here. Aside from injecting it directly into my blood, swallowing it is the fastest and easiest way to intake it. I can take it without needing my arms or legs, too."
Hearing my explanation, she subconsciously nodded in understanding and took a step towards me.
I put out a hand to stop her.
"Ah, ah! What are you doing?"
Glaring at me, she stated frankly.
"...I'm getting the antidote."
Like that, she took another step in my direction.
Haa. This woman.
Realising that she would actually force my mouth open and take it from me otherwise, I quickly swallowed it before she could.
"...What the hell did you just do?"
"There's no antidote anymore, sorry."
She knew what I had done, but she didn't want to believe it. Without an antidote, her beloved Azaki Kiryuuin might die, after all, and I had just taken away their last remaining hope.
"..."
She stared at me with an almost vacant gaze for a second.
Her next thought would naturally be to force me to make a new antidote for her, but I suppose she was too overwhelmed by the rapid, turbulent and utterly confusing flow of events to even think straight.
"...Why...?"
She muttered something under her breath. Hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Hah. Are you crazy? Why would I want to give an antidote to my enemy?"
You must be in another realm of stupidity if you think I'd do something foolish like that.