Chapter 222: The Sin of Lust
Kaito Shirogane stepped out of the freshly silenced military barracks, the copper-and-iron scent of the slaughter still clinging to him. This Northern Myanmar border region was a chaotic, fractured land. While a "government" technically existed, the territory was truly ruled by a web of competing local factions, and every last one of them, from the smallest to the largest, had its own private army.
In a place like this, if you didn't have men who could carry guns, you couldn't survive. It didn't matter how much money you had.
This raw, untamed lawlessness was precisely why he was here.
He walked out of the camp bare-handed, his mind already processing the call from Mizuki Akiyama. He hadn't expected his... activities... of the last two days to have already spread back to the Eastern Federation. The fact that Inspector Sato, a Reincarnator based all the way back in Binhai City, was aware of this "psycho killer" meant only one thing: the Federation's intelligence network was watching this entire region with an eagle eye.
Then again, it's logical, Kaito mused. If he knew that some Reincarnators from the Eastern District had chosen to "develop" their careers in this chaotic honey pot, then it was a certainty that the Eastern Federation government would not simply ignore a neighboring country that was rapidly accumulating so many dangerous, superhuman elements. They were undoubtedly monitoring the entire border, treating it as a high-threat containment zone.
A woman, her face a mask of pale, waxy terror, rushed forward and offered him a clean towel, her hands shaking violently. He calmly wiped the drying blood from his hands, the crimson streaks a stark contrast to the white cloth, then casually tossed the soiled towel back onto her, the wet thwap causing her to flinch.
This woman was named Daw Enqin. In the local Burmese custom, which differed greatly from the Eastern Federation, people had no family surname. They had only a given name, preceded by an honorific that denoted their status.
For example, "U" meant "Mr." or "Uncle." "Daw" meant "Lady" or "Madam." "Ma" was for a younger woman or "sister," and "Bo" was for an officer or commander. A person's entire social standing could be understood just from how they were addressed.
This woman, Daw Enqin, had been a figure of considerable power in this specific territory. She was the wife of the local chief administrator, a position she had secured, in part, due to her close "student" relationship with a highly revered and influential local religious leader.
Unfortunately for her, all the status and political power in the world was less than useless when confronted with pure, overwhelming violence. Her power base had just been... liquidated.
The woman's gaze flickered, just once, toward the small, fortified building where her husband had been hiding—the building Kaito had just exited. The thick, cloying stench of a slaughterhouse that wafted from it made her heart hammer against her ribs, but she showed no other sign of grief. After a single, shuddering breath, she turned and hurried to follow Kaito, her expression resetting into one of desperate, calculating subservience.
"Lord... Lord Kaito," she began, her voice trembling only slightly. "Are you, by chance, from the Kokang Bai Clan?"
While one part of her was still reeling in visceral horror from the tableau of carnage she had just witnessed, another, more practical part of her mind was already racing, calculating new possibilities. Possessing power by being the administrator's wife was a completely different thing from possessing power yourself. Her old life was over, finished in a spray of blood. A new power, a terrifying, absolute power, was walking right in front of her.
She had heard the rumors, of course. Whispers that had been spreading through all of Myanmar's lawless states. Powerful, almost supernatural figures had been appearing. Inside the Kokang "Four Great Families," within the ranks of the Northern Myanmar government itself... tales of single warriors capable of annihilating entire squads of armed men.
She had never imagined she would see one in the flesh. To single-handedly charge into a fortified camp of dozens of soldiers and walk out, completely unharmed, leaving behind nothing but a sea of mangled limbs... it was like a scene from the most brutal, R-rated action movie.
Kokang was another major administrative district bordering Wa State, just as chaotic and infested with warring factions, though it was dominated by a few powerful clans. Her question was a desperate, calculated probe.
Kaito-kun felt no desire to answer her. He was turned inward, his focus entirely on the sensation of his newly enhanced Satsui no Hado. The killing of those soldiers had strengthened it. The destructive potential humming within him felt at least fifty percent stronger. It was a dense, satisfying, addictive warmth.
Seeing his cold silence, Daw Enqin remembered the man who had contacted her, Linford. He had promised her that if she helped this "Boss Kaito" turn the whole of Wa State into a "paradise city," she would not only be allowed to keep her life, but she would be rewarded with "uncountable wealth."
Well, she had kept her life. That part was true. Now, she began to fixate on the promise of wealth.
She immediately began to leverage her own value, to sell the only currency she had left: her network.
"Boss Kaito," she tried again, her voice smoother. "Thank you for sparing my life. I will do everything I can to help you. I will convince my teacher... the Great Monk. Once we have his approval, the people of Wa State will not dare to oppose the... the 'paradise city' reconstruction."
Kaito stopped walking.
He turned, his gaze falling on her for the first time. He slowly raised a single finger and shook it, as if correcting a child.
"No," he said, his voice flat. "You're not doing it for me."
He gestured vaguely in the direction of her now-dead husband's compound. "You're doing it for him," he said, referring to Linford. "If he successfully executes my plan... then he will be allowed to live. And you, by extension."
A ball of ice formed in Daw Enqin's stomach. Her mouth opened, a dozen protests and explanations—about the culture, about the people's reverence for the monks, about how this country worked—all rushing to her lips.
She swallowed them all.
What was the point? What good were "tradition" and "respect" against a man who had just butchered dozens of soldiers as casually as stepping on ants? You don't explain the concept of a riverbank to a tidal wave.
The two of them walked in silence to a garish, opulent building named the "Star of Wa Hotel." The uniformed valets at the door saw Daw Enqin and immediately bowed low, obsequiously welcoming them in. This hotel was, in fact, one of her late husband's primary assets.
The staff, of course, had no idea that their true master had just been gruesomely murdered.
Daw Enqin led Kaito-kun straight to the top-floor presidential suite. She was practically vibrating with a mix of terror and desperate ambition. She had to ingratiate herself with this "Boss Kaito." His terrifying, inhuman power, combined with the rumored financial backing of the March Consortium... it was like watching a new warlord, a new king, about to rise from the blood and chaos of the borderlands.
She had to dig deep. She had to find any advantage, any value she still possessed. She had to secure a high-ranking position in his new inner circle before others flocked to his banner.
To achieve that, she was willing to do... anything.
As the suite door clicked shut behind them, his voice cut through the silence.
"Take off your clothes."
She froze, genuinely believing she had misheard him. He hadn't shown the slightest, even animalistic, interest in her body. She had, in fact, been wondering if she should find some perfume, some way to enhance her desirability to him. And now, the moment they were alone, he had issued this... this command.
Her heart gave two heavy, painful thuds.
Then, just as quickly, the fear and confusion melted away, and her eyes became sultry, her expression shifting into one of pure, practiced seduction.
This is it. This is the currency.
She was, at her core, a woman who would do anything for power. And, she rationalized, this "Boss Kaito" was not just powerful... he was physically strong, and even possessed a sharp, cold handsomeness. He was a thousand times more appealing than the swarthy, aging local men she was used to.
This, she decided, was a trade she was more than willing to make.
Kaito-kun leaned back against the ridiculously large, satin-covered bed, watching her with a detached, clinical curiosity. He watched as the woman began a performance, a slow, practiced routine. She wasn't simply removing her clothes; she was revealing her body, using every motion to hint and promise, to let her dress slide away inch by inch.
Her skin, which was considered pale and fair among the local Burmese, was smooth and soft, a clear sign of a life free from manual labor. Her stomach was firm, the result of regular, disciplined exercise. And her bust was full and round. She expertly framed and presented every asset, her movements flowing with practiced grace.
Kaito-kun sat on the bed and simply observed. As he watched, he was focused on his internal status panel, which flashed in his mind's eye.
[Karma Sequence Synchronization Rate Update...]
[Sin of Tyranny - Sync Rate: 87%]
[Sin of Lust - (Sync Rate 9%): SYNC RATE TOO LOW. CANNOT ACTIVATE.]
Tsk.
Kaito-kun let out a quiet, internal sound of annoyance. He wondered, with genuine analytical coldness, if the problem was her. Was this "stimulus" simply not potent enough?
As a Reincarnator pursuing the absolute extreme of power, he was approaching his Karma Sequence with the same perfectionism. He wasn't satisfied with mastering just one Sin. Not after seeing what Roland, his rival, possessed. The existence of the [Virtue: Morning Star of Hope] was proof that the Sequences of Sin and Virtue were far deeper than they appeared on the surface. He would master all of them.
At that moment, Daw Enqin seemed to sense that her performance wasn't having the desired effect. The man wasn't just unmoved; he was uninterested.
She quickened her pace, letting her dress fall, and climbed onto the massive bed. She began to move against him, her skin warm, her movements sinuous, rubbing her body against his with a desperate, calculated allurement.
Kaito-kun, as a man with near-perfect control over every muscle and nerve in his body, could feel the tactile sensations. He registered the friction, the temperature, the texture.
It was all just... data. It generated absolutely no corresponding biological urge. He felt zero desire to mate with this woman.
She was weak.
She was just too weak.
Even without activating a skill like the Transparent World, his baseline superhuman senses were overwhelming his ability to perceive her as attractive. They were, in fact, amplifying her flaws.
He could see the tiny imperfections in her skin, hidden beneath a layer of expensive cosmetics. He could smell the complex, artificial chemicals in her perfume, which failed to mask the faint, sour tang of fear-sweat on her skin.
Even her physical body, which she so clearly prized, felt... loose to his senses. Fragile. He felt that if he applied even the slightest amount of his true strength, he would tear her to pieces on the spot.
He reached out and pinched her side, a cold, final test.
The sync rate for the Sin of Lust did not budge. Still 9%.
Useless.
His face went cold. With a single, dispassionate shove, he pushed her off the bed.
The woman landed in a heap on the plush carpet, a tangled mess of exposed limbs and total, humiliating confusion. She had no idea what she had done wrong.
Kaito-kun was a complete pragmatist. This... tool... had failed its intended function.
"You have three days," he said, his voice flat as he stood up and adjusted his robe. "Convince your 'teacher.' Then, report your success to Linford. If you fail... you know what happens."
Without another word, he turned and left the suite.
He walked out of the hotel lobby and into the humid afternoon air. He stopped, his head tilting up, his gaze scanning the area.
Across the street, on the roof of the opposite building, a man was standing. His hands were jammed deep in his pockets.
The man's gaze was locked directly onto him.
Kaito-kun met that stare. The man on the roof gave a single, slow... nod. It was not a greeting. It was an acknowledgment.
Then, the man turned and disappeared back inside the building.
A slow, cold smirk spread across Kaito's lips.
Finally.
He began to walk, his pace quickening, heading straight for the building across the street.
As he walked, he analyzed the failed experiment. Daw Enqin's little performance hadn't been a total waste. It had provided him with a crucial piece of data: he felt no sexual desire for women who were this pathetically weak.
He'd heard the theories. The human reproductive drive was, at its core, a primal biological imperative. It was the instinct of a mortal species, obsessed with propagating its genes before its inevitable death. It was an instinct that supposedly grew even more powerful when faced with a near-death crisis.
He had never once felt that instinct.
This led to two possibilities.
One: Despite his multiple, life-and-death battles, his fundamental genetic imperative to reproduce had simply not been "triggered."
Two: He had evolved beyond it. His mind, his very being, no longer classified these weak, baseline humans as his own species.
And you cannot feel the instinct to breed with a creature you do not recognize as an equal.
Kaito-kun dissected his own psyche with the cold, methodical detachment of a surgeon. The second hypothesis felt far more likely.
I'll have to... requisition... Lee Chae-rin, when I have the chance, he thought. She was a Reincarnator. She was strong. She would be a more suitable test subject.
He filed that thought away and moved on. The intel Lee Chae-rin had provided him from Korea was just another data point confirming his worldview. The local Korean Reincarnators were getting restless, emboldened by The Final Day's declaration.
Kaito-kun had foreseen this the very moment he learned the Infinite Dimensional Space was real.
Humanity, at its core, was a cruel and predatory species.
The instant one faction of humanity gained an absolute, unassailable power over the rest, that faction would inevitably seek to dominate, to rule, to enslave.
Reincarnators were that new faction. At first, they were weak. They hid among the mortals, avoiding exposure.
But as they were "deployed" again and again, as they grew stronger and stronger, it was an absolute inevitability that some of them would begin to challenge the existing mortal order.
And now, one of them was strong enough to succeed.
The smile on Kaito's face widened. He had reached his destination. The building was, judging by the opulent, tacky decor, a casino.
He stepped inside.
The instant he crossed the threshold, the entire, chaotic world of the casino stopped.
Every gambler. Every dealer. Every beautiful waitress.
Every single person in the massive room froze in place.
Then, as one, their heads turned, snapping toward him with the unnatural, jerky motion of puppets on a string. Their faces were blank, their eyes horrifyingly empty.
The vast, cavernous room was plunged into an
abyss of perfect silence, broken only by the hollow, tinny, cheerful jingle of a single, unattended slot machine.
Kaito-jerk remained utterly unfazed. These puppets were irrelevant.
His eyes, glowing with a faint, unseen light, cut straight through the crowd, past the rows of tables, to a single man standing in the back by a row of slot machines.
The man had a different face. A different set of clothes.
But Kaito-kun heard him.
He heard the man's unique, memorized breathing pattern. He heard the specific, frantic rhythm of his contracting heart.
The man looked up, his gaze locking with Kaito's. His pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks. He had been identified.
In that micro-second of pure, shocked recognition, the man didn't hesitate. His eyes blazed, and he unleashed a devastating, invisible wave of pure psychic energy.
BOOM!
The air between them detonated.
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