Time came to 5:30 AM, and the sky was fully bright.
Keli and Kazuma met again.
Kazuma had already revived three times just while dealing with these people on the way.
At this moment, he looked at the rising sun and couldn't help but let out a roar.
"Ugh—Ahhhhh!"
This is a very common human reaction. Even the most rational person, after experiencing a night of thrilling, heart-stirring, and boundary-breaking events, needs an outlet to vent.
He screamed and yelled like a madman, pounding his chest like some wild beast.
Finally, Kazuma calmed down, panting heavily, and plopped down onto the ground.
"Huff! Huff!"
Honestly, he had thought since last night that this was just about stalking some yakuza, or at worst, that they had some cult behind them planning a ritual with people. He never expected it to end in a bloodbath.
Looking at Kazuma, whose head was trembling slightly, Keli also sat down with his knees bent and took a breath.
Actually, last night wasn't as easy as he made it out to be; he just didn't care.
Kazuma swept away the bloody images from last night, the scenes of him entering other people's homes to commit violence, and the screams and wails of those people, and looked at Keli.
"That car can still be driven, right? Can we go back to Tokyo?"
"Is that what you think?" Keli tilted his head, looking at Kazuma.
Kazuma pursed his lips and took a deep breath.
"Of course, what else could I think? We've done our best, haven't we? Compared to those who are indifferent to such matters or even involved in them, we left our peaceful lives in Tokyo, tracked it all the way here, and figured out the reason. Next, what we need to do is go back to Tokyo and blow this matter up, waiting for those idle bureaucrats and social organizations to solve this problem."
Kazuma showed the most serious expression Keli had seen from him since they met, no longer simply being led by Keli's tough attitude.
"Listen to me, we are just immortal, not invincible. You can't bet that they won't catch you. Even a random trap on the mountain could make us unable to escape forever, only to be tortured by them. And we are not giving up; we are just choosing the best method: returning to Tokyo, letting more people know about what happened here, letting those public servants get headaches, and letting them send troops to eradicate this place."
Facing Kazuma's seriousness, Keli still calmly replied to him.
"I've considered that point, but I think it's best to do that after I've failed."
Looking at that expressionless face, Kazuma became a bit angry.
"Why?" Kazuma grabbed Keli's shoulder.
Without shaking off Kazuma's hand, Keli simply turned his body sideways and stated his consideration.
"Because regardless of whether the Japanese government currently has similar things, I want to reduce the opportunity for a group of power holders to gain immortality by eating people."
Kazuma's pupils dilated for a moment, then contracted and vibrated within his eye sockets.
Gritting his teeth, Kazuma really wanted to say that it wouldn't be as Keli thought, that they would at most conduct some medical research and wouldn't use it themselves...
But then, news reports of people regularly disappearing in Tokyo appeared in his own mind.
In fact, given Kazuma's understanding of these people, he even suspected whether some people who weren't high enough in position, if they got their hands on it, would share this thing with Americans to advance further.
"So what? What does that have to do with us? You're too abnormal, aren't you?"
Although Kazuma was actually convinced internally, he was still a bit annoyed. He let go of Keli's shoulder and sat back down.
"Strange? Actually, I find it very strange too.
I've also seen your textbooks; whether taught in school, depicted in entertainment works, or in those textbooks, and even taught since elementary school, people are taught to bravely confront darkness, to act heroically when facing difficulties, and to strive to do what they believe is right.
I find it very strange that when I actually do as those things say, why do you all think I'm mentally ill? Isn't it those who don't do it who are strange?" 4
Shaking his head, Keli stood up and walked towards the car.
Kazuma originally wanted to wait for Keli to say a few nice words and then be done with it, but since he wasn't a beautiful girl, no one indulged him. Watching Keli's unhesitating back, Kazuma gritted his teeth and chased after him.
"Damn it! You bastard! If it weren't for the fact that I'll definitely revive next to you after I die, and I'm afraid I might revive in Tokyo Bay someday, and I haven't seen that pink-haired family from last night, I wouldn't want to bother with this kind of thing."
"A tsundere man has no market." Keli's lips curved slightly.
...
Following the lingering scent, they parked the car not far from the foot of the mountain. They chose to infiltrate quietly to avoid being detected by making any noise.
The mountain looked very normal, just an ordinary small hill found anywhere, but under Keli and Sato Kazuma's senses, the traces and locations of those "foods" were nowhere to hide. Soon, the two found a stone slab path that had clearly been repaired.
Just as Keli was about to step forward, Kazuma pulled him back and shook his head.
"You remember the place, then go back to the car."
Keli was momentarily stunned, and Kazuma's explanation followed.
"Since I can always return to your side, let me scout ahead first to prevent you from falling into any traps. If…" Kazuma paused here, then gritted his teeth and continued.
"If I get caught, I'll kill myself and then revive next to you. Once I figure things out, you can come with me."
As he spoke, Kazuma took out the pistol from his waist and the bullets from his pocket and handed them to Keli.
"Okay." Keli didn't hesitate and nodded in agreement.
Taking the bullets, Keli handed Kazuma a newly found cleaver. The one from last night was already too dull from chopping people, and he couldn't sharpen it in a few seconds like a greatsword master, so he had to find a new one.
"Hmph! You got all the glory before, so this time, just watch my performance, Sir Kazuma!"
Kazuma wiped his nose with his thumb, smiled, and stepped onto the stone path.
After witnessing all of this, Keli returned to the car and began to vigilantly watch for any disturbances around him.
He tightened his grip on the watermelon knife. Although Kazuma appeared very free and easy when showing off just now, only he knew if he was truly that carefree. Although he could revive, the feeling of life slowly leaving him with each death was real.
Carefully sniffing the scents and distinguishing their locations, Kazuma quickly saw a unique scenery in the mountains.
Along the roadside path, there were statues of Jizo Bodhisattva's young monks, but beneath the shade of the trees, a vermilion torii gate, adorned with shimenawa, stood tall on the mountain ahead.
"Heh heh, it's both Buddhist statues and a shrine. Even if this is Japan, there are too many fusion elements, aren't there?"