I Don’t Want to Die as a Mob in My Second Life! ～A Story Where I Kept Training from Inside the Womb and Ended Up Being Mistaken for a Monster～ - Chapter 39: Spirit Hosting Ascension

Chapter 39: Spirit Hosting Ascension

The wolf-eared young man—Rouga Shiranui.

Of course, I know his name.

He’s the adopted son of the legendary warlord of Yamato, Ouma Shiranui, and one of the top-tier First-Class Reisoushi.

If Ouma is the king of the Reisoushi world, then Rouga is like the prince. But not many people support him.

Because of his violent personality and, more importantly, the fact that he’s a demi-human, most Reisoushi consider him a threat.

“Y-You—Rouga?! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Moyoko yelled at him.

She jumped down from the black-suited agent’s shoulders and grabbed Rouga by his pants.

“Interfering with the exam… you…!”

“Hah? Nah, you’ve got it wrong, Moyoko. I’m making the exam fairer.”

“…What?”

Rouga bared his sharp canine teeth as he spoke, glaring down at Michio, who was groaning in pain before finally passing out.

“Seriously, with that guy as Kanata Soranaki’s opponent, the match was a joke. That weakling got wrecked, and Kanata didn’t even break a sweat.”

“Well… but…”

“With a matchup like that, you can’t measure real skill. So let’s be flexible, huh? How about we make it fair by having two pros fight Kanata at once…?”

With a squelching sound, Rouga’s shadow writhed like liquid.

Then, a girl emerged, rising up from the shadow. A silver wolf demi-human, just like Rouga.

“Mm. Riru and big brother… will kill him.”

—Riru Shiranui.

She’s Rouga’s little sister and another adopted child of the Shiranui family.

She’s only ranked Second-Class, but according to rumors, when she teams up with her brother…

“Together, we’re as strong as a Special-Class! That monster Kanata is annoyingly strong… but the two of us together—”

“Riru and big brother are unbeatable. We can definitely kill annoying Kanata…!”

…Is that how it is? I don’t know their reason, but they’re here to kill me.

“W-What’s with all this talk of killing?! This is an exam…!”

“Ohhh, yeah, gotta keep up appearances. Riru, you can’t just say ‘kill’ — you’ve got to say we’ll ‘accidentally’ kill him, huh? Miss Moyoko, can’t you let that slide?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I won’t allow such nonsense. Kanata may be exceptional, but he’s still an unqualified child. Two pros ganging up on him with intent to kill… that’s—”

I see. I get it now.

“It’s fine. I accept.”

“W-What, Kanata?!”

Moyoko shouted, while the wolf siblings grinned with excitement.

“Heh, you’re smarter than you look, you freak! Let’s restart this mock battle. Forget about that loser and—”

“Shut up.”

I stepped up to Rouga and smashed my case into his face — at three times the speed of sound.

He let out a pathetic “Gugh?!”, spun through the air, and crashed to the ground.

“Who are you calling a loser? Don’t mess with me…”

I don’t think I’ve ever been this angry before.

Sure, I’ve been annoyed. That’s normal.

But that was about it.

Maybe it’s because I never really had any pride.

From the moment I was born, I was compared to my genius brother and sister, treated like a background character.

So if someone insulted me, I could probably let it go. But this…

“My brother was ready to fight.”

I walked over to the unconscious Michio and gently lifted him up.

“He knew he’d probably lose, but he didn’t give up. He was ready to face me with his fists raised. And you interrupted him, called him a weakling? Haha…”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

I never imagined it.

That someone insulting my family — someone who put their life on the line to fight—would make me this angry.

“Alright. I’ll take you on, you worthless mutt. You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

“Tsk!”

Rouga got back up.

The side of his face was completely caved in. His neck was twisted, and he was holding it up with one hand.

But he was still alive. His eyes blazed with killing intent as he glared at me.

“Damn it… If I weren’t a demi-human, I’d be dead. I’ve never been so thankful for a werewolf’s vitality…”

Oh, really now?

“Lucky you. Aren’t you proud of your ‘dear father’?”

“?! You bastard!”

Rouga’s face twisted with rage.

I know the story. Everyone in the shadows knows he’s a bastard child, created by some twisted cult.

He takes pride in his adoptive father, Ouma, but deep down, he’s ashamed of his real father, the Conceptual Spirit of [Werewolf].

“Take pride, Rouga Shiranui. Unlike you, I actually praised my family.”

“You son of a—!”

“Come on, aren’t you happy? Wag your tail, little pup.”

“I’M GONNA KILL YOUUUUUU—!!!”

Yeah, the feeling’s mutual.

…I’ve never wanted to reject someone this badly before.

“Yamada. Tanaka.”

““Yes!””

The two boys in tailcoats immediately appeared.

I handed Michio over to them.

“Take care of him. He’s a stubborn, narrow-minded jerk of a brother… I won’t ask you to be gentle.”

But—

“If you hurt him, I’ll be mad. Got it?”

““Y-Yes!””

They carefully lifted Michio and ran off.

Even though I said they didn’t need to be careful, they carried him like he was a fragile egg.

“Damn it! Damn it! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

“Our only father is Lord Ouma…! How dare you…!”

The silver wolf siblings growled in unison. Ugh, they’re so noisy.

“Moyokoo! Hurry up and give the signal to start the fight!”

“B-But…”

“I can smell it. You’re out of spiritual energy, aren’t you? There’s no way you can stop us now!”

Moyoko groaned at Rouga’s words. I gave her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s my fault for making you waste your spiritual energy.”

“Kanata… But making you face two professional Reisoushi is unheard of…”

“Two professional Reisoushi? Huh. All I see in front of me are two worthless mutts.”

““You bastard!!!””

The Shiranui siblings shouted in fury. They’d clearly reached the end of their patience.

Moyoko sighed deeply, as if she’d finally given up.

“Ahhh, how did it come to this…!? Fine, fine! Alright, then — instead of Michio Soranaki vs. Kanata Soranaki…”

Riru pulled out a handful of talismans, while Rouga dropped into a beast-like stance on all fours.

“Rouga Shiranui & Riru vs. Kanata Soranaki — MATCH START!”

In an instant, Rouga dashed forward.

His broken neck was already healed, and his face was twisted into a ravenous wolf’s snarl as he lunged at me.

“You called me a mutt born of a [Werewolf], didn’t you?! Then let me show you that power!”

“I don’t need to see it.”

I raised one hand.

And—Rouga was split into five pieces.

“Gwaah?!”

I had already extended threads from my five fingers.

The moment I smashed him with the case, I formed nearly invisible threads and wrapped them around his limbs.

Then, with [Blank Shot], I turned those threads into vibrating blades, and, well… you see the result.

“One down. Now, for the girl.”

“Not yet!”

Rouga’s torso came flying at me.

He must’ve bounced up using his abs. He was aiming to bite my neck with those fangs. Clever.

“Stay down.”

“Guhh?!”

I kicked his jaw upward. A sickening crack echoed as his neck vertebrae shattered, and he went tumbling toward his sister.

That should—

“I’m not done yet…!”

He was still alive.

Blood spurted from his severed limbs like a fountain, but he dragged his body forward, his neck barely hanging on by strips of skin, glaring at me like a worm.

“Don’t underestimate the blood of a [Werewolf]! Just getting torn apart won’t kill me! And now—”

“Yes, brother.”

Riru scattered a barrage of talismans.

They formed a dome, enclosing the entire area. Wait, this is—

“Under the moonlight, we become immortal!”

“Charm Crafting Canopy—Drown in Darkness, [Evernight Blooming Moon of Pandemonium]!”

In that instant, an alternate world formed around the girl.

The sky was swallowed by darkness, dominated by a massive red moon. A stone temple appeared, with the silver wolf siblings standing at its peak.

They had created a Charm Crafting Canopy, the pinnacle of Charm Crafting. The battlefield had shifted into their domain.

“This is Riru’s world. And it’s where you will die.”

I looked around and saw a field of white lilies stretching out before me.

But there was nothing beautiful about it. Bathed in the eerie crimson moonlight, the petals swirled through the air, stained red and black like they’d been defiled.

A Canopy takes shape based on the spiritual nature of the Conceptual Spirit and the Reisoushi’s inner thoughts.

This sinister setting must reflect the blood-soaked path they’ve walked.

“WOOOOHHHHHHHH!!! I can feel it—overflowing with power!”

Then, something strange happened.

Rouga’s broken body began to heal itself at incredible speed, as if someone hit rewind.

His severed limbs reattached, and even the blood that had sprayed out flowed back into his body in an instant.

“Alright, now the real fight begins!”

He stood before me once more, completely restored.

“This is the power of the [Werewolf]. At night, we are immortal. And the brighter the moon, the stronger we get!”

“Exactly. Riru and brother’s bodies are invincible. And attacks against spirits won’t work — because we’re not really here.”

—There are a few ways to kill a troublesome Medium.

One way is to eliminate their Conceptual Spirits instead of attacking them directly. If you do that, they lose most of their abilities.

But—

“We’re demi-humans. We are both Reisoushi and living copies of Conceptual Spirits. That means we have no weak points!”

“I see.”

Now I get why they’re bragging about being invincible and immortal.

Okay, got it. That’s impressive. Sure. And?

“Big talk for someone who can’t even land a killing blow. What’s the point if you can’t actually defeat your opponent?”

“Shut up!”

Rouga growled and formed a sword-sign with his fingers. Under the eerie crimson moonlight, spiritual energy surged from him, surpassing even Michio’s.

“As long as the moon is out, our spiritual power keeps rising! Watch closely! This is the pinnacle of Spirit Hosting!”

A blinding explosion of spiritual light burst forth.

In that light, Rouga Shiranui began to transform.

“Spirit Hosting Ascension— [Mad Beast: Moonlight Wolf]!!!”

When the light faded, the human Rouga was gone.

In his place stood a massive silver wolf.