Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V4 Chapter 13

Chapter 13: “Hero vs. Shikigami User, Right?” ②

“Well, thanks for the introduction. Now, just stay down.”

With a surge of magic from Yusuke, the ground beneath Madoka Abe rose up and swallowed him whole.

“—Whew. I won’t kill you, but I’d appreciate it if you stayed put. I don’t have any problem killing humans, though.”

In the other world, Yusuke had been forced to take so many lives that he no longer felt guilt or disgust from killing. He didn’t discriminate—whether it was demons, monsters, or humans, he killed them all equally.

He had been turned into a tool by the people who summoned him, a machine that eliminated anything inconvenient to them.

In modern society, Yusuke refrained from killing, but if he wanted to, he knew he could do it without hesitation.

It was a part of himself he hated—something that made him feel sick to his stomach.

“Oni… Now, I release you.”

“Graaaahhhhhhhhhh!”

“—Kuh.”

Before Yusuke could react, the oni with sharp fangs lunged and bit into his arm.

The pain was tolerable, but the sight of the oni tearing at his flesh and chewing it noisily made Yusuke instinctively step back.

“…Making it do things like this…”

“That’s quite the misunderstanding, don’t you think?”

At the same time, a voice came from Madoka Abe, who should have been trapped underground.

The earth exploded from the inside out, scattering everywhere.

“Man, I’m covered in dirt. What a terrible experience that was.”

Brushing the dust off his hair and clothes, Madoka emerged, a smug and unpleasant grin on his face.

“That was annoying. But if it’s something controlled by magic, making it lose its effect is as easy as breakfast for me. If you’d been serious about killing me, it might’ve been different, but you were too soft. Because of that, you let something as weak as a small oni bite a chunk out of your arm.”

“…And this is the result of using it as your shikigami?”

When Yusuke asked with anger in his voice, Madoka looked genuinely surprised.

“Are you serious right now? You really don’t get it, huh? Oni eating humans is completely normal. That little oni was a younger one that liked eating kids. It’s one of the newer types, but I think it already had about twenty victims under its belt.”

“What?”

“Just killing it wouldn’t have been enough for the victims, would it? That’s why I decided to use it until it was completely worn out. Of course, I planned to have it kill yokai until it starved to death… but could you not go around feeding it so recklessly?”

“No way…”

Yusuke was shaken.

He wasn’t naïve. He knew from his knowledge that some yokai attacked humans.

Demons killed people. Even angels would take lives if necessary.

Even Japan’s gods, if enraged, could become disasters that tormented humanity.

—But despite that, he had forgotten. After interacting with Nurarihyon, Nekomata, and others, he’d started seeing yokai as friendly neighbors. He had forgotten that yokai, depending on the situation, could also bare their fangs against humans.

Not all yokai are a threat to humans—Yusuke understood that much. He really did.

However, in the other world, he had grown deeply disillusioned with humanity. Even setting aside his personal preferences, he found himself unable to feel sympathy for humans anymore. Even after returning to Earth, the hatred he had once felt toward humanity never fully went away. Perhaps that’s why he had been so overjoyed by his encounters with yokai—too overjoyed, in fact.

“Dreaming about yokai? That’s pretty stupid. If you want to dream so badly, just go to sleep.”

Taking advantage of Yusuke’s momentary hesitation, Madoka closed the distance and drove his fist into Yusuke’s stomach.

“—Gah!”

The air was forced out of Yusuke’s lungs, leaving him gasping and unable to breathe.

Madoka followed up with a punch to Yusuke’s face, a kick to his stomach, and then began choking him with both hands.

“You said you didn’t hesitate to kill people, didn’t you? What a coincidence—I don’t have any problem with it either.”

It wasn’t clear whether Madoka intended to knock him unconscious or kill him outright, but the strength in his hands was overwhelming.

Yusuke tried to fight back, landing several punches on Madoka’s face. Though his lips split and blood poured from his nose, Madoka maintained a faint, unsettling grin and didn’t loosen his grip.

“—Freeze!”

“Oh?”

Senju’s Magic Eye, the same one that had taken down Kumazaki, froze Madoka in place.

“Gah—cough cough—cough cough—cough!”

“Oh my, looks like you got away.”

Freed from Madoka’s grip, Yusuke clutched his neck, coughing violently.

Drool dripped from his mouth, tears welled up in his eyes, and he took deep, desperate breaths, trying to fill his lungs with oxygen.

“…The Abe clan sure is extreme. Killing a random young guy who just happened to get involved? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“To me, anyone foolish enough to protect yokai is an enemy. Killing them is perfectly fine.”

“No, it’s not fine. Anyway, just stay still for a while. Once you’re restrained, we’ll let you go later.”

“No need for that. —I forbid your skill interfering with me. Hurry it up, you bastard.”

With Madoka’s muttered words, a sharp snap echoed, and he regained his ability to move.

“…Yeah, dealing with people from Kyoto is always bad news.”

Senju felt a cold sweat trickle down his back, sensing that this would be a tough fight.

〜〜Afterword〜〜

Unlike Natsuki, Yusuke can’t just kill without hesitation. It takes time for him to reach the point where he’s ready to take a life. Really, it’s Natsuki who’s the strange one.

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