Zongman I fight weirdness in everyday world

“‘Mask’… … won!”

… …

At this moment, with the dissipation of Izanami, the domain automatically dissolved.

Everyone looked at the surrounding scene, knowing that they were in the real world, in the underground cave of Nitō Island.

“Won… …?”

All the members' gazes turned towards the front at the same time.

When they clearly saw Yusei standing there, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, when they saw Rikka Sakuragawa, whose true appearance had returned, lying on the ground, and an infant-shaped creature with a charred body and empty eye sockets, they couldn't help but frown.

Yusei ignored the infant-shaped creature and walked to Rikka Sakuragawa first.

When she saw him approaching, the gradually dimming yellow in her eyes seemed to regain some luster, like a final burst of energy, and she forced herself to speak.

“I… …am going to die, right?”

“Yes.”

Yusei nodded, his tone calm.

“Your soul is already damaged. Even if your body is still immortal, as your soul completely disappears, the curse of the mermaid flesh will also disappear, and eventually, you will turn into a handful of dust.”

“I see… …”

Rikka Sakuragawa stared at the top of the cave, muttering to herself.

“I lost… …”

Then, she turned her gaze to Yusei's face. Although her breathing was already labored, she still maintained her usual elegant demeanor and slowly spoke.

“If I could do it again, I would still choose to do this, because… …life is too boring for me.”

“I know.”

Yusei nodded and said softly.

“So, if you do it again, you will still be eliminated by us.”

“Yes… …still the same ending.”

Rikka Sakuragawa raised a slight smile at the corner of her lips.

“But, this is not your end. The duty of the loser is to hand over the power to decide the future of the world to the winner, so… …”

Rikka Sakuragawa's voice had become almost inaudible, only Yusei standing nearby could hear it.

“There is a girl with long reddish-brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing a tan jacket. She… …is a key figure in the future disaster… …”

Chapter 338: Minamikata Hizuru's Awakening, Activating Automatic Looting's Hundred Eyes

Hearing Rikka Sakuragawa's description, Yusei simply nodded noncommittally, seemingly not surprised at all, and replied calmly.

“Yes, I know.”

“You… …you don't seem surprised to hear that there will be a disaster in the future?”

“Yeah… …”

Looking at Rikka Sakuragawa lying on the ground, barely breathing, Yusei showed a smile and said softly.

“Although I don't know where the end of this Fool's Journey is, you and Izanami alone are far from enough to be my final trial.”

“I see… …”

Rikka Sakuragawa's eyes looked a little bitter. In the end, she just let out a long sigh, looked at Yusei standing beside her, silent and just staring at her face, and squeezed out a smile with all her strength, saying softly.

“I have already said what I wanted to say. Why are you still looking at me here? Could it be… …are you also reluctant to part with me?”

“Don't overthink it.”

Yusei waved his hand without hesitation, giving an answer that was unexpected by the Overlimit Club members, but in line with his personality and reasonable.

“I want to watch your body turn to ashes with my own eyes. During this process, I won't even look away, so as to avoid any mistakes. I won't be at ease until you are completely dead.”

“I see… …”

Rikka Sakuragawa's eyes gradually lost their luster, and she squeezed out a sentence with her last strength.

“After I die… …turn my body into ashes and scatter them into the sea… …”

“No.”

Yusei refused mercilessly and forcefully.

“After you die, I will use spiritual flames to completely burn the ashes left behind by your body into nothingness. Just scattering your ashes may allow you to revive again. When doing things, you must be thorough.”

Rikka Sakuragawa was stunned for a moment, looked at Yusei, whose face showed no pity, but was just quietly watching her, and chuckled.

“As expected… …this is the attitude that a winner… …should have… …”

When the last word fell, Rikka Sakuragawa's eyes completely lost their luster, and her body slowly turned into a pale purple, tiny particles like sand.

“Huff.”

Black flames rose from the ground, enveloping the pale purple sand that Rikka Sakuragawa's body had turned into, forming a spherical shape, completely enveloping it. Only after nearly a minute did it disappear.

And the pale purple sand was also completely turned into nothingness under the burning of the spiritual flames, not even a single grain was left.

“It's finally over.”

Hearing Yagami Tsuki's words, Yusei said lightly.

“Yes, this is the end of the first year.”

Just then, Yagami Tsuki saw Yusei's body sway, and quickly reached out to support his arm, frowning slightly.

“Injured?”

“Aren't you stating the obvious?”

Yusei rolled his eyes, put one hand on Yagami Tsuki's shoulder, supporting his body, and complained in a tone that made Yagami Tsuki smile wryly.

“Damn it, this Izanami was too good at fighting. She could even break through my defense at full strength and even took my heart out. Now I've really offered my heart.”

Yagami Tsuki shook his head with a smile, somewhat helplessly.

“So, if you had just waited for us to come and help from the beginning, it wouldn't have turned out like this.”

Yusei looked speechless.

“Was it that I didn't want to wait? Should I have discussed it with her first, sat down together to drink a can of frozen Coca-Cola, played a few games of Gomoku, and waited for you to come?”

Yagami Tsuki shook his head with a wry smile, thinking that was also true.

Yusei was willing to wait, but Izanami probably wouldn't be willing to wait either.

Furthermore, if he hadn't expended the power of the Izanami deity, forcing her to retract the gray mist that covered the entire Hinomoto Island, completely shielding the Hundred-Eyes' vision and the perception of spiritual energy fluctuations, the group probably wouldn't have been able to reach here so easily.

"Eh?"

Suddenly, Yagami Tsuki realized something was off and asked curiously.

"Why didn't you say my sexual orientation was questionable this time when I helped you? Why did you let someone else help you?"

"Hoh, Tsuki, you're too naive."

Yagami Hoshi wore a solemn expression, more serious than even when facing the powerful Izanami deity, as he lowered his voice to Yagami Tsuki.

"Look, there are so many people here. I only have two arms. Even if you count my legs, my four limbs are only enough to carry four people. Counting the torso, that's only five people, not enough to go around. Rather than leaving behind a hidden danger that could easily lead to a battlefield, it's better not to let anyone help and instead let you, the only male present, do it. That's the correct answer. There's a lot to learn here, little brother."

Yagami Tsuki was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then revealed a helpless expression and sighed.

"I probably won't need these skills. You should keep them for yourself."

At this moment, a sound of footsteps came from the entrance at the back of the cave.

Everyone immediately turned around, only to see that it was none other than Nezu Ginjiro, Minakata Hizuru, and the Kozu sisters, the four informants who had assisted Yagami Hoshi in the dozen or so time loops.

"Hizuru… Is that Hizuru…?"

The baby lying on the ground, who had lost his eyes and was charred black all over, seemed to sense something and made a sobbing sound.

"Hizuru… It hurts… It hurts so much…"

"Hotaka…"

Looking at Hotaka lying on the ground, completely different from what she remembered, and in such a miserable state, Minakata Hizuru's eyes showed a hint of pity. Then, she took a deep breath and raised the large hammer in her hand.

"Let me send you on your way with my own hands."

"Wait a moment."

Futaba Rio stopped Minakata Hizuru from swinging the hammer and turned to look at the Shadow Mio and Shadow Ushio behind Kozu Ushio and Kozu Mio. She took out her glasses from her white coat pocket, put them back on, and slowly said.

"According to the agreement, you protected the residents of Hinomoto Island and provided us with assistance. Now, it's time for our side to fulfill its promise."

Futaba Rio walked up to Shadow Ushio and Shadow Mio, pushed up her glasses, and said softly.

"According to the information provided by Yagami Hoshi, Shadows are special creatures that survive by copying human information as food. Apart from the taste itself, the need to obtain it by devouring human bodies, and the limitation that they must kill and replace the original body within seven days, there is actually no reason why Shadows and humans must be enemies."

"No… In other words, is there a possibility that Shadows have had a way to coexist with humans from the beginning? Just like Ryunosuke and Minakata Hizuru, perhaps this state of coexistence is the normal one."

Shadow Mio frowned slightly upon hearing this and retorted.

"But there has never been…"

Before she could finish speaking, Futaba Rio knew what she probably wanted to say and raised her hand to interrupt.

"It is precisely because of the Shadow's act of killing the original body that the path of coexistence between the Shadow and the original body is cut off."

"Taking information as sustenance, hiding in a two-dimensional plane different from humans, and being able to take over the body when necessary…"

Speaking of this, Futaba Rio paused for a moment before looking at Shadow Ushio and Shadow Mio.

"You Shadows… should be able to integrate into the original body and exist with the original body in a way similar to our Soul's True Form."

Kozu Ushio couldn't help but ask anxiously upon hearing these words.

"Then how exactly should we do it?"

"Hmm…"

Futaba Rio pondered for a moment, then gave an answer that made both the real Kozu sisters and the Shadow Kozu sisters feel somewhat confused and difficult to understand.

"When you realize you can do it, you should be able to do it."

"Uh…"

Kozu Ushio and Shadow Ushio looked at each other, and both of them smiled awkwardly at the same time.

"That… I didn't understand."

Before the real Kozu Mio could speak, Shadow Mio bluntly said.

"Are you idiots? You don't even understand this. It means that as long as we know we can do it, we have the ability to do it. It's a viewpoint of idealism."

"Yes, that's the principle."

Futaba Rio nodded first, then added.

"Of course, it also depends on yourselves, whether you have the willingness to do so. If you resist doing so in your heart, there's no way."

Kozu Mio and Shadow Mio looked at each other, and both of them said in unison.

"Of course, we want to exist together."

Shadow Mio, on the other hand, walked up to Kozu Mio, looked at her slightly timid appearance, and said expressionlessly.

"If you don't want me to continue to exist, I can disappear here. The decision is in your hands."

"I…"

Kozu Mio pursed her lips, hesitated for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"I hope… you can continue to exist. I also hope… I can protect everyone."

"That's good."

Shadow Ushio and Shadow Mio looked at each other, then each placed their palms against the Ushio and Mio of the original body.

The bodies of the two turned into a ball of black shadow and gradually disappeared into the bodies of the Kozu sisters.